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jeongyunhoed · 12 days

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As seen on my FF.net Also seen on my Ao3

Following the events of fifth year, a new adventure awaits for Norah Lee. Boys, exams, school events, common room parties, and old foes outside of Hogwarts. Even battling pensieve guardians was easier than this.

Main Pair: OC/? Genre: Adventure/Angst/Fluff (it's a little of everything, tbh)

KEEP IN MIND: Characters are aged up (even if the story's got them in sixth year) to make it more appropriate. Time period is leaning towards the modern day so in case you might find anachronisms in the dialogue or references, this is why. This may also be quite a lengthy fic too.

BE WARNED: Social anxiety, mentions of blood and injury, grief, drinking, kissing but nothing more than that, death (this is Hogwarts Legacy, after all)

P.P.S: Ominis basically reveals he likes Norah...to Sebastian. Also, ideas are forming after the repository is rebuilt.

Masterlist

Chapter 12

Unsurprisingly, the party ended with many of them in for a hangover as the morning came. Garreth took it upon himself to send everyone back to their respective common rooms with vials of hangover tonic. Norah immediately sought to drink hers on the way back, having thoroughly enjoyed herself. Not bad for a first house party in sixth year.

She saw Natty bid Henry a goodnight before leaving the portrait hole, while Andrew and Poppy walked together. No doubt Andrew was going to walk Poppy back to the Hufflepuff common room before he returned to Ravenclaw tower. Amit and Samantha were conveniently walking back together. At least they originally were, because it seemed like they weren't anymore. Amit even looked quite somber, a change from his optimistic demeanor earlier when they first arrived. Samantha also looked quite crestfallen, opting to walk back to their dormitory with their other housemates.

Norah figured she'd try to ask Amit about it when they looked for another astronomy table later that night. She turned to the two boys walking next to her, having also drank the tonic before leaving.

"I can't believe I nearly tried to climb that mantel," Ominis mumbled next to Norah as they climbed down the stairs to the Slytherin dungeons. "I can feel Nellie looking at me like I became some sort of three-headed serpent."

"That's because it's not everyday that someone of your stature would do such a thing unless it were to avoid spiders or other creepy things," Norah teased, while Sebastian chuckled at the memory. "I wonder what else might happen when the Hufflepuffs host the next one."

"Who knew Ominis Gaunt has become such a party animal," Sebastian added.

"Shut up" The blonde mumbled.

The three of them entered the common room, splitting up for a moment to shower and change for bed. Norah dried her hair with a towel, already wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants as she sat on the edge of her bed. Nerida, Grace, and Imelda were already deep asleep. She smiled to herself as she recalled the events earlier, especially when she realized who "Nick" was.

It was making her think about the letters he sent, making her guess who he was. It was something she forgot to talk to him about, since they, or she, in particular, was caught up in dancing with Garreth and everyone in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. What was with the poems? The compliments in those poems, in particular? Norah chuckled, sitting back against the headboard of her bed, legs already covered by the emerald green blankets.

She glanced at the door, wondering if any of them were still awake at this hour. They were going to have quite a time processing everything that happened in the party.

As Norah slid further into the covers to close her eyes and sleep, Ominis Gaunt was tossing and turning in his own bed. He was already trying to process his near-attempt at climbing on the mantel. While at the same time mentally kicking himself for not trying to spend more time with Norah, or at the very least dance with her, which she seemed to do the whole night.

"Go to sleep," Sebastian suddenly said.

"I'm trying to, Sebastian, take your own advice."

"I am trying to" the freckled brunette said from his own bed. Sebastian was staring at the ceiling, unknowingly thinking about the same thing the blonde was thinking. "Ominis, can I ask you something?"

"I thought you said you were trying to sleep."

"Well, now I'm wide awake and curious about something," Sebastian said quietly. "Did you summon Norah because you wanted to get ahead of Garreth and Leander?"

The question seemed to take Ominis by surprise. Was Sebastian already suspecting something about this? There seemed to be only one way to answer, and he knew he couldn't lie to him. "Yes."

"Why?"

There it was, another question that felt like a shot through the heart. "What do you mean, why?"

"Why Norah?" Sebastian doubled down. "You could've summoned Imelda, Nerida, or even Grace, or Adelaide Oakes. Why her in particular?"

Ominis swallowed hard. "Why not her?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "You're avoiding the question. Why Norah?" He pressed again. He knew that if he asked in the morning, Ominis really wouldn't tell him anything.

"What's wrong with me summoning Norah?"

"I don't know, you tell me, Gaunt," Sebastian replied. "Those letters you sent her, with those poems and riddles. Natty saying that the one who wrote those must be absolutely crazy about her."

Another shot in the heart. Sebastian's got him cornered, he thought. "What would you rather I'd have written? Hey Norah, you really ought to be careful whenever you attack a poacher camp?" Ominis managed to say, but what Sebastian asked next seemed to be the final nail in the coffin.

"You like Norah, don't you?"

Sebastian felt like he was about to throw up after bringing himself to ask it. It was a hard question to ask, and while he normally never steered clear from those kinds of questions, it seemed to hit him twice as hard now. To Sebastian, the worst part of this was that he already knew the answer, he just wanted Ominis to confirm his suspicions.

"Doesn't everyone fancy Norah?" Ominis replied.

That was also another thing that was true, Sebastian knew it. He was convinced Norah didn't know the effect she had on people, how she could win them over with genuine kindness. Even those who weren't sure about her seemed to warm up eventually. The wit she possessed could rival a Ravenclaw, and he needn't talk about how brave she could be as it was a given. "Does that mean you fancy her?" He asked.

This time, a small sigh escaped Ominis' lips. "I do, Sebastian. I...like Norah. It's why I've been writing to Anne a lot. I've been asking for her advice all this time. I've never felt this way about anyone, and I didn't think I could," The words seemed to come out as if the floodgates had opened.

Sebastian tried to wrap his head around what Ominis said, partly not wanting to believe any of it. Partly trying to convince himself that Ominis was just playing a practical joke. That Ominis would never try to have feelings, romantic feelings for the girl he also liked that much. But he also knew that he wanted Ominis to stop feeling so guilty, and feeling so hard on himself for what he was forced to do as a child.

"Since when have you had feelings for her?" He said.

"Since fifth year. When we looked for the Scriptorium together," Ominis revealed. "How else could she have convinced me to go through with it? At first I didn't think it was that way, but the more we talked, the more I got to know her, I realized it."

There it was. What was going to happen now? Sebastian now knew of Ominis' affections for Norah. Was he going to stand in the way so he could be with Norah instead? Or would he do the hard thing and let Ominis be the one to actually pursue her. Between the two of them, Ominis was the more cautious one, the more responsible one, the one least likely to become reckless in his decisions. No doubt Ominis would be perfect for Norah.

"So, that was when you liked Norah, huh?" Sebastian tried to sound nonchalant.

"Y-yes, so please don't tell her anything. If she asks about the letters, I'm going to say that it was all to disguise myself, to make it harder for her to know it was me," He replied, now lying on his back, his heart pounding at his own confession. "I also know I don't deserve her."

Sebastian didn't want to pry any longer. Sooner or later, he'd have to reveal to Ominis that he, Sebastian Sallow, also had feelings for Norah Lee. But, for his attempts at trying to swallow his own feelings, Ominis could still tell.

"Do you think you deserve her, Sebastian?"

Norah sat in the middle of the map chamber the following afternoon, the book open in front of her as she tried to study the contents. She wondered how Professor Fig and Miriam came to this, how they started their research on ancient magic. There must have been more notes than just the book in front of her. She looked up at the giant panels that made up one side of the chamber. The panels that were the portraits of the four keepers whose trials she overcame.

Those portraits remained empty. Perhaps for good reason, but perhaps for a very long time. Isidora's vacant portrait also remained that way in the Undercroft. After all, it took centuries until a new keeper came in. It might take just as long next time.

In a ledger, Norah wrote down everything she remembered from all the pensieves in fifth year. Isidora wanted to take away her father's pain from losing her brother, his son. Professor Rackham advised her against it when she was a student. Isidora was still set on figuring out how to harness this magic to take away pain, pain of an emotional kind. She would commission the goblin Bragbor to build a repository to store the strands of pain and emotion she took from her father, from others. Even Isidora knew that in the wrong hands, this would lead to disastrous consequences.

Norah wanted to learn more about it all. What kind of spell did Isidora cast on those people, including her father.

That wave of intense sadness and emotion came over her again and she closed her eyes as she tried to keep her composure. The book in front of her couldn't afford to be stained with tears if it went that far. To Norah, it was starting to feel like she was going to burst at any minute. She felt fragile, volatile, unsure. One wrong move, and Norah felt like someone or something would get hurt.

Norah wondered about Bragbor's journals. Lodgok was about to bring her one of them, the one Ranrok never should've gotten. The feeling came again, this time stronger. She wondered how much longer could she hold onto this power. She needed some kind of anchor, something that could help her focus this magic onto, a way to channel it.

And then, she realized, it might be the time to do it. Taking out a roll of parchment, she wrote to Professor Weasley, telling her that it might now be the time to return to the caverns. To that extent, she would have to tell someone else too. When Starlight came in, she tied the letter to her leg and fed her a little treat before she flew away.

Closing the book, Norah wrote another letter. This time, it was to Deek, telling him what to do in case something happened. If she ever died while rebuilding the repository, she would entrust the care of the beasts, including his Lordship the graphorn, to Poppy. Her own supply of potions would be entrusted to Garreth and Ominis. Herodiana's ensemble would be given to Sophronia Franklin, and the historian's uniform from the portrait would go to Arthur Plummly. As for the robes she found in the house chest, Norah figured Grace would be able to take care of it.

It seemed unusual for her to already think about what might happen if things went wrong. But with everything that's happened to her so far, it wouldn't be too surprising if it happened now. Amit would get his telescope back, and as for Sebastian? The book she had in front of her alone would be enough of a gift. Imelda would get her brooms, as will Everett Clopton.

But what about Ominis? It made her think of the letters again. Ominis disguising himself as "Nick," telling her how brave she was, how witty she was, wanting to go to the Yule Ball together. Did he mean anything by that?

Norah tore up the letter she thought of giving Deek. It might be too pessimistic of her to even think that she wouldn't survive, not when she was going to be around Professor Weasley, one of the teachers she trusted the most. A quick evanesco later, she wrote a note to Sebastian and Ominis, telling them that it was time for her to rebuild the repository.

"Ah, Miss Lee, you're already here. I got your owl"

Norah immediately stood up when Professor Weasley herself appeared, having come down from the stairs and entering through the doors. "Yes, Professor," She said. "I'm ready to rebuild the repository."

Professor Weasley nodded. "Well then, no time like the present. But before we go, I'd want to ask you if you're absolutely sure you'd want to go through with this."

"I am, Professor, I'm sure I'd want to."

"In that case, if Hogwarts is to be the location of this repository, then I think we might need some help from your other professors, mightn't we?"

All of a sudden, the figures of Professor Sharp, Hecat, and Ronen appeared through the doors. "We all got your message. It might be a good time to reinforce the school's defensive charms further underground anyway. If what happened last year was any indication," Professor Ronen nodded.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Professor Hecat agreed.

Norah felt a little overwhelmed, nodding as she tried to shake off the feeling. It seemed like the first time she accepted help from people who weren't her friends. Then again, it seemed like the perfect situation, to have the people who taught her the most, be the ones to assist in rebuilding the store of ancient magic.

"We're here! We're here!" The voices of Natty, Amit, Poppy, Sebastian, and Ominis were soon heard, the five of them skidding to a halt when they saw the professors standing in front of them.

"The more the merrier, it seems, and they're all taking NEWT Defense Against the Dark Arts too," Professor Hecat smiled.

Norah looked over at her friends, who were giving her an encouraging look. Yet she could see a hint of concern on Ominis' features. She turned around and took out the special wand, made from the pensieve artifacts she collected. The tip of the wand began to emit a bright light, and the floor in front of them lowered to reveal a set of stairs and the door leading to the caverns.

"This will never cease to amaze me," Sebastian muttered.

"Well then, I believe it's a long way down," Professor Sharp spoke this time.

It indeed was a long way down for the entire group, entering the keepers' caverns and seeing the remains of the war that took place the year before. Skeletons here, broken goblin drills there, and some piles of debris that crushed trolls and other loyalists. Norah made sure to lead the way, with Professor Hecat and Professor Sharp standing by her, while Professors Weasley and Ronen were keeping watch over her friends, who tagged along.

After several transfigurations of pillars and pathways, they had arrived at the doorway, guarded by two giant pensive soldiers. Norah kept the tip of the wand held up, and the two soldiers tapped the ground with their swords, opening the doors once again.

There they could see what was once where the repository was. Even Ominis sensed the gravity of what they were about to do, and the scale of the entire place he was in. They carefully walked past the doors, some more transfiguring to turn the path they were walking down upon into another set of stairs. Interestingly, they even managed to replicate the transfiguration styles of the keepers, the ornate, blue marbling of the doors and pillars.

Norah put the wand away, and took out her own. "We will try our best to help keep the rocks from falling through," the three professors suggested, taking their places around Norah, while Professor Weasley did the same.

"Perhaps, we only need to transfigure this cavern itself, make it look similar to the map chamber," Professor Ronen suggested. "Generations from now, someone with the same gift as Miss Lee might have a better chance of accessing it without the danger of falling through, yes?"

"That's a good idea," Professor Weasley said. She turned to Norah. "Are you ready, Miss Lee?"

Norah nodded. "I am, Professor."

She closed her eyes, and pointed her wand upwards, already feeling the power, the strands of emotion and pain being willed to leave her. Norah kept her eyes closed as she tried to focus, tried to channel everything that she was also feeling. The grief, the guilt, the anxiety, using these emotions to guide her into willing the magic that she once took in, out into the open.

A strong jet of light soon emanated from her wand, and while she felt that power leaving her, she could also feel her body starting to get drained.

"For...Professor Fig..." Norah groaned, the huge ball of power soon forming above her. "For...Lodgok..."

"Keep going, Norah!" Natty suddenly cheered. "Keep going!"

"For...Mr. Osric..." Norah could feel her eyes welling with tears as she kept going. "For...Miriam..."

The familiar rune symbol that she once saw began to appear, this time made of stone. It was as if it was also forming to cover the giant entity of magic she was putting out. "For...everyone whom Isidora Morganach took their emotions from..."

A flash of blinding light soon came after.

The next thing Norah knew, she wasn't in the caverns anymore. She was in the hospital wing, being tended to by Nurse Blainey. Deek was also looking over her, alongside Ominis, Sebastian, Natty, Poppy, and Amit. All of them were gathered around her bed, with Ominis sitting down by her side.

"You're finally awake!" Natty said, sitting up from the chair next to Ominis.

This made the blonde tilt his head in Norah's direction. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I'm... feeling alright, I guess," Norah replied. "What happened to me?"

"You passed out, collapsed just after you were done," Amit replied quietly. "Your hands had that glow we saw on those loyalists when we fought them in the mine, remember? But I think it's probably because that power was leaving your body. It was beginning to show at the very end."

The rest of them looked surprised at his explanation. "This is the first time in a while we heard you talk about what you went through with Norah in fifth year," Sebastian teased.

"Well- I must admit, I've been quite preoccupied, but I've always been here for Norah, for everyone," Amit pointed out. "I might not say much, but knowing Norah, it must have been the case, right?"

Norah smiled softly. "Yeah," she looked at her own hands. The glow Amit said was gone. She must have succeeded. "what happened to the other Professors?" She asked.

"They were the ones who brought you here, Professor Weasley said it must have taken a lot out of you. They really did make quick work transforming the surroundings. Keeping everything from falling," Poppy said. "By now, that repository looks just like the map chamber."

"Oh," Norah looked at her hands again. She was beginning to wonder if it would affect her magic. Then again, she had already enhanced her own magical abilities with the hotspots she traveled to before taking on the power from the repository. "So I guess that's that."

"I suppose it is, you don't need to worry about it anymore," Ominis spoke. Sebastian noticed how his hand was close to hers when she put it down. "You'll need to rest for now."

"Oh, and good news," Poppy sat up again. "Our common room party's next month! That's something to look forward to, at least."

"Why do I get the feeling that there's something that's going to happen at the Hufflepuff common room?" Sebastian grinned.

"Well, if you must know, we might play a little game of enchanted Spin the Bottle," Poppy said, almost proud of it.

The mention of the game made Norah snort. "Does the bottle move on its own, then?" She asked.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, it does. It's a muggle party game, but we found it interesting to have the bottle be enchanted to spin on its own to the people it wants to kiss."

The three boys gaped at her. "That's what that game is?" Amit swallowed hard, his cheeks heating up. Poppy nodded again with a grin. "Then, I will respectfully not join in."

His answer was met with groans from everyone else, Norah laughing at his reaction. "If you really don't want to, you don't have to. That's all just a bit of fun, isn't it?" She said, yet her thoughts immediately drifted to the one who made her heart race. The mere thought of having to do that, something she kind of had a feeling was going to be expected of her, it filled her with anxiety.

"You might be right," Amit said quietly.

"You get to include this in your memoir too," Natty teased, making him laugh. "But I wonder, will Professor Ronen make another assignment like what we just had again?"

It was her turn to be teased and they knew it. "Knowing Professor Ronen, he's always up for making lessons, even NEWT ones, exciting," Norah said. "Are things with Henry going alright? You two seemed incredibly close during the party."

"Merlin, you make it sound like Henry and I are already dating," Natty was flustered. "We talked a lot during the party, he even suggested we go to Hogsmeade together sometime."

Norah and Poppy gasped, while Sebastian, Ominis, and Amit looked impressed. "That sounds very much like a date," Ominis smirked. "But from what I gather, Abbott's decent. Comes from a good family, that one."

"And you should know, most of all," Natty pointed out, getting even more flustered which made Ominis laugh.

"My standards are quite sub-par when determining how good a family is. As long as they are nowhere like my own, and Carrow's."

That seemed to give Natty an idea. She stood up. "Norah, you must have found your summoner last night" She said, immediately shifting the topic. "Did you meet him?"

Norah smiled. "I did."

That seemed to light up Poppy and Amit's expressions, now intrigued as to who it was. "Well? Who was it?" Natty said.

When Norah was about to speak, Nurse Blainey suddenly stopped by. "Miss Lee, you're finally awake, thank Merlin," She said, handing her a goblet filled with some healing tonic. "If you're feeling well enough, you can be back at your common room by this afternoon or tonight."

"Thank you," She mumbled. "Is there anything else I should do?"

"Well, no, not really. Perhaps rest is a good thing to do. You've over-exerted yourself with whatever you did, you need to regain your strength. Please make sure she does?" She turned to the rest of them, and they nodded. "Well, seeing as you're all sixth years, you've got another lesson to look forward to, and it's with me."

"What do you mean? A lesson with you?" Sebastian wondered.

"Yes, given how you're all growing to be men and women, it's time for you all to learn whatever there is to know about contraceptive potions," Nurse Blainey just smiled and walked off. Norah nearly spat out the rest of the tonic she was drinking.

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fluff #hogwarts legacy angst #hogwarts legacy mc #sebastian sallow #ominis gaunt #amit thakkar #garreth weasley #leander prewett #poppy sweeting #imelda reyes #natsai onai #andrew larson

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idontwanttospoiltheparty · 6 months

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Interested in your perception of Julia Baird’s portrait or Mimi vs more common narrative that Mimi rescued John from his mother Julia’s irresponsible parenting. I go back and forth between vilifying Mimi and considering that it might have been a challenging situation if Julia Baird’s dad was alcoholic and didn’t want John around. Although I lean towards holding Mimi accountable for getting social services involved to take away Julia’s custody rights….

First off: obligatory "It was a different time", except I do want to emphasize it, because it's not only to contextualize some of Mimi's behaviour that a lot of people might classify as emotional abuse nowadays, but because it affects literally all of this. Social mores dictated the actions not just of Mimi but of all the Stanley sisters, who in my view all enabled the situation to get as far as it did. And, most pertinently, I don't think people at the time really understood how damaging it is to all parties to separate a child from their parents (and tbh, especially their mother). My main takeaway from the whole situation, as well as what I've learned about "difficult homes" since, is that taking John away from Julia should have been an absolute last resort, unless there was extremely concrete evidence that Julia was being highly abusive towards him.

(and I do mean highly abusive. It, for instance, would not have done Paul and Mike any good to be separated from their father, even if Jim put them through hell at times [though of course, the extent of the abuse they suffered is debatable]. These situations are terrible all-around, but from what I can tell – and what I think John's story shows – breaking apart families is very rarely the best course of action.)

"But Julia was making little John share a bed with her and Bobby Dykins!" – okay, I see how this is potentially a problem, though it's from what I can tell entirely (implied? I don't know that she went so far as to say it out loud) conjecture on Mimi's part that John was made to witness adults having sex. In my opinion, the first course of action here should have been to help Julia out by acquiring a separate bed for John.

I recognize that Julia was probably often irresponsible and, from what I've read about her, I suspect she at times struggled with parenting in way similar to how John would later on – not due to a lack of love, per se, more due to a helplessness in the face of the true burden of taking care of someone and a difficulty comprehending the seriousness and scope of child-rearing. That being said, it's hard to fully blame her when she had her toddler taken away – because of her own sister, as you mention – and had to give up her second baby for adoption. That's twice-over the worst trauma a mother could endure* so it seems natural to me that she would have attachment issues with John later on. Again, helping Julia with her parenting instead of denying her the role of mother seems to me the best course of action here. (Oh look, it's my nuclear family take rearing its head again.)

*some people happily give up babies – I don't have much reason to believe Julia was one of them.

I also think Mimi thought she was doing the right thing and her decision to take John in admittedly made more sense when Uncle George was still alive. This is where the "It was a different time" comes back in, because it would be unfair of me to expect her to understand all the complexity I've been describing. I don't know that I believe Julia Baird's claim that Mimi instigated the entire situation so she could have John for herself – but there is perhaps a middle ground here, where Mimi loved her nephew a lot, felt no one was taking care of him the way she believed he needed, and let that blind her to the damage she was going to inflict by interfering the way she did.

It's difficult to fully assess Mimi's impact on John, because it seems the abandonment issues his early childhood instilled in him made him particularly loyal to her. Mimi was, if nothing else and above all, steadfast. (You can draw a parallel here to Yoko, though that's another discussion.) You aren't gonna find a ton of statements from him condemning her, and I definitely don't want to discount the genuine love they both had for each other. I appreciate that she didn't have an easy task, bringing him up, especially after being widowed, and I appreciate that she came through for him in significant ways.

The thing that motivated my (somewhat callous) post last night, was this:

"You wonder why John didn't have the strength to just say 'Look Mimi, I'm moving in with Mum.'" JULIA BAIRD: "Hm. Well, I remember the– a particular row in the kitchen, where he was going back [to Mendips] after the school holidays and he was crying. And my father [Bobby Dykins] said 'That's it. That's it. I've had enough. You stay here. I'll go and see Mimi. I will sort this out once and for all.' And John said 'Nononono, nonono. I've got to go. Don't tell Mimi.' That was another refrain [?]. 'My dream's out.' and 'Don't tell Mimi. Don't tell Mimi, don't tell Mimi.' She was fearsome, I can tell you. Fearsome." SOURCE: I am the Eggpod, Episode 100, 00:49:49

What I hate about the above quote the most is how often John, even as a teen, is conceptualized as this free-spirited rebel*; but looking at this, it hits extra hard that he was a child who had virtually no power in this situation the adults around him put him in.

*and writers like Mark Lewisohn are definitely not off the hook here; one of the things I find the most questionable about him as a biographer is that, despite his painfully obvious bias towards John, he still fails to contextualize huge chunks of John's childhood, preferring to defend Mimi at all cost.

Now, it does seem like there's some he-said/she-said going on regarding how much Bobby Dykins and John got along. I don't think John spoke super highly of him, but I also don't recall him expressing any larger issues with his pseudo step-father. Yes, Julia Baird is probably biased towards her own parents, but here's the thing: don't most of our pro-Mimi accounts come from her? Is John an unbiased source on the aunt who raised him?

So why should Julia Baird – whom I consider to be one of the most empathetic characters involved in Beatles history; rarely have I seen someone so interested in truly understanding their own family history, considering the cultural context, tying in her experience as a teacher in special needs and talking to multiple people to gain a fuller picture, even when a lot of it must've been incredibly painful for her – be seen as a less trustworthy source than Mimi – who we know has a history of editing stories to suit her:

I [Hunter Davies, the Beatles' official biographer] sent [the manuscript of the biography] to Mimi and she had hysterics. The chapter about his childhood came back with almost every paragraph heavily crossed out or amended. In the margins she had written beside John's own quotes such things as 'Rubbish', 'Never!' She denied so many of John's own memories of his childhood, especially if they contradicted her memories of the same people or events. She was against his use of bad language, as she maintained John had never sworn when he was little, and didn't want stories about him stealing. SOURCE: The Beatles by Hunter Davies, 2009 Introduction

The only thing Mimi has "going for her" as a source is that she was an adult and not a child when these events transpired. I think that's fair enough, and I do believe there are details to this story Julia Baird and we the public will never know, which made Mimi's decisions seem more justified to her and to her family. But that doesn't stop me from largely condemning most of the decisions made, even though I suspect Julia did at least on the surface agree with them.

#GOD. I probably still have thoughts but this subject is so huge we probably can't do it all in one post lol #ask #sususolutions #mimi #julia #john #jj #my analysis #fiona.docx #ref #julia baird

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kitkatopinions · 1 year

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New rwby ep dropped V9 ep6, my thoughts, praise, and criticisms (as well as obvious spoilers) beneath the keep reading.

Praise:

I'll give it to rwby, the twist that Alyx had a brother was not expected! I'm proud of them, actually, the two falling lights and the guy in the portrait, and even the footprints in the sand, that was all well done foreshadowing! Good on them.

The blink and you'll miss it reflection of Summer in the water is well done, not a lot of attention drawn to it.

Might hate that Jaune is here, but his line delivery of things like "I was the Rusted Knight" is well done too. Perfectly captures Jaune having wanted to be that, it captured his old feelings of pride that he must've felt, while obviously still bittersweet.

The thing is that I'm half-convinced that Jaune is going to be a secret accidental antagonist, and that his story about Alyx is him being an unreliable narrator, and if that's the case then to me the scene where he talks about Alyx seems - as of right now - pretty good!

The animators are once again knocking themselves out of the park on Blake's facial expressions.

I've already said it in another post, but it deserves repeating that after ten years, rwby confirmed main characters as queer. No matter how it's done (and I talk about my problems with it below) and how badly it's been handled before, it's a point blank period good thing and every bit of rep we see on screen helps normalize it and encourage it as expected for future media.

Again, I have very little praise.... Um, the sound effects remained good? That's all I've got tbh.

Criticism:

Me seeing even a moment of Jaune's POV going through a similar thing to Ruby in the beginning of ep1 was a curse. I am sincerely starting to hate him, and that's such a sad thing because I'm one of the few rwby critics who ever liked him at all (mostly as a concept, he's been used so badly,) but I just get so sick of seeing him and now me at Jaune is like:

Honestly they really just wanted Jaune to get a time-skip and be super old but needed an excuse for why the same thing didn't happen to Team RWBY so they went with special time fruit that he picked that sent Jaune back in time in the Ever After and created himself as the rusted knight he knew from the story in a time-loop worthy of Doctor Who. But I think it's stupid as hell. Sure Jaune jus yank a clock-fruit off of a clock-tree, that sounds like a good idea. /s Sure writers, just make a clock-tree that sends Jaune back in time, that sounds like a good idea. /s

Little is still an annoying intrusion.

Weiss being into Jaune is a bad choice.

I know it's hard for these writers because Jaune fans make up like fifty percent of their most loyal fans (the other fifty are bees shippers,) but if they could stop trying to convince us that Jaune is hot that would be great. Especially because let's not forget that Jaune was a total nice guy to Weiss, bothering her when she'd made it very clear she wasn't interested and I know 'times change' or whatever but it's a bad look to have her thirsting after him now and again it's just gonna feed the more misogynistic Jaune fans.

They cut away from Jaune actually telling Team RWBY what happened of course. Why would the audience want to see characters react to things when we can just understand they had emotions off screen? /s This is just like Yang's story about landing in the Ever After, we just brush it aside, but it makes the emotions so shallow and lacking.

Ruby: "We lost Atlas and the Relic." Blake: "But we got everyone out safely." NOOOoooooo babygirl, you did not do that. Not only were tons of soldiers sacrificed to try and hold her back, but Cinder attacked citizens on that bridge and apparently they were dead in the explosion, and also the Mantle and Atlas citizens were tossed into the middle of a sandstorm and got attacked by Grimm and that last one might not something the girls know, but they know the rest and nobody protests that Blake and Jaune both just think everyone is safe? This is especially weird to me considering that they don't know that Qrow, Robyn, Maria, and Pietro are safe (and they might not be!) And Penny is literally fucking dead. Like no, you guys are just delusional tbh and at this point I legit feel like the writers are trying to manipulate their fans into thinking that what they watched wasn't actually what they watched.

Ruby: "What good is saving anybody if Salem just destroys the world anyway?" Yang: "That's how Ironwood thought." So that's boiling down the volume 7 problem to being incredibly simplistic and tbh in not a very fair way (this is acting like Ironwood didn't want to save anyone in volume 7 and it's acting like Team RWBY had any real plan in volume 7 themselves,) but it's also.... Not wrong. If Salem gets all the Relics, the world could end and kill literally every person alive, Ruby is just saying 'we should've prioritized her not getting a doomsday key because not doing that could lead to Salem KILLING EVERYONE ALIVE ON THE PLANET. Yang is acting like being slightly realistic for two seconds is being on the path of villainy!

Blake's like "Hope the Cat is okay." I understand that the girls are processing a lot, but some of them didn't even think about the Cat risking itself, risking death, after having been freaked out by the Jabberwalker, and now the most they can muster when they remembered it existed at all is "yeah hope it's okay." Shouldn't they be slightly more worried about the life of an ally?

Jaune needs to take a million chill pills. Mr. Trauma he may be but if it's a choice between him or the Cat... I'm taking the cat. And he needs to not pull a "team RWBY" and draw his weapons on people. What was he gonna do, kill the cat? Nice thought, that Jaune might want to be a cold-blooded out-of-anger murderer as well as a it's-what-she-wanted out of kindness murderer.

Weiss: "We've been following this story the whole time and it's not even true?!" Okay, let's review. They arrived in the Ever After and a couple of things that happened to Alyx also happened to them so they assumed that they were going through the story in the same way as her - which is why they played the game with the Red Prince - but then when they beat the Prince's game same as Alyx, they got wildly off track without any of them mentioning it while none of them recognized the Cat right away and encountered a whole character who didn't exist in the book and then said they were off book, and then they went to a market to get a growgurt with none of them even sort of saying Alyx had done the same iirc, And now Weiss is insisting that they have been following the story? No, they stopped doing that like two episodes ago, right? The only thing they've been trying to do in the story is just go to the Tree, and they've been relying on the Cat for that since they ran from the Prince, not the book. So why is Weiss now acting like they've been following in Alyx's footsteps the whole time? They already know the Ever After contains lots of things that weren't in the original book - like the concept of Ascencion and the Caterpillar and other things they act like they don't know about like the loop, so why are they now acting like the story not containing everything in the Ever After is new?

So because of people being mad at the Cat, either the Cat or Ever After itself put everyone in a "punderstorm" (stupid name,) which is a "physical manifestation of a mental or emotional problem" (It's implied the Cat did it, but I'm unsure.) This is another thing that isn't in the Ever After book based on the reactions of the girls, and it immediately punishes Weiss for saying its the pits? Implying that the Ever After itself is an entity with enough consciousness to be offended? Also the gag where Weiss falls through the hole and then reappears falling on her back is very Marvel, very Spongebob. Oddly enough Weiss is just like "yep my bad lol" and doesn't say something like "omg did the Ever After itself just punish me for insulting it?!"

Jaune says the only way out is to fix the problem or 'wait for the storm to pass' before he directs them to keep moving before saying that Blake and Yang must've had 'something bigger' to work out. Here's the thing with that. Yeah, Blake and Yang did have their feelings to talk to each other about, but the Ever After forces them away from the others to talk about their emotional problem, and didn't like, force Jaune and Ruby into a place where he tells her he killed Penny? It doesn't force Ruby to stand across from her teammates and tell them she can't take everything anymore and it isn't fair that she's carrying them on her shoulders? The Ever After doesn't trap Weiss until she works out her clear emotional problems about losing Atlas? The Ever After doesn't put Jaune across from the Cat until they make up again over the situation with Alyx and Lewis? Why is it that Blake and Yang get singled out? Oh yeah, because the writers are singling them out. They might as well have had the RWBY writers appear on screen and shuffle Blake and Yang away from the others while breaking the fourth wall to tell the camera Office-style that they just can't write for characters to do things naturally so please stick with 'em for this brief intermission.

Blake and Yang need to get to the platform in the middle!

It's too bad that they aren't hunters who can launch themselves into the air or have weapons that help them with that!

Yang earlier: "Wasn't Alyx bad? She lied and cheated her way through the whole book." Jaune now: "She wasn't just a little petulant, or inconsiderate. She was selfish, cruel." Either Jaune misread Alyx in the book or Yang did, lol. 'A little petulant' is a minor character flaw (and every character ought to have at least one character flaw,) being a bad example for little kids on what not to do and a liar and a cheat through the whole story is something else entirely! This is hilarious, Jaune and Yang would've been out there accusing the other of being brainless antis who didn't read the same story. XD

So Alyx poisoned Jaune and he died? He says "I was dead" So... how did he come back to life? Is he alive?

Also it's worth noting that Blake and Yang don't even call for Weiss, Ruby, or Jaune and don't act worried about them at all despite the fact that "punderstorms" and their role is clearly also not part of the book. That's not helping the 'no they do care about other people' argument tbh.

Yang: "I like that you've never been intimidated by me." No lie, when I heard this, I burst out laughing. Blake has never been intimidated by Yang? She acted like Yang would hit her because Yang chose to go on a separate mission! Blake has been animated to make worried faces all season long while she tries to patiently coax Yang into not losing her temper like one would talk to a five year old. Blake has acted hesitant to express her worries with Yang - heck, throughout most of season six, Blake was acting like she was waiting for Yang to hit her, and their 'triumphant' moment in volume six was Blake sobbingly trying to assure Yang that she wouldn't ever leave her. Again, these characters are acting like they're delusional. Yang claiming that Blake has never been intimidated by her when Blake as recently as three in-universe days ago at least was ducking her head with a sad face and hunched shoulders while she waited for a scolding looking like she feared being hit because Yang had left her... It just makes Yang look like she doesn't pay any attention to Blake really, and during their love confession, that's a very bad look!

I would so much prefer a love confession where Blake and Yang naturally just told each other how they felt or kissed in the heat of a moment or something rather than having them forced into it, not only is it very fanfic in the worst way but it's also.... Cutting it kind of close to uncomfortable. If I was forced to confess my attraction to another girl, then no matter how sure I felt about my own feelings or how sure I felt that she felt the same way, I'd be pissed off. The fact that Blake and Yang are just like "aww I think we have to tell each other how we feel uwu" and not being like "god the Ever After doesn't even know if we're out and they're forcing this on us?" is weird lol.

Blake and Yang start telepathy communicating with each other?? I think??? And neither of them reacts to it????

Also here's the thing, being completely honest when I don't ship something, the attention and focus the ship gets and the shipping scenes are annoying to me. It's the same thing with Arthur and Gwen in Merlin, it's the same thing with having to watch Aragorn kiss Arwen. It's a complaint that I don't expect or even want to be adhered to because I'm not the only person in the world and I do think Blake and Yang needed the confirmation they got (though with most ships I don't ship my problems usually extend to not thinking they're super well done,) but it did lessen my personal enjoyment of the episode that such a large chunk of it was devoted to this ship that I honestly don't really like. This would be a skip on every watch through tbh.

Jaune: "Feels like I've been waiting forever for that." Buddy, when have you talked to Blake or Yang for more than a minute? Jaune is not only like twenty years removed from this situation but has very little established closeness between either girl involved. I feel like this would be like if I went back to my hometown in ten years and saw two friends of my sister kissing and I was like "I've been waiting forever for that!"

At first I thought I liked the Celtic Women style song that plays when Blake and Yang kiss, but on my second watch of this ep, I feel like I don't.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.... 2/10 episode. Pretty bad generally.

#anti-rwby #rwby-crit #rwde

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realcatalina · 8 days

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EEEEEEEE!!! Tell me about this miniature please.

It's none of Henry's wives so I would like it to be Mary Boleyn.

It's got a look of Catherine Carey in the chin and Lettice in the eyes.

Roland Hui said it was her, but he also said that bird with the abominable eye dress was Mary Howard, and you know how that turned out!

He owes me one!

This miniature is located in Royal Ontario Museum:

And tbh until I saw pictures of it upon their webpage, I was convinced it was a later copy. Now I am not so certain of it.

But I agree with their dating of c.1525-1527. (which doesn't exclude Mary Boleyn, because we are uncertain of the exact date of her birth. Imo c.1498-1503 is most likely when she was born.)

So we have to discuss the similiarities to another miniature by Horenbout where the lady has very similiar features and same posture.

So similiar I thought it was original and this one a copy.

But if that is not the case then we're looking at very similiar miniatures but not done at same time, fashion of gable hood is bit different. The one on right is c.1526, the one on left is more towards c.1527.

So in theory, it could be same person in two different miniatures.

You might think features bit different. However, we have two miniatures of Catherine of Aragon by Horenbout, and the differences are not just because she wears spanish outfit in one of them:

The face is also having some differenences.

So, how likely is it that Mary Boleyn had not one, but two miniatures of herself made? Using the most expensive natural ultramarine pigment, in c. 1525-1527.

Well, actually not that bad, given the strong love for art William Carrey (her 1st husband) had. He died in great debt due to his spending not just on art.

But if so, we'd expect two have matching miniatures of him.He'd be around thirty. But they might have not survived. Or got separated.

This is him from 1526:

So if we found matching miniatures of him, I might start believe it bit more. But I more expect we're going to find portrait matching this one.

But imo labelling it is either Mary or Anne Boleyn is just guessing.

You don't have single thing which would prove it.

But there is something which might point against it.

On museum's webpage I noted something about the outfit. We have wheels around the bodice:

Wheels also are part of the black necklace.

And under certain angle it seems that there could ahve also been wheel in middle of the necklace:

Lots of wheels.

The medal clearly shows female figure in period outfit(not so important).

And tbh I think whomever can recognize the flower must be expert in plants..but I am not one. Foliage is kind of typical for Tudor portraits of 1530s and part of 1520s.

Obviously whomever had this painted had money and lots of it. (or they spent as crazy). But I'd check english noble houses and see if any had wheel as coat of arms.

-Which neither Boleyns nor Carrey's do.

Or people named Catherine. Because wheel was asociated with St. Catherine. Obviously it cannot be Catherine of Aragon, because she was 25 in 1510.

The wheels are imo the main clue right now.

I am sorry, that it isn't the answer you have wanted and I apologise that i took so long to answer. I wrote the reply long time ago, and forgot to post it.

#historical portraits #tudor history #unknown sitter

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azusaluvclub · 2 years

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Hii, hope you are doing well. I was wondering if you have any jimmy bae head cannons? Thanks!

weak hero headcanons; jimmy bae

hi hi !! i do have some jimmy headcanons lined up for you :))) theyre pretty general, but i hope you enjoy !!!! and if theres anybody else you (or whoever else is reading) wants to see, lmk !!

⋆ is a suprisingly good dancer !! never took classes because his family couldn't rlly afford it, and now he doesn't have the time to commit to it, so p much everything he learned was from watching tutorials + kpop dance practices on youtube lolll :,)) he has fun w it tho !!

⋆ has a low tolerance for spicy food ;; tries to fake like he can handle it, but it's SO obvious in the way his face reddens and his nose starts running that he can't :,))) (that's how u know the food is good tbh-)

⋆ based on the fact he's a karaoke enthusiast, i 100% believe he's also a talented singer :DDD (idol material atp-) his voice is suprisingly,,, gentle, compared to how he acts ?? it's full, a little raspy from all the smoking, but overall really nice to listen to. jack keeps insisting that he should become a trainee or something and put his talents to use, but he's not so sure-

⋆ dealt w pretty bad acne in middle school;; its improved over time, and he actually does make an effort w skincare, but he still gets flare-ups here and there that he finds super annoying-

⋆ not a big fan of tv (other than the late night sketch comedys or dramas he watches w/ his granny), but he LOVES a good action film- was def into superhero comics and cartoons as a kid (still is, hes just more casual about it loll) so some of that still carries over into his current interests :))) makes it a point to drag jack w/ him to whatever action movie is currently playing, and spend the whole ride home talking about it~

⋆ speaking of,, i feel like he was the one who initially suggested getting their (bc yes it is a shared thing-) motorcycle, but jack is the one who's most invested in it (mainly because i think he would have a strong interest in bikes and cars and the like) :)) bc granny bae keeps getting on jimmy's ass about them driving it without a license, the two have been hitting the books to get theirs- they say they're doing it together, but are secretly trying to beat each other to getting one :,))))

⋆ struggles w bouts of anxiety, i feel like ?? for all his arrogance, he seems to battle w/ his confidence in himself and his position in the union (imo likely a big part of why he's got an ego, bc he's looked down on enough as is and is trying to compensate somehow- </33). a lot of his worries revolve around that, but he finds himself getting hung up over plenty of other things. doesn't usually confide in jack about this, 'cause he thinks it's dumb and irrational; but they've known each other long enough to pick up on one anothers tells, and so jack makes it a point to remind jimmy that he believes in him, even without actually saying it~ (cause what else are bffs for ???)

⋆ actually a decent student — when he applies himself lol :,)) his best subject is probably smth like phys ed, though i feel like he might be also be good at history ??? not like he actually gives a shit, i just feel like it'd be easier for him compared to other classes. worst is art ,, if that self-portrait says anything---

⋆ is trying to make it a habit to workout + take it more seriously, esp since his fight w/ doyoon. not that he didn't before, but it's given him an even stronger sense of determination to not lose again, however he has to achieve that- tries to visit the gym regularly, or do simple workout routines at home (probably has some basic dumbells and other fitness shit, fuckin' NERDDDD)

⋆ when he's passionate about something, tho, it really shows !! and it benefits him most of the time, when he puts that drive towards the right things :,)))

and thats all ive got !! lol

#weak hero #weak hero webtoon #jimmy bae #weak hero headcanons #im gonna trying getting another request up tonight but we shall seeee~#this post also reminds me that i was gonna make a post about my headcanons for jimmys fanon grandma.... will come back to that;;

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spongebob-connoisseur · 2 years

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So I just remembered that ask about wanting a episode of Squidward being happy- and I think I've come up with a decent summary of sorts-

Okay, so the episode starts at the Krusty Krab, and it's closing time, Mr. Krabs is in his office counting money, Spongebob is cleaning the tables, and Squidward is cleaning up his station a bit. Squidward's tired, and wants to take the next day off. Normally, he'd fake being sick, but since that didn't go well the last time, he has a different idea...

So, he tells Spongebob that he's been having terrible headaches recently, and that having a day by himself helps out with it. Spongebob feels bad for Squidward, and hopes he feels better soon (maybe Spongebob tells Mr. Krabs about it, I dunno)

So timeskip to the next day, and Squidward gets his day off. He has a nice breakfast, gets to watch some of his favorite shows for a bit, before he hears a knock at the door. He checks it, and there's a box with a note on it- its from Spongebob.

Turns out Spongebob decided to get some things that he thought Squidward would like- a nice music box, some painting stuff, and a small pastry of some kind. Squidward likes it, and decides to try painting a bit with the supplies Spongebob got him

And uh...

That's all I've got so far...

Aww that sounds so wholesome so far! Tbh Squidward's previous sick day didn't go so well because of Mr. Krabs meddling. He thought that Squidward was faking it ans he knew by sending SB after Squid to take care of him woulf torture him out of faking being sick.

So this might not work. Instead have something else come up. Maybe Mr. Krabs has some kind of emergency where he has to close down the krusty krab. Maybe his mom is unwell and he decides to stay with her or whatever. Something big enough that he has to close up the krusty krab. Maybe like the end of Squeaky boots where he decides to go on vacation?

Anyways squidward having a headache and spongebob helping and being more gentle is nice. This time he's not helping out of Mr. Krabs orders. He genuinely wants to help. I love how this story idea is so calm and sweet. Its just what Squidward deserves.

I think Squidward would listen to the music box while he paints. Maybe he's a bit stumped for inspiration tho. He has such lovely supplies but what shall he paint? He needs a muse. Spongebob can shapeshift into anything. He might ask sponge to model for him. I can see thwm having a cute painting day together. Squid paints spongebob's portrait. Sponge paints Squidward's portrait and they're having a nice time together.

This is just a nice gentle day of them painting and proudly displaying their portraits. Maybe later they'd catch a movie on the tv. Some kind of middle ground since Squidward likes art house movies and spongebob likes super hero movies. What would they watch? 👀

#Ask-red-and-solomon #the spongebob connoisseur #squidward tentacles #spongebob squarepants

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jiminrings · 4 years

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hellooo can i request a drabble of uni!au art major tae and biochem major yn? also part one of the would you series is AMAZINGGG seriously i cant wait to read more!! <3

rich kid kim

pairing: taehyung x y/n

wordcount: 5k

glimpse: tae’s cold and probably needs a friend more than he needs a model, y/n feels this nEED to take care of him, a term of enderment then a dash of emotional constipation and a sprinkle of jealousy :D

notes: thank you for the request babes!! writing this made my heart melt and aND!!! thank you omg i’m glad you like would you :((

if you squint or if you’ve read insufferable, this is most probably taehyung and his y/n!!!

taehyung is personally more than willing to pay himself out of this project

oKAY LISTEN

he’s not the proudest knowing that he comes from a rich family and he’s the only kid and he’s never really struggled for much

everything was just given to him without any hesitations whatsoever

and yeah he admits that he can nEVER admit that his pampered and luxurious lifestyle since birth has shaped him to be this way and it’s hard to unlearn these types of things

things were too easy for him and thAt’s what made it hard

tae is the farthest thing from an outcast..,.,.,.,

.,.,. but that’s him in his usual rich boi bubble of elites wherever he goes because he’s surrounded by people like him

hoseok and jimin have got to be his closest friends but of course they pursued business degrees and everyone must’ve probably saw that coming

nobody, however, expected the kim taehyung to pursue a degree based rootly on passion and even major in it

yeah that’s right what are yOU looking at???

he’s an art student and yeah he’s taking this seriously ://

do yOU have a problem with that?? do you?? no what did you say?? step the fuck up ky-

spoiler alert: people do have a problem with that

taehyung could tell that his parents did a complete 180 when they learned through jimin’s noisy-ass mouth (not even through their own son) that he’s gonna be getting an art degree

his dad’s the one who’s most especially disappointed at him because well he’s the only child and uhhhh.,.,.,, so who’s gonna inherit the company now.,.,,,

tae normally feels selfish and this time, he felt like he was being rational rather than being selfish!! this is what he passionately wants!! pls god can i be selfish oNE more time

eventually his parents had no choice because as their son explained,, having an art degree won’t keep him away from the family business at all and he could even expand it!! he doesn’t need a degree!!!

lmao he’s been putting the money he gets on the stock market ever since he was ten years old

and they had to accept it eventually because this is what HE wants and if this is the only thing that he wants... then might as well help him through it, right??

now this is another dilemma

taehyung’s applied at a regular university in which everyone’s blended together and no one really cares about who’s who

it’s not exclusive to people like him.

he submitted his requirements and his portfolios by himself!!

and he got accepted!!

he’s nOT SURE if it’s purely because of his skills and himself and not his parents’ money nor influence

whatever it is, he doesn’t want to know because if it ends up being the answer he doesn’t want?? lol he’d crawl into a hole and mope for a week and would be doomed to wear three-piece suits for the rest of his life

so anyways

yeah..,, this is one of the handful of times that taehyung is completely willing to pay himself out

this project was supposed to be easy enough as what the professor said but uH he’d like to passive-aggressively decline pls and thank you

their final project was to make a portrait

right?? easy!!

a portrait of sOMEONE IN CAMPUS,,, regardless if you know them or not

(( well of course you’d get to know them by the end because yea they’re required to show proof that they indeed met and the model did agree to be painted ))

and by the end of the project, it’s either they keep it to themselves or give it to the model!!

that should be easy, right??

...

....

...... pls say right

oh my god tae should probably drop out now so he doesn’t get to do this

rich people don’t necessarily have to be educated, right???? maybe he’ll just settle into being a himbo

he learned about the meaning of the word through urban dictionary that he tHEN only learned about like six months ago and now he gets so many things

taehyung’s not intimidated by the workload of it all -- in fact, he’s even excited about it because it helps him relax!!

what he’s intimidated about is the fact that he’s kim taehyung and there are only two possible options

either his model would be someone who knows him and would be taking every possible step to ensure that they climb the social ladder through him and they’re not even gonna be dISCREET about it

his model wouldn’t completely care about who he is and in the process belittles him upfront and tbh his hart wouldn’t be able to take that and he’s probably wipe his tears away with dollar bills

there is almost no in-between, that one he’s sure of

so why are you like this?

why are you neither of the two and why are you sO kind and go against his expectations????

do you have an ulterior motive or something????

you who’s a biochem major and is actually another building away from his own

you who’s made the initiative that you become hIS model

you who actually oFFERED and almost begged to be a part of a project that would only be for tae’s benefit

... aha

that’s about -5 points from being a cool laid-back nonchalant gal

+10 for looking like someone who’s had a massively obsessive crush on him since day one and looking like you’d lay his life for him

no but lmao actually you just learned about taehyung in a magazine

you were bored at the dentist’s and scrolled through every possible outlet in your phone and it didn’t satiate you anymore!!! so how about reading a good ol’ magazine :D

then came taehyung

it was a whole issue dedicated to him and you were probably too dedicated into reading it that this time it was you telling the dentist to wait lol

that’s as far as you knew about him

and then you learned just some weeks ago that taehyung happens to study where you also study at and that was.,., inch resting

you never really saw him before around campus because it was too big and well maybe if you put in the effort, you’d actually find him

maybe you had a tiny lil admiration for kim taehyung just from one whole issue alone you read at the dentist’s or whatever

you’ve only known about this final project situation through changbin!!!

changbin, your neighbor at the apartment next to you, who’d crash over whenever his wifi feels the tiniest bit slow

yes you did spend a little more money to upgrade your internet situation (most times it’s the router who makes all the difference) because you were so tIRED of having things slow in the middle of researching for your projects in biochem)

no you will nOT have that <3

and of course changbin’s not having your that shitty wifi either so he pushed you to get that in the first place so he can use it too lmao

he’s told you just a couple of days ago about his final project and that maybe, just maybe, he’d make it into a move for this girl that he likes

nothing’s more romantic than pleading for someone to paint ur face right

and your grade and the decision to whether you’re gonna pass or flunk and graduate or retake are relying on you mostly

and in changbin’s case it’s also hIS heart on the line so yeah no pressure at all luv

“i kinda feel bad for rich kid kim, y’know?”

“what about taehyung???”

“eW do you have a crush on him??”

“addressing someone by their name equals to a crush??????”

your banters never stop because you’re as quick-witted as him and he both loves and hates it

he loves that omg someone can keep up with him and that way he gets challenged to always have the last say!!

he hates that oh god why is he friends with someone who reminds him of himself so much how is hE gonna deal with that??

sometimes he’ll purposely argue with you to fEEL something lmao

but there’s just something here that tells him you’re a little more interested now in this flow of conversation ever since rich kid kim was mentioned

“hm, nothing. i’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a model yet.”

he dodges you in the kitchen to look for peanut butter in your cupboard and oddly... you’re not berating him for decreasing your groceries....?

what does changbin mean by that? whAt model?? model as in taehyung doesn’t have the newest model of whatever car he wants? or maybe he has a model girlfriend and-

hold on wait wHAT

taehyung has a-

“m-model?”

he looks at you weirdly but you don’t even bat an eye when he gets ahold of your marshmallow spread so that he could make another one of his s’mores sandwiches

“uhhhh model as in he doesn’t have someone to paint for our project??”

is that what you wanted to hear or,.,

you and changbin share one (1) brain cell and it SHOWS

the two of you have to open your mouths, then close, then ponder, and then do that aGAIN until the both of you could finally grasp if you were in the same page

“oh cool!! i’ll be his model then!”

“yeah but did he ask”

“it’s gonna be easy!! i’ll just tag along with you to your building”

“yeah but did he aSK”

“we’re probably gonna hit it off instantly and then you’ll have to leech off from someone else for their wifi and food and every other necessity that you already have-”

“yeah but dID HE ASK????”

long-story short: no. taehyung most certainly did not ask you to be his model.

but here you are

saying that you came a long way is a bit of a stretch because taehyung mostly turns his head the other way around when you call out to him in public

progress is still progress :D

you’re eating lunch with him at the same table and this time you’re sat beside him!! when normally he’d just walk home to his apartment (lol that’s not allowed but you won’t be surprised to know that he has a free pass) and eat!!!

before that, taehyung would gLARE at you until you stop asking to sit with him in his table

yea he gets a bit lonely at time because jimin and hobi aren’t with him and hE’S the outcast but he won’t do anything about it,, just scroll through his phone while he eats and tune everyone out

you figured that maybe it’s changbin always linked with you in lunch because your schedules just matched up thAt perfectly like it does with tae’s

hee-hee so you might have elbowed him until he begrudgingly agreed to be tolerable, keep atleast four feet of distance from you, and not call tae rich kid kim

spoiler alert: taehyung doesn’t really care about whatever you do because doing those changes with changbin did nOT work at all

however

H O W E V E R

taehyung doesn’t know at all how you’ve wormed your way into his heart!!

what seem to be cold to you is his warmest he’s ever been in such a new environment and outside of his usual comfort bubbles!!!

it’s like you occasionally stealing the food from his plate when you have the same thing is the equivalent of h*lding h*nds with him

you putting your leg over his before he pushes it after five seconds mUST be the equivalent to marriage

wait he’s lying

taehyung does know how you’ve wormed your way to his heart

“hi! i’m y/n! :D”

ok u are a little bit sweaty and out of breath from doing all that fast-paced walking for the past ten minutes

your new shoes that you still need to break into further aren’t helping your situation in the slightest bit

honestly? this is all changbin’s fault <3

he unknowingly gave you the sign that you were looking for

if he says yeah five times with five minutes?? okay yeah you’re definitely looking for kim taehyung and offering yourself to become his model

you don’t wanna sound weird but you feel sorry for him and you wanna help him :((

he’s not helping you tho because he has long legs underneath those trousers and it looked like he wouldn’t budge at all not unless you jogged and stopped right in front of him

“hi! i’m y/n!! :D”

“...”

“.....”

tae’s a bit... perplexed

because who’s THIS entity and why are you standing in front of him

...

....

“bye y/n.”

he wants to exit from this situation because oh my god??

why r u like this

he didn’t ASK for your name!!

and he doesn’t even know you and giving him your name honestly won’t do anything and he doesn’t get what’s your motive and-

“oh c’mon!! you didn’t even shake my hand :((”

he feels even more lost as he tries to wrap his head around that uh.....

you uh.... you wanted a handshake??

.....

tae doesn’t even hide his annoyance because it’s clear as day!!!

he’s blatantly tilting his head at you rudely with a blank stare omg take the hint pLEASE

realizing it now you mAY have came on too strong to taehyung that looks confused as ever

“hi, i’m y/n.”

changbin’s by one of the lockers taking pics of you beaming at taehyung and him scowling down to show you later how dumb you look and how you shouldn’t do this at all

okay LISTEN

his personality trait is to immediately assume the worst out of every scenario possible and that way when something slightly less worse happens? that’s a win babie ;D

he became ur friend in the first place because you heard him yelling since he’s at the door right next to yours and you could hEAR him throwing things around as he cusses his laptop

yeah he cusses his laptop what about it??

if you close your eyes hard enough, you could hear him throw his router against the wall (you later learned that he was so close to finishing his digitalization but then his laptop decided to die) before punching the air

(( the friendship started when you knocked vERY gently and offered him to borrow your laptop even if you aren’t done with all your homework ))

((( changbin thought at first that u were such an organized and too-friendly social butterfly who’s a kiss-ass to everyone but now he thinks ur the coolest person ever and he treasures you more than life itself )))

although, taehyung’s a lot more vicious and closed-off and critical than changbin

he narrows his gaze at you as you introduce yourself for the second time before merely clicking his tongue

“ok cool”

is that uhm

is that IT good sir

“you’re not,” you’re dancing around your words and being careful to not let a pout grace your lips at the sheer lack of enthusiasm, “gonna introduce yourself to me??”

you got a reaction alright

taehyung sCOFFS and that’s the loudest he’s ever been with you in the span of two minutes

“you followed me for ten minutes just to tell me your name. kinda seems like you already know mine if you do that, no?”

this is why you took up biochem instead of law

how do the lawyers not break down???

why does phoenix wright make it seem SO easy?? especially when he’s spoken to in a confrontal tone???

oh god taehyung broke you already

not to be rude but uh what do you wANT

can you get it over already??

“o-oh! uhm i was wondering if i could uHm,” you sound ridiculous now that you think about it and this is perhaps one of the only times you feel embarrassed, “volunteer to be your model for your project?”

hmm

was that a wrong answer,,,

sHOULD YOU HAVE SAID THAT??

“are you in my class?”

taehyung asks and he’s finally said a sentence to you!!! omg

you’re quite shocked so he had to click his tongue to get you to answer

“no, actually!! i’m a biochem major and-...”

that’s all it takes before he hums and nods his head

and for some reason taehyung looks at you like you’re pREY

“are you a stalker?”

okay wait holy fuck wHAT

you know what

you took a sip from changbin’s coffee half an hour ago but why are you only choking on it nOW

you’re positively sputtering and now ur pressured bc tae thinks you’re a stalker!!! a damn stalker!!

“looked at you long enough. i don’t need a sketch artist and i could just-”

no no no pls no

this meeting is going downhill very quickly

“oh my god taehyung i’m nOT a stalker okay!!!”

that shuts him up because your voice is so firm and okAY then how do u explain this stalker smh ://

throughout the whole time you’re talking about changbin being an art major and also your neighbor and everything in between, tae has such a neutral expression that you feel so intimidated

“-and that’s what!! i’m not taking advantage of you or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking i guess? i swear!!”

he listened and well if he’s being honest,,, okay yea you did make sense and he does know changbin

“okay then. i’ll think about it.”

“are you gonna give me your number???”

it’s either you’re so forward or he’s just not used to being caught off-guard

WHICH FUCKING ONE

“what for?”

it’s been so long ever since someone asked taehyung for his number

usually in galas and any other socialite gatherings you could think of, everyone’s number would just be in your phone automatically and you won’t even rEMEMBER how it got there in the first place

better yet, it’s been so long since he went back to his usual routine lifestyle of being himself

his last gala was two weeks ago and tae had to keep looking at his phone to study pdfs and whatever clear pictures he can get of his reviewers back at home because he had a test tomorrow morning

“so you could text me where we’re gonna meet so you could paint me, silly!!”

okay wOAH there

“i didn’t even say that you’d be my model????”

“lol but you were thinking it huh”

that’s it

taehyung has nO choice but to paint you if he wants to finish this project and graduate and have something of a thicker paper to flaunt

it came as a shock to him that hE took your offer and he could only imagine its effect on you

not to brag but tae didn’t even have to sweat for a little because it’s yOU who came to him with this offer!! not him!!

tae lives in the classiest apartment here in uni and everyone probably knows that

much to his insistence that he doesn’t want anyone from uni going outside his apartment, he had to take an L and invite you over

he wouldn’t risk doing his work in any place else because he doesn’t want anyone thinking and getting the wrong idea!!

speaking of, he’s regretting it now because you seem to be too happy being in his space

you’re pointing around and being awed at every possible thing!!!

what??? is this ur first time seeing a rattan hanging chair :// or a massive couch?? or a canvas painting of something so beautiful?? all of that in what’s supposed to be a student’s one apartment??? christ y/n get yourself together

“so what do you want me to do?? where do i sit oR do i stand instead?? i’m gonna need you to know that-...”

“nothing.” taehyung deadpans before he gets his camera so he could get digital shots as well if ever he needs an extra touch when it comes to his final product

the gears in your head are going bRRR and you’re gonna have to ask him to elaborate but taehyung already sets the pace

“nothing. just be your rEALLY annoying self and pretend i’m not here.”

normally you don’t take his words to heart but this one just hits a little close to home bc it’s early in the morning and taehyung already finds you intolerable

“by pretend, do you mean-...”

“up to you. are you more annoying around me or no?”

how did he read your MIND

tae got the thoughts in your head word per word and you’re so amazed at that because fUcK you originally thought that he’s good at bluffing his way up

click!

it’s you smiling at him

no you’re beaming at him

and you’re in front of his morning-lit curtains and you’re against the light

the portrait itself is already visually appealing and satisfying and man the shadows!!! the value!!!! they’re so raw and dreamy and this is exactly his style!!!

it was just a one-take wonder as soon as he took a picture of you!!! and he may have you to hold that position if he needs the push!! he just needs to translate it to canvas with his own language and emotions and then he’s dONE!!

you’re a pain in the ass

you laugh and you move too much

taehyung had you to to revisit that pose and hold it and you wouldn’t stop giggling bc you were too proud that you did THAT!

you also ask too many things that even hE doesn’t have the answers to

how is he supposed to know if red string lovers exist when you went into a spiel just because you saw a red tube of paint???? and why is he saying his opinions on such trivial things when he has his final project to take care of???

and how is he supposed to know why YOU’RE here hanging out with him instead of finishing your own final project

jk maybe it’s the L word but you’re gonna subdue that as much as possible since taehyung looks like he’d leave you by yourself with any chance that he gets

and you even call him terms of endearment!!! nicknames!! pet names!! names that you’d call someone who’s familiar to you and you probably l*ve!!!

angel

that’s what you call him :))

“why do you call me that?”

“because you look like one”

“and how would yOU know what angels look like??”

“because if they were to exist then you’d probably look like one!!”

“but-”

“ok that’s one minute no more questions taehyung <3″

tae just provides you with all the conviction you need to take care of him without even knowing

not in a maternal type of instinct type of way, but rather in a sPECIAL someone type of way

you find yourself caring for him mOre than you ever could for any regular friend you have!!

you just throw a whole loaf of bread to changbin and call it a day

but for tae??? you go above and beyond!!

“did it ever hit you that rich kid kim never really introduced himself to you?”

oh right....

changbin points out one day and you could see where he was getting at

for some reason he always knew what was in your mind at any given time and sometimes it’s to your disadvantage

you seem to be growing on taehyung though!!

he tolerates you better now!!

sometimes he’ll find you loveable even

he likes having someone around and you’re the perfect contender

if he decides to not talk too much, then you fill up the white noise!!

if he wants you to shut up?? then yOU shut up but of course not without babbling for a little

he’s opened up but with some reservations

some reservations that you don’t mind but it’s normal that you feel sometimes left out, y’know??

because it’s been a good month since you and taehyung properly interacted but he still resents you as much if you think about it

“hey angel!!”

“what is it-...”

taehyung looks up from his meal that he’s been poking at his fork because this has to be the fourth time you call out to him

so he turns to look at you and-

uhm

there seems to be a misunderstanding

you weren’t calling HIM

you were calling out to some other guy that iSN’T him

that’s seungmin!!! omg you haven’t seen him in so long and he just happened to pass by your lunch table!!!

apparently he has something to talk to you about which is why you’re standing up and leaving tae all alone on the table

seungmin’s smile is adorable as always and he gets you in a pretty good mood!!

oh god

dear gOD

what is taehyung feeling in his chEST???

tae’s grip on his fork is starting to get pRETTY tight

and if he’s aware enough, his right eye’s twitching and he’s practically scoffing under his breath

why tf would you call him that

WHO is angel and why is it nOT him anymore????

what he’s feeling is just unexplainable and it tastes something like betrayal

“who’s he?”

he quizzes you as soon as you get back to your table and you don’t waver one bit because you know he’s been asking questions recently

“oh that’s just seungmin!! we were childhood friends then he just transferred here awhile-...”

there’s a bitter taste on his tongue and it shows up in his face and you’re not even paying attention to him!!

“really? thought i was him for a second.”

ok now that got you to stop eating

????

why is he acting weird

taehyung looks even more irked because you look sO oblivious right now

“do you call everyone angel?”

o-oh where is this going

“uhm-”

you’re not even finished and to be honest you’re quite lost and taehyung sCOFFS you to the next century

“‘course you do.”

taehyung angrily finishes his meal and you leave it at that because ok maybe he had a bad day?? and he’s just taking it out on you??

and well tae DOESN’T want you to leave it at that

he wants you to ASK him why he’s mad!!! he’s passive-aggressive and it’s getting unhealthy but he’d rather choke than have him spill whatever he’s feeling

the next few days, taehyung avoids you like his LIFE depended on it

you’re not really bothered by it because he has his days, but this one’s just getting out of control

“are you giving me a time-out or something??”

lmao what did u do now

you nudge him when you see him by changbin’s apartment to borrow an easel even though he’s already got it by his apartment

yeah he’s mad at you and he’s petty but maybe he wants to see you again

tae’s giving you silent treatment and you don’t even question him for it

you don’t bother!!

you’re letting him do whatever he wants as always and he dOESN’T like it anymore!!!

he feels like he’s gonna combust at any given time and you don’t give a shit and he feels like yOU should give a shit because you always do!!

you always hover and worry around him but wHY does he feel like you’re not doing it anymore??

why does he yEARN FOR YOU???

it’s quite an an early night for you

you love biochem but sometimes it kicks your ass and it makes you retch at the mention of all-nighters nowadays!! bc they used to be fun but now doing them because you nEED to?? no thx

you’re already in your pajamas and you’re all washed up!! what could changbin need from you at 9 in the evening??

there’s an urgent knocking on your door and you resist the need to groan because you were about to really knock yourself out!! you need to get back all the rest you’ve wasted over your own final project

is that-

“taehyung?”

the man in question is in his huge yellow hoodie that swallows him up every time and he looks positively spent

his hair’s shaggy and his eyes are glazed and there’s a pink tint to his cheeks :((

he’s holding a baby hydroflask in his hands and you’re pretty sure that’s alcohol in there lol

“don’t call me taehyung!!”

he immediately snaps and you’re lost as aLWAYS

did he really just walk all the way to your complex to snAp at you??

“i’m not taehyung,” he frowns deeply and that’s when you’re a bit more mesmerized, “i’m angel.”

is this what you think it is??

your no.1 deflection move is to laugH and you’re doing that rn

something about this whole situation tickles you funny and you’re not sure what to feel about it

“i like your bottle!! i should get one for myself!!”

he could see right through you though

he ignores your stOOpid statements and goes to hold your hands :((

“no, no. i’m your angel. i-i’m your taehyung, right??”

listen

taehyung is the most confusing being you know and he’s so emotionally constipated that he outperforms changbin but this one,,,

this just feels so different

he’s hugging you

he’s embracing you

he’s burrowing his face to your neck and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t ever imagine what this would feel like :(((

he positively 100% might be in love with you

and you positively 100% might be in love with him too

he’s fishing for your hand by your side to put in between your bodies as he shakes it and that’s because he doesn’t wanna let go of the hug

:((((

you’re melting and this what heaven must feel like :((((

“h-hi. name’s kim taehyung and i’m yours.”

#I SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THIS PLS LEAVE FEEDBACK PLS AND THANK YOU :D #taehyung #kim taehyung #taehyung imagine #taehyung imagines #taehyung x reader #taehyung x y/n #taehyung drabble #taehyung drabbles #taehyung au #taehyung oneshot #bts taehyung #bts imagine #taehyung fic rec #taehyung fic recs #bts fic recs #kim taehyung imagine #requested drabbles

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lilxberry · 3 years

Text

Extended Family - Scott Lang

Synopsis;

Cassie’s staying the night over at her fathers’ and step-moms’ home, bringing along a small gift which has made you feel apart of the family like no other gift.

Warnings: Nothing really, just fluff I think

Words: 1,176

Pairing: Scott Lang x Reader. Cassie Lang x Step Mom Reader.

_______________

“Y/N!” Cassie exclaimed loudly once she had walked through the door with Scott and spotted you hanging more Halloween decorations.

“Hey there, short stack.” You smiled at the girl before walking over and giving her a big hug. Having met Cassie when you had first started to date Scott was nothing but a huge bonus in your relationship. You had been so afraid that he wouldn’t like you but that fear had quickly melted away after spending time together.

After you had gotten married, it’s like she only ever visited for you with how much time you spend together. You and Maggie had even grown close, all three of you spending days out together, having a girls shopping trip or going to watch the new movie Cassie had been begging to go see.

“Do you wanna see what I made in school today?” The young girl asked excitedly as she bounded up and down rapidly.

You smiled fondly at the girl and nodded. “Sure, kiddo.” Cassie practically tore her back pack off of her shoulders and hastily rummaged through it. She soon presented a drawing of all her family in their Halloween costumes. What truly warmed your heart was the inclusion of yourself sandwiched between her and Scott, Maggie, Paxton and her baby brother drawn on her left whilst you and Scott were positioned on her right.

“It’s us! See!” She pointed to each person, explaining where they were and what they were wearing. “And that’s me right in the middle!” She beamed up at you as she finished raving about her art work.

“It’s wonderful, Cass, I love it!” You exclaimed proudly, watching Cassie’s face brighten further with joy.

She held the picture towards you as she smiled, showcasing her little, pearly white teeth. “Good ‘cause I want you to have it!”

“What about your mom and dad? Maybe Jim might like one?”

“Well, you’re my mom too, why shouldn’t you have it?” She shrugged, puzzled by your question, as if her reasoning had been as clear as day from the get-go. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread across your chest, you almost even cry out in happiness from the interaction with your step-daughter.

She smiled up at you before quickly continuing. “Plus, Halloween is OUR favourite holiday!” You laughed at her statement before hurriedly scooping her up into your arms and cuddled her tightly, mindful of the drawing.

You plated a big kiss on her kiss and she laughed she laughed at the action. “Thank you, short stack. I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life.”

Scott who still stood by the door way had quietly watched the interaction between his daughter and wife silently, whole-heartedly admitting that the scene brought a sense of normality and peace into his life.

He knew your statement would ring true. He knew how much you loved Cassie and she, you. Apart from Christmas and birthday gifts, this is the first time she had given something she made exclusively to you and only you.

After placing Cassie back down on to her own two feet, she turned to face her dad, a proud smile etched across her little face. “She liked it!”

Scott let out a hearty chuckle. “Hell yeah, she did!” Scott spoke, matching his daughters enthusiasm. “Why don’t you run upstairs and get into your spooky PJ’s that like Y/N? Then we can get takeout and watch movies!”

With that, she quickly ran past her father and flew up the stairs. “I WANT CHINESE FOOD!” She shouted as she climbed up to her room.

Scott let out a heart chuckle as he turned towards you, finding you looking down at the Halloween family portrait Cassie had gifted you and walked over, wrapping his arm around you, pulling you into him and kissing your temple lovingly.

You smile as you place the picture down on to the coffee table before turning your body to fully engulf your husband in a tight hug, one he reciprocates instantaneously.

“I love you, both of you, so much, y’know that?” Scott mumbled quietly into your hairline, leaving another sweet, tender kiss.

“Who wouldn’t love us? We’re great.” You teased earning a playful pinch to your side from Scott. You squeaked out a giggle and buried yourself further into your husbands embrace. “I love you, too.”

Scott pulled back ever so slightly to cup your face in his larger hands and brought you into a loving kiss, tenderly pushing his lips to yours. The kiss was soon interrupted by an ‘ewww’ coming from the stairs.

You broke apart laughing, turning your head to see Cassie faux heaving. Scott swiftly moved to scopp his daughter up and littered her face with sloppy, wet kisses “HOW *kiss* DARE *kiss* YOU *kiss* SAY *kiss* ‘EWWW’? *kiss*”

“Okay, she yields. Now can you please order some food? I’m wasting away by here.” You joke, deciding to save Cassie from her gross torture.

“Hmmmm, fine, I guess.” He walks over to the couch and playfully throws her atop it then pulls his phone out whilst walking towards the kitchen. “So, what’s everybody having?”

_______________

After your fill of food and films, Cassie had began drift off occasionally as she sat sandwiched between you and Scott. You looked down at her tired little face, eyes hooded over. You smiled fondly as you pushed a stray couple of hair strands behind her ear and out of her face. “You tired, short stack?”

All the energy she could muster was thrown into the nod of her head and a quite mumble of incoherent words. Noticing your husbands light snoring, you took it upon yourself to get her up to bed.

You stand and quickly scoop the girl into your arms and make your way towards her bedroom. You tip toed your way up the stairs and down the small landing before reaching her room. You bump the door open with your hip prior to laying her gently into her bed, tucking her tightly.

“Can we go to a haunted house tomorrow?” Cassie tiredly mumbled out. The corners of your mouth quirked upwards.

“What’s wrong with the one we live in?” Cassie giggled at your response and barely peeks at you through the slits in her eyes. “I’ll ask your dad when he wakes up short stack.”

“Okay...Night, mom.”

“Night, kiddo. Sweet dreams.” Your heart swelled at the name as you leant over to place a gentle kiss upon her head. You stealthily made your way out of her room, taking one last glance back at the sleeping girl before switching her light off and closing the door softly.

That night, you lied in bed, entangled with your husband and thought of nothing but your family. You conceded that you would do anything to protect your family that you had worked so hard to become apart of.

You loved them with ever fibre in your being and nothing could ever deter you away from them.

You were happy with your family and you wouldn’t change it for the world.

_______________

I was in the mood to write something cute tbh like Cassie is precious and I would die for her

And yes I know this is centred around the time of Halloween even though it’s December rn but I think Cassie is a Halloween kind of gal

Plus, Halloween > Christmas

I hope you enjoy reading this

As always, constructive criticism and requests are welcomed and greatly appreciated :D

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ariluisi · 3 years

Text

I've been seeing a lot of military inspired clothes on pinterest lately and thought that it'll look good on Izumi and later on decided to maybe do the other characters as well.

I first posted Izumi on twitter and I was already in the middle of making Sakyo when I remembered to post it here on tumblr so might well just post them together cause why not? And tbh, I wanted to make SakyoIzu fanart for a while now so I think this might be a good opportunity to post them together and later on combine this two arts into one.

And also I didn't draw Sakyo with glasses cause I suck at drawing glasses, I kept messing up so I just drew him without one, and the coat... I originally planned for him to wear the coat but I think it's interesting to just make him wear it on one side just for profile/portrait looks but it ended up looking awkward. But I guess that's a new room for improvement right? I really enjoyed drawing this and I hope you guys enjoyed this as well.

#al draws #a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#a3 act addict actors #a3 #a3! game #mankai #mankai company #a3! fanart #tachibana izumi #izumi tachibana #a3! izumi #furuichi sakyo #sakyo furuichi #a3! sakyo #autumn troupe #akigumi #sakyoizu

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macgregorhoughton · 3 years

Note

yo if you wanna you should release your full sequel wishlist king I wanna hear ur ideas

thank you so much for asking?!??! omg yes here it is:

(it is pretty messy and unorganised sorry about that)

I want it to start in London. I wanna see Lily, Frank and MacGregor (and Proxima) during their daily routine that is also undoubtedly extremely weird. I have a post or two queued up about some specifics so look out for that. Like I just need to see them looking kinda out of place but like extremely happy to be together. And of course like I said: I need them to live together. If they don’t live together I’m gonna be genuinely mad. I need to get throuple vibes from the minute it starts alright.

I want a scene like in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid where the three of them (maybe with proxima) get a fancy portrait taken together bc they’re also a family of three 🥺

And just for me: There’s a scene in BCatSK where they jump off a cliff together into a river after arguing about whether or not they should and I want a scene like that with MacGregor and Frank (except they wouldn’t hold onto a gun belt together but would hold hands. Actually I have this whole scene worked out in my head lmao)

I want more scenes with MacGregor and Proxima but again, queued posts coming up! I just really want them to be buddies. That was already important to me for the first one and it needs to continue.

Okay I know this is my third mention now but listen. LISTEN: the sequence in BCatSK where the throuple goes to new york and just has FUN and looks at all the new technologies kinda remade. Mainly the siblings showing Frank all the new things like movies and just modern society. Just a sequence of them having the time of their life, together.

MacGregor saying “No offense, but I will never get on a boat steered by Frank ever again” and then a hard cut to him sitting on a boat. He got one of those jokes in the first one, he deserves a second one.

I would like a scene of Frank protecting MacGregor against like his homophobic uncle or sth. Like they’re just walking around London and run into him and as soon as MacGregor says “Uncle?” the kill bill sirens go off in Frank’s head and he just scares the shit out of that man defending MacGregor (who is like. extremely into that)

FLASHBACK I want a Houghtons flashback so badddd. I want to see them as kids!!!

MacGregor gets a nickname

MacGregor teaching Frank some fancy dance so he can impress Lily and then at the event, after dancing with Lily, Frank dances with MacGregor too (I’m sorry, I watched Sherlock Holmes game of shadows 100 times that is all I can think about) Actually I might just write that fic tbh.

More about the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. idc how they’re gonna be involved. Antagonists, allies, whatever, I just need to see that lore expanding.

I know they’re done with that storyline now but I am still obsessed with Aguirre and the whole backstory there. Like I would genuinely still love to see more bc there is SO much more there that I wish I could see. But I know that’s not gonna be brought up again.

Physical 👏 intimacy 👏 I want all the hand holding and head/cheek kisses. I want them sitting way too close on a couch or on a boat. I want them to hug and just. show their love.

Another innuendo scene. There should be one in each movie.

Frank takes off his shirt and both Houghton siblings have an identical thirsty look on their faces.

Honestly??? Just the siblings being in sync in general. And just sibling scenes. We got so much in the first movie already and they should not roll it back for the second one, they gotta really lean into it even more.

MacGregor still having some trauma left over from how his family treated him after coming out and Frank and Lily helping him with it. Like maybe his middle name is his uncle’s name or sth and he hates that and Frank doesn’t understand why he’d monogram all his stuff with an initial that’s such a painful reminder and he helps him work through that.

The three of them going to the same tailor together. Idk it just seems like a potentially fun idea. SHOULD have been in the first one already tho.

Frank having a hard time adjusting to the whole not being immortal thing. The potential for jokes is fucking endless.

I do not want them to get separated. I don’t want any “Lily and Frank go here and MacGregor is like organising from there” shit or anything like that. No “MacGregor has his own adventure as a subplot”, nothing that exceeds what the first movie had with his brief submarine abduction. My happiness depends on the trio.

Protect 👏 MacGregor 👏 from 👏 the 👏 sun 👏

Frank’s mom. I wanna know about frank’s mom. I know she’s long dead but y’know. Maybe they could go to africa, maybe that’s where she was from too and they could deal with how colonialism is ruining the continent. Maybe sth personally connected to Frank’s family/mom that white colonisers treat like it’s theirs and are real disrespectful about (since it would be a pretty old thing).

Honestly if they just let Dwayne, Emily and Jack do their usual thing, improvising half their jokes and having fun on set I don’t see what could go wrong.

That’s it for now. Might make a second post when I have more ideas. @ disney feel free to get inspired.

#jungle cruise #frank wolff #lily houghton #macgregor houghton #I feel like I have a new idea every 10 minutes and I keep forgetting cause I don't write them down #ask #wikipoodia

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i-did · 3 years

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HELLO 👋 I WAS SENT HERE BY PALMETT-HOES. What are your thoughts on the foxes + tattoos?? Originally it was Neil + tattoos but if you have thoughts of the other foxes too I'd love to hear them if you want to share 🥺

Okay, so I actually might try to become a tattoo artist and love tattoo culture. I also have already about 30 tattoos, some the size of my whole hand and some the size of a quarter, a lot of mixed and matched stuff. I also always try to think of the foxes in their timeline, so 2006-2007 era, and when I think said foxes would get tattoos in their life and why.

NEIL

First off: I personally HC Neil has keloid scarring and a lot of scarring so tattooing is hard on his skin. I have a friend who has more scars than I've ever seen on anyone else IRL before and we both love tattoos but even with him trying to prep the artist, unless they were a scar micropigmentation expert, they usually underestimated how hard it was going to be to tattoo on his skin. It's uneven and dense and doesn’t hold ink well. His non-scarred skin faired a lot better but his skin was something artists just weren't prepared for. I might get some micropigmentation on some skin grafts I got to even out the coloring and make it look more “natural” but I’m waiting to see if the pigment will settle and heal more first.

I personally don't see Neil ever getting a tattoo, and this bums a lot of people out lmao. I think his scars are too thick and too raised and it's too cosmetic and aesthetic centric for it to be something on his radar. On his skin that isn't touched by scars I think he would want to leave as be mostly out of neutrality. I don't see Neil as the type of sentimental tattooer, I see him thinking “well if it matters to me I remember it” sort of and him wanting to keep the really deep stuff personal just for himself and even another person putting it on him is someone else there. I think if he were ever to get a tattoo, he would be like… idk it would be the kind that says “yes I got shot, stop asking” over a bullet hole scar or like that one guy whos missing his leg and above it there's a tattoo that says “one foot in the grave” that's the only type of tattoo I can see Neil doing and even still I'm not convinced he would do it.

ANDREW

I don't ever see Andrew covering up his scars with tattoos either. I think he likes how the armbands can come on and off and be fully covered to not at all. He's not ashamed of them but he's private, and I think the tattoos could seem like he's trying to hide them when he's not-it's just nobody's business. I think if he were to get anything it would be American-traditional, it ages well, its classic, and doesn't really go out of style. Before the…. Let's say 80s, there weren't the different tattoo “styles” like there are today. It was just… tattoos in America. There was Japanese-style tattooing and then American-style tattooing, and since tattooing started curating its underground culture in the ’50s in America… those circles did not blend. They do now, but they sure as hell didn't then. So I could see Andrew with American-traditional because it's classic and I could see it appealing to him, but I could also see Russian prison tattoo style black-work something that appeals to him too. Get him some gulag tats. However if he had those, and since I currently HC him as white and with a buzzed or grown-out messy buzzed head, he would deadass look like a fuckin skinhead so... yeah lmao. Overall I don't see Andrew getting tattoos really, but if he would, American-traditional seems fitting.

KEVIN

Okay, so Kevin out here looking like a MF SoundCloud rapper with his single face tat and nothing else going on. I know it might be OOC but since his mom is Irish and I HC his dad as Maori (even tho in the canon Wymack likely has 90s new age tribalism, which is a complicated issue but instead I choose culturally significant tattoos over the tattoo trend that was largely popularized by a movie lmao anyways-).

So I think Kevin is the only one who dives into tattoo culture and bonds over it with his dad. If he just has the chess piece, it still feels like a branding, like a mark so distinct against the rest of him, but one full sleeve of Celtic knots and symbols and the other arm full of Maori's distinct tattoos of swirls and symbols could be a cool way for him to reclaim his own skin and have it not be something he did just to cover something up, but make tattooing something connecting him to his cultures and family.

NICKY

Nicky is the guy who got like, fierce, or pride, or something like that tattooed if he got a tattoo. I see Nicky getting a pride tattoo of some kind maybe and it being calligraphy or like if Nicky/Erik is a bear then he gets a bear paw. I could also see him getting his and Erik’s wedding date tattooed somewhere. I also don't see him as the type who didn't know how much research and shit goes into finding the artist for you, and kinda assumes you can go to just anyone and just walk in and then was like “wait what” when he couldn’t (or couldn't if he wanted to get exactly what he had in mind) so he probably got/gets tattooed by some non-homophobic apprentice, maybe even that apprentices first tattoo, and also since Nicky is Mexican and darker-skinned I doubt he thinks to put on sunscreen and the sun makes his ink lines bleed and so it doesn't age the best (it be like that).

ALLISON

Got a trendy tramp stamp to like, really stick it to her parents. Right on her lower back I bet it's the classic 2000s swirls and a butterfly and some of those stars, idk what they're called. If she was a young 20-year-old now tho she totally would have gotten a fine line tattoo, like not a tight three, a real 1 needle tattoo. They were seen as really nice back then and “so Cali” and like I could see /maybe/ her getting it done before she's 30 but they were not that common yet and like micro-realism is so new we still kinda don't know how it's going to age at all since tattoos before it have been designed they way they have for aging. Again if she got a micro-realism/single needle tattoo tho it would be something kinda basic like a butterfly or like a lion. I swear I've seen the same google image lion tattooed on a lotta people and like IDC it's your skin. But yeah, she gets the classic 2000s swirl butterfly and stars tattoo above her crack one night, maybe after a really bad phone call with her parents and she got drunk and pissed off. Maybe someone said she couldn't take the pain. (which btw, tattoos don’t hurt as much as they make them out to be in shows and shit, they can hurt tho)

DAN

I HC Dan as very dark-skinned, she's 75% black and 25% Sioux and grew up in a very very white area when outside her home on the res. Tattoo culture is still really sexist and really colorist, and at this point in history I think if she ever did want a tattoo, she maybe asked vaguely about it and they flat out said “I don't know how to tattoo on black skin” or “it doesn't go with my art” which… are shithole excuses and I think she thought, “well fuck u too” and never thought about it much since then.

RENEE

I HC as Renee as darker-skinned than Dan, and like the only places she could possibly get tattooed are maybe her palms, the bottoms of her feet, or her inner mouth probably. Some people genuinely are so dark that tattooing is hard, because it's based on the concept of black ink on a lighter surface, which is why scarification catches on in cultures where the skin is too dark to pigment with ink effectively. However, the idea of fuckin, 15-year-old Renee who is still Natalie with “PU$$Y” tattooed in her mouth kinda sends me. I think lil kid Renee thought she was gangster, and tbh she was, and I could see her getting some “fuck you/in your face” tattoo, especially if she was a lesbian in such a homophobic world, getting that tattooed is even better. We also know she got her back tatted in the EC with angel wings that look almost closer to dragon wings, so I imagine they show up as almost raised dark lines like scars from the untrained tattoo artist going way too deep, making it a cross between a tattoo and scarification, even if accidental. (also white ink really wasn't a thing yet and even now is still kinda hard to tell how it will heal, so that's why I don't think she gets any white ink tats)

MATT

He's a rich boy from NYC, he could really get like… whatever he wants. Once he's famous he can afford it that's for sure, but even before then he could with his allowance similar to Allison (even if on a completely different level). However, I doubt he gets anything lol. He's not particularly religious in my HC and doesn't have the same sense of being lost like I feel Kevin does with his own parents (I mean Kevin was raised like an orphan, kinda so it makes sense). I need to develop Matt’s background further on what it means to him personally to be a Filipino-American. I have several ideas about how his parents met in the Philippines and then came here but I would need to flesh out locations and then local cultures and then his parents said opinions on tattoos and then how matt would react to said opinions. I could see him possibly getting something for dan or his kids tattooed on. Which really makes me want to have him get his first kid's name tattooed really big or intricate somewhere like on his chest over his heart and then his kid comes out as trans and he's like “...fuck” lmao and gets it removed maybe and then redone or something. I see him viewing tattoos are personal and symbolic, and if he would get something it would probably be family-oriented, possibly Dan's portrait or like his baby's footprint which I've seen before.

AARON & SETH

Stick and pokes were not nearly as common then as they are now, and I feel like people kinda have to remember how taboo tattooing was then and still is now in a lot of cultures. My family is Not happy lmaoo. But it is what it is. Stick and Pokes were not a thing bored white middle-class teens did like I see them doing now. It was seen as super sketchy and I know someone who was 16 getting tattooed in a garage by someone who was both drunk and just out of prison for the first time, and that was seen as sketchy as stick and pokes at the time. I could imagine either Seth or Aaron having a failed and fucked up stick and poke tattoo, and out of the two of them, Seth seems like the drunk tat guy. Maybe once he got drunk and mad as fuck after Allison and him broke up and she said he didn't seem serious enough so he got her name drunkenly tattooed on his arm or something and then she was even more pissed because it was spelled wrong “YOU FORGOT THE SECOND L OMFG SETH.” (I can also imagine his future girlfriends don't love it lmao). I also love the idea of Seth just having Marvin the Martian or the Tasmanian Devil tattooed on his ass.

Anyways sorry for the lack of pictures but I didn't want to do that... so I didn't. I didn't go into niche tattoo culture and history like I was expecting myself to but this also got fuckin long. Might not be what you were hoping for at all but it is my current opinion on the foxes and tattoos. (This is also surprisingly free of my own personal aesthetic opinions on tattoos and that I'm kinda proud of ngl, since my preference is none of these, but also I grew up in a very different tattoo time than them)

#aftg #all for the game #ask #mailob #fig writes

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hellstenglow · 4 years

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Top 5 Fiveya Scenes!

Tough question! If you think about it their scenes are few compared to enterity of each season and yet they’re so meaningful. I’ll write the scenes in crescendo order, from bottom to top. I put everything under the “keep reading” line because I really talk too much. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about Fiveya!

1. The coffe shop moment in Dallas. It’s just a tender scene. The first real interaction Vanya had with someone who was her family, Luther was not that good with his explanation and didn’t stick around after telling his bit. It was almost cute how Five tried to keep the truth about the Apocalypse from her, to not burden her with the knowledge she killed 7 billions people, but a stupid decision that bit him back later. He did it out of care for Vanya (and a bit of convenience for himself), but he needs to stop avoiding the discourse “Vanya is the cause of the Apocalypse”. As I said wrote in a meta before, until they will sort out together the Apocalypse thing, it’s never gonna to be closed as theme (in which they are the two pivotal points). I am also amused by how Five interrupt her phone call.

2. Their first private time together, in front of Five’s portrait. It set the tone of their future interactions. It made you understand that when they talk with each other, they tend to have private conversations loaded with some tenderness or intimacy or different level of importance. It also happened after Vanya talked about him with Pogo, which linked immediately the two with an invisible thread. The fact the conversation with Pogo was about the time she waited/hoped for his return is considerably more important, because right after that Five did return. Five and Vanya are linked. The show tells you that.

Then you discovered he had read her book in the future (later you will also discover that he kept that book with him after leaving the Apocalypse and it was the place where he wrote down his equation to come back to his family. It was that important for him) and with her he talks softer, he is less an of an asshole and you know that, because you have just seen how he talked with the other siblings (Diego, Luther). He kind comforted Vanya too (“Ah, there are worse things” than exposing our family’s dirty laundry, not like she didn’t tell the truth). It was also interesting how Vanya was the one approaching him, tentatively and how they were establishing again a way to interact with each other.

3. Vanya and Five arguing like a married couple, after Luther told her she caused the Apocalypse. Excuse me but that scene is too funny and lovely. Five was all smug and cocky, as usual, so certain she would follow him after talking with Luther and then he went instantly in panic mode, because she was leaving him. He let Luther go the first time, not making a very big effort with him. However, with Vanya is all “UnCCEptAble VANYA!” the second she said she going back to the farm (subtext: back to her farm friend frau, who is not just a friend and Five knew that. Oh, he knew that. He is clever, remember?).

Vanya is rightful pissed off by the omitted information, even if she doesn’t have her memory back she felt betrayed by Five (who she trusted, even though he was technically a complete stranger). The whole argument is just funny and I enjoyed it too much. I love every micro-expressions their faces did, bless Ellen and Aidan. Five could have blinked inside the car, but nope, he knocked at the window trying very hard to be a sensitive person. She chould have driven away the second she was inside the car, but she took down the window and listened Five when she didn’t have too. Their faces the second before the car window was taken down were fantastic! It was literally wifey-husbando situation in my head and I couldn’t stop giggling.

And again, Five’s tone of voice with her is always soft or deep. Whoever let Aidan plays Five like that with Vanya deserve a fruit basket.

4.The stand-off scene in the middle of the road: ICONIC. The sweet, sweet tension between them could be cut with a knife, delicious, oustanding, visceral. Two tiny people ready (not really, not even close, they really did not want to) to blow each other up and destroy some corn fields from existence? Starring at each other in a crescendo of tension, yet each of them looked uncertain (especially almighty Five)? Vanya knows that she can take Five down and Five knows it too? Vanya not pursuing her threat because, despite not really knowing Five and having her memory back, she doesn’t want to hurt her family, therefore him? Five giving up first, knowing he shouldn’t be so partial to Vanya and yet he let her go anyway? I love it all.

I mean, do I need to say more? All these are rethorical questions. Thank you for this scene, it was one of the best of season 2 for me. It made me excited and thrilled to the core. THE TENSION. BLESS THEM. 👏👏👏 I explain here why I also think it’s an important scene for the future development of the pair and their relationship, right now I could just make some stupid noise.

5. Vanya and Five’s moment in her apartment (both parts in EP1 and EP2). The first time, before I started shipping them, I didn’t expect such scene of intimacy and confidence right after a spree murder scene. It’s incredibly telling that the first thing Five did, after escaping the Commission’s attack and basically death, was to seek Vanya. So far in the first episode the show wanted us to know that Five is an abrasive old man inside a 13-years-old body, who doesn’t take sh*t from anyone and bites back people with sarcasm. He also tend to treats people patronizingly and he does whatever he wants, because he has business to do.

However, the show also marked his ability to be less of an asshole when he is around Vanya. The first time in the living room in front of his portrait and the second time in Vanya’s apartment. The first time I didn’t expect such scene, also because they already showed Five and Vanya’s closeness in the previous scene I mentioned. Why do it again? Twice in a one episode? You start to think there is something very important between Five and Vanya, then. Especially because among her sibling, so far, Vanya had a good interaction only with Allison. The show made a point fo show us that Vanya and Five had a particular connection (Because she waited him and prepared his favourite sandwish every night until she couldn’t hope no more. Because he read her book and when they are alone, he changes his tone to a softer one...still abrasive if provoked, but contained).

So, after escaping death what did the old man do? He went to Vanya. Not even to treat his wounds (he could have gone to Hargreeves House for that), because he clearly doesn’t care, but to talk with her. Just to talk with her. It is incredibly telling of the importance that Vanya has for him. What he wanted was someone to share the one thing that obssessed him and shaped him into the person he is now, his burden, his secret, his greatest fear: the apocalypse. And Five chose Vanya. It was probably the first very time he exposed himself after decades of solitude and also the few years he couldn’t trust anyone else but himself (in the Commission). He trusted Vanya tho. He trusted her with the most vulnerable side of him.

And Vanya listened him, even tho she didn’t understand everything and she didn’t quite believe him, but she didn’t want him to feel stupid or excluded. She did her best to understand and she tried to be there for him too. She knew Five was visibly affected by the situation, she cared for him and didn’t want him to leave her apartment in turmoil. She didn’t want to lose him again, not after 17 years (for her) wondering where in the world (when) he was and if he was alright. What she needed was time to wrap her head around the news of the end of the world (that honestly nobody would truly believe), since she was just ordinary Vanya who never had to face looming dangers or villains like her siblings.

The intimacy of the moment (both parts in ep 1 and pe 2) was palpable. There was tenderness too: Five let her take care of his cut, something he didn’t let her other siblings do in the later episodes (he had to pass out or be drunk af to let his sibling see him vulnerable or let them take care for him). It was literally a bubble where time stopped for them (Five doesn’t have time, remember? He insisted on this point, yet here he was, taking time to talk with Vanya).

The moment they shared that first night set not only the importance of their connection and how they interact with each other, but also made clear there might be something unspoken, something between them that they need to address. It’s the “we were almost something” right, kind of moment? And for me it was stronger than any other “they may or not may” between Allison and Luther tbh. But I might be too fiveya biased xD.

#fiveya #my ask #ask #my stuff #I am verbose #tua

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simtrospective · 3 years

Photo

Makeover Time

More makeovers, I say. More makeovers! Once again, I took three early sims of mine and fixed them up a bit. These three are side characters in my non-sims story, which I tell you because I know you care. In order from the top down: Lainie, Andy, and Oona. Andy and Oona are married and their similar genetics are supposed to be unsettling to those who know them. They are not related, even secretly; they’re just weird/narcissistic.

More under the cut, if you like words.

Lainie is a wannabe writer/comedian with a big personality whether happy, sad, mad, etc. She has the “tough” walk. She does not bend to trends. She does not mind her peach fuzz and if you do that’s your problem, pal. Despite being loud and prone to silliness there’s something warm, stable, and earthy about her which makes her irresistible/adorable/magnetic. She's a wonderful friend. She routinely punches well above her weight romantically. I really liked how she turned out when I was new to the TS4 sculpting system but as her character evolved out of game she needed a change. How do I feel about the new version? I don’t mean to be dramatic but I AM OBSESSED.

(If you look just to the side of her face her hair and then the whole image appears to be moving and it’s making me sick tbh!)

Andy is a smarmy late night talk show host, all fake cheer and a smile that never reaches his eyes unless he’s ramping up the bullshit laughter. In his original sim version, I made him an adult; dropping him down to YA was my first makeover move. We can argue about what’s young, what’s middle aged, etc., but for the purposes of my gameplay and the ridiculously long life span I use, I consider the Young Adult stage to last through age forty (whatever that “is” for a sim) and Andy as a character isn’t quite forty yet, so a YA he gets to be. The rest of his features needed a major overhaul because they are bad; and, Andy is supposed to be a combination of elfish, boyish, and smarmy, and then suddenly you’re like..wait, is he (kind of) cute? And then you shake it off, because he’s obnoxious wtf. I’m a bit sorry to lose his original nose as an isolated feature, mostly because I’ve tried to recreate it for other sims and can't do it despite much time spent trying and even knowing which preset I used. You’d think I only just yanked it up, pulled it here, squeezed it there, but... I don’t know, I don’t know what I did.

Oona, Andy’s wife, is supposed to look like a bit like a Picasso portrait come to life. I didn’t pull this off, and if I say I did, then the first version is a better representation of that descriptor. Let’s compare profiles:

On the left: a moon from a children’s book; on the right: not.

Anyway, the more I look at her the less pleased I am. She might make a reappearance in another round of makeovers with a third version I can better accept.

#sims 4 #ts4 #(mine)#makeover time

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realcatalina · 1 year

Text

Family portrait of Henry VIII

I know I promised you doing the pearl necklaces, but to do them correctly, I need detailed chronology of 1540-1560 portraits. Tbh, it might take months and certainly would not fit in single post to explain all of it. Hence I’ve decided that to instead give you little tidbits of what I found.

So here is why this portrait was NOT done in 1545.

It is located in Hampton Court and is part of Royal Trust Collection, on their webpage dated as c.1545.

But other webpages instead give it c.1543-1547 dating. Why?

Well Edward is no baby in there, it is not by Holbein(who died in 1543) and Elizabeth and Mary are included-suggesting this portrait is to mark their newly found place in Succession, which occured in July 1543. Hence the dating is stretched between 1543(succession change) and and 1547(Henry VIII’s death), and the middle of that estimate(middle value of that range) is used by Royal Collection trust.

1545 is middle value between 1543-1547.

(If it was during Edward VI’s reign, Edward’d be much older, and probably in the centre of the painting instead of his father.)

However most fans think that c.1545 means it is max 1 year away from 1545(1544-1546) or even strictly that year, just 1545.

But of course when professionals use this sort dating, theirs estimate(placing it in middle of assumed range) and mine won’t always match!

I am nitpicker. If there is any evidence as to where to that range portrait belongs to, I will find it. I will find evidence which will say-oh it is towards beginning of this range or towards end of this range. Or-i found no evidence of it meaning towards the ends of this range-so it probably is in middle of the range.(or i don’t know then).

They assume it is after succesion was officially changed in July 1543. But I think it is actually likely to have been done before July 1543.

(Henry VIII probably needed to get it through parliament first, but his intention for it could have arised much earlier. )

But still possibly that year-1543. Just different half of it.

My estimate is 1542-1543(1st half of it) and there are several reason why I think it way more likely:

Number 1: Edward’s matching in fashionstyle his portraits done in 1542/1543 by Holbein:

Unfortunately only copies survive but give you good idea of fashion he wore around that age. There is surviving drawing by Holbein which was likely ment for another original(clasps are across chest) but face is just the same. Faces of little kids change so rapidly, so it should be him around same age.

And even if we stretched dating to max. Holbein could only paint and draw Edward up to November 1543, a month after Edward would turn 5. Still small kid.

Number 2: Size of both sisters and size of Edward

Mary was notably short. Elizabeth was on at least higher average. I am notably short myself. Do you know how many 12 year olds have outgrew me? More like which didn’t?’ Plenty of 10 year olds are my height, or already taller than me.

If Elizabeth was 12(c. 1545 dating), she and her sister should have much smaller height difference.

If we assumed Mary was about 5′ tall as adult(based upon average height of Tudor woman being 5′2′’), then Elizabeth’s height would be around 4′4. She could be as young as eight years old in the painting. Hence 1541 even, but let’s look at rest of evidence.

If we put Edward next to his sisters:

Then he is around 3′8′’. So given he was on tall side, he should be around 5. Possibly even younger. (Depending also on how short was Mary, if she was bellow 5′0′’, he could be even younger, but probably max 4)

Bear in mind that reports of Edward being bellow average height probably come from beginning of his reign and he died aged only 15 and probably never reached his full potential height.

Number 3-Fashion

Fashion wise it also doesn’t fit Catherine of Parr’s time as Queen. Already in 1544 Mary I had undersleeves with 5 cuts style(5 visible cuts). Here we have the previous style(which in this case shows 4 cuts, but usually angle allows only for 3 to be visible). The wastelines also support ealry 1540s, max.1544, but probably not the later date because of how rounded their french hoods appear.

There is also small gap in middle of the skirt, revealing too much of forefront(look at jane bellow). Usually it is Elizabethean detail of fashion(and big mistake in Henrician fashion), but also very briefly appears in some of the early 1540s depictions(though i am not sure if it isn’t just one painter in Holbein’s workshop whose hand went bit off), and then it disappears from Tudor fashion and triangular shape is restored, probably under Parr’s influence.

Number 4: Jane Seymour is depicted

Art historians are always like-oh, Henry VIII was so horrible for not including Catherine Parr(his supposedly then Queen) and choosing mother of his son instead. He was obsessed with cult of Jane and mistreated Parr!

Now let’s not be biased as hell and let’s look at other more likely explanation.

The portrait was probably done in time when Henry VIII didn’t have a consort. So from all his past wives he chosen mother of his heir. It’s logical!

And that means, it’d have to be painted after Howard’s death, but before Henry VIII married Parr. (It cannot be between Jane’s death and Anne of Cleves arrival. Kids are not that small!)

Hence between February 1542 and July 1543. It fits in every aspect.

Mary would be 26-27, Elizabeth would be 8-9 and Edward 4-5 years old.

Being done before Holbein’s death could explain why his influence in the painting is so notable. Perhaps he overlooked design, but another painter eventually finished it. After all Holbein towards end of his career was overlooking entire workshop of artists.

It’s possible he foucused on single portraits, while others did larger ones/group ones but admitably Holbein did Whitehall mural, so it doesn’t stand to strutiny. But it could be the case that Holbein became sick before portrait could be finished. Perhaps he did just sketches for the painting and another painter finished it. However if painting was 2nd half of 1543 it would not explain why would there be Jane instead of Parr.

But had it been done in 1st half of year 1543, it could still be without Parr.

It is speculated Holbein could have died suddenly, perhaps of plague or some infectious disease, because one posthumous portrait of Queen Jane was abandoned in very last stage of making and never finished.

But we cannot exclude possibility that his health got progressively worse throughout 1542-1543 and that he was sick several times during those years, and the last illness just finished him off. (It happened a lot in those days,that not the first illness was what kill you. You still weren’t recovered and another illness lurked around the corner.)

Then of course somebody else in the workshop would pick up his work, perhaps still being adviced by him about it or him doing the original sketches for it.

It is likely that making date of portrait would be closer to July 1543, than to February 1542, because it’d make sense to comemorate the sucession change and because it’d better fit with Edward’s height.

Hence imo the portrait was done between 2nd half of 1542 and 1st half of 1543. Prior to succesion officially being changed and Henry VIII marrying Catherine Parr.

So the professional estimate 1543-1547 is not entirely wrong. It meets me in 1543, but they made assumption that it MUST BE after official change of succession.The evidence within the painting itself was overlooked and by many people! This is very well known painting, lots of people have seen it. Experts from all around. And they didn’t question what imo is a wrong assumption.

And that’s just one portrait whose wrong estimate throws us off. There could be many more.

#historical portraits #family of henry viii #imo it's 1542/1543

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