#they're good kids once they understand why the rules are in place

[bad-at-metaphors]

my hot take about giving kids screen time was that I pretty much let my kids have as much screen time as they wanted under two conditions: that they put it away when I ask them to (I give them a heads up 15 and 5 minutes before it's time and they have two minutes to save/finish their battle) and that they've eaten dinner/gotten their backpack/lunch packed up for the next morning

There was only one instance that the kids refused to put down their ipads and honestly I don't even blame them too much because I forgot to give them their 5 minute warning.

[thatbitchery]

So yesterday I said it's not the principle of the thing that matters but how much privilege you have to balance it that does and had everyone and their mom needing me to learn feminism and equality 101, as expected. Understandable. I understand not knowing better because you haven't learned better and that is exactly why I'm here. To teach you better.

Let's start with the lie that's egalitarianism and equality. What we call the American mindset. Everyone is equal and has an opinion and should be able to do whatever they want mentality. Reason you have little boys and girls that have never walked a fashion show or even at the very least being invited to one making videos comment on couture shows and how ugly and impractical it is. Why you have little college girls and boys running every word they know past things that they have never even had access to. The I have a right to opinion and I will give it. That mindset, we call it the American mindset because it's mostly where you'd see it. See that mindset? If you want to level up, forget it. You do not have a right to your opinion the right is given to you. You do not have the right to wear what you want that right is earned. You do not have the right to go to that party even if you were invited you earn the right to be there. You don't have a seat in every table you want , it's given to you.

It's girls out there getting in trouble over this mentality. I told y'all once a story (probably deleted it haha) of how in high school the rich kids threw a party and invited the poorer kids around town just to do drugs together and 🍇 grape the girls and only the poor girls were graped 🍇 and never got justice because what judge is convicting the Prime Minister's son? And only the poor boys went to jail and took a fall for the drugs?? Whyyyy??? Because they thought people are equal and so they, middle class working in the gas station for pocket money, should just easily be invited to an elite party. No I didn't go. Why? Because the deal was too good. Why would the rich kids that barely talk to me in school suddenly want me to party with them? This isn't a table that I've earned a seat in so why would I go sit in it?? Doing crimes under peer pressure with people that have a team of lawyers is something people with that dumb everyone is equal mindset shit does. If I told those kids not to go they'd think I'm gatekeeping my useless academically dumb rich friends,no. I had a girl ask me why I'm looking down on her because I told her it makes no sense for boys with a bunch of Aston Martins and Bentleys and access to world class professional escorts and dating the children of presidents to date them . I had a girl tell me I'm not a girls girl and an anti feminist because I told her that boy is dating her for the giggles and will show her a hell she has never seen before and get away with it. Do I not think she's worth it? Lovable? People are equal!!! But they're not are they?? Boys like that don't date little girls from public school do they?? And no buying you Versace isn't special that's his pocket change. And every single Chanel bag you get you will pay for ,dearly. But people are equal mentality girlie probably needs a lifetime of therapy, for everyone's mental health and sanity just in case you slip into the misandry dark hole I won't say what happened. There were videos it's all I'll say. Of Dubai camel type stuff. If you get it you get it. If you don't may our good Lord protect your innocence for as long as He can. The world is a dark place in general but 50× darker for women, 1000× darker for women that don't fit the standards and 1000000× darker for broke girls and then there's women of✨ color ✨.

There's a social hierarchy. Know your place in it, act like it and level up in the background.

Different people have different rules. Just because Bella Hadid can wear weird looking outfits doesn't mean you can??? Are you Bella Hadid?? First rise to Bella Hadid status then you can have Bella Hadid privileges. Society rules are not the same for everyone. Do you think anyone cares what Bill Gates daughter is wearing to the office?? Do you think that applies to you?? I almost had my Captainship almost taken from me in high school because I wore a bracelet and that wasn't appropriate while my classmates ran around with chanel pins and pearl necklaces and hairpins with bows and glitter. Why? Is my dad's name on a building?? Did my dad donate millions to the school? Am I the next CEO of a multimillion dollar enterprise?? Then why would I have the same privileges?? The rules say no accessories so no accessories. Little white girls wear 15979 kgs of make up with tattoos and piercings nd drive everywhere but if I had one, one nose ring I'll get pulled over in traffic and possibly have my visa revoked. I wore red lipstick once and my boss said I'm looking at them aggressively. This one time I let my natural hair down during church and someone's grandma in pearls just diDnT KnoW wHat WaS OfF aBouT mE tHaT dAy but anyway she loved me so much so she'd send me to her hairstylist for free because she cares about me :))) while her grandkid had braids with a purple streak 👍.Different rules for different people. Yesterday I said I have to compensate for my lack of privileges and someones very well meaning daughter with what has to be a clean heart wrote me an essay on how I don't have to change myself to fit in. Oh darling. My sweet sweet thing .

Its little girls out dressing the host in a party that was thrown for the host to show off because tHeY dOnT hAvE tO dReSs dOwN tO aCcOmodAte OtHeRs and making an enemy and never getting invited again out here. It's girls that argue with their bosses on something as stupid as social politics that will never be promoted ever and have their work picked apart like a terrorism investigation while their bubblehead yes girl counterparts are promoted left right center. It's girls arguing with their mothers knowing full well they're dependent on them because It wAs ThEiR cHoiCe TO haVe Me BLA BLA BLA bs. It's girls out there having a full on feminist debate with the pedo misogynistic CEO in the event that was created to appease said CEO like is he a feminist now?? Did you change his mind?? Is he a better man or did you just burn your network with every single person in that room? If you don't have the privilege to do it don't. Rights are backed by privileges.

Once upon a time in a far far away land I told a tumblrina she wasn't pretty enough to have the boundaries she wanted to have and that having boundaries is a privilege and she should first level up her looks then she can have that boundary and woke up to a 5996909800 word essay on how I'm an anti feminist and judgy and whatever else. Sighs .ladies won't you ever learn. Yes even boundaries require a certain privilege.

When I say it's an American mindset and my US girls feel attacked I get it because thats exactly what I'm doing, attacking you. If I tell African and Asian girls they need to appease their toxic moms they don't argue because we know. If mom says that dress makes you look like a slut I don't say mom omg that's not very girls girl of you you're being toxic I take it off and say you think so? There was something about it I didn't like haha and wear something she approves of. Why because she holds the power. As long as I live in her house I have to submit to her. It's just a dress. We placate and validate our moms and dads and elders knowing theyre toxic af simply because we know we won't win. They won't suddenly realize they were wrong they will just make our lives harder and we can't fight back we just talk crap about them in school and laugh and when we leave for uni wear whatever. Because if we fight back they'll never let us go for uni away from home and we depend on them for survival. We understand ✨ hierarchy ✨. It's Megan Markle and her American Mindset of I have rights I have opinions I should be treated well thinking she can challenge an institution that has been in power for centuries and has made a country as geographically small and pitiful as Britan a world power over larger ones, and for centuries. Princess Katherine was being torn apart by tabloids for a decade plus and held it together and is now set to be the next queen of England with her daughter being the richest kid alive. Lady Emma McQinston, a Nigerian among the British upper class- I won't even bother telling you how those ones get treated - held it for her whole life and is now the first dark skinned black African Baroness (is it baroness?? Not sure). Megan and her American values folded in what, months?? Did they tear her apart as viciously as they did Kate?? Nope. Fumbled that bag because she couldn't understand privilege, hierarchy and power.

Don't be a Megan. Don't. Get with the program. To get the power, you must first understand the power.

Community

Shop

[thewisaaaaad]

I HAVE A CONTINUATION TO "Narinder is forgotten"

to clarify something I dont think i quite got across in the last post, when Narinder talks about his past from before he was usurped, it isn't just that his lips flap and no one can hear him. The entire world gets muted for anyone within earshot. Birds stop singing, the wind stops blowing. The best way for anyone in-universe to explain and describe the phenomenon is "Speaking in dead air." It is extremely unsettling, but it would be funny for Narinder to use it in combat to disorient his opponents. Just rambling about how he raised his kids and the heretics can no longer hear the encroaching ambush.

ANYWAY after a while, after all the siblings are rescued and he has a mental breakdown because even they don't remember (except Shamura, but they're crazy anyway), Narinder begins to come to terms with his fate. I know at some point he pleaded to the void to give him freedom in return for anything he had left. He probably assumes that this is the result of that.

The lamb still thinks he's special, because of the aforementioned "dead air" and also because he is immortal. Other followers think hes odd and a bit dour, but otherwise a very chill dude.

So, because of his combat prowess and ages of experience, he gets sent on missionaries very frequently. He is the one most likely to come back alive, after all. This doesn't mean others aren't sent, and when this particular event happens, he is sent with one other missionary on a similar mission to gather food.

(Its yellow cat, known as Brenomar. They are a disciple, but do not yet have a close relationship with Leshy.)

So, while out on another mission in Darkwood to collect meat, he finds something that he never thought he would see again: a statue dedicated to him (like the statues that you can steal fervor from). Unlike the other statues, however, this one represents who he was during his imprisonment: a skeletal, three eyed cat, wrapped in chains that connect to the four corners of the room.

It is still much like him: crown-less. devotion-less. imprisoned by chains of another kind.

He decides that here is as good a place as any to rest, having slaughtered his way through a couple camps of heretics on his way there.

As he sits on a bit of rubble and eats his lunch, the other missionary finds him, having followed his steps for safety. Then, Brenomar sees the statue.

And the memories of who the ex-god was come flooding back. In this place, he can remember. And in this place, He decides to forgive, like the lamb had done before them.

The god had done some horrible things, yes. But the cat before him, his friend, had served enough penance.

Narinder cannot quite understand why they would offer such an olive branch, to forgive a liar like himself.

And Brenomar has to remind him that he did not withhold his past by choice. And it didn't make their friendship any less real. It does not make the lambs concern any less real, either.

It doesn't matter anyway. Once they leave this place, the yellow cat will most likely forget again. But the apology soothes a long ignored wound on his heart regardless.

When they leave the statue, however, they do not re-enter Darkwood. Instead, they step into fog-filled halls, the walls made of a pure white slate, the vaulted ceilings hidden behind a wall of thick, cream colored clouds.

Headless servants wander the halls, wearing white grieving clothes, forever morning some forgotten tragedy and lashing out at the two travelers in their anguish.

Narinder knows these halls. He once ruled from them.

He tries to turn around, to go back to the cult he now calls home, but finds that his body refuses to obey.

He calls out to his companion, telling them to run back, to get help.

Brenomar tries to help him, to turn him around, to save a friend he has just remembered so much about.

But nothing stops the shaky steps taken by his traitorous legs.

The other cat runs, trying to escape the faded memories, and finds their way back to the cult by some miracle.

But when he tries to explain what he saw to the lamb, to tell them of the danger that Narinder is in...

All that comes out is dead air.

[m2jay]

Soul Touch [Ford x OC]

Here's a little preview of what's in the story. Thanks to the release of "The Book of Bill" and the dating sim game "Swooning Over Stans," I think it was time for me to contribute to the Gravity Falls fandom and write a fanfic. Here's a part of it:

◬◬Bill's POV◬◬

"A X O L O T L! My time has come to burn! I invoke the ancient power that I may return."

        To think that using the last of my powers in Stanley's mind would lead me to this. That damn con artist is really going to get it this time. As I invoked the strength I had left inside, I managed to survive within the cosmos life other deities are able to do. Banished to a realm amongst the stars, I was met with the AXOLOTL. Though soothing of a presence, it's not my style.

        I crave chaos and destruction, one that leaves me with a good laugh. Seeing the terror amongst humans is absolutely amusing, and it's fun to see how far they'll go for their own selfish desires. They live in a meaningless way. There's nothing good about the world they fight so hard to go on in. Why do they fight so hard for a life that just ultimately has so much struggle in the end? Having infinite power is where it's really at. They're all too stupid to understand.

        The party had stopped. Time was dead and meaning had no meaning. Existence was upside-down and I reigned supreme briefly. I had it all. 

        Everything was in my grasp, even ol' Fordsy too. The fact that I was outsmarted by his lesser half is an absolute embarrassment to my existence. It's not fair, and I will get him back, along with the whole damn Pines family. They will get what's coming to them once I get out.

        I've been locked away in Theraprism in Dimension #5150. It's a neutral zone that's outside of time. If I were stronger, I'd have destroyed this useless place. I'm tired of pretending to be something I'm not in order to get out of here.

        I had many crimes against reality against me. I've done memory laundering, breaking and entering the fabric of space-time, chrono-infanti-regicide, multilevel  marketing, psychic torture, the "2nd-Dimension Incident," and Weirdmageddon. Personally, I don't think this is all that bad to keep me locked up in one of the highest wellness centers of space and time.

        People don't change, not even GODS. Wanna know how to get out of a mental ward, kid? It's faking it. You tell them what they want to hear. You mask everything. Don't be your true self. Trust no one.

        My power isn't as strong as the AXOLOTL, but I still got it. I've managed to fabricate a book that will go out into the Pine's family's dimension. I call it "The Book of Bill." Pretty clever, right? It's pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

        If anything, of all gods, why am I here? Isn't there some Christian entity or something that went against the God or whatever. If anything, why not blame all my atrocities on that guy, huh? Don't a lot of people do that anyways to get away with things? I mean seriously, I'm not the embodiment of bad itself or anything. Let's blame it on that Satan guy. There's so many dimensional timelines, I can't be the ONLY BEING THIS BAD HERE! 

        I can't lose my cool completely here. Heck, not even at all. I need to keep up the façade in order to get out. That's right, and I'll be out here soon. I just know it. My all-seeing eye is still capable of looking through the abundant paths people can take. I see the last opportunity and will take it for myself. 

        Sixer, you're in for something that cannot be fixed. I'll make sure you regret not taking my hand to rule dimensions and travel across galaxies at my side. When I get my hands on you again, I will turn you back into a gold statue that'll be erected onto my record player, forever in a musical dance that spins. You'll be sorry.

        As for your good for nothing brother, there's an end for him that I am counting on. Just you wait, Stanley. Punching my eye and breaking my body in the mind space will be the last time you'll ever lay your mortal hands on me.

        I need to smear my mind blank. The SEA ANGEL of the Theraprism is here. Oh, how she's easy to manipulate. I guess it's why you can consider the gal an angel. It's a shame for her, really, because she's so easy to manipulate. The way she thinks I'm actually changing is HILARIOUS! What a shame for them for when their time comes. They'll all see.

        "Bill Cipher, good stars!" The dim-witted SEA ANGEL greeted happily.

        "Yes, good stars! Haha.." I greeted. 'Haha..'

☪︎ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･❂

Links to the fanfics will be listed here so far:

Wattpad

Quotev

[thewertsearch]

Asks Comp 4/8

The thing is, Davesprite's situation is more complicated than an unfulfilled time loop. His timeline isn't an irrelevant offshoot - in fact, it's integral to the existence of the Alpha Timeline, and presumably always was. Davesprite forms part of a weird, fully intact time loop which spans multiple timelines.

And since this is a future Dave, you have to assume he knows about Bro. The two clearly had a complicated relationship, but he's surely shaken by his death - if nothing else, it's a sign of how serious things have become.

That'll be a fun thing to check out when I've finished the comic! It reminds me of those Hunger Games simulators that were doing the rounds a couple of years ago.

That's true. Dave knows how strong the Underlings have become - and yet, he's still confident that Jade can stand up to them. Presumably she finds some sort of workaround for their First Guardian powers?

Sunslammer is so good! A standout song, even in a comic with as many bangers as this one.

Honestly, part of why I'm dragging my feet on the album reviews is because I want to hear these songs for the first time in context. If I'd heard Descend before watching Descend, I feel like it would have robbed the song of some of its dramatic weight.

I assumed it was just because witches are associated with frogs.

That would have explained why they're part of her Land, but I'm pretty sure that Kanaya's glitched planet was also a frog Land, and she's not a Witch, so...?

*The rest of Sal's response has been redacted, lest we fall once more into the Frog Theory Black Hole.*

I'm pretty sure that's a statue of Echidna, the mother of monsters and Jade's Denizen. Dave's probably close to LOFAF's Palace!

The Seer sees all - and sometimes, she understands the implications before we do.

It'd certainly be interesting. I just reread that conversation, and the biggest takeaway would have been that the kids were going to befriend the trolls, and get involved in their personal drama. This would certainly be consistent with the tone established by an Act 1 Hivebent!

Yup. Vriska was only able to 'create' Perfect Jack because Becquerel didn't object.

Really, he could have prototyped anything he liked, no matter what Vriska did. Even if she tried to shut the Entry down by incapacitating Jade, he could simply have activated the piñata himself.

I mean, that's basically what happened!

If any Aspect is geared around survival, then it's Feferi's. There's no breath left in her body, but our girl is still in the game!

Getting back to the trolls will be interesting, especially since - I assume - we'll be zipping back to when Feferi was still alive. The Veil is a much less friendly place, now - but does Feferi know this? What, exactly, is about to happen to the trolls?

I suppose. I guess there's no reason for every Carapacian to be created with knowledge of the Rings.

Actually, Sburb might not want them to know - Jack's probably not the only one who wouldn't respect the Ring's rules. There could be potential ringwielders out there who are far more dangerous.

Thank you! I feel like I've been doing a lot more character analysis in Act 5 versus previous Acts, where most of my speculation was about the lore. It's a fun change of pace.

Damn, I didn't think we'd actually be explaining these!

It's moments like these which really enhance the comic for me - justifications for things that I genuinely thought were just nitpicks on my part. It's really gratifying, honestly.

@thelegendofgreg asked: Here's some commentary from the jade enter flash, theres uh. alot to read but its all neat stuff "I talked about this way back, maybe even in an earlier book? Well, here I go again, so hold on to your ass. There are four entry items: Apple of knowledge, Bottle of wine, Crow's egg, Dog piñata. A, B, C, D. All of them are related to new life or new beginnings. You bite the apple, you fall from grace, enter a new world, begin this wild journey. You smash a bottle to christen a ship. An egg hatches, creating new life. You break a piöata to celebrate a birthday. Each involves breaking or puncturing something. Each involves a form of sustenance, or something to consume (piñatas have candy inside). Two are vessels for the substance (bottle, Piñata), two are the food items themselves (apple, egg), and one arguably counts as both (egg). Two of them drop from the same basic tree template (apple, piñata). They ramp up in complexity. John's is a simple test: bite the forbidden fruit. Not much to it. A single unit of departure, almost conceptually elemental, like an apple, as Rose goes on about later. The challenges get trickier. Rose has to break a bottle. Easy enough idea, but things go wrong, and she has to take a blind leap to get it done. A sacrificial gesture, and one of faith in a friend (Jaspers). Dave's is even more obscure. A simple test of patience, but one that's not clear. He isn't told what to do and just has to wait. Non-action is the key, and in a way it's another gesture of faith under dire circumstances. Finally, Jade's challenge incorporates a lot of these elements. It's another "blind faith" situation. She has to take a shot in the dark. There's a sacrificial gesture, but instead of risking herself (like Rose), Jade must symbolically sacrifice her friend via effigy and cannot complete the sacrifice without help from that friend. (Bec must redirect the bullet. There's no way this works if he doesn't.) It is also a signifier that the pet she knew as a friend her whole life is about to, in a way, become her enemy. Like a good dog gone bad, who now must be put down."

So they are all intended to be foodstuffs! And, apparently, alphabetical - although I think 'Crow's egg' is a bit of a stretch.

There are also themes of sacrifice and faith that I didn't really think about before. Choosing to enter Sburb at all, knowing the stakes, is absolutely a leap of faith - and it's a game which sacrifices your whole planet. Skaia's been telling us the score this whole time.

Homestuck absolutely deals with dark themes - but they start out buried under the surface, and even now, are still in the process of revealing themselves. This makes sense for Homestuck, a coming-of-age-story whose protagonists are slowly coming to terms with some dark truths about their lives.

Awful Hospital, however, immediately says: here's our protagonist. Her baby is dying. She just woke in a strange room. She doesn't know how she got here. Her baby has been stolen. There are monsters inside her brain. By the way, here's a quip, because this is actually a funny comic. It just felt... dissonant, and not in a fun way. I don't really know what it's going for, tonally.

Don't take this as a negative review, though! I only read a couple dozen pages, so I'm really not qualified to rate the comic - I just wasn't feeling it at the time, so I shelved it. I enjoy a lot of Bogleech's writing, and Awful Hospital's lore sounds pretty interesting, so I'll probably give it another shot at some point.

Not for the most part! I'm super into time travel stories, though, so I'm well-Primed to understand their intricacies.

So there might be intermittent stages between the four we've seen in the kids' session? That'd be interesting - I'd love to see the intermediary stage between John's 2D chessboard and Rose's 3D cube.

There are, at this point, too many awesome songs for me to pick favorites. Umbral Ultimatum and Sunslammer are excellent, but what songs aren't, at this point?

I can't imagine what we're in for when we reach the Act 5.2 finale...

Ooh, interesting. Considering how many accidental references Hussie seems to make, it's honestly up in the air whether that was intentional.

That said....

Jack is looking awfully divine these days.

I suppose Tavros has probably logged the most rocket-hours, yeah.

I'm sure all Breath Players probably learn to fly, unless there are some oddball classes which don't let you interact with your Aspect.

Anonymous asked: forwarding this message to you from someone who doesn't have a tumblr account. ~DJ "Important fact. Dave and Aradia both use musical instruments for time travel, but different ones. Aradia’s is a music box, it has a single prerecorded music, the only way to “play” it is to turn it so it plays the music that was always in it. Dave’s is turntables. They contain a preexisting music, but what you do with them is to jump, cut and shuffle this music, creating something new, having full control of it. - RM"

I like it! As Time Players, they both follow the set path of the Alpha Timeline - but Dave gets a little funky with it, multiplying himself with a complex series of time loops.

Aradia, ever the fatalist, instead turns to doomed clones for reinforcements. I don't think we've ever seen her make a stable loop.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #7

"A Dinosaur in Dimmadelphia" - Full moon in the title card!

Hazel's parents are really engaged in having fun. I'm a little curious as to where this is going, since if we follow the OG lore, Hazel should lose Cosmo and Wanda once she's no longer miserable. I'm curious if they're going to push that direction or retire that bit of lore.

Also, C and W kind of snuck in under the radar and are retired otherwise, so Jorgen probably won't ride them as hard as he used to.

SLKDJF- It's a WHAT?

Obtuse Rubber Goose - 2001 B.C.

Of course she's more into the rocks.

/sweats at the billboard for Atlantis Condos even though it's painted in a mural. Cosmo... (Also I love the dinos by the water coolers in that image).

Man, this is a playground for both Cosmo AND Wanda's destructive histories!

I have feelings about the Fairlysaurus. I question nothing.

They're so cute.

The unfortunate thing about this show is that Whisper can tell me some scientists believe dinosaurs wore top hats and had electricity and unfortunately that's 100% possible in this world.

I like how Hazel's creature-hunting dad listens to Whispers Fred's podcast. That's gonna go well.

I like how Cosmo and Wanda can understand dinosaurs. She would be the type to understand them and wipe them out of existence anyway.

Confirmed 10k-year vacation through time!!

Hazel wishing "I wish people weren't afraid of dinosaurs" after bringing one to the future is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Welp, that solves that.

sldkfj, Wanda proudly talking about the comet that wipes out dinosaur life as if she didn't personally launch that comet.

"If I can't send [the dinosaur] home, I'll do the next best thing: Get him a job!" - I changed my mind, that's even funnier. Hazel, why?

I love the background hills:

I like the implication that people are totally ready to accept the dinosaur as an actor because they're no longer afraid of him, so he can stroll in and not only are they unafraid, they also don't question it. Yeah, that sounds about right.

This vibe is very funny since Timmy usually tried keeping his wishes under wraps. Hazel's just been changing her surroundings and people play along.

I like that Whispers Fred and the museum guy had a bet about dinosaurs having electricity and the museum guy just sighs and pays it. Yeah, okay.

... Do I know that screaming man? Why does he sound familiar? Is he from "T.U.F.F. Puppy?" I know him... Is it Meerkat, my beloved?

-> I looked it up and Meerkat's VA is Daran Norris (Cosmo's VA). So... Yes, it was probably him using a Meerkat-adjacent voice, SKLSDJF.

Mystery mayor...

Is that #1 Dad in the crowd? Where is your baby?

SKLDFJS we're keeping the dinosaur. Okay.

"Fearless" time! - This title card has SPOT-ON Cosmo and Wanda in their old designs. Nice!

Did Hazel share a room with her brother, hence the bunk bed?

I like how Hazel's wardrobe is filled with identical outfits just like Timmy's closet used to be.

I like how the movies are also in 2D animation style.

Dev loves staring at Hazel and judging her in the background, doesn't he?

The kid on the voting poster reminds me of Imaginary Gary.

Note to self, include a trigger warning for this episode if I recommend it to anyone who doesn't like horror. It's no "Dark Harvest" or what-not, but they do a good job of making it creepy to kids, but... whoa.

I like the idea of Jasmine's fears coming to life as separate people outside her body, which is different than when Timmy wished he was fearless and became numb.

Hazel wishing for a Hazel stand-in to hold her place in class was smart. She and Chloe would be friends.

sldkjf, bug spray with the cockroach from "Wanda's Day Off" on it.

The plot about Jasmine having to be the one to face her fears is clever. Also, Hazel implied she has to avoid revealing magic, so it looks like she did get the basic rules explained (and they're still in play in this spin-off).

Wait, why is the girl who was reading "Shakespeare for Mimes" afraid of clowns?

I'm glad the crowns make metallic sounds when they fall since they're magnetic in the OG series.

OH SNAP- Hazel getting called out for "trying to make this friendship into what she had with her brother." That's rough, kid. Forcing Hazel to face her fears is a clever way to introduce her insecurities to the audience. I like it.

The list of champions on the school's wall goes up as far as 2019, and we can't be THAT far in the future since there aren't others.

I did worry where this plot was going, so I'm glad Hazel opted not to watch scary movies and instead pick something her friend wanted to do too :)

[dyns33]

Snatch

I couldn't find any Mickey O Neil x reader story so I wrote one

And since I like Turkish, the story is from his pov

Most people don't know that I have a sister.

Probably because I don't, nor by blood, nor by adoption. Nothing legal or signed on a stupid piece of paper.

But when people ask me, I tell them that I'm her brother.

Yeah, I don't know her name or her adress. So what ? My sister is special.

We met years ago, during a difficult time for both of us. I helped her, she helped me, we knew after that we would always help each other, and she became my little sister.

It was a surprise when I learned about her and Mickey.

I didn't even know that she knew about him, but my sister always knows eveything. She has her weird ways to always know when I'm in deep shit.

She met Mickey a bit after the first combat, and before Brick Top decided to do a barbecue with his mother.

Never told me about that, or at least not when he was around. Maybe she was afraid I would be mad and try to act like a silly big brother, maybe she just thought it was none of my fucking business back then.

But after the gypsies left, she told me.

I could tell it was hard for her. I think she liked him, even if she didn't use the word. My sister never uses words when it comes to things like that.

"I can't believe he knows my adress." she said while staring at the wall, finishing her beer.

Mickey knows her adress. I don't. Nobody does.

It meant something.

After everything that happened in her life, my sis has problems trusting people, men or women. Tommy and I are exceptions, but even with us, she has some limits.

God knows why, the fucking pikey was special. More than me. I'm not jealous. But he broke her heart for sure, and so of course I'm not pleased.

I could see her tiny fragile heart when she told me about their night, and when she came at the arcades months later.

"They're back."

She didn't need to say who. I understood.

What I didn't understand right away was this thing in her eyes. In her voice.

My sister never cries. Not in front of me, not in front of anyone, and certainly not for an asshole. But she was about to, because of him.

"He won't come here." I promised.

She told me I was a stupid optimist, and that I didn't know him. He was inpredictable according to her. So she avoided the arcades, and my place, and the city, and I didn't like that.

Of course I was ever more pissed when she was right and Mickey showed his face, saying that he needed money, he wanted to fight, and he was ready to do it for us since we were good fellas.

He seemed surprised when I refused, and a bit upset. That was easy money, for him and for me.

He was not wrong about that, this fucker was one of the best boxers I ever met, and I could become rich by working with him. But first of all, I'm already rich, thanks to Tommy and his weird dog which offered us a big diamond.

And most important, he hurt my sister.

He seemed even more surprised when I tell him that.

Oh, he understood better why I refused his deal, he did.

He's surprised, because he didn't think that I knew about him and my sister.

I can tell that he's an only kid, like me. I guess the girls at the camp are not talking to their father or brothers, keeping their things to themselves, so nobody would bother them with rules and comments.

I had no idea how to react the first time my sister opened my door, went on my sofa and started to talk about things I didn't care about, people I never fucking heard of, problems that were not mine, but something in my chest told me that it was important. That it meant something.

So I listened, like a good brother.

I asked her once if I was a good brother. She said I was not so bad. Maybe she has siblings, real siblings, I really don't know, but she said I was not so bad, meaning I'm pretty good.

And a good brother doesn't work with the fucker who hurt his sister, even for easy money.

Mickey seemed to accept that and left.

I told my sister, hoping she would come back, but she told me again that I was an idiot.

As always, she was right.

The gipsie returned days after, completely drunk. Tommy was alone when he arrived and had no fucking idea what to do with him, so he let him sit in a corner, offering a coffee and he waited for me.

I had no fucking idea what to do with him either.

The big brother wanted to punch him, but the selfish coward wanted to stay in one piece. If I started a fight with him, I had no chance to win, even if he was wasted.

So I just asked him what he wanted.

"There." he said with his awful giberish that I can't understand half the time. "It's far ya sistah."

He gave me letters. A ton of letters, with a name and an adress on them.

My sister's.

She told me about the adress, not about giving her name. I felt bad for reading it, because if she wanted me to know, she would have told me.

All the letters were sent from a different part of the country, and they all came back to Mickey, because according to the postmen, the person had moved.

I had an adress, and it was already useless. She had moved, right after Mickey left.

He told me to read. I didn't want a drunk pikey to be mad at me, so I did.

Mickey was writing better than he was talking. Maybe he was talking better when he was with her. I never asked her if she could understand everything he was saying, but she seemed to.

In all the letters, he was saying more or less the same things, that he was sorry, that he missed her, that he wanted to come back one day.

They didn't just spent a night. They talked about his ma. He liked having someone outside of the camp to talk about her, and about everything else. She talked to him too, about things that I knew, and things I never heard of.

"Sh's mad at me. Got that. But I miss her, ya'know ? Don't care bout maney n baxes. Here far her. Sh's was nace. Her smile, man… Like the sun, n the sky n all that. Can ya tell her ?"

I didn't want to tell her. I wanted him to leave for good, and my sister to come back and be happy again.

But in his eyes I saw what I saw in her eyes when the fucker was back in town. And he was not back to find a job, he was back because he wanted to see her.

Tommy said that it was cute. I told him to fuck off, and I tried to think. Then I decided that I was not good at thinking, and I gave the letters to my sister.

We met in a pub, and she stared at the papers, at her name, for long minutes, before looking at me.

"You read them ?"

"He asked me to. We don't need to talk about that. You don't even have to read this shit, or see him again."

"You could work with him again if I decided to forgive him."

"I don't fucking care, it's not about him or me."

She stared at me again, before taking the letters, going to another table to read them alone. I have no idea how many time it took her, because she didn't move when she was done, and I approached her like an idiot, not knowing if I could sit with her.

The thing in her eyes was back. I didn't like that. But she seemed less sad.

"What should I do, Turkish ?"

"You will do what you want, as always."

"You really can't work with him anymore if I don't forgive him."

"I got that part. I won't be mad."

"And would you be mad… If I decided to forgive him ?"

I hesitated. Maybe a bit, yeah, because this fucker was an ass who almost got us killed, but he was not a bad lad at the end, and he truly seemed to care about her, so I told my sister that it was not important.

"You will do what you want, even if I'm mad."

"Quite true." she said with a huge smile, and I saw what Mickey meant with the sun and all that. She's a true beauty, my sister.

A real menace too.

She went to the camp behind my back, with Tommy. He had no idea what she wanted to do, but when she asked him to drive her, he did, because he may not be her brother, Tommy is acting a lot like one with her. He has two little sis, it's easier for him.

The gipsies all stared at them, mostly at her, as if they were shocked but glad to see her, then they stared at Mickey when he went out of his caravan.

He stared at her, she stared at him, they all stared at each other.

According to Tommy, it was impossible to tell if you should laugh or cry in this tense situation.

Then my sister made the first move, because she always makes the first move.

"You can work for my brother." she said, giving a card with a number to the pikey.

"Thanks lave, 'lready have his phane."

"It's not his."

Everything changed immediately, and Mickey looked at the number as if it was the holy graal, then at my sister as if she was fucking Jesus, his eyes full of light and a big stupid smile appearing on his face.

My sister tried to keep a very serious face, but someone who knew her well could tell that hiding the same stupid expression.

When they were in the car, Tommy told her that it was cute. She told him to fuck off.

He was about to start when her door opened, and then Mickey was in the car too, his hands on her face, and his lips on her lips, and he kissed her during torturous long minutes for poor Tommy who didn't move, until it was necessary to breath for the three of them.

The fucker had an even more stupid smile on his face after that, like he was in heaven.

"Call ya t'night !" he said.

"You better !"

While going back home, Tommy didn't say anything, looking at the road. My sister told him to fuck off.

After that, if people ask me, I tell them that I have a sister and a brother in law. No idea where they live, and what they're doing most of the time, but at least once per week they're coming to my place to sit on my sofa and talk.

I have no fucking idea what he's saying, and I have no fucking idea what she is talking about, but I'm listening, and I see that Mickey is listening with as much interest as me, because he too knows that it means something, and so I think that it's not so bad.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Can I have a reaction to the Papyrus ending (Toriel, Undyne & Mettaton are dead) in your different AUs?

Undertale Sans - He's exhausted. Who knew being main conselor of the King needed so much work? He sure didn't and understands a lot more why Asgore looked so tired all the time. He's worried all the time, for Papyrus, for the Underground, for the number of birth increasing and the stock of food decreasing. Man, is this how it feels to be an adult? He thought he was already one but clearly he saw nothing yet. At least it helps him to not think too much about all his friends being dead and how his brother is getting more and more like him before all this mess started. He wishes there was a way to go back. It hurts too much to see Papyrus slowly giving up.

Undertale Papyrus - He doesn't know why he accepted to be king. Maybe because Undyne was supposed to be the next Queen and he was Undyne's closest friend. But Undyne is not there anymore, and deep inside, he can't stop thinking that if he stopped the human like he was supposed to, none of this would have happened. He feels guilty about how Sans is losing himself into work, forgetting to eat or sleep more and more often. They don't even see each other that much and it's slowly killing him. He can't stand watching everyone so down, he can't stand people coming to him to say yet another monster has fallen down, he can't stand not being able to do the right choices all the time like Undyne would have done. There's times who he doesn't understand why the humans let him live at all. It's never for long, but there's a part of him who is wondering how long he can keep pretending to believe everything will get better when that's a long time he doesn't believe in anything.

Underswap Sans - He's the king, and he's trying his best to keep things as it should. He's sacrificing a lot of things to the Underground, but he hopes its for the better good. He knows his brother is mad he took the role, and they're not close anymore, but Blue can't afford to save their relationship with so much work. He just hopes they will find the souls soon enough and gets out of this place. He's fully ready to keep going with Toriel's plan to free monsterkind, which his brother can't understand.

Underswap Papyrus - He is bitter and angry. He lost his best friend behind the Ruins door, he lost his friends, damn he even lost Blue. He hoped the King being killed would put some sense into his brother that keep killing children is not going to free them, but Blue didn't listen to him. Honey is on his own now, trying to not give up on everything. He hopes the kid will come back and solve everything, or reset, or anything. Something. He can't keep going like this anymore.

Underfell Sans - He is proud of his brother. Edge is the King they desesperately needed down here. Things are finally getting better, still shitty, but monsters are finally calming down on murders and actually trying to find solutions to get free. Red's is mainly making sure no one is attempting to murder his brother to get the throne and reporting the situation. For once, he has some hope things will get better. Too bad it needed a genocide for this.

Underfell Papyrus - The job is hard, but not harder than his job as a captain. Sure, Undyne dying was really not something he needed since the two of them were supposed to rebel one day and stole the throne from Asgore's hands, but he's trying to keep the head clear and make sure everything is under control. They're trying to find a pacific way to get out, and he hopes they will find them soon. He knows a lot of people put their faith in him, believing he could do better than Asgore. He doesn't want to decieve them. He wants to make his people proud.

Horrortale Sans and Papyrus - They're technically kings since Undyne is dead, with Toriel's helping to learn the job, but, uh... That's not their thing, and it's not like there's a hell lot of people to rule anyway. They're here to play mediators when they're problems, but that's basically it. They are both convinced monsterkind don't want a new king, they just want people who can defend them in case they're problems, that's all.

Swapfell Sans - He hates his job. He hates being the new king. He feels Toriel's shaddow on him even now that she is dead. She did it. She manages to transform him into the perfect soldier, her little heir and now everyone wants him even more dead. He tries to change things, but he is just too associated to Toriel for things to go better. The Underground wants him dead, and he is very aware of this. He is not sure how much time he has before they knock his door over and execute him publicly. He pushed Rus away to make sure they don't associated him with his problems. Their relationship was about to break anyway. It's better that way. Even if it hurts him to see him take side with the rebels.

Swapfell Papyrus - He can't stand with his brother this time. He hoped things would change like everyone else, but nothing did. Rus engaged in the rebellion. He doesn't want his brother dead like most of them, he just wants him out of the throne. However, the day they managed to get a hold on Nox, he won't stop them from executing him. Rus feels guilty, but knows he did the right thing. Nox is finally free from Toriel now.

Fellswap Gold Sans - Oh, people were not happy when he took the throne. He is even worst than Toriel. The Underground is even more a dictatorship and everyone against him will die. He doesn't care about getting out, Wine just wants power, and he finally has it. He doesn't care how his brother is scared of him, he doesn't care how everyone is fearing him. He is king now. And no one will stop him.

Fellswap Gold Papyrus - Wine is scaring him. A lot. For months, he closed his eyes, believing his brother for here for the better, but the more time passes, worst it gets, and Coffee is sick of seeing people die or gets executed for nothing. His anger builts up months and months until he realised one day Wine would never doubt his loyalty or his trust. He's poisonning his brother one evening, then goes to hide in the Ruins, letting the Underground fall into chaos.

[lawluenvy]

exmo thought:

i think the reason why so many of the kids we thought would forsure leave the church growing up because they swore and on occassion would drink and dated before they were 16 are somehow STILL members...

is for the same reason they "broke the rules" as teens

they're susceptible to their surroundings. they cave to peer pressure and their only desire is to "fit in"

as they age they stay in church and they go through the motions not because they actually have faith in it but because their family does. the community they've known their whole life does

as they leave school and are no longer spending 8 hours of their day around "bad influences" they take on the mormon persona once again because it is now the most significant group of people available to and around them

honestly, it's really easy to stay in the church even if you're not a TBM - because it is SO much harder to turn your back on the one consistent thing you've known your whole life

and if you stay long enough but you also don't care enough to dig deeper into the scripture and teachings and history - then eventually you'll have a Moment. it will be the Holy Ghost Moment that re-converts you

and you'll stay. and your family will be happy. and you'll convince yourself that you are too, grasping at any and all Holy Ghost Moments that you encounter

it is so much easier to fall back on what's familiar than to leave and forge a new path- often times entirely on your own

when you leave the church you leave a massive support network that you then have to learn to live without and for a lot of people that's just too hard

those same kids in junior high and high school that weren't good mormons are thrust into a world where now that easiest place to "fit in" is the church

so they stay

meanwhile those of us who were TBM facing a crisis of faith will feel betrayed after we sought to know more, after we invested so much time and energy in being a TBM just to find out- searching not to dismantle but to understand and embody the teachings- the organization that we belong to that we loved and relied on and defended was not what we thought it was

and then it's all downhill from there

[kay-wren]

I'll Come Running - R.C. - Chapter 65

"Princess," Rafe began to speak to his daughter who was sitting to his right at the dining table, his wife to his left watched intently. Charley's eyes buzzed with charisma as she looked up at her father waiting for more words. "Starting today you can only eat at the table, okay? No more eating in your room or on the couch."

Jessie didn't have the energy to protest, opting to raise her eyebrows as she ate her perfectly prepared lunch. It was clear by the look on the child's face that she didn't quite understand why the new rule was in place, but she didn't protest. Rafe didn't expect her to know immediately, but he trusted she would learn over time. He went back to eating.

"I've got some meetings later tonight after Charley goes to bed. You're welcome to wait up for me but I just want you to know it's gonna be a late night." Rafe thought he was being kind by giving Jessie a heads up, yet the words felt sharp, especially considering they were not accompanied by eye contact. She hesitated to speak, but she mustered an answer.

"Why're they so late?"

"Because they're in different time zones." Rafe responded quickly as he chewed his food, not seeming annoyed, just trying to keep it simple.

"Oh." Jessie exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding and went back to eating.

"Daddy, can we play later?" Charley asked in her broken English as she played with the kids fork in her hand. Rafe was quick to correct her hand movement as he pointed the fork back down to the food gently.

"Not today, sweetheart. Daddy's got work to do."

Charley had no words, only a look that could make anyone melt. Her lip quivered a little as she looked down at her food that she was suddenly uninterested in eating. Rafe noticed, and he had to look away.

"I'll play with you, baby. Whatever you wanna play." Jessie answered with a conjured smile.

"But I wanted to play wrestllllle... only uncle JJ and daddy play thaaaat."

Charley was right, her father and uncle were always the best at "wrestling" with the toddler. They could always throw her around like a rag doll and she thought it was the best game ever. It didn't help that Charley of course missed her uncle, so she was leaning on her daddy especially more.

"I can wrestle just as good daddy!" Jessie said with a scoff as she pretended to be hurt. Charley laughed.

"Ain't that the truth." Rafe uttered under his breath as he quickly took a bite of his food. The sarcasm was dripping from his tone, knowing that he wasn't talking about physical wrestling. Touché Jessie thought.

"Maybe we can call uncle JJ later. Sound good, doll?" Jessie asked, to which Charley immediately gasped and nodded frantically with newfound bright eyes once again.

After a few hours of getting settled and playing around of course, Jessie got Charley tired enough to get ready for bed. The two girls hadn't seen much of Rafe since lunch due to him being shut away in his office. Although, from time to time they could certainly hear him.

As Jessie bathed her daughter she tried her hardest not to miss the man she wished was sitting next to her. She tried not to let the mental distance get to her. Jessie saw this as an opportunity to make her bond with Charley even stronger, feeling that once again her daughter was her strength... her reason to keep going. Although, this time around, the distance hit much harder. The rift between her and Rafe was no longer only thousands of miles apart, it was 18 inches apart from their head to their hearts, both breaking in two at the moment. This time the distance was much harder given that Jessie now had to balance an unhealthy family dynamic rather than just being a healthy single mom. This was her worst nightmare... and the whole reason she left. She could see Rafe turning into the emotionless man he once was. Although, she didn't let the worry show on her face and merely put her energy into taking care of her daughter like she always had.

Despite Rafe being busy, Jessie knew he wouldn't be too busy to tell his daughter goodnight. At least she'd hoped. With that, she took a freshly cleaned, pajama clad girl into his office, not before softly knocking on the door and poking her head in to hopefully take the brunt of whatever frustration he might have in the moment. She opened the door to see a disheveled man with papers strewn all over his desk and a pin tapping furiously in his right hand. He jerked his head up with wide eyes of curiosity when he heard the door open.

"Charley wants to say goodnight."

Rafe's face immediately went soft as he pushed his desk chair back to accept the impending snuggles.

"Well bring her in here." He replied quickly with a smile. For once Jessie could see that it was real, as he really could use a sweet distraction right now, or at least something to bring him back down to earth. Jessie cracked a smile and opened the door a little wider to reveal a shy little girl hiding behind her legs looking for approval to come running. Rafe caught on to her silent plea and opened his arms wide. Suddenly the toddler ran furiously to her father with hands swinging and giggles flying.

"Come herrrrre!" Rafe growled jokingly as he scrunched up his face and picked up his daughter to sit her in his lap as he bear hugged her, throwing her into a fit of more giggles. He then tickled her which sent her head backwards and feet flying aimlessly. He got up from his chair and spun her around the room.

"Daddy! Airplane!"

Rafe knew exactly what that meant. Jessie watched as he held Charley up out in front of him and she extended her arms like the wings of an airplane. He then made the plane noise with his lips and "flew" her all the way to her room across the hall, to which she couldn't help but laugh. He "crash landed" her right into her bed and sat himself comfortably beside her as he tucked her in. Jessie joined them quietly, trying not to disturb the moment Charley was getting with her father.

"Goodnight, baby. I love you." Rafe said softly as he swiped some hair out of his daughter's face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

"Yuv you too, daddy!" Charley replied with a grin as she buried herself shyly into the pillows. Jessie told her goodnight as well and brought some of her neatly folded blankets over to snuggle up with like she always liked. With that, they both went to the doorway.

"Ya know what I say, princess. If you need mommy or daddy, just yell..."

"Cuz you come runnin!" Charley finished the sentence, to which they both nodded and turned out the light and softly shut the door.

There the two adults stood across from each other, Rafe putting his hands in his front pockets and Jessie rubbing her hands together. They both inhaled sharply and looked at each other, not really sure of what to do or say.

Jessie was silently begging for Rafe to come around, to say something, anything, that had even a hint of emotion behind it. But the words wouldn't come, instead, she watched as her husband nodded his head and looked everywhere but his wife's eyes.

"Well..." Rafe hushed as he clapped his hands together. "I should uh... get back to work."

Jessie just nodded her head with a half smile, although Rafe definitely picked up on the defeated look on her face. He had to disregard it as he trudged behind her back to his office. Jessie looked back as she watched him hang his head low. She assumed he didn't know she was watching, but she of course caught on to his exhaustion. She took a deep breath trying to decide what to do next.

Jessie slowly walked back down the hallway, her bare feet now taking the time to feel the soft expensive carpet underneath her. Her toes curled up around it as she admired it for just a second before making her way over to the kitchen.

She looked around at the gold crusted faucets and handles. She ran her hand over the no doubt priceless marble island in the middle of the cream colored kitchen. It was simply her and the single warm light above the island to keep her company in the otherwise dark room. She took the opportunity to pretend like she was back in her old apartment... her old home... and opened the fridge as if she was sneaking a midnight snack. This time, the fridge was filled with the best fresh fruit and veggies, more cheeses than she knew existed, and any flavor of drink she could want— definitely not her old fridge, but it would work for what she wanted. She decided to make Rafe a sandwich, knowing he didn't bother coming down for dinner and was undoubtedly hungry even if he didn't say so.

This seemed to be the time she had most enjoyed today, considering the chef went home and the house was quiet. She streets outside were also quieter. She grabbed the plate full of food and walked out towards the living room, stopping to look out the large window. She looked down at the city below her, feeling like she was miles away from the life she once lived down there. She used to be right in the middle of the hustle and bustle, and now she was so far removed she felt sterile. She thought the city was quieter, but really, it was just her own home... her own mind. After all, New York never sleeps...

Jessie pulled herself away from the windows, deciding to take the long, heavy curtains and shut out the city below her, no longer being able to take the fear of missing out. She was not Jessie, she was Mrs. Cameron. And she convinced herself she needed to get used to that. Bringing her husband this sandwich was the first way to do that.

She knocked on the door ever so slightly before hearing a stern "come in". She popped her head through just like before to reveal a once again laser focused man. He looked up still with furrowed brows. Jessie laughed to herself as she realized Rafe couldn't fix his face even if he tried, and now that his daughter was in bed across the hall, he certainly was no longer trying. She was somewhat glad he let his guard down, even if it was to reveal imminent frustration towards her.

"Can I come in?" Jessie asked politely with innocent eyes and a half smile.

"Yeah." Rafe said more as a question than a statement as he sat back in his chair to try and stretch out his back.

"I, uh... I knew you didn't come around for dinner so... I made you a sandwich." Jessi replied as she set the plate down gently, feeling like the clack of the porcelain on the wood would have given Rafe a headache. He looked at the sandwich, it had everything he liked on it. Jessie remembered. It even had strawberries on the side, one of Rafe's favorites, cut in halves like he prefers. Not even a private chef could have made something so perfect.

He swallowed as he contemplated his next words, now looking Jessie in the eyes. However, he couldn't look for long, as even in her timid state she was still so captivating... so intimidating to him. He cowered at her attempt to get closer to him. He knew what this was. She missed him, but she couldn't say it with words. Neither could he. He blinked a few times to regain his thoughts.

"Thanks." He uttered through a crack in his voice, immediately clearing his throat and going back to his papers. Jessie didn't say anything else, she only nodded and walked slowly back towards the door, praying he would say something else. She tried to give him all the time in the world to do so without making it obvious. But of course, Rafe knew his Jessie inside and out, and what she didn't know is that he was watching her every move as she left, drinking in every detail until he felt drunk off of her presence. Her hand touched the doorknob.

"Jessie."

She swung her body quicker than either one of them anticipated with bright eyes and a smile Rafe hadn't seen in a while.

"Yeah?" She asked in anticipation. God, Rafe knew exactly where Charley got her excited eyes from. It killed him that they both hung on to his every word like this. He tried to play it cool as he allowed for a slight pause. He contemplated his words as his lips found his teeth in thought. He began to click the pin again furiously, looking down at the carpet.

"I've got some executives coming in tomorrow night for drinks and to discuss business, I'd like you to be there." Rafe said as more of an emotionless statement. Jessie's posture weakened and she exhaled.

"Okay." She simply said as she walked right back out with a stride that left no time to waste.

As soon as the door closed, Rafe groaned and put his head in his hands in defeat.

"Are you stupid?" He whispered to himself as he hit his head repeatedly with the palm of his hand. He reclined back in his chair as he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes to block out the painful memory of what just happened. All the words he could have said... all the words he wanted to say... and he said that. He shook his head as the words kept replaying over and over. More importantly, his wife's face... her look of rejection played in his mind on loop. He couldn't distract himself no matter how much work was on his desk and no matter how big of a meeting was coming up. Shit, the meeting. Rafe widened his eyes as he looked frantically at his watch. He only had a few minutes. He quickly put all the papers in their respective folders and tried to file them away in his desk. In his haste to look for his laptop charger, he opened his center desk drawer, where he found more than what he bargained for. Amidst the imported cigars and the felt pins, he found the bag of cocaine he slipped in the desk earlier that day. He hasn't touched it all day, yet suddenly he felt like he needed a hit to get him through this meeting, especially after he just embarrassed himself in front of his estranged wife. Unlike all the times before, it didn't take much convincing for Rafe to form a neat line right on the cherry oak and snort it in seconds. He had to have some relief from the war going on in his mind. As expected, he immediately began to feel better, now feeling as if he was awake and alert and ready for his coveted meeting.

[writerbuddha]

I read one of your older posts about Padmé loving Anakin despite what he has done to the tuskens, and while she was right that there was still good in Anakin, why did she decide to deliberately start an attached relationship with Anakin? She knows Jedi can't have attachments, she's compassionate to him, she can basically be a Jedi herself, but like Anakin, she also decides to break the rules. Ultimately costing the galaxy over half a decade of suffering. So why are Luke and Padmé put on the same pedestal of loving Anakin? They both saw the good in him, BUT one was willing to give up attachments (Luke), while the other wasn't (Padmé).

Hello! :) This would take a bit of explaining!

It's important to understand that marriage and romantic love are not inherently attachments or types of "an attached relationship", so even thought Padmé did decide to break the rules, she wasn't decided to "deliberately start an attached relationship with Anakin."

The problem is that their relationship wouldn’t work, because a Jedi Knight doesn’t go where he wants to, but where he is needed. For a good Jedi Knight, who lives on the joy of compassion and giving himself to others, the two are the same. Obviously, there are many functions and roles in life where one can live on compassion and on giving oneself to others, and also being able to get married and start a family, but the role and function of a Jedi Knight, who is a guardian of peace and justice in the entire known universe, dedicating his life to lifelong spiritual and psychological progress, marriage and kids would cause troubles for him and for his family as well.

In Episode II, Anakin is entirely taken over by his emotional feelings of being in love with her rather than the practical feelings of knowing, their relationship would be doomed from the start. He is in love with her, so he wants to be with her, he is blinded by his love. “You are asking me to be rational." He tells Padmé, "That is something I know I cannot do.” By contrast, Padmé keeps her feet on the ground, she is mindful of her emotions, and she says, "I can't. We can't. It's... just not possible". She explicitly tells Anakin, "We live in a real world! Come back to it! You’re studying to become a Jedi. I’m a Senator. If you follow your thoughts through to conclusion, it will take us to a place we cannot go. Regardless of the way we feel about each other.”

Anakin proposes a secret relationship, but Padmé points out, "We'd be living a lie, one we couldn't keep even if we wanted to. I couldn't do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live like that?" And eventually, Anakin admits, "No. You're right. It would destroy us." So, she is able to see where their feelings would lead them if they choose to act on them, and she is able to say no, even though she is in love with him as well, and she is able to keep Anakin in reality too, won't letting him to give up his future for the sake of a romantic relationship with her. Only when she believes, they will be massacred on the sands of the execution arena of Geonosis, she decides, it won't do harm, “I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway" and confesses to Anakin, "I truly, deeply love you, and before we die, I want you to know.”

She lets her guard down, she crosses a point of no return, and when they get out of the arena alive, Padmé makes a crucial mistake in her life by marrying Anakin, that is to succumb to her emotional feelings of being in love with him, rather than the practical feelings of knowing that it's a doomed relationship, that it would destroy them. In this, she mirrors Luke once again: he made a mistake in Episode V, he was succumbing to his emotional feelings for his friends rather than the practical feelings of knowing that he is not ready at all to be able to save anyone from Darth Vader. "She married the wrong guy" as Lucas would say about them, "But they do love each other. They're truly in love with each other. It's the issue of true love over duty."

The burning beauty of their love story and of Padmé's character is that she knows that their love shouldn't be allowed to blossom into a relationship like this, but she is defeated by it, she succumbs to it. And in the Clovis Arc of Clone Wars, we can see that it's her, again, who recognizes that they made a mistake. In Senate Spy, she is unhappy with not being able to spend time with Anakin, but she, unlike him, is able to manage it, as it was shown in Hostage Crisis. The traditional "temptress" trope is very much challenged in Lucas' Star Wars: it's Anakin who tempts Padmé, he gets her to eat the forbidden fruit, and he constantly tries to tempt her again and again, which takes a very dark form when he tells her," together, you and I can rule the galaxy, make things the way we want them to be!" (Disclaimer: I can already see that dots in some people's head are connected, so to be clear: this is not to say that Anakin is the snake in Padmé's garden or the seductive, tempting devil on her shoulder who leads her astray.) In the Rise of Clovis, Padmé says it out loud, "That other people who are married have everything that we don't, everything that we won't" and "We said at the beginning that this could be a terrible mistake." She attempts to end the relationship, but she eventually loses the battle once again and they stay together.

"So why are Luke and Padmé put on the same pedestal of loving Anakin?"

Padmé made a mistake, she took the emotional, but least practical and least wholesome route, but that wasn't attachment. She and Luke were both having compassionate love for Anakin: they wanted him to be happy and free from suffering, their love was selfless and unconditional, allowing them to approach him in the same way. Her love didn't change even when he behaved very negatively. It caused her suffering, she was able to balance her love with her duties, she was willing to sacrifice crucial aspects of their marriage again and again. She managed to bring non-attachment into their marriage, even though there were times when she struggled with letting go, she always managed to do that. In Episode III, she ultimately lets go of Anakin: "You're going down a path I can't follow." she utters, and she is prepared to leave him, with Obi-Wan, as Lucas confirmed.

She was unwilling to turn to the dark side and assisting to his ambitions to be Emperor, even if this would mean losing him. Thus, she wasn't attached to Anakin, and she didn't know Anakin will be attached to her, so she didn't "decide to deliberately start an attached relationship with Anakin." Anakin, however, wasn't unable to do the same. Even though it was Padmé whom Anakin was unable to let go of, who he wanted to hold on to, she isn't responsible for his actions. It wasn't her entering into a romantic relationship with Anakin, and it wasn't her marrying Anakin what caused his fall to the dark side, and ultimately, the birth of the Galactic Empire.

[tending-the-hearth]

ok so i promise that after this post i'm done talking about the Edmund and peter dynamics but i just have to be annoying once more time about their dynamic in "Prince Caspian" because it's SO well done without shoving all of their character progression out the window!!!

prev. posts on the matter:

the sibling dynamic differences btw the lion the witch and the wardrobe + prince caspian

ed and peter's relationship progression through tltwtw

ed giving peter reassurance + support

the Sibling Huddle + ed going from the outskirts of his siblings affection/protection to being right in the middle of it

OK ONWARDS (and again this is going to be a long post so buckle up)

the first time we see Edmund again, he's once again racing into the middle of a fight to protect his big brother. So we know that their dynamic of protecting one another has stayed the same, and Edmund's now not afraid to stand at his brother's side to keep him safe.

and when the fight is over, we get the assumption that Peter is annoyed with Edmund for stepping into the fight.

but that's not it at all.

Peter was a king for fifteen years, and he was suddenly thrown back into being a child without any warning. It's been a year, and he's obviously struggling to cope with the sudden change (which, that's definitely understandable. peter's having to grow up twice, once as a king, and once as a normal child, and it's difficult). In Peter's mind, Edmund shouldn't have to defend him, because the fight was stupid. He knows that.

and when they return to Narnia, they're back to that fun, goofy brotherly dynamic we see in the second half of "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", where they're just being brothers! they're back home, they're back in the place they're most comfortable!

this picture is here because i can't get over the fact that the four of them just subconsciously always fall into walking in their throne order, like they probably spent their fifteen years sitting and standing in that order that it's ended up just being second nature to them!!!

and then when Lucy and Susan run off towards the beach, we get one of my favorite lil moments between Peter and Edmund

they're back to acting like kids, but it's on THEIR terms! you get the feeling that this is 100% how they acted in their early years of ruling Narnia, like the kids they were, having fun with each other while learning how to actually rule.

when Edmund asks "Where do you suppose we are?" and Peter responds with "Well, where do you think?", Edmund doesn't get snarky and sarcastic like he would have at the beginning of TLtWtW, and Peter, after hearing Edmund's response about the ruins, doesn't get huffy or annoyed.

we LOVE healthy sibling communication 😭😭😭😭

also i really really love that Edmund's the one who realizes that Cair was attacked, because his role as the Just King was negotiations and working with other countries, and Peter looking to him for the answer is SO wonderfully in character as they settle back into their roles as kinds and queens!!!

i won't go TOO into detail abt this scene, because i already have a post about it, but i love it so so much!!! the way Edmund sounds like he's teasing Peter, and Peter obviously trying to sound angry while trying to hold back his own laughter!!!!

when they save Trumpkin, look at how they react:

The girls stay back (obviously bc Susan's got a good shot with her bow) and Peter starts running. Edmund looks to Peter to see his reaction, and immediately follows after him

and when Lucy sees Aslan, Peter doesn't believe her. It's only when Edmund brings up their first time visiting Narnia, when he says "the last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid". THAT'S when Peter goes back to Lucy and asks why he didn't see Aslan, and I absolutely love that moment. Because yeah, Peter's a little pissed at Aslan, so having the sibling who doubted Narnia + it's existence the most coming to Lucy's defense would definitely help Peter believe a bit more.

then, when they do arrive at Aslan's How:

this is honestly the MOST relaxed we've seen the siblings. They're back to doing what they've known for the past fifteen years, they're settling into familiar dynamics! It's easy for them to go back to their roles as kings and queens, fighting for their country.

when Jadis appears, and Peter's caught in her spell, that's probably the biggest moment for Edmund in the movie. Just like how the "why can't you learn to do as you're told?" line is echoed at the beginning and end of the first movie, the "i had it sorted" line is echoed at that moment. But Peter's face isn't annoyed, and Edmund's isn't necessarily angry.

Peter looks terrified, and Edmund looks more worried than we've ever seen him.

He's seeing Peter fall into that pattern of resentment and anger that led Edmund himself to fall into Jadis' clutches their first adventure into Narnia. He knows that if Peter isn't careful, he's going to play right into her hands, and he can't let his older brother go through what he went through. Peter faltering when he faces Jadis in both "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian", whereas Edmund being the one to face down the witch in all three movies (his scene with her in "Dawn Treader" is still one of my favorites) is so important to Edmund's character, because he's facing his trauma in different ways.

it's also Peter's wakeup call, seeing Edmund's reaction, as well as seeing Susan's reaction. He realizes that he needs to change his behavior, or else bad things will happen.

also Edmund being the only one really to call Peter "Pete" is so important to me, i love hearing the siblings' nicknames for each other 😭

and this moment basically being identical to the moment after Peter finds out Aslan's died, only this time, instead of seeking out Edmund's support, he's sought out Lucy, and we get a glimpse into what Peter and Lucy's dynamic absolutely looked like when they were older in Narnia

also Edmund always standing on Peter's right side makes me EMOTIONAL bc again it's probably just a subconscious move due to the fact that that's how their thrones were positioned, and they're probably just so used to standing that way!!!

and then there's my fucking FAVORITE Edmund scene in this entire movie

LOOK at this smug fucker

Peter thrives off of leading his people, but Edmund thrives off of negotiations and being a little shit to rulers three times his age 😌

and you can't see it, but when Caspian brings up the idea of the duel, Peter turns around to look at Edmund (who's sort of behind the pillar but he's there!!)

because Peter knows this isn't his area of expertise, it's Edmund's, so it should be up to his brother to decide if it's a good idea. Because yeah, Peter's the High King, but like Edmund says to Miraz, he's a king as well. He's on the same level as Peter, and Peter knows this, and treats him like his equal.

AND ONCE AGAIN DURING THE DUEL WE SEE A MIRROR OF THE BATTLE IN THE FIRST MOVIE

Susan and Lucy have gone off on their own, to find Aslan. they're away from danger and relatively safe (at least, that's what Peter believes). Edmund is at Peter's side, his second in the fight, and is there as support and to help him in whatever way he can.

and Edmund telling Peter to keep smiling, because they've done this before, Peter's had duels that probably didn't start off as well as he planned, and both Peter and Edmund know they have to keep the Narnians' spirits up, and even though their smiles are absolutely awful, they still put on a show for their people

(contrasted against Caspian, who obviously isn't used to this, and doesn't smile, letting his worry show clear through)

this is probably my favorite moment of theirs in the movie. When Peter asks "what happens back home, if you die here?". It's something that obviously neither of them have ever thought of before, and Edmund obviously really, REALLY doesn't want to think about his big brother dying. And Peter trying to be emotional, trying to thank Edmund for being at his side, but Edmund stopping him, being the rational one, telling him to save it for later because he really can't bear the thought of those being Peter's last words to him.

this moment isn't really anything major, but their positioning again!!!! before Susan comes in, Caspian is right at Peter's left. She puts herself between them, not to be rude or anything, but because this is the lineup they're used to. Peter with Susan on his left and Edmund on his right. Whatever battles they found during their rule, this was most likely how they did fight when Susan was on the ground with them. Again, they fall back into this order whenever they're together, and it just makes my heart explode

also this is a v bad screenshot because it's far away, but

the three of them sticking together during the battle, with Peter and Edmund going off for the more close combat fighting, leaving Susan open to be able to fire her bow and use her arrows without being blocked or interrupted!!! It's so obvious that this is something they've practiced, this is a usual fighting dynamic for them, and i just love seeing how they interact during this fight (also ty to the costumers for putting only the pevensies in the red tunics + dress, it makes it so much easier to see them)

ok i did lie about this post being the last one bc i'm absolutely making one on their costumes in this scene!! but i do love that the last time we see them in Narnia, they're still in their throne order, just reversed!!!

and finally, they're back in their throne order!!!

okay, i'm done with this post, it was longer than i expected it to be rip

@queen-with-the-quill @hilli98215 @storyweaverofgondor

[piastrinorris]

i'm in a real steve-y mood today apparently so here's some cheerscoops bc well. it's me, The Cheerscoops Mutual™

wc: 0.8k, just fluff, mention of them both having shit parents bc well.

the cunninghams take chrissy's brother on vacation with them, but tell her that since she turned 18, if she wants to go on holidays too, she has to pay her own way ‐ except they go to super bougie ski resorts, lake houses, all places a freshly graduated high school senior could never afford on her own income.

she hates the idea of being the only person in the whole house, though, and as much as she loves her cheer girls, they're gonna hear the words empty house and suddenly half of hawkins are partying freely, which she knows her parents would kill her for.

and so, she asks eddie if maybe he wouldn't mind staying over in the guest room. he can even hold hellfire meetings there if he wants, but the neighbours would definitely complain if the band practised there, so that's a no-go. eddie says he'd love to, but he did promise wayne a Munson Men Fishing Trip. instead, he suggests that if she needs someone in the house with her, he could always ask steve.

and chrissy is dubious. sure, steve was a jock, but socially he was a whole other breed in school. the only people worthy of his company were tommy and carol, and then nancy wheeler - and then that weird period at the end of his senior year where he just kind of floated around. she understands that some of eddie's hellfire kids are how he's connected to steve, but she doesn't see how that warrants him accepting an offer from eddie to go stay with someone who was an acquaintance in school at best. so chrissy tells him not to worry, that she'll think of something.

but eddie can tell when she's hiding her disappointment, so he instead offers up a game and movie night, where he'll come over, in his jammies, they can get take-out (he promises to take the trash away with him so her parents never know) and just hang out together for one night before he goes fishing with wayne.

what he doesn't tell her, and she only finds out when she sees a further three people also wearing loungewear stood at her door, is that eddie invited steve, robin and nancy, too. and they have fun together, watching movies that steve and robin bicker over whose choice gets played first, and playing games that eddie and nancy bicker over the rules of. and yet despite all the arguing, there's clearly a lot of love in the room.

chrissy totally twigged as soon as she saw eddie holding a six-pack that he was going to use drinking as an excuse to have everyone stay over, but still she pretends to be surprised when eddie announces he "forgot" that he's the only one who can drive them home once he was four beers in.

she sets everyone up in different rooms and does one final scan of the house to see what needs to be cleaned up. that's always been her role in the family, anyway, it's what's expected of her, it's second nature, plus now she has to be a Good Hostess as per her mother's standards, even though she's hundreds of miles away. but chrissy sets her alarm clock early so that everyone else wakes up to a clean house.

except when she gets downstairs the next morning, steve is already there, holding a trash bag that's already two-thirds full with pizza boxes and beer cans. he locks eyes with chrissy and jokes that the easiest way to keep anywhere clean is to wrap eddie in a trash bag before he can create any more mess, which makes her laugh.

chrissy asks why he felt the need to clean up after everyone, let alone so early. he shrugs and mentions something about how he grew up, but chrissy knows his tone. it's the same one she uses when she talks about her parents without actively disrespecting them. she shares an anecdote about her family, he starts opening up about his, until finally she lets slip that according to her parents, cleaning up is Her Job, and that's why she got up so early.

to which he finally admits that the reason he feels the need to clean up was always so that his parents might recognise his contribution to the household. and it's just become a habitual way for him to show his appreciation for people, by tidying up for them. especially since other people tend to be more appreciative of steve's efforts than his parents are.

neither chrissy nor steve say anything when eddie announces he's leaving and only rounds up nancy and robin to get in the van with him. partly because they didn't even realise until way later, and partly bc they don't mind in the slightest.

[one-coming-is-enough]

Brother, you are going to be the best King this Universe has ever seen. It's quite evident in almost everything you do, actually.

Are you aware of that? I do hope you're aware of that.

Thank You! I'm going to try My best.

If I succeed, well... I think that's the point of Me? i can't really take credit for My own self just doing stuff I was supposed to do in the first place.

And if I don't... :/ I hope I don't disappoint everyone. They all have a lot of faith in Me.

Even You.

Um. It's. Yeah. It's really, really nice to know that even the former Severity of Judgement is, um. Has. Faith? In. Me???

Because. Nobody is certain. Really certain. How it's all. Gonna.

Well. If I'm ruling Hell. Um. And I'm also ruling 1/3 of Heaven like I am now...

That's 2/3 of Heaven I am not ruling. Mother kept those parts for Herself.

So, Christian Heaven (this is a VERY broad definition of Christian here, folks, we take a lot of "I guess I believe in something" people because their understanding of "something" is still "Heaven/Hell/monogamy/forgiveness/Santa Claus Is Important Somehow." I can't sue him for breach of contract because technically he fulfills his part of the bargain that way -- and I'll tell that story, it just pisses Me off so much it'll take a minute) is not warring with Hell for, like... The first time ever.

Yeah. It'll take a while to sort it out, but as of now they're both under My leadership, so a fight would be a huge conflict of interest for everyone involved.

Jewish Heaven is... They're not fighting anyone. It's like a luxury cruise liner. There's an endless buffet, there are gaming rooms where you can play whatever games you want with your friends and family, there's even talent shows and beauty pageants (we had to keep it to participation trophies for the kinder, because the kids don't care if they win first place as long as they all get the same amount of candy for participating, but grandparents would turn it into fucking Valhalla for their bubbeleh if you let them).

The angelic presence there is minimal. They're basically Janets, if you know from The Good Place. Occasionally one of the big names will drop by for a meet 'n' greet day and to crown a winner for something, but I think it's just when they need a break anyway.

The Muslims who get into Heaven are all pretty chill people, fortunately. The murderous zealots do get into Hell, like every other faith beneath our tent, but it's kinda pleasing how fast a lot of them catch on once they realize they're not getting what they thought they would. I guess when your afterlife is that concretely described, you have a pretty solid metric of whether you did the right thing or not.

Don't get Me wrong, the angels who serve their Heaven are willing to throw down. Some of their humans might, reluctantly. But the majority of them up there are going to remember that the jihad of a well-reasoned and well-stated argument is always the first resort, before defensive violence. They will try to explain to the demons why they should stop fighting. And their angels will be backing them up going, "You better agree with my homie or my sword is in your brain before you can finish saying the 'O' in 'No'."

But. My slice of Heaven is full of some of the worst shitheads in the world who repented right before they died, but... Didn't fully understand why they were repenting. Their brains just went, "If I make myself feel 'bad' about my 'serial ritual murders' and tell Jesus that I feel that way, I can get into a Better Place."

I agreed to let a lot of real shitbags into My slice of Heaven, is what I'm saying.

And a lot of them do not understand why killing and horrible violence is wrong to do to people, and have only recently managed to come around to "They might have been nice to you one day if you hadn't killed them."

It's a work in progress, and I try to keep them away from the people I'm providing permanent positions as "consultants and entertainment" to (so they don't get pushed into the veal lots once they're done perfecting themselves) so they don't, like... Decide to torture George Frideric Handel for fun. They just practice on each other.

But yeah there's a whole fuckin holding area of deeply pious sociopaths who love Me more than anything else Up There.

*sigh*

Look what happened with the zombies, man. I'm really worried this is gonna blow up in My face spectacularly and something terrible will happen again because I was a naïve idiot.

That happens to Me a lot.

I mean, look what happened with...

*gestures at all of Christianity from Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus to the present moment, in which hardcore Christians pray that Donald Trump will nuke Iran to bring Me back once I get him back in office, which I'm actively trying to make not happen as hard as I can*

Yeahhhhh.

Good intentions, but I'm. I'm wearing a cheerful hand-knitted sweater to My reception as Ruler of Hell, at which I will gently suggest that it might be fun to build safe dwellings for tiny, vulnerable little birds that are known to eat harmful things.

I'll be relieved if I'm not immediately murdered in fifteen hundred ways simultaneously, because I can take it but it's still painful.

Most likely scenario is I am laughed at until everyone pees their pants, and then they leave, and Muriel is there to offer some kind of cheerful encouragement and Saraqael says something wry about how I was a dumbass.

I'm emotionally prepared for either of these two scenarios.

I just have no other good ideas for introducing Myself.

[echantedtoon]

A Bloom In Time Ch7 Discovery P1

The darkness of the cold building seemed to be finally getting to the fused together ghosts and the reality of being able to feel human things again began to settle in as the two suddenly realized how cold they were and began soon after shivering and rubbing their sides up and down with their still pretty jello feeling arms. It was a bit easier to move now but still not easy. I mean it's been over a thousand years after all, how were they supposed to get human movements down bout twenty to forty minutes after becoming alive again. Speaking of everyone being alive at the moment- With Thor and his pal's help, the two were able to dragged the very unconscious Vanessa into the bathroom and with the old but heavy duty lock Hattie had from a previously locked door, they were able to lock her in good, but JUST to be on the safe side(insistence from Moonjumper over and over. The guy was PETRIFIED of her which was well understandable) the giant pale red armchair from down the hall was moved and placed against the locked door as well to help keep it closed. It took Thor, Mr Timothy, and a mafia man to move the heavy wooden thing so there was little chance Vanessa in her current form would be able to get out easily. Not soon long after that the once-frozen-Subconite followed his bosses orders and with the giant group of men behind him, while still holding the none struggling Rough Patch, began leading the group away from them towards the second floor stairs. Snatcher re-yelling the rules behind them. 

"Remember to follow his EVERY instruction! Stay OUT of the swamp because if you all die on the way there I CANT save you, and when you get to my home stay OUT of my things until I get there!! And you be careful with Rough Patch! Not a single leaf on his head hurt!! The long way isn't easy! And I DO NOT EVER want to see any of you in my forest again or else I'll let you freeze again!!" "OH!! Give our throat a rest already will you now?"

The still grumpy child sat on the floor away from the two who was still weakly rubbing their sides and examining each piece of glass carefully before putting it back down or attaching it back onto the shard. She decided to start with the biggest piece and carefully put the thing magically back together somehow, but paused and looked up at the retreating group...then up at them with a confused look. "There's a long way around to get here?"

"Well of course!", Snatcher's voice said annoyed, "You think everyone could've made that jump over the cold, slippery bridge like you did without falling to their doom? Some of those bumbling fools must've found the way around. How else did ya think my minions could get over here to remind you of the agreement you signed about not using hats? Float across?"

....She shrugged. "I dunno. You float all the time and they're dead like you."

"Ouch, Kid! That hurts!" "Uh! Beg pardon," Moonjumper politely asked before pointing to the still broken time piece, "But how long pretell do you think that'll take to fix, Dear?"

"It usually takes three hours if I hurry."

"THREE HOURS?! OH! YOU GOTTA BE PECKING ME?!" "SNATCHER SHUSH!!" Moonjumper turned their head to the baracated bathroom door where silence still rang through. "The VERY last thing we need you doing is waking her up! Won't that be fun you loud mouthed owl! And PLEASE stop using the P word in front of the child!" Snatcher grumbled but didn't say anything else as they continued to rub at their sides.

But Hattie noticed and pointed it out as she stuck a finger in their direction. "Why are you rubbing your sides like that?" She blinked. "Are you guys cold? I thought ghosts couldn't get cold?"

"Well, Sweetie. You're not wrong, but if you haven't noticed, your bumbling jack-o-lanturn friend and I aren't ghosts at the moment. So we can very much feel the cold right now. And quite frankly, I do not like it at all." They shivered. "T-T-Too many memories."

Hattie wordlessly didn't argue with that at all. She didn't like being cold and remembering Vanessa chase her throughout the house, but suddenly an idea came to her. One that made her put the slightly bigger down now and stand up, both ghosts looking at her confused as she tugged on their arm and pointed at a door close to them. "There's a bed in there! You can cover up in the blankets while you wait."

"A-A-And be where Vanessa SLEEPS?! Good heavens NO!!" "I think for once I agree with Moonshine over here. That is the VERY last thing I want to do right now. I think I'd rather take my chances with the cold again."

Hattie gave them a flat 'I'm too young for this stuff' look. "Oh come on! You really wanna freeze to death?....Again."

"Is laying on the cold floor an option?"

"No!" She marched on over to them and grabbed onto their arm, tugged them forward and them falling over onto their hands and knees with a yelp from Snatcher. "I'm doing all the hard work now! The least you can do is stay warm and do ONE thing for me! PLEASE!!"

....Snatcher sighed. "Kid. Even if I did, I doubt either of us can walk over there in this state."

"Then crawl!"

"Crawl? Like a drunken idiot? HA! I'd look ridiculous!"

"PLEASE!!" She made those puppy dog eyes at them and Snatcher knew immediately that Moonjumper already melted at the cute sight and gave in thanks to their currently shared brain, but he grumbled under his breath as he plainly stared at her sad eyes. "Pretty please, Dad." AH! Pulling his weakness.

"OH!....ALRIGHT!! But not a SINGLE word about this to anyone! You hear me? Or it's triple grounding time for you!...That goes for you too moonboy! Not a word about this to anyone ever!"

There was no complaints about that from Moonjumper so very clumsily and slowly, the two slowly started pace to the door on jello arms and knees. Wobbling so badly with every movement Snatcher was sure they would fall flat on their faces. ....And they did. Hattie had to use her foot and move away the glass shards carefully as they attempted to wobble-crawl around the pile and towards the bedroom do- THUMP!! Their left arm wobbly gave out which left the two smacking their face to the ground making the poor girl jump and have to grab her hat before it fell off. Before bounding over to them as  Snatcher cursed more 'peck' under his breath and very weakly and wobbly pushed them back up into crawling position. HE. PECKING. HATED. THIS!! So, so much already.  Gritting his teeth and muttering versions of 'peck' over and over under his breath, the two somehow managed to fall, wobbly crawl, and get a headache all the way to the door with Hattie beside them in case they fell over again. She opened the door for them into the bedroom and they froze...Well, Moonjumper froze upon seeing their old shared bedroom where they and Vanessa once inhabited. Memories flashed through their shared mind of her again and Snatcher growled and shook their head. 

"Moonboy. I am NOT in the mood for a trip down memory lane right now especially with HER! And I am certainly NOT gonna stay right here on the cold floor just to hit my head again!"

Moonjumper didn't say anything and Snatcher took full control of their shared body and forced them to wobbly crawl forward as Hattie followed behind once they made their way past the door giving her plenty of room to hop in watching as Snatcher crawled them over to the red bed a few feet from the door. Red musty wall paper lined the walls with the red color themed bed, and a lot of furniture to match. A wardrobe stood by the bed and past that was a vanity, writing desk, chest, small dresser with a candle holder on it, and a long table with a worn tablecloth on it. The floor was always creaky, and it creaked all the way when they crawled into the room and over to the bed. The only light offered in the room was the few candles by the bed and on the wall that lit up with magical fire, enough light to see at least, but also enough to see the various claw marks scratched into the old walls staining the wallpaper with it's creepy aura. Moonjumper was still not responding or communicating through their shared head but SNatcher could still feel the petrified fear coming off of him and he was starting to find it annoying. Forcing them back onto their knees, Snatcher reached over and grabbed onto the foot of the bed.....before forcibly trying to get onto their feet. If it weren't for the fact that the two ghosts were forced like this and had no experience being human for over a thousand years, it might've made her laugh trying to see an adult stand up like a bird with new legs, but right now she was more concerned about the two falling over. With their noodle legs Snatcher violently wobbled and gripped the sheets tightly messing them up, and forcing most of their body onto the bed minus their legs. Hattie had to walk over  and help, it was too painful and awkward to watch after a while, and grabbed their legs, one by one pushing them up to lay on the beg with them. Eventually making it where they were laying on their stomach with their head at the foot of the bed on top of the disleved old, musty sheets. .......They sneezed from the dust and snatcher once again forced them up to their knees on the bed. Grumbling from the dust before forcing them around and wobble crawling up the bed until he carefully maneuvered themself around and forced their knees out from under them to sit properly with their legs over the side of the bed near the small drawer with the lit candles. Still cold but it was a five star hotel compared to laying onthe hard wood floor.

"There! All better?,'' Hattie asked walking around the bed and smiling back up at them.

"Yeah, Kiddo. Better than the dum floor at least. But I still think you should get back there and rebuild that thing as fast I can. I'd rather live out this punishment then get back to not living it out, if you get what I mean."

She pouted. "Hey! Don't forget it's your fault you purple dummy!"

"Trust me. I know!!....*sigh*" He reached up to rub their face and groaned. "Can you just...finish fixing it and reverse this please? I promise I'll make it up to you, just help me please, Kid!"

Hattie tilted her head at him, "Anything?"

"Yes. But could you at least grab me a book from the mini library downstairs?"..He looked thoughtful for a moment thinking. "....Grab me the one with the title called The Sparrow and The Knight if it's still there. I haven't read that in years."

The child sighed and turned around. "Ok. I'll be right back! But you still OWE me big time!!"

"Yes, yes." He waved her off after her, "Just go."

He sat their and watched as she ran out the doorway, her fast footsteps making the floor creak loudly as she ran away and he stared at the door until those fast and creaking footsteps faded away. He could hear Moonjumper hope she didn't wake Vanessa with her loud footsteps but the only noise now was the wind and occasional lightning strike outside. He usually liked the silence of his home so he could read on hours on end or think of new contracts or traps to be made. But his forest and swamp usually had the chirping of frogs or the chitter chatter of his ghostly subjects in the background for that, or the giggles of little children. But right now he would gladly rather have the kids bug him for eternity than sit here in this dead silence with wind and lightning. Maybe it was just the many worries Moonjumper was thinking right now, or the fact he was vulnerable in this form, or the fact Vanessa was literally a hallway and room away. Locked up and unconscious, but still a few yards away. Or maybe it was all three, but he was starting to get tired of it really quick waiting for the kid to come back with the book he requested. Snatcher huffed and turned their eyes around the old room drinking in the details of the room, guess things didn't change much. Except for the claw marks and the ruined painting on the wall over there. Eventually his eyes glazed over the furniture near him including the writing desk with old yellowed paper on it, the old chest, and the lit candles with a book right next to I-......Snatcher blinked their eyes at the small green book. It was a very dull green with light tears here and there and even tho it was VERY faded, the dull black word 'Diary' was engraved on the cover with very pretty cursive writing......A....Diary?? In Vanessa's room? Wow. It didn't take too long to figure out who it probably belonged too. ....But all of a sudden his mind got a curious idea-

"D-D-Don't do it." Snatcher jumped at the sudden voice of the fearful Moonjumper finally managing to force itself through and scowled. "Look Moonboy. There isn't anyone here to stop us from looking and after all we've been through you can't say we don't at least have the right to 'invade on her privacy' after all the 'invading' she did to YOU!!....I mean me!...Us? AH!! I MEAN we can't get any kind of revenge on her now so Im taking what I can get! And if ol' blondie gets upset and throws a tantrum over her 'pwecious diary' being read, them Im not going to give into that pecking tantrum and coddle her like she always guilted us into!" ......"I-I still don't know. I d-don't think I want to see any thoughts she had."  "EVEN if it means we'll get some power over a situation she laid out for once and get the teeniest revenge on her? If she also never knows it'll be better cuz we'd get to get away with it! Not that we wouldn't anyways." Moonjumper remained silent thinking over what Snatcher said carefully before sighing. "Alright. B-But that doesn't mean Im going to like it." "THAT'S THE SPIRIT!!"

 Snatcher smiled evilly on their face and reached their wobbly arms out and grabbed the book......if it could even be called that!! The Book cover was obviously made for a thick book. A thousand pages at least, but it was barely filled with pages when he opened it, giving a confused frown and raised brow. What the-.... Only about two or three pages were in tact, very yellowed with chicken scratch writing like a dizzy blind person wrote the few faded words he saw. There was ends of many other pages where they were obviously ripped out and done away with, but that didn't stop his annoyance. Vanessa had a diary with three pages left minimum and ruined an entirely good book! Wasted potential and paper!! And just when he thought she couldn't get crazier!! Rolling their eyes, he latched onto the faded chicken scratch to see if he could make heads or tales of the horrible writing. He noticed on the bottom corner of the page was the very faded letter 13. Huh...So this must've been page 13 of the diary then. Alright. Let's see what nonsense Vanessa wrote.

"Why? What have I done wrong? In his letters he talks about her. A 'tutor'. He says he loves me. But SHE sees him. I get letters, and SHE gets his time. He is MINE. Once his studies are finished I will have him back. "

.........Both ghosts stared blankly at the what was scratched down and processed it in their heads. Snatcher catching onto the real meaning behind it rather quickly and almost dropped the book onto the floor in shocked. .....L-Letters??...His studies??..A TUTOR?! HOLY PECK!!! THIS WAS WRITTEN WHILE HE LEFT FOR A FULL YEAR OF LAW STUDIES!! Moonjumper was somewhere between confused and panicked in their mind but Snatcher reread the page to make sure he was reading it right, and looked around the other half of the page and turned it over, but the entire page was black except for those few sentences. But just by looking at those few lines he came to the hard conclusion that.......Vanessa...Was JEALOUS!! Of his old tutor....A lady that was old enough to be his great grandmother( at the time he was alive) and who had taught his father before him....VANESSA WAS JEALOUS OF A LITTLE OLD LADY THAT HAD ZERO CHANCE WITH HIM. And her referring to him in 'He is MINE.' just added to the whole creepy vibe he always had with her, dead or alive. Moonjumper made them shudder in disgust while Snatcher growled and flipped it over to the next page. Like before the entire page was wasted and left unused except for a few random chicken scratches in the middle and this time the faded number was 48. Page 48.

" Dear Diary, Today my prince left to begin his studies. He will be so far away, and for so long. He has promised to write. He won't forget me, will he? His beloved princess."

........Wait. What?

This.....This wasn't even written in the right order of events!! He left for his studies BEFORE he sent her any letters!! Which he always regretted, and wished he HAD forgotten her, and KNEW she was NEVER his let alone a 'beloved princess'. Snatcher only continued to grow more irritated and snarled at the book in his hands before flipping to the last in tact page in seemed with the faded number 73. 

"He is coming back. Just one weekend. A short holiday, from HER. I will convince him to stay. I CANNOT let my love leave Again. Sounds a little melodramatic. "

Yeah...He remembered that. One week holiday before going back to his studies, their anniversary week too. Spent all his pons on a bracelet he used to trade for flowers .....from.....Snatcher actually growled. Guess he was still able to use THAT ghostly ability. And once again the 'HER' was a woman who he always saw as his GRANDMOTHER in a way!! If she read his letters truly she would've known that!! And not letting him leave? HA!! Guess what?! He DID and was now king of everything in their kingdoms!!  A LITTLE MELDRAMATIC!? REALLY?! SHE HAD ONE SMALL BIT OF SENSE FOR A SECOND AND SHE SAYS IT WAS A LITTLE DRAMATIC?! SHE WAS CRAZY!! ABSOLUTELU BONKERS!! MAD!! INSANE!! OFF HER ROCKER!! BANANAS!! WHAT EVER YOU CALL IT!!  She didn't even write the events in order. Page 48's events came BEFORE page 13's. Was she just flipping to a random page and crazily writing these down in no order?? He wouldn't be surprised if she did! Still hard scowling, Snatcher tossed the book away from him, but because their arm was still pretty weak it only landed two or three feet away with a soft thump as he glared daggers at it.

"Snatcher?" He jumped and turned around to see the little girl standing there in the doorway as she came in. Holding a small red cover book in her hands. She came around the bed and stopped glancing at the book on the floor before blinking and looking back up at them. "Were you reading the crazy lady's diary?"

"Yeah...Crazy is an understatement. More like peckin' owlpoop insane!!" "Again.. LANGUAGE!!" "Be quiet Moonshine!" He glanced back down to her hands and the book. "That's not the book I asked. It has a yellow cover."

She held it up to them anyways. "I couldn't find it so I got this one instead cuz I liked the moon pictures in it!"

Snatcher reached over and grabbed it from her. Glancing over the cover and reading 'Moon Phases and Star Constellations by Star S. Hine'. "....I suppose this would work just to wait a few hours." And It might help Moonboy calm down, he loved talking about the moon and stars like poetry. 

"Uh huh!" She once again looked down to the green book on the floor. ".....Were you really reading this?"

Snatcher opened the book to the first page but stopped and looked at her. "Yeah. But why does it matter?"

"Did you read the other pages yet?"

He blanked for a second. ".............There's MORE?!"

She nodded. "Ill go get them!'' Before either could protest she had already turned around and ran off. Through the door into the old nursery and after a moment they could hear the other door attached to the other side of nursery.............After a few more moments, the same door opened, and then the door attaching the nursery to Vanessa's bedroom reopened and Hattie ran back in but not to them. Instead she ran over to the writing desk and grabbed the two yellowed papers on it. Adding them randomly to her small pile of now five pieces of paper and running back up to them smiling before presenting them up to them. "Here! I made sure to grab them all! They were all over the place!"

They both just stared at her for a moment, before snatcher once again made them move and grabbed them from the small child. They all had the same chicken scratch writing like in the diary with random faded numbers near the bottom, and the sides were torn. So these must've been some of the random pages that were ripped from the diary, and like the rest, all had just a few sentences wasting the rest of the space the paper provided. Annoyed all over again he read what the first page said. 

"Im sorry about your hair, My Prince. I just wanted our lengths to match! ....and color...and curl ...you look wonderful! "

His....HIS HAIR!? He remembered that! He was taking a nap when he awoken to the feeling of something wet on his head, like he had just taken a shower. But instead woke to the sight of a mildly panicked Vanessa above him and a painful sensation to his head so he rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror. Only to discover his lovely brown hair had been very sloppily died yellow with obvious patches of his natural color here and there, and the painful sensation was a couple of curlers too tightly rolled into random spots on his head. He took them out and got into the shower immediately to wash it out to no avail. Of course Vanessa when asked about it cried and said she only wanted to practice doing hairstyles. Like the idiot he was, he forgave her not a few seconds after. And it turned out he couldn't wash it out. He was to wear it off which left him looking ridiculous!! Embarrassing him in front of everyone including....... Well...That didn't matter anymore. He did NOT look 'wonderful'. Snatcher's eyes narrowed and flipped to the next random page.

"Mother had a bit of an accident last week, so today I got crowned as queen. Now the prince can't call me his princess! Life isn't fair!"

He remembered the old sick Queen very well. She was a stern and cranky old lady, but very nice and professional when you got to know her. She was a lot like Vanessa in ways but much MUCH better if you asked him. She loved discussing his interests with him and thought it was very responsible of him to want to study law. Even though he was never able to attend her funeral or really found out how she died, he really did miss the old coot sometimes. Sometimes he even wondered if she could've done anything to stop Vanessa if only he brought it up...Oh well. That past is past. But seriously!? Her only mother had passed and she was upset over the fact he couldn't call her 'princess' anymore?! The entitlement of this woman! If she just asked politely to be called that as a nickname he wouldn't have minded, but peck!! He missed his parents more than anything and she doesn't even write down anything expressing the same thing!! His annoyance grew as did the usually calm Moonjumper's as he turned to the next page. 

"Oh, I wish I could just keep him always! Locked up and in chains in the cellar! But you can't chain a man...can you?"

This-....

This actually made the two freeze up and for a moment a blank face fell upon them. .....Locks...Chains.....Celler.......That was....how he....they.....They never saw her agai- WAIT!! SHE HAD THIS IDEA IN MIND FROM THE VERY START!? THAT PECKING NO GOOD WITCH!! He swore he was gonna tear the papers from hold tight their hold became. Had she planned this?! And was only pushed over the edge of crazy with one little misunderstanding?! OOOOOOHHHH!! He wasn't sure when the last time he got THIS angry but Moonjumper forced him to look over at Hattie who currently was for some reason looking up at the ceiling with a curious look and he reluctantly stood down. No point getting mad over it now Moonjumper's thoughts were saying as they bounced around and instead of confronting him, Snatcher turned to the next page.

"My prince enjoys his breakfast far too much. I'm jealous of that darn bacon! No more bacon in this house!"

WHO. BANES. BACON. AND. GETS. JEALOUS. OVER. FOOD?!

Snatcher had about had it with all this terrible chicken scratch trip down terrible memory lane and flipped to the last page, wondering which event she wrote about on the last one. One of her tantrums? Or maybe him being 'unprincely'? But when he saw the fancy curvy cursive, he paused. .......This paper was yellowed like the rest of the others, but there was definitely NO chicken scratch to these neat and proper letters. Was this a page written before she went crazy and started squibbling nonsense? But...It was torn and shorter than the rest. Instead of there being any evidence of it being torn from the side, there was a tear right down the middle. As if it was never a part of a book at all-.......Realization suddenly dawned on him making their eyes go wide.

"M-...My letter," Moonjumper whispered out as they read over it.

"My Dearest Vanessa, It has been many days since I saw you last, but it feels like months. My time at the Acadmey is hard, but I am progressing quickly. There is so much to study when it comes to law, but the library here is well-stocked. Our tutors are the finest in the land, and I am thankful for their help. I have been attending private study with one, an experienced practitioner of law by the name of Lady-"

.....The .....Their letter ended off with the tear. Not knowing what the world happened to the other half other than is had to have been torn by Vanessa. When he...When he began writing her letters, he wasn't very happy to be writing to her to be honest, but he was still loyal to her and put effort into being polite in them. Telling her all about his favorite law books, and the garden, and his old tutor he adored so much.....But did she just see the word lady and assume she was the new love of his life?! Not reading WHO she was and tearing the thing to shreads in pure jealousy and craziness!? They bothe scowled down at the remains of the letter they sent to her all those years ago, Hattie not paying attention. She had taken a few steps still staring at the ceiling curiously but turned around behind her when she heard tearing. They were tearing the letter......Well that's not true. Moonjumper was. But Snatcher made no move or thought to stop him. The other papers he just let float to the floor in random places as the letter was torn and shreaded into tiny little pieces before released to the floor in old yellowed paper snow. Hattie watched as it all fell to the floor before saying something.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because my dear..." Moonjumper looked at her. "That might've been the only part of me left behind in this cursed place. The last part of me Vanessa had....I wouldn't want her to have a hold of any part of me. She doesn't deserve it."

"Oh." She stared at them and the destroyed letter by all the papers for a moment before resuming her odd behavior of looking up at the ceiling which caught Snatcher's attention and he looked up to the plain dusty ceiling for a couple seconds as well. ....Before raising a brow back to her. 

"Kid. WHAT are you staring at? I know everything around her is pretty dead, but I think you could find another way to occupy your time. Like maybe gluing a magical hourglass back together. QUICKLY!"

She only continued to stare. "Don't you guys hear that?"

They looked up to the ceiling in silence. .....Nothing but the wind outside and occasional lightning- A small, weak creaking noise came from above them somewhere and Hattie pointed before looking at him like 'See! There it is!'. Making Snatcher roll his eyes and wave her off picking up their book again. 

"It's just the old house settling or the wind. I should know. Im an expert on old haunted houses."

......She looked back up to the ceiling with a hum. "I don't know. I never heard that before when I was here.''

"Probably because you were a little busy running away from blondie."

"But...What if it's someone who got frozen? They might need help."

"Kid. You've been to the third floor before and so have I. I've never seen any frozen people up there did you?"

"No....But Im going to go look anyways." She bounded to the door with them following her.

"Up there? By yourself?!

"I can handle it!" She pulled her trusty umbrella out of no where and twirled it around. "I beat you didn't I?"

His eyes narrowed. "Kid. That's not the point. One being you NEED to reverse this as soon as possible. And second because you don't know what's up there and Im useless like this." "S-Sweetheart. I agree with the grape noodle on this. Y-You could get into trouble!"

"I'll be fine! Besides, there's no ice people statues up there. And it'll just be a quick check. Don't be such a peckneck!"

"Wha- HEY!! IM NOT A PECKNECK!!"

The small girl giggled like a maniac before running out of the room where they couldn't follow even if they tried. Grumbling Snatcher turned them back to the book In their lap and picked it up, turning to the first page.

'Chapter One What are the Moon and Stars made Of?'

[gnattyplayssims]

1943 Pt2 - Finding Sofia

The day every military wife dreads came one day in late summer. "Lucian what a lovely surprise. Can I get you some tea"

"No thank you, I'm not here long. I'm on my way back to Henford but I wanted to be the one to tell you."

He hesitated and Kailee's heart sank.

Kailee steeled herself and reached out a hand to encourage him. "I can handle it."

"I'm sure you know that Knox, William and Kye were all in the same squad. Well the squads MIA. Best case scenerio they're prisoner's of war. Worst case..."

"I understand. Thank you Lucian."

A shroud fell over Pigulock Manor after the news came. Each of the women coped in their own ways. Kailee threw herself harder into the community space, Lizbeth barely came out of her room and Anabelle threw herself into caring for the kids and drank herself to sleep every night.

Kailee found Anabelle in a drunken state one night, crying over a letter from Kye. "He asked me to marry him you know."

"What?"

"Yeah, in that letter you're holding. He said when he came home he wanted to make an honest woman out of me. I never gave him an answer."

"Why not?"

"It just never seemed like an option for us. I can't say yes when I can barely look at myself in the mirror."

"I think you need to find her. You need to stop thinking about how Kye would react and do this for yourself. I think I know someone who can help."

After a few weeks of Kailee exchanging letters with a contact in Henford, she and Anabelle set up a meeting at the remodeled community center. They even managed to drag Lizbeth out of her room for the afternoon though they both quickly regretted it as she was hardly good company.

"Okay kids, you know the rules. Stay within the fenced area, no running, indoor voices and be respectful of those around you."

Once in Kailee's apartment Lizzie let out a long sigh, "I still can't believe you kept this fridge."

"It's functional and we had to make due."

Once the ladies had freshened up Kailee brought them down to the Green Room which she had reserved to meet her contact.

"You've really transformed this place Kailee. I barely even recognize it."

There was a sad hopeful note to her voice "Knox will love it...when he comes home."

Soon Jonathan Noble arrived and Anabelle was left to their dealings. "So you're Anabelle. Pardon my saying so, you are much prettier than my mother-in-law made you sound."

"Ha, well Esther is the jealous type from what I hear."

"Mm yes, Gilbert's perfect match."

Jonathan chuckled and leaned forward "But enough of the family small talk. I hear you're looking for someone"

"Yes. My daughter"

"Kailee tells me the orphanage closed a few months ago"

Anabelle shifted nervously. "Yes"

"Hmm that makes things more difficult but not impossible"

Anabelle took a nervous drink of nectar. "I don't know what help I can give."

"Oh don't worry. I already have everything I need. But I do have an important question."

"What's that?"

"What do you wish me to do when I find her."

Anabelle let out a breath "Bring her home."

"Well?"

"He says he'll find her."

"Then he will. Jonathan married into the Hough Family. They're bad blood. That woman is Rowan Holliday, the lover of Kinley's brother Gabriel whose in jail now for assult. They'll find her and it's best not to question how they plan to do it"

"Did the family give you any trouble?"

"Are you kidding me? They practically begged me to take her off their hands and that was before they saw the bag of 'gems'."

"Ah I wish I could see their faces when they realize they're useless. And the girl?"

"Didn't even shed a tear."

Sofia looked up at the pretty woman standing before her. The woman dropped to her knees in front of her taking her hand. "You're all grown up now." Anabelle's voice shook as she looked into her daughters green eyes. "I'm so sorry I missed it."

Sofia didn't say anything.

Sofia remained quiet throughout the entire ferry ride. She finally spoke when they arrived at Pigulock Manor.

"You live here?" Her voice was barely a squeek as she realized how close she had been to coming with Nikolas so many times.

"Yes, Sofia. This is your new home."

David had come a few months before to assist with the children and be by Lizbeth's side. Stefan hid nervously behind him as Anabelle and Sofia entered. "It's okay son, remember what I said, just give her a chance."

Sofia looked up at Anabelle nerviously, "Is that...my brother?"

David gave Stefan a small nudge. Anger filled him as he looked at Sofia. "NO! I hate this! You can't be my sister, I don't have a twin!"

"Stefan wait!"

"Let him go, Anabelle. He has every right to be angry. You'll only make it worse if you try to take that from him."

David smiled at Sofia. "Now, I for one would like to meet my granddaughter."

Sofia let him hug her and for the first time she smiled.

Stefan balled his hands into fists. Mother had betrayed him. Lied to him. Hidden a part of him. Chose favorites. He hated her for it.

Later that evening, David was helping Anabelle clean up dinner. "William really did well for himself keeping this place. I'm sure you'll be able to get the Mizrahi Estate looking as nice."

"We won't be moving to Henford."

"Oh?"

"My home is here and Kye would agree."

David sat at the island with a chuckle. "Elena predicted as much. She said you'd left something here"

"She knew?"

"I don't think she knew exactly but she was the one who told me to send you away to find closure. Now it's time you decide what you truly want. With or without Kye"

1944 Pt1 - The First Keepsake