#took straight out of a parenting 101 book

[delicatepointofview]

LOVE ON TOUR: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. NIGHT II. 04.03.2023

[gingiesworld]

The Lake

Wanda Maximoff x GN! Reader

Warnings: Violence. Smut. Death. Amab! Reader

Taglist: @ginnsbaker @gb12d @lifespectator @imaginationeuphoria @louxbloom @mfd-101

18+ MINORS DNI

Y/N had organised an autumn break for their family, renting out a lakeside cabin just on the outskirts of New Jersey. The twins were both excited to spend time with their parents. The two spoke animatedly about all of the things they wanted to do, like rowing out onto the lake and learning to fish. Play games and some sports with their parents. Maybe even share some ghost stories beside the fire before bedtime.

Once the two had fallen asleep, Wanda turned to Y/N with a gentle loving smile on her face. Y/N took her hand in theirs and kissed the back of it before intertwining their fingers. The simple gesture was enough to make Wanda's heart flutter, as it always did.

"So, how did you really find out about this place?" She questioned them.

"It was Pepper's parents place." They informed her. "She mentioned that it's rarely ever used anymore since they passed away and thought that the four of us could do with a break away from reality."

The rest of the drive was silent, both of the twins soon woke as they were near the cabin. Wanda relished in the peace and tranquility the place seemed to bring. Once they had pulled up outside the cabin, the porch light was on as the sun started to go down.

"It should be all ready." Y/N informed Wanda and the twins as they handed her the keys. "Pepper said that there is a caretaker who maintains each of the cabins here, so go on inside and I will get the bags."

Wanda nodded as she led the twins inside, soon the twins ran straight towards the sofa to sit down, looking around the room and seeing stacks of board games, even some they had never really heard of before. Wanda walked around the cabin, seeing there was only two bedrooms, a twin room and the master bedroom.

"It's perfect." Y/N smiled as Wanda nodded slightly. "Also there is some college students just a little way down so they may be a little rowdy." They informed her as they placed the bags down. "The twins are getting themselves settled in before dinner."

"Ok." Wanda whispered as Y/N's hands snaked around her stomach, pulling her closer to them as she soon started to relax.

"Are you ok?" Y/N asked her as they pressed light kisses to her neck.

"I guess I am just missing my own bed." She told them as she held their hands over her stomach. "But this will be fun. We could do with a break." She told them as she turned to face them.

"That's the spirit love." They pressed a tender kiss to her lips before they pulled away from her. "Get in your comfies and meet me in the kitchen." She smiled goofily as she did as she was told, smiling as the twins were sat reading their favourite comics they had packed as she entered the kitchen, leaning on the counter as Y/N prepared the food they had brought themselves for the break.

"So, you have turned into a chef now?" She teased them as she took the wine that Y/N had already poured for her.

"You know very well how I can cook." They smirked. "I remember you saying that my lasagna was almost better than sex." They whispered as Wanda just giggled at the memory.

"Ok." She laughed as she swatted their arm as they prepared the vegetables. "Can I help?" She asked as she placed her glass down.

"Yes, you can just stand there and look pretty." They told her as she huffed. "You cook, clean and look after the twins and I all of the time. Let me look after you for a change." She just nodded with a growing smile at their kind words. Kissing their cheek before she decided to join the twins.

The music from the cabin down the way was travelling through. Y/N smiled as they remembered what it was like to be young and careless, well that is indeed how the twins came to be.

Billy looked up from his book for a moment after seeing something in the corner of his eye. His eyes found a darkened figure just outside of the window, soon completely frozen until his mom entered the room.

"Your O'pa is cooking dinner." She informed the twins as she took a seat beside Tommy.

"Can they even cook?" He questioned as Billy turned his head back towards the window to see the figure gone.

"Hey! I heard that!" Y/N called through making them chuckle as Billy struggled to tear his eyes away from the window. Unsure if it was his mind playing tricks on him.

As the night wore on, he never saw it again so he decided to believe that he was exhausted, so he opted to get an early night. Which Wanda had agreed was a very good idea so they all turned in. Y/N made sure the cabin was locked before they joined Wanda in bed. Wrapping their arms around her as she pushed her ass into their crotch. Y/N groaned as she grinded against them, their cock hardening as they moved their hand around to play with her clit. Wanda turned her head and moaned into the pillow, soon shuffling to remove her bottoms and underwear along with Y/N's who soon inserted themselves into her. The two moaned breathlessly as Y/N started to thrust their hips. Wanda kept her head in the pillow as to the not make any noise, especially when Y/N had decided to play with her boobs, pinching her nipples as her moans threatened to become louder than they already were.

"Fuck." They grunted as they could feel Wanda clench around them. "You close love?" All Wanda could do was nod frantically as Y/N gave her breast a harsh squeeze. "Cum with me." And that she did, as she came Y/N had filled her up. Soon the two fell asleep as Y/N remained inside of her, their hands still resting underneath her shirt.

The days went on as Y/N and Tommy went out on the lake fishing as Billy remained with Wanda, playing board games or walking along the lake.

"We should take an evening stroll." Wanda suggested as Y/N raised a brow. "All four of us, it could be fun."

"Ok." Y/N agreed easily as both Wanda and Billy beamed.

"Can I stay here?" Tommy questioned as he groaned as Y/N shook their head as Wanda looked at them.

"They're 12 Y/N." She stated as Y/N nodded.

"I know that but I prefer to keep them both in my sight." Y/N told her. "Especially since we don't really know the area that well."

"I can stay in the room. Maybe leave your phone so you can still get a hold of me." Tommy suggested.

"Or I can stay here with him too." Billy suggested as both Y/N and Wanda looked between the two of them.

"Fine." Y/N caved in. "But the cabin remains locked at all times until your mom and I return ok."

"Yes." The two answered in unison. Both Y/N and Wanda chuckled as the twins ran towards the games as the couple cleared the table.

"You go ahead and grab your coat and shoes." Y/N told Wanda softly. "I'll just finish up here and make sure everything is secure." Wanda did just that as Y/N even gave the twins their phone. "Only answer it if you see your mom's name." The two nodded as Y/N finished securing the cabin before linking arms with Wanda, walking beneath the setting sun as the twins played battleship.

"Do you get a funny vibe here?" Billy asked Tommy who looked up at him curiously, waiting for him to elaborate. "I keep seeing this figure outside the window."

"It's tall with yellow eyes." Tommy stated as Billy nodded. "I keep seeing it but I thought it was all in my head."

"This has been the perfect getaway." Wanda told Y/N as they walked along the bank. Leading up towards the oddly quiet college cabin.

"It has." They smiled at her before noticing the cars there were all slashed. Y/N was curious and decided to approach the cabin, releasing Wanda from their hold. Wanda followed them with caution as they looked through the windows, seeing the floor was cover in a red substance. It wasn't until they heard screams coming from the back. Sneaking round to see a blonde man with a manic look in his eye, wielding an axe and striking the college kid who was trying to escape. Wanda gasped as Y/N remained frozen at the sight.

"Come on." Y/N pulled Wanda along with them as they ran back to the cabin. Opening the door and running straight for the twins. "Car. Now." They said as they picked them both up. Approaching the car as Wanda had a defeated look on her face.

"The tires." Y/N looked to see them slashed, before looking up and seeing the man with the axe slowly approaching.

"How are we going to leave?" Tommy asked as Y/N looked defeated before turning to face the twins.

"We are going to run." They told them. "Whatever you do, do not look back." Wanda watched as Y/N went into the trunk to get their bowie knife, what they use when they hunt, although their gun remained in the gun locker.

"We are going to discuss that knife being in there." Wanda scolded as Y/N gave her an exasperated look before turning towards the figure steadily approaching them.

"What are you waiting for. Run!" Y/N told them all as the man was getting closer.

"The trees." Wanda stated as Y/N nodded in agreement. Ushering the twins to follow their mom through the trees. Wanda led the way as Y/N remained behind the twins. Looking over their shoulder occasionally to see the figure still behind them. He had picked up his pace as the bloodied axe was in his hands.

Billy squealed as he tripped over a fallen branch. Y/N stopped to help him up only for him to gasp as he put pressure on his foot. He screamed as the man lifted the axe ready to swing it at them. Wanda's eyes widened in terror as she looked back.

"NOOO!" She screamed as Y/N started to run, just about getting away from the axe as it made connection with a nearby tree.

"Run!" Y/N yelled at both Wanda and Tommy. "Do not stop running." The two soon listened as Y/N had caught up slightly as the man was still following them. It seemed to be more of a game for him, a hunt as the four managed to get out pf sight. Y/N soon found some overgrowth and led them all to hide there.

Their hearts beating in their chests as they heard loud footsteps nearby. Y/N placed a finger over their mouth to signal for them all to be quiet.

"I know you're out here." The voice of the man was gruff, venomous even as he spoke. "I can feel you." Y/N shook their head at Wanda who wanted to move. Billy gave Y/N their phone as they sent a brief message to Wanda. Her phone vibrated as she read the text.

'Get to the boat.'

Once the sound of the footsteps faded away slightly. They had picked up Billy once more before looking around to see that the man had indeed moved further away. Nodding to Wanda and Tommy to lead the way they came. The man soon turned to face them, smirking as they all ran before he started behind them. Y/N soon tripped themselves, getting their foot stuck in the roots of a tree.

"Follow your mom." They told Billy as they tried to get free. "Get to the boat and get on the lake." They told him. He just nodded as he followed his mom towards the boat. Y/N's heart raced in their chest as the man approached. Trying their best to get their foot free just in time to dodge the hit as the axe made connection with the earth.

They limped their way towards Wanda and the boat, Wanda had the twins situated on it as they were ready to leave. Wanda watched with horror in her eyes as she watched the man swing the axe and catch Y/N's back. Hearing them scream out in pain as they fell to the ground. They turned over in time to see Wanda and the twins head out into the lake. A smile on their face before they watched the axe connect with their stomach. Before he could swing again, Y/N used the knife and plunged it in his chest.

Watching as he looked down with fear in his eyes. The same fear that he inflicted on his victims. The axe fell to the earth with a thud along with his body. The twins kept their eyes squeezed shut as Wanda watched him collapse beside Y/N. Wanda wanted, no she needed to go back for Y/N. Her eyes never tore away from their form until she saw them move their hand to their stomach.

"I want you both to stay in this boat and call your uncle to get here. Now." Wanda told them as she docked the boat. Getting out herself as she walked towards Y/N cautiously. Her heart beating loudly as the sound drowned out all of her surroundings. She gasped as she approached them, seeing as they held their intestines in their hands. "Baby?" She whispered as she knelt beside them. Helping as they held their wound.

"Are you all safe?" They questioned as they swallowed thickly. Wanda just nodded as she looked around.

"The boys are calling Pietro." She informed them. "And an ambulance."

"It's not going to work." Y/N whispered tiredly as they gave her a sad smile.

"Yes. It is." She told them sternly as they shook their head no. Tears filling both of their eyes as reality set in.

"My insides aren't inside me." They told her tiredly. "I am dying."

"No." She cried as she shook her head frantically. "You can't."

"I'm sorry." They whispered as they gave her a sad smile. "I had the best life." She smiled slightly at those words. "I have a loving wife and two amazing boys who take after their mother."

"I don't know what world you're living in." Wanda teased making them laugh, the smile soon faded as they began to cough up blood. "I love you Y/N. So much." She whispered as she kissed their forehead.

"I love you more." They smiled at her. "And those boys, can you tell them I love them."

"Of course." Wanda nodded tearily. "I'll tell them everyday."

"That would be nice." They smiled as their eyes grew heavy. "This is nice. Dying in the arms of the woman who has my heart." All Wanda could do was nodded as she held in a sob, watching as they took their last breath, their hands grew limp, leaving Wanda's hands on their stomach, holding in their insides as the sobs racked through her.

What was supposed to be a fun and relaxing break for the family become a nightmare come true. Something that will take years of therapy to overcome.

[kaasknot]

Hey! I have a paper on Buster Keaton coming up in my History of Film class? Would you be willing to info dump everything you know about him? I've only heard of this man through your blog and don't know where to start haha

bruh you're lucky you weren't standing next to me when i read this, my screech would have blown out your ears.

okay, buster keaton 101. he was one of the giants of the silent comedy era, alongside charlie chaplin and harold lloyd, and from the period of 1920 to 1929 he put out 19 short films and 10 feature length films under his own studio, plus two more silent films under MGM that can creditably be called his creations (i use his filmography page on wikipedia to keep it all straight). he also had the unique distinction of doing all his stunts himself, as well as doubling for many of his co-stars. most of these stunts have never been replicated, because honestly they'd probably kill people; his crew called him the "little iron man" because he was fearless and nigh indestructible. he was also a genius behind the camera, in ways that unfortunately i probably can't fully appreciate.

he was born october 4, 1895 in piqua, kansas, during a one-night stopover. his parents were working with a traveling medicine show at the time, to little acclaim, along with harry houdini before he got big. buster's first known stage appearance was as a toddler, interrupting his father's act. at first they tried to shoo him offstage, but his antics drew bigger laughs from the audience, so they decided to incorporate him into the act—leading to what would eventually be called, once they reached vaudeville, "the three keatons." buster said in interviews that his first salaried year was at 5 years of age, in 1899. that was when his family finally hit the big time—and he was almost single-handedly responsible for it.

their act is incredibly difficult to describe. the central conceit was: joe keaton threw little buster across the stage in a parody of strict parenting, while myra keaton played accompaniment on the saxophone. the best description i've found is biographer rudi blesh's, in his 1966 book, Keaton, on pp. 30–33 and 47–48. you can borrow a copy here. (be careful with this book; the author has a way with words, but he sets aside facts in favor of mythology more than once. for a rigorously researched and trustworthy biography, one with all the dates and weights, go for A Filmmaker's Life (2022) by james curtis.)

vaudeville was buster's early training ground, where he learned tumbling, comedic timing, improvisation, and how to construct a gag. most film comedians of the era got their start in vaudeville or comparable music halls, and many of the gags buster performed in his movies were adapted from vaudeville stage magic or repurposed from the family act. if there's one single book on buster keaton i'd recommend, it's Camera Man (2022) by dana stevens. it's not as dense or as thorough as the james curtis book, but it's an extremely good overview of the main events of his life AND the surrounding historical context—including vaudeville. it's also just a really fun read.

buster's vaudeville era ended in 1917, when he was forced to break up the family act over his father's worsening alcoholism. the official party line is that joe couldn't handle the fact that he was getting older, which i think is partly true, but i think a more true explanation is that he couldn't handle the fact that he was outshone by his own son (pretty much all sources agree that buster was the better comedian). he took his anger out on buster onstage during performances, and out on his wife offstage between performances, until myra finally had enough. she and buster ditched joe in los angeles when buster was 21 years old. here's an interesting paper that digs into buster's rough childhood and the impact it likely had on his films.

buster almost immediately found work as a solo act, but a chance encounter with an acquaintance introduced him to roscoe "fatty" arbuckle, then one of the highest-paid, most well-known comedians in film. it took one day on set—and one night disassembling a camera—to convince buster to abandon the stage for a film career. as a bonus, he and arbuckle became life-long friends. they spent the next three years working non-stop, making 14 short films together (plus a couple more buster wasn't involved in, during the 10-month period he was overseas for ww1). the grueling schedule wasn't without its downsides, and arbuckle, tired of making short films, decided to move to feature-length films, which had a slower, more relaxed pace. he left buster his entire studio and crew.

and that's when the real magic began. buster started (continued) with short films: 20 minute "2-reelers" that were played before a feature film, basically doing what looney tunes cartoons would do later. the best way to understand how different buster was from the dominant comedic idiom of the time is to watch a couple of arbuckle shorts ("coney island" and "the garage" are good choices), then watch a couple of buster's own ("one week" and "cops" are probably the best known). buster catered his humor to an older audience, and his gags were sophisticated, subtle, often cynical or ironic, and intricate to construct and film. "keaton made you laugh, then think" (blesh, xi).

in 1923, buster dropped short films in favor of feature-length films, starting with "three ages." he was a little behind the curve on this, but not through lack of trying; if he'd gotten his way, he'd have been the first major comedian to switch to feature-length films. unfortunately, studio contracts and his producer's cold feet held him back for a few more years, so chaplin and lloyd got there first. not that that slowed buster down; his output in the eight years he had creative control is virtually unmatched. despite getting married (in 1921, to natalie talmadge) and having two children (james, 1922, and robert, 1924), he continued filming at breakneck pace. to see what he could do with a camera, i'd recommend "sherlock jr." to see him at his cinematic best, i'd recommend "the general" "the cameraman" (i just committed cinematic heresy with that recommendation, but IN MY DEFENSE it was thee romcom training film for 20 years at MGM, well into the talkie era, so it's hardly a dud :p).

in 1928, buster's producer, joseph schenck, sold his contract to MGM. buster wasn't the owner of keaton studios, just an employee, so he didn't have much say in the matter. both chaplin and lloyd tried to talk him out of it, but in the end he signed the new contract anyway. later, he said it was the worst mistake of his career. denied the creative control he was accustomed to, he gradually descended into full-blown alcoholism, running away from his studio responsibilities and his disintegrating marriage alike. his final film for MGM, "what! no beer?", was an attempted buddy comedy with jimmy durante, and buster was visibly drunk or hungover in almost every scene. MGM fired him in 1932; his divorce, started in 1932, was finalized in 1933.

from there, buster had some dark years. he got married a second time, in 1934, to mae scriven (who mostly seems to have been a con artist), before they divorced in 1936. he was in and out of various rehabs, and nearly died at least once, before he managed to buck the odds and dry out. he spent the last years of the '30s working as a gag man and consultant for other comedians at MGM.

after that, things started to get better. he met his third wife, eleanor norris, in 1938 and they married in 1940. he had a couple high profile cameos in big movies, my favorite being the one in "sunset boulevard," where he played one of norma desmond's waxworks. then, a massively popular article by james agee, titled "comedy's greatest era," was published in LIFE magazine in 1949, kicking off a resurgence of interest in silent film as an art form and as a feature of cinematic history. agee paid special attention to buster, and that, combined with buster's own fascination with the up-and-coming technology of television, led to his comeback. he worked steadily and enthusiastically in television (and occasionally in movies) up until he died of lung cancer on february 1, 1966, living long enough to see his films receive the recognition they deserved. (also here, have this nice article i found while trying to find the one by james agee.)

i've never taken a film history class myself, so i can't begin to explain all the ways buster keaton advanced filmmaking. here's an article that analyzes the gag as a staple of film comedy; a book that analyzes buster's comic and directorial style chiefly through "the general"; and another article that explores gags, this time specifically mechanical gags, and has lots of nice things to say about buster. if this isn't enough and you decide to go whole chicken fried hog on buster like i have, hit up me, @spokir, or @busterkeatonsociety and we can connect you with all the material you could possibly want.

enjoy!!!

(colossal, chrysler building-sized thanks to spokir, who sourced most of these articles. seriously, talk to your local librarian, they WANT to find things for you.)

[miss-writes-a-lot]

@ozqrowweek Day 4: The Beach Episode 🏖️

(just gonna jump straight into it because it's longer than I anticipated.)

The minute the car stopped, Ruby sped out of the backseat in a flurry of rose petals with her little red boogie board in hand and her trusty companion Zwei speeding right behind her in his little beach ball shorts. Weiss followed after her, trying (and failing) to scold her significant other on the mess she left in her speedy exit. Blake and Yang crawled out of the back with the cooler and Yang’s much longer surfboard as Taiyang went to pick up everything that Ruby had dropped.

Qrow and Ozpin pulled up soon after. They managed to catch Ruby flying up in the air, shouting “THE BEACH!!” at the top of her lungs.

Ozpin chuckled. “She seems excited.”

“Don’t see why she shouldn’t be. Been awhile since we’ve been back here all together like this,” Qrow said, turning back to his teens cramped in the back, “What about you guys? You excited to see your cousins?”

“Mmhmm!” Maylea exclaimed, chomping down on the last bit of her orange creamsicle.

Oscar was too distracted with all of his beach things and their youngest, Garnet, had her face buried in a book but by the way her shoulders scrunched in and how her knees were pressed to her chest, she didn’t seem too pleased to be there.

“Garnet? Are you okay, love?” Ozpin asked.

“Can I stay in here until we go back to the house? I can walk too if that makes it better.”

“G, we’re not leaving you in a hot car and we’re for sure not letting you walk all by yourself. That’s like basic parenting 101.”

“Please?”

“I thought you were excited to see Ruby and Yang again?” Oscar said, “Haven’t seen them since the Vytal Festival in March.”

“I was until I realized they were bringing all of their friends and junk with them,” She pulled her hood down lower on her face.

“You’re lucky it’s just JNPR. I heard Ruby wanted to invite team SSSN, team CFVY, team–”

“Not helping, May.”

“Right, sorry.”

“Why don’t you at least say hi? We’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

She sucked her teeth, “I don’t know. They’re all going to be romantic and sweet and stuff–”

“I’m sure they will have enough restraint to say hi and spend time with their cousins, '' Ozpin said, adding a small, “At least, I hope they will.”

“Mmm…okay. I’ll…I’ll go.”

“Yes!”

“Alright, family beach trip back on track! Oscar, you get the cooler, I’ll get the grill, Nettie, try and keep your sister away from the rest of the ice cream ‘til after lunch.”

“Hey!”

The Branwen-Pine family finally piled out of the car. Team Rwby had already gotten settled in their respective areas. Ruby was having a water gun fight with Weiss (who was losing miserably), Blake was under an umbrella with her favorite fantasy book, and Yang and Taiyang were busy setting up the volleyball net.

Oscar and Maylea ran ahead, dumping all of their belongings onto the sand and only grabbing the ‘important’ items before running into the water to join in the water fight.

Ozpin rolled his eyes as he collected whatever they had dropped and set up their stuff beside Taiyang’s.

“Uncle Qrow!” Yang exclaimed, “Uncle Oz! Good to see ya!”

“Took you guys long enough,” Taiyang said.

“We had a bit of trouble getting Nettie outta the car. You know, a lotta people coming and stuff.”

“Is that why she isn’t here?”

The two exchanged a puzzled glance before looking behind them. Garnet was still standing on the hill where their cars were parked. Her still state however didn’t seem to be from a place of anxiety but a place of new found serenity.

“Looks like she’s feelin’ better already.”

“The ocean air did always clear her senses. She’s been needing to go out somewhere that isn’t the school or our land.”

“YO! G! You wanna play volleyball when Nora and them get here!”

Garnet gave an unsure thumbs up before starting to make her way down to the sand.

Qrow slinked his arm around Ozpin’s waist and pulled him close, “See? She’s getting out of her shell more. Pretty soon, once the whole ‘Salem being a thing’ thing dies down, she’ll make more friends of her own.”

Ozpin hummed, “I hope. She’s a good child. Anyone would be lucky to have her around.”

“The others seem to like her a lot. Nora especially.”

“Are we so sure that’s a good thing?”

Qrow chuckled into the crook of Ozpin’s neck. “C’mon, cut the kid some slack. Yeah she blew up the dust lab a couple times–”

“12. 12 times, Qrow.”

“But, hey. She makes Nettie laugh.”

Qrow pressed kisses up and down his neck. Ozpin laughed while Tai sighed. 

“You two always find ways to rub your relationship in my face, huh?”

“Oh, you know it,” Qrow said, trying to playfully smack Ozpin’s ass but he quickly grabbed his hand.

“Not in front of the children, dear.”

“Right. Kids. We have those now.”

Tai rolled his eyes, “Now that you’re done with whatever that was, can you please help me set up the grill.”

“Of course, Tai.”

And so, the day went on. Team JNPR finally showed up – apparently when they stopped at a nearby gas station, Nora just had to grab every snack on the shelves. Tai and Ozpin got the grill started up (mainly thanks to Ozpin and his magic) as the kids began their volleyball game. Garnet was more hesitant than before but after some coaxing from Yang, she left the beach blanket with Blake and joined the others. It ended up becoming a 1v1 with Yang and Nora the entire game (they were always so competitive when it came to each other) and it continued on to lunch with a contest of who could gorge themselves on the biggest rack of ribs after the volleyball game ended in a tie (or at least that’s what they had to tell them so they wouldn’t rip each other’s heads off.) Most of them went in the water to escape Tai’s awful dad jokes. Nora got a cramp and nearly drowned. Blake, Yang, and Garnet were chilling out on land but Garnet must have sensed that they wanted to be alone so she decided to head off to the other side of the beach, much to the chagrin of her fathers.

“I’m just going to check out the other side of the beach for a few minutes. I’ll be fine.” 

“I dunno, G…”

“You let me go out on my own all the time back home.”

“Well, Garnet, that's because we have people nearby to ensure your safety.”

“And? There are people here who are trained to attack on sight if anything goes wrong. I’m trained to attack on sight if anything goes wrong.”

“I suppose that’s true…”

“So, I can go?”

They exchanged a glance before sharing a nod. “Yes, you may go. But only for 10 minutes.”

“And keep your scroll on you.”

“And yell if something happens!”

“I will!” She took off running in the other direction with an odd amount of enthusiasm that she didn’t initially have.

“She’s hiding something, isn’t she?”

Qrow nodded in agreement. “Yep. Don’t know what but hey, at least we know she can’t cap size the place even if she wanted to.”

“Should we follow her?”

“In a miinute. I wanna walk for a second.”

“Okay? Lead the way.”

Qrow took Ozpin’s hand and led him away to the opposite side until the group became just mere dots.

“It’s pretty nice out here, huh?” Qrow said.

“It is. Almost makes me want to stay for a couple months. Not go back to school for a while. Though I doubt it would sit well with Glynda and the others.”

Qrow shrugged. “She’s done better with worse.”

Ozpin chuckled. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

They stopped. Qrow moved in front of Ozpin, taking both of his hands.  “Hey.”

“Hi?”

“So, I uh, wanted to ask you something…kinda important.”

“Okay? And that would be?”

Qrow caressed his knuckles, “So…you know how we’ve been together for a while now, right? And we have these kids and the war’s pretty much over and–”

“Qrow,” Ozpin raised a brow, smirking, “Are you trying to ask me to marry you again?”

“Ah, pretty much? With everything that’s happened and all the shit we went through, well–I thought we could use something like this,” He dug into his short pocket and pulled out a silver wedding band engraved with intricate leaf designs. Ozpin’s smirk curled into a sweet smile as Qrow got down on one knee, “Man, I’m more nervous than when I first asked you this.”

“Take your time, dear.”

Qrow took a deep breath, “Okay; Ozpin Pine, father and occasional teacher of my children, love of my life – will you marry me? Again? Until the next threat to the world comes and tries to rip us apart both literally and metaphorically?”

Ozpin laughed, “Yes, yes! Of course I’ll marry you, my dust old Qrow!”

He lunged forward and threw his arms around him. “H-Hey! Careful! Your ring!” Ozpin didn’t listen. He instead peppered his face with kisses until he settled on his lips with a long, soft kiss. Qrow laughed, pressing his forehead to Ozpin’s. 

“So we’re really doing this again, huh?”

“I suppose we are.”

“Should we tell the kids?”

Ozpin looked behind them, seeing Maylea running towards them with Garnet and Yang following in tow. “I believe they have something to tell us.”

“DAD! PAPA! Garnet has a girlfriend!” Maylea screamed.

“DO NOT!”

“Oh, you so have a girlfriend!” Yang replied.

The two exchanged a surprised glance. 

“So…we tell them after we deal with this?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

(thank God it managed to fit. Had to cut out a bunch of stuff before posting so if it seems kinda unfinished that's why.)

[reasoningdaily]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/07/29/black-hair-children-book-bans/

Her book empowers Black children, and hopefully won’t enrage adults

The email shouldn’t have made me nervous.

It was from a young Black woman raised in D.C., and it contained an advance copy of a children’s book she had written.

The work had grown from an earlier project St. Clair Detrick-Jules launched after her younger sister, Khloe, was bullied by classmates for her Afro and didn’t want to return to school. Other students had called the 4-year-old’s hair ugly, and she had believed them. Hearing what happened to her sister reminded Detrick-Jules of how she was teased for her own hair when she attended a predominantly White elementary school in D.C. and how it took her until after high school to stop wishing her face was framed with straight, silky strands.

She didn’t want her sister to waste that much time disliking a part of herself. So, Detrick-Jules taught herself photography. She then photographed 101 Black women with different natural hairstyles and compiled those images in a book she titled “My Beautiful Black Hair.”

I told you about that book in a column two years ago.

If at the time Detrick-Jules had told me that she was also planning to publish a children’s book, I wouldn’t have felt nervous for her. Not even a little bit.

But the country has changed in the past few years. We are now witnessing a war on children’s books that is expanding in ways that would be laughable if they weren’t so concerning.

The push to pull books that address race, ethnicity and LGBTQ+ issues out of public spaces has lately been growing even uglier and more unpredictable.

People have gone from focusing mostly on school libraries to now making demands of public libraries. A recent Washington Post article detailed what that has looked like for a community in Virginia. In Front Royal, people have overwhelmed the library staff with hundreds of book “reconsideration” requests, persuaded lawmakers to withhold library funding until concerns are addressed, and accused the library of sexualizing and brainwashing children. “Bearing the brunt of the anger is the library’s staff and its 15-member, all-volunteer Board of Trustees, who include a retired Air Force general, a lawyer, an accountant, parents, grandparents, churchgoers and home-schoolers,” my colleague Gregory S. Schneider wrote in that article.

People across the county also are taking aim at picture books. That’s right; they are scrutinizing those brightly illustrated books created to capture the attention of babies, toddlers and young readers and filing complaints with school systems about them.

Some of the illustrated books that have received complaints, according to an article that my colleague Hannah Natanson recently wrote, are: “Julián Is a Mermaid,” a book that features a boy who dresses as a mermaid, “Peanut Goes for the Gold,” a book about a nonbinary guinea pig, and “Skippyjon Jones,” a book about a cat who believes he is a swordfighter.

The person who filed a complaint about that last book, according to the article, argued that it “promotes negative stereotypes towards Mexicans and the Spanish language” because the letter “O” is added to the end of the words throughout the book. The cat sings at one point, “My name is Skippito Friskito. / I fear not a single bandito. / My manners are mellow, / I’m sweet like the Jell-O, / I get the job done, yes indeed-o.”

Yes indeed-o — that is how ridiculous the fight over the children’s sections of libraries has become.

I remember reading “Skippyjon Jones” once to my sons when they were younger. I’m Mexican American, and I didn’t find it offensive. I found the rhythm catchy, and I was glad the story held the attention of two squirmy boys for a few minutes.

But that was just my impression of the book. I don’t expect everyone to share it. I can respect that some people will want to put down the books I want to pick up. What I can’t respect is their belief that they have the right to snatch from my hands, and the hands of other parents, books that we want to read to our children. That picture books are coming under attack shows that the objectors’ fight never was about supporting parental choice. It’s always been about eliminating choice.

The titles and themes of the books that these groups want to ban may differ, but they all share this: They empower the people those groups would rather see weakened.

“I’m deeply concerned about the current slew of book bans across the country,” Detrick-Jules told me. “I’m concerned for Black and Brown students, for LGBTQ+ students, for immigrant students, for students with disabilities. … Our kids — collectively, as in, the kids of America — deserve to feel seen, represented and valued.”

After Detrick-Jules published “My Beautiful Black Hair,” her book was mentioned by name in a column by the conservative author Ann Coulter. In it, Coulter wrote that “white schoolchildren are being browbeaten about their ‘white privilege’ and instructed to ‘unpack’ their ‘white privilege knapsack.’”

When people share their stories with me, I become invested in them, which is why I was nervous to read Detrick-Jules’s new book. I knew the story behind it — that it had grown out of White children teasing a Black child. I also knew that other children’s books that have dared to point out how racism has harmed, and continues to harm, Black people have become targets for book bans.

But when I opened her book, which was illustrated by Tabitha Brown and will be available to buy in September, I realized she didn’t tell that part of the story. It was a picture book, after all. The book is titled “My Hair Is Like the Sun,” and the pages feature photos of Black children with different hairstyles next to images from nature.

Detrick-Jules said the idea for the book came to her when she was interviewing one of the women for her other book. The woman told her that her classmates used to call her “Tree Girl” because she wore an Afro. The nickname was meant as an insult, but it got Detrick-Jules thinking about how curls can resemble the waves of an ocean and how locs can flow downward like the rain.

“So much of what we admire in nature — its power, its strength, its freedom, its beauty, its joy — can be found in our own kinks and curls,” she told me. “For so many Black kids, and adults, our hair is seen as a chore, as something that needs to be done. I want ‘My Hair Is Like the Sun’ to be a reminder that our hair is actually a gift, and it’s a blessing that we get to experience it in so many forms.”

One page of the book reads: “My hair is like a waterfall, rushing toward the ground.”

Another page: “My hair is like a river, winding all around.”

When I finished flipping through the book, I felt sure of one thing and unsure of another. The book will no doubt empower some children. Less certain is whether it also will upset some adults.

[ecto-american]

Hey I wanted to fuck around and ramble about how I specifically headcanon and like to portray Jack and Maddie career-wise for my fanfics/personal take on the DP canon.

So to start; I headcanon Maddie as having a masters in electrical engineering and Jack as having a PhD in Thanatology (the scientific study of death and the practices associated with it), though he has a bachelor's degree in mortuary science while also having a funeral director’s license.

Why these? Because I absolutely see Maddie as the builder and thinker, the one who can build things, and Jack as the theorist who knows everything there is to know about ghosts. I picked Thanatology because it was as close as I could find to studying ghosts in an actual applied scientific sense, but I liked the mortuary science because it felt like a good accompaniment. I originally had mortuary sciences as his PhD (if you’ve heard me talk about this before), but I found out that I was actually a big dumb because in the US, you cannot get a PhD in mortuary sciences ihsofsa so I did research for an alternative.

So how do their jobs work? Well, I think it's approached in a very academic-y sense. While I kind of play with it loosely based on the specific fanfiction, I generally say that their job is a sorta combination of any number of the following:

Research grants to study ghosts, from both the government and just private companies

Writing books/textbooks revolved around ghosts (like ectobiology, ghost hunting, etc)

Contract ghost hunting work (like being paid to get rid of ghosts from private residents/buildings)

Income from ghost invention patents (think their Fenton weapons and things like the Fenton thermos)

They do non-ghost research and inventing as well (since they seem to custom build their own computers and other various technologies, and even just things like the Specter Speeder can be marketed to a non-ghost hunting audience like the military, and Jazz implied in GNO that Maddie has a lot of inventions outside of Jack that she works on)

Paid to teach/give lectures or make appearances at seminars, conventions or speak at certain events

Since Jack in this is licensed funeral director, he also occasionally works with a funeral home, and sometimes I even headcanon that Jack and Maddie used to own a funeral home before they got the grant/funding to build their ghost portal (which I touch on a little later!)

Jack teaches part time at a local community college/university, teaching normally one or two classes here but sometimes more, and sometimes even as Casper High teaching ghost 101 safety

Maddie is also a licensed electrician that does occasional work related to that

And this is kind of where you may be asking: wait, aren't they kind of a joke? Why are you giving them all this credit?

Well, honestly, I really like to think of the Fentons as being actually fairly well respected academically and by fellow ghost hunters. There's a lot of scientists that you'll basically learn are real Weirdos, but that doesn't distract from the fact that they are incredibly smart people who made amazing breakthroughs.

To me, I headcanon Jack as being autistic, and that ghosts and the paranormal is a special interest in which he's actually an incredibly well respected scientist, who has the most accurate (as far as the paranormal studies scientific community knows) information and knowledge about ghosts. He's been writing and studying it for twenty years, and arguably, essentially proved that ghosts exists because of his ghost portal and living in Amity Park, where ghost activity boomed. While there's canon evidence dedicated to him being made fun of in Million Dollar Ghost, I personally like to think of this as more of other ghost hunters just kind of seeing how Awkward and ridiculous he can be socially. We also hear about Danny and Jazz dunking on them, but I think this comes more from two teenagers being embarrassed about their oddball parents.

I definitely picture the Fentons as still being the town weirdos because well. You see their oddballness every day. But most ectobiologists would only see Jack when he's presenting and read his work, where I imagine he's presented as a bit less goofy and more serious. Because it's a chance for him to essentially ramble on about his special interest and area of expertise without interruption to an incredibly eager audience that's going to be asking questions and wanting his opinions. To me, Jack definitely seems like the person who you don't really think about how odd he kinda is (purely because of masking and it just not really coming up) until you're really with him 1v1 outside of these of these conventions/lectures/classroom environments.

I don’t totally see Maddie teaching, because while I’m definitely picturing her here as being a very smart mind that would likely also be a good teacher; the specific reasoning why I say Jack would be the ones that does the teaching part time is because it’s literally perfect for him. It's an excuse for him to trap 25+ people in a room on a regular basis to listen to him about ghosts. He'd absolutely just one of those easy A teachers, where if you just show up and listen to him babble about ghosts for 1-3 hours and turn in the homework (he gives no tests, midterm/finals or quizzes), you get your easy A. It’s the similar concept with the seminars and guest lecture things; Jack is just much more enthusiastic and would want that solo speaking time, and Maddie knows how much it means to him, so I feel like she would let him have this.

Maddie herself, I feel liker her heart rests more in just the general inventing and building side of it. While she has an interest in ghosts, this also seems to mostly enjoy the physical side of inventing. I say this mostly because, again, in GNO, Maddie has a whole bunch of inventions that she’s working on outside of things she builds/helps Jack build. To me, this straight up personal invention projects, even though they’re still ghost based, tells me that her heart and passion seems to lie within engineering and not necessarily too much in the way of ghost theory.

The way his and Maddie's relationship works to me is that Jack knows more of the ghost related information and he relays this to Maddie for her to build what they need. For example, he'll tell her “this is what the Ghost Zone is like, these are the dangers, this is what we need to survive, etc” and Maddie will have the knowledge to design the Specter Speeder, and they build it together with Maddie being the primary leader and troubleshooter.

However, Maddie has the education and license to do the electrical work and knows how to properly build and submit the patents. Meanwhile, Jack will eventually do all the research and write and publish the book detailing what they learned about the Ghost Zone. Repeat the process with ghost weapons and other such inventions.

I like to think that Jack and Maddie were essentially going through the process of getting the huge government grant they'd need to build the actual ghost portal, which took a lot of prior research, convincing, pleas for money and getting the city permission and code permits to get the money and permission building it, hence the like 20 year gap between the prototype portal and the final portal. Especially since they obviously started a family during that time too.

[ranveer--singh]

Title: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions - with Henry Cavill x reader

A/N: Reader finds out she pregnant, and now has to make a big decision. Does she want to have the baby, take the promtion, or do both. Will Henry support her decision?

The front door unlocked, making Nora nervously chuck the items in her hand into her bag. Quickly she grabbed her book, opening it to the page she last left on and carried on reading.

Hearing her husband walk inside, closing the door behind him made her heart race. His scent lingered into the lounge, making Nora’s body tingle and getting more and more nervous.

She didn’t want to look up and instead just focused on reading, trying to avoid those dreamy and charming eyes.

Henry  walked into the lounge, grinning as he sees his wife sitting on the sofa. She was wearing his shorts and a pink nike shirt. Nora’s legs were sprawled out onto the sofa, eyes focused on the book which made Henry  bite his lip just eyeing her up.

“Hey lovely.” Henry  sat down on the coffee table next to his wife. He put his hands on her smooth legs, tracing a line up and down with his fingers.

“Hen stop it, stop it,” Nora giggles kicking her legs. He was tickling her, making Nora forget her place in the book. She screeched, kicking again, her bag falling onto the floor when he came across a particularly sensitive bit of skin. She cursed as all her items fell out of her back at the sudden movement, even the items she nervously put inside when she heard him entering inside.

“Look what you did,” Nora sighed, slamming the book shut, jumping out of the sofa to collect her items and put them into her bag. 

Henry  went to help her out, bending down to collect the items and put back in her bag. He could see how distressed she looked and frowned. He raised his eyebrows when he saw a white and blue stick amongst the things on the ground.

He grabbed it, standing up to read it but Nora jumped up on her feet trying to get it out of his hands. Henry  was stronger then her, being a actor who trained a lot, so he was able to dodge her efforts and kept it in tightly in his hands.

“Pumpkin, are you- are you pregnant?” Nora had tears running down her eyes now sitting down on the sofa. She sniffed, rubbing her nose looking messy.

“Pumpkin, talk to me,” Henry  went to sit next to his lovely wife. He took her hands in his and held them, looking deep into her green eyes.

“Yes I am pregnant,” Nora half smiled looking at him. She could see how happy Henry  was to finally be a dad. His face lit up, a huge smile slid across his face. It’s the one thing he was waiting for. 

In excitement, he picked his wife up and spun her around a few times. Henry  slowly placed her on the ground, his hands cupped Nora’s face where he leaned in and pecked her lips ever so gently.

Henry frowned a bit, pulling back when he got an inkling something was wrong. Normally when the couple kisses, Nora’s hands would be on Henry ’s chest or squeezing his muscular arms. There was nothing of the sort today, however. He saw his wife turn her head instead to look outside to see the sun settle down.

Just as her tears dried up, Nora felt like crying again, her body shaking slightly from the cold breeze entering from the open window. Henry just watched his wife’s motions slowly, before moving her chin back to her face faced him.

“What’s wrong?” Henry could see a few tears trickling down her face. This broke his heart, thinking she didn’t want the baby. Nora linked her hand with his, sitting back on the sofa. Hena was getting scared, 101 things buzzing around in his head.

“Pumpkin, you’re scaring me,” Henry didn’t take his eyes off his wife as she started to talk. He watched as Nora’s leg started to shake, her hands getting clammy and moving off his. More tears trickled down her face, He grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and dapped the dampness of her face. Nora drew a half smile, biting on her bottom lip. 

“Hen,” she spoke softly, looking into his soft and kind eyes. “This is going to be hard for me. So please let me finish talking before saying anything.” He just nodded, looking at his wife watching her talk. Nora took a deep breath before she continued.

“Today I got a promotion at work, Hen. Instead of being a senior associate I became manager of the sales department. It’s a salary bump to double my regular pay. I get my own office, a new laptop and a whole team to work with.”

Nora sounded a bit excited from the tone of her voice, Henry  sighed knowing exactly what was coming next. He didn’t like it and it broke his heart, but he loved her and would support her with whatever decision she makes.

“Hen, say something,” Nora looked at him after finishing what she had to say. But there was dead silence for a few seconds. The only thing they could hear was the wind blowing in from the open window.

“Let’s make an appointment at the clinic tomorrow and sort it out,” Henry spoke feeling heart-broken that Nora would choose her career over wanting to become a mother. They always wanted to be parents. Babysitting Henry’s brother’s son gave them huge baby fever and now it appeared Nora would rather become a manager instead.

Nora became angry and disbelief coursed through her body. How could her husband just assume she wanted to get rid of the baby. She stood up from the sofa, pacing up and down in front of him in her agitation. Oh, she was really ready to let him have it.

“I am free tomorrow afternoon, maybe if we book now we can get the earliest time available.” Henry speaking was aggravating Nora and only making her angrier. She desperately wanted to slap some sense into him.

“SHUT UP,” Nora shouted, veins popping out of her forehead. He was startled, he didn’t really understand why she was angry. He thought this is what she wanted, no baby but a managers role.

Nora stopped pacing when she saw her husband frown, she couldn’t help but get more pissed off with his confusion. Henry should have known her better, they had been dating since they were 18 and they had been married for 2 years.

“Henry Cavill, what the hell made you think, that I wanted to get rid of the baby,” Nora shouted, biting her bottom lip. He could really be an idiot sometimes.

“You got the manager’s job, I figured you would take it,” Henry watched his wife sigh loudly, really annoyed. He didn’t understand. Nora had always dreamed about becoming a manager. She worked extremely hard to get where she is today. Being offered the manager’s job at age 32 was not a mean feat. Nora should feel proud of her achievements and he wouldn’t make her turn down the job, no matter his feelings about the baby. 

“Don’t call me Pumpkin” Nora snapped at him. “I prefer to stand, thank you very much.” Nora clenched her hands before she carried on speaking.

“Pumpkin, please sit down,” He spoke softly watching his wife grit her teeth. 

“You don’t even know what I am thinking about half the time Henry. All you do is assume the worst, I never said I was going to have an abortion. That’s all on you,” Nora spat at him, close to tears.  

“That’s not true. You know I love you but this is a baby we are talking about. This is what we been wanting for months now. Think about my feelings too,” Henry couldn’t bite his tongue anymore at her words, getting up from the sofa so he could look his wife in the eyes.

“I don’t want to have an abortion,” Nora started crying, sitting on the sofa. Her head held in her hands, raging hormones all over the place. “I have been thinking during my journey home to decline the manager’s job but to hopefully work part-time. It’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”

Henry  sighed, shoulders relaxing. Thank god. she didn’t want to abort. He sat down next to Nora in his relief. No words were exchanged, he just wrapped his arms around her tiny waist bringing her closer to him. Nora rested her head on his chest for comfort hearing his heart beat fast. He rested his head on top of hers as silence filled the air, Henry  rubbed her back smoothly just letting Nora cry it out. This was an important decision to make for them both. 

“I want to have this baby,” she broke the silence, lifting her head up and looking straight into his eyes.

“What about your promotion,” Henry  parted away so he got a good look at his wife who looked unsure, biting on her bottom lip once again.

“I don’t know, it will be hard to juggle both.” Nora’s voice became softer and a few more tears trickled down her face.

“Pumpkin,” He placed his hands on top of hers. “I am here for you, you should take the managers job. It’s something you have been working hard for, remember?”

“What about the baby? Taking the job means I’d hardly get to spend time with my child.” More tears fell down Nora’s face, remembering being looked after by her nanny until she became a teenager. It hadn’t been very fun because her nanny had been a very strict elderly woman. She just missed and longed for her parents to play and spend time with her. She wouldn’t wish that for her child.

“Pumpkin, look at me.” Nora wiped her nose looking at him. “You’re not alone in this, you’ve got me. Both our families will love to babysit. I’d say go for the manager’s job and we will cross bridges when we get to it." 

He cupped his wife’s face in his hands, leaning in to kiss her softly. Nora closed her eyes, enjoying the kiss for a few seconds. 

"Hen, do you really think we be able to juggle it all.” Nora looked up at him questioningly.

“I really think so, we are two clever individuals who can do anything we set are minds to. So let’s create one of your famous colour-coded calenders to help us get through it all.”

A smile appeared on Nora’s face at his words. For him to suggest an organized and colour-coded plan was a sign that he was really committed to making this work. It warmed her heart.

“Let’s do this,” Nora jumped up to grab her laptop, sitting back down on the sofa and started planning and merging her diary with Henry’s.

“We are doing it, Hen. We are doing it,” Her calendar looked very organised. Well, it took her a while to make it. Nora grabbed her laptop, ready to type an email to her boss accepting the manager’s position.

“Pumpkin, close the computer and come cuddle with me.” Henry made a grab at her laptop but she giggled and shielded it, playfully slapping his hands as she did so. 

“Just a moment, Hen. I need to-”

“Need to what, send an email right now?” He cut her off, looking at her opening the email to compose a message. 

“Leave it, Pumpkin. Come cuddle with me.” Henry opened his arms and gestured for her to join him where he was sitting. Nora sighed in surrender, rolling her eyes at her husband but closing her laptop nonetheless. She stood up to go and join him on the couch.

They sat together for a few seconds when the silence broke. Henry looks up to her before speaking, 

“I hope we have a baby girl who is as beautiful as you." 

Nora smiled and quirked an eyebrow,

"I thought you wanted a boy to play rugby with?”

As she was speaking, Nora imagined a little boy with Hen’s curly hair running around in the back garden wearing superman cape on his back, being chased by his father.

Henry didn’t say anything in response but fingered the hem of her shirt, moving her carefully out of his arms so he could bend down and kiss her stomach. Nora shivered at the feeling of the stubble on his jaw gently scraping along her sensitive skin of her belly. She smiled as Henry started whispering to the little tyke inside.

[pl-panda]

The Vines that bind us - Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don’t own Miraculous Ladybug or any DC characters. I own only the plot, and even that is inspired by the amazing story "Marigold Ivy" by @lwandile13 on Wattpad. Go check it. It's great. He allowed me to take some inspiration, for which I'm grateful. Also, don't translate the french words maybe. Or at least do it on your own responsibility. Big thanks to @Liza! on Discord for being my Beta :)

NEXT

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a normal girl, with a normal life. But she had a secret. Her real name was Marigold Isley. She was born under that name in Gotham city sixteen years ago. Her mother never revealed to her who was her father, but Mari never cared. She was happy with her mom and several aunts and uncles. Technically, none of them were related to her by blood, but Rogues were quite close to each other (excluding some outcasts like Joker or the Menagerie). They taught her many interesting things such as lockpicking, stealth 101, or hand-to-hand combat. She was five when it started, so her first-ever practical test was breaking into a kitchen cupboard and stealing a jar of cookies. Overall, she was very happy. 

It changed when she was eight. One very tired social service person named Elizabeth Barrow got wind of a child of a villain. That Elizabeth was new to Gotham after being reassigned from Metropolis and didn’t yet get the wind of how things worked. Maybe her colleagues didn’t like her, or maybe she was just too overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problem in Gotham. Previously, there was an unspoken agreement in the government that they wouldn’t notice Marigold. In exchange, rogues were calmer. Or at least tried to keep the death toll down. For a time, Gotham even started to slowly heal. But then, Elizabeth took the case of Marigold Isley. Ivy tried to fight. To protect her daughter. For three days, the city was held hostage by giant plants. It was only the fear in her daughter’s eyes that made Poison Ivy relent and let go. She didn’t want that life for Marigold. The one condition she gave was that the girl would leave America as a whole, to ensure she would be safe from all the madness. 

And so Marigold ended up in the care of baker’s couple in Paris. She never showed any powers thus far and the adoption agency kept the parentage a secret. That’s when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was born. She continued with martial arts training and stealth training, but now only as fun and reminder of her mother and extended family, as opposed to actual necessary survival tool. She also picked up designing as another hobby, which soon turned into a kind of obsession. She was generally a ray of sunshine. 

The one black spot in the happy world of Marinette was the Mayor’s daughter. Chloe Bourgeoise considered herself above others and just couldn’t stand sunshine girl. She ruined her clothes, sometimes damaged her homework, or verbally assaulted her. While Chloe was generally disliked, she was more of a nuance. Overall, Marinette was happy. At least until two events changed that. 

When she was twelve, Paris was attacked by Hawkmoth for the first time. Marinette found herself becoming Ladybug, a superhero with magical powers that protected the city from harm. She received a partner in form of Chat Noir. It took some time before she got hang of it, and then more time before she and Chat became an actual team. Over time, more heroes joined them, even if temporarily only. She had people she could count on. She became Happy again. 

Privately, she started her own brand: MDC, managed to become a class representative, and became best friends with Alya, who joined around the same time she became Ladybug. It was quite ironic. The superhero was best friends with one person whose greatest dream was to unmask the hero. Marinette also developed a huge (and a bit unhealthy) crush on Adrien Agreste, a famous model who was in her class. She spent years vying for his attention, but nothing ever came from her attempts. She was unable to even say a word around him and her face always became red like her mother’s hair. Overall, she couldn’t complain.

Then, when she was fifteen another black spot appeared. It was Lila (Liela) Rossi. She came to their school and immediately started sporting lies with every breath. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to buy into that, believing her like she spoke the gospel. Everyone but Marinette. She tried to expose Lila, but it only backfired. She became an outcast, disliked by everyone, and universally hated. Suddenly, it became okay to bully her because she was a bully herself and deserved it. It became okay to shun her and no longer include her in anything. The worst was Alya, her former best friend. At first, she just tried to nudge Marinette to give Lila a chance. When Marinette tried to show the truth, Alya practically attacked her. She was just as much responsible for Mari being cast out as Lila was. The fact that her best friend abandoned her only fueled the gossip and allowed Lila to drive the final nail in. In the span of a few weeks, Marinette was left alone. 

Around the same time, Chat Noir became more persistent in his pursuit of her while Adrien, who Marinette knew was aware of the lies, was only telling her to keep the high road (do nothing). She could understand him. As a famous model and son of a well-known fashion designer, he was always taught to not provoke the press. It still served as a wake-up call on her crush. 

--------

Marinette was packing her things after lessons when she noticed someone approach her from behind. Immediately, she tensed. After eleven years of martial arts practice, it was an instinct. Before she had time to turn around, something heavy landed on her desk with a loud Thud!. She turned to see Chloe standing over a large book, a single thick envelope, and a puffy bag that content Marinette couldn’t guess.

“What’s a…” She started, but Chloe cut her off. She had her usual ‘resting witch’ expression.

“The book contains every single instance I verbally assaulted you, destroyed something of yours, talked about you behind your back, or in any way otherwise did something wrong toward you. Here are the materials for the damaged clothes,” she pushed the bag toward her, “and here is money for other things.” Chloe gave her the envelope. “I apologize for all of that. I was jealous of all the attention you kept getting even though I thought I deserved it. I now realize that my behavior was wrong and hurtful. I will understand if you’ll never speak to me again. I kept acting ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” With that, she turned and started to walk again. Marinette idly noticed that there was no Sabrina nearby. Thinking back, Chloe was no longer acting (overly) mean toward anyone as of late.

Making a split-second decision, Marinette raced after the blonde and pulled her into a hug.

“Wha…” Chloe yelped before sinking into the hug. Neither girl realized they were crying until they finally separated. Blonde had her lite make-up in total ruin while Marinette had tears still going down her cheeks. “Does that mean you accept my apologies?”

Marinette didn’t answer immediately. She stood there with open mouth for a moment before smiling weakly. “Yes, Chloe.”

Since that day, they were best friends. It turned out to be a blessing. Chloe, once she finally allowed someone to truly know her, turned out to be a highly intelligent, funny, and very much still overbearing person. She still acted high and mighty, but it no longer felt mean, rather just… felt. She took to defending Marinette from the rest of the class. She was aware of Lila’s lies from day one but never acted on it until it was too late. Sabina abandoned her for the liar. Dealing with loneliness was hard on her. She didn’t even have parents that cared. Her father would probably move sun if she asked, but he had an emotional range of a toothpick. Her mother didn’t even know her name, so she didn’t bother.

Something about their friendship must’ve upset Lila because the girl upped her game. Marinette’s parents suddenly found themselves facing strong critique and constant inspection from the sanitary department and child protection questioning their parenting abilities. MDC, who was slowly becoming one of the go-to fashion designers for famous found herself in the middle of several fake media scandals, including one lawsuit over defamation. If it wasn’t for Jagged Stone and Penny rallying her customers, Marinette and her parents would end up broke. He managed to save MDC and practically made her untouchable. Still, Alya and Lila got off scot-free as nothing could be linked to them.

Perhaps what pushed Lila over the edge was Chloe confronting Adrien. She yelled at him for good two hours straight about responsibility and morality, pointing in detail exactly what he did wrong. She would probably go on if Marinette didn’t stop her. After that, Adrien finally apologized and tried to make things right, but it only turned against him. By then, Lila had everyone so deep into it, that he was powerless. She didn’t go after him as her partnership with Gabriel Agreste was too important, but she did tattle to the Fashion Mogul about it. Gabriel tried to get his son under control, but this was one thing that he couldn’t achieve. 

It did inspire a whole youth fashion line ‘rebel’, which became a global hit.

All this time, Marinette kept two secrets. One was her identity as Ladybug and the guardian, the other was her true name and family. Until she kept neither.

----------

Marinette returned home after another day at school. Recently, her mother revealed she was pregnant with another child, even though she was believed to be barren. Everyone in the bakery was overjoyed and the couple even started to hand out small treats to any guest that came. The free samples helped the business return to a better standing. 

When she entered, strangely there was no sound in the bakery. It was empty. Usually, her parents would both be very busy as it was still business hours. Slightly worried, she went upstairs. When she entered the living room, she found an envelope addressed to her. 

Isley

We tried, but we can no longer tolerate you. We turned a blind eye when we learned how improper you act, trying to drag every boy you meet for some, and we quote, “alone time”. We didn’t react to the bullying accusations, believing them to be overexaggerated. Even when you were expelled, we still had hoped you’ll turn out into a fine young lady. But now, we must think of the baby. Today was the last straw. Hearing about how you ruined that poor impaired girl’s birthday was both cruel and against everything we taught you. 

We held hope you won’t follow in your mother’s footsteps, but you proved us wrong several times. We supported your obsession over fashion, even with the drama it caused, because it was actually non-violent. At first, we didn’t want to teach you how to fight, but we convinced ourselves that you would have a way to vent the emotions somewhere away from us. 

Please, don’t try looking for us. We will probably have already left the country or even the continent. The bakery is yours. We don’t want to have anything to do with the spawn of evil such as you. 

We hoped you would turn out better

Sincerely,

Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng

Marinette tried to read it over and over again, but her eyes welled with tears. She had no idea she was screaming until her throat was coarse. Rationally, she knew she needed to keep calm or she would attract the Akuma, but emotions made her not care. 

Unknowingly to her, the plants all around Paris responded to her cry. They started growing and spreading, trying to get to their queen and comfort her. The Akuma that would’ve come for her stumbled into one of the vines, corrupting it. Hawkmoth was surprised, it was not something anyone ever seen in Paris except on TV or some strange Japanese shows that play after midnight. The more important thing was that even though he akumatized the plants, he had no control over them. He couldn’t even recall his Akuma. 

Back in Marinette’s living room, she started to feel the ground rumble. Soon, plants exploded from the ground and broke windows. She slowly looked at her hands to see them tinted with green. They were not the same as her mother’s, but close. She looked to the floor where pieces of glass littered everything. Her face was the same, but her hair became blue and her eyes were now the most vibrant iridescent green she’s ever seen, exactly the same color her mother’s eyes were. 

She started to panic even more. Tikki floated next to her, talking to her, but Marinette couldn’t hear her. Or maybe process it. She could hear the plants call to her. She could hear them speak. They promised her revenge. They promised retribution on those who attacked her. God’s wrath would rain upon them from the sky and hell’s fury would consume them from beneath. 

Impaired girl…

“Liar Rossi.” Marigold seethed. She knew there was only one person who would do such a thing. Only one talented enough to convince her parents she was a villain. If they wanted a villain, they would get one. Her mind was being clouded. Her clothes were already torn, replaced by a skintight outfit made of leaves, much like her mother wore. Then, Marinette remembered another part of the letter. She added a skirt made of purple petals that complimented her blue hair nicely and long sleeves that reached to her hands, ending with a triangle that reached her middle finger and surrounded it at the base. She left the decolletage as it was.

Exiting her house, she allowed the vines to carry her. There were only so many places The Liar could hide. First, she went toward School, as it was closest. She made plants carry her over the roof right into the courtyard while more of them broke the doors and blocked any exit. The fencing class was still going on, but The Liar was not there. She looked over the scared crowd, spotting two people she wanted to find. She needed to protect them from The Liar, else they end like her. She grabbed the fencer in a red outfit and her partner, knocking their masks to reveal Kagami and Adrien. The plants wrapped around them, forming a sort of cocoon before dragging them to the heart. Marinette then turned her sight to Eifel tower. She knew The Liar liked to drag the class there. 

As she moved through town, she passed the Hotel where Chloe lived. Pausing, she made the plants lift her toward the balcony. Her best friend was indeed there, right next to the lit-up Bee-signal. Honeystly…

“Marinette!?” The blonde jumped in surprise

“Marinette is gone. She should’ve never even been. I’m Marigold, the daughter of Poison Ivy.” For a moment, the fog thickened, but Mari shook it off quickly enough, before whatever caused it managed to get the hold of her. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng! If you got yourself akumatized, I’m telling my daddy!” Chloe shouted. Seeing the tears form in the iridescent green eyes, she looked at her friend with pity. “Oh, Mari! Is this the Liar again? Come here right now!” The blonde spread her arms for a hug. She didn’t care about the Akuma. Her friend needed her and she would help her conquer the world if she asked. Chloe owed Mari… everything. She helped her evolve beyond being the queen witch. In response to the gesture, the plants in the garden started to grow until they surrounded the two of them in a tight cocoon. Marinette stepped onto the balcony. She affectionately petted the vine that carried her so far before allowing it to return to its hunt for the Liar. 

“Chloeee!” Mari launched herself at the girl. She sunk into the embrace, allowing tears to start flowing again. She sobbed her heart out while pushing a piece of paper she constantly held in her clutched fist before. The blonde took it and read while patting Marinette on the back of her head. 

“Salauds! Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous! How dare that cochons! And the chienne! Wait till I tell daddy about this! Don’t worry Mari. I will protect you! I will ruin her! Merde!” The rant made Marigold pause. She never heard Chloe curse. Like… never. “But first. Mari. You know I love you and I would help you hide the body, but drop the Akuma. It’s making you look Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous! I mean the dress is so much spot on and so you, but the whole take over Paris is more my style. I can let you be my faithful sidekick while we take over the world if you want.”

For a moment, Marigold continued to stare at Chloe before she burst out in a fit of laughter. It wasn’t a nervous chuckle or the villain cackle, but genuine pearly laughter. It was just so… Chloe-ish. She couldn’t imagine anyone trying to dissuade an Akuma by offering to become a sidekick. 

“You… You… Never change Chlo.” Mari smiled at her friend. 

“Whoa. You… didn’t make me a fertilizer? I mean, of course, you wouldn’t. You are just too good of a person, but Hawkmoth…”

“I’m not akumatized Chloe.” Mari smiled. “It’s me.” As if to prove her point, she stood up and spun, allowing the blonde to see her from all sides. “This is how I really look. Apparently, I do take some after my mom.”

“Your… mom?”

“Pamela Isley, she was a famous biologist. Mom was brilliant. She used to be one of the smartest people in the world.” Mari praised. “There was this one accident that she is now famous for…”

“Pamela Isley? I remember reading about her.” 

“Yeah… She is…”

“Didn’t she create this environment-friendly line of cosmetics?” Chloe asked in her typical fashion

“Yes! I have no idea why everyone remembers her only for the ‘Poison Ivy’ thing!”

“I know, right?” Chloe nodded. “Wait a…”

“Tada!” Mari said weakly before trying to look away, doing everything not to look her friend in the eyes. The blonde gently grabbed her chin and moved it so she could look right into the beautiful green eyes of her best friend.

“Mari! If you think I would abandon you just because your mother took veganism too far… You’re utterly ridiculous!”

Marigold smiled slightly. Slowly, the green receded and her eyes turned back to normal. The dress remained, as without it she would end up naked and she didn’t fancy trying to explain to anyone that. 

She then turned to the plants and tried to order them to return to normal, only for them to resist. For a moment, her mind started to feel fogged, but it didn’t hold at all now. 

“As much as I like the scenery, maybe we stop the plantpocalypse?”

“Um… Remember how I told you I wasn’t akumatized?”

“Yeah?”

“I think the plants are…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Chloe shouted. “Listen here Hawkmoth! Get this Akuma the heck away! I don’t care about some fancy Jewels that will totally clash with your suit! I mean purple and white with red earrings? Are you colorblind?”

There was no visible reaction to the plants. 

“Strange…” Marigold ran her hand over the plants. “They still respond, just refuse to yield.” Inside, Mari cursed that she couldn’t consult Tikki.

“So… Want some cookies?” Chloe asked. “We just have to wait for Ladybug to save the day. At least the damage will be repaired.”

‘Except Ladybug it trapped here…’

Suddenly, something small and black slipped through the vines and entered their small peaceful enclave. It zoomed between items on the balcony, trying to avoid being seen. It would’ve been successful if Chloe didn’t know about Kwamis. 

“What was that!?” She shouted pointing at Plagg’s hiding place.

“What? I didn’t see anything!” Mari tried to lie. It was the one skill she never had. She did compensate for it by never getting caught.

“A Kwami! I’m sure I’ve seen one.” 

“Kwami? Who’s Kwami? Is that some bird? How would a bird get here? I mean we are trapped in…”

“Ugh! I don’t have time for games!” Plagg suddenly floated before the pair. “Chat is trapped and can’t help without revealing himself. Paris is being destroyed mindlessly and nobody can do anything as the vines are harder than steel.” The cat summarized. “And I’m hungry. Give me cheese!” He looked at Chloe. “Camembert would be the best, but I’m not that picky.”

“Why come to us? Ladybug took away my miraculous.” The blonde asked. 

“I didn’t come to you. I came to her.” The god pointed at Mari. 

“Me?! Why? It’s not like…”

“We don’t have time for charades guardian! The Akuma is out of control! Literally! Hawkmoth’s connection was somehow severed and now you have a giant plant that knows only the rage. This is serious!”

Mari wanted to protest or try to save some of her identity, but then Tikki floated out of her purse.

“Oh no! Marinette! He is right! We have a huge problem.”

“Why?” The girl asked resigned.

“You’re Ladybug!” Chloe shouted but was subsequently ignored

“Hawkmoth must’ve akumatized the plant, hoping to control you, but he had no idea it was sentient. But it stopped being sentient the moment you let it go. I… It never happened before.”

“You’re Ladybug!!!” Chloe shouted so loud that everyone had to look at her. 

“We can talk later. Now we need to somehow deal with the plants. Maybe… No. What about… But they are too tough… What if…” Marigold started to run through various scenarios and plans. 

“Can’t you just order them to expel the Akuma?” Plagg asked bored.

“It… It might work.” Mari had a focused expression. In her head, she was running through all her knowledge of biology, miraculous magic, and how her mom’s powers worked. Hesitantly, she walked to the edge of the cocoon and called the main vine to her. The wall spread slightly and allowed the tip of it to enter. Mari touched it and started gently caressing it. 

“you’re a good boy. Yeah! Who’s a good boy? You’re. Yes! You’re a good boy. But Good Boys don’t have Akuma. Do you want to be a good boy? Of course, you do…” 

Chloe stood there and watched how Marigold kept talking to the plant like it was a puppy. She felt something fall into her hand. Opening the palm, she saw two earrings.

“I… I can’t!” She protested, but Plagg floated before her eyes.

“She can’t do it. If Akuma escapes, we will have plantmagedon on a larger scale.���

“Fine. Spots on!”

Just as Mari finally talked the plant into expelling the Akuma, Chloe caught it. 

“Bye Bye Little Butterfly!” She released the pure white bug. “Lucky charm!” Chloe shouted. A red and black folder fell into her hands. She looked at it curiously. Inside, she found a complete set of adoption papers for her father to sign. She quickly pulled out the sheets and tossed the folder itself, releasing a swarm of ladybugs that repaired Paris to how it was before plants. The sheet stayed. 

Transformation dropped after that and Chloe handed the jewel back to the true owner.

“You still have sooo much explaining to do!” 

Nobody remembered about Adrien and Kagami being carried together to safety, which turned out to be Mari’s basement. And while Ladybug Cure should’ve restored them to where they were taken from, for some unknown reason they remained locked there until Mari returned late into the evening to spend the last night at the bakery. It would be some time until Tikki admitted that it was an act of revenge on Plagg for revealing her chosen’s identity. He had to go the whole day without cheese. The one good thing that came from it was that Kagami and Adrien had a long frank talk and ended up as friends. The relationship just wasn’t working.

----------

When Mari was adopted by the Mayor, she decided to keep using the Dupain-Cheng name at least for now. At first, Chloe’s father was against it, but once the girl presented it as a way of getting good press of mayor who personally looks after his citizens he practically ripped the papers to sign them. Although on paper he was the adopter, Chloe was the real parent/sister that took care of Mari. Lila seethed and spitted, but couldn’t really do much more. Adrien and Chloe roped Jagged Stone and Penny into Marinette Protection Squad. Luka and Kagami, who somehow hooked up, also joined. At some point, Mari entrusted Luka and Kagami with permanent Miraculous and Gave Chloe the Bee miraculous back. Some Fox illusion of Chloe publically applauding new heroine helped hide her identity. The hardest part was revealing to Chat, Viperion, and Ryuko her true identity. Adrien was a big surprise, but at least they finally dealt with their crushes once and for all. The fact that they were in love square in two people was way too awkward. Chloe and Mari did notice Adrien sometimes looking at Luka, but he was happy with Kagami. The only person that disproved of ‘Lukagami’ was Kagami’s mother, but she warmed up to him when he accepted the challenge to a duel and was completely pacified when she learned that Luka is apprenticing under Jagged Stone. 

Jagged and Penny wanted to Adopt Mari, but ended up filling the role of uncle and aunt. After some time, Mari realized that she rebuilt what she once had in Gotham. These people might not have been her family by blood, but it mattered little. That family might’ve been damaged, maybe even broken, but they were happy together. They found solace in one another. Once more, Marinette was happy. 

Until a trip to Gotham came knocking on the front doors.

NEXT

[jckelly]

updated intro / jack 101

Is that JACK KELLY? Wow, they do look a lot like VAN MCCANN. I hear HE is an NINETEEN year old FRESHMEN who are studying AEROSPACE ENGINEERING  at Luxor University. Word is they are an ARISTOCRAT student. You should watch out because they can be PHILOPHOBIC and INSINCERE, but on the bright side they can also be WITTY and IMAGINATIVE. Ultimately, you’ll get to see it all for yourself. [YUNI, 21, GMT, SHE/HER]

 the other two got updated intros n rat man felt left out

basics

full name: jackson noel kelly 

nicknames: jack (does not answer to jackson)

date of birth: december 25, 2001

zodiac: capricorn sun, leo ascendant, sagittarius moon

nationality: dual uk and us citizenship

sexual orientation: straight but will try anything once

course: aerospace engineering

appearance

faceclaim: van mccann 

voiceclaim: van mccann

ethnicity: white (english, irish)

height: 5′8 / 173cm

weight: 58kg / 127lbs

eye colour: blue

hair colour: brown

distinctive features: freckles (many), left ear pierced, scars on his wrists usually covered by long sleeves, northern english accent

clothing preferences: jack prefers to only wear black, or at a push grey, although he’s slowly improving and will Occasionally mix it up with ... navy. his style is pretty basic, usually just a sweater, jeans, and beat up black converse or doc martens depending on how emo he’s feeling. the sheffield united hoodie makes an appearance every time someone forgets precisely which uk city jack is from. 

personality

overview

positive traits: witty, imaginative, perseverant, passionate

negative traits: philophobic, disloyal, insincere, callous

mbti: entp

religious beliefs: atheist

description

the first side most people see of jack is the side he wants you to see. a total asshole. it’s not an exaggeration - he’s pretty much infamous for flirting with everyone, dating anyone and as a serial cheater. he’ll actively try to worm his way into your life, and then just when you start to care, he does something to hurt you. he’s strangely persistent, probably helping him to push people even further, until they snap. there is nothing which satisfies him more than managing to wind people up to the extreme, get them to the point where they give up. adopted parents, friends, nobody is immune to this side - he even tries it on the people he genuinely cares about, as if just to see if he’ll still be able to push them away.

the second side, which most people don’t see, is that at heart jack is a kid. he’s the type of person to ask if owls have ears at 3am, or get some childlike joy out of dumb jokes. of course, this is the side nobody but a very small number of people see. and even if you do see it, it never lasts long. he keeps his true personality under wraps even amongst those he does like, and it only slips out if he’s extremely comfortable with you. otherwise, he’ll go straight back to being a sarcastic, flirty piece of shit.

biography

jackson noel kelly was born in hell on ironically christmas day to his father satan......

jk

jack and his older half brother finn were born in sheffield, united kingdom, to a single mother. a drug addict, she was notorious among social workers for neglecting her children and as a result jack shuffled between foster homes and his mother’s home during his first ten years of life, with finn, less than four years older than him, being his primary carer even when he was back with his birth family. this cycle finally ended when jack was ten and he was permanently removed from his mother’s care, and placed in the first of a series of foster homes which didn’t last particularly long.

the thing was, jack’s remarkably good at pushing people away when he wants to, and as he got older his talents only increased. running away, wreaking havoc, insulting anyone who tried to get close and anything else he could possibly think of meant that for three years he lasted no longer than eight months in any one place. in fact, he frequently took himself back to live with his birth family until social services came to drag him out again. this lifestyle continued until he was fostered by his now adopted parents, claire and george, at thirteen.

much to jack’s dismay, no matter of hell raising would push these newest set of parents away. in fact, they seemed absolutely set on raising him as Their Son, even as his attempts to get them off his back got more and more extravagant. they removed him from his previous school, transferred him to a fancy private school, put him in therapy and tried their best to help him get through all of the issues developed through his slightly fucked up childhood.

the thing was, jack loves his mother. he still refuses to see her as being in the wrong, no matter what people tell him or what he himself recalls, in his mind he has one mother and that’s his birth mother. so he did not take kindly to attempts by his foster parents to become his “new” family, because in jack’s mind? he already had a family. and even though they were actively encouraging him to continue contact with his brother, he couldn’t help but see them as trying to replace his birth family.

jack’s fifteenth year pretty much became the year when all of these issues finally came to a head. he was adopted legally by his foster parents, who had now been fostering him for two years - which should have been a happy occasion, but for jack represented the final loss, the final betrayal to his birth mother and brother. then shortly after his fifteenth birthday his brother went to prison at eighteen for grievous bodily harm, having glassed another boy after an argument.

of course, it would later be revealed that in actuality the assault had been committed by jack. and that finn was simply covering for him. (they looked alike enough that questions were not raised, it had happened so fast.) but in the eyes of jack’s adopted parents, finn was now a dangerous offender and jack had to be protected from him. so he was then isolated from his brother, his mother had relapsed and his continuous guilt over being adopted played on his mind, culminating in a suicide attempt in march 2017. 

of course, he wasn’t successful, but this was the final straw in the minds of his adopted parents. they felt jack needed a fresh start, away from the people who had defined his life prior to that point. so by his sixteenth birthday, jack had been moved to the united states to be near the family of his adopted mother, and subsequently enrolled in luxor academy. 

where he continued to be a menace :))

although it did appear, for some time, that jack was showing signs of improvement. sure, he was still wreaking havoc at luxor. but at home, he had calmed, even showing signs of affection to his adopted family. until his mother overdosed suddenly and died when jack was eighteen and things started to immediately go straight downhill again.

he can’t help but blame himself, for allowing himself to be moved. for the move being his fault, if he’s being honest. and if the honesty continues, jack’s got a whole lot of other stuff to blame on himself. (see: ruining his brother’s life.) so now he’s just taking shit out on everyone to try and make them a fraction as miserable as him. 

npc connections

birth fam

finn kelly / fc: jake bugg / b. may 10 1998 / taurus sun, gemini ascendant, pisces moon

finley, who also refuses to use his full name, is jack’s older brother - same mother, different father.  jack thinks he’s boring because he doesn’t raise hell with every opportunity. finn calls this “being a sane person.” went to prison for jack and regrets it. pastimes include crying over murakami books and trying to look shocked when jack tells him about the newest crisis he’s having. 

lauren kelly / fc: elena tonra / b. february 20 1983 - d. april 1 2020 / pisces sun, aries ascendant, leo moon

jack’s birth mother, who was still a teenager when he and finn were born. she was an on again, off again drug addict and had jack removed from her care when he was ten due to continued neglect. instilled in him a love for oasis and a hefty number of mental health issues. looked pretty much exactly like jack. 

jordan taylor / fc: alex turner / b. october 12 1984 / libra sun, leo ascendant, virgo moon

jack’s birth father, who he knows little about. not for lack of trying on his father’s part, who was prevented from seeing jack as a child by his birth mother and blocked from trying to make contact by jack’s refusal to interact. he keeps trying to message jack and jack is running out of daddy issues memes to respond with. finn thinks jack should give him a chance to redeem himself. jack thinks finn should fuck off. 

adopted fam

claire fielding / fc: julia roberts / b. may 12 1964 / taurus sun, cancer ascendant, leo moon

jack’s adopted mother. loves him very much and is convinced he is a sweet boy who just needs love and help. has written a memoir about adopting jack. jack is mad at her constantly. when he is not mad at her, he is embarrassed by her existence. honestly deserves better.

george fielding / fc: timothy olyphant / b. november 6, 1963 / scorpio sun, capricorn ascendant, virgo moon

is proud of jack, but very deep down underneath a strong layer of calling jack out on his bullshit. has some loud ass shouting matches with jack. also really wishes jack would sort his hair out and maybe not look like a cheap liam gallagher. jack honestly just winds him up constantly and he knows jack is doing it but goddamnit it’s so hard to not be mad at the little rat. 

other

maisie adeyemi / fc: yewande biala / b. january 6, 1997 / capricorn sun, sagittarius ascendant, aries moon

finn’s fiancee. her goal in life is to try to get jack to ruin finn’s life at least 70% less often. she has yet to achieve this goal. her love language is setting finn’s phone to silent when he goes to bed to stop jack from phoning in with some sort of random crisis at four in the morning because the little shit forgot timezones exist. finn will never find out. maisie is grateful that men have no brains. 

[leggomylino]

A Floral Memoir | Yang Jeongin

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ--ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ--ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ- 

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ--ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ--ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

Genre: Nostalgic, drama, bittersweet, angst, fluff ending

Pairing: Yang Jeongin x fem!reader

Au: Flower shop au, friends to lovers au

Word Count: ~3.9k

Warning(s): None! c:

A/N: This was supposed to just be a blurb/timestamp but I’ve been heavily influenced by fictional prose from my Fiction 101 class so...this happened. :D | Masterlist linked down below and in bio!!! <3 | For Nana, who loves Yang Jeongin; and, for all the wonderful writers of @skzwriternet​. Thank you all for being so supportive and kind. God bless. 🎔

Tag List: @hanniiesuckle17​ @distrikt9​ @hanstagrams​ @hyunsunq​ @smolboiseavey​ @jisungsjheekies​ @iluvlix​ @moonlit-han​ @stay-nctzen​ @yangomangos​ @stayndays​ @cotccotc​ @skzctnightnight​ @multi-stan-present​ @dreamy-dreamies​ @yunhoesss​ (If you’d like to be added, please let me know! Comment, ask, or DM me!!! ^^)

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ--ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ--ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

There’s this flower shop down the road from your house that you’re used to going to. It’s one of those hole-in-the-wall places, the kind that never stand out unless you’re actively looking for them. The brick’s chipped, covered in vines, and the sign out front is hanging by a stem, the slanted posture threatening to drop dead over the next teenager that pursues vandalism; still, to you it’s never unrecognizable, no matter how many years of wear-and-tear or lost du jour go by. To you, it’s the most beautiful place in the world: not for what is shown on the outside, but for what lies there within. What it stands for, represents.

This is the local flower shop of 129 Poppy Close Lane. And it is the place you grew up in, blooming alongside Yang Jeongin.

Jeongin had been your best friend growing up. The two of you did almost everything together: ride bikes, watch movies, play in the park. Feed the ducks, hop around like frogs, climb trees. Hide in your mother’s laundry basket in order to jump out and scare the daylights out of her-- which only backfired once when she nearly had a heart attack-- to which you vowed never to do ever again. Instead, the two of you set your sights on the neighbor’s son, a boy of roughly similar age named Kim Seungmin. But that always seemed to backfire as well. Kim Seungmin was simply too smart.

The day Innie’s parents-- that was your nickname for him, sometimes I.N.-- the day his parents announced they’d be buying out a crumbling furniture store, the two of you had been so excited. Think of all the beds you could jump on! All the sofas to tackle! The pillow fights! The two of you could make the largest blanket fort in the history of blanket fortresses!!! 

...Instead, those dreams were crushed like petals pressed between pages. You weren’t getting a mattress playground; they were opening a flower store.

A flower store? But aren’t flowers free? Don’t they grow outside? The two of you prodded and pestered Jeongin’s parents until they ran out of answers to give, and instead only replied with “you’ll see” and “just wait.” But if there was one thing the two of you hated doing, it was waiting. Why did you have to? Wait for what?

...Time flies when you eventually forget about the thing it is you have to wait around for, too occupied curling toes beneath blankets by a roaring fire or towering blocks into Lego houses. After a few days of lazing around with Jeongin at your house and a short afternoon bike ride through the park, at last the shop of flowers was revealed to you. And it...was…

...Okay. Colorful, vibrant, definitely eye-catching, at least back in those just-starting-out days. But you still didn’t get it at the tender age of ten. Of course you’d heard of flower stores before, but the point escaped you. Couldn’t you just grow your own for free? Couldn’t you just ride to the park and take some from the woods? Why would you sell something you could obtain for free? Who would waste their allowance on that?

Jeongin was different. You remember looking over at him, standing to your right, and seeing his face alive and bursting with more color than the shopfront. The way his eyes sparkled as he took it all in, the pride that seemed to blossom in his smile and the way he carried himself. Straight, tall, and happy, just like the sunflowers waving outside the window. It was off-putting to say the least, but you felt gratified just watching him elate and gush his excitement. So you upheld that same excitement, too.

Years went by of the two of you hanging out in that place; Little Fox Flowers, it was called. Appropriately named for the son of the two owners who spent their days happily snipping away sadness and making the lives of all its customers just a bit brighter. A place where all the local college-bound kids would apply for part-time jobs in order to live out their novel fantasies, hoping for a quiet place to smell the roses after a long day of notetaking and hide behind the hollyhock to study.

They were always kindly denied. After all, the shop was a family business: just Mr. and Mrs. Yang, Jeongin, and you, who had been considered the daughter they never had since you were six. And, eventually, Kim Seungmin, who won everyone over with cake and the “look-at-how-responsible-I-am” presentation. He was responsible, no one could deny: the way he’d always turn you and Jeongin in before you could commence danger-inducing experiments.

And then, at fourteen, it was the three of you. You got paid, of course-- just scarcely minimum wage, but that was alright, because Mr. and Mrs. Yang always bought you lunch or dinner every other Friday. And the mean apple pie and best empanadas baked by the kind elderly couple who worked just across the street was to die for. (A side note: you’d find out two years later this was the place Kim Seungmin got his cake recipe from in exchange for helping fix a leaky faucet. The devious scoundrel.) The three of you worked and worked and studied and worked, spending perhaps too much time learning the wildest things about each other, things you were surprised you never knew of Jeongin, things you’d never guess about Kim Seungmin (you didn’t refer to him as just Seungmin until you were sixteen).

Jeongin was a fan of rock music. Kim Seungmin enjoyed more than a good book and ratting out his neighbors. Jeongin actually studied flowers in his free time, more than just what he learned passively working in a floral shop. Kim Seungmin was actually a prankster himself.

They learned things about you as well: how you preferred sunrises to sunsets, how you collected music boxes, how you kept a diary the two of them would never get to read, and now that they knew about it, were no longer or henceforth ever allowed in your room. This brought joy and laughter the color of fresh-sprung poppies to their faces...and a curious tint of rosehip to the cheeks of Yang Jeongin.

You distinctly remember the way he stared at you, two seconds too long before he looked away, to the flower arrangement before him, a smile never leaving his face. Spooked, you buried yourself back behind the front desk, occasionally peeking at his reflection through the storefront window.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

At seventeen you’re all sweating bullets over SATs and TCIs and ACTs and every other stress-fueled test that exists in the better education realm. The three of you are taking turns quizzing each other and flicking foreheads or slapping wrists after getting an answer wrong. When the owners announce they’re heading home to finish up errands and get dinner started, you take turns in the final few store hours managing the front desk: two cramming backstage, one holding the reins out front. It’s in solitude that Seungmin tells you he’s decided to go to Harvard University, and possibly Yale if he finishes with a 4.1 GPA. At this you want to smack him, but at the same time, tell him not to go. It wouldn’t break your heart to see him go, but what’s wrong with your local university? Or a university just an hour out of town?

He tells you it’s something he’s always wanted, and heartily decided, so you take his hand in yours and wish him the best. It’s not a problem; Harvard and Yale aren’t too far away. 

The real problem arises when they switch, and with Seungmin running the front desk and helping late-blooming customers, it’s Jeongin who tells you he won’t be going to college at all. “I’ve decided to travel,” he says. “I want to explore new cultures. I want to hear other kinds of music. I want to see other types of flowers.”

At this, you deadpan. Blink a few times, just to make sure that registered. “You...want to leave the country?”

“It’ll sort of be like studying abroad-- hey, maybe that’s what I’ll do. Study abroad. I’ll be able to see lots of things that way. There’s a program that can accept me right away if I apply before midnight.”

“Jeongin…”

You frown. You can’t help it. Jeongin? Leaving you behind? You aren’t about to lose both of your best friends; especially not Jeongin, who to you was Innie, I.N., the boy with the messy black hair and slightly bad attitude, and many other things. 

His stare says everything for him, his smile drooping like perennial flowers. “You don’t like the idea.”

It’s not a question; it’s a statement. “That’s not true. I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t have to.”

He gets up, leaving the room. There’s an odd sense of finality as he exits.

“...I’m gonna see if Seungmin needs any help.”

“......”

You wince a little, even today, recalling the way he soft-slammed the back door. It was the last time you saw him, for the span of three long years.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

It goes by too fast. Before you know it, you’ve reached the big two-O. Twenty is that odd age where you’re not sure about anything. Are you an adult? Are you still a kid? What age group do you fit into? What are you even doing with your life?

You’d chosen to major in botanical science. The flowers of the shop had ended up placing their roots into you. And being the sentimental gal that you were, you could never find yourself tearing away from your roots-- it was how flowers wilted and died. 

So when Yang Jeongin reappeared on the shop porch one morning, looking fresh as a daisy, you could hardly believe your eyes. He must have been put in one heck of a vase of Miracle Grow and holy water to have survived away from the garden for so long. At first, you’re ecstatic to see him-- at first. But then you remember what he did to you: the way he just walked out of the breakroom, clocking out without you noticing, not answering your texts, ignoring your calls, only to find out the next day he’s insanely hopped onto the morning train and booked a flight for Beijing. Part of a study program, his parents said. Very last minute, they explained. We’re so sorry, they lamented.

The only means of contact you’d received were a cloying box of exotic chocolates and a note from Jeongin that first year, along with a music box you couldn’t bring yourself to ever listen to. It ended up thrown into your closet, shadowed in a great tub with all the other ones. The note said something along the lines of an apology and explained he’d lost his phone during a boat ride that first week, and the strict program he was enrolled in didn’t allow him to contact friends; only immediate family. He’d had to lie to his advisors and tell them you were his adopted sister, which you suppose wouldn’t have been a lie once upon a time. After that, you’d only get an awkward “Jeongin says hello,” from his parents, who felt just as uncomfortable about the estranged situation. They’d assure you he was doing well and just going through a phase. He was angry. He acted irrationally, just the one time. They knew how important this was to him. He’d come back around, he really cared for you, after all.

Seeing him now made your head spin. You had to grip the cash register nailed into the hardwood so you wouldn’t fall over. “You’re...You’re back. You’re here. In the shop.”

He dropped his bags near the front door as if the place was his second home. Just like it always had been. “I’m back. Here. In the shop,” he repeated, an urgent longing in his actions.

The smile he wore never left his face as he rushed over to you...then paused, fearfully, his hands frozen in an awkward state of half-reaching and half-retreating. 

“Y/n…” He sighed, his breath a multitude of years lost. “...I’m sorry. I have no right to walk in here like nothing happened. You have every right to be angry. Are you angry?”

That was a good question. Were you angry? You should have been. You had every right to be, just like he said. This may have been his family’s store, but it was your second home, too, and you may as well have been a part of the family; you had every right ignore him or tell him to get out, to scream and demand answers, or even to cry and weep like the weeping willow tree out back.

Instead, you felt nothing. And everything. It was too much, so much strange emotion and Twilight Zone madness packed into a single punch that you smiled and simply replied, “I’m fine. How can I help you today?”

It came out sounding like you were the one asking for help. Jeongin seemed to catch wind of this too, distressed eyes staring into yours as if seeking a hidden entrance through the new roadblock to your mind. For the longest time, the two of you didn’t say anything.

Things got really awkward when Seungmin showed up on one of his monthly visits-- he ended up going to Harvard, but he still visited you every month and bothered to keep in touch-- and sensing the tension after a surprised gasp of excitement, uncomfortably shuffled to the back of the room with the excuse he’d get to work on the shop’s monthly revenue, assisting with the finances as part of his accountant training (a side gig to his major in criminal law). What resulted with the silent clicking of the door was the clicking of your own. 

You clocked out, texting Seungmin the location of the shop’s spare key and asking him to do you this one favor. Then to meet you downtown for a slice. As you swung onto the Vespa your parents had given you on your nineteen birthday, you observed Jeongin, in the shop’s reflection, through the rearview mirror, as he stood there, absorbing and deploring his loss.

-ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

It’s now midday, a few months later, and you haven’t seen or spoken to Yang Jeongin since. Even if he did live down the street, in your mind he’d been cast from the garden, turned into fertilizing soil. He hadn’t tried to contact you since, and neither had you found yourself hovering over the call option, only to toss the phone away with an agitated moan. You didn’t know how to overcome the foreign distance between you two, or at least you hadn’t...until today.

Today, well, you still didn’t really know how to go about it. But despite your temporary closure to any and all things Yang Jeongin, you did a lot of thinking about that day, when he’d just shown up out of nowhere, sprouting like the happiest weed on the planet, fearfully trying to patch things up. It wasn’t forced or out of pity or selfish guilt. It was as true as the blue roses you’ve had to convince more than a few customers were not spray-painted or artificially made. Jeongin had made a big, unlike-Jeongin mistake, one lasting far too long, but it was still the first (and last; you’d be sure of that). There had to be more to the story than what appeared above the ground. 

You should never judge a rose for its petals, Mrs. Yang once told you. It may still be blooming.  

You’re parking your bike in its usual place in front of the store, locking it to the bike rack Mr. Yang had installed-- your Vespa got destroyed while letting Seungmin take it for a joyride-- and you push open the familiar glass door, the sweet chime of the old silver bell singing overhead. Jeongin looks up at you from around a middle-aged man at the register, his voice falling an octave late.

“Welcome i-- ...n.”

It’s that same awkward tension all over again, but you try to smile through it, for friendship’s sake. After holding open the door for the parting customer, you make sure the door is locked before nervously wringing your hands halfway to the counter.

Jeongin takes your actions in alarm, bracing himself against the register as you had just a few months prior. Funny how times change. “...What’s going on? What are you gonna do?”

...As if you were going to rob or beat him. You’d thought about doing so with one of the giant sunflowers, three month before, but would never risk harm to the flower. “I…” A sigh. “...Can we talk?”

There’s an arrangement waiting for pickup or delivery sitting at the edge of the counter. Jeongin stares intently at the wooden space before casting his gaze to the flowers. He lifts them, crossing the bouquet over his face to the other side. You’re not entirely sure what he’s doing until he hands the bundle to you. “I can’t leave the shop right now...could you make this delivery for me? The address is on the tag.”

“......” You accept the bouquet awkwardly. “...Uh, yeah, sure.”

“I’ll clock you in, so you get paid.”

“No...don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

He nods, slowly, just barely managing an unstable means of eye contact. “...Thanks.”

And so you walk out of the store, unlocking the door and hopping onto the shop’s delivery vehicle. It’s more a less like a Vespa, just older and a bit outdated. Securing the flowers in the protective shell container (a basket with a clear, wind-resistant lid), you snapped on the helmet and started the engine, making a hard right into the street. 

It occurs to you as you're driving that you didn’t bother to look at the address in your haste to escape an uncomfortable situation gone wrong. So much for talking things out and tackling your problems head-on. That really worked out well. You squint beneath the afternoon glare reflecting off the lid, but the address is written so tiny and messily you have to pull over and open the basket in order to get a better look.

279 Blueberry Street.

You just about dropped those flowers, gripping them a bit too tight so that a few stray thorns poked your fingers. 279 Blueberry Street was...well. 

It was Jeongin’s address.

...You had no idea what was going on, but intuition told you it was something fishy, something planned and arranged just as carefully as this cliché arrangement of red roses and baby’s breath. Typical and predictable, just like the old Yang Jeongin.

You’d bite. You drove the scooter across town and into your neighborhood, parking in the drive behind Mr. Yang’s Nissan. You remember taking many car trips around town and into neighboring cities in the backseat, Jeongin at your side, dropping fries and Cheerios and frozen yogurt all over the protective mats and onto each other. With a frustrated huff, you scurry to the front porch.

Maybe this is a crazy coincidence. Maybe Mr. Yang ordered flowers for his wife. Maybe Mrs. Yang got flowers for her husband. Maybe they both ordered them for Jeongin, as part of a gift to commemorate something you were once, for the first time in your life, unaware of. Or maybe you’d read the address wrong. Maybe it was Bluebell Street or Bellberry Street or something entirely different, and you were delusionally tripping because, hah, what else had been new over the course of the past few months...few years. Maybe...maybe--

A warm light envelops you as the door swings open, and you’re instantly hit with the nostalgic scent of fresh lavender and spring-time strawberries. The candles that Mrs. Yang loves to buy.

Jeongin’s eyes are strained, but there’s a new warmth about them that feels familiar. Like a withered blossom sprouting back to life. He’s no longer dressed in his work apron and usual uniform; instead he’s freshly showered, wearing Church clothes, his dark hair still wet and tangled to a messy frame around his face. There’s a comb stuck to the back of his head, and following your stare he removes it with a sheepish chuckle, tossing it somewhere towards the living room and attempting to tame wild curls in a more presentable manner. He smiles, tenderly.

“You made it...I was worried you’d think it was a mean joke.”

“Well…” You consider. “I almost did. But there are infinite possibilities out there, right?”

His smile blooms. Taking the smallest rose, he checks it for thorns before tucking it behind your ear. “Yeah,” he says, “There definitely are. Come in, please...there’s a lot of things I need to apologize for. Starting with the whole disappearing for three years and...yeah.”

You supplement his cringe with a frown, then thinking about the ridiculous letter, imagine him beneath flickering candlelight, frantically scrawling down a horrifically worded letter in secrecy. You think about him in Barcelona nervously pacing between bustling touristy streets and getting lost or ripped off and wanting to scream at the stupidity of his actions and lack of Spanish. You imagine him in a woodshop in Berlin, flipping through a dictionary and pointing to words he can’t begin to pronounce and the amount of frustration cooked up from having to go through five woodsmiths until he found one that spoke just a bit of a broken language he understood, and the funny game of Pictionary that probably followed. 

You laugh, shoving his shoulder on the way in and hurrying into the kitchen for a vase. After placing the display on the counter, you grab his collar, kissing his cheek. 

His face burns the shade of chrysanthemums, wide eyes wondering what it was he did to deserve such a reaction. To you, he had more or less abandoned you, after all.

But you know better. You’ve known Yang Jeongin since you were five years old; when he knocked over a bottle of glue onto your summer dress after trying to hand you the paper flower he’d made. When things seem bad, they’re never personally intended. They’re never what they really seem. And you should have remembered that, too.

He spins you around now, and the two of you laugh, laughter echoing down the cream-colored halls all the way to the back garden. Back to a simpler time; a time when the two of you were just kids, pushing each other on the big oak swing and tackling each other in mud, smiling amongst the flowers.

There’s this flower shop down the road from your house that you’re used to going to. It’s one of those hole-in-the-wall places, the kind that never stand out unless you’re actively looking for them. The brick’s chipped, it’s covered in vines, and the sign out front is hanging by a stem. 

It’s the place where you and Yang Jeongin reside, never again apart, for the rest of your days. ✿

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

[taebaesworld]

The Art Of Love | 2

Pairing :Kim Taehyung x reader

 PART 1

                                                         STORY

Its the first day of classes, I am rushing towards the cafeteria. My hairs uncombed in a messy bun, and my blue unicorn pjs even messier.

Not many people are in the cafeteria, I guess not many people are stupid enough to select a early class. I drag myself across the hall towards the buffet. Taking a dish and a bowl I started to fill them up.

“Well, aren’t you the chirpiest bird in the morning.” A raspy but somehow smooth voice purred in my ear from behind. I turned to see who it belonged to and it was one of the guys from yesterday. His eyes were of dark chocolate colour and he had thick lashes that I instantly envy. I can’t exactly remember his name but it was something Kim. But I smile sarcastically in response and said “Yeah the chirpiest.” 

He chuckled and it was a light chuckle and laced with a hum of amusement at the matter. My lips instantly curled into a smile at this and my cheeks heated up. He extended his hand as we moved ahead in the line and said “ Kim Taehyung.”

I took his hand and shook it. His hands were huge and engulfed mine completely. “ Y/N Y/L/N.” I said. He gave me a one sided smile. “So you are taking Lit 101 too I am guessing.” He said. “Yup.” I said popping the p. 

By this time we reached a empty table he took a seat across from me. His features looked even more prominent in this morning light. We were both eating silently when he suddenly raises his hand and shouts “Jonnie, here.” I turn around to find another on of the guys from yesterday standing with the food tray and with a wide grin that I am assuming is directed towards Taehyung I turn back around and continue eating. He takes a seat next to Taehyung and his eyes land on me. He gives me a huge grin and his whole face lit up. “Hi. I am Kim Namjoon.” Taehyung probably saw the question coming next and said  “No we aren’t brothers.” 

I nod and offer a smile to Namjoon “Y/N Y/L/N.” 

As I was done with break fast I got up and walked out of the hall and as soon as I was I the Door I sprint to my room. I had 20 min before class and it took 10 mins to reach the class. I change in a hurry, apply just a little bit of make up, Grab the things I packed last night for today and again made a run for it. 

Nearing the corner of the class I slowed down and before entering the class I smoothed out my hair. As soon as I enter I find a huge over table and people seating in chairs. I took a seat that was empty near the window and the board. Soon the class had piled up and every chair was taken. I looked up from the book I was reading and right opposite of me sat non other that Taehyung. his hairs were now in place instead of what I saw yesterday and in the morning. Although he looked quite good in both. He gave me a sheepish smile after nothing that I was looking at him. I smiled back. He was about to say something but a loud and authoritative voice cut him.

“Welcome To Literature 101, I am Professor Scott.” his voice was smooth and his accent British.

I whisper “Obviously the guy teaching lit is British.”  and the boy sitting in front of me looks at me and smiled. “Obviously.” He says before turning back.

After professor Scott tells us about the course and how everything is gonna work He says “Lets get this first lesson started. I am hoping everyone has read the Romeo and Juliet. Who is going to tell me what they thought about it.” Almost everyone's hand went up instantly including mine. 

“Lets start with you.” He said pointing at Taehyung. “Mr. Kim.” 

“ The notion of two people in love that are divided by social stratus is relatively familiar. And the characterization are quite straight forward. It is a celebration of love and the ends people go for love.”

“That’s enough, You across from him.” He said “Ms. Y/L/N.”

“UMM..” I took a sharp breath in. “I feel that Romeo and Juliet is a story that of lust and not love.” I uneasily glanced at professor Scott. “And why is that Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Romeo, goes to his enemy’s party because he fancied the host’s hot niece, Rosaline, he then losses interest in her and decides he no longer wants to die for her beauty…because he just saw her cousin, Juliet was way hotter who he fall instantly ‘in love’ with her instead. It was the initial High of lust that made them take irrational decision along the way.” I said

“Hmm...Does anyone want to comment on that.” He says

A guy with blonde hair raised his hand. “Yes Mr. Denials”  Prof. Scott said

“Keeping in mind that the play took place in Renaissance era I think that it brought a new light on love. Romeo was a hopeless romantic, even after being rejected by Rosaline he goes to the ball looking for her. He there see’s a girl attractive and falls for her as she just like him was romantic. I think that this tale shows the flaws of love and yes they made irrational decisions but that's what loves makes people do.” The guy say

I raised my hand “Yes Ms.Y/L/N.” 

“I believe that William Shakespeare didn’t intended this to be a love story.He probably wrote this as a tragedy. It was supposed to show flaws among social class and teenagers and their quote unquote love.” I say “The romance was quick and empty. There is no depth to their love.”  

As I finished Taehyung’s hand went up. “Yes Mr. Kim.”

“This play brought the idea that TRUE LOVE IS WORTH DYING FOR." He says

Another girl’s hand went up “Go on Ms. Potts.”

“In Romeo and Juliet, the headlong passion and excitement of young love is celebrated, even though confusion leads to the deaths of the young lovers. But through their deaths, and the example their love set for their parents, the two families vow to be reconciled to each other.”

I raised my hand “Ms. Y/l/n.”

“I believe that It was the immaturity of not only Romeo and Juliet but also of the friar that resulted in four deaths. Also I think the biggest reason this story is even a little tangible is because its based and written in an era where mobiles and better communication didn’t exist. Because if it did Romeo would have got the message in time they would have ran away and later realised that they didn’t even know each other and once the hear and attraction fades there’s nothing left.”

Professor Scott Clapped his hand “You have brought out a perfect point Ms. Y//L/N. Now we are nearing the end and for your next class I want you all you see how the story of Romeo and Juliet would play out if it was in Morden times. And Ms. Y/L/N I except you to write on what you just said. Class dismissed.” 

PART 1

[thequarantinejjbablog]

hi!!!can i get the whole emoji alphabet for fugo please🥺🥺💓i love your work💖💖

Omg my dude, fuck that’s a lot of emojis, alright errrrr here goes. I prefer to warn you though, some of those questions overlap a bit so I might repeat myself a few times. Under the cut because this is LONG and it took me forever and I’m not doing anything like that ever again, ahah.

From this list. (Still accepting)

❤️ Are they romantic?

Y e s . The man is a very classic romantic, that’s how he was raised and that’s how he thinks he should treat his s/o. With time, he will learn to “personalize” a bit more your dates for something he knows you would both enjoy but as long as he is not absolutely sure of your tastes, he will stick to Romanticism 101. He will always make sure to keep some time to share between the two of you, even when his schedule gets really busy.

🧡 How do they confess that they like someone?

You will absolutely see it coming. He will court you and it will be very obvious, so when he finally confirms his feelings with his words, well, that’s all it is, a confirmation, because unless you’re very oblivious, you would already feel very loved or at least cared for before that.

💛 Do they drop hints that they like someone and what are they?

Fugo is not subtle at all. Remember that scene where he tells Bruno he wanted to offer pasta to Narancia? He didn’t learn any better even since then. He is going to go from acting like a friend and spending time with you to just straight up ask you on a very romantic date. There won’t be any mistaking his intentions, he is going to court you.

💚 What’s their type?

Fugo enjoys long and interesting conversations, so he is naturally attracted to people who can hold their own in a debate and are open-minded, so it might be a bit hard for someone a bit shy to catch his attention. However, he needs someone patient with him and his outbursts, someone who won’t be afraid to call him out on his bullshit but is cool-headed enough to not let anything escalate. Other than that, I think he would really appreciate someone romantic and caring.

💙 What is their perfect date?

He wants to talk to you, have deep conversations and get to know you better, so any romantic places he can do that is good. He enjoys taking you to the best restaurants in Naples, before finishing the date home, snuggling and probably making out. Expect to be spoiled though, he often tries to find some kind of small present to give you.

💜 What’s their favorite kind of gift?

Fugo loves books, and in general anything that can stimulate his brain. In general, anything that proved that you were paying attention to what he was saying and that you’re listening to him? He loves it. But in general, any gift you could give him means you thought of him and he will love it.

🎁 What gift would they get their s/o?

The classics at first, anything that he knows he is going to have a greater chance to please anyone. For example, for flowers he will go for roses at first, and then change when he learns you have another favorite. He loves the idea of offering you jewelry too if he sees you’re wearing some or if he finds something that would fit nicely some clothes you have. He always hopes to see you wearing them, it’s like a physical proof you accepted his love.

🖤 Do they enjoy loving or being loved?

He is... not used to it. Love is very new to him in general. His parents were far from loving or caring, and after that the only form of family he has ever had was Bruno’s gang so it’s not the same. Being in love is confused and scary, but he will see that he loves that really much. Being loved is another new thing and even if it might take some time before being completely comfortable with it, he is enjoying it very much too.

💔 How do you break their heart?

This one is easy, by losing patience with him. Not just snapping at him, but also by being tired of waiting for him to heal and to get over whatever issues he has. It breaks his heart because he knows that deep down, he can’t blame you, he is asking a lot from you and you’re in your right to be tired of it. If he is the one who snaps at you then by all means fight back and don’t let him treat you badly, but he needs people to forgive him for his outbursts after, when he apologizes.

❣️ What makes them blush/gets their heart pounding?

Answered here already, but some extra.

He is quite good at managing his emotions - with the very clear exception of his anger so you’ll need to step up your game a little bit if you want to make him blush. Squeeze his ass discreetly in public, or whisper something naughty in his ear or what you’re wearing under your clothes, that should get him but except repercussions once you’re alone.

💕 Their future goals in a relationship? How far do they want to take it?

The strawberry boy isn’t interested in one-night stand or any temporary relationship. He takes too much time to fall in love, so when he does, that means he is genuinely considering spending his life with that person. If your relationship survives the first stages (which will be the hardest with Fugo), then he is here for the long run and he is going to work very hard to keep that relationship.

💞 How do you win their heart?

By spending time with him, having interesting conversations, and having some patience. Fugo is very smart and he needs that intellectual stimulation in his life, if he has someone he can talk about anything, who gives him a different point of view on topics, and in general by being passionate about something, he will seek their company more and more. His crush will appear later, once he feels comfortable and at ease, and he will realize he wants to get to know them better on a personal level.

💓 How do they act when they realize they’re in love/have a crush?

Quite awkward at first, and a bit... stiff? Fugo had a very classic education, so he won’t know how to be smooth. He might beat about the bush for some time before very bluntly ask his out for a very classic date, like a romantic restaurant or something of the sort. It will probably come out of absolutely nowhere, with no relation at all with the topic you were talking about.

💗 How do they show affection?

Fugo likes very classic romanticism. He will do everything there is in the textbook, so restaurants, flowers, chocolates, jewelry, bringing you to romantic places, that kind of things. He enjoys spoiling you a lot and it’s the easiest for him to show his affection. They very often come with declaration of love, who can be anywhere from very simple or very poetic. He tries to avoid being cheesy but sometimes, it just can’t be helped.

💖 Do they like PDA or are they a private person?

He doesn’t mind PDA, as long as it’s not too much. He will hold your hand, link arms with you, wrap an arm around your waist or your shoulder, give you a couple of chaste kisses on your lips, face or back of the hand. If you’re about to go on your own way and saying goodbye, he might hug you, but that’s as far as he’ll go.

💘 Do they take the time to learn more about their crush by talking/asking or observing?

For Fugo to fall in love, he needs to know them first. So chances are, he will already quite know a lot of things about them before starting to grow a crush, and that will be mostly by talking a lot with them about everything. Are they passionate about something? He wants to know more about it, even just for sheer curiosity. Once the crush is here though, he will start noticing the little things, like their favorite ice cream flavor, the sparks in their eyes when they smile, or the color of their skin in the morning sun.

💝 Are they more likely to fall for someone if they’re friends first?

It’s actually mandatory. Fugo is way too guarded to fall for someone he doesn’t know very well. He doesn’t trust strangers easily and though he won’t be outright aggressive or an asshole about it, he is going to be very mistrustful for some time. Then, friendship will come slowly as they spend more time together, especially if they’re someone interesting and enjoy talking about any kind of topics too!

❌ Are they scared of being in love?

He is scared of being vulnerable. The man has issues with intimacy and he knows he will need someone patient and understanding to accept waiting for him and helping him overcoming all of them. So yes, he is afraid of falling in love, because he knows there are higher risks of them leaving him and breaking his heart than with anyone else. What if they lose patience? What if they decide it’s too much for him? What if he asks too much of them? What if he realizes he will never be able to get over his past? Those are terrifying thoughts.

🔍 Do they ask for advice or just deal with their crush on their own?

It might depends on the situation itself. If it’s simple (you’re friends, everything is alright), then he will deal with it on his own unless someone like Bruno gently starts the conversation about it. In this case, he might open up and confess his confusing feelings to him. However, if the situation is more complicated (you’re in a rival gang, you don’t know he is working for Passione, you’re already in a relationship, etc.) then he might go to Bruno to ask for help.

♒️ Do they end up checking to see if their signs are compatible? Or maybe do they do ‘love-tests’ (enter in your name and see if you’re meant for each other kind of thing)

Absolutely not. Fugo understands that they can be fun, but he is not going to let some stars or papers tell him if you’re meant to be or not. He will bluntly refuse to do any of them if you’re not together yet and will get mad if his teammates tease him about it or do it for him “just to check”. If you’re already together and you insist, he might concede and do a couple to please you, but it’s really because he loves you so much.

🎇 Are the feelings they have like a whirlwind or are they able to keep it under control?

Well, we all know Fugo needs anger management classes, so he is very bad at keeping control over that, especially if your safety or well-being are in line. But! He is very slowly getting better at that, thanks to maturity and the patience and understanding of his gang and s/o. It also means he is very good at controlling his other emotions who are much less violent.

⭐️ Do they believe that soulmates exist?

Not really, no. As much as he is a romantic, he thinks love takes effort and commitment, it’s not as easy as finding a soulmate and hoping it’ll never go away. He might even say that the notion of soulmates can be quite dangerous because people tend to think everything will be alright when they should do something about it.

🌹 Are they likely to say ‘I love you’ first?

He will say I love you when he is ready, regardless of his s/o says it first or not. He is not going to hide his feeling until they say it first, but he is not going to say it back if he feels he is not ready to or if he is still unsure. So, it all depends on the partner! If they’re the kind of people to wait until the other says it first; then Fugo will be the first, but if they’re sure of their feelings before him, then they might say it first.

🌸 How often do they say ‘I love you’?

Very often, surprisingly (or not). Once he said I love you for the first time and his partner said it back, then he has no problem repeating it every time they roll in the sheet, before leaving for work, or whispering it against their lips after a kiss. More than just words though, he does his best to show it through his actions too, with regular dates, gifts, and thoughtful gestures.

💐 Do they enjoy giving compliments or do they like getting them more? What kind of compliments do they give/like?

He clearly prefers giving them, and doesn’t quite know how to react when he is receiving them. The only exception to that is when you praise his intellect or how quickly he can learn something, and then the boy will blush madly and look away, telling you it’s no big deal really. On his s/o, he is going to compliment the hell out of them, how beautiful they are, how smart, how amazing, how soft, anything they might like, he won’t hesitate.

🌺 Do they like to tease their significant other?

Maybe very gently with private jokes you two share, but nothing more. You mispronounced the name of an artist? He is going to use that name now, that kind of things. Though he can be soft, he is more of a serious individual and he would never risk embarrassing you in public so he keeps it behind closed door.

🍀 What’s their love language?

Quality time spent talking about anything you want, and a lot of romantic gifts mostly. The man wants to spoil you and show you he thinks about you every day of his life. He is a little bit more touchy in private, letting his hands linger on the small of your back or your thighs, and he might steal more kisses when he knows you’re alone too.

🌼 How do they view their significant other? Are they the light in their life? Best friend? Savior, etc.?

Considering how Fugo struggles to open up emotionally to other people, his s/o is probably also his best friend. He needs to feel like he can talk to them about anything without fearing to be judged even if he is wrong. His s/o is someone very precious to him, he knows he is not the easiest man to be with and he asked a lot of them in the beginning of their relationship, and he will be forever grateful of that.

🥀 How do they act when falling out of love?

Oh, he is going to fight like hell against it. Fugo didn’t get in a relationship with someone to just give up when, for whatever reason, love starts to disappear. He will try very hard to fall back in love with them, by any mean necessary (more dates, spending more time together, trying something new, going on a holiday, anything). If his s/o is feeling the same then he will try to recover their love, but he needs to feel like his s/o is trying the same too. Even if he stops seeing the stars in his s/o’s eyes, he is willing to wait and keep looking until he sees them again.

🌻 Will they do anything for their s/o? Will the crocodile tears win them over or are they stubborn on not giving in?

Fugo is a reasonable man, and there are many things he will accept to do for his s/o if it can make them happy though he doesn’t see the point. However, if it’s a real point of friction, then he can be quite the stubborn man and refuse to give in. He will feel terrible if he sees his s/o cry and he will try to comfort them and explain his point, but if it doesn’t work, then they both might need some time to cool down and give up the topic for now.

💋 How do they kiss?

Your first kisses are hesitant and nervous. Fugo doesn’t really know what he is going and he is stressing a lot over doing something wrong, but he tries to act confident and might be... a little too aggressive? He will soon learn to calm down and take things slower. After that, his everyday kisses are slow and very tender, with his hand often going to cup your cheek.

👁 What’s their favorite part of their s/o?

Their brain. Fugo is more attracted to their personality and their views on the world rather than their body. However, if he had to choose he would probably go for their ass and their legs. His mind might shortcut for a few second if he sees them wearing heels or stockings or even just nicely fit pants. He is a little bit ashamed of saying it, but he loves how his partner’s ass fits in his hand and when he can give it a very nice squeeze.

👀 Are they protective?

Answered here already, but some extra.

He loves his teammates like they are his family, but he won’t be afraid of starting a fight with them either if he sees they’re being too friendly with you too. They all know it and they think it’s a lot of fun to poke him so they always make sure to spend extra time with you to piss him off and get him all worked up. Though it’s always all in good fun, Bruno had to intervene a couple of time to calm everybody down.

🤧 How far will they go to take care of their sick s/o?

He is a good boyfriend and he will do anything he can, even if he has to learn new skills for it. If he is not confident enough he might ask for help and/or advice if he is out of his depth. If the illness is serious, he will read about it as much as possible and do whatever he can to help. If his s/o is contagious he will try to avoid catching it by washing his hands and being careful why spending time with them because he doesn’t want to be sick at same time or make them take care of him when they feel better.

☠️ How do they react when they find out their s/o is dead?

Absolute and pure rage. The man will go berserk and if there’s no one to stop him, then he might even kill innocent people, both with his Stand and his bare hands. Hell, he might even hurt his s/o’s body trying to shake them awake or clinging to them. Fugo will need to be stopped. Once he wakes up from his blind rage, he will feel so empty. He will cry for the first hours, but he won’t even be able to bring himself to regret what he did, the pain is just too great to be overshadowed by anything else. He will drown in depression and be an empty shell for a long time. He might recover, but he will never be the same, probably getting a very destructive behavior.

🥳 How do they cheer their s/o up when they’re down?

It will depend a lot of the s/o and why they’re feeling down. In general, he will try to take their mind of things, suggesting a couple of activities they could do together to make their brain focus on anything else. If they need to vent or any kind of support he is there to listen to them of course, and if it’s something he can help with or a problem he can solve, he will immediately offer his help.

😱 What makes them worry about their s/o the most?

Fugo is a member of Passione, so their safety is his primary concern. He very well knows they could be in danger at any moment because of him, either to check if they know any information, or to use them as bait or hostage or blackmail against him, or simply as a revenge tool to make him suffer. This is why he is very careful and protective of his s/o. He is also very concerned about their health, especially if his s/o has bad habits (like smocking or drinking or anything of the sort).

🥰 How often do they stare lovingly at their s/o?

A lot. He is not quite happy about it because sometimes he will lose track of the conversation because he is too focused on his s/o lips or face because of how beautiful they are and how much he loves them. He will blush madly when he snaps out of it and he will be very apologetic because he doesn’t want his s/o to think he is not interested in what they’re saying.

😎 How do they impress their s/o?

It all depends on the s/o and their personality, but there are two choices really depending on what works best on them: either very romantic demonstrations of love (a weekend for two in Venice, huge bouquets of flowers, presents like jewelry or chocolate, the best restaurants in Naples, etc.) or just flexing his knowledge and/or his intelligence. Not in a smartass way, but if he sees there’s any topic they’re interested in and he knows about that? He is going to flex it. If the s/o knows more about it though, he will ask a lot of questions. And if it’s a topic you two share, then he will try to start interesting debates to oppose ideas.

😆 How do they make their s/o laugh?

He is not the best at making people laugh because he is quite the serious individual, but he will try to share fun stories he knows about anything, or simply fun facts, like that time a general won a battle against ships by charging them with horses (the water froze during the night, they made a whole strategy around it). Otherwise, I’m afraid he’ll have to suggest watching some comedy on TV.

🏵 Do they enjoy Valentine’s Day?

YES. Favorite holiday. It’s the perfect excuse to go all out for his s/o. Everything they love, they get. Favorite restaurant, favorite flowers, favorite chocolate, candlelight, bath with rose petals, several gifts through the day, passionate night, e v e r y t h i n g . If for whatever reason he can’t spend Valentine’s Day with his s/o, he will never stop bitching about it for weeks.

🎫 How do they celebrate their s/o’s birthday and how would they like theirs to be celebrated with them?

Their s/o’s birthday is their day, and he will do whatever they want to do. If they like birthday parties, he will try to throw a surprise one, if they prefer spending the whole day home he will be happy to do that with them, etc. He probably bought a dozen of presents for them too. About his own birthday, Fugo wouldn’t like anything too extravagant, sharing a cake and some time with his gang first, and then he wants to spend the whole evening (and a good part of the night) with his s/o.

🎀 Are they likely to fall for someone first or is it the other way around?

It’s a complicate question. Fugo needs time before he can feel emotionally safe enough to be vulnerable and fall in love, that means you’re going to spend a lot of time together and probably be friends first. So, you’re going to have plenty of occasions to fall for him first. However! He won’t return your feelings simply because you have them, and he won’t answer to any flirting if he doesn’t feel safe enough. So... I would say he needs to fall in love on his own terms and make the first step, even if you were the one to get a crush first.

💌 Do they send loving/cutesy texts to their s/o?

Answered here already, but some extra.

If he is reading poetry and any passage makes him think of you, he is going to quote it and send it to you in a text, telling you he misses you. If the poem is too long or if he can’t find a small enough quote, he is just going to tell you he found a poem he really likes and he can’t wait until he can whisper it in your ear.

🔪 Do they try to be a good influence on their s/o or do they not care?

Fugo is not the most patient or delicate man, if he sees a behavior he doesn’t like he is going to be very straight forward with it. Even if he is in the mafia, he still has morals and he won’t accept anything fishy coming from his s/o. It’s the same for bad habits like smocking or drinking, he will try to understand where they come from (are you under a lot of stress? is it just for fun? are you pressured into them?) and depending on if he considers them a good “excuse”, he will be more or less patient with you, but he will try to help and get you to stop.

🎉 Are they a fan of nicknames? Do they prefer cutesy, traditional or silly ones?

Answered here already, but some extra.

He will glare at anyone else using nicknames for you. Excuse me, you’re his s/o and he is the only one allowed to call you like that thank you very much. The only exception to that would be your family calling you something cute, but even if they’re your friends and the nicknames is prior your relationship, he will struggle accepting it.

[bean-bam]

This post contains spoilers for the Guardians of Ga’hoole books.

So I watched the Legends of the Guardians movie last night and forgot just how many inconsistencies there are with the books. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie but fuck. I just feel like I need to tell someone. 

Sorry for the long post, but there is just so much different.

Here we go:

1. Soren is not fully-fledged at the beginning of the books

2. Eglantine hasn’t even hatched yet

3. The legends all the chicks are told are not about Lyze of Kiel

4, Lyze of Kiel never fought Metal Beak 

5. Kludd is Metal Beak 

6. Mrs. Plithiver does not have eyes, she is blind

7. The Guardians never fought in the Battle of the Ice Claws

8. Literally, everything about Metal Beak is wrong

9. Eglantine and Marella don’t have the speckle under their eye

10. Kludd and Soren were not branching at the same time

11. Soren didn’t really roleplay as a guardian

12. Noctus would not have told Soren that when he started branching, the noise wasn’t important. Noisy branching leads to noisy flight.

13. Eglantine would not be eating fur on meat or meat on bones yet, her first pellet would not have bones or fur in it.

14. Soren did not try and branch/fly while his parents were gone

15. Kludd isn’t as much of a dick in the movie as he is in the book.

16. Kludd didn’t push Soren off a branch, he pushed Soren out of the hollow

17. Kludd pushed Soren to kill him, not because he wanted Soren to shut up.

19. Kludd did not fall out of the nest. 

20. Soren did not get attacked by an animal on the ground

21. There were no Tasmanian devils

22. The books were not explicitly set in Australia/New Zealand/that general area

23. Jatt and Jutt are doofuses in the movies, they are a lot more serious in the books

24. Kludd wasn’t snatched

25. The St. Aggies owls didn’t sing their song when bringing the owlets back

26. Soren was a lot more confused and frightened by the different owls because he had only seen Tytos before

27. The Pure Ones did not control St. Aggies

28. Nyra is not the Ablah General of St. Aggies

29. There is no Skench and Spoorn, the Leaders of St. Aggies in the books.

30. St. Aggies is not affiliated with the Pure Ones

31. Soren and Gylfie worked in the Pelletorium by choice

32. Not pits or pit guardians. In the books, Gylfie and Soren were kept in different pits and both of their pit guardians make a comeback later in the books.

33. St Aggies, in general, is just all messed up

34. Jatt and Jutt instructed the owlets in the sleep march seemed a lot cooler in the books

35. Soren and Gylfie weren’t given number designations

36. Gylfie doesn’t know how to navigate

37. They don’t start their first moonblinking session together

38. Soren would be the one bad at acting moonblinked, not Gylfie

39. Jatt and Jutt didn’t instruct the new owlets in the Pelletorium.

40. Again, no Pure Ones in St. Aggies

41. St. Aggies owls care a lot about number designations

42. Flecks were kept in the Library and no owl except for Skench or Spoorn could go in there.

43. Bats literally had nothing to do with the flecks

44. Flecks didn’t immobilize owls like that, they are just little bits of magnetic metal

45. Honestly, the Metal Beak in the movie doesn’t even look like a Tyto

46. Grimble didn’t confront the owlets about not being perfectly moonblinked. Gylfie confronted Grimble.

47. St. Aggies didn’t take Grimble’s family. They tried to snatch Bess, Grimble fought back, and St Aggies promised to leave his family alone if he came with them

48. There were a lot more flying lessons with Grimble

49. No Hortense :(

50. In the Pure Ones, Tyto Albas were much more highly ranked than other Tytos and would not have been trained together

51. Soren and Gylfie had to fly straight up out of the canyonlands, they didn’t get a ledge to fly off of

52. Grimble was killed in the library

53. Grimble didn’t say shit about finding the Guardians

54. Soren and Gylfie met Twilight first, not Digger, when they tried to land for the first time

55. Twilight and Digger were not buddies/living together, they didn’t even know each other.

56. Soren, Gylfie, and Twilight found Digger running in the desert

57. Digger is not eccentric and crazy

56. Twilight did not catch Mrs. Plithiver for dinner.

57. Soren found Mrs. Plithiver

58. Digger was the one that had a slip up about eating Mrs. P

59. Mrs. P didn’t know what happened to Soren’s parents

60. Twilight didn’t have a lute

61. Twilight was not a poet or musician. He. is. a. warrior. He just has his battle taunts

62. Mrs. P flew on Soren or Twilights back, not in a lute.

63. Soren and Digger went and looked for their parents, Gylfie wanted to but just assumed they were dead.

64. Twilight talked A LOT more about the Orphan School of Tough Learning

65. The band got mobbed by crows during one of their first flights together, Digger was hella injured

66. The crows did not try and steal Mrs. P

67. Um. Mirror Lakes? Hello?

68. There were no echidna’s in the books

69. Nice

70. Um. Ice Narrows? Dumpy the puffin? Hello?

71. Seriously who is this echidna?

72. Digger isn’t a tracker yet. Gylfie still isn’t a navigator yet. Twilight would not refer to himself as a poet warrior

73. Pretty sure Boron was the one to speak to the Band when they got close to the tree, not Barran. I could be wrong

74. Nearly forgot about this, what about the rogue smith in the beaks and the bobcat? What about the “You only wish”?

75. Ezylryb is not a crazy owl

76. I really hate how they portrayed Ezylryb

77. Who the fuck is Allomere? He sure as hell isn’t in the books.

78. The band does not know about the Pure Ones when they get to the Great Tree

79. Barran is the leader of the Search and Rescue Chaw

80. Ezylryb would not get in a fight with another owl

81. It’s tweener, not dinner

82. Otulissa may be snobby but she isn’t a total bitch

83. Nestmaid snakes are the tables in the dining hollow

84. The band did not have their classes together

85. Using an Owl City song was very cash money of them (not an inconsistency)

86. Ezylryb doesn’t lead colliering, just weather interpretation.

87. What happened to getting tapped for a chaw

88. Pretty sure a big part of Soren’s character is that he is a phenomenal collier. They made no indication that he is a collier in the movie.

89. Eglantine wasn’t moonblinked, she was stone stunned/damaged by flecks

90. I’m kind of sad there is no Poot

91. Ezylryb didn’t just tell owls to rely on their gizzard when flying in a storm

92. No Octavia :(

93. Guardians didn’t fight with metal swords

94. They also didn’t use helmets until the band and Otulissa figured out mu metal could protect them from flecks

95. Ezylryb didn’t tell soren he is Lyze of Kiel

96. Ezylryb had his old battle claws hung up in a secret hollow

97. Eglantine was found in the Great Downing

99. Hundred of owlets, not just two

100. The downing was this huge operation, took the whole tracking and search and rescue chaws

101. Also, no Primrose, Martin, or Ruby :(

102. The guardians didn’t go straight into a war.

103. Ezylryb would NEVER PUT ON BATTLE CLAWS

104. Ezylryb would NEVER FIGHT IN A BATTLE

105. We just going to ignore The Rescue, The Siege, The Shattering, and most of The Burning?

106. This battle is the most like the battle of the canyonlands but in reality this battle just never happened in the books

107. No trader Mags

108. Strix Struma is still alive in the movie

109. Really, everything after this point is different than the books

110. Bats didn’t fight for the Pure Ones or St. Aggies

111. Ezylryb would never.

112. Why the fuck are they having Twilight carry a lute into battle. Fuck that

113. Fire doesn’t stop the flecks by destroying the contraption that is exposing them.

114. Fire literally demagnetizes flecks

115. This really isn’t how flecks impair others. Like at all

116. They really don’t show Soren getting one coal in the movie :(

117. I’m serious, this battle and everything that happens in it did not happen in the books

118. Oh yea, Kludd and Nyra were mates

119. By Glaux I hate that they show Ezylryb fighting

120. Kludd would never beg for help, especially from Soren.

121. Soren didn’t kill Metal Beak. (See 5 and 121)

122. Metal Beak wasn’t killed by a burning branch, he was killed by an ice sword

123. Speaking of ice swords, where the heck are the Northern Kingdoms in the movie.

124. Soren’s parents are fucking dead. They literally did not come to the Great Tree because Kludd killed them. (Ngl I like the ending of the movie better because its a happy ending with Soren and his family all together.)

125. Kludd most definetly died after the Guardians had their big battle with the Pure Ones in the canyonlands

Okay, thats it. If there are any inconsistencies I missed, feel free to let me know.

[whatsortofschoolisthis]

HPHL Profile

Name: Maran Magdalene O’Malley.

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birth Date: July 22.

Species: (Human, Lycanthrope, Metamorphmagus, Vampire, ect):Human

Blood Status: (Pureblood, Half-Blood, Muggleborn): pureblood

Sexuality: Straight

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Ethnicity: Irish

Nationality: Irish

Residence: Hogwarts/Hogsmeade with her Aunt Irene during breaks.  Previously lived on a homestead in Oregon. 

Myer Briggs Personality Type: ISFJ- The Protector

THE MAGE

Wand: English Oak

A wand for good times and bad, this is a friend as loyal as the wizard who deserves it. Wands of English oak demand partners of strength, courage and fidelity. Less well-known is the propensity for owners of English oak wands to have powerful intuition, and, often, an affinity with the magic of the natural world, with the creatures and plants that are necessary to wizardkind for both magic and pleasure. The oak tree is called King of the Forest from the winter solstice up until the summer solstice, and its wood should only be collected during that time (holly becomes King as the days begin to shorten again, and so holly should only be gathered as the year wanes. This divide is believed to be the origin of the old superstition, ‘When his wand’s oak and hers is holly, then to marry would be folly,’ a superstition that I have found baseless). It is said that Merlin’s wand was of English oak (though his grave has never been found, so this cannot be proven).

Thestral Core.

Animagus: A black cat.

Misc Magical Abilities: (Legilimen, Seer, Parselmouth, Obscurial, ect): None.

Boggart Form: Her  stepfather, Alive.

Riddikulus Form: Her stepfather, Dead.

Amortentia: (What do they smell like?): forests, woodsmoke

Amortentia: (What do they smell?): Whatever their love interest smell like

Patronus: An American Jackrabbit.

Patronus Memory: The first time she held Robyn.

Mirror of Erised: Her whole family alive,

Specialized/Favourite Spells:

APPEARANCE

Faceclaim:

Voiceclaim: Saoirse Ronan

Height: 5 ft tall

Weight: 99 pounds.

Physique: thin

Eye Colour: Blue

Hair Colour: Blonde

Skin Tone: Pale

Body Modifications: None.

Scarring: Several on her back, incurred from beating from her stepfather.

Inventory: (what do they carry on them?):

Wand.

A Grimoire.

An Adder Stone.

Her MAUSCA Wanted Poster.

Fashion: Wears a pinstripe dress with plain black shoes and a white apron over that, when not in uniform. Also has several blue and pink dresses she handmade.

ALLEGIANCES

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor.

Ilvermorny House: Wampus

Affiliations/Organizations: Hogwarts and her Aunt Irene.

Professions: 

HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies: DADA, Charms, 

Astronomy: E

Charms: O

DADA: O

Flying: P

Herbology: E

History of Magic: A

Potions: O

Transfiguration: A

Electives:

Ancient Runes: E

COMC: A

Divination: O

Quidditch: No.

Extra Curricular: Potions Club

Favourite Professors: TBA

Least Favourite Professors: TBA

RELATIONSHIPS

Misc Siblings:

Robyn Ann O’Toole

Robyn was born to Mary and Jonathan O’Toole on Christmas Day and is Maran’s only other living sibling besides Michael, half or otherwise. Her mother died in childbirth and Jonathan did not believe Robyn was his because she had blond hair (never mind the fact Maran and her own mother have blond hair) . Her often abused and mistreated Robyn, which nearly rendered her a Squib. This worsened the abuse. After escaping, it turned out she was not, in fact, a squib and was sorted into Gryffindor at 11 years old. 

She is constantly afraid Maran will be taken away and hung and is a gentle, slightly nervous little girl. Brave in spite of it all and more daring than other little girls her age.

David John  O’Malley: 

Maran’s older brother, he died of Cholera on the Oregon Trail. He was only 15 at the time and was very close to Maran. He wanted to be a Potioneer.

Michael Devin O’Malley:

Maran’s brother, younger than her by a year and born on June 1st. Michael is very fond of Robyn and Maran but is a little afraid of the latter. He is kind and gentle and was no match for his often brutal stepfather. Not at all sad the man died. Sorted into Hufflepuff and was in Pukwudgie before the escape. 

The Littles: A collective term for the three babies that died before and after Robyn. Aideen (aged 3 years, died of the Cholera with David), Joshua (one week, SIDS), and John ( contracted Scarlet Fever on the homestead, age two)

Father (s):

Sean O’Malley

He was a good man from a moderately wealthy pureblood family that loved his children dearly and was especially close with David and Maran. Died from Typhus. Irene is his sister. Former Hufflepuff.

Peter ‘Pete’ O’Toole

A pureblood wizard with Purist beliefs, extreme even by the standards of the day, and the black sheep of the family. He was disowned by his family as he was suspected in the death of his muggleborn sister in law Ellen and was generally an asshole. He met the recently widowed Mary, married her, then took her and her children and their late father’s house elf Ichabod  across the ocean to America to make his own fortune on the Oregon Trail. While using most of hers. 

Mother: Mary O’Malley/O’Toole (Maiden name: McCarthy)

A kind woman that loved all her children. She was wrecked by her first husbands and Children’s deaths and died not long after having Joshua. Former Hufflepuff.

Love Interest: None Yet

Best Friends: Michael.

Rival: None

Enemy: Maran’s stepfather, who is dead.

Dormmates: (Who’s in your MC’s dorm with them?): TBA

Pets: Her Owl, Minerva. Ichabod Technically but he’s not a pet and is more like a parental figure, especially to Robyn.

Closest Canon Friends: TBA

Closest MC Friends: TBA

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

One day he decided he was going to kill Robyn and tried to strangle her with a Garrote after sending Maran and Michael on an errand. Michael came back early and managed to get Peter off his sister and ran into Ichabod’s quarters.  Because Mary had, wisely, never transferred authority to Peter for Ichabod, the house elf refused to let him in. At this point Maran came home. She often carried a rifle when going to the neighbors and there was an argument, during which Peter revealed what he had tried to do. 

Pre Hogwarts:

 After a series of tragedies, including the deaths of his stepson and stepdaughter and two sons, Peter made it to Oregon with his family. Peter O’Toole then proceeded to isolate his family from others and was often physically and verbally abusive. He favored Michael (who did not reciprocate) and sent him to Ilvermorny but kept Maran and later Robyn at home. Mostly because he was sexist but  also because Maran...unnerved him. She seemed to know some wandless magic, having learned it from a witch from their wagon train, and was practicing it when he wasn’t in the house. She would occasionally use it to indirectly threaten him and he sensed the events were somehow connected to her.

- Not afraid to stand up for herself or her siblings and often takes on a protective/maternal role with Robyn.

So Maran shot him and made it look like a muggle robbery. When the truth finally came out, they were already in England and living with Aunt Irene.

1st Year: TBA

2nd Year:TBA

3rd Year:TBA

4th Year:TBA

5th Year: TBA

6th Year: TBA

7th Year: TBA

Post Graduation: She became a Potioneer in Honor of her brother David  and had one son, Aiden, with an unknown man. Robyn lived with her until her death from Typhus at 32 and Michael lived next door with his wife Niamah until his death at age 75 and her death at age 98. 

Old Age & Death: Maran lived to be 101 years old and died surrounded by her grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. Was pardoned for the murder of her stepfather after she died.

PERSONALITY

- Can be absolutely ruthless when she needs to be.

- Doesn’t understand the difference between Light and Dark magic (This distinction didn’t exist out west until the early 1900s) and she often experiments with Dark Magic as a result.

- Genius at potion making and is very intelligent.

- A tad paranoid, she did murder her stepfather. Looks over her shoulder a lot and is distrustful of people at first.

MISC

- Hecate and Sean are partially named after Maran and Michael.

- Maran tries to introduce her English classmates to the newly invented game of Quodpot  and it often ends badly.

- Has a negative view of marriage, which is why she never marries (that anyone can tell).

- Wrote a book about her life as an old woman and it caused a stir in the pureblood community due to the many negative things she says about pureblood culture and purist beliefs in the book. 

- Maran loves sketching ad painting.

[oncexinxmyxdreams]

OC Profile

Lydia Venkman (The Real Ghostbusters.)

Bio

Name: Lydia Molly (O’Connor) Venkman 

Age: 22 when Peter was born and passed away at 32. 

Ethnicity: Caucasian with her both sides of her family having descended from Irish Immigrants back in the 1840s. 

Species: Human.

Height: 5'5 

Weight: 120 pounds. 

Hair color: Dark brown. 

Hair style: Used to be very long, almost to her waist until she cut it short into a flipped bob during the 1960s. She grew it back out before she passed.

Eye color: Green. 

Birthday: September 23rd, 1936. 

Gender: Female.

Sexual Orientation: Straight.

Powers (if any): No. 

Distinguishing features (if any): Lower lip was fuller than top and had an oval shaped face. Jim said she looked like the actress Natalie Wood. 

Blood Type: A- 

Clothing

Day to day outfit: Simple dresses with flared skirts and a sash. Think 1950s-early 1960s style. Wore simple flats with them. On weekends, she wore simple trousers and tucked in blouses. 

Pajamas/What they wear to bed: Plain white nightgowns.

Formal Clothes: Most formal that Lydia owned was her wedding dress: a lacy A-line gown with matching jacket.

Work/School uniform: Being a teacher, just simple nice dresses and pumps.  

Other (glasses, jewelry, etc): Liked wearing ribbons for headbands. Single solitaire wedding ring. A Claddagh ring which was the only family keepsake she took when she married Jim. He gave her necklaces and bracelets, but Lydia sold them to make ends meet. 

Health

Physical Illnesses: Weakened Immune System where she usually gets sick easily and for long. Suffers from a severe case of pneumonia.

Mental Illnesses or disorders: Depression.

Medications?: Antidepressant and usual medicines when she became sick, ex. cough syrup, Tylenol etc.   

Addictions (Drugs, alcohol?): No. With her weakened immune system she’s careful about addictions.  

General Health: Its decent enough, but in her early 30s she becomes more sick from living in bad conditions, her weakened immune system  and her lungs not being strong enough. Body shape is rectangular: 32-26-34 and around size 8.   

Life/Preferences:

Likes: Teaching, fantasy books, tea, cooking, and spending time with her son.

Dislikes: Dishonesty, depression, getting sick and Jim’s bad ideas. 

Career: Elementary teacher.

Hobbies/Talents: Reading was her main hobby. Used to ride horses back in Montana, but eventually grew a new hobby of collecting teacups as she moved around. Talented in piano.  

Habits (good or bad): Chewed bottom lip when stressed and twirled hair when writing.

Family: Parents were Joseph and Naomi O’Connor. Lydia had 8 brothers. She was closest to older four: Phillip, Benjamin, Andrew and Daniel. All a year apart. Four younger brothers, are sets of twins: Jacob and Jeremiah came along when she was 3. Then Simon and Silas arrived when she was 4. Had an aunt named Molly that passed shortly before her birth and that's how she got her middle name.

Friends: Not many. Had some nice neighbors at times. She considered her big brothers as her closest friends.

Romantic/Love Interest(s): Mainly Jim Venkman, but its caused her problems.

Pets: Her childhood cat named Copper: He was a European Shorthair breed with deep brown fur. Her family had horses, but her favorite was Valor: An American Quarter Horse with a blue roan coat.

Social Status: Lower class.

Favorite Food: Colcannon Irish potatoes. 

Favorite Color: Forest green. 

Favorite genre of music: Folk music.

Favorite movie genre: She didn’t see too many movies having only theaters at the time. Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, An American in Paris and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea were her favorite movies in theaters. 

Favorite Animal: Elk. She loved seeing them in Montana. Interestingly, elk are considered as a symbol of protection.

Degree of Education: High school graduate and earned a teacher’s certificate. 

What language(s) can they speak?: English and a decent amount of Irish. 

Can they cook?: Absolutely. 

Personality

Positive Traits: Warm, devoted, thoughtful, altruistic and creative. 

Negative Traits: Self-critical, self-conscious and sometimes closed off from others.

Archetype: The Mother Figure like Perdita in 101 Dalmatians or Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of Nimh.

Way they interact with others: Very reserved when first meeting. It takes a good while to get to know her.

Way of speaking: Voice inspiration for her is the late actress Elizabeth Hartman. (Yeah, Mrs. Brisby's voice actor because she has a certain blend of vulnerability and strength which I think fits Lydia well.)

Introvert or Extrovert?: Introvert. Not sure where she'd fall for MBTI, but my thought is INFP.

Backstory 

 Lydia was born in Williston, North Dakota and was the first daughter for her family. Lydia had a weakened immune system and got sick easily throughout her life. When Lydia was 9 months old, her family moved to Libby, Montana to be near her mother's aging parents. It was intended for the family to move back to Williston, but they all fell in love with Montana and never left. Living on farmland, Lydia spent free time with her brothers: they rode horses, went fishing, climbed trees and camped in the summer. Being outside helped her stay healthy. Lydia went to a small school and only enjoyed storybooks. All other subjects were hard and the teachers were cold hearted which made Lydia feel inferior. As she grew, she visited the library more often and her learning skills improved. Her favorite books were Ivanhoe, The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Hobbit. (She loved The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia when they were first published.) After graduating high school, she earned a teacher's certificate with the goal to help children learn in better ways than she did. However, she also desired to have adventures one day even if she wasn’t sure how it’d go. That started changing when she met Jim Venkman. 

 Jim was a couple years older than Lydia and resided in Montana to hideout from his recent problems. It was love at first sight for him and Lydia grew to love him after several outings. Jim promised Lydia "all her dreams." Her parents, didn't approve Jim because they found him sleazy and doubted it was really love. Her brothers, all younger and older, weren’t sure about Jim and always felt genuine protection for their only sister. Lydia constantly argued with her mother in particular and finally, her parents threatened to disown her. Young, wanting adventure, and thinking she knew best, Lydia left with Jim. She did teach and found creative ways to help her students learn. However, Lydia missed her family and months in the marriage, found herself miserable. Jim was going back and forth with "jobs" and while inadvertent, seemed to take her for granted. Lydia became severely depressed: she felt trapped, dissatisfied and worst of all, lonely. Not introverted/like the quiet, solitude loneliness. It was an abandoned loneliness. That ended after a doctor's appointment where she discovered she was expecting. She gave birth in a quick labor and was with happy tears to have her son. Since Jim wasn't there and difficult to contact, Lydia spent five days with just her baby. Instead of going with Jim's desires to name a son James Jr., she chose Peter. Despite the sudden moving back and forth, financial issues, working overtime to make ends meet and frustration with her husband, Lydia loved Peter more than anything. She did all she could to give him a good childhood. That all came to a crushing end, when she became terribly sick with pneumonia and passed away. She was 32 and Peter was only 10.

Life Goals

Lydia desired to have adventures in her life even if she was fragile. She wanted to believe the best in people and planned to teach for her career. When she became a mother, Lydia's goals all went to her son and that became the adventure of her life; one she wouldn’t change despite the hardships. When Lydia was told her pneumonia was getting worse and survival was decreasing, she imagined what would happen for Peter: Would he go to college? What would be his career? Would he find love? Have his own kids? For her it was unknown, but in all, she hoped he would be surrounded with stable, caring, enjoyable friendships/family members. She'd been happy to know that did come true.

[writtenbyhappynerds]

Fanfic 102: Unit 3, Diversity

          Hello! Welcome back. This week we’re going to talk about Diversity. Beyond how to insert diversity into your writing, the nuances, and the ways you can create a believable character. The Editor and I understand how sensitive of a subject this is, and wanted to take the time to make sure the information we are doling out is inclusive and well-written and quality. There is often a lack of diversity in media and books, and often when it is included it’s shoe-horned in for brownie points. We understand that, and we want the up-and-coming writers to be better than those before them. The two most important things to remember are the following: no diversity beats terribly-done diversity, and, the way that the character is diverse is not and should never be their whole personality. We will be discussing LGBT, ableism, and race.

          The LGBT community is a vibrant community with members of all shapes and sizes. The most important part when writing a character who is gay or trans is that this aspect is part of their identity but it is not their whole identity. When we discussed characterization in Fanfiction 101, we talked about not reducing side characters or members of the cast to one-note aspects of their personality. The same applies here, and a character’s sexuality or gender expression should not be at the forefront of every conversation. You shouldn’t create these characters with their sexual or gender identity being at the forefront of your mind, because you wouldn’t do that for a straight or cis character. You wouldn’t sit down to make a character with your first thought being ‘ok but they have to be cis,’ so it’s silly to do the same to a gay or trans or nonbinary character. Make them like you would any other character. What changes would be aspects of their identity, or values they hold near and dear to their heart or motivations. Those may be different than a straight character or a cis-gender character.

          If you’re straight or cis and writing a gay or trans character, you need to do your research to accurately portray the character in a realistic and believable way. An example we love is Todd Chavez in Bojack Horseman, who portrayed an asexual character, and Todd’s journey as he came into his own. Bojack Horseman also portrayed polyamory with Hollyhock, who was the adopted daughter of 8 dads. What we enjoyed was that Todd’s sexuality added dimension to his character. It didn’t reduce him to being the token LGBT representative, and it didn’t force him into a box where he could only focus on LGBT issues. Todd was and is so much more than that, and his sexuality is a part of his story, but it’s not the sole story.

Rick Riordan is a master of writing experiences that are not his own, and he cheated the system by basing his characters off of people he knew. This is a method that you can use. You can base your characters off of friends, public figures, etc. If you decide to not do that, googling what transgender men and women have to experience or what top surgery is isn’t enough. I would suggest looking to Youtube, where many transgender and LGBT  influencers have talked about their experiences. I would suggest looking to forums, Reddit being one of them. Yahoo Answers is also a really good source. What you want is as many experiences as you can get: ones that are similar, and ones that contrast. The goal is to combine them and make your own character in a melting pot of other experiences. You owe it to not only those who read your story but yourself to do the research. You want your characters to represent the communities you do, and the ones you don’t as best you can.

          Let’s move on to people of color (POC). The same rules we’ve discussed prior apply: A poorly written POC is worse than no POC (Looking at you Baljeet). In addition, that POC’s ethnicity should not be their entire personality, and if you are creating a character just to say that you have made a POC, then you have already failed. There are many issues we see when we find people of color in fanfiction. Among them are language barriers, naming, and a misinterpretation of cultural values and experiences.

          Putting words in a foreign language in the middle of fanfic is very, very common. You see it everywhere. In Avengers fanfic it’s Russian or Norse. In Batman fanfic, it’s any of the languages that the Batkids speak. The writers put in these conversations that sometimes go on for pages in another language, and then add an author’s note at the bottom with the translation. This is awkward, and when you read books, this is something you never see. If you want your character to speak another language, you don’t need to actually write the other language. Putting a few sentences through Google translate doesn’t make you a better or more dedicated writer than someone who adds the tag: “she was screaming now, all her words coming out in rapid French.” Tags can be used to dictate a change in language, and I encourage you to use them. Now, there are of course exceptions to this rule, and those exceptions usually lie in food, names, and things. Calling someone a name that is in another language is fine. Describing food in another language is fine, and things are generally ok. But that’s just for you. Your characters also have to speak the language.

          No one worth their salt or heritage is going to go through a moment where they start out speaking in their fluent tongue and then “forget” to switch back and forth between English and their native language. It is so incredibly unrealistic and awful and it lets the reader know someone who is not actually bilingual wrote this piece of work. When you learn two languages, here’s what really happens: you forget words. You have to stumble through words in your own language before you get to the one you need. You call things, “that thing.” You point. You sometimes say “what’s that called?” you find aspects of the second language, or even your own language stupid and you don’t want to do it. You get words mixed up and you make mistakes. That’s all okay, and that all happens, and should be written as such. One of my teachers never forgot the French word for spider because she got the shit scared out of her by one and didn’t know what to call it when she needed someone to kill it. My aunt took 3 years to learn Turkish by immersion and now can speak it fluently. You don’t even need to be fluent in every language, and many people only know a handful of words in one or a few sentences in another. That’s totally okay! If anything that’s more realistic because it’s super hard to learn a new language and speak it fluently. Don’t force your characters into a box like that. Let them make mistakes.

          Culture is a huge thing when writing POC. You have to keep in mind that culture shifts, and what may have been culturally huge for one set of characters won’t be as significant for others. You want your characters to interact with their culture in a way that is realistic, and not reductive. Kelly from the Office is a great example, as she invites the office to celebrate Diwali with her. Lara Jean from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is another example. We see her eat Korean food at home, and in the books, she still celebrates Korean holidays. Where the shift comes into play can be seen in Never Have I Ever where Devi is not as Indian as her parents, and we see her struggle with the culture. She still goes to Hindu association things, Ganesh puja, and she wears Indian clothes. However, she’s still a normal teenager out chasing boys and worrying about colleges. In Superstore the Muslim character prays 5 times a day, and still works at the grocery giant. The big takeaway is that these people have lives that include, but aren’t limited to their cultures. They aren’t reduced to stereotypes.

          Naming characters is already rough. However, naming characters from a different background than you are even tougher. The Editor has a lot of anger towards Panju Weasley, from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Her exact words, as they were texted to me:

**

>Like Cursed Child where Ron and Padma has a kid named Panju.

>What the fuck is a Panju?

>That’s literally the dumbest name in the world

>All she had to google was Indian names.

>There are so many fucking lists.

>I dont even think it’s an actual name. Like it might be a nickname for some people but I dont think people have actually named their child panju.

**

          As usual, the Editor is very correct. There is a simple solution to getting around what we’ll call the Panju Dilemma- a phrase which we’ll use to describe terrible naming choices of POC. In Fanfiction 101 we had an entire unit centered around naming. Nameberry.com exists, and if they don’t have it all you need to do is Google the country of origin and the sex of the OC. Sometimes you can add in the year the OC was born, to really get a feel for the time period, but that doesn’t always work. For example, in one of our stories we have a cluster of kids from Syria. When it came time to name said kids, we Googled: popular Syrian names 2003. That’s how we got our OCs: Reem, Nour, Nizar, Jano, and Stella. Naming is very important, and you owe it to your readers and your characters to do them justice, and not saddle them with a terrible name.

          The final note of diversity we want to talk about is actual ability. Ableism is often overlooked in movies, shows, or books. It is something that is shoehorned in as an extra adversary for the OC or the cast, only *gasp* This time the biggest adversary is themselves. I hate that. I want to eliminate that because as someone with a disability and someone who has worked with kids with disabilities, you can absolutely write and code characters like that in so long as, and say it with me now, it is not their entire personality.

          You can totes write a character with anxiety and/or depression, so long as you don’t snub these very real mental disorders that millions face on a daily basis. You also have a duty, especially with anxiety and depression, to not glorify, glamorize, or romanticize either. Do not romanticize self-harm. Do not romanticize anxiety. Do not romanticize depression. They are not cruel tricks of life that befall beautiful intelligent women. It is not “tragically beautiful.” Depression and anxiety and self-harm are not a paragraph for you to lament on while the OC gazes longingly out the window at her lover. Anxiety keeps some people from talking on the phone they’re so nervous. It gives girls panic attacks in mall food courts because they don’t know what’s going on anymore. Depression isn’t your OC watching the rain in a hoodie and sweats, it’s not showering for days on end because you can’t find the motivation to. It’s having insomnia because you can’t sleep. Self-harm is not an OC’s love interest holding their wrists and telling them to stop. It is deep pain and numbness and hurting yourself to try and feel something. It is rubbing Neosporin on your cuts and hoping they go away. It is forcing your friends to keep it a secret because you don’t want anyone to know because what if they take it away from you. These mental disorders are not yours to romanticize. They are yours to show the growth and power and strength of your characters. They are yours to use to show how trauma has affected your character and can represent normality behind mental health and emotion and talking about things like this. Even more so than girls, writing a male OC with anxiety or depression is more empowering because you are allowing a character to talk about their feelings when that isn’t seen as acceptable by their sex. If you feel you are able to take that plunge, and you can do the adequate research to represent the disorder well, go for it.

          In addition to mental health, physical disabilities are often overlooked. I have a chronic illness. I have never seen in a book, movie, TV show, or fanfiction anyone with a chronic illness, let alone my chronic illness. That in of itself is a broad term, and I’ll let chronic illness mean anything from lupus and POTS to asthma and anemia. These disabilities make a character have to work harder, but hey, look at Captain America. The boy had every disability under the sun and he got out alright. No one is going to make changes for you. You have to be the change you want to see. If I want OCs with chronic illnesses, I have to write them and do them justice by not only my community but the communities that I don’t represent. Jeremy Scott’s The Ables is a great example of writing disability and using it as part of, but not a character’s entire identity. The main characters all have superpowers but are put in a class that doesn’t allow them to use said powers. This is because they are all disabled. The main character is blind and telekinetic, another can read minds but is in a wheelchair, another is a genius but has cerebral palsy. Their disabilities are a minor obstacle, but not the big bad, and that is a great way to write disability. People who live with physical disabilities or chronic illnesses have to deal with said limitations every day. To us, as time goes on it becomes less of the monster at the end of the story and more of an everyday beast. It becomes normal, and there are bigger things for us to worry about than just our disease. This speaks for every aspect of diversity we have covered in this chapter: The people with said note have to live with it every day. It is a common enemy, not the final boss. To treat it as such is to say that it is our biggest concern in life. I wish my chronic illness was my biggest concern, but I have other fish to fry.

          What we have done here is not an all-inclusive list of diversity. This chapter took 2 weeks to write because the Editor and I wanted to do right by our community. Not just the communities we proudly represent but the communities we don’t. There are many more nuances and aspects to diversity that are out there, and what we have presented is our best. Yet it is still incomplete. If there is something important that you feel we have left out, we sincerely apologize. We acknowledge that what we have written here is not all-encompassing for diversity. We wanted to talk about issues that are common occurrences. However, what we have covered is not the end-all of what’s out there. We apologize for the delay, and to make up for it, our next unit Writing Children will be published at the same time as this one. We sincerely apologize for the delay.

Xoxo, Gossip Girl