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saint--claire · 3 months

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When I was a little child, there was a particular library book I checked out week after week, endlessly renewing it as much as I was able. The book, How to Raise and Keep a Dragon by John Topsell was a quasi-nonfiction guide to, as you guessed, rearing different species of dragons. I loved it. Tiny-me had plans.

As an adult, I tried to buy it a few times. No dice. The book was so old that no mainstream bookseller stocked it. Even when I tried niche websites recommended by various booksellers and librarians, I still couldn't find it. It was sadly lost to time, apparently not popular enough to make it into the archives.

But.

My best friend had a copy of that book. We're going to call her G, for several reasons not relevant at the moment. I was discussing my search with G one day, for some reason I can't remember now. She got a funny look on her face, asked me a few questions about the cover, listened to me do a very poor job of explaining with my hands how the hardcover copy had included a real gemstone in the dragon's forehead, and then went off to fish it out of her bookcase.

I was Gobsmacked.

I should not have been, given that the history of shared childhood books between us both would have made a circle with ragged edges, more so than a venn diagram, but I digress. The book came home to live in my house for a few months, and I was delighted by the chance to read it again.

Do people remember those type of books? Dragonology, Egyptology, The Stone Age - a way of introducing children to non fiction. They very earnestly spoke about the responsibilities needed to raise dragons, the practicalities involved. There was a record of registration you could fill out, if you had carefully considered the information to your self and felt you were responsible enough to to go through with adopting a dragon.

I vaguely remember filling out some of the riddle and puzzle questions in the Dragonology books. I would never have written in John Topsell's book, it was a library book.

But.

When I re-read G's copy at home, smiling over the familiar artwork, I was surprised to turn the page and find the painstaking, somewhat-wonky handwriting staring back at at me. Baby G, with her name spelled out in freshly-joined but still-not-quite-got-the-hang-of-this-yet cursive lettering. Baby G had filled the registration out in her best handwriting, in glittery green gel pen to denote the importance of the document. This was compared to the earlier, less important checklists done in plain black ink.

I read the registration certificate. Smiled. Smiled some more at the names listed for G's dragon, her dam, and her sire - Eragon was also a great book. Go off, Christopher Paolini.

Breed; standard Western Dragon. The box 'miniture' was ticked, to show that G's dragon was of the minature specic variety, rather than a full size dragon. This was, as she would later explain to me, chosen on the basis that baby-G felt it was the more financially responsible choice. Also so she could keep her dragon in her house with her, but we're not there yet.

I looked at that certificate. Looked at it again. Looked at the calendar, and then looked at the sewing machine I had just been given for Christmas.

G celebrates her birthday in January.

The template came first. I studied the different images of the standard western dragon through the book, picked my favourite, and re-drew it to a significantly larger scale.

Inking the design to the fabric, four times over probably took the longest.

I very subtly asked G the next time she was over (after hurling all dragon-related materials in a panic into the depths of my wardrobe) what type of colour dragon she would have, should it come up. As G later said, that type of question from me truly did not register as anything other than a question asked from theoretical interest. I transitioned the topic as discreetly as I could after she answered, and delightfully, my sneakiness went in one ear, out the other, and she forgot I had ever asked until several weeks later.

I enjoyed painting them.

Don't ask me how many mistakes I made through this process. So many. I do already know how to sew, but it's been a long time. I'd been meaning to get back into it for a while.

Given that various aunts and grandmothers and my mother had a knack for calling when I was up to my elbows in either paint or pins, it became a family affair. Each of them peered at the project through face time and offered their advice.

Some of the advice I took, some I didn't. No regrets about sewing it in pink thread. Considerable regrets about accidentally slicing one of the feet in half and having to fix that.

In the end though, she was finished.

I carefully pinned on her name tag, with the name baby-G had chosen with a little blue ribbon. A collar was unacceptable, this is a dragon, people, come on. Dragon's don't wear collars.

I put the book in the box, open to the registration certificate, and put the dragon on top. Wrapped the whole thing up with a bow and then refused to touch it before I sent myself mad trying to fix details that didn't really need to be fixed.

A bit late for her birthday, sure, but there we are. We'd gone for a trip off to nowhere for a weekend, to go try wine made out of blueberries and hike up a waterfall. (And climb on it. And swim in it. It was a very good waterfall).

I gave her the box, informed her she wasn't allowed to keep the box, just the contents (it was the only thing I had that was big enough for me to keep all of my A3 portfolios in, it had only been temporarily-repurposed as dragon housing), and then left the next bit up to the gods.

A surprise, sitting un-awaited for some 15 years in amber, to catch up to baby G and adult G together.

Happy Birthday, baby and adult G.

#StClaire speaks #How to Raise & Keep A Dragon #John Topsell #Joe Nigg #the thing about problems hammers and nails #except in this case it was childhood wishes and sewing machines #and as someone said #you were relearning to sew and you started with THAT?#well no #I started with a scrub hat #which kept the hair out of my face while I painted this #and then also that apron my aunt gave me the pieces to years ago that I refused point blank to do by hand #but yeah #101 mistakes later #and one re-attached foot #pretty happy with her #dragons

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tip-top-cloud-surfer · 2 months

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A Lesson in Love - Bob

Pairing: Bob / Female!Reader (Referred to as Ms. T)

Word Count: 1.8k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only

Warnings: Bob Being Adorable; Valentine's Day Shenanigans; Bob Deals with a Lot of Meddlers; Bob Has a Niece Named Phoebe; Reader is Female, but No Physical Description, Reader Referred to as "Ms. T" (The "T" stands for Teacher because I'm so Creative), No Use of Y/N

Summary: Bob has no plans for Valentine's Day. So, he gets set up to meet his niece's very cute teacher instead.

Master List

Bob didn’t really have any specific thoughts on Valentine’s Day. If he had a partner, he would do something special, of course, but he wasn’t bothered by the fact that he spent the last four Valentine’s Days in a row single. He was deployed for three of them and he didn’t have anything planned this Valentine’s Day.

Quietly, he was honestly happy with it. Everyone seemed to put so much stress over a random weekday and he was content to avoid the chaos. But there were several people in his life who were not.

And he was almost completely sure that his mom and Phoenix were scheming behind his back.

“You still don’t have any plans tonight?” Phoenix asked Bob, who shook his head.

“No. I was just going to do some more paperwork and probably call it an early night. Maybe I’ll watch that new documentary that Penny recommended.”

“Please tell me that something in there is a code word,” Fanboy stated, causing Bob to roll his eyes. “Come on, Bob, just let one of us set you up on a blind date.”

“I have a list,” Phoenix offered, but Bob shook his head.

“A first date on Valentine’s Day? That’s a great idea! How could that possibly go wrong?” he returned sarcastically, causing Phoenix and Fanboy to share a look.

But before anyone could speak again, Bob’s phone started to buzz. Fishing it out of his pocket, Bob saw his mom’s contact pop up and excused himself from the table. He answered the call as he walked out of the mess.

“Hey, Ma, what do you need?”

“Why do you just assume that I’m calling because I need something, Robert? A mother can’t just check up on her son?” Bob waited for a moment before his mom added, “Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day?”

“Goodbye, Ma.”

“I only ask because I completely forgot that Phoebe’s parent-teacher conference is tonight and your father and I already made plans. I was going to have our neighbor, Ms. Abel, watch her for a few hours, but obviously she can’t attend the parent-teacher conference for us.”

“What time is her parent-teacher conference?”

“Seven.”

“I’ll just watch Phoebe tonight. That's fine, Ma. I’ll pick her up from your house after work.”

“Thank you, sweetheart! And maybe you’ll meet someone there—”

“—Oh, sorry, Ma, there’s an alarm going off, I have to go. Bye.”

“Robert Martin Floyd—”

Bob hung up the phone and sighed to himself before heading back inside the mess. What was it about Valentine’s Day that made everyone lose their minds?

“Who was that?” Phoenix asked as Bob sat back down.

“My ma. She asked me to take my niece to her parent-teacher conference for her.”

“That’s better than paperwork,” Fanboy conceded.

“Is her teacher cute?” Phoenix questioned.

“Do you hear that alarm going off?” Bob suggested, causing Phoenix to roll her eyes.

~~~~~

“Alright, you lead the way,” Bob stated, setting his niece on the ground from the car. “You’re the pilot here, Bee.”

“Come on, Uncle Bob,” Phoebe called, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her. “We’re going to be late!”

“Bee, we’re ten minutes early.”

But Bob still let his niece practically drag him through the halls of her elementary school. Phoebe marched him down the ‘First Grade’ wing and stopped in front of a purple door. But Bob held her back from going inside.

“There’s people in there. Just sit and wait for a little bit. We’re early.”

Bob sat Phoebe down in one of the short chairs meant for children and sat in the similarly short chair beside her. And with his long legs, he looked rather comedic sitting there. Phoebe talked his ear off about all of the art that was hung up and Bob complimented her paintings.

The sound of the door opening caused Bob to turn his head. A couple stepped out of the classroom, followed by Phoebe’s teacher, who was dressed in a soft pink dress with paper hearts that were clearly cut out by her students taped to it. She bid the couple goodbye before turning to Bob and Phoebe, who jumped up from her seat when she realized that it was her turn.

“Hi, Ms. T!”

“Hi, Phoebe,” Ms. T greeted the little girl kindly before turning to Bob.

The wizzo in question awkwardly got to his feet from the child-sized chair under Ms. T’s gaze and tried to subtly smooth his shirt down. Phoebe’s teacher was cute, though he wouldn’t mention that to Phoenix or his mom. She radiated kindness but had that distinct look in her eye that she could quickly knock anyone down a few pegs.

Bob could quickly tell why Phoebe liked her so much.

“And who did you bring with you?” Ms. T asked Phoebe.

“This is my Uncle Bob,” Phoebe stated, pulling Bob forward.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Bob returned, holding out his hand for Ms. T to shake. “My parents couldn’t make it, so I’m standing in for them. I’m Phoebe’s uncle.”

“I already said that,” Phoebe reminded Bob.

“Oh, of course. I’ve seen your names on some of her forms. Please, come in.”

Bob took his seat at the front of the room and was relieved that he wouldn’t have to look ridiculous sitting in a child-sized seat again. Phoebe sat in the hallway, coloring and playing with toys, while Bob and Ms. T discussed her progress.

Ms. T showed Bob a standardized worksheet that listed basic skills with comments about how Ms. T thought that Phoebe was doing. Bob listened to her comments on Phoebe’s performance intently and was relieved to find out that they were pretty much all positive.

“The only area that I think that Phoebe can improve on is her confidence,” Ms. T stated, causing Bob to nod. “She’s smart and a very thoughtful little girl. And if I thought she knew that I wouldn’t say anything, but I don’t think she does. There’s nothing wrong with being quiet or shy, but I don’t want her to ever get discouraged or down on herself.”

“Shyness runs in our family,” Bob stated, causing Ms. T to smile softly. “My dad’s side. So, this isn’t a shock.”

“How is Phoebe at home?”

“She won’t stop talking or bossing me around, but I understand that school with kids her own age is a different environment from that.”

“Yes, it is. She’s very outgoing if it’s one on one or if she’s with her friends, but she just needs a little more support in public situations.”

“I could try and come to more of her school events. I’ll talk to my Captain about moving some things in my schedule,” Bob suggested, causing Phoebe’s teacher to nod. “Not that my mom isn’t here to support Phoebe, but I don’t think that she knows the meaning of the word ‘shy.’”

“I can understand that,” Ms. T mused, chuckling softly. “Well, I can give you a list of some class events that we have between now and the end of the year.”

She got up from her table and walked to the back of the room to grab a piece of paper. Scribbling something on it quickly, she walked back over and handed the paper to Bob, whose eyes immediately dropped to the number that she had written down.

“I’m assuming that your mom already has it, but that’s the number to my school phone. And my email too. And here is the kids’ schedule,” she continued, pulling out another piece of paper and handing it over to Bob. “You can feel free to call me during any of the breaks that you see where they’re in specials or lunch.”

“Thank you,” Bob replied, smiling kindly in return. “I’ll let you know what events I can make.”

They walked out to the hallway and Phoebe quickly popped up from her table and came trotting over. Staring up at her Uncle Bob with that distinct begging look that Bob always ended up cracking for, Phoebe glanced between Bob and her teacher.

“Ice cream?”

“Yeah, I think we can get ice cream,” Bob agreed, kneeling down to Phoebe’s height. “But if grandma asks?”

“We got brussel sprouts.”

“That’s right.”

Phoebe smiled and bounced in place, eager to go. She bid goodbye to Ms. T, promising to see her tomorrow, before grabbing Bob’s hand and urging him away.

“It was nice meeting you,” Bob called back to Ms. T, who laughed and waved goodbye to them.

“I hope to see you again,” she returned before Phoebe tugged Bob around the corner.

~~~~~

Four Months Later . . .

“Phoebe Floyd,” Ms. T called out.

The crowd of family members—and several supportive naval aviators—cheered as Phoebe jogged across the stage. Ms. T gave her a little badge to signify that she was now a second grader before gently nudging her to join her other classmates.

And once they went through the rest of the kids, the day wrapped up. Bob picked up Phoebe and spun her around until his mom urged him to put her down so that they could take family pictures. After a few, Phoebe tugged on Bob’s hand until he bent down to her level. Phoebe leaned over and cupped her hands around his ear.

“Ms. T needs help carrying stuff back to the classroom.”

“Yeah?” Bob asked, causing Phoebe to nod quickly before leaning in again.

“Can I be the flower girl?” Phoebe added, earning a choked sound from her uncle.

Ms. T was in the middle of gathering the decorations when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she smiled softly when she saw Bob jogging over to her.

“Need any help?”

“I won’t turn it down.”

“So, are you excited for summer vacation?” Bob asked Ms. T, who nodded in return. “Do you have any plans?”

“I was hoping that some cute naval aviator with these big dorky glasses and these big blue eyes was going to ask me on a date,” Ms. T stated, causing Bob to flush with embarrassment. “But I don’t know if that will ever happen.”

“Well, maybe he was waiting for you to no longer be his niece’s teacher before asking you out,” Bob replied, taking the box from her hands. “Which reminds me, do you have any plans for Friday night?”

“I do now,” Ms. T replied with a wide smile.

#top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun: maverick #top gun #tgm fanfiction #tgm #robert floyd x reader #robert bob floyd x reader #robert bob floyd #robert floyd #bob x reader #bob #bob floyd #bob fluff #bob floyd fic #bob floyd x reader

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otmaaromanovas · 5 months

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Anastasia's personality

Lesser known quotes about Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov and her personality, from those who knew her and from Anastasia herself!

Happy reading :)

"Once they had seen this demonstration [of security dogs sniffing out objects], the Grand Duchesses often amused themselves by hiding objects on the island, and asking us to have them retrieved by the dogs. That was, above all, the favourite game of the youngest of the Grand Duchesses, Anastasia Nicholaievna. So the guide asked permission to take the Grand Duchess by the hand and let the dogs sniff it, who then disappeared into the island and brought back the hidden object. Of course, the Grand Duchess was hugely delighted." - Alexander Spiridovitch, Last Years at Tsarskoe Selo, Volume 1

Anastasia to tutor Pyotr Vasilievich Petrov: "Wikied P.V.P. I am very, very upsit with you. Why didn’t you write a litter to Maria and me? I’m telling you, you are very, very bad, extremely bad even. Maria and I have written you so meny letters and you haven’t replied. I am going to make mystakes on purpose. I alredy see where I made mystakes. Anastasia. 1909. 9 November." - Helen Azar, George Hawkins, Anastasia Romanov: The Tsar's Youngest Daughter Speaks Through Her Writings

"Sometimes, the Grand Duchesses would enter the thatched houses and strike up conversations with the peasant women. The male population worked far away, at fishing, Anastasia Nicholaievna made friends with an old peasant woman, whom she came to see in her thatched cottage several times, and with whom she had long conversations. The peasant was knitting a stocking, and showed the Grand Duchess how it was done. On her birthday, Anastasia Nicholaievna visited the old lady, and asked her how old she thought she was. When the old lady could not guess, the Grand Duchess announced proudly that she was eight years old!" - Alexander Spiridovitch, Last Years at Tsarskoe Selo, Volume 1

"We used to make long outings around the islands. One day, Anastasia Nicholaievna begged the Emperor to take her on one of these outings. The Emperor consented. It was a very long outing. We covered some fifteen to seventeen versts. Everybody, except the Emperor, was very tired, with Anastasia Nicholaievna at the point of tears. The people who accompanied the Emperor took turns carrying her pick-a-back [piggy back]. That outing was remembered for a long time." - Alexander Spiridovitch, Last Years at Tsarskoe Selo, Volume 1

"Anastasia Nicholaevna was a lively witty child, who developed rapidly in the midst of her sisters. Very mischievous, always gay she still amused herself with toys such as the little, stoppered bottles and pots which a doctor who visited the Imperial Family used to bring her. She and her brother got no end of fun from these things." - Alexander Spiridovitch, Last Years at Tsarskoe Selo, Volume 1

"Little Anastasie was delighted with the stir and bustle of city life and deeply interested in all she saw. The children developed a love for those little toy balloons which are sold in the streets. When they were very good I used to send out and get them one each. But Anastasie used sometimes to want me to stop the carriage and buy them from the men, and this, of course, could not be allowed. So I always said simply that I could not, without advancing any reason. She evidently thought force would have to be used to induce him to part with them, for one day she saw some little children walking on the Palace Quay, each one with a balloon. She drew my attention to them. "Look, look!" cried she; "little children with balloons; get out, take them from them and give them to me." I explained why that would not do, so she said, " Well, get out, and ask them nicely and politely, and perhaps they will give them to me."" - Margaretta Eagar, Six Years at the Russian Court

"Someone in speaking to me of the four little girls lately said to me, "...little Anastasie has personal charm beyond any child I ever saw."" - Margaretta Eagar, Six Years at the Russian Court

"I had got from England a preparation for the children's hair, and was rubbing it into little Anastasie's head one evening. She objected, and I said, " It will make your hair grow nicely, darling," so she submitted. Next evening I went to get the kappuka [solution] from the cupboard, and mademoiselle ran off into the next room. She returned dragging by its leg an awful dolly, a regular fetish, minus a wig, one eye, and an arm. She gravely took a little piece of sponge and began to rub the kappuka into the creature's head. I remonstrated, telling her I had to send to England for the stuff and did not want it wasted. She looked at me most reproachfully, and said, "My poor Vera! she has got no curls; this will make her hair grow." Of course, she got her way." - Margaretta Eagar, Six Years at the Russian Court

"Anastasia Nikolaevna was especially attracted to stores, where they sold doll shoes of various sizes…" - Sophia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, A Few Years Before the Catastrophe

Letter from Alexei to their father, Nicholas: "[22 Sept 1914] …Anastasia was throttling [tutor] M. Gilliard." This has also been translated as "…Anastasia was trying to strangle M. Gilliard" - George Hawkins, Alexei: Russia's Last Tsesarevich - Letters, diaries and writings

Letter from Alexandra to Nicholas: "Jan 6 1916 …Anastasia has bronchitis, head is heavy & hurts her swallowing, coughed in the night,, she writes about [Dr.] Ostrog.[orsky]. “Although he said that I look a little better than yesterday, but I am pale & my appearance is foolish in my view” just like the “Shvibzik” [her nickname] to say such things…" – Joseph T. Fuhrmann, Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. The complete Wartime Correspondence April 1914 – March 1917

Letter from Alexandra to either her brother or sister-in-law: "7 May 1913… Anastasia is growing gradually and is as funny as always." - Petra H. Kleinpenning, The Correspondence Of The Empress Alexandra Of Russia With Ernst Ludwig And Eleonore, Grand Duke And Duchess Of Hesse

The following are from Helen Azar, George Hawkins, Anastasia Romanov: The Tsar's Youngest Daughter Speaks Through Her Writings:

Tutor Pyotr Vasilievich Petrov to Anastasia: "12 October 1909. Hello dear, good, diligent, obedient (albeit not always), kind and affectionate (also not always?) Anastasia Nikolaevna!" - Helen Azar, George Hawkins, Anastasia Romanov: The Tsar's Youngest Daughter Speaks Through Her Writings

Anatoly Mordvinov to the Grand Duchesses: "September 19, 1915 My beloved torturers! I can’t express how pleased I was with your joint, dear, sweet letter… What terrible news, reported by my chief tormentor Anastasia Nikolaevna…"

Anastasia to Nicholas: "October 3rd [1915] …There was a psalm-reader who read so incredibly funny that it was simply impossible not to laugh"

Note from Anastasia to Alexei "…Now you, little piggy, know all the rooms…"

Letter from Anastasia to Alexei: "1 November 1915. ...My Dear and Darling Little Alexei! I haven’t forgotten my responsibility [to walk dog Joy], and every day either I or Madeleine or Tutles goes for a walk and it goes very well."

Last diary of Alexandra: "12/15 April. Marie comes with us [to Ekaterinburg], Olga will look after Baby, Tatiana the household & Anastasia will cheer all up." - Last diary of Alexandra Feodorovna

"Anastasia was not allowed to go to dinner, had to go to bed early, which was why she had dinner alone with the nanny in her giant lonely “upstairs”… So sad, these poor children live in a golden cage." - the memoirs of V. I. Chebotareva

Diary entry of the palace priest: "April 11, 1917 - …The former Heir was taken past my window in a wheelchair. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna saw me in the window and loudly said to her mother, “Over there, the batiushka [father] is looking at us”" - Belyaev, Potapov, The Romanovs Under House Arrest: From the 1917 Diary of a Palace Priest

Letter from Maria to Nicholas: "April 1915 …The little Shvybzik [Anastasia's dog] just made a “governor” [accident] on Mama’s carpet, and Anastasia is not training him…" - Helen Azar, George Hawkins, Maria Romanov: Third Daughter of the Last Tsar, Diaries and Letters, 1908–1918

"...the most energetic and speedy - Anastasia Nikolaevna - had a rather silent, sedate and serious Navigator A.V. Saltanov [to look after her]. The latter ended up with most trouble and turmoil. Dear 'Nastasya', as the Gosudar [tsar] called her, was a trouble making tomboy. With her hair always messed up, always dishevelled, from morning till night she ran around the yacht, climbed up ladders, peeked where she should not have, until, with a lot of screaming she was finally led away and put to bed. Her parents said she was the "clown"." - Memoirs of Nikolai Vasilievich Sablin

"It was after Anastasia had arrived as a pupil that Gibbes met his first real problem. Still slightly built (she would soon grow rapidly), eager in her movements, her eyes sparkling with intelligence, she was self-possessed and in entire command of her features; he had met nothing like it any other child. Remembering a course in child psychology he had taken during one of his exploring periods at Cambridge, he tried as many innovations from it as he could; they did not shelter him from storms, usually sudden. Once, after a disturbed lesson, he refused to give her five marks, the maximum (and customary) number. For a moment the wondered what might happen; then, purposefully, Anastasia left the room. Within minutes she returned, carrying one of the elaborate bouquets that seemed always to be in waiting. 'Mr Gibbes,' she said winningly, 'are you going to change the marks?' He hesitated before he shook his head. Describing it long afterwards in a letter (1928) to the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, the Tsar's brother-in-law in Paris, Gibbes wrote: Drawing herself up to the most of her small height, she marched into the schoolroom next door. Leaving the door wide open, she approached the dear old Russian professor, Peter Vassilievich Petrov. 'Peter Vassilievich', she said, 'allow me to present you with these flowers'. By all the rules he should have refused them, but professors are human; he did not. Later, we made it up again, and I received my bouquets once more, for the Grand Duchess nearly always gave me one during those early years. I-well, I was more careful in my marking. We had both learned a lesson. Another morning would not be forgotten. There had been a children's fancy-dress dance at Tsarskoe Selo on the previous night. Gibbes, in tail-coat and white tie, waited at his desk for Anastasia to arrive. When she did, quickly and mischievously, her face was blackened like a chimney-sweep's and she carried a small golden ladder which she placed beside her while she waited for the lesson to begin. Gibbes, deciding to take no notice, was about to speak when he heard a rush of laughter outside the big double doors at the end of the room. They flew open, and through them there appeared the three elder Grand Duchesses with their mother. The Empress looked in horror. 'Anastasia!' she cried, 'go and change at once!' And, meekly, the sweep vanished. When she came back, her face scrubbed as red as a lobster, the gold ladder was still beside her desk; but everybody pretended not to see it and the lesson continued in the Empress's presence." - Trewin and Gibbes, Tutor to the Tsarevich

"Through the years he preserved from Tobolsk two cheap exercise books, each labelled ‘English’. ‘M. Romanof’ had written her name on one label. The other book belonged to A. Romanova (Shut Up!) Tobolsk 1917-1918.’ Grand Duchess Anastasia, more exuberantly talkative than her sisters, seized on one of Gibbes’s exasperated moments. When he told her to shut up, she asked him how to spell it and adopted it as her nickname." - Trewin and Gibbes, Tutor to the Tsarevich

"‘At the end of the farce [Gibbes reported] the husband has to turn his back, open his dressing-gown as if to take it off- Anastasia wore an old one of mine - and then exclaim: 'But I've packed my trousers; I can't go.' The night's applause had excited the little Grand Duchess. The piece had gone with a swing and they were getting through the 'business' so fast that a draught got under the gown and whisked its tail up to the middle of her back, showing her sturdy legs and bottom encased in the Emperor's Jaeger underwear. We all gasped; Emperor and Empress, suite and servants, collapsed in uncontrolled laughter. Poor Anastasia could not make it out. All were calling for a second performance, but this time she was more careful. Certainly I shall always remember the night; it was the last heart unrestrained laughter the Empress ever enjoyed.’" - Trewin and Gibbes, Tutor to the Tsarevich

"...Anastasia was the most amusing; she was always full of mischief. - “Anastasia is our family clown!” the Emperor once exclaimed, laughing, to my mother." - Olga Voronova, Upheaval

"Fleeting memories come back to me of those cloudless summer days. Pictures of the Emperor and his daughters at the Garden Party at Tsarskoe, the little Grand Duchess Anastasia, her cheeks scarlet with excitement, surrounded by a group of midshipmen, plying them with eager questions. “You will take me up into your conning tower,” her clear childish voice rang out above the hum of conversation. “Couldn’t you let off one of the guns and just pretend it was a mistake?”" - Muriel Buchanan, Ambassador's Daughter

"The youngest girl, Anastasia, was spirited, sly and playful; she would get under the dinner table and pinch the legs of some elderly statesman until her father pulled her out by her hair. She has been described as ‘a little inextinguishable volcano, with a world of her own’." - Bernard Pares, The Fall Of The Russian Monarchy A Study Of The Evidence

"The Tsar's youngest daughter was much the sprightliest and most entertaining. She had a comic gift as a mimic, picking out people's foibles in a way that made everyone laugh. "What a bundle of mischief," recalls her godmother, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the Tsar's sister. There was also a serious side to Anastasia's nature. She had a restless, questioning intelligence. "Whenever I talked with her," says Count Grabbe, "I always came away impressed by the breadth of her interests. That her mind was keenly alive was immediately apparent." More than her sisters, Anastasia chafed under the narrowness of her environment and used her comic sense in revolt against it." - Count Alexander Grabbe, The private world of the last Tsar, in the photographs and notes of General Count Alexander Grabbe

"The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaevna was sixteen or seventeen years old; she was short, stout and was, in my opinion, the only one in the family that appeared to be ungraceful Her hair was of a lighter color than that of Maria Nicholaevna. It was not wavy and soft, but lay flat on the forehead. Her eyes were grey and beautiful, her nose straight. If she had grown and got slim she would have been the prettiest in the family. She was refined and very witty. She had the talents of a comic actor, she made everybody laugh, but never laughed herself. It appeared as if her development had stopped and, therefore, her capacity faded a little. She played the piano and painted, but was only in the stage of studying both." - The Examination of Sidney Gibbes, The Last Days of the Romanovs

"The Grand Duchess Anastasia, I believe, was seventeen. She was over-developed for her age; she was stout and short, too stout for her height; her characteristic feature was to see the weak points of other people and to make fun of them. She was a comedian by nature and always made everybody laugh. She preferred her father to her mother and loved Maria Nicholevna more than the other sisters." - The Examination of Commissar E. S. Kobylinsky, The Last Days of the Romanovs

Hope you enjoyed reading and learnt something new!

Want to find a book listed here? Reply, ask, or message me! I'd be happy to help!

#Anastasia Romanov #Anastasia Nikolaevna #Anastasia #sources #Romanov #Romanov sisters #Romanov family #Grand Duchess Anastasia #women's history #Anastasia 1997 #russian history #history

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mystar-girl57 · 1 year

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𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐦

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 || 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Pairings: widowed!jake sully x fem!reader

Warnings: reader has Thalassophobia (phobia of oceans/deep and large bodies of water), violence, quaritch, cliff hanger

Comments: we are getting close to the end! Also the fight is a bit out of order but nothing too bad-

You avoided Jake for several days after that night. You made breakfast each morning for the family but left before they woke up. It saddened the kids and when they asked their father what was wrong he would just shake his head in shame saying that you needed some time promising that it had nothing to do with them.

It hurt you to be away from them, but with Jake always being around you knew it would just be best if you took some time away. Ronal offered you a small marui to stay in but you declined saying that would be too suspicious. You loved your children, all four of them were so dear to your heart which made you feel worse for what you were doing. Why could you not just suck it up and slap a smile on your face like you had done all the years? Why now did you decide to show how you really feel? Why not just give into Jake’s advances? All these questions rattled through your brain as you worked on one of the docks scaling some fish, your friendly Ilu beside you ready to eat the bad ones.

You had not seen Kaiman either since the party but you figured it was for the best. In the moment maybe it had been love you felt but you knew it was just a fleeting feeling, that you could never fully give yourself to him, and he did not deserve that. But he never did tell the secret of your marriage with Jake and you were thankful.

“I guess this is just what I am destined for.” You sighed to the Ilu (who you started to call Lepay, which meant watery). The ilu splashed you for your dramatic words and you huffed out a laugh tossing him another fish. “So I am being a little dramatic. I have my rights.” Lepay reached his neck up with this mouth opened wide welcoming the fish in his jaws, swallowing it whole.

Coming to the last fish you tossed it into the basket and cleaned up the scales. A rumble of thunder rippled through the air and you looked up at the graying sky with a frown. Something was wrong.

You heard your name being yelled and you turned your head to see Jake looking around frantically for you. You grumbled, what did he want? When he caught sight of you he quickly ran over. “They have our kids.” He said breathlessly. You looked at him confused, raising a brow. “What do you mean?” You asked a feeling of worry setting into you. You had not seen Jake this scared since he came back to Camp with his lover dead in his arms and her blood covering his body.

Jake shook his head and tossed you your earpiece and choker mic. You were quick to put it on. “Kids? Where are you?” You asked, eyeing Jake growing more nervous. “Mom!” Lo’ak’s voice cut through and your eyes widened, he never genuinely called you mom unless it was urgent. “The sky people are here! I was trying to free Payakan!” You grabbed onto Jake and he pulled you towards the village. The two of you broke out into a run, dodging and weaving around confused passerbyers. “Who all is with you?” You demanded. “Kiri Tuk, Neteyam, all of them! Tsireya, Rotxo and Aonung too!”

You let out a hiss, the two of you running as quickly as you could to Ronal and Tonowari. You knew that Lo’ak had been going to Payakan despite being forbidden, but he had also been yet to admit to your face the first time he went to him when being lost outside the reef.

“Ronal!” You yelled as you and Jake came up to the marui the thunder growing louder outside. Ronal and Tonowari looked up alarmed at the sight of the two of you. “Our kids are under attack! It’s all of them, your kids too!” Jake explained hurriedly. The parents stood up in an instant. You looked at Jake and touched his arm and nodded to your Marui before running off to it. Once you were inside you went to a little nook by your pallet where you and Jake kept your weapons not wanting the kids to get them and accidentally get hurt, especially with Jake’s machine gun.

You reached in and pulled your barbed tipped whip. A surge of adrenaline surged through your veins as you silently promised to Neytiri that you would get her kids back home safely, each and everyone of them. Jake came clambering in. “Fuck they are getting the entire clan out there.” He was panting looking around like a dazed animal. You noticed his distress and put your whip down coming over to him.

“Jake.” You said his name in a firm tone to get his attention and it did the trick. He looked to you, his eyes wide with fear. Not fear for his own safety or for the clan, for his kids, they were all he had left of Neytiri, his only connection to you. You reached up and put a hand to his chest. “Strong heart.” You whispered. The man closed his eyes taking a deep breath and squeezed your hand with his, “Strong heart.” He repeated. “Now lets go get our kids.”

The wind through your hair as you flew above the clan in the water, with no bow you knew you would need to get close to the water but at the moment you were willing to go through anything to get to your kids. Eylan dropped you down on some rocks close to the ship and from what you could see Jake and the clan was halted several meters away across the water. This gave you enough time to slip on board and make your way to the deck where the kids were being held.

There was a na’vi standing there talking to Jake with a smug grin and his voice rang out into your ears as he taunted Jake across the water. This must be Quaritch you figured with a small growl. You leaned over from your hiding spot and counted only four kids on board, Kiri, Lo’ak, Tsireya and Tuk. Seeing the avatar woman holding onto your youngest so tightly your lips curled back into a snarl and you reached back on your loincloth and pulled out your whip.

Letting out a war cry you ran out onto the deck alarming everyone. Your whip cracked and the battle began. There was gunfire going off everywhere around you but you were too focaused on getting to the rail to pay attention. Your whip caught the woman on the face and blood oozed from the deep cut your weapon left. She hissed and cuffed Tuk to the railing then turned to you. She said words in what Jake called “English” but you only hissed in response.

“Looks like mama bear is already here Corporal!” Quaritch chuckled watching you and Zdinarsk pace around each other. “Come on Z-Dog get her!” He yelled and at his command the woman lunged at you. Her movements were sloppy compared to yours since she was not as accustomed to her new body. You were able to dodge her attacks with ease, the two of you dancing around the deck. With every miss Z-Dog let out a growl of annoyance. “Come on! Just land a hit!” Someone yelled. “She’s slippery damnit!” Z-Dog yelled back as you whorled around and got her legs with your whip. With a quick flick of your wrist you had her on the ground.

You smirked triumphantly but then a shadow covered you. Turning your head up to the sky you saw a humongous Tulkun getting ready to fall onto the ship. You jumped out of the way in just the nick of time as it crashed down. From the balcony where you stood you watched in amazement as it thrashed about on the ship, crushing machines and soldiers. It was fighting for your side!

“Mom!” Lo’ak’s call made you turn your head to the other side of the ship as the tulkun slipped off into the water, drawing the fire away from you. You jumped down from the metal ledge and ran across the deck to the kids. You went to Lo’ak and found a bright orange band holding them to the rail. “What is this?” You growled when it did not come apart when you pulled. “They call it a cuff,” Tsireya responded, her voice laced with fear. “Let us see how strong this cuff is.” You growled pulling your knife out of its sheath and cut it in two freeing Lo’ak. But as you did this the ship was pulled harshly forward and up into the air. You let out a yelp and grabbed onto the rail so you did not go off into the water.

“YEAH GET EM’ BROTHER!” Lo’ak yelled. “So that is Payakan.” You chuckled, you could not find it in you to scold your son as Payakan had saved you. Heavy steps sounded behind you as you cut Tuk free and there was Neteyam his knife out. “Dad and the clan are working on the troops we need to go while we still can!” Neteyam said breathlessly and cut Tsireya free then Kiri.

Kiri and Tsireya dove into the water, two Ilu’s waiting and you lifted up Tuk. “Kiri, Tsireya get to safety, we are right behind you!” You ordered and the three girls dove into the water. “Lo’ak, Neteyam it is time to go!” You yelled but Lo’ak was headed into the ship. “Lo’ak!” Lo’ak turned to you and Neteyam, looking conflicted. “They have Spider! We have to save him!” You shook your head, “Spider is a human Lo’ak he is safe with them. We are na’vi the moment they see us we will be shot!” Your voice was stern and Lo’ak looked at Neteyam silently pleading for him to be on his side. “Mother is right Lo’ak, it is too dangerous!”

Lo’ak huffed out a curse turning his back on you and his brother despite your words and went into the ship. Neteyam looked at you unsure of what to do. You hissed and reached down for your whip and followed your son inside.

Once the three of you had caught up with one another you climbed up into the upper part of the ship’s ceiling, keeping to the shadows. Footsteps echoed down the hallway coming toward you. “There he is.” Lo’ak whispered nudging you and sure enough there was Spider, as scruffy as ever being escorted down the hallway of the sinking ship by two men. When they god directly underneath you, you jumped down, the boys following your actions. The men let out shouts but they didn’t have time to do anything as they were quickly dead on the ground.

“That was fucking sick!” Spider laughed then high-fived Lo’ak. You hissed at the two and they quickly pulled apart. “Be quiet or I will hand you over to the sky people myself.” You threatened Spider. “These two are my priority. You are expendable.” You pulled away and looked for an exit while Lo’ak and Spider swapped glances, never had they seen you so angry, so warrior like, to be honest neither thought you had it in you.

“Mom look out!” Neteyam yelled, grabbing you and pushing you to the wall as were you had previously stood was shot up and bullet holes littered the floor and wall. The four of you began to search for something to use to defend you since your whip was useless here. Lo’ak bent down and picked up a gun off of the man that you killed and looked up at you. “Give me that.” Neteyam huffed snatching it from his brother, “As if you know how to use that.” He then put the nose of the gun around the corner and fired blindly.

It did not hit your attacker but it was effective in giving you enough time to escape. You pushed the three boys in front of you, sending them to the opening in the floor. They dove into the water and more gun fire sounded as they jumped. Then it was your turn, you knew there was no way around this, you had to get in.

You hesitated for a moment and gunfire rang out forcing you to run and jump off the ledge. You held your breath and braced yourself for the water to wash over you. But just as your body touched the water a hand reached out and grabbed your queue snatching you back into the sinking ship.

🏷: @fanboyluvr @mashiromochi @newjeansbonnie @cleverzonkwombatsludge @atxara @jakesully-sbabygirl @ducks118 @ssc7514 @squidalapobre @anxietydrogz @myheartfollower @misscaller06 @itzyahgirllkita1 @saltedcoffeescotch @eskamybeloved @agustdeeyaa @drinking-tea-and-be-obsessed @julijal @supercoolusernamesblog @iamparou @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @idcalol @eternallyvenus @zoetrope1997 @itssomeonereading @farleyis

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bomberqueen17 · 2 months

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*vibrating slightly in place*

So ok. When I was in kindergarten, my classroom was arranged so that four desks were linked together, so we were in little groups. I used to regularly vibrate my desk and the three it was attached to, with three other children in them, across several feet of floor space, until the linked desks ran into the teacher's desk, which was larger and did not move with the force of my vibrations. I was a good student, but hard to control, and markedly uneven in my ability to like. Do anything. "Well," my mom said once, upon beholding my entire spectrum of a report card, "we'd just hate to be bored."

When I graduated with my bachelor's degree, seventeen years later, my mom said "I never thought you could do it," and when I, shocked, said "what?" she said "well what with your ADHD and all," and I said "my what?" and she said "well, i never wanted to shake your confidence, and I thought once they put a label on you it'd be over, but you super have like, turbo ADHD. Why, what do you think your deal is?" She said it nicely and not in those words at all, but it was the first time I'd ever really realized that I wasn't just mildly eccentric, I did seem to actually have something wrong with me.

I've been trying to get a diagnosis ever since. I've never been able to. I had no health insurance at all for a huge chunk of my twenties, which put a damper on things. One doctor told me "you'd know if you had that" and when I was like "I... do" she was like "no i mean. you'd already be being treated." Which shows a wild and totally unwarranted optimism in our medical system, but she was a resident. The doctor overseeing her care of me suggested I try taking fish oil capsules. To "rebuild my brain tissue".

I did. It didn't help. I still buy them but mostly I use them now to get my cat to take pills.

Eventually in my 30s my doctors started sort of believing me maybe, or at least realizing they couldn't really brush me off (I have gotten... less easily-cowed as I've aged) but they were all like "oh, I can't evaluate that. You'll have to research and find a place that can do a neuropsych eval for you. Insurance doesn't cover those. So good luck. Have some antidepressants in the meantime."

I slid into my 40s, still undiagnosed. I read as many self-help books on the topic as I could find, did all the checklists I found. They all said "girl you super have like turbo ADHD." I tried meditation. I tried divination. I tried bullet journaling, which was hilarious. I tried yoga.

I actually damaged myself doing yoga and am banned from yoga, but at least I'm in physical therapy now. (Word to the wise: if you have really really flexible hip joints, don't fucking do yoga. "Usually I don't have to tell people not to get into that position," said my bemused physical therapist. "Oh," I said, blissfully bepretzeled. "It feels super good." "Mm," she said, "you've torn your labrum. Stop doing that." Now I do really, really boring stretches that don't feel nearly as good, but I also can walk without limping, so. Like. We take the good with the bad I guess.)

Anyway. My PCP in January was like "wait you didn't follow my super vague directions to go see 'the guys downstairs' and see if they can squeeze you into their eleven-month waiting period to get an evaluation that i cannot mention without saying it's several thousand dollars and your insurance surely won't cover it? you must not want this diagnosis very badly!" (At no point has anyone ever given me a phone number for 'the guys downstairs'. I still don't know what she meant by any of those directions. This PCP and I technically speak the same language but I've never understood a single thing she has told me and I don't think she understands a word I say in return, everything I tell her seems to be such a shock to her. You blame antidepressants for your weight gain? I've never heard of that. Ma'am please look up what the incredibly common side effects of antidepressants are.)

I called around but noplace both took my insurance and was accepting new patients. Finally I gave up. Then my Dude went on our insurance company's website and took over the search. He found that there's some kind of concierge service thing, which the insurance company normally charges $450/mo for but our plan includes it, because it's pretty well-hidden on the website and most people aren't ever going to find it anyway. So he said, you know what, I am going to instigate a query on this.

They took two weeks but eventually came back with a list of 13 places, most of them not remotely local. Ten of them were red X's, disqualified for varying reasons-- one because the phone number didn't work, another because it's a seven-hour drive away and doesn't do telehealth. One was in New Jersey. None of them were the local places I had already called.

Two of them were valid, but the insurance wouldn't cover the evaluation for various reasons.

One of them was fully covered, the insurance company said. So I went there.

Their website said "no you're not we can't see you". But Dude was like, call them on the phone. Surely, surely, the concierge service couldn't have lied??? Bet, I said, and called them and left a message, and said to him, if they call me back I will eat a hat.

But they did. They called me back. "Our insurance checker widget is down," they said. "But we do take your insurance! We can see you. We just don't know how much it will cost."

Ominous.

But. They could see me later in the week, via a telehealth appointment.

So I signed up.

The appointment was this morning. I turned up. Their insurance checker thingy still wasn't working so they couldn't be sure how much the appointment would cost me. I at this point don't care, and gave them my HSA credit card, and said do what you will.

I waited 45 minutes and then texted the number they'd texted me from with the confirmation, and a moment later the guy showed up. "Whoops," he said, "that system isn't working quite right either!"

He talked to me for like. Three minutes, and was like "yeah that sounds. Pretty textbook. I'm going to prescribe you stimulants." He then proceeded to take a very basic medical history, and I recognized all the questions because I have researched stimulant medication for ADHD so much. And he was like "We're going to start with Adderall, check at your pharmacy in like an hour." And then he gave me extremely useful and detailed instructions on how to take it, when to take it, what side effects to worry about, what to expect, what to note down in case it might mean a problem, and how to be safe about it. (He asked me three times if I'd ever been suicidal, and it had also been in the online pre-screening. I am aware that can be a rare but very serious side effect of stimulants!)

And then I went to Rite-Aid and I now have 16 pills in my possession, and i am going to wait until tomorrow morning to start taking them, and I am already scheduled for my follow-up in 15 days.

I have absolutely no idea how much any of that is going to cost, but for the record the pills were eleven dollars.

So. I don't know why the last decade of my life has been spent being told that a comprehensive and unattainably expensive neuropsychological evaluation was my only option. Maybe this place is a disreputable pill mill or whatever. But. I am going to get to try to medicate this disorder that has warped my entire life to this point, and I am going to try to see if I can't have some more control over my life, and if it doesn't work then at least I will know, instead of on my deathbed being like "i wonder if i'd ever tried amphetamines maybe I'd have been able to finish a project ever in my life, guess we'll never know".

Which was what I was starting to genuinely think was going to happen.

Literally though why can't a primary care doctor just refer you to a psychiatrist who can then decide whether you need an assessment or whether your condition is likely to respond well to a basic diagnosis?? I get needing the whole nine yards if you're not sure what's wrong with this kid and you don't want to give them the wrong thing-- like I know misdiagnosing a bipolar sufferer with depression can give you really bad outcomes, for example-- but-- I don't know? I don't know.

I just want to be able to start and finish projects. What I'd really love is to be able to make to-do lists meaningfully, as that is an ability I did used to have and now absolutely don't. I legit cannot make a to-do list in any meaningful or useful way.

So we'll see. I'm going to keep a journal and the real test of whether the pills work is to see whether I can actually keep the journal.

But I need to find some kind of edible hat, at some point, just to keep my word.

#about the author #actually adhd

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pie-of-flames · 5 months

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Ringo's Fish 'N' Chips Recipe

From Mary Frampton & Friends Rock & Roll Recipes, 1980.

There are two closely adhered-to customs in Ye Merry Olde England—both Guy Fawkes Night and New Year's Eve are spent at Ringo's! It's quite probable that I won't see his guests until the same time, same place next year but they're guaranteed to turn up for these two highly important occasions. Guy Fawkes Night is the children's special treat, but the age of the "children" is extremely flexible! Ringo presides over a gigantic bonfire and a fabulous display of fireworks. An enormous party follows which becomes a competition to see whether the kids can outlast the "grown-ups." The kids usually win, of course! New Year's Eve is very special, even more so for a northerner from Liverpool. Certain customs must be respected to bring good luck to the household for the coming year. Everyone piles out of the house, holds hands in a circle, and sings "Auld Lang Syne." Then there follows kissing with gay abandon. Then Ringo, as the host, stands at the front door and welcomes each guest back into the house. Everyone carries a piece of coal and a piece of bread, handing them to Ringo on the way indoors. This is a sign that the house will be blessed with enough fuel and food for the coming year. After that, anything goes! Most of the time, Ringo is resident in Los Angeles. So it will be interesting to see what happens on those two special days in the future. I have a feeling that everyone will turn up as usual. Old habits die hard.

Ring's talent as an actor emerged during the filming of the various epics starring the Fab Four. Although excellent in their own way, none of the films were exactly "heavyweights," and although Ringo has had parts in several films since, I would still love to see him pay a role he can really get his teeth into. He obviously has a lot of untapped talent in that sphere. He's still one of the best drummers in the world and loves to help his mates out on their various gigs. An example of this was his appearance at the Band's Last Waltz Concert. Another was years ago. Ringo and Maureen (they were still married then) came over to dinner and I managed to cook something without onions or garlic, neither of which Ringo eats. After dinner, we all went upstairs to the living room and Peter [Frampton] sat down with his acoustic guitar and played a song for Ringo and Maureen called "The Lodger." Ringo loved it and said he'd be delighted to play on the track if Peter recorded it. He did, and he did! It came out on Peter's first solo album, Wind of Change. What a long time ago that was. We've all gone our separate ways but I'm relying on Ringo's twice-yearly dates for us all to get together again.

RINGO'S FISH 'N' CHIPS

INGREDIENTS

Fish Chips

METHOD

Get in your car, or walk, whichever the case may be. Travel to your local fish and chips shop and ask for cod and chips. Add salt and vinegar to taste. Eat with fingers for best results—I do! 'Bye.

—Ringo Starr

#Ringo starr #the beatles #I rediscovered that I have this book #More Beatles chapters to come #but this is the funniest #kissing with gay abandon #Mary Frampton & Friends Rock & Roll Recipes

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williamrikers · 7 months

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The Undeniable Queerness of Enchanté the Series

(thank you @ranchthoughts for letting me ramble about this in your inbox before turning my thoughts into a post)

there are bls and then there are bls. right? there are dead fish kisses and there are characters who kiss each other like their lives depend on it.

and enchanté firmly belongs in the second category. 1,500-word essay under the cut.

there is such a consistent and tangible queer undercurrent to everything that's happening on this show and i'm not just talking about the fact that several scenes look like they could be the opening scene of a gay porno. or the surprise bondage. or force in drag. or proposing marriage in front of the eiffel tower. no, there's this aching, desperate desire underlying everything. theo has--in addition to his main love interest--four very hot gay suitors who all very obviously desire him carnally... this is some sort of gay manic pixie dream boy wish fulfilment fantasy and i am absolutely eating it up.

there is a vibe to the show that @ranchthoughts called "fanfic-like", and i would argue that that's because enchanté is actually fanfiction of the little prince. (i'm planning on making a separate post soon about how the book was referenced on and used as inspiration for the show.)

enchanté is fully aware of its own fictionality. it is on-the-nose fictional. but that's what makes it so much fun--it's not trying to be something it isn't.

take the reading memories segments in episode 4 [3/4] for example: these scenes were incredibly cringe, like, full-on bad-green-screen terrible-costumes-and-wigs hilarious-acting cringe, but fully aware of their own cringe-ness. (also, gawin was both in drag and naked in the same scene as two different characters, like. get on enchanté's level.) (incidentally, can anyone tell me what character aou/phupha was supposed to be? i got detective conan, monkey d. luffy and momotarō for the others, but i'm stumped on phupha's character.)

and that self-awareness makes it camp! there is such a level of camp to the whole show which feels extremely intentional (especially in the first two thirds), almost like a meta-commentary: "this is the genre. we know it's stupid but we love it here", and i adore that. they know the tropes, they know the bl landscape, and they're just having fun with all of it.

and the whole set-up in itself is a queer allegory, isn't it? theo and akk are "from different worlds", so to speak, hindered in their love not just by their complete inability to communicate but also by their forced separation as children. when they meet again, theo doesn't really belong anywhere, he's an outsider both in france and in thailand, he is unable to act the way thai society expects him to act (e.g. failing to show the proper respect to the seniors), unable to get his parents to understand him while being actively lied to by them (the whole ocean of miscommunication in that family deserves its own post), harboring feelings for his childhood friend his whole life but unable to voice them in a normal sort of way, instead falling back on concocting the most convoluted, immediately backfiring plan to try to make akk jealous and get him to confess his feelings first.

theo is fundamentally isolated because he grew up between two cultures, and neither one quite fits him: when he's in france, he is comforted by thai food and the only people he's close with (his grandmother and sun) are from thailand like himself; but when he's in thailand, he can't quite get used to the social conventions and makes social blunders, he is very slow at writing in thai.

it's such a poignant queer allegory in my opinion. they didn't end up making as much a point of it on the show as they could have, but it very much informed my whole reading of the show and the characters. there is a sort of inability to articulate his experience surrounding theo that makes him even more isolated and screams "baby gay in need of a community" to me. having akk share his experience at the end is something that i'm not a big fan of for other, unrelated reasons (might make a separate post about enchanté's ending and why it fell flat for me), but when looking at it through this lens, it is the only way for akk to really get theo, to really understand his struggle on a fundamental level.

which brings me back to that desire i mentioned earlier: theo desires akk, very much so, there are a whole handful of scenes where akk gets close to him and theo closes his eyes, expecting to finally be kissed by him, but more than that, he desires understanding. he often brushes off his own difficulties and has a tendency to be emotionally clueless (for example about his parents' divorce), but what i see most in his character is the desire to be understood, to be seen by akk, for akk to see him for who he is and to love him for who he is. (akk, of course, has been doing both of those things all along. he's constantly taking pictures of theo, he's watching him through his window--with theo's full knowledge--he is always looking at him, he's always loving him.)

it's not inherently queer to want to be loved as we truly are, i believe heterosexual people experience this, too, but in the context of queerness itself, being perceived as queer by other queer people is indeed a fundamental aspect to experiencing queer love (maybe not in gay for you bls, but i haven't heard of much gay for you happening in real life). not to be unscientific about this, but the vibes of the perception aspect of enchanté are just very queer to me, you know?

oh, and speaking of desire: enchanté in general is very physical. there is a level of intimacy between the actors and the camera that seems incredibly intentional: there are several shower scenes, scenes of theo and akk shirtless, TWO (2) nude gawin scenes (though one of those is sadly a fake-out and he is actually wearing shorts), many, many scenes that include bare feet, which is not something i see super often in bl, at least not to the point that i notice the frequency of it.

enchanté is very rooted in the physical reality of desirable bodies: theo is allowed to openly, physically flirt with saifa, even though that's not even his endgame love interest, phupha uses physical touch in his pursuit of theo, natee shows his obsession with theo by drawing his face/body about a hundred times, and akk and theo are wholly unable to keep their hands off each other. i've joked about the intricate rituals, but seriously, they are constructing so many intricate rituals. there are two separate scenes in which they make up excuses to kiss each other's elbows/arms/backs. they keep touching each other in a thousand ways, in every possible way they can that is still plausibly deniable as physical desire--until they kiss while watching that movie and then it's just a game of chicken of who will confess first. because their physical attraction to each other is undeniable. it's obvious. this was really refreshing to see in a genre that so often plays with the blushing maiden trope, and one character is so often made to pursue the other: on enchanté, akk and theo are equally horny for each other. it's not their lack of physical attraction that keeps them apart for so long.

(sadly, the show then shies away from actually getting very sexually physical: after their desperate, stunning, amazing balcony-kiss, they aren't allowed to be horny for each other in the last two episodes, when they're actually in a relationship. this is just one of the many aspects that i didn't like about the conclusion of the story, because you simply cannot tell me that these two as we got to know them in episodes 1 to 8 would really be as chaste with each other as they're shown in episodes 9 and 10.)

leaving that aside for the moment, let's talk about that kiss. as mentioned right at the beginning, when these two kiss each other on the balcony, it's desperation in its rawest form. these two--and especially theo--crave each other. theo kisses akk like he will die without him. theo kisses akk like he can finally breathe. theo kisses akk like he never wants to do anything else ever again.

i'm a bit obsessed with book's acting here, because of all the kissing scenes i've seen him in, i think this is THE most desperate one. force plays it a bit more subtle, but book's expression is full-on anguish. theo waited his whole life to be kissed by akk, and book portrays that so beautifully, with such depth. it's one of my favorite bl kisses for sure, it's played with so much heart, so much feeling, that it's hard to even think of kisses that compare, apart from the bad buddy episode 5 rooftop kiss.

anyway, all of this to say that enchanté to me is deeply, lovingly queer, and it's a shame that so many people are sleeping on it. (and that includes myself, i was wary about watching this show for a long time because i'd heard so many negative things about it.)

but i'm here to tell you: watch enchanté. it's wonderful, it's hilariously funny, it's endearing, it has book and force in it, and it is extremely queer.

#enchanté #enchanté the series #enchante the series #*mine #my enchanté meta

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magical-girl-coral · 7 months

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Summarizing Mushishi Episodes Like Onion Articles - Part 2

Banquet at the Forest's Edge - Local business owner finds all those stories of people getting inventive ideas while on acid trips might have a good point after all.

The Warbling Sea Shell - Local dad is forced to admit that maybe isolating his only child from other human interactions might not be what's best for them.

Beneath the Snow - "I have never been better" says man who's terrible mental health has reached a level where it is affecting the weather around him.

The Hand That Caresses the Night - Local teen breaks family curse by admitting his father was actually massive shithead.

Mirror Lake - Local teen so damn annoying about her heartbreak that her own doppelganger had to put a stop to it.

Floral Delusion - Local man with a weird ass library and sketchy medicine is revealed to be a major creep, shocking no one.

Cloudless Rain - Local woman loses the ability to cry and somehow it becomes everyone's problem.

Wind Raiser - Local teenager runs away from home to become a professional whistler.

Valley of the Welling Tides - "Is breast milk secretly trying to kill you" and five other fascinating articles written by nutjobs.

Depths of Winter - Traveling man becomes a god's squeak toy for an entire winter and somehow comes out unscratched.

Cushion of Grass - Local orphan ruins an entire ecosystem by liking an egg too much.

Fragrant Darkness - Local family man finally escaped a time loop only to go straight back in it when the future doesn't turn out well.

Lingering Crimson - Top four fun stories to tell before bed that will make your children afraid of their own shadow.

Hidden Cove - How one codependent relationship between two women nearly turned their village into a hive mind.

Thread of Light - Local kid's anger issues mysteriously disappears after finally being allowed to meet his mother for the first time in ten years and gaining a healthy support network.

Sea of Otherworldly Stars - Local girl accidentally enters the twilight zone to get back at her sister.

Azure Waters - Local woman loses everything thanks to several water filled accidents and still manages not to develop a phobia around it which is a bigger miracle than her son being half fish.

Lightning's End - Local woman so bad at being a mother that the lighting that keeps striking her son seems like a better parent in comparison.

Mud Grass - Feel bad about your own brood? This family can't stop killing each other for five fucking minutes!

Tree of Eternity - Local man gains the ability to see into the past in the price of his legs by trying out this totally legal vegan meal.

Bonus:

Path of Thorns - "I am the most normal person I know" says man after confessing he hasn't had a soul in years.

Bell Droplets - Young girl believed to have autism was actually a forest child all along while still being autistic.

#Mushishi

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objecthusbandry · 8 months

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keeping objects as pets #1: backpacks!

hi there! in this series, i’ll be going over basic descriptions of commonly-kept object species (and some rare ones too!), facts about them, why you might want one as a pet, their basic needs and necessities provided you want to house one, and things you should NEVER do. to start, we’re going with backpacks! backpacks are a great starter object in my opinion because they’re both hardy and also very friendly creatures. alright, let’s get started!

description

backpacks are a common domesticated object species. their limbs are typically fabric- or leather-like, commonly (but not always) furred, with powerful digitigrade legs built for running and walking long distances. each hindpaw has three toes with non-retractable claws. their forepaws have four fingers with semi-retractable claws and thin pads. the first finger on each forepaw is somewhat comparable to human thumbs, though this is a case of convergent evolution and they are not ‘true’ thumbs. body shape does not vary too much; subspecies include school backpacks, hiking backpacks, travel backpacks and rucksacks, among others. colors can be anything you can imagine, as can patterns. their bodies, when not mimicking leather, typically have a very thin, fine layer of fur.

facts about backpacks

backpacks in the wild are pack animals. they live together generally in groups of four to six, but sometimes will stay with only one other object, or in even larger packs. a group of backpacks is called a carry. backpacks are omnivores, and have been observed in the wild eating a wide variety of things such as fruits, small rodents, grubs, fish, and even carrion. as far as object biologists can tell, backpacks evolved so many compartments as a way to store food during the winter. think a squirrel’s hoard of nuts, if the hoard was inside its body! or perhaps like a hamster’s cheeks cranked up to eleven. while they’ve evolved past the need for using these pockets out of necessity, they still enjoy collecting treats such as berries and seeds to be stored away for later.

why as a pet?

i’m often asked why i believe backpacks are the ideal beginner species, and i have no idea where to start because the reasons are so numerous and vast. fortunately i have time to think about this here!

backpacks, by nature, are a social species and need companionship to function. without at least one carrymate, they will become severely depressed. this means that, provided a backpack accepts you into its carry, you can function as that carrymate, and the relationship is mutually beneficial. backpacks are known to be naturally bold, loving, affectionate objects. they aren’t strangers to cuddling and grooming each other, so if you like a pet that you can hold and hug, backpacks are both the perfect size and shape in addition to being loving in nature! not only that, their body language is unusually easy to read, even for beginners to object keeping. their charming, docile personalities make them great housemates if you have other objects as well. they typically live peacefully with non-object pets such as dogs and cats, and may bond with other pets if you have them. they do well with children as well.

housing necessities + do’s and dont’s

if you’ve decided a backpack is the right companion for you, wonderful! i’ll use this section to tell you what you need in order to make your house object-friendly as well as their basic needs to be happy and healthy.

firstly, backpacks needs lots of space; if you can’t walk your backpack every single day for at least 30 minutes and you don’t have an open fenced-in yard, you absolutely cannot have a backpack for a pet. they will get bored and this may lead to self-destructive actions in an attempt to entertain themselves.

outdoor-only backpacks, despite what some may tell you, are bad. why? because they are natural climbers and will escape pens if left alone for long enough.

backpacks are a naturally curious species, and will often take things they find interesting or valuable to be put in their pockets. before bed each day you absolutely MUST open each pocket, inspect carefully, and close back. i’ve had friends who’ve never had an object before ask me why things kept going missing and why their backpack was so sluggish and withdrawn, only to have a massive amount of ‘stolen’ things stuck in their pockets where they can no longer reach them. this can lead to sickness, depression, agitation, and even death if allowed to happen for a prolonged period of months.

that’s all! hopefully this helps educate anyone who is considering this species!

#speculative biology #spec bio #spec evo #speculative evolution #object shows #osc #backpacks #species info #object husbandry #object biology #hfjone #hfjone liam

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kon4ka · 2 months

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Challenge: Drawing D&D classes - Topic 12 - Monk 2

🌊 Monk of the path of the Four Elements - Astra 🌊

Race: Human Alignment: Lawful good Background: Hermit.

📘 Backstory: Since childhood, Astra has never been truly happy with life. As a child, she was a very weak child, so her body prevented her from living. Whatever she does, wherever she is, she did not feel calm, safe. And from childhood she was drawn to water in every possible way. She spent so much time by the river in her village that she was nicknamed "the water one." This would have continued if their village had not turned out to be the epicenter of a showdown between two kingdoms and it was simply burned, considering that the residents were sheltering the enemy. The river saved her. When the wooden village was blazing like a torch, Astra jumped into the water and tried to swim across the river, but her strength was clearly not enough. And when she began to drown, someone pulled her by the hand onto a log… But she was alone… She was carried into the city down the river. She was found by a fisherman while collecting his nets. He brought the girl home, she was unconscious.

The fisherman's wife and her children left Astra, she came to her senses and, in order to repay, helped the father of the family with fishing. But first of all, she tried to return upstream, hoping for no one knows what. But there was only ashes and clay skeletons of houses. She returned to the fisherman's family with nothing, but from then on her life turned into a nightmare. At night, dreams haunted her, and during the day she herself was like a ghost, filled with longing for unknown reasons. Everything changed after she decided to work as a guide and did not lead one group of adventurers to a nearby dungeon. They traveled for several days and one of the adventurers at an evening halt saw this “irrepressible melancholy” in Astra, which greatly frightened her. But he said that if she wanted to get rid of this, then after the dungeon, he would return to the city and take her to where she would be helped. And so it happened. The adventurer monk on the way back brought her to the temple of the elementals and left her there. And only there did she learn that her weak body was unable to withstand her predisposition to spiritual practices, which is why she felt so bad all this time and why she was so drawn to water. Astra began to learn and gradually she was able to balance her stamina and her abilities.

✒ Character: A very caring girl, she enjoys helping others and tries to be useful even if she herself is feeling bad. She can explode with anger, but this is rare and for this it takes a long time to bring her up. No matter who you are surrounded by, still lonely in some ways, but it’s not the oppressive loneliness and melancholy that I had in my youth. This loneliness helps her see things differently. Astra knows how to take care of others and knows how to do it.

🌀 Skills: Swims like she breathes, her control over water is excellent, other elements are at an average level, except fire, due to injury, she found it difficult to use, so she deliberately avoided techniques involving it. He is not very good with weapons, using water instead, or, at worst, his own fists.

✨ Features: She is generally not susceptible to colds and has a higher freezing threshold than others. She always has water with her. She dances well. Her magic is not just fighting techniques, but her way of living and expressing herself.

🌊 Монах пути Четырёх стихий - Астра 🌊

Раса: Человек Мировоззрение: Законопослушно доброе Предыстория: Отшельник.

📘 Предыстория: С самого детства Астра никогда не была по настоящему довольна жизнью. В детстве она была очень слабым ребёнком, поэтому её тело мешало ей жить. Чем бы она не занималась, где бы не находилась, она не чувствовала себя спокойно, в безопасности. И с самого детства её тянуло к воде всеми возможными способами. Она так много времени проводила у реки в своей деревне, что её прозвали "водяной". Так бы и продолжалось, если бы их деревня не оказалась эпицентром разборок двух королевств и её просто сожгли, посчитав что жители укрывают врага. Река спасла её. Когда деревянная деревня полыхала словно факел, Астра прыгнула в воду и попыталась переплыть реку, но её сил явно не хватало. И когда она уже начала тонуть, кто-то вытянул её за руку на бревно… Но она была одна… Её вынесло в город вниз по реке. Её нашел рыбак, собирая сети. Он принёс девочку домой, она была без сознания. Жена рыбака и её дети выходили Астру, она пришла в себя и чтобы отплатить, помогала с рыбалкой отцу семейства. Но первым делом она попыталась вернуться вверх по течению, неизвестно на что надеясь. Но там было лишь пепелище и глиняные остовы домов. Ни с чем она вернулась к семье рыбака, но с того времени её жизнь превратилась в кошмар. Ночью ей не давали покоя сны, а днём она сама была словно приведение, преисполнена тоски неизвестно по чему. Всё изменилось после того как она решила подработать проводником и не провела одну группу преключенцев к подземелью неподалёку. Они добирались несколько дней и один из авантюристов на вечернем привале разглядел в Астре эту "неуёмную тоску" чем очень напугал её. Но он сказал, что если она хочет избавиться от этого, то после подземелья, он вернется в город и проводит её туда, где ей помогут. Так и случилось. Авантюрист монах на обратном пути привёл её в храм стихийников и оставил там. И только там узнала, что её слабое тело не в силах выдержать её предрасположенность к духовным практикам, поэтому ей было так плохо всё это время и поэтому её так тянуло к воде. Астра начала учиться и постепенно она смогла сбалансировать свою выносливость и свои способности.

✒ Характер: Очень заботливая девушка, испытывает удовольствие от помощи другим и старается приносить пользу даже если ей самой плохо. Она может взорваться гневом, но это редкость и для этого её нужно долго доводить. Кем бы ни была окружена, всё ещё одинока в каком-то смысле, но это не то гнетущее одиночество и тоска, что были в юности. Это одиночество помогает ей смотреть на вещи иначе. Астра умеет заботится о других и умеет это делать.

🌀 Навыки: Плавает как дышит, её контроль над водой прев��сходен, другие стихии на среднем уровне, кроме огня, из-за травмы, ей сложно им пользоваться, так что она сознательно избегала техник с ним связанных. Не очень хорошо владеет оружием, используя воду вместо него, ну или собственные кулаки на худой конец.

✨ Особенности: Вообще не подвержена простуде и у неё выше порог замерзания чем у прочих. Вода при ней всегда. Хорошо танцует. Её магия это не просто техники боя а её способ жить и самовыражаться.

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burningchandelier · 3 months

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My mom got a DNA test done and it didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.

Ukrainian Ashkenazi. The Wiseman Family.

We know where we come from.

We went as far North as we could when there was nowhere safe for us in Eastern Europe. We made a home for ourselves in Lerwick, Scotland. Scotland, the only country in Europe that has never expelled Jews, kept us safe for a while, but a poor family could only live at the end of the world in the Arctic Circle for so long. There were too many fishermen and not enough people to buy fish.

Between wars, we went South again, to Germany. We didn’t stay.

I am grateful every day that my great-great grandfather could see that there was trouble coming for his family. He sent his four children and wife to Canada and followed the next year. So many of us did not.

We found a place in Toronto where we watched what happened to our loved ones in Europe. We forgot Hebrew. It was easier that way.

My great-grandmother kept secrets:

Her first daughter, born out of wedlock, was raised by her parents as one of their own.

Her second daughter was told that her father was dead, rather than divorced away (it was a different time— divorce was shameful, death was inevitable).

Her job was mysterious. Officially, she worked for the state department as a pay roll clerk. I don’t know why any pay roll clerks would have traveled to Russia during the Cold War, but she did many times.

The secret she kept the longest was her heritage. As far as anyone knew, she was a severe Scottish immigrant and fiercely proud of it. Only my mother, her favorite, had suspicions.

When Granny Annie Wiseman died, she left everything to her favorite granddaughter. The money, the house, and everything inside it. Every memory of who we are.

Years later, my mother fell in love with a Jewish man. They raised me together. I had the privileges and the pains of knowing who I was. I carry our family burdens and I honor them.

Someday, I will name my daughter after the woman I never met who passed our heritage to me through the simple and brave act of survival. Her assimilation kept us alive. Her secrets got me here. She left the breadcrumbs that let us find our way home.

We know where we come from.

#jumblr #jewish heritage #jewish history #family history

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headfullof-ideas · 18 days

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I have more headcanons. These ones are of the Nektons, and the kids relationships with each parent

Ant

- He taught himself sign language, and proceeded to not tell anyone for four and a half years straight

- He doesn’t eat fish and most other seafood because of Jeffrey

- He’s allergic to bee stings and pollen

- Ant was born two months early in International Waters, which is why he’s so small for his age

- Ants wants some sort of reptile pet beyond Jeffrey, like a lizard or snake, but is worried about it getting thrown around on the Aronnax during the families many adventures

Fontaine

- Fontaine had an emo undercut when she was twelve. She burns any photo of it she can find, embarrassed

- She likes playing around with clothing styles

- Her favorite instruments to play are guitar and piano

- Fontaine is really good at cutting her own hair, but can’t be trusted to cut someone else’s at all

- Cannot stand pickles in the slightest, but weirdly enough loves cucumbers

Kaiko

- Knows martial arts, and teaches her children

- Was a lot like Ant as a kid, but mellowed out as she got older

- Kaiko loves sci-fi movies and stories, and has a personal collection of comics from her childhood

- She snores nearly as loud as Will

- Kaiko can pilot more than marine vehicles. She can also fly most planes, including helicopters

Will

- Burns water. He’s the worst cook in the family

- Watches the Olympics to laugh at the competitors he competed against and didn’t like. It’s his soccer

- Has a traditional Māori (I think that’s what ethnicity he is, I’m not sure) tattoo across his back, representing his family

- Carries several pictures of his kids and wife in his wallet, and shows them off to anyone who stands too close and too still long enough

- Is weirdly pretentious about tea despite living on nothing but coffee

Ant, Fontaine, and Kaiko

- Ant wants to be a Marine Biologist like his mum when he grows up, and Fontaine wants to be an Ecologist with a Music Degree on the side. Kaiko tells them that she’ll support whatever they decide so long as they finish their homework

- Ant is insecure of how few traits he gets from Kaiko’s side of the family in comparison to Fontaine, and Kaiko likes to kiss his freckles and say that it’s there in the small traits he gets from her

- Fontaine and Ant both inherited Kaiko’s recklessness and stubbornness, and Kaiko calls to apologize to her parents every time she suffers from it

- Fontaine likes to have girls days with her mom, doing make up and talking about how dumb the boys in their family can be. Kaiko enjoys the time she spends with her daughter

- Ant and Fontaine both went to great lengths to try and convince Kaiko to let them keep the sea snake they found when they were kids. Kaiko had to pull up every ounce of patience and self-control she had to resist the puppy eyes

Ant, Fontaine and Will

- Will teaches Ant and Fontaine the traditional Hakka, and can’t tell if he should be proud or terrified for their lives when Ant starts doing it to the Monumentials and Fontaine to Hammerhead

- Ant and Fontaine both had a game growing up where they’d throw themselves at Will to see if he could catch and carry them both. They continue to do it well into their late teens, and sometimes still as adults

- Will was adamant he be the one to teach Ant and Fontaine how to swim. He’s a very proud papa when they get into the odd swimming competition and dominate

- Fontaine and Will have inside jokes about how they’re both banned for life from the kitchen. Will calls Fontaine a traitor when she’s allowed in to bake

- Ant can’t help but compare himself to pictures of his dad at his age, lamenting about how he’s not as tall or big. When he confides about this to Will, he tells him about how self conscious he was about how much taller and bigger than everybody else he was at Ants age

#I have no idea what ethnicity Will is #like. I’m pretty sure Kaiko’s Japanese #but I don’t know what Will is #and googling it provided no answers #‘what ethnicity are the Nektons?’#google: the Nektons are descended from Lemurian royalty #OKAY BUT THAT WASN’T MY QUESTION #I’d say ignore the tid-bits of Ant being self-conscious with his parents #but I think I made it clear yesterday I’m a sucker for Ant Angst and take whatever shots at this child I can find #I’m sorry Ant. it will happen again #ant nekton #antaeus nekton #fontaine nekton #will nekton #kaiko nekton #the deep 2015 #the deep cartoon #headcanons

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innytoes · 8 months

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Help I can't stop thinking about the Dark Fantasy Fae AU.

There were a lot of things Ray could have never imagined when he married Rose. Moving out of their shabby little apartment into their house after a series of in hindsight rather telling instances of good luck. Their two amazing kids, who were so smart and talented and kind, who seemed to take all the things he loved in their mother and made it their own.

Losing her so young, he'd never imagined that.

And he really couldn't have predicted the four children that landed in their garage through a magical mushroom portal from a fairy realm.

Still, all things considered, Ray thought he was handling things rather well. He did have a very long phone call with Rose's very ancient grandmother, who told him she knew that when he took her name, he'd do the Molina family proud. Abuelita didn't know how much was myth and how much was family legend and how much was real, but the fact that the fae existed was pretty hard to question after the whole magic portal thing.

He stopped overwatering the plants overnight.

Now, the hardest part was helping the kids adjust to modern day life. Reggie was the easiest, considering he'd only lost about twenty-five years. He was a sweet boy, though a little jumpy at times. Alex was from the 1920s and while he still struggled a little with modern slang, he mostly seemed very grateful at the strides that had been made by the queer community, that allowed him to be who he was and love openly.

Luke was a bit trickier. He was distraught at losing his family, of course. He seemed to take to some aspects of modern times like a fish to water - the first time Julie showed him an electric guitar, Luke looked like he was having a religious experience. But Ray had had to pull him out of the road several times already to make sure he didn't get run over by a car, and then there had been the whole Tinfoil In The Microwave experience.

Willie was the trickiest. Ray had no idea how long he'd been in the fairy realm, given that he'd been switched out with a changeling at birth. But he had no real concept of how the human world worked, save for what he'd picked up from the other three boys. But some days, he seemed more fae than human, confused that Carlos couldn't just levitate to grab something off the top shelf, or that other people couldn't teleport short distances.

Which was what made this conversation so difficult.

"Fix, please," Willie had announced, before carefully settling a dead bird on the dining room table next to Ray's laptop.

The dad part of Ray's brain was already making a list of what needed to happen - get Willie to wash his hands, thoroughly clean the table- when the rest of his mind caught up with the request.

"She flew into a window," Willie said sadly, gently stroking the feathery head, and Ray felt a pang. This was going to be a very difficult conversation. One he remembers vividly having with Carlos when he was four (it had been a torn ladybug) and Julie when she was five (when Flynn's grandmother passed away).

"I- I'm afraid I can't do that," he said.

Willie's face twisted into a confused pout. "But I said please," he pointed out. They'd been working on... well, not so much manners as human mannerisms.

"Yes, and that was very polite," Ray said slowly, trying to figure out how to formulate this without being too harsh. "But I am unable to fix a dead robin."

"Please? I'll do all the cooking and the dishes for a whole..." Willie's face screwed up. Time was another thing they were working on. The entire concept of it seemed to upset him. "Year?"

"Willie," Ray said, gently herding him to sit down. "It's not that I don't want to help the bird. This isn't a deal you can trade for. There is nothing left for me to do to help the bird. Humans cannot fix death."

"Death?" Willie echoed, his voice small and uncertain. Ray nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, there's no fixing the bird," he said slowly. "When something is dead, it cannot be brought back."

"No!" Willie wailed, distraught. "She just made a mistake! It's not fair!"

"Oh, mijo, I know it's not," Ray soothed, pulling him into a hug. "Death often doesn't seem fair." He let Willie cry, rocking him slightly. The sound summoned Alex, who took over, pulling Willie into a hug until they were sprawled on the floor, Willie curled up in his lap.

Ray tried not to focus on the dead bird on the table. He wanted to get it out of the house as soon as possible, but right now, Willie's feelings were more important.

"We can hold a funeral for her," he promised. "Bury her in the garden. That way, she can become one with the earth again, and help the plants grow." He thought that idea might make Willie feel a little better. The boy looked at him with big, not-entirely-human eyes, his lower lip trembling.

"It's the circle of life," Alex agreed. "Remember, like that song from the movie Julie and Flynn showed us."

"A funeral means burying her in the garden?" Willie asked, looking between them.

"A funeral is a ceremony to honour someone's life and say goodbye," Ray explained. Willie understood ceremonies, at least. "We can say a few words, and then bury her."

"Luke can sing a song," Alex said. "Birds like songs, right?"

Willie nodded, sniffling.

Ray squeezed his knee, and stood up. "I'll go get a nice box to bury her in." That seemed to upset Willie, and he shook his head fiercely.

"No dark rooms!" he insisted.

"How about some nice soft paper towels?" Alex suggested quickly. He also looked a bit nauseated at the thought of a dark room. Sometimes, Ray thought he'd never get to the end of the horrors those boys had gone through. He nodded, and went to get some gloves and a whole roll of paper towels.

Alex and Willie stayed on the floor, Alex gently rocking them back and forth while Willie ran his fingers through his long hair. "You're not allowed to be dead," Willie told Alex seriously. "I can't fix you."

"I'll do my best not to die," Alex promised. "I'm never going to leave you."

"If you do die, you have to come back as a ghost," Willie insisted. "No burying in the garden. We will be ghosts together. Like in Carlos' videos."

Alex smiled softly, and Ray tried not to tear up at the all-encompassing love and tenderness he saw in the boy's face, so young yet old and wise beyond his age. "Yeah, okay."

#julie and the phantoms #willex #willie throckmorton #ray molina #alex mercer #best dad ray molina #kidnapped by the fae au #fanfic #right in the feels #I wrote a thing #I thought about this while walking the dog and wrote it on my lunch break you're welcome #I've only had creepy changeling willie who isn't entirely human anymore for 15 minutes #but if anything were to happen to him etc etc #the funeral is lovely and they all take it very seriously and Luke does indeed sing a very old mourning song that has been lost to time #everyone cries #ray is not touching the 'if fairies are real are ghosts real' thoughts with a ten foot pole NOPE he has enough on his plate #listen Luke can't be blamed for all of the times he nearly got hit by a car those electric ones are fucking SILENT

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skyloftian-nutcase · 10 months

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Here’s the headcannons for the lu boys families

Sky- his mother was from skyloft, his father was a traveling knight from a distant island, his parents married and he was born on his fathers home island, his mother returned to skyloft after being widowed when sky was 3, she died when he was 8.

Four- his mother was an illegitimate grandchild of king Dalius and a lady in waiting to the queen, his father is a knight, his mother died shortly after he was born, his father is still alive but often gone

Time- his mother was a minor noblewoman who had an affair with a knight, his father was sent to the front lines during the hylian civil war as punishment for the affair while his mother was sent to a distant castle to have the baby and then give them away, the day before Time was to be taken from his mother and given to a peasant family the castle was attacked, his mother escaped with him and died right after entrusting him to the deku tree

Legend- his father was a knight while his mother was the daughter of a royal guard, his mother died when legend was a toddler and his father died a year later in battle, leaving legend in the care of his paternal uncle

Twilight- twilights mother was a hylain woman who moved to ordon village after her marriage to twilights father, twilights father died in a tragic accident when twilight was 5, his mother died from a illness when he was 14

Wind- winds father was a traveling merchant, his mother was the only child of his grandparents (who were a fishing family and owned a small vessel). His father vanished and was presumed dead at sea a few weeks before his sisters birth, his mother and grandfather died a few years later when their boat capsized during a sudden storm at sea.

Hyrule- his mother is a great fairy, he never met his father, he stayed in his mothers spring with his half sisters until he was 7 when he decided to leave and explore the world

Warriors- warriors father was a nobleman who married the daughter of a rich merchant and had several children (although only warriors and his sister survived to adulthood), his sister ran away as a teenager and warriors joined the army at 16

Wild- wilds father was a royal knight, his mother was a healing woman from hateno village, they married in their early 30s and had 2 children, both his parents fell during the calamity but his sister survived and lived another 80 years. He has several nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews, and great grand nieces and nephews that he’s to nervous to contact

Ahhh so many fun ideas! I should come up with some headcanons for the boys' families, I already have a few. Thanks for sharing!

#you ask skye answers #lovely anon #linkeduniverse #linked universe

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tracybirds · 2 months

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Happy March of the OCs Part 2!

okay, so I don't really write with OCs very often, but I do like thinking about side characters and giving them random backstories and families and things :) So here's some more sims posting, this time with all the characters I've pulled out to pad up the world!

Sara Cavanaugh

Sara is Kat Cavanaugh's sister, and they love each other a lot but cannot stand to be together for longer than approximately four hours. Kat thinks Sara is materialistic and vain, Sara thinks Kat is pig-headed and selfish. They're both right and they're both wrong, as often is the case when it comes to people. Sara does appreciate material things and takes pride in her appearance, and she can be quick to judge based on appearances, but she also works hard for very little thanks and cares very deeply about her community.

Eleanor Rigby

Eleanor is about eight years old, and she's Captain Wayne Rigby's daughter. I picture him as a single dad, and someone he worries about a lot and that a lot of his grouch with Kayo was misdirected anxiety about having to constantly leave Eleanor behind while he was working overtime. Eleanor's super resilient though, and mostly saw bouncing around her friends' homes as a bit of an adventure. She love love loves the outdoors and is a huge 'Into the Unknown' fan. Her biggest dream at the moment is to become a vet at a zoo.

The list continues under the cut ><

Aidan Hawkins and Theo Hawkins-McCready

I imagine by the time Virgil meets Cass, she's a single mum with two very rambunctious sons, but for my sims save, I'm playing a little further back in the story haha, so meet her fiance, Aidan, and eldest son, Theo. Aidan is a very romantic and outgoing person but it's paired with intense insecurities and poor communication that creates a very tumultuous relationship for Cass. They both love each other, and Cass gets swept up in his grand gestures, but they struggle a lot with co-dependency and trust issues. Cass sacrifices a lot for Aidan at the expense of her career and eventually they split. Theo right now is just super cute lol <3 He's about three or four when Cass meets Virgil, and his younger brother Jordan (not pictured) is two.

Lesley Hoffman, Franklin Hoffman-Casey and Dante Hoffman-Casey

This is Colonel Casey's family :D Lesley is her wife and they have two children, Franklin and Dante. They're good friends with the Tracys through Val of course, and although they grew apart a bit after Jeff disappeared, they're still considered family friends. Lesley and Val met through a mutual friend and connected over their shared love of music and breakfast foods. Franklin is about Kayo's age, just a little younger than John, and Dante is between Alan and Gordon. Lesley "and the kids" get a brief mention in this story here :)

The Patterson Family (aka Space Controller Conrad's Family)

Conrad's family are ultra high-achievers and high-expectations and they expect big things from Conrad - he's the youngest and as he says in the episode Long Haul, his siblings are heroes in his eyes (a fire-fighter, a police officer, and a paramedic) and he feels the pressure. I kinda roll with the idea that he's several years younger than his siblings, similar to Alan being several years younger than his brothers, and so here they are. Anyway, this is them in the sims world! From top left to bottom right: Daphne and Ed, then Lawrence, the fire-fighter, Raelynn, the police officer, and Quentin, the paramedic. I have more thoughts, but they're mostly about Conrad so I'll move on for now ;D

Joanne and Walter Hackett

Joanne and Walter are Madeline Lemaire's parents :) I put the Lemaire's in a big giant house, and then made myself sad by headcanoning that they wanted kids and couldn't have them, and so I moved in her parents to make things seem a little less lonely. They're much more sensible than their son-in-law, but mostly see him as harmlessly eccentric. Walter is really into fishing and constantly taking Lemaire out on the boat for a boys day (which he hates lol), and Joanne is very into throwing dinner parties and trying out new cocktail recipes for her guests.

David Reeves

David is Tycho's twin brother purely because I think I'm funny xD He's a bit geeky and works as a primary school teacher, coaching a kids' football team and things. Because Tycho's busy jetting off around the world, David keeps a guest room for him and takes in his mail and things (I know paper mail probs won't exist but SHH). Their parents died when David and Tycho were in their twenties still, so they make sure they do Christmas and birthdays and things together and catch up as often as possible.

Gregory Moffat

This is Gregory, who is Moffie's teenage son (and also my son) and I am extremely fond of him <33 He's pretty quiet really, and plays bass guitar in a band with his friends. Moffie was a little exasperated, because he learnt the cello first and she had visions of seeing him play in an orchestra and things, but he got into an argument at the first practice and ultimately ditched it. He also like art and architecture and is very loyal to his friends.

The Taylor Family

I love the headcanon that Lucille and Lee are siblings, and I also love that she came from a large family as well (it makes sense in my head) and also I stole @avengedbiologist's idea that all the siblings have L names because I love it. I aged up the family to show you what they look like, but I haven't fixed them up fully so it's just a general idea :D Anyway, here we have Connor and Payton Taylor, and then Leonard, Laura and Lily. Leonard is the oldest, then Laura, then it's Lucille and Lee (twins for maximum ow), then Lily is the baby of the family.

I have actually written them into a story (veeeeeery loosely) here :)

#march of the ocs #and now you know ><#I'll add more sooner or later haha I just like filling up the world

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