mamabear-elinor

[mamabear-elinor]

Elinor raised her eyebrows. "I see."

She...was neutral towards Hades. (In fact, she refused to admit to herself that she actually quite liked him. When she'd worked at the shoppe, she'd preferred days he was in over Belle. He was pragmatic and practical.)

"Either way," she replied with a little shrug. "We can write something up together and propose it to the rest of the Board, yes?" It was low stakes, but it would be good practice, she assumed. "I am thinking we spring for a nice oak. After all, we have that ridiculously high "other" budget." This was, partially, a joke.

@alzcomicbarn

Office Politics -> [Alinor]

#swynal #alinor #office politics #almost tagged this vixal on instinct lmao

[mamabear-elinor]

"That's assuming a lot," Elinor said, going right back to chastising, because that felt more comfortable.

This still felt...well, too dangerous and too bold for her. She hadn't even, really, agreed to anything. (That was ridiculous, of course she was going.) She...needed time to adjust.

And it was true. Hades and Belle had three of their own small children. As much as she hoped her children would be well behaved at someone else's home...she knew better than to really expect that. Especially with Harris.

But who else would they ask?

Roz had two children of her own. Menodora? She didn't think so. Cass also was very busy with opening her restaurant. All of Elinor's friends were unsuitable.

"But--ask them," she allowed after a moment. "See what they say. We will figure it out."

@heart-of-dunbroch

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right

[mamabear-elinor]

Elinor looked out the window, removing her hand from Merida's wrist. The view outside looked out over the rose garden, in a tragic state after the winter (and years of neglect that Elinor couldn't correct all by herself, she needed a proper horticulturalist.) It was still unfamiliar to her. When she looked out the window, she still expected to see rolling green hills, waving fields of barley, and a deep, dark loch in the distance. She missed the view out the windows of Castle Cawdor.

She missed the life she'd had there. She knew that she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. Her entire adult life had been under its benevolent, sometimes leaky, roof. Her children had been raised there. They had had a good life. It was not perfect. But it was good.

And then Merida had been turned and everything had fallen apart.

Part of her blamed Merida for this, even though she knew that she shouldn't. If Merida had never been turned, everything that had followed would not have. Their family would still be together.

Or maybe it was her fault, for following after Merida in the first place. For being unable to stand the idea of her daughter all alone. Shunned from their family. Fergus had wanted to kill their first child and Elinor wouldn't let that happen. She had provoked Fergus' rage, she had betrayed her sons.

If she hadn't come here, Fergus would be alive. Hubert would be with his brothers.

The real culprit was the Order of the Prince. It was the Order that had only ever valued Elinor for her womb. It was the Order that had made her suffer for ten years, trying to have a son. And when she'd finally had three, she thought that she would be repaid somehow. But it was Fergus who had gotten the attention, with heirs a-plenty at last.

The Order had seen her then only as a mother. As the lady of the castle, but not what that actually meant. What she contributed. All the wound she'd cleaned with no thanks. All the men she'd dressed for death. All the babies she had raised. She took her orders without complaint. The Order had appreciated her softness, had rewarded her gentleness. Her helplessness.

Elinor knew that she was stronger than that. She knew, for certain, that Merida was.

She was quiet for a long time.

"We cannot bring the boys along, but they cannot stay here," she finally said, turning back to Merida.

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right #me using elinor's curse to stop them from fighting lol #also this made me so !!! #about elinor #like always

[mamabear-elinor]

#music #inspiration #this is THE order women song #and this version just !!!! #im feral #Youtube

[mamabear-elinor]

"Well, that was what I was thinking. We could move it that way." She gestured along the far wall.

"I think that would give us enough room. Though, at the same time, it is an odd number of desks, so one is always going to look a bit out of place." Not her favourite, but it couldn't be helped. There were seven Board members...that wasn't going to change. And even if Archimedes didn't need a desk, he wasn't going to be on the Board forever, so they would need a seventh eventually.

"Might as well put a proposal together to run passed the mayor. He controls the budget, correct?"

@alzcomicbarn

Office Politics -> [Alinor]

#swynal #alinor #office politics

[mamabear-elinor]

The Sowing and the Reaping: Part Three: Crushed Little Stars -> [Self-para]

[cw: blood, miscarriage, medical stuff (nothing too graphic)]

-> -> ->

December 14, 1998

Elinor was pregnant again. 

It was still the early days. She had just found out last week, but she was already hoping that it would be a boy. Imagining a blue nursery. 

Fergus had been off on a hunting trip over the weekend, so she hadn’t told him yet. She was looking forward to doing so this evening when he returned. She could only just imagine the smile on his face. He’d pick her up in one of those bear hugs that she loved so much, making her feel girlish and light as a feather, despite her tall, willowy frame and the weight she’d put on since her pregnancy with Merida.

For now, she was chasing Merida about the grounds. The toddler, who wasn’t much of a toddler now, on the far side of three years old, was squealing with delight as they ran from Elinor, who was playing the part of a giant coming to stomp on Merida. 

“Mummy stop!!” Merida said firmly, turning and putting both of her hands up. 

-> -> ->

[link here]

#self para #the sowing and the reaping #part three: crushed little stars #did research for this #but i do not claim to know what im doing #and also i did make it a lil more dramatique for the narrative

[mamabear-elinor]

Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark · Game of Thrones 1.01

#elinor is so catelyn coded #and i did that on accidnet but im so happy about it lmao #inspiration #about

[mamabear-elinor]

"You don't know he can be saved!" Elinor shot back and, in the same moment, felt suddenly woozy. The bear making its presence known. She stumbled a step, reaching out to grab Merida's arm to steady herself without thinking about it.

The moment passed in just a second and Elinor straightened again, though she leaned her hip subtly against the counter. And she didn't let go of Merida, keeping her hand around their wrist.

"You don't, Merida. You could be walking into God knows what! Hubert could turn on you. You cannot guarantee that you can save him, but I can save you by keeping you here. Please. We cannot lose anyone else."

The plea broke her own heart. There were tears in her eyes. And it felt hard to breathe, the desperation cutting through her anger and her fear, keeping the bear mercifully quiet. But she would rather save three of her children than lose two of them.

@heart-of-dunbroch

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right

[mamabear-elinor]

Elinor knew what Roz was doing. She recognized it because it was what most women in the Order did, including Elinor. Shoving off any accomplishments or compliments. In Elinor's world, this was because the men were threatened by the accomplishments of women that happened outside the bedroom, the birthing bed, and the household (Though, really, for all Elinor's faults and all of Fergus' faults--he was not afraid to let her take credit for something. She had not suffered so badly as some others, which was, why, she still had a voice. Even if it had felt like it had been gone for so long.)

"It hasn't been," Elinor said. She could mention Fergus' death too, but she tended not to if she could avoid doing so.

"But, you've been a real boon," she insisted. "They change teachers from semester to semester but you are always there to greet them as they come through in the morning. I mean it, Harris, particularly, is fond of you. And he's not fond of many people."

@agentroz

Chef's Table | Rozinor

#swynroz #rozinor #chef's table #elinor is a girl's girl but #like in a fucked up way #it's complicated

[mamabear-elinor]

"It is not just scary, Merida!" Elinor shouted. "It is dangerous. They won't hurt Hubert. People are looking out for him." Despite everything in the Order, she could say that of them: They looked out for their own. That was why it had lasted so long. Sometimes, when Elinor was feeling particularly lonely or misunderstood, she even missed that community.

Hubert would be fine. Yes, he was going down a path that separated him from the rest of his family, but he was safe. The Order treated the next generation like gold. Even more so now than before, she was sure. Hubert was valuable to them.

These were the things that she told herself at night.

Elinor reached out to grab Merida by the arm, so that they would look at her.

"They will kill you!"

@heart-of-dunbroch

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right

[mamabear-elinor]

"No, you are not," Elinor said, immediately and harshly.

She didn't even think about it. The words were out of her mouth before she even realized she was saying them. They came from deep in her gut. The place where her fear lived. The feeling was so fierce that she all at once felt sick. As if dinner had been spoiled.

"I have already lost one child to the Order. I won't lose another. You have no idea what you would be walking into. No, Merida. I forbid it."

@heart-of-dunbroch

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right #going well

[mamabear-elinor]

"Well, I know that my boys certainly appreciate you. Harris especially."

Not that Elinor really wanted to admit that her son was in the principle's office so often that he had become intimately acquainted with the receptionist, but--well, there was no point in lying to Roz. She had seen it firsthand. And Harris always mentioned her, saying that she asked after him.

"And I appreciate it too. It is nice to know that there is eyes on them when they are at school and I cannot be there." She smiled at her friend.

@agentroz

Chef's Table | Rozinor

#swynroz #rozinor #chef's table

[mamabear-elinor]

Elinor frowned a little as she glanced at the aforementioned desk.

"There must be a way to rearrange the rooms so no one is shoved into a corner," she declared.

That had been much of her job at Cawdor. Finding a place for everything and everyone one. Her eyes scanned around the room with a frown. She was thinking, as she looked, it was silly to think an owl needed a desk.

"Perhaps if we move the conference table or purchase a smaller one?"

@alzcomicbarn

Office Politics -> [Alinor]

#swynal #alinor #office politics

[mamabear-elinor]

"And--your point is?"

Elinor had stopped cleaning the dishes now. The water sat still except for the drip from her gloves and the plate she was holding. She felt anything but still, however. She felt her hands begin to shake. Her whole body wanted to tremble, but she wasn't going to let it. She took a few deep breaths.

She knew what Merida was trying to say. She wasn't stupid. Elinor had sat in on enough of Fergus' Order meetings to develop at least a small mind for strategy, even if Fergus didn't like her interrupting and only took her input in private.

If Hubert was with Armstrong, they could be in hiding in Sizergh.

They could find him.

So, why did she feel so ill all of the sudden? Why did the idea make her angry? Make her terrified? She wanted Hubert back more than anything, but the look on his face the night his father had died still haunted her dreams.

@heart-of-dunbroch

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right

[mamabear-elinor]

"Well, you can get better," Elinor told him.

She was always telling Fergus that too. Actually, begging him. To talk about his feelings. Tell her how he felt. He did, sometimes, but only once things had already reached a breaking point. Sometimes, she felt like she never even knew her husband. They had been married nearly 30 years but--

She shouldn't be projecting. Of course not. But, there wasn't anything wrong with a bit of advice. He had been honest with her so far, it didn't seem out of line.

"But, I wish you luck. You will have to let me know how it goes, I am invested now, hm?"

@fi-fitz-flynn

A Quick Fix {Flynn & Elinor}

#swynflynn #flynor #a quick fix #yeah im happy to end it here!

[mamabear-elinor]

Elinor did eye Merida's drying technique, and was about to say something.

Honestly, Merida, if you are going to offer to help, do it properly or do not help at all.

Which was not a criticism, in her mind, so much as pointing out the obvious. Helping without doing it right barely was helping at all. It only created more work. And it wasn't like she had told Merida to do this, Merida had offered.

But, before she could say this, Merida spoke up.

Elinor frowned at once and looked back at the dishes. Of course she knew about the Order trials. They had been all over the news and she had followed it all closely. Looking for any mention of Hubert. Or of Fergus (even if that was fruitless, she knew.)

"Yes," she said, more sharply than really was intended. She scrubbed a little harder. There was something stuck on the plate. "What about them?"

@heart-of-dunbroch

Set It Right || Brave x

#swynmerida #brave x #set it right

[mamabear-elinor]

@alzcomicbarn

"So, uhm, how does all of this work? Any advice?" Elinor asked as she settled into her new desk.

(Which, apparently, was Simba's old desk. In which he had left several untidy drawers full of papers...and a very large rubber band ball that Elinor had promptly thrown away upon discovery.)

Elinor was still getting used to being a working woman at InterPride and now--she was taking on a whole new role. It was starting to feel, just a little, overwhelming.

[outfit]

Office Politics -> [Alinor]

#swynal #alinor #office politics #lookbook