#effie the maid

[my-life-a-reading-list]

Effie complaining pt2...

i love how Effie got a jod in a newlywed’s home and she lost her mind when she found them kissing, like, what did you expect of them?

Chain of Thorns by Cassandra Clare

#the last hours #chain of thorns #spoilers #effie the maid #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #jordelia #herondaisy #cassandra clare

[lulublack90]

Prompt 31 - Midnight Kiss

@wolfstarmicrofic Prompt 31, word count 912

It had been a bit rushed, but somehow they’d managed to pull it all together. Sirius had taken over the entirety of Potter Manor. Well, Effie and Monty had given it to him before he’d even managed to finish asking them if they could have the wedding there. 

They’d set up the ballroom with rows of chairs and a raised platform in front of them. Mary had placed huge vases of white and dark blue flowers on the platform as decoration and strung fairy lights all across the back wall behind them. She’d artfully bent the wires of a few sets to form the outline of a crescent moon and a star. Sirius had nearly cried when he saw it. 

Lily and Marlene wound tiny bunches of White Jasmine flowers around all the chairs. Picked by Lily for their delicate star shapes and sweet-smelling perfume. Everything else Effie had handled, refusing to take no for an answer. “I am your mother, Sirius, and I am doing this.”

She was a force to be reckoned with. She had been so efficient that everything was ready the day before the ceremony was due to start.

Sirius and Remus were dressing in separate rooms. Sirius had demanded that he get James as best man and to help him get ready. Remus had asked Peter to be his best man but said he was more than capable of dressing himself. 

There was a knock on Remus’s door just as he was buttoning the last button on his shirt. 

“Come in.” He said. The door slowly opened, revealing Lyall Lupin. Remus was shocked. “Dad? I, I didn’t think you’d come.” He swallowed nervously. He never knew how his father was going to react. 

“What, think I’d miss walking my only son down the aisle?” Lyall asked with amusement. “Sirius came to see me with this very, very long speech. Demanding that I be here for you or he’d make my life hell. I found that I couldn’t refuse. Mainly because I’d already decided I was coming, but he seemed so determined to say what he came to say that I didn’t have the heart to disappoint him.” Remus stared at his father and then burst into laughter. Feeling even more love than he already did with Sirius. 

Soon the knock came to say it was time, and Remus and Lyall followed Marlene out. 

Mary would be waiting for them as she was officiating everything. 

Marlene and Lily were maids of honour and bridesmaids combined. Lily would be leading Sirius. Marlene was leading Remus. 

“Ready, lad?” Lyall asked, holding out his arm for Remus to take. 

“More than I’ve ever been.” He grinned, linking their arms. 

Sirius went first, walking behind Lily with Effie and Monty on either side of him. 

Remus, Lyall and Marlene followed as soon as Sirius had reached the front. 

Remus took a moment to take Sirius in. They were wearing matching suits in a deep midnight blue, almost black. 

“How do you look so much better than I do?” He whined at Sirius, drooling over how the cut showed off his slim waist and thick-muscled arms. 

“I could ask the same question, sweetheart,” Sirius replied, biting his bottom lip and raking his eyes lustfully over Remus. 

“Rain it in, lover boys,” Mary said as she cleared her throat, preparing to begin. 

Sirius heard very little of what Mary said. He was sure it was beautiful, but all he could concentrate on at the moment was Remus. 

“Ahem!” His head snapped up to look at Mary. 

“Sorry, got distracted.” He said sheepishly to a polite smattering of laughter from their guests. 

“Do you, Sirius Orion Black, take Remus John Lupin as your lawfully wedded husband?” Mary repeated. Sirius didn’t even have to think about it. 

“I do.” He sighed, looking straight into Remus’s eyes.  

“And do you, Remus John Lupin, take Sirius Orion Black to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” Remus said, a slight blush bringing a beautiful colour to his cheeks.

“Then I pronounce you married,” Mary said, her voice thick with emotion, tears threatening to fall. “And in exactly ten seconds, you may kiss your husband.” Everyone started chanting 

“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,” They’d planned the ceremony to the second. So that they would have a midnight kiss as the world shifted into a new year. 

“Four, three, two.”

“I love you,” Remus whispered, his breath ghosting over Sirius’s lips.

“One!” Everyone cheered as Sirius leaned forward, closing the gap, and they kissed for the first time as a married couple. James set off some of Dr Filibuster’s best fireworks.

They kissed again and had to be pulled away from each other so that the ballroom could be changed for the reception party. 

“Well, Mr Lupin. How does it feel to be married?” Remus grinned at Sirius. 

“Amazing Mr Lupin. How about you?” Sirius couldn’t wipe the smile off his face at being addressed for the first time as Mr Lupin. 

“Amazing as well. However, I am wondering how long we need to be here before people are too drunk to notice we’ve snuck away.” He murmured into Sirius’s ear. 

“Oh, sod that,” Sirius growled, grabbing Remus’s wrist and dragging him out for the ballroom as chairs and fireworks flew above their heads. “It’s our party we can do what we want.” 

“Godric, I love you.” Remus sighed as he let himself be taken upstairs into Sirius’s room.

#wolfstar #wolfstar microfic #remus lupin #sirius black #remus john lupin #sirius orion black #remus x sirius #sirius x remus #james potter #lily evans #mary macdonald #marlene mckinnon #effie potter #monty potter #lyall lupin #peter pettigrew #Midnight kiss #happy new year #marauders wedding

[kahlanmars]

BAD FEELING part.10

HELLO. This part has been so difficult for me because action scenes are not my forte. I hope it's decent anyway!

MASTERLIST

*gif not mine*

10. The Arena

You can’t sleep well tonight. The ticking clock resounds in your head. One less hour from your freedom, two less hours from your death. 

You know Haymitch and Effie told you just to keep going as much as you can, but even if you are not deluding yourself and there is some kind of plan, you are not sure you can hold so much. You are not strong, you are not tall or particularly fit, the only thing you can do is stand still and look pretty. And run, maybe. You will run as fast as you can the moment the gong bangs, not even try to search for something in the Cornucopia. Given your number there is probably a pair of skates in that, but it’s not safe. 

«I don’t want to wake up.» You snuggle against Haymitch’s neck, afraid to open your eyes. He strokes your raven hair and places a kiss on your forehead. 

«You still have an hour at least, you should go back to sleep.» He is not sleeping. He is a light sleeper, and you suspect he sleeps less and less every night so as not to hurt you.

«Can we pretend we are in the District?» You ask him, your voice a whisper. That is the last pretend you can do.

«Sweetheart…» He tries to laugh you out of it, but you stop him pinching him on the mattress, you on his chest.

«Please.»

«Ok, let’s try.» He squeezes you so tight it could be unpleasant if it weren’t so… well, pleasant. «I would be in my room, still sleeping. And you would be scared by my geese, hiding in the kitchen.»

«YOU KNEW?!» You are shocked. You slap his arm but then he takes a lock of your hair in his fingers and you forget for a moment what you had to say.

«Of course I knew, you are terrible with them, good thing they know how to handle themselves.» You weren’t so terrible. At the end of the day they were always fed and protected. Hated, but fed and protected.

«And why did you keep me as your maid?»

«You knew how to bake a cake and stuff like that.» He snorts, clearly uncomfortable. «And you were… well you needed it.» He strokes your hair. «And you weren’t unpleasant.»

«You liked me! You liked me as much as I liked you!» You gasp. So you weren’t invisible to him!

He rolls his eyes. And then he plays along with a sigh. «Holly would have killed me if we were in the District.» 

«She would understand that you make me happy.» No, she would have killed him. Holly is not the kind of mother who understands, it’s the kind of mother who locks you up in the house until you don’t end the “madness”, strong District style.

«Do you even know your mother? She would have my head on a spike.» You just kiss him, because he is right and you don’t particularly like when you are not. And his lips are soft. 

«We would have kept this a secret.» He is still against your mouth, his whisky breath on you. You don’t want it to end. «It would have been so sexy. I would have pretended to work all day and never cleaned your house! But I would have been your little maid…»

«Yeah? My little maid?» He pinches your back. 

You nod against his lips. «Can I do something for you, Mr. Abernathy?» You whisper in a seductive way, but he stops you.

His eyes are serious now. He is done joking, he is always like this: he jokes around until he remembers something that makes him blue. He is not used to relaxed chatting. «Stay alive, sweetheart.»

«I’ll try.» 

«Don’t try. Do it. If you die…» You take his hand. 

«I won’t die. I promise. I’ll stay alive. For you, for Effie, for Holly, for you.»

«Stay alive for you.» 

It’s easier said than done. In an hour you have to be in an arena, you are alone even if you don’t want to because it’s the way things are done, and there is a routine, but you are terrified of your own thoughts, of thinking this is all real, and it doesn’t matter how much you schemed to get sponsors or you made alliances, at the end you can be killed in any moment, just because the gamemasters are annoyed by your presence or a career saw you hiding in the woods.

You decide to write, just to calm yourself… and to secure your last words. You have to be sure the people you love know what you feel about them, so you take your pen and begin to write.

Dear Effie,

You have been the greatest escort I could ever have dreamed of. If I die, I’ll die knowing you are proud of me. If I live, I’ll search for your hug. I am sorry I didn’t say goodbye properly, but I’m not very good at it. In the little time we had you showed me that caring for the image is not vanity, it is an art. And you are the master. You taught me so much, I can’t even say how much I am grateful towards you. 

Dear Holly, 

I miss you, mama. I hope you will not be too angry with Haymitch. Look after the kids in the District, I’ll wait for you, don’t rush it. If there is a choice to get back to you I’ll take it. I promise you I’ll cherish the things you taught me and the education you tried to pass to me. Even if I am changed so much since I’m in the Capitol, I will always be your daughter.

Dear Portia,

You made me feel beautiful, you are an artist, a true one. I will miss you, but the world will know just how good you are.

Dear friends in the district,

I am so sorry. 

Dear Haymitch,

You know what I think of you. We didn’t have enough time, but I intend to keep that promise. I intend to come back to you, I already decided that we should be together, you can’t say anything against it.

Think about me. I’ll think about you all the time. 

I love you all,

Daisy

In the blink of an eye you are prepared by Portia, who said goodbye with tears in her eyes, and on the platform, waiting for the gong to bang and you can’t remember how to breathe. You are going up, and… all it takes is a jump. A little jump and it ends. But you made a promise.

10.

What are you doing here? You don’t know how to survive. You should have jumped from that roof the night of the party, after Chaff's kiss. But then you wouldn't have had Haymitch, and this is worth it. It’s worth it, right? You found love in a hopeless place. Maybe you don’t love him, and he definitely doesn’t love you, you are sure of that, but you are in love. Is it worth the pain? You don’t know.

9.

You look up and all you see is black. You don't recall ever seeing an arena like that. You remember snow, deserts, but never black. You can't even see yourself or where you are. The last Quarter Quell was Haymitch’s, and it was a paradise. But everything is different in a Quarter Quell, because it has to be spectacular, so you don’t know what to expect. Ice? Woods? Last year, Katniss’s and Peeta’s games, they were in a forest, but you don’t think they will do it again. It’s too similar to District Twelve and right now President Snow wants Katniss dead, and by extensions, you. 

8. 

Your suit is heat, so it means snow or ice, low temperatures. You were right about that. You can work with cold better than with hot weather, this is a great thing. A pair of trousers and a shirt, but they are heated. Simple, plain, you like it. Portia wanted you to have a token, but you don’t have one. You wanted to carry poison with you, but it’s against the rules. For now. Sponsors can give you poison.

7. 

You can’t see Clark, and that worries you. There is no doubt he will try to kill you the minute the gong bangs, so having him located is the first thing you have to do. With his blonde hair and muscles you expect him to have a lot of sponsors, he is an eye candy, maybe more than you. And he hates you with all his guts, so for the moment it’s better if you avoid him as much as you can.

6. 

You can’t see Lora or Perla, which is a bad thing because you have to keep them close if you want them to be allies. Perla is Finnick’s tribute and Lora is, sigh, Chaff’s tribute, both of them are very close to your mentor. And you don’t want to say it out loud, but they are kind of your friends in the arena. 

5.

Haymitch said to avoid the careers at all costs. So district one, two and four, but you allied with District four’s Perla. The careers are killer machines and you don’t have the shape to face them. You couldn’t actually understand why district four was a career until you found out how much a good mentor is necessary, and they have Mags, the oldest victor ever, she won the eleventh Hunger Games. You like Mags so much, the old lady who smiled at you at the parade and is now planning how to kill you. 

And you can’t even blame her. She just wants her kids to come home.

4. 

Avoid the Cornucopia at all costs, this is the rule your mentor gave you. You are not strong or fit enough, you don’t know how to use a weapon that good to be lethal. The Cornucopia is the only thing that you can see, at the centre of the tributes, illuminated in a gold light. But what if they will make us fall from a high ground?

3. 

They don’t want to kill us just now, it’s not entertaining. You are Daisy Pinecone, you managed to become Panem’s most beloved little perfect princess, and you won’t screw it now. You will avoid the light and hide in the shadows, like always.

2.

Everything is lighted and you gasp. The arena is a skating rink at the centre, to go to the Cornucopia, and caves all around it. And it’s freaking cold. Maybe the caves are a trap, maybe there are scary things in them. You remember an old tale about a man with the body of a bull who used to eat twelve children in a cave or something like that, they were tributes too. It would be poetic. And deadly, so you hope they didn’t think about it. 

You can’t risk it, you can’t go in the skating rink without skates, you would fall and someone would kill you, so you have to memorise the road and come back later. If you are not dead. 

You will look for water first.

1.

Run.

After the gong everything happens too quickly for you to understand. Half of the tributes go for the Cornucopia, but the ice is not easy to walk in, even less to run in. People fall, and other tributes kill them with bare hands

So soon. 

You are so stupid for thinking they wouldn’t do that right away, and you have to start thinking the same too. You have to save your life. Don’t be an idiot. You are already a murderer, you killed a Capitol man.

But these are not Capitol, these are not the enemy, they are guys from the district, guys your age.

You run as much as you can to the caves, often falling, and suddenly from the ice emerges a giant black shark.

A shark.

You are going to be killed by a shark. There is no way you can run away from a huge shark, with a big mouth and big teeth. 

«Daisy!»

You hear Perla shouting at you and right after the shark bites the hair she grabs you and drags you in the caves. Land. Not ice, not water under. Land.

You turn to Perla, she looks injured but she is fine too. She saved your life. A girl from District four with big blue eyes and brown hair, a girl who is supposed to kill you at a certain point in this stupid game for a stupid prize, saved your life. 

«We will come back for the Cornucopia later.» You add after you took a breath, just because you remember well how Haymitch payed because he turned his back off the first bloodbath. His entire family got killed two weeks after, you don’t want that to happen to you or your ally and there must be a camera somewhere. «Thanks, Perl.»

«We are allies.» She reminds you. 

«Yeah, where is Lora?» You can’t find her anywhere, but there is not much to see in the cave. You are certainly not going back on the ice.

«Hopefully we will find her in the caves.» She shrugs her shoulders. She is right, you can’t go looking for her, because… because she could be dead already. 

«Fuck, a shark.» She stares at a point in the walls, clearly in shock. «There are sharks.»

«Let’s go find water. This is the first thing. Hopefully not everything is ice.» 

Even in the cave, you can hear a gong.

Welcome to the 75th edition of the Hunger Games. 

#fanfiction #haymitch abernathy #haymitch imagine #haymitch x fem!reader #haymitch abernathy x reader #haymitch abernathy x you #haymitch x reader #the hunger games #bad feeling #woody harrelson

[addsalwayssick]

Horrified looks from everyone in the room but I was only looking at you…

It was James and Lilies wedding day. Sirius was the best man. Mary was the maid of honor. It was a beautiful spring day. May 27. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and Lily looked beautiful. Everyone could see it. Her red hair glowed in the sunlight. Her green eyes sparkled. How could anybody not fall in love with her?

Seated in the front row was Regulus Black and Pandora Rosier. They wore tired smiles and bags under their eyes. Pandora, her eyes on Lily the entire ceremony.

Regulus, his eyes on James. In the back of their minds were the memories of their loves. The past.

They went through most of the ceremony rather quickly. It broke Regulus’s heart to see James standing at the end of the aisle. “Speak now.” Effie had told Regulus the day prior. He hadn’t known what it mean before. He does now.

He hears the preacher say “Speak now or forever hold you peace.”

There’s the silence, there’s his last chance. Regulus stands up with shaky hands, and all eyes are on him. Pandora is looking at him, eyes glistening.

James is looking at him too. He lets Lilies hands go and says with a broken voice, “Regulus?”

And Regulus can’t let him go through with this. Not with marrying the wrong girl. “I object.”

The preacher looks to James, to Lily, and says, “The wedding will go on if you want it to.”

Lily starts to say something, but James interrupts her. “No. I can’t.”

Lily smiles sadly. She touches his cheek. Then she lightly pushes him towards Regulus. Regulus looks on the verge of tears. He’s breathing hard.

James reaches for him. “Regulus.”

“James. I’m- i’m sorry I’ll leave.”

“No. Why don’t we go talk about this somewhere privately.”

The wedding guests sat. Eventually they were released by Lily, who spewed apologies. Not for the fact that James left, but for the fact they had to sit there for some boring hours for nothing.

The next day, James and Lily are no longer together. Regulus and James are. So are Pandora and Lily. Some may have said it was so soon after the called off wedding, but when the time came for Regulus and James to get married, James wouldn’t have done it with anyone else.

#james potter #sirius black #remus lupin #sirius #jegulus #sirius x lupin #regulus and evan and barty #remus and regulus #sirius and regulus #regulus black #regulus x james

[angelynmoon]

"We're not calling Merlin." Arthur said as he stared at the mess of his Castle, "He deserves time away with Lancelot."

"But it's not coming off." Gwaine whined as he scrubbed.

"I know." Arthur said, "But if we call him he'll never let us babysit again."

"What do you think he'll do when he comes back tomorrow and sees the state of the Castle?" Gwaine asked as he threw his rag in the bucket and gestured, "He has been gone a day and look."

Arthur looked and sighed, the twins had seen not having their parents around as permission to use their Magic as they pleased and now every wall in the Castle was painted with a variety of colors and scenes, although, Morgana, Leon, and Elyan had caused a fair bit of the mess.

It hadn't stopped there either, the terrors had gone on a rampage and caused a dough explosion in the kitchens and the laundry was ruined, whites had been washed with a load of red Camelot capes and now all the knights' linens were an uneven pink color.

They had terrorized the chickens and Arthur thought Effie may have even hunted one for their dinner.

And now the group was nowhere to be found, Arthur had every one of his knights looking for them, though he knew Elyan would keep the children safe, the last thing Arthur needed was for them to still be missing when Lancelot and Merlin came back tomorrow.

"I don't know how Merlin keeps the Castle running." Arthur said, "He's been gone a day and everything is broken."

"You should give him a raise." Gwaine said as he looked at the wall they had been scrubbing, "Do you suppose we can just leave it and say we were encouraging the childrens' creativity?"

"Don't you dare." Gwen said as she dropped a clean bucket of water next to them, "You will clean this or paint the wall a solid color."

"Yes, ma'am." Gwaine said as he returned to his task.

"Have they been found?" Arthur asked as he continued as well.

"No, but one of the maids said Elyan stopped in the kitchens for snacks and there's been suspicious noises near the library, Geoffery claims he's heard nothing of the sort, and that he hasn't seen them either." Gwen sighed, "We might have to call Merlin."

"We'll never get to babysit again." Arthur cried.

"I know." Gwen agreed as she sat next to Arthur, "I don't know how Merlin does it."

The three of them looked at each other and grinned, "Magic." They said together.

"What about Magic?" Lancelot asked as he and Merlin entered the courtyard.

"Um..." Arthur stood up, hiding his wet rag behind him, "We can explain."

Merlin raised an eyebrow and looked at the walls, "Hmm, looks like Morgana's Magic came back on it's own."

Merlin waved a hand and the children's mischief washed away in a golden river.

"That's not fair." Gwaine whined, "We've been scrubbing for hours."

Merlin laughed, gave Lancelot a kiss and walked off.

In short order Merlin cleaned up the kitchens, righted the laundry and collected Elyan and the children from a hidden room in the library, scolding Geoffery for harboring the fugutives, all of whom Merlin then confined to their quarters, Elyan included.

"How did you know?" Percival asked at dinner, the mischief makers seated on the floor near their responsible adult, Elyan had been assigned a knight to keep him from trouble and was pouting about it.

"Merlin put up a monitoring ward." Lancelot told him.

"What?!" Arthur yelled.

"You didn't trust us?" Gwen asked quietly.

"It wasn't you I didn't trust." Merlin said, gently and looked at his Dragonlings and their co-conspiritors, "With good reason, apparently. Since this was our first trip away, I guessed that their might be a revolt against whoever was left in charge."

"The day away was nice though." Lancelot said, "Next time we'll get Hunith to come. She raised you after all, she could probably handle it."

Merlin raised an eyebrow at his Mate.

"Are you implying I was worse than two hatchlings, a child Morgana, an impulsive knight and Leon?" Merlin asked.

"No, I'm sure you were worse." Lancelot said and dodged Merlin's swipe, "Merlin, you convinced me to commit identity fraud not even a full day after we met, not to mention every thing else you've done to keep Arthur safe and Camelot standing."

Merlin glared but sighed, "Alright, that's fair."

"Can we go back a moment? You commited identity fraud?" Gwaine asked, voice an octive higher than it usually was.

"I mean, we met in a tavern brawl, Gwaine, I'm not sure what you expected." Merlin pointed out.

"Next thing you know you'll cop to an assassination attempt on the king!" Gwaine cried.

"Well..." Merlin started.

"It wasn't an assassination attempt." Arthur snapped.

"It was just a fight in the lower town, at least their second meeting was." Gwen threw them under the wagon, "Although, Merlin did throw a puch at him during their first meeting."

"He deserved it." Merlin grumbled, "There was no need for him to be throwing knives at a servant."

"He had a shield." Arthur protested.

"Stop digging, Arthur." Gwen patted his hand soothingly.

"I've learned so much." Percival said quietly as Gwaine stared into space in shocked silence while Elyan looked at Merlin with new eyes.

Lancelot, however, looked at Merlin the same as always, besotted and willing to follow him wherever he might lead him.

--

A/n: so Merlin amd Lancelotxs vacation was cut short because their Chaotic children were left unsupervise, Theron was an angel and tucked away in a baby wrap the whole fic that's why no mention, he slept most of the time so.

#a knight #part 18 #mercelot #lancelot/merlin

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

This is based on a scene from the Netflix series Spinning Out, since Kat, Serena and their mother remind me of Sirius, Regulus and Walburga.

*********

"Maybe you should just leave everything there..." James said with a concerned voice "We can buy new stuff"

Sirius shook his head. There were some valuable things in there. Things that were irreplaceable. Like the collection of records he had received from Alphard. His books, his drawings, his pictures. Some other stuff.

God... Ok... Sirius hadn't told James that maybe the real reason he wanted to go back to that house was to see Reggie. He had been worried for the past three weeks, having terrible nightmares of Orion doing to him the same stuff he did to Sirius. He couldn't stop imagining Reggie all alone and scared. Like he used to be when he was a kid. Sirius had to see him. He had to ask Reggie if he wanted to come with him. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe Sirius could convince him. Maybe Sirius could rescue him from that hellhole.

So they told Effie and Monty they were having a nice drive to celebrate James' new driver's license. But in reality, Sirius dragged him here.

"I'll be quick, Prongsie. I promise" Sirius said, trying to keep his voice steady. Keeping the bad memories from that night out of his mind. That was the last time he had been at Grimmauld Place.

"You can wait outside if you want" Sirius added.

James shook his head, then he smiled comfortably.

"I'll come with you"

Sirius smiled back. He couldn't do this without James by his side.

The guards were very stupid to let them inside the property. Perhaps Sirius' parents hadn't forbid him the entrance. Or perhaps they were expecting him to come back. Maybe it was all a trap.

James parked the car just outside the mansion. Both boys looked at each other and nodded encouraging each other to move. They got out of the car, and walked to the door quickly.

Sirius knocked before he hesitated. But once he did so, he started shaking.

"Orion is probably not here" Sirius said nervously "Let's hope she isn't as well"

James nodded with a comforting smile.

Sirius hoped Reggie was the only one home. Sirius really hoped Reggie was at home. Sirius wanted to see him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Reggie who opened the door. Not even one of the maids. It was Walburga herself.

Sirius took a few paces back. So as James.

Walburga looked furious, but also very tired. She wasn’t wearing any makeup or elegant clothes. She was actually in jeans and a sweater which made her look younger and weird. She had bags under her eyes. And she had a cup of wine between her fingers, like always.

She took a nasty glance at Sirius and then at James. Then she smiled evily.

"Look who is back from the death"

Sirius remembered the last words she said to him. 'Nobody is going to love you. You are nothing but a burden. Who is going to stand your temperament?' But he tried not to act scared or intimidated.

"I am here to get my stuff" Sirius announced as confidently as he could and pushed his way through the door.

"Hi Mrs. Black" James added nervously before following Sirius inside.

Sirius realized it was the first time James actually visited his house (ex house). When Sirius had visited his so many times he had always been welcome. He even lived there now.

Walburga didn't try to stop them. She just followed them with her gaze. And as Sirius and James climbed the stairs, Walburga followed them too.

Everything was the same as it always was. But at the same time, it felt so wrong being there. Sirius felt like an intruder.

Sirius was walking through the second floor corridor, when Regulus came out of his room. Sirius stopped on his tracks. Reggie!

His brother looked skinnier, paler, sadder. Could that be possible? It hadn't been so long since...

Sirius remembered Regulus' expression as he left that night. Tears on his eyes, scared, sad but also angry. Very very angry. Sirius hadn't been able to shake that image out of his head.

"You're back" Regulus said.

His voice sounded different now. He wasn't angry. There was hope in his voice. Hope. It broke Sirius' heart. Sirius felt an inexplicable urge to close the gap between them and hug his little brother. God, he had missed him so much.

"Sirius won't be here long" Sirius heard Walburga's voice behind him. Regulus' eyes turned to her with fear "I bet his new mommy and daddy would be expecting him for dinner..." she turned to James "Isn't that right, Mr. Potter?"

James didn't dare to say anything.

"Go back to your room, baby" Walburga said to Regulus "And close the door"

Sirius wanted to beg Regulus not to leave. But he didn't dare. Besides, Regulus' expression changed with Walburga's words. He became angry. He gave a nasty look at James. Then a nasty look at Sirius before getting back inside his room.

"Fucking hell, Walburga" Sirius snapped furiously.

At least Regulus was alright. At least Sirius saw him again. Now all he wanted to do was pick up his things and leave.

He got inside his own older room, followed by James. He was surprised to see everything had been moved or stored away in boxes. That hit Sirius in the guts. Sirius had ran away before, but when he was back, everything was always the same. But not this time. It meant one thing. It was over. It was really over. Sirius wasn't welcome anymore this time.

"Here" James passed him a bag he found on the floor.

Sirius tried to avoid the knot on his throat as he started putting in the bag everything he could. James helped as well.

Walburga was watching them from the door, arms crossed. Then she rolled her eyes and buffed.

"What do you think you are doing, Sirius?"

"I am moving out with James... So I am talking my stuff"

What Sirius didn't know was that Regulus had popped out his head out of his room to hear their conversation.

"Your stuff?" Walburga snorted "It's not your stuff unless you pay for it. And you didn't. They are my stuff. And you're not taking my stuff out of my house!"

Sirius was willing to ignore her. He just wanted to be out. He felt like he couldn't breathe in there. But Walburga walked towards them, he pushed James away and ripped the bag out of Sirius' hands.

"Are you fucking serious right now, mother?"

She squeezed the bag between her arms like a kid.

"You're acting like a child!"

"Who is the child here, sweetheart?"

Sirius and Walburga stared into each other's eyes defeintly, like they always did. They fought and fought until they tasted blood. They both had the same temper. They both wanted to win.

But out of the sudden, James sighed.

"Come on, Walburga..." he said "Why do you always have to be such a fucking bitch?"

Sirius was surprised to hear those words coming out from his best friend's mouth. He would've laughed if he wasn't so scared and stressed.

James was surprised of himself too because the minute he said that, he started blinking hard and he went bright red.

Walburga was taken aback as well. She blinked in surprised and ducked her head to the side.

Then she frowned furiously.

"Why did you just say to me?" she asked.

James was still frozen, so Sirius decided to act quickly. He grabbed the bag out of his mother's hands who gave in easily, still processing James' words. He took James' arm and dragged him out of there.

Regulus retrieved back to his room.

"Sorry, Mrs. Black" James finally said as they were climbing down the stairs. Walburga behind them "I always wanted to call you that... This might be my only chance"

Sirius and James got out of the house and Sirius inhaled the summer air outside. He had been holding his breath. But there were not quite out there yet. They needed to climb to the car and drive away from the property. Fast. Now.

Walburga was still behind them.

"Come on, Sirius. You don't even know how to wipe your butt. How are you going to survive on your own?" she said as Sirius put the bag in the back seat "Are you going to depend all your life on The Potters? Let me tell you, they are not going to last long"

Sirius saw James frowning as he got into the driver's seat.

"Fuck you!"

"You're not going to last very long without all the luxury from this house" Walburga added "You're a spoiled brat. And the Potters are not going to stand you!" she shouted "With your changing moods and tantrums..."

"I don't care!"

He didn't want to waste his breath explaining to her how The Potters had been everything she hadn't. How they were so amazing with Sirius. How he felt comfortable with them. How they felt like home and he wished they could be his real parents. They would never leave him, or get tired of him. Right?

'But what if they do?' A voice said inside his head 'Walburga knows you longer. She is your mother and she knows how insufferable you actually are. How you ruin things. How explosive you are. The Potters hadn't met that side of you'

Sirius shook that voice away.

"As long as I don’t have to live with you anymore!" Sirius added.

Walburga looked at him.

"Fine!" she said as Sirius got into the car, next to James "Fine, do what you want"

Sirius didn't know if he should feel relieved. He was about to close the door when she added.

"Just know you won't be back in Regulus' life as long as I have anything to do with it"

Sirius froze at those words. No! Reggie! Did this mean he won't be able to see his brother again?

Walburga walked back inside the house with a wicked smile.

Sirius took a look at the mansion in front of him.

Regulus was in there. Regulus was still in there.

"Come on, Pads!" James said, getting Sirius back to reality "Let's get out of here before your father gets home. He gives me the creeps"

Sirius closed the door in defeat and James started the engine, when Sirius saw Regulus himself getting out of one of the first floor windows.

"Wait!" he said.

Regulus was carrying a bag. Why was he carrying a bag? Did this meant he wanted to come with him?

"Hang on!" Sirius told James as he stepped out of the car.

"What are you doing, Reg?" Sirius asked as he approached him.

Regulus took a quick look at James' car before answering.

"You cannot leave without Rufus"

Sirius gasped when he saw the little teddy in Regulus' hands. Rufus was Regulus' teddy bear when he was a kid. He used to go everywhere with it. One night, when Reggie couldn't sleep, because of his nightmares, Sirius had told him that Rufus was magical. Like an amulet, he said. That every time he held him, he won't have  nightmares. Regulus believed it. So everytime, Sirius woke up with nightmares or couldn't sleep, Reggie would lend him Rufus.

"We can share him" little Reggie had said "I don't want you to have nightmares as well"

Sirius tried not to tear up as he grabbed the teddy from Regulus' hands.

"But he is yours" Sirius whispered.

"I bet you are going to need him more than me"

Sirius smiled but Regulus didn't. He sounded angry.

"Plus, I am a grown up now"

Sirius hugged the teddy between his arms as Regulus grabbed the bag from the floor.

"Your precious records" Regulus put the bag on Sirius' arms "Mother wanted to throw them away but I rescued them, in case you came back" he looked down now. Like those words hurt him "You're welcome"

Sirius didn't know what to say.

"Now go" Regulus added.

"Come with me" Sirius' voice broke. He was begging and pleading with his words, with his eyes.

Regulus looked up at him.

"We can live with James now and then get a flat of our own..." Sirius continued, he felt his eyes were full of tears "Come with me... Please Reg"

"No" Regulus answered. Just like that.

Sirius frowned and shook his head. He didn't understand. Why couldn't Regulus come with him?

"Reg..."

"You took your decision and I took mine" Regulus interrupted "I want to stay"

"But..."

The car's honk made Sirius jump.

"Pads! Let's go!" James shouted.

Regulus was looking at him with disgust.

"You don't want your new brother waiting, Sirius"

Regulus spoke with the same venom as Walburga had spoken minutes ago. Sirius realized how much Regulus resembled her. The same sarcastic tone. The same frown. The same way she twisted her mouth. He even had his arms crossed. Just like her.

"Reg..." Sirius tried "Can I see you at school?"

Regulus took his time to answer.

"Goodbye, Sirius" he finally spat before returning back to the window.

Sirius had lost his chance. His heart felt small. His body felt cold. He wiped the single tear that felt down his cheek.

"Sirius!" James called now more gently.

Sirius walked back to the car like a zombie. He got in without saying a word. And James didn't insist. He drove away.

The whole drive back Sirius was silent. James didn't insist on talking. He turned on the radio instead. The further they were from Grimmauld Place, the more Sirius felt he could breathe. But he also felt so small. So vulnerable. He held Rufus between his arms as if the teddy was his brother himself. He couldn't believe Reggie didn't come with him. Was there anything more he could've done? Some more convincing? Perhaps just dragging him against his will until he understood?

Sirius looked out of the window when he felt he couldn't take it no more. And tears rolled down his eyes. He didn't want James to see him cry.

Regulus was all Sirius thought about. He didn't know if Regulus hate him or not. He didn't know if he would be able to see him again. He didn't know what Walburga would do to stop him. All Sirius knew was that he wanted his brother back. This was so fucking unfair. Why didn't he come with him? Why did he choose them? After everything....

When they got back to the Potter's property, Sirius felt more safe. But he wished his brother was here. So he hugged the teddy tighter. Regulus was right. Sirius would need Rufus more.

James turned off the engine and looked at Sirius with concern. Unsure of what to do. Sirius didn't want to worry him. He had done enough.

"I can't believe you called my mother a bitch"

Sirius smiled. James too.

Sirius and James began laughing at that, breaking any tension.

"I can't believe it either!" James giggled now more relaxed "It felt so great"

"I bet" Sirius smirked "She is actually a bitch"

They laughed a bit more. Then James smiled at him.

"Hungry?"

"Starving!"

James nodded.

"Let's eat some of mum's pastries before dinner"

James rubbed Sirius' hair before getting out of the car. Surely after, Sirius got out too.

He was back home.

#marauders #maraudersera #muggleau #marauders muggle au #sirius black #james potter #regulus black #walburga black #spinning out #the black brothers

[thecluelessdoctor]

EFFIE

effie but @krasytoonz royal AU :D I think she would be a gypsy of sorts that is with the rebellion, often times working with Howdy.

Although having only seen her a few times, she deeply cares for the king's maid, and wishes to one day be able to speak to her with out the fear of being caught by a guard.

She dislikes Barnaby, mostly because he is best friends with the king and it's just fishy :/

She also wishes to strangle the kings adviser. Lol.

Although the rebellion just wishes to overthrow the king, she wants to make the king feel all the pains his people felt when he was in rule.

#welcome home #welcome home au #welcome home wally #welcome home art #welcome home fanart #welcome home puppet show #wally darling #howdy pillar #Welcome home OC #i'm bored #barnaby b beagle #effie dragonfly #welcome home royal au #krasytoonz

[ineffablelunatic]

We need to talk more about Millais as a character because he's TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD

Ruskin trying to make him have an affair with his wife? Millais assumes it's just him being nice and carries on painting

His friends are feeling sad? He paints an embarrassing (adorable) picture of a little boy blowing bubbles to cheer them up

His friends are struggling with rent? Him and Effie offer to set up an artist colony so they can all live together

He believes in paying servants a good amount and treats his maid like a family friend

Also his relationship with Effie is THE CUTEST, he said when they argue they make up new nicknames for each other

Hers for him is MR CRUMPET AAAAAA

she says he's smart so he thinks he's smart

Millais is genuinely so sweet and too nice for his friend group

#desperate romantics #john Millais

[effiestuart]

            silent scrutiny penetrated doe eyed glances, from the unalloyed pigment-stained chiffon curtains to the dainty details of country pride, by way of swiss emblems, the house possessed, catherine should not, nor would she, be so easily fooled. an upturn of effie’s rounded nose, the first string pulled at the facade, and she smiled through her words, “ it’s quaint. ” and a glance around for appearances sake. “ did your maid forget to come? ” a reach is made for the sterling silver serving cover dome, detailed with moroccan design, uplifted with an aroma that could make any scottish boiled — no, english boiled food blush. “ when did you recently develop a taste for spices? ” or would any party who partook in witnessing the sister’s attempt a civil dinner see two crimson red flushed faces with each mouthful. an alabaster tone hardly hid it well.  ( @catherinestuart​ )

#❛ 𝑒𝑢𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑡 ‚ script #featured ‚ catherine #location ‚ morocco

[bisexualshakespeare]

BTS: I’ll write a DVD commentary about my personal favorite passage from Harvest Festival series :D

Question from this post

I think I'll do the part in Eckleberry Pie where Graydon goes to find Boorman to apologize

Boorman wasn’t far. Graydon found him downstairs in the dining hall, eating a piece of pie and sweet talking one of the maids cleaning up.

“Effie,” He said when Graydon sat next to him. “This is my friend. The pouty one that I left to check up on, causing me to nearly miss your fantastic eckleberry pie. Obviously shouldn’t have done that.”

originally this was blackberry pie because I love blackberries and didn't want Boorman to be drinking. Sometimes around when I was finishing I remembered Elora's task to grow an Eckleberry bush and thought that would be a fun call back. Also a bit of a callback to sad-angry-frown-prince

Effie smiled at Graydon, glanced at Boorman, and shook her head fondly.

I remember I agonized over Effie so hard. I was like 'what does she sound like? does she like boorman? is she bothered by him? what are they gonna talk about?' before I was like ok this is just an excuse to get them to fuck. she doesn't need to have extensive character motivations, she can just walk away 😆

Graydon cleared his throat as she retreated. “So. Thank you, first of all, for checking on me. That was nice of you to think of me.”

“You’re welcome.” Boorman said with his mouth full. Boorman talked a lot with his mouth full. Graydon was pretty used to it by now.

Sometimes when I'm trying to keep my mindset in canon, I will just reference things in canon to remind me I'm okay? This is me being like 'yeah you're writing boorman right. remember when he talked while eating the probably-not-men-who-were-turned-into-pigs at nockmaar? you're doing great' lol

“I admit I was a little harsh before. I was upset and kind of mad at myself and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I hope I didn’t offend you or make you feel like you weren’t wanted.”

Boorman straightened a little. “I wasn’t offended.”

Graydon slowly put a hand on Boorman’s arm. “Because you are wanted.”

a couple people in the comments have said this is surprisingly smooth for Graydon? I honestly was just trying to be like 'boorman is not a substitute for elora! graydon's not using him! i want to be clear here!' this is me waving my hands around

Boorman looked at him with surprise, and with berries in his beard. Graydon couldn’t believe he was going to have his first time with this huge goober. Then again, that huge goober was kind of his best friend.

Boorman is great but he is without a doubt the grossest of the group. He drank spoiled wine at nockmaar, ate the worms at the shattered sea fishery. I have no doubt that if he was in his feels about being rejected he would eat half a pie no problem. I don't know how much I was thinking about it as I was writing it, but in hindsight I think I wrote Boorman as having a crush on Graydon prior to the fic. Even if he didn't, I think he's a dramatic enough person to use any excuse to cry into dessert.

Boorman patted his face with a napkin in an attempt at nonchalance. “So what changed your mind?”

Remember when this said non nonchalance and we were both confused? lol

Graydon winced. “You know that consummating you mentioned? I kinda ran into it in the showers.”

Boorman gasped. “In public? Elora Danan’s not as vanilla as I thought.”

Graydon's mind briefly went to the marks he briefly saw beneath the robe.

I am just now noticing I put briefly twice in the same sentence. damn i was distracted thinking about elora in only a robe lol

He shook his head. “But also, you know, I’ve never done anything before. If you were interested, it would be nice to have someone-”

“So handsome and experienced in the art of love making?”

“I was gonna say, someone I really care about.” He smiled a little.

Graydon's just so sincere and sweet and truthful! and also can you tell I really REALLY wanted it to be clear he liked Boorman and this wasn't just a rebound?? That's literally all this scene was written for! if I didn't care about that, Boorman would've just been in the room when Graydon came back and they would've immediately started fucking. Which now that I mention it is basically what happened in Lightning Strike 😂

Boorman brushed a lock of hair from his face. “Well I’ll have to think about it while I finish my pie.”

“Of course.”

Boorman picked up the plate and poured the rest of the pie into his mouth.

“Alright, let’s go.” Boorman grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the hall as Graydon shrieked with laughter.

This is the funniest image to me! It feels so right for Boorman to be like 'well i'll save face' and then immediately not. I don't know if "shrieked" is the right word for how the actor would actually laugh in response to this but it is how *I* laughed so it went in! 😂

Thanks for asking! 😘

#ask game #fic: harvest fest

[my-life-a-reading-list]

Effie the icon

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

#the last hours #chain of iron #effie the maid #james herondale #cordelia carstairs #cassandra clare

[alj4890]

The Truth Comes Out

(Hugh Crawford x MC) in a Choices The Unexpected Heiress drabble

Thirty Kisses in Thirty Days Challenge with the prompt: kissing your lover because you believe you're going to die.

May Choices Monthly Challenge: weddings | crying | first love

Rating PG for mostly angsty fluff and some violence

Trigger warnings: gun violence, mentions of blood, mentions of poison.

A/N I haven't written for this pair in a long time. I give away the twist to The Unexpected Heiress in this long drabble, so spoiler warning ⚠️ enacted.

@hopelessromantic1352 @twinkleallnight @tessa-liam @choicesficwriterscreations @choiceschallenge-may2023 @jerzwriter

Masterlist

Catherine Hayes was at a complete loss. She'd actually believed she could be with the man she loved. After all, the Somerset family supported her. Though they were initially sad that she and Francis had decided against marrying, they'd still been kind to her, even considering her family.

She could still see Hugh's face when he thought they were finally free to be together. His smile twinkled brighter than the stars as he confessed his hopes for a future with her.

If only her stepmother, Delia, hadn't arrived. She was determined to see Catherine married to a peer of the realm. Titles and status were all she thought of. Anything that could elevate their already lofty level in society should be done to shine even more amongst the very wealthy of New York.

It was dreadful. Here Catherine stood, a young woman madly in love with another man, set to marry a man who though kind, was still deeply in love with her deceased sister.

Poor Francis, Catherine thought as she gazed out her window. How horrible it would be to marry someone who is a daily reminder of the one you lost.

And yet, in a few short minutes, that is exactly what would happen.

Catherine turned towards the standing mirror to gaze once more at her reflection. Her wedding gown was perfect. It was the dress she'd once dreamed of when playing make believe with her older sister, Amelia.

"Amelia." Tears came to her eyes. "What would you have me do? Would you want me marrying your Francis out of duty? Or would you rather I defy everyone and follow my heart?"

She searched for her handkerchief, pressing it to her eyes to stop her tears from leaving noticeable marks upon her cheeks. She sniffed, wishing she could once again be that carefree young girl who was able to daydream about her knight in shining armor.

Hugh Crawford at first glance might not appear the romantic hero. Yet Catherine had seen from the beginning that he was so much more than a mere solicitor. She didn't know what she would have done without his steadfast presence during the search for Amelia's murderer.

His kindness, his quick wit, everything about him drew her to him. She couldn't imagine a more perfect match for herself.

And now, as soon as the cue was given, she'd be separated from him for all eternity. There would be no chance to be together once she said her vows to Francis. There was nothing left for them to do.

Hugh already told her he was leaving England for good. Initially it had been his dream to practice law in America. Once he knew Catherine's family refused to let her marry anyone other than Mr. Francis Somerset, the future Viscount Ashbourne, Hugh was moving out of the country because he wouldn't be able to bear seeing her married to another.

Catherine knew he was somewhere in the chapel, sitting with the other guests. How was she going to be able to continue to walk down the aisle once she saw his face?

She was distracted from her thoughts when a brisk knock sounded at her door.

"Come in." Catherine called out.

Her maid and fellow sleuth, Effie came in, shutting the door behind her.

"Miss Hayes!" Effie was breathless with excitement and from rushing about. "I followed up on your suspicion."

Catherine blinked, her thoughts returning once more to Amelia's last words.

Blood runs.

Being half sisters, Amelia and Catherine's late mother stressed that blood does not run thicker than water. With so many people saying that the Hayes were not a true family in the same sense as many of their fellow wealthy counterparts, Amelia made certain that her younger sister never felt like she didn't belong. When their father married Delia and produced their younger brothers, this notion was repeated often to make each member feel more secure.

It was why Amelia's last words were so puzzling. If she wanted them to be a reminder of her love for Catherine, then she would have said blood does not run, instead of blood runs.

That's what spurred Catherine to take advantage of being in Huntsbury Hall. If the marquess was willing to murder her sister to protect his secret family in India, then perhaps his wife had a hand in it also to protect the legitimate family she had with him in England.

"Look what I found!" Effie handed her various letters from Vincent's mistress.

Catherine scanned the letters' contents. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she read about the marchioness knowing about her husband's other family and being the one to pay to keep them out of England.

At that moment, Rebecca, the Marchioness of Huntsbury walked in, quietly locking the door behind her.

"All is ready." She said in a cheery voice. "I must say, Miss Hayes that you look absolutely lovely."

"Th-thank you." Catherine stuttered.

She pasted a forced smile upon her face.

Rebecca's eyes zeroed in on the papers Catherine was hiding behind her back.

"Whatever have you got there? Surely you don't wish to walk down the aisle with those in hand."

She snatched them away from Catherine. Recognizing them for what they were, her pleasant demeanor turned to one of quiet rage.

"Why couldn't you leave well enough alone?" Her eyes narrowed upon the young lady. "Just like Amelia, you are determined to make everyone's private affairs your own."

Catherine paled the moment Rebecca pulled out a revolver.

"Lady Huntsbury!" She quickly said. "I understand your worries. With your eldest thinking of remaining in America, your younger children would be overlooked for their inheritance if Lord Hunstbury's other sons were to return and stake claim to his title."

"Then you see why the bribes had to be done." Rebecca kept the revolver directed at Catherine's heart.

"I do." Catherine tried to keep her tone reasonable. "But you can't force a woman and her children from returning home. They have rights too! And--"

"And like Amelia, you don't care that my children and I could lose everything?!" Rebecca snapped. "Vincent did nothing but bring us near financial ruin while he gave in to his lust."

She sneered at the very thought.

"I'm the one who has kept this estate and our family together! And if you think I won't do everything I can to keep it that way, then remember what happened to your sister."

"You killed her." Catherine shook her head in disbelief. "You risked everything to silence her."

"And you're next." Rebecca cocked the trigger.

"Is this the legacy you wish to leave your children? Their father a philanderer and their mother a murderess?"

"I'm leaving them a legacy of a mother who was willing to do anything for them!"

Rebecca took a deep breath.

"Goodbye Miss Hayes."

The door drew their attention once more.

Hugh was banging on it.

"Catherine, let me in!"

Delia's voice could be heard behind him, scolding him to return to the chapel.

He broke through the old lock, bursting into the room.

"Catherine, I can't let you go through with this wedding." He shook off Delia's hand trying to pull him from the room.

"You will leave my stepdaughter alone!" Delia snapped.

Catherine shook her head as the two were in the line of Rebecca's gun.

"Look out!" She shouted.

The pair turned and noticed the marchioness.

"Good heavens!" Delia exclaimed. "What are you--"

"ENOUGH!" Rebecca pulled the trigger.

Catherine attempted to push Hugh out of the way as he did the same with her. The couple tumbled to the ground. The bullet went into Hugh's side.

As Rebecca raised the gun to shoot them again, Catherine managed to knock it from her hand.

The marchioness went to grab a letter opener, determined to get rid of the young woman who knew all her secrets. She was beyond reason now and didn't care who witnessed her act of murder.

Delia snatched it away from her.

"You will not harm my Catherine!" She told her, pointing the slender knife at her.

Hugh struggled to his feet and knocked the marchioness down. He pinned her arms behind her back, shouted for Effie to call the constable, and checked to make certain Catherine was not hurt.

"Hugh, you're bleeding!" Catherine stumbled over to him.

She ignored Rebecca's shouts about Catherine and Amelia ruining her children's lives.

"I'm fine." Hugh bit out.

The color from his face was draining quickly as he handed the woman over to the authorities.

"Hugh!" Catherine tried to catch him as he collapsed to the ground.

"I'll get the car! We can get him to the hospital faster than waiting on a doctor to come." Delia ran out of the room with Effie following to find help amongst the guests.

"Hugh." Catherine cradled his head in her lap.

She gently smoothed his hair back from his forehead, tears falling down her cheeks.

His breathing was labored as he tried to remain conscious.

Hugh looked up at her. His lips twisted in a painful smile.

"Hello there."

Catherine laughed.

"Hello." She pressed her lips to his forehead. "Oh Hugh."

"Shh." He raised a trembling hand to cup her cheek. "None of that."

She sniffed, unable to stop her tears.

He gently urged her down for a kiss. Hugh could feel his strength leaving. Blackness ebbed at the edge of his vision, threatening to consume him.

His last thought was that if was to die, he wanted her lips to the last thing he felt on this earth.

Catherine returned the tender kiss. Her breath hitched when she felt his hand fall from her cheek.

"Hugh!" She pleaded. "Please, don't leave me. I love you so much. I need you--"

His eyes closed as the blood continued to seep from his wound.

*****************

Catherine sat by his bedside as the doctor explained the extent of the surgery. She held tight to his hand, willing him to wake up and reassure her that he would recover.

Delia and her sister Maude listened quietly to what the young solicitor had endured. They also couldn't ignore the obvious feelings Catherine had for him.

Once the doctor left, the entire story of Lord and Lady Huntsbury's actions were discussed.

"But why would she do it?" Delia repeated.

"She was determined to do anything for her children." Catherine pointed out. "No matter who it hurt."

Delia winced over that jab.

"I refuse to be anything like that mad woman." She stated.

Maude cleared her throat. "Our Catherine shared with me a while back her feelings for Mr. Crawford. Surely, you don't intend to keep them apart after all that's happened."

Delia met her stepdaughter's tearful gaze.

Her heart softened as she realized what she'd done to one she truly loved as a real daughter.

"You're right. I don't intend to." She reached over and took Catherine's free hand. "Forgive me, my dear. I won't force you to marry Francis."

"Delia!" Catherine hugged her. "Thank you!"

Delia shivered once she let her go. The mere thought of turning into the marchioness worried her. She'd been so ready to sacrifice the happiness of another to ensure that the right doors would always be open for her sons. She refused to go any further down that particular path.

"We'll leave you alone with Mr. Crawford." Delia gently patted Catherine's shoulder.

"We'll see you back at Lord and Lady Ashbourne's, cherub." Maude told her with a wink. "I believe you have some news to share with your Mr. Crawford once he awakens."

Catherine hugged her.

"Thank you, Auntie Maude." She whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. "For everything."

Maude kissed her cheek and quietly slipped out of the room.

"Catherine?" Hugh said softly.

She hurried to his bedside, taking his hand once more.

"Yes, Hugh?"

"I had the strangest dream." He mumbled.

"About what?" She pressed a kiss to his forehead.

His eyes searched hers. "That you were set free from your engagement."

Catherine captured his lips in a tender kiss.

"It isn't a dream any longer, darling." She whispered. "I am free to be with whomever my heart belongs to."

Hugh weakly grasped her hand. "I don't suppose you're willing to let it belong to a lowly, English solicitor?"

She smiled at him. "I'm afraid I can't give it to him now. For you see, he's had my heart this entire time."

"What a lucky fellow, he is." Hugh lifted her hand to his lips. "He lost his to you the moment he first laid eyes upon you."

"We are both lucky." Catherine pressed their clasped hands to her cheek. "Now, I need you to get well quickly."

"And why is that?" Hugh teased. "This is the first time I've been allowed to laze about in bed."

"I intend to make an honest man of you, Mr. Crawford. We're going to follow your family's tradition and have the little solicitors your family requires all Crawford's to bear. We will move to America and set up your new practice."

Hugh's smile grew as she went through all the plans for their future.

"And once in New York, we'll" Catherine paused as he tugged on her hand.

"Come here." He said.

Catherine leaned over, smiling as he gently ran his fingers through her hair, urging her down for a tender kiss.

"With a future like that, how could I possibly tarry in getting better?" He whispered.

[kahlanmars]

BAD FEELING part. 7

HELLO again! This chapter has my heart because I wanted to do a slightly different Haymitch. Oh, and Daisy has my heart.

TW: sexual assault

MASTERLIST

7. The Task

«So remember darling, you have a day off. We have to work on the interviews.» Effie declares in her Effie's voice, which you adore but right now you find slightly irritating. You know it's not her fault, it is you the one too close to a bottle. It's there, because of Haymitch, and sometimes you want to feel numb too.

You are scared, because a day off means that whatever you have to do is coming. You try to dismiss it, you take a big breakfast and you are mostly reluctant to do anything today when there’s a knock on the door.

You freeze wondering about the worst, but then you hear Effie with a relieved tone. «My kids!»

Her kids? Must be… you run to the door and you find Katniss, Peeta and Cinna.

Katniss looks amazing. She has long chocolate brown hair and she looks like she's glowing, and Peeta, pretty as he is, seems happy. Cinna is handsome, as always.

«Thanks for the hospitality, we are staying just for the night. We wanted to see the rest of the team.» Peeta explains with a sweet voice.

«Do you want tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate? I think I have an addiction to hot chocolate.» You offer, and come to hug them. You are not as close as Effie to them (Effie is basically a second mother for the both of them, with Mrs. Everdeen's problems and Mrs. Mellark's temper) but you know them from the moment they were born.

«Been there, done that. Try it with hot pepper. Tea, if you don't mind.» Answers Peeta. Dear heavens, you missed them. 

Well not like Effie, you never saw her so happy. 

«My kids, all grown up!» She cooes them like they are actual babies.

Like your old days as a maid you are on automatic pilot and you go in the kitchen to make tea, ignoring your escort's voice saying "There are avox for that!". You don't care, you want them to have a bit of privacy.

In the kitchen you have to suppress a scream because you see Haymitch, almost hiding.

«You scared me!» You touch your heart. 

«'M Sorry, sweetheart.» He smirks. Of course. 

«What are you doing here alone in the dark?» You want to know. You light the kitchen fires to make tea, and you watch him funny.

«Searching for supplies.» He lifts a bottle. Gosh, it’s seven in the morning. He is starting early today.

«Katniss and Peeta have arrived.» You inform him, and since you are in the dark you dare to take the bottle and take a sip, before returning to the tea. See? Bad men, bad habits. 

«I’ll come in a minute, little thief.» 

You look at him better and notice he wears the grey vest. This outfit on him is exquisite, you only want to undress him. Well you always want to undress him. Or talk to him. Or having him close to you. Maybe you have a problem.

«Do you know how sexy you are with this on?» You put your hands on his chest. You can’t shake off the sensation that something is wrong, but you can distract yourself.

He looks smug, even if he is drunker than usual, and he places his hands around your hips and his lips on your shoulders and neck. «Do you want to forget about them for ten minutes?» 

«Given that Peeta is a darling and Katniss is adorable… no, I don’t want to. Why are you hiding?»

«The fact you think Katniss is adorable, sweetheart, explains a lot about our thing here.» You burst into laughter and give him a kiss, then you turn around to spill the tea, and he slips a hand under your shirt. Thank heavens he can't see your face.

«They will know and you will ruin my image for them, I’m a teacher you know.» You lecture him, but you both know you are joking. And when he is that drunk he is cuddlier than usual. Or at least, he wants to take you to bed more than usual.

«Oh no, they will know I fuck the perfect Princess Daisy.» He mocks you, as he begins to bite your earlobe. You have to get out or you will never succeed, your willpower is not that strong when it comes to Haymitch Abernathy. «What will they think when they’ll know you look ravishing with your lips around my-» 

«Haymitch!» Maybe he is really drunker than usual. You try not to care that you are now blushing like hell. «Come with me, I’m giving tea to the kids.»

«I’m on my way.» He is lying, you know he is lying, but what could you do? You can’t give him advice on his job, or pointing out that the kids he loves immensely are here and he doesn’t want to meet them, and he is already smelling like a liquor bottle. 

«Is everything okay?» You dare to ask, but he shrugs his shoulders and puts a kiss on your head. 

«Keep your mind busy with something more important than me, doll.» So, it's a no. The answer is no.

«You are important!» He rolls his eyes and you know it’s time to withdraw. You don't want to be another displeasure, you know there are good days and bad days. «Ok, I’ll go. Just… I’m here if you need anything.»

«I just need a drink, sweetheart.»

«Daisy?» You hear Effie’s voice in the living room, and you quickly give Haymitch a last kiss before you go. 

«Effie? Oh.» There are two men at the door. They are tall, taller than your mentor and definitely taller than you, and dressed in black. Stereotypes. You don’t know what to do, you look at her petrified. It’s Snow, it must be President Snow calling you.

«Go, darling girl. Go.» She pushes you, to prevent the men from taking you with their poor manners.

«Effie…» You call for her help, even though you know she can’t do anything.

«You’ll come back in a minute.»

«Don’t tell Haymitch.» You beg her, and you are a little reassured when she nods. 

You are accompanied to the car by the two men, and you only want to run. You think of running, but you don’t want Snow to hurt Effie or your mother. You grew really fond of Effie, and now you consider her as one of your best friends. She means so well, and she always hugs you when she thinks you are sad, you really want to protect her. 

You don’t think of yourself as a particularly nice person, you play nice, you are gentle, but not because of your heart, it was just because of Holly’s education form. Holly was strict when you were little, preparing you for the life of a nice, kind, gentle adult. You don’t typically do things for the good heart, you do it to protect yourself and the people you love. Effie was now one of them.

«Miss Pinecone, please wear them.» One of the men hands you a headphone. You never saw something so little, but you wear it.

President Snow’s voice comes from the headphone into your head, like magic.

«Miss Pinecone, welcome. I told you I’d come for you. Now, I have a very precise task for you. There are people who wants you, I’m sure Effie Trinket and Mr. Abernathy didn’t fail to tell you. You are going to meet one of them.» You keep the breath. You knew that, but it’s not easier.

«…To kill him.»

You gasp. Snow wants you to kill someone? You never killed anyone. You never even killed a rabbit. 

«You only have to know this man's name is Marius. He thinks you are there to accomplish his pleasure. Pretend, and then use the things my guards will give to you. The odds are in your favour today, Daisy.»

You watch the guard as he gives you a little cup. 

«For the tea.» He explains. «Don't open it until you are ready to use it. Don't swallow it.» Poison, you think. He wants you to use poison, and in a way is better than another weapon like a blade or a dagger. You can manage poison.

It's a human life, you monster. That's the thought you keep repeating in your head and you regret it.

It's a man who thinks he can rape me because he bought me. That's the other way to think about it.

They drop you in a house and you enter slowly. It's huge, you only can see the room you are in because all the doors are locked and nobody can be seen. The room is empty and it has white walls and a tall roof, a little spooky maybe. 

But there's a dress and note. "Wear it."

You wear it, dick.

You open it and you let out a gasp. It's a little pink dress with little roses on it and a heart neckline, you were not born yesterday, it has a clear reminder.

This guy just made it a lot easier.

Shaking like a mouse you wear it and you try to watch yourself, but you don't have a mirror to do it. Your legs are exposed, and so your cleavage.

«What a great honour, one of the best tribute of the year.» 

You turn around to face the voice you listened to. It's a man in his early 40s, very tall and thin, and his skin is orange. Literally orange.

«You are Marius.» You say. A stupid thing you blabber.

He comes near to you. He smells like chocolate, but not the great hot chocolate you had this morning, a sick, too sugary food. You wonder if he is going to leave you a golden mark with his ridiculous dyed skin, you hope not.

«Yes, I am and you are very beautiful.»

You don't know how to speak. Your mind yells "Stupid! He wants you to be nice, so be nice!  Act, pretend!" but your body cannot do anything.

He stops in front of you and out of nowhere he slaps you. «When somebody says something nice, what do we say back?»

This bastard, I have to make him pay. I’ll cut his throat, no one slaps me. You think, but then you calm yourself. You can’t do it, you have to protect the people you love. Effie, Holly, Haymitch. You repeat their names.

This awakes you. «Thank you.» You let out in a guttural voice. «Can I have some water?»

You don't know how to slip the liquid in this disgusting man. It's in your underwear, protected, for now.

«Oh I've planned something better than water. Come with me.»

He is trying to be nice, you realise while he pushes you in another room. He is far worse than this, you can sense it in his eyes, in the way he moves. More violent, more ruthless. You hate him more and more by the second.

The second room is spookier than the first one, ambiguous. It's a bedroom with a giant mirror on the roof and a big bed with red sheets. Red sheets, how foolish is this Capitol puppet?

He hands you a glass of something and he takes one too. Ok, here's your chance. 

«You are a beauty for a district girl.» He compliments you. It’s a test.

«Thank you.» You don’t want another slap. 

«Do you want to do a spin? Like Katniss, last year?»

He wants to see your body. Something tells you once you do that he won’t joke anymore. 

«You first!» You try to smile like the perfect princess of the Capitol, that’s what he wants, what he bought you for. And given the pink innocent dress, he wants to ruin this image of you, to make you dirty. «I’ve never seen such beautiful skin colour paint in my district.»

Because we are not clowns in our district. 

He is vain, like every other capitolinian. So he smiles and does a twirl like a fool, and in a moment you spill the liquid in his drink. 

«Now your turn.» He puts a hand on your tight, and you stiffen. His touch is like ice. 

«Can I, can I drink before?» You ask, and you feel his grip tightens. 

«Of course, my darling.» He has put something in your drink, it has to be, why would he be so condescending then? Not giving you water, making you wait for the glass. So you take just a little tiny sip. But he drinks it all, and this is what matters.

You have to do the damn twirl. You begin to spin and you bow for him, and in that moment he presses you against the wall. 

«We’ve had our fair time to know each other, Twelve.» He informs you. 

No, you are not going to wait for the poison. 

«Please, please don’t do it!» You beg, but he puts a hand on your mouth.

«I bought you, bitch.» His eyes are cruel, cold. 

You bite him with all your strength and run as fast as you can to the door, but when you try to open it you find out it’s locked. From outside. You can’t get away, you are trapped.

«I’m going to fucking kill you, slut.» 

He tries to get to you, but his legs start to succumb. You run to the glasses to use them as a weapon if you need to, but you don’t. He starts to suffocate. His eyes become blood red, he cowers and starts shivering. 

Now it’s the time to feel empathy, but you can’t.

«President Snow did it, I didn’t. But I wish I would.» You say to him. If there are any cameras you are fucked.

You did it for the people you love, you repeat yourself, but there’s a little voice in your head that replies And you became a murderer.

You watch him as he throws up blood and then he finally dies. You shouldn't, but you can’t keep your eyes off of him. 

«Miss Pinecone, it’s time to return to the penthouse.» A guard opens the door and he escorts you.  

«Darling girl.» Effie keeps you in her hug until you are ready. You can’t tell her anything, but her embrace is a consolation. You stripped out of the dress the moment you arrived, and now you are in your nightgown, shivering like you are in a snowstorm. «It’s ok, it’s going to be okay.» She pampers you like you are a kid, and you let her. 

«You can go to sleep, we had a very busy day.» You say after a while, and she shakes her head. Well, she shakes her wig. 

«But you didn’t eat.»

«I’m not hungry, really.» You think you couldn’t eat never again. You feel bile in your mouth. «Where is Haymitch?»

Because if you are not going to hug Effie, you are going to hug Haymitch. You need to be in his arms.

«He is his room, but Daisy, he is not alright. I can manage it, if you want to go to your room and just sleep.» 

«No, Effs. You do it every year, I can take it from here.» 

She knows too well you are stubborn, so she gives you a pat on the head and goes to sleep. Gosh you love this woman.

The moment you step into Haymitch’s room you realise it’s one of these days. Haymitch, as cunning and brilliant as he is, is an addict. You can’t expect him to be perfectly fine, especially not this time of the year. You just didn’t want it to be a bad day today. 

You open the windows, and there’s vomit on the floor. It’s ok, not your first rodeo, and thanks heaven you didn’t eat. Your mentor is in bed, wasted like hell.

You try to stop the shaking, but he doesn't even fully realise it's you. You quickly clean the vomit and you sit on the bed with him.

«Haymitch, it’s me, it’s Daisy.» You try to talk suppressing the tears. They are no use right now.

It's actually fine. If you focus on helping your boss you can't think about what you just did. You repeat that to yourself, along with "I need to survive" and "I need to protect them".

«I did it.» Haymitch blurs and you caress his not-so-clean hair. 

«What have you done?» He tries to take your hand, and you let him. You know you should be furious, but you are too tired. All you want is for him to scoop a little, just enough to let you have your space. 

«They didn't want you, but I did it.» He keeps trembling.

«They didn't want me?» Who is he talking about? It seems a little too precise.

«Collateral… damage. But I said no. I did it.»

Ok, stop. If he didn't want to tell you this when he was sober, you have no right to know it when he's wasted. Especially since Snow is probably listening right now.

«It's ok, you did good. Do you want to sleep a little? With me?»

«…Missed you, sweetheart.» You don't dare to kiss him on the lips, not after he threw up - even you have limits. But you crave human touch, you crave his hugs because in his arms everything is safe. He will protect you.

«I missed you too, Haymitch.»

#fanfiction #haymitch abernathy #haymitch x fem!reader #haymitch imagine #haymitch abernathy x reader #haymitch abernathy x you #haymitch x reader #the hunger games #bad feeling #woody harrelson

[ilaiyayaya]

Ngl I Just Wanted To Complain About Arthur That's All This Is Really About

Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest Chapter 10 is like, so bad but also like so good but also like I fucking hate it but also like it's so good but also like. There is not a single map in the entire Fire Emblem series that I think about nearly as much as Chapter 10 of Conquest, I cannot think of any other map that lives rent free in my head like this piece of shit. I'm not even replaying Fates right now, just sometimes Conquest Chapter 10 just pops up in my brain and I spend 3 hours thinking about it.

When I play Fire Emblem my playstyle is generally super defensive, I like playing on the highest difficulty most of the time and I REFUSE to ever let any units die so like, why would I ever want my defenseless healer or my shitty low as fuck accuracy axe-user to be anywhere near danger, and this map is like the perfect counter to that type of playstyle. It's a super well-designed map, like it's really good, but I hate it so much, it's super early in the game, in Fates the first 5 chapters are a prologue shared between all 3 version, so it's effectively only the 5th chapter of Conquest, and so you don't have a lot of units to choose from, and those units are still pretty weak. I think by Chapter 10 of Conquest you can have 10 units I believe? you get 3 more a few turns in, and those new units are really good and make the rest of the map a lot less stressful, but it's still pretty bad even with those. The whole point of the stage is defending a 4 tile wide gate, but while you would probably assume this means it would be good to play defensively, absolutely not, enemies come in large waves from all sides and if you don't play extremely aggressively you will get overwhelmed within 1 turn. This is really hard to do on this particular map at this point in the game because of the available units, 1 of them is a healer that cannot attack (Elise), 1 is a dancer that technically can attack but does so little damage that she's only really useful for finishing off enemies with like 1 or 2 hp (Azura), and 1 is an optional trainee unit that is probably still too weak to do any more damage than Azura (Mozu). So basically you have 7 actual damage-dealing units to fend off large waves of enemies coming from 3 directions. The worst part is that of these 7 remaining unit, half of them were not at all made to be defensive, 1 is an archer that can take 1 or 2 hits (Niles), but obviously since they're an archer they can't counter attacks from one space away, 1 is a mage that will die in 1 hit (Odin), and 1 is a maid that really is meant more for healing than damage (Felicia), but she can at least do some debuffing and a bit of damage, still dies in like 2 hits tho. That leaves 4 units at the start of the battle that can actually reliably be put in the center of combat without instantly dying AND EVEN THOSE 4 KINDA SUCK AT THEIR JOB, the only truly outstanding unit is Effie who is a fantastic armor knight, whichever spot you place her at she can pretty much solo if you've leveled her even a little bit since her introductory chapter. The other 3 are Corrin (the protagonist) who isn't necessarily bad, and the exp they get from constantly being attacked is really good since they're a required unit for the entire game, but if you haven't levelled them enough by this point they can get overwhelmed pretty easily, another is Silas, who is potentially as good as Effie, but I personally rarely plan to use him long-term, so I usually don't level him a ton before this chapter so he's really weak for me, that's entirely my fault, but like, that valuable exp, I gotta give it to my other more useful units I can't just waste it on someone I'll drop later. The last of the available units at the start of the chapter is Arthur, Arthur is possibly my least favorite character in the entire series, I hate his character, I hate him in gameplay, I don't like his design, there is nothing about Arthur that I like, but you need to use him in this chapter AND HE'S FUCKING USELESS, he is the prime example of axe-users never being able to hit anything, even if you level him a decent amount, he isn't very defensive so he dies pretty quickly, he doesn't do much damage, and it wouldn't even matter if he did do decent damage because his accuracy is laughably poor, I have literally had attempts of this map where I have had him miss every single attack within the first 5 full turns, which is more than enough to kill a run and pretty much require a reset, he is useless, I hate him, I'm not talking about him anymore, fuck Arthur, hate that guy.

The first 3 turns are by far the hardest part of the map, dealing with the first few smaller waves of enemies and setting up your initial walls before reinforcements get to you is strangely enough a lot harder to deal with than the much larger waves of enemies that arrive in later turns, mostly because after turn 3 you get 3 more units and they are all very good. At turn 3, you get 3 extra units, Camilla, Beruka, and Selena, without these 3 this map would be a fucking nightmare (even more than it already is), Camilla alone is extremely strong and can solo most enemy units as long as they're not bow-users, and the other 2 help a lot in picking off every enemy that isn't already being walled off by Camilla or Effie. As the map goes on each new wave of enemies gets bigger and bigger, so it definitely does maintain it's difficulty throughout the entire stage, but once you've gotten a decent foothold after the first few turns, the rest becomes way more manageable. It's still hard, very hard in the 2nd half of the stage, 100% still nightmarishly difficult, and extremely frustrating if you do fuck up and now have to redo nearly an hour's worth of progress, however, whenever I play chapter 10, like 90% of my resets happen within the first 3 turns, those first few turns are brutally difficult, and if you don't simultaneously push the enemy back far enough, and create a good enough wall in the beginning, you will not make it very far once enemy waves start getting bigger in the 4th turn and beyond. It's such an interestingly, and also somewhat frustratingly designed stage, like in most Fire Emblem stages, once I get into a difficult situation I go "hrmm how do I get out of this situation hrmmrmrmrmr" and then I figure it out and I go "yipee!" but in chapter 10, if you make a mistake, and you realize you've made that mistake, it's probably already too late and it's just going to snowball into a much bigger problem within a few turns. I love resetting on turn 9 because a pegasus knight slipped by and killed Elise oopsies.

The way I've been talking about this makes it sounds like the most frustrating, least fun thing you could possibly ever experience in anything ever, and like, yea it kinda is, but it's also weirdly like, really fun??? Like, I feel like there aren't a ton of maps in any FE game that feels quite like Conquest Chapter 10, there are plenty of maps where you have to defend a point, but I don't think there's any others where you have to defend a point, while not playing defensively at all, because if you just sit there and let the enemies come to you, at least one is going to slip by. Like I said at the start of this, I play super defensively in Fire Emblem, I like to minimize risk of any units dying as much as possible, but the best way to minimize risk in this map, is to do the exact opposite as in most maps and just throw all of your strongest units directly into hordes and hope they don't die. Yea it's annoying, yea it's really fucking hard, yea it's really frustrating to reset like 30 times before getting past the 3rd turn even once, but like, it's fun frustrating, it's refreshing, I like it, but I also fucking hate it, fuck this map it's too well designed.

I had like, a lot more things I was gonna say about this map, but like, I forgor a lot of my points l had to go to work mid-writing this and so all thoughts evaporated from my brain and were replaced with PSO2 thinking gif and Soleil brainrot.

It's so sad that Chapter 10 happens too early to get Soleil, really it's probably the biggest actual objective issue with the map, unfortunately an issue shared between many early Conquest maps, if only the devs had the foresight to make Soleil available in Chapter 1, truly a major blunder. God why did they fucking write Soleil so poorly like fuck, her supports are impressively bad, like even for Fates she's written poorly. Soleil truly is the Conquest Chapter 10 of Fire Emblem characters, see I didn't just start talking about Soleil for no reason, there was a reason, it's called circular narrative, yea, yea that's what it is, I'm so good at this writing thing frfr.

#fe14 #fire emblem fates #eepy posting #culinary expertise #drywall-core #common fates w #common fates l #bunger #in my headcanon soleil is a well written character with really really good supports that aren't bad #in my headcanon fates isn't a poorly written game #let soleil be gay #chapter 10 #fuck arthur #:)

[kieraplaysthesims]

December 24, 1911

Britechester, Maine

Effie and I were not left alone for one minute on the ship back to the Americas! I was forced to spend all my time with John. Though he does seem to be rather sweet.

It is our engagement party tonight and while Judith is my matron of honor and Effie my maid of honor, the two have vastly conflicted feelings about the wedding.

My family is here breaking my solitude in the Lister household. Oh how overjoyed I am that we could host this at their home. It just looks like old money, whereas, well, you can tell my parents did not come from much when you look at their ramshackle cottage.

Wouldn't want the Finch's to know how new money we really are.

Though I am sure my million dollar dowry would set things right.

Of course as soon as any members of my family are left alone they start nitpicking each other and it eventually leads to a blow out like none civilized people have ever seen.

Oh God, will you please give me a different kind of family?

#ts4 #ts4 gameplay #sims 4 #ts4 historical #sims 4 gameplay #the sims 4 #ts4 legacy #simblr #s4 #sims 4 decades challenge #sims 4 decades #decades challenge #decades legacy #finchlegacy2 #finchlegacy

[sims-half-crazy]

The family decided to finish the attic and freshen up the home with some new roof decorations. Gilbert and Eugene would share the office while there was a small play area for the children at the top of the stairs and the maid's quarters were at the other end. When the children were no longer in bassinets, Nanny Katlyn would move into the room with Leah. The family also celebrated one of Effie's paintings being accepted into the Springhaven Museum. It was hailed as a masterpiece and gained her quite a bit of fame. The ladies of their local social club became friendly overnight.

Grammy Effie spent a lot of time with Eunice, and Eunice loved the attention. However, whenever Effie was painting, Eunice had a bad habit of escaping Nanny Katlyn's watch and falling asleep at the top of the stairs. The family had to make sure to watch out for the sleeping toddler.

#Gosnoll Ancestry #ts4 decades challenge #sims 4 historical #ts4 historical #decades challenge #sims4 #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 #simerican #ga gen 2 #Effie Gosnoll #Gilbert Collier #GA Gen 4 #Eunice Gosnoll #GA 1890s