#like how did she react to the first letter her father sent her from prison? the second? the third? the twenty-fourth? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mariacallous · 1 year

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On the night of March 29, the Belarusian authorities arrested Alexey Moskalev, the single father from Russia’s Tula region who fled house arrest the previous day, shortly before he was to face trial for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army. At the hearing, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison, while ordering his sixth-grade daughter to be placed in state custody. Moskalev’s arrest was first reported by Russian independent media and later confirmed by the Belarusian Interior Ministry. His current location remains unclear. Meduza spoke with lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov, who was in contact with Moskalev during his escape, about how the Russian and Belarusian intelligence services managed to find and detain him.

— Did Alexey Mosalev contact you himself? Why?

— I can’t share that information.

— You’ve written that he sent you a letter from his daughter, Masha.

— Yes, he sent me the letter. But I can’t talk about how he sent it.

— Was Alexey in contact with his daughter during this time?

— I don’t know.

— How did you react to the news about his escape? In your view, was it the right decision?

— The man was saving his freedom. It’s always better to be free than captive. The man was saving himself from the actions of a fascist law that’s not [a legitimate part of] the rule of law. It was his choice, and it should be respected.

— Can you say how exactly Alexey escaped from house arrest and got to Minsk?

— I don’t know all the details, and if I knew, I wouldn’t say.

— Could you explain why exactly you can’t talk about it?

— On February 24, 2022, we all woke up in [a country with] a fully-formed fascist dictatorship. In March 2022, a number of laws were added to the Criminal Code that are inherently fascist. They were passed specifically in order to punish people for having an absolutely reasonable, correct opinion.

Here’s what that means for residents of the Russian Federation: they can end up in a situation where they willingly or inadvertently face persecution from the state. A person might even say something not publicly but in a phone conversation, like what happened in the case of former police officer Sergey Vedel (Klokov). Or he might say something “anti-Soviet” in the kitchen while celebrating his birthday. Sometimes, in situations like that, the only way to save your freedom is to flee.

More people are going to face persecution from the authorities for expressing their opinions. And the more information we give about how to search for escapees, the lower their odds of success will be.

— Returning to the topic of Masha’s letter. You’ve written that Alexey asked you to publish it. Did you talk about when the best time to do this would be? [And] how it might be better to hold off until Alexey himself had reached safety? To avoid drawing more attention to the situation?

— Even without the letter, this case would have gotten a huge amount of attention. I’m not going to say why it was published at that precise moment. I can’t say to what degree it affected his arrest [in Minsk]. We’ll likely learn more about that later.

— [One person who] commented on Alexey Moskalev’s escape was former [Russian state news agency] Channel One employee Marina Ovsyannikova. In your view, should she have said anything?

— Marina Ovsyannikova didn’t say anything [new] at all. First of all, she said that she [herself] fled, which is common knowledge, since she’s not in prison but in Paris. Secondly, she said that some of the people who were involved in the Moskalev family’s situation also participated in her escape. Is it possible to glean anything useful from this information? I don’t think so.

— I don’t know; I’m not an FSB officer or a Belarusian KGB officer.

— Imagine you’re an officer, and you’re trying to get something useful from that information. And you’ll understand whether it’s possible to connect it in such a way as to lead to Moskalev’s capture.

— I would immediately connect it to you, since Ovsyannikova said that you’re one of the people who helped her escape. And [I would connect] you with Pussy Riot and the story of Maria Alyokhina’s escape. And that would give me an idea of where to search for Alexey Moskalev.

— I wasn’t with Alexey Moskalev. It [was] well-known that he fled. It’s also well-known that [Maria] Alyokhina is located outside of the Russian Federation along with [fellow Pussy Riot member] Lucy Shtein. It’s well-known that Marina Ovsyannikova is also located outside of the Russian Federation. How are those things connected? Only in that they all fled politically motivated prosecution. Nothing more.

— Yes, but we know, for example, that Maria Alyokhina fled Russia through Belarus.

— Belarus is large. Try to find a person even in a big, long building, if you don’t know where exactly to look. The [authorities’] search is conducted exclusively through the use of cellular and geolocation data analysis, as well as traffic tracking systems. It’s most likely that this is exactly what happened in Alexey’s case, but we probably won’t learn the details until later.

— How did you learn that Moskalev had been arrested?

— I can’t reveal that information.

— Do you still not know Alexey’s [current] location?

— No, [I don’t].

— On your Telegram channel, you described several possibilities for how Alexey’s situation could proceed, from his sentence being reconsidered and his daughter being returned in exchange for a public “repentance,” to even more charges being “tacked on” to his case. Which of these possibilities seems most likely to you?

— It depends on the people who are commenting on this situation. If they can find the strength to stop blaming each other and take care of business. In other words, if they start [characterizing] the situation as a mess and an outrage on the parts of both the Belarusian authorities and the Russian ones. [And saying] that it violates not even just the law but the most basic norms of public decency, including the “family values” that the authorities themselves claim [to care about]. Then, perhaps, the outcome of the case will be a bit better than if this endless name-calling about who said what wrong continues.

— Have you gotten any accusations in that regard?

— Towards myself, no. I’ve seen accusations against Marina Ovsyannikova. She’s once again being accused of having links to [Russian] intelligence, which is nonsense. The woman was granted asylum on the territory of a European country, because [the authorities there] knew her story and the persecution her family was facing. But despite all that, people are making absolutely moronic accusations.

In the KGB propaganda playbook, this is called the “rotten herring method.” It’s when completely insane accusations are leveled against a person, and they’re so insane that the person soaks up the scent of the allegations. That’s the scent of the “”rotten herring.”

— What’s going to happen to Alexey Moskalev now? Will his escape have an impact on his position?

— From a legal standpoint, fleeing house arrest can lead to the tightening of pre-trial restrictions; in other words, incarceration.

— After Moskalev’s escape, there were quite a few statements from people who have fled Russian at various times in the past. What do you think about that?

— Here’s my opinion: disclosing details is really bad. Note how that very same Marina Ovsyannikova behaves when she talks about this story. She doesn’t reveal any information. She says: “I escaped through forests and fields.” She doesn’t say in what direction, on what road, in what clothes, in what wigs, what disguise her daughter wore, what means of communication they used, who transported them, what vehicles they used, or what country they went to. She’s silent on those issues, and rightly so. And the people who talk about those things are doing a disservice to civil society.

— Is it still possible to help a person who’s being persecuted to flee Russia?

— I believe it’s possible.

— You helped Marina Ovsyannikova escape. Do you think it’s right for a lawyer to do that?

— Here’s the principle I’m guided by. Do you have the chance to save a person and his children from humiliation, from being separated from their family, from possible death in prison due to abusive treatment in case of obviously politically motivated prosecution, like what happened to Marina? Then just do it, no matter what, and may God help you. Come what may.

I’ll repeat once more: a fascist law is not [a legitimate part of] the rule of law. This law, which contains direct and blatant discrimination on the basis of a citizen’s attitude towards an aggressive, predatory, and illegal war, which has been designated as such by a U.N. resolution, is not legitimate. It’s legally void: its application, from a legal perspective, should not entail any legal consequences except for rehabilitation and damage compensation for the illegal criminal prosecution in the national jurisdiction.

In international jurisdictions, the application of this kind of law to a citizen by the Russian authorities gives him the right to apply for political asylum in another country in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. This is on the one hand.

On the other hand, if Russia’s “courts” and “investigative bodies” believe they can apply these kinds of laws in practice, they need to reread the Nuremberg Principles, especially Principle VI.

— Are you going to assist Alexey Moskalev now? Is there anything you can do?

— This is the most awful, most outrageous and despicable story in recent memory. It’s an unbelievable disgrace for all of the organizers and everyone involved in the persecution of Alexey and his daughter. I’ll be following Alexey’s fate very closely. Whether there’s anything I can do to help him will become clear in the process.

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gbee-writes · 2 years

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A Star Shines

Chapter Fourteen

---

The door to his cell clanked open. Kantus looked up from his book and was met with a frowning Des. “Yer father’s come fer ye.” He waited for a moment, as if there might be more to add, but was forced to move off the bed when Des stayed silent. The book was placed where he had been sitting.

His heart was pounding in his chest. For some reason it seemed as though butterflies had taken residence in his stomach. It would be the first time he’d be home in just over a month. How would everyone react? How would they treat him?

In great contrast to the first time Kantus had walked the bowels of the ship, that first fateful dinner, Des was beside him rather than behind. Her jaw was clenched tight. It seemed almost as though her fingers kept twitching towards her sword but he was sure that was only his imagination. His thoughts rolled over themselves, fighting for his attention. If Father had come that meant he would certainly be wed as soon as possible. Kantus would be moved to one of their smaller estates no doubt and he would be forgotten again until Father found need of him.

He wondered if he would be allowed to send letters to Jekle. Would he be allowed to speak with him once he was returned home? Kantus nearly faltered as he last flight of steps came into view. He blinked as harsh sunlight blinded him as if it had a vendetta.

“I see you are doing well.” Father’s voice sent a shock of fear through his chest. How long had it been since he had felt one of those? Kantus couldn’t quite recall.

His eyes cleared. Toun was standing by the gangplank with a deep scowl. “Hello Father.”

Toun’s eyes flashed. “Be quiet and let the captain and me speak.” He said the words with heavy levels of contempt. Kantus did as he was told, his heart twisting at the tone. After discussing the ransom price and handing it to Des, Toun gestured Kantus over. His lip was curled as if he were staring at filth. Kantus took a faltering step before stopping. “Kantus.”

His heart was threatening to beat out of his chest but Kantus wanted to ask something that had bothered him for ages. “Father?” Toun glared as he waited for Kantus to speak. “...Do you hate me?”

Something unfamiliar crossed Toun’s face. It looked almost as though he had seen a ghost. Or...almost like guilt. Very quickly, rage replaced the strange emotion and Toun gestured down the gangplank to a waiting cart. “Get in the carriage.”

It was clear that any further hesitation would result in punishment. Kantus took one last mourning look at the crew before walking down the plank, smoothly stepping into the carriage and waiting for Father to join him.

----

Des’s fingers itched as she tried to keep them off her blade. Lord Toun had followed Kantus to their cart and had left in what felt like rather a hurry. The way he’d reacted to Kantus trying to reach out-. Des swallowed down a growl. This wasn’t any of her business anymore; Kantus had been their hostage and now he was returning to his home. His welfare was no longer her concern.

She sighed. Somehow she couldn’t get herself to believe the words. Her mind refused to move on to anything else, anything but the way Kantus had looked as he left. So much for Kantus being like any other hostage.

“I’ll get Juns his medicine an some food,” Des started as she filled her money pouch with more than she needed just in case. “Ye all get’er ready teh sail again. We be takin off in a few days time.”

It was a moment before the crew started going about the preparations. As Des stepped onto the dock, Baesil fell in line beside her. She didn’t say a word at first. Des was grateful for it, unsure of what to say.

There was a hollow place in her chest she didn’t find very comfortable and she had a sneaking suspicion it had everything to do with the loss of their... She wasn’t sure what to call him. Prisoner didn’t feel quite right anymore. Kantus, by the end, he’d felt like more than that. Almost like...Des shook her head.

Baesil grabbed her shoulder. Her smile was contrasted with a sorrowful glint in her eyes. “I told you he’d be different. I could tell from the first time we spoke; he was much kinder than the others.”

“Aye.” Des let out a hollow laugh. “Aye, that ye did.”

----

Jekle had been forced to wait to speak to his brother until after it was time for bed. When Kantus had emerged from the carriage that morning, Jekle couldn’t believe his eyes; the person who stepped out looked almost nothing like the Kantus he knew.

His hair had grown long and unruly, tied back in a loose ponytail that didn’t actually hold it all. A respectable scruff had grown on his face and he was wearing clothing that Jekle had only really seen on the poorest peasants in the town or the grizzled sailors that occasionally came to the better market. He seemed just about as uncouth in his actions as well, though Jekle supposed that could have been because he hadn’t been allowed the luxury of acting proper.

Now though, after spending the day being fixed up by the servants and being under Father’s watch, Kantus was clean shaven, his hair tied in a neat braid, and his clothes, while they were his nightclothes, were of much higher quality and care.

He was leaned on the railing of his balcony. There was a wistful look upon his face. It were as if his mind were in a completely different world. The staring off into space would explain why he hadn’t answered Jekle’s knocks.

“Kantus?” Jekle kept his voice low to try not to startle the other.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Jekle stepped up next to him and followed his gaze to the port. He could see the lights on the ships as the night settled in with the sailors. “It’s different when you’re actually there. The atmosphere can be so warm this time of day down there. You can hear the crews playing music to wind down from their business.” His voice was unnervingly distant, like he was dreaming fondly of being back there.

Jekle pursed his lips. “Father wanted me to bring you up to date with-”

“My being married soon...” The dreaminess faded away as Kantus spoke. “What is she like? My bride?”

Jekle bit his cheek. Pulling Kantus from his thoughts right then might not have been the best idea. He decided to just go on anyway. “Her name is Yewle. She’s quite a gentle and kind lady, very beautiful. She seemed very pleased when I treated her as a person and not just a deal between Father and Lord Bristol.”

“Yes, that would please me as well.” Kantus sighed in a defeated way before turning around so his back was against the rail instead of his arms. “How many times have I seen her? And what did I do with her?”

“Just once; you strolled the garden together before eating dinner.”

“Only once. I assume that I was...rather warm towards her?”

“You were. You smiled quite a lot.”

Kantus sighed again, more bitter than before. “Well then I sincerely hope I can enjoy her company again at tomorrow’s ball. I wouldn’t wish to disappoint her.”

Jekle rubbed his arm. This wasn’t really the way he was expecting Kantus to act. Shouldn’t he be happy having a gentle bride? Shouldn’t he be happy getting away from Father’s manor? Being safe at home? “...Kantus?”

“Yes Jekle?”

“What was it like there?” Jekle felt as though he’d been hit as Kantus seemed to light up. Before he could react, his brother was going into detail about his captors and the way he’d been treated. The more he heard the more stunned he was. It didn’t sound miserable at all, quite the contrary; it sounded as if Kantus had made friends with the pirates who had stolen him away.

Jekle’s heart sank the longer Kantus went on. Was his brother crazy or were these pirates...were they really better for him than being home? Kantus paused a moment. He seemed to be thinking something over.

Finally he reached into his shirt and pulled out a charm on a rope. It was a sword, though it seemed to have strands of metal hair around it. “Pev gave this to me. She made it.” Kantus was watching the necklace as if it were his child.

Jekle pulled him down into sitting on the balcony instead of standing. Kantus was acting more like his old self than ever, happy and full of life. “Why don’t you tell me more?” He got comfortable as Kantus started speaking about a dual he had been forced into. The stories lasted well into the night. His eyes were itchy with sleep before Kantus ran out of things to say.

“Oh dear...” Kantus said as he yawned. “I’m keeping you from your rest. You could have asked me to stop.”

He chuckled weakly at the words. “I wanted to hear you speak. I’ve missed being able to simply just speak with you.” Something sad, something almost relieved, crossed Kantus’s face. “Although, it would be best if we retired for the night. Father has quite a big day planned for you.”

Kantus’s face fell. “Yes, I suppose he does. I wish he had taken me home sooner, so I could have more time to prepare.”

Jekle nodded his agreement. Tomorrow was the celebratory ball for the engagement and the day after was the wedding. That hardly seemed fair. Kantus deserved more time to adjust being back but Father had been deeply insistent on having Kantus be gone as long as possible to lower the chances of him messing something up. Jekle and Ston had been in charge of keeping up the illusion that Kantus wasn’t kidnapped all the way up to the end.

Guilt wormed it’s way into Jekle’s chest. He couldn’t bear the feeling of it. “Kantus...?” His brother furrowed his brows at his tone. “I must tell you about something important...something Ston and I are planning.”

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@givethispromptatry

@cinnabarmint

#my writing #writeblr #a star shines #I'm so excited to be at this part of the story #I have so much planned for the next few drabbles I write #like big big plans #I've been brain storming and outlining it for like two months now

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kdramachitchat · 3 years

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Episode 5 -- Judge Gaon makes a return to an actor’s case that results to a 20 year imprisonment which includes a special twist. All thanks to Elijah. We also dig deep into Yohan’s vulnerability and a surprise connection with Ms Jung.

Yohan's vulnerability

Kang Yo Han usually has a very flawless & powerful appearance, but in the latest episode's opening, his face is stained with distressed tears and his hair is in a untidy look. His vulnerability seems to come out whenever his dead half-brother Isaac is involved. Despite being a half-brother, Isaac was a good brother to Yohan. He protected him from their abusive father and in return, during the fire Yohan promised to come back and save him but never did. The guilt is eating him alive and even more-so that Gaon is a lookalike and his words attacked his suppressed feelings. Even worst when Yohan woke up from his nightmare, he saw Gaon right away and Elijah making a comment that he looked like he saw someone that he killed. She hit the spot. Gaon also apologized for the things he said about him and his brother. Yohan tells Gaon that he doesnt want someone to make that comment especially if it’s someone who looks like him and that it is a coincidence. Yohan sends a warning to Gaon, he will damage anyone who gets in his way and Gaon understands. Yohan adds that he wont kick Gaon out as he enjoys working with him.

After the trial, Gaon and Yohan has another discussion. Is it better for Yohan to become the monster rather than the victim? Gaon harshly says that Yohan’s inst even brave enough to fight his own demons. Flashback shown of a younger Yohan getting beat up by his father and the adult Yohan asking the imaginary father to stop attacking him. Yohan mentions how sick and tired of he is with this home. His home only reminds him of terrible memories.

Ms. Cha visits her son and makes a live tv appearance

Ms Cha visits Lee in prison and automatically uses her power to pursue the guard. Once she sees him suffering from his sleep as a mother she silently wept. She requested the guard in-charge of the wing to take care of him until the next. The next day, she did a tv broadcast interview about her son which was also seen by the President and the First Lady. Ms. Jung makes an appearance and makes a sarcastic comment on her situation. Although Ms. Cha says that she tries everything in her power to survive, despite the SRF watching her case unfold. Ms. Jung says that her way is an offence and not a defence. This hinted to Ms Cha that it looked like the SRF has prepared something for her and the program ain’t over yet. Maybe the situation of putting Judge Kang into a bad light like saying how inhumane the sentence is especially during the 21st century. It was a hot debate. Yohan watches the live interview from his home and comments how the public can just suddenly change their opinion. Yohan makes a call and asks someone to investigate on who is behind Ms. Cha.

Yohan receives results from the detective and finds out that they dont have any information on who’s behind Cha Kyunghee. The detective thought that maybe Ms. Cha could’ve done it on her own. Yohan made a observation of the live show. He noticed that the flogging marks from the photo shown were fake and that she’s not into showmanship. He knows that Ms Cha surely receives help and the highest possibility is the SRF. So, he plans to attack the foundation’s Dream Home project.

Judge Gaon makes a grand return

After recouping his strength from the attack, Gaon finally returns to the live program with a big reaction. He gets introduced grandiosely and even has fans. He earned the nickname “Idol Judge Kim Gaon”.

The case of sexual violence

A new case is about the actor named Nam Seokhoon. He is accused of committing sexual violence and the prosecutor makes a comment how its rampant in the entertainment business. He was immediately charged with habitual sexual assault. Yohan adds that Mr. Nam has committed 3 accounts of sexual assault and 2 forced indecent acts. The actor admits to all charges.

Flashback shown of the prosecutor and the celebrity meeting beforehand. The actor doesn’t want to admit and defends himself that he likely made a mistake once while he was drunk but not a sexual assault. The actor called one of his female castmate and demands her to visit his hotel room, while using his seniority level. He says that the actress hit him first and in his case so many girls try their best to be on his good side. He adds a new detail that he also has a daughter. A evidence was provided: A hard disk that was beat with a hammer by the actor. With modern technology its easy for files to be opened and looks like the actor has kept a hidden folder.

The prosecutor presents him with a sentence of 20 yrs of prison. He will be treated to remove all sexual impulses. Yohan clarified if he meant chemical castration. Since chemically its expensive, the prosecutor suggests him to be physically castrated instead. The actor reacted with eyes wide open, in shock that this wasnt the sentence they agreed on. While Judge Gaon and Oh disagree as its too harsh Ms. Jung suddenly makes an entrance at the court.

Another flashback of Ms. Cha and Ms. Jung talking during the live interview break. Ms. Cha knows that if the judges expect a sentence being too harsh they’ll be disappointed easily and how much of it is a difficult assignment for Judge Yohan. Judge Yohan didnt make a final decision and ends it with saying they’ll make a decision with the council.

Judge Oh and Gaon discusses the proper sentence for the actor. They feel that it is too much and that Gaon fears for the country despite having criminals in it. Are the sentences being too violent?

Judge Oh makes a statement and compares her and the prosecutor’s living conditions. How their living conditions differ with the state of their crime rate. She compares that in her neighbouring district there was a even a homicide. She wants the defendant to have their own rights as well. the crowd was moved and agrees to her statement.

The judges made their final decision, Mr. Nam is to serve 20 yrs in prison and no more additional charges or so we thought. We came back with the scene of Yohan coming to the center. The judges couldnt make a final decision hence they can only hand down a prison sentence. Although he will be in a prison that specializes in rehabilitating sex offenders. Mr. Nam will be sent to Texas, USA where the habitual sex offenders are incarcerated. The judiciary of both countries signed a MOU in agreeing to cooperate with the rehabilitation. Judge Oh and Gaon were pleased with the decision. A ‘Hah! In your face!’ moment Yohan eyeing both the prosecutor and Ms. Jung. Like how Gaon realizes that the Kangs are intelligent, Yohan surely does his research. That will definitely impress Ms. Jung.

Elijah

Elijah in enrolled in a computer engineering program at Stanford. Gaon is surprised that Elijah is already in college and how can she do classes without physically having to be there. He finds out that Yohan likely made a large sum of donations and according to the website there’s a hall dedicated in the name of her. Intelligence runs through the Kang’s blood and that there is no limit for Yohan when it comes to Elijah. He will give her the best.

After the live court, we also find out that it was Elijah who scoured the US to find a appropriate prison for Mr. Nam. She altered her voice while negotiating with the Texas State.

The former maid

After the trial, Yohan receives a formal letter from the SRF and gets attacked at the meetup place. He then comes back awake and is chained up to a chair at the house of Ms Jung. Yohan realizes how some things surrounding the room reminds him of a certain past. The room is a recreation of his home. he realizes that Ms. Jung used to work for the Kang family as a maid. That’s some twist.

#2021 #The Devil Judge

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ourloveisforthelovely · 4 years

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Second Chance

Harry Potter AU

Pairings: Sirius Black x Reader

Summary: After escaping from prison, Sirius gets a second chance to fix the mistakes of the past 13 years.

Rating: M

______

‘I’ll keep an eye on her. I don’t want you to worry.”

Remus Lupin’s words rang in your mind over and over every day since Sirius escaped from prison. You were still a worried mess the day that you sent Matilda off to Hogwarts with Harry. Looking at your daughter, you couldn’t help realizing just how much she resembled her father.

‘“Mum, it's fine. You’re really worrying over nothing. Harry and I will work on that whole being good thing.”

You knew that Matilda was trying to appease you with simile promises that she would be unable to keep (but she tried). It never failed, you would get a letter from Minerva within a few weeks of the term beginning that Matilda had fallen from grace.

‘ I wonder where she gets it?

You thought sarcastically as you kissed both children goodbye. Matilda turned and gave you that little smile that always sparked memories.

Your mind went back to Sirius and pain went through you yet again. Thinking about your husband... ex-husband...whatever he was to you; made you want to cry. It had been 13 years since he was hauled off to Azkaban for a crime that you honestly wasn’t sure if he committed or not. Part of you wanted to say no but the other part was questioning everything. Sirius was in a hellish mood when he left the house that morning. Hellish was probably putting things lightly! It didn’t matter how much you begged him to stay home. He had one thing on his mind and apparently it was murder.

Some of the rumors about Sirius made you laugh. When people said that he was a death eater, it took all you had not to go ballistic. Sirius was never in the same race as those nutcases. Besides, you had seen his whole body on a regular basis. There was no dark mark on him.

At that point, you were three months pregnant and apparently very naive. You never thought that the man you had been in love with since you were a girl was capable of doing what he was accused for. When Peter Pettigrew’s finger was the only thing that could be found, the logical side of you had a feeling Sirius did exactly what he planned on doing.

It was Matilda and yourself that suffered in the long run. After Sirius went to prison, the two of you were pretty much forgotten about by all of your friends. Your brother Remus was the only one that remained by your side. That you expected. Remus would never abandon you.

After about two years, you were finally able to gain custody of Harry. It took ages of fighting stupid Vernon and Petunia. They were convinced that you weren’t capable of caring for him. You were the single mother of a little girl whose father committed mass murder. However, after they got tired of dealing with the baby; they were more than happy to hand him over to you.

“Mum?”

You smiled as Matilda ran back to you and threw her arms around your neck.

“You are going to miss the train if you keep coming back.”

You said, pushing her dark hair away from her face.

“I just wanted you to know that I won’t go looking for him.”

Matilda was sad to see the wave of sadness wash over your face. Since she was a little girl, she had seen you suffer with what her father had done. Matilda hated admitting it but she knew that you were still in love with her father. The fact that you still wore your wedding ring and had never gone on another date told the girl everything that she needed to know.

Did Matilda think that her father actually killed those people? She wasn’t sure. You couldn’t give her a direct answer. Everyone else was quick to say yes but that didn’t mean anything.

Matilda was relieved when you finally smiled. She wished that you were able to smile more.

“I know. Just make good choices this year.”

“I’ll try.”

Matilda honestly tried to keep her promise to be good. The first of the school year was a bit of a pain. Matilda had gotten sick of all the other kids whispering about her behind her back. Whenever her father was mentioned, she would sink down in her seat and pretend that she was invisible. Had it not been for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Matilda would have probably gone around the twist a long time ago.

It didn’t help that all of the professors seemed to be watching Harry and Matilda like hawks. Matilda had quickly gotten annoyed with the looks of sympathy that her uncle Remus would give her any time that her father was mentioned.,

“I just want this year to be over.”

Matilda muttered and put her head down on the herbology book that she had been attempting to read. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gone out hours before to be with Hagrid while Buckbeak was being put out of his misery. Matilda had thought about going down but she decided to stay in the common room. The last thing that she wanted was a howler from home over being out after hours.

“Matilda!”

She looked up when Hermione came running into the common room.

“What? I’m busy playing dead.”

Hermione reached out grabbing her friend’s hand and tugging the other girl to her feet. It wasn’t a difficult task as Matilda was smaller than all of her friends.

“Let's go.”

Matilda struggled to keep up with Hermione as they quietly made their way down the hallway.

“Where are we going? My mum is literally going to kill me if I get in trouble again. Remus told her about Harry finding that map. I am guilty by association. You saw the letter that we both got!”

Hermione shook her head.

“I know just come with me. I can’t say right now. Too many ears!”

Matilda sighed. She had a feeling that this was going to be a mistake in the making. If Matilda got in trouble maybe she could tell her mother that she was forced into going outside. Maybe she would buy that...not a chance.

Once outside Matilda followed Hermione to the whomping willow. Matilda quickly yanked her hand out of Hermione’s.

“Hermione, stop! I am not about to go near that tree until you tell me what in the name of all things holy we are doing.”

(Meanwhile)

Harry sat beside Ron as Sirius and Remus continued to scare the crap out of Peter Pettigrew. He hadn’t said it but he was afraid of how his godmother would take the news that Sirius was actually innocent and Matilda was finally able to meet her father. Harry was also worried about how Matilda was going to take everything. He had been trying to keep Matilda safe all year and now he was letting her face her biggest emotional trauma.

Sirius had turned around to glance at the door,

“What’s taking so long?”

He muttered, nervously. Sirius was disappointed that Matilda wasn’t with Harry and the others. After spending most of the school year watching his daughter and godson; Sirius wanted nothing more than to actually talk to her. The moment that he had finally seen her for the first time it took all that he had not to fall apart!

Sirius had quickly regretted every decision that he had made that day 13 years ago. He wished that he stayed home when you begged him to. “Sirius, I don’t feel well. Can you please calm down and just stay home? You are going to go cause chaos and get hauled off to prison. Would you please think about our baby?”

Your words had haunted him for years. Now he could only hope that he could fix the wrongs that he caused. Was it crazy for hoping that you hadn’t moved on and would take him back? Probably. If you had moved on, it would crush him even more! Sirius couldn’t handle the thought of another man holding you the way that he was supposed to or another man being dad to his child.

Harry patted Ron’s shoulder before walking across the room where Sirius stood.

“Matilda is very nice. She’s a lot like Y/n.”

Harry was relieved when Sirius smiled.

“She and I tend to get into trouble a lot together. I think sometimes Y/n doesn’t really know how to react.”

Harry continued with a smirk. Sirius’ grey eyes rolled to Harry.

“I suppose the two of you come by that honestly.”

Harry shrugged. Although he didn’t know his godfather much he could tell the man was worrying over the aspect of meeting his daughter for the first time (in a very unorthodox way).

“Matilda doesn’t blame you. Neither does Y/n. I know them well enough. There isn’t hate in either of them.”

Harry was about to add more about Matilda when he heard footsteps coming closer. Matilda’s voice was the first that he heard.

“You punched Malfoy? Was it glorious? Did he puke?”

Hermione’s perplexed voice was next.

“I think he wanted to.”

Meanwhile, Matilda walked down the tunnel with her mouth open. Listening to Hermione's tell of socking Draco Malfoy was enough to make her whole week. Matilda had been wanting to lay into the kid all year long! From the time that school started, Malfoy had made it his personal mission to make Matilda’s life hell. Now he was getting his comings and goings.

“I would have made him puke.”

Matilda said with a smirk, ignoring Hermione's worried tone. Hermione had deliberately left out the fact that her friend was about to meet her father for the first time when explaining that Ron’s leg was broken.

“So...Harry, Ron, and I went down a tunnel under the whomping willow. Ron has broken his leg and we need your help.”

Matilda’s attention focused on the beat to hell door that was a few feet away. She silently prayed that Remus wasn’t sitting in his office staring at the map. If she got caught, Matilda had no idea how she would explain this one. She would be better off telling her uncle that she was selling drugs or joined a top-secret fight club.

“I swear Hermione if Remus catches us out here all hell is going to break…”

The moment that she stepped into the room, Matilda froze seeing her uncle a few feet away with his wand pointed and some bizarre-looking man.

“Oh, crap.”

Matilda muttered as Remus turned to her. His green eyes didn’t look mad or surprised like she had expected.

“Matilda.”

“So...are we forming some kind of secret society in here or something?”

Matilda asked as the strange-looking man on the floor made a mad dash at her.

“Matilda! You look so much like your parents! Please don’t let them kill me!”

Matilda jumped back against the wall with wide eyes. Whoever this man was made every warning bell in Matilda’s mind go off at once!

Sirius, meanwhile, was seeing red. He almost killed Peter the moment that he talked to Harry. Now that the trash was trying to touch his daughter, Sirius was ready to commit the crime that he was imprisoned for. He quickly reached out and kicked Peter away from the frightened girl.

“Get your filthy hands off of her.”

Matilda, meanwhile, stood with her mouth open realizing just who the other man was.

“What is going on here?”

Matilda managed to squeak. Remus had slipped around the room ready to comfort the child and explain what was going on.

“Matilda, everything is okay.”

Remus started. Matilda shook her head. This was not okay! On what planet was being inside the shrieking shack with her convict father who was on the run okay? A better question was why was her uncle so damn calm?

“Uncle Remus, I think you are going mad. How is all of this okay?”

Remus looked up to Sirius who was staring at his daughter with pain-filled eyes.

“Sirius, talk to her!”

Matilda’s eyes rolled to her father as he stepped closer to her and kneeling down beside her.

“Matilda, I’m not going to hurt you. Sweetheart, you are so beautiful. You look so much like your mother.”

Matilda didn’t move to speak for a moment. This was everything that she had wanted! From the time that she was little and saw her father’s picture for the first time; she had felt cheated that she had no time with him. It was beyond difficult seeing other little girls with their fathers and not feel jealous.

Now here Sirius was telling her how much she looked like her mother. Matilda glanced toward Harry for some kind of confirmation that this wasn’t some fucked up weird joke.

“It's fine, Tilly.”

Harry said, softly. Matilda turned her attention back to her father.

“Mum says that I look like you.”

Sirius almost melted when Matilda finally spoke. The way that she looked afraid of him broke Sirius’ heart. The last thing that he wanted was for his little girl to be afraid of him. When her afraid expression was slowly softening.

“You have Y/n’s lovely features and I bet if you smiled it would look just like her too. I love both of you very much, Matilda. I would have never done anything to hurt either of you.”

Matilda forgot about the others in the room. This was the conversation that she had dreamed of having for a long time!

“I have one question.”

Sirius had a feeling what it was going to be. Hell, he knew.

“I never killed those people and I can prove it to you.”

Sirius stood up and walked across the room to grab Peter by the shirt. Matilda stepped back against Remus as the mousy looking man was drug back over.

“Matilda, this is Peter Pettigrew.”

She glanced back at her uncle for confirmation. Remus nodded as he gently placed a hand on Matilda’s shoulder. Sirius hadn’t let go of Peter as he glared down at him.

“Show her, trash.”

Peter winced, knowing that he was trying his luck. He hesitantly held up his hand to reveal the missing finger. Matilda’s eyes widened as she put her hands over her mouth.

Sirius dropped Peter; not caring how hard he hit the ground. He went back to Matilda and knelt back down beside her.

“That day, I only went to scare him but the little jerk got the better of me. I lost my temper…”

Matilda smiled, softly. Her mind was going a million miles an hour as she took everything in. She wanted nothing more than to get her mother on the phone but she also didn’t want to leave the conversation with her father. What if she never saw him again after this? Matilda wanted some kind of memory.

“Mum says that I got that from you.”

“Your mum would know. Matilda, I’m sorry that I haven't been there like I should have been. I regret…”

Matilda held her hand up. Sirius froze. He was suddenly very afraid that Matilda was going to say that she wanted nothing to do with him.

“You’re here now. That’s what matters. Mum still loves you...for what it's worth.”

“It's been a long time, sweetheart.”

Matilda reached into her robe pocket and took a photo out of her pocket. She smiled before handing it to Sirius. He looked down, almost wanting to cry, the moment that he saw you. Everything about you was still the same. You looked as though you had barely aged in the past 13 years.

“I know my mum. She hasn’t moved on.”

Sirius’ eyes rolled back to her face. He slowly reached out and cupped her cheek.

“We’ll see what happens. I have to keep you both safe for the time being. Maybe soon we can be a real family again.” 1 week later…

It had been a busy day. You had been working long hours since Sirius had managed to escape. Being an auror was harder and harder every day. You had been fighting the internal war of if Sirius ever showed up would you haul him back to prison or let your husband go. How would you explain either to Matilda? Neither seemed like a great idea but the first wore you down the most. If you were to let him go, maybe you could see him at least once more.

You’re being stupid.

You thought miserably. Seeing Sirius again probably wasn’t going to happen. It had been months and he hadn’t come to you yet. If he was going to come to you before now it would have happened.

This was what made you question Sirius even more. The man that you married would have been back trying to sweep you off of your feet. He wouldn't act as though yours or your daughter’s existence meant nothing.

Walking to your doorstep, you searched through your bag for your keys. Finally finding them, you glanced down at the door and something caught your eye. A small bouquet of daisies lay on the mat. Your mouth dropped immediately. Only Sirius knew that your favorite flower was daisies and this bouquet was made up just the way that he used to do.

“I think that I was wrong…”

You muttered before looking at your door and wondering just what was going on inside...

________

@brokencasbutt67-writer

@authoressskr

@fandom-trash-worth-it

@hankypranky

@wontlookaway

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts

@untoldshortsofthefandoms

@marichromatic

@stuckinsaudi1

@deanwherescas

@knight-of-gleefulness

@sprnaturallover

@tas898

@li0nh34rt

@shaylybaby2032

@mycuddlycorner

@shitfaceddaniel

@emiwrites3reads

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wardisahi · 4 years

Text

CONTRASTS BETWEEN PIPER AND CINDY IN S7E9 OF OITNB

I’m making this post based off of contrasts between Piper and Cindy from Orange is the New Black in Season 7 episode 9 called “The Hidey Hole”. These contrasts are based off of internal reveals made by those two characters and how they and the people who reacted to them dealt with them.

Piper’s internal reveal was her being in prison and having to keep it a secret from the outside world for fear of being judged. She revealed it to her coworkers in front of her father. Cindy’s internal reveal was her having a daughter named Monica but she gave her to her mom and Monica grew up thinking Cindy is her older sister and her “mom” is actually her grandmother. Cindy didn’t reveal it herself, but the truth was revealed from a letter that her former friend Taystee wrote as revenge for Cindy testifying against her in court.

The episode began with Cindy being a helpful member of the family like making breakfast for her daughter and mother, doing the laundry, and finding a job. The second scene showed Cindy at her job interview. She applied as a caretaker at a group home for the elderly and she managed to get the job. It started out good and happy for her. We first see Piper talking to Zelda after their morning workout and she tells her that she is gonna come out clean to her coworkers.

Piper was fixing a ceiling lamp at work and her coworkers wondered how she became so good at fixing things. While her father was there, she lied that she was in the Peace Corps. Not wanting to keep a part of herself inside, she decided to come clean to her coworkers which made her father embarrassed. However, her coworkers were accepting of her.

Cindy came back from her job interview elated but her smile faded away when she saw her mother and daughter arguing. She finds out that Monica read the letter Taystee sent to her and she was shocked to find out someone from prison found out about her secret (in S6, Cindy wanted to tell Taystee about the coming trial and what really happened, but instead she chose to talk about Monica). Monica was furious and upset at both Cindy and Lillian (the name of Cindy’s mom). Cindy tried to tell Lillian that she had nothing to do with the letter, but Lillian got angry at Cindy for ruining everything and making her clean up a new mess every time Cindy shows up in their lives.

Lillian: It’s never your fault, is it, Cindy? But somehow, every time you show up, there’s a whole new mess I got to clean.

Those words made Cindy decide that she’s better off without her family and she would only make things worse.

The next scene with Piper showed her talking to her dad and telling him that she cannot live by keeping a part of herself inside and she wants to embrace herself. Her father understood and they both reconciled. The next scene with Cindy showed her leaving her home, but her mom saw her and is angry again at Cindy for bringing a new problem and expecting her mom to fix it. Cindy told her mom that no matter what she does or how much she wants to change, she just ends up making things worse. Lillian told Cindy to stay and make amends with Monica, but Cindy refused. Lillian then told Cindy to leave and never come back.

Bill: Piper, I don’t understand. Is it a millennial thing? This need to share everything with the world?

Piper: Do you know how exhausting it is to walk around every day pretending like a part of your life doesn’t exist?

Lillian: Wait, Cindy! That’s it then? You drop a bomb in the middle of my house and then run off?! I thought you said you changed!

Cindy: I thought things would be different! That if I try hard enough, maybe I could fix what I messed up! But it doesn’t matter what I do or how bad I want to change! All I ever end up doing is making things worse!

The last we see of Piper in that episode was her talking to Alex in person about her internal reveal and also her outdoor retreat from the last episode. Alex lies to Piper about CO McCullough not selling phone chargers to her even though they were doing so. The last we see of Cindy is her walking on the streets and she sees a homeless man, wondering that will be her future and no point in fixing what she did.

Overall, Piper started out by repressing her secret then she revealed it thus embarrassing her father. They both reconciled over what she did and thus Piper felt relieved in the end that a part of her self was released and thus confessing it to Alex, even though there was a lot that’s going to happen later on, like Zelda and CO McCullough selling phone chargers to Alex plus the sexual relationship. Cindy started out as happy and things going her way, but it ended up horrible as the letter Monica got ruined everything. Due to Cindy running away from her family and home thus living on the streets, it would take a long time for her family to forgive her.

#orange is the new black #oitnb #oitnb s7 #orange is the new black season 7 #netflix #piper chapman #bill chapman #alex vause #cindy hayes #black cindy #lillian hayes #monica hayes #the hidey hole #s7e9 #season 7 episode 9 #analysis #contrasts #my analysises

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lillithenettix · 4 years

Photo

Part 3

Part 4/?

Part 5

With Putunia out of his view, Habit wanted to turn around. Look after her as she ran as if that would give him any answers to all the questions appearing inside his head.

Read the rest of the fic under the cut!

He still remembered the day she got checked in by her parents. She was very loud and violent. Jumping around his office as soon as she entered, not even sparing him a glance.

So rude! He wasn’t looking forward on having to handle her at the time.

At least she seemed to appreciate his wall art. He liked it when his creations got acknowledged and fawned over. It caused him to feel a sense of accomplishment. Throughout his life he learned to cherish the little things. They kept him going. Pushing him forward when nothing and no one else did.

As he started talking with her parents, something felt oddly familiar. It scratched at the back of his head like a caged wild cat trying to escape its small prison. He didn’t let it show. He just answered all their questions. They had so many it was almost making head hurt. Most of them were just silly, even in his less-than-sane opinion.

Is it really free? Is it legal? We don’t have to come to check up on her until the very end, right? Could you provide a free ride for her to get back home?

At some point he stopped paying attention to the parents’ blabbering and just kept nodding, while looking at the little girl still engrossed in the paintings. He hoped he could get the parents out of his hair soon. He really wanted the mind-scratching to go away.

Once the parents seemed satisfied with everything, they called Putunia over. Habit was still looking at her, not sure if feeling delight to meet his newest Habitician or something akin to annoyance.

Not even a second later, he decided it was annoyance. As soon as Putunia set her eyes on him she, for some reason unbeknownst to him, decided that he was a super villain. He was taken by surprise when she sprinted towards him only to punch him where she really shouldn’t have. Not even a man built like Boris could keep standing after that.

Once he was done dealing with the pain on the floor he ushered the father away even if he was trying to help him. Boris stood up, trying to contain his annoyance at the whole situation. He wished he had Pabit here with him right now. He was sure he could’ve stayed calm with him on his hand.

As he was about to take a few deep breaths, maybe count backwards from ten, he saw what was going on. Putunia standing straight and tense with her eyes closed so hard her whole face was wrinkled, her mother raising her hand above her head-

Suddenly, he knew what the scratch in his mind was. It was abruptly so obvious. So painful. So familiar.

He saw a much younger Boris, his father, and his Lily. They were standing in front of him. He was frozen still. It took him only a blink to get back to reality. See the little girl, her mother, and her boxing glove.

His body moved on its own. It felt like he had no control over it. He grabbed the mother’s raised hand in a flash, maybe a bit harshly at first, but he let go just as fast. Thankfully, it seemed to get the point across.

Don’t hit her.

He remembered being in a bit of a shock for a while, his voice completely lost to him. That’s when he drew the first anti-violence poster, or rather, post-it note.

He didn’t do many things right in his life but, he thinks, that’s the one thing he didn’t screw up.

His reminiscing got put to a halt when, immediately after the little girl was out of sight, a man with bright pink spectacles appeared before him.

It was Dallas, the painter. The first thing he noticed were the paint stains on him. He was always messy when it came to painting. Different colors were smudged on him every day. You could almost tell what he was painting just by looking at those.

Then, looking up, he noticed a snowdrop hanging above Dallas, stuck behind his headband. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from it for a while.

Purity, innocence, sympathy… That’s what the flower meant. Though, somehow, that didn’t sound right.

After burying the Tooth Lily seeds, he didn’t have anything to do with flowers anymore. He avoided them for so many years. It was easier ignoring what his heart yearned for that way. Only once he was brought out of his manic state by Flower Kid did he allow his mind to wonder about flowers, study them, and appreciate them.

He had to think harder. What does a snowdrop mean?

A hand casually put onto his shoulder broke his train of thought.

Boris finally looked down, away from the flower and towards Dallas. The younger man put his other arms onto the table, and leaned his head on his hand. The relaxed smile plastered onto his face made Boris feel calm. It’s like his smile was telling him-

“Don’t worry, dude.” Dragging out the words like he usually did. “All’s cool.” He took off his glasses, hooked them onto the low collar of his shirt leaned closer. His smile turning a bit more devilish.

Habit could feel his breath now. As seconds passed he got more and more flustered at their proximity. His heart skipped a beat in anticipation as Dallas closed his eyes, puckered his lips, and sent a kiss to Boris.

Boris wasn’t sure how to react. Another kiss, just for him! Blushing, he opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t sure what but he needed to fill the silence. It was simply too much!

Dallas didn’t let him get even a squeak out before he removed the snowdrop from his headband and tucked it behind Habit’s ear next to the other two flowers.

He gave Habit another pat on the shoulder, “You can, like, relax now.” And continued on the same path as Putunia.

Ah, he remembered the meaning now.

-----

When Dallas came across the Habitat website during his art block he thought he found his solution. The page was totally inspirational. Like, the bold colors, the doodles, the everything! It really didn’t take him long to pack up his art supplies and make his way there.

Even before entering the Habitat, when looking at the whole area, he was itching for a brush. The whole resort was an art project, if you ask him. Especially the weirdly shaped tower. Honestly that one looked ready to collapse at any moment, but he was no architect, he’s sure it’s fine.

When he entered the place he was getting a bit giddy seeing all the wall art. Could his art block, like, really end here? Is this the inspiration he needed?

Wanting to soak in as much of the view as possible in as little time as possible, he jogged around the place. The more he explored the calmer he got. It was a big place. A unique place. And the whole experience could be an inspiration by itself. The giant wall doodles were also nice, but it wasn’t quite cutting it. Something was missing. He wanted something more.

Should he really stay here? He wasn’t sure anymore.

Not having time to think his decision trough, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, using enough strength to not give him room to resist.

The person responsible was like, super tall, very green, and kinda pretty. Taking in the comically fluffy hair, giant blue coat, and little top hat on top of his head, he put two and two together.

“Whazzup, Doc?” He made a little peace sign, as if it added to the conversation.

The doctor tilted his head, seemingly waiting for some elaboration from Dallas.

Okay, maybe it was like, totally weird to come in unannounced and then wander around for who knows how long, instead of going to the medical professional running the place. But who can blame him? He’s an artist in need of motivation!

“So, like, I want in.” Does he, really? “Into the Habitat, dude.” Guess so.

The tall guy instantly perked up, hooked his hand around Dallas’ own, and dragged him towards the tower.

“Oh, then follow me!” He was already dragging him places, but okay, got’cha. “You will love it here!”

Dope, he sounds genuine. It’ll be, like, fine.

It’s been so long since that day.

Besides his first week there, he barely saw Habit around. Eventually, he forgot about him. Well, kind of. There were so many self-portraits and doodles decorating the Habitat it was hard to keep him completely out of mind. Only towards the end of his stay, when the creepy PSAs of his started playing every night, did Habit start lingering in his mind for longer periods, rather than just quick and easily forgettable reminders.

He wasn’t sure what exactly went on with Habit behind the scenes, but it didn’t seem very… chill. He might’ve been a bit dense, but not blind.

In the end, he ended up hearing about the events that transpired during the big event from others.

Maybe it was the fact he hadn’t experienced any of the bad stuff directly. Maybe it was the fact he’s a criminally chill dude. Or maybe it was the fact that Habit was genuinely remorseful about his actions, by the tone of the letter, even desperate. Whatever the reason, it didn’t take him long to make up his mind and accept the Doc’s invitation.

He even thought of the perfect gift to bring him, to celebrate his new beginning. Something representing hope.

A snowdrop.

#my art #my writing #Dallas Smuth #Boris Habit #smile for me #smile for me game #sfm #dallas is such a pleasure to draw

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onewfantaesy · 4 years

Note

Does Taemin ever find out what happened to his father? What did taemins father do to him? And how does tae react to the news of what happened?

Taemin’s father was extremely abusive at any sign of magic. Luna had run away when she was 17, had stayed with the first man who showed interest in her despite the fact that he was over 10 years older than her, and then had a child with him. She hadn’t told him at first that she was a witch, had only said anything when Taemin summoned a toy to himself when he was a year old, and he hated it. Thought he could beat the magic out of both of them. Taemin was quick to learn how to control his magic as a child.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Luna gushed when she saw Taemin get off the train at the end of the year.

“Mother!” Taemin grins and runs at her. His grin falters though after they hug, and he’s clearly looking around for his father.

“We’re going to be staying with my brother for a while,” she says softly, fixing his hair. “I’ll explain everything once we’re home, I promise.”

“Where’s Father?”

“Let’s go home,” she says, hooking her arm with his and pulling his trunk behind her.

They apparate to Jinki’s manor. He has to stay at the school for another week, grading final exams and going to staff meetings.

Taemin learns before dinner that Jinki had a friend working at one of the muggle police stations. A muggle born he was classmates with who went into the police force. He sent as much evidence as he could about Taemin’s father.

He was arrested and found guilty of both child and spousal abuse. Luna had already filed and become divorced from him. They wouldn’t have to see him ever again.

Taemin clings to her for the rest of the afternoon. For rest of the evening. For the rest of the week. Jinki comes home to find Taemin cuddled against Luna in the sitting room, unwilling to move from her side even as Jinki greets them.

“Father’s in prison,” Taemin mutters to Jinki after a couple days.

“Yes, he is,” Jinki says softly.

“But it’s a muggle prison,” Taemin says. “Not a magical one.”

“That’s correct.”

“So no one at school has to know,” Taemin says, his voice shaking. “No one has to know why.”

“No one has to know,” Jinki assures him. “You don’t have to tell anyone.”

“Is that the only reason you’re nice to me?” Taemin asks, not looking Jinki in the eyes.

“No,” Jinki says seriously. “I’m nice to you because you’re my nephew and I love you. Because you clearly have a knack for Herbology and enjoy talking with me about it. Because you’re a sweet boy who eats all my chocolate biscuits when we have tea.”

Taemin’s lip twitch into a smile at the light teasing.

“Would you like to help me in my garden this summer?” Jinki asks. “Maybe even go to the school with me a couple times a week to tend to the greenhouses?”

“Can I?” Taemin asks, looking much more interested.

“I would love nothing more than for you to help me.”

Taemin spends the rest of the afternoon with Jinki talking about different aspects of Herbology well beyond Taemin’s grade level. After dinner, after Luna has sent Taemin to bed, she lingers in the doorway of the sitting room where Jinki is bent over a Herbology text.

“He admires you, you know,” Luna says softly. “You’re probably the Father-figure he’s always wanted. He gushed about you in every letter he sent me this year.”

“I didn’t think he really liked me that much,” Jinki admits. “I thought he cared more about the Herbology I was teaching him than me.”

“He loves Herbology,” Luna admits. “But he loves you, too. In his own way. He’s just very shy, is all.”

“He hides it well,” Jinki says. “The shyness. He’s a lot like you, really.”

“I’m hoping he ends up more like you,” Luna says. “I don’t want him running away as soon as he turns 17, after all.”

“That’s not the only thing that defines you.”

“Mother thinks so.”

“You haven’t spoken to her in a very long time,” Jinki says softly. “She misses you. She wants to see you. She wants to know her grandson.”

“The last time I spoke to her, she said I should drown my son in a river and pretend I never had him. So I could come back home. So I could marry a good pureblood boy and have good pureblood babies,” Luna says in a dark voice. “There’s a reason we no longer speak to each other.”

Taemin’s hatred for his grandmother suddenly made sense in Jinki’s head.

Jinki felt sick to his stomach.

#taemin #shinee #onew #snake den au

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gone4neow · 5 years

Text

The New King ♔ dks

Chapter Six

- kyungsoo x reader, royalty AU, prince!kyungsoo

- warnings : swearing, mature content, arranged marriage, good looking men

- word count : 2,705

chapter five or chapter seven or masterlist

♔ ♔ ♔ ♔ ♔

The princess had went straight to her chambers after her talk with Kyungsoo. She had gotten dressed as if she were going to bed before she had poked her head outside her door and handed her letter to her father to the guards. ‘Deliver this to one of the handmaidens to send off.’ She had shut the door before they could argue that it wasn’t their job to do that. She leaned her ear against the thick wood and tried to listen to their conversation through the door after that. After a few minutes of arguing with one another, the guards agreed to go together to find one of the handmaidens. She smiled in triumph at the sound of their fading footsteps. Anxious to see the prince, she grabbed the box they had discovered yesterday and raced out of the room.

The library was empty just like it had been the first time she had come alone. The princess wasn’t sure what time Kyungsoo would show up, nor was she sure if he would come with good news. Still, she read a book to try and tame her mind as she waited for his arrival. It was an hour and a half later when he bursted through the doors of the library. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on her and she smiled assuringly. He had assumed she wouldn’t come. His relief was visible as his shoulders slackened and his jaw loosened.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long,” he said quietly as he made his way to where she sat. It was the same chair she had fallen asleep on nights ago. She shut her book, shaking her head as she did so. Before she could stand up from her seat, the prince knelt down in front of her. His hands were placed on the armrests of the chair and his eyes were locked with hers.

“I need to apologize for avoiding you today. I was scared,” he apologized in a voice so soft that the princess almost missed his words. She sat up straighter, with a confused frown on her face.

“Why would you be scared?” She questioned.

“When you walked in with Sehun... the two of you were laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I suppose it was just jealousy but how could I not be jealous when fate has already promised him a marriage to you?” He spoke quicker than she had ever heard him speak before. She understood his fear now. She reach out, hesitantly, and rested the palm of her hand against his soft face. He leaned into her touch and let his eyes close for a moment.

“I thought you regretted yesterday when you wouldn’t look at me,” she confessed in shame. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at not recognizing his true frustrations right away.

“No, never,” he told her with a small smile. She laughed quietly and he leaned up so that their lips could meet. She melted into him immediately, letting her hands run down the smooth skin of his neck until she was gripping at his shirt-cladded chest. With a few seconds, she was running her tongue across his plump, bottom lip. Prince Kyungsoo tasted like fresh fruit mixed with the sweet taste of chocolate. She could only guess what snack he had prepared earlier. Whatever it was, she couldn’t get enough. The prince was the first to pull away. He pressed his forehead against hers and breathed in small pants. She could feel every breath rake across her lips. It was intoxicating and she had to stop herself from pulling him back against her lips again so soon.

“What is it you want me to do?” She asked lowly as her eyes searched his. He was silent for a moment and then he muttered one word that she wished he hadn’t. ‘Run.’ She released a shaky breath at his request, knowing it was the one thing she couldn’t give him.

“My kingdom is depending on me. Without me, they may all starve,” she reminded him. Her voice trembled as she spoke, as she knew her words would only disappoint him.

“You’re willing to sacrifice your entire life for your kingdom?” He asked in astonishment. She nodded against his head in response. It was the complete truth. Even if Prince Sehun had turned out to be the worst person to ever exist, she would have still went through with the marriage so that the northern kingdom would help with food supplies.

“You’re going to be an incredible queen,” he mumbled, his voice distant but his words genuine.

“Would you sacrifice your happiness for your kingdom?” The princess couldn’t help but ask.

“If they needed me, yes, but my kingdom is thriving already and they do not need me. They have my brother, after all,” he answered, pulling away from the princess so that he could look down at his hands. She hummed as she considered his words. Even though she knew that Kyungsoo was almost invisible compared to his brother, she found herself wishing she had a brother she could depend on to keep her kingdom alive.

“You brought the box,” he commented in surprise when he seen the black container sitting in the floor next to the chair. He reach out and grabbed it quickly, letting his fingers trace over it like he had yesterday. He had thought about it all night long - it seemed too familiar to him and he didn’t like that. The box gave him an uneasy feeling.

“I told you we would open it together,” The princess told him.

“Here?” He looked up at here with raised eyebrows. She nodded and he looked back down at the box with a frown.

There was a large lock in the middle of it. How could he get this thing open? The princess slipped a few pins from her hair and let it completely fall down against her shoulders. She handed Kyungsoo the pins as if he would know what to do with them, but he only looked at them in confusion. She took the box from him a few seconds later and began to work on picking the lock.

“Where did you learn to pick a lock?” He asked in bewilderment. She glanced up and caught his surprised gaze. A small smile formed on her face.

“There was a man in my village back home that was sent to the dungeons for stealing food. It turns out that he was a master lock picker. I would bring him food, paper, and a pen everyday and he would unlock his cell to draw me a picture while he ate. One day, he taught me how to do it myself,” she told him as her fingers struggled to get the pins to work in their favor.

“Did he know you were the princess?” The prince couldn’t help but ask.

“I told him, but he didn’t believe me. He said that a princess wouldn’t bring a prisoner food,” she answered quietly.

“Most wouldn’t,” the prince agreed. The lock clicked just as he finished speaking. She grinned in delight and shook her head.

“It would appear being different has its benefits then, huh?” She asked playfully, but as he caught her eye he knew she had an underlying meaning to her words. He was different and she thought it was a good thing. He smiled shyly at her before he took the box back and placed it into his lap. She watched as he opened the box, frowning when she saw a bunch of old pieces of parchment. They must’ve been a little over twenty years old from the appearance of them. Kyungsoo took them out and let his eyes skim over them slowly. There were several expressions that formed on his face over the course of a few seconds. He went from joy, to curiosity, to sadness, and then he settled on anger. He tossed the first piece of parchment to the side before he dug through the rest of the box. He felt sick to his stomach as he continued to read them. When it became too much for him to handle, he placed the box in the princess’s lap and stood up from his place on the floor.

The princess watched as he held the back of his hand against his mouth, as if he were anticipating for himself to throw up at any second. She looked down at the pieces of parchment with furrowed eyebrows. What could he possibly have read to react in such a way? Her fingers held the paper up so that she could read it’s contents and quickly they began to tremble. In her hands, she held a birth record that belonged to one very special person: Prince Kyungsoo.

“Oh my god,” she whispered frantically as she continued to skim over the contents of the box. Everything in the box revealed a lie that had been obviously been hidden from everyone in the kingdom. How could anyone manage to hide something this big that well? She couldn’t even comprehend how or why anyone would do that. She placed the box on the floor and approached Kyungsoo’s stiff figure from behind. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his back.

“My entire life is a lie,” he whispered bitterly. The princess didn’t know what to say in this situation. What was there to say?

“You know this means you’re the one who’s supposed to inherit the throne?” She asked quietly. Perhaps it wasn’t what she should have said in that moment, but it certainly was enough to fuel the fire that Kyungsoo felt in that moment. He turned around quickly, and looked down at the princess with wide, fiery eyes.

“I’m the one that should be inheriting the throne,” he repeated. She looked up at him, wondering if he had secretly been hungry for power this entire time.

“I’m the one that should be marrying you,” he added soon after. She wasn’t sure how she felt. Relieved? Angry? She was definitely hurt for the prince. How dare his parents keep this from him?

“I’m going to marry you. Mark my damn words,” he mumbled as if talking to himself.

“How?” She asked with wide eyes.

“I have a friend in the village. His name is Xiumin - he works in a printshop. I’ll make him make copies of the records and we’ll get them to spread around the village,” he explained his plan to her in one, rushed breath.

“And then?” She wondered.

“It will reach the kingdom. If the universe feels at least an ounce of sympathy for me, then this should work. I’ll turn this whole kingdom against my liar of a father,” he continued. The princess paused for a moment.

“Kyungsoo, the box must belong to your father. We need to hide it before he finds out that we found it,” she told him quickly.

They parted that night with a long, passionate kiss that had left the princess breathless. Kyungsoo took the box with him with the promise that he would hide it in a safe location. The princess trusted his word. The guards were back in their places when she arrived back at her chambers. Fortunately, she had made it right before the shift change. The tired guards were sitting against the wall with their heads laying on top of each other, snoring softly into the night air. She almost laughed, but her racing heartbeat reminded her of her vulnerable position. She tiptoed back to her room in her nightgown and pushed her way back into the room quietly. She made sure to shut the door softly behind her.

The next morning, the princess found herself walking alongside Prince Sehun towards the stables. The sun had only been awake for a few minutes and her rays were already warm against the princess’s exposed skin. Her fingers chased each other in circles as she thought about how the second trip to the village would go. Sure, most of the people had accepted her her for the most part, but she knew that there were more people like the angry woman she had encountered hiding somewhere in the shadows. She couldn’t be upset about the fact that they were so angry that they’d take it out on her. They must be terrified for both themselves and their families that a new king and queen meant big changes, changes that could be potentially worse than what rules were already in place. It made sense for them to be angry. She could remember the torn outfit the woman had been wearing and wondered what kind of kingdom the northern kingdom truly was to leave someone in such a state without trying to help.

All of her worries about the trip seemed to vanish when she saw Prince Kyungsoo in the distance. He was, of course, already at the stables preparing for the ride to the village. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest at the sight of the dark haired man working so hard. He shared a smile with one of the stable workers before he caught sight of the princess and his brother walking towards where he stood. He paused for a moment, basking in the sight of the woman he adored so dearly before he turned and made his way back into the barn.

“Princess! Sehun!” She heard a voice called out for her and the man next to her. She turned her head just slightly to see Baekhyun standing near a horse with his hand in the air waving wildly. A grin was on his face as he waved at them and she thought that he looked truly mad. She couldn’t help but laugh a little. Sehun glanced over at her as he waved at Baekhyun lazily. He noticed the princess seemed a lot more relaxed these days than she did when she had first arrived to the northern kingdom. What had changed? He paled at the thought that maybe she had finally fell for him. She ran towards Baekhyun, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He watched as they shared a handshake that they had wasted time coming up with yesterday at dinner. It was like watching two overgrown children interact as they giggled amongst themselves.

“You’re coming with us to the village?” The princess asked Baekhyun.

“That’s right. You won’t have to miss me all day now,” he answered her with a smug expression. He threw a his arm over her shoulders and squeezed her tightly, making her smile. Prince Kyungsoo walked over to where they stood with a horse saddle in his hands. He worked quietly as he put the saddle on Baekhyun’s horse and the princess tried to pull her eyes away from his working figure, but she couldn’t. Even when she felt the weight of Baekhyun’s arm leave her and heard him greet Prince Sehun, her eyes were glued to him. He glanced over at her when the feeling of her stare didn’t leave him. She seen the corners of his lips rise and fall so quickly that it was like it hadn’t happened at all.

“Princess, you don’t mind if we go to the bakery again do you?” Prince Sehun asked her, finally drawing her attention away from Kyungsoo. She glanced up at the man and shook her head.

“No. I have a bad craving for chocolate this morning,” she replied. This time, Kyungsoo couldn’t keep a smile from forming on his face.

The ride to the village consisted of mostly laughter. Baekhyun and the princess seemed to be a gold mine for comedy when mixed together. Instead of just laughing at his jokes, she went along with them. They would go back and forth until they couldn’t speak anymore from the laughter flowing from their chests. Everyone was getting along for the first time. Kyungsoo even spoke more than he usually did, much to everyone’s surprise. The princess’s only complaint was that she wasn’t on the back of Striker. She sat behind Sehun, who seemed to be in a better mood this morning than he had all week.

#princekyungsoo #prince sehun #princesehun #prince kyungsoo #royal au #royalau #royalbrothers #exo fanfic #exofanfic #exo x reader #exoxreader #kyungsoo x reader #kyungsooxreader #sehun x reader #sehunxreader

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7deadlycinderellas · 4 years

Text

If the summer of our lives could just come again, ch20

Ao3 link

Winterfell

Perhaps a week or so after the others had returned to Winterfell, Arya awakes, tossing and turning, after only an hour of sleep.

With a glance at her sleeping husband (who is out like a light as usual), she pulls on her cloak and steps into her boots. She leaves in the direction of the kitchens in search of a late night snack.

The kitchen is quiet, and still, even the fire having been put out after the cook had left for the night. Arya spies a plate of wintercakes that was left out, and reaches her hand out to sneak one from the platter.

She feels her skin prickle, and jumps at the movement in the room when she realizes she’s not alone.

“Seven hells Arya, if you’re sneaking around at night, don’t freak out on other people who are too!”

It’s Sansa, sitting at the cook’s table, munching on a wintercake she’s already removed from the platter. She nudges it across the table in Arya’s direction. She sits and takes one.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Sansa admits, “I have to adjust to the noises here. In King’s Landing I could hear guards in the halls all night and people from the streets. Here the snow makes everything quiet.”

Arya munches her cake for a few moments more.

“Sorry about you missing the wedding. It was Mother’s decision to push it, not ours. Only thing it really changed is that we can share a bed and the servants don’t know how to address him.”

“Do they spend all their free time studying your midsection absolutely certain Mother only allowed the two of you to marry because you’re with child?”

“You know it. Jokes on them, we didn’t even start laying together properly until like two moons ago.”

She’s still not quite sure what brought it on. Maybe it was just the right time, maybe it was the candle light making Gendry look extra handsome, but something that night just made her take his arm after supper and say ‘take me to bed.”

He hadn’t even reacted at first, just gone, “It’s still sort of early isn’t it?”

She stops where they were, and squeezes his arm a bit tighter. Her eyes meet his, teasingly, and his go wide.

With care, Gendry glances one direction down the hall, and then the other. Satisfied that they are alone, with one swift movement he wraps both arms around her waist and lifts her into his arms. He definitely needs both arms to do it now.

“Oh,” Arya says in surprise, shivering at the sudden feeling of his lips pressed against that spot behind her ear, “You missed me.”

When they get back to her chambers, it’s a struggle for them to get undressed because they can’t stop touching each other. She’s so glad she hadn’t let him cut his hair this time.

When she moves to unbutton his breeches and climb on top of him, Gendry grabs both of her hands, and kisses each finger.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, we have a bed and all night. We’re not going to die tomorrow. Let’s take our time and enjoy this.”

And though Arya’s a little miffed, she kisses his wrist and melts into him. He’s right, and he’s true to word. She doesn’t think a single part of her, from the tip of her nose to the arches on her feet, and everything in between, goes unkissed. Despite his gentleness, he can’t hide his eagerness. It’s as though they hadn’t spent the last year sleeping in the same bed and fooling around.

And after some time Gendry finally settles between her legs and enters her with a measured, careful, ease. When he’s completely sheathed, he pauses, though it looks like it takes him much effort, and searches her face for signs of pain. Finding instead, a sunny grin, he slowly slides back on his knees, and Arya, puts her hands on his shoulders and pulls herself into his lap.

It’s rather unfair, she thinks, that it’s so hard to kiss when you’re smiling so wide. But when she comes around him for the first (second) time, she’s smiling like a loon. And also the other two times that night.

And Arya really hopes her face doesn’t spill quite all these details. She’s still not quite sure how squeamish Sansa is about these sorts of things now.

Sansa, for her credit, looks confused.

“Why did you wait so long?”

Arya shrugs.

“Some of it is that this whole thing still makes me feel like a tiny babe sometimes...but mostly because I’m really scared of going into the long night with child.”

Sansa still furrows her brow, “Maester Luwin could give you moon tea.”

Arya nods.

“And he did, but I’ve heard enough stories that it doesn’t always work to make me feel uneasy.”

She does take the moment to smirk at her sister conspiratorially.

“Know what he told me? He told me all of the herbs needed have been seeded to grow throughout Winter Town, along footpaths and between buildings. Had nothing to do with it of course, he told me. It wouldn’t do for a maester of the Citadel to be seen encouraging immorality. But he also said he didn’t want to hear about some crofter’s daughter sticking herself in the womb with a fireplace poker trying to bleed it out.”

“S’pose it’s nice for someone to think of them,” Sansa remarks bitterly, with a bite of her cake. There’s a long pause before her next comment.

“Everyone always talks about it hurting.”

Arya looks at her quizzically. Whatever she had been expecting to come out of her sister, that was not it.

“It hurt some, the time before,” she says slowly, “course, I did sort of throw myself in headfirst without much thinking. It didn’t this time. I think those stories are mostly made up to excuse the behavior of clumsy, oafish husbands who likely care very little if they’re wives enjoy it or not. It’s a pretty delicate process, but I certainly don’t think it HAS to hurt.”

“Unless he wants it to.”

The silence returns. Arya has no words whatsoever for what Sansa went through with Ramsey before, could still picture the scars that dotted her sister’s body even though they were long gone.

Mouselike, Sansa restarts her conversation.

“In the south, I spent a lot of my free time learning to play cyvasse with Lord Tyrion and Princess Myrcella. After Myrcella left for Dorne, he still played with me often.”

Arya raises an eyebrow. She knows all this from the letters Sansa managed to send home over the years, and she wonders where it’s going.

“Sometime this last year I became possessed by the idea that maybe when I had married him before, maybe I should have let him take my maidenhead. Even if I had still run afterwards, Ramsey likely wouldn’t have been interested in a bride who wasn’t a virgin. And whatever faults Tyrion may have, real or imagined, he wouldn’t have enjoyed hurting me.”

“Sansa,” Arya interrupts sharply, “You can’t think like that. You were fourteen years old and a prisoner. Even if he wasn’t as brutal as Ramsey, fourteen year old you would have been terrified and still would have considered it a violation. Whatever feelings you’ve developed for Tyrion came later.”

Arya’s voice softens.

“You were always the one going on about love and romance. It shouldn’t be surprising you managed to scrounge it up out of the ashes.”

Sansa laughs.

“You should hear your own life from the outside. If things hadn’t gone the way they did, there would have been songs about you and Gendry. A pair of lost children find each other on the road, and they turn out to be a lost princess and a king’s bastard? And you find each other again and make love before a huge battle that you not only miraculously both survive, but that you, yourself, had a hand in ending?”

Arya rolls her eyes and changes the subject. She doesn’t want to linger on the bits of her life that were out of one of her sister’s dreams.

“Anything actually interesting happening in the south?”

“Interesting it putting it lightly, it’s a fucking mess down there.”

Arya quirks an eyebrow at her sister’s language.

“What? It’s true. Joffrey is king, even if he’s mostly his grandfather’s puppet. Stannis left the crownlands to aid the wall- Ser Davos was nearly inconsolable to hear that three of his sons left home to join him as well. Iron born ships are attacking Storm’s End for no suitably explored reason. I have no idea what on earth Danaerys is going to do with the place once she gets here. Oh, and Littlefinger is clearly still plotting since he sent that sellsword after us on the Kingsroad but still sent us an invitation to him and Aunt Lysa’s wedding.”

“What?”

Wait.

“Neither of us mentioned that did we?”

Arya’s glare is the only response she needs.

“Well, we were going to have to talk about it with Father and Mother in the morning anyhow, so lets just go back to bed.”

Arya gets up without another comment, but stares after Sansa as they separate in the hallway. Can’t believe her sister’s been home this long and didn’t think fit to mention that they’d been attacked.

The next morning turns into a flurry of activity. There’s more ravens at once than there’s been in ages.

“There’s another invitation to Lysa’s wedding,” Catelyn comments, wondering at her sister’s mental state if she’d forgotten they had already sent one.

“Here’s one from Myrcella,” Sansa adds, “She claims some of the sailors in Dorne have claimed to have seen dragons on the water.”

“Oh,” Ned says, reading his, “It appears Queen Margaery is now with child.”

Sansa lets out a sigh. That’s not going to be fun to handle when Danaerys lands in Westeros. She opens the next raven that has arrived. Reading it’s contents, she tucks it in a pocket. At her parents look, she says.

“Something that might end up being important.”

Bran makes a noise of disgust reading his.

“It’s from the wall. Thorne is declaring Jon dead, lost to over the wall.”

That completely ruins the atmosphere for breakfast. Benjen had been declared much the same in the past year. Commander Mormont would have never left a lost comrade go forgotten, but Thorne did not seem to share his sentiment.

Bran grabs his cane and stands up roughly. Meera jumps beside him.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m sending Septima over the wall. Enough of the wildlings have fled that I’m not too worried about other wargs. If Jon is still alive over there I’ll find him.”

Meera nods, and stands, grabbing his hand, to accompany him. Ned spares a glance at their joined hands and Sansa has to stifle a giggle.

Sansa returns her attention to Ned and Catelyn.

“What are we going to do about Aunt Lysa?”

“I don’t think I can avoid it without a really good explanation, she is my sister after all. And the trip from White Harbor to Gulltown isn’t too long a journey, though getting to the Eyrie is a bit trying.”

Sansa nods, “I’ll go with you then.”

Catelyn looks concerned for a moment, but then nods.

“I can’t accompany you two,” Ned realizes, “Robb and I need to travel to the Dreadfort to deal with the free folk.”

Arya cuts in,

“Yes, that should be a near top priority. The free folk speak civilly of Robb and the way he has dealt with them, but they don’t know you and won’t respect you if you don’t show them the same treatment. They don’t have any loyalty to names.”

“And Mother and I going to the Vale alone might actually work out better for us.”

At everyone’s confused looks, she elaborates.

“I told you. Littlefinger’s prime objective seems to be to seed enough chaos that things implode around him and he can seize control amongst it. If he believes there might be a rift in your marriage-”

Ned and Cat both look uncomfortable at this cold calculation of their situation. Things had been smoothed a bit since they had returned, but it was still not completely healed.

“Then I feel like he might get cocky and I feel I could take advantage of that.”

Catelyn’s eyes stay on her daughter. She speaks of the other man in such a manner that she wonders what he was to her in her other life. She’s so guarded about it.

Well, it seems they’ll find out eventually.

Over the Wall

“That sword has a name you know?”

Ygritte glances at the sword in her hand and then back at Jon. They’d been sparring outside the cave when he’d volunteered that bit of information, after she’d told him that she’d taken to calling her axe Wild Thing. She uses the sword well enough, but goes back and forth when they spar, and she says she thinks she prefers the axe.

“Did the tree tell you that?”

Jon nods. Truly, he had been mostly kidding when he’d asked, but then the weirwood showed him .

“It’s called Dark Sister, it was Visenya Targaryan’s.”

“I guess it’s good to keep it in the family again.”

Jon feels his neck flush, but doesn’t respond. Ygritte doesn’t know too much of the baggage that came with the knowledge that he was a Targaryan, and he is grateful she never feels the need to make jokes about him marrying his sisters.

“One of your sister’s liked swords right? Maybe you should give it to her when you see her again.”

Arya. She’d been eleven with the face of twenty when he saw her last. The tiny sword he’d had made for her all those years ago. She’d be seventeen, or close to, now, he thinks, the blade probably long outgrown. He hopes she still uses it.

“Maybe I will, but for now, you keep it. Wild Thing won’t do a thing against a walker.”

She nods, in understanding. Some of the Others have wandered past the cave entrance, alone thankfully, seemingly. They take turns leaving the cover of the wards to pick them off, though more of them always seem to find their way again, seemingly heading for the Land of Always Winter.

Rowan had advised him some moons ago, for him to ask the weirwood to show him how the others came to be. When it was done, Jon had turned to her in horror. She had merely let her head drop in shame, and he found he had no words to rebuke her.

“We should go back inside,” Ygritte interrupts him, “The sun’s getting low.”

When they return to the camp, they are surprised to find the others crowded around the fire, Gilly sitting across from Aemon, with an incredibly bewildered expression on her face.

“Sweetheart,” she starts, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Aemon has been talking for years, in full sentences too. His little voice is clear.

“Why don’t you call me Sam anymore? It was my name.”

“When did this start up?” Jon asks Gilly, when she turns to greet him.

“I found him wandering by the roots of the weirwood earlier,” Gilly admits, “I have before. I find him there a lot actually, pretending to talk to it, like you do.”

Jon feels a queer sensation in his stomach. Rowan seems to have a similar thought.

“I’m not sure he was pretending.”

Jon turns to Rowan in shock.

“How could he- it took you so long to even teach me simple words.”

“Children are far more adept at learning any sort of language than adults are,” Rowan muses, “A child raised in an environment where they constantly hear more than one language picks them both up with ease.”

She reaches and pats Aemon’s hair.

“And perhaps your son is just very clever at picking these things up.”

“But-” Jon’s mind is racing. He can’t understand why the boy would think his name was Sam. The only Sam he can think of even is the fat boy from the watch.

“I think we are discovering more about the nature of a tree’s memory than was known before.”

Jon thinks on it.

“You think the weirwoods still remember the life you had from before.”

“It makes sense truly, the weirwoods know nothing of time, of past or of future. It’s why they can show you so much of the world.”

Ygritte bursts into the conversation.

“I smashed my skull against the dead stump of the one above us,” she recalls, “That’s when I remembered my before life.”

Rowan’s face turns reverent.

“There’s a reason my people treated the weirwoods as gods. They certainly have sight beyond what either of our people could understand.”

Jon has plenty of time to muse on this, as he eats his supper of venison broth with moss.

Later that night, he leans forward and presses a kiss to Ygritte’s shoulder. Satisfied that she’s asleep, he quietly stands and pulls his boots on.

He can get to the roots of the young weirwood without even a light now, but he brings one anyway just to be safe. Sitting beneath it in the night is eerie, but he still wants to do this.

Touching the base of the tree, he asks it of Samwell Tarly, now.

With his first glimpse, Jon laughs. Sam at the Citadel, sent to train to replace Maester Aemon. It made perfect sense, and he supposes Thorne might have been far too pleased to get rid of him. And even if Sam had resisted, hadn’t wanted to leave the wall under siege and one of his only friends lost on the other side, he would have adapted. He would have found himself in his element.

Jon takes a break after, and with a deep breath, he tries now. He asks of Samwell Tarly, before.

He sees some the same, of Sam in Oldstown. But to his shock, he sees Gilly with him, and her child. None of her sister’s are there, but both of them seem quite fond of Sam.

He laughs. Sam was just the type of person who could wander himself into finding a woman and child, and also find himself in not one but two roles that demanded celibacy.

In some of what he sees though, he sees himself, and it’s the strangest thing that’s ever passed through his mind. Jon hasn’t looked at his own face in ages, and has no idea if he resembles this vision at all. He cut his hair and beard when they became cumbersome, but other than that, he has no idea of his own appearance, or his own demeanor.

He’s jolted back from the vision to discover Ygritte has followed behind him.

“You’re a right fool Jon Snow, if you think I can sleep without you grinding on my arse.”

He rewards her with a sheepish smile as she sits beside him.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she starts, “Coming out here, to ask that thing about your last life, since you can’t remember.”

He laughs. He supposes he is not a subtle person.

“I wasn’t actually.”

That takes Ygritte back.

“I thought about it, and I might if I end up feeling like I really need to know something, but...I think I’m better off not remembering. I don’t think I’m the same person I would be from then.”

Ygritte’s face following this is hard to read.

“I’m not sure you are either.”

She bites her lip before her next words.

“I would have said before that I was in love with you, that that was why I ran so furiously into the battle where I died. I would still say I love you, but it’s different now.”

She takes one of his hands and presses it to her chest over her heart.

“Out here, I actually feel like I know you. I watch you with Rowan and the other women and it’s like you’re unburdened. You barely spoke of your family before, now I feel as though I’ve met them. Out here I’m not worried if you’re still a crow, and you’re not worried that I’ll stab you in the back for a lark.”

“Much.”

She snorts. He hasn’t worried about that in ages.

“I may not be able to say I knew you before,” Jon responds, “But out here I can say I trust you to have my back.”

He reaches out, and slowly pulls her onto his lap, one hand winding it’s way through her bright hair.

“And if you want the honest truth,” Ygritte mumbles, her voice muffled, “I can tell being up here is good for you. You don’t brood nearly as much.”

That makes him laugh, and they sit together like that for a while, before stepping gently along the cave to rejoin the group.

That night, Jon dreams of birds and catapults. He can’t even begin to make sense of that one.

#game of thrones #a song of ice and fire #gendrya #jongritte #time travel fix it #fic

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random-imagines-blog · 5 years

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Without Love {Draco Malfoy Oneshot}

Wordcount: 1939 Synopsis: When you are at your darkest hour, in a world without light, you get help before all hope has faded.

The room that you were in had no windows, so you could not even begin to guess if it was morning, afternoon or night - or how long you have been locked in there without your wand. You had tried to count the hours but you eventually became distracted by the Death Eaters who had come into the dungeon and crucio’d you for the fun of it. Except for the magic that was in you despite your muggle parents, you had nothing to offer them - so they just used you as a toy.

You were recovering from a particularly rough session when the door opened once more. Your back stiffened and your muscles tensed in fear of another curse being sent your way, but the person at the door was quiet, except for breathing. It was somehow worse anticipating the pain than it happening quickly.

“You need to eat something, it’s been two days,” A male voice rang out. You stayed huddled on the floor, holding your empty stomach. You could barely remember the last time you had eaten - it had seemed like a week ago. “Your food is getting cold, hurry up.”

Draco Malfoy, you realized as you slowly rolled over onto your other side, was the boy who was at the door. His face was bathed in a cold-looking light from the hallway, a light that you could not see a trace of when the door was closed. The white blonde of his hair shone like the moon in that moment, but it did not put you in any sort of ease. He was with them - the Death Eaters - which probably meant that he wasn’t the only student to do so.

The School had fallen, and that made any hope that you have disappear from your mind entirely. The tray that Draco was holding was set down on the ground. You had your eyes squeezed shut as soon as you had figured out who he was, and didn’t open them until the sound of the door closed.

After a couple of seconds of blinking, you realized that there was a light in the room that had not been there before - and the source was coming from a wand. It was him - he had stayed in the room, and was sitting cross legged in front of your trembling body. Draco put the spoon into the soup that he had brought from his parent’s home, courtesy of their house elf, and then held it out to you for you to sup the broth from. You caught eye contact with the icy blue of his eyes, wondering what sort of trick he was up to.

Draco rolled his eyes as you refused to open your lips for the strange food that he had brought you. “A beef stew, perfectly harmless - and don’t tell me that you’re a vegetarian because now is not the time for that.”

The food did smell enticing, and at this point, you had nothing to lose. It was either eat this and potentially be poisoned, or starve and die nonetheless, so you parted your lips and allowed him to push the spoon through and fill your mouth with broth and what tasted like a carrot. Maybe potato, your senses have definitely been weakened by the ordeal that you’ve been put through by the death eaters. His eyes bore into you as you swallowed, then he dipped the spoon back into the bowl and gave you more. Your stomach pain abated, though all of the other pains stayed.

It didn’t last very long. It ended quickly, because Draco had seemed to hear something that you simply could not. You had screamed too much in this small, dark chamber that the echoes had nearly deafened you. So quickly, the light went out, the tray of food disappeared and Draco snuck back out, leaving you alone once again, unsure if that was all a hallucination or if it had really happened.

Later on, Draco Malfoy appeared to you again. It was a sandwich this time, and you expended all of your energy into chewing it. It had some sort of meat on it but your tastebuds weren’t up to par so you couldn’t even tell that much. Every bite hurt your jaw even more, which you were sure was broken, but it wasn’t as if you could just pop out to Saint Mungo’s to have it fixed. You were still in pain from the torturing just a couple of hours earlier, so all that you could do was try to reach out and tap his knee.

The motion was met by a flinch. Draco didn’t move away from your touch but he might as well have with the way that he was reacting. It hurt, so you lowered your hand back onto the cold floor. And that lead to something being heard by Draco, and him slipping off again.

The visits started to happen more and more frequently, though there was no real talking between the two of you. You were in too much pain to do anything more than chew down the food, and he attempted to keep quiet so no one would be able to hear him. He brought you a wide variety of foods, but mainly soups and things that were easier for you to eat once he realized how much trouble you were having.

“Hey Draco-” You managed to whisper hoarsely after some broth had wet your dried throat. He moved his lit wand to the side so that he could see your face rather than just have it focused on the food. You stared up at him and saw that though he wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought you looked, he had bags under his eyes and what looked like some bruises. “I appreciate this, thank you.”

The boy didn’t smile, he just nodded. Draco must have heard something, for he lowered his wand, disable the light charm, and snuck back out, taking the tray and bowl with him, shrinking it into his pocket. It made your day to have a visitor who came in to help, though you knew just how bad the consequences would be were he caught. Draco could be killed for something as small as a bowl of soup. Fancy or not, the food strengthened you, and you were able to get through the torture sessions a bit better each time.

The sound of people running in a panic, casting spells and screaming reached your ears. Draco’s voice was among them, which made you crawl towards the door, hoping that he would come in here and be safe. Draco did eventually appear, and he closed and locked the door behind him. He didn’t light his wand and the only way that you knew it was him was by the way that he was breathing. Finally, he seemed to relax and shuffled down to the ground, sitting.

“Potter sent his aurors,” He explained. A glimmer of hope went through your mind - you could be saved today! Though, it made you wonder why Draco was hiding in here, unless he had no intention of letting the aurors find you. It didn’t make any sense to you, and the defeat took over your body again, making you slump over as you gave up completely.

You came to and found yourself in somebody’s home. “I was hoping you would wake up soon,” A kind looking woman with red hair said, patting your arm. You stared at her and blinked, your eyes adjusting to the soft light coming from a lamp next to the bed that you were on. The memories of torture made you shudder, and back away from this woman, no matter how sweet she smiled. “Y/n, you’re safe, no one is going to hurt you here.”

Draco’s face popped into your mind and it stayed there like an image that embedded on a screen. “His parents are going to kill him,” You murmured to yourself. It caused a feeling, a sickness in your stomach, that got worse and worse by the second, until you had to lean over the side of the bed and vomit. You didn’t feel any better after you had finished retching, nor did it help when the red-haired woman did a quick cleaning spell to erase what you had done.

“You better get some more rest, dear.”

“Where’s Draco?” You asked, disregarding her words and looked around. He should be here. He should have been able to escape. If you had ... you hadn’t been alone in that room. They must have pulled him out too. They must have-

“Malfoy?” The woman asked, her voice high pitched. You might as well have asked for the Prime Minister with the way that she was reacting. “Fall back asleep, my dear.”

Still too weak to get on your feet, you didn’t have much choice but to stay laying there. Your eyes watched the plump woman as she left the room and closed the door behind her. You finally had a chance to look at your surroundings. The room was gloomy, but at least it had a window. You could just see some trees in the distance, but little else from your position. It gave you no indication of where you were.

Two days had passed. It was nice to be able to keep track of them. The war was over, the good guys had prevailed and Voldemort was no more. The Death Eaters who had imprisoned you were standing trial and you had given your testimony, making it absolutely clear that Draco Malfoy had nothing to do with your circumstances. In fact, you hadn’t mentioned him at all. It seemed safer that way, so if any of them managed to break out of prison, he wouldn’t have a target on his back.

You recovered well and were able to go home to your muggle parents and calm your mind. You were still jumpy, and the only thing that seemed to help was to write letters to your savior, Draco Malfoy. You sent them out with your owl but you never received a response back. He lived, you gathered that from the other survivors, but he appeared to be missing.

Appeared was the key word. After three weeks of letters and getting no word back, the blonde teenager showed up at your door, looking exhausted and worn down. You and your family welcomed him in without a single weary glance, for they knew the truth. You gave him a bed to sleep in, a house to hide in, food to eat and special care to injuries that he had acquired from his father after the war.

He didn’t speak for the first day, but he told you everything on the second. About how he had joined the Death Eaters, helped them into Hogwarts, was supposed to kill Dumbledore but couldn’t. You dabbed a cold cloth on his head and listened to him speak. He let it all out, and you could see the weight lifted off of his shoulders.

“You shouldn’t be helping me, I was one of them.” He said after a few more days of lounging.

“Self-pity doesn’t seem to be your style, Draco.” You said, shaking your head. “You helped me in a place without kindness, without good and love. Why wouldn’t I help you in a place with all of that?”

#Draco Malfoy #Draco Malfoy oneshot #Draco Malfoy x reader #Harry Potter #Harry Potter oneshots #oneshots #nonrequest #dracom

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dcmhnallach · 5 years

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demiboy — ever hear people say APOLLO AMORETTO looks a lot like NICK ROBINSON? I think THEY/HE is about 22, so it doesn’t really work. The GRAPHIC DESIGN major is a JUNIOR that is from LIVINGSTONE, VT. They can be ADROIT, but they can also be INDELICATE. I think APOLLO might be A TIER 2 SHEPHERD. They are living in KIERAN. ( snot goblin. 20. EST. she/they. )

ok so i lied and this is after midnight. sue me. his background is a lil inspired by logan from veronica mars so like, sue me 2x. dnjkfmgh but !! give this a LIKE so i can come MESSAGE U FOR PLOTS !!!

TRIGGER WARNING - DEATH, MURDER, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, GRIEF

a e s t h e t i c s

fingers across keyboards and piano keys, m&m’s scattered, vintage gaming consoles and tangled wires, worn vans and broken skateboards, banging of drums and splintering drumsticks, deep rhythms beating with your heart, the hum of a hefty computer and the buzz of a monitor, green text against black screens, unruly hair unkempt, flannels filling closets, bloody baseball bats, posters lining up and down walls, loud punk music shaking the walls, glares and whispers, the suffocation that comes with loneliness, pills rattling in their bottles, unmade beds.

general info !!

full name: apollo casimir amoretto

nickname(s): cas, polly, lover boy, 2000 (b/c of his screen names lmaoo)

b.o.d. - january 31st, aquarius boi

label(s): the escapist, the hellion, the insurgent, the netizen, etc. etc.

height: hitting 6′0″

hometown: livingstone, vt !

sexuality: bi bi bi bi bisexual

stats

biography !!

cristian amoretto and camilla silvestri had a romance that could be described turbulent at best, and downright explosive at worst

cristian, a native italian actor whose career began before he could walk, and camilla, the daughter of two italian immigrants with big dreams in a small town, met on the set of a coffee shop. their love story began quickly, dating within only a few months of knowing each other and engaged before the year was up

camilla walked down the aisle 6 months pregnant with lil’ baby apollo, who was then born in livingstone, vermont, aka the town that camilla’s family had settled in

was raised primarily by his mother and grandparents! his father was often off shooting movies, leaving camilla to take on the role of stay-at-home mom despite her own dreams of making it big as an actress

apollo grew up as a huge momma’s boy – i mean, god, he just really loved this mother, y’know? his relationship with his father was much rockier because of his … lack of being around.

when his grandparents died around the age of eight, that’s when things got…worse. it felt as if camilla’s parents were the only barrier between camilla and cristian’s budding wrath.

it became more apparent that cristian was not meant for the family life, his anger quick and his fists quicker, stinging words and venomous glares. a control freak who couldn’t handle camilla being independent.

this wasn’t apparent to the neighbors, or much of the town in general, because the amorettos were such a prominent family up in their beach-side mini mansion – it was hard to imagine that their life was anything but exquisite and dreamlike.

this was, of course, up until camilla filed for divorce and a restraining order in the same day, face bruised and nearly unrecognizable. she, obviously, got custody of apollo.

at this point in time, apollo was fourteen and…pretty stoked for them to get away from his father. they holed up southside and life continued as normal. for the time being. gossip swarmed apollo at school surrounding the circumstance which was annoying, to say the least. it led to him becoming withdrawn from the other students, not getting the whole … gossip appeal.

in hindsight, they should’ve moved out of livingstone. death threats in the form of letters and the eerie feeling of eyes constantly being on them came to a halt on apollo’s graduation day: the day that his father also, coincidentally, murdered his mother.

for making me miss out on years of my son’s life, was cristian’s excuse as he was escorted from the bloody crime scene at their apartment and into the police car.

cristian was convicted and sent to prison almost a whole year after it occurred. apollo still has dreams about testifying in court against his father as a witness.

and then apollo became known not as the son of two celebrities, but the son of a murderer. total bummer !

could not tell you why he stayed in livingstone, but he did. almost dropped out of college a good few times ( he isn’t passionate about graphic design, it’s more of him wasting time than anything else ) and spends most of his time raiding on WoW or competitively playing overwatch :/

speaking of college ! apollo was kieran’s roommate and like ... a close friend of his. the death hit him pretty hard b/c of his past.

lives in kieran but lately has been switching between his dorm and his childhood home - it’s technically his dad’s but he hasn’t been to his mom’s apartment in years. the mansion has become run-down and pretty grody, a sore sight that pisses off the neighbors.

he does identify as demiboy but he cares abt his identity like ... so little ...

personality !!

his main focuses are computers / video games, drums / his band, and like … skating … vaping … gamer things, y’know.

from a young age he’d always been very fascinated by video games, and being the Rich Boi ™ that he was, ended up with a whole lot of them to play, on a whole bunch of consoles.

but like … he’s a PC guy :/ he may have a super rare nintendo 64 or two but nothing can beat his dual-monitor set up with his hand-built computer !

he also got real into hacking, y’know, just small things like watching security cameras in different cities and occasionally changing his grades b/c like … who wouldn’t ? also … cheated in dark souls. fucking loser.

his favorite games to play are multiplayer games so !!

he joined a band in high school because he was angsty and young, and like, turned out to be really good on drums ?? they had like … some real big jimmy eat world / green day / say anything / old school fall out boy vibes. just a whole bunch of ‘fuck the government, fuck the authority, anarchy, rebellion, revolt revolt revolt’ angry rock music that got a buuunch of noise complaints during practice.

his role in the band is essentially the ~nerdy~ one, because he’s a gamer, but like he was also Edgy and Angry and wore all black like Constantly ( he still does who are we kidding )

probably paints his nails black and has a nose ring b/c gamers can be edgy too !!

huuuuuge junk food junkie. like … he will consume Everything and Anything unhealthy. has a huge sweet tooth, he can’t remember the last time he’s drank straight up water.

he’s pretty much a loner, minus his bandmates -- having a reputation like his really ... puts off others. wasn’t the friendliest person in high school either, which doesn’t help. kieran and him were kindred souls.

to be honest, he’s really selfish. thinks about himself first and foremost, considers it to be a method of surviving in a fuck-shit town with fuck-shit people. wouldn’t hesitate to toss people to the side if it were to ever come down to it. he’s not a faithful pal.

he’s ruthless, impulsive, does whatever he pleases because he assumes that everybody’s already got their opinion of him due to his father. hard to stop him when he’s on a rampage.

seething with rage on the inside. :/

uuhhh so he’s got this fucking…pomsky, right? her name is tulip. she was camilla’s before she passed away and like, what was apollo gonna do, huh ? put the dog in a shelter ? hell fucking nah. that’s his dog now. give that dog an emotional support animal certification and boom.

this isn’t like a Personality Trait but idk where to put it so ! apollo’s on antidepressants ( and other medications, but y’know. that’s just how it is ) b/c like … y’know … the whole dad-murdering-mom thing sort of fucked him up a lot ! they make him feel pretty blah and diminished his sex drive so like … hook ups aren’t really an option for him 99% of the time.

besides that he smokes a lot of weed b/c self medication.

he’s … sort of an asshole. like … he can be rude and he doesn’t have much of a filter and i don’t know if there’s any softness left to him ! he just really misses his mom and has a lot of wishes involving changing the past and he reacts badly to things because he’s so defensive and on edge constantly.

no but he’s just like. .. sad gamer boi … a man and his dog … who also carries like five knives on him.

like he’s not socially awkward or necessarily Bad with people .. he’s just bad with people :/ doesn’t try hard enough ! is a little too apathetic ! chaotic to true neutral

wanted connections !!

bandmates !! i’d envision that there’s four or five members including him. two electric guitar, one bass, one drums / keyboard ( that me -_- ) , anybody singing ... maybe a triangle player ! or a cowbell ! i dunno ! endless possibilities.

fans of the band mayb ?? try to seduce him so they can party w/ them after a show n apollo’s just like :/ nah ( or yah ! )

people he clashes with hardcore !! people who are one n the same.

uuhh ... big slut for enemies ! ppl he refuses to get along with or they’ve been on bad terms previously for whatever reason. :-)

alternately, people he’s trying really hard to get along with but it’s not working b/c he’s a shithead.

maybe an actual good, close friend or two !! y’know. so he’s not completely alone.

people he’s fucked over previously by ditching them / being unreliable / messy / etc.

besides close friends, someone who’s soft towards him or vice versa. because as much as i love angst, i love the uwu too.

ex-flings, ex-fwbs, ex-hookups, etc. etc. ex-gfs/bfs. especially from high school.

people he’s known all his life ! childhood friends, childhood enemies, old rivals, etc.

people who like ... stayed away from him / distanced themselves after his dad’s arrest. :/

okay but like ... imagine, okay , some sort of high school romance where he used to sneak into their room / sneak them out, n then they’d like. go wild out. y’know like, parents Hate him.

ppl who end up on one of his benders / night time adventures / whatever chaotic shit w/ him.

a hook-up gone bad could b fun !

gaming pals. gaming enemies.

skater buds ! vaping buds ! stoner buds ! apollo owns like three juuls.

someone he’s good friends with ( maybe ?? potentially developing Feelings at the same time ) but apollo fucks up their friendship / possible Something because that’s just what he Does.

somebody who thought tht like ... his childhood home was just Abandoned and Empty so they started breaking in to like. get high or fuck or whatever and apollo just walks in one day like ... what are u doing.

someone who caught him dealing juul pods to middle schoolers and was like ... what are u doing. idiot.

idiot reckless buddy pals !! wreck shit together !! burn couches !! chaos !

literally i’ll take anything sdjnfkmgh

#livingintro #this is an hr late oops !#death tw #murder tw #domestic violence tw #grief tw #mental illness tw

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courfeyracs-swordcane · 5 years

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I wrote this like two years ago but I’m not mad at it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Marius had knelt, held out his hands, and asked her to marry him. And Cosette had accepted. And a voice had called from the shadows, “Your friends await you at the barricade!” And Marius had gone. He’d apologized, and tried to keep her from coming with, but she went anyway.

And then at the barricade the leader of the rebels had tried to send her away as well. Cosette refused. He had insisted and she had agreed to stay inside, with the body of the man who had shot the porter and the chained policeman; but then the fighting had started, and muffled gunshots had filled the air and neither the body or the policeman had been much company, and she had gone out. And she had seen the nose of the gun poke through a gap in the wall. She had seen a hand reach desperately to cover it.

When Cosette woke up she hadn’t remembered any of it until she realized that she wasn’t in her bed, or indeed in any bed all. And though the world had crashed around her ears, she had gone to see if she could help in the fight. And she had seen the smallest boy out between the barricade and the army, with blood dripping down his arm, and she had practically flown, heedless of skirts and petticoats to pick him up and get him out of the street. And the moment she reached him she was thrown down to the paving stones with an explosion of pain beneath her ribs but she had managed to get up and push the boy toward the barricade where several pairs of hands grabbed him and bundled him inside and Cosette had tried to follow but she was thrown down again, and this time there was no explosion, just… nothing. And Marius greeted her with open arms.

***

After the barricades, Eponine, Azelma, and Gavroche had gone looking for their parents. They had known that they shouldn’t, known that they had been terrible people and even worse parents, known that they were the reasons that Eponine trusted no one and Azelma still shook like a leaf at the slamming of doors and raised voices.

First, they had written a letter to the prison where they had been taken that night that seemed so long ago and they were told that there had been an escape shortly after, and that while Madame had escaped with Montparnasse and Brujon, Babet and Guelemer had been caught and sentenced to life in prison, and that Monsieur Thenardier had attempted to climb out under the roof and had fallen to his death. The three didn’t mourn him much. He had been an awful man and an even worse father, though he had been the only father they had.

They grieved more over Guelemer, who had sometimes been able to stop Thenardier from taking out his rages on them. And Babet, who had been a much better father to them, despite not being their father at all.

Nobody could find what had become of Claquesous the ventriloquist, and given that nobody saw behind the mask, it would be near-impossible to recognize him at all if he was found. The next spring, Gavroche, while at some theater or opera, caught wind of a promising rumor of a masked man living in the basement of a nearby hall, but by the time he followed it the man had disappeared.

Azelma had begun coughing worse and worse in the months after the barricades. At first they attributed it to the smoke of gunpowder and torches, and the general impurity of the city air, but as time went on, she grew thinner and blood spattered all of her handkerchiefs. Ignoring it in favor of the pleasant fantasy that it was nothing serious became impossible.

The remaining members of Patron Minette showed up one day at the Gorbeau house.

Montparnasse was just as he’d been in the old days, slightly terrifying but at the very height of fashion, playfully flirting with Eponine, teasing Gavroche, ruffling the little ones’ hair. He often brought little gifts for Azelma since she was now too weak to go out anywhere near regularly, or occasionally disappered for hours or days on end and returning with new clothes and bloody knives that nobody wanted to question.

Brujon coughed awfully as well, but he tried to stay positive, often to the point that it irritated the others; no matter what he said or how often he smiled, he was clearly not alright. His sunny, obviously painful grin seemed like a cruel joke: the most optimistic of them barely able to function and yet never giving into despair, perhaps for Azelma’s sake, or perhaps for the sake of his own sanity.

As weeks passed, Azelma and Brujon’s condition worsened, and Madame Thenardier showed up. She didn’t come in. She tried, but when Eponine opened the door and saw who it was, she immediately left, shutting the door tight behind her. The shouting echoed through the hall for only a few moments before Eponine came back in, fists balled and shaking but more composed than she had been in months. Madame didn’t return. They later read in the paper that she had embarked on a ship to America.

One day, in spring, Montparnasse brought home a poet. The three oldest siblings recognized them from the barricades, and though they knew almost nothing of their character, they seemed immediately trustworthy. Apparently they knew a bit about medicine, and did their best to alleviate Azelma and Brujon’s suffering, though nothing they tried worked for long. But they sat and sang or read poetry and brightened the room even on the darkest days.

And one morning, after a particularly cold night, the residents of the Gorbeau house were woken sharply by Brujon, screaming in a panic through which nobody could comfort him, or even quiet him long enough to find out what had happened. Azelma alone didn’t react at all. His screams turned into gasping, hacking coughs, and she didn’t react. Droplets of blood spattered onto the thin blankets and she didn’t react. She didn’t react to Gavroche shaking her shoulder or Eponine’s panicked sobbing into her bony chest, either. The two little ones looked on, confused, but knowing something was terribly wrong. Montparnasse checked her pulse, shook his head, and buried his face in his poet’s arms, not quite soon enough to hide the tears streaking down his cheeks.

Later, they took her down to the catacombs and secreted her body away with the millions of others. It was impossible to provide the proper funeral she deserved, but it was poignant nonetheless.

They did the same for Montparnasse, when he staggered through the door a few weeks later clutching at a gaping wound across his stomach. His shirt and waistcoat were soaked with blood and slashed to bits and his corset was somehow missing altogether. He was barely able to breathe as he stumbled through the door and collapsed to the floor. Recounting what had happened was out of the question. Eponine had Gavroche run for the poet. He barely lasted until their arrival. And the frenzy of action sent Brujon into another agonizing fit of coughing.

The poet sent for a friend of theirs: a doctor, in a last-ditch hope that he would be able to find a way to help, no matter the expense. He couldn’t, though he charged nothing for his time. And a few days later, after a final, convulsive bout that wracked Brujon’s body to the core, there was another trip to the catacombs, and the remaining children moved out of the Gorbeau house.

#les mis #les miserables #barricade day #barricade day 2019 #cosette #eponine #patron minette #azelma thenardier #montparnasse #brujon #this was written when i was a BIG patron minette stan so its a little wild but 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️#just me #look i wrote a thing

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thebookkeeperslibrary · 5 years

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The Time Page’s Wish: Ch. 12 - The Realm of the All Father

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: G

Summary: It’s been four months and Uncle Joe is still missing. On his twelfth birthday, Joe decides it’s time to track him down. One wish lands them in the middle of a revolution. And it seems the only way to get them home is with the help of some untrustworthy thieves. As long as they don’t take The Book for themselves.

Read on AO3

Joe shuffles his deck of cards as he and Tessa make their way up the stairs to the All Father. The edges are bent and torn from years of use, but he continues to toy with them, furthering the damage.

Tessa glances at him out of the corner of her eye. "You really don't need to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous."

"Then you have the worst sleight of hand I've ever seen. Your fingers are so stiff."

"Sleight of hand is my specialty." Joe's hand slips and his cards scatter all over the stairs.

Tessa rolls her eyes and bends down to help him pick them up. "Of course it is. Sure you're not nervous?"

His face flushes deep scarlet. "So what if I am? This whole situation is very daunting. I'm about to be magically awakened, and it might kill me."

The thought hadn't stopped running around in Joe's mind. What if he wasn't ready for this? What if it killed him like Tessa had warned him it might? She said it was the most incredible experience of her life, and yet, Joe was more nervous than excited. This should be his dream come true. He was on the path to becoming the Warp Wizard, not that he knew what that meant, but it still sounded cool. He would be practicing real magic. No more lame card tricks or pulling bunnies from hats. So, why were his palms so sweaty?

"It might kill you, but it probably won't." She offers him an empathetic smile. "You were chosen to be the next Warp Wizard. You have genuine magic running through your blood. The awakening process has only been known to kill people who don't have true magic within them."

Joe studies Tessa, noting the seriousness within her violet eyes. "You really know a lot about magic. I've never met anyone who's as passionate about it as me."

Now it's Tessa's turn to blush. "Well, I try to pay attention in my lessons, even if they are boring. I just prefer to actually practice magic than read about it."

They gather up the rest of the fallen cards and stand back up, climbing the stairs once more. Joe slips the deck back into his pocket for safe keeping.

"For the record, it's perfectly okay to be nervous about all this. I was terrified when I came here a few months ago. At least you're not alone." Tessa's eyes wander up the staircase, not focusing on any point in particular. Only a few stairs can be seen at a time. The colorful fog is too thick for them to see the summit.

Joe continues to watch Tessa. He'd been so focused on himself, he didn't even think about how she went through all of this by herself. Joe knew what to expect once he got to the top, roughly. Had Tessa known anything at all? He tried to put himself in her position. First, finding out you were next in a long line of powerful wizards, then walking up these stairs to her potential death, not knowing when they were going to end, all while being by herself. A shiver ran down his spine. No wonder she was trying to connect with him. For the first time in months, she had someone she could relate to. He was definitely grateful for her company.

"I haven't seen my uncle in month's," Joe suddenly says.

Tessa blinks, snapping out her thoughts. "What?"

"The reason I've been so 'grouchy' lately," he confesses. He takes a deep breath and keeps talking before he can doubt himself. "A few months ago, my uncle went missing after a warp. I've tried so hard to find him, but no matter where I look, he isn't there. I swore I did everything right when we warped that time, but I'm still worried it's my fault he's missing. He's my favourite family member. We're so close. He taught me everything I know about magic. He was even the one to give me The Book. Now he's gone, and I don't know if I'll ever get him back. On top of all that, getting thrown into Horae Manor hasn't been easy either. I feel like I have a million questions, and everyone refuses to answer them. I get having my powers awakened is important, but a quick explanation for what's going on would have been nice."

Joe hates to admit it, but speaking all his fears out loud takes a huge weight off his shoulders. He feels better already. He holds himself back from saying anything else, wanting to give Tessa a chance to respond.

She nods at his confession. "Losing family is tough. I get it." Again, that faraway look appears in her eyes, dulling their glow.

Joe senses another common thread between them. "What happened to your family?"

Tessa jumps. "Nothing," she answers quickly. "They're fine."

"Okay." He leans away. "I thought you didn't want to keep secrets from each other."

"I-" Tessa stutters. "I just miss them. A lot. They're still traveling with the circus, and I haven't seen them in a while."

"Why aren't you traveling with them?"

"They sent me to Boston a few years ago to live with Arwen and have the chance at a normal life. I miss the circus. Normal life is so boring." Tessa huffs and crosses her arms. "When I got the letter to study at Horae Manor, I was so excited to be living a life of adventure again. I honestly don't know what I'd do without magic." Her hand reaches out into the fog, it reacts to her touch by glowing a bright shade of purple. "It's been both a blessing and a curse, but I would never give it up."

"What's the name of your family's circus?" Joe asks, wanting to keep the conversation going.

Tessa bites her lip. "Um, it's a small troupe. You've probably never heard of us. We're mostly based in the south."

"But I-"

Tess ignores him. "So what questions do you have that your dying to have answered? We've got a bit before we make it to the top."

Joe blinks, not expecting the sudden change in topic. "Um, well, why do I feel drawn to you?"

She stumbles, nearly falling back down the staircase. "Little soon to be confessing your love for me, isn't it?"

His cheeks flame red. "No, no, no. Not like that. It's just... ever since we met, I've felt like something was tugging me to you. Is it because we're magic partners?"

"Maybe." She tilts her head to the side, and starts to move again. "But I don't feel any sort of pull to you. Are you sure it's me you feel connected to?"

Joe nods. "It has to be. I started to feel it as soon as we were in that prison cell together back in Paris. It comes from my gut, and it's pretty strong."

"Ohh." Tessa digs through her pockets and pulls out a gold pocket watch. "Is it this?"

His eyes narrow at the watch. It looked familiar to him. "Is that mine?"

"Yeah." She hands it to him. "I sort of swiped it off you when we in Paris."

He takes the pocket watch. The tugging in his gut subsides as he does, as if the watch is exactly where it's supposed to be now. It takes him a moment, but Joe suddenly realizes what this is. It's the timepiece Uncle Joe left him when he leveled up to a time page. He tucks the gift away. "What do you mean, you swiped it off of me?"

Her cheeks turn pink. "Back in the circus, I use to be a pickpocket."

"I thought you were an acrobat?"

"I had multiple jobs." Tessa rubs the back of her neck. "Ticket sales aren't always enough to pay the bills."

Joe stares at his pocket watch. Honestly, he hadn't even noticed it was gone. He should be paying better attention. Still, Tessa had no right to steal his stuff. She was as bad as his sister. "Why would you take this? What else have you stolen?"

"Oh, look! I think I can see the end." Tessa hops up the stairs, forcing Joe to quicken his pace.

If he squints, he can just barely make out the outline of the top platform. The image gradually becomes clearer as they continue to ascend the staircase. Despite their conversation, Joe still has butterflies in his stomach about the whole thing. Not to mention, a thousand questions.

He stops a few steps short of the summit.

Tessa climbs a bit more before realizing Joe is not with her. She turns around, notices his nervous stature, and rejoins him. She places her hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay. The awakening process is quick and painless, and the All Father is super nice. Nothing bad will happen to you. I'll be by your side the whole time. I promise."

He looks at her hand, then slowly gazes up into her eyes. The butterflies settle down as he focuses on the tugging pulling him to her. He takes a deep breath. "Okay. Let's do this."

They break through the mist and emerge into a world of magic.

Flames of every color dance alongside the floor, but leave no scorch marks in their wake. One fire twists and turns through the air, changing from purple to blue to black to white. The other fires move and change in a similar fashion, but with different colors. The same magic symbols that decorated the walls of the catacombs are carved into the floor, creating a winding path through the flames. Blackness surrounds them on all sides. It's as if they are standing on a floating sidewalk.

It's hard to see the ceiling, or if there even is one. The flames disappear high into the sky and begin too far down to see if there is a bottom.

"Woah." It's all Joe can manage to get out. The past few days have thrown an overwhelming amount of beautiful impossibilities at him, but this one takes the cake. The thrum in the air was stronger than the magic he had felt outside. It fills his chest and sends tingles down his arms and legs. His head buzzes from the sensation of it all. He's never felt so alive.

Tessa's eyes are closed. She lets out a soft sigh. It sounds almost melodic in this atmosphere. "I forgot how good this place feels." She opens her eyes to look at Joe. "This is the birthplace of all magic. Where all great magicians and wizards have been awakened. This is where the All Father resides."

Her gaze slides up the path and Joe's follows. He can't see around the bend of fire, but he knows the All Father is close. His awakening is about to begin.

The two young wizards move up the path. As they round the corner of flames, they begin to hear a muttering voice. The words are indistinguishable, so they keep moving forward until they come upon the man himself, the All Father.

Unlike everyone else Joe had met, the All Father looks exactly like he expects him to. His grey beard and mustache are thick, completely covering the lower half of his face, but they're well-trimmed and fall no farther than his neck. His hair appears less kempt, and still has a bit of black in it. The messy strands are short, not fully covering his ears. His skin is a pale white and almost glows from the surrounding fires.

He sits behind a mahogany desk in a simple tan suit jacket. Okay, that was not what Joe was expecting. He was hoping for some long robes and a wizard hat. Why did every magical person have to dress so normally?

The All Father hasn't noticed their presence. He continues to mumble to himself in a smooth, deep voice. "If the rate of decay continues to increase at this current speed, all will be lost in a matter of decades. Unless, I can alter the-"

Tessa clears her throat.

The All Father jumps at the sound. He looks up at them with white eyes. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" His colorless eyes narrow and he pushed himself away from the desk. He remains seated, for now.

Joe takes a step back. Apparently, another common trait among magical people was freaky colored eyes, or lack-there-of in the All Father's case. Despite their lack of pupils, they seem to bore into Joe and Tessa.

Tessa straightens her spine. "I'm Tessa Johnson, the next Aether Wizard." Her voice is calm, as if she anticipated this would happen. "We met a few months ago when you awakened me."

His face softens, appearing almost apologetic. "Ah, yes. The anachronism. You'll have to forgive me. I usually don't meet people more than once." His eyes flare lime green. It was so quick, Joe wasn't sure it had even happened. "And yet, you and I are fated to meet once more."

Tessa scrunches up her face. "Why?"

The All Father either doesn't hear her or ignores her. He turns his attention on Joe. "You, I don't know. Why have you come to see me? Not that I'm complaining. It's always nice to have visitors. No one visits anymore."

Joe's heart is suddenly heavy for the old man. No wonder his mind was starting to slip away. If Cealus had been abandoned years ago, then he probably didn't socialize very much anymore. He didn't know how many people came here to be awakened, but it couldn't have been too many. What was it like to live like this? In total isolation with only your thoughts to keep you company.

Joe clears his throat, his nerves still present despite his sympathy for the All Father. "My name's Joe Arthur. I'm the next Warp Wizard. Tessa and I have come here so that I can be awakened."

The All Father grins. "Ah, an awakening. I love these. Come, let's not waste time. After all, your time is the most precious of all." He chuckles to himself as he stands and steps back from the desk.

With a wave of his wrinkled hand, the desk slides to the shoulder of the platform. Another flick of the wrist, and a curious pattern begins to etch itself into the floor. Joe immediately recognizes it as the symbol for time magic. The shape begins to glow a familiar shade of green.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Step up, boy! Don't you want to be awakened?"

"I-" He stuttered. Yes, no, maybe. The words bounced around inside Joe's head. Yes, he wanted to have full access to his magical abilities and be able to call upon them anytime he wanted like Tessa could with hers. No, he didn't want to deal with all this responsibility he and Tessa were apparently destined for. But maybe, things wouldn't be so bad. Rowena and Cas seemed to be pretty okay.

Tessa places her hand on his shoulder. Calming him, like she did on the stairwell. "This will be the most amazing moment of your life. And think of everything you'll be able to do afterwards." She smiles softly at him, and once again Joe's nerves fade away.

Joe turns back to the All Father and nods once. "Okay. Let's do this."

He steps into the center of the symbol. The thrum of magic shoots up his body, starting in the soles of his feet and racing up to the tip of his head. The intensity of it makes him light-headed, but he holds his ground, feet locked in place.

The All Father wriggles his fingers, a smile playing along his lips. This was clearly the only form of the fun the old man had anymore. "Before we begin, I must warn you. If your body cannot handle the awakening process, it will kill you, and it will not be painless. However, if you truly are a great wizard and your body and mind don't implode, your life will never be the same. Magic is as deadly as it is powerful. If you do not wield it correctly, it will kill you. I need you to tell me that you understand all this and consent to it."

Joe tilts his head. "You mean, you can't tell if I'm a great wizard or not?"

"I could look into the future and see what the fates have in store for you," the All Father lifts his shoulders, "but the future is always changing. Even if you are destined to be a great wizard, your body might not be ready for the awakening yet."

Joe clenched his fists. Tessa had survived and had come out stronger. Why shouldn't he? "I'm ready."

The All Father nods and cracks his knuckles. "I thought so. Let's begin."

And then Joe's world goes black.

A warm ethereal glow creeps into the edges of his vision. The white light pulses in time with his heartbeat, now ringing in his mind. Slowly, the white color morphs into soft green, which continues to grow in intensity until it nearly blinds Joe.

Then it's gone.

Back to the darkness, Joe tries to move his head to see his surroundings, but his body is frozen in place. Or rather, his soul is. He can't quite describe it, but he feels as though he has no body, no sort of physical form in this realm. Or wherever he was.

He suddenly feels warm and his head is buzzing. It's a very pleasant feeling. He sighs, enjoying the energy rolling up and down his body. He would never be able to have a regular massage again. Was this the pleasant feeling Tessa had been bragging about? It was nice, but certainly not the most amazing sensation of his life.

The feeling intensifies, this time radiating from his heart. It grows and grows. Pounding against Joe's chest. Something tears open inside him, like a puma breaking free of its cage. The pleasantness is gone, replaced by a hard pain. He wants to clutch his chest and scream for this all to stop, but nothing comes out of him.

This can't be right. This was supposed to be his magical awakening. But, what if he was wrong. Maybe his body hadn't been ready to accept this much power. This could be his end.

Everything in him tightens up, and just as quickly, releases. Joe would collapse if he could. But he's still standing, and he's still alive.

A symbol appears in the air below him. It's the same weird cross that was on the door to Horae Manor, next to the symbol of time magic. No one had explained to him what it meant, but in this space, he feels oddly connected to it. He floats down to the symbol. As soon as he makes contact, it flashes silver.

The light fades and once again, Joe finds himself in an empty, black space. This time, the space doesn't feel empty. Something pushes in all around him, squeezing him uncomfortably. Like whatever had been released was trying desperately to get back in. The force melts into his chest, settling comfortably in his heart.

The ecstasy that hits him sends him soaring into the air. It's like a blast of warm wind that flies under his shirt and flows to his face. Tingles shoot down his spine and back up again and Joe swears he can hear fireworks in the distance. Green light flares out in all directions. It all makes him feel so lightheaded.

The pleasure fades away bit by bit until Joe is left numb and shaking. The darkness closes in around him, and he slips into unconsciousness.

#time warp trio #fanfiction #time warp trio fanfiction #time warp trio oc #twt #my post #kellie writes #kellie fanfic #kellie twt

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severepersonacrime · 6 years

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Caylee Anthony

When a child is killed and receives a huge amount of media coverage, the public tends to react very strongly. After all, children are a beacon of hope, the future and the symbol of pure innocence – how evil would someone have to be to want to hurt a child? The case of Caylee Anthony was the pinnacle of this trend, especially with the perpetrator widely believed to be Caylee's own mother, Casey Anthony. Times magazine labelled the subsequent trial “the social media trial of the century”. The case has left a shocking taste in the mouths of the US population anyway, with a verdict just as shocking as OJ Simpson's trial.

Caylee Anthony was the only daughter of Casey Anthony. Casey Anthony was considered to be fun and personable, very sociable among her peers. However, Casey started having a track record of lying, even just unnecessary white lies, which continued onwards into her adult life. One huge instance of this was when Cindy and George, Casey's parents, turned up at her graduation to find out that Casey had not been attending class and she was short of enough credits to be able to graduate. Casey had in fact led them on to believe that she was graduating with the rest of her classmates.

Casey also became pregnant at age 19 – to this day, no one knows who the father is, but she lied about being pregnant for months and told people she was just putting on weight and maintaining that she was a virgin. Her parents had always suspected it, and it wasn't until a long way into the pregnancy that Casey revealed the truth. Casey consistently named several men, former lovers, as the father, yet constantly changed her mind about who she thought she was.

On August 9th 2005, Caylee Anthony was born. As a young mother with no job or money of her own to put behind her, Casey decided to raise Caylee in the home of Cindy and George, who remained a very active part of Caylee's life. Casey seemed to be very hesitant about being a mother and wanted to give Caylee up for adoption, but was discouraged by Cindy. Casey had also lied to her fiance, Jesse Grund, saying that she was Caylee's father. However, the timing of Caylee's conception made it incredibly unlikely and a DNA test proved that she was not his child. The engagement was called off and Casey was left to raise her daughter as a single mother.

Cindy and George doted on Caylee, and tried to be as supportive as they could for Casey. However, Casey would often put her wants over Caylee's needs. On June 16th 2008, following an argument regarding over the way Casey was raising her daughter, Casey left with Caylee to go and stay at a friends house in Orlando. Cindy and George did not see the two of them for 31 days. Cindy made continuous phone calls to Casey, however, she consistently had an excuse as to why Caylee could not come to the phone. Usually, Casey would say that she was away on business, or that Caylee was with her nanny, a woman called Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez, Zanny for short. In the meantime, Casey was photographed as partying, getting drunk and engaging in all sorts of wild behaviour. She even got a tattoo reading “bella vita”, meaning beautiful life in Italian.

On July 13th, George and Cindy received a certified letter from the post office stating that Casey's car was in a tow yard and needed to be picked up. When George went to the tow yard two days later, he was hit with a foul odour; his initial thought was that there was a dead body in the car. The boot contained a plastic bag, but there was no body. Concerned, Cindy drove to Casey's friend who she was staying with. When Cindy asked where Caylee was, Casey finally confessed to not knowing where Caylee was and had been missing for 31 days and had never reported it. Cindy ended up reporting her granddaughter's disappearance.

Casey's initially told police that she believed that Caylee had been taken by Zanny the nanny and sent police on a wild goose chase looking for her. There was a woman called Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez living in Florida, but she was not a nanny and had no connection to Casey or Caylee. Casey was forced to reveal that she made the nanny up completely. Police were desperate to look for leads or some sort of idea where Caylee could be. They decided to search Casey's place of work, Universal Studios, and led police around the theme park until she suddenly revealed she had been fired there and had not worked there for a long time. Casey was arrested as a suspect in her daughter's disappearance, child neglect, giving false statements to law enforcement and obstruction of a criminal investigation.

Her bail was set at $500,000, which was paid for by reality TV bounty hunter Leonard Padilla on August 21st, in the hopes that her release would lead to a break in the case. This hope was quickly put to rest upon meeting and interviewing Casey, who he described as a narcissist and a promiscuous woman. This assessment of character lead to public ridicule of Casey, with people immediately concluding that Casey was guilty. Casey went back to jail 8 days later for identity theft and forged cheques, though her parents posted bail for this too.

However, Casey was arrested a third time in October after it was believed that Caylee was dead. A grand jury indicted her for first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of presenting false information to law enforcement. Casey plead not guilty to all charges against her.

Throughout mid August, meter reader Ron Kronk grew suspicious of a trash bag in a foresty area near the Anthony house. He had tried to inform police twice. The first time he rang, he was told to ring the tips line instead and never received a call back. The second time, two police officers arrived to the area, conducted a small, partial search, and declared that there was nothing wrong. The police force would not take him seriously.

On December 11th, Ron Kronk returned to the area to discover that the trash bag was still there, along with a small round object that looked like a skull. He called the police again, and accidentally disturbed the crime scene, to which he found that the trash bag contained the body of a child. Investigators had identified the body as Caylee Anthony and that she had been dead for a while. Sadly, her body had decomposed so much that they were unable to conclude a cause of death, but they noticed that there was duct tape in her hair and they were able to collect tissue from her skull. Her death was immediately ruled as a homicide.

In total, there were around 400 individual pieces of evidence in the case. The prosecution found that in the trunk of Casey's car was a hair that was similar to that found on Caylee's hairbrush, which showed a dark band around the root of the hair, consistent with hair from a corpse. An air sampling procedure carried out in the back of Casey's car showed chemical compounds that would suggest the stages of decomposition. This was not specified to be human decomposition. The test also showed that there was chloroform in the car. Following a search of the Anthony's computer, there appeared to be multiple searches for “chloroform” and “neck breaking”. A blanket found at the crime scene also seemed to match bedding found in the Anthony house.

Although Casey had been arrested in 2008, her trial did not start until 2011, three years after Caylee initially went missing. The prosecution made it clear that they were looking to seek the death penalty. On January 22nd 2009, George attempted suicide – he had left a suicide note stating that he did not want to live in a world without Caylee. The case became even more highly publicised leading up to the trial, especially in the Florida area. The entire trial was aired on national cable news programmes, and people even distributed tickets to get inside the courtroom, which quickly sold out and led to fights outside the courtroom. Casey's parents were continuously harassed by members of the public during the build up of the trial, which led to many altercations between the public and Cindy. Although both were devastated over the loss of their granddaughter, they continued to stand by Casey and support her; they visited her often in prison and agreed to testify for the defence in her trial.

The prosecution used the evidence found at the crime scene, including the traces of chloroform, the smell of decomposition in her car, and the internet searches to present their case. They gave the impression of Casey being a woman who was not ready to be a mother and was still trying to live out her party days. The defence, however, tried to explain many of these findings away. They explained the smell of decomposition as decomposing food, most likely an old pizza, that Casey had forgotten about. Cindy took to the stand to claim responsibility for the ominous internet searches, claiming that she was searching up chloroform to look for cleaning products. Additionally, the defence also called in forensic pathologist Dr Werner Spitz, who was notable for his work regarding the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. He concluded that the initial autopsy was shoddy and that there was no apparent indication that Caylee had actually been murdered, and believed that the hair found in Casey's car and the duct tape was placed after Caylee's death to stage a crime scene.

Additionally, the defence team also had their own theory as to how Caylee had died – they claimed that Caylee had drowned in a pool the day that Casey had supposedly left the house. The death was covered up by George in order to save Casey with being charged with child neglect and that he was just trying to protect her. Further allegations included that Casey had been sexually abused by George since she was 8 years old, which was how she had been taught to lie. There were many rumours about Caylee actually being the product of incest and being George's actual daughter instead. George denied all these allegations and paternity tests proved that he was not Caylee's father. Casey herself refused to take the stand.

The jury deliberated for 10 hours on July 5th 2001 when they finally came back and reached their conclusion. They found Casey not guilty of first degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse – there was ultimately not enough proof to definitively say that she was responsible for killing her daughter. However, she was still found guilty of providing false information to the police and was given a sentence of four years in jail and $4000 in fines. In addition, she was given a year of probation for the fraudulent cheques and was fined a further $200,000. However, the judge recognised that she already served three years and released her early on good behaviour on July 17th.

Following the verdict, people were shocked and outraged, just as they were following the verdict of the OJ Simpson trial. Authorities were concerned that Casey would find herself the victim of a public mob, so they hatched an elaborate plan in order to get her back to the Anthony house, involving multiple cars and a helicopter. The family have revealed that since the verdict was given, the family had been receiving death threats from various people. Casey's name has officially become infamous and it is highly unlikely she will ever have a normal life, unlikely she will become employed and would most likely have to fear for her own safety if she ever even left the house. It was discovered that Cindy's testament that she had searched for chloroform on the internet was a lie, although she was never charged for perjury.

Many involved with the case have appeared in various television interviews, George and Cindy being incredibly prolific with their media appearances. Caylee's death led to a law being passed in the state of Florida, making it required for a parent to report their child missing within 24 hours, making it a felony if a parent or legal guardian to report the missing child if they know they're missing or in danger. This was named Caylee's Law, a symbol of how the untimely death of one little girl has touched the hearts of many.

#caylee anthony #casey anthony #homicide #true crime #murder #tcc #own post

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klcthebookworm · 6 years

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Mission on Mimban 11 of 12

Previous Installments

Introduction, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten,

What Happens in the Chapter

The Coway are nice enough to delay the party until Luke has dried out. Large platters of exotic-looking foods were passed around a series of concentric circles around the pond. The visitors were entertained by endless dancing. Halla points out what is safe for humans to eat and that only steers the Yuzzem wrong a couple of times. Luke complains to himself about the taste of some of the edible food, but it's fresh and he's starved for that after the concentrates. Leia enjoys the dancing display and admits that she found her way to the Rebellion looking for creative vitality. These two crazy kids are having a moment™ when Luke has a reaction™.

Suddenly his hand opened as if he'd been shot. The pink bulb fell to the ground as Luke stood bolt upright, eyes open and staring. The Princess rose, tried to make something of the gaping expression on his face.

...

"He's coming," he murmured, every letter resounding. "He's near, very near."

"Luke boy, you'd better start making some sense or I'll have Hin hold you down and feed you dipills," Halla said. "Who's coming?"

"There was a stirring," Luke whispered by way of reply. "A profound disturbance in the Force. I've felt it before, weakly. I felt it most strongly when Ben Kenobi was killed."

Leia finally gives a name before Halla makes good on her threats, Lord Darth Vader, a dark lord of the Sith.

A Coway courier runs into the assembly shouting his story. One of the three chiefs tells the Coway what's going on and panic seizes the crowd. The chief then comes over and explains the situation to Halla. "Humans are coming. Hard-shelled humans. Down the main passage from the surface. The way we came in." Leia questions Halla as to how the Imperials found them so quickly (answering my question on how easy is the trail to spot from way back in Chapter Seven), and Luke finally hypothesizes the Force did it. Vader has more experience and if Luke can sense Vader, the opposite is probably true.

The Coway chiefs look to Luke, since he defeated their champion he is the greatest warrior present. Leia's all for fighting, pointing out that the Coway took down two Yuzzem with just their spears and axes and that the Coway have the home field advantage. Luke isn't convinced and tries to tell the Coway to negotiate with the Imperials. The Coway won't; they recognize an invasion force when they see one. Leia points out that they have to fight Vader because he won't stop chasing them. Halla puts in that they've said they are different from the mining officials, now they have to show the Coway they meant what they said.

Luke finally agrees to fight and is admiring the Coway warriors preparations for fighting back. They are experienced warriors. They outfit themselves. Hin hands his heavy energy rifle to Leia since he prefers the enormous axe the Coway offered him. Luke is given a pistol that Halla and the Yuzzem had brought into the cave system. They take positions. Coway started to vanish before Luke's eyes, moving, jumping, secreting themselves where no hiding place seemed possible. They disappeared into crevices and cracks, into the ground, slipped into holes in the cave ceiling, froze behind false flowstone curtains. While taking cover behind a bulwark of striped travertine, Leia makes Luke promise to kill her if it looks like Vader's going to take them prisoner. Luke mumbles his agreement and then they are hushed by a Coway warrior and Halla.

Numerical superiority means nothing in this fight. The advance Imperial stormtrooper scouts are taken out and their weapons given to the ones who use them (Luke and Leia), the rest march into the kill zone three and four abreast. The Coway also use sound and echoes to add to their attack. Halla and Kee in one spot fire into the crowd of stormtroopers while Luke and Leia do the same from their cover. Once the Coway are mingled with the Imperial troops, Luke charges in with his lightsaber and Leia goes with him. Luke blocks a shot from behind with the lightsaber. Luke yells for Vader's attention from where he is on the sidelines, and the Lord of the Sith ignites his red lightsaber and strides into the fray, cutting his way toward Luke. Leia meanwhile finds a new high perch.

Grammel sends ten stormtroopers to the high ground in the tunnel. They reach the summit of the small ridge and just when they were lining up their weapons on the crowd below, Hin and his Coway pals drop on them from the cavern ceiling above. No Imperial survivors. Vader realizes the way the battle is going and calls for the retreat without having reached Luke. The Coway do not let all that many retreat as their reserve forces come into play now, dropping stalactites and nets onto the Imperials.

Leia takes her shot at Vader and hits him, but not hard enough to do lasting damage.

A powerful beam of energy struck him in the side, sent him spinning to the ground. Leia smiled. Her joy turned to disappointment when she looked back through the blunt telescopic sight.

Vader had rolled over and was beating at the smoke issuing from his left side. There was a gaping hole in his protective cloak and the black armor beneath it had been partly melted away. But the full force of the energy bolt had missed him.

Vader appears to stare straight at her, but does nothing else before turning and heading back up to the surface. Leia climbs back down to find the Coway killing the wounded and Luke rather distraughtly trying to stop them. She finds this behavior almost human, and tries to encourage him to find the rest of their group and celebrate the victory. "There's nothing here I want to celebrate," he tells her before leaving the scene of the battle.

What I Liked

The worldbuilding on the Coway is fascinating. I'd like to see a New Republic anthropologist do a professional study of their culture. And I do appreciate the reminder of alien biochemistries can't all eat the same things.

Luke sensing Vader through the Force is well done. I got shivers. Good job, Foster.

Leia finally sounds like herself as she concentrates on more Imperial atrocities. "Using energy weapons on primitive sentients," she muttered in outrage. "Another gross violation of the original Imperial charter. Another reason for the Alliance to fight on."

"Don't you two ever shut up? Hush now, children ... company's coming." No, they don't, Halla, and they pick the worst possible moments to act just like children. I fully expect for Halla to find an audience whenever Luke Skywalker's and Leia Organa Solo's names hit the HoloNet for something heroic and newsworthy and say "Let me tell you about the time those two almost got themselves killed while mud wrestling on Imperial controlled world!"

Oh I like the detail given when Luke deflects blaster bolts.

Without realizing it, he then swung blindly backward. The blue of his saber intersected a beam fired point-blank at him by an Imperial rifle.

Turning, he barely had time to utter a silent thanks to Ben Kenobi. The trooper was so shocked at the apparent coincidence of having his shot blocked that he didn't react in time. Thinking something had to be wrong with his weapon, he readjusted it to compensate for the imaginary fault. As he swung it upwards again Luke jabbed him through the sternum.

All that practicing with Ben's remote is paying off!

What I Found Problematic

No mention is made while Luke is drying his clothes by the bonfire and getting dressed again of what Leia and Halla are doing. I really hope it's not ogling Luke, as tempting as it is.

Leia's Rebellion journey, wow am I glad Foster's version didn't stick.

"[The Empire]'s art has grown as decadent as the government. Both suffer from a lack of creative vitality. That's what originally drew me to the Alliance, not politics. Politically, I was probably almost as naive as you."

"I don't quite see," he said drily.

"When I was living in my father's palace, I was utterly bored, Luke. Examination of why I found nothing entertaining led me to discover how the Empire had stifled any original thought. Long-established totalitarian governments fear any kind of free expression. A sculpture can be a manifesto, a manuscripted adventure can double as a cry for rebellion. From corrupt aesthetics to corrupt politics was a smaller step than most people around me realized."

I appreciate what he's saying about art and do agree with the freedom of self-expression is important, but again word choices matter. My first impression when I read this bit:

Leia: "Daddy, I'm bored."

Bail sets down his datapad and looks at his pre-teen daughter. "I'm part of an alliance of rebellious cells that wishes to overthrow the Emperor and usher in a New Republic. Fitting payback since he morphed the Old Republic into his Empire. Do you want in?

Leia: "Sure, I don't have anything better to do."

That the Empire puts hard limits on artistic expression to curb rebellious sympathies, I have no problem believing and it's a good observation. It just needs more tweaking to be believable from Leia, Imperial Senator and Rebel spy and now is taking the lead in a diplomatic mission to get systems to join the Rebellion. Politics has always been her thing.

Word choices, Foster. We have had this discussion before.

"What do you expect," he mumbled, laughing at himself, "from an untutored country boy?"

"I think," the Princess responded softly, not looking at him, "that for an untutored country boy, you're one of the most sophisticated men I know."

I'm all for finally paying Luke a compliment here, Leia. He carried your butt out of the lake, but no sophisticated is not the word to use. I think sincere is a good one for Luke, but not the comparison he started off with. Maybe wisest?

Alright Vader's on Mimban, now it's epically exciting! Wait, where's the pinch point scene in which we are treated to the Imperial pissing contest that Grammel is in no shape to ever win? It doesn't exist. Why doesn't it exist? Let me back up and explain. Both Pinch Points, which are set between the Plot Points, are times to see the antagonist's power and to remind the reader what the protagonist is up against. When I'm composing a story that has multiple points of view, this is where I make certain to have the antagonist's POV scenes. You're not limited to that, but you have to show the threat the antagonist is to the protagonist. That's why I identified Luke and Leia's meeting with Grammel as the First Pinch Point. They see how brutal he is and he wants the Kaiburr crystal. The Midpoint is Luke and Leia breaking out of the prison and destroying Imperial headquarters in their wake. But the last time we saw Grammel was when he was getting stitched back together. Good scene, but it didn't "bring the antagonist force front and center to foreshadow the coming Third Plot Point and to break up the remained of the Second Act." (5 Secrets of Story Structure by K.M. Weiland) It didn't give the reader anything to truly fear, just a "damn Luke missed that a-hole" moment.

Now what if instead the exposition while our gang of protagonists is traveling, we have a scene of how Grammel's search for them is interrupted by Lord Vader's arrival on Mimban. Grammel makes a worse impression on Vader than he did on Governor Essada and now they're both working together to find the Rebels. Then readers go back to the wandrella attack and Luke and Leia's cave hike with mounting dread because they know something the characters don't. The battle with Vader and the stormtroopers versus the Coway and Luke and Leia is more the Third Plot Point because their victory is a hollow one and Vader is heading straight to the Kaiburr crystal.

And once again Threepio is RIGHT THERE not translating anything for the Coway. Over six million forms of communication, and all he does is try to turn himself off in the droid equivalent of a faint when he hears Vader is coming.

Oh, I found the steel kitten description that Blue Milk Special made fun of. "Swear it!" she demanded, her voice that of a steel kitten. I'm having trouble with this metaphor. Kittens make adorable sounds, metal does not. Kitten also does not symbolize fierceness and Leia is asking for Luke to kill her if this all goes south rather than face Imperial imprisonment again.

What Changes in My Fic

Concentrates versus ration bars: I think I'm bringing back ration bars. There's just something too Jetsons Space Age about one pill keeping you fed for several hours, even though I appreciate the work Foster put into creating them.

The art comparison is a perfect one for Mara to make. Raised in the Imperial Court in the heart of Coruscant, trained in dance as her cover but it and music for dancing were probably the one fun thing she was allowed once her training began in earnest, she has the technical expertise and the Force Sensitivity to figure out what is different between the Coways' dance and the Imperial ballet corps. She wants to dance with the Coway to combine their moves with the ones she was taught. Will she get the chance? Will she take the chance?

Vader or not to Vader: To be honest, I had thought about leaving Vader out of my version of this story despite his pose on the cover art.

Grammel is the big bad at the beginning, so I was considering ways he could continue being the big bad all the way through. Or if he absolutely couldn't, make concrete the more Emperor's Hands with a new character taking Vader's spot to get rid of Luke Skywalker once and for all. But since Foster neglected to give Vader his proper due, I'm back to wanting him. And it will do Anakin some good to be rejected by Luke three times in the series. Trust me.

Plot events time. Helping Writers Become Authors further explains this breakdown. I've added in the scenes in between the eight critical scenes, so I hope it's easier to see where the story broke format to its detriment.

Hook 1% mark = Crashing onto Mimban

Set-up 1% - 12% =

Reuniting Leia and Threepio with Luke and Artoo,

Leia sinking in quickclay,

hiking and camping

Inciting Event 12% mark = Finding the Imperial mining outpost

Build-up 12% - 25% =

Disguising as miners,

Ordering food in the tavern,

Discovered and Luke lies to Imperial

1st Plot Point 25% mark = Luke and Leia agree to find the Kaiburr crystal with Halla

Reaction to 1st Plot Point 25% - 37% =

Mud-wrestling,

Fight with miners,

Captured by stormtroopers

1st Pinch Point 37% mark = Meeting with Grammel

Realization 37% - 50% =

Grammel talks with Essada,

Luke and Leia meet Yuzzem,

Halla finds them

Midpoint or 2nd Plot Point 50% mark =

Prison break,

Blowing up Imperial headquarters

Action 50% - 62% =

Stealing the crawler,

Grammel's medical care,

Wandrella chase,

Lake monster fight,

Coway attack,

Canu's judgment fight,

Coway feast

2nd Pinch Point 62% mark

Renewed Push 62% - 75% = Coway prep for battle

3rd Plot Point 75% mark = The battle with Vader and the stormtroopers

Recovery

Climax Begins 88% mark

Confrontation

Climactic Moment 98% mark

Resolution

#rescue the farmboy au #star wars legends #splinter of the mind's eye #literary analysis #reference notes #mission on mimban

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