#plus it explains why a noir has a fairly happy ending!

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Peggysous Week Day One: Edelweiss

Read on Ao3 (tumblr’s a fuck pls click the link)

Thanks to @fandomsandxfiles-writes for hosting!

Edelweiss: Signifies deep love and devotion. Native to the Alps, so those who harvest this flower must face danger to prove that love and devotion.

***

The war is over. They’re home now. And yet, Peggy still has not stepped foot in a cinema? Daniel’s not having it. Plus, they both could do with a…little reminder, of sorts.

“I’m not one for the cinema.”

“I know, Peg,” Daniel says, handing her the bowl, “believe me.”

Peggy stifles a laugh at Daniel’s patient exasperation. “I believe Mr. Jarvis had a…similar reaction.”

“Did he?”

“We were at the racetrack, looking for Calvin Chadwick.” Daniel hums. “I didn’t know who Whitney Frost was.”

“Wait, seriously?” Daniel turns off the sink and drapes the towel over the fridge handle. “Peg, her face was on posters everywhere in New York.”

Peggy shrugs. “Like I said, I’m not one for the cinema.”

Daniel just shakes his head with a smile. “And what did Jarvis have to say to that.”

“He asked me if I assemble rifles in my free time.”

Daniel throws his head back, laughing. Peggy glares at him in mock offense, only to have it ruined when she can’t help but smile when he looks at her. He slumps against the counter for support, still laughing.

“If only he knew,” Daniel murmurs through the last of his chuckles.

“If only he knew what?”

“That you spend your free time reading Agatha Christie and muttering about how stupid the characters are under your breath.”

“It’s not like it’s hard,” Peggy mutters.

“Like that.”

Peggy whacks his arm halfheartedly with her own dish towel. “I’ll have you know I’m getting better at it.”

“What, predicting the ending or not getting frustrated with fictional characters?”

“…yes.”

Daniel bumps her shoulder lightly. “Well, call me crazy, but I think that might have something to do with what you do for a living.” He turns around, leaning against the counter. “Long days solving mysteries, chasing bad guys, all you’re missing is a trench coat and a fedora.”

“I’ll have you know I have perfectly suitable hats,” Peggy says, making them both laugh.

“Seriously, Peg,” Daniel says after they both stop laughing, “if you don’t wanna go, you don’t have to. I just…well, I kinda wanna know why.”

Peggy sighs, making sure none of the drying dishes will topple over as she hangs up her towel. “I suppose I’ve never understood the appeal.”

Daniel shrugs. “Escapism? Momentary reprieve?”

“But the same thing can be accomplished through a book,” Peggy says, “and then I’m not limited by whomever they cast to play the roles. I can let my imagination do the work for me.”

“True,” Daniel says, “but there are some things that words can’t really do when they’re just on paper. Sometimes you need the nuance of spoken word to really get everything out of a certain situation.”

Peggy squints. “Why does this sound suspiciously like how you argued for Dooley to give us the recordings of the interrogations as opposed to just the transcripts?”

The innocent shrug and the look he gives her fool absolutely no one.

Peggy switches tactics, perching one hand on her hip. “Why do you enjoy it, then?”

“I’ve always found them to be a bit better at holding my attention.” Daniel gestures with his hand. “Not just my imagination, but my sight. The sound. The music of it. Helps me flush everything out.”

“A more complete experience, then.”

Daniel nods. “Plus, it’s not just the picture itself. It’s going out, late at night, to see a show. It’s…you know, it’s its own deal.”

He pushes off the counter, taking Peggy’s hands in his. “It’s walking back late at night,” he murmurs, “your head buzzing. Someone special in your arms, both of your hearts still beating fast.”

Peggy smiles when he takes her into his arms. She’s learned that Daniel can be very persuasive when he wants.

“It’s sitting in a room full of people and only being able to pay attention to the person right next to you.” Daniel rests his chin on her shoulder. “It’s being able to share a story with someone.”

He pulls back, that terribly cocky smirk on his face. “Can’t really do that with a book, now can you?”

Peggy huffs. “Oh, alright.” She raises an eyebrow at Daniel’s childlike excitement. “You’re certainly eager.”

“Come on, Peg,” Daniel laughs, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to her cheek, “let me share a story with you?”

Well, that’s just not fair. How the hell is she supposed to say no to that?

They choose next Friday. Daniel picks the picture, buys the tickets. Peggy picks the restaurant. They discuss the last of the work plans over pasta and garlic bread until Daniel reaches across the table to cover her hand midway through a discussion of their current case.

“Peggy,” he chides gently, amusement sparkling in his eyes, “no more work talk tonight, okay? Take the night off, please.”

Peggy protests halfheartedly until Daniel gives her those puppy-dog eyes that she swears do not work.

“Oh, alright,” she relents, “I suppose one night won’t throw us overboard.”

“It won’t,” Daniel promises, “but it will do you some good. Now,” he continues, picking up his fork again, “tell me about the current book you’re reading and how stupid the characters are.”

They make playful jabs at mystery tropes until they’re finished, carrying on as they walk down the block to the theater. The night is young, the sun just setting behind the horizon. The air is still warm from its rays, bathing the street in a soft haze that makes the streetlights glow a little fuzzier at the edges. Peggy finds that as their conversation meanders, she cares less and less about trying to follow it, letting Daniel’s arm in hers hold her steady as they fade into the nightlife.

“Right here,” Daniel says, sweeping them through the doors. “This way, I think.”

“Have you been here before?”

“Once,” Daniel says, “came with Rose after I lost a bet.”

“You should know better than to take a bet against Rose,” Peggy laughs.

“Yeah, yeah,” Daniel mutters as they step into the auditorium, “it wasn’t a big deal.”

“What was the bet?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Daniel,” she laughs, poking his shoulder as they sit down, “tell me.”

“Alright, alright.” Daniel lays his crutch out of the way. “It was a stupid filing competition. Who could finish their stack of paperwork first.”

“Why on earth would you take that bet against Rose?”

“Because if I could suffer through Thompson and Krezminski’s filing,” Daniel shoots back, “I could damn well suffer through my own.”

Peggy laughs, conceding. The New York office did not exactly have the best reputation for scrupulous filing. “And you lost and came here?”

“Rose wanted to see the noir based on The Brick Foxhole,” Daniel explains, “it was called ‘Crossfire’ or something.”

Peggy makes a noise of understanding, glancing around. The place is filling up nicely, even though it’s not quite full. Daniel follows her gaze.

“Normally the shows get fuller as the night goes on,” he murmurs, “picked an earlier time so we wouldn’t get caught in the crowd.”

Peggy nods in thanks, settling into her chair. Soon enough, the lights start to dim and the screen lights up. The film begins to roll and Daniel carefully nudges her shoulder. She looks over to see him staring at her hopefully, his hand laying open in the space between their seats. She tries to pretend she isn’t blushing when he smiles warmly as she takes it.

It’s dark, she can get away with it.

As always, her trust in Daniel is not misplaced. The picture is, indeed, a mystery story. Something about a female spy returning from abroad to team up with an older detective, trying to find out what’s happened to her missing husband. The characters, while…limited, perhaps, by the constraints of the medium, are interesting enough that Peggy finds herself furrowing her brow in concentration as she tries to figure out the story before the characters do. She hears Daniel chuckle a few times when nothing funny has happened on the screen and glances over, raising an eyebrow.

“You’ve got your focused face on,” he whispers, leaning close so as not to disturb the other movie-goers, “you enjoying it?”

“Don’t be smug,” she whispers back.

“I’m not,” he defends, leaning back a little, the flickering light from the screen showing a warm smile, “I’m happy.”

Unfortunately for Peggy, this time when she turns away, the screen is bright enough that she can’t hide her blush.

She figures out it was the husband fairly easily. He had faked his own death, it turns out, and has secretly sided with the enemy, becoming the very antagonist the spy and the detective were attempting to vanquish. She does understand what Daniel was talking about; the nuances of the actor’s faces convey things she has no idea how to put into words, the music in the background makes her heart beat faster when tensions rise, and she finds her work instincts taking over, getting frustrated when the camera won’t pan down far enough to let her see the whole room.

She keeps a hold of Daniel’s hand the whole time.

Right before the climax, there’s a quiet scene. The spy is standing by the window, looking out over the city. The detective comes in behind her, shutting the door.

“I don’t know why he did it,” the spy sniffs, folding her arms, “I don’t know why he decided to go off and join the people he signed up to fight.”

“People do crazy things,” the detective mutters, coming up behind the spy, “for crazy reasons.”

“Even go to war?”

Peggy scoffs at the melodramatic delivery.

“Even go to war,” the detective agrees, looking at the spy. “You know that, right?”

“I don’t expect you to understand,” the spy says, making Peggy scoff again. Honestly. “I went to war because I had nothing. Because it took everything from me and I had to try and take some of it back.”

Oh.

“And you didn’t go to war,” the spy cries, whirling around to point a trembling finger at the detective, “so how could you know? What would you go to war for?”

“I’d go to war for you.”

Ah. There it is.

The husband gets caught, the detective kisses the spy, the screen fades out.

“Well,” Daniel says, turning to Peggy as the other people start to get up, “what did you think?”

“Why didn’t they realize it was the husband when they initially found his draft card?”

Daniel rolls his eyes fondly, getting to his feet, grabbing his crutch, and starting out of the theatre, still pulling Peggy by the hand. She keeps up her ‘review’ of the story as they walk back along the street. It’s cooler now, the breeze ruffling her hair, the indigo sky turning brisk where the streetlights glow amber. They chat idly about the story, what they liked, what they didn’t, lapsing into silence when they run out of things to say.

Peggy glanced down at their entwined arms. Daniel is warm against the gentle breeze.

“Peggy?”

They stop, Daniel turning to face her with a look of concern on his face. “Everything okay?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes,” Peggy says quickly, “just thinking.”

“Uh-huh.” Daniel squeezes her arm gently. “I know you better than that. Come on, tell me.”

“It’s silly.”

“If it’s worrying you, it’s not.”

Peggy smiles at the sincerity in his voice. “It was one of the scenes,” she confesses, “the one where they were…at the window.”

Daniel curses under his breath. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I tried to pick a picture where there wouldn’t be a lot of that, but, uh, guess we can’t escape from it.”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Peggy shakes her head. “I just…it reminded me of…something.”

Daniel’s face falls, stepping closer. “I didn’t mean to make you sad, Peg, or to remind you of—“

“Not Steve,” Peggy clarifies, smiling a little when Daniel’s shoulders slump in relief, “just…how I got started.”

Daniel nods, accepting the answer and gesturing to the sidewalk in front of them. Peggy accepts his invitation to keep walking, the slight daze from the movie beginning to sap some of her strength. She leans more heavily into Daniel who comes a little closer to support her, sharing their warmth.

“I get what you mean,” he says out of nowhere, “about that scene. It, uh, well…it had a good question in it.”

At Peggy’s quizzical look, he elaborates. “About what people go to war for.”

“Ah.”

Yes, well, that is quite a question, isn’t it?

“That was quite the declaration,” she says, trying to lighten the mood, “the detective saying he’d go to war for her?”

“Yeah.” Daniel’s crutch clicks against the sidewalk. “That’s one way to do it.”

“Well,” Peggy murmurs, “let’s hope we never have to worry about that. One war in my lifetime is quite enough for me.”

Daniel chuckles. “I don’t know if I’d say that.”

Peggy stops them, frowning. “What on earth does that mean?”

Daniel stops too, turning to face her. “Peg, what does that quote mean to you?”

“Pardon?”

“When the detective said it,” Daniel says, “what did it mean?”

Peggy blinks. “That the detective was willing to go to war for the spy.”

“So she wouldn’t have to or to fight alongside her?”

Peggy’s words die in her throat. Daniel scratches the back of his head and takes a deep breath. When he looks up at her, the trust and faith in his eyes is enough to take her breath away.

“If working at the SSR has taught me anything, it’s that war isn’t just two sides shooting at each other on a battlefield,” he says. “It’s information, it’s secrets, it’s covert operations and talking and teamwork.”

He gestures between the two of them. “We can fight wars every day at our jobs, just by doing paperwork and making phone calls. Hell, we’ve fought wars by doing that.”

“Daniel,” Peggy says, holding out her hands, “what…what are you saying?”

Daniel takes a step closer. “I’m saying I’ve already gone to war for you, Peg. I fought the whole damn War Department for you. And yeah, I’d do it again.”

He holds out a hand when she opens her mouth. “And before you say anything, I need to tell you that quote means something different for me.”

Peggy closes her mouth, waiting as Daniel comes close enough for her to see the glow of the streetlight reflected in his eyes.

“I would go to war to follow you, Peg,” he says, “because I know damn well you’re going anyway and I’m sure as hell not stupid enough to try and stop you.”

“Oh, Daniel…”

“Just…” and it’s his turn to blush, the tips of his ears going red as he coughs into his fist. “Let me share the story with you?”

How is she supposed to say no?

Instead, she kisses him, bathed in the warm glow of the streetlight, until neither of them can say anything.

#fic #dragonbabbles #peggy carter #daniel sousa #peggysous #peggysous week 2020 #agent carter

[minimenace]

Felix live thoughts:

i still don’t get why gabriel, who is known to wear his ring, is polishing both his and emilie’s rings

nathalie smiling at gabe aww

WAIT DOES ADRIEN SHIP NATHALIE AND GABE???

WAVE WAVE

its been a year???

cat song from chat blanc

sitting together, bonding time??

gabriel: i need to tell adrien im hawk moth and its for the greater good - the greatest good id ever get - emilie’s ass

adrien: oh dad i know

gabe: wHAT??

adrien: yeah...you and nathalie  👀 im cool

gabe: YOU FUCKER DONT DISGRACE YOUR MOTHER LIKE THAT

not that adrien knows his mom is even alive smh

gabe, you can’t expect your son to be all hopeful when there’s nothing he knows of to be hopeful for

gabe: bitch get ready cousin you is coming

1 year since emilie ‘went for cigarettes’

adrien: healing  😌

gabe: 

marinette’s first act as class president: class meeting!!!! (plus luka and kagami) we need to cure adrien of his depression

adrien is hallucinating his mom isn’t he

wait it’s his mom’s twin isn’t it

IT IS

amelie and emilie huh

gabe is not “NO get out”

grouch kitten time!!!

felix getting hugged: bitch...fine ok

so felix and adrien’s favorite game as kids was Parent Confusion huh

gabe: how dare you shake my hand

felix: how dare you not shake my hand

so gabemilie wedding rings were from her family

emilie’s maiden name was NOT agreste...bitch no im DYING with this headcanon

felix whats to know what the FUCK is up with kyle gabriel

marinette...no...do not tell your crush you’re in love with him when you’re trying to console him about his missing mom

ok slightly better

bitch you’re still recording

is this gonna be another copycat where marinette tries to get the phone to delete the message

wait this is LITERALLY another copycat

YES TIKKI GET ANGRY

“I’m really sorry I didn’t come to your dad’s funeral” OH BITCH NOW I GET WHY HE HATES YOU

explains why they’re wearing black

felix with bryce’s voice hits bad

he needs kousei arima...max mittelman...pLAGG

“you do everything your dad tells you to” “oh well yeah you know”

do do do do-dUUHN

adrien and felix used to challenge each other in chess...nerds

plagg: “you’re cousin is being sus BUT HE TOUCHED MY CHEESE THAT UNFORGIVABLE”

plagg: *points out adrien’s mother is* adrien: *gets sad* plagg: oh baby fuck im so sorry

felix i know adrien is complete dumbass but you cannot call him an idiot!!!

wait is felix gonna find out marinette is ladybug because she was recording for so long

wAIT IS FELIX GONNA TRY TO SET UP MARINETTE AND ADRIEN BY DRESSING UP AS ADRIEN AND SEDUCING LADYBUG SINCE MARINETTE IS SUPPOSEDLY LADYBUG

probably not lol

felix fuck you im the only one allowed to make fun of nino’s dudebro accent

felix bby youre not building a good case for yourself by making fun of my babies

also bryce is trying to do a lower voice and he just sounds dudebro

wait is felix gonna rip chloe a new one

YES felix and chloe knew each other

the one time chloe is being genuinely nice for no discernable reason and felix is like “fucker”

well with the season finale we know it doesn’t matter

...annoyinG

FUCK

marinette time bitch lets see what happens im scared

ok thats mean

the writers are trying very hard to make me hate felix but joke’s on them, i’ll never hate anyone on this show

no joke i used to hate theo and call him a pedo and now i’m like “aww poor baby”

wait where is theo i havent seen him around

ok he deleted the videos so immmmmmmmmm hmmm

felix getting ready to cause havoc

ok luka is kind of a joke

*strums guitar* im supportive. this is my personality.

i cant really be mad about felix sending that mean message but adrien deserves to be a feral kitty

fel-ien: i renounce all my friends y’alllll SUCK

me: ...

calls out chloe specifically: NO THATS MEAN but true

marinette: there’s no way adrien can be mean he’s an absolute...aNGEL (how does that meme go)

i mean she has a point because he’d never call chloe out like tHAT

lila spying for gabe seems to be a good thing but im concerned about what gabe will be doing with this video

oh ok they knew it was felix

nathalie: so uh...sir...now’s a good time to um...akumatize some vulnerable kids...

gabe: ok amelie lets see how you feel about THIS akuma attack

gabe getting people to go chase down your “son” is still going to inevitably hurt your son

im fairly certain that max and kim know marinette is ladybug at this point 

*announcer voice* and in the confusion, reflekta, lady wifi, and princess fragrance were deakumatized because they couldn’t figure out who to be mad at

WHICH ONE OF YOU IS THE FAKE ADRIEN they all shout. “idk what do you think” says adrien 1 to adrien 2

adrien: *starts acting all mean*

punishers: IT MUST BE HIM

nathalie: STOP IT ADRIEN

punishers: wait who

adrien: muwahauwah i wonder who I could BE AJAHAHAHA

felix: bro why the fuck are you covering for me

nathalie get your grove on

hawkie: bitches Y’ALL THAT FUCK ASS IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU

felix: ha...no?

felix: oh well...KONO FELIX DA- LET’S FIGHT

istg if felix has his own miraculous

ladybug saves fel-ien

fel-ien: i love you

activates “smooch”

marinette: *has flashbacks to spook-drien* uhhh no

felix you’re being very menacing about this kiss

ok... i feel like marinette going “NO MEANS FUCKING NO” is a brownie points moment just the entire structure of the scene...also she has no reason to suspect adrien is not adrien, so the punching is just...intensely weird to me

this also feels like astruc trying to be like “FELIX IS THE OPPOSITE OF ADRIEN WHO IS A PERFECT GENTLEMAN AND RESPECTS WOMEN AND THEIR BOUNDARIES” when like um i dunno, adrien ALSO tries to kiss women (ladybug) without their consent but those moments are always treated as comedy so you’re not being very slick with this scene

side note; idk why when a male morally dark end character gets into a fight or something with a girl very one goes “THAT’S SEXIST”, like basically what you’re saying is “you can’t hit girls” which in itself IS sexist. everyone can be punched. don’t fucking hold back.

side note; you shouldn’t punch ANYONE

“You’re not Adrien, he would never be so pushy!” *looks at chat noir* uhhh....

i mean good deduction skills tho? i still think it’s pretty hastily and badly written

adrien is fucking OUTING his cousin lmao

i feel like there was pre-existing tension

felix: is actually ashamed for once

FELIX VISION

lb: great!!! now break the tablet felix: bitch this is some good fucking money i aint breaking it

felix and lila are the moth gang

hawk moth: why felix: uncle give me your fucking jewelry

felix: manipulate the situation...and profit

that has got to be the GREATEST defeat ever...truly lucky

felix looks like he thinks that he’s going to jail

adrien: dude wtf amelie: ...his dad- felix: no dude that was pretty fucked up, ill own up to it

“i hope to become a better person and see you again soon!” this was one concentrated bad incident but yeah ok

FELIX GOING FOR THE HUG

the tone is making me think this is supposed to be inauthentic and he doesn’t mean it but im hoping this isn’t the case.

but if it is genuine, it sounds like there’s a tacked on “learn to be better- from you” which like, yeah adrien is better than felix we get it but you don’t need to emphasis adrien as a model dude when he’s like tier 1 good guy. he’s decent. lmao.

wait felix has always been wearing a ring i didn’t notice

awww felix and gabriel made up.

wait

what even happened between them to begin with.

huh

adrien: aw sHIT CUZ WAIT gabe: nO DAVIC

adrien: if you need to talk in here felix: thanks

astruc: see he’s morally superior

did felix just gift adrien some expensive cheese lmao

felix: hey i feel bad, i replaced your cheese

adrien : *records message to thank everyone and says “i love you”* marinette: *obsessively plays back the “i love you”*

marinette: ill take what i can get

FELIX DID YOU UST FUCKING STEAL THIS MAN’S WEDDING RING I MEAN I KNOW HES MORALLY QUESTIONABLE IF NOT DESPICABLE BUT YOU’RE NOT MUCH BETTER YOU KNOW

so felix really is a magician huh

i feel like him and jean duparc would get along

oh so there’s history behind the rings?

“where it belongs” everyone hates gabe huh. wuh happened

gabe why are you taking your wife’s ring

it’s like he needs that thing to function

the ring: why you so obsessed with me

is it like an anti-nathalie charm or something

gabe: bitch get it together yOU’RE MARRIED, YOU’RE WIFE IS DOWNSTAIRS

the beef is, probably like all things, related to the miraculous

HAPPY END OF THE SEASON!!!!!!

#miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #long post

[seatights5-blog]

The particular Subtle Symphony of this Winery

Anyone who has proved helpful in a winery with regard to any length of period learns there is certainly one audio, more than any other, that will is quickly, pump-stoppingly, drop-what-you-are-doing, alarming: the sound of fresh falling on typically the floor. That has a certain timbre, a splash noise that conjures up every one of the disasters one has seen around wineries. I've read it a hundred times and it by no means ends to make me prevent and raise my scalp similar to a gazelle mid-feed. Being unfaithful moments out of eight it's not shout about – a good bucket overflowing with water or perhaps a harness left slightly wide open – nonetheless those aren't the particular images that spring immediately to mind. I've curved some sort of corner to discover a reservoir being filled with white juice by the bottom valve, but the user (in this specific case the winemaker) acquired left the other control device (known generally as often the racking valve – normally a good meter or thus higher than its comparable version – open). Juice was initially pouring out of often the sphincter muscle, onto the terrain, and down the drain. Related reports: The Less likely Making regarding a Winemaker Crediting this Winemaker Where it can Owing Accountants Calling the particular Shots at Wineries Little water prior to crash Tanks staying overfilled have a stormy dash sound as their attributes work with wine that in that case drops off their own reduced circumference and on top of the floor. Overflowing juice tubs, stuffed as presses seriously set out to exert some strain in the grapes inside, overflow by having an almost unstoppable chute. I wish to to say these people make a waterfall audio nevertheless I think which is just the impression that they give. That they splash, these people splash like all drink and wine that gets the floor. Heard a good splashing sound throughout a new winery that lasts longer when compared with three seconds and you head out to check out. Winemakers are accustomed to using their noses in addition to their eye (and their own palate) in a vineyard – it matches the career. If you don't aroma a new reductive ferment (one when the yeast is not necessarily totally happy) from the particular top of the aquarium, it won't be extended before a person leave often the vineyard flooring to smell this. Its not necessary some sort of winemaking course to know that if anyone see a spread-out enamel of crimson on the ground, some red wines has gone astray. Nonetheless sounds? If the minute regarding opening your container could be the pop of the cork or the scratch regarding a screwcap, used by reverential silence as well as the glug of the pour, then the winery is the some other section of this. Often the vineyard is full of sounds. It is relentless. The idea can be (during harvest) high in volume. Many wineries rely on products, on motive power, cooling systems and on compressed weather. Air flow compressors make the hell of any noise : I've also worked within a new vineyard where the compressed air has been created by way of a diesel powered engine unit – the kind utilized for roadworks. Air-conditioning units are inaudible generally, but stand up close and they create a noisy rumble. Cooling down The very best Wine Valets to Travel Your chosen Bottles are quiet yet the pumps that press the coolant all around often the winery make some sort of unremitting hum. Bag presses blow up and decompress with the lots of noise – in addition to they likewise click, faucet, whirr, complain and grumble as they rotate. A few have alarms that will appear every time they may be on the verge of rotate. Forklifts beep, whirr and clatter. Penis pumps sound, whinge and rattle. Grape trucks rumble together with pule pipe yaup and dump berries with a huge thump and even sprinkle. Hydraulic receival bins (where trucks and trailers eliminate the grapes) now have a low-frequency whine; his or her augers a new drone; this crusher-destemmer can produce some sort of variety of noises ~ a good relentless metronomic clang will be a sign something will be not right, for case – although commonly audio like a large slip drier would if that were removed of almost any external cladding and geared-up to move double the swiftness. A must water pump (in case you hadn't recognized, we're following the vineyard through the production method of most traditional wineries) is typically a good silent element of kit in comparison with it has the stablemates – it will emit a fairly higer pitched whine should you tune in hard – but since these kinds of, any noise from using it, possibly be that the suck-slosh sound of it running dried up and also the chug of that working hard, is actually cause for alarm. Filling a new fermenter for red wine beverages usually begins with a new thump-bang-spatter because grape have to hits the ground of typically the tank and primarily information outwards. As the tank is filling, it is definitely, reasonably speaking, a muted event. But a little is often a signal the must collection (winery grape/wine hoses plus hoses are known as "lines" – the term "hose" is usually reserved for water – features pushed itself out of the tank with the force of the have to coming out of it and even has decided to expell it has the contents on to the ground. This can and will do come about. The sound involving dripping solution is rarely a good register a winery. © BFL | The sound of leaking liquid is seldom a great sign in a vineyard. Tends to make me wanna yell And from now on would be a good time for you to talk regarding shouting. In most instances, this involves screaming "stop often the pump". In a huge winery, this is certainly generally a new forlorn endeavor and this witness must proceed along with hurry (but definitely not excessive haste) to the agent in question. In small jobs, this cry commonly has got the desired effect : every person hits the stop-button nearby to them. Or perhaps sometimes typically the noise regarding whatever possesses happened is definitely enough – as in the particular case of me personally going down through a ladder ditch in some scaffolding – plus the closest to person shouts "are anyone ok? inch, despite certainly not seeing precisely what had transpired. I keep in mind one occasion as soon as, midway through rolling some sort of fermenter cover through the vineyard a associate shouted "Guys! " This was adopted by another, louder "GUYS! " (a second holler is a surefire signal something is amiss). Most of us all went to find the dog wrestling with a new tank control device the deal with had connected around together with popped opened. He was initially saturated in fermenting Sauvignon Blanc. But shouts happen to be like sounds – mostly, you know when it's an disaster, or if something went wrong. My spouse and i can't explain that, nonetheless you get an head for this. Like a Bucher 150 push losing front door seal at 2 pub. I probably should make clear this so you get often the full picture. The Bucher 150 is the somewhat common cylindrical bladder click. It is essentially a stainless steel tube divided down this middle by a large bag. Guiding the tote goes often the compressed surroundings that is used to squash the bag from the grapes (which are with lack of of the bag) and the drink functions off down about seven drainage channels into the hit tray. There are also a pair of doors on this fruit area of the particular press. They allow it to be emptied and permit people to climb in clean it. The doors happen to be about half the size of some sort of regular door. They fall, and so are sealed pneumatically versus the outside the press. This press runs, at the upper level, with a tension of 2 bar, or 200kPa, or 29lbs for each square inch. I is not going to go ahead to how and even so why this took place (it had been operator miscalculation ~ to a qualification: the heart and soul was that in the event you flicked concerning automatic together with guide method in the previous models, you always risked shedding door seal) yet, via my desk, now there got a double-BOOM, some sort of whoosh like a fly plane all of a sudden appearing cost, put into practice, events later, by means of what sounded like rain on the tin roof (it was actually half-dried Pinot Gris skins falling from the sky). I searched on the lab technical assistant, this lab technical viewed with me, and that we ran outside. This is a bit about sounds so We won't describe the landscape. Be adequate to say that will weeks in the future, when the idea rained, we'd even now come across Pinot Gris cases forthcoming out of the guttering using the rainwater. Not most sounds are usually bad nevertheless – many are happy. The particular rhythmic slosh of a great irrigator wetting the hat of fermenting Cabernet or perhaps Merlot; often the squelch, are terrible, fizz regarding plunging a fermenting limitation of Pinot Noir; the beeping of timers in the research laboratory; the scrape of a new stirrer in a gun barrel involving Chardonnay; the scream of "standby", the reply associated with "standing by", in addition to the "stop" of topping a tank. Days of homemade wine and Boses And then there is certainly the stereo. Almost all of my personal European vintages have been completed in relative silence as long as music went. In quite a few wineries we may well include a portable radio, nonetheless mostly generally there wasn't songs. When Anyone that Loves Wine Ought To be able to Study This received to help the SouthernHemisphere, even though, the first vintage surprise was initially seeing two audio system the size of banano boxes hanging from the eaves, overlooking the push area. The music streamed out there as we performed, from start to evening, red and white, we all listened to everything. Together with I adored it : I still do. In most of the New Globe wineries I have worked well in, we have seen a audio system in each work area (barrel hall, vineyard, lab). Some, though, get it very seriously. Central Otago winemaker Dean Shaw presides over reputedly the best stereo system in the location together with a huge repository that goes into terabytes. They has rules although. You need to play an album inside their entirety, for illustration. In addition to Rage Against This Machine is definitely banned. Because, undoubtedly for the majority of wineries (once everyone's Spotify has recently been exhausted), the radio gets the particular fall-back, there are songs I actually powerfully keep company with vintages. Sedona by Houndmouth is old-fashioned 2015. This year, it will be Run Crazy by means of Brand-new Zealand team Racing. As I write, this can be late in the evening. Just about Great Wine and Good Mood offers curbside pickup is quiet spend less typically the hiss outside involving compressed air bleeding by itself from the process together with my post-rock COMPACT DISK playing on the clinical stereo. In a few days the essential contraindications silence will certainly return and even, to always be honest, I'm definitely not totally looking forward to it.

#wine making kit

[voiceofthecity]

Christmas With Cavendish (LWA Santa Fic)

Here is my @lwasanta gift for @elleoellie​! I hope you enjoy it and I hope that everyone else who wants to read enjoys it!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Series: Little Witch Academia

Pairing: Diana/Akko

Words: 5k+

[AO3 Link]

Chapter 1

Inside the limousine, eight Luna Nova students sat inside on their way to the Cavendish Manor. About two weeks had passed since they all last saw each other during the moving out day at school and all had received an invitation in the mail a few days after they had settled back home. Each letter was sealed with wax, stamped with a coat of arms depicting two unicorns standing on their hind legs, supporting a shield with a single caduceus on it. The banners above the shield read the motto, “Nam salutem et pacem” and another banner below it simply read, “In honorem Beatrice.” No one didn’t have to second guess themselves on who it was from. Each letter contained a single plane ticket and a personalized letter thanking each person for an unforgettable first semester and as thanks, extended an invitation to stay at the Cavendish Manor for 3 days for a Christmas Eve party and gift exchange and a Christmas Day dinner. Of course, each letter ended with, “Respectfully yours, Diana Cavendish.” Except for Atsuko Kagari’s, which read, “Sincerely yours, Diana Cavendish.”

Akko didn’t think much of the closing statement at first until she arrived from her flight to see Sucy and Lotte sitting together and caught a glimpse at the letters they received. It seems like such a minor thing to be thinking about this extensively, but it was still on her mind even when the troublesome trio met up with Amanda, Jasminka, and Constanze, and when the group of six were led to the limousine by Diana’s familiar cohorts, Hannah and Barbara. Even as the once magically inexperienced girl stared out the window of the vehicle, watching the snow pass by on the way to the manor, her mind was filled with so many questions about the girl she once considered (and still considers to a smaller degree) her rival.

“Akko.” A familiar deadpan voice calls from behind her. She turns around to meet eyes with Sucy, the strange but still kind hearted of the troublesome trio.

“You’ve been staring out the window for the past few minutes. Are you not feeling well?” She asked. Despite the rough start to their friendship which involved Sucy using Akko as a lab rat for her potions and elixirs and Akko exploring Sucy’s inner thoughts and dreams, the two have grown to care for and protect each other in the few months they’ve spent in Luna Nova. Akko responds to Sucy’s question with a simple head shake.

“N-No, I’m fine. I just forgot how far away Diana’s house was. I think we should be getting there soon though.” Akko answered with almost a small hint of anticipation and a reassuring smile. Sucy returned the gesture with a small smile of her own, something not everyone gets to see every day and is always a welcoming sight for Akko on the rare occasion she does it.

“I hope it is. The plane ride here took way too long and I’m tired of just sitting around all day!” Complained the ever energetic Amanda, who’s been waiting too long for this vacation. Any reason to get her out of spending time with annoying family members during the holidays is a good reason, especially if it meant spending time with Constanze and Jasminka. The two have have stayed fairly quiet for most of the trip, except for Jasmika occasionally offering cookies she baked herself from her bag and Constance making a couple noises when in conversation whilst poking around her newest Stanbot model, decorated with festive lights and a Santa hat.

“Yo Akko,” Amanda called out.

“Didn’t you say you hitchhiked around here to get to the manor and you got picked up by one of those stuck up Appleton boys?” Akko took a second to remember what she was referring to.

“Oh yeah, that happened.” She confirmed, thinking it was probably one of her less proud moments to be desperate enough to rely on Andrew’s help to get anything done. Admittedly, he’s not completely a bad person, considering how supportive he was of her and Diana, all the way to going against government officials to ensure that they wouldn’t get involved when the Noir Fuel Spirit nearly sent the world into chaos, leaving the witches to stop it with no intrusions.

“Crap, he’s not gonna be there, is he?” Amanda asked while lying down on the seats, letting Jasminka’s thighs serve as a comfy pillow. Jasminka softly pats her head.

“I don’t think so. The next few days are supposed to be about us, right? There’s no way Diana would let someone like him be invited too!” Akko proclaimed confidently.

“Well, you probably shouldn’t look at the car next to us then.” replied Lotte, pointing out to the same window Akko was looking at just a couple moments ago. The Japanese girl turned to see a black sedan alongside them. Although the windows were tinted slightly, she looked at it until she could just see who was in the backseat. As if right on cue, she quickly recognized the boy in the suit and found herself completely wrong.

“Oh, what the-?! Why the hell are you here!? Don’t you have some boring parliament stuff to do, you rich little-!” Akko stood as much as she could and yelled at the window, despite knowing he couldn’t hear her. Suddenly both of her arms were grabbed and pulled on by two girls.

“No standing in the Limo!” Hannah and Barbara commanded while trying to pull Akko down to her seat. Despite her attempts to fight back, the 2-on-1 odds overcame Akko, as what usually happens against those two, and she sits back down next to Sucy with a look of annoyance. Sucy pats her head and whispers, “Bad dog.” as a joke, prompting Akko to yell out again.

“Don’t call me a dog!” She defiantly yelps.

Within the next few minutes, the limousine arrives at the front lot of the manor. Snow had covered most of the garden but it still looks in good condition thanks to the gardeners who have been working hard to keep them looking nice, especially with the incoming guests arriving. As everyone stepped outside with their luggage in hand, Akko looked over the hood of the limo to see Andrew ‘Perfect Timing’ Hanbridge step out of the backseat, with the driver providing him with a black coat and gloves to accommodate for the cold weather. Almost immediately upon sight, Akko made a beeline straight for him, took off her beanie hat, and threw it right at his face, landing perfectly so it just covered his eyes without falling.

“Who the hell invited you here, Andrew?” Akko demanded with a strong tone of impatience. Now of all times was definitely the worst time for this boy to show up, yet here he was.

“I’m going to guess the same person that invited you and your friends. If you must know, I have important matters to discuss with Diana. Now that the existence of magic is no longer a secret kept amongst select groups of people, there’s hundreds on unanswered questions on the table from world leaders and the general public. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the Cavendish family is one of the chosen families to represent the magic community.” Andrew explained after tossing the beanie back to Akko and giving her his standard unamused expression. The girl that always brought trouble every time they met placed the hat back on her head and puffed her cheeks with her arms crossed, a subtle sign that she’s not completely frustrated with his arrival, more mildly inconvenienced.

“I’ll be at the dinner tomorrow, but the business talks won’t take up too much of Diana’s schedule, so you two will have more time to yourselves.” He added, but after finishing his sentence he froze for a moment, like he said something he wasn’t supposed to. Akko raised her eyebrow.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?” She inquired, stepping forward to try and keep him from moving forward, but he was already walking past her.

“I’ve said too much.” He tries to say with a straight face, but he can’t help but smirk just a little bit. Akko catches his expression and continues to smack him with her beanie, demanding he explain himself. Her accent even slips out when yelling out his name. The other seven girls can’t help but find Akko’s behavior amusing. The light hearted giggles and the beanie smacking are suddenly ceased as the large wooden doors swing open slowly. Everyone looks straight ahead to see a formal line of butlers and maids walking towards them before coming a halt. Akko recognizes the central positioned maid, Anna, who steps aside to allow the person behind the line to walk through. Looking up at all her friends, sporting a white buttoned coat and black pants and shoes to keep herself warm, Diana bowed at her guests to welcome them.

“I’m glad you all could make it! I’m honored that you all decided to take the time to come here and celebrate Christmas at my home. The gift exchange will be in a couple hours, so I’ll let you all get settled inside. My caretakers will help you to your rooms.” Diana welcomed everyone as her caretakers begin to do exactly as she was saying, bringing in the suitcases and bags to the manor. Anna took Akko’s suitcase and smiled, recalling the good that Akko has done for Diana in the past couple months.

“It’s nice to see you again, Miss Kagari. Lady Diana’s been looking forward to this gathering all week.” The caretaker greeted.

“It’s great to see you again too!” Akko says with a smile. Her eyes looked to Diana for a moment. Her rival looked to her at the same time, locking eyes for a quick two seconds. Akko spotted Diana taking a sharp breath, like she was nervously caught off guard before she turned back around to step inside. Akko turned her head for a moment in confusion. Diana wasn’t usually one to act so bashful. ‘Was she bring bashful?’, Akko thought to herself. She quickly snaps out out of it when she gets called back to the group, bringing her attention back to reality.

“Akko! We gotta get to our room! Plus, you can show us around, right?” Lotte waved over at her while following one of the male caretakers with Sucy.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Akko called back. She turned around to Andrew, who was also greeting Anna, and gave him the “I’m watching you” gesture while walking back to her friends, still suspicious of what that boy could he hiding. He only reacts with a perplexed shrug.

Chapter 2

Everyone stepped inside and began to gaze around the main hall, completely adorned and decorated with Christmas cheer. Fresh wreaths hung on each door, lights strung around the second floor railing all the way to the end of the staircase, where there was a decorated tree on both sides, and even the wands and brooms hanging from the walls were decorated to fit the festive occasion. Finally, the portrait of Lady Beatrice, hanging above the split staircase, is magically altered to be given a snowy background and her robes to look more festive, while still retaining her beauty and sophistication. The girls were in awe of how everything looked and couldn’t wait to see more of the manor.

Diana made sure to waste no time to get everyone ready and instructed her caretakers to lead each person to their rooms. She even took care to make sure everyone shared their rooms with their respective roommates from school. (Hannah and Barbara were given their own room, unsurprisingly.) After settling in with Sucy and Lotte, Akko shared a conversation with them on what they’ve been up to since going home. Lotte shared that a lot of her extended family were with her parents to welcome her back, congratulating her for her part in pretty much saving the world.

“We had a pretty big dinner too! I was almost full for the whole weekend, but I’m glad I got to see everyone.” Lotte said while patting her stomach with a cute giggle. Sucy only shared that not a lot changed when she arrived home, although she was recognized for her efforts by her younger sisters. As for her mother, she didn’t say much to her at first aside from welcoming her back home, but later that day, she visited Sucy’s room and gave her a hug.

“She never really did that. Not for me or for any of my sisters. I think I heard her say ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’ but after that, she left the room without another word. She has trouble expressing emotions sometimes, but I think she did very well.” She remembered.

“What about you, Akko?” Lotte chimed the question while turning to face Akko, who was packing in her wrapped present in a gift bag she brought with her.

Akko looked up at her friends, taking a moment to think. Once she get her mind going, she continued preparing the gift while talking.

“Well, my parents picked me up from the airport. My dad greeted me just fine but then he was in a rush to get me in the car with my mom and we just headed straight home. When we got inside the house, both of them just held me so tight. I guess they were watching the whole thing while it was happening and were so scared for me. I almost felt bad for worrying them like that.” Akko’s eye kept looking at the gift bag while she continued talking.

“They wanted to do something special, a little party to celebrate with just us, but I was so tired from the plane ride, I just wanted to sleep. We all slept on the couch together and they already had a nice breakfast ready for me when I woke up. My parents are pretty goofy, but I love them that way.” Akko said with a sweet sounding giggle, putting a smile on Lotte’s and Sucy’s faces. She went on to say nothing really changed from her life before Luna Nova, except getting a letter from Diana, who wanted to see how she was doing and if she was planning anything for Christmas. After Akko sent a lettered reply to her, the next thing she got from Diana was the invitation.

Before long, night had arrived and it was time for the gift exchange party, which was basically a variation of the White elephant gift exchange. The way it had worked was the gifts were placed under the tree in the main living room, where the party takes place. Later on, when everyone is ready, the gifts would be distributed randomly and for three minutes, no one can open their gift but are allowed to trade it for another’s gift. Once the three minutes are over, all gift’s owners are final and are allowed to be opened. The joyfully chaotic three minutes kept each girl on their toes, unsure if their gifts would be good for them or for someone else. As it was over, all nine girls opened their gifts at the same time with a number of interesting reactions.

Amanda opened her gift to find an orange alpacasso with a small black bandana on its neck and the tag on its neck reading Akko’s name in kanji.

“Wow! This little guy’s actually pretty cute! I-I mean cool! He’s cool, that’s what I meant to say. ” Amanda stammered in her excitement, quick to put her tough gal demeanor but she turns around to Akko, already sitting next to her, and offers a fist bump for thanks. Akko gladly accepts. Constanze opens up her box next and pulls out a smaller sized wooden box with a few air holes on the lid. She places the box on the floor to let her Stanbot open it carefully. As it does, the box is revealed to contain a strange looking red venus flytrap-like plant, with a narrow looking mouth and sharper “teeth”. No questions on who this gift was from. The purple haired girl tossed a clear bag of mushrooms to the mute engineer.

“Those ones are her favorite, but she’ll eat pretty much any fungus you give her. Hope you like it.” She instructed, while finding herself amused at the Stanbot’s curiosity getting the best of him, almost letting his finger get trapped in the plant’s grasp. Constanze carefully dropped a mushroom for the plant and gave a thumbs up and a nod to Sucy as her sign of thanks. Jasminka happily received a fuzzy holiday sweater from Constanze, who tried to make something aside from machines with her own hands. (It really shows.) Despite it’s rough quality, she hugged her beloved roommate as thanks.

Lotte received a limited edition miniature model of the Great Ben clock tower from Nightfall, complete with an accurately sounding alarm bell. Strangely enough, it was the same gift that Barbara received. The both of them laughed upon the realization they had bought the same gift. Hannah received a sweets and treats cookbook along with a box with a small chocolate cake inside that had “From Jasminka” written in mint green frosting.

Sucy reached into her bag to find an expensive looking makeup kit with a tag attached to it reading “From Hannah” with a tiny heart drawn next to it. Already with wicked thoughts arising in her head, she grinned and thanked Hannah before excusing herself to use the restroom with the makeup kit under her arm. Up next was Diana, who’s gift box looked to be about five and a half feet long. After tearing up the wrapping paper excitedly, she opened the box and pulled out a freshly carved flying broom, decorated with Luna Nova’s insignia carved around the blunt end of the hand.

“My granddad used to do a lotta wood carving and he taught me a few things when I was little. I’m sure you got a lotta fancier brooms lying around though.” The American explained before Diana quickly interjected.

“Amanda, this is so impressive! The handle is very smooth and can be firmly grasped, and the bristles add just the perfect amount of weight for flying. You’re a lot more talented than you give yourself credit for.” She praised. Amanda scratched the back of her head and couldn’t help but feel a little flustered at her own work being complimented by Diana Cavendish herself.

Last but not least, Akko had the very last present to open. The process of elimination going on in her head deduced that there was only one person who did not give a gift just yet. Her hand grabbed the colored paper from inside the gift and tossed it aside. She peered inside to see a black box and carefully extracted it from the bag. Whatever was inside felt a little heavy, and Akko’s curiosity heightened the moment she began to open the box. Diana watched closely, not only at the box, but also at Akko’s expression getting more and more excited. The youngest Cavendish was beginning to feel that excitement in herself as well. But the anticipation suddenly came to a screeching halt with an unexpected scream.

Chapter 3

The scream that startled everyone in the room had come from Hannah, who had her head turned to Sucy, who was grabbing her shoulders and smiling at her. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if it wasn’t for the fact that Sucy had used Hannah’s gift to paint herself to look like some strange Frankenstein’s Monster-like creature. The scream was enough to catch Akko’s attention off guard, temporarily making her forget about the gift in the black box. The weight from the box was gone all of a sudden, and before she realized this, another loud sound echoed in the room. The sound of shattered glass.

“No!!” Diana’s voice screamed at the scattered mess of glass and liquid spilled in the center of the room. Everyone’s eyes turned to look at Diana’s distressed expression, which led them to see what had caused her grief. From what they could see, the gift in the black box was a specially made snowglobe with a unicorn’s head as the centerpiece of it. Akko looked up at Diana finally, beginning to panic a little bit for what she believes was her own mistake.

“Oh God, Diana, I am so sorry! I-It was an accident, I-I didn’t mean to drop it!” Akko defended herself. She took out her wand to try and pick up the pieces, but she was already beat to it by the girl she was apologizing to. Her eyes went to Diana, and she saw that she didn’t exactly look mad. Diana didn’t say a word as she gathered every broken and missing piece she could and placed it in a magic bubble with a heavy sigh. She turned to Akko and smiled at her, but the smile felt almost off. The kind of smile you’d see before someone says to you ‘It’s okay.’

“It’s okay.” Diana gently replied. She kept the bubble up as she made her way to the door.

“I’ll... I’ll fix this myself. I also need to get some sleep so you all continue talking amongst yourselves before heading to bed. I’ll see you all at Dinner tomorrow. Have a good night.” She kept a smile while walking out. If Akko learned one thing from the last time she stayed at the Cavendish manor, it was that Diana is extremely good at hiding her emotions, but not as good as Akko once thought. She knew that Diana was hurt by this, but she didn’t want to start any more trouble. She sat down and spent a few more minutes talking with everyone before she and her roommates headed to bed. Akko couldn’t stop thinking about how hurt Diana might have been about the whole thing. It kept her up for an hour or two. She was almost tempted to ask Sucy for something that could help her fall asleep, but then she remembered wasn’t planning on waking up for next year’s Christmas.

Christmas Day finally came. The girls were all treated to breakfast in bed, delivered by the caretakers, which was a nice treat. After eating, they spent most of the day outside the front of the manor, enjoying the perfect snowy weather. Amanda and Constanze built a snow fort to protect from the unstoppable force of the Winter Bear (Jasminka). Their fort could not hold up and they were attacked with strong but comforting and loving bear hugs. Lotte and Sucy explored the gardens of the house, admiring each flower and plant they saw. Hannah and Barbara were in charge of preparing for the Dinner as Diana and Andrew spent half of the day discussing politics and other concerns involving magic and recent events. Akko spent her day with almost everyone, but did not catch sight nor sound of Diana. Amanda and Lotte reassured her that Diana would be probably okay, despite what happened last night. Hannah and Barbara meanwhile, warned Akko that another mistake like that, accidental or not, could put Diana in a sour mood for the rest of the day. No one’s suggestions or advice could stop Akko’s concern for Diana’s wellbeing.

As the sun was beginning to set, the girls went to their rooms to prepare themselves for the dinner. Each guest was dressed neatly and beautifully, even Sucy found a more proper use for Hannah’s gift to compliment her deep purple dress. Amanda however, felt quite stuffy in the dress her parents’ packed for her; Nothing a simple spell couldn’t fix. One wave with her wand and shouting the phrase “Metamorphie Vestesse!” turned the uncomfortable dress into a better fitting deep red suit, complete with a festive green tie. Sure, it was a little tacky, but it looked great on her without any doubt. She put more effort into it than Andrew did with his own suit, which looked no different aside from the red and green stripes on his tie. That was about as festive as he was going to be for the rest of the day. Diana’s dress looked amazing, as expected. The long ice blue silk dress, with white snowflakes from the bottom, fading away into the center, received compliments all around.

“Diana, you look so beautiful!” Akko particularly complimented the girl herself.

“Why, thank you...” Diana replied, almost with a look of relief on her face, as well as a small but noticeable blush on her cheeks. Before the hostess could take her seat, she asked for the guests to stand so she could say a few words.

“I would, once again, like to thank everyone for coming here to spend their Christmas at my home. It has made me so happy to see you all again, even if we didn’t spend too much time during the first few months of last semester. All of you are wonderful, talented souls. I know that everyone here will go on to do great things in their future, and I want you all to know that you have my full, undivided support no matter what!” proclaimed Diana, with a genuine loving smile.

“I’m sorry if all of this sounds very childish, but you all mean a lot to me.” She continued, looking down and brushing her hair aside. When she looked back up, her eyes shifted over toward Akko, almost instantly. The nervous smile from that sweet, troublesome girl made Diana’s own smile shine a little brighter.

“A-And I want everyone to feel welcome amongst us. I’m confident that together, we can accomplish anything! Now, let’s eat!” Diana finished and right on cue, the chefs arrived with their carts of food and began to set everything on the table. Fresh turkey, juicy fruits and vegetables, delectable sides like potatoes and stuffing were ready for everyone to feast upon. The guests conversed amongst themselves, laughing and enjoying everything around them. Even Andrew felt welcome amongst everyone, even if he was getting some slack from Amanda.

“C’mon rich boy, I bet if you weren’t off in Appleton, you’d have tons of girls flocking to you. Trust me, it’s not a bad feeling.” Amanda chuckled as she took a quick sip of cider. Andrew couldn’t help but laugh with her before responding.

“I’m sure it is, Ms. O’Niell. But to be quite honest with you... Let’s just say I place my bets on red, not black.” The boy smiled while cutting a hefty piece of turkey for himself. Amanda sat still for a few seconds to understand Andrew’s words when the light in her head suddenly flickered on.

“Really!? Ho-Holy fu-” Before she yelled out something explicit, Amanda was quickly silenced with a piece of ham to her mouth, delivered by Jasminka.

“Language!” She hushed, letting Amanda chew on her words, almost literally. The whole table laughed in amusement, even Andrew couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

The dinner finished with everyone full and tired. They placed their utensils on the plate and made their way back to the main living room to continue talking, except for Andrew, who had to leave to make it back home, and Diana, who claimed she was heading to bed. Even the talking could not last so long as the night caught up with everyone and they all fell asleep on the couches, wrapped in comfy blankets. Hannah and Barbara cuddled together beside the tree, Amanda, Jasminka, and Constance took up the couch beside the window and held closely to each other. Even Sucy and Lotte were cozied up by the fire before they dozed off, looking like children waiting for Santa to arrive. Meanwhile, Akko was returning from the bathroom before she ran into Andrew in the main hall with his suitcase and luggage in hand.

“Heading home already?” She asked.

“Yes. My father wants to go out to Breakfast with him to make up for me missing Christmas at his brother’s house.” He clarified.

“Right, well at least you didn’t have to talk with annoying family, right?” She said with a laugh, which was met with an unamused glare. She almost apologized before he interrupted her.

“No, you’re actually right about that. My uncle’s an annoying drunk, but I feel bad that my father had to suffer that alone. The least I can do is treat him to bacon and eggs at his favorite diner, right?” He asked. Akko nodded in agreement before he stepped forward to head out the front door. But he stopped without warning and turned around.

“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Diana wants to meet you on the second floor balcony, the one overlooking the sorcerer’s stone. I suggest you hurry. It seems very important.” Andrew smirked. Akko nodded and made her way up the stairs. He wished her a Merry Christmas, as did she, before he saw himself out.

Chapter 4

Making haste, Akko found the door to the balcony and clumsily slid and fell on the floor. She was quick to get back on her feet and her hand grabbed the handle of the door and pulled back to find Diana looking over the water at the Sorcerer's stone glowing in the Christmas fog. The sound of the door opening was enough to catch Diana’s attention and she turned to meet Akko. She was wearing a white coat over her dress to protect from the freezing gentle breeze and was carrying a small blue gift bag in her hand. Akko couldn’t find the words to say at first because she was almost hypnotized by how Diana looked under the lights of the moon above and the stone behind her. Diana may have looked beautiful at the dinner table, but here, she looked perfect.

“Akko...” Diana’s voice cooed and brought Akko back to her senses. The clumsy girl stood up straight and walked to Diana.

“H-Hey... Andrew said you wanted to see me...” Akko said while beginning to rub her hands together to keep them warm. In her rush to get here, she forgot to grab something warm to wear. She didn’t even had her wand with her to help, so all she can do now is hope that she doesn’t catch a cold

“Is this about yesterday? I-I didn’t mean to destroy it, I’m really sorry for that! I know you looked a little nervous at dinner too and if it was my fault, I’m sorry! I-” Diana put her finger to Akko’s lips to silence her.

“Akko, I’m not mad at you. I mean yes, I was upset at the snowglobe breaking but I know it wasn’t your fault. If anything, I was nervous that you would be sad because you couldn’t get a gift. So...” Diana gave Akko the gift bag, waiting for her to open it. When Akko pushed aside the tissue paper and grabbed her gift, she felt glass on her fingertips. She pulled out the snowglobe, which she could finally see in its full glory. The unicorn head centerpiece was surrounded by snow and its horn was even glowing a bright green, just like the unicorn they could see across the water.

“The horn was made with a small piece of the Cavendish sorcerer’s stone. It wasn’t like that originally, but when I knew you were going to have it, I-I had to make it more special. I spent all night yesterday trying to get that piece without anyone knowing and then I had to fix it the snowglobe itse-” Diana’s word were stopped by Akko’s sudden embrace. Her arms held tightly onto Diana and the excitable girl held her tightly while tapping her feet excitedly on the floor.

“I love it! You didn’t have to do all that, but I love it Diana! It’s so cool and wonderful!” Akko praised and praised until Diana politely asked her to let go, knowing that Akko was fairly strong for someone of her body type. Diana smiled with relief and satisfaction with Akko’s reaction. Akko continued looking at the globe before she came to a realization.

“Aww, I wish I got you a gift! I can get you one back home and send it here! I don’t want you to feel left out!” Akko rambled on nervously. Her worrying was stopped again by Diana, but this time, not with words. Instead, she felt a warm touch on both of her cheeks. She opened her eyes to see Diana’s, closer now than she saw earlier in the day. Only the whisper of the wind could be heard on this Winter night. The two girls were so worried about each other for the whole weekend, and now that they were both happy, they could finally enjoy a moment alone and in peace.

“Akko... Be still for a moment, okay?” Diana kindly whispered.

“Okay...” Akko complied.

During the last few weeks of school, they both came to the conclusion that, after everything they had been through, the feelings between them were more than just platonic. Although they both knew that, and were comfortable with expressing these feelings with each other, such intimate moments were rare to come find, due to the social consequences that could arise if everyone found out Diana Cavendish had feelings for the girl she seemed to resent for the whole school year. But here, in the privacy of the Cavendish Manor, nothing could stand in between them. After months of longing for this moment, it was finally time for their feelings to be put into action.

Without another utterance from either party, their lips softly brushed against each other for a moment. Diana had hesitated, unsure if Akko was ready for this moment. But her clever partner quelled her worries by pushing herself up with her toes to let their lips make full contact. The warmth between them grew to the point where they had forgot about the winter breeze. The only thing on their minds was each other, for right now, for today, for the whole weekend, ever since they stood together in victory, overlooking the atmosphere of the earth.

Once they pulled away to let the moment sink in, Diana softly giggled, music to Akko’s ears.

“Now we’re even.” Diana said with genuine satisfaction.

“Great... We should get inside before the wind starts picking up.” Akko suggested.

“You’re right. Why didn’t you bring a coat?” Diana asked with worry, taking off her own coat to drape it on Akko.

“Because I wanted to see you, obviously! The cold won’t stop me!” Akko exclaimed. The both laughed at Akko’s signature persistence.

They stepped inside and made their way to the living room, where everyone was still asleep. It looked like Sucy and Lotte moved up a little since Akko last saw them, leaving the warm fire wide open. Akko and Diana sat down and let the warmth comfort them as they held hands together.

“Merry Christmas, Akko... You mean the world to me.” Diana cooed.

“You do too, Diana. Merry Christmas...” Akko yawned, letting the sounds of the crackling fire and Diana’s soft breathing lull her to a peaceful sleep.

#little witch academia #Diakko #lwasanta #akko kagari #Diana cavendish #everyone else is here too #cityfic

[margoslxix]

Why Everyone Should Join the New Albion Fandom

Alright, so I know some of my followers already know about New Albion. I’ve definitely been posting about it a lot lately. But not only is it a great work, but so far, the fandom is shaping up to be something absolutely special and unique, something worth keeping an eye on for those of us interested in fandom history and culture. It’s still a small fandom, but it seems to be growing fairly quickly, and I think this is as good of a time as any to make a post like this.

What is New Albion?

Good question! The short answer is, it’s a series of operas. Specifically, retro-futuristic science fiction operas. That sounds niche as hell, because it is. But the music is incredible, and the stories are extremely well-written. There’s also a good deal of LGBT representation, which is always a plus.

You can find the entire series here. As you can see, that looks extremely intimidating, but here’s a simple guide to getting into the series:

You should start with Dolls of New Albion. It’s the first in the main trilogy, and the most well-known. You can find a few actual performances on Youtube, which is a nice bonus. If you’re extremely into jazz, you can also safely start with The New Albion Radio Hour, but I don’t think it’s quite as satisfying without having Dolls as a basis. Dolls of New Albion is an epic, with each act following a different cast of characters in the same family line, and how all of their actions cause the downfall of a great city. The aesthetic is Steampunk, probably accounting for the popularity of this one in particular.

The New Albion Radio Hour is the direct sequel. It’s a much more compact, action-oriented piece. It’s Dieselpunk, so prepare for a lot of noire goodness. It follows a single family on a single night, and while the plot is completely separate from Dolls, it definitely does build on the lore.

Finishing out the trilogy is The New Albion Guide to Analogue Consciousness, a wild Atompunk ride. It’s a bit less linear than its predecessors, with Act 2 being a massive flashback that helps to explain the plot. It has a reputation of being the hardest of the three to follow plot-wise, so you definitely don’t want to start with this one, although it’s also very, very good. It also ties the plots and characters of the other two together in an extremely unexpected and interesting way, so it’s absolutely a great “end” to an amazing trilogy.

Once you’ve finished the main trilogy, your next destination should be The Room Beneath New Albion. It was written as a sort of love letter to the fans, and an epilogue for the series. Taking place during the third act of Dolls, it delivers on a plot point left hanging at the end of the trilogy.

All of this takes less than 6 hours, so this is not a fandom that will take you hours and hours to get caught up. If you were a latecomer to anything like Homestuck or The Adventure Zone, New Albion is incredibly accessible.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

You may have noticed that there are more than four albums on the Bandcamp page. Don’t worry. Just because the main trilogy is over doesn’t mean that New Albion is finished. Now is actually an excellent time to get into the fandom, as we’re all waiting at the edge of our seats for the third act of The Ballad of Lost Hollow. 

The Ballad of Lost Hollow is a 3-act opera being released one act at a time, and Act 2 (”Uncle Raven’s Super Happy Funtime Carnival”) was released very recently. While it was a massive plot twist at the time, it is no longer a secret that this opera, while seemingly unrelated to New Albion, is actually the fourth full installment in the series, and seems to be heading in a Cyberpunk direction. Still, it’s taken a lot of detours through Weird West and a Carnival aesthetic, so it’s got a little something for everyone.

In addition, if you want to hear more, most of the albums on the composer’s Bandcamp do take place in the same universe! If you want to get additional lore, feel free to give a listen to nearly everything. Fairy Tales for the Lost and Wandering in particular actually includes a track called “New Albion 7,” an important side-story linking Radio Hour to Analogue Consciousness. If you liked that, there’s also Fairy Tales for Homeless Fairies, another album of fairy tales, but one with a more connected plot.

For more background on Uncle Raven, formally introduced to the New Albion series in Act 2 of Lost Hollow and quickly becoming the most popular character in the series, check out The Fallen and Shadows and Flames, both of which feature him pretty heavily. (He’s actually a very old OC of the creator, so there is official lore for him dating back to the 90s.)

If you want something a little different (and not necessarily canon), check out The Slenderman Musical or Cthulhu The Funksical, both incredibly weird and unique takes on pre-existing stories.

And if you’ve listened to everything and you’re still hungry for more New Albion, the composer’s blog contains a bunch of short fiction and character backgrounds for the series, providing additional context and lore notes.

How is this Fandom Unique?

This one’s kind of a long story.

You see, we have this Discord server (which I can give you a link to, if you’re interested). A lot of fandoms do. It was started by @sludge-bot, and I don’t think he expected it to get as big as it did.

Well, sure enough, it sort of exploded. Meanwhile, cryptic messages on Paul Shapera’s blog seemed to suggest that he was a member of the Discord himself, lurking and incognito. He promised that he would reveal himself in a Q&A session over voice chat.

And he did. Sonmi451, a person who had been a member of the server for a long time, turned out to be Paul Shapera himself. Turns out, he’s not just an amazing composer, he’s also a really cool dude. The Q&A went wonderfully, but we were all a little unsure of how things would go after that.

And here’s where things start to get wild:

Paul stayed. 

We continued to behave as a normal fandom, producing fics and art and headcanons. We’re pretty active for a small fandom, partially because we’re a tight-knit community. We’re always welcoming of new members, but for the time being, this is a fandom where just about everyone knows everyone else.

Except that the content creator, The Guy Who Controls the Canon, is among us.

He frequently shows up to randomly declare people’s headcanons canon, or comment on our art and fics. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, and he frequently jokes about our shenanigans. 

He’s also written the Discord server into the official lore, as an organization of mad historians and scholars (the New Albion Discordian Society, or NADS). In addition, he has named several characters after members of the group, and said that he will continue to do so.

The official support from the composer has made the New Albion Fandom Discord into more-or-less an “Official, Authorized Fan Club.” We also may or may not have our hands on some exclusive content, some of which may or may not be total game-changers for the lore.

Anyway, Paul Shapera is a really cool dude, and his engagement with his loving fandom has created a totally unique atmosphere with regards to how things like headcanons work, as well as answering questions and expanding our understanding of the lore.

That was long. Why should we join the New Albion fandom?

To summarize: Do you like amazing music? Do you like great stories? Listen to the New Albion series. It’s shorter to get into than a lot of other popular Tumblr fandoms, but it also gives you more depending on how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go. For this reason, it’s a totally customization fandom experience. Join the Discord server, and you’ll make a ton of cool friends, and have an already-established community to geek out about the series with.

I could see this potentially blooming into a large fandom, and I’m not entirely sure how that will change the current culture and dynamic. But honestly? It’s exciting, and I’m willing to find out. (Plus, Paul deserves a lot of love and attention, because his music is AMAZING.)

#new albion #fandom #long post #seriously its really really good you guys #its one of those things that i lowkey want everyone to know about it