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alpaca-clouds · 8 months

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Bread around the world

Let me be a bit cliché German today. Let me talk about bread. Because we Germans are fucking obsessed with bread, as it is so often parodied by folks from other countries. And yes, this is true. The rest of the world does not understand why sour dough is so much better than this horrible bland white bread you guys eat!

*coughs*

But... Did you know that bread is a thing that shows up throughout so many cultures and throughout human history in so many different forms?

But for that we gotta talk a moment about what even is bread. Because some folks do define it as something that needs yeast and some sort of corn within the European sense of the word.

A more general definition, though, is that bread is a food created by mixing some sort of flour with a liquid and then cooking this mixture until firm.

Which is what I will go by here. So... let me talk bread.

What little German pride I have asks me to start this off with sourdough bread. Which since the pandemic started a lot of people have learned to make. Instead of using some poor form of yeast, the yeast is won by leaving a very liquid mixture of flour and water (and at times malt) out in the open for a couple of days, so that yeast from the air can settle in the mixture. This mix is then added to more flour and water and kneaded, rested, then kneaded again, to develop it texture. It is then baked as a loaf.

Now, this way of making bread dates back forever. Because we have found old sourdough bread that is almost 6000 years old. It was probably white spread across the ancient world.

The probably most German version of sourdough bread is pumpernickel, which has been made with a very coarse rye flour. In fact the city I live in is quite famous for the pumpernickel bread here.

Funnily enough, pumpernickel was originally the bread of the poor and those, who were doing religious penance, because while it is super healthy, it is a) very cheap to make (not that you would know looking at the prices it is sold by today) and b) not that tasty, as it just has a very, very strong and rather bitter flavour.

But in the middle ages rye was the cheapest kind of corn around. So... pumpernickel was the thing they made.

Borodinsky is another rye bread - this one from Russia. Again, rye was for the longest time the cheapest kind of corn over here, so it was most often used in baking bread. The big difference to pumpernickel is, that in borodinsky the rye flour is a lot finer and the bread gets sweatened with malt, so that it does not taste quite as strongly and bitter, as the pumpernickel does.

Funnily enough the Turkish Bazlama flatbread traditionally also is a sourdough bread, as the same process was used as leavening for the bread in this case. If you have ever eaten bazlama, you will know that even though it is a flat bread it is relatively fluffy on the inside. Which comes from the sourdough levening.

Now, funnily enough: The French often do not have this big thing with sourdough, even though they, too, are quite famous for their breads. But ever since we humans figured out how to isolate yeast, the French basically went like: "Well, if we use pure yeast, the result will be a lot more predictable." Because sourdough has this aspect that it will taste a little different depending on where you created it - at times even dependent on the time of year.

So, baguette is a yeasted bread and it uses fine, white wheat flour, which is a lot nicer in taste than rye.

Now, Japan is of course not a country with a long bread tradition. Mostly because rice usually does not make for a good flour for bread and the like. But ever since bread came over and became popular, they have come up with a few of their own creations. Shokupan - milk bread - is probably the most well known example of this. This, too, is a wheat and yeast bread, but it also uses milk instead of water and is very enriched with all sorts of things, so that it is softer and also a lot sweeter than other breads.

Naan is a bread most probably know from the Indian cuisine, but it is in fact another super old kind of bread as it originates in Mesopotamia. As such it was originally also made as a sourdough, those these days it is often done just with normal yeast as leavening. And it is spread fairly far within the Arabian subcontinent and the Indian subcontinent. The interesting thing is, that it is a flatbread, but it is usually completely oven baked.

Chipati is an unlevened flat bread that is quite common in eastern Africa. It is usually really thin and is served as a side dish to all sorts of soups and stews, often used to carry those with people dipping the bread in the soup/stew or putting stew onto the bread.

And while we are on the topic of unlevened flat breads: Tortillas are among those, too. They are kinda interesting in so far that, while most tortillas sold these days are wheat based, there is a version around made from maize, too.

But yeah, usually most breads are made with wheat or rye or maybe spelt, because breads... just turn out best, when they have gluten, as gluten helps to develop those fluffy textures we associate with bread. Which is why bread tends to be most common within areas, where they had some access to gluten rich corn. xD

#food history #history #food #bread #cw food #bread around the world

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imagineofallkindsxxx · 3 years

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Eternal Flame- Kol Mikaelson 4/?

Chapter 2- And Here I Thought We Were Getting Along.

Summary: 'You never know whats in a persons heart until you truly know them' - Belle French, Once Upon a Time

Singing. Thats all what Alexandra Gilbert has cared about since she was young and all she would care about until she met him.

With Alexandra fighting vampires, werewolves and all between she may do a thing she vowed never to do, fall in love.

And to think it all started with a walk in the woods...

WC: 2909

I came here for a good time not to get abused by a psychotic hybrid and watch one of my good friends get their necks snapped. Wasn't on my todays to do list, let me explain what happened next.

"Ah Dana, why don’t you relax? You and Chad sit tight." How gracious of you, you psycho I thought no way in hell am I being sarcastic to the scary hybrid maniac again, I quite like my head attached to my body. "I assume you’re the reason Elena's still walking around alive?" The psycho question Bonnie

"That’s right. If you want someone to blame, blame me" Bon I love you but let’s not commit suicide by placing blame on yourself.

"Oh, there's no need for blame, love. just you and your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects." He told her making me thank whatever god that he won't kill a friend of mine well so I thought. "And since you caused the problem, I’m going to have you find the fix." Wonderful, fan-fucking-tastic.

Before anyone was able to come back with a comment a blonde girl dressed in a pretty outfit came through the doors the opposite side of the hall with her dragging Tyler. Oh, this is getting better and better.

"Get off of me!" Ty yelled at the blonde but I have an inkling that just yelling that isn’t going to work.

"Hush now" the blonde said to Tyler hearing her speak with the same accent as the psycho essentially holding the rest of us captive, wonderful.

"I'd like you all to meet my sister. word of warning... she can be quite mean." He said teasing his sister clearly annoying the girl.

"Don't be an ass" before throwing Ty in to the hybrids arm. I like her all things considered.

"Leave him alone!" Elena yelled futile. I mean did she really think that was going to work.

"I'm going to make this very simple... every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire they die during transition. It’s quite horrible actually." The psycho hybrid informs us before biting into his wrist and making ty drink his blood which I can say from experience isn’t a great experience. "I need you to find a way to save my hybrids bonnie and for Tyler’s sake... you better hurry" before snapping his neck killing him.

"Jesus!" I yelled instinctively as Klaus smiles at us creepily. What is happening to this town, now not only is the sheriffs’ kid essentially dead but the mayors as well. Wonderful

Matt dropped down to the floor looking at Tyler almost in tears staring at his best friend before saying "He killed him".

"He's not dead, Klaus blood will turn him into a vampire" I informed Matt with a hand on his shoulder attempting to comfort the quarter back.

"And if Bonnie is successful, he will live through transition. Go on then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and what-not. I'll hold onto Elena and Her" he said pointing at me "for safe keeping" fantastic I’m leverage now. I should have taken up Sam’s offer to give me a ride back home. Bonnie looks apprehensive to leave so I shout

"Bon just go we'll be fine? I assume so anyway." But she seemed more focused on Elena what a shocker and when got the okay from her left. Once it was just the six of us Rebekah came up to my sister looking her up and down.

"So, this is the latest doppelganger. The original one was much prettier" I’m not going to lie that moment seemed to be the only good thing that had been said since I left the boys.

"Enough Rebekah. Take the wolf boy and her somewhere, would you?" Her brother told her like she was the dog not him.

"And here was me thinking we were getting on" I said to the hybrid in an innocent tone. I saw the blonde give a small smirk in the corner of my eye before grabbing Tyler by the t-shirt he was wearing and me roughly by the arm.

"God what is it with this family and being rough. Keep it inside the bedroom will you."

Rebekah dragged me and a now dead Tyler away from the gym hall and to the chemistry class. Mr Jones.

"NO" I shouted the top of my lungs where the vampire stopped and looked at me funnily. "You walk through that door and you'll be washing confetti out your hair until next year. trust me I rigged it myself." She gave me a confused look "Senior prank night" where she gave a nod in realization before moving into the class next door which was prank free luckily.

I saw Caroline knocked out, Rebekah throwing Tyler down beside her. I didn't have to question what happened to Caroline the angle of her neck was enough besides its bad enough having an original watching you like a hawk but an angry one... don't even want to think what the blonde would be like when angry. She sat down on one side of the class me at the other with Caroline lying next to me, my phone starts made a noise to indicate a text my main bet it is Sam to see if I’m home safe.

"what is that?" the blonde asked confused by the contraption in my hands.

"It’s an iPhone?" I questioned back where has she been the past decade "Have you never seen one before?"

"Obviously I haven't, I wouldn’t have asked if I had" she snapped back

"Okay, relax. I'm just going to text my friend that I’m fine, okay?" Trying to calm her down a bit not wanting to cause an angry original. I contemplated sending an SOS then thought I would just be putting him in danger as well, dealing with this bull shit is enough I don’t want Sam dragged into it.

"What’s a text?" Jesus she really doesn't know anything about technology. Where has Klaus been keeping her?

"It’s like a letter only you can send it on this device. look I'll show you." I told her crawling over next to her "I'm texting my friend that I’m safe. so, I type it in to the bar here from the keyboard here" I was explaining it as best as possible for her whilst also replying to the text. Once I taught her that she must have heard vibrating because she heard Caroline’s phone. She picked it up and started to go through her phone, I'm still trying to teach her the basics of a phone. such as I just taught her how to take a selfie and it seems to keep her amused.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I never caught your name?" Rebekah asked kindly which is quite unusual for a borderline kidnapper.

"Uh, its Alexandra but call me Alex, Alexandra sounds so formal even from a millennial old vampire" giving a little laugh that she mirrored. "So, Klaus is your brother, must be ... eventful?"

She gave out a laugh "That's one word for it. Me and my brother have a complicated relationship." She told me smiling at me "I overheard your sisters with the doppelganger?" She questioned about Elena causing me to roll my eyes "Not a fan I take it."

"You could say that. Just like you and Klaus our relationship is complicated."

"If only families were easy"

I went to reply in agreement until I heard groaning coming from the direction Caroline was lying in making me snap my head quick enough to give me whiplash.

"Care" I rushed to her side "Are you okay? How's the neck?" I asked quickly making sure my friend was okay and in the right mind set for what she is about to see. From behind me I could hear the British voice I have grown used to in the past hour.

"We didn't have mobile telephones in my day. Would have made life a lot easier I suppose." Ending with taking a selfie which I smirked at. Caroline didn't have time to engage in conversation about her phone or wellbeing being more concerned about her boyfriend.

"Where's Tyler?" In a panic Rebekah answered her question calmly.

"He's dead. ish" Moving a bit to let Caroline have visual of her dead not so dead boyfriend.

"What did you do to him?" Caroline was starting to get a bit angry and I'm not sure if I want to see a fight between these two from such close proximity.

"Think of it as he's having a nap. When he wakes up, hell he a hybrid." Rebekah informed her

"Klaus turned him, Caroline. His hybrids are failing and we need Bonnie to find a spell to make sure Ty is a success and well lives." I told her giving her the run down of what is happening.

Nevertheless she races up and put her head to his chest to try and find a heart beat. While watching Caroline trying to wake Tyler hopelessly Rebekah was swiping through the photos she had taken with the help of yours truly before coming across a cute picture of Elena and Stefan

"Ugh. Vomit." She said disgusted by the picture before seeing something familiar in the picture and not just Stefan. She zoomed in to the neckless Elena wore since a few days in their relationships before getting up and turning to me shouting "Why is that doppelganger bitch wearing my necklace?!" making me jump a bit.

"Your necklace? That’s the necklace Stefan gave Elena at the beginning of their relationship. How is it your necklace?" I retorted confused on how Elena managed to get a necklace from a vampire whose been in a box for ninety years.

she stormed out of the class with me following slowly compared to her you know seeing as she’s a vampire and all. She marched into the gym hall towards my sister

"Where is it?!? Where is my necklace?" Shouting at Elena to give her necklace to the proper owner.

"What are you talking about?" Asked Rebekah’s big brother confused looking between me and his sister. Giving him the phone, she showed him the picture of the couple with Rebekah’s necklace.

"She has my necklace. Look."

"Well, well, more lies" he replies looking at Elena and Stefan.

"Where... is it?" Rebekah asks slowly and honestly her being somewhat calm is even more terrifying than her furious.

"I don't have it anymore" Elena tells the original which she finds unsatisfactory.

"Your lying!" she bellows before biting Elena’s neck which then Klaus pulls her off and takes her over to the side.

"Knock it off!" Klaus warns his little sister but she isn't backing down that easily, it was her necklace for nine centuries to be fair.

"Make her tell me where it is Nik!" she whines to her brother convincing the hybrid to talk to the doppelganger.

"Where's the necklace, sweet heart? Be honest" trying to convince her to tell them where the necklace is

"I'm telling the truth. Katherine stole it." Elena defends herself, first time for everything I suppose.

"Of course it would be that bitch." I muttered the same time as Klaus yells out dramatically,

"If we had the necklace, it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?" Declaring that he was putting a time on this, setting the dreadful noise of the gym clock buzzes and it’s set to twenty minutes stop clock. After this he begins to compel Stefan "Twenty minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena. You know you want to." Oh, fantastic my sister is going to be a drained blood bag if Bon doesn’t find the right spell out of thousand within 20 minutes. Wonderful.

"No, Klaus! don't do this to him!" My sister yells. When is she going to get it through her thick head that these are the Salvatore’s or Katherine these are thee vampires, they don’t take orders from a human even if they are a Petrova doppelganger.

"No one leaves. If she tries to run, fracture her spine".

"Oh how delightful" I muttered.

Rebekah grabs my arm albeit gentler this time taking me away with her and Klaus.

"No! Alex! Let her go please!" I hear Elena beg for my life, which although we are sisters is a nice feeling that she remembered about me.

"Oh love, don't worry your precious Alex will be quite alright with my dear sister." Klaus retorts before walking through the doors to go out to the corridor. "I'm sorry your brought into all this sweet heart." Klaus apologise not even sounding a tad sincere.

"Yeah, let’s just say next time I’m offered a ride I’ll be taking it. rather not get brought into my sisters mess again" this makes Rebekah smirk as we depart ways from her brother to head towards the class we left Caroline and Tyler in.

After a long seventeen awkward minutes with the two blondes sitting opposite sides of the rooms me in the middle being a barrier of sorts but as soon as it hit the three minute left mark Tyler woke up making me race towards the werewolf turned hybrid

"Where am I? What happened?" Tyler questioned the two of us, seeing Rebekah and looking extremely confused

"Tyler" Caroline began but Rebekah interrupted before she could say anymore

"Don't be shy about it."

"What’s going on?" Tyler still and rightly so confused I would be as well if I woke up in a class from a broken neck with three females two vampires.

"Klaus is turning you into a vampire. A hybrid. You’re in transition" Caroline starts off being kind and leaving the hard bits out.

"Don’t leave the hard bits out sweets. you-" but I cut her off

"You'll only live if Bonnie is successful but if she doesn't find a solution then... you'll die" I told him trying to block out any emotion that would rub off on to him and Caroline but not succeeding seeming stressed and upset.

"You’re going to be okay. Okay? It's going to be okay." Caroline says not only trying to convince Tyler but herself also.

"I wonder how she's doing." Showing us the time left on her clock only being two minutes "Tick Tok goes the gym clock."

I look upset and stressed I step outside in the hallway leaving the couple to have a moment but Rebekah follows "I'm sorry, Alex. I don't know what I'd do if someone tried to hurt my brothers the way you are. I'm so sorry" her apology seeming to be more sincere compared to her brothers earlier. I nodded in thanks not wanting to seem remotely weak. Tyler will live. He has to.

I breathe in and out steadying my heart rate before going back into the class where Caroline and Tyler are situated obviously upset, nervous and worried from the look on their face. But after a few minutes and most likely the death of my sister which brings tears to my eyes an unlikely hero comes to save the day and that person is Klaus Mikaelson.

"Well verdicts in. The original witch says the doppelganger should be dead." Making me deflate tears finally running down my cheeks at the thought of my sister dying. I may not have seen eye to eye with her but she was still my sister.

"Does that mean we get to kill her?" Seeming happy until she seems me and then tries to hide her excitement failing in doing so.

"No, I’m fairly certain it means the opposite." He tell his sister

"Wait Elena is alive?" I question the hybrid in which he ignores but putting two and two together I breathe in a sigh of relief that my twin sister is alive.

"What?!?" Rebekah exclaims also being partly ignored by her brother. She pulls Caroline and myself back so we don’t interrupt any process of what will happen such as Klaus feeding my friend my sisters’ blood out of a small test tube.

"Elena’s blood drink it"

"Tyler no!" Caroline yells in warning

"Caroline! He’s dead either way!" Giving her a pleading look if she can be quiet and let this psycho feed him Elena’s blood.

"At least we can agree on something sweet heart" He says talking to me making me glare at him.

After a struggle Tyler finally drinks the blood in the test tube.

"There we go good boy"

"He isn't a dog" I snarked towards the original which he returned with a glare with the same amount of malice I sent him.

"And here was me thinking we were getting along" mirrorring my words earlier.

Once Tyler had finished drinking her blood he coughs and falls to the floor from rolling about on the desk that he was lying on. He was screaming and groaning before he holds his head and screams so loud it hurts my normal human ears. his face finally changes: His eyes are golden and he has fangs along with veins under his eyes just like a vampire. I glanced at Caroline worriedly when Klaus said.

"Well, that's a good sign"

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A/N: long chapter for me anyway.

Again hope there's not too mistakes e.g. grammar, spelling, Americanisms.

if you have anything to say please don't hestitate to comment. I appreciate all positive and negative feedback

Next chapter is really a tad of her relationship with the boys and part of the next episode.

Thanks for reading Lovelies xxx

#kol mikaelson imagine #kol mikaelson x you #kol mikaelson x reader #kol mikaelson #kol mikaelson series #the vampire diaries imagine #the originals imagine

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floodinginthegarden · 4 years

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INCEST'S WEIRD MAINSTAY IN OPERAS - RARE OPERA CLUB, VOL. 14 - FRANK MARTIN'S LE VIN HERBE

I’m not going to talk too much about this piece specifically. It was hard to really discern it’s function and meaning from the version I watched. This version staged the piece like an opera, even though it’s an oratorio, with instructions from Frank Martin for it not to be staged. The english translation also gave it a very stagnant and obvious feeling about it. The chorus spent the whole time describing the action, which in an oratorio is fine but in this staged context was not successful.

Okay, I said I wasn’t going to write about the performance so NOW I WILL NOT.

The piece is a telling of the Tristan and Isolde myth. Made famous by the Wagner opera (funnily enough, this weeks video essay is about the legacy and work of Wagner) this tale of star-crossed, accidental incestual love is one that has been kind of creepily obsessed over by composers over the years. Wagner not only portrays it in Tristan and Isolde but this unsuspecting sibling love also forms the relationship of Siglinde and Sigmund in Act I of Die Walkure in the Ring Cycle. Olivier Messiaen talked about the myth being influential on his early large scale work Turangalila Symphony, along with other early large works forming an interconnected trilogy. Hans Werner Henze wrote in the 1970s a large work for piano and orchestra called Tristan. And of course Debussy’s opera Pellease and Melisande is a retelling of the French version of the myth. Now that I list these composers and works, some of my favourites, I realise this myth has also creeped into many pop and art pop songs too, including a song by Patrick Wolf called Tristan, an artist I wrote my honours thesis on. It has been popularised and pretty much fetishised by Game of Thrones and other medieval knock-offs. It’s an easy taboo to tap into - it generates extreme reactions, yet still step-parent and step-brother/sister porn is often rated as the most searched on the internet.

What is the appeal of this myth (and incest in general)? In this myth the couple meet and have an immediate connection and sexual tension. These feelings are strangely familiar and welcoming. They twist and turn throughout each version, usually resulting in an eruption of physical love. It’s then usually revealed, or discovered they are brother and sister and madness ensues. This depiction of physical love isn’t something that is unusual in music, and the added mystery of the unknown origins of these familiar feelings paint the differing interpretations with intriguing feelings of lust, longing and guilt. Many of these works capture this feeling and essence, and I think that is what the composers are probably most drawn to - trying to describe in music the mysterious attraction between these two.

However, a major taboo is still explored by major composers in major works, often on stage and often produced in times more conservative to our own. Perhaps there is a weird, twisted, almost Freudian working out of these sorts of sexual feelings by composers, especially with many of these works coming in before or on the cusp of women’s suffrage and the eventual sexual revolution. I explore sex a lot in my work, it’s one of the main motivators of my work. I am especially interested in finding humane and genuine depictions of homosexual and non-binary love and sex in my music, to try and broaden and diversify the depictions of sex in media. However, these school-boyish obsessions of incest and confused, guilt laden medieval bonking have always felt unauthentic to me. Pelleas and Melsande for instance - I adore this opera. I find the music intoxicating, and when done properly Melisande has this mystery and grace about her that’s really intriguing. However the sort of feminine ambivalence of her, the way she’s depicted by Debussy as a sort of forlorn, distant, mysterious femme fatale has more often than not got me wanting to yell at the singers on stage in frustration. “JUST MAKE A DECISION” or “JUST ASK HER WHAT SHE WANTS” or “JUST ASK WHO SHE IS. AND WHERE HAS SHE COME FROM” Often the women in these works are passive, and are usually won over by swash-buckling male bravado - he pulls a sword from a stone or a tree, or he kills his brothers, or finds a ring, or slays a bear and other such masculine, middle ages fare princes would get up to.

The inherent awkwardness of the love interest between these character always has me unconvinced. They always seem to be in love because of physical attraction and this “sense” of destiny. I think it would actually be more interesting to explore the political nature of men’s power over women in these times, rather then the old love at first site gag. One could argue it’s just an older style of story telling, and that this might be too revisionist and could end badly, but surely when Wagner or Debussy or Messiaen thought of reaching for these myths they would have in the back of their mind the fact these stories are kind of gross. Even for their time, they’re kind of yucky. Lindsay Ellis has some similar thought and discussions around the remake of Disney’s Beauty and Beast in this video, where she explores this idea of letting the myth be the myth, rather then to update the myth for our times.

Another example is Siglinde in Die Walkure - the tension of the first act is excellently done, but it’s always struct me as kind of awkward that she is literally living as a prisoner in this weird love triangle that somehow results in the phallic release of the sword from the tree and her running off with her brother. I can understand this sort of incest adoration in the 16th and 17th centuries, such as under the reign of Charles II, last Habsburg King of Spain. If you don’t know his story look it up now. One of my favourite party tricks is explaining that his mother is also his first cousin, his maternal grandmother is also his paternal aunty, his paternal grandmother is also his maternal great-aunt etc (see his family tree below). But these works are written in more modern times, and so for me, the incest side of things feels a little suss. They’re also often written in countries that were really conservative with laws, morals and religious beliefs that would have gone against depictions of incest. Clara Schumann said that Tristan was repulsive. Is old mate Dicky Wagner just vying for cheap reactions and scandal?

“Indeed some of the quotations from writers such as critic and later first Yale Professor of Music Gustave Stoeckel (who finds himself intoxicated by the Siegmund-Sieglinde duet while the music plays, only to feel guilty for that enjoyment of incest when the music ends). ”

What I’m getting at is that I can see why big artistic projects would want to depict and enshrine the political nature of incest in the middle ages and the renaissance - to show these highly inbred regents it is okay to be so genetically deformed - but in the works we’re talking about are far more modern. These characters are often depicted it in a way that is superhuman (in these depictions a Übermensch, chosen one type is born from the union of bro and sis), mystical and that there is some destiny at play with these two meeting and bonking. Sometimes it is something that is against the laws of natural, but often the lines are either blurred and it isn’t explicitly called out or it’s fantasised. There is always heavy helpings of destiny and magic to justify these relationships, and they’re always kings and queens, or hero’s or princes and have political influence.

But, how many dark ages royals do you know who accidentally lost a daughter and a son and they ended up being brought up by other factions, only one day to marry? I’m sorry I know these are myths, but they’re just implausible for me. I think it would make sense if these works came from an earlier time, where the political system enshrined incest more often, but many of these pieces are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, very much in the modern time. Perhaps this resurgence of incest came from Queen Victoria and her system of marrying off her many children to various crown heads, causing a resurgence of incest among monarchs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? And perhaps these works are an attempt to appease these political forces and give them reassurance that it’s okay, its right for the political stability and perhaps will give the Kaiser some super human powers? However Wagner’s opera pre-dates German unification and so this reappearance of wide spread incest at the highest levels of the political class.. Though, it was obviously more prevalent in society, presumably in conversation and had a very important geo-political ramifications on the growing Nation States, and so maybe were in the minds of people more then in the past?

Who thought incest could be so interesting?

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onceabluemoonwrites · 4 years

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Cursed Kiss - Chapter 1: The Cursed Castle

Title: Cursed Kiss Chapter 1: The Cursed Castle

Author: OnceABlueMoon

Rating: T

Pairing: Bianchi/Chrome Dokuro

Tags/Warnings: There is some violence

Prompt: Lightning day: curses for @khrrarepairweek

Summary: The tale of Kuromu Dokuro is an old one, perhaps preceding even the existence of the monster hunters. To think the woman in the tale- the monster she became- is here, in front of her? Bianchi shudders to think of it.

Still, she has no choice. Her grip tightens on the knife in her hand, but before she can start to make her move, Kuromu- Chrome?- raises her hand, shaking her head. ‘’No need to fight your way out, darling, if you want to buy your brother’s freedom. All you need to do is take the geas on in his place.’’

Monster hunter Bianchi bargains her freedom for her brother’s and has to stay in the vampire Chrome’s castle. But the horrors within are not the shadows that whisper and follow Bianchi wherever she goes- no, to the contrary, the horrors are inside the mind of her captor.

AO3 link

Chapter 1: The Cursed Castle

The banging upon the gate is like a heartbeat. It’s so consistent, the battering ram colliding with the wood and steel, the precision almost inhuman. It would make Bianchi laugh, if the fear didn’t close up her throat. She reaches down, taking Chrome’s hand, not taking her eyes off the courtyard before them. ‘’They won’t take you.’’ She says it with desperation colouring her words. ‘’They won’t take you, I won’t let them!’’

She promises it with all that she has in her. It has been so long since she’s felt actual happiness. Now she has it, she won’t let go of it so easily. She’ll fight to the death to defend it, to defend Chrome, if she must.

Chrome laughs and it startles Bianchi. She’s so much older in soul, and yet her body seemingly younger than Bianchi’s. Her gothic dress swishes around her feet, showing her pale, naked feet as she lets go of Bianchi’s hand and begins to circle her, as if taking her in.

Bianchi feels naked. She hasn’t worn her armour in almost a year now. It hadn’t exactly been meant for anything more than hunter raids, far too stiff for the necessities of daily life. It had to be, in order to be strong enough to defend against the monsters of the night. The dresses that Chrome had stored in the castle weren’t exactly the kind that could be worn to battle, but they’d been good enough for a quiet life here. Good enough for spars with Chrome and writing letters to her brother.

God, Hayato. What is she going to tell him if she dies here tonight? He won’t understand. He never did.

Or, perhaps, he is the only one who can understand. Nobody loves monsters as much as her brother, after all, and even if it landed her here, in this moment, she can’t resent him for it. She loves him. She loves him, just as she loves Chrome. Tears well up in her eyes. She hates herself a little for that. This is no time to cry. This is the time to fight.

As all stories must start somewhere, Bianchi’s start the night her mother gets killed. Now you must know, her mother loved her very much. Bianchi loved her mother less, but perhaps that had more to do with how often she had to fish her little brother (her father’s bastard) out of the well after her mother tried to drown him again.

Funnily enough, her mother doesn’t get killed by the beast tearing it’s way through their village directly. There are no bite marks on her body, no slashes through her throat. There is no sign of the were-creature anywhere on her body. No, her mother tried to get away and fell into the very well she tried to drown Hayato in so often.

Bianchi wonders if karma is real, as she stares down at the corpse floating in the water.

It hurts, a little, to see her. But there are many bodies to bury, and her mother is just one amongst the many. She sends Hayato back inside and calls Renato over. ‘’Help me get her out.’’

‘’For the funeral pyres?’’ Renato asks, as he rolls up his sleeves.

‘’No, before she poisons the well or something. We’ve got to drink that water. This is just plain unsanitary.’’

He cocks his head, looks at her, considering, and then says: ‘’Hey, how do you feel about joining the resistance? We’ve always got room for people like you.’’

People like you, Bianchi thinks now, after years, and the resistance. Renato might’ve meant it as a compliment, but it really, really wasn’t.

She joins the resistance with her little brother clinging to her skirts. She’s fifteen, already tired of the world, and doesn’t flinch when they hand her a knife, hand her a bow, hand her a sword and tell her to figure it out before throwing her onto the battlefield. She figures it out in time. She survives.

They give her armour after that, as if now she’s properly blooded, didn’t die at the first raid, she’s worth investing in. She likes how heavy it is on her shoulders. It feels like responsibility. Like a shield. Like she’s protecting people.

‘’Why do you kill them?’’ Hayato asks one night as she tucks him into bed.

Bianchi sighs. ‘’Because they eat people, Hayato. Because vampires drink and werewolves bite and all that bumps in the night is evil. Because they’re monsters.’’

And Hayato, only seven, looks up at her with trembling lips and says: ‘’Must monsters always be killed for being what they are?’’

Bianchi’s heart clenches. Survived again, that little monster? She hears her mother’s voice echo in her head. ‘’No, Hayato, of course not. We only- We only kill monsters that do unforgivable things, okay. Only unforgivable things.’’

His eyes are filled with fear and she can only say: ‘’It doesn’t matter anyway, because you’re not a monster, you hear me?’’

‘’But what if I am?’’ His eyes are brimming with tears and she folds herself around him, hugging him tight.

‘’Then I’ll forgive you everything. Everything you can think of. Anything, any crime you’ll ever commit. I’ll forgive you.’’

‘’You promise?’’ he asks.

‘’I promise, with the force of the moon and the sun and the stars, and the very sky above us.’’

He sleeps soundly that night.

That very promise comes back to haunt her in the spring of Hayato’s fourteenth year of life. He’s nearly at his majority. Fifteen will make him capable of apprenticing properly, whether that is with the hunters or anywhere else, so Bianchi’s let him wander. He’s old enough now, and she knows his heart doesn’t lie within her own profession, the killing of monsters, and she’s hoping that he’ll find something he likes enough to make his living out of it.

Deep inside her heart, she knows he is best suited to be a scholar, smarter than her by leagues, but being a scholar requires proper schooling beyond just an apprenticeship. As much as she wants to give him the world, they don’t have the money for that kind of thing.

He says his goodbyes to her when he leaves to see the great market, to find out if being a merchant could possibly satisfy him. She laughs and ruffles his hair and calls him her ‘almost-adult’. He bears it scowling and all, but the next morning his horse returns without him, and Bianchi’s heart is in her throat.

She goes to the forest.

Now here is the thing: Bianchi doesn’t find the castle until she is thoroughly lost, after she’s killed wolves that attacked her, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, until the rain has soaked her through. She is, thus, allowed to be excused for the fact she didn’t immediately cotton on to it’s aura from a mile away, even though she really should have.

The gargoyles on the roof are ugly and snarling, the grand, French baroque build of the thing in disrepair, as the gate stands tall. It emanates the feeling of magic and it smells like a curse. Bianchi’s never really been able to describe magic in terms other than that. It is a feeling, as well a smell, and curses smell like thorns and rotten, withering roses. The castle reeks of it.

She should have known a place like this would have attracted her brother. She stalks towards the open gate and kicks a side door until it opens up, not trusting the main entrance. The castle is huge, sprawling even, and Bianchi listens for a second, but she hears no sound beyond the rustling of the wind. There are spider webs on the ceiling, and dust flurries around with every sigh of the wind through the broken windows, but Bianchi ignores it as she lights a torch and gets it off the wall. She makes straight for where- logically, seeing the lay-out of the castle- the dungeons must be.

She finds him there, shivering slightly in the corner of his cell. She feels the urge to kick the bars to get his attention, but that would make a large amount of noise, and she isn’t willing to risk that in enemy territory.

Laying into him, now, that she is willing to do in enemy territory. ‘’Hayato,’’ she snarls, trying to keep her volume down, ‘’What in the great blazes where you thinking, going here?!’’

Hayato startles, bumping his head against the wall. ‘’Shit! Woman, couldn’t you not scare the daylight out of me?!’’

She narrows her eyes and glares him into submission. He throws his hands up. ‘’Fine! I was going to the market, honestly. I just… Came across this castle and wanted to talk to its owner? How was I supposed to know she would imprison me?!’’

‘’Maybe,’’ Bianchi hisses through gritted teeth, ‘’Because this place smells like it belongs to a witch or a vampire, and both would like your very human blood? God, Hayato, I thought you were over this!’’

Now he’s looking hurt. ‘’Just because you refuse to see not all creatures of the night are bad doesn’t mean the rest of us have to! And okay, maybe vampires are a little bitey, but most witches don’t hurt a fly!’’

Bianchi’s breath catches in her throat, all her anger draining out of her, making place for a deep, deep fear. ‘’Hayato, how do you know that?’’

‘’Well, maybe I know a couple of witches here and there…’’ he trials off when her head thunks against the bars.

‘’One of these days, I’m going to say goodbye to you and you’re never coming back, are you? Because you can’t see danger when it’s coming straight at you. How many times, Hayato?’’

He doesn’t answer.

‘’HOW MANY TIMES?’’ Her breath turns ragged as the scream leaves her throat. ‘’Did you make deals with them? Hayato, please tell me you didn’t sell your soul.’’

He fidgets. ‘’No… But I did give them a little hair.’’ He sneaks a glance up at her, before getting defensive: ‘’Only a little bit! God, don’t get so worked up about it! Yamamoto might be a basket case but I know he won’t use it for evil!’’

Bianchi wants to scream, but the shadows around them are starting to get darker. Darker, and inkier, running more and more like ink blotting on paper. The owner of the castle is getting closer, and Bianchi needs to know what she’s going to fight. ‘’Who put you here?’’

Her brother opens her mouth, but she knows that look so she cuts him off. ‘’No, what put you here?’’

That’s when she feels icy fingers on the back of her neck. Bianchi freezes.

‘’Wouldn’t you like to know?’’ a voice as sleek and smooth as silk murmers in her ear.

A shiver works it’s way down her spine.

She whirls around and is faced by- a vampire? A witch? It’s hard to make out, with how strong the curse emanates from her. It’s a woman, in any case, skin as pale as that of a corpse, purple bags underneath purple eyes, and hair long and violet, in an half updo underneath her little black top hat. Her dress is black and it blends in with the inky shadows, melding until it seems like she’s wearing nothing but the darkness itself.

‘’Release my brother and I might refrain from killing you,’’ Bianchi hisses, because Hayato is her first priority, now and forever.

The woman starts to laugh, and ah, yes, there they are. Fangs, elongated in her mouth. ‘’You, threaten me within my own walls? Darling, your brother went through the main entrance, and all who pass there are bound to me. No mere human could kill me in my homestead.’’

A trident appears at her side, as if summoned from deep within the castle. Bianchi’s eyes widen. ‘’K- Kuromu Dokuro?’’

The woman smiles, sweet and yet insidious. ‘’It’s pronounced ‘Chrome’, but yes. That would be me.’’

It can’t be. Kuromu Dokuro is an old tale, perhaps preceding even the existence of the hunters. To think the woman in the tale- the monster she became- is here, in front of her? Bianchi shudders to think of it.

That was fine- that was good, in fact. It’d get Hayato out of the way, and while getting a geas on you while not knowing what it was was never good idea, it was better than having an unknown geas on him. ‘’Fine,’’ she barked, ‘’But you get him back to the village safely!’’

‘’Ane-san, no! You don’t like monsters, you won’t like it here at all!’’

She sent him a scathing look. ‘’You’re in a cell, Hayato, I’m taking that geas from you whether you want it or not.’’

She doesn’t look at him as the shadows drag him out of his cell and into the cold, hopefully back towards the village. Chrome darts forwards as the shadows come back, bringing her something that looks like a fallen star. She snatches it out of their grasp, before putting it on Bianchi’s tongue and forcing her to swallow.

It tastes like defeat, and the geas feels heavy upon her heart.

The geas, as she later finds out, imposes a list of requirements that steadily get more curious as they come along: the first she discovers is that she cannot attack Chrome, a reasonable geas to place upon one’s own castle if one is powerful enough to cast one in the first place. The second requires Bianchi to have dinner with her each night. The third, to her surprise, is that the longer she spends time with Chrome, the more the shadows listen to her.

It’s very convenient when she wants a glass of water in the middle of the night. Still a little creepy though, with the way the shadows reach for her at every corner now. But Bianchi doesn’t think she minds.

Spending time with Chrome is, surprisingly, no real hardship. The vampire likes fine red wine just as well as Bianchi does, and she makes a mean pasta. Or the shadows do- Bianchi’s not entirely clear about who exactly mans the kitchen here. She’s never seen a single soul besides her, Chrome and the shadows.

Sometimes she thinks she can hear the shadows cry, a thousand voices crying out for their freedom, but surely that’s just her sleep deprivation acting up again.

Bianchi doesn’t mind the castle, but her sleep is troubled anyway. She’s not used to being away from Hayato for this long, despite her many usual hunting trips.

It is thus, one night, that she decides to get her glass of water herself, instead of asking the shadows to fetch it for her. They push and pull at her, as if trying to prevent her from going towards the west wing, but Bianchi likes the motion of it. Likes how it makes her work to move forward. She’s strong- they can’t hold her back properly, inky and weak to light as they are.

Instead of the kitchens, she ends up in a room she’s never seen before. There’s a portrait, above the hearth, of a man and a woman and a little girl. The girl is looking up to her parents, but her face is stricken off the canvas.

Bianchi knows who she’s looking at anyway. The tale of the princess Kuromu Dokuro leaves no question about it.

‘’What are you doing here?’’ Chrome’s own voice sounds behind her, tired and dead.

Bianchi frowns, turning around to face her. The bags underneath Chrome’s eyes are even deeper than normal, and her violet eyes have turned a deep, wine-dark purple. ‘’I can’t sleep,’’ she says, ‘’Want to throw knives at the chandelier in the main hall and see who can bring it down?’’

Property destruction is one of their favourite games these days.

Chrome shakes her head. ‘’Not unless you want me to slip and drink from you.’’

Bianchi cocks her head. ‘’I thought that’d be part of the geas. The right to drink from me, I mean.’’

Chrome laughs, deep and without humour, a sound at odds with her strangely delicate appearance. She’s so much smaller than Bianchi, and yet, without a doubt, far more powerful. ‘’You know very well that the geas is a rule of three. The three commandments I asked of you are the ones you’ve already discovered. I wouldn’t ask more of you.’’

‘’You’re Kuromu Dokuro, though.’’ Says Bianchi, without thinking.

She pays for it when Chrome flinches back, looking genuinely hurt before her mask slides back on again. ‘’I thought you’d know me better than that, by now.’’

Chrome turns decisively, her skirt flaring out, and leaves her own quarters at a sedate pace. It doesn’t change what it is, though. She’s fleeing.

She’s fleeing Bianchi, and Bianchi doesn’t know what to do, because Kuromu Dokuro is a monster, but perhaps, Chrome Dokuro is not.

If only she’d known that before hurting the person she’s forced to live with.

#khr #khrrarepairweek2020 #day 4 #lightning day #curses #fanfiction #onceabluemoonwrites fic #bianchi/dokuro chrome #bianchi #dokuro chrome

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malecftw · 5 years

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Europe with Shawn (new version)

So this lil one got deleted for some reason so here is the new version. I actually thought it was gonna be horrible but I don’t really mind it that much. The key points of the original story are def still there, just written differently. Enjoy! (A/N is the original one)

A/N: Y’all can thank the ‘there’s nothing holding me back’ music video for this holy hot damn creativity struck me like lightning (ok that didn’t make sense ignore this and enjoy!)

Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Warnings: none, just fluffffff

Word count: 1.505

Masterlist.

Requests are open!

Shawn adjusted his position in the wooden chair as the interviewer asked him another question. Sitting under the bright professional lights, in front of the big camera, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to you.

Ever since you’d joined him in the UK for the first show of the European tour, you’d become inseparable. Shawn came back to earth when the room fell silent, awaiting his answer to the blonde interviewer’s question.

‘I’m sorry what was that?’ He said apologetically. The interviewer looked at him, acting like she could see right through him but in reality, she had no clue. She posed the question again, carefully articulating to make her English seem perfect but Shawn could still easily pick up on the foreign accent.

This time, he actually answered her question in full detail, trying to be as specific and complete as he could and she seemed happy with what she got out of him. As she asked him another question, the phone in his back pocket buzzed and he smirked, knowing exactly what it meant without even having to look at it.

When you’d joined him on tour, you’d made it a thing to venture out into every new city, finding different, new, cool places to eat while he worked. It was perfect since Shawn got to do what he loved while you got to go on a new adventure basically every other day. Preferably, you’d eat somewhere that had specific cuisine of said country, which wasn’t always the safest option.

Shawn silently thanked his manager in his head for only booking one interview today, bubbling with excitement to spend more time with you, wondering what kind of place you’d chosen today.

After the interview, he made sure to thank and say goodbye to everyone in the room. His parents raised him to be respectful and polite and while he was aching to get out of there, he also couldn’t not stick to his morals.

As he walked out of the building, he immediately opened up the notification that had your name on it. You’d just shared your location with him. No message, no nothing and he knew how much you loved making him curious for these kinds of things, so he followed the blue arrow on the map on his phone. As he dodged several variously colored Vespa’s and groups of tourists with sun hats on, he thought back to the memories you’d made over the past couple of months.

Your silk dress was giving you a godly shine in the summer sun as you sipped on a glass of wine at a French restaurant. Within viewing distance of the Eiffel Tower, you’d chosen the perfect spot for a little lunch date. However, both of you had quickly realized that snails were not your forte and while you tried it, it didn’t take you long to abandon the snails and go hunting for some macaroons.

Or that time you did an Escape Room after having had a typical German Bratwurst. That’s wasn’t really planned out or you would’ve dressed appropriately for the occasion since it had so much physical stuff that was not suited for your high heels and short skirt. Shawn didn’t mind though, when your skirt riled up, showing off your skin but he always respectfully stood in front of you, hiding you from plain sight as you fixed yourself. Eventually, you really got into it and being the gentleman that he is, he decided to carry your red pumps as you had the time of your lives solving puzzles and running against time itself.

As you were walking out of the Escape Room, you entered the main lobby of the building and the guy at the entrance looked at Shawn funnily as he noticed the red pumps. Of course, Shawn turned a lighter shade of red and you couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Or that time at the cat café in Amsterdam. That was freaking adorable for all of 5 minutes until you found out you were very allergic to their fur. You powered through it and left with a new found love for any pets that didn’t have fur.

Of course, you were waiting for someone to recognize him but as of yet, you’d chosen lowkey places. You knew it was only a matter of time before someone was going to snap a picture of the both of you and post it to the internet. But it was okay. You both knew it was bound to happen and rather than being secretive and cooped up inside all day, you wanted to enjoy this. Enjoy Europe with each other, two kids in love having the time of their lives. You’d had the talk and come to the conclusion that your relationship was strong enough to take the blow.

Shawn took in his surroundings, stood in front of a small alleyway that seemingly went nowhere, your location told him differently. The chills were running up his arms as he was suddenly walking into the shadow of the old town of Rome. Leaving the fancy designer shops behind him, all of a sudden he was surrounded by old houses, each giving off their own vibe and charm. He lifted his sunglasses and set them on the top of his head, not needing them anymore since no sunlight could reach between these high houses on either side of the small alley.

All of a sudden, he spotted you in the window of the tiniest restaurant. The facade being covered in sunflowers which oddly enough matched the peach color of the outside walls. He stood still, observing you for a second. You long hair cascaded down your back and moved along with you as you laughed at something the waiter said. Two wine glasses were put in front of you and you couldn’t help but twirl yours around in your hand, debating on whether or not to have a little taste before you arrived. You looked pure, carefree, happy. Away from the constant stress of your job, away from the boring drag of a normal life. He realized he wouldn’t be able to take you everywhere, but you’d be easier to convince to come with him on the road, simply because you lived for traveling and exploring.

You looked up from the wineglass and noticed Shawn staring at you through the window. Your smile faded slightly before coming back times ten. He broke eye contact first and decided to enter the little restaurant you’d chosen out for the two of you. The waiter greeted him and Shawn slightly bowed his head as an awkward sign of acknowledgment and respect.

You giggled at his awkward stance but quickly looked down when his intense gaze bore deep into your soul. You stood up to greet him and he took you into his arms, taking you by surprise when he deepened the peck on your lips for a second. His chocolate brown eyes stared at your lips once more before realizing you should kinda limit the PDA. Not that you hated showing each other off in public, you just didn’t want to be sickening to others.

You both sat down and tasted the red wine you’d picked out, both of you approving before starting to talk about both of your days. Both of you happily making some small talk while you waited for your food, which arrived shortly after.

You groaned as you took in the smell of your lasagne, while Shawn’s mouth watered at the sight of his Pasta Carbonara. He knew he could trust you with food choices (apart from that snail thing yeah that was gross) so he usually just let you order since he was always famished after doing press or rehearsals. You’d really outdone yourself this time and you were proud of the choices you’d made.

You ate in silence, but when dessert rolled along, you started talking about the next few days. Shawn had made sure he had a couple days off here in Rome since he knew it was your favorite city and you really wanted to see the sights. Just another one of the countless thoughtful things he did for you day in day out.

He played with your fingers while you excitedly talked about what you wanted to do with the time off and he couldn’t help but smile. Here you were, all excited, so excited, to spend time with him and only him. You didn’t care about the money or the fortune, you just cared about him, his love and making memories with him.

Your excitement was infectious and he smirked as he thought about it. Visiting the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain,...

He couldn’t wait to see you check each and every one off of your bucket list, your little face no doubt filled with constant excitement.

He couldn’t wait for making memories with his best friend and the love of his life, for the rest of his life.

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes imagine #fluff

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secretary--hamilton · 6 years

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My Hamilton canon/memories

(I’m Alexander, saying it so the post makes more sense)

TW: storms/water, a couple mentions of getting drunk (nothing bad, all very pure), war, getting shot, guns, adoption/orphan, someone stabbing themselves, suicide, death

BODY MEMS

- I had slight freckles

- I had a little bit of a stutter

- brown hair

- bright blue/green eyes

- big forehead, receding hairline

- my lips got chapped a lot fuc k cold wea t h e r (plus I licked them a lot too but shh I’m blaming cold weather)

- I was around 5'6 to 5'7 and was about 125 pounds? But I had a lil bit of stomach and thigh chub. I was so tiny compared to everybody else (George is a. Giant)

- for the time I had my hair up in a ponytail, I used like a string thing? I remember the strings dangling down, throwback to 1700s when circle elastic hairties weren’t a thing so I used ribbons/string

PERSONAL/THINGS I DID MEMS

- I was afraid of storms/raging water because it reminded me of the hurricane/the storms I witnessed while on the ship to the colonies

- when I went off to war, I used Eliza's blue ribbon to tie up my hair

- I was always writing and I always had a notebook with me

- the booklet I had that had all my lists and writing on it was pieces of parchment with 3 holes in the side, with strings through the holes

- i loved (more like.. needed to) keep lists on things and be organized, I had a list of all the people I had to write letters to, etc. I had lists about everything. People’s birthdates, their names, so I would never forget them

- if I ever lost a certain piece of paper with like all the lists and information on it I would freak out

- I had extreme anxiety, my mind was constantly racing and it felt like I could focus on 20 different things at once, which kind of helped me write so much and finish so many essays.

-my canon was definitely NOT modern- we didn't have electricity or pens or technology- just pure 1700s things

EARLY LIFE MEMS

- i have a memory of walking along the beach in the carribean on an extremely rainy day, I was looking at towards a ship on the water when the water started rushing towards me and I heard thunder and that's when I realized it wasn't just a normal storm

- I vividly remember walking up the board to the ship i immigrated on, and what it smelled like (really just sea water and old wood) , carrying my small belongings which were just a few books, and a pen and paper

- I got set up in this little cot in the ship that had a hard mattress on the floor, a small chair in the corner, and a lantern

OOF okay so,, this memory is of when I was still in the Caribbean, shortly after my mom died. Me and my brother were put in custody of my older cousin(?), and he killed himself by stabbing himself with a kitchen knife. I was the first one to notice him, the layout of the house was that the bedrooms were upstairs and the kitchen and living room were downstairs. On the right side of the house upstairs, was my cousins (peter) bedroom, and me and my brother (James) were sharing this open room on the left side of the upstairs with mattresses on the floor for us, a window on the wall/roof (it was like a slanted roof, like an attic) So from left to right, our open room (like no door, just a space), a tiny hallway that lead to the stairs, and then peters room. ANYWay but I remember I just finished reading and I was going to talk to peter about something, so I opened his door and I just see blood **everywhere** So I run downstairs and outside into the streets asking for help. I was only 13 when this happened

- I was born in 1757, and the hurricane happened in 1774

WASHINGTON MEMS

- I loved George Washington so much, he was such a good friend/boss- I’m forever grateful to him for giving me the chance to rise up

-I also liked organizing things a lot, I once organized gwash's entire office and he walked in and was like "what the fuck"

- George was brushing my hair and putting it up in a ponytail for me- this was in the tent during the war, before we went off to battle. He did it another time in his office before a cabinet meeting

- me and wash always helped calm eachother down- if either of us were having anxiety, just the others presence would help

- I loved George in a way that's hard to describe- he was like a father to me, he was there for me and protected me and helped me feel less lost

- the only people I would really listen to were George and Eliza- if those two looked at me and said "Alex, it's not worth it" I would stop in an instant, because I trusted them

- I have a memory of the war, and it was raining and slippery and I was climbing up rocky hills following george lead the command, and I was behind him and we were all heading to our next spot

GENERAL REV SQUAD MEMS

- I once got so drunk with the rev boys that I kissed them all on the cheeks while drunkenly singing

- I was the shortest of the group, Mulligan was the tallest, Lafayette was the second tallest, and laurens was a little closer to my height but still taller

- whenever we went out to drink, I always got the drunkest since I was the shortest- and plus I couldn't handle my alcohol at all. They always took care of me when I was super drunk, I would lean on their shoulders, they would tuck me in with blankets, etc.

MULLIGAN MEMS

- Mulligan was super good with his alcohol, it's probably because he was so big and tough, he only got a little bit loopy but was still fine

- my Mulligan had vitiligo

- one time Mulligan had to carry me home because I was so drunk

LAURENS MEMS

- my Laurens was definitely asexual

- the two people I had weird crushes on were Laurens, and Jefferson- they weren't full on 100% crushes (probably due to the fact that I was confused about them) but they were more "holy fuck these guys are hot and great", I don't know if anybody could notice, even though I acted a bit more lovey towards laurens

- he was always so giggly and happy god I love him his smile could light up the room ngl, and his laugh was so,, good

- his freckles got /a lot/ more prominent if he was out in the sun all day, freckle boy

- he loved space so much, he was always out watching the stars and learning about them- he had this book about astronomy that was p cool

LAFAYETTE MEMS

- when laf immigrated to the colonies, he snuck on the ship as a pregnant woman so he wouldn't get stopped by anyone

- when he came to the colonies he spoke like only a few words of English, when he met me I helped him translate! I was fluent in French so it helped

- he had a birthmark/mole on his cheek near his eye- it was just a small dot

BURR MEMS

- my burr got shot in the leg during the war, and he had a bit of a limp the rest of his life. I remember when he got shot, I was near by so I had to help carry him to a medical tent and then go back to fighting

KING GEORGE MEMS

-i called king George king douche, and he called me a lapdog since I followed Gwash around a lot

- I once called KG just "George" and he was all sassy like "that's KING George to you"

- one time KG talked to the rev boys and I like got all angry and protective, he talked to Lafayette and I was behind Laf trying to but into the conversation to call George out- it was during the war so we were on a field in our war outfits

- his eyes were bluey-purple

JEFFERSON MEMS

- I hated Jefferson but I also had a weird hate crush on him,, I didn't tell anyone tho, let's just say I wanted to beat up the man but also fuc the man. The crush died down after a while though

- my Jefferson would always say lewd jokes to me and humiliate me just to see a reaction, because I was a flustered boy,, one time I got so flustered that I just, LEFT the room, and Jefferson was like “WHY DONT YOU SLAM MY BEDROOM DOOR LIKE THAT” upon me storming out

- during one of the cabinet battles jefferson was sassy clapping at me, he,, sassy clapped a lot

- when jeff was like “daddys calling” I got so angry but also flustered so I stormed out, funnily enough I stormed out to follow george. I fuckin loved George and followed him everywhere

- I once got a 🅱️oner because of some lewd joke Jefferson said oof

- after the second cabinet meeting, we got into a fight. Jefferson wanted us to defend France so I snapped back and interrupted him with “You cant sacrifice our country because you're scared Lafayette’s going to die like your wife.” and Jefferson got livid and yelled back “I am NOT going to be intimidated by you and your washed up bullshit” or something along those lines

RENOYLDS AFFAIR MEMS

- oof I remember yelling in marias face when James sent the letter

- after Eliza found out about the affair, she forced me to stay in my office for 6 months. I only left for food and a short aimless walk I think. My office was in a different building

- the renoylds affair definitely happened. God it was such a bad/weird time, i was so exaushted and sleep deprived and getting constant headaches but I needed to stay awake and work, I heard a knock at my office door so I opened it and it was Maria, it was raining outside so her hair was all wet so I let her in, after her sharing her story I gave her some money and walked her back to her place, but she insisted on staying. I believed her, but once James sent the letter I accused her of being a con artist, and I still don't know the truth of what's what.

- I have a reallyyyy clear memory of me rambling on about how I need to get work done and how my wife needs me and all this stuff and then Maria whispered in my ear "shhhh, you don't need to worry about all that, no one will know" before we got. Down And Dirty TM. And usually I would deny stuff like that but I was so tired

- I have aNOTHer rly clear memory of me kneeling down to Maria and straight up screaming at her "HOW COULD I DO THIS, I AM HELPLESS" or something like that

FAMILY MEMS

- my friends took care of my kids for me while I was busy working, mostly Laurens because I was the closest to him! Philip loved Laurens so much it was adorable

- Burr was really good at math and often taught Philip math

- I always got in arguments with a lot of people, but I'm glad I had people like Eliza to calm me down, I remember she said "Alexander, it's not worth it" and I chilled out instantly

- I married Eliza right after the war ended

- All of our children were adopted except for Angie, Alex Jr., and Eliza

- I think my Philip had a slight tooth gap and rly curly hair, and either a slight lisp or a slight stutter

- I would brush philip's hair and put it up, or braid it. He would sit in between my legs when I was sitting on a chair and brush through his wet hair- Philip was my ultimate pride and joy

- dinner time was my favourite time of day, it was always so warm and happy- Eliza would make us dinner and I would come down from working and eat with Eliza and our children

- I have a memory of me, Eliza, and young/toddler Philip having a picnic in a field with daisies all around us, and we were making daisy chains and eating food and it was rly rly nice and sunny and warm yet slightly breezy and it smelled like jasmine

- I remember the first time Eliza found out about my fear of storms, we were having dinner and i heard thunder and I just like. Froze. And she tried talking to me and I was just like "I need to go" but she calmed me down, asked me to sit down at the table, and got me to explain to her eventually, this was before Philip, so it was just us.

- but once we got Philip, and he was maybe 3 or 4, it was another stormy day and I froze again and Philip said "what's wrong papa?" And I bent down to his level and reassured him that I was okay, after that he sat on my lap and distracted me from the storm outside, I was really focused on this one curl in his hair that was out of place lol

- before Philip, Eliza kept having miscarriages, so we decided to adopt Philip. Our first successful pregnancy was Angie, I was SO protective over Eliza when she was pregnant, if she got up in the middle of the night I would ask her if she needed anything, and when she was walking I would walk behind her with my hands on her hips incase she fell bc she was waddling

- Angie had slight autism all her life, and when Philip died she just lost it and went insane. She was delusional and never grew up a day past 17. she would constantly ask if Philip was coming home and was living in a world as if Philip was still alive, she constantly lived in a world between 7 years old and 17 years old, even when she physically grew older. I would walk with her and play with her, and when i was with her i started to go into her world of Philip still being here. We took care of her. One day, someone suggested we put her in a hospital, and i slammed my fork into my food and quietly but surely said “i will NOT lock my daughter away.”, and the room fell silent. Later on, Eliza and I were walking near the ocean, and she brought up the topic again. I said “They locked away my mother. She nearly starved to death and i will not let my daughter go through that” and Eliza reassured me- “Hon.. your mother was jailed for adultery, not mental wellness. Im not in any way saying we should put our daughter somewhere, all i am suggesting is that she be checked out by a doctor.”

- I remember a few of Angie’s breakdowns. She would pull her hair out and slam her head against walls

-Once Eliza got too old to take care of her (late 70/80′s′s), She put her in a hospital where she stayed for her entire life. she was cared for extremely well there.

DEATH/LATER LIFE MEMS

- I have this like,,, really weird memory of Eliza saying “when you have a problem you come home, you don’t go off and make matters worse on your own” to me a couple different times, one was when Lauren’s shot Charles Lee and I got sent home, another one was when I got into a fight with burr after he ran for senate. The reason why it’s a weird memory is because those are in the heights lyrics???

- I remember the day before I got shot, I stayed up all night writing my goodbye letter to Eliza, there was crumpled papers all over my desk since I kept rewriting them until I was satisfied

- the morning of the duel, it was extremely quiet, like I was literally in a ghost town. Same at the dueling grounds, nobody wanted to talk. I remember I was freaking out trying to focus on one thing but my brain kept going to everything I've ever done in my life, kind of like a life flashed before my eyes kind of moment. I thought of Eliza, and how upset she would be. I thought of Philip, and what was going through his head when he died and how I wish I could apologize to him. Burr's gaze felt like literal knives, so I couldn't bare to look at him. Once I shot up, my mind suddenly calmed and I had this strange factor of "this is my legacy". On the way back across the Hudson I just wanted to keep talking but my doctor said to relax. My Burr tried to run over to talk to me after he shot me, but he wasn't allowed to. He also tried to come to my funeral but wasn't allowed either, he might have watched from afar. but he visited my grave a few times

#hamilton #alexander hamilton #hamilton kin #fictionkin #hamilkin #kin memories #kin calling #me #before you follow #byf #kin tag

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illuminating-dragons · 7 years

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Laugh Until You Cry

Summary: George is hiding from his wife. His daughter is procrastinating studying for OWLs. They still manage to find some fun, and Roxanne learns that laughter's more powerful than she can ever understand. Also that her parents are rather strange.

Word Count: 1, 525

Shen: I scarred you for life! Po: See that’s the thing, Shen. Scars heal. Shen: No they don’t. Wounds heal. Po: Oh yeah. What do scars do? They fade, I guess. Shen: I don’t care what scars do. — Kung Fu Panda 2

This, by the way, is the quote that inspired the name of this series.

It was nearly Christmas and George was trying to stay out of Angelina’s way. Angie was wonderful and lovely and welcoming to their large family, but the next day it was their turn to host a Potter-Weasley-Granger-Johnson-Lovegood-Delacour-Lupin-dear-God-why-are-there-so-many-names holiday party, and if there was one thing Angelina hated it was planning a party. In past years he’d attempted to be a helpful, dutiful husband. Angie only had to tell him once that not only was he being unhelpful by trying to chat with her, she’d hex him into next week if he got in her way.

So George was currently hiding in the one already-tidy room, sitting very still to keep from messing anything up. Angelina’s harried voice could be heard down the hall—Fleur was making a Floo-call to help with party favours. George shuddered and tilted his head away from the door, focusing on Lee’s book.

“Dad?”

George looked up. Roxanne was in the doorway. She’d been in her room most of the holiday so far—“OWLs are important, Dad!”—and they hadn’t had much chance to chat.

George held out his right arm. “C’mere, Rox, if your Mum sees you she’ll go spare.”

Roxanne giggled and came into the room, curling up against him. Her hair was done up in a tight bun, probably to stop herself from yanking on it in frustration. George felt a bit bad passing that habit on to her.

“What are you reading?”

“Your Uncle Lee’s book,” George replied. He held it so she could see—Score! Comments from the Commentator’s Chair by Lee Jordan.

“I still can’t believe he wrote that.”

“He had to, Rita Skeeter was flitting about making threats about doing it herself. Anyways, Lee’s always loved to talk about what he’s seen.” George tapped the cover. “Of course there’s not much in here about him, now is there?” “I haven’t read it all the way through yet,” Roxanne confessed. “But you’re right—he hardly talks about himself at all.”

“Lee’s never been all that interested in himself,” George replied. “He doesn’t think anyone else would be either.”

Roxanne took the book from him and flipped through, landing on the Potterwatch chapter. “This was brilliant.”

George smiled. “It was the only source of news that didn’t have Death Eater slobber all over it. Your uncles did a brilliant job.”

“You were in it too,” Roxanne said, pointing to a transcript of one of the broadcasts. “You were ‘Wit’, right, and Uncle Fred was ‘Rapier’?”

George swallowed, forcing himself to keep smiling. “Exactly. I wasn’t on as often as Fred, someone had to run the orders, but I went on when I could. It was really important to give people some laughs, you know?”

Roxanne nodded, but she looked troubled.

“Something wrong, Roxy?” George asked.

“How did you do it, Dad? All of you?”

“Do what?”

“Find something to laugh about in…in all of that.”

George didn’t reply.

Roxanne tapped the book. “I’ve been going through the old recordings and these transcripts, and there are some really funny moments—I’ve laughed out loud more than once. And I just don’t get it. How did you find laughter when the world was falling apart?”

George stroked his chin. “I’m not really sure I know how to explain, Roxy, but I’ll give it a go.” He thought it over for a minute. “Fred and I were sort of used to finding the funny, I suppose, but it was definitely harder when there was so much bad going on. That was a terrible year, for everyone…but that only made us more determined.” A flash of memory—Fred sitting across from him, face screwed up with pain from jinxes and writing ridiculous puns about He Who Shall Not Have A Nose.

“See, the thing is Roxy, there’s always a sad side and a happy side to everything. Like…a couple might be getting together, and one of them’s got a secret admirer who’ll be forever alone. Or an old woman dies, but she’s the last person in her family and now she’ll get to join them. And somewhere in between is the funny. You find it, and it helps to show both sides, not just one.”

Roxanne looked up at him. “So you’d look there?”

“Yeah. And we took it seriously, funnily enough” (he winked as Roxanne groaned). “It’s good to remember how to laugh, maybe especially when all you want to do is cry. That’s all Fred and I ever wanted to do….”

George stopped talking, letting his thoughts drift back to when he wasn’t only a brother, but a twin. He didn’t feel like one anymore.

“So…” Roxanne looked up at him. “Is that a good way to remember Uncle Fred? Find the funny?”

George squeezed her gently. “It’s a brilliant way. His life had a lot of happy parts, and a few sad…some very sad. But I think he’d be honoured if you went looking for funny in him, Roxy.”

Roxanne furrowed her brow. “Didn’t he get you and Mum together?”

George laughed out loud. “He did indeed, although it did take quite a while. I don’t think I’ve ever told you the full story, have I?” At Roxy’s headshake, he leaned back, arm still around her shoulders. “It was the Yule Ball in our sixth year, and I had the most hopeless crush on your Mum; I’d had it for years. But I couldn’t tell her—I just couldn’t do it. I’m sure she must have guessed, and of course Fred knew. And he asked her out anyways.”

“Bad Uncle Fred!” Roxanne said indignantly.

George grinned. “He knew exactly what he was doing, too. He brought Angelina down to the Great Hall—God, she was beautiful that night…Anyways, we were dressed identically, as always, and at one point Fred spun her into me and ran off before I could stop him. I dunno whether he was trying to trick her into thinking I was him, but she knew. She’s always known.”

Roxanne rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad, I know.”

“Well, we had one dance together, and it was brilliant, but your Mum didn’t say much. Then when we were going upstairs she told me that she and Fred weren’t dating at all, and if I wanted to kiss her she wouldn’t say no.”

“And did you kiss her?”

“Nope.” George grinned at Roxanne’s frustrated groan. “I had this terrible nervousness that if she was my first kiss then it wouldn’t be forever. And I wanted that with her, so I said no thanks.”

“Bet that made Uncle Fred mad.”

“Oh it did. He was so frustrated with the both of us, but we got busy with the shop and then…well, the war began. But Fred had one last trick to pull on the both of us.”

“Your Mum wanted to come to Bill and Fleur’s wedding, but security was very tight and my Mum thought it best not to risk too many people, and your Mum understood, she was more mine and Fred’s friend than Bill’s. But Fred—well, as he put it, ‘wasn’t going into a bloody war with me still being an idiot.’ So he got hold of some Polyjuice Potion and asked one of Fleur’s cousins for a favour…”

“Oh no,” Roxanne giggled.

“Imagine my surprise when this lovely French girl I’ve been chatting up for about an hour in French suddenly turns into my gorgeous wife-to-be! Right after I kissed her, of course.”

“I didn’t know you could speak French.”

“I can’t! Neither can your Mum! Merlin knows what we were saying!”

Roxanne laughed out loud and George joined in.

��And now look at me,” he said. “I’ve got a lovely wife and two amazing kids, both of whom are far better students and Quidditch players than their parents. All because my brother wanted me to kiss a girl.”

Roxanne grinned. “I suppose that’s the happy part of that story, right?”

“It certainly is one of them,” George said, kissing the top of her head. “There were lots of others, each with their own funny bits. Your Uncle was good at that.” He paused. “I wish you could meet him.”

“I’ll meet him someday,” Roxanne said confidently, and for the first time George let himself believe that, that one day he would talk to Fred again and say, ‘look, here’s my daughter, and she reminds me so much of you. ’

“That’ll be grand, Roxy,” he said quietly. He looked into Roxanne’s eyes for a minute, trying to tell her how happy he was, really, even with the sad parts. He hoped she knew—she was, after all, one of the three main reasons he could still find the funny.

“But in the meantime, we should run, I can hear your Mum coming even from my bad ear, and I do believe we’ve disturbed her planning.”

Roxanne looked briefly panicked. “Which way?”

George chuckled and led her swiftly to the fireplace as Angelina’s footsteps came nearer. “Why don’t we pop into the shop for a bit? I’ve got some new products that I want you to try out…”

Notes:

#harry potter fanfiction #george weasley #roxanne weasley #harry potter AU #george weasley/angelina johnson #fading scars universe #george weasley and roxanne weasley #hurt/comfort

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shepgarrus · 7 years

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Zaeed, Samara, space hamster!

zaeed: do you swear? what are your fav swear words?

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeah. i use fuck the most because it’s the most flexible, so i guess it’s my favorite, but i still use a few french swear words i picked up on my first cadet camp because french is a good language for swearing lmao (but even there i throw in fuck, ‘tabar-fuckin-nak là’ for example). idk how much i swear in my tags now that i think about it, but when i’m not around adults/important people i swear a lot in conversation irl. and probably on skype/discord too lol.

samara: what’s your star sign?

i’m aquarius af. the most aquarius aquarius. it’s actually kind of funny because i’m born on the last day of aquarius, but i was several weeks early and was a fast/emergency (but not induced) birth. like the universe was like ‘shit this kid’s gotta be born during aquarius go go go’

space hamster: do you have any pets? if so, tell us about them.

i don’t right now, but i’ve had pet fish in the past. i won my first goldfish at a fair when i was little (five-seven or younger) but it died a day or two later, but my parents got me another and that lasted for a while at least. i think there was another solo goldfish and then after that one died we got two fish, a normal goldfish and one that was white and ‘gold’/orange with really big pretty fins that we named angel.

angel lasted long past the normal goldfish and we had them for several years (i got to keep angel in my room and feed them myself for a while that was neat i was probably like eight/nine) but eventually we released angel into our neighbor’s backyard pond that had a bunch of goldfish/goldfish-like fish. in later years we couldn’t find angel when watching the pond but it was clear they had been ~busy because a lot of the fish clearly had some of those genes (where the fish used to be either solid orange or black-ish a lot had white or orange patches, and some had bigger ‘angel’ fins). unfortunately apparently a few years ago a winter killed all the fish in the pond, so the ones there now aren’t related to angel

we didn’t get any fish after angel until i ended up taking home my camp’s betta fish on my last summer camp, so that was between high school and college. funnily enough i was the only one who hadn’t been involved with him during the camp itself (i didn’t go to the pet store near where we stayed to help pick him out, and the first time he needed his water changed me and the guy that was working with me dropped him and luckily the dude was okay with touching him to get him into a net or the cup or whatever but i made sure to avoid helping after that even once we got better equipment) but no one else would take him so. they named him L-rod (idrk there was something about a farmer who was a pilot and his kids that was an inside joke i only heard about once [they didn’t particularly like me and being a girl on a cadet camp means you miss out on a lot just because of rooming] but i think it had to do with the cows beside the runway) but i renamed him elrod because L-rod is stupid.

BUT YEAH he came with me to college and i ended up doing a lot of research on bettas and i got him a bigger tank and water heater (bettas are tropical fish) and stuff. but the water heater broke after a year or so and despite trying three+ of the same water heater none of them would go up to the temperature of the old one (a couple of degrees colder but it had already been on the cool end for bettas) but i had no other options because that was the only heater there was for my tank size (3gal and plastic).

elrod was a finicky eater when we first got him but was okay after that, but he barely ate after the water heater broke (i still had one but the two degrees was pretty significant to his active-ness) and he lasted until april the next year and died the day before that year’s big cumulative exam so that was nice lol. anyway dealing with his body was the most traumatizing experience of my life and i’ve cried more over him than i have over all the people i know that have died put together and i still dream about him sometimes (he’s always floating/swimming in the air and not in his tank it’s quite disconcerting)

[ask me things from this ask meme?]

#max talks #MAN DID I TALK ABOUT MY FISH #if you guys have/get bettas and need help let me know i know So Much #and just in general please get them big tanks and water heaters not the tiny containers they sell at stores #emrisemrisemris #ask meme #text

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purplepeanutcheesecake-blog · 7 years

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It has been just over a year since the day we took the leap and moved to London. So far it’s been a great journey and we have done so many things, some planned, other spontaneous and completely unexpected! To see what we have done from our London list just check out our old blog <<Things to do in London: Our Lists>>and whatever has been marked in red is what we have managed to do. This blog is going to be about all the things that happened that weren’t on that list.

The first Steps

When planning to come to England we had originally planned to go to Barnsley, as we had friends living there with jobs waiting for us. That, however, didn’t happen and with our tickets and bags packed we flew to London, where we would stay with other friends, who had just rented a flat and were more than happy to give us a place to stay until we sorted ourselves out. We slept on a very comfortable floor in their living room while looking for jobs and a place to live. It took us a month…So big thanks to Mike and Taylor who put up with us! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Our flat in Acton Town

We eventually found a small flat on the third floor on a quiet street in Acton Town. Three bedroomed with one bathroom, a kitchen and a tiny extra room and a shared garden. A couple from Spain were already living in one of the rooms when we moved in. Today they are more than housemates…they are now our koumbaros ( to be)! We never knew what to expect from house sharing, especially Pantelis who had never done it before. Sometimes I think that if it wasn’t for these guys we wouldn’t have stuck it out for so long. It is so hard to find the time to meet people and friends as everyone’s schedule varies, it can make London a lonely place to be. Having friends to come home to has been a blessing!The third room was eventually occupied by Felicity, a Kiwi who’s character reminds me of Fibi from friends! Although she left us when her contract run out we haven’t let her go and we usually see each other whenever there is a party going down. Her room is now taken by Rhys a young English lad that knows more about Greek Mythology than I do! As usual, most people we meet are invited to visit us in Greece and so the Spanish koumbaros took us up on our word and paid us a visit when we ourselves had popped home for a couple of weeks! Soon it will be our turn to visit Spain!!!

View of the garden from our kitchen Window

Our extra mini living room!

View from our bedroom!

Our bedroom!

The street we live on!

Our kitchen!

Finding work

My first job was in retail on one of the busiest streets in Europe. I worked for 3 months in oxford circus and it was manic! I threw myself into the deep end by training to be floor manager as someone had seen potential in me. It was the Christmas period and didn’t have time to get into the Christmas spirit as the speed of London life started to kick in. I decided it wasn’t for me. I longed to be a part of a team where I felt equal, where people weren’t just numbers and where I could look forward to going to work. Plus I was in London…here I could go for my dreams! I found a job in a tiny coffee shop on the underground station where I live. It was a few minutes walk from home and the atmosphere seemed really friendly. The Apple Tree is where I am currently working! It has been a great experience as the owner and staff have always been supportive and therefore I have always been able to go for auditions and various classes.Meanwhile, I have been learning the trades of the business as this would be an ideal family business to set up back in Greece.

Work with the Boss!

Christmas time with my girls in The Apple Tree!

With Dame Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu

Taking up classes

I miss being a student. I love learning and continuously challenging myself. In London, there is no excuse for not developing and growing your knowledge as there are classes, seminars and workshops on almost anything you can imagine! Having had some singing experience I decided I wanted to learn properly from the beginning so I completed a six-week course on Singing for Beginners with London City Academy. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would have gone straight for the next one, however, I needed to save money for them and by the time I had, I had met an Actor (in the coffee shop funnily enough) who ran his own classes. So my next lessons would be on Advanced Acting for Film and Tv with Totally Lit. I completed this course right before Christmas and although I had hoped for more doors to have opened I still thoroughly enjoyed each lesson as we had a great group of people and sometimes all you need is to be around people with similar dreams and aspirations to be inspired and motivated! Since these classes, I have gone back to singing lessons as I have managed to find work as a singer in the past and therefore this could be more of an investment. However, I have them privately with a very talented young singer whom I met after we both applied to be in a girl band. Nothing came of the band but I gained a new friend and a great teacher, Tamsyn Miller or else known as Chess Countess!

The auditions

Yes, this is the City of opportunity and sometimes it feels great just to be surrounded by it! Other times you realise that so many people have moved here for the same reasons! The competition is high! Nobody really tells you what you should do if you want to <<make it>>. There is no particular system or structure. All the success stories vary so you have to find your own way.While applying for various things I managed to get some time on set as an extra. In fact, I even managed to persuade Pantelis to come along with me one day and Atenea (Spanish housemate) another! I was so happy Pantelis got to see the inside of the world I would love to be in! The world of film! Amongst all the real auditions there are fake ones…Scams, companies that make you believe you are special and great and then ask for money for you to get this <<job>> or for you to be on their books. I have had the pleasure of being a part of a few projects for a film student, Oriane , a promising cinematographer who intends to make powerful work. Other than that I can’t say I have been greatly successful but I can’t say I failed either because I tried and I will keep trying, one way or another!

Atenea and I with the girls we met on set!

Matching outfits!

Chilling on set!

Enjoy the sun and movie making!

The shows/ catching up with friends.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most has been seeing familiar faces from back in the uni days! I had a chance to catch up with Melissa who is a bloody hilarious and talented young woman! Seriously, watch out here she comes! Her shows are entertaining and yet thought provoking. I managed to watch her show Something Borrowed before it went to the Edinburgh fringe festival! We had also been to watch a show together called Free Admission by Ursula Martinez. Pantelis joined me on an evening of shows performed by various companies at a venue called Slam. One of the performers was my friend Richard Staplehurst who had written a spoken word piece. In the same year at uni as Richard and I, was Ness who had her birthday last year in a pub that had a stand-up comedy show! A few good laughs, a few good drinks and friends, is the recipe for a great night! Just before Christmas, I had booked a show to take a couple of our friends we had staying from Greece. A modern kind of panto by the Sleeping Trees called Scrooge and the seven dwarves. This is an award-winning theatre company created by a group of guys that went to the same Uni as me, just a couple of years below me! They are geniuses and if you can ever watch a show of theirs do!!! When my sister had paid us a visit with Vasilis we went to watch the Lion King! !WOW ! Brilliant performance!!! The music, the dancing the characters were exactly how they are in the movie, only better as they were standing right in front of you! It was amazing to see what beautiful visual imagery people can create with their dancing the stage settings and music! One of the other things I managed to do was watch one of my favourite Tv shows on stage! Who’s Line is it Anyway? With a few of the well-known actors that would appear on the Tv show and Clive Anderson as host! Felicity and I had a blast as we watched the much-loved improvisation games take place right before our eyes! Talking about Tv shows, I was an audience member recently, thanks to my friend Stephanie, at the Graham Norton show with his guests being Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel, Felicity Jones, Dawn French and Sir Michael Parkinson!

Happy faces!

The stage waiting for its perfomers! Who’s line is it anyway?

Travel

Pantelis and I travelled for the first time together when we came to England in 2014 for Katies’ and Jamies’ wedding. We managed to visit a few friends, spread across the Uk and therefore did the site seeing on the way. We had never actually been on holiday though. So in 2016 we booked our first one together, to Malta. We had a rough start as we turned up to an apartment that hadn’t even been cleaned and was covered in damp and mould. We didn’t let this take up too much of our time and we found another place to stay. I will leave the video to do the rest of the talking.

For Pantelis’s birthday on the 21st of November 2016, I had bought him a small suitcase and inside tickets to Copenhagen /Denmark. (A short video will be uploaded soon). It was only a two day trip in January. So we had something to look forward to at the beginning of the year. If I would make any resolutions for the new year it would be, travel more, learn more and finally meet my brother (but that is another story).

Living in London has been a great experience. I feel I have grown so much within this year! I would recommend a year in London to anyone who wants to experience the City life and everything that goes with it! Do I miss home? Of course, I do! Just like Dorothy from the wizard of Oz says <<There is no place like home>>. I would stay here only to stock up on experiences I could not get at home. I believe once we have had our fill we will happily move back to Greece. Being around family and friends has become even more valuable to me over the past year. It could take another year, it could take one more month we don’t know. What we do know is that we are both thankful for being able to live this experience, to go for our dreams, to try new things, for having each other and great families who support us!

As always we are late posting this blog as it was meant for before Christmas! His side of the story is going to be even later as usual!

P.S Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

A year In the City It has been just over a year since the day we took the leap and moved to London.

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