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#you drive me wild bertie
for-valour · 1 year
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BERTIE IS DRIVING! :)
Also, the original car --a black 1939 Daimler DB18 Drophead Coupé-- is still in existence today and from what I have read, is well-loved and looked after by its current owner!
From the BBC documentary, Princess Margaret: The Rebel Royal. gifs made by @for-valour
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polaraaace · 3 months
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Listen, Gunpowder Tim Versus the Moon Kaiser is one of my favorite songs, but the microwave attack part drives me fucking insane in the worst possible way. That! Is! Not! How! Microwaves! Work!!! Do you have any IDEA how much microwave radiation it would take to harm, let alone cook a human being? Assuming Tim & Bertie & co are averaged sized people, they each contain around 42 liters of water. It takes approximately for-fucking-ever to boil even a little bit of water in a microwave, so now picture how long it would take to do that to the water in a whole-ass human. And that’s if it could even penetrate the skin, which it can’t! Nothing with a longer wavelength than visible light is going to do anything to you! If microwaves posed one iota of danger then I and everyone else who watches their food cook with their greasy little faces pressed against the glass like an unattended child at an aquarium would be dead many times over. It would have been so easy to change it to an x-ray attack or gamma rays or even UV and you could even have kept the cannibalism subplot but nooooo, Jonny had to include his funny little cooking and food imagery at the expense of basic fucking physics. “The Kaiser wants to radiate the British infantry” would have the exact same rhythm! I can suspend my disbelief with regards to the moon getting blown up and Jonny’s severed head narrating the whole thing because they’re just such wild, fun concepts, but the microwave attack doesn’t work because it’s supposed to be an extrapolation of chemical warfare rather than an escapist fantasy removed from real-world issues. Either commit and go ham or do a basic 5-second google search! It’s not that hard! It should have gone something like:
Fine last night,
And fine the night before,
Gonna be fine tonight if we get microwaved some more
There’s no harm
Done to you or me
Cause the Kaiser doesn’t know how physics work, apparently!
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adhduck · 2 years
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Wilde for the character ask
First impression: it was muffled as I attempted to pull myself inside out from secondhand embarrassment of him and bertie flirting. I remember thinking he was so much but also “get that bread get that head then leave” after the paper came out
Impression now: my darling my light my love let me lead you to a comfy bed and wrap you in blankets and kiss your forehead and compliment you forever
Favorite moment: hmmm maybe the bar on the airship, or him wanting to learn to drive the ship? there was just this happiness to him that I was so excited to see, and for basically the first time. and he was as flamboyant and wild(e) as ever!
Idea for a story: hmmmm maybe au where wilde is one of the team members for the lolomg? or just any opportunity for him to show his magic chops before season fuckin four
Unpopular opinion: listen. yes he was absolutely treated unfairly by the lolomg for soooo long. but he was also a bit of a bitch sometimes. he did start some of the shit
Favorite relationship: zoscar is so basic but it’s true. also him and sasha I wish we could’ve had so much more of them
Favorite headcanon: aromantic wilde for the Fucking win, honest to god forget that’s not canon
(send me a character and I’ll answer these questions!)
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miekasa · 3 years
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AOT characters x their partner on social media is something I love thinking about omg. Eren is the number 1 menace, I swear, he likes keeping an aesthetic and he wants your face on his profile, and he wants to be in yours, and he will brainstorm for cool captions for you both 😭 Jean acts all shy, but that tall mf also lowkey feels the same way as Eren 😭. Mikasa is very relaxed and cute about it, she’s so effortless when it comes posting you on her feed, same with Sasha probably. Connie would post your funny faces 100% while Armin….blonde coconut I feel would be shy at first but is a fan of couple-y posts. Same with Erwin, and Erwin would add the cheesiest suburban dad captions like “my better half” or shit like “forever yours” 😭🥴😭 Hange is just all over, like they’ll be super unpredictable, from wildly funny to very touching stuff. Pick is just sweetness!! All around sweetness that can make you melt. Porco would be…actually I’m not sure, he seems like he’s in line with Eren and Jean 😭 Meanwhile, Levi would not care at all about social media announcements and “instagram official” and people outside his close circles find out about his partner on their tenth-year anniversary because they bumped into you both while you were out on a date 😭😭
No because you hit the nail on the head here anon!!
Eren and Connie are fiends and almost shameless in how much they want to be on your socials. If you do the thing where you record your food when you’re out to eat with Eren, he’ll interject into your video—“And me! She’s with me!! Show me!!” After some time—or if you tease him by purposefully leaving him out of the frame—he’ll just snatch your phone when you’re recording or taking pictures and makes sure to get himself with the front camera 😭😭 oh and you will be on his, it comes with the price of dating him, he loves posting videos that gradually zoom in on your face before you notice he’s recording.
Connie just photobombs everything. Even if just his eyebrows make in the frame, you better post it. He’s watching you. He loves taking funny selfies and posting them with absolutely no context, and videos too!! He reminds me of that TikTok of the guy who pans the camera to his gf laying in the grass is like, “We had a beach date, and, yeah I love her,” and pans the camera to his face, “I’m faster than her tho. We raced. But yeah, love her.”
Jean pretends like he doesn’t care if you don’t post him, but he cares 😭😭 he’s always willing to take a photo for you, but he wants to take them with you too!! He’ll not so subtly be like, “Hey, did you post those pics from the other day?” as a gentle “reminder,” and he’s honestly so cute you gotta give into him. He likes posting pics with you too, and claims he’s gotta keep it updated so he’s got something to show his mom—“She’ll think I’m making you up if I don’t have proof, babe.”
Armin gets nervous about posting you at first—the whole being publicly affectionate thing, plus the internet is forever, you know. But once he sees that he doesn’t necessarily have to post you guys holding hands or kissing all the time, he relaxes. Just a picture together, or a picture of you from one of your dates every once in a while is cool with him. He takes good candids and they’re his favorite to edit and make all pretty. He gets surprised whenever you post him, and he’s honestly not checking for it/on social media all that often, so he finds out through a friend like Sasha who’s bubbling, “Armin you guys are gonna make me jealous!! Your beach dates look so cute!!” And Armin’s a little confused, until she adds, “I saw the pictures on Insta!!” And now he’s slightly pink in the face.
Porco is… more likely than not recording you innocently vibing or minding your own business before he comes to bother you bye. He thinks your surprised face is so fucking funny and needs several video evidences of it. He gets grumpy when you get an off-guard of him, but just show it to him after and suddenly he’s like, “I look pretty good there, actually,” like yeah, dumbass, that was the point 🙄🙄 he posts his shit on Twitter tho, and is always acting like he doesn’t know you—“Girlfriend for sale, willing to trade for Breath of the Wild. At least $30 cash otherwise,” and thinks it’s funny when you threaten to block him. Or he’s subtweeting you when you CLEARLY follow him: “Anybody else know someone who falls asleep 30 mins into a drive?? No?? Just me??”
Erwin and his captions anon please I’m hollering. You know he uses the filters embedded into Instagram, too, and it makes some pics come out grainy/more dull. He comes questioning Hange with genuine curiosity, “How come your photos look so… bright? How do I do that?” Sir, open up VSCO and free yourself from the shackles of Sepia.
Levi could not care less about what and how much you post of him on social media, and his own is so scarcely updated; he really just has it so he’s not a complete ghost to the world, and to occasionally cure a fit of boredom. The pictures he posts are always nice tho, simple, cleanly edited and shot, and sometimes he’s not even in them. He doesn’t mind if you post him or not, but every once in a while he’ll stop by with a simple heart emoji in the comments. (To which Hange absolutely loses their shit every time and loves to joke about, “omgggggg are you and @leviackerman official???? 🤪🤪🤪)
Hange is the undisputed champion of photodumps and you cannot prove me wrong. Above all, they love posting a series of chaotic photos that tell a story—three slides dedicated to photos that caught you falling down; several photos back to back of you stuffing your face with food; frames of the both of you posing for a photo with the front timer but of course something made them topple over you. Their captions don’t help either, almost always unrelated from the disaster that just unfolded. Could have posted a photo dump of you two skipping (and falling) at the park and the caption is like “fun fact: a cockroach can survive up to five weeks with its head cut off!!” (The disconnect between the pics and captions always confuses Erwin. @e.smith: Very cool! But, what do roaches have to do with you guys looking like you broke your ankles? PS—is everybody okay?)
Mikasa is relaxed about posting you, and she lowkey really likes to be posted on your socials. She doesn’t say much about it, but she likes going back through your profile and looking and what you posted, and the comments from your guys’ friends being supportive. The pictures don’t necessarily spell out that you guys are Together, but that’s okay with her; she doesn’t need four pics of you guys kissing on her timeline to make her happy. She has lots of pictures she doesn’t post tho and you’d be shocked to find them, you gotta hype her up a bit to post them, “Mika you look hot here!!! The people need to see!!! Feed them!!!”
It comes naturally to Sasha, too. She likes documenting your dates with pictures and videos and has a blast editing them afterwards, too. Just AirDrop her the pictures you took and she’ll fix them up for both of you to post later. She’s a fan of silly matching captions and is always in your comments with a million emojis.
Pieck absolutely the sweetest girl. Her whole feed manages to naturally come out in soft filters and pastel colors. She always tells you she doesn’t have to edit a thing when you’re in the picture. Definitely posts photo dumps that include pics of food, sunrises, her cats, and a few off-guards of you thrown in there. Abuses the bugs and sparkly emojis in the captions.
Annie literally posts one pic a few months (by a few months, I mean like 11 months) into your relationship with the simple and upfront caption: “This is my girlfriend” and everyone is in the comments immediately bye. Berty is acting super surprised even tho he basically set you guys up, somehow Reiner genuinely didn’t know, and Sasha is clowning him for not catching on, and then he’s like “wait since when????? i thought they were just really good friends????” Mikasa comments a singular scissor emoji and it sends everyone into orbit, even Annie likes the comment.
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varyathevillain · 2 years
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You are such an incredibly huge part of the rqg fandom and I don’t know what we’d do without you, thank you for all the dedication and love you’ve put into it!
Can you think of a favorite moment/scene from each season or arc that you’d be willing to share?
hey Cy; I'll have you know, I just have been having so many emotions about you sending this ask, I just kept having tears in my eyes every time I looked into my inbox :') thank you so, so much for your art, your fan engagement, your drive for the fandom!!
so, all of my favourite moments, as I am trying to fit, I SPENT TWO DAYS DOING THIS AFSDGFHJ:
Prologue: that one accidental joke where Bertie catches Zolf on his finger like a ballerina, and what is supposedly an ice truck goes by Rusty Towers, making Ben exclaim "is that supposed to be my theme?!" that was the point I realised I am loving this podcast. however, the scene in Barrett's office was something that made me really perk up about the world and the mystery in it!
London S1 adventures: ...that's a bit cheap, but Wilde appearing in Hamid's apartment! the whole scene is just. brilliant. also the whole Bi Ming Gusset's shop! Zolf finally getting a hint of his Harlequin heritage! Sasha's list! Hamid's first droplets of having a troubled background!! also Bertie is there ig :P
Dover/the Channel: Bertie shouting down a riot is still REALLY funny, as much as I dislike him! crossing the channel, "take me, not her!" and the trio just dropping together on the beach for the more serious scenes............ I love them.
Paris: Sasha going on the tour with the Apollo paladins!! but also that scene with Zolf in the beginning of s2, "I don't think I'm powerful, I think I'm powerless!!" im dyin scoob emotions. also Hamid being asked by Brock to take care of Sasha. also when the group, despite being so shitty to Wilde earlier, doesn't give him over to Le Gourmand and straight up EVAPORATES a dude.
Prague: GRIZZOP. hearing him as background for Sasha's medical check-up, meeting him, having him around for the funniest and saddest moments, all of it. also it's hilarious how Sasha turning undead is shown through her being 'attracted' to Bertie who wears the 'attract undead' ring afsdghfjk
Cairo: “you tell him! how little! he! matters!” scene, I just can't. Sasha emotions over the top. also, for the jokey moments, the bar hopping with Palapals in search of Sasha :') also the fact that Sasha hugs Eren Fairhands when he cures her with Heart of Aphrodite. and just the entirety of Tahan family dynamics for the sad part,,,
Damascus: DAMASCUS IS JUST MY FAVOURITE IN IT'S ENTIRETY. goblin factory named Ratchet and their opposite being CLANK? I know it kinda got retconned to Crank, but Ben DID make the joke and I got so happy about it!! and then the jumping out of the cart!! Hamid parallels to Zolf being left behind in London!! the heist!! "you're just a man on the floor"!! the riot turned party!! Sasha and Grizzop interaction, Wilde is FINE but he's NOT, the pun-off, "You are! more important!! than a thing!!!" and the high stakes of the factory destruction and the Rome kidnapping hanging over everyone, just… PERFECT ARC.
Rome: Bryn "I Won't Cast Fireball On Myself" Monroe, the liar-- so, uh, that's actually the funniest scene for me. them all, Azu, Hamid, Sasha and Einstein huddling together is the sweetest and most heartbreaking moment.
Ancient Rome: Grizzop's Paladin Sacrifice retcon killed me, and the scenes that followed left me in a state of undeadness that was just. SCREAM. Sasha's epilogue and her kids with the entire Roman Rogues cast!! I love them!! she's their parent!!
a notable bow, after both of these in the midpoint of AR and Japan, to Alex for making me notice that Vesseek hangs closer to Ishaq and wonder what's that about… only for Metacast 9 to destroy me.
Japan: Wilde's "they don't like me when I'm warm"..................... hey. ouch. also Zolf straight up forgetting to explain the embarassment thing and being MORTIFIED his party thought he made a fart out of nowhere!! and, of course. Sasha's letter. just. her.
Shoin’s: the onion kobold… I really hope they're okay. if someone tells me that said kobold was Meerk then I Will Cry. also that battle!! I just caught up to the podcast at that moment, and it blew me away.
Airship: BODYSWAP BODYSWAP B O D Y S W A P!! also Hamid deciding that he Will become friends with Wilde was some kind of thing to me, idk why :')
Ursans & Garden of Yerlick: I just lost it when Alex started describing the bear (which Patrons were aware of via Into the Wilds Sidequest), and then the people, and they were KHANTY AND MANSI AND TURKIC AND YAKUT INSPIRED AND THEN WE HAD MORE AND MORE INDIGENOUS REPRESENATION that I just about exploded. oh, and the Last Words scenes, I guess :P
Jump to London: I actually didn't enjoy Svalbard as much as I hoped to... but I did like the creepiness of coming back to Other London and other places we had back in the Prologue. proper creepy. Alex as Wilde echoing Hamid's wish to raise a glass to "absent friends" makes me weepy to this moment! and, of course, Geoffrey Chaucer ending up as the ultimate Campbell fan ♥
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radiantmists · 3 years
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9, 22, 24? 🐙
Send me RQG-themed asks!
9 - Do you like the Harlequins or the Meritocrats better?
Wow, right out with the hard ones! Like many of us I love a rebel, and secret societies are really cool, so from that standpoint I enjoy the Harlequins. But the Meritocrats are literally immortal dragons. 
...Actually I think as a modern (to the narrative) organization I’m more interested in the Harlequins, but in terms of the people I’m more interested in the Meritocrats-- not the Meritocracy.
22 - Favorite Quote
As far as serious ones go, I’m a big fan of both hopepunk and of Sasha, so the bit of the letter where she says something along the lines of “Sometimes you can’t save the world, but you can save someone” is one of my favorites.
At some point around the end of s2 I briefly wrote down a few phrases that had started just. popping into my head at random times of day and making me snicker:
villainous sex hand
an invisible mime with a chainsaw
adventure colleagues!
maybe the hit points were the friends  we made along the way
Ashes to ashes, funk to funky, go off and join the celestial hunt-y (and its more profane sibling that I couldn’t transcribe accurately)
Which is obviously representative of the time I was making the list but yeah I enjoyed those!
24 - Favorite Character Introduction
Hm. Well, of the players I’d have to say probably Azu, just because of her immediately being the most loving and like. straightforwardly earnest person and also the bit where she picks up Hamid and Grizzop and you get to see their wildly differing reactions.
I’m going to pick two that are sort of cheating but in different ways for NPCs; Ed in Rome is technically a reintroduction, but it was so much fun. He tastes the invisible goo monster! He’s been running around Rome for god knows how long, living off the most inhospitable land there is! He’s just so... Ed!
In a... weirdly dark note to round off on, I’m also a big fan of the moment that Skraak wakes up, the drugs having worn off, and you get to see the justifiably angry but ruthlessly pragmatic person that he really is. Their subsequent interactions with Hamid sometimes frustrate me because I feel like they-- like everyone-- fall into the trap of letting him off too light, but that first bit where it’s made clear that all the stuff that Alex used to make us go ‘oh he’s so cute’ was a product of literal mind-altering chemicals that we knew were there was a really good moment.
...And as I typed this I realized I forgot my two real favorite character intros: Amelia Earhart letting the kiddos on her ship, nearly killing Wilde, teaching bertie and sasha to drive and then giving us a lore dump, and then Guivres, because that’s the first time we saw a meritocrat and it was awesome.
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clemsfilmdiary · 2 years
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The Best of January 2022
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Best Discovery: Mass
           Runners Up: Drive My Car, Medea, The Munekata Sisters, Passing, Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky
Best Rewatch: Secret Beyond the Door
           Runners Up: The Dead Zone, Dreams
Most Enjoyable Fluff: The Scarlet Letter
           Runners Up: Dial M for Murder, Don't Look Up, A Frosty Affair, King Richard, Kiss Me, Kill Me, The Long Journey Home, Matching Hearts, Out of Order, The Phantom of the Opera, A Valentine's Match
Best Male Performance: Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone
           Runners Up: Reed Birney and Jason Isaacs in Mass, Paul Muni in I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Nick Nolte in Q&A, Michael Redgrave in Secret Beyond the Door, Keifer Sutherland in Promised Land
Best Female Performance: Martha Plimpton in Mass
           Runners Up: Joan Bennett in Secret Beyond the Door, Bette Davis and Gena Rowlands in Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter, Ann Dowd in Mass, Glenda Jackson in Hedda, Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing, Hideko Takamine and Kinuyo Tanaka in The Munekata Sisters
Best Supporting Performance or Cameo: Akira Ishihama in Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky
           Runners Up: Armand Assante and Paul Calderon in Q&A, Gunnar Björnstrand in Dreams, Oscar Rowland in Promised Land, Timothy West in Hedda
Most Enjoyable Ham: Demi Moore in The Scarlet Letter
           Runners Up: Gerard Butler in The Phantom of the Opera, Van Hansis in Kiss Me, Kill Me, Susan Hayward in With a Song in My Heart, Luke Macfarlane in A Valentine's Match, Niall Matter in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek, Sharon Stone in Where Sleeping Dogs Lie, Ann Wedgeworth in Citizens Band
Best Mise-en-scène: Secret Beyond the Door
           Runners Up: The Dead Zone, Dreams, Drive My Car, Medea, The Munekata Sisters, On the Comet, Passing, She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Best Locations: The French Lieutenant's Woman (lush seaside grove in Dorset's Undercliff)
           Runners Up: Drive My Car (various Hiroshima and Hokkaido locations), Medea (misty wetlands, grassy fields), Somewhere Beneath the Wide Sky (waterfront industrial park, mountain village), Swan Song (dreamy small town Ohio locations)
Best Score: The Dead Zone (Michael Kamen)
           Runners Up: Drive My Car (Eiko Ishibashi), Medea (Joachim Holbek), The Mercenary (Ennio Morricone), Passing (Devonté Hynes), Secret Beyond the Door (Miklós Rózsa)
Best Cartoon: I Heard
           Runners Up: Broken Toys, I Like Mountain Music, Pioneer Days
Best Leading Hunk: Shawn Roberts in A Frosty Affair
           Runners Up: Scott Eastwood in Dangerous, Götz George in Out of Order, Niall Matter in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Heist and Seek, Dyland McDermott in Where Sleeping Dogs Lie, Franco Nero in The Mercenary
Best Supporting Hunk: Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams in You Only Live Once
           Runners Up: Bertie Carvel in The Tragedy of Macbeth, Danny Deferrari in Shiva Baby, John Goodman in Everybody's All-American, George Reeves in The Blue Gardenia, Ryan Robbins in Dangerous
Assorted Pleasures:
- Flamboyant goth-opera music video aesthetic in The Phantom of the Opera
- Running dinosaurs, celestial vistas in On the Comet
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madllamamomma · 4 years
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Journey Back to the South Part 9~
[Kinda SWF, no real smut. Sorry guys. But it’s coming!]
The Illuminator~
With your feet dangling off the ground, Muriel’s lips are pressed against yours in front of the entire tribe to see.
He never. Ever. Kisses you in front of people. He may have done it once or twice, a little quick shy peck on the cheek or forehead—But nothing like this. This is an intense loving kiss that leaves you breathless and can’t resist kissing him back. It takes you completely off guard. The crowd around you both is going completely wild with cheers, wild trills, and vocables. Yet, he doesn’t seem to even be fazed by it. What the fuck is going on?! As soon as you both part for air, your faces are completely red and hot.
The corners of your mouth twitch up onto a startled smile. “Wh…. what was that for—”
Muriel for some reason looks so strangely happy, not seeming to realize what he had done. “I… Don’t….. You’re just…. You—Y— You’re a phoenix.”
You flutter your eyes unsure what to do or say. “Yeah… a-apparently so. What does that have to do with anything?”
His eyes are sparkling and he shakes his head disbelief. “You’re…. a phoenix!!”
“...I’m a phoenix!” You repeat completely confused of what is going on at the moment. Why is this such a big deal to him? Is there something I’m missing here??
“You…I- we—……The meadow…. and… the phoenix—”  As poor Muriel flounders for words, it dawns on him what he had just done in front of all the Kokhuri to see, but still holds you in his arms and his body heats up even more. “—Shit—Sorry— I shouldn’t have!!”
“W—wha-...What?! Why are you sorry?!”
“I-I don’t know!!.... I just—For some reason I couldn’t stop myself…. I… moved before I could think…” He says sounding nearly panicked as he sets you back down to your feet. But still there is a new gleam in his eyes. Like he realized something amazing that he hadn’t before. You both jump a little as Una places her hands on the both of you, tears streaming down, and Muriel starts to look very concerned. “Una?.... What’s wrong? Why are you upset?” Muriel peers all around, then notices the other elders are tearing up too, even Ronin and Tad. “W-why is everyone upset?? Did I do something wrong?!”
She sniffles a little and pats his arm comfortingly. “No, no! Don’t worry. These are good tears, my boy!” She tries to blot the tears away with her sleeve, but they just keep streaming down making lines in the bright paint. Yet, she continues to smile from ear to ear. “Oh, little cub…. Your mother, Glenna… Her cast did the same thing all those years ago when we were young… Remember the first day you came here?? Berty and I told you the story of how your parents met?” She turns around pointing to the now very vibrant night sky, then glances back up at him. “... Glenna’s cast waited for Artturi, just like your cast waited for Rhemi’s!!” Una tries to stifle a sniffle as much as she can and the paint on her face starts to slightly run more. “... She wouldn’t go up without him! The great lights haven’t lit up like this since they—” Una cut herself off, and shakes her head, but still smiles. Muriel still looks very wary as she continues to sob happily and she tries to reassure him. “—Ahh!! Don’t mind this blubbering old woman, little cub! I’m sorry… I… I just never thought I’d see that sight again. None of us did!”
Muriel‘s eyes glance back up to the Aurora as it dances across the night sky, shaking his head, still very lost in all of this. “What does…. this... all mean?”
Una chuckles a bit and turns her attention toward you, shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. “I’m not really sure!” Gently, she holds your now, cool face in her warm hands and squishes it a little. “...But, the two of you no doubt have a special bond. A very strong bond!! It took years for mine and Berty’s cast to know one another!!”
“... How come… ours do know each other??” You ask, voice muffled by her hands as she continues to squish your face.
“... Maybe it’s because you see each other in your dreams, like how Artturi visited Glenna in her’s…. Perhaps that’s why you both know one another in your truest form—Casts can’t lie about who they truly are.” Your face is then buried in thick fur as she embraces you tightly in her arms and starts to lightly pet your hair. You can feel her heart beating rather rapidly in her chest.
Gilbert lets out a loud hearty laugh that rattles the hillside. “Whatever it is, you both have something special!” Suddenly he wraps his arms around Muriel, squeezing him in a tight bear hug, even slightly lifting him off his feet. The sudden embrace startles him for a moment, but then he somewhat relaxes. Perhaps getting used to all this affection, but his face beaming red, and still looks uncomfortable. As Gilbert lets go of Muriel, he braces his shoulders with both hands, his eyes welling with tears. “You have no idea how proud your parents would be, little cub. You are made up of the best parts of them.” He mutters to him with such bittersweet pride in his voice. “... They would have loved to have seen this. See you grow up to be such a great son.” Muriel's face looks so confused and unsure how to react to all of this, but looks a bit emotional as Gilbert says that.
Gilbert then let’s go of Muriel and immediately starts to slam his hands on his chest, sharply breathing in his mouth. He soon starts a beat and everyone quickly falls into Amrán De Mo Chroí, ‘The song of our hearts’ chant like the first day of the gathering. But this time it is not as melancholic like it was the first day. Rather the cadence is faster, and everyone's tone sounds more happy, but still very driving, energetic, and full of emotion as they chant it.
Still unsure what to do you wrap your arms around Muriel’s and he tries to hide a tear from falling. Everyone seems to be so lost in the chant, but you soon realize, not everyone is chanting. Shona’s eyes are red, watery, and filled with anger and she shooting you a sharp hateful glare. With her lips tightly pressed together, she backs away from the crowd before vanishing from your sight.
Before you know it a few people grab you by the arms and tug you toward the camp and get separated from Muriel. They are all singing a very merry tune. Somehow you find yourself by the fire, and getting roped into dance around it. Ava and Keavy are close by, but not Muriel. Keavy is quick to tug you close to dance with you, but you stop, trying to yell over the crowd, “Wait!!! I don’t know this dance!”
Keavy laughs and pulls you close by her left side so you can hear her without screaming. “Don’t worry! It’s easy! Here, watch me!” She slowly demonstrates first with her hands, then with her feet. The dance seemed a lot more complicated at first, but it actually isn’t all that bad and you find your rhythm with the beat of the music. “See!! You're a natural, Rhemi!” You feel your arm get tugged in the opposite direction and Keavy wiggles her fingers—“JUST HAVE FUN~!!!”
Twirling around, you end up with a skinnier Kokhurian arms—it’s Tad, and he has a huge toothy smile on his face. “Oi! Where is your betrothed, Rhemi?” He asks loudly as he spins you around and suddenly Ronin grabs your wrist and starts to dance with you too.
“I don't know!!! I lost him after the hillside—!” Ronin and Tad both exchange smiles, both apparently having the same idea. Ronin then lifts you up for a brief moment in a smooth dancing move giving you the perfect opportunity to find him. And there he is, on the side lines appearing to be looking for you as well. “Ooo! OOO!!! There he is!!” You wave at him giddily and he finally catches your eyes and grins looking a bit relieved.
As you return to your feet pat Ronin on the arm. “Thanks guys!!!” The couple wave you off and start to dance with one another and you work your way through the energetic crowd towards your shy hermit. You see that Shawn tries to get Muriel to join the dancing, but it's no use. He’s not budging. Soon, Shawn’s arm is linked with a pretty, young girl around his age, inviting him to dance with her. He blushed from chest to ears and he has an adorable large silly smile, unable to resist her. 
Ava jumps out of the crowd to the side where Muriel is standing and shakes their head. Disappointedly watching as their brother gives up so quickly on their cousin because of a girl. Ava then waves Muriel in, with both hands. But he just shakes his head with a small sneer. They however are not taking ‘no’ for an answer. Looking rather determined, they tilt their head side-to-side seeming to be squaring up as they roll up their sleeves. Before Muriel realizes what is happen Ava dashes forwards, wrapping their arms around his waist, taking him completely by surprise. Using the same moves they used during the games, Ava somehow wrangles him into the dancing crowd around the large fire. He stumbles backwards and is caught quickly by Una and he recovers himself. He then attempts to pull himself out, but is unsuccessful as Gilbert and Ronin throw him back in. “O chan eil, Muriel! Get back in ‘ere!!!!”
Before he tries to escape once again, you take his wrist and inlace your fingers with his. He relaxes once he feels your familiar small hand in his and glances down to you, a deep blush taking over his cheeks and ears. “You know I don’t know how to dance!” He grumbles, but it’s loud enough for you to hear and you smile wide to reassure him.
A giggle emanates from your lungs and you shout over the loud sounds. “This isn’t the same though! Look around you, no one cares!!” Quickly, he scans the scene all around; Eventually he realizes that this isn’t dancing like back at home. This isn’t ballroom dancing at the palace, or waltzing at the Rowdy Raven. This is wild and almost primitive dancing, trilling, making various vocables and singing—just pure joyous celebration. Some are just jumping or running in circles around the fire while others are actually dancing—Some are even dancing it badly themselves, but are unperturbed. “See? No one is paying attention at all! Here, watch me!” You pull him towards you and he offers you no resistance as you show him the easy steps by his side just like Keavy did for you. He’s stiff, but he seems to pick up the steps easily enough and you both start to dance together. He gradually gets more relaxed and even seems to (almost) enjoy himself, even though he is trying to hide it. The music continues and it drives everyone into keep going, the high energy is very infectious.
After about twenty minutes or so, Muriel and you are able to pull yourselves out of the dancing during the transition of another song starts to play. Your hand tightly held with his as you both take a seat down on the sideline nearly breathless. Amazed that the rest of the crowd is still going. But you do notice that you can’t find Shona anywhere. Last time you saw her, she looked really upset at you, then she just…. vanished. And it makes you wonder where she went. You feel your heart drop a little. Jeez. I hope I didn’t ruin the celebration for them…
You look over to your right and notice Ida and Inanna curled up together fast asleep, the two have no right to look that completely and utterly adorable snuggled up like that. It’s probably around three or four o’clock in the morning, the poor thing is way past her bedtime. As you continue to look at cozy the two of them look, you honestly wouldn’t mind curling up and sleeping right now either, and by the look of Muriel’s eyes he wouldn’t either. Casting your aura was really surprisingly difficult and exhausting. Perhaps not or Muriel, but most definitely for you. Una mentioned that you might have given up too much. Drained magic always gets you sleepy. Then you got roped into dancing for however long, plus the time you had to find Muriel, then you both danced for awhile. Now you already tired limbs feel like limp noodles. But the other Kokhurians have no signs of stopping. Muriel looks like he could keep going if he really wanted to, but there is no way he is going to go back in there without you. You lean over and take advantage of Muriel’s presence and rest your head on his arm, and instantly feel more comfortable and warm. “Is this all that you expected when you got invited to stay almost two weeks ago?” You utter to him, feeling your vocal cords scratch in your throat from all the yelling.  
He snorts and leans into you as well. “No. Not at all. It was… it was…” He pauses, thinking hard on what he is trying to say but shakes his head and gives up. “...It was different than I thought.”
“... Are you happy we came?” You ask stifling a yawn, your eyelids feeling heavy.
“... Yes. I am… Thanks, Rem.”
You can’t help but sputter a little. “For what?”
“.... I… I’m glad…. that you convinced us to come down here. This-... This is honestly one of the best times I’ve had in a long—” You feel his head turn and look towards your face, you try your hardest to keep your eyes open, but they are starting to fall. You’re still listening though.
He drapes his hand tenderly over your shoulder and very gently shakes you until you open your eyes. “Hmmmm?…. Sorry! I-I’m—I’m awake! Just resting my eyes.”
Muriel barks a short laugh and stands to his feet, then offers his hand to help you up. “Com’on.... You’re tried. And I am too.” You want to argue with him, tell him that you can stay up. But you can’t deny how exhausted you are. Even though you both rested this afternoon, you're tempted to join Ida and curl up to Inanna’s soft fur and go to sleep. Reluctantly you take his hand and let him help you to your feet. “Lets get some sleep.” Muriel glance over to Inanna, but she doesn’t budge from her spot, and stays curled around Ida, keeping her warm and comfortable as if she was her own pup. He shrugs, she can take care of herself. 
As soon as you get to the tent, you tear off your cloak and corset belt, plop your ass down on the bedding, kick off your shoes, grab the blankets, and furs and lazily wrap yourself in them like a cocoon. All the while, Muriel stokes the fire to keep the tent warm. Once he finally gets to the bedding and after he takes off his belts, cloak, and shoes, you wrap your arms around him and pull him down and cuddle him tight before he can take off his shirt startling him a little. “-Rem, you didn’t even take off your skirt.” He mumbles, slight amusement in his voice. You silently shrug, too tired to speak any words other than just grumbles and groans. Then you become very quiet and still. “... You already asleep?” He whispers. You hear him, but you can’t seem to answer him; you’re just too tired. As you nearly drift off, you can feel  him give you a feather light kiss on your forehead, then he presses his cheek gently to your temple. He very quietly whispers. “.... I can’t wait to be your husband.”
“Wh—? Huh?!” Your eyes fly open, not believing your ears, and you pull yourself out of his embrace to groggily look at his face. “... Did…. did you just say the ‘H’ word, Mur?!”
A large shiver runs down his spine and he tucks you closer to his chest attempting to hide his embarrassed expression and his crimson red face and chest, you can even hear his heart beat thud faster in his chest. “... N-NO!... I… I didn’t say anything… must have been dreaming.” He lies. 
“Pfft!! You big adorable fibber!” You rub your left eye, then run your fingers through his hair making him melt into the bedding. A soft giggle escapes behind your teeth and you pepper his neck with sloppy kisses. “Say it again…. I wanna hear it….” You mutter, half asleep, mumbling in his neck.
Heat immediately radiates off of his chest at that request. “W-what-?... A-Aren’t you supposed to be exhausted??” He is right, you are very tired… You decide to cuddle up and drop it… for now. But your heart is leaping inside your chest—He finally said it, there is no taking it back. It makes being engaged feel that more real. You’re going to be with him for the rest of your life. It feels wonderful to know that. Even if you two didn’t get married, just being with him the rest of your life is all you really wanted. 
A large yawn fills your lungs and you try to fight the urge to drift off. “Fine…. but… you better get…. used to…. to those…. *yawn*... words…” Nuzzling your face into his warm chest you start to feel sleep taking over once again, and there isn’t overcoming it this time. “.... Love you, Mur. I… I can’t w-wait to… to be you—…. your…… wi.....fe….”
Finally sleep incapacitates you and you drift into the realm of dreams. Fiery wings and all, feeling free and happy. Soon Mister Bear is there to join you once again and you both run around the large empty tundra. 
This is my favorite dream….
—-—-—-
The morning call of the rouge rooster wakes you from your happy dream and you find yourself laying on your back and Muriel’s face is buried in your chest, slightly snoring. You don’t mind him there, finding him in this position is actually quite cute. But as soon as you fidget just the slightest, he wakes up, shuddering when he realizes his position and rolls over onto his side looking apologetic. “.... S-Sorry, was I heavy?” He mumbles groggily.
You smile at him almost longingly, fingers lightly brushing up against the grain of his stubble on his cheek, strangely enjoying that sandpaper feeling. “No, you were fine…” You fiddle with a small lock of his now messy hair, loving the feeling of it and studying the dark color. You love his hair. “I love you Muri.”
“I love you too.” He whispers back very sincerely and he leans into your touch.
He holds the small of your back as he moves to his spine and you lay on his chest. “So….. What… ah…. What happened last night?” You finally ask. 
He slightly stretches out his toes and rubs his tired face with is free hand. “What do you mean? What part?”
“Well…. For starters… You kissed me in front of everyone” Muriel suddenly becomes very flushed, he seemed to have all but forgot that. “—N-not that I mind that! I actually really enjoyed it. It was just a shock. A good shock!... But I know you were about ten different shades of red after it. Like you didn’t mean to.”
He averts his eyes and turns his head away from you looking at the opposite side of the tent and flounders for words. “.... I… I don’t know… I just… you—the….the casts and the lights…. it was just…” he sighs very heavily, frustration thick in his tone.
“I didn’t say it was bad!!! The others didn’t mind at all! They even cheered for you!.... All I am trying to say was that… It’s just not like you. Do you not know why you did either?” He shrugs and stays quiet, seeming to not know what to say. You haven't seen him this uncomfortable alone with you in such a long time now, it’s almost alarming. You decide to take pity on him and you hold his hand. “You don’t have to answer, Mur.” 
Muriel taps the top of your hand. You move off of his chest and Muriel sits himself up, peering over to the dying fire. Finally by the time you think he’s going to ignore the question, he breaks the silence. “I… just remembered my nightmare before we came down here…. That’s the first time I thought I remembered seeing the phoenix… She-… well.. you helped me… It made all the bad things so away.....” You heart leap inside your chest a bit. You always wondered what he meant that you were in his dream. Still its is confusing how you even got there. “.... But then you mentioned the meadow and then I remembered that too…” He pauses, pondering a bit more, pushing back his messy hair out his face. “... guess I’ve been leaping longer than I thought.” Letting his hair down the rest of the way, he shakes it out a little so he can fix it later before he continues. “—Anyways— I just should have known it was you…. I mean… I had suspensions… But I wasn’t sure….. I guess in the back of my mind I always knew, but… once I saw you burst into flames last night—”
Burst into… Flames?! What the hell?! Shooting your upper body up from the bedding, you make him jump from your sudden movement. “Wait—I did what now?!”
“....Y- Your magic—when you were summoning your aura last night, it looked like fire. It even had heat to it—You lit up most of the hillside!” In complete disbelief, you flutter your eyes, not sure what to think of all this as you continue to listen to him. “...That’s why we all were so shocked…. I.. I kinda got worried at first—afraid of you being in pain. But Una stopped me... made me realize that you were fine….. I… I even saw you do that in your dream once.... You know.... the one with Ezavior.”
You stare at him, mouth opened, completely lost for words. You had no idea that had happened. You did feel the warmth, but you didn’t think your magic would manifest physically like it did. “That’s….ah…. that is… A little… umm…. strange.” You mutter scratching the back of your head, trying to envision the sight. “I’m sorry I worried you.”
He gives you a small smile. “It’s fine. You weren’t in pain, that's all I cared about.”
“It’s kinda weird… but it's also... kinda…. Awesome!!” Randomly you start to rant, and Muriel just listens to your silliness. “— I can burst into freakin’ flames?! FIRE?! How awesome is that?! I didn’t know I could do that!!! I had never even seen a phoenix before last night! I guess I still haven't seen a real one technically.... But it was really cool to see!!” You finally stop you rants and your eyes light up and mischievously glance over to Muriel and his nostrils flare, getting prepared. He knows…
“...Don’t… you…dare...” He grumbles, brow furrowed. “Too early for this--.”
You smile idiotically, unable to resist.  “...Or should I say…. Hot~ —OOOOFF!!!” Right as you utter that word, he very gently smack his pillow at your face, muffling your giggles.
His face twisted like he smelled something horrible and he sighs painfully. A large reluctant grin sprouts across his lips and you burst into full laughter at his disgust. You’ve made some bad puns before. But that one was up there. “.... Why?! Gah—That one …. actually hurt—Physically hurt me!! That was so bad.” He mutters and shakes his head slowly.
“Where??” You manage to ask through your giggles.
He move his entire body so he can show you and points to his chest with his pointer and middle finger chuckling at his words. “Here—Right here. Goddamn it, that was so awful!!... Holyshitwoman.”
You can’t help but laugh harder at him as he shakes his head at you a little more, but he is still smiling widely. “I’m sorry, Love.”
“Pfft! Whatever! No you’re not.” He snorts with his eyebrow raised.
Still laughing at yourself, you shake your head sharply, still sporting a ridiculous smile. “Yeah—No… I’m not.” You stretch your arms out a little and continue to giggle softly to yourself. “Remember you asked this to marry you!” Gesturing vaguely to all of your body you shimmy your arms slight. “...You're gonna have to deal with this shit for a while! You sure you wanna sign up for this the rest of your life?”
Muriel blushes a bit, but has a cute grin on his face as he leans into you, his gaze very warm. “... Wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” He says under his breath his pointer finger and thumb slightly tilting back your chin. A large aroused shiver runs up your spine, making your breath shaky as he closes the gap. His chapped morning lips tenderly pressed against yours, and you kiss him back. Loving his touch, his taste, his gentleness, his everything. This is the man you are going to marry. How did I manage this? Not only does he love me….. I’m not afraid to be myself. He makes me feel so safe. He makes me feel brave. Strong… like I could do anything. I want to be by his side forever. I want to be there for him.
Somehow you find yourself straddled on top of him, lips smacking passionately. It’s unclear how exactly you got there, but really, you do not care. Both of you start to feel hot and heavy, hips starting to move and grind erotically. And you start to pull up his shirt, thirsting to taste, feeling hunger in your eyes. As you work your kisses down his abdomen, making him slightly moan and hiss, you start to undo his pants. But out of nowhere he becomes stiff and grabs your wrist gently to stop you. “—Wait!!! Rhemi! IT’S THE SOLSTICE TODAY!!”
“Huh?....” Your eyes meet with his, the urgency behind his gaze makes you realize—FUCK! Today is the third day!!!! You inhale sharply gasping, “AVA!!!! SHIT FUCK!!!! WHAT TIME IS IT?! We—We still have to talk to Gilbert!!! OH, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!” Both of you hastily scramble to get dressed. Ava is probably waiting around outside this very moment to practice a few more times before tonight. After donning your boots, you glance up at Muriel and notice a small hickey on his neck, before he covers it up with his green scarf. You smack your forehead with your left palm and groan. “Fuck…. I did it again…. I’m so sorry, Muri. I’m now the frigid queen of blue balling.”
Muriel turns to you as he clasps. “I’ll live. I know this is important to Ava and to you! You two have been working very hard for more than a week.” You stick out your bottom lip a little feeling very guilty still. “.... Don’t look like that.” He snorts in amusement at you.
Your face flushes all of a sudden. “Look like what?”
“Like this.” He sticks out his bottom lip imitating what must be your expression… and he does it a little too well.
Your brow furrows and your mouth gapes open feeling a bit impressed and called out. “I-I do not look like that!”
He stifles a short bark with his hand, nodding his head. “Yes. You do! Just like a kid who dropped their candy.” You start to stick out your bottom lip a bit more out of instinct and his shoulders shake, holding in his laughter.
“I am offended by this accusation, sir! I am an adult!! And I do not pout like that!” You fold your arms tightly trying to hide a smile.
“What??” He snickers a bit at your reaction and shrugs. “...It’s cute. I think it is anyway.”
Not knowing what to say in retaliation, you mutter, “Shut up...”, and stick out your tongue making his shoulder shake from holding in his laughter.
“Oh, yeah. You're an adult alright” His hand brushes against your cheek and he leans down kissing your forehead. “I’m going to see if anyone needs some help today. When I come back I’ll bring you back something to eat.”
Unable to resist, you wriggle your brow, quickly wink, and seductively bite your bottom lip. “Ooh, are you now, Muri~?”
Muriel sputters as crimson red paints his face and ears. “Dammit!! NOT LIKE THAT!!!” He half shouts, throwing his cloak over his shoulders. “... Terrible!! Just…. terrible!!” He grumbles under his breath, but you swear you can hear a slight snorty chuckle.
You tilt your head and glance at his groin. “I mean….. I have been rather hungry for some—”
“—R-RHEMI!!”
“What?? I was going to say ‘fish’.” You grin, batting your eyelashes, fakely looking innocent, stifling your snickers. “... Where was your mind at, Muriel?”
“Yeah…. sure you were…” He snorts through his nose and rolls his eyes, attempting to hide a flattered grin behind the fur of his cloak.
As you fasten you corset belt you quickly ask,“Are you trying to say… you wouldn’t like that?”
He stiffens, staring hard at the ground, scratching his neck, grumpily murmuring, “....Didn’tsaythat….” Slightly smirking at the thought, then shakes his head from lewd thoughts, his cheeks flushed once again. “—Fish! I am going and getting us some fish! Y-You— Go find Ava!” Adorably, he storms out the tent, and you giggle to yourself. Oh boy, I fuckin’ love that shy man~
After you finally get yourself presentable, you dash out of the tent and start to look around camp for Ava. Shockingly, they aren’t waiting outside. Judging by the sun, it’s about to be noon and the sun will be going down in only five or so hours. Gilbert starts the tales around nine o’clock. Time is of the essence!
You make your way around, you search high and low. You don’t have their pencil anymore, nor anything else that is theirs so you can’t conjure a searching spell to find them like you did before. Some more time goes by and you’ve looked almost everywhere for them; near the tombstones, on the hillside where the forget-me-nots are next to camp, you even search near their tent. Not many people are awake right now, you could only guess that they are all still resting from staying up so late last night. But you do see Ida and Keavy walking around, then notice Una rocking her little baby asleep in her arms outside of her tent while some of her younger kids are weaving baskets. To make sure that you don’t stir anyone up, you start to whisper Ava’s name, hoping that they would come out. But it’s no use. You even politely ask around to the people who are awake. Yet no one has seen them since early this morning during their patrol.
Feeling at a loss, you decide to take a break for a moment and sit near the giant fire in the middle of camp. Not very long after, you notice Muriel walking towards you with four large fish tied to some string. He looks around you with slight confusion on his face. “Where’s Ava?” He asks as he starts to cook three of the four fish in the large fire, and tosses Inanna the other. “I caught them something to eat too.”
You huff, stick out your bottom lip feeling a bit defeated. “Still can’t find them…” A small shiver runs down your spine and tuck your knees into your chest.
“Hmm…”
Both of you sit there for a moment while the fish cook. A large growl rubbles loudly from your stomach as you eye the large cooking trout. Muriel eyes fall onto you, and your face blanches a bit. He chuckles softly, takes one of the trout that’s ready and hands it to you. “... You should eat… don’t need you passing out today.”
“Yeah, I’m not that delicate, dear!” You scowl at him slightly. But hastily you grab the fish by the stick instantly making your mouth water. “....Buuuut you've got a good point.”
You take a large bite without a second thought and Muriel shudders.“—Hey, careful! Don’t burn—” You shrug, and his words die in his throat. It’s warm, but not that bad, it doesn’t burn your mouth either so you continue to eat. “I… I just took that off the fire…” He mutters to himself, shaking his head a little, inspecting the fish in your hand. “Is it not cooked?”
You shake your head and wipe your mouth with your sleeve. “Tastes done to me.” But it is weird that it’s already cool enough to eat.
Unconvinced, he pokes at the unchard part of it with his finger, testing the temperature. Immediately he pulls away, hissing and shaking his hand, sticking his finger briefly in his mouth to cool it. “It’s still hot!!.... Rem, H-How are you doing that?!”
You stop chewing and look between him and the fish. There are still some embers burning on the scales. It is hot. As you think for a few seconds, you just now realized that you don’t remember the last time you have been burnt. Other than fevers from being sick and the seduction elixir, heat hasn’t really bothered you. “.... I… I dunno…” You put the fish down for a moment and stare at your hands, but they are also unfazed by the searing heat. This is really weird.
Muriel barks a confused and impressed chuckle, shaking his head as he wraps his arm around your waist pulling you partly into his cloak. “... You….. Always keeping me on my toes…”
“I keep myself on my toes…” You snort, unsure what to do with this new information, other than laugh that is.
For the next few minutes, you both sit there in silence as you continue to eat your meal. Then a thought comes across your mind, making you giggle a bit. “What?” He asks after swallowing a mouth full.
“I just thought of something…. If I’m a phoenix… then why are my feet always so freakin’ cold?”
Muriel’s eyes open wide, then he throws his head back laughing so hard it makes his whole body shake. Unable to resist his infectious laugh, you join in. As soon as he gets a hold of himself he places his fish down and wraps both arms around your waist, pulls you into his lap and kisses your temple. “You’re a mess…. but I love you for it.” Nobody is really around, so you both enjoy being snuggled close in this cold southern air.
As much as you want to stay in the warm embrace of your sweet hermit, you both know you have to continue your search for Ava. Now getting desperate, you even start to search in between the tents to see if they are hiding there. “Ava!!!” You loudly whisper, sneaking around somewhere near Gilbert and Una’s large family tent. “....Aaaaaaavaaaa!...... Com’on, Ava!! We’re running out of—” As you turn around you nearly bump into a tall figure carrying a large bundle of furs in their arms. “WOOH! WOOPS!!!” The both of you jolt and shudder from the surprise and you make them drop all the fur to the ground. Your hands fly up feeling incredibly embarrassed as you backup instinctively, unsure who it is. “OOO!—S-SORRY!! Sorry!... sorry.. M-my fault!! Here let me help you with that!” You whimper, scrambling to the ground to collect them and brush off the dirt.
An all too familiar irritated tut makes you stop. Quickly glancing up towards their face, and you're greeted with tightly folded arms and a disgusted looking sneer. Your brow twitches slightly and a small bead of sweat forms on your temple under their piercing hateful gaze; you haven’t seen them since last night on the hillside... Oh great… just what I needed right now… “Oh!... H-Hey…. Shona…” She slowly blinks silently, and slightly flaring her nostrils, just beaming down at you. You didn’t notice till now, but you’ve made your way back around to her and Ava’s tent. You nervously smile and sheepishly hand her back the furs and she snatches them back, grumbling under her breath without the slightest hint of a ‘thank you’.—No surprise there. Technically it was partly your fault.
For the first time, you see that the entrance of their tent is wide open, her hands are too full, so she couldn’t shut it back immediately. Your eyes naturally follow her as she places the furs down near a half finished light colored parka pinned to a mannequin standing on a wooden tripod. It was very dainty looking, but it was obvious the work is very well done. Intrigued, you pop your head inside the tent a little more and you see furs, leather, beads, tassels, and other material litter half of the tent. Weapons, spears, bows and arrows litter the other half and there are two small dividers on opposite sides that appear to be sleeping quarters. Easy to tell which side is who’s. Shona then dashes back out, jerking the tent entrance shut, and folds her arms once with her very sour expression. Feeling a bit awkward, you rub the ball of your right foot into the cold dirt, curiosity got the best of you. “Th—that parka is really pretty… Did you make it?” You mutter attempting to diffuse some of the tension, but it doesn’t seem to help.
Shona gives nothing but cold silence. It’s evident that she still despises you and is clearly hinting that she wants you to leave. You almost do just that, but then a thought occurred that she is bound to know exactly where her twin is. You swallow hard and muster up the courage to finally ask. “... So… ah…. Ha-have you seen Ava around lately?? I'm looking for them.” She continues to stand there in front of her tent silent, then shifts her weight to her left hip, and raises an eyebrow harshly judging once again. Holy shit woman. If looks could fuckin’ kill… You pinch the bridge of your nose and sigh heavily, just about fed up with this hateful attitude of hers. “Mmmmkay—... Look, I need to find them. It’s really important that I do. Have you seen them?” She exhales hard through her nose, seeming determined to just to stand there and not tell you a thing. You soften your face and stare up at her now pleading. “Please, Shona…. It’s about something that is important to them.” At last, she huffs, rolls her eyes, reluctantly pointing you towards the stalls where the animals are held on the other side of camp. Finally!!! Thankful, your shoulders relax slightly feeling relieved you smile kindly to her but she just scowls harder. “Thank you, Shona.”
Tuning your heels around, you start to hurry off in that direction, but she opens her mouth. “....You know…” Her words stop you dead in your tracks, she speaks very softly, but has a particularly sour tone to it, and you whip your head back around to meet her green eyes. “...Last night didn’t mean anything, NewComer. You’re just more of a decent magician than expected.” She pauses and a small malicious smirk twitches up in the corners of her mouth as she takes a few steps closer towards you. “... You may have been able to cast your aura… you may be able to speak the language of old… hell, you may even marry my cousin that you don’t deserve…” Your fist clenches up tightly as she leans her head down almost to your level looking very sadistically, making her long braid fall down off her shoulder, and it swings side-to-side as she mutters just above a whisper. “.... But will never be one of us.”
You press your lips together tightly as you focus on slowing your now shaky breathing as rage and anger starts to burn inside of your chest. You then take a few steps back before your temper gets the best of you. You know that she is just dumping all her built up resentment and anger on you. But that was unnecessarily cruel… You hate to admit it, but that one hurt… a lot. You haven't belonged with anywhere except your friends in a long time. You don’t even remember belonging to anything else... family is forien to you. And you have been fine with that. You didn’t care. But then again, being here with the Kokhuri, you started to feel a strange familiar sense of family you’ve secretly longed for. But once you get comfortable again, Shona seems to always be there to keep gracing you with rude reminders of how that isn’t really true.
It’s frustrating that you must hold back what you really want to say to her, but you slowly start to walk backwards away. Her loathing smirk just grows even wider. You turn yourself around sluggishly to walk away, but your feet suddenly stop. Part of you wants to tell her off so badly, but you know that will push her in the other direction even more. Strangely, you still just want to be her friend. You want her to know you mean no harm. You're not a bad person. You don’t want her to be threatened by you. But… this was a cold hearted attack. She’s just… so fucking mean. Your mouth opens before you can stop yourself feeling your heart beat increase behind your sternum. “Hey, Shona…” Turning back around to face them once again, they glare back at you, clearly feeling very victorious, seeming to be awaiting some kind of vicious retaliation. But that's what she wants…. She wants you to prove her right.
Taking a moment to collect your thoughts together, pause and nod to yourself. Impatiently, she shakes her head and shrugs wanting to know what you have to say. “Well??.... What?? I don’t have all day….”
You take in another deep breath to calm yourself, clear away your emotions, and think about the root of all of this. You unwind your fist and drop your tight clenched shoulders and calmly speak in a very empathetic tone. “I know you are in a lot of pain… and you have the right to be angry about it.” Shona shudders and her smirk falls into a low tight frown. She was not expecting that, at least now you’ve got her attention. “… But just because someone else really hurt you… doesn’t give you the right to constantly try to hurt me.” Her eyes are wide, and just seemingly stunned by your statement. As you turn away to trundle off, you utter one last sentence. “... Just…. think about that one for awhile… Will ya?” And refuse to look back.
As you pass another tent you veer in front of it to clear your head before continuing towards the stables. Her words cut like a damn knife. But you have to keep going. Many tonight she’ll see…But I doubt tat she will ever stop hating me though.
Once you get a hold of yourself you start to make you way over to where the animals are held. Low and behold, there is Ava, hiding themselves behind the horse’s pin sitting on the ground with two fluffy ox calves curled up next to them, petting their heads as they are fast asleep.
Relieved you sigh, “There you are!” They start at the sound of your voice, quickly standing to their feet, they don’t seem to be happy that you're here. Wait… were they hiding from me?? Shaking the thought way, you wave them to follow you, hoping that isn’t the case. “...C'mon! Lets go talk to your dad. It’s getting late.” As you turn to start to travel in that direction, but they tug your cloak and pull you back. When you glance back at them, they shake their head widely, but slowly. They look so terrified . “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to do this?” Ava stares down at the ground and shrugs and your hands instinctively hold your hips. “So you were hiding from me, huh, Ava??” A small bead of sweat foams on their forehead and they scratch the back of their head, still avoiding your eyes. “... Are you getting cold feet?”
Sheepishly they nod, looking ashamed and they start to move their hands slowly. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea. Everyone is going to watch this.”
“I thought that was the point.”
They sigh hard. “Maybe next year… This is just too much right now.”
Frustration starts to recharge your depleted energy and your blood starts to lightly boil. Brow furrowed, nostrils flared. I have been looking for their ass for almost two hours, been insulted by their sister, blue-balled my fiancé—again—and they are telling me they are getting cold feet NOW?!  Suddenly your arms move without a second thought. Ava jolts as you grab their face with both hands, squishing their cheeks together, their face low looking like a fish, and pull their head down to your level. “AVA. Listen. To. Me….” Ava is now completely rigid and unsure what to do, but they don’t pull away, their face bright red as they are forced to look into your eyes and you inhale deeply and encouragement suddenly floods your mind. “You’ve been practicing this for the past week and a half! You have mastered the magic. You have mastered the story.” You nearly touch their forehead with yours, and feel the heat start to radiate off their face and they hold their breath. You may be too close for comfort, but you don’t care and you slightly shake them out of excitement. “You and I are going to talk to your father. You're going to show everyone what you can do. You are going to do amazing, and you are going to make your dreams a reality!!! AVA!! You. Can. Do. This!!!” Their cheeks become warm in your cool hands and they groan a little looking behind you. You whip yourself around, and see Keavy holding a bucket of feed, looking very confused at whatever she is looking at. Realizing how strange this all might look, you release Ava’s face, but grab their fur cloak so you don’t let them run off. “—Not what it looks like!!” You utter, sweat falling off your temple.
“Yeah… I know…” She says with an entertained looking grin on her face and shaking the feed bucket. The ox calves jump up with a little low moo and trot over towards Keavy’s direction. “... Shawn told me you two were up to something, ‘bout four days ago. Don’t know what it’s about, but I’m sure it's exciting if you gotta hide it from everyone, Ava~”
You can't help but smile proudly, “You have no idea!” But then realize you let go of Ava’s cloak and they have vanished. You whip yourself back to Keavy, “GAHH!! SHIT!!! Where’d they—?!”
She gives you a blank look, resting her weight on the wooden fence post and points in the direction of the hillside next to camp. “Looked like they were in a hurry…”
You hastily jump over the pen about to sprint in that direction, yelling their name. “AAV—OOOF!!” Then proceed to land face first into the dirt. Keavy first covers her mouth in concern, but once she sees that you're fine, and you spit and sputter out the dirt from your mouth, she stifles her laughter as you scramble to your feet, run and shout like a madwoman. “—AVA!!!!!”
Your eyes catch the top of their head as they walk quickly through the middle of camp. Ava pretends to not hear you as they start to pick up speed, but little did they know— You’re fast— almost as fast as Asra— and you nearly gain on them in no time. Now they start to run, trying their best to evade you, they nearly slam themselves into Muriel’s chest as he happens to come around the blind corner. They dash around him and he stands there awkwardly. Confused, Muriel then realizes who that just was and opens his mouth to shout their name, but before he can, you half shout, “AVAAAAA!!!!!”, dashing as fast as you can right past him and Inanna. “—YOU CAN’T RUN FROM YOUR DESTINY!!!!” Suddenly you screech to a halt, looking back to Muriel, and inhale a large gasp. “Muriel!!! MY LOVE!!! My sweet man!!!! Don’t ask why, but I need your muscles!!!!”
“What-? Are they running from you?—” You grab him by the wrist with both hands, cutting him off. Ava is trying to make a break for it towards the graveyard. If they manage to get there, you know that have lost them.
“SHUSH! I SAID I HAD NO TIME TO EXPLAIN!!!! JUST, CHARGE!!!” You war cry, getting a strange sense of déjà vu here. 
Muriel sighs grumpily, but follows behind as you lead the charge. Ava starts to slow down, probably thinking they have just about given you the slip. But then turns around to see you with a ferocious feral look in your eyes. “AAAAVA!!!” You screech.
They gasp a loud startled muffled squeak, as you tackle them from behind and wrap all four limbs around their shoulders and torso and you grunt through your bearded teeth. “YOU CAN’T RID OF THIS WITCH THAT EASILY!!!! I’M LIKE A FREAKIN’ LEACH!!!!!” In just three quick shakes, they pry you off of their back, somehow not hurting you in the process. As they fling you off, you manage to land gracefully on your feet and you try to summon your magic. Unfortunately it still seems to be drained from casting your aura last night. Still you some way or any other manage to bring up some rope and tie it around their right leg. They try to make another run for it, but fall down to the ground.
They swiftly get to their feet and find Muriel barreling towards them like a mad bull, and they go on the defensive instinctively, arms up, palms open. He attempts to grab Ava’s waist to tackle them and pin them down. Before he can they snatch his wrist and it soon becomes a battle of strength. Muriel starts to grit his teeth and mumbles, “Why are you…. running away…. from Rhemi?? Isn’t…. this is what… you’ve always…… wanted to do???” Ava bares their teeth and growls like an irritated wild animal and lunges forwards and grabs his waist, forcing him backwards and knocking half the wind out of him. He gets his footing and slowly pushes and wrestles them back and they release his waist. Taking the opportunity, in one fast move, Muriel bear hugs them, forcing their upper arms to their sides, unable to use them effectively and he just lifts them off their feet. They dangle there, wriggling and squirming about and start to kick their feet around. At this point, poor Muriel has had enough of this crap. “You’ve been caught! So—just—HOLD… STILL!! I don’t want to hurt you!!!”  
All three of you now take a breath and you huff and puff for air. Once you catch some of your breath and they stop protesting, you walk over to where Muriel is binding them tightly. “Ava! Stop fighting will ya? He’ll let you go if you stop trying to run!” They open and close their mouth furiously, seeming to want to tell you to go to hell. You sigh deeply and look into their eyes sincerely. “Ava.... If you don’t do this now, you never will….. You know that!... I know you do….”
They finally stop fighting for a few seconds and their face relaxes. A reluctant moan escapes their lungs and they calmly tap Muriel’s forearm with their hand, signaling to let them go. Muriel and you exchange one brief glance and you nod to him. Once they are released they don’t make anymore attempts to run away as they drop to sit on the cold ground covered in forget-me-nots, then lay down flat on their back and gazing into the partly cloudy sky. Finally they start to move their hands. “What if Papa says ‘no’?”
You squat down to their level feeling rather exhausted after all this running and tackling. “Then, he says ‘no’. He isn’t going to disown you.”
Ava their trunk back up and starts to move their hands a bit faster and more emotionally. “What if I just embarrass myself?!”
“You’re not going to embarrass yourself, Ava. Tell me one other person— other than me— than can do what you can do?? And if you mess up a part, or make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. Yes, these are trials. But no one knows what it's supposed to look like.”
Ava nods their head and blows an unconvinced raspberry out their mouth, draping their left arm lazily over their knee.
Muriel then kneels down and places his hand gently on their shoulder. “Ava… I’ve seen how it looks, just in a few days you’ve managed to make the story look great— You can understand what's going on without the verbal story….. Rhemi’s not trying to force anything on you. But running away isn’t the answer either. Running will just get easier while facing this head-on will get harder and harder..... besides... She isn’t going to stop... Trust me.”
Ava blows a piece of hair off of their face and nods to themself a bit. You tilt your head and tuck your loose side bangs behind your ear. “Ava, I know you're worried about a number of things.” You stand to your feet and offer your hand to them. “You will never know if you don’t try.” Finally they take your hand and you help pull them up to their feet. “You can do this, Ava.”
They give a small grin and look towards Muriel and start to move their hands. It takes you a moment, then you translate what they said. “They said, ‘... She has a weird way of motivating people. I never thought tackling would be one of them.’”
Muriel barks a short laugh. “You’re not the only person she’s tackled. Just be happy she did threaten you.”
Ava snorts, and speaks with her hands making you giggle a little. “They said, ‘I don’t find that surprising’.”
All three of you make your way up the hillside, very shocked that no one has noticed your rather loud hijinxs. You thank Muriel for his help, but then quickly have to make your way to Ava’s father. You’ve lost enough time as it is.
Luckily, Gilbert is found not far from his and Una’s tent, washing clothes with the younger children. Some of the older boys around fourteen to eight are helping while the other smaller ones play. He greets you two with his iconic large smile and jolly laugh. “Madainn mhath, Ava, Rhemi…. what can I do for you?”
Ava is stiff as a board and is pointedly staring at their feet, parolized by apprehension and fear. You decide to take pity on the poor thing and speak up. “Good morning… afternoon?... Whatever it is… Say… Gilbert?”
He stops washing for a moment, looking up at you from the ground, giving you his full attention. Quietly you lean closer and shield your mouth with your hand so no one else can hear. “Could we talk to you somewhere private, Gilbert?”
He blinks a few times, giving you a blank look, and darts from you to Ava with deepening suspension. He shrugs and places the wet sudsy clothes he was working on back into the water. “Ah… Sure. Alright then.” He stands to his feet and calls Shawn to take over for him. Shawn isn’t all that pleased getting roped into chores, but once he sees that it's the two of you he seems to not mind as much. While following behind Gilbert, you nearly have to drag Ava into the tent, they are so nervous. The worst part is telling him, and you know it. As you all enter the tent you pull the entrance closed while Gilbert and Ava sit near the fire. Gilbert stokes the fire and warms his wet hands and you take a seat next to Ava’s side. “So… what’s on the two of your minds, eh?” Gilbert asks, rolling down his sleeve.
Pure dead silence takes over the tent, building the tension even thicker as Ava refuses to look at either of your. You glance up at Ava, their face is beaming red and hot. Using your closest elbow, you nudge Ava’s side and they jump slightly, seeming to get them out of their stupor. They take a deep breath and start to move their hands slowly so you can understand. “... Papa… I want…. I want to help you with tonight’s story.”
Gilbert snorts, shaking his head confused. “...But…. you already help, my cub. You play the drum—”
Ava waves their hands cutting him off mid sentence. “No, no, no. I want to help… telling it.”
“Hmm?” Gilbert's eyes are incredibly wide and he holds his breath for a few seconds, completely taken off guard by this request. He then clears his throat unsure what to do or say, evident by him opening and closing his mouth a few times before spitting out actual words. “... Ava… I—…..How-.... I mean…. Please, don’t take this the wrong way, but….How else…. can you…?”
Mustering up all their courage, Ava answers him by summoning their dark blue shimmery magic in their hand. Two silhouettes then form taking the shape of a small child covered in a hood and a large fluffy wolf. With a flick of their opposite wrist, they sent the shadow puppets down off of their palm to the ground making them playfully chase one another. Despite the colors and size, the way Ava makes the puppets move and behave, it really looks like it’s two living creatures running around on the ground. Gilbert's face brightens, he leans down, his eyes fixed onto the shadowy figures completely fascinated and perplexed by the sight. He even reaches for the small child. His fingers faze right through their body, making them blurry, but it returns back to its shape immediately as his fingers move. “What…. What is this??”
You smile proudly at your student then offer the explanation. “Ava found me playing with their younger sibling on the hillside the second or third day we came here. I was showing off some of my illusion magic. This caught their eyes, and I taught them how to do it. They told me that this was like an old forgotten form of Master Speaking…”
“... The Master Illuminators.” He nods slowly to himself, his thoughts obviously racing, he covers his hands over his mouth, lost for words continuously mezzmerized by the shadow puppets movements. “.... So this is what we had forgotten for a hundred years?.... This is…so…. beautiful. You learned this just in a week, Ava?”
Ava’s cheeks start to turn pink, dropping their hand making the shadow puppets disappear into thin air. “If you think this is good, you should see the whole show!” You say giddily.
Gilbert's eyes finally look back up to the two of you, completely dumbfounded. “....There’s… There more??”
Ava sheepishly nods their head, rubbing their bicep with their opposite hand before they answer with their hands. “Been practicing.” Ava then gently places their hand on your closet shoulder, cheeks deeper red. “...Rhemi has been teaching me.”
A large grin washes over his face as he beams at Ava, he couldn't be more proud looking. “.... So… You are asking to start the trials, Ava?”
They swallow hard and take a deep inhale, nodding their head. “... But don’t tell anyone.”
Gilbert’s large smile falls, and is replaced with a confused frown. “What do you mean, ‘don’t tell anyone’?? Why not, my cub?? Your mother and Shona—”
Ava violently shakes their head protesting, staring at the ground before bringing their hands back up. “Just don’t tell them. Please. I don’t want anyone to know about it.”
Gilbert pushes out a long heavy exhale and rubs his temples, eventually he begrudgingly nods in agreement. “Alright, my cub… I don’t understand why. Everyone will find out by tonight—But you need to find someone to cover the drums!”
Ava nods sharply and excitedly and a wry smile widely. But then tears overwhelm their eyes and they quickly try to brush them away. This sudden emotion shocks both you and Gilbert. “Sorry, Papa—Rhemi…. I’m fine.” They say quickly with their left hand while trying to wipe the tears with the other.
Fatherly concern kicks in, and Gilbert scoots forwards on his knees closer to Ava. He pulls his child into his arms looking very worried, but they are reluctant to accept it. “What’s this?? Aren’t you happy, cub??”
They nod, and pull away enough so they can communicate and start to very emotionally move their hands. You almost don’t catch all of it because of the speed. “I am happy, Papa.... But I’m scared too.”
Gilbert looked at his child with such concern. “Why are you scared? My Ava is never scared!!”
Ava sniffles, not really wanting to answer, but they know they need to. “... I don’t want to be a disappointment again.”
“...What??” Gilbert’s face looks as if his heart just broke into pieces. “... When have I ever told you that you were a disappointment, Ava??”
They choke on their tears slightly, unable to look him in the eye. “You didn’t say it. No one has…. I felt like I was… Ever since I lost my voice….”
Gilbert pauses for a moment, but utterly appalled at the thought. “Why… why in the world would you think that??”
Ava does their very best to keep their composure, and their eyes meet with his. “....Because… I couldn’t be like you.”
Gilbert's heart is now completely broken. “Oh my cub… My poor sweet young cub….” A wave of sadness overwhelms him as tears pool in his eyes, lips pressing together tightly, he shakes his head slowly looking deeply into Ava’s eyes. Gently he cups his child’s face in his large palms, wipes their tears with his thumbs as they continue to roll down their cheeks, softly and comfortingly he speaks to them softly in Rune. “Ava… I have never been disappointed in you. I could care less that you couldn’t be like me! … You being here alive is alway enough for me…. I thought…. I thought I was going to lose one of my children that day…” Pressing his forehead against Ava’s, he pets their head with one hand as they start to sob. They lean into his palm on their cheek, accepting his comfort. “I.... I was just so hurt to see you and your sister so unhappy. My first born cubs were broken that day. It hurt to see my children feel like they had no purpose in life anymore…” Shakiness in his voice, he pauses for a moment to collect himself before tears take over. “...I am so sorry you believed that, Ava… Momma and I never wanted you to feel this way, cub. I’m so sorry.”
Ava pulls away and has a soft smile on their lips, looking so relieved to hear those words. They slowly move their hands. “...It wasn’t your fault, Papa. I never told you how I felt… I don’t think I knew I felt that way until recently.” The expressions on their face are so heartfelt, you can’t help but feel your heartstrings being pulled.
Gilbert holds Ava’s face again, pride gleaming in his eyes as he smiles at them and sniffles with them. “Ahhh! But look at you now! Your eyes are bright and full of life again! Figured something was going on—And I see it’s because you're doing what you want to do!! You amaze me every single day. I am so proud of you. Not for wanting to be like your old man, but for being who you are.”
Ava nods their head, red reaming their eyes, they throw their arms around his neck and they hug each other tightly and weep together. They both have seemed to have forgotten that you’re still there, but you don’t care. You can’t help but feel emotional too witnessing and you hide your tears too. You feel so proud of Ava. This had been bothering them for such a long time. This was an important moment for the two of them. It’s no secret that these two are very close. Despite the size of Gilbert’s family, he and Una are close to all their children, you don’t quite know how they manage it.  
After a while, Ava and Gilbert pull themselves together, straighten themselves up, and wipe the tear away. Gilbert snorts inspecting the tears on top of his hand. “Oi—Airson gaol na Athair Mhòir!! I have a feeling this is going to be a ‘soggy’ day, isn’t it??” And the three of your spiral into collected laughter. It’s true. There have been a lot of emotion and tears just in the past sixteen or hours. There is bound to be more.
While you were next to Gilbert, you decided to give him your journal so he could read over. Ava helped here and there during your down time when teaching, but Gilbert has the last say on the matter. You don't plan on publishing it or anything, but it would be nice to have for some of the children who no longer live here in the Steppe. As all three of you stand to your feet Gilbert tucks the journal carefully into a satchel on his side. “Now. I promise I won’t tell anyone, but you're going to have to explain that to your sister. And she’s been in a rather fowl mood lately!”
Ava sighs deeply and rolls their eyes. “Trust me. I know.”
Gilbert huffs a small jolly chuckle and then pats Ava on their shoulder. “Oh! She’s been cross with you too, has she??” Ava nods slowly looking slightly guilty and Gilbert nods to the entrance of the tent. “Go on, cub. Get plenty of rest before tonight. I know you were up for patrol this morning right after the celebration. Shona said that you haven't been back to bed. You must be tired.”
You quickly grab their arm and whip them around to face you.“You haven't slept since this yesterday?!” As they turn to face you, you notice the bags under their eyes and look at them scoldingly. “AVA!! That isn’t good!”
They shrug and sneer looking embarrassed. “I was too worked up to get rest!!! My thoughts kept me away!”
You smack their thick muscly arm with a growl. “That’s still not good for you!!!!”
Red takes over their face and ears making Gilbert burst into laughter again. “We better find you one like this one!”
Ava Lets out a muffled embarrassed moan. “PAPA, STOP IT! Your embarrassing me!!” 
—————————————
The rest of the afternoon flew by, before you know it, it’s dinner time. Muriel and you keep Ava company tonight before the story. Shona looked to be very upset by this, but she’ll get over it after tonight…. or so you hope…
Ava thankfully got some sleep and looked much more rested. But they still looked so jittery, they barely ate. Muriel and you look to each other, concerned. “Ava, you alright?” He asks, placing his hand on their shoulder.
Ava exhales hard, then nods with a wry grin. “Here.” He hands them the flatbread. “You need to eat.”
Ava shakes their hand, not very interested in food. But you chime in quickly. “NO! Take it! You need something in your stomach. Bread is light, but it will at least hold you over. You don’t need to pass out up there!”
With a huff they take it and give Muriel a knowing look, making him snort. “Yes… She’s always like this. Little mother hen.”
“Pffft! Like you are one to talk!” You grumble under your breath making Ava chuckle at your little bantering.
After a while, it was time for Ava and Gilbert to get ready. You can tell, they were still really nervous, but they had determination as well. Everyone proceeded to gather around the fire, like they did every night, making an aisle in the middle. Tonight, instead of the back where Muriel and you usually sit, Muriel recommends that the two of you sit up in front to give Ava some moral support if needed. You feel proud of him being willing to be there for them. Muriel sits on the outside opposite of the aisle to make sure the younger kids and shorter people can see.
The time has at last come and all the Kokhurian’s erupt in cheers and chants “Master Speaker” in Rune. Gilbert enters the tent with his embroidered shawl over his shoulders, his headpiece with elk antlers on top of his head, and grey face paint over his eyelids. The crowd hushes instantly as he throws up his hand like they normally do. He draws in a deep breath and you even catch as he gives Una a small wink before he starts to speak. “As the Celebration draws to an end, I must thank you all for coming once again. I know the journey to the Shining Steppe can be long, sometimes treacherous. But it is all worth it in the end to see all your wonderful faces and to shield some light during these dark nights.…… This gathering was a particularly special year for all of us. Was it not?!” The crowd happily cheers, claps, and trills in agreement with him. “... Not only did we have one of our own return to us… Our fallen heroes Artturi and Glenna’s cub, Muriel.” Gilbert gestures towards him, making him sink down into his cloak as joyful proud eyes fall on him, and you take his hand and smile brightly, making him relax a little as Gilbert continues to speak. “... But we had an excellent Midnight Celebration!! We have honored Kok’s spirit with wonderful casts! Such love and pure soulful auras that was shared last night on the hillside..” Eyes now fall on both of you suddenly; you slightly blanch and shrink into yourself too but a few people reach their arms over and pat your’s and Muriel’s back and shoulder. “....But that is not all that is special this year!!” The crowd now turn their eyes back to Gilbert, looking rather perplexed, eager for him to answer after his dramatic pause. “... This year, I have a new person to help tell the stories of old...��� Gasps and whispers ring throughout the crowd. Anxiously you wait for Ava’s introduction. Gilbert raises his hand towards the tent’s entrance with a wide proud, jolly, smile. “... They began their trials tonight for a lost artform of Illuminator. I am proud to present to you…..” Every single head whips around to the back of the tent, eager to see the face of the new apprentice. Ava steps forwards and starts to walk down the aisle and shocked sharp gasps erupt from almost everyone’s mouth, some talk among themselves. “... My own child.... one of my oldest cubs, Ava.”
You can’t help but feel incredibly giddy inside and to try and contain your excitement. They look so dashing!! Keeping their scarf around their neck, their fur cloak is replaced with a smaller shawl, similar to Gilbert’s. They also have a small wreath-like crown made up of herbs and grass on top of their head, and gray paint also on their eyelids and partly on their bottom lip, and runs down their chin. You catch a glimpse of Una, Keavy, Shawn and Shona’s faces, all with such very mixed emotions. Shawn's eyes are bright and full of excitement, Keavy and Una are clasping their mouths in utter shock. But Shona, she looks like she can’t believe her eyes. Such sorrow and turmoil in her face. Una looks at all her older children and whispers, “Did any of you know about this?” All shake their head vigorously, but Shona can’t take her eyes off Ava as they walk down the center aisle. Ida pats Shona’s leg and they seem to snap out of their trace and she shakes her head as well.
Gilbert brings up his hand once more, making the crowd hush once again as Ava stands next to him and he switches to Rune. “... Fellow Elders. Ava wishes to present tonight’s story with me. We humbly ask for your approval.”
With a nod Gilbert cues Ava to take center stage. Expecting them to look terrified, you are happy to find that they look rather calm and confident as they place their hand right over their heart and give a shallow bow. There is a slight pause, but then Una starts to a very slow beat with her hand on the top of her thigh. Soon other elders fall into the steady beat making Ava smile, the more people start to drum, the wider their smile. You can only guess that this was some kind of approval for them to go on. Soon everyone starts to drum and clap in unison, young and old. And they quickly glance at you and Muriel. You give them a small thumbs up with a large stupid smile, and Muriel grins reassuringly.
Gilbert brings up his hand once more, mirroring Ava’s humble wide smile and the tent is quiet once again. “..... Ava has told me to ask that you should all prepare yourselves. This form of storytelling has not been seen for over a hundred years.”
Before they both start, Gilbert whispers to them. “Ya’ ready, cub?” Ava takes in a deep breath, then looks to Shona. She obviously has no idea what's going on, but despite herself, she gives her twin sister a small forced smile. She seems apprehensive, but it must feel good to see Ava in that costume up there with their father. 
Shona’s smile seems to give Ava the last bit of confidence that they needed and they finally nod sharply to their father, determination in their eyes. As Gilbert takes his spot they move towards the side and conjure their magic. Ava lowers the light of the fire behind them so that everyone can see what was happening.
As soon as the light dims, Ava casts the shadow puppets, but they do this on a completely different level than you ever can. The large tent becomes filled with the dark blue shimmery illusions, an atmospheric haze, and even smoky wisps. Soft gasps utter from the crowd, some children are frightened at first. But as soon as Gilbert starts to speak, they refocus on the story, mesmerized but the visuals.
“...Before there was the Steppe. Before there were seas dividing lands. Before creatures roamed Mother Earth. Before there was even time itself….. there were two beings that existed through space....” Ava blows on their palm and creates a small layer of smoke as their father continues. Making two human-like figures. But they looked fluid, flexible and morph their shapes. “...Here, there live two celestial beings, named Earth and Sky. The two would dance, make love, and travel through all the different realms and cosmos together, and they loved each internally…..
Earth was timid and quiet, yet very strong, sturdy, and often stubborn. When she was tested, she would quake and tremble terribly, and reminded others that she was not to be trifled with…
Sky was very patient and flexible, but also could turn at the slightest moment into a raging storm, unleashing his thunder and lightning. His moods are ever changing from dark to light.
…. One day Earth and Sky had a child together, a large bright star named Berko. They could not believe how much their love could grow as their child came into light. But as Berko grew brighter and hot, he became impatient and fiery. As he became old enough to go off by himself, he would often leave his parents behind. And shoot off alone though the cosmos, never giving much thought to his parent’s lessons. For he was much faster than Earth and Sky, and he became arrogant and believed that he knew more than the two ancient beings. One day he set out on a quest and seemed to be looking for something. When his parents asked what it was for, he would say, “It’s none of your concern!”, and shot off.
Mother Earth and Father Sky were saddened by their son’s arrogance. They had only showered him with love, affection, and tried to teach him well. But it is to be expected of such a young being. “One day. He will see, Mother.” Said Father Sky to his wife as she wept, fearing for the safety of her son.”
Berko traveled far and wide, exploring across many realms and met many strange beings. He even traveled through the abyss, a place even his parents never dared to enter. Berko was chased after by the monsters that dwell in the shadow, but he thought it was all fun and games. They hated the light he shed from his body and it even hurt their eyes. They loathed the ignorant start for his actions and swore revenge. But he did not care, nor was he afraid. “I’m too fast for those monsters anyway.”, he’s gloat. Feeling invincible, he laughed in the monster's face. He had many adventures, but still felt almost empty inside. Like something was missing. This feeling grew and grew and Berko started to feel sad and lonely, unsure what this feeling was or how to stop it. One day he met a slow and patient comet. Berko finally stopped shooting across the cosmos and gazed at her icy beauty. In that moment he had no need to search anymore, for he found his one true love, a love that he wanted like his parents had. They were complete opposites, but their attraction was unstoppable.
The two soon wed. Happy to see their son finally happy, Earth and Sky welcomed Comet. But Berko’s Mother and Father warned them. “If you two are to produce children, I fear that they will not be immortal. They will not be able to fly like we do. Nothing would keep themselves from falling into the dark abyss where terrible monsters hide. For fire and ice did not mix well.” Mother Earth said to her only child.
But once again, Berko did not care and ignored his parent’s advice, for he and Comet were young and madly in love. “We do not need your warnings, we do not need your help. I am not afraid of the monsters that lie in the dark abyss.” Said Berko as he and Comet held hands and flew off into the different realms, leaving behind Mother Earth and Father Sky...”
Gilbert does his best to not be distracted by the gorgeous shadow puppets that Ava is making. It’s clear that he is fighting back so many emotions right now and pauses for a few seconds. Ava glances back at him, and he shakes his head and presses on like the true story teller he is. 
“... Soon the Berko and Comet bore a child. Wee babe made the two celestial beings so very happy, and strengthened their love for one another. Berko started to understand what his parents meant in their lessons. “Perhaps they do understand more than I had thought.” Pondered Berko.
However the joy soon fell, it eventually became clear, like Mother Earth and Father Sky had warned, the child was mortal, had skin hair and fur over their bodies, and was unable to fly Berko and Comet. Comet constantly had to hold in her arms and she was determined to never let them go.
But unfortunately, the child grew and grew and got heavier and heavier with each passing moment. Eventually, Comet became so fatigued from carrying the child in her arms. The child was also tired of being held. They became irritated, restless, wiggled and kicked. Comet did her very best, but it wasn’t enough. She was unable to keep the child in her arms, and they fell down into the abyss. Berko and Comet dived down to catch their baby, but sadly, they were quickly gobbled up by monsters that were hiding in the darkness. Berko pulled his wife from the darkness in fear of both of their lives. The monsters showed their faces from out of the shadows, smirking evilly, very pleased that they finally got their revenge. Berko had all but forgotten his terrible actions, and pleaded with monsters to return his child. But laughed at his face, slithering and slinking away… Never to be seen again…
.... Berko and Comet were so devastated that they lost their first child. Heartbroken, lost, and terrified, the two sought help from Berko’s parents, Mother Earth and Father Sky. Berko feared that he would be rejected, the way he treated them was awful. Comet and he were so arrogant as to not heed his parents' warning. He felt like he did not deserve their love. But Mother Earth and Father Sky welcomed them both with open arms. They loved him, despite his foolishness. They too were so very heartbroken about the loss of the wee babe, this was their son’s first child. Berko and Comet became fearful and cried, for they were expecting another child. They too would be mortal and unable to fly forever.
Mother Earth and Father Sky then pondered on this dilemma. None of them could not bear to have another child lost to the abyss. Mother Earth then said to Comet and Berko, “Once the child comes, I will hold them.” She inhaled deeply and became a large sphere. “... This way, I am much bigger than your arms. I can hold thousands of children. They can even eat my plants that grow on my body. They will be safe here.”
Unconvinced, Comet shakes her head. “Yes, you are much larger and stronger than I. But what if they jump or wiggle free? You can not hold them down, Great Mother. For you will have no arms in this form.”
“But I can,” interjected Father Sky, as he became transparent and airy, covering all of his wife. “... I will wrap myself around Mother. I will hold them down. My eyes will even keep watch over them. Keep them safe.”
Berko was shocked at his parents' willingness to sacrifice so much just to help the young couple and his children. The gesture was too great and protested, consumed with such powerful guilt. “... But if you hold down our children, you both will have to stay in this realm forever. You will not be able to travel ever again.”
Father Sky hugged his son, tightly with a large smile. “Mother and I would trade our immortality for you and these children, Berko. That is what it is to be a parent.”
Comet then started to sob uncontrollably, “....But if… if we give you our children, we will not get to see them all the time…. I so wanted to watch them grow.” All four were quiet for a moment. This was true, Berko and Comet would not be able to see them and they’re lives will also be very short…. But there was no other solution. The children would perish without Mother Earth and Father Sky.
With a heavy heart, Berko and Comet eventually agreed that Great Mother Earth and Great Father Sky would take the children on as their own. Soon the day came, Berko and Comet bore twins and named them, Ainmhidh and Daonna.
Comet left them on Mother’s surface, breaking her heart, and she continued to weep for her children. In doing so, she created various bodies of water. From vast oceans, and seas, to fast moving rivers, and even small trickling streams. She cried so much, half her body was melted in the process, and water covered much of Mother Earth's body. Unknowingly in return, Comet provided nourishment for the children. They will always live through her and they will always be a part of one another.
Berko shattered himself into billions of stars to help brighten Father Sky’s body, so the children had something to look at during the night. Giving them guidance and light. Something they can look up to in wonder.
To this day, you can still see Comet and Berko. They still come and visit, you see. However, they cannot stop moving, if they will burn out they will die. Comet will sluggishly float over Father Sky’s body, leaving a trail of icy tears behind her, reluctant to leave. Berko will shoot across the horizon with his thousands of pieces at night, catching glimpses of his legacy live on in the care of Mother Earth and Father Sky.
Remember what our Great Mother and Father sacrificed for his child sake; And Remember children, what your parents would sacrifice for your future… Heed your parent’s warnings.”
Suddenly as the story ends, Ava rushes all the illusions and smoke back into the palms of their hands and they disappear. With an exhale, the fire brightens back up, filling the tent with bright light once more. The music stops, and the tent is stunned silent. Ava scans the crowd, awaiting for someone to say something, starting to become nervous.
Finally, a elder woman's voice in the back cries, “Aontaich an Soillsichear!!”, (Approve the Illuminator). As you glance back, you see that it was the elderly woman that serves the Kokhurian ale every night at dinner time. She has tears in her eyes but a large smile dances on her lips. Then another voice repeats that, then another one, then another until the entire tent fills with the same chant and people cheering on.
Ava's smile is so happy and wide, showing nearly all their teeth, and they fall to their knees, losing all of their composure. Gilbert covers his mouth with his hand and tries to hold back his tears, but is unable to control all this emotion. Pull Ava back to their feet, he wraps his arms around them and they return the embrace. Ava starts to softy sob. As they let go, they quickly straighten back up for one last moment as they both bow together and the crowd goes wild. Una, Keavy and Shawn are all crying together. Shona quickly dashes to the front, wrapping her arms around Ava, nearly knocking them over. Overcome with joy and sorrow, Shona and Ava just sob together. Shona lets go of her sister’s body, sweetly cups their face and presses her forehead to theirs as Ava holds her elbows, the gray paint running down their cheek from their eyes.
You even Muriel’s arms wrap around you and press a quick kiss on the top of your head. As you glance up, you see his eyes fighting back the tears. He was proud of Ava too. Proud of what a difference the two of you made for his cousin. it wouldn't have been possible without his help. He hadn’t known them for very long, but somehow they formed a bond. You both had.
Ava pulls out of Shona’s arms then rushes over to you and pulls you to your feet, you glance at Muriel unsure what is happening as they drag you to the front. “Wait—! What?! GAH!!” Both Gilbert and Ava lift you up off your feet by your arms and Gilbert announces, “Ava wants everyone to know… ‘This would have not been possible without this little NewComer!’.” Your body feels suddenly feverish and you just want to hide under a rock. This is too much attention. Gilbert laughter fills the tent. “Who knew that it takes being friends with my Ava is to beat them at Brùth Carachd!!” Everyone starts to burst into laughter and cheers and they finally bring you back to your feet, your face is very blanched by all this attention once again. But as you look over to Muriel he stands with the others, cheering and clapping for you too. Ava arm’s embrace your torso and their biggest hug, lifting you off your feet. Soon Una, Shawn and Keavy even joins this hug. Una even kisses your burning hot cheek.
Shona is just standing apart completely confused at all of this. Ava finally puts you back down once they realize Shona and look sheepish once again. Ida then jumps on Ava giggling and so happy for their sibling. “Ava! You’ve gotta show me how to do that!!!” She says cutely giggling and Ava is pulled away by a few enthusiastic elders, leaving you and Shona alone. In your peripheral, you can see Muriel as he becomes uneasy with her just standing there, unsure what she will do or say and he tries to gently push his way through the crowd to your rescue. Shona darts between you and Ava as she is being paraded around by Ronin, Gilbert, and Shawn singing a very merry tune once again. She shakes her head in disbelief, her eyes glassy and red from the tears. “So… so this—this… This is what you’ve two been doing together?.... You were teaching Ava… magic??” You take a step back feeling a bit uncomfortable under her piercing gaze and glancing frequently to Muriel who is still pushing through.
You still feel very tense being around her, but it does feel good for her to know the truth. “Y-...Yes. This is what I wanted to tell you before. But Ava asked me not to.”
“But, why??” Shona snaps furrowing her brow.
Preparing yourself for them to yell at you, stiffening your shoulder and hands. You swallow hard and answer. “... They were afraid of letting people down. Especially you. So we stayed quiet about it.” Shona’s eyes flutter and her lip starts to tremble and you can’t help but feel empathetic. “I—I am sorry if you’re hurt. But—You can think of it as a surprise in a way—”
Once again, you feel your lungs become breathless as arms are suddenly thrown over your shoulders. You must be dreaming. This… this isn’t happening…. You turn your head and see a dark head of hair braided long with a pink ribbon and earring tassels tickle your nose and neck. You can feel her tear drops as they pepper your neck. Shona. The person who claimed to hate your guts, is hugging you right now and has no signs of letting go.
Warm tears trickle down her face and pepper your neck. “You… you gave my Ava back their voice…”
To be continued….
FINALLY! This chapter was a bitch and a half let me tell you. We al almost done! just a few more chapters away!! YAY!!! =D
I hope you guys enjoy my hot trash! You all make it worth it! I love you all!!
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thehangeddemon · 3 years
Text
Playing with Fire || Master Maxi || March, 1958
Maximus: Maximus hesitated just outside of the office. The day's mail stacked neatly on a silver tray, newly polished. He hovered only because of Xavier's stance, awaiting to be noticed.
Xavier: Xavier was rubbing his forehead and temples in rhythmic little circles, a distinct furrow to his brow that said the universe was sorely testing him this day.
It was when he leaned back in his chair to heave a great sigh that he noticed Maximus and some of that annoyance melted away. "How long have you been standing there?" he asked with an apologetic smile.
Maximus: "Long enough to know better." Only then would he enter, lowering enough for his master to inspect the tray. An invitation, news, bills. Maximus waited quietly for inspection of each letter being speaking.
"May I ask what is troubling you, m'lord?"
Xavier: He took the mail from the tray with a nod of thanks. Bills went in the To Do pile, the news in the To Read pile, and the invitation in front of him.
"I received a call from an associate of mine in Riyadh. He handles my exports from that part of the world and a few years ago I invested in his business. Ever since, he comes to me with any and all business ideas he comes up with hoping I'll invest."
Maximus: "Not very keen, m'lord?" Given the strain around his eyes, and the massage of his temples. As much as he wanted to ask about the invitation, he refrained, placing the tray under his arm.
"Will that be all?"
Xavier: "I was, once upon a time, when the ideas actually bore fruit and effort was put into ensuring so. Now the ideas become more harebrained with every passing year, but he never presents them that way." Xavier grabbed his letter opener. "He makes each one sound more grand than the last, never wants to take no for an answer. If I were alive he'd have taken years off my life by now."
He opened the invitation, scanned it briefly. "Speaking of grand."
Maximus: Maximus wondered what sort of ideas this man had, and silently tickled at the idea of Xavier's irritation with anything so far from serious. Something rather human to stir things.
"A party, this time of year?"
Xavier: "It would appear so. An exhibition of classical art to be followed by an auction. It's being hosted by Haskell, that insufferable bon vivant we met in Los Angeles. You know the one. Old, old money banker who sold me the chandelier in the drawing room some time ago."
Maximus: He remembered. The man had leather for skin, and glasses far too thick. The way he stared, as though right through and beyond. He didn't much care for him.
"Do you wish to accept?"
Xavier: Xavier sighed and considered for a moment. Did he want to endure an entire evening listening to that dandy boast and hold court?
"Not particularly." He smiled. "But I do wish to avail myself of the contents of Haskell's wine cellar."
Maximus: "You do enjoy playing with fire at every opportunity." Bold words for eyes submissive to the ground.
Xavier: He chuckled. "It's Haskell who's playing with fire by sending this invitation. He knows damn well he squeezed me for every cent he could for that chandelier. No doubt he's hoping I'll part with several hundred more of my dollars on this little auction of his."
Maximus: "May I ask what the auction is for? Does the invitation say?"
Xavier: The invitation was consulted. "He claimed the proceeds will benefit the hospital but that is a damnable lie. The hospital will see a fraction of the proceeds, if that, and the rest will go into Haskell's pocket. How do you think he's managed to afford that ridiculous mansion?"
Maximus: This made his butler frown. "I see. Then I will not waste energy encouraging your presence."
Xavier: He grinned. "Would you like to go to Los Angeles? We can steal Haskell's wine, give a bigger donation to the hospital to spite him, and go to the pictures. There's nothing quite like going to the pictures in Hollywood."
Maximus: "In all my years, I can't recall having ever been." And his first experience would be with Xavier. He very much liked the idea, but these were duty hours, so his smile was that of poise.
"You had me at donation, m'lord."
2:54 AM] Xavier: "Excellent!" Xavier took the RSVP card out of the envelope and reached for his pen to fill it out. "Please see that this gets returned and find me the name of the lowest quality vineyard in the state."
Maximus: "Yes, m'lord." The tray was lowered for the invitation's return. He didn't expect to see the fruits of this labor. Only to hear about the fruition of his schemes, and he looked forward to such tales.
"I would like to ask your opinion on something as well, if you have a moment to spare."
Xavier: "Please, by all means." Xavier was in considerably better spirits than he'd been a few minutes ago and it showed clearly in his expression in demeanor. All the annoyance had turned to warmth and welcome, and both were directed at the beautiful man before him.
Maximus: "I apologize for not inquiring sooner, but, do you have a preference towards wild game?"
Xavier: “I don’t favor any particular type but I’ve always enjoyed venison.”
Maximus: "Very good, m'lord. Will that be all?"
Xavier: "Yes, darling, thank you. Bring me the name of that vineyard as soon as possible, preferably before the party."
Maximus: The darling caught him off guard so early in the morning. He blinked, but offered nothing of his thoughts physically. A bow of obedience, and he turned from the room. Wild game, he decided, would be served for lunch. Something elegant, of course, but unusual. It was time for a split of body. Cooking, research, and to tend the garden.
Xavier: Xavier smiled at Maximus' retreating back until he was out of sight before turning his attention to the mail. What needed reading was read, what needed paying was paid, and a letter was written to a certain associate telling him in no uncertain terms that Xavier's patience for harebrained schemes had been completely exhausted.
He gathered everything up and went to put it with the rest of the mail. And maybe look for Maximus.
Maximus: One of those he sought was in the kitchen chopping carrots and celery. The usual mise en place accompanying a French inspired dish. Another duplicate with rolled sleeves visible from the kitchen window, tending the garden pulling weeds.
The real Maximus Fairchild was in his modest office. Research, as commanded, with the phone to his ear.
Xavier: Xavier smiled as he spotted each of his butler’s shadows, not surprised to see them. When Maximus had a pressing task he always preferred to attend to it personally, like the little project Xavier had given him.
The question now was, did he watch the shadow cooking or the one gardening?
A few moments to decide and he was stepping into the kitchen.
“Hello, my dear,” he greeted, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “Would you mind some company?”
Maximus: The duplicate looked up from his scrutinized knife. Almost the same man. Absent voice, but not expression. Free by a margin to smile as though off duty.
Maximus #2 pointed to a large bowl by the long sink. A skinned hare, fresh from market before Xavier opened his eyes that morning.
Xavier: “Such a beautiful smile,” he said, barely resisting the urge to kiss it before walking over to the sink.
“Ah, this explains the question about wild game. It appears we’re to have a very excellent lunch indeed.”
Maximus: Still as modest as the original. This Maximus paused, basked a moment in praise before pushing it aside with scolding eyes.
Xavier: Xavier laughed softly. “I’ll behave, you have my word. I’m simply here to observe. You’re miles more alluring than anything I have on my desk.”
Maximus: Even a mimicry with base faculties was enough of a truth to bristle at such flattery. He pointed in the direction of the office.
Xavier: “Very well, I’ll leave you to your work.” Beautiful shadow of my beautiful Maximus.
He tamped down another urge, this time to brush his lips against the shadow’s cheek, and went to knock on Maximus’ door.
1:10 PM] Maximus: The office was modest, despite encouragement of his master. Decorated with a framed original photograph of the estate on the east wall, and a portrait of a mother and child found in the attic on the east. Nothing personal. Despite budding intimacy, doubt lingered whether or not a Fairchild or Berti might be neatly displayed in the upcoming months, years.
Maximus looked up from a simple brown book, telephone handset returned as he stood.
"Yes, m'lord?"
Xavier: Xavier leaned against the doorframe and smiled softly. At Maximus, at the simple decor, at the phone and the book.
What he wanted to say was, we’ve been apart for an hour and I missed you. I feel...needy for your company today and I’m not quite sure why. I want you to set work aside for the day and come sit in my lap where I can kiss and hold you. I want you to smile at me, talk to me in your soft, gentle way. I want to see the blush on your cheeks when I compliment you. I want you to ask me for the moon and I want to get it for you. I want you to feel needy for me, too.
What he said was, “How is your search coming?”
Maximus: His butler could only decipher so much, but that long stare did something to his insides. The room was suddenly too warm.
"The list is nearly complete. Two more calls to make. A budding vineyard to the south gave interest to inquiry. I thought it might be worth your investment, or ill-considered to neglect informing you."
Xavier: He nodded, and tramped down his third urge in as many minutes. “That was good thought. A budding vineyard might be exactly what I’m looking for, or a worthy investment as you said.” Another nod. “Excellent work, thank you. I’ll leave you to it.”
Maximus: Where Maximus should have bowed his head and returned to his seat, he lingered.
"Is there something else I might do for you? Or... one of them?"
Xavier: Xavier shook his head. “No, thank you, I’m...I’m fine. I might take a short drive before lunch.”
Maximus: "As you so often remind me, I am more than your servant. I am your assistant. Allow me to be concerned for a moment, and serve you as my choosing."
Xavier: Maximus was offered another smile. “I’ll allow you, and I appreciate your concern. I suppose I’m simply in a restless mood this morning.”
Maximus: "Perhaps, instead of a drive... a walk?"
Xavier: “Perhaps that’s a better idea. Would you—?”
Maximus: "I would love to accompany you."
Xavier: He offered his arm. “Around the garden?”
Maximus: "I am off duty in the meantime?"
Xavier: Xavier nodded. “Yes. For the walk, and perhaps to join me for lunch?”
Maximus: Such proposal prevented the removal of his watch. Lunch was nowhere near finished; neither were monotonous chores worthy of his duplicates. His hand came away from his wrist.
"Delighted." His first undressed smile of the day.
Xavier: That smile made him feel like a drowning man being given breath again.
He returned it in kind. “Marvelous. Come, let’s get some fresh air.”
Maximus: Papers were quickly straightened. Pen used as a bookmark for the phone book and set aside. Off duty, he told himself. His own idea, he repeated. He didn't know what to do with his hands. A coat? Loosen his tie? Nothing seemed more appropriate than consistency.
"Just the garden?"
Xavier: “The garden, the grounds. Perhaps the woods. We’ll see where our feet carry us. It’s a lovely day; we ought to enjoy as much of it as we can.”
Maximus: Seemed fanciful, but as he'd come to learn, not so unlike this young demon.
No coat, only a change of shoes before holding the door. Some standards would not shake. The garden had expanded since winter. Herbs dominated much of the landscape leading to the house. Roses and shrubs lining the walk towards the various statues. Tomatoes and other less visually stimulating like were out of sight by design.
"If I were to ask you to spill your thoughts, would you?"
Xavier: It was as proper as an English garden could be. Tea roses, winding paths, statues, vegetables, a fountain. It was what the manor deserved after so many years of neglect.
“Just now I’m thinking what a beautiful job you’ve done out here.”
Maximus: Not what he'd expected, but he would take it. "These were your choices." For the most part. The flowers, with the exception of tenderly minded magnolias.
Xavier: "And you took those selections and created a garden worthy of the estate it surrounds. You should be very proud, Maximus."
Maximus: "That's the word I'm looking for," he smiled. "I'd like to hear more of your thoughts, if you'd allow me."
Xavier: "I'm also wondering how long it will take Haskell to realize his wine collection is worthless after I replace all the wine with whatever vineyard is chosen for the deception."
Maximus: "Rather than leaving his stock barren, your sense of humor is to replace with inferior. As you do artistic masterpieces."
Xavier: Xavier grinned. "Indeed. And like with artistic masterpieces, they will receive a better home and proper appreciation. Haskell, on the other hand, will be humiliated in front of those whose coattails he seeks to ride and will have an absolute conniption thinking he essentially tossed thousands of dollars down a hole."
Maximus: Is he really deserving of such punishment, he thought. He felt it best not to ask. Despite the careful distance their relationship had crossed, Xavier was still master. Trust was a fickle creature. It was of little concern; he didn't actually care.
"You spoke to my copies again today."
Xavier: This particular punishment was merely intended to knock Howard Haskell down a few pegs and back to where he rightfully belonged. There was nothing Xavier hated so much as hubris that hadn't been earned.
He nodded, smile still in place. "I did, yes. I always speak to them when I see them."
Maximus: "I'm not sure I understand your reasoning. They offer little." They were tools, nothing more in his belief, which made Xavier's insistence fascinating and confounding.
Xavier: "They offer more than meets the eye." More than once, talking to Maximus' shadows offered the chance to see that beautiful smile without a hint of reservation.
Maximus: He saw each and every one-sided conversation. With every broken spell, each memory of his duplicates became his own. What was once used as a torment, now became a source of entertainment.
"You could always speak to me, if you need an ear."
Xavier: His smile gentled. "Thank you," he said softly. "I sincerely appreciate it. I don't often find myself having that need, but when I do...thank you, Maximus. For the offer and...for walking with me."
Maximus: "It's less out of obligation than you might think."
Xavier: "At the risk of flattering myself, I don't think it's out of obligation at all."
Maximus: "You've taken a great risk. Haskell would be impressed."
Xavier: Xavier chuckled. "Haskell's risks aren't really risks. They're calculated to appear that way."
Maximus: "Yours are true?"
Xavier: He nodded. "There was a very good chance coming with me and lending me an ear was due to a sense of obligation."
Maximus: "We still walk that fine line of mystery."
Xavier: “We do indeed. And I take great risks and hope for the best.”
Maximus: "You risk believing there is no risk," he smiled.
Xavier: “Oh believe me, I could never. It’s always very present in my mind.”
Maximus: He wanted an elaboration, but would not ask.
"Are you feeling better now?"
Xavier: “Much better, yes. You’re a very great help.”
Maximus: "You're very generous as usual, Xavier."
Xavier: Hearing his name from Maximus’ lips brought a rush of such affection it was a wonder he didn’t pull the man into his arms without a second thought.
“It’s sincere. Talking to you makes my mind feel quieter, more calm.”
Maximus: "I'm...honored." But what he wanted to ask was why, and how, as he felt he offered nothing significant.
Xavier: Xavier turned to study his companion for a moment. “May I be so bold as to say you’re also...curious?”
Maximus: "I'm curious?"
1:57 AM] Xavier: “About why you calm my mind. It feels as though you want to ask me something.”
Maximus: You cannot read my mind, he reminded himself. "I have a readable face." This much was honest.
Xavier: “You do, but it’s more than that. We have a bond. We’re...in tune with each other.”
Maximus: "You think so?"
Xavier: “I do. I can feel it when I’m near you and when we’re apart, when we’re speaking or sitting in silence.”
Maximus: "That's perhaps the bond of servitude." A jest, but his smile was meek. One might regard as shy.
Xavier: Xavier simply returned the smile and offered Maximus his hand. It was fine if he didn’t take it; but Xavier felt the need to offer it.
Maximus: The hand was given a second of regard before taking. Not because this was his master, but because he wanted to. He wondered if Xavier truly understood.
Xavier: Perhaps Xavier could never fully understand, but he understood that this was a man who was rightfully cautious, who'd been hurt in unimaginable ways, and still accepted his hand.
He brought it to his lips and placed a delicate kiss on Maximus' knuckles.
Maximus: Maximus watched against his will. This was his hand being lovingly cared for, and those were Xavier's lips. There was no greater affection, and after months of such treatment, he was sure more than anything else that Xavier knew.
"It...smells like wood polish. Forgive me."
Xavier: “The wood polish you use smells like lemons. I’ve nothing to forgive.” He offered another kiss, this time to Maximus’ palm.
Maximus: Air demanded to leave his lungs in one warm escape. The emptiness felt at the bottom of his ribs made him feel more alive. Pain often did in the most unpleasant times, but in the moment, only made him more aware of Xavier's presence.
"How far shall we walk?"
Xavier: He was starting to get a decent gauge of the reverence and meaning this sort of affection had for Maximus. All the more reason for Xavier to offer as much as possible, when possible. "Perhaps to the edge of the estate and back? I was thinking that perhaps you'd like to have lunch in the garden. It really is a lovely day, it'd be a shame not to enjoy it as much as we can."
Maximus: Xavier was a painting. Spoke like a gentleman, poised, tailored like a gentleman, but months together he began to see the forgery. What was beneath was less impressionist and more abstract. At the moment it was lovely.
"Would stewed hare be inappropriate for a garden lunch? I'll see to an alteration. Something lighter."
Xavier: "We rule all that we survey, my dear." He smiled. "We get to decide what is appropriate. And from what preparations I could see in the kitchen, I'm very much looking forward to that stewed hare."
Maximus: "It is an hour until lunch. To the edge of the property and back?"
Xavier: Xavier nodded. "To the edge and back. Tell me, do you think there's a good spot for some sort of garden folly or a gazebo?"
Maximus: "Certainly. This small clearing here," he pointed where the sun intended to set, just shy of the woods. "It's away from the house, but not far from the garden. Leaves the expanse of the lawn to admire, without having to see the driveway."
Xavier: Xavier considered for a moment and nodded. "You're right," he said with a smile. "That's the perfect place for it. Although looking at it, a folly seems like a much better use of the space than a gazebo. Something that wisteria or perhaps star jasmine can climb."
Maximus: "I think jasmine is an excellent idea. I'll begin the necessary arrangements. There, you think?" He pointed to where the garden ended shy of the woods, a corner of sorts. Even still, despite the calm, he sometimes had to correct his speech. No 'm'lord' here. He wondered if he would ever accept Xavier's supposed intention.
Xavier: “Let’s get a closer look.”
Xavier led Maximus over to the spot, walking around and picturing the potential structure and how it would look from the windows.
“Yes, this is the perfect place. Stone and wrought iron, I think, something very intricate. I trust you to find the perfect craftspeople.”
Maximus: "You're certain of iron?"
Xavier: “I rather like the idea of the sun casting filigreed shadows on the stone beneath. Do you have another material in mind?”
Maximus: "I don't want you to burn yourself. If perhaps it were painted?"
Xavier: "Ah, yes, you're right. For both our sakes, we shall have the iron painted black."
Maximus: "Are you efficient with drawing? Something I could show a contractor."
Xavier: “Efficient enough to give a contractor a decent idea of what I’m looking for. I might have to peruse my library for some inspiration.”
Maximus: "Very good." M'lord. "Something that will feel as timeless as the estate itself. Perhaps a winding stone walkway?"
Xavier: “I do like the idea of a walkway leading up to the structure. Perhaps with ornamental plants surrounding it.”
Maximus: "I'll see to it as well."
Xavier: “What would you like to plant along the path?”
Maximus: Maximus looked up, considering the shade. "I'm no expert on the subject, but, I believe leaving color to the garden here," he pointed back, "leaves less competition for the eye. Ferns, or something equally lush. The very least, creeping thyme."
Xavier: "Some ferns would look rather nice. The thyme as well. We shall see which one suits better when we choose the stone for the walkway." He thought for a moment. "If memory serves, there's an excellent stone mason in Los Angeles."
Maximus: Maximus frowned but nodded. Eyes thoughtful. "If I may be so bold, I find myself confused every instance it seems my opinions are valued."
Xavier: Xavier offered a smile. “Is it still so foreign after we’ve set this house to rights together?”
Maximus: "I've been made to do many things by various masters, but never trusted with an estate."
Xavier: “I trust you implicitly with this estate, Maximus. Not to mention my meals and my wardrobe.”
Maximus: "I couldn't poison your food if I wanted to," he smiled.
Xavier: “With your cooking? It’d be worth it.”
Maximus: "Your praise borders on cloying, Master Xavier."
Xavier: He chuckled. “I’d apologize if I didn’t think very highly of your cooking. And you know I’m a man who appreciates good food.”
Maximus: "I don't expect apologies when your words hold meaning to you."
Xavier: "They do." He found himself kissing Maximus' hand again. "I sincerely appreciate and value your opinions. Your input is something I treasure."
Maximus: Their pace slowed as Xavier indulged himself. Moments like this, words were too elusive to pluck from the air. Just emotion. Enticed by self-imposed mystery, but stayed by caution. Rarely was something hidden behind his eyes, but Maximus expected something. He would be foolish not to.
Flowery words, he told himself. Flattery from a charming demon. He should have been made at the crossroads.
"I'm honored."
Xavier: Perhaps he would be foolish not to, but the only thing behind Xavier's eyes was affection. Sincere, abiding affection.
"And I'm honored that you feel comfortable enough to give your input, even if it confuses you when it's taken to heart."
Maximus: He didn't want to spoil things by saying refusal was smaller than a crawlspace. Instead, he smiled, content to his silence and what his expression could offer.
Xavier: As staying on this subject would only serve to make Maximus uncomfortable, Xavier chose to move on for now.
"This is going to look lovely when it's finished. As will the road to the house when the wildflowers bloom."
Maximus: "You're in favor of a manicured lawn, or would you be interested in ground cover flowers?"
Xavier: "I'm in favor of both, though both have their place. I quite like the lawn surrounding the estate but lawn looks out of place on the roadside."
Maximus: "Very French," he smiled. "I agree, both have their place. I'm in favor of the backyard being as lush as we intend."
Xavier: “It will be when we’re done with it, we’ll put Versailles to shame. I rather like the idea of having a couple more statutes as well.”
Maximus: "There is enough space for a hedge maze as well, if your desire is a statement."
Xavier: “It’s tempting,” he chuckled. “But the sight of the woods beyond the garden is impossible to give up. Although some hedges would look nice bordering the drive.”
Maximus: "We could begin the drive with an iron gate, line the drive with hedges or perhaps roses. Something to withstand the drastic seasons."
Xavier: Xavier pictured the final result and smiled. “Perfect. This estate will be grand in every sense of the phrase.”
Maximus: "And when... we have finished, do you intend to throw a grand party celebrating your success?"
Xavier: "This wouldn't be much of a sanctuary if I did that. Perhaps we could have Massimo and his family for dinner. I only trust him with the location of this house."
Maximus: This surprised his servant, studying his profile as they slowly walked, curious what in particular made this home a sanctuary. What was intended for this house.
"I see. Something in New York, perhaps. You should celebrate your achievement."
Xavier: Xavier smiled. “A more private celebration seems more appealing, although perhaps that’s the hermit in me. I always manage to wander off on my own at parties.”
Maximus: "More business deals, wine and beautiful people."
Xavier: You’re the only beautiful people I need, Xavier thought to himself.
“Deals aren’t quite enticing enough for a celebration. Are you opposed to a small dinner party with Massimo’s family?”
Maximus: "I will serve whomever you choose to bring," Maximus said, watching the woods towards the abandoned house.
Xavier: "Perhaps we can also invite my staff at the warehouse. Everyone has been thoroughly vetted and I trust them all. They're good people."
Maximus: "If they can make the travel," he felt the need to point out.
Xavier: “Easily taken care of. I can make travel arrangements for them.”
Maximus: "Very elaborate. I believe my spell will be in order."
Xavier: "Or, there is an alternative."
9:22 PM] Maximus: Maximus slowed and studied the man by his side, curious but unwilling to guess.
Xavier: “We could hire waitstaff for the evening, which would allow you to enjoy the celebration freely.”
Maximus: "Would that not be seen as inappropriate of your assistant to dine as equal?"
Xavier: “Massimo is incredibly fond of you and my employees wouldn’t dare cause such offense.”
Maximus: "I don't believe they would dare such disrespect to you in person, but perhaps it is not in good taste." He watched Xavier a moment. "If I may be so bold to speak my mind this way."
Xavier: Xavier smiled. "Of course you may. And if you truly do not wish to attend a celebration as a guest, you don't have to. I only ask that if you decide against it, it be because you truly wish to attend in your capacity as butler."
Maximus: "I think it's the most appropriate road in which to walk... in public." Their relationship was still so young. Still too soon to openly reveal anything more than professionalism. It was safe.
Xavier: "As you wish, my dear." It didn't feel right to take sole credit for the complete transformation of the estate, but it would feel worse to push Maximus in a way he wasn't ready for.
"It will be a small celebration but grand nonetheless."
Maximus: Finally, he could breathe. For a moment he was concerned, but Xavier's response was as consistent as day one.
"I look forward to assisting in its assembly."
Xavier: "You'll be instrumental in its success. That being said, would you like me to hire waitstaff to assist you for the evening?"
Maximus: "Hire, or borrow from another?"
Xavier: "Hire and thoroughly vet."
Maximus: "By your will. Eight hands are better than six."
Xavier: "Anything at all you need when the time comes, please ask. No expense will be spared."
Maximus: "I wouldn't insult your celebration by offering cheap wine," he smiled.
Xavier: "You couldn't insult my celebration, full stop. Outwardly it might be mine, but privately, it's ours."
Maximus: "That's very kind," said Maximus. He would have worried for repeating himself if not for being so relaxed. Too eased, his equals might argue.
Silence would be sensible for several meters.
Xavier: Xavier didn't mind the silence. During his time with Maximus, he'd come to recognize the different types he affected at different moments. Some silences were companionable, some filled with work and distractions, and others, like this one, affected when there was a fear that too much had been shared. Not always in words, but in manner.
It almost came as a surprise when they reached the edge of the property. Xavier hadn't realized he'd been lost in thought. "Ready to head back, darling?"
Maximus: Seemed the moment had passed. For now. He wouldn't linger on what he had felt and why. Not here in his master's presence.
"I will see to lunch, prep for dining outside, if the idea still appeals."
Xavier: "It does," he said with a nod, sighing contentedly. "I shall go down to the cellar and select a good wine to accompany our meal. All game requires a fine wine."
Maximus: He would dare offer a suggestion. "A bold red, perhaps?"
Xavier: Xavier beamed in approval. "Precisely what I was thinking. We shall lunch like royalty today, my dear."
Maximus: "If there is anything one of my shadows can assist you with, please. You will be quite bored observing my assemblage of lunch."
Xavier: "Actually, now that we're going to be coming into a great deal of wine, some reorganization of the cellar is in order. I'd like to see how much spare room we have."
Maximus: "It is one of the last areas of the house left virtually untouched." He wanted to be there to assist, but preparing the table outside yielded a more intimate future.
Xavier: "And a significant project because of it. I will take one of your shadows down to get a proper lay of the land and we shall discuss over lunch."
Maximus: I shall see you then, he thought, offering nothing more in response than a gentle smile.
Xavier: Xavier was going to take that smile as approval of the plan, and give one in return.
“Very well, my dear. I’ll be down in the cellar. May I kiss your hand again, before you return to duty?”
Maximus: "Am I to return to duty before lunch?" Asked carefully. A timid offering of what could be.
Xavier: He had put forth a great deal of effort to keep his face from smiling too excitedly. Such a careful question could only be met with gentleness.
“I think not,” Xavier murmured. “After lunch will be quite soon enough.”
Maximus: His smile was not quite what Xavier felt. Bedded down as forcefully as Xavier's efforts. "As you wish."
Xavier: “In that case...” He turned to fully face Maximus. “May I kiss you, darling?”
Maximus: He dared look his master in the eyes. There was no harm here. Those eyes, as they had always been, were a safe place.
"You may," said softly.
Xavier: Those eyes were brimming with affection as Xavier gently cradled Maxmius’ face and leaned in to kiss him like he’d wanted to do all day. Feeling and tasting this beautiful man was like satisfying a craving.
Maximus: Every kiss felt the same. Something less than fear and more than elation. Trust deserved but fragile. His lips felt impossibly warm, and he welcomed them with an inaudible sigh. His hands didn't know what to do, other than remain useless at his sides.
Xavier: Xavier could only hope that the day would come when Maximus felt comfortable enough to reach for him, to touch him as much and as long as he wanted without a second thought. He could only hope that someday Maximus would feel comfortable enough to do a lot of things.
Until then Xavier was more than happy to take the lead. They were dancing the world's gentlest, most deliberate waltz, each move fraught with meaning. Each kiss he was allowed was treasured. He took only a little bit at a time, savoring before coming back for more. Never pushing, never demanding.
"Beautiful," he whispered, caressing Maximus' face.
Maximus: Like a dream he was sure wakefulness would steal with cold hateful hands. He was certain this was false. Not any moment, but someday. For now he could lean into the strength of Xavier's stance and welcome his warm merciful hands. Offer a deepening of his affections as his master-in-name caressed his pale face. Reach timidly to place his hand over Xavier's in solidarity.
Xavier: There had been moments when they first began this delicate relationship where Xavier had wondered if he had the strength of will to be gentle, to tamp down his desires and keep from take, take, taking. But he'd soon discovered that when it came to Maximus Fairchild, being gentle was the easiest thing in the world. It came as easy as breathing, and Xavier had slowly begun to realize that the only thing he had to tamp down was the urge to bombard Maximus with his affection a thousand times a day.
He had his moments, of course, he was only human--or had been at one point. But this here? That little touch, the subtle deepening of a kiss? Fuck, it was what he lived for.
Beautiful, he thought again, letting himself stretch the kiss a few more long, lingering moments before regrettably pulling away.
Maximus: Parting had become a bittersweet endeavor. He realized in this moment, taking a step back from Xavier's handsome figure, that their relationship was akin to an arranged marriage, more than that of master and slave. He would rather believe that than the truth. Wondered if in some measure Xavier felt the same. A fantasy which would live in his head as comfort, until the day it would no longer provide sustenance.
"A shadow will be with you shortly."
Xavier: He had to allow himself one final stroke of Maximus' cheek. Just a single one to sustain him until they sat down to eat.
"Very well," he said softly, smiling as he let his hands fall away. "I'll await them down in the cellar." And select one of his best bottles for their meal.
With that fond smile still lighting his face, Xavier started back toward the house.
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pearlposts · 3 years
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The Best of Soft Rock: More Than A Feeling
 SONG TITLE                                ARTIST       TIME
Lowdown                                     Boz Scaggs    5:18
Whenever I Call You “Friend”  Kenny Loggins    3:18
Piano Man                                    Billy Joel         5:40
Longer                                     Dan Fogelberg    3:18
Miracles                                Jefferson Starship  3:33
Lost in Love                              Air Supply          3:55
More Than I Can Say              Leo Sayer            3:39
Rosanna                                         Toto              4:03
More Than a Feeling                  Boston              3:26
Take It on the Run               REO Speedwagon  3:37
Make Me Lose Control           Eric Carmen         4:48
Total Eclipse of the Heart       Bonnie Tyler         5:35
Living Inside Myself              Gino Vannelli          4:25
The Flame                            Cheap Trick            4:50
Sara                                        Starship               4:23
SONG TITLE                                  ARTIST                   TIME
Livin’ Thing                         Electric Light Orchestra        3:34
This Is It                                   Kenny Loggins                 3:59
Africa                                                Toto                          4:59
Eye In The Sky                      Alan Parsons Project          4:35
Look What You’ve Done to Me       Boz Scaggs                5:18
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling Daryl Hall & John Oates  4:36
All Out Of Love                              Air Supply                    4:03
Can’t Fight This Feeling           REO Speedwagon            4:55
The Search Is Over                        Survivor                       4:14
All by Myself                               Eric Carmen                    7:11
Without You                               Harry Nilsson                   3:21
Year of the Cat                           Al Stewart                        6:38
Dust in the Wind                         Kansas                            3:27
Vincent                                    Don McLean                       4:01
Please Come to Boston         David Loggins                     4:09
SONG TITLE                                    ARTIST                                  TIME
Baby I’m-a Want You                           Bread                                   2:32
A Horse with No Name                       America                                 4:09
Diamond Girl                                    Seals & Crofts                          4:04
I Saw the Light                                 Todd Rundgren                         3:01
Blinded by the Light                Manfred Mann's Earth Band              3:51
It Might Be You                               Stephen Bishop                          4:14
She’s Gone/Sara Smile/Rich Girl        Hall & Oates                           3:29
Minute By Minute                         The Doobie Brothers                     3:28
Sentimental Lady                                Bob Welch                              3:46
How Much I Feel                                 Ambrosia                                 4:44
Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime The Korgis                               4:12
If You Leave Me Now                          Chicago                                   3:57
Sailing                                        Christopher Cross                             4:17
Waiting For A Girl Like You             Foreigner                                     4:52
Against All Odds                            Phil Collins                                    3:25
SONG TITLE                                    ARTIST                                              TIME
Ride Like the Wind                        Christopher Cross                                  4:32
Saturday in the Park                          Chicago                                              3:57
Sister Golden Hair                              America                                              3:20
You’re So Vain                                Carly Simon                                            4:18
If                                                          Bread                                                  2:35
Ooh Baby Baby                              Linda Ronstadt                                        2:42
Him                                                Rupert Holmes                                         3:40
You Are the Woman                         Firefall                                                    2:45
All I Need                                       Jack Wagner                                             3:32
Walking In Memphis                       Marc Cohn                                                4:19
Making Love Out Of Nothing At All  Air Supply                                                5:01
I Want to Know What Love Is        Foreigner                                                   5:00
The Living Years                    Mike + the Mechanics                                       5:33
Drive                                               The Cars                                                   3:57
One More Night                           Phil Collins                                                   4:48
I’ll Be There                             The Escape Club                                             4:57
SONG TITLE                                                     ARTIST                                TIME
Summer Breeze                                           Seals & Crofts                             3:26
Key Largo                                                     Bertie Higgins                             3:19
Make It with You                                                 Bread                                    3:12
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?     Chicago                               3:22
Dream Weaver                                           Gary Wright                                  4:18
Hello It’s Me                                            Todd Rundgren                                3:52
Sara Smile                                      Daryl Hall and John Oates                       3:12
Chuck E.’s In Love                             Rickie Lee Jones                                  3:28
Black Water                                  The Doobie Brothers                                 4:16
Still the One                                             Orleans                                           3:56
Hurt So Bad                                      Linda Ronstadt                                      3:18
Cool Change                                  Little River Band                                      4:08
Biggest Part Of Me                            Ambrosia                                              5:27
Never Be the Same                    Christopher Cross                                       4:41
You Can Do Magic                           America                                                 3:57
SONG TITLE                                    ARTIST                                                TIME
The Guitar Man                                 Bread                                                   3:45
Tin Man                                           America                                                  3:27
Wildfire                               Michael Martin Murphey                          ��          4:50
25 or 6 to 4                                  Chicago                                                     4:52
Lotta Love                               Nicolette Larson                                             2:43
What a Fool Believes         The Doobie Brothers                                          2:27
Steal Away                              Robbie Dupree                                              3:31
You’re the Only Woman              Ambrosia                                                   4:22
Sexy Eyes                                Dr. Hook                                                       3:00
Kiss You All Over                       Exile                                                           3:30
Even the Nights Are Better   Air Supply                                                       3:59
Arthur’s Theme                  Christopher Cross                                             3:55
Dance with Me                       Orleans                                                         3:21
Beautiful in My Eyes            Joshua Kadison                                              4:10
Black Velvet                        Alannah Myles                                                 4:48
SONG TITLE                        ARTIST                                                         TIME
California Dreamin’      The Mamas & The Papas                                       2:54
Kokomo                        The Beach Boys                                                     3:36
Ventura Highway             America                                                               3:32
Listen to the Music      The Doobie Brothers                                               3:27
I Can See Clearly Now     Johnny Nash                                                     2:43
It Never Rains in Southern California  Albert Hammond                             3:38
Thank You For Being A Friend            Andrew Gold                                   4:45
Everything I Own                                    Bread                                           3:07
When Will I Be Loved                     Linda Ronstadt                                     2:10
I Keep Forgettin’                         Michael McDonald                                    3:41
Baby Come Back                               Player                                                2:16
Circle in the Sand                       Belinda Carlisle                                         4:27
Hold On                                     Wilson Phillips                                            3:41
I’ll Be Over You                              Toto                                                        3:50
Just the Way It Is, Baby          The Rembrandts                                           4:09
 SONG TITLE                            ARTIST                                                     TIME
We Don’t Talk Anymore       Cliff Richard                                                      4:13
Baker Street                       Gerry Rafferty                                                     2:13
When Your in Love with a Beautiful Woman  Dr. Hook                                  2:56
Fool (If You Think It’s Over)       Chris Rea                                                     3:33
You’re No Good                     Linda Ronstadt                                                 3:46
Reminiscing                        Little River Band                                                 3:17
The Air That I Breathe           The Hollies                                                       4:12
Sad Eyes                            Robert John                                                        1:55
I Go Crazy                          Paul Davis                                                           5:23
Hearts                                Marty Balin                                                           4:19
These Dreams                     Heart                                                                  4:17
Jessie                           Joshua Kadison                                                         4:22
Release Me                   Wilson Phillips                                                          3:54
The Doctor                 The Doobie Brothers                                                    3:45
SONG TITLE                    ARTIST                                                               TIME
Maggie May                Rod Stewart                                                               5:15
Higher and Higher      Rita Coolidge                                                             4:01
Whatcha Gonna Do?  Pablo Cruise                                                              4:15
I’m in You                   Peter Frampton                                                           4:11
Drift Away                     Dobie Gray                                                              3:56
More Love                   Kim Carnes                                                               3:37
Babe                             Styx                                                                         4:01
Into The Night        Benny Mardones                                                            4:31
It’s a Heartache       Bonnie Tyler                                                                 3:45
While You See a Chance   Steve Winwood                                                 4:06
Show Me the Way       Peter Frampton                                                        2:30
Fooled Around and Fell in Love    Elvin Bishop                                           4:37
Lonesome Loser           Little River Band                                                     3:54
I’m Not in Love                10 CC                                                                    6:07
I Just Wanna Stop         Gino Vannelli                                                           3:37
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Daniel                          Elton John                                                                3:53
I Need You                   America                                                                    3:07
I Can Dream About You    Dan Hartman                                                       4:11
Escape                      Rupert Holmes                                                            3:54
I’d Really Love to See You Tonight  England Dan & John Ford Coley          2:38
On and On                 Stephen Bishop                                                          3:01
Tempted                        Squeeze                                                                  4:01
The Things We Do For Love   10 CC                                                           3:31
The Best of Times           Styx                                                                      4:18
Cry                       Godley and Creme                                                          3:55
Your Wildest Dreams   The Moody Blues                                                    4:51
Higher Love                 Steve Winwood                                                       5:46
More Than Words           Extreme                                                               5:36
I’d Do Anything for Love    Meat Loaf                                                          5:17
Do You Feel Like We Do      Peter Frampton                                              7:20
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So In to You             Atlanta Rhythm Section                                             4:23
Fly, Robin, Fly           Silver Connection                                                     3:50
Sentimental Lady        Bob Welch                                                              3:46
Show And Tell             Al Wilson                                                                 3:29
Wild Flower             The New Birth                                                             3:59
Delta Dawn             Helen Reddy                                                               3:09
American Pie          Don McLean                                                                8:35
Rock Me Gently      Andy Kim                                                                     3:29
Go All The Way      The Raspberries                                                          3:22
Mr. Big Stuff            Jean Knight                                                                 2:49
Oh Babe, What Would You Say     Hurricane Smith                                   3:26
Hooked On A Feeling     Blue Swede                                                         2:53
 Having My Baby           Paul Anka                                                             2:33
Last Song                     Edward Bear                                                          3:13
The Streak                   Ray Stevens                                                           3:18
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Rhinestone Cowboy   Glen Campbell                                                         3:16
Too Late To Turn Back Now  Cornelius Brothers And Sister Rose             3:20
Boogie Fever             The Sylvers                                                              3:30
Reminiscing            Little River Band                                                         3:17
I Just Want To Celebrate    Rare Earth                                                      2:54
One Bad Apple           The Osmonds                                                         2:43
Have You Never Been Mellow   Olivia Newton-John                                 3:33
Magic                            Pilot                                                                      3:05
Boogie Oogie Oogie     A Taste of Honey                                                  3:38
Right Back Where We Started From   Maxine Nightingale                        3:15
Sad Eyes                        Robert John                                                        1:55
Gonna Fly Now                Bill Conti                                                            2:48
My Sharona                  The Knack                                                            4:02
You Sexy Thing          Hot Chocolate                                                        4:05
Puppy Love               Donny Osmond                                                       3:06
SONG TITLE                 ARTIST                                                              TIME
Love Train                  The O'Jays                                                              2:58
Knock Three Times     Dawn                                                                      2:55
Brandy                    Looking Glass                                                             3:04
Little Willy                  Sweet                                                                       3:12
Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me    Mac Davis                                              3:06
Take Me Home, Country Roads    John Denver                                         3:13
It Never Rains in Southern California   Albert Hammond                           3:38
Brand New Key                Melanie                                                              2:26
Come and Get Your Love       Redbone                                                      3:32
More. More, More (Part 1)      Andrea True Connection                              3:02
I Can See Clearly Now         Johnny Nash                                                  2:43
Everybody Plays the Fool     The Main Ingredient                                       3:22
Indian Reservation             Paul Revere & The Raiders                              2:52
The Cover of “Rolling Stone”   Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show                2:55
When Will I See You Again      The Three Degrees                                     3:00
SONG TITLE                           ARTIST                                                      TIME
Rich Girl                    Daryl Hall and John Oates                                        2:23
Lady Marmalade                    LaBelle                                                         3:21
Best of My Love              The Emotions                                                      3:41
Fire                             The Pointer Sisters                                                  3:28
Miracles                        Jefferson Starship                                                 3:33
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing    Leo Sayer                                            2:51
Here You Come Again         Dolly Parton                                                   2:58
Disco Lady                        Johnnie Taylor                                                  4:25
Saturday Night                Bay City Rollers                                                  2:56
Rock On                           David Essex                                                      3:26
Wildfire                  Michael Martin Murphey                                              4:50
You Take My Breath Away   Rex Smith                                                    3:15
I Go Crazy                      Paul Davis                                                         5:23
Stumblin’ In        Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman                                      3:31
Torn Between Two Lovers    Mary MacGregor                                         3:44
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Bad, Bad Leroy Brown     Jim Croce                                                         3:00
Don’t Pull Your Love     Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds                          2:41
Love Will Keep Us Together  Captain and Tennille with Neil Sedaka        3:24
Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song  B.J. Thomas             3:22
She’s A Lady                 Tom Jones                                                           2:51
How Do You Do?       Mouth & MacNeal                                                   4:07
Black and White        Three Dog Night                                                      3:51
Escape                      Rupert Holmes                                                        3:54
Drift Away                 Dobie Gray                                                              3:56
It’s a Love Beat     The DeFranco Family                                                 3:09
I’m in You               Peter Frampton                                                          4:11
The Candy Man     Sammy Davis, Jr.                                                      3:10
Spiders & Snakes   Jim Stafford                                                              3:05
Billy, Don’t Be A Hero  Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods                       3:40
The Morning After     Maureen McGovern                                                2:20
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Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves          Cher                                               2:36
Maggie May                                Rod Stewart                                         5:15
Baby Come Back                            Player                                              2:16
I Just Wanna Stop                   Gino Vannelli                                           3:37
Jackie Blue                 Ozark Mountain Daredevils                                  3:37
Higher And Higher               Rita Coolidge                                              4:01
I’m Not in Love                           10 CC                                                   6:07
Y.M.C.A.                               Village People                                            3:45
Will It Go Round in Circles     Billy Preston                                              3:46
I Just Want to Be Your Everything   Andy Gibb                                        3:44
Do You Wanna Make Love        Peter McCann                                        4:01
Signs                            Five Man Electrical Band                                    4:02
Disco Duck                              Rick Dees                                                3:14
Montego Bay                       Bobby Bloom                                               2:55
If I Can’t Have You            Yvonne Elliman                                              3:00
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Play That Funky Music      Wild Cherry                                                    3:16
One Toke Over the Line    Brewer & Shipley                                            3:21
Afternoon Delight          Starland Vocal Band                                           3:14
Life is a Rock                      Reunion                                                        3:31
I Can Help                         Billy Swan                                                       2:57
My Maria                       B.W. Stevenson                                                  2:31
Magnet and Steel            Walter Egan                                                     3:25
Beach Baby                    First Class                                                         2:42
The Rapper                   The Jaggerz                                                        2:45
Brother Louie                  Stories                                                               3:57
Precious and Few            Climax                                                              2:46
O-o-h Child               The 5 Stairsteps                                                      3:15
Playground in My Mind    Clint Holmes                                                     2:57
Put Your Hand In The Hand   Ocean                                                        2:53
Please Come to Boston    David Loggins                                                  4:09
SONG TITLE                      ARTIST                                                         TIME
Turn The Beat Around    Vicki Sue Robinson                                            3:24
Ring My Bell                     Anita Ward                                                        3:31
Sometimes When We Touch   Dan Hill                                                      2:22
Rose Garden               Lynn Anderson                                                      2:49
In The Summertime      Mungo Jerry                                                         3:37
Seasons in the Sun      Terry Jacks                                                           3:30
The Night Chicago Died   Paper Lace                                                       3:32
Rock The Boat            Hues Corporation                                                  3:09
Don’t Give Up on Us        David Soul                                                        3:39
Kung Fu Fighting         Carl Douglas                                                         3:17
Love Grows                Edison Lighthouse                                                  2:51
Sweet Mary              Wadsworth Mansion                                                 2:42
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia   Vicki Lawrence                     3:36
TSOP             MFSB featuring the Three Degrees                                   3:35
Feelings                    Morris Albert                                                            3:45
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historia-gloria · 4 years
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(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IyGYirbJn6p7Y5gq7hF4h?si=3dvWDc04QYSuNrKIsmbGow) 
Zolf Smith. Miner, sailor, pirate, cleric of Poseidon, Mercenary, Harlequin. Cleric of something new.
Song explanations under the cut!
-        Sinking Ship, Wild Child: Oh, if it's cold in the water, am I better for it? The storm which destroyed his ship, stole his crew... It will always be something that haunts him.
-        Pearl Diver, Mitski: Treasure hunter, you are dead, the light of the world is fading. A song for his time as a pirate, hunting and striving to stay alive.
-        Drown, Seafret: He came so close to death, when the Navy ship went down. So close to nothing. Poseidon helped then, but who will save him from himself now?
-        Bury It, CHVRCHES: Bury all those emotions down deep inside. Do what you can now, do a grief later. It's been Zolf's mantra for a while.
-        Solider, Poet, King, The Oh Hellos: The London Rangers. A group of sharp individuals, able to tear down a city if they needed it.
-        My Heart is Buried in Venice, Ricky Montgomery: My heart is buried in Venice, hidden beneath all my worries and doubts. Perhaps The London Rangers can help bring it home?
-        Losing my Religion, Dan Mangan: That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight, losing my religion. Paris shook him down to his very core, shook his faith in Poseidon completely.
-        I'm Not Okay (I Promise), My Chemical Romance: Gods. Bertie really does wear him out at a time where he could really do with more support.
-        Night Drives, Deaf Havana: I guess the truth is I'm as lost as I was before. He regrets leaving Sasha and Hamid with his whole being, but it was the only thing to do. Nothing had meant as much to him as The London Rangers.
-        Organs, Of Monsters and Men: It reminds me how it all went wrong. Everything was falling apart around Zolf and honestly, he hates that he had to leave.
-        Tuesday People, Deaf Havana: Is it the God you stopped believing in when he abandoned you? Zolf has had months to deal with leaving The London Rangers and... He hasn't.
-        The Last Goodbye, Billy Boyd: A little bit of a gentler goodbye. If Zolf had known that he would never have seen Sasha again, this is what he would have wished to say.
-        John My Beloved, Sufjan Stevens: There's only a shadow of me, in a manner of speaking, I'm dead. Wilde and Zolf team up in the worst period of their life. The most exhausted.
-        Falling Down, Harrison Storm: So much emotion is tied up with the loss of Hamid and Sasha. He just felt like he was falling apart when he met back up with Wilde.
-        Awake My Soul, Mumford and Sons: My weakness I feel I must finally show. Zolf begins to tackle with the idea of his own soul. Poseidon isn't helping much anymore, but he is running on hope.
-        Famous Last Words, My Chemical Romance: No matter what anyone says, he is not afraid to keep on living, to walk this word alone. Nothing is going to stop him trying to put this broken world back together.
-        The Cave, Mumford and Sons: I will hold on hope, I won't let you choke on the noose around your neck. I will know my name as its called again. Zolf cares about Wilde now, in a confusing turn of events and he will help them put back together their party.
-        The Call, Regina Spektor: I'll come back, when you call me. No need to say goodbye. A hopeful song because Zolf has managed to find his way back.
-        Anchorage, Marian Call: Anchor me, anchor me here. His anchor is not so much a place, but a small group of people who he has missed so much.
-        Heavy, Birdtalker: After 18 months of loss, Hamid reappears in his life. And Zolf is different, changed, better. He is leaving what's heavy behind.
-        Hold On To What You Believe, Mumford and Sons: Zolf is clinging to what he believes in. Hold on to what you believe in the light, when the darkness has robbed you of all your sight. It's all any of them have left in this broken world
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tracybirds · 4 years
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Fluffember Day 11 - Eyes
I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!!! Found and tidied up so it can be released into the wild... 
Continuation of Day 19 (because what is a sequential order?), Gordon is still crushing super hard on Penny and utterly terrified that John will murder him in his sleep. I’m enjoying torturing him with miscommunication :D
Fluffember prompts by @gumnut-logic I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the constant support and encouragement you give everyone is so generous and lovely - thank you!!
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He always knew when she came near, the scent of sweet-peas and jasmine wafting through the air. It was starting to drive him crazy.
He’d tried to avoid her in an attempt to get some control over himself, but it seemed that absence really did make the heart grow fonder, and now he found himself cursing at the inevitable leap the organ would make whenever that perfume intruded his senses.
He had to tell John.
He had to tell John, when he wasn’t trapped on the same island with him, or visiting in the same city and utterly reliant on him for a bed to sleep in. And this was not the sort of thing you told a brother over a holocall. Maybe I should take him skydiving, thought Gordon. Easy escape route, give him some time to process on the way down, each go our separate ways at the end of the day.
“Hello Gordon.”
And that was another thing. No matter how often he made his excuses and extracted himself from their group gatherings, it was never long before she popped back up again. It was like she was trying to seek him out.
“Hey Lady P,” said Gordon, looking up with a smile that felt more like a grimace.
“John tells me you’re off to the Australian National University next year?”
“Yeah,” said Gordon. “Yeah, their school year starts early so I’ve got to finish up my requirements this summer.”
“Are you nervous?” she asked, settling herself against the railing next to him.
Yes, thought Gordon, glancing over at her. He had a fleeting impression of her bright eyes and swaying hair before he looked away, across at the ocean again.
“Nah,” he said. “I’m gonna miss the beach though.”
“Aren’t you studying marine life?”
“Yes, but the campus isn’t exactly near the water. If I play nice with the lecturers and walk their dogs on the weekend, I might get lucky with an internship in the field. You know, prove myself to be the alpha male in the class.”
Lady Penelope giggled and Gordon’s heart stuttered in his chest. Now that wasn’t fair, he thought to himself.
“You could walk Bertie for practice,” she offered. “He’s come to expect only the very best of dog walkers and I’m afraid I’ve rather spoilt him.” Gordon couldn’t help the bubble of surprised laughter that escaped him.
“You wouldn’t get him back,” said Gordon with a grin. “He’d see right through my faux professionalism. He’d slip his lead as soon as your back was turned.”
“And what would you do then?”
“Grovel.”
Gordon watched as the laughter burst out of Penelope. It seemed to draw itself in from every part of her body, curling into a ball that she then threw out into the world, joyful and unexpected. He hadn’t realised how much his guard had slipped, that his carefully controlled glances had become a reckless stare until she shook her hair back smiling and caught his gaze.
Lady Penelope had always prided herself on being able to read people as easily as reading a socialite headline feed. Gordon had always assumed he was an open book. Yet as their eyes met, Gordon could see the slight shock on Penelope’s face as she spotted something she had missed. If he hadn’t been so well versed in her expressions, he might have missed the imperceptible widening of her eyes, the way her lips parted by mere millimetres, the catch of breath in her chest. Gordon couldn’t break away and he watched, helpless, as her gaze stripped him bare, right down to his core to his fearful and sleepless nights, his deepest vulnerabilities, the love by which he defined himself. He felt known. And as she reconstructed him from the inside out, Gordon found himself drawn into Penelope, into the adept and confident persona and the intrigue of reality that lay beyond.
Her eyes were an ocean that Gordon desperately wanted to explore.
“Hey, Penny!” Gordon flinched backwards as John’s voice shattered the stillness. “I’ve got a new translator programme running. Want to help me try it out?”
Penelope smiled as her eyes moved away from Gordon and flickered over to John.
“Certainly, John,” she called out to him. She turned back to Gordon. “The offer still stands.”
“What?” said Gordon dumbly.
“Bertie,” she said with a laugh. “You’re welcome anytime.”
She walked back across the deck towards the villa and Gordon’s eyes followed her, the cheerful bounce she made as she greeted John, the casual looping of arms and the gentle kiss on the cheek.
He really, really, had to tell John.
[Part 3]
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SEASON 2: Q&A WITH CLIVE OWEN
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SEASON 2: Q&A WITH CLIVE OWEN
CINEMAX: How is Thackery different at the beginning of Season 2 then he was at the beginning of Season 1? Clive Owen: We leave him at the end of Season 1 in a pretty sorry state. We start Season 2 lower than we've ever seen him. He's struggling from the very beginning. Part of the journey of Season 2 is him trying to get back on track. He's struggling with his addiction. In Season 1 he was a high-functioning addict who has been performing brilliant operations with a vast amount of drugs. Now he's going to try and attempt to do it without and we'll see how he fares. CINEMAX: Talk about Thackery's relationship with Gallinger and Algernon in Season 2 and how they have evolved from the first season. Clive Owen: Gallinger digs him out of rehab where he's in a sorry state. He would probably be happy just to stay there. But Gallinger gets him out and tries to straighten him out and get him back to the hospital. He gets back and sees that Algernon has kind of been trying to take over his position. The one thing about Thackery is that even when he's incredibly fragile and lost he still has a huge ego. He considers himself to be the best. He also appreciates that Algernon is probably the most talented doctor except for him around the place and will probably be leaning on him and asking him for help as well. CINEMAX: Do you think Thackery really wants to cure his own addiction? Clive Owen: It was the beginning of people starting to think about what addiction was and whether people were predisposed to it. What makes some people more susceptible to addiction than others? It's something that fascinates him and that he wants to look into. He has a huge personal interest in it as well. CINEMAX: How do you get into character to play Thackery? What type of research have you done? Clive Owen: I did an awful lot of research for Season 1 because the guys told me it was all based on William Halstead and there's a brilliant book called "Genius on the Edge" that was the inspiration for Thackery. This brilliant doctor who was at the forefront of medicine, who was considered to be one of the best doctors around, but was consuming vast amounts of drugs. CINEMAX: How does Bertie's resignation affect Thackery? Clive Owen: He's always had a huge soft spot for Bertie, but he's given him a rough ride because he's a wild man.
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CINEMAX: Thackery defends Lucy's honor to Bertie. Does he regret their relationship? Clive Owen: The best part about playing that character is he's such a high-wire act. He comes back to the hospital and he's not particularly nice to Lucy. There's something that he's realized in his time away that was inappropriate and wrong about their relationship. He still thinks a lot of her and he's empathetic, but he's a crazy character full of complexities. CINEMAX: Why do you think Thackery relapses? Does he have the capacity to ever fully get better? Clive Owen: It was important to me that we treated the drug addiction appropriately and it would have been a disservice to go out on a boat for a week and come back a changed man. Because anybody who knows anything about addiction knows it's a very long, difficult struggle. Addicts live day by day with the pressure of falling again all the time. I think that was really important for Thackery, that that was the journey of Season 2. We didn't make it look easy to stop taking drugs because it's not. It's much more fun to play a character in torment, conflict, -- somebody struggle with that kind of issue. Thackery is addicted to the front line of medicine and pushing its boundaries. CINEMAX: What is his main motivation in his life and work? Clive Owen: It's the forwarding of medicine, the possibility of being able to discover something that makes a radical difference in people's lives. He's at the forefront of a hugely exciting time in the world of medicine. He's bold and brave enough to push the boundaries and go for things that don't always work. He doesn't have a 100% success rate, but he's done some extraordinary things that people will benefit from for years to come and that's what drives him. He has a huge ego and he likes to plays God. CINEMAX: What has been the most challenging scene for you to film? Clive Owen: The operations are challenging technically. [Director] Steven [Soderbergh] has a very bold way of shooting them and not with lots and lots of shots. So you have to be on your game as a character, knowing your lines, knowing what you want to do, knowing how you want to play the scene. You have to get up on top of the actual physicality of the operation: what it is you're doing, make it look convincing. There's an audience watching the operation, so now there's Thackery performing to a crowd while he's doing it.
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CINEMAX: Do you think Thackery would be a successful surgeon if he were practicing today? Clive Owen: Of course. He's flawed, but he's brilliant at what he does. CINEMAX: If Thackery wasn't a surgeon, what profession would he have? Clive Owen: If Thackery wasn't a surgeon, he'd probably be a drug addict and nothing more.
THINK FAST 1. What costume would you like to take home? Clive Owen: Green velvet jacket.
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2. What other NYC time period would you like to live in? Clive Owen: I'm very happy now. 3. What are you addicted to? Clive Owen: Football. 4. What would be the hardest challenge for you personally if you had to live in the time of The Knick? Clive Owen: Staying alive.
https://www.cinemax.com/the-knick/season-2-q-and-a-with-clive-owen.html
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jfastereft · 6 years
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“Trying to remember MY FRIDAY NIGHT DATE!?”  a poem.  Friday (8/17/18)
I know!-I know, I’ve met MY MATCH:
Mimzy “M!”  - but WHAT A CATCH!
“Internationale Woman - of (Mystery-and)-Intrigue,”
GODDESS-OF-THE-WORLD - way-outta-my-league,
But I gotta try - to make this date;
It’s Friday night - Am I already late?
(I think) She-wants-it-HARD; many agents have fallen,
To her wiles, yet my Heart is callin’,
For this chance - for LIfe or Death,
Mimzy “M!”  She needs no “meth,”
For SHE   I S   METH, it’s plain to see;
She’ll drive me WILD - so, why’s it me?
Who-has-been-given this IMPOSSIBLE MISSION;
Is it for thrills - that I am fishin’?
Well, maybe fission (pause for laughter)  or-maybe-fusion-I-do-not-know,
But she’s a nuclear reactor, perpetually on the go!
There are many rumors - of agents, dead in her bed;
A “Sexual Medusa,” or so it’s been said -
So, I await her instructions, on “the decoder machine,”*
Her message: “I WANT (pause) a-vomit - jelly bean!!**
And!   I want you NOW - here in this bed; and
I AM a bedbug!”  all this she said,
“And I shall bite and eat you whole, putting your head on a long, tall pole, and, yes, I’ll-eat-your-head-all-night-long!
STILL! ! YOU BETTER SING ME - A BEAUTIFUL SONG!!”
Anyway (pause) the morning after, morning-eyes-did-stare, 
Through long, blonde, sultry strands of hair!
Yes, they-covered-my-carcass, but I died with a smile,
MIMZY “M” HAS “BEDBUG STYLE!!”  :)
fin.  <3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvKxqJQPyS8
* - also know, prior to World War II, as a “text!!”  :)
** - Bertie Botts’ vomit-flavoured jelly beans [Harry Potter usually avoids them!?]
BEDTIME PRAYER: “Now I lay me down to sleep; will Mimzy - take my soul to keep?  The two are one, and one we be (pause) BED-BUGS-THROUGH-OUT-ETERNITY!" <3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gbz-Lau5tc&start_radio=1&list=RD0Gbz-Lau5tc
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hearteyesuris · 6 years
Note
if you're still taking headcanons, what about parent!Reddie and their children are wild
Oh goodness!! I love this idea so much - I’m sorry, darl, this has been sat in my inbox for faaaaar too long. I was going to do it last night but plans got changed! I hope this was worth the wait :’) 
Also - I didn’t really do the wild part but … I hope this is still okay!!
Rich and Eddie deffo have discourse over the kind of child they want
Spoiler: They both get their way
In due time
The first Kaspbrak-Tozier baby is a little girl and she’s called Teddy because the baby girl was Eddie’s choice so Rich got to name her
So he has his Eddie Bear and his Teddy Bear!!!
Anyway she’s a total sweetheart, and they get her from newborn age and
They’re just. broken when they look at her because they love her so much
Richie sings to her at nighttime and Eddie watches from the doorway with tears threatening
Fast forward maybe,, 4 years?
They get a little toddler boy and Eddie gets to name him
I’d imagine Eddie to pick an old fashioned name but Make It Work
So their little boy is called Albert !!!
Albert and Teddy are inseparable and it makes their parents and uncles and aunties gush
They’re so bloody cute
Teddy is a ball of sunshine
Albert goes through a Complete Trashmouth Phase
Eddie is appalled, Richie thinks it’s the funniest thing ever and gives him his old jackets and clothes
Oh! Teddy deffo has Richie’s old denim jacket and Works It
Constantly spoiled by their Rich Uncles Stan and Bill
They’ll be like 17 and Stenbrough come up for the weekend like
Where are our favourite babies!
And they’re horrifically embarrassed by their family but Eds and Rich are cackling in the corner each weekend
Big Uncle Bill will hug each of them and be like ‘Teds! Bertie! Stop growing!’ and Stan is flushed because he loves his man
Reddie are 110% embarrassing dads
Like before they can drive Richie probably pulls up outside Albert’s friends house blaring Def Leppard or something out of the car
Does the Longest Beep Ever (beep beep) like you know how Sebastian does in La La Land? Yeah, that
Eddie probably does the same but Africa will be blaring and he leaves it on whilst he knocks the door to get one of his children
It doesn’t end at embarrassing dads, oh no
They have Embarrassing Vodka Aunt Bev and Snorts-Lemon Juice- Uncle Ben
Who come up on Friday nights for family games night and
It is WILD
Richie and Eddie also force Bev to have The Talk with Teddy
oh my GOODNESS give me Richie painting Teddy’s nails and they talk about boys and girls. please
Despite his trashmouth phase, Bert is really just like his Uncle Mike
Truly. He helps out on Mike’s farm at the weekend and Mike is tearing up
Mike probably marries this really lovely woman he met at the farmer’s market and all 3 of them just feed the animals and have fun 
Richie doubts his parenting all the time but he has his loving husband and children to assure him he’s the best dad.
B O NU S sobbing reddie when their babies go off to big school!!!!
Just give me Reddie with some lovely lovely children and happy families i beg
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spotlightsaga · 7 years
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Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… Love (S02E03) While You Were Sleeping Airdate: March 10, 2017 @netflix Ratings: Streaming Only @loveonnetflix Score: 8.75/10
**********SPOILERS BELOW**********
I try to imagine having sex with Gus in a public place, in a car… And then I ask myself, why the fuck are you trying to justify this or even thinking about fucking Gus… Even if it’s just theoretical. You can’t help who you love, and sometimes you can’t even help you fuck. It’s primal. Eww. The way Gus kisses Mickey right before exiting the car they just had sex in is probably the most awkward moment of the episode… And ‘While You Were Sleeping’ is literally just one deliciously awkward moment after another. The 'You’re an asshole’ comment Gus murmurs to himself as he drives off is the cherry on top. And so begins another ridiculous episode of 'Love’.
Once again the show separates Mickey and Gus and we see them go through an 'average’ day at work. Nothing about life in LA is average, and these moments prove it… Gus watches a stuntman take a massive accidental fall who is playing a woman he accidentally killed off in his 'story by’ credit… Coincidentally it’s the same women he 'accidentally’ fucked to push Mickey away at the end of S1. Heidi’s recounting of the incident proves that 'Love’ is really good at pinging off their own comedy… It’s yet another cherry on top of another scene… Heidi is an emotional wreck, “It’s particularly traumatizing for me, I basically watched myself die.” My god, this show is gold!
While Gus is having a terrible day at work on what should be a career high, Mickey is saving the day at her office… Sort of. She covers for Truman who is MIA, she later finds him at home claiming a wild story about how his MMA fighter girlfriend stole his car and that was a good enough reason to skip work. Mickey takes Truman to retrieve the car and while Lily is as every bit as terrifying as he claims her to be… Everything else was a lie. He actually left the car there and hilariousness ensues. I hope we get more Truman and Lily in S2, this was fucking great. Mickey continuously tries to send Gus a text saying what they did was a mistake, but there’s always something that gets in the way.
After a bad day on set, Gus chats it up with his boss Susan, who he rightfully tries his best to avoid… Even trying to slide under a moving rack of costumes. Susan is a total fucking bitch, excuse my French, but what else do you call her? Cunt? I suppose, but thats even more offensive. She’s smoking weed and makes it a point to throw it in his face and then not offer him any. Now, I’m not a smoker, but I’m pretty sure the rule is 'Puff Puff Pass’. I mean, who doesn’t pass? Isn’t it like a social ritual?! Susan ends up forcing Gus to drive her home 'because she’s too stoned’ and then invites him in for sex. What the hell? It’s as if suddenly Gonzo is finally dating Miss Piggy and now everyone wants to fuck Gonzo. This show is too much. Gus turns her down…Mainly because she’s terrifying, but also because he really is trying to stay loyal to whatever he and Mickey have.
Mickey finally erases the 'this was all a big fucking mistake’ text and Gus gathers back with his weird friends and improvises a theme song to 'While You Were Sleeping’… Mickie goes into Bertie’s room and admits to ducking everything up and then justifies it by saying she really likes Gus. Bertie feels very 'motherly’ giving her advice from a tucked-in position in bed. Yup, this is 'Love’.
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