Work in Progress Wednesday!
May. 15th, 2019 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tjs_whatnotSorry I'm late. I keep getting distracted. Story of my life really.
I have been busy with things, but nothing really WiP Wednesday worthy, what about you? What do you got?
Share your work, then come back to cheer on the others. It only really works if you do both parts.
♥
I have been busy with things, but nothing really WiP Wednesday worthy, what about you? What do you got?
Share your work, then come back to cheer on the others. It only really works if you do both parts.
♥
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 02:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 04:48 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 06:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 11:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 04:47 am (UTC)“I just wish...why won’t these dreams go away? It’s so far in the past now. It’s not like I even feel guilty over Witherington.” I let a good swallow of Guinness slide smoothly down my throat.
“You do about-”
“I know.” I broke in, and she shot me an apologetic look. I polished off my first pint and started the next. “But it wasn’t my fault and I know that. Jasmine had me under her control.” That was true. Wes had thought I wasn’t under Jasmine’s control because I knew what she looked like. I could see her for what she was because she was my daughter but that didn’t make me immune to her mind control. Our shared blood merely made me immune to the cure. Me seeing Jasmine as she was didn’t mean she didn’t pull my strings like a puppet master, or so I tell myself so I’m not a complete and utter monster.
I would always feel horrible guilt for the murder of the girl whose name I would never know. Most of my adult life had been lived in atonement for that. I hated not being strong enough to break free of Jasmine’s hold, loosen myself from my psychosis. I had been everyone’s pawn up until I came back to myself. I had wanted an Irish surname that meant free but I couldn’t find one so I found something that embodied my life. That’s why I chose the name Devlin. It meant ´unlucky.’ And for the most part it was true. I lived life the way I wanted to, on my own terms but there were shackles on me. Angel’s name was stamped into every link, and I could hear them rattling through everything I did. I had been a luckless bastard from the moment I was conceived.
“I wasn’t talking about her.” Kate locked eyes with me. “I think you’re filled with regrets and guilt over your relationship with your father.”
I snorted and drank some more stout.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 09:10 am (UTC)You know, I love that you've got Kate in here. I adore seeing characters who just up and vanished from the narrative come back after years, older, wiser, with a different (or slightly changed) outlook...
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 04:29 pm (UTC)And thanks. I always liked Kate and was never sure why they decided to abandon the character (having her return in the Angel comics was one of the few things I actually liked about them)
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 11:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 03:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 06:42 am (UTC)Someone is about to have their ass handed to them on a platter:
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 09:13 am (UTC)One thing: stabbing her between the lungs sounds odd. Is there a reason that she's not stabbing her between the breasts? Or stabbing her in the chest? Or the solar plexus?
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 02:18 pm (UTC)I wasn't completely sure the audience would know, either, but that's what search engines are for, I guess?
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 11:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 02:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 04:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 05:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 11:20 am (UTC)"The Jol King's Chronicles answers the question, what if Harry Potter grew up with his power and the knowledge that he was meant to be the savior - and sacrifice - of the world? The weight of his responsibility sits heavily on Matthias' shoulders as he takes his first steps in his powerful father's footsteps. Warrior of the Balance, born to be the Heir of one-half of the world's power, Matthias, Child of Kavvana, is learning that he has more enemies than those who stand across the Great Scales. And more allies than those he can see with his little-boy eyes."
Eh, it's certainly a work in progress. How come writing a one-page letter is so much harder than writing two 100,000 word novels?? I need more coffee.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 02:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 07:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 04:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 07:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 08:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 12:19 pm (UTC)At first, Andromeda said no.
It wasn't that Andromeda had any objection to music festivals; on the contrary, she had been to a few muggle festivals with Ted, Alice and Frank - they'd gone in the years after Hogwarts, but before Dora was born. Those were some of her happiest memories.
But that was a different time. It was easier to have few cares back then, to listen to music and drink and smoke muggle herbs that always made her giddy and hungry. Now there was a war, and anyway, she had a child.
"That's why everyone needs one day of happiness," Andromeda's uncle, Alphard, told her.
"So I've given you and Sirius tickets."
"Sirius." Andromeda sighed. Though close as children, they seldom spoke these days.
"Yes. Sirius. You two need to patch things up, and you'll have plenty of time to when you're all in a tent together."
"You're not coming?"
"I'm afraid music isn't to my taste these days."
"Who will watch Dora?" Andromeda asked.
"I'll watch her. You lot have fun. I've given you four tickets, and Sirius three - it was all I could manage, so I'm afraid he'll only be able to bring two of his friends."
"Now I have to mind three teenagers? That's not exactly my idea of a good time."
"They're seventeen. You don't have to change their nappies and feed them, just make sure they're still breathing.”
"Why don't you give all of the tickets to Sirius?"
"Because then I'd have to chaperon, and as I said, the music isn't to my taste. Just take them, Andromeda. We're at war; fun things like this only happen every so often anymore."
That was how Andromeda and Ted ended up going to the First Annual Wizard Music Festival with Alice, Frank, Sirius and his friends.
*
Lily could have said no.
She had a feeling she was mostly invited because Sirius’s two tickets put him in a tough position. James was an obvious contender for the first; there was no doubting that. But then it came to asking Remus or Peter, and she supposed he realized the most logical choice was her, rather than leaving either of them out. Besides, she was his best friend’s girlfriend, and Sirius must have felt it was the right thing to do.
So Lily almost said no. But then Sirius would have had to choose between Remus and Peter, which seemed like an unfair position to leave him in. Besides, Lily didn’t mind the idea of spending the week with James as opposed to her depressed mother and Petunia, who constantly told Lily that if she hadn’t been a born a freak, her father wouldn’t have gone to the bank that day, and if he hadn’t gone to the bank he wouldn’t have been killed trying to stop a robbery, and if he hadn’t been killed trying to stop a robbery, their mother wouldn’t drink all the time and mix her drinks with sleeping pills. Lily didn’t know what being a witch had to do with any of those things, but it worked for Petunia. Petunia loved looking for reasons to hate people, even her own family members.
Lily did the best she could to help their mother; she’d begged for her to seek therapy a million times. But her mother was born of a generation where you went to a therapist only if you’d completely lost your mind. Perhaps a lot of it was pride as well; her family was, after all, from a long line of stuffy well-to-dos who kept many secrets. Her parents themselves weren’t particularly wealthy, although one wouldn’t know it from Petunia’s excessive wardrobe, but they nonetheless inherited stiff upper-lips and skeletons in Venetian closets.
It was hard to laugh, between the current darkness in her Muggle home and the darkness in her Wizarding home. Not to mention one of her best friends — former best friends — was becoming everything Lily hated. When she was with James, however, laughter came easily. And Lily loved music more than anything else — loved dancing to it, loved singing to it, loved closing her eyes and being consumed by it. With all that in mind, she accepted Sirius’s invitation.
As the festival was to start the day after they returned from Hogwarts, there was no use going home. Instead Lily, Sirius and James were going to be picked up by Andromeda and Ted Tonks directly.
“They’ve a daughter, Dora,” Sirius was saying as the train slowed. “ My Uncle Alphard’s going to watch her.”
“Do you see her a lot?” Lily asked.
“Haven’t lately, not since I pranked...”
Sirius stopped and looked at Remus. Lily didn’t have to ask why; she knew the story.
“I’ve forgiven you for it,” Remus said. “Why can’t she? It was over a year ago.”
“I reckon she expects I’m becoming like them.”
“She’s let you come to the Music Festival with her,” Lily pointed out.
Sirius shrugged. “I know Uncle Alphard talked her into it. It’s no matter, they’re bringing friends too so we won’t have to see too much of her. Like when my parents had their Christmas balls and we all stayed upstairs.” He laughed bitterly.
“I’m still so jealous,” Peter admitted.
“Yeah, I wish he’d given me three tickets instead of two,” Sirius said. “And just let the four of us go alone.”
Remus glanced at Lily briefly. “Five.”
“Wh — oh. Of course. Can’t go without our Lily!” Sirius winked at her, and Lily cringed. Petunia had once told her that blokes only winked if they were flirting or trying to get themselves out of trouble, and Lily was pretty sure in this case, it was the latter.
James laughed, completely oblivious to the fact that his best friend had just slighted his girlfriend, and put his arm around Lily. “She’s the best part.”
“We’re going away anyway,” Remus said. “Newt Scamander’s the keynote speaker at a Creature Conference, and Dad got tickets for all of us. He just wrote yesterday. Apparently,” he added with a grin, “one of the topics is Animagi.”
For some reason, this made every single one of them except Lily snicker. Before Lily could do anything more than look at James quizzically, the train stopped.
“You lot go ahead,” she told James and his friends; she wanted to say goodbye to her own, and promptly met them outside their compartment.
“Good luck with that Sirius,” Mary McDonald said as they hugged.
“He’s not so bad, you know,” Lily told her.
Despina Alexander sniffed. “Do you not remember that he broke my heart?”
Lily raised her eyebrows. “You went on one date.”
“Two, if you count the time we snogged in a secret passage.”
“Really, Lils,” Mary interrupted, “If anything goes wrong, remember that you can always come visit me. My parents won’t mind, they love you.”
Lily smiled. “I’ll let you know if I can’t withstand the torture any longer.”
When Lily got off the train, James was waiting for her; he offered her a hand. How was he so gentleman-like beyond his years when they were alone?
“Thank you,” Lily said, and she kissed him. “Don’t let your friends see you do that.”
“They’re not twelve, you know.”
“They still set off Dungbombs. That’s what twelve-year- olds do.”
“You’re never too old to have fun.”
“No. I suppose not. Where’d they get off to, anyway?”
“Remus and Peter left with their families. Sirius was going to find Andromeda and Ted — ah, there they are.”
Andromeda and Ted looked a bit older than Lily had originally thought they’d be, probably in their mid-to-late twenties. When Lily remembered that they did have a kid, it made sense. There was a definite resemblance between Andromeda and Sirius, although her hair was brown, wavy and a little unkempt. Lily wondered if, like James, she had trouble maintaining it.
Andromeda and Sirius were attempting a conversation, as though they were having trouble finding the words. When Sirius saw James and Lily, he waved them over.
“There you two are! Ted, Andromeda, you’ve met James, and this is Lily.”
Lily shook their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.”
When they got into the van, Lily sat in the middle between James and Sirius. This did not stop them from ducking over her shoulders and talking periodically.
“What singers are going to be there?” Lily finally asked. “I know Roger Dillsworth is going to be. I love his music.”
“Celestina Warbeck,” Andromeda replied. “I grew up with her music.”
“And Merlin,” Sirius added. “I love Merlin.”
“I don’t understand them,” James said. “I reckon they need a good laugh, y’know?”
“Ah, that’s a nice boy, Jimmy,” Sirius muttered.
“They’re a little intense, yes,” Lily said, mostly in defence of her boyfriend. “They’re deep, but in a really disturbing way. There’s save-the-world deep and there’s don’t-jump-off-that-cliff deep.”
“Exactly,” James agreed. “Why I like Roger Dillsworth. And the Hobgoblins.”
“They remind me of the Beatles,” Lily said.
“The link’s intentional, of course,” Andromeda told them. “A lot of bands and artists model themselves after Muggle artists, especially these days. Merlin’s ‘Azkaban Lament’ draws heavily from Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ Rumour has it those same artists planned this event intentionally, as a ‘take that’ to the Death Eaters.”
“They won’t like that,” Sirius remarked.
“No,” Andromeda agreed.
Both of them fell silent, as though remembering they weren’t supposed to get along.
“What’s the name of the Muggle town the event’s near?” Lily asked Ted, but Andromeda had turned on the radio full blast.
*
(A bit later in the same chapter.)
Bellatrix Lestrange stepped out of her tent and breathed in the summer air. She felt a chill, but it wasn’t from the breeze.
She knew the real reason they’d been selected was because of Sylvester, her new father-in-law. He ranked high with the Dark Lord, having a long history with him. Bellatrix often suspected there were secrets only Sylvester knew. That Rosier had known, before his death at the hands of Alastor Moody. At least he had a son in Rabastan’s year who had already agreed to take his father’s place.
Bellatrix had suggested that they bring Rabastan and Evan, but Evan had invited Rabastan and another friend — a sad-looking lad with greasy hair and an odd name — to go to France with him and his mother. Not that that would have mattered had the Dark Lord sought Evan and Rabastan’s service, but he wanted only those with true prowess.
It was just as well, Sylvester had said; seventeen was too young for such a risky task. It often struck Bellatrix as surprising that he seemed to take real pride in his sons. Her father hadn’t been the worst parent in their family (that honour went to Walburga, Bellatrix’s aunt), but he’d never been interested in his children’s lives, never said much about accomplishments, mostly noticing their failures. When Walburga had announced that they were disowning Andromeda, his only response had been, “I suppose it would be for the best.” Bellatrix stood behind her aunt’s decision, but she found it odd that he didn’t even put up a fight. At least their mother had wept properly.
Bellatrix hadn’t realized, until she met Sylvester, that it was normal for fathers to show love towards their children. To raise them to be the best they could be, to fight for what was necessary. He’d since extended those feelings to her; Bellatrix remembered showing Sylvester her Dark Mark, and how his chest had seemed to swell with pride.
She wouldn’t let him down this weekend. Still, Bellatrix hoped she’d at least have time to get Celestina Warbeck’s autograph.
Maybe she’d even spare Celestina. The Dark Lord hadn’t said everyone must die, had he?
(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 02:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-16 05:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-05-18 12:41 am (UTC)From the second Kingsman Reverse Bang. The one I posted from last week.