Tag: mary crawley

“Into every generation a slayer is born:
one girl in all the world, a chosen one.
She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires,
demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and
the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.“

In 1912, Matthew Crawley came to Downton Abbey, under the guise as Lord Grantham’s heir. But the real reason for his coming was to deliver news to the Crawley’s youngest that she is now the slayer.  He had been sent by the Watcher’s Council to serve as Sybil’s Watcher and help her with her training on slaying vampires and fighting the forces of darkness.

Sybil would much rather be concentrating on the women’s suffrage movement than spending her time sharpening stakes and hunting demons. But as Matthew keeps reminding her, she is “the chosen one”, and therefore must protect the world from all that is evil.

However, things become a bit complicated when Sybil’s eldest sister Mary returns from London, looking paler than usual and avoiding daylight (not to mention her constant thirst for something red). Sadly, it appears Mary has joined the legion of the undead.  And complications grow when Matthew discovers his feelings growing for the vampiress with a soul.

Meanwhile, Edith begins her studies to join the Watcher’s Council. But unbeknownst to her family (or the Council) she is also secretly learning and practicing witchcraft, something that could…spell…disaster, if unchecked (and undisciplined).

And who is the new chauffeur? Why does he lock himself up in the garage on the night of the full moon?  And why does he cause Sybil’s heart to skip a beat whenever she sees or speaks to him?

Oh, and was it mentioned that Downton just happens to be resting atop a hellmouth?

Happy Halloween


**images not mine

OK! So here’s the little backstory within my “Hogwarts AU” of how the sisters came to have their animal companions…

Starting with Edith,
she decided to go “very traditional” in terms of who her companion
would be and chose an owl (barn owl, specifically).  Owls also represent
wisdom, which makes perfect sense for a Raveclaw. Edith received her
owl the day after her letter arrived from Hogwarts, a gift from her
parents.  Edith continued with “tradition” and chose to name her owl Rowena,
after one of the original founders.  While Edith didn’t know for
certain she was going to be sorted into Ravenclaw (there was a 50/50
chance she’d follow in the path of her sister, father, and grandparents and be sorted into Slytherin) she had a strong inkling Ravenclaw would
be the house for her.  Edith loves Rowena, and sometimes sees the owl as
her closest friend and confidant. And just as Edith and Mary butt
heads, it isn’t too surprising that Rowena has been known to fly at
Mary’s dog with her talons bared…

Mary is very proud of
her Slytherin heritage, continuing the family tradition and following in
the footsteps of many of her Crawley predecessors. And just has her
father kept (and keeps) dogs, Mary also follows that Crawley/Slytherin
tradition and has a black half-dog, half-wolf hybrid whom she named
after the infamous Greek “hound of the underworld”, Cerberus.
Although unlike that hellish hound, Cerberus has only ONE head, and
despite his fierce looks and deep growl when strangers approach, is
truly a sweetheart when in the company of his mistress.  Cerberus came
to the Crawley family long before Mary received her letter; Mary always
believed she would be a Slytherin, and had decided when she was a small
child that she wanted a dog. She loves Cerberus, who loyally sleeps on
the floor next to her bed, keeping watch and growling at any passer-by
(save Sybil, who has somehow managed to charm the dog and turn him into a
big puppy, much to Mary’s annoyance). Whatever Mary does or wherever
she goes, Cerberus isn’t far behind…

Sybil knew she
wasn’t a Slytherin; her ambition was nowhere near the level of her
sister’s or grandmother’s. She loves to read the same way Edith does,
but she doubted she would find herself sorted into Ravenclaw. In fact,
everyone assumed Sybil would be sorted into Gryffindor, so it came as
quite the surprise to the Crawley family when she donned Hufflepuff
black and gold (She’s the only Crawley to ever be sorted into
Hufflepuff!) With time, everyone saw that it made sense, given Sybil’s
inclusive nature and lack of fear when it comes to hard work. Proud of
her independent spirit, Sybil thought it only made sense to have a cat
as her companion, a cat who found her, crawling into the Hufflepuff common room to escape a storm and curling up under Sybil’s sheets. Sybil named the kitten Christabel after
the suffragette Christabel Pankhurst. Christabel is very loyal to
Sybil, curling up in her lap when she’s sitting, and on her pillow when
she sleeps, but she’s not afraid to show affection for others, including
Mary’s dog Cerberus…

And finally, Rose is a Gryffindor
through and through, brave and fearless, but also a little bit reckless.
Her bravery was discovered when a boy put a toad in Rose’s hair.
However, Rose showed no fear or disgust, and lovingly adopted the toad,
whom she named Hercules, vowing to take him with her to
Hogwarts (much to her mother’s relief). Rose carries Hercules in her
pocket and never travels anywhere without him, even to the dinner table,
much to her mother’s horror. She finds him adorable, and often mimics
him when his throat expands revealing a large bubble before he croaks.  
Just as Rose can sometimes be a bit reckless, so too can Hercules, who
she has to keep a close watch on, especially in potions as he sometimes
shows an interest in jumping into her cauldron…

**images not mine

showtunesdream:

Girl Power – Galentines 2018

My somewhat quick and dirty submission for Galentines 2018. Concept from a fic I’ve begun for Andith wherein Edith and all the gals are part of a vigilante group run by ‘The Dowager .‘ Together they safeguard the citizens of London with a wicked combination of hand to hand justice and sharp-(but nonfatal)shooting. A particular target of their efforts is human trafficking, which means robbing from the rich and corrupt, glamming it up to win big at exclusive gambling clubs, or perhaps the occasional confidence scheme. 

petercapaldork:

Hi everyone! Here is my offering for DA Galentine’s Day. I hope you have a day full of friendship and awesome lady friends!

Karaoke for Friendship

“Can I borrow this?”

From her spot on the bed, Mary looked up from her laptop. She sat propped up against some pillows as she replied to a few work emails, but couldn’t seem to type more than a few words before being interrupted by her younger sister, Sybil, who had emerged from Mary’s closet with a sparkly little number she herself hadn’t worn in ages.

“For tonight? We’re just going out for dinner with Anna and Rose. It’s not that fancy,” Mary said, putting the computer aside as she realized her hopes of putting out work fires on a weekend was moot with Sybil prepping for their girl’s night out.

“Come on, live a little,” Sybil replied with a grin, eyes on the dress in firm determination. “Besides, I thought we could go dancing after. We haven’t been in forever.”

“Dancing? I don’t know,” Mary hesitated. She blanched at the idea. “I haven’t been to a club since you turned eighteen.”

“That long? Then you should wear something fetching,” Sybil said, returning to the closet for another outfit. “Text the girls and tell them we’re going dancing. No men, just us.”

As her sister rummaged, Mary picked up her mobile to send a message to Anna and Rose, scoffing at Sybil’s direction. No men.

Well, that was at least obvious for herself. She hadn’t had a date in months, the only bloke of interest to her a co-worker named Matthew who she was sure took no notice. But that wasn’t what this night was about. Thank, God. It was about friendship. Hopefully they could put an embargo on all relationship talk for the evening and just enjoy each other’s company. In fact, Mary would insist on it.

“They’re in,” Mary said a few moments later as Sybil exited the closet with a black dress and heels for Mary.

Sybil smiled.

“Perfect.”

“So, I told Dr. Clarkson that I wouldn’t be emptying any more bedpans if he didn’t give me more thrilling assignments,” Sybil said as they stood in the queue outside the club, coats drawn tight around themselves and huddled in a tight group.

“You’re a nurse, isn’t that part of the job sometimes?” Anna asked, shivering.

“I’m supposed to help with surgery prep, not post-op recovery,” Sybil explained. “It’s not really in my job description.”

“Well, good for you, girl. You tell them what you want,” Rose said, breath creating mist in the chilly night air as she spoke. “God, it’s freezing. When do you think we’ll get in?”

“Oh, we’re moving.” Mary nodded, nudging her friends forward. She wasn’t keen to be inside to reach the deafening, pulsating music, but to find shelter from the cold. She regretted listening to Sybil and not wearing leggings under her dress. Who was she trying to impress?

“I can’t wait to warm up inside. I haven’t been dancing in fore-ever,” Sybil drew out the last word due to the cold.

“The four of you, ladies?”

“Mmhmm,” Rose said, reaching into her bag to pay their cover charge.

Finally they were inside, the warmth of the building hitting them immediately as the visibility dropped and they pushed further through the crowd. But Mary had never been to this particular club before, and she realized it wasn’t exactly a dance club.

“Sybil, this is a karaoke bar,” Mary yelled over the music, which was pulsing loudly currently, but from a sign that was propped by the stage she saw that the next round of karaoke would begin in less than quarter of an hour.

“Is it? Oh my, God. That’s not what the Yelp review said,” was her shouted back reply.

“I thought you had been here before,” Rose said, grabbing an empty table for the four of them.

“No, I was looking for someplace new.” Sybil sighed, throwing herself into an empty chair with dejection.

They all sat down and looked at one another.

“Well, do you want to go somewhere else?” Anna asked.

“We already paid the cover charge,” Rose reminded them. “Let’s just get drinks.” She stood and headed for the bar.

“Karaoke might be fun,” Anna said.

“Mary won’t do it,” Sybil said, leaning her head on her hand, elbow on the table. “She hates singing in public. Even though she has a lovely voice. Refused to participate in all of our grammar school talent shows.”

Silent for a few moments, Mary got to her feet and headed over to the booth where individuals or groups could sign up to sing. After choosing a song, she returned to her friends.

“What was that about?” Anna asked, taking a drink from the glass of wine Rose had brought back for each of them.

“I signed all of us up to sing the Spice Girls. I hope you remember how ‘Wannabe’ goes. Although there’s a screen with the lyrics on it for you, in case you forgot,” Mary replied, picking up her own glass.

“You’re serious?” Sybil asked. “You’re going to sing ‘Wannabe’ in front of a bunch of strangers?”

“Why not?” she shrugged, taking a gulp of her drink.

Rose raised her glass. “I call Scary Spice.”

“But there are only four of us,” Anna pointed out.

“Oh, fine, I’ll be Scary Spice and Ginger,” Rose offered.

“Drink up. We have the fifth slot,” Mary said.

“If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give…You have got to give…Taking is too easy, but that’s the way it IS!”

Mary had to admit, the catharsis of belting out ‘Wannabe’ onstage in front of nearly a hundred strangers with her closest friends in the world was unmatched. Rose’s attempt to bounce between Scary’s raps and Ginger’s subtler chants of “Tell me what I want, what I really really want” left them all struggling to keep singing as they fought for breaths between laughs.

“Oh, my God, that was great,” Sybil said, in stitches as they returned to their table. “We need to do another one.”

“We need to take this act on the road. Do you think we could make money as a Spice Girls cover group? Just Rose switching between Scary and Ginger Spice was enough to get massive applause. Did you hear the cheers?” Anna asked.

“I think they were cheering that it was over,” Mary laughed, wiping a few tears from her eyes. “You forgot the words for a bit there.”

“No, I didn’t. Just couldn’t get them out fast enough,” Rose countered. “Next we should do ABBA. Maybe ‘Dancing Queen’, hmm? It’s a real crowd pleaser.”

“Let’s take a breather,” Mary said, her arm across the back of her sister’s chair. “I think I need a few more drinks before giving that another go.”

“Alright, Posh,” Rose agreed. “But we’re singing ‘Dancing Queen’, even if someone else does it first. I was born to ‘feel the beat of the tambourine’, alright?”

They all laughed at this, settling in for a night of karaoke. Mary knew she was glad to have the support and love of friends. Friends she could also relax with.

“I love you, girls,” Mary blurted out. She felt relaxed and happy, even after only having one drink at dinner and one more before going up to sing, happier than she had in a long time.

“Aww,” Anna said and Rose stuck out her tongue playfully.

“Don’t go getting all sappy on us” she teased.

“I’m just saying. It’s nice to have friends you can sing Spice Girls songs with and just relax.”

“Hear, hear,” Sybil said, lifting her empty glass as though Mary had given a toast. “Speaking of, I’ll get us some refills so we can prep for ABBA.”

“And we love you, too,” Rose replied, giving Mary a smile.

“Of course we do,” Anna agreed.

“Why else would we sing ‘Wannabe’ in front of a bunch of strangers?” Rose asked.

“It certainly isn’t to impress anyone,” Mary teased.

“No, it is not,” Rose said with a laugh.