An Update and a Sneak-Peek.
So so bored. You have no earthly idea!!! I've been traveling basically the entire month of June, and I just got back yesterday. It feels weird to be back in Arkansas. It's only been a day, but I already feel like I'm suffocating. And of course the day I get back they schedule me to work. I'm so sick of work it's freaking ridiculous. I'm so glad I will be quitting come August. And can you believe that as of July 21, Arkansas will become a smoke free state? What's up with that crap? I swear they're trying to make Arkansas "pure" or something (which is just laughable). We already live in a dry county (meaning no one's allowed to sell liquor), and now we can't smoke? Sounds a little extreme to me. If anything, it's just going to make people smoke more (like my friends ha!). Not that I'm for smoking or anything, but people should be allowed to choose. It's scary how slowly they are taking our rights away. I'm just glad I will be moving to Missouri in August (even though Missouri's not much better, but at least it's an improvement). 18 years in Arkansas is too damn long.
Anyways for the first half of June, I was in Europe for my senior trip, which was freaking AMAZING!!! I want to move their so bad. It's so much more laid back than here, and there are no freaking religious wars! (This is of course an analysis of almost 4 weeks, which is probably wrong, but it's always nice to dream). Anyways, first we went to London (loved, loved, loved!) then we took a ferry to France where we saw parts of Normandy and Loire and of course good ol' Paris. J'adore Paris!!! Who doesn't??? Although the city has a bit of an ego, and the Parisians are pretty rude to Americans, but I don't really blame them. Americans are pretty ignorant, and we tend to want people to mold to our culture even though we're in their country. But for my part, I tried to speak as much french as possible. Unless they started speaking too fast, then I had to say "Je ne comprends pas!" or "plus lentement".
The Detroit Airport. I thought it was pretty cool :)
Hurray Parade!
Taken at St. James' Park (I think that's the name of the park). It's so pretty and peaceful. *sigh, wishing I could pull a Marry Poppins and jump into the picture*
Taken inside the London Eye (that big Ferris Wheel loooking thing) All the double decker buses made me laugh.
A picture my friend took of me at a restaurant. Insert Mother Amber. Photoshop.
Instead of Dollar Saver or Dollar General. It's Poundland. Get it?? I died laughing for hours when I saw this.
Omaha Beach, France.
Close up of the water.
Anyways, back to Fanfiction. A sniplet of Chapter six of 'Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores'. Figured I would give a sneak-peek since the chapters long overdue.
Ch. 6
By Friday night, Lily and James were back at the Potters’ house. So far, the sabotage plan wasn’t going too well. They had argued for hours and still hadn’t come up with any sort of scheme. Well, they had come up with one, but Lily had flat out refused to do it. Now, they were back to square on. Lily and James were hoping that the contract would give them a few ideas.
"Well, now if everyone’s settled," said Fabius M. Pasternak- their own personal marriage contractor. The guy was so ancient, Lily thought he belonged in a museum. "I’ll just hand out a copy of the contract to the betrothed."
Fabius thrusted a crisp stack of parchment in her face. Lily took it hesitantly, fearing what she was about to read.
Marital Binding Contract
The Merge of Evans-Potter
In order to legally bind the marriage of James Harold Godfrey Potter and Lillian Rosemarie Evans, the following Guidelines of Marital Binding must be met six months prior to the ceremony. Following the guidelines, the Articles of Marital Binding state what is to take and what is not to take place during the marriage. Violation of an article may result in a Marital Probation or ultimately a Marital Separation. Any further questions concerning the process of Marital Binding can be answered by the family’s personal legal contractor.
Guidelines of Marital Binding
I. The Marital Binding Contract must be signed by both parties six months prior to the ceremony.
II. The ceremony date must be set six months prior to the ceremony.
III. The future bride must be tested and concluded to be fertile before signing.
IV. A formal engagement announcement is required.
V. Signing of the Marital Binding Contract requires a legal contractor from the Ministry of Magic to witness the signing.
Articles of Marital Binding
I. Both parties must be married by Christmas of their eighteenth year.
XI. Once married, the newlyweds will officially take their titles as Lord and Lady.
V. The wife is required to take the husband’s name.
II. The first child must be born five years after the marriage.
III. A male heir is preferred but not required.
IV. The husband determines whether or not the wife may obtain a profession.
VI. The wife determines whether or not her husband can take a mistress.
VII. If the wife chooses for her husband not to have a mistress, unfaithfulness will not be tolerated and will result in an immediate Marital Probation.
VIII. An unfaithful wife is never tolerated and will result in an immediate Marital Probation or Marital Separation.
IX. Illegitimate children are deeply frowned upon (with a mistress) and will result in a Marital Probation. If the husband does not have a mistress than a Marital Separation will occur. In the case of an illegitimate child/children (in cases concerning both a mistress and a non mistress), the family will not recognize the child as part of their family, but the family will be allowed to support the child if they so choose.
X. Marital Separation(i.e. divorce) is hardly ever granted unless an Article is broken or both parties express extreme unhappiness in the marriage (see legal Contractor for more in-depth information concerning Marital Separation).
Once the legal contractor has checked and shown that all guidelines have been abided by, the families may officially sign the contract.
The Evans
_________________________________
(Lord Christopher Maxwell Evans III)
__________________________________
(Lady Sophia Kathleen Staffard-Evans)
__________________________________
(Lillian Rosemarie Evans)
The Potters
__________________________________
(Lord Godfrey Harold James Potter)
__________________________________
(Lady Viviane Constance Wortham-Potter)
__________________________________
(James Harold Godfrey Potter)
Verification by Legal Contractor
__________________________________
(Fabius M. Pasternak)
On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, we offer our congratulations to the future husband and bride-to-be. We wish you a lifetime of happiness.
Sincerely,
Milicient Bulstrode
The Minister of Magic and Staff.
"Well, are there any questions or concerns about the contract?" Fabius said perched on the edge of his seat, waiting for Lily and James to respond.
Lily didn’t know where to start. The contract had been worse than she had thought. Honestly, what century were they living in? Was Lily incapable of making her own decisions? James was supposed to decide if she could work. Like hell he was! And don’t even get her started on the whole mistress crap.
"Um, I have a question?"
Fabius instantly straightened up at the sound of her voice, eager for some sort of attention. "Yes. Go on." Lily could see her parents shifting nervously in their seats. A small smile spread across her lips.
"Um, this contract doesn’t exactly seem fair to me."
Sweat began to form on Fabius’ eyebrows. "I...I don’t think I quite understand what you mean Miss?"
"I mean this isn’t Victorian times anymore. I shouldn’t have to have James’ permission to get a job. Marriage is more about partnership these days anyways. I should have an equal right to everything James does."
Fabius wiped the sweat from him brow nervously. "Um, pardon me Miss, but that’s exactly what you will get. This contract will entitle you to everything that Mr. Potter is entitled to- his estate, his inheritance, everything."
Lily couldn’t hold back rolling her eyes. "That wasn’t what I meant. What I meant was that I should be able to decide if I want to work or not, not James. And if he’s allowed to take a mistress, I should be allowed to take a...mister?" She turned her head towards James and whispered. "Is that what they call it?"
James simply shrugged, oblivious to the conversation going on. Lily narrowed her eyes at him. He was looking at the contract dejectedly, and was paying hardly any attention to what was going on around him. Lily was about to ask him what was the matter, when he spoke up for the first time that night.
"So, if Lily and I marry, we will become the new Lord and Lady Potter?"
That was when it hit Lily. He was going to become the new Lord Potter- a title James had been fighting since he had learned to talk. Lily knew James had no desire to take his father’s title. He had no interest in politics, nor did he much care for other people in politics. As far back as Lily could remember, Mr. Potter had been pushing his son to be involved with the Ministry. On several occasions, Mr. Potter literally had to drag James to the Ministry, which didn’t do much good. James had never really embraced the thought of taking over his father’s job and being the new Lord Potter. And as far as Lily could tell, he never would.
"Yes James," Lord Potter said, sternly staring James down. "When you and Lily marry, you will become the new Lord and Lady Potter."
Crticism and Suggestions are more than welcome, but do bare in mind that this is a very, very rough draft.
Anyways for the first half of June, I was in Europe for my senior trip, which was freaking AMAZING!!! I want to move their so bad. It's so much more laid back than here, and there are no freaking religious wars! (This is of course an analysis of almost 4 weeks, which is probably wrong, but it's always nice to dream). Anyways, first we went to London (loved, loved, loved!) then we took a ferry to France where we saw parts of Normandy and Loire and of course good ol' Paris. J'adore Paris!!! Who doesn't??? Although the city has a bit of an ego, and the Parisians are pretty rude to Americans, but I don't really blame them. Americans are pretty ignorant, and we tend to want people to mold to our culture even though we're in their country. But for my part, I tried to speak as much french as possible. Unless they started speaking too fast, then I had to say "Je ne comprends pas!" or "plus lentement".
The Detroit Airport. I thought it was pretty cool :)
Hurray Parade!
Taken at St. James' Park (I think that's the name of the park). It's so pretty and peaceful. *sigh, wishing I could pull a Marry Poppins and jump into the picture*
Taken inside the London Eye (that big Ferris Wheel loooking thing) All the double decker buses made me laugh.
A picture my friend took of me at a restaurant. Insert Mother Amber. Photoshop.
Instead of Dollar Saver or Dollar General. It's Poundland. Get it?? I died laughing for hours when I saw this.
Omaha Beach, France.
Close up of the water.
Anyways, back to Fanfiction. A sniplet of Chapter six of 'Unpathed Waters, Undreamed Shores'. Figured I would give a sneak-peek since the chapters long overdue.
Ch. 6
By Friday night, Lily and James were back at the Potters’ house. So far, the sabotage plan wasn’t going too well. They had argued for hours and still hadn’t come up with any sort of scheme. Well, they had come up with one, but Lily had flat out refused to do it. Now, they were back to square on. Lily and James were hoping that the contract would give them a few ideas.
"Well, now if everyone’s settled," said Fabius M. Pasternak- their own personal marriage contractor. The guy was so ancient, Lily thought he belonged in a museum. "I’ll just hand out a copy of the contract to the betrothed."
Fabius thrusted a crisp stack of parchment in her face. Lily took it hesitantly, fearing what she was about to read.
Marital Binding Contract
The Merge of Evans-Potter
In order to legally bind the marriage of James Harold Godfrey Potter and Lillian Rosemarie Evans, the following Guidelines of Marital Binding must be met six months prior to the ceremony. Following the guidelines, the Articles of Marital Binding state what is to take and what is not to take place during the marriage. Violation of an article may result in a Marital Probation or ultimately a Marital Separation. Any further questions concerning the process of Marital Binding can be answered by the family’s personal legal contractor.
Guidelines of Marital Binding
I. The Marital Binding Contract must be signed by both parties six months prior to the ceremony.
II. The ceremony date must be set six months prior to the ceremony.
III. The future bride must be tested and concluded to be fertile before signing.
IV. A formal engagement announcement is required.
V. Signing of the Marital Binding Contract requires a legal contractor from the Ministry of Magic to witness the signing.
Articles of Marital Binding
I. Both parties must be married by Christmas of their eighteenth year.
XI. Once married, the newlyweds will officially take their titles as Lord and Lady.
V. The wife is required to take the husband’s name.
II. The first child must be born five years after the marriage.
III. A male heir is preferred but not required.
IV. The husband determines whether or not the wife may obtain a profession.
VI. The wife determines whether or not her husband can take a mistress.
VII. If the wife chooses for her husband not to have a mistress, unfaithfulness will not be tolerated and will result in an immediate Marital Probation.
VIII. An unfaithful wife is never tolerated and will result in an immediate Marital Probation or Marital Separation.
IX. Illegitimate children are deeply frowned upon (with a mistress) and will result in a Marital Probation. If the husband does not have a mistress than a Marital Separation will occur. In the case of an illegitimate child/children (in cases concerning both a mistress and a non mistress), the family will not recognize the child as part of their family, but the family will be allowed to support the child if they so choose.
X. Marital Separation(i.e. divorce) is hardly ever granted unless an Article is broken or both parties express extreme unhappiness in the marriage (see legal Contractor for more in-depth information concerning Marital Separation).
Once the legal contractor has checked and shown that all guidelines have been abided by, the families may officially sign the contract.
The Evans
_________________________________
(Lord Christopher Maxwell Evans III)
__________________________________
(Lady Sophia Kathleen Staffard-Evans)
__________________________________
(Lillian Rosemarie Evans)
The Potters
__________________________________
(Lord Godfrey Harold James Potter)
__________________________________
(Lady Viviane Constance Wortham-Potter)
__________________________________
(James Harold Godfrey Potter)
Verification by Legal Contractor
__________________________________
(Fabius M. Pasternak)
On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, we offer our congratulations to the future husband and bride-to-be. We wish you a lifetime of happiness.
Sincerely,
Milicient Bulstrode
The Minister of Magic and Staff.
"Well, are there any questions or concerns about the contract?" Fabius said perched on the edge of his seat, waiting for Lily and James to respond.
Lily didn’t know where to start. The contract had been worse than she had thought. Honestly, what century were they living in? Was Lily incapable of making her own decisions? James was supposed to decide if she could work. Like hell he was! And don’t even get her started on the whole mistress crap.
"Um, I have a question?"
Fabius instantly straightened up at the sound of her voice, eager for some sort of attention. "Yes. Go on." Lily could see her parents shifting nervously in their seats. A small smile spread across her lips.
"Um, this contract doesn’t exactly seem fair to me."
Sweat began to form on Fabius’ eyebrows. "I...I don’t think I quite understand what you mean Miss?"
"I mean this isn’t Victorian times anymore. I shouldn’t have to have James’ permission to get a job. Marriage is more about partnership these days anyways. I should have an equal right to everything James does."
Fabius wiped the sweat from him brow nervously. "Um, pardon me Miss, but that’s exactly what you will get. This contract will entitle you to everything that Mr. Potter is entitled to- his estate, his inheritance, everything."
Lily couldn’t hold back rolling her eyes. "That wasn’t what I meant. What I meant was that I should be able to decide if I want to work or not, not James. And if he’s allowed to take a mistress, I should be allowed to take a...mister?" She turned her head towards James and whispered. "Is that what they call it?"
James simply shrugged, oblivious to the conversation going on. Lily narrowed her eyes at him. He was looking at the contract dejectedly, and was paying hardly any attention to what was going on around him. Lily was about to ask him what was the matter, when he spoke up for the first time that night.
"So, if Lily and I marry, we will become the new Lord and Lady Potter?"
That was when it hit Lily. He was going to become the new Lord Potter- a title James had been fighting since he had learned to talk. Lily knew James had no desire to take his father’s title. He had no interest in politics, nor did he much care for other people in politics. As far back as Lily could remember, Mr. Potter had been pushing his son to be involved with the Ministry. On several occasions, Mr. Potter literally had to drag James to the Ministry, which didn’t do much good. James had never really embraced the thought of taking over his father’s job and being the new Lord Potter. And as far as Lily could tell, he never would.
"Yes James," Lord Potter said, sternly staring James down. "When you and Lily marry, you will become the new Lord and Lady Potter."
Crticism and Suggestions are more than welcome, but do bare in mind that this is a very, very rough draft.