Ezellahen
folder
Harry Potter Crossovers › General - Misc
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
18,844
Reviews:
37
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter Crossovers › General - Misc
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
18,844
Reviews:
37
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or CLAMP; None of the original stories and/or characters are mine in any way nor do I make any money from these writings.
Chapter 2: In Another World
Disclaimer: The characters of this story recognized from Harry Potter are the property of J.K. Rowling/Warner Bros while those from Middle Earth belong to Tolkien. In the future, two very entertaining characters from CLAMP will also be incorporated. This is a work of pure entertainment and we claim no monetary benefit what so ever.
This is a translation of the fanfic “Ezellahen" (Spanish) by Utena-Puchiko-nyu and Angeli Murasaki.
-/-/-/-
Ezellahen
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
WARNING: This fanfic is set COMPLETELY in an Alternate Universe. There will be M-preg, elves, wizards OOC and much more.
Reading Guide:
-Normal writing: narration
-Dialogue: “Regular dialogue”
-Character thoughts: 'character thoughts' (and sometimes used for word emphasis, etc.)
-Elvish tongue: /"Elvish"/
-Note: Will be notes from the authors
- Translator Notes: these are quite obviously notes from myself, the translator (Lina)
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-/-/-/-
Chapter 2: In Another World
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
-
In the Wizarding World…
-
A handsome man with chestnut colored haired walked in a somber fashion towards one of the many cells in the Ministry prison. Like every Wednesday for the past two months, he walked until he reached the third cell and dismissed the Auror on duty with a nod of his head, thankful to be able to spend some time alone with the prisoner.
“Hello, Sirius,” he murmured.
The figure of a man shifted within a cot and intense blue eyes met a pair of golden ones. He smiled crookedly and sat up.
“Moony…is it Wednesday already?”
“Yes, Padfoot. How are you?”
“I cannot feel well…even knowing everything…the guilt eats me alive.”
“It was him who betrayed us, Sirius and you know it. You shouldn’t blame…”
“But it was me who decided the change at the last minute!” He interrupted frantically, “and that’s why...! That’s why...!”
”You couldn’t have known that Peter was a Death Eater…” Moony said in an effort at comfort. Still, though the pain was wearing him out as well, he knew he had to be strong for the three of them.
“I know…I…” Sirius shook his head, “what do you about Prongs?”
“He’s still the same…though the mediwizards say that he may soon regain consciousness.”
“To return only to learn that his beloved Lily is dead and his son missing…,” he said bitterly. “Maybe it would have been better if he had also…”
“Take that thought out of your head, Sirius!” He reprimanded frowning. “If James had also died two months ago you would be in Azkaban accused of treason.”
“Maybe I deserve it…I hold some of the guilt.”
“Sirius…please don’t fall apart,” he swallowed, for he seemed to have a knot in his throat. “I can’t do this alone. I am doing everything I can to delay your trial…Crouch says that if James doesn’t wake up soon he will take you to Azkaban without recourse, your liberty rests in his hands. When you get out of here we’ll look for Harry and…”
“I’m sorry, Moony,” whispered Sirius, smiling sadly at his friend’s damp eyes. He noticed that he suffered as well, perhaps even more than he himself did, over what had happened on Halloween. “It’s just…I still can’t believe…gentle Peter….How could he do such a thing to us? I should have gone after him to kill him,” he mumbled between his teeth.
“If you had gone after Peter, perhaps you would have been too late to get James to St. Mungo’s and we would be mourning his death right now as well. Destiny will be sure to make Peter pay for his betrayal. For now, we should focus on upholding the true Marauders.”
“If it weren’t for you…,” he murmured, “how’s everything else going?”
“The Order is doing everything it can to find Harry. The way he just disappeared is too mysterious,” he shook his head. “According to the Death Eaters captured, Lord Voldemort went to Godric’s Hollow alone; no one else went with him, which is why we can’t explain what happened to the child. Of course, they could be lying, but Dumbledore says that it is unlikely that any of his followers would have him.”
“We will find him.”
“I hope so,” he sighted. “As for the rest, everyone in the wizarding world is still cheerfully celebrating Voldemort’s downfall. Everyone, except Frank…”
“Oh, where is he?”
“He has moved from his mother’s house. The house holds too many painful memories. He still hasn’t recovered from his double loss. It’s fortunate he still has his son…”
“Damn Bellatrix,” snarled Black. “I hope that murderer rots in Azkaban one day.”
“They were extremely vicious with poor Alice and Mrs. Augusta Longbottom. It was fortunate that Neville and Frank where not home at that time.”
“He has been left alone, just like James…but he does have his son with him.”
“I hope that when he wakes James handles this as well as Frank. Although, I think that all that fortitude he’s displaying is mostly for his son’s benefit. I know he’s still suffering a great deal over the deaths of his wife and mother.”
“Life is so unfair…”
“Mr. Lupin. It’s time,” the Auror muttered, interrupting their chat.
“All right,” he acknowledged. “We’ll see each other again next Wednesday, Paddy.”
“Right, thanks for coming Remus. Thank you.” Sirius hugged his friend before he left.
-
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-
Five days passed before he received a message from St. Mungo’s regarding his friend. It didn’t give him any details, they just requested his presence. He left everything as it was and swiftly left for St. Mungo’s with his heart in his throat.
“Excuse me,” he called to the nurse whose name tag it identified as Mayu. “My presence was requested in regards to the patient James Potter.”
“Oh, yes of course,” she smiled. He was their most famous patient. “Mr. Potter has awakened,” she started walking, followed by Remus. “He is somewhat disoriented and does not remember why he is here. The mediwizard in charge decided it was best not to tell him everything at the time, but rather to let him know little by little. He also recommended that the one to tell him should be someone he knew and trusted. “Could you…?”
“Of course,” he smiled, “I’ll take care of everything. I can see him now, right?”
“Sure…you know where he is.”
He walked steadily towards his friend’s room. He had said he would take care of everything, but it was no easy task to give such significant news to his friend. To tell him that Lily was dead and his son missing without a trace was going to be staggering for James.
When he entered the hospital room, he noticed his friend looking towards the window with a frown on his face even though it was a beautiful day outside. It was cold, but the sun shone brightly in the sky.
“James…,” he whispered, heartened to see his friend awake.
The man in question started and turned his head. He smiled widely after seeing who it was.
“Moony!” James held out his arms and Remus almost ran to hug his friend. “It’s so nice to finally see a familiar face! Since I woke up I have only been visited by a mediwizard and a bunch of pretty nurses. But none like my Lily…”
“Oh James,” Remus said sadly, hugging him tighter.
“What’s going on, Moony? Everyone is acting weird, nobody tells me why I’m here or where my family is.”
“You don’t remember anything from that night?” he asked, separating his body from the other wizard’s.
“No, I took a strong hit to the head and all my memories are gone,” he scratched his head in typical Potter fashion.
“Let me start slowly,” he sighed. “What I have to tell you is not good news.”
“Don’t scare me…”
When Remus was through with the worst of it, James Potter was crying silently and gazing blankly at the ceiling.
“And my baby?” he whispered.
“He’s still missing, Prongs. We are doing everything we can to find him but we have not been able to find a trace of him.”
“Merlin, this is a nightmare. Why me...? Why my Lily, why my son? I thought we were safe under the Fidelius…” he ran a hand over his face. “Damn you Peter!” he shouted.
“Calm down, James. Please,” Remus said, a bit alarmed.
“You tell me to be calm…” he said incredulous. “How do you want me to be calm after what you just told me? I have lost everything I loved!”
“You have not lost everything,” he murmured with a knot in his throat. “You have us, and Harry is missing, he needs you to be strong. You need to get well in order to search for him. Don’t fall apart as well; please…I can’t handle everything if you give up.”
Potter took a few deep breaths to calm down and turned to look at his friend with fondness.
“Forgive me, Remus,” he squeezed his hand. “I suppose I will have time later for self pity and mourning. The important thing now is to get Padfoot out of that place and find my cub. Could you get in touch with Albus and tell him I want to see him?”
“I’ll do it immediately. Sirius will be very happy to know you have finally woken up.”
-
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-
Two days later James Potter was released from the hospital. The first thing he did was to meet with the Minister of Magic. He informed him that he was aware of the fact that they had switched secret keeper at the last minute, he explained in detail how Sirius had requested the change in favor of Peter Pettigrew. This declaration finally placed the guilt firmly on the rat animagus. Crouch reticently accepted his declaration and signed the papers proclaiming Sirius Black’s freedom. Sirius in turn, received a public apology for the two months held in the Ministry prison and a hefty sum of galleons in compensation.
“We could perform a spell using James’ blood as a medium in order to look for any members of his family still alive.”
“Would it be effective in finding Harry?”
“We can give it a try, but if Harry has been taken by someone then they might have taken magical measures to conceal him. Nonetheless, blood magic has often proved strong in such cases.”
“Let’s try it Albus, I need my baby with me. He’s the only thing I have left.”
-
-In another dimension-
-
/“We have been looking for his parents for a long time and have yet to find anything…I think we should discuss this with Gandalf.”/
/“It would probably be best, it’s strange that we have not been able to find Ezellahen’s parents even though we have searched through almost every human village in existence.”/ Elladan agreed while adjusting the body of the sleeping child in his arms.
They had already been searching for many weeks and in every village they were told the same thing: They did not know the child and there were no reports of a child being missing. No one knew of the Potter family either, such a surname didn’t even exist in the villages they visited.
In part, they were quite happy at this turn of events for they were quite taken with the child. Harry was very lovable and bright. Though at the beginning he was timid and continually called out for his mother, the child ended up being quite fond of the twins. The child was now dressed as any other elfling. He wore small dark-green pants, a soft white cotton shirt, maroon boots tied together with leather straps, and a cloak with a hood to protect him from the cold and other harsh weather.
They were slowly teaching him words in the elvish tongue, but still spoke the tongue of men which the child understood better. Their searching was almost at an end, for if they were right, there were only three more human villages left to inquire at. This was in large part due to the second war of the ring, after which the number of men had been significantly reduced.
/“We both agree that his arrival came about through magical means. Only Mithrandir could have any leads regarding this incident.”/ said Elladan.
/“Do you think he comes from another world?”/
/“Anything is possible, the only thing I am sure about is that someone must be frantically looking and missing him somewhere.”/
/“But until we find that someone we will look after him as if he were family.”/ Elrohir stated and smiled tenderly while looking at the sleeping child.
-
In the Wizarding World…
-
He took a deep breath and slowly approached the small structure in the cemetery. He reached the Potter mausoleum and with a few swishes of his wand the doors opened with a creak.
“My Lily…” he murmured tenderly, while running a hand upon his wife’s coffin. He placed a large arrangement of flowers in the vase close to it and couldn’t stop some of his tears from trickling out. “You least of all deserved all this, my love. All because of a damn prophecy…” He kissed two of his fingers and then placed them on the wood. “I promise you that I will find our son and raise him to be a good man. I promise, if it is the last thing I do…”
“And we shall help you.”
James turned around, smiling towards the door. His best friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, were at the door, each one with flowers in hand and smiling encouragingly.
“Thank you, my friends. I just hope the spell works…or we will have to find another way of bringing Harry back to us. He’s the last thing I have left of my Lily and I’m not willing to lose him as well."
-
-Somewhere in Middle Earth-
-
“You know Harry…” Elrohir murmured while he rearranged him into a more comfortable position in his arms. “I sincerely hope that we never find your family…I want you in my life. I think you are something I have needed for a long time, I feel that you complete me somehow. It is selfish of me, but if destiny led you to us, it must be for a reason.” He smiled, tracing a finger across the peculiar, lighting shaped scar.
Elladan sighed and shook his head, then he left his hiding place next to the tree in order to go look for the water they needed. He could not deny that he agreed with his brother’s thoughts. However, he was very much aware that Harry was not theirs and inevitably the moment would come in which they will be separated from the child once again.
To Be Continued…
-
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-
Note: Hello!!
Now we see a bit of what’s going on in the wizarding world. We hope that you were glad to see we left James and Frank alive…we have plans for them… XD
Translator Notes: Still looking for a beta reader! I really need someone to help with the story flow. At the moment it’s a little too stiff as I am sure you guys have already noticed…
Please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome!
This is a translation of the fanfic “Ezellahen" (Spanish) by Utena-Puchiko-nyu and Angeli Murasaki.
-/-/-/-
Ezellahen
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
WARNING: This fanfic is set COMPLETELY in an Alternate Universe. There will be M-preg, elves, wizards OOC and much more.
Reading Guide:
-Normal writing: narration
-Dialogue: “Regular dialogue”
-Character thoughts: 'character thoughts' (and sometimes used for word emphasis, etc.)
-Elvish tongue: /"Elvish"/
-Note: Will be notes from the authors
- Translator Notes: these are quite obviously notes from myself, the translator (Lina)
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-/-/-/-
Chapter 2: In Another World
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
-
In the Wizarding World…
-
A handsome man with chestnut colored haired walked in a somber fashion towards one of the many cells in the Ministry prison. Like every Wednesday for the past two months, he walked until he reached the third cell and dismissed the Auror on duty with a nod of his head, thankful to be able to spend some time alone with the prisoner.
“Hello, Sirius,” he murmured.
The figure of a man shifted within a cot and intense blue eyes met a pair of golden ones. He smiled crookedly and sat up.
“Moony…is it Wednesday already?”
“Yes, Padfoot. How are you?”
“I cannot feel well…even knowing everything…the guilt eats me alive.”
“It was him who betrayed us, Sirius and you know it. You shouldn’t blame…”
“But it was me who decided the change at the last minute!” He interrupted frantically, “and that’s why...! That’s why...!”
”You couldn’t have known that Peter was a Death Eater…” Moony said in an effort at comfort. Still, though the pain was wearing him out as well, he knew he had to be strong for the three of them.
“I know…I…” Sirius shook his head, “what do you about Prongs?”
“He’s still the same…though the mediwizards say that he may soon regain consciousness.”
“To return only to learn that his beloved Lily is dead and his son missing…,” he said bitterly. “Maybe it would have been better if he had also…”
“Take that thought out of your head, Sirius!” He reprimanded frowning. “If James had also died two months ago you would be in Azkaban accused of treason.”
“Maybe I deserve it…I hold some of the guilt.”
“Sirius…please don’t fall apart,” he swallowed, for he seemed to have a knot in his throat. “I can’t do this alone. I am doing everything I can to delay your trial…Crouch says that if James doesn’t wake up soon he will take you to Azkaban without recourse, your liberty rests in his hands. When you get out of here we’ll look for Harry and…”
“I’m sorry, Moony,” whispered Sirius, smiling sadly at his friend’s damp eyes. He noticed that he suffered as well, perhaps even more than he himself did, over what had happened on Halloween. “It’s just…I still can’t believe…gentle Peter….How could he do such a thing to us? I should have gone after him to kill him,” he mumbled between his teeth.
“If you had gone after Peter, perhaps you would have been too late to get James to St. Mungo’s and we would be mourning his death right now as well. Destiny will be sure to make Peter pay for his betrayal. For now, we should focus on upholding the true Marauders.”
“If it weren’t for you…,” he murmured, “how’s everything else going?”
“The Order is doing everything it can to find Harry. The way he just disappeared is too mysterious,” he shook his head. “According to the Death Eaters captured, Lord Voldemort went to Godric’s Hollow alone; no one else went with him, which is why we can’t explain what happened to the child. Of course, they could be lying, but Dumbledore says that it is unlikely that any of his followers would have him.”
“We will find him.”
“I hope so,” he sighted. “As for the rest, everyone in the wizarding world is still cheerfully celebrating Voldemort’s downfall. Everyone, except Frank…”
“Oh, where is he?”
“He has moved from his mother’s house. The house holds too many painful memories. He still hasn’t recovered from his double loss. It’s fortunate he still has his son…”
“Damn Bellatrix,” snarled Black. “I hope that murderer rots in Azkaban one day.”
“They were extremely vicious with poor Alice and Mrs. Augusta Longbottom. It was fortunate that Neville and Frank where not home at that time.”
“He has been left alone, just like James…but he does have his son with him.”
“I hope that when he wakes James handles this as well as Frank. Although, I think that all that fortitude he’s displaying is mostly for his son’s benefit. I know he’s still suffering a great deal over the deaths of his wife and mother.”
“Life is so unfair…”
“Mr. Lupin. It’s time,” the Auror muttered, interrupting their chat.
“All right,” he acknowledged. “We’ll see each other again next Wednesday, Paddy.”
“Right, thanks for coming Remus. Thank you.” Sirius hugged his friend before he left.
-
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-
Five days passed before he received a message from St. Mungo’s regarding his friend. It didn’t give him any details, they just requested his presence. He left everything as it was and swiftly left for St. Mungo’s with his heart in his throat.
“Excuse me,” he called to the nurse whose name tag it identified as Mayu. “My presence was requested in regards to the patient James Potter.”
“Oh, yes of course,” she smiled. He was their most famous patient. “Mr. Potter has awakened,” she started walking, followed by Remus. “He is somewhat disoriented and does not remember why he is here. The mediwizard in charge decided it was best not to tell him everything at the time, but rather to let him know little by little. He also recommended that the one to tell him should be someone he knew and trusted. “Could you…?”
“Of course,” he smiled, “I’ll take care of everything. I can see him now, right?”
“Sure…you know where he is.”
He walked steadily towards his friend’s room. He had said he would take care of everything, but it was no easy task to give such significant news to his friend. To tell him that Lily was dead and his son missing without a trace was going to be staggering for James.
When he entered the hospital room, he noticed his friend looking towards the window with a frown on his face even though it was a beautiful day outside. It was cold, but the sun shone brightly in the sky.
“James…,” he whispered, heartened to see his friend awake.
The man in question started and turned his head. He smiled widely after seeing who it was.
“Moony!” James held out his arms and Remus almost ran to hug his friend. “It’s so nice to finally see a familiar face! Since I woke up I have only been visited by a mediwizard and a bunch of pretty nurses. But none like my Lily…”
“Oh James,” Remus said sadly, hugging him tighter.
“What’s going on, Moony? Everyone is acting weird, nobody tells me why I’m here or where my family is.”
“You don’t remember anything from that night?” he asked, separating his body from the other wizard’s.
“No, I took a strong hit to the head and all my memories are gone,” he scratched his head in typical Potter fashion.
“Let me start slowly,” he sighed. “What I have to tell you is not good news.”
“Don’t scare me…”
When Remus was through with the worst of it, James Potter was crying silently and gazing blankly at the ceiling.
“And my baby?” he whispered.
“He’s still missing, Prongs. We are doing everything we can to find him but we have not been able to find a trace of him.”
“Merlin, this is a nightmare. Why me...? Why my Lily, why my son? I thought we were safe under the Fidelius…” he ran a hand over his face. “Damn you Peter!” he shouted.
“Calm down, James. Please,” Remus said, a bit alarmed.
“You tell me to be calm…” he said incredulous. “How do you want me to be calm after what you just told me? I have lost everything I loved!”
“You have not lost everything,” he murmured with a knot in his throat. “You have us, and Harry is missing, he needs you to be strong. You need to get well in order to search for him. Don’t fall apart as well; please…I can’t handle everything if you give up.”
Potter took a few deep breaths to calm down and turned to look at his friend with fondness.
“Forgive me, Remus,” he squeezed his hand. “I suppose I will have time later for self pity and mourning. The important thing now is to get Padfoot out of that place and find my cub. Could you get in touch with Albus and tell him I want to see him?”
“I’ll do it immediately. Sirius will be very happy to know you have finally woken up.”
-
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-
Two days later James Potter was released from the hospital. The first thing he did was to meet with the Minister of Magic. He informed him that he was aware of the fact that they had switched secret keeper at the last minute, he explained in detail how Sirius had requested the change in favor of Peter Pettigrew. This declaration finally placed the guilt firmly on the rat animagus. Crouch reticently accepted his declaration and signed the papers proclaiming Sirius Black’s freedom. Sirius in turn, received a public apology for the two months held in the Ministry prison and a hefty sum of galleons in compensation.
“We could perform a spell using James’ blood as a medium in order to look for any members of his family still alive.”
“Would it be effective in finding Harry?”
“We can give it a try, but if Harry has been taken by someone then they might have taken magical measures to conceal him. Nonetheless, blood magic has often proved strong in such cases.”
“Let’s try it Albus, I need my baby with me. He’s the only thing I have left.”
-
-In another dimension-
-
/“We have been looking for his parents for a long time and have yet to find anything…I think we should discuss this with Gandalf.”/
/“It would probably be best, it’s strange that we have not been able to find Ezellahen’s parents even though we have searched through almost every human village in existence.”/ Elladan agreed while adjusting the body of the sleeping child in his arms.
They had already been searching for many weeks and in every village they were told the same thing: They did not know the child and there were no reports of a child being missing. No one knew of the Potter family either, such a surname didn’t even exist in the villages they visited.
In part, they were quite happy at this turn of events for they were quite taken with the child. Harry was very lovable and bright. Though at the beginning he was timid and continually called out for his mother, the child ended up being quite fond of the twins. The child was now dressed as any other elfling. He wore small dark-green pants, a soft white cotton shirt, maroon boots tied together with leather straps, and a cloak with a hood to protect him from the cold and other harsh weather.
They were slowly teaching him words in the elvish tongue, but still spoke the tongue of men which the child understood better. Their searching was almost at an end, for if they were right, there were only three more human villages left to inquire at. This was in large part due to the second war of the ring, after which the number of men had been significantly reduced.
/“We both agree that his arrival came about through magical means. Only Mithrandir could have any leads regarding this incident.”/ said Elladan.
/“Do you think he comes from another world?”/
/“Anything is possible, the only thing I am sure about is that someone must be frantically looking and missing him somewhere.”/
/“But until we find that someone we will look after him as if he were family.”/ Elrohir stated and smiled tenderly while looking at the sleeping child.
-
In the Wizarding World…
-
He took a deep breath and slowly approached the small structure in the cemetery. He reached the Potter mausoleum and with a few swishes of his wand the doors opened with a creak.
“My Lily…” he murmured tenderly, while running a hand upon his wife’s coffin. He placed a large arrangement of flowers in the vase close to it and couldn’t stop some of his tears from trickling out. “You least of all deserved all this, my love. All because of a damn prophecy…” He kissed two of his fingers and then placed them on the wood. “I promise you that I will find our son and raise him to be a good man. I promise, if it is the last thing I do…”
“And we shall help you.”
James turned around, smiling towards the door. His best friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, were at the door, each one with flowers in hand and smiling encouragingly.
“Thank you, my friends. I just hope the spell works…or we will have to find another way of bringing Harry back to us. He’s the last thing I have left of my Lily and I’m not willing to lose him as well."
-
-Somewhere in Middle Earth-
-
“You know Harry…” Elrohir murmured while he rearranged him into a more comfortable position in his arms. “I sincerely hope that we never find your family…I want you in my life. I think you are something I have needed for a long time, I feel that you complete me somehow. It is selfish of me, but if destiny led you to us, it must be for a reason.” He smiled, tracing a finger across the peculiar, lighting shaped scar.
Elladan sighed and shook his head, then he left his hiding place next to the tree in order to go look for the water they needed. He could not deny that he agreed with his brother’s thoughts. However, he was very much aware that Harry was not theirs and inevitably the moment would come in which they will be separated from the child once again.
To Be Continued…
-
“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“-“
-
Note: Hello!!
Now we see a bit of what’s going on in the wizarding world. We hope that you were glad to see we left James and Frank alive…we have plans for them… XD
Translator Notes: Still looking for a beta reader! I really need someone to help with the story flow. At the moment it’s a little too stiff as I am sure you guys have already noticed…
Please review! Constructive criticism is always welcome!