#〖 all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us ✴ crona〗

[nekonaps0]

i LOVE YOUR WRITING!!! i will say i am extremely heartbroken over that poll where lilia won over FWB leona 🥀🥀🥀 still loved that fic thooo but if you could find it in your heart to write that FWB fic i would do unspeakable things for that❤️❤️ thank you luv you

Undone

✦Leona Kingscholar x Fem!Reader

✦NSFW/smut, friends with benefits, unspoken feelings, pining!Leona, oblivious reader, tension, setup for later emotional chaos, possessive behavior, mutual emotional realization, soft aftercare

✦ well lucky you because all those fic I mentioned there are already written. I just couldn’t decide which one should I post first

You’d never really given it much thought before. Sure, you knew Leona was attractive, anyone with eyes could tell that, but he’d always just been Leona to you. Your friend. Your grumpy, lazy, nap loving, sharp tongued, secretly softhearted best friend.

The one who’d let you hang out in his room for hours, take over his bed, complain about your classes, or talk about anything and everything with little more than a grunt and an occasional sarcastic remark. You were comfortable with him, so comfortable, in fact, that tonight’s conversation had wandered into new territory without a second thought.

“I’m just saying,” you sighed, tossing a stress ball up and down as you lounged on his bed, “it’s kind of stupid how you basically need a relationship just to get laid.”

Leona, lounging on the bed with one arm behind his head, cracked open an eye.

You rolled onto your stomach, letting your cheek rest on your forearms as you stared at him. “I mean, sure, people hook up all the time, but it’s always complicated. Someone catches feelings or freaks out, or there’s some stupid drama. Can’t someone just have a little fun without drama?”

Leona didn’t respond right away. He was looking at you, but it wasn’t his usual lazy, half asleep look. There was something different in his eyes tonight, darker, unreadable.

You were too deep in your own musings to notice. “Maybe I should just get a hookup partner,” you muttered, half to yourself, chewing your lower lip. “Someone chill. No pressure. No strings. Just... some much needed relief.”

That pulled a snort from him. “You make it sound like you’re dying of thirst.”

You rolled your eyes. “I am dying, Leona. It’s been months.”

He let out a low chuckle, his chest rising slightly with the sound. “So what? Gonna go down a list of potential suitors at NRC? That’ll be a fun disaster.”

You paused. “Hmm... maybe. Let's see. Not Ace. He'd make it weird. Definitely not Sebek, he’d probably scream during.”

That earned a full laugh from Leona, deep and rich, echoing through the room. “You're sick.”

“Come on, be honest. You’ve thought about this kind of thing too, right? Casual, no strings stuff?”

His smirk dimmed slightly, eyes locking onto yours. “Of course.”

You sat up on your knees now, thoughtful. “I mean... who would be a good candidate?”

Leona watched you carefully, his tongue running over the inside of his cheek. Then, with a casualness that didn’t reach his eyes, he said “Why not me?”

Your brain short circuited. “...Huh?”

Leona shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “You want someone you’re comfortable with. Someone who won’t get clingy or jealous. Someone who doesn’t make things weird. We’re already close. Why not keep it simple?”

You blinked at him, heart skipping a beat. “You’re saying... we should hook up?”

“If that’s what you want,” he said, voice smooth but unreadable. “Friends with benefits. You get what you need, I get what I need. No strings. No drama.”

You stared.

You knew Leona was flirty sometimes, but this didn’t sound like a joke. His voice was too calm. Too measured.

Still, it made a strange kind of sense.

You were close. You trusted him more than anyone. And the idea of sleeping with someone without the awkward, fumbling stage of new attraction sounded... honestly, kind of perfect. Leona knew you. You knew him. And if he was okay with it.

“You’re serious?” you asked softly.

He looked up at you, eyes heavy lidded and unreadable. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

You hesitated.

Then nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Something flickered behind his eyes too quick to name but he gave you a faint smirk and sat up, stretching. “Good,” he said simply. “We’ll take it slow. No pressure. Just…” He gestured lazily between you. “Whenever it feels right.”

You nodded again, unsure why your heart was pounding. From across the room, Leona watched you with a look you didn’t see, equal parts hunger and heartbreak. Because to you, this was convenience.

To him?

It was the only way he could have you without losing you completely.

•

It started with a couch.

A lazy afternoon, both of you bored and alone in his room. You were ranting about potions class, sprawled half on top of him. His hand had slipped under your shirt, pure muscle memory by now and then lips followed, teeth, tongue, breathy curses.

You didn’t even remember how it escalated. But that was the first time.

After that, it just… happened.

Everywhere. And anywhere.

His room. Your dorm lounge. A study room in the library with the door questionably locked. Behind the botanical gardens. Once, dangerously close to Ruggie’s room, where you had to stifle your laughter and gasps into Leona’s shoulder as his hand covered your mouth.

It was fun. Secretive. Addicting.

And at first, it was exactly what you both wanted, at least, that’s what you thought.

When one of you felt the need, it was easy. No fuss. No flirting needed. No sweet talking. No overthinking. Just a look, a low growl, a shared breath.

Then you’d go back to normal, as if nothing happened. No lingering tension. No awkwardness.

At least… at first.

It was around after two or three weeks later that something changed.

You didn’t notice it immediately.

Maybe it was because you’d been talking to Jack outside the cafeteria. The big guy had just helped you carry a stack of potions supplies, and you gave him one of your usual sweet, grateful smiles, thanking him and lightly touching his arm.

Then, out of nowhere, Leona had dragged you into the nearest unused closet and kissed you breathless against the wall.

You hadn’t questioned it. In fact, you’d enjoyed it. Thought it was hot being ambushed like that, his voice low and growly with want, his hands greedy.

“Couldn’t wait,” he muttered into your neck. “You look too good when you smile like that.”

You thought he was just horny. You didn’t think it was the smile at Jack that triggered it.

Another time, it was Ace. He made a dumb joke at lunch that had you cackling so hard, you nearly choked. Leona had been leaning against a wall nearby, lazily drinking a smoothie.

Twenty minutes later, you found yourself pinned under him in the greenhouse, the sun filtering through the leaves and his fingers tangled in your hair.

“You’re so loud sometimes,” he said into your throat, lips brushing skin. “People gonna hear how eager you are.”

You thought it was teasing. You didn’t realize he was still thinking about your laugh from earlier and who had caused it.

After that, the pattern became clearer… not to you, but to others…

The day things really started shifting was during a simple lunch with your usual group.

Deuce sat next to you, eating politely. Ace across from you, already being obnoxious. Epel had joined you today too, chewing aggressively on a chicken wing while adding his country boy sass to the conversation.

You were halfway through your sandwich, casually telling them about your latest “situation” with Leona because, at this point, it wasn’t a big deal or a secret. Just something happening in your life.

“so then he shows up at the library while Ortho tutored me,” you said around a bite, “and just leans over and whispers if I want to take a ‘study break.’”

Ace blinked. “Hold up. Study break? That’s code, right?”

You gave a one shouldered shrug. “Obviously.”

Epel nearly choked. “And ya went with him?! Just like that?!”

“Well, yeah. We’re friends with benefits. That’s the whole point, right?”

Ace raised an eyebrow. “Okay, yeah, but… isn’t it kinda weird how often he’s pulling you off like that? Didn’t you say it’s supposed to be casual?”

“It is casual,” you insisted, sipping your drink.

Deuce frowned slightly. “That sounds like jealousy.”

“What?” You blinked, genuinely confused.

Epel gave you a Look. “Y/N, you say he does this every time a guy so much as talks to ya.”

“Not every time…”

“Name five,” Ace said, crossing his arms.

You opened your mouth. Closed it. Opened it again…

“…Jack. Ace. Deuce. That random merchant guy in town last week. And… Azul, maybe?”

Epel leaned forward. “Girl. That’s a damn pattern.”

Deuce nodded slowly. “I mean, if he’s getting possessive, that’s not nothing.”

You laughed. “He’s not possessive, guys. It’s Leona. He just gets… in the mood, sometimes.”

Ace exchanged a look with the others, then looked at you like you were the insane one. “Y/N. You’re telling us this guy who doesn’t care about anyone’s business suddenly appears every time someone flirts with you… and you think that’s normal?”

You furrowed your brows. “Well, yeah. I mean, we’ve always been close. Maybe he’s just protective or something.”

Deuce gave you a soft, concerned look. “Have you ever thought… maybe he’s in love with you?”

You snorted so hard you nearly inhaled your drink. “Leona? In love? No way.”

Ace rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Keep living in your delulu dream. Just don’t come crying to us when this ‘casual’ thing turns into a soap opera.”

Epel pointed his chicken wing at you like it was a sword. “You’re either the most emotionally blind person I’ve ever met, or you’re tryin’ real hard not to see it.”

You sat back in your chair, feeling weirdly unsettled.

Because now that they mentioned it… there had been a change. Leona had started showing up more. Calling you his herbivore with a sharpness that felt almost possessive. Growling under his breath when people flirted with you. Making sure he was the last one to walk you back at night. Even now, you thought about the way his eyes darkened whenever someone made you laugh, how his hands held you tighter, how his mouth lingered longer on your skin after.

You’d chalked it up to him being a Leona. Dramatic. Proud. Territorial, maybe. But… could it really be more than that? Could he feel something deeper?

You pushed the thought away.

You didn’t want to complicate things. You liked what you had. It worked. It was easy. And you didn’t want to ruin that by reading too much into his actions… right?

That night, Leona texted you.

Leona 🦁

You busy?

You

Nah. Just got back from dinner. Why?

Leona 🦁

Come to my room.

•

You stood outside Leona’s door a few seconds longer than usual.

That conversation at lunch was still stuck in your head, Epel’s chicken wing accusation, Ace’s wide eyed concern, Deuce’s gentle nudge that maybe, just maybe, Leona felt something deeper.

You hadn’t been able to shake it.

And now… standing there with your heart stuttering a little too loud in your chest, you realized you were nervous. Not just for the usual tension, the physical heat. No, this time, it felt different.

You didn’t know what to expect.

Still, when you knocked once and the door swung open with that familiar creak, everything inside you fluttered because there he was.

Shirt unbuttoned, hair tousled, emerald eyes gleaming under the low light. “About time,” he muttered with a half smile. “Thought you were ditchin’ me.”

You forced a laugh, trying to mask your unease. “Took the scenic route.”

But when he stepped aside to let you in and his hand brushed your lower back, all those strange, unsettled thoughts melted under the weight of his touch.

It was always like this with him. He touched you like he owned you, even though he didn’t. And you let him, even though you told yourself it didn’t mean anything.

The door clicked shut behind you, and the air in the room thickened with tension. He leaned against it for a moment, watching you. You could feel his gaze crawling across your skin like warm sunlight. There was hunger in it but something else, too. Something you couldn’t name.

You opened your mouth to say something maybe a joke, maybe to fill the silence but he was already moving.

Crossing the room in three long strides, he cupped your face with one hand and kissed you.

Hard.

Hot.

Hungry.

Your fingers gripped his shirt automatically, fisting the fabric, holding onto him like he might disappear. He kissed you like he couldn’t get enough, like he needed to taste every sound you made, like your mouth was the only thing keeping him grounded.

You broke the kiss with a gasp, lips tingling. “Leona—”

He growled, breath hot against your jaw, “I hope you’re gonna tell me you want this.”

You stared at him, chest heaving. Whatever lingering questions you had, whatever worries, the second he touched you, they vanished.

You didn’t want to talk. You wanted him. So you nodded, breathless. “I do.” That was all it took.

He walked you backward toward the bed, mouths fused, hands wandering. His fingers slid under your shirt, up your spine, deft and sure. He pulled it off and tossed it somewhere, his own shirt following. His mouth dropped to your collarbone, teeth grazing, tongue smoothing over the sting. The bed caught the back of your knees. You tumbled onto it with a soft laugh cut off when he climbed over you, pinning you with his weight, his lips trailing fire down your neck.

“Leona,” you whispered, arching into him.

He growled low, almost like a purr, as if your voice alone could drive him wild. Then he dropped lower. And lower. You froze when he settled between your thighs, hands gripping your hips like you’d vanish if he let go.

“H-Hey, what are you—?”

“You’ve been too smug lately,” he said against your skin, kissing down your stomach while his hands tugging down your pants lower then with one move he pulled it off and toss it away. “Need to remind you who makes you fall apart.”

You didn’t have time to argue. His mouth met your core, and you shattered. Leona was relentless.

Languid, confident, devastating.

He licked and sucked like he had all the time in the world. Like this was what he lived for. Like you were his favorite meal and he was savoring every drop.

You couldn’t even think. All you could do was cry out his name, curses, nonsense, your fingers buried in his hair, thighs trembling. “L-Leona, I’m—!”

“Good,” he rasped, voice low and full of pride. His sharp eyes looked up at you like he memorizing your every reaction, how you fall apart just because of him. “Let me hear you.”

And when you came, it was with a loud gasp and a rush of warmth through your veins, hips arching, body shaking.

He didn’t stop until you were completely undone.

He came up for air with a smug glint in his eyes, licking his lips like sin itself.

You pulled him up by the shoulders, dragging him into a kiss, tasting yourself on his tongue.

“You’re such an ass,” you whispered against his mouth.

“Mm,” he hummed. “But I’m your favorite one.”

You laughed breathlessly. “Shut up and fuck me.”

His grin was wicked. “As you wish.”

Clothes disappeared.

Sheets twisted.

Limbs tangled.

He entered you slowly, agonizingly, groaning into your shoulder like it physically hurt him to go that slow. “You feel too good,” he muttered. “Too tight… always do.”

You clung to him, nails raking down his back, matching his rhythm, gasping into his neck as he moved. Fast and deep.

Hard and smooth. Possessive and reverent.

It wasn’t just physical anymore. You could feel it in the way he touched you, how he held you like you were something precious, how his kisses dragged longer than necessary, how his hands gripped you like he’d never let go.

And just when you were about to fall apart again, just before both of you hit your peak, he buried his face in your neck and whispered, breath ragged, voice hoarse “Fuck… you feel so deam good… I want you… I want you…” and with a cracked, quite voice against your neck “Fuck…I love you…”

The room went silent.

Your heart stopped.

And Leona froze.

It wasn’t until after the afterglow, the quiet panting, the soft collapse beside you, that he realized what he’d said. And you felt the shift in him. How his body went tense. How he turned his head just slightly, like he was hoping you hadn’t noticed.

But you had.

You turned your head to look at him, eyes wide. “…What did you say?”

He closed his eyes, jaw tight. “Forget it.”

“No,” you said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “Leona. Say it again.”

He stayed silent for a beat longer Then “I said I love you.” His voice was quieter now, rough around the edges. “Didn’t mean to. Wasn’t supposed to come out like that.”

Your breath caught.

Leona turned his face away, shame flickering behind his emerald eyes. “I know we said this was casual. And I meant it, at first. But you’re in my head all the time. And every time some guy so much as looks at you, I wanna rip his throat out.”

You stared, stunned.

“I didn’t wanna ruin it. Didn’t want to lose you. So I kept my mouth shut.” He looked at you then, eyes raw and vulnerable. “But I can’t do it anymore, herbivore.” He took a sharp breath and biting the inside of his cheek “I feel this way since the first time you curled up on my bed like you owned it.”

You felt like your whole world had turned inside out. Because suddenly, everything made sense. The way he touched you. The way he growled at other guys. The way he kept finding reasons to be near you, pulling you back to him, over and over. And most of all, the ache in your own chest.

The warmth that bloomed every time you saw him. The way your body knew his touch. How your heart fluttered every time he smirked your way, how you’d started waiting for his texts even when you weren’t in the mood for anything physical.How you felt safe with him. Wanted. Adored.

You reached out and touched his face, guiding him to look at you. “…I love you too.”

Leona blinked. “You…what?”

You laughed “I was just too dumb to realize it.”

He stared at you like you’d knocked the wind out of him. Then he leaned in and kissed you, slow this time. Sweet. Like you were something sacred.

When he pulled back, his voice was low. “So… what now?”

You smiled and tucked your face into his chest, tracing lazy circles across his skin. “We start dating. Obviously.”

Leona grinned against your hair. “Took you long enough, herbivore.”

•

The next morning, when Leona strolled out of his room with you trailing behind, both of you looking rumpled and smug, something felt different. It wasn’t just the sex. It wasn’t just the fact that you were holding his hand now. It was everything.

And when one of the Savanaclaw students passed by and muttered, “Damn, you were loud,”

Without even looking, Leona just smirked. “Jealous?”

The guy blinked and turned bright red.

You elbowed Leona with a snort.

He looked at you, eyes warm, then leaned down to murmur in your ear “Get used to it. You’re mine now.”

You didn’t even bother pretending you didn’t like the sound of that.

..............................................................................................................................

[alpaca-clouds]

Reading through a lot of Superman posts here, and I realize that a lot of people here (especially younger folks) do not know the story of how James Gunn got to be the head of DC-movies. Because... Yeah, I saw people calling him apolitical. And the entire thing is, that... he is anything but.

But also this story is wonderul and I love it, because it shows that sometimes Karma really works.

So, you know probably that James Gunn did the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, right? And like many directors that Marvel Studios hired at the time he was not quite a big director at the time. He had done a couple of bigger projects compared to folks like Taika Waititi or Ryan Coogler, given that Gunn was a writer for Dawn of the Dead and the Scooby Doo live action movies, but he had not directed anything outside of Indie stuff. But at the time the MCU was hiring a lot of indie darlings.

Now, the other thing you need to know: James Gunn is one of the rare instances of a white cis guy, who starts out very edgy and often misogynist, and queerphobic, and then realizes this before there is a scandal, rethinks his ways and publically apologizes. Like, early on he was pretty shitty. But he basically had his change of heart around 2012 and ever since had been pretty progressive in his politics.

So, he did the first two Guardians movies, and the people working with him (actors, staffers and so on) loved working with him. Said he was a good director. BUT also Gunn was one of those people who online would not shut up about his political opinions. Which very much included calling out Donald Trump and other rightwing pundits on their BS.

Which lead to some folks losely connected to the GamerGate movement - and big, big Snyder-verse DC fans - planning an attack. Mind you, them being Snyder fans is kinda ironic because Snyder and Gunn are good friends.

But yeah, they were among the kind of people who loved Trump and Snyder's dark and egdy Superman and for them James Gunn with his lighthearted, positive Superhero takes, his criticism of toxic men, and his criticism especially of Trump and his cronies was everything wrong with Hollywood and modern superhero media.

So, just as ComicCon 2018 was getting started they posted stuff online. Mostly a collection of screenshots from tweet Gunn had made before 2012. Aka, before he realized that toxic masculinity was shitty. These tweet (which he had not delected) included rape jokes, including CSA jokes, and jokes about the Holocaust. Again, all things he had apologized for repeatedly and unpromptedly back in 2012 and 2013.

But because it was SDCC, everyone was talking about it now, and media was all over it, the heads at Disney got cold feet and fired him before the con was over.

Which lead to outrage... from the left. Because most more progressive movie fans knew that Gunn had long apologized for this stuff. And the main actors who had worked with him on GotG 1 and 2 basically said: "We will not do GotG 3 without Gunn, even if it means we have to pay millions to Disney, for breaking our contracts." (Judgement is out on whether or not they would have done it, but they definitely threatened it.)

But the board of Disney was a bunch of cowards so they did not say anything. For months.

And during those months the folks at Warner were looking at it and came to Gunn: "Say, if you could just take any DC property and make a comic book movie out of it. What would it be?" And Gunn went: "I would make a good Suicide Squad movie." And Warner was: "Okay, here you go."

Which lead to Gunn making The Suicide Squad. Which was one of the better performing and especially better rated DCU movies.

By the time the movie got released Disney had seen the errors of their ways and rehired Gunn for GotG 3.

Which then got shot. But while it was in production Warner was realizing that right now their DC stuff was not working and struggled to find an audience. So they decided they needed someone to actually properly lead the project. Ideally someone who loved comics, and who people liked working with...

Which led them to decide on Gunn (together with another guy, who also is a director).

So then... Gunn got to make all the DC movies he wanted. Including those that were full of his political opinions. That by now are very much focused on toxic masculinity and how it harms people, on the issues of marginalized groups, and so on.

To sum it up: Some right wing nutjobs tried to get Gunn removed from GotG 3, partially because they wanted all comic book movies to be dark, gritty, and toxically masculine. And it ended with Gunn getting the control over the DC movies, putting his politics, that those right wing nuts hated, into those as well.

Karma is a bitch and I love her. :D

Also, you know what? I do not like Snyder's movies. But by now i have been convinced that despite the way his movies look, he is actually not a rigth wing nut-job. And actually, I kinda would like to see a movie written by someone more Gunn-aligned but directed by Snyder. Again, those two are good friends. So I could totally see that work.

[goobstars]

Pulling Jax to readers height to give him a smooch and walks away 👀?

𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

summary : since you and jax had been dating for quite a while, you decided that you were ready to kiss him. the only thing preventing you from doing so? his height.

tags : romance, jax & reader are in a relationship, and you all stay your height if you're taller than jax just make him taller than you brochacho so this makes sense

note : i had no clue what i was doing with this, but i hope you enjoy because i truly did try to make it okay-reading. I'VE BEEN A TEENY ITTY BITTY BIT TIRED, BUT WE GOTTA STAY ON THAT GRIND !! ENJOY !!

why did he have to be so tall?

the question was one that flickered in your mind every time you glanced at jax, and the curiosity only grew stronger when you had to look up at him just to meet his gaze.

though, it was quite difficult to tell if the question was one of irritation or genuine curiosity. you felt annoyance at his height because he was heavily aware of it, and he knew you were, too.

so, like every tall person does, he constantly teased you.

he'd place an arm on your head so he could lean on you, and he would put his hand up to his forehead before moving it forward just so you could see how much taller he was than you.

did that bother you? yes, but that wasn't the main reason as to why his height bothered you so much. you both had been dating for quite a bit, so you were used to his taunts, but you weren't used to the fact that doing a single act would be insanely difficult given his height.

and that single act was kissing him.

you had pondered doing it many times, but you had also questioned if you could do it as well. even if you got up on the tips of your toes, you still wouldn't be able to reach him, and given how dense he is sometimes, you didn't expect him to make the first move.

so, you had to take matters into your own hands.

you had studied the perfect opportunities and ways you could kiss him, and there were a couple of things that you noted that could work. you could wait until he was sitting down to kiss him, or you could wait until he was by a chair or a table so you could get on it to do so.

or you could simply grab him by his overalls and give him a kiss.

you liked that idea a lot more than the other ones.

the plan was simple in your mind: walk up to jax, grab him, kiss him, and walk away. at first, you thought that the plan would go haywire somehow, but that idea vanished from your mind as soon as you noted him alone one day.

he was walking around the tent alone for some reason, and you knew that it was the perfect time to initiate your plan. nobody appeared to be around but him, and that meant there would be no witnesses to your little shenanigan.

you slowly walked out from your hiding spot behind a block, and you made sure to keep your pace steady in hopes that jax wouldn't hear you. there was no room for small talk in your plan, and that's what would occur if he caught you.

with each step you took, your heart started to beat faster in realization as to what was about to happen. you were about to kiss jax, but what if that wasn't the case? what if he pulled back before you could successfully do it? what if he wasn't ready?

it was a little too late to be contemplating all of that as you reached out a finger to tap on his arm, and he paused before peering over his shoulder.

a smirk crossed his face while you froze, and you stared up at him with wide eyes as you felt your face heat up once he turned on his heels to face you. his hands were in his pockets as he tilted his head, "hey, dollface..."

abort plan.

abort mission.

forget about the whole thing and go hide in your room.

your mind was practically spiraling with red, flickering lights while you just peered up at jax. why was his tone so low? why did he always have to smirk?

and why was he staring at you like he knew what you were plotting?

his grin slightly faltered while his eyebrows furrowed, and he had appeared to note your silence as his eyes moved up and down your form. "did you get my attention to show your impression of a deer in headlights, or did you need something—"

his words were silenced once you grabbed his overalls, and you yanked him down before your lips pressed against his.

your hands dug into the fabric of his straps as you refused to move, but after a second, you hastily pulled away before letting him go. you didn't even mumble a word to him as you turned around, and you started to walk off before you felt a hand grasp yours.

you were yanked back over to jax as he took a step forward, and your chin rested against his chest while he held your arm in the air. he stared down at you with an even wider smirk, yet his eyes appeared a bit dazed while he let out a chuckle. "and where do you think you're going? you really just expect me to let you leave after that?"

you haven't said a word throughout this whole encounter, but apparently, you didn't need to. jax seemed to note every reaction you gifted him, and once you didn't reply yet again, he slowly moved your arm to where it wrapped around his neck.

his hands moved down to the back of your thighs before lifting you up, and you scrambled to wrap your legs around his waist while jax kept his hands in place.

now, you were face-to-face with him.

"don't start something you can't finish, dollface..." his mumble only made your head feel slightly dizzy as he rested his forehead against yours. his eyes flickered down to your lips before he looked back up at you, and he let out a quiet hum.

"how about we try that again—what do you say?"

[foodiegoogie]

too much (just enough)

bob reynolds x new avenger!reader | 3.4k

summary: the three (3) times bob tries to ask for some advice from his friends. and the one time he unexpectedly gets yours. your advice, he means. not that “yours” meant anything else or anything. cw/tags: fluff! underlying angst bc these are the thunderbolts*, duh. bob is shy at first but gets confident over time. everyone's supportive and trying their best. reader is gender-neutral, and closed off. bob-centric pov (no pun intended). lmk if i missed any <3 note: the prophets have spoken. a bob oneshot we shall Have. dine well, my fellow bob subjects.

If there was one thing he could be sure about, it’s that Bob knows he’s had crushes before. 

Though his memory serves him blurry, and brief glimpses of the past, Bob knows that some people have made his heart stammer at some point in his life. That a girl might have brushed hands with him in a hallway and it made him trip over air. Maybe a guy had given him the impression of looking way too illegal to just be passing by while on his way to something.

So, he’s sure that he knows what a crush feels like.

Bob just isn’t quite sure if that’s how he’s feeling whenever he looks at you. So naturally, he turns to his dearly beloved friends for some help. 

Otherwise known as the rest of the New Avengers—minus you, of course. And Bob.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

𝐈. A word of advice from Yelena Boleva and Bucky Barnes.

On an unassuming Monday morning, Bob was tagging along with whatever Yelena was up to. Nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary. At least, not yet.

Bucky was there, too. The four of you were hanging out in the old O.X.E. Laboratory, where Valentina had manipulated Bob into becoming the Sentry. He called the lab ‘old’ because that’s what Yelena called it. And what Yelena does, Bob takes after.

So the four of you were in the old lab, overseeing (but not really) whatever it was that scientists did on an unassuming Monday morning.

Oh, right. You were there, too. But Bob is trying not to think too hard about that. He’s trying very hard not to think too hard about anything.

“Bob?” The man in question hears Yelena from beside him.

He blinks out of his haze, just now realizing that he had been staring blatantly at you. Like he was some creep. Bob does not want to be a creep. But it seemed like you didn’t notice, continuing your silent exploration of the laboratory.

“You okay?” Yelena asks him when he faces her. 

Bob gulps first, throat suddenly dry. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure? Is the lab too much for you again?”

“No, no. It’s— it’s fine, really.”

Just then, in his periphery, Bob sees Bucky take a quick glance at him. Though not moving from his spot beside a flustered scientist.

“Y’know we can talk about it, right, Bob? Not right now, but—” Bucky inhales, then drops a soft sigh through his nose. “We can talk about it.”

For the second time, Bob gulps. His eyes go from Bucky, to Yelena, to you for a split second, to the floor, and to everything else all at once. Maybe he’ll think about it, just a little hard, before he decides to do something about it.

“Um…” He makes a sound, scratching the back of his neck. “Well… actually, there— there is something I wanna talk about…”

Almost instantly, Yelena and Bucky stop whatever they were doing and turn to Bob, ready to listen to him.

“Do… do you guys think…” Bob starts, fidgeting with his fingers. “That Y/N’s kind of…”

Both Yelena and Bucky wait patiently for him to continue, remaining still and looking oddly like his parents for a moment.

What could Bob even possibly say about you? You’re… everything. You’re kind of mean. You have a resting bitch face. You grunt and murmur and say so little, it makes Bob lose sleep. 

You’re also pretty. Really pretty. Well, Bob finds Yelena to be pretty, too. But in the purely admiring, in-awe kind of way. Not in the lowkey lovesick, a bit too cheesy kind of way that you have going on with him.

Not that there was anything going on with you and Bob—

“Bob?” Bucky calls out gently. “You still with us, bud?”

The man in question blinks rapidly out of his haze again. This is driving him nuts, respectfully speaking. And he’s been addicted to meth before.

“Yeah. I am,” He sighs, deflating like a sad balloon. 

Afterwards, Bob doesn’t notice Yelena and Bucky share a concerned glance with each other. And he also doesn’t notice you stealing a quick glance at the three of you—him, Bucky, and Yelena— from your corner in the lab.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

𝐈𝐈. A word of advice from the Red Guardian and the U.S. Agent

The penthouse in the Watchtower has a really nice view if you pay close enough attention. Also if you aren’t afraid of heights.

Bob likes to just… chill there, when he can. Most of the time, he’s either following Yelena around and asking about what he can do to help. Then, he sets off to do his task once the blonde woman assigns him one. They’re all minor, really. Sometimes, he vacuums the penthouse floor. Most times, he’s in his room by himself.

Today though, on just another Wednesday afternoon, Bob’s reading a book. He’s in his comfiest attire, accompanied by a milkshake, and a small bowl of chocolate bark that Ghost surprisingly made for the team one night. 

Not to mention, he’s lounging in a chair similar to a La-Z-Boy recliner that his dad once had back in the day. Not that he remembers much of that time. Weirdly enough, he feels a little alarmed by the sudden thought of a La-Z-Boy recliner.

But that all goes out of the window the moment the doors of the elevator opens. Walking out of it with instant chatter and a certain pep in their steps were you, Alexei, and John ‘the Asshole’ Walker. 

The three of you were out for a long overdue hangout session. Bob has no idea why you’d choose to hang out with two of the most egoistic men ever out of the team. But if it made you happy, or they made you happy, then who was he to complain about that?

Not like you were his… something or anything. Why can’t he remember that word?

“Ey, Bob!” Alexei’s ever-booming voice greets him, startling Bob in his seat. The Red Guardian, still in his awfully tacky costume, walks closer to the man in question with that dopey smile on his face.

“How is Bob doing today, eh?” He asks him, putting his hands on his hips. Alexei looked like he was posing for a moment. “Still no Sentry or… other side of Sentry, I hope?”

“Uh, no,” Bob shakes his head, stringy hair swinging around in his line of vision. “Not— no Sentry or the other side today.”

“Mm, shame, that is,” Alexei grumbles slightly, but he tries to keep it subtle. “You… still remember my dream of flying someday, right? Not on weak, small helicopter. But on top of Sentry—”

“Oh my god, Alexei. Didn’t we talk about that just a few weeks ago now?” John Walker’s voice interrupts, the sound of liquid pouring into a glass following after.

The Red Guardian sighs heavily, rolling his eyes as he throws John an annoyed glance. 

“Yes, yes. No more talk about Red Guardian riding on top of—”

“Just don’t listen to him, Bob,” John advises, tilting his head to send Bob a tight-lipped smile. “You’ll learn to tune him out soon enough.”

Asshole, Bob unapologetically thinks. But he chuckles slightly as Alexei continues to share with him his personal fantasy about riding off into the sunset or whatever that meant. 

In his periphery, while switching his view from Alexei to John, you’re standing by the bar just near the U.S. Agent. Bob assumes you were waiting for a drink of your own. He didn’t know you could drink.

But then again, he didn’t know a lot of things. So… here goes nothing.

“Uh… Alexei, sir?” Bob quietly interrupts.

The Red Guardian beams at him, happy to be called by his friend. “Oh, how many times I have to tell you, Bob? Just Alexei is fine!”

“Oh, okay. Uh… Alexei—?”

“Yes! Yes, what is it? Do you have idea about the sunset riding? Or how about the skydiving entrance into… what is it… Coach-Ella?”

“No, no,” Bob chuckles, slightly sheepish. He catches John raise an eyebrow from afar, grab his freshly prepared drink, and walk “subtly” closer to him and Alexei.

“I was just… I was gonna ask you something.”

“Oh? Bobby has question to ask? Then, ask away! The Red Guardian knows everything.”

“Pfft, sure he does.” John mutters from behind the Red hero himself. 

“Um… do you guys think that Y/N…”

“Y/N?” Alexei asks, slightly surprised, but delighted still. “What about Y/N?”

“Nothing! Just that… I don’t know… I feel like—”

“Oh. I get it, Bob,” John stops beside Alexei, taking a slow, loud sip out of his drink. “You’ve got a crush, don’t ya?”

“What?” Bob flubs, looking everywhere around the room but at John and Alexei. “N-No, I don’t—”

“OH!” The Red Guardian shouts, excited in the way he always was when it came to personal matters. “OH, I understand now! Bob has little crush on little Y/N!”

“That—” Bob laughs nervously, brushing his clammy palms against his sweats. “That isn’t what this is.”

“No, no. That was definitely what this is all about.”

“YES! Finally! Now, we can make Avengerz… real… legacy!”

Feeling down on his luck, Bob sighs for what might be the first time that day. Or the hundredth, he isn’t really keeping count. But what he does as Alexei and John argue in front of him of what’s real and not real about ‘Bob’s little crush’ is bury his face in his hands.

With that, though, he fails to notice you sipping your drink quietly while seated at the bar. You’d been watching him— them, the entire time. 

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

𝐈𝐈𝐈. A word of advice from Ghost— Ava 

Bob feels hungry… or so he thinks as his stomach grumbles loudly as he enters the kitchen.

The kitchen in the Watchtower isn’t a closed-off space, though. It’s sharing space with the penthouse, actually. A kitchen kept in a tight, but cozy little corner where the New Avengers (and Bob) can eat whatever they like, and make whatever they want to eat.

It’s late at night, though, and while Bob knows he isn’t supposed to be up this late… he’s hungry.

“Okay… not here… not here…” Bob mutters under his breath as he searches the cabinets and drawers for a snack. He can’t remember exactly where Yelena put the “easy access” snacks; the Pop Tarts, the Cheetos, and whatnot. But he isn’t gonna give up that easily, because his stomach will keep him up all night.

After the unfortunate search for snacks in the cabinets, Bob steps back and leans against the kitchen island in the middle of the area. Then, he sighs, cheeks puffed out and lips slightly pouted. Now, he’s really hungry.

Bob sighs, again, because he just remembered that his stomach’s empty. And now he’s imagining his stomach with a sad face—

A figure phases into reality right in front of him, out of the blue, sending Bob into a fright—

“AHH!” He yelps out loud. Maybe a little too loud. And a little unmanly.

“Calm down, Bob, it’s just me,” Her voice sounds familiar to Bob’s ears, smooth and silky. “Ava Starr? ‘Ghost?’”

He tries to slow down his breathing, eyes still wide with fright as he thinks about her name. ‘Ghost,’ she said… Yelena did tell him something about a ghost one time—

“Oh! You’re the ghost lady!”

Ghost just stares at him, deadpan, for a long almost-minute. Then turns to face the cabinets, muttering, “Unbelievable…”

“No, no, no— Yelena told me that there’d be someone with like… ghost powers in the team?”

Ghost makes an interested sound. “Did she, now?”

“Yeah! And that sometimes, she’ll appear and then disappear out of thin air.”

“Well, she’s not wrong,” The she in question replied, opening a cabinet overhead and scrutinizing its contents.

“I… I don’t think she was, either,” Bob chuckles slightly, pulling the sleeves of his sweater down to his palms. “I don’t think she ever is, actually.”

That’s when Ghost pauses, a pack of Chips Ahoy cookies in hand, and slowly turns back around to face Bob. Meanwhile, he’s looking at the pack of cookies in her hand. Bob remembers that he’s very hungry right now.

They both speak at the same time, at the same speed—

“Where’d you get that?

“D’you have a crush?”

—and both questions give them equal surprise.

“Uh… I got this from… up here,” Ghost answers him, pointing overhead at the middle cabinet. Slowly, she circles Bob and stops beside him, leaning against the kitchen island. “That’s where the snacks are…”

“Oh,” Bob chuckles, unsure-sounding with his low voice. “S-So that’s where they were…”

“Bob?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“...do you like Yelena—”

“It’s not Yelena,” He answers too quickly, wincing slightly at the high pitch of his voice. “It’s not… her… I have a crush on.”

“Huh,” Ghost rips open the Chips Ahoy pack, eyes still on Bob. “So if it’s not Yelena, who is it then?”

Well…

“It’s Y/N,” Bob answers, looking timid and tense. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

Ghost tilts her head as she looks at him and just… watches him for a moment, a small smirk on her face. “Y/N… interesting. Your secret’s safe with me, Bob.”

An imaginary wall of bricks lifts off his shoulders. “Thank you—”

“On one condition, though.”

“A condition? What—”

“My name isn’t the ‘ghost lady.’ Though technically I am the Ghost,” She starts, pulling a cookie out of the pack in her hand. “But I do have a name, and I’d like it if you called me by it.”

Bob straightens his posture, taking her condition seriously as he nods. “Yeah, of course. What’s your name?”

“Ava,” Ghost— Ava, introduces herself. “Ava Starr.”

“Okay. Miss… Ava—”

“No. It’s just Ava, Bob. Just Ava.”

“O-Okay,” He nods, smiling slightly. “Just Ava.”

“Good. Now I can keep your secret,” Ava smiles, then places the Chips Ahoy pack between them on the kitchen island. 

“Now eat,” She tells him. “I couldn’t hear you from how loud your stomach was grumbling.”

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

𝐈𝐕. Your word of advice to Bob

There’s a secret sort of room in the Watchtower that only the New Avengers get exclusive access to. It isn’t the penthouse, or the hangar all the way up in the building.

But it’s a simulation room, kind of. Presumably one of Stark’s old tech facilities, but everyone calls it the Simulation Room. 

Why? Because that’s exactly what it does—simulates the user’s active thoughts of a certain place, or moment. Then it’s projected out into an actual, physical reenactment. It’s… a trippy place, for sure. But if used correctly and responsibly, it could make for a place of relaxation.

There’s this one moment that Bob likes to picture whenever he wants to head to the Simulation Room. A time where he could remember being so at peace and happy. At… home.

It was a game night in the penthouse, and everyone was miraculously there. And Bob. And so were you. Alexei was trying to comfort Yelena after she lost in the game. Bucky was snickering while watching everyone have fun. John and Ava were bickering as usual, and Bob… he was sitting next to you.

You were quiet, back then. Still a little new to the team but… just starting to warm up to the dynamics and whatnot. Bob had offered you some popcorn from his bucket, and you thanked him with a quiet murmur.

Maybe that’s how it all started for Bob, with you and your… quietness. He just wishes he wasn’t so awkward.

He’d been so lost in thought, letting his feet take him to the Simulation Room, that he didn’t realize somebody else was already in there until—

“Uh… occupied?” You speak, seated on a bed.

The room that Bob accidentally entered was… warm. There were fairy lights strung in a zig-zag pattern across the low ceiling of what seemed like a wooden cabin. There’s pictures plastered on the wall, a bookshelf filled with worn-out books, and memorabilia that Bob didn’t know the significance of. There was also this corner-bed situation where you sat with a gloomy window behind you. But the bed makes up for the gloomy mood. 

It all made Bob feel… very at home, all at once.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t know where I was going,” He apologizes to you.

You push yourself up by your hands, shifting to sit on the edge of the bed instead of just on it.

“S’okay. It’s just me,” You shrug, sending him an unsure smile before looking away from him. Bob’s heartbeat falters a little from your brief eye contact.

He murmurs a weak okay, shifting his weight in his spot by the door, not sure what to do. Bob can’t think of a quick dad joke like John, and he can’t make quick decisions like Bucky. He’s kind of hopeless on this one.

But then, you speak up again, “D’you wanna come in?”

Bob looks up at you, eyes wide with surprise. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” A breathy chuckle leaves your lips. “You can sit here.”

You pat the spot beside you on the bed, scooting aside to make some space for him there. Bob feels lightheaded and light-footed all at once because of it.

But he can’t find it in himself to say no, no matter how selfish this all seemed to him. So, he takes small steps forward, bringing him closer to you, and says, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” You smile at him, albeit a little awkwardly. Bob steals a glance at you from sideways and catches you doing the same. You both look away from each other at the same time.

This time, it’s Bob who breaks the silence, clearing his throat. 

“So, what is this place anyways?”

“Oh… it’s my uh…” You trail off, looking around the room with nostalgia in your eyes. “My dad’s old cabin. He used to take me here before I—”

You stop yourself, catching Bob’s attention. Not that he wasn’t already paying attention to you. He kind of has a sixth sense for just about anything that concerns you.

“Eh, not important,” You brush the detail off, crossing your arms. “It’s just a room I like to be in when I wanna be alone.”

“Oh,” Bob nods, smiling slightly at you, then he realizes what you just said. “Wait… oh. Wait—”

“Bob?” You ask him, looking worried as he stands up abruptly from the bed. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you wanted to be alone. I–I can go, it’s really fine—”

“No, please. Stay,” Quick words fall out of your mouth, and you’re nearly standing up from the bed, too. Bob wonders why that is.

But he says okay, anyway, then sits right back down beside you on the bed.

“Sorry for scaring you off.”

“Sorry for misunderstanding.”

The both of you almost speak at the same time. Almost. But you both mirror the slight surprise on your faces.  

And then you both laugh, the tense air dispersing into lighthearted feelings.

“I’m…” You start, still chuckling slightly as you glance at him. “I’m not very good at this… talking thing. Like, at all.”

“Oh, no worries. So am I,” Bob replies, smiling.

You let out a soft snort from your nose at that, still donning that awkward little smile. It renders Bob oh-so-hopeless. 

You clear your throat, shoulders relaxed. “Well… a word of advice, then?”

“Sure,” Bob answers. “I’m all ears.”

“Don’t, uh… hesitate to talk to me next time. From one socially awkward person to another.”

A genuine laugh comes out of Bob’s mouth, and he doesn’t realize he’s grinning so wide. 

“Deal.”

if you'd like a part 2 (because bob and r's convo doesn't just end there...), please leave a reblog, comment, or an ask in my inbox! they're always open <3

[sirfrogsworth]

Not long after my dad died, I went to our workshop on the back of the property to take a mental inventory of what I needed to get rid of. My dad's two John Deere riding mowers were missing. I thought they had been stolen.

I was about to call the police, but I figured I should tell my brother first. Apparently, he took the mowers. And he acted like it was no big deal. But he drove here at midnight. Kept all of the lights off. And burgled items I probably would have given him. I asked why he didn't let me know he was here. He claimed "I thought you saw me." Which is difficult when you come in the middle of the night and move giant lawn equipment around in the dark.

It was my first red flag that this entire inheritance thing was not going to go as smoothly as he promised.

Well, that's not accurate.

He stole the life insurance money after the funeral. But I couldn't prove he stole any money because the insurance agent was a chickenshit and refused to get involved. They all just told me it was used for "expenses."

I was given no receipts or details about the expenses. I later was able to use old documents to figure out the life insurance had roughly 5 to 7 thousand dollars beyond the funeral home expenses.

So I guess the flowers, the poster board, the photo printing, and the glue had a dramatic price increase at Walmart that day.

But the riding mowers were the first thing he stole that I could prove. I didn't fight it. He was promised my dad's "tools" and I couldn't really decide if a lawn mower was included in that category. In my head, it was my dad's woodworking and auto mechanic tools. And I was worried if I made waves he'd take half the house and half the money.

He took half the money so maybe I should have spoken up.

ANYWAY...

What does all this have to do with a video of a spider?

After my brother's midnight mower mayhem, I decided to buy security cameras for the property.

To date, nothing else has been stolen. Despite my brother's wife saying we live in "the ghetto," my street is isolated and safe. The worst thing that has happened is some drunk kids got carried away during the previous 4th of July and took a baseball bat to my mailbox. Frustrating, yes. But there are dipshit kids in every neighborhood.

My point is, in 30+ years, I have never felt unsafe living here.

Until my brother.

And these fucking cameras keep waking me up and alerting me that a human being is on the premises. And 100% of the time that human is a squirrel, a groundhog, and now this spider. I have adjusted the settings and set the lowest sensitivity and it doesn't help. Sometimes it will rain and a car's reflection in a puddle will be enough to sound the alarms.

And I'd love to just unplug all of these cameras and sleep in peace, but I'm so damn traumatized by my brother sneaking and stealing shit, that I'm too scared to do it.

Before he took the mowers he was at the house to "check on me." And while we were talking he was casually grabbing keys of the rack and acting like it was no big deal. And, like, he could see me see him doing it. But he was acting like I couldn't see him taking keys. He is always so awkward and I was just like, "Why is he pretending like he didn't just take that key?" I figured he was taking them for emergencies because I'm here all alone now. I thought it was a protective act.

But now I realize he was planning a fucking mower heist.

I feel foolish because I know better. I am so much smarter than my brother and his wife. I mean, I can't build a car from scraps in a cave like my brother, but my general intelligence, problem solving, and deductive reasoning is off the charts comparatively. They are bad problem solvers who think they are amazing problem solvers.

Like, "Hey, let's make a terminally ill man sell his house!"

Moving isn't stressful, right?

And I'm the bad guy because I didn't want to send my dad to an early grave dealing with real estate bullshit.

Like, these two just make some bonkers life decisions. They wanted their daughter to play a sport. And instead of just playing with her in the backyard and seeing if she responds positively to anything, they sign her up for 3 at once. She's going to accidentally become a decathlon star because her parents were throwing spaghetti at the wall. Meanwhile, my brother is driving himself mad attempting to get her to all of the practices and games.

If my brother weren't an engineering savant, I have no idea how they'd get by. Having money is like a problem-solving cheat code.

All of my smarts were screaming at me the entire time. I was 9 steps ahead and I knew exactly what they were doing but I had this emotional hope that my brother cared for me and would do the right thing. He made a promise to my dad on his deathbed and I just couldn't imagine my brother letting down someone he loved that much. I kept giving him chance after chance to not let my dad down.

I can't stop seeing my brother as he used to be. And I can't stop feeling sorry for him. The only time he doesn't seem exhausted and miserable is when he is working on cars and playing with his daughter. He just seems to hate life outside of those things.

And he knows the reason why.

We all knew the reason why.

For a long time I thought maybe he didn't know. I wasn't sure of the extent of his brainwashing. But then he came to my parents blubbering and admitted he knew the reason why. Which is why, from that point forward, I no longer blamed his wife. He made a choice with full self awareness. So he was complicit. He could have escaped that situation at any time. But he fears being lonely more than he wants to seek relief from his misery.

But the collateral damage of his choice has been immense. And I sometimes wonder if that good person buried deep down inside is just riddled with guilt and shame. I honestly don't know how he sleeps at night. Maybe he doesn't.

And that's why a spider on a security camera made me angry.

[faramirsonofgondor]

Okay, so I'm just going to throw this at you because I have way too many WIPs on my plate, a document of more than 130K words of ideas, and I just love the way you think on the prompts you've been given. So here we go:

There are so many fics and AUs where someone goes back in time, or just their consciousness, or what not, and they always end up changing things for the better. Sometimes for the worse. Except its always been one of the "good guys". What about one of the "bad guys". Say... Ra's Al Ghul? He goes into the Lazarus pit like he is know to do, but when he comes out it's years earlier. Like everything he's seen and done the past X number of years was a vision given to him by the Pit. His daughter is much, much younger. Damian has not been born. The Detective has not been returned to his city for more than a few years. In his research on his chosen heir he see the headline pertaining to the Wayne Foundation Benefit Circus, realizes it is the day the first child/protege of the Detective comes into the man's life.

Would he allow it? Would he permit Richard Grayson to change the man? To alter what he has always felt Bruce's destiny was? Or would he stop the boy? Save the parents maybe so there's no reason for Bruce to take him in? Would he eliminate the boy along with his parents? Or, would he remember the potential and accomplishments of Richard/Robin/Nightwing and wish to harness that for himself?

Thoughts, if you have any?

OOOOH Ok but how about this: He knows that Dick is the first kid to come into Bruce’s life, but he’s not the only one. Ra’s sees it as Bruce having an adoption problem, and though Dick might’ve been the catalyst there’s no saying how he would react even if he never had Dick. Bruce would be easier to control using variables that Ra’s is already familiar with. So he lets Bruce take in Dick, but he also remembers how Bruce was after Jason died and decides that he should move up the timeline.

Except, Ra’s doesn’t exactly remember everything that went on during Dick’s time as Robin, so most of the things that happen are still the same, except Dick got a lot more scars along the way. He nudges Deathstroke in their direction, remembering the man’s rivalry with Dock and hoping that the man will try to eliminate him. Only, Slade becomes obsessed and decides to train the kid instead (which happened in the last life but Ra’s doesn’t remember it). Once the kid goes back to Bruce, he’s all moody and traumatized, which Ra’s hopes is enough to spur Bruce into killing. It isn’t.

So Ra’s sends Talia like he did last time, not wanting to mess up and lose his heir, but unlike last time, he doesn’t instruct Talia to drive a wedge between Bruce and Dick. Instead, he tells her to make sure that their relationship is better than ever, hoping that if Bruce becomes even more attached to Dick, then losing Dick will hurt more. She does so, but as time goes on, Ra’s starts to realize that Talia has grown attached to Dick. Once she’s pregnant with Damian, he orders her to come back immediately, but he’s surprised to find that she protests vehemently. Eventually, he gets her to come back under the threat that he would kill Dick, her, and her child.

However, once Talia leaves, Dick and Bruce’s relationship starts to take a turn for the worse. Bruce is more controlling in the loss of his lover, not wanting to be left again. Dick is desperate for freedom and independence, fighting against Bruce’s controlling nature. Ra’s tries one last time, having his assassins break Joker out of Arkham so that Dick could get attacked by him and push Bruce into killing him. It doesn’t work, Dick gets shot and leaves and now Bruce is alone.

So Ra’s is just like “fine, guess I’ll just stick to what happened last time” and decides to make sure Bruce adopts Jason and gets him into vigilantism. Except he may have also overshot it slightly because he witnessed the fallout of Bruce and Dick’s relationship, and was like “obviously this man cannot be trusted to handle these kids alone, he needs someone to mediate” and so he lures Dick back into their lives the night after Bruce takes in Jason by leaving some creepy note and photos of Jason and Batman. Dick understandably is like “wtf Bruce” but he warms up to Jason a lot quicker and does eventually end up mediating some conflicts between Jason and Bruce, despite the fact that his relationship with Bruce is still less than stellar.

Of course, Ra’s still wants to push Bruce into breaking his code and into reaching “his full potential” and decides to go with the tried and true method of Jason’s death. He waits til Dick is in space then orchestrates a fight between Jason and Bruce while leaving a trail that will lead Jason to his mother, all while nudging Joker in their direction. Jason dies again, except Joker got to spend much more time with him because of how Ra’s had pushed things along. Bruce can barely recognize his son by the time he gets there.

Ra’s waits in anticipation for Bruce to kill Joker. He watches as Bruce gets more and more violent, more and more reckless, and as he gets closer and closer to crossing the line. Bruce tries to kill Joker, once, but is stopped by Superman. Ra’s still has hope that Bruce will kill Joker (or someone else), especially considering that Bruce and Dick are back to fighting with each other again. Then Tim shows up, and Bruce starts losing his momentum, his temper cools gradually, though not completely. Ra’s wants to scream in frustration, but he’s distracted by Jason’s revival and sudden arrival at Nanda Parbat. He had almost forgotten about that, but decides to use this all to his advantage.

He breaks the Joker again (he really should realize that this method isn’t working for him) and sets up a scenario so that Bruce thinks that Joker killed Tim, then places cameras around the room to show Jason how Bruce reacts. He’s hoping that when Jason sees Bruce’s failure, he’ll be persuaded to lure Bruce towards the “right” path. Except Batman doesn’t get there first. Nightwing does. Ra’s, Talia, and Jason all watched in muted horror/fascination as Dick beats the Joker to death, and then beats him a little more. Maybe Ra’s shouldn’t have underestimated the kid so much.

Batman shows up eventually, and ends up reviving Joker, but Ra’s was already starting to reevaluate his plans. Maybe Batman would never break his rule, but clearly Nightwing could be persuaded. Ra’s spends time reassessing and redoing his plans, and by the time he’s ready to bring Nightwing to Nanda Parbat, the Blockbuster debacle has already happened and the Gang Wars are coming to an end. The girl-Robin dies which gives Ra’s the perfect opportunity to snatch Dick and integrate him into the LoA.

Obviously, Ra’s doesn’t actually snatch him. But he does send some assassins to persuade him to come with them, and fortunately Dick doesn’t need much persuading. Apparently, all his fights with Batman had led to him chucking his morals out the window, which was great for Ra’s plans. Once Dick was in the League, he adapted surprisingly well. It was almost unnerving how well. It rankled Ra’s, how perfect Dick seemed to be. Ra’s could hardly find any mistakes in his fighting ability or intelligence. It was beginning to frustrate him to no end. He even got Deathstroke to train the boy more, and Lady Shiva as well, but Dick quickly surpassed their skill. It seemed as though he was even inventing his own moves and style of fighting? Ra’s wasn’t sure how he could have overlooked such an obvious threat, though for now he did nothing about it considering the boy seemed perfectly happy living under Ra’s thumb. Ra’s was just glad Dick was unaware of Jason’s presence, otherwise shit would get messy real quick.

Unbeknownst to Ra’s, Dick was very much aware of Jason’s presence. See, in another timeline, the first timeline, Ra’s would order his daughter to sew tension between Bruce and his first child, and in doing so, created a decades-long animosity between Talia and Dick. But in this timeline? Ra’s has Talia mediate the relationship between Bruce and his ward, and in doing so, creates an unbreakable bond between Talia and Dick. Talia may have pretended at first, but Dick had wormed his way into her heart, and now she saw him as her first child in a way. He made her want to change, to do better. He was the bright spot in the darkest times of her life. It broke her heart to have to leave him and Bruce, and since that day her hatred for her father grew and grew.

She realized early on that Ra’s was involved in plans to hurt Dick, and she tried her best to intervene when she could. To her horror, Dick was hurt anyways and ended up leaving Bruce. It hurt her heart to see two people she loved more than anything fight the way they did, but she knew Ra’s was mostly to blame, so she settled for revenge. She would wait until Damian grew, then they would end Ra’s together and return to their family (if they were still alive by that point - and Talia desperately hoped they would be).

Jason threw a wrench in those plans, seeing as his presence seemed to help bridge the gap in Bruce and Dick’s relationship. But then he died, and Talia knew, she knew, her father had been behind this. She debated going to Bruce with this information, but she didn’t have enough evidence yet and she wasn’t sure how her beloved would respond. Plus, she needed to know why Ra’s was doing this, what his end goal was, and she wouldn’t be able to figure that out if Bruce decided to act on his anger. She decided to get into contact with Dick instead, seeing as Ra’s wasn’t monitoring him as much as he was Bruce. When she found about Jason’s revival, she told Dick immediately and they started coming up with ideas on how to get him away from Ra’s. Dick understood that for their plans to work, Bruce couldn’t know, though Dick didn’t really like keeping such a big secret from the man. But Bruce tended to get tunnel vision and he had control issues, he would want to be in charge of making the plan and he likely wouldn’t agree with Talia’s plot to kill Ra’s.

It was a bit of a surprise, when Dick killed Joker, but Talia couldn’t really the blame the man. Still, she worried as Dick seemed to get more and more traumatized, and as more and more evil landed on his doorstep. When Dick finally ended up in Nanda Parbat, it took more restraint than she was willing to admit to hold off on embracing him. This would only work if they kept their cover. Still, despite Dick’s competency and clear dangerousness, Ra’s seemed to underestimate them while he poured his time and resources into keeping an eye on Bruce and the third Robin. Dick didn’t interact with Jason, still scared to be found out by Ra’s, but they did pass messages through Talia. Damian had also taken quite the shining to Dick. If it were anyone else, Talia would be envious of the amount of attention Damian gave to him, but this was Dick and so Talia understood completely. Dick had taken to calling Damian “his little Flamebird” in private. Once Talia understood the context behind the name, she felt honored on Damian’s behalf.

However, despite the emotions swirling between them, they still had coup to plan. Talia was both relieved and a bit worried about how easily Dick persuaded people to join them, but then again he had always been a people-person and a good conversationalist. In the end, it was Talia, Dick, Jason, Deathstroke (which Talia did not have the time to question), Lady Shiva, Lady Shiva’s daughter (???), and a little over half of the League that went up against Ra’s. Dick moved with a fluidness and vengeance that Talia had never seen before. As promised, he and Deathstroke gravely injured Ra’s, but left the killing blow up to her.

Ra’s hadn’t seen any of it coming. Here he was bleeding out, watching as Talia approached. His only hope was that his daughter or someone loyal to him would throw him back into the Pit, and he would get another chance. Next time, he would do things differently. Next time, he would kill the brat before Bruce even looked at him. Next time, he would ensure both his daughter’s and Bruce’s total submission to him, and him alone. Next time, he would-

There was no next time, because before Ra’s could even finish his thought, his head was at Talia’s feet. Things were different, now. Talia was softer, but no less determined. Dick was sharper, more jaded, but no less kind and loyal. Bruce was darker, but no less loving. Jason was angrier, more traumatized, but no less protective and caring. They might have more trauma, more hurt and pain and and scars anger and darkness within them, but they were a family, and they were all willing to try for each other.

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

Normal

Dean Winchester x Reader

The bunker was quiet, Castiel had not been around for a few days and Sam was catching up on much needed sleep. Dean sat alone, nursing a beer or two - a whole case. Not even music to lull the unspoken words in his head. He sat alone, desperately lost in thoughts - pondering over his life and why he couldn’t just….

“So, that’s where all the beer went.”

Dean leaned forward as you walked into the room, two plates in hand. He rubbed a hand over his chin, trying to relax as you moved around the large table to place a plate in front of him.

Steak and a baked potato with too much butter - it looked delicious.

“What’s all this?”

“I felt like having a decent meal today. I made a plate of broccoli for Sam,” you joked.

Dean laughed, finally relaxing as he thanked you with a kind smile that reached the corner of his eyes. He slid a cold beer across the table to you.

“Have you seen Castiel? He’s not answering his phone.”

“Angel business.” Dean took a bite of steak and held back a moan. This sent waves of satisfaction down to your toes - seeing Dean enjoying your food was pure joy.

“We were going to go people watching at the mall.”

Dean laughed. “Sounds boring as hell.”

“Maybe. But we like watching people just living their lives. The parents and their kids, teenagers being loud and obnoxious, couples holding hands…I don’t know, it’s just nice to be reminded that what we do is letting everyone enjoy living.”

The smile faded from Dean’s laugh and he noticed the hint of sadness in your eyes. He understood that feeling all too well; that’s what he’s had been doing before you walked in. Sitting in silence, reliving and over analyzing everything in his life. All the chances he was given to just be normal and all the times he had to let that thought go.

“Maybe that normal isn’t for people like us.”

You glanced over at Dean, he was ever so handsome and tragically, devastatingly strong willed. Dean hadn’t allowed himself to want beyond basic needs, life was easier that way but as he sat across from you…

Things felt different…

He leaned forward, pushing the plate away. His eyes were set on you and he shrugged. “What if normal for us isn’t that normal crap.”

You weren’t hungry anymore, at least not for the food on your plate. Dean’s gaze examined your face, every muscle that moved under your skin. In this moment, unsure why he was feeling this way. Or more like why now. Dean decided…why the hell not?

“What if we really try this thing our way? No bullshit trying to be normal - cause last time I checked, babe, our normal isn’t normal. “

You chuckled at his heavy usage of the word normal. “I think we could manage not normal.”

Dean smirked, reaching out his hand across the table. He laid his palm up and when you placed yours against his - he gave it a squeeze.

His fingers grasped at yours in a gentle, thoughtful way and your heart jumped. “How about we finish up dinner and I’ll take you out for a ride? We can even stop at the mall.”

Smiling you agreed and Dean squeezed your hand once more before letting go.

The two of you talked and laughed as dinner was eaten; the air in the bunker felt warm and comfortable. The conversation flowed as it always did, easily and comical. Dean couldn’t stop grinning the entire time because if this is what letting go felt like - he was glad he waited so long.

He was glad he had waited for you.

[xaviesstarlight]

The Pediatrics Wing

Hey! It's been a while since I wrote something, but I'm still here. I have a whiteboard in my office that coworkers constantly stay on me about if I don't keep it updated. Right now, it's a picture of Happy Snowman that you can see here. Warnings: None, SWF pure fluff Rafayel is mentioned, but his relationship with MC here is strictly platonic.

Dr. Riley had a situation on his hands, one that he never considered happening during his long years in medical school when dreaming of becoming a pediatrics doctor: the children were highly upset over their blank whiteboard. 

There is a playroom for the tiny patients in the pediatrics wing, a small space for the children to work out their restlessness from lying in hospital beds all day, too weak to run outside on a playground but still needing time away from medicine and monitors. A whiteboard hangs on the wall of this particular playroom, one that you, Miss Hunter, draw silly seasonal pictures on for the kids when you visit your boyfriend, Dr. Zayne. Your doodles range from flowers under the spring rain to Christmas trees to your favorite plushies with a personal twist. Dr. Riley currently stares at the blank whiteboard as two of his patients cling to his pants leg. 

“Dr. Riley,” the young girl whines, “when is Miss Hunter going to draw another picture? This room is boring without one.”

“Yeah!” says the boy. “You said I have to go home soon, and I haven’t seen any of her pictures yet.” 

Dr. Riley kneels in front of the children, struggling to suppress his amused smile. “That’s a question for Dr. Zayne. Only he knows Miss Hunter’s schedule.” 

A pout forms on the girl’s lips. “Where is he then?” 

“Where is who?” a familiar voice says from the doorway. Dr. Zayne walks in as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He faces the girl, his voice softening. “Olivia, are you looking for someone? It’s time for your checkup, but we can look for them after.”

The boy, Mattie, speaks up. “We’re looking for you, Dr. Zayne. We want to know when Miss Hunter will come back to draw us a picture.”

“And why do you want to ask me about Miss Hunter’s schedule? She’s very busy fighting Wanderers. I don’t even know when she’ll be able to come visit next.”

“Dr. Riley said you were married!” Olivia exclaims.

Zayne’s head snaps up to Dr. Riley, eyes narrowed but ears turning red. “Really? Is that what Dr. Riley said?” 

Dr. Riley nearly chokes holding back his laughter before running out the door. “I have an appointment now. Good luck, Dr. Zayne!” 

“Sooo….” says Olivia, “will you call Miss Hunter to ask when she can come?”

“Please,” adds Mattie. 

A sigh escapes Zayne’s lips. His heart still hasn’t stopped racing after Olivia’s remark, and calling you would not help in calming it. However, Zayne does not want to disappoint the children when they are staring at him with large pleading eyes. 

“After your checkups, I suppose I can give her a call.” The children cheered at the news. You may come to visit the playroom after all. 

______________________________

Zayne kept his promise to call you that afternoon. You were busy with missions in the No-Hunt Zone for the past two weeks, so communication with you was minimal. Luckily, the missions were just wrapped up, so you were free to visit the hospital the next day to both see your loving boyfriend and visit the children. They would love to hear your stories of battling Wanderers from the past few days. 

When you arrive at the hospital, Yvonne informs you that Zayne is in the operating room for a procedure that could last another hour. You decide to head straight to the playroom to put your artistic skills to use. Rafayel had recently given you some tips in personalizing any drawing when you last visited his studio, so you decide to draw a Happy Snowman at the beach. To give the drawing more of a personal touch, you add glasses and a stethoscope to make him look like Zayne. Just as you place the markers back in the drawer, Olivia and Mattie come bouncing in. 

“You’re here!” shouts Mattie. “I get to see your drawing.” You smile and greet the children.

“I’m sorry I was away for so long, but I am back in time to give you a board fit for summer.” You put your hands on your hips as you stand proudly before the whiteboard. “What do you think?”

“It’s Dr. Zayne at the beach,” says Olivia. “I didn’t know Dr. Zayne went to the beach.” Olivia points to the popsicle on the snowman’s head. “He’s even wearing the popsicle as a hat.” 

Mattie giggles. “Dr. Zayne is so funny. I guess that’s why you married him, huh?” 

Eyes growing wide as the children still admire your drawing, you feel heat in your cheeks as you stammer, “M..married? What… what gave you that idea?” 

You know you and Zayne practically act as a married couple already (everyone says so), but he hasn’t even proposed to you yet. The two of you decided to wait until things calmed down with the Ever investigation before getting married. Are there rumors spreading throughout the hospital? Is it time to just finally tie the knot?

“Dr. Riley,” both kids say in unison. Just as the words left their mouths, you look up to notice Dr. Riley walking down the hallway. You glare daggers at him. Hearing the conversation, Dr. Riley starts running past the room, avoiding your gaze. You hear his laughter from a distance. 

With a silent huff, you say goodbye to the kids and go to Zayne’s office. You need to speak to him about the various forms of creativity taking place in the pediatrics wing. And maybe do something about it. 

[writingsoftarnishedsilver]

An Analysis of the The UK Wizarding World Population

How Many Wizards Are There, Really?

Okay, so this started because I just needed to get this figured out. The numbers in the Wizarding World have always felt a little… off. So I decided to sit down and really work it out using the books, real-world stats, and some basic demographic logic to see what kind of population could actually support the magical society we see in the series.

I've done my best to be as thorough as possible, but of course, there are probably things I missed, details I overlooked, or assumptions that could be challenged. This isn’t meant to be a definitive answer, just a grounded, numbers-based attempt to reconcile the world we see in the books with what it would actually take to make that world function. Think of it less like a census and more like a curiosity-driven thought experiment. One that, once you start… you kind of can’t stop thinking about.

Okay, so how do we start? Well, we’re told several useful things in canon:

There are 7 years at Hogwarts.

There are 4 houses.

Each student is sorted into a house in their first year.

Using the books as a reference, we can start to gather some information to help us get a baseline for the population. Throughout all the novels, Harry names the following Gryffindors in his year:

Ron Weasley

Neville Longbottom

Dean Thomas

Seamus Finnigan

Hermione Granger

Parvati Patil

Lavender Brown

If there had been anyone else in his year, I am making the assumption that they would have been mentioned. This means there were a total of 8 Gryffindors that year. However, in several scenes throughout the books, we do see joint house classes and various comments are made that allow us to make assumptions about other houses.

For example, in first year flying lessons, it is said that when Harry arrived, there were "twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground". Thus, there were 12 Slytherins with the 8 Gryffindors. This would give an average of 10 students per house per year during Harry's time. In total, that's approximately 40 students per year, meaning a total of 280 students in the school across the 7 years. This also implies that there are only approximately 40 magical children are born per year in the UK.

Next we can apply a simplified demographic model used to estimate how many people are alive in a population at any given time if the population is stable:

Population size = Annual birth rate × Average lifespan

We know wizards live longer than muggles, so lets assume a average life span of 120.

4,800 = 40 × 120

Now, if you're like me, you're looking at this total thinking "that is a tiny number of wizarding folk". So, I'd like to point out a few factors that we should consider:

Birth rates during war

Society and the economy

1. War-time Birth Rates

First, let's start with war-time birth rates. Looking at a real-world example, "by 1914, the birthrate was around 2.88 children per woman, but by 1918 this had collapsed by almost 50%".

Students who arrived at Hogwarts in 1991 (Harry's year) must have been conceived during the year of 1979. Importantly, the First Wizarding War lasted from 1970 to 1981, and thus we can conclude that wizarding births would presumably have also significantly decreased during this period of time.

So, assuming twice the number of magical births per year, that would give us:

9,600 = 80 × 120

Double our original value, but once you step back and consider the infrastructure, complexity, and institutions that we’re shown in the books, it still seems tiny.

With this in mind, I will shift my focus from population biology to sociological and economic modeling.

What do we actually see in wizarding society? Even filtered through the narrow, teen-focused lens of Harry’s POV, the wizarding world contains infrastructure, complexity, and economic specialization that a population of just 4,000 could never realistically support.

2. Society and the Economy

Hogwarts

A fully staffed residential boarding school with:

Multiple subject specialists

Caretakers, groundskeepers, nurses, kitchen staff

Expensive magical architecture, security, and upkeep

Referred to as the only wizarding school in the UK

Revered internationally (seen as elite)

If we assume the oft-cited (if narratively inconsistent) “1,000 students at Hogwarts” figure from J.K. Rowling’s 2000 Scholastic chat is correct at peak capacity, then: 1,000 students ÷ 7 years = ~140 students per year Now apply the lifespan-based model: 14,000 = 140 × 100

Even this is conservative in my opinion, but it's better than our original figure! So let's continue...

2. St. Mungo’s Hospital

A multi-ward medical institution

Staffed with Healers, assistants, and administration

Serves everything from spell damage to long-term care

Using a conservative UK hospital ratio, 1 bed hospital bed per 100 people gives us 30,000 magical people served.

3. Ministry of Magic

The Ministry includes:

At least 7 named departments

Subdivisions like Aurors

Full-time court officials (Wizengamot), clerks, obliviators, diplomats, and more

In the real-world, the UK government employs (500,000 / 67,000,000) × 100 = ~0.7% of the population.

Even if the Ministry is bloated (as governments often are) and employs 1,000 people, then 1,000 / 0.007 = ~140,000 magical citizens.

Now, if these figures aren't enough for your consideration, I have a few more...

4. Azkaban

Azkaban is a high-security, long-term prison used to hold:

Violent criminals

Political prisoners

Entire cells full of Death Eaters

In real life, most countries don’t operate entire island prisons unless they have substantial incarceration numbers. For comparison, Alcatraz housed ~250–300 inmates and still required a significant support system.

Even if only 1% of magical adults ever serve prison time, that implies a population large enough to make Azkaban worth running, once again suggesting a base of at least tens of thousands, not a few thousand.

5. Magical Economy

In the novels, we see:

Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade packed with specialty shops (wandmakers, potion ingredients, magical pets, etc.)

Flourish & Blotts hosts author signings

The Daily Prophet is a fully operational national newspaper

Magical public transportation (Knight Bus, Floo Network)

Owl delivery services

An economy with this degree of specialization requires thousands of consumers and enough income diversity to support luxury, artisan, and utility goods.

And it's not just about who's buying the goods, but who is making, sourcing, or importing them. For example, consider Madam Malkin’s Robes. Even if we assume that much of the tailoring and enchanting is done in-house, the materials must come from somewhere. Who harvests the acromantula silk? Who spins it? Who processes the dragonhide for protective gloves or boots? Even something as seemingly simple as standard Hogwarts robes likely requires inputs from weavers, dyers, and delivery couriers. And that's just one shop. Now multiply that by the dozens of boutiques in Diagon Alley, the merchants in Hogsmeade, and the countless magical goods required to support the average household, hospital, school, and Ministry office.

6. Decentralized Communities and Regional Infrastructure

So far, this entire model assumes that magical Britain is highly centralized, with everything flowing through Diagon Alley and London, but that assumption doesn’t hold up to scrutiny and and recent additions to the canon support a more distributed magical landscape. In Hogwarts Legacy, we’re introduced to several small magical hamlets throughout the Scottish Highlands, indicating that rural magical communities do exist and have their own localized economies. This aligns more with how real-world populations are distributed.

It also raises a practical question: are magical families in Wales or Scotland or Ireland really expected to travel to London just to purchase school supplies when they have their own major cities? The idea that there’s a single alleyway to serve the entire magical population of the British Isles is logistically absurd. Even if Diagon Alley is the largest and most famous commercial center, it cannot be the only one. There must be regional tailors, wandmakers, apothecaries, and general suppliers, especially for families that aren’t wealthy or well-connected.

This suggests the existence of dozens of small to mid-sized magical communities, each requiring their own economic base, service providers, and integration into the broader magical world. And that, in turn, implies a significantly larger national population to justify and sustain this decentralized infrastructure.

All in all, this implies a significant consumer base. However, an important consideration is that unlike Muggles, wizards can:

Automate household chores (e.g., cleaning, cooking)

Teleport instantly (no need for extensive infrastructure)

Heal injuries and illnesses faster

Use magic to farm, manufacture, and repair with fewer people

Reduce logistics and transportation burdens

Thus, while a Muggle society might need 250,000–300,000 people to support, let's assume a magical society could feasibly do it with half the number of people.

3. A Final Number

Taking the narrative, demographic, economic, and institutional factors together, a reasonable, grounded estimate for the population of the British and Irish wizarding world would fall between 100,000 and 150,000 witches and wizards.

While wizards benefit from magical efficiencies that reduce their reliance on large labor forces (e.g., using magic for transportation, food preparation, and household tasks), the complexity of their institutions still demands a much larger population than the original 4,000 estimate suggested by Hogwarts class sizes alone. Even assuming magical productivity multiplies output, the sheer diversity and durability of magical Britain’s institutions point to a minimum six-figure population.

At 100,000 individuals out of roughly 67 million total in the UK, that makes magical folk ~0.15% or roughly 1 in every 667. In a city the size of Manchester with 570,000 people, about 850 would be magical.

Now, in 2022, the UK had ~5.3 million people aged 11–17 out of ~67 million, giving us ~7.9%. If the total magical population is estimated at 100,000, then the number of Hogwarts aged children would be 100,000 × 0.079 = 7,900.

At this point, however, we begin to see the unavoidable tension between narrative design and realistic population modeling, as we certainly never see anything close to 8,000 students at Hogwarts in canon material. Class sizes are small. Dormitories are intimate. Teachers give individualized attention. There are no massive dining queues. J.K. Rowling herself has contradicted the books in interviews. So what do we do with this contradiction?

8. A Top-Heavy Age Pyramid

We know that Wizards live significantly longer than Muggles. Dumbledore was over 115 at his death. If wizards live ~120 years on average, then this would impact the age structure of the wizarding world. It’s possible the population is top-heavy, with a disproportionately large number of elderly witches and wizards and fewer magical children born each year.

This structure isn’t unprecedented. In the real world, countries like Japan face a similar demographic challenge. As of 2022, 29% of Japan’s population was aged 65 or older, and the national fertility rate was just 1.26 children per woman, far below the replacement level of 2.1.

Applying the same logic to the wizarding world, it’s reasonable to assume that even with a total population of around 100,000 witches and wizards, only a small fraction, perhaps just 3%, would fall within the 11 to 17 age range. That would yield approximately 3,000 school-aged children, translating to roughly 400 students per year at Hogwarts, or about 100 students per house per year.

While numbers like 400 students per year or 3,000 total may sound large compared to what we see in the books, it's important to remember we're talking about a massive, enchanted castle. Hogwarts is likely capable of adjusting itself to fit the needs of its population. We’ve seen magical spaces, like tents and suitcases, that are significantly larger on the inside than they appear from the outside, and it stands to reason that Hogwarts’ dormitories, classrooms, and common rooms function in much the same way. So even if the student body expands or contracts from year to year, the school is almost certainly built and enchanted to scale accordingly.

9. Final Thoughts

So, what does all of this actually mean?

Well, it means the Wizarding World is bigger than we’re led to believe. Not just in terms of geography or magic, but in terms of sheer numbers. If we take the books at face value, we get tiny class sizes and a population that feels more like a close-knit village. But when you start looking at the complexity of the institutions, the economy, the Ministry, the infrastructure... it just doesn’t add up unless the population is much, much larger.

That doesn’t mean the books are wrong, they just show us one very specific lens: the extraordinary life of a teenager who isn’t particularly concerned with census figures or economic modeling. But if you zoom out and think about what it would really take to make that world function? In my opinion, you end up somewhere around 100,000 to 150,000 witches and wizards, maybe more.

Anyway, I had to work it out. And now maybe you don’t have to.

Or maybe you will. Because once you start thinking about this stuff… you kind of can’t stop.

[syndrossi]

Sorry, sorry, another question:

Say there is a coup in Regicide AU, and Maegor ends up dead earlier than later. Does Jon become king? How old is he? Are there political issues with him having a regent, or is it okay since it's (I'm assuming) his own mother? Or would there be fighting over that, with everybody wanting their own guy as regent? Or the chosen regent deciding kingship is fun, actually.

Or are there no rules in place for that yet, and Jon gets to actually be a king without a regent... if undoubtedly with power-hungry lords surrounding him?

Or maybe Jon passes up the role and it goes to Viserys or even Jaehaerys? Or heck, Aerea? (Autocorrect keeps changing her name to Cereal when I'm not looking.) (Why.)

Honestly, I'm imagining a, like, ten-year-old King Jon and everyone giving each other the side eye because wtf, he's good at it. 🤣 (With Rhaegar's support, of course!)

I wonder if Maegor would have already taken a torch to Volantis by this time, or dealt with the faith issues during his reign?

On that note, is he very proud when Jon and Rhaegar hatch extra special dragons? Is Rhaena?

To me, an AU where Jon ends up king after Maegor's death feels like the most interesting scenario. We already know what a Jaehaerys reign looks like, even if it would have the added wrinkle of what he does with his politically inconvenient nephews. Whereas this time period is still so early that there's an opportunity for Jon (and Rhaegar) to make a very different mark on the traditions that take shape.

Maegor likely doesn't make it to Jon's majority, so he would have a regent. Jaehaerys had one; Jon's not getting out of it. There will be lots of infighting over that, no doubt. Rhaena will fight the hardest, of course, since they are her sons and she was the one who had to endure as Maegor's wife throughout his reign. Given that Alyssa was Queen Regent for Jaehaerys's minority, there's a good chance Rhaena secures the position for Jon's.

The succession is the next interesting question. Obviously Rhaegar is Jon's heir. The real question is who follows. Rhaena would fight hard for Aerea and Rhaella to be next in line. Viserys is a member of the Kingsguard, so he is out (and has no interest in ruling). So it's either their twin sisters or Jaehaerys; the choice has a chance to set a precedent of female (vs male) inheritance.

And dragons, of course. Rhaena will push hard for her daughters to have dragons, using the argument that she birthed him sons because she is a dragonrider and that dragonriders should wed dragonriders. So in Rhaena's circle of power, we would have Dreamfyre and four dragons for her four children. In Jaehaerys's corner, there are just the two (Vermithor and Silverwing). What does Jon decide as far as Jaehaerys's children with Alysanne? Canonically only three of them had dragons, so it may not be a huge problem, but you gotta be pretty sure about harmony between the two lines.

Even if Jon doesn't get to have full power before his majority, it doesn't mean he doesn't have any input at all! I'm sure he'll have opportunities to impress, and Rhaegar will have to stand out as well if he wants to be Jon's Hand at their majority. (Another option for Hand is Jaehaerys, of course.)

As for Maegor and his reign...I expect there is still enough Faith agitation that he quells it much the same. Volantis's standing depends on whether they dare try kidnapping either child; they do get into Maegor's good graces at first with gifts and gold. Perhaps they have their own plans around Maegor's death and stealing one or both in the chaotic aftermath of it. Their disappearance would certainly benefit Jaehaerys, after all! I suppose the hope (on Volantis's part) would be that the dragons follow their riders.

Speaking of the hatchlings/dragons, their eggs are likely one of those special gifts from Volantis, and it wouldn't shock me if Maegor decided to hold a second tournament the moment they hatched. Behold his special sons, whose dragon eggs hatched within days! They are surely destined to become great dragonlords! (Rhaena meanwhile was likely hoping they could grow to challenge Balerion in size, should a dragon battle be needed in the future.)

[salamantenna]

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the Jade Winglet Dragonets of Destiny au, so it’s time to yap.

So, I’d have it so the JW are all born on the brightest night (Moon, Winter, Kinkajou, Peril, Qibli, Turtle (sorry Carnelian and Umber (though I guess Umber’s still born on the brightest night))) and all get picked as eggs by the Talons of Peace; same as the canon DoD. The og DoD are still born on the brightest night too, just living their lives as they would have without prophecy stuff.

So which circumstances would allow the JW to be picked for the prophecy?

I think in this au Secretkeeper decided last minute not to hide Moon’s egg and brought it back to the NightWing island. Morrowseer would be LEAPING to have his dragonet be in a prophecy, so as soon as it’s revealed Moon’s egg’ll hatch on the brightest night, he is taking that thing to the Talons and you BET your arse he is not asking his wife before selling their only child to be raised by a group of dragonet-hating weirdo’s. I think Moon’s powers are so central to her character that I’d have her hatch before they reach the caves, so GIVE IT UP FOR THRICE-MOONBORN MOON EVERYBODY. even more things for her and Darkstalker to bond over, I’m sure that’s what everyone wanted.

For Turtle, it would be pretty easy to get Webs to snatch him. In this au, he’d be in the same hatching as Tsunami, so they’d be in the same hatchery, and it’s never said what colour Turtle’s egg was, so I’m just assuming it was as blue as Tsunami’s was and Webs just took his instead.

Dune decided against stealing Sunny’s egg, because he might be fully commited to helping the prophecy come true, but Thorn was also one of his best friends for years and he saw how much she loved her egg. Cobra would sell any of her children for a single corn chip and already did so in canon, so let’s just have Qibli be sold a bit earlier: when he was still in the egg. Easy.

Peril is a bit more difficult, especially since I didn’t really know what to do with Sky, so I just tried to keep it as close to canon as possible: Kestrel was one of Scarlet’s most loyal subjects, so Scarlet’d probably be a tad loose-lipped around her about her plans, this is how Kestrel finds out that all the eggs due to hatch on the brightest night will be killed. She doesn’t want this to happen to her egg, so she goes into hiding with it. She ends up being found just after Peril and Sky are hatched and she’s given the order to kill one of them, and Sky isn’t seen again (same as canon). Then when Kestrel flees, she’s able to brace herself properly and holds onto Peril long enough to get away, so her burns would be worse than in canon. The Talons are on high alert in the Sky Queendom just after the killing of the SkyWing dragonets, so they find Kestrel pretty quickly and when they find out that Peril was hatched on the brightest night, they employ her as a guardian to her daughter and the other prophecy dragonets and offer medical attention in return, that Kestrel desperately needs after holding Peril for so long while fleeing.

Now we have reached a problem: Winter and Kinkajou.

Kinkajou could be picked up the same way Glory was in canon, but Winter complicates things, so I think the best solution would be to change the prophecy to include every tribe (I know it’s out of character for Morrowseer to put aside his dragon racism for even a single second, but let’s say he was sick and thus not in his normal mind when making the prophecy with Battlewinner).

Kinkajou would be picked the same as Glory in canon, no issue, and with Winter written in the prophecy, he wouldn’t be too difficult either. I think Hvitur snatched his egg from the IceWing palace and someone else went to get the SkyWing egg (and failed). I am so tempted to let Hvitur live in this au, but I want to keep things as close to canon as possible for the beginning (besides swapping the prophecy dragonets), so he still has to die. I’d say he got caught in a battle before he got to the cave and died later of his injuries, so he can tell the other guardians where he got Winter’s egg so the dragonets can find his family later. Sorry Hvitur :(((

Asha and the MudWing egg never returned to the cave, so we are MISSING OUR WINGS OF EARTH

I love swap au’s. The DoD were chaotic enough as it is, now they include two royals, one of which is an animus; a firescales; a thrice moonborn NightWing; Kinkajou and Qibli. All the queendoms will crumble the second these children are released into the world.

I’ve got some more ideas for this au and I might change some stuff I mentioned here, so stay tuned!!

+ Bonus

I tried thinking of a way for the prophecy to stay the same and still get Winter and Kinkajou in the story for SO LONG. Kinkajou is easy: same as Glory in canon, since they were missing a SkyWing for a day or so (before they got Peril) and they don’t have a MudWing, but Winter is IMPOSSIBLE. I couldn’t think of any solution besides this:

[allthingsfangirl101]

From Now On – Glen Powell

I took the test several times. Even after a doctor confirmed it, I still couldn't accept it. To be honest, that night constantly replayed in my mind. My dreams were filled with what we did that night. My thoughts were filled with how he made me feel.

As amazing as that night was, it ruined a lifelong friendship. Well, maybe it didn't ruin it, but it definitely complicated things.

Glen and I have been best friends since we were 5. We were inseparable until he got his first acting role. When his career first started, he'd come home in between projects.

As it started to kick off, he didn't come home as much. When he did, he made sure to make time for me. He'd come over and we'd spend all day watching movies, ordering food, and catching up. We'd talk all night until we both fell asleep in each other's arms.

The last time Glen was in town, he was dealing with his most recent breakup. I tried to help him not think about things, but it didn't work. So, we went to the nearest bar and drank for several hours. When we could barely walk, we got in a cab and went back to my place. Somewhere along the way, we didn't hold back.

I remember everything about that night. I remember how it felt when we kissed. I remember how soft his hands were as they explored my body. I remember the chills he caused as his lips touched my skin. I remember the moment we both gave in.

I also remember waking up to his phone ringing. I remember the feeling of my stomach sinking when he got out of bed and started getting dressed. I remember how I felt as I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

I remember him walking back to the bed and sitting on the edge next to me. I remember how gently he lifted my chin. I remember how he held onto my chin as he leaned in and delicately kissed me. I remember him promising to call me.

I don't, however, remember him calling me.

A few weeks went by, and I started to feel weird. I was nauseous, uncomfortable, and easily irritated. After I was late, I panicked. I ran to the nearest pharmacy and bought three tests. Even after going to my OBGYN, I still didn't fully believe it.

I was pregnant with Glen's baby.

After I found out - and I finished freaking out - I tried calling him. I called him over a dozen times. I left messages, begging for him to call me back. But he never did. So, I decided to do this on my own.

Seven months after Glen and I crossed the line we can never uncross, I was walking out of my latest baby check-up when I bumped into someone I was kind of hoping I wouldn't see.

"Y/N?"

I held my breath as I turned around. The second I did, Leslie's eyes widened. "Oh my. You're pregnant! Congratulations! I didn't know that you were dating anyone. I thought. . ."

I subconsciously put my hands on my belly. I cleared my throat and looked away from her.

"Y/N," she whispered as she took a step closer to me. "How far along are you?"

"7 months," I whispered.

"Oh," she gasped. I watched as her eyes widened. "It's his, isn't it?" I opened and closed my mouth, unable to answer her. "Y/N, are you pregnant with Glen's baby?"

I felt like I couldn't breathe when she asked me that. I didn't have to say anything. The tears in my eyes must have given it away. Instead of waiting for me to answer, she took a step forward and wrapped me in her arms.

"Does he know?" She asked with her arms still wrapped around me.

"I tried to tell him," I said through my soft sobs, "but he never called me back!"

When the rougher sob escaped, she tightened her arms around me. "Let's sit down," she whispered as she led me to a nearby bench. Once we sat down, she kept her arms wrapped around me.

"I'm sorry he never called you back," she whispered. "Do you want me to call him and tell him to call you or. . ."

"No!" I gasped, quickly pulling out of our hug. "Please, no. Leslie, you can't call your brother. You can't tell him. Please. Promise me you won't tell him. It shouldn't come from you. It should come from me. And I know I should've worked harder to get through to him. But eventually, I had to stop focusing on chasing Glen and start focusing on the baby. Right? I'm a mother now. My baby needs to be my whole world, have my whole focus. Even. . . Even if I have to do this alone."

"You don't," she gently cut me off as she grabbed my hands. "You're not alone in this, Y/N. Even though Glen is away a lot for work, you've got all of us. You're not alone."

"I'm not?" I asked, my voice breaking. She reached up and gently moved some hair out of my face.

She rewrapped her arms around me. "You're not alone," she whispered as she started rubbing my back. "We've got you, honey."

"I know I need to tell Glen," I whimpered. "It's just been so long. He's going to be so angry with me for not telling him."

"No, he won't," she gently pushed. "Glen could never be angry with you. He might be upset for a little while that he didn't know right away, but he'll be excited."

"Excited?" I asked, my voice breaking.

"Of course," she chuckled. "Honey, the one thing my brother wants more than anything is a family."

"But with me?"

"Y/N, you don't know this," she said with a smile, "but Glen has loved you all his life."

"He what?" I stuttered.

"He's loved you all his life," she repeated. "He's been in love with you since you got scared during the haunted house in middle school, and you clung onto him. He told me that he felt like your hero that night. And he didn't want to ever not feel like your hero. So, I know that when he finds out that you're pregnant with his baby, he is going to be so excited."

"You really think so?"

"Oh, honey," she sighed. "I know so." She paused before gently adding, "But you need to tell him."

"I know," I whispered. "And I will. I just. . . Have to find the right words."

"And when you do?" She asked. I looked at her, well aware that what I was about to say wasn't as easy as it sounded. She knew it, too. She probably also knew that it would take a lot of courage to do it. Courage that I wasn't sure I had.

"I'll call him."

* * * * *

I didn't fully believe Leslie when she said she wouldn't tell her brother about the baby. It was clear that she had, in fact, called her brother when I answered the door a few days later, thinking it was the pizza deliveryman. It wasn't.

"Glen," I gasped. I was frozen as I stared at him. His eyes slowly fell to my 7-month belly. When he looked back up at me, there were tears in his eyes.

"Hi," he chuckled awkwardly. "I know it's been a while, but Leslie told me I really needed to talk to you. She kept pushing me to call you. I thought she was crazy and overthinking something. Clearly. . . Clearly, she was right to be so pushy."

I held my breath as he slowly reached forward. The tears burned my eyes as he placed his hands delicately on my belly.

"Is it a girl or a boy?"

His question was soft, so soft it was almost a whisper.

"A son," I answered. "You have a son, Glen."

His eyes lit up. In the blink of an eye, he let go of my belly and pulled me into his chest. The second I was wrapped tightly in his arms, the tears started streaming down my face.

"I'm so sorry, Glen," I sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry."

Glen gently shushed me. Without unwrapping his arms from around me, he led me back inside. He closed the door behind us and made sure to lock it. I was still silently sobbing as he led us over to the couch.

We sat down and finally pulled out of our tight embrace. He reached up to move some hair out of my face, but I didn't look at him. I couldn't. I was all of a sudden hit with all the guilt I've been pushing down for the last 7 months. And it felt like I was drowning.

"There are some things I think we need to talk about, Y/N," he tried to joke. I closed my eyes, struggling to calm myself down. Glen gently grabbed my chin and made me look at him.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried," I said, my answer getting caught in my throat.

"What do you mean?" He asked, slowly letting go of my face. 

"I called you," I confessed. "I called you right after I took the test. Well, tests. And then I called you again after I went to my OBGYN. I left you a lot of messages, begging you to call me back. The only reason I didn't leave it in a voicemail or a text was because it wasn't something you should hear that way."

"Oh," he whispered as he looked away. Without looking at me, he reached over and grabbed my hands. He squeezed as he looked back up at me and mumbled, "I suddenly remember all the missed calls I never returned. I am so sorry, Y/N. I never meant for you to go through any of this alone. I should've called you back. Please forgive me."

"Of course," I stuttered. "Wait. . . You're not. . . You're not angry with me?"

"Angry with you?" He repeated. "Why would I be angry with you, darling?"

"Because. . . I found out I was pregnant and didn't tell you."

"To be fair," he smiled, "you tried. I was the one who forgot to call you back. But I promise, from now on, I will never forget to call you back. In fact, I will make sure I always answer your phone calls."

He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. I grabbed his face and deepened the kiss. Silent tears streamed down my face as we kissed - something I have wanted to do since the morning he left 7 months ago.

Glen broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. I smiled when he slightly rubbed his nose against mine. When he leaned back, I saw sadness in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Were you really going to raise our baby alone?"

"Well, yes," I shrugged. "I didn't really have a choice."

"You do," he said, his voice nothing but serious. "And so do I."

"Glen. . ."

"You have been pregnant on your own for 7 months," he continued, "but you're no longer alone. From now on, you are not alone."

"That's good to hear," I whispered. He smiled as he reached up and cupped my face.

"Y/N," he whispered. "I love you. I always have. And now, I love our son. Which means you and our son are going to be the reason I am never going to be unreachable. I will always be here for you both."

"I love you, too," I whispered as I reached up and gently grabbed the wrist of his hand that was still holding my face. I put my other hand gently on my belly. Glen soon placed his free hand on top of mine. "We both do."

Without letting go, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. I let out a small moan as I kissed him back. That moan turned into a giggle when he gently laid us down. He laid next to me, with his hand delicately on my belly. Before we could get too into the kiss, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Glen pouted as he broke the kiss. "And how dare they interrupt a family reunion?"

"It's the pizza I ordered before you got here," I chuckled.

"Oh," he smirked. "I could eat. What'd you order us?"

"This baby has done nothing but crave meat lovers."

Glen laughed as he stood up. He didn't go to the front door right away. Instead, he leaned down and kissed my belly.

"That's my boy."

[crowdusk]

WBN EP 52 SPOILERS

My immediate thought upon hearing what happens in the last 5 minutes was, like many other people, that Silver must have been compelled somehow. Why would he, a war mage who so loved and valued the “light of the tower” and everything it represented, commit the highest form of treason like that? Even if Suvi’s letter changed something in him, to die with his name shamed and sullied as the worst kind of traitor forever? Running away would have made so much more sense if he did either change his mind, or realize he was being sent away to disappear. Plus we saw him arguing with Slate before reading the letter - I wonder if she told him he was being stationed somewhere in the boondocks, his career over. I fully agree with everyone saying the person who benefits most from his death is Steel - he was a loose end for her and for Suvi, and maybe she was too tired to keep trying to tie up all these threads so it was time to just cut.

One important thing - as far as I understand, one of the things you can’t do with geas spells is give suicidal orders i.e. compel someone to do something that ends in their certain death? The spell ends in that case. I guess there might be a loophole in which technically he could be compelled to kill Silence in a way that allows him to escape/not immediately be killed in return? But for the purposes of this post I’ll assume it wasn’t a geas - which actually makes the situation even more sinister to me. Because the (list in progress of) options I can think of are:

Steel/Slate etc have a method of compelling which isn’t a geas questing spell, but something even stronger or that takes away someone’s will completely - maybe something Lucent created for Steel?

Silver was put under a spell or given a potion/something that made him hallucinate what Steel/Slate wanted him to see? Maybe he genuinely thought Silence was an enemy because he was convinced he was on a battlefield?

Steel/Slate convinced him (without using magic) somehow it would be a really good idea for him to do this, e.g. Slate basically told him his life was over and he knew he would never die as a war hero anyways so he may as well do something useful (i.e. clear the way for Suvi and go out with a bang??) - I’m not really convinced of this one myself but there might be specifics of how they convinced him where the alternative was something worse?

after Slate told him he was being sent away, his career over in order to protect Suvi, he became enraged at the unfairness of the system and genuinely wanted to get back at it somehow (there is a sort of bitter vengeance aspect of like, him taking out Silence might mean Suvi becoming Archmage and therefore even more locked into the Citadel, but I don’t know if Silver would think like that - that feels more like a Steel scheme)

I’m still leaning that he was compelled/forced magically somehow by Steel, because I think he was too proud to fully sacrifice his honor and legacy as a Citadel wizard, especially in death. However, I think if it wasn’t a spell on him and it was just Steel’s manipulation/pressure/power - and his desperation at being crushed by the system he believed in so much - that pushed him to madness somehow, that makes it even more heartbreaking.

I am so excited to see what happens next - I can’t imagine Suvi doesn’t confront her mother over this? Praying that Aabria’s dice decided to be on side for whatever insight/perception/investigation rolls. And of course, Silence might not die, but if he does does that mean Suvi fully ascends to his role immediately? That would be WILD. I’m scared!! THIS STORY!

[deifyruby]

HI HELLO I LOVED NEMVEVO'S NEW VIDEO ON BLISS.

<can i trust minecraft's most evil player?>

this is a crosspost/compilation of all my freak outs/little ramblings about the video as i livetweeted it. 🫶🏻 i also expanded my ramblings a little more as i have had time to digest the contents. feel free to follow me on twt under the same un!!! i am more active there. :D

that was mugm's profile picture (on twt for a while). 🥀

something so so so ahhhhhh to me about how during prog 1 the brotherhood strived to become 'good' players, redeem themselves in the eyes of the other server members, just to have people (nemvevo) still doubting their morals, and to have other server members warn them about the brotherhood. and we know how it came to be like that, how they failed to unstain their image, but still. it was so futile. ^_^

wtf eas this ddisc shhjq78zyd8qt2o289c7eo2j3ikej????!3(?

THOSE WERE VILLAGER NOISES RIGHT 😭😭😭

WHICH GOOFY MF DID THIS 💔

also ecorridor spotted in chat. 🫵🏻🫵🏻🫵🏻

every time i see them i just think of nemvevo cheating on dolphin with gopg 😭😭😭😭😭 i'm sorry that was just so fucking funny

my first impression of nemvevo btw

whatmax is such a spirit animal

(note: i don't remmeber why i said this but i trust myself)

PukiTV was smashed by Mugm_

this ur brotherhood? 🥀

"i just don't understand how The God Mace Guy is going to help someone else get a god mace."

😁 good question wyll. as dolphin's video is not out yet, and nem's didn't really focus on dolphin's own motives, i can't really say much. i just gotta guess, and i wanna make an educated guess before dolphin drops their monologue on the sitch!!!

dolphin doesn't really acknowledge this provocation. they go, "yep", and leave it at that. there is a possibility that this actually does get to them, given the little response wyll and napa receive in return. the great, feared mace user dolphin, scrambling at the powerhouses' beck and call to be able to get their hands on a mace one day— that is what wyll tries to provoke them with. but that guess is heavily reliant on how dolphin themselves see the brotherhood. in what light? do they harbor animosity? is it a neutral feeling given their allyship? but, i think it is a safe bet to say that dolphin sees through the attempt to poke at their pride, and deems it unworthy the effort to engage them in any way deeper, that is— until wyll starts engaging nem, their teammate. which brings me to the next little rambling i made.

"if he (mugm) loses nem then he loses me too."

FUCK MY DUO SHEJAJKQKQKWOWL DIE DIE DIE THEY NEED TO DIE (it's been 16 hrs and i still feel unwell about dolphin nemvevo duo).

at this point, dolphin fully locks in this verbal spat to defend her teammate. wyll essentially calls nem a expendable pawn to the brotherhood, whose worth does not measure up to dolphin's in their eyes. this implies that one day, some day— dolphin will ditch nem for a 'mightier, better' team: the brotherhood. in a place where being less skilled means you have less leverage against other players, there is nothing nem can do if dolphin ever decides to leave him for bhood. nem visibly pauses, the sound of the click of a photograph being taken; wyll's words forever clipped into his mind, becoming slow acting poison. he becomes quiet, unsettling music that conveys his dread starts playing. nem only chimes in one "yes" to dolphin defending his place in the brotherhood.

nem then gets in a vc with dolphin and confides his worries, tells her that he believes what wyll said was realistic and, to his apprehension, possible. dolphin really fucking locks in here and reassures nem in the best way possible. the unsettling music is still there, nem still has that conversation running in the back of his mind like repeating tapes, but there is nothing he can do about it, and he needs to move on.

but, OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOD it's being called an expendable pawn, and your teammate saying that if you are abandoned, they will leave with you. it's them leveraging their own 'value' in order to protect you. it's having someone willing to ditch a comfier, better, more reputable place to be with you, and it's being expendable to everyone but the one who actually matters!!! his teammate!!!!!! I HAYE THEM I ONLY HAD NEM AND DOLPHIN DUP BUT 12 minutes (16 hrs as of crossposting) BUT IF SMTH HAPPENS TO THEM IM KILLING EVERYONE AND THEN MYSELF

i'm sooooo normal about dolphin and her relationships with her teammates across different servers. very normal. i hate her!!! YOU ARE INDEED MINECRAFT'S BEST TEAMMATE. ☹️

also, napa and wyll defend their allyship with whatmax and lezy by saying that they came to them because they hated the brotherhood, and that they didn't recruit anyone. but that is just like nem and dolphin, who came to the brotherhood in the first place because they had grudges with the rest of the server, who had killed and jumped them time and time again. that's why it's so ironic, and let's you see such a beautiful cycle.

(this is the part where i put a disclaimer: i forgot about a lot of the bliss videos i watched, i could be 100% getting sum wrong rn. feel free to correct me, be kind about it. <3)

i think it really goes to show that no one's really 'sinless' in this place. you are all just as guilty as the next one, it's just a never ending cycle of killing and blaming. because someone needs to take the blame, someone needs to be the villain to the hero, because this server thrives on conflict. conflict is rewarded. which ties into the brotherhood's attempt at redemption really nicely. 😁 they were trying to appeal to people who had sinned just like them.

i feel like. forgiving and redeeming the brotherhood would have meant acknowledging their own faults as well. but uhm i don't know what i'm talking about i may be yapping a whole lot of nothin but that's okay we ball ♥️

also i will forever love this tug of war about mugm's morals. it's so fascinating to see mugm from other players' perspective because their own biases and circumstances and just, the role that mugm takes on seems to influence their conclusions at the end of the video. and it begins again. people still question, people still test. for someone so infamous— many people wish to see the good in you. ^^

and i think in part, the server contributes to it too. this tug of war is a byproduct of the server's circumstances and happenings that aren't necessarily related, but all tie into the story in some way or form. this server needs an antagonist, needs that conflict like blood runs through their veins.

i'm yappin too much eueueueu. mugm is such a creature i'd keep him in a jar to study if i could

also the god forsaken poppies omgg soomeone take poppies away from these guys.

bro has 0 ping.

these guys always get caught xraying for the dumbest shit 🥀 wdym coal and zombies.

the fire alarm 😭 r we being deadass .

what the fuck . a talking gem . bro.

W animation though. big big fan of them looks at kaboodle and boomie videos.

lezy deadass has the survival instincts of NOTHING.

the way i see myself in his shoes 💔💔💔 my survival instincts are just not there either i got cooked so bsdly last time.

?

anyways.

i do wonder why lezy did this. was this a suicide mission or a psychological tactic

2It was BAIT IT WAS BAIT NEMVEVO PLEASE Lock TF IN

holy arrow cannon it took my goat out. </3

we lock in again, because throw back to the conversation with wyll and napa— here, nem's suspicions peak. but nem is helpless to it, to the rhythm of the game and the crushing waves of their tsunami. he resigns to it, sticks it out anyway. here i thought about 'the sunk cost fallacy'. you've already gone too far, stained your image too much. sticking it out with more powerful people is your only option. good luck with that, nemvevo. ^^ is what i said, and it worked out for him!!! yay!

anyway holy yap holy yap i really loved the video if u couldn't tell. <3

[atheostic]

I came across 29 questions to atheists by a Christian website that they think will lead an atheist to reconsider their atheism.

Let's see if it works on me.

1. Are you certain that God does not exist, or that you can’t know whether He exists?

Depends on which god you're talking about. I don't know whether a general god exists, but I know the triomni god most Christians believe in doesn't exist.

2. How do you know that?

Because being all-powerful is logically contradictory (Can God create a burrito so hot even he can't eat it? Either way you answer he's not all-powerful) and the Problem of Evil means a triomni god doesn't exist.

3. Did you use your five senses to come to that decision?

No. I used logic.

Also, we have more than just 5 senses, FYI. Other senses include proprioception and chronoception.

4. Given that God is by definition a Spirit, how much sense does it make to decide whether He exists using your five physical senses?

According to the Bible, Moses saw God's back, so I'm curious how you think that he did that without his senses (or how a spirit could have a back).

P.S. What does it mean for something to be a spirit? Describe what that means for me.

5. Did you use your reasoning to determine God does not exist?

Yes.

6. How do you know your reasoning is working correctly?

Because all I did was use basic rules of logic.

How do you know that YOUR reasoning is working properly?

7. Did you use your reasoning to determine your reasoning was working?

Not entirely. I can also compare it to other people's reasoning.

What else are humans supposed to use? No matter what, you're using your reasoning.

Plus, I can check with other people to see if my reasoning is logical or just use the rules of logic myself.

8. Do you see the problem with that?

What's your alternative? How can you solve the problem of hard solipsism?

9. The Bible says that skepticism about God is the result of a mind suppressing what it knows to be true. Have you ever tried doubting your doubts about God?

I've never believed in a god, and I wasn't using skepticism to come to my unbelief when I was little; I just didn't see any evidence worthy of starting to believe.

I've listened to dozens and dozens of Christians trying to provide evidence for God's existence and to explain why they believe what they believe and they all fall short. Also, fuck outta here with that presup nonsense.

10. The Bible contains hundreds prophecies fulfilled hundreds of years after they were written. How would that be possible without God?

Most of the would-be prophecies in the Bible are either too vague to qualify as a true prophecy, and the specific prophecies either fail or were written after the fact.

But even if we were to assume you're right, why do you jump directly to "It could only be a god"? What about a time-traveller? Or just lucky chance?

11. The Bible says that objective moral values are based in God’s morally perfect nature. Without God, what do you think they are based in?

There are no objective moral values until we decide as a group what to base our morality on. Even God's morality is subjective. His rules are just, like, his opinion, man.

Most people have agreed that morality should be measured based on well-being -- what increases well-being is good, what decreases it is bad.

12. Jesus’ disciples went from being terrified of death, to being willing to die for their belief that Jesus rose from the dead. If Jesus didn’t rise, what do you think changed their mind?

The only sources for the claim that the disciples were martyred are sources considered to be heretical. You can't have it both ways. Plus none of said sources claim that they were given the chance to recant their beliefs to save themselves.

It's also entirely possible that they truly believed and were genuinely mistaken.

13. There are hundreds of varieties of unbelief. How do you know yours is the right one?

Mine is simply "I don't believe your claim until you provide sufficient evidence to at least suggest that your claim is more likely than not".

That's it.

In philosophy, it's called the Null Hypothesis, which is basically the default state until one is presented with enough evidence to change their mind. It's not possible for me to be wrong about the fact that I'm not convinced.

14. Archaeology is constantly confirming the details of the accounts in the Bible. Why do you think that is, if the Bible isn’t true?

False. For example, we have yet to find any evidence that the exodus from Egypt ever happened, and most Jewish and Christian scholars say Moses never existed. We know for a fact that the creation accounts in Genesis didn't happen because we know how the universe began.

15. There is more evidence that Jesus Christ lived, died and came back to life than for just about any other event in ancient history. If God did not exist, or Jesus’ claims to be God were not true, then how would you explain his resurrection?

False again. There's no extrabiblical contemporary account of Jesus (that we know of).

If Jesus did exist, it's entirely possible he was just Some Dude who was prematurely buried (even though the burial doesn't make sense because that's not how the Romans dealt with the bodies of criminals). Premature burial was SUPER common until very recently, Disturbingly so.

16. What do you think makes so many Christians able to live radically different lives from the way they used to live prior to becoming Christians–even to the point of forgiving their abusers for terrible crimes?

Community support and peer pressure. And people who aren't Christian are able to live radically different lives when they convert to another religion/deconvert from religion too. Christianity ain't special.

17. One of the most basic principles of philosophy, confirmed by science is ex nihilo nihil fit (“out of nothing, nothing comes”). Without God, how do you think everything came into being?

That's NOT confirmed by science, as we have never had a nothing to examine in order to make such a claim.

No one is saying that except Christians claiming God created things from nothing.

18. The Bible says that we were created to live forever, and that death is an unnatural enemy, brought about by sin. If you are a naturalist who believes death is simply part of life, how do you explain why we feel like we ought to live forever, and why pain and death feel so unnatural and wrong to just about everyone?

Because we instinctually want to survive. Creatures without the drive to survive didn't pass along their genes because they didn't survive long enough to reproduce. So over time wanting to survive at all costs became hardwired into our DNA. And we don't like pain because it doesn't feel good.

19. If your brain is merely the unplanned result of evolution by natural selection, aimed at survival and nothing else, what makes you think you can trust your reasoning to discover the truth, rather than just whichever belief is best for survival?

What's the alternative?

20. If no God, why would anything objectively matter?

It doesn't. Not objectively, anyway. Instead, meaning is subjective. We decide what is meaningful to us.

21. If no God, why is there so much good in the world?

Because people and other creatures have the instinct to cooperate. It's a very successful adaptation that helps social species thrive.

22. If no God, how did our DNA get programmed with such incredibly complex language and instructions?

It's not literal language, it's chemistry. And the evidence of design is simplicity, not complexity (at least of good design). Why are humans so badly "designed" if created by an all-powerful all-knowing deity?

23. Is everything in the universe really just matter and energy?

By the looks of it, yes. We could always find out something else exists that we didn't know about, but the time to start believing such a thing exists is after we have good evidence that at least strongly suggests it exists.

24. If you just thought, “Yes,” was that thought made of matter and energy?

Yes. The thought is made by electrical impulses (energy) in our brain (matter).

25. The Bible says every good and perfect gift is from the Father above (i.e. God). To whom are you grateful for the good things in your life?

I'm grateful for the people who are responsible for me having good things (e.g. the farmers who made the food I eat, my friends for their companionship, etc).

26. Where do you think the laws of logic come from?

They're... they're not literal laws. They're just a description of how our universe works.

27. Are the laws of logic made of matter and energy?

No, they are concepts. But they are stored in something made of matter and energy (our brains).

28. What evidence would actually convince you that Jesus Christ is God, the Lord, and the only Savior?

I don't know, but Jesus supposedly does and he hasn't made a move to present it to me. Which means he either doesn't want me to believe or he doesn't exist. Either way, that's his problem, not mine.

29. How much do you know about the heart of the Christian message, AKA the “Gospel” or good news?

I've read the Bible in three languages.

I attended Catholic public school in high school.

I've been studying comparative religion since I was a child.

[livingfungicorpse]

Enjoltaire stuff that makes me loose my marbles

When they argue. Enjolras gets pissed off by Grantaire not caring nor believing in anything. R who takes care of the Thenardier children, clearly cares and understands the suffering of the lower class yet doesn't contribute to the revolution nor cares to do anything about the state of their country to fix it. It drives Enjolras mad, he'd despise him more if he could but R's caring side is too heartwarming.

Grantarie making Enjolras question what he's life is really worth. Since Grantaire loves Enjolras the person he can seperate the man from the cause and think about more than that. Enjolrae can't, he's dedicated his life to this cause and is content with dying for his country. The man and the revolution are so intertwined he can't seperate himself from it. Enj doesn't know what he wants for himself, for his future, nothing. Cause deep down he knows he'll probably die and he can't allow himself any distractions so all he's worried about are the people of france and the rebellion. He doesn't think about his own future or dreams, cause he has none that are personally his, his vision for the future is the french republic, where he'll probably be dead. So for Grantaire to make him actually question all of that really gets him frustrated.

Homoerotic fighting. That's it. I just want R to teach Enj how to fight better and we all know where this is going.

Grantaire blacks out drunk and Enjolras has to drag his sorry ass home.

Grantaire being so in love and obsessed with Enjolras he would do literally anything for the man to the point where it's unhealthy. I'm talking "I would die for you just to make you smile" kind of fucked up devotion.

Enjolras finds it concerning. Also Aroace Enjolras. He doesn't love Grantaire and never will, has no time for romance, doesn't care nor is interested. Their most intimate moments being the few times where they get along and actually treat eachother as friends. Say they both have a rough day and Enj actually decides to share a drink with R. Cute. Or R does something for Enjolras and he's grateful.

"Thank you for helping me with our cause."- "I didn't do it for the cause, I did it for you."

R who casually flirts with men and women alike but only looks at Enjolras with love. Others may be distractions or just to annoy Enj and get his attention. Doesn't matter.

Grantaire being the most annoying and ridiculous guy in the room just to get Enj to look at him. And perhaps initiate some heated arguing. Wink wink nudge nudge.

Hah! No. They never get intimate. Despite how much Grantaire would like to and flirts with Enj nothing ever happens. The most that would be between them would be a heated argument/homoerotic fighting.

Grantaire who hates that this is the only way he manages to get his attention. He hates to bother Enj like this, to make him despise him even more but damnit he can't stop himself. He needs his attention and he needs passion. And that's the only way he can get a passionate response.

Another thing they argue over is Grantaire describing Enjolras as some sort of a god, when really he's just an imperfect man just like R. He doesn't want to be percieved as a higher being, he sees that as dehumanizing and when he's all about equality it goes against his beliefs so he doesn't play into that. He also hates how Grantaire puts himself into the mud. Sure he isn't perfect but he's not a monster and the man has potential.

Enjolras being an idealist sees it, Grantaire the cynic doesn't.

Enjolras won't accept Grantaire as his friend until the very end when R finally decides to be with him and die for him and their republic. Enjolras would've been ready to accept him this whole time, the only thing that was in their way was Grantaire's cynicism. Despite how much R loves him, despite his devotion he couldn't fight beside him. Had he just given in and dedicate himself to the cause not just their leader then he would've been getting smiles from Enjolras instead of scoffs. The "Do you permit it?" scene being the only time when Enj genuinely smiles at Grantaire and takes his hand.

Can you see I love angst???? I've seen some of these ideas explored in my favourite fics but they usually still end up going into romantic or smutty territory in the end. Nothing wrong with that, I love that too. But I feel like a long fic like that where it's mostly just their complex ideologies clashing and no payoff cause again they just can't reach it, feels so in character. I love that they're doomed to never work out. They're such interesting complex figures you could have such an interesting narrative with them but it's rare to find fics like these. I'm sorry,I just love to ramble about everything I love about this ship.

Doomed toxic french yaoi for the win