#ALSO giving her frogs as an interest? seemed smart and fun at the time

[cottageivy]

worst part about ocs is when you give them interests and hobbies you don't share. like now I have to know shit about that 😭

[kiss-me-muchoo]

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙮 ♡ 𝙀𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙁𝙚𝙢!𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝙐𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙𝙡𝙮, 𝙀𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙮𝙤𝙛 1986. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 (𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚). 𝙃𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙗 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡. 𝙒𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: 𝙁𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛, 𝙁𝙇𝙐𝙁𝙁, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣, 𝙀𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙎4 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜, (7.5 𝙠 𝙬𝙤��𝙙𝙨) 𝙉𝙊𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙁𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿 𝙎𝙊𝙍𝙍𝙔. 𝘼/𝙉: 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚’𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮 💋

♡ ♡ 𝙄𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙓 (𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚)

♡ 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙝 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 

♡ 𝙀𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙈𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

Hearts hanging from every window of every classroom decorated Hawkins High School. Biology wasn’t your favorite class. Lab time wasn’t as bad as a normal period of lectures and boring assignments. Yet, dissected animals didn’t match heart balloons and fake roses on every table. You are laughing with your friends about the frogs you happened to be slicing open. Some chemicals that would help with the process are scattered around the table.

“Dude, this smells like ass…” your loud giggles catch Eddie Munson’s attention. He found you annoying at the beginning of the semester because you were always talking. But once he paid attention to your conversations (which was wrong) he found you interesting. Sometimes it was about aliens and conspiracy theories, roasting mean students, which avenues were the most crowded, or what should have been the natural hair color of Mrs. O’Donnell before she started dyeing her hair.

“Y/n! Last time… next is detention” you roll your eyes at the teacher’s words. You keep whispering in a low voice with your friends about the gore frog in front of you. “Okay so, once the frog is spread, make a vertical incision from the heart to the bladder just like it says in the book”

“I’ll do it,” Eddie says to Jeff. Once he makes the incision, he can see all of the frog’s insides. He hears your laugh again. And when he raises his gaze, you are playing with the sliced-open frog, making your friends laugh very hard. 

“Okay, that’s it. Y/n, stay after class…” your friends make fun of you. Eddie smiles, you don’t necessarily care about staying after class. He knows you’re smart, just a little too shameless. You’re neither a loser nor a popular, just a random student. 

You feel proud when the teacher flatters your work, making him a little less mad at you. Either way, you don’t move from your seat when the bell rings. Your friends leave when you hear the teacher also calling Eddie Munson to stay. You like him, he’s super reckless and funny, but you never talked to him, he seems to be… a coerced person.

“Well. I have to say I’m a little disappointed by you, y/n. You’re a very good student, but I know you like to talk a lot. And you, Munson…. Surprisingly you are also a good student, but you never turn in my assignments. I expect more from you two.”

“I-“ before Eddie can say anything, the teacher stops him. “You don’t care about detention, so I have a better offer for you two. I was asked to organize Valentine’s Day assembly this year. I’ll make you two work together and present it in three weeks. 

“What?” You almost scream. Weirdly, it excited you but terrified you of the proposal.

“If you do a good event, I’ll give some good extra credit at the end of the semester and you’ll have free my period to work on the event. If you don’t do a good job, I’ll give you a bigger final and extra homework” Eddie analyzes what the older man is saying. He knows it’s fair but at the same time, it’s not. You’re a good girl, you don’t have much to lose, and most people could easily like you. But he was the freak, the dangerous metal boy. He was behind in all of his classes because he never turned in any homework or assignments. How could somebody listen to him hosting an assembly?

“Alright. Thank you and sorry for being disrespectful in your class” you say with a big smile on your face. Eddie can’t tell if you are pretending. He doesn’t know if you dislike him or not, but apparently he’s about to know. 

“This is going to be fun…” you say after sighing and seeing the teacher leaving the classroom. Eddie turns to see you smiling at him nervously. “Im y/n, by the way…”

“I know…” he reveals, making you blush a little. “You’re always talking…”

“Sorry for being annoying…” trying to hide your embarrassment, you start closing your bag and getting your notebook and book inside. 

“No, I’ve accidentally heard some of the things you say. It’s cool shit…” it surprises you a lot. You didn’t know you were seen by the huge persona Eddie Munson is. “I don’t even talk a lot and I’m annoying just by existing”

“I think you’re cool…” he feels something. He knew a lot of girls despised him or were disgusted by him. And a very small amount wanted to fuck him in secret. But nobody ever told him he was cool. Nobody gave him a genuine smile like you did. 

“I-, I didn’t think a girl like you would think that of me. We’ve never talked before…” finally you stand and walk towards him. He notices a pair of baggy jeans and a pretty floral top with a matching cardigan, you’re very pretty. 

“Don’t stereotype me, Munson. I just.. okay, it’s contradictory I know, but I perceived you as an intimidating person, sorry” you earn a little giggle from Eddie Munson, and it makes your heart stop beating so fast. He can make you nervous just with his sweet brown eyes. 

“It’s okay, I don’t tend to be very welcoming.” it’s weird for him. It’s almost unbelievable how you can easily have a conversation with him. “So… What do you have in mind for the assembly?”

“I have some ideas…” you wanted to do a decent and cool assembly. Back in your freshman year, the seniors used to do amazing assemblies that felt like a party. “Would you mind to… seat with me at lunch tomorrow? We can have a brainstorm together…”

“Sure. But I can’t assure you I’ll bring any good ideas” you didn’t know how, but Eddie inspired you to trust. You also knew you would have to put some pressure on him to cooperate. 

“I’m sure you have wonderful ideas. I know you are in a band. Think about the assembly as a concert for inspiration” you say with a kind smile. Eddie is finally in shock, you noticed him enough to know he was in a band. He watches you walk to the door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Eddie” before he can say bye or anything, you’re gone, leaving him alone in the classroom with a smile on his face.

_

Eddie never spotted you in the cafeteria before. He rarely sees you in school besides Biology and Art class. He picked that class because he could choose to learn about music, while you on the other side wanted to learn about dance. 

“I’m going to seat with y/n for today, gentlemen” everyone at the Hellfire Club table look at him. A mix is of surprise and shock very visible on their faces.

“Y/n? The one from biology class?” Eddie nods at Jeff. 

“She’s cute…” Garett started while Eddie wondered where he had seen you before to think you were cute. 

“A cute parrot. Always gets scolded for talking too much” everyone giggles and turns to look at you when Garett spots you at a table. You don’t notice them, you are slightly waving your head, obviously listening to some music from the headphones in your head. 

“Why though?” Dustin asks suddenly. Eddie sighs and takes a moment to drink some of his coke.

“As a punishment, we are doing Valentine’s Day assembly,” he says in a mocking tone and rolling his eyes. “No way, I would pay to see that!”

“No cash, Wheeler. It’s gonna be free and you’re gonna be able to see it” everyone starts talking about it. Eddie starts looking at you again, so he decides it’s time to meet you. “We’ll talk in Hellfire. Now… I’m going with her”

“Don’t mess it up! I could be your only opportunity with a girl” Jeff says and everyone laughs. Eddie pretended he didn’t hear but deep inside, Jeff was right. He wasn’t in love with you or anything, but you could be his first female friend.

Once Eddie is in the middle of the cafeteria, he can see you very concentrated on writing something. You have a black long-sleeve dress and dirty sneakers, your hair messily braided and headphones cover your ears. She looks cute, Eddie thinks while he walks in your direction. He also noticed many students looking at him. Because he takes some attention as usual. Bad looks, and mean stares, but this time it was mainly because it was weird seeing him away from his usual table, even though Eddie Munson was an energetic and hyperactive person.

La, la-la, la-la, la-la, this charming man

Oh, la-la, la-la, la-la, this charming man.

You mentally sing while slightly moving your shoulders like dancing. You don’t even remember that the list you’re doing was because you were supposed to meet with Eddie. Suddenly someone touches your arm and it makes you squeal in surprise.

“Hey. Sorry, you were very deep in your things…” you sigh after seeing Eddie. Taking off your headphones, you smile at him and indicate to take a seat next to you.

“It’s okay. I couldn’t wait and I started a little list of ideas.” Eddie wanders across all your things scattered on the table. Markers, pens, a book in Spanish, a yellow smoothie he assumes it’s a mango or pinnacle, or both. Your notebook and two cassettes; Hatful of Hollow from The Smiths and Houses of the Holy from Led Zeppelin.

“Woah, you like Led Zeppelin?” his questions take you by surprise. He was more curious than you thought. 

“Uh… sure. My dad is like, the big fan of rock and metal, but sure… I like a lot of them” you don’t analyze what you say, but once you do, you understand Eddie’s smile. “I like your father”

“Yeah, we’ll… he is a weird mix of a Beach boy surfer from California and… you. Like it’s obvious you like rock and metal, respectfully” he accepts you look cute trying to choose the right words and it makes him smile at how polite you can be. Even when he had heard you say the crudest and most vulgar things that make him laugh in silence before.

“I like him. Present him to me” it makes you laugh. Although Eddie’s appearance and fame were one to avoid, he was cool. You were right, he was cool and fun. Your dad would like him. That sounded like you want to present him as something else than a friend, you think. Try to erase that thought.

“Whenever you want…” he starts talking about his band, Corroded Coffin. It’s a simple but attractive name for you. Your father comes again in the conversation when Eddie suggests you should invite your dad to the Hideout. He also shares he feels pretty confident with his guitar skills.

“My favorite instrument is the drums. But I don’t know how to play” you say shyly. Eddie smiles at you. You don’t even notice he is looking at your novel. Eddie definitely was a hyperactive person.

“I could teach you…” he barely knows how to play the drums, Garett is the one who knows that. But Eddie doesn’t want you spending time with Garett, not more time than you could be with him. “Really?…”

“Sure, sweets.” You blush at the nickname. A nervous smile on your face while looking at your notebook again. “Is it okay if I call you like that?”

“Sure. It’s just… it’s the first time I’m actually talking with a guy since middle school” Eddie is surprised you don’t talk with boys at all. At least for a long time. He had the same problem, he can’t remember having a female friend or a crush or something. “I know. I never had a proper conversation with a lady”

“Feels good to have a guy friend…” you accept giggling. Eddie’s heart melts when you say that. You already consider him a friend. You lift your brows when he doesn’t say anything, hoping you just didn’t screw things up. “Only if you want to… of course”

“No, yeah! Of course, I want to be your friend” you like his energetic smile. His long hair is unique and his bat tattoo is something you also like about him. Maybe you are liking too many things about Eddie Munson, you realize in your head. 

“Lunch is almost over and we haven’t talked about the assembly” Eddie rolls his eyes and nods, you give him your notebook and he instantly smiled looking at the messy sheet. There were hearts everywhere, and everything was in pink and red ink.

Valentines Day Assembly ideas:

♡Shakespeare love Play (no)

♡interactive assembly 

♡Kindness Mural

♡love painting contest

♡live music 

♡ Art department presentations

♡gift store

“Shakespeare love play?” Eddie asks laughing. You feel your face red, but you end up giggling too. “It’s crossed for some reason”

“I see. What’s with the kindness mural?” you smile at that. And you feel ready to share your motives with him.

“Hawkins High is pretty much normal. There are not big bullies or fights, but there’s a lot of rivalry and tension between groups. This could be a good opportunity to make everyone cooperate and create a healthier environment in school” Eddie is amazed by your ideas. You didn’t seem like an altruistic person, maybe he was wrong. “I’ve seen how everybody harasses you, Eddie. That’s stupid, you deserve more respect. A kindness mural could prove that”

“Wow, sweets. You really are something…” he wanted to believe there were more people like you. Because he was already believing it was only you, that it was special. Specifically, because it was you. “But how do you plan to make the jocks or the drama kids cooperate? For example…”

“Guess we’ll have to appeal to dialogue. What do you think?” Eddie thinks it’s a bad idea. But he can’t say no to you. You have been so good to him. He could try for you. 

“Okay, I’ll try. Just because I like you, sweets” he can see you blushing. The bell rings and you two ignored all the weird looks you had been receiving during the whole break.

“You know? I also liked a lot the option of live music from your list…” the boy next to you says. He helps you stand up like the gentleman he’s proven you to be. “We should throw a lot of entertainment to be out of class the whole day…”

“Oh, my god. I have it! Eddie, you’re amazing” he’s confused. But you have a big cute smile on your face. He also likes your dress. It matches his black leather jacket, maybe you match him. “We have arts. You’ll go with the music guys and I’ll be in the dance room. Just convince your friends to participate, please.”

“Wait, wha-…” it’s clear you’re excited. You seemed excited from the beginning. Eddie thanks you have ideas and attitude, because he was the worst at planning stuff. “I’ll give you my number and the directions to my house. Can you come?” he’s blushing. He’s never been in the house of a girl. But he tries to sound calm. “Does that mean I can meet your dad?”

“Sure, dork. Promise I’m a normal girl with a normal family, they’ll like you…” he smiles, slowly nodding. In shock that you are gently caressing his hands, like pleading with him. “Okay, I’ll go to your house” you squeeze his hands and finally you let him go. 

“Okay. I’ll see you in arts then…” he sees you walking through the crowded hallway. He can catch a look at a pin in your bag. Clean mind, clean body it said. Yeah, you had a clear mind and a cute shape. 

“Uhm… Eddie?. You have some drool over here” he comes back to reality. Snapping at Dustin's hands when he tries to touch his chin. “Fuck off, Henderson”

“Dude, she’s really cute. How did the meeting go?” Eddie gives Dustin his whole attention when you disappeared in the hallway. “Good. She wants to do a kindness mural” 

“See? she’s cute. Don’t mess things up. This could be your future girlfriend” Eddie pushes Dustin when they start walking. The metal boy can’t admit it yet. But he’s kinda starting to like you in a non-platonic way “Dustin, I won’t discuss this with you. Not yet…”

“Yet, huh? So you agree with me!” again, Eddie ignores Dustin as he walks towards the art class, feeling excited and nervous to meet your family and be alone with you.

___

You had 5 more days till the assembly was set to happen. A lot of things happened since that Friday Eddie visited your house for the first time. Indeed, your father liked Eddie. Your mother wasn’t home that day but she also liked him when he heard what you two had planned for the assembly. He stayed for dinner and went home kinda late after talking with your dad about bands and concerts. 

He felt welcomed in your small and warm house. A normal family who didn’t see him as a freak or satanic leader, just a metal boy who made a new friend. A friend that made him feel more secure of himself. You made the drama kids agree to help with the mural and some organization, they had the chance to interact with Eddie and you convinced them that he was a cool guy.

Now, he was again in your house. It was weird but February was warm, and you loved it. Your windows open to let the cardboard and papers with glue and glitter be ready to dry.

“Okay, I’ll read to you the program” Eddie nods at you, ready to hear you. 

“Tomorrow we’ll give the invitations. Tuesday and Wednesday are to decorate the gym and the cafeteria. And now the actual event program, Thursday is the final test for everything; lights, effects, blah blah” you say with a serious and funny tone, making him laugh. Eddie is seated on your floor, cutting hearts to glue them in the big cardboard that would hang at the entrance of the gym.

“National anthem, cheerleaders and basketball game, kindness mural activity, history presentation, Shakespeare parody, dance presentations, and finally, the silly disco experience” you cheer and Eddie laughs again. “I’m a little hesitant about it”

“Oh, don’t be, big boy. Garett and Jeff were super cool about it. You don’t have to care about anyone else, I’ll be the biggest fan girl cheering for you if you dance” it takes him by surprise when you kneel to hug his head. But instantly you feel his arms around your stomach. “You can be adorable without thinking about it”

“Don’t say that, I must be annoying.” helping him to cut more hearts, he looks at you. You have a big tee, oversized and it has splotches of paint and glitter, green shorts, and pink sandals. It’s tiring, you’re sweating, and he is sweating in his jeans and Iron Maiden tank. “Y/n. You are wonderful, shut up and accept my compliment”

“Okay…” you say smiling. Your mom appears at your door knocking swiftly.

“Dinner is done, whenever you’re ready, guys. Your dad and I will go with your aunt, if you go out, lock the door, dear.” you nod. She smiles at you and Eddie, also looking at all the work on your floor. “Well, be good. Bye Eddie, bye dear”

“Bye!” Eddie and you say at the same time before a thank you. You sigh placing all the hearts together in a pile.

“I can’t believe your parents like me…” it’s adorable. You don’t want to accept it but you are falling in love with him. Eddie is beyond perfect at this point. Even though he smokes, drinks, has a terrible diet and doesn’t take the best care of his hair. “And I can’t believe you convinced the drama kids to play Romeo and Juliet”

“Well, they do like you and the drama kids love to be drama kids. Now help me with this box, please” he grabs the plastic box and tries to open it. You have the sight of his soft arms and muscles on display. He looks hot, but you focus on his tattoo again.

“I love your tattoo…” all the hearts are placed in the box now, and Eddie is red again. Taking your compliments was super hard for him. “I have more…”

“Really? Where?” he makes a cute smirk. Every day with Eddie Munson was a motive to be blushing at every minute, like now. “That would need some nakedness, doll”

He loves your giggle and a naughty smile. Maybe you feel something too. That’s why you hug him now, you help him with homework and you made more kids in school like him. “Either way, you’ll show me one day”

“Deal.” Your stomach growls, even Eddie can hear it. He’s also hungry, but he was used to having big gaps between meals. “Let’s go to eat. We’re done already”

“There’s one thing missing” you turn to look at him expectantly. “The jocks!. We need them to cover the 3 hours. You said Mr.Maverick needed a full program to approve it”

“Oh yeah, right. Well, tomorrow we can talk to them. Is it okay if I seat with your friends tomorrow?” The whole Hellfire Club liked you when he presented you to them. Even your friends were brought too. Weirdly, Eddie’s social circle was growing. “Hell yeah. You can even bring Missy and Lana” 

“Okay, now let’s go to eat” he follows you to the kitchen. There are pictures in the refrigerator, he looks at them carefully. Your parents together, your small family all together, you with your baby cousin he already met. And another one of you with elephants, the most beautiful for him. A frame of a leopard decorated the picture, with San Diego Zoo at the bottom. When he turns he notices a green cooking pot on the stove. You go to see what’s inside, taking a fork with you “Shit. It’s chicken with mole”

“What?” He’s never heard of that before. But it smells really good. “You’ll see”

“Okay, cute waitress. I’ll wait here” you roll your eyes laughing, taking some plates and glasses with you. “Good customer”

“Hey, I am no dog!” he complains when you pet him like a puppy. “Fine. Sorry, handsome”

When you put the food in front of him and gently squeezed his shoulder, he feels his heart warm again. 

_

Mike and Dustin give you and Eddie a blessing before going to talk to the jocks and cheerleaders. Everyone was already talking about the assembly after the invitations were given. A lot of people were already laughing at Eddie and praying for you. It made you mad, but you were doing a lot of things, even Eddie. You wanted to be in his practice with Corroded Coffin but he never let you, saying it was a surprise. There was no point in denying that Eddie caused butterflies in your stomach. And the fact that he was putting in a lot of effort, made you drool for him.

“Morning!, ladies… gentlemen,” you say trying to catch their attention. They all look at you expectantly. “I see you received your invitations to the assembly…”

“Yeah, we did,” Chrissy Cunningham says with a polite smile after everyone stays quiet and gives you and Eddie mean looks. 

“We’re working very hard for this assembly. So we wanted to ask you something. To get just one period of classes and a free day, we need you to play a short game and a short routine of cheerleading. What do you say?”

“Why should we do that for you and the freak? Just for your boring assembly?” Jason asked. His male friends laughed, while you turned to look at Eddie rolling his eyes.

“Be more respectful to her, please” you blush at Eddie’s words. Jason stands up and tries to intimidate the boy beside you. Eddie is taller than him, but the tension is still evident.

“Or what?…freak” you interfere by separating them. Jason breaks contact with Eddie to look at you.

“Okay, gentlemen. This is what I’m talking about, we have to stop this stupid rivalry now. That’s what we want for the assembly, to show kindness. I think it’s time to be mature. You could be the perfect example to show that…” you state calmly. Hoping that you can get what you want peacefully. “Jason, you don’t know Eddie. And Eddie, you don’t know Jason. You just assume things of each other. We could cooperate and celebrate a decent Valentine’s Day. What do you say?”

“I don’t have any problem with that, sweets” you know Eddie is mocking you. He can try to be friendly with Jason, but he only wants to see the blonde guy being respectful.

“I think it’s a good idea, babe,” Chrissy said appearing to grab Jason by the forearm. “I would gladly cheerlead for the assembly”

“Thank you, Chrissy. We already have everything done. We just need you….” the girl smiles at you. You don’t talk with her, but she’s nice to everyone, even to Eddie. “Fine. But it better be an amazing assembly” you squeal excitedly, grabbing Eddie’s arm and squeezing it. He giggles at your excitement.

“Thanks, man. My girl here and I are such a weird but good team. You’ll have a good time” Jason managed to give Eddie a genuine smile. The long-haired boy is surprised, he also has to thank you for that. 

He called you his girl…

_

Hawkins High presents:

♡ ♡ ♡ Lovers Assembly ♡ ♡ ♡

(Valentine's Day Assembly of 1986)

Friday the 14th

Wear red, white, or pink to join!

Begins after 1st period!

With the participation of Hawkins High students of basketball team, cheerleading team, and arts and drama departments.

Hosted by: Eddie “the freak” & y/n “the disturbing”

Mike, Lucas, and Dustin read on the white paper in Nancy’s hand.

“Please, Nancy. You just have to take some pictures for the newspaper” Mike pleaded to his sister. They were at the gym entrance, and surprisingly a lot of students were joining the assembly. “I will take pictures but I will only write good things about your friend if the assembly is proper”

“If you write good things, people will stop bullying the Hellfire Club” Nancy rolled his eyes. He didn’t like his little brother and friends being too close to Eddie Munson. But the guy couldn’t be that bad after all this time. On the other hand, she knew you were being a host too. Nancy never spoke to you before, but she had seen you in some of the dance presentations, so she knew you were more decent than Eddie. “I’ll see what I can do…”

“She’s pissed because Johnatan didn’t answer her call in the morning…” Mike shared this with his friends. Dustin wondered how Eddie was going to act in a public school event. He could get shy outside of the d&d campaigns. 

“Bad way to start Valentine’s Day” everyone nodded at Luca's words. While they entered the gym, they saw tons of heart balloons, confetti, and a big white mural on the biggest wall of the gym. Two students were handing out random heart mini plushies in different colors, while they notified the guests to keep the plushie for later. Mike and Dustin got red, while Lucas got burgundy. Everyone attending the assembly had to admit everything looked very good. “Have you talked to Max?”

“No. I invited her to the assembly but she didn’t say anything…” it wasn’t a secret that Lucas never stop caring for Max. But the red-haired girl wasn’t at her best moment. “She’ll change her mind” 

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” the three boys saw Jeff, Garett, and your friends seating together, so they joined them. Except for Lucas that would be with the basketball team.

“Y/n thought everything,” said one of your friends holding her heart plushie in baby pink color.

“Where are she and Eddie?” Dustin asked looking at the improvised stage in the center, with tons of fake roses decorating it. “They must be freaking out behind that stage…”

Indeed, you were freaking out, running in the hallways. You were a little late, hoping that Eddie would be there already. He was talking with one of the drama students when he saw you. You had a mid ponytail with a pink ribbon, a cute white dress with a square neck with two hearts imprinted on the front that were bags, and adorable pink converse. You were catching your breath when Eddie giggled, looking at you.

“If I make it to the summer. We’re working on my cardio…’ Eddie was laughing, admiring you. “You look extremely pretty, doll”

“Aw, thanks, Eddie. You look cute too” he had a red shirt with some holes, his usual rings, and a guitar pick necklace you loved. Even his hair looked adorable. “And you respected the dress code!”

“I simply can’t mess this up” before you can say something else, your art teacher comes to tell you it’s time to start the assembly. You stand on your tiptoes to kiss Eddie’s cheek before grabbing one of the microphones and walking towards the stage.

“Good luck” he’s in shock. 

_

Everyone is quiet when you come out and Eddie goes after you. You are the first one to talk, introducing yourself and Eddie. Everyone seems to be confused at the weird duo on stage, and thankfully nobody is being mean yet.

“To begin with this assembly. We invite the basketball team to inaugurate a friendly game!” Eddie is just standing there, feeling everyone’s eyes on him and you. But when the basketball team stands and Jason thanks you and Eddie, the whole gym is in shock wondering why everything is getting weirder and weirder in the assembly. Jason indicates that they’ll pick a random student to divide them into two teams and every team will be able to pick another four random students to play. Of course, Lucas invited Mike and Garett since they liked to play. Meanwhile, you went backstage to go with the bunch of students participating. 

“Okay. The cheerleaders and the basketball team are out now. Next is the history of Valentine’s Day and the kindness mural. You have to be ready after the game” you say to everyone. In the end, a recycled choreography of swing and pop would fit in the program for the dance girls. The girls wanted you in the dance too, but it was a lot. Even Eddie encouraged you to dance, but you shushed him throwing a bunch of heart plushies on his face. 

“I feel a little stupid, you are really good at directing things. You don’t need me” there’s that little cute grin on your face again. “You should stop flattering me, I’ll start believing all of it. And shut up, cause I need you”

“Oh, you better believe it. I don’t say this kind of thing to every girl I see” the reality is that Eddie has helped you a lot. He was just as amazing as you “I hope so… I would get mad if that was the case”

“Jealous, sweets?” Every time you get blushed or nervous you hide your face so Eddie can’t see it. Because he makes it happen every minute “I won't answer that…”

“Y/n…” is not the best moment to talk about feelings, but he got an outburst moment to confess he was feeling something for you. “I think we need to talk…”

“Hey, the game is over. It’s going well” said Vivianne, one of the drama girls. It felt good to know people were having fun. “kindness mural and history presentation”

“Got it” you basically forget what Eddie said, and he doesn’t mention it again. “Can you present it, please?”

“Sure” It’s not your fault, but he feels slightly rejected. The crowd was loud after the game, a good sign for him, giving him some confidence to talk. “Uh-, that was an intense game. But, uh-, we should remember what’s the meaning of today’s celebration.”

“Exactly. Valentine’s Day is about love and friendships. To be gentle and benevolent with each other. There’s no need to be competing and fighting every time. All of us here, are good individuals, and we deserve respect. Don’t let the rumors and stereotypes get on you” you say, making a little indirect to everyone to stop misjudging Eddie. He gives you a sweet smile that you correspond happily. “At the beginning, you received a heart plushie. There are 4 colors; baby pink, fuchsia, red, and burgundy.”

“We’ll make a kindness mural. Depending on your color you will team up with them to make something related to kindness. Only 8 minutes to complete it” you finish for Eddie. After your little speech, everyone seemed more emotional or taken by your words. It could be remorse for being mean to Eddie, he was proving to everyone he was just a normal guy like them. “The winners will have the opportunity to choose the theme of upcoming events. For the seniors, they’ll be able to choose this year's prom theme. For the other grades, you’ll be able to choose the theme for the next homecoming”

Everyone was cheering. They seemed excited, it was a good prize for everyone since everyone loved the school parties. After that, Eddie indicated that the time was running. The students were running, laughing, and hurrying to get to the mural. 

“See? told you it was a cool idea” Eddie nods, looking at Mike, Jeff, and Dustin on the red team pushing and screaming to finish in the first place. Your friends and a lot of cheerleaders are on the burgundy team, they looked more relaxed. 

“We should be getting more than extra credit for these.” Eddie was right. You can’t help but laugh at the sight of everyone freaking out to finish. Even Jason and his friends seem to be having fun. 

“I think we made this a sweet escape,” you say laughing a little. Eddie turns to see you, all happy and cute with your pink ribbon. If he knew he would end up meeting you and genuinely falling in love with you, he would’ve made you talk more than you already did to have a punishment sooner. Even if that included making the Valentine’s Day assembly. “Yeah, we definitely did it, doll”

_

The rest of the assembly goes smoothly. The kindness mural was messy but beautiful. The baby pink team won, then the history of Valentine’s Day was super interesting and funny, and everyone was paying attention. But the real laughs came with the Romeo and Juliet play. It was short and didn’t follow the original dialogues, and petition of Eddie. Lastly, the dance team had the last moments. You on backstage looking at them, the music and choreography you already knew made you dance a little.

“You should be there too…” Eddie says appearing on your side. Instantly you stop. “Nah, I’m good here… with you” the cheer and the excited screams are loud from the public. The dance team was loved in the school, just under the cheerleaders. 

“I also like being with you…” he says before saying something stupid and screwing everything. “So…”

Again, destiny betrays Eddie. The cheer is so big that everyone is surrounding the scenario and having the “party of the year”. The girls start screaming for you to go and dance with them. A big panic invades you, shaking your head and stepping backward, you feel Eddie holding your hip, stopping you.

“Doll, go…” you shake your head again. “No! Eddie, no. I can’t!”

“Yes, go. Have fun…” his honest smile mirrors your pouting lips. The way he encourages you, makes you want to scream I love you, Eddie Munson!, because you…

“Y/n!” Suddenly one of the girls takes you to the scenario. Eddie laughs at your friends screaming and cheering for you as if you were the biggest celebrity in the world. Because after some shy movements, you are following the cute choreography while you laugh and smile. So Eddie accepts that he can’t confess his feelings for you, always something ruining the moment. So he runs and calls his friends and yours. 

_

After the dance, you want to go and run and hug Eddie. The adrenaline of dancing and feeling happy made you feel confident enough to confess your love for him. But he’s nowhere to be found. The lights on the gym are off, and the party lights are replaced to start the open dance floor. Most of the students are dancing, the freshman must’ve been feeling like they were on Pinkpop. You can’t even seem to find your friends. Until you see Eddie and the rest of Corroded Coffin on the stage. 

“What the fuck are they doing?” you whisper. Not that you minded them playing but it was very sudden and people now seemed to be attracted by Eddie. A lot of girls were cheering for him, and honestly… it made you jealous. But the feeling of happiness wins, because thanks to this, Eddie won’t be treated the way he used to. You suggested he could play with Corroded Coffin at the end of the assembly, but he refused. So you weren’t understanding why he decided to do it at the last moment. He looks super cute and hot with his matching guitar, you don’t even notice when they installed the instruments on the stage.

“Y/n…this is for you.” You feel frozen. Eyes looking in shock, a short and nervous smile, and everyone looking at you also in shock. You see them start playing, surprisingly, they are very good. You’ve always wanted to see Eddie playing the guitar, and now you were able to see him playing and singing.

I paint your nails

And brush your hair

Until you are so very

Beautiful

He is fucking singing Play with Me from The Cure for you. And you remember him talking with your father. Your dad told him that you used to love the first album of The Cure when you were a little girl with 11 years old. He remembered, he made Corroded Coffin lean on the evolving rock-pop side rather than metal, just to play a song for you, a song that had a sentimental value. That was lovely, he was lovely. 

As long as you keep me I will always be yours.

Play with me

Play with me

Is he declaring his love for me? What else could it be? His voice is perfect to be singing. Eddie Munson never stopped surprising you, never. A Cheshire smile can’t leave your face. Slowly you move and make it to get out of the crowd surrounding the stage. Eddie loosed you, feeling worried that you could have left, but he sees you cheering for him in the house left of the stage. Relief floods him when the song is over. Suddenly everyone likes him and wants him to play another song. But the gym is succumbed with Dress You Up by Madonna.

“Get the girl, dude…” Jeff says to Eddie. He nods smiling and walks towards you, feeling extremely nervous. He places his guitar on his back, trying to freeze time. There you are again with your cute dress, cute hair, cute ribbon, and adorable face looking at him with adoration.

“Eddie you are amazing. You’re so talented!” you say throwing yourself on his chest. He got used to your compliments, but he felt very blushed at that moment. 

“I love you,” he says when you separated from him. Your face turns worried. “Eddie…”

“You feel something too. It’s obvious we’re in love….” none of you knew how you were dealing with that kind of conversation with such patience and relaxation. “Yeah…I’m in love with you, Eddie”

“Then fuck it, sweets. What we gon’ do?” it’s official, you love each other. In a matter of weeks, you found someone. Eddie was real, you were real, and neither of you could believe you had found each other “I think I’m gonna kiss you on the lips…”

“Then do it…” he teases you with a dorky and cute smile. Taking his cheeks in your hands, you push him towards you, finally connecting your lips with him. The adorable sensation of dopamine flooding you, feeling Eddie’s sweet lips crashing against yours. His big hands with rings gently caressing your hips and some of his long hairs tickling your cheek and exposed neck.

It’s perfect. You can faintly hear Dress You Up still playing, students doing… whatever they’re doing. The rest of the Hellfire Club is clumsily trying to play Garrett’s drums. But none of that matter, because you are kissing Eddie. He’s got the girl he always wished for but never admitted. 

“That was… Woah” you could never be scared of him. Even less when he was looking at you like you weren’t real. Like you gave him the best kiss of his life. “Let’s leave…”

“Eddie, we’re the hosts” you giggle, noticing he’s eager to get you out of the gym, and the school too. “It’s over now… c’mon, princess”

“Let’s make out in your van till the kids are out” he loves the plan, and how you are teasing him by tracing his chain. “Then, we go with them to eat at Molly’s”

“Kissing you for hours and then eating the glorious burgers of Molly’s?” You nod giving him a small peck on the lips. Eddie felt like Thumper being kissed by Miss Bunny, and he wasn’t complaining. 

“Wait! Guys, let me take a picture for the newspaper…” a guy with glasses and shaggy dark hair comes before you and Eddie can leave. He sighs, but you nudge him, trying to tell him to be polite. 

“Okay…” Eddie responds and Mike’s sister appears with the camera, she gives you a polite smile to which you correspond. Then Eddie is holding you to pose for the picture, a big smile appears on your face as the flash comes and enlightened you. “Thanks… and good job with the assembly”

“Thanks,” you say watching them leave. As you abandon the gym, Eddie takes your hand, your arms swinging as you two walk through the empty hallways. 

“Thank you, y/n. For being the girl that I got paired to do this fucking assembly” his words make you pout. “You have done everything I always wished someone did for me”

“Aww, Eddie. We did this together, and you deserve it. You are the cutest and most gentle guy I’ve ever met.” he opens a big wooden door for you, his hand never leaving yours as you cross the parking lot. “Be my girlfriend. I promise I will be everything you’ve always wanted” he spits just some steps away from his van. Giving him a warm smile, you find yourself caressing his face again. “Eddie, you already are everything I wanted.”

You kiss him again. You want some cameras to appear and make shoot the scene. The empty parking lot, the beautiful sky, your and Eddie’s outfit, even with his guitar on his back. That kiss could appear in a romantic movie and make every person watching it feel the love. This time his hands are more sneaky, moving from your waist to your hips and slightly skimming your ass. It’s passionate and a little more desperate, and you fucking love it. 

“I love you” he melts when you say that, feeling like Thumper again. “So it’s a yes?”

“Yes, idiot. I’m your girlfriend now…” after spinning you and showering your face with little kisses, he guides you to the passenger seat, opening the door for you, but you stop him.

“Any teacher could see us… “ he nods, knowing it’s true. “Let’s go to the back, there are some things I could show you”

“Maybe the tattoos hiding under your shirt” his little grin makes you blush, but you were being a tease too. “I don’t have tattoos. But you could count my birthmarks”

“Get inside, for fucks sake” you laugh hard at his frustration and the redness spread across his face. And just as you closed the door, he pushed you to sit on his lap, starting to count all your birthmarks, with his lips.

____________________________________________________________

Could someone tell me if I said jockers instead of jocks at some point lol?, pleaseeeee

[zafirosreverie]

Must be the eyes (Teacher!Agatha x Fem!Student!Reader)

Here it is! first part of the TxS au! Let’s get this party started!

----

"And who exactly was the villain then, Miss Y/L/N?" You gnashed your teeth when your teacher looked at you behind the frame of her glasses, with her piercing, stupidly beautiful blue eyes and a raised eyebrow.

You flinched a bit from her gaze, but you refused to back down, you never had and you weren't going to start now, no matter how hot your cheeks got or how close this damn woman stood to you.

Agatha Harkness, Westview’s University history professor, terror of the first years and your crush since the first class you had with her. Her blue eyes had captivated you from the first moment, as had her slightly wavy hair and mocking smile. Her sarcastic and dry sense of humor was also something you loved, plus she was incredibly smart and not afraid to show it. Beautiful, smart and taught your favorite subject. Yup, you were completely under her spell.

But you hated it when she argued with you in front of the whole class, especially for things like this. It always made you feel so small and helpless, even if you didn’t show it on the outside.

She had asked your class for an essay on Greek myths, and you had chosen Medusa’s. Miss Harkness had said that you should express your views, with clear and concise arguments, which took you most of the week to investigate. But it seemed that you had not been clear enough.

Either that, or your teacher really hated you and enjoyed challenging you in front of your classmates, expecting you to break up and argue with her, so she could send you to detention. Well, you wouldn't let her win that easy.

You forced a smile and looked up. She was right in front of your chair, looking down at you as she waited for your answer.

"Athena and Poseidon" you said confidently "They are the villains"

"Interesting posture" she smiled, but it was a smile that reminded you of the cheshire cat "Although that doesn't take away the blame for the lives she took, does it?"

"It wasn't her fault either," you said, frowning.

"Oh it wasn’t?" she asked. You suppressed a gasp when she rested her hands on your table and leaned forward. You could feel her minty breath on your face "And whose fault was it, Miss Y/L/N?" she asked.

"Men’s" you gulped "Those who went to look for her"

"Explain" she ordered. Her eyes never once left your face.

"They went looking for her. They tried to kill her, what was she supposed to do? Let herself be killed? Besides, it wasn't her fault that Athena turned her into that, she didn't ask to turn people to stone" you said, crossing your arms and leaning toward back in your seat.

Anyone would think that your gesture was one of challenge, considering that your face was neutral and your eyebrow was raised slightly. But inside you were screaming and having a panic attack.

Agatha smirked in her head at your attitude. She wouldn't tell anyone even if she was under torture, but she loved having these little discussions with you. You were the only student brave enough to argue with her, and you were brilliant in the way you did.

On the other hand, you were also incredibly cute and she would lie if she said that she didn't like to make you blush, your eyes lit up a bit and the red on your cheeks really contrasted beautifully with your skin. She knew it was wrong, that as a teacher she shouldn't find any of her students attractive. But she couldn't help it, there was something about you that just fascinated her.

Most of her fellow teachers had already noticed the strange dynamic she had with you, but they took it as a simple student/teacher rivalry, stemming from the fact that you seemed like a history prodigy, which presented a vast battlefield for Agatha, it was no secret that the woman was competitive, after all.

The only one who seemed a little suspicious of what was really going on was Wanda, the literature teacher. She had been one of the best students in the university and had returned as a teacher 5 years ago and because their subjects shared a field of investigation, she and Agatha ended up spending more and more time together, until they became good friends. 

It was fun having someone to judge and gossip about both the staff and the student body. But that also meant having to endure the teasing of the younger woman every time you walked by Agatha.

Of course, she had scolded Wanda for even suggesting that she was attracted to you, a student, and the redhead had apologized, saying that she was only joking, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before her friend became suspicious again. Not that the history teacher was that subtle with the way she looked at you.

Still, Agatha Harkness had certain principles, and she knew that she couldn't flirt with you as long as you were her student, so she was content to make you blush and nervous when she was around you.

“She broke Athena’s rules” she said, almost growling.

“Poseidon raped her. That wasn't her fault” you growled back. You cursed yourself for being so passionate about this. Your classmates probably thought you were an idiot for fighting a teacher.

"You seem quite determined to defend the monster," she accused, frowning. She pushed herself off your bench and turned to the rest of the class, letting you breathe for a second. "Not many people would pay attention to Medusa, a hideous and dangerous creature. But she seems to have won Miss Y/L/N’s heart" she said, making your classmates laugh and you blushed again.

"It must be the eyes" you mumbled without thinking.

Your teacher looked at you for a moment before smirking. Fortunately, it seemed like she didn't have time to keep arguing with you. Blessed heavens for that. You heard the ring bell and sighed in relief, starting to pack your things.

“Remember that the project is due for next monday” Ms Harkness said and you hear some groans from your classmates. You chuckled as you left the classroom.

“It’s not fair” you heard your friend Nick saying beside you “She didn’t give us enough time!”

“What do you mean?” you asked “I finished it three days ago”

“But you don’t count!” he frowned “you’re good at history! I can’t even remember my sister’s birthday!”

“Nick, you don’t have a sister” you rolled your eyes fondly

“And? I wouldn’t remember her birthday anyway”

You laughed and playfully punched his shoulder. You and Nick have been friends since your first day here and you were thankful for that. He was the only one who knew about your crush on Ms Harkness, which was a blessing but also a nightmare. He loved to embarrass you.

“So, what was that Y/N?” He asked suddenly

“What?” you frowned

“The whole Medusa’s thing”

“Well, she wasn’t a monster and-”

“No no, don’t give me a history lesson, I already had enough of that. I was talking about you and ‘Ms magical eyes’ almost kissing” he smirked as you coughed and almost tripped. 

“What?!” you hissed “The hell you’re talking about?!”

“Oh c’mon Y/N!!” Nick laughed “She was practically lying over you!”

“That’s not true” you crossed your arms

“It is” he crossed his arms too “Y/N,I love you, but you can be so blind sometimes”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you asked, a little offended

“Y/N, we all could feel the sexual tension between you two” he laughed and left you frozen in the hall. 

_____________

“No” Agatha frowned and crossed her arms

“Please” Wanda begged

“No, I’m not going to babysit a bunch of spoiled kids” the older woman said

“Okay, first of all, they’re college students, not from the kindergarden” the redhead frowned “and this could be an amazing opportunity!”

“For what? I already know about the Salem trials, love, I’m more than capable of teach my students about it without having to taking them there”

“But it would be more fun for them” Wanda argued

“I teach history, buttercup, it’s not supposed to be fun for them” the brunette smirked while the other woman rolled her eyes.

“We both know you don’t actually think that. You love your class and want them to love it too” 

When the other woman shrugged and started reading again, totally ignoring her, Wanda knew it was time for plan B. She kneeled in front of Agatha and gave her puppy eyes.

“Pleaaaase” she cried “I need another teacher if I want permission to do the trip”

“Then ask Monica” Agatha said, not looking up from her book

“She has a game next week with the basketball team” Wanda said “Besides, as the history teacher, your class is the most similar to mine, it just makes sense if we both go”

“I’m not going Maximoff, period”

Wanda sighed and stood. “Fine.Thanks for nothing, Harkness” she pouted and left the teacher’s room. 

Agatha rolled her eyes, she knew the other woman would get over it in a few hours.

____________

“I just say that witches are cool” you said as you and Nick walked through the hall

“They are Y/N, but visiting an old town isn’t exactly my idea for a good summer trip” he said and you rolled your eyes “Why don’t you go to Disneyland instead?” he joked

“Because I hate gigantic amusement parks” you said “And I really want to visit Salem, it was my dream since i was 9 and i read about witches from the first time. But you know I don't have enough money to do both trips. So, Salem it is for me”

Nick sighed “Alright, you do you, history girl” he joked “But try not to get cursed while you’re there, i don’t want my best friend to be a frog” 

You laughed and he put an arm around your shoulders. None of you noticed the brunette teacher walking out of the teacher’s room and who totally heard your conversation. 

_____________

Wanda jumped when her office door opened with a slam. She looked at a frowning Agatha, who had her arms crossed and let out a sigh.

“Alright, you win” the brunette said “We’re going to Salem”

The redhead smiled and quickly stood up to run to her friend and hug her tightly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said.

“But!” Agatha said, gently pushing the younger woman to lock eyes with her “I pick the class we’re taking with us”

“Deal!”

[imaginedxlan]

loverboy (neville longbottom)

a/n: i’ve said it once and i’ll say it again, i am a SIMP for neville longbottom. also yall...  one away from 1k, how’d that happen? you guys rock my socks and i love you the absolutely most! sorry this one is kind of short i just liked the concept.

you’ve been friends with neville longbottom since first year. becoming comfortable with the shy boy and his frog over the years, you began calling him a nickname that makes him wish you would see him as anything other than your best friend.

warnings: zero baby just pure fluff

neville doesn’t open up to just anyone. after years of being shut down in every conversation, left out of nearly every house activity, he’s built a wall to protect himself from the people of hogwarts who constantly make him feel less than. you’re one of the lucky ones. you’ve seen beyond his high walls, he’s opened up to you about his parents, his insecurities and eventually pulled him out of his shell to talk about girls with you.

the nickname started when he told you about his small crush on luna lovegood. he seemed so entranced by her, he kissed the ground he walked on. once you caught on to his pining, you’ve called him loverboy ever since. it’s not to be mean or tease him, you actually admired how much he devoted his time to thinking about her.

what you didn’t know, however, is that it was never luna lovegood he was talking about. when he would describe his feelings for luna her name was only a placeholder for yours. he’d loved you since the moment he laid eyes on you, thinking even your crooked teeth, frizzy haired eleven year old self was the most beautiful creature he’d ever see.

“good morning loverboy,” you call sweetly as you sit next to the dark haired boy in potions class. you never found this class particularly interesting, but being able to sit next to neville made it at least slightly more fun. his heart aches at the nickname, trying to conceal the blush that is creeping on his cheeks. “sleep well?”

“hardly,” he replies, still keeping up his façade. “harry talks in his sleep all through the night. keeps me and trevor awake for hours.”

you smile at the mention of his beloved frog. “oh my dear trevor! how is my favorite amphibian?”

neville can’t contain his smile or his heart that hammering in his chest. you’re the only person who’s ever shown interest in the things he likes, the things he goes on and on about for hours. you’ve never once stopped him from going off on a tangent about his mimbulus mimbletonia or how he’s lost trevor for the tenth time that week. you’ve never rolled your eyes when he comes to sit with you in the library. you’ve never shied away from sitting next to him in herbology though many students find his chiming in rather annoying.

“he’s good,” he replies, trying to stop himself from gazing at you for too long. “i think he misses you.”

you laugh at his response, you really do love that frog. “you better make sure i’m not replaced as trevor’s favorite girl when you finally make a move on luna,” you tease but his heart drops. he knows it’s only a joke but he can’t imagine loving anyone other than you. “if i’m losing one of my loverboys i don’t think my heart could take losing the other as well.”

except you could never lose him. he can’t think of a time when his heart would belong to anyone else. he couldn’t say the same for you. as much as he wants to be around you and knows the nickname isn’t meant to make him sad, it only reminds him of the fact that he’ll never truly be your loverboy. the time will come when you go for a weasley or maybe even that ravenclaw boy you’ve talked about in defends against the dark arts with you and neville isn’t quite sure his heart will survive it.

as professor snape opened his book at the front of the class, the class quieted down. veritaserum. you had heard about the potion, mostly from the weasley twins slipping it in their younger brother’s drink once or twice, but you’d never used it. neville begins to fidget nervously beside you, and you think you know why. privacy has always been very important to the boy and something forcing him to talk about his deepest darkest fears or worse, his parents, is probably eating away at him.

you’re wrong. he’s so nervous because he’s afraid he’ll slip up if he takes it and someone will accidentally ask him about you. he won’t be able to keep his secret anymore.

“s’alright nev,” you whisper to him, taking his hand in yours and squeezing it slightly. an act of intended comfort made him nauseous. “i won’t let anyone pull any secrets from my loverboy, promise.”

you give him a sweet smile which only makes his heart race more. you’re so beautiful, even without the potion he could’ve let that thought slip to you if he wasn’t too careful. as class goes on, he thanks his lucky stars he isn’t chosen for the demonstration. watching you brew the potion to perfection surely would have made it difficult for him to keep back all the feelings he has for you.

later in the evening, however, he did not get so lucky. the twins somehow convinced seamus and dean to slip a few drops of the potion they’d learned to make that morning into neville’s pumpkin juice at dinner. you didn’t notice or surely you would have taken it from them and scolded them for picking on the boy, but you were to engrossed in a conversation with hermione to catch it. neville almost immediately realizes what’s happened when seamus begins asking him questions.

“how your feeling, longbottom?”

“tired, honestly kind of sweaty, really think i need a shower after dinner,” he says before he can stop himself, he smacks his hand to him mouth and his cheeks go red. dean and seamus burst out laughing making all of you turn to the three of them.

“sweaty? why would you possibly be sweaty neville?” dean continues the interrogation.

“been nervous all day, especially in potions. couldn’t get my mind off the stupid veritaserum and if anyone would ask me about y/n,” neville replies with his cheeks turning more red by the minute. you now had your full attention in the boy and he couldn’t stop the word vomit spilling from his lips. “you should have seen her, she brewed the potion perfectly. she’s so smart. godric and beautiful, i-”

you immediately stop him by smacking your own hand to his mouth. “merlin’s sake what did the two of you do?”

dean and seamus have a cheeky grin spread across their lips. “fred and george gave us veritaserum to put in his juice, didn’t think this would happen.”

without a second thought you pull your best friend from the table and out of the great hall to spare him of any more embarrassment he would have to endure. neville follows you blindly, grateful that you didn’t sit there and start laughing at him. when you get to the common room it’s empty, everyone being at dinner. you pull him to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace, he couldn’t help but admire how beautiful you look in the glowing flame.

“are you okay?” you ask, pulling your hand from his to look into his eyes. “i’m sorry they did that nev, you didn’t deserve that.”

“i’m more than okay,” he replies with a lazy grin on his face before switching back to his stone cold face full of nerves. “i like it when we’re by ourselves, wish it happened more often.”

“what do you mean, loverboy?”

“i wish you wouldn’t call me that,” he snaps but immediately regrets his tone. “not if you don’t mean it.”

“what are you on about? i mean it.”

“not in the way i want you to mean it...”

you’re trying to wrap you’re mind around what’s happening. sure you and neville have always been close and you compliment eachother here and there but this is different. you don’t want to take advantage of him, not when he’ll tell you everything you want to know while you can sit back and enjoy the show. you swiftly get up and tell him you’ll be right back. he sits on the couch confused as he watches you run out of the room. you make it to the great hall and everyone is looking at you as if you’ve gotten answers out of him that they’d want to know but you ignore him. you lift the tainted cup that neville had drank out of just minutes ago and take a swig.

“y/n!” hermione shrieks and you swallow the liquid. “what do you think you’re doing!”

“getting answers.” you say simply before running out of the room. you don’t feel any different, maybe it hadn’t worked. once you reach the common room again neville is exactly where you left him. “back.”

“what’d you do?”

“i drank the veritserum too,” you tell him and his eyes go wide. “this is going to be a fair conversation.”

neville swallows the lump in his throat at the thought of the two of you being completely honest with each other. he’s partly afraid the truth he’s about to hear is that you only want to be his friend, or that him confessing his feeling for you will only push you away. but there’s another part of him that’s hopeful, you took the veritaserum so this would be “fair,” that has to mean something.

“what were you doing to say when i stopped you earlier?” you ask him. “you said ‘i’ but i stopped you.”

he tries his best to push down the answer but it keeps making its way up his throat. “i was going to say i couldn’t keep my eyes off you all class.”

blush creeps onto your cheeks but you’re not certain why. you noticed him looking at you in potions but you assumed he was trying to understand how to make the potion.

“you’re turn.”

he thinks for a while, unsure of what he should ask you. “do you like matthew, the boy you talk about in ravenclaw, like like him?”

“i like him as a friend, nothing else,” you say back, your heart beginning to race. “do you like luna?”

“i never did, i like someone else.” he answers. you wish it was your turn again, you want to ask him who, part of you knows he’s going to say you given what you’ve learned this evening. you reach out to hold his hand and his touch makes your skin burn. “have you ever thought of us as more than friends?”

you want to say yes, you know it the answer he wants to hear, but it’s not the truth. you can’t lie to him even if you wanted to. before this moment, you only thought of him as a friend. not because you dislike him or think he’s unattractive, it’s just all he’s ever been to you. you take a deep breath and turn your eyes down to the floor.

“honestly, no,” you say back, neville swears he can hear his heart break within him rib cage. his heart burns at your response. he’s gotten his answer. “when did you start to think of me as more than a friend.”

he never came out and said he had feelings for you, but you’ve connected the dots. everything he’s answered, all the questions he’s asked points to him looking at you as more than just his friend. you’re not sure how to feel about it.

“first year, the minute you spoke to me i couldn’t help but think you were the most beautiful girl i’d ever seen, i still do, ” his words make your heart burst. you turn your head to meet his eyes again. they’re burning into you’re gaze. “what is it about me that’s made you only think of me as a friend, do you think i’m ugly?”

“godric no!” you say a bit too quickly for your own liking. “i never thought of you that way because that’s all we ever were neville, friends. i noticed how handsome you were last year, the long hair suited you, but i think you look nice any way you are. i had a dream about you at the christmas last year, i think that’s when i noticed how handsome you were. i guess i just never entertained the thought because you never gave me the impression you wanted anything more than this.”

he feels less shattered, less like you just ripped his heart out with your bare hands. hearing that you think he’s handsome sent butterflies to stomach. he’s quiet and so are you.

“do you want to stop?”

“no, i have another question,” he replies, pulling his hands from yours and backing away from you. you miss his touch already. maybe you did like him a little more than you thought. he braces himself for what’s about to come out of his mouth, for your reaction to what’s about to come out of his mouth. “if i asked to kiss you would you say no?”

“no.” you tell him quietly, if you thought your heart couldn’t pound any faster, it did. it feels like it’s about to jump from your chest. “do you want to kiss me?”

“merlin yes,” he almost whispers. he doesn’t move from his spot, eyes avoiding yours at all costs. always being the braver of the two of you, you take matters into your own hands. you pull yourself closer to him and rest your hand upon his cheek, forcing him to make eye contact with you again. you suck in a breath, the closest the two of you had ever been. “i’ve never kissed anyone before.”

“i know.”

you lean forward only a few centimeters until your lips are barely touching. you hesitate only because you know after this moment you can’t go back to being just friends again, this is going to change everything. even so, there’s like a magnetic pull between you too, you’re craving the feeling of his lips against yours.

while still deep in your thought and hesitations, your eyes drilled shut as you try and decide what to do, you feel his lips press against yours and you melt. it’s better than either of you could have imagined. while neville had be dreaming of this moment for six years, you had only just begun thinking about him in this way minutes ago. you place your free hand on the side of his neck and he places his on the small of your back, pulling you closer into him. You move yourself so that your sat on top of his thighs, attempting to expel any space between the two of you. his hands rest on your hips just before you pull away from him to catch your breath. his eyes flicker between yours, looking for an answer to what you’re feeling.

“i’m sorry,” he says sheepishly, thinking the worst. “do you want to stop? we can pretend this never happened.”

“i never want to stop.”

you connect your lips with his again, slinging your arms around his neck to feel the closeness again. you know he’s never done anything like this before, he’s probably nervous out of his mind, so you attempt to ease his worries by guiding his actions. in just the few minutes you’ve spent with your lips on his, you’ve because obsessed with the feeling. you can hear how heavily he’s breathing as his hand moves from your side to be entangled in your hair. you can’t help but smile, this moment is pure bliss.

you eventually pull away from each other, you decide it’s best to keep this night to just his first kiss. you lean forward and plant a soft kiss to the side of his neck before burying your face in the soft skin. eventually his breath evens out, and he moves his arms to wrap around you.

“what happens now?” he asks, hoping the veritaserum can give him some sort of clear view into your brain.

“i don’t know,” you reply, it’s honest, you have no idea what happens from here on out. “what do you want to happen?”

“i want to kiss you like that a million more times,” he breathes out which makes you laugh into his neck. looks like ther veritaserum hasn’t worn off just yet. “can we just sit here for a minute so we don’t have to think about what’s gonna come?”

“you read my mind, loverboy.”

[startanewdream]

The fawn and the stag

Summary:  When six-years-old James Sirius has a crisis about never showing magic before, a familiar friend comes to help him.

For @prettyflores whose prompt was "Harry and/or James Sirius' first magic", and then it turned out in this family feels story.

Read on AO3 or below the cut:

_____________

The sounds of laughter and conversations were drowned away as James went around his house, leaving by the front gate; nobody noticed him. He was usually very good at avoiding being caught and even more so that day - all his parents' attention was on Al, little four-years-old Al who had just cast his first magic.

It was not a very impressive magic - Al was just upset because Lily didn’t stop crying and then he made some flowers levitate around her, distracting her. All grownups - Mom and Dad, Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur - had stopped to look and even Teddy seemed impressed with what he had seen. James didn’t think it was a big deal, but then everyone was applauding - Lily was giggling - and there was a light on Dad’s eyes that upset James more than anything.

His father had never looked at him like that.

Which was fair, because James had never shown any magic before.

He hadn’t been worried until then, but if his baby brother had performed magic, then so should James, right? He was older . And smarter - at least, Mom always said he was too smart for his own good.

So James had an idea and he had left them. It wasn’t like he could talk to anyone who had been there, there was no one who would understand him; he would usually come to Teddy for his questions, but Teddy had been unquestionably a wizard since birth, with that changing appearance of his. And he knew that Mom had been exploding things ever since she was younger than Lily (Uncle George always told this story with tears of joy in his eyes) and Dad… well, Dad was a hero. He didn’t know the full story because Mom told him he was still too young to understand, but he had seen Dad's Chocolate Frog Card and knew that his Dad had faced a Dark Wizard when he was just barely one-year-old.

It was only James that was lacking in the magic department in the family. Maybe there was something wrong with him.

‘There is nothing wrong with you’, he heard an amused voice say and he didn’t need to turn around to know his friend was there; James was already used to not noticing when he approached him, of not ever hearing his steps.

And James was already used too to how his friends sometimes seemed to read his mind.

‘I never did any magic’, James mumbled, annoyed, shame coming out of his voice at admitting it out loud.

‘Sure you did’.

‘How can you know?’, James asked. ‘No one ever saw me doing anything’.

His friend let out a small chuckle. When James turned to him, he was smiling gently.

‘Not every magic can be seen, Fawn’, he said.

James didn’t know what he meant by that, which was also normal. Sometimes his friend said things James couldn’t understand, like calling him Fawn, even though James had repeated a lot of times that his name was James.

‘Oh, I know’, his friend would say when James corrected him, and he sounded strangely sad about it, so James usually dropped the subject. He didn’t really mind being called Fawn.

It sounded affectionate, like something Mom or Dad would call him.

‘Where are you going?’, his friend asked, watching him with some concern as they got further away to James’ house.

‘The cliff’, James answered resolutely.

‘Hum’, his friend pressed his lips, his hand grabbing his own hair rather nervously. ‘That cliff where your dad told you not to go alone?’

James nodded. They would go down to the beach on weekends and there was a nice cliff where they could watch the sunset on a picnic sometimes. James had never thought much about it until a few weeks ago when he saw those teenagers jumping off the cliff in the sea beneath and that had seemed fun - and even more interesting when Dad had said it was too dangerous to jump like that and he shouldn’t do it.

But James never considered actually going there until now.

‘Fawn’, his friend sounded distressed now. ‘I know your expression very well. It speaks of trouble . What are you thinking of doing?’

‘Uncle Neville once told me a story about how he discovered he was a wizard’, James explained without stopping walking. He was near his objective. ‘His great uncle let him fall off a window and he bounced to the ground’.

‘And now you are thinking of jumping off a cliff? This is a terrible idea’, his friend declared, though James thought he sounded just a little impressed. ‘Wandless magic doesn’t work like that - and magic comes for everyone at their own time, Fawn. Go back home’.

‘I can’t!’, James cried, feeling his eyes burning with tears. ‘They are all gushing over Al and… I am  older , I should have done magic already! What if - what if I  can’t -’

‘Fawn’, his friend stopped in front of him, kneeling so their eyes could be at the same level. ‘I promise you are a wizard. But even if you weren’t, your parents would love you all the same -’

‘What do you know?’, James interrupted him, drying away the tears that insisted on dropping from his eyes, which only annoyed him more. Only Lily cried - and she could because she was a baby. ‘You don’t even exist!’

That made his friend blink, startled. James was breathing heavily; it seemed weird to accuse his friend of not existing, when James could see him clearly with that dark messy hair that reminded him of Dad and those hazel eyes that shined very brightly, a face so familiar that James thought he had known him since always; but James had heard Teddy talking about him.

Imaginary, Teddy had called him.

And James had realized how Albus always got confused when James mentioned his friend, even though he had been by James’ side on occasions that Al had to have seen him; even Mom and Dad, though they had never said anything about it, seemed amused when James mentioned his friend, sometimes accepting his presence only after James mentioned him, until James had finally accepted that his parents couldn’t see him at all.

A part of James had known what that meant, but he always ignored in favor of just accepting his company . He was the only one that James never shared with anyone; and he would play with James before Al grew up enough to join him, or when Teddy wasn’t near - and considering Teddy would be going to Hogwarts that year, James had wanted even more to keep the presence of a friend that never seemed to judge him; in fact, his friend seemed to approve most of the small misdeeds that James would do time from time.

He was always there when James needed him.

But now James had more pressing things to care about than the fact that his best friend was just on his own mind.

‘Let me go’, he asked, when his friend didn’t move. ‘I - I told you, you don’t exist. Go away!’

James knew how that worked. Sometimes when he was afraid of something under his bed or in his closet, his dad would come and show him that there was nothing there.

‘And let me tell you a secret, James’, his dad would say with a warm smile that calmed James more than anything in the world. ‘You are much more powerful than any fear. So you close your eyes and think very firmly “go away!”. When you open your eyes, there will be nothing there’.

But now it was not working with his friend, who was just staring at him with faint worry in his eyes. James supposed it only worked for things he was afraid of and, truth be told, his friend gave him the opposite of fear.

‘You always tells me to not give up’, James said then, sniffling. ‘Why are you not letting me go?’

‘Because it’s a silly idea, Fawn. Magic can show itself in moments of need, but not always. I don’t want you to be hurt’.

‘See? You don’t think I can do it’.

‘I think you are a kid who can’t control your own magic yet. Like… Teddy once was. He can change his hair, right?’ James nodded, thoughtful. ‘But he needed a lot of practice to learn. Like you will when you go to Hogwarts’.

‘I don’t know - what if I never get a letter - if I am not a Gryffindor like Mom and Dad -’

‘Fawn, I am telling you, your parents love you the way you are’. And when James opened his mouth, his friend touched the point of James’ nose. ‘I know what I’m talking about, I am a parent too’.

That made James pause. His friend never talked much about himself.

‘You are?’

‘Yes. And you know what? Every day I am proud of my son’.

‘You have a son? Do I know him?’

There was a smile on his friend’s face, one that suddenly reminded James of his own dad when he was talking to Teddy about Teddy’s father or when James had asked him where his dad’s parents were.

It was… wistful.

It made James feel sad for some reasons he couldn’t understand.

‘You do’, his friend said. ‘And he was older than you when made his first magic’.

‘Older?��

‘Yeah, he was seven. He didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t know that he was a… anyway, he was going to the school and his… his aunt gave him a terrible haircut, really awful. And he made his hair grow back at night. He was sleeping when it just happened. His first magic’.

His friend sighed then; a heavy silence that reminded James of his parents when they were thinking about the war, of things that were lost and could never come back.

‘Did you think he wasn’t a wizard?’, James asked in a small voice. ‘Before?’

‘I never really thought about it’, he answered, and James could only hear the honesty in his voice.

‘Would you be upset if he wasn’t?’

‘I would be worried’, his friend said, again sighing. ‘But not because of what anyone would think, just because I knew his road ahead was difficult and it would be worse without magic. But never  upset . The things he did that most made me happy and proud had nothing to do with his magic’.

James walked again, this time to sit on one of the benches in the small park they were. His friend sat next to him, his arms protectively around James’ shoulder.

‘What things?’, he asked curiously.

‘Well - lots of things. Once he went to face a very dangerous wizard and he did it because he knew he was the only one that could do it, even though he was just eleven. And, no, he didn’t cast a single spell for it. It was just him and his love that saved him’.

‘Love is the most powerful magic’, James recited. His dad always told him that.

His friend smiled.

‘Yes, but it’s not a wizarding magic, Fawn, Muggles love just as fiercely’, he said, and then he looked away at something James could not see. ‘I was proud of my son whenever he stood up to defend his friends. When he did the right thing no matter what. But I think the day I was the happiest was when he gave me my first grandson’.

‘You have a grandson?’, James asked, surprised. His friend looked even younger than his father, not all old like James’ grandparents or Teddy’s grandmother.

‘I look good for my age’, his friend assured him playfully, once more knowing exactly what was on James’ mind. ‘And I don’t have only one grandchild, but three. I love them all, but the first… was the first’. He threw James a furtive look. ‘He got named after me, so I may be a little biased. Don’t tell anyone’.

There was a mischief look on his face now, one that James recognized in the mirror every time he saw himself doing something he shouldn’t be doing.

He felt a sudden wave of warmth for his friend.

‘I am sorry I said you don’t exist’, he said sincerely. ‘I know you are real, even if no one else sees you’. James cocked his head to the side, a thought coming to him. ‘Why doesn't anyone else see you?’

‘You are thinking of the wrong question’, he answered cryptically. James tried to think what could be the right question, but nothing came to him. ‘And they may not see me, but your parents know me’.

‘They do?’

‘Oh, yeah. We’ve met before. I loved your father even before he was born. And your mother and I had a nice chat right before  you were born, you know?’

‘That was ages ago’.

‘Six years mean nothing to me. Time flies by when…’

But his friend shook his head, not finishing his phrase. He looked away, past James, in the direction of his house.

‘Your parents are looking for you; they are rather worried’, he said, as if he could hear them calling, even though James thought it was too far. ‘Did you give up on your idea then?’

‘Yeah’. James shrugged, trying to pretend it was nothing much, though he knew his friend wouldn’t be deceived. He always seemed to know when James was lying. ‘It wouldn’t even be new. I would want my first magic to be far more exciting. Like Mom’s’.

His friend gave him a fond look.

‘I told you, Fawn, not every magic is a firework. Some are just as simple and quiet as crossing the barriers of life and allowing a grandparent a time with his grandson’.

James didn’t understand what he meant by that. But he thought that his friend was very nice and that he wished he had all the time in the world with the grandchildren he mentioned he had.

‘Your dad will find you soon’, his friend told him. ‘I think I will go - will you be okay?’

James nodded.

‘Tell him what’s bothering you. Your dad will always listen to you’, his friend said. ‘And Fawn… even if we don’t see each other, you know I will always be here when you need me, don't you?’

James smiled.

‘Thanks… what do I call you? I never knew’.

His friend gave James a lopsided grin that James had to share.

‘What do you want to call me?’

‘I don’t know’, James answered truthfully. It would be weird to call him Mister when James already thought of him too much as his friend and he didn’t look like one of his uncles. ‘What do your grandchildren call you?’

There was the most curious look on his friend’s face. James had never seen him so sad, almost crying.

‘I’d expect Grandpa’, he whispered.

‘Well, I could call you Grandpa then’, James said. He called Teddy’s grandmother as Grandma sometimes too; she didn’t seem to mind.

‘Yes, you could, James’, he said very softly, looking happy and melancholic at the same side, and James realized it was the first time he called him something other than Fawn.

He was going to note it when he heard someone calling him in the distance. He turned in time to see Dad coming in his direction, running, and James got up. When he looked back at the bench, there wasn’t anyone there anymore.

This was usual too. His friend would come and go without James ever noticing it.

‘James!’, his dad called him once more, and then he was giving James one of those bear-hugs that Dad always reserved for when he came home after a long mission for work. ‘I was so worried!’

‘You were?’, James asked, surprised, because he really thought no one would notice him gone.

‘Of course I was! Don’t ever disappear on us again, please!’

‘I am sorry’, James mumbled guiltily. ‘I just thought - you were so excited because of Al, I didn’t think -’

‘Oh, James’. Dad broke away a little to look at him. ‘Is that why you left?’

James bit his lips, not wanting to answer. Dad kneeled in front of him and James had a vision of his friend doing the same before; for the first time, he realized they actually look a lot like each other, though his friend didn’t use glasses and didn’t have any scar on his forehead.

‘James?’, his dad asked softly. James took a deep breath.

‘I was afraid of not being a wizard’, he whispered. ‘I never did what Al did’.

‘That was accidental wandless magic, James’, his father explained patiently, messing with James’ hair fondly. ‘It’s not controllable’.

‘But you looked so…  proud of him and I wanted you to be proud of me too’.

‘I am proud of you’, his father assured him. ‘Al’s magic just reminded me of something I saw a long time ago. And you are my little mastermind genius, aren’t you? Or you think I don’t know who put those Canary Creams on your cousins’ cake last week?’

James grinned without controlling, not at all ashamed. It had been fun watching them all turn into little canaries and it was temporary, Uncle George had explained to him.

‘You are different from Al, just I am sure Lily will be different from both of you. And I love you all the same’.

‘Even if I happen not to be a wizard?’, James asked, the smile dying from his face as he stared intently at his father. His friend had assured him, but James needed to hear his dad saying it.

‘Even then’, his dad said and James looked in his eyes for any sign that he wasn’t speaking the truth, but there was none. He breathed easily, a huge weight coming out from his shoulders, and his father looked at him as if wondering if he should say something more. ‘I know you haven't shown anything yet, but... Strange things always happened around you, did you know?’

James shook his head. He never noticed anything.

‘I mean, even stranger for wizarding standards. Once we let you alone for five seconds, thinking you were safe inside your crib. It was magically protected to avoid any way of you getting out - only physical force would open. But you managed to open and then we found you coming in our direction, walking as if… as if someone was guiding you. We never understood what happened exactly’.

‘What do you think it was?’, James asked.

‘Maybe you have a guardian angel’, Dad answered, but James thought he was just joking.

‘Maybe it was Grandpa’, he said, shrugging. James didn’t remember since when he saw him, but he supposed he was there by his side ever since he was just a toddler.

‘Grandpa? No, Arthur wasn’t -’

‘No, Grandpa is… Never mind’.

James shook his head, giving up. His dad couldn’t see his friend anyway.

‘Okay… Well, what I meant, James, is that you have nothing to worry about. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever shown any magic until I was about seven. There is no age exactly’.

‘So it’s normal? I mean -’

‘Perfectly normal’. His dad raised, offering him his hand. ‘Let’s go back home? Your mother is worried too’.

‘I didn’t mean to upset you’.

‘I know. But next time you have any problem, you come to us, okay? We will always be here for you’.

James smiled more openly now.

‘What were you doing alone out here?’

‘I wasn’t alone ’, James answered, rolling his eyes because he knew his father wouldn’t understand this. ‘I just was… thinking’.

His dad threw him a look that told James he wasn’t falling for what James said, but he didn't insist. That look reminded James of his friend back ago; maybe it was a look that came with being a dad.

In any case, James considered that it was better for his dad to wonder than knowing for sure about that cliff-jumping idea.

‘What was it, Dad?’, he asked instead, to distract him. ‘Your first magic?’

‘Oh’, there was a faintly amused look on his face as if he thought the idea was laughable. ‘Something silly, I made my hair grow overnight… James?’

He’d noticed James had stopped walking and was looking at his father with a funny expression.

‘Was it because of a terrible haircut?’, he asked. His dad nodded slowly.

‘Yeah, how did you -’

‘Lucky guess’, James answered, walking again, biting his lips, his mind considering the possibilities. If what he was thinking was right… Mom had explained to him about ghosts and once Aunt Luna had said in that dreamy voice of her that people never really left their loved ones... ‘Dad, you are proud of me?’

‘Yes, like I told you’.

‘I think… I think your dad is proud of you too’.

Harry stopped at the front gate to look at James. There was that wistful smile on his face and James thought he could understand a little; he wanted his dad near him all the time and he couldn’t imagine growing up without him like it had happened with his dad.

‘It’s what I hope every day’, he whispered, then he sighed. ‘Now, go run to your mother, she is was concerned for you. If you ask nicely, I think she may even take you to a flight’.

James beamed and he ran to the backyard, allowing his mom to hug him; she was a little mad he’d been missing, but he could tell she was much happier he’d come back. Even Al and Lily seemed delighted he was back and James allowed himself to be a little pampered.

He looked over his mom’s shoulder to see his dad walking calmly towards them, and, for a brief second, James thought there was someone next to him, someone who had an uncanny resemblance to his dad, grinning at the scene. Then he blinked and, when he looked back, there was nothing there but his father, a smile on his face that James knew all too well.

[jamilelucato]

hi!! I just followed and saw your open request for hp fics!! congrats btw!! I was wondering if you could write for me either a Fred Weasley x reader or Sirius Black x reader with Enemies to Lovers? If y/n could be a hufflepuff that'd be awesome too lol ❤️❤️ also I'm here for the banter + unresolved sexual tension 👁️👄👁️ thank you!!

Gryffies and Puffies [F. W.]

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Hufflepuff!reader

Summary: Fred and [y/N] were never close, in fact, they hated each other, but Angelina is determined to change that.

A/N: Hi! Thank you, really! I tried to follow your request as much as I could, sorry if the Hufflepuff portrait is not much Hufflepuff like, I’m not one and I don’t have many friends that are, but I tried to keep it as I knew. Hope you like it! (gif not mine)

Last chance to send a request! || Harry Potter Masterlist

Although, generally, [y/N] doesn’t bother doing her homework way earlier than needed, this time she knew she had to start soon if she wanted a good grade.

Professor Snape wasn’t very fond of the Hufflepuff’s students, so, as a proud member of her house, [y/N] felt like she had to prove the Professor wrong, and show the authoritarian how smart Hufflepuffs can be.

It was the third book she had got from the Library, and this one specifically was just about the subject — Ageing Potions — but [y/N] seemed more lost than before while reading it. Sh even asked, politely, to the Librarian if the book was in English because she couldn’t understand a full paragraph.

“Having trouble there?” asked Angelina Johnson before sitting down in the chair next to [y/N]’s.

[y/N] smiled at her long-time friend. Angelina’s mom was a great friend of [y/N]’s mom, and so, they grew up together, as a weird but cool duo. Angelina had a more explosive personality, when [y/N] was generally softer and prefered to talk instead of punching.

“A lot, actually,” [y/N] sighed. “Have you started yours yet?” the sixth-years Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors shared Snape’s classes, so [y/N] knew Angelina had the same assignment as her.

“Oh, haven’t even started,” answered Angelina, catching one of the books in front of them and flipping through it.

“Angie! Professor Snape already has something against you, don’t give him an extra to work with!” [y/N] retorted, genuinely worried for her friend.

Angelina chuckled. “By something against me, you mean because I sit with the twins?”

“Exactly!” the girls burst into soft laughter.

Angelina knew that [y/N] was out for the Weasley twins ever since third-year when they painted the whole Hufflepuff common room black for one week. Professor Flitwick had to step in to help get rid of the magical paint.

But that wasn’t just it. It seemed as if whenever [y/N] got into trouble, the twins, and more specifically, Fred Weasley, was around.

“So... Hogsmeade this weekend. You comin’?” asked Angelina when the laughter calmed down.

“Nope, got this to finish,” [y/N] sighed, pointing to the parchment blank. “Or gotta start it.”

Angelina protested, “come on, you never come!”

“With you, I don’t!” [y/N] frowned. “You always bring them!”

“They’re my best friends!”

“Ouch,” [y/N] pretended to be offended, but only gained a shove from Angie before her best friend started laughing again. Those two were always laughing.

“I promise they’ll behave,” Angie sparkled her dark brown eyes towards [y/N], and seeing a pit face, [y/N] knew she had lost.

“Fine,” the Hufflepuff agreed, closing the books in front of them, knowing very well that no preparation in the world would make her homework worthy of a good grade in Snape’s eyes. “But you owe me one.”

“Put it on the account,” smiled Angie.

***

“Here she comes, the Hufflepuff princess,” smirked an inpatient Fred Weasley, watching with a brow raised as [y/N] finally got out of the train.

Without staring the identical redheads, [y/N] apologized to Angelina, “sorry, got stuck with Bryan and Clary, they were tellin’ me about the...”

“No one cares, puffie,” Fred whispered, in a voice that sounded almost like a whistle.

“Shut it, Weasley,” [y/N] warned, with a tired look. If her visit to Hogsmeade was going to be like that, she did not know if she’d be able to honour the motto of kindness and forgiveness of her Hogwarts House.

“Oh, she acknowledges I’m here,” Fred smirked again, “finally.”

[y/N] rolled her eyes, wrapping her arm around Angelina’s, while she murmured apologies. The two girls took the lead, while the twins followed, and [y/N] could swear that every announced turn she and Angie decided to take, she could hear Fred sighing in complain — and she was loving that.

“First stop: Honeydukes!” [y/N] shouted, stating the way.

Angelina stopped when she noticed Fred had stopped too.

“No way — Zonko’s first,” he debated.

[y/N] turned around, facing the redhaired boy — really facing him, like she had not done yet. She sometimes forgot how cute he was.

Well, any boy taller than her, she considered cute really, because she loved how they leaned down to look at her — and Fred had a lot of leaning down to do.

“Honeydukes,” [y/N] said, hoping her voice sounded as scary as Professor Snape because he was the one she was trying to imitate.

“Look, you can eat later, puffie, but the good products will sell out if George and I don’t go to Zonko’s now,” he continued his pledge.

“You two go then — I’m going Honeydukes first,” [y/N] was trying her hardest to stand her point, but when Angelina and George puffed next to them, she lost a bit of her posture.

“You expect George and I will let you two girls walk around alone?”

“I don’t need a bodyguard!” [y/N] shouted, crossing her arms.

“If that’s supposed to be your scare-people-away face, then yes, you need bodyguards,” Fred argued.

“Let’s go to Zonko’s first, y/N. It’ll give less time for the chocolates to melt,” Angelina stepped in the argument, knowing that the two would continue to argue all day if they could. In fact, Angelina had already witnessed them arguing two whole hours about which team was better at Quidditch — and it seemed to be horrible to [y/N] offend Angelina as a player just to win the argument.

Puffing the whole way and not daring to face Fred, [y/N] followed them to Zonko’s. It was easier to avoid looking at him when the boys entered the store (already crowded) and got lost from the girls in the middle of the shelves, their eyes shining with new and classic products.

Taking advantage of the momentary peace, [y/N] wandered around the store, looking for something that could be used for good fun, like some board game. She didn’t realize that Fred was right behind her until he opened his mouth.

His voice a whisper so close to her ear, that it shivered all over her: “you should buy it if you can’t stop staring,” he smirked.

She turned around to face the boy way too close than she expected. Trying to step away, she bumped into the shelve, but fortunately, nothing fell.

“I don’t want a stupid...” [y/N] battled with herself if she should say or not the next word, “furry bear,” she ended up saying because she hated leaving phrases unfinished.

“Yeah, okay,” Fred pretended to believe, puffing his chest.

“I don’t,” [y/N] stated again.

“Sure, if you say so,” he continued his little game.

“Just because Hufflepuffs are kind, it does not mean we like all cute and fluffy and soft things, okay,” [y/N] tried to prove her point using of more complex sentences, but noticing his smile, she thought she only contradicted herself.

“Not all Hufflepuffs are the same,” Fred tried to help her.

“Exactly,” [y/N] crossed her arms.

“But you like the fluffy and plushy,” Fred raised an eyebrow, but he did not look into her eyes.

“Yes,” [y/] agreed, before even realizing what she was saying yes to. She only had time to listen to Fred burst into laughter, she could no longer take back what she said.

But for a second, it didn’t matter; his laugh was worth it. Until it wasn’t.

“So you like plushy, huh,” he repeated non-stop.

“Oh, for Helga’s sake,” [y/N] she puffed, desperately trying to get away from the ginger boy.

***

When the boys had finally bought all they wanted from Zonko’s, [y/N] and Angelina were already outside waiting. There weren’t many things that the girls founded interesting there. Angelina favours Quidditch stuff and, [y/N], as pointed out by Fred himself, prefers fluffy things.

“That took a while,” you pretended to whisper when actually you spoke loud enough for the twins to hear.

“Oh, did we make you wait, puffie?” Fred teased, but [y/N] just rolled her eyes, not ready to fall into his traps again.

“Well, for fairness, it’s you girls’ time to pick a place,” George said, and [y/N] involuntarily smiled at the more delicate Weasley twin.

“Honeydukes!!” [y/N] shouted before Angelina could say anything, but it didn’t matter. The three Gryffindors immediately started giggling at the girl’s excitement to visit the candy store.

Angelina and George got themselves involved in a talk about the new best broom in the market, leaving Fred and [y/N] behind. They both played Quidditch too, but George and Angie made no effort to include them in the conversation.

“See,” [y/N] decided to tease Fred since they were closest, “if we had gone to Honeydukes first, you wouldn’t need to carry those many bags around.”

Fred almost forgot how to walk. He was generally the one that started the teasing — [y/N] wasn’t much of the provocative kind unless she was provoked. However, Fred liked it.

“You would be the one carrying the bags then, genius,” Fred pointed out, turning his face sightless to the right to get a glimpse of her reaction.

“How many sweets do you think I’m buying?” she asked, analyzing the three plastic bags in his left hand and the two others in his right one. She compared it to the three chocolate bars and a couple of chocolate frogs she had in mind, and she was sure it would be just one bag.

Fred shrugged, letting out a soft chuckled. [y/N] might have had a point, but he was not going to admit it.

When they finally arrived at the candy shop, Fred lost sight of [y/N] because she fastly ran inside. Angelina entered the shop too, but George and Fred had so many bags they were afraid to walk in, so they decided to take turns inside.

Fred went in first, excited to see how [y/N] would be in her environment, but he didn’t like what he saw. As soon as he walked in, he saw her in a corner on the left-back, surrounded by some boys. At that distance, Fred would not guess they were Hufflepuffs.

His first instinct was to suppose she was in danger, but then she laughed. Really laughed, in the sweetest way possible, in a way she had never laughed to his jokes.

He knew she was alright, but he wasn’t. He rushed out of the store, surprising George.

“Back so soon?” George asked.

Fred was not in the mood to tell his twin that might have caught feelings for a certain uneasy girl, so he lied.

“Yeah, had no money left. I mean, if I still want a butterbeer,” Fred said, shrugging and taking his brother’s place as the guard of their Zonko’s products.

George said no more, glad to have the chance to buy something sweet for himself. In the middle of the night, after running around with Fred, George loved having a chocolate frog to recharge his energies.

“Next stop,” said Angelina, once the three got out of the candy store, “Three Broomsticks.”

Everybody agreed with ununderstanding whispers. [y/N], as she planned, got out of Honeydukes with only one plastic bag, that she teasingly raised towards Fred, who rolled his eyes, with a troubled expression.  

His reaction wasn’t the one [y/N] was anticipating. She wanted him to make a quick remark, mess with her bad eating habits, anything like that. But ignore a clear chance to mess with her — she did not expect that.

She rushed to Angie’s side, happy to get a chance to gossip with her best girl about what the boys she had met in the shop had just told her.

“So, Luke told me that Cormac McLaggen is chasing after your friend Alicia, is that true?” [y/N] asked.

Angelina turned her face to her best friend, confused with such a question. Not that the two never gossip before, but [y/N]’s tone was generally less invasive and judge than this.

“Why? Are you interested?” Angie asked, raising a brow.

[y/N] almost choked.

“Interested? Me?” she puffed. “Please.”

Behind the girls, one of the twins was paying very close attention to the conversation.

“He’s not really your type, is he?”

“I’m not interested in him,” [y/N] debated. “I could be, but I ain’t.”

Angie turned her face to the front again before pulling the door of the Three Broomsticks. The four got in, and George was looking around for an empty table when [y/N] asked: “what are you guys taking?”

“Butterbeer,” the three Gryffindors answered together, causing the girl to smile at their synchronization.

“I’ll get it; you go sit down,” she was actually being nice because, of all of them, she was the one with fewer bags.

Being friends with Madam Rosmerta had its privileges, such as [y/N] was first attended as soon as she reached the counter.

“Hey, Madam Rosmerta! How’s it goin’?” [y/N] asked, working extra hard her charm. The whole counter was staring at her, half angry, half not believing, that she was being served before them.

When the woman finally gave [y/N] her drinks, she headed to the table her friends had picked, noticing with an exhalation that the only chair left was in the middle of Fred and George.

“That was fast,” pointed out George, getting his butterbeer with a smile and tossing you a sickle.

“No need, it’s on me,” [y/N] said, giving George his coin back. “Actually on Rosmerta, but that’s supposably to be a secret.”

Angelina smiled, reaching for her cup and savouring the butterbeer as if it was more tasteful because it had been free.

Fred looked at you without exactly turning but grabbed his drink anyway.

“Thanks,” he whispered, this time Fred’s tone had no sign of banter.

[y/N] was scared they would remain in that dreadful silence, bt Angelina took her chance to tell everyone about her father’s newest accomplishment and how it would affect them — he had a bought a summer house near the beach. She was sure he would allow her to bring them for a weekend.

“Wow, Angie, count me in! Would love beach day!” [y/N] beamed.

Angelina chuckled. “I’ll see if we can go next holiday.”

The whole table cheered in excitement, and George was so happy that he decided to buy them the next round of butterbeer.

When the day in Hogsmeade was over, [y/N] and Fred got back to their usual bickering. George knew that would happen, but Angie was, in fact, hoping for them to finally develop a real friendship, better than the day to day teasing.

Days and months went by. [y/N] ended up getting the better side of Professor Snape, after all — he said her essay was the best one from that class.

Angelina kept trying to connect Fred and [y/N], but it was like she was running from him. Fred seemed neutral about it all, and that was a first.

“So my father got back to me...” Angelina started telling the twins as soon as the Quidditch practice was over.

“And?” George was genuinely enthusiastic.

“And we can go for the Easter holiday!” cheered Angelina. “Unless your mom doesn’t allow you to come...”

“Molly will be pleased to have two less in the house,” admitted George.

“Is [y/N] coming?” Fred asked, raising his voice so he could be heard since he was in the back of the tent.

Angelina exchanged looks with George before answering, scared that he wouldn’t like her answer. “Yes, she is, and I hope you behave.”

“Are you saying that to her?” Fred retorted.

“Don’t pretend you aren’t the one who messes with her,” Angelina tilted her head towards Fred, who just shrugged, puffing as if he was innocent. “Well, gonna invite Alicia and Katie. See you later.”

***

Part of [y/N] wondered why she had said yes. Sure, Angelina Johnson was her best friend of all times, but still, as her father drove you two to the beach house, all she could think of was that it would be a house filled with Gryffindors and she would be the only outsider.

She wasn’t friends with the others. She could become friends with Alicia and Katia, she guessed, and George was somewhat of a colleague, but Fred? Oh, Helga, she signed in for a nightmare.

Since the Hogsmeade trip a couple of months ago, things without explanation kept on happening with [y/n] more often than before. Clothes coloured in bright pink, her cat turning in with two tails instead of just one, and she even received letters with nothing written on — those were the most confusing of the pranks. Again, she was almost sure it was Fred’s fault, but since the pranks were harmless, she never confronted him about them.

Angelina and [y/N] had time to settle themselves down in a room just for the two — Katie and Alicia were getting another one, and Fred and George the one far most at the end of the corridor.

When the six kids were all together, things started getting, well, exciting. There was no way Fred and George were going to let that trip be a bore.

Without parents around, you six stayed on the beach until 4 a.m, watching the sun rising far away. Alicia had brought some firewhisky, but since it was only two bottles, the group decided to save for later.

When [y/N] woke up on the second day, she found herself lying in a mattress-shaped floater, tossed in the middle of the pool.

“WEASLEYS!!” she shouted, waking the whole house up.

With no wand around, [y/N] had no option but to jump in the pool and swim to get out of there. When she managed to cross half of the backyard, Fred and George appeared at the door, and you took a glimpse inside the house, where the girls ate breakfast like nothing was happening to [y/N].

“Morning-swim, huh?” Fred crossed his arms, smirking slightly.

“You’ll pay for that, Fred,” she replied, shaking, the coldness of the water that soaked her combined with the wind of the beach was not doing her good.

“Cute pyjamas, puffie” he continued teasing as she passed him by — his eyes following her back as she went upstairs. The nickname was not something she was quite fond of, especially because she knew he used it just because of her house.

George nudged his twin. “Don’t ask why she doesn’t like you,” George said, leaving his brother at the door and sitting down next to Alicia.

“What? You helped,” pointed down Fred, sitting too.

“Yeah, but she likes me,” George raised a brow, his confident expression did not even shake at the dark look his twin cast.

*** When the night came, [y/N] was sure she had gotten a tan, but after she got in the shower and took a good look in front of the mirror, it was like the tan was gone. She wasn’t hurt, though, so it wasn’t all bad.

Getting downstairs, she noticed that the group hadn’t been able to keep themselves away from the firewhisky any longer, because the only two bottles were displayed in the middle of the table set outside in the backyard.

[y/N]’s white dress was practically sparkling in the dim light of outside, and for a minute, Fred was out of breath, staring at her in a way he had never before.

Well, actually... Never before since they arrived. But Fred was not gonna mention the other thousand times she left him breathless by her looks.

“Where’s Angie?” [y/N] asked before sitting down, noticing that her bestie was the only one left.

“Still showering. Angie says she can feel the sand everywhere yet,” explained Katie.

“And who’s to blame...” [y/N] wondered aloud, trying to provoke the twins who had been fighting everyone in the sand earlier.

Even though Fred teased her the whole afternoon — how she would never win him in the fight, how she was laze, how he was fast — she didn’t give in, preferring to get sunbathed. It didn’t work though, but at least she didn’t have sand in all weird places now.

Angie finally got outside, wearing a beautiful set of shorts and a floral blouse.

“Let’s start the game, come on, I really need it,” she said, and the whole table agreed.

They played an updated version of beer pong, the muggle game, and [y/N] was losing badly to everyone else. That meant that she was the one drinking more, and, for Helga, she was not used to it, but with time, the effects seemed to disappear.

When the game was over, [y/N] had been sitting for minutes at the edge of the pool, wetting only her feet. There was a cup of firewhisky in her hands, but even if not drunk, she knew she shouldn’t keep drinking it.

Someone found a way to play muggle music, and Angelina, Alicia, Katie and George were having the time of their lives in the improvised dance floor.

Fred was walking, as silently as he could, towards [y/N]. He wasn’t very fond of the music playing, and he wasn’t as drunk as the others. Generally, he would have pretended to be, like George was doing, just for the fun of it, but watching [y/N] all alone, he knew he had to something about her.

“Hey,” she smiled softly, noticing the boy sitting down next to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, but she never answered. She put the cup down though — Fred thought that was a good sign. “I’m sorry about the pool earlier.”

[y/N] stared back at him, this time trying to analyze every aspect of his face. Like how he had moe freckles on his left cheek then the right. How his nose was big but yet perfectly pleasant to look at. How he was leaning towards her even though he wasn’t noticing. But she did. And she leaned in too.

“You know, if you wanted my attention, there were other ways to get it,” she said, surprising herself with the bravery to speak up.

Fred froze.

“You could have apologized to my cat, that would’ve been nice, for starters,” she said, this time surprising him, who laughed it off.

“He didn’t like the extra tail?”

“He actually did,” she joined him in the laughter, remembering her pet playing with a smile in her dorm room because he now had two tails. “Hey, how did you found out that he was my cat and not any other?”

Fred smiled in the dim light.

“He was the fluffiest,” was his answer. [y/N] elbowed him, pretending to be angry, but she knew that, unfortunately, her cat was the furriest cat Hogwarts had ever seen.

After a moment of silence, [y/N] decided she better get back to her room — and she hoped this time she would wake up there too. Getting up without warning, she ended up scaring Fred.

“Where are you going?” he asked, getting up too.

“Back to bed,” she said. “Better get a good night sleep before tomorrow — it is our last day after all.”

Fred wrinkled his nose. He knew she was right, but he also knew that it was his last chance to do something with her, at least, under the spark of the moon.

But she seemed so far away...

“Well, at least let me accompany you,” Fred offered [y/N] his arm, which she took with a smile.

They walked in silence — the rest of the group didn’t even notice they were gone.

[y/N] was about to get to her room when Fred stopped her.

“Wait,” he was confused whether it was the best time or not, but it was his only time so... “wait here, I’m gonna grab something for you.”

He walked to the end of the corridor, rushing to his room. Fred was rummaging through his suitcase, looking for what he wanted to give her.

[y/N] waited patiently — and quite anxiously — for whatever Fred was going to give her.

“Here, ” he said, giving her something he had hidden in his back. [y/N] grabbed from his hands, surprised with the texture of what she got. “I don’t know if Angelina ever mentioned me and my brother want to open a joke shop, and well, this product... You kinda inspired me to do it.”

She studied the hairy, yellow ball in her hands. Thankfully, she held it gently, because when she turned the thing over, she noticed that two little blue eyes were staring at her, startled.

“Oh my Helga, Freddie, is this alive?” she asked, but the answer didn’t really matter because she was already petting the small furry ball.

“It’s she, actually,” he smiled, noticing how happy she was with the gift. “Has no name, though.”

“What is she?” she asked while playing with the pet, noticing she was warming up to [y/N]’s touch.

“George and I named it Pygmy Puff — a miniature Puffskein,” Fred explained, petting the furry ball too. “They are generally pink or purple, so yours was made with a lot of care.”

[y/N] looked up from the yellow Pygmy Puff to Fred and tilted her head, uncontrollably smiling.

“Guess the Pygmy Puff has something to do with me too,” [y/N] teased.

“The whole thing has something to do with you,” Fred let out, blushing immediately, but [y/N] didn’t notice. Fred fake-coughed. “So, what will you name her?”

[y/N] thought about it for a while. “I guess it would only make sense if she was named Gryffie. After all, her creator is a Gryffindor,” [y/N] blushed but avoided looking at Fred, focusing solemnly in the Pygmy Puff.

“It makes sense,” Fred looked from the pet to the girl and bit his inner cheek. “Two houses come together for an invention.”

“That’s the Hogwarts spirit,” [y/N] laughed it off. “Thank you, Fred,” she said before leaning on tiptoes to place a kiss on Fred’s cheek.

The Pygmy Puff enjoyed the time with no attention and walked from [y/N]’s hand to her shoulder, and Fred stared at the fluffy thing while [y/N] kissed him.

And somehow it felt like the pet was trying to say something.

[y/N] stepped away and said good-night, entering her room with a sad look. She didn’t want the night to end. So, after placing Gryffie on the bed, she turned to the door, ready to open it again. But Fred was faster.

They stared for a full second before both rushed towards each other, locking their lips in a soft but potent kiss.

Fred’s hands found her waist and pulled her closer, as closer as Fred could — close as he always wished she was. [y/N], of course, ran her fingers through his hair, something she had been wanting to do for a while now, and she was glad to find such fluffy and soft hair.

They were breathless, but neither wanted to pull away. Fred leaned to her neck, finding her sensitive spot right away, and there was nothing better than hearing her moan so close to his ear.

Behind them, the Pygmy Puff made some sound weird, but they just laughed it off and pulled each other closer again, as if they could be closer than they were.

The Pygmy Puff cried again, and this time non-stop, so [y/N] had to pull away. She was the mother of that pet for only a couple of minutes, but she was very protective over it already.

“What is it?” she murmured towards the fluffy ball at the same time Fred cleared his throat, making [y/N] turn to Fred again, who was looking at the stairs.

“Hi, little love birds,” giggled a very drunk Angelina.

Fred and [y/N] were instantly red, from head to toes, but Angelina and the rest of the group didn’t even care, they just couldn’t giggling and bumping into each other.

“Hey, George, I think I’ll better sleep in your room,” Angelina spoke again. “I believe you’ll have an empty bed.”

“Good idea,” George said, locking arms with Angelina to protect her from falling — she could do it at any moment now. “Good-night, love birds. Or should I say love puffs?”

The four teenagers were laughing out loud, they could wake someone up if only someone were sleeping. George and Angie closed their door as soon as they walked in and winking at [y/N] and Fred, Alicia closed the door of hers and Katie’s room.

“Well, I guess I just lost my bed, puffie” Fred sighed, pretending to be upset, leaning on the door frame.

His eyes sparkled in the dim light of her room. [y/N] smirked, pulling him by his collar, suddenly very aware of her Femme Fatale powers.

“Good thing I have an extra one here,” she said, kissing him again, and again, and again...

[9worldstales]

MCU Loki Ep 2 “The Variant” intensive analysis

So, the 2nd “Loki” episode come out and, again, I couldn’t stop myself from talking about it.

Beware about spoilers!

After a brief summary that’s basically made by showing us the most relevant scenes of Episode 1 we’ve the Marvel opening, this time with its usual music… though the Marvel studios logo is still in green and gold.

We start this episode in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1985, the year of “Back of the future”, only there’s no Martin or Doc or the DeLorean, but just some sort of medieval fair.

Pity.

Anyway Minutemen get on the place and didn’t care at all about how they’re attracting the general attention with their look. We know why, because they think to reset the timeline before leaving so it’s not like their magical apparition might change something.

They believe they’ve detected the Variant so they enter in a tent thinking they can capture them… only to fall straight in a trap, as the Variant was waiting for them, starting a registration as soon as they are where the Variant wants them to be.

Yeah, the registration was meant to be for the show that should have taken place there but the Minutemen are smart enough to get it’s a trap.

After a recorded message that seem to imply in that tent there was meant to happen some sort of contest or show about saving a princess…

My lords, my ladies, welcome and thank you for joining us, here at the castle. Please, settle into your seats for a great battle is about to commence. The prize? Our princess. Will evil prevail, or are we holding out for a hero?

…the song by Bonnie Tyler “Holding Out For A Hero” starts and, as it does Hunter C-20 gets possessed by the Variant (we can see a hand touching her head, green magic on the tip of its finger, and then Hunter C-20’s eyes take an odd green colouring for a moment, a sign she’s possessed) and starts murdering out her own men in a joint effort with the Loki Variant. However while she fights she suddenly drops unconscious and a figure in a cape, clearly our Variant, stabs with her sword the last minuteman. Then, as usual, the Variant steals from the Minuteman what she needs and, this time, also kidnaps Hunter C-20 before disappearing.

Many have seen in the scene a reference to the Shrek 2 scene in which Shrek and his friends storm the castle in order to stop Fiona from kissing Charming, disguised as Shrek.

Me, I would just want to know if the princess is meant to be Hunter C-20 or this Loki Variant.

We’ll see.

Well, anyway we get the Loki title and them we find ourselves with Loki reading a jet ski magazine when Miss Minute would want him to review what he had learnt instead. She tries to quiz him but, although Loki seems to know the answers, he’s not interested in being quizzed, defining it boring.

His attention focuses on Miss Minute, asking her if she’s a recording or alive. She explains she’s both.

Loki looks around then tries to test it, rolling the magazine and attempting to use it to hit Miss Minute, who jumps around in an effort to avoid his blows. He seems to have fun. If this is idea of venting for the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of the TVA or he’s just being playful that’s up to speculation.

Miss Minute escapes inside the pc, complaining he’s being a jerk.

Mobius joins him and from his dialogue we discover the magazine is actually Mobius’ not Loki’s. The guy gives him a package, telling him they’ve to go and that he has to wear what’s inside it, which is actually a jacket, which Loki wears.

They join the others and Hunter B-15 explains how C-20 and her team disappeared in 1885 and they expect it to be an ambush by a Loki Variant, although they don’t know which kind of Loki Variant it can be. Loki suggests they’re the lesser kind, lesser than him, of course.

Hunter B-15 demands to see the back of his jacket on which we can see the writing Variant. She laughs seeing the writing, mockingly, the way one would when he has managed to put an insulting sign on someone’s back without them realizing.

Loki points out she was very subtle in it and she explains she doesn’t want anyone to forget who he is… which, I guess, means Hunter B-15 found yellow, star shaped badges too subtle or maybe not fitting to everyone they deemed a less human to prune away.

Still Loki asks her back if she means they shouldn’t forger he’s their only hope of capturing a murderer.

B-15, who never believed him to be capable of something, correct him saying they should never forget he’s ‘a cosmic mistake’. In short the writing is there to make him recognizable, to ostracize and to humiliate him. He’s not like them, he’s a Variant.

She’s not doing this because he’s dangerous and they should be wary of him, just because he shouldn’t exist.

Mobius states that this is enough… which hints he’s not enjoying this, but he allowed it to happen and didn’t even warn or prepare Loki about it.

Long story short he’s clearly different from B-15 who relishes in all this (and mind you, this is not a critic to Wunmi Mosaku, who’s awesome in the part, just to her character) but he still doesn’t really take a big stance against it as he stopped it only when it dragged on too long.

Mobius brings them back to business, telling everyone they’re looking for a Loki, a variation of the guy with them. He reminds them they should be familiar with Loki because they had pruned more Loki Variants than any other Variant and they’re all different, in appearances.

As Mobius speak we’re shown some Loki Variations with their numbers. Our Loki is the Variant L1130.

I wanted to check the numbers near the Lokis but it seems there had been a mistake in the handling of the numbers

Jotun Loki appears to have first the number L1247 but in the close up it switches to L6792

Cyclist Loki is L1247 and the hulking one is L6792 while the green dressed one is L8914 and the last one with the big helmet is L7803.

Long story short Jotun Loki has probably 2 wrong numbers pasted on himself as they belong to other variations but all the Lokis’ numbers has in common the letter L at the beginning which I guess, stands for Loki.

The visual makes something interesting, projecting the various variants on Loki, which makes us immediately aware of the differences but also reminds us they’re all still Loki.

What leaves me perplex is how those Variants became so different from the original Loki. I mean, our Loki was caught few minutes after he escaped. Unless those Loki managed to escape to the TVA for a while (which would risk the timeline to reach a red line so it seems unlikely it happened) how did they manage to deviate so much from how they were meant to be in the Sacred Timeline?

I mean cyclist Loki would have needed the time to take part to a race to in that cup!

It’s true that in this episode it will turn out the TVA worries only of deviations that impact the timeline, so maybe the TVA started worrying late in their case but it’s still weird.

Anyway Mobius starts digging into the powers they’ve in common which are shape-shifting, illusion-projection, duplication-casting and Mobius’ favourite, which we don’t get to hear as Loki interrupts Mobius saying he got one of the names of his power wrong, it’s Duplication-casting, not Illusion-projection and explains the differences between the two, finishing with:

“But you already knew that.”

… which they didn’t. In short it’s Loki’s turn to point out they act as if they know him when they don’t know him and his powers as well as they think and that he’s actually of some use.

On a sidenote there’s to wonder which one is Mobius’ Loki’s favourite power and if it’s meant to be relevant. This Variant showed it could posses people, and I wonder if what happened to Selvig at the end of “Thor” is a hint our Loki can as well. Our Loki could travel through the secret paths… in “Thor” he could spell his knives, which we know he can make appear out of nowhere. In deleted scenes we learn he could cause mist to appear. “Thor: Ragnarok” said Loki turned Thor into a frog. I wouldn’t mind if he were to start turn people of the TVA into frogs.

Anyway Mobius accepts his explanation and tells the others they’re gonna break in two teams, one of which will include himself and ‘professor Loki’.

B-15’s words about Loki being a cosmic failure clearly made an impression as one of the minutemen question the idea and Mobius is forced to admit since they can’t find this Loki Variant they need an ‘expert’.

Loki takes his chance to remind everyone that by expert Mobius means him. He’s there because he has a use, an importance, a role and they shouldn’t look down on him.

The scene switches.

Loki and Mobius are walking toward the door that will bring them in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1985.

Loki, repeating a pattern seen in “Thor: The Dark World” asks for a weapon…

Loki (Thor: The Dark World): “You could at least furnish me with a weapon. My dagger, something!”

Loki (Loki): “Do I get a weapon?”

…which Mobius refuses to give him. Loki though points out once out of the TVA he’ll have his magic back and asks Mobius if no one is worried he’ll betray them.

Loki: “Well, I'll have my magic back. Is no one concerned about that?”

Mobius: “Of what?”

Loki: “Me betraying you.”

This also is something we saw in “Thor: The Dark World”.

Loki: “You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?”

Mobius can’t say Frigga did trust him or that he promises him vengeance in exchange of loyalty so he tries to go for something he knew Loki wanted, a meeting with the Time-Keepers. Considering Renslayer, who’s above Mobius, couldn’t grant Loki that, if I were in Loki I would genuinely doubt Mobius can. He just tries to dangle in front of his eyes something Loki might want to win him over.

Loki pauses as Mobius mentions he could meet the Time-Keepers and asks if that’s what’s on the table. Mobius doesn’t really give him a straight answer, just a ‘Keep that focus’.

I wonder if Loki really wants to meet the three space lizards or he just let Mobius believe so because, by acting that way, he made clear he’s interested.

Oh, now that I look at it behind the helmets of the minutemen there are codes which could be their identification codes or names, since they don’t seem to use names.

B-15 has obviously written B-15 while other minutemen had much longer codes.

The group arrives in 1985 and Loki makes a relevant question:

“Let me ask you this, why don't we just travel back to before the attack, when the Variant first arrives?”

It’s something many viewers have been wondering and it turns out that the answer is:

“Nexus events destabilize the time flow. This branch is still changing and growing, so you gotta show up in real time.”

In short the authors knew this could feel like a dumb plot hole so they made a rule to explain why this couldn’t be done. It’s still not perfert… I mean, what it means to show up in real time? They aren’t in the same time as 1985, when itìs real time for them? But whatever, it’s nice they tried to fix this problem.

Mobius asks Loki if he watched all the explicative videos he was supposed to watch and Loki replied only as many as he could stand because he find that their ‘TVA propaganda is exhausting’.

I’m glad Loki and I see things in the same way. Most of the TVA babbling is propaganda meant to brainwash people’s mind.

A Minuteman then asks Loki what ‘these’ (these being the Time Charges) do.

Loki knows perfectly and gives us the confirmation to the thing I, and many others, suspected in the past episode.

Time Charges…

“Reset charges prune the affected radius of a branched timeline, allowing time to heal all its wounds. Which sounds like a nice way of saying disintegrate everything in its vicinity.”

So yeah, it’s genocide or total destruction of that timeline and all the people in it.

But also yeah, Loki studied all he was supposed to study although he insists he watched only some of the videos. I’m not surprised though, a wizard had to be good at studying things and Loki clearly wanted to know how that world worked so of course he would have watched the video even if he’s downplaying it.

They reach the place in which the TVA fought Loki and discover the Loki Variant kidnapped C-20. It turns out that it’s the first time that Variant kidnapped someone. A minuteman suggests the Variant might have pruned (aka killed but the TVA doesn’t use that word) C-20.

B-15 acts defensively, saying a Loki couldn’t have beaten C-20. She clearly views the Lokis, the whole of them as this time she’s not even saying Variants, as inferior. She should probably remember she got collared by one Loki.

Loki tries to warn her saying she’s underestimating the Variant… which she’s doing as the Variant could have very well ‘pruned’ C-20 had the Variant wanted to.

B-15 isn’t interested in hearing him out as she interrupt him and tells the other to fan out and starts searching for C-20 fast as they’re approaching the red line.

Loki stops them, telling them if they’ll leave the tent they’ll end up killed. B-15 thinks it’s a waste of time but Mobius is willing to hear him out.

Loki launches himself in a long explanation, the gist of it being he thinks there’s a scheme behind the Variant’s actions, that they should be aware of their surrounding, listen more (like he does) and less prone to underestimate him or the ‘lesser Loki’.

Now… he’s not completely wrong, the TVA underestimates him, and they has underestimated the other Loki Variant, which we saw lead to some of their losses.

Loki claims the Variant wants him because they know he’s the stronger Loki and so wants to join forces with him to overthrown and rule the TVA. I’m not sure how the Variant would have known there’s a Loki working with the TVA but let’s assume they do and that Loki’s reasoning could make sense… or could be explained with him trying to paint himself as more important than he is.

But then he goes saying that this isn’t what he wants as he’s now a servant of the Sacred Timeline… which is patently untrue and hard to believe… who can hand them the Variant but what assurances he won’t be disintegrated once the job is done.

And okay, his own is a legitimate worry and a legitimate request.

It’s actually clever to ask for reassurances the TVA won’t dispose of him once the job is done… though it’s not like there’s an actual bargaining ground because, if Loki isn’t cooperative and therefore is useless, the TVA will dispose of him anyway.

It’s not so clever he would try to pass himself for a servant of the timeline when he clearly didn’t play the part well. Of course since he said Asgardians were fundamentally naïve, maybe that’s the kind of people he’s used to deal with… but he has experienced distrust in Asgard in “Thor”, proof his own people isn’t so naïve… and he should have figured out Mobius isn’t either.

And then he presses for urgently meeting the Time-Keepers saying they’re in grave danger… and this jump isn’t smooth.

Mobius knows Loki wants to meet the Time-Keepers, so of course if Loki pushes the issue in this way he’s going to be prone to assume it’s a trick. The speech doesn’t even keep a logical flow because Loki first presented himself as better than the Variant and capable to handle it but reluctant to do so for fear of being erased… but now he’s presenting the Variant as a grave threat that requires them to urgently talk with the Time-Keepers.

So from one side it’s pushing for too much when he hadn’t even shown himself to be useful yet and for another it makes for a weak argument if he’s really as superior as he claims to be.

So… hum… the speech seems to tumble down in an unsatisfactory manner, ‘seems’ being the operative word because, if there’s a goal behind its weak points, then they still have a reason to exist.

I’m actually not quite sure which game Loki is playing with the TVA.

He’s for sure trying to survive but then what else does he want to get? I don’t believe he aims to control the universe but I’m pretty sure he’s not swallowing the TVA propaganda and he doesn’t enjoy to be there.

His timeline was pruned so he can’t go back there. Does he want to save Frigga? Is that what he aims to do? Does he want to go into the timeline after… let’s call it ‘canon Loki’ died so as to replace him?

Prior to it?

I don’t know.

Is he saying all those things for the Loki Variant’s benefit? He hopes the Variant is out there hearing him and his speech would make the Variant interested in joining forces?

I don’t know. We’ll see.

Anyway as expected Mobius figures it’s a trick and, since there’s no more time to do anything else, they just reset the timeline and leave.

On another note I like how Loki uses an Asgardian way to say. Way too often in movies even aliens feel compelled to use English ways to say instead than way to say from the world they belong to.

We also see how a time charge works. Loki hurries to move away as soon as he sees them starting it.

They… do something with the top part of it, I’m not sure if they push a button or pulled some sort of safety pin. We see something yellowish being released in the fluid inside the time charge which then turns purplish. The purple colour expands to the whole glass of the time charge until from below it something like a coloured expanding pool comes out. Everything that gets touched by that pool ends up being disintegrated.

At the TVA the monitors show that the ‘reset’ (read ‘disintegration’) of the timeline is done and that C-20 ended up MIA.

A music that’s half sad half… disquieting, start being played and we move into Renslayer’s office.

Mobius is complimenting for her office, pointing out how there’s a new snow globe in it and how he doesn’t remember bringing it to her.

She replies he’s not the only analyst working for her, which seems to imply analysts working for her are meant to bring her souvenirs from their missions. Or better… not quite. Mobius asks her why she gets to keep all the trophies from his cases, which seems to imply they weren’t given willingly.

Still, he tries to get her to admit he’s her favourite analyst.

I’m not really sure what’s going on between these two. They don’t seem to be in a relationship and I’m not sure if Mobius’ attempts at flattering her are because he’d like to be in a relationship with her but doesn’t dare to push the issue or because he’s currying her favours.

We’ll see.

Renslayer moves the discussion to the mission Mobius just botched and I don’t know if I would define it as such. Okay, so they didn’t find C-20 nor the other Loki Variant but chances here are two:

- the Loki Variant was out there using C-20 as bait as Loki said, setting a trap for them, and they successfully avoided it

- the Loki Variant wasn’t out there and so wasn’t C-20 and therefore was nothing for them to find.

Either way the mission wasn’t botched as they came back and successfully disintegrated… pardon, the TVA doesn’t like that word, they prefer ‘purged’ the branched timeline and any living being inside it.

Renslayer, referring to Loki as just ‘this Variant’ complains he’s insubordinate, stubborn and unpredictable like Mobius.

Honestly I think the whole series is trying to draw parallels between Loki and Mobius, where Mobius is however the one who chose to submit to the system where Loki just can’t stand it and wants to break it down.

So, although Mobius should be ‘all lawful’ we can see there’s a bit of ‘chaotic’ inside him.

It’s probably worth to remember that ‘lawful’ and ‘chaotic’ are nothing else but the two opposite extreme on the Ethical axis used for RPG alignment where Lawful represents obedience to the law and Chaotic leans toward personal freedom, without regards to the law.

There’s another sign Mobius isn’t fully lawful, the fact he has the bad habit to leave the glass rest on Renslayer’s furniture, leaving rings, and then insisting he’s not who caused them as they were already there… when Renslayer points out they’re all there due to him.

I know a part of the fandom loves Mobius but I wonder if he’s in the story not only to interact with Loki but also to work in contraposition to him. There are two paths for him, either he chooses the same path as Loki or the opposite. We’ll see.

Mobius tries to blame the ring on Renslayer’s other favourite analyst. I wonder if such person exists and is meant to have a relevance in the story. It’ll be interesting if it’s the other Loki Variant in disguise.

I mean… the other Loki Variant knows plenty of things about the TVA which hints at how they should have a previous and prolonged contact with them because the TVA explains nearly nothing about how their things work to their captives but the other Loki Variant knows what Reset charges are and how they work or how to use a TemPad to open Timedoors.

Yet Mobius doesn’t seem to have info on when they captured that Variant, carried it to the TVA and then let them escape, so again, how did the Variant learnt so much about the TVA?

From another escaping Variant?

Hard to say?

Did they saw the TVA and tailed them till the TVA unnoticed?

I can’t really tell, we’ll see.

Anyway, back to their conversation, Renslayer points out the issue isn’t Mobius’ methods with Loki, but the fact he towed a dangerous Variant into the field… meaning they consider Loki dangerous.

Mobius claims that from that they had learnt ‘the Variant’ likes to stall for time, so the other Variant might end up doing the same, because, to Mobius, understanding one Loki leads to understand the other.

And I’m:

- actually you didn’t need to bring Loki to the field to learn this, didn’t you notice that’s what he did in other circumstances?

- if the two Lokis are different, no, understanding one doesn’t mean understand the other. I mean you had a Loki who was fine living as a Jotun while this one was traumatized by the idea he was a Jotun, Loki can be pretty different about them, enough to be complete opposite so no, nobody said they’ll surely share that particular trait.

Whatever, let’s go on.

Renslayer says Mobius has a soft spot for broken things (which Mobius denies because he’s a bit like Loki and doesn’t want to show weakness), which acknowledges this Loki is broken… but gains him no sympathy from Renslayer as she said that ‘Loki is an evil, lying scourge’. Because he attacked New York? Nope, just because this is the part he plays on the sacred timeline and he can change only if the Time-Keepers decree so, not because he wants to.

Renslayer is big on the predeterminism when it’s about Loki (who’s a Variant by the way and therefore already out of the Sacred Timeline) but why doesn’t she apply it to the TVA as well? They’ll take the Variant only if the Time-Keepers will so.

I think the TVA’s faith in the Time-Keepers has plenty of weak points and is hypocritical. I wonder if the show will explore this.

Mobius switches topic asking how the Time-Keepers are and it turns out he NEVER met them. So he basically can’t even be sure they exist or not, yet he’s pouring all his faith in those three space lizard.

Mobius seems kind of glad he hadn’t met them, which seems to hit they’re either dangerous to meet or he doesn’t have a good opinion of them.

Renslayer says:

“The Time-Keepers are monitoring every aspect of this case. I've never seen them so involved. They want that Variant caught.”

…which seems a way to put Mobius under pressure but really, if they decide the flow of time, shouldn’t the decide if Mobius will catch the Variant or not? They can decide if a Variant Loki can change or not but they can’t control the other?

Anyway Mobius signs the event report Renslayer already signed. We can see Renslayer signs R Slayer while Mobius signs M. M. M.

Mobius notices the pen he used for signing has the writing ‘Franklyn D. Roosvelt High School’ on it and complains that pen too should be from the other analyst Renslayer favoured. And I wonder again, who they are? They’re meant to be relevant? Or they’re only a plot device to make Mobius jealous?

Renslayer only tells him to stay focused. As he’s about to leave though, she stops him asking him if he believes in that Variant. Mobius doesn’t confirm this, saying Loki believes in himself enough for the both of them, complaining Loki is really arrogant and that he will delete him himself if this doesn’t work.

Of course these might be just words he tells to Renslayer but we saw him taking part to erasing timelines and even if he showed sympathy and kindness to the French boy he met in the cathedral in the very first episode, he let him be reset.

“Don't worry, that devil's afraid of us. We're gonna take care of him. And we're gonna put you back where you belong.”

This apparently kind sentence meant they disintegrate him and his timeline so the place the boy belong is basically oblivion.

But I’ll dig on Mobius and Loki in a moment.

For now let me pause a moment on the pen, another gift of Renslayer’s mysterious over analyst, with written on it ‘Franklyn D. Roosvelt High School’.

Franklyn D. Roosvelt, ex-president of the united state is also relevant for the MCU.

In 1940 Roosevelt ordered the formation of the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) to fight the Nazi Party, even though the United States was still at peace with Germany. To ensure that only the greatest scientists work for the SSR, Roosevelt ordered Chester Phillips to recruit Howard Stark into the agency. SSR works in the creation of the Super Soldier Sierum, which ‘gives birth’ to Captain America then it is the re-tasked to fight Hydra. Later it will become part of S.H.I.E.L.D.

So yeah, maybe it’s a coincidence but it’s interesting.

Back to the story.

Mobius leaves Renslayer and we discover Loki has been left outside Renslayer’s office to wait.

Mobius whistles and also motions to Loki to follow him.

Some has compared this with how one would act to a dog. It’s possible they’re not so off track.

The TVA is a world that discriminates Variants and find them worth only being erased. They shouldn’t exist, they’re cosmic jokes, no one should forget someone is a Variant.

Mobius too in his discussion with Renslayer referred to Loki as just “the Variant”. Yet Mobius also feels some sympathy for Loki. Renslayer says he has a soft spot for broken things, if can mean she acknowledges Loki was broken by his experience… but she might also refer to the mere fact he’s a Variant and Variants, in a way, can be seen as ‘broken’ as they didn’t function properly but followed their own path instead than the one the Time-Keepers traced for them.

So the idea Mobius sees Loki as some sort of pet can be fitting. Mobius is growing fond of Loki… but he’s still imbued in all the TVA’s beliefs and teachings about predeterminism and how Variants are bad.

He doesn’t want to be needlessly mean to Loki, but the latter isn’t equal to him, he’s a tool, as everyone reminds him and as he has to remind to everyone else.

Variants has no rights in the TVA, they just exist to be pruned, reset, or, in less pretty but more realistic words, disintegrated.

And Mobius is a guy in the middle.

While he doesn’t want to be a jerk to Variants… or to people in the Sacred Timeline who’re going to die, he’s not really willing to fully fight against the system because he has faith in the system and a side of him he thinks Loki should just accept his place.

We see it in their discussion.

Loki is somewhat nervous… which, I’ll be honest, feels a little weird to me because he’s being openly nervous when usually Loki can keep controlled and hide this sort of things.

He had played a high risk bet during the mission and lost, he had time to think at what to say to Mobius while Mobius was discussing with Renslayer yet what he comes up isn’t really worth of someone who’s supposed to have a silver-tongue.

Okay, so it’s not like we were shown him using his silver-tongue in the movies, as people tended to do the opposite of what Loki asked them or not listen him at all, with the exception of Malekith and the Grandmaster… but we don’t get to see how Loki won the Grandmaster over.

Whatever, maybe there’s a reason, maybe not, we’ll see.

When facing the Variant later, Loki will say he kept the TVA vulnerable at the Renaissance Fair for some time and also that he has been working on gaining their trust. Presenting himself as openly insecure to Mobius, instead than hiding it as he would usually do, might be part of winning him over. As I said in the past commentary for ep 1, sometimes there are more benefits in being honest than in lying, so it can be that it’s not that Loki isn’t nervous, it can be he sees more benefits in showing it to Mobius.

We’ll see.

Mobius is in a bad mood. Although it didn’t seem Renslayer had given him a earful for his failure, it can be his failure burns. He tells Loki to show up, reminding him in the elevator he said he didn’t like to talk… which is something else that makes me think Loki is trying to give Mobius EXACTLY what Mobius asked for, so as to fulfil his expectations and lower his guard.

The following conversation is relevant.

Mobius: Okay. Just shut up! Please. What happened to the guy I met on the elevator? Who didn't like to talk. Remember him? Now I'm stuck with this guy who won't stop yacking away about what makes a Loki tick!

Loki: What? Isn't that precisely why I'm here?

Mobius: No. I don't care what makes you tick. You're here to help me catch the superior version of yourself. That's it!

Only Mobius in the previous episode told him he wanted exactly this from him.

Mobius: I'm serious. All I seek is a deeper understanding of the fearsome God of Mischief. What makes Loki tick?

This is the problem of an unequal partnership like their own. Loki isn’t there because he’s Mobius’ partner and equal, Loki is there to serve a purpose, capturing the other Loki. Renslayer might be right and Mobius might have a soft spot with him, but in the end Mobius ends up reminding Loki his place in the TVA, he’s there to be useful.

Loki takes offence by Mobius calling the other Variant “superior”.

Mobius gives us a slice of his mind… and Loki calls him out on his attempt of manipulation.

Mobius: See? There it is. Right there. I believed, stupidly, that insecure need for validation would motivate you to find the killer. Not 'cause you care about the TVA mission or bein' a hero, but because you know this Variant is better than you and you can't take it.

Loki: Very nice. I mean, it is adorable that you think you could possibly manipulate me. I'm ten steps ahead of you. I've been playing a game of my own all along.

But there’s something else worth pointing out. Mobius clearly believes working for the TVA equates at being a hero… and also that Loki would be so prideful he would serve the TVA merely to show them he’s better than the other without caring of how the TVA then might dispose of him.

And again Loki shows his cards way too openly so Mobius calls him out.

Mobius: What, charm your way in front of the Time-Keepers, hustle them, and seize control of the TVA? Am I getting warm? A double cross by history's most reliable liar.

Is really this what Loki aims at? This is what he’s telling around but is really this? Maybe but it seems so obvious, even Mobius could guess it in 5 minutes so… I don’t know, it seems too predictable for someone who’s supposedly smart.

The discussion goes on. Loki has figured since Mobius didn’t have him erased after that failure he is sticking his neck out for him so he asks him why.

Mobius: I'll give you two options, and you can believe whichever one you want. A, because I see a scared little boy, shivering in the cold. And you kinda feel bad for that ice runt. Or B, I just wanna catch this guy, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you.

I think both options are true, although usually, when proposing two options, the implication is the speaker is telling us to chose the last one… and it makes sense because this is the main motive Mobius is helping Loki. He could do nothing for him if it wasn’t because Loki could be useful… but this doesn’t men Mobius has no sympathy for him.

On another note it’s the second time the scripts hints at Loki as being young

Loki: I was young (in 1971), and I lost a bet to Thor. Where was the TVA when I was meddling with these affairs of men?

I really wonder if the idea is that Loki is young for Asgard standards.

Anyway Loki points out he doesn’t need Mobius’ sympathy, at which Mobius replies that’s good because he’s running out of it.

And again in itself there’s a problem. Mobius probably sees himself as a good person, because the fact he’s using Loki also means he’s sparing Loki from being pruned but, of course, if he has no use for Loki, this wouldn’t save him any longer.

If sympathy is tied to personal convenience, it’s not really sympathy.

As soon as they caught this Loki Mobius ran there to get him for himself because he thought it would be useful. He could have grown fond and it’s fine because it happens… but the key is still Loki has to be useful to him in order to be kept. So he’s not a really selfless act.

That’s why Mobius is no hero, who selflessly sacrifice for Loki, because he hopes in personal gain and… and it’s absolutely human. Mobius might have studied Loki but he basically just met him. Mobius has his own life. Why should he sacrifice it for Loki?

He’s planning for their allegiance to offer mutual benefits, Loki helps Mobius to wipe another Loki out of existence and Loki gets to live a little longer even though, being a Variant, Loki should have been already disposed of.

Mobius probably feels very kind and the other at the TVA would probably agree with him, because he’s giving a chance to someone who is lesser and has no right to chances and this is how their world work.

But we, viewers should be capable to understand their world works in the wrong way.

Loki: What's this? Next step of your manipulation...

Mobius: This is the final step. Your last chance.

Loki: Oh, and what does my desperate last chance require?

At this point Loki has moved back into keeping distance. He calls what’s Mobius is doing as manipulation and sounds flippant as he talks of his ‘desperate last chance’.

Mobius might have sympathy for him but Loki has likely figured out Mobius wouldn’t save him from the TVA beyond a certain point. The very best Mobius can offer him is to remain there working for the TVA to catch other Lokis, all while wearing a jacket that points out he’s a Variant as well, a cosmic joke.

Maybe Mobius might manage to have him dismiss wearing that jacket. Still, all this is tied to how much useful he can be. Mobius though can’t offer him freedom or a way back home.

Anyway Loki’s last chance is to work, to go over each and every one of the Variant's case files, and then, give him his unique Loki perspective and find something. All this while Mobius goes to eat something and keeping in mind his life depends on him proving to be of some use.

Again we’re reminded that Loki isn’t free to drop this work, he’s forced to cooperate, his life depends on it.

Loki starts looking through the documents which basically cover the various cases in which the Variant ambushed the Minutemen and stole their reset charge, clearly not finding them interesting. A woman hush him and he hush her back.

Loki tries going to the one who seems a librarian… but who’s actually so mechanical she feels more like a robot who can’t stop typing to pay attention to those who call her if they don’t ring at her first.

Loki asks her for more files. No, not files on the case, files pertaining to the creation of the TVA… but they’re all classified. The same goes for files pertaining to the beginning of time and the end of the time.

Exasperated Loki asks which files he can have and he’s handed a handful of them which, merely cover his case as a Variant and the life of his alternate self in the sacred timeline.

Loki reads them anyway and discovers of the destruction of Asgard.

As he does he can’t help but shed a tear for his former planet, before noticing the TVA also noted that during the event there was zero variance energy detected.

This causes him to connect some important dots and so he rushes to join Mobius to the restaurant.

At first Mobius doesn’t want to listen him, claiming he told him not to bother him until he read all the files which Loki claims to have done.

Honestly he didn’t seem particularly interested in them but he might have done it as someone who practices magic should have been good at studying. Mobius insists and Loki points out  what they’re searching isn’t in the files but in the timeline as the Variant is hiding in the apocalypse.

Mobius asks which one and Loki mentions Ragnarok, asking him if he’s familiar to it. And I wonder if Loki wanted an answer to this one question, if he wanted to know if Mobius knew his homeland was wiped away, that this is something the TVA allowed.

Mobius confirms he knows about it and apologizes to him.

Loki pretends not to care and goes on discussing how a Nexus event is the result of someone doing something he’s not supposed to that causes a chain reaction of things that aren’t supposed to happen.

Mobius confirms.

At this point Loki steals the salad Mobius was eating for his example and decides in his metaphor that salad will represent Asgard.

And tell me whatever you want but, as far as I’m involved this is Loki paying back Mobius for letting him to work while he went to eat.

Mobius gets immediately that his lunch is going to meet an abrupt demise but Loki doesn’t let this deter him.

Loki suggests if he were to go on Asgard before Ragnarok he could do whatever he wants, even push Hulk off the Rainbow bridge, and to prove his point, he adds more salt to the salad. He then says he could also set fire to the place. I don’t know what he adds to Mobius’ salad as he says so, maybe pepper, but this is enough to make Mobius beg not to set fire to the place, which I find hilarious. Loki continues to put salt and… pepper? Into Mobius’ salad commenting that he can do whatever he wants without going against the dictates of the timeline.

He then picks up Mobius’ drink only to find it empty so he goes to get the drink from the nearby’s table, Casey’s table. He then pours it into Mobius’ salad, likely making it impossible to eat, explaining how the drink represents Surtur who will destroy Asgard no matter what Loki does so what he does doesn’t matter.

In short, in addition to making his point, Loki let Mobius too without lunch.

Fair since Loki didn’t have lunch at all.

Mobius still doesn’t get it so Loki goes further on explaining if they have an apocalypse of whatever kind it doesn’t matter what one would do in it because everything would get destroyed so the Variant has to be hiding in an apocalypse, doing whatever they want without them noticing.

Mobius is forced to admit it’s not a bad theory and Loki tells him to bring him to an apocalypse and he’ll show him.

Mobius accuses him of wanting to run back to his homeland and Loki says whatever apocalypse will do. Mobius makes clear he’s afraid to bring Loki around and Loki insists they’ve to test his theory. Mobius makes clear he’s afraid Loki would want to test how stabbable is his back.

Loki complains stabbing someone in the back is a boring form of betrayal. Mobius said he has done it 50 times… which is really not much for someone who lived as long as Loki especially since most of those stabbing if not all took place during battle, because Mobius is talking of literal stabbing here, not metaphorical one.

Loki is not really interested in arguing this one though and just says he won’t do it again because it got old which causes Mobius to laugh. Loki insists that he understands Mobius doesn’t trust him but he should trust something else, Loki loves to be right… and this seals the deal.

So the guys are at Pompeii, Italy – 78 AD, though it would be more correct to say they’re at Pompeii, ROMAN EMPIRE – AD 78 or 78 CE.

Eruption day.

While Mobius is absolutely scared they might mess up the timeline Loki is as overexcited like a kid on a sugar rush.

Loki cried reading of the destruction of Asgard but here he seems pretty giddy.

To Mobius scolding him because ‘it’s just not in good taste’ he replies ‘they’re gonna die anyway’.

And in itself is interesting. Mobius said he’s sorry for Asgard destruction, now he worries about ‘good taste’ but in the end he’s not going to do anything to spare those people’s lives.

The dead count will be of over 2.000 a good part of it dying a horrible albeit fast death as they’ll be literally vaporized by the heat of the pyroclastic flow.

In face of so many people about to die Mobius worrying Loki’s behaviour isn’t in good taste feels hypocritical, a mere care for the form, in fact he agrees with Loki it’s ‘cool’ the whole city will be wiped off the planet and his main worry is they shouldn’t create a huge branch.

Anyway, while Mobius insist they should start creating only a very small disturbance, Loki ends up freeing animals and announcing the eruption and the following death of everyone to the people.

Loki making all that chaos feels as if this is way to distance from the apocalypse that hit Asgard. Honestly I don’t think he wanted to go there during Ragnarok if there was nothing he could have done to save it.

However his speech is also an interesting way for Loki to try and pry info from Mobius about the TVA

Loki: ( Speaking latin ) You’re all about to die. That volcano is about to erupt! I would know, because I’m from the future. ( In english ) We are from the future, right? What is the TVA? I mean, it's from the future. It sounds from the future. It's pretty future-y.

Mobius won’t reply to him but the eruption will start right there, the Tempad continuing to sign zero variance energy, proving Loki was right. I wonder if this was also Loki’s way to try and see if an apocalypse could be prevented.

Oh, Loki talks Latin here but I’ve already talked about the language problem in the MCU and how the TVA seems to have a tv series version of Allspeak which, evidently passed to Loki too as he showed he previously couldn’t talk to Mongolian people.

On another note… the eruption, as depicted in the show, is not historically accurate.

Around 1:00 p.m., Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, spewing up a high-altitude column (the column supposedly as high as 30 km) from which ash and pumice began to fall, blanketing the area. Rescues and escapes occurred during this time.

It’s only much later, in the night or during the day after that the pyroclastic flows began and it Pompeei 4 minutes later, murdering everyone there.

The show instead seems to mix up the first eruption with the beginning of the pyroclastic flow (which is the one we see approaching from behind Loki), skipping the fall of ash and pumice.

Of course from a storytelling point of view it works a lot better, so it’s not a big deal and it’s just artistic freedom, it’s just my history lover’s heart which is bleeding.

If you want to enjoy how the eruption looked like there’s a nice video on Youtube “A Day in Pompeii - Full-length animation”.

The switch between Pompeii and back to the TVA feels a little abrupt, as if the Pompeii scene was meant to last more and they cut it.

Anyway they’re back on TVA and Mobius is summarizing Loki’s theory. Loki tells him he’s welcome, which, I take, is Loki’s clue he’d like to be thanked for his contribution. Mobius though is more focused on the mechanics of their new discovery.

He believes for Loki’s theory to hold the disasters have to be naturally-occurring, sudden, no warning, no survivors. So Ragnarok wouldn’t be okay because Loki and Thor triggered it and there were survivors. That is unless the TVA retconned “Thor: Ragnarok”.

Anyway, they decide they’ll have to find out how many of those natural disasters there are… but in the end Loki falls asleep on all the documents they’re checking.

I know there’s a debate if this proves he trusts Mobius or not… but the point is, he just proved himself he was of great help, so Mobius who has shown to have some measures of sympathy toward him despite his strict adherence to the TVA code and that make him capable to disintegrate him should need arise, has really no reason to harm him, quite the opposite.

Also he’s likely quite exhausted, both physically and emotionally otherwise he clearly wouldn’t fall asleep on an uncomfortable position over a stack of papers.

And differently from Mobius he supposedly didn’t even had lunch.

Mobius yawns which shows he’s clearly worn out as well, wakes him and tells him they’re going for a walk. So no bed, they’ll only take a small break.

I take they end up in the TVA version of a cafeteria where Loki asks Mobius about the jet ski magazine. Mobius ends up showing his total love for jet skis.

“Yeah. You know, some things... Actually, most things in history are kinda dumb, and everything gets ruined eventually. But in the early 1990s, for a brief, shining moment, there was a beautiful union of form and function, which we call the jet ski, and a reasonable man cannot differ.”

Actually he sounds like a fanboy, dismissive of everything he doesn’t like and imposing his own likes claiming no one could have a different opinion from him. It’s not a complain, it’s human. I like how the TVA members, despite their dystopian setting and their fanatic faith to the TVA religion have characteristics, both good and bad, that made them human.

However, at Loki’s question if he has ever tried a Jet Ski, Mobius admits he never been on one because if a TVA agent were to show up on a jet ski that would create a branch. It’s a poor excuse since they show up in timelines in their everyday clothes in time periods in which those clothes aren’t appropriate and anyway, who cares since they reset the branches so they could even show up naked and everything would get erased?

In this Mobius is the opposite of Loki, although he too has wishes that make him similar to Loki he doesn’t dare to fulfil them, he completely focuses on his work, he claims to read the magazines because they remind him what he’s fighting for… jet skis appearing in the Sacred Timeline in early 1990s apparently.

Okay, it’s more that he believes if the Sacred Timeline gets destroyed everything would but people who were believing to be heroes like he does would say they would fight for people, not for a beautiful vehicle that could be enjoyed only for a brief amount of time.

Mobius in a way is disconnected by the people on the sacred timeline, maybe because he never met them, he met the Variants, which are considered something to be pruned and nothing more and he actively help in pruning them.

So maybe he can’t work for people, because as soon as those people become variants, bang, they need to be wiped away. I think Mobius would like to be a decent person, I think he doesn’t want to harm people so he keeps distance and blindly swallows the TVA teaching and this discussion further proves it.

Loki asks if he really believes in all the TVA preaches and Mobius replies:

Mobius: I don't get hung up on, "Believe, not believe." I just accept what is.

It reminds me of a discussion he had with Loki in the past episode:

Loki: So that had the Time-Keepers' seal of approval, did it?

Mobius: Well, I wouldn't think of it in terms of approval and disapproval. That's sort of a... Let's get back to escapes...

Mobius just accepts things as they are presented. But why he accepts them?

Loki goes on summarizing how  the TVA’s beliefs are that three magic lizards created the TVA and everyone in it including Mobius, which for Loki is clearly something dumb to believe.

Loki: Every time I start to admire your intelligence, you say something like that.

Mobius tries to retort it by turning tables on Loki.

Mobius: Okay, who created you, Loki?

Loki: A Frost Giant of Jotunheim.

Mobius: And who raised you?

Loki: Odin of Asgard.

Mobius: Odin, God of the Heavens. Asgard, mystical realm, beyond the stars. Frost Giants. Listen to yourself...

Loki: It's not the same. It's completely different. No. It's not the same.

Mobius: It's exactly the same thing.

The HUGE problem in Mobius’ reasoning is that he’s mixing up what Loki has experienced, his skin turning blue, proving he’s a Jotun, living his whole life with Odin, believing him to be his father, with Mobius merely believes as Mobius has no knowledge of what the Time-Keepers are since he never met them and likely doesn’t even remember when he was created or things like that.

Loki believes in what he lived though because he touched and sampled it and, in fact, he had a breakdown when he discovered part of it, the part he had no memory about but embraced out of faith was a lie (Loki couldn’t remember his Jotun heritage or his birth so he accepted what he was told, that Odin and Frigga were his parents). This likely makes even harder for him to accept that Mobius would just blindly believe in something he hadn’t experienced in the slightest.

Mobius had said:

Mobius: I don't get hung up on, "Believe, not believe." I just accept what is.

But at the end of it what motivates him is blind belief.

Mobius: Because if you think too hard about where any of us came from, who we truly are, it sounds kinda ridiculous. Existence is chaos. Nothing makes any sense, so we try to make some sense of it. And I'm just lucky that the chaos I emerged into gave me all this... My own glorious purpose. Cause the TVA is my life. And it's real because I believe it's real.

The TVA is real because he believes so. It has to be or his own ‘glorious purpose’ would mean nothing. Loki got burned by the truth. Mobius doesn’t want to end up the same, he doesn’t want to think at the absurdity the TVA feds him, he doesn’t want to question if what he does is right or wrong because the truth might disappoint it, it might be ridiculous, in bad taste, like being excited as Pompeii is about to be buried by the volcano.

The TVA is Mobius’ religion, and, to paraphrase Karl Marx faith in the TVA ‘is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.’

But this kind of mindset is also the mindset of whose who represent the ‘banality of evil’ of those who indulge in the capital vice of Acedia, whose who do not care, who do nothing to stop evil empower it and support it.

“...morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” ― Abraham Heschel

And, after all, Mobius works to support it, to support the TVA as they prune/reset countless lives.

There’s something else that’s interesting.

Mobius is supposed to be a lawful character… yet he doesn’t believe existence is order. Existence is chaos. And, in the same way as he’s afraid to try out a jet ski and making excuses for why he doesn’t do so, I think Mobius deep down is scared by chaos. Fascinated by it but scared by it as well. In fact he’ll later says that he believes when it all will end and the Time-Keepers will have finished untangling the timeline all that will emerge will be order.

Loki: Ah, I see. So, when they're finished, what happens then?

Mobius: So are we. No more nexus events. Just order. And we meet in peace at the end of time. Nice, right?

Loki: Only order?

Mobius: Mmm-hmm.

Loki: No chaos? It sounds boring.

Mobius: I'm sure it does to you.

Order is reassuring, it gives people a sense, a purpose, order is explainable. Order follows laws so it’s lawful. But order, like Loki points out, is also boring, predictable.  No bad surprise would come out of it, true, but no good surprise either. No change. No possibility to get worse… but no possibility to get better either. Order is static where chaos is always changing. You need a mixture of both to make a worthy life.

Besides the idea they ‘meet in peace at the end of time’ to me feels more like an attempt to use a different wording to say ‘we’re all dead’ or ‘we’ll be all pruned/reset’. So not particularly encouraging.

But I’m running ahead a bit. When Mobius says Loki that the TVA is real because he believes so, Loki accepts it. For the moment.

Loki: Fair enough. You believe it's real.

And I wonder if, in a way, Loki can understand. Because the chaos, the unpredictable, is what made him discover he wasn’t an Odinson. If he hadn’t questioned Odin’s words, if he hadn’t gone and taken the Casket of Ancient Winters in his hands but just turned his eyes away when his skin turned blue, if, like Mobius said, he hadn’t thought to hard at it, or at how bad Thor could be as a kind, if he just had shrugged everything off and said ‘yeah, I’m sorry Thor will be a poor kind but that’s what meant to be, who cares?’ and ‘yeah, it’s weird my skin turned blue but Odin said I’m his son so who am I to question him?’ he would have spared himself many unpleasant things.

He would be at Asgard, thinking to be Odin’s son, trying to help Thor, who prior to his banning to Earth was completely unfit to rule, not ruin completely the planet. That would be his own glorious purpose. Nothing more.

And while it wouldn’t be a great purpose… well, it would have spared him of a lot of pain so I think Loki can see the charm of it… but at the same time he can see the danger of it. If we’ll blindly follow the rules we give up on our free will.

Loki: So everything is written. Past, present, future. There's no such thing as free will.

Mobius: Well, I mean, you know, it's an oversimplification...

Mobius thinks it’s an oversimplification but it’s not. He’s probably telling himself since he submits to the rules willingly, well, that’s his free will. But we’ve seen that the other option is being reset. The Variants are nothing else but people who didn’t follow the dictation of the Time-keepers, a dictation they didn’t even know existed, but merely followed their free will. And the TVA erases them.

It’s true, the ones that follow the Sacred Timeline, not knowing they’re following the dictation of the Time-keepers, are still, in a way, following their free will, but it’s actually a pretty tricky situation because their options get pruned by the TVA.

People don’t exist in a vacuum. We take decisions according to what happens around us.

Now think to a world in which Odin tells Loki the truth right from the start. This would lead Loki to get very different decisions… only that Odin, if it ever existed, got pruned.

Think to a Thor who’s ready to rule when he’s about to be crowned so that Loki doesn’t have to disrupt the coronation. Well, think twice because that Thor got pruned.

Think to a Frigga who hands the crown to Loki but also sits next to him instead than next to Odin to support him while he’s going through his worst crisis. Pruned again.

Think to the Warriors Three and Sif not attempting to go fetch Thor after he’s banned. Sorry, they got pruned.

Think to Heimdall not allowing Thor to go to Jotunheim. Never mind he got pruned.

Loki made his choices. It was his free will. But his choices were tied to all that happened around him, and since all that happened around him was decided he was channelled toward certain decisions, everything working to make him take such decision.

Actually, each time he tried to take a different decision he too got pruned.

The resulting Loki that inhabits the Sacred Timeline, more than the result of his own free will, is the result of manipulation of the events and TVA selection. Which is kind of creepy.

But okay, it’s interesting how, in a way, Loki tries to connect with Mobius.

Maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome as Loki was someone held captive and sentenced to death and then Mobius came in and made clear that Loki’s survival depended on him, maybe it’s just that Mobius showed him some measure of kindness and appreciation and it doesn’t matter if he was being manipulative or not, Loki was so starved for it he fell for it, or he caught up on some similarities between them.

Sure, it can be that by connecting with him he can better use him but I don’t think that’s just it.

Mobius is someone Loki can connect with on an intellectual level, where Thor was just ‘let’s hit things’ and the Warriors Three and Sif were just, let’s do what Thor says.

And after Thor and his friends there were Thanos and the Other and clearly Loki couldn’t connect with them. So it doesn’t matter how screwed up the situation is and how Mobius manipulated Loki in their first meeting and what he told him, fundamentally Mobius is the only one Loki, who’s forced to go around with a jacket saying ‘Variant’ because no one has to forget he’s a cosmic joke, has in that setting.

So yes, it’s VERY screwed up but it makes sense Loki would partially latch on him. It’s human.

On another note I’m not really fond of the idea of Mobius using the French ‘au contraire’ while talking with Loki. Maybe it’s an ad-lib but since there’s already enough mess on how the TVA can talk all the languages and Asgardian somehow don’t have Allspeak, I would have preferred if they hadn’t mixed English and French now. Whatever, maybe that’s just me.

Loki goes on.

Loki: You called me a scared little boy.

Mobius: I called you a lotta things.

I wonder what Mobius means here, if he’s just telling Loki he shouldn’t focus on that (as calling him as such was Mobius’ attempt at showing him sympathy), but Loki nails another relevant topic.

Loki: You did. You're wrong, though. You see, I know something children don't.

Mobius: What's that?

Loki: That no one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is ever truly good.

It’s interesting it’s coming from Loki because it means, differently from how sometimes Marvel movies seems to depict a world in black and white, Loki could see the shades of grey.

In his family. In the Avengers. In Thanos and the Other. Maybe even in the TVA people. And this means in himself as well.

And we go back to what he said in Ep 1:

Loki: I can't go back, can I? Back to my timeline. I don't enjoy hurting people. I... ( Sighs ) I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to, because I've had to.

Mobius: Okay, explain that to me.

Loki: Because it's part of the illusion. It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear.

Mobius: A desperate play for control. You do know yourself.

Loki: A villain. ( Sighs )

He painted himself as a villain, as someone all black, to show as if he was someone in control… in “Thor” when he was in an emotional storm, in “The Avengers” when he actually was working for Thanos.

But if we consider Loki’s words solely for their tie to the present discussion, he’s trying to tell Mobius that the black and white vision Mobius is trying to adopt doesn’t work. If there’s good in bad and bad in good, the perfect world Mobius thinks he can archive doesn’t exist and his glorious purpose is not so glorious.

Nothing is perfect and so no perfect order or perfect chaos can exist and trying to paint things or people black and white as the Time-Keepers are doing and the TVA as well, is a mistake.

Loki’s words though cause Mobius to remember the boy he met in the cathedral before going to Loki’s trial and how he had a candy box left by the Loki Variant. And I’ve always wondered WHY did the Loki Variant left that candy box behind? Is like she’s leaving breadcrumbs for the TVA or someone working with them to track her down.

Kablooie was only sold regionally on Earth from 2047 to 2051. While it wouldn’t be easy to track the Variant with just this, the Variant limits the place they’ve to search for them to only 4 years.

On an interesting note although Mobius claimed to know everything about Loki’s life he evidently had no idea if Asgardians had candies or not. So yeah, I think Mobius didn’t exactly knew EVERYTHING about Loki’s life, only what the TVA deemed relevant.

Anyway Mobius decides since they now know the Variant is hiding in an apocalyptic event in which Kablooie are involved they can cross-reference the two things.

Mobius has probably more clearance than Loki as he gets the files and then gives Loki a half, encouraging him to search fast through them by making it a competition… which actually is dumb, because the Variant can only be in one place so only the one who got that file among them can find it, no matter if he’s fast or slow… but whatever, Loki is motivated enough by this because he likes to win.

However, although Mobius asks him if he wants to bet on something, then he demands they’ll play for pride.

Anyway, as Mobius realizes it’s one apocalyptic event after another (all in 5 years) Loki finds what they’re searching for in an apocalyptic event in Alabama, 2050.

This gains him Mobius’ praise as he tells him he’ll take his job if he’s not careful.

I remember reading some interviews suggested Loki and Mobius had a mentor/student type of relation. Well, Mobius definitely feels like the mentor, one who takes care of Loki and teaches him how it works at the TVA, completely not focusing on how Loki was basically kidnapped by the place, doesn’t aim to stay there and people look down at him and is always ready to dispose of him because he’s a Variant… and what’s worse, the Variant of someone who, according to the Time-Keepers is meant to be ‘an evil, lying scourge’.

On the other side… working for the TVA is Loki’s only option to survive in that setting so Mobius likely sees it as Loki having to stop ‘thinking too hard’ and also make the TVA his life. In short he should just be like him and submit to the Time-Keepers.

So yeah, his point of view make sense but… it’s terrible, it’s actually telling people not to resist to wrong conditions but submit to them. It’s the typical mindsetting of a bureaucratic huge corporation or system, where no one matters and everyone obeys without worrying to much about what they’re obeying at.

But back to the story Mobius goes to Renslayer to asks her ‘to approve deployment of a fully-armed task force to the Variant's potential hiding spot’.

By the way said hising spot is in ‘Haven Hills, Alabama, corporate town owned by Roxxcart until it's wiped out by a hurricane’.

The name Roxxcart might remember to who read the comic or watched “Agent Carter” of the Roxxon Corporation, one of the world's largest conglomerates, founded in the 1940s. It also appeared in Marvel “Cloak & Dagger” and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”, with vague references at it in “Iron Man”, “Iron Man 2”, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer”, “Iron Man 3” and the MCU comic “The Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week”. It’s hard to say if this will be another vague reference or there will be more.

Renslayer is prejudiced against our Loki as she continues to call him a Variant and tries dismissing the whole thing merely because HE suggested it and the other time he ‘blew up’ the previous mission. Which he didn’t but of this I’ve already talked.

Mobius is all happy Loki proved himself useful and his idea to use him was right but Renslayer instead insists on not trusting him, even though he just discovered a huge hole in their security system.

Now, okay, Loki isn’t to be trusted blindly, but Renslayer isn’t really giving a rational reason why this theory, which actually makes a lot of sense and is supported by some evidence Mobius collected, would be wrong. If they’re going to shot down any theory Loki comes up just because he’s Loki then she shouldn’t have even given him to Mobius.

In fact when Mobius point out how Loki HELPED discovering the hole in the security she’s only more worried.

Anyway Mobius is so excited he manages to get her to agree, although she warns him she won’t be able to help him if this doesn’t work out.

They kind of repeat something that was included in the video/commercial of the TVA Miss Minute showed Loki in the previous episode.

Mobius: For all time.

Ravonna Renslayer: Always.

I wonder if this is actually meant to be the TVA catchphrase.

Anyway Mobius leaves Renslayer and we see Loki is out of the room, nervous, waiting for him. He seems quite satisfied when Mobius says they’ve got permission.

Mobius is still all excited… and make a vague promise that amounts to… basically nothing, to Loki.

Mobius: I'm tellin' you. You actually help us catch this Variant, and who knows, my friend.

Loki: What, good enough for a face-to-face with the Time-Keepers?

Mobius: I didn't say that. One step at a time.

Loki: All right. One step at a time.

He actually promises nothing to him, because, as he said, he said nothing. ‘Who knows’ can mean anything, even that after they catch the Variant they’ll prune him, or they’ll merely allow him to live at the TVA, forcing him to work for them. Who knows what ‘who knows’ mean!

Loki tries to have some more solid confirmation and basically gets nothing, which is not very promising.

As far as I’m involved I think Mobius is doing this promise more because he’s trying to keep Loki loyal than because he has something solid to offer to him. In fact he hadn’t bargained with Renslayer for this. Loki is there to catch the Variant, catching the Variant would end their need to use Loki but, as soon as Mobius got permission for the mission he left without insuring if they were to succeed he could keep him.

Does Loki really want to meet the Time-Keepers? What he aims to get from them?

Anyway Mobius is so excited he tries to give knives to Loki.

Enters Hunter B-15, who strongly despise Loki who takes them away from him (I wonder if Loki managed to steal them back unknown to her. I would love if he did). She briefs her men for the mission, which also allows us viewers to get some info and orders them to prune Loki at sight. Clearly she doesn’t even believe in putting him to that mock trials the TVA offers to its captive Variants.

Loki makes present they should preferably prune the bad Loki, not him and then the scene moves to Haven Hills and I love how this time they had introduced it not by writing it on the screen but by showing us a sign saying we’re in Haven Hills, Alabama… before having it destroyed.

I really love this scene.

The TVA arrives at Roxxcart and they’ve the good sense to open their Timedoors outside of it.

It’s interesting how Loki looks up at the storming sky. I wonder if he’s searching for thunders (we saw one hitting the ground before the TVA appeared) as a way to check if Thor is around, even though it’s clear Thor wouldn’t cause such destruction.

To Hunter B-15’s surprise Loki uses his magic to dry up, which somehow seems to make her even more suspicious of him. Because yeah, drying yourself is such a sinister act.

Mobius would like to go with Loki at the Green House but Hunter B-15 forbids it, wanting to part them. Mobius has to go with Hunter D-90 while Loki has to stay with her.

And I’ve the personal suspicion that’s because she hopes in a not to obvious chance to prune him too away from Mobius’ eyes.

B-15 tells Mobius if he’s not fine with it, he can go argue with Renslayer about it.

It’s interesting how they’re arguing. I wonder if Hunters and Analysts actually form two different and opposite classes in TVA who argue against each other despite a poster depicting them as working together.

Anyway Loki gets in between and tells Mobius it’s fine, that he can trust him and that he’ll understand trust has to be gained so he’ll gain it.

Honestly the way Loki puts it makes him even more suspicious for me, but I wonder if the key is it has to work for B-15.

Mobius complains about how is always the people you can’t trust that tell you ‘trust me’. Well, the people you trust wouldn’t need to ask you your trust so they won’t tell it to you.

Mobius though at this surrender as well, he’s so excited to get the Variant he doesn’t consider he could ask to stay with B-15 as well, or that he could say B-15 is asking this because she wants to try to harm Loki. He just let the issue go after a jab about how the past time B-15 ended up wearing the Time Collar.

Meanwhile the Loki Variant has noticed they’re in thanks to all the cameras in the place, as if they were waiting for the TVA. Again I wonder if the Loki Variant has someone supporting them in the TVA because they seem to know too much, later they’ll even show knowing the other Loki was brought in by the TVA to capture them.

We see the Loki Variant leaving down a tempad on which there’s a countdown that’s at 20 minutes.

Back to Loki he’s in the greenhouse with B-15, trying to chat with her… which could be a genuine attempt at communication or an attempt at warning the Variant they’re there. I’m not sure on which side Loki is… but I wonder if his goal is to stall things.

He might suspect if they get the Variant he’ll be disposed off so his aim might be to show he’s useful but also to stall the capture of the Variant. This might be what he was trying to do in the previous mission as well. So it’s not exactly he’s trying to help the Variant, he’s trying to gain time for himself.

B-15 doesn’t feel like talking with him but then they find a guy who claims to be shopping for plants despite the hurricane.

B-15 asks Loki if the guy could be him and Loki points out he ‘probably would have worn a suit, but, yes, maybe’, hinting at how Loki cares about how he looks.

B-15 gets too close to the guy who manages to grab her. We see some green magic pass to B-15 and then the guy faints. Loki asks if he’s dead but ‘B-15’ tells him ‘they usually survive’, making clear she’s no more B-15 but the Variant possessing her, who also recognizes Loki for who he is:

“So, you're the fool the TVA brought in to hunt me down.”

As I said this sentence gives me the feeling the Variant knew the TVA brought him someone to hunt them, in short they’ve inside intel about the TVA and I would love to know how.

Now possessing B-15 is a good move as she’s a good fighter with a weapon in her hands and this also leaves Loki on her own.

Loki recognizes the speaker for what they are, the Loki Variant possessing B-15, in short himself.

The Variant points out:

“Please. If anyone's anyone, you're me.”

Implying the Variant saw themselves as the better/original Loki version.

Wunmi Mosaku does a good work at playing the Loki Variant here, really.

Back in the shelter people is clearly in deep distress and a guy thinks the TVA is there to help them.

I think Mobius is torn, a side of him would just search for the Variant, the other is being affected by the situation but he tries to suppress it.

D-90 instead doesn’t care and pushes the man away as if he didn’t even exist. Which he doesn’t for him.

Mobius: What are you doing? Hey! These people are scared.

Hunter D-90: They're about to die. They should be scared.

Mobius: Okay. Not of us.

Even though those people aren’t Variants as they’re going to die the TVA doesn’t acknowledge them right. Like the Loki Variant they don’t care what they do because everything will be erased, either by a reset charge or by the apocalypse.

Mobius doesn’t like this… but again it’s not like he’s trying to save those people, he’ll let them die because the Time-Keepers dictate so.

Hunters in the TVA are somehow all jerks. Again they would work well as stand in for police brutality but I don’t know if the series wants to go this way.

Mobius and D-90 are interrupted when a Minuteman informs them they had found a tied C-20 who’s in state of shock and repeating over and over ‘it’s real’.

So C-20’s role isn’t to be a bait, I think it’s possible the Variant wants to use her to deliver a message to the TVA.

Back to Loki he comments on the spell used.

“Enchantment is a clever trick. Cowardly, a bit amateur-ish, but clever.”

The fact enchantment was used seems to be a nod to how the Variant might be Sylvie Lushton, who also went under the alias of enchantress.

In the comics Sylvie is not the original enchantress, that one was Amora, sister of Lorelei who appeared in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”. Sylvie was supposedly a human created by Loki who also gave her her magical powers.  Although she has no training she has amazing magical powers and moved from wanting to be an Avenger to trying to become a Villain.

We’ll see what this Variant will turn out to be.

Anyway the Variant blames Loki of being the coward one because he works for the TVA. She mocks this asking him if he really believes that, which he confirms so she dismisses him:

Hunter B-15 (possessed): ( The variant chuckles ) And here I was worried that they'd found a better version of me.

And this again seems to imply the Variant KNEW the TVA got themselves a Loki but who told them? They just discovered it at the fair?

A person, Randy, appear and B-15 touches him then faint. Loki almost hurries to help her before realizing what had happened.

Well, the Variant could have disintegrate Randy instead she preferred to transfer themselves into him. This is interesting because it seems although they’ve no hesitation in killing TVA people they’re against harming normal people.

Loki still go to check B-15… or can it be he placed something in one of her pockets? Like a message for Mobius? Loki touches his jacket before bending down on B-15 and this time we don’t see what he touches as she’s cut off the screen which is odd.

The Variant thinks he’s trying to search a transmitting device to call the others for help. Loki tails the Variant, challenging them to face him and then explaining how he had gained the TVA confidence.

The Variant is not that much impressed but they continue to give Loki their back. Not that it matter as that back isn’t really the Variant’s back.

Loki explains his plan… which I don’t know if it’s really his plan or a trick.

Loki: I'm going to overthrow the Time-Keepers. And, uh, cards on the table, I could use a qualified lieutenant.

It’s relevant how Loki, talking with the Variant, uses a more polite and Asgard like language.

The Variant is clearly not interested in working for Loki but what hits me is that they don’t want to be called ‘Loki’ which could be because they aren’t Loki after all.

Loki: What say you... Loki?

Randy (possessed): Ugh. Don't call me that. You can call me... Randy.

I love how this meeting helps Loki to realize why Thor found these techniques annoying.

Loki: God. Now I understand why Thor found this so annoying.

Loki claims he has helped the Variant at the fair so yes, apparently he has played that risky bet back then for a reason. I really would love to know which game Loki is playing.

Loki: Listen. Enough with your games. I've been trying to help you. I kept them vulnerable at the Renaissance Fair for some time.

The Variant still isn’t interested in joining him as they don’t care about ruling the TVA.

We see that there are Time charges placed all around, partially hidden from sight which don’t promise anything good and someone, likely the Variant, is tweaking with them while ‘Randy’ keeps Loki distracted. So yes, this Variant too is good at stalling.

C-20 is still babbling, while Mobius tries to get something out of her.

D-90 just waves her off saying she’s off the dial and showing a worrying lack of a care for a companion.

Although C-20 says she wants to go home when Mobius offers to send them back she says she can’t as she gave away the position of the Time-Keepers.

Oh, so C-20 knew it? Did she, differently from Mobius met them?

D-90 tries to contact B-15 causing her to wake up.

Loki tries to get what the Variant wants but the Variant refuses to explain themselves saying Loki is too late. Loki counters he’s ahead as he found the Variant’s hiding place, then notices the Time charges and thinks the Variant lead them there to blow the place up.

As he turns his gaze Randy has disappeared and the Variant has possessed a big guy who starts beating Loki. Loki is not really fighting back. Are possessed people really so powerful or Loki is trying to pass himself for weak?

Anyway, after pointing out:

Loki: I would never treat me like this.

Which might be our clue the Variant isn’t really a Loki but someone pretending to be one, Loki starts more actively to try to avoid blows and even use his magic to get something he can use as shield.

The Variant’s language is nowhere near as polite as Loki and the possessed guy manages to send Loki on the ground. The idea of a toy dachshund bumping against him is cute.

B-15 manages to find Mobius and she’s forced to confess she lost Loki. Likely she thinks it’s due to Loki but doesn’t know how to explain it while D-90 just says  Mobius’ favourite Loki betrayed him as they run to search for him.

The possessed guy is using another tempad connecting it to another mechanism. Although Loki couldn’t move he hadn’t tried to kill him and now Loki wakes up and demands to know what the Variants wants from him and what is this about. He’s clearly angry.

The possessed guy stands up and then tells him to brace himself before fainting, a sign the Variant isn’t possessing him anymore.

A recording keeps on repeating Loki’s last two sentences ‘What do you want from me? What is this about?’.

I’m not sure why the Variant would record those two sentences and play them over unless we’re to assume they’re actually only playing in Loki’s head.

The Variant appears, removes their hood to reveal it hid a blond woman face then in an unfriendly tone she states:

“This isn't about you.”

Loki’s surprise lasts only few seconds before he says ‘right’.

Meanwhile the countdown has reached 0, the light shot down, the time charges, tons of them, turn on but then below them timedoors appear, sending them away.

Mobius notices what’s going on and worries about where the Time charges are going.

Back at the TVA we assist to the sudden formation of LOTS of branches. The Analysts come to the conclusion someone ‘bombed’ the Sacred Timeline.

Renslayer, who has a hunter helmet that starts with A-25… which might mean she was one of the first hunters of the place, grabs her weapon as Minuteman spun to action.

Loki sees the Variant grabbing the Tempad again and using it to open a human size timedoor as she watches him. She waves at him the way he did at the Hulk when he went on the lift and goes through the Timedoor. Loki considers following but stalls for a moment. Mobius is running there, telling him to wait. Loki sees him but decides to go through the timedoor anyway and, as he does the timedoor disappears, leaving Mobius and the hunters outside.

The episode ends here.

People had been wondering what was Loki thinking when he went through the Timedoor and Tom Hiddleston explained it in an interview:

There's a very big moment at the end where Loki steps through that portal. From your perspective what is going through Loki's mind when he looks back at Mobius and then decides to go through the door anyway? Is he feeling any remorse there at all?

I think certainly there's conflict. I think he… you know, Mobius is someone who, perhaps for the first time in his life, he thinks he might be able to trust, and perhaps trusts him, and he doesn't want to betray that trust, but at the same time he has to go and see what that's what's going on, he has to do that. I think it was he can't help himself but follow… uh… because it's too strange and to, you know, provoke so much curiosity within him. So there is a huge conflict there, he thinks “I probably shouldn't do this, maybe there can be repercussions down the line, but I have to see what that's about”. ['Loki' - Tom Hiddleston & Owen Wilson Talk Ep 2 Twist! _ TVLine Interview]

Now this might be not the full truth because Tom might have been forced to withhold information in order not to give away the plot of future episodes but it’s worth considering it.

Undoubtedly following the other Loki is a risk. It’s clear the other is challenging him to follow… and he knows next to nothing about the other Loki so, if the TVA is bad for him, the other Loki could be worse and he might be trading a bad place for a pure hell. Who says the other Loki doesn’t work for Thanos for example?

In the TVA he has Mobius as some sort of interested ally, with the other Loki he has no one. You know, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know". At the same time it makes sense he wants to try following the other Loki because he’s not the type to stagnate and remain there. He has to see, he has to try. Where Mobius wouldn’t risk, Loki does. I hope for him the bet will be worth it.

Last but not least it’s worth to mention in the ending theme they’ve replaced two photos of Loki with one of the Loki Variant and another with just a different image of Loki with the TVA jacket.

So anyway we’ve gotten to the end of it. I still wonder if the Loki Variant as an insider in the TVA passing her info and if she’s really a Loki or she just pretends to be. How she came to make all this big plan? Why she had looked like she wanted Loki to tail her?

We’ll see.

[imnotgoinganywhereok]

Yeah, I’m back on my Sims 4 bullshit! („ಡωಡ„) After an entire month I started to miss my Sim children. So, I decided to visit them once again and have some memorable screenshots, especially since I only started sharing my Sims experience from 5th and 6th generation. I’d be grateful if you checked it out one day, I think it can be somewhat investing! And there will be more content to come...

Recently I noted down in my little notebook all basic information and cool trivia about each of my Sim children, and I decided to share some of it here. There is a limit of only 10 pictures in one post, and I was afraid the post would be long but, to be fair, this is my blog and I’m doing what I want now! And, I will merely touch upon what is already established up to Delphini (gen 7). Again, there will be more in the future. Apologies in advance (ง ื▿ ื)ว

Generation one: Valentina Owl. I created her back in December 2019 when I got Discover University for Christmas! She’s a “human” Sim and I created her through a story option in CAS, and immediately started having a blast. I was not a huge fan of such USAmericanised concept of university but the game was fun. She was the only one who lived up to be an elder (and then die) because back then I thought I’m gonna have a game where my Sims age and stuff. That quickly didn’t work out for me because I missed her already and decided that I’m gonna fill my entire save with just Owl family. Valentina studied Communications and worked as a policewoman at the same time. A lonely workaholic with only her lavish garden, she finally settled for a relationship with Lilith Vatore. As I noticed in this post, there was no marriage so my entire bloodline comes from a bastard. Lovely! She died from receiving a flower arragement with Death Flower scent. Now she’s on the Gallery.

Generation two: Herbert Owl. He was the one who directly killed Valentina. He mastered Gardening like Valentina, and then Flower Arranging - unfortunate for her. Because of Lilith, he was a vampire - and to be fair, the consequences are haunting me to this day! So, a few trivia, maybe. He is super smart, lives in Glimmerbrook like the next two generations, and has a small garden in his house where he grows crops for husband’s, Morgyn Ember’s, potions. He prefers black and purple clothes, both in his human and vampire form. He wrote only one book in his life, translating to The Real Story of Valentina Owl - whether it’s to cover the murder or not remains a mystery. He makes flower arrangements to this day. Ah, he’s also immune to Sun thanks to one of his vampire perks! That sort of helped him take a better care of his son whom he loves very much.

Generation three: Harry Owl. There is not that much I can say about him. A perfectionist like his father (Herbert), he’s blond and wears both masculine and feminine clothes like his other father (Morgyn), but this is where the comparisons end. See, in my mind he wasn’t a good person, despite having a Compassionate trait. He cared for his grandmother’s (Valentina’s) garden only because of his father’s (Herbert’s) feelings; later he shun away gardening. As a teenager, he often used to drink plasma without permission even if he wasn’t thirsty. Of course, he was also a really bad father, often berating his son for not being “good enough” or not paying attention to him at all. All Harry cared about were his paintings that he was creating in his private office. He married Miverva Charm, started living with her family, and still decided to only socialise with her. No one really knows what made him choose her.

Generation four: Nereus Owl. Born a vampire, he cured himself out of vampirism as soon as he could and later became a spellcaster. All he ever did in life was seemed like a rebellion against his father - clothes, flacking off during studies, loving gardening and shuning away painting. Well, it seemed to his father that Nereus is doing this to spite him. Despite this borderline abuse (because how abusive can Sims really be?), Nereus claims his childhood was relatively happy. Of course, he has no clue where his Erratic trait came from! Or why he grew to be a Perfectionist as well. All he knows is that having over 11 different plants in his garden is what makes him happy and that he doesn’t care if his father approves of him anymore! You could see him for the first time here. What is more, as he grew older, he found that he loves playing the violin and his wife, L. Faba, supports him in any way she can. His natural hair colour is red; thanks, grey-haired Minerva - that one bit me in the ass for next three generations.

Generation five: Elijah Tane Owl. Vegetarian like his father, he was the first one to attend Foxbury instead of Britechester. His father Nereus claimed it should be Elijah’s choice what he wants to do in life, giving Elijah freedom Nereus never really had. Elijah studied Computer Science but was a man of many talents. He was a fan of Handiness, Cooking (especially grilling), and Fitness. He often played (and sang) serenades on a keyboard for his wife, Alessandra Robles, almost maxing out his Piano skill. What made him date Alessandra was a shared Vegetarian trait. His favourite colour accent in clothing is green. He grew six strawberry plants because he wished to have a daughter (yeah, only in Sims 4 lol). There are more info about him in my previous posts as it was this generation when I started publishing my game progress, starting with this one (although my main focus was on Salem).

Generation six: Salem Owl (previously Lavender Owl). There is tons and tons of posts about her, her wife Luna Villareal (both are adults, calm down FBI), and their five daughers: Amaryllis, Wisteria, Delphini (remember this one), Hemlock, and Poppy. All you need to know about her is that she is a hard-working mother who climbed her way to the top and even higher to secure the future of her daughers. She hoped for three children and played with On the Dark Ley-Line lot trait to perhaps have some vampire offspring. Instead, she had twins (Ama and Wis) first, and then triplets (Del, Hem, and Poppy) later! She taught her daughers instruments/skills like Piano, Pipe Organ, and Violin. Once she realised Wis and Hem were vampires, she started growing three Plasma fruit trees, with time maxing out her Gardening skill. She’s on very bad terms with her grandma, L. Faba, but tries to keep in touch with her grandpa, Nereus. She has a bad reputation because of her Insensitive trait and a handful of enemies. She’s sorry for what happened between Lilith and Valentina in the past but the Vatore twins don’t mind. She’s ginger, workaholic, has spiky ears, and a lot of freckles. She’s still very good friends with Vladislaus.

Generation seven (A): Amaryllis Owl. She’s colour-coded (pink) and her clothes and room reflect that. She wrote at least 10 books, has spiky ears after her mother (Salem), and is the older daugher in the house. Eventually, she married Candy Behr. Ama’s twin sister is Wisteria and they share the same eyeliner type. Despite having a twin, her skin tone is lighter than Wis’ but the same as Hem and Poppy’s. She inherited a feminine walk from her mother (Luna). Doesn’t know much about Vampire Lore despite having vampire sisters. She loved doing everything with her twin sister. Amaryllis used to be a naturally-born/spawned hybrid of a vampire and a spellcaster but settled for the latter.

Generation seven (B): Wisteria Owl. She’s colour-coded (purple) and her room reflects that. As a vampire, she aims for a gothic look, often wearing hats and gloves to hide from the sun (with time, she turned into a heliphobe). She’s an actress and a B-Lister. She has a pet frog in her room. To reach her room, one has to walk through Ama’s room first - and they’re both okay with that. Wis is the only one to have the same skin tone as her mother (Salem) and the same nose as her other mother (Luna). Her vampiric form changes her eye colour to glowing purple. She loved goign to karaoke bars with her older twin sister Ama, which led Wis to maxing out Singing skill. As a fully fledged vampire, she decided to reach out to Herbert - they’re good friends.

Generation seven (C): Delphini Owl. Same as Amaryllis - naturally-born/spawned hybrid of a vampire and a spellcaster but settled for the latter. She’s colour-coded (dark blue) and her clothes and room reflect that. She always knew she’s going to leave the house and eventually create more Owls. She pursued the rich life and moved out to Del Sol Valley, eventually becoming a Global Superstar. She used to work in a Musician Branch but quit after time - blame the Freegan trait. She has three cats and lives with her daugher Morgan, and her [Morgan’s] husband Kaito Kaneko, and their adopted son Leven Owl (all of which I’ll talk about another time). She received a lot of awards (meeting with fans, Perfect Llama to name the few) and is very happy that her daugher lives with her. She used to romance with Flower Bunny, and then Octavia Moon - althought the initial plan was to go after Octavia’s husband, Thorne. Del often drinks but since there’s no alcoholism in Sims 4, let’s pretent she likes to stay hydrated! She owes half of her success (or namely, money for and expensive house) to her mother Salem. Loves to sunbathe!

Generation seven (D): Hemlock Owl. She’s colour-coded (white) and her clothes and room reflect that. She’s a make-up enthusiast and a little spoiled by the rich life. Also, she’s very Squeamish and Noncommittal. Despite being a vampire, she’s not interested in improving Vampire Lore skill at all. In her vampire form, her eyes change to glowing white. Her face as as many freckles as her mother’s (Salem). She’s the middle child in the triplets business and her best friend is Poppy. She used to wear glasses as a child... What more can I say? She’s living the dream!

Generation seven (E): Poppy Owl. She’s colour-coded (red) and her clothes and room (and a neon light) reflect that. The youngest daughter in the house. Wild and a Bro, she’s the perfect candidate to hang out with. She’s the only child to be born a human - which most likely makes Luna very happy. She’s a robots enthusiast - not Robotics skill but only figurines of robots. She’s a Geek so what else should we expect? She has her own TV and a stereo in her room (as well as a bubble machine). Poppy often wears her PJs around the house because they’re the comfiest. Despite being a Bro, she doesn’t really have friends beside her family. She’s the one to walk the family dog, Milk.

[artificialqueens]

Not Like In The Fairy Tales (But Just As Beautiful) (Crygi/Jankie) - Chaoticnachokitten

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27419959

A/N: Heyy:)) I wrote this a few months ago and completely forgot to post it lol. Thanks to @cryshillz for giving me the idea for it and @aqtanawrites for beta-ing<3

Summary: Crystal is just your average high school student, (well, maybe except her makeup and outfit choices), friendly, dreamy and fairly popular. All she wants are her friends, One Direction songs, and maybe a fairy tale esque relationship. Everything would be perfect if it wasn't for that one girl that keeps staring at her with an expression that could kill...

Literally just your typical enemies to lovers high school au:)

It was 6am on a rainy Monday morning. Crystal woke up to the sweet tunes of 'What Makes You Beautiful' by One Direction. She had the habit of using a different One Direction song as her alarm clock every day.

Especially on Mondays she just needed a bit of extra motivation to get up and get ready for school, and that particular song never failed to make her smile, including today.

She slowly got out of bed, and walked up to her closet. It was a beautiful mess of almost offensively bright, colorful clothes. Crystal firmly believed that wearing as many colors as possible was helpful to stay positive all the time. 'Plain' or 'simple' clothing was something she liked to pretend didn't even exist.

Once she was done with picking out her outfit for the day, she went into her bathroom, preparing for her favorite part of her morning routine: her makeup. Firstly, she washed her face, and then applied some products that would hopefully protect her skin from what she was about to do to it. Then, she tried to find all of her needed makeup products. Unfortunately, she had a habit of trying out new looks constantly, and for some reason her products ended up being scattered in the entire bathroom. Her parents had given up on trying to keep the bathroom organized at this point.

After finding everything she needed, which were approximately 50 products, including tons of her beloved glitter, she started with her time consuming but fun painting, blasting her OD playlist to stay in a good mood. Her thoughts drifted around for a bit, eventually settling on the memories of how her high school had tried to get her to dress 'appropriately' and to stop her 'clown like' makeup. At first the teachers had assumed that she would get teased because of her looks, but they had been very wrong. Crystal had such a fun and loveable personality that no one really said anything negative about her, in fact, the only people who teased her about her makeup were her best friends, who obviously didn't mean it. Crystal was friends with just about everyone, except one person.

Crystal quickly tried to think of something else, she didn't want to ruin her morning by thinking about the only person she didn't like.

So, after the teachers had realized that no other student would tell her to stop with her makeup, they tried to threaten her by sending her to the principal's office multiple times. But, since she kept arguing about how she needed to express herself, and because her grades were good, the teachers gave up and her style was tolerated eventually. At least her art teacher loved her creativity.

Crystal checked herself out in the mirror one last time. Her long, curly hair was brushed nicely, it looked all shiny and soft like usual, she was wearing a full face of makeup, around three times the amount of what an average student would wear, and her outfit complemented her makeup nicely. Afterwards she went on her way to her high school, which happened to be just a few minutes away from her home. As always, she had her earphones in so she could continue to listen to her playlist, which she had named 'positive vibes'.

Before entering the big, old, dull building, she removed her earphones as electronic devices were strictly forbidden and had to be stored in the school bags, otherwise a teacher had the right to take them away. It was a stupid and annoying rule, but other than about her personal style, Crystal didn't like getting in trouble, so she just accepted it.

Crystal's morning had been pretty good so far, but of course, the first person she saw in the hallway was the one she didn't like. Her name was Gigi Goode, and, Crystal usually didn't like to swear, the only word that could be used to describe her was a complete bitch. Now, sadly, Gigi was gorgeous, everyone was jealous of her looks. Even after a long P.E lesson she still managed to look perfect, not even a single makeup particle out of place. Gigi exclusively wore expensive makeup and clothes, always looking like she was about to be on the cover of Vogue or something. Not only that, but she was smart too, a straight A student, nothing less ever. She regularly engaged in class, the teachers often used her as a good example. But beyond that, Gigi was also the most conceited person Crystal knew. She seemed to lack any kind of empathy or friendliness. The only thing she seemed to care about was herself and her reputation.

She wasn't really friends with anyone, everyone was intimidated by her. She didn't seem to care for friendships anyway. But Gigi just seemed to hate Crystal for no reason. Everytime Crystal was near Gigi she looked at the ground to avoid the look. Gigi liked to glare at Crystal like she was something unsightly, like a stain on her clothes or a disgusting bug or something along those lines. Nothing out of the ordinary, except today, if anything, Gigi looked at her with an even meaner expression than usual.

"Maybe her favorite brand of lipstick got discontinued,"  Crystal thought to herself as she searched for her friends, all she had to do was follow the sound. And sure enough, just a few meters away she spotted Jan and Jackie, who were talking about something. Jan seemed to be even more enthusiastic than usual, and Jackie looked slightly concerned.

"...it's a genius plan, I promise! And very easy to execute. We have to show them that they just belong together."

Jan was nearly screaming the last sentence, loud enough to hear clearly for Crystal who was just waiting for their conversation to end as she didn't want to interrupt them. But then, Jan saw Crystal and monitored for her to come.

"Genius plan? Jan, look, I love you very much, but the last time you said that, and canceled our movie night for it-"

"You're still mad about that?" Jan asked with a hint of amusement.

"Let me finish. Last time you had one of your 'genius ideas' you broke into the school with Nicky to save the frogs we were meant to dissect in biology."

"Well, obviously my plan worked because the frogs are now free, and we didn't have to dissect anything!"

Jackie sighed, fighting the smile caused by the adorableness of her girlfriend, and shook her head fondly.

"And I'm very happy about that. However, you and Nicky got detention for a whole month and only very narrowly avoided legal consequences. And you were grounded forever!"

Jan looked at Jackie with huge eyes.

"But..the frogs..they were worth all of that."

Jackie looked at Crystal who had just been listening to the fairly weird conversation. Though that kind of stuff wasn't uncommon for Jan and Jackie at all.

"Crystal, I'm dating an idiot."

Crystal just laughed and then shyly looked at Jan. The girl looked back at her with mock anger. Then she turned her attention back to Jackie.

"Oh, so I'm the idiot now? I would like to remind you of the time when I was still grounded, and you decided to do it like they do it in the movies and attempted to climb up my house to get into my room through the window, just because you wanted to see me..it's not like you see me at school literally every day."

"It was Saturday. And we spent some..quality time that day."

"That was after I quite literally had to pull you up myself after you almost fell down."

Jackie was about to respond when the bell rang as annoyingly as ever, announcing that the first class was about to start. Jan, Jackie, Crystal and, unfortunately for Crystal, Gigi were all in the same class. Jan attempted to leave, but she was pulled back by Jackie.

"No girl, no skipping classes anymore. You'll just get into trouble again."

"But..." Jan started.

"No buts. You're coming with us. Do you need a bit of..extra motivation?"

Jan smirked, getting the hint, and then nodding excitedly.

Jackie hugged her, and then placed a kiss on Jan's soft lips. A few seconds later they were full on making out.

Around a minute later the bell rang again, and the two of them broke apart. Jackie looked at Crystal, who was now staring at the ground, blushing, apologetically.

"Crys, oh my God, I'm so sorry you had to witness that."

"You're not sorry," Jan disagreed.

"It's fine, I'm used to it by now, I know how gross you guys are," Crystal smiled.

"Anyway, let's go, otherwise we'll be late for class," Jackie said in a slightly nervous tone. She hated being late.

Jan sighed.

"And I'm dating the teacher's pet."

Before Jan could try to run away again, Jackie grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her along.

On the way to class, Crystal couldn't help but feel jealous of her friends. Jan and Jackie were just such a cute couple. It wasn't like she was attracted to either of them, it was more that she had the desire to experience the same kind of love they had for each other. She wanted that kind of fairytale fantasy cute relationship, with the occasional playful teasing.

The three of them finally reached the classroom, just in time. Crystal sat down in her usual spot, and got out her needed school supplies. Since the teacher surprisingly wasn't there yet, she checked her phone, scrolling through her social media. Since there wasn't anything too interesting, she switched it off soon again and looked around for a bit. To her horror, she noticed that Gigi was looking at her. But something was weird about it. Crystal could have sworn that Gigi had looked at her with an almost friendly expression...probably as friendly as Gigi was able to, before using the look again. A few seconds later Gigi looked away again. Crystal missed that Gigi was blushing.

Crystal suddenly felt like she had invaded Gigi's personal space. It was stupid, but she felt her face heat up. To try and calm down, she ran a hand through her hair to fix it, even though nothing was wrong with it in the first place before opening her notepad, and started doodling tiny flowers and animals in it so she had something to focus on.

Just when she had calmed down enough to feel as comfortable as she could while being at school, the English teacher entered the room, greeting the students. Crystal looked up for a minute, listening to what the teacher was talking about, before going back to doodling. She was almost always more focused in class while drawing. It was accepted by most teachers, and a real blessing in art class.

Today was different. For some reason, she kept thinking about Gigi, and the way she had seen the unusual behavior of her today. It honestly wouldn't have been a big deal at all, but she had never seen Gigi without that I-accidentally-bit-into-a-lemon glance, and instead looked at Crystal like she was an actual person. Thinking about it caused Crystal to feel an odd, but definitely not unpleasant sensation spreading from her heart. Could it be..?

"No. No, definitely not, not her," she told herself before forcefully turning her attention back to the teacher.

"Okay, so today we'll start with a new topic: presentations. They are very important, you will have to do one in pretty regardless of where you want to work in your later life. Now, we'll work on your confidence first, therefore the topic of the presentation will be up to you. And because teamwork is very important as well, you'll work in groups of two."

The teacher noticed that Jan had raised her hand.

"Yes, Jan?"

"How about we get paired up randomly? Later on in our life we don't get to choose either who we'll have to work with, so this might be some good practice."

The teacher nodded, impressed by Jan's level of maturity, and surprised because the girl usually didn't participate that much.

The rest of the class seemed okay with that idea as all of them got along quite well. Jackie looked at Jan with a surprised look, Jan smiled at her before mouthing "all part of my plan, don't worry."

The teacher resumed.

"Great idea, actually, thanks Jan. Okay, everyone, please take out a piece of paper and write down your names. Then fold it and bring it to my desk."

Jan raised her hand again.

"Yes?"

"Can I please read out the teams?"

"Yeah, sure."

The next few minutes were spent by people asking for paper and pens and then writing down all of the names. Jan hastily scribbled the three letters of her own name before turning her attention to Crystal. She was writing down her name on that obnoxious rainbow colored paper she adored, making the next step of Jan's plan easier.

Then she looked at Gigi. She was using some expensive art paper she usually used to draw gorgeous pictures on. It even felt expensive, so spotting it later on shouldn't be too hard either. Jan couldn't quite believe that her plan was going so smoothly.

Jackie was ready to bring her paper to the teacher's desk, but Jan stopped her before she could do so.

"Wait, I want to be paired up with you. Mark it with a smiley or something," Jan whispered.

Jackie smirked before doing so.

"Fine, miss we-should-work-with-different-people-to-gain-new-experience."

"You'll understand later."

After every piece of paper was on the desk, Jan mixed all of them up to keep up the illusion that every pair would be selected in a fair and completely random way..

Crystal felt someone looking at her. When she looked around, it was Gigi once again. This time she was sure she had seen Gigi's initial expression which had looked almost dreamy before she was back to looking mean again. When Crystal didn't look right away again, Gigi even looked insecure for a split second before hissing "what the hell are you looking at?" before looking away herself.

Crystal was shocked. Had she just seen the usually overly confident Gigi Goode looking...insecure?

She didn't even have time to process everything that had just happened as Jan, who had already paired up quite a few people, called her name.

"Okay so Crystal and.."

Jan tried to make it seem like she was just randomly picking out a piece of paper.

"Gigi."

Crystal's jaw dropped. She didn't dare to look at Gigi. That was the worst team she had ever been in. She was shocked to the point of shivering. She felt her blood running both hot and cold at the same time. And just when she had tried to reason that she could just do her part of the assignment alone, and would just have to do the presentation with Gigi, the teacher spoke up again.

"To ensure you'll actually work together, you will get a grade as a team instead of individual ones. Before you can go, please note that you now have one week to prepare. Since I already wrote down the teams, please don't change them up again. Okay, that's it. Goodbye, see you all tomorrow."

Everyone except Crystal packed up and got ready to leave. Gigi, for once, looked unsettled and left as soon as she could in order to keep up her usual act and not show any emotions. Crystal, on the other hand, was too shocked to do anything other than staring off into space. This was officially the worst day in her life. There was no way she would survive working together with someone who looked like she was about to stab Crystal as soon as they were alone.

Jan pulled her out of her almost trance like state by waving her arms in front of Crystal.

"Hey, are you okay? You don't look good, you're so pale out of the sudden."

Crystal looked at Jan desperately.

"Okay?? No, I'm not 'okay' at all. In case you missed it, I have to work with Gigi out of all people and I can't switch partners...what am I going to do?"

Jan decided to act like she was sorry. In her opinion that drastic measure was necessary to make Crystal and Gigi talk for once, and hopefully that would be enough to make them see that they like each other. Jan had seen the way Gigi looked at Crystal when the latter wasn't aware of it, and she knew that Crystal had a hard time noticing and admitting that she liked someone, due to the fact that she once had her heart broken badly before, and it had taken lots of time and support from her friends to get over it. So, complaining about someone more often than usual was Crystal's way to try and suppress her feelings.

"I'm so sorry Crys, but I'm sure it's going to be fine. And if she's mean to you, I'll make her pay for it, I promise. In fact, I still have that weird hair dye that's supposed to dye your hair purple, but it turned mine green and it took an eternity to get it out again, remember that?"

Crystal forced herself to giggle. She did feel a bit better knowing that Jan would help her if things didn't go smoothly.

"Thanks, Janice, I appreciate it. And honestly, the green didn't look that bad. Besides, you obviously care about green frogs enough to risk legal consequences, so dyeing your hair to match them is just the natural next step."

"I probably shouldn't have told anyone that story, but I would have never thought that saving countless innocent lives would ever be used against me, at least not that frequently. But anyway, ready to leave now?"

Crystal sighed. She really didn't want to see Gigi anymore, at least today.

"What are the chances of Jackie killing you for skipping class one more time with me?"

Jan laughed.

"Unfortunately too high to risk it. Besides, you won't be able to avoid her all week, and if you don't want a bad grade you will have to work with her. Once again, I'm very sorry."

"Okay, fine. And don't apologize Jan, it's not your fault."

Jan had to suppress a smirk. If only she knew..

The rest of the school day surprisingly wasn't that terrible. Gigi didn't look at Crystal at all, not even once, instead she was fully concentrated on engaging as much as usual in each class. Crystal on the other hand didn't care about anything else that moment, she was trying and failing to come up with a way that would make working with Gigi okay. And she sure as hell wouldn't be the one to start the conversation. Since Gigi wasn't satisfied with anything less than an A, she probably would be the one to approach Crystal anyway. Hopefully.

When the school bell rang again, this time to indicate that the day was over, Crystal couldn't wait to get home, she carelessly stuffed her school supplies into her rainbow colored bag and nearly stormed out of the school without even saying goodbye to any of her friends. For once she didn't care about being nice and polite, she just wanted to go home, crawl into her bed, cry, listen to music, and ignore the world around her until she would feel better.

But today some higher force seemed to have something against her. Once she was back home, laying in her bed comfortably, surrounded by her plushies, she decided to check her phone before listening to music. It turned out to be a big mistake. She saw that she had received a message by an unknown number. Usually she would have just ignored and blocked it, but she couldn't. The number had a profile picture, and Crystal immediately recognized it. A pretty girl with perfect skin and shiny brunette hair. Gigi.

She decided that she deserved a break from everything that had happened today, so she turned on airplane mode so she wouldn't be disturbed by anyone anymore, put in her earphones once again, and then clicked on her playlist. She proceeded to close her eyes, trying not to think about anything, just listen to the music instead. She wasn't able to calm down though, even after 30 minutes of trying. The message she had refused to read out of fear earlier seemed to be haunting her. She decided to finally read it.

'Hey, it's Gigi.

It seems like we'll have to work together. I'm sure you're just as interested in a good grade as I am, so I think we should talk things out. Hating each other while trying to give a good presentation will probably not work out, plus we haven't even decided on a topic. So come to my place at 6pm, here is the address.'

Crystal checked the time. She had about an hour left. According to Google, getting to the location would take 45 minutes. She didn't want to make Gigi mad now that it seemed like they would maybe be able to finally work their problems out. She hastily jumped out of her bed, and ran into the bathroom to touch up her makeup as soon as possible.

Thankfully it wasn't terribly smudged or anything, so she was able to go on her way just a few minutes later. That way she would even have a bit of extra time in case she didn't find Gigi's house or if she needed some time to prepare herself mentally for actually ringing the doorbell, which was very likely going to be the case. Crystal had a pretty bad sense of orientation.

Meanwhile, Gigi was anxiously pacing around in her room, checking her makeup and outfit every time she passed a mirror. She had a lot of them in her room. Gigi knew that she was a mess on the inside right now, so it was even more important for her not to show it on the inside. She hoped that her facade that she had built up over the years was enough to hide her emotions from Crystal. The truth was, she wasn't as confident as she pretended to be. In fact, Gigi was a very insecure girl, afraid that someone would see right through her, able to tell just how weak she actually was on the inside. She was scared that people would make fun of her, so she just pushed everyone who tried to befriend her away. Being friends with people had never worked out in the past, instead she had been used and then she had been left with low self esteem and trust issues. Eventually she decided she wouldn't get hurt by people ever again, and that was when she started wearing expensive clothes to intimidate people and flawless makeup as it made her feel like a completely different person, beautiful and confident. Her makeup was like a mask for her as well, a constant reminder that she needed to keep up her facade to remain safe.

Gigi's thoughts were interrupted by the piercing sound of the doorbell. She checked her makeup for what seemed like the 100th time that day, and then went to open the door.

"Hey," Crystal greeted her, looking as nervous and anxious as Gigi felt. For some reason it made her feel better.

"Hey. Thanks for coming. Come in." Gigi managed to keep her usual cool tone despite the fact that she was extremely nervous.

Crystal did as she was told. Unexpectedly, Gigi's house was both huge, almost as big as a mansion, and the furniture looked extremely expensive and beautiful. But since Crystal was also a nervous mess, she wasn't able to focus on anything properly.

Gigi led her into her room (a gigantic one, beautiful and organized, girly but not at all kitschy) and monitored for Crystal to sit down on her bed. Crystal, again, did as she was told, it was her only option as she couldn't even think straight. Gigi carefully sat down next to her. She didn't look at Crystal because she felt like she would break if she did, and instead stared at her ceiling.

"Okay so, I guess I'll explain why I behave the way I do around you. The truth is, I don't hate you. I know you think I do, but I don't. In fact, I'm jealous of you."

Crystal couldn't believe her ears. First of all, Gigi talking about her feelings? And most importantly: How could Gigi Perfect Goode be jealous of her? Crystal bit her tongue to remain silent, the question was burning on her tongue, but she felt like talking wasn't a good idea right now.

"You're so lucky. You get to be yourself. You can wear and act however you want because you're so cute and loveable and everyone wants to be your friend."

Did Gigi just call me cute?

"You don't know what it means to constantly act like a bitch to keep people away from me. And all of that because I'm scared. I'm so scared of being judged. Of being used, of being hurt. I can't handle another person lowering my self esteem to the point where I can't leave the house anymore. It took me months to get where I am today. Why do you think I check my hair and makeup every few minutes? Why do you think I keep staring at you?"

Gigi was getting so emotional that she had to stop talking as her eyes were starting to get as glossy as her perfectly applied lip gloss. She tried taking deep breaths to calm down, but that just made everything worse.

"This is so stupid, I'm sorry…"

"Gigi, please don't call your emotions stupid. It's okay to express your feelings,you've been ignoring them for far too long already. I promise I won't tell anyone. And I know what being hurt feels like, believe me, and being able to talk about my feelings helped me a lot."

Perhaps it were Crystal's words, perhaps Gigi's feelings were too much for her to bottle up anymore, but just a minute later she found herself bawling her eyes out while Crystal had her arms wrapped around her in a protective and comforting way that Gigi actually felt like it was okay for her to cry and let out everything. It was weird, they didn't even really know each other, and surely she wouldn't have expected the meeting with Crystal to go like that at all, but strangely enough it felt so right.

After a solid ten minutes of crying, Gigi was finally starting to calm down. She decided that now, since she had told Crystal her secret already and she had also cried in Crystal's arms, which had probably ruined her pretty makeup/ facade, she had nothing to lose anymore. She freed herself from Crystal's grip, cupped the girl's face, and proceeded to kiss her like she had been wanting to for months. She was fast and aggressive, all of her emotions went into it.

Crystal didn't even think, the kiss felt more than right, so she kissed back just a second later with the same intensity to match Gigi's energy.

It wasn't like the start of her dream fairy tale beginning of a relationship, quite the opposite, actually. Gigi was still crying, Crystal's face was getting wet from the tears, but in that moment she could have cared less about the 'perfect' start of a relationship. What she had right here was just as perfect to her, if not more.

After what could have been seconds, minutes, or even days, both of them were blown away by the intensity of the moment that time didn't matter anymore, they slowly broke apart.

"Crystal I'm so sorry. I didn't know what came over me," Gigi started all of the sudden. She was breathing way too fast.

"Shh, calm down. My only question is, did you mean the kiss? Be honest."

Gigi nodded, looking away.

"I meant it too when I kissed you back."

Gigi looked like a weight had been lifted off of her. Then, she seemed to have an idea.

"I know this is incredibly early, but uhm..I'm alone and my parents won't come back until in a few days, do you maybe want to stay with me for the night? I just want to find out more about the girl I've been secretly admiring for the past few months."

Crystal smiled softly.

"Of course. I would love to know more about the girl that has been hiding every emotion for..I don't even know how long. Tell me what you're feeling, every single one, I want to know all about them. And please don't ever be afraid again to show people your vulnerable side. The world may be terrible, but not every single person is, I promise."

"You're the prime example of that," Gigi said quietly.

"You're still treating me like this even though I was such a terrible person to you...thank you so much Crystal."

With that, they intertwined their fingers, slowly getting closer until their lips touched again. This time it felt different, but just as amazing. It was all slow and tender, and neither of them wanted the moment to end. Maybe it was like in the kitschy fairy tales after all.

[neverheardnothing]

The Black Suits song ranking

Happy (late) Black Suits Day (eighteenth of September) y'all! Not that anyone asked but I have decided on my personal Black Suits song ranking. As always, I am very correct with my Joe Iconis music takes and will accept no criticism. Also I'm talking about 2013 here. Love yourself (and the work) and listen to 2013 instead of 2012 for better audio quality and a tighter book.

Spirit Song - I don't think anyone is surprised this is my top ranked song lol. "A melody only exists when someone hears, and the number one thing that I've learned through all my years. The fans and the family make the music strong, and the cheering is just as important as the song!" As Will describes it, it's a love letter to audiences (hey, that's me!) and when I listen to this song I'm always reminded of how much Joe believes in the message of this song, that the audience is part of the show.

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang - [Joe Iconis voice] the language of the show. A lot of this list was influenced by not only how much I liked the song but by how well the songs functioned as extensions/expansions of the scene and the believability of that character singing the song. To me Bangx5 is one of the ultimate examples of this. The lyrics "there's a heavy metal hole where a soul used to be" like that's SO teenage angst and overdramatic just like Chris is supposed to be in this moment. I remember when I first heard the song I was like "is that it? Simple repeated [I am ___] lyrics for your act 1 finale? Seems a bit underwhelming even if it musically goes hard" but then after like another listen through of the show or so I realized that was the intention. When you're seventeen or so and you feel like your world is crashing down around you, sometimes the only way you can articulate it is "I am white boy rage, I am in a cage, I am bang bang bang bang bang bang bang." You are bang, you are loud crashing noises, your emotions are too loud and intense to be described with your limited vocabulary but you try anyways and fail. I love the contrast of the lyrics "I am chew my pens" and "I am hurt my friends" right next to each other. And the harmony at the end? Chefs fucking kiss.

Amphibian - This song is so goddamn fun. Like honestly. That’s it. Nato is chilling by himself and makes up a song about himself and his frog and it’s the best goddamn time in the show. You really get the feeling like these characters are actually friends. I love the “idiot” Nato vs “smart” Brandon. The “who cares about Beethoven. It’s a movie about a dog” joke never fails to make me laugh. When Brandon is expecting a regular bridge to the song and Nato whips out the falsetto and he goes “oh my God” like. Peak comedy here. And also Will Roland doing That? I’m in awe. Like this is what The Black Suits (the band) is, friends hanging out and having fun with music, that makes the next scene when the band formally break up so sad.

It's All Good - “So we’re cool and whatever?” It’s such a teenage boy thing to say. Like you want to acknowledge that you guys have been through something but at the same time you want to undercut it so you don’t run the risk of seeming too openly emotional. I’m also only very slightly bitter about that review that was like “oh wait so the only stakes of this show is the battle of the bands?” Like hello? Did you not see the show or listen to a single second of the finale? It’s about the way these characters communicate in their kinda inadequate ways and how they use music to express themselves. In a way it’s classic, cliche musical theater 101, with the characters unable to say what they feel with plain English so they resort to music, but of course with a Joe Iconis twist. The stakes aren’t the fucking battle of the band, it’s the friendship between the boys. It’s literally so obvious I want to scream. Anyways this song is fantastic way to end the show.

Car Ride To Long Beach - That's right. Car Ride To Long Beach is 5th place. I'm only very slightly bitter about the review that was like "is fried chicken REALLY the deciding factor in going on a drug run?" And by slightly bitter I mean this person goes on the list of people I want to beat up for being so fucking wrong about a Joe show. No, you fucking fool, that's not actually the deciding factor. She's at least on the fence, if not already secretly decided yes, about it from the moment he asks. It's about the company, it's about the road trip, it's about breaking the rules after having been "good" for so long. I am so adamant that this song is about desire and thrill and guilt and wanting to be seen for who you are and not just John saying obscene things. Like take the dialogue exchange right before she finally vocally says yes. "What do I look like right now?" "Uh. You look like... Lisa?" "... Alright let's go." Like tell me that does not drive you fucking crazy after Lisa's constant questions about others perception of her and trying to figure out who she is herself. Car Ride To Long Beach is good you guys are just mean.

Social Worker - Another example of an incredibly fitting character song. The refusal and reluctance of a teenage boy to admit that he actually needs or gets mental health help. I love the music-ification of a panic attack as loud drums and electric guitar. "I don't really go to the social worker," he says, as he goes to the social worker. It’s truly hilariously, heartbreakingly fitting for his character.

The Answer - When that Things To Ruin reviewer said Joe is a master of putting commonly shared moments to music no one else has done before, they were right. Who HASN’T taken a test and failed it so utterly they started questioning their entire life and worried for their future before? I love the repeated lyric questions like John is sitting there reading the question over and over trying to figure out what the answer is. I love the synthy keyboard. Fantastic choice @ Charlie Rosen.

Band-Aids and Cigarettes - Oh this song is so good I feel guilty about putting it at 8. It’s like honestly heartbreaking, not being able to give what the other person needs and being aware of it. And the unconventionality of it being sung by the mentor character instead of a love interest or something.

The Feeling (Part 1 and 2) - Yeah I’m combining them into one song and also assuming the entire beach/Chris & Mrs. Werring conversation is part of the song, too, with the interlude of the “I just want something good to happens.” This song is a jam, plain and simple. I love the absolutely terrible advice that Mrs. Werring gives Chris. “You got to push all your worries inside of yourself, and then they’ll mix creating a combustible boom.” Awful! But Annie Golden sings it so well. And it makes Band-Aids and Cigarettes later that much more sad. In part 2, I love how interconnected the two conversations are. “Just breathe them in -> I love the beach.” The synchronous “I don’t even remember why I liked him/her in the first place.” The score here having the Spirit Song melody. Also now feels like a good time to bring up my Lisa Bred is nonbinary headcanon (though it’s practically textual canon) with “I’m not a girl, I’m a song.” Like that right there, she literally states she’s not a girl, and that’s just the most obvious part. Twice before now, she’s asked people about how they perceive her (“what do I look like right now?” “my girlfriend?” / “Lisa”) and her arc in this show up to this point is discovering more about herself and trying new things. She’s aware of societal gender norms (“isn’t that what boyfriend girlfriends are supposed to do?”) and how she doesn’t really fit in with them. She’s experimenting with expressing herself (dyeing her hair blue, photography). Like it’s all right there. I don’t know if Joe was intentionally writing a nonbinary character figuring herself out but that’s what I get when I read the text straight. In Lisa’s mind, John is one of the gateways to trying new things (“you give me this feeling”) and then that blends right into the rest of The Feeling and it’s so fucking GOOD. I love this song.

Blue Hair - The OG Joe Iconis viral song! I love the music song of this song so much, specifically the guitar/piano riff. I love the multiple sources of motivation of doing it, from actually wanting to try something different, to getting a reaction from Chris and John, even if she denies that last part. And then again at the end of the song with her self-awareness. She’s doing something to stand out/express herself! I love it.

Nato's Song - A six minute clusterfuck of a song and it’s beautiful. Sticking to the actual Nato stuff right now, I think it’s a pretty clever way of passing time and seeing how it’s affecting him and everyone else in the show. With the interspersed content of other characters, it really is the musical equivalent of a film montage. I love seeing Chris’ further breakdown in the form of voicemails to his dad. The music of Blue Hair, Old Records, and Rather Be coming back is fucking great. Everyone is just struggling in this song and it’s great.

Rock 'N Roll Band (Reprise) - I love this re-introduction song so much and the differences between it and the original. I love the chaoticness of the solos all going at the same time. I love the cut Geek Rock Garage King still making in into the show as Brandon’s bridge and how out of place it is with the rest of the song musically but yet it’s still in it. I love the a capella break with Mrs. Werring cheering them on.

Old Records - The fact that John plays the guitar as Chris sings it for someone to hear is so good. When he gets affirmation that John likes the song, he continues. And it’s only after being called out about his writing revealing things about him that Chris feels bad about the song again and claims that they were just dummy lyrics. Once John leaves the backing music comes back on like glockenspiel or something and I love the lightness of it combined with the electric guitar that comes in after.

Black Suit On - I know we’re at like 3/4ths through but I honestly love this song. I love all the songs so much. This ranking honestly barely matters because I love all the songs in this show. I love the (unrealistic) idea of finally being able to be your best self, of all your problems going away, if only something symbolic but ultimately inconsequential thing were to happen. It’s about the (shared) vision for a different future than the one you’re currently living! (By the way I am so haunted by Jen Tepper saying this song was actually about LIHN. Like does anyone know what that means? Do I fundamentally misunderstand this song or LIHN? I don’t get the connection.)

Lisa - Once again, the relatability. Who hasn’t felt like they were good enough for another person? I love the specificity of the AOL verse. It’s so late 2000s. And the rest of the lyrics are so angsty and overdramatic as John is. Specifically in the context of the show this song really hurts after Lisa tells him she can’t fix whatever issues are wrong with him.

Rock 'N Roll Band - I love how the entire song is so what teenagers going through school, waiting for life to change, and seeking refuge in the only place where they feel like they are important and can be themselves. I love all their intros. I love Brandon going way too hard on the drums. “I’m gonna scream and shout, knock you out. I’m gonna conquer the world, get the girl. I’m gonna get some respect, finally connect. When I take a stand, with my rock ‘n roll band.” The extreme vividness of the type of stuck they feel here is so good and it’s a good summary of the show.

Pop Tarts - I love that this song is still called Pop Tarts despite all references to it having been removed except for one dialogue. I love the section of Chris’ vision for the band. The pre-reprise of the beginning of It’s All Good with “we’re cool and whatever?” and all of them joining in and getting on the same page. We love some boys just absolutely barely capable of communicating with each other with words.

Song In My Head/Only Person In The World - The absolute irony and poetry of John singing “I’m the only person in the world” and Chris singing about how everyone is gone when this is a duet. It’s literally so fucking good. When they both sing “I’m the only person in the world” at the same time? Are you kidding me? And this song is ranked 18th? Truly every song in this show is top tier.

Rather Be - This song is rather on the nose in its message, everyone would rather be at band rehearsal. It’s a solid song that helps us get into each of their characters more (“rather be where my buddies / now the same bands / and tolerate my drum fills” / “where my brothas like that I’m weird / and ask to see my squid impression” / “because we’ve only got a little while to get fantastic and get some style / if we do it soon then I won’t have to go to college” / “christ I’d rather be anywhere / but sitting trapped here taking this asshole test”). I love it when characters in shows all have different reasons for singing the same lines.

McFly Is Looking For A Drummer - Rip to this song, being ranked last. It’s not that I don’t like it because I actually do. Again, I just love all the songs in this show. He’s trying to communicate in his own way, which happens to be in music references, but that’s not how other people around him understand, and so he sees this opportunity to be with people who are more like him, but then he he gets scared that he wouldn’t fit in the way he hopes he would, which would be even worse than where he’s currently at where he knows that they don’t quite get him but are his friends anyways. I love that one moment where he drops out singing. It’s very reminiscent of in Michael In The Bathroom when you expect him to sing the title words but he doesn’t, so your brain fills it in for you. It functions a bit differently than that moment does in BMC though. I think in this song it’s the comparison of how he’s currently treated with the possibility of what McFly represents, that he could have the exact opposite experience there, that he’s imagining all the possibilities in that moment. Lol, ranked 20 and I still have so many things to say about this song.

[shihozaki]

Hey so I saw that your matchup requests were open and I wanted to request one for mha :)

About me: My name is Fairy (it's a kind of weird birth name but I've learned to ✨ c o - e x i s t ✨ with it) and im 16 years old! Im non-binary and I use she/they pronouns! My mbti personality is ENFP-T and my Hogwarts house is Gryffindor :). Im also an ambivert. Im an Aries sun, Aquarius moon and Leo rising! For the description of my style umm it's kind of a weird mix between a soft girl and a grunge style?? umm it's a bit confusing but I like to mix up things bc I think it's a bit fun? LMAO. For physical appearance umm im abt 5'7 or 5'8, and im a bit curvy, tho I'm usually insecure abt it and im scared of like just sitting on someone's laps and squishing them idk- I have brown hair and eyes, and I use glasses bc im fucking blind LMAO. For personality, I would say that when people first meet me they get the impression that im either A. Rude and mean or B. Im a sweet and nice angel who wouldn't hurt a fly. Tho when people actually get to meet me they realize that im really nice and cheerful. I'm also really chaotic (Oops- my bad). But sometimes I scare ppl away with my sarcasm or crude/dark humor. People also tend to not really like me bc im kind of good at reading people and their personalities which might come off as creepy (I mean it's not as if I liked knowing what type of personality they have just by meeting them for 2 days. People just tend to think that bc im able to read people's emotions and actions really well, they think I'll use it for my advantage by manipulating them??? Ummm?? I literally don't approve of doing things like that but ok?). Some of my hobbies are reading, writing poetry, listening to music, watching anime, doing arts-and-crafts, playing videogames, rollerskating, burning my homework, scaring children, having existential crises, drinking orange juice while singing to the titanic flute song and talking to the demon under my at 3 AM. (Umm ik its gonna sound kinda dumb but I also really like learning new languages, I speak Spanish, English, Portuguese, Russian and German. Rn I'm trying to learn how to speak french. And umm sometimes I have the habit of like saying words from another language while talking to someone. Like if I'm talking to someone in Spanish I will all of a sudden start speaking German. It's kind of an annoying thing for some, but it's a habit I've had since I was like 5 years old-)

MHA universe: I think that I would have a quirk where I can have the ability to manipulate matter or like a quirk where you can manipulate time?? Idk if it's possible for me to request having more than 2 quirks i umm-

What I look for in a s/o: Im Bisexual with a slight preference for guys- ummm idk what I would look for an s/o, but I think I would like someone who is straightforward, (basically kind of blunt) chill and laid-back while at the same time being nice and sarcastic?? Idk but basically someone who is able to balance out my dumbass chaotic energy with a calm and chill energy. (Also maybe a s/o who is smart. I usually have debates with people I like and I just- omg ok in my opinion smart people are hot-)

ANYHOW, I hope this isn't to much trouble for you! Feel free to ignore! Anyways thanks and have a nice day!

Thank you so much for waiting so patiently, I apologize for the wait! I had a hard time finding the perfect match for you, so I hope you like it!

I pair you up with Tsuyu Asui!

- Your quirk is matter manipulation! You can manipulate any matter based on time- kind of like Eri’s quirk. For example, if there was an apple, you can turn it to the past which would turn the Apple into a seed. If you turned it to the future, it would become a tree. You can control the amount of “time” you turn the matter into, and you can always bring it back into the original shape. Quick judgment is key to this quirk.

- You met Tsuyu in U.A! You were so excited to be in 1-A with other potential heroes, and it turns out you were sitting beside a very cute girl who resembled a frog

- You guys quickly became friends, hanging out often after school and decorating each other’s dorms together

- She is very smart, and helps you with your work. She placed 6th place in mid terms and she’s always willing to give you a helping hand!

- Tsuyu’s “no bs” personality helps tone down your dramatic and impulsive personality, while your passionate soul lights a spark in Tsuyu’s life.

- She is often very blunt and complimented you a lot, making you confused whether she sees you as a friend or as something more than that. So one day you just asked her out and she quickly (too quickly) agreed, and you guys became girlfriends after that!

- She can be sometimes a bit insecure, so you’re her personal cheerleader! She loved and appreciates you so much, and she tells you on a daily basis like it’s nothing

- You guys can literally talk to each other 24/7, and would never run out of things to talk about. The two different personality will often come up with new ideas every day

- She’s usually not very shy and is not the one to get embarrassed easily, but a simple hug or a kiss would be enough for her to be flustered. She immediately flushes red and smiles.

- She’s sometimes not very good with words, so instead she’ll show you love by physical touch- especially when she’s cold. Snuggling up to you is one of her favourite things to do during winter!

- Overall, you guys are such a cute couple, bringing inspiration and a force of energy to the people around you :)

Scenario: First time meeting!

‘That sleeping bag is our teacher?’ You thought as the yellow sleeping bag at the front of the class started his teaching. ‘This is going to be an interesting year…’ You chuckled to yourself. You took a look around the classroom. 1-A. You were finally on the path of becoming a hero. Majority of the kids in the class seemed nice (minus the spikey blonde boy) and calm. As you were exploring the room with your eyes, it met with another. She had long green hair and an interesting mouth- she was adorable. She stared back with an amused expression, occasionally blinking. ‘She’s really cute.’ You thought. ‘No, I have to pay attention in class. My bi-ness cannot be tingling right now.’ You turned your attention back to the board, wondering when the sleeping bag was going to stop talking. The teacher instructed the students to change into their training uniform and meet him at the field. As the students began to walk into the change rooms, you quickly caught up to the peculiar girl. “Hey! You can call me Fairy! Nice to meet you.” You introduced yourself. The girl smiled, extending her hand. “I’m Tsuyu Asui. You can call me Tsu.” She replied. “I like your glasses.” Your heart started beating faster at the compliment and you shook her hand. “Thanks! I have them because I’m blind.” You said, attempting to make a joke. She gave a small giggle, one enough to make your heart melt. ‘Yes, this is going to be an interesting year...’ You thought to yourself as you followed your new friend Tsu into the change room. ‘Who knows? I might finally get a girlfriend.’

Song: Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen!

I hope you enjoyed it! I enjoyed writing it, and I really liked your name too! Please do not hesitate to tell me what you thought about the work, and I hope to see you again soon :)

[faejilly]

i am for you (17/?)

We're back! And playing with the timeline a little... this goes back to before the fic itself starts, and then moves along a whole *six weeks* because this, my darlings, is a 5+1 chapter in the middle of everything else. (Because why not?) 5 Times Catarina Went to Brunch, and 1 Time Brunch was Brought to Catarina (ao3 / series tag)

*

1

Brunch is quiet this week.

No one's really got much to say.

Even Magnus just shrugs when Cat asks what he's been up to.

(Even Cat can't think up any fun Madzie stories; baby-girl's got a cold and this week has mostly been about tissues and soup and endless re-runs of Moana and Mulan and The Princess and The Frog. She even picked Tangled once, and Cat thought maybe they'd moved on... but then she went back to Moana. She always goes back to Moana. She once sang You're Welcome over and over again for the entirety of her bath.)

Ragnor drinks and Dot sighs and Raphael rolls his eyes at the lot of them. Tessa is looking forward to the ALA conference in two weeks, but she's quieter about her enthusiasms than the rest of them; her smile is warm, but it doesn't spark anyone else into anything.

Still, it's nice. Cat never thought a single one of them would ever be stable enough to fall into a rut, and the fact that they've settled into one together... there are worse things.

Besides, there are mimosas.

2

Magnus is... fluttering.

He's not upset, he sits and eats and passes the syrup when asked and talks about his classes, but there's definitely... something.

He pauses before he sips his drink, and he ducks Ragnor's half-assed question about his current research. (Ragnor just raises his eyebrows. He's not terribly interested in dramatic portrayals of the occult, but Magnus usually is, and the fact that he doesn't want to break-down everything he's read on the subject this week is a bit unusual.)

He zones out while Dot's talking about the idiot client she'd been fighting with the entirety of the past week, arguing with every suggestion as if he wasn't the one who'd hired her; Magnus doesn't even laugh at her petty revenge of charging her client an extra half-an-hour for "removing all those squiggly lines from under the words" in his word doc.

But there's a hint of a smile on his face as he looks out the window.

"What is going on with you?" Cat asks while everyone's gathering shoes and bags and saying their usual farewells.

"Nothing." Magnus shakes his head, and Cat frowns at him. "Really," he lifts his hands in defense. She waits. "Yet?"

He won't say more than that, no matter how much she gives him The Look, but that almost smile lingers, and she hopes whatever it almost is turns out as well as Magnus seems to hope.

3

Alec Lightwood is a revelation.

She's seen Magnus fall too hard and too fast before, but she's never seen him like this, never seen him look lighter for it rather than just more intense, never seen the person he'd fallen for look just as far gone just as fast. Alec's expression when he looks at Magnus is sublime, it's like he's smiling all the way to his fingertips, and she has to look away.

Which is admittedly a little easier once he gets his shirt on.

Magnus has excellent taste in arm-candy... even if it's blatantly obvious that this is more than that.

Already.

She wouldn't be completely surprised if they eloped to Vegas the first time they tried to take a vacation together.

She'll yell at Magnus for it forever, and hold his hand while he gets desperately drunk if it leads to an equally quickie divorce, but she won't be surprised.

Ragnor clearly likes and might even respect Alec, which is... weird. She's not quite sure what to do with that, and she keeps glancing sideways to share her what the fuck? face with Raphael, but he doesn't cooperate nearly as well as Dot or Tessa would have. He seems to be cautiously in favor of Alec too, which is... even weirder. There are days she's not sure Raphael likes anyone, except maybe Ragnor, despite eating brunch with the rest of them every week. But he's very over-protective of Magnus, usually, especially since Camille, but now... now he's just. Leaning back? Relaxed? Sipping his coffee?

Cat feels like maybe she fell through Alice's rabbit-hole and somehow didn't notice right away.

But then Alec snorts out a laugh at something Ragnor says in his usual bone-dry way, and Magnus sputters something that sounds like an honest to god giggle, and she gives up on understanding and goes to refill her drink.

Wonderland seems pretty nice, this time of year.

4

Cat gets to brunch a little early this week, before anyone else. Besides Alec, of course, who's cradling a mug she doesn't recognize in his hands, and she wonders how much of his own life this past week has been spent at Magnus' rather than his own place, wherever it is.

She ought to be worried about that, she knows, but he'd been so clearly smitten whenever she mentioned Magnus at their lunch, it's hard to hold onto any concern. He offers to pour her some coffee, and even remembers that she likes sugar but not cream, and she can't help but smile at him in thanks.

He smiles back, sort of, and she wonders if he's nervous about Dot and Tessa, or if it's something else that's bothering him, and if it would be terribly blunt of her to ask. Not that she's usually concerned about that, but he's new, and if she made him uncomfortable Magnus might murder her.

Or ban her from mimosas for awhile, at least.

Magnus comes fluttering in then, touching half the appliances in the kitchen as he wanders back and forth. She cuts her eyes back to Alec and is inordinately pleased by the way he ignores her entirely and instead reaches out to catch Magnus' hand when he tries to swan past him for the third time.

"Why are you nervous?" Alec asks, and Cat almost slips off the counter she's leaning against. So much for worrying about being blunt. "I'm worried your friends won't like me, but you don't have to worry about my parents until dinner time."

Magnus' mouth opens, then shuts, clearly slightly shell-shocked by the blunt as well, even though she suspects from how quickly he pouts that it isn't at all out of character for Alec. "I can't also be worried my friends won't like you?"

"You weren't this worried last week."

Cat blinks as she realizes he's right.

"You already knew Ragnor, and Cat will give anyone at least two chances to prove they're not an idiot, and Raphael hates everyone regardless, so there wasn't anything to worry about."

Alec tilts his head, half-considering and half-amused, and Cat can't hold in the laugh anymore, snickering over her coffee. "But you're worried about Dot and Tessa? Dot already feels bad about her accidental drama and won't make any more, and Tessa's the nicest person on the planet."

Magnus scoffs. "Tessa's all quiet and polite right up until you fail some internal judgement you didn't even realize she was making and then she very serenely ignores you so thoroughly you can feel it all the way back seven generations or so and you can never quite put the pieces of your self-esteem back together."

It's Cat's turn to tilt her head, because he's not wrong, though she hadn't ever quite thought about it that way.

Alec snickers that time though. "To be fair, the last seven generations of Lightwoods probably deserve that?"

Magnus rolls his eyes, and half-heartedly smacks Alec in the chest with the back of his free hand. "But you don't."

"Well if she's as smart as you all say, she'll know that, right?"

Magnus grunts, as if annoyed that he can't argue with that, and then the knocker hits the door, three quick hard raps, and Magnus slips his hand free, blowing a kiss in Alec's direction before he goes to answer it.

"At least you've got your shirt on, this time. Might help."

Alec chokes, almost spitting coffee all over his hands, and she's still laughing when Dot and Tessa make it into the kitchen to be introduced.

5

They make Magnus and Alec take them all out for brunch as punishment for getting engaged at first sight. (And also apparently moving in together, which Cat had strongly suspected the week before based on the mug, and the toothbrush and razor in the bathroom, and the boxes hiding in Magnus' office nook, but she makes them acknowledge it out loud before she'll sit down at the table with the rest of them. Ragnor snickers, and she wonders how long he'd known, and if he'd been planning on telling the rest of them if they hadn't figured it out.)

Tessa does, in fact, serenely ignore the both of them for about half an hour, while everyone else is ordering drinks and perusing the menu, and Magnus and Alec both visibly wilt a little.

They're also clearly holding hands beneath the table, which is unbearably sweet, and Cat kind of hates how un-surprised she is the more she thinks about it. They fit, and while Alec isn't anything like she would have pictured some ideal Magnus partner, she can't begrudge them for being happy to have found each other.

"You're idiots," she informs them after they've finally all ordered. "But you're adorable, and I'm very happy for you."

Alec ducks his head and looks perilously close to blushing again, but he's smiling.

Tessa's lips twitch before she lifts her glass. "A toast to the happy couple?"

There's a clink of glasses as everyone else agrees, and Cat's never ever in almost twenty years seen a smile like the one spreading across Magnus' face.

+ 1

Baby-girl's best friend Lizzy, who she usually goes to play with on Sunday mornings, has chicken-pox and does not want visitors. (Cat reminds herself to have Madzie tested to see if her antibodies are still up to par from her vaccination or if she should get a booster.) Which means Cat isn't going to brunch.

Magnus scoffs at that when she calls to tell him on Friday, and insists that brunch will, instead, come to her.

She's not sure that's a good idea, but she can't seem to figure out why not, and it's not like Magnus listens when he's sure he's being brilliant anyways, so she makes sure to let Madzie know that a bunch of boring adults are coming over, and that she'll help her set up her tablet so she can watch cartoons in her room just this once if she'd like.

"Can I have breakfast while I watch?"

Cat really ought to say no to that, because she's probably going to find Madzie sneaking snacks into her room for at least the next month otherwise... but the last couple days have been a bit much at work and she is too tired for that conversation, so she says yes.

Madzie fist-pumps to celebrate her victory, which is, of course, unfairly adorable. Cat hopes she doesn't try to talk Uncle Magnus into having brunch at their house every week in order to make this a regular occurrence.

Then again, for all Madzie likes Uncle Magnus, especially when he brings presents (which is almost always, they're both very fond of brightly colored plush animals and Madzie's collection is now very impressive), none of Cat's friends have kids of their own, so their conversations with Madzie tend to be pretty brief.

It should be all right.

Hopefully Alec won't be too intimidating. He is ludicrously tall, with those scowly eyebrows, and Madzie is still usually shy with new people. Cat will have to remember to introduce them carefully.

(She wonders, later, how she'd forgotten the man had at least six younger siblings; even if half of them were metaphorical, that kind of thing tends to have an effect on a person.)

Magnus and Alec show up before anyone else, carrying four bags of what she assumes is going to be breakfast. Madzie peers around Cat's legs, clearly hoping for her usual squishy from Uncle Magnus, but uncertain about the very tall man next to him.

Alec sees her, and smiles, something small but friendly enough that it makes Cat blink, and then he's down on one knee so he's at a much more reasonable height for a child, and Cat blinks again.

"You must be Madzie." Alec doesn't have either that bright condescension or the slightly formal stilted tone that most people get when talking to little kids, and he's just loud enough that his voice carries without it being obvious he's keeping it a bit quieter than usual.

To Cat's utter shock, Madzie steps out from behind Cat's legs before she nods. "You must be Mr. Alec."

Alec nods back, and to Cat's continued surprise Madzie keeps talking. "Momma said you're going to marry Uncle Magnus but I don't have to call you Uncle Alec yet if I don't want to."

Cat doesn't know whether to be impressed that she's talking to a stranger or slightly embarrassed at what she chose to say, but Alec just grins, bright and delighted, and Cat rather forgets to breathe. Madzie smiles back and takes a step forward, as if she can't help herself.

Alec waits until she stops moving before he answers. "I am going to marry your Uncle Magnus, but you don't ever have to call me Uncle Alec if you don't want to, even after we're married."

Madzie nods very seriously, as if she's considering that.

"Are you having breakfast with us?" Alec asks, his voice leading up like he's going to add more, but he stops when Madzie shakes her head very fast.

"Momma said I could eat in my room while I watch Moana!"

"That does sound like a lot more fun than listening to us talk."

"Did you want to watch it with me?" Madzie offers, and Cat has to swallow something like a squawk before it bursts out of her, because Madzie is never this comfortable around new people.

Alec leans a little closer, his voice dropping. "I did promise Uncle Magnus and your Momma that I'd help make brunch."

Madzie turns her head up towards Cat and Magnus, going full on puppy-dog eyes and pouting lips. "Please, Momma?"

Cat nods, rather helplessly, and sees Magnus looking about as shell-shocked as she feels next to her. It took ages before Madzie was all right being alone with him, and she's known Alec five seconds. To be fair, she's much more trusting and relaxed now then she was when Cat first adopted her, but... five seconds.

Cat blames that ridiculous smile.

"See!" Madzie turns back to Alec, rocking up on her toes. "Momma says it's alright!"

"Well, I'm certainly not about to argue with your Momma." Alec shoots a glance up at the two of them. "Let me know if you need our help with anything, all right?"

"Of course," Magnus answers when it becomes clear that Cat's not going to manage more than a nod, her chest aching a little at how easily he'd said our, how easily he'd included her daughter in... everything.

Cat turns very slowly to watch as Madzie drags Alec down the hallway to her room, and equally slowly to turn back towards Magnus, whose eyes widen at the sound of Madzie laughing loudly enough they can hear it clearly where they are.

"What just happened?" Magnus asks.

Cat shakes her head. "He's your boyfriend. Fiancé. I thought you'd tell me."

Magnus looks down at the two bags Alec left by the door. "She didn't even ask for her toy."

Cat leans over enough to look into the bag, and sees a small glittery white stuffed unicorn with a rainbow mane and tail on top of a mesh bag of fruit. She covers her mouth to muffle a snort of laughter. "Apparently Alec's even prettier than unicorns?"

Magnus laughs. "Well, I can't argue with that."

[dungeonsanddragonsfifthedition]

beaujes 36?

you’ve shown me what love can feel like.

Here’s the thing: in all the books, there’s this big fancy moment where the girl thinks “Oh,” and then, “Oh,” again, but slanted this time, because she’s realized that the rugged but kindhearted sailor or the nerdy but powerful tutor or the mysterious but gentle fey prince is the love of her life. And Jester’s always kind of expected that to happen eventually, because, well, she knows when people are hot, duh, and she knows when people are cool to be around, also duh, but.

Well. Here’s the other thing: Jester doesn’t really remember it happening with the person who she think she kind-of-sort-of-is-maybe-in-love with, and she asked Nott who was married how she knew that she was in love and Nott panicked about that and started asking Jester questions about who she had a crush on. And then she asked Yasha and Yasha just got sad, which is fair, because Jester can’t even imagine how much that sort of thing must hurt. And Caduceus doesn’t know anything about romance but the second she mentioned a crush he started stuttering and just left the room. And Fjord and Caleb are both, like, thirty and have been in relationships before, probably, especially Fjord, but Fjord isn’t super emotionally smart, and Caleb doesn’t really seem like a romantic, so.

Well. She’s really only got one option. And it is, unfortunately, the person she is maybe-in-love with. She tries to make it subtle, at least--they’re at their camp, but Yasha’s picking flowers and Cad and Fjord are Communing and Caleb and Nott are working on some new spell. And she asks, very quietly, and looking at the moon, “Beau. You’ve been in love before, right?”

“Um.” Beau says, “What do you...?”

“I mean, you kissed Reani and it was very romantic, and--”

“Jes, I’m... not in love with Reani. We were just having fun.” And Beau looks embarrassed. Very embarrassed. Quieter, softer, in that tone she reserves mostly for Jester, “But I--I have been in love, yeah,”

“How did you know?”

“I... didn’t. Not at first. I was... talkin’ about this with. Someone the other day. That it’s not a realization. It’s a... it’s a feeling, right? In your gut, or your heart, or wherever’s the most romantic part of the body. In your tits, maybe. Fuck if I know. But I just look at this person, and I’d looked at her plenty, before, and--you know it just gets sort of stuck in there. Like when--when you think about this person, there’s this stray thought, I love her, and then it just gets louder and louder, but it’s subtle.”

“A frog in boiling water,” Jester says, mirroring something Caleb said a few weeks ago.

“I fuckin’ hate that  metaphor, but. Yeah. It’s... it’s--”

“I’m in love with you,” Jester blurts, hand darting close to Beau’s face but stopping, nervous, shaking. “I’m super, duper in love with you, Beau, and--”

“Jes,” Beau says, blinks. Her eyes are so pretty, and so scary, right now, because what if she hates Jester, now. “Jes, did Nott--you shouldn’t feel obligated to--”

She retreats, a bit. Clasps her hand in the other hand.. “Obligated to what?”

“To. To love me back. It’s not like a book, where’s the--where the hot guy’s like, “I love you,” and suddenly the girl’s swooning, you don’t have to swoon--”

Holy shit, Jester thinks, and nearly squeals, but she has to help Beau, first, because, well, Beau’s gonna feel guilty for no reason, and that’s stupid and sad and all of those terrible things.

“i’m not swooning! I--I didn’t know if it was. Real or if it was anything and--” she says, “Beau, can I kiss you? I’ve kissed one other person and it wasn’t very good and I’d like to kiss you very badly, because you’re sort of famously very good at it, and I think you’re very beautiful and cool and strong and smart and so, so, so interesting, and--”

And Beau kisses her. Says, “Hah, sorry,” afterward, but it’s a good kiss, and it’s weird and warm technically not even with tongue, but--

“I love you so much, Beau, really, I’m not--”

Beau shushes her. “Caleb and Nott are getting up. I’m not giving Nott any satisfaction. Not yet. Because she’ll take credit.”

“Okay,” Jester pouts, “But. We have to tell everybody, eventually, because they’re going to think it’s super cool.”

“Mhm,” Beau says. “Yeah. I bet they will.”

And Beau holds her hand, very subtly, and oh. 

Oh. This is really, really nice.

[theonceoverthinker]

A Modern Man’s Guide to Piracy

Summary: Killian gets a lesson about modern culture that is very much up his alley.

AO3       Fanfiction.net

Dynamics Featured: Captain Cobra Swan, Swan Believer, Captain Cobra, Captain Swan

Inspired by @distant-rose. It’s actually been so long since I first touched this that I don’t remember exactly how you inspired it (Maybe on Discord some time ago?), but past!me left that note and I wanted to honor it all the same! So thank you for this fun idea, I think!

Timeline wise...it’s kind of all over the place, as you’ll see by the last scene. BUT it was a fun opportunity for some good jokes (Are they good? You tell me!) and I couldn’t resist. That said, it’s during the gap between Rumple and Belle’s departure from Storybrooke and Henry’s departure in the Season 7 opening.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

“Mom!” Emma could hear Henry calling. “It’s not on Netflix!”

With a bowl of popcorn now sagging in her arms, Emma sighed as she took off for the living room.

Damn. It was Groundhog’s Day and she really wanted to watch the Bill Murray movie. She had made a point of watching it every year and this was the first one where she had both Killian and Henry around to watch it with her.

Emma sighed. “Netflix must’ve taken it off.”

“They always do this right before the holiday,” Henry complained.

“That’s how Hollywood makes its money back and it sucks.”

Looking over at her husband and the confused expression on his face, Emma couldn’t help but laugh. No one could say that Killian wasn’t adapting to modern life like a champ, but those little moments where he stumbled were still pretty funny.

“Sorry, Killian,” Emma said. “The system of Hollywood and how it works with streaming services is a weird and complicated thing.”

But then Killian surprised her.

“I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “I mean, I don’t get all of it, but I think I understand the broad strokes of the matter. It’s like when I buy salmon at the grocery store. The grocery store gets money, but so do the fishers who bring it in.”

Emma nodded, impressed.

“Looks like some old timer’s getting a handle on our modern traditions.”

“Another age quip, Emma?” Killian teased. “Will you ever stop?”

“What can I say? They never grow old!”

Killian couldn’t seem to stop his laughter from getting the better of him and Henry and Emma happily joined in.

“And here I thought I was the one to make the puns,” Killian commented. “But as for our movie dilemma, what of the library? From what I remember, they started stocking movies there.”

Henry took a minute and checked his phone, looking displeased when he at last locked his screen again. “It’s closed.”

“It feels like it always is. Belle really should’ve thought twice before hiring Sleepy to run the library when she and Gold left,” Emma lamented. From beside her, Killian frowned.

“So I take it that movie night has been ruined?” he surmised. “Unless you want to watch that ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie again.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Emma. She turned to Henry, who must have had a similar revelation, and the two exchanged a look, one filled to the brim with the promise of mischief.

Luckily for her, a sheriff couldn’t exactly arrest herself.

“Not exactly,” Henry said.

“How so?” Killian asked.

“You’ll see.”

Killian smirked. “Is this to be another one of your operations?”

Henry seemed to muse on that for a moment before nodding. “Operation Pirate.”

That seemed to catch Killian off guard. “I’m confused. What can I do? While I’ve learned much, I’m nowhere near as familiar with this realm’s movie services as you two are.”

“No,” Emma clarified. “It’s not about you.”

“It’s a...more modern type of piracy,” Henry went on to say, smiling as the words settled.

Killian clearly didn’t know how to respond to that, but Emma could tell he was interested all the same in what that ‘modern type of piracy’ entailed.

“Well, let’s not waste any time then.”

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

“So what do you think?” Emma asked.

“Well,” Killian said. “It’s not as strenuous as captaining a ship, but the spoils seem to be rather abundant for this age.”

“Gotta love modern piracy.”

“It definitely smells better. So how did you do it?”

Henry went on to explain the concept of online piracy as best as he could. And while Emma loved her kid and knew Killian was pretty smart, she could see him struggling to keep up with what he was saying.

“So wait: Does that red horseshoe drag the movie from the pirate’s computer to ours?”

“No. First, that’s a magnet and second, we all share the movie.”

“Share? Sharing not what pirate are oft to do. Our ways are a bit more cutthroat than that.”

“Well, you’re not sharing,” Henry attempted to clarify. “It’s kind of like a cake with infinite pieces.”

However, that just seemed to make things worse.

“How does cake factor into all of this?”

Henry sighed and to his credit, was about to take another stab at explaining it again when Emma came to put him out of his misery.

“I think Killian’s had enough of our modern education for today,” she said, patting her husband on the shoulder.

While Killian seemed a bit sad to give up, Emma could tell that he felt even more overwhelmed by the extent of his lesson. She couldn’t really blame him -- even most of the people born in this realm couldn’t do it. It might have been a bit much to expect him to figure it out, especially in a single night.

“I’m sorry lad, I don’t quite understand. I think I’ll leave this type of piracy to you and your mother for now.”

Still, even as he said it and Henry relented, there was a lingering determination that Emma could tell was still there, but she brushed that off. Killian was always determined and she positively loved him for it.

But at the end of the day, maybe there were just some things that likely couldn’t be taught to a two hundred year old pirate.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

How the fuck could the freakin’ Savior not get tickets to ‘The Avengers: Endgame?’

It didn’t seem possible.

Emma normally didn’t care for her title of princess, but if there was ever a time where she would’ve bothered to pull rank, this would be it!

She even went as far as to try, but while many were still impressed by her royal status, the man at the ticket counter wasn’t among them.

So nope -- not even her royal status could grant her even one spot to see Iron Man, Captain America, and The Hulk take on Thanos. It was the movie of the year -- no, the century -- and she couldn’t see it.

And it sucked because Emma knew her job -- it wouldn’t take much for her to be spoiled. Her schedule had jammed her weekend, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, there was allegedly some kid running around Storybrooke calling everyone and spoiling the movie. It wouldn’t take long before it reached her, especially because her job necessitated she pick up every call she got.

This was her only chance until Monday to go see it, but alas, the Infinity Gauntlet was just outside of her grasp.

She could only imagine one person who was more miserable about the news than her.

And while driving home, she just happened to encounter him.

While Emma knew for a fact that her son was as healthy as a horse, he currently looked like he’d just been punched in the gut. His steps slugged and his his shoulders were sagging so much that they threatened to dislocate his backpack from his body. And facially speaking, he looked like a zombie. His eyes were heavy and his frown was dulled, as if his sadness was so deep that it circled to resignation.

Emma slowed her bug as she pulled up to him.

“Need a lift?” she said, smiling sadly.

Henry nodded and got in.

“Any luck on your end getting tickets?”

“Nope,” Henry answered, his tone more morose than Eeyore’s when he lost his tail. ”

...And when he found his tail…

“You?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Even with the power pull?”

“Looks like the only thing that can defeat the royal family is the Storybrooke Multiplex.”

Henry sighed. “I even offered to do Jeffrey Frog’s homework for a month and he still wouldn’t give me his ticket! I can’t believe this! Everyone at my school is seeing this movie tonight!” Henry suddenly grinned as he turned to Emma. “Any chance I can skip school tomorrow and see it then?”

Emma shot Henry a teasing pointed look.

“Do you like having two moms? Because I promise, if I let you do that, Regina would see to it that you’d only have one.”

“She wouldn’t have to kno-o-w,” Henry pointed out. Emma almost had to snort at his sing-songy fashion of begging.

“You know we live in Storybrooke, right? She’ll know the moment you step into that theater. Sorry, kid.”

Henry rolled back his head and pressed it against the seat head. “Damnit.”

“Language!” A beat passed and the two started laughing at the spot-on nature of the reference, however unintentional it was.

For the record though, it was completely intentional.

As they pulled up to the house, Emma and Henry slunk into their seats.

“Want to watch Infinity Wars tonight?”

“I think it’ll hurt too much,” Henry dismissed.

Emma groaned. “You’re right,” she admitted. “Should we just wallow in silence?”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Henry replied, his tone just as miserable as Emma felt.

Finally, they got out of the car and went inside their house.

Immediately, the smell of microwave popcorn filled the air.

Henry and Emma looked at each other.

“Killian?” Emma called out.

“Emma!” Killian replied, coming out from the kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn. “And Henry! You’re both just in time for the show!”

Henry, clearly just as baffled as Emma was, looked to him. “Didn’t mom tell you Endgame was gonna be in theatres?”

Killian grinned a suspicious grin.

“Aye,” he said. “That she did, but she also told me that you weren’t able to procure tickets to the film.”

“So you were trying to make us feel better with an at-home movie?” Emma said, filling in the gaps. Killian nodded.

While still bummed out about the movie, she really had to hand it to Killian for his efforts to cheer them up.

For a pirate, he sure was sweet.

“Which one are we watching?” Henry asked.

Immediately, Killian’s grin grew to an outright smirk.

“Why ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ of course, my boy.”

Emma’s jaw slackened as Killian continued smirking at them.

“How?” Henry asked. “The movie just came out!”

“Why, I used that pirating technology of yours,” Killian said, gesturing towards the computer in the living room, which Henry wasted no time examining.

“But I thought you couldn’t figure out how to do it?”

“I couldn’t -- not when you first showed me, but I knew this film meant a lot to you so I did some digging. It took a few pages of this world’s government telling me NOT to pirate things, but when do I even listen to monarchs?”

“You listen to me,” Emma pointed out.

“Because I love you. Besides, you hardly ever use that title of yours.” Emma shrugged. “But anyway, eventually, I found some pages that laid out the process more thoroughly.”

“Well,” Emma said, watching Henry look at the file on the computer with an increasingly growing smile on his face, “it looks like you succeeded.”

Killian’s grin grew impossibly wider. “Yes, no matter the realm, you can always count on a pirate to secure the goods. And thankfully in this land, they’ve the decency to share their findings. Just be warned, the recording was from the premiere and quality isn't too great, especially compared to those Blu-Rays of yours.”

“It’s perfect!” Henry cried out! “It’s the right length, the Marvel logo looks new, the quality is low enough to be real! Killian, you are the best!” Having said that, Henry pulled Killian into a tight hug.

Killian rested his hook on Henry’s shoulder as he gently pulled him closer. “I’d say you own that title, lad, given how you’re far faster at this than I am, but you’re welcome all the same. Now why don’t you go get the other bowl of popcorn that has those accursed Milk Duds melted in for your mother and we’ll get this started?”

Henry, clearly not needing to be told twice, raced to the kitchen as Emma pulled her husband close.

“Looks like you can take the man out of the pirate, but you can’t take the pirate out of the man.”

“That bother you, my love?” Killian’s smirk returned, gazing at Emma as if he already knew the answer.

And dammit, he definitely did.

Emma answered his question with a kiss. She felt her foot pop as she settled cozily into his arms.

“I had a feeling,” Killian said, clearly not even bothering to keep the smug off his face.

“But that comment about my ‘accursed’ Milk Duds definitely crossed a line.”

“Give me credit, Swan. I may not be above breaking the law for my family, but I must have some honesty to my character.”

As she came in for another kiss, she made a point to lightly jab Killian in his smug little chest.

“Guys! Come on! It’s time for the romance to turn off and the action to turn on!”

Emma turned to Henry. “You wouldn’t be saying that if we were Pepper and Tony!”

“When you have a metal suit and can shoot energy blasts out of your hands, then you can makeout in front of me all you want.”

“Remind me to get some of Dad’s armor the next time I use my magic,” Emma told Killian.

Henry rolled his eyes, but gestured towards the TV before walking into the living room. “Anyway, Avengers, Assemble!”

Killian grinned, following him. “Excelsior!”

As Emma joined in alongside her boys, she marveled at how her pirate did indeed have many more tricks up his sleeve than even she expected.

And more than anything, even experiencing ‘The Avengers: Endgame’ spoiler-free, discovering all of them was to be the ultimate adventure.

[kukuandkookie]

All characters of my Star vs the Forces of Evil next gen so far! This is the post that contains all their bios and trivia.

Now onto introductions!

From (your) left to (your) right, we have:

Katrina: one of the many children of Buff Frog (aka Yvgeny Bulgolyubov) and a very smart/talented fighter. She spends much of her day working out, and since the monsters have found more peace on Mewni, she's joined the Butterfly royal guard in a sort of integration program.

Meteora: formerly the villain Miss Heinous, Meteora received a second chance at life when she was reborn. She was raised by her mom Eclipsa and dad Globgor, and while they ruled Mewni after the issues of the true Butterfly bloodline and monster vs Mewman were settled, Meteora eventually decided to give the throne back to Star Butterfly. She now acts as an adviser and tutor to Star's children, and may or may not have a crush on Marco Jr.

Marco Jr: the next son of Angie and Rafael Diaz, Marco Jr (aka MJ) has grown up surrounded by magic and mayhem. He's gotten used to it though, and even joins his older brother Marco on his trips back to Mewni. He is a very chill and relaxed person, much more than his brother, and enjoys going where the winds take him. He has a strong talent in music, and may or may not have a crush on Meteora.

Harleen: the eldest daughter of Foolduke and Ruberiot, she's grown up with her mother's sense of humour and her father's performance skills. She loves clowning around and often does comedic clown routines, and while a little destructive with an affinity for chaos, she has a good heart.

Aloe: a little shy and kind of awkward, Aloe is the eldest son of Slime and Princess Spiderbite. As he is half-slime monster, he oozes a lot of slime and this often causes him to be rather clumsy. He's not the most commanding of princes, but he's very sweet and can always find the good in others.

Coloratura aka Rara: musically talented, this unicorn from the Cloud Kingdom is famed for her songs and performances. She's also very kind and mature, although she has a strong desire to make her mark on society. She got to know the others during a misadventure in the Cloud Kingdom seeking her autograph, and she was happy to make friends, since her life can get rather lonely.

Muse: ethereally charming and incredibly smart, Muse is the son of Janna and Oskar. Because his mother became the talent agent and manager for his musician father, Muse has always lived a life in the limelight. Growing up like this means he knows how to be fast on his feet, and rather than pick up his father's spacey attitude, he's instead inherited Janna's keen senses of business and...well, other talents, like pickpocketing. Muse is known to be a flirt and a heartbreaker, but he's still a loyal friend.

Quince: despite being Harleen's younger brother, Quince is very much so not like his sister. He has spent a lot of his life under the tutelage of their family friend Mime Girl, and his easily frightened nature means he's chosen to pursue the path of a mime rather than a clown like Harleen, or a jester like their mother Foolduke.

Chandelure: one day, when Hekapoo was very very bored, she happened to drop a little bit of wax and eventually Chandelure was born. While his mother is not all that present in his life, Chandelure has no issues with that. He's learned the craft of making dimension-hopping scissors from Hekapoo, and works with her in safeguarding travel between dimensions. Chandelure is incredibly independent and snarky, so talking to him can often feel very one-sided. That being said, he is a good friend.

Weslie: son of Princess Ram and Heartrude Butterfly, Weslie is the prince to his mother's kingdom. He is very cheerful and clever, and while friendly, he knows when to stand his ground. In the crisis of the werewolves attempting to invade the Kingdom of the Green Pastures, he's helped in fighting them back. He has many friends in his own kingdom, but he greatly loves visiting his Butterfly family in Mewni.

Tyrian: the only child of Tom Lucitor, king of the Underworld, and his wife, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Tyrian is not at all what most people expect from a demon prince. He's quite shy and often even lonely, and has weak demon powers because he's not even half-demon (Tom himself is half-demon). Despite this, he does have a temper, and when it flares, his demonic powers really seem to come out quite strong. His hair turns from blond to red when he's uncomfortable, and when angry, his hair can burst into flames (at max rage mode, his hair becomes a blue flame).

Shiara: as a descendant of the Pony Head royal family, Shiara may be able to inherit the throne...but there is quite a lot of competition, and Shiara herself has little interest in ruling. She mainly loves going out for parties and having fun. Despite this, her sense of responsibility kicks in when it's needed, and she has a love of puzzles.

Celeste: twin sister to Crescent and the daughter of Star and Marco, Celeste is much more like her mother in personality. She's quite an unorthodox princess and doesn't really have interest in studying magic or how to be the next queen, even though as the girl, she is to inherit the Mewni throne. Celeste loves to make friends. While she was quite close to Crescent when they were younger, she is disappointed by his distant attitude now.

Crescent: twin brother to Celeste and the son of Star and Marco, Crescent is more like his father. While not as safety-focused or as willing to let loose and have fun, Crescent is quite serious and even studious. He works hard to perfect his magic and learn how to be a good royal for the benefits of Mewni, especially because he is one of the rare instances of a boy being born to the Butterfly family. This means that he can't inherit the throne according to tradition because he has a sister, and this has made him grow jealous of her, especially because she doesn't take her studies seriously. While she received the wand instead of him, it split in half when he grabbed it, making his very faded cheek marks finally visible.

Whitney: daughter of Brittney Wong, Whitney is not nearly as mean as her mother. She is kind of spoiled and often plays dumb, but she's actually quite clever. While being raised to be a picture perfect child, Whitney personally dislikes the way her mother runs things and how the rich people around them act. It is through meeting Crescent and Celeste that she eventually grows as a person and can learn to stand up to her mother.

Kyle: the only son of Kelly, Kyle does not know who his father is. Kelly spends much of her time training as a warrior, and while Kyle has studied martial arts as well, he prefers curling up with a good book much more. He desires to know everything about everything. Being quite emotionless and even snarky, Kyle can be difficult to befriend, but he often doesn't mean to hurt anyone when he seems a little too straightforward.

Vera: the second child of Slime and Princess Spiderbite, Vera is a very cheerful and happy little girl. She's very outgoing and optimistic, coming off as the opposite of her older brother Aloe, but like him, she also sees the good in everyone. She is known for her sweet nature, and she also jumps at the chance to learn more about the world. This is perhaps why she's one of the only ones who isn't deterred by Kyle's dead-serious sarcasm, because even as he grows annoyed with her peppiness, he appreciates her desire to learn.

Y'Gythgba aka Mona Lisa: a Septarian, Mona was hatched and taken in by Meteora after the younger kids, including Crescent and Celeste, have a bit of a misadventure in the Mewni swampland where many monsters still live (despite Star, Meteora, and Eclipsa's hard work at reintegrating monsters into Mewman society). There they found an abandoned Septarian egg, which they brought back. Meteora named her Y'Gythba from legends she'd heard of an alien race called the Salamandrians, but when she found the name was quite hard to pronounce for most people, she nicknamed the young Septarian "Mona Lisa", after the famous Earthen masterpiece, in the hopes that Mewmans will see her beauty. This is because even as monsters and Mewmans grow less separated, Septarians remain the one monster race that Mewmans cannot stand, because of Toffee and Seth. Now that they've both been defeated, Meteora is determined to raise Mona without the hatred that many Septarians seem to have, and for the most part, Mona is a very sweet and smart young girl—just with a few violent tendencies. Meteora has put her in training of the royal Mewni army, and Mona has proven to be very skilled in battle. She is very loyal, although she does have a temper. Only time will tell if she ends up being the answer to Mewni's Septarian problem.

Trivia:

Harleen and Quince are based a little bit on Harley Quinn, hence their names. Aren't I clever? Lol.

Yes, Rara is based on the Rara from My Little Pony. I thought it'd be fun to base Pony Head-like characters on MLP, but it was hard choosing who to base them on. I might do a few more based on the mane six and/or princesses.

Muse may look like he has an eye issue, but the extreme sparkliness is thanks to his dad. Oh, and yeah I sort of matched Janna and Oskar for fun; figured it might work.

Chandelure is based on the evolution line of the Pokémon Litwick, Lampent, and Chandelure! I wanted to give Hekapoo a kid even though it seems unlikely she'd ever have one, and basing the kid on that evolution line seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.

Weslie is based on the character from the series Chinese cartoon Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (喜羊羊与灰太狼 (Xǐ Yáng Yáng yǔ Huī Tài Láng), with a direct translation being "Pleasant Goat and Grey Big Wolf"). He's specifically based on the main character, 喜羊羊 (Xǐ Yáng Yáng), whose English names include Weslie, Happy, or Pleasant Goat.

Oh, if Weslie's legs look broken, it's because I wasn't sure if I wanted to full-on goat legs or just human legs, so I sort of tried to do both haha.

Shiara's colour scheme comes from this comic where I put in an arbitrary friend for Celeste to goof off with, but she wasn't fully shown and was pretty random.

I do NOT have a parent planned for Shiara, and she isn't Pony Head's kid (I don't really see Pony Head as a mom?). If any of you have suggestions for a parent let me know!

Whitney is 100% based on Whitney Biskit from the show Littlest Pet Shop! I'm considering what if I gave her the twin Britney Biskit but I feel like it'd be weird making Brittney Wong name a child after herself...or maybe not?? Idk, do you guys think I should give her a twin? Or would that take away from the twins Crescent and Celeste?  

I gave Kelly a kid just because. x'D

Mona Lisa is 100% based on Mona Lisa from the TMNT 2012 series! I had a free space left and I sort of went, "Why not design one last one?" While scouring my mind for ideas, I thought I'd make a monster kid and ended up choosing the Septarian race for the story ideas. That's when I thought of Mona Lisa—heck, even their species names sound similar lol: Salamandrian (TMNT 2012) and Septarian (SVtFoE).

[real-life-pine-tree]

Into the Arcverse: My Name is Yuan (1/?)

Yuan Amaya just wanted to hide away from public eye, but fate had other plans. Based on Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse.

Celebrity Duelists: the biggest trend in the entire dueling community. Originating in Den City, these Duelists use flashy avatars in Link V.R.A.I.N.S. (short for Virtual Reality Artificial Intelligence Network System) to take part in special duels that are broadcasted for everyone to see. Like regular celebrities, they also take part in sponsorships and charity events, with some of them opening their own business lines, like The Gore's comic series and Blue Angel's Christmas album.

But not anyone can become Celebrity Duelists. In order to reach that status, Duelists need money and/or good connections. Obtaining that worldwide recognition was key, as not every Duelist can become a celebrity. You couldn't just whip up a dueling video and wish for a sponsor to see it. You needed hard work to establish a name in the network system. But who knows? Maybe there's someone out there just waiting to be recognized...

It seemed like any other morning in Den City. The sun rising over the horizon to shine its rays all over town and through the white, cumulus clouds scattered across the sky, the birds chirping their harmonic melodies wherever they go, the citizens getting ready for work, heading to school, or preparing for a fun event in Link V.R.A.I.N.S. Whatever it may be, there was always something for everyone to do, especially for a particular someone.

As the sun’s rays penetrated through a glass window of an apartment, a teenage boy was sitting on his chair, already busy with a personal project of his… Well, “project” is an overstatement. A pencil was held firmly in his right hand as he made swift movements with it over a sheet of paper. Vibrant strokes conjugated with one another, the gripped pencil danced in specific motions to create more light strokes on the paper. Sometimes, his fingers would flick his utensil around to use a slightly worn-down eraser to fix any minor mistakes. The more lines, curves, and shapes produced from the graphite, the closer the boy gets to completing an image he has in his head…and it always brings a warm, soft smile to his face.

His dark blue eyes usually stayed glued to the paper on his desk, but they would occasionally wander around his bedroom whenever he is seeking any inspiration or finding himself a little lost in the music he is listening to for some motivation. For this morning, a pair of earbuds rested on his ears—which were tucking strands of his spiky, black-dyed hair—as he hummed softly to a recently new song performed by BAND-MAID. So far, he has been getting a hang of the choruses and a bit of the bridges, but the rest of the lyrics were more challenging. Even so, he still enjoyed the catchy rhythm it carries and knew this song was a great addition to his playlist.

A sigh slid out from his mouth as he stared in the vicinity of his workspace, but the sound of the tone was far from disappointment. He took great enjoyment in this hobby, specifically the infinite possibilities of drawing. No matter what time of day it is, it was like heaven for him. A nice, relaxing haven where he could find the space he needs to create whatever is on his mind. A well-deserved break he always takes from the world to express himself. To Yuan Amaya, this was his happiness.

"The whole wide world," Yuan quietly sung. "Will voice their true feelings."

"Yuan!"

"How many times have you repainted your life's story with 'only glory'?"

"Yuan!"

"The whole wide world defy the deepest deep."

"Yuan!"

"Enjoy all unexpected things over and ov-"

"Yuan!"

Realizing his parents were calling out to him, Yuan ripped out an earbud. "What is it?" he called back.

"Did you remember to pack for school?" Mr. Amaya asked.

But one glance at an empty suitcase said it all. "Crap..." Yuan sighed.

He quickly got up from his chair and started putting everything away. He put his pencil back into his silver-white pencil bag and slid his unfinished sketch into his folder of some of his other drawings, which lied on top of his sketchpad. He then packed his art materials into his suitcase before rushing to get dressed. Tossing his navy blue shirt with golden yellow lines near the end of each sleeve and light gray pants on his bed, Yuan grabbed his school uniform out of his closet and rushed to get changed into them. It consisted of a slate-colored jacket with a light blue trim, a white, button-up shirt, a blue tie, black pants, and a pair of grayish-blue and dark gray sneakers with white trims near the bottom.

Grabbing his suitcase, Yuan left his room. "Where's my deck?" he asked his parents.

"Still in the living room," Mrs. Amaya answered. "But wouldn't it be easier to get the newer Duel Disk model?"

"I would rather not," Yuan admitted as he walked to the living room. "Everyone's going digital. I feel more comfortable using physical cards." He picked up his Weather Painter deck and put it in his Duel Disk. "No matter what the others say..."

Mr. Amaya noticed his son's nervous expression. "I get that you're at the age of walking to school by yourself, but would it be alright if I drive you-"

"Thanks dad," Yuan quickly replied. "I would appreciate it."

His father was rather surprised at the quick response, but he still gave a warm smile to his son nonetheless. Without a second to waste, the family departed from their apartment room and made their way out of the building, where Yuan said his goodbyes for the day to his mother on the staircase before meeting up with his dad in his car. The current model they own is controlled by an A.I. much like the taxis of Den City; lately, there have been updates getting installed in their programing to help decrease the risk of the A.I.s malfunctioning and causing any accidents, a move that Yuan admittedly thought was smart.

Once the duo got into the front seats of automobile, Mr. Amaya activated the A.I. through voice command and instructed it to had it go to Den City High School. The vehicle then pulled out of its parking space and made its way onto the road to embark on its voyage. While driving through the suburbs, Yuan asked if there was anything interesting he could listen to on the radio, but before his dad could answer, the A.I. picked up his question and responded by tuning to a radio station that was currently doing brief news reports, with one of them being about recent activity going on in Link V.R.A.I.N.S. They have heard rumors starting to go around regarding this, and right as the car went by the downtown area, those rumors were proven true. From the windows and windshield, they could see a lot of the skyscrapers’ TV screens were plastered with live coverage on this developing story, including one from Good Morning Link V.R.A.I.N.S.

"Welcome to another installment of Link Facts," a familiar talking frog announced. "I'm your host, J.W. Frog. As you're all aware of, there's been talk about this mysterious Celebrity Duelist known as 'Striker' goin' around. From what my rookie reporters gathered, he claims to be some new-fangled reporter who claims Sol Technologies is covering an incident that took place ten years ago. But can we really trust this guy? No one's got a glimpse of him, not even the kind of deck he uses. So how can we believe him when he's got no proof?"

A nearby phone rang. "And it looks like we have our first caller," Frog noticed. He pressed a button on his desk. "Hello, you have reached Link Facts. How may I help you?"

"This is Ghost Gal of CyberTech Sector," a young woman spoke up.

That surprised Frog. "M-My goodness, it's an honor to have you on my show," he replied. "What brings you here?"

"I noticed you've been saying things about Striker," Ghost Gal answered. "What makes you think you know everything about him? You ever thought he could be doing us a favor?"

"I'm sorry, m'am, but without definitive proof, we can't really tell what he’s like,” Frog explained.

"So your first thought is to say he's not trustworthy?" Ghost Gal assumed. "What if something did happen ten years ago and the folks at Sol Technologies are the ones acting shady?"

"That is a possibility," Frog admitted.

"Then I would appreciate it if you say that instead of making one-way accusations," Ghost Gal suggested, then she hung up.

"Well that was a sure-fire way to start things off," Frog remarked. "But that's why I need you viewers. If anyone has proof of who Striker is, whether it's pictures or videos, send them to me at jwfrog@linkfacts.com. Now in other news, The Gore has recently announced an upcoming charity duel..."

"J.W. Frog might be right," Mr. Amaya pointed out. "We really don't know much about Striker. He could be making up this 'Sol Technologies coverup' for attention."

"Maybe..." Yuan muttered, still thinking about that news report.

The traffic light changed from red to green, and while the car picked up some speed to continue driving, Yuan dove into some important aspects of what they witnessed. J.W. Frog brought up a valid point regarding these stories; unless it is for attention, it is always important to find definitive proof of the claim someone is trying to make. But maybe there could be another factor at play. What if Striker has been gathering proof and he’s just waiting for the right time to share it to the public? It could be a possibility.

Yuan knew he shouldn’t second guess himself like that yet he couldn’t help it because he just so happens to be a fan of Striker himself. He has heard about how this mysterious Duelist became a celebrity due to his nightly mission to expose Sol Technologies. Speaking of which, it was astonishing to have someone like Ghost Gal from CyberTech Sector call during a news report to give her input. She has also got a reputation herself for being a co-founder of this organization with well-renounced hacking abilities and shares a common goal with the other members: protecting Link V.R.A.I.N.S. from criminal hackers. As astounding as it is by itself, why would Ghost Gal suddenly chime in like that to have J.W. Frog say proof is needed? Is this so-called “Sol Technologies coverup” really that important?

"You're a fan of Striker, aren't you?" Mr. Amaya asked. "What do you think about this news about him?"

Yuan remained silent. "Not really in a talking mood?" Mr. Amaya guessed.

"Eh..." Yuan muttered with a shrug. "I'd rather keep an open mind. I've been following fansites for a while, but they all say the same thing. Everyone's obsessed with figuring out Striker's identity. Wouldn't it be easier to leave him alone? And what's going to happen when we finally figure out who he is? It sounds like he mostly became famous because of his unknown status."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Mr. Amaya pointed out. "Your mother and I know you made an account, but did you even try to log in? It wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

"No thanks," Yuan replied. "You know how hard it is for me to make friends-"

"Hey, Yuan!"

Outside the window, the two could see a teenager running towards their car. He had a chubby figure with dark green, shoulder-length hair that’s pushed back and left a small cowlick on the front, olive green eyes, and thick, hooked eyebrows of the same dark green color. For his attire, he wore the standard Den City High School male uniform except the jacket sleeves are rolled up to his upper arms and he wore scarlet sneakers with a light yellow coloring on the tongue of the sneakers and a thick, gray strap on each shoe. They both recognized him as Naoki Shima and Yuan was glad to see him; after all, they have been best friends ever since they were both children.

"Hey, uh...can you drop me off here?" Yuan asked his dad.

Mr. Amaya sighed. "Alright," he answered. He spoke into the steering wheel. "Stop driving."

At that moment, the car steered towards a crosswalk and stopped, allowing Yuan to get his suitcase. "Have a good day at school," Mr. Amaya said. "Love you."

"Thanks," Yuan replied as he got out of the car. "And I know."

He shut the door behind him and began to run up to Naoki. Just then, a honk briefly blared from the car horn, startling Yuan and stopping him in his tracks. He turned around to see his father rolling down the car window to say something to his son. "You have to say 'I love you' back," he explained.

"What?!" Yuan asked.

"I'm not leaving until you say it," Mr. Amaya insisted.

Yuan groaned as he face-palmed. "Fine..." he said. "I love you, dad."

Mr. Amaya chuckled slightly. "See?" he asked. "That wasn't hard."

As Mr. Amaya started the car up and it drove off, Naoki muffled a laugh. "What, doesn't your grandmother embarrass you in public?" Yuan asked.

"Pfft... Nah," Naoki answered. "Though I don't get why the other students tease me when she drops off my boxed lunches."

Yuan rolled his eyes as he sighed. He should’ve expected something like that from Naoki by now given how long they’ve known each other. For instance, one of the best memories they shared was back when they were children and they had gotten into Duel Monsters; unfortunately, uncertainty would always surface regarding what the actual rules were, so they decided to make up their own rules. They even recorded those rules into their own notebook copies and entitled them “The Official Dueling Guidebook”. Even after all these years, they still have their guidebooks in their bedrooms although they have been showing some signs of wear and tear. Even so, past and present moments with his best friend was another common occurrence that meant a whole lot for Yuan.

"So Yuan, have you thought about joining a club?" Naoki asked as the two walked to school.

"I have," Yuan answered. "Do you think the art club is still accepting members?"

"Probably," Naoki answered with a shrug. "But have you thought about joining the dueling club? I'm practically one of the club's best Duelist."

"Best Duelist, huh?" Yuan repeated. "What, did you bribe a bunch of newbies with the promise of free cookies?"

"Haha, very funny," Naoki dully said.

"I'm serious," Yuan clarified. "Den City High School mostly focuses on academics. We're the only Duelists who attend."

"Yeah, well turns out you're wrong," Naoki clarified. "I hung a flyer on the bulletin board and I got a bunch of people interested. Not sure if they played the game before, but it's still something. So whaddya say? You interested in stopping by after school?"

Yuan smiled. "How can I say no to my best friend?" he asked in response. "But I hope you didn't tell these supposed newbies Link monsters are invulnerable to everything."

Later that afternoon, once classes were finished, Yuan met up with Naoki in the hallway where the latter’s last class was. He followed him out of the building and through the school grounds, weaving through a few groups of students as they were all heading to their clubs or extracurricular activities. In only about a minute or two, they reached the front doors of another facility on the campus, where Naoki explained the Duel Club is located on the first floor. He led Yuan through the doors until they were both in the main entrance. He then bolted through a hallway on his left, leaving his friend to run after him; to this day, he hasn’t been able to deduce how someone like him can run so fast, so he would assume it probably has to do with his eccentric, passionate personality.

Fortunately, he managed to catch up to Naoki, and after turning a couple corners, they both reached a doorway in an empty hall. Outside the door, there was a sign that says “Duel Club” on it, marking the intended destination of Yuan and the other newcomers’ first day there.

"So this is the place?" Yuan asked.

Naoki nodded in response. "And don't worry, everyone's nice. You'll get along just fine."

"Right..." Yuan muttered. He slowly reached for the doorknob. "So I have to...just go in, right?" He took a deep breath. "That's all I have to do..."

"Geez, it's not that hard!" Naoki exclaimed. "But if you're too chicken, allow me to give you a push."

With a single yet strong push, Yuan found himself opening the door and stumbling into the Duel Club. He tried to maintain his composure after his not-so graceful entrance, but he was too distracted by the sight of the other club members, which contained a healthy gender ratio. Among the females were a young teenage girl with a brunette, bobcut hairstyle and hazel eyes, a blonde-haired woman with magenta-red eyes and glasses, and a purple-eyed girl who had her wavy, ginger hair in a headband and left two, light orange side tails on the front. As for the males, there were a gray-haired boy who wore chartreuse glasses over his black eyes, a spectacled young man with his eyes shut, his teal hair kept in a single spike, and considerably chubbier than Naoki, a straight, brown-haired man with a lean figure, and a short, teenage boy with gray eyes and kept his dark burgundy hair in a ponytail.

Realizing everyone was staring at him, Yuan stumbled over his words. "H-Hi..." he stammered, averting his eyes towards the ground. "Does anyone like bowling...?"

The blonde woman snickered. "Wow Shima, where'd you get this noob?"

"I'll have you know Yuan Amaya's been my best bud for years!" Naoki defended.

"Yeah right," the blonde woman scoffed with an eye-roll. She glared daggers at Yuan. "Did your so-called buddy pay you to be his friend?"

Yuan swallowed hard. "Uh... Well..."

"Quit mocking the newcomer," the ginger-haired girl defended. She smiled at Yuan. "Sorry about June. She always acts like that with everyone."

"Only because someone acted like a huge show-off and turned out to be a dueling fraud," the blonde woman, apparently June, snapped. "Good thing I'm the vice president or our club would go nowhere thanks to our president's cruddy leadership."

She was referring to the gray-haired boy, who was somewhat annoyed by her insulting him like that, but it was the least of his concerns at this point. What matters right now was to introduce themselves to Yuan because a lot of the members were always keen on getting to know the newcomers. He introduced him as Hosoda and confirmed that he was indeed the president of the Duel Club. The young, teal-haired man was known as Sato and the ponytailed boy was known as Tanaka, who were both second-year students. The brown-haired boy chimed in to acquaint Yuan that he is a freshman named Suzuki. The ginger-haired girl identified herself as Hannah while the brunette woman politely addressed herself as Skye. Though Yuan had an idea on who June is, the latter reluctantly gave her introductions.

"I'm June Mori," the blonde woman sighed. "And like I said before, I'm the club's vice president." She held out her hand. "Now fork over your deck for inspection."

"W-What...?" Yuan stammered.

"Don't mind June," Naoki explained. "She does this to all new club members."

"Only to see if you're worthy of being in the club," June coldly added. "Now hand it over."

"Uh...o-okay..." Yuan muttered, slowly taking out his Weather Painter deck.

Taking his deck from his hand, June expanded it out to examine the cards he has. So far, everything seemed pretty normal, much to her disappointment; it’s not because his deck was useless. It was far from it. She could tell the Weather Painter archetype all contained some beneficial effects of every card type. After all, a core belief that Hosoda made an official rule for the club was how there is no such thing as a useless card, only useless Duelists who don’t see their worth. As she was wrapping up her deck inspection, she spotted a card coated in a hexagonal pattern of dark and light blues. Her mouth barely moved, but it left an opening between her jaws big enough for it to be noticeable, prompting a nearly audible gasp to escape. On top of that, her eyebrows slightly rose at what she manage to catch a glance of.

Was it a dream? No, it couldn’t be. The image, the stats, the direction of where the arrows were pointing, the monster’s name. She recognized it all. Had she finally found it? The card she has been looking for?

"What's wrong, June?" Hosoda asked. "Did you see something?"

June responded by shoving the deck back into Yuan's hand. "Everyone, start rearranging the tables," she ordered. "We're dueling right here, right now."

"Now hold on!" Naoki defended. "You can't ask Yuan to duel!"

"But I just did," June bluntly pointed out. "His deck intrigues me. I want to see it in action."

Yuan wasn't sure how to respond. "Uh..."

Seeing his friend in distress, Naoki leaned close to him. "You okay, buddy?" he asked.

"H-How did you drag me into this..." Yuan muttered. "You know neither one of us can actually duel..."

"Relax, you got this," Naoki encouraged. "June uses a cheap starter deck. Your Weather Painters can easily defeat her."

"You sure you're not saying this to cheer me up?" Yuan guessed.

"Of course not," Naoki answered. He gave Yuan a pat on the back. "Now go on, you've got this."

Taking a deep breath, Yuan stepped forward. "I-I-I..." he stammered.

"Yes?" June asked.

"I accept your challenge!" Yuan nervously blurted out.

June smirked. "Glad to see you're not chicken," she said, strapping on her Duel Disk. "So listen up: if you can defeat me, I'll let you join. No second chances. Got it, noob?"

"Y-Yes!" Yuan exclaimed.

"Good," June said. "I'd wish you luck, but I doubt you'll need it."