#But if he actually thinks about the fact that Harry's been with other people he'll start getting weird in a completely different

[bumblingbabooshka]

I think Tom would have a major preoccupation with the fact that Tuvok has only had sex with his wife. Like, Tuvok lets this fact slip and Tom can't let it go for some reason. Even though everyone he brings it up to is like "?? And? What do you want me to say about that? Who cares?" Tom for some reason is still like:

He can't even verbalize why

[adore-laur]

HOME IS A FEELING

— former high school sweethearts reunite for a conversation about what went wrong 🌃

——

"Don't turn around." 

The vague statement thrown your way sends speculations trickling through your brain. Those three words usually never mean anything good. What is it? Or who is it? Whatever the mystery, it makes you anxious based on your friend's wary expression.

"Just tell me," you say timidly, becoming tense in the diner booth with a forkful of red velvet cake halfway to your mouth. "Tell me so I don't have the urge to actually turn around." 

"Your ex," she mutters, never one to beat around the bush, much to your appreciation. "He just walked in. Don't kill me for saying this, but he looks really good." 

You kick her foot under the table and sink further into the leather seat. "Why is he here? He's supposed to be in another country." 

It's not an exaggeration or a falsity. Harry is supposed to be in not only another country but also another continent entirely—the Netherlands, to be exact.

Your friend risks another glance at the front door. "Well, he's back, and it's like he never left. Look at them..." She shakes her head slowly. "Hyping him up like he's a goddamn hero." 

You assume she means the people you went to high school with. A hometown get-together with a small crowd of classmates from nearby colleges is being held at everyone's favorite local retro-style diner to celebrate the last week of summer break. It was going swell until Mr. Marine Biologist, who probably makes studying abroad his whole personality, waltzed through the door. 

You cradle your left cheek with your hand to create a shield for your face in case he happens to look over. "I'm almost done with my cake, and then we can leave." 

"Good luck," she sings. "The only booth open is the one right behind us." 

Of course. Sighing, you silently pray that Harry won't come near you. You doubt he'll try to talk to you anyway since it's been complete radio silence on both ends for over two years. You're really hoping the breakup doesn't get brought up. 

A sudden and forceful compulsion tells you to catch a quick glimpse to see how he looks, what he wears nowadays, and how he acts when you're not around. It's hard to resist. 

"He's coming this way," alerts your friend through a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. 

The universe must be listening, and you can't combat the urge anymore. Someone as beautiful as him begs to be looked at. You sure as hell didn't break up with him because he was unattractive. 

Subtly peeking to your left, you see Harry in person for the first time in what seems like forever. It's only a short window of time where you can take in his presence as he walks closer to sit with a group of people in the booth behind you. 

Black skinny jeans. Nothing has changed there. 

Chelsea boots. Since when does he wear those? 

A gray, tattered sweater, and a blue beanie. It's summer, for crying out loud.

Most surprising, however, is his hair, which now falls just a tad below his jaw. The same soft curls you would run your fingers through until he fell asleep. 

You continue picking at your dessert, your mind running a mile a minute at the sight of him. The fact that he's behind you—thankfully facing the other way—but still inches away nonetheless is nerve-wracking. If you move your head back even the tiniest bit, it'll touch his own. 

Did he notice you? Does he know his ex-girlfriend is in the same room and thinking about everything he could be thinking? Like how you never forgot about him as much as you tried to? 

He's speaking, but you can't piece together what he's saying because you're too distracted by how his voice has deepened over the years. The rasp and British drawl are still there, and the warmth and comfort of them still make your heart race.

Your friend keeps stealing glances and looking at you with apprehensive eyes that cause prickles of anxiety on your skin. "What?" you whisper.

Before she can reply, you feel something nudge the back of your neck. You strain your peripheral vision and see Harry's elbow resting on the top of your booth. 

"Oops, sorry," he says, twisting around in his seat. 

You automatically turn and look at him. It's impossible not to, since he's like a human magnet for the eyes. His face is so close to yours now. Have his eyes gotten greener? Why does he have such beautiful lashes? Does he have more freckles on his nose since you saw him last? 

Snap out of it! 

"It's fine," you mumble, shaking your head and quickly turning around. Your heart feels like it's in your throat. 

After finishing the rest of your dessert, you lean forward so he doesn't accidentally bump you again. Your friend raises her eyebrows at you and taps her foot against yours. 

"So, your brother is coming to visit soon?" you ask, ignoring her questioning look and attempting to make any sort of conversation to distract from Harry. 

"Yeah, tomorrow. My mom is going to weep happy tears."

"Aw. Remind me to visit her before the semester starts." 

The leather seat suddenly squeaks behind you, and your breathing goes uneven for the third time tonight. 

"You guys want anything to drink?" Harry asks his group of friends. 

They all tell him their desired orders, and shortly after, you see him walk past your booth. He heads toward the counter with long strides and hands he doesn't know what to do with. His back is turned, so you use your chance to shamelessly observe him. He looks different but is familiar all the same. He has the same body, although he looks buff. Same friendly personality, although you've missed out on it lately. Same gentle presence, although it wasn't that way the night you separated. 

"Didn't you once tell me that he always ordered ginger ale at restaurants?" 

You look at your friend, processing her question. "Yes. He never mixed it with anything, either. Just drank it straight up like a freak." 

"Gross," she says with a wince. "I think he just ordered one." 

Once again, the counter is your focal point; this time, you notice the glass of creamy yellow liquid on it. You internally gag at how Harry could still drink that. Harry then walks back to his booth, skillfully carrying two glasses in each of his hands, like he worked as a waiter in his past life. You don't even try to hide the fact that you're staring. 

Eventually, he catches your eye and abruptly stops in his tracks. You watch him blink a couple times before he continues to the table and sets down the drinks for everyone. 

"I'll grab some napkins," he murmurs, leaving again. 

You slide your empty plate toward the center of the table and watch him fumble while taking out napkins from the dispenser. Why is he so nervous all of a sudden? 

When he walks by for the second time, he jerks his chin up to the ceiling. You furrow your eyebrows in response. 

He nonchalantly repeats the gesture as he starts passing napkins around. You shake your head, nonverbally telling him that you have no clue what he's conveying. 

His jaw clenches before he mouths, "Come with me." 

"Absolutely not," you mouth back as you fiddle with the sugar packets. 

Harry huffs and sits in his seat. 

Everything used to be so easy with him. 

—— 

Two Years Ago

It was graduation day, and you were inserting a silver hoop earring in the pierced hole of your earlobe when three thumps gently rattled your bedroom door. 

"Knock knock." 

In the reflection of your vanity mirror, you grinned giddily. "Come in! It's unlocked." 

Harry opened the door with a pout on his lips. "You're supposed to say who's there." 

"Wha—" you stammered confusedly, turning around in your chair. "I hate you." 

He shuffled inside and immediately bellyflopped onto your bed. "Wow. I missed you too." 

"Just kidding," you said, flashing him a winning smile. "You left your laptop charger here, by the way. I set it on the kitchen table." 

"Thank you, baby," he mumbled into your pillow. 

"Don't fall asleep."

"Mm, c'mere." He lazily patted the space next to him. "Let's cuddle before we have to sit far away from each other for the rest of the night." 

"It'll only be for a couple of hours at most," you replied, putting in your other earring. "Don't be so dramatic."

After tidying your vanity area, you stood and slinked into bed with Harry. The lavender-colored sunset filtered through your sheer curtains and created a serene ambiance. Harry's body rolled over on top of yours, his weight providing the perfect amount of warmth and comfort. The scent of his almond oil shampoo reduced your nerves. You reached for your phone and set an alarm for fifteen minutes from now so he would have enough time to get ready, then pulled the blanket over both of your heads, not caring if the hair you spent precious time on became tousled. It would mostly be hidden under the immensely unflattering graduation cap anyway. 

Harry's clean-shaven cheek rested on your chest, and he planted a chaste kiss on your collarbone. He had always been the affectionate type. Touch was his love language, and he never failed to fulfill it with you. 

Every touch strengthened your love for him. Every touch left you longing for more. Every touch felt purposeful. 

—— 

You swear he's doing it on purpose. You know he is. 

Harry keeps leaning his head back until it faintly touches yours. Nuzzling it, if you will. That, or he'll clasp his hands behind his head and loosely twirl a strand of your hair. 

This time, he pretends to yawn and stretch his arms before tickling behind your ear. He knows goddamn well it's the place where you're the most ticklish. You pretend to have an itch and bring your hands back to slap his burning touch away, but of course, he takes the opportunity to be a pest and capture your fingers. 

You yank them away and clear your throat. "I need to go to the bathroom," you tell your friend before getting up and making a beeline straight to the back of the diner. 

When you open the door, you sigh relievedly when you find all the stalls open and no one is lingering. You pace toward the farthest wall and rub your hands down your face. Two years without Harry, and not a single call or text—only the occasional picture you'd see of him when you caved and scrolled through his social media during particularly lonely nights. Yet tonight, he acts like you're best buds who can tease each other and initiate playful touches, like you didn't end on a terrible note that made both of your hearts shatter into smithereens. Maybe this is some bizarre dream you'll wake up from and laugh about later. 

You blow out a sharp breath and wash your hands before splashing cold water onto your heated cheeks. 

"Were my hands dirty or something?" 

Your whole body flinches. Now, he's just plain annoying. How long has he been standing there? 

"Why are you in here?" you ask monotonously. 

Footsteps come closer. You keep your back turned. 

He laughs softly and says, "How've you been?" 

Such a master at avoiding questions. "That wasn't what I asked." 

"That wasn't an answer," he replies smugly. You can practically hear the satisfied smile in his voice. 

"I've been fantastic, Harry," you say, your words laced with petty sarcasm. "What about you?" 

"You sound stressed." He's right next to you now. "Is it because of your job? I heard you're an assistant teacher at the middle school." 

Your hands grip the edge of the marble sink. "Who told you that?" 

"I knew you'd be here," he says, as if it were obvious. "I had to ask people what you've been up to since you clearly weren't going to tell me yourself." 

He asked about you. No, that can't be right. Turning to face him, you let your guard down just a little. "I'm helping with the summer school program." 

Harry smiles. If you analyze it enough, it almost looks like a proud one. "That's amazing. What grade do you want to teach in the future?" 

A conversation with your ex-boyfriend about career aspirations is entirely too casual for your liking. Doesn't he have friends to catch up with? Some ginger ale to drink? 

You shrug and truthfully say, "I haven't decided yet. It's a big decision." 

He nods, crossing his arms. "You've got time." 

Silence hangs except for the drip of the faucet. 

"So... I assume you're still studying marine biology?" you ask, already knowing the answer. 

He hums an affirmation. "I'm almost done with my bachelor's degree, and then I'll be on my way to becoming one with the ocean." 

You almost let a laugh slip out. "Well, I'm sure it's beautiful in Europe. I can't imagine the view every day." 

He nonchalantly plucks a stray strand of hair off your sleeve, making your blood rush. "It is, yeah. It gets a little lonely sometimes, but it's been nice to live somewhere so different from what I was used to." 

"You don't have a roommate?"

"Nope, just me. I don't really like sharing my space." 

Only if it was with you. He's told you that before. Not that it matters now.

"I know. I don't know why I even asked." 

It's a bold statement but a tenuous breakthrough in the barrier of the inevitable and awkward breakup conversation you're dreading. 

Harry inhales and takes a step closer. "Come up to the rooftop with me. I don't want our first conversation in two years to be in the women's restroom." 

You give him an apologetic look and say, "I'm sorry, but I can't. I have to head home soon and get up early for work tomorrow." 

He toys with the bottom of your shirt. "Please." 

It's a soft whisper that echos in the empty space, a begging tone chipping away at the walls built around your heart, paired with pleading eyes so clear and tender. Harmless.

"Okay." You'll kick yourself later for giving in so easily. "Okay, fine. Let's go." You pull out your phone and send a quick text message to your friend about where you'll be. She'll understand the weight of the situation. 

Harry walks out of the bathroom, with you following behind. He takes a sharp right toward the concealed metal stairs leading to the diner's roof. He leaves some room so the two of you can walk side by side, your clothes rustling against each other in the narrow space. The rusty door opens, and you step out onto the flat concrete. 

Little squares of light shine from the city buildings far away. They cause a strange feeling to wash over you. It can only be described as a powerful wave of hometown nostalgia, even though you never left. You wonder if it's hitting Harry as well. 

He stands by the edge and leans his forearms on the railing, glancing at you with an unreadable expression. Is it reminiscence? Yearning? Regret? All could be the reason for the melancholy shift in energy. 

"What did we do wrong?" 

—— 

Three Months After Graduation

The party turned sour out of the blue. Harry's friend hadn't just said what you think he said. It was loud, so you must have heard him wrong. Why didn't he tell you? Why did you have to find out from his drunk friend, who's not even close to him? 

Harry definitely saw your face drop because he instantly pulled you into an unoccupied bedroom upstairs. You'd been arguing for the past half hour, neither one of you inebriated funny enough, but still throwing words that were more like weapons at each other—launching arrows at the heart, shooting daggers at the eyes, and slashing swords in the Achilles heel. 

Your weak spot was him, and you were his. 

You stood your ground as you spoke your closing statement with frustrated tears. "I'm never going to see you if you're abroad, so what's the difference if I just leave now and never see you again?" 

"Will that make you happy?" He was being stubborn; you were, too. "Because obviously, I don't make you happy enough for this to continue. For us to at least try." 

He did make you happy, but anger blindly leads people to say what they don't mean, especially in cases of love. 

"Obviously not." Lies, lies, lies. "It's useless when we know it'll end badly." 

Harry released a bitter laugh. "Fine. Have it your way." 

"Fine," you repeated. 

You should have fought for him, but what would have been the use if you had known it would only hurt you in the long run? 

He roughly swung the door open and then turned around one last time. "You can come pick up your stuff at my house this weekend. I won't be home." 

The door slammed shut, and reality sank in. 

—— 

The open sign of the diner flickers below. 

"We did a lot wrong," you declare defeatedly, standing beside him. 

"True, but we were eighteen and didn't know anything about communication or how to balance adult shit." 

The conversation is heading toward a place you don't want it to go. "I really don't want to talk about our breakup, Harry. It's in the past. We've moved on." 

He shakes his head. "Why? There was no closure whatsoever. I think it'd be good to get some now that we're face-to-face." 

In the distance, you watch birds flock on the wire of a telephone pole. "Why didn't you just ignore me tonight? We've been doing fine without each other." 

He scoffs quietly and leans his body against the railing. "Really? I was homesick for months because of you. You felt like home to me; you know that. The feeling never disappeared, no matter how much I pushed it down." 

You throw your arms out. "Then why didn't you call or text me? I would've replied, Harry. I'm not that cruel." 

"I thought you hated me," he says. "I wouldn't have blamed you. I just couldn't stand having you hate me, so I thought it'd be easier not to talk to you." 

It's the classic tale of a high school mindset. You think you're doing the right thing until it slaps you across the face with the hand of cluelessness. You wonder what would've happened if Harry had reached out. Maybe you could've figured it out. 

"I didn't hate you," you admit. How could anyone hate him? "I mean, I might've thought that I hated you, but if anything, I still loved you for way too many months after." 

Harry looks like he wants to say something, but you continue. "Like you said, we were young and didn't know how to balance a relationship and our lives outside of it. Two years can really mature a person, and we both needed to do that without each other." 

He nods while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Yeah." 

The conversation stops at a dead end. There's nothing else to say since it's a mutual understanding of what went wrong. 

The breeze picks up, and you shiver before asking, "How long are you here for?" 

He clears his throat. "I'm staying with my mother, then I have a flight back to the Netherlands in a few days. I have to go back for an ecology camp." 

"That's nice," you say. A couple of days. That knowledge causes an unwanted sinking feeling to take place in your stomach. 

"Do you…" He raises his thumb to his mouth, nervously biting his fingernail. "Can we maybe talk more before I leave?" 

It's an open opportunity, but what would it lead to? What would come of it? Would it be worth the pain? 

"What's there to talk about? You're leaving soon, and then we'll never speak again." 

You've taken logical truth more seriously over the years. You've learned that holding on to false hope is dangerous for the heart and mind.

"That won't happen," he replies with a pensive gaze. "We've grown and know how to communicate now. There's so much we've missed in each other's lives that we can talk about. I don't know where you live or the places you like to go anymore, who your friends are, or what new songs you like to listen to. It kills me." 

A shaky breath escapes you. "It doesn't matter. We're not right for each other. Call me selfish, but I don't want a relationship where we barely see each other. I'm sure that's not what you want either." 

"So, that's it?" he asks, staring at the sky. "Do you not want to give this another chance?" 

You can't imagine a more complicated question to answer, but it seems you've known the answer for a while. Gently grabbing Harry's chin and tilting his face down, you say, "Right person, wrong time. It would never work with the distance, and you know that. Deep down, we both know, as much as it hurts to admit."

"What now? Are we back to being strangers?" 

"Harry, I don't think we'll ever be strangers. I know too much about you." 

You're trying to lighten the mood, but Harry's sad eyes aren't helping at all. Instead, you focus on the stars twinkling brightly across the black sky and the single car driving by on the otherwise empty street. Every second that ticks by, he seems to move closer to you. 

"If this is the last time I see you," Harry says apprehensively, "can I hold you for a little while? Give me that, and I won't ask you for anything else." 

It'd be foolish to say no, wouldn't it? You need to feel him just as much. He's too significant of a person to let go of without saying a proper goodbye.

"You can hold me." 

And so he does it for the last time. 

Harry closes the distance and embraces you like he always used to—his cheek resting on your head and his arms completely around you, squeezing the sides of your body. He's breathing you in, like he's scared of losing you. It's just you and him standing on a rooftop and holding on to any last bit you can get of each other. 

You're tucked so far into his chest that the only thing you can hear is his heart pounding. He's warm and sentimental, and the nighttime chill makes you melt into him even more. He eases you—every laugh, every tear, every moment you share with him was brought about by the ease of being around him. 

"You still feel the same." A pang ripples in your heart because of your own words, and a sob desperately tries to crawl up your throat. 

Harry nuzzles his nose into your hair. "Yeah? You still smell the same." 

You laugh, but it's choked with sadness. "What, like shitty teen store perfume?" 

"No, you smell like home. Like when I used to go to your house for sleepovers, and you'd always light those vanilla candles." 

Another pang, this time from his vulnerable confession. "I should go," you say, deterring the conversation from any more agony. 

He doesn't argue. "Yeah, me too. I never really liked those people in there anyway." 

You smile, stepping away from his arms. "I'll walk you to your car." 

He nods, and the both of you retreat down the stairs, exiting the building through the back way to avoid any distractions. After reaching the front of the diner, you find his black Jeep sitting alone in a parking space. It's nice to know he still has it, considering it's a car with good memories, like Harry driving you to school every morning and picking up coffee. Or eating fast food outside the high school after a football game. Or nights of endless kissing and professions of love before he walked you to your doorstep.

Facing him under the moonlight tonight, it's time to officially move on. 

"Bye. It was really nice to see you." A tear unexpectedly falls from your eye. Maybe it's due to the chilly temperature, but you know better. 

Harry's face crumbles. Your composure shatters. 

"Please don't cry," he pleads, biting his lip to stop it from wobbling. However, it's too late, and both of you give in to the misery and drama of it all.

"Now we're both crying."

He rubs his eyes and leans against his car door. "God, this fuckin' sucks." 

"We'll be okay," you say weakly. "It's fine. We went two years without each other. You'll forget about me soon enough, and it'll be like this never happened." 

You're only trying to convince yourself at this point. 

"I never forgot about you. You were the first person I fell in love with. How do I move on from that?" 

His choice of words isn't something you gloss over. Is he insinuating that he hasn't moved on yet? Should you tell him you haven't either? 

Logical thinking, you mentally tell yourself. Don't say something that will make it harder to leave.

"I have to go home now." But isn't home standing right in front of you? 

"Okay," Harry says. "I guess… Good luck with everything. I hope teaching goes well for you." 

You kick away a pebble on the pavement. "Thanks. I hope you become one with the ocean." 

He laughs breathily, his dimples popping out for the first time tonight. He then inhales and gazes somewhere far away as his smile dies. When he looks back at you, he nods once before getting in his car. 

"Wait."

He freezes. "Yeah?"

Don't make it harder.

Leave. 

Don't hurt yourself. 

Yet the way he looks at you is enough to make you ignore those logical thoughts. You lean forward and kiss his cold cheek, and it's like his entire body deflates under your hesitant touch. "Thank you for making me happy during the time we had together," you say against his tear-stained skin. "I never got to tell you that."

Harry sniffles and nods, then kisses your cheek a little longer and softer.

A lasting pang. A lingering sting. A sharp twinge. 

Why? 

Because the words he whispers to you cause silent tears to fall down your face when he finally closes the door and drives away. 

You still mean so much to me. 

—— 

Opening the door to your bedroom, the silence echoes louder than usual. The small space is where memories of Harry can still be found. There's the blanket he used to lie on, the desk he would sit on to help you study, and the dresser you used to keep his shirts in to wear when you missed him. The most tragic thing is an empty photo book on the top shelf of your closet that was meant to be filled with future road trips that never got planned. Next to it are unused polaroids for dates that stopped happening. 

Piled at the bottom are a few that actually got used. A picture of Harry when the both of you went to a homecoming afterparty, and you didn't want to drink alcohol, so Harry drank orange Hi-C cartons with you to make you feel better. A picture of Harry on a floating water bouncer at the lake by your uncle's cabin when you went on summer vacation together after junior year. Your favorite picture of him is when he's turned around in the seat of the school auditorium, smiling widely. It was back in high school when nothing could separate you from him. 

The pictures remind you of a time when you were in love—not only with him but with life. They feel like home to you. 

That feeling of home seems impossible to catch now. It's like chasing a butterfly that keeps escaping from the loose grasp of your hands because you don't want to hurt it. 

Are you the hands, or are you the butterfly? 

—— 

The journal on top of Harry's suitcase mocks him. He shouldn't open it, but logical thinking has never been his strong suit. 

The first page has pressed and dried lavender taped to it from the first date he took you on. The next has your drawings in the margin from when you stole his journal while he studied. Yet most of the pages are filled with lovesick entries about you. 

January 29th 

Last night, I told her I was falling in love with her. She said no one had ever told her that before, and I couldn't believe it. How could someone not instantly fall in love the moment she walks into a room? 

Then she told me that she loved me too. I swear, I almost cried with happiness. She's the one for me. I see us being together for the long haul. 

I hope she sees the same thing. 

June 6th 

We graduated! We're finally done with high school!

When they called my name, my eyes went to hers first. She looked so proud of me. I wonder if I could convince her to rent an apartment with me instead of staying in different dorms. 

College will be strange, but we'll get through it together. I have no doubt we'll adapt and find time for each other. 

I always have time for her. 

August 2nd 

I think I'm going to tell her about the college I chose. She's not going to take it well. It's abroad, but it's the best school for marine biology. 

She wants to stay close to home, but I want to get out and travel. There's nothing hard about talking through some of our differences, right? Long-distance relationships can work if you put in the effort. We can do it. 

If this ends up biting me in the ass, you'll never hear from me again. 

Harry stopped writing in his journal after the breakup. It's almost funny, he supposes. He jinxed it in the last entry. He thought of the worst-case scenario, and it came to fruition right before him only days later. 

Blissful ignorance is what he'll call it. Two high school sweethearts who didn't know what would hit them. Foolishly in love and blinded by reality. But the thing is, it's not easy to just move on from it. Especially when he brought those damn vanilla candles from his dorm room to his mother's house so he could sleep better at night. 

So he can be reminded of home. 

It was never a place when he was with you. Home became a feeling that bloomed without warning. It took him by surprise when he found himself wanting to be around you all the time. Home was entirely, ultimately, and unconditionally you. 

Harry closes his journal and brings it with him as he heads out the door to search for a drop of that feeling in the places you used to go. 

The places he will write about until his hand aches as much as his heart. 

——

[justinspoliticalcorner]

By now, every pundit in America has their own 2024 election take, mostly confirming their prior opinions. Every Republican has a take, too, which is that Americans voted resoundingly for — well, for whatever policy that Republican cares about, from opposition to transgender rights to support for prayer in schools. And of course, progressives, especially younger ones, have every right to feel afraid, angry, or alienated. But the data tells a specific story, not a choose-your-own-adventure. And that is that swing voters voted mostly out of economic insecurity and discontent. They actually liked Kamala Harris more than Donald Trump (Harris’ favorability was 48 percent, compared to 44 percent for Trump). But Harris was the incumbent, and incumbents don’t win elections when people think the economy is bad. This is not just an American phenomenon. As the Financial Times reported, in every developed country in the world, the incumbents lost this year. This is unprecedented. If, like me, you’re being kept awake at night thinking about this election, this explanation helps. Yes, people were willing to put up with Trump’s criminality, coup attempts, and extreme xenophobia, and that is still terrible. Many were also on board with scapegoating immigrants for our economic woes, which is as factually preposterous as it is morally offensive.  But they didn’t vote for MAGA. They didn’t vote against women, or wokeness, or coastal elites, or climate regulation, or government regulation in general, or queer people. Not directly, anyway. They voted against the incumbent party, like every other developed country in the world this year. The shock waves from the Covid-19 pandemic — inflation, empty shelves, housing prices — are global, and this is a global trend. Everywhere in the world, voters have chosen to throw the bastards out because of the economy.  In fact, if you look closely at the Financial Times data, Trump actually did worse than most other non-incumbents. Yes, he won a clear victory. But it was not as big a victory as parties in France, Italy, or even New Zealand.  [...] So what happens when the emperor is revealed to have no clothes — or even worse, the garb of the same financial “elites” he claims to be against? Obviously, the MAGA faithful will stay with Trump no matter what — after all, his failure to bring about revolution in 2017 spawned the QAnon conspiracy theory, which said he was really about to do it, any day now. But the economic voters that gave him his victory could abandon Trump if he can’t deliver results. And he cannot. While Trump is busy trying to throw his enemies in jail, he has no plan — not even “concepts of a plan” — for the kitchen-table concerns that actually put him into office. Maybe, just maybe, voters will see they’ve been conned. That is the best we can hope for.

Jay Michaelson for Rolling Stone on Donald Trump and how he'll make America worse off (11.11.2024).

Jay Michaelson wrote in Rolling Stone that some of who voted in Donald Trump due to “muh economy” or “muh grocery costs” could be in for a shock.

[bl00dlight]

about people who think you're unfair when it comes to depicting aemond... are just delusional who mayhaps read aemond x reader or fanfictions or some headcanons... aemond is and will always be a villainous person, when he was a kid he wanted to bash the head of his nephew with a rock ( this resulting in him losing an eye and he deserves it, sorry nog sorry ) + his pursue for powers will be his well-deserved downfall. he's a raging misognist like the rest of the entire family, like... aww he is crying when helaena bluntly tells him the truth ? hope he'll rot with his guilt. you are totally right, he's a piece of shit and i can't wait to see his demise.

I mean AHAHAHAHAHHAHA. Speak your truth diva.

Look I love Aemond. Okay... let me just say.

BUT, yes no you're right like. He is fucking awful and the worst. And I do want to see him rot with his guilt a little, especially what he did to Helaena. Like I love him, and I understand him. And I do feel sympathy for him.

If I was Helaena would I have have said yes before he'd been finished his sentence? Yes. Would I have girl bossed it and proposed to him like Rhaenyra did to Daemon? Yes. Would I hypothetically let this fictional man suck and fuck on me?.... undeniably. Is this a parasocial relationship? Yes.

But it's undeniable that so many girlies on here fucking act like tradwives defending their right wing, MRA adjacent, wife beating man. Like you can want to cook him dinner and also call him out for genocide. Really gets me concerned about... well... how some of yall interact with men irl. A man like Aemond irl, is an incel.

Someone said this on reddit about the balcony scene, that it was like when an incel goes up to his crush to try and get her to be on his side before he shoots up a school. And AHAHHA exactly.

They act as if Aemond is indeed a victim through and through, who has done no wrong and is a sweetypie. And is it self insert fluff fics fault? Yes it is. People are attracted to Ewan... and their idea of Aemond. Not really Aemond as he is. And many don't want to interact with analysis of his character. Which is fine. No hate, you do you. But it is a problem when others make it fans like myself, problem.

And as someone with a disorganised attachment style? As someone who upon watching the Harry Potter series as a child who had their sexual awakening upon seeing both Draco and Luicus Malfoy. As someone who has been a Sharpay Evans defender since it came out and as someone who agreed with Rosalie Cullen that Bella was a boring ass... whiny as bitch....

I gotta say? Mean, evil and toxic platinum blondes? I'm here for them and I love them. And I am basically attracted to Aemonds character/interested in him because of the fact he is a fucking asshole. Okayyyy soooooo. Don't get me wrong I love the idea of soft, vunerable Aemond. But I can only love that because it's a rare thing for him. Because he's main mode is acting like a horror movie villain. I've always been about that life of loving dark characters. It seems many upon here are just... well... they find him hot and wanna smash. Which is valid. But it's not valid to project your personal sexual/romantic fantasies onto other fans who are just... discussing canon characteristics of Aemond.

And even reddit neckbeards do it to because they relate to Aemond. They'll swear he was this valiant, dutiful, scorned boy. They'll swear he wasn't a Valyrian supremacist. They'll swear he would never hurt or betray his family. But it's like? So basically how the fuck does someone campaign for the fucking third reich *House Strong Edition* be day and be a loving family man by night who would never betray his family if he felt abandoned/humiliated or hurt by them? So you know... the fanboys who thump the book like it's the bible also are FUCKING ANNOYING.

It's actually crazy.

[foolforharrry]

When It Rains, It Pours

Word count: 3.7k words

Summary: Harry and Sam get lost in the streets of Sao Paulo when it starts raining

This is just pure fluff. I hope you like it 🫶🏻

if you wanna read more of my work, I have it all linked on my masterlist.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated and if you have any requests please feel free to give them to me and I will do my absolute best to do it.

"Harry-" I start, but he cuts me off, already knowing what I was about to say.

"No. Don't say it. We're not lost." As sure as he tries to make himself sound like he had a sliver of faith in what he was saying. "I swear we passed that cafe earlier."

Looking from the small establishment that's empty at this time of day and back to him, I can't remember having seen it ever before in my life. In fact, every building in sight is new and unfamiliar. "I'm sorry, pumpkin. But I really do think we're lost," I murmur, giving his waist a squeeze. Which he reciprocates with a kiss on my temple.

"I know you didn't want to, but I think google maps may be our only option here," I try, fully anticipating the pouty silence that follows. When we left the hotel after spending most of the day lounging around by the pool, Harry swore that we didn't need navigation from anything other than his 'impeccable memory and impressive sense of direction'.

Stopping us in our tracks, Harry groans, tilting his head back to look at the starless sky without a care that we are forcing every single person who passes us on the sidewalk to walk around us. "I'm tired," he whines and I can't say I don't relate.

We left the hotel just as the sun started to set after spending the whole day in the beaming Brazil sun. Sunbathing in the lounge chairs by the pool, taking breaks to dip into the cool water every now and then. At some point, Harry got a bit tipsy and went in fully clothed, including his hat.

I don't even want to check what time it is right now, but the sky is fully draped in darkness. And it has been for a while now.

Stepping in front of him, I pinch his chin between my thumb and my pointer finger, tilting his head down so he'll look at me when I talk, "I know how much you wanted to get back on your own, pumpkin. We're both tired and we really do need to get back to the hotel soon before they get worried about you."

"I know," he pouts. And for some reason that's beyond me, the fact that he is genuinely bummed out when he pulls out his phone and types in the name of the hotel to the search bar in google maps, makes me love him that much more. He's always hated when things go another way than he wanted and had planned for.

The light, cold breeze blows straight through the brown flannel I snagged from Harry's suitcase. Without the sun to provide its constant, warm rays of sunshine, it's actually starting to feel quite chilly. So I wrap my arms back around Harry's waist, enjoying the warmth his body provides.

"Ha!"

The sudden, loud exclamation makes me jump, bewilderedly looking at Harry for answers. "What happened?"

"I was right." I've never seen him look more smug than he does at this very moment. "The hotel is fifteen minutes in that direction," he points down the long road we just walked down, "only we should've taken left a little while ago."

Nodding slowly, I let him have this little victory, "Lead the way, then."

"Happily," Harry grins, throwing his arm around my shoulder, turning us 180 degrees. It's with his phone in his hand we start what's hopefully our last attempt at making it back to our hotel before we're both old and in diapers.

We walk to the sounds of the cars passing and the chatter and footsteps of people milling the streets. No one pays us any attention and while we're anything but alone in the world right now, it feels like we're in a little bubble of our own.

When the time comes to go left, we cross the road safely and quickly.

The air smells of cars, dust and whatever food they're cooking in the restaurants we pass with all kinds of people going in and out of them. If I had the time to, I would probably spend half my time sitting at small cafes around the cities in the world and just watch people go about their daily lives.

"It's gotten cloudy," I point out, a small smile tugging on my lips at the dark, fluffy-looking shapes floating high in the sky. Harry hums, "You've angered the Gods, my love."

Almost as if on cue, a drop of cold water hits my cheek out of nowhere. The suddenness of it makes me jump with a small shriek as I wipe the droplet off my cheek with my hand, my eyes wide as they meet Harry's concerned ones, "What's wrong, baby?"

Before I get the chance to tell him, I watch the same thing happen to him. And one turns into five turns into ten until we're standing dead still in pouring rain.

The rain is loud when the drops splash to the ground. It's fast and it's heavy and it's cold. And it came out of nowhere.

Harry and I are staring at each other with wide eyes, the flashes of rain falling between us.

It can't have been raining for more than a minute before his white kiss t-shirt is starting to get see-through with the chilly water and it clings to his tattooed, tan skin. His hair starts to stick to his face and down his neck and his face glistens, water reflecting in the lights from the buildings around us. His long eyelashes are now clumped together from the water, eyes bright and sparkling with life.

My chest shakes as a loud, unrestrained laugh explodes from it, lifting my arms out the side, palms up to feel the rain bounce off my skin. The second Harry chuckles, shaking his head in fondness and disbelief, laughter pours from my body as freely as the rain falls from the sky.

"It's raining," I say loudly, tilting my head back and letting my mouth fall open and my eyelids close.

"It's fucking raining!" Harry's voice has me looking at him again, both of us grinning from ear to ear. There isn't a single inch of our bodies that's not soaked in rainwater and I don't think I've felt this happy and carefree in a long, long time.

My eyes drop to his pink, full, glistening lips before I drag them back up only to find that his are trained on my own lips.

Without a thought, I close the distance between us with one step, standing on my tip toes as I bring his face down to mine by the back of his neck. The moment our lips connect, it's like a lightning bolt shoots through my entire nervous system. The feeling Harry leaves in my body is so strong it feels as if I might burst into a cloud of stardust.

His hands drop to my waist as he kisses me back with just as much passion. It's wet from the rain and it's messy as his body is flush against mine. Slipping my hands into his hair, water pours over my fingers at the pressure.

It dawns on me just what we're doing, and when it does, I can't hold in the grin that erupts on my face. Giggling when Harry inches his face backwards with an amused smile after kissing my teeth. "What's got you smiling so pretty, my love?"

If my cheeks weren't already red from the kissing, they are definitely red now.

Darting my eyes from his pink cheeks with his adorable dimples carving into them to his twinkling, green eyes, feeling my chest expanding against his as I breathe and try to articulate what's going through my head right now. "

"You just make me really happy," is what I eventually manage to get out, feeling like my heart could explode from the way his entire face seems to brighten at my words.

"Wanna know a secret?" Harry nudges my nose with his, tapping my hip with his hand. I nod, closing my eyes when his gaze becomes too intense for me to bear. "You make me really happy too."

I'm sure the people who sought shelter from the rainfall would raise an eyebrow or two at how Harry and I haven't made a move to get out of it yet.

I don't have a single care or complaint.

"I love you," I tell him, sweeping his hair out of his face. Harry's face breaks into a wide, dopey smile as he returns the sentiment, kissing the corner of my mouth since I still can't stop smiling.

Harry bites the inside of his cheek as he scans my face and I can tell he has something he wants to say. So I drop my hands to his chest, tilting my head to the side. "What is it?"

"You look like a raccoon," he blurts out.

My eyes widen in surprise at his words, not what I had expected to come from his mouth in the slightest. I shove him off me with a laugh, "You're such a fucking dick, omg." As much as I try to sound like his observation offended me, he sees right through it.

Harry takes a step forward, reaching for my waist again, "Raccoons are cute though." I playfully roll my eyes at him, backing away from him, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. The mischievous glint in his eye has a shock of nerves shooting down my spine. "Harry, whatever you're thinking of doing? Don't"

My warning only makes a smirk tug at the corners of his mouth as he keeps trying to close the distance between us. "I've got no idea what you're talking about. M'just walking, darling."

Just as I'm about to argue, he surges forward. And before I can even register what's happening, he's got my soaked body pressed against his. He lifts me up with the help of his forearms under my ass, a surprised shriek ripping from my throat when my feet lose contact with the ground. Instinctively, I hold onto Harry's drenched shoulders and squeeze my eyes shut when Harry starts spinning us around in circles.

I can feel the way his stomach shakes with his contagious laughter against my hips and I can't help but laugh too. The sound of his laugh is one I wish I could store in my brain and play on a loop for the rest of my life.

Tilting my head back, I laugh at the sky, feeling the carefree joy through every single cell of my chilly, soaked body at the spinning, dark clouds. With the way I’m feeling it may as well have been beaming sun and a blue sky without a cloud in sight.

When Harry carefully lowers me to the ground again, we stay close. My arms looped around his neck and his around my waist, both breathless. And god, does his wide, dimply smile have my heart feeling like it's about to both explode and cave in on itself all at the same time.

"Never stop laughing," Harry says, looking me dead in the eye. And even though he's still smiling from ear to ear, his voice is more serious than I've heard him all day. Twisting his long hair around my fingers to centre myself, I nod, "Ok. As long as you never stop smiling."

"Deal," Harry beams, showing off his bunny teeth before dipping down and smearing a kiss on my lips, my eyes fluttering shut as I kiss him back.

He pecks my cheek as he pulls back, "Let's go back and dry off."

"How far is it?" I ask when we resume walking, my arm back around his waist and his around my shoulders, exactly how we were walking before the rain started. Now, the rain has fully stopped, leaving Harry and me in cold, sodden clothes.

The cold water has left my skin burning slightly from the low temperature and Harry's arm has a slight shake to it, so it's not just me.

Harry fishes his phone back out of the pocket of his athletic shorts, somehow not broken from all the water, and checks the directions. "It says it's just around two minutes left," he tells me and points towards a building close to the end of the street. "The hotel is actually right there."

"That's good," I smile, fully aware that I should've probably spotted it already. But I have an absolutely horrible sense of direction and might as well get lost in my own house. "You don't like exploring the city with me?" Harry asks and I don't need to see his face to know he has his lips jutted out into a pout and a furrow in the space between his eyebrows.

Giving his body a reassuring squeeze, I say with a chuckle; "You know I do. But you're shaking like a leaf, pumpkin."

"No, I'm not," he protests without a hint of conviction in his body. But he snatches his words back real quick when I say; "If you're not cold, I guess you won't want cuddles tonight."

When we reach the front of the hotel and the automatic doors open, the sigh I let out is one of pure relief at the newfound warmth. I swear it's like a wave of warm air washes over me like the ocean washing over a sandy beach.

We say hi to the man working in the reception, embarrassment turning my cheeks red when I realise that we're leaving a trail of water in our wake. Something Harry reassures me that they're probably used to. "Everyone knows that when it rains here, it pours."

It soothed my guilt a bit as we left a puddle in the elevator.

When the door to our hotel room shuts behind us, Harry lets go of me to turn the lights on. I suddenly become very aware of the way my skirt feels heavy instead of light and flowy like it always is. My sneakers feel like small lakes of their own and my hair sticks to the sides of my face and down my neck. The flannel I stole from Harry is ten shades darker than it was when I put it on and I can't wait to get out of these clothes and dry off.

"You know," Harry starts, wrapping his arms around my middle from behind and perching his head on my shoulder. "For a racoon, you're very sexy."

My head tilts on his shoulder back in laughter. "Yeah?" I giggle. "This whole drowned animal look gets you going?"

"Mhm. I'm too tired right now, but if you want to go looking for rain tomorrow, I'll prove it." His tone is light and full of teasing humour and I twist my head to kiss his temple, "Whatever you want, pumpkin."

With the side of his face pressed against mine, I can feel him smile. "I want cuddles."

"Let's get a shower to heat up first, yeah?" I grab his wrists, removing his hands from my body to give me enough room to turn around.

Harry shakes his head, running his hands down my sides before he lets them settle on my hips, "It'll take too long," he justifies. "Just wanna hold you close."

I try my best to ignore the butterflies fluttering around in my tummy as I take his hand and drag him with me into the bathroom, flicking on the bright lights. "You're gonna get sick if you go to bed all cold and wet. And you and I both know that you hate being sick."

My reasoning seems to fall on deaf ears when Harry reaches around my body for his toothpaste and toothbrush. "Don't need a shower to keep me warm when I have you." His hips bump against mine, keeping me in place right against the bathroom sink. I meet his eye in the mirror as I grab my own toothbrush, struggling to keep from laughing at the state of us.

I really do look like a raccoon.

He keeps his eyes locked on mine the whole time we brush our teeth. Toothpaste is running down his chin from the corner of his mouth by the time he's done from not spitting it out at all how he usually does. He still lets me spit out my own first and rinse my mouth before he does so himself. With his teeth all clean, he takes a step back and turns me to face him by my hips.

"Kissy?" he asks with his lips pouted expectantly. And who am I to deny him?

When he pulls away, he has a lazy smile on his face and an adorable blush to his cheeks, "Never wanna go a day without kissing you."

My chest tightens at how sincerely he says it. "What if I turn into an actual racoon when we sleep and don't just resemble one? Would you still want to kiss me?"

One second passes before Harry releases a loud cackle, his whole face scrunched up with laughter.

I roll my eyes playfully, grabbing one of the big towels from the peg on the wall as my tummy does backflips, "It was a serious question."

"Thank you." Harry accepts the towel I hand him, humour in his tone as he says; "Fine. I'd have to find a way to turn myself into a raccoon too. Then I could kiss you all I wanted, right?"

"Do raccoons kiss?" I ask, making a mental note to google it in the morning.

Harry shrugs as he roughly dries his hair with the towel while I gently squeeze the water out of mine with a white towel of my own. "I have no idea. But I remember reading somewhere that they cuddle."

"Really?" I swear my heart grows tenfold when he nods; "Yeah. If raccoons can get very attached to their owner, they'll snuggle with them for hours."

"Can we get a raccoon?" I would die from pure joy if a raccoon ever wanted to cuddle with me.

Scoffing, Harry puts the towel back on the peg with a frown on his face. "You'd rather cuddle a raccoon than me?"

"Yup. They're so fluffy, H," I explain simply, as I find my makeup wipes and start the process of removing the mascara that's making me resemble the creatures I just fell in love with. "Don't even lie to me and say you wouldn't do it too if you could."

"I've got you, don't I? Close enough to a raccoon for me." Harry puckers his lips affectionately against the crown of my head before he adds; "Plus, raccoons don't have boobs," pleased quirk to his mouth when my cheeks go red again.

Harry tells me about the dream he had last night while I do the rest of my skincare routine, humming gratefully with his eyes closed as I massage moisturiser into his skin.

Our clothes are still soaked but other than that, we've both dried up pretty nicely. Both his and my hair is starting to dry as well.

In the time since we got back to the hotel, Harry's eyelids have gotten heavier and he speaks slower than usual. All telltale signs that he's in need of his beauty sleep. And I can't lie and say that my head hasn't started to feel a bit fuzzy and tired now that I'm warm again.

"You still want to shower?" Harry asks, genuine curiosity in his voice and I know he would join me if I wanted him to. If he had asked me twenty minutes ago, I would've dragged him into a hot shower, no question. But right now? "Your idea sounds a lot better, pumpkin."

A tired, triumphant smile grazes his face. "Yeah?"

"If you say I told you so, I will chop off your hair," I warn him, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling when Harry rips himself from me with a gasp, covering his long hair with his hands the best he can. "How dare you?"

"Sorry, baby. Had to be said." I stand on my tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek on my way out of the bathroom. Harry grumbles something under his breath but follows soon after and we start to take off our rain-drenched clothes. The sound of wet clothes hitting the floor and Harry's humming fills in the silence.

I catch Harry checking out my ass with no shame when I slide a fresh pair of underwear up my legs. "Take a picture, it'll last longer," I tease before I turn my attention back to the suitcase, rummaging through it for a t-shirt.

The familiar noise of a phone camera has me twisting my head with raised eyebrows and flaming cheeks. Harry is laying on his tummy on the bed in his briefs, with his phone in his hand and a shit-eating grin on his tired face. "You told me to," he points out in his defence.

"You're insufferable," I shake my head as I slip on Harry's white t-shirt with 'dream boat' printed on both sides. Small on the front and big on the back in red letters.

"That's why you love me." Harry is completely unfazed, setting both mine and his phone to charge.

I don't say anything, but he's not wrong.

Once all the lights are off, I pad my side of the bed where Harry has left empty in the dark. I can barely make out where he's laying on his side with his head propped up on his hand.

The sheets are smooth and cool against my skin as I tuck them up underneath my chin. Mattress soft enough to make me want to never ever leave this bed. Especially when Harry scoots closer. He pulls my body to him, spooning me from behind. His arms wrap around me as he presses a loving kiss to the back of my neck. He lets me use his bicep as a pillow, our legs linked as I slip my fingers between his.

"I love you so much." His is barely even a whisper, his breath fanning against my skin every time he breaths. His body is so close to mine, I can feel his stomach expand and contract against my lower back.

The familiar, comforting smell of him and the heat of his body have my eyes growing too heavy to keep open much longer. I can feel the exhaustion from the day settling into my bones as I give in and let my eyelids close.

"I love you too."

-

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina. It just hit me that if Harry was bisexual he would have CO at the beginning of his solo career because there is 0% chance that his team wouldn't have capitalized off it - they capitalize off everything else so why not that? Lol. He would have been encouraged to CO and it would have been a huge boost to his image because he would have appealed to women, men, straights and gays - everyone. He did seem ready to CO after 1D, and when he recorded Medicine the media was reporting that it was a bisexual song and it was his CO... but something changed and the articles were then buried. There's been plenty of times he could have CO as queer, easily with Medicine or even Lights Up. He wouldn't have lost any fans, he would have gained them. They've been pushing this ambiguous image for the whole of his career when it would have been easier for him to just CO as queer, he would have gained more from that. But the fact that he hasn't done it by now when he's had multiple opportunities tells me that he's not in the closet because he's bisexual, it's because he's gay. Being gay isn't as appealing to women (obviously) and he would lose a lot of fans. Although other musicians and actors who have CO have all said that it was worth the career hit, and nowadays it isn't quite as career damaging as it was before. I don't think Harry is in the closet necessarily for privacy reasons because you can CO and still have a private life. I don't know why people take that comment as gospel while dismissing everything else he says. To me it's just a reminder to the gp that he has a private life that is different to his public life. Maybe his closet is more down to the fact that he doesn't like lying and he does it sparingly, which is why he doesn't do many interviews and the ones he does around promo are usually so scripted. So him CO as queer or bisexual wouldn't feel true to himself as a gay man. So maybe he's waiting until he can CO with Louis or another man and not half assed do it. I'm not saying he'll never CO as queer/bi as that is an easier option considering how many beards he has had, but him not doing it much sooner could be down to it not ringing true to him.

Hi sweetheart. I think when he started playing Medicine in concert in 2018 there was a definite push from his team to mark it as a “bisexual anthem”. There were too many articles in major publications at the time for it not to have been syndicated.

Maybe that was seeding an outing that didn’t happen, or maybe they were using the fact that Harry was never going to address it directly to fuel speculation. That way he doesn’t lie, he doesn’t come out, but he’s piqued the interest of queer fans and people who think he’s closeted, still maintains the interest of straight/bi women, and anyone who refuses the idea of him being queer will dig their heels in and battle everyone over it. Voila! Very little risked, very few fans lost, lots of people talking about him, he gets to dress and behave a little more flamboyant when he wants to because now maybe he’s bisexual, and his private life stays private.

As for whether he actually is bisexual, I personally don’t get that impression, but it doesn’t matter to me. He’s somewhere on the spectrum of queer. That seems really clear to me.

And why hasn’t he come out? I don’t think we can possibly guess and I really don’t think we should, TBH. Only he knows what he wants to do and why he’s doing things the way he is. But even if he never discusses his sexuality or who he’s dating, it would make such a difference to see the end of him having these embarrassing PR relationships. But that’s the fan in me talking. His team may feel differently. 🫤

[the-small-cimarron-paparazzi]

But. Before I can get every single thing from the Journey of Canon sorted out to write linearly and responsibly.

One of the not-sure-good-or-bad-the-point-is-maybe-only-in-that-unseen-percentages-are-unlocked-well-probably things from having finished the jpn canon.

(Slipping another in: I really enjoyed the Prison Arc and the last volume of Seisa Arc where everything is moving so vigorously forward. Not that any other volume was un-exciting, Ma never can be [sinful triple negative], but seeing sensei running all gears at a solution she's so good at was really exceptionally Memorable. I kinda treasure how this is now see-able whenever that little bunkobon is read. Bunkobons are so incredibly tiny for that experience.)

Is discovering my previous take on how Saralegui appears in the eyes of Shinma people (or mainly Yuu, whether you look for ship or plot clues a large part really would be Yuu. or in fact character study... I still don't think I know my boi very well) when Seisa ended was surprisingly rather more pessimistic than things look?? Even before the final volume there were conversations mildly....under control. (Yuu-chan really is very good with people. He's kind to general suffering strangers and affable with his circle and doesn't panic during and after crises. Not something I can pull off even at well past 16.) And the boys parted ways more-or-less-friendly talking about truths of the arc/what has been brought up on Alazon, and about Yelshi and Seisa: about how he will see and where he'll head. Though not in a close way but you don't really do this kind of talk while standing very far apart (or was it Sara breaching where they stand by earlier talk and actions) and there's no distant "good riddance". I don't know what to think about this even now (though seeing how traumatized Yuu is in Prison Arc about a king being responsible for people that work for him, the inclination is to still think about it as what happens between roles, and maybe also something from Hazel--in MA the female characters are actually really important come to think of everything from Suverera--not really about personal views or feelings. i do even have more on this though it would be about Sara and Yelshi) but it certainly is more open-space a view than what I thought it was all about. Me being me this has gone to fuel how to look at sensei's possible plans of the book. Not in-house, but in a way dougyousha, a little further than colleagues. You also be decent to build your ideal world without excluding the overly-a-handful-scheming-dictator. But they may not even come live in it. And that's...ok? and that's the final shape of the world your share, or maybe not final because things have been changing and there seems to be major plot ahead. But you have shared a journey and some fogs and been cleared away and you are on I-know-you-to-the-bottom-of-that-abyss-of-yours-and-you-probably-know-me speaking terms.

My pet theory of 2018 (last sane day of my life, nearly) was that in the first four books there is a certain amount of Saralegui in the background being shiny with sins and bloods. Even before that there was the "passing through Small Cimarron in Carolia Arc has some info on him too", admittedly from being hungry for any info at all. And I thought Seisa was his Arc as in him in action, or in plain narrative, or unthinking innocent things like that. But no. It was just for getting to know him. And probably things that are known would not even stay in one place for the purpose of what story might be waiting to happen. (From the Earthly Soukokus it really seems to be about living your own life in between other's wills....the thing Murata mentions with Kenja's soul records in Until He Becomes Maou, and the thing Harry Potter is supposed to be about too.....MA is definitely very compatible with the experience of living as a female person in Asia and fits very comfortably with me...well, you're reminded it was marketed as Shoujo Shousetsu, and know for a fact it does a very good job on every front)

Sensei says we're at 60-70 percent into the story. Seeing how meticulously MA is written, I shudder and also hope to think.

[rhys-ravenfeather]

In Defense Of Kevin McCalister

WARNING: Super long, pointless rant/character analysis about a now 33-year-old movie coming up.

You have been warned.

Also, disclaimer: it has been years at this point since I've seen Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and I'm like 99% sure that Home Alone 4 is set in the Bizarro Universe, given that all the original characters are played by new actors. So I won't be counting the events from either of those movies for this post, just the first movie. Also, for that reason I'm just going to keep referring to Marv and Harry as the 'Wet Bandits' throughout this whole post, instead of going back and forth between calling them that and the Sticky Bandits.

Anyway! It's December now, and I think at this point everyone and their dog theorizing about how Kevin is a psychopath, or sociopath, or grew up to be Jigsaw (no, really, for those who don't know that IS an actual theory) because of the torture he put the Wet Bandits through is almost as much a holiday tradition as actually watching the movie.

But I finally got to rewatch the movie recently, and I have a few thoughts.

I. The McCallisters

So um, I don't know about you guys, but from what we see of the entire extended McCallister family at the beginning of the movie, they kinda seem like a lowkey toxic bunch:

Okay, maybe 'toxic' is a bit much--to their credit, there are a lot of extra people in that house, they're about to go abroad for a trip, so it's not surprising that everyone would be stressed out and tensions are running high.

But that doesn't make their behavior right.

Early on, we see the family, kids included, pushing their stress and misery onto each other, and especially onto Kevin. Granted, Kevin himself is kind of a brat at the start of the movie, but guess what?

He's still an eight-year-old kid.

He's the youngest, at least in his immediate family, and the whole night he's either ignored by the adults, insulted by his siblings and cousins, no one bothers to help him pack, and he's told he'll have to bunk with his cousin, who is a bed-wetter. That's a LOT for a kid to deal with, and with everything piling up, can you really blame him for snapping over something as simple as a cheese pizza?!?!?

So to sum up: This eight-year-old boy spends the entire night getting dumped on and looked down on by all his older family members, and in the one moment he finally dares to retaliate, it results in a mess that gets all of them even angrier at him, and he's sent to his room angry and upset, and feeling like all of them hate him.

You're really going to tell me that none of you ever had an experience like this with your families as a kid????????

Can you really blame him for wishing his family away after a night like that?!?!?

Also just a quick side note: Someone else pointed out that, well, Kevin thought he made his family disappear. So it's not really surprising that the kid would probably think he's tough enough to take on two grown adults after that.

Now, that all being said, let's talk about:

II. The Wet Bandits

Look, I'm not going to act like I didn't wince watching some of the torture Marv and Harry went through, especially Marv stepping on nails and Christmas ornaments...talk about agony of the feet (don't boo me, that's the actual trope name!)

But there's one teeny, tiny little thing I think most people tend to overlook when talking about these guys, and the hell they went through...

MARV AND HARRY ARE CRIMINALS.

We literally start the movie with Harry pretending to be a cop to get information on the McCallister's home, and their security defenses, so that he can rob the place with Marv later.

And okay, to their credit, it's not like the pair start off trying to hurt Kevin right off the bat.

Doesn't change the fact that they were still planning to rob his home, and very likely WOULD hurt him if/when they found him in the house they were planning to rob.

And yeah yeah, the McCallisters seem to live in a rich neighborhood, and seem very well-off themselves, but you can't tell me that you would see THIS outside your house:

And NOT get scared, especially if you were a small child left at home with no family to help and protect you.

Kevin doesn't go full Jigsaw on them right away--in this scene, after tricking the pair into leaving by turning the lights on, he runs and hides under the bed, like the scared child that he is.

To address another post that I've seen once--'KeViN cOuLd HaVe CaLlEd ThE pOlIcE aNy TiMe!' No. He couldn't have. The phone lines were down.

Also, the police, for most of the movie, seem uncaring at best--when his mother calls the police to get them to check on her son, they all but roll their eyes when talking to this worried, scared mother who wants to make sure her son is safe, and while a police officer DOES come to check on the kid eventually, Kevin is still too scared from seeing the burglars to answer the door. Because, again, he is a confused, scared child.

And again, the very first 'police officer' we see in this movie is revealed to be one of the very criminals trying to rob his house.

And yet, when the kid accidentally steals a toothbrush (because he was scared of his neighbor, who was in the store with him), a cop goes after him.

Oh yeah, and it's not like Kevin goes full torture technician on the Wet Bandits the SECOND time they come around either--just uses a lot of dummies, cut-outs, and strings, as well as Christmas music, to make it seem like the house is full of people.

Then the Wet Bandits find out they've been had.

And it's then, and ONLY THEN, that Kevin turns his house into a Saw trap--remember, these grown men are dangerous criminals who fully intended to rob his place, and again, it's not a stretch of the imagination to think that, even though they didn't want to hurt him originally, they wouldn't have ANY PROBLEM WHATSOEVER doing so when they came to his house again after finding out that he tricked them.

TL;DR: KEVIN WAS A LITERAL CHILD WHO WAS LEFT TO FEND FOR HIMSELF AGAINST TWO BAD PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE HURT HIM, OR *WORSE* IF GIVEN THE CHANCE JUST TO GET WHAT THEY WANTED, AND WAS JUST TRYING TO PROTECT HIMSELF.

[sporksaber]

I'm gonna talk about that hp au because it lives in the back of my head like a stray cat that's wandered in and you cant get to leave.

So dumbledore dumbledied. Why? Because he's annoying and I dont want to deal with him. How? Idk, a curse with a ten year delay of smthn. Mcgonagall is head mistress now. (also, shes fifty-ish. We're ignoring the fact that jkr aged her up after the movies were cast and that she is bad at math in every adaptation and interview since.) She became headmistress the year prior to harry getting to school.

Mcgonagall isnt about to let any of the bullshit dumbledore allowed slide. So the teachers are going to be a bit different and when students have problems theyll be dealt with properly.

So, the crux of this au, harry is sorted into slytherin. He didn't sit with ron on the train, and didnt think to ask to not be slytherin. The hat asks what harry wants out of howgwarts and while harry can't verbally answer the hat is like, got it. Puts him into Slytherin. (Above all his wants, there was a stronger yearning for the ability to make his own way. To not just have but to create safety and family and win against the people pushing him down.)

His first year is fairly eventful. Quirrel is there and so is Snape. This time though, there is no Voldemort and the philosopher's stone isnt in Hogwarts. Quirrel is just a regular piece of shit wizard nazi.

Harry has a very visceral reaction to the things the slytherin students will say, so he doesnt get along with them. Snape is also an asshole, so he doesnt get along with him either. Draco is very much pulling pigtails the entire year because he wasnt properly socialized as a child and harry has pretty eyes.

Durring that year Harry gets in trouble a lot. He'll talk back to snape for being unfair and discriminatory, he calls out quirrel for being straight up wizard racist (as quirrel isnt possessed he is more assertive), he argues with his housemates be it draco or the occasional upperclassman who is causing trouble.

He's also not good at school. Harry's hatred of studying in the original was never explained (i think jkr didnt want to do the extra world building). But in this he is just very much behind his year level. He's never had help before, nor a safe environment to learn in.

This leads to him finally getting to talk to mcgonagall (I love her so so much). She sits him down like, you're not in any trouble, have a cookie, I just want to talk about how you're doing. Harry has not a clue what to do. She talks to him about each class, asks if he made any friends, asks about slytherin.

Eventually it gets to the point that he kind of breaks down. Hes like, "I just dont understand. Everything's so amazing, I love being here, but some people are just so meanm"

She asks what he means and coaxs him to tell her all about snape and quirrel and the other students.

Mcgonagall takes a moment. And then she apologizes. Shes heen headmistress for just about a full year at this point and it seems she had some oversights.

She puts quirrel and snape on what is effectively probation. Quirrel is told that he will not be asked back the next year and any slip up will lead to immidient termination and being reported to the ministry.

Snape has been a teacher for ten years at this point and looking back mcgonagall knows that he has always shown signs of this problem. He is told to fix it or she'll let him go.

She also asks one hermione Granger if she'd be willing to tutor some peers. Harry begins to catch up on his classes.

The year comes to an end uneventfully. He has one more big spat with malfoy that leaves them having detention with mcgonagall. They clean and sort plaques in her office as she does some paperwork. She answers questions and gives anecdotes about what they find. She matches each of dracos snarky complaints.

Harry goes back to the Dursley's that summer. (One last oversight from mcgonagall.)

Year two: where the actual part that lives rent free in my head is.

Harry meets the one and only Luna Lovegood on the train. Luna is wierd and nothing she says makes sense, but harry is used to that by now so he thinks little of it. He rather likes her, shes fun to talk to. He hesitates to tell her he's a slytherin but she doesn't care at all about it.

[wolfiemcwolferson]

i wrote u a message some time ago abt it but it seems that it was not delivered or something like that (might be my own fault cause I ~may or may not~ have had 3 glasses of wine before so absolutely no fuckin idea if I actually sent it or just wrote it and went to sleep)

ANYWAYS….

I have written u before telling how I ABSOLUTELY ADORE the way you write piarles (ultimate otp), and then the last fantasy fest fic…. I MEAN…. I’ve read it 4 or 5 times already and I absolutely love omfg how can u write something like thisssssss. I think by the time the winter e can he fic comes I’ll probably have memorized if, and then I’ll just memorize the winter exchange fic also because I KNOW it will be perfection as always.

(whenever u can, please feed me with your piarles fics, thoughts, 5 sentences prompts. I take everything u want to give)

Hi friend!

Your message from a few weeks ago did send, but sometimes I'm so overwhelmed with the nice things people are saying that I hoard them up like little nuggets and re-read them at 3 AM when my brain is telling me to delete everything in my current google doc and start over.

BUT, I appreciate your kind words so so much it's unbelievable that other people love my little brain drabbles as much as I love coming up with them.

I have a little one that I have had in my notes app forever and ever that isn't full fic worthy, but would make an interesting little ficlet so here you go:

Piarles AU- based off the song Cherry by Harry Styles, but with a Happy Ending

Charles makes a burner Instagram account - which is really really stupid considering he did it when he was drunk with Carlos and the username is absolutely something Pierre would recognize, but...maybe he'll see it and feel guilty. Maybe one day he'll be checking to see if someone has watched one of his dumb stories on Instagram and he'll see it and he'll know. Charles is still waiting. Maybe he'll feel guilty then.

Because Charles misses him. Every single time his phone dings and he gets a dumb notification on that stupid burner account that Pierre has posted a story, dread fills him up. Is he finally going to post the probably boyfriend? Is he finally going to do more than soft launch him?

Soft launch - stupid stupid word that Lando had used to describe whatever Pierre was doing with that man. Posting pictures of two plates out at a fairly romantic dinner. An artsy shot of a flat that definitely didn't belong to Pierre. A balcony that leads out to a ridiculous view of a French vineyard.

Stupid French boys with stupid money and parents with rare art collections that steal soulmates and - it would hurt less if Pierre had looked miserable for at least a day. One single day of him looking miserable.

But, the day - the day - after he told Charles that Pierre 'needed time to figure out if he was doing the right thing', he was back to his normal self. Smiling in pictures. Hiking. Going out clubbing with Yuki.

Charles wanted to scream at him a little bit. How dare you doubt this? You know who I am just as I know who you are. I've known who you are since I met you. You are the person who knows me best. You are the person who helps me buy clothes so I do not wear one color. (Charles doesn't like to think too much about the fact that he has been broken of that habit completely and it is thanks to Pierre's years and years of work.)

Pierre didn't need to figure out if he was doing the right thing. Because the wrong thing was what he was doing now. (But it's hard for Charles to find fault in him. All Pierre has ever known is Charles and Pierre...well, Pierre thinks things to death.) ((But, what is there to think about when you and your best friend admit that the feelings you have for each other go well past platonic? What is there to think about?)) (((Charles is being a dick. There is plenty to think about. Pierre is so hesitant to give his heart away. That's fine. Charles will wait.)))

Yuki comes to see him when he's on this side of the city - bringing him absolutely zero scraps of Pierre, but plenty of gossip about their other friends - who Charles does miss, but all their conversations are stilted and odd. No one wants to bring it up. Charles doesn't know if he's thankful for it or he hates it. Probably a bit of both.

Charles is laying on the couch, thinking about calling Carlos to come over and drag him out of his flat so he doesn't have another night of...this, when his phone buzzes on the table. It's Instagram and he huffs before swiping it open and Instagram switches his account, pulling up Pierre's newest Instagram story.

It's a short video of footage from a train window. Going home.

Charles lets his phone drop to the floor, scrubbing his hands over his face a few times before he picks it back up and pulls up Carlos' contact. He can go out. He will go out and he'll - he'll dance with his friends and he will...not think about Pierre.

.

Post shower, Charles is arranging his hair in a way that says...well, something. Lando will rearrange it when he gets here so he's not sure why he's bothering, but his door is buzzing and he gives up. Going to swing it open and beg Lando to help him, please.

It's not Lando.

"I was hoping," Pierre says, eyes on the floor, hands in the pocket of his coat, voice small and scared, "that you still meant what you said at Halloween."

Charles is frozen in the spot. "That I love you?"

Pierre's eyes flick up to his, quick, and then immediately back down. Like he's afraid.

"I do. I still love you."

Pierre takes one step towards the door, eyes still on the floor. "I know now." He shrugs, voice smaller. "I am sorry, Charlito. I should have -"

Charles reaches for him. Tucks him into his arms. "You know now." He whispers, feeling Pierre cling to him. "You know now."

"I love you too." Pierre sobs into Charles' chest.

He came home.

[rampagingpoet]

The sad reality of first-past-the-post voting. All criticism gets counted as an attack by the other side because one side or the other is going to win. And the "Save democracy seems to mean not voice or hold political opinions" group has high overlap with the "all these people suck don't vote for any of them" group. Which is intended as an attack. Or more specifically, a threat.

Threatening to withhold your vote unless one party moves to meet your position is a valid electoral strategy. If it works, you have accomplished your policy goals. If it doesn't, you had no impact on result. It's when you get into convincing others to follow the same strategy that it becomes both more effective and more risky - you're persuading people that would have been one vote for Bad to instead be half a vote for Bad and half a vote for Christian Theocratic Dictatorship.

Like any threat or bribe it needs force, it needs credibility, and it needs to target something the opposing party values. And since there's multiple factions on the board, giving in to that threat must not be more costly to them than ignoring you and facing the consequences.

I think it's become pretty clear that Harris either:

Believes her odds of electoral victory are higher if she persists in making soothing noises at the electorate instead of actually doing something about Israel; or

Values US military access to Israeli airfields higher than she values winning the election.

If we're in case 1, getting enough people onside to vote third-party instead of Democrat could succeed. Once there's a critical mass of people who will not vote for her because of her support for Israel's fascist regime, she'd be forced to cave.

If we're in case 2 though, then things are much more difficult. To stop the genocide, pro-Palestinean voters wouldn't just have to play kingmaker. They'd have to run a candidate for President and beat both the Democrats and the Republicans. Which, notably, the people most vocal about not voting Democrat have not been doing. Zero support for anyone that matches their policies, just refusal to support anyone that doesn't.

This is why I'm so insistent about people getting out to vote. Even if you won't vote for the Democrats, showing up and voting third-party sends two important messages.

First, voting third-party shows that you are, in fact, willing and able to show up at the polls to support a candidate whose policies match your preferences. That in turn makes your threat not to vote for one of the major parties more credible and therefore more effective in future elections.º

Second, it builds the base of your third party of choice. If the two major parties are ever both nearly identical and highly unpopular, a third party could win! But only if you actually show up and vote for them instead of deciding your vote doesn't matter if it's not Red or Blue.

If everyone that "didn't think their vote counted" or "didn't like the candidates" had voted for the same third-party candidate in 2020, that candidate would have had 10% of the popular vote. 10%! That's almost four times more support than any third party has ever received!

Two and a half weeks probably isn't enough time to completely upend US politics and get an Independent elected President, but I'm curious to see who the "Don't Vote Democrat They Suck Too" crowd actually approve of. I've only ever seen them tear down the Democrats, never build up an alternative.

º Assuming the Republicans don't come out of this one with control of the House, Senate, Presidency, and Supreme Court. Trump has openly said "He'll fix it" and that his base will never have to vote again if he's elected. And even if they don't go that far this time, that would put them in control for the next redistricting and let them gerrymander the hell out of the Congressional districts.

[rayshippouuchiha]

A List of Most of my KHR Fic Recs

(Maybe I'll do something for a different fandom but that's enough typing for the day lol)

Crossovers with BnHA | MHA.

Blue Fire, Yellow Flames by Luki | Luki Dimension

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

It's rather disappointing, Reborn thinks. He was a much cuter toddler the first time round.

A 9k word oneshot, features characters from the Kokuyo and Varia Arc.

Role Model by Luki

Can be found here on Ao3.

Rated T.

Summary:

Through no fault of his own, Xanxus finds himself in another world, trapped in the body of the No. 2 Hero. At least he has some entertainment, in the form of an angry, scarred, broken son…

An 11k two shot, features Varia Arc characters.

we'll see each other again by HeavenlyDusk

Can be found here on Ao3.

Rated T.

Summary:

Tsuna wakes up as an infant named Midoriya Izuku. It's lonely up until he meets Hayato as a boy named Bakugou Katsuki, and from there, it's nothing but a matter of finding the rest of his Guardians too.

A 5k oneshot, features all of the 10th Gen Guardians.

Crossovers with Harry Potter.

Raison d'Etre by cywscross

Formerly on FFN but has since been removed. Can be found here on Ao3.

Rated Gen.

Summary:

A few weeks after Reborn arrives in Namimori and turns Tsuna's life upside-down, a young man with ancient eyes and an easygoing smile wanders into town as well. And all of a sudden, everything changes, another path is laid out, and what little sense is left in Tsuna's world promptly flies out the proverbial window.

Currently Incomplete, so far has 90k words and 12 chapters. Last Updated in January 2018. Begins during the Daily Life Arc (E9) up to the Beginnings of the Varia Arc.

Black Sky by Umei no Mai.

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T. Xanxus/Dorea (Fem!Harry Potter.)

Summary:

When you're a Black, you're a Black and nobody gets to hold all the cards except you. Not a Dark Lord with a grudge, not a Headmaster with a prophecy and certainly not the world's most influential Mafia Family... Dorea is as much a Black as a Potter and she is not about to let anybody walk over her!

A Fem!Harry story. Slow Build.

Currently Incomplete, so far has 1 Million and 359k words and 334 chapters. Last Updated in October 2020. Begins Harry Potter-centric and is currently post-TYL Arc. Features extensive world building.

Parenting is not a Varia Quality by Umei no Mai.

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

Co-written with InsaneScriptist; a Black Sky sidestory.

Being a member of the Varia does not make a person any less human, so mistakes still get made. It doesn't make dealing with those mistakes any easier either; in fact it may possibly make it more difficult, considering that the rest of the Vongola is convinced that the Varia is made up of demonic psychopaths…

Complete, with 161k words and 10 chapters. Features Varia OCs.

Yesterday's Tomorrow by Umei no Mai.

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

This is not actually the future, Tsuna is sure of that much. The alternatives aren't exactly better, even though he's pretty sure he'll get rescued eventually. Hopefully. Probably. Provided he can stay alive long enough in this ridiculous Matrix-style death-game…

A Black Sky sidestory in three acts. Tsuna-centric; frequently oblivious narrator. T for violence only.

Complete, with 68k words and 3 chapters. Takes place during Black Sky’s events of the TYL Arc from Tsuna’s perspective.

Crossovers with Naruto.

Karmic Balance by Sanjuno

Can be found here on Ao3.

Rated M. Obito/Kakashi.

Summary:

The Transmigration of Souls allows those who have repudiated their dharma a second chance at enlightenment. Karma being what it is, how is a soul supposed to repay debts inherited from their past life if they cannot remember their mistakes? Hatake Kakashi is a ninja, and in the time honoured tradition of his people he bargains with Fate. Gambling not with lives, but with Death, Hatake Kakashi wins a second chance. Mind and soul reborn in a new world, Obito and Kakashi find each other once again. Despite the weight of their sins and the pain of their scars, the two shinobi look forward to a life of peace. Unfortunately for their retirement, Destiny, and a certain meddling Sage, have other plans...

The Vongola Tenth Generation had inherited the Dying Will of the First Generation. All was going as was foreseen... until a pair of ninja decided to meddle, and changed the Pattern before it could be set.

Currently Incomplete at 107k words and 14 chapters. Last Updated April 2021.

the demon within cannot match the ones in my head by InsaneScriptist.

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on Tumblr.

Not Rated.

Summary:

Oh wow, if you were reborn with a clean slate expecting cheer and good manners then you’d be disappointed. Because Xanxus growing up in Konoha as its resident demon-prison is far from happy with this world… where child soldiers are the norm, the government is a tyrannical lie, history is subject and genocide happened in the middle of town. At least who gets to lead this trash heap isn't decided by something as lucky as an accident of birth.

Tumblr prompt from shroudthecursedone: If Xanxus died and was reborn as Uzumaki Naruto, who would he assemble as his new guardians?

Currently only one chapter with 900 words.

Crossovers with One Piece.

Xanxus' Adventures in Parenthood Piracy by InsaneScriptist.

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

Xanxus could only blame the damn scientists for stranding him in an alternate dimension. However Xanxus could only blame himself for allowing that woman to foist her child onto him.

Drabble fic. Slow build.

Currently Incomplete at 179k words and 74 chapters. Mostly takes place in One Piece World. Takes place post-canon in KHR.

Crossovers with RWBY.

Young And A Menace by InsaneScriptist.

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on Tumblr [1] [2] [3] [4]

Not Rated.

Summary:

Qrow's bad luck Semblance is unfortunately always active and nothing is more unfortunate than finding the result of an unremembered fling killing grimm and bringing up all kinds of bad childhood memories.

Xanxus on the other hand wants his people and and his damn life to make sense after Gesso shoved him into some other world. At least getting adopted by a drunk who cares is far from the worst thing to happen.

Currently has 5k words and four chapters. Last Updated in April 2019.

Crossovers with A Song of Ice and Fire.

Hie by Tsume_Yuki

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

Hie - to go quickly

In which Xanxus ends up in Winterfell and no one is happy about it.

Two-shot with 800 Words. Features Xanxus and Squalo mainly.

Non Crossovers.

Birthright by Morcai.

Can be found here on

Rated T.

Summary:

Thirteen is too young to gain eight years of memories that might come to pass--especially when you don't even know what to do with yourself in the present. But when the future is that bloody and dark, do you have any choice but to try to change it?

He remembers the absolute agony of the doctors trying to save him, which finally sent him into blissful unconsciousness—

—except he doesn’t remember any of that. Tsuna’s last memory is of putting his head down on his desk and falling asleep to the sound of the teacher’s droning, thirteen years old and tired of not understanding a word, not of being twenty-two and beloved and dying.

Currently Incomplete at 84k words and 11 chapters, last updated in November 2018. Spoilers for the TYL Arc. AU.

Changeling Child by Reavv | Cyanide Lemons

Can be found here on AO3 and here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

“What a pitiful body. All those sinew and bones, that faint beating heart.” The first one says, in a mockingly loving voice, its hand pressing into the glass until it passes it completely and touches the child. The small form of the baby stills, and the monitors attached stutter for a second before starting again.

“I don’t know how I will ever fit all of me in you.”

Currently Incomplete at 17k words and 10 chapters. Last Updated October 2016. Currently pre-canon.

A Collector's Guide To Caring For Your Pets by Ourliazo.

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on FFN.

Rated Gen.

Summary:

Kyouya is seven years old and enjoys making herbivores spontaneously combust.

(In which Kyouya collects flame active children because the colours are pretty. By the time someone notices it's already far too late.)

Complete with 23k words and 25 chapters. Spoilers for the Primo Family.

dead anime moms by exocara

Can be found here on Ao3.

Rated T.

Summary:

As we all know, the world of Katekyo Hitman Reborn has canon parallel universes. There are certain parallel universes in which almost everything is the same, except for one small tiny detail. In some cases, things would have been the same, if not for this small tiny detail. ‘For want of a nail’ would be an appropriate term to describe this effect; the effect of a small tiny detail resulting in a ripple effect that massively changes things.

In one particular parallel universe, Nana had slightly longer hair which she wore in a loose side ponytail.

Oneshot with 1k words. Takes place up to Beginnings of Daily Life Arc.

Don't Kiss and Tell by Luki | Luki Dimension

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on FFN.

Rated T. Kyoko/Tsuna.

Summary:

The men in Nana's family carry a very strange curse. They swap bodies with anyone they kiss. When a very young Tsuna trips and falls on his new friend Kyoko, it sets in motion a very unusual friendship.

Currently Incomplete at 101k words and 21 chapters. Last Updated in June 2020. Currently up to Kokuyo Arc.

The Epic Rivalry of Sasagawa Kyoko and Sawada Tsunayoshi by Dandelion-san.

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

Or the one where Tsuna can cook really, really, really well. (A crackish drabble-like series with no real plot. Canon AU, mostly gen)

Currently has 2 chapters with 6k words. Takes place mostly in Daily Life Arc.

Game Over and Over Again by Writing_Frenzy

Can be Found here on Ao3.

Rated T.

Summary:

Doing something over and over again can wear anyone down. Gamer!Tsuna

Warnings: (Some dark times shadowing ahead.)

Mentions of mental health issues, bullying, kidnapping, killing, paranoia, possessiveness, near death experience, slight madness, violence, talks of bribing, blood shed, experimentation, twisted mind sets, and loss of body parts.

Currently Incomplete at 75k words and 57 chapters, last updated in August 2018.

Generation Cross by Luki | Luki Dimension

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on FFN.

Rated M.

Summary:

Tsuna doesn't know how he dies for good, only that he still has regrets when he does. When he wakes up, he's in the body of Sawada Nana, mother of a 2 year old Tsuna, and those regrets become tenfold.

He's drowning in the implications, when an Arcobaleno appears on his doorstep, and the future becomes infinite possibility.

Currently Incomplete with 97k words and 16 chapters, last updated in June 2020. Spoilers starting from Kokuyo Arc.

Odd-Job Tsuna by ShamelessDilettante

Can be found here on Ao3 and here on FFN.

Rated Gen.

Summary:

Tsuna decides to get a job because he didn't want to be indebted to his father. Somehow, this leads to even more jobs and friends popping up in unexpected places. Tsuna can only blame his inability to refuse requests, but he'll never understand why he attracts trouble like a magnet. Includes: Many characters appearing randomly.

Mostly Pre-Reborn, Post-Reborn at Ch.18

Complete at 92k words and 18 chapters.

The Rebirth of Tsunayoshi Sawada by ShamelessDilettante

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

When Tsuna dies at a ripe old age, he finds himself waking again, back in middle school, a month before Reborn even arrives. Tsuna, in all the wry humour he has accumulated in his old life, decides that, what the hell, it's his turn to fool around with Vongola this time. One-shot. No pairings.

One-shot with 9k, technically takes place post-canon.

Sidelines by esama.

Can be found here on Ao3. A fancomic and fanart can be found here on Tumblr by Sora.

Rated T.

Summary:

The world ended and Tsuna survived.

Complete with 53k words and 16 chapters. Some spoilers for the TYL Arc.

Troublesome Discoveries by Searching.For.Enadi

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated T.

Summary:

At age twenty-six, Sawada Tsunayoshi dies without regret, leaving his place as Vongola's leader to another. In another world, Sawada Tsunayoshi wakes up once more: alive, de-aged to ten, with a younger twin brother, and ... female? …What?

AU; dimension-crossing; fem!Tsuna; No pairings as of now.

Currently Incomplete at 59k words and 8 chapters. Last Updated January 2019. Currently up to early Daily Life Arc.

Vigilante Tendency by Kyogre

Can be found here on FFN.

Rated Gen.

Summary:

Complete, semi-AU.

There's such a thing as being too much like the 1st generation. Tsuna didn't mean to start a vigilante group, but somehow it happened anyway. Well done, "Neo Primo," well done.

(bonus chapter 6-2016)

Complete with 31k words and 6 chapters.

What if Xanxus was the Sky Arcobaleno by InsaneScriptist.

Can be found here on Tumblr.

Not Rated.

Summary:

shroudthecursedone asked:

What if Xanxus was accidentally sent back in time and replaced Luce as the Sky Arcobaleno, how do you think things would change for the world with the other arcobaleno as his elements and what changes could he possibly make upon the world?

Currently has 4k words and 1 post. Spoilers for the Arcobaleno.

this is has been formatted like something out of a dream, thank you so much for this lovely rec list

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

31. Would you come back to me?

Prompt used- doing a pinky promise. This post have been inspired by one of @drarry-is-my-therapy recent reblog and one of @fqirycircle drawing, which is absolutely amazing. TW- ANGST | HURT/COMFORT | Harry's heart had always belonged to the boy by the lake.

" dad" Albus said as he watched his father cleaning off the used utensils

" yea " harry replied looking over his shoulder to his son sitting behind the kitchen table.

" I- I was talking with mom the other day and she told me something " Albus nervously said

" oh yeah, what'd she tell ?" Harry chuckled

" why you guy's really separated " Albus replied. Harry stopped dead for a moment looking blankly at the utensils until he resumed washing, not replying anything yet.

Once done, harry wiped off his hands over his apron, handing Albus the cold coffee he had just brewed, taking one for himself, he sat down in front of Albus with a curious smile.

" so what'd she tell you ?"

" well- she doesn't want me talking to you about these things but I- think I'm big enough to know these things now, don't you think ?" He nervously asked once again.

" well- albus I think you are " harry gave albus a friendly frown and with that Albus immediately loosened up, giving harry a genuine smile.

" so what did she tell you ?" He asked once again pointing Albus to drink his cold coffee.

" well- she told me- that you guys didn't love each other " Albus said

" I do love your mom Albus-"

" just not the same way, right ?" Albus asked. Biting the inside of his cheek harry deliberated whether he should actually let Albus know or not, until he did, knowing if he were where Albus was, he'd want to know too.

Harry nodded hesitantly.

" but you guys seemed to love each other so much? Like all the things you did, I mean i don't get it how could you just fall out of love you know ?" Albus asked a little irritated by the fact that his parents had actually fallen out of love. Harry is suddenly strongly reminded of a very Vivid situation, the situation he'd been so familiar with.

" Albus- I think what you're trying to say is that we Always cared for each other. We often confuse love with care. At much later part of our marriage, before separation we had almost forgotten what was it like to love each other and simply cared for one another" harry explained.

Albus clenched looking at his father, " so you're saying one day we eventually fall out of love ?"

" what- no- Albus, no that's not what happened- hell " harry immediately responded.

" then what happened ?" Albus aggressively asked

" it's- it's just more complicated than it seems Albus but I want you to know that love is real, alright. Just because your parents didn't work out doesn't mean love cannot exists, look at your uncle Ron and aunt Hermione, I've rarely ever seen love like that and hell I can't even tell you how much time they had spent crushing desperately over each other for years. We're sorry- really for setting such a bad example but we're not perfect, nobody is. It's simply is we couldn't make it work and we regret it " harry sighed pushing his hair back from falling over his face.

Albus shoulder slumped down a bits, staring at the water ring on his coaster absent mindedly.

" just say it albus. Don't keep it in " harry encouraged knowing his son was deliberating about saying something.

Albus looked up at harry strangely, a look he had never looked at him with ever before, " she said- that you- you've never truly loved her. She said even though you loved her but a part of your heart Always belonged to someone else "

And everything stopped. Harry's breath caught in his throat, his hand stilled in the air, even his hair on his forehead became still. He was shook Ginny had told him something like that. It wasn't as if harry wasn't ever prepared for such conversations but the way it had twisted into something, it was unpredictable and he found it hard to focus on one thing.

" is it true dad ? That you loved someone else too ?" Albus contemplated nervously.

Harry looked up at albus, not realising when had he ever leant down and cleared his throat to gain his voice back.

" I never cheated alb-"

" I know. She knows that but she says she knew that you Always have loved Someone else too " Albus bit his lip nervously hoping he hadn't offended harry by saying something so personal.

" i- I never thought she'd actually tell you this" harry eyes widened in surprise as he cleared his throat once again.

" w- I shouldn't have bought this up- this is just-"

" hey hey, it's fine- you said you're big enough to know these things now- well then " harry interjected nervously " she's right. I- my heart as she put it, one part of it has always belonged to someone else " harry sighed closing his eyes, glimpsing back in his memories of that one Particular person.

" oh- who ?" He asked curiously

Harry raised his eyebrows, chuckling nervously, not believing it even for a second that he is infact about have this conversation.

" someone" he finally replied.

And with that harry is brought back into his memories from years ago, that one person's laughter resonating in his head, that one smile which was only reserved for him, that voice which echoed in his head every night, as if it was calling harry to it but just as he reached the bottom, there would be another bottom and he would be stuck. Everyday. And as harry started to finally tell Albus about his first love, he flows into his memory of the last day of 5th year after harry had recently lost Sirius and was extremely vulnerable, around the black lake away from everyone, in just his own little bubble with him.

The lake reflected with the red and yellow light of the dropping sun from across the mountain and a faint breeze drying Harry's face covered with tears. He has someone's arms around his shoulder, cooing him, reminding him one day everything would finally be fine but he didn't had it in him to even understand what he was saying. He was crying, heavily breathing because of the heart clenching pain, the void in his heart which had finally filled had now grown bigger, how was anything ever supposed to be fine..

" we need to end this " harry abruptly said

" what ?" He asked confused by Harry's sudden outrage with something complete nuisance.

" we can't- I can't keep doing this " harry replied numbly

" wha- why not ?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows, feeling slightly hurt by such abysmal suggestion.

" don't you see, I lose everyone one day and I- I can't- I don't want to deliberately lose you " harry replied looking at him.

He frowned " you're not losing me harry-"

" then will I not ?" They had never talked about future, only because it remained so uncertain that they hated the idea of future

" no- you will not " he replied

" and you are absolutely 100 percent sure ? Isn't there a possibility someone would find out about us and it'll spread like a wildfire and everyone would desperately try to separate us !" Harry exclaimed

" okay harry- first calm down. Nobody have found out about us in the last one year, it seems highly unlikely someone would-"

" voldemort knows " and suddenly both of their breaths came to a halt. One word and everything they owned collapsed onto the ground as if it was the fragile chandelier hanging on the top of a broken roof.

" how-"

" he can see in my head. We can't keep doing this-"

" then we fight-"

" I'll fight- can you ?"

And there was silence. He wanted to respond that he would but he didn't trust the world, even if he trusted himself. He hated the world. He was weak, fragile and in a fight against the world, he knew he'd always lose, over and over.

" we are on opposite sides of war. Voldemort's came out. He'll be rebuilding his army. Everything is going to change. Even us" harry tried to explain without wanting to break down. This was the first time harry after sirius had sensibly talked but it was self preservation speaking for him, he couldn't afford to lose someone he really loves, once again. For once he wanted to protect his heart, he couldn't roll it over his sleeves when his sleeves were covered with thorns. It would be a death call and he couldn't give in, just yet.

" you and I- people like us don't belong together. The world will never understand us and this is the first fight we'd lose. I want this but it's going to be difficult. We can't be together as Long as we are on opposite sides-"

"Then I'll be on your side- "

" you are " harry responded giving a weak smile

" but I belong on the other side" he replied looking far ahead over the lake as if the realisation had finally dawned upon him. Something he had always known but had now slapped him right in the face.

"yes " harry replied looking at him, Saving in his memories the last time what he really looked like, his smile, his long lashes, his crooked nose, his pale skin, his tinted cheeks, his soft ears, his soft hair, his storm filled eyes, his pink plumped lips he had kissed so often. Saving it away for one day what it would look like in a pensieve.

" we knew what we were getting into but we took the risk nevertheless. It was a deranged path and we knew it from the beginning " harry softly said clutching other man's fingers with his own.

He didn't reply, he just longingly stared at the waters, as if he was remembering them not harry.

" so we give up ?" He finally asked turning to harry with unseen part of his face wet with tears. Harry reached forward wiping away his tear but they didn't stop, they only flooded more with Harry's touch.

" no, we- we promise to come back once again after all this is over" harry smiled softly.

" and you believe there will be coming back after all ? What if one of us- dies " he hesitated In fear of only imagining it.

Harry started at him knowing it was one of the possibilities but wasn't ready for such thing. It was a huge possibility that one day harry might lose " I have hope for us " harry suddenly spoke out loud. The thoughts In his mind had unknowningly reached his lips and there wasn't a going back from that.

The other man stared at harry long enough, he too concealing this part of him for that one day they'd meet again.

" promise me then if we make it through, we'll come back to each other " he asked, his voice sounding not more than a quivering sound.

" I promise that If I make it through one day, we'll meet again and come back to each other" harry replied

" pinky promise ?" He smiled.

Harry chuckled, then nodded

" do you promise ?"

" I promise "

" what happened then ? How'd you wind up with mom ?" Albus asked curiously, a faint yellow light from the evening bouncing over his brunette head.

" did he- die ?" Albus asked almost heart broken

" what- no " harry chuckled

" then what happened ?" Albus asked again

" he- broke the promise. We belonged to someone else much before we could've even belonged to each other. When I met him after the war and his probation, he had changed completely " harry replied reminiscing about the specific day

" then didn't you ever ask him again ?" Albus asked almost jumping off his chair.

Harry gave a small smile " I couldn't "

" but why- what if he had still loved you ?" Albus asked

" as I said he was completely changed. He wasn't the man I fell in love with. He never asked either. It died out over time. Besides I'm pretty sure he had already forgotten about it. Also I think he was engaged by the time we met again, it didn't make sense" harry replied

" then didn't you ever like try to stop his wedding like In those romantic comedies mum watches ?" Albus asked excitedly

Harry laughed picking up their glasses and going over to the sink " she's always loved them. You've got to stop watching them if that's what you're cooking in your head Albus. Real love Is different than what they show, it's not just one fight and making it up. Its so much efforts, fights, pain, drama and so many other things"

" but If it's the right person, it'd never feel like that would it ? If you really love someone then those fights wouldn't be so bad or there wouldn't be pain or drama. It'd be a happy relationship, wouldn't it ?" And in that small sentence albus has unknowningly managed to define true love.

Harry looked at his now grown up son, crossing his arms smiling impressively. And nodded.

Albus sighed in relief, slumping down in his chair. Harry quizzically analysed Albus until his expressions changed to sometimes brief.

" who is it?" Harry asked knowingly

" what?" Albus blushed

" who's this person you're suddenly relating everything to ?" Harry teased poking Albus Playfully.

" there is no one dad" Albus blushed embarassed, jumping off the chair, taking a few steps back.

" come on- I told you my story. I atleast deserve to know who it is " harry smirked crossing his arms in front of him

Albus sighed rolling his eyes" he's from school"

" ooh, someone from school. Like father like son" harry teased

" dadd " Albus whined blushing

" okay- fine, fine. Who is it then ?" Harry asked giving up with the teasing.

" it doesn't matter, he doesn't like me " Albus sighed crossing his arms in front of him in disappointment.

Harry carefully analysed Albus's face again, remembering exactly the same way he felt "it's the Malfoy kid, isn't it ?"

Albus's eyes suddenly shot up in surprise.

" how did you-"

" you're my son. Of course I'd know" harry sighed uncrossing his arms and stepping forward and placing them in the kitchen table, leaning forward.

" don't make the same mistakes I did. Ask him out. Write to him maybe. I'm sure he'd agree " harry suggested.

" mistake ? What mistake did you make ?" Albus asked curiously.

Harry gave him a firm smile before he putting his hands away from the table to his sides " it's a story for some other day, your mom is gonna be here to pick you up in an hour. Do your stuff and we'll talk about it next week? What say ?"

Albus frowned before letting go and nodding.

" one last question dad "

" shoot" harry said as he started washing those used cups again

" did you ever love mom as much as you loved that someone ?"

Harry smiled this time not stopping " I- love like that happened only once. I loved your mom a different way. I loved him a different way "

" but who'd you love more then?"

Harry turned around to see Albus standing there leaning over the kitchen table curiously " I will not answer that. Now enough with my love life. Go do your homework " harry said a little sternly in his father like adamant voice.

Sighing Albus gave up.

" okay, just one question, I promise " Albus plead again. Harry sighed before nodding.

" if now he came back in your life and asks you for a second chance, would you go back to him ?"

Harry smiled Shaking his head" yes- yes I would "

The next week when Albus came back for the stay, he seemed far excited than anything else. As soon as Ginny had left, Albus squealed.

" whoa there squirrel, what's got your knickers in a twist ?" Harry chuckled

" I've got an invitation. Can we please go to scropius's place. He offered for a while. I'll promise we can come back and do homework, he really wants me to see his collections. Can we please dad, please ?" Albus gave harry his puppy eyes in desperation..

Harry sighed before nodding.

" for an hour.. "

And with that after an hour, they flooed to scropius's place. The Malfoy manor.

They were recieved with a rather very pleasant place. It was no longer a dark, submerged place, it had been refurbished with mostly white and brown. It seemed like an entirely new place. Not one part of Malfoy manor looked like what it did ages ago ,and yet harry liked it better. It was welcoming. And just then he walked in, with scropius.

" potter "

" Malfoy" harry sternly nodded at Draco, losing himself again in that brief reminiscents of the past. He hadn't changed even a little bit as he remembered him from the day by the lake, yet everything had changed. Everything.

" we're gonna go " Albus didn't even wait and ran off with scropius, leaving harry and draco alone, both staring at each other thinking how the other had forgotten of the promise..

( I've really been writing shit lately. Anyways hope you liked this one, I'd been very excited for this one but It haven't turned out as good as I wanted to, so .. )

Requests open

Part 2 & 3

Day 30- scared, potter | Day 32- reasons not to be in love with Draco malfoy by Harry

[skepticalarrie]

This has been on my mind the whole day and i need to write this out. I'll say this first, i love harry, I'm not blaming him, I'm not unstanning or unlarrying. I'm just frustrated by what happened. As soon as i heard what he said, i knew it would cause problems. The antis and solo stans immediately used the words female orgasm to shit on us. Saying harry cancelled larries tonight. The context of what the fan said and what he said after is irrelevant. It's the kind of details that only larries pick up on and why we get called delusional. The narrative of wms being about pussy and the female orgasm was confirmed by Harry. And it's frustrating because Harry for years has said songs are up for interpretation. In the zane interview he said „ is it?” when asked if it was about female oral sex. And so the larries and harries got out of the songs what they each wanted. Everyone stayed happy in their lane. I feel, not that it was his intention, i personally feel he invalidated the way we interpret the songs. He'll release his next album and we’ll say it's about his love with Louis and they'll call us crazy. In their eyes, from now on we'll always be wrong. And i don't care what they think of us, however getting hated on when all I want to do is support 2 people i feel are wronged is draining. How disconnected from his fandom is harry that he doesn't see the two sides constantly fighting. Why wasn’t he more careful with the words he chose. Why did he even say that. Saying the song is about „sweetness" is more than enough to keep the hets happy. To top it all off, I've seen actual larries, attack other larries. How those of us upset are being biphobic. How can i be biphobic when I'm bi myself! The fact that this happened on the 10 year anniversary of the aimh tweet just soured the whole thing for me. There's more i can say but i don't wanna come off as a crazy ranter. I just needed to put some words out there.

Literally right as i was about to post this, the facetime picture with the blue bandana was released....immediately i felt immense guilt. Like i was in the wrong for having blamed him for what happened. I'm about to start crying i feel like absolute shit. For the situation he's in, just for all if it. This is so fucking heartbreaking....

Ok, I totally understand where you're coming from. I wasn't happy about yesterday either, but here's the deal: we're the punching bags in this fandom. So there's always going to be discussions, people will always try to shit on us, people will not stay in their own lane. Sometimes Harry and Louis will give us something, like a blue bandana, a tweet, a song... but we're not allowed to expect things from them. Because they don't owe us, that's not how it works, we only get frustrated if we have expectations for something to happen, and the way I saw a lot of people reacting yesterday, I realize there are people with huge expectations based on... nothing. It's pretty clear to me that they see what happens here, but we don't know a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes, so they need to play the game, they need to do what is best for them and they're not perfect, they are not always able to please both sides. I don't know whether Harry was already planning on saying what he said, I don't know why he did it, maybe things will be more clear with time, maybe not. And I don't know whether he was already planning on the blue bandana, but what he did there was a little bit of damage control, he knows what happens when he feeds into that narrative, and it was kind of predictable that he was doing something like that after the chaos, for some people that is enough and for some people is not.

Considering things hasn't been very good lately, I've seen quite a lot of people done with the fandom yesterday and I think they're allowed to feel that way, it's exhausting, now I feel fine here but you guys know I had to step away from the fandom many times, I was angry, I was upset, I was frustrated. And with time I realized that I would only find peace if I wasn't expecting anything in return. I'm here because regardless of what narrative they're feeding into, I believe that their position is unfair, I believe that this is not what they want. So I want to show my support, I think that's very important to them and they appreciate it.

[leogichidaa]

Hmm ok 🤔 so, I always read the books as Dumbledore forcing Sirius to stay. And he did really only bc well I mean- everyone listens to Dumbledore I guess.

In all my years of tumblring, I have never in my life done submissions, so forgive me if I'm fucking this up. Everything indented is submitted by anon and this is obviously me, your friendly neighborhood Leo.

So, this touches on one of the bones I have to pick with Dumbledore, and that is the way that he emotionally manipulates people. This is most clearly seen with Snape. After Lily dies, Snape comes to Dumbledore in agony, and Dumbledore's response is:

If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear.

And what is the way forward? Do everything Dumbledore tells him to. That really, really bothers me. I could happily go on a rant about this, and I will if someone prompts me to, but I'll try not to veer too wildly off course. We see the emotional manipulation to a lesser extent with Newt as well in FB2. And it's not really explicitly shown, but I think it's heavily implied that the dynamic between Dumbledore and Aberforth is rife with emotional manipulation.

Basically, I'm saying that Dumbledore starts with charming people into compliance, and if he can't do that he'll use other, shadier, means. But I don't think he has to do that with Sirius. And if Sirius listens to Dumbledore because he, like everyone else, places his faith in him, well...that's Sirius' choice.

And yeah, my gripe is really- he locked him in Grimmauld, of all places. I suspect Sirius thought he’d be able to get out from time to time, but not as much as he hoped and certainly not at all . There was certainty the risk that his animagus form would be spotted ( because Peter would have told the DEs by book 5). If Lucius hadn’t spotted Sirius in dog form, would Sirius be allowed to go out from time to time? Maybe. But I feel uncertain about blaming Sirius for that. The man can only exercise so much caution.

I suspect that's what Sirius thought as well. The man is not exactly known for his foresight. But again, he wasn't locked in anywhere. He was free to leave at any time. He decided to go to the train station with Harry, despite the fact that:

Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said no!

highlighting again that Dumbledore was not forcing him to stay. That was his choice. When he was spotted and Harry told him he had been clocked and not to risk it again he didn't. That, too, was his choice.

Now it’s not to say I don’t blame Sirius for his death. I think he does take some responsibility, just not all of it and not a majority. And it does have to do with Kreacher. I also don’t think that Sirius was even in the right mindset to remind himself of the fact that if Kreacher is let go, or leaves on his own, he’ll go and blab to the person he goes to, which is no one good (Narcissa).

Again, the majority of the blame here pretty clearly goes to Bellatrix, since she killed him. Sirius was very much aware of the risk of Kreacher leaving Grimmauld:

“We can’t set him free, he knows too much about the Order,” said Sirius curtly. “And anyway, the shock would kill him. You suggest to him that he leaves this house, see how he takes it"

Was he thinking when he told Kreacher to get out that this would mean Kreacher could leave? No. That was an oversight, a loophole that Kreacher found. The thing of it is, why was Kreacher looking for a loophole in the first place? Because Sirius was a raging dick to him. He literally picked him up and threw him??? His actual slave.

Sirius did have to hide in a house, just…not Grimmauld. I wish we knew about the type of stuff Orion put on the house because if that security included blood magic, then that’s a very real, ironic, and tragic reason to keep Sirius in Grimmauld: if his blood helped keep some of the more powerful wards up.

I think the blood magic requires sacrificing your life. And ok, so if we go with the hc that Orion and Regulus' deaths were connected, maybe Orion sacrificed himself to ensure that Voldemort wasn't able to kill another one of his sons. And maybe there was blood magic keeping Sirius safe at Grimmauld. And--OH FUCK. OH WAIT. Bellatrix killed Sirius, which she would be able to do even if Sirius was protected by blood magic from a blood sacrifice, because she is his blood. The reason Voldemort could touch Harry after GoF was because the ritual meant that Voldemort shared Harry's blood, the blood that protected him, and so he could kill Harry. Bellatrix shared Sirius' blood, so she could kill him. Fuck me. Fuck.

I think you backed me into a corner where I now very much want to accept the "Orion sacrificed himself for his family" hc and *gasp* like Orion. Tagging @mrs-stubby-boardman and @regulusarchieblack because I know they both have the Orion & Regulus' deaths were connected hc. Thoughts on this???

I feel Dumbledore should have taken into account that he was locking Sirius up in a place where he suffered emotional childhood trauma. Putting Sirius elsewhere would make him stir crazy, and stuck in his own head, but the influence of the surroundings of Grimmauld would be removed. I feel that would have made a positive difference in Sirius’s (admittedly low) mindset, because Grimmauld mentally was one step above dementors for Sirius. And that’s not saying much.

Don't want to sound like a broken record here, but he wasn't locking anyone anywhere. And Sirius chose Grimmauld. Well, in a meta sense, the narrative chose Grimmauld because without it we wouldn't meet Regulus, we wouldn't learn about the House of Black, and we wouldn't see the locket. It's tragic that he was confined there, truly it was. I have spent extensive periods of time in my childhood home and it was miserable. But I don't see how any of it was Dumbledore's doing.

While yes, Sirius is a grown man, he too also seemed to listen to Dumbledore in the same way that everyone else does. There was no one to advocate for Sirius to get out of Grimmauld and into another safe house. One would think Dumbledore would, for all he preached about love and tolerance and understanding but he didn’t. Maybe because he felt he had other things to attend to (like Voldemort).

One would think the task would fall to Remus, but I don’t think he did that because Remus felt he owed Dumbledore a great great deal (and yes he did ). Dumbledore was also sending Remus as a spy to werewolf covens so Remus was out of the house frequently (that’s the impression I got?)

Yeah, everyone listens to Dumbledore and that's lowkey very dumb of them, but Sirius of all people is not one to follow folks blindly. And even if he was...I am a broken record, that's his choice. And there was someone there to advocate for Sirius: Sirius. I don't know, we're probably just not going to see eye to eye on this at all, and that's totally fine, but that's my take.

[fuchsea]

tbh idc about harrys movies they both sound awful and im not supporting it. one movie that's promo just surrounds h with a godawful plot and Flo being paid 900k vs h being paid 2.5 mil and the fact that he didn't say anything is so fucked up idc who he is. also the second movie? a mf cop movie?? dissapointing to say the least. tbh I just want louis to have actual promo the way harry gets for his music and I want lt2 to actually play on the radio. I just want good things for louis rn with lt2 esp considering the way walls was treated in comparison to fine line by radios....harry I'm like...he'll be fine the entire music industry kisses his ass so whatever yk? and ppl who are like oh louis doesn't want to be successful?? or played on the radio?? weirdo behavior tbh. hes tweeted ab charting everytime he did, he so clearly wants that and the fact that some larries ignore that so they can explain away the gaping difference in treatment btwn the two is...pathetic lmao

eh look. i don't believe in putting down one of them to praise the other because that's just not it. i don't even think you can compare both of them and their successes on an industry level because when you look at it, harry and louis clearly make music in completely different genres. and also the fact that harry has 3 albums out and has been on 2 tours already vs louis only has one album out and he's only just finished his first ever tour (lots of reasons behind that) so that again isn't grounds for comparison. while yes i do agree walls promo was fucked and that i really truly want the best for lt2 and its promo, but i genuinely don't think comparing it to fine line and its promo makes sense because those were two different routes entirely. as for the movies, it's honestly up to you whether you want to watch them or not, i'm not gonna go around policing people about what they should and shouldn't consume. but with lt2, i am actually positive that it will be so much more better and so much more fun during promo season and that's honestly credit to how much more self assured and confident louis seems to be, it feels like he's finally found the sound direction that he wanted and i'm just really really excited. he's also amassed quite a bit of fan following because of tour and he's breaking numbers and records already so yeah i'm very excited and i definitely have faith in the future