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justporo · 1 year ago

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Shooting Stars

A night of star showers is imminent in Baldur's Gate. You couldn't think of a better way to spend it but with Astarion and a sparkling glass of champagne in your hand - and lots of teasing banter- until the first star comes shooting. Because of course: there are wishes to be made and hopefully to be fulfilled.

MASTERLIST | AO3

Author's Note: Time to cook of the 2024 season! I originally wanted to use this for the Winter Challenge as well but eh, I rather wanted to take my time (and I'm happy about it - I'm only getting back in the saddle with writing now, break was very much needed). So have this piece of fluff, that is hopefully something for the soul to kick of this year of writing! This wonderful artwork was done by the lovely @britonell (thank you so much!).

Pairing: Astarion/Fem!Tav (You)

Warnings: none, just tooth-rotting fluff

Wordcount: 2,9k

Song: All This And Heaven Too - Florence + The Machine

~~~

“Shit, I think I ripped one of my stockings”, you cursed while you rearranged your seat at the edge of the roof. Astarion relaxedly sitting beside you clicked his tongue and looked judgingly at you - but you knew he was only teasing. The sparkle in his ruby eyes spoke of nothing but affection and admiration as he looked at you and then towards the glittering night sky.

Tonight a shower of shooting stars was supposed to happen. The whole city had been raving about it for days since astronomers had shared the news of the upcoming celestial event. Probably every one who could afford so would be out and about to catch a glimpse of some of nature's magic. And of course - as was custom - to make some wishes and hope for the falling stars to kindly fulfil them.

Some of the stars on the firmament were twinkling already, as if they were shimmying, getting ready to fall out of their sockets and travel across the night sky. To grace all beings below them with their fleeting beauty.

Never had you seen something like this and you had been brimming with excitement from the first moment you had heard about it. You wouldn't want to miss it for the world.

When you had asked Astarion if he wanted to watch the star showers with you he had lifted one eyebrow and given you a kind of condescending if playful smile. Then, when he had answered his voice had dripped with sarcasm: “Oh darling, why would we need to watch some beautiful fallen stars when I already have one right in front of me.”

You had almost barfed onto his feet. Astarion had looked offended.

Then you had lost it so hard laughing that your vampire had needed to hold you up by your elbows so as to not let you slide onto the ground while you suffered from your hysteric fit.

“Astarion, love, you already have me - you can scrap the cheesy lines - please?”, you had pressed out through laughter and buried your face in his chest while Astarion had pouted a bit more about your snide remarks regarding his flirting techniques.

Of course, he hadn’t stopped. In fact, he’d made it a game over the next couple of days to come up with even much worse lines while you always desperately tried to keep it together.

“But darling, all my wishes have come true already with you by my side.”

“Love, I believe the night's cancelled. All stars are already in your eyes.”

“Oh, my heart, I’ve already fallen hard for you, why would you need another star?”

They got progressively worse the longer he kept going - and incredibly less inventive.

But of course you were still swooning on the inside, at least a little. Because after all, how couldn't you? Knowing that Astarion was indeed in love with you and that he really meant his words. Well, once you scraped all the gooey honey off it. What lay beneath was very sweet and much less sickening.

This game of his had gone on for several days until the night had finally arrived - and until even Astarion had almost run out of stupid pick-up lines.

The both of you had decided to dress up, just for the hell of it. This being one of the things you had adopted quickly from Astarion: indulging yourself, taking care of yourself and dressing for yourself - and for him of course, because you could never get enough of the stunned looks he threw you.

You were in a dress that Astarion had gifted you some time back and that was embroidered by the man himself. And the vampire in a finely stitched doublet that made him look positively regal and smoking. There was a fair amount of staring happening from both sides, hopefully not distracting from the actual event later on.

Then with lots of giggles from your side and terrible cursing from Astarion you had climbed onto the roof of your little Baldurian townhouse. This man could never do anything without commenting on it. When you had pointed out as much, he had narrowed his eyes at you and looked tempted to drag you down the small ladder again that led up to the roof. But you had swiftly moved out of his reach with a cackle - not without also making sure to give him a good view of your behind first by deliberately swishing open the slit in your skirt.

Carefully, you had scattered towards the edge over the old shingles then, until you could carefully settle down.

Obviously not carefully enough though since you feared that the delicate sheer fabric covering your slender legs might have been torn on a sharp edge when you had sat down. But it didn’t really matter. Astarion had already promised he’d rip these stockings off you (together with the set of naughty underwear you’d chosen specifically for him) with his teeth later in the night. Really, you were just presenting an opening for your eager lover.

With another curse under his breath, the vampire sat down beside you although he did so elegantly and immediately evoked the image of a lounging cat. The grace of the rogue really was unmatched.

You leaned back on your hands and angled one leg, putting it up on the edge while the other dangled over thin air. Astarion almost mirrored you with the way he seemed to sit comfortably there, leaning back, legs slightly spread and hanging over the edge while he observed the glittering night sky.

“Love, that’s no way to sit for a lady”, Astarion teased you with a promising grin while he eyed your angled leg, clad in nothing but a gauzy stocking, adorned with a delicate lace rim at the very top of your thigh - which was almost completely on display for him.

You angled your head at him and swayed your leg a little so the slit allowed for an even better view of your leg - careful to only tease for later.

“Good thing I am not a lady then”, you replied to your vampire, tongue in cheek.

“Oh yes, my love, it’s for the best. The way I’d single handedly ruin your reputation later tonight would be scandalous,” Astarion replied while he devoured you with his eyes from under his brows. In his head you could bet he was already letting his teeth graze over the delicate skin of your inner thigh. Oh, it would be a night to behold.

You laughed softly, throwing your head back. But then you let your leg softly fall onto the other, giving at least the illusion of decency again.

You grinned at the vampire, the vampire grinned back with promise.

Nothing would ever come close to this, to being with him: the playful banter, the easy companionship, the intense intimacy. You hummed contentedly while you slowly ripped your loving gaze of Astarion and let it wander over your surroundings.

Below you the streets of the Upper City seemed to fill up with the whole population of Baldur’s Gate. Of course everyone wanted the best sight of the night sky - and Upper just had the best spots. And what a good thing that you still had the vantage point even with all those people trying to find a neat stargazing spot.

Idle chatter drifted up towards you. People had brought food and drinks and a continuous hum of anticipation filled the cold night air, but you barely even noticed. For you there was merely your soulmate and you up on the roof of your home.

Behind you you had two crystal glasses waiting to be filled with some bubbling champagne Astarion had insisted upon. “If you’re going to make me sit up on some godsforsaken rooftop during wintertime only to crane your neck at the night sky you can look up at every night, I might as well bring a drink”, he’d said and rolled his eyes while he had grabbed not one, but two of the expensive bottles. You had simply shrugged - you wouldn’t say no if drinks were involved. And since you had figured out that it had been nearly half a year already since most everything had been dealt with, you felt it was only appropriate to celebrate this fact with a drink.

The vampire had whole-heartedly agreed when you had told him your observation. Astarion, of course, had been very well aware of that even before. He hadn’t stopped counting the days since his life had taken a turn for the better and, perhaps, he never would.

Up on the roof the rogue now procured his dagger, threw it up to flip it artfully and only then - when he was sure that he had your full attention - he took the first bottle with a sly grin. And then, in his histrionic manner, he swished the sharp blade up along the curve of the bottle neck and cleanly took off the head along with the cork.

Champagne immediately started foaming out of the bottle and Astarion was quick to grab the crystal glasses, both in one hand, and elegantly pour you each a glass of sparkling wine.

Somewhere below you heard someone yelp - apparently Astarion had unconsciously managed to hit someone with his display of skill. You looked down and saw an older gentleman rub the back of his head and turn towards you.

Quickly grabbing Astarion’s arm to make him pull back with you, you dragged up your legs with a giggle, hoping you could hide from the unwilling target. The vampire grinned broadly at you while he kept pouring - that little rascal.

You had to be honest though that you’d been quite impressed with the display of this dextrous if wholly unnecessary talent. It was after all very fitting for the flamboyant elf. But your adoration must have shown because the vampire was grinning proudly at you as he handed you a glass.

Time to get his ego in check again before it became too massive.

“Where’d you learn that?”, you asked after you had clinked glasses with him. “Rich prick academy?”

Astarion almost snorted into the glass he’d been taking a sip from. He recovered quickly though. “Not my fault they taught you neither that nor manners, you insolent little thing.” He clicked his tongue and took another sip of bubbly.

You waited until he had lifted up the drink filled flute to slap his arm.

His drink sloshed, some spilling onto him.

The look of that combined with too much force you had used to get back at him almost made you lose your balance. You screeched, gripping your glass as if it could stop you from falling.

But thankfully Astarion quickly grabbed your wrist with roguish reflexes, pulling you back and thus prohibiting you from falling off.

Your heart was racing from the sudden rush of adrenaline. The vampire was only laughing as you recovered from your self-inflicted fright. And you hadn’t even drunk a single drop of alcohol yet. So you made to catch up and lifted the crystal to your lips.

“Darling, don’t break your back falling off this rooftop, yes?” Astarion said, choosing this exact moment to break the silence again. “I have way better options to achieve that if you should insist upon it, my heart.”

You choked on the prickling drink and started coughing. Immediately, you were almost ready to push that bastard again, risking falling off once more. Astarion in the meantime smirked smugly at you while drinking his champagne in peace now.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time”, you croaked pathetically after barely being able to talk again. Somehow you seemed to draw the short end of the stick fairly often when it came to trying to out-sass the pale elf. But he had more than 200 years on you with that - give or take. You’d get back at him one of those days.

The bickering went on for some more back and forth until you had each downed your first glass, then a second while you were both laughing profusely and you started to feel the alcohol make your mind a little hazy.

Astarion refilled the glasses once more and you just kept talking - about everything and nothing. It was always so easy to just spend time with each other. It almost felt like you had been together a whole eternity already, in the best way imaginable.

“So, what are you wishing for?”, you asked Astarion emboldened by the alcohol while you were working on emptying your next glass of champagne.

The vampire inclined his head towards you and softly shook his head in disappointment: “Love, have they truly taught you nothing? You’re not supposed to tell or it won’t come true!” He softly clicked his tongue while you stuck out yours towards him. You kept looking at him in anticipation - but he was firm on not losing a word on the matter.

After a while you gave up with a dramatic sigh and gulped down the rest of liquid in your glass. Neither pouting at him, bribing him or even offering another glance of your precariously clothed legs seemed to work.

You though knew exactly what things you’d be wishing for: for him and you to be happy - that was the most important thing, to find a way to allow Astarion to walk in the sun again, a long and happy life for all your friends you hadn’t seen in a while now, to have things stay like this forever or at least to be able to always come back to moments like these.

You really deeply hoped this would stay with you: the unconditional love, the deep trust, the easiness with which the two of you spent your days and nights now with each other.

Some time ago you had feared that once the permanent tension of your adventuring days was over there wouldn’t be much left for you. That Astarion would just realise that you were barely more than a former street kid and thief - and pretty much boring beyond that.

But it hadn’t been like that. Quite the opposite: every day seemed to make the vampire fall harder for you. And you knew that was surely true from your side. It was like every time you looked at him another small piece of your heart was permanently handed to the vampire who you trusted fully to handle it gently. And perhaps the same was true for Astarion’s undead and unbeating heart in his chest.

You kept gazing at him and enjoyed just listening to him talk beside you while you sipped on your drink. The wind was drifting through both your hair, pulling some light strands of your hair with it while it merely tugged softly on the rogue’s curls. His side profile was sharply illuminated by silver moon light, pronouncing his straight nose, sharp cheekbones. And not to forget his ruby red eyes that always caught when you were staring at him and then sparkled in delight.

You could just spend eternity with moments like these.

Astarion was currently telling you about a book of poetry he was reading at the moment, looking up at the moon and the stars with a slight smile on his lips when a murmur started to move through the crowd below you.

Both of your ears perked up a little as the people became louder. And then when someone even screeched and you saw someone pointing up at the night sky as you leaned forward you realised what it must mean: shooting stars.

Your head snapped up and you caught a movement out of the corner of your eye, just the disappearing tail of a star racing across the darkness. With a gasp you grabbed Astarion’s shoulder without looking to get his attention. The vampire immediately complained but was silenced when another falling star shot across the sky - this time clearly visible for both of you.

The people below were buzzing in excitement now, loud “oohs” and “aaahs” were heard in the chill winter night as the stars become more and more frequent until bright white curves of sparkles were drawn across the sky every few seconds.

Your eyes widened as you beheld the wondrous event in front of you, completely entranced by what was happening. Truly a magic that was unmatched in beauty, a spell woven over everyone that was lucky enough to catch sight of it even for only a moment.

The vampire observed the falling stars with you for a long while before he slowly turned to you.

Astarion looked at you, still fully smitten by stars falling from the sky, eyes wide and shining, lips parted slightly.. He drank it all in: the wonder in your eyes, your beautiful face, the love. You see the latter reflected on his face when your gaze flicked to the vampire and back up to the sky to not miss a single star.

But Astarion’s gaze kept lingering upon you. Not wanting to ever forget even the most miniscule of details of this moment while sparks of light kept dancing over your face and your ever broadening smile.

He hadn’t lied, calling you his star.

Because his biggest wish, although always unspoken, had already been fulfilled.

Tag list: @spacebarbarianweird @sunfire-ancunin @tragedybunny @dependsonthedream @tallymonster @magazzne @micropoe10 @aoirohi @my-bunny-prince @lumienyx @fayeriess @darlingxdragon @hereliesblackdragon @ayselluna

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #astarion ancunin #fanfiction #astarion x tav #bg3 spoilers #baldur's gate iii #baldurs gate #astarion x mc #astarion x oc #astarion x you #astarion x reader #bg3

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greenlaut · 10 months ago

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death of the divine ✸

as your flatter talk shivers down my spine i hear the Holy One exposing all the lies (Lord, forgive me, i know my flesh needs to die) x

baal / lucifer / michael from angels before man and angels & man by @nicosraf

close-ups + work progress under the cut

og sketches

cleaned up sketch (i can't perceive my own messy sketch's coherency ok)

1st version. didn't like how thick the lineart and the colour palette isn't clicking with me. is so i scrapped it. decided i want to do frame/illuminated manuscript thingy so i added frame and re-centered michael.

i kind of winged it for the final version, so i don't have progress of me picking colour palette or compositions. idk how i did it, i just did it, it was hard. i had a bad day so i blanked out the entire day to just lose myself in this illustration. and then uh. tada.

now some close-ups:

and some notes:

i know i want lucifer's skin to come across as "gold", so i keep picking his colour in the orange spectrum. bcs yanno--the sun (morningstar). naturally baal is more red leaning, which i think also suits his lion associated imagery well (because lion -> strength card (in tarot deck) -> red. idk, it's how my brain is)

originally michael doesn't wear an armour. i decided last minute to put him in one because fuck it; (1) armour cool and (2) i am a masochist ig

both baal and lucifer wear lipgloss. this is entirely dedicated to rafael's (the author. not the angel.) suffering. they share lipgloss by kissing, you fools.

michael has "jellyfish" hairstyle because. the front bob kinda reminds me how catholic friars/monks in certain schoolings cut their hair in that bob hair? yknow the one?? ya?? anyway it's for that imagery.

both baal and lucifer's legs are caging michael. bcs they're what ground him (vices/temptations) ahahahahaa

i actually asked rafael (author not the angel) and he said he imagined baal is a brunette, which is the same like i had in mind. except that baal asked that he got depicted as a wizened old man/wizard. so now he gets a beard and his hair is white. (he also insisted i gave him a stylish beard)

if u look closely at the jewelries the demons wore; one of lucifer's rings and baal's visible earring have gemstones the colour of michael's eyes

in return, michael's sash is the colour of the demons

baal has a ring with heliodor (yellow) for lucifer, and lucifer has a(nother) ring with red ruby for baal

baal's other gemstones are topaz and lucifer's are yellow jasper

both demons have pearl necklaces. they're supposed to represent michael('s wings ahahahahahaahaha)

my headcanon is that michael's wings are brown like sparrow's actually. BUT during the war, god gave him more power and authority and my understanding is that he got tempered into a perfect sword; so his wings turned white. when book 3 came out and they finally bang (I FUCKING HOPE THEY DO. RAFAEL. THIS IS FOR YOU RAFAEL.) his wings will turn brown againehehhehe

lucifer's coat has wing-like cut at the ends to represent his no longer existing wingsbye

michael is blue because one time i shared this imagery with rafael; michael wearing blue because of the same reason virgin mary is depicted in blue. god's favourites are in blue; fated to suffer and be left behind.

fin.

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bleue-flora · 3 months ago

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***UPDATE***

I did some snooping of my own as well as had people find or rule some out (I’ll probably continue to update this as we go on so to check the updated list return to the original post instead of the reblogs)

Alright, by popular demand here it is. There are likely things on here that may not exist yet because the map is from before the finales or don't exist at all or aren’t on this map (these items will be marked DNE - does not exist). I don't know, but that's part of the fun I suppose. :) Feel free to leave the answers in my asks, tag me, or just use the tag: #dsmp scavenger hunt so I can find your posts. <3 Good Luck!

DSMP Scavenger Hunt

Places

1. Staged Duo Island [related post]

✔️2a. Map #1 - Found ✔️2b. Map #4 from Dream’s wall in his bedroom cell [related post] (hopefully they are oriented right, I based it on the other wall maps’ orientation) - Found

2b. is Sam's Base at -3803 70 -3926 [post] (seems the map was oriented wrong oops, my bad... apparently it was right on his wall)

2a. has been determined by @sumwan to be a map of a more completed version of Sam’s handmade retirement island [post] (which is not actually shown in its completion on the dsmp map we were given, but is another mystery solved nonetheless :D)

✖️3. Quackity's storage room (what is in the chests?) [clip] - DNE

Given the look of this room and the presumed general area based off of the stream, I searched everywhere and am going to say this no longer exists and must have be changed since April 2021, perhaps it was part of a Las Nevadas building during construction… so no new torture method lore I guess :[

4. Quackity’s birthday poster (does it really say he’s 28? Or that his birthday is on December 28?)

5. Dream’s house (does he actually have one that’s not the prison or his old secret base)

✖️6a. Revival Book Lab [clip] - DNE ✖️6b. Punz's secret underground room - DNE

6b. The finale secret room has been confirmed to not have been built yet [post]

6a. It is a general consensus at this point that because Punz's tower does not appear the same as in the video that the video was filmed on a different map so there is no lab.

✖️7. Dream’s bed for respawning in the disc confrontation (it had to be close for him to get there so fast [related post]) - DNE [post]

✔️8. Warden’s prison stasis chamber on the outside [clip] - Found [post]

9. Does Quackity have an in Minecraft calendar? (that Dream mentions [clip] & is shown in vod)

10. Did they make a replica of the cell for the scrapped lore and just never filmed it?

Items

✔️11. Books Dream gave to Techno in prison (are they all empty?) - Found

No, the one labeled Dream says “dear technoblade” and the others also have things in them, not necessarily super notable but not nothing [post].

➖12. Dream’s letter to Techno - Maybe?

There is a world in which it could perhaps be the Dream book with “dear technoblade” in it [post] because that is what the scene ends on [clip].

13. Revival Book

14. Are there multiple Enderboo prison waivers for multiple visits?

➖15. The OG pink bed (shown in old enderchest [from this post] but not later) - Unfindable

So there are actually a shit ton of pink beds on the server a result of Eret’s ‘you matter <3’ pink wool and the og pink sheep at the community house no doubt. So I think this will be pretty impossible, unless we find something that seems like Dream’s house which has a pink bed.

✔️16. Does Dream have any named possessions? - Yes

A fish named J DAWG, good on Sneapeekay for giving Dream a pet, our boy has an attachment now :) [post]

17. Dreamrider [clip]

✔️18a. Dream’s blue shield - Found 18b. Smile shield from staged finale

18a. George still has it in his ender chest :) [post]

*40. Bonus Addition - Sam’s missing Warden items [related post] including : 40a. WARDENS WILL 40b. His armor and ✔️ 40c. His trident Wardens Mercy - Found [post]

Enchantments

✔️19. Enchantments of Quackity’s netherite low durability axe - Found

Efficiency V and Mending [post]

✔️20. Enchantments of Quackity’s diamond sword - Found

Sharpness I [same post as axe]

✔️21. Enchantments of Quackity’s diamond pickaxe - Found

Fortune II and Efficiency III [same post as axe]

✔️22. Dream’s armor enchantments after prison (how does it compare to Nightmare?) - Found

Pretty comparable as far as main enchants go, but definitely missing the extra frills [post] (thank you to @sumwan for finding Nightmare)

Questions

✔️23. Would Techno and Dream have been able to escape from under the cell? [clip] - I think EVENTUALLY Yes [post]

✔️24. Is the End completely untouched? [related post] - Yes

@blockgamepirate has made the observation that no End file exist so presumably they never went to the end before the finale.

✔️25. Are the cow and sheep still at the disc confrontation vault? - No

Just For Fun - Where are these?

✔️26. KSI portraits from sex class (are there any still around?) - Yes

I do not have the plugin but all maps seem to still be in the school.

27. DEFINITELY NOT PENIS

✔️28. Dream’s Diary - Found

It was still in the cell.... [post]

29. “thanks for visiting” prison book

30. The :) book Sapnap gives to Ranboo from Dream in prison

31. Sam’s book that says "I am not an idiot "over and over

32. The L’manberg photo from the finale [clip]

✔️33. Are there any Tales of the SMP sets? - Yes

@feyscape has found the City of Mizu at 13979 70 12937 [post]

@feyscape’s website notes that The Town That Never Was is at 843 97 -296 [link]

✔️34. Egg - Found

Oddly, near Bad and Skeppy's mansion and the prison, not the banquet room, at 325 11 -884 [post]

35. Bones and Skeppy’s house (in Egg Finale) [clip]

✔️36. Antarctica Tommy got teleported to when he was banned on his first day [related post] - Found

@feyscape website coordinates at 2000 64 2500 [link]

37. The ocean monuments missing elder guardians (for prison build)?

38a. Fundy's house in mesa 38b. Fundy’s nightmare set in mesa biome [clip]

✔️39. Dream’s parrot’s grave [Dream's parrot] - Found

@oduvany has found it at 237 2309 [post]

Helpful Resources

@sumwan’s post [here] tells how to access inventories

And @seriousbusiness4130 left some helpful replies on my post about finding the loaded chunks of a map:

@feyscape has set up a helpful coordinates archive [here]

#lol make you go do the dirty work to cure my brain rot…. legit I hope some of these have cool or satisfying answers :)#good luck! keep me posted on what you find <3 #dreblr #dsmpblr #rivalsblr #dsmp #dream smp #dsmp map scavenger hunt #still sad yall didn’t a prize… :) ah well you’re loss <3

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amberlink · 29 days ago

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Scrapped chapter from How To Jeopardise Your Friendship With Remus Lupin!

This chapter was the original chapter 15 (now called Marlene Makes a Very Nice Sign). The deleted section starts after Remus, James, and Sirius come inside the castle after playing in the snow.

Original chapter name: A Minor Marijuana Mishap

Original chapter notes: This chapter has the vibe of a sitcom episode (their behaviour is extra fictional lmao, and there is more humour than there is actual contribution to the plot) (<- this is why I scrapped it. It's ridiculous.)

If I had actually gone through with posting this, it would’ve undergone far more editing and revising, so this is a pretty raw version.

CW for unintentional drug use (they accidentally ingest marijuana - no one is purposely drugged)

Word count: 5,161

They made their way back into the castle, stopping for a quick breakfast before heading back up to the dorm to change and shower.

The girls were awake, and all three of them looked up from where they were gathered around the fireplace as Remus, James, and Sirius stepped through the portrait hole. Peter was sitting with them, too.

Marlene raised her hand, holding something round, crumbs falling. “You guys want some?”

“What is it?” James asked, already heading over.

“They’re biscuits,” Marlene said, breaking off a piece of it and popping it in her mouth. “My brother’s friend gave him a bunch of containers of ‘em, and he gave me one to bring to school.”

“They’re magnificent,” Mary confirmed, nodding as she took a bite of her own. They were all picking them out of a square tin dish.

“They really are,” Peter said. "And they're chocolate, Moony."

“I’ll have some,” James said, accepting one from Marlene.

“You’re eating these for breakfast?” Remus asked, raising an eyebrow at them. “Lily, you’re eating these for breakfast?”

Lily threw her free hand out in defence. “What, like there are rules!”

“Evans is right, there are no rules,” Sirius said, taking the open seat next to Peter on the double-person chair.

“Okay,” Remus said, because he didn’t care enough to argue. Everyone would just have to deal with James and Sirius hyped up on sugar during Potions. “I’m gonna go have a shower, then.”

“You’re missing out,” Mary sang after him.

“Maybe next time,” he said over his shoulder.

He showered, meaning to be quick but definitely standing under the hot water for longer than usual, not thinking about anything. Not thinking about Sirius in the snow underneath him, or his thumbs pressing through Remus’s coat.

Remus turned the water cold.

He got out, scrunching his hair with the towel. It was longer than he had ever had it before, so he had to actually put in an effort to care for it, not wanting it to look too matted or frizzy. He stole James and Sirius’s hair products and massaged them into his scalp, not sure what any of them did.

His friends still weren’t here, but sometimes they didn’t shower between exercising and class— no matter how much Remus encouraged that they did. But he supposed they had only played in the snow, so they really just had to dry off and change.

Remus got dressed in his robes, and he was searching for his tie at the bottom of his wardrobe when there was a knock at the door. He found his tie, straightening and starting to put it on.

“You can come in,” he said, confused because his friends never knocked. “You two better hurry, you’re gonna be late for class. Especially Sirius.”

Whoever it was knocked again, slower this time.

“Hello?” Remus said, staring at the door. He finished tying his tie as he walked over to open it. “What are you—”

“Moony got the door open,” Sirius said, smiling up at him. “He’s so smart.”

Remus raised his eyebrows. “What is wrong with you?”

James suddenly gripped Remus’s shoulder, pulling him close and poorly whispering, “Moony. Moons. Can I call you Remus?”

“...Sure.”

“Moony, there might possibly be a…” He lowered his voice even further, tugging Remus so that their foreheads were almost touching. “Situation.”

“What the hell are you talking—”

Then he smelled it.

“Oh my god,” said Remus, his eyes wide. “Are you guys high?!”

“No!” James said, sounding terribly offended.

Sirius burst into a fit of giggles, nearly falling over.

“Oh my god,” he repeated. He grabbed each of their arms and dragged them into the room, kicking the door shut after them. “What the hell were you thinking, getting high before class? Are you bunking off, then? It’s the first bloody day.”

He sat them both on Sirius’s bed. Sirius fell to lay on his back and James looked like he might cry.

“Where’d you put the joint?” he asked, annoyed. “How much did you smoke?”

“No, Moony, we didn’t,” James said, pleading with him. “We swear.”

Sirius sat back up. “I remember what I was going to say,” he announced.

“What, Sirius?”

Sirius stared at Remus’s tie in thought, his eyes unfocussed. “I forgot again.”

There was another knock on the door. Remus pointed a finger at the boys to tell them to stay, then turned to go answer it.

It was Lily this time, holding the tin biscuit container that only had crumbs in it now. Her lips were pressed together so tightly that they were turning white.

“Lily?”

“We ate them all,” she whispered, horrified.

“I see that,” Remus said. “What’s wrong? Do you not feel well, because maybe that’s why people don’t eat chocolate biscuits for breakfast.”

“There are so. Many. Stairs,” Marlene panted as she came into view, and she wiped her eyebrow even though she wasn’t sweating at all.

Remus stared at her. “Okay, what the fuck is going on?”

Marlene leaned in the doorway, reaching a hand over Lily’s head to grip the frame. “Hey, Lupin,” she said, smiling at him. “You’re gorgeous, you know that?”

“Hey!” Sirius shouted from inside.

“You’re gorgeous, too, Sirius,” James assured him.

“Did you all get high?” Remus asked, swivelling his head between them in disbelief.

Marlene tapped her finger on the empty bottom of the tin box in Lily’s hand. “I think— I think,” she said, tapping it again, “that my most dearest, most idiot brother gave me the wrong box of biscuits.”

“Situation,” James echoed.

Remus’s mouth hung open, then he snatched the container from Lily’s hand, lifting it up to smell the inside of it. It took him a second, then he got a hint of the earthy scent of marijuana.

“Do you have a super nose?” Marlene asked.

Remus looked at her, and he reached a hand up to pull at his damp hair as his stress multiplied. This problem just became so much bigger.

He tossed the box on the floor of their dorm. “Okay,” he said. “Both of you get in here.”

Lily was shaking her head, her hands covering her face. “Remus, we have class. We have Potions class.”

“I know, I need a second to think.”

“I hate when people think, I get so bored,” complained James.

“This is the worst,” groaned Sirius. “All you ever do is think, think, think. And how often do you think about me? I bet it’s never!”

“Black, shut up,” snapped Marlene. “No more talking!”

“Hey, don’t talk to my friend Sirius like that!” said James.

Remus was ignoring them. He coaxed Lily into the room, and he led her to Peter’s bed. “Sit,” he commanded, pushing her shoulders down.

“McKinnon, get your shoes off of Moony’s bed!” Sirius began shouting. “He doesn’t like shoes on his bed!”

“Sirius, shh,” Remus said. “It’s fine for right now.”

“Her shoes are your bed,” he tattled, pointing at where Marlene was laying on her side on his bed.

“Marlene,” Remus said, grabbing her shoulder to make her roll on her back. He hovered over her, trying to keep her attention. “Do you know how much weed was in the biscuits? Did they have anything else in them?”

She blinked at him slowly. “Your guess is as good as mine, Lupey.”

“How many did you eat?” He straightened to address the rest of them. “How many did all of you eat— Where are Peter and Mary?”

“I don’t know,” James said proudly.

“You don’t know what? How many biscuits you ate or where Peter and Mary are?”

James’s face screwed up in concentration, squinting at Remus behind his glasses. “Er, yes?”

“I had two,” Lily piped up. “Or three, or four. One of those.”

“Mary’s from Liverpool,” added Marlene.

“Alright, no one move,” Remus said, gesturing to everyone. “I’m gonna go get Peter and Mary. Then we’ll figure out what the hell to do.”

“‘What the hell to do,’” mocked Marlene, making her voice hoarse and scratchy.

Remus sighed frustratedly, and he hurried from the dorm, hoping to find Mary and Peter civilly sitting on the sofa. He came into the Common Room to find that they were definitely not doing that.

Mary was on her hands and knees at the top of the stairs to the girls’ dorm, giggling loudly as Peter tried to climb up to get to her. He took a running start towards the staircase, sprinting up the first few steps, then the whole thing turned into a chute and Peter fell forward, sliding down on his stomach until he reached the bottom again. He was also laughing hysterically.

Remus weaved through the people that were leaving the Common Room to go to their first class, and he wrapped his hand around Peter’s arm before he could have another attempt at the stairs.

“Pete, hey.”

Peter looked at him for a long second. “Ouch, Moony,” he said.

Remus let go. “Oh, fuck, sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Peter took off running again now that he was free. He leaped up a few stairs, scaling them quickly and almost making it to the top that time.

“I was so close!” he said triumphantly, sitting on the floor a few seconds later.

Mary pumped a fist in the air. “So close!”

“Alright, guys, enough,” Remus said, walking forward again.

“I am not a guy,” Mary said seriously.

“One more try,” Peter said.

“No, do you want another biscuit?”

“Oh my god, those biscuits were so good,” Mary said, coming down the steps to join them.

Remus waved them on. “Well, I found more in the boys’ dorm, so let’s go.”

When he finally managed to get Mary and Peter to the dorm—practically dragging Peter up the stairs because he was convinced they were going to turn into a slide—he found that Lily was missing.

“Oh for Christ’s sake, where did Lily go?” he asked the rest of them. He directed Peter towards his own bed, and Mary towards James’s, and instructed them to close their eyes and rest if they wanted another cookie.

“I’m not tired,” Mary said, looking at him like he was an idiot.

“Then just pretend,” Remus said.

He checked the bathroom, coming up Lily-less, and asked where she was once again.

“I don’t know,” Sirius said. “But we listened, Moony. We didn’t move one time. Look at Prongs, even.”

Remus looked at James, who was sitting with his mouth half open and his hand held mid-itch at his jaw, frozen in place.

“Prongs, you can move. Just stay sitting.”

James let out a dramatic exhale, dropping his arm. “Thanks, Moony.”

“Marlene, did you see where Lily went?”

“I had my eyes closed,” she said, laying on her back on Remus’s bed with her eyes still closed. She had her arms crossed over her chest like she was in a coffin.

“Okay, well, did she say where she went?” Remus asked, exasperated.

“Yeah. She went to class.”

Remus tipped his head back with a silent groan. “Okay,” he said. “We’re already going to be late, but we can’t all skip class, or Slughorn will notice something’s up.”

“Oh, no,” whispered Peter. “We’ll get in so much trouble.”

“Not you, Pete,” Remus said. “You and Mary don’t take Potions, so you can sleep until lunch.” He closed the curtains around Peter’s bed, shutting him inside. “Goodnight.”

“Gracias a Merlin,” Peter said sleepily.

“Lily’s already on her way,” Remus continued, thinking aloud. “So she’ll be there…probably. And I’ll have to go, and… Marlene, you come too. James and Sirius can stay.”

All three of them groaned loudly about this plan.

“We can go, Moony. We’ll be good,” Sirius promised.

“Snivellus is going to ruin our potion,” James said grumpily.

“No, you won’t,” Remus told Sirius, “and no, he won’t,” he told James.

“That was so confusing,” Marlene whined, sitting up and scrubbing her face.

“I’m not even talking to you,” Remus said. “But, c’mon, get up. Meadowes will hopefully take control of your table.”

Marlene scoffed, her expression darkening. “Ugh, Meadowes.”

“Probably shouldn’t have brought that up,” Remus muttered under his breath, looping his arm through Marlene’s.

“Stupid Meadowes, and her stupid smooth skin, and her stupid eyelashes, and her stupid mouth,” Marlene continued grumbling.

“I get it, you think she’s stupid,” he said.

He stopped on his way to the door, turning to James and Sirius. “Listen, you two just hang out here. Take a nap, okay? I’ll be back after class, and… Why don’t you give me your wands?” he added, having a sudden vision of returning to their dorm in flames.

He collected James and Sirius’s wands, putting them in his robe pocket with his own, took his school bag from beside his bed, and then grabbed Marlene’s wrist to pull her the whole way to the dungeons. He was rushing, not wanting to be more than a minute or two late. The less attention on Marlene, the better. He wondered how Lily was managing, if she had even made it to the classroom.

Thankfully, Slughorn hadn’t started lecturing yet when Remus and Marlene walked in, and he was still bustling around the storage room behind his desk. Remus was out of breath, and he steered Marlene towards her table in the back.

“Go and take your seat,” he whispered. “Don’t bring any attention to yourself. Let Meadowes handle anything involving a knife.”

“Get off me,” Marlene said, shaking her arm free of his hand. “I’m fine.”

Remus watched nervously as she took careful steps to her table, walking around Dorcas and pulling out her stool so that it scraped loudly on the floor. She gave him a smug look as she sat down, silently saying, ‘See?’

Remus rolled his eyes, and he accidentally caught Meadowes looking at him. Her dark eyes were intimidating, studying him, and she didn’t care to break eye contact. Remus cleared his throat awkwardly, raised a hand in a sort of half-wave, then spun around to go to his own table.

Lily was here, sitting alone at her and Sirius’s table in front of Marlene and Dorcas. She had her elbows on the surface and her hands bunching up her hair on either side of her head.

Remus placed a hand on her back. “Hey, you alright?”

She dropped her hands and looked up at him with wide eyes, her hair frizzy where she had been holding it. “I need help. Please help me.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his heart skipping a beat. He didn’t know what else had been in those biscuits.

“My hair’s not working,” she said, grabbing a handful and shaking it frustratedly.

“Oh,” he breathed out.

“I can’t pull it back, my hair bobble doesn’t work,” she went on, her voice wavering. “It’s in the rules. My hair has to be pulled back for Potions class. It’s in the rules.”

“Okay, it’s okay.”

“It’s in the rules!” she insisted.

“Shh. Okay.” Remus looked around her stuff scattered on the table. “Where’s your hair bobble at? I’ll help you.”

Lily raised one of her arms, shaking it so her robe sleeve fell and revealed the black band around her wrist.

Remus took the band and slid it over her hand, then tried his best to gather Lily’s long hair at the back of her head. He had no idea how to do this.

“What is going on?” asked Snape, moving from his table across the aisle to the end of Lily’s. He looked at Remus, eyes full of loathing, then looked back to Lily with concern. “Lily, are you okay?”

“Yes!” Lily said. “I’m okay. Remus is just helping me. He’s really nice.”

Snape did not look convinced.

“He’s much nicer than you,” she continued matter-of-factly. “He’s never called me a mudblood.”

The blood drained from Snape’s face. “Lily…”

Remus fought a smile, tying Lily’s hair in a knot at the base of her neck. They were probably going to have to cut the band to get her out of it.

“Lily,” whispered Snape, looking around. “I’ve apologised for that. You know I didn’t mean it.”

“Apology rejected,” Lily said. She held a finger up at him, waving it back and forth. “Black told me what you say about mudbloods like me.”

“How the hell would Black know anything?” hissed Snape. “And you’re different, I’ve told you—”

“Snape,” warned Remus, staring him down. “Back off.”

Snape clenched his jaw angrily, ready to retort, but Remus walked towards him and the boy took a few quick steps back, bumping into the end of his own table. Remus just calmly went around Lily’s table, heading to his and Margot’s in the front.

“You’re late,” Margot stated, looking at him.

“There was an emergency,” he said. He started to unpack his books and parchment from the bag around his shoulder.

“Lily Evans is acting weird,” Margot said, turning to look at the girl in question. “Why were you pulling up her hair?”

“She’s, er, not feeling herself. She was having trouble.”

Margot looked up at him, raising her eyebrows a bit. “You did a terrible job.”

Remus laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

“Alright, class,” said Slughorn, finally emerging from the storage room with two giant jars, one in each arm. “Sorry for the delay.” He set them on his desk, then brushed his hands on his chest. “Let’s get started.”

Slughorn announced the plan for today’s class, explaining that they were going to be learning the proper technique for dissecting the eyes of carnivorous cows. They’d need one removed lens for the specific potion they were going to start on Friday, but both students at each table should dissect their own cow eye for practice. There were detailed instructions to follow in their textbook.

“Yes, Miss McKinnon?” Slughorn said.

“What?”

Remus winced, turning around to see Marlene blinking at Slughorn in confusion. Her hand was in the air.

“Did you have a question?” clarified Slughorn.

“Oh… Yes!” she said, nodding as she lowered her hand. “I seem to have forgotten my textbook.” She patted the surface in front of her, which was empty of any books, parchment, or quills. She frowned. “I seem to have forgotten everything, actually.”

“Well, that’ll be five points from Gryffindor for unpreparedness,” Slughorn said, unphased. “You’ll have to share with Miss Meadowes.”

“Bleh,” said Marlene, summarising her feelings about that.

Slughorn started to travel around the classroom, going to each student to pass out a metal pan and scoop an eye from one of the jars. He started at the table across the aisle from Remus and Margot’s, heading towards the back of that row.

“Psst, Remus. Remus!”

Remus turned around to look at Lily, who was leaning across her table. Pieces of her hair stuck out in arcs on her head, and her eyes were frantic as she very poorly whispered to him.

“Remus!”

“What?” he whispered back.

“Remus, I’ve never been high in Potions class before,” she said, picking desperately at her fingernails.

He shook his head at her, leaning closer. “Have you ever been high before?”

“No! Remus, I’ve never been high before! I’m so nervous!”

“Lily, you are talking so loud right now.”

“Sorry,” she squeaked, pressing a hand over her mouth.

Then the door slammed open.

James and Sirius were standing in the doorway of the classroom, beaming with pride. Remus smacked a palm to his forehead, then dragged his hand down his face, looking at his friends between his fingers.

“Boys,” Slughorn said. “You’re late.”

“Or are we early for next class?” Sirius said, pleased with himself.

“You’re late,” Slughorn repeated. “And neither of you are in your robes. Ten points from Gryffindor.”

“Ah, bollocks,” James said, looking down at his muggle hoodie and joggers like he just realised he was wearing them.

Slughorn gestured. “Please take your seats. Any more disruptions and that’ll be points off your dissection. Seek help from your table partners for today’s assignment.”

“Oh là là, Evans,” Sirius said, grimacing as he approached his table. “What happened to your hair?”

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” she said worriedly. “It wasn’t working before.”

“I think it looks good,” James told her, rapping his knuckles on their table as he passed. “Evans, you’re like a fire princess.”

“He’s lying,” whispered Sirius. “It looks bad.”

“You’re like a phoenix,” James continued. “But one that’s a human. You're like an angel with no wings.”

Lily frowned. "So like a person?"

“Prongs,” Sirius hissed. “You have a girlfriend.”

“Yeah, Ronnie!” James said excitedly, nodding. “Her eyes are like if emeralds were bright blue.”

“What are you two doing here?” Remus asked through gritted teeth. “Are you trying to kill me?”

James looked at him, eyebrows arched, his voice genuine. “No, Moony. We would never want to kill you.” He grabbed Remus’s arm and looked him in the eye. “We love you, you have to believe us.”

“Yeah, Moony,” agreed Sirius. “If we wanted to kill you, it’d be so easy. We sleep in the same room.”

James made a clawing gesture at his neck. “And Padfoot’s teeth could just rip your throat—”

“Stop!” Remus said, frantically waving his hand. He pointed James towards his table. “Go sit down! Please don’t say anything else. To anyone. Ever.”

Sirius started giggling, and Lily started giggling because Sirius started giggling, and Remus was sure that none of them were going to make it through this class.

“Great, you’re here,” Snape drawled, bowed over his cow eye as James shuffled to his place beside him. “Thought maybe your big head finally got stuck in one of the doorways.”

“You…” James said, and he took a second to look Snape over, “might be the meanest person in the whole world.”

“Potter,” scolded Remus. James had been doing really well ignoring all of Snape’s jabs until this moment.

“What?” James threw his hands out. “He is! He was mean to you, Moony, and you’re, like, as threatening as a… a…”

“Earthworm,” finished Sirius.

Snape scoffed. “I would say that there’s a much more obvious animal that Lupin compares to in threat.”

James whirled around to face him. “Don’t you remember when I punched you?”

“An earthworm,” Lily corrected.

Remus pressed his hands together, like in prayer. “James, James, just— Let’s calm down. Look at your cow eye, stay on task.”

“It’s disgusting,” James said, poking at the gooey pile with one of the tools. “Kinda looks like you, Snivellus.”

“Oh my god, what is that thing?” Marlene’s voice rang out, repulsed.

“It’s…your cow eye, Miss McKinnon,” Slughorn said, scooping a second eye onto the metal pan in front of Dorcas.

They still had two hours left of class. This was not good.

Lily and Sirius managed to keep it together while Slughorn gave them their pans and eyes, with only one incident of Sirius saying, “Thank you, my good sir!”

Remus was so distracted worrying about the others that he was working at half the pace of Margot beside him. He kept turning around to check that they were still poking and slicing at their cow eyes without cutting their fingers off or threatening their table partners. He froze when he saw Marlene tap Dorcas’s arm with the end of her scalpel, but she was only trying to get her attention.

Which was not a better situation.

“Meadowes,” she said, jabbing her with the tool. “Meadowes, look at me.”

Dorcas huffed and spun towards her, looking so furious that Remus would have disintegrated if he were Marlene.

“Slytherin versus Ravenclaw,” Marlene said slowly, signing clumsily as she audibly drew out the words, her hands bobbing up and down a lot more than when Pandora or Regulus did it. “Two weeks. You are going to lose.”

“Tell her, McKinnon!” James said supportively.

Remus watched tensely, waiting for Dorcas’s reaction, but Dorcas only looked disarmed. Her lips were parted as she watched Marlene sign, her hardened expression broken with shock.

Then Marlene went on, signing something else slowly, mouthing silent words as she concentrated.

Dorcas’s jaw locked again, her dark eyes flashing. She picked up her little knife, and Remus really thought she was going to slice off Marlene’s face or something. But she just stabbed it through the middle of Marlene’s cow eye, destroying the lens she was supposed to remove.

“Bitch,” Marlene said. Remus was sure Dorcas could read that word. It was enunciated perfectly.

Dorcas pulled the knife free, wiped it clean on Marlene’s robe sleeve faster than Marlene could react, and went back to her dissection.

“Uh oh,” said Sirius, turning back around to smile at Remus.

Remus was about to smile back at him, but then he saw Lily. She was extra focussed on her cow eye, staring at it closely and hovering over it with the scalpel. Her elbow rested on the table and she pressed her other hand to her forehead.

“Lily?” Remus asked cautiously. “Is everything okay?”

“So ironic,” she mumbled.

“What is?”

“That my eye is having so much trouble seeing this eye.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Why did no one say that the earth was going to spin so fast today? Shouldn’t they tell us things like that?”

“Okay,” Remus said, deciding something. He drew his wand from his pocket, then subtly leaned around Sirius to point it at Marlene, casting a spell to cause hives to erupt on her hands, eventually spreading to the rest of her body. Then he did the same thing to James.

“Whatcha doin’, Moons?” Sirius asked. His cow eye was mostly untouched on the table in front of him.

“Don’t move,” Remus said, casting the hex on him, too. Then Lily.

To finish, he pointed his wand at his own hand, and immediately felt a painful itch begin, as if barbed wire were wrapping around his hand and snaking up his arms. He put his wand away and raised his hand.

“Professor Slughorn?” he said.

Slughorn looked up from his desk. “Mr. Lupin?”

“I think I might have an allergy to the cow eye.”

“What do you mean?” said Slughorn, furrowing his eyebrows.

He held up his hands. “My skin is really itchy, and there’s this rash starting…”

James gasped. “Oh Merlin, I have the same disease!” he said. “I can’t lose my hands, I need them for quidditch!”

“An allergy is not a disease, you imbecile,” Snape said, scowling at him. “I hope your head falls off.”

“I need my head for quidditch, too!”

“Oh dear,” Slughorn said, taking Remus’s wrist and twisting it to observe the raised pink welts.

“Oh, it’s spreading!” Sirius said, looking at his hands in horror and trying to back up. “It’s on me!” He looked at Lily. “Ah, it got Evans, too!”

“I think there are ants all over me,” Marlene whined, shaking her arms. “Bad ones. With really sharp teeth. They’re eating me!”

“Alright, okay,” Slughorn said, laughing nervously. “If you’re experiencing some sort of reaction, why don’t you please head to the hospital wing to be treated.”

“Our cow eyes,” Lily said.

“We’ll just have you do an essay on the dissection process instead. We’ll make sure everyone has a lens for Friday.”

“Ants everywhere,” groaned Marlene.

“Alright, to the hospital wing! Let’s not panic!” Slughorn insisted, sounding panicked.

“I can make sure they get there, Professor,” Remus said, sliding his things from the table to his bag.

“Thank you, Mr. Lupin. Hurry, now.”

Remus gathered his friends, ushering them out the door, and heading in a stumbling, giggling crowd to the hospital wing. He had Lily’s hand in his, the girl completely spacing out, her eyes following things that Remus couldn’t see.

“What’d you say to Meadowes?” Sirius asked Marlene.

“Oh, um… I was trying to say that Slytherin was going to lose to Ravenclaw… And that they were both going to suck Gryffindor balls,” she said. “But I must’ve signed it wrong, because she got so mad at me.”

“I would bet that you got your point across just fine,” Remus said.

Madam Pomfrey opened the door when they got to the hospital wing.

“Mr. Lupin,” she said, smiling kindly, then her gaze travelled over the posse he had brought with him. “What…is going on?”

“We have a situation.”

Remus decided to tell the truth, but he didn’t specify who brought the biscuits, just said that a family member had sent them and his friends had eaten an unidentifiable amount.

Each of his friends were put into their own hospital bed to monitor their vitals, better safe than sorry because no one knew how much marijuana they had ingested or if there were any other drugs—muggle or magical—laced in the cookies. Madam Pomfrey assured him that they all seemed fine, that they were just experiencing the dramatic effects of a lot of marijuana, and she gave them all a Sleeping Drought so they could sleep it off. She asked him to go fetch the other two.

Remus didn’t even have to go to the Gryffindor Tower, running into Peter and Mary on his way up, who were both sitting on one of the staircases.

“Moony,” Peter said. “Look.” He waved a napkin held in his hand, stuffed with a biscuits. “We went to the kitchen and the elves made us more biscuits.”

“We were starving,” Mary said, nodding and eating a biscuit of her own.

“Oh… Well, yeah,” Remus said. “Makes sense.”

He got them to follow him to the hospital wing, and, for the first time ever, he was the one sitting in a chair and waiting for them to be cleared for release. He worked on the essay he’d have to do for Slughorn now, and then he wrote three more for James, Sirius, and Marlene (Lily would want to write her own).

“Moony,” someone called from their bed. Sirius’s voice.

Remus got up from where he had been sitting inside Lily’s curtains, moving next door to answer Sirius.

“Hey, Padfoot,” he whispered.

“Moony,” Sirius said, sounding a bit loopy, smiling from where he was reclined against his pillows.

“What do you need?”

“Just wanted to see your beautiful face.”

Remus smiled back. “You’re still high.”

“High on you.”

“Case in point.”

“Hey, Moony?”

“Yeah?”

Sirius bit his lower lip, then released it with an exhale. “I like you a whole lot, you know?”

“I like you, too, Sirius,” he said softly.

A beat of silence.

“I wish it were real,” Sirius whispered, staring at Remus with piercing grey eyes.

Remus swallowed. “You wish what was real?”

“That you liked me.”

He laughed quietly. “I do like you, you idiot. I just said so.”

Sirius turned his head to look at the ceiling, sighing heavily.

Remus watched him for a moment, his heartbeat thrumming in his ears, then said, “Get some rest, Padfoot.” He closed the curtains and added that conversation to the list of things that he was not allowed to think about.

References: Grey's Anatomy, Barbie, The Office US. "You're like an angel with no wings." "So like a person." is from Season 2, Episode 17 of Parks & Recreation.

#you could probably read this without any context from the fic #I'm working on a new chapter rn folks don't even worry #fic: how to jeopardise your friendship with remus lupin #Jeopardise scraps #wolfstar #marauders #marauders era #marauders fanfiction #remus lupin #sirius black

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arcane-vagabond · 9 months ago

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Hey.

Go ahead and get settled because this will be...long, in true Liz fashion.

So, by now I'm sure most of you have heard what's happened. If not, you can search this blog for some answers or others for more.

I joined this fandom offiicially at the end of September after being a long time lurker. I had just lost my job and times were uncertain for me. I felt inspired to write, and as someone whose formative years were shaped by the fandom experience, I wanted to feel that sense of belonging again - to feel like a part of a community. I've talked about it on here before, but I started my fandom days in the original Hunger Games fandom when the first movie had just come out, and then I shifted gears towards the SuperWhoLock fandom. If you know anything about SuperWhoLock, then you know you had to have pretty tough fucking skin to be a part of any of it.

Of course, this was back in the day when fandom was an actual community and not authors having to beg for scraps of engagement and people thinking its a numbers game. I was a fairly large blog within the SuperWhoLock community (Waywardly-Carrying-On was the username), but I left fandom for a few years because life got hectic and I felt like I had outgrown the fandom itself as I was no longer watching any of the shows. As the years went on, I started to yearn for the fandom experience again, which is how I found myself dipping toes into several different ones.

I was so excited to publish my first fanfic. I had convinced myself that I wasn't a good writer (much to the chagrin of my irl friends), and I had put a pause on writing my original story. I wanted to write this idea about a cowboy and a girl using characters that I had grown to love like I did way back in my older days. So, I started posting, and I was so excited for the story, that I kept posting almost daily. MamaMay was one of the first people to embrace not only my story, but me as a person into the fandom. She made me feel welcomed and wanted.

Pretty much right off the bat I was already getting anons telling me that I was being too much and that I needed to calm down with all the posting. I was confused because...this is Tumblr. It's literally a blogging website? Why wouldn't I post? I decided to ignore the mean words (not before giving my opinion, of course) and kept on doing my thing. Well, the anons got continually worse and worse. I had a suspiscion as to who the anons could be, but I never had concrete proof. So, I experimented with blocking suspects until finally it worked. I'm not naming names because that's not my style, so don't even bother asking.

The fact of the matter is, some of you have entered fandom spaces for the first time, and you don't know how to act. You don't care to learn fandom etiquette as you've made abundantly clear by calling fandom olds every name under the sun while utilizing the anonymous feature. Newsflash, you're part of the problem. You're the reason why authors don't want to publish anymore. You are the reason that something that's supposed to be fun is starting to feel like a goddamn chore.

How many times can authors on here say that we aren't machines? We have lives outside of this website: family, friends, jobs, school, etc. Some of you really are just hellbent on making everyone around you miserable, and it's sad. You can't just leave well enough alone and let people enjoy something, no you feel like everyone has to enjoy it the same way as you.

Some of you go after authors on here because of some weird sense of jealousy too. I don't know why my shit blew up, babe, I really don't. But I started out with no followers and no support just like everyone else. I'll tell you what helped me though: following fandom etiquette and reaching out to other creators to build an actual community. None of this "I've reblogged three of your things and now I'm messaging you so that you return the favor." No, I reached out to make actual friendships which is what fandom is SUPPOSED to be. If someone was clearly not interested, it was fine!! I backed off and kept doing my own thing.

Some of you think being mean on the internet makes you big and bad. Guess what! It doesn't! It's loser mentality and I feel genuinely sorry for you. I'm sorry that people in your own life made you feel so small as to feel like you had to lash out at strangers on the internet who are just trying to have fun.

Anyway, this is my really long way of saying that I am taking a break for a little bit. I have no idea how long it will be - could be the weekend, could be a couple of weeks, could be forever. I need time to decide if this is something I want to keep persuing. If I come back, I don't know if I will remain a TGM blog or if I'll shift gears and hop into another fandom with a rebrand. Guess we'll just have to see.

To the people on here who have been a constant source of joy, laughter, and support: thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Your presence has meant everything to me, and I hope that my break sees me wanting to come back and giggle about the silly plane movie with you all again.

Nothing but love,

Liz 💛

#psa #public service announcement #this has been a psa #liz speaks #liz rambles #long post

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rashomonss · 1 year ago

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The Archives

a/n: so the results from my last post came in and since y’all are interested in my scrapped drabbles and headcanons I present to you all of them, hope you enjoy! all of this contains angst so be warned

the lost unfinished pieces

Untitled

original concept/ idea: I got barbatos’ RAD uniform in nightbringer and it suddenly made me think of this. This is with the bros and MC who just woke up from their coma thing that happened to them while in thirteens cave. This was supposed to feature more characters and be a bit longer but I never got around to it

You woke up to a familiar feeling plush bed and room, and upon closer inspection you found then realized it was yours.

You hadn’t been in your room much since going back to the past, but to be laying in your bed and in your pajamas nonetheless was enough to make you feel as if everything you’ve experienced for the last few grueling weeks was something striaght out of a bad dream.

You didn’t bother to check your surroundings, instead you fell out of bed and rushed out the door.

You had to see them. You had to make sure they still remembered you.

You had to hear them say “I love you” again.

That’s the only thing that was pushing your tired body down the hall. It didn’t matter if you were too dizzy to walk, you had to hear them say they loved you.

You searched and searched but couldn’t find a single demon, that was until you heard noise coming from the living room.

So you rushed into the room eagerly waiting to see your beloved demons, and there they were, laughing, talking, reading, sleeping, and all.

You knew it was them, you were certain, after all no one else wears their RAD uniforms in such a manner.

You ran over to Lucifer and threw most of your weight on the poor demon, if he hadn’t sensed you, you might’ve actually startled him.

You clung onto the back of his uniform and fell to the floor crying. The first born along with all the others turned around worried as to why you suddenly broke down crying, much less after clinging onto Lucifer.

Lucifer grabbed your face and made you look up at him. He wore a worried expression and looked over your face puzzled. “MC what’s-“

You cut him off and enveloped him in a hug continuing to sob even more. After a few moments you then let go and broke down in front of him.

“I’ve missed you all so much, you won’t believe the torture I had to go through it was horrible, all of you didn’t remember me, as a matter of fact we hadn’t even met yet.”

“I had to listen to all of you call me an attendant and boss me around, and you were even rude to me again and said I wasn’t part of the family. I know you were just trying to protect your brothers, but it still hurt. Plus I had to go through each day without being able to tell any of you I loved you and that I was there for you.

Because if I did you all would then look at me as if I was crazy.

Instead you all acted like you didn’t like me and complained when I didn’t fix a problem. And Diavolo threatened to send me back to the human world, even Luke was rude to me at the beginning”

“I couldn’t hold you all or kiss you all or even recall memories of us together. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to say I love you, to each of you again” you cried out.

Each brother looked at the other surprised as you continued to babble to Lucifer about things they didn’t understand, the oldest even looked shocked and didn’t know what to do with you.

“MC!” a voice then shouted from behind you.

As you turned to hear who the voice belonged to, you found yourself being pulled away from Lucifer and into Solomon's arms harshly. The Avatar of Pride then glared at the sorcerer who returned his look with a menacing smile.

“Why didn’t you say anything about MC being awake? How long have they been awake?” Solomon said inspecting your body.

“Solomon let me go, I wasn’t finished talking” you yelled struggling in his grasp. “And why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?” He asked, puzzled.

“That we’re back home” you replied trying to free yourself to reach your demons.

Solomon’s face dropped and he looked down at you then to the brothers who were also equally confused.

“MC I would refrain from saying anything else…” he then said quietly in your ear.

“Why’s that”

“Because this is still the past.”

Your heart dropped and your eyes widened in shock as you slowly began to face the sorcerer with a look of despair.

“But their RAD uniforms…” you said, gesturing to the seven demons in front of you.

“These are the final designs for the uniform and Diavolo asked if we could try them on today since they just got delivered,” Lucifer replied.

“Is everything alright MC?” Mammon questioned.

All you could do was stare at them with an unreadable expression and then walk away with Solomon without another word.

Your Cherished Mark

original idea: this was supposed to feature all the brothers, but Mammon is the only one I was able to think of, then I just gave up lol

You were busy trying to stop Mammon and Levi from fighting about something to do with respect again. Honestly that's all they ever fought about, and each time their words stung deeper than the last. It hurt to hear so you would ignore it, that was until the fights became physical. Then and only then would you have to break it up.

The yelling became more tense between the two as they got in each others faces. So yelling a simple "stay" was directed towards the two demons. However after a second or two of struggling Mammon was able to move and began to yell at Levi again.

Sighing you pushed him out into the hall hoping to calm him down with a few words.

"Mammon enough with the fighting. You're being loud and disturbing everyone inside." You pressed.

Mammon rolled his eyes and looked at you. "He started it! Why am I the one getting punished huh?"

"I'm not punishing you, l'm just trying to talk to you.”

"Listen MC. It's nice you're tryna help and all but this is between Levi and I. You wouldn't understand.” Mammon said, before walking off.

"Mammon" you said softly as he left down the hallway, quite grumpy.

An ache in your chest made you clench it through your shirt. Then something caught your attention, Mammon was able to break free when you used a command.

It couldn't be...not now…

Not this soon.

Running to the nearest bathroom you ignored Asmo and Beel as they said hello and threw open the door, then locked it.

Throwing off your shirt you looked to the area right above your heart and stared at the bare skin.

There was no emblem, no small mark, no slightly darker symbol. There was nothing, nothing at all.

It was gone.

Mammon's pact mark was gone.

“There's no way," you said, disbelief filling your voice.

You felt the skin for something, anything, hoping this was just some sick dream. You even tried activating the mark by trying to summon him, but nothing worked.

Because nothing was there.

The pact you had with Mammon was gone. The very first pact you made coming to the Devildom was now gone.

The only source of connection you had to your first man was now severed.

And no amount of clawing or scratching or even bleeding would bring that mark back.

However you tried. You cried and sobbed as you tried to feel for the missing mark. Soon after failed attempts to find it you fell to your knees and held that area, praying that this wasn't true.

Outside the bathroom Asmo and Beel stood looking at each other with a worried expression.

What could have possibly made you so upset?

Somewhere at a much different time a blood curdling wail rang out in the House of Lamentation.

Six demons rushed to the room of the demon in question only to find a trashed room, a broken mirror and the second born livid beyond belief as he clutched his chest.

The six demons unconsciously placed a hand over their beloved mark wondering if they’d be next.

A Family Without You

original concept/ idea: supposed to be much longer with comfort provided at the end but I was too upset at him to finish it lmao

“That’s between my brothers and I. Don’t stick your nose into our business just because you happen to be curious.”

Your face froze and you felt your heart drop. He didn’t mention you?

Of course why would he? Lucifer didn’t consider you family, you were just a demon attendant that was there to help them, and most of the time he thought you to be a bother. So for a demon such as you to stick their nose into his brother's business when you’ve barely even known them would set off a red flag in Lucifer’s head.

“We’ve only just met, why are you so insistent on involving yourself in our lives? Don’t tell me it’s because you find us intriguing since we used to be angles” He stated.

“No, I’ve told you already I just want to help you all, you’re important to me, I really don’t have any ulterior motives”

“Enough, I don’t want to hear it. Just head back to Cocytus Hall.

“You know what fine I will, but don’t bother coming to me for assistance when one of your brothers gets hurt down here.” You said slamming the door.

Readjusting Continued

original concept/ idea: this was supposed to be a continuation of it in a long format but I scrapped it after I got an ask with my exact thoughts

Readjusting to life with the brothers was easier said than done.

You tried your hardest to open up your heart as well as your mind to them after coming back to the present. And of course you loved them just like you used to, however something was different now.

There was this wall between you and them that they couldn’t seem to break no matter how hard each of them tried. Sure you were happy and sure you claimed to love them, but it wasn’t the same, you weren’t the same.

“The past changes everyone” is what Solomon had told them.

“Just give them time, I’m sure they’ll come around”

Easy enough for him to say, each brother thought. Solomon was the only one MC would act at ease with. They even went so far as requesting to move in with him and the angles at Purgatory Hall.

Diavolo was still considering your request of moving much to the brothers dismay, but they chose to go with whatever decision you felt most comfortable with, even if they didn’t agree with it. They found themselves not agreeing with many things you did nowadays. For example the fact that you micromanaged most of their activities and tasks throughout the day freaked them out.

You had kept a schedule of what they were supposed to complete along with completing your own work per usual. Oftentimes you offered to even do, or help Lucifer with work you knew he couldn’t finish on his own. It was nice to have a helping hand at first he thought, however after the third or fourth stack of documents he found it worrisome that you were able to complete that many in a short amount of time. Something he even found tiring to do alone.

Untitled

original concept/ idea: I’m a sucker for MC being distant when they return from the past and the bros being so pissed off about it, I never finished this because I was waisted when i wrote it

It hurt.

It hurt his pride, when Lucifer didn't receive the same amount of pampering and attention he had been used to.

It also hurt when you didn't offer to spend every late night moment you could with him. He wished to go back to your nightly talks in his office while you supported him through piles and piles of paperwork.

He wished to be the center of your attention at large galas and balls again; since he had always been the first one you talked to or danced with.

After not seeing you for such a long time he longed for the same version of you that left that day. Yet that version was nowhere to be found.

The human that had disappeared that dreadful day had come back entirely different.

Not once did he ever blame you for that though.

Instead it was all Solomon's fault.

That sorcerer captured your attention the way he used to, the loving words of encouragement that always were meant for him changed directions and were meant for another. Hearing you speak so boldly of him damaged his pride greatly.

It also hurt like hell when Mammon couldn't pull you away from a conversation with someone like he used to.

In the past you'd follow him without question because the two of you had always been inseparable. Well that was part of it, you always had a bit of a soft side for your first man.

Sometimes it was hard denying him.

But this time was different. He didn't know how to process that slightly annoyed glare you shot him when he tried pulling you away from the witty sorcerer.

Of course he was used to your looks from time to time but this was completely different. You genuinely didn't want to talk to him at the moment.

He had become second to someone for the first time.

Which greatly pissed him off. He was your first, but you weren't acting like it.

However what had really broken him and his ego was when you claimed that him being your first man was just a little joke. After hearing that come out of your mouth he couldn't help but quietly wait to the side until you finished talking to Solomon.

Levi couldn't stand the thought or even the sight of the way you laughed with Solomon.

You had laughed with him like that sure, but your laugh just wasn't the same. Your laugh brought butterflies to his stomach like usual, but did his do the same for yours?

Levi watched the way you gazed as Solomon would go on rants about new spells or potential potions he wanted to try, and admits that he couldn't help but wonder. Did you gaze at him like that when he talked about a new anime or a new game that had just come out?

Then it dawned on him, you did. That look had been reserved for him, and only him. Your wonderful gaze that always watched closely and listened to what he said even when no one else would. That look he loved seeing on your face so much was now reserved for someone else.

His jealousy ran to his core. He couldn't stand sight of the two of you, so much so he decided to avoid you for a while.

But what really pushed him over the edge was the fact that you didn't even notice him distancing himself.

It really pissed off Satan when you didn't go to him for any sort of help.

You needed help reviewing something for a class?

He would offer, but you'd politely decline, then follow up by explaining how Solomon already offered to help you.

He was your study buddy. This was established, it was just the way things were done with you.

But apparently that's not the case anymore.

After coming back you claimed to not need his help mainly because you didn't want to bother him.

But was that really the case?

You were never a bother to him.

He enjoyed those moments with you while you seemed to now enjoy them with Solomon in the exact same spot Satan would tutor you in the library.

When he walked in the library the sight of you two talking and laughing had caught his attention. In a fit of rage and hated he destroyed a wall.

It wasn't fair.

It just wasn't fair at all.

Asmo was much better looking. His sense of style was always something everyone wanted to obtain but couldn't. His hair, face, and accessories always made him stand out above others. Mainly because he was just simply better. He was constantly sought after daily.

But even with all the love he had received there was only one type of love that had mattered to him. And it was the actual true love you showed him when you first arrived.

So why was he having such a hard time trying to get that same love now?

There he was absolutely dazzling yet your gaze was fixed on the sorcerers messy bed hair he got from passing out on his desk for the third time in a row.

You smiled and fixed Solomon's hair as he thanked you, all while Asmo had been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes.

Solomon knew what he was doing.

Asmo knew that's much. After all he knows him better than anyone.

Untitled

original concept/ idea: so I know so many people write about how the brothers would love MC’s “demon form” in Nightbringer. However what would happen if when you return from the past in that same form instead of loving it they actually hate it, mainly because they knew personally how hard it was to adjust to that form. So to see you in it brings back unsettling memories.

You had never thought much about the horns (that were almost identical to that of a ram), that rested on your head, or the wings or tail that decorated your back.

It was all just for show after all.

You conjured them with magic for your survival in the past. Besides, you needed others to believe you were a demon one way of another, so as they say 'when in Rome do as the Romans do.

Even if the brothers and the others knew you were human Diavolo still suggested you stay disguised due to many demons not knowing, and for your own safety, which of course you agreed.

So in return you became used to looking at this demon version of yourself in the mirror everyday.

It didn't take much magic to change your appearance so you would unconsciously have your horns and other accessories on at all times.

This was the norm.

They were used to seeing you in this attire everyday, so why are they freaking out now..?

Why are they giving you shocked expressions and whispering to themselves?

You hated it.

They did too.

All of them couldn't contain their excitement when Solomon informed them that you were ready to return to the present again. You were finally ready to return to where you belong.

Each of them waited as Solomon appeared after a second, and then finally you appeared as well.

As your figure glowed they made out your human silhouette and sighed with relief, but as the rest of you began to form they soon saw horns and other things adorn your back.

When you finally appeared in front of them they were at a loss for words.

Your hair was worn in a different fashion than they were used to seeing, it looked more formal. Your attire was also different, much different.

You fit right in at the Devildom with your outfit.

Next was your horns.

When did you get horns..? They each questioned

And lastly were the things that adorned your back.

If they had to assume, this was your demon form?

But why would human such as yourself need to take a form like this?

The Curse Of Living With The Sins

original concept/ idea: living with demons you love is something most would dream of. However one thing that is never shown is the side of them that truly embodies their sin. Like the title suggests it was supposed to feature all the brothers but I could only think of Lucifer and Beel

It's hard to reason with the Avatar of Pride at times because of course, his pride gets in the way of things.

Arguments between him and his siblings aren't usually serious, however if Lucifer has had a particularly bad day then he will be unbearable to reason with.

So if Satan and Belphegor were to upset him via prank or if Mammon received another letter from a bank he would get ready to punish everyone. Sometimes the others don't even deserve it, Lucifer just finds himself needing to take his anger out on others.

Mainly you.

He’s never wrong in his eyes. How could someone so perfect such as him be wrong against a human.

He made sure to remind you of that if push came to shove.

Often times during the night it's been harder to get a good nights sleep due to the kitchen being raided by the Avatar of Gluttony.

And with your room being right behind the kitchen it's not so easy to ignore. The sound of opening and closing doors and cabinets can be heard along with the ripping of new cardboard boxes. Beel himself doesn't realize how loud he is until you walk in the kitchen rubbing your eyes.

"Are you hungry too MC? There's still some food in the fridge if you want to share" he responds smiling at you. A cute gesture really but you'd be more appreciative if he just went to bed.

"Beel it's late please go to sleep before you wake anyone else up. Also if you continue to clear out the fridge Satan and Lucifer are sure to get on you about that tomorrow morning"

Reluctantly Beel sighs and finishes eating the last of whatever leftovers were in the fridge.

Then with your guidance walks back to his room for bed.

Finally making it to your own room after cleaning up the mess in the kitchen you are able to lay down comfortably in your own bed. Soon a wave of tiredness washes over you and you find yourself right on the brink of sleep, that is until you hear the fridge door open and shut.

"Damn it Beel" you curse, now sitting up wide awake. Looks like it's going to be another one of those nights, you think opening your door ready to head back to the kitchen.

Forgetfulness

original concept/ idea: MC isn’t feeling well so they mistake nightbringer satan for their satan

Maybe it was the food Solomon cooked, or possibly all the liquor you had consumed but your head wasn’t in the right place at the moment. What made things even more difficult for you was the fact that Lucifer had called you over to the House of Lamentation because his brothers were causing a ruckus again.

The walk there was horrific on your end. You felt sick and had a major headache. However that never stopped you before, so like always you carried on and made it.

Upon your arrival you saw a few of them destroying the living room, which you put a stop to right away. Sighing, you made them clean up the house and watched as Lucifer scolded them as well.

After everything was done you ended up passing out on the couch in the living room for a couple of hours.

Maybe it was due to the fact that you were placed in a comfortable position when you woke up, or maybe it was the fact that one of Belphie’s favorite blankets was draped over you.

Whatever the case was, you woke up feeling at home.

It took you a minute, but you managed to get up and take the blanket with you to one of the quietest rooms in the house.

You knocked softly once but there was no answer, after the second time you could finally hear shuffling from the other side as the demon made his way towards the door.

Muffled words that sounded quite annoyed could be heard as the door unlocked and opened to reveal the fourth oldest.

“Lucifer if you’re here to nag-…oh…um hello MC” He said slightly confused but somewhat sweet nonetheless. You should’ve paid more attention to his tone before.

You nodded and pushed past him, soon flopping down onto his bed and making a comfortable spot for yourself in his blankets, while Belphie’s blanket got mixed with the rest.

The blond shot you a confused look that you paid no attention to. Once you had finally found a comfortable spot you looked at him and motioned for him to join you, which in turn made Satan greatly surprised. He reluctantly took a seat on the edge of the bed gazing down at you.

“I’ve always loved how comfortable your pillows were,” you said softly after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

Satan watched you quietly in response. This was the first time you had laid in his bed with him knowing, so he was slightly confused as to what you were talking about. It took him time to formulate a response but when he finally did you had long fallen asleep wrapped up in his blankets.

Sighing Satan left you and walked over to his favorite chair and resumed the current book he was reading. Not too long after you had woken up again, much to his surprise.

“What are you reading?” You yawned, rolling over to face him.

“Well it’s called…” before he could even say the name you smiled at the cover. That was the first book in his collection he lent you. It was one of his favorites too, and to be frank it’s what made the two of you so close.

If he hadn’t lent you that book then you wouldn’t have picked up reading discussions with him. Thanks to that the current book he was reading had become one of your favorites.

“I can’t believe you’re reading it again, what’s this now the thirtieth time you’ve read it? I don’t blame you though, I love that book” you replied, giving him a tired smile.

His brows quirked up in confusion. This was the first time he had read this book, however you were saying he had already read it, more than once at that. What was more surprising was the fact that the book had just been published last week. However he said nothing on the matter and gave you a short reply.

You opened your eyes and saw the fourth born laying beside you underneath the blankets. His breathing was soft and he looked so peaceful as his hand held yours.

You moved closer towards him and smiled softly as you placed a kiss on his cheek. Soon after he began to stir and quickly woke up, smiling back at you.

“Good morning” you replied, placing a kiss on his lips. A gesture like this was normal for you both. Whenever you slept with him either one of you would wake the other with a kiss.

But to your surprise he didn’t return the gesture. Instead Satan quickly sat up looking surprised, and flustered. You could tell the blond was trying his best to keep calm.

You furrowed your brows for a second before it dawned on you. This in fact was Satan, but this was not your Satan.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” you said sitting up as well, trying your best to cover up your embarrassment.

“It’s fine. I was just surprised you kissed me is all” Satan replied after clearing his throat.

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just…” you began to say.

“Just…?” The blonde asked, waiting to hear your answer.

“Forget it, it's not important.” You said, giving him a small smile.

Satan watched you with concern but sighed not wanting to press the topic further. However a question did pop into his head not long after.

That’s all for now! Thanks for reading

#obey me #obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me angst #obey me nightbringer #obey me nightbringer angst #obey me nb #demon brothers #obey me luficer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me solomon

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evilminji · 1 year ago

Text

(Ironically) Oh My God... ( o.o)

Do... okay, so there are many, MANY religions... JUST here on earth. Right?

Not all of them think there is "an afterlife". Some think there is a NEXT life. Potentially MANY lives. Some also believe in JOURNEYS you must take, to reach THE Afterlife. Or perhaps periods of judgment. Evaluations of WORTH. So forth and so on.

What I am saying is?

There? Are Ghosts who probably just straight up REJECT the premise that they are dead. Oh sure, YOU might be. Or BELIEVE you are. But they KNOW they aren't.

Because The Gods Said So.

Some, are also, AWARE they are Dead. But reject that? All this? This is it. No, no. This is the MIDDLE. They are supposed to GO somewhere. They haven't FOUND it. But when they DO. They will, as a community, make a map for those who follow and head on in! It'll be great!

There are FAITHS in the Zone.

Beliefs that were compatible enough, that they Did Not Die.

And they'd probably like to tell you about it.

Why WOULDN'T they? It was a VERY important part of their daily life, originally. And NOW? Is frankly a Highly Topical Subject, don't you think? The discussion of "is there a God?" Is KINDA important to have, when you're stand outside the gates to SOMEWHERE, and none of who can agree on WHAT is on the other side.

Is it better to stay here? Were we abandoned? Is this a punishment or a blessing? An accident? Freak occurrence? Are there Gods HERE? And if so, does that mean WE can become one? What does that MEAN, if we can?

All HIGHLY important topics to discuss.

But! It's made all the more pressing because? There's all these OTHERS! Who have never even HEARD of your gods teachings. And therefore? Don't know where they are.

They, innocent people, have been TRAPPED HERE, for centuries if not longer. May be condemned to be trapped FOREVER. Anyone with even a scrap of empathy would be HORRIFIED.

The problem is that THEY are horrified too. Think YOU are trapped. And of course, your first impulse is to tell them they are Wrong... but?

Are they?

What if NEITHER of you are Wrong? Elder Beings keep insisting this place is INFINITE. It is therefore ENTIRELY possible, this is a place to simply? Store the place before afterlifes. Like a busy road.

After all, your Gods certainly never mention these new people. And THEIR God (singular, correct? Right.) never mentioned YOUR people. Surely they WOULD have, if it was important!

And such concensus starts to build. Because everyone is trying to move on, pray, ascend, or otherwise do as their holy scriptures told them too. They are ALL rather lost and confused. And UNLIKE those Fight-y violent sorts? THESE fine religious folks are pleasant and sensible.

Even if no one can quite agree. Meh. SOMEONE is right here and I shall live assuming it's me until proven otherwise, respectfully and as the gods preached.

And it's quite literally like religious Fandoms, to make light of things a bit. There is bickering. And "stop that infernal CHANTING, I can't here my self pray!" *chanting grows louder in protest* "ARGH!". And trying to make new, confused ghosts welcome.

It's one of the ZONES within the Zone. Like slowly gravitating towards like, until the Zone itself started to just naturally shuffle them all together in clumps. Like with the academics.

Now why? Do I even bring this up?

Because! I think it would be HILARIOUS if everyone wanted to convert the Newly Crowned Ghost King to THEIR religion, under the belief that he could? As some sort of Holy Divine King, ask GOD(tm) : "Bruh. Wtf are we supposed to be doing? We are SO LOST. Can we have a hint?"

And yeah, half of them are like "just for fiiiive minutes! We can totally kick you out of the Temple afterwords if you don't like it! You totally WILL, obviously, because it's AWESOME. But, like, if you WANT too! Five minutes! Pleeeeeease???"

While the others are just shooting Informative Pamphlets out of alien potato cannons in FULL religious regalia. As Danny flees at full speed. Getting pelted.

Maybe some real weird Space Monk is just ( o-o) *is under Danny's Bed. Makes eye contact when he leans down to look for his shoes* "one of us? One of us?" "How did you even get passed the ghost sheilds?" "The Gods have many paths." "Not helpful! And terrifying! Get out from under my bed." *awkward scurry* 👉👈 "one of us?" "No. Back to the Zone, you know better." *sad mantis-otter Space Monk noises*

Just? As a writer, I am a bastard. And I think Danny should get harrased by Court Officials wanted him to Govern more. It's funny. He is a teenager and doesn't know shit. It's like watching an Esteemed Academic Conference being lead by someone's toddler. They don't know what's going on! But they Sure Are Giving Answers! :D

@hypewinter @ailithnight @mutable-manifestation @hdgnj @nerdpoe @the-witchhunter

#dp #dp lore #dp religion #religion in the ghost Zone #religion in the afterlife #how DO you reconcile?#convert the king campaign au #playing telephone with god #using the ghost king #might as well #nothing ELSE worked

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thataromanticbisexual · 2 months ago

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I have an arcane 'hot take'

I wish they ended season two off at the end of act 2—now stay with please just stay with me for a moment!!

just so you know this is a really long rant so i'm sorry in advance, spoilerss ahead ofc!

main focus characters mentioned + timebomb—

────────── ⊹ ⊱ ☆ ⊰ ⊹ ──────────

Most of us know (at least i think everyone knows) that arcane was originally supposed to be a five season show, i repeat a five season show. And i really fucking wish they kept it this way, or at least made it a season longer than it ended up being. But don't get me wrong, i'm happy (and maybe a little heartbroken) with the ending we got. I just wish they didn't condense it down into the two seaon show.

In all honesty, It felt a tiny bit rushed. And yes, maybe that was our fault for making so many theories, but either way, they introduced so SO many new themes, for non league players (like myself) an episode or half on magic on it's own, and don't get me started on the new characters. There wasn't enough time to explore all of their backstories, or their motives in only nine episodes. We needed more time, i'm sure we can all agree on that, right? Do you get what i mean?

To get a better idea of what I mean next I’ve provided visual representation, oh yeah

Personally think this would’ve been a pretty good ending for the season. The cliffhanger would leave fans pissed but it would do numbers.

So instead of cramming all of the seasons plots + sub plots into those three acts, they could extend it and explore those points in more detail and depth. We'd be able to develop a much better understanding of those plots.

─────────────────────────

An example of the extended plots i'd like to make clear is Maddie. She was iffy from the start. Sure she was cute and seemed sweet and all, but there was something off about her. And then we learn that she was actually working under Ambessa's wing, fuck we've already missed so much.

Why was she working for Ambessa? Why was she smiling like a bitch when she was abt to shoot Cait? Did she have ulterior motives outside of being a pawn in Ambessa's game? There's other points that i can't think of right now, but there's missing infomation. There is holes.

Then there's Enforcer Vi, Act 2 Caitlyn and Vi. Their arcs in the story were watered down DRASTICALLY. In a simple summary, we witnessed vi become an enforcer, the caitvi get together and divorce in the same episode. Then we saw the start and the end of Caitlyn's dictator arc from the 6 month timeskip in like under 20 minutes of screentime. And we also got 2 lousy minutes of pit fighter Vi from said timeskip. There was major external and internal struggle for the both of them during this time in their lives and it impacted them a shit tonne in different ways, and it was basically was skipped over like it was nothing. These experiences alone impacted their mental health heavily. We could’ve gotten so much more from this!! Be so fucking for real.

And then there's Jinx and Isha. We got flashbacks during Act 2 Ep6, but thats the thing, they were just flashbacks. We didn't get to experience the whole thing. We see this huge change in Jinx after the time skip, and it was all because she had Isha to ground her. And we see nothing of this. The character development was pivotal, and we missed it.

Same slightly goes for Ep9. Jinx lost Isha, and she's about to kill herself. Then Ekko steps in and saves the day. Next time we fucking see them they're in different outfits, they've got paint and doodles on each other, AND they've teamed up? Ugh! Again we've missed so much. And to top it all off, it was confirmed that they scrapped at least 30 minutes of timebomb footage between?? God damn.

All of these points could have been explored deeper if only we had more time. More of Maddie’s story, more of pit fighter Vi, more of dictator Cait, more of Jinx, Isha, Ekko.

Sometimes these things can’t be helped but it would’ve been so nice.

Got opinions? If you do I’d actually love to hear more theories from you people. I love to see your thoughts and stand points.

(and i also just want to point out that theres a FUCKING petition to relase the extended cut of the caitvi sesbian lex scene, which is so crazy and insane... anyway heres the link if you want it)

#oh my god ellas yapping again someone shut her up #arcane s2 spoilerss #arcane #arcane s2 #i wouldn't say its too controversial buuuut who knows #caitlyn arcane #enforcer vi arcane #pitfighter vi arcane #jinx arcane #isha arcane #maddie arcane #caitvi #timebomb #they had a strong storyline for season 2 it was just forced into a small timeframe #also am I the only one who kinda thought the black rose subplot was sorta weird?? or not needed in some way?

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sadiecoocoo · 1 month ago

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Hazel, Sweet and Dynamic Chp. 3 - Arcane Fanfiction

Summary - As Jayce spends more time trying to find a way home, Viktor grows bitter with neglect

Chp. Word Count - 2927

Total Word Count - 8,907

Read on AO3

Previous Chapter

Chapter 1

Notes: I definitely tried a bit of a different writing style with this one, but I'm really proud of it! originally this chp was going to be longer, but I decided where i left it off would be a better cut-off point anyways, enjoy :)

Every few nights, Jayce cried, and Viktor held him silently. He didn’t mind.

He never shushed him, or told him things were okay, because they truly weren’t. It didn’t help to be given false platitudes just so he could feel better in the moment.

Jayce would refind his optimism anyway. He didn’t need Viktor to tell him to chin up. He just needed Viktor to be there.

He held him silently, rubbing his back and resting his chin in Jayce’s hair.

That was usually how they fell asleep. Jayce would be as pressed against him as much as he possibly could be, and Viktor would welcome it gladly.

Every morning that he woke up with Jayce in his arms, and Jayce holding him tightly in turn, was the start of a good morning.

He was honestly starting to think that he’d be okay with this. If they didn’t find their way home, they’d at least have each other. Their only worries would be finding scraps and cooking bad food.

He knew Jayce would never give up, he left too much behind to be content with what they had now. Caitlyn, Vi, Mel, and his mother were out there somewhere, and he could never leave his mother alone.

Viktor didn’t have anyone left, only Jayce. He would be content with him, so he would follow him wherever he went.

He would work on trying to find a way back home, write equation after equation. He would go as far as the bridges and gather as many supplies as he could, watching as more and more husks seemed to follow his movements. He would make sure Jayce understood how to treat his injured leg, how to not make anything worse.

It was dark outside now, there weren’t anymore neon chemlights to brighten the night. If he looked out the boarded up window, he wouldn’t see a thing.

He supposed it made it easier to sleep. At least it should have. He could almost forget that there were the husks just outside. He could almost forget about the one that reached towards him when he walked past it.

He hadn’t told Jayce. He didn’t plan to. The man had enough worries already, and this should be something Viktor can handle himself.

It had only happened once, but the feeling of cold, lifeless fingers grabbing onto his arm haunted him. It had been forceful, and he had to pry himself away. They left indents in his strange purple skin that looked just a shade darker for a day or two.

He had abandoned the box of supplies he had found, leaving it to clatter against the ground. He only had half the mind to not barge into the house and worry Jayce.

Viktor ended up spending about an hour sitting out in the alley they had been in before, the two husks clutching onto each other his only company. He stared again at the burst of muted colors traveling up the walls like a disease. His panic had bled way to disdain after glaring at it long enough.

He knew Jayce suspected something was wrong by the time he got back. He had asked, but Viktor only shrugged him off with a half-baked excuse. He didn’t push anyway, just waited for Viktor to open up, even though he never did.

Now the two of them were curled up next to each other. Jayce’s light snores were the only sound aside from the occasional rustling of the covers.

No matter how hard he tried, Viktor couldn’t sleep. It was getting colder every day, and they were well into the winter months. It had even snowed a couple of times.

Their blanket wasn’t cutting it anymore for keeping them warm. Jayce managed fine, he had always run hot, but Viktor felt the cold chilling him down to the bone.

It was still foreign and overwhelming. The involuntary shivers racketing his body felt forceful. The way goosebumps rose along his strangely colored flesh felt wrong.

And Jayce treated it like it was normal. To him, it was. Viktor, despite how guilty it made him, resented him for it.

Beside him, Jayce burrowed himself into the covers more. He pressed his face against Viktor’s neck. The other man swallowed the lump forming his throat.

He would never get used to how easily Jayce showed his affections. It felt unfair, like he didn’t deserve it. Because despite all of Jayce’s insistences that he did, Viktor really didn’t deserve it.

Everything just seemed wrong now. He didn’t deserve any of the little peace they had found here. He didn’t deserve getting to enjoy his mostly fixed body, with his only aches being when he slept wrong. He didn't deserve Jayce.

Even so, being from the undercity, Viktor learned to take what he didn’t deserve. He hadn’t deserved to go to the academy, he hadn’t worked harder than any of the other kids that had dreamed of it.

So he would take. He would crave what little he had. He would do anything to keep it.

Viktor pressed himself closer to Jayce, resting his chin in the other man’s hair.

There was a husk standing right outside the alleyway. Viktor stared at its blank face. Its head was tilted ever so slightly to the side.

This one seemed different than all the others. It was a marionette, not a husk. It had a crown-like halo behind its head.

Viktor thought of the first person he had healed, the shimmer addict that held a knife to him and cried about how he was sorry to be trying to mug Viktor.

That man was standing before him now. Changed into something that would be unrecognizable to anyone else.

It hadn’t moved anymore than it already had, but it blocked the entrance to the alley way, trapping Viktor inside for reasons unknown.

He wasn’t sure if the marionettes were a threat or not. He had been able to control them, he might still be able to if he really tried.

He didn’t want to try. He would be happy to abandon that power and forget it ever existed.

The marionette tilted its head to the other side, almost like it was working out a crick in its neck. He heard the jangling of metal as it moved.

Viktor took a step back, closer to the entrance to their shelter.

It took a step forward.

He froze. It did too. It was mimicking him, trying to intimidate him. He took in a shaky breath.

His throat was dry with apprehension. It could get inside, they didn’t have a real door, just a curtain. It could get inside and attack them. It could get to Jayce.

It could ruin everything if Viktor didn’t find a way to stop it. He couldn’t let any of those things touch Jayce ever again.

He took a step towards it, his fists clenched at his sides.

It took a step back. He willed it to.

When Viktor came back, it was empty handed.

Jayce had been working away at their theories again. He turned and the evident disappointment in his eyes hurt Viktor. He had been expecting new parts that they could use, and Viktor failed to deliver.

“Sorry,” He muttered, fighting to relax his clenched fists. He hadn’t relaxed since he had left.

“No, it’s alright,” Jayce assured, “I can’t expect a treasure hoard every day.” He smiled lightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He looked tired.

He heard walking outside. It was the sound of metal clanking against the ground in the rhythm of footsteps.

He stared at the boarded up window, not seeing a thing through the shadows of the night.

Then there was a small glimmer of light as it passed the window. It stayed there for too long to be coincidental.

“Leave us alone,” he whispered. Then the light moved, and the clanking footsteps got quieter and quieter.

It was there again. Viktor only stared at it for a second before moving to walk past it.

It turned its head to watch his movements as he passed. It moved no further into the alleyway.

He would not let it.

He found nothing again. They had bled the sumps dry of useful supplies. He would have to start going further. Maybe he would have to go to Piltover soon.

The thought made him shudder. A sense of apprehension flowed through him. There was something telling him that he should not go there without Jayce, but at the same time he didn’t want Jayce there either.

He couldn’t risk putting him in danger. If he saw that the marionettes were moving, he could panic. He could get hurt. Viktor would not allow that to happen.

Said man was once again at the chalkboard, muttering to himself as he looked over the same notes he did every day. He was getting obsessive with it.

Viktor tried to tell himself that that was simply what they did. They worked and worked and worked until they collapsed or found a solution.

He thought Jayce couldn’t afford to collapse. Dark bruises became more prominent under his eyes every day, and he adjusted his weight off his bad leg more often than he used to.

“You should get a cane.” Viktor blurted, trying to use a tone that said it wasn’t a suggestion.

Jayce only glanced at him before shrugging. He crossed something off on the chalkboard with a loud scrape.

Viktor frowned. He walked up behind Jayce and peeked over his shoulder. The chalkboard seemed even more a mess than it did the day before.

“Let’s take a break, we need to eat.” Viktor said. He raised his hand to Jayce’s shoulder and squeezed it.

“No, I’m alright.” He answered, waving his hand dismissively. He tapped the walk against his chin, leaving a small white mark.

Viktor scrunched his nose in annoyance. If this was how Jayce felt all the times he couldn’t get Viktor away from the lab, he was starting to understand how frustrated he would get at times.

“Jayce,” Viktor said again, “go eat.” He ordered.

Jayce looked at him then, truly looked. It wasn’t dismissive, his mind wasn’t elsewhere. He finally looked.

And Viktor saw that he looked tired. Weary. His chest ached as Jayce looked at him. Those beautiful hazel eyes looked dull. It brought a scowl to his face. They weren’t supposed to be that way. They were supposed to be vibrant, to contrast all the muted colors that snaked around buildings and objects and corrupted everything else in this world.

“Alright,” Jayce said quietly. He glanced at the board again, his lips pursed as he didn’t want to leave it. It would be there an hour from now, Jayce was worried over nothing.

They ate silently. Viktor stole tentative glances at his partner, he watched the way he chewed slowly, like he was physically forcing himself to. He watched as Jayce stared into his stew sadly, like it had kicked a puppy in front of him.

It made Viktor angry. He didn’t know why. He felt like Jayce didn’t have the right to look so miserable. They had a good life now, no longer under the thumb of the council and no longer standing under the guillotine that was Viktor’s sickness.

Jayce didn’t have the right to be so upset anymore. It had been his choice to stay with Viktor in the first place, even though he had asked him to leave. It wasn’t fair that Jayce was leaving him now.

The thought left a bad taste in his mouth, worse than the food that still tasted like sump water. He almost apologized to Jayce, even though he had no idea what Viktor had been thinking.

That night Viktor held onto Jayce just a little tighter, like if he didn’t, he wouldn’t wake up by his side.

The lightbulb died yesterday. Sputtering once with a final flicker of fight, then flushed them into darkness like an omen.

“Why do you care so much about going back?” Viktor hadn’t meant to say it. He hasn’t meant for it to sound so bitter, so cruel. At the same time, he was glad it was up in the air, instead of simmering in his mind.

“What?” Jayce asked, turning fully to look at him. It wasn’t a side eye, or a quick glance. He looked, finally looked.

And he looked hurt.

“Why do you care,” Viktor asked again, unable to stop now that he had started. Jayce had just given him an out, a way to avoid a grievous mistake, and he ignored it. “There’s nothing left for us there!” He gestured with his hands.

Jayce blinked.

“Are you joking?” He asked. It sounded so condescending that Viktor had to fight the urge to kick the cane from Jayce’s hands. The cane that he had only just gotten Jayce to finally use.

“Does it look like I am?” He asked rhetorically. He finally stood, putting the two at equal height. Jayce had to be slightly hunched to actually put his weight on the cane.

“Don’t do this,” Jayce warned. And oh, if only Viktor heeded his warning. If only Viktor had learned to listen to Jayce when he was giving a warning. He thought he should have learned after he almost destroyed the world. He thought.

“If we go back, there’ll be nothing for us but glares. We’ll get no rewards, hell we might be sent to Stillwater!” He continued. He knew that wasn’t true. Jayce would get awards. Jayce could get a holiday after him if he really wanted it. It was difficult to talk about them without using “we,” though.

“You don’t know that!” Jayce insisted. He slammed the chalk onto the rim of the board, louder than he meant to. Or maybe he did mean to, and it just didn’t work at intimidating Viktor. “Mel would-“

That was what did it. That was what cut the line and made him snap.

“Of course, you’re doing this to see Mel!” He spat her name like a curse, tired of the woman that he felt took everything from him, “you just want to go back to her and leave your genocidal partner to rot!?” He screamed.

“No!” Jayce spluttered, he waved his hands wildly as he spoke, “no- I could care less-“

“I know what you did with her!” He interrupted, “I know that when I collapsed in the lab and was on my deathbed you had been sleeping with her! I know that when I was being transformed into the monster that I am now you went to her! I know-“

“I just want to see my mom!” Jayce screamed. Viktor stared, breathing hard. Jayce was crying. “I want to get away from this dead place that only serves to remind me of the months I spent rotting at the bottom of a fissure!”

He was crying, and he didn’t go to Viktor for comfort, not like last time, not like the countless other nights that he had. He shied away when Viktor reached a hand towards him. He scowled and looked to the ground, his fists clenched at his sides.

“I’m not gonna let anyone do anything to you if we find a way home.” Jayce continued, much quieter than before, but much more determined to make Viktor listen. He almost preferred the yelling. The yelling didn’t make him feel like a bad person. The yelled made him feel like they were both bad.

“I don’t care what you think I’m not gonna let you go to Stillwater, or get exiled, or- I don’t know!” He threw his hands up in the air.

“I know I messed up before, and I know I’m not being the best right now,” his voice was shaking, “but you don’t have anyone you left behind, and I miss my family.” He finished with a broken sob.

“You never should have stayed.” Viktor muttered. He was eternally grateful to Jayce for staying, but now it was causing them more pain than if he had let Viktor die alone. It was causing Jayce pain.

Sometimes I wish I hadn’t. Jayce didn’t say it. He didn’t go that far. Viktor could see it on the tip of his tongue, see it in the way he looked to the ground and started scratching at his wrist.

Viktor was out the door hardly a second later. He couldn’t take it. He couldn’t watch Jayce break down because of him. He couldn’t be the one to keep hurting him. He couldn't, he couldn't, he couldn't.

Viktor didn’t turn back when Jayce called after him, because he didn’t sound mad anymore. He sounded broken. He sounded as broken as Viktor had felt all those years he worked beside someone who seemed implausibly perfect, and Viktor could never handle himself at his worst like Jayce had.

So Viktor walked away. He walked away like he always found some way to do. He walked away like he had when he found out what the Doctor did to Rio. He walked away like he did from the undercity. He walked away like he did with Heimerdinger. He walked away like the day he muttered something useless about affection as an excuse.

He walked. He didn’t hear the tell tale signs of footsteps behind him. He didn’t know if that made him hurt more or not.

End Notes: yippee cliff hanger also I have decided that this fic will have whump, but it's going to be minor

I also would like to say that the mention of Mel was not at all me being personally mad at her about that, I honestly love Meljay and Meljayvik, I just thought that since Viktor and Jayce are both tense and worried about a lot of things it’d be an easy way to set Viktor off (because bffr who wouldn’t be jealous of Mel) anyway, I always appreciate comments <3 (please someone talk to me about the symbolism and foreshadowing I added please I'm begging you)

if anyone would like to be tagged for updates please lmk, I'd be happy to do it!

Next Chapter

#arcane #jayce talis #viktor arcane #arcane fanfic #jayvik

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zvtara-was-never-canon · 5 months ago

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zutarians and their cope kinda remind me of bbrae fans

You're right and you should say it. It's crazy how simmilar they are.

The writers of Teen Titans repeatedly said "We toyed with a few ideas, but Robin and Starfire was the one ship we were set on being endgame" yet these fuckers insist they meant "Robin and Starfire AS WELL AS BEAST BOY AND RAVEN."

The writers of Avatar repeatedly said "Kataang was always the heart of the show", yet zutarians keep saying shit like "Zuko was originally Katara's love interest!"

BBrae fans constantly talk about Raven disliking Terra, Beast Boys actual love interest, "due to both of them liking the same guy", but Raven didn't dislike Terra at all, she just didn't immediately trust her - and for good reason, because Terra was working with the villain, and she even explicitly pointed out that Raven was so furious at her after that revelation because she DID think of Terra as a friend.

Zutara fans insist all the drama with Zuko was because "he posed a threat to Kataang" when anyone who isn't delusional can see that it was about his former role as a villain, and the character that was originally gonna be Aang's rival for Katara's affection was TOPH, who was going to be a boy.

Raven was constantly annoyed at Beast Boy and he repeatedly said he found her creepy? Opposites attract! Even when they don't! CLEARLY the writers are just using this innitial clash in personalities to set up a romance - the fact that they NEVER move past that "innitial" clash is a detail!

Katara was mad at Zuko for wanting to help his dad commit genocide and he hated her on the basis of her resisting said genocide? No, silly, can't you see it's just sexual tension? Why else would a boy and a girl "not get along"? They want to kiss!

BBrae fans continued acting like the ship would have totally been endgame in the original show instead of just in comics or the shitty remake that was Teen Titans Go!, "if only the planned sixth season had not been canceled."

But there was no planned sixth season. The show was supposed to end in season four, but it got a bonus fifth season that was originally planned to be a bit longer, but then end up with the same number of episodes as the others - and the only plot that was "cut" was the return of the main villain, Slade. The movie "Trouble In Tokyo" was made specifically to resolve the romantic plotline of Starfire and Robin, since they couldn't do it on the actual show... yet the writers didn't make Raven and Beast Boy get together despite knowing they'd likely never have another chance at it. Almost like they never WANTED to do that in the first place!

Zutarians constantly about how "There was totally a deleted scene in the finale with Iroh saying Katara was perfect for Zuko" and how Aaron Ehasz supposedly confirmed Kataang being endgame was a last minute change, and that Zutara was supposed to happen in the "planned, but scrapped fourth season."

But there was no "planned" fourth season. Bryke were offered a bonus season, but rejected it almost right away. The interview with Ehasz was fake and so were the rumors about the "deleted" scene with Iroh. It just never existed.

Hell, even a ship I like had some of the fans try to pull that shit. A ton of Robin X Raven fans swear there was a deleted kiss scene in the season four finale (which again, was originally going to be the series finale) - like Robin and Starfire didn't almost get together in the previous episode (and probably were made an item in original version, before the show got a bonus season), and weren't made endgame on the actual conclusion of the show.

Some shippers do that in the hopes that sequels/reboots end up pandering to them - and in the case of Beast Boy and Raven it "worked", but it was shit, because it was in a bad show so clearly it wasn't worth it. Zutarians meanwhile got nothing. Nada. Zilch. No zutara in the comics, in Korra, and apparently not even in the Netflix version.

And at least there ARE moments between BB and Raven that even I call blatant ship tease, and there's five seasons worth of content of them being "the friends that don't get along but care about each other" aka having an actual dynamic that people were meant to get attached to. Zuko and Katara's "dynamic" for two and a half seasons consisted on nothing but taunts in battle, Zuko being an asshole/a legit threat to the heroes' safety and thus being hated by all of them for it. Only in the second half of the third season did they have any meaningful interactions AND half of these were still negative.

I can talk a lot of shit about BBrae fans, but I can never say that Beast Boy and Raven ever lashed out when the other saved them because there was just that much resentment there. Or that the times Raven got a bit too aggressive towards him werent pure slapstick and that she did genuinely want to hurt him, nor that he ever got so mad at her for it that he tried to leave her behind to die. Or that Raven ever hired a hitman on him. Or that Beast Boy full on said he pictured her face when he tried to imagine "the face of the enemy." Or that he ever looked Raven straight in the face and threatened to murder her if she ever did anything against his actual love interest.

That's a level of "Take the L already, Jesus" that BBrae never reached, or even got close to, and I'm surprised Zutarians managed to make people not talk about the fact that they very much did.

"Zutara sexual tension" is literally just two people legit wanting to murder each other, saying as much, actively working towards it, and the shippers sill being like "They don't mean it though."

They do, girl. They very much do. Grab a body bag.

#anti zutara #anti beast boy x raven #anti bbrae

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our-happygirl500-fan · 2 years ago

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Something I was thinking about was how Mayhem was there for the final battle against Draxum in the episode End Game when he teleports April & Splinter to the stadium

Splinter: Get us out of here doggy thingy

However even though Mayhem was there for the final fight against Draxum, when the Hamato Clan begin to face the Shredder in the episode Many Unhappy Returns, Mayhem isn’t there any more

You can actually see the moment Mayhem might have left the battle in the episode End Game when the Hamato Clan come up with a way to beat Draxum by aiming for a flaw in the Dark Armour

Splinter: So that’s why tea always tasted of plastic and evil

The fact that Mayhem teleports out once the Hamato Clan has a plan to defeat Draxum makes it seem like Mayhem just left once he knew that Draxum was going to be dealt with.

Head: Agent 64! Keep an eye on him, he’s dangerous

We know that Mayhem was an agent sent by the Council of Head to spy on Draxum so it would make sense that Mayhem would leave once Draxum was defeated but the implications that Mayhem was only sticking around the Hamato Clan to beat Draxum & left right after he was defeated is kind of sad when you consider how close he was to April in season 1.

I don’t think Mayhem ever appears in Season 2 so we don’t know Mayhem still lives with April after the events of End Game & we never see Mayhem’s reaction to Draxum’s redemption so there’s a chance that Mayhem moved out of April’s apartment once Draxum was exiled from the Hidden City.

In a previous post I made a bit ago I made a theory that one of the reasons that I thought Mayhem was living with April was because he decided to spy on the Turtles since it was obvious from the first episode that they had something to do with Draxum.

Draxum: You’re beautiful

Draxum: Capture those specimens!

My theory was that Mayhem probably decided to stay with April to keep an eye on the turtles as they clearly had something to do with Draxum & possibly had the potential to be allies against him but if Mayhem did only stay with April because of his mission to stop Draxum then it would sadly make sense for Mayhem to leave once Draxum had been stopped because it would mean that his mission was over.

Mayhem leaving once his mission was over because he no longer had to keep an eye on Draxum would explain why we don’t really see Mayhem in season 2 but it’s kind of sad to think about Mayhem just deciding to leave April once his mission was over.

Ron Carney’s twitter posted a schedule board where possible season 2 scrapped episode titles can be seen & one of the episode titles is ‘April Showers Mayhem Flowers’ so it can be assumed that we were originally supposed to have some resolution between Mayhem & April or at least an explanation on what happened to Mayhem after the season 1 final but unfortunately we never got it.

#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles #april o'neil #mayhem rottmnt #rottmnt #tmnt

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slashtakemylife · 1 year ago

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Peggy lives under the shadow of Steve, even when she's the main lead

With the release of What If and Peggy Carter taking on the role of Captain America, Marvel is very likely patting their back on their "feminism" and how they've given us a badass female leader that can have her own spotlight however it's very easy to see how we are still seeing this story through a males eyes and male focus only.

1. The curse of being Cap's girl, she can only be his

Honestly the misogyny on Peggy's character actually begins since the first movie but we'll get into the little details later, the first glaring ones to me begins ever since the Cap 2 movie, when they show Peggy as old she has pictures of her kids but none of her husband, why? We are even told she's had a good life, a full life, so where is her husband?

Because in the patriarchal way, Peggy Carter, even as an old lady who has lived her full life and is basically allowed to... is still Steve's. It's more likely they didn't want to show who "filled his shoes", so to speak, this imaginary man, this husband who got to have Peggy, "bested" Captain America and you can't have that can you? I know it may sound stupid but we are dealing with a male's worldview.

It even shows when in her interview you can see how she still hasn't quite gotten over Steve, she even seems to reluctantly say, "That's where I met my husband", in that interview you can see she is still affected, aka she hasn't gotten over him but then you got to remember, she's married now, she's supposed to be over him, why is she still so affected? Why does she speak of her husband like an after thought? Why did she even marry a man when clearly she wasn't over her last? Peggy isn't the kind of woman to marry just because she had to, you know she would only marry a man she fully loved, not just to not be a spinster.

The answer is that in the male worldview, no one can supplant Steve Rogers but not because Steve Rogers is someone you can't forget but because in the male eye, Peggy is Steve's property, for someone else to have her it means they "won" over Steve and you can't win the representation of maleness. Peggy at best got second scraps, yes you heard it, Peggy's husband is just supposed to be a "second best" beside Captain America, I'm sure he was a lovely husband and father but no man can ever "best" America's representative of maleness, remember this is the worldview from a male perspective.

The only time Peggy ever gets some agency is in her show and there's a beautiful scene at the end of season 1 where we literally see her tell Steve good bye, she gets over him, by season 2 she is well over Steve, she's still affected, mind you, of course she misses him but he is no longer her world, in fact she can now flirt and get into the idea of finding new love and she does in Sousa.

It's really unfortunate when the Cap's girl curse gets landed on them because Steve was never supposed to come back into her life but then he did and of course this means crashing all her progress, they didn't just made them break up, they killed Daniel Sousa, there had to be no trace of competition so Steve could very joyfully land in the past and fit into her life as if he never left

Steve Rogers never gets over Peggy but Peggy did but since Steve wants Peggy, the writers took that progress back and made her love him again no questions asked.

2. On Captain Carter

Wow Marvel is sure patting their back thinking they nailed "feminism" when they grabbed Peggy Carter and turned her into Captain America.

In the first episode, they do get it mostly, she is bigger, she's strong and she leads the Howling Commandoes but there's one little trick that lets you remember, this is still a man's world.

Steve's Hydra Stomper.

In the original format, aka the movie, they sell Peggy to us as a top agent, and she is, we get some badass moves from her at the beginning but once Steve finally gets into his role as Captain America, she gets placed behind the scenes, it's the classical "woman in a high position" but really the real high position is Philips, Peggy at best is only seen removing little flags from maps but we never actually see her in combat until the end but of course she had to be there, otherwise how will we get to the final kiss scene amairight?

We should've expected the same treatment right? Especially since there's a very telling excuse for Steve to stay behind lines and be the master behind it, he's skinny now, he isn't fit for battle at all but he can still help coordinate the Commandoes right?

Wrong.

You can't leave Captain America, even in his skinny form, out the battle, what is he? A woman? Those double standards are what hit me, no one cared if Peggy Carter joined the fights, she doesn't have to, she's not supposed to, we all know she's Cap's girl, she's not a soldier so no one bats an eye but when the roles are reversed, it's inconceivable that Steve takes his assigned role as a love interest.

How interesting it is that when male characters are placed in the love interest role they just have to fight to be interesting right? It's almost offensive to put a man as just a love interest that does nothing but be there right?

I am also glaring at you Gwen Stacy, Gwen Stacy as Peter Parker's girlfriend is literally just a girl that got caught by the baddie and Spiderman accidentally killed but when they reversed the story and now it was Gwen as spiderwoman and Peter the boyfriend... He turned into a lizard, yeah the boy couldn't just be the boyfriend and I'm not even sure if he was the boyfriend or just the friend which also, red flags! Peter can have girlfriends but Gwen can't.

Back to Peggy, if they had only shown that first episode, it would've been good, some minor double standards with Steve's Stomper but meh, I'll live.

The real treat is the sequel, I'll also make an honorary mention on how also in other episodes they still grind Steve hard and show you she is very much in love, not a fancy, she hard loves him, not even Steve showed that much fanatism, but hey, back to topic.

My biggest glare to this episode starts with the Watcher himself, he says he never does sequels and honestly he's right, he shouldn't because the result is honestly shit, from a Peggy character pov

They copy the plot of Steve Rogers story instead of making a new one for her.

Yup, you heard me and fine she wasn't going to deviate much I know but they seriously stuck way too much into Steve's story up to the point where it doesn't work and yes I'm glaring at you Winter Soldier arc.

The Winter Soldier arc works so well because Steve and Bucky have history together, Steve and Peggy have just feelings, the relationship between Steve and Bucky and Steve and Peggy are severely different, in both cases.

For Peggy it is because she is a strong willed woman, she's had to fight her way everywhere, Steve sees her as an equal and both understand what it is to constantly be fighting to prove to others who you are because by being a woman/weak man, everyone looks past you, they undermine you, that is the Steggy dynamic.

Bucky is very different, he's exactly the opposite, he's a man of his time, he's charming, healthy, strong and noble but he isn't too moved to act the way Steve is, he isn't as strong headed as Steve is, he's been blanketed by society but thanks to Steve he gets inspired to stand up for others, remember that while Steve tried to enlist, they had to draft Bucky. One of the things about their relationship is that Bucky treats Steve as an equal too but not an equality of same struggle like he and Peggy, Bucky merely treats him as a friend, he pushes Steve out of his comfort zone, I mean he put him on the Cyclone, they rode on the back of a freezer truck, Bucky drags Steve into his adventures and treats Steve like a friend, not a sickly kid and then later on its Steve the one that has to repay the favor when it's Bucky the one's that the Winter Soldier. It's loyalty to their years of friendship and Steve knowing Bucky's character the best.

So no you can't just exchange roles and honestly the fact that if you see every single episode of What If, you quickly realize that while they may all start from a slight deviation, it leads to completely different scenarios totally outside of any MCU story.

Yondu not keeping Quill doesn't form a slightly different Guardian of the Galaxy, it generates an entire new Avengers team, they even get rid of Jotunheim and Asgard as an after thought, there's absolutely no step to step plot in any MCU movie, it's a brand new story

Same as Iron Man after the New York battle not going through the hole, it launches him into a crazy Space Race in Skaandar and while yes we get a repeat of characters and themes and places, it gets rebranded and adjusted to the characters it has, that being Tony Stark and even delves with other character's themes such as Gamora and Tony striking a friendship and both getting rid of Thanos.

This doesn't happen with Peggy, they reuse Steve's storyline, again and even pull other movies move by move, the episode is an interesting take but too close from the plot of the movies while every single one of them has deviated and found new interpretations of the characters under different scenarios, with Peggy this doesn't happen and they are trying to fit her neatly in Steve's story with slight changes but NEVER does she ever get out of the mold of being intently focused on Steve.

Even Natasha points on her dating like "what if he's named Steve?", Peggy also will never look at another man, it being her own version of "Sharon Carter", which we must remember Steve shared a kiss with, we won't ever get a whiff of a "Sousa", maybe a grandkid or something, nope you bet we never will because while Steve can, Peggy must certainly can never, she's is solely and only Captain America's girl, Steve Roger's love interest.

#peggy carter #captain carter #what if #what if...?#marvel #mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel mcu

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