#Tom redemption

[tomriddlehyperfixataion]

Rumor has it - Tom Riddle x reader - Part 1/2

...i-i dont even know, enjoy this fic that I've been giggling and kicking my feet over Afab reader, has a last name, she/her reader

=

There was a rumor going about school-that apparently had started from a Slughorn party-after party. It was quite outlandish-many didn’t believe it-others hoped it was true and they were the one involved in it.

What was that rumor? Tom Riddle had a crush.

Who was he crushing on? No one knew, all anyone got out of him was the word ‘yes’ when asked if he liked anyone during truth or drink. It had been the first time anyone had seen him blush-his pale cheeks and ears during apple red, his cheeks puffed slightly as he sunk into his chair and sipped at his butterbeer.

Many wondered who started this rumor, and if it was true or not; because Tom had never shown any interest in romance before-boy or girl. He had flirted once or twice-then usually abandoned that tactic when he got what he wanted-which garnered him a playboy title. He really wasn’t; a playboy by definition was someone who didn’t care for personal feelings and had many sexual relationships.

Tom didn’t care for sexual relationships, before now(as the rumor suggested) he hadn’t even had a crush before.

The great hall was a mess of voices, many of them whispering about the rumor and Tom felt eyes on him as he tried to study. It was bloody study hour after all-that usually meant ‘be quiet’ or at least be respectful to those who are trying to study.

“Who do you think it is?” one voice whispered from the Ravenclaw table-which right now had several Slytherin and Hufflepuff sitting at it-since house tables were really only assigned during dinner. “I dunno, I know Olive Hornby hopes it’s her heh-did you see her face when she first heard the rumor?”

“yeah, her eyes lit up like Christmas had come early,”

Tom sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose-heavily regretting not taking a shot when he had been asked that question during the after-party. He had thought-possibly, maybe, it wouldn’t spread about. He had thought what happened at a party-stayed at a party. But he had been wrong, and now his secret was out and being spread like wildfire.

Yes-Tom Riddle had a crush, and he had had it since 4th year. Who? He would never tell; he had hardly admitted it to himself this past summer when he realized why this particular person plagued his thoughts like no other had before-they had even overtaken the chamber and horcruxes in his mind.

Tom was 16 years old, and dealing with liking someone for the first time.

He detested it(he didn’t), he just wanted them to disappear from his mind and life and never have to think of them again(a lie, he wanted nothing but to be around them all the time).

“Honestly, you’d think Tom Riddle is the only boy in existence with how they talk about him,” Tom glanced up from his potions work, seeing Viktoria Klopstock arm In arm with (y/n) Alexander; the two talking about the rumor swirling through the school. (y/n) snorted at Viktoria’s quip and shook her head, catching Tom’s eye for a split moment and smiling at him like she always did.

Tom couldn’t help but stare.

“Well, he is the heartthrob of the school, or did you not say that only a few months ago?” (y/n) teased back, laughing as Viktoria sputtered and glared at (y/n) with flushed cheeks, her pale complexion stark against her dark brown hair. “You-I was simply making an observation!“ (y/n) just hummed in response to Viktoria’s sputter, sitting down with their other friends, Walter Deville and Lucy Billington, and laughing as Viktoria attempted to defend herself over her past comments on Tom.

“Keep telling yourself that Viv, we all know you fancy him,” (y/n) teased and Viktoria just kissed Walter in protest, who chuckled and shook his head, brushing back his dark curly hair. (y/n) tossed her head back while she laughed and Lucy shook her head at her friends, returning her attention to her divination book.

Tom tore his eyes away when (y/n) glanced back at him, swallowing harshly against the dryness of his throat.

Yeah, Tom Riddle had a crush all right, and no one would ever know who it was.

But…

Tom glanced back up-seeing (y/n) still looking at him, seemingly lost in thought and Tom had to look away as he felt heat buildup in the tip of his ears.

He had a feeling it wouldn’t stay a secret for long.

-

“Hey Tom!” Tom forced himself to stay perfectly calm as he turned on his heel to face (y/n), who was walking up to him with her broom in hand-clad in her Slytherin quidditch uniform. “Alexander,” Tom greeted, mentally patting himself on the back as he forced down the waver of his voice. “is there something you need?”

(y/n) shook her head, just smiling, a strand of her hair falling into her eyes. “Not really, just wanted to know if you’ll be at the game this Saturday?” Tom shrugged, he had never been one for quidditch, it was a brutal game that always resulted in pointless injuries. But when he looked at (y/n), who seemed so excited at the prospect of him being at that game(her first game actually, a chaser had gotten injured and she was finally coming off the bench after being on the team for a year), he caved.

“I’ll be there,” Tom said instead of saying he was going to be busy, and (y/n) beamed. Tom couldn’t help the flutter of his chest at the sight of it, meant for him. “what time? I’ve never been to a match, not since first year anyway,” Tom asked and (y/n) happily told him what time the match was, it was Slytherin against Ravenclaw, and he nodded, taking a step back as she went off to practice, giving him one last grin.

“Oh I’m so doomed,” Tom breathed, feeling that now familiar heat travel to his cheeks and ears, catching a glimpse of his apple-red face in the reflective glass of a window. “so doomed.”

To this day-he had trouble figuring out why he was attracted to (y/n), it wasn’t as if she had come out of nowhere, they were in the same year, and same house-and she was a high-class halfblood(pureblood father and halfblood mother), from one of the richest families in the uk-right behind her friends, Deville being the richest of the four.

Tom had noticed her from the start really, while he was walking down the cars of Hogwarts Express, seeing her with her three friends laughing away with her head in Deville’s lap, a chocolate frog in hand. She had seen him and smiled, waving at him shyly.

Tom had just blinked-the socially awkward child he had been-and carefully waved back, then continued down to find an empty car.

Then she just kept showing up, sitting next to him in class, being partnered with him in assignments; always smiling at him and greeting him with a wave. Tom simply got used to her, almost began expecting her really, she was probably the only person in Hogwarts that didn’t annoy him to all hell just by existing.

He supposed that’s how she slipped through the cracks-by not being one of the several banes of his existence.

But then the calm expectancy became heat rushing to his face when she sat down with him in the library to study, butterflies in his chest and gut when she glanced at him, trembling hands when she smiled at him, sharp intakes of breath when her hand rested on his shoulder to pass by him in a busy hall.

Tom was utterly infatuated with her and he had no idea how to handle it, but he dreaded the idea of disappointing her(agreeing to come to a stupid game just so she would be happy), felt the burning pit of jealousy in his gut when someone got far too close to only want friendship(he had never wanted to fist fight someone before then), and had the desperate need to just-hold her hand.

He had never wanted to hold anyone’s hand before.

But then he wanted to be around her all the time, just to stare at her freely, curl his fingers into her hair, touch her lips with his thumb, and bring her into a kiss.

Tom groaned at the thoughts going through his mind, his face burning against his palms as he rubbed his eyes. He was really so doomed, here he was-attempting to unlock all the secrets of the chamber of secrets and become one of the greatest wizards of all time-and he was constantly plagued by thoughts of (y/n) Alexander.

He remembered only a few days ago, after he had been researching horcruxes and the chamber-they had been the only thing resounding through his mind as of late. But with a call of his name and (y/n) asking him if he was okay(he was visibly distracted) Tom had just nodded, feeling his lip quirk up without his control. And for the rest of the day, the only thing he could think of was (y/n) Alexander.

Tom sat down in potions class, getting out all his things, but still-the only thing in his head was (y/n) Alexander. Her eyes, her lips, the curve of her jaw and cheeks, the way her head tossed back when she laughed particularly hard, the curl of her nose when she snarled at Black during practice because he had made one too many comments.

“So doomed,” Tom muttered to himself, getting out his quill and ink well, looking up at Professor Slughorn as he greeted the glass.

Oh to be young and to be in love.

-

The wind from the quidditch pitch threw his hair around-his scarf tucked tightly into his jacket so it didn’t fly away. It was loud, very loud, something Tom expected considering he could hear the crowd from the bloody library sometimes.

“Hello, and welcome to Hogwarts' sixth match of the season! Today’s game, Slytherin vs Ravenclaw!” The respective houses roared with support for their teams, and Tom saw the Slytherin team soar high above the pitch, his eyes drawn to a particular player.

Alexander; 3

She had a wild grin on her face-the wind curling her hair and flushing her face, she zoomed past Black and settled with her teammates as they all gathered in the air. The referee stood at the bottom and said something Tom couldn’t hear and opened the box that sat at her feet; in an instant-the bludgers flew up, along with the snitch.

With a blow of a whistle-the quaffle was tossed into the air and the game began.

(y/n) had snatched it before anyone else could grab it-flying up and over the Ravenclaw’s heads, laughing as they gave chase. She was quick-a blur to the naked eye, but that was the same for the other players, however- there was something about her speed; flying just fast enough to keep out of reach.

She easily made the first score-throwing her first up in victory as the bell rang to announce it. “(y/n) Alexander makes the first score of the game! Ten points to Slytherin!!”

Tom couldn’t keep his eyes off (y/n), her smug smirk giving him those silly butterflies as she flew back into the game, avoiding bludgers and other players with graceful ease. Tom’s knuckles cracked as a bludger came soaring right for her-but she quickly noticed and hooked her elbow around her broom, swinging around, under, and getting back on top within a split moment as the bludger zoomed right where her head had been.

“Holy shit! She’s good!” someone yelled from behind him, the Slytherin crowd cheering loudly as someone scored once again, (y/n) laughing heartily as she caught the quaffle from her teammate and flew off-her grin turning to a glare as she nearly crashed into one of the Ravenclaw chasers.

“It's odd seeing you here!” Someone yelled over the noise of the crowd and Tom spared a glance to see Abraxas-who almost seemed nervous. Tom just shrugged, looking back up and searching for (y/n), who had disappeared from his gaze the moment he looked away.

 “I think I get sports now,” Tom just said(which made Abraxas sputter in confusion because Tom had loathed quidditch before now), finally locking onto (y/n) again, his lip quirking as she snatched the quaffle mid-air, suddenly flying up as two Ravenclaw players tried to slam into her on either side-only to get each other and fly off their brooms.

“oooh!” Nott laughed from behind Abraxas, the crowd watching in tense anticipation as (y/n) continued flying up, and then suddenly-she started free-falling, the quaffle and her broom still tight in hand. Tom tensed-wondering what was going on-but he relaxed as he saw the grin on (y/n)’s face.

Just as she passed by the horde of Ravenclaw players that had been trying to get back the quaffle-she straightened out and headed straight for the pitch, faking out the Ravenclaw keeper and scoring another 10 points.

“That’s another 10 points to Slytherin! They lead Ravenclaw 30 to nothing!”

Tom squinted at the roar of the crowd around him and quickly planted his hands over his ears-it was far too loud for him now, but he didn’t want to leave early-it might make (y/n) disappointed that he left.

At that moment-(y/n) spotted him and she looked overjoyed to see him, waving eagerly. Tom grimaced back and she laughed, tossing her head back like she always did. Tom felt that now familiar heat burn at his ears and he sighed-glad he was covering them at the moment.

No one could say (y/n) Alexander wasn’t a brilliant chaser-through the next half hour the match played-she scored more than half the points Slytherin gained, and snatched the quaffle mid-air as the Ravenclaw chasers attempted to pass it multiple times.

She was quickly becoming a threat, grinning while bludgers and other players tried to knock her off-but she easily dodged each one, even jumping off her broom at one point to avoid a collision.

At one point she went high up-avoiding any players or bludgers and wiped her sweat-soaked face with her jersey, allowing all to see her stomach-which made Tom’s face flush with both jealousy and something else as the crowd whistled at her, some of the boys cat-calling her.

Tom never wanted to hex someone more.

But she caught his eye as she brought down her shirt and grinned, and Tom had a feeling she had done that on purpose-which made him think; why would she? unless she either just wanted to rile him up or…Tom swallowed down the hope in his throat as he thought; (y/n) might’ve done that to get his attention.

Well, she had it-if that’s what she wanted-and Tom doubted she would lose it.

“Rouge bludger!” someone yelled and Tom tore his eyes away, only to comically widen them as a bludger came rocketing towards him-right at him-all of the beaters were on the other side of the field, and Tom wondered how they had hit the dammed thing over to the stands. He felt hands on his shoulder-most likely Abraxas-that tried to pull him down and away-but the bludger was fast and Tom had a feeling he would be spending the next week in the hospital wing.

But something flew right where the bludger had been heading and snatched it out of the air-only feet away from where Tom was standing. He let go of the breath he had been holding and looked over the edge-seeing (y/n) with the bludger in the crook of her arm, it struggled to get out but she had a tight grip. Her face was set in anger-her eyes saying ‘murder’ as she threw the bludger right back at the ones who had accidentally hurled it at Tom-unfortunately being her own team.

She yelled something and even Black seemed to curl under her words-nodding sheepishly with the rest of the team.

Tom felt his stomach flip-flop, his mouth going dry and his face blooming with red as she pointed back towards him and continued to yell-the match being put to a halt while the referee took the rogue bludger and checked it(it was supposed to be bewitched to redirect the moment it went towards the stands)-“you nearly hit Tom!” she yelled over the roar of the wind and crowd, her lip curled into a snarl.

“You all right, my lord?” Abraxas asked, his hands still on Tom’s shoulder, and Tom nodded-eyes locked onto (y/n), who glanced back at him and drew her eyes all over him-nodding when she saw he was perfectly fine.

“Just fIne,” Tom said, ignoring the way his voice cracked like it did when he hit puberty. Abraxas frowned but nodded, the match soon resuming.

Tom really understood sports now, he really did-because that was really really hot.

The crowd started to chatter-all about (y/n), about how she caught a bludger(which-Tom learned just now-were made of IRON?!) going full speed and continued to hold it with one hand-even as it attempted to escape.

Tom realized that’s maybe why Black looked so sheepish-(y/n) had caught and held onto a 150-ish pound iron ball with no injury(to his knowledge), she was not a witch to be trifled with.

And Tom’s heart and stomach did another flip, his eyes once again on (y/n) as she used her anger to score three more times, and finally; the snitch was caught by the Slytherin seeker-ending the game.

Slytherin had won by a landslide, 240 to 60.

The Slytherin crowd exploded into cheers as the other houses booed or left the field in defeat, and from the stands-Tom could see Black hold out his hand to (y/n), and offer her the main chaser position. She grinned and took his head, her eyes turning a bit sharp as she tightened her grip, and Tom’s stomach did one last flip as he saw Black wince.

“Oh I'm so bloody doomed,” Tom muttered to himself over the blaring cheers of the crowd-turning on his heel as he saw the Slytherin team make their way off the pitch.

He didn’t even bother to look behind him to see if Abraxas and Nott were following-they always did. He made it down the rickety stairs in record time, panting slightly as he caught his breath-seeing (y/n) with the team making their way back to the castle.

Tom swallowed harshly, seeing McLaggen waltzing up to her, looking all too smug for Tom’s taste. “Alexander!” Tom called out right when McLaggen opened his mouth-both (y/n) and McLaggen looking shocked to hear her name from Tom’s mouth.

From behind him-he could feel the bewilderment from Abraxas and Nott. But (y/n) smiled at him, her hair wind-swept and cheeks slowly cooling back down, sweat drying on her face and neck. Tom licked his lips, feeling his ears start to burn as she waved off her team and walked towards him-broomstick in hand. “Tom!” she said, grinning still, leaning on her broomstick as she stopped in front of him and tilted her head. “How’d you like your first game since first year?”

“Good-great-you,” Tom cleared his throat-suddenly very nervous, his throat dry and ears burning, his usual calm and collected behavior nowhere to be seen. (y/n) bit her lip a bit-something that made Tom’s brain fumble and he paused in his words.

Oh, yes, he was gone for this girl.

“You-you played great, can’t say I’ve seen a better chaser,” Tom finished his sentence, breathing slowly as (y/n) just grinned, her eyes twinkling.

“Thank you, but you also don’t have many other chasers to compare me to, for all you know-I could be dog-shit.” Tom found himself snorting and shaking his head at (y/n)’s lack of elegant words, waving his hand towards the pitch. “Believe me, I saw enough from your teammates and the Ravenclaw chasers-you were the best on the field.”

(y/n) laughed, her head tossing back with the action and Tom found himself staring, his gaze softening as (y/n) continued to giggle as she calmed down, shaking her head as she bit her lip. “Honestly Tom, you’re funnier than others give you credit for,” Tom just hummed, he thought he was hilarious.

Thankfully, (y/n) seemed to think so too. Tom opened his mouth again, glancing around-seeing McLaggen staring daggers into him-but he quickly looked away when he caught Tom’s eye. “I just wanted to say, thank you for catching that bludger, I would probably be in the hospital wing right now if it weren’t for you,” Tom said with his usual charming grin, patting himself on the back for returning to his normal behavior.

(y/n) nodded and clapped his arm once, sending fire through his veins at her touch-his mouth going dry again. “Like I was gonna let it hit you, but, you’re welcome Tom. What would the world be like without your pretty face?” (y/n) teased and Tom’s mind went blank.

“You think I’m pretty?” Tom asked, his voice cracking slightly as his jaw went slack, the flush on his ears growing towards his cheeks as (y/n) nodded with a grin, her eyes sparkling still. He knew most of the students of Hogwarts found him attractive-but to know (y/n) thought he was pretty-wow…just-wow.

“Yeah, I do,” (y/n) breathed out, her eyes traveling his face and Tom didn’t mind being looked at like that for the first time. Usually, he hated being studied like he was just a pretty thing to look at-but-if it was (y/n)? he wouldn’t mind being studied all day.

“uh-cool,” Tom muttered back-shaking his head. Cool? Cool?! Just-cool? ugh, how lame was he?! “um-did, any chance you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?” Tom asked, eyes going wide at what tumbled out of his mouth, where did that come from?!

He could feel the shock and disbelief from Abraxas and Nott-considering Tom had not shown interest in anyone ever, and now was suddenly asking out (y/n) Alexander.

And then they realized; this was the girl Tom had admitted to liking at the after-party, and they grinned at each other while they watched Tom practically make a fool of himself in front of his crush. (y/n) seemed to come to this realization as well, and she stuttered for a moment, blinking quickly before she nodded, stepping closer to Tom. “I would love to, um, three broomsticks? I know a corner in there that’s nice and quiet?”

Tom nodded-he really didn’t go to Hogsmeade often, he found nothing of interest there. But he supposed now there was someone of interest there worth going for-especially if she already had a place for them to go that was quiet and secluded, just how he liked it. “Sounds good,” Tom breathed, a smile growing on his face that had (y/n) staring at him, and her smile grew, reaching to her eyes.

God, he never stood a chance, did he?

“Great, I’ll-I’ll see you then,” (y/n) said, her voice wavering with excitement and Tom nodded, his hands behind his back as (y/n) skipped back with a grin, waving goodbye and then running towards her friends who had been waiting for her, and Tom couldn’t help his smile when she screamed and jumped into Viktoria’s arms. “Tom Riddle asked me out!!!”

“You just asked (y/n) Alexander out,” Abraxas said from behind Tom and Tom whirled around, very aware that his face was bright red and he was grinning like a madman. “yeah-I did….I have no idea how to go on a date,” Tom said after a short pause, still grinning-he couldn’t stop.

Abraxas just laughed and Nott stared, unsure of how to handle any of this. “We’ll help, my lord.”

-

The next week passed by both quickly and all too slowly. Nerves jumbled about in Tom’s gut as the weekend came ever closer, he could hardly focus in classes-all he could think about was (y/n). God, he had actually asked her out-after nearly two years of staring and (unknowing) yearning, he was going on a date with the first person he had ever felt attracted to. His stomach had been doing somersaults all week at the thought of her, of their upcoming date-and the idea that it might turn into…something more.

The Chamber and his Horcrux research had been pulled off the stove-only (y/n) Alexander remained.

His followers were-no help. They just made him more nervous will all the “advice” they gave him.

“Don’t be overbearing,”(duh?)

“Don’t only talk about yourself, girls hate that,”(also duh)

“But don’t ask about her too much she’ll get overwhelmed,”(Tom was beginning to doubt these knuckleheads had ever gone on a date)

“make sure to order for her, girls like it when a man takes charge,”(yeah he wasn’t going to take Black’s advice)

“be cool and aloof-like you always are really,” (Tom thought (y/n) liked it when he fumbled a bit honestly, she seemed charmed when he was making a fool of himself asking her out.)

But really, Walter Deville had the best advice for Tom when the time came around for the date-he took Tome aside as he passed by him in the hall, giving a stern look to Tom’s followers who were ready to protest. “Look, Tom, I’m going to give it to you straight, (y/n) is a lady, you must remember that, but she is not judgmental, she does not care for your background nor your status.” Tom felt some of the nerves in his gut decrease a bit-but Walter wasn’t done. “She likes you, Tom, she really does like you, but she has a very high standard-not out of training from her mother or the family, but for herself, if you do not treat her with kindness and be a false version of yourself around her; she will drop you quicker than a basilisk can kill. Treat her well, and treat her kindly, or you will regret it.”

Tom swallowed at the last bit-very much hearing the seriousness in Walter��s voice. It wasn’t a ‘we will hurt you if you hurt her,’ it was ‘she will hurt you if you hurt her,’ and Tom didn’t doubt she would. “Clear?” Waler asked, grinning as Tom nodded. “Crystal,” Tom muttered, stumbling forward as Walter laughed and slapped Tom’s back.

“Oh don’t be so grim! I have faith in you, Tom,” With another pat on Tom’s back, Walter walked off, and Tom was just as nervous as he was before.

-

Tom had very few outfits, he had his uniform and its extra pants, shirts, and vests, his uniform from the orphanage, a suit(a gift from the Malfoys for a Christmas party from last year), and very little extra. He ended up wearing the suit because he didn’t think anything else fit the situation.

He hoped (y/n) wouldn’t be put off by the lack of casualty, but he had an inkling she wouldn’t mind at all.

She didn’t, her eyes traveling his well-dressed form with appreciation and a heat that made Tom’s ears burn, coughing slightly into his fist. “hi,” she said quietly, stepping closer to him as he waited for her by the carriages to Hogsmeade. “hello,” Tom said back, his lip quirking. (y/n) Alexander looked-breath taking, her skirt flowing gently in the late fall breeze.

“You look very handsome,” (y/n) said with a soft smile, her hands moving up to tug at his suit jacket, holding each side with both hands and getting a better look at what lay beneath the jacket. “Thank you, you look-“ Tom could hardly finish his sentence, just letting out a slow breath that had (y/n) giggling, her smile growing.

“let’s get going, shall we?” (y/n) asked, taking Tom’s arm as he offered it and he nodded, leading her to a carriage and helping her inside like the gentleman he was; taking the seat from across her-the two falling into a comfortable conversation as the carriage went off to Hogsmeade.

(y/n) indeed had a quiet corner for the two of them, hidden away from the noise and tucked away from sight, letting them talk quietly and share small smiles and glances they didn’t have to worry about others seeing.

Tom, quite honestly, had never expected to have such fun on a date; he never expected to go on a date ever really. But here he was, on one with (y/n) Alexander, at the three broomsticks; drinking butterbeer and sharing an appetizer.

Tom could hardly keep track of what they talked about-but he felt himself grow more comfortable and his nerves almost disappear the longer they sat there. Tom chuckled at something she said and she stared-smirking a bit as Tom cleared his throat at her gaze-his ears burning. “I like your laugh,” she muttered, leaning on her arm, her eyes burning into his soul.

“Thank you,” Tom muttered, licking his lips nervously, which were quirking up into a smile that mirrored (y/n)’s gentle one. “You don’t laugh often, do you? At least not genuinely.” (y/n) asked, tilting her head a bit and Tom shrugged.

“Not much that I find genuinely funny, really,” Tom muttered, rolling his jaw a bit but (y/n) just laughed, biting her lip. “Suppose you find me funny then? Good, wouldn’t do us any good if you didn’t.” Tom laughed gently again, but nodded in agreement.

“I do,” Tom mumbled, hiding his slight flush behind his glass of Butterbeer. (y/n)’s soft grin widened and Tom’s blush darkened a bit, drifting his eyes away from (y/n)’s gaze. God he was absolutely gone for this girl, he really never stood a chance.

They talked for a bit longer, and (y/n) eventually gave him a look that made him go quiet, tilting his head in curiosity. “this is your first date, right?” she asked and Tom slowly nodded. “yes, I’ve never been interested in anyone else,” Tom said honestly and (y/n) glanced away with a chuckle, hiding her grin in her shoulder.

“I don’t suppose it’s yours though,” Tom said, glancing down at his hands. (y/n) nodded, but then shrugged. “Yes, but this is the first date I actually wanted to be on though, so-you’ve already made top marks.”

Tom frowned, glancing up at (y/n) who was shifting in her seat. “Wanted to be on?” Tom asked curiously and (y/n) nodded, glancing down at her watch.

“Yes, my mother likes to set me up on dates hoping i'll find a suitor that adheres to my tastes-but I have yet to find one in the ones she sends. Usually, they’re all pompous bores who couldn’t care less about me other than my money and what status they’ll gain by being with me,” Tom slowly nodded, hoping she didn’t think he was doing the same thing.

Honestly-half the time he forgot (y/n) was an Alexander, or was more well known as Lady (y/n) Alexander, and not the amazing girl he had been crushing on since 3rd year and had only realized it the previous summer.

“Why is she setting you up on dates?” Tom asked, leaning back in his chair, his face set into a perfect calm. (y/n) sighed, leaning into her palm, her eyes distant. “She wishes for me to marry by twenty, something about heirs and my duty as Lady Alexander,” Tom swallowed the pit in his throat, his eyes drawing down. He knew (y/n) did not care for status and money, but her parents most likely did, and Tom was not a man of status-even if he was descended directly from Slytherin, and from his limited research, his father was of the high class.

But Tom had no money, and his father had no knowledge of him-besides, Tom had no want for that acknowledgment.

“Tom,” he looked up, and swallowed again as (y/n) reached across the table and took his folded hands with a smile. “things like status and money do not matter to my family, my mother just wishes for me to be taken care of if anything should happen to the Alexander fortune. Most of all she wishes for me to find love, to be treated kindly, and be held dearly; if I married a poor man with nothing to his name-if all he could give me was his heart and soul-my family would be overjoyed that I had found a man like that.”

Tom just stared, that pit in his throat only growing heavier as he blinked back a burn in his eyes. “Oh,” Tom breathed instead of responding, his cheeks flushing as (y/n) smiled at him. His heart was beating out of his chest-trying to hop into (y/n)’s hands and be kept.

He was so-fucking-doomed.

-

“Is-is he smiling? Actually smiling?” Black asked quietly as he, Abraxas, Nott and Mulciber all watched as Tom walked through Hogsmeade with (y/n) Alexader tucked into his side, the two holding hands and talking quietly-both of them smiling.

“Yep, he’s smiling…” Abraxas muttered, leaning against a wall and watching as the two new lovebirds walked past, (y/n) tugging Tom into honey-dukes with shining eyes as Tom chuckled fondly.

“He is gone gone for her,” Avery said as he walked up, hands in his pockets. The other boys nodded; they had a feeling certain planned things had quickly gone down the drain all thanks to (y/n) Alexander.

Oh, the things Love can change.

-one year later-

 Tom was very sure he was deeply in love with (y/n) Alexander, for one year after they began dating-she stood with him in the chamber of secrets, discovering his past, all his darkest desires and wishes-and was not deterred by any of it. If anything-her affection towards him seemed to grow, for as he spoke to open the chamber, she stepped closer, carefully watching his lips as he spoke parseltongue. She immediately closed her eyes and let him guide her as he summoned the basilisk-putting her utmost faith and trust in him as he placed her hand upon its scaley nose.

Tom had never felt more love for her and had never felt more love from her for him, he had trusted her with his deepest secrets over the last year as they dated, even his wish to become immortal, even his fear of letting love into his heart.

And she never shied away, she never shunned him, she only took his hands and held him close-guiding him through the pitch-black maze of his mind. He even told her about his plan for Horcruxes.

He ended up with a dead stare and a long sigh. “That’s-quite honestly Tom, so stupid.” She muttered and Tom frowned, taking a step back but she stopped him and took his face, giving him a smile that was slightly strained. “I do not think of you any different, but dark magic such as that is not worth it, yes your soul will live on but it will be shattered and disfigured, leaving you with ultimately a cursed life and weaker magic because it is so strained across the separated souls. If you wish to live forever-I will be by your side, but horcruxes are a stupid and simply bad idea.”

Tom…honestly couldn’t argue with that. (y/n) smiled and pecked the corner of his lips, which made Tom want to tilt his head slightly so he could kiss her properly-but at that point they hadn’t had their first kiss yet. “Promise me you’ll drop the idea of it? Horcruxes?” (y/n) asked gently, still holding his face, looking into his eyes.

Tom nodded immediately, he would do anything for (y/n), anything. She smiled and kissed his cheek again, moving her hands down to grab his and guiding him from the chamber and back up to Hogwarts. Tom only felt a slight pit of guilt in his gut, since last year, just before school ended-he had attempted to create a Horcrux by using the chamber, but it had eventually slipped his mind as (y/n) took over all thoughts of his plans for it.

But he had never truly opened the chamber of secrets-and he would keep his promise to (y/n), he would find a way to become immortal, and he would share it with his (y/n) Alexander, so they would be together forever.

-

Tom took a deep breath that rattled in his chest as he stood before (y/n)’s father's office doors in the Alexander mansion, it was the spring break of their final year, and Tom had been invited over since he was dating the heiress to the fortune. In his pocket, he had a small box that contained a silver ring with a small obsidian piece mounted atop-it was all he could afford with the money he scrapped from his last year of stipend from the Hogwarts fund.

It helped that (y/n) had insisted on buying him new robes and taking care of this year's curriculum items-as a gift for becoming head boy. He had tried to deny it all but with a stubborn huff from his beloved (y/n) Alexander, Tom relented with a soft smile and sigh, following her around as she bought his books and whatever else he might need.

Tom took another deep breath-nerves settled deep in his stomach and knocked on Lord Alexander's office door. “Come in, come in,” He called and Tom opened the door and stepped inside, giving a polite nod to John Alexander-the father of his girlfriend(and hopefully soon to be, fiancée)

“Tom, how nice to see you, how can I help you son?” John said with a grin, putting down his quill and setting his intertwined hands on the desk, giving Tom a warm grin. Tom opened his mouth a few times, and then shut it-unsure of how to say anything. The Alexanders were one the top families of both the muggle world and wizarding world, the Deville’s being the top dogs really, was Tom really going to soil their family line? To bring a bastard son into their practically royalty family?

Yes, yes he was-because he loved (y/n) and he didn’t want to let her go to some-rude rich boy who didn’t know how to love her correctly. “i-I was hoping,” Tom started, clearing his throat as his voice cracked. John’s smile only grew, seemingly knowing what Tom was about to ask. “if…” Tom took another deep breath, straightening his back and looking Lord Alexander in the eye. “I was hoping you would approve of me asking for your daughter’s hand in marriage.” Tom got out in one breath, his jaw clicking as Lord Alexander just stared at him, that warm smile still there-but a twinkle in his eye that made Tom nervous.

“i-I love her dearly Lord Alexander. I do not have money, and I have no status to offer her, nor do I have a proud lineage or background, but I would love her for the rest of my life, and beyond it. I know there are many men who you would prefer her to marry but-“ Tom was stopped with a hand to a shoulder, and he hadn’t realized he had been staring at his shoes. Tom looked up, seeing John-beaming.

“I would be honored if my daughter married a good man like you Tom, you love her dearly and that is all I could wish for my little girl, as does her mother. You have my blessing Tom Riddle; you’ve had it since we first met.” Tom, actually felt like crying-staring wide-eyed at John, who chuckled and opened his arms for a hug-knowing Tom didn’t like to be touched without permission. Tom stepped into his arms and squeezed, a few tears escaping his closed eyes as John hugged him tightly. “Welcome to the family Tom, I cannot wait to call you my son.”

Tom smiled into John’s shoulder, sniffing slightly as John patted his back and took a step back. “Thank you sir, I’ll cherish her forever,” Tom said quietly, smiling still as John nodded-patting Tom’s shoulder again.

“I know you will, now come on, I think the girls are outside having lunch.” Tom nodded and turned on his heel-unable to keep the smile off his face as he walked outside to the patio to see his girlfriend(hopefully soon to be fiancée) sitting under the sun with her mother, Viktoria, and Lucy, the four sharing a plate of snacks and tea by the pool.

“Tom~” (y/n) sang, holding out her hands to him and he quickly walked over to her-giving one last thankful smile to John before taking his beloved (y/n)’s hands, stepping close and moving his other hand to her shoulder as she leaned against him. “How nice for you two to join us! We were just talking about you,”

“Good things I hope,” Tom joked, obeying (y/n)’s tug as she made him sit down with her on the chair, his gaze and smile softening as she chattered away John mirroring Tom’s position as he sat with his wife. “of course,” (y/n) said with a tone that meant she was lying and not trying to hide it, and Tom sighed shaking his head fondly.

Oh, how he loved (y/n) Alexander and had never expected it.

Perhaps it was a good thing he had let it slip he had a crush at the Slughorn after-party last year. If he hadn’t-he didn’t think he would’ve gained the courage to ask (y/n) out after that fated quidditch match.

-end-

Part 2 - its just fluff lol

[filmgifs]

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) — dir. Frank Darabont

[batwingsrosa]

Snape and what a victim is supposed to look like.

Or: The reason you all hate him so much while making up excuses for other characters!

Would he still be so despised by the fandom, if he had been portrayed as weaker? As more emotional?

No, i don’t think so.

Others have said this before and i have to agree with what they said:

Y‘all are angry, because he is not the perfect victim.

He is not what you would expect a victim of abuse and bullying to look like.

He is confident.

He is strong.

He is sharp.

And he is bitter.

He is so, so bitter.

he harbours resentment.

He does not forgive those who wronged him.

When that is exactly what you would expect from a victim, is it not??

A victim is supposed to look weak and behave weak and to suck it up.

And to forgive.

When you tell people they have to forgive their tormentors, do you really tell them that so that they can heal?

Or…. so you don‘t have to deal with the mess?

Maybe, so you don‘t have to adjust your world view?

People are not obligated to forgive their tormentors.

It doesn‘t matter if they have changed.

What matters is how they made the victim feel.

And if the victim feels if they can forgive them.

And if they chose not to forgive, they turn in something else in your eyes.

They turn into the hater, the bully, the bad guy.

Bacause the victim is supposed to forgive and forget and let it go and not be bitter about it.

A victim is supposed to turn into a good person.

To learn from their experiences to be kinder to others.

To not treat others like they have been treated.

They are not supposed to not be able to let it go.

And if they are not able to do that, well then there‘s something wrong with them.

If a victim doesn‘t turn out the way they wanted them too, well - then they had it coming from the beginning and they probaly deserved what happened to them because they would have turned out bad either way!

Snape is the opposite of what a victim is supposed to be like.

Severus turned into a resentful and bitter adult.

He was never able to move on and heal from his trauma.

And at the same time, he knows who he is and what and doesn‘t make up excuses for his behaviour and instead just accepts himself the way he is.

And that is what makes you so fucking mad.

He turns into an asshole and is not sorry about it.

He is openly resentful and at times hateful.

And he is not fucking sorry about it.

And it makes all of you mad because that is not what is supposed to happen.

And let‘s not lie to yourselves- if he didn‘t have greasy hair and a hooked nose- you would look at him from an entirely different angle.

Like you do with Tom Riddle, or Regulus Black or Draco Malfoy.

[verc0pa]

him,,,,,,,

[kathrahender]

Some people always get angry when a villain is redeemed. They say things like "Stop redeeming the villain" "Villain redemption is such a terrible trope" "Not all villains deserve redemption" "Villains redemption are ruining media" "You are afraid of villanous characters because you can't bear people making mistakes" "Villain redemption is toxic/unhealthy" "You shouldn't try to fix someone!" and- Well- I have to talk about this because I seriously don't understand why people don't want to accept villains redemption.

"Villain redemption is such a terrible trope" "Villains redemption are ruining media". No, it's not a bad trope. Is not ruining media. It's an awesome trope, a wholesome trope, and I'm gonna say why. A villain redemption means nothing more than a person realizing they did bad things. It means a villain becoming a better person, a villain leaving the Dark Side because humanity and honor were more important than evilness and cruelty for them. And that's a beautiful concept. A villain becoming good? A villain who stops being bad because after all, they have a good side, because they are human? Where's the bad thing there? Where's the bad thing in realizing how much pain you've caused, and changing your morals for good? Seriously, people who hate villains redemption, where's the problem in this trope?

"Not all villains deserve redemption". Again with this tiring argument. When will you understand it? A villain redemption is not based on if they deserve it or not. It's based on the villain himself. It's based on their thoughts, on their morals. It's based on them changing from "I want to hurt/kill everyone who is against me" to "Oh God I'm a monster, what have I done?". Villains don't "deserve" redemption. They just redeem, or they don't, and it has nothing to do with "deserving" it. Some of you could think "Not all villains should be redeemed then!". I will talk about that argument in the last paragraph.

"You are afraid of villanous characters because you can't bear people making mistakes". That's definitely not true. That's bullshit. We're not afraid of people making mistakes. If that was true, we would be afraid of a hero making mistakes. And we aren't afraid of heroes who make mistakes. Because making mistakes makes you human. But- realizing you made a mistake also makes you human. That's what we like about this trope. A bad person, a villain or an anti-villain being actually human deep down.

"Villain redemption is toxic/unhealthy!" Actually- you know what's actually toxic? Hate. Hate is actually toxic. Hating someone is unhealthy. Of all the things you can do in your life, hating someone is the worst thing you can do. Why losing time hating when you can do better things for your heart and for your soul? Because the only thing you will get with hate is your heart/soul corrupted. A villain redeemed is not toxic nor unhealthy. Why a person changing for the better would be toxic or unhealthy?

"You shouldn't try to fix someone". Why? Why shouldn't I try to fix someone? Why shouldn't I want a bad person to turn good? Why shouldn't I want a villain becoming a hero? Why should I want the hate in this world to grow? Why should I want evilness to win? What you're saying doesn't make any sense. I want to fix villains because I believe in goodness! Because I want the good side to win! I want people having a happy ending, and the only way a villain can get a happy ending is being redeemed. And I want the villains to have a happy ending too because dying or getting tortured/being imprisioned after being suffering in your past is horrible. Yeah, I know villains hurt people, but some of them also were hurt, and although I don't justify them, I still want their pain to end and I want them to live, not just survive. I want them to change for the good, why is that so bad?

And even if they were "born evil" (what I doubt because for me villains are made not born) and "didn't suffered"- I want them to have a happy ending after redeeming because I want to believe in their goodness, in their humanity, and I don't want them to die because I think they also deserve a second chance in life and a chance to be happy (because if you can't be happy in this life, what's even the point?).

"But why would you want a villain having a happy ending after all they did????" Because I don't want them to suffer. "They made other people suffer, why would you want them to have a happy ending?" Because I believe no one deserves to have a bad ending in life. "So you defend the monsters in real life??? You support the real killers?? You are a murder apologist!!" Now hold on a fucking second. There's a fucking difference between liking a villain in fiction and want them to have a happy ending and want the real life villains to have a happy ending. Fiction is not fucking reality and you should know that. I want villains in fiction to redeem because I want to believe in their goodness, because I want to believe everyone is capable of being good, because I want to believe love and goodness can conquer all. Because I want to believe that no matter what, the good side will always win. Besides, most of the villains live in magic worlds, where sometimes death is not permanent, where you can see your loved ones even if it's not for a long time. And in fiction time-travel also exist. None of these things happen in reality. There's no magic, there's no time turner who can help you travel back in time to erase the villain's actions, there aren't Force Ghosts of your family or friends. Real life villains' actions are irrevocable and unforgivable. You can't bring back the dead because in this world once a person dies, that's the end of the line. But that doesn't happen in fiction. So stop comparing a real life villain actions with a fictional villain actions. They're not the same.

To end this post I want to say that the ones who like villains redemption (I'm a part of those people, of course) don't want all villains to be redeemed. There are villains we hate with all our heart, villains who are pure evil who doesn't deserve anything good. Villains like Gerard Argent, Dolores Umbridge, Sheev Palpatine, Captain Turner, Sebastian Shaw and Azulon. And more villains like those. So yeah, we do not want to see every villain redeemed.

[the-owl-tree]

remembered kate cary's "dont you think everyone deserves a chance at change <3" post regarding tom. lady you wrote eternal damnation and born evil antagonists in your series why the sudden change of heart with the wifebeater

[arthurmargon]

goodness i’m so tired of seeing this over and over again, both on ao3 and on tumblr.

do not tag your fic as reader-insert if they’re an original character!

that’s literally the opposite of a reader-insert, which is when the character is a blank slate, devoid of any physical characteristics such as skin/hair/eye colour etc and without a name.

there is no such thing as “reader is an ofc, not y/n.”

again, that’s just an original character, not a reader-insert. do not tag it as a reader-insert.

you’re clogging up tags that don’t apply to your story. write all the ocs you want, go ham and crazy and etc. but use the right tags for the love of god.

i’m sick of having to scroll through dozens of oc fics and getting tricked into clicking on a story i thought was a reader-insert just for it to end up being abt a white woman with a ~quirky~ name 🤷🏽‍♀️

[batvilletv]

Via,iamhappytoast threads

[bonefall]

Is there a cat in cannon who got a good death who you think didn't deserve it? Especially if they committed crimes?

Tom the Wifebeater and his redemption death. No question. It's not even close.

Not only do I reject to the "redemption death" on the grounds of it being Tom the Wifebeater who is bullying others until his dying breath, even taunting Thunder about Turtle Tail is dead and the kits must be very torn up about it, but I reject "redemption through death" entirely. I don't like it in stories. It's a theme I deeply object to.

And again it's fucking wild that every time a character is a father, even if they are a wifebeater or a child abuser, the writers think that it bestows a glimmer of goodness into them which every abused child is forced to appreciate and cry about. Breezepelt, Thunder, Tallstar, Tom's children, all of them forced to reconcile and admit how much they wuv their papa.

Abusive dads in WC regularly get redemption deaths, too. Clear Sky dies saving his grandchild, Sandgorse died saving a rando in a tunnel, Tom the Wifebeater saving his daughter.

But Tom the Wifebeater is the worst example of it. Hands down.

[colorfulandblack]

It is the year of our lord 2024 and here I'm eating carrots and desperately digging in the infinity of the abyss that is this hellhole to find some crumbs pertaining a pink haired, three eyes, purple goober with anger issues and going absolutely FERAL about the fact that apparently Starco is canon.

[justvora]

MOON KNIGHT IS A HERO

HEROISM BEHIND A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE. A Moon Knight essay, pt1.

Origin.

Nothing pains me more than the segmented view of Moon Knight, which seems to be anchored to the stale perspective of the 2000s, an era that destroyed this character. It meant too much that stage, one where he hit rock bottom, where he was at the lowest point in his life. And those moments were intrinsic in him, they do not define him or determine his present, but they did mean a turning point to want to change, to want to be something else.

Marc Spector has always been a violent person, from his childhood (The Vengeance of Moon Knight, Shadowland: Moon Knight) where he exercised excessive violence against those who harassed his brother, to his adulthood, where he was a renowned underground boxer (Moon Knight Vol1: #37 ; Shadowland: Moon Knight), being this a stage where he felt rejected by the passivity of his own father, a rabbi. Marc never understood why he always kept his head down, why he was so extremely peaceful at levels that did him more harm than good. He was a rebel, a lost cause to his family, but someone who fought against anti-Semitic hate crimes no matter how alien he considered himself to this religion. After that, he ended up in the navy, from which he was expelled for disobedience, insubordination and assault on a superior, in addition for the strange behaviors that can be seen in the flashbacks that Khonshu distorted from his past, in Jeff Lemire's run (2016, Vol8: #12). After that he spent some time in the CIA which is extremely difficult to define given the ambiguity of his chronology. But it is clear that from that moment on he went off track to the point of ending up being something worse: an assassin, a mercenary.

In his mercenary days he did horrible things. He was never a good guy, death was nothing alien to him, so ending anyone's life was no problem… Until he met Marlene. He rebelled against Bushman and died, being left to his fate, crawling through the desert day and night until he ended up in front of a temple where, in the vicinity, Khonshu was. This was a new point, one which allows us to see different ramifications of the interpretation of both Moon Knight and the god who brought him back to life, Khonshu.

There are those who define him as an abusive god who took advantage of Spector's catatonic state to coerce him, leading him to make a deal whereby he became his vessel, leading him down a path of false heroism solely to quench the bloodlust of a god, an evil one, who recreates the idea of protecting people as an excuse to exercise violence.

On the other hand, there is the interpretation that I personally like the most. Redemption. Marc Spector went through a catharsis or metamorphosis that allowed him to change. He could not eradicate his bloodthirsty past, let alone clean it up, but at least he could give a new purpose to his person, and that would be to become a hero, one who would protect people.

“I became Moon Knight to end the darkness; and I never had to look beyond my heart”

He admitted, within his thoughts, in the trial that was made for his war crimes in bosqueverde, during the stage of the late 80s and early 90s where the infamous series of Marc Spector: Moon Knight is developed, one that has so many lights and shadows. I have to say that it is a good comic in its initial form, perhaps too corny and intense, throwing to “waste” certain ideas that had been established; but on the other hand the comic was fruit of its time and the bad writing of the 90s affected the rest of its issues from the middle, leading to the introduction of harmful ideas and concepts, but that hopefully remained in oblivion.

“Moon Knight is a critical pastiche of superheroes that somehow managed to exist in a Big 2 lineup. Marc Spector was not kind, or noble, or an upstanding citizen. He was a violent asshole who rejected God. Rejected his father. Killed people for money. Marc had pain in his heart and suppressed that pain with violence. He did not enter into a pact with some ambivalent greater power to protect humanity because it's the right thing to do. Marc was afraid of death, and contracted with an abusive, vindictive, petty God who cursed his own followers and declared the night time world his domain. A God who drove him to more violence not as an act of charity but of supernatural domination. Marc does not grow linearly as a superhero - his pact with Khonshu saves him from death and he begins to indulge his love of violence under the guise of heroism. In some ways these impulses grow worse - and ‘protecting the innocent’ turns into mutilating criminals and lashing out at the woman he loves. Marc does not narrowly survive danger. He dies. Again and again and again. Gruesomely, painfully, traumatically. He's crippled. He is not returned to service by an indomitable will or drive to do good, but a curse that will see him reduced to a mindless husk who only knows violence - something Marc has been training for his whole life. Marc does not wear the mask to hide his identity or protect his loved ones. He's a fractured, broken person who at this point in his story has accumulated a lifetime of failure and trauma, and constantly externalizes it, driving away the few people he loves. He wears the mask to run away from his past and play pretend that he's secretly a good man. Moon Knight should be in The Boys, or Invincible. His stories are critical of the violent, aggressively over-masculine anger that perpetuates in the medium. He's a critique of batman, daredevil, the punisher - any super hero who portrays themselves as some dark and tortured herald of justice. He is the result of some of the industry's best talents looking at the tropes of the genre and admitting ‘Anyone who acted like this in real life would be a friendless, unlovable asshole’ And he has an arc! He seeks to exist beyond the sins of his past! Marc desires to grow and abandon the violence he's cultivated within himself. To treat himself with kindness, to find forgiveness, and atone for the hurt he's caused.”

—explodyboompow, “What makes moon knight stand out from from other superheroes” : Reddit comment from that post (2023)

Marc Spector, as much as he is someone who dresses completely in white, is a gray person, someone who exists within the moral spectrum and is incapable of transcending it. He could be considered, during his darkest period, as the very opposite of copaganda (a term used to refer to police propaganda whereby comic book superheroes are blurred from their anti-police discourse to support strict measures within the law); he acted outside the law with sadism, punishing villains in horrible ways, even exercising excessive violence, although with the law of superhero registration and all the authoritarian control that was exercised he saw that he had to relax, at least to keep a low profile, because he did not want to finish tarnishing his image, being something that Black Spectre (Carson Knowles) took advantage of to dirty the way in which the knight himself was seen. Since he checked in, manipulating the man who interviewed him, coercing him and subjecting him to extortion that led to his suicide, he was considered a high danger even without his powers, mainly because of how dangerous he was as well as his own “mental instability”, so, as soon as the alarms went off, S.H.I.E.L.D went after him, and the competition was not far behind, Norman Osborn considered him a threat, so in the same way he sent the Thunderbolts to liquidate him.

That's why Moon Knight's story works. It speaks to society and the power that context has over society to torture people. Spector fell into the big pit, forgetting what he was, who he was, and the company he kept. He was selfish.

Part of the paradigm of his heroism is based on the fact that he kills. Evidently, he is not, as a person, the best human being you can find, that is something quite clear, but still… He does not seek to be a good person, but a specter of vengeance that takes the grief of others to avenge them for their pain. To a certain extent we could define Moon Knight as an opposite of Cassandra Cain: an antithesis to that way that the individual depersonalizes his human facet to serve justice and help others. Cassandra wanted to detach herself from what her father transformed her into: a killing machine. She believed that, if she was born that way, anyone else could change, as she was searching for so long for redemption that she forgot she was Cassandra to be Batgirl, because her world needed a heroine: And she became a martyr on a suicide mission, because if she died, she wanted to die a heroine. This is not so different from Moon Knight, although the roots of the paradigm are completely different.

The true meaning of Moon Knight in a past stage whose vestiges fall into a reformulated present that we can see, encapsulated, in Jason Aaron's recent writing in Spector's appearance during the last issues of Punisher, specifically, when the latter has been defeated and our hero comes to give him a brief speech, one by which he believes that he, despite everything, can change; but that unlike himself, he recognizes, inwardly, that he would not want to change, and that is where his perception of things lies: In believing that, if he after all has had more than one chance to prove to the world that he can be a better person, anyone else could do the same, and that is a thought that rests with Frank himself.

One thing that sets the current Moon Knight apart from any other character is that he recognizes the sin he lives with himself, but this doesn't mean he gives up striving to be better, quite the contrary, he always seeks to change himself to an era of light and hope. He wants to be a hero, a beacon of light for the people, and yet, he does not force himself to take on or absorb the cultural beliefs of what is right, he does not seek to cling to the idea of others, but to what he believes is right.

Moon Knight resignifies his will, his mission and the way he works. Crossing the line of life is something morally questionable, but he frivolizes it. He is not sadistic, he, contrary to popular belief, does not enjoy it. Contrary to the misbelief held about him, Spector is not looking for an excuse to exercise violence and let off steam, no. For him violence is just another tool, one he uses to attack evil, those who harm his travelers. It is the paradoxical irony of using more violence; he knows he will not be able to extinguish the flame of his past, and he believes that, much less, he can exempt himself from it; that is why his fight against evil is not as Marc Spector, but as Moon Knight: The system composed by his alters. All this does not take away that Moon Knight does not reach levels that are worrying, but what he does is to play with fear and the mistakes of his past, because in previous stages he fell so low that he began to act like a monster, destroying the criminals he faced in inhuman ways that could very well make him look worse than the Punisher. But it is just all those legends that he uses to evoke fear in criminals, something that is addressed in the recent volume of Vengeance of the Moon Knight where we are shown the paradigm difference between the new user of the lunar mantle and our hero under the words of Soldier, his loyal ally:

“Anyone can be a psycho. It’s easy. All you got to do is take a machete to a guy who rips off ATMs dressed up as pinocchio or whatever, and presto, you’re a grim avenger of the streets. But the Boss was better than that. Smarter. he kept them scared. He had his rep, from his bad old days, and he kept them in hand with that fear. He was their fixer, giving them their hit. But he was careful. Because fear’s like any other drug. If they get too much in their system, they get unpredictable. Get stupid, get sloppy, get out of hand. You want them too scared of you to act. Not so scared that they feel like they got to.”

Vengeance of Moon Knight Vol2, #3, 2024. Jed Mackay.

The paradigm here is in working correctly by playing on fear, following Batman's mechanics of instilling fear in people so that they don't want to act rather than so that they end up acting in an unpredictable way by having an overdose that makes them want to break through their own fear, though this is something I'd rather talk about later in more depth on 'Zodiac's theory and vision of the new Moon Knight'.

Re-reading his first comics I could not help but cry with joy when I read the incredible and beautiful writing of the character and the way they were able to define him better than ever, contradicting, ironically, the way in which in the future they will portray the character as an absolute savage, when he is nothing but the opposite of something like that. What's more, Moon Knight to some extent takes different ideas and concepts that have been developed with the Batman character but gives them a twist. For starters there is the cycle of violence with which he acts and which, to his surprise, does nothing more than fan a flame in a city that never sleeps or progresses, reaching a feedback whereby pouring violence against crime only fuels it more, making him see that people need more than revenge, finding, there, a mission greater than that of his god: Justice and, with it, hope. And, on the other hand, there is the issue of the use of the enemy's weapons: violence and fear. He takes everything, as well as 'murder', to frivolize it and change its dynamics, taking it to the paradox of intolerance: He will not tolerate that the rights and integrity of those he protects are violated, so those who cross the moral line must be punished… Although not all those who do evil are people with malice, but other people who, just because of the system, have been oppressed and pushed to the limit by their circumstances. There are those who have no choice -better- and can redeem themselves -Moon Knight believes in the redemption of others-.

“You know what’s out there. It’s a world in which the savages all too often rule our cities, our streets, our souls. The good citizens– the Grants, the Lockley’s– they fight that tyranny as best they can- They aren’t always enough. Moon Knight is more than a good man. He’s a force that transcends the brutality and the fear that are the savages’ main weapons– because he can use those weapons himself. He’s a savage on the side of the angels… A protector of innocents… A symbol of vengeance and hope. And, god willing… If he does his job well enough… he’ll be the last savage.”

Moon Knight Vol1, #35, 1980. Tony Isabella

“Those who forget their past are condemned to forget it”.

The mask not only serves to protect your identity, or to flee from your past, which also serves to become something else, something better. If yesterday's violence served to hurt, isn't it more poetic to use violence to protect? That is its mission. Not to harm, but to protect. He puts on the mask because no one else needs Marc Spector (MK Vol9 #4, 2021, Jed Mackay) and because he has caused enough damage, because people need the moon knight, and putting on that mantle serves to destroy himself, to punish himself and become a martyr. This is something we will also see in Doug Moench's stories where it is emphasized that Steven Grant came about as a way to leave Spector in the background. What Marc longs for most, after all - in his early 80s - is to die to escape hell, because he is someone weak, a man who has shielded all his horrors in a hard shell of toxic masculinity that has driven him to rot, desensitizing him when, inside, he is dying. But this hell is not, if not, a purgatory to exonerate himself from his sins (MK Vol1 #29, 1980, Doug Moench). And everything suddenly becomes, all of a sudden, a self-destructive missionary for what he hopes to be destroying himself and eliminating Spector.

To be continued...

[goddesspharo]

Do you know where you are? Above 24,000, you're at the vertical limit. You're already dying. Look at you. You can hardly stand. If you think you can stop me, go ahead. [Top Gun: Maverick x Vertical Limit AU]

[nade2308]

Lost

@whumpgifathon | Day 8: Hospital

Ambulance | Intubation | Waking Up Disoriented 

"Invasion" (2005), season 1, episode 13 "Redemption", Tom Underlay

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

@thethistlegirl @swiftrax

[angstpancake]

Peter: ok flash what gives

Flash: you got something to say to me, Penis?

Peter: Yea i do actually. Like… we have our differences, but we could totally bond over our parent issues

Flash: excuse me?

Peter: i have daddy issues, you have mommy issues. Together the issues are married.

Flash: You’re so weird dude. Also how do you have daddy issues if your parents are dead.

Peter: oh my god.

[shummthechumm]

bumble wc is just a piece of writing from this series that TRULY astounds me. like the characters do not acknoledge that shes a living person whatsoever once she becomes a "nuisance" (she is fat and a house pet). and on top of that, to have turtle tail turn her back on her as well??>?? because gray wing has it bad for her and so we have to exterminate the "obstacle" in the way of their straight romance???

like i expect gray wing and clear sky to be dicks but..why would TURTLE TAIL rationally allow her friend (who lived through the same abuse as she) be shunned away from the moor group??

its some of the most mean spirited shit in this entire series and it only exists as a plotline...for what reason??? cause "kittypets are bad you dont want to be a kittypet"?? its not like you remind us every fucking arc erin hunter. because we're supposed to like gray wing and they really wanted him to serve as an adoptive parent to turtle's litter?? like..what???

i dont even have a real point to this post i just want to express my confusion cause what even was the goal. it does nothing but make the entire cast abuse-enabling discriminatory assholes who are willing to send outsiders to easily preventable deaths. and we're supposed to agree with these jackasses??? ERIN HUNTER WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY TO YOUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AUDIENCE???

[coltercowboy]

• colter - she/her •

requests: ᴄʟᴏsᴇᴅ

active: 5/12/24

howdy, compoke. welcome to my blog. you can call me colter. just a girl who's got an unhealthy obsession with cowboys. i'm here to pass time with fanfiction and other things. my main fandom is red dead redemption (clearly), but i may post from other fandoms ever once in a while. feel free to request any headcannons or drabbles, but read my rules below.

rules

• i will not write: incest, straight-up noncon, anything to do with pedophilia or age-play, character x character (just not my thing), probably more, but i'll add them later

• i will write: platonic or romantic pairings, mild smut (minors DNI with my NSFW tagged posts), drabbles/one-shots, GN or F reader only as of right now, headcannons, be specific when requesting please

• my writing will likely contain cursing, violence, and mature content, though warnings will be listed

• feel free to send in any random thoughts

• current favorite fandoms: rdr1/rdr2, billy the kid (favorite characters are in the tags!!)

• i'll write for almost anyone as long as i know who they are

• if you request anything, please don't rush me as i have a life outside of writing

masterlist

dividers by: saradika