#apparently all it took was a dragon age to come out to get me drawing again

[thimblings]

"i am alive, i am awake i am aware of what light tastes like."

[rwprincess]

Blinded Me With Science (Part 5)

Masterlist

Previous

Word Count: 1.2k

Synopsis: Teasing toes the line into flirting; You and Fred have an argument about Dungeons and Dragons

CW: mild language, flustered nerd flirting, talk of germs

“I can’t believe you’d even entertain the thought of playing a game with so much math again. Traitor.” Fred spit his joke at you as you collaborated on your article regarding germs-by-class. You made the unfortunate mistake of bringing up The Hellfire Club’s generous contribution and all you observed that night.

“I’ve told you before, I can do addition and subtraction,” you rolled your eyes at his accusation. “Besides, that guy..uh, Gareth, was there to help me figure out what number to put where.”

“Oh yes. Can’t forget about Gareth,” he said in a sardonic tone.

“What is that even supposed to mean?” You asked, completely oblivious to what he could be getting at.

“Nothing.” He said with a slight smirk but when you continued looking at him with confusion, he dropped his shoulders and tried to push it aside. “Really. Nevermind.”

You wrestled with asking a follow up or demanding to know, as he had somewhat piqued your curiosity. However, you also knew that Fred was stubborn and probably wouldn’t crack easily, so maybe it was best to just let it go. “Anyway…” you tried to pivot the subject back to what you were initially talking about, “the results are in from the experiment.”

“And?”

“The hypothesis wasn’t right on the money, but the freshmen definitely had the dirtiest--most scientifically bacteria-filled, I should say--hands.”

“Well of course,” Fred snorted back, “not much surprise there, right? That’s why it was the hypothesis. It’s the obvious conclusion from observing the unwashed masses.”

You pursed your lips, trying not to give in and smile at his jab. You were still trying to act as professional as possible. You had assured him that you would approach this without judgment, as a scientist, when he was worried about contributing his own sample. You couldn’t go back on that and ruin the facade now. “Right. But, surprisingly, age did not equal maturity and the seniors were in second place.”

“So you’re telling me that it’s the little kids and Eddie Munson and his cohorts? Color me shocked.” He barely raised an eyebrow in response, flatly and sardonically taking another jab.

“Fine. Fine! Yes, you could draw those conclusions from this study, but remember: it’s a small sample size, so it doesn’t really justify your bias.”

“Me? Biased? Whatever gave you that idea?” He asked, playfully, so you responded in kind.

“Oh, just your strong opinions about, y’know, everything.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that those ‘opinions’ come from hefty research.”

“Oh, do they now?”

“Yes,” he insisted and you were more amused with his straight-laced demeanor, knowing he didn’t particularly mean it, “they’re not just some baseless ideas I come up with on my own. They’re logical deductions from facts and data. What do you take me for?”

“Me, apparently. God, I’m rubbing off on you. ‘Facts and data,’” you quoted him with a scoff.

“And what would be so bad about that?” He asked, “To have you rub off on me.”

You hadn’t noticed how incredibly close he was standing until now. The playful banter had made you unaware, and now you were mere inches apart. The realization flustered you and you almost automatically leaped back, out of self-preservation. Instead, you tried to play it cool and took a slight step away from him, nervous to alert him to how he truly made you feel. “Yeah, I guess…I mean, I don’t know,” you muttered a half-baked answer to his rhetorical question, then quickly covered it up with, “If we start talking about data, we might actually begin valuing numbers and then that is a slippery slope to liking math, I bet. Can’t have that,” you joked.

“No, can’t have that,” he said, and his agreement put you more at ease, thinking that the awkwardness had passed and that you could move on to something else. But then he looked at you strangely, an emotion you couldn’t read flashed behind his eyes as they lingered on you just a bit too long.

*~~~*

Despite Fred’s ribbing, you agreed to another session of Dungeons and Dragons, or ‘D&D,’ as Eddie insisted was the ‘cool’ way to refer to it. “You can come along again, if you want,” you posited to him when he mildly objected to you going again a couple weeks after your initial game.

“I know I said anytime you wanted to scope out a Satanic cult, Y/N but c’mon, you can’t be serious. It doesn’t have that much appeal.”

“You only think that because you didn’t actually play, Mr. ‘Conscientious Observer.’ Maybe if you take off your little reporter’s cap and join us, you might have a little fun.”

“Good lord, Y/N. Whatever made you think I was interested in fun?” He gave you that signature deadpan look you’d become accustomed to and secretly favored.

“Fine,” you shrugged, “I don’t mind going by myself.”

“Or…” he drew out the one-syllable word far longer than it needed to be, “you could just not go.”

“I’m not really doing anything better.” 

“We could, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, study for math. That would be better.” 

You raised your hand to his forehead with fake alarm, “Are you ill? I can’t believe Fred Benson of all people would say such a thing. I’m not so sure you’re my Fred.”

‘My Fred’ echoed in his head and caused a dull ache in his chest. He wanted to be nothing more, and hearing you say that out loud made him weak in the knees. He lost himself for a moment and then, in an effort to save face and pull himself back to reality, swatted your hand away. “That’s my point. That’s just how bad this is and how much I wouldn’t want to go.”

“Oh my gosh, then don’t!” You had become exasperated at this point. You had offered to have him join because you liked his company, but didn’t need him to go, and he was putting up one hell of a fight. “They were all plenty nice last time. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

That jogged his memory, causing him to relive the way Gareth looked at you and talked to you. Maybe he needed to insert himself as a barrier after all. But he couldn’t look like he was worried about that, so he pretended to acquiesce to you instead. “Jeez, if you’re gonna get all bent out of shape and mad about it, I guess I could come. If it means that much to you.”

“It doesn’t. You’re free to do whatever you want. I don’t want to put you out and make you bored.” You weren’t sure what he could possibly want at this point and he was hurt that you were willing to go without him,that you could just forget about him that easily.

“I…ugh, I’ll think about it,” he finally offered. He felt like this was a compromise: he could save face and appease you at the same time. You, however, worried about trapping him somewhere he didn’t want to be; but the argument was over, for now.

Tags (aka Fred-lovers)

@wowthisisastupidblog @kendallmm @its-the-autism-innit-luv @yeaimchloe @waiting-to-stop-fixating @pineaplesoooodaaaaa @toastnfrostedflakes @jade-04 @executethyself35 @losersclub848 @rem-e-jea @teeth-boy @anxious-runes @bighe4rtt

@antique-whiskey @frog-cultist @wormrw @sincerely-a-terry-apologist @xxblossombunnyxx @chipycookie @carnivalsofsilverfish @itcomesback @yhs-headcannons @velvet-ames @silkcherubs @guilloween @drizzlingminds

@slut4boomerang @schoolrumor @firey-phoenixs @foggypkryptonite @evanpetersissohot

@trashfireambrose @goldstarsoup 

~If you’d like to be on the Fred Benson taglist, let me know with a comment or an ask/direct message! (Same if I’ve falsely tagged you and you’d like to be removed)~

[lemonstealinglibrarian]

tagged by @ginshariboy

last song: Boy by John Mark Nelson (on one of spotify's playlists for me, im not very familiar with this artist)

favorite color: sky blue, sunflower yellow

last TV show/movie: recently finished a season of Worst Cooks in America, which is always a wild time

relationship status: engaged to my HANDSOME FIANCE and the wedding is in TWO MONTHS GIRL HELP

sweet/spicy/savory: sweets always I baked about 170 cookies today

current obsession: Heaven Official's Blessing, as you all are probably painfully aware by now if you haven't blacklisted the tag... I've been a casual enjoyer for a couple years but now season 2 of the animated show is coming out at the same time as the last book, and it awoke the Hyperfixation Gremlins. can't get enough of these two 800 year old men they are so full of love

also maintaining a good level of interest in my oc's & writing which took a long time to build up and hoping that continues!!!

tag: @deslizada @greenwaterskeeter @sharpe-teeth

bonus fun fact this isn't part of the tag game but I rediscovered how to access my drafts to post this and apparently I used to use them all the time? it seems to be mostly dragon age drawing & writing references.... and some fanart that i felt was too sexy to share lmao

[a03bkdk]

fantasy bkdk fic rec list

a certain kind of magic by eatdirt

((4590-1/1))

“Forgive me, kind witch! I—I do not wish to disturb you, but I’m afraid it's urgent!"

Katsuki will later blame his bewilderment that anyone—let alone a human boy in filthy rags—would drag themselves all the way out to his home on the outskirts of civilization, for why he stalks down the stairs and cracks open the door.

“Are you a fucking idiot?” he growls.

Or, the one where Katsuki is a witch in a weed-infested swamp and Deku won’t stop coming around.

the shrinekeeper and the harvest god by bkdkwritingsdump

((smut-30148-18/18))

Izuku keeps the shrine of the harvest god, a minor god mostly worshiped by farmers and ignored by everyone else until the yearly harvest festival. During a spring thunderstorm one year, a mysterious man named Katsuki shows up at his shrine seeking shelter from the rain, but ends up over staying his welcome by a few months. In that time, Izuku not only begins to become suspicious of his identity, but finds himself longing for something more between them.

cupid, draw back your bow by almasaga

((i dont remember if there is smut-16496-2/2))

Cupid remembers the oath he took, remembers the broken arrow, remembers the wrath of his mother and goddess, remembers his roots, remembers that he is a god.

But when he hears him he forgets it all.

“Are you there still?” Asks a voice, clear and never wrong. The only voice he wishes to hear.

“Always,” he says and it blows through his beloved.

solar by kindaopps

((smut-7037-1/1))

Here he is, a god, wanting a mortal.

deku by mirachadoodles

((smut-20852-9/9))

Neither seemed willing to look away in the tense silence that fell, drawn to one another as if by a thick and brilliant thread.

The boy viewed him thoughtfully, as though he recognized him from another life, as though he knew him.

It was odd—he felt the same way.

---

Or, shortly after Katsuki's dragon went missing, a naked man attempted to break into his family barn. Izuku had no memory of his past life, and apparently had no idea how to be human, either. He was just acting on instinct.

a cat named deku by  silentsongbird

((6662-1/1))

Bakugou begrudgingly takes in a stray cat that has been hanging around his home. He says he's motivated by the weather turning colder, but he just can't resist the little fur ball. One night, Deku decides to let him in on a little secret.

if the stars align, then for us they were meant by runawaydeviant

((smut-17485-6/6))

Katsuki and Eijirou crash land in a forest to the south of their homeland. Injured and stranded, they befriend a local nature spirit, who is much more than he first appears to be.

soulmates in steel and (p 2)mine is yours by lalazee

((3000-1/1)) (p 2(smut-2509-1/1))

Midoriya Izuku returns to a tribe long lost and forgotten to claim his rightful throne. At least, that's what King Katsuki assumes of him.

(p 2) One large, calloused hand spread sparks down Izuku’s chest, ribs, rested at his lightly bruised hip. Izuku knew fingerprints still remained from last time, and the last, and the time after that. He felt more like a dappled deer now, all those spots smattered across his thighs, ass, hips, wrists. King Katsuki was certainly a man who marked his territory.

but the entrails are the best part! by supercrunch

((15278-1/1))

The boy straightens up. He’s about half a head shorter than Katsuki, face soft and youthful and sweet. He turns to look at him properly. His dark hair shines in the dying light, basket of blooms looped over one arm and mouth quirked into a tiny half-smile. The sun hits his face and makes his eyes a bright greeny-gold, just like emeralds.

Katsuki likes emeralds.

“Pretty,” he says, reaching out and picking the stranger up around the middle. He’s surprisingly heavy, although Katsuki doesn’t mind. “I like you. Come see my nest.”

The boy hits him.

He’s stronger than he looks, turns out. Katsuki drops him and falls onto his back, pain blooming across his face. Birds sing. The sky’s a lovely shade of orange, clouds floating lazily by. The boy scarpers. He leaves his basket of flowers behind, footsteps thumping on the ground and fading away as he escapes.

The sun sets. Katsuki, lying flat on his back with a bloody nose, decides he’s just fallen in love.

happenstance by merrywetherweather

((78566-22/22))

When Katsuki was just a child, his mother, the King of Lucia, took him to enact diplomacy with the Midoriya's, the royal family of the neighboring country of Tayloria. After that day, his fate was sealed, his marriage arranged to the Midoriya's elusive omegan child.

At the age of twenty, he leaves for Tayloria again, this time, to finally wed his fiance and cement the allyship of the two kingdoms indefinitely. Only, his fiance turns out to be the child he had met on his very first visit, a naive, idealistic young prince who wants nothing to do with marrying the prince of Lucia.

Good thing he just assumed Katsuki was only part of his fiance's entourage.

An arranged marriage between two princes aob au where Katsuki tries to abide by Izuku's desire for a natural romance to develop without letting Izuku know his true identity.

plums by Ivillpunchyouinthethroat

((14116-3/3))

There’s a boy stealing plums from the garden below the balcony Katsuki’s lounging at for the night.

Correction.

There’s a boy stealing plums, very badly, from the garden below the balcony Katsuki’s lounging at for the night.

mermaid AU breathe In by contrarybee

((series-smut-3 works-45236 in all))

Midoryia Izuku was born in captivity. He's never known the ocean.

His human carer Yagi-san tells him they're getting a new merman in the aquarium, one that they hope Izuku might like. Having been alone since his mother's death, Izuku is beyond excited to have a new mer around, but Bakugo Katsuki might prove to be too much. Or maybe he's just right.

fishy by warschach

((smut-19417-1/1))

Izuku’s convinced his hot co-worker/neighbor, Katsuki, is a mermaid-or merman- you gotta consider genders even with mythical creatures- and plans to prove it.

(or this is kinda like the show ‘Monster Quest’, except Izuku actually finds said monster, falls in love, and have sexy times.)

home is where the waves crash. by tiredwrites

((4105-1/1))

Izuku thrashes in his cage, the fins that line his large tail flare with a dangerous purpose. The claws his fingers taper into slice through the water and catch the light that filters into the clear water of the aquarium tank he's in.

His gills flare in irritation as he flips around, muscled tail ramming into the three-inch glass barrier with a thundering BAM!

Bioluminescent sacs under clear scales flare and glow, flashing a brilliant toxic green. The team that had brought the merman into the tank watch the mer flail and roar, flexing the powerful jaws that can often unhinge, like a snake.

only the roses know by katyastark

((13193-5/5))

Izuku didn’t want to marry a foreigner. The person he wanted was here… somewhere. He didn’t have a face or a name to ascribe to his admirer. Only roses. For every name day and holiday since he was thirteen, he had received a perfect orange rose. He’d never seen anything so beautiful. The roses never failed to make him feel doted upon. It was their secret, and Izuku cherished it more than anything else in the world. He didn’t want to give that up for some stranger, for an alliance through a loveless marriage.

torn fur, blunt teeth by scribespirare

((smut-43013-17/17))

After eight months of being collared, Izuku is finally free. But a dark, stormy city is no place for a lonely shapeshifter on the run.

ignorance leads to bliss by nikawithspice

((smut-3941-1/1))

A brave wandering adventurer swoops in and saves a beautiful prince from danger, gets dragged to a celebratory bonfire and has a night that he could only have dreamed of!

Or, the one in which Midoriya Izuku accidentally gets married to a Dragon Prince but wouldn't have it any other way.

[cooliogirl101]

From a very young age, Obito's grandmother had cautioned him to guard his heart.

"There is nothing more dangerous than an Uchiha in love," she warned him. "If you're not careful, caring too deeply will destroy you, drive you to madness."

For a five-year-old Obito, all it took to fall in love were three words, coming from a girl with sparkling brown eyes and the brightest smile he'd ever seen.

"Hey, nice goggles!"

~~

Obito, as a general rule, tried to avoid thinking too much about Hatake Kakashi. As far as he was concerned, stupid Bakashi already had too many people thinking about him. It felt like Obito couldn't go five minutes without hearing the whispers of "prodigy" and "genius" and "future-Hokage" trailing Kakashi everywhere he went (and what really stung was that they probably weren't wrong-- what Obito worked at for hours upon hours to accomplish, Kakashi managed in minutes without breaking a sweat).

Obito thought he'd been doing a pretty good job of ignoring Kakashi all things considered, despite the other boy's annoying attitude and annoying hair and annoying voice and annoying mask and annoying everything. He didn't even care (much) about Kakashi's annoyingly large number of fangirls-- up until he noticed that Rin had also started watching him.

He lasted three days before he confronted her about it.

"Why're you watching Kakashi?" Obito blurted out. He'd considered straight up asking her if she had a crush on him-- like half the girls in their class, he thought bitterly-- but had chickened out at the last moment. He wasn't sure what he'd do if the answer was yes--probably something that would land him in detention again.

"He's walking home alone again," Rin said quietly, gaze still fixated on Kakashi's departing figure. "It's been weeks now."

"So?" Obito asked. "He walks home by himself all the time."

Rin shook her head.

"Only when his father's on a mission. Which he might be, I don't know, but given what happened--" Her voice trailed off. Obito didn't need her to complete the sentence, anyway. Everyone in the village knew what had happened on Hatake Sakumo's disastrous mission.

"We're going to follow him," Rin decided. That got Obito's attention.

"What? Why?" He wasn't whining. He wasn't.

"Because something's not right here. And until we figure out what it is, I'd feel better watching over him to make sure he's safe." She glanced at him and grinned. "Besides, this will allow you to practice your stealth skills. And my Henge skills. Think I can make a convincing bush?"

~~

Through some miracle, because Rin did not make a convincing bush-- bushes didn't move for one thing, nor did they have legs-- they managed to follow Kakashi back to the Hatake Compound undetected. The moment the compound came into sight, Rin jolted, her henge dropping away completely.

"Oh," she whispered, eyes widening. Obito swallowed, feeling rather sick to the stomach himself.

The wall of the compound was completely covered by graffiti. Obito clenched his fists, mouth going dry-- there were words on there that would make Obito's grandmother scrub his mouth with soap if he even thought of saying them but worse than that were the words scattered between the cursing and insults:

Failure

Disgrace

Weak

Monster

Shameful

Your fault

Your fault

Your fault

"Obito." Rin's voice was strangely calm.

"Y-Yeah?" Obito cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away from the Hatake Compound. Kakashi didn't deserve that, he found himself thinking. His dad didn't deserve it either. No one deserved that.

Rin glanced at him, eyes hard.

"Do you think your grandmother would be okay with you sleeping over at my house tonight?"

Obito blinked, then slowly began to smile.

"I think I can convince her."

"Great." Rin folded her arms across her chest. "How are your painting skills?"

~~

Of all the things Sakumo expected to find outside his house in the middle of the night, two kids wearing badly-made face masks painting his wall was not one of them.

"What are you guys doing?" Kakashi demanded, looking like he wasn't sure whether to be angry or confused.

"What does it look like we're doing, Bakashi?" The kid in the orange eye-mask retorted. "Everyone calls you a genius, figure it out."

This night was getting weirder and weirder, Sakumo thought bemusedly to himself.

"You're...vandalizing my house. At two in the morning," Kakashi replied. It looked like the confusion was winning out over the anger.

"It's not vandalism if it's done with good intentions," the girl in the purple eye mask said primly. Sakumo resisted the urge to rub at his eyes.

"Friends of yours, Kakashi?" Sakumo asked, and received an immediate flurry of responses.

"No, I hardly even know them, they're just some kids from my class--"

"Friends with Bakashi? No way, I--"

"Not yet at least."

Sakumo let them talk over each other, gaze drifting back over to the half-completed paint job. They'd...done a surprisingly good job, actually. He could barely see the words underneath anymore.

He held up a hand, causing all three kids to go quiet.

"Why?" He asked finally, addressing the two kids who apparently weren't friends with Kakashi and yet had gone to the trouble to do all...this.

"Why not?" the boy said defiantly, jutting his chin up. "We felt like it and your wall is messed up, so we're painting it to look better."

The girl remained silent for a beat longer, before turning to look him in the eye.

"Because you deserve better," she said. Sakumo's mouth twisted.

"I'm not sure I do," he murmured, almost inaudibly. He blinked as the girl suddenly narrowed her eyes, brandishing her paintbrush at him like a kunai.

"Don't say that," she hissed, glaring fiercely at him "Don't you dare say that! The first thing they teach us in the Academy is that your teammates always, always come first. You acted according to that and the fact that people are treating you like a monster for it is wrong."

"It's not that simple--"

"It's not your fault that Konoha is on the brink of war,” she interrupted sharply. "If you didn't trigger it, someone else would have. You don't teach five year olds wartime tactics if you're not expecting...if you're not preparing for a war. People don't want to admit that, so they look for someone to blame-- but that's their problem, not yours."

She turned around, re-coating her brush with paint.

"I can't make you believe me, Hatake-san. But what I can do is cover up this wall of yours. At the very least, Kakashi-kun doesn't deserve to look at this every day."

At that, Kakashi straightened up, scowling at her. If his glare seemed rather halfhearted, no one pointed it out.

"I don't need you to do it, I can do it myself," he grumbled.

"Great," the girl said without missing a beat. "While you're here, you can settle a debate between me and Obito-- hypothetically speaking, would you prefer snakes painted on the wall or dragons?"

"C'mon Rin, dragons are so much cooler, what kind of person would prefer snakes--"

"Obito, neither of us can even draw a dragon and besides, they summon snakes--"

"What? No we don't! We summon dogs!"

"Oh. Really? But your dad is called the White Fang. That wasn't a reference to snake fangs?"

"No!"

"Huh. Who summons snakes then? Someone summons snakes."

"Forget the snakes, is there a dragon contract I can sign?"

"They'd take one look at you and eat you, dead last."

"Shut up, Bakashi!"

Sakumo felt his lips twitch. He turned around to walk back inside, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

And to think, he'd been worried about Kakashi making friends.

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

COSMIC - S1:E4; Chapter Four, The Body- [Pt. 1]

A Will Byers x Male!Reader Series

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠/𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘥𝘥 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧.

|| 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

Mike flips through the drawings Will had given him what seems like ages ago. He found himself unable to tear himself away from one of Will's favorites. It was the party. But they were their dungeons and dragons selves. Will the Wise stood proudly amongst his fellow party members. Together they stood triumphantly.

Mike was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of the feedback from the supercomm.

"Can you please stop that?" He asked exasperatedly at El, who sat in her fort fiddling with the device.

El looks to him, before returning to the com, the crackling of the feedback whining throughout the room.

"Are you deaf?" Mike snapped.

El was determined to keep tinkering away.

"I thought we were friends, you know? But friends tell each other the truth. And they definitely don't lie to each other. You made me think Will was okay, that he was still out there, but he wasn't. He wasn't! Maybe you thought you were helping, but you weren't. You hurt me. Do you understand? What you did sucks. Lucas was right about you. All along."

El's eyes bore into Mike's as he yelled at her. However, she sat there, unfazed before turning back to the com. With the final crackle, the distinctive voice of Will Byers rang over the comm and across the room. He was singing.

"So come on and let me know, Should I stay or should I go?"

Mike slowly looked up from the picture and towards El, goosebumps littering his skin. She was looking to him expectantly, blood dripping from her nose.

"Should I stay or should I go now? Should I stay or should I go now?"

Mike jumped off the couch and ran to El, who slowly handed him the walkie. Mike stared at it in disbelief as he listened to the unmistakable voice of his best friend.

"If I go there will be trouble. If I stay it will be double."

Mike gladly took the comm. His finger pressed firmly on the speaker button he practically yelled into the speaker. "Will, is that you? It's Mike! Do you copy? Over."

El stares at the boy, wishing she could help him more. Alas, she knew Will would be unable to hear him. The room was met with the dreaded static of the other line as Mike waited for a response that would never come.

He tried again.

"Will, are you there? Will!"

Mike saw the look on El's face, knowing she had done her best. He dropped his hand to his side.

"Was that...? Was it...?"

El gave Mike a bittersweet smile.

"Will."

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Michael? Hi, honey. How are you feeling?"

Karen poked her head into her son's room.

Mike stuttered as he lay under the blankets, and she crosses the room to sit at his bedside.

"I, uh... I don't think I can go to school today."

"Oh, that's fine, sweetie. I need to drop off Nance, then I'm gonna check in on Barb's parents. Why don't you grab a book or something and come with me? We can stop by the video store on the way back, pick out whatever you want. Even R-rated."

Karen offered, a small smile on her face.

"I think I just want to stay home today. I mean, if that's okay?" He asked, tentatively.

"Well, are you sure you're gonna be all right here by yourself?"

"I think so."

"Okay." She sighed, patting her son on the arm comfortingly."If you need anything, call Dad at work."

Mike softly nodded his head.

"Okay."

"Okay."

Karen leaned forward and kissed her son on the forehead before stepping out.

"Bye." Mike softly called after his mom.

She turned to him as she closed the door, a smile on her face.

"Bye, sweetie."

As soon as his mother closed the door, Mike jumped up from under the covers, fully clothed. He reached for the supercomm on his bedside table and extended the antenna.

"Lucas, do you copy? Lucas, come on, I know you're there! This is urgent. I'm serious."

Mike stood up from his bed, continuing into the walkie. "I'm not gonna stop until you answer. Lucas. Lucas!" He took a deep breath. "Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas... Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas, Lucas--"

"Go away, Mike." Lucas had sat up in bed, frustrated as he extended the antenna.

"I'm not in the mood, all right? Over and out."

Before Lucas could close the supercomm antenna, Mike's voice had stopped him.

"No, not 'out.' I'm not messing around, okay? This is about Will. Over."

Lucas paused, not letting himself get his hopes up.

"What about Will? You mean about his funeral? Over."

"No, not his funeral. Screw his funeral!" Mike spits.

"What?"

"Just get over here stat. And bring Dustin and Y/n. Over and out."

|| 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕 ||

I blink away the tears as I stare at the same wall my eyes haven't left since I woke up. Lucas saw me and Dustin off and made sure we got home. My whole body has been numb since last night. The image of Will laying lifeless on the gurney hasn't left my mind.

I never would have believed it but, I wanted more than anything to be at school rather than staying home today. Mom thinks it was the stress and trauma that made me sick today, but whatever it really is, she insisted I stay home.

I locked myself in my room as soon as I got home, Dustin had filled Mom in on what happened. She had woken me up this morning, apologizing and asking if there was anything she could do to help. But she couldn't do anything. Nobody could. Will, my best friend, is gone.

Apparently, I was burning up because Mom began freaking out when she felt my forehead. I didn't feel any different apart from grief and heartbreak.

"Alright, Pumpkin, I called the school and they know you're staying home. I wish I could stay with you but I can't miss another work day. I'll be back at the regular time, and you know what number to call if you need anything, right?"

I felt her hand rub my shoulder as I never broke eye contact with the wall. Tears were falling freely down my face, through my scalp and into my ears ears pillow. My left arm had become numb from laying on my left side.

"Mm." I couldn't even bring myself to speak.

"Bye, sweetie."

I heard her footsteps recede followed by the closing of my bedroom door.

I closed my eyes, trying to sleep. But every time my eyes closed I saw it all over again. Will being pulled from the water. I tried to push through it. But my mind began creating scenarios of how he fell in. Countless images of him stumbling over the cliff. Or even the horrific thought of his already lifeless body being tossed into the water by a faceless figure that I only assumed to be his murderer.

Countless, horrendous scenarios playing like a slideshow in my head and the second wave of pain washed over me as it felt as if someone reached into my chest and squeezed my heart into dust, while another hand punched my gut.

I rolled over on my back, I felt the anguish surging through my veins and all the way to my fingertips as a wave of anger erupted from deep within. I heard items fall to the floor somewhere around my room and I figured that in my fit I had slammed my fists too hard against my bed, shaking the room somehow.

I quickly dismissed the odd thought and the second wave of hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

My palms began to sweat as I felt my body temperature rise out of what I could only assume was anger. That must be where my fever had come from but I still didn't understand how that all happened.

I was angry my best friend was taken away from me. I loved him, and he was the closest friend I have ever had. And now he's gone. I still refused to believe it yet my mind was cruel enough to replay the worst moment of my life everytime I close my eyes.

Sniffling, I wiped my eyes and sat up. I couldn't stand being alone with anything else to think about and I looked around my room for anything to take my mind off everything that's been happening.

My eyes scanned the room and then they fell on the all too familiar mix tape Will had lent to me just months ago. A bittersweet smile had made its way onto my face and I got out of bed. I put the tape in the boombox and pressed play.

"Should I stay or should I go?"

I sat listening to Will's favorite song and I felt a different wave of emotion wash over me for once.

I think it was a stubborn hope.

[tennessoui]

FeralObi anon here. How do you come up with these so fast?? Are you an infinite number of ideas and worlds in human-shaped form? I love both of those ideas. The first one kills me tho, Obi gets his first kind touch in years from lil Anakin. Also you can have lil Anakin coming home one day with a skulking, snarling nonverbal murder puppy and saying brightly, "He followed me home, can I keep him?" Schmi thinks this is definitely worse than the time he brought a krayt dragon home.

ah! hello! yes this is the first idea of a feral obi-wan who meets anakin when he's still on tatooine. i will also still do the second idea because like. i liked them equally as much rip me

but i told myself these were going to both be very short snippets and instead this one is uh 2k so i'll post the second one tomorrow instead of tonight!

(ficlet where obi-wan is captured by pirates/unspecified forces at a young age and then tortured for a decade before he escapes to tatooine when anakin is like 6. obi-wan, after a decade of torture is....not alright in this fic though he's only here at the end) (2k)

Shmi had known that when she sent her little Anakin away to follow after the stern-faced, warm-eyed Jedi Master, that this would not be the last time she ever saw her boy. She couldn’t explain how she knew, just as she had not been able to explain how she became pregnant, but she knew beyond a doubt that one day, she would see her little boy back in her arms.

She just hadn’t known it would be so soon.

“He died, Master Jinn died,” Anakin mumbles into the front of her dress, unwilling to move his head far back enough from her hug that he could talk clearly. “On Naboo. And the stupid Jedi council refused to train me even after I was so amazing in the air. Mom, I destroyed a blockade! Entirely! And they wouldn’t--they didn’t--” his little face scrunches up and then he’s bawling into his hands.

A slave, a born slave, knows intrinsically the injustice of the galaxy. It is not often they know hope.

“Oh my boy,” she whispers, smoothing a hand over the top of his head. She has questions. She has so many questions about everything he’s just said and what those strangers have put her son through, but the most important thing is a question she cannot wait until he has cried himself out to ask. “Is your chip gone, Ani? Did they remove your transmitter?”

Because she had sent him away from her so that he could be free. And that had been her own twisted version of hope, that her son could know a life she never would again. If the Jedi masters had proven to be just like every other master in the world, she would find herself sobbing into her own hands.

“Yeah,” Anakin sniffles and wipes at his ruddy cheeks, pulling back a few steps. “They removed it and everything. And--”

He pauses and drops his satchel to the ground in front of her. “They gave me credits. To buy you. For my trouble.”

He spits out the last three words like they’re the most disgusting thing in the entire world. As if Shmi’s freedom isn’t laying at their feet, mere centimeters away.

“Republic credits are no good here,” she hears herself say faintly.

“Padme, the handmaiden you met, she talked to the queen about me I guess,” Anakin mumbles, kicking his feet. “And when the queen learned that the Jedi didn’t want me even after all that, Padme says the queen says I’ll always have a place on Naboo. Me and my family. And then she took the Jedi credits and gave me these instead. It should be enough, Mom.”

Shmi sits down on the floor. With shaking hands, she opens the bag and looks inside. Yes. Yes.

There’s more than enough.

There’s enough to buy her freedom and take her boy away from Mos Espa. There’s enough to take her boy away from Tatooine completely.

“I…” she says. “Ani, I…”

“Padme said she’d send a ship for us,” Ani reports as if their lives are not changing right in front of their eyes. “In two days ‘cause I told her it might take a little bit of time to get Ben to come with us. But we can’t leave without him.”

This is said fiercely and with his arms crossed tightly over his little chest.

Shmi stares at him.

“I’ve already left him once!” Anakin says, stomping his foot. “But that was okay, because I knew you would bring him food and water and stuff. But if we’re both gone, no one’s going to be there for him.”

Shmi bites at her lip. There’s a lot of things happening very quickly right now, and she doesn’t know how to process half of them.

Her son has come back, after only being gone for a week and a half.

He has apparently either endeared himself so much to the queen of Naboo that she was willing to give him the money necessary to buy his mother from slavery and also promise him sanctuary on her planet. He says he’s done this by single-handedly ending a blockade, which is something she just cannot even think about right now.

He has told this queen--queen--that he will gladly live on Naboo with his family. Yes. Alright.

His family seems to include his imaginary friend, Ben.

Anakin has been talking about Ben for years now, ever since he was six and a half years old and sent by Watto to retrieve any scraps he could from what looked to be a crashed pod in the Wastelands. She’d let him ramble on about the ghost of a friend, because she’d known it to be something all children go through and experience. She hadn’t thought Anakin a lonely child, not with the friends he made in Mos Espa, but she’d always known that Anakin had a wandering spirit, ill-suited for Tatooine. If he liked to imagine an older man from a strange world hiding in the caves of the Wastes, then she wasn’t going to say anything.

“You have been leaving him food, haven’t you, Mom?” Anakin asks, almost accusatory. “I told him to expect you and everything.”

No. Shmi has not been traveling to the edge of the Wastelands every day during her precious few hours of free time in order to leave food to be picked apart by womp rats and desert critters and not her boy’s imaginary friend.

“Ani,” she says cautiously, quietly, “we cannot...we won’t be able to bring Ben with us when we go.”

Anakin, predictably, does not react well. “Why not!” he yells, backing away from her even further and looking as if she is the enemy. “Padme’s fine with it!”

“Aren’t you a little old for imaginary friends?” Shmi asks desperately, feeling cold suddenly even though the heat of the mid-morning sun has not abated at all.

If anything, her son looks more offended. “He’s not imaginary! Saying...saying that he’s not coming with us...is...is a bunch of poodoo!”

“Anakin!” Shmi gasps.

“Come on,” her boy says forcefully, grabbing at her hand and tugging her towards the door. She gets on her feet reluctantly and has half a mind to pull back just because he needs to learn that this sort of behavior is not okay, war hero or not. “We’re going to buy you from Watto. And then we’re going to go visit Ben!”

---

Buying her freedom takes less time than Shmi Skywalker ever thought it would. It feels distant as well, as if it’s happening to someone else.

It doesn’t help that her Ani is impatient and surly by turn, spilling the coin out onto Watto’s counter and barely waiting for him to finish counting it before he’s looking at the price of renting a four-person speeder parked outside.

“You won’t survive out there on your own,” Watto sneers, even as he’s passing her the kill-switch of her own slave chip. “Days. It’ll be days until the Hutts find out there’s a newly freed slave with no connections out there in the open. Ripe for the pickin’.”

Watto doesn’t have to tell her any of this. She knows. Gods, does she know.

But Anakin seems so sure about possessing the favor of the Queen of Naboo, or at least her handmaiden, which might be close enough to the same thing. She thanks Watto--she thanks him and then doesn’t even know why--and meets Anakin outside.

He’s bouncing around the speeder, little hands clutching his satchel to his chest. “Good!” he says when he sees her, hopping onto the machine and putting the parcel between his feet. “I got Ben something called a fig on Naboo, but I don’t know how long it’ll take for it to go bad. Apparently they’re sweet.”

Shmi goes along with it. Shmi doesn’t know why she goes along with it, but she does. She can see this is important to her boy, and though she’d rather spend the afternoon and early evening saying goodbye to her friends, she will allow Ani to say goodbye to his imaginary friend. Maybe she’ll even talk to it. “Hi, hello, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the imaginary blue milk and delicacies I’ve left out for you this past week and half. Oh no, it was no bother. My son insisted.”

The ride is quick--Anakin has always been a driver to push the limits of any engine he comes across--and before she knows it, he’s dismounting on a piece of desert and rock that look exactly the same as the last four pieces of rocky terrain they’ve past.

“Ben!” Ani calls, satchel clutched firmly in his hands as he makes his way deeper into the crevices of the landscape. “Ben, it’s Ani! I’m really sorry that I left! Ben? Ben! I’m back now! Ani’s back!”

It’s actually...quite pathetic, to watch her boy speak so pleadingly to the cold stone faces of the rocks around them, but if this is what he needs to do to say goodbye to his life on Tatooine, Shmi won’t say a word.

“Ben--” Anakin draws in a breath to call again, but then there’s movement out of the corner of Shmi’s eyes, and something jumps from the rock down to land on her boy.

She screams and darts forward, but the thing on top of her son snarls at her in guttural warning.

“No, Ben,” Ani coos, stroking at the face that yes, is human, now that it’s not in unnaturally fast motion. “That’s my mom, Ben.”

Ben--Ben??--growls anyway, pinning the boy--her boy--beneath him with his legs and arms.

“She’s fine,” Ani murmurs gently, one hand reaching up to stoke over the beginnings of a beard on Obi-Wan’s face “Oh Ben, I’m sorry.”

The man on top of Shmi’s child finally looks away from her and at her boy, which is both better and worse.

“Ani,” Ben drawls out, as if the word--or perhaps forming the word--hurts him.

Anakin is happy. Shmi can tell he’s happy without even being able to see much of him. It’s like the very air vibrates with his joy. “Yes!” her son says. “Ani. Ben.” He taps the man’s chest. “Ben. Ani.”

The man buries his head into Anakin’s hair, hands rubbing up and down his sides and his arms and his face.

Shmi needs to say something, wants to say something about this strange man touching boy like he owns him, but the memory of his growl and the flash of his golden eyes stops her from stepping forward.

“Anakin, get away from him,” she hisses instead of stepping forward and tearing the stranger off of her son. She has the distinct feeling Anakin wouldn’t let Ben go anywhere, not with the way his little hands are holding so tight to the man’s shoulders. The man’s shoulders that are covered with one of her old tunics that Anakin had told her became unsalvageable after its last wash.

“No,” Anakin says, tightening his hold on his...friend. “He says you didn’t give him food the entire time I was gone! He’s hungry.”

Shmi thinks there’s a very good possibility that this Ben is going to eat her, but she knows not to say anything of the sort. Not when it’s two against one.

“He hasn’t said anything!” She cries instead.

Anakin huffs at this and pats at the feral’s head. “Maybe not to you, but he talks to me.”

Shmi stares at him and wonders if there’s something she’s supposed to be doing or saying here. The man won’t allow her to tear him off her child, she knows that automatically. But she can’t--she doesn’t know--

“Anakin,” she tries, desperately.

But Anakin doesn’t even look at her, too busy petting over the man, who has at least allowed him to sit up. “Hey, I’m sorry, I thought she would,” he tells him in an undertone. “I really thought she would, but I’m back now. I’m not going anywhere without you again--”

He extends his hand and Ben presses his cheek against it with enough force that it pushes him back slightly.

“You’re coming to Naboo with us, Ben,” Anakin promises, clutching at the ends of the man’s long hair. “Or I’m not going at all.”

To Shmi, it sounds like a threat.

The way her son’s eyes flash an unfamiliar golden color makes her feel cold as a Tatooine night. She shivers, but no one notices.

[jackoshadows]

One of the things that totally baffles and frustrates me in the asoiaf fandom is the fanon that Sansa is smarter and more diplomatic than Jon and Dany.

How can anyone read the books and come to the conclusion that Sansa is more diplomatic than Jon and Dany? On what basis is this comparison made? Jon and Dany are military leaders and rulers respectively who have successfully negotiated from disadvantaged positions. What is the equivalent of this for Sansa?

These are the issues that Dany faced in Meereen -  olive trees burned down, winter on the horizon making agriculture disadvantageous, former merchants and slaves with no money and a blockade on Meereen by surrounding regions. Jon has 19 decrepit castles on the wall that he has to refit and rebuild and get ready and he has no money, food or men to do this. What is Sansa’s more smarter and diplomatic tactics to deal with these issues?

What is his tax policy? How does he feel about crop rotation? How does he handle land disputes between two nobles, both of whom think that they should have the village, so they burn it down to establish their claim. This is the hard part of ruling be it in the middle ages or now. It’s not enough to be a good man to be an effective ruler. It’s complicated and it’s hard and I wanted to show that with repeated examples in my books with my kings and hand of the kings - the prime minister if you would - trying to rule. And whether it be Ned Stark or Tyrion Lannister or Tywin Lannister or Daenerys Targaryen or Cersei Lannister trying to deal with the real challenges that affect anyone trying to rule the 7K or even a city like Meereen and it’s hard. You know, we can all read the books or read history and say oh, so and so was stupid and made a lot of mistakes and look at all these stupid mistakes they make. But these kind of mistakes are always much more apparent in hind sight than when you are actually faced with the decision about, oh my God, what would I do in this situation. How do I resolve this thing? Do I do the moral thing? But what about  the political consequences of the moral thing? Do I do the pragmatic, cynical thing and kind of screw the people who are screwed by it? I mean, it is HARD. And I want to get to all of that - GRRM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJCb3xyWyAg

Where has Sansa dealt with the above issues to make a determination on how she would do better than Dany? Or even do better than Cersei for that matter?

Here is GRRM talking about how frustrating it is that he was not able to compare Daenerys and Cersei as rulers in ADWD:

His biggest lament in splitting A Feast for Crows from A Dance with Dragons is the parallels he was drawing between Cersei and Daenerys.  

Cersei and Daenerys are intended as parallel characters --each exploring  a different approach to how a woman would rule in a male dominated,  medieval-inspired fantasy world.

GRRM, SSM,  July 08, 2007  

George regrets that Cersei and Dany will not be contrasted directly.   He likes the extra breathing room to flesh out the characters. Bran  didn't have any chapters and Dany's ending was different. Now he likes  the way she ended. I think he actually may be doing more with Dany.  

Comic-Con (San Diego, CA; July 20-23)

Where has he talked about contrasting Dany and Sansa? Or Sansa and Cersei? Where are the parallel leadership arcs for Dany and Sansa or Jon and Sansa like there is for Jon and Dany in ADwD?

Jon Snow has negotiated a loan with the Iron Bank, Dany agrees for peace with Yunkai by marriage with Hizdahr and Sansa managed to persuade an eight year old to eat his dinner. How are they even compared at the same level?!

It took an entire book and Ned Stark losing his head for Sansa to realize that the Lannisters were not the good guys. Despite the Lannisters doing increasingly evil things like ordering Sansa’s pet wolf killed. Her younger siblings like Arya cottoned onto that in their first chapters. Sansa then thought that beautiful, charming Margaery was simply the best and the Tyrells ended up using her. She thought Dontos was a good guy. In the Vale, she is pushing the Maester to do what LF wants with respect to SweetRobin. How is she smarter than Jon, Dany or the rest of her siblings? It’s this weird changing of canon in the completely opposite direction. Take the least smart character among the youngsters in the books and make them the smartest in fanon.

I know the show is responsible a lot for pushing this piece of fanon, when Benioff, Weiss and Cogman stripped book Jon and Dany of their leadership arcs and tried to hand them off to Sansa to prop up their favorite character.

But what’s baffling is the so called asoiaf book experts writing about stupid Jon and smart Sansa. About psychopathic assassin murder baby Arya and clever, measured leader Sansa, about ignorant, impulsive Dany and calm, compassionate, hope for the future Sansa. The thing is, no one knows on what basis and metrics they come to this conclusion. It just is. There are no detailed essays comparing Jon and Sansa’s leadership arcs, or Dany and Sansa’s arc of being rulers. But Sansa is still somehow more intelligent and diplomatic.

It’s also connected to this rather sexist strand of thought that only women who wield soft power are smart and level-headed. Tyrion is the only male character allowed to be smart and women who wield hard power like Dany or gnc characters like Arya and Brienne are impulsive, arrogant and ignorant.

In some ways I can see why this has happened. A lot of fandom want Sansa to be special in some way and have an important role to play. And since her narrative story arc is with Littlefinger, she is assigned to be the SMART one. But to be special, she has to be the only smart character.

Plus, Sansa has progressed the least in her arc compared to her peers. She’s a blank slate on whom her fans can project their desires and wishes for her character. The show did something similar - only D&D were too lazy to come up with something original and gave her Jeyne Poole’s story.

But still, there has to be a basis for such statements about the book characters.  It’s not just enough to keep repeating that Sansa is the smartest ever - like ultimate hacks D&D did on the badly written garbage show did. They were rightly laughed at for their ‘Sansa is the cleverest person’ dialogue. But for some reason such statements are accepted for the book version.

The books are well written with gradual character development. Surely, if Sansa is smarter than Jon and Dany we should read that in the books? That this fanon has literally become canon despite not having any basis at all in the books is one of the most frustrating aspects of asoiaf fandom.

[jess-the-vampire]

Sooooo whatya think of the new episodeee?

Oh it’s definitely my favorite episode of the series so far, i was having such a good time at every turn. I’m glad i went out of my way to avoid spoilers, cause i was glad to actually be surprised by some elements on first watch.

I think this had by far the best opening for an episode so far, we finally get back to the villians, we meet the coven heads, we get insight on belos’s plans-

and then belos gets constipated, which starts getting into the more character driven lore, which is the best part. You instantly can tell GG and Kiki have some bit of tension between them to be Belo’s favorite, though granted i wonder if hunter is the only one to know belos is cursed and actually just always insists to help belos with his fits to prevent others from seeing them.

Including kiki.

It’s honestly unclear how aware anyone is that belos is cursed, like him eating pailsmans is apparently not something he hides, but like....i feel him being cursed is something that people would know universally if it got out...so i’m left wondering if anyone knows besides hunter.

Regardless, belos turns into a goop monster with an angry side, and i guess his mask doesn’t transform with him compared to the rest of his body so he breaks it again because i guess he goes though masks like crazy.

Hunter turns away in this scene from his outburst and even though he’s masked here i can already tell he’s most likely pained in these scenes. Like he’s probably seen this happen so many times, and i can’t imagine it gets any easier for him, it’s probably awful to watch belos suffer like this for him (Regardless of the abuse)

And to be honest, it seems pretty painful for him, i think this ep seems to at least confirm whatever this thing is that takes over belos’s body.....belos never actually wanted it in the first place. 

Yeah so after Hunter tells belos there’s not enough trees to medicate him anymore, we’re hit with the “UNCLE”. Which, when i first watched it i needed a second to even process the fact they confirmed their relation.

and i was like “CLOSE ENOUGH”, not his kid but uncle still works just fine for me, i’m just happy my assumption they were related actually came to ahead.

And i rewatched this episode a few times, and on second watch i realized more what happened in this scene. Hunter was talking about his interest in wild magic, and making more pailsman to help belos, and some method that could heal him and as soon as belos looked at him he instantly shut down.

He was clearly rambling about wild magic cures for belos because of his interest in it, and then suddenly remembered his uncle hates wild magic and felt super awkward.

It seems highly likely his interest in wild magic came from trying to cure belos and spending a lot of time reading up on the stuff. 

And then we get hit with the whole “Our family is dead because of wild magic” line, which.....i’m curious to know what happened there. But it does at least explain why belos feels how he does, if wild magic both killed his family beside hunter AND cursed him in the first place. We’re just gonna need more info on what exactly happened.

Also while Belos is def abusive and does not treat hunter how he should, this scene actually does read off to me like belos does care about hunter to some degree. If belos is cursed and his curse works in similar ways to how Eda’s curse works, then it’s worth reminding ppl that eda mentions early this season how stress can amplify the curse even more.

And sure enough, belos goes goopy on hunter’s shoulder all of a sudden when he grasps him. Which could be considered a sign of stress and that the idea of hunter dying or being in danger actually does stress him.

You could very much also assume this is just due to his curse not being fully handled and just getting worse, or that belos only cares about hunter for selfish reasons....but i’m not taking anything off the table here.

Belos can still be a shitty uncle, and still care about hunter, these aren’t mutually exclusive traits. But we need more episodes for now on this.

But anyways he asks hunter if he can rely on him, kiki is pissed......and we move on.

So i’m glad luz’s impulsiveness is addressed a ton in this episode, they actually bring up a lot of good points. That luz has no plan, that the time she’s spending here might render moot if she goes back to earth, ect ect.

Hunter even calls her out a lot later for not thinking things through, it’s a whole deal in this episode. I’m glad it was brought up cause it’s actually worth asking a lot of these things.

the set up here works, they actually made a good reason for why a pailsman didn’t bond with her. Speaking of which the adoption thing is cute and i love it, it’s a great idea. The designs are all very cute and fun.

Bump face reveal was a lot for me to process, but i find the idea of his pailsman being a pet that can help with his disabilities a good idea.

Also like, i did find it odd that they got staffs so early because we’ve never seen kids their ages with them before, but i guess it’s a new tradition? Does everyone at hexside now have one?

Honesty not sure why batqueen left the nest there overnight, i meant i guess she assumed they were safe with that shield but in context i dunno why she didn’t take them home after the school day was over.

but whatever, luz stays there overnight hoping  a pailsman will bond with her and GG just kidnapps them cause of pure luck on his part a bunch of pailsman were in a vulnerable spot tonight.

So GG continues to be charming, by whistling the theme song and then being blasted off his ship hilariously, before cockily teleporting himself right back on it seconds later. Like he and luz have great banter, he’s so extra like this it’s so funny, and god he’s so FAST with that staff it’s scary but so awesome.

Yeah so then hand dragon crashes them and i was so excited cause it meant face reveal. Poor dude looked so in pain and then we find out kiki tried to effing murder him because of course she did. But like, i think killing your boss’s nephew is the WORST way to get a promotion tbh.

(Also i got confused for a bit cause his mask has always been drawn as a mask, but now it’s a helmet in this scene for whatever reason but-)

Anyways, face reveal, Like honestly ppl weren’t too far off with their guesses, really the only thing people didn’t get was the tooth gap (That was fair tho, we couldn’t have guessed that). But it did make him even cuter.

like the banter is funny, he licks her hand, she slaps him, he looks SO pissed at her for this mess.

and i guess that outfit is his under armor apparently.

He’s lucky she didn’t run away immediately and followed him, but maybe he assumed she would since she had no where else to go.

Also his expressions in this ep are glorious, these had to be fun to draw.

Also we find out that the coven team members have never seen his face i guess? They just assume he’s a silly kid and are awful to him, so i guess he’s not only the youngest member of the coven but he never really shows his face much.

(”Call your parents”, ha ha.....whose gonna tell them who his uncle is?)

He is however, REALLY good at parkour and he’s fast even without his staff, so he’s well trained alright.

And then they reveal he’s not magical and i was SO happy cause i was so sure something was up when he wasn’t doing magic like the other witches despite his pointy ears. So they outright confirmed what i thought.

Hunter is pretty smart tho, like he can tell luz wouldn’t hurt him and wouldn’t flee so he knows he has the high ground here. Like he might be being a bit of a dick, but to be fair luz has been nothing but a dick to him throughout the whole episode (Everyone in this episode has been a dick to him tbh)

They team up and i get excited cause i love this kinda stuff and it gets more wholesome because hunter is super interested in her magic, he thinks it’s cool and you can tell how much he actually loves wild magic but then again...shuts himself down because of belos making him fear the stuff.

An then because luz asks, he tells her his backstory.

honestly with how this world treats people who aren’t magically powerful, living and growing up in a world that would find you useless sounds....awful. Hunter must be an anomaly around here, human blood or not.

Luz coming here to learn is different then growing up in a world and being the only one with no abilities and no future without them. Belos provides him with magic and a future, it’s no wonder he stays with him despite everything.

the whole “Found me” thing is weird, cause belos implies they’re blood related and hunter makes it sound like belos semi-adopted him. Which....if he did i dunno why “Uncle” and not “Adopted dad”, but ok....guess that’s for later.

Apparently hunter is important for something tho with the “Titan has big plans for me” thing, not sure what, but-

But yeah as soon as Hunter talked about wanting to make his own future and Rascal tried to land on him i knew EXACTLY where this was going, it was so cuteeeeee. The lil birb wanted to be with hunter, that’s so wholesome.

And he’s so terrified because of belos and what wild magic did to him, the poor bab.

But yeah, luz then trusts him with his staff back, because again....impulsive. But hunter does actually ask if she’s sure, so he might as well be asking if she trusts him.

The plan goes ahead, and hunter nearly betrays her.

though granted, hunter never promised her he’d stop and let her take them away, the truce was supposed to last till kiki was stopped and they were gonna fight out who got the pailsman. But it does bother luz cause she was hopeful he was better then this.

But just like he did before, she calls him out and he doesn’t betray her, because he’s ALSO too nice to do it, just like he said she was. He says his name (Which also took a moment to process), and then beats the crap out of kiki while letting luz get away and protecting her like a badass.

He might not have magic, but he’s good at fighting

like he can easily teleport to luz and take the pailsman, but he doesn’t, he lets them get away and luz knows this. Even though she also knows hunter has to go back to the emperor too and they have to separate.

It’s only slightly bitter terms, because in the end he came through for her and she knows it.

honestly, the worst part is i can’t even be mad at hunter for it, i’m sure he was terrified to fail belos. Both because he loves him and doesn’t want him to suffer....but also because of well...being punished. Really says something when his near betrayal doesn’t even make me mad at him, and i can understand why he nearly did it.

He let her go, knowing he’d be in SERIOUS trouble and that it would hurt someone he actually loves, so....ouch.

so yeah at this point i knew rascal wanted him so it was only of matter of what happened next.

Which was, luz getting the wood, which i like more anyway. Eda and King doing this offscreen and coming home like this is actually very funny, and honestly i appreciate the message of it being ok to wait.....means a lot to me.

yeah so belos is like...being an ass, like the kid tried his hardest, you don’t need to hit him with the “Is this the thanks i get?”. He’s a kid and he’s trying to cure you you dick, give him a break he doesn’t remotely have to help you like this.

Also apparently belos has not even told hunter HOW this happened, like...dude. Hunter is trying to be entirely reasonable here and belos spikes at him, which does imply some physical abuse though the only reason hunter doesn’t get a new scar is because he moves.

but how he reacts implies this has happened before, he is bracing for impact and he flinches. It’s pretty sad tbh, especially since hunter loves him and belos’s respect means something to him.

Belos is such an idiot, like c’mon dude, hunter is trying to help you and you don’t listen to him you dick. Kid shouldn’t have to say sorry for anything he did nothing wrong, he was just trying to help.

Anyways, he gloats at kiki (So at the very least she knows what he looks like under the mask), which he deserves a chance to do anyway. So i guess he didn’t rat her out for trying to kill him, personally my guess why is blackmail.....he was gonna hold it over her head to keep her from doing it again and threaten to tell belos.

But kiki quickly tells he LET the pailsman get away since he was the one to fight her (Curse his cute loose hair strand). So i guess now they have dirt on each other, so that’s fun.

His room is adorable, though the med kit by the bed is concerning.

Rascal comes for him and it;s so cute....though you can tell hunter nearly hurts him on instinct because of force of habit, but it’s so cute how he cares and how the birb loves him and is his new staff.

it was well hinted to as well, it’s so subtle, but the bird being cheery, curious, and his constant habit of escaping boundaries was perfect for hunter. He represents what hunter wants to be and why they got matched is done so well, all without explaining anything.

Hunter indirectly stated his deepest wish, to make his own choices, and rascal resonated with that. 

can’t wait to see where this goes.

great ending shot, love me some conflicted shots looking out of windows like trapped birds.

also this title was a pun the whole time i can’t-

[fandomficsnstuff]

Little Dragon - Part 1

Summary: You were a child slave of Meereen, when one day a silver haired woman sets you free. Though your master isn’t too keen on letting you go, and Daenerys takes personal action to see you freed and taken care of.

Daenerys Targaryen x child!Reader

Warnings: talk of abuse/mentions of being abused, being a slave(though briefly), depressive thoughts, slight angst.

High Valyrian is in cursive

You were there the day you saw the silver haired woman walk through the streets of Meereen, walking on broken chains and collars. Except you were still wearing yours. Your master had quickly pulled you away before you could be seen. You wanted to see the silver haired woman, you wanted to see her dragons, you heard she had three. But it wasn’t meant to be, apparently, you were a slave, what you wanted meant nothing, you learnt that at a very young age, though you were only ten.

You watched her days later walk in the streets among the now freed slaves, watching her silver hair and how she seemed to treat everyone with kindness. Your hands gently fondled with your collar, looking at all the other former slaves, who were free of their collars, knowing you’d never be free of yours. Your master would never let you go, he had let all his other slaves go, except you, locking you inside so you wouldn’t be seen wearing a collar. You watched as the silver haired Queen looked up at you, giving a small wave, and you looked over your shoulder, not seeing your master, so you waved back. But as you propped yourself up on the window sill to wave at her, she spotted your collar, and her face grew cold, she looked to her guard and said something. Your smile faltered as she walked towards the building with warriors of the Unsullied and a woman with curly hair by her side, as well as two men who didn’t look Unsullied. The two men were covered in suits of iron, both holding their swords tightly in their grasp as they followed their Queen into your building. Moving from the window you ran downstairs, stopping on the middle of the stairs as you carefully watched your master sit and read, that is until the front door burst open, making you flinch in fear. The Unsullied hurried in, followed by the silver haired lady and her companions, glancing around before seeing the master “seize him, throw him in the dungeons, I will deal with him later” she ordered in High Valyrian. Once your master was removed from the house, him screaming and shouting and resisting the Unsullied, the Queen looked much calmer and even sad, looking around before catching you on the stairs “it’s alright, little one… come on down” her voice was soothing, not at all what it had been when she had ordered your master to be taken away, so you slowly walked down the stairs, into her full view and bowed your head, your hands in front of you. You missed the sad look she threw at her three companions, before looking back to you, she kneeled down, looking up at you with worry, a frown on her face “what’s your name, child?” she was patient, as you didn’t answer right away “(Y/N)” you answered quietly, she sighed, glancing at her companions, saying something in a language you couldn’t understand, then she looked back to you “do you have any family to return to, a mother or a father?” you shook your head at her words, your head still down despite her best attempts to make you look at her without forcing you.

Daenerys got up, extending her hand to you “if you wish, you can stay with me in the Great Pyramid” she said with a soothing smile on her lips, and you finally looked up at her, glancing briefly at her hand before carefully placing your much smaller hand in hers. She exhaled slightly, like she had been holding her breath in anticipation of your answer, but when you agreed she looked almost relieved, glad even. She walked with you towards the large pyramid, it was much bigger than you thought, your master wasn’t as important as the other masters, not enough to have his own pyramid at least, and you felt almost intimidated when you looked up, you could barely see the top. You stopped unconsciously, Daenery looking to you, before following your gaze up the giant building, looking back down at you “it’s alright, (Y/N), you don’t have to be afraid anymore” she said sweetly, and you looked at her, nodding before once again following her, your hand still in hers as you entered the pyramid.

Inside it was even bigger than you could have thought, just like the outside. Daenerys took you to a very fancy room, a large double bed and different areas such as a bathing area and an area for eating “is this your room?” you asked quietly, forgetting your manners and how to address her, so when she gently touched your shoulder you flinched, making her frown “no, this is where you will be staying, if you still wish to stay with me” she kneeled down and looked at you “my name is Daenerys Targaryen, and you have nothing to fear from me” she said calmly, making you look down in almost shame, to which she sighed, looking to one of the men in iron suits and nodded gently, looking back at you “this is Ser Jorah, he will take off your collar, you are no longer a slave, (Y/N)” you looked to her with tears in your eyes, nodding gently and she smiled softly at you, gently moving your (H/C) out of the way as Ser Jorah cut off your collar. You felt like you could breathe finally, sighing heavily as you felt around your neck, feeling your skin instead of leather. Daenerys moved your hair back in place, giving you a soft smile “thank you, Your Grace” you bowed as well as possible, making Daenerys shake her head gently at you “Daenerys, you don’t have to call me Your Grace” you nodded quietly “yes Your-... I mean Daenerys” you smiled at her and she nodded, getting back up “I will have someone bring you something else to wear, and draw you a bath, I will be back to check on you later, Messandei will look after you, she’s my best friend and I trust her with my life” Daenerys gestured to Messandei who gave you a heart warming smile and waved slightly, making you nod politely at her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was hours later when the Queen showed up again, this time talking with another man, smiling softly at him before looking at you. You sat at the table with Missandei, who was telling you about the Queen’s dragons, which you were very interested in. “(Y/N), this is Daario, leader of the Second Sons” she gestured at Daario who simply bowed his head, Daenerys walking over to you and kneeling down to your level, examining the navy blue dress you were wearing, you no longer had dirt that covered your (S/C) skin, your (H/C) hair was finally it’s true colour, instead of being littered with dirt. Gone were the old rags that you had worn, and Daenerys smiled at you “you look beautiful” she said, gently taking your hand, watching as you didn’t flinch away this time “thank you, Daenerys” you bowed your head, watching her fond smile, yet you couldn’t help but glance at Missandei, then back to Daenerys. Missandei chuckled slightly “she heard you have three dragons, Your Grace… she is very eager to see them, if she may” Missandei spoke gently, glancing down at you then back to Daenerys who thought about it for a second, sighing as she thought over the risks before looking at Daario, who only shrugged, you had no idea what they were saying, and you began to grow slightly nervous, that is until you heard Daenerys speak “you want to see my dragons?” she asked with a small smirk, causing you to nod frantically, excitedly grinning. Daenerys got up and extended her hand, and this time there was no hesitation in grabbing her hand, making Daenerys laugh at your enthusiasm, walking towards where her dragons were, outside of the city, with Missandei following closely behind.

Daenerys smiled down at you, seeing your excitement instead of worry for meeting her dragons, her children. She herself was a bit worried but seeing how excited you were brought an odd calmness to her heart, and she found herself looking at you lovingly, a look Missandei didn’t miss, and she smiled for her Queen, she knew what Daenerys had lost, and seeing her with a child, acting like a mother, was something that made her happy beyond words.

[llendrinall]

As we all know, Charlie Weasley could have played for Britain had he not gone off chasing dragons. There’s a lot of gold that comes with being a good international player. What do you think it would have been like if the Weasleys were doing better financially?

Frankly, I don’t think things would change all that much. Not everybody is a Ronaldo or a Messi (to draw parallels with football/soccer) making really stupid amounts of money. At least during the first few years, until Charlie became a Big Name, he would make money, maybe even tons of money, but I doubt it would be enough to change things significantly.

Mostly I think Charlie would be very unhappy and Percy’s break with the family would be much more intense (what! After the way he behaved in canon? Yes, more than that. Percy would be the next Charlie, getting a job far away and visiting home rarely).

The question here is: why are the Weasleys poor? There is a quick and dirty answer, which is that JKR wanted a rich=bad, poor= good - noble, structure. But she didn’t build a reason as to whyit is so. (There is also no reason why the Malfoys are rich, but money has inertia so we can half buy it). Thus, she accidentally made the Weasleys come across as reeeeally financially irresponsible and the creators of their own poverty.

Let’s look at the money. Supposedly, Hogwarts is free for all students, which makes sense because a significant portion of those students will me muggleborns and I can’t imagine how that conversation would go with their parents (“Your child is gifted! Magical! Now let us take them for 10 months of the year and give us money”). Hogwarts budget must come from the Ministry and the expenses are supervised by the Board of Governors. This, together with how big the Ministry infrastructure seems to be, makes me think that taxes in the wizarding world must be pretty high.

(US readers, double whatever number you are thinking).

Let’s say… 40% of income at the very least. That’s a big chunk for the Weasleys, considering they only have one salary. Since Arthur is overlooked for promotions, we can guess his salary isn’t high. He is head of a department, but it’s a joke department.

The books hint that the Weasleys own the land they live in. If they were renting the Burrow, and it would be hilariousif their landlord were Malfoy, then the house should be in a better state and they wouldn’t be responsible for the gnomes or the ghoul. Since there was no dramatic subplot about Malfoy trying to kick them out, I will assume they own the house and the land. Maybe they have a mortgage on it? One with ridiculous high rates, for argument’s sake.

So that’s most of the money accounted for. What other expenses do they have? According to the ONS the average UK household, after taxes, has a budget as follows (simplified):

Housing (rent, interest and upkeep) – 33%

Food and utilities – 20%

Transport – 14%

Recreation – 12%

Holidays – 11%

Restaurants – 7%

Other – 3%

Let’s say that the mortgage has an insane rate, so 40% of the budget, after taxes, is going there. But we can scratch transportation right away since they have apparition and side apparition and, more importantly, they have nowhere to go. The kids are homeschooled and the one person in the household who has to go to work everyday, can simply apparate right before the office. So that 14% of transportation can go to the housing budget.

Next, food. The Weasleys have many more children than average so the food expense should be higher. On the other hand, they have a lot of land. Supposedly a plot of land of 24x30m (80x100 feet or, for the Americans, about the size of a small Starbucks, the kind that is integrated inside a business) is enough to feed one person for a year in an exclusively plant-based diet. My experience is that a plot of 10x10 meters (32x32 feet or a small Subway shop) can feed a family of 4 if they supplement with eggs and milk and they are smart with the crop distribution.

If the Weasleys kept hens and an orchard, they could keep the food costs low enough that the large family size wouldn’t matter. Plus, during the teenage years, when the calorie demand is higher, the kids are in Hogwarts 10 out of 12 months of the year.

This still leaves them with a very small budget. But considering the only thing magic can’t produce is a) food b) a property deed, almost everything else can be procured with a spell. Furniture wear and tear? A reparo will take care of that. Kids are growing and we need bigger beds? Transfiguration. Clothes? Buy the fabric and use a spell. Maybe it won’t be pretty, but it will be cheap. There will be many luxuries they can’t afford. No eating out, no holidays, no fancy broomsticks. And there are some unavoidable expenses, like school supplies (although books could be reused). Although with the exception of Ginny, there are 2-3 years between children so they have time to save. The moment a kid reaches Hogwarts age they have to make a big investment of wand, cauldron, etc. and then they can write them off. The high taxes also mean they have services like free healthcare and free education with board and room.

It’s a difficult situation. But notice that it’s one that I have created myself. We don’t know if they have a mortgage and we don’t know the tax duties. I’m just coming up with reasons for the expenses while not giving them supplemental income, like Molly selling preserves and whatnot.

I still think that things shouldn’t be so tight that they can’t afford a new wand for each kid. Yet Ron went to Hogwarts with Charlie’s old wand and spent a whole academic year with his wand broken. The Weasleys should had been able to afford a wand. Sure, they just bought Ginny’s school package, but Harry gave her some of the books. It might set them back, it might mean no new robes for the family, but they ought to have that money. Books you can reuse and hope the content is pretty much the same. Wands, you cannot. With broken wands, you are putting your child’s education and even life in danger.

Ron didn’t get the new wand because it was useful for the story that his wand was broken, but the internal logic of the story speaks of extreme economic irresponsibility. Despite all the excuses I tried to come up with (high taxes, high mortgage, Molly is working all day at the garden) not giving Ron a new wand points at a situation of extreme financial ignorance.

So, if Charlie went the Quidditch route the Weasleys would do a bit better, they might pay off their debt, but I don’t think they would be able to grow savings because they simply don’t know how. Charlie would have the added stress of not only performing well in his job but also being the main bread-winner for the whole family. Percy, who is quite observant, would have constant fights about what he considers unnecessary luxuries. He would resent his father even more and he would accept the first job that took him out of the country. The twins would probably resent Ron and Ginny a bit, since they would be the ones to experience having new things.

Charlie would have to make truly astounding amounts of money so that his earnings overcome the family’s blundering of the budget.

[skzsauce01]

Normal Pt 4

Description: For more skilled maneuvers, dragon shifters need a rider to help them out. After rejecting multiple riders, Hyunjin, a traumatized and handicapped shifter, is assigned to you. To add a cherry on top, you’re deaf, so how are you supposed to cast spells to free him from his limitation, let alone the anger in his heart?

Warning: none

Word Count: 2k

Pairing: fem!reader x dragon!Hyunjin

Pt: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

“Hi half-tailed lizard.” “Careful, he’s a Twilight Terror.” “Oooh, scary!” 

Hyunjin keeps his head down and continues on his way. Win a war with a handicap and you’re an inspiration. Lose one, and you’re a laughing stock for even trying. Surprisingly, it doesn’t bother him as much as it did before. He meant what he said to the boys at the clinic. The tail is special to you, and it is special to him, broken or otherwise.

Still, it isn’t right for them to say such things. “Hey! You three over there! Name, age, which dorm you live in, now. I’m citing you for bullying.”

Hyunjin doesn’t have to turn around to know that the prefect is hollering at the group of gossipy dragons. He’s seen Chan pop up a few times to defend him now. When he is finished taking down their information, Hyunjin walks up to him. 

“You know you don’t have to keep doing that for me. I can take care of myself.”

Chan gives him a brotherly pat on the shoulder, saying “Of course I do! It’s my job to look out for everyone” then walking away with his golden prefect armband swaying with every step.

Ugh, how much more perfect can he get? No matter now; you had asked Hyunjin to meet you today, and he isn’t about to keep you waiting.

You look excited as you stand on the field waiting for him. Well, you look excited every time you see him, and Hyunjin is starting to feel the same when he sees you.

He tilts his head to the side, asking why you called him out today. He closes his eyes when you gesture for him to do so and feels you fiddling with his necklace. When you tap him on his shoulder, he opens his eyes and looks down to see a frame made of white gold clasped snuggly against his pendant.

‘Turn dragon, but add an eee sound to the end of the spell.’

He does as told again and watches the usual purple swirls envelop and transform him. When he is done, however, he feels a new weight on his extremity. He turns around to see a white prosthetic fin attached to his tail.

He huffs a puff of smoke at you in amazement. You beam back at him and hold up your notepad.

‘I thought about how to do this while stuck at the clinic, but it took a while to figure out even after my discharge. I hope this helps you fly with your dragon friends again.’

Hyunjin returns to human form to write. ‘Aren’t you scared that I’ll never let you on again if I can fly by myself?’ he teases.

‘You don’t get appai berries when you fly solo,’ you shoot back.

Hyunjin performs a dramatic display of misery that makes you chuckle silently. Rolling your eyes, you indicate toward a metal can that you have also brought.

‘Transform again so I can paint it purple for you.’

Your companion shakes his head. ‘I like it white.’

‘But it doesn’t look natural,’ you object. 

He raises his previous message again for you to read.

You shrug, nudging the paint away with your foot. ‘Want to test it out still?’

Within seconds, Hyunjin is in the air with a discoloured tail following him. After six years of imbalance, he almost fell from the new fix, but you are there on the ground to straighten him up every time. He recalls this feeling, being able to glide to the side and move his tail however he wanted to. He used to do this with his buddies in the forest before he met-- No, Hyunjin told himself that he isn’t going to dwell on the past anymore, not when you’re here in the present right now, and he can’t bear to drop you from the sky again. It’s still a work in progress, but you promised him a shoulder whenever he’s struggling with it. 

Still, there’s no crime in relishing the feeling of weightlessness in the air. As enjoyable as it is however, Hyunjin knows there’s something missing.

‘How is it?’ you ask once he’s landed.

‘Something’s not quite right…’

You furrow your brows, wondering where you could have made a mistake, but before you can come to a conclusion, Hyunjin chants his transformation spell again. He then knocks you off your feet and sweeps you onto his back.

Hyunjin lets out a roar towards the advanced obstacle course to which you laugh and lean forward in preparation. Before you can even blink, the two of you are cutting through the air, going faster with each stroke of the Terror’s powerful wings.

Much better.

Hyunjin cherishes these practices the most when there’s no one watching and nothing on the line. It’s just you and him. It’s nice, and he wishes he could keep it like this forever, but with the way your eyes twinkle with laughter and the way your hair blows in the evening breeze after he lands and you roll off of him onto the grass, he can’t help but wonder if he can have something more.

What? you ask with a motion of your head, referring to his staring.

He shakes his head. Nothing.

You nudge at his shoulder, and he gives in, turning to sit facing you. He reaches over to cover your eyes, making your breath hitch, so that you can’t read his lips.

“I know I’m not charming like Chan or reliable like Changbin, but I like you, Y/N,” he confesses. “I like you a lot.”

With that, he draws back his hands to reveal a confused expression on your face which quickly turns into a pout. He laughs and knocks your forehead back with two fingers.

‘What did you say?’ you interrogate.

‘I said ‘Take me to the Race!’’ He pumps his fist into the air.

You smile widely and imitate his action. He laughs and bumps his fist to yours. He’s going to compete. After all these years, he’s finally going to compete.

After coming to terms with his feelings and with the annual winter ball around the corner, Hyunjin knows what to do. The winter ball’s sole purpose is to celebrate the past year and the upcoming race, so Hyunjin never really had a reason to go until now. He’s feeling a little nervous about even attending the ball itself and is why he waited so long to purchase a bouquet of gold-tipped, cream coloured flowers mixed with a few pastel pinks and purples for accent. 

He knows you are in the library, so that’s where he went, but he almost doubted his location for a second. Since when was the dusty, ancient place so crowded? He peers past the mob and sees you in the center of it.

But you aren’t alone.

Chan had set up a whole ambiance for you complete with twinkling fire fairies and petals on the ground. He places your hand on his acoustic guitar for you to feel the vibrations as he plays a sweet song and one of his friends nearby signs for you the words he is singing. When he is done, he takes your hand and gifts you a dozen scarlet roses.

‘Go to the dance with me?’ he signs.

No sensible human would turn down something like that. Hyunjin suddenly feels like he can’t breathe when you nod with a shy smile and Chan pulls you into a relieved hug. He slips out of the cheering crowd, unable to bear it any longer.

As he storms down the hall, he hears a familiar voice call out to him. “Hyunjin? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me, Hye Ji.”

“I, um, have something to ask of you,” the girl admits. Why does she look nervous?

“Go for it,” Hyunjin nods. 

“Will you go to the winter ball with me?” she squeaks. 

Hyunjin looks at the bouquet of flowers in his hands with a sigh. Slowly, he lifts his eyes back up to face her. “Sorry, Hye Ji. I don’t think I’ll be going this year. I’m sorry.”

“It’s Miss L/N, isn’t it?” she calls as he tries to leave.

Hyunjin turns around, surprised. Hye Ji is looking at her boots with her hair covering her face.

“I’m sorry,” Hyunjin repeats. 

“I-it’s fine,” she chokes. “Y/N’s really great and all. I would choose her too if I were you.”

“Hye Ji--”

“I said it’s fine!” she yells and runs away.

Three nights later and Hyunjin is moping alone in his dorm room, picking at his recipient-less bouquet. The prefects’ opening dance should have ended by now. He imagines you in your rose gold gown and silver heels looking like you stepped straight out of a fairy tale. He imagines you swaying gently with Bang Chan as the prefect leads you to the beat of the music.

There’s no crying over spilled milk now, he decides with a sigh. What’s someone as talented and sweet as you going to do with someone as broken and angsty like him anyway? Someone who’s charismatic and top of his class, someone like Chan, looks a lot better next to you.

There’s a sound at his door to which his ears perk up excitedly. He had ordered two portions of lamb rib stew to hopefully eat himself into a coma. 

“Coming!” he calls, pulling out a bottle of cider.

Once he opens the door, he almost slams it back shut in shock. 

Instead of a delivery man, you stand in front of him in all of your perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect nose, perfect lips, perfect everything glory. Not to mention you are complete with a bag of lamb rib stew in your hand.

‘I met the delivery mister on the way. Can I come in?’ 

Hyunjin swallows with difficulty and steps to the side for you, nearly passing out when the tulle of your dress brushes against his leg as you walk by.

‘What are you doing here?’

You shrug your pearly shoulders. ‘Chan got called away for some duties after the opening dance. Apparently there’s something wrong with the course for the Race. It doesn’t seem like he’ll be back before the ball ends, so I left after telling Changbin. I’m not intruding or anything, am I? It looks like you bought two servings of lamb. Were you expecting someone?’

‘I must have ordered it wrong,’ he lies, rubbing the back of his head. ‘Have you eaten?’

You shake your head and he immediately offers you a takeout before getting two glasses for the cider. You thank him, and the two of you begin eating. After dinner, he excuses himself to toss out the trash, and you notice the cream bouquet by his bed.

‘Were you going to ask someone to the dance?’ you ask when he returns.

What was he supposed to say? That he randomly sports flowers in his dorm?

‘Something like that. Someone else asked first though.’

‘Hye Ji came alone today though.’

‘It’s not Hye Ji!’ he writes a little too quickly. ‘They… they can be yours if you’d offer me a dance. You know, since it’ll be a waste of such a pretty dress if you only do one waltz in it.’

You giggle, and he can’t tell if it is because of his words or how red he must be right now.

‘Sure. They’re gorgeous. Thank you.’

You place your right hand in his left, and he takes you to the center of the room. You put your other hand confidently on his shoulder, and he timorously finds your waist. After a few awkward steps, you begin singing to ease his tension. As expected, he moves elegantly with your tune as if you’re on the training grounds, flying. It’s a lovely sound, he thinks, and even more so when you’re singing it just for him in the air or like right now.

‘You’re staring again,’ you trace into his back, the motion sending shivers down his spine.

He doesn’t know where the courage came from, but Hyunjin decides to give you a proper explanation this time. He points at you, taps his cheek, then draws a semi circle around his face.

‘You’re beautiful.’

~ ad.gold

[neerasrealm]

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVED that poly!Slender x reader x LJ!! I didn’t originally request it, but if it’s not too much, can I please request a sequel (featuring the adorable Slendra Jackson?) Ty! 😁😁

Anon you have no idea how happy this request made me- I NEVER get asks about my OCs so you calling Slendra adorable and aSKING TO INTERACT WITH HER??? MADE ME REALLY REALLY HAPPY SO THANK YOU- sorry this ask took a bit to answer, I only got your ask late in the evening so I had to finish it off over the course of my morning. Thank you again for the ask!! I hope you like what I came up with- (put it under a cut since it’s a little long)

‘’More wine, dear?’’ Slender asks you from across the couch. It’s late, and quiet. A rare combination here in the mansion. Somehow, every other person in the mansion is downstairs, in their room or somewhere else. Meaning you and your two boyfriends are free to occupy the couch by yourselves and have a quiet evening, and you couldn’t ask for more. Being curled up against Jack’s soft body with Slender’s arms wrapped around you both. Even Jack is being quiet for once, his face resting against Slender’s chest. He might be asleep- you’re honestly not sure.

‘’Sure.’’ you murmur back, looking up at Slender. He seems to smile despite his lack of face and reaches over to the coffee table, pouring you some wine from the already-half empty bottle sitting on it. A benefit of not being human, you guessed, was being able to drink a lot of the stuff without worrying about intoxication. As you’re taking another sip from your glass a soft, shy voice interrupts you.

‘’Mama? Pops? Dad?’’ 

The three of you look over at the voice’s owner. A short girl with fiery hair and brownish-purple skin. Her eyes are bright and gold, and she has pale red horns and dark red claws that scratch gently against the bannister she’s holding. Your shared daughter- it’s odd, she’s not related to you, she’s adopted like every other child in the mansion, but she’s one of the few that calls you mom. Everyone took fairly naturally to you dating the mansion’s ‘dads’, just treating it like you were dating anyone else, but Slendra? She’s been calling you mom since day one. Not that you're complaining.

‘’Need somefink, luv?’’ Jack murmurs behind you. He sits up a bit. 

Slendra shifts where she stands. ‘’...can I get a bedtime story?’’ she asks quietly. Slender IMMEDIATELY sits up, alert. ‘’I-I know I’m a little old for it but-’’

‘’Ye can’t ou’grow bedtime stories, kiddo.’’ Jack says. Slender nods. You can’t help but smile a little bit at the two’s excitement- though Slender’s is far more obvious. You can’t blame them. Slendra is beginning to hit that- odd phase where kids think they need to act like adults. Except she’s only five years old. Damn demon aging. ‘’Ow abou’ me an’ Slen do i’ fer ya? I’ll do th’ voices an’ ‘e can narra’e. Like when ye were li’le.’’

You look at the two of them. ‘’I want in too.’’

‘’Ye can be th’ damsel in distress.’’

You give Jack an offended look and playfully slap his chest. ‘’Rude. Slender fits the damsel role better and you know it.’’

‘’...I do look good in a dress.’’ Slender says as he climbs off the couch. You and LJ cackle in amusement. Slendra giggles shyly.

The three of you follow Slendra upstairs to her room and walk inside. Her room is like a mix between Jack’s room and Slender’s office. Her walls are a deep lavender with darker swirls running across them. Her bed is round, oddly, and covered in pillows. She has a desk piled high with books and papers for her drawing and writing habits and her ceiling is covered in not only glow in the dark stairs, but music notes too. Her carpet is soft and your socked feet sink right into it. There's shelves on nearly every wall, full of toys, trinkets or books.

The little demon girl crawls into her bed and grabs her favorite stuffed toy- a purple and green dog you tried to win for her at a carnival but...well of course the game was rigged. It was actually her older brother EJ who managed to win it for her. With a little help from his demonic strength of course. She named it Scam, and you’re still proud of her for that.

The three of you all sit down at the foot of her bed. "Wha're ye in th' mood fer then?" Jack asks.

"Can you make a story?" Slendra asks, her eyes shining. A toothy grin curls up Jack's face. 

"Oh, I ge' ta flex me wri'in' t'nigh', eh?" He reaches into a puffy sleeve and pulls out a book. Slendra grins excitedly. You glance at the book's cover. Apparently Jack's homemade bedtime story is called 'The Damsel's Dragon'.

He clears his throat and opens the book. "Once upon a time, there wuz a pre'y young lass named…" Jack holds the book over to Slender. He shoots Jack an annoyed look and sighed.

"Damsel N. D. Stress." He finishes in the most airy, feminine voice you've ever heard him do. The three of you laugh while Slender fixes his tie. 

"Damsel wuz th' pre'ies' lass in th' land. People came far an' wide ta see 'er an' 'er collection 'f antique ties. All th' men in th' land wanted 'er 'and in marriage, bu' she wanted none 'f tha'." You watch Jack hold the book over to Slender again. 

"I hate you." Slender mutters. Slendra giggles. "Oh if only a big, handsome clown would come to admire my ties... if only…"

You laugh so hard you almost fall off the bed. Jack's hand reaches over quickly, his palm against your back, and pushes you back up. You snicker. "Sorry, sorry continue."

"Damsel spen' 'er days in 'er castle, wishin' an 'opin as th' worl' wen' by. Until one day, th' castle began ta shake! 'Er ties fell off th' shelves, 'er wine smashed to the ground!"

"Not the wine!" Slender exclaims in that airy, overly dramatic voice. You snicker again. 

"Th' castle stopped rockin' an' Damsel ran up ta th' top tower ta see wha' 'ad 'appened. When she go' up there, she saw a big migh'y dragon sleepin' on 'er castle's roof!" Jack stops and nudges you. "Ye're th' dragon." He whispers. You grin. 

The book is handed to Slender again. "Mr dragon, whatever are you doing up on my roof?" He exclaims. Jack holds the book over to you. Slendra looks at you excitedly. You're nowhere near as good at voices when compared to Slender and Jack, but Slendra doesn't seem to mind. You clear your throat.

"I'm taking a nap of course!" You growl out. Jack smiles as he passes the book to Slender again.

"Fockin' 'orrifyin', luv."

"Jack!" The three of you yelp. He laughs a bit.

"Sorry."

"Well you can't nap up here!" Slender continues with the story. "This is my castle! You have to go somewhere else!"

You lean over Jack's shoulder to see your next line. "Mmmm…No." You say. 

"Now Damsel wuz'nt tha' dumb. She knew be'er than ta argue wiv a dragon, an' so she wen' back into 'er castle an' began lookin' fer a way to ge' rid of th' dragon." 

"Good to know you don't see me as a total idiot." Slender murmurs.

"Wha' do ya mean? This isn' you, i's Damsel."

"Of course it is."

Jack grins to himself and looks back at the book. "She looked through 'er ye ol' phone book an' foun' somefink ta 'elp 'er!" He looks up at Slendra for a moment. "Th' mos' famous dragon extermina'or in th' worl'. 'Er name wuz Jackie Ardlens."

You force yourself to to 'awe' at the Slendra self-insert. She doesn't seem to have realised the character is literally named after her. 

"Jackie came ta th' castle an Damsel led 'er up ta th' tower."

"It's terrible!" Slender exclaims. "That great big ugly dragon does nothing but snore all day!"

"I don't snore." You retort. Slendra looks at you. You clear your throat. "I don't snore." You say again, this time in your dragon voice. She laughs. 

"Oh dragon," Slender continues with the story, ignoring you. "I've brought someone to drive you away!" You can't help but smile at how much he's actually getting into this role. Slendra is certainly enjoying it too.

"Huh? Drive me away?" You growl back at him. "How am I supposed to fit into a car?"

A grin curls up Jack's face. "Jackie stepped forward an' looked up a' th' dragon." He passes the book to Slendra who looks surprised, but then smiles wide.

"I've come to make you leave this poor lady alone!" She reads. "Why do you want to stay on this castle so bad?" 

"Why the sun of course, it's nice and warm up here. And this castle is the comfiest bed I've ever had!" You read back. 

"Hm…" Slendra cups her chin in her hand, pretending to think. "Well I say we build a new tower for you to sleep on! That way both of you will be happy."

Slender clasps his hands together. "Of course! That can be arranged." He says. Jack takes the book back and turns to the very last page.

"An' so, they buil' a big ol' tower fer th' dragon ta sleep on, an Damsel continued ta collec' 'er ties an' live 'appily ever after." He closes the book and smiles. "The end."

Slendra smiles wide. "I liked that one."

"Good." Jack leans in and kisses her forehead. "Now ge' yer res, swee'pea." He says softly while Slender pats the girls head. 

"Mama?" As you're following Jack and Slender out of the room Slendra calls you. You stop and look at her, curled up around Scam, a bright golden eye looking at you. "I love you."

You swear you can feel yourself practically melt for a moment. You smile at her. "I love you too, sweetheart." You say softly. She smiles, a couple fangs glinting in the light, then closes her eyes and snuggles up under the covers.

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 1, Ch. 5

PART 1: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN Chapter 5 - Saving a Weasley

Nova

I felt so bad for Penny having to stay behind and clean the slugs that were without a doubt brought to the classroom by Tonks when she went to the bathroom and were the jelly things hitting the floor.

I wanted to find Tulip and Tonks as soon as possible as I couldn't help but be a bit angry with them, my head still hurting.

I was almost at the Great Hall when I heard someone calling me.

“Nova, over here!” I turned around and saw Tonks and Tulip waving at me.

“Where's Penny?” Asked Tulip, oblivious.

“She got detention because of your slugs!” I said, trying to control my voice. Tonks had to bit her lip no to burst out laughing as I continued.

“I stood up and stepped on one of them and fell flat on my back. Snape, of course, noticed at once and since the slugs made their way under our table and Penny and I were the only ones left in the classroom, he blamed her, took 20 points from Hufflepuff, and made her clean the mess all by herself! I tried defending her but Snape threatened me with detention as well so Penny nudged me to leave.” Seeing that I was angry, massaging the bump on my head, Tulip and Tonks' faces changed.

“Blimey Nova, I'm sorry.” Tonks said sincerely. “Are you going to be okay or should we go to the Hospital Wing just in case?” She added.

“I'll be fine. And it should be Penny you should apologize to because I don't want to know how mad she is at you! Not only is Potions her favorite subject and she asked you not to pull any pranks on the first day, but you also got her in detention on the first day of school!”

“Tonks, I think Nova is right. Why don't we go back to the Dungeons and tell Snape the truth.” I could see Tulip felt really bad, just for thinking slugs in the Potions classroom were funny.

“Alright, alright. You girls will make me a better person if this continues!” She groaned but Tulip and I knew she liked that we made her responsible for her actions.

“Are you coming with, Nova?” Tulip asked me as I was about to head in the other direction.

“Are you kidding? I don't want to be anywhere near Snape until our next lesson on Thursday!” I exclaimed. “I think I am going to the Courtyard to draw. Meet you at dinner?”

“See you later!” They both said and ran towards the Dungeons.

It was weird going somewhere alone. I know I have only been at Hogwarts for 3 days but I always had at least one of the girls with me. I was debating between the Owlery or the Courtyard to relax and draw. I decided to go to the Owlery to check if Pip was sleeping.

It didn't surprise me that the second I stepped in, he was already on my shoulder, hooting happily and nibbling my ear, probably to thank me for the visit.

“What do you say we go to the Courtyard and I draw you, you beautiful bird?” Pip hooted ever so loudly, moved from my shoulder to my arm and we made our way down the stairs.

I was happy it wasn't as full with students as I thought it would be since there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

I sat down on one of the stone benches, putting Pip and my bag down and taking out my drawing book.

“Oh, how I've missed you!” I whispered to the notebook and hugged it slightly. I haven't drawn for about 4 days and I was angry at myself for it.

I sat on the grass next to the bench rather than on it because it was easier for me to use the bench for a table and Pip positioned himself so well as if he was posing.

“Good boy, Pip! Now stay still so that I can at least make a good sketch.” Pip hooted at me and returned to his posing. I chuckled as I took out my brand new pencils, bought by my dad as a 'you're going to Hogwarts and I am proud of you' gift.

It felt like ages to complete the sketch as Pip constantly wanted to peek and see if his portrait was done yet. “I told you to stand still. The more you act like a statue the quicker I can draw you.” I explained to which he replied with a single 'hoot'.

As I started to draw details on the feathers, I heard a rather mean laugh a little away to my left. At first, I didn't put any attention to it.

“Oh, look at that. What a loser!” I couldn't help to overhear a girl say. I tried to mind my own business and went back to drawing.

“What are you doing? Are you reading?” The girl continued, in a baby type of tone.

“And look how old his book is, it's going to fall apart any second now, ha!” A boy spoke this time.

“What's the matter, Weasley? Can't afford a new book and you have to reread an old one?” As the third voice spoke I turned around to see what was going on. I saw 3 Slytherin students that looked at least 2 years older than me standing in front of a boy with a frightened look on his face, clutching the book that I assumed they were mocking him for.

The one on the left was probably shorter than me. She had long black hair, made into a braid on each side. She had an upward crooked nose so that I could see her non-existent brain. The one on the other side was the only boy in the group. He looked fairly normal except for the fact that he was so large that if someone pushed him right at that moment, he would've rolled straight out of the Courtyard. The one in the middle, for which I assumed was the one who started to mock the boy was tall, slim, with thin rat-colored hair that was so greasy that if the wind blew, it wouldn't even move. She had pimples all over her face; one so big that it could easily be mistaken for a boil.

Then I looked harder at the boy. He was the freckled Gryffindor that's in my year! He looked so uncomfortable, looking around to see how he could escape the trio that now surrounded him. He kept pressing his book to his stomach and I could see he would do anything so that they wouldn't take it.

“What, not going to say anything?” The fat boy asked.

“Your parents aren't able to buy you a new one? Are they too poor, Weasley?” Mocked the greasy-haired girl.

“Leave him alone!” Before I realized that the voice came from my mouth I was already on my way towards them. Raising my hand at Pip to make him stay on the bench.

“A First Year defending a First Year. See this Shmeasley, this is your protection!” The greaseball said as all three of them burst out laughing, holding their stomachs.

“That's right, I am a First Year!” I almost shouted at them now, coming even closer. I put my hand in my pocket, trying to grab my wand as I saw their faces get even angrier for disturbing their bullying but I reached for an empty pocket as I put the wand in my bag that stayed with Pip. But that didn't stop me from talking more. “Maybe you should pick on someone your own size, or better yet, your own age!” They laughed at me even more now.

“What are you five? You're sure acting like it.” I continued. Apparently, this was the last straw, as their faces frowned so much from anger that I thought one of the pimples from the girl in the middle was going to burst straight in my face.

“Zip it Ravenclaw! What are you going to do to us? We are smarter than you AND you are outnumbered!” Yelled the boy now as they simultaneously pulled out their wands.

“Flipendo!” Yelled one of the girls. I couldn't see as I closed my eyes but nothing happened. I opened them slowly and all I could see was an emerald cloak in front of me. It was Professor McGonagall and she had to block the spell from hitting me. I stepped on her left side, still hiding a little behind her cloak.

The freckled boy was now staring at her with an opened mouth.

“Miss Bellgrim, Miss Tailbottom, and Mister Morgan, what do you think you are doing!?” She yelled at them, her eyes filled with such fury that I thought I could see little lightning bolts shoot from them. Both the Gryffindor boy and I chuckled when Professor McGonagall said 'Tailbottom'. “Attacking a First Year without their wand! Explain yourself!” She shouted further.

“I...we...well.” The pimpled girl wasn't so loud now.

“I thought you had no explanation for such act of foolishness. 30 points will be taken from Slytherin and I will make sure your Head of House picks good and long detentions for you!” Said Professor McGonagall.

“30 points?” Exasperated the boy, the Professor called Mister Morgan.

“Each!” Professor said, moving her hand to indicate that they should get out of her sight. The trio nodded and hurried from the Courtyard. She then turned to me.

“Are you okay, Miss Blackwood? Why were they trying to duel you?” She asked, concerned.

“They were being rude to him,” I said and nudged my head to the freckled boy, “and I wanted to help. They were really mean to him, Professor.” Her expression softened.

“You stood up to three Four Years to help a fellow First Year?” She asked gently. “The Sorting Hat was right thinking to put you in Gryffindor, you are as brave as you are foolish, Miss Blackwood.” She added.

“If I haven't blocked that spell in time you would've been in the Hospital Wing right about now.” She continued, worry in her voice.

“50 points to Ravenclaw for such braveness and the will to help a fellow student. She then turned to the redhead boy. “Are you alright, Mr. Weasley?” The boy just nodded. She examined us both from head to toe. “Please be careful, Miss Blackwood, Mr. Weasely. And if this happens again, come straight to me. That means you too.” She looked at me again and walked away.

The boy with red hair finally closed his mouth as he realized it was all over. He looked at me, still sitting on the ground, holding his book. “Thank you so much for that. I thought they were going to take my book this time.” He said sadly.

“This time? This wasn't the first time?” I asked puzzled.

“No,” the boy said, lowering his head, “it happened on the train too. I was alone in a compartment, you know reading about Dragons,” he said casually as all anybody ever really does is read about Dragons, “and they came in and started picking on me. Thank Merlin that my brother Bill came to see me and he shooed them away. He then stayed with me just to be sure that they wouldn't come back.” He said and smiled a bit, reminiscing on the memory.

Pip decided that I have left him alone for far too long and he flew on my shoulder and hooted loudly in my ear.

“Is he yours?” The boy asked excitedly.

“Yes, would you like him on your arm?” I asked and sat next to him. I then nudged Pip from my shoulder and tapped on the boy's arm to indicate that he should sit there.

“Wow, she is beautiful. We have a family owl, Errol, but she is more clumsy than my younger brother Ron.” He said as he stared at Pip with amazement.

“It's a he actually and his name is Pip.” I smiled.

“Such a cool name!” He finally looked at me. “I'm Charlie by the way. And in case you haven't heard those Slytherins shout my last name before, it's Weasley. Charlie Weasley.” He extended his hand to me with a look of embarrassment on his face due to what happened earlier.

“I'm Nova Blackwood.” I shook his hand. Pip suddenly flew from Charlie's arm, back to the bench where all my stuff was still laying around. He flew back with everything in my bag and dropped it right in front of us. My drawing notebook flew out of the bag as it hit the floor and opened several pages in, revealing a drawing inspired by my Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Thembook.

“Woah, that's the Common Welsh Green!” Charlie said in awe. “Did you draw this?”

“Yes.” I said proudly.

“Wow, you are really talented. Would you mind?” He asked, shaking my book, indicating if he could go through my drawings. I nodded.

I loved how careful he was while turning the pages. Sometimes he murmured something to himself. He gasped and let out a little squeak every time there was a drawing of a Dragon.

When he was done, he gently closed the notebook, turned to me and gave it back. “Thank you for this. You standing up to those bullies and letting me see all these beautiful creatures you've drawn is the best thing that happened to me so far at school.”

“But the year has just begun.” I said, smiling.

“Unless I see a real Dragon at Hogwarts, nothing can top this.” He smiled back. “Want to see my book?” He offered. “It's about Dragons but it's very old.” Of course, it's about Dragons, I thought.

“I don't mind. The older the book the better the smell and more valuable it is.” I said genuinely.

“I forgot you're a Ravenclaw.” He chuckled and opened the book.

He showed me so many different Dragon species that I haven't even heard of. The illustrations in the book were so beautiful that I couldn't stop admiring them. I don't know what holes those Slytherins had in their brains but to me, this was the best book I have ever come upon.

He then told me that his dream is to work with Dragons and that, even though very ambitious, would like to get a job in the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary. He told me that he has 6 siblings, about which I gasped and said that he is the second child in the family.

“My favorite Dragon is the Hebridean Black. What's yours?” He said, excited. “Oh, don't answer that, I can't expect everyone has a favorite Dragon like me.” He lowered his head.

“Chinese Fireball.” I said before he could say another word. “Has been since I first saw it in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. My dad bought me the book. He was hoping it would shut me up about wanting to own a Chimera and a Fire Salamander.” I chuckled.

“You wanted to have a Chimera?” He laughed but I could see he was imagining having one too.

Before we could go back to his book, a voice called for Charlie.

“Charlie?! Charl... there you are! I was worried sick. Why aren't you at dinner? You know that I promised mum I would look after you!” The boy with longish red hair said after finding us, still in the same spot as before. From what Charlie told me, I assumed that was his older brother Bill, who was currently in his Third Year.

“I'm sorry, Bill!” Apologized Charlie. “I was showing Nova my book after she saved me from those Slytherins again.” Charlie said thankfully.

“Those Slyth...again? Charlie, we have to tell Professor McGonagall now!” Bill was furious.

“Oh, I don't think that will be necessary.” Grinned Charlie as he told his brother how I intervened, how McGonagall saved me from the Knockback Jinx, and how they lost the Slytherins House 90 points and I gained Ravenclaw 50.

“What is your name?” He looked at me astonished that I stood up to 3 Slytherins much older than me just to help his brother.

“My name is Nova Blackwood.” I said as I shook his hand.

“Thank you Nova for saving my brother. I don't even want to imagine what they could do to him if you weren't around.” He said with a worried face.

“Bill!” Said Charlie, obviously embarrassed as the pink hue between his freckles started to show. “You are starting to sound like mum.” He mocked him to take attention off himself.

“You know what mum would have done to me if something ought to happen to you. I would receive a Howler and then the whole school would know I'm a bad brother.” Bill defended himself.

“Get off it Bill, you're the best brother!” Charlie said and smiled at him. Bill smiled back and ruffled Charlie's hair.

“Now, as much as I like that you are making friends Charlie, I would like for you two to go to the Great Hall and get some dinner before it's too late.” Bill said, helping us get up.

I turned to Pip and told him to go get some rest in the Owlery. Bill accompanied me and Charlie to the Great Hall. There he thanked me again for helping his little brother. “See you around, Nova. Was nice to meet you!” He ruffled Charlie's hair again and went towards the Gryffindor Tower.

Charlie and I entered the Great Hall together, which by now was half empty since dinner time was almost over. Charlie was called over to the Gryffindor Table by that boy who could barely see through his thick black hair. He turned to me.

“Nova, thank you again. I had so much fun with you!” He said and to my surprise gave me a hug. “We'll see each other around, we have a lot of classes together, we can hang out then.” He said, rather excited and hurried to the Gryffindor Table.

I looked around and saw a blond, pink, and redhead at the Ravenclaw Table. I hurried to the girls and sat down.

“Blimey Nova, where have you been?” Tonks said.

“We got worried that you had to go to the Hospital Wing because of your fall.” Added Penny.

“I almost ended up at the Hospital Wing, but not because of the fall.” I said and they gasped.

I then told them all about how those Slytherins attacked Charlie and how I forgot my wand in my bag, to which Tulip commented that it can happen to anyone. I told them how McGonagal protected me from the Knockback Jinx to which they stared at me with opened mouths. I then told them all about Charlie and how he is as excited about Care of Magical Creatures as I am. Tonks murmured something about how we are all too excited for school and we laughed at her comment.

When I finished my story Penny told me that Tonks and Tulip apologized to her and that they wanted to take full responsibility for what happened in Potions class but Snape wouldn't let them. To my surprise, Tulip said that Penny thanked them both as her detention with Snape enabled her to show him her knowledge of potions and that he gave Hufflepuff 5 points for knowing all the potions she had to sort.

Of course, she is confident that she will never receive such detention again as Snape soon realized that it wasn't a punishment for her at all.

While lying in bed that night, I couldn't believe the day I had. The year has hardly started and I was having so much fun. I would even dare to say that I have made a new friend and I couldn't believe how much we had in common. Nobody I knew loved animals as much as I did, not even my aunt who was breeding Abraxans. Nobody, until I've met Charlie.

[floral-and-fine]

Endless Orange part 1

Fred Weasley x Fem reader

Summary: Feeling lonely, fate leads Fred to a coffee shop. 

A/n: Hey, y'all! This story will definitely have more than one part! Already almost done with part 2 :) I'm having a lot of fun with it and I'm pretty happy with it so far! It'll probably be mostly fluff and maybe some smut, we'll see :P Enjoy!

Thank you @luna-xial​ for the help!

Fred sighed as he started closing up shop for the night. He sent George home early. It seemed appropriate for his brother, who had a beautiful wife and children waiting for him, to get every chance he could to spend the evening at home with them.

George had suggested that they close early and that Fred should join them for dinner, but he declined the offer.

While Fred was always welcomed in their home, he was beginning to feel like a burden. Gradually, more and more of his time was spent alone. He was beginning to feel like a third wheel. The uncle who was constantly hanging around, staying longer than he should, well after the children had gone to bed.

Even amongst the rest of his family, he felt left out, it was a rather odd thing to feel. Everyone seemed to have somebody, his parents had each other, Bill had Fluer, Percy had Audrey, George had Angelina, Ron had Hermione, Ginny had Harry, even Charlie had his dragons… He had never felt like the odd man out before.

Up until recently, Fred and George had been moving in the same direction born together, went to school together, worked together…but now his life and the life of his twin had finally splintered and they were finally on different paths.

Fred often caught himself wanting to turn to George and share an idea or a witty joke, only to realize that his brother wasn’t there.

He was truly happy for George and Angelina. He just sort of wished that he had someone too.

But instead of meeting anyone or even trying to meet anyone, Fred focused on the business. He spent countless hours working alone on new products. Stayed late doing whatever he could to stay distracted.

If Fred was being honest with himself, he’d admit that all the time he was spent at work was to avoid having to deal with his loneliness. Sometimes he even worked through the night or would fall asleep in the workshop to avoid having to come home to his dark and empty apartment.

Fred tucked his hands into his pockets, there wasn’t anything left for him to do. Everything was clean, shelves were stocked, the store was all set for tomorrow.

He would spend time developing new products but lately, he was having a dry spell, no new ideas or if he did have one it wasn’t any good.

Fred started feeling anxious, standing there in an empty store with nothing but silence to keep him company, slowly that lonely feeling he dreaded was starting to sink in.

Shaking his head, he quickly slipped on his jacket and locked the door.

Outside the air was cool and crisp, and the night sky was full of stars. Not wanting to go home, Fred started walking aimlessly.

Most of the businesses he passed were closed for the night. The streets were dark and vacant with the exception of the occasional street lamp and stray cat.  

Fred mulled over ideas in his head for new products, he had been thinking about that age line spell from 6th year, wondering if there was a way him and George could create a cream or candy that would age the user by 100 years, temporarily of course.

He frowned to himself, wondering if it was even a good idea and if their customers would even buy something like that.

Could just be a waste of time… or it could be a fun prank to pull on someone else. The kids who witnessed him and George suddenly become old men seemed to find it pretty hilarious. Fred continued to go back and forth on the idea until he gave up.

He groaned loudly, this was way easier when George was around to bounce ideas off of. He’d just have to wait until tomorrow morning, see what George had to say then.

Fred finally stopped walking once he realized that he had no clue where he was. He could easily apparate home, but his eyes were drawn to the building he stopped in front of.

The warm light was like a beacon, pulling Fred to it, without thinking he entered the small muggle establishment.

Inside it was cozy and smelled of vanilla and cinnamon.

The woman behind the counter watched Fred intently with a playful smile on her lips. His unique orange suit that clashed with his red hair piqued her interest, making her want to know more about him. He was by far the most intriguing person that’s walked in all week.

He carefully took in his new surroundings, mismatched furniture, local artwork decorating the walls, and the homey interior that reminded him of the burrow.

“Can I help you?” She spoke up, finally drawing his attention to her.

Fred blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open, he wasn’t expecting to meet anyone so...attractive. He openly stared a moment longer, taking in her features and her bright smile.

As he was about to reply, his mouth snapped shut, it just dawned on him that he didn’t have any money to pay for anything, well not any money that she’d want anyway.

Sheepishly running his hand through his hair, Fred chuckled, “‘Afraid I don’t have any money on me.”

“That’s alright, find a place to sit and I’ll bring you a little something,” y/n said pulling out an orange mug.

“You don’t have to do that,” Fred objected.

She laughed, “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing fancy. I’m gonna have to throw out this pot of coffee in a bit anyway.”

Fred smiled and took a seat by the window. She brought him a cup of coffee and a scone on a small matching plate, setting them both in front of him.

“Thank you…. y/n,” Fred added reading her name on the tag pinned to her apron. “I’m Fred, by the way,” he introduced himself.

“You’re welcome, I guess,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s just old coffee and a stale pastry.”

She lingered by the table, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet. “May I ask you a question?” Y/n finally asked, tilting her head.

“Sure,” Fred answered, taking a big bite of the scone, now realizing how hungry he was.

“What’s with the suit?”

He chuckled, “just left work.”

Y/n nodded, “and?”

Fred just stared at her, not quite understanding her interest in the suit.

“It’s just such an unusual color,” she explained, now noticing the gold ‘W’ pin on his tie and the playful design on his dress shirt.

“Oh, well, you see my brother George and I run a joke shop together, the suit just kind of goes with it all.”

She clapped her hands together, “That’s fantastic! Honestly, I love it, it’s a great suit.” Without thinking y/n took the seat across from Fred, not that he minded.

“So you and your brother own a joke shop? You look awfully young to own your own business.”

“Georgie and I have had a lifelong passion for practical jokes and pranks,” he explained, adding an obscene amount of sugar to his coffee. “We started designing and making our own products while we were still in school.”

“That’s incredible,” y/n gushed. “So as boys did you guys start off with things like hand buzzers and whoopee cushions?”

Fred quirked an eyebrow, what in the world was a whoopee cushion, “a what?”

“Oh you know, it’s a rubber cushion filled with air that you hide on someone’s seat, so it makes it sound like they broke wind,” she described.

Fred laughed, “That’s brilliant.”

He didn’t quite share his father’s interest in muggle gadgets, but maybe that’ll change. He could already imagine what the magical counterpart of a whoopee cushion would be like.

“What were some of your favorite pranks from your childhood?” Y/n asked, leaning forward, her eyes sparkling with delight.

Fred started sharing stories of some of their earlier pranks, making sure he left out all talk of magic and spells. The sound of her laughter and genuine interest spurred him on.

“Fireworks? Really? That’s unbelievable!” She gasped.

“I don’t think you quite grasp how much we despised that woman,” He smirked, finishing off his cup of coffee.

Y/n sighed, it had been quite some time since she’d had so much fun. She was about to ask him another question until she spotted the clock hanging on the wall.

“Oh wow!” She announced practically jumping out of her seat. “It’s getting late! It’s already past closing.”

“Sorry,” Fred started, standing up and getting ready to leave, but y/n lightly swatted his arm.

“Don’t be! I really enjoyed talking with you.” She grabbed the empty dishes off the table. Looking up at Fred, she bit her lip. “Maybe I’ll see you again sometime.”

A wide grin formed on Fred’s face, “Do you work tomorrow night?”

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 104: The Woes of Mrs. Weasley

There was a ghastly smell filling her nose, but Lily quickly found she had trouble moving in any direction, let alone away from it. There was movement all around her, her companions all coughing away a fair bit of dust as well as that foul odor mingling with it, but then her skin began to crawl and real panic lit in her core as she saw an eighth person. There were only eight of them, there shouldn't be an extra person moving when she was stuck!

It was vaguely human-shaped, and the smell was reeking right from it as it passed along between them all. Not attacking, at least nobody was screaming, but not helping either. Just gliding along with an odd rattling noise and befouling their senses.

Lily finally managed to wrench a hand free, and found it came out of a pants leg. A quick lumos spell had her eyes dazzling in the tiny space, and the illumination wasn't much better than it smelled.

She was in a large trunk filled to the brim with clothes no decent person would ever consider wearing with as much lace it contained. Potter was a few feet to her side, his glasses askew and at a very awkward angle as he found himself tangled up in old bed sheets. Alice and Frank were helping each other to their feet while picking glass out of their hands, they seemed to have landed in an ancient old display of cups and plates and broken the majority of them. Lupin and Sirius Black were in the farthest back corner where old pipes were visible and trying their best to get free without breaking one loose, while Pettigrew and Regulus Black had knocked over an old dresser, scattering the entire room in photographs, the bright fluorescent Weasley hair in all ages the brightest thing here. It was the ghoul that still held all attention though.

The skin seemed to be dripping right off of it, leaving foul puddles of the stuff over everything, including them now. There was one half of a dead rat clenched in one hand, and a chunk of the poor rodent in the gap in its teeth. The eyes were unintelligent though, and Lily easily recalled her lessons on ghouls at once. Harmless, household pests.

"Someone kill me now," the attic, it must be where they were, was too small for Lupin's voice not to carry. "I can't live with this stench while waiting for the next catastrophe in that book." He'd finally gotten his ankle twisted painfully enough he could extract his torso out of the pipes and crawl free.

"Cheer up Moony," Sirius Black returned cheerfully, as he had to very awkwardly and carefully dance on his toes to avoid the pipe between his legs while following him out. "Sure the place smells, but we're not back at Grimmauld! That's more of an improvement than we've yet had with this bloody book of Harry's."

"I'll take your bedroom over this place," his voice came out a bit muffled now as he spoke while plugging up his nose, eyes racking longingly over every surface for a chance at fresh air.

"Blasphemy," his friend scolded, while now scouring every inch of the place himself to find said book it seemed.

Everyone was now doing so in earnest, it wasn't just the werewolf who wanted away from this puke-inducing area. It seemed to have hidden itself away well this time though, and in exasperation Lily took another rank breath first to say the accio spell.

At first Lily just saw movement, the book being darker than the shadows shooting right up from behind the chest she'd been in nearly made her scream in fright before it landed in her hand. She frowned down at the ruddy thing, it just had to be black didn't it? You could barely see the violet five flickering by her wand light.

"Like a hand Evans?" Potter was at her shoulder and drawing his wand even as he spoke.

She frowned at him, but chose not to answer, he'd do as he would with or without her approval, as she cracked it open and flipped through the blank pages until she came across where the new chapter began. "The Woes of Mrs. Weasley."

"The woman has seven kids, I'd imagine her woes would fill a dozen books," Alice frowned in sympathy.

"Eight if you count Harry," Sirius Black added in, causing both her and Frank to startle a bit. It wasn't a large attic and there would be no whispered conversations here.

The ghoul suddenly seemed like the good news.

Harry wasn't the only one shocked at Dumbledore's strange behaviour, and that was really something given his start-of-term speeches. Lily couldn't imagine why he hadn't so much as looked at Harry during the trial, let alone completely dismissed his existence immediately after it.

"Well, he did ignore Arthur too, does that make it better?" Potter was apparently going to be reading over her shoulder while hefting his wand for light, and she scowled down at the pages. She'd rather go blind trying to read in the dark, couldn't Alice come over and offer to take his place?

'Well, better him than a Malfoy,' she supposed. It wasn't a generous trade, but as he loomed over her at least she wasn't afraid of him. Lucius hanging around in the Ministry however, after what he'd done to Harry, and off to have a private chat with the Minister over obvious bribery and gold! It was despicable how casually the Minister was cavorting!

Harry at least got a party out of the ordeal, the amount of those could probably be counted on one hand as festivities at Grimmauld Place were thrown for Harry's freedom from that looming problem.

"The best party that house has ever hosted!" Sirius Black cheered, even pumping his fist before it banged against the ceiling and he shook his fingers out.

Regulus couldn't help but agree with his brother's sentiment, mother's parties were always dreadfully dull. Hearing of the Weasley twins' and Ginny's dance really did sound amusing and he was half surprised the Marauder idiots weren't trying to recreate it here.

Such rabble wasn't to last though, as none of the Marauders seemed in the spirit for it. Even if they had reached a general plateau of not avoiding each other, they didn't yet seem up to going to the feat of interacting much either. Regulus wasn't going to complain about that, as Peter tugged on his sleeve and showed him a hilarious picture of who must be a young Charlie Weasley in a dragon onesie.

Sirius and Remus actually shuffled even further away from each other uncomfortably, as it was Hermione who reacted to seeing Harry's scar start to pain him, the whole of the Weasleys who were looking after Harry. Why was it was always Harry's friends, another family entirely instead of the one Harry should have, who had been mentioned in that house, and still didn't seem to be going out of their way to even watch him like Prongs would want? It was no wonder even this disgusting-smelling attic felt more comfortable to be in than Grimmauld Place, it's not like Harry had anyone there looking out for him apparently.

James finally looked away from the light making Evans's hair a waterfall of red and instead looked once more to Sirius in concern as he shut himself away in that house, with only his hippogriff for company. No Moony skulking around the place, apparently, to talk to him? Certainly no him or Wormtail to try cheering him up in there.

Sirius Black wasn't the most approachable bloke, Lily could certainly agree with that and didn't blame Harry one bit for sharing his feelings with his friends rather than his godfather, but she found herself peeking at Potter out of the corner of her eye and suddenly wishing that would change as he kept shuffling about, making the light move with him, eyeing his mate with clear worry.

Sirius was the only connection to this idiot Harry would ever have, and she certainly would have at least tried to help her boy with that if she had any feelings for either idiot herself. What the hell was she supposed to do though, make friends with Potter and Black for Harry's sake? That would be going with the operation of this future existing, something she was still not convinced would come to pass, not if she had anything to say about it.

So Potter wasn't as big a tosser as she always thought, he was at least a human idiotic teenager rather than the biggest waste of space to exist. That didn't mean she'd marry the bugger and have this kid and these would be her problems.

Lily was quite glad she was the one reading as Hermione attacked Sirius personally for his sanity once more, she kept calm and read in an even, refrained voice, not giving a hint away one way or the other how she felt about it. Certainly none of the boys present could have managed the same, as they'd all made their opinion on that quite clear. Yes, she'd rather wondered about it all herself only two books ago back when he'd supposedly been a mass murderer, but well, just because he hadn't done that crime didn't mean he was all there in the head either. Growing up in that house, it would be a miracle if he was all there, and now he was forced into it twenty-four seven while having to listen to the Order bring in reports? She may have gone a touch mad herself.

Alice smiled privately, still far enough away from Potter's light and standing half behind Frank no one saw or even seemed to notice the development. The boys were all being quite vocal about how sane Sirius Black was to be keeping himself right where he was by choice, obviously a madman wouldn't be able to rationalize that, even Frank and Regulus Black couldn't argue that. Lily wasn't doing as good a job as she thought she was keeping her indifference out of her tone.

The mood was so sour as she plowed through she nearly read right over the development of Ron and Hermione being made Prefects. Then she stopped and backpedaled to smile at just how, human, Harry's reaction to it all was.

Lily would guiltily admit before now she'd had trouble separating the two Potters but that was forever ruined by his chastising himself for his slightly petty thoughts, and even genuinely congratulating Ron whom didn't think he deserved it himself.

James Potter only reinforced the difference as he puffed up his chest behind her, knocking into her shoulder as he shouted loud enough for all of the hills beyond to hear. "Course Harry didn't get that badge, no son of mine would be caught dead with such a thing!"

"Just his friends, it fits rather well," Lupin drawled with an eye roll. He had not been wearing his own when all of this started, and honestly Lily forgot he was one half the time, he never made a fuss about it, certainly not regarding his friends.

James Potter flashed him a grin and Lily quickly brought the book up to her nose to hide her smile at the exchange, damn her. When had watching the idiot go from infuriating to laughable?

At least practically everyone important to the story all in that kitchen came as good distraction for everyone as yet another party was being thrown there. Why couldn't they have appeared during that? With food and a pleasant banner rather than the ghoul finishing off the rat, the tail now stuck between its teeth.

Alice felt a flash of white-hot anger as Mad-Eye Moody appeared and gave Harry the opposite of a treat, no matter what that old auror said. Showing him a picture of her and Frank, his own parents, all the dead from his past all at once. Every single person in that photo was either dead, or probably wishing they were for the torments they went through. It was quite the mood killer.

James Potter had been hovering over her shoulder for so long now, she'd almost been able to completely ignore he was there, until he reached over and yanked the book out of her hands in shock. "What blasphemy is this! Moony, you stop telling lies to my kid!"

"What? What do I say?" Lupin asked curiously, but Lily reached over and snagged the book back with a frown at him.

"Mind your manners Potter, or you'll find yourself sitting on that ghoul's lap until we're free of here." She promised. His mouth was still hanging open in shock as she read the news that Lupin had been a prefect, but James Potter had been made Head Boy, and then stopped herself, wondering who had gone mad in that school to allow such a thing.*

"That was mentioned ages ago you dimwits," Regulus Black scoffed at all the shocked faces. "Hagrid mentioned it the very first time he met Harry, you're the Head Girl Evans."

"How do you remember that?" Sirius dragged his eyes away from James to frown at his odd little brother. Admittedly, they'd been rather distracted at the time just adjusting to all this insanity and not everything had stuck.

"I pay attention," he shot back with an eye roll, causing Peter to snicker quietly. He'd been about to say the same thing as Regulus.

"Well, well what I said still stands," Potter finally brushed off his surprise and smiled invitingly at his crush once more. "Head Boy is far more of a responsible job than a ruddy old Prefect. What do you say Evans, shall we practice those long, alone hours patrolling the school when we get back? Just so we've got plenty of practice."

Lily gave him a withering look and took several steps away, out of arm's reach once more as she pleasantly went back to ignoring him.

James sighed but respected that, he'd been silently dancing in his head she'd allowed him so close this whole time and decided not to press his luck as he raised his wand even higher aloft so she could still see.

The party began dwindling down though, and everyone snapped back to attention with worry when Harry followed Molly out as if up to bed early. Her 'woes' hadn't exactly been made prominent through this exposition chapter, so some heartfelt talk was likely about to crop up instead.

What instead transpired was far more ghastly than even the ghoul could manage. Her worst fears of watching her family die in front of her, one right after the other, even Harry.

Nobody had any smart-aleck remarks for that, each of them had already lost something to this war in their own time, and these books had long proved they'd have even more to lose. Professor Lupin and the godfather swooped in to the rescue by banishing the boggart, but the damage was long done to them.

Lily read Harry's final thoughts with a kinship to everyone in this room. Voldemort had to be stopped before any more families were destroyed.

HPHPHPHPHP

I'm really proud of how this chapter works out metaphorically as well as literally. The chapter's mostly about the Weasley's, hence the location of where they store all their things, but also Harry feels really separated from everyone even in the midst of them, he might as well be up in the attic during the party.

*This actually isn't mentioned in the chapter, but I didn't react to it back when it was, so lets pretend Remus slipped that in yeah?