#but this long without any information is incredibly promising
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kooldewd123 · 1 day ago
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you know, we're sort of in a weird spot with plza news now where it doesn't really seem like there's time left for them to properly kick off the hype cycle any time soon. they definitely want to do a big announcement for pokemon day like they do every year, and i feel like it would be awkward if we get the big plza blowout trailer just a month or two beforehand. pokemon day seems like the optimal time for them to actually start giving us more info, and having an unprecedented entire year between announcement and proper reveal is super exciting to think about after people have been spending the past few generations begging game freak to slow down.
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empty-movement · 1 year ago
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Chiho Saito’s 1999 Revolutionary Girl Utena Original Illustration Collection
IT’S HERE. IT’S DONE. IT’S FINISHED. NOW…IT’S YOURS. Happy Holidays, my friends.
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Vanna here! I have posted some already about this project, and the responses I got, public and otherwise, have been absolutely incredible. Y’all have been reblogging and hyping this before it even finished…I haven’t felt so encouraged about an Utena project since the musicals! (Yes, streams soon, I promise.) You can read the other post to get more details, and catch my post here with more details about the process if you’re interested. The long and short of it?
This is the first artbook I ever scanned. I did it in 2001. In Photoshop, using multiple scans per page that took hours to process. But it was 2001. A half megabyte file that was 1250px wide was considered extremely hardcore and impressive. That’s just always been the business I’m in when it comes to Utena art, you know? 
It’s now the latest artbook I’ve scanned, and so much of the process, and effort involved, is unchanged. What has changed, is the result. Welcome to your new desktop background. Your new phone background. Your new poster print. 
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What I’ve done here is attempt to create definitive digitized images of Chiho Saito’s work as offered by this book--I have removed the print moiré of the original scans, and used my literal decades of experience to try and tease out as much information from them as possible. Without being physically in front of the original artwork (which is a thing I’ve had the great fortune to get to do) this is The Most Chiho Saito you are ever going to get. I’ve tried my best to make sure there is a way to get it that works for everyone:
Do you just wanna scope 'em out? Look at some disaster gays? Grab your favorite one or two? This is the path for you! Check out the ‘compressed’ (not very) 10k ‘web friendly’ (not really) copy at the Bibliothèque, the media archiving wing of the Something Eternal forums at Empty Movement*. All the following links are also available from here. Do you want these copies? All of them? Don't just grab them individually, friend. This batch is 375MB and can be downloaded as a zip of the individual files here on our Google Drive.
Do you like digital archiving? Are you looking for a copy that preserves the archival quality of the effort but sits nice and comfy in a single file? This is for you. A minimally compressed 10k, 513MB version worked into a PDF is now up, shiny and chrome, on the Internet Archive. Do you like the idea of the minimal compression, but want the individual files in a zip? Yep I did that too, here's the drive link.
Are you looking to print these in a larger size? This is probably the only reason on Earth you’d ever want them, and yet a bunch of you are going to go straight for these. Here are the zero-compression JPG full size copies, most of them are 15k across, like simply a ridiculous size. Pick your fave and download it from our Google Drive! 
I am genuinely really proud of this work.** I was able to tease out so much new detail from these…her incredible layering techniques, the faintest brush of her highlights, and the full range of her delicate hand at whites and blacks… details commonly lost in digitization. I sincerely hope you find something here that you’re looking for, as an artist looking for inspiration, as a weeb looking for a desktop, as an archiver excited to see incredible 90s manga artwork saved forever in the digital realm. I feel like I have already said so much about them, and could keep going, but you know what? This work speaks for itself. Enjoy, use, explore, and definitely tell us what you think!
We love y’all. ~ Vanna & Yasha
* AHEM ASTERISK AHEM
You might be wondering what any of that is. Something Eternal? Biblewhatawhat??? EmptyMovement.com? You might even have done a double take at the word ‘forum.’ And you should!!!
I have a confession. This artbook was my ‘side project’ as I worked on this, *the main project.* For a couple years I’ve been banging around with a new domain, and originally I had other plans for it, but Elon Musk ruined my Twitter and Discord is well along on its way to enshittification, and well….we joke on the Discord a lot about ‘reject modernity, embrace forums’ and you know what? We’re right. So Yasha and I are putting our money where our mouths are once again, and doing something insane. We are launching, in 2023, a website forum. Obviously, this is not the official ‘launch’ per se, but I cannot announce the artbook without directing you to the forum, since it sits on the attached very cool gallery system. Oops! Told on myself. Another post more focused on the forum will be forthcoming, but if you are just that motivated to get in right away, you absolutely can! (This will help stagger new arrivals anyway, which is good for us!) If you would rather wait for the ‘official’ launch, by all means that’s coming, including a lengthy screed about how and why we’re doing this. In either case, remember: this is a couple weebs trying to make internet magic happen, we are not website developers by trade. Give us grace as we iron things out and grow into this cool new website thingie…hopefully along with some of you! :D
If you do join up, naturally, there is a thread about this project!
** If you like this kind of content, consider helping us pay for it! We do have a Patreon! If you’re wanting to use these in some public-facing distributive way, all we ask is for credit back to Empty Movement (ohtori.nu or emptymovement.com, either will work.) 
I would like to say ‘don’t just slap these files on RedBubble to get easy money’ but I know that saying this won’t effectively prevent it. Y’all that do that suck, but you’re not worth letting it rain on the rest of this parade. :)
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babygirlwritessmut · 1 month ago
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♡︎ part9. last time you wore that dress, it caused us some problems
・❥・pairing: vi (arcane) x fem!reader
・❥・ summary: Vi introduced you to her friends, you`ve spend a great evening and now you want to fulfill that promise you made.
・❥・ genre: smut + grumpy x sunshine
・❥・ word count: 3.4k
✎ warnings: 18+, SMUT, dom!vi, rough sex, fingering, strap-on, swearing, alcohol.
MINORS DNI!
RIDE ON ME masterlist
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“cupcake?” - Vi called out to you while you were in the shower. “can you come to the kitchen when you're done?”
“give me a few minutes, please,” - you shouted back.
this morning, you woke up feeling a bit anxious. between work, studies, and your relationship, you barely had any time left for rest or for yourself. you couldn't even remember the last time you just lazed on the couch in silence or cooked in the kitchen. plus, today was exam day. you'd been studying all weekend, even your friends came over to study with you. passing the exams meant one thing - holidays. the very thought of it made you breathe a sigh of relief. that's why getting a high grade meant so much to you.
dressed in your robe and slippers, you made your way to the kitchen where Vi was making breakfast for the two of you, for which you were incredibly grateful, as you’d probably forget to eat without her. watching your girlfriend as she cooked, you smiled warmly. "I’m so lucky," - you thought.
“oh, cupcake! good morning, how are you feeling about the exam?” - Vi asked while the food sizzled deliciously in the pan.
“I'm alright, I think. I’m nervous, of course, but I can't fit any more information into my brain. whatever happens, happens today,” - you said, feeling overwhelmed by all the material you'd studied over the past few days.
“no matter what, I’m proud of you. you're so smart and hardworking, you've come such a long way this semester, and I have no doubt in you,” - Vi's words brought you comfort. it was nice to hear such encouragement from someone so important to you.
you hugged her from behind and murmured, - “you know you're the best in the world, right?” - burying your nose in her hair. Vi chuckled softly.
you stood there like that for a few minutes, not wanting to let go, but you had to leave in 20 minutes, and you were still in your robe. so, after kissing your girlfriend's amazing pink hair, you went to get ready. you put on your usual university outfit, tied your hair up in a bun, and came back out of the room.
while you were having breakfast with Vi, she mentioned that an old friend of hers was coming to town to celebrate their birthday, so she planned to go out.
“that sounds great, I’m glad you’ll be seeing your friends,” - you said as you finished your meal and started clearing your dishes.
“I was thinking, maybe you'd like to come with me? I'd love to introduce you to my friends,” - Vi said, taking your hand. “unless, of course, you’re planning to celebrate the end of the semester with your own friends.”
"meeting her friends is a big step, and if they are coming from another city just to see the group on their birthday, they must be really close," - you thought.
“of course,” - you said, squeezing her hand tighter. “honestly, we haven’t planned anything with my classmates. we're so exhausted that no one even mentioned celebrating.”
“maybe that’s a good thing, because that means you'll be all mine tonight,” - she said, kissing your forehead and helping you clean up. after that, you said goodbye to Vi and left the apartment.
two hours later, the university was buzzing with chatter. after a long wait for the results, you were finally gathered in the auditorium and congratulated on completing the semester. the dean's speech was short but meaningful, he announced that he was proud of his students because everyone had passed. you and your classmates exchanged satisfied glances. the results would arrive in a week via email, but the most important thing was that you passed. you were so proud of yourself.
at the entrance of the university, you and your friends were enthusiastically discussing plans for the holidays, but the main thing you all agreed on was that you needed to celebrate. since everyone was tired and overwhelmed from the day, you decided to meet up tomorrow. your conversation was interrupted by your phone ringing - it was Vi calling. your face must have changed because all your friends started laughing, saying, - “ooooh, look who’s in love!”
“shut up,” - you laughed in response.
"hey, Vi," - you said calmly into the phone.
"cupcake, I can't take it anymore, tell me," - she said, sounding anxious on the other end.
"I passed!!!"
"yes! I'm not even surprised, I never expected anything less. I'm so proud of you."
"thanks, Vi, I..." - you stopped yourself. "thank you for your support. I'll be home soon, bye," - you said, hanging up and taking a deep breath.
“trouble in paradise?” - one of your friends asked.
“no, it's just... I don't know how to...” - you started mumbling to yourself while your friends watched you in confusion. “how to tell her that I love her?” - their faces lit up with smiles as they hugged you tightly.
back at home, you started getting ready. Vi showed you the gift she’d picked out, and after approving it, you went to your room to get dressed.
“absolutely not,” - Vi said firmly.
“what? why?" - you asked, surprised.
“last time you wore that dress, it caused us some problems, I’d like to remind you,” - Vi said, glancing at the dress and clearly recalling what happened between the two of you last time.
“I’d say it worked to our advantage. just look where we are now,” - you laughed.
Vi rolled her eyes. “okay, sorry, I have no right to tell you what to wear. honestly, I’m just a little nervous.”
“nervous?” - you asked, not understanding what she meant.
“yeah, it’s silly, but... you're stunning, and I know that in that outfit, everyone’s going to be looking at you,” - she said, lowering her eyes.
you walked over to Vi and hugged her. “you don’t need to worry about that, I only need you,” - you said.
she hugged you tighter. “sorry.”
you just smiled. “thank you for sharing that with me.” you kissed Vi on the lips.
“just promise no more jokes about dancing without panties. I can’t handle that again,” - you laughed, covering your face with your hands as you leaned against the kitchen counter.
“I promise, from now on, only you get to take them off,” - you said, biting your lip and giving Vi a playful look.
“cupcake, don't do that, we'll be late,” - Vi said as she closed the distance between you, running her hands through your hair.
you sat up on the kitchen counter behind you and spread your legs. “what exactly should I not do?” - you asked teasingly.
Vi looked at you, then moved as close as she could. she ran her hands up your legs to the spot that the dress barely covered. in response, you wrapped your legs around her and leaned back slightly.
“is it just me, or does this dress have a strange effect on you?” - Vi said, slowly taking in the sight of your body. “maybe I should take it off you so you'll behave,” - she teased.
“try me,” - you said playfully, running your fingers over her lips, slightly parting them. Vi licked your finger, causing you to let out a soft moan. she pulled you closer by the waist and almost kissed you but suddenly said, - “I don’t want to ruin your makeup.”
she lowered herself to the level of your underwear, and the sight of her there made you even more excited, every part of your body begging for her touch. she brought your hips closer to her face and gently ran her tongue over your panties.
“Vi...” - you said as you tangled your hand in her hair, but she moved it away and stood back up, smiling at you.
“why did you stop?” - you asked, slightly frustrated.
“I was just checking to see if you had any underwear on. we can go now,” - Vi said, laughing and teasing you.
“I hate you,” - you said, jumping off the counter and heading for the door.
“I think it’s the opposite,” - Vi said, her eyes never leaving you as you walked away.
at the club, you finally met her friends. for some reason, they were just as you had imagined them: all different, yet somehow the same. Vi introduced you to them, and it seemed like she took extra pride in mentioning that you were her girlfriend. each of them gave you a warm smile and introduced themselves in return. finally, you and Vi greeted the birthday person, and everyone handed over their gifts. they were genuinely happy, thanked everyone for coming, and even welcomed you as the newest member of their crew. it felt good to be seen as more than just Vi's plus-one.
a few cocktails later, you were all on the dance floor. the music was great, your girlfriend was by your side, and you felt truly happy. her appearance was irresistibly attractive to you, and you were using all the willpower you had not to drag her to the bathroom with you. Vi probably understood this too, as her light touches on your body and gentle kisses on your neck kept your excitement simmering.
when you both returned to the table, you ordered one last round of cocktails. "good, because I'm already having too much fun," - you thought to yourself.
Vi’s hand rested on your leg under the table, and as the conversation went on, you felt it start to move higher up the inside of your thigh. your legs instinctively began to close, but Vi's hand didn't let that happen. just as her fingers got close to your panties, the birthday person suddenly said, - “thank you all for coming.” Vi quickly withdrew her hand, and you shot her an angry look, to which she barely managed to hold back a laugh and winked at you.
the way home was... tipsy. it seemed like Vi had good self-control, but you were in a good mood and feeling very turned on. this was the second time tonight that Vi had teased you, so you decided that once you got home, you would come up with a way to get back at her.
when you entered the apartment, you bent over in front of her to take off your shoes in a way that was anything but subtle. Vi's gaze fixed on your butt.
“can you help me with the zipper?” - you asked, your tone innocent. at first, Vi didn't even realize you were talking to her, but she slowly unzipped the back of your dress, her eyes trailing down your bare back, stopping when she saw your red lingerie peeking out.
you felt Vi's fingers tracing down your spine. “you think I don't know what you're doing?” - she asked, her voice low. you leaned forward slightly, steadying yourself with a hand on the wall, and she let out a small growl.
“and what about you? those touches under the table?” - you teased, feeling her hands on your hips, pulling you back against her. she lifted your dress, caressing your thighs, her gaze devouring the sight of you in that lingerie.
“I've never seen you in this position before. you never cease to amaze me, cupcake,” - she murmured as she slid her hand between your legs, into your panties. “so wet already, is this all for me?”
you could only moan in response as she began to massage your clit, your back arching more and more in front of her.
“Vi, please, take me,” - you begged, desperation in your voice.
“I thought you liked it when I teased you,” - she said with a smirk.
“I do, but... I can't take it anymore, I need you. please,” - you whispered, your desire almost overwhelming.
in one quick move, Vi turned you around and pinned you against the wall. “I think I've seen this scene before. i guess one hand was on your hip, and the other...”. she lightly wrapped her hand around your neck, and you let out a moan. “good to know you still enjoy this,” - she added with a grin.
“so much,” - you said, tilting your head back as you wrapped one leg around her, which she held tightly, pressing herself even closer to you. “do you think you can finish what you didn't that night?” - you whispered.
Vi's grip on your neck tightened slightly as she caressed your leg. “tell me exactly how you want it, cupcake,” - she said in that low, intoxicating voice.
“you're really going to make me say it out loud?” - you gave her a pleading look.
“yes, I love hearing you talk about what you want,” - Vi replied with a mischievous smile.
“fine, I want you to take me rougher, I want to scream your name, and I want...” - you bit your lip, - “I want to fulfill that promise I made.”
suddenly, Vi's hold on you grew stronger, and she bit down on your neck, making you cry out in pleasure.
“my girl loves it when I use my force, huh?”
releasing her hold slightly, she lifted you by your hips and kissed you passionately as you wrapped your legs around her. Vi carried you to the bedroom and threw you onto the bed. you barely noticed when your dress ended up in the far corner of the room. discarding her own clothes, Vi leaned down to you and said, - “get on your knees, cupcake.”
the moment Vi's words reached your ears, your stomach tightened even more. obediently, you did as she told you. without warning, Vi pulled your panties to the side and sucked on your clit. you moaned so loudly that your head started to spin. you could feel her tongue and lips devouring you hungrily, and you moaned even louder when you felt her tongue slip inside you.
pulling away from you for a moment, she said, - “cupcake, you need to be quieter. we don't want everyone to hear how dirty you are, do we?” - you nodded in response. “good, but if you're too loud, I'll have to do something about it,” - her voice sent shivers through your entire body, making it harder to stay on your knees.
Vi's tongue licked your wetness again, and she quickly thrust two fingers inside you, making you bite down on your hand to stop from screaming.
“that's it, good girl,” - her words were melting your entire being.
Vi's fingers started pumping harder into you. “you like it when I fuck you with my fingers, don’t you?” - you moaned and nodded in response.
“in order to fulfill that promise of yours, I need to get you ready. how does that feel?” - Vi said as she stretched you from the inside with her fingers, making you collapse onto your elbows.
“oh God, yes, I love it, Vi,” - you moaned louder. the obscene sounds coming from between your legs were shameless, but you loved how she made you lose control. her fingers began to move faster again, and you cried out.
“yes, Vi, please, I'm ready,” - you begged for more.
“you, cupcake, are such a dirty little thing, you know that?” - she withdrew her fingers and gave you another lick, making you throw your head back in pleasure.
behind you, you heard Vi open a box and take out her strap-on. as she put it on, she came up and pressed the tip against your entrance. your hips bucked in response, begging her to fill you.
“I want you to tap twice on the bed if it gets too much, okay, cupcake?”
lost in pleasure, you blurted out something that made Vi growl, - “afraid you won't be able to handle it?”
“that was a very, very bad idea,” - she said, and with those words, she thrust into you. your scream echoed through the room, as the sensation of being stretched and filled overwhelmed you, making your vision go dark from the intensity.
“I thought I told you to be quiet,” - Vi said, and suddenly your butt stung from a sharp slap, making you cry out. “there you go again. now I'll have to take measures, won't I?” - you nodded in response.
Vi's hand grabbed your hair and pulled you back up onto your hands, drawing a hoarse moan from your lips. she clamped her hand over your mouth and whispered in your ear, “ready to take the other half?” "THE OTHER HALF?!"
with one swift motion, Vi buried the rest of the strap-on deep inside you, making your ears ring and your eyes fill with tears.
“you said something about me not handling it - what about you?” - Vi's eyes flicked to your hand, checking if you'd tapped out, but you hadn't.
“good girl,” - she praised, squeezing your thigh tighter and starting to drive you onto her strap-on. your mind couldn't keep up with the intensity, you were breathless, but it felt so good. your whole body responded to every thrust, and the wet sounds coming from you were so filthy that you couldn't believe it was happening. after a few strokes, you began to match her rhythm, and Vi's smile grew even wider. her movements became faster and harder, slamming into your body so forcefully that your knees gave out beneath you. if she hadn't been holding you in her firm grip, you'd have collapsed by now. you kept moaning into her hand, clutching the sheets with your fist, but you didn't tap out. you loved it. you wanted more.
after a moment, you felt Vi pull the strap-on out of you and release her hold, causing you to collapse onto the bed, moaning.
“lie on your back. I want to see your pretty face,” - she ordered. you did as she said, spreading your legs like an obedient girl. Vi's smile grew wide at your compliance. “just look at her. tears on her cheeks, barely holding on, but still begging for more.”
Vi lifted your legs and draped them over her shoulders, thrusting back inside you in one smooth motion, making you scream.
“no, no, no. how many times do I have to tell you?” - she dropped your legs and covered you with her body, driving the strap-on even deeper, making your eyes roll back in pleasure. once again, she covered your mouth with her hand and began thrusting into you with force, holding onto the bed for leverage. each thrust felt like a wave of intense bliss, tears streaming down your face, yet you kept moving your hips, pushing yourself harder onto her. when Vi's pace quickened, you felt the overwhelming sensation that you were about to come. catching your eyes, she understood immediately, and when she pressed her finger against your clit, you started to whimper from the pleasure. your back arched, and stars danced in your vision as your body shook with the force of your orgasm.
slowly, Vi removed her hand from your mouth, still staying inside you. “if only you could see yourself right now, cupcake.” after a few seconds of looking into your eyes, she pulled out the strap-on, leaving you feeling empty inside. tossing it aside, Vi leaned down to you and gently wiped away the tears from your cheek. you were still catching your breath, your head still buzzing slightly.
you spent a few minutes in her arms, and when you finally managed to speak, you whispered, - “I've never felt this kind of pleasure with anyone but you.” Vi kissed you tenderly, - “the feeling is mutual, cupcake.”
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thebestofoneshots · 3 months ago
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Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)
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Series Masterlist | Previous episode
Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 8.3 K Warnings: none Prompt: It's time to set up a trap with the boys! It has to be fun, right? This IS a Wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it. Proofread by lovely @aremuslupinsimp
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Chapter 60: Stone in Love
Wednesday 12th, 1977 - 12:34 AM
Lily didn’t take too long in the bathroom, and you went inside right after her. The girls had showered after arriving on the train, you, on the other hand, had only mildly gotten yourself looking decent before walking to Gringotts, and that was because you knew you had to look presentable. You suspected that after the entire mirror adventure, running around Hogsmeade like a crazy person, and making out with two boys at the same time, you urgently needed one yourself. 
You looked in the mirror, and thankfully, you didn’t look as bad as you assumed you would. You did have a parted lip that you hadn’t noticed before, and your wrist was still slightly sore, but you looked brighter than you had looked in the morning. The evident sadness from then was now coexisting with a newfound joy, the tinge of someone completely in love –and happy about it– evident in some of your features. The shine in your eyes, the curve of your lips, the dreaminess of your gaze. It was almost ridiculous how much a small talk had changed the way you felt, and looked. 
You took a deep breath and turned on the shower, basking in the way the warm water fell over your body, so soft and kind, so unlike the blazing fire, and the cold snow, that you almost wanted to fill the tub and stay there. You were still slightly sleepy, but the shower was enough to wake you up. 
By the time you stepped out of the shower, Mary had also fallen asleep, and Lily was sitting on her bed while reading a book. “You’re leaving now?” 
You nodded, and yawned, “Hopefully I’ll get some sleep after the preparations are ready.” 
“Good luck,” she said and yawned. 
“Sleep tight,” you replied with a smile, took James’ cloak and wrapped it around yourself, completely disappearing before her eyes. There was an air of child-like joy in Lily’s pupils as she saw you do it. She might have been immersed in the magical world for years, but every now and then, something caught her eye that reminded her of just how fascinating magic could be. People might have called the way she saw things a “muggle outlook” but Lily refused the idea of ever taking it all for granted. She loved being mesmerized by magic, and she never wanted to stop being fascinated by it. She smiled, looking at the door open and close by itself and then went back to her book. 
She was trying to find a toad-repelling charm. If there was anything completely unrefutable about Lily Evans, is just how much she wanted to be prepared for any situation that she might face. And with the little to no information you had given her, she wasn’t eager to find herself surrounded or –Godric forbid– vomiting toads without being able to stop it. She really hoped it wasn’t the latter, Barty had charmed Nox like that in first year after he said something about Evan. She had been in the infirmary checking on Remus and she had to leave the room before he woke up because she too, had gotten the urge to puke. What a terrible jinx that was.
Luckily for her, having the entire school puke toads, was not on your plans, you were only trying to infest it. You walked down the stairs making as little noise as possible. You thought of using a spell to silence your steps, but it was quite late –about 40 minutes later than your original meeting plan– and there seemed to be nobody around. You walked towards the boys’ dormitories and gently knocked on their door. 
“About fucking time,” Prongs whispered as he opened the door. Once it was closed, his voice went back to normal. “We were thinking you bailed on us!”
“He was, not me,” Remus said with a shrug. 
“Why did you take so long, anyway?” Peter asked.
“Oreos,” you retorted. “And girl talk.” 
“You talk about me with Lily?” Prongs said as he raised his eyebrow at you. 
“What? Do you think girl talk is always about boys?” 
“No?” He retorted, dragging that O a little too much. 
You scoffed, “We did not. I’m sorry to inform you, our agendas don’t always include complaining about our boyfriends.” 
“What are Oreos anyway?” Peter asked about at the same time that James murmured “Complaining about our boyfriends?” He had a frown on his face and looked terribly upset at the idea of Lily complaining about him. 
You didn’t even bother to hide the smirk that had appeared on your lips. “Oh, a very muggle thing,” you retorted. The boys didn’t need to know what an Oreo was, at least not until you bought them a pack, at which point they’d be too busy delighting in them to remember that you had been late for the prank because of some cookies. 
“A very muggle thing?” Remus asked, eyebrows raised, his tone clearly telling you he knew exactly what they were. Hope made an Oreo / triple chocolate cheesecake that was to diе for.
“Indeed, Moony,” you retorted as you shot him a look. “And talking about muggle things, I brought you something,” you said as you pulled out the Aero bar from your pocket. “Have you tried it?” 
“Don’t think I have,” he said as he looked at the chocolate. “Thanks, Luv.” 
“How come Moony always gets treats and I never do?” Sirius said with a small pout. 
“Somehow  I knew you would say that,” you said as you pulled out a tiny chocolate frog and placed it right in front of his mouth. “I got these at Muggle London, they don’t jump but they’re tasty. Open up.” 
“That’s what he said,” James said and got a short slap from Peter who looked mortified. Somehow he was the only one in the entire group who saw you more as a girl than as a Marauder. 
“Oi! What was that for?” James complained as he rubbed his arm. Meanwhile, Sirius had taken a bite out of his chocolate, you expected him to take it all in, but instead, he bit right in the middle, causing the filling to spill down his mouth and your hands. It was liquidy and it kind of looked like cough syrup. 
“Oh, I guess it was blueberry,” you said as you noted the purple colour drip from your hands. You took the other half of the frog and plopped it into your mouth, “It’s actually my favourite,” you added as you licked the back of your palm. They were small kitten lips, just trying to get the stickiness out of it so you could wipe them on your shirt but somehow that had caught the attention of the two boys. 
Perhaps they were too imaginative, or the kisses from a few hours ago had left them wanting more, but both boys had their mouths watering at the sight. James and Peter were still arguing in a hushed tone so neither of them noticed their gazes until you felt you were being stared at. “What?” you asked as you turned to Remus. “Got something on my face?” You eyed Sirius who was also starring. 
Perhaps if Peter and James weren’t there, Sirius would have retorted with “A kiss” and jumped on you, but instead, he cleared his throat. 
“Nothing. It looks like it was a good chocolate,” Remus said, somehow calmly.
“You think?” you asked as you pulled another one from your pocket and held it up to his mouth in the same way you had done with Sirius. He glanced over at Peter and James nervously, but their small discussion had turned into a relatively heated quarrel. He then eyed Sirius who nodded with a small shrug. 
Remus leaned towards your hand, taking the chocolate with his teeth without breaking it, his soft lips brushing against your fingers in some kind of way that made Sirius wish he could drag the two of you somewhere private and kiss your pretty lips until he ran out of breath.
“Good, yeah?” you asked as you saw him smile mischievously as he bit the chocolate. You didn’t understand the look he and Sirius had, but he did, and he did not miss the way Sirius was looking at the two of you. First your way and then his, he never thought he’d love being the centre of attention of Sirius’ piercing eyes as much as he did right then. 
“Delicious,” He replied with that same, devilish smirk. Sirius would have scoffed if he hadn’t been just as lured by him as if he had been with you. 
You smiled and turned to the two boys still deep in their discussion. “Okay, that’s enough, we’ve got a spell to teach you,” you said as you placed a thick book in the centre of the small circle you had ended up in. Quite similar to the one you’d been in back in your room with the girls. The book fell down on the wooden floor with a thud so loud it snapped Peter and James out of their quarrel. 
“What? I thought you were going to do it with Moony,” Peter said. 
“If the school didn’t have thousands of classrooms perhaps. We’re thinking we have to split into 2 teams. The team with three takes the bigger places, such as the great hall, the courtyard, the stairs, the astronomy tower,  and the longer halls, the team with two takes the other classrooms. Especially the ones with classes tomorrow, but also the empty ones in case the teachers think switching classrooms would be a solution.” 
“Classes will be cancelled, no matter what,” Sirius said with a smirk. 
“And is it complicated?” Peter asked with a frown. 
Remus tilted his head to the side, “Well…” 
“You’ll do great Wormy, I know!” You said with a thumbs up and opened the book. “What Remus and I designed was a variation on Arresto Momentum,” you explained. 
“The freezing time spell,” Remus continued. “More technical versions can freeze a person before they fall to their dеath, Quidditch coaches are all taught how to perform it–” 
“Simpler ones are used to freeze food in time so it does not go bad. Muggles need refrigerators and stuff for that,” you continued. “But the tricky thing with this one–” 
“Is that we needed to time set them, like a bоmb. And all of them at the same time.” 
Sirius was looking at the way the two of you quite literally finished each other's sentences completely in awe. While he had already been in love both with you and with Remus, the fact that he could kiss either of you mid-sentence was beyond thrilling. You were both insanely pretty, almost unfairly so. Sirius was sure you were saying something important by the way you both pointed at the book and flipped your wands in a very specific way, but he was so entranced by you that he hadn’t been listening at all.
“You got it?” You asked Peter, he was moving his wand up and down and then in a circle and saying a couple of spell words, albeit a little clumsy, he was saying the words right and making the correct movements. 
“Did I?” He asked as he loosened his grip on one of the decoy swamp-bombs (the ones that had no swamp but just a little water inside). The ball stayed in its place until James grabbed it and put it in his pocket. 
“James mate, that’s a–” Remus started, but you placed your hand on top of his and threw him a knowing look. A small eyebrow wiggle and a tiny little smirk. He shook his head in amusement but didn’t press further. 
“Yeah?” James asked. 
“A great swish and curl,” you said as you imitated the swish on his wand. “Also, I think Pete is ready too,” you smiled. “You just need to add a little more confidence with the wording,” you added as you turned to him. “It’s Arresto Momentum um debiat” you added. 
“Um debiat,” Peter repeated. 
“You got it, Puppy?” you asked, turning to Sirius, who only now seemed to be snapped out of his trance.  
“Uh, yeah…” he replied with a confident nod, only now turning to actually look at Peter and James moving their wands and practising the new spell. He leaned towards Prongs. “What were the words again?” he asked in a whisper.
“Oh, my Merlin!” James complained. “You’re keeping this twat with you,” he added as he turned to you. 
“Hm… I suppose I’ll have to take one for the team,” you said with a shrug and a smirk. 
“You love having me as your team, shut up,” Sirius retorted with a playful scoff. 
“Moony is going to be with us, yeah?” Peter asked. 
James threw a look at Remus and smirked himself, “Don’t think so, Worms. Vixen and Moony are taking the bigger places since they’re faster with the spell. We’ll take the classrooms.” 
“Oh well,” Wormy said with a sigh. “Should we hide the balls in the corners, in case someone notices them?” 
“We probably should, yeah,” Remus replied. “That way even if one of us fucks with the spell they’d have to find the rest of the swamp-bombs before they actually explode.” 
“Brilliant idea, Pete!” you said with a warm smile, Peter smiled confidently after that. He knew he wasn’t all that great with charms, but he got little pride from getting ideas that turned out for the best every now and then. Like the cuddles, he was still pretty shocked by how well it worked in the end.
Sirius threw you a look, not quite jealous but not quite happy about you praising Peter either. It’s not that he didn’t like Peter, but he was still kind of bothered about the PDA discussion they’d had earlier, even if he had been playing him just to get on his nerves, he wasn’t too happy about being told when he could and couldn’t kiss his girlfriend; unless it was you telling him, that is.
“Okay, then, we ready?” you asked. “Who's keeping the cloak?” 
“Well, if you disillusion me and Peter, you three should have it,” James said, thinking of how cosied up you’d get under the cloak. You had been there for him every time he tried to have Lily fall in love with him. He considered his duty as your best friend (since Remus was your boyfriend now) to ensure he provided you three with lots of quality time together. Besides he hadn’t seen Remus this happy in so long, he wanted that smile to grow bigger. He wanted all of your smiles to do so. “Besides, you'll be going to the red zones.” 
The red zones was a term employed by the boys to reference the areas with the most teachers and prefects around at night. Places like the library (which you would not touch because both you and Remus valued books too much to risk them being damaged by the toads), the great hall, and the grand staircase.
“Sounds like a plan,” you said with a smile and took out the wand, successfully making both boys almost completely invisible. “The swamp-bombs?” 
“Under the bed,” James said as Remus pulled a small bag that had been extension charmed, and then another one. “The blue bag has the most.”
Peter leaned over –at least you assumed it was Peter, if the faintest whisp of neatly tucked hair was anything to go by– and took the purple bag. The colour of the bag faded after his hand touched it, it was almost completely gone by the time he lifted it from the floor. 
James whispered something, and you didn’t even notice they were leaving until the door opened by itself and closed seconds later. “I really need to learn that silencing charm, James has truly mastered it.” 
“Bet it’d come in handy,” Sirius teased, and you reproachfully threw the cloak at him, understanding full well his implication. He took the cloak and the bag and stood from the floor. “All right, we don’t have all night, we better hurry this up,” he added as he extended his hand for you to take. You stood up and then did the same for Moony who, once he was up, took the cloak from Sirius. 
Remus extended it around himself and held it over his head, welcoming the two of you inside. You smiled and got in, Sirius followed with a smirk, standing almost unnecessarily close to the boy. Not that you were standing much farther. Both –per James’ prediction– had cosied up to the taller boy like you did when you were in your animagus form. 
Remus tensed at first, being brought back to before you were with him, to having to worry about being caught smelling Sirius’ hair or looking at the back of your neck. And then you pulled your hand behind your back and searched for his, taking it in yours and giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He relaxed almost instantly, smiled and squeezed your hand softly in retort. Since you’d kept the cloak, Peter and Remus had gotten the map. That meant you’d have to be extra careful while walking around the school. 
If only we had two of those, you thought as you walked towards the door. Remus held his finger to his mouth, and for a few seconds, your breaths were the only thing either you or Remus could hear. “It’s empty, let’s go,” Remus said and Sirius opened the door. The three of you stepped out and in a matter of seconds were out of the door. 
The hall was empty, Remus was set to patrol that night, along with Frank Longbottom, the Gryffindor head boy whom you hadn’t met yet –at least officially, you’d seen him around– but was kind of close to the boys. And Remus had convinced him he’d take care of the prefect’s duties. According to Remus, Frank was trying to sway a girl named Alice (not the one you knew, a different one) and he was going to be working on writing her a letter all night.
“What do you even do when you patrol?” asked Sirius after he yawned, you instantly did the same. It was as if the sleep that you’d gotten after drinking the cookies was coming back to you, slightly stronger than before. 
“We literally just walk until the clock ticks midnight and then we come back to our rooms,” Remus said. “Frank talks a lot about spells, he’s a little clumsy like Peter, but he’s really clever regardless. When I’m with Lily we just discuss things like what we saw in class or the themes of our essays. Sometimes we just talk about muggle stuff,” he retorted. He was speaking low, not quite in a whisper, but enough for it to be muffled by the cloak. James had added a sound-blocking spell to it, it wasn’t strong, but it was enough to cover for words as soft as Remus’. 
“Where are we going first?” you asked, holding back another yawn. You knew Sirius would instantly tease you if he noticed you were sleepy, and while you didn’t hate his teasing, you didn’t want Remus to have the impression his new partners were childish. 
“Great Hall?” Sirius asked.
“We want them to go off in class, I was thinking we could have those set a little later, you know how Dumbledore loves taking the students to the Great Hall in a contingency.” 
“Imagine! They think it’s safe, and boom, toads!” Sirius added. 
“How do you even know about the contingency plans?” you asked with a frown. 
“We’ve caused a couple of them,” Sirius retorted with a smug smirk. “How does it feel to really be a troublemaker in the end?” 
“I sometimes feel it’s your madness rubbing off on me, you know?” You retorted and Sirius gasped. 
“Speak softer,” Remus chided when he heard a portrait yawn in the background. “I was thinking we could do the stairs first. Prefects are rarely there.”
“What about the portraits?” You asked, tilting your head. “They can be as bad as the Peeves when it comes to ratting someone out.”  
“Nah, they won’t bother you as long as you don’t wake them up, most of them just take the time to relax,” Remus responded with a shrug. “If anything happens I’ll just tell them I caught you sneaking and I’ll report you.” 
“Who would have thought it’d be so convenient to have the law in your pockets,” you said with a teasing smile and got a slight shove from Remus. “And we didn’t even have to bribe him!” 
“Oh, if I have to pull the Perfect card, you’re most definitely gonna have to make it up to me.”
You eyed Sirius, it was dark but the slight shine on his eyes was unmistakable, he was, like you, eager for something like that to happen. 
“Should we split to cover more ground?” you asked as you stared down at the massive staircase. 
“It would be the best…”  Remus said hesitantly. He clearly didn’t want you to pull away from him. 
“Promise I’ll be thinking of you,” you said, placing a short kiss on his cheek and disillusioning yourself. You exited the cloak with about 15 small balls hidden all over your pockets. You walked towards one end of the stairway and started to perform the spell over the small little balls. They looked almost kike gobstones, which was great since, even if they were visible, they wouldn’t be all that suspicious.
“Aren’t you going too?” Remus asked Sirius when the boy grabbed some of the balls from the bag and placed them in his pocket. 
“Thought I’d see you do it a couple of times to make sure I got the hang of it,” Sirius said as casually as he could. 
Remus groaned in return, “You so weren’t paying attention to either of us when we explained.” 
Sirius didn’t even try to deny it, “You both looked too pretty, I’m sorry.” He didn’t miss the blush that crept up on Remus’ neck when he said it. “So, pretty boy, care to teach me?” 
“Are you serious?” Remus dеadpanned. Regretting his words as they came out of his mouth. 
The other boy’s smile grew wider, “As a matter of fact, I–” 
“You have to flick your wand to the right, to the left, do a swish and then flick it again, towards 9 o’clock though. You got the words, yeah?” 
“Rude,” Sirius said with a small pout and followed Remus’ instructions seamlessly. Moony was almost jealous of how easy it was for Sirius to do it. You and he had taken so long to develop the spell for him to come and master it in seconds. 
“Like this?” 
“You’re just a show off,” Remus retorted as he pushed Sirius lightly, but the other boy just took the chance to hold on to Remus’ hand and pull him closer. Both still under the cloak. 
“Allow me to thank you, Professor Moony,” he said flirtatiously, planting a short kiss on the boy’s lips and slipping off the cloak with a disillusionment charm. 
Remus had to take some time to recover, blinking and staring at nowhere in particular, only being brought back by the moving of the stair underneath him. He was taken by surprise and lost his balance for a mere second before he remembered where he was and what he was meant to be doing. He tried not to think so much about the fact that he could literally walk up to you or Sirius and kiss you and how you would happily return the kiss, because if he did, then he might as well call the whole prank off and bring the two of you back to the room now that Peter and James weren’t around. 
By the time you were done with placing your swamp-bombs and turned to look for the boys, you realised just how hard it would be to find them now that everyone was using some kind of invisibility magic. You looked around for a while, trying to spot something that could reveal it, but it was almost useless, there was no way you’d spot either of them. You resorted to trying to use your other senses. 
You took in a deep breath, trying to channel Vixen’s sense of smell, but while you had gotten much better at transfigurations, and you had managed to do things like getting those fangs out and ripping your skin, you were not so good as to be able to just do that, not without turning into Vixen at least. You were just about to do that when you remembered that you didn’t have to solely rely on your senses, but that you could rely on theirs too.
“Remus,” you whispered. “Hey, Remus! Where are you? I’m done.” You blinked a few times, looking around to see if you spotted any sort of odd movement, and you thought you saw something move in the background when you felt a pair of hands grab you from behind and drag you inside the cloak.  You sucked in a breath, and his hand was over your mouth in a second. 
“Shhh,” he whispered to your ear soothingly. “It’s me, Little Witch.”
“Holy shit, Rem, why the hell from behind?” 
“I was there,” he replied with a shrug. “You seen Sirius?” 
“Thought I saw something move over there,” you said pointing at a stair that was moving on the other corner. Remus leaned closer to you, his head almost resting on your shoulder as he looked at the point you referred to. He was squinting his eyes in the direction of your finger, not realising how close he had gotten to you or perhaps he would have gotten as nervous as you were. 
But it was the good kind of nervous, the sort of heart-fluttering sensation that you got when you are close to the person that you like so much. While both Sirius and Remus had realised their feelings for each other and for you a while ago, you were just now noticing how much you liked Remus, and how many things about him you liked romantically. It was like being brought back to the Slug Party where you weren’t able to stop ogling him. 
He really was outstandingly pretty, so much that you wanted to kiss him. “You know Rem…” 
“Mhm?” he asked, tilting his head slightly as if trying to see better, while his eyes weren’t on you, he looked comfortable with the closeness. 
“Sirius and I have a bit of a tradition…” Now he turned to you, eyebrows knit. “It seems like whenever we’re on a stealth mission,” you added, turning your face to his as well, you were standing so close that your noses were pretty much brushing against each other. “Something comes over the two of us, and we end up doing the most outrageous thing.” 
“Like getting caught?” He teased. 
You scoffed, “Of course not! We’ve never gotten caught.” 
“What about that time at the Slytherin’s?” 
“He got caught, I didn’t!” You retorted, He raised an eyebrow as if to remind you that the only reason you hadn’t gotten caught was because he had been there to stop you. He had been tempted to kiss you then, perhaps as tempted as he was now. “But that’s not it.” 
“Then?” 
“Well when the tension rises,” you leaned a little closer to him, “and the adrenaline is in the air–” Your mouth was centimetres away from his, “we tended to–” 
You didn’t even finish, Remus got the idea and he was more than eager to join your little tradition. He was the one to close the gap, your lips crashing against his in a rather urgent manner. As if he was trying to kiss you for every time he had wished he could and had to restrain himself. He tasted like chocolate and cherry wine (probably because of the filling of the chocolate frog he got earlier). 
Despite his urgency, it was you the one who bit his lower lip and pressed your tongue against his mouth. He was quick to part them and chase your tongue with his, there was something about the way he kissed you that made your knees weak, in the same way that Sirius’ kisses did. Like you wanted to melt into him, allow him to mould you to his body instead of moulding him to yours. But then there was the other part of you, the one that didn’t like losing control and fought back for it, your hand rushing to the back of his neck and pulling him down to you while allowing your hands to play with his hair. It was much shorter than Sirius’ but that didn’t mean you couldn’t pull on it just slightly. 
He moaned into the kiss when you did and it was hard for you to hold back the smile as you separated for air. You were about to go back to kiss him when you heard a door shut from the side. You pulled apart from and looked towards it, biting your cheek to swallow the gasp you would have instinctively made. 
“It’s Severus,” you whispered as you stared at the greasy-haired boy. He was walking with his head held high, his Prefect badge, perfectly polished adorning his chest. You rolled your eyes and turned to Remus again, his lips were rosy and he was also panting a little, you never thought he could look prettier and here he was, all kissed out and looking like a prince. “You find Sirius?” 
Remus turned to you with eyebrows raised. He was too busy finding your lips to look for Sirius. “We have to distract him,” you mouthed, not daring to speak any louder, despite the charms the cloak had, you couldn’t risk it. You were not going to get caught by Severus Snape, of all people. 
“How?” He asked. 
You smiled mischievously at that. “Insecti,” you whispered, effectively conjuring about 4 thick flies, directing them straight towards his hair. Remus looked at you with interest, while the flies buzzed about all around Severus. 
“Go away!” the Slytherin said as he frantically waved his hands over his head. Hitting one of them with the back of his hand but still being followed by the rest. “I said go away!” He said again, much more irritated. He was going up a flight of stairs, and you knew he wasn’t distracted enough to fall, regardless you were keeping a very close eye on him. Finally, he took out his wand, and the moment he did you pulled just the tip of yours from the cloak. 
You smiled, “Mucus ad nauseam,” you whispered this time. He sneezed. 
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he said as he took out a handkerchief to stop his runny nose. It was a simple spell that you found in one of those trick books the boys had to sneak out of the restricted section. “It must be the fucking flies,” he complained again.
Remus threw you a diverted look and you winked his way. Severus sneezed again, waking one of the portraits. “Shhhh,” the man said by placing his hand over his mouth. “Some of us are trying to sleep.” 
“It’s not like I can control them,” Severus muttered under his breath, and then sneezed again, this time a little louder. Just to piss him off. But he inadvertently woke up a couple more of the portraits.
They had already started whispering about, a lady in a horse shushing him while on another one, two men that had been playing chess started discussing his outrageous behaviour. “Who’s responsible for this squawking?” a man with an Auror uniform asked. Severus sneezed again. “Ah, it’s the Slytherin kid, of course, it’s the Slytherin kid,” Said Lady McDougal as she pointed at him.
Severus rolled his eyes, trying to hold his next sneeze while also hitting one of the flies with his hand. Remus turned to you, pulling out his own wand and pointing it towards him. “Sonorus,” he whispered.
“Stupid ancient portraits, they should start minding their own fucking business,” he muttered again. Except this time, Remus’s charm had made his voice a lot louder. So loud that instead of a whisper to himself, as he intended, his voice resonated all over the Grand Staircase. He froze, looking around the portraits as he gulped. 
“Who are you calling ancient?” A very old man asked from the right wall. “I thought you’d be wiser since you’re a member of my house.” 
Severus was about to apologise, but he sneezed instead. “And he won’t stop making noise even after we asked him!” the portrait that had shushed him first added. 
Some portraits were looking at him with disapproving glances, others were muttering among themselves while, the most outspoken ones, were straight up telling him off. 
“Cannot believe the prerequisites for becoming a Perfect have stump so low that someone like you has gotten the honour,” a man with curly black hair added. “When I was the Headmaster of this fine institution you could only achieve such a position by being at the epitome of the student body. Only truly exemplary students…”
“Shut up Nigellus,” another portrait said. “Nobody liked you when you were Headmaster!” 
“He kind of reminds me of…” you muttered as you looked at the portrait of Nigellus, who had now engaged in a heated discussion with the portrait of a Quidditch player.
“Nigellus Black,” Remus said with a smile. “He’s nothing like our Sirius but he’s got those pretty eyes of his.” 
“Should have known…” you smiled as you turned to him. 
Severus sneezed again, successfully driving the attention –and anger– of the quarrelling portraits towards himself. 
“Well boy, what are you still doing here? Go lock yourself in your common room or something!” Nigellus said, you snickered, covering your mouth with your hands to avoid making a sound. 
Severus wiped his runny nose with his sleeve. “BIoody portraits!” He said as he rushed towards one of the halls, and away from the stairs. 
“BIoody portraits,” one of them mocked in a high-pitched tone as he passed by. It was the portrait of a younger boy, and he didn’t think twice before flicking his index and middle finger at him. 
“Let us sleep!” an old lady with a flower dress shouted from the very top. 
Severus cursed under his breath as he shut the door, loud enough to get cursed again by the rest of the portraits. “Slytherins,” Lady McDougal said with a sigh, “It had to be one of them.” 
Another lady agreed with her while some Slytherin wizards shook their heads in disapproval. Meanwhile, you and Remus couldn’t stop eyeing each other with a satisfied and diverted look. That’s when you saw green sparks coming from one of the doors. 
“Is that the Slytherin boy again?” One of the portraits asked. 
“Let’s go,” you said, knowing full well it had been Sirius and not a Slytherin. By the time you and Remus got close enough, you could distinguish his beautiful black curls through his disillusionment charm. Remus extended the cloak around him and suddenly the three of you were back in the little safe heaven James’ invisibility cloak provided. 
“That little act of yours was brilliant,” Sirius said with a smirk in a low tone. “Where next?” 
“The Great Hall,” Remus said. The three of you made your way towards it, stopping by the library before you got there. “We should probably lock it…” 
“Or they’ll try to give classes inside,” Sirius added. 
“A simple locking spell won’t be enough,” You said and took a deep breath. “What if we disappear it?” 
“What?” Remus asked with a frown. “How?” 
“We could hide it,” Sirius said with a nod. “Make it seem like it has disappeared even if it’s still there.” 
“Exactly, something close to a disillusionment charm, but for things.” 
“And then we could fill it up with something like escargot slime, nobody would want to get close to it.” 
“Snail,” you said before Remus even threw you a confused look. You had no idea why Sirius would remember the French word (which was far more complicated) than the English one but one time you had forgotten how to say spoon and went for cuchara instead.  You turned to Sirius, “Where would we even get snail slime, though?” 
“Don’t worry about that,” he said with a smile and turned to the massive library doors. He took in a deep breath and cast a disillusionment charm, followed by you and then Remus. The door had completely disappeared after the third spell. Sirius smiled and turned to the door. “Cochlea bitumine,” he said, suddenly there was a green, snot-like slime all over the floor and wall. You sighed, it didn’t stink, but the smell was rather potent. 
You took a swamp-bomb from Remus’ pockets and stared at it for a second, “I think they’ll rather enjoy this ambience,” you smiled and hid it inside the smile, while you avoided touching the viciousness of it altogether. Then you whispered the words of the spell. Sirius imitated you, and you ended up hiding about 6 of them just in the area. 
The great hall remained pretty empty at night, you had never been there, but the boys were familiar enough, apparently, the ghost didn’t really like being there when there wasn’t people, there were no portraits, and while the charms in the sky became a little fickle when there were people there after hours, it much easier, once you were inside.
The complicated part was getting in. Since that’s where the Prefects gathered before and after their patrol, it was much harder to get through the open halls that took you inside. Lucky for you, you had taken the cloak, which meant your life would be made easier. 
“Ready?” Sirius asked with a smile. You were standing just below the stairs, and peering up at the hall. There were three Hufflepuff prefects there. You recognized one of them as Alex Wood’s classmate, but you weren’t familiar with the rest. 
“We could try to distract them first?“ you said. 
“But then they would know someone’s out and about, and James and Peter would have people looking for them, they have no cloak.” 
“Then we become as stealthy as ninjas,” Sirius said with a confident nod. He’d been reading some Daredevil comics Andromeda had sent him and he had been fascinated by the idea of them. 
“I could turn into Vixen.” You shrugged, “they would never figure out I’m a student and not just a rogue fox.” 
“It’s not as believable as if Wormtail did it…” Remus replied as he shook his head. 
You were still discussing strategies when a ghost mounting a horse came in screaming through the side. “Someone has been in the classrooms,” he roared. You grabbed both boys’ hands and dragged them towards the great hall as the Hufflepuff scattered from the door and tried to talk to the very altered ghosts. 
“I guess they’ve been discovered,” Sirius whispered as you all arrived at the Great Hall. 
“Mhm,” you agreed. “We need to be more careful now.” 
“Perhaps not quite,” Remus said thoughtfully. “They’ll probably go talk to the portraits, and Severus was the one causing a mess, so they might pin the classroom incident on him too.” 
“Sir Pendragon would have said Potter and Pettigrew were there if he had spotted them. He’d take any chance to drag either of us down.” 
“Huh? Why?” you asked curiously. 
“Peter thought it would be funny to share a rumour about him in second year. He told everyone he didn’t lose his head on a joust, but that it had been eaten by a Wilddeoren,” Remus explained.
“They were a lot more common back in the day,” Sirius added. “Anyway, I think Sr. Nicholas found out it had been Peter and told Sir. Pendragon since he wanted to join the headless hunt. The man has hated all of us since then.” 
You laughed and shook your head. “You should make friends with the ghosts, not make them your enemies.” Sirius just shrugged, smiling and sending you one of those winks of his. He then pulled some orbs from his pocket and placed them on your hand. “Ready to cause mischief?” 
“Definitely,” you retorted with a smile, placing them in your pockets and then grabbing another handful. You disillusioned yourself before stepping out of the comfortable warmth of the cloak and walked to the back of the hall. You did hear the uneasy rumbling of the ceiling, as if it knew someone was around when they shouldn’t be, but you ignored it until you got all the way to the teacher’s table. You placed swamp-bombs underneath it, three by the windows and some on the closer gargoyles. Meanwhile, Sirius and Remus were making sure all the tables had swamp-bombs underneath them. And for good measure, they also hid a couple next to the floating candles.
Once you were done, you all reunited back in the same spot near the door, it was Remus –who still had the cloak– the one that dragged you inside as soon as he spotted you, or rather, smelled you, since he’d managed to do that way before the saw through your disillusionment charm. 
“Hey,” you said with a smile once he pulled you to him. 
“Hey,” he responded, like the idiot in love he was. You smiled, as you looked up at him, and he leaned in to press a short, quick kiss on your lips. “Sirius is on his last bomb.” 
“How do you know?” you whispered.
“I counted them,” he told you with a shrug. 
“No wonder he calls us nerds,” you said with an amused scoff. You were both pulling Sirius into the cloak mere minutes later. 
“Where to now?” He asked with a smile, Remus was tempted to press a kiss onto his lips as well but decided perhaps right at that instant it wouldn’t be proper. Not that either of the three cared too much about proper, but Remus still had more common sense than the two of you. 
“The tower,” you said as you yawned. 
“You tired?” Sirius teased. You blinked and shook your head in response. Not that you didn’t have perfect reasons to be tired, but the idea of falling asleep in the middle of a prank was so absurd to you, that being tired –no matter how sleepy you actually were– seemed preposterous. 
Sirius tightened his lips as he tried to hold back a smile, he had known this for a while, but when you were sleepy, you got into a cuddly mood, and when you were in a cuddly mood, he got to be as clingy as he wanted to be. He wondered if he’d be able to hug you and Remus at the same time later that night, without having to turn into Padfoot, and picture how amazing that might be. 
“You think they’re outside still?” You asked as you leaned your ear on the door. 
“They’re not,” Remus said confidently. “Even the portraits are asleep now.” 
“Good,” you said as you cast a silencing spell on the door and pushed it open. “Let’s go!”
The portraits at the Great Hall were also much calmer now, which is why you tried to be as quiet as possible as you climbed up the stairs that would lead you to the Astronomy Tower. “Looks like they’re already falling asleep,” Sirius said. “You think they’re still mad at Snape?” 
“They won’t get over being called ancient anytime soon,” Remus said with a smile. “And with how much they gossip, they might turn the rest of the portraits in the castle against him as well.” You let out a low giggle after that and covered your mouth almost in an instant. When you heard one of the portraits wake up the three of you threw a look at each other and rushed towards the tower as fast and stealthily as you could. 
Once you got to the stairs you looked up, it was a rather long stairwell, leading all the way to Professor Spellman’s territory. The divination classroom was dark and gloomy at night. There was a rather faint light coming from the window, but the classroom was only lit by a single black flamed candle. Spellman had talked about that in a previous class.
According to him, black flame candles were better than normal candles in divination spaces because they didn’t disturb the light from stars as much. 
“Lumos,” Sirius said and pulled out the tip of his wand from the cloak. “I don’t think there’s any ghost here now,” he whispered as he turned to you. 
“Prefects don’t come here often either. They do check the top of the observatory, but that’s just because some people use it to make out.” 
“Oh, really?” You said with a smirk, managing to shake off the sleepiness a bit more. 
“Don’t get any funny ideas,” Sirius told you and you pouted as you looked at him. 
“You’re the one with the funny ideas most of the time,” you retorted. Remus shook his head in amusement, took some of the swamp-bombs and handed them over to the two of you. 
“Focus, we can discuss those funny ideas once we’re done.” 
Sirius turned to you with an eyebrow raised and a smirk that you retorted with a raise of an eyebrow and a similarly satisfied smile. After the small exchange, the two of you went on your way to set up the classroom.  Once you were done, the three of you stepped out and went straight to the observatory. You split up again, this time not bothering to disillusion yourselves, and started placing some swamp-bombs all over the place. 
When you were done, you walked over to one of the small lookout spaces and leaned both of your arms on the railing, looking out towards the Black Lake. It was the same railing in which Evan had threatened you not so long ago. If someone had told you then that he would save your life months later you would have called them crazy. And here you were, in that same railing, thinking of how sudden the change had been. 
You took a deep breath, trying not to let thoughts of that night cloud over your happy ones, “What is it?” Remus asked as he approached you, leaning close enough that your shoulders bumped into each other. 
“Nothing,” you said almost in a whisper. He raised one of his eyebrows. “Everything,” you sighed and then yawned. “Godric! Why am I so damn sleepy,” you asked as you rested your head on his shoulder. “It isn’t even that late...” 
Remus turned to his watch, “It’s almost 2,” he said. 
You yawned again. “I didn’t even wake up that early,” you complained. Your eyes were closing on themselves, and Remus was tall, warm and so reassuring that your eyes almost refused to stay open. 
“But you had one hell of a day,” he retorted softly. 
You hummed in response. “That indeed,” you yawned. “But still, there’s something weird about it…” you said with a long sigh. Remus was thinking of an answer when he felt a little bit more of your weight reclining against him. He turned towards you only to notice your evened-out breath and completely relaxed expression.
“Little Witch?” he whispered, the lack of response confirmed his hypothesis, you had fallen asleep as you reclined into him. Remus smiled, looking at your slightly parted lips as you breathed in and out the chilly winter air. He wasn’t sure he had ever had the time to look at it from such an angle. 
Not that you hadn’t already used his shoulder as a headrest, but he had never felt comfortable just blatantly staring, in case someone else was watching, in case somebody noticed how irrevocably in love he was with you. But you knew it now, and Sirius knew it too, and you were both okay with it. So he stared, at your lashes, and your nose, and the curve of your lips, like he was seeing you for the first time, even if he had been dreaming with them for months now. 
The snow was gently falling outside, the lake shimmered with the reflection of the stars and the forest was as dark and alluring as ever. But not even the beautiful, shimmering stars in the sky were lovely enough to divert his attention from you. He was in a trance so deep that he didn’t even hear the steps from behind.
“Hey Moony did you–” 
“Shhhh,” Remus said softly, turning to Sirius as he rushed a finger over his mouth. “She’s fallen asleep.” 
Sirius frowned and tilted his head, you had never fallen asleep in the middle of a prank. “Don’t you think that’s weird?” Sirius whispered. 
“With the day she had?” Remus retorted. “It might just be the only thing she’s done that makes any sense.” 
Sirius shook his head with a smile, “It’s not the only thing,” he retorted, leaning in closer to Remus, and laying his head on the boy’s free shoulder. “She got us together, and we make sense together.” 
It was almost ironic, that when Remus finally managed to rip his gaze away from you, it was only to look at Sirius. Sirius with his confident smile and sparkling eyes, he would have sworn they were shinier than the stars and the shimmering reflection of the crescent moon in the black lake. The snow might have been falling like glitter in the water and dissolving into sparkly droplets of dew, but his eyes were lost on the endless grey of his best friend, his boyfriend. Remus smiled, “Yeah, we make sense together.”
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look-at-the-soul · 1 year ago
Text
My refuge
Tommy Shelby x reader (daughter)
Request by @kpopgirlbtssvt Thank you for sharing this incredible idea around, I decided to give it a try, but I highly encourage any other writer who wants to join in because the way I approach it. Might be completely different…
I think this idea was the perfect match to celebrate K @runnning-outof-time 3K followers celebration! 🌹🌷💐🌺🌼Congratulations dear K, I adored your Tales from the Garden theme and had this visual idea of the garden…
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“Daddy? I brought some tea.”
Tommy looked towards the door, where you were standing poking only your head inside his office, his heart still skipped a beat every time he heard you call him that.
“You can come in sweetheart.” He stamped his cigarette in the ashtray.
Michael sighed loudly as you interrupted their conversation, his annoyance didn’t go unnoticed by Tommy.
“Frances helped me bake cookies, I hope you like it.” Y/N smile made Tommy smile as well, how could he reject you something? If his only daughter wanted him to eat a cookie, he’d eat a fucking cookie.
“Thank you love.”
Michael scoffed again, watching the interaction.
“Will you be busy for the rest of the afternoon?” You asked sweetly as your father took another sip of his tea.
“Why?”
“Because you promised we’d go riding.”
Tommy’s expression softened.
He stood up immediately, looking in Michael’s direction. “We’ll see this tomorrow.”
“What? No, Tommy I need y-”
“Michael.” Tommy warned giving his cousin a death stare, he wouldn’t repeat himself.
Turning his back at him, Tommy got rid of his suit jacket, and started rolling the sleeves of his shirt up.
Michael looked annoyed at you and then at Tommy, he felt a strong dislike for the long lost daughter that suddenly appeared, making his cousin a soft, ridiculous, old man.
Michael grabbed the papers from Tommy’s desk and stormed out of the office without a word.
“He’s always angry.” You stated with a giggle, making your father chuckle.
“Let’s go my darling.” He took the remaining of his tea in one big gulp and then the cookies you baked to eat on the walk to the stables.
It was impossible to not feel calmer around you, Tommy noticed. Realizing how full of life he felt, how much he wanted to protect you.
On their way to the stables, you stopped to smell one of the bushes with pink roses. Your Dad, who was usually in a hurry, stopped on his tracks to take in the moment, wishing he could be more like you. But deep down he knew he wasn’t made to enjoy simple moments like those.
“I love your garden, I could spend all day sitting here surrounded by this beauty.”
Tommy felt constantly in awe by the things that made you smile, his mind trying to storage every moment, every word, trying to make up for the time he lost.
He stayed quiet as the two of you were riding, thinking of how much you and the woman he once loved looked alike.
“I shouldn’t have interrupted your meeting with Michael?” You asked worried. “Sorry, I thought you were free.”
“What? No, none of that, you’re my priority from now on.”
“Then why are you so quiet?”
Tommy was forced to look up at you, fighting against the lump in his throat. “You look exactly like your mother.”
Without even knowing, you had started a revolution within him, made him go back in time when he was young and carefree.
“How did you and Mum meet?” The question had been on your mind for a while, you looked in his direction with curiosity, not understanding the reason why everyone looked at your father with fear in their eyes, he was the sweetest man on earth.
Tommy took his time to think of how to elaborate a proper answer.
“I saw her at an Appleby fair, she was dancing with other girls… she was like a magnet, I couldn’t look anywhere else.” For an instant, he was back in time into that very moment.
“What happened then?” Your face lit up, moved to have this little piece of information, for years, you only knew your mum’s side of the story, now, it was time to get both.
“She asked me out to dance with her, then it started to rain heavily and the fair was canceled, we went to my caravan and I’ve never been happier,” Tommy stopped and winked at his daughter, “until you stood in my front door.”
“She always talked about you, until her very last breath.”
“I wish I could prevent her parents taking you both away from me… but when I went to France and sent her letter with no answer, eventually, I stopped writing.” A heavy sigh abandoned his body as he stopped by a tree.
In more ways than he thought, talking about your mother helped him heal a part of his heart that had been broken for a little over two decades.
You came down from the horse and saw how your father secured both next to a tree.
A tender hand came to rest to the side of your face. “I’m just so glad you found me.”
There was a bittersweet look in his eyes, you noticed.
“I made quite an entrance, fighting off the maid, telling her, no I demanded a word with you.”
Small lines appeared around his eyes. “Like the good Shelby that you’re.”
“You never doubted for a second?”
But your Dad was already shaking his head. “No way, I knew it was you in that very moment.” He admitted, in his mind images of that day playing in his mind.
He was running late that morning and as commotion was happening downstairs, he rushed with a gun ready. Even from afar, as he took in your features, he knew it was you.
“But I confirmed it when I saw the broken Black Madonna around your neck.”
You looked at him confused.
“Back then I didn’t own anything,” he explained bending one knee, “so one day I found this broken Madonna relic, it was missing the hook to attach it to the chain, so the owner of the stand gave it to me for free, I tried to fix it and gave it to your mum for one of her birthdays.”
“That’s beautiful.” You touched it, feeling your heart beat under your hand.
Saving these memories in the deepest part of your soul.
You talked for hours, Tommy had never felt more free to speak his mind, his fears , his dreams, he realized his daughter understood him at a level nobody else did. You were his blood, and the exact same image of your mother.
***
“Good morning, thank you for coming.” Tommy walked into his office not realizing the door didn’t close completely.
“Finally after canceling this bloody meeting so many times.” Michael sighed as Tommy entered the office.
“I like your enthusiasm Michael, hopefully you will still carry that around by the end, ey?”
Leaning back, Michael tilted his head, he was clearly annoyed with the delay.
“Hopefully someone won’t interrupt us this time around over a fucking cup of tea or to go and pick up wild flowers to make a crown.”
The cigarette Tommy was about to light didn’t reach his lips, as he stopped midway.
“What didya say?” Tommy squinted his eyes.
“I said I’m fucking tired of your daughter interrupting us every single time-”
“Y/N, her name is Y/N Shelby.” Tommy dragged his words slowly, leaning his palms on his desk staring deeply into his cousin’s eyes.
“I don’t know you anymore, since when you push everything to the side Tommy? This business demands your full attention an-”
“Since she showed up in my doorstep!” Tommy slammed the desk with his hand, his voice raising. “After being away from me for twenty years, it really shouldn’t be a surprise she has become my priority now.”
“Michael.” Polly tried to warn him.
But Tommy raised his hand, to let him speak.
“I just can’t stand how you immediately turn into a fucking puppy as soon as she walks into any room, her little happy bubble is fucking annoying, this is a serious business and we don’t need a child with a bouncy bow interrupting everyone fucking meeting.”
Tommy remained quiet for a few seconds, his mouth pressed in a tight line. “Are you done, Michael?”
“I mean if you want to take some time apart from the company to spend time to work on your family bond.”
As you took the last step of the staircase, you noticed the voices coming from your father’s office, it was probably your family as you noticed Polly’s voice.
Walking closer to join them and before you could reach the knob, you heard something that stopped you on your tracks.
John couldn’t hold it any longer and started laughing.
“You definitely look like a fucking puppy, you can’t deny it… as soon as you see Y/N you turn into a fucking marionette, she does whatever she wants with you.”
“She turned you into a softy, brother.” The voice of your uncle Arthur pointed.
“Sometimes I wonder what the hell is she doing in a place like this.” Michael stated in a serious tone. “She doesn’t match the Shelby energy. What if someone comes at her? Does she even know how to use a fucking gun?”
Your heart sank to the floor, listening to what they thought of you.
Then it was your aunt Ada’s voice what you heard next. “She’s just a happy girl.”
“Ada knew how to use one at her age.” Polly admitted, you saw her over the slightly open door looking into her purse.
“Little Finn knew how to shoot before he was eight.” Arthur informed them.
“She’s a weakness, Tommy,” Michael insisted, “her happy bubble will lead us all into trouble someday.”
And for the first time, you felt anger building inside your body.
“Even Charlie seems to be more keen to be part of the business.”
With an unknown courage, you pushed the heavy door and stared at each of them. Shock reflected on their faces.
“I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to be happy, and I’m sorry for being in my little, weak bubble, but you’re probably right… I don’t belong here, I shouldn’t be a fucking Shelby.”
You didn’t waste another second to listen their answer, you turned your back at them and stormed out of the office, rushing towards the doors.
“Y/N wait!”
“Shit, how long has she been listening behind the door?” Ada asked.
“Did she really curse?” John asked shocked.
“I hope you’re fucking happy now, look at what you caused.” Tommy spat at Michael, leaving his family to go after his daughter.
But he wasn’t fast enough to go after you, when he reached the fountain, your small figure had already disappeared from his eyesight.
Looking down, he found the ribbon you always wore around your hair on the floor, about to fly away with the wind. Crounching down, he took it between his fingers, kicking himself internally at the thought of you feeling hurt.
“Get me the horse!” He barked, realizing how he wouldn’t be able to reach you by car.
You felt the way your heart was beating, uncontrollably while the tears blurred your vision. Realizing how silly you felt by thinking that you had found your place.
Being a Shelby by name wasn’t enough for them, no, you had to cut people’s eyes and be ruthless and clearly, you weren’t like that.
And you’d never be.
Your legs were burning from running, after moving aimlessly you sank down, finally letting out a sob from the deepest part of your soul.
You felt broken inside, sad because no matter what, you would never be a part of their world, you didn’t understand the family business, didn’t feel familiar with weapons, you were weak according to them.
Perhaps Michael was right after all.
Back at the house Polly scolded her son for the words he said, should mind his own business and stay away from you.
“You have to change that bloody attitude, Y/N is one sweet little child, she lost her mother.”
“She’s not a child and Charlie lost his as well and he doesn’t go trying to get Tommy’s attention all the fucking time.”
“It’s a different dynamic Michael, you can’t expect them to behave the same.” Ada interrupted him.
“Y/N and Tommy have a special bond.” Polly admitted sipping on her tea. “You can see it in his eyes… Y/N’s mother was the love of his life.”
“I don’t remember her much.” Ada expressed pouring herself some whiskey.
“I didn’t even know he had a secret relationship with her.” Arthur sighed.
“They were young and in love.” Polly explained, she had covered her nephew a couple of times from his father for not being around, lied saying she asked him to run some errands. “She was a good girl, but I never saw her again. Guess her parents moved out angry when they realized she was pregnant.”
“I can’t find her.” Tommy announced with his breath caught up in his throat and a panic look in his eyes. “Arthur, John come with me. Ada take the car around,” he clicked his fingers. “Want every single maid looking for Y/N.”
Then, he threw his cousin a death stare. “If anything happens to me daughter… you’re a death man.”
Tommy couldn’t conceive the idea of you being out on your own at night, he needed to protect you.
In his heart he made a promise to your mother the day you showed up in his house with the letter she wrote him, explaining everything; how her parents sent her away to live with an aunt in the mountains when they found out she was pregnant, they let her keep you but under the condition of being raised as a sister and not daughter.
And he was failing.
Defeated, he rode back home, trying think a plan to find you. Where would you go?
He felt desperate and frustrated, about to explode from the worry, after returning to the property finally he stopped to let someone take his horse to drink some water after spending hours looking out for you. Taking his watch from the pocket in his vest he noticed it was close to sunset now and it would get cold.
If only he could tell you how much you meant to him.
They looked for you at the stables and around Arrow House, but you were nowhere to be seen. Tommy started to feel like a lion inside a fucking cage, he needed to calm down to think where would you go, looking to his right, his eyes fixed on a bush and that gave him the hint to go and look at the garden.
Feeling his heartbeat drumming in his ears, Tommy was determined to find you so he entered the maze. He followed the herbaceous border and took a right to find the fountain, walking past the yew buttresses. Wiping the sweat from his chin, he noticed a silhouette sitting by the steps of the gazebo.
And he couldn’t feel more joy in his chest, recognizing immediately it was you.
“Y/N.” He whispered out of breath.
You were pale and didn’t answer him.
Once more, he called your name, finally getting close enough to touch you. “Wake up baby girl.”
“Daddy?” You blinked away a few times, taking in your surroundings.
“You’re so cold.” He took his coat off and wrapped it around your shoulders.
The previous events slowly coming back into your memory. You probably fell asleep after crying endlessly.
“I’m sorry I’m a disappointment to the Shelby name.”
“Oh my darling you could never disappoint me.” He rocked your body slightly, trying to warm you up with his hands. “You have more heart than anyone in that house.”
“I dreamed of Mum… she gave me a hug and a kiss and said it would all be alright, because I’ve you.”
Tommy wasn’t able to answer as the words got caught up in his throat, so he did something he rarely did.
His arms wrapped around your back and he pushed you in a tight hug.
One that was repairing him from the inside out. One that was repairing his broken heart.
“I know my girl, cause she will always be with us.” He kissed your hair and looked up in the starry night thinking of your mother and how much he had loved her. “Let’s get you home.”
From afar, Polly witnessed the interaction knowing nothing in this world would ever tear you and Tommy apart.
“But they don’t think I belong here.”
“You belong here way more than any of them, this is your house and this is your family and they’ll have to learn to accept the fact that you’re the light of my eyes.”
And your eyes lit up by your fathers words, tears of happiness making your vision go blurry.
“I ordered the gardener to create this for you, it’s not finished yet though… I wanted you to feel in this place at home.”
Slowly, you broke away the embrace to look at your father, with a tender touch, he wiped the tears from the corner of your eyes.
“This is for you.” He encouraged with a smile. “It was a surprise I was saving for later.”
Taking in your surroundings, you couldn’t believe the beautiful oasis before your eyes. You haven’t noticed before.
“Daddy!” Your hands flew to your mouth. “That’s white daffodils.”
Tommy chuckled. “Oh don’t expect me to know that.”
“These are peonies!” You were delighted. “And irises.”
Tommy saw you moving around the garden, enjoying the peace you being happy in this place brought him.
Taking you by the shoulders, he made you turn around to face the gazebo.
“I particularly love that… imagined you sitting there for hours.”
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You were lost in the colors and smell, but soon you turned around to look at your father.
“Thank you for giving me this.” Your arms found their way around his body, time stood still.
“I was hoping this would be your refuge.” Tommy whispered, kissing the top of your head.
“Can we join the hug?” Ada interrupted, making you both turn around.
“I’m sorry about what Michael said,” your aunt Pol apologized, “I do enjoy your cheerful energy.”
“It’s a balm to this fucking family madness.” Ada explained.
They each linked their arms around you tenderly.
“You’re a sweet child and I love you.” Arthur blushed but joined the hug as well, behind him, uncle John looked at you.
“When you came into our lives, I knew it was you the one who could make him line up.” John winked at you.
“Come on you two, don’t stay back there.” Ada shouted at Finn and Charlie, who were standing awkwardly a few steps away.
“You’re the sweetest young girl, we love you just like that, Y/N it doesn’t matter what anyone tells you, don’t let this cruel world change you an ounce.” Polly said caressing your face.
And you believed her, them.
She then looked at her nephew.
“You did a wonderful job with this place, Tommy.”
He didn’t need something like this though, since he felt like having you close, was his own kind of refuge. His safe haven.
***
Master list
A/N: Oops this got a bit long 🤭 but there were so many things I needed to add, I hope you enjoyed it!
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cipheramnesia · 9 months ago
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This is the process my brain goes through every time I see anything about Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender.
My first reaction is always: Why? The original, although not without flaws, doesn't leave a lot of room to improve. A good remake or adaptation usually involves an updated context or change in perspective that adds to the original work and gives it new meaning. It's a risky undertaking because it usually involves wanting to take on something established as iconic and make it your own. But Netflix is a corporation and seems very risk averse for the most part. Its only investment is in the name recognition of AtLA. It's hard to visualize Netflix deliberately taking a big risk on an expensive show.
My second reaction is: How? The original series is about 1400 minutes over 61 episodes, and it still had to rush the ending. We're looking at 8 episodes of roughly 45-60 minutes per episode for season 1, which would require Netflix to let it run more than 3 seasons, if the series has similar pacing. Historically however Netflix shows have glacial pacing, and rarely make three seasons. Not really sure how they plan to tell the story if the series is anything like the average Netflix series, meaning it either needs to undercut the story or let the series breathe for at least five seasons. But nothing Netflix has done makes me want to watch anything they make as an ongoing series? Why bother, they cancel everything I enjoy. So I wonder how. What's the hook to say "this will be able to provide something new and interesting compared to the original, and will be allowed to tell the complete story."
Which leads me to think, but you can't judge if something is good without seeing it. Except none of this is about whether it's good, I just find myself wondering what are the odds it's worth the effort? They're low, and it has nothing to do with whether or not it's even any good on its own merits.
Following this, I ask myself, what would a good version of this be. Imagine you are making a live action series with eight hour long episodes per season based on a children's cartoon with 20 thirty minute episodes per season. You are trying to encompass a story which was presented over three seasons as a cartoon, and you do not know if you will have more than those eight episodes. It's made for Netflix which, in terms of a company which will protect the hard earned fruits of your artistic labor, is the fox guarding the henhouse. What do you do?
If you are looking to make something good, that respects your audience investment and your own work, you make radical changes to the story. You change the pacing, the character arcs, the plot arcs. You make sure you deliver a complete story in those episodes with as much respect for the original work and as many new ideas as you can.
Except, at that point, what is even the point of a remake. The only way to work with it is either to trust Netflix allowing you to finish the story (which you'd need to be incredibly naive to do), or tell a story so different it may as well be wholly original. And that's where I always end up. Like, it'll probably be fine, but what's the point of it all? Another vanishing digital property to get canceled because of some undefinable failure to return on investment.
I think about it a lot because the two ends of the spectrum seem to be "dunk on every new piece of information" or "wait and see" but the only conclusion I can ever reach is "why even care?" That's been the lesson to take home from digital streaming in general when it comes to series, but Netflix in particular, and honestly for movie series too. If it can't be self contained, the companies who produce and release these kinds of series just cannot be trusted with it, and there are too many good original stories being put out to care anymore about big budget promises that one day they will definitely for sure deliver a finished story, this time for real.
I care enough to think about why I don't feel anything at all about Netflix Avatar. It'll be fine, whatever else. Just fine.
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goldenwilliamson · 1 year ago
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salty skin | lucy bronze
a/n: this is my first woso anything on here... pls send requests to my ask box if you have any xxx
pairing: lucy bronze x lioness!reader
summary: reader and lucy are in australia for the world cup, pure fluff
word count: 881
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Being in Australia for the World Cup was nothing less than a dream come true. Not only were you getting to represent England, but it also meant you and Lucy got to spend some time together. Playing in different Leagues means you spend most of the year apart, so you were both feeling very grateful to be back playing together.
You'd woken up before Lucy did, feeling the incomparable comfort of being held in her arms. Being able to room together was another perk of National Camps. You'd made a promise to yourself that you would go for a swim at sunrise, so you carefully slipped out of Lucy's grasp, instantly missing the warmth of her body.
Slowly and quietly, you made your way around the hotel room, slipping a bikini on under your trackies and puffer and grabbing a spare towel from the bathroom. You grabbed your key card and phone and softly shut the door behind you. The beach was incredibly beautiful, despite it being the middle of Australian winter. It seemed like a few other girls had the same idea as you did, because you bumped into Ella, Alessia, and Lotte as you made your way down onto the sand.
"Up for sunrise?" You asked them.
"Hey!" They all said excitedly, not having spotted you.
"Lucy didn't want to come down?" Lotte asked sweetly.
"No, she was sound asleep, I didn't want to wake her," you explained.
You started unzipping your puffer jacket and pulling off you tracksuit pants, much to the surprise of the three other girls.
"You're not going in are you?" Alessia scoffed.
"Of course I am, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity Less," you smiled as you began to slowly jog down to the shoreline. The water was a bit of a shock to the system, but it felt amazing. A cold plunge was actually what you felt you needed after the gruelling nature of tournament play.
You didn't stay in for too long, just long enough to get used to the temperature, and then you hopped back out. The girls on the sand shook their heads at you as you approached them with a smile on your face.
"It's lovely in there," you told them as you picked up your towel and started drying off.
"You're braver than I am," Tooney said, making you laugh as you pulled your jacket back around your body.
"Alright, I'm gonna go get myself a coffee now," you bid the girls farewell and went back to the hotel. You made two coffees at the coffee machine, anticipating Lucy would be up soon. She was usually the early riser out of the two of you.
And you were right, because as you tried your best to quietly push the hotel room door open Lucy informed you she was awake, "I'm up, don't worry."
"Morning," you smiled at the sight of Lucy tucked into the crisp white bed sheets. She set her phone down on the bedside table as you sat down on the bed, handing her the second coffee.
"You're amazing," Lucy said appreciatively.
"How long have you been awake?" You ask, admiring how soft your girlfriend looks when she's just woken up and her huskier morning voice.
"Since you left," she says.
"Oh, sorry," you apologise, thinking you'd been able to leave without waking her.
"It's alright," she shakes her head, smiling at you. She always takes the piss out of you for how you can tend to apologise for things that you don't need to say sorry for. This usually ends up in you apologising for apologising and Lucy in fits of laughter at your chronic kindness.
"Did you go for a swim?" Lucy asks surprisedly as she reaches out to drag her fingers through your wet hair.
"I did!" You said proudly.
"Was it cold?" She asks.
You nod, "Like an ice bath."
"You're insane," she says.
"Mmm, I am," you hum, leaning in towards Lucy to give her a kiss, "But you love me anyway."
"I do," Lucy says contentedly.
You shiver for a second and Lucy furrows her brows together.
"I'm gonna run a warm shower for you. You'll get sick if you sit here all cold," she tells you, immediately stepping out of bed and going to the bathroom. Your heart swells at the gesture and you follow her to the bathroom, tearing away your jacket and letting it fall on the floor on the way.
You stand there in your trackies and bikini top as Lucy checks the temperature of the water with her hands.
"Thank you," you say appreciatively, never feeling so loved by such a simple act in your life.
Lucy steps towards you, planting a kiss on your forehead in response.
"Huh," she steps back, smirking.
"What?" You ask.
"Your skins all salty, so Australian," she laughs.
"God I need a rinse," you say, stripping away the rest of the clothes.
As you step under the warmth of the water, Lucy rests against vanity, trying to make conversation about the day ahead.
"You'll have to come in here Luce, I can't hear you over the water," you say, a thinly veiled request for something more.
Lucy scoffs, knowing what you're really looking for, "If you insist."
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archangeldyke-all · 11 months ago
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how do you think silco would know about us? like would she introduce us to him as like “(name), silco. silco, (name)” or would she just be talking about something and then be like “and my girlfriend- oh-“ and silco would just be like “oh? girlfriend? 🧍😯”
cuteeee
men and minors dni
silco would know long before she tells him.
he's incredibly observant. and when sevika starts coming in with a little glint in her eye, a little smirk tugging at the side of her lips as she stares off into space, he starts to get suspicious.
she's less irritable. she's more conversational. she's a little softer around the edges. nobody else notices any difference, but silco and sevika are so close to one another that he does.
he doesn't say anything, knowing that sevika will tell him when she's ready. but that doesn't stop him from poking some fun at her.
she'll yawn in the middle of a meeting and he'll shoot her a smile. "up late last night?" he asks. she just nods. "babette's?" he asks, knowing damn well she wasn't at babette's. he chuckles at the little blush that forms on her cheeks.
she'll come in with visible hickeys (she never let the girls at babette's mark her besides their nails scratching down her back) and he'll snort. "do you need me to get you some of that foundation i use in your shade?"
the thing is, the way sevika and silco are, they both communicate a majority of their information telepathically. so sevika knows silco knows about you, but she's not going to say anything until absolutely necessary, just to avoid the awkward interaction.
but, eventually, silco gets curious. from the very few glimpses of the person you might be that he susses out from sevika's new behavior, he thinks he'd actually quite like you.
like when sevika and silco are out walking the streets, and she disappears then reappears with a bag on her wrist, and he catches sight of a little teddy bear plushy inside it.
or when sevika opens her side satchel one morning then smirks and pulls out a big joint, wrapped in a pink wrap.
or when she starts bringing in a little lunch pail, and the food smells absolutely divine.
silco's curious. he wants to know the mysterious person that's caught sevika's attention.
as strange and emotionally stunted as their relationship is, sevika is still silco's closest friend. and he'd never tell her, but he cares for her.
so, one night, as they're smoking in his office and decompressing from a horribly boring meeting up top, silco clears his throat to get her attention.
"i'd like to meet her." he says, never one to beat around the bush. he bites back the smile that threatens to form on his lips at the way sevika sputters and blushes, rubbing the back of her neck as she composes herself, then sighing.
"she wants to meet you too." she admits hesitantly. he grins.
the next night, sevika finally lets you come to the last drop with her. and instead of parking you in her usual booth, she drags you upstairs to silco's office.
she stops you outside the door, refusing to meet your eye. you smile at her.
"you're nervous?" you guess. she huffs and nods.
"just... don't embarrass me too much." she requests.
you laugh and kiss her cheek, then knock on the door for her. "no promises."
silco's got a sly smile on his lips the entire night while he chats with you and watches sevika melt into the couch beside you from embarrassment. you both swap stories about her, and he finds you incredibly funny (and ballsy-- he's never heard anyone tease sevika the way you do.)
you guys become great friends.
he's the only other person who knows sevika well enough for you to be able to bitch about her to. and vice versa.
sometimes, you'll even meet up for drinks with silco without sevika present. just so the two of you can decompress and complain about all her little quirks and strange hang ups.
and once silco lets it slide that the food you pack for sevika in her lunch boxes smells delicious to him, you start packing her two servings, insiting she share with her boss.
taglist!
@lesbeaniegreenie @fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki
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glassica-writes · 3 months ago
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Bad Ending
Notes: M!yan sidekick x Gn!reader hero, betrayal, drugging, confinement, mild noncon touching & kissing
That's it. No more of this revenge nonsense, you'll have to come with him regardless.
You noticed from the start, those intense feelings he harbored towards you were anything but mere adoration for a friend. Didn't settle with just being one of your companions, the man was convinced, or rather adamant, that he was the rightful partner you couldn’t live without, and my God did he was determined to prove it at all cost! His investigative skills were instrumental to track down the culprits behind the ruin of your family. The team never had to worry about getting stranded throughout the journey, all thanks to his incredible network introducing you to helpful locals and navigate through cities and underground system. Espionage? Fear not, years of working in palaces taught him enough etiquette of nobles to pass off as one, successfully infiltrated into the enemies’ inner circles.
The man worked, worked, and worked to the bone, hoping that one day you’d recognize how irreplaceable he was to you, accepting his fervent affections at last. He would softly put his lips on your palm, like any gentleman supposed to, congratulating your long-awaited victory over the sunset. The two of you then would enjoy the rest of life together in a countryside, just like how any love story closing with the leads happily ever after.
Pure wistful thinking. Your heart was too consumed in the pit bottom of despair and thirst for vengeance to allow such tenderness a chance blossoming. He thought love could be the thing to regain the happiness and peace back to you, and soon enough learned the bitter truth: his darling needed none of it. You didn’t ask for salvation from a white knight, rather longed for the cruel destruction of one’s own after karma finally bestowed upon your nemesis. Judging by the countless lives unjustly taken under your vindictive blade, this should be a beffiting conclusion for a vengeful hero.
…As if he would’ve allowed it.
Cocky smirk spread across the face as he was looking down on the helpless figure of his beloved. What a sight to behold! You looked delightful laying there on bed, immobilized from that suspicious drink earlier. Eyes hollowed and soulless, you’d given up resisting those touchy fingers caressing every bit of your body (not like you were able to move anyway). Smooches raining on wherever he had his hands, just served to pile up on the sickening emotions making waves inside your heart. Disgusted. Betrayed. In no possible scenarios could you ever predict that it was him, the right-hand man, your first ever teammate, your most trusted ally, would be the one bringing your downfall. Perhaps times spent within the enemies’ quarters had rubbed him off the wrong way, you should’ve never let him penetrate into that rotten den in the first place!
“No sweetie, you get the wrong idea,” he chuckled haughtily, aware of what was going on in your head, “I did not choose those imbeciles over you my love. No one will ever come close to you, that alone I can promise.”
“I’m so tired of waiting. How more are you gonna string me along darling? Is my heart not worth even a second for you to consider? Or are you only keep me around until I’ve offered up all my services, next throw me aside like a useless toy? Why is it so hard to say you love me back?!”
With each questions he grew angrier and more unstable. Pupils tinged a ray of pitch black seemingly like abyss threaten to swallow you whole. To hell with the plan, he couldn’t give a damn about your wish to avenge beloved family. They were no longer alive either way, but his feelings were. They were real, burning the mind of a lovesick man, tormenting him days and nights with frightful ideas of you drifting further away, to somewhere his arms couldn’t reach out. “This madness have to stop,” was what he murmured on the way to inform the villains about a surprise attack from your team that night.
And so, this is the ending of a tragic hero, a disappointing one at that: No justice to clear the name of your household. No noble death to atone for your sins. Forever caged in a twisted love game of one’s very own traitor.
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mochiajclayne · 6 months ago
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Hi there,
I hope you're doing well.
i read your post regarding SasuSaku and Sarada as a family and you stole the words right off my mouth.
I'd like to know your thoughts and opinions on Sasuke Retsiden because from what I can see, its only Jun Esaka (a mere light novel writer that writes non canon stuff) all over the internet being equally all over about her Sasuke Retsuden. I haven't seen any other light novel writer being more active about something non canon. Even kishimoto himself doesnt behave like this regarding his own work.
I'd like to also know about your opinions regarding Jun Esaka ATTEMPTING to remove or metaphorically kill Karin Uzumaki by making the main villain a Karin look alike and giving her sensory abilities to Sakura, which again, makes no sense. Does that woman hate Karin and SK so much? Is that woman so threatened by the very thought of SK as a couple that she had to incorporate a villain that looks like Karin Uzumaki down to a tee?
These are just my thoughts and speculations but I'm also really interested in knowing your side of the story.
Thanks for reading my long comment and i wish you a wonder day/afternoon/evening/night
Hi, @theuntamedangel! I appreciate the long comment! I hope you have a wonderful day/afternoon/evening/night, too!
Before I share my thoughts about Sasuke Retsuden, let me share that I did, unfortunately, have a sasusaku phase. I know. Shocker. The entire lore is here in case you're interested (promise it's relevant to my explanation).
I did hear about Sasuke Retsuden when I was still in college. Bits of information, specifically, about the chakra ring and from a perspective of someone who used to ship sasusaku casually, my initial reaction was okay good for them and I went on with my day. Note that I wasn't as heavily engaged in the Naruto fandom like I do now so for me to isn't active back then, hearing about Sasuke Retsuden, speaks volume on how it is over the internet that it even reached me.
I hate Sasuke Retsuden. It's badly written, it's OOC especially for OG Naruto characters, and the canon inaccuracies are more than enough to drive me into aneurysm.
Below this cut is my detailed thoughts about Sasuke Retsuden.
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The villain looking like the male version of Karin caught me off guard. I don't know what the intentions behind the character design but I think they aimed for association as Jiji, one of the characters from this godforsaken novel, reminded me of Juugo.
I am not a sasukarin shipper but I do understand where the shippers are speaking from. I think they'll make a cool couple because Karin actually freaking cares about Sasuke when shit gets serious and outside of her "gag", she respects Sasuke's boundaries. Might be speaking out of the box but this novel in its existence was meant to be sasusaku-centric so the possibility of being threatened by all Sasuke-related ships, especially those making far more sense than SS, is high. I don't think Jun Esaka hates Karin. I would dare say that she picked a random character that could work as a direct contender to Sakura and unfortunately, she decided to scapegoat Karin. Moreover, the entire sensory ability shtick added to Sakura was uncalled for. I would go even further and say that Esaka's version of Sakura is what her stans hailed her to be--a superior version of [insert any Naruto's female character]. Even their pink haired kunoichi is incredibly OOC here and you expect me to take her seriously?
The funniest thing about Sasuke Retsuden is the way that they had to use SNS at first, specifically, Sasuke's mission is to find a cure for that chakra illness that Naruto alone suffers. Sure, this is SS centric but it all comes down to Sasuke and Sakura working together to find a cure for Naruto. Now, she could just write a novel about SS without using Naruto's "sickness" as some kind of a plot device, right? But no, she had to convince us somehow and an effective way to do that is literally Naruto and Sasuke.
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The dinosaur. Don't even get me started. Even tailed beasts cannot fight against Sharingan to the point that canon graciously provided us evidence of both Madara and Obito controlling the Nine Tailed Beast. The very same Sharingan that made the higher ups of Konoha suspect the Uchiha clan as mastermind for that same incident. We're talking about the same dojutsu that manipulated the Fourth Mizukage. The canon inaccuracy throws me off the loop.
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More inaccuracies. Suddenly Sasuke is an Earth and Ice Style user. Wow. Conveniently forgetting about Kakashi mentioning in Part 1 how Ice Style is a Kekkei Genkai that even Sharingan can't copy. As far as Naruto canon goes, Sasuke is a Fire and Lightning Style user. I don't consider Boruto as canon but even that animanga doesn't show any moment of Sasuke using Earth Style. It's insane that people claimed this as canon.
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THIS DISTURBING INTERACTION. I did say that the OG Naruto characters are OOC in this shitshow novel and yes, unfortunately that includes Sakura. We've seen the way she react around Naruto's sexy ninjutsu antics. Unless objectification of women or the mere implication of it doesn't perturb her, then it says more about how Esaka portrayed her. I'd personally file a restraining order when a guy says he'd settle for my old, half smoked cigarette butts. I'm surprised that she didn't throw any snide remarks here.
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WHO IS THIS SASUKE AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM. This panel made me laugh so hard because I feel like Esaka straight up ignored that Sasuke canonically spent years with his family before the Uchiha downfall happened. I don't think he'd be this clueless about how a married couple acts. Even in flashbacks, Sasuke was shown around his parents or Itachi, literally with his family. I think he knows well enough about married couples.
The ring part as well makes me cackle because Kurenai literally wears a ring in Shippuden. Trust me, Juugo-look-a-like, rings are used in Konoha by couples.
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The Uchiha clan symbol takes me out because AREN'T YOU GOING UNDERCOVER IN THIS PRISON? WHY ARE YOU SHOWING THAT OFF?
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The Chakra ring in question. Finding out the lore behind this further upset me and I am thankful that I no longer ship sasusaku. Show these panels out of context to someone with little to no exposure to canon and it would be romantic but if you know Narutoverse like the back of your hand, this novel served nothing. Seriously, the fact that Sasuke is incredibly OOC on this novel speak volumes. Imagine annihilating Sasuke's character to make SS work? Insanity.
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Writing Edo Tensei with rose tinted glasses disgust me. That jutsu is straight up manipulating a dead body at your bidding. Tobirama shouldn't have invented that jutsu. Hinting that jutsu to be used to revive a loved one that passed away is vile and disgusting. The lack of attention to canon isn't a new thing for Esaka at this point.
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Even this novel can't cover up the fact that Sakura doesn't know Sasuke well. If there's one thing that's consistent in the prequel, it was Naruto that gets into trouble. Sasuke doesn't use honorifics and he got away with it. His bluntness doesn't get him and everyone around him in trouble. Sasuke only began resorted to extremes when he was batshit blind and sinking into the unhinged depths of his hatred. Probably the only things that Sakura got correctly was Sasuke's kindness and his nonchalance about his looks but that's it. So the claim of knowing Sasuke inside and out is preposterous. The one who can say that is, guess who? Naruto.
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Ending this long analysis with this panel because honestly, Ino is asking the questions for me. Unfortunately, despite being "married", their dynamic stayed the same. Sakura is still that same girl that has a crush on Sasuke, except she's in her 30s and Sasuke is still the same boy that rejected her date offers and the idea of being together with her, even reaching the point that he's away from her a lot.
I do apologize for going off to the point that I decided to pull a meta post about this. I do hope you're doing well and I appreciate the ask!
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frumfrumfroo · 25 days ago
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I mean, I’m still glad it was flat out stated that Ben fell in love with Rey because there were people still insisting he only wanted her power or that there was never anything romantic between them, but I get what you’re saying. We have more evidence, I think, of his feelings for her than of her feelings for him. I think it would change things up a bit to have actual concrete canon evidence of those feelings being mutual.
Sure, of course people are happy to hear it. I don't think it's new information at all, and it's honestly weird to me that some people act like it is, but it's nice to actually get recognition of your canon pairing after all the bullshit we've been through. It's the rock bottom bare minimum, but DLF hasn't been clearing that bar for a long time, so it feels like a win.
I think it's 100% clear that Rey, the actual character, loves Ben and desperately wants to be with him, but Rey the actual character was taken out back and shot so DLF could have their SWCU brand avatar. I don't hold tros against the Rey of the first two films or her potential, just like I don't allow tros to ruin Luke and Leia for me. I'm not taking that shit on board because it was a bunch of incoherent nonsense which fundamentally destroyed the entire narrative and thematic heart of SW.
We don't have a declaration from Rey, but she showed us where her heart was by leaping into the lion's den with zero back up or exit strategy. She threw her life down at Ben's feet knowing that her life represented one of the last hopes for the galaxy. She believed in him that strongly. She wanted him that badly.
And, you know, despite the absolute shit show of tros, the actors managed to deliver us a perfect moment based solely on the emotional continuity from TLJ without any scripted dialogue to fuck it up. Her face when she wakes up in his arms. Her kiss. He is the home she's yearned for all her life.
If people can't understand that means she loves him, that's a them problem.
And yeah, it would be great if DLF would acknowledge this incredibly obvious and well-established fact of the ST in words, it'd be nice to have more ammunition because at this point we've earned being petty, but I don't think it would change anything. They literally kissed on the mouth for longer than any other couple in all of SW and antis were blind suddenly, they couldn't see. We get 'kiss of gratitude' and 'but isn't that incest tho' ludicrous copes to this day.
No amount of validation from DLF is going to move the needle for the entrenched doofus brigade in this fandom. Ep IX was the crucial moment which would have vindicated the story and brought the audience together (not that it would ever have won over some people, but you know) and they whiffed that. Even in the shitty, nonsensical execution of tros, we saw the microcosm of what the ST's RotJ would have done. So many people finally 'got' Ben just from two minutes without dialogue, imagine if the movie had been coherent and had had the ending the narrative needed and promised.
But yeah, anyway. I expect nothing from DLF and I don't think anything they could do will ever make much difference now. The canon is already broken and can't be fixed without just redoing ep IX, which would never happen. The audience and the GFFA are both fractured beyond repair.
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waytooinvested · 9 days ago
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Forgotten, Not Forgiven - Chapter 37 (FINAL CHAPTER)
The full fic is also on AO3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lena woke feeling blissfully warm and contented. Late Sunday morning sunshine was spilling in through the curtains they hadn’t bothered to close the night before, and it blazed over the lightly freckled skin of Kara’s bare back, painting her a warm honey-gold that looked good enough to taste.
It was tempting to do just that, but Lena didn’t want to wake her yet. It had been a late night (a wonderful, glorious, fantasy fulfilling night, but a late one nonetheless), and Kara deserved all the rest she could get while she had the chance.
In a few hours they would be going to the DEO, officially so that Kara could be filled in on what she had missed while Supergirl was out of action, but unofficially for the surprise party that Alex and Kelly (long since fully informed about the true nature of Project Atlantis) had been feverishly throwing together to welcome Supergirl back, if the string of missed texts Lena had discovered during their 10pm snack-bathroom-shower interlude was anything to go by.
The sampling she had read before she had given up the struggle to use her hands for anything other than touching Kara had gone something like:
Alex: Can you make it to a surprise party for Kara tomorrow afternoon?
Alex: 4pm til late
Alex: Don’t tell her
Alex: Obviously.
Alex: Do you think 2 dozen potstickers will be enough?
Alex: Lena???
Alex: Who am I kidding I’ll get 4 just in case.
Alex: Can you get Kara to the DEO without telling her why?
Alex: and bring the SingStar?!
Alex: ANSWER ME LULU.
Alex: Wait
Alex: Unless you two are naked right now. Then definitely do not answer me.
Alex: Urgh you are aren’t you. Gross.
Alex: Happy for you but lets never speak of this again.
Alex: Hey Lena, it’s Kelly. Don’t worry I have confiscated Alex’s phone, we’ll leave you in peace now. See you and Kara tomorrow at 4 x
The flurry of messages would have made her smile if she hadn’t already been smiling non-stop since their flight around the bay (at least when her mouth wasn’t busy doing other things that she would never, ever tell Alex about... Well. Not unless she was REALLY annoying).
She had no doubt the party would be fun, and was happy that everyone else was going to get a chance to celebrate with Kara and show her how loved she was, but it would mark an end to their honeymoon period and a return to a more usual way of life. From that point on they would both have to actually attend their jobs and other responsibilities, not to mention tackle the publicity of Supergirl’s return in general and the exclusive promised to William Dey in particular (and possibly get ahead of any gossip caused by their mid-air make-out if anyone had happened to spot them, though Lena hoped they had been too far out and high up to distinguish for a casual observer). Things were about to get incredibly hectic for all of them, and yet Lena didn’t mind nearly as much as she had thought she would.
Kara loved her.
Kara loved her, and she was sleeping naked in Lena’s bed, and it was going to be the first of many, many times that would happen. Now she got to have the real one Lena found that she was willing to let go of the bubble-world they had been living in during Kara’s amnesia. It might mean less hours in the day in each other’s company, but there was no longer an end point to their closeness. They had the rest of their lives to be together.
And right now, they still had all the hours of the morning and part of the afternoon to be naked and blissful in each other’s arms before the time came for clothes and friends and working out their next steps.
Kara breathed deeply beside her, and Lena savoured the peaceful moment, lightly tracing the taut skin above her shoulder blades and skimming down the dip of her spine, testing herself to see how long she could last before the urge to press her lips to some part of Kara became overwhelming.
She wondered how she had gotten so lucky as to end up here, and then, with a shiver, what might have happened if she had succeeded in shooting Lex the first time, when he had revealed Supergirl’s identity and opened the rift between her and Kara.
Without having the need to undo what her brother had done to Supergirl to focus her mind, where might all that pain and rage have taken her? She had already been isolating herself when the kidnapping had happened, and her thoughts had taken a pretty dark turn for a while.
Would she really have ended up trying to brainwash the entire world, just to get over being hurt by the woman she was secretly in love with?
She liked to think she wouldn’t have, but she wasn’t sure.
She was just glad they would never have to find out.
Lena brushed the idle thoughts away and curled herself around Kara’s heat, giving in at last to the temptation to press her lips to the nearest bit of skin she could reach, and felt the stirring response to her touch as she did so.
Kara turned on her pillow to face Lena, pulling her into her arms for a sleepy kiss that slowly evolved into more as their bodies tangled together again under the covers, and Lena decided that no matter what had happened, in whatever version of reality they found themselves in, she and Kara would have made their way to this eventually.
It had been inevitable right from the start.
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thebestofoneshots · 1 year ago
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Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)
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Series Masterlist | Previous episode
Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.5 K Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence. (Reader discretion is advised). Prompt: We need to talk. This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.
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Chapter 24: Peace of Mind
10:00 November 24th, 1976
You waited for the girls to fall asleep and used a combination of spells to sneak out without being noticed. Lily had changed your bandages before bed and you had gladly let her, Sirius’ words reverberating in your head as she did “ Don’t be so stubborn and let us help!”
Perhaps you’d have to use those same words with Remus later on. Little after telling him you were sorry for hurting him so bad and asking him to please not hate you for the rest of his life. As you walked towards the infirmary with the disillusionment charm, the same charm you had used so often since you arrived at Hogwarts that you had pretty much mastered it. Your charm was almost as deceiving as James’ invisibility cloak, logically you knew it’d never match its greatness, but you could definitely get close.
At least enough to sneak past Peeves who was busy rearranging all the portraits on one of the halls so they were all upside down, you heard the paintings complain as he shook them about for good measure. You winced, I wouldn’t want to be any of those portraits, you thought, but continued on your way to the infirmary. As you walked you pulled the sleeves of your quidditch sweater over your hands, the temperature had dropped a little that night and you felt a stark contrast between the cold you felt then and how hot you had felt earlier in the passages with Sirius, you flushed a little when the images came back you your mind, the hunger you had felt had been so overwhelming it felt like a dream. 
You took another breath, still feeling cold. Was being sensible to temperature changes also because of the bit of lycanthropy running through your system at that point? Did poor Remus have to deal with them so often? Maybe that was why he always carried around some kind of sweater, in case it got chilly and he felt it a little more strongly than the rest. 
Once you arrived at the big infirmary doors you looked at them for a minute and waited, taking a deep breath as you stared. You had gotten word that Pomfrey usually retired to her chambers at 11:30 PM, after curfew and once she made sure all the children in the infirmary –if there were any– had fallen asleep. Her chambers were close enough so she could rush back in, in case of an emergency with the children, and she had some house elves check on the children often. 
You were thankful you had made friends with Myrtle since she had been the one to provide you with so much detailed information. Information that she had eavesdropped out a couple of years ago when Sirius, James and Peter were planning how to get into the infirmary since no one allowed them to visit Remus. 
You had also gone to talk to Numbletwist earlier that day, to try and figure out if there would be any elves in the infirmary that night. She shook her head, telling you that they were often called off when students got sick around the full moon. She said it was probably because Poppy liked to stay extra attentive of things. You had nodded and thanked her profusely for the information. Scurrying away with the excuse of needing to rest before she asked why you wanted to know. 
You heard a bit of rattling and then one of the doors opened up, she walked outside, using her wand to illuminate her path, and you sneaked in and hid behind one of the beds, even if you still had the disillusionment charm, you knew it was better safe than sorry. And Poppy definitely had better eyesight than most witches her age. She turned off the rest of the lights in the infirmary and closed the door behind her, but you stayed crouching behind the bed. 
You stood there, breathing steady as you slowly pushed yourself up to peer over the bed and check whether Remus was asleep or awake. He seemed to be waiting for Poppy to leave too, since a couple of minutes later he lifted himself up, accommodating a pillow and pulling his wand out. He used Lumus to see better as he looked through the drawer of his night table, grabbing onto a book and settling it over his lap. 
Great, Remus really had no plan to sleep soon then, you shrank into Vixen and walked over to Remus, sneaking in below his bed and onto the other side, where you could keep an eye on the door just in case. Once you manage to collect your thoughts you sprung back into human form. Remus jumped from his spot in the bed when you appeared out of nowhere. 
“Sorry to startle you,” you whispered with a bit of a frown, regret evident in your tone. 
“Little Witch?” he asked as he blinked a couple of times, trying to decipher if the way the low blue light from the stars and the waning moon shone behind your figure was all part of a dream or whether you really were there again. In truth, he had smelled you minutes earlier, but he assumed perhaps he was just picking up your scent from the chocolates you kept bringing over, or he was so drudged with potions that he was now smelling you like you really were there. And it wouldn’t be uncommon, he had dreamed of you so often lately that you standing there might really just be yet another one. But the way the light cast a halo behind you was too realistic to be part of his imagination “What are you doing here?” 
“You’ve been avoiding me,” you said simply. 
Remus stiffened and froze as if he had seen a basilisk, but then shook his head “I wasn’t… I didn’t–” 
“–It’s ok,” you cut him off “I get it, I understand why you wouldn’t want to see me, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry I was stubborn and I’m sorry I jinxed you and I’m sorry I had the Whomping Willow throw you to the side and I’m sorry Prongs had to gore you, several times because I couldn’t run fast enough and I’m sorry I–“ 
Remus reached for your hand, and your breath caught in your throat as you felt a small shock of electricity, “hey!” he said softly “I wasn’t avoiding you because I’m angry at you.” 
Remus’ hand was warm and soft, not as soft as Sirius’ but not as tough as you imagined it would be. “Then why?” 
“I– I thought you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore,” he admitted, his hand on yours tightening “After the moon I was terrified the reason you’d come to see me was… to say goodbye. Because the friend that you thought you had was a monster, and because I couldn’t control myself as a wolf and because I’m bIoody dangerous to be around.” 
That was the second time Remus called himself a monster in front of you, you’d have none of it, “Remus,” you said, leaning in a little closer “You’re not a monster.” 
“I’m pretty sure werewolves fit in the category damn nicely,” he responded bitterly. 
“I give three fucks if they fit in the monster category, in the extra dangerous being category or in the beasts section of the library. You, Remus. My Remus, are not a monster.” 
Perhaps Remus would have realised the way you had used his name had it not been with how wrapped up in his own head he was “I could’ve killed you.” 
“You didn’t.” 
He averted your gaze “Could’ve bitten you. That’s what the wolf wanted, you know? To bite you. To turn you.” 
“But you didn’t,” you insisted. “And even if you had, we would’ve found a way to deal with it.” 
“Like how? After a bite there’s no way back, trust me, I would know.” 
“I didn’t say we’d find a way to revert it, I said we’d deal with it. Remus, I’d rather be a werewolf than lose you.” 
“You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m awful.” I’m crushing on your boyfriend, and on you for fucks sake, he thought “You’d be better off–“
You wouldn’t let him finish that phrase “–don’t bullshit me like that,” you said sternly “There isn’t a bIoody universe in which I’d be better off without you, on which any of us would. Not one!” 
“But I hurt you. Even as you ran, I chased behind you and then I dug my claws on–“ 
“–It was a scratch.”
“Stop cutting me off, damn it!” he spat, a little annoyed. “And it wasn’t a scratch, Peter told me how you shivered all night.” 
“Well then stop saying stupid shit and I will stop cutting you off!” you responded exasperated.  Then you sighed, placing one of your hands on your temple. The hand that wasn’t glued to Remus’ “freaking little Wormtail ratted me out.” you mumbled.  
“I literally kept pushing until my claws broke your soft skin, Moony could have broken your arm.” 
“I would have survived.” 
“You don’t know that!” 
“Remus. You can’t make decisions for me,” you said slowly “I knew you were a werewolf for a couple of weeks before this happened, and I never even once considered to stop being your friend.” 
“That was before…” 
“And it’s the exact same thing now,” you responded with a thin smile. “I don’t care if you’re a werewolf, I don’t care if Moony scratched me and made me hungry, and sensitive to temperatures and thirsty. I don’t care if my arm hurts or if I have to change my bandages every couple of hours and add more of Lily’s magic mixture or take painkillers. And that’s because, no matter what, you’re still Remus, and I wouldn’t want you to be any different,” you gave his hand a squeeze “I’m not gonna let you push me away because you’re terrified I might be scared of Moony.”
“But you were terrified of me! The nightmares, the boggart, the…” 
“That was before I met Moony.” 
“What?” 
“He’s beautiful Remus, you’re beautiful.” 
“What?!” he repeated, a little louder now. 
You took a deep breath “Yes, the nightmares, the beast. I was scared because a huge thing chased after me, squashing me and throwing me around countless times. But Remus, I had never gotten to see it, not really, I was too busy running away from it to pay attention. Did you know he has your eyes?” Your kind eyes, you thought. “The golden specks that are more present near the moon? I could see them, and I wasn’t scared anymore.” 
“And that was dumb, leaving my wand on the ground–“ 
“–I said I would stop interrupting if you stopped with the stupid comments.” 
“It’s the truth.” 
You wanted to argue, but it really had been a stupid thing to do, you had been so mesmerised by the wolf, that perhaps you really weren’t thinking straight. Not that it would be expected, especially after everything you had gone through previous to that. “Fine then, one part brave, three parts fool, I’m a Gryffindor after all. Regardless, I’m not scared of Moony, not anymore, not now I know It’s you.” 
“That’s stupid too,” he added, you could feel a slight change in his tone, he was a lot more relaxed now, he’s joking, you realised.
“Well you have a very stupid friend, get over it,” you joked with a smile, “Are you going to stop avoiding me now?” 
Remus sighed “How could I abandon my potions partner?” he asked, a small smirk drawing itself on his lips. 
You chuckled, your hands, the ones that were still intertwined with each other, dangled as your shoulders shook, “That’s the spirit,” you said, your sight flickering towards his hand, and the way it held yours. You brushed your thumb gently over a particularly thick scar on the back of his hand. Remus shivered, but you were so cold you assumed it was for the same reason that you would, werewolves were clearly more sensible to temperature.
“Your hand is very cold,” he said as he tightened his grip. 
“It’s freezing here,” you responded, “you feel it too, don’t you? You shivered.”
He cleared his throat “Yeah,” he lied “kinda cold.” 
“Your hand’s nice and warm tho,” you acknowledged. 
“I had it under the covers,” he lied again. He wondered why you hadn’t separated your hands, not because he wanted you to do it, but rather because he was dreading the moment you did, “how’s the arm?” He asked, nodding towards it. 
You shrugged, “It’s healing… your ribs? I broke them didn’t I?”
“It was the Whomping Willow.”
“Yeah, the tree, and my carefully executed plan.”
That had him shaking his head in amusement “How did you know it would work?” 
You swallowed, you could lie and say you used maths or highly advanced magic to calculate things to the tea, but enough secrets had been held between you and Remus already “I didn’t,” you admitted “The idea just came to me and I used my instinct to know when to jump.” 
“You’re insane,” he said with a shake of his head, he was half pissed, half amused you had managed to pull it off “and brilliant.”
You frowned, a small smile playing on your lips “I’ll take that as a compliment,” there was a silence and you leaned in to sit on the edge of the bed, careful not to hurt the boy as you sat, your head still turned to him “Tom said you’d be out tomorrow.” 
“Is that how you found out I was avoiding you?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. 
You nodded “Yeah, that and Poppy looking at me so pitifully, even Sirius seemed like he was suspicious after a while.” 
He winced “Sorry ‘bout that… But yeah, she said I could leave tomorrow, she kept me here tonight just in case.” 
“Well, thank Godric she did, this would’ve been an awkward conversation to have in front of the boys,” you teased “especially when I didn’t even let you speak.” 
“I was being twat.” 
“Yeah, you were,” you agreed, a small teasing smile on your face. He scooted slightly to the side to give you more space to sit, then pulled your hand so you moved in a little bit more. 
There was silence, a rather comfortable one, but Remus broke it, he was now rubbing circles on your hand “You were here when Pomfrey gave me the Skellegro,” he said, and then turned his gaze to you “Weren’t you?” 
You nodded “Sirius and Lily brought me over for dittany and silver dust, the scratch wasn’t healing until Lily made some a paste.” 
“So you were bleeding all night…” he said, guilt filling his expression. 
You sighed “It’s fine, I heal fast.” 
Remus looked to the side, barely spotting the bruise on your neck “Is that from when they…?” he asked, pointing towards it. 
You opened your eyes wider and pulled the collar of the sweater you were wearing up, blushing at the memory of Sirius kissing your neck as he had you flushed against the stone wall of one of the passageways “Um… I… no it’s…” 
Remus understood a sour expression playing on his face that he masked with disgust “Ugh you and Pads are gross.” 
You hit him on the arm playfully “As if you’d never done it,” you chastised “Oh.. by the way, what’s with you and Alice?” you asked with an arched eyebrow and a suggestive smile. 
Remus felt a pang in his chest, the cause was in the way you’d asked, so casually and playfully. You were clearly teasing him, and also clearly not into him. And then he cursed himself for feeling jealous, of course, she’s not into me, she’s into Sirius, her boyfriend. “We… I mean…” how the fuck do I tell her we’re only having fun without sounding like an ass? It's not like I can tell her I’m using Alice as a distraction, that’d be way worse. 
“You’re not in love with her, are you?” you asked, with a rather apprehensive tone. 
“Does that make me an asshole?” 
You shook your head “I’m sure she’s not in love either,” you said with a sigh “Todd told me she likes to have fun and then… Well, I don’t think that makes her a bad person per se, as long as she’s honest about it.” 
“She is,” he reassured, “she’s fun too.” Remus wasn’t sure fun was a very accurate description, not even close to distracting, but it seemed like the right thing to say. 
“That’s good. You deserve to have fun,” you said with a smile “Though I’m sure you’d easily find someone for a deeper connection if you were looking for it.” 
Remus scoffed, shaking his head “Yeah sure, until they find out I’m a monst–“ 
“–We’re not going to keep calling you that, Remus,” you interrupted. “And I think they would. Just think about it, all of the people who know are still there for you, no matter what. We’re here, and if someone really loved you, they would be there for you too. And if they weren’t then they don’t deserve you.” He gave you a look of disbelief “Honest, if I were dating you, and then I found out. Even if I had gone through the same thing I went through that night, I’d still date you.”
Remus wasn’t sure whether to be happy or cry at your statement “But you’re dating Sirius.” It was almost bitter the way he said it, but it slipped past you.
“Well duh, but hypothetically, I’d love you either way. And I mean, how many people can say they’re dating a sexy werewolf, that’s gotta give you some points…”
Remus grabbed one of the pillows from his side and threw it at your face, he didn’t wanna talk about depressing shit anymore. 
“Oi! What was that for?!” 
“You were getting too sappy with me,” he said with a diverted smile.
You narrowed your eyes at him, a mirroring smile on your lips “Oh you’re a twat,” you said as you hit him on the side lightly, he groaned and you winced, brows instantly furrowing in concern “Sorry…” He nodded, but a small smile showed on his soft lips, like he was holding back a laugh. You quickly realised he had faked it and hit him again in return “That’s a nasty trick, you shouldn’t take advantage of your hurt state.” 
“The one that you induced?” he said as his grin widened, teasing you again. You gasped in shock, and laughed afterwards, hitting him again a couple more times. 
“Oi, oi, that’s enough…” he said as he grabbed onto your hand, laughing along with you. 
He had been soft when he grabbed you, but he was so strong even if you had wanted to, you wouldn’t have been able to move your arm, but instead of dwelling on the boy’s strength, you just laughed merrily, leaning in so far down that your hair brushed over his chest. He could smell it, and it was as delightful as ever, perhaps a bit more now that he knew you wouldn’t avoid him just because of his condition. He took a deep breath as you laughed, almost feeling guilty for enjoying the moment so much. 
You cannot love her, it is sin, said a voice in his head as he listened to your giggles, but why does it feel like heaven then? 
“Can you turn back into the fox?” he asked, despite himself. Perhaps he was already so drunk on you, and your laughs that he wasn’t thinking straight. You turned your gaze to him, as you let your laughs die out. An arched eyebrow looking at him questioning “You got to see Moony, but I only got to see the fox through his eyes. I wanna see her with my eyes,” he reasoned, although he wasn’t sure if he was actually reasoning. 
“Seems fair enough,” you said with a shrug “It’s Vixen, by the way.” 
“Who’s Vixen?” 
“Me,” you said as if it was obvious “I mean… the fox, she is. Wormmy and Prongs chose it, Sirius said it fit.” 
Remus hummed in response “It certainly does,” he said as he looked at you, the blue moonlight was still illuminating your features, and you certainly looked as charming as ever, tantalising, beguiling even. And the small cut on your lip? The one that he had noticed since the day at the Shrieking Shack and hadn’t disappeared from your face yet, along with the hickey Sirius had left on your neck, made you look as fierce as ever. 
Remus wondered for a second what it would feel like to leave a matching one on the other side of your neck, what would it feel like for Sirius to leave one on his? He knew he was yearning for something he couldn’t have, alas, he had yearned for a normal life so often, he was already used to the feeling. But his fantasies about being normal were never as sweet as his fantasies of you, of Sirius. Of either of your lips attached to his neck or his lips attached to yours, to Sirius’s silky pale skin or to your soft velvety neck. To your collarbone, to the indents that made it almost impossible for him to look back at your face. He remembered you in your Halloween costume again, he remembered Sirius’s devilish smile and matching outfit, and he had to adjust the bedsheets underneath, clearing his throat as he tried to get back on earth. 
It’s Moony’s fault, It’s Moony’s fault! Did she notice? Will she buy it if I tell her that? 
“Is it really a good idea for me to turn into Vixen here? Isn’t it like… dangerous for your wounds and stuff?” 
Remus frowned, buffing diverted “You’ve got rabies or something?”
You gasped again “Of course I don’t! How would you feel if I asked you the same thing?!” He shrugged in response and you considered hitting him again. “Fine then,” you said “but I will bite if you try anything weird.” 
“Define anything weird…” he teased. 
“I’d rather bite instead,” you retorted “It’ll be my payback for the scratch,” you said with a diverted smile before shrinking into Vixen. You were still on the bed as Remus looked at you. You were small, smaller than normal, and certainly smaller than Padfoot, a good deal less than half as tall as him.
“So you are a little witch in the end,” he teased as he looked at you, you bared your teeth at him for a second, and turned your head, “Aww… don’t be like that!” You shook your head and walked a little closer to him, feeling the soft bed give way under your paws.
You stared at him curiously, and you understood why he wanted to see you as a fox so much, it was completely different, the way in which you perceived someone being animal or human. Remus, for example, seemed a lot bigger when you looked at him from the eyes of Vixen. You could also feel the heat radiating from him, which is why you had almost instinctively walked closer. And just like you had been lured by Moony when you left the wand on the floor, Vixen seemed to somehow be lured by Remus. 
You wondered if you were to lose your mind, and be more fox than human, would you still feel just as beguiled by the boy?
Remus was still looking at you when he extended his hand as if he wanted to pet you, but he pulled it back seconds later when he remembered Peter had once straight up bit him when he tried to do it for the first time, and you had threatened to bite. But what you did instead was surprising, since you walked closer and placed your head underneath his extended palm, nuzzling into it like a cat would. 
When Remus started brushing his fingers over your head you leaned in closer, allowing him to scratch just behind your ears, which had you relax so much you almost allowed yourself to lay on the bed. When he pulled away his hand you nuzzled his arm with your nose, so he would come back “Needy, aren’t we?” he teased. You didn’t even care to respond. His hands were so big they almost covered your entire head, and so warm too, it was like having a heated blanket that also gave massages. 
Maybe it was the canine side of you, but he started scratching a particular spot that had you wagging your tail like a small puppy. Remus laughed when he noticed “You still cold?” he asked when he felt your cold paw brush against his forearm. You nuzzled closer to his hand in response. “Wanna come here?” he asked, patting his chest. You tilted your head, looking at his chest rise and fall, still feeling the heat coming from it.  
Maybe it’s weird, shouldn’t have aske– Remus didn’t get to finish his thoughts, you had already climbed all the way up to his chest, fast and careful, trying to avoid the side where you knew the Whomping Willow had hit him. He smiled as you nuzzled your entire body against him, allowing your tail to almost wrap itself around you, bringing a little more warmth into the equation. You then bumped your head against his chest softly. 
“What’s that little witch? You want me to pet you some more?” he asked, but he wasn’t teasing this time, the cocky undertone you’d heard earlier completely gone this time around. You allowed your head to rest and closed your eyes as you moved up and down along his every breath. 
Eventually, he brought his hand over you again, this time resting it over your back, and moving it softly along your fur, with soft strokes from your head to your mid back, your only reaction was to close your eyes and enjoy the way his fingers intertwined with your fur. You wondered if cuddling with Sirius as a fox would feel just as nice and decided you’d have to ask him to try, even if you had no idea how you’d put that into words. 
Either way, Remus was awfully good at cuddling: big, warm, heavy hands, and a total people pleaser. You realised when he figured out the spot that made your tail waggle and focus his scratches there from then on. You had been so comfortable with the boy, that you didn’t even notice the moment you fell asleep. He did see you; and was extra quiet for a while, the only sound being the one of his breaths and your light snoring, or what sounded like snoring at least, Remus wasn’t sure if foxes actually had the ability to snore. 
He had been admiring the way you slept, so peaceful, and so beautiful too, he was sure all the foxes would fall for you in the forest if they met you, not that he would allow any of them to lay a paw on you. Which he then realised might have been one of the stupidest things to ever cross his mind. But at least he wasn’t thinking of you and Sirius. Except when he was and he forced himself to look back at Vixen, letting his anxiety melt away as he continued to brush his hands over your soft red fur. 
And as his anxiety left, so did most of his negative thoughts, and he was engulfed in this ever so peaceful stance that he was sure to cuddle Vixen for the rest of his life had he the chance. After some time, he too started feeling sleepy, his eyelids heavy and his stroking slower, lazier, he too fell asleep. And you must have stayed like that, sleeping on top of him, your slight weight comforting him the same way a weighted blanket would, for at least a couple of hours. Since next thing you knew, there was a high-pitched scream and you felt yourself being pushed off Remus with the force of a spell. 
You fell on your leg and let out a cry of pain, you were rather confused when you noticed the woman that had used a spell against you had been no other than Madam Pomfrey. 
“Wait no! Poppy, stop!” you heard Remus say, panicked and sitting up on the bed to get the woman’s attention. You shook your head and attempted to stand, only for your leg to give in again. You huffed, and while wincing, forced yourself up. You saw Pomfrey approaching you, her wand still in her hands as she pointed it at you. 
You took a couple of steps back, feeling a sharp pain whenever you moved your front leg. “She’s my pet!” Remus said, “Don’t hurt her.”
Pomfrey seemed distracted by the boy’s words and you took that as a chance to scurry under one of the beds and then all the way to the door. 
Every step was agonising, but the adrenaline kept you going all the way to the door that seemed to have shown up out of nowhere. You looked to the sides of the hall to make sure there was no one around before springing back into your human form and pushing the door open, getting in and closing it behind you. You could feel the stickiness of your arm. 
Evans is going to kill me, you thought as you leaned in on the door, allowing yourself to rest for a second before turning to look at the place you had ended up in. And when you did you were surprised, since it looked just like the infirmary, you frowned, and opened the door to see if you had run to the same place that you’d left, but it was positively a different hallway. Different paintings, different statues, different doors, it’s definitely not the same place, you thought.
You went back in after a second and looked around again, now clutching your wounded arm, and tilted your head as you stared. Upon closer inspection, it was most definitely not the same infirmary either. In fact, near the back, there was a rather large mirror and a supply closet near it, the infirmary had large windows instead. You walked near the middle of the room and looked around you, there weren’t many beds either, and the place seemed to be filled with things that could be useful. From warm blankets to a sink and clean rags close to it. 
You blinked a couple of times, taking it all in, the usefulness, the door that seemed to have shown up out of nowhere, you let out a short breath, realisation hitting you  “The Room of Requirements,” you whispered. 
Then started nodding, hyping yourself up for what you’d have to do next. You turned around to see if there was a clock somewhere, which there indeed was, a huge grandfather clock near the door, it was 4 am, and you had just enough time to clean things up and go back to your room, change and get back to class.  
You took your shirt off and winced when you realised the bIoody bandage, if you kept acting so recklessly, you weren’t sure it was ever actually going to heal. You walked towards the sink, and wet one of the rags before passing it over the broken flesh. You winced as the warm piece of cloth passed over the open part of the wound. You stared at it for a second once it was clean, even after all the misadventures, it certainly looked better than it had done the previous night. But it hurt just as much as it had, the painkillers might have been wearing thin by then. 
You walked towards the supply closet, your vision a little blurry due to the sharp pain. Luckily the first thing you spotted was some painkillers,  you instantly drank a bit of it and placed the rest in your pocket. You kept rummaging through it and found dried dittany leaves and some silver dust. So you grabbed a mortar, and some beeswax and mugwort, which were the few things you remembered Lily had used to make her green paste, and recreated it to the best of your abilities. With your dominant arm incapacitated -and drowning in pain since the painkillers hadn’t done their thing- you clenched the mortar handle in your other hand and started to mix.
Once the paste was ready, you washed your hand and with trembling fingers, you gingerly spread the paste across the open wound. A couple of tears started streaming down your cheeks as you did. You must have missed something when you made the paste since instead of making you feel instant relief, it stung like hell for what felt like an eternity before gradually numbing the pain.
Once you had gone through most of the scratch you used the back of your hand to wipe your tears and sniffed as you took some more in your finger, hesitating for a second before biting your lip and finally placing the paste on the parts that you hadn’t covered yet.
When you finished with it, you felt utterly drained. The pain was still there, your arm had even started to throb. You let your head fall back and considered just throwing yourself on the floor, the temptation to just rest almost agonising, but you knew you still had to wrap a bandage around your wounded arm. You were fumbling with the ends of the bandage roll when you remembered Sirius’ words “Don’t be stubborn and let us help!” 
You swallowed, he probably would have run off to help you had you asked, but Sirius must have been just as tired as you were, and even if he hadn’t been hurt physically, you were sure the events of the night had taken a toll on his mind, heck they clearly had done it on yours, so, despite his command, you decided to deal with it in your own. You continued trying for a couple of minutes, and after what felt like an eternity –and in a fit of desperation– you hurled it against the mirror. It bumped down and rolled off, one of the ends staying behind as the rest of the roll continued unravelling. 
You sighed and went to grab another one from the supply closet and started trying once again. This time around you actually managed to open it after a couple of minutes and brought your arm up. You held the end against your arm with your chin and you started wrapping. Eventually, you switched your manual labour for your wand and used a simple spell to levitate the roll of bandages around your arm, making sure that it was just tight enough to seal the wound but not so tight as to cause additional pain, mirroring the way both Sirius and Lily had done it earlier. 
When you were done, you turned to the watch again, you’d hoped you had enough time to lay in one of the beds of the infirmary but when you realised you had spent over an hour there you cast a quick disillusionment charm and sneaked back to the common room. You did consider staying in the Room of Requirements and not going back, but your friends would probably worry if they didn’t see you at all in the morning, Lily would be panicked and the boys, especially Sirius, would cause a mini-scandal. You could almost hear Sirius ask something like “How the hell did you lose my girlfriend Evans?” Which is why, in the end, you decided against it. 
You picked up the mess with a wave of your wand and put your shirt and sweater back on, giving a once over to the room before leaving and walking through the halls and passageways trying to make as little sound as possible. Once you arrive at your common room you let yourself fall into one of the single couches by the fire. Not bothering to counter your disillusionment charm, as you used your wand to kindle the fire. You sank deeper on the couch and sighed, closing your eyes for a snooze when you heard footsteps. 
You turned to the side and spotted Sirius and James walking down, you waved at them, and when they didn’t respond, you remembered you were still kind of invisible. You were about to cancel the spell off when you saw Sirius was already leaning to sit down, on the exact same spot you were. You moved your wounded arm to the side and allowed the boy to sit “Hey babe,” you whispered as you wrapped your arm around his waist, Sirius pretty much jumped off and turned around looking mortified.
You just laughed at his reaction, “Vixen?!” you heard James ask as he squinted his eyes in your direction, you just kept laughing as you finally waved your wand over yourself again, allowing the spell to vanish, the painkiller potion was finally doing its thing and you already felt a lot better.
“Hey Prongs!” you said with a smile. 
“What the hell was that Stashine, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” 
“Don’t you get one of those whenever you look into my eyes?” you asked with a playful pout, James laughed again, and your boyfriend just looked at you surprised. 
“How did you know it would be Sirius the one to sit there?” James asked. 
“I was already here, I just took the chance,” you said, scooting to the side to allow Sirius to sit by your side, even in the small space. He didn’t think about it twice and sat beside you, pulling you by the waist half over one of his legs so you’d be more comfortable.
“Absolutely brilliant!” James complimented, Sirius threw him a look “And you disillusionment charm too, I’d never seen one so good.”
“Thanks!” you said with a smile “I’ve been using it a lot recently.” 
“You do know you can just take the Invisibility Cloak, right?” 
You nodded, not if I have to tell you what I need it for, you thought. “That’s very nice of you Jammie,” you said with a smile.
“How’s the arm?” Sirius asked. 
You looked at him for a second, a tight smile on your lips before you nodded “Great.”
Sirius frowned, not quite buying it, but didn’t press further. “Why were you out here, luv?” James asked “I’d assume Lily would rather be checking on you instead of having you here by yourself.” 
“Couldn’t sleep,” you said pointing to your eyebags “And the fire seemed tempting… and also I went to check on Remus who was avoiding me.” 
“You noticed?” Sirius asked about at the same time James said something like “You went to see Remus by yourself?!”
“Of course I noticed! I went to check on him like 5 times and he was asleep all of them. Tom comes up and says he had a chat with him seconds after we went to visit. It was suspicious enough. And then there was Pomfrey’s pitiful look whenever I showed up…” 
“He sometimes does that… I assumed he was doing it when we went before lunch. Did you get him to talk to you?” Sirius asked.
You nodded “Yeah, we’ve sorted things out, had to call him out on how dumb he was being though.” 
Sirius laughed at the casual way you said it, and pulled you a bit closer to him “That’s my girl!”
You were distracted for a good second, remembering the way Remus had pulled Vixen closer and how similar it had been to the way Sirius had done it, you wondered if it was a Brit thing, to be so touchy –which you already knew Sirius was- or if instead it was something very particular of the boys. 
“It’s kinda late for flying, isn’t it?” James asked as he looked at the clock, clearly the messy sleepless nights had also taken a toll on him. 
“Who are you and what have you done to James Potter?” You teased. 
“Don’t mess with him, Kit, he might change his mind.”
“Kit?” You asked, turning to him with a raised eyebrow. 
He shrugged “If you can call me Puppy I can call you Kit,” he said simply, to which you laughed, it wasn’t that you didn’t like it, rather you were a little surprised. And really, the more you thought about it, it was rather endearing. 
“Does that mean we’re not flying then?” you asked, turning back to James, “even if the next game is on Sunday?” 
James groaned, placing a pillow over his head to muffle the sounds. “Now that’s straight-up torture,” Sirius said with a teasing smile as he pointed at James. 
“Either way, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to play, we might have to move the–“ 
“–Don’t even joke about it Potter!” you said in a serious tone. 
James winced, you didn’t call him James, not even Prongs, you were not happy about his suggestion, but he was the captain, and he had to look out for his team, he had to look out for you, “You’re hurt.” 
“It was barely a scratch!” 
“You keep saying that, but I see the way you clutch onto your arm when the painkillers wear off–“ 
“I’ll be like new by Sunday!” you argued again “I heal fast.” 
“Sunday is in three days!” 
“Back me up on this?” you asked, turning to Sirius, who had a small frown on his face. 
He couldn’t find a way to say what he wanted to say without upsetting you “Darling, maybe Prongs is right…” 
You turned to him exasperated “Don’t block me like this James! We’re playing Slytherin, I want to show those assholed that they didn’t–” You cut yourself off, not being able to finish the sentence either. 
James’ face seemed to soften at your words, Sirius and Remus had somewhat told them what happened that night, or at least what they knew, and what they assumed. You hadn’t talked to them much about it, let alone go into detail, but either way, he understood. He got why you were so desperate to prove that you could still fight -or fly in this case–, you needed to show them that no matter what they did, they wouldn’t bring you down, “We’ll think about it,” he conceded. You were still looking at him with a frown, “Listen if your arm really is better off by then, then you’ll play.” 
“You promise you’ll let me?” 
Sirius was looking at James reproachfully, as if he wasn’t happy with his answer, but didn’t say a thing. He could try to convince you of dropping it later, although he was pretty sure you wouldn’t change your mind about it, not unless you were bedridden or something. 
“I promise we’ll think about it.” You nodded, that was probably as good as it would get. Now all you had to do was play the part of someone who was not affected at all by the hit and you’d be able to play on Sunday. 
“Aren’t you hungry luv?” Sirius asked. 
And strangely enough, you weren’t that hungry, in fact, you hadn’t been hungry since you went to visit Remus, which made you assume it was a Lycanthropy thing. Regardless, a warm cup of tea, along with some toast did sound incredibly good, so you nodded, motioning to stand up when you saw Remus walk in, he looked visibly relieved when he spotted you, even as you were almost sitting on Sirius’ lap. 
“Good to see you’re all right, after the fall I thought you might have–“ 
“–What fall?” Sirius asked, turning to you. 
“That?! It was nothing…” you said, “I had turned into Vixen and Pomfrey saw me, and was probably horrified since I was close to Rem, and then she pushed me off with a spell. I mean it hurt a little but it was nothing…” 
“You were thrown in the air and fell to the ground, and it was nothing?” Sirius asked as he toyed with the hem of your sweater’s sleeve, to see if he could lift it enough to check on your wound.
“Yes, Pomfrey wasn’t trying to hurt me, and Remus stopped her from following.” 
Remus was sure he’d seen you break the fall with the same arm that was hurt but decided not to press any further, since you clearly didn’t want to go too much into detail. He plopped down next to James on the sofa and turned to Sirius “How’s the plan going?” He asked the long-haired boy. 
“What plan?” you asked with furrowing your eyebrows just a little bit. 
“The revenge plan.” 
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edenfenixblogs · 1 year ago
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outside of the general principles of credibility and fact-checking (or including those if you want) and looking for commitment to peace and shared prosperity like you mentioned in your pinned, do you have any other advice on gauging the reliability of sources regarding israel/palestine? or any particular sources you recommend as reliable or warn against as unreliable? there's so much misinfo and disinfo out there that i often end up getting overwhelmed and sharing nothing specific - and i know that's not exactly helpful, i'm just not sure where to start.
This is SUCH a good and important question!!! Thank you so much for asking it. I’ve been waiting until after work today to answer, so I can give it the attention it deserves.
This is an incredibly complex topic. It is completely ok to tackle only one item of this at a time. It is ok to spend more time listening than speaking. It is ok to only do basic fact checking until these things become second nature. It seems like a lot. But it actually becomes quite simple when you realize that, as a member of a non-affected group, your only job is to steer the conversation toward truth and peace.
That means most of what you are doing is rejecting sources and individuals engaging in bad faith discourse by simply not engaging with them. Your next most common task will be to publicly fact check bad faith discourse or incorrect information that has spread too far.
It is tempting to become outraged when you become familiar with bad faith discourse and data and see it spread widely. However, remember that this is incredibly complex and even the most experienced people get things wrong on this subject all the time. If you notice an error in what appears to be someone trying to bring attention to a cause they care deeply about, approach with kindness first. Always.
Try a reblog or a personal message with a link to the problematic post and say something like,
Hey. I care a lot about [issue] too. And I am trying really hard to make sure everything being spread right now is verifiable and accurate so nobody gets upset about things that aren’t true. Did you know that [thing you said+link to the post where you said it] was actually proven false by [reliable source+link to that source]? I’m really glad that didn’t happen. Of course, terrible things are still happening [to Palestinians/Israelis/Jews/Muslims/Arabs] on/in [college campuses/diaspora/Palestine/Israel/etc] there all the time. But at least nobody has to suffer through [incorrect info]. By the way, I’ve found a lovely organization run by actual Palestinians/Israelis/Arabs/Muslims/Jews working together to find peace for all. Check it out, I think it has promise! [link to reliable cause/organization]
Here is a wonderful site for MENA-based organizations geared toward fostering a shared peaceful future in a variety of ways.
Give the poster a chance to self correct. You will be wrong in the future. Model the way you would like to be informed of an error.
I briefly touched on the basics of identifying any source as reliable here. I won’t reiterate because this may be a long post and I wanna save space. But it contains the basics of what I learned in college.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that no source is objective. No source is without bias. And there is no way to make any source objective or without bias.
News is written by people. And all people have viewpoints. Giving all voices in a conflict equal importance is not inherently unbiased, because that risks giving support to more harmful ideas and equating harmful ideas, ideologies, and organizations with reasonable ones. Likewise, asserting that one viewpoint is correct and being unwavering in this belief no matter what is obviously no way to cultivate a balanced and well informed viewpoint.
Your job is to use critical thinking skills to examine the level of bias in a piece of media as well as how responsibly the source handles that bias. Your job is also to do your best to be aware of bias as well as what bias is relevant to the subject matter being reported. A source that is left leaning, but never shares fake information and is always verifiable is preferable to a source that is moderate but consistently shares half truths or faulty information.
Sometimes, information from a less than ideal source can be shared, but if you are sharing that source, you must explicitly state that source’s flaws and why you chose to share that information anyway. And if you are unable to find a better source, you should state that you are sharing information that may be incomplete or inaccurate and you are happy to update the post you are sharing if and when more information or confirmation from a more reliable source emerges. There are very limited situations where this is appropriate. Usually I would suggest not sharing information from such sources at all unless it can be backed up by better information.
One example of such a case is information about antisemitic hate crimes from the ADL. The ADL has a very problematic history and one should be aware of it when they share statistical data from the organization. However, that doesn’t make their information inherently unusable. It makes their information inherently suspect, though. In order for anything shared from the ADL to be worth sharing, you should be able to evaluate the data collection method and the sources of the data. And if there is any information in the data you are sharing that is not appropriate, you should explicitly draw attention to it, not try to hide it.
Case Study: Global Antisemitic Incidents in the Wake of Hamas’ War on Israel
This list contains very useful data on incidents of antisemitic violence against Jews in diaspora since 10/7/2023. I trust this data because: it links to each individual news source it references, often with pictures of the attacker/attack/incident and time stamps. It’s data is open to questioning and its sources are available to check individually. This is in line with the ADL’s mission statement of tracking antisemitism. Documenting antisemitism is not an inherently biased practice nor do I have any reason to believe that they lie about the antisemitic incidents they document. As that is not one of the things that critics accuse the ADL of, I do not see a reason to question its record on antisemitic incident reporting. I have never heard a critic make a substantiated claim against their formally collected data as falsified. I am willing to be proven wrong on this, but I will interrogate a source claiming this as thoroughly as I interrogate the ADL as a source itself. I am skeptical of this source because: the title of the article uses extremely biased language that makes the war seem one sided. The advantage of this source is: it is one of the few sources existing that collects data on antisemitic violence and hate incidents of Jews in diaspora. A sign of good faith from the organization: they dedicate a page to addressing criticisms of their organization, which means they feel confident that criticisms of them will stand up to scrutiny. It is not sufficient to use this page to absolve them of any of the listed criticisms, but it should help you find articles that critique the ADL as well as relevant information that supports their defense. Thus, you must come to your own conclusion on whether or not that information is trustworthy on the matter you are commenting on. A sign of possible bad faith from the organization: their page devoted to confronting myths and inaccuracies about their organization’s history does not address accusations about supporting South African Apartheid or failing to call the Armenian Genocide a genocide. An acknowledgment of my own limitations: I am not an expert in South African Apartheid in any way nor am I an expert on the Armenia genocide. Any other relevant information: Any reputable news sources verify information before reporting. If a news source that is verifiably responsible in its reporting cites information from the ADL, I will assume they have made adequate inquiries to verify that information as accurate enough to report. For example, if AP reported information and cited the ADL statistics, I would assume that the ADL made sure the data fit its high standard for reportage.
Conclusion: I find the ADL to be a trustworthy enough source of data about antisemitic attacks and incidents on Jews in diaspora, but only in cases where their sources and/or methodology are made public and/or another more regulated or otherwise more reliable source of statistical information partners with them. Because I lack expertise on South African Apartheid on the Armenian Genocide, I will not share information from the ADL about Palestinian apartheid, segregation, oppression, or genocide (until or unless I become more well-versed in these topics or am able to devote substantial energy into fact checking each claim in what I share. If I ever choose to do this, I will share every source I used to verify the information so that others may check my work and inform me if I’m wrong. At this time, I do not foresee a situation where I would refer to the ADL for matters about Palestinian concerns). The ADL in general and the linked source in particular seems to be an overall worthwhile source to cite on matters of antisemitism. The ADL does not meet my standards of a reliable source on Palestinian suffering. Check each link/source on an ADL source you want to share and form an informed conclusion on its reliability before sharing.
Also, be aware that primary sources with biased information are extremely valuable but never objective on their own. A tweet from the IDF or a statement from a released Palestinian prisoner may both be true! But sharing them as if they are definitely true without fact checking the information through the most trustworthy sources available is irresponsible. Do not share any social media information as fact. You are free to share social media information and publicly explore its implications in a responsible manner, but it is not responsible to discuss them as facts.
Case study: When something in Gaza or Israel is bombed, be sure that you know who the key players and commentators are.
When the IDF releases a statement blaming Hamas for bombing their own citizens, know that the IDF has a vested interest in not being perceived as an aggressor. When the Ministry of Health in Gaza accuses the Israeli military of being responsible for the attack, be aware that the Ministry of Health in Gaza is run by Hamas and is not a third party neutral source. Do not post anything about an event like this until the information is fully vetted by a neutral third party source (or as neutral as you are likely to find on such a hot button issue).
The best way you can help during an emerging story is to urge others to wait for full details, call out people irresponsibly casting blame before the facts are in (especially politicians), and repeatedly verify every source of information as they are named so that you know if they are trustworthy. Do not trust politicians who espouse inflammatory and prematurely accusatory information and do not make a public retraction and apology when they are found to be wrong.
That said, it is always appropriate to express sorrow for loss of life. You do not need to accuse a killer in order to do this.
There are also sites geared toward helping you identify the source itself fairly. Note: sites like these will help you evaluate the publication or news entity (eg New York Times, Al Jazeera, Haaretz, etc.). They won’t help you evaluate an individual journalist or article.
Some sites to help you verify credibility:
Media Bias Fact Check: Allows you to verify sources based on the news source’s political bias in terms of a left-right spectrum as well as by their reliability on matters of science, their use of questionable sources, and use of satire. Also, you can check how reliably factual the source’s reporting is. You can also sort by country, media type, general credibility, and how well trafficked the source is. They also publicly offer insight into their methodology of coming to these conclusions.
The Associated Press (AP) fact checks individual claims. Other news organizations fact checking claims include Reuters, The Washington Post and AFP. While AP is a gold standard and generally reliable, be aware that news organizations are also subject to bias. The advantage is that news organizations have investigative reporters on staff to investigate claims. The disadvantage is the bias inherent to the publication itself.
Other third party cites checking facts in news reports and in politics include:
FactCheck.org
Politifact
Snopes
Lakehead University offers an entire site devoted to developing media literacy as well as many ways to search fact checking sites. So does Kansas State University, and UMass Amherst. Many universities offer sites like this. I urge you to look into them.
Once you find a news or data source you trust, do a quick google search on the journalist’s name and a relevant phrase to the aspect of the conflict being reported on. For example The Newspaper Tribune Times Chronicle may be trustworthy. Veteran reporter, Ima Journalist may have written an article about Israel Bombing Gaza. So, before sharing it, just Google: “Ima journalist” + Israel Palestine Jews antisemitism Islamophobia. Make sure you don’t see something like “Ima Journalist photographed screaming ‘Hitler was actually a super good guy!’ anywhere in her history. When satisfied, feel free to share the story.
Other points to keep in mind:
Be aware of crappy tactics on both sides of the i/p conflict.
The IDF is often accused of excessive violence and planting evidence on Palestinians. This often leads to Palestinians being unfairly accused of terrorist intent and criminal violence.
Hamas uses civilians as human shields — both by using individual humans as shields and also launching bombs from civilian buildings (like hospitals, preschools, and libraries), building militaristic infrastructure in or beneath those same civilian buildings, and instigating conflict with IDF soldiers positioned near residential and civilian locations. This allows Hamas to escape criticism by framing the IDF as mindlessly bloodthirsty and eager to kill Palestinian civilians.
And finally, make sure accusations and talking points never conform to antisemitic conspiracy theories.
The universal aspects of antisemitic conspiracy theories (detailed more fully in the source linked above and also in another post I made) are:
Accusing Jews of replacing another group or population
Accusing Jews of pretending to be something they are not
Accusing Jews of dominating or attempting to dominate a prominent or essential aspect of a society or the world at large.
Accusing Jewish people of genocide and bloodlust in pursuit of personal gain
Accusing Jews of undue privilege or if appropriating something belonging to others.
Dehumanizing Jews by grouping them under a collective name or identity.
I hope this helps! Feel free to share it!
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alchemicalterror · 15 days ago
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I'm going to be honest, I have no idea who you are, but you seem very nice! I saw that you're researching the human fear response- I'd love to hear more about your work if you have the chance!
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It ain’t that weird to be surprised by anonymity at this point in my god damn career, you teenage pain in my…
… Ahem.
Hi. Uh, apologize for the informality of all this, I confess you caught me at something of a loss - it is not very often that I get asked after my research without some layer of presumption or prior bias coloring the inquisition, and the sheer novelty of the situation had me reeling this morning when I woke up to such a refreshing email.
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If it's all right with you, I'm gonna just ramble a bit at the camera with my coffee, since where I started and where I'm at has gone a little bit off in the weeds, and stream of consciousness is really the most organic way to get this all down these days; transcript below.
My work with the human psyche is, yes, with the human fear response in a manner of speaking - but I am not so much studying how people respond to fear in and of itself, so much as I am studying the therapeutic benefits of using episodes of intense fear as a means of breaking through repressed memories, opening vulnerabilities surrounding trauma, and helping people with anxiety or other fear-related chronic disorders navigate the tangled nests of their own thought processes to help better identify the cores of their issues so that, when they are in a calmer frame of mind, those newly-identified and articulated 'problem areas' in their past or thought processes could be more directly addressed and worked on in a controlled and clinical setting.
I began this path of neuroscientific study back when I was in university about twenty years ago now, and upon graduation, I initially had quite a bit of grant money and backing from the scientific community to pursue this line of inquiry, though most of that has dried up due to some red tape incidents that, for the sake of this explanation, I'm not going to get into at the moment if that's all right.
However, the process has shown a lot of promise, and I have made a lot of headway even though I am now limited to pilot-study sized focus groups and self-funded research, and am forced due to circumstances to make do broadly with volunteers and short-term clinical trials rather than the years-long therapy treatment plans and relationships I had hoped to establish when I began this journey all those decades ago. Despite setbacks, the research itself has been moving at a steady, if rather slow pace, and has proven incredibly promising, and the few folks that have stuck with me for repeat exposure and study have made a lot of headway with the issues I've been trying to address.
I am not currently licensed to practice any of my experimental therapy techniques in a live clinical setting, so my work in outpatient therapy and clinical psychiatric work is not related to my research, and is more just work I do to pay the bills, as a man's gotta eat and pay his employee and feed his kid and whatnot, but I did publish a paper back in '94 before things went tits up at my original research facility y'all could likely find on my initial findings if you want to pursue the topic further.
If that damn thing's behind a paywall or something, lemme know, I got it around here somewhere. Never pay for knowledge that oughta be free.
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howlsofbloodhounds · 3 months ago
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Delta anon here and I have a funny idea:
What if Delta/Beta are incredibly good at retrieving information. Like WEIRDLY good at it. They've got blackmail on everyone they know, and even on people they don't know. They never use it unless necessary, but it's Suspicious. But, whenever someone asks anything about it, they just say "don't worry about it", which only adds to the suspicion.
Color and Epic are obviously a bit concerned, because how the hell are they getting this information about people? Those two seem to know much more than they're supposed to, so how the hell are they doing this?
They wonder this, until they finally catch Delta handing Beta a voice recorder and a camera and sending him off to go stalk people lmao. Beta very much likes this job, and especially likes it when he gets to present the new information back to Delta.
So, obviously, Color and Epic confront them about this. They're a bit surprised they were caught, but explain. And the best part? They just do it for fun. They have no alterior motive other than fucking with people and scaring them. This is literally all just for fun.
Color and Epic decide to let it go as long as 1. They promise not to use it against people, and 2. As long as they share their findings. Because of course they'd want to be included in on the gossip.
Thoughts?
Delta/Beta 🤝 Killer
Knowing things they really shouldn’t.
Ngl Del, the entire concept was hilarious to me. It’s probably all kinds of illegal to be doing stuff like that, but Delta is teaching the kiddo all the tricks. And it ain’t like Epic and Color’s morality leans on the side of “legal = good/illegal = bad” lmao. Especially if any of the information they find could potentially be useful or helpful, or even prevent something from happening.
Delta would probably hate the idea that he has anything in common with Killer—especially anything along the lines of “breaking the law and doing arguably unethical things for no reason other than fun/amusement/curiosity.”
Delta’s so willing to kill people but he probably thinks his reasons for doing so are more justified because he only kills the ones who won’t quit hurting people.
(Although another main difference here is that Killer definitely would use this information against people if he can find a use for it, regardless of if that person tried anything against him or not.
And Delta is more likely to feel guilty about it, or won’t do something like that without “enough reason to,” whereas Killer isn’t likely to feel any guilt or remorse about it at all; not while in Stage 2 at least. He’s just as likely to do it because he gains something for it, or just because he wanted to.
At the most Killer might regret that he potentially upset or disappointed or hurt Color, at the most. And that may be his only incentive for not doing it again.)
The Epic Sanses morals compared to people like Killer and Cross can actually be very interesting, because the Epic Sanses are undeniably heros, protectors, saving people. But also Color hangs around murderers and people so willing to murder, and Delta is always itching for a fight and has no qualms about killing if he feels that’s the only way to keep people safe.
Would be interesting to talk about that actually..
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