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dorthes · 8 months

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Chiara: Gen-Z lesbian icon we were waiting for

(This is a translation of Chiara: el referente lésbico Gen Z que estábamos esperando and some comments of mine)

Chiara Oliver Williams is one of the 16 contestants from the reality-talent show more successful of Spain: Operación Triunfo. She's 19 years old, she likes Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Fleetwood Mac and Rosalía. She speaks four languages fluently, she plays the piano, the bass and the guitar, she's a composer, she's half English, half Spanish, and, without doubt, one of the most promising artists on the Spanish music industry. But we're going to focus on yet another aspect of her personality, last but no least: she's an out and proud lesbian.

"I'm Chiara, I like Christmas, girls, I'm a bit crazy and that's it." That's how she defined herself at the beginning of December (when the contest had barely started) when Ruslana, one of her housemates (bisexual wink) asked her to talk about her. And boy, was she right, because during the following weeks she has shown us that, if there's something crucial about her life and personality is, besides music and her talent, her lesbianism.

Let's start from the beginning. Chiara was one of the candidates that caught the most attention during the casting stage (in which 13 thousand contestants tried their luck) for her special voice, her artistic personality and her technical skills.

As early as the first week of the contest we know she's a raging homosexual when another one of her housemates, Violeta (also bisexual wink) asked her why several of her compositions are dedicated to boys (even though she would later explain they're not romantic songs) when she's "the most lesbian from all lesbians of Spain." However, her "official" coming out came later thanks to the LGBT talk scheduled in the show.

"Straight-passing", invisibility and lesbian pride

During that talk, Chiara spoke to talk about one of the problems femme lesbians often face: being pretty and femenine, and so, nobody expects they're lesbians.

And that's just what Chiara explained. It took her a while to understand not just to understand her lesbianism, but assume it, because how are you going to be a lesbian if you're not masculine and have grown up in a society which denies you like girls if you're pretty and femenine? Like, if boys like you and you check every box they look for, how could you not like them?

Basically, she talked abour her experience. "I've always been very feminine Society tells you lesbians are masculine, gays and affeminate, so I didn't realise until later because I told myself "I'm not masculine, so it's phisically impossible." But that's not the truth."

Chiara has what is known as straight-passing, that is, nobody thinks she's a lesbian at first glance, and nobody is going to think so if she doesn't say it. And that's a "privilege" and more so in a TV contest. But she decided not to "use" that "privilege" and she says every single day she's a lesbian. And, of course, she has "paid" the price, but we will talk about that later. All that matters is that Chiara's not only openly a lesbian, she has said it whenever possible, has coined "Go lesbians" as a personal brand alongside Bea, another housemate and a lesbian too and she says the word "lesbian" without any kind of taboo.

Lesbian is a word so charged with prejudice that a lot of lesbians refuse to use it and prefer some "euphemisms" like gay. So it is to be welcomed that a 19-year old Menorcan says it in one of the most successful TV shows in Spain (and with some repercussion in Latin America). With all its letters, with pride.

Chiara is a lesbian. And she also has all lesbian culture in her mind. She's a fan of Glee (particularly of Santana and Brittany), her favourite character from Grey's Anatomy is Arizona Robbins and she didn't like Bridgerton for being too straight. She loves Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson and Paula Usero. I Kissed a girl is a hymn in her life (and she sang it in the contest and finished it with a kiss with Violeta) and has covered Mujer contra mujer thousands of times.

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She, self proclaimed "Spanish lesbian Olivia Rodrigo", also has various romantic songs aimed to girls and many of them composed during the contest (rumours say some of them are dedicated to one of her girl friends in the contest).

Ships

Of course people is going to ship her with her housemates. In fact, a bisexual boy, Paul, confessed his feelings for her knowing it was impossible, which he told her, and people suspect possible relationships with her mentioned before housemates Violeta and Ruslana. It's true they're all very good friends, but Violeta has a girlfriend already and Ruslana is dating another housemate. I (the translator) personally think this is not relevant but, to whoever may care, you can search Wartanera on YouTube.

Misogyny, lesbophobia and ableism

Well, obviously not everything could be rosy. This is the 21st century and Spain can be one of the most advanced countries on LGBTQ+ and women's rights, but lesbophobia still exists. Chiara started the contest as one of the favourite contestant to win, but for the lat month she has received a hate wave from a good chunk of the audience because, well, she's an easy target.

Reality shows audience look for people to hate, and nothing is easier than a lesbian girl with ADHD. Chiara faces double discrimination for her sexual orientation and for being neurodivergent. And the consequence is that she could leave the show this week.

How to save Chiara

If you have read all of this, if you like how she sings, what she means to us, please help us save her and stay in the contest, not only for Chiara, but all Chiara represents.

You can watch all of her performances on the official Operación Triunfo Channel (and clips of Chiara in general)

You can see what she has done in the Academy through Twitter and Tiktok searching for Chiara OT or the words "Kivi" and "Ruski" (her ships).

You can listen to the songs she has covered in the contest and follow her on Spotify where she will publish her own songs outside the contest

But the most important thing is to vote for free in the official Operación Triunfo App once a day until Monday 5th February. It's fast and easy. If you are from Latin America or Spain you can download the app for free. If not, you can download it from here. Follow the instructions below to vote. It's very easy. Save the lesbians, go lesbians

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carewyncromwell · 2 months

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After reading your Friendship Drabbles, I have a question for you; Which of our Hogwarts friends that we’ve rarely seen paired up or even never paired up before do you think would be really cool to see interact with each other?

Ooh, now that's an interesting thought! Hmm...well, one I liked including in those drabbles was Murphy McNully, Badeea Ali, Tulip Karasu, and Rowan Khanna as members of a Wizards' Chess Club! I liked the Chess sidequest Jam City wrote for the first three, and it just seemed so logical for Rowan to be among their ranks too. Rowan and McNully in particular I feel would find a lot of common ground, especially since they'd be in the same house.

Speaking of Rowan, I also really like the idea of Rowan and Ismelda Murk getting on better in years 5 and 6, especially if Rowan is sorted as Slytherin the way mine is! I feel like after MC helps Ismelda with her crush on Barnaby, Ismelda would open herself up a bit more to accepting help from other people in her year regardless of how different they are from her, and considering that Rowan and Ismelda are both so interested in History of Magic, I could totally see them striking up a (whispered) conversation or two over an essay in the library or something. One of my heacanons that admittedly flies in the face of the game is the idea that it's Ismelda who ultimately takes over teaching her class History of Magic in Rowan's stead after their death in year 6, and in my personal version of the Circle of Khanna, Ismelda actually joined the organization not just because Merula invited her to, but actively out of wanting justice for Rowan.

I also think Chiara Lobosca and Nymphadora Tonks would have developed a very close bond over time, both before and after school. Not only are their dormmates who quite frankly could learn a lot from each other, but I love the idea that half the reason Tonks is so blase and accepting about her future partner Remus Lupin being a werewolf is because she met and fully accepted Chiara first. I also really like the idea that Chiara was the one who put Tonks in contact with Lupin and the Order of the Phoenix in the very beginnings of the Second Wizarding War.

Speaking of dormmates, Charlie Weasley and Ben Copper were good friends at school, you can rip that idea out of my cold, dead hands. In my headcanon, I actually imagine Charlie -- in true Weasley fashion -- becoming a bit protective of Ben after Merula targeted him so openly in their first year for his ancestry. When Ben went through his radical transformation in year 6 and hexed Charlie, the two ended up in a full-on physical fight, though they mended fences when they helped co-found the Circle of Khanna.

Ravenclaw dormies Talbott Winger and Andre Egwu, on the other hand? I'm sorry, these two were always trading sassy barbed comments with each other, I don't make the rules. ("You aren't seriously thinking of going out to Hogsmeade in those, are you?" "I'm not the one strutting about in purple and white-striped pants." "They're lavender-and-white slacks. And they are fashionable, compared to -- whatever hokey American ridiculousness you've got strapped to your feet." "I'm surprised the supposed 'King of Fashion' doesn't know what cowboy boots are.")

Finally I love the idea of Chiara connecting really well with Talbott! I wrote Carewyn befriending these two back-to-back in her fourth year due to how well their side-quest plot lines synced up (and honestly, their introductory TLSQ's were among the best in the entire game, IMO) and I just love the thought that these two "Lone Wolves" in MC's year could find some fun common ground despite their shared tendency to ward people away from them.

Another person that ends up close friends with Chiara in my headcanon is Jae Kim, though there's a bit more Jam-City-canon ammunition behind this. The game also included the ideas that Talbott was friends with Penny before MC and Talbott and Badeea connected through the Circle of Khanna, and I like the thought that Talbott kept in contact with both of them well after Hogwarts too. Even Merula and Tulip's game-canon fractured friendship, which I don't imagine healed that well at school, I personally like imagining improved after Tonks's death, when Merula and Tulip both took comfort from each other at her and Lupin's funeral.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #ask me #headcanons #murphy mcnully #badeea ali #tulip karasu #rowan khanna #ismelda murk #chiara lobosca #nymphadora tonks #charlie weasley #ben copper #andre egwu #talbott winger #penny haywood #jae kim #merula snyde

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snackara · 2 months

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Chapter Five: You’re A Star!

Asha blinks and shakes her head. “What- of course not! That- That’s impossible! You’re supposed to be up there, not down here.” She says, pointing to the sky.

“Well, usually yes,” Earendel says, floating around Asha. “But you called me down with your wish. So now I’m here too help you make that wish come true.”

“Make my wish come true?” Asha looks up at the stars. “So those stories my father told me about the stars granting people’s wishes were true?”

“Yep, they were!” Earendel smiles and nods. “Although, it’s been a really long time since a star has even come down to Earth.”

“Because people tried to steal your magic,” Asha replies with slight worry.

Earendel nods before straightening up and landing in front of Asha. “But don’t worry, I’ll help make your wish come true.” He clears his throat and bows to Asha. “Fair maiden, you have given so much happiness to others, you deserve to have your wish come true. It shall be my honor to- woah whAT IS THAT?”

Asha looks to where Earendel is looking. Valentino stands there stiffly, narrowing his eyes at Earendel. “That is my genet, Valentino. Valentino, meet Earendel, the star.”

“Woah ho ho! A real genet? I’ve never seen one up close before!” Earendel leans down close to Valentino, making him jump back and hiss. “Hey, it’s okay buddy, I’m not gonna-“ he’s interrupted by Valentino swiping a paw at his face, which simply phases through his nose, “-hurt you.”

Asha clears her throat and picks Valentino up. “Okay, this has been fun and all, but I really need to go home now. I have a lot to do tomorrow, and the last thing I need is getting someone else caught in the middle of it. Especially a child.” She turns around and starts to walk away.

“Wait!” Earendel flies after Asha, stopping her in her tracks. “Don’t you want my help? That’s kind of the whole reason I’m here.”

Asha scoffs. “I don’t need anyone’s help. I am Alondra of Rosas! Trust me, I can handle myself.”

“But-but wouldn’t it be easier if I helped you? I can do magic, watch.” Earendel sprinkles a little stardust onto the ground. In that spot, a flower blooms and glows with starlight.

“Look, I appreciate the thought, really. But I don’t need you you tagging along and slowing me down,” Asha says, walking around Earendel.

“Your wish is a pretty big one though. I mean, saving a whole kingdom? Without your own magic? That sounds almost impossible without a little help.” Earendel says as he trails behind Asha. At this point several animals poke their heads out of the bushes and start to gather around Earendel, following him.

Asha sighs and rolls her eyes in annoyance. “Oh, how hard can it be? All I need is my sword. Now if you don’t mind I need to go get ready. Go home back to the sky or wherever.”

Earendel stops in his tracks and looks away. His glow dims. “Well, about that…”

Asha stops and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before she turns around. “Don’t tell me…”

“I don’t know how to go home.” Earendel floats up to a tree and sits down between two branches. “You see, I didn’t travel here by myself when you made your wish. My magic isn’t strong enough. Our queen sent me down here to help you. So I can’t go back until she uses her magic to portal me back.”

Asha sighs and runs her hand down her face. “And of course that idiota had to send down the most annoying star to try and ‘help’ me.”

“HEY!” Earendel flies down close to Asha’s face, making her and Valentino jump back in surprise. He glows more red now and his anger makes several of the animals scuttle back. “Don’t you dare speak of Queen Chiara that way! She’s the kindest and wisest star in the whole galaxy, and I will not tolerate you calling her an idiota. Look, I don’t know why she sent me specifically down here either, but she did not do it arbitrarily.”

“Okay okay, I’m sorry.” Asha says. Earendel floats back, his hair going back to yellow. Asha stays silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “So, I’m stuck with you until my wish comes true?”

Earendel shrugs. “Pretty much.”

Asha sets Valentino down and sighs, sitting on a log. “Great. And here I thought this day couldn’t get any worse.” She puts her face in her hands. Valentino whines and tilts his head.

Earendel frowns as he senses Asha’s grief and floats over to the log, sitting down next to her. “Hey, don’t worry, everything’s gonna be okay. I have no doubt you can make your wish come true. You know why?”

“Why?” Asha asks, looking up from her hands.

“Because you’re a star!” Earendel says, jumping up and holding his arms out.

“…huh?” Is all Asha says with a perplexed look. “I thought you were the star.”

“Well yes, but not like that. I mean, y’know,” Earendel huffs and puts his hands on his hips. “How do I explain this? Oh, I know!” He snaps his fingers and whistles for the animals. “Hey, could you guys come help me out?”

The animals gather around Earendel and he sprinkled stardust onto them. They look around and start to speak.

“Woah, it worked!” “Who knew I would sound like this?” “This is amazing!”

Earendel smiles and throws stardust at several trees, making them come to life. They yawn and stretch their branches. Asha looks around, still very confused. “What’s going on here?” Realization slowly dawns on her face. “oh wait no doN’T START-!”

(TOO LATE NOW!)

🎵You’re a Star🎵

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Earendel

Forest Critters

Asha

Have you ever wondered why you look up at the sky for answers? Or why flowers in the wind are effortless and elegant dancers? Or how the tides in the sea move along to the beat?

(Earendel spins around and starts singing as Asha facepalms. He points to the sky. The stars form a flower constellation, then reshape and move like waves.)

What's passed down generationally, to him, to her, to you? And to me? And why our eyes all look like microscopic galaxies? Have you ever wondered why you look up at the sky for answers?

(Earendel points to a large tree, who points to another with its branch, who points to another, who points to a sapling that sings the last bit. An owl hops onto a branch in front of Asha, and we see a close up shot of its eyes. Earendel smiles at Asha and flies up after the last line, splaying his limbs out wide and sending stardust everywhere.)

Well, you don't have to look too hard Just find that spark inside your heart If you're try'na figure out just who you are Don't look far Don’t be ashamed of all your scars It’s all okay, let down your guard If you really wanna know just who you are You're a star!

(The animals begin to sing along with Earendel and dance around him and Asha. Asha still looks confused, but smiles a little. Valentino meanwhile looks terrified. Earendel dances around them, beaming.)

Boom! Now I know this must be a lot Well, I- Don’t speak, just free your thoughts! In the game of life, we're all shareholders

(Butterflies fly out from behind Asha. Earendel holds up his hands as he sings the second line. Asha glances away and begins to speak before Earendel puts a finger to her lips and gestures to the animals.)

We glow up! Like we’re about to go…solar! See everything’s looking up for us, every one of us Supernova to the brink of something wondrous The world aglow in shades of color all over So get up! Show the world you’re no poser!

(The animals take over for the next part as several rabbits dance around Asha. One pops up in front of the camera on “solar”. Earendel floats in a hammock-style position as he follows a turtle down a stream, nodding to the beat. He floats by Asha and jokingly punches her in the shoulder. Asha stumbles a little, but stays smiling.)

We eat the leaves and they eat the sun It’s no mystery where all our soul comes from Hey, you still look like you're hanging on by a strand Just open your mind up and you’ll understand

(Two mice sing on a leaf, and the camera pans up to the rest of the flower blooming against the moon. Earendel circles Asha and grabs a couple sticks, bearing them against some mushrooms like drums.)

So do you get it now? …I guess so? Good enough for me!

(Earendel tosses the sticks aside and looks at Asha hopefully. Asha does not in fact understand any of this, but hesitantly smiles and tilts her head. What else can she say? Earendel shrugs.)

Well, you don't have to look too hard You’re more then the sun of all your parts If you're try'na figure out just who you are You're a star! Don’t worry if your world goes dark ‘Cause you’ll find home, it’s not too far If you really wanna know just who you are You’re a star!

(A herd of deer run b, and two lift Earendel and Asha onto their backs. Stardust swirls around them like wind. They leap off a short cliff and Earendel flies off. Asha falls and lands

Here's a little tree allegory That gets me inspiratory You’ve got so much to explore We all have got to write our own story Don’t look down if skies are stormy ‘Cause your sun will rise in the morning Hope you get this metaphor-y You have got to write your own story

(Earendel runs through a clearing, making the plants around him light up. Two raccoons dangle from another branch and sing to Asha, nodding to the music. Several quail run around Asha, lighting up the ground in a similar shot as the film. More animals gather around on the final line.)

You don't have to look too hard/Here’s a little tree allegory It's been within you from the start/That should be inspiratory If you're try'na figure out just who you are/You’ve got so much to explore We all have got to write our own story No matter if you’re small or large/Don’t look down when skies are stormy Just get out there and raise the bar/You’re sun will rise in the morning If you really wanna know just who you are I'm a star!

(Everyone dances joyously, with Asha at the center. She takes Earendel’s hands and dances with him, smiling. Even Valentino looks happy. Earendel spins away on his final line and points to Asha, along with the animals and plants. Asha punts her hands on her heart and the song concludes with everyone except Asha laughing and cheering.)

Earendel waves to the animals as they start to leave, his hair glowing brightly. “Bye guys! Thanks for all your help!”

“Bye-bye Earendel!”

“That was so fun!”

“I wonder when this will wear off?”

Earendel turns around to Asha, looking up at her with pleading eyes. “So can I help make your wish come true?”

Asha still looks hesitant. Her and Valentino exchange a glance and look back at Earendel. She has a bad feeling about this. But oh, those eyes. That face. How could she say no?

“Fine, fine, you can come and help me,” Asha says with a sigh.

Earendel grins and hugs Asha tightly. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much Alondra!”

Asha reaches up and pats Earendel’s head. “Please, call me Asha.” There’s a hiss from below and the two look down to see Valentino trying to claw at Earendel’s leg. “And, well, you’ve met Valentino already.”

“Oh yeah!” Earendel reaches down and scratch’s Valentino behind the ear. Valentino stiffens at first, but relaxes and chitters happily. Earendel stands back up and floats off of the ground. “Now, that’s enough talking. Let’s go save a kingdom!” And he flies off into the forest.

“Wait! I need to get my gear first!” Asha calls. There’s a few seconds of silence before Earendel comes back, looking embarrassed.

“Yeah, and I have no idea what we even need to do,” Earendel mumbles, scratching his head.

Asha jerks her head in the direction of the Hamlet. “Come with me and I’ll explain I everything to you.” Earendel nods and floats beside her as they go back to the Hamlet. Asha takes out her sketchbook and flips to a page showing the wish bubbles. “So, King Manuel and Queen Amaya make everyone give up their wishes when they come to Rosas or turn eighteen. But not just any wish, their deepest desire that drives their heart. Almost like a part of their soul. And about once a month Manuel will grant someone’s wish. But the rest he keeps locked away in his tower.”

Earendel shrugs. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Well, when someone is without their wish long enough, it starts to affect them,” Asha continues. “They become depressed and have no drive to follow their passions. And those are the lucky ones. The unlucky ones get sicker and weaker as time passes. I’ve seen it quite a few times in Rosas. And some…” she hesitates. “some die if they get too weak.”

Earendel’s brows furrow and he looks at Asha. “Then why do they take them away from people?”

“My father said that Manuel uses them to fuel his own magic,” Asha replies. “He never told me how he found out, but knowing Manuel it seems plausible.” The hamlet comes into view.

Earendel nods. “So we need to free the wishes and return them to their rightful owners.”

Asha nods. “Exactly. We’ll sneak into the castle and free the wishes. The details are a little fuzzy but I’ll figure them out on our way.” She looks around as she walks over to her house to make sure nobody sees them. “Okay, wait here while I get ready.” Earendel nods and stands to the side as Asha shuts the door. He looks around and sits down, poking a flower and making it glow. He smiles.

•◌•◌•★•◌•◌•

We cut back to the castle. Flazino is rubbing his eyes tiredly. “So let me get this straight: a star fell out of the sky all of a sudden, landed in the middle of the Uncharted Forest, and now you want me to go and find it in the middle of the night?”

There’s a wider shot, showing he’s in the throne room of the castle. Manuel is standing in front of his throne. “Yes, exactly.”

Flazino sighs. “Can’t this wait until the morning? It’s too dark out to go on a wild goose chase.”

“No, this cannot wait a moment,” Manuel insists, tapping his staff on the ground for emphasis. “We need to find that star before someone else does. Grimm only knows what some stupid peasant might try to do with it.”

“And what are you going to do if I don’t go and fetch your little star?” Flazino asks, narrowing his eyes and crossing his arms.

Manuel chuckles and walks towards Flazino. “You know…it was very kind of me to let you keep your wish. Especially since everyone else in the kingdom your age has to give theirs up.” He stops in front of Flazino and pushes the tip of his staff against his chest. “But if you dare to defy me, I won’t hesitate to take it away. I could even crush it. Would you like that, boy?”

Flazino looks troubled by his father’s threats and looks away, schooling his expression. “I thought so,” Manuel says, pulling his staff away. “Now go get dressed, your horse should be ready for you.” Flazino nods and quickly walks out of the throne room.

We cut to a shot of Flazino, who’s now wearing a dark blue cloak, taking the reins of his horse from a guard outside the castle and riding off into the night. He gallops through the entrance of Rosas, and we see a brief montage of him riding through the countryside before he reaches the woods. He stops just outside, scanning the tree line. His horse softly nickers and takes a step back with worry.

“Hey, it’s okay, shhh,” Flazino says, petting his horse’s neck. “Come on. The sooner we find the star, the sooner we can leave.” He pulls the hood tighter over his head and walks into the woods.

Author Notes

I see why you all were saying rewriting this song was hell. Again I used a cover by Jonah Who Two, but that did not help in describing the visuals. There’s just so much going on so quickly. It works fine for a movie, but is hell on earth to write down. And I’m still a little hesitant when it comes to the lyrics. Earendel already gave a description of how he works for Asha and the audience, so I wanted the song to focus more on cheering up Asha and giving her a confidence boost. But I wonder if it would have been better to explain stars through the song instead Oh well, too late now. I just want to get to the villain song as soon as possible.

And we get a good introduction to Earendel! I wanted to draw a lot of his personality from the movie. He is very sweet and naive, but ready to throw hands for the ones he cares about (I’m sure that won’t be a problem later…).

He’s also very insistent on being helpful, because, well, he wants to prove himself to the queen. Like he says, he doesn’t know why she chose him to help Asha, but he’s willing to do the best he can. After all, who wouldn’t love some help from a star? So when Asha tells him no, it knocks the wind out of his sails. But he’s very persistent. It’s in his nature to be kind and caring towards others.

And we see the first glimpse of Asha being vulnerable around a stranger. It’s very small and brief, but it leads to Earendel cheering her up through “You’re a Star”. And seeing him be so genuine towards her, Asha lets him tag along. But make no mistake, at this point she’s still very reluctant about the idea.

And there’s the final scene with Flazino and Manuel. I meant to extend it to Flazino meeting Asha and Earendel and ending it there, but at that point I was just so tired of writing this chapter, so I ended it a little early. So the focus of the scene is more so the first time we see Manuel be directly abusive to Flazino. Which is especially harsh after we see what happened to Sabino.

And with that we finally conclude this chapter. Next chapter the trio will finally come together, so a lot of fun stuff there. Now if you’ll excuse me. *collapses*

Thanks for reading!

#Youtube #wish #wish rewrite #disney wish #wish 2023 #wish au #wish star #king magnifico #wish asha #asha #earendel #wish king magnifico #wish flazino #upon a star

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valyrfia · 5 months

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diff anon! also a lesbian and yeah I get what prev anon means. So many "instagram influencer looking" kind of women leave me very cold because their styling is just... they take a lot of care to look attractive in a way that follows heteronormative beauty standards with a lot of attention with what's currently 'on trend'. more power to them but I feel like I'm looking at a pretty painting and that's it. google chiara ferragni and that's about what I mean, and agree with prev anons that many WAGs fit that type, but that jeans on jeans outfit rebecca was wearing 2 days ago to the monte carlo masters with carlos? I'd do her any day

Yes this! Also I love cultivating a community of F1 lesbians on here please do keep coming back because I'm tired of pretending in group settings that some of these drivers anything but ugly.

Conventionally attractive heterosexual women tend to not dress in what they actually desire but in what they think would be acceptable to male attention, it's a thing. They don't want to be seen as masculine or troublesome because that would hurt their desirability. Queer women stand, dress, and talk differently because they're not self-monitoring in the same way, and that more than anything is what is attractive to other queer women. I think every lesbian when she first comes out gets a straight friend going "oh but are you attracted to ME?" and it's so difficult to explain to someone who doesn't know about the differences in being cishet and being queer how you can tell when a woman is dressing for the male gaze vs. when she's dressing for herself, and the first is never going to be attractive to queer women.

Looked up Rebecca's Masters fit....and yes I would do her. I need her to let me sit on her la-*GUNSHOT"

Also just googled Chiara Ferragni and the only two pics I found her attractive in was one with shorter hair and candid and one in a suit being a businesswoman, which I think speaks volumes to the female gaze.

#queer talks with fi #asks #anon

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ameliathefatcat · 7 months

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Random Hogwarts Mystery Headcanons because I have a lot of Ideas

Badeea Ali has really bad environmental allergies. She has to take allergy potions before Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology

Skye Parkin has a nut allergy and didn’t realize for way to long she just thought nuts were spicy

Ben Copper and Jae Kim are lactose intolerant

Badeea has undiagnosed autism, she’s an 80’s kid and the child of immigrants.

Badeea was the first in her family to be born outside of Egypt, her father immigranted when her half brothers were small and her mother immigranted as a young woman

Tulip is the heaviest sleeper ever. Charlie Mosley and Badeea have to flip over her mattress to wake her up when she over sleeps

She sleeps through that as well

Barnaby is epileptic due to a TBI he got as a child

He mostly has absence seizures, once or twice a year he might have a tonic-clonic seizure

He keeps this a secret, since he’s embarrassed of having brain damage

Chiara is the only one that knows he’s epileptic and she helps him when he has a seizure

Reggie Tonks (Nyphmadora’s younger brother) actually became friends with Ismelda Murk due to both of them being a bit satanic

Reggie loves to test out his new spells and Ismelda likes to cause pain so she helps him get victims test subjects

Reggie is also friends with Badeea since both like to invite new spells

Tonks doesn’t get it. She loves her little brother but doesn’t understand why people in her year are friends with him

Tonks is very protective of her little brother

Diego Caplan teases Amelia and Ben for being Ashkenazi

Diego is Sephardic btw

When Amelia and Diego are on patrol together they joke around and argue about Jewish stuff

The other Prefects, Barnaby, Liz, Badeea, Andre, Penny and Charlie are confused about this and when Amelia said ‘a good amount of our culture is arguing’

Tonks is not trust with sharp objects

Ben and Badeea both became Uncle/Aunt while at Hogwarts

Andre does drag

Talbott finds this hot and annoying since Andre is a horrible singer

Ben’s family really loves Amelia. She was invited to his second sister Rina’s wedding

Orion is a stoner

He also doesn’t shower that much

He has horrible BO

Skye has a pair of lucky socks are that are super smelly

Rath sweats a lot and uses so much deodorant to deal with BO

When Badeea sees the name ‘Khalid Ali’ in the news paper she hopes it a different Khalid Ali and not her half brother. It’s often her half brother

Andre was once reading an international wizarding newspaper and the headline was ‘British-Egyptian wizard in Cairo. Badeea knew instantly it was her half brother

More about Badeea’s half brothers when they were at Hogwarts they anglicized their names Samir went by Sam and Khalid went by Kenny. Khalid is called Kenny by most of his friends but didn’t legally change his name because it was too much work

Badeea does technically have an anglicized nickname, B. She’s mostly called this by the other Ravenclaws.

Amelia and Badeea bond over the fact both of them don’t speak English at home.

Khalid was friends with both Duncan and Jacob but he no interest in the cursed vaults

Barnaby, Liz, Diego, Penny, Andre, Badeea, Charlie and Amelia took a Prefect photo and re take it at their reunions

Murphy and Rath are constantly on and off dating

#hogwarts mystery headcanon #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hphm #hogwarts mystery #Amelia Goldstein #jacobs sibling #badeea ali #skye parkin #jae kim #ben copper #tulip karasu #charlie weasley #chiara lobosca #Barnaby lee #talbott winger #nymphadora tonks #erika rath #orion amari #murphy mcnully

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arielemberbridge · 2 years

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So, I've been wanting to write hphm tlsq, chapters, quidditch sidequests, and creature sidequests down from my character's point of view. I recently started writing a bit of flying solo (the quest where you become friends with Talbott), and I was wondering if I should continue writing it, and post it on my blog. I'd really appreciate feedback on my writing, and how I could improve. Thanks for reading this long a/n, and now, feel free to read the fanfic if you want.

Word count (so far) : 3,800

Flying Solo

Ever since becoming an animagus, I’ve been wanting to get closer with the mysterious, quiet bloke Talbott. I felt like he was a magnet, pulling me towards him. Speaking about Talbott, I got a letter from Penny, and all it stated was, “We need to talk about Talbott. Let's meet in the Great Hall now. With the urgency of her letter, I was really concerned. I ran from my dormitory straight to the Great Hall.

While walking over to the tables, I heard Rowan comment, “ I’ve seen an eagle flying around the school grounds a lot recently. I hope all the pet rats are safe.” After I heard that, I stopped moving and started wondering, could that be Talbottt?

I also passed Chiara, but she didn’t mention anything about an eagle, she instead mentioned to some Gryffindor kid called Jae, “Sorry, I’m a bit… preoccupied tonight.” Poor thing. She always makes me think about why bad things happen to good people. At least there is some good that comes out of it; a person that cares about making transforming less painful and more affordable.

While still walking over to Penny, I heard Merula yell at Ismelda. She was screaming, “Some bloody bird tried to nest in my hair earlier!” I guess even birds think her hair is messy as heck too. I laughed at the thought. That couldn’t have been Talbott though because he usually keeps to himself, and isn’t the biggest fan of Merula.

I finally finished walking over to where I normally sit with friends in the Great Hall, but when I got there, Penny was nowhere to be found!! I sighed and sat down. I nearly left after waiting for 10 minutes, but finally, Penny decided to show up.

“Ah, you’re here, Isabella! Thanks for coming,” she greeted, looking worried.

“Of course, Penny,” I said, picking up on her fidgety behaviour, “Now, what’s wrong?” I asked, getting straight to the point, “You sounded worried when you asked to meet.”

“It’s Talbott…” she said nervously. I quickly started paying more attention. I don”t know why Talbott has this sort of effect on me, but I really care about him, even though I hardly know him.

Taken by surprise, I blurted out without thinking, “Talbott Winger, the one who helped us brew an Animagus Potion? What’s wrong?! Is he hurt?!”

“No…” Penny said uncertaintly, “at least I hope not.” I raised my eyebrow at this. Based on my reaction, Penny quickly explained, “He’s been spending all of his time alone recently.”

I held back a laugh, “no offence, Penny, but have you met Talbott? He makes Snape look talkative.”

Penny awkwardly said, “I know he’s a… private person, but I've been his friend for a while. I can tell something’s wrong.” I gave Penny a sceptical look, and she added, “plus he’s been missing class, even Transfiguration, and that’s his favourite.” I subconsciously added that to my mental list of things to remember. Could Talbott be in an organisation like me? Did he join the Keepers of Adeen? No… I would’ve known if there was a new member… Maybe he joined Dark Core? It would make sense why they’d want him of all people because he can spy with his animagus ability… No, he doesn’t seem like the type of person to do that… Penny continued, snapping me out of my thoughts, “I’d ask him myself, but I haven’t been able to find him. I think he’s been avoiding me,” she said, looking like she was about to cry. I immediately became determined to help, I didn't want to see Penny this sad.

“That’s why I asked to meet you, actually. I was hoping you might know where he is,” she explained.

I felt really bad admitting, “sorry, Penny, I haven’t seen him at all recently.” I couldn’t look at Penny’s face with tears threatening to fall, so I quickly looked away. Suddenly, while gazing at my other friends, I got an idea, “but let’s ask around. Surely someone has to have seen Talbott.” Thankfully, Penny cheered up. “Mission accomplished,” I muttered under my breath.

First I went up to Rowan who apologised, “sorry, Isabella, I’ve been too busy with my studies to pay much attention to gossip.”

I asked again, “are you sure you haven’t seen him?”

She looked up from her book sighing, and asked, “if Talbott wants to be alone, shouldn’t you give him his space?”

Getting the hint, I left Rowan reading. Maybe I can get information from Merual, I thought. After asking the question, Merula asked, snorting, “Winger? Are you picking up another odd friend to add to your collection?”

“Talbott’s not odd,” I muttered, wanting to blast that smirk off Merula’s stupid face.

“Sorry, what’s that, Wallace? Standing up for your boyfriend?” she asked, trying to provoke me. I walked away, thinking better than starting a fight.

“Guess I’ll go to Tulip,” I told myself, “she might know since she’s in his house.”

All she could tell me was, “I haven't seen Talbott Winger around the Ravenclaw common room much lately.”

I sighed, leaving her to ask Andre who just asked me, “Talbott Winger’s the bloke that keeps to himself a lot, right?”

Giving up, I reluctantly went over to Merula again, who was no help, and just asked, “you have a hard time keeping track of a lot of people, eh Wallace?”

I looked away from her and spotted Professor Flitwick at the staff table. He might know more, I thought. Apparently, I thought wrong. He had just as much of an idea on the matter as me, saying, “no, I’m afraid Mr. Winger hasn’t told me anything,” and requesting, “if you do see Mr. Winger, please tell him we need to discuss his attendance.”

Tulip beckoned me over to her. I was hopeful for a moment for evidence, but all I got from her was, “Now that I think about it, I didn’t see Talbott Winger at dinner, does that help?’

“Not really, but thanks anyway Tulip,” I replied sadly.

Andre saw me and, I suppose he felt guilty for not giving me any information, because he quickly said, “sorry, I don’t know much about Talbott other than that he looks interesting.”

I sighed, saying, “it’s okay Andre, it’s not like it’s your fault.”

Me and Penny regrouped and I said, “that’s odd. I asked everyone who knows him and it doesn’t seem any of them has seen Talbott,” making sure she at least would feel a bit better, I added, “whatever’s going on, it doesn’t seem like he’s ignoring you specifically, Penny.”

“Though I’m glad he’s not only avoiding me, now I’m even more worried…” She looked away, and became lost in thought. She looked back up, “I want to look for him, but I promised I’d tutor a few first years in potions now…”

Seeing her sad look, I had to tell her, “don’t worry, Penny. I’ll find and talk to him.”

“Really? You’ll check in on Talbott for me? Why?” She asked, seeming suspicious.

I was quick to explain, “Talbott’s my friend, even if he doesn’t like to admit it. I’m worried about him and want to make sure he’s okay too.” I slowly added in, talking to myself more than Penny, “Besides, this might be a good opportunity to try to get to know him better.”

Penny ran up and hugged me, “thanks, Isabella. It’s a relief knowing you’ll be there for him if he does need help.” She pulled away, “Talbott might say he’d rather be alone, but I don’t think he really means it,” she said with a soft expression, “I really appreciate this, Isabella. Let me know how it goes and if you need any help.”

“Of course!,” I said almost immediately, “I’m heading to the Courtyard now, I’ll look for Talbott while I’m there.”

Me and Penny parted ways. I headed back up to my dormitory. After changing from my robes to my casual outfit since school was done for the rest of the day on Friday, I layed down, only for Chocolate to come with a piece of parchment in her beak. I was quick to take and read it. It started:

Dear, Isabella,

Since you won’t give up on looking for me, I’ll meet you in the Courtyard now.

Sincerely,

Talbott

This time, I was too lazy to run all the way to the Courtyard, so I transformed into my animagus form; a Peregrine Falcon, and flew out of my dormitory window, down to the Courtyard. “Shoot, I forgot about the landing process,” I said to myself, since I’ve always ended up landing by crashing into the ground.

As soon as the Courtyard caught my sight, I sighed, found the pear tree, and decided to crash into it. I shut my eyes tight and felt all the branches scrape me. I transformed back to a human and hissed in pain. I stood up, ignoring how bad it actually was. Looking around, the only people I saw in the Courtyard other than me were Jae and Chiara. Do they just spend all their time together? I thought to myself. I slowly walked over to the doors leading to the Courtyard.

I heard a calling whistle and quickly looked around to see Talbott leaning against the fountain as he stated, “over here.”

“Talbott! When I told Penny I’d look for you, I wasn’t expecting you to reach out and agree to meet me here first,” I said, surprised.

“So it’s true that you and Penny have been looking for me,” he said with an eyebrow raised and a sceptical look.

“Where did you hear that?” I asked, “everyone I talked to hasn’t seen or talked to you in days.”

“I little birdie told me,” he said smirking. I broke my composure and giggled.

After controlling myself again, I said, rolling my eyes, smiling, “nice try, but bird puns won’t distract me from asking about what’s going on with you for that long.”

He sighed, “It was worth a shot.”

I glared at him, “Talbott, I’m being serious. You’ve even been missing classes,” I sighed before continuing, “When Penny told me how concerned she was about you, I couldn’t help but be worried too.”

“I appreciate the concern, but as you can see, I’m fine,” he said, trying to convince me. I guess it was too bad for him that I’m able to tell when people are faking their emotions because I do it too.

“Are you actually fine?” I asked, then said accusingly, “Or are you just lying and telling me you’re fine so I’ll leave you alone?”

Surprisingly, unlike most people who get nervous or surprised when I accuse them of things, Talbott kept his composure and asked, “If I tell you I’m lying, will you keep pressuring me to find out what’s wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’m actually fine,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Talbott!” I yelled, getting annoyed.

He actually did lose his composure for a bit but then continued, “So I’ve spent a lot of time alone lately. That’s not exactly newsworthy,” he paused and added quieter than before, “Why do you care if there’s anything bothering me anyways?”

I felt my face slowly heat up as I was under his piercing gaze, “I consider you my friend, Talbott, and I care about you. If something’s bothering you, I want to know so I can help,” I swallowed before continuing, “I thought you opened up to me back then because you thought of me as your friend, too,” I looked back into his eyes, “was I wrong?”

He looked around awkwardly, and, trying to come up with an excuse, he said, “I know I called you my friend earlier, but it’s just because I got caught up in the moment.” Apparently I’m good at making people feel bad, because, after seeing my face, he said, “It’s not that I don’t like you or anything. I’m just not ready to call you my friend yet. You barely know me.”

I muttered to myself, “Part of me was hoping this was my opportunity to change that.”

Noticing the awkward silence, I said, “Fine, we don’t have to talk about what’s wrong,” I felt around in my mokeskin pouch, and found what I was looking for. Smiling, I said, “We can play a game of Gobstones instead…” suddenly I got an idea, and added, “But if I win, you have to at least consider telling me why you’ve been extra distant lately,” I finished, smirking.

“And if I win?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll tell Penny you’re actually fine and never bring any of this up again,” I said, trying to convince him.

“Alright, Isabella. If you can beat me at Gobstones, I promise to hear you out,” he said, looking determined.

After I set up the game, Talbott must have gotten a flashback, because he stated, “Your distractions won’t work this time, Isabella. I don’t intend to lose,” and to add some uncertainty for me he said, “I’ve been practising Gobstones.”

The distraction rolled off my tongue like water causing me to say, smirking, “and I’ve been spying on the ministry.”

“You’ve been what?!” He said surprised, not realising he completely missed the stones until it was my turn and he was sprayed, “ugh, honestly, you should be a Slytherin,” he said annoyed, “anyway, why’s Penny worried about me?”

“She fancies you,” I said sarcastically. Unfortunately, I was too distracted saying that, and only came back to my senses to see Talbott smirking, and myself smelling horrible.

“Nice try, but I know Penny likes someone else,” he said proudly.

“If I couldn’t say it any better, I’d say you actually like hanging out with me,” I stated.

“Well, I’d prefer to keep to myself,” he said, flustered.

“Well, I’d prefer to report you to the ministry,” I said, distracting him enough to spray him.

He sighed, “I’ll admit, I didn’t see that coming,” and under his breath he stated, “maybe if you didn’t keep distracting me.”

I smirked, “Distractions? What distractions? I’m just making small talk,” I finished casually.

Observing the game with his “eagle eyes” he replied, “You might be close to winning, but you can’t possibly have any distractions left…”

“We’ll see about that,” I glared while smiling.

“I’m setting up my special move…” he muttered.

“Is that a ministry official I see?” I asked, distracting him long enough for him to miss yet again, and for me to knock the rest of the Gobstones out of the circle.

Talbott groaned, “I know when I’ve lost. I suppose I can at least hear you out.”

After we stood up, he admitted, “Alright, Isabella, you won. Just like I promised, I’ll hear you out.”

“Talbott, I know you don’t like talking about yourself, but you shouldn’t be afraid to tell me what’s bothering you. You trusted me with your secret that you’re an unregistered Animagus… And as an unregistered Animagus too, I understand how much trust that requires…” I said, trying to convince him to tell me, “I guess what I’m saying is… I hope you know you can tell me anything,” I can’t say I wasn’t surprised by his response.

Talbott stopped to listen intently and suddenly said looking horrified, “shh!”

“What?” Then I stopped to listen too. I heard footsteps close by us. My eyes widened, “oh no! Oh no oh no oh no oh no,” I muttered under my breath. As quickly as those words came out of my mouth, I whipped out my wand, just to see Talbott doing the same thing after looking around. I softly yelled, “Homenum revelio!” Pointing my wand at where I heard the footsteps. I noticed Talbott did the same thing.

I wasn’t surprised on who I revealed, “Merula?! You were spying on us?!”

Talbott rolled his eyes, “She must have been under the Disillusionment Charm. That would explain why we didn’t notice her until she moved,” he moved his attention over to her, “How much did you hear?”

Merula looked annoyed, “Nothing… I was just passing through.”

Talbott scoffed, “Like I’d believe that. People who are “just passing through” don’t use Concealment Charms.”

“Even if I had heard you, what makes you interested in your little gossip? I have better things to do with my time…”

Talbott turned back to me, looking horrified, “Even though she denies it, Merula had heard we’re unregistered Animagi,” he looked more angry by the moment, “If that’s not bad enough, everyone in school knows her parents are in Azkaban for supporting You-Know-Who! The child of two Death Eaters knows we’re unregistered Animagi!”

I immediately backtracked, “I’m so sorry, Talbott. I had no idea Merula was listening in on us.” I’m gonna have to give myself several more scars for this later.

Talbott took a deep breath, “it’s fine…”

Trying to make things better I added, “Let me talk to Merula. Maybe I can-”

��No offence, Isabella, but you’ve done enough,” Talbott said angrily.

“But I know Merual! I can at least try to convince her to keep our secret!” With Talbott looking like he was about to say no, I said, “In fact, I’ll go find Merula and talk to her right now.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need anymore of your help. I’ll handle Merula on my own,” and with that, he walked away from me.

After going to the bathroom, adding several more cuts on my arm, cleaning them, and going back to my dormitory, I sent Merula a letter;

Dear Merula,

I know this sounds crazy, but I need to talk with you.

Sincerely,

Isabella

I sent Chocolate away. I sketched for about thirty minutes, waiting for her to come back. When she returned, she had a letter in her beak;

Dear Isabella,

If you must talk to me, you might as well come now. I’m in the Potions Classroom.

Sincerely,

Merula

I walked down to the dungeons, to see Merula getting blasted in the face with a potion she was attempting to make. I laughed and walked over to her. Although her face was now covered in a black-ish colour, she tried to act like nothing happened by quickly wiping it off. She went back to her potion, clearly ignoring me, so I cleared my throat.

Groaning, she asked, “What do you want, Wallace? I’m studying.”

“You read my letter, didn’t you? We need to talk.”

“If this is about you and Winger, I already told you that I didn’t hear anything”

I sighed, “Do you really think I’m daft enough to believe that lie?”

She smirked, “Are you sure you want me to answer that question?”

“Why were you spying on us, Merula?”

Rolling her eyes for the hundredth time, while making her cauldron stir on its own, she countered, “Why are you so incredibly annoying?”

“Look, Merula, you can keep avoiding the subject all you want, but I'm not leaving until you agree to talk, so you might as well cooperate,” I said, trying to not let my anger get the best of me.

“Ugh, you’re really not going to go away until I do, are you?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said with a prideful smile.

Losing the argument, Merula gave in and said, “Fine, but I’m going to finish this potion first, so you might as well grab a beaker and make yourself useful.”

While grabbing the beaker she pointed at, I mentioned, “I didn’t know you were so studious, Merula.”

Just having to be rude, Merula said, “Studying must be a foreign concept for you, eh Wallace?”

After handing the beaker over to her, I sighed, crossing my arms, “Just because you don’t usually see me studying doesn’t mean I don’t. I just try to avoid you throughout the day.”

“Since you’re just standing there, you might as well hand me that bottle.”

Leaning over to give it to her, I noticed Merula’s book was filled with notes in the margins that aren’t in her handwriting. “What potion is Merula even brewing?” I muttered, studying her book. Apparently she heard me because she replied, “How are you passing potions? This is just a simple Wideye Potion. Honestly, Barnaby has more brain cells than you.”

“Well, I feel like Barnaby is very smart, so I’ll consider that a compliment,” I said, sticking up for him. Changing the subject, I asked, “Would you really report Talbott to the Ministry, Merula?”

“I couldn’t care less about Winger. I just followed you thinking you were sneaking off to go Cursed Vault hunting, so I really don’t care.”

“I’d say I can’t believe you’d spy on me, Merula, but that’d be a lie.”

“Wow, you finally understand my personality, Wallace,” she said sarcastically, “Fine, I admit it, I was listening in on you and Winger, but only because I thought you had more info on the Cursed Vault of Fear.”

“Aha! So you were lying!”

“Yes, alright, I lied about not hearing anything. So what?”

“I don’t blame you for spying on me and lying about it. I would’ve done the same if I were in your position, but I would’ve gotten away with it,” I muttered in the last part.

She put an over-exaggerating expression on her face, “I wasn’t spying, I was keeping an eye on my competition,” she thought for a moment, and suddenly said, “And what’s that supposed to mean?!”

Ignoring her last comment, I continued on, “So just to be clear, you weren’t spying on Talbott and me to try to learn our secrets?”

Without confirming or denying what I asked, Merula replied, “Like I said, I wasn’t spying, I was keeping an eye on my competition, and why else would I be interested in you and your odd friends?”

“Like I said, Talbott’s not odd, and I’m not sure if I should feel relieved or insulted.”

“If that’s all-”

“-Wait, Merula, the real reason I came was to convince you to not tell anyone about Talbott’s and my secret,” I said quickly.

“Why shouldn’t I tell anyone you and Winger are unregistered Animagi?” Merula said challengingly.

“Because I’ll force you to keep it a secret if necessary.”

“Are you seriously threatening someone who could get you and your friend sent to Azkaban?” Then she said something I wasn’t expecting, “You might be more interesting than I thought, Wallace.”

“So will you keep Talbott’s secret?” I said.

“We’ll see, won’t we?” She asked, trying to scare me.

“Merula, this is serious,” I said, unfazed.

“I am being serious,” she smirked, making me worry. Not for myself, but for Talbott. I don’t want to be the reason he’d get sent to Azkaban.

“I better find Talbott now and warn him about Merula…” I said to myself after Merula left with the biggest smug look on her face.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #jacob's sibling #andre egwu #penny haywood #isabella wallace x talbott winger #talbott x mc #talbott winger #talbott x reader #merula snyde #hphm fanfic #isabella wallace

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max--phillips · 1 year

Text

Genesis - Chapter 3

*Shows up 2 years and 3 months late with Starbucks* lmao

(Please follow @butchmandalorian-writes and turn on notifications to be alerted to new fic uploads!)

Pairing: Ezra & gn!reader (I'll update this if it changes, I'm not 100% positive where their relationship is going to go at the moment)

Warnings: In line with the previous chapters, Dragonfly is processing a lot. Angst, loss, grief, self-doubt.

Summary: You assist Ezra in his search for cinder violet. A surprise storm rolls in. Ezra asks you some questions.

Words: 4.5k

Prologue / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

You closed your eyes and focused on the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. You focused on the smell of the salt water and sea air. The feeling of the sand beneath your knees. You wanted to cry, but your body wouldn’t let you. You clutched the plaque to your chest. Words couldn’t describe the mixture of feelings overwhelming you.

You made it.

You heard sand crunching as Ezra approached you. It then stopped.

“I personally knew every last person on board that ship,” you said, quietly, eyes still closed. “All 79 of them. I knew their hopes and dreams for the future, their damn favorite color.”

“Sounds to me like you were a good leader, then,” Ezra said.

There was a moment of quiet. You chose not to respond to his comment. “Anthony. Susanna. Blair. Desmond.” You took a deep breath, and opened your eyes, looking over at Ezra. “Chiara. Stacey. Lily-Grace. Kristina. Marlene. Ariella. Mohammod. Harlow. Cheyanne.” You pulled the plaque away from your chest and looked at it. “Lleyton. Ayisha. Tahmina. Connah. Abida. Missy. Danielle. Safah. Poppie. Beverley.” You began to stand, slowly, still recounting names. “Luka. Zahid. Alejandro. Prince. Jena. Salahuddin. Harris. Brent. Milo. Neve.” You turned slightly towards the ocean, and began walking. “Lexi-Mae. Humzah. Rebecca. Waseem. Raisa. Tania. Mina. Cillian. Rick. Reya.” You approached where the sand was wet as the waves rolled in. “Kaydee. Fenton. Isabella. Rachel. Olaf. August. Kacey. Tahlia. Reanne. Andrew.” Ezra followed you, stopping next to you as you stood there, shoes getting wet. “Amy. Alex. Micheal. Matt. Sarah. Dale. Shyam. Adela. Catrin. Aviana. Mallory. Ronnie. Hashir. Felix. Zishan. Kobie. Brenden. Kelsea. Wiktor. Lula. Tyrese. Ayyan. Ricky. Akeel. Zakk. Zahia.”

You looked out at the horizon, dotted distantly with rocks and other islands. You looked at the plaque. Then, in one fluid motion punctuated with a grunt of effort, you threw the plaque as hard as you could into the ocean. It plunged into the water several yards away.

“I don’t know if you believe in such things, but if you do, I’m sure your team is looking to you from beyond with pride, knowing at least one of you got here,” Ezra offered.

“I don’t know, either,” you mumbled in response. “But I hope you’re right.”

You stood there for a few more long moments before Ezra turned and began walking towards the tree line behind you. You took a few more seconds to turn and follow suit. It felt like your consciousness stayed standing at the water, though, your movements almost not your own. Nothing felt real. Perhaps you, too, died on that ship and this was all some bizarre cryostasis dream your brain was having in a fit of activity before the end. Logically, you knew that wasn’t the case, but the grief and anxiety and confusion you were feeling were more than enough to override logical thought.

Your attention came back into focus as Ezra began speaking.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to get to work and not push our chances of getting caught in a storm. We’re looking for a bright purple flower, and where there’s one, there’s plenty more,” he said. “Let’s go look, shall we? Do mind any roots and vines across the ground, with all the ways this planet could kill you, I’d wager tripping does more prospectors in than anything.”

“Is that… a common profession? Prospector?” you asked, more than happy to momentarily change the subject.

“That depends on your origin,” Ezra answered. “If you’re originally from Central, or any of the core planets, really, no, it’s not common at all. Those folks tend to go into more well-educated fields and keep their feet planted firmly on a safe, habitable planet with a functioning government.”

You both reached the tree line, and Ezra began leading you into the brush, pushing some vegetation out of the way to begin clearing something of a path.

“But, if you’re from the Frontier, the Fringe, hell, even some of the tourist planets, it’s damn near your only option to get off whatever rock you were born on,” he continued. “Extremely high risk, no such thing as a safe job. So… my apologies for dragging you out of your nap and right into harm’s way,” he said, looking over his shoulder to you with an apologetic expression.

You weren’t yet sure how to respond to that, given how that “nap” ended up. You continued to follow Ezra, stepping over twisting roots, vines, and other growth.

“But, with high risk comes high reward,” Ezra said. “If you live long enough to turn in your bounty, it can be well worth the risk. ‘Course, so many succumb to the environments they prospect in, or other prospectors, not too terribly many actually make a return. Can’t tell you how many woefully unprepared kips I’ve seen get themselves killed on their first go because they thought they were stronger than nature, or couldn’t make a deal, even on the wrong end of a thrower.”

You both made it to a small clearing, and Ezra stopped for a moment to survey the surrounding trees. The canopy was thick, shading you from the sun, though not doing much to curb the oppressive humidity in the air. On top of that, every step you took seemed harder than the last. Maybe pushing yourself so soon after you woke up wasn’t a good idea. You knew that the planet was significantly denser than Earth, but you weren’t expecting the increased gravity to affect you this much. You wiped some sweat from your brow, looking around as well, taking in the alien plants. If dropped here with no other context, one might be forgiven for thinking this was the middle of a rainforest, but there was an… uncanny valley sort of feeling to it. It was definitely not familiar biology, though clearly not entirely dissimilar from what had evolved on Earth.

“Ah! That way. There’s a tree species this flower particularly likes, I’m willing to wager we’ll find a patch nearby,” Ezra said, pointing out of the clearing and beginning to walk that direction.

You continued to follow him. “So, I take it you’re one of the more successful ones,” you said, continuing your conversation.

Ezra chuckled a little. “I’d like to think so,” he responded. “Not without my fair share of challenges and loss, of course, but I’ve done alright for myself. Well enough I have a home of sorts on Central, nothing too fancy, but it’s enough.”

“You said most people from Central don’t prospect,” you pointed out.

“I am not from Central, Captain,” he said. “Depending on how you look at it, I simply got lucky.”

You wondered what he meant by “depending on how you look at it,” but chose not to pursue that. “If Central has safer jobs, why keep doing this?” you asked.

Ezra sighed. “You can take the man out of prospecting, but you can’t take prospecting out of the man, Dragonfly,” he answered. “Besides, those safe jobs lack the excitement this profession freely supplies. I’d get bored.”

You could certainly understand that. You could’ve much more easily taken a job with mission control, or stopped at test flights for the Genesis program, but no. That wasn’t enough. You had to be the face of it.

You two continued to walk for a while, you imagine having passed the tree Ezra had pointed out earlier some time ago. Thankfully, walking through the forest was requiring enough of your focus that your mind didn’t begin spiraling despite the quiet. It was hot and exhausting. After some time, though, you came to a large clearing with a pond of sorts in the middle, with some rock formations on the far side. Towards the other edge of the clearing, there was a patch of flowers.

“There! Perfect,” Ezra said, walking over towards the flowers with purpose. You followed. He began digging in his pockets, producing two bags, one that appeared to be empty, and another full of small tools. From the tool bag, he grabbed two pairs of tweezers.

“Now, this is delicate work,” Ezra started, handing one of the pair of tweezers to you. “As should be obvious, we have plenty of chances to get this right, but keep in mind these cinder violets are very valuable.”

You nodded. “Got it.”

“Good. So, to start, be careful picking them. That’s why you need work gloves. The stem on these flowers have sharp thorns,” Ezra explained, motioning for you to sit on the ground near him. You did so, letting out a sigh of relief as you did, thankful for any rest. You watched his movements closely as he reached forward and carefully picked one. You could see the thin, sharp thorns protruding seemingly randomly from its stem.

“Once they’re picked, you need to work quickly to get the stamen. There’s a reason we harvest them here rather than picking the flowers and taking them back to the ship,” he continued. He used the tweezers he was holding to point towards the center of the flower, where the sturdy purple petals were curled around what you assumed to be the stamen in question. “You gotta peel these back, but be careful of the stamen inside. If you accidentally break the stamen, or either of the individual parts, it’s worthless. Couldn’t tell you why, the folks this is valuable to end up burning them most of the time, but I’m not one to argue with a paying customer.”

You watched as he demonstrated what he just explained, carefully rolling back the petals to reveal the stamen inside. You immediately made the connection that it looked a lot like saffron threads, except they were a light purple color rather than red or orange. Ezra used the tweezers firmly at the base of the stamen, pinching the entire structure and removing it from the flower before carefully placing the piece in the empty bag he’d opened earlier.

“Just like that. Think you can handle it?” he asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” you responded.

So you got to work. You messed up the first flower you attempted, breaking one of the threads when you tried to roll back the petals, but you tried again and successfully extracted the stamen whole. Once you got a few under your belt, you seemed to get the hang of it, only accidentally breaking a few threads the entire time. As you worked, Ezra filled the air with chatter, thankfully not seeming to care if you responded or not.

“The petals curl inward like that to protect the stamen from the weather here,” he said. “The winds from the storms can be brutal, but the trees around are rooted deep enough they can usually withstand them, and break up the wind the further inland you go. Of course, there’s still some wind, and these flowers adapted to protect their reproduction in a fascinating way. The petals are stiff enough that only certain pollinators can get inside.”

“Pretty textbook evolution,” you commented.

Ezra made a noise of agreement. “There have been attempts to start permanent logging colonies on the planet because of how strong the wood in some of the tree species is,” he explained. “The incredible winds combined with the strong gravitational force pushed their evolution that way. Of course, all of them have failed.”

Ezra continued to talk about the planet, how lumber and these flowers were really the only things of value here, though some other plants are propagated off-world to be sold as house plants. He began telling some tangent story about said house plants, but you were happy to listen nonetheless. There would be moments of quiet, still, in which occasionally either you or Ezra would curse as one of you destroyed another stamen by accident. Ezra occasionally mumbled something about joints in his hand, or something about servos, though you didn’t think anything of it. Doing this sort of detailed work was starting to make your hand sore as well.

After what had to be a few hours, you and Ezra made a sizable dent in the patch of flowers you’d found, filling the bag about halfway with the prize he was after. Just as you were about to reach for another flower, you heard a rumble of thunder. The light that was coming in through the clearing began to dim, and you could hear rain begin to hit the leaves of the canopy, not quite yet filtering through.

“Shit,” Ezra said, looking around as he started to get up off the ground. “Nothing major, sometimes these storms pop up. But we’re too far from the ship to go back in this. Let’s take cover over in those rock formations, shall we?”

You nodded, getting up as well. Ezra grabbed the bag of cinder violet, and as the rain began to fall through the canopy, you both ran towards the pond and the rock formations on the other side of the clearing. Ezra led you under a large overhang, and you two watched as the rain intensified, thunder clapping occasionally overhead. He sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“Fair timing, I suppose. I was starting to think about calling it quits anyway. The amount we have should earn us…” he paused, humming in thought. “Maybe two or three points?”

“Points?” you asked.

“Ah, yes. It’s payment, I’m not sure how you’d value it. It’s enough for a single person to live off for maybe two months or so,” he said.

You balked at that. “Two months?” you asked.

“I told you it was valuable,” Ezra responded, smiling at you.

He turned and sat down again, back resting against the rock at the back of the overhang. You followed suit. It was quiet for a few moments as you watched the rain fall. Ezra, of course, was the one to break the quiet.

“Dragonfly, I’m sure you have a multitude of questions regarding the galaxy you now find yourself in, but I will admit, I have many of my own for you,” he said.

You sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know what to even ask yet, especially given you’re the only one I’ve met, and you’ve been with me the entire time I’ve been conscious,” you said. “Fire away.”

Ezra grinned like he’d just won a prize. “Very well. Do you mind if I start with a question about you, then?” he asked.

“Go for it,” you responded.

“How did you become captain of that handsome craft I encountered you on?” he asked.

“I wanted to save humanity,” you stated plainly. This was a bit of a softball question, one you’d answered many times at press conferences, news interviews, and presentations at various schools. “My entire life the world was crumbling around us. Every day was another record broken for hottest day, or highest sea level, or least polar ice. I never understood why no one was doing anything about it. I did try the activism route for a while, but I got disillusioned fast. It never really accomplished anything. It’s nearly impossible to make people care about something when they have incentive to ignore it. I caught wind of NASA’s Genesis program, went to test pilot school, worked my ass off… and here we are.” There was some bitterness in your tone at the end of your sentence. Here you were, indeed.

“Saving an entire planet is quite the lofty goal,” Ezra said.

You nodded. “It is. But it’s the right thing to do,” you said. “Was the right thing to do, I guess.” Doubt began to creep in. Was it? Knowing what you know now… was all of this worth it?

Ezra seemed to sense your shift in mood, and asked another question. “I must ask, was the cryostasis technology I found you in… pioneered for this mission?” he asked.

“More or less. I mean, people have been working on some form of it since… I think the bunk cryonics industry started in the 1970s,” you said. “Most of the time after that was spent thinking the entire concept would remain science fiction, but some group of scientists made a major breakthrough when I was a kid. NASA spent the next twenty odd years fine-tuning the technology to get us to Kepler-186.”

Ezra was quiet for a beat. “Cryostasis was deemed too dangerous to continue using decades ago,” he finally said. “Too much risk, side effects were too strong. Much more muscle atrophy and other deleterious effects caused by long term use. As far as that is concerned, Captain, you are very lucky.”

You looked over at him, your brow furrowed. “Other deleterious effects?” you asked.

“I’m no expert on the subject, but if I’m remembering correctly there were some concerns about the agents used to prevent harmful ice crystals from forming, nutrition uptake over time, issues with sleep and attentiveness after being taken out of stasis… we have much safer alternatives now,” Ezra explained. “Although use of any suspended animation is less frequent now that we have faster than light travel.”

“What alternatives are there?” you asked, genuine confusion in your voice. As far as you were aware, cryostasis was the only suspended animation technique that was really achievable. Anything else wouldn’t do enough to slow the body’s metabolism, and therefore aging, or required far too much energy to be plausible, or was simply fictional magic.

“Most true suspended animation relies on manipulation of spacetime,” Ezra said casually. The surprised expression on your face in response told Ezra that that statement was not casual at all to you. “It does take a considerable amount of energy, so it is not used frequently.”

“You can just… manipulate spacetime?” you asked

“Well, I’m sure it’s not as simple as that. Like I said, I’m no expert,” he answered. “I’m not entirely sure how they accomplish it. More commonly, though, is a state of induced torpor, which is more conducive to the length of trips we take with FTL.”

You nodded, absorbing this information.

It was quiet for a long moment, other than the rain falling and wind blowing through the trees. Ezra then began speaking, almost carefully choosing his words.

“In my childhood, my peers and I were told the same stories our parents were told of Earth. Toxic skies that would choke you to death in an instant, poison plants that could burn you with one touch, vicious creatures that could eat you whole. I believe that these began as cautionary tales many generations ago, but they morphed into this mythology of a cursed planet that would punish you for even thinking about visiting its surface,” he said. “I would be remiss not to ask you what Earth was truly like, even in your day.”

You considered his question, then sighed. “While exaggerated, the stories you heard weren’t… too far off,” you responded. Ezra looked at you, surprised. “I mean, the whole planet isn’t like that. Toxic skies… occasionally, as pollution got worse or wildfire smoke ruined air quality for days on end, yes. Not so bad you’d die if you had to go outside, though. Poison plants and vicious creatures, absolutely. There are plants that, if you get even a little bit of its sap on you, it gives you chemical burns or makes you itch for days on end. Some plants and fungi have lookalikes, where one is perfectly edible, and the other is so toxic that if you eat it you’ll be dead within a day. There are animals that can and will kill you given the chance, granted there aren’t many that could swallow you whole. Hippos probably could. Maybe blue whales, but they don’t eat prey as large as us.” You smiled sadly. “Still, it’s beautiful. Vast oceans, lush jungles, mountain ranges and rock formations… even the things we built, to some degree, are beautiful. Bridges, castles, skyscrapers. It’s…” You stopped as you realized you were speaking in present tense, and you gulped, willing away the tears that threatened to begin. “It was worth saving.”

Ezra’s surprise morphed into some cross between interest and concern as you spoke. “I… wish I could’ve seen it, as you did.”

“Yeah,” you said, nodding a bit. “Me too.”

As another moment of quiet passed between you, you realized something. Surely humanity by itself couldn’t span an entire galaxy, right? And clearly, life was elsewhere in the galaxy…

“I just thought of a question,” you started.

“Please,” Ezra encouraged.

“Have we made first contact?” you asked.

“Have we made what?”

Well that’s not the response you were expecting.

“First contact,” you repeated. You then put on a bit of a voice, mocking the many documentaries about this topic from your original era. “Is there intelligent life beyond our solar system?”

Ezra looked at you, confused at first, then he seemed to remember how long you’d been asleep. “Yes.”

You weren’t sure whether to be excited or deflated with his response. “With that kind of reaction I imagine it’s commonplace.”

Ezra nodded. “As humanity fled Earth, it happened multiple times with multiple colonies concurrently,” he said. “Enough so that no one’s really sure who was first. Thankfully, other than the one time a group of us managed to establish an empire across the galaxy, everyone gets along relatively well. Well, on an official level, anyway. All bets are off once you’re in the Fringe, or the Frontier, or prospecting.”

You nodded again, and hummed in understanding. “I’m glad to hear it, I suppose. That was another thing that was still very much science fiction when I was on Earth,” you said.

“I have a feeling that will not be the last time you come across something matching that description, Captain,” he said. “You are always welcome to ask questions. I may not have all the answers, but I do a fair share of reading in my free time. I’ve picked up on some things, at least.”

“I appreciate it,” you said.

The rain began to lighten a bit, but not stop. The humidity had broken slightly, and the wind from the storm was making it a bit cooler where you were taking cover under this rock. For the moment, it was kind of nice. You wondered again if you would’ve made it this far if you had known. If you would’ve rather had your team alive for a short time on this planet’s surface, marking the mission’s technical success, or if they were better off having died painlessly in cryo. Part of you wanted to believe that if you had all made it, you would’ve proved Ezra wrong, and there would be a thriving colony on this planet’s surface in just a couple of years. But… like Ezra said earlier: people get themselves killed thinking they’re stronger than nature.

“We were going to name it Eden,” you blurted. “When we got settled, I mean. The colony, the planet, was going to be named Eden.” You looked over at Ezra. “I… suppose I don’t know if that means anything to you.”

“I believe I get the gist,” Ezra responded. “The Garden of Eden where humanity was supposedly started by some capricious deity.”

“In the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God takes six days to create existence, resting on the seventh. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and who are tasked with creating humanity, live in this garden God created as a paradise on Earth. It was plentiful, and they were allowed to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” you said. “Of course, they eat from it anyway and get kicked out before they can eat from the tree of life, which would have granted them immortality.” You tilted your head back and forth for a moment in consideration. “There’s more to it than that, but that’s the condensed version. Wouldn’t be a story from a religion if the details weren’t hotly debated.”

“That is yet another thing that has not changed since your time,” Ezra responded. “I am sorry that this did not turn out to be the paradise you expected it to be.”

You sighed. “I don’t think anyone truly believed this would be a paradise,” you said. “Livable, yes. But a true paradise wouldn’t require us to work for our survival. We were prepared to start from truly nothing but the supplies we carted across 579 light years.” You paused and furrowed your brow. “We made a lot of assumptions. About the planet, about what would grow here, clearly about how the surface of the planet would be.” You didn’t want to admit that the entire program was done out of desperation. It had taken 25 years from the conception of the program to your launch date, yes, but an undertaking as huge as this… it likely would’ve benefited from more time to plan, to study the target planets, to truly understand what you were getting yourselves into. But the planet was dying, and humanity was dying with it. Someone needed to do something, and the sooner something was done, the sooner humanity could be saved.

You supposed it didn’t matter in the end.

You wondered what McCoy would say. He always balanced your optimism with caution and well-timed cynicism. You remembered what he said that night 10 days before launch, on the boat. I’m sick of worrying about what could go wrong… What if it does go wrong? You’d told him it wouldn’t. That you’d make new constellations.

You realized you were crying again. You forced yourself to take a deep breath. You wiped your cheeks with the back of your hand.

“Sorry,” you offered.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Ezra assured you. “You’ve had an incredible amount of information dumped on you in a very short amount of time. If anyone here should be apologizing for anything, it’s me for waking you up.”

You shook your head. “No. I… given the choice between waking up to this and dying without knowing what went wrong, I would’ve chosen waking up every time.”

Ezra nodded slowly. “While I cannot begin to understand what you’re going through, I do understand that choice, at least,” he said.

Soon, the rain stopped, and the wind died down. Ezra moved to stand up, walking towards the edge of the structure you were under.

“I think now is as good a time as any to get back to the ship and head out,” Ezra said, turning back to where you were still sitting. He approached, and held a hand out to help you up.

You hesitated to reach out. Much like your hesitation at leaving the ship, you almost didn’t want to leave. You made it here. Did you deserve to make it any further? What about your crew? How in the world would you even move on from something like this?

You took Ezra’s hand, and hoisted yourself up off the ground.

“Alright. Where to from here?”

#prospect #ezra prospect #pedro pascal #ezra x reader #ezra (prospect)#tori says things #max says things #ezra #my fic #genesis

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