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thevindicativevordan · 3 years ago

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Any thoughts on Grant Morrison's Action Comics run? Beyond T shirt-and-jeans Superman being great.

That whole run reinvigorated my love of the character.

There have been numerous thoughtpieces about New 52 Superman, how he worked and how he didn't but these two entries really do a great job of summing up why Morrison's take on Superman was great. Morrison laid the foundation for a new generational Superman that DC completely fucked up and ran into the ground. I'll always be bitter about that, even if I had tapped out of reading the New 52 Superman books by the end due to how bad they got. Editorial and their idiotic mandates were what screwed over the potential of this take in my eyes.

Now I get that it wasn't to everyone's taste, but I cannot fathom how anyone could ever claim that Pre-Flashpoint Superman was better. If you liked Byrne's reboot better, your guy already got rebooted after Infinite Crisis. For someone like me who really enjoyed the Johns/Busiek era, that era's potential got spoiled after Johns & Busiek left, with New Krypton imploding and the awful Grounded taking it's place. When you get to the point where the best Superman book is the one starring Lex Luthor, it's time to reassess the franchise and figure out where the hell it went wrong.

Which is exactly what Morrison did. For this new Superman, Morrison mined all the best ideas of every Superman era to really give what I consider the ideal "base" for Superman. They also took pains to address common criticisms about Superman, working to correct his pop culture image. People have been complaining that Superman is "too perfect", "too unrelatable" for a long time, so Morrison addressed that. They gave Superman his balls back, and let him reacquire that Golden Age edge he had originally.

There are a lot of complaints you can make about Morrison's Superman, but I don't see how you could accuse this guy of being "flawless" or "bland". He definitely had a personality that you could describe, love him or hate him. Compassionate, but not a pushover. Clearly holding himself back, but unafraid to occasionally let loose. Flaws that were patently obvious, Clark had a temper here that could get him into trouble. There was a real showcase of anger here, of Superman being furious at the way people were treated by the rich and powerful, then doing something about it that I ate up.

I read this run just as I was coming into my teens and it hit perfectly for where I was in life. Did not want a Superman who would smile and tell me it gets better, I wanted a Superman who looked you in the eye and told you he felt that same anger, and then encouraged you to go out and do something about how you felt. That was what this run delivered in spades, and it expanded what I believed could be done with Superman.

While it totally blew my mind to see Superman acting this way the first time I read Morrison's Action Comics run, in retrospect it really isn't that different from how Superman has acted even under Byrne. One of the few traits I've seen carry across Superman incarnations in the comics is that he has a temper underneath that affable nature. "Don't tug on Superman's cape" as the old song goes. This run simply elevated that to the forefront of the character again, for the better in my eyes given I believe "Wrath" is Superman's Deadly Sin.

In fact, one of the strongest features of this run is that Superman gets actual character development over the course of the run, analogous to what Batman underwent in Morrison's Bat-Epic. While the Bat-Epic was merely Morrison re-canonizing Batman's entire history, and applying a retroactive character development storyline that culminated in Morrison's current Batman work, their Action Comics run had them attempt to craft something similar for Superman from scratch. What that meant was Morrison attempting to draw on the most important traits of every Superman era and incorporate those into this new take. So Superman had the Golden Age temper, compassion for the oppressed, and cockiness. The Silver Age supergenuis, proud scion of Krypton who cherished his Kryptonian nature, member of the Legion of Superheroes, and participant in stories that weren't afraid to get weird. Superman's wrestling with his place in the world, the importance of Clark Kent, and making journalism a key part of the character strike me as all being hallmarks of the Bronze Age. From Post-Crisis we got that Clark views himself as human and loves his adopted parents, considering them as equal to his birth ones.

One of the big frustrations for me with the endless origin stories for Superman, is that so many of them follow a predictable and stale formula where Clark puts on the suit and is essentially ready to go. Doesn't interfere with human affairs, is modest and humble, restrained in usage of his powers, it's like Clark has meta knowledge of what he "should" be, despite that he shouldn't have any foreknowledge of what a "superhero" should look like. He operates the same way at the start as he does in the modern day, and that's really boring to me. This Superman, because of the difference in powers and attitude, operated extremely different from his "present day" incarnation. Dangling Glenmorgan over the edge of a building isn't something a fully powered and mature Superman should do, but it works great to make his early days different and exciting to read about, it makes returning to that era something you can do different storytelling with. This run is the only time where I really cared that Superman is "supposed" to be the first superhero, because figuring out what that means here is a big part of how he develops.

We all know the common complaint that Superman is "too powerful" and that "nothing can hurt him" (funny how Thor never gets hit with those accusations), so Morrison made sure to show that this take on Superman could be beaten even if he could never be defeated. Events conspired to force Clark to use his brains as well as his powers to overcome the challenges in front of him.

Examples include him using his heat vision to fry Lex's equipment and escape the military, using his rocket ship to defeat Brainiac, and rallying the population of Metropolis to banish Vyndktvx. Not to say that Clark never used his brains before to win, but this run was very upfront and in your face about how important Clark's intellect is to triumphing over his foes. Can't take seriously the complaint that Superman is too overpowered when Morrison constantly showcased how even a very powerful Superman could get his shit wrecked by his Rogues.

Another example of Morrison addressing criticisms is Kryptonite. A lot of people poke fun at how convenient it is that pieces of Superman's homeworld follow him all the way to Earth. Isn't that a bit of an asspull? So Morrison made Kryptonite the power source of Superman's rocket, giving it a perfectly natural and believable reason both for it to end up on Earth, and for Lex & the military to get a hold of it since Pa Kent gave the military the rocket. That's still my preferred explanation for how Kryptonite ended up on Earth.

It also provides a better explanation for all the different Kryptonite variants. DC can handwave away the different types as a result of Lex experimenting or the different "forces" on Earth such as magic or the Speed Force or whatever creating the different variants. That to me is much more believable than Kryptonite travelling all across the galaxy yet still ending up on Earth somehow.

There have also been a lot of complaints about Superman's villains, and Morrison diligently set about reworking them. By far one of my favorite aspects of the run, was the villain revamps. Nimrod felt like a clean revamp of Terra-Man, making him into Superman's Kraven the Hunter struck me as a patently obvious route to go, wild no one has followed up on that or used him since. Metallo felt like a good synthesis of Johns take of him as an Anti-Superman weapon, and the sympathetic aspects of Corben's origin that are always there, I liked that Morrison didn't make him a total bastard before his transformation like Johns did. Brainiac got some sympathy added to him in that the collected worlds that were already marked for damnation, thus he was "saving" them in a fashion. Clay Ramses embodied toxicity as a wife-beater even before becoming Kryptonite Man, and I thought his backstory was a great way for Clark to still deal with "real" issues via a manner he could punch. Ramses is still the best take on Kryptonite Man. Vyndktvx felt like the greatest realization of the threat Mr. Mxyzptlk could pose should he decide to get serious since Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, plus I'm a sucker for stories where superheroes fight the Devil. Drekken and Superdoom took the only interesting aspects of Doomsday (his ability to evolve and that he can kill Superman respectively), and were much more interesting characters.

And oh my God, speaking of Superdoom, that part of Morrison's Action run has aged like fine wine. I don't know if they caught wind of DC's plans for the character, or if they were just prescient, but everything that Superdoom is playing on is still sadly all too present. What Superdoom is as a character is a condemnation of what DC keeps doing with Superman: killing him off or making him evil.

When you realize what Superdoom (demand for a more violent and "realistic" Superman) and Vyn (WB/DC) stand in for, it makes the frustration Morrison is channeling much more palpable. Those two plotlines are all DC can think of to do with the character, returning to those again and again. Endlessly attempting to recapture the high of Batman and Doomsday beating the shit out of Supes in The Dark Knight Returns and Death of Superman. Overcoming these two obstacles is Superman's greatest challenge as conceived by Morrison, because both are out to corrupt and ruin the very idea of him. It's not just a physical death he faces, but a metaphysical one as well. Sadly it's a threat Superman just can't seem to lick in the real world, with more and more takes on "Evil Superman" coming.

Lois and Jimmy are great here, because Morrison actually made the investigative journalism aspect of Superman important. Lois is an active participant in the story, trying to break in to the base where Clark is being held by her father, competing with Clark for stories (I love how Morrison writes the banter between the two of them), and generally being classic Lois. Jimmy though benefitted from being positioned as a peer rather than as a kid in comparison to the two, something I wish the comics had carried forward. It looks like My Adventures With Superman is going with that interpretation at least, so I hope others do as well. Jimmy being Clark's roommate really adds to their bond, and I wish we had gotten more stories with that status quo.

Investigative reporter Clark Kent was so actively used here that it feels jarring reading other Superman runs where they tend to downplay and ignore it. Following Clark as he travels to different areas of Metropolis and actually interacts with people, instead of hovering above them as Superman, makes him feel human. Watching Clark actively pursue stories aimed at bettering peoples livelihoods, and seeing how those stories crossed with the superheroics, was one of my favorite aspects of the run. It's one unfortunately few other writers seem all that interested in, especially the New 52 writers who followed Morrison (I know editorial probably bears a lot of blame for that though).

Besides all that, this run was a lot of fun! The Legion of Superheroes showed up, their connection to Clark restored, and they got to play a big role in Clark's adventures! Krypto the Superdog! Martian colonies! Memorizing all of medicine, Superman performs a lifesaving operation! Lex using a "bullet train" to knock Clark out! 5-D imps! Rampaging robots from beyond! A Phantom Zone Halloween story! John Henry Irons suits up as Steel and kicks ass alongside Clark! Every Superman Rogue teams up to try to kill him, but Lex Luthor saves his life because that's a privilege he reserves for himself! Showcasing their trademark love for the Supermythos, Morrison took us on a tour of Superlore that demonstrated the depth and width of what could be done with Superman. Meanwhile the backups by Sholly Fisch excelled at giving us smaller, more human stories about Superman (the one where Clark meets Pa again via time travel "after" Pa has died always gives me a lump in my throat to read).

Ultimately this didn't get to be the foundation for the next generation of Superman stories as it deserved. Johns made New 52 Superman the scapegoat in Doomsday Clock for a lot of storytelling choices he did over in Justice League, something that pisses me off to no end. You want to tell me that this guy "didn't relate" to people, didn't inspire "hope"?

Like hell he didn't. This guy was Superman in every way that mattered and he deserved better than to be framed as the scapegoat for all the stupid decisions DC made about what to do with him. Greg Pak was able to do some great work with this version after Morrison, and just like how Gene Yang got a redemption work starring Superman, I hope to one day see Pak return to the character. Would love to read a Black Label Superman story by Pak that follows his take on young Superman.

All wasn't lost however. Against all odds, and Rebirth trying it's damndest to sweep everything under the rug, it looks like parts of this era have actually survived to the current Infinite Frontier era. With Morrison being heavily involved no less, both as an ideas guy and as an actual writer.

Superman & the Authority is explicitly Superman coming full circle back to the attitude displayed by his young counterpart under Morrison. Janin has outright said that the costume Clark wears here is reminiscent of the t-shirt and jeans era of Superman, and this book so far feels saturated with an energy level from Morrison I haven't seen in their work for hire since they left Action. Reaching old age and realizing he never really delivered on the high ideals of his beginnings, it's Superman putting together a team to hopefully succeed where he couldn't alone. Scathing in how it criticizes the superhero status quo, this has been extremely entertaining to read. Wish Morrison was writing 12 issues with this team, and that ultimately it will be up to PKJ to deliver on the potential is a drawback (although I've loved PKJ's Action run so far), but I'm glad to see DC finally treating Morrison and their ideas with more respect than was shown during Rebirth.

Jon meanwhile feels like an even more explicit attempt at redoing New 52 Superman. There's the updated new suit, designed to appeal to a new generation with it's streamlined look. Positioning Jon as a Superman who wants to tackle the "real" issues, with Taylor explicitly comparing him to Golden Age Superman which as I mentioned was an era Morrison tried to reincorporate into their reboot. There's the Legion of Superheroes connection which played an important role in Morrison's reboot. The rumors about Jon's sexuality are interesting, hinting that DC is willing to go outside the box with him in a way they never would with Clark. I'm excited to see what kind of Superman Jon ends up becoming, if he can deliver on the promise of the New 52 Superman all the better.

This run deserves to be remembered and to have the lessons it tried to teach respected. Probably my favorite mainline run on Superman, I hope more people come around to liking it as time goes on.

#superman #grant morrison #action comics #new 52

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thatoneao3writer · 3 years ago

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Fundy found out a day later that Sam and Ponk were dead when it appeared on the news. The whole city was mourning, so Fundy stayed indoors and mostly talked to the Clays. They were little clay figurines who always knew what the others where thinking and just showed up one day. Fundy didn't know much about them, but they were good company and 5up seemed to like them as well.

But for the past month, they had been acting weirdly: they were skittish and constantly whispering among themselves. Fundy had asked what was wrong, but the Clays refused to explain. He had heard some parts though. Apparently there was another Clay and something had happened to them. The Clays were a hivemind, they had explained, and could communicate with one another and switch bodies. The missing Clay had refused to speak in the hivemind or switch bodies for a month now and Fundy thought they might be dead. That would certainly explain why the Clays where acting this way.

Despite not telling anything as far as they knew, Fundy knew something was wrong. The Clays had been trying their best to keep it a secret, but he figured it out. So now they only talked about it in the hivemind. Bruno was the first to notice Frawk's disappearance. They hadn't talked for a while or given updates on their family. He was always the Clay to first notice changes, but nothing like this had ever happened.

For as long as they lived, no Clay had ever closed their link to the hivemind and it left him wondering why Frawk decided to do so. "Probably Lumos' fault", Maria had said, "Frawk never seemed to be able stand up to their son and control him. He probably made them do it." "Or Frawk did it to protect him, haven't you seen what happened with the Titans? Frawk is part of the askers and some of them are behind that," Lucas added.

Frawk sighed and let their control over the sand slip. They were getting stronger by the day and the sand wasn't a challenge anymore. They could control every grain of sand in the room, since there wasn't anything else to do. Ever since they closed the link to protect their children believing they could handle it themself, they were so incredibly alone. There wasn't constant chatter in their head anymore and Frawk missed it more than they thought. Two people passed by their room so Frawk listened.

Despite only hearing snippets, their heart sank. Lu had killed Kat? Sam and Ponk were dead? The people passed before Frawk could hear more, but they had a feeling Lu was behind those deaths. Ever since they discovered things they shouldn't have, Lu had been carefull about letting them hear about the outside world, but he couldn't keep all information out. Frawk knew they had been attacking askers, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was their son after all! They couldn't just abandon him. And even if they would, Nug was under his control and they couldn't do much about that alone. Frawk hoped they could convince Lu to stop, but he hadn't been visiting as much anymore. And then there was another asker here as well, working for Lu. Frawk sighed and decided they couldn't stand by anymore. They had to do something. They closed their eyes and let the link open up, flooding their head with voices.

- Frawk (wow I really am getting back into writing huh)

This is awesome dear parent!! Your writing is amazinggggggg! Also- your not-son made me sad with what he did so you better smack some sense into him soon T^T

-🌱

#ask #askers hq #ttau #frawk

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static-fanatic-1 · 3 years ago

Text

Day Two

-| Stuck at A StandStill |-

StandStill: Chapter Three

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: Foul Language, Bullying.

Komori didn't really appreciate being in second place. Out of everyone in his school he went against one of the weakest students, and yet he got second in a two person race.

That isn't something to be proud of.

And it made his blood boil to no end.

With a bubbling jealousy and a rough plan in mind, the second day of U.A would be the beginning of his call to action. Of course he had some help, another student who resented class 1-A. He was blond and had a stare that pierced daggers through anyone he looked at. He had a smile that called you an asshole and an attitude that was too envious even for Komori.

His name was Monoma, and he would help him finally break Aiko down. Once she's out of the way with a mind as malleable as clay, he'll be able to shape her into his ideal version of herself. It'll be easy, just a little bit of manipulation to do so.

Komori sauntered his way into the school. His uniform was loose and he didn't bother fixing the tie around his neck. As long as he has the components of his uniform the teachers won't bother him.

His plum eyes glanced around at the students piling into the school, each one different than the others. Some had spiraling blue hair and doe like eyes while others had fur like manes. Teeth, horns, tails and more created a mythical atmosphere while some people had mechanical parts attached to their limbs. Some people even looked normal, well as normal as someone can be in a quirk infested world.

The bat child wasn't paying attention, and his shoulder bumped into someone else. "Tsk, watch it." He growled, turning to face the kid beside him.

He was tall, about as tall as Komori minus his ears, and they both shared a pair of glasses. Though he smiled, nervously, a extended his hand in good fortune. "I'm sorry about that, I'll take better care in watching where I am going."

Komori's sharp teeth gleamed past his pink lips. "Yeah, whatever." He turned his body away and waved his wings behind his back to dismiss the other student. "Just stay out of my way."

Iida furrowed his brows and pursed his lips in a scowl. "What a... nice fellow." He whispered, watching the bat saunter further into the school. Iida pushes up his glasses and turned to his locker.

Behind him he could hear heavy breathing and the clatter of shoes. He turned and waved his hand, shutting his own locker in the process. "Hello Aiko! Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I just woke up late." She brushed her curly pink bangs from her sweaty forehead.

"Late? You're early, there are fifteen minutes before the ten minute bell."

Aiko whipped her head around with a pause. "Wait, what time is it?"

Iida lifted his wrist and pulled back his sleeve. "It is five minutes past eight."

"Really?! My alarm must have been off." She lightly chuckled, it was nervous and stressed. "I'll have to fix that when I get home. Uh, how have you been, Iida?"

He smacked a hand onto his chest and happily smiled. "My day is going wonderfully so far! And you?"

Aiko blushed. "I'm doing good." She shut her locker and fixed her backpack. "I guess we should go ahead and head to class huh?"

"Of course! All the top students are early to class!" Iida grabbed Aiko's hand and dragged her to the classroom with a grin plastered onto his strong features.

The hallways were the most uncrowded Aiko has ever seen. Being so early meant most of the students hung out around the lockers, conversing about whatever came to mind. Most seemed to be second or third years, while a few were first years who wanted to know the ropes.

Iida stopped near the door, not exactly in front of it, but close enough to not raise suspicion. Though, she should have guess something was wrong with someone as meticulous as Iida.

She glanced past his broad shoulder and was greeted with a face full of leathery wings. "Oh look who it is. The twat and the slapper. Seems they don't care who gets into class 1-a."

Iida moved back a bit, kinda stumbling over Aiko in the process. "Twat? Slapper?" He furrowed his brows at the insults, wait, were they even insults?

"You heard me." Komori pushed, stretching out his large wings to size Iida up. "Twat." Plum eyes scanned the figure behind Iida, a toothy grin stretching across his lips. "And slapper."

Aiko bit her lip, now the time to grow a backbone, she thought. He can insult me as much as he wanted but insulting a friend was out of the question. 'Say something. Tell him off!'

"Are you just going to stand there, mouth open like a fish out of water?" He mused, sidestepping to face her fully. "Or are you too terrified?" He leaned down, sharp teeth only a few inches away from nipping at her nose.

"Leave her alone." Snapped Iida, placing a large hand upon the aggressors shoulder. "There is a zero tolerance for bullying at U.A."

"Tsk, like that matters." The bat shrugged off the hand with a scoff, turning his back and ruffling with wings once more. His thin tail swished behind his lanky form with a newfound vigor. As if he enjoyed the challenge despite being seemingly annoyed. "But seriously, this is what the legendary class 1-A has to offer? A kid who can run fast and some girl with a useless quirk? Where's the competition?"

"Leave us alone, Komori. If we aren't worth your time why are you wasting it?" Snapped Aiko, finally building a bit of a backbone.

Komori turned and glared, his signature grin now faltering into something of mixed surprise and malice. He didn't need words to tell her to shut her pretty little mouth.

The tension was high and the thickness of the air could only be cut through with a sharp blade. Luckily, it seemed Iida was that sharp blade. He placed a warm hand on the small of her back to support the backbone. "We'll be taking our leave." Iida's tone was sharp, strong and defensive, warning Komori to back off and leave them alone before things get too ugly.

Komori watched with a malevolent glare through his shimmering glasses. "Just needed to make sure you knew your place."

The two students of class 1-A watched the bat walk away, his figure disappearing behind the doorframe of the class over. There was a pregnant silence between Aiko and Iida as they entered their classroom.

They were the only ones so far, so they stood next to each other and soaked in the new student they met. "Aiko, May I ask you a question?"

She hummed in approval, placing her bag down and giving him her undivided attention.

"Komori... do you know him?"

"Oh, yeah. We went to the same school ever since we were kids. He... always bullied me. I'm kind of used to it by now." She gave a small chuckle and avoided eye contact. Instead she decided her sketchbook cover was far more interesting than Iida's concerned eyes. "I wouldn't worry too much about him. He's all bark no bite."

Iida has never been bullied, at least not to his face. Every once in a while in middle school, a student would talk about him behind his back. Thing like his strange body language, intelligence, or physical appearance. He never thought too much about it, only that they must be jealous of his hard work. Still, that doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Well, tell me if you have any problem then." His hand pointed to Aiko and a comforting smile stretched across his thin lips.

"Th-thank you. I appreciate it." She really did, it wasn't everyday someone would help her stand up to a past bully. It actually never happened, not even her past teachers did anything other than scolding Komori.

Iida sat down in his seat and awaited the start of class. She guessed the conversation was over. Though it didn't feel over, Aiko couldn't help but linger on the kindness from her classmate. His words echoed trough her head as she sketched away her future hero costume. She made a few changes from her current costume, some she actually liked, but she could do that once she goes big after school.

Once she became a hero, all of her problems would fade away to nothing. All she'll have to do is battle against her family's killer: All for One.

The door to the classroom opened, the green haired boy labeled Izuku shuffling into the room. More students entered, each one with their own gait.

Then there was the teacher, he really was a strange man. He still looked like a gruff cat of sorts with yellow goggles. The scarf around his neck hung loosely on top his slouched shoulders. In his hands was a small stack of papers, he straightened them up in the pedestal in front of the class and readied himself for the rest of the students.

Once class started, Mr. Aizawa cleated his throat and began. "Today I am going to give you the class syllabus. I would read it carefully and thoroughly, if you don't you will miss something important." He flipped to the back of one of the papers. "We will need your parent's signature and your own, as well as a class fee and other important information. Again, look over it completely. You need to turn it in by this Friday."

~~~

Nothing too important happened, introductions, classes, teachers. Some were eccentric like the Voice Hero Present Mic, and some were... R-rated like Midnight.

Still, Aiko was giddy with excitement. She would be taught by heroes! Professional heroes! The young girl couldn't help but bounce her leg beneath her desk, tap her pencil on her sketchbook, and nibble her lip between her teeth.

She dug her hands into her backpack to fish out her binder. One section for each class, right now with different syllabuses and paperwork. She already took out her pen and signed everything, so she just had to ask Ms. Takahashi to do her part.

Aiko wasn't too focused on the door, well, until it burst open with s gust of wind. "Hahaha! Hello there!"

Everyone jumped from their seats with a newfound vigor, yelping and jumping with smiles that rivaled his own. All Might! In class 1-A! "All Might!" Even Aiko couldn't handle her excitement!

He continued to chuckle, swaying his way inside with Aizawa and shutting the door behind him. "Hello young heroes! I would introduce myself but I'm sure you already know who I am! Number one hero-" he turned to his side and flexed his muscles to the class "ALL MIGHT!!"

Out of everyone in the class, no one was as excited as Aiko. Even that kid with the freckles and green hair had nothing on the beaming smile and jumping Aiko was doing. She couldn't help it! All Might was more than her hero! He was kinda like a messiah for anyone in the Hero community! And Aiko was becoming a hero!

"This year will be an eventful one, as I have decided to help train the new generation of aspiring heroes!" He returned to standing straight and tall, towering over everyone in the room. He set his fists on his hips and continued. "I, as well as all the other teachers, will do our best to mold you into fine, young heroes! Bravery! Integrity! Compassion and hope are all necessary for someone to be the best hero they can be!”

He threw his head in a cheerful laugh, the entire class clapping from the small speech. All of them would become heroes and nothing would stop them! Aiko couldn't help the rush of excitement either!

All Might evaluates the class, each one a rising hero with promise. Finally, his eyes landed on Midoriya, and his smile grew just a bit more, yeah, he chose one good successor!

"Hurry up, All Might." Aizawa pushes, moving to his desk and tapping away on his computer.

"Right right." The number one rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. Anyways, I have your syllabus' right here for my class. I will read most of it out, the important stuff at least, and then I'll ask you a question I would like you all to answer. So, let begin shall we?"

All Might, with his theatrical voice, wasn't the best at reading out loud. He stuttered more than any other teacher, and Aiko couldn't get past the funny tone he always wore. Imagine an over exaggerated, comedy relief character trying to read something serious. It's more entertaining than anything.

"Finally, the question I want to ask all of you is, what do you think makes a good hero?"

Iida raised his hand first, his entire body leaning up to the roof. Momo was the same, her hand stretched high above her head and even higher against all the other classmates. Though, All Might seemed to be a bit nicer to the shyer students, his first choice was a kid in the back with white and red hair, and a scar across his right heterochromia eyes.

"Go on, introduce yourself first, then answer the question."

All eyes took in the student in the back, his body shriveled and his hand slowly dipping down to his side. His face portrayed a different story, instead of being reserved and shy, there was a hint of distaste as his brows furrowed together. "My name is Todoroki Shoto, and I believe what makes a good hero is someone who protects people. Someone who doesn't hurt others needlessly, and instead helps them when they need it."

Aiko glanced back at All Might, the cryptic message seemed to make the number one hero uncomfortable. Weird.

"Of course! A good hero always puts others before themselves, and makes sure the masses are safe against villain attacks!" He moved on to the next student, the infamously pissed blond who seemed to not care at all given his posture. "And what about you?"

"Bakugou Katsuki," he introduced, springing up from his chair when he began the second part. "What makes the best hero is being on top! Winning and taking down useless villains!"

All Might stuttered. "We-well of course winning against villains is important! But winning isn't exactly what makes a hero. It is important to think of victory as a means to save as many civilians as possible." The pro hero moved on to another student, then another one, and another one, until he landed on Aiko.

She didn't even realize her hand was up, too excited to even think correctly. Her bright features dulled down, what was she going to say?! Revenge? Helping people like herself? That'd defiantly get Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi in trouble... they would hate that.

"My name is Takahashi Aiko and I think what makes a good hero is... helping people who can't help themselves. Through anything, like helping the elderly cross the street or helping someone with their homework."

All Might smiled. "That's a perfect example of what makes a good hero! Being a hero isn't always about fighting villains or saving civilians, it is also about being a good role model for the people who look up to you."

His theatrics didn't end when the bell rang, and he dashed out of the class with a strength matched by only one. Aiko was beyond excited, beyond proud! Talking in front of a class is difficult and she did it without any hiccups.

Seeing All Might, being brave, and making friends counts as a win in her book.

Iida wondered into view, his glasses falling slightly down his nose with a pleased grin. "Can you believe it?! All Might will be teaching us heroics! It's the chance of a life time!"

"Yeah!" Aiko began. "I can't believe it either! He's my hero."

"Mine too, I've always looked up to All Might. He's the world's best hero, there's no competition!" Iida finished collecting his things and waited, two more people wondering over. One was Uraraka, the cute brown haired girl with flushing cheeks. The other one was the green haired kid with cute freckles, Izuku maybe? "This is Uraraka and Izuku, we were in the same entrance exam."

Aiko gave a gentle smile. "Hi, I'm Aiko. I met Iida at my locker, his is across mine." She shrugged and stuffed her sketchbook into her back. "You guys can go ahead and get a table, I wanted to stay after class a few minutes."

"Sure!" Uraraka smiled and threw up a few thumbs up. "We'll save you a seat!"

"Sounds good." Aiko grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. She waved away the small ground and looked around the busy halls, where did All Might go? From the path of talking students, her probably went in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. Would it be okay to see him?

She bit her lip, this would probably be the only time she could talk to him privately, after all he's probably really busy already. It would just be better to get what she's itching to say out of the way. Silver eyes glanced at her homeroom teacher, he was sitting at his desk, shifting through some papers with a bored expression.

He looks too busy to be bothered, so the aspiring hero trotted off into the hallways with vigor in her step. Passing through the cluttered halls, Aiko rushed through the crowds of students and past class 1-B.

Until she stumbled to the side form bumping into someone. "Sorry! Sorry!" She yelped, catching herself and grabbing the shoulders of the figure she hit. "I wasn't watching where I was going!"

The blond ran his hand through his hair, his too gleeful grin plastered onto his now visible face. "This is class 1-A? Pathetic! Can't even watch their own feet!" He cackled through his disturbing grin and held his pained chest. "Seriously?!"

The pink haired girl stumbled back, once again almost tripping on her feet. "I-I'm sorry?"

"Sorry? You don't even know how to apologize? Useless, hahaha!" He continued to imitate a hyena as another figure showed up... and smacked him across the back of the head.

"That's no way to talk to a fellow student!" The new figure chided, using her hand to swipe away the red ponytail form her shoulder. "Sorry about him, he's always been like this since we started class. Don't know why." She shyly laughed to herself. "My name's Itsuka Kendo by the way, if he ever does this again, just call me."

"S-sure?" Aiko gave a scared smile. "Uh, thanks—oh! Do you know where All Might went?"

"All Might?" Her face flashed with excitement. "Yeah! We went to the teacher's lounge over in that direction." She pointed her thumb behind her. "Anyway, I should take him to the lunchroom, ya' know?"

"Right, uh, thanks by the way... Kendo. I appreciate it." She glanced to the side, movement catching her eye.

Komori stared into her soul form behind Kendo, a snark plastered onto his features. He scoffed and walked off with his clawed hands into his pockets.

Kendo didn't notice Komori and instead smiled at Aiko's discomfort. "We honestly think he's an escapee from Tartarus or something." She giggles at her joke to try and lift the mood.

It worked. The two exchanged a little laugh. "I'll see you around I guess."

"Defiantly! See you later-?"

"Aiko, you too." Both separated their own ways, and continued their missions.

The pink haired girl ran through the halls and stopped in front of sign high on the wall. Big, bold letters told her she finally made it to the teacher's lounge. God, was she really going to go through with this?

The door opened before she could bail, a small mouse with the most adorable suit she had ever seen walked out. He had the cutest smile on his face with beady, black eyes that shimmered with momentary surprise. "Hello there!" He began, waving around a tiny paw. "How May I help you?"

She knew who this cute mouse was, and it only made her more regretful of her decision, would he be angry at her? "I-I-umm, I just-I was meaning to-uh-ask Mr. Might a question. I-I can ask another time if he is busy."

All Might jumped at her voice, quickly scurrying away from the view of the door. He wasn't in his All Might form, and if a student already figured out his secret, god that would be difficult to deal with. Still, he listened in, wondering what she might have been wanting to ask. He should go out there right? A little more time wouldn't kill him, besides he needed to be a role model right?

Taking a deep breath he inflated, fixed his suit and leaned into the doors entrance. "Hello there-er-little miss."

Her eyes shined a bit brighter, and Nezu glanced behind him with a raised brow. Toshinori grew his smile to reassure the little mouse.

"Sorry to bother you sir, I was just wondering if I could ask a question about earlier?"

He thought for a moment and remembered which class she might have been from. Oh! Right, the one he was just in. "Of course! What did you want to ask?" He fixed his posture and leaned on the door, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't right away. Instead she glanced over at Nezu nervously and fiddled with her hands.

"I'll see you at the office room, All Might." Nezu said, shuffling away with another cute wave.

The teacher and student watched him walk off before looking at each other once more. "Um, I was thinking about what you said, about what makes a hero, but would it be wrong for someone to want... revenge?"

The question took him by surprise. Revenge? Such a fickle idea split between right and wrong, would it be bad to want revenge? He didn't think so, after all an ulterior motive of him being a hero was also once revenge. "You want to be a hero for revenge? Who are you after?"

She blushed, clearly embarrassed. "It's a bit of a long story, but six years or so ago you saved me from a villain attack. My family didn't make it, but if you weren't there I'm sure more people would have died! If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be here, that's why I idolize you!"

"Six years ago? I'm sorry I don't remember much about villain attacks back then." He rubbed the back of his neck with a shy smile. "It's been quite a while."

Aiko shuffled on her feet. "It was a major attack in one of the rich districts, it has been rebuilt since then."

All Might thought deeply about her words, it's normal for villains to attack wealthy districts or shopping centers, either to get hostages or to steal. Her words didn't really make it easy to remember.

Then he thought about what happened six years ago, the scar along his torso tingling form a long lost memory. With that in mind, he would just base her experience after what he remembers in that fight. He couldn't forget that fight. "I think I remember, there was a lot of collateral damage, I'm sorry for your loss."

She smiled a sad smile and avoided eye contact. "Don't worry, you saved my life... and it wasn't your fault. I just want to find that villain and put him to justice for what he did, is that wrong?"

He snapped out of his thoughts, a small head of sweat dropping down his high cheekbones. "Of course it isn't, revenge can be a bad thing, but I think you are justified in wanting to find this missing villain." He shook his head to clear his mind. "You seem like such a sweet, young girl. There is no doubt in my mind you can put that villain to justice and make your family proud."

He placed a large hand on her shoulder and crouched down. Shadowed blue eyes now stared into weary silver ones. "You will be an amazing hero one day, I can tell."

"Th-Thank you, Mr. Might. Hearing that from my hero means more than you think." She glanced down at her hands, a loose nail catching her eyes, must have been from her fiddling. "Thank you, I was worried you'd think it was wrong."

"Everyone has their motives, some more selfish than others, wanting justice is on the selfless side of the spectrum." He stood up to his full height and flashed a smile. "And if it makes you feel any better, I find it admirable to want to justice."

Aiko blushed a deep crimson, did her hero seriously just call her admirable?! Is she dreaming?! No, she isn't, and the man in front of her wasn't just a made up fantasy. She was actually talking to the number one, her literal savior. "Th-Thank you! I promise to be the best hero I can be! I promise to put that man to justice and make you proud!"

With that she dashed off, her hands gripping her hair over her face to cover her blazing cheeks.

All Might chuckled, these students really seemed like a promising bunch huh?

#bnha #mha #aiko takahashi #fanfiction #mha oc #mha fanfiction #my hero academia #my hero academia fanfiction #chapter three #komori suzuki #Bakugou #deku #all Might #Iida

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ellewritesathing · 5 years ago

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Serpent Heart

Summary: Being Sabrina’s fraternal twin had its upsides but lately the downsides were starting to get to you. You’d made a plan to deal with it, and the only question now was if you were going to let Caliban get in the way.

Masterlist

Word-count: 1.6k+

A/N: hey guys so this is a little different from my usual fluffy clay boi but @hecatemacbeth7 requested this eight years ago and they’ve been so patient with me so i thought i’d post this today and then the next part of Faking It next week 💕 (also let me know if you want this to be a series?i don’t think i’m as good at angst as i am fluff but ya girl can try)

One of your earliest memories from after your parents died was listening in on a conversation between your aunts and one of their guests. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence - you and Sabrina would slip into one of your hiding spots and stay quiet until everyone left - but this time was different. This time their guest was a seer.

She saw right through the two of you.

Luckily, she was much more benevolent than the other guests your aunts brought around. She laughed at your efforts to squirm away and asked if she could give you each a reading. Hilda wasn’t so sure if that was a good idea but Zelda encouraged any and all dabbling in witchcraft.

All she had to do was touch Sabrina’s cheek to tell her that her strong (though sometimes unfounded) sense of right and wrong would get her into trouble and that she would go through many trials before achieving greatness. She was a cat, blessed with nine lives and cursed with curiosity.

One little touch was all it took for her to tell you that you were a snake. You’d grow cold in the shadow of someone close to you before striking out on your own. Ambitious and cunning, you would always find your way into the sunlight.

The others forgot about that afternoon in a few weeks, too busy with other responsibilities or new obsessions, but you never forgot.

Almost ten years later and her words echoed through every step you took and every word you spoke. Would things have been different if you’d never met the seer? Maybe not, but maybe you’d feel differently about the plan that started forming when you went to Hell.

It all started when Lilith’s right to rule was challenged and Sabina - always quick to act, not so quick to think - made her claim to the throne. The same throne that would have been yours if you were born seven minutes earlier. The same throne that Caliban would later challenge her for.

Caliban was a tricky thing to understand. If you were a seer, maybe you'd know whether or not to trust him.

He wanted the throne, that much was clear, but he seemed to have taken an interest in Sabrina - then again, everyone took an interest in Sabrina. Harvey took an interest in her, Nick took an interest in her, and now Caliban had. It wasn’t that you were short of admirers, but that the only ones you took an interest in always preferred Sabrina.

And it’s not like you blamed them. Despite the way it may seem, you loved Sabrina. She understood you in a way that no one else did, even if she didn’t understand everything, and she loved you just the same. She was your other half, your better half.

That’s why you never put up a fight when it came to her; because at the end of the day, you cared about her happiness more than your own. You’d help her rule if she beat Caliban, and you’d figure out some harebrained scheme if she lost. It’s just the way that things were when it came to the two of you.

In the end, Sabrina got all the glory and you did all the work. Sabrina was the beautiful assistant that everyone looked at while you conned them out of their hard-earned cash. They all thought Sabrina was the magician anyway, so maybe it was time for you to debut your solo act.

So you let Caliban and Sabrina battle it out in Hell knowing all the while that you’d take the throne from whichever one of them won. Obviously, it would be easier if Sabrina won but you could handle Caliban, even if he had the hordes of hell behind him. After all, what was a demon to a Morningstar? A boy made of clay to an angel?

That kind of reasoning was why you didn’t mind when Caliban started following you around. He never spoke to you anyway; all he did was watch and keep his distance. You let him look at you all he liked because he didn’t realize that you were looking right back. He was curious. You learned all his little tricks in the week or so that he spent following you, and then you set a trap.

You went about your day just like it was any other, but went to the woods after rehearsals for the musical. Caliban didn’t come out of the shadows as soon as you expected, so you started drawing out other things to keep busy. You’d done it dozens of times before, and the whisps were always the first to come out.

They froze everything they touched in the already-cold forest, but you didn’t mind the cold. They danced across your skin and soon you were dancing and singing along with them. The sun went down while you had your fun, and Caliban came out with the moon. Pretending not to notice, you spiraled into him during one of your turns.

“Mind if I cut in?” Caliban asked, holding out a hand to steady you.

“That depends,” you said with a smile. You used your hand to open up his palm. “Do you know how to dance?”

“I’m not opposed to learning from a pretty little thing like yourself,” Caliban said.

Either he was a quick study or someone had already taught him. You didn’t mind either way. It was better than having him stepping on your toes, plus it felt nice to have his hand in yours and on your waist. The way he looked at you also sent some very annoying butterflies in your stomach into a flurry.

When the rest of the stars started coming out and the whisps were fading, you asked, “So are we going to keep dancing until the sun comes up or are you going to tell me why you’ve been spying on me?”

Caliban smiled and stared into the trees as he thought. All he said was, “You’re more difficult to understand than your sister and your friends.”

“How so?”

“Your friends are all very human with very human concerns. Sabrina included.” Caliban looked down at you and stopped moving. “But not you. You understand Hell, you don’t fear it.” He lifted a hand to your face and moved some hair from the side, watching where his skin made contact with yours before settling back on your eyes. “Tell me, Morningstar, is there anything you fear?”

Caliban started leaning in and your breath hitched. He smiled before pressing his lips to yours, and for a second you smiled too. For a second, you let him kiss you and hold you close. Once that second was over, you remembered that he was a manipulative demon who was using you to get the Throne.

You bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood and pushed him away. Caliban fell to the ground at the same time that the metallic taste flooded your mouth. You spat it out and knelt next to Caliban to keep him in the dirt with an icy hand. The cold radiated out from your fingertips and across his chest, but he didn’t fight it.

“You want to know why I’m not afraid of anything in Hell?” you asked, pushing down a little bit harder. “I'm not afraid because I’m the one they should be afraid of.”

The ice was snaking up Caliban’s neck but all he did was stare at your hand. “So you know a few tricks," he said. "I don’t think Hell is going to be very afraid of an ice princess.”

“They will be.”

You used your other hand to push some curls from his forehead.

“You’re willing to cross your sister in order to do it?”

“If I have to,” you said. He was silent for a few seconds so you continued, “Sabrina gets everything, have you noticed that? I never used to mind when, but now I want more.”

“And what is that you want?” Caliban asked.

“Earth.” You pushed down just a touch harder on his chest and watched the ice spread across the rest of his body. “You and Sabrina can fight it out in Hell - I’ll pick up the pieces of whoever’s left - but Earth is mine.”

Caliban was unusually quiet as he thought it over, realization spreading over his face as he did. Giving up your claim to the throne, helping Sabrina with the challenges, all the so-called secret trips to Hell … it all dawned on him at the moment it took you to freeze him to that spot on the forest floor.

“I could help you,” Caliban said in a quick voice. “We could make an alliance; I become King of Hell and you can do whatever you please here on Earth.” He looked back down at your hand on his chest for a moment before looking into your eyes again. “Or I could tell your friends about this clever plan of yours.”

“And who would believe you?” you asked. “It would be just like you, Caliban, to turn sisters against one another. You’d do anything for the throne, right?”

Caliban clenched his jaw and moved to break out of the ice that encased his body. His only problem was that he underestimated you, but that was everyone’s first problem. The ice was too strong for him to break it.

You leaned down with a smile on his face. “I’ll come back for you once this all over,” you said, ignoring him when he asked what you were doing. You pressed your lips to his and kissed him while the frost spread over his face. Pulling away, you gave a sad smile to his frozen form. “One day.”

Tagged: @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @miss--moose @marrypuffsstuff @harryscarolinaa @igorsbby @foji2000 @mschfavngz @artaxerxesthegreat @thxmagic @strawberriesandknives @xealia @hotmessindisguise @sweetrogers @reheated-coffee @shelby-x @perseny-blog @millie-753 @luneerius @shizzybarnaclee @lettherebelovex @throughparisallthroughrome @ietss @thebookwormlife @mechanicalanimalz @mariamermaid @nqbmf

#caliban #caliban imagine #caliban x reader #serpent heart #caos #chilling adventures of sabrina

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statticscribbles · 4 years ago

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Soundtrack Chpt 7

Summary: Scott/Reader, A trip to smooth things over, literally, and then prom

Clay had arranged the trip, he was always playing mediator and it was a surprise to no one that he’d invited pretty much everyone in the class onto the trip. He’d also mentioned he’d invited other people and you were a little confused as to who he meant but of course Matt’s leaning against his motorcycle grinning at you like he’s figured out something.

You’re not sure what he’s planning but he’s leaning over talking to Monty about something and you’re already dreading whatever they’re going to try to plan or what prank they’re going to pull.

You and Scott had managed to smooth everything over.

“Hey Y/N.”

“Hey Matt, how’s it going?”

“Good, oh still with Scott? I thought you’d have left him after your time in Russia, has the novelty of an American not worn off yet?”

“Not a novelty.” Scott grins interrupting you and Matt’s staring contest, looping his arms around you and pulling you back towards the bus that Clay had managed to rent.

“Come on Y/N Matt isn’t even coming on the trip, we can..” Scott trails off, biting his lip to keep from laughing as your sister had pulled Matt to the side, about to talk to him no doubt but he seems to interrupt whatever she was going to say and you watch them clearly having an argument before she jerks back, you’re nervous. You know she can take care of herself, and you’re proven right when she shoves Matt back, her fist flying up to bash into his cheek.

”So it’s a hike up to some waterfall?”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing for us to do to bond, besides we get to go swimming in the lake.”

“Oh swimming in a lake, what a prize.” Bryce chuckles and Clay glares at him.

“Fine I’ll be happy about it.”

“We’re breaking into three groups, since there are three different trails, they’re all the same difficulty so we don’t have to worry about people boasting.” Clay offers and you’re trying not to laugh when he glares at Zach and Monty, both of whom are very competitive.

Clay had assigned everyone randomly into groups and you were so relieved that you didn’t have Bryce or Monty in your group, you did have Zach but he wasn’t usually a part of Bryce and Monty’s bullying when it came to Scott, you assumed him spending time with Alex and Justin had mellowed him out a bit.

You’re walking a little ahead of the group so you reason you can stop for a minute to take some pictures of some of the trees and brightly coloured wildflowers that are starting to pop up in crevices.

Of course you manage to end up behind everyone and you can hear Zach mumbling about some of the rocks being a bit slippery and to make sure to focus on keeping your footage. You nod even though they can’t see you and as you step forward you can see something darting through the grass, its shimmering and all you can think of is a snake so you jump a little, and of course you miss your footing and can feel the sting as a rock smacks against your head.

”I don’t give a shit if it was a fucking fake snake they still caused Y/N to fucking trip and fall unconcious. We had to cancel the rest of the trip cause Clay only had the one bus to bring him to the hospital. That should at least be a warning if not a fine of some kind!” Scott snaps and you chuckle under your breath sitting up to find your parents and sister fussing over you. You let them, wondering what has Scott so wound up.

“Y/N, hey glad you’re awake.” Scott’s grinning at you and you nod waiting for him to say whatever has clearly been on his mind.

“Do you want to go to prom with me?”

“Was that the surprise you had for me at the waterfall?”

“How did you know?”

“Clay told me when he was checking me in, you’d stepped out to call my parents, thank you for that, by the way.”

Your parents had gotten you a fitted suit, it had red detailing and you were quite pleased with how you looked in it, apparently Scott’s was the same but had blue detailing, you’d chuckled about the opposites attract, trying to hide your nerves. You weren’t nervous about prom, but instead about the college’s you’d applied to, both you and Scott had decided that you could handle whatever challenges life threw at you and you knew that college and a potential long distance relationship would be a big hurdle for you both. You’d both applied to colleges in California as well as others in different states. Scott had yet to hear back from any of them, that he’d mentioned at least, but you’d heard back from your dream college, they wanted you, on a full scholarship and a recording contract. And you knew you had to tell Scott tonight, you weren’t sure what was going to happen after prom so you knew you needed to let him know.

“So my dream college accepted me, on a full scholarship.” You don’t say anything else before Scott’s grabbed you, spinning you and ending with a kiss.

“That’s great babe! I got accepted into that northern California college I was talking about, the one with the killer coaching program!”

“Oh that’s great.” You swallow trying not to give away that your nerves just jumped up.

“So where’s your dream college again? How far am I going to have to travel to visit on weekends?” Scott’s teasing, you swallow again chewing your lip before sighing.

“New York City.” Scott gasps and takes a small step back.

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shlabam · 4 years ago

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TOP TEN COMICS BOOK VILLAINS WE PROBABLY WON’T SEE IN THE MOVIES

Superhero media is the hottest thing going right now. It was true ten years ago when the MCU was in its adolescence, and it’s even truer now. Even with film production on lockdown, Marvel and DC are still planning on literally dozens of their characters entering their respective cinematic universes. However, for the fans of the source material, things can be contentious. For every memorable Tony Stark quip, there’s Superman destroying an entire city because he’s, frankly, kind of dumb now. A major point of contention is how the various popular villains are utilized. Making an intimidating and potent villain in a comic book is very different than in a film. In comics, you have months to establish motive, powers, and backstory before the villain even makes their first move. In films, that all has to be compressed and spilled out in the scarce few minutes when Captain America and Bucky aren’t making bambi eyes at each other. To be concise, some villains adapt perfectly, and some, no matter how good they are in the comics, just don’t. And to be clear, this list is of popular villains who have the possibility of appearing in a big-budget film, so no, you won’t be seeing Ten Eyed Man or Big Wheel in there. Their powers are, respectively, having ten eyes, and being very good in business. (That’s a lie, he’s just a huge wheel who chases Spider-Man.)

10: Mr. Mxyzptlk:

Cool, let’s get this one out of the way. Despite being one of Superman’s oldest, longest-lasting, and most popular enemies from all the way back in the Golden Age, there’s no way in hell he will be in a movie. For the uninformed. Mr. Mxyzptlk is a 5th dimensional wizard-genie who appears every ninety days to torment Superman with his reality-altering antics, and can only be sent back to his home dimension if Superman tricks him into saying his own name backwards. Yes, it would be very dazzling, as Mr. Mxyzptlk’s powers in a movie would basically look like if Christopher Nolan directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but he’s a little too silly to fit in with the current “everything is gloomy and also a bummer” tone of the Superman films. This silly tone has lent itself perfectly to the Supergirl series, where he’s made a handful of appearances. Besides, if we get Mxyzptlk in a Superman movie before Brainiac, I’ll lose my entire freaking mind.

9: Hobgoblin:

There have been eight Spider-Man movies so far, and of those eight, four of them have, in some capacity, featured the Green Goblin. And that makes sense, right? The Green Goblin is easily Spider-Man’s most memorable and reoccurring nemesis, with Doctor Octopus and Venom close behind, and Peter Parker’s link with Norman and Harry Osbourn makes their tragic story perfect for film adaptation. On the other hand, we have the Hobgoblin, who is essentially Green Goblin with all the gimmicks, none of the Parker-adjacent backstory, and an orange and blue color scheme, likely tying him to the Denver Broncos [citation needed]. Still, in those four cinematic attempts at tackling the Goblin, none of them have quite gotten him right, and I can’t imagine this character, who is, even in canon, an intentional Green Goblin rip-off, would fare any better.

8: Starro:

Brave and the Bold #28 from 1960 featured the first story with the Justice League, and this story put them up against a very unique new villain: Starro the Conqueror, a giant telepathic starfish who can release tiny versions of himself. If these tiny starfish latch onto your head, you’re under his control and obey his commands. The Justice League have battled him fairly regularly over the last fifty years, and he’s a distinct and powerful enemy that the fans generally appreciate, leading to him being referenced occasionally in Smallville, Arrow, and Flash. Why won’t he ever be in a movie? Because if you’re a Hollywood producer, you stopped paying attention at “giant telepathic starfish”. Sorry. Maybe Shuma-Gorath will pop up in the next Doctor Strange movie, and he’ll set off a Twilight-esque wave of starfish monster movies! Then again, almost absolutely not.

7: Puppet Master:

Speaking of mind control, what’s scarier than that? For my money, nothing. Having your body and will taken away from you by an unseen force is a terror greater than death. How could you possibly make a villain based around such a chilling concept and have him not be scary? Well, maybe if it’s an old bald man in an apron playing with dolls. The Puppet Master is an ongoing threat for the Fantastic Four who is just that: he makes models of his foes out of radioactive clay, and makes them punch themselves and dance around and kiss each other, because he’s, y’know, a weird old man. Why is he such a consistent threat who hasn’t fallen into obscurity like other dumb gimmick-based villains? His stepdaughter, Alicia Masters, is the Thing’s longtime girlfriend. As long as she keeps appearing in movies (including being played by… Kerry Washington? That can’t be right), there’s always a chance he’ll pop up, but I don’t think any movie studio is that stupid, despite the quality of every Fantastic Four movie blatantly defying that prediction.

6: Bizarro:

Superman has always suffered in the villains department. When you’re essentially a god, what can they throw at you? As it turns out, Lex Luthor, almost always. But why not another Superman? Bizarro is essentially that, an imperfect clone of Superman who speaks in opposite speak - “Bizarro am good! Me not punch you until you live!” - and features the same abilities as the Man of Steel. Sounds great, right? Putting a hero against a villain with their same powers has worked for nearly every Marvel movie (shots fired). So why won’t we see him grace our silver screens any time soon? Because they’ve never really figured him out. Is he funny? Is he lethal? Does Kryptonite work on him? If he does everything the opposite of Superman, why does he wear clothes? Isn’t being naked the opposite of being clothed? Bizarro is a major Superman side-character and has made appearances in Smallville and Supergirl, but the idea of him being the Big Bad going toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill doesn’t sound like it would generate a lot of views.

5: Impossible Man:

You remember what I said about Mr. Mxyzptlk? Remember? So take that bit, but everywhere I say Superman, have it say Fantastic Four instead… yeah, that should do it.

4: The Wrecking Crew:

Thor has a unique quirk of having a very cinematic rogues gallery. Sure, most of the movies have pitted him against Loki, but if they were to run him up against the Enchantress, or the Absorbing Man, or Ulik the Troll, or Kurse, or even the Stone Men from Saturn, that’s not a bad movie! However, in one of the attempts to give Thor more of a mortal nemesis, they put him up against the Wrecker, who has an… enchanted… indestructible… crowbar. Yeah. Incredibly, the Wrecker and his Wrecking Crew have become very present characters throughout the Marvel Universe, essentially serving as “jobbers”, being rolled out to get beaten up by the new top hero or villain, but that may not work in a movie, where villains have to be seen as having some level of potency before being struck down. That means we’d need at least a short scene where it seems like Thor might lose to a guy whose power is “crowbar”, and that’s about as likely as an Edward Norton cameo in the next Avengers. Ho boy, they did NOT part on good terms!

3: Clayface:

When the movie-going public goes to see a Batman movie, they generally want something a bit more grounded than your typical superhero fare. After all, Batman has no powers, and therefore the most supernatural thing that should happen in these movies is a gas that makes you smile, or a different gas that makes you think your dead parents are back and disappointed in you. Might wanna put a mouth covering on that mask, Bruce! The one and only they’ve made a movie where Batman fights people with real, off-the-wall super powers (Batman and Robin), it did not go great. And those guys pale in comparison to Clayface, who is, yes, made of clay. In the comics and cartoons, Clayface looks awesome, turning his limbs into weapons and being very challenging to incapacitate, but in a live-action, realistic Batman adventure, we wouldn’t want to see the Dark Knight fight a poop-colored version of the T-1000, especially if it’s got the same chemical composition of a little dreidel that I made.

2: Red Hood:

A relative newcomer to the Batman universe, Red Hood is the revived body of Jason Todd, the second Robin, who was brutally killed by the Joker in one of the most controversial storylines DC Comics ever produced. Literally, fans called a 900 number to tell the writers to kill him off. A 900 number. That’s how much they hated the little turd. Anyway, Jason Todd, whom Batman and the rest of the world believed was dead, was revived by Ra’s al Ghul and became a ruthless villain. Since then, he’s gravitated more to the side of the hero, though one a bit more willing to spill blood than his mentors. Why won’t we see him in the darker, edgier Batman films? Because… that’s Bucky. It’s the same thing that happened in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Teen sidekick killed in controversial manner, revived by super villain to be a thorn in said hero’s side, later changes his mind and becomes a good guy again, though with enough PTSD to fill a PTSD super store. The two storylines even occurred in the comics in the same year, 2005, to much fanfare and across-the-board declarations of one company ripping off the other, reminding the world of the great Aquaman-Namor debates of the 1940s. Considering that DC’s films have criminally underperformed compared to Marvel’s, the last thing they want to do is be accused of lazy plagiarism, so Jason Todd will likely remain a permanent fixture in the afterlife, hanging out with Batman’s parents and, at the rate that people are coming back from the dead, literally no one else. (Plus, if they can’t even get Robin right, how are they gonna do this?)

1: Mister Sinister:

Yes, he was teased at the end of X-Men Apocalypse, but ignoring that the film underperformed both critically and commercially, Mister Sinister is never going to be in a movie. It would make sense for him to appear, though, right? He’s one of the most present and potent X-Men villains, he’s played crucial roles in many memorable storylines, he’s got a sick cape, but… something a lot of comic book fans tend to overlook is his murky backstory, powers, and motivations. He was a biologist in Victorian London who did genetic experiments on homeless people in the hopes of finding clues about the oncoming threat of mutants. In this time, he unearthed the long-dormant En Sabah Nur, whom you plebeians may know as Apocalypse, and Apocalypse gifted him with great abilities. What abilities you ask? HA HA, good question! At various times, Sinister has displayed: telepathy, telekinesis, energy projection, shape-shifting, regeneration, and teleportation, but these powers will mysteriously disappear whenever they want him to get sliced up real good by Wolverine. Additionally, it has never been made very clear what Sinister wants. Does he seek perfect mastery of the human genome? Does he live to torment Cyclops? Is he a blind follower of Apocalypse? Is he just running through all the different kinds of goatee? Of course, in adaptation, the writers would pick and choose the aspects they’d want to use, but I doubt they’d want to untangle the Christmas lights mess that is Mister Sinister, especially when they’ve got a perfectly good villain whose power is just “magnets”.

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

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Survey #474

“nothing flashed before my eyes / no pretty angels, no bright lights / all i saw was the devil’s soul, & it looked a hell a lot like my own”

Who are you most nervous about introducing potential significant others to? My dad. He can be a challenge. He says whatever comes to his mind the moment he thinks it, and it's not always nice. What is the most exciting thing about your life right now? My relationship, honestly. It feels like the one thing that's going right, but I'm concerned if I don't take care of the things that aren't going so well, that they will creep into my relationship and start breaking it down, ex. not having a job. What was the most important non-academic thing you learned in high school? To just keep pushing and not give up on life, and that it is full of phases, be them good, bad, or bland. Have you ever had a job that deeply affected your personal life? How so and do you still work there? No. Do you have a “one who got away”? I don't feel like that anymore. If you were in a supoerhero movie, would you be the hero or the villain? Because I like to help people, I'd like to be the hero, BUT villains are waaaay cooler. If you found a mouse in your house, would you be frightened? Frightened, no. I LOVE mice. I'd of course be startled and concerned about it getting into food, but I'd just calmly find a way to get it outside. Have you ever tried to perform magic tricks? I used to LOVE getting those little magic kits when the Scholastic fair came around! I had I want to say three and was pretty good at a lot of tricks in them. Can you do more with a yo-yo than just "go up and down"? No. What is one form of technology that you wouldn't be able to live without? The Internet for sure. Did you get an allowance, growing up? Why or why not? No. An allowance for three daughters was something my parents couldn't afford. Would you rather go to a water park or an amusement park? Why? An amusement park. They're more exciting to me, and somehow water parks seem dirtier with all the little kids and just alksdjlfa;wjke What is one instrument you wouldn't mind learning how to play? The violin. What's the longest amount of time you've had to wait in line for something? Probably something at Disney World as a kid, idr. What is something that you would like to learn more about? I ALWAYS want to learn more and more about meerkats. What is something that one of your family member collects? Mom collects owl stuff. Have you ever moved to a new school before? If so, how did it feel? No, except obviously when transferring from certain age ranges, like elementary to middle school. Have you ever legitimately forgotten to do homework? Yes, at least once in middle school. I felt SO awful and had to go outside of the classroom to do it while they were reviewing the work. Do you enjoy autumn leaves or spring flowers more? Why? I really, really like both. Each are just very pretty in their own right. Depending on where you live, why might a day of school get canceled? Hurricanes or like the mere chance of a centimeter of snow. At least once, we've even had such a severe heat advisory that school was called off. If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be? Can dragons be real? 'Cuz then I wanna meet Clay from Wings of Fire if we could talk, lol. He's so wise and I'm sure would have great knowledge to share about looking at my life from new perspectives. What are some common places that people tour when they come to your city? Um, people do NOT tour this city. It's trash. What's one food that you did not enjoy as a child, but do as an adult? I'm not sure. How would having no electricity affect your daily routine? Everything would change, given I'm always on the computer. Would you rather have a mermaid tail, a fairy's wings or a unicorn's horn? Fairy wings, for sure. What is an animal that you'd like to have as a pet but it's not allowed? I wish SO badly that opossums were domesticated animals, alsdkjfkaljwe. I say enough that I do want to rescue/foster one, though, but I would obviously need a license for that. I would absolutely never just snag one from the wild. What are some things that you do to make the world a better place? We recycle here, don't dare to litter, and I always try to be a decent person that spreads love and hope to other people. Has the last person you had sex with ever had sex with someone besides you? Yes. What’s your favorite store at your mall? rue21, I suppose. We have a small mall. Have you ever done a workout DVD? Oh my actual god, this is a THROWBACK. When we were really little, my sister had a BARBIE workout DVD that we watched sometimes. Who usually takes out the trash in your family? Usually Mom, but sometimes me. What song are you currently obsessed with? Absolutely "Bath Salts" by Highly Suspect, ahhhhh- When you go fishing, do you make someone else get the fish off the hook? When I used to go fishing, my dad would always unhook the fish. Do you take any prescription meds? A lot. What happens if you don’t take them? I very rarely forget to take my medicine, but when I do, I experience anxiety and my tremors get worse. Who was the last person you dreamt about? I don't remember. Do you prefer your tea sweetened or unsweetened? I hate tea in any way. How often do you honk your horn? I don't really drive, so. I'd be very hesitant to though because I wouldn't wanna piss someone off. Do you have any children? If so, names and ages? That's a hard pass from me, bro. Have your parents ever witnessed you doing something inappropriate? What? No. Did you get babysat a lot as a kid? I don't remember how frequently, but we did have a babysitter. Both my parents had jobs. If you were the principal of a school, what would you do differently? Actually pay fucking attention to bullying and do shit about it. Are you doing anything fun tomorrow? "Fun?" Don't know her. What is something you'd like to receive as a housewarming gift? I dunno. How old were you when you first experienced the effects of puberty? I don't remember. What is your least favorite holiday, and why? St. Patrick's Day because I worry about getting pinched, lol. Pinching even very lightly is surprisingly painful for me. What were some outdoor games you played as a child? Hide-and-seek was my favorite, then my sisters and I made games for on the trampoline and in the pool, etc. Did you accompany your parents on "Take Your Child to Work" Day? I never remember doing that, no. Are cemeteries peaceful to you, or do they freak you out? They're humbling, more than anything. A reminder of how equal we are and that we all end up the same. It's a nudge to cherish life while you have it. Which ancient civilization would you be interested in learning more about? My favorite is Ancient Egyptian. Do you have better long-term memory or short-term memory? Long-term. My short-term memory is absolutely frighteningly horrid. What was the last situation that made you cry? Describe. I was very frustrated with just life in general and how horribly I'm failing at it. Which forest animal would you be most afraid to encounter? A bear, probably. Do you believe in anything supernatural? (ie: spirits, etc) Yeah, like said spirits. Has anyone close to you ever gone to war? No. Have you ever experienced altitude sickness? No. Is there anything, any event, you wish you could remember more clearly? I don't know right now. Have you ever rubbed anyone’s feet? EW you couldn't pay me to. If you had to get advice from someone of the opposite sex, who would you go to? My boyfriend. What was the last new food/drink that you tried? I recently tried jalapeno-stuffed grilled chicken, and a couple days ago I tried this orange/strawberry V8 my mom bought. It was noooot good, which I figured it wouldn't be. That's not a good mix. Have you had a good day today or was yesterday better? Today was fucking awful, and yesterday wasn't exactly peachy either. Have you ever played Sudoku? Yeah, I enjoy it well enough. Do you ever take surveys for money? No; I once signed up for a site like that though because my mom used to do that, but I literally qualified for no surveys with how inexperienced I was and still am with grown-up stuff. Do you like Barbie or Bratz better? I don't have an opinion, and I didn't really as a kid, either. Do you prefer purple or green grapes? I go back and forth, but either way, it has to be a crisp grape or it's just gross. Who was the last person that made you laugh? I was watching a John Wolfe video. Where does your best friend live? Illinois. Who did you last confide in? Girt. Does your car have an alarm? Mom's doesn't. Where was your mom born? New York. What can always make you feel better no matter what? If I'm being completely realistic, nothing. Not every single tactic is fail-proof, especially these days. What is something you’ll never eat again? Why? Crab legs came to mind first. They are SO mushy and just gross. What is currently happening that is scaring you? My life, bro. Have you ever found a stranger’s note somewhere? If so, what did it say? I mean maybe at some point accidentally? I don't remember a specific occurrence.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''bath salts'' by highly suspect

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sarah-bae-maas · 5 years ago

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Rowaelin AU!

AU! where the valg wars never happened, but Aelin and Rowan would always have met anyway

Masterlist AO3

***

“Dorian, as nice as this was, you need to leave.” Aelin smirked at the bare body next to hers, admiring the prince.

Dorian reached a hand over, smoothing it down her body and around dangerous places. “Of all the things I could do, why would I do that – Ah! Fuck.”He pulled his hand back, and held it to his chest as it burned. Aelin’s eyes widened, horrified at what she’d done. Before she could apologise for losing control of her magic once again, Dorian huffed and near-fled from the room, slamming the door in his wake. She didn’t even have a chance to apologise to her friend.

She was lucky her room was on the opposite of the castle to her parents, otherwise she’d fear they’d hear her escapades with the prince of Adarlan.

Maybe burning Dorian was a blessing in disguise. She did need to get some sleep – some fancy diplomats from Wendlyn, including some warrior that had been hired to train her, were arriving in the morning. She didn’t know if it would help at all, but she figured it couldn’t hurt. Even at twenty-one, her fire burned in uncontrollable ways. She thought maybe as she aged it might settle down, that somehow she’d magically be able to control it better, but it still flared up at the worst possible times. Like when Dorian tried to touch her. Luckily he was just a bit of fun, or this would be a serious problem.

She sighed, eager for tomorrow but dreading the likely-awful fae that would be her maker for the next few months. She decided that sleep would likely evade her the entire night, so she may as well find something to do with her time.

The halls were silent as she crept through them, her fae senses letting her know what ways to avoid so that she didn’t run into anyone else. Her body, tall and languid, thrived when in her fae form. Her human side was so erased that she’d fooled even the oldest of fae into thinking this was her who she really was.

Although only walking, a bead of sweat started to roll down her back. The air was dry as can be as a sweltering summer rolled in, the earth smelling of dead grass and dust. The back alleys she took to get to her favourite pub forwent pavement and let long-cemented clay guide her feet. The stone homes that lined the alleys were cool to touch, and she let them cool her fingers as she walked to her place.

Shady’s had been there longer than she’d been alive, and had been passed down through the same family like it was a royal crown. Not bustling, but not meagre, it was the perfect place to lose yourself. It also helped that it was smack-bang in the middle of a precinct the wealthy usually avoided. Dorian, for example, would never sully his fine shoes by walking on this dirt. Ha! What prisses. Anyone to scared to walk to Shady’s didn’t deserve it.

A little bell dinged as she entered, but no one looked up at her entrance. She had a hood over her head, or waist-length blonde hair braided back and hidden. Not many people were here at such an hour, only those who really wanted to forget themselves. Aelin ordered a pint and sat at her usual seat, scratching at the table.

Tomorrow will be fine. You can handle some old fae. You can do this! You’ve trained your whole life for this moment! Even if you can’t get grip on this, you’ll still be a Galathynius. Terrasen is your home. They’d never make you leave.

No matter what she told herself, she still felt butterflies roaring in her stomach. It wasn’t so much that she was nervous to meet her alleged mentor, but what would happen if the bastard couldn’t fix her.

It had been only a month ago that she and Aedion had overheard her parents discussing her fate if they couldn’t get her flames under control. Aelin could hear the love they felt for her in their voices, but it didn’t seem to matter as they considered shipping her off to Wendlyn, alone, until she was better. How could they suggest separating her from her family, from her life? Aelin could admit maybe there was someone in the Whitethorn lot who could teach her, but at what cost? To Aelin, spending potentially years away from those she loved simply wasn’t worth it.

Since then, her parents had pulled her aside and told her they were bringing someone to her, but Aelin knew exactly what that meant. This was her chance, and if she fucked it up, she’d be on the next ship out of there.

“You look awfully sad for someone so pretty. Maybe a drink will cheer you up?”

Aelin looked up at the low voice, surprised to see another fae. Although Terrasen was teeming with her kin, Shady’s wasn’t somewhere they frequented. He was tall, alarmingly so, and built like a castle. His skin was bronze and littered with scars, his dark hair pulled back in a messy bun. He was attractive – in the same way sin was.

“I’ve already got one.” Aelin pointed to the half-empty glass in front of her, her answer making the stranger smirk.

He leant in to speak again, but a male at the next table stopped him. “Give it a rest, Lorcan. She’s not interested, and you’re starting to look pathetic.” His voice was deep, the lilt to it making the butterflies in her stomach rest. He had a cloak on, an emerald so dark it was nearly black, and his hair was a neat and short silver, but slightly longer on the top. His skin was creamy but loved by the sun, and his eyes were a startling green. Although sitting, he clearly had some height behind him too, but unlike his friend he was not a castle; he was a palace. Elegant.

“She can answer for herself, stop being so sour,” the man, Lorcan, said.

Aelin was looking at the sitting man as she answered. “Your friend is right, I’m not interested.” She peeked a glance at him, and he smiled.

“Fair enough. And I’m going to consider that my cue.” Lorcan sauntered off to the corner and up the dingy stairs that led to the few rooms Shady’s hired out – usually by the hour.

Feeling intrigued and full of liquid courage, Aelin decided to sit at the table of the elegant fae. He barely glanced at her as she did. She rested her hand on her fist, squinting at him.

“What brings you to Orynth?” she asked.

“I’ve been to most corners of the world, yet Terrasen remained unexplored. The capital seemed like a good place to start.” He took a deep gulp of his drink, his fingers dotted with tattoos written in the old fae language.

Aelin, being a pervert, decided to breath deep, wanting to inhale the scent of the man in front of her. She frowned, the pine and snow from Terrasen too strong to get a read on him, despite winter being long gone.

“Who is your companion?”

“The brute that just left?” Finally, a small smile on those lips. “He’s like a brother. A very annoying, overprotective brother that won’t stop hitting on any woman with a pulse. I don’t imagine you came here to be seduced.”

“It’s not usually on my list of weekday activities. There are plenty of reasons I come here, although I’ll admit love isn’t one of them.”

A laughed lowly, the sound like the rumble of a dragon before it takes flight. “You must be young, talking about love as if it’s real.”

“You must be either old or bitter to believe it’s not. Or just very unlucky.” Must be bitter, there’s no way a male that looked like this had trouble finding women to warm his bed.

“Hm. Maybe.” His drink was empty, but he didn’t move from the table. “You been here your whole life?”

“I’ve been to every country on this damned continent, but this is home, always will be. I have no desire to leave. You make me think you’ve never been anywhere that’s made you want to stay.” She didn’t know what made her say it, but she could somehow feel the truth in her words. He looked at her, his eyes saying how do you know me so well, yet not at all.

“Be careful, soon you’ll know my most intimate secrets,” he playfully warned, a spark lighting his eyes.

“How deep can I go before you’ll stop me?”

“I don’t know, shall we see?”

Aelin grinned at the challenge. “Parents?”

“Dead since I was a child. Next.”

“No siblings then.”

“Took them nearly a thousand years just to have me. You?”

“Destroyed my mother’s uterus. What’s your profession?”

“Soldier, mostly blacksmith. If I were to guess, I’d say you were a handmaiden.”

“Pianist. I play every week at the grand theatre, if I had my way it would be every day. Favourite place you’ve been?”

“To war.”

“How incredibly savage.” She leant closer to him. “There hasn’t been a war in Terrasen for hundreds of years, won’t you get bored being here?”

“Lorcan has forced me to rest, said it’s best for my mental state; I couldn’t disagree more.”

“Do you have a second form?”

“Hawk.”

“What does it feel like to fly?”

He paused, considering his answer. His head tilted to the side, a strand of hair falling onto his face. Aelin resisted the urge to push it back. “Freedom, in its purest form. In the sky, there is everything and nothing all at once. No one to answer to but the wind.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Unfortunately.” He looked at her keenly. “You ever have your heart broken, since you’re such the optimist?”

“I’ve never cared for someone enough to have them hurt me.”

“You’ve been with a human tonight; I can still smell him on you.” From any other mouth, the words would have made her cringe, and then run off to tell Elide so they could laugh together. Instead, they sent a shiver down her spine. Dorian had been forgotten the moment she’d laid eyes on the male in front of her.

“Something tells me you don’t care.”

____

He couldn’t take her to his room since Lorcan was there, so he held her against a wall in a closet. His hands were under her thighs as she wrapped her legs around him, setting her alight. It took every spare thought to keep her fire under control as he kissed her, his tongue an artist as it painted her lips, neck, chest. She moaned as one of his hands wandered up the back of her shirt, her cloak long since dropped to the floor with his.

“You know this place better than me,” he said between kisses. “How likely are we to get caught?”

Aelin growled in response, summoning him closer. His shirt, so pristine for a blacksmith, was in her way. In her haste and forgetting her own strength, she tore it in two, leaving it in shreds in the floor. It only spurred him on, and he turned them around so he could sit her on a bench.

The sex wasn’t graceful, but by the Gods was it good. He had her clothes off in minutes, and she had never felt so aroused in her life. It was like every nerve she had was being played by his magic; like she was the piano and he was the master musician. It was quick, his tempo perfect to hit the exact spot it needed to every time, but he also had a stamina unseen in the human boys she had been with. He was a man; a full-blooded fae male that was biologically engineered to make her moan so hard she forgot her own name. At one point, when the tips of her hair had started to curl with flames, she nearly shoved him away mid-thrust. But as he looked at her fire unfazed, he simply doused them with a pinch of his own magic. Knowing she could truly let loose, she gave all that she had to him.

And by the Gods it was the best she’d ever had.

They were panting on the floor of a broom closet, him big enough that he had to prop his knees up. She was curled into his side, leaving thank you kisses alongside his body. He was puffed, and let out an airy laugh. “You should stop, or I’ll have to take you again.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to go for round, what was it? Six?” To let him know, if it wasn’t already obvious, that she was joking, she left an open mouth kiss to each of his abs. He was the best thing she had ever tasted.

Aelin looked up to the window the size of a plate and groaned. The sky was starting to lighten, and soon the palace would be awake and she’d have to meet the Wendlyn convoy sent by the Whitethorns. “But you’re right. I have to go.”

She stood up, and trying not to step on him, redressed. He eventually did the same, but not after admiring her body greedily.

“Last question, will I see you again?” she asked, not hopeful. Shady’s attracted transients.

“I’m staying here for the next week at the least. Do with that what you will.”

She grinned, kissing him once more before running away from the pub, drunker than any alcohol could make her. It wasn’t until she was back in her room that she remembered she hadn’t asked him the most important question of all – his name.

___

“Elide, I’m serious. It was mind blowing. Like, I could have set that building on literal fire. I nearly did at one stage!” Aelin whispered furiously as she sped-walked to the main hall. She was late, as per usual, but at least she had Elide at her side. It wouldn’t be so awkward with her there.

“Please, pleasestop talking.” And Aedion was there too, and in genuine pain from their conversation.

“Where can I get a man like that? You mentioned he had a brother? I’ll pay you to take me with you tonight.”

“Won’t it seem desperate if I go to find him less than a day after I left him? And I think that’s prostitution.”

“Aelin I do so much for you. The least you can do in return is help me get dicked down to the nth degree.”

“I’m going to impale myself on my sword.”

“Shut up, Aedion!”Elide and Aelin said simultaneously, before giggling to themselves.

She nearly tripped on her gown, the green organza ruffles on her dress a pain in the ass to walk in. She could also feel her crown starting to tip off her head, but Elide quickly grabbed it and pinned it back before it could. The sight of the three of them running towards the hall doors made the sentries guarding it laugh as they put their fingers to their lips, silently shushing them.

“They’re all in there, Princess, they’re just waiting for you.”

Aelin put a fake smile on her face, dreading who she’d find waiting behind that door. She stood herself in front of it, Elide to her right and Aedion to her left. She smoothed down the front of her dress, making sure everything was perfect to give the best, first royal impression she could. She had to impress the old fae that was to train her, lest she be sent to Wendlyn. Her hair was fine, her crown straight. Her dress was fitted in all the right areas but flared out to give the impression of modesty. Her favourite jewels were on, and her shoes – oh fuck, she’d forgotten to put her shoes on.

The sentries opened the door, not giving her a chance to panic.

“Introducing, the crown princess Aelin accompanied by her destined bloodsworn, Prince Aedion Ashryver, and handmaiden Lady Elide Lochan.” The booming voice welcomed her as she walked through the double doors, the people in the room dropping to their knees to meet her. The walls were lined with familiar and unfamiliar faces. All but her parents, sitting on their thrones, and one other stayed standing. A male, tall with silver hair, eyes the colour of evergreens. He was standing on the steps leading to the thrones, clad in armour and navy and black fabrics, clothing fine enough for a king.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

“Princess Aelin, might I please introduce Prince Rowan Whitethorn of Doranelle, your new mentor.”

#rowaelin #elorcan #fanfic #AU!#sjm #throne of glass #kingdom of ash

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otterskin · 4 years ago

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A Rebuttal to a ScreenRant thing on Loki and the Thor films for no reason other than the catharsis similar to shooting at clay pigeons that aren’t even trying to fly

Don’t click on this but here’s the article - https://screenrant.com/mcu-things-make-no-sense-about-loki/

Ah, ScreenRant, my old foe...you hath fallen so far these past few years...time was you were almost legitimate, but once you were sold to new owners, you became a rag of thoughtless clickbait 'journalism', seeing plotholes where there none. Let's dance.

ScreenRant Text: (So you don't have to feed them clicks)

Loki is often considered one of the greatest superhero movie villains of all time due to his never-ending schemes and tricks. As Thor's adopted brother, Loki has always been jealous of the God Of Thunder. His animosity mostly stems from the inheritance of the Asgardian throne.

Loki was denied the throne because he is the biological son of the Frost Giant ruler Laufey. After being abandoned by his father, he was adopted by Thor's father Odin and raised as an Asgardian prince. While Loki's never-ending deviousness makes for great entertainment, there are a couple of things about him that make no sense.

We begin with a Bonus Round! Loki is considered one of the greatest superhero movie villains of all time for various reasons, but the 'never-ending schemes and tricks' thing is a little...lackluster. It's not exactly what I'd say made himso successful, nor is it particularly true, but this is a matter of opinion. I'll let it slide. This, however:

His animosity mostly stems from the inheritance of the Asgardian throne.

Untrue. Thor 1 even has him state explicitly that the throne was never an objective of his, which is something I liked very much about the character and that film. It didn't go for the boring, stereotypical, low-hanging fruit, but actually tried to give the character a bit of humanity and zigged when most characters of that ilk zagged. That's the actual reason people like Loki, IMO. He surprised people by being - gasp - interesting. His animosity comes from a variety of things, but to simplify, if I may get schmaltzy, it comes from his fear of rejection and abandonment, and of being seen as less-than.

Loki was denied the throne because he is the biological son of the Frost Giant ruler Laufey.

We are never told why he was 'denied the throne'. We can guess. We assume this is the case, but it also seems like a) as the elder son, Thor was always first to inherit and b) When Odin promised that both his sons would be kings, it seems likely that at one point he intended to install Loki as king of Jotunheim, but then changed his mind. However c) it's mentioned clearly in an older scene in the script that Odin and Frigga had hoped that while Thor was officially king, that Loki would essentially be sharing many of his duties and would wield substantial power.

I won't say this is 'wrong'. Loki, after all, claims it as the reason Odin didn't choose him as his successor. He may have been right. But we don't know that. Ambiguity is part of what makes films interesting, but apparently nerd media can never have a 'maybe' for an answer, sigh. This is a bigger problem than ScreenRant, so I'll let it go.

After being abandoned by his father, he was adopted by Thor's father Odin and raised as an Asgardian prince.

...this is what Odin said, immediately after Laufey tells us that Odin is a 'liar and a thief'....and then is proven right. Again, it's possible this is true, but we're also given reason to doubt Odin, and it's also possible Odin thinks he's telling the truth but is...wrong! Which he is about many things. It's something that makes him an interesting character. Ambiguity and interpretation. It's what makes you think about something long after the movie stops playing.

While I'm already disagreeing with SR here, this is more a fandom-wide problem of taking the text at face value only and reading the most shallow interpretation possible. However, stating that Loki's animosity comes from wanting the throne is in contradiction to what we've seen in the films, or at least a gross oversimplification. I award myself a half-point for that.

Points: 0 SR, 0.5 Otterskin

10. Unrealistic Survival

During the final moments of Thor: The Dark World, Loki became impaled and passed away in the strong arms of loving brother Thor. Dead? Not really. He was back in Thor: Ragnarok. Apparently, that was just one of Loki's holograms and the villain himself was very much okay.

However, recent history in the MCU proves that he holograms cannot be touched. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor even failed in his attempt to throw a rock at Loki’s hologram. But in the death scene, Thor just happens to be holding him comfortably. And given that rocks go right through a hologram, then any other hologram shouldn't have been stabbed either.

EHHH wrong. Yes, Loki's 'light' magic can't be touched when there's nothing else there. But, as we see also in Thor Ragnarok, it can be touched if Loki is inside it - say, when he's pretending to be Odin. Thor grabs his shoulders and holds him in place after throwing Mjolnir. Great moment. As for that wound....who says Loki wasn't actually injured? After all, the scene was filmed 'for realsies' at the time and a reshoot retconned Loki into surviving later...but that doesn't mean he faked the whole thing. It's also possible that Loki just plain survived, due to some unknown Frost Giant ability that perhaps he didn't even know he had. We've never gotten a clear answer. And yes, keeping up the pretense of his death is still 'faking his death', even if he was really fatally injured. So no contradictions there.

SR - 0, OS - 1.5

9.Poor Attempt At Trying To Kill Thanos

Before he was made to look incompetent by Thanos, Loki was a very intelligent villain. Catching and defeating him wasn't easy, and this was all thanks to his ability to create illusions at will. He used this trick very many times and it always worked.

But when Loki is trying to kill Thanos in Infinity War, the only trick up his sleeve is pretending to pledge loyalty to the Mad Titan with secret intentions of stabbing him with a blade. Of course, Thanos stopped him and killed him. Why didn't Loki use a smarter trick? More importantly, why didn't he use his tried and tested illusion trick?

Hmm. Plenty of people have complained about this, but I never had a problem. For me, the answer is simple: what kind of intelligent is Loki? He's not a mastermind. He's not particularly gifted at tactics. What he's good at is misdirection and manipulation. And, when he does it, it usually has some kind of terrible personal effect. When I saw this scene, I had no problems with it from a character standpoint. Loki is a character who thinks with his emotions and does things based on that, even if they aren't logical. It's his fatal flaw going back to Thor 1 and present in every appearance since. In this case, I think Loki was manipulating Thanos. Manipulating him to kill Loki. Probably because Loki knew that would mean he'd spare Thor. However, this is my interpretation, and you're allowed a different one, SR. We'll just disagree on this one. I leave it to the commenters to decide who gets this point. For now, I'll give us both a 0.5.

SR - 0.5, OS - 2

8His Evolution Into A God

According to the MCU, Loki's parents are the Frost Giants Farbauti and Laufey. Despite his parents not being gods, Loki evolves into the “God of Mischief.” How is this possible, given that he was only adopted by Asgardian parents who were gods, but he himself had no god lineage?

RELATED: 10 Loki Memes Only Real Fans Will Understand

For Thor, his god status is understandable given that his biological father and grandfather are gods. So, can one become a god even when they aren't directly related to any god?

...I don't even know where to start with this. First off, we do not know who Loki's mother is. In fact I don't think it's even in the comics. If you mean the myths, then Laufey is his Mother, not his father, and in many myths Laufey is in fact Às (Asgardian), while Farbauti is his giant Father. He would also have two younger brothers. This is not the case in the MCU. There's some evidence that Loki's mother, whoever she is, is not a jotunn - he has biological features the giants do not, and Sir Kenneth Branagh indicated in the commentary for the movie that he was 'at least part giant', which could mean 'only part'. Eh.

Next...have you not been paying attention? This whole character arc is about Loki finding out he's not 'a god' due to his blood and trying to figure out who he is without that blood. At the end, he embraces his identity and decides for himself to be 'God of Mischief' and 'Odinson' regardless of his bloodstatus, while also, if not exactly coming to terms with his heritage, no longer hiding or rejecting it. Yes, it's about him 'becoming a god' and always having been a god, reaffirming his identity and recontextualizing it. It's his whole...THING. And in fact, it’s the main thesis of Infinity War. It’s the challenge to Thanos, which he then accepts. Infinity War is Thanos’ ‘God Quest’, in which he endeavours to gain the powers of a deity. However, what being a ‘God’ meant to Loki is being ‘an accepted part of a family’. Thanos destroys his children in his quest to become a god. It’s an interesting contrast between the two ‘villains’.

Geezus, this is just being dense. And for the record, many Norse Gods and Goddesses are also giants, full-blooded and otherwise. Skadi, Goddess of Skiing, is my favourite goddess ever and she’s full giant. Her husband has very handsome and large feet, which is her preferred feature on a man. You know. To walk on snow with.

Two points to me for dealing with this nonsense. And a half a point for Skadi, she always gets you a half point.

SR - 0.5 OS - 4.5

7.Blue Hue

As the son of a Frost Giant, Loki was born with a blue skin tone. When Odin adopted him, he cast a spell that changed his tone from blue to white. However, Loki never seems to have an idea about his true skin color. Given his history of mischief, he has never attempted to change back either.

After, Odin’s spell to keep Hela far from Asgard ended in Thor: Ragnarok, his spell on Loki ought to have ended too. Or perhaps Loki has always been aware that he is blue. If so, then the confusion ought to be cleared up.

You know what? Point to SR for knowing Odin cast a spell on Loki and that Loki is blue (dabadeedabadie). We gotta throw them a bone, and that’s something other people forget or get wrong all the time.

As for the spell not breaking...Dr. Strange said it himself. A dead wizard’s spell is harder to remove. A spell falling apart in the event of the wizard’s death seems like a major design flaw. Can you imagine if other things worked like that? If a test was too hard, you could pass if you killed the teacher? Or if you locked yourself out of your house, all you had to do was track down the locksmith and murder him to destroy every lock he ever made?

I find it highly unlikely Odin would have been foolish enough to create a spell that would have failed upon his death. Hela was being actively contained, and even then she didn’t immediately appear upon Odin’s death. It still took her a minute to break free.

SR - 1.5 OS - 5.5

6Mind-Controlling Hawkeye Instead Of Fury

Loki found himself in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base after using the Tesseract’s portal to transport himself. One of his first tasks involves mind-controlling Hawkeye so that he can use him as security.

He also mind-controls Dr. Selvig to make him create the Chitauri portal.But it's strange that he doesn't mind-control the boss ,Nick Fury. If he had done that, everything he wanted would have been achieved more easily. Fury would have been his puppet and he could have used him to make the Avengers make regrettable decisions.

Honestly if he’d just walked into the UN it would have been easy-peasy, we can go down this rabbit hole until we end up in Oz. But hey, we’ll give this one to SR, as one of those typical ‘CinemaSins’ things that Alfred Hitchcock would reply ‘because then there’d be no movie’ to.

I would add that this is more Thanos’ plan than Loki’s, though, so we don’t know if that was ever an option the purple man would’ve allowed.

SR - 2.5, OS - 5.5

5Thanos Was Too Lenient Towards Him

Long before they became enemies, Loki and Thanos were associated. One of the instructions that Thanos gave Loki was to get the Tesseract as soon as possible, or else. Yes, there were stipulations from Thanos outlined to Loki by The Other. Loki was promised a kind of pain he'd never known before.

RELATED: 10 Best Recurring Jokes In The MCU

However, Loki wasn't able to deliver the Tesseract for more than six years, and nothing really happened to him. Given how ruthless the Mad Titan is, it's a mystery why he was so lenient towards Loki.

...interesting that being promised untold pain is related to recurring jokes, ha ha...not sure what that’s about.

I dunno, Loki got the most brutal and graphic death in the film, seems pretty un-lenient to me. Not to mention half the people he’d just saved were all slaughtered in front of him, making him responsible for Asgard’s second destruction.

As for why not sooner, Loki was living under an assumed identity for those 6 years as his own father, his death widly publicized as a popular play. I imagine Thanos caught a matinee or something. Let’s just call this a draw.

SR - 2.5, OS - 5.5

4Stopping Agent Coulson

During

Loki's invasion of Earth

Avengers

, he trapped Thor in a cage, and while he was talking to his brother, Agent Coulson tried to stage a surprise attack. Not so fast Coulson. It appears the God Of Mischief is also the God Of Anticipating. Coulson ended up shooting a hologram instead of the real Loki.But how exactly was Loki able to anticipate Coulson's arrival? Can he see the near future? If such is the case, why didn't he see the attack from Hulk coming? Why didn't he use a hologram during the beatdown that left him in a pretty bad state either?

These are getting weaker, not stronger, as we get to number one. Didn’t expect people to still be reading, huh? Guess I’m the real loser, wasting more time on replying to this than was spent writing it. Oh well.

Chances are Loki turned himself invisible and left a copy in his place before walking behind Coulson. Which he’s done before. Illusions and mind-tricks are his main power.

SR - 2.5, OS - 6.5

3Hatred For Thor

Thor has always cared about Loki, but Loki has always wanted to end his brother. During the events of Thor: Ragnarok, a flashback scene showed Thor and Loki during their childhood days. Apparently, Loki did plenty of bad things to Thor.He once transformed Thor into a frog, while he also transformed himself into a snake to fool Thor into picking him up. Thor loved snakes, so when he tried to pick the reptile, Loki transformed back to himself and stabbed Thor. Why was there so much hatred? According to the first movie, Loki used to love Thor. He only started hating his brother when he found out that Thor was going to be the Asgardian king.

Always wanted to end his brother? Where is that coming from? Because he stabbed him as a kid in Thor’s anecdote in Thor 3? These are Asgardian kids, I expect there to be five stabbings before lunchtime. Kids are practically given daggers as teething toys.

I’m guessing this writer has never been or met a pair of siblings. Why is there so much hatred? Gee, I dunno, maybe because ‘Thor won’t stop hogging the X-Box and it’s my turn, Mum, it is!’ I mean, brothers and sisters do terrible things to each other. They make each other eat dirt and bugs, push each other off the deck, cheat at chess, spit in their hair, hide frogs in their bed, you name it. Now upgrade that to the level of the gods and you got some real fun shenanigans, and several more centuries of time in your childhood to get up to even more mischief.

You can still love someone and turn them into a frog.

SR - 2.5, OS - 7.5

2Takeover Plan

Still, in the first film, Loki began scheming after finding out that he was adopted and he'd never become king. The God of Mischief assisted the Frost Giants in gaining entry to Asgard so that he could destroy the Frost Giant King Laufey before he could kill Odin.RELATED:

10 MCU Moments We Need To See In Disneyland’s New Marvel Land

Sounds good, but then Thor tried to feud with the Frost Giants too, and this didn't turn out so well for him. In fact, Thor was banished and dispatched to Earth because of this. It is thus strange that Loki thought Odin would like him for doing what Thor had done. Loki also waited for Odin to sleep first before trying to destroy Laufey. Wouldn't it have been better for him to try and do this while Odin was awake?

The order of events is all wrong. Loki did not discover his heritage until they went to Jotunheim, and didn’t hear the whole story until the Vault, at about the halfway point of the film. Yes, the film opens with him secretly helping the giants into Asgard to disrupt Thor’s coronation. He intended to goad Thor into going to the Bifrost to attack Jotunheim, and, as he says later to the W3 and Sif while their wounds are being treated, he hoped they’d be stopped there by Heimdall. However, Heimdall was more prideful than he’d accounted for, and that’s when they went to Jotunheim, which wasn’t the plan. Everything after that point is Loki improvising and reacting - it’s not so much a scheme as a scream, if you know what I mean.

Loki was unexpectedly made interim King while Odin was asleep and Thor banished. That’s a condition depending on Odin’s sleep and Thor’s banishment, either of which could end at any time, as Frigga tells him. She also tells him that Odin can see all of Asgard, even while asleep. Laufey reiterates this right before he tries to kill him. Odin also cries in his sleep, indicating he can perceive his children fighting on the bridge later in the film. Loki is putting on an elaborate play to demonstrate his loyalty to Odin and simultaneously sever his connections to Jotunheim, which he sees as a threat to his bond with Odin. He has room for only one father.

Were you on your phone when you were watching this movie? ...It’s okay if you were, but...man, you’re writing about this film, at least get the sequence of events right. It’s not a particularly complicated film.

I feel like I’m getting mean. Lose half a point for meanness, gain two points for two points made.

SR - 2.5, OS - 9

1Not Teaming Up With Hela

Loki and

Odin’s abandoned daughter Hela

had the same goals, but strangely enough, they didn't team up to make everything go smoothly. Given the kind of unity Loki had seen from the Avengers, he'd have been smarter enough to value teamwork more.When Hela arrived to take the throne and get revenge, Loki ought to have been the first person on her side. Her plan was basically a newer, small-scale version of his own plan in Avengers. Given his nature, it could have been more logical for him to team up with her then destroy her.

Same goals? You don’t mention them, though. I’d say their goals are entirely opposite. We see Loki’s rule contrasted with Hela’s quite clearly in Ragnarok. Loki withdrew Asgard from the other Realms (in my opinion, likely because he only has love for Asgard, and his interest in it and its people). He’s not interested in invading or enslaving or plundering (yes, yes, I know, Avengers, but that film was constantly making it clear that Loki wasn’t enacting his plan, but Thanos’, and he was being baby-sat by the Other to make sure he didn’t forget it. The stone was meant for Thanos, and we also know Loki wasn’t at his best self mentally at that time. He looked like he’d been chewing on coal and his skin had all the healthy pallour of a plastic bag. Compare that to Ragnarok, where he’s much more at ease and less...’my whole world has crashed down upon me’). Loki is like a cat in a sunbeam, happy to soak up praise, adulation, and acceptance from Asgard. Hela also wants those things - she’s upset when people don’t bow to her, that no-one remembers her, and that her cool paintings are gone. However, her solution to this is to kill everyone until she’s left with the people who are loyal to her. Loki’s was to create the play (which is either propaganda or much-needed Loki representation in the media, depending on how you view it), and convince people to like him. Hela demands loyalty, Loki wants love. Very different.

Her goal, of course, is to make Asgard great again, through conquest. Admittedly Loki did do something similar when he tried to flambé Jotunheim in Thor 1, but he did that for personal reasons, while Hela has a policy. Also, Hela wants Thor and Loki dead, and possibly was a large reason why Odin died (likely he was drained from imprisoning her). Loki loves Thor and Odin and does not want them dead; he also does not seem to want to be killed, at least by any hand not his own. There’s also the little problem of him being a frost giant, which Hela would likely not look kindly on (heck, original drafts of that painting depicting Hela conquering show her essentially enslaving the giants and forcing them to help build Asgard.) Hela isn’t looking for an equal partner. Loki wants equality above all else.

So no, no reason to team up.

SR - 2.5, OS - 10/10, a very good girl, here’s an invisible gold star

Aight, that was a great waste of time. But sometimes, you just need to refute every single point of something to feel better.

TL;DR: ScreenRant didn’t watch the movie(s).

#thor meta #screenrant response #waste of my time and yours #but I do feel better now

11 notes · View notes

cloudphillips · 4 years ago

Text

Interlude: Act II

"There you are!"

Seulgi was happily humming a tune as she tended to the plants in Greenhouse when Sooyoung suddenly barged into the room and decided to disturb her. "I've been looking everywhere for you." She approached the Hufflepuff but stopped short when she saw her friend cooing to a weird plant preserved inside a pot filled with water. It looked like a bundle of slimy, grayish-green rat tails, and appeared completely horrendous. "Ew! What is that hideous creature?"

"Don't be rude Sooyoung. Plants have feelings." Seulgi continued caring for the plant, singing a lovely song while removing excess slime on its surface, and acted like she didn't hold an abomination within her grasp. She turned to her friend and addressed her with a frown. Displeasure coated every inch of her words. "Apologize to Gillian."

"Gillian who?"

Seulgi pointed at the repulsive plant that she was tending. "Gillian the Gillyweed."

"I'm sorry but--" Sooyoung exclaimed in disbelief. Her mind couldn't quite comprehend what Seulgi just said. "--you call your plant Gillian?" Her gaze landed back on the hideous creature named Gillian and couldn't hide her disgust. It was quite alarming to see the Hufflepuff acting all protective of the Gillyweed. Had Seulgi completely gone mad?

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" Seulgi crossed her arms and regarded the Slytherin sternly. She didn't look amused. Her stance was wide and eyes were narrowed as if she was ready to fight her friend over the custody of this plant. Well, she could claim ownership over the Gillyweed since nobody wanted it anyway.

"No. Not at all." Sooyoung noticed the aura of hostility and backed down from the challenge. After a moment of swallowing her considerable amount of pride, she apologized for whatever sleight she had done to the weed. "Sorry for hurting your feelings Gillian." That seemed to appease Seulgi because she gave the Slytherin a smile of approval before continuing her task. She proceeded to trim the overgrown leaves of a Belladonna and carefully extracted its poisonous essence into a glass vial.

"So, what brings you here? I know that you didn't come just to watch me water the plants." Seulgi's guess was spot on. Sooyoung had a different reason in mind when she visited the Greenhouse. She needed a special consultation from the resident Herbology expert. The Slytherin leaned against the table and knocked off a clay pot. Thankfully, she managed to catch it in time before it fell to the ground. She gingerly placed the pot back to its rightful place and the intense stare she got from the Hufflepuff was almost overwhelming. Seulgi had never looked so intimidating before. What's it with these plants that got her friend so overprotective? "Look, if you're just gonna break things in the Greenhouse then you should just leave. I still have some Venomous Tentaculas to attend to." She pushed past the Slytherin to grab the a rusty shovel on the wooden rack. The Hufflepuff took some fertilizer and repotted the Belladonna.

"It was just an accident! I'm actually here for your help!" Sooyoung raised her palms in surrender, a gesture to placate her friend, before broaching the topic that resided in her thoughts. "Anyways, do you still have some spare Devil's Snare. I could really use one." She tried to be polite as possible in order to get what she wanted. The usual traits of a bonafide Slytherin influencing her actions.

Seulgi narrowed her eyes as she glanced at her friend in suspicion. "You're not gonna prank the Caretaker again, are you?" She raised the shovel in her grasp and pointed it towards the Slytherin in accusation, like how one would brandish their weapon against a target. The rusty metal just inches away from Sooyoung's face. "Joohyun warned me a few days ago not to give you access to the plants in the Greenhouse."

"Joohyun is not the boss of you." Sooyoung countered easily and it looked like her statement hit straight home when Seulgi decided to ponder on things for a moment. This rarely ever happens so she decided to press her advantage and use her cunning for her own gain. "You are your own person." She pointed the threatening shovel away and moved closer. "Come on Seulgi. Just a pot of Devil's Snare and I'll get out of your way." The Hufflepuff frowned in contemplation. There it was, the obvious sign of resignation, any minute now and her victory will be at hand.

"We don't have them anymore. The Headmaster of Mahoutokoro, a famous wizarding school in Japan, asked Dumbledore for some samples to be used in their research. They were shipped just this morning." Seulgi observed the frustration growing on Sooyoung and ignored it in favor of trimming the poison orchids.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" The tall girl pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned in annoyance. "I could've saved my time and just bought a Fanged Frisbee in Zonko's Joke shop." She glared at the Hufflepuff. The thought of strangling her friend seemed like a brilliant idea right now.

"I wanted to see what you were up to and seeing as that you're up to no good, I will intervene in a way I know how." Seulgi donned on some gardening gloves and handed Sooyoung a pair of nose plugs. "Here, put these on." She left the Slytherin to her own devices and proceeded to the storage room. It took quite a while for her to return but when she did, another weird looking cactus was tucked in her arm as she brought the pot over to her friend.

"This is a Mimbulus Mimbletonia." The Hufflepuff announced proudly, like how a parent introduces their child, and gestured towards the plant that was covered with boils rather than spines. "A very rare magical plant with healing properties. If prodded, it uses a defensive mechanism in which it produces Stinksap. A dark green liquid used to nurse ailing animals. Many people have tried to describe the odor of Stinksap but its foulness is difficult to articulate."

Sooyoung scowled in disgust when she took the hideous cactus. She accidentally poked its warty surface and a sticky green liquid squirted out from one of the boils. "Careful!" Seulgi warned but it was too late. The murky substance landed on the emerald necktie Sooyoung donned and the foul smell reached her nose which caused her to suffocate and gag. Have you ever tried to leave a fish out in the open for days until molds start to form then suddenly cool it inside a refrigerator and let the odor just waft throughout the enclosed container? Well, the Stinksap smells similar to that rancid scent. It was so horrible that Sooyoung thought she was gonna faint. Thankfully, Seulgi was there to support her and she helped pull the Slytherin back to her feet.

"If you're gonna prank someone, you might as well employ less dangerous methods." Seulgi removed the nose plugs and occupied herself by watering the Venomous Tentaculas. She expertly dodged a spiky vine that aimed to strangle her and narrowly avoided poisonous bites from the nasty creatures. "We wouldn't want to have another Moaning Myrtle in the school."

Sooyoung stared at her friend in amazement. "Seulgi. You're a genius!" She was about to engulf the Hufflepuff in a big embrace but then she remembered that she still had the Mimbulus Mimbletonia within her grasp. She doesn't want to encounter another foul incident with the Stinksap. "How can I ever repay you?"

"Just don't let me catch you making trouble. I don't want to spend my time supervising detention. Oh, if Joohyun asks, tell her you smuggled this from Knockturn Alley." Seulgi shooed the Slytherin away from the Greenhouse so she could resume her tasks. She still had a Bundimun infestation to eradicate. She took out her wand and gave it a wave. Suddenly, all the gardening materials levitated in the air and proceeded to arrange themselves neatly on the storage rack.

When Sooyoung exited the doors, she took a moment to pause in the hallway and bask in the sweet pleasure of triumph. Oh, just how she loves having the upper hand. It's a feeling she wouldn't exchange for the world. Now, how can she sneak this into the Beauxbatons magical carriage without getting caught? The Slytherin donned a menacing smile when the solution came into mind.

"It's payback time."

***

"Broaden your minds!"

Joohyun stared hard at the tea leaves, all those squiggly shapes and vague figures giving her vertigo, and it caused her quite a lot of distress when she tried to discern the symbols in the cup. She could've sworn she saw a lumpy spade within the blackened reside but she wasn't too sure. If only her eyes would cooperate and lessen her blurring vision then she'd be eternally grateful. Otherwise, she was stuck reading the written context in her Divination textbook. Now, it says here that the spade means good fortune. That's brilliant! It never hurts to have good fortune in life.

"Look past the veiled mysteries of the future!"

However, she noticed something strange in the tea leaves. There's a strange shape that looked almost like wonky cat and according to the book, it was the universal sign of a deceitful friend.

Suddenly, doubt clouded her mind when she glanced at Yerim, her assigned partner in Divination. She was sitting across the table and sleeping discreetly throughout the whole duration of Tessomancy. Were the tea leave sending her a message? Was her friend really conspiring against something she didn't know about? Joohyun wouldn't know for sure. Maybe she should stop being suspicious for once. The Gryffindor was her friend. Surely, she wouldn't betray her trust.

But then again, Yerim wasn't even trustworthy enough in the first place.

"Ms. Kim!"

The Slytherin Prefect inconspicuously elbowed the resting Gryffindor and desperately shook her awake when Professor Trelawney called her attention. Yerim slowly stirred to consciousness, looking all disgruntled and apparently displeased that her sleep was interrupted, then realized that she was still here, stuck in Divination class. Oh great. She must've fallen asleep from all the boredom. Blinking away the drowsiness, the Gryffindor obnoxiously yawned and wiped the drool off her face. "Yes Professor?" She drawled in reply, seemingly unconcerned that she was caught napping in class. Yeah, just typical Yerim shamelessly disregarding authority figures like it's her favorite pastime.

Thankfully, Professor Trelawney found no insult in the Gryffindor's blatant disrespect and just urged her to share the vision to the rest of the class. Yerim was a peculiar student after all. Despite her tendency to cause trouble, she was one of those people truly gifted with Sight. Most, if not all, of her predictions came true and rarely does it happen to be incorrect. She had the potential to become a great Seer.

The professor moved into the firelight. Her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times their natural size and she looked quite odd draped in gauzy, spangled shawl. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings. When she approached their table, Joohyun noticed how thin she was, like a mass of gangly limbs and bushy hair. "What does your inner eye see?"

Yerim internally groaned because damn! She was having such a great dream and she did not appreciate being woken up. How dare they interrupt her unhealthy sleeping pattern and why the heck did she take this class as an elective? Oh right. It's because she wanted to drink free tea. Professor Trelawney makes a wicked chamomile brew and it's truly one of the best she has ever tasted.

The Gryffindor grabbed the little porcelain cup on the table, obviously making it known to everyone that she was exasperated, and sighed heavily as if reading Joohyun's tea leaves greatly inconvenienced her, like she would rather be doing something else right now instead of participating in this boring class. Yerim knows she was being a prick but what the hell? Her little nap was cut short and she always gets irritable whenever she didn't get enough rest. "I see a droopy bird or something. I don't know. I'm grasping at straws here." At the mention of the said animal, Joohyun felt her back stiffen and her heart race. The memory of Seungwan's Patronus suddenly flashed into her mind. The one they mistook for a bird instead of a Nightingale. Her stomach churned with anxiety when she thought about the possible implications this could mean. "That means good news is coming."

This is bad.

This is really bad.

Professor Trelawney hummed thoughtfully and gestured for the Gryffindor to continue.

"And oh my--" After rotating the cup on a different angle, she squinted to better study the tea leaves and recognize its distorted figures. "--Is that a heart I see?" There was a mischievous glint in Yerim’s eyes when she playfully wiggled her brows at Joohyun, like there was a little secret only the two of them shared. The Gryffindor was up to no good and the Prefect tried to ignore the alarm bells ringing in her head as she fought to maintain her composure. "Aww Joohyun is a lucky one. She will find her true love." Yerim was teasing her. That mocking tone alone was enough evidence for her not to be trusted.

"Hmm let's check. Give me the cup." Professor Trelawney requested for the cheap container and Yerim handed it to her gladly. She looked a little pleased to have gotten rid of that blasted cup. It seems like she won't be searching for loopy lines and creating makeshift symbols out of them anymore.

Only a brief moment passed when the professor studied the tea leaves then she was suddenly screeching like mad and screaming murder throughout the class. She was wheezing like she couldn't breathe enough air into her lungs and her appearance turned beet red. Professor Trelawney looked like an asthmatic person who got their allergies triggered. Her bizarre actions completely spooked everyone in the room and there was a wild, almost feral, glint in her eyes when she gazed upon Joohyun.

What is it?

What did she see?

"My dear--" Professor Trelawney croaked weakly, voice sounding hoarse like a sandpaper rubbing against a rough surface, when she regarded the Slytherin. Her frail and shivering form looked seconds away from withering. She seemed completely terrified. "You have the Grim."

Well, that escalated quickly.

"Oh shit! She's gone nuts." Yerim sniggered under her breath as she tried to contain her laughter. The concerned stares she received from everyone in the room only served to amuse her more. Of course, it was typical of the Gryffindor to find hilarity in a grave situation like this.

The Grim.

An omen of death.

The Prefect wrung her fingers together and bit her lip anxiously as she pondered about the significance of this finding. She knows that the professor just predicted her supposed death but does she have to make such a grand spectacle about it? Joohyun knew that as humans, they were all gonna die someday, but heck! Professor Trelawney didn't have to be that extra. Fear was something she didn't need in her life.

Joohyun grabbed the fallen cup from the ground and gingerly placed it back on the table, not even bothering to study the tea leaves and confirm the professor’s claims. She needed to get out of this place. All those stares and unwanted attention was suffocating her.

This abrupt development caused Professor Trelawney such distress that she had to dismiss the class earlier than expected. She scuffled inside her miniature break room, while totally ignoring the confusion of the students, to get her much needed peace of mind.

Joohyun quickly packed her bags and left the room before she got caught in the stampede of students. She cast her head down and assumed a low profile in order to avoid attention. For now, she needed to visit the Black Lake. It was her little sanctuary. The only place where she could be alone with her thoughts and hide away from everyone and everything.

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans in mind.

"That was so wicked out there! I have literally never seen her go completely bonkers." The Gryffindor troublemaker immediately caught up to Joohyun and settled by her side. Yerim felt in good spirits but her cheer came to a halt when she noticed her friend apparently deep in thought. The Slytherin Prefect must've been bothered by the Grim incident that happened earlier.

"Go away Yerim. I need to be alone for a while." Joohyun hastened her steps and literally power walked down the spiralling staircase in the hopes of losing her friend but the Gryffindor had such tenacity that she kept in pace with the Slytherin. Yerim was a bane that just wouldn't leave.

"Stop worrying about it Joohyun. Professor Trelawney predicted the death of a student every year since she came to this school and none of them have died yet. At least, that's what McGonagall said." Yerim tried her best to comfort her distraught friend but knew that she doing such a bad job at it. Troublemaking was something she could expertly do but this? This was a whole different story. She needed a crash course in How To Be A Supportive Friend 101 for this to successfully work. "Besides, I'm better at Divination than that sorry excuse of a professor and I know for a fact that there wasn't a blasted Grim in your tea leaves." The Gryffindor sounded too sure of herself. It was quite concerning.

They lapsed into a moment of silence with Joohyun still deep in thought and Yerim squirming at the awkwardness of it all. Dear God! The Gryffindor never considered that Tessomancy could have such detrimental effects on the mental health. If she knew the Slytherin would act like this, then she wouldn't have asked Joohyun to attend the Divination elective with her. They're suffering all this hassle just because of freaking tea leaves. They reached the corridor of the East Towers and that was when the Slytherin decided to break the silence. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"That you saw a heart."

"Oh my. Interested are we?" Yerim wiggled her brows and that was it. She was back in her teasing mode. The Prefect didn't deign a reply and just maintained a neutral expression. The Gryffindor felt chastened. She should treat this topic seriously for it was no laughing matter to Joohyun. Oh crickets, she might as well be honest. "I was just making things up to be honest. Maybe I saw a heart but maybe I didn't. The point is, you shouldn't get reassurance in those tea leaves alone We can't wish for something and have it magically given to us. That's not how the world works." They reached the Grand Staircase and their little chat had to be momentarily interrupted as they were forced to separate when a bunch of students from other houses bustled in their direction to get to their next class. Thankfully, both of them had a free period so there was no need to rush. They had all the time in the world.

Suddenly, Yerim had a brilliant idea.

Maybe she could use this moment to execute the plan. The Gryffindor could influence the Prefect's decisions by giving subtle suggestions here and there. Make Joohyun see a whole new perspective by sharing her words of wisdom while concealing her true motives. Yep, that's it! She was going to make this work. Yerim did a little mental exercise to prepare herself before she could flex her silver tongue.

Once the coast was clear, The Gryffindor siddled back beside the Slytherin and continued her speech as if nothing happened. Yerim was hell-bent to make Joohyun join their cause. After all, this plan wouldn't be successful without her. "Sometimes you got to take matters into your own hands. If you want to find true love, be prepared to sacrifice. Seungwan won't return your affections if you make no effort."

At the mention of the Ravenclaw, Joohyun whipped her head up so fast, she thought she was gonna have a whiplash. "Who said anything about Seungwan? This isn't about her." The Prefect was acting in denial and it took all of Yerim's control not to roll her eyes and openly mock her friend.

"Bitch, don't be dense! I've seen the way you look at her." The Gryffindor sighed in exasperation. Anyone with functioning set of eyes could see just how Joohyun was head over heels for Seungwan. Merlin's beard! Even a blind person could notice her gay yearning. "You look at her as if she was the ocean and you're dying to drown."

The Prefect couldn't retaliate so the upstart Gryffindor pressed her advantage. If things go well, victory will be such a sweet reward indeed. "The point is, love isn't easy. If it was, would it really be true at all?" Yerim paused to give her friend a sympathetic smile.

"If your love for Seungwan was easy, would it stand the test of time?"

Joohyun pondered on those words and realized that maybe her friend was right. The world isn't handed to them in a silver platter. Sacrifices had to be made in order to get what you want. It's a give and take relationship. If she wanted to find true love, she must be ready to cross oceans. If she wanted to have Seungwan, she must be prepared to drown. "You're right." The Slytherin was impressed. For being such a troublemaker, Yerim possessed an astute mind.

Yerim sensed the conflict within Joohyun and decided to go for the attack, straight right to the jugular. This is it! The moment of truth. Whatever bullshit she was gonna say, she better make it sound alluring. She's got one chance to make this work after all. "You know. There's only one way to solve this problem."

There! The trap has been laid.

Now, all that's left is for Joohyun to--

"What?"

And she took the bait!

Hook, Line and Sinker!

Yerim mentally congratulated herself for a job well done. Joohyun's full attention was focused on her and she couldn't help but feel delighted. Everything was going smoothly now. It was time for her to satiate the curiosity that has been piqued. "First, let me tell you about the Tale of a Lavender."

"Once upon a time, there was a little lavender.

Purple petals so enchanting. Her beauty a wonder.

The bees would come in colonies

To get a whiff of her scent caught in the breeze.

The little lavender would pay them no mind.

For she couldn't return their affections in kind.

And like any flower, she was drawn to the sun.

The only one who could make her feel undone.

But the sun was so far up the sky.

Unreachable and so very hard to come by.

So the little lavender chose to love from afar.

For she'd rather embrace this cruel fate than lose her shining star."

A rueful smile was on her lips when she finished the narration. Yerim had a knack for creating stories on the spot. She made this one as relatable as possible and ensured that it was devastatingly tragic enough to tug the Prefect's heart. Now, it was time for a lesson in literature. "Now, let me ask you a question. Why did the story end sadly?"

"The lavender was contented at loving the sun from afar." Joohyun replied like the obedient person that she is. That's good! It means she was paying attention and was receptive to suggestions.

"Exactly! The lavender didn't even try to put up a fight. She just sat there and ate her salad!"

"Yerim. I don't think lavenders could actually eat salads."

Yerim groaned in exasperation. She never thought it'd be this hard for the plan to work. Merlin's beard! Sooyoung better pay her an adequate compensation for the efforts she'd done or else she'll riot! "You are missing the point Joohyun! Don't you get it? You're the main character in the story. You are the lavender--" The Gryffindor was fully shouting now and was seconds away from ripping out all her hair just to make the Slytherin see sense. "--and Seungwan is the sun! If you don't do something to make that nerd notice you, then you'll have a tragic ending too!"

"Join the Triwizard Tournament!"

That was it. Yerim just threw the bomb.

"I'm sorry, what?" Joohyun didn't know if she heard it correctly.

"Join the Triwizard Tournament and become the Hogwarts Champion." The Gryffindor said with such determination, it inspired Joohyun a little. The intensity burning in her eyes was enough to render anyone motivated. "Win the tournament and you will be crowned with Eternal Glory--" Yerim paused to grin at the Slytherin confidently. Her smile was so infectious that Joohyun couldn't help but beam herself. "--and maybe Seungwan will get to see you in different light. You will not be Joohyun the best friend anymore, but you will be Bae Joohyun, beauty extraordinaire and potential love interest.

Potential love interest.

It has a nice ring to it.

"Thanks for the concern Yerim but I'll be fine. Seungwan just needs a little more time, that's all." The Prefect sounded doubtful, never really knowing who she was trying to convince. Was it Yerim or herself? "Besides, I can always wait-- oof!" Joohyun was about to turn around the hallway when she accidentally collided against a brick wall. She lost her balance and fell to the ground hard.

The Gryffindor stood from the side when she watched her friend collapse on the floor. Everything moved in a slow motion as essay papers dispersed on the air like confetti and study books landed on the ground in a big mess. It was like watching Joohyun in one of those typical scenes in muggle television where the protagonist accidentally crashes into the main love interest. They make eye contact while gathering the materials and immediately spark a connection.

Yerim smirked in amusement when the stranger jumped in to help the Slytherin and save the day. This was entertaining. She'll just move aside and observe as of the moment since her friend wasn't really in immediate danger. Maybe she'll intervene when it gets too dramatic.

Now, where the heck was that popcorn?

"Merlin's beard! I'm so sorry." The sound of a deep masculine voice bombarded Joohyun's ears in vexing waves and she looked up to see a stranger gazing at her. He was tall, sporting a cropped raven hair neatly styled to perfection and shimmering pools of almond brown eyes. His innocent features were cinched with worry as he helped Joohyun regain her stance. Judging from the fur cloaks and blood red robes that he wore, it seemed like he was from Durmstrang, another magical school situated in northern Europe. "I didn't mean to bump into you." He possessed quite a pleasant face but Joohyun couldn't be bothered to care because he leaned too close for comfort and invaded her personal space. She disliked their close proximity. It's safe to say that the Slytherin Prefect didn't quite appreciate it.

"I'm fine. It's okay." Joohyun proceeded to gather the scattered written sheets and journals. She ignored the way how the Durmstrang boy kept a firm watch upon her and just minded her own business. The snatched the stray pieces of parchment on the air and tucked them in her arms for safekeeping. Once all the books and papers were accounted for, she placed them inside the bag before finally acknowledging the stranger. "Thanks for the help." She blew off the stray strands of hair away from her face and regarded the stranger, who was still staring at her. The unwanted attention Joohyun was receiving greatly unnerved her.

He must've realized that he was gawking because he broke out from whatever trance he was trapped in and apologized. "Forgive me for running into you. I wasn't watching my direction." The Durmstrang student looked completely out of his element, like a fish out of the water, as he kept stammering and opening his mouth to utter words but failing completely. He had never seen such a breathtaking woman before and it certainly caught him off guard how this Slytherin goddess decided to grace him with her presence. In the end, he managed to settle his nerves and introduced himself. "I'm Park Bogum by the way." He waited for the recognition to dawn in her eyes but felt disappointed when it didn't come. His name was well-known in the wizarding world, with him being a Quidditch superstar and all, so it was quite surprising to realize that this woman wasn't familiar with him.

No matter, he still had more important things to worry about, like getting to know this beautiful stranger's name.

"Everything's fine sir." The Prefect brushed off his concerns and adjusted the straps of her bag. "It was really nice to meet you but I have to go." She raised her hand and waved at Yerim, who stood by the corner while leaning against a statue, then signalled her to get moving. Joohyun was about to leave when she felt a hand latch onto her arm. Her back stiffened and she turned to glare at the intruder. She did not like being touched by strangers.

Bogum immediately realized his error and released his hold. He raised his hands in surrender and tried to placate the offended girl. "Sorry. Can I make it up to you somehow?" There was an optimistic glimmer in his eyes when he stalled the Slytherin in the hopes of prolonging their interaction. He flashed a winning smile and tried to make himself appealing. His charms never failed him before and it certainly won't fail him now.

The Durmstrang superstar was in for the biggest surprise of his life when the Slytherin woman rejected his offer and completely ignored his allure.

"Thank you but there's really no need for that." Joohyun was itching to escape this awkward situation so she just bolted down the hallway without waiting for Yerim and left the tall stranger to the dust. After taking a series of twists and turns, she didn't stop until she found the safe sanctuary of the Courtyard. She hunched over and breathed in the sweet smell of freedom while ignoring the stares she got from the students in other houses.

"Bitch! Why did you run away?" Her peaceful moment was interrupted when Yerim stormed in her direction, looking like she was about to murder her at the moment. "I can't believe you just rejected Park Bogum! The freaking Bulgarian Chaser literally asked you out!" The Gryffindor screeched in frustration. Her friend had the opportunity of a lifetime but she completely wasted it.

"He was being obtrusive." The Slytherin defended herself. She felt suffocated back there. He kept on advancing, pushing through her boundaries, and disregarded her discomfort. After recovering from that little cardio exercise and gather her composure, Joohyun straightened her robes and dusted away the dirt on her sleeves. She tamed her somewhat unruly hair to make herself more presentable. A frown settled on her features when she regarded the Gryffindor. "I didn't like it."

"It looks like he's just another one of those bees."

"If you won't stop talking about the Tale of the Lavender, I swear to God--"

"No Joohyun, you don't understand. Look around you." Yerim gestured at the surroundings and Joohyun did as she was told. So far, she found nothing of interests. Just a bunch of statues, untrimmed grasses and wild animals nesting in the Courtyard. She glanced back at the Gryffindor, not getting the point at all. The younger sighed in exasperation and nudged her head towards a group of students huddled together. "You see those two Hufflepuffs and three Gryffindors-- No, not there... those standing by the fountain-- Yes good." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "They'd been gawking at you ever since you arrived. They are your bees Joohyun. The bees attracted to the lavender."

When the Slytherin made no response, she resumed her lecture.

"Of course, you wouldn't notice that because your mind is preoccupied with something or rather, someone else. When will you realize that Seungwan doesn't want a lavender?" Yerim grabbed her friend by the shoulders and stared deeply into her eyes, trying to make her friend see the gravity of the situation. If Joohyun doesn't do anything then she'll be stuck waiting for the love that will never come. "She is the sun. She will only adore the sky."

That statement alone seemed to shake Joohyun to the core. Is it true? Would Seungwan only see her as a friend? Will she never notice the heart that beats only for her?

"But we can change that Joohyun. Join the tournament and be the Triwizard champion. Bask in the eternal glory and admiration from hundreds of people. Then Seungwan will realize that you belong to each other all along." Yerim could see the cogs in Joohyun's brain work nonstop. That was a good sign. It means that her friend was finally considering her suggestions. "Do it for her. Do it for Seungwan."

"Be the sky."

***

"Are you sure she's coming?"

Sooyoung shivered from the cold and blew warm breath on her freezing hands. It was already midnight, with the moon shining brightly on the heavens, when the two troublemakers snuck out after curfew and reconvened in the Great Hall to update each other about the plan's progress. Ten minutes into the meeting and the Slytherin already regretted coming for she forgot to bring a coat or anything that will keep her warm. "We've been waiting for like, 30 minutes. I need my beauty sleep since I still have to deliver something tomorrow."

"She'll come." Yerim replied resolutely as she consulted the Marauders map and traced the steps that belonged to Bae Joohyun. She just left the Dungeons and headed towards the Grand Staircase. "She promised me earlier." She pulled her gold and scarlet cloak around her quivering body and exhaled heavily. "What are you delivering anyway?"

"Nothing. Just a little gift to a very special friend."

Yerim frowned.

"You don't have any friends."

Sooyoung pointedly glared at the Gryffindor. "You know what I mean."

Then it dawned on her. "Oh." The younger girl shrugged and went back to consulting the map. "Try not to get caught then."

There was moment of silence and the distinct sound of crickets could only be heard from the quiet night. Everyone peacefully slumbered in their rooms. Hopefully, nobody figures out the illicit activity currently happening in the Great Hall. Sooyoung gazed at the Goblet of Fire that was resting atop a marbled pillar. It's blue flames casting a luminous light that drove away the darkness of the room. A subtle smile danced on her lips. Her plans were coming to fruition. It was only a matter of time for everything to be fulfilled.

"So how does this work? How will the Goblet chose a winner?" Yerim sparked a small conversation to pass the time. It was freezing out here and she had to distract herself to stave off the cold. "What's the next step?"

"Well, when either one of them gets chosen, they'll get so much attention from people and their admirers will come flocking around like wild beasts. The goal is to make each other jealous to the point that one of them gets fed up and take matters into their own hands." Sooyoung clapped in satisfaction at the sheer brilliance of her plan. She could already picture the scenarios in her mind. "Joohyun and Seungwan will confess their undying love for each other and live happily ever after as they ride into the sunset. See? Everybody wins!"

"Okay. I'm sure you've meticulously planned everything down to the last detail but did you stop and think that maybe there's a possibility that neither of them will get chosen as the Hogwarts Champion? Other powerful witches and wizards will be joining after all and it will be a tough competition. They're not the only ones vying for the prize." Yerim aired her concerns and when she didn't receive a timely reply, she glanced worriedly at her friend who turned stiff as a board. "Sooyoung. Did you really think this through?"

The Slytherin opened her mouth to respond but closed it back again when she didn't have any. Holy crap! How could she be so stupid that she forgot that one little detail? "Wow. I haven't really thought about that." She tapped her chin and shrugged. "I just assumed that the Goblet of Fire would choose either one of them."

"Fucking hell Sooyoung!" Yerim jumped from her seat and started pacing anxiously. "This is a major loophole!" Oh god! Oh god! Oh god! This is so not good. Karma will come back to bite her due to all the manipulation she did to Joohyun. Oh god! She was gonna die in the hands of the Prefect. Damnit! Everything was sailing so smoothly but this blunder had to happen. "Joohyun is so gonna murder me."

"Should I cast the Confundus charm on the Goblet?" Sooyoung offered a solution but the Gryffindor was ready to rebuke her.

"No, are you nuts?! It would take a really powerful spell to hoodwink that shit, a magic way beyond the capabilities of Fifth Years like us." Yerim anxiously bit her lip and fidgeted with her fingers. Sweat started to condense on her forehead and her breath quickened. Never before had she feared for her life. She consulted back the map and her heart hammered against her chest when she saw Joohyun nearing the Great Hall. "Oh shit! She's coming!"

The Slytherin immediately ran to her side and urgently whispered. "Quick! Cast the Disillusionment charm!" Yerim took out her wand and hurriedly muttered the spell on the both of them. She looked down on her body, or rather, what had been her body, for it didn't look like anything like hers anymore. It was not invisible; it had simply taken on an exact color and texture of the marbled statue behind him. The Gryffindor seemed to have become a human chameleon.

As if on cue, the doors of the Great Hall burst open and only the cold brush of the wind entered the room. No one came. Sooyoung glared menacingly towards Yerim's direction and hissed under her breath. "You said that she'd come!" The Gryffindor retaliated by hissing back. "She did! She's just wearing the Invisibility cloak!"

Sure enough, Yerim was right because they suddenly heard the pitter-patter of footsteps that grew louder. They waited with bated breath as they saw the silhouette of Joohyun suddenly appear under the moonlight when she took off her magical cloak.

Joohyun approached the Goblet of Fire and stepped within the misty white boundary line that encircled it. Her gaze carefully tracing the intricate patterns carved into its bronze surface. She couldn't help but feel awe. If it weren't for the bright blue flames, this goblet would look just like any ordinary cup. It's not even made of gold. How can something look so simple yet contain extraordinary power?

The Prefect scolded herself for dallying. It did no good to prolong her suffering. She was only delaying the inevitable. She dug deep into her pockets and pulled out a spare bit of parchment.

Bae Joohyun.

It was the name written on the small piece of paper. In a few moments, she was gonna cast her name into the fire and leave everything to chance. All she ever wanted in life was for Seungwan to notice her, to declare the love she had long kept hidden, and maybe this was her chance.

A chance to be distinguished.

A chance to be praised.

A chance to be seen as someone worthy of loving.

This was her taking matters into her own hands. This was her preparing to drown.

As Joohyun closed her eyes, she dreamed of captivating brown eyes, silky blonde locks and warm smiles. She dreamed of sweet laughter, addicting scents and feather light touches. She dreamed a dream that was never a dream. In the end,she could only hope to wish.

Let it go.

Do it for her.

The Slytherin opened her eyes and stared at the parchment in her hand.

This is it.

It was time.

Be the sky

"For Seungwan."

Joohyun casted the paper into the fire and watched it burn to ashes.

#the magic between us #wenre #joy #seulgi #irene #wendy #yerim #red velvet #harry potter #hogwarts #magic

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danganronpa-21 · 5 years ago

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Happy birthday to Makoto and koichi!!!

Happy Birthday to the boys!! Sorry that this is so darn late, Wednesdays are my long days at school. Plus, one of my poor pups had ear surgery today! He’s doing okay, but he’s very drugged up and sleepy. Therefore, he needs a lot of attention. Got the cone of shame and everything.

But yeah, BIRTHDAY! Seiko made them t-shirts and everything. Let’s do some birthday headcanons, shall we?

Makoto’s Birthday — 2020:

February 5th, 2020 brings a seemingly typical day for Makoto at first. As it’s a Wednesday, he’s still expected to drag his butt into work. He doesn’t even get to sleep in! Kyoko claims that they can pretend to be late because of “morning sickness”, but he doesn’t think anyone will believe it. She’s in her seventh month of pregnancy with their first, and fully intends to go to work with him. She’s much too stubborn to take maternity leave until she has to. At the very least she talks him into skipping a breakfast at home, as he’d have to be the one to cook it anyway. He later discovers that by the time he gets there, Aoi’s already baked some muffins for him and dropped off a cup of coffee — just the way he likes it! If that weren’t enough, some of his students left him gifts. One of his favourites is a small succulent in a hand-painted pot, which he cheerfully places by his window.

He assumes that maybe this is going to be the extent of his special day, but he’s wrong. When he goes to do his paperwork, he discovers that almost all of it has been done already. His meetings have been cut in half, and all because his friends took over some of his work! He’s overwhelmed with love, and makes sure to shoot them some thank you messages. He then does the rest of the work that’s left over, which holds him for just enough until Kyoko comes bursting into his office. She’s planned a picnic for his lunch. They eat together in the school’s gardens, chatting and cuddling. Kyoko can’t help but tell her husband how grateful she is for him, and how excited she is to be carrying his child. Makoto can’t help but laugh and tell her how lucky he feels to be the subject of her love.

The rest of his school day is spent in meetings and popping in and out of classrooms to chat with the students. When work ends, his friends drag him out for dinner, and then to the karaoke bar. They spend the night drinking, singing, and laughing until the late hours of the morning. Makoto, Yasuhiro, and Byakuya are mid-way through a trio song of “Hakujitsu” when they realize they should probably head out... as Kyoko and Toko had started to nap in the corner. To settle things down a bit, they pop into Aoi’s café — where they have a sweet birthday cake waiting for Makoto. He gets a cheerful singing of happy birthday, and all kinds of love and hugs from the people around him. They even prepared in advance and brought their gifts for him to the café!

Byakuya just straight up gifts him cash. He insists that he doesn’t know what to buy someone so painfully average, but everyone knows it’s because Makoto nearly had a heart attack at last year’s birthday gift. He really wasn’t expecting to get a car for his twenty-fifth, so for his twenty-sixth... Byakuya plays it safe. Toko and Komaru choose to collaborate on an adventure manga for him, in which he is depicted as a valiant hero saving people from despair (and inevitably winning the heart of his pretty detective boss in the process). Aoi puts together a collection of CDs for him, with every song he’s ever sung along to on it. It’s really hard not to cry when they put it on and hear Sayaka’s voice playing through the speakers. Yasuhiro opts to gift him a couple of free fortune tellings, before also passing along a brand new hoodie. Hiro says that he figures if he knew one thing, it was that Makoto loves comfortable clothing. So he thought it would be fun to pass along something he knew Makoto would use. As for Kyoko, well, she goes super romantic on her gift. It’s a huge notebook, filled to the brim with photographs and journal entries of all of the adventures they ever had together. She’s even notably added passages from her personal journals, in which she first begins to cite her feelings for him. At the end of the book, he finds the words “... and I can’t wait to have even more adventures with you”.

Below this, is the ultrasound photo of their daughter.

Koichi’s Birthday - 2037:

Koichi has never really been someone who likes too much birthday attention. Most of the time he’s content to spend it with his family. Growing up, he’d usually take the day off school. Kyoko would take the day off work, and they’d go around doing whatever he wanted to do until the rest of the family got back from work and school.

This year, he chooses to go to school. Not because he really wants to, but because he has friends who are desperate to see him for his birthday! So his dad wakes up that morning for school as always, with the two of them wishing each other a mutual happy birthday. He gets to eat a happy breakfast with his family, who is sure to shower him with love and affection. It seems like none of them can stop talking about how old he’s getting! Even Seiko’s going on about it, as if she’s not getting older herself.

When Koichi comes to school, his friends are sure to greet him with as much as they can manage. Tamiko, Natsumi, and Phoenix have decked out his desk in balloons and confetti. They’ve each placed a little wrapped gift for him on his desk, and Tamiko even went ahead and made him a birthday cupcake. The three of them (embarrassingly) sing a rendition of happy birthday in front of everyone, and the whole time, Phoenix is happily snapping pictures.

Unfortunately, he does have to spend much of his day in class because it’s still a school day, but at least his friends make it fun. For lunch, they decide to sneak out and go to a local restaurant. Being a technical yakuza heiress, Natsumi covers all of lunch and tells everyone to order whatever they want. Naturally, the group stuffs themselves full of tasty food before returning back to school. They slip back in mostly undetected... well, if being noticed by Aoi but not chided is considered “mostly undetected”.

After school ends, Koichi goes to meet his parents as always. He’s surprised to discover that his father has gone out to pick up their birthday cakes, and that he intends to meet them at a surprise location... Which his mother is taking them to. After picking up Seiko from school, Kyoko takes all of her kids to the local arcade. They’re told that they can play as many games as they want for [retty much as long as they want. The kids all decide to team up in an attempt to win a huge purple teddy bear, just for the fun of it. Seiko kicks everyone’s butts at whack-a-mole (including Makoto’s, when he shows up), Hope absolutely destroys at Dance Dance Revolution, Kyoko shoots a decent amount of hoops, Makoto is able to stop on just the right spot at the prize wheel multiple times, and Koichi has nothing but victory at the ski ball machine. They manage more tickets than they ever thought possible, and of course managed to nab the teddy bear. They decide it should be kept in Seiko’s room, given that she’s the kind of person who could probably find space for something like that.

When they return home, Hope and Seiko challenge their brother to play a quick game of basketball outside while Makoto prepares dinner. Being the most athletic of the three, naturally, Koichi beats his sisters into the ground. But they get a lot of good laughs out of it, and they end off the match with Hope having slung Koichi over her shoulder and walking him back into the house for dinner. Dinner is Oyakodon, paired alongside some homemade gyoza. Despite having had a big lunch, Koichi eats something like three helpings, which his family teases him about. “The older he gets, the more he eats! He’s gearing up for that big growth spurt!”

For dessert, they of course, have two birthday cakes. One of them is Makoto’s, and the other Koichi’s, and each of the boys gets their own rendition of happy birthday. Makoto’s birthday cake is a vanilla-flavoured cake, whereas Koichi’s is a strawberry ice cream cake. They take turns pretending to blow at each other’s candles, just to mess around. It makes for some great pictures. Everyone tries to have small slices of each cake, so they can enjoy it. The only people who get big pieces are of course, the birthday boys. And when cake is done, they follow it with presents. Being the younger one of the two, Koichi gets to go first.

From his parents, he gets a new video game. One that he’d been saving his allowance for for a long time, I might add. He’s ecstatic! He’s sure to thank his parents several times, especially considering that they’d complained about how pricey it was. Seiko’s birthday gift to him comes with a card she made herself, decorated with as many happy penguins as she could fit onto the page. They’re his absolute favourite animal, after all! The gift she ends up giving him is a set of different tea flavours for him to try -- most of them being far off from the kinds you can find in stores. She also throws in a little plushie penguin that Kyoko and Hope helped her sew. Truthfully, it’s not really pretty, but Koichi loves it. He promises to treasure it, before tearing into Hope’s gift. She’s managed to get him a brand new stack of novels, ones from authors she knows he admires. She confesses that she sort of raided his room to figure out which authors were his favourite.

They watch Makoto open his gifts next. He receives about what you’d expect for a man his age. Hope gifts him a whole bunch of new yarn to knit with, as well as some of his favourite candy. Seiko gives him a clay sunflower she made at school in her art class, as sunflowers are his favourite flower. Koichi gifts him a set of headphones that have become popular in the past year or so, figuring he will make use of them while he’s working or trying to sleep. Kyoko gives her husband her gift in the form of kisses... as well as multiple picture frames that contain photos of their family. Notably, even the older pictures of his parents that she found are added.

All in all, the boys have a great day.

#danganronpa #makoto naegi #koichi naegi-kirigiri #naegiri #Naegi Makoto

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kyrilu · 4 years ago

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alex rider 1x2 & 1x3 reaction post

why didn’t they have Alex wear a piercing as part of his undercover identity like in the book? u cowards

1x2 On a trope level, I’m forever fascinated by fictional characters who get thrown into traumatic circumstances when they’re young and they’re forced to adapt and excel. Which is Alex Rider to a T. He wants to get revengeee on the people who killed his uncle! And he feels cornered because Blunt is basically threatening to ruin his life if he won’t cooperate (which Wolf picks up on and calls out to Jones). This exchange – BLUNT: Alex. We lie to people to protect them. You shouldn’t blame him [Ian]. ALEX: I don’t. Loudly unsaid: I blame you. You know those scenes in Ender’s Game when Graff and Anderson talk about breaking Ender, with Graff going hard on ~we’ve got to do this for the greater good, we have to force him to go through all these challenges and pain~ while Anderson tries to push back – I imprinted on that. So all the conversations in 1x2 where Jones/Eagle(?)/Wolf/etc. are like ‘jesus, what are we doing to this kid’ is like narrative catnip to me. this is also the part where I mention that I think Otto Farant looks good chained to a chair with blood on his face, because i am not just here because of nostalgia, yeah, sorry. Anyways. Jack’s American accent sounds a bit wonky, but it’s nice to see her and Tom trying to figure out what’s going on with Alex. Tom being a samurai film nerd is cute and reminds me of Wesley from Daybreak. Yassen looks really hot in that dark coat.

1x3 Alex looks good in that hunting coat get-up while shooting clay pigeons. So, I ship Alex/Tom now! Tom catches onto Alex acting weird, and he’s upset he’s lying to him, and asdjklf the way he’s invested in Alex getting together with Aiyesha gives me… vibes ('I have a secret crush on my straight best friend who’s never going to return my feelings, but dammit, I’m supportive of his love life and he better not turn this opportunity down if he’s not looking at me anyway–’). Tom’s anchovy metaphor and sitting on the bed together *_____*

Wait, the dickhead rich kids are shooting at Alex??? Has this become Ready or Not??? I’m laughing but, alright, sure, let’s come up with more ways for the world to be unfair to Alex. And he’s angry and he’s capable of defending himself and holding himself back at the same time. Oof, the regret in Mrs. Jones’ eyes when Alex is sent away. I’m sad that they’ve dispensed away with the silly gadgets! It’s like the hallmark of the genre! And I was hoping for a military training montage with Alex, Wolf, and the others, but I guess they’ve decided not to do that. I suppose it does make Alex a little more relatable/realistic by not throwing him into basic training and they decided to do the torture sequence last episode instead. I really need to go back and read Point Blanc – not sure if I remember the Friend parents being that concerned about Alex’s welfare or not, but still, it’s a nice touch, adults questioning Alan Blunt’s judgment.

#alex rider #alex rider tv #kyrilu:personal #the undercut tho haha #also i laughed at tom grumbling about spider-man and the wink-wink-nudge-nudge about alex's own skillset #i'm watching this slowly and i'm trying not to spoil myself that much #i honestly hate how streaming services release tv these days sigh #ok reposting again to see if this will show up in the tags

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mightyoaksnursery · 5 years ago

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Mighty Oaks Day Nursery | Play Is Important for Child Development and Learning

Mighty Oaks Day Nursery | We are living in a highly pressurised and competitive world. There are more people chasing fewer jobs and in order to compete and survive in this world our children need to be as highly educated as possible. This has led parents to pressurise play-schools and nursery schools to begin teaching children reading, writing and arithmetic in the hope that they will be better prepared for formal schooling when they enter grade 1.

Cutting play time to spend more time and effort on formal learning is like saying to your builder that you want him to forgo the foundations but spend more time, money and effort in creating a beautiful, tall, sleek building. The first high winds or earth tremor will shake the building to the ground. Play is a child’s learning foundation. (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) Play is not simply a way of spending time, nor is it even just a way of expending excess energy so that the child can sit still and listen in class.

Lev Vygotsky was very well known and esteemed for his work in researching how children learn and the best methods to ensure that real learning actually happens. He said that “in play it is as though he [the child] were a head taller than himself. As in the focus of a magnifying glass, play contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form; in play it is as though the child were trying to jump above the level of his normal behaviour.” What he is saying here is that in play, (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) a child uses and practices his skills, stretching himself into the next developmental stage.

Which skills does play develop?

Gross motor: This is the obvious area. People see children running and climbing and can clearly see that they are developing their muscle strength, coordination and balance. Parents want their children to quickly move from doing this in free play to participating in organised sports. While organised sport is good for children, if the child’s gross motor activity becomes too regulated too soon, he is going to specialise in some movements (those specific to his sports) and miss out on the development of others (such as climbing trees). The more diverse a child’s physical play can be, the more chance he has of (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) developing his muscles and overall coordination in a balanced way. He is less likely to develop early tight tendons ( I see many children with tight tendons at the back of the knees) and less likely to develop weak core muscles (we are seeing more and more young children walking around with poor posture due to weak core muscles).

Fine motor: Beginning to learn to use a pencil before you have developed finger and thumb strength and stability results in a child developing an inefficient pencil grip. When a child has weak thumb stabilisers, he is likely to wrap his thumb around his index finger to try to create greater stability. This makes it very difficult for him to then develop the necessary finger isolation (separate movement of the fingers to give easy, dextrous pencil control). Children who have not yet developed their wrist stability will try to use whole-arm movements to do their drawings and writing (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) and will press very hard. If a child has not developed the bilateral integration (this happens in the brain and is the smooth, efficient communication of the right side of the brain with the left) cutting will be difficult and he will have difficulty writing across his page and reading across a page or school board. Beginning to use a pencil too soon therefore inhibits learning in a formal class setting, rather than helping it.

How can we develop all these fine motor foundations? Climbing ropes and trees and swinging from “monkey bars” builds core strength, shoulder girdle strength, wrist and hand strength and bilateral integration. A child who is encouraged to experiment with clay, tearing paper, finger-painting and painting with different sized sponges is practicing his fine motor skills and preparing his hands to cope well with a pencil.

Sensory Integration: Children who have an opportunity to play with diverse media and in different sensory settings are better able to develop their sensory systems. Allowing a child to spend time in the sensory environments he finds most comfortable, gives him the inner strength to cope with those he finds more (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) challenging and then gradually build his sensory system to be able to cope with them.

Visual perceptual skills: Visual perception develops through a child’s interaction with his environment. When a child stretches his arm to reach a high branch, or climbs through a tunnel in an obstacle course, he is developing his spatial perception. Shape perception is developed by a child grasping and manipulating many different objects in play. When he cannot find the toy he wants and has to search for it in his toy-box, he is developing figure-ground perception.

Verbal skills and Language: Children playing are constantly talking, either with themselves, explaining the aspects of the imaginary situation, or with the other children involved. Researchers have found that less verbal children speak more during imaginary play. In imaginary play, children are therefore experimenting with and developing their language and communication skills.

Playing fun games where word sounds are changed, learning silly rhymes and making up nonsense words helps children develop their phonics skills and auditory processing. If these are simply taught in a formal way, the child feels no real ownership and finds it harder to remember all the different sounds (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) the written letters represent. If he plays games and experiments with the sounds in words, his feeling of being in control of the words and the sounds is greater, making it easier for him to learn and remember his phonics. He develops an actual concept of how sounds make up words.

Thinking skills (cognition): Thinking is a kind of “inner speech”. We talk silently to ourselves to think through things and solve problems. Children in imaginative play begin to develop this skill through talking aloud and explaining everything that is happening in the game. (Think of the children playing in the “home corner” in your playschool and how they tell each other what to do and (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) talk to the dolls and teddies). Slowly, as they become more practiced, this talking changes to become “inner speech” (they think it but don’t say it out loud). This is a major foundation for developing thinking and reasoning skills.

We also know that showing a child how to do something has far less educational impact on him than providing him with the material and allowing him to play and experiment and discover for himself.

Reading: To read well, a child needs to have developed the ability to notice the separate sounds in words. He also needs to be able to recognise similarities and differences in how words sound (eg: rhyming words or words that sound the same but have different meanings). Trying to learn these in a formal setting is daunting and removes the chance of the child feeling that he can take ownership of words; instead he feels that words are foist upon him and outside of his control.

Reading also needs good visual perceptual skills. Shape perception allows us to recognise the similarities and differences in the shape of letters. Figure-ground perception is needed to be able to see the separate words on the page and the separate letters in the words. Spatial perception allows us to see where one word starts and another ends and which way round a letter must face.

We use two eyes to read and the part of our brain that develops our language and auditory processes is on the opposite side to where our visual perception develops. We need (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) visual perception to recognise the written letters and auditory processing to convert them to the sounds and words they represent. Therefore, we need good communication between both sides of the brain; this is bilateral integration. Children begin to develop bilateral integration through movement and playing in their environment with different objects and obstacles.

Emotional: I think every parent wants their child to be emotionally contented and stable, to have a strong sense of self worth and self esteem. Imaginative play gives children the opportunity to work through aspects of their lives they are (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery) struggling with. It allows them the space in which to examine and change and minimize consequences of their own actions and experiment with different end results to situations. This playing helps children “work through” difficult emotional situations and to develop positive coping strategies.

Social skills: Play gives children practice in the art of compromise. You will often hear children in imaginative play, arguing and debating about who gets which role or how the role ought to be played and if it’s acceptable to behave in that way in a particular role. They are experimenting with and trying to understand the social rules of their world. They also learn to share and to take turns and to help each other.

Play develops through fairly standard stages and each stage is a necessary precursor for the next. These stages provide the key foundations for our children to become well-prepared to cope with the physical, cognitive, emotional and social demands of formal schooling. Rushing children through the different stages, does not mean they achieve school readiness quicker; it means they lose out on the developmental window to develop strongest foundations. (Mighty Oaks Day Nursery)

#Mighty Oaks Day Nursery Ofsted #Mighty Oaks Day Nursery and Preschool #Mighty Oaks Day Nursery #Child Development #Play Is Important

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