#he didn't know he had a fascination with them

[66ejna]

synops ୨୧ : kaiser and his tattoos' intentional mistake in unfolding your secret relationship.

slight ooc, fluff, drabble, brain rot

you're watching from a rooftop overlooking the stadium, a private spot you both secretly love. when kaiser scores, he runs to the edge of the field, tilting his head upwards, knowing exactly where to find your gaze. the stadium roared with cheers as he and the team secured, yet another victory. his grin was brighter than ever as he waved to the crowd, basking in the glory. but amidst all the chaos, his eyes only searched for you.

your gaze meets his, but it doesn't stay there for long - it drops to his number 10 jersey, damp enough to give a sneak peek of his abs. not just that - the tattoo on his arm catches your eye (even countless times before). it snakes up his bicep and stretches toward his neck, just visible under the fabric.

'his fans would absolutely lose it,' you thought, pretending you hadn't just stayed up four nights in a raw, stalking his fan pages.

later, after the crowd had thinned, he found you waiting in a secluded rooftop of the stadium. the distant hum of celebrations faded into the background as he approached, his golden hair disheveled from the match.

"enjoy the show?" he asked, his voice carrying that familiar teasing lilt.

"the match or that routine you always do after scoring?" you replied, arms crossed but smiling.

a deep, hearty laugh escaped him. "both, obviously."

without warning, kaiser lifted his jersey slightly, wiping sweat from his face. his toned abs and the usual tattoo tracing his torso became visible.

"for real?" you said under your breath, glancing away.

"what's the issue?" he said, smirking as the shirt fell back. "a guy can't cool off?"

you rolled your eyes, willing the redness on your face to disappear. "you're hopeless."

"own up - you were looking," he said, inching closer.

"i wasn't," you retorted, though your tone was a little shaky.

"sure, sure," he said, stretching with a smirk. "let's go. there's something i want to show you soon~"

what he revealed was entirely unforeseen.

days later, while scrolling through your phone, a notification appeared: kaiser's newest instagram post just revealed his latest photoshoot. you tapped on it, not expecting what was about to unfold.

photos were bold, showcasing kaiser shirtless, his body fully visible. tattoo, already fascinating, looked even more vibrant in the professional lighting. but what really stole your breath - and made your heart skip - was surprising new addition to his ink.

on his broad shoulder, your name was etched in bold, graceful script.

your hand went to your mouth as you stared at the screen, re-reading the caption beneath the photos. it was vague, mentioning the campaign with no explanation for the tattoo.

still, the comments were already flooded with speculation:

@/aikuoliver

→ wait, is that someone's name?

@idk

→ who's [y/n]?? kaiser, i thought we're married??

@66ejna

→ plot twist! : i'm actually the third party in this relationship!!

panic bubbled in your chest. kaiser being bold? classic. but this? this was straight-up wild. your phone buzzed, and there it was - his name lighting up your screen like a main character moment.

"hello?" you answered, barely managing to keep it together.

"so," he said, all smug and casual, "thoughts on the pics? i know you saw them."

"kaiser, my name is on your shoulder!" you blurted. "do you understand the internet is losing it right now?!"

"yeah," he said like it was the most normal thing ever. "didn't i tell you i'd something unforgettable? surprised?"

"surprised? try speechless!" you snapped. "kaiser, do you realize how extra this is?"

"exactly. now they all know - you're my girl."

your heart skipped a beat at his words. it wasn't just chaos - this was kaiser's way of keeping it 100. the way he said it oh so nonchalantly makes you want to ends your next 7 generations.

"god, you're insane," you grumbled, but your voice didn’t sound too convincing.

"and you're unforgettable," he shot back effortlessly. "so? you into it?"

you sighed, flopping onto your couch. "i hate that i actually am."

his laugh was rich, that kind that made your defenses crumble. "perfect, meine liebe. because you’re stuck with me, forever."

later that night, still reeling from everything, you opened your tumblr private account and posted a random rant :

what do you even do when someone tattoos your name? anyone got tips? (btw, no, it hasn't sunk in yet. but yeah, it's real.)

and another one :

my name on his shoulder ... help. permanently.

the photo he sent? just the tattoo, cropped to hide his face. subtle, but if someone knew you well, they'd put two and two together.

not even ten minutes passed before another text from him.

micha ♡

"you're not mad, right? saw your post."

you rolled your eyes, but deep down, your heart was full. he was as impossible as ever, but somehow, that made you love him even more. though you legit forgot that only he, is in your private tumblr account.

s/n : haven't write in a while heh … i logout from this acc and literally forgot its password + i lit wrote this in 2 am rn + KAISER GETTING ANIMATED LORDDDS

[the-badger-mole]

Clouds, Fog and Mists

The scholars and archeologists that Aang had been working with had come out of their museum basements and dimly lit studies with a wealth of Air Nomad histories and artifacts that had been lost during the war. Aang now had access to recipes he hadn't tasted in years, scrolls that gave historical context to the things he had just begun learning at age 12, and objects he had never seen, but was excited to learn the use of. At 22, he was just now learning that the Air Nomads had a variety of subcultures and customs he'd never encountered, even though he had visited every Air Temple that existed back then.

"Did you know..." became as common to his vocabulary as "hello" and "custard tart". Every day, he approached his wife with some new bit of lore he'd learned.

"Did you know that the Southern Air Nomads had a Festival of Remembrance?" he'd excitedly asked as Katara was hanging the laundry out to try. She was only half listening while she tried to keep Bumi, their nearly three year old son out of the basket of wet sheets, but she gave a polite hum of encouragement.

"For a whole week," Aang continued needing no further prompting, "no one was allowed to play music or speak. They even wore velvet over their feet so their footsteps wouldn't be too loud. Then, at the end of it, there was a huge party! Loud as anything with music and plays and games. I think I remember going one of those ending parties, but I didn't know about the vow of silence before it."

"That's fascinating, sweetie," Katara said, rubbing her heavy belly with a look of discomfort. She was seven months along with their second child, and this one was very active. "Bumi, last warning. Do not touch the clean clothes!"

"Okay, Mommy!" Bumi said before swatting at one of the sheets Katara had hung on the line. She sighed and turned to her husband.

"Can you take him?" she asked. "I'm tired, and I'd like to take a nap after I finish this."

"Oh," Aang said reluctantly. "I was going to have an afternoon session with the Acolytes. I'm dying to tell them what I've been learning."

"Aang, please?" Katara sagged tiredly, taking Bumi's hand and pulling him away from all her hard work.

"Alright," Aang sighed. "I'll watch him for a bit. Come on, Bumi! Let's go practice some air katas! I want you to be ready when your airbending kicks in!"

-:-:-:-:-:-

All Air Nomads were airbenders. That's what Aang had always been taught. He had to account for late bloomers, of course, but at age four, going on five, if Bumi was going to be an airbender, there would've been signs by now. Kya was a lost cause. She had started waterbending just before her second birthday, and despite the fact that her father was the Avatar, there was no chance that she would inherit the ability to control more than one element.

"Well, maybe it's not true that all Air Nomads were benders," Katara said with a shrug. "After all, not every Water Tribesman is a waterbender, and not everyone in the Earth Kingdom is an earthbender."

"It's different," Aang insisted. "The monks told me that all Air Nomads were benders because we have a unique connection with our spirituality." Katara didn't quite manage to hide her annoyance from him.

"Then explain our kids," she said. "Unless you're the first Air Nomad in history to have children with a non-Air Nomad, someone somewhere got something wrong." Aang went quiet after that. He had no response.

"Just because the Air Nomads may have had children with people from other nations doesn't mean that their children were Air Nomads," an acolyte named Qiao said. She was one of the most apt and studious of Aang's Air Acolytes, and they had spent many hours together pouring over the newly discovered texts. Sometimes, Aang thought that she had a better grasp of Air Nomad culture than even he did.

"I suppose....I suppose that's true," Aang said thoughtfully, taking a sip of his tea.

"The Air Nomads were mostly not monogamous," Qiao pointed out. "I'm sure there were a lot of Nomads who had understandings with their lovers from other nations. Especially among the Air Acolytes of the day."

Aang pondered that for the rest of the day. Then the next. Then the rest of the week before he finally approached Katara. He found her by the fountain with Kya and Bumi. Kya was busy making imperfect little shapes with the water while Katara was teaching Bumi how to put his hair into a warrior's wolf tail.

"You look just like your uncle Sokka," she laughed, pressing a kiss on her son's cheek. "I bet you'll be a great warrior just like him, too." That twisted Aang's gut uncomfortably. He cleared his throat to get Katara's attention.

"Hey, sweetie," he said.

"Hey," Katara smiled at him. "We're just about to have story time. Do you want to stick around for How Umiak Rowed Her Boat to the Stars?"

"Oh, um..."Aang shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Sure. I was just...thinking of something."

"Yeah?" Katara raised her brow at him. "What?"

"I was just thinking of how all the Air Nomads were benders." Katara didn't bother trying to hide her disgusted snort or the rolling of her eyes.

"Okay, and?" she huffed. "Did you draw any new conclusions?"

"I can't have been the only Air Nomad to have children with someone from a different culture," he said. Katara stared at him blankly for a long moment.

"I told you that," she responded finally. "It's just now sinking in?'

"No, I understood you," Aang told her. He kicked at the ground. There was a loose pebble under his toe and he focused on rolling it back and forth. "It's just...well, the Air Nomads, they weren't strictly monogamous."

"Monogamous," Katara scoffed. "That's a big word for you." Aang bristled a bit at that, but he took a breath and let it go.

"I was just reading," Aang said with a shrug. "It occurred to me that maybe because the Air Nomads weren't monogamous, they just didn't bring their non-bending kids into the Air Nomad society." Katara looked up at Aang with her eyes wide.

"That's awful!" she said. "So because their kids didn't bend the right elements, they had to be cut off from one of their parents?"

"No, I'm sure it wasn't as bad as all that-" Aang started to protest.

"What exactly are you saying, Aang?" There was a dangerous edge to Katara's voice. A warning.

"Nothing, nothing!" he scrambled back, tripping over his tongue, trying to call back his words, and cursing himself for trying to bring up the subject without a plan. Katara eyed him coldly. She was angry and trying not to show it.

"It's time for lunch," she told her children. "Let's go inside and fix something to eat."

"But Mommy," Bumi protested. "I want to hear about Umiak!" Katara turned to him with a tight smile.

"That's okay, sweetie," she said. "I'll tell you while you help me fix lunch." With one last scowl at Aang, she took Bumi's hand and swung Kya up onto her hip and went inside.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Aang felt vindicated when it was discovered that he and Qiao were right. The Air Nomads would often leave non-airbending children with their non-Nomad parents. Sometimes the Air Nomad parent would stay with their non-Nomad partners and build a life with them and their children (something he made a note to tell Katara about). Then it was discovered that they were only partially right.

Some of the Air Nomads stayed and raised mixed heritage families. Some left their non-airbending children behind with their non-Nomad partners. That was expected. Reasonable, even. What Aang was not expecting, however, were the accounts of non-airbending children being given away. Some were adopted, and those adoptions were traceable through documents and letters. Others were sold. Those transactions were traceable, too. By most accounts, those children went into indentured servitude and many of them learned trades and were able to start businesses once their indenture was up. Aang tried to focus on the positives. Katara, however, was horrified.

"What right did they have to sell those children into...into slavery?" she demanded hotly while they were getting ready for bed.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Aang insisted. "After all, the Air Nomads wouldn't have put children into situations where they could've been hurt."

"Yes," Katara sneered. "I'm sure their new owners were very gentle with their exploitation."

"That isn't fair!" Aang protested. "Do you know how difficult it would've been for those kids to live among the Nomads?"

"Probably about as easy as it's been for our kids." Katara glared at Aang meaningly. He felt his cheeks heat as he looked away, pretending not to understand.

Bumi was going on eight now, and Kya was five. They were both old enough to ask questions about why it was so difficult for them to move around their own home. Katara and the Acolytes had an easier time being adults and able to maneuver obstacles that short legs and small hands couldn't without help, but it was still a regular challenge to get around the Air Temple for them. Aang was in the process of building a complex near Republic City where non-airbending Acolytes could live and learn with more ease, but it wouldn't be ready for anyone to move into for another year or so. It would be safer for children with no airbending ability, too. Aang glanced over at Katara from the corner of his eye, at the soft swell of her stomach, already showing signs of pregnancy at her second month.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Tenzin was the last of Aang's children with Katara, and the only airbender. When he was almost one, he airbent for the first time, and Aang couldn't stop celebrating for an entire week. When Tenzin was two, the first of the burial mounds were discovered.

Archaeologists working at the mostly restored Northern Air Temple found it at the base of the mountain. There were several layers to the grave, suggesting generations' worth of use. Most of the bones were small. Infant and toddler sized. The largest bones were about the size of an average eight year old. The bones were all jumbled together, as if they had been tossed in a heap. Some of them wore the clothes they were buried in, but most of the bones were too broken to hang on to any frabric. There were also no signs of any shrouds or anything indicating that they had been given any of the customary funeral rites of the Air Nomads. The fact that they were found at the base of the mountain in itself was unusual. All the different groups of Air Nomads had their own unique funeral customs, but one thing that remained the same was that they were laid to rest as close to the sky as possible.

When the first reports of how the children came to be at the base of the mountain came out, Aang was certain it was the rankest propaganda. None of the Air Nomads, no matter how stringent they were about non-airbenders living among them, would ever harm a child. For a while, he seemed to be right, as all the proof was from secondary and tertiary sources.

"Lies the Fire Nation used to justify genocide," Aang said confidently.

"But how did the children get there?" Katara asked. Aang had no answer for her. Yet. There must have been a good one, though. Maybe a plague had run through the Air Temple, forcing them to bury the bodies at the bottom of the mountain to prevent contamination, or something equally tragic. Aang began talking to the archaeologists about giving the bones a proper burial as soon as they could be sorted. The count at that time was 700 bodies in the pile and there were still so many more to go.

A few months after that, the oldest of the Air Nomad accounts were uncovered. It went back a good 300 years, and it spoke about a surplus of infants born without the gift of airbending. There were too many to be disposed of the normal ways, and many of the non-bending parents were unwilling or unable to raise the children themselves. The anonymous monk wrote of a meeting to discuss the crisis. They wouldn't be able to care for so many that couldn't get around the temple, or travel with the Nomads. There was a food shortage. A water shortage. An everything shortage. So the head monk suggested giving the children to the air. That had been the first time the practice had been recorded, near as anyone could tell. But some of the bones were older than that.

That's what they called it. It sounded lovely. Poetic even. In practice, though, the babies were carried to the edge of the temple grounds and held in the air. A short prayer was said for the souls of the children, and then they just...let go. They were so high up, they probably couldn't hear the children hit the ground.

The public began to call them the Fog Children. They were babies born to Air Nomad parents, but without airbending abilities themselves. People clung to the term and it soon spread all over the world in hushed whispers. Aang hated it. Katara hated it. It was the only thing they could agree on by that time.

"It isn't fair!" Aang bemoaned. "It's like people are using it to justify the Fire Nation killing all the Air Nomads."

"If it bothers you so much," Katara said after she'd put the kids to bed, "then speak up! Condemn what they did."

"I do!" Aang insisted. He had protested, loudly that all of the Air Nomads shouldn't be judged by what one fringe sect did.

"Not just them," Katara said. "All of it. It's just like with the Fire Nation. Remember what Zuko said? You can't expect to move forward without acknowledging the past. All of it was wrong. The Air Nomads treated their non-bending children as if they had no value. Condemn the adoptions and abandonings and the selling of the children!"

"How is it my responsibility to make up for all of that?" Aang demanded.

"You're the only one left," Katara reminded him, trying to be gentle. "I'm not saying you have to call the Air Nomads monsters. They did something wrong. They were human. You can acknowledge that and commit to being better than that."

"How?"

"Start with your children."

It had been a frequent argument between Katara and Aang how Aang treated their children. Bumi was 13 now, well on his way to becoming a man. Kya was 11 and Tenzin was five. Often, Katara would quiz Aang on his children- what Kya's favorite color was, or the name of Bumi's best friend. Aang could admit that he was correct about Tenzin more often than the others, but it was only because Aang had so much he had to teach his youngest. Katara should've understood that. After all, there were things she did with Kya that she couldn't do with Bumi or Tenzin.

"It's not the same," Katara told him. Aang could never remember why, though.

For the next year or so, Aang spent much of his time doing damage control. He did his best to separate the practices at the Northern Air Temple and the particular sect of Air Nomad culture that grew around it from the rest of the Air Nomads. Every criticism of the culture was met sharply by Aang's rebuttals and justifications. Penning article after article espousing the virtues of the Air Nomads at large became his full time job, and obsession. It took him two weeks to notice that Katara had left with all three of his children, and another month for him to find the letter Katara had left in his bedside table telling him she was seeking a divorce.

He got Tenzin three months of the year. It was all he could manage, being completely unused to parenting alone. Aang taught his son what he could of airbending and the Nomad philosophy he could in that time, and did his best to ignore the people whispering fog children in the same breath as his oldest children.

[skyfallscotland]

🐉 ONYX STORM PROLOGUE, CHAPTERS ONE & TWO MY THOUGHTS: (god bless the dutch 🇳🇱)

So not totally verified yet, but it seems legit. This is absolutely the scene I expected us to be starting with, and despite the translation it does read like Rebecca. Thank you so much to @thestarseternaal for sharing it with me! You can find it here.

Ok, let's fucking goooooo! 🤘

· That trigger warning list? "The death of an animal" 💀😬 The "descriptions of sexual acts" though, thank god, though it's not looking promising for the two of them so far.

· Garrick and Bodhi KNOW?! Ok that I didn't see coming?

· "I can't blame him for wanting to know what he is" ANDARNA 😭 "I'm as much in the dark as he is, and you trust me." 😭 I want to hug the baby

· "Magic feels different when I change colours. When I used my power, it was like the venin transformed, weakening-" Ok so confirmed, she's the solution they're looking for *sigh*

· It's going to be unfortunate if the allies we're seeking are just Poromiel, and I think they are given both the excerpt prior to the prologue and the fact the Target edition map had only a few places in Poromiel on it and no Isles. I guess we're not looking for Andarna's family over there until books four and five? 😞

· Wait...what? Leadership knows what Andarna is? Everyone knows? Who TF told them? I was certain they didn't see? I can't believe we spent all this time worrying about people knowing she was a baby when she bonded and y'all just told everyone she was a super special rare breed right off the bat. SMDH.

· Aotrom's only 22? 😭 I'm older than Aotrom? RIDOC and him are the same age, that makes so much sense!!

· TAIRN CALLS XADEN "THE DARK ONE"? 😭 I feel like I'm not going to like Tairn much this book, and I feel like he's gonna ☠️ but that's for my theory post.

· "His soul is no longer his own" "That's a bit dramatic." VIOLET I LOVE YOU 🖤

· "You mean whether I'll support you in the thousand ways you want to face death to heal someone who's beyond redemption?" Oh Tairn...why do I get the really, really bad feeling you lied about Naolin?

· The truth-sayers have let Caroline Ashton off the hook? Hmmmm suspicious. Everyone's evil, I just know it.

· "Devera and Kaori will be back soon. They’ll straighten out the command structure once the princes have signed a treaty that hopefully grants us grace for even leaving in the first place." Ummm princes plural? So I guess Cam hid for nothing? Well not nothing, but he's...back with his fam? Also why would they be signing shit? Where's the damn king?!

· "The rarest signet, which appear once per generation or century, have been documented twice simultaneously with an equal counterpart, both during critical times in our history, but only once have the six most powerful walked the Continent at the same time. As fascinating as that spectacle must have been, I would rather not witness it again in my lifetime. – A study of signets by Major Dalton Sisneros" Ok could be a weird translation but I'm confused by this. The counterpart thing could be either a rider and a venin (ie. one of the venin can distance wield and we're getting a distance wielder) or dark and light, ie. shadows and light. Also six like the first six and they all had partners within themselves? Three pairs? Or? What even were their signets because I can't believe we've NEVER FUCKING ASKED? I've literally never seen that mentioned and it seems...so fucking relevant.

· Perhaps a more outlandish theory, but I think the venin with the silver hair who distance wields might be Xaden's mother. I'll elaborate later, but 😬😬

· Ok well, 1. I'm fucking crying already, and 2. "Even if I reached the rank of Maven, led armies of dark wielders against everyone we care about, and if I had to watch every vein in my body turn red because I had drained all the powers of the Continent, I would still love you. What I’ve done doesn’t change that. I don’t know if that’s even possible." That's a little bit storm in the quiet, I love it when the vibe is proven ✨correct✨ 😭 @justallihere

So all in all, 1. As expected, every excerpt, hint, and thing we've thought about it over in one-two chapters, 2. This is going to hurt so bad and I think it will go as I expected, and 3. I'm still not ready 😭

Send help 🥺

[hornedmonsters]

Anubis x Reader - Dance with death

Warnings: Not really. romantic, dancing, Reader doesn't like alcohol here and is rather "quiet", talk about death

Synopsis: At a ball of the gods, you bump into Anubis in the garden at night. Just like you, he flees from the noise and is looking for peace and quiet.

You carefully took a goblet. Your gaze swept across the gigantic hall as you sipped the liquid. You sighed. Why was there alcohol everywhere?

You were actually looking for a simple drink to curb the heat that was spreading through your body. You leaned against one of the large pillars and watched the gods and few mortals celebrating together.

The reason for the celebration had escaped you, you accepted the invitation so that it wouldn't seem rude. You were actually a relatively introverted person and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Even if, for a brief moment, it was a nice change to watch people celebrating.

But you couldn't stand it for long. Your energy dwindled and the music pounded in your ears. You started to get a headache. You got warm and somehow everyone who got a little too close to you got on your nerves.

Then it occurred to you that there was a fountain with drinking water outside in the garden. You poured out one of the goblets and snuck out of the hall.

The cold air immediately hit your face and you sighed. Immediately your mood improved and you walked along the path. Stars twinkled in the sky and it was quiet in the darkness. The gravel crunched under your shoes as you walked towards the fountain with your goblet.

The sounds of the party slowly faded into the distance and your gaze fell on the beautiful flower bushes. Different colors glowed in the darkness.

The splashing of the fountain caught your attention and you sat down on the cool stone of the fountain's edge. You gently let your hand slide into the water and shudder. Then you felt the water in your goblet and took a big sip. At last. You rubbed your face as you put the goblet away.

For a brief moment, it was really pleasant that it was so quiet. Until a voice snapped you out of your thoughts.

"Not in the mood for the party either?" The dark voice made you flinch and you stared into the darkness in front of you. Glowing eyes stared at you intently and your heart stopped. "I... I needed some fresh air," you confessed to the glowing balls of light and continued to stare at them in fascination.

A dark, growling chuckle came from the shadows and suddenly the eyes drew closer. A tall figure emerged from the darkness and a jackal's head came into your field of vision.Your eyes widened and you swallowed hard as the god of the realm of the dead approached you.

You didn't know what to do, but in the meantime he sat down next to you and you immediately stiffened.You were rarely nervous around gods. Maybe because you rarely met one. But you had immense respect for Anubis. Apart from that, you were so fascinated by him and it made you dizzy that he was sitting next to you.

"Who doesn't need it?" His gaze lowered to you and you smiled softly. There was a brief, actually, comfortable silence. You both looked at the lights of the temple where the celebration was taking place and listened to the sounds of the music.

You didn't notice how Anubi's eyes wavered on you and he scrutinized your small form. You unconsciously started shivering. The nights here were usually pretty cold. Anubis took off the cloak he had been wearing and suddenly put it around your shoulders. You flinched when you felt the warm fabric against your skin.

"Are you shivering like that because you're cold or because you're afraid of me?" The god joked and your cheeks started to glow.

"More because I'm cold. I'm not afraid of you," you replied and looked up at him. His gaze was gentle.

"Many people are afraid of me," he confessed, but his expression remained gentle. Death was his everyday life, there was hardly anything else in his life. Every day he accompanied the souls of people and picked up. You still looked at him with pity.

"I think because most people are also afraid of death," you estimated. "I mean, who isn't afraid of death? It's such an inexplicable and mysterious thing," you stared up at the starry sky, lost in thought.

"You're right, but it's part of life. Old life ends and new life begins," his gaze also turned to the sky. Then his eyes fell back on the temple and back to you. Suddenly he stood up and held out his claw to you.

"Would you like to dance?"You were taken aback by his question and your cheeks began to glow at the same time.

"I can't dance," you breathed sheepishly and a slight grin crept onto his lips. His pointed canines flashed."I'm not a really good dancer either, but I'll lead you.

"You thought about it for a moment, but then grabbed his claw and let him pull you to your feet. He gently pulled you away from the fountain and led you into the open space between the flower bushes and statues.He gently held your hands for a moment. Then he brought one of them to his shoulder and kept the other in his claw. Carefully, he placed his other claw on your hip and guided you.

You glided gently across the square and you were surprised how easy it was for you to follow him. You laughed as he lifted you into the air and spun you around. You've never felt so comfortable, especially when dancing.

"I'm really glad I got out of here," you giggle as you continue to hold on to him.

"I feel the same way. I was actually looking for peace and quiet, but I found you," his deep voice breathed and your cheeks burned again.You leaned against his chest and he did nothing about it. He enjoyed your warmth, it was a nice change from the cold death and the souls he saw.Anubis pressed you tighter against him. It suddenly felt as if you had known each other for ages, even though the god was far older than you.

Eternities passed, eternities of peace, silence and togetherness. After dancing, you sat down by the fountain and talked. But unfortunately the time came when you had to go home.

"It's getting late," you breathe a little sadly. You wanted to get up and Anubis held out his claw to help you up, but he remained seated. He didn't let go of your small hand, however, and the pad of his thumb stroked the back of your hand.

"We will meet again, (Y/n).

Tags: @akashakushrenada

[anxiousthoughts365]

Read

'Whatcha reading, Moonbeam?'

Remus didn't look up from his page. He was so engrossed in the words that he didn't care that his back and hip were aching from being crushed into the window seat of the boys' dormitory room for too long, or that the sun was dipping so low beneath the tree line of the Forbidden Forest that he was having to strain his eyes to keep reading. Even his boyfriend's proximity wasn't enough to draw his attention away.

'Muggle book,' he muttered, only half-aware of what he was saying. It wasn't until Sirius' head, cocked to one side so that he could read the tile on the book's cover, entered his line of vision that he placed a long finger between the pages to save his place and made himself look at the other boy.

'Oh, Oscar Wilde!' Sirius said, his handsome face lighting with recognition as he met Remus' surprised gaze. 'He was the guy who wrote gay poetry, right? And got sent to prison for it?'

'Sort of? He - Wait, how do you know about Oscar Wilde?' Remus blurted.

'Reggie reads,' Sirius sighed, rolling his eyes, as though being well read made his brother a lost cause. 'Then he yaps about his books to James, who yaps about them to me. Getting rather boring, to be honest.'

'Well, maybe you should read some of the books that they talk about?' Remus tried. 'You never know, you might find something you could talk to Regulus about in them.'

'Riiiiight,' Sirius drawled, shaking his head as though the idea of it was impossible. But suddenly he paused, then grinned at Remus. 'Wait, what if you read it to me?'

'You ...' Remus blinked up at his triumphant boyfriend, his mind moving slowly around the concept. 'You want me to read you The Picture of Dorian Gray?'

'Yeah! It would be brilliant!' Sirius looked smug, like he'd just solved all of the world's problems in one fell swoop.

'It's ... It's quite an old book, Pads,' Remus murmured, treading carefully with his wording.

'Alright, well, I won't touch the pages or anything.'

'No, Love, I mean ...' Remus grappled with himself for a moment before plunging on, 'The wording is quite, um, flowery? It uses a lot of old language, and it's quite hard to follow in places, and -'

'Oh,' Sirius breathed, the smile slipping from his face. Remus started to panic when he saw the walls beginning to build behind the silver eyes that he so often got lost in, and then Sirius was turning away, muttering, 'You know, Remus, if you didn't want to do it, you could have just said -'

Remus lurched out of his sitting position, wincing slightly as his joints twinged at the sudden movement. But he still managed to catch Sirius' elbow, still managed to pull him back. The barriers weren't fully in place yet, as Sirius allowed himself to be turned, so Remus began blathering.

'Alright, look, it was written in the 1800s, and it was illegal to be gay back then, so Wilde couldn't just write an openly gay novel. He had to use a lot of imagery and careful language to hide what he meant. It's a story about love and obsession and how those things can easily become confused, but because of the style of the writing it's not as thrilling as a spy book or a crime novel. It's not that I don't want to read to you. I would love to read to you. But I just wanted you to know what you were in for, and that it's OK if you get bored and want to go do something else, yeah?'

Remus waited for a heartbeat, then two, panting slightly from his rant. But finally, Sirius softened, his eyes losing that harshness, and he lifted one hand to cup Remus' jaw.

'I think you could read me Hogwarts: A History from cover to cover, and it would be the most fascinating thing I'd ever heard,' Sirius murmured, the sincerity in his voice making Remus melt.

'Well, we'll see,' he rumbled, smiling when Sirius' thumb stroked gently over his cheekbone. Silent thanks for catching him before he spiralled. Remus turned his head to press a kiss against the other boy's pale wrist, then added, 'Could we move to the bed, though? My back is killing me.'

'Just say the word,' Sirius purred, and Remus chuckled at the elusion to one of their favourite songs. Quite an apt song, really, for the moment.

He allowed Sirius to pull him to his feet, and in no time they were curled up on Sirius' bed, with Remus' back well supported by numerous cushions and Sirius splayed out on his front, his head on Remus' chest, arms wrapped around his waist and hips nestled between his thighs. Remus opened the book at the first page.

'The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses,' he began. 'And when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.'

'Sounds lovely,' Sirius sighed, his voice already heavy and relaxed. And Remus couldn't help smiling as he tangled his fingers into his boyfriend's long black hair, and read.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

There's something that's been bothering me for a while now, in terms of bnha's ending and it's final canon pair. I had a hard time understanding the way people seen to interpret their "superiority" over other pairs because they are "pure, healthy and wholesome", adding in how strange the author's intentions came across, and just feeling even more confused.

Until i came across a NileRed video of all things. (It feels so bizarre bringing such a random video to this discussion but bear with me lmao) Where he attempted to make "the world's purest cookie" by creating it in a lab, basically. Using the purest form of every ingredient he was able to find because "well it's pure, so it must be better, right?". And it was very amusing watching a guy who never baked before struggle to make even something so basic, with a decent, easy recipe. Everyone was excited until it came time to taste it, and it ended up being the blandest thing he's ever tasted.

And then another youtuber, Ann Reardon, who's a professional baker, not only explained the wrong in the use of the ingredients showed in the video, but also tested the recipe he used normally, and the result was just a nice choc chip cookie. There was nothing wrong with it.

Nile's entire problem was that he didn't know a thing about the nuances of baking as a science of it's own, and only went by what he, a chemist with no experience in baking, thought would work the best.

To me, that is literally that pair's entire existence in physical form. People in favor of it use the first basis of how "pure and predictable" is good regardless, because they deemed it inherently healthy but didn't bother with actually analysing it further. The story had the recipe for a regular, typical shonen romance, but both use of it and ingredients were all totally wrong.

And the author, not having any experience with writing romance, did what he thought was best, (maybe because he liked them together and was attached), but fumbled tremendously when he realized he wouldn't be able to make them happen organically, because it was too late, it didn't fit anywhere else in the story, and there were too many things in the way as well. So he did what he could to side step them into a believable conclusion, but in doing so, he sacrificed his story's flavor and complexity for something that fell flat and became unpopular among true fans of the series.

"I think that my interpretation of purity was naive... Purity didn't have anything to do with flavor or smell or texture. Purity is its own thing, and if you want to achieve true purity, you must sacrifice everything. Everything that makes it worth it."

(fantastic quote from the NileRed NileBlue video)

Anon, you've really charmed me with this metaphor, and I think it works. The details get a little fuzzy once you know that the "pure" ingredients he got are actually made so you know exactly what's in them, not necessarily so that they are impurity-free. But he still applied an extreme level of hubris in using chemistry lab materials to make a "perfect" or "better" cookie, without understanding anything about the very different science that is baking. Like, he didn't know what baker's chocolate even is. Besides, what he sought was impossible, because chocolate practically cannot be made 100% without "bug parts" etc. And in the end, he made a really fucking terrible cookie anyway. I'm fascinated by the fact that it didn't even have a smell...

I'm definitely not one to judge ships against each other to say that one is inherently better, but when the other side keeps pushing this idea of purity, it does make me pause. Do they like it because it's bland? Because it ticks off all their morality requirements? Because it affirms their idea of normal? Honestly I'd have a lot more respect for them if they openly rejected what the source material has given them in favor of what their own imaginations can come up with. Some do, to be sure, but most still try to defend canon. Come on. Give them something to struggle with each other over and grow from. Anything but this constant unspoken blushing awkwardness.

I do want to put a small wrinkle in what you've said, though. I don't want to assume Horikoshi was doing what he thought was best with 431. Think about it this way. If he, much like many shonen mangaka like Oda for example, set out to write a story where romance is not the focus because he wasn't interested in writing those kinds of plots, but instead more interested in developing plots that are based in politics, friendship, family, sacrifice, and examining the dichotomy of "good" and "evil," why not maintain that priority through the end? Why would he spend dozens of pages systematically dismantling everything he cared about in the first place for the sake of something he clearly viewed as secondary? Like yeah, maybe he did think they were cute and was still attached to the idea of them ending up together, but I can't believe he thought they were worth this much compared to everything else he actually put effort into.

However, this "pure cookie" metaphor you've made fits quite well with how publishing can operate, where the rules of marketing are often erroneously applied to art of storytelling, like lab chemistry to baking. The things that give the story its uniqueness and flavor are refined and boiled down for the sake of making it predictable, benign, safe, easy to digest. So it can sell. So it can avoid controversy with conservative society. I'm honestly really sick of debating all the points of this ending as if they are definitely 100% only Horikoshi's vision or personal mistakes. We really don't know that and maybe we never will. I for one at least hope that we keep in mind that censorship is still a very real and current issue, and I'm not going to speak ill of the dead, as it were.

btw, I was largely inspired by this thread about Steven Universe on twitter, and tbh I include this reasoning not just for 431, but other things along the way, especially the last 10-15 chapters or so.

[dragonzfanfics11]

Request - Hii I don't think your asks are on but I really wanted to request a Kit x reader where Kit sees the reader and instantly is infatuated with her to the point where he gets side tracked on his mission with Jentry and becomes borderline obsessed with reader! Thank you In advance ❤️ @soobins--dimple

I'm gonna try my best with this request I've never wrote for an obsessed character I think nor have I wrote for kit yet so I hope this turns out like you expected!!

warnings - probably spelling errors, might be more f!pov then gn, nothing else I think? Let me know if there is more

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Kit walked into the school as the 'new student'. His only focus was to find jentry for his mission. Well....that was until he saw you.

He say jentry in the hall at her locker and thought it'd be a perfect time to get closer to her since she was alone. Class was just about to start so there was a few students rushing to get there things to get to class on time including jentry as he made his way in her direction.

Just as he was halfway down the hall you were just rounding the corner in a rush to get to class and before he could react you ran right into him and both of you tumbled to the ground from the suddenness of the impact.

you ended up falling on top of him, some of your papers scattering onto the floor as he let out a small yelp of surprise, not expecting to be rammed into so suddenly.

"Oh shoot-- I'm sososo sorry I didn't see you!"

You quickly apologized as you pushed yourself off of him and scrambling to grab your papers in hoped to maybe still make it to class

"It's fine just slow down next-"

He froze mid sentence once he actually got a good look at you, you were stunning. Like no other person he's seen before you were breathtaking.

He stares at you for a moment as tou gather your papers, completely entranced by you before realizing he probably looks weird and quickly sits up. Grabbing one of the lost papers that ended up next to him and holding ut out to you.

"Uh here you go.."

"thank you, sorry again for bumping into you like that. I hope I didn't hurt you with how hard we fell"

You say with a small nerves chuckle as you gently take the paper from him. He thought your smile and laugh were beautiful.

"Nono- it's perfectly fine, it wasn't to bad of a fall"

he said with a small nerves smile. All his usual confidence he had with other people seemed to just vanish as he started talking to you. You quickly stood up once you gathered all your papers and offered a hand to help kit up.

He took your hand after a moment. He quickly noticed the warmth and softness of your hand as you helped him up still admiring how beautiful you were.

You smile at him and you both just stand there silently for a moment till suddenly the bell rings and you both quickly remembered there's still classes.

"Oh! Sorry uh- it was nice to meet you!"

You say quickly before rushing to class

"Wha- hang on-!"

He attempted to stop you but you were already gone.

after that he's been thinking more and more about you then his mission with jentry. He'd instantly notice you in hallways or in the classes you both shared. Even in the school gatherings or events he could find you in the crowd almost instantly.

He talked to you evry chance he got and you both quickly became close friends!

~

Headcanons cuz I can't think of how to continue~~

As he got closer to you as friend he'd follow you around like a lost puppy

Loves asking about all your likes and interests and trys to learn a bit about each of them, like that scean when him and jentry were eating chips and talking about that band (forgot what it was called lol)

He almost completely forgets about his mission with jentry as he started talking and hanging out with you

He probably switched some of his classes so they'd match yours and trys to partner up with you during projects

Completely fascinated whenever you show him something you like or really even just smile at him 😭

Constantly trys to think of ways to tell you he's not human and thinks maybe he shouldn't tell you cuz he doset want you to see him as a monster like everyone else 🥲

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

I hope it turned out like you were expecting!!

Also for people wondering, no this does not mean my requests are open i just felt like writing a bit when they messaged me!! I really prefer getting requests when they are open so plz don't start sending requests through messages to much! Have a good day/night 😋

[doubledeadstudio]

Finally got the courage to ask a question (Happy New Years Eve/ Day whenever you see this) but just a general question

What was the creative process of making Reanimated Heart, Another Rose in his Garden and Pygmalion’s Folly? What was the inspiration behind those three games? What was your favorite one to work on? Do you plan to make new games in the future?

Happy New Year to you too, anon! I love questions like these. The development and creative process is something I'm very passionate about.

Creative Process? Inspiration? (Just shoving both of this in one, long discussion about how these things came to be)

Okay, you guys will probably think I'm an insane person, so let me explain how I got started on them...

I first started with RH (of course) when my friend Tay told me about this game she was playing where a character really resembled Crux (it was Markus from Red Embrace: Hollywood). And I played it because of that, and I was like, damn??? He really does? And I was on the path of my artist journey that I was like looking at the game assets and the dialogue and stuff where I was like... Wait, I can do that. I can write like this. I can draw everything. Who's stopping me? I had a dream with the tree, and I started writing dialogue in "hypothetical" VN scenarios, and I was like... okay, fuck it, I already got disowned by my family and I wanna kill myself, I've got nothing left to lose.

So I started pre-development for Reanimated Heart and wrote like about 20,000+ words, made sprites and backgrounds, spent an ungodly amount of money for music and fonts and did research, and released the Prologue on itch. It ended up kind of a flop? And I was honestly so mad for years LMFAO, but I kept at it because I liked making it. And then a fan, Ashe, contacted me out of nowhere and suggested I improve my socials. (Thanks Ashe.)

All in all, I think that, if RH never gathered attention... I would still be making it, but releases would've been shorter and weirder, and it wouldn't have the level of polish it does now because "nobody's playing this shit anyway." But having a fandom motivates me to push past my comfort, and inspires me to do releases semi-regularly. So, thank you guys for the support. :>

Anyway, enough RH rambling. Another Rose happened because a couple of members in the chat (I remember Maz and Chat in particular) kept joking about Omegaverse and I've never like... consumed any Omegaverse before, and I literally had no fucking clue what it was other than mpreg and werewolves. And I was like drinking that day and I got intrigued. And I kept thinking about the scenarios and became like ACTUALLY invested, but I didn't know anything about it still, so I kept asking Maz about it and she really helped hash out the "lore" and gave me really good scene suggestions. I honestly think Another Rose is the most indulgent of all my games because...

First of all, it's just straight porn. Second, aside from the quality of the work, I don't think about the audience, at all. There's only a price point to it but it's basically like a smut novel with some path deviations (that also just read to different porn)? Third, I'm like... I'm not going to lie, obsessed with my husband's OC Mars. And it's funny af to me how people ended up disliking him, because this whole game was like just my personal (smutty) love letter to how much I love that godawful man.

For Pygmalion's Folly... There had been long discussions in my server about murdersims. I'll be honest, I didn't get them at first, but I think Adri framed it in a way that I understood it, which was like... it was a morbid fascination to how bad things can get in situations like that. So I ended up playing the first BTDs and obsessively finished TPOF to the point I was having dreams about it, and I'm not going to lie, I had a dream! Again!! And it was Florentin killing the MC over and over. I woke up in a haze and wrote like the first 3000 words of the game in a frenzy with just 2 hours of sleep, and I was like, okay. This is getting made for sure. And because Adri was the avid murdersim fan, I consulted with them about the game, and they were the one that suggested the stats system, as well as some scenarios for endings.

So I guess tl;dr I cannot explain how I make games to you guys because they just kind of form when I'm drunk or get prophetic dreams.

Favorite to Work On?

Honestly, I loved working on all of them equally, believe it or not. (I equally also hate all of them when I'm crunching for the release. /jk)

The thing about these characters is that they're all OCs that are near and dear to my heart, ones that I've had for YEARS (I've had Vin for 12 years, can you imagine that?), and seeing all of them in action excites me so much.

I love that I got to make Abel the protag and I love that I got to put him in fun, sexual situations. I love that I managed to show off Florentin's special powers, and draw amazing grisly CGs with him. I love that Black, Vin and Crux are different, romanceable characters, that you can go to their houses, that you can see CGs with them, that you can follow their character development and be invested in their secrets, that they even have awesome voice actors that bring them to life!

And I love that so many of you also love them too, and write fic of them and draw them... Honestly, that's already my dream, and I'm so happy about it.

New Games in the Future?

Absolutely, yes! I got the VN dev bug and you guys will have to chase me out of here, LMAO.

But this year, considering how busy I'd be... I'd say probably not in case something really pushes me to make something (like, I had an idea I can't stop thinking about). My top priority right now is Reanimated Heart's Chapter 1 finale, and I have some free DLC I'm thinking of adding for Another Rose and Pygmalion's Folly, so those will probably get prioritized first.

[itsallmouthwashing]

Tulpar Band AU- Character descriptions/some lore PART 2

Uh okay fellas- I had to use piccrew since I'm bad at art (good thing @living-stain is keeping me fed WOOF) and I'll include some more facts about them! This is part 2 of the Tulpar Band AU character descriptions! (Part 1)

(MAYBE I NEED TO CLARIFY MAYBE NOT BUT THE ART IS DONE MY @living-stain!!!!!!! Please show him some love!!)

JIMMY ZARE- Scream Vocals and Guitar

Learned guitar pretty early in life. His parents would often drop him at the local YMCA and he took an instant interest to making music. One of the instructors there also taught him how to write songs and write music!

That instructor also listened to a lot of metal music! Little Jimmy was fascinated with it and demanded the instructor teach him how to do the monster voice thing. (Instructor learned how, just for him) (Jimmy ate up every bit and even made notes in his journal!)

Has perfect pitch! It drives him crazy sometimes when he hears a sound- any sound- and can immediately know what note it is. Although, sometimes the crew will 'test' him. They'll make random noises and ask to identify it

Music was a great outlet for him, so all of his songwriting is very personal to him and exposing himself was something he had to come to terms with if he wanted to start a band and use his songs

he starts a journal of songs and notes about making music and carries it with him almost everywhere. It's where all of his lyrics are stored, where all of his feelings are stored. They have no place in his heart, so they must be put somewhere else

Started smoking cigarettes at age 9 when he snuck one out of his parent's stash. They caught him, but just gave him his own pack and lighter in response (shitty Jimmy parents that I created, when I get you- Jimmy's parents when I get you-)

Becomes a dealer at the high school but low-key only sells to people he trusts (aka people he knows for sure are stoners and don't want to ruin the one plug that will sell to them)

Curly gets him to stop when they form Tulpar, but Jimmy still gets supplies for the two of them (he doesn't know WHERE Daisuke heard about him still selling, but it leads to Tulpar's full formation so whatever)

Smashed some motherfucker's guitar on their first day of high school. Yes, Jimmy was bragging about having perfect pitch, but he didn't expect so many goddamn kids to want him to tune their guitars for class. So when this kid with too blond hair and a grating fucking accent, he finally had enough, and all the annoyance and impatience came out in a violent swing to the ground with that kid's guitar in hand

GRANT CURLY- Main Vocals and Guitar

Picked up guitar the summer before he moved to America. His freshman year of high school is when he was able to commit the most of his time to practice and learned how to play through school

First day of school had his guitar smashed. He brought his own from home not knowing there would be instruments provided, and the kid who smashed it had to pay Curly and his family himself to replace it (Curly parents could replace it no problem, it wasn't a financial thing. And Curly feels bad about this fact for 0.2 seconds before he's searching for new guitars on the internet)

Always had a knack for singing. His dad was actually in a band when Curly was growing up, and while his dad played drums he loved to sit in on practice and sing along.

Karaoke? What was that blond blur just now? That was Curly getting first in line

Develops an alt style thanks to Jimmy, molds it to a more 'classy' look by wearing button-downs and suit pieces (someone said he looked great in a button-down and he decided it was the only thing he would wear ever)

Jimmy got him hooked on cigarettes during their freshman year of high school. He literally cannot got thirty minuets without a cigarette. He's insecure about the smell that lingers on him, so he also carries a bottle of cologne with him almost everywhere

DAISUKE JUAREZ - Drums and Synth/Keyboard

Had an interest in piano when he was younger and kept up with it as he learned drums at 12

Between piano lessons and school, he played baseball at his after-school care program. He really enjoyed it, playing baseball through middle and high school and eventually getting a scholarship based on his skill! he has to juggle Tulpar and his college baseball career, so sometimes they need to schedule around Daisuke

His parents are stupid rich and have lots of connections in production. Both parents work in Hollywood (as what? Beats me him!)

Daisuke is sent to a new high school when he turns 18 (which is junior year. his parents let him finish the year but send him to a state of his choosing to finish high school and experience life on his own) (yes they spy on him through Swansea)

Clicks with Anya instantly when he find out they both just moved to the state the same year. Quickly finds out she's a little bit of a goody-two-shoes (he changes his)

ANYA MUSUME

Picked up bass when she was 13 when she started listening to music. Honestly, she felt bass was a super underrated instrument (and that it was harder to pick up than other instruments). Her dad bought her first bass!

It's been Anya and her father for as long as she could remember. Her mom stayed behind in their home country (I'll figure it out) as they all planned to move to America, but she never made it to them. She suddenly became ill and passed away. This all happened when Anya was very young, so she has little memory of it. But her father does break down when she names her bass after her mom :)

Her and her father moved to a different state during her senior year of high school for reasons unknown to her. Sometimes she overheard hushed phone calls in the kitchen, or notices his shifting eyes in public spaces.

She meets Daisuke in a business studies class and the two take on the first few weeks of school together! It's not until Daisuke tells her that there's someone on campus that sells the good shit and they agree to meet at the dealer's spot that they meet Jimmy and Curly!

Curly and Daisuke have Gym at the same time, so that interaction was nice ("Word?" "Word." "I didn't know you were chill like that.")

The four of them hang out plenty after that!

SWANSEA (LASTNAME?)- Manager (I COULDNT FIND A GOOD PICCREW IM SORRY :(

Part of Pony Express Record's staff of managers. They refuse to hire more, so usually managers are looking after two or more bands at a time. This is also true for Swansea!

Daisuke's parents call in a favor he's owed them for some time, and of course it's for their precious baby boy. And of course he can't say no

He oversee's Tulpar's progress as a unit, coaches them individually on what industry standards are for musicians and then as a group for synergy, blending, and other factors that could risk their signing.

No matter how many times Swansea tells Jimmy his shit wont fly at P.E Records, Jimmy writes what he wants anyways. And the band rallies behind him. And somehow it fucking works

On top of being Tulpar's manager, he also kinda becomes Daisuke's babysitter (on his parents wishes. "Well, you're going to be over there anyways! I don't see the big deal in reporting back to us about what he's- how he's doing :)")

[artytaeh]

everyone sees lorenze as a sweetheart but in the fic he was introduced in he was a dick, and on tiktok there's this whole thing where he would sleep with girls and then log the points he made by sleeping with them in a little black book, then compare scores with the other boys (i think it was 20-pureblood, 10 or 15- halfblood and 5-muggleborn), so how do you see him? (and can you write some hc's for him lile you did with mattheo please?)

anyways, love ur writing, and hope you have a great day!

A STUDY-CASE OF LORENZO BERKSHIRE; based on personal headcanons. 𓂃 ࣪ ✽ ˒

even though lorenzo doesn't have the same destroying coping mechanisms as mattheo or theodore, it's dangerous to assume that he's a sweetheart. if anything, it's a carefully built persona, a mask that he wears rather than claims as his own personality.

warnings: mentions of trauma, and mature contents advised to +18 readers; read at your own risk and responsibility.

MOST PEOPLE FORGET THAT LORENZO IS A SLYTHERIN— this man is cunning. to the point where people might raise an eyebrow at that.

from childhood, lorenzo learned some survival skills: to observe is to learn how to properly behave depending on the ambience, or the people that surround you. to observe is to learn how to act with certain people, nevermind if you agree with them or not. to observe is to know which mask to wear that would benefit you the most.

you see, lorenzo was more of a lucky child than his half-brother, mattheo riddle; the two were born from the same insane mother, who gave birth to lorenzo first as a riddance of her arranged marriage— lorenzo was freedom, was the one thing she had to do to leave that boring, unsatisfying life that her sister, narcissa black, submitted herself to.

after lorenzo, well, bellatrix lestrange was free to openly show her true colors, not having to poorly hide her affairs with dark magic and fascination for the dark lord— betraying mr. berkshire, lorenzo's father, who was unsure whether this was a good outcome (getting a heir and getting rid of such an unstable woman), or a terrible one for his reputation.

so really, mattheo would argue that growing up away from their mother was a blessing, that lorenzo should be thankful for.

lorenzo berkshire never felt that way.

in fact, lorenzo has a deep feeling of envy, in my perspective. never enough for his mother, who didn't even decide his name— his problems never worrisome or considered within his group, not when mattheo riddle exists, not since theodore's mother died. hell, even draco seemed to have a worse life than him.

to me, despite being more of a trio with theodore and mattheo since childhood, lorenzo has the most empathy and "light feelings" with blaise. since, well, they look like the most lighthearted and objectively happy of the group.

THE LACK OF HIS MOTHER'S PRESENCE had always cut deep within lorenzo: it brought a resentment fueled by envy, jealousy even, ever since his childhood.

looking at other children with their mothers, receiving loving hugs or even scoldings, was something that lorenzo deeply ached for. a maternal presence in his life, someone who cares— his father did the best he could, and honestly, not being related to the dark lord's affairs like draco, theodore and mattheo's family are, well, it was a blessing and offered a much lighter ambience at home.

still. lorenzo berkshire didn't know what to do with all that hatred bubbling inside of him. his family members, his teachers— everyone would praise lorenzo for his beautiful and delicate looks, how well-spoken he is; such a blessed child, right?

then why the fuck wasn't lorenzo worthy of a mother? what did mattheo have that lorenzo doesn't, what is so much more interesting about mattheo that lorenzo lacks— to the point of his mother not even knowing his name?

lorenzo finds it unfair. it's unfair, and behind that sweet smile of his, there's a brewing anger, resentment, jealousy that are dangerously close to explode. the day lorenzo explodes, well, hogwarts might blow to debris as well.

it didn't matter how much of a good father charles berkshire attempted to be; where do you think that lorenzo learned his womanizer ways into the world? seeing his father flirtatiously seduce maids, bring home women that felt awkward under his childlike gaze, how girlfriends rarely stayed for longer than a few months. enzo always wondered if love was meant to have a term. like food, if that make sense; in short time, it'll rot, if you don't consume.

so really, the lack of a maternal presence was what made lorenzo ache for a sense of validation. female validation, to be specific.

( yes, the type of friend who becomes your mother's favorite. lorenzo aches to be the slightest bit loved by them; he's specially close to narcissa, his aunt, since she shares the same blood as his mother. other than narcissa, lorenzo really likes and admires mrs. zabini too. )

draco malfoy is his childhood friend; they're cousins, berkshires and malfoys being two influential families that joined their heirs to be good friends since birth. theodore sparked interest in lorenzo since day one, even though he had been introverted back then. blaise came as a package deal with draco, hence why they have an amicable friendship. and mattheo, well, he... sparked different things in enzo that fueled that dangerous anger that he keeps hidden under wraps.

at first, this group seemed promising to one thing: popularity, and lorenzo ached to be a cool kid. gradually, enzo stopped perceiving them as a means to an end, and began to become truly attached to his friends. to the point where yes, lorenzo berkshire is the one to separate fights, or to keep an eye out to assure that professors won't interrupt his friends' fistfights.

even so, lorenzo feels lonely or an outcast sometimes. draco and blaise were birds of a feather ever since the first days of friendship; theodore and mattheo shared too many matching wounds. despite his proximity with both mattheo and theodore, lorenzo often felt like they were the duo in a trio. in the end, he had no one to claim as his person, nevermind how he's the one who ached for it the most.

LORENZO BERKSHIRE IS A HOPELESS ROMANTIC; dreaming with love at first sight, believing that he'd only settle down for this one goddess, this perfect woman he'd only have eyes for. genuinely, lorenzo believes that everyone has their assigned soulmate, that the one exists. and here between us, lorenzo is dying to meet the love of his life; he has high expectations of the world stopping the moment he sees her, of being tongue-tied on her presence. all of those romance book cliches.

so, in a way, all of these gentlemanly acts, this effort to get to know many people, specially girls... it's all for the sake of his goal: finding this girl that will stop his world.

and as romantic as it can be, such a thing makes lorenzo berkshire become... an asshole.

so he becomes anxious. each girl he dates, he'll anxiously expect or wonder if she's the one for him. this anxiety brings him to be a bit mean, and an inconsequent jerk, who'd find faults in all of the girls he dated for more than a week; by the end of the month, he'd have a whole brainstorming session on his notebook (that bloody, cruel notebook of his) weighting the qualities over their flaws.

and so he'll daydream— and test them. watching closely how they react to this and that, a strange analogy for situations of daily life; a taste of what would be like settling for such a woman. if it's worth it. if he likes it. if their reactions are charming to his eyes.

if he's dissatisfied, well; he'll dump them. lorenzo berkshire has a big heart, meant to love and show the outmost affection—

and even though he'll make a girl feel like a princess, like the most important, prettiest, most special girl at school... one day he'll treat you as the most special, ethereal person that ever existed in the earth— on the other one he won't even spare a glance at you.

LOVE BOMBING works that way. because as soon as lorenzo is bored or dissatisfied, he'll leave; the interest, the thrill of the chase, learning the way to their bodies and what makes them laugh, swoon, blush, give him a cute reaction — after all of that, well.

lorenzo berkshire will be bored.

and leave their lives as fast as he came.

and well, enter the little black book !

you see, for how much of an asshole that lorenzo truly is, is a bit hidden under the wraps; (mattheo doesn't have much of a problem showing it, since his father's reputation got people assuming terrible things about him since day one), but lorenzo berkshire is more discreet.

for those of you who don't know, the little black book is a hard covered notebook, with blank pages meant to be filled with... well, rudely given scores and opinions that should've never been verbalized. as anon mentioned on their ask: this is a game between him and mattheo; like quidditch, you score more and more points to your team.

with this one, each girl they sleep with, adds more points to their game. raised with the pureblood supremacy ideology implanted on their minds, the points were given like this:

⭑ 20 points, if the girl is a pureblood;

⭑ 10 points, if the girl is a halfblood;

⭑ 5 points, if the girl is a mudblood muggle born.

mattheo being lorenzo's partner on this whole little black book deal is a bit of a... tricky situation.

at first, it served as a competition; to prove to himself that he's better than his half-brother, after all. then, it became mean conversations that unintentionally brought the boys together as genuinely good friends who appreciate spending time together.

suddenly, lorenzo doesn't hate mattheo anymore, and starts perceiving him as who he really is, instead of that nemesis he created inside his head— the boy who stole his mother's attention.

SMARTER THAN WHAT PEOPLE GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR. it's part of his sweetheart persona, to make sure people underestimate him; sure, don't worry about lorenzo — look at him, do you really think he'd punch a guy?

(he would. lorenzo rarely gets himself into fights, for the sake of not getting bruises on his face and his reputation; but this guy is feral. get lorenzo berkshire angry enough, and mattheo and theodore have to join forces to separate lorenzo from his adversary.)

enzo won't punch or be aggressive to anyone in public. if anything, he might get them at a secluded corner of the castle and give them a very obvious warning.

but his preferred strategy is to innocently spread gossip about the people that harm his friends. you said that theo had cocaine? funny— it seems like you slept with a professor and got an abortion during christmas break. lorenzo isn't afraid to spread gruesome rumors like that. so be smart and don't start shit with his friends either.

lorenzo also has a hard time knowing himself. in a sense that, because lorenzo shapes himself to adjust to each social circle, he gets lost between the many masks he used throughout his life.

is he capable of being a sweet person, or is he just a really bad guy? lorenzo sees things as extreme. black or white. day or night. the sun or the moon. good or evil. right of wrong. that might be why he has a hard time believing in what people say about him; as in, if you praise lorenzo of being a good friend, he'll have his doubts about that— a good friend wouldn't do the things he's done, or felt jealousy towards them. a good friend wouldn't resent his friends for having problems seemingly bigger than his, right?

( rip lorenzo berkshire you would have loved personality quizzes. )

lorenzo also tends to have a certain distortion of his problems. the issue here is, the minor problems are seen as extreme, alas the truly worrisome ones, diminished. enzo knows when someone is abused — but does he allow himself to feel bad about the grown woman who was his first time at fourteen? no—no. he should like it. boys will be boys. and when everyone patted his back and treated him like a king afterwards, lorenzo felt bad about wanting to throw up.

QUALITIES THAT HE POSSESSES, rather than just spitting out my insight of lorenzo's struggles and some flaws of his, are:

⭑ knows how to treat a woman,

lorenzo is a friend to many girls, and having seeked both comfort and validation from the female audience, interacting so much with the opposite gender offered experience. not just to fuck or making out— lorenzo genuinely has some girl friends that he considers as people he sincerely likes; most of these friends, depending on their personality (cough how enzo judges whether they'd be able to survive his friends' bullshit cough), lorenzo will warn his slytherin friends to find another prey to pester.

besides, he's the one who mostly advises his friends. surely, theodore has good experience with women at his feet, and mattheo knows how to flirt with a girl— however, both suck at apologizing, or redeeming for their mistakes, even though they're not feeling the guilt they should feel.

lorenzo sympathizes with that, but bloody hell, morons— just go get her a bouquet of her favorite flowers and say some sappy bullshit! lorenzo isn't sure whether his friends are ignorant idiots, or if he's somehow included in girl code. lorenzo berkshire promises that it's not that hard to understand women, much less how to treat one right.

( emotionally speaking, well... sometimes lorenzo fails at that. horribly. still, his motto is to make girls cry on his tongue, not for his actions. break her bed, not her heart! )

⭑ the greatest at social gatherings,

hence why lorenzo will be the perfect boyfriend to your parent's eyes; a charming smile, polite and doesn't force any sympathy to be casted upon him. lorenzo's ability to perform in the pureblood society, at home, in hogwarts with different social circles, allowed him to master the art of adapting into the necessary mask. besides, he's a mother's favorite; should you and lorenzo berkshire ever break up, your mother will cry.

⭑ as i've stated before— acts of service,

lorenzo's most genuine display of care is by acts of service. gifts if he wants to impress, physical touch if he wants to seduce— so the things he does for his slytherin friends are the most sincere from him.

⭑ ‌looking out for any professors or filch, to make sure that no one interrupts his friend's brawls; if necessary, lorenzo is one to step up on the fight as well, if things feel unmatched for mattheo or theodore.

⭑ ‌taking care of their drunk selves, even to the point of tolerating them throwing up at each corner of their shared bathroom (a nightmare, i'll tell you.); lorenzo will drop whatever he's doing to make sure that his friends are hydrated, comfortable and sleeping soundly on their beds.

⭑ ‌brings annotations and whatnot to help them at a certain subject. lorenzo has connections and is an acquaintance to many, so really, getting these wasn't that hard.

⭑ ‌saves their preferred dessert or breakfast meal, since lorenzo is very pontual and likes to leave the slytherin's dorms early. or at least before the halls are too crowded for his liking.

⭑ knows their allergies. once saved blaise from suffocating— theodore unintentionally gave him a bit of a tart that had peach. blaise is allergic to them.

⭑ isn't a materialistic person,

at least not like his cousin, draco malfoy, is; money and wealth came easy to lorenzo's life, surely, however he doesn't perceive it as something that dictates a family's value. hence why lorenzo also doesn't look at price tags— knowing that the berkshire's vault at gringotts would be full for many generations to come, but also because money is a trade needed to survive amidst society. besides, lorenzo has money to spoil you! otherwise, why would he need this much?

not looking at price tags might make him a bit ignorant about stuff he buys. 'this? oh, i thought it was cool– does this brand cost five hundred galleons? oh, i wasn't aware.' — won't be able to explain where he got his clothes from, because they might be muggle, wizardry, low cost, or at the expense of a kidney.

besides, lorenzo values handmade gifts much more than bought ones. things you buy because you know a person's tastes are just as endearing— lorenzo melts at the notion that you see him. that you notice him and what he says. even so, give this man a love letter, and he'll unironically sob (and read it every. single. night. before sleeping). this means that lorenzo will also put effort into making something for you, rather than go to the first store and buy the first thing he sees.

⭑ dresses ridiculously well,

lorenzo berkshire doesn't have to pull anything off; the man knows how to dress. an angel will spend their vacation at hell, the same day you'll see lorenzo wearing a mismatched outfit. sounds impossible, right? yeah. it doesn't matter if he's running late either; lorenzo will even show that that adds to his charm: being fashionably late.

he's a bit stingy with clothes, though. doesn't like the thought of sharing them with anyone— however he might lend hoodies, jumpers and shirts to his partner. the biggest drama queen if someone taints or ruins his clothes. if his shirt isn't perfectly ironed, he won't use it. lorenzo berkshire always looks impecable.

⭑ fiercely loyal,

slytherin and hufflepuff walk hand in hand with this one trait: loyalty. in my opinion, you won't find another house who compares to their great sense of devoted trust. lorenzo, nevermind his own mental struggles and unspoken issues, would never betray his best friends in any way.

lorenzo is the type of friend to whom you have to prove that his friends are in the wrong— the proof must be a ridiculously good argument, because even so, lorenzo will side with his friends. enzo's concern over the moralty of their actions falters, into the need of helping his loved ones out of this mess first; besides, lorenzo has a secret (yet loud) urge to be useful, to be needed, from where validation and self-esteem comes from.

🪻 ; . . . fandom : harry potter.

— once again: this is my perception of lorenzo berkshire! 🗯️ i posted this with a tinsy bit of fear, since some people might interpret lorenzo as something totally opposite to this... but oh well. i hope you liked it! you won't believe for how long i've had this for ?! and i'm still so not satisfied with it. 🙂‍↔️

the headers + gifs + icons aren't mine. credits to the respective creators ! 🌷

[pisshandkerchief]

Okay tysm I know nothing about this stuff but I’d love to hear about it. I feel like because the movie was really unengaged with the actual politics in folk music at the time and it made it really unclear how much Bob Dylan himself was engaged in the politics so I’m wondering 1 how political he was in the first place and 2 if his political engagement changed when he moved away from folk music because they definitely acted like playing electric guitar meant not doing political stuff anymore but also acted like he just liked the music more/ wanted to be disruptive so did his politics change? Was the story of the movie really ‘Bob Dylan stops caring about civil rights because he gets into the kinks yay’ because that definitely doesn’t sound right but all the politics were so vague and surface level that the political side of people’s motivations felt really unclear

rubs my hands together in a delighted fashion. ok this is a question I can actually somewhat answer for you so let's get into it.

No, his politics didn't change because he moved away from folk music. there's two things it's important for you to know: one, Bob Dylan didn't start with folk music. He was into early rock and rhythm and blues first. this guy wasn't listening to Woody Guthrie from day one, he was listening to Elvis and Muddy Waters and Buddy Holly and Little Richard and Lead Belly. He only came to folk music later, which people at the time tended to forget about. Rock was his true passion at the start. Two, Bob Dylan never identified himself as a political song writer. He always said he didn't write about politics, he wrote about his own core values and the things he saw in the world. I'm watching a documentary about him rn called No Direction Home, and in it he says something along the lines of "you can care about a group of people without making it a political thing". I love his music and it's influenced me a lot, and I think he's a fascinating person, but I'm not a huge fan of Bob Dylan's politics myself, because I think he's always been a bit wishy-washy about what he actually believes. I understand why people were mad at the time, because he wrote all these moving songs about the civil rights movement and then when confronted about them later he always hedged and claimed he wasn't trying to be political even though at the time he clearly was. I think he's more of a liberal than a true leftist. There were real leftists in the folk revival, and they were people like Phil Ochs. In the end Bob really was in it because he wanted to be famous. I think he believed deeply in the civil rights movement because he admired a lot of black artists and truly thought that racism was nonsensical, but beyond the surface level he wasn't an activist and he never tried to present himself as one, he had that role forced upon him by people who saw him as one and wanted him to be the face of a generation and he was always very opposed to that idea, and eventually it made him cynical. I suppose his political engagement did change when he moved away from folk, because he did stop writing as many overtly political songs, but not immediately and not as drastically as people made it out to be. Bob Dylan is a complicated person who a lot of people tried to box into being one thing or the other and in the end all he really wanted was to get out of those boxes. It's difficult to know what was going on in his head because for years he was a very private person who very intentionally worked to make sure nobody knew his true thoughts on anything.

To put it simply, yes, when he went electric he stopped writing music that people could see as overtly political. But I don't think his beliefs changed. I think it's an early case of people having a parasocial relationship with their favorite celebrity and painting him as more leftist than he really was. He wasn't a political activist, he was a performer. And he never pretended to be anything else.

[fischlcatgirl]

okay here are my thoughts about genshin at the moment. i have been not making this post for a little bit because it. pisses me off.

I don't know what the fuck they think they're doing with these characters. HONESTLY. yes the state of them was getting worse gradually. it doesn't take a genius to figure out that when part of a character's draw is how strong they are, in order to get people to buy more and more characters, they have to get stronger and stronger.

but what felt before like a gradual incline turned into a fucking cliffside when natlan dropped and mualani was released at a similar power level to neuvillette (who had just just just powercrept every other hydro dps) WITHOUT the same investment or supports he needed.

The problem I think really is not the character kits themselves. It's not that they're out of ideas. It's just that the multipliers are fucking crazy. and to be frank!! I don't think i've seen one person who is happy with the direction things seem to be going.

i can't deny that there are a lot of good older characters and i wouldn't try to. I am. and perhaps will forever be. a fischl main. (all things considered a very lucky main pick. i considered xinyan) But i am annoyed by ccs who will try to tell you that international is still perfectly abyss viable. like girl. go play international then. go play kokomi taser. go play morgana.

content that should be designed to be challenging mechanically is NOT because it's way easier and more profitable to create a situation where the game looks you dead in the face and goes. drop 2000$ for c2 mauvika and citlali and just kill the enemies before they 1-shot you. otherwise enjoy the next half hour of restarting the chamber.

the fact that they changed the rules for the chronicled wish to put shenhe on rather than let go of hu tao, especially when they have arlecchino right there to give as many regular reruns as they want, is particularly scummy. especially after over a year of shenhe not having a rerun. incredibly nasty. just a flagrant display of how little they care about the feelings of their players as compared to their bottom line.

They're a business. Whatever. That doesn't make it cool or right.

I love genshin's story. I'm concerned for its direction. I'm concerned for the writing of its characters. Maybe I'm missing something, but Mualani's hydro vision doesn't represent jack shit in terms of a duality of character. Citlali could have been absolutely fascinating but has instead been reduced to a tusundre love interest for the traveller to a degree they didn't even inflict on Ayaka. We're supposed to see playable Skirk soon-ish, which I would love to be excited about but tbh with how they handled citlali (another woman who is hundreds of years old and incredibly powerful) I am preparing myself for disappointment.

WHICH SUCKS! I love genshin! I love it! I think that it started out a good game, and that it could be a good game again. Who knows? Maybe natlan will be the character-release equivalent of inazuma's story quest: kind of bad, but with much better things after it. Maybe they'll finally start running three characters at once. Maybe Childe will come back and I will forget my troubles again. I will quit genshin once it becomes virtually unplayable, or once they start releasing doubles of the same character, whichever comes first.

tldr; natlan powercreep needs to end and i really hope they don't fumble any more characters like they did citlali, but ultimately i still really like genshin and want to know where it is going.

anyway, if you got to the end of this long ass post i would love to know what you think and I would LOVE to talk about genshin i will do it until the sun comes up in the west. please talk to me about genshin

[lumaconstante]

Currents Between Worlds

You placed this request a few days ago, I apologize for the delay in delivery, I hope you like it! ✨

Summary

An AU based on The Little Mermaid, with William James Moriarty as the mermaid prince who trades his tail for the chance to live on land, and Sherlock Holmes as the eccentric human who guides him in the terrestrial world.

William's POV

The library was utterly silent, save for the soft sound of pages turning and the faint rustle of waves in the distance. Sitting on the floor, surrounded by piles of books, William hungrily scanned a volume of advanced mathematics. The faintly salty scent of his skin, still carrying the ocean's touch, mingled with the aroma of aged pages.

He had never imagined that humans stored so much knowledge on mere sheets of paper. The sea had carried these books to him years ago, remnants of a shipwreck. It was the equations and theorems that had sparked his fascination, planting the idea that the human world might offer something more than just legs.

However, living among them was far from simple. There were rules, customs, and a language he still struggled to master.

"You woke up early."

Sherlock Holmes' voice sliced through the silence like a blade. William looked up, meeting the detective's mischievous grin.

"Did you sleep last night?" Sherlock asked, eyebrows raised as he gestured dramatically at the chaos around him.

William slowly shook his head, not letting go of the book in his hands.

What followed was something he didn't expect: Sherlock threw his head back and erupted into a fit of laughter so loud and spontaneous that even the birds outside stirred.

"My dear William, if anyone saw this scene, they’d swear you’re a reclusive professor, not a… well, let’s say, curious visitor."

Sherlock approached, his steps agile and confident. He picked up one of the open books on the floor and read a passage.

"Mathematics. Always mathematics. Why not poetry? Something more… human?"

"Poetry is confusing, full of conflicting emotions," William replied with a frankness that made Sherlock raise an eyebrow.

"And mathematics isn’t?"

William didn’t answer, but the glint in his eyes said enough.

Sherlock's POV

Sherlock had always known William wasn’t like the others. From the moment he found him disoriented near the coast, there was something otherworldly about his presence. It wasn’t just his ethereal beauty or the way he seemed fascinated by the most mundane things—it was his hunger for knowledge that intrigued him the most.

Teaching William to read and write had been an unexpected challenge. For someone who already knew so much—from astronomy to navigation—he had glaring gaps in basic knowledge. But William learned quickly, absorbing everything like a sponge.

That morning, seeing him surrounded by books, Sherlock felt a strange warmth in his chest. There was something almost childlike about the way William treated the human world, as if every discovery were a rare gem.

"You should rest, you know?" Sherlock remarked, throwing himself into a nearby armchair.

"And you should stop giving advice you don’t follow," William retorted without looking up from his book.

Sherlock laughed again, but this time the sound was softer, almost affectionate.

"Touch. Capture. Counterattack," William murmured to himself, scribbling something on a sheet beside him.

"Chess?"

"A strategy I thought of for the game."

Sherlock leaned forward, his eyes gleaming.

"Oh, so now you want to challenge me?"

William looked up, and for the first time that morning, he smiled.

When the full moon finally shone in the sky, marking the final deadline for William to decide whether to remain human or return to the sea, Sherlock brought him to the top of a hill where the ocean seemed to merge with the horizon.

"You have a choice, William, but..." Sherlock hesitated, a rare moment of vulnerability surfacing. "I hope you stay."

William looked at the moon, then at the man beside him. He knew the ocean would always be a part of him, but the human world, with all its mysteries and contradictions, offered something he had never found beneath the waves: companionship.

He smiled at Sherlock, and for the first time, spoke without hesitation:

"I’ll stay."

And when Sherlock took his hand, William knew he had found his true home.

A little Mermaid Au of Moriarty the patriot. Borrowing elements of Hans Christian Anderson’s story and a little of Disney’s. With a happy ending of course. But the dead line is till the next full moon. Both William & Sherlock’s POVs.

Idea for a scene where Sherlock finds Liam in the library “your up early “. He looks around sees all the books spread out and stacked on floor. “Did you get any sleep last night?” Liam shakes his “no”. Sherlock then throws his head in hysterical laughter.

This would imply if Sherlock where to teach William to read & write. Unless he already knows how to read and only knows what he’s read in books from sunken ships about the human world. One of the ships was carrying books left behind by a university professor on broad. They were of several subjects and Willian took a liking to the books mathematics.

[abby-the-druid]

Technicolor 6

In which Sakura discovers a supernova.

read on ao3 and ff.net.

prev. chapter | next chapter

Preview:

Then.

Sakura, Sasuke found as the days blended into weeks, did indeed share smiles with strangers as if it was as easy for her as breathing. Small talk came to her as though it were second nature, effortlessly offering feedback to their fellow classmates about their art, providing analysis linking past and current events in their history class, and asking clarifying questions during calculus. It made Sasuke’s head spin, thinking about how many words she shared with people she didn’t know, how often she slipped into a smile and offered support to someone she only recognized as an acquaintance.

He understood that he fell into this latter category, though reflecting on that fact made his stomach twist uncomfortably and a bleak pit to bloom under his navel.

He found himself sitting in front of her in their history class, contained in another musty room with subpar lighting. But with the way the professor valued active learning, their desks were often pushed together and he sat across from her radiation green eyes as she smiled and shared her ideas with the other two members of their four-person squad. He refused to admit that a flicker of jealousy licked at his gut every time she blessed their idiot classmates with a smile or her attention. The boy who was partial to wearing green jumpsuits with a severe bowl cut and thick eyebrows had the ability to make her laugh, a sharp yet pleasant sound that bubbled from her chest, and Sasuke felt himself drowning in the noise, desperately wishing he had the ability to share that part of himself so freely or the skill to draw such mirth from the elf girl.

Their calculus class was bursting at the seams with students, so many were crammed into the small space that as Sasuke sat beside Sakura, their shoulders brushed, which seemed to regularly catch the quiet attention of their silver haired, navy masked professor. The first forty-five-minute period she apologized softly every time she bumped into him, a light pink color dusting her cheeks as her green eyes fluttered between Dr. Hatake, Sasuke, and her notebook. The second-class period she lost some of this embarrassment, simply sent him a lopsided smile as an apology. By the third class, she nudged closer to his side to avoid the sharp elbows of the student to her right.

Sasuke did not take this as a small victory.

He assumed Sakura just didn’t want to be constantly jostled by her other seat mate.

Telling himself this did not stifle the warmth that tinged his ears when she pressed softly against his side, smelling like daisies and coffee.

[gingermintpepper]

I know everyone knows the story of Actaeon and how he met a terrible fate by stumbling upon Artemis bathing in her forest but did you know that Actaeon was Apollo's grandson? That his father was Aristaeus, lord of the bees and the rustic arts and his mother was Autonoe, daughter of Cadmus and princess of Thebes?

Did you know he was trained by Chiron? That he was considered a hunter so skilled his talent was considered divine, that he was his parents' only child and that he was loved?

Did you know the grief that consumed the household when word of Actaeon's fate reached them? That Cadmus cut his hair, that Harmonia wept and was disconsolate and that his parents... well, Autonoe walked the length of the forest, keeping a sharp eye out for her son, but all she saw were the scattered bones of a fawn. Aristaeus too, had heard his son was torn apart and so fruitlessly, foolishly searched for the bones of a man. (There was none to be found)

Did you know that it was Actaeon's ghost, unhappy and unburied, trapped on the earth, who leaned over his sleeping father and told him of his fate? "You will not find me as you knew me, gather me as a stag." And Aristaeus immediately woke his wife and told her the truth, and together they grieved all the night long.

(Did you know that this is why Aristaeus abandons Boeotia? He could not stand the sight of it and so he went to Ceos. And there he slayed the dog-star. And there he became a healing wind. All in the name of his only son, that foolish, beloved Actaeon.)

[prettyhowlett]

I wonder how Varient!Logan wouldve felt if he saw Deadpool with his(? Our Logan's) claws.. would he have a knee-jerk reaction of "what the fuck are you doing? you DESECRATED my CORPSE?!" or just stand there in sick silence trying to not let the idea of him actually dying for real overwhelm him.