#hopping in to let him share his review :)

[shouga-nai]

Shimada Genji, survivor of the Strawberry Supreme Pizza: “It is not that bad... you need only get past the flavor, the texture, and the seven stages of grief—”

[therealcocoshady]

Kinktober - Day 6 - Sex Work

Kinktober 2024 Masterlist

A/N : For the "sex work" prompt of Kinktober 2024 I thought I'd mix it up with a request I received as well. Granted, it's playing on the words of the prompt rather than the actual theme but I hope you guys like it nonetheless ! ✨ Also, I did have a second idea, which I might end up doing too 😏

CW : Mention of sex work - Flirty texts - Mention of hook up

The studio was buzzing with energy as the podcast got underway. Marshall sat at the head of the table, wearing his usual hoodie and cap combo, arms crossed casually as he listened to the banter among the other rappers. One former D12 member had decided to launch a podcast and, when he was ask to be the first guest, he was happy to show up to support his friend. In the past years, he’d grown more and more picky when it came to doing interviews and appearances, but he was glad he did this, supporting his buddy and talking about hip-hop in general, instead of just him. It was much better than random journalists asking about his professional life. The conversation had flowed from the evolution of hip-hop to its biggest influencers, and now, they were moving into more contemporary topics—reviewing music videos from up-and-coming artists. 

He wasn’t sure what to expect when they cued up the next video for review. When the host dropped your name, though, his head perked up. You, the firecracker of a lyricist he had been « mentoring » for a while now. You weren’t to Shady Records, but you had worked together enough for him to respect your raw talent and commendable work ethic. He had been kind enough to offer some guidance and even some beats from his vault, and while you were still making your way in the industry, you had already built a reputation as an outspoken voice in the game. You had a good rapport, too. In private, you’d shared more than just a few laughs, and there was a mutual admiration that sometimes tiptoed into the realm of flirtation—compliments exchanged, gazes held a bit longer than necessary—but nothing too serious. It was always playful, a line neither of you had crossed. 

The host grinned, looking at Marshall. « So, this is Y/N’s latest track. It’s called ‘Sex Work’. You haven’t seen this one yet, have you? ».  He shook his head, a little curious but still cool. « Nah, she didn’t send it to me. ». His friend looked at him and let out a laugh. “You’re in for a surprise, then”.  The video started, and the beat dropped—a heavy bass line that immediately grabbed everyone’s attention. But it wasn’t just the music that made Marshall sit up a little straighter. The visuals hit hard. You were on-screen, dressed in bold, provocative outfits, your presence commanding the camera. The scenes shifted rapidly, moving through a series of sexually charged, daring shots. It was unlike anything you’d done before. 

You were playing with the very imagery that dominated so much of hip-hop—the kind of objectification women often faced. Except you were not the object here. She was the one in control, flipping the narrative. The lyrics hit just as hard as the visuals, each line razor-sharp, calling out the double standards in the industry, using clever wordplay ad metaphors that drew a parallel between the music industry and sex work, too. 

Marshall was caught off guard. The video was bold, even provocative. You were owning your sexuality in a way that was direct, unapologetic, and powerful. But then it hit him—some of the scenes were direct callbacks to his older videos. One shot mirrored the set of his “Superman” video, and in another, you were standing where one of his infamous adult actresses had stood, reclaiming that space. « Damn, » one of the other hosts on the podcast muttered, eyes wide. Marshall’s eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything. Not yet. The lyrics kept going, and it became clear what you were doing—turning the tables on the misogynistic narratives you had been surrounded by as an up and coming female rapper. The video wasn’t just about sex appeal; it was a statement. You were deliberately playing with the same imagery that had been used to objectify women for decades, challenging it, and throwing it back in everyone’s faces. By the time the video ended, the room was dead silent for a moment. The host was the first to speak. « Marshall, man… what are you thinking? ».  He leaned back in his chair, taking a breath. He could feel the eyes on him, waiting for some kind of reaction, maybe even expecting. You weren’t playing by anyone’s rules and it was the type of attitude he respected, especially then someone pushed the pen that far.  « Well, first off, » he said, glancing around the room before locking eyes with the host, « she killed that ». The other guys laughed, but he wasn’t joking. « She’s always been fearless with her lyrics, » he continued, « but this? This is next level. She’s calling out the hypocrisy in the industry, and she’s doing it in a way that makes you pay attention. It’s bold as hell. » He paused for a second, gathering his thoughts. « I didn’t expect her to take shots at some of the imagery I’ve used in my older videos, but I respect it. She’s making a statement. She’s an artist, it’s what she should be doing. It’s what we do as emcees, you know ?  ». The others nodded, clearly impressed with his take. « So you’re not bothered by it? I mean, some of those scenes were pretty close to your old stuff ». 

« Nah, » he said, shaking his head. « If anything, I think it’s cool. That’s the kind of artist she is—smart, sharp, and always saying something with her work. Whether it’s a track about life or, you know… this ». He chuckled a little at the end, the edge of a smirk tugging at his lips. Truth be told, he hadn’t expected you to pull something this bold. Sure, you had always been outspoken, always ready to challenge the norms, but this? This was next-level boldness.  The conversation moved on to other topics, but Marshall’s mind lingered on your video. He knew it was going to blow up and, truth be told, he was curious to know where that was headed. 

The days following the release of your music video and Marshall’s appearance on the podcast were a whirlwind of noise. Social media was ablaze with debates, and hip-hop blogs pumped out articles almost hourly, all focused on one central question: Was Y/N dissing Eminem ? Marshall, sitting in the comfort of his home, scrolled through his phone, shaking his head at the ridiculous headlines. « Y/N’s Bold Move: Diss or Power Play Against Eminem?" or  "New Queen in Town? Is Y/N Coming for Eminem’s Throne? ».  Everyone had their own theory, and the conversation was only growing louder. What had started as you making a critique of misogyny  had snowballed into a supposed rivalry between you and Em—a narrative the media had hungrily latched onto. It wasn’t surprising to anyone, though. Of course it was going to make for good headlines and farm engagement rates, even though it was a shame to have it take away from the main topic.  Interviews, radio shows, podcasts—everyone was asking the same question: What did Eminem think ? 

Marshall had been ignoring the noise for as long as he could, figuring people would see the bigger picture. But the hype refused to die down. Paul’s phone blew up with texts and calls, from journalists looking for comments to fellow artists wondering if there was any beef brewing. His team’s inbox was flooded. He wasn’t surprised that you were stirring things up—you were unapologetically yourself, always—but the whole “diss” angle? That was ridiculous. A week after the video dropped, Marshall finally caved. He knew he had to address it, especially after hearing that some major podcasts were going to dive deeper into the so-called "feud." There was no way he’d let anyone twist this into something it wasn’t. It was sort of unlike him, but he was pissed off about lies being spread and people making headlines about an imaginary feud. He wouldn’t have cared to address it if it had been anyone else, but he actually liked and respected you. He also had enough self-awareness to know that, if he let the whole thing escalate, some people would take « his side » and turn on you. Frankly, he didn’t have the time or energy for some stupid quid pro quo situation and he deemed it best to address the topic. 

That morning, he agreed to hop on a Shade45 radio show that had been asking him for a statement for days. As the interview started, the host wasted no time jumping into the topic. « Alright, Boss, we’ve got to get straight to it, » the host said, his voice filled with anticipation. « Y/N. We’ve all seen the video. She’s been pretty outspoken, and a lot of people are taking her comments about the double standards in hip-hop and the scenes from your old videos as… well, a diss. What do you think? ». Marshall took a deep breath and leaned forward into the mic, choosing his words carefully but keeping his usual bluntness. « Look, » he started, « Y/N is not dissing me. She’s not coming for me or trying to take shots.  What she’s doing is making a statement. A damn good one, too. People keep saying she’s going too far or whatever, but this is the same stuff that I, and a lot of other artists, have done for years. She’s just flipping the script, and now, suddenly, people want to act like it’s a problem ».  The host nodded, but there was still an edge of curiosity. « So, you’re not offended by her recreating some of your visuals? Some people took it as her calling you out ».  Marshall smirked, shaking his head. « Nah, man. Y/N’s one of the most talented artists out there right now. She’s smart. She’s sharp. And she’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind, even if it makes people uncomfortable. That’s what makes her great. She’s doing exactly what artists are supposed to do—make people think, make people talk. It’s the same shit I have always done with my music. And if she’s calling out hypocrisy ? Good for her. I’ve been there. I know how that goes ». 

He leaned back again, more comfortable now. « You know, I’ve worked with her, produced a couple of tracks for her, and I’ve always been impressed by how real she keeps it. She’s not here to play by anyone’s rules. She’s doing what she wants, and I respect that. If you’re mad at her for being direct, maybe it’s because you don’t like what she’s saying ». The host paused for a moment, letting Em’s words settle. « So, to be clear—you fully support what she’s doing? ». « Yeah, » Marshall said without hesitation. « Y/N’s just getting started, and if people are mad now? They better buckle up, ‘cause she’s only going to keep pushing boundaries. She’s not afraid to call out the industry for its hypocrisy. And if anyone thinks she’s dissing me, they’re missing the point. She’s making space for herself, and she’s doing it her way. That’s what being an artist is all about ». The host grinned, seemingly satisfied with his take. « Well, there you have it, folks. Marshall’s got nothing but respect for Y/N. » Marshall chuckled, nodding. « Damn right. I’ll say this though : I’ve spent enough time with her to know that it’s more fun to be her friend than to be her enemy. So, anyone who’s been talking shit… Better be ready ». 

After the podcast dropped, the noise around the supposed « diss » started to die down. Marshall’s words carried weight, and now that he had set the record straight, the media was forced to pivot. Instead of focusing on a non-existent feud, the conversation shifted toward what you had always intended—your critique of double standards. Now that people didn’t worry about a possible feud, they seemed more disposed to focus on the subject matter and the narrative surrounding you quickly took a much more positive turn.  That evening, Marshall was sitting in his home studio, tweaking some beats when his phone buzzed on the table next to him. He glanced down and saw your name on the screen.

Y/N :  Thanks for having my back.

He stared at the text for a moment, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. He wasn’t surprised you’d reached out; after all,  you weren’t the type to let things go unacknowledged. He liked that about you. But he could tell by the simple message that you appreciated the support more than you’d probably say out loud. He picked up his phone and tapped out a reply.

Marshall : Always. Not that you needed it, though. 

He fully meant it when he said that you didn’t need his support. He knew for a fact that you’d clap back if needed. There was a brief pause before your next message popped up.

Y/N : Yeah, but you saying it shuts up a lot of people. 

He chuckled to himself, nodding as he read the words.

Marshall :  Let ‘em talk. You’re doing your thing. If they’re mad, that means you’re doing something right. 

Y/N :  Guess I learned from the best.

Marshall leaned back in his chair, looking at your message for a second before typing a final reply.

Marshall : Nah, you’re making your own lane. Keep killing it.

He put his phone down, guessing the conversation was probably over for the night. But even as he turned back to the track he was working on, he couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of pride. You were carving out your own space in the industry, no matter how many people tried to twist her message or pit you against him. In the short while he’d known you, he had seen you evolve as an artist and, since you’d never failed to share how much his music had shaped your artistry, he felt proud. 

Y/N : Also, I’m glad that you got what I did with the references to your video. It was an hommage, not a shot. 

Marshall grinned, running his thumb over the screen as he typed his reply.

Marshall : Oh, I know. But now I’m thinking, if it was an hommage, why didn’t you just ask me to be in it ?

The dots on the screen danced for a moment, and then your reply came through, as sharp as your lyrics.

Y/N : I was only hiring professionals. ;)

Marshall laughed out loud, shaking his head. He liked your quick wit, the way you never backed down from a little back-and-forth. If anyone else had thrown that line at him, he might’ve let it go. But not you.

Marshall : You don’t think I’m professional enough?

Y/N : In music ? Sure. Can’t speak for the rest, though. 

There was a pause as he crafted his next response, his smirk growing wider. He enjoyed it too much, couldn’t help himself. 

Marshall : If you want to find out just how professional I can get, all you gotta do is ask.

He sent the message, leaning back on his chair. He could practically feel the heat of your flirtation building through the screen. You didn’t take long to reply, as bold as ever.

Y/N : Oh, I’ll keep that in mind.

There was no more texting that night, but the tension lingered in the silence that followed. Your dynamic had always teetered on the edge of something more, something neither of them had fully explored. Both of you had always kept it on the safe side. The energy between them you felt charged in a way it hadn’t before, following these texts and he liked it. There was something irresistible about a beautiful woman who was also smart and bold. However, he chose not to let it get to his head, not wanting to be that guy. Being a woman in a male-dominated industry, you probably had enough of those, even though he wouldn’t mind showing you the extent of his bedroom skills. He meant it, though. All you had to do was ask. He had made a point to avoid getting involved with celebs and fellow artists but he’d gladly make an exception for you.

Weeks later, the two of you found yourself in New York for an awards show. The ceremony was everything you’d expect—long, loud, and full of celebrities. But Marshall wasn’t really focused on the stage. He hadn’t seen you yet, but he knew you were there. He’d heard your name more than once as people in the crowd gushed about you, your bold video, and the statement you’d made in the industry. Your viral video had made you gain tons of recognition and everyone was gushing about you, even the ones who had been quick to assume you were dissing him in a desperate clout-chasing attempt. After the show, as he headed back to his hotel room, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. 

Y/N :  Nice performance tonight. Very professional. The Bradford. Suite 1602. If your offer still stands.

Marshall stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the message. The directness of it sent a jolt through him. There wasn’t any question about what you were implying. The words lingered on his screen, bold and unflinching, just like you. For a moment, he just stood there, processing. Then, without a second thought, he found himself heading toward the exit of his hotel. There was no hesitation now. His heart picked up speed as he walked out into the night, flagged down a cab, and gave the driver the name of your hotel, not too far from his. The drive was short, but each second felt drawn out, like anticipation was pulling time apart. As the cab pulled up in front of The Bradford, Marshall stepped out, the city lights glowing faintly around him. He walked through the doors and headed straight to the elevator, heart pounding just a little harder with each passing floor. When he reached your floor, the quiet of the hallway contrasted sharply with the rush of energy coursing through him. He stopped in front of Suite 1602, staring at the number on the door for a moment before knocking, his mind running through the million ways this could go. The door opened slowly, and there you were, standing barefoot in a simple yet alluring outfit that somehow made his pulse race faster than anything you’d worn in that music video. Your eyes met his with the same fire he’d always admired, but now, it was mixed with something more, something unspoken between the two of you that had finally found its moment. « Wasn’t sure you’d actually show up, » you said, your voice low but teasing. Marshall smirked, stepping inside. « Told you all you had to do was ask ». You grinned back, eyes glinting as you shut the door behind him. « Well, I am asking ». 

If you liked this and want to support a struggling student, you can buy me a cup of coffee. ☕️

[jjkeremika]

Valentine

description: AoT men and women asking you to on a valentine's date <3

pairing: Levi; Armin; Jean; Erwin; Eren & Mikasa; Historia; Zeke; Reiner x reader

Levi

Levi stood at your apartment door with flowers and concert tickets to your favorite band. He shifted his weight between his heels and toes as he nervously wondered if he should turn back before you realized he had arrived.

Two solid knocks and a light pause later, you opened the door to his stoic demeanor, his lips relaxing into a smile at the sight of you in comfy clothes. He briefly glanced down to his ratty jeans and aged leather jacket. “Hey,” he greeted after clearing his throat, regretting his appearance. He felt he should've dressed up for you.

“Levi, hey!” you returned excitedly, about to pull him in for a hug when you noticed the flowers in his hand. You didn’t comment on them. “What are you doing here? Oh! Come on in!”

You dragged him by his forearm inside, closing the door behind you. “Oh, I was just,” he said quietly, shrugging, “around. And,” Levi lifted the flowers, shifted the weight between his feet. “I saw these and thought of you.”

“Awh, Levi, they’re beautiful!” You eagerly took the flowers from him, brought them to your nose for a long sniff. “Thank you.” You hugged him with one arm before pulling away and rushing to your kitchenette. “Let me just get a vase. Make yourself comfortable as always.”

He followed you to the kitchen, stood awkwardly in the doorway and tried to not blatantly gawk at your figure as you bent over to search the cabinets for the vase.

“I, uh, also saw that Linked Horizon are coming on the fourteenth. Did you s—?”

“Oh my god, yeah!” you exclaimed, hopping up from your position in the cabinet, the ornate glass in your palms. “I saw that!” You filled the glass with water and a spoon of sugar. “But I never bought tickets and now it’s sold out.”

Levi rubbed the papery tickets against each other in his pocket. He watched as you used shears to cut the bottoms off the stems. He pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket.

“Well, if you’re not busy that day…” You carefully dropped each stem in the water, rearranging the flowers and tossing the fallen leaves and petals. He stepped into the room, drawing your attention, and held the two tickets openly. “I’d like to go with you.”

Armin

Working at the library was honestly one of your favorite parts of the day. It was slow, mindless, relaxing, and quiet. The ambiance was kind, and any sour moods evaporated instantly once you entered those archaic arched doors.

Since it was a library, you didn’t really speak with your coworkers beyond necessity, but the blond boy who spent his time at the admin desk always caught your attention—and he was always already looking to you.

The two of you spoke in an unintelligible morse code, an unspoken language of wordless greetings and longing thoughts and lingering stares.

When you both started speaking, it was by bonding over a love of puzzles and logic traps. Armin and you shared stories of writing and interpreting ciphers and tricks, discussed possibilities of work-related games for entertainment.

On the twelfth, you started your shift with the return cart, and a large note in black ink stopped you from starting the task. For Y/N, please review the following, it read, proceeded by four rows each with four columns containing a decimal value and three numbers.

You recognized the decimal shorthand and spotted the books already on the return cart. You picked up the first one and reviewed the set of numbers, eventually determining it as indicators for the desired page number, line, and word.

Once you deciphered the message, you smiled and felt the warm flutter in your belly. You dragged the cart upstairs to the main entrance, stopped outside the administration room to see the familiar fluffy blond hair poking over the computer screen.

Wordlessly you entered and sauntered over to his desk, dropped the sheet of paper with the decoded message and your answer on his desk and left with a wink, leaving him with amazed wide eyes and an open jaw as you left the room.

Will you be my valentine?

—Yes x

Jean

Connie told him the traditional approach was stupid and uninteresting. “It’s y/n! They’re cool and fun and hilarious and awesome! You can’t do something unbelievably lame like you always do,” Connie had rambled in an eccentric voice that now haunted Jean’s thoughts.

“Fucking Connie,” Jean cursed to himself as he fixed his hair in the reflection of the window, trying to maintain his balance as the train rushed over unsteady tracks. He nervously glanced down at his watch, frantically grabbed the handlebar when the tram lurched to a stop.

Jean hopped off and rushed to the bar at which the two of you had decided to meet. He spotted you instantly, in the tight red fuzzy sweater vest and still perfectly fitting baggy jeans. He regretted his overly dressed up appearance with his matching suit and pink tie for somehow still lacking.

“Y/n,” Jean leisurely greeted with an eager grin and sparkling eyes, feeling his body warm up at the quick embrace you gave, “thank you for meeting me here.”

You gestured to the free seat next to you; he sat down. “Oh, Jean, it’s my pleasure,” you said with a smile, “thank you for asking me here.”

The conversation flowed naturally, and Jean felt himself warming up from your attention, the drink, or the room. He slid his jacket off and tugged on his necktie in a failed attempt to cool off.

You noticed the pink tint on his skin and the faint hitch in his breath. You noticed the awkward tugging on his necktie, that he was wearing a necktie at all. You noticed the smile he hid when you touched his arm with your long fingernails, when your thigh brushed against his.

As the night neared its end and he still hadn’t asked, the adrenaline rushed through his veins and he heard Connie’s cynical voice echo in his brain. He felt his stomach drop with each glance towards you, because he was convincing himself he couldn’t ask, couldn’t be worth more than nothing to you.

“I’d really like to see you again,” you hinted while you both stood on the pavement, “soon.” You felt the heat burning into your skull. The shocked expression on his face was tortuous. Maybe it was all in your head. Maybe that was too far.

Maybe it was far enough. “Y/n… would you maybe like to spend Valentine’s day with me?”

Erwin

You had visited the older instructor’s office to ask some questions on the class content, to seek some extra support on upcoming assignments.

Connie had told you Smith was the most helpful of the instructors, but you neglected to factor in the biceps the size of your head, the voice that was smooth like margarine, the eyes that stranded you alone at sea. His help was marginalized by his distracting features, by the concerned expression when he asks if you understand contrasting his brilliant smile and demeanor when you say yes.

And did it really matter if you only understood when it came from him?

His elbow bumped into yours as he leaned to the side, closer to you, to view your page. "Y/n," he started, his leg brushing against yours as he uncrossed his thighs and leaned back in the chair, the skin tingling in his touch's memory, "would it help to meet regularly?"

The question alone caught you by surprise, but paired with his heavy tone, thick with uninterpretable layers, and a curious expression with a piercing blue, watchful gaze. You barely heard him tap his foot over the blood roaring in your ears.

"We can start with an additional meeting on the..." Erwin trailed off, clicking through his online tabs to find the calendar. "The fourteenth." He punctuated his sentence with a click on the date, your eye catching the empty schedule as it appeared on the screen. He turned to you. "We can start then and take it from there."

"O-Okay," you agreed, nodding in sync with the faint throb in your pelvis as your brain reeled with the improbable. "Thank you." Your voice was quiet, and you barely heard yourself speak.

"Absolutely," he breathed out, "more than happy to help." He glanced you up and down, rested his chin between his thumb and fingers to hide his lips, his light blue eyes darkening. "I'll order us something to eat too."

Eren & Mikasa

Mikasa was scribbling your and her names in the corner of her notebook page, actively drawing the small heart around it, when Eren suddenly and loudly slid into the seat next to her, causing her to jump and draw a line through the doodle. She hid it with her palm.

Eren looked at her with a bold desperation in his eyes. “Mikasa, I’ve been thinking about asking y/n out for Valentine’s…” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the side sheepishly. “Do you have any ideas?”

Mikasa’s eyes widened. “O-oh,” she stuttered out, taking a half-breath to quell the unsettling feeling in her gut, “I, um.” She glanced to the palm covering the doodle. “I’ve been wondering the exact same thing actually…” She swallowed dryly. “With y/n, too…”

It’s not that she expected him to be upset, but she was surprised when his eyes lit up in a mix of excitement and relief. He perked up, straightened his spine and leaned towards Mikasa. “Let’s ask together! We can do, like, a three-person date.” He shrugged, tried to contain his eagerness. “I’m not against it. But I still have no fucking clue how to ask.”

You entered the room mid-sentence, both of their eyes focusing to you as you crossed the room to a desk. You glanced up from your phone to see both of them already looking at you, both smiling and waving immediately.

“Hey, babes,” you greeted the two of them, affectionately fixing the out-of-place strand of hair near Mikasa’s forehead. You turned to Eren and smiled wider at his eager anticipation. “I was addressing you too,” you clarified, rubbing his shoulder.

Eren leaned into your touch. “Do you have any Valentine’s plans?” Mikasa asked, playing with her pen. You spotted the heart near her hand.

You started to feel warm, flattened your lips to try to suppress the growing grin but eventually bit your bottom lip. “Not currently. Sounds like I might in a minute, though,” you responded with a wink, smiled wider at the light pink stretching across her nose.

Eren’s voice caught your attention, and you suddenly became aware of the arm he snaked around your waist under your backpack, noticed that your arm had slid along his shoulders, “Would you... want to spend it with us?” he asked nervously, before rushing out, “It doesn’t have to be a date, but, well—”

The heat settled in your stomach, and you felt your pulse in each body part. Your smile twitched at the question—at the implication.

“Yes,” you interrupted Eren’s rambling with a confident answer to a question you’ve never considered before, but now will never forget, “I’d love to spend it with you two. As a date.”

Historia

Ymir had the largest scowl on her face when Historia shyly walked over to you, a pink blush on her cheeks and a sweaty hairline. You shifted uncomfortably under Ymir’s gaze when your eyes flicked to the blonde girl standing in front of you, looking at the floor.

“Hey, y/n,” she started quietly, her cute, high-pitched voice singing in your ear, “how’s your day going?” She had a sickeningly sweet smile, one that made your stomach flip and turn with nerves. You felt your inhale cut short as she stared at you with big, rounded blue eyes.

"Good, thanks," you answered with a smile, “how’s yours?” You continued to pack your bag with your notebooks, ignoring the uncomfortable heat of Ymir’s bold glare.

“Better now,” she answered, a light rouge appearing on her cheekbones. The giddy feeling erupted in your gut and bubbled into a doey smile. “Do you have Valentine’s plans yet?”

You shook your head, tugging on the last zipper. “Nope,” you answered casually, unbothered by the notion of being single on the love holiday, “i’ll probably watch a movie at home.”

“Oh, good idea! I love movies!” Historia added, the grin taking up her face. “I..." The tips of her ears tinted pink. "I don’t have plans either." She rocked back and forth on her heels, clutched her notebook a little closer to her chest. "Would you want to watch a movie together?”

You corrected your posture and returned her soft gaze. "Yeah," you answered with an exhale, started to put your backpack on. "I'd really like that."

Zeke

Zeke haphazardly handed you the blunt, the leaflet threatening to slip from your fingertips and fall from the third story window. “Ze, careful,” you told the older man, rolling your eyes despite the smile lingering on your pursed lips, “you’re gonna’ make me drop it.”

He snorted, settling with an open mouthed smile. You watched the faint red appear around his cerulean eyes. “I can’t make you do anything.” He stretched his hand out, silently requesting the roll back.

You crossed your legs, took a long huff, then passed it over. Your fingers brushed against his, the light sensation tickling the skin for moments after. “If you hand it off wrong and I drop it, that’s your fault,” you explained simplistically, shrugging to emphasize the easiness of it all.

The smoke curled around his beard, followed the lines of the glasses resting on top of his head. He flicked the wrap, spent ash falling to the windowsill. “But I didn’t make you drop it,” Zeke retorted, blowing some residual smoke into your face. He chuckled as you closed your eyes and swatted the contaminant away.

“But you played a direct role!” You reached over and stole the blunt from him before he brought it between his lips; the blond man laughed as he let you take it, watched intently as you brought it to your own. “Wouldn’t have happened without you,” you mumbled with a long exhale, the picturesque smoke rolling off your tongue.

Zeke leaned against the wall, let his wrist rest against his knee, and tilted his head. His smile softened the longer he stared at you directing smoke and ash out the window. “I also play a direct role in asking if you want to have dinner with me on the fourteenth, but I can’t make you say yes.”

You looked out the window, suppressing the blushing grin by biting your lip. You affectionately rolled your eyes at his redirection. Not the same thing—like at all. “It’s different when you know I will,” you retorted, taking a hit and holding it until it burned, still avoiding eye contact.

“So… you will?” He eyed you carefully, handed the rest of the blunt to you and dropped his glasses onto his nose. “Say yes, I mean?” Zeke nudged your foot with his.

The roll slipped from your fingers as you focused on hiding your red cheeks and toothy grin behind your palm. “Well, obviously, yeah,” you answered sheepishly. You spotted the wrap on the wooden floor. “And see! You made me drop it!”

Reiner

You patted into the kitchen to find Reiner in front of the stove, steam rising from the pans as he shifted between items. You admired his bare back, the smooth, silky-looking skin intimately caressing tight, bulky muscles interrupted only by the thin linen apron straps.

The sudden noise of the espresso machine caused you to jump and squeal, which brought Reiner's attention to you. He hurried over, gave you a quick kiss to the cheek. "You weren't supposed to wake up yet," he murmured between more kisses, eventually pressing his lips to yours for a lingering lock.

"I can smell everything from the next room," you responded, lightly tapping his firm chest and kissing his lips again. He pulled away to attend to the aromatic contents on the stove. You sat on a bar stool. “Smells delicious, by the way.”

You saw the way his thin lips morphed into a pleased smile. “Should taste so, too,” he hummed his agreement, turned his back towards you for five more minutes. You indulged in the sight, feeling your own pupils dilate to take in more of his broad shoulders and tailored back.

Then he was making a lot of ruckus, rapidly opening drawers to find utensils and rushing to and from the fridge for toppings and ingredients. He was tossing food onto one plate and carefully aligning it on another.

You slipped off the stool to peak over, smiled at his concentrated brows and peaking tongue as he drizzled chocolate onto the dish.

You were right behind him when he turned around with the dish ostentatiously in his hands, his kind blue eyes sparkling with pride and excitement and anticipation.

You audibly gasped and brought your hands to your open smile. “Reiner! Wow!” you said astonished, hearing and feeling your stomach rumble with hunger at the sight of the heart-shaped pancakes with a chocolate lace drizzle, at the bacon and eggs and toast arranged on the side.

He waited for you to read the hidden message, the note written in jam on the toast. You giggled, took the plate from him to put on the counter, and embraced him. “I’d love to be your valentine,” you said with a long kiss.

[perseidlion]

Dead Boy Detectives friends, I totally respect and support those of you who feel like you want to fight. You want to make noise. You want to sign petitions and organize campaigns. I get that you don't want to give up on this wonderful show.

Normally I'd support campaigns, but in this case I think there are some very big things working against us:

The Neil Gaiman factor. I hate to say it, but the accusations against him were probably part of the reason for cancellation and why getting picked up elsewhere is a non-starter. The explicit ties to the Netflix Sandman with Death and Despair SHOULD have helped the show get renewed. But with the accusations against NG, that definitely hurt it. That's so deeply unfair because those of us who are fans of the show know that DBD is not a Gaiman show, and his contribution to the story is minimal. But Sandman is Gaiman's, and they made the connection to Sandman and thus Gaiman, explicit. When the news about NG came down, Sandman was already well into production and contracts were signed. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if S2 was Sandman's last season.

The collapse of streaming. Gone are the days when networks pick up each others' shows to try and court subscribers and steal an audience share. That barely happens anymore, and when it does it's under very unusual circumstances. Every network is cancelling well-reviewed shows with a following. Every network is cancelling queer shows more than others. Every network is greedy and looking for mega-hits only. There are no good guys in the streaming landscape.

The economy and the strikes. Don't get me wrong, the gains made by SAG-AFTRA, and the Writers and Directors' guilds were absolutely necessary and required for fairness. But it did increase production costs. Instead of adjusting their profit expectations, the streamers are trying desperately to keep the same profits from the pre-strike days. Which is why we have this mega-hit or bust model. Add to that the economic downturn and the price of everything going up, and the bar for "success" from a corporate standpoint is set impossibly high.

Streaming's metric for success is new subscribers, not how much existing subscribers enjoy the content. This is a big one. It used to be if an audience loved it and that audience was appealing to an advertiser, a show could keep going. Advertisers wanted the affinity for the show to spill over onto their product for supporting it. But with streaming, the streamers don't care how much you love something. They just care that you watch it, you stay subscribed, and that content gets new subscribers. A passionate watch is worth the same $$ wise to them as a hate watch or a half-interested watch. In that way, the loss of commercials is the reason for so many of the more niche shows getting cancelled.

The big reason I think we're sunk for either getting Netflix to reverse the decision or for it to get picked up elsewhere is honestly, because Yockey posted a pretty big S2 spoiler. The showrunner wouldn't do that if he thought there was any hope. My guess is the show is tied to Netflix because of the Sandman connection, and because they commissioned scripts for S2 that they own. There's probably some contractual reasons that make network hopping impossible.

I don't want to be a downer, and like I said if you want to campaign to let your heart heal or just to not let this happen quietly, I fully support that.

But in my heart, I think we have to lay our beloved Dead Boy Detectives to rest - at least as a show. They'll live on in our hearts and our fanworks.

[thatfeelinwhenyou]

KINDRED — 31

It’s your final year of highschool, and your only goal is to graduate top of your cohort, as usual. Except as student council president, your advisor can’t seem to leave you alone. What happens when you take Decelis Academy’s top student, their star athlete and put them in front of a camera?

smau + written (2.0k words)

❥･• episode 31 — the name above me

tw! y/n’s mom

The two-week break flies by rather quickly, and you find yourself back in your school uniform on a Monday morning, realising that nothing has really changed. You had already half-convinced yourself that post-midterm would be different for you, you had hoped for clarity regarding your plans after high school. Alas, uncertainty clings to you like an unwelcome companion.

Walking onto campus, you encounter a throng of students gathered in front of the ranking boards. Right, your results are released today.

Oddly, though, the weight of your grades hasn't been preoccupying your thoughts these past two weeks like it would in the past, marking the first time in your life that you haven't been consumed by overthinking your grades or endlessly reviewing test questions, as if every time you did it you didn’t get the same exact answer.

No, you actually enjoyed your break. You allowed yourself to breathe, to embrace the carefree spirit of a high school teenager.

You went café hopping with Bora and Jungwon again, only this time you ensured a mango juice mishap did not befall you. The girls, including yourself, enjoyed a truly relaxing girls' day where everyone dressed up just for the joy of it. Then there was that unforgettable excursion to the amusement park; you rode the Ferris wheel for the first time as it had been a long-standing prohibition from your mother. Though fairly insignificant, you record as it as a ‘win’ in your books.

Before you knew it, your final term at Decelis Academy had already begun. The documentary is in its concluding stages, with tasks remaining on the itinerary, including capturing your and Jungwon's reactions to your grades, the student council's senior farewell party, Jungwon's upcoming competition, and then the final confessional.

Arriving on campus, you initially worry about being way too early but lucky for you, the camera crew had arrived hours in advance and established their vantage point on the left side of the ranking boards—the higher-scoring side. Despite their meticulous preparation, you inadvertently squeeze yourself into a group of students gathered in the middle, unintentionally defying their plans for the perfect front-row view of your reaction from every angle.

Your eyes scan the list.

74 ***

75 ***

76 ***

77 Yang Jungwon

Found it.

You let your fingers glide over the paper, seeking out his Mathematics scores. 105 out of 150. Relief floods through you, a broad smile gracing your face at his passing grade. Not just barely but with a decent score, just enough to pull him up to a C, securing his spot in the competition just 15 days from now. You’re smiling so wide, the joy evident without even knowing how you did for your own papers.

And as if you were sharing the same brain cell, you find Jungwon standing at the front of the board, his expression tense as he gazes at a name at the top. Concern brushes your thoughts, but you manage to conceal it from the cameras as you cheerfully call out, "Wonnie! You passed your Math paper, you’re going to compete in the Asian Championships!"

"I-I’m so sorry, Y/N," he stammers, a heavy silence lingering between you. Reluctantly, you follow his gaze, and there it is.

1 Lee Haerin

2 Park Y/N.

Your name, usually perched at the top, now finding itself below another.

You know Lee Haerin, she’s a familiar face from the book club, and you know this having seen her in the library more times than you could count. And you were there almost every day. You also recognise her name as someone who was consistently ranking below you, but how the tables have turned.

You don’t loathe her; surely, it isn’t her fault that your English Literature scores fell short, causing you to drop in overall rankings. Besides, it's only mid-terms, and you still have your preliminary exams to pull your grades up before the CSAT… Right?

You sense someone settling down beside you on the ledge you've chosen to occupy on the roof. You had chosen to forgo lunch, knowing you can barely keep anything down your throat at the moment. Shifting your gaze from the clusters of shops just outside the school gates, where the popular takoyaki stand beckons memories of post-school visits with your friends, you turn your attention to the person you had already half-expected to be Jungwon.

“You should eat something, even if just a little.” Jungwon places a piece of custard bread, banana milk, and a packet of your favourite gummies on your lap, almost pleading with you to eat.

“You didn’t have to.”

“Not when you look like as if the world is ending tomorrow.” Jungwon jokes, only to cough awkwardly when he realises you didn’t respond to his jokes, even with an eye-roll like you usually would.

“It might as well be. I just know my mother is going to KILL me.” You make sure to emphasise the word ‘kill.’ Because you aren’t wrong; if the world isn’t going to kill you tomorrow, your birth-giver will.

Unbeknownst to you, tears well up in your eyes, threatening to spill over. Witnessing you in such a vulnerable state tugs at Jungwon's heart; the girl he likes is breaking down in front of him and he doesn’t even know what to do. As he battles his inner thoughts, contemplating the best way to console you, he senses you clutching onto the sleeves of his uniform blazer. Pouting and fighting back tears, you say, “I’m going to be okay, right?”

“Yes, crybaby, everything is going to be okay.” You feel him begin to gently stroke your hair down to your neck, rubbing circles into the back of your ears as he makes another crybaby joke in an attempt to cheer you up.

“I’m not a crybaby,” you manage to say between hiccups and sobs, prompting Jungwon to emit a small snicker. The irony strikes you—a few weeks ago, you were in Jay’s garden comforting Jungwon as he held back tears, and now he's here comforting you in your most vulnerable state. The situation doesn’t go unnoticed by Jungwon, as he also recognises the irony of it, judging by the bittersweet way he smiles.

“Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything.” Jungwon holds your cheek and tilts your head to face him, his thumbs swiping away fresh tears staining your cheeks.

“I don’t know… the one thing I’m good at, and I just flunked it-“

“Shh! Believe in yourself because if you don't, then who will? Life’s beautiful, and there's so much more to it than numbers on a piece of paper, Y/N. I hope you see that.”

In that moment, you realise you never really did look at your scores for the papers. Then you realise it wasn’t the scores that had you feeling worthless. Thinking back, you had already forgone looking at your scores a long time ago, as long as you stayed in that number one spot, as long as you didn’t disappoint your mother. You wanted to satisfy her, try to get her to praise you, but as your heartless mother has once said: “Why would I praise something that is supposed to be a given?”

You've spent your entire life routinely studying, evolving yourself into the machine your mother probably wished she had instead of a breathing human child—you.

In the echo of your academic routine, the fear of losing her approval looms larger than the tangible rankings you've held. The relentless pursuit of excellence, though driven by an inner desire for acknowledgment, is entangled in the web of your mother's expectations. So, what scares you isn’t the fact you no longer retained the number one spot; what scares you is disappointing the one person you craved validation from. What were you expecting? Because when the given is taken away from you, will she praise you then?

No. She’ll criticise you, blame your father, blame the documentary, and undoubtedly, she’ll gun after Jungwon. Because nothing is ever really her fault, and you knew sometime along the way that nothing will ever satisfy her, but you still try anyway. You try because you don’t know what else to do other than sticking to the status quo. Until, at least, the documentary featuring Jungwon happened.

What was initially supposed to be a pawn in your masterful plan to build your portfolio for University becomes the very documentary that breaks you out of your shell, as the looming prospect of your mother’s disapproval, like an oppressive cloud, pushes you to strive for success, even when you know it may never be enough for her.

“Eat.” You come back to your senses to find Jungwon has opened the packet of bread and shoved it into your mouth. He then watches you bite into it before he lets go to open the bottle of banana milk, handing them to you between bites of the bread.

Again, Jungwon with his overly friendly gestures that graze the delicate line between friends and something more than that. Jungwon, who once again, manages to empty your mind by babying you and treating you like a princess who needs rescuing.

“You’re confusing me.” The words fly out of your mouth before you even get the chance to rethink

“Doesn’t mean I’m feeding you like a baby that you are actually one.” He teases, and you watch him as he takes a sip out of the banana milk, from the same straw you used. Pushing away the thought that you’ve just indirectly kissed him, you're just glad he didn’t catch onto the intention behind your statement.

“I feel bad that you’re here comforting me, when you should be celebrating having passed a certain Math paper after all that hard work.”

“It was your hard work as much as it was mine, Y/N.” Jungwon takes his thumb, wiping at the corner of your lips where custard from the bread had oozed out and stayed. He then brings it up to his own lips, eating it off his finger. You just indirectly kissed him, again.

Your heartbeat quickens, a symphony of excitement drowning out any lingering worries about exams or your mother. Your mind is a canvas painted with thoughts of Jungwon and his unexpected gestures that got you contemplating the possibility of him being interested in you. Surely, Yang Jungwon isn’t known for being a romantic guy, but once again, you're proven wrong; he is that guy.

This certainty solidifies as he opens the packet of gummies, deliberately picking out the red-coloured ones first, knowing that you ate them in the colour of the rainbow; a subtle detail that shows he pays attention to your preferences.

At first, they were really subtle gestures that made you realise how horribly you have misjudged him. Then came the heartfelt actions, revealing a caring side that made you question if he had always been this way. The tipping point was realising these gestures were exclusively reserved for you, unveiling sides of Jungwon that remained hidden from everyone else. While others perceived him as mundane, cold, and mysterious, you alone saw a different Yang Jungwon.

And when you see the scoreboard, someone else’s name above yours for the very first time, it shocks you to the core that you, in fact, did not care. That the first thing you sought was Jungwon’s rankings on the board, eager to know if your efforts in tutoring him paid off, if he can participate in the competition that has become crucial to him and, by extension, vital to you.

For the first time, someone else's grades mattered more than your own. This epiphany stretches beyond academic priorities, signifying that Jungwon holds a place in your life beyond the confines of friendship; that he is more than just a friend that you make him out to be.

You like him, more than you let yourself on.

prev | masterlist | next

♡。·˚˚· ·˚˚·。♡

authors note: i kept my promise yall 😁😁🤟 and yes yn mom needs a whole ass tw. i’d say we are a good 10 chapters away from the finale and i’m currently considering next projects but we’ll see 👀 also do expect more written chapters, i rlly tried to reduce them as much as possible but it’s so hard to write without going into detail… BUT i’ll defo make it up with super fluffy and sweet chapters 🤭

perm taglist. @hajimelvr @s00buwu @urmomssneakylink @grayscorner @bubblytaetae @mrchweeee @artstaeh @sleeping-demons @yuviqik @junsflow

taglist open! @uuzhanggggggg @jayhoonvroom @missingemobeomgyu @jiawji @ocyeanicc @s7noo @asterizee @nwjws @noascats @yunwonie @saturnmooonxx @enhaz1 @jiaant11 @clairecottenheart @i2lain @miumiuoi @zhounauts @hoey2k @neocockthotology @nanuer @yenqa @ahnneyong @chanhee-hee @yanqiiuver @yujmelon @beomsbeanie @sloobydooburmomjungwon @keiisu @jaeyunniesimp @jiamini @jihanniee @lilriswife4life

[aewon]

DDR - YANG JUNGWON

phase 1 (jungwon’s ver)

warning: mentions of sex

After conspiring with Niki, Jungwon knows what he will do next.

If you want war, he’ll give you war.

Today is day two of your practice for the competition, and Jungwon has decided that he will find you instead of meeting you there.

After five minutes of searching, he finds you walking across campus, probably to the practice room.

He wastes no time and runs, catching up to you.

He throws his arm around you, taking you by surprise.

“What are you doing—” and you’re cut off by his lips on yours.

His hands cup your face before he separates himself from you.

“Hello, beautiful,” he says, interlocking his fingers with yours.

You take a second to process what just happened.

This must be his way of playing the game.

Fine.

“Hey, I was just on my way to practice.”

“Glad I found you. Now we can walk together.”

Jungwon leaves it at that.

As you walk, hands intertwined, you can see people around campus looking at you, some whispering to each other.

Maybe it’s a known fact that just two days ago, you and Jungwon hated each other.

Now, there’s been a total 180, and people are confused.

Let them be confused, you think to yourself.

You're determined to win this so-called game.

When you get to the practice room, you immediately start stretching.

As you're standing, you feel Jungwon’s presence behind you.

Before you can say anything, he wraps his arms around your waist.

Your breath hitches for a second before you regain your composure.

Without saying anything, you start reviewing the choreo with Jungwon still holding onto you.

After a long two-hour practice, you finally call it quits.

You’ve learned the entire choreography. Now, you have to practice consistently until the competition.

“You wanna come back to my place?” You ask.

A blush creeps up Jungwon’s neck, reaching his ears.

“I would, but I'm sweaty, and I don't wanna stink up your place,” he responds, pouting.

“You can grab some clothes and shower at my place?”

Jungwon contemplates for a second, “Sure.”

With that, you both leave the practice room. Making your way across campus, you learn Jungwon’s apartment, which he shares with Niki and Sunoo, is a 5-minute walk from yours.

You get there, and he dips in to get some clothes.

The guys are all inside, watching a movie, when he walks in.

“What happened?” They all immediately question him.

“I think I surprised her, but she played along right after. She’s hard to crack,” Jungwon says, entering his room.

“What are you doing?” Sunghoon asks.

“She invited me over to her place.”

Loud wolf whistles follow his sentence, making him roll his eyes.

“Inviting you over for sex after three days. I didn't know Y/N was like that,” Heeseung says, making everyone laugh.

Jungwon rolls his eyes, “Shut up! We’re not gonna have sex.”

“Whatever you do, keep us updated!” Niki adds.

He waves them off, meeting you back outside,

“Let’s go.”

You retake his hand and walk the five minutes to your apartment.

You get your keys, open the door, and let Jungwon in.

“You live alone?” He asks.

You nod, “I get some help from my parents.”

Jungwon gives you the courtesy of showering first, so you hop in quickly.

Ten minutes later, you emerge in sweats and a t-shirt, and for some reason, Jungwon’s heart starts to beat a little faster.

How do you look so beautiful wearing something so simple?

“Go ahead.” You gesture to him, and he snaps out of his trance and goes to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, he emerges, and you realize you're matching.

You pat the spot next to you on your couch, and he sits beside you.

“You wanna watch a movie?” You ask, opening up Netflix.

He nods, “Whatever you want.”

You end up picking a rom-com and decide to tease Jungwon further.

You carefully lean against him, resting your head on his chest and wrapping your arm around his waist.

You smile as you feel him tense up before relaxing in your hold.

He wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you even closer.

Sitting and watching the movie, you realize you don’t mind being in Jungwon’s hold. You like it.

previous | next | masterlist

NOTE: just 3 more chapters!!

TAGLIST: @yawnwonies @jiamini @ilovejungwonandhaechan @theothernads @rosas-in-the-garden @dokidokior @seunghancore @wvnkoi @saursoob @simjyunnie @ms-no1kpopstan @enhaz1 @isoobie @jwonistic @shiionknow @lixxpix @crybqbyme @sunghoonsgff

bold cannot be tagged

[ecargmura]

Oshi No Ko Episode 21 Review - Ambiguous Conclusion To The Mystery

Something’s not right about the conclusion of the mystery behind Aqua’s father. It feels too out of character that Aqua, someone who’s so meticulous and cautious, would let this go just like that. He’s usually so analytical when it comes to things like this. Hasn’t he considered that Uehara doesn’t share the same hair and eye color as him? Ruby looks identical to Ai, yet Aqua looks nothing like Uehara. Is he stopping because he wants to close the revenge now that a lead has been cut off? I don’t think Aqua of all people would ignore the blatant loophole in front of his eyes. It’s definitely not over and I think that Aqua’s just choosing to ignore it because he wants to be at peace.

With the conclusion to the father mystery done on an ambiguous note, we now focus on Ruby and B-Komachi and what their next step is now that Kana got some time now. They got 20,000 subscribers on their Youtube channel and Mem-cho is doing all she can to increase it. She has some ideas like room tours and making an original song. Mem-cho, being the only adult of he group, understands the woes of the world of finance. I found it hilarious how she’s basically scaring Ruby and Kana with taxes and expenses.

We get some insight into Ruby as it felt forever since she last got some spotlight. She’s impatient and wants the new song from hitmaker composer Himura (voiced by Daisuke Hirakawa) as soon as possible because she wants to find Gorou as soon as possible (and that waiting too long will make Memcho enter her 30’s). While she does find a way to motivate Himura into creating a song for the new B-Komachi, I’m not really too convinced by it.

To be honest, Ruby has never been my favorite character; in fact, she’s been my least favorite so far. Don’t get me wrong; she does have a funny personality and what not, but I’m not super convinced she’s a super talented idol. Yeah, she’s Ai’s daughter and was motivated by her even before reincarnation, but all Ruby has been doing is hopping off others for her success. She has popular influencer Mem-cho and former child actress Kana Arima in the same group as her; she uses B-Komachi to restart Ai’s legacy under her name; her brother is Aqua who got some notion of fame due to the reality dating show and being the last-minute casting addition for Sweet Today. Heck, the reason Kana and Mem-cho are in the group is because Aqua recruited them, not her (though, Ruby did see star potential in Kana, but Kana only joined because Aqua asked her). She’s also the adopted daughter of the once popular Strawberry Productions’ current CEO Miyako who’s the wife of Ichigo. She’s essentially a nepo baby riding off of others. Argue with me all you want, but I’m not wrong. I just wish that I could see more of her building up her fame by herself. I would’ve been more convinced if she had done like a flash mob or had a Youtube video that went viral. I guess that’s just more on the poor writing choice on the author’s part…

Anyways, I’m a little intrigued with the possible return to Miyazaki now that Aqua’s got some free time. What will happen? Also, that girl with the white hair and red eyes is definitely bad news. What are your thoughts on the episode so far?

[popculturebuffet]

Through A Mirror Darkly: Life, The Negaverse and Everything (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and it's time for a hop back through the mirror as we continue Through a Mirror Darkly, a look at mirror universe episodes.

Today we go back to something we haven't revisited in a while on this blog: the terror who flaps in the night, the finely aged cheese you left on the sidewalk in the rain Darkwiinnnnggg duuuuucckkk.

Yes the darkwing of the night is back on this blog as we see just where his arch enemy came from. Negaduck's an intresting case as unlike most darkwing foes, who were either introduced alongside their origin stories or were only introduced after them because the episode after that was finished and Disney coudln't wait five minutes, he was introduced in the just us ducks two parter we've coverd here before as someone Darkwing knew.. but the audience didn't.

It also worked. Out of nowhere was this mysterious dark reflection of our hero: while both ducks were hammy, Negaduck was a colder kind, with a sneering voice that just made it clear how much contempt he had for everyone around him, and a penchant for chainsaws. Darkwing could get dangerous... Negaduck was ALWAYS dangerous.

This episode answers who the heck is this guy.. withotu ruining his mystique. Fittingly, like darkwing we don't know WHY Negaduck became a supervillian, but we do know why an evil doppleganger of darkwing suddenly manifested and wasn't the previous negative counterpart we'd seen before.

Naturally given what this series is about, he's from an evil parallel universe; one without hope, where Negaduck rules supreme and where Drake naturally ends up, out of his element, out of fucks to give, and with a world against him. Can drake survivie this world turned up side down? can be be convinced to do the right thing and help this fallen world? Will the muddlefoots wear leather for some reason? find out under the cut

We open with the fearsome five, who just came back from a succesful heist and are hangin out. Down the street. Same old place. They did Last week. Negaduck does however have a thing to do than talk to you so he tries to duck out but the rest of the gang wants to know why he never hangs. Is it them?

The short answer, yes the long answer is negaduck has other things to do at his hideout and dosen't want to share it. So the others decide to do the rational thing and let him go be a dick elsewhere and.. nope they decide to follow him. Granted if they did the rational thing they probably woudln't be fighting darkwing every week so fair play.

At the Drake Residence, Drake is engaged in a long afternoon's nap that Gosalyn rudely interupts. Drake's supposed to take her next door for Honker's birthday party. Drake politley declines

Okay maybe not politley but in his defense: the muddlefoots life next door, so Gosalyn REALLY dosen't need an escort. He can see fine from here, and he talks about how much he hates the muddlefoots on a regular basis. She knows he dosen't like Honker's parents or brother, he hasn't been shy about that, why force him to go beyond "If I have to tolerate them so do you daddddd". Launchpad can't do it because he's picking up the cake.

So Drake is forced to endure this party. Granted Gos isn't much happier as Honker is happy just reading. We haven't really talked about the muddlefoots a lot in previous darkwing reviews as Honker tends to appear solo a lot and the only real time his family was important was during the Splatter Phoenix episode, which was less about the usual dynamic with them and more about Herb being a value pack of dicks.

The Muddlefoots are the Mallard's next door neighbors and the bains of his existance, to the point you think Drake only didn't have a civlian identity for so long to avoid talking to people like them. Their the annoying people in your lives you can't get rid of and you have TRIE.

The Muddlefoots consit of herb, the overenthuastic dad, his doting and mildly annoying wife binky, thier withdrawn and nerdy son and gosalyn's best friend honker and Honker's older brother and waking nightmare tank, who is a bully to one and all including Drake.

The muddlefoots primarily annoy the tar out of drake because they have no real self awarness, the most ironic of hells, and thus Herb just kinda wedges himself into Drake's life despite Drake never being subtle about hating the muddlefoots. Herb isn't a BAD guy.. he's just very awkard... similar to how Drake's not the worst person, simply incrdibly cranky and egotistical.

Drake luckily gets an escape when Launchpad arrives.. and when he was getting the cake spotted the fearsome four, if not negaduck whose hideout the cake shop is. Drake takes the easy out both for justice and to get to trip tank into the cake as an excuse to go get a replacement.

Darkwing arrives.. but the numbers game means he easily looses and the four easily capture him. Inside Negaduck has opened some kinda weird stygian hole in his cake and the villians throw him in.. and piss negsy off.

Turns out the portal is his way HOME. It also spotlights something that makes negaduck so dangerous: it isn't just that he's cruel or ax crazy... it's that he's SMART. Unlike Drake whose clever but is also up his own ass, Negaduck thinks his plans through, and thus knows unleashing darkwing on a world without compitent heroes threatens his reign and goes after him.

Drake ends up in the negaverse but has no idea "what happened to his beautiful st canard". I also love the payoff to that when Negaduck sniffs in the heavy polution and whistfully proclaims "my beautiful st canard". I also like how while having a red skied industrial dystipia is normal to show a mirror universe or bad future, here it's also a nice contrast to the dark blues of st canard, which has a more welcoming night skyline , inviting adventure to the opressive nightmare that is the negaverse.

Naturally this being Darkwing.. he has no idea he's in another universe or what the hell's going on for an embarassingly long time. He comes home and assume's it's wrecked condition is "gosalyn mesisng with the wiring" and assumes Negagosalyn is an act. negagosalyn, like ours is a good kid.. unlike ours though she's a sugary sweet girly girl in pigtails and an overly elaborate dress who does what her dad asks.

It's also a nice reminder that not ALL mirror versions of a character have to be evil. Negagos is simply the oppisite of our gos, a girly girl to regular gos' tomboy. It's weird to see.

Even weirder is NegaLaunchpad... which I didn't evne know was going to be a thing going into this episode before Is aw some fanart when I looked up the negaverse. He's just.. not really takled about. The design is good: a slovenly post apocalypstic biker with a rat tail, the true sign of evil. Admitley I did'nt know that biker micheal liker is the opposite of pilot but it makes sense: Launchpad is classsicly heroic, so his oppisite would be modernly grungy.

Darkwing still hasn't got that maybe this isn't HIS st canard, and watches the telly with his bizzaro family... only to find out he's now public enemy #1 as Negaduck simply went to the tv station when he coudln't find darkwing and put out a bulletin. It's a clever twist too: instead of "the hero is mistaken for their counterpart while the evil version is on earth plotting" as tends to be standard, the villian just takes away the one advantage the hero has.

So Darkwing and NegaGosalyn dart away from Launchapd and his rocket launcher. Negagos... is elated to find out Darkwing exists, her negadad having told her about him, and to hav ehope.

Darkwing FINALLY gets an explination from of all people, Negatank. Here he's a politely spoken child genius, much like his positive counterpart's brother. He also gives out a heap of expositoin but given how stubborn darkwing is, he kinda NEEDS it , and the show's reality is goofy enough for this to work. Darkwing still dosen't FULLY buy it.. till he meets the muddlefoots.

YEah i'm all for leather and chains, but I did.. not want to see that on the muddlefoots and will take the neede dpercautions at seeing this

Ahhhh much better. Anyways the biker muddlelikers mistake Darkwing for his evil doppleganger, but Negahonker ruins the party and thus theyg rill darkwing.. literally. he almost dies and after commerical has been rescued along with Gos offscreen by the Friendly Four

Who Sought out Darkwing.. because if Negaduck's after him he MIGHT be able to finally stop him, as they havne't.

Darkwing is a darkwing dick and refuses to help. It's a harsh reminder to me that this darkwing.. isn't really all that heroic a lot of the time, willing to leave a bunch of people who BADLY need a hero behind simply because "can't make me don't wanna".

Thankfully we pivot from Darkwing at one of his lowest points.. to a reminder of the good person that lies beneath. Negagos.. is entirely happy to let him go, knowing his Gosalyn needs him and sees him off... and with that.. the wheels turn in his head.

He asks a question he likely knows the answer to... Who is Gosalyn's Guardian? The answer? Negaduck.

"Oh. In the Negaverse, there's never been a Darkwing Duck to guard the city... (gulp) Or a Drake Mallard to be a father. For you, Gosalyn, I'll stay."

The delivery here is amazing: Drake's voice cracks as he realizes just what hell this poor girl's gone thorugh and no matter the universe... Gosalyn is his daughter. He may be willing to abandon these people.. but he can never abandon HER. His Gosalyn has Launchpad... Negagos has no one... and he's not going to let that stand if he can help it. If this world needs heroes, if it needs to be better... then he'll MAKE it better. For her. For his daughter.

It's a truly brilliant scene, it's simple.. but the performance and just how repugntant darkwing was being seconds before really sell it: he'd leave this world behind because it's not his... but the second he realizes one of the few people in the world he cares about will be left in this hellhole.. he realizes he was wrong. It may not be his world.. but it's his responsiblity.

He sets to work traning the friendly four, giving them all his knowledge and skills, a crash course in being darkwing duck. And what also makes this work so well is like Gosalyn.. the change isn't too extreme. We've seen from the BOOM/Joe Books comics that these guys CAN at least try to change, and bushroot isn't that evil to begin with. Given the chance or the want to change.. they might have.

They simply havent which is a pity as we see here when breaking good.. their GREAT at being heroes. better than they ever were with villians. They fix a broken and toxic st canard easily, with liquidator's power clearing out the water and bushroot restoring the land. It shows just what these guys COULD be capable of, the good they could do.. if they only cared enough to do it.

They still get captured of course, though luckily a dangerous toy Negajack made frees darkwing and the Friendly Four, now all darkwinged up in proper costumes, easily clean house on the Negafoots, as Negaduck prepares to flee this dimension, deciding if he can't have it then he can just go back.

This leads to another touching moment: Darkwing.. isn't prepared to leave, as Negagos needs him.. but as before she encourages him. HIs Gosalyn needs him.. and she's not alone before. By simply staying behind, putting in the effort and helping this world.. Darkwing gave her four dads, a better world and a hope at a future. Darkwing may be egotistical, selfish and well.. a reall dick of a duck.. but it's moments like this that show beneath it all when pressed.. he will do the right thing and CAN make the world better.

We get a cool final set piece as Darkwing duels with Negaduck in the space between spaces.. and wins entirely by pulling the plug on the cosmic drain, leaving Negaduck to oblivion and Drake home.

So Drake comes home and gives Gosalyn a big hug, which she declares is a bit mushy.. but it shows that as much as they snipe at each other... he loves his daughter and is happy to be back wit hher. He also admits he "loves the muddlefoots' they may be terrible.. but at least their not trying to kill him.

Life the Negaverse and Everything is an excellent episode. While admitely the evil versions of everyone are mostly just evil, same with the good, it works better here than brave and the bold as while we still get an emotoinal moment and negagos is fun to have around, Darkwing Duck takes itself less seriously and thus the broader more sterotypical post apocalypse take on an earth 3 world works, while still giving us said emotoinal moments and nice bits of what ifs: we see what the fearsome four would be as heroes, where negaduck comes from and why as while i'ts not said it's clear he just wanted more world's to conquer and is'nt the weeping sort, and has some fun gags. It's one of the shows best episodes i've seen and I highly recommend it

Next Time: The Kids Next Door deal with the worst kind of pool party> We also FINALLY get the evil spock beard on someone. Horay!

[maddiefriendlovesbilly]

Okay actually, I’m gonna be the change I want to see in the world— I Know I’m the only person pushing for this, but can you do a ship review on. Light Zeron and Officer Maloney— if you don’t know enough about either character for that,,,, I dunno— Poppy Soup and Sally Acachalla? - overthinkingtaleblr

you CANNOT do this to me I'm INSANE about both of these concepts and I'm gonna do both you fiend! I'm starting with zeron/maloney because I think the idea of that is just below spooker/maxwell for me on deranged (/pos) ships.

Light Zeron/Officer Maloney

so to start us off let's go over the AMAZING dynamic of "world's most pathetic officer of the law" and "vampire security guard on the run"

we know that maloney is. ahem. SHIT at catching criminals, which makes this whole thing work long enough that they Could form a love/hate relationship

god I want a 5k fanfic on this unironically but I would have to write it!!!!

is this post- or pre-vampire? I'm thinking pre BECAUSE imagine!!! imagine the angst

zeron is acting strangely, super out of character. the only person who knows him well enough to figure it out is the man trying to catch him :sobbing:

(also on an unrelated note, they're both aliens which I think is really cute)

look just like. god I'm just shaking my fists irl because I'm so incoherent about this

theyre like. weirdly similar tbh. something about their egos i feel like would both clash heavily and potentially work really well together

IT'S THE PERFECT ENEMIES TO LOVERS SICK FIC GODDAMN

zeron hasn't drunk any blood in ages, (something-something moral quandary something-something starving) and now he's basically passing out from malnutrition, so of course that's the moment maloney spots him in the alley he's squatting in.

and maybe if it were a stranger he would corner them and feed, (its so much easier to drink someone's blood when you can convince yourself that they aren't actually a person, in a weird, convoluted way) but this is someone he knows, maybe even respects. even if they are enemies.

so he doesn't want to drink maloney's blood, and that leaves him with only one other choice - he runs.

he pushes past him and ducks into the nearest abandoned building, hoping to lose maloney in there, but maloney's right behind him.

and meanwhile maloney, so used to their usual back-and-forth banter during fights, is highly confused (maybe a little upset - and fairly worried - if he's being honest) by this behavior.

zeron keeps running but it's clear he won't get much further unless he drinks someone's blood, and now there's literally only one person around - the guy he cares for too much (even if he won't admit it to himself).

be caught or surrender, that's his choice.

it's made for him when maloney catches his wrist - but instead of cuffing him, he spins zeron around, cornering him.

(at this point zeron is wondering if he's about to die a very painful death, but all he can do is stare at maloney's neck.)

maloney oblivious to his surroundings as always, is currently checking zeron over for injuries, and mentally slapping himself because he caught the criminal, why isn't he cuffing him?

this is around the time zeron's resolve breaks - close proximity to a very appetizing meal while starving makes it a bit difficult NOT to partake.

he goes for the neck - literally - and begins drinking like the world is ending. make this part as gay as your little heart desires.

being stabbed in the neck hurts, even more so when they are draining your blood, so maloney quickly pushes zeron off.

but a meal's a meal, and zeron is gone before maloney can even get a word in.

that's all ive got on that for right now haha, so let's hop over to pros and cons!

pros: very fun dynamic, their shared weirdness and the fact that they're both aliens (of different species) could be a bonding point, and they are both like. so so sopping wet and pathetic, they also have similar personalities in a strange way. great potential for hurt/comfort, enemies to lovers and hurt/no comfort fics.

cons: uhhhh. okay so theyre on opposite sides technically, which means any happy ending is gonna have a lot of rough spots, and there's like SO much distrust between them (and light zeron already has issues trusting others)

Conclusion: I'm like SOO biased here so give me a sec to find my center and use logic. Do I think they would work short-term? I feel like they would somehow manage it? like despite everything they'd somehow manage to stay in a not-so-secret kind-of-relationship for at least a year (meanwhile all the news stations are reporting about the two gay people fighting in the street again), and then they'd actually start going on the cheesiest dates ever (and causing pure chaos wherever they went), like coffee dates and amusement park dates and all that shit. everyone would just accept that they're dating and that maloney will probably never catch him but it's Buttsville, NC so what are you gonna do?

at the same time though, I'm sitting here like, what's the long-term gonna look like? does maloney become a criminal? do they get married and settle down? both are hilarious yet tragic because undoubtedly maloney would be a better criminal than police officer but it goes against his perception of himself, and neither is exactly built for domesticity. still, I think they'd manage. somehow it feels like they're too much of a force of nature to let something like that stop them, y'know?

[neoncherryblossom]

Drabble of that Pokémon x Owl House I mentioned

Kinda Chapter 1 of this AU I just wanted to try it out.

——

It was supposed to be a normal day. 

He was supposed to be with Uncle today, ending the last day of his grounding hopefully.

His Uncle was going to pick him up today and he would apologize. He would never ask him about the banned books again. 

He would never ask him for a book discussing Pokémon again. 

“We leave today boy?” Flapjack asked when Hunter woke up, gently preening his little white feathers. Hunter smiled at the Fletchling, before gently petting his little red head.

“Uncle should let us out today,” he said and ignored the way the Fletching’s feathers bristled. He knew Flapjack didn’t mean Uncle letting them out. He knew Flapjack meant running, because Uncle should’ve let him out days ago (and their food was beginning to run out), but Hunter wasn’t ready for that option yet. 

“You know he’s just protecting me Flapjack,” he said as he pushed himself out of bed. “When I’m older, I’ll be able to go out more.”

Even though there was a thrum under his fingers, when the grounding grew longer, how he had walked through the walls of this castle so many times, when all he wanted was to just see outside by himself just one more time-

Flapjack didn’t know that Hunter used to run away, Uncle’s worry and fear is what eventually made him stay. That when Uncle finally found him, worried out of his mind, it made his insides squirm with guilt for enjoying what hurt Uncle. 

Uncle taught him a lesson then, different and far worse than any of the scars he’s given when he’s fallen under his curse, and hurt so much more because Uncle was, he had never seen his uncle- the Champion furious at him like that before. 

Hunter wasn’t ready for the silent treatment. 

Flapjack didn’t know it persisted for well over a week until Hunter begged his uncle to forgive him, promised him that he wouldn’t do that again ever. He shouldn’t have run. He knew that. His uncle needed to teach him a lesson. He-he understood that, knew it was needed, that he was just being protected because his Uncle didn’t want to lose anymore but-

He was grateful for Flapjack. 

He was grateful someone wanted to talk to him. 

His uncle would teach him another lesson if he ever found out about Flapjack. But Flapjack was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he didn’t ever want to him to be taken away, even if Pokémon were supposed to be unpredictable and-and dangerous-

Flapjack was furious when he learned about how he got the scars- but he didn’t make him feel scared. He felt safe with Flapjack, even when he was mad. 

Flapjack still wouldn’t tell him how he got that scar on his eye. 

Hunter sighed and stretched his arms. Uncle would come for him today. He knows it. So he needed to clean his room before his return. 

It didn’t take long to bring the room back in order. It didn’t take long for him to review his lesson notes again. It didn’t take long to divide their rations and feed Flapjack his share before devouring his own. 

His uncle would sometimes tell him there were too little hours in a day, that being Champion took too many hours of it. 

The Golden Guard agreed (the Golden Guard always agreed, because the Champion was always right), but in the quietness of his room, Hunter did not agree in the slightest.

He sighed and sat at his desk and pulled out his sketchbook, Flapjack hopping onto his shoulder with an animated tweet. 

‘Gonna draw me?’

Hunter smirked and flicked his finger at him, Flapjack retaliating by pulling a strand of his hair and nestling on his head. “I’ve drawn you plenty of times! I’m going to draw something else.”

Not that he had much else to draw. He has filled many pages with Flapjack already, drawing the bird from the stories he’s told him about all the places he’s been. 

(Flapjack seems like he’s been to a lot of places and sometimes seemed so old. 

Flapjack can leave. He’s told him that. Flapjack, he knows Hunter will be okay.

Flapjack stays. That makes Hunter happier than it should, even when he’s being more selfish that he should.)

He’s drawn the Gym Leaders and Elite 4 members a lot. Especially their Pokémon. 

Uncle always said only the worthy can become trainers and only the best can become the strongest. So he wouldn’t be in trouble for drawing them. 

Even if he mainly drew Gym Leader Eberwolf’s Mightyena. 

He wanted to see Mightyena in person so badly.

But he isn’t allowed to disrupt the Gym Leaders or Elite 4 members when they came. He was the Golden Guard, meant to learn from the Champion by his side. 

(Flapjack once asked if the Golden Guard does people. He had Uncle and that’s all the people he needed. 

That made Flapjack want to take him more.)

‘Never draw me with boy!’

“I- what?” He asked, trying to look up at Flapjack. 

‘You draw me plenty alone. But I’m with boy so draw us together!’

Even though he couldn’t see, he could feel Flapjack’s wings beat excitedly on his head and he smiled. 

“I’ve never drawn myself before,” he hummed in thought, biting the eraser on his pencil. “You think I can do it?”

‘Boy is talented. Of course you can!’

Hunter blushed before looking back at his book, flipping threw the pages. He has been getting better at drawing people, so maybe…

“Sure,” he said and smiled at Flapjack’s happy tweets as he began making the sketch. 

——

It was hours later, when he was almost finished colouring, when someone banged the door. 

Hunter shot up and threw his sketchbook under his bed, shaking Flapjack awake before putting the fluttering bird in his bag. He stood at attention at the door as he waited for the familiar sound of his uncle’s keys as they worked their way into the mainly locks, ending his grounding. 

The door was blasted open instead, Hunter screeched and skid backwards as the locks clattering uselessly to the side, to reveal a Lucario. 

‘You should not be here boy,’ the Lucario said, staring down at him with glowing red eyes. 

Flapjack jumped out of his bag and landed in front of him, his wings glowing silver. 

‘Leave!’ Flapjack cried as he spread his wings wider. 

“Flapjack…” Hunter whispered as he rightened himself. 

‘You have scared the boy senseless Copper. Congratulations,” a new, rougher voice said and the biggest Arbok he has ever seen slithered in front of his door. The Arbok turned to him, one of its eyes greyed and body littered with old scars. 

‘That was not my intention,’ the Lucario-Copper hissed before closing his eyes. ‘But really Fletchling. What are you and the boy still doing here?’

“We’re-I’m waiting for my uncle and you are breaking in. Leave this place immediately before Champion Belos returns,” he said, standing up. The Lucario and Arbok looked at each other before staring at him confused. 

‘The Champion left you here?’

‘That does not make sense….’

“Copper! Shadow! Where are you-“ Hunter looked up with a start at the familiar voice. That was-

Darius Deamonne walked into his vision, Eberwolf the Huntsman sitting proudly on his shoulder. 

“Hunter?!” Darius called looking at him as he walked into the room. “What are you still doing here?”

“What does that mean?” he snapped baack (even when he knows he shouldn’t) because how did they get in here so easily.

Where was his uncle?

What’s going on?

“Hey Hunter,” Eberwolf waved at him as he glanced at the broken door. “What’s with all the locks?”

‘They were outside the door but I couldn’t be bothered with them,’ Copper said crossing his across his chest. 

Darius and Eberwolf shared a look, before looking at him. 

“I’m grounded,” he mumbled because he liked these two and they had just started to be nice to him in their last few meetings here (Darius was the one that gave him the sketchbook and he loved every second with it.) and now they were going to think he was a spoiled brat. “I wanted to, learn more about Flapjack but I’m not allowed to read the books about bird Pokémon and Uncle was furious when I asked.”

The surprised expressions were not what he was expecting. “How long have you been… grounded Little Prince,” Darius carefully asked. 

He shrugged. “I don’t keep track of the days anymore.”

‘Fletchling,’ the Arbok growled as he stared down at Flapjack and Hunter was suddenly very afraid that Arboks might actually eat Fletchings. ‘Who was bringing you food?’

‘No one. We rationed.’

“What do you mean you rationed?!” Eberwolf asked, baring his fangs and Hunter flinched away from them. 

“Eber,” Darius curtly said and the demon bowed his head. 

“I’m sorry Hunter,” Eberwolf said and Hunter’s eyes widened at the apology. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“N-no, y-you’re good I’m being, I’m being irrational it was dumb-“

“Little Prince,” Darius interrupted, bringing his hands together. “You being scared is not irrational and it’s certainly not dumb. Understand?”

But it was dumb and irrational. He- he shouldn’t have flinched, Eberwolf didn’t even do anything-

“Little Prince?”

“I understand,” he said with a nod. “But why are you here? What’s going on?”

Even if they were nice to him before, even when his knitting and scroll Darius gave him was safely under the floorboards, they were never this nice.

Darius and Eberwolf looked at each other again with a grimace before Eber bumped his head against Darius’, causing the man to sigh. 

“Hunter,” Darius started, rubbing his gloved hands together. “The Champion has been…missing for the past three days now. We have been looking for you.”

…what?

“Uncle’s missing?” He whispered and felt his eyes burn at their nod. This-this was his fault if he wasn’t grounded he could’ve- he could’ve protected his uncle just like he’s always protecting him and he needed Uncle he just-why were they being so nice when it was his failure that caused them to lose-

It was supposed to be a normal day. 

He was supposed to be with Uncle today, ending the last day of his grounding hopefully.

His Uncle was going to pick him up today and he would apologize. He would never ask him about the banned books again. 

He would never ask him for a book discussing Pokémon again. 

“We leave today boy?” Flapjack asked when Hunter woke up, gently preening his little white feathers. Hunter smiled at the Fletchling, before gently petting his little red head. 

“Uncle should let us out today,” he said and ignored the way the Fletching’s feathers bristled. He knew Flapjack didn’t mean Uncle letting them out. He knew Flapjack meant running, because Uncle should’ve let him out days ago (and their food was beginning to run out), but Hunter wasn’t ready for that option yet. 

“You know he’s just protecting me Flapjack,” he said as he pushed himself out of bed. “When I’m older, I’ll be able to go out more.”

Even though there was a thrum under his fingers, when the grounding grew longer, how he had walked through the walls of this castle so many times, when all he wanted was to just see outside by himself just one more time-

Flapjack didn’t know that Hunter used to run away, Uncle’s worry and fear is what eventually made him stay. That when Uncle finally found him, worried out of his mind, it made his insides squirm with guilt for enjoying what hurt Uncle. 

Uncle taught him a lesson then, different and far worse than any of the scars he’s given when he fell under his curse, and hurt so much more because Uncle was, he had never seen his uncle- the Champion furious at him like that before. 

Hunter wasn’t ready for the silent treatment. 

Flapjack didn’t know it persisted for well over a week until Hunter begged his uncle to forgive him, promised him that he wouldn’t do that again ever. He shouldn’t have run. He knew that. His uncle needed to teach him a lesson. He-he understood that knew it was needed that he was just being protected because his Uncle didn’t want to lose anymore but-

He was grateful for Flapjack. 

He was grateful someone wanted to talk to him. 

His uncle would teach him another lesson if he ever found out about Flapjack. But Flapjack was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he didn’t ever want to him to be taken away, even if Pokémon were supposed to be unpredictable and-and dangerous-

Flapjack was furious when he learned about how he got the scars- but he didn’t make him feel scared. He felt safe with Flapjack, even when he was mad. 

Flapjack still wouldn’t tell him how he got that scar on his eye. 

Hunter sighed and stretched his arms. Uncle would come for him today. He knows it. So he needed to clean his room before his return. 

It didn’t take long to bring the room back in order. It didn’t take long for him to review his lesson notes again. It didn’t take long to divide their rations and feed Flapjack his share before devouring his own. 

His uncle would sometimes tell him there were too little hours in a day, that being Champion took too many hours of it. 

The Golden Guard agreed (the Golden Guard always agreed, because the Champion was always right), but in the quietness of his room, Hunter did not agree in the slightest.

He sighed and sat at his desk and pulled out his sketchbook, Flapjack hopping onto his shoulder with an animated tweet. 

‘Gonna draw me?’

Hunter smirked and flicked his finger at him, Flapjack retaliating by pulling a strand of his hair and nestling on his head. “I’ve drawn you plenty of times! I’m going to draw something else.”

Not that he had much else to draw. He has filled maybe pages with Flapjack already, drawing the bird from the stories he’s told him about all the places he’s been. 

(Flapjack seems like he’s been to a lot of places and sometimes seemed so old. 

Flapjack can leave. He’s told him that. Flapjack, he knows Hunter will be okay.

Flapjack stays. That makes Hunter happier than it should, even when he’s being more selfish that he should.)

He’s drawn the Gym Leaders and Elite 4 members a lot. Especially their Pokémon. 

Uncle always said only the worthy can become trainers and only the best can become the strongest. So he wouldn’t be in trouble for drawing them. 

Even if he mainly drew Gym Leader Eberwolf’s Mightyena. 

He wanted to see Mightyena in person so badly.

But he isn’t allowed to disrupt the Gym Leaders or Elite 4 members when they came. He was the Golden Guard, meant to learn from the Champion by his side. 

(Flapjack once asked if the Golden Guard does people. He had Uncle and that’s all the people he needed. 

That made Flapjack want to take him more.)

‘Never draw me with boy!’

“I- what?” He asked, trying to look up at Flapjack. 

‘You draw me plenty alone. But I’m with boy so draw us together!’

Even though he couldn’t see, he could feel Flapjack’s wings beat excitedly on his head and he smiled. 

“I’ve never drawn myself before,” he hummed in thought, biting the eraser on his pencil. “You think I can do it?”

‘Boy is talented. Of course you can!’

Hunter blushed before looking back at his book, flipping threw the pages. He has been getting better at drawing people, so maybe…

“Sure,” he said and smiled at Flapjack’s happy tweets as he began making the sketch. 

——

It was hours later, when he was almost finished colouring, when someone banged the door. 

Hunter shot up and threw his sketchbook under his bed, shaking Flapjack before putting the fluttering bird in his bag. He stood at attention at the door as he waited for the familiar sound of his uncle’s keys as they worked their way into the door. 

The door was blasted open instead, Hunter screeched and skid backwards as the locks clattering uselessly to the side, to reveal a Lucario. 

‘You should not be here boy,’ the Lucario said, staring down at him with glowing red eyes. 

Flapjack jumped out of his bag and landed in front of him, his wings glowing silver. 

‘Leave!’ Flapjack cried as he spread his wings wider. 

“Flapjack…” Hunter whispered as he rightened himself. 

‘You have scared the boy senseless Copper. Congratulations,” a new voice said and the biggest Arbok he has ever seen slithered in front of his door. The Arbok turned to him, one of its eyes greyed and body littered with old scars. 

‘That was not my intention,’ the Lucario-Copper hissed before closing his eyes. ‘But really Fletchling. What are you and the boy still doing here?’

“We’re-I’m waiting for my uncle and you are breaking in. Leave this place immediately before Champion Belos returns,” he said, standing up. The Lucario and Arbok looked at each other before staring at him confused. 

‘The Champion left you here?’

‘That does not make sense….’

“Copper! Shadow! Where are you-“ Hunter looked up with a start at the familiar voice. That was-

Darius Deamonne walked into his vision, Eberwolf the Huntsman sitting proudly on his shoulder. 

“Hunter?!” Darius called looking at him as he walked into the room. “What are you still doing here?”

“What does that mean?” How did they get in here so easily. Where was his uncle?

What’s going on?

“Hey Hunter,” Eberwolf waved at him as he glanced at the broken door. “What’s with all the locks?”

‘They were outside the door but I couldn’t be bothered with them,” Copper said crossing his across his chest. 

Darius and Eberwolf shared a look, before looking at him. 

“I’m grounded,” he mumbled because he liked these two and they had just started to be nice to him in their last few meetings here (Darius was the one that gave him the sketchbook and he loved every second with it.) and now they were going to think he was a spoiled brat. “I wanted to- learn more about Flapjack but I’m not allowed to read the books about bird Pokémon and Uncle was furious when I asked.”

The surprised expressions were not what he was expecting. “How long have you been… grounded Little Prince,” Darius carefully asked. 

He shrugged. “I don’t keep track of the days anymore.”

‘Fletchling,’ the Arbok growled as he stared down at Flapjack and Hunter was suddenly very afraid that Arboks might actually eat Fletchings. ‘Who was bringing you food?’

‘No one. We rationed.’

“What do you mean you rationed?” Eberwolf asked, baring his fangs and Hunter flinched away from them. 

“Eber,” Darius curtly said and the demon bowed his head. 

“I’m sorry Hunter,” Eberwolf said and Hunter’s eyes widened at the apology. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“N-no, y-you’re good I’m being, I’m being irrational it was dumb-“

“Little Prince,” Darius interrupted, bringing his hands together. “You being scared is not irrational and it’s certainly not dumb. Understand?”

But it was dumb and irrational. He- he shouldn’t have flinched, Eberwolf didn’t even do anything-

“Little Prince?”

“I understand,” he said with a nod. “But why are you here? What’s going on?”

Darius and Eberwolf looked at each other again with a grimace before Eber bumped his head against Darius’ causing the man to sigh. 

“Hunter,” Darius started, rubbing his gloved hands together. “The Champion has been…missing for the past three days now. We have been looking for you.”

…what?

“Uncle’s missing?” He whispered. This-this was his fault if he wasn’t grounded he could’ve- he could’ve protected his uncle just like he’s always protecting him and he needed Uncle he just-why were they being nice to him when it was his failings that-

‘Boy!’

He gasped as tears fell down his face and he tried to scrub them away furiously, because Darius and Eberwolf were still here, and he shouldn’t cry, he should be better than this-

Darius took a step towards him and hugged Hunter to his chest. 

And Hunter broke down in sobs as his legs buckled underneath him, Flapjack nuzzling his head as Darius brought him onto his lap and hugged him-

(He felt Eberwolf hug his back as Copper and Ar-Shadow leaned against him, their weight heavy and protective and safe-

They stayed there a long time.

It was supposed to be a normal day.)

[toomanylegos]

Back at it again with another post about my journey through/thoughts on The Magnus Archives! This time, I'm tackling Season 2 of the horrifying podcast : )

Also, a small warning, this post is much more wordy than the last Magnus Archives review. I felt like sharing a lot of my little experiences this time and I didn't know how to shave the writing down 😅 So, yeah, it's gonna be a read.

Without further ado, I present...

My Journey Through Season 2 of The Magnus Archives!

!!!MAJOR Spoilers for MAG S2 Ahead!!!

So, I gotta admit, it was really hard to get back on the MAG train because I just needed a break after S1. That and school picked up for me again, so my free time got eradicated. The thing that got me hopping back onto the train was Eggo, my other lovely friends, and my bad habit of accidentally spoiling myself 😅

I roleplay with Eggo frequently and we like to use MAG characters in our roleplays. I like having a full visual of what a character looks like, so I obviously looked up some fanart to see how other people have drawn the MAG characters which, uh, gave me many questions and even more encouragement.

On top of that, my other friends were zooming through Magnus Archives like nothing and I certainly didn't want to be left in the dust! Not to mention that Eggo kept dropping little hints about future events without spoiling too much; even warned me about how Jon will get "very paranoid and turn into a bit of an ass in Season 2."

Damn you Eggo you magnificent bastard-

Anyway, I continued the second part of my auditory journey on March 27th and finished it on April 12th; I decided to take notes on each episode as I listened to help keep my thoughts together. Notes which I then polished up and am now going to share since I thought it'd be funny to expose my mostly unfiltered thoughts about this lovely series :D

My Silly Notes~

Ep. 41

Damn Jon sounds tired already I just want to give him a hug

Oh no, the paranoia arc has started oh shit-

Ep. 42

Pretty cool story but I'm waiting for the supplemental

NO NOT MARTIN!! JON NO! HE'S JUST AN INNOCENT BEAN!

Ep. 43

Man, even the police is pulling cover ups. Makes sense though.

Oh shit he got access to Gertrude's tapes oh shit!

Ep. 44

Oop- Gertrude recording 👀

Okay apparently body horror is the thing that fucks me up

Patience is a virtue Jon, and I'm worried about how paranoid you're getting. I've seen Marble Hornets I know the writing on these walls

Ep. 45

Ima be honest I spaced out in the middle of this statement, and then came back to right when the guy got all the blood sucked outta him exCUSE ME-

Every time Jon comes on with his frantic voiced supplemental I always sigh heavily

Oh shit Martin caught him-

Jon, my brother in Christ, you're stalking Tim???

Ep. 46

My flight or fight response went off at both the mention of a bookstore and the name Michael. Bro the statement just started-

"It was February when I got the Leitner book." moTHERFUCKER NOT AGAIN-

Figured it was The Vast yikers

Considering Sasha got fucking bodysnatched last season, I think I have a good idea about who's going into the tunnels

Oh shit spiders? The Web?? Funky monkey time???

Ep. 47

Oh, this poor woman. She went through a real House of Leaves situation

Nice hearing Jon say he believes a person's statement out loud

Eggo mentioned something about Micheal and doors and now I know what they meant and I am so down

Whomst??

Oh fuck it's Micheal-

OH. MY. FUCKING. HELL MICHEAL!

I take it back I'm not down-

Ep. 48

"...he felt he should at least let me know that I was marked." "...telling me to remember my mother. To keep her face in my mind." Oh. Oh, this sounds familiar...The Stranger?

I was incredibly wrong, but the statement is still terribly nerve-wracking since I'm not fond of large crowds

Well, at least Michael warned Jon about Sasha albeit vaguely

Oh shit Jon got told on!

Not Elias being on the suspect list. It's gonna get wild

Ep. 49

Butcher shop? Cannibalism?? We doing a cannibalism???

Nope it was way worse

Oh Sasha's computer keeps breaking I wOnDeR wHy-

Tim being the honeypot of the group has me cackling-

Elias being a pothead in college also has me cackling

Ep. 50

Love hearing more about Robert Smirke. I'm genuinely curious about him and his weird architecture

Damn this statement has me at the edge of my seat! Jonny Sims truly has a gift for storytelling dear goodness

Oh Tim! It's nice to hear his voice again : )

Tim completely misunderstanding why the policewoman keeps coming around to see Jon made me laugh into my pillow

Oh my Lord I'm sobbing Tim my beloved-

Ep. 51

Ding ding ding! Another name drop: Simon Fairchild! Last time I heard that name a guy got eaten by the DAMN SKY

Oh shit that means this is gonna involve The Vast fuck-

It seems Jon has caught Sasha staring at the table and got a recording of them chatting about it. Very glad about that

Ep. 52

Damn! Another name drop: Robert Montauk! I'm super interested in this statement

Oooh! Jon's getting another Gertrude tape let's go!

"No, the hot one" lol I'm crying

And the awkward explanation y'all I'm dead-

The lights are blowing and the water is bad I am seeing patterns

Thank you nightlight for turning off right when the statement mentioned the completely dark ass room; very appropriate

Another name drop: Maxwell Rayner. I don't remember where I've heard it before though...

Jon just sounds so tired. Please rest my dude

Ep. 53

Woo-hoo! Another statement with Gertrude! And it's both direct from subject and recorded on my birthday :D

Oh this one is rough

Ep. 54 to Ep. 68

Notes have been lost due to failure to save my draft before closing out Tumblr (I'm on mobile)

Ep. 69

Oh Martin, Jon... 😢

Jon why in the hell would you think it's a good idea to go alone oh my god sir

Ep. 70

The statement just started and I'm already being mildly jerked around by the dark humor

This journal is giving a particular energy

...well shit, rest in peace Christopher...

Yup this has gotta be another damn Leitner

Oop- I stand both corrected and disturbed

Ep. 71

New fear unlocked: Subway trains

Annnnnd we're back on the body horror hnnnnngh

This is the most straightforward statement I've ever heard damn

There's someone living in the tunnels, but at least Jon decided to stop going down there 😂

Ep. 72

Revisiting Maxwell Rayner the cult leader let's go!!

👀 🍿

And we back on the cannibalism ho boy

This statement writer thinks like me and I'm kinda unnerved by it...

"Meat is me" I felt my veins turn cold shit-

Holy. Shit. So many name connections!

Ep. 73

Hell yeah! We getting Basira's account of Maxwell Rayner's arrest!!

Okay, I already don't like the dark; this whole statement is just making my minor fear towards it worse

A cult never dies, Jon. It just sleeps for a while...

Ep. 74

As someone who likes to stay up, this one is...deeply upsetting

I also woke up sick so the description of physical fatigue matched up perfectly with how I felt this morning so that added some eerieness-

"Sleep is for the weak," is something I quote often as a joke. This statement made me shiver at the phrase.

Micheal scares the shit outta me

Welp I knew Not-Sasha was lurking in the tunnels, but who the hell is the other guy???

Ep. 75

Man with a lightening scar...why does that sound familiar...?

Ooooooh I remember now

This just made my fear of heights worse ack I do not like Michael Crew

Oh shit! Officer Basira came through hell yeah!!

Ep. 76

Yoooo the ghost hunting lady is back! Melanie King!

Haunted train you say?? 👀

My jaw is dropping at the first hand account from the guy on this train Holy crap!

It's. Not. Sasha. Jon! Listen. To. Melanie!

Ep. 77

Let's hope this Gertrude tape can help give Jon the push he needs to take care of Not Sasha

Hell yeah!! Thank you Gertrude you just gave Jon some very good information!

A proper name for the creature: The Not-Them. An aspect of The Stranger. So much good information...

I'm sorry, it travels??? Horrifying

Jon, my brother in Christ, please don't do this on your own

Ep. 78

The amount of concern I have for Jon, oh my gosh bro-

Something about this scenario just sets off a primal fear in me

Decker...why does that sound familiar too?

AHHHHHH!!!

And now I know why it was in the damn table

Oh, oh Jon....

Please listen to Jon please please please

Ugh or don't cause he shouldn't be alone I'm so torn-

Jon no nononONONO WRONG MOVE!!!!!

Hello Michael 👋 how's it going

hahaha I'm dying

Ep. 79

...are we really opening with one of Martin's poems right now?

Oop- never mind Tim and Martin are on their way! Haha

This is gonna be bad

Oh Martin, my heart goes out to you-

AH SHIT JUMPSCARE

Tiiiiim you can't leave him bro-

Yeah, you kinda jumped the gun Jonny boy...

Oh shit-

Boys, please stop fighting-

Micheal I swear to everything-

I'm not okay Holy shit

Jon, I love you dude, but shut up you'RE TRYING TO HIDE

I'msotenserightnowmyhandsareshakingholyfuck-

"The house of its enemy with the biggest eyes you've ever seen" oh how telling! I'd be intrigued if I weren't fucking terrified

I can't handle Jon breaking down I'm about to cry oh my god-

WHOMST IS THIS NOW!?!

I feel like I need an oxygen tank cause I can't breath enough holy fuck bro-

Ep. 80

I figured Sasha was dead, but...damn, it still hurts a little cause I liked her.

Leitner? As in the Jurgen Leitner?? Are you fuckING KIDDING ME BRO??!?

At least he's...helpful so far...

Yes, your master, Jon...hehe

At least Leitner is taking responsibility for his actions. Can't hate him for that.

I absolutely adore how everything is tying together in this episode. It feels so neat yet still so mysterious, like I'm getting answers, but not as many or as fast as I would like. I love it!

"...something with too many teeth and limbs like knives" "...ran into a door that shouldn't have been there" 👀

Damn, 20 years?? Goodness, Leitner...

"I-I didn't know Gertrude had assistants." "Of course, three of them. Each meeting an unpleasant end." For the sake of both Jon and his remaining assistants, I pray he's not part of a chain either...

Mr. Leitner you are a well of much-needed information huhuhu~

So that's where Eggo got the ant analogy...

Micheal is named The Distortion and The Spiral. Good to know.

I had a feeling it was Elias- wait Gertrude was going to destroy the archive??

Jon, we don't have time dude

Oh shit oh fuck I have fear-

The Unknowing???

THE WAY I FUCKING JUMPED EXCUSE ME WAHT-

Oh Martin, you sweet bean...

Bro, days??? He's been gone for days???

Oh no....

TL;DR

I firmly believe that the goal of any series should be to improve as they tell their story; The Magnus Archives achieves that goal beautifully. Last season, there was some episodes that I didn't find very entertaining. This season, however, I was enthralled by nearly every episode.

The writing, the reading, the sound design, everything just got better and better!

I felt my blood run cold and chills run up my spine several times throughout this season; I was all in on the mystery of Gertrude's murder; I was nervously biting my nails as Jon slipped further into paranoia and Not-Sasha continued to be more suspicious...

I am beyond excited to move on to Season 3 and, eventually, finish the entire series! I have truly and wholly fallen in love with this series 💚💜

[itsnotreal]

https://www.tumblr.com/thelarrylovechild-blog1/83405811896/cute-punklouis-innocentharry-by-milamint?source=share

Hii :) can you write anything inspired by this art please 🙏🏼

Don't know if my earlier ask was sent or not sorry if this is the 2nd time you're receiving my ask.

I apologize for the lateness of this! But, I can surely try to do a little something based off that!!

—

Louis made his way through the park, he’d decided to take his board out for the first time in a few months. It was beautiful outside, clear skies and only a gentle breeze every so often.

It was also Friday and his boss let him off work early since things were finally slowing down at the office. What better way to spend the extra hours he had than outside skating around the park that was only a few blocks from his apartment.

It had huge sidewalks (perfect for skating and not running into people), a few basketball and tennis courts, and a decent pond in the center. But, most importantly it had a skate park.

He loved going there, but knew today probably wouldn’t be the best day to do so given that it was summer break and all the rascals were probably taking it up. Don’t get him wrong, he loved kids, but younger skaters could be punks sometimes (he would know, he was one of them). So, instead of going to the skatepark, he decided to just causally skate around the pond, turning off to the other sidewalks a few times and doing a few kick flips. Nothing too extreme, he wasn’t exactly young anymore.

One on of his laps around the pond, he noticed someone crouched on the pavement cradling their leg. He had a split second thought to just keep going around them, but concern flooded through him when he could see that their face was splotchy red and had a few tear marks falling down their cheeks.

He stopped on his board, kicked the edge of it to flip it up and caught the other end in his hand then held it horizontally against his side as he made his way towards them.

He cleared his throat, hoping to not scare them but failed when they jerked up to look at him with wide, tear-filled green eyes. “Hello, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

The man sniffled and wiped at his eyes with the back of his hands. It was then that Louis noticed the man had a flower-crown atop his head. Fucking cute. “Yeah, m’good. Tripped over the edge of the sidewalk and scrapped up my knee.”

Louis frowned and crouched down to the other man’s level. “‘M Louis.”

The man ran his eyes over Louis cautiously.

Which.. fair.

He was littered with tattoos, had an eyebrow and nose piercing and was dressed in all black.

“Harry.” He said with a sniffle.

Louis smiled, “Lovely to meet you. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Harry smiled gently, “I could use some help getting to my car, if you’re not busy.”

Louis nodded, smile widening furthermore. “I think I could assist with that.” He sat his board down on the ground, and gave it a little pat. “Hop on.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “What?”

Louis smile turn teasing. “If you sit on it I can pull you with the strap on your bag.”

Harry’s face contorted a bit, until it turned to understanding. “Oh.” He let out a little giggle as he pushed himself up and onto the board.

Louis grabbed the strap from Harry’s back and adjusted it so he could easily pull him along. “Alright?”

Harry gave a single nod.

Louis started to pull them towards the exit, “Where’d you park? Also, please make sure to leave a five star review to help with my ratings.”

That sent Harry into a fit of laughter and it made Louis’ chest feel warm. “Just right over there. The black Range Rover.”

Louis whistled, impressed, and peaked behind him to raise an eyebrow at Harry. “Fancy, fancy.”

Harry simply shrugged, “Worked hard for it.”

They made their way closer, and once they were at the edge of the sidewalk he stopped them and reached for Harry’s hand.

“Excellent service.” Harry said around a pleased smile as Louis hauled him off the board.

He bowed his head. “It’s what I’m here for.”

“Thank you, Louis. I appreciate your help. I think I’ve got it from here.”

Louis nodded and bent down to grab his board, when he glanced up at Harry, he was chewing on his lip. “Okay?”

Harry’s nose scrunched, “Could I get your number? You know— in case I need another ride.” He had a smug look on his face now.

Louis’ eyes widened, but he nodded nonetheless. “I think that would be alright.”

[mill3nniumforc3]

2023: A Year in Review: Part 3

July 20th: since my back was so burnt and sore, we planned on spending the day inside. Russell decided last minute to book massages for us, so that was fun. Lisa (the masseuse who massaged me) saw my burnt back and used some cool aloe lotion on me. She offered to sell the rest to us, and we graciously accepted. After our massages, we went to get ready for our photo session. We had a lot of fun with it. After photos, we decided to get a drink before hopping on the shuttle to Sandals Grande St. Lucian for our dinner reservation at Gordon's Pier. I had Pan Fried Scallops, Plant-Based Filet Mignon and Carrots Three-Ways, and Chocolate Chunk Espresso Brownie, plus we shared the Pan-Seared Swordfish Steak. After dinner, we went to wait for the shuttle back to La Toc. Once we got back, Russell rubbed my back with the new aloe, and we went to bed because we had an early morning ahead of us.

July 21st: our last full-day of vacation. We got up early to go on our Land and Sea Adventure excursion. We went to the amphitheater to meet up with the excursion leaders. We got split up into different shuttles, and we were taken to a pier. We stood around for a very long while until we were finally called to board a bus. We were driven around different landmarks of the island, stopping at a few crucial points on the way to Soufriere Drive-In Volcano. Once we got to the volcano, we took a mud bath. We got into boiling hot water, to get accustomed to the temperature, covered ourselves in gray mud and used black mud for decorating, then got back into the boiling hot water. We went to head back to the bus, but got delayed because someone in our group passed out. We dropped him and his wife off at the pier so he could rest in the shade, then we went to Toraille Waterfall. After we got our picture under the waterfall, I had to go to the bathroom. I went into the bathroom like normal, but when I was done, the lock was stuck. I started panicking when I couldn't open the door, so I pushed on the door as hard as I could. The door swung open, and I ran out. Russell asked what happened, and after I explained that I couldn't unlatch the lock, he reassured me that I was fine. We headed back to the pier and got on the boat, where we were served lunch. The lunch was pretty mid. We got to tour the island from the ocean, and stopped for an excursion to snorkel. I was excited to snorkel, but I couldn't breathe normally and kept swallowing salt water, which sucked. It was cool to see the fish up close, even though I couldn't take pictures because my waterproof case wouldn't let me. After snorkeling, it was time to head back to the resort. Upon getting back, we went to the photo center to pick out our 10 favorite photos taken during the week and the gift shop to get our t-shirts and souvenirs. We got dinner at The Pavilion, where I had Crab & Corn Cake, Penne Alfredo, and Chocolate Delice. After dinner, we decided to get one last walk on the beach and one last feel of the ocean.

July 22nd: I was sad when I woke up. While I was excited to be reunited with the pets, I was going to miss our little paradise. We got the breakfast buffet one last time, put on our new t-shirts, and made sure we had everything packed. I was emotional when we were getting ready to leave because I was going to miss it. Sameera found us when we were sitting in the lobby waiting to leave, and she told us that she loved us because we were always smiling and friendly. She wrote us a little note to remember her by (and we still have it on our fridge). Soon enough, we were called to shuttle to the airport. The staff sang a goodbye song to us, and I started crying. Once our luggage was loaded, we made our way to UVF. The airport was chaotic, but they're allegedly working on upgrading it. We checked into our flight, made it through inspection, and then stood around because there was very limited seating. We eventually got seats, and Russell gave me his credit card to buy us some lunch. I got us food and brought it back to our seats. As we were finishing our food, we saw our plane land. We were soon called to board, and the flight home began. Once we landed, we were taken through a special walkway to take us to customs. Before we got in line, I went to the bathroom. The line took us about 45 minutes to get through, but once we made it out and had our luggage, we called for the shuttle to take us back to our car. We got lucky that a shuttle was right outside, because the traffic was extremely backed up on the international side. Once we were in the car, we started heading home, picking up something to eat on the way home. I luckily had the next day off to recover, and I made sure to thank Kathy for that.

July was uneventful afterwards. We saw the Barbie movie at some point.

August

I went on my first solo flight on August 18th. Russell and I woke up at 3:30am and got on the road at 4pm. We got to the airport at 5am, and Russell helped me print my ticket (I wasn't going to check in a bag). When it was time for me to get in the TSA line, he gave me a hug and kiss goodbye (and I cried because I hate goodbyes, even if it's just for a weekend). The line for TSA went pretty quickly, though I did get stopped because there was a body wash that I forgot I had stowed in there. Whoops! I got to my gate with 20 minutes to spare before boarding, and I decided to just sit. The time from takeoff to landing was rather short. I texted my mom to let her know I landed in Cleveland since the original plan was she would leave the house after I landed (the house is 10 minutes from the airport), but she parked nearby and said she saw my plane land. Once I was off the plane and in the car, our first stop was... McDonald's because I wanted a bagel. We ate our breakfast there, and then went to Party City and Walmart to get items for the party. As we were finishing up in Walmart, Fiona asked us to go to Moira's house to babysit Duncan. While babysitting, I tried to get Duncan to say my name, but he kept saying Fun-Fun. I decided to let that be my aunt name. When Moira came home, we got dinner at Swenson's (my idea!). After dinner, we finally went to the house. I got comfortable on the couch, as it would be where I was sleeping for the weekend.

August 18th was also Tee's birthday. I texted her.

August 19th was the day of the party. I dressed in semi-formal clothes, and helped with setting up the space. As people arrived, I greeted them. People asked me how our vacation was the previous month (it was amazing) and when Russell was going to pop the question (eventually...). I was very happy to see my grandparents too. After everyone left, I helped clean up. I luckily caught Duncan about to pull down the fire alarm and stopped him. After getting home, my mom asked if I wanted to join her and Dad for church the next morning. I politely declined, citing that COVID has made me realize I don't need church to worship the Lord.

August 20th was the day I flew back. Bridgid surprised me with a bagel and my dad surprised me with a Filet O'Fish. I ate both. Before going to the airport, I wanted to stop at Sheetz. I got me a milkshake and Snyder butter puffcorn (my favorite brand, not to be confused with Snyder's, that they don't sell in ATL). My parents dropped me off at the airport, and I checked in at the kiosk. I initially declined to check-in my bag, but they asked again, saying the flight was full and that I could check for free. Ok! I checked in my bag and went to TSA, which didn't move very quickly. I got stopped again because they detected metal on me. They asked if I was wearing a necklace, and I pulled down my shirt to reveal that my bra had a zipper. They pat me down and scanned me, and when I was given the all clear. I got to my gate and took a seat. The flight there didn't take long, but we had a delay getting to the gate because there was an emergency at the one we were supposed to go to. We ended up going to concourse D instead of concourse B, but thankfully the plane train meant I didn't have to walk all the way to baggage claim. As I was heading to baggage claim, someone grabbed me from behind and shouted, "Welcome back to Atlanta!" I initially panicked until I realized it was Russell. We got my bag then went to the car to go home.

I was asked to join my place of employment's softball team. I hadn't played softball since I was 12, but I accepted because I thought it'd be fun. Practices were... interesting. David (meat department manager) once hit a ball towards me while I wasn't paying attention (distracted by an ambulance). The ball landed on my foot. It hurt, but no lasting damages. Not even a trip to the doctor.

September

The softball tournament was on September 5th. I was made catcher for my own safety, but I shared the position with Colin (front end worker) Out of all the stores in the district, only 4 showed up. We won the first game 5-4, but lost the second 12-8. It was so much fun! Lunch was provided, but it wasn't food I could eat outside of chips, cookies, and snow cones. I got a more filling lunch afterwards.

Cailen announced that she, Damian, Haley, and Will were moving to a new townhouse at the end of the month, which meant anything we had left in the old house had to be removed. We thankfully didn't have much left, but Tracy had a lot left. Who knows if she ever actually removed everything at this point?

Lilli's first birthday was on September 22nd. She got a haircut for her birthday.

Bridgid's 26th birthday was on September 23rd. I called her and we talked for a little while.

October

We had a garage sale on October 7th. We sold some things, but we realized most of the things we wanted to sell were very random (old toys that belonged to Russell's cousin when he was little, old DVDs and video games, etc). We realized after a long while of nobody stopping by that we'd be better off trying to sell things at a flea market. We tore down and went for a late lunch at Olive Garden #NeverEndingPastaBowl

October 15th was the scariest day (TW: medical). I had been having problems with my asthma for a few weeks. My inhaler wasn't working, I would get shortness of breath, and I coughed more often. It all came to head on that day. I went to work, and Anna and Makayla (the leads) could tell I wasn't feeling good. They told me I could go home, but I didn't want to let them down. By 4:30pm, I knew I needed to get help. I got winded anytime I bent over, couldn't walk my normal pace without my chest hurting, and couldn't breathe. I went to Frank and explained what was happening, and he gave me permission to leave. I went to the urgent care by my house, only to find they were appointment only. I managed to get one for 20 minutes later. They tested me for COVID, flu, and strep to rule those out, then treated my asthma with a breathing treatment and prescribed me a stronger inhaler and Z-pack to open my airways.

October 27th was Moira's 28th birthday. I left a message.

October 28th was the other scariest day. I called Russell when I got off work and he said to me, "If you still believe in God, now is a good time to thank Him." I thought he was joking at first because the World Series was happening, but he was serious. "If I left the house 15 seconds earlier, I probably wouldn't be here right now. I was going to leave, but randomly had the urge to check my phone. I'm glad I did, because a car on the other side of the road lost control about a football field away from me, jumped the median, and landed in the ditch." We later found that driver was DOA.

Speaking of DOA, I found out upon getting home that Matthew Perry passed away. That was very sad.

For Halloween, I somehow managed to get an early shift, which meant I could take Lilli around the neighborhood. I bought her a ladybug costume, and she loved it (minus the antennae). Everyone who saw her around the neighborhood loved her, and Lilli loved all the attention and treats she got.

November

The Rangers won the World Series on November 1st. While I would had been happy with either team winning, I was glad the Rangers won since they hadn't won a single game yet.

On November 9th, Moira revealed that she was pregnant with baby #2. We referred to the baby as Groot because one of the ultrasound pictures looked like Groot.

I found out via text message from Russell on November 19th that Rosalynn Carter passed away. It was very sad, not just because she was a former First Lady, but because she lived in Georgia.

We originally had no Thanksgiving plans, but we were invited to Cailen's new house for a housewarming/Thanksgiving dinner. We initially were supposed to be over around 5pm, so I started cooking my dishes at 1pm to ensure everything would be ready. While I was cooking, Cailen texted to say dinner wouldn't be until 7pm. I couldn't uncook the food, so my dishes ended up not tasting as good. The peanut butter pie that Haley's mom made was fantastic though.

November 25th was my paternal grandfather's 90th birthday. YAY!

December

Russell's company Christmas party was on December 8th. It was being held in a hotel this time (Thompson Buckhead), and Russell got a room since we live outside of the radius. We got some good drinks, ate some decent food (the bread was a little too dry, but the rest was pretty good), and Russell did some "gambling" (it was fake money). After the party, we went up to our room. The bed wasn't super comfy, but we made do.

The next day, we planned to spend the day in Atlanta. We got breakfast at Silver Skillet, then went to Georgia Aquarium. I loved seeing all the fish, plus we got to see a sea lion show and dolphin show. Afterwards, we went back home. We picked up Tee, and we got a late lunch at El Sombrero.

We took Lilli to meet Santa on December 17th. She... was ok. Kept getting distracted by other dogs, but we managed to get a few good photos.

The holidays at work were crazy! I racked up so much overtime.

Also, the pressure was placed on me at work to seriously consider accepting the lead position. Anna's last day was Christmas Eve, and Rebecca was stepping down on New Year's Eve. Oh yeah, we went through leads like underwear. Sean stepped down, Caleb stepped down, Imelda stepped down, Wendi quit, Makayla transferred, and now both leads were leaving. Spoiler alert: as of today, 2/22/24, I am not a lead.

Christmas was a relaxing day. We slept in, gave each other our presents, and cooked dinner.

New Year's Eve was relaxing... minus me going to work, but I was off the next day. I helped myself to a homemade drink.

And THAT was 2023. Sorry for the delay and the three parts. Hopefully the character limit will be gone next year. The end!

[casspurrjoybell-32]

A First Chance At Love - Chapter 2a

*Warning Adult Content*

Avery Chandler

I was sitting in the living room with Aiden, Robin, Jay and Sadie as they discussed... I honestly have no idea I wasn't paying attention.

My mind was more on what happened last week.

A whole week I have avoided Caleb.

I felt pathetic that I was hiding from someone half my size but I was confused.

I have never felt anything towards another person, male or female.

I wasn't prejudice against sex I just knew that I would never have what other wolves do.

And Caleb's constant advances on me never fazed me in anyway other than annoyance.

I'm not saying now I'm feeling something towards him because I'm not.

I guess being in wolf form let my wolf get a little curious than he would when I'm in human form.

That had never happened before.

"Avery?"

I snapped my head up at them as I was pulled out of my thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"We're going to go baby shopping. Do you want to come with us?" Aiden asked me.

I could see the desperate pleading look on his face.

I suppressed the smile that was tempted to show.

I just nodded once setting my book down on the table before I stood.

They headed towards the door, me at their heels.

Robin threw the keys my way and I swiftly caught them hopping in the driver's seat.

I stuck the keys in the ignition glancing up to see Aiden wrapping his arms around Liam's neck sharing a passionate kiss.

I was frowning by the time they pulled away and Aiden headed to slide in the back seat with Robin and Jay.

"BABY SHOPPING."

I cringed at the screech Sadie made in the passenger seat.

"Banshees. I swear," Aiden muttered from the back.

I smirked before pulling out on the road.

Sadie was messing with the radio as j and Robin were murmuring to each other.

Aiden was quiet so I took a quick peak in the review mirror to see him gazing out of his window his head resting in his palm.

My eyebrows furrowed a bit as I focused back on the road.

"OMG. I LOVE THIS SONG," Jay screamed... the car swerved a bit as I jumped from the unprepared scream... growling from the annoying random yelling from these girls.

Sadie turned the volume up.

'The sun has gone down And the moon has come up...'

The lyrics were going in and out as I tried to ignore them.

'He's going the distance... He's going for speed She's all alone, alone in her time of need...'

More ignoring.

'He is haunted by something he cannot define...'

Thank God we were at the plaza hurriedly I snatched the keys out cutting the music off.

"HEY..." they all whined but I just rolled my eyes and got out.

"There's a 'Babies R US' over there. Lets start there," Sadie said, pointing across the street but Jay shook her head.

"It's just toys, mostly," she complained hooking her arm with Aiden's.

"Yeah they have the right toys... as in cribs and strollers and bouncers blah, blah, blah," Robin said entwining her fingers with Sadie's.

It was silent as she thought about it.

Sighing she nodded and we headed over.

I walked behind observing and waiting till they need me.

Sadie ran off Robin at her heels as she took off to play with the toys.

I closed my eyes.... how old was she?

Aiden was always in my line of sight... never to far away.

"Aww, look..." Jay exclaimed as she rushed over to the rack of clothes Aiden being dragged with her.

"Too bad I can't get any of these yet," she whined.

Aiden shrugged as he shuffled through the tiny clothes.

"Well just because don't know the sex yet, doesn't mean anything. You can always get neutral colors like yellow or white and black."

"You're so right," she said her face brightening up.

"Avery what do you think?" Jay asked, holding up a small black and white outfit.

Truthfully I thought the baby would look like a penguin but I can't very well say that out loud.

"It's nice," I said... vague.

Pouting her lips she scrutinized it for a bit... scrunching her nose up and places it back.

"No. My baby will end up looking like a penguin."

I bit my tongue from laughing out loud.

"Hey, penguins are cute," Aiden argue.

Jeanine just stuck her tongue out at him.

And this is how my day went, walking to store after store looking for baby stuff.

Jeanine decided she like the boutique had the 'cutest' stuff so I ended up caring a huge box with a disassembled crib in it and Robin had a car seat while Jay and Aiden had bags and bags off neutral colored clothes off all kinds of sizes.

Who knew baby shopping was so exhausting.

Sighing I stuffed the crib in the trunk, god thing we brung the expedition so it fit along with the car seat.

"I am so hungry," Jay complained as we piled into the car.

"You are always hungry," Aiden muttered earning a slap in the head.

My body tensed out of reflex but I stopped myself.

"OW," he cried rubbing the back of his head pouting.

Sighing I stated the car.

"Can we refrain from hitting Aiden, please?" I said as I pulled out on the road.

"What for? He deserved that," Jay whined glaring at him.

"Just don't," was all I said and the car fell silent besides the radio that began to blast.

Flinching from the loud music I flicked the thing off!

"Hey Avery. Stop at an 'in and out' so we can feed that never ending stomach of Jay's," Sadie said and I nodded.

[ellie-e-marcovitz]

Four: The Art of Charmwork

prev.

Now… which way to the Charms classroom from here… he wondered. He tapped the field guide. A ribbon of gold light flew off, indicating his path.

Following it, he ended up smacking into several doors, hindering his near sprint. He hoped this got easier as time went on.

Thankfully, he made it with a minute to spare. He gave a nod to Leander, who it appeared he shared Charms with.

“…Professor Ronen tends to go on a bit,” Leander noted, as he and another student, a Ravenclaw, approached the classroom door. “We sometimes have to remind him to finish the lesson.”

“Some of us don’t necessarily want him to get back to the lesson, Leander,” the Ravenclaw teased, as the door to the classroom opened on its own and everyone streamed inside.

He followed a small Hufflepuff in, and took in the classroom. It was very much unlike the one at Ilvermorny, much lighter in some ways. He noted Eleanor across the room, appearing to be finishing an essay or something.

“Here. Behind you,” came a voice, and he turned towards the speaker. “There is an open seat here.”

Said speaker was a young African woman, also in Gryffindor, who seemed delighted to see him. He hurried up towards, her, glad for the seat offer. “Thank you.”

“Hello,” she properly greeted him, as he took the seat, setting his bag next to the desk. “I am Natty.” A bright grin bloomed across her face. “So you are the new student. I remember you from last night.”

“Cyrus. Um… thank you.” He wasn’t sure what else to say.

“My dorm mate, Eleanor, also mentioned you. Have you met Professor Ronen yet-?”

He shook his head, before being startled.

“Ahem. Shall we begin?” came a jovial voice and he looked up to where an equally jovial-looking wizard appeared. He seemed the exact opposite of dour Headmaster Black. This would, no doubt, be one of the classes he enjoyed.

The professor chucked. “Welcome to year five of Charms,” he started, making his way down to the classroom proper. “Now, this will be a crucial year in your education on the art of Charmwork, but I am confident,” he hopped off the last step of the staircase, “that we will take hold with the passion and rigour requite of such a challenge.”

He paused briefly near him and Natty, before continuing on to the front of the classroom. “Right, now, everyone, would you please open your textbooks to page five one seven.” He turned around. “But… before we begin, can anyone here tell me the difference between the incantations of the Colour Change and Growth charms?”

Utter silence. Honestly, even his mind had gone blank. Natty pushed her textbook over.

“…Anyone? Anyone? Hmmm…” He managed to discreetly find the correct page, and had just flipped to it when…

“Ah, ah, ah, ah,” Professor Ronen chastised, pulling out his wand. “I am afraid that it’s too late to study now,” he mentioned, summoning Natty’s textbook to him.

Both he and Natty shared embarrassed looks of apology.

“Hmmm…” Ronen grumbled. “My, the summer months must have really taken its toll on you all.” The professor chuckled a little to himself, as he made his way to the middle of the classroom. “By the looks of it, you all spent your holidays practicing Obliviate on one other.”

There were plenty of awkward looks and fidgeting with essays on desks.

“Do you even remember how to perform a basic Summoning Charm?” Ronen asked. “Hmm?”

Another moment of silence, everyone reluctant to speak up.

“Hmmm.” Professor Ronen seemed rather disappointed. “Well, it seems we are in dire need of review.” The disappointment disappeared. “Everyone,” he ordered, voice still jovial. “get into pairs and take positions on opposite sides of the classroom.”

There was a flurry of activity, and he agreed to pair up with Natty.

“Miss Parkmoore, I want you to practice with Miss Morrisson. Mr. Prewett, with Miss Hopper…” Professor Ronen paired up several others, before continuing. “Now, let’s put those textbooks to use as the blunt objects you so believe they are, and I want you to take turns summoning them out of one another’s hands.”

Ronen sent Natty’s textbook back to her, before he turned to the Ravenclaw he’d seen before class, who was digging in her bookbag. “Only one book will be needed per partnership, Miss Dale,” Ronen noted. “Thank you. Get into place now…”

Natty found the spot across from him, as the others found theirs.

“Now, I want each person not holding the textbook to cast ‘Accio,’ on my count of three.” Professor Ronen held up three fingers. “Three, two, one…”

“Accio!”

“Accio!”

“Accio!” came Eleanor, the textbook flying quickly through the air.

Several more ‘Accio’s, and it was his turn. “Accio!” he called out, just managing to remember the wand movement.

Natty’s textbook flew through the air, and he just managed to catch it. “That is not bad!” Natty exclaimed, sounding surprised.

“You are a swift learner, Mr Northrup,” Professor Ronen observed, sounding as surprised as Natty. “I see a lot of potential in you… but remember, potential is nothing without practice.” A glance over at Natty, and he dropped into a sotto whisper. “Keep at it, and you may just rival Miss Onai here.”

He laughed, followed by him and Natty trading her textbooks a couple more times, before Professor Ronen stopped this particular review.

Ronen turned towards the rest of the class. “Very good everyone, that’s enough of that.” The last textbook skittered to a stop on the ground, half a foot from one of the Slytherins. Professor Ronen walked between the pairs. “Well, as you seem to have the basics down, and it is an exceptionally lovely day,” Ronen paused, before turning, “I was thinking that we might have ourselves a little excursion… outside, for a spot of fresh air.” The professor grinned, before heading towards the door. “After me!”

He and Natty hurried after, him following Natty, with the rest of the class not far behind.

Professor Ronen moved through the castle at a fairly steady clip, not letting him do more than hurry after him.

“We are heading for the training grounds,” Natty told him. “Considering that Flying classes don’t start until next week.”

The class exited through one of the sets of huge doors and out onto the grounds proper.

“Ah…” Professor Ronen exhaled, as they made their way towards a stretch of grass. “I’ve always found that fun goes hand and hand with mastery,” the professor noted, raising his voice slightly. “As I’m sure the Quidditch players amongst us would agree…”

Professor Ronen drew the group to a stop, and he could see the Quidditch pitch in the distance. Several of the other Charms students looked longingly towards it, at the mention of the game.

“So,” Professor Ronen continued, “what better way than a bit of sport to put our prowess with the Summoning Charm to the test? Right?” Professor Ronen chuckled at the nodding and barest grins of agreement. Leander even seemed to crack a faint grin.

Professor Ronen turned around, facing the flat expanse of grass in front of them and summoning planks of wood, both painted and not, slotting them together into a board of some sort. Which was followed by a platform, along with summoning three leather balls coloured blue.

“So,” he continued, clearly trying to drum up excitement. “Why don’t we have our newest student, Mr. Northrup, start us off, hmm?” He waved him up. “Come on up.”

He came up, taking in the board, as Professor Ronen stepped off to the side.

“Now,” the professor continued. “The rules, as a refresher, are simple. I want you to cast Accio on one of the spheres, then relinquish it at the last possible moment.” Ronen seemed to focus on him. “Think of it like… hmm, maybe Gobstones, if you will. But instead of throwing the marbles out, you are summoning them towards you.”

He nodded, also noticing that the rest of the class had situated themselves on the grass, off to the side. Nothing like being watched closely.

Picking out one of the balls, he aimed. “Accio!”

The leather ball hurled itself down the court towards him, until he pulled his wand back, breaking the charm and bringing the ball to a stop.

“Excellent control there,” Professor Ronen praised. “The trick is to pull the sphere as far as you can, but not so much that it will fall off. Try another.”

“Accio!” The far-left ball moved this time, and he managed to get it even closer, just managing to keep it on the board.

“Very good, Mr. Northrup. You have one left.”

He was feeling fairly confident now, as he turned his attention to the last one. He hoped for a similar outcome. “Accio!” he called, pushing a little more magic into his pull.

It turned out to be more than what was needed.

“Splendid!” Professor Ronen cheered, before the ball dropped off the edge. “Happens to the best of us.” There seemed to be a touch of disappointment, added to the groans from the rest of the class.

Two out of three wasn’t bad.

“Very good,” Professor Ronen continued, as he stepped back. “Five points to Gryffindor. But… there is certainly no sport in playing without some friendly competition.”

The professor beckoned to Natty and Eleanor. “Miss Onai, Miss Parkmoore, would either of you care to give Mr. Northrup a bit of a challenge?” A pair of nods and they made their way up.

Professor Ronen summoned three more balls, red this time, and placed them in-between the blue ones. “Now,” he started, “You’ll be the blues again, Mr Northrup, and Miss Parkmoore and Miss Onai will play the red ones. Clear?”

They all nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I think you will start us off, Miss Parkmoore.” Professor Ronen again stepped back, as did Natty. Eleanor sized up the board, as she pulled out her wand.

Before masterfully pulling one of the red balls clear across the board, managing to bring it to a stop, before it reached the edge.

“Fifty points. Mr. Northrup?” Professor Ronen keeps score, then…

He pulled the far-right one, managing a solid thirty. Not too bad, but not necessarily the best either.

“Thirty points.” Eleanor stepped forward, pulling her far-right one forward, stopping on fifty again. “Now, one hundred for Miss Parkmoore.”

He turned his attention to the far-left blue ball, and somehow managing to release it perfectly, letting it roll onto the fifty on its own.

Yes. “Well done,” Eleanor congratulated. “Only twenty points between us.”

“Miss Parkmoore.” Professor Ronen gestured her to pull her final ball. She nodded, managing to pull it onto the thirty.

He clapped along with everyone else, before stepping up. “Accio!” he called out, pulling his last one straight down, and held his breath. Please don’t fall off…

Somehow, it stayed.

“Very good, both of you! 130 points each.” Professor Ronen broke the silence that had seemingly fallen. “Well, it seems you have tied.”

There were scattered claps, and he and Eleanor shook hands.

Professor Ronen had a contemplative look on his face. “Hmmm… Let’s make this a bit more interesting, shall we? Miss Onai, if you would?”

Natty nodded, stepping forward as Eleanor stepped back. Professor Ronen conjured a new obstacle – a pair of sliding blocks, one between ten and twenty, the other between twenty and thirty.

“I think we’re well past ‘interesting’ at this point,” Natty observed, and he nodded in agreement.

“I’ll say.”

“Enough chatter,” Professor Ronen reminded them. “Focus now, you will need it! This round settles it all.”

“Here we go!” Natty called. “Accio!” The middle red ball moved smoothly down the board, stopping neatly on the thirty. “That is how it is done!” she cheered, allowing him to step forward,

The sliding blocks were a challenge. It was one thing to just pull them across the board, another to figure out timing and dodging the blocks. “Accio!” he called, again pushing a little more energy into his cast. The far-right ball sailed down the board, and…

Right off the edge. He groaned, frustrated.

“Don’t lose your composure!” Professor Ronen reminded him, as he stepped back. He sighed, his long-buried anxiety starting to creep up.

Natty’s comment didn’t help. “Watch this – Accio!” The second red ball sailed down the board as well, smoothly settling again at thirty. “Yes.”

He took a breath, trying to refocus. Two more chances. “Accio!” he called, managing to pull the far-left ball all the way to the fifty without dropping it, even as it bumped one of Natty’s.

“Excellent control there, Mr. Northrup. Fifty points to Miss Onai’s eighty. Miss Onai, last ball.”

He glanced at the ball he’d bumped, annoyed. Noted…

Natty pulled her last ball, thirty again. “110 to Miss Onai. Mr. Northrup.”

“Accio!” Somehow, he managed fifty again, without further adding to Natty’s already impressive lead. Perhaps he was a bit rusty, not having had a wand for several months…

“Quite impressive,” Professor Ronen congratulated, clapping. “Miss Onai wins this round. Very good both of you! Well done.” The class also clapped, before getting up from the grass. “Ten points to Gryffindor.”

He stepped off the platform, followed closely by Natty and Eleanor.

“You did well,” Eleanor commented, as they rejoined the group.

“…Thank you?” Maybe because it was his first day at Hogwarts, or what happened at Ilvermorny, he felt sceptical of her sincerity. Bells chimed in the distance, and he hoped that meant class was over.

“All right, listen up,” Professor Ronen called out, before anyone moved. “Before everyone heads back to the Charms classroom, I want your attention. Homework will be two rolls on the Colour-changing charm and its incantation, and I want you to turn in your summer essays before you go.”

There were grumblings, including Eleanor, who looked annoyed.

“You are free to go back to the classroom, now.”

They set off, Eleanor and Natty arguing about something quietly. He mainly just followed them and the rest of the class, still not sure where exactly he was in the castle.

Eleanor sped up as they neared the classroom, clearly eager to get a move on.

“Well done back there,” Natty noted, as they re-entered the Charms classroom, heading back to their seats. “You took the loss in stride.” A tip of her shoulder. “I didn’t want to go too easy on you, even if it’s your first day.” A half-moment’s pause. “It took me weeks to become proficient with Accio, even with Eleanor’s help. Took weeks for me to get anything right when I transferred here.”

There seemed to be annoyance hiding in her words, and he winced in sympathy.

“It gets easier, I promise.” Natty added, grabbing her bag, and he believed her, mostly. His own memories of Ilvermorny didn’t help.

He nodded. “That’s good to hear.” He shoved the memories back, grabbing his own bag. “It’s a lot to take in all at once.”

“To put it lightly,” Natty commented. “I remember how I felt when I first arrived. I transferred here from Uagadou, just before my fourth year. My mother received, and accepted, an offer to teach Divination here. Before I knew it, we had left Uganda and had travelled halfway around the world, to a new school and a new country.”

Much like he had. “Oh. Sounds… familiar.” A question popped into his head, possibly from something he’d read elsewhere. “This may seem like an odd question… but… Is the magic at Uagadou same as it is here?”

“Hmm…” Natty pondered. “Yes, mostly. I did have to learn how to use a wand, though, when I arrived. Hardly anyone at Uagadou uses one.”

“You can cast spells without a wand? That’s impressive, Natty.”

“Oh, yes. I find wandless magic to be far more instinctive, not to mention, quite convenient, if one happens to be without their wand.” She grinned, smile bright. “I must admit, however, that I am growing quite fond of using a wand. It seems very dramatic.”

He laughed a little. “I have to agree with you there.” His grin faded a little. “I am curious, though. Is Uagadou much bigger than Hogwarts?”

She nodded, stiffening a little in pride for her former school. “Uagadou School of Magic is considered the largest wizarding school in the world. So, yes. It is bigger than Hogwarts. But, it never seemed intimidating or overwhelming to me. It always felt like home.”

He nodded slowly, feeling himself retreating back. Both Ilvermorny and Hogwarts were overwhelming for him in their own ways. “Well, thank you for telling me about Uagadou, Natty. It’s… nice, hearing about another wizarding school, other than Ilvermorny or Hogwarts.”

“Ilvermorny?” Natty asked, surprised. “The American school of magic?”

He nodded again, regretting bringing it up. “Yes, though I don’t wish to talk about it right now.”

Thankfully, Natty seemed to understand. “Okay. Thank you for asking about Uagadou, though, Cyrus. I do miss it, but I am glad to be here at Hogwarts.” She glanced over at where Professor Ronen was standing, a pile of essays in front of him. “We should probably turn in our summer essays.”

He rooted around in his bag for him, pulling out several others, before finding it.

“And, it seems like Professor Ronen wants to talk with you,” she continued. “It’s best not to keep him waiting much longer.”

He nodded, stuffing the rest of the essays back in his bag. Somehow, he’d have to get those delivered, so they weren’t marked late, despite the unusual circumstances. “Thank you, again, Natty. See you at lunch?” he asked, as they walked over to Ronen.

She nodded, a confused expression on her face. “What class do you have next?”

“Defence, but not until this afternoon. I’m not entirely sure why…” he petered off, not sure how much to share. Natty gave a knowing look.

“I think I get it.” There was an understanding, if thoughtful, look. “Well, I will see you at lunch, then.”

“Thank you, Miss Onai.” Professor Ronen acknowledged, as Natty placed hers on the pile. “A word, if you would, Mr. Northrup.”

He nodded, setting down his own and standing off to the side, as the last couple students added theirs to the stack. “You wanted to speak to me, Professor?” he asked, as the last students left.

“I did.” Professor Ronen seemed curious about something. “I trust your first Charms class at Hogwarts lived up to expectations?” he asked, clearly knowing about his situation.

He nodded, again, before grinning. “Well, I wasn’t expecting an outdoor competition as a lesson, professor. But I certainly enjoyed it.”

Professor Ronen grinned as well. “What charm is there in the expected, eh? And I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. Miss Onai and Miss Parkmoore are a pair of talented witches. Take what happened in stride. One often gains the most knowledge from the battles one has lost.”

“Of course, professor.” He certainly agreed with the professor’s logic behind that. “It was a challenging set of matches.”

“Both Miss Onai and Miss Parkmoore are fierce competitors, which is accurate for most of Gryffindor, I believe.” Ronen grinned, before it faded. “But it seems Miss Onai has been more distracted as of late.” He cleared his throat, refocusing his attention.

“Now, Professor Weasley has asked that your professors give you extra instruction, to help bring you up to Hogwarts standards, outside of class and the ordinary curriculum. After I read your essay, expect to hear from me soon, regarding a special assignment I am currently preparing for you.” Ronen patted the pile of essays in front of him. “This should give me a better idea of where you are at.”

Most of that made sense enough to understand. “Thank you, Professor Ronen.”

“You’re welcome.” Professor Ronen made a little shooing motion. “Now, get moving. There is more to do!”

He hurried out, heading spinning again, barely registering the same Ravenclaw, Miss Dale, standing across from the classroom door.

“Hello there,” she said, breaking through the whirlwind of his mind. “You’re the new student, aren’t you?”

He paused, before approaching. “I am. I’m Cyrus Northrup. You wanted to speak to me?”

Miss Dale nodded, loose hairs bouncing. “I did. Samantha Dale. I’ve been eager to talk to you. You’re the one everyone is whispering about. I hope your first day’s gone well. You certainly managed to hold your own in Charms.”

He blinked. She reminded him of Gwyneth in her chattier moods, talking at lightning speed. “That’s kind of you to say. It seems I’ve been fortunate, in a way. More beginner’s luck, I think.” He didn’t want to delve too deeply into how he got here.

Samantha gave a short laugh. “My brother, William, would tell you to not be so humble and to trust your abilities. Then again…” she drew out. “He tends to be overconfident in his own. Well,” she shrugged, “best I better see to my own Charms homework. I’m afraid I can’t count on ‘beginner’s luck’ to impress Professor Ronen.”

He nodded in understanding. In some ways, it was much like Ilvermorny.

“I’ll see you around the school, then,” she noted, before hurrying off.

chapter 5

Seraphina Hopper belongs to @thatravenpuffwitch