#horace draft

[hawkfurze]

This vine was all I can think of the farther I got into the Shadow of the Erdtree (I beaten the DLC a few days ago)

[korxus]

This was the movie's draft, and Oh. My. GOD, WE HAVE SMOL GREMLIN ENOCH WITH BLOND HAIR AND PLAYING WITH CLAY HOMNUCULI!!! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

[ragingadhd]

Disorganized RA headcannons

During the whole Skandia arc, Cassandra would braid/play with Will’s hair. It was just something to distract them from their situation, but ever since, having his hair done has been very calming for Will.

Will and Gilan’s relationship consists mostly of them insulting each other. If they’re not insulting each other, they’re actually upset with each other.

One of the ways Will would get back at Horace while they were kids was to do the classic “Horace, there’s a spider on your head!” and Horace fell for it every time.

Maddie one way or another heard about that ‘spider’ trick and tried it on him. It still worked.

On that note, Horace was deathly afraid of insects (particularly spiders and bees) as a kid. As an adult, he’s not really scared of them, but he will still avoid them best he can.

At some point during Cassandra’s reign, Halt goes on a week long vacation out of the country. Cassandra had him legally banished during that week as a goof.

Horace is weirdly good at cutting hair. He could be a stylist if he wanted to. No one actually believes he has this ability though unless they see it for themselves.

[welcometotheduplays]

teenage horace and (a somewhat alive) camille

[arrowheadedbitch]

Jesse: You can't kill me, you need me!

Ethan: You're forgetting one thing.

Jesse: Oh, and what's that?

Ethan: I can talk to ghosts.

And then they kill him to death

[coffeeanddimlights]

Scrapped dialogue exchange from TDODA (totally canon)

Enoch: I'm so hungry.

Peculiar Talking Horse:

[caffeiiine]

ykwhat i am choosing to just never fill plotholes again. everything is plot armor from now on.

[jlhynde-insanitybrilliance]

i look forward to the soulmate rumors getting so bad that slughorn uses it as an excuse to tell tom to watch out for harry. "i heard tell that you boys are soulmates! tom, my boy, you need to do more to integrate dear henry into the way we do things." tom: "he's my *what*?"

Or alternative these soulmate rumors make everyone think Harry and Tom are dating.

Slughorn (approaching Harry and Tom) : Ah, there they are, my favorite couple!

Harry: Couple?!

Tom (grinning): Good evening, sir!

Slughorn: Good evening, lad! Are you keeping your date out of trouble tonight?

Harry: Date? He’s not my date. We’re not dating!

Tom: You’ll have to excuse, Evans, professor he gets flustered with public displays.

Slughorn: Ah, I see. Look, Henry there’s nothing to be embarrassed of. You and Tom are a smart match, if I do say so. A very smart match. What with both your natural magical prowess and intellect, I’d say you’re both evenly matched. No wonder your housemates call you soulmates!

Harry: W-Wha—We’re not soulmates!

Slughorn: Well, not technically. Soulmates don’t exist. But there is a unfathomable connection between you both from what I’ve observed. That’s a hard thing to find, my boy, don’t take it for granted.

Tom: Yes, darling, don’t take it for granted~❤️

[firendgold]

If you’re doing the violence ask game, can you do 9, 13 , and 19?

oooh, yes. I am indeed. Let's not delay. My friend the read-more is here to help.

choose violence ask game

9. worst part of canon

This is a very 2007 era, "I just finished Deathly Hallows" opinion, but even after all this time, I think the epilogue really is the worst part of canon. Not just because I personally dislike the canon ships, but because JKR (hereafter referred to as That Woman) had the opportunity to do some more "show not tell" for Life After Voldemort, to flesh out what the characters' priorities would be after defeating the figurehead of Wizarding Britain's prejudice and a few of his public cronies, and she just... didn't.

I probably could have stomached the canon ships if more attention was paid in the epilogue to the reforms that were made or being made to society, the ones that have only passing mentions in Pottermore or post-book interviews—the reformation of Azkaban/removal of dementors, actually seeing Harry as an Auror/Department Head (perhaps chasing down some minor league foe?), or any sort of follow up on the themes That Woman set up in the series. In DH alone we have heroes falling from pedestals, the gritty realities of war for the average people, hostile takeover of an already corrupt government, falsely torturing and imprisoning innocent people, the fallout of being betrayed by peers and/or superiors you trust, more kids becoming orphans... I could go on. There's many, many issues for the war's survivors to tackle once the dust has settled.

But we don't get that. Instead we get "here, look, the main characters got married and had kids! even Teddy is dating someone! you remember Teddy right? last time you saw him he was a baby, and now he's all grown up with a Weasley girlfriend! love love love! kiddos off to Hogwarts again! isn't that charming?" Eh... not really. I, uh, wanted to know if society has improved at all...?

I definitely get the appeal of having the "back to normal" feeling of Kids Boarding the Train at the Platform, I do... it just wasn't what I expected for the end of Harry Potter. In my not-so-humble opinion, "and then they got married and had kids" is boring in literature of any kind. It's just so boring. And it's worse for a world of magic where the characters could be doing anything else.

13. worst blorboficiation

I'm becoming such an old I had to look this up to make sure I knew what it meant before giving my opinion. :')

Am I allowed to say more than one person? This is me choosing violence, so I'm going to list off all the HP ones that came to my mind once I knew the definition.

Remus Lupin. Holy shit, bro. This fandom has ruined this character. I get that people like him. (I like him too!) I get that he's very hard to pin down because he's one of the more mysterious people, but (until recently) I've never seen a character who's pretty neutral in canon get so positively inflated by the fandom. And it's literally just because of wolfstar. Sirius gets inflated too (more on that in a sec), but Remus gets inflated just because long ago fans decided that the two of them were obviously together and, by extension, would be perfect, flawless co-dads for Harry. You could argue that Remus doesn't really show much romantic feeling towards Tonks until DH, but you'd also have to argue that he doesn't show much romantic feeling (or feelings at all, besides grief and nostalgia) for anyone.

But like... I'm not a total Debbie Downer. I get the appeal of wolfstar alone and wolfstar dads, really, but they're hard to completely buy into (especially when the latter usually turns into a Dumbledore bashfest). Sometimes fans act like their ideal of who Remus is and what he is to Harry, Sirius, and other characters is canon when it's not. Preferable to canon, maybe, but not source material at all. The wolfstar-partner-raising-Harry!Remus is nowhere close to the real Remus. The real Remus:

is unaccounted for for the first 10 years of Harry's time at the Dursleys, and for his first and second year, with no retroactive explanation given

doesn't contact Harry after year 3, and indeed isn't even seen or mentioned again until year 5

is only briefly around Harry in year 6 (you know, the year right after Sirius dies)

consents to starting a family and then almost immediately tries to leave that family behind once he finally gets bit by the "oh, maybe now I should try being Harry's surrogate parent" bug, then doesn't understand why that pisses Harry off

So. Yeah. You teach a kid the Patronus charm one time and suddenly you're the man who can Do No Wrong in 99.3% of all fanon material. It's irritating. Ships and/or found family stuff could wrangle with the man Remus is, they just choose not to in favor of recycling old fanon archetypes.

Sirius Black. Much of the same said above about Remus applies to Sirius tenfold. Sirius cares about Harry, sure, but lots of fans like to sand over the part where Sirius made one little protest about Harry going to the Dursleys, then fully committed to going after Pettigrew in 1981 without telling anyone about the Secret-Keeper switch, or anything that would have kept him out of jail even in our aforementioned corrupt wizarding society. In their minds, that evil meanie Dumbledore forced him to not whisk Harry away to Black Manor or whatever to raise him. *eyeroll*

Sirius is a character who is developmentally delayed in canon, but some of his fans downright infantilize him. Poor Sirius, he just wanted to be a baby gay and raise Harry but the Ministry/Dumbledore/That Woman just wouldn't let him. (You can argue the last one, but it is SO RARE to find a fanfic where Sirius has to grow the fuck up and face the consequences of his early choices, while also actually taking steps to be better and be a good surrogate dad for Harry.) Just because Sirius is Harry's godfather doesn't mean he's a perfect one. And he's not dealing with a typical kid either. Sirius and Harry wouldn't easily or neatly slot into typical familial roles because they've both Been Through Some Shit—and that's why their relationship is so compelling.

And I haven't even gone into the other side of fanon!Sirius, the one who's this devil-may-care man who Got All The Ladies in his time, is mostly physically and mentally unaffected by his Azkaban stint, and is only around to: support Harry in whatever independent!Harry schemes he has going on (screw Dumbledore! run away from the war somehow! become a Cool Dude! fight the power!), blather on about Lordships and fanon shit the real Sirius wouldn't give one toss about, or to give him girl advice on whatever girl (or harem) Harry is being shipped with in that particular fic. The only reason this version of Sirius isn't an obvious homophobic backlash to the "Sirius is gay" version is because I'm pretty sure this version came first chronologically in fandom. I'm actually not sure which version of Sirius is more annoying to me.

last but not least, we have:

Daphne Greengrass. Technically I shouldn't be able to put her here, because she doesn't even HAVE a canon personality. Everything about her besides her name, her House, and her sister('s relationship to Draco) is completely made up. But fanon has come to a Consensus on her, and this consensus is THE MOST annoying made-up persona in a fandom where we also have "he's just misunderstood/traumatized by the Muggle wars/going about things the wrong way!" Tom Riddle/Voldemort, "he was just being mean to Harry for his cover/Harry deserved it" Severus Snape, "brightest witch of her age And No Other Personality Traits" Hermione Granger, "he WAS going to change sides, really!" Draco Malfoy, and "purebloods wanting to gatekeep magical society and call uppity muggleborns slurs is fine actually" fanon discourse, among other irritants. Maybe it was intriguing the first time I read it. Now, it's not.

Every single time I see "politically-neutral blonde/black-haired ice queen who teaches Harry about Noble Houses/convinces him that Not All Slytherins/gets him on the Right Political Path For His Future" I want to throw up in my mouth. It's so fucking boring. It's not what Harry Potter is about to me, it's not what it should be about, and it's not even what I look for in other media. (I think the Sword of Truth series is the only series I read where there's actual politics that I care about, and it's still high fantasy!) So much Daphne and Haphne fandom content just feels like a bunch of people missed the point of the series, which is that pretentious family nonsense is just that and pureblood tradition shit doesn't matter. And Daphne's "backstory" is not even logical. Neutral factions? "Gray" factions? Do you really think that 1970s era Voldemort, at the top of his game, would have been okay with a supposedly prominent and influential pureblood family sitting out the war in the way the Greengrasses are often written? Like, actually saying "no thanks, our clan has always been capital-N Neutral" to him? No. Fuck no. He would have murdered them all and skipped away, leaving them to be found by other "fence-sitting" purebloods as an example. Yes, there are people who are neutral in wars, but not in the HP universe when Voldemort asks you directly. And the fanon Greengrasses would have been asked directly to get that skull tattoo.

I've even been bamboozled in the past into reading Haphnes that I think are going to be different but then start treading down this same stupid road, like the comments are getting to them or something. (And readers, why the fuck would you want to read the exact same fanfic 1,000 times but written by 1,000 different people? Hello??)

It's gotten to the point where it's actually refreshing if Daphne shows up in a fic and isn't shipped with Harry, or if she is but she has a completely different personality than the above. I'm reading a few Haphnes now that I can stomach because they are different or the plot is interesting enough for me to ignore the tropes, but it's been a long time since an HP fanon "collective character headcanon" or ship other than wolfstar has left such a bad taste in my mouth or caused me to actively avoid content with that character.

...oop. I know I said "last but not least" above but I forgot to mention Regulus Black so I'll briefly do so here. I don't know what happened in the last five-ish years but this man went from "devoted Voldemort follower who did one decent thing because he liked his slave, thank goodness, even though he slowed down the locket's destruction by taking it away" to "OMG my BLORBO he was fighting the GOOD FIGHT and also he's probably in love with James Potter!! and Lily is evil for keeping them apart!!" Huh?? Fanon's gonna fanon, but is one fanfic really responsible for all this? Jegulus and "secret freedom fighter Regulus" are just beyond my comprehension I guess. Mostly because it seems like fandom picks and chooses when they want a character to be evil-aligned-but-complex, and when they want to just sand over their rough edges and make them an Unsung Hero Who Did Nothing Wrong Ever. And also because I firmly believe that if James was gay, he'd have been with Sirius.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

Teacher/student ships. (I mean, of course. I'm running this blog.) Of course IRL I don't condone that at all, but some of the most fascinating pairs in the HP universe are bonds between some of the professors and some of their students. Albus and Harry speak for themselves. But you've also got Minerva and Hermione to a lesser extent, and Snape with Draco in the early years (not so much later). And even those are nothing compared to the most interesting partnerships, which imo are between adults who at one point weren't both adults. Consider Albus and Minerva, who have been teaching, working and living together for at least five decades, before which Minerva was probably one of Albus' better Transfiguration students. Consider Albus and Snape, with Snape being the person who so recently graduated from being one of Albus' pupils to being one of his closest confidants. Consider Horace Slughorn and... well, Tom Riddle was my first choice, but really him with any student, because imo that man is very weird about networking with children. Hell, consider Albus and Tom because you know that was the most awkward seven years either of them has ever had, both being so powerful and skilled while intensely disliking each other. They're all so good. Playing with power dynamics can be fun. Especially when (and this is the only time I want politics in my HP fics!!) the older party potentially faces consequences, or doesn't, for taking advantage of the younger one, precisely because of who's involved and who's on the Hogwarts Board of Governors and what war's going on right now in the background and...

I think that's all the violence I can dish out for these questions! Thanks for the ask.~

[fiona-frauenfell]

More musical content!

I completed my first draft of probably the most challenging song to create so far. I think I’m going to call it “Circus Show (And Her Peculiar Children)”

Millard:

Welcome, take a seat

We’re about to start the show

You ought to get ready to meet

the most peculiar children I know

Horace, could you play a melody on the piano?

Jacob:

His gift is playing the piano?

Millard:

Long ago, before we lived here

We traveled the country

Instead of living in fear

The people would watch

But they wouldn’t know

They would sit in bliss

And enjoy the show.

I’m Millard the show’s host

My gift is easily know by most.

Not much to perform

when there’s not must to watch

But our first act,

Will gain quite the response:

Bronwyn!

Bronwyn:

The strong woman is what they call me

To me, hefting a boulder is a very small feat.

Millard: Fiona!

Fiona:

Rain or sunshine, drizzle or shower

I can grow you any flower

Millard: And Hugh!

Hugh:

Sunshine or rain, warmth or breeze

At my command are my hive of bees

Claire:

Hi, I’m Claire!

And what most don’t notice

Is what hides behind my hair.

Millard: Olive!

Olive:

That’s me, and without my shoes

Up, up, and away I’d be

Millard: Enoch!

Enoch:

Only watch if you can

But I can raise the dead

with my two bare hands

Millard: Horace!

Horace:

While my fashion is

better than most

Seeing the future

is the true gift I can boast.

Millard: Emma!

Emma:

I don’t look very different

from the rest

But anytime, I’ll put

these flames to the test.

Millard: Now for the grand finale!

All: Now that you know who we are

“Miss Peregrine and her Peculiar children”

It’s time to say au revoir!

[dragonsdendoodles]

Hey wait do you have any ideas/HCs for how Enoch felt/reacted the first time he was woken up by one of Horace's screaming fits when he initially moved to Ms. P's loop?

Asking because I lowkey wanna write another fic for them. There's the one singular one I wrote in 2023 and I haven't written anything for them since and methinks a hurt/comfort enorace fic miiight be fun

I have a (really old) fic draft of my own starting with that actually 👀 (please write that that would be so cute and I have so many drafts I’m never gonna finish please)

I think internally he panicked a little bit, because what else do you do when you wake up to someone upstairs screaming bloody murder. I do think it took a while for Enoch to fully warm up to the others though (because at least in my version of events Enoch was dangerously close to being kicked out of his old loop and at the beginning he was bitter enough from his old loop to be anticipating the same thing here) so he played it off like he didn’t just sprint up two flights of stairs because oh my god that sounds like my only friend here oh no and everyone else was like. Does he just hate all of us oh my god

But yeah no he was terrified. He was terrified and he will always be terrified by it and all the others will eventually realize the glaring and sulking back downstairs was very much a front purely intended to make them think he didn’t care when he very much did

Horace knows he cares because when Enoch can get to him first he wakes him up and tries to calm him down and will actually yell at the others for crowding around them because being overwhelmed by waking up the whole house really isn’t what Horace needs at the current moment thank you and when Enoch doesn’t get to him first and it’s Miss Peregrine keeping everyone else out the millisecond she lets the others in Enoch is right there to try to help any way he can.

He just didn’t do it the first time because he wasn’t expecting literally everyone else to also be there. But he really wanted to.

[hawkfurze]

One of the unalloyed gold needles that Miquella crafted to ward away the meddling of outer gods. Capable of subduing the flame of frenzy if inherited, allowing one to cheat fate and avoid becoming Lord of Frenzied Flame.

[dragonslovecoins]

Working on my draft for my RA AU. Can't figure out what it's missing, but here you go, read it.

TW death

“You little sneak! Get back here!”

Will raced towards the tree, sweat pouring down the back of his neck as Horace chased him. He had won (fairly, he might add) at a game of cards, but Horace found a card on the ground and fully believed Will was cheating. He reached the tree and just managed to find a hold and scramble up it with practiced ease, placing his feet on the branches and climbing up before Horace could grab him. He did this almost every day. He knew what he was doing.

But he was not as practiced as he thought.

One branch broke under his foot, and he gasped, digging his nails into the branch he currently held on to in an instinctual attempt to save himself. He’s nearly fallen before. He knew what to do, didn’t he? He kicked out, trying to dig his heels into the bark and find a foothold. But the branch he was clinging to was too weak to hold his weight, and it snapped with a foreboding SNAP!.

Time froze for a second. Will could almost see eyes glinting in the shadows of the leave.

The branches flew past at breakneck speed as he plummeted to the ground, and he wanted to scream but couldn’t. He flailed hopelessly, turning this way and that, but it hit him – he was going to hit the ground. He was going to die, and this was it. He was supposed to be a knight, wasn’t he? Make his father’s memory proud?

What a useless way to die.

Tears sprung to his eyes - was it from their air, or from his own impending doom?

He landed on his head. It was over before he could do anything else. Blood and brain matter sprayed everywhere, the sound of the impact echoing through the air.

Horace froze, blood splattering over him. Alyss and Jenny screamed. George gaped, eyes widening as he stared on.

“H-Horace….” George stammered, as though Horace could explain what he did, what had happened. That saying his name could reverse what happened.

Horace didn’t know what to do, either.

The caretakers rushed forward, ushering Horace away from the splattered mess that was once Will. Horace could barely register what had happened, just that one caretaker was fetching Baron Arald, another was trying to comfort him uselessly, and the rest were pulling the others away from the bloody mess. Alyss was fighting them, trying to reach the split corpse as though convinced she could put him back together.

Alyss was always used to putting things back together. Of fixing everything when even Jenny couldn’t.

Yet she couldn’t understand, in her grief filled haze, that she couldn’t put everything back together this time.

-o-

Baron Arald was mindlessly spinning his late wife’s necklace in his hands when a caretaker notified him of the death. He glanced up, grayish eyes marked by black, dead veins and full of sadness and surprise.

“A death? How? Who?” He questioned, sitting up. The caretaker swallowed, blood still on her shaking hands.

“H-Horace…Will….” She stammered, before managing to collect herself enough to make a better attempt to tell him what had happened. “Horace was chasing little Will around again, and he went up the tree, and…and he…he fell. All thirty feet. Landed on his head, Baron.”

“And what of the body?” Baron asked, leaving his chair to ghost closer to the young woman. Recalling his less than mortal self when she flinched, he apologetically retreated back to his chair.

“We had the knights collect it.” She looked away, swallowing nervously. “Is he…?”

“Of course he will be. The Vulture has been waiting for him to die, honestly. He always talked about what he’d use him for if he died – he probably orchestrated this.” Baron Arald replied sharply. He settled back, hearing Pauline rattling the shelves. A bauble from last year’s Harvest Fest falls to the floor and shatters. At that, he sits up and shoots the rattling shelves a glare.

“Pauline, you forget yourself!” He snapped, and the shaking stopped abruptly. All was still, then a heavy book from the shelf flies at him and nearly hits him. He catches it and sharpens his glare. “Pauline, you are not a child. I understand you hate…no, despise him, and I fully understand that, but you can’t pitch the world’s greatest fit over any mention of him. At the very least, leave my items out of your fit.”

He could feel Pauline’s glare in return, but she indeed settled down and instead darted to his bedroom to shatter his mirror, the only sign of her existence a white, almost smoky form wisping past with the speed of a bird in flight. He sighed, turning to the obviously terrified caretaker.

“Please summon a servant to clean the glass. I shall notify The Vulture of this.” He commanded firmly. She nodded and scampered off.

He sat there, contemplating just saving the poor thing from such a fate, of running the corpse to some other fief to be buried. But The Vulture would know.

He always did.

After some mourning, he heaved a great sigh and got up to light the fireplace. He sat back as the flames ate at the wood greedily. He was oddly reminded of him and King Duncan.

“Thinking about me, Arald?”

Baron Arald shuddered.

The Vulture King has arrived.

King Duncan stepped from behind his chair, black eyes dead and slightly crinkled in a smile. It still looked hollow, false. Baron Arald kept his eyes focused on the flames, watching him from his peripheral vision.

“He’s a dead man smiling.” He thought, and the vestiges of humanity still left in him bristled, unnerved. He almost had to remind himself that he, too, was pretty much entirely dead.

Almost.

“My liege,” Baron Arald spoke, eyes still fixed on the flames. “I have news.”

“Oh? Do tell,” The Vulture replied, face clothed in shadow. His tone showed he already knew it, but only wanted him to say it. He grit his teeth slightly, and King Duncan laughed.

“Oh, Baron Arald! Don’t be so mad~,” He cooed, cupping his face and digging those cold, cold nails slightly into his cheek. A threat, a tease, and a flirt all in one. Baron Arald knew very well King Duncan was only so nice and flirty if he wanted something.

And right now, Duncan wanted him to applaud him.

“Your eye for new rangers is admirable, dear king.” He answered, turning his gaze to his king, and King Duncan smiled wider, soulless black eyes trained on him. “Who do you think shall take the young one?”

“O'Carrick. Who else?” Duncan answered. He smiled, looking out the window to study the blood left on the ground, shining on the grass. “Hmm…I should give him feathers. A little birdie, maybe? Since he fell and all.” Duncan added with a laugh. Baron Arald wanted to snap back and say it wasn’t funny, but he kept his mouth shut, feeling Duncan dig his claws in.

“Would it not be unwise to have a bird with…well, a glorified fish?” He regretted his words as soon as he spoke them, but shockingly, King Duncan laughed at that.

“Glorified fish! How amusing!” He tossed his head back, the flames roaring up before sputtering, dying slowly in his presence. “As for unwise…no! He raised a vampire, he can raise a little birdie. Don’t you agree, Pauline?”

The entire shelf flies at them at that. Baron Arald immediately shied away out of leftover instinct, but Duncan simply pulled him to his chest and blocked him from the shelf. King Duncan could not feel pain, but he knew Baron Arald could. And his favorite little Baron would not feel pain.

“Now now, Pauline. Don’t throw a hissy fit. Come see me! Show that pretty face. A pretty woman shouldn’t be so vicious to her king.” He drawled, smiling wider as the small light above Arald’s desk swung wildly, the candles flickering. The windows chilled, handprints left on the glass. King Duncan just laughs, blonde hair tossed by her fury.

“Well, little Arald. Let’s give her time to calm down. Come back to my palace! Help me put our newest little ranger together.” King Duncan grinned, and Baron Arald swallowed, knowing those grinning teeth would be at his throat later. Whether he played his cards right or very, very wrong, only when he was with him would he tell.

“...yes. Okay, my liege.”

Horace watches the knights scraping whatever they could off the grass. He needed a bath, but he couldn’t make himself move. He smelled of blood, was coated in blood.

Will’s blood was on Horace’s hands, figuratively and literally.

A book suddenly soared through the air and hit the back of his head. He whirled around, and saw George behind him, chest heaving. Stunned grief had turned to fury, and George was more furious than he had ever seen the young boy.

“You…You murderer! You killed him! Are you happy now?! You’ve always been a Gods’ Damned bully!” He shouted, arming himself with another book. Jenny jumped up, grabbing George’s wrist.

“George, stop!” She cried, tears streaming down her puffy cheeks. “This isn’t the answer!”

“It is! He’s a murderer and I hate him!” George snarled, ripping his arm away from Jenny and hurling another book at him. This time, Horace dodged, his own grief fueling his anger.

“I didn’t do anything!” Horace howled, grabbing the book and tossing it back. It struck the smaller boy square in the head, making him cry out and stumble back. “He fell by himself! He chose to climb the tree!”

Alyss stood, rushing over to grab George. She shot Horace a tearful glare, full of blame and anger.

“Don’t blame Will. You always blamed him when he got hurt from your actions, and now you’re too stupid to accept you caused someone’s death. Just…go to Hells!”

With that, she dragged George to the bedrooms, slamming the door firmly. Jenny looked at him.

And he knew all she saw was a murderer.

“I-I can’t believe you did this,” She hiccuped, and she, too, turned her back on him and escaped to the kitchens.

In truth, Horace blamed himself for the entire ordeal. But he couldn’t process it, not yet. He was stunned and guilty, his young mind unable to process the tragic death.

He went to the prayer room and knelt at the statue of the Soul Guide. He cupped his hands at his heart and whispered a prayer.

“Will,” He whispered. “Forgive me.”

[psychooomind]

Mixed Signals - 2

Severus Snape x reader

Summary: Set between 1989 and 1998, Severus Snape and Katya Borislova attend the European Potioneers' Assemblies, where they meet and begin a pen pal friendship that confuses them both.

This is a prequel to another of my Harry Potter fanfics, The New Founders.

A multi-entry, slow-burn, colleagues to lovers, smut

Chapter 1. You can also read it at AO3 here.

30 June 1993 - Day 1 of the European Potioneers' Assembly, Vienna

The assemblies of the European Potioneers' Club were traditionally held in central locations of European cities, and this year was no exception. The 1993 European Potioneers' Assembly took place at Vienna's Physiological-Chemical Institute, where some members had rented a couple of classrooms equipped with laboratories for the four-day event. To avoid drawing the attention of Muggle academics, the rooms were enchanted to give the appearance of a contagious project in progress, effectively deterring unwanted curiosity.

The club was not particularly large, with only nineteen members in total, eleven of whom had attended this year’s assembly. They were spread across two classrooms and a laboratory, working in small groups. The purpose of the assembly was to exchange knowledge about potions, share updates, recommend books, or draft reports detailing the latest progress in their research. Furthermore, an active, honorary part of the club involved creating potions to donate to academic institutions or magical health centres in need. Participants received a certificate for their contributions to any of these activities.

Katya preferred the practical aspect of the event, so she was focused on potion-making, meticulously weighing ingredients to create an antiseptic potion for wound healing. Her plan was to prepare a batch of one hundred potions to send to the Federal Magical Health Centre in Moscow. Earlier that day, they had listened to a presentation by her former professor from Koldovstoretz, Arkady Dolgorukov, whom Katya deeply admired. He had introduced a possible update for the Wolfsbane Potion and was the one who had invited her to join the club right after she finished school.

Also present was Sigurður Björnsson, an Icelandic Potions Master teaching at Durmstrang, known for his stern expression and habit of observing others with an air of disapproval. He had presented an antidote of his own invention to treat poisoning caused by Glumbumble treacle.

According to the itinerary, the following day Jakob and Andrea Wagner, Austrian twins attending for the first time and seemingly more interested in socialising than participating actively, were scheduled to present their report on facial beautification potions, a subject Katya deemed irrelevant. On the other hand, Catalina Sevilla, a young Spanish witch Katya’s age who had been attending the assemblies for two years, would present an update on the Bone-Regrowing Potion alongside a Potions professor in her forties from Beauxbatons Academy. Their work promised to significantly accelerate the potion’s effects.

On the third day of the assembly, Finn Genod, a Swedish Potions Master renowned for his meticulous note-taking during every gathering, would present his new book on potions. Katya had noticed him arrive on the first day carrying several copies. Also scheduled was Anya Müller, a German witch close to Professor Dolgorukov, who would discuss her work dedicated to antidotes for magical creature poisons—a topic that greatly interested Katya.

The fourth and final day would feature Giovanni Santos, an Italian professor from Beauxbatons, who would give a presentation on potions to accelerate the growth of plants, particularly the healing herb dittany. Additionally, recommendations for Professor Dolgorukov’s Wolfsbane Potion report would be discussed, along with reviews of the other presentations. To close the event, certificates would be awarded, a task assigned to Horace Slughorn, a retired Hogwarts professor and the club’s coordinator. Finally, Katya and Severus Snape, the current Potions Master at Hogwarts, would present their progress on the potions they had been working on. Severus, in particular, had been preparing large-scale batches of blood-replenishing potions to donate to the school’s infirmary.

Katya was so absorbed in her work that she didn’t notice the other attendees beginning to pack up their belongings, signalling the end of the day. She glanced at her slow progress with frustration, then checked her watch: the day had flown by. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her friend, who also seemed engrossed in his task. Severus worked with meticulous precision, almost automatically, as he prepared his potions. He was dressed in a grey long-sleeved shirt and black trousers, an unusual choice for someone who normally opted for his characteristic black robes.

Katya took a moment to observe him more closely: his broad shoulders, his dark hair tied back in a ponytail, and his expert hands. She sighed inwardly, allowing herself a few seconds of admiration. Remaining just friends with Severus was proving to be more challenging than she had anticipated.

Their friendship had spanned nearly four years, beginning with a series of letters exchanged after meeting at the 1989 assembly. From the start, Katya had been drawn to him, and when the event concluded, she had persistently asked Professor Dolgorukov to provide Severus's contact information. Through this, she had sent him a letter, initiating a correspondence that began formally, with the two recommending books on Potions, Charms, and even the Dark Arts. Over time, their exchanges evolved. By 1991, when Dolgorukov and other members had brought records to listen to during work sessions, they had begun recommending music—both magical and Muggle—along with novels and films. It was Severus who had introduced Katya to Star Wars.

The letters became less formal, and they began discussing everyday topics. Katya confided in him about the stress of working at Borislov Enterprise, while he shared his frustrations with the tediousness of teaching at Hogwarts. By 1992, after assembly hours, they had even gone sightseeing together on multiple occasions. However, since Katya had invited him to her apartment in Moscow via Floo Network, their relationship had taken an unexpected turn.

Katya admired Severus deeply and had never hidden her interest in him, an interest that went beyond mere friendship. Yet this interest seemed to make Severus uneasy and apprehensive. Since that meeting in Moscow, where an unexpected kiss had been shared, both had decided to maintain appearances and prioritise their friendship, pretending the moment had never happened. Still, Katya found it increasingly difficult to suppress her feelings, especially when she observed him so closely.

As the minutes passed, she heard some colleagues murmuring about heading to a Muggle pub with karaoke. The idea didn’t sound bad to her. Smiling, she approached Severus, who was still focused on his work.

“Are you going?” she asked, standing beside him.

Severus looked up, startled by the interruption. He had only just begun to notice the others discussing the outing to the karaoke pub. He frowned slightly and, after a brief pause, replied,

“Karaoke?” he said with evident distaste. “Wouldn’t you prefer a walk along the canal?”

His suggestion took Katya by surprise, and she couldn’t help but smile; he always found a way to avoid situations that took him out of his comfort zone. It wasn’t the first time he had rejected social events in favour of something quieter and more private. While karaoke sounded fun, the prospect of a quiet walk alone with him was far more tempting.

“The canal sounds nice,” she replied, a slight smile gracing her lips.

Severus packed his belongings, and the two of them left the building, walking slowly. A comfortable silence settled between them as they covered the first few metres. Eventually, Severus broke the silence.

“How was your week?” he asked, without stopping.

Katya frowned, recalling how dreadful it had been. Work had been a nightmare, with the constant presence of Jan and Alexey in the office turning each day into sheer hell. The only thing calming her nerves at home had been a draught of Calming Potion.

“Intense,” she replied curtly, unwilling to delve into the topic. She wasn’t ready to tell Severus that her own brothers were harassing her at work. She knew she would have to discuss it with him eventually, but she didn’t want to ruin the tranquillity of the evening. “My colleagues are still bothering me.”

“We could always kill them,” Severus joked, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Katya returned the smile, and for a brief moment, she genuinely wished she could.

“And how do you suggest we do that?” she asked, moving closer and linking her arm with his. “Torture? Drowning?”

Severus let out a small laugh, and for the next few minutes, they crafted an elaborate, fictitious plan to kill her co-workers—who were, in reality, her brothers. Katya relished the sense of camaraderie between them, and the joke helped them both unwind.

“…and once there’s no trace of them, no one will suspect us,” Severus muttered seriously, while Katya laughed softly beside him.

They walked together, so close that under other circumstances, Severus would have preferred to keep some distance. But with Katya, it was different; he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her small gestures of closeness. He loved hearing her laugh. It was soft and contagious, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she would moan in the same way.

Merlin, calm down, he told himself, shaking the thought from his mind.

They reached the canal and walked in silence for a while. Katya mentioned that she had often come there as a child, her mother taking her on long strolls. Severus asked if she had a good relationship with her mother, and Katya smiled, recalling her fond memories of her.

After an hour and in the midst of one of their shared comfortable silences, Severus's stomach growled, breaking the moment. Katya, with a playful smile, insisted they have dinner at one of the restaurants by the waterfront.

They sat outside, enjoying the cool night breeze. Severus was momentarily captivated as Katya removed her light cream jumper, pulling it over her head. As she did, her shirt lifted slightly, offering a brief glimpse of her skin, just as it had in her Moscow apartment. He quickly shifted his gaze to the menu, trying to focus on something—anything—else.

“Ready to order?” asked the waiter in clumsy English.

“Yes, I’ll have the burger,” Katya replied with a smile. “And a martini.”

“The same, but with a stout,” added Severus.

The waiter nodded and left. Katya, gazing at the canal illuminated by the city lights, murmured,

“It’s a beautiful night.”

Severus nodded, his eyes fixed on her. Katya noticed his gaze out of the corner of her eye and felt her cheeks flush.

The next two hours passed in conversation, critiquing mutual acquaintances and sharing sarcastic humour. Severus greatly appreciated how Katya shared his dry sense of humour, laughing at his remarks instead of being offended. As the conversation flowed, Katya, now slightly tipsy, began wondering if Severus would make a move or if he would continue “respecting” their unspoken agreement to keep things as they were.

Severus was explaining some reactions he had observed while working with basilisk venom when the waiter approached to inform them the restaurant was about to close.

With a swift motion, Severus paid the bill. Checking his watch, he realised they had been talking for over four hours. Surprised by how quickly time had flown, he insisted on walking Katya back to her hotel, which was only a few blocks away.

“Would you like to come up?” Katya asked casually when they arrived.

Her hotel exuded luxury—a five-star establishment—and before they had even reached the steps, a bellboy was already approaching the door to greet them. Severus stopped, debating with himself what to do. Katya's proposal had caught him off guard.

“Kat…” he murmured. “Please…”

Katya looked at him, irritated, and Severus knew he had said the wrong thing.

“I was only inviting you inside, Severus,” she replied, with a touch of irony. “I wasn’t about to throw myself at you,” she muttered with resignation.

Severus let out a sigh, and before she could step into the hotel, he spoke impulsively:

“Maybe I want you to.”

Katya froze, turned around, her face flushed, but her brow furrowed.

“Sev…” she said firmly. That single word was enough to disarm Severus completely. “Make up your mind.”

She approached him, placed a gentle kiss on his lips, and with a smile, added:

“See you tomorrow.”

Severus nodded as he watched her walk into the hotel, remaining motionless for a few moments as though he needed to process what had just happened.

[arriansarchive]

Emma Bloom/Male!Peculiar!Reader

I'm just Ken... where I see love, she sees a friend...

I'm listening to that song and I thought that line fit just a little bit with Reader and Emma in this story

Only that line though

This is set when Abe is with Miss P

This is actually a really old draft from a year ago, but I'm finishing it up to try to get something out

Summary: You're sick of Emma ignoring you for Abe, so you corner her one night to talk.

The night was long, and you were restless in your chair. The owls hooting seemed to lull you to sleep most nights but not this one.

You sat awake at your desk, tapping a pen on the paper. Many normal things happened today, almost too normal.

Emma ignoring you for Abe, Fiona and Hugh doing everything together, Enoch being a prick, Emma ignoring you for Abe.

That sentence made your blood boil over the edge of it's imaginary pot. Abe was a problem for your friendship ever since he arrived at Miss Peregrine's house.

You and Emma had been close friends for many years. You both were basically inseparable. You went to the beach together, you helped her pick out clothes for random events, history work Miss Peregrine assigned, and other.

But then Abe came, and it all went away as quick as a feather being carried through the wind.

Suddenly a light switch being flipped from across the hall sparks your attention. You and Emma's rooms were adjacent to one anothers. That means it could only be Emma.

Whenever Miss Peregrine does sleep, which tonight would be one of those nights, she sleeps heavily, so as long as you didn't make any huge noises you could get out of the house easily. That's what you suspect Emma is doing.

Abe is also a heavy sleep, so you suspect that he wouldn't be coming on this midnight stroll. You would be though.

You shot up from your desk, shoved a few pillows under your blankets, and made for the door, waiting for the right time to follow suit behind Emma.

She was probably heading to the beach, you presumed. Since every time before Abe, you and Emma went out to the beach to just talk and think.

You heard the downstairs door opened and shut quietly then started to slowly peek out your door. The hallway was barren and empty just like you thought.

Your footsteps were light inside of your socks, once you get the the bottom slipping on shoes and a fluffy hat.

The front door opened and closed once more as you exited the desolate, quiet household that in the day was loud and bustling with activity.

The walk to the beach was peaceful for your racing mind. It calmed you down immensely, probably for the better with what your about to talk to Emma about.

The outside ring of the beach was beautiful. The plants displayed out the front always calmed your nerves whenever you happened to be in distress.

Usually whenever Emma and you came here, it was to talk about some stupid new rule or short-lived piece of drama that came about in the house. Enoch picking on Horace, Fiona and Hugh, something like that. Something stupid.

Something stupid that the two of you laughed at.

There was no more laughing between you and her. There was just silence. Where there used to be a bold, strong connection; there was dead quiet, a broken string.

You sighed whenever Emma came into view. A sigh of relief? You'll never know. Her blue dress flowed as her knees were drawn up to her chest, her heading hiding in them. You could tell it was her from her blonde head of hair, a head of hair you'd know anywhere.

"Emma Bloom!" You called out, somewhat teasingly.

She looked up and turned her head on the direction where you were standing, waving your hands like a maniac.

"You." Emma rolled her eyes.

You jogged over to where she sat on the sand and took your rightful place beside her. Whenever you looked into her eyes, you saw they were red and irritated. She had been crying; and, for Emma, that meant something really bad had happened.

"What's wrong with you?" You said awkwardly.

You were never good at heartfelt conversations. You thought that was what Emma loved about you until Abe, heartwarming pep-talks Abe, came about.

"You wouldn't care. You don't like him anyways." She sighed and rubbed her eyes again.

You looked away from her and sighed. "I might not like him, but I still want to know what's ailing your heart, love."

She sniffled. "I'll tell you if you promise to never call me that ever again."

Nodding your head, you smile softly. "Deal."

Emma began to explain to you that Abe was planning to go join some mame-shift, hollow-hunters army that sent him a letter a few days ago.

"-and that would leave me alone." She finished.

You almost scoffed but managed to keep it inside, though maybe not your sour expression. She looked over at you, needing somebody to give her some advice.

"My advice to you, Emma, is to look around you at the people who really care about you." You sighed. "I've been right here for weeks, knowing he'd eventually leave you, but you've glazed past me every time."

She huffed and got up from her position on the sand to storm away. "I knew you'd do this. You make everything all about yourself!"

You looked up and started to call after her, but you felt it would do no good. Once Emma got set on something, she wouldn't change her mind. It was something you loved about her.

Supposing you'd just walk back to the house, you got up from your seat. Maybe it would take Abe leaving for her to realize what she had. Maybe you would wait until then.

[localcanadiancreature62]

Wax'Pimm dump

O'Pimm,a guy who's so obsessed with killing Bill to the point that it's ridiculous + Thurburt,a guy who just wants him to stop and finally see how much he loves him. Close enough,welcome back Fiddauthor (they're so Fiddauthor coded that it's not even funnyyy).

Their heights~ @chaseerr0rcode

Oh i found the old draft i had of their relationship back then when i first got obsessed with them. I still managed to put some parts of the old vers in the news vers lolll.

Waxstaff and O'Pimm dynamic:

They are friends. They fuck sometimes. They are the only rational people in a group full of unhinged psychopaths (Abigale,Jessamine,Horace. The mfs who said "punch,shoot,remove" their own brains). They GET each other 'cause of having similar backstories and issues. They make each other question their sexuality. They're like Fidds and Ford but more toxic and repressed and more doomed. (less rambly/vague version tomorrow).

Bonus - I think they probably end up together in a nice little farm in the middle of nowhere without any onlookers or pesky fellows trying to break them apart with their homophobic and conservative backwards views plus the fact that they're STILL considered the hated laughingstocks of america even after everything,but that only happens like WAYYYY after they deal with the Horrors™ (grappling with their general issues plus their trauma regarding Bill. they have a lot of shit to work through before entering a healthy relationship ngl. but since i will go insane if things go too slowly,this process will be described in like a whole wall of text and then not elaborated on further soon afterwards).

Also old "reasons why they have chemistry" reference i made for myself

O'Pimm and Waxstaff similarities (that i done made up lmaoo):

Daddy issues

Only sane men of the Anti Cipherites Desperately want to make a name for themselves after spending their lives ridiculed and shamed for being the "runt" of their families

Repressed gay

Terrible inferiority complex

Disgraced rich people cuz of their terrible dads indirectly causing their failure (i mean being a steel factory owner's son has gotta have some merit right?)

Cowardice (Thurbert believes himself to be a coward for hiding under the protection of the Three Idiots™ [Jessamine,Abigale,and Horace] instead of facing Bill head on like a man while O'Pimm believes himself to be a coward for not accepting Bill's offer as he would still have his wife if he did)