#it is SO HARD choosing one quote for him i have SO MANY

[charlie-rulerofhell]

Chris Harms at Gefragt – Gejagt | The Chase A Tragedy in 3 Acts

[mochinomnoms]

Two's Company, Three's a Crowd, and Six is a Riot

ii. the sweetest tart in the red tyrant’s feast

[wc} - 8,227

[notes] - Riddle my baby...he deserves so many kisses...not sure if this feels super ooc or not but i liked it so this is what we got! i wanted to write so much more for him but it got too much so i had to cut down and make a few edits. also pls don't worry a whole lot about the poll at the end just choose pls

tags: @rosieboop @aliasrising @alienlatteinspace @wishicouldart @cottage-clockwork

make a choice at the end...

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ii. The sweetest tart in the red tyrant’s feast

Listen to: “Matsuri” by Fujii Kaze

An S.O.S. signal sent by Trey and Cater had the entire dorm on high alert for a last minute unbirthday party. 

High alert was putting it lightly, actually.

Riddle was meticulous in scheduling unbirthday parties well ahead of time. In fact, he made sure that all the Heartslabyul students had every single party, ceremony, gathering, and the like in their calendars from the start of the year to the end. 

This unbirthday party? It was in the middle of the week, in the middle of the afternoon, with only a few hours notice. Riddle must have gone insane.

“You! Get the tables set up! And you three, make sure the roses are painted red!” Trey was definitely stressed, barking orders out at the students that were already at the dorm. “Has anyone seen Cater? I need him to—”

“Trey! What’s going on, Riddle had me send out an urgent S.O.S., everyone is acting like their butts are totally up in flames—woah!”

Cater strolled in, phone in hand as he watched everyone run around, yelping as Trey caught him by his shoulders. 

“Cater! Where’s Riddle? Why is he having us do the unbirthday party two days early? I’m barely even able to get a cake ready, did he tell you anything?”

Trey looked like he’d aged 30 years just from his current expression alone, and Cater was having a hard time from laughing at it. 

“Pft—He’s getting his uniform on in his room. He texted me, which he neeeever does, B-T-W. I mean, he even told me to get the King’s chair.”

Hazel eyes met light green ones, blinking once. Twice. A third time. 

“The…King’s chair?”

“Yuh.”

“Riddle…asked for the King’s chair?”

“Yepperoni.”

“W-wh…why?” Trey asked incredulously. 

There were three special chairs in storage, alongside the normal ones brought out for parties and ceremonies.

One was called the Throne, a seat specially meant for the housewarden. It was created in the image of the Queen of Heart’s own throne and was named as such. It was large and dwarfed the person sitting in it, unless you were Riddle with his commanding presence. 

The second was a small, but ornately decorated chair wrapped in gold roses and vines, though it matched the other chairs more closely than the Throne. It was reserved for special guests and mostly was used for visiting faculty and housewardens from other dorms. The third was a rare sight for most Heartslabyul students, some even made it their entire academic career without seeing it. 

The King’s chair was a much smaller throne, rather lovely and almost demure, much like the king it was based on. It matched the Throne like a delicate teacup with its ornate china teapot. 

Like roses and baby’s breath. Like the sun and moon. Like rain and an umbrella. Like the stars and the night sky—well, you get it.

“To be totally honest with you, I’m not sure either.” Cater sighed, picking at his cheek as he looked off to the side. “I saw someone with Riddle when he first came into the dorm, super red-faced too. They’re sitting in the lounge A-T-M, he said to have the ADeuce pair to hang out with them.”

Trey furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, looking to his right, where the pair were bickering over the table settings. 

“Really? For a guest that requires us to take out the King’s chair, they’re pretty rowdy to be hosts, he say why?”

“Well, our mystery ‘King’,” Cater emphasized the king with air quotes, “was carrying Grim, who seemed all tuckered out…now that I really think about it…”

Cater started typing away at his phone and brought up a picture, leaning into Trey’s side to show a sneaky snapshot of a person in the lounge. 

“They look a LOT like (Name), see?”

Trey adjusted his glasses, squinting at the image of a person on their lounge couch. Indeed, the person in the picture looked eerily like (Name), from the hair to their eyes to the shape of their nose. Just older, with longer hair tied into a low bun and a deep red, simple suit and a pair of black, suede ankle boots on their person. 

“Woah…Cater you don’t think…maybe their sibling or something also got summoned here too?”

Cater looked around, like he was watching out for someone, before leaning in to whisper to Trey like an old woman with gossip. 

“I heard there were six different people summoned earlier today. And that Grimmy got (Name) into some sort of trouble and now they’re missing! Malleus is like, tooootally freaked out according to Lils, and Grimmy’s been sobbing into that person’s arms since he got here.”            

A wave of concern and sympathy for the little direbeast waved over Trey as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh man, poor (Name). Poor Grim, maybe that’s why Riddle wants the two to go host them?”

“Yeah, to help calm Grimmy-Boy down, probably. I’m gonna go tell them to head over and—”

“Wait, what about Grim? We heard that something happened to (Name), but no one’s telling us anything!” 

Ace and Deuce ran up to them, the former hiding his worry by crossing his arms, though he still bit on his lip. Deuce on the other hand was clearly distressed, fidgeting with his hands as he spoke. 

“Everyone just keeps telling us that Riddle wants us in the lounge, but won’t say anything about (Name)!” Deuce started waving his hands as he spoke in rapidly increasing panic. “They haven’t answered any of our texts, we heard that there was an explosion in the classroom they were at. Is Grim with them?”

Trey placed a hand on Deuce’s shoulders, giving the underclassmen a reassuring squeeze on his shoulders. 

“Hey, calm down. We don’t know anything, but Riddle might, he brought Grim with him a little while ago.” He decided to leave out the mention of your look-alike as he continued. 

“He’ll be here soon, for now finish up what you were doing and then head to the lounge to check in on Grim, alright?”

Ace opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it, huffing and nodding as he tugged Deuce along to finish their original tasks. 

Trey sighed, adjusting his glasses as he turned back to Cater. 

“We should also get our stuff done, I’m going to take a small group with me to try and get some food and tea going so that I can focus on the cake. Did you get someone to grab the chair?”

Cater smiled, bringing his fingers up in a peace sign up to his eye as he winked. 

“Yessirrrrr! I sent a few clones of mine to get the rest of the tables and chairs, I’ll help everyone finish up!” 

He paused, eyes widening as he looked behind Trey and cringed. 

“Oop, Riddle’s coming this way, and he does NOT look very slay.”

Trey raised a brow and turned around, blinking at the site of an unusually disheveled Riddle, well disheveled for him. 

His crown was starting to slip off his head, the train of his cloak was all twisted as it dragged behind him, even his tie was slightly skewed off his neck. 

“Riddle! Are you okay? You’re not usually so frazzled.”

Riddle cringed, cheeks red from embarrassment, as he adjusted his uniform. 

“My apologies, this is unbecoming of a housewarden, but there’s been a bit of a—” Riddle thinned his lips as he pondered what to say. “—let’s say an event. We have a very important guest of honor, and it’s of the utmost importance that this unbirthday party is perfect!”

The short housewarden looked around, spotting Ace and Deuce as they threw their paint brushes haphazardly into empty cans and rushed past the group to the lounge. 

“Cater, I presume you sent them to entertain our guest I mentioned?”

Cater nodded and gave Riddle a thumbs up. “Yep! Kinda confused about why our favorite troublemakers are going though, wouldn’t it totes better if maybe me or Trey go instead? I’m like, such a good host!”

Riddle shook his head, sighing as he crossed his arms. 

“No, trust me. They’re the best pair for our guest. And…” Riddle turned red again, looking around towards the gardens. “You got the King’s chair out of storage, yes?”

Nodding, Cater shared another look with Trey before the green haired man gingerly asked, “About that, the King’s chair is only for a housewarden’s partner. You of all people know that, so why are we taking it out for a guest…”

Trey paused, blinking in astonishment as Cater did the same. Riddle was turning red once again, all the way down to his neck, as his two hairpieces stood straight up. However, he didn’t look angry, not at all.

Riddle looked embarrassed, flustered even, especially at the mention of a partner. 

“That’s exactly why it’s being brought out, though it’s a bit complicated…”

Riddle had left you in the lounge a while ago, stumbling over his words and cheeks red as he asked you to wait until he sent someone for you. It was awfully cute, you hadn’t seen your husband get so shy around you since you first started dating.

It probably didn’t help that you kept cooing over him as you walked over to the Hall of Mirrors, making the other ‘Yous’ and the housewardens give you two looks. 

Mostly amused ones, though you think the other students were waiting for Riddle to blow up in anger.

Now that Riddle had left you, muttering about needing to get dressed and check on the garden, you were focused on the little creature on your lap. 

Grim was almost catatonic, ears drooping down as he let out a whine. He leaned into your hand though as you scratched behind his ears, his favorite spot, despite any denials about it.

“…Hey (Na)—um—Tart?”

You looked down, titling your head at Grim and giving him a reassuring smile. 

“Yes Grim?”

Sitting up in your lap, Grim fiddled with the gem on his collar, it looked a bit cloudy from the blot he accumulated earlier, though it was fading out. 

“What was it like when you came here? Did it feel weird when the cracks started growing?”

You knew he was actually asking if it hurt. Based on what Riddle was saying when walking over to the dorm, the younger you was screaming in pain. 

“A…bit. I think I was more shocked than anything. But I’m alright, and I’m sure (Name) is too.” 

You lied smoothly, and the little guy relaxed a bit, leaning against your chest as he murmured to himself. 

“Hmm? What was that?”

“...I’m kinda hungry…”

You snorted, ruffling Grim’s fur as you stood up and moved your arm to let him crawl up your shoulder. It was a bit nostalgic, it had been a few years since he’d been small enough for you to hold and carry again. 

“Let’s get some food then, I’m sure we can sneak a little snack from the kitchen!”

Grim smiled and purred, vibrating against your shoulder as he slumped over like a potato sack. It had been years since you’d been in Heartslabyul, but from all the time you'd previously spend with your husband here, you knew it like the back of your hand.

The halls were winding and trippy, for lack of a better word, but once you got the hang of it, walking through them was a breeze. 

It did smell like the kitchen was being used, a sweet, familiar smell of fruits and sugar wafting in the air. It made you want to drool, like a cartoon character floating to a pie. 

“Hmm, Trey’s baking~ Ugh, I haven’t had it in so long!”

You pouted, making Grim tilt his head and purr in confusion,

“Whaddya mean? We don’t get Trey’s treats anymore in the future? Myah! I can’t have that!”

A soft chuckle left you as you two peeked over the entryway to the kitchen. It looked empty, but the oven light was on, accompanied by a sweet smell of vanilla. The other entry led to the halls connected to the patio and gardens, and you could just make out the sounds of students running around. No doubt preparing a surprise unbirthday party. 

“No, no Grim, I’m exaggerating. We visit the bakery every Sunday morning for some tea and pastries. It’s like a little tradition for us!” 

You carefully tiptoed in, mouth watering as you eyed the cake slowly rising in the oven. There were strawberries on the counter, half cut and half still whole, like someone left midway through baking. Based on the heavy whipping cream and sugar alongside it, you suspected that Trey was baking a strawberry shortcake.

He wouldn’t miss a single strawberry, right?

Your husband’s voice was ringing in your ears as you plucked one of the berries and rapidly backed away, taking half of it in a bite and offering the other half to Grim, who swallowed it whole gleefully. 

Riddle would be chastising you right now if he were here. Angrily wagging a finger at you as he went on and on about how rude and unsanitary it was to take an ingredient from the kitchen. He’d huff as you smile at him and offer a kiss as an apology, teasingly offering a taste of strawberry from your lips. 

If your husband was here, you’d do just that. But you don’t know where he is, if he’s alone, if he’s safe. Really, though, you shouldn’t worry, Riddle had always been more than capable of taking care of himself. 

But what if he was hurt? Riddle was an excellent mage with powerful magic at his disposal, even more so as an adult, he’d be fine. What if he’s lost, completely isolated from anyone or anything? If there’s a will, there is a way, and Riddle was much more stubborn than he liked to admit. What if you don’t find your way back to him? Can you really trust Crowley when he never found you a way home?

You swallowed tightly at the thought, staring down at your hands and fiddling with the gold ring on your left ring finger. It was a ruby, with leaf motifs on the crown and band, making it look like a rose. A lovely red that reminded you of Riddle. 

“I hope he’s okay…” Grim turned his head at you and let out a curious ‘mrrph?’ as you smiled at him. “Riddle, my Riddle I mean. I’m sure he is, he might even be with your (Name)!” 

Grim looked reassured with that thought, mindlessly kneading into your shoulder. 

“Yeah. Yeah, they probably are.”

Both of you sighed as you leaned against the kitchen island, staring off into nothing in particular. The sounds of students rambling, the stomps of running, the smell of strawberries and roses. It was all so nostalgic. 

You think you could even hear the sounds of Ace and Deuce arguing, just like they did back then, and just like they still do now.

… Actually, now that you thought about it, their voices were getting closer and closer, footsteps against the tile floors growing louder as the two burst into the other entrance of the kitchen. 

“Move Deuce! You’re getting in the way—”

“—No, you move! You and your big as—big dumb mouth will only stress Grim out!”

“YOU’RE CUSSING! I’M TELLING RIDDLE AND—”

Ace stopped and stared at you, almost comically so, like a cartoon character as Deuce bumped into him. The latter gave Ace a stink eye before following his line of sight and similarly giving you a bulging-eyed stare. 

“W-wha—you—Grim—who—”

“WAAAH! ACE! DEUCE!” Grim cried out, bolting from your shoulder to jump into Ace’s arms. You winced as his rear claws slightly dug through your clothes into your skin as you used you as a catapult, but looked at your best friends’ young selves. 

Deuce stammered over his words, narrowing his gaze as Ace clicked his tongue at the cat-sized beast sniffling into his arms. 

“Ace…” Grim’s voice was shuddering and whiny as he dug his head into the ginger’s chest. “I messed up…(Naaame)...”

His eyebrows and eyes just very so slightly softened at the sight. Ace was always much softer than he liked to admit, just with your little group of four, though. Still was. 

“Grim…what’s going on bud? Where’s (Name)? And who’s the lookalike?” Deuce gave a firm nod in agreement to Ace’s questions. “Just tell us what you did.”

His ears flattened down against his head, Grim curling himself even smaller into Ace’s arms as he mumbled. 

“I messed up a spell again…(Name) got…” Grim let out a whimper. Of guilt or fear of disappointment again, perhaps both. “(Name) got caught in it.”

Both Ace and Deuce tensed as they shared a look, then glanced at you. Then back at each other. Then back down at Grim. 

“Grim…is that person…”

“Did you…”

You let out a sigh of relief that the pair figured it out so quickly. It spared you of an awkward explanation—

“Did you make them old???”

“I am not old!!!” You scoffed, indigent, as you crossed your arms and tapped your foot like a parent scolding a kid might. “I am only in my twenties, thank you very much!”

Ace pointed a finger at you, still cradling Grim in the other, and smirked. 

“Where in your twenties? Cause early is fine, but middle and late is pushing it!”

“Middle and late twenties is not old, Ace! It is still very much young, thank you very much—wait, why am I arguing with you on this? You don’t even have a fully developed frontal lobe yet!”

“And you do? So how old does that make you then?”

You closed your mouth as quickly as you opened it, noticing Ace’s smug look, huffing and rolling your eyes.

“I’m not saying! You know it’s rude to ask someone their age!”

Deuce looked between you two with wide eyes, cringing as Ace pointed a finger at you triumphantly. 

“AHA! That’s just another way to say you’re old!” Ace looked down at Grim and giggled as he ruffled the top of his head. “Aw Grim, you just aged (Name) up a couple of years! I’m sure Professor Crewel can make a point to make them normal, I don’t know why you’re crying—”

“They’re not my (Name)!” Grim cried out, though he sounded more frustrated by now, there were still remnants of tears in his eyes and wet streaks down his furry cheeks. “That’s one of the different (Names).”

“Different—”

“—(Names)?”

The two gave the other a look as they finished each other’s sentence, annoyed and embarrassed at the same time. You were reminded just how much they pretended to dislike each other at this age, the stark contrast from how they were back home was almost amusing. You couldn’t wait to tease them about it. 

“Maybe we should sit down and talk. I’m sure the others still need some more time to set up the party, so I can catch you up.”

Riddle’s left eye twitched as he eyed the bunches of roses. There were the usual painted roses to his left, plain red roses in the middle, and plain white on the right. 

“Rule 469 states that we should decorate using both red and white roses for new friends, but would…they…count as a new friend?”

Cater gave a confused hum and twirled a piece of hair around his finger as he gave it some thought. 

“Hmm…To be totes for real, I’m not super sure Riddle. I mean, technically we know (Name), so they aren’t a new friend. But Tart isn’t exactly our (Name), so like, they could really be way different from what we’re used to.”

Cater sighed, as did Riddle, who crossed his arms as he shook his head in frustration. 

“But they’re rather—” He chose to ignore how Cater had to withhold an amused smile at the way Riddle blushed. “—familiar with me. I fear it might offend them as they’re—”

Riddle turned even redder, the words, ‘my spouse’ stuck in his throat like a sugar cube that didn’t fully dissolve into his tea. 

So sweet and pleasant on his tongue, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to actually say it out loud.

It was pathetic. Absolutely and utterly pathetic at how just the thought of you being his spouse made his heart jump from his chest. You’d given him such a sweet smile, spoken to him in a giddy but fond tone back in the classroom, it made him both want to throw up and melt. 

“M-my—ahem—my spouse. And since we’re taking the King’s chair out of storage for them, perhaps it would be more fitting to stick with the painted roses.”

Cater nodded in agreement and gave Riddle a wink. 

“Sure thing Rids! I’ll let everyone know and get the last decorations all set! Why don’t you check on Trey back in the kitchen, he was pretty worried about the treats earlier.”

Really, he meant, “Go talk to Trey and relax.” Riddle was more than aware that he’d been out of character since arriving with you, though he sent you off into the lounge and avoided the general building since. It wasn’t as if he’d been avoiding you, Riddle admitted to himself that he was incredibly curious. 

It’s just…well…he knew himself well enough that he could admit he was fond of you. And it wasn’t every day that he could get a peek into a future that could quite literally speak back to him in full sentences. If normal divination spells worked like that, then reading tea leaves and crystal balls would be for naught.

“Yes, I should see how Trey is doing, will you have the rest of the decorations and arrangements complete by noon?”

Cater gave him a thumbs up and turned on his heel towards the group of students frantically running around the garden, doing their best to prepare.

Riddle felt bad, he truly did. He’d made it a point to schedule all the unbirthday parties for the year by orientation so that he could have all the incoming freshmen prepared. Not only was it more efficient this way, it meant no one could use the excuse of “I didn’t know!” to skip out on work or the party itself. 

But it wouldn’t be appropriate to have the future version of his spouse (he both loved and hated how warm the thought made him feel) visit the dorm and not be honored as a guest. 

Still, he wasn’t sure just how to approach you. Would it be better to be respectful and chaste? Perhaps he should treat you how he���d normally do so, but if this version of you was his spouse, would you be expecting more…affection?

You’d practically tackled him back at the classroom, clinging to him like you’d been together for ages. 

He supposed that for the (Name) sitting in the lounge at this moment, that was a fact of life. Riddle wasn’t stupid, he saw the ruby ring on your finger—a Roseheart family heirloom—and he knew that he’d never dare ask his mother for it unless he’d been with you for years. 

Frankly, he’s surprised that his mother actually approved of the union. In a different time, yes, but still. Riddle does briefly consider that his father or even his grandparents could have also given their blessings. 

No. Not even over her own dead body would his mother allow anything related to him to happen without her approval. He’s positive she would crawl out from the afterlife, nails digging into the crust of the earth where her grave laid if she so much as sensed that something was happening without her. 

Riddle suppressed a shudder at the thought as he stepped into the kitchen, where Trey and a few dorm members were shuffling between each other. The sounds of whisks against metal bowls, a knife on a cutting board, and the sweet smell of vanilla made him relax. 

Something familiar, something running smoothly, something that wouldn’t give him a massive migraine. 

“Almost cool enough. Hey, when you’re done with the whipped cream, bring it over so I can start layering—oh, Riddle.”

Trey had been glaring at the cakes in front of him with mild annoyance, as if he could will them to cool down faster on the wire racks, before noticing Riddle and giving him a soft smile.

“I think we’ll manage to have the cakes done half past twelve, thankfully I had some premade tarts and pastries already prepared for the croquette tournament.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll just have to make some more next week.”

Riddle felt guilt build up in the back of his throat as he nodded. 

“I appreciate you working so quickly on this. Please forgive the additional stress, it’s not everyday we have such…an important guest.”

“Hey Housewarden!” A rabbit beastman with white, ringlet curls and red eyes snuck up behind Trey and peered at Riddle with a curious smile. “That guest wouldn’t happen to be the person in the lounge with Ace and Deuce, would they?”

Relief flooded his system, as despite how much trouble the pair was, Riddle knew just how close they were to you. 

“Yes, Timmy, that’s correct. I assume they’re comfortable and are being treated well?”

The beastman hesitated before nodding. 

“I mean, I think so? They’d been having a squabble a bit ago, but they were also laughing, so I think it’s all in good fun.”

A mischievous smile crossed Timmy’s as cooed out, “Plus, they’ve been talking an awful lot about you Housewarden. Didn’t think you were into older—oof!”

A swift elbow from Trey into his stomach made the other keel over and groan in pain. Riddle felt the tale-tell heat of rage grow under his skin as he gave a stern glare to the rabbit. 

“If you have time to eavesdrop on others' conversations, then perhaps you don’t have enough tasks to keep you occupied. Take the dishes that are ready and get the tables set up, remember what happens to rabbits if Rule 628 is broken!”

Despite Trey’s rather soft scolding, the other man turned pale and nodded, swiftly grabbing a tray of scones and tea before rushing off. The green-haired man nodded at the others in the kitchen as well, who followed suit with the rest of the dishes, leaving the two of them alone. 

“...Thank you, Trey. I’d hate for our guest to be greeted with a collared guest at a party in their honor.”

Trey simply reached for the now abandoned bowl of whipped cream, eyeing the consistency before deeming it sufficient for use as he spread it on top of the cakes.

“Yeah, our ‘guest’ who you’ve been avoiding since you arrived, Riddle.”

RIddle stiffened, huffing as he turned his look away from Trey’s critical gaze. 

“I’ve been checking in on everyone, I’m sure it’s stressful for everyone to have to prepare for an unbirthday party that wasn’t meant to happen for weeks. I sent Ace and Deuce to host them for the time being, but I fail to see what is wrong with that!”

“Yes, but Riddle.” The layers were coming together nicely as cut strawberries were gently placed in the whipped cream. 

“You had us bring out the King’s chair. You spent 30 full minutes agonizing with me over the right tea and cake to serve. And another 10 with Cater on the roses, when normally you’d already have these details set. You know (Name), even if this is a different version of them, they won’t be so worried about the little details.”

Riddle pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, sighing heavily. 

“I know. I do, I really do. It’s just…”

Trey’s eyes were still focused on decorating the cake in front of him, but he nodded, giving Riddle a confirmation that he was listening. 

“How in the world am I meant to properly respond to them? All the rules of etiquette are a blurred line with them!”

Riddle felt a blush coming on again as he thought about the way you hugged him against your chest, your hands on his cheeks, the loving smile. He’d only had dreams about those sorts of things, and now they were reality. 

“Riddle, if Tart is making you uncomfortable, I’m sure you could speak to them and explain.”

Trey turned back to face Riddle, his face full of concern. 

“You don’t know them like that, you don’t have to pretend to like it for their sake.”

He’s always hated how easily his face got red. He hated how silly it made him look when he was angry, but this was worse somehow. 

“That’s not exactly…” Riddle looked up at Trey and gave him an embarrassed cringe. “I don’t dislike their familiarity, Trey. It’s just, how am I supposed to interact with them?”

A bit of silence stretched over the two as Trey stared at Riddle with an unreadable expression. The lack of emotions on his face made Riddle uncomfortable, it was unlike Trey. 

“Riddle, do you…” Trey finally gave Riddle a teasing smile. “Do you fancy (Name)? Is that what has you all distracted?”

Riddle did not appreciate the snorts that started escaping Trey as the other covered his grin.

“Trey. Do not test me at this time. I’m not in the mood.”

“Please, you’re not gonna collar me Riddle, we both know that. Besides, it’s sweet.” Trey’s smile grew as he fondly continued. “Now that I think about it, you’re kind of reminding me of how my little brother acted when he got a crush on a girl at school. It’s a normal thing, you know?”

Riddle raised a brow at Trey, deciding to rest his elbows on the kitchen island and cover his face with his hands, lest someone walk in and see the state of him. 

“Please don’t compare me to a child, and this is certainly not the same. My future spouse is sitting a few rooms away, wearing a family heirloom as a ring, I think I deserve a bit of grace here…”

He could feel Trey pat Riddle on the back, soothingly rubbing him. Riddle wonders if Trey did this with his siblings too?

“It wasn’t just me either, Trey. You heard there were 6 versions of them in total, yes?”

“Yeah, I did.”

��Six versions of the (Name) we know,” He almost uttered out ‘and love’ before catching himself. “And of those six, only one is familiar with me.”

One possibility, and five failures. Riddle hates that he didn’t even realize that the other five also fancied you. In hindsight, they had to, they’ve all been sweet on you in different ways. Too stuck in his own head and feelings to realize, Riddle hated the pangs of jealousy in his chest at the other versions of you clinging to the others. 

“Well, why don’t you talk to them? Who knows, maybe you’ll get a hint on wooing our (Name)!”

“Or they can tell you how you got together!”

The two jumped in surprise as Cater poked his head into the kitchen, eyes sparkling in excitement. 

“How long were you there? It’s rude to listen to others' conversations.” Riddle crossed his arms, unamused at Cater avoiding eye-contact.

“Aw Rids, that’s not important. What’s totes important here is taking advantage of a huuuge opportunity! You literally have a chance to totally make sure that you get with (Name) and that I win my bet!”

Riddle and Trey stared at Cater, one baffled and the other looking as if he aged 30 years. 

“Cater, please don’t tell me that you made a bet on Riddle’s love life.”

“I didn’t make a bet on Riddle’s love life!” Cater paused, glancing between the two before chirping, “But I diiiid make a bet on (Name’s) love life! And I have a good chunk of money on our very own housewarden and them getting together—woah woah woah, hey!”

Putting his hands up in defense and scrambling across the room to put the island between a reddening Riddle and him, Cater defended himself. 

“We totally have a great opportunity, Riddle! You really like (Name), we can tell.”

Riddle paused, thinning his lips as he asked, “...Is it that obvious?”

“Incredibly/Very much so.” Both Cater and Trey responded much faster than Riddle liked, before the former smiled and gave a suggestion. 

“Now, obviously you two get together in a possible future, but as you know, part of divination is using magic to get information and use that to your advantage. You don’t think I’m only good at astrology for aesthetics, do you?”

Cater winked at Riddle with a smirk as he glanced at his phone and started typing away. 

“So, why don’t I have our favorite little pair try to scope out some information while we finish setting up the party, then you and I can talk about how to make sure that we use that to our advantage?”

“You could also just ask.”

An unholy sounding yelp left Cater’s mouth as he, along with Riddle and Trey, jumped at the sound of your voice. 

You strolled into the kitchen, Grim on your shoulders, while Ace and Deuce followed. 

“Heya guys! How much longer until we can get the party started?” Ace grinned, eyeing the near finished cake behind Trey. “I’m starvin’ ya know!”

“Tsk—Rule 739, guests may only begin feasting once the Queen and her King have completed their third and a half course of tea, you should know that Ace.” 

Riddle shut his mouth as soon as he’d opened it, as you’d beaten him to the punch. Ace’s face soured as he deflated and wrinkled his nose at you. 

“Ew. When you told us you’d married the Housewarden in the future, I didn’t think it’d meant you’d become Housewarden 2.0.”

You let out a melodious laugh, eyes crinkling at their corners as you replied, “Well, I don’t know about that, I don’t think anyone could compete with Riddle’s memory. My Riddle has our anniversary date memorized down to the minute, believe it or not.”

From the corner of his eyes, Riddle noticed Trey and Cater’s expressions. Trey had his head tilted, eyeing you curiously. Cater on the other hand was much more excited, holding his phone up to cover the lower half of his face. He’s fairly sure that Cater mouthed out, ‘cute’ at you.

Riddle made eye contact with you as your eyes softened at the sight of what he had to assume were red cheeks. He’s been ever so awfully red today, hasn’t he?

“Oh Riddle my dear, are you alright? Ever since I’ve been here, you’ve been nothing but shades of pinks and reds. We don’t have to have the unbirthday party if it’s causing stress—”

“Nonsense!” Riddle barked, making everyone but you jump. “The Queen of Hearts welcomed but a small child to her unbirthday party with open arms, why shouldn’t I do the same with someone as important as you Tart?”

With a stomp of his staff on the ground, the four other Heartslabyul students stood straight at attention, awaiting Riddle’s orders. 

“Ace. Deuce. Go see to it that the garden has been tended to, I want to see it in pristine condition!”

“Yes Housewarden!”

The pair gave a brief bow of their heads before running off towards the garden. Riddle turned to Cater next, who inclined his head and smiled. 

“Yes Housewarden?”

Riddle turned to him and let out a command, “Go ensure that all my card soldiers have their uniforms in perfect condition. I will not have a single student in my dorm with so much as a rose pin out of place! Understood?”

“Aye-aye! I’m to it!”

Cater gave another glance at you before grinning and skipping off, leaving just Trey, who was giving a small smile to Riddle. 

“I can continue here, once the others return from taking out the tea and pastries, I’ll have them help me finish up the rest of the food. We should be ready to hold the party by one o'clock otherwise.”

“Good. Very good, then.” Riddle let out a huff, eyeing Grim’s hungry stare at the various bowls of sweetened mixtures and fruits. “Grim, I trust that you remember Rule 89, yes?”

Grim let out soft, kitten-like growls and mumbled something under his breath, which made you smile and chuckle. You leaned in to whisper something into his ear, which made Grim perk up and give you a quizzical look. 

“Hm? I guess I can, but then I can’t eat Trey’s baking!” Grim whined, his ears dropping down. 

“Aw, well, I’m sure we can save you a slice of cake for later, and even a tart.” You glanced at Riddle and pleaded, “Can’t we Riddle? Let’s save him a few treats so he can go check in on the others, make sure they’re setting in with the other dorms?”

Riddle blinked at you two for a few moments, before understanding washed over him. The other (Names) in the dorms, it makes sense. They would probably want to check in on Grim as well, especially after his sobbing fit from Malleus’s chastisement back in the classroom.

“Of course, Trey will ensure that Grim has something left to look forward to on his return.”

Riddle gave a nod to Trey who nodded back, glancing back at you and staring for a moment. 

“Tart is what you’re going by, right?”

You hummed in affirmation, walking towards the two of them, hands fidgeting with an old black and white striped fabric tied to one of your belt straps. It looked rather tattered, with one end hanging lower than the other, a pin holding it down. 

“Yes, I thought it would be cute since Riddle has always loved tarts so much! You know, we actually only had a small cake for us to cut into at our wedding, instead we served a bunch of fruit tarts as dessert!” 

The beaming smile on your face as you reminisced, a romantic and far-off look in your eyes alongside it. You turned your attention to Riddle and added, “You made the suggestion, you know, despite tradition. Everyone else was surprised at the reception.”

“Did I really?” Riddle sputtered, positively baffled at the idea. Yes, he liked tarts, but he couldn’t imagine that he would allow himself to stray from rules and tradition. Yes he was less strict now, but to completely abandon them was out of the question!

You laughed, now in front of him and eyeing his uniform. “Don’t be too surprised, I pushed for you to change at least one thing up about the wedding, everything else was pretty much your traditional Rosarian wedding.”

Pursing your lips, you reached for Riddle, who hesitantly backed away. He eyed you, noticing the falter in your smile, before leaning back in. He breathed in a deep breath as you adjusted his collar and tie, wiping down the front of his coat and tending to his cloak. 

You were wearing some sort of cologne or perfume that smelled like strawberries and roses. 

“Sorry, I used to double-check your uniform for you.” You mumbled under your breath, backing away to eye his appearance until you were satisfied. “Perfect as always, I just like to feel useful sometimes.”

Trey cleared his throat, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head as if he was interrupting something. 

“Housewarden, perhaps you can take them for a tour through the maze? It seems like it’s been a while since they’ve been to the school. I can come for you when the party is ready.”

“Ah, of course, wonderful idea Trey. Shall we, (Na—) Tart?” Riddle cleared his throat, gesturing to the exit with an open hand. Before he could react you gingerly looped your left arm with his right and hooked it close to you, effectively trapping his arm to your body. 

“That would be nice, let’s go!” Practically dragging Riddle with you, you waved with your free hand behind you and chirped. “We’ll see you in a bit Trey!”

Riddle let out a yelp as he tripped over his feet, heels clicking against the tile as you made your way out, passing the tea garden into the maze, only slowing once the sounds of students talking and plates clinking were far away. 

Why was he allowing you to drag him around like this? This couldn’t possibly be a habit of yours, there’s no way he’d allow it! Right?

Right?

No, he was just out of sorts from the peculiarity of it all. Your presence would throw anyone in for a tizzy, he’s sure the other housewardens are also experiencing…distress?

Was he distressed? No, Riddle doesn’t think so. Glancing up at you, a peaceful smile on your face as you two finally took a leisurely pace, he didn’t think he was distressed. 

He actually felt a bit of content, happy even, now that it was just the two of you and no other prying eyes. Riddle took a look at your hands wrapped around his arm, once again eyeing the ring on your finger, and let himself smile. 

“Well? Are you going to ask?”

Riddle let out a confused hum as he looked back up at your face, the teasing smile on your lips making him nervous once again. 

“Ask? Ask you what?”

You unwrapped your left hand from his arm and presented it in front of you two, wagging your ring finger, making the ruby glitter in the sun, as you sang, “Ask how this happened~ Cater doesn’t often give you advice, you know?”

A soft ‘ah’ sound left Riddle as he swallowed a lump in his throat, the ring’s glitter and shine calling for him, mocking him. 

Just how did he manage to give you that ring?

“Yes, well. I s-suppose I am a bit curious. It’s no small feat that you’re wearing a family heirloom, I imagine that we c-courted for quite a few years before marriage was even on the table.”

Riddle managed to stammer out his words, gesturing down a pathway that kept you two close to the eastern side of the maze, where it would be easier to get back to the tea garden. 

“Ah, yes. Since the end of my first and your second year.” A soft sigh left your mouth as you frowned. “We got married a few years after you were appointed to the Magistrates’ Court, though this ring isn’t your family’s ring.”

“What?” Riddle puzzled, taking a closer look at your ring with confusion. “No, that can’t be. I’ve seen the ring, it has the—”

“Rosehearts’ family crest built into it? I know. You were very proud when you proposed to me, telling me about how you had it commissioned to be an exact replica, a new heirloom for us to pass down ourselves.”

You gave Riddle a grin and winked. 

“You could’ve had the goldsmith and jeweler make something new, but I’m pretty sure you had this made to spite your mother since she wouldn’t give you the original.” 

Riddle scoffed in disbelief, staring up at you in wonder. Him? Spite his mother? He knew now that her treatment of him growing up was far from ideal, but it was hard to imagine him deliberately spiting her—wait.

“Did you say court? The Magistrates’ Court?!” Riddle questioned, finally reaching an end of the maze with a stone bench to sit on. As he led you to it to sit, he continued. 

“I was appointed to the court? Really?”

“Oh yes! It’s part of the reason dear Louise Rosehearts hated me and refused to give you her blessing.” You clicked your tongue, drumming your fingers against your thigh. 

“When you decided to pursue law instead of medicine for your fourth year internship, she was distraught. Her plans for you to become a great magical doctor all came tumbling down. Ugh…”

You winkled your nose in distaste, giving Riddle a look and smirking. 

“Blame me for it. Said I was a baaaad influence on her precious son, probably didn’t help that there are no records of me existing before NRC.”

Riddle furrowed his brows as he clenched his fists in his lap, staring at you as you fidgeted with the striped cloth he’d noticed earlier. He could finally see the pin clearly now, an old, golden crown that needed to be polished, as its shine was dulled from age.

“Is that my…”

“Your tie? Yes, it is.” You coaxed another flush of red to his cheeks as you curled a finger under his chin with a playful look. “You gave it to me when you first asked to court me. Tied it around my collar when I agreed, like you were staking a claim.”

“Why, I would never! That’s certainly a claim!” Riddle waved off your finger with an exasperated scoff, though the thought of you still wearing the tie years after being together was satisfying in a way. 

“I’m not some mongrel that needs to use a tie to mark someone as mine, my words and intentions are just enough!” 

Riddle’s voice rose. He was a bit offended that some version of himself out there would do such a crass thing, like a cat rubbing itself on its belongings. Then again, there was a certain beastman who also had a version of you, so perhaps his other him had his reasonings. 

“Oh Riddle, of course they are, I’m just teasing.” You waved your hands, frowning. “I’m sorry, my darling, I’m just used to bantering with my husband. Years of being together, and I’m forgetting that you don’t know me like that, do you?”

You had such a sad look on your face, it made Riddle melt into a puddle and stutter over his words. 

“Well I—it’s just that—it’s not like we aren’t friends at least—I just, it’s just—how do we get together again?”

The sad look turned into a much happier one, nostalgic almost, as you smiled and clasped your hands together as you excitedly gasped. 

“Oh, like I said, you asked to court me at the end of the year, but we’d been sort of, hm, tiptoeing the line ever since the beginning of the year. After your…well, you know.”

Overblot. Riddle shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the thought. That didn’t make sense though, even if he helped you with the issues that cropped up during the Spelldrive tournament and Leona’s own overblot, you and he hadn’t exactly been very close. 

He’s only recently noted his affection for you.

“Mmhm, you and I spent a lot of time together, you helped me catch up with the curriculum, would invite me over to tea parties a whole lot, and your dream even had me—oh…”

You paused, noticing Riddle’s increasing confusion at your words. Instead you cleared your throat and noted, “Maybe I’m saying too much, I don’t want to reveal too much of the future anyways.” 

“Oh. Right, I see.” He deflated, immediately straining up and taking a deep breath. “I’d rather win over you with my own efforts in any case. I have confidence in my abilities.”

Riddle closed his eyes and nodded to himself in satisfaction. You said that in your time you and your version of him began courting at the end of this school year, so he still had time. 

Marriage hm? It was a pleasant thought, very much so. Various ideas of just how to ensure it would happen swam through his mind, until your hands on his cheek brought him back to the present. 

Turning his head to look at you, Riddle felt his face heat up as you leaned closure, your other hand brushing away his hair from his forehead. A chaste, sweet kiss was placed on his forehead as you giggled against the skin. He’s positive the red in his face was now falling down his neck to the rest of the body. 

“I-I say! That’s quite inappropriate! I’m not—”

“My Riddle, yes I know. But still.” Leaning back, your hands still cradling his face, you rebutted. 

“I know him, so I know you a bit too. Don’t think too much, my dearest, just let whatever relationship you have with your (Name) progress naturally. I can’t say for sure it will turn out the way you want, but they’ll still cherish you regardless. Though, I obviously have a bias on whom they should choose.”

You giggled, pulling Riddle close again to press a kiss to the crown of his head, making him left out a high-pitched squeak. 

“O-of course.” Riddle waved your hands off him, fighting back an embarrassed smile that threatened to grow on his lips. Decorum can wait, just for a bit. “I think I can hear Trey call for us. I would like to hear more about the future though, I’m having a hard time believing I’d ever spite my mother over anything, rather than just cut her out.”

Riddle smiled as you let out a cackle, eyes squinting in mirth as you took his arm once again, having it offered to you this time. 

“Oh trust me, Riddle, when you get older, you’d be surprised just how catty you can be.”

comments and reblogs appreciated 🩷

[jadeacereigen]

Why I see Reigen as asexual

This is a very self-indulgent post, but it's his birthday today and I wanted to compile all the things about Reigen that make me see him as a fellow ace.

Please don't take this list too seriously! None of these are This Is Canon signs and some of them are just jokes. Also, it's pretty hard to find evidence of asexuality barring a character explicitly saying "hey i never feel sexual attraction" so bear with ne here.

1. That Scene With Dimple

Yeah, we all know the scene.

"But does love always have to come with sexual desires?" -Reigen Arataka

This is what almost asexual person asks at some point. It's just such an asexual quote. Society often conflates the two things as inherently hand-in-hand, but that's not true for everyone!

2. He never shows attraction to anyone

Now of course, the story is not primarily focused on him, and he's usually with Mob so he probably wouldn't be flirting in front of him. But there aren't even MOMENTS of him showing a smidge of attraction to other people, even when we see his life without Mob's presence. It really stands out in comparison to other goofy mentor figures in manga/anime who are commonly portrayed as hopeless flirts.

3. He's never been in a relationship before

When asked about his past romantic experiences in the official fanbook, he pretends he's had plenty of passionate romances and then describes a scene from Titanic before saying "Marriage is one of the countless types of lifestyles you can choose. It's best if everyone does whatever they want." So basically, despite being 29 years old at the time of the fanbook, he has had no significant romantic experiences and doesn't see himself getting married. (Even if he might be interested, as I'll explain in the next point.)

This is not exclusive to asexuality of course but it's a very common sentiment for ace people imo

4. He doesn't think he can be in a relationship

In Confession Arc, he has no idea how to ask someone out and has to cheat while giving advice to Mob. He also tells Serizawa afterward that if anyone saw him for who he really was, they'd turn him down right away.

But then, at least in the manga, he says that he hopes he can be in a relationship where he and his partner "can exist without distorting each other". So I think he does want to be in a relationship, he's just way too insecure about himself for many, many reasons.

I like to think one of these reasons is because he is asexual. It's a struggle for allo aces to find someone whose sexual preferences are compatible with ours, and yet it remains important to maintain our boundaries (aka not distort ourselves).

5. His anime outfit has ace flag colors

I mean. Gray, white, pink purple...

6. His reaction to a porn virus

Look at the face of this poor asexual man who spent an entire night trying and failing to get rid of a porn virus...

7. He is asexual

He is just asexual hope this helps (:

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Harry was never really Dumbledore's man

So, in HBP Harry says himself:

“Well, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you,” said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses. “Dumbledore’s man through and through, aren’t you, Potter?” “Yeah, I am,” said Harry.

(HBP, 348)

But, I'm here to argue Harry actually has many many doubts and reservations about Dumbledore throughout all books (even HBP), and I find it interesting how Harry convinced the Wizarding world (and the readers) that he's Dumbledore's man when he isn't. Not really.

(Just makes me all the more annoyed at him calling his son Albus...)

I'm going to go through some examples of Harry showing his doubts about Dumbledore way before book 7. Because Harry is an abused, distrusting boy, and Dumbledore isn't actually an exception to that until very late into the books. And even when Harry chooses to trust Dumbledore's intentions, he never fully trusts his judgment.

“D’you think he meant you to do it?” said Ron. “Sending you your father’s cloak and everything?” “Well, ” Hermione exploded, “if he did — I mean to say that’s terrible — you could have been killed.” “No, it isn’t,” said Harry thoughtfully. “He’s a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don’t think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It’s almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could….”

(PS, 217)

This quote above is from the ending of Philosopher's Stone and the outlook Harry, Ron, and Hermione have on Dumbledore and his behavior is the same as seen in the later books. So I wanted to talk about each of them and how they see Dumbledore because this quote really sets the tone for the rest of the series.

Ron is doubtful and distrustful. The situation is odd, and he's clever, he analyzed the situation and came to a frightening conclusion — the whole ordeal seemed planned by Dumbledore. And Ron isn't scared of voicing this question.

Hermione, while not always a rule-follower, respects Dumbledore and his authority. A lot. So, she doesn't believe Dumbledore could've planned it as it would reflect badly on his character and authority. Hermione is a very loyal person, and once she decides she respects someone she is willfully blind to their flaws (we see it with her later in the series).

Harry, while he's clever enough to notice the same things Ron did and come to the same conclusion — that Dumbledore planned for an 11-year-old to face Voldemort — he attributes good intentions to Dumbledore. Harry sees the situation and draws his conclusions, but chooses to hope/believe Dumbledore's intentions were good ones.

Harry’s brain seemed to have jammed. He stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry’s own parents, and so many others. . . . At last he forced himself to speak. “You’re not,” he said, his quiet voice full of hatred. “Not what?” snapped Riddle. “Not the greatest sorcerer in the world,” said Harry, breathing fast. “Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn’t dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you’re hiding these days —” The smile had gone from Riddle’s face, to be replaced by a very ugly look. “Dumbledore’s been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!” he hissed. “He’s not as gone as you might think!” Harry retorted. He was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true —

(CoS, 282)

This is one of the scenes people call to to show how much faith Harry has in Dumbledore (even Dumbledore himself), the thing is, Harry says (in his mind) he's just saying things to try and scare Tom. To try and buy time, or unbalance Tom so he may have a chance at escape.

The important note is that Harry doesn't actually believe what he's saying to Tom. He's just saying what he thinks would bother Tom the most.

Harry had never shared this piece of information with anybody. He was very fond of his wand, and as far as he was concerned its relation to Voldemort’s wand was something it couldn’t help — rather as he couldn’t help being related to Aunt Petunia. However, he really hoped that Mr. Ollivander wasn’t about to tell the room about it. He had a funny feeling Rita Skeeter’s Quick-Quotes Quill might just explode with excitement if he did.

(GoF, 310)

This part about telling no one about his wand's connection to Voldemort is true. He never told anyone by that point in GoF. Not Ron, not Hermione, not Dumbledore, not even Sirius.

As I mentioned above, Harry is abused and distrustful. He's not at all Dumbledore's perfect soldier who trusts him with everything. In GoF, Harry decides against telling Dumbledore about his dreams and the pain in his scar:

“Your scar hurt? Harry, that’s really serious. . . . Write to Professor Dumbledore! And I’ll go and check Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions. . . . Maybe there’s something in there about curse scars. . . .” Yes, that would be Hermione’s advice: Go straight to the headmaster of Hogwarts, and in the meantime, consult a book. [...] As for informing the headmaster, Harry had no idea where Dumbledore went during the summer holidays. He amused himself for a moment, picturing Dumbledore, with his long silver beard, fulllength wizard’s robes, and pointed hat, stretched out on a beach somewhere, rubbing suntan lotion onto his long crooked nose. Wherever Dumbledore was, though, Harry was sure that Hedwig would be able to find him; Harry’s owl had never yet failed to deliver a letter to anyone, even without an address. But what would he write? Dear Professor Dumbledore, Sorry to bother you, but my scar hurt this morning. Yours sincerely, Harry Potter. Even inside his head the words sounded stupid.

(GoF, 21)

Harry doesn't wish to share secrets with Dumbledore, nor does he feel comfortable to go to him with his troubles (his go-to adult while Sirius was around was always Sirius). Again, Hermione is mentioned as the one who trusts Dumbledore's authority, in Harry's head, but he's right, he knows her well.

Harry actually spends a good portion of the series purposefully trying to hide information from Dumbledore. (I'm saying 'trying ' because Dumbledore always found out, but not because Harry told him).

“He seemed to think it was best,” said Hermione rather breathlessly. “Dumbledore, I mean.” “Right,” said Harry. He noticed that her hands too bore the marks of Hedwig’s beak and found that he was not at all sorry. “I think he thought you were safest with the Muggles —” Ron began. “Yeah?” said Harry, raising his eyebrows. “Have either of you been attacked by dementors this summer?” “Well, no — but that’s why he’s had people from the Order of the Phoenix tailing you all the time -” Harry felt a great jolt in his guts as though he had just missed a step going downstairs. So everyone had known he was being followed except him. “Didn’t work that well, though, did it?” said Harry, doing his utmost to keep his voice even. “Had to look after myself after all, didn’t I?” “He was so angry,” said Hermione in an almost awestruck voice. “Dumbledore. We saw him. When he found out Mundungus had left before his shift had ended. He was scary.” “Well, I’m glad he left,” Harry said coldly. “If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have done magic and Dumbledore would probably have left me at Privet Drive all summer.”

(OotP, 63)

Harry is angry here, true, but he doubts Dumbledore's idea of what's "safe" for him. He's actually glad for the dementors because he doubts Dumbledore would've brought him over if it wasn't an emergency.

And Harry is right to be doubtful and suspicious. He's right that he's less safe at the Dursleys than at Grimmauld Place. He's right to feel angry and betrayed at literally everyone knowing he's being followed except for him. He's right Dumbledore probably wouldn't have brought him if it wasn't for the dementor attack. Harry is correct in each and every one of his assessments of Dumbledore's character and decisions here.

“No,” said Harry, shaking his head. “It’s more like . . . his mood, I suppose. I’m just getting flashes of what mood he’s in. . . . Dumbledore said something like this was happening last year. . . . He said that when Voldemort was near me, or when he was feeling hatred, I could tell. Well, now I’m feeling it when he’s pleased too. . . .” There was a pause. The wind and rain lashed at the building. “You’ve got to tell someone,” said Ron. “I told Sirius last time.” “Well, tell him about this time!” “Can’t, can I?” said Harry grimly. “Umbridge is watching the owls and the fires, remember?” “Well then, Dumbledore —” “I’ve just told you, he already knows,” said Harry shortly, getting to his feet, taking his cloak off his peg, and swinging it around himself. “There’s no point telling him again.” Ron did up the fastening of his own cloak, watching Harry thoughtfully. “Dumbledore’d want to know,” he said. Harry shrugged. “C’mon . . . we’ve still got Silencing Charms to practice . . .”

(OotP, 382)

Remember I mentioned Harry hiding things from Dumbledore? This is one of such occasions. There are more in GoF that I didn't copy, but this is an example of Voldemort-related, dangerous information Harry is hiding from Dumbledore because he doesn't trust him and doesn't feel comfortable telling him things.

“It’s lessons with Snape that are making it worse,” said Harry flatly. “I’m getting sick of my scar hurting, and I’m getting bored walking down that corridor every night.” He rubbed his forehead angrily. “I just wish the door would open, I’m sick of standing staring at it —” “That’s not funny,” said Hermione sharply. “Dumbledore doesn’t want you to have dreams about that corridor at all, or he wouldn’t have asked Snape to teach you Occlumency. You’re just going to have to work a bit harder in your lessons.” “I am working!” said Harry, nettled. “You try it sometime, Snape trying to get inside your head, it’s not a bundle of laughs, you know!” “Maybe . . .” said Ron slowly. “Maybe what?” said Hermione rather snappishly. “Maybe it’s not Harry’s fault he can’t close his mind,” said Ron darkly. “What do you mean?” said Hermione. “Well, maybe Snape isn’t really trying to help Harry. . . .” Harry and Hermione stared at him. Ron looked darkly and meaningfully from one to the other. “Maybe,” he said again in a lower voice, “he’s actually trying to open Harry’s mind a bit wider . . . make it easier for You-Know —” “Shut up, Ron,” said Hermione angrily. “How many times have you suspected Snape, and when have you ever been right? Dumbledore trusts him, he works for the Order, that ought to be enough.” “He used to be a Death Eater,” said Ron stubbornly. “And we’ve never seen proof that he really swapped sides. . . .” “Dumbledore trusts him,” Hermione repeated. “And if we can’t trust Dumbledore, we can’t trust anyone.”

(OotP, 554)

Again we see the same exact dynamic from first year. Hermione is loyal to Dumbledore, not even considering he might be wrong about something, or not have their best interests at heart. Ron and Harry on the other hand, are both open to the possibility that things aren't so simple. They don't think Dumbledore is intentionally harming Harry, but they think he's wrong about Snape. Something Hermione, Arthur and Molly would never consider.

(This is actually the most annoying thing in Hermione's character for me, her unshakable faith in Dumbledore, who doesn't deserve her trust)

“. . . so you see what this means?” Harry finished at a gallop. “Dumbledore won’t be here tonight, so Malfoy’s going to have another clear shot at whatever he’s up to. No, listen to me!” he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. “I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here —” He shoved the Marauder’s Map into Hermione’s hands. “You’ve got to watch him and you’ve got to watch Snape too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the D.A., Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says he’s put extra protection in the school, but if Snape’s involved, he’ll know what Dumbledore’s protection is, and how to avoid it — but he won’t be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?” “Harry —” began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear.

(HBP, 552)

Even in book 6, the book Harry grows the most comfortable and trusting towards Dumbledore, even then, he doesn't trust Dumbledore. He thinks (and somewhat rightly so because he doesn't know of Snape and Dumbledore's plan) that Dumbledore is wrong about Snape. that Dumbledore is wrong about Malfoy. Harry doesn't trust that whatever protections Dumbledore would leave would be enough (and they weren't).

Even at the end of HBP, the point in the series where Harry has the most faith in Dumbledore, Harry still doesn't trust Dumbledore's judgment or his ability to protect the school. Even after Dumbledore calls Harry out on it, telling him the safety of the students is important to him, Harry still tells Ron and Hermione to get the DA to protect the school without notifying Dumbledore.

And Dumbledore raised Harry to feel responsible for the school's safety, Harry is doing what he was "bred" to do. But he does it behind Dumbledore's back, because like every adult, Harry deep down expects to be let down. After all, he's used to saving the school himself.

So, no, Harry never really trusted Dumbledore fully. At least, not Dumbledore's judgment. Harry does believe Dumbledore's intentions are good for the most part, even if ineffective.

“He never told me his sister was a Squib,” said Harry, without thinking, still cold inside. “And why on earth would he tell you?” screeched Muriel, swaying a little in her seat as she attempted to focus upon Harry [...] Where was saintly Albus while Ariana was locked in the cellar? Off being brilliant at Hogwarts, and never mind what was going on in his own house!” “What d’you mean, locked in the cellar?” asked Harry. “What is this?” Doge looked wretched. Auntie Muriel cackled again and answered Harry. [...] Numbly Harry thought of how the Dursleys had once shut him up, locked him away, kept him out of sight, all for the crime of being a wizard. Had Dumbledore’s sister suffered the same fate in reverse: imprisoned for her lack of magic? Had Dumbledore truly left her to her fate while he went off to Hogwarts to prove himself brilliant and talented?

(DH, 135-137)

And in Deathley Hollows, Harry is very quick to start questioning and doubting Dumbledore. Especially when compared to Hermione:

“Harry—” But he shook his head. Some inner certainty had crashed down inside him; it was exactly as he had felt after Ron left. He had trusted Dumbledore, believed him the embodiment of goodness and wisdom. All was ashes: How much more could he lose? Ron, Dumbledore, the phoenix wand . . . “Harry.” She seemed to have heard his thoughts. “Listen to me. It—it doesn’t make very nice reading—” “Yeah, you could say that—” “—but don’t forget, Harry this is Rita Skeeter writing.” “You did read that letter to Grindelwald, didn’t you?” “Yes, I—I did.” She hesitated, looking upset, cradling her tea in her cold hands.

(DH, 311)

Harry is hurt, he feels betrayed, because while he never 100% trusted Dumbledore's judgment, he trusted his intentions. He trusted Dumbledore was good and cared for him. He feels cold and betrayed, showing trust in his intentions. But his readiness to accept Skeeter's and Muriel's accusations so quickly shows he always had his doubts about Dumbledore and they never really left, even if he wanted to trust him, he never did, not fully.

Hermione, on the other hand, who was always loyal and trusted Dumbledore (both his intentions and judgment) 100%, tries to rationalize Dumbledore's actions and convince herself everyone who says bad things about him is lying.

Harry doesn't. Because out of the Golden Trio, Hermione was always Dumbledore's woman, Ron and Harry... not really. Not as much.

“That old berk,” muttered Aberforth, taking another swig of mead. “Thought the sun shone out of my brother’s every office, he did. Well, so did plenty of people, you three included, by the looks of it.” Harry kept quiet. He did not want to express the doubts and uncertainties about Dumbledore that had riddled him for months now. He had made his choice while he dug Dobby’s grave, he had decided to continue along the winding, dangerous path indicated for him by Albus Dumbledore, to accept that he had not been told everything that he wanted to know, but simply to trust. He had no desire to doubt again; he did not want to hear anything that would deflect him from his purpose. He met Aberforth’s gaze, which was so strikingly like his brothers’: The bright blue eyes gave the same impression that they were X-raying the object of their scrutiny, and Harry thought that Aberforth knew what he was thinking and despised him for it. “Professor Dumbledore cared about Harry, very much,” said Hermione in a low voice. “Did he now?” said Aberforth. “Funny thing how many of the people my brother cared about very much ended up in a worse state than if he’d left ’em well alone.”

(DH, 478)

More of how Harry thinks about Dumbledore, showing, again, how he always had his doubts and reservations but he chooses to trust Dumbledore's intentions because otherwise, he doesn't think he has any hope to defeat Voldemort. He chooses to keep following Dumbledore's path because he has no real choice but to trust what he sees as the only path that'll lead to Voldemort's destruction. But Harry has plenty of doubts about Dumbledore.

Hermione, on the other hand, has little to no doubts. She doesn't allow herself to doubt.

And this pattern, of Harry doubting Dumbledore again and again, never truly trusting him, just trusting his plan will kill Voldemort... like, how does that lead Harry to want to name his kid 'Albus'? I just don't get it...

TL;DR

Harry likes to say he's Dumbledore's man, but he always had his reservations, even when he choose to ignore them since trusting Dumbledore's plan felt like his only chance at survival. Hermione is much more trusting of Dumbledore than Harry is.

[cityofmeliora]

notes on Primo's characterization 💖

let's talk about Primo! i think he's a really, really interesting character!

i've said before that i think Primo is the only one of the brothers who takes the whole ~satanic death cult trying to bring the end of the world~ thing seriously.

Primo was indeed very serious about the cult. maybe too serious? even some other members of the cult dislike that about him.

NAMELESS GHOUL: The first Papa Emeritus was someone very rigid, very strict, and very solemn. A real son of a bitch! (laughs) To be honest, we don’t miss him at all! MyRock #44 (2017) translated from French by @ a-wandering-ghoulette)

the best source of Primo characterization is a 2010 interview with Sweden Rock Magazine where Primo and the Nameless Ghouls kidnapped the interviewer. though i quote *a lot* of it here, i strongly recommend reading the full interview because it is truly fascinating. notably, Primo himself speaks in this interview rather than a Nameless Ghoul.

Primo is a misanthrope who believes humans are "vermin" that have doomed themselves due to their "intellectual decline". in his eyes, they are unworthy of life and will eventually be destroyed.

“Human beings are vermin, thus the end of humanity is ultimately a good thing. We play but a vanishingly microscopic role in this cosmos of nothingness.”

The devil-worshipping organization that the Ghost leader speaks of is claimed to operate on a worldwide level and among many different areas: from politics and business to religious movements, in the entertainment industry and on the street. It does not have a name, but its existence “can most easily be explained as a living and ongoing result of humanity’s intellectual decline and eventual decay.”

Primo affirms Ghost's mission statement as originally presented in the band's old Myspace page: to spread the devil's influence and convince other people that humanity deserves its inevitable end.

According to the statement on the band’s page, Ghost’s main mission is to trick mankind into believing that the end of the world is ultimately a good thing. “Our only task is to accompany the world’s downfall.”

A question comes to mind: wouldn’t the band, which with its poppy hard rock could by all means appeal to a much wider audience than ordinary black metal acts, gain more attention by engaging in more commercial modes of expression? “We have other entertainment groups within our organization who are doing just that. Our task is to emphasize the devil’s message in the part of society that has, to varying degrees, already accepted it. It’s directed at the social grouping that goes to the type of concerts that we perform. Our goal is to be able to carry out our black mass, our ritual, for them. Other members of the cult work with far more subtle modes of expressions, better suited for consumers who are not as receptive to the truth.”

though he openly calls the organization a cult, his religious belief is sincere.

to Primo, the band's anonymity and use of costumes are a way of showing reverence and humility in their task. if Satan is the Father, and Antichrist is the Son, the band is the (unholy) Ghost: the force which connects humanity to the power of the Father and the Son. for the audience to think of Primo or the Nameless Ghouls as individual people would distract from their message. when he takes on the role of Papa, he becomes one with their cause.

You refer to yourselves as a group of nameless spirits - should this be taken literally? Is the band actually something other than human? “To make it easier for mortals to deal with the fact that we, as individuals, have no significance in this experience, we have chosen to act as ghosts - hollow and diffuse.”

Why did you, as a leader, choose an outfit so similar to the one worn by the Catholic Pope? “For the Pope it is a way of showing reverence and seriousness, and at the same time humility before his task. He uses it to step into the body that is the essence and the fog, something we advocate too. It is our way of becoming one with the fog.” Things become clearer when the leader speaks of the meaning behind the name of the band: “Akin to the tripartite view so stubbornly proclaimed by the Christian faith, we too believe there is magic in the concept of three and we are part of it: there is a god, Satan, a son, Antichrist, and a ghost in the middle that is the inexplicable - the fog.”

Primo has a theistic view of Satan, believing he is real deity who speaks through / inspires the band's music. in this way, the Ghoul Writer could be considered a sort of prophet to him.

That’s right. Ghost have their music written for them. In one online interview, a so-called “ghoul writer” is mentioned who supposedly composes melodies and lyrics with the help of ungraspable powers from beyond – devilish whispers instruct him which words should accompany which chords, and so forth. “There is indeed a human individual who composes patterns of tones and words which operate ever so beautifully in unison. However, I am of the belief that there is a higher being who speaks through this individual,” asserts the Pope.

like a proper cultist, Primo cannot imagine having a life / identity outside of the cult. he remembers that there was once a time when he was not a member of the cult, but he cannot remember what it was like to be that person. his devotion to the cult has been a core part of who he is for a very long time.

How he got involved in this movement and dedicated his life to Satan, he has a hard time answering. After a long silence, the singer says: “I find it very difficult to remember the life I had before I found the darkness. It is therefore very difficult to answer your question. My memory doesn’t go that far.” Surely the Pope must remember something?           “I cannot remember a time when I did not find myself part of the dark energy. That does not mean that I remember nothing from my past life, only that I cannot remember how I felt then. This is because it was a time when I did not know very much.” Was it by coming into contact with other members of the organization that you found this darkness? “As I said, I do not remember when this happened. But I think…” He chooses his words carefully. “… I believe that, like many others, I was woven into this dark through subtle, human components found within it. Once again, my intellect was not as developed as it is now, so I have great difficulty in explaining what happened - when and where, and to what extent.”

while he cannot say exactly what happened to him or when, Primo seems to have had genuine spiritual experiences. he was always connected to the dark energy, and he feels that he became awakened and that his intellect has developed since he truly found his faith.

despite being a misanthrope, Primo admits he was brought into the darkness by some sort of human connection. he might actually have the capacity to care about some people.

in a Kerrang feature where Primo gets quizzed on "demonology, serial killers and stuff like that", he says the cult knew witches who were burned at the stake, but he doesn't like to talk about it. it stood out to me that he says he doesn't want to talk about it, because he speaks so openly and matter-of-factly about other dark / upsetting topics. at the very least, it appears he doesn't like it when bad things happen to other members of the cult.

WHAT DOES THE PHRASE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM TRANSLATE AS IN ENGLISH? A) HAMMER OF THE WITCHES B) HAMMER OF THE DEMONS C) HAMMER OF THE GODS PAPA: “That would be the witch-hammer. We knew some Witches, but unfortunately a lot of them were taken away.” KERRANG!: “As in burned at the stake?” PAPA: “Correct. But I don’t like to talk about that. (Answer: A) ✔

he seems to be quite pleased about other people dying, though. and he is certain they all go to Hell.

6. NAME ANY TWO OF THE THREE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF MAYHEM. PAPA: “Though one was not an original member two of the band are actually burning in Hell, and they’re good guests, certainly. But yes, I will say Euronymous and Necrobutcher.” (Answer: Euronymous, Necrobutcherr, Manheim) ✔ 7. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE SHIP THAT WAS DISCOVERED FLOATING ABANDONED AND UNMANNED IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN IN DECEMBER 1872? PAPA: “It was that ship with such a heavenly name, the lady Mary Celeste.” KERRANG!: “And can you finally tell us where all the people went?” PAPA: I’ll check the records. Obviously they’re all in Hell now, but the way they got there is a little cloudy. But then our Lord too works in mysterious ways…“ (Answer: Mary Celeste) ✔

some of Primo's other responses in this article reveal he has a dark sense of humor and perhaps cruel inclinations. when talking about possessions done by the cult, he says "sometimes you just want to do it for the hell of it" and "you want to make a bit of sport out of it", referring to a possession that (allegedly) influenced a serial killer. he refers to the victims of these possessions as "poor [name]", but his remarks on their misfortune don't indicate any actual remorse or sympathy. it might even be intentionally ironic.

5. WHICH PAINTER ALLEGEDLY UNDERWENT AN EXORCISM IN 1947? PAPA: “Poor Salvador Dali. You know we had his missus possessed as well, all in the name of Satan…” KERRANG!: Is possession something that’s done for serious reasons or just to pass the time? “Well sometimes you just want to do it for the hell of it…”  (Answer: Salvador Dali) ✔

13. WHAT AMERICAN SERIAL KILLER CLAIMS HE WAS COMPELLED TO COMMIT HIS MURDERS BY A DEMON THAT POSSESSED HIS NEIGHBOUR’S DOG? PAPA: 'That was that poor boy, the Son Of Sam. That sure was a successful possession, although it did involve far too much crotch-sniffing and turd-eating.“ KERRANG: "Is it easier to possess a dog than to possess a person?” PAPA: “Not necessarily, but you want to make a bit of sport out of it.” (Answer: David Berkowitz/Son Of Sam) ✔

also, many of the events Primo speaks about would've happened before he was born or when he was very young, so it seems he's studied the cult's history very well, and he keeps tabs on their current activities. he does his research!

and as a fun fact: Primo is pretty good at math :)

14. IF YOU’RE TRICK OR TREATING AND THREE HOUSES GIVE YOU SEVEN SWEETS, TWO GIVE YOU FOUR, AND ONE GIVES YOU NINE, AND YOUR PARENTS THEN DOUBLE WHAT YOU HAVE, HOW MANY SWEETS DO YOU END UP WITH? PAPA: “76.” KERRANG!: “That was alarmingly fast, sir. Are good mathematical skills important when you’re burning in the fiery pits of Hell?” PAPA: “We all have our different strengths, but of course the number we are most used to is 666…” (Answer: 76) ✔

there's not a lot of information about Primo, and what exists is hard to find, but i live to bring knowledge to the people 🫡. these are all the sources i have on hand that talk about Primo. if anyone else has other articles / videos talking about Primo, i'd really appreciate it if you shared them!

[lomltrentarnold]

i think you’re pretty — trent alexander-arnold ₊˚ෆ

🍓 hana’s notes: in ma feels again (shocker) haven’t written anything in a while so please be nice <3

disclaimers: lil drabble, cliffhanger (you have been warned!) reader is a little insecure, but reader can pull girls and guys, childhood bestfriends my beloved trope 🫶 || main masterlist

“Wait, actually? You don’t think people think you’re pretty?”

You don’t even know how the conversation ended up on this topic. Sitting at the balcony catching up with Trent after you moved away. Now, he’s a big shot footballer and you’re working to get your degree.

Fifteen year old you guys would be proud.

You shook your head, it's not a new thought for you, “Nah, but that’s okay though. I think I’m pretty, but I don’t know if I am someone’s hallway crush or people just look at me and think — Wow, pretty.”

This is the type of stuff that you only spill on your diary, but it’s Trent, and he knows more about you than you do yourself.

It’s not something new you have come to terms with, after seeing most of your friends' getting crushes, getting hit on, going on dates and having relationships except you, you have made peace with it.

Trent’s forehead creases, as if the statement offended him more than you, “That’s crazy, tha’” Trent could not believe what you just said. You? Not pretty? Are you insane?

Turning your head to face him, you warmly smiled, “Don’t pretend, T.” and when you look at Trent, taking in his features, now this is pretty. “You’re pretty. People think you’re pretty.”

You didn’t know why you decided to say that. Maybe because the moonlight illuminates his skin and eyes, making him shine a little bit brighter. Butterflies swarm your belly, as your hand sweats.

Trent’s cheeks went warm, he thinks he’s the luckiest person ever to get compliment from you. His heart aches for you, but he decided to focus on the task at hand first.

"That's stupid." he spat out, making your eyebrows shoot up.

You lightly chuckled, "Excuse you? I just gave you a compliment."

"Not that." he sighed, turning his body around so that it would be face to face with yours. You noticed the disturbed look in his eyes, as you straightened your back before meeting his gaze.

"It's not that serious T, I'm fine." you assured him, an awkward laugh bubbling out. This took a serious turn, and you have no idea why.

"Do you remember James? In 8th grade?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, "The one that gave me chocolate? Yeah, what about him?"

He took a deep breath, "He said, and I quote, that when you laugh, he can honestly melt because you look so pretty.”

"We were kids, sometimes kids just say stuff-"

"And I agreed with him, and I said that making you laugh is probably one of the most rewarding things I can do because I love seeing you smile so much. You look so pretty when you laugh like nobody's around."

Your heart stuttered, but before you said anything else he continued, "And remember the girl that you worked with at the cafe down the road? The one with curly hair?"

You nodded your head.

"When I was waiting for you to finish your shift, she noticed how much I was looking at you, and she said that she gets it, and that it's sometimes hard to focus on making the drinks because you would look so pretty smiling while taking people's orders."

You cleared your throat, “That’s- That’s very nice of her.” avoiding the words that makes you question you and Trent’s friendship.

His tongue pokes out to lick his lips, making your eyes focus on it, “Sometimes I look at you and I go blank because of how pretty you are.”

What the fuck? What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck.

Your eyes searched for his, but he pointedly avoided it, choosing to stare down on his hands.

After finishing the story, Trent bellowed out a laugh, "You know how many people ask me for your number because they think that you're pretty?" he paused, "But they backed away because they 'know' that you're already someone's because of how I look at you."

Your mouth gaped open and close like a fish, slowly processing everything that he's telling you. "What?"

"They said that I look at you like I was smitten. Like I was in love." you were sure your pulse stopped for a second, hearing the guy that you had a crush on for years saying stuff you hear in songs.

Trent’s mouth was faster than his brain, he really should have stopped talking, but he couldn't. All of his words were all vomiting out of his mouth. He could feel his heart beating out of his chest.

"And then I said that if I was going to fall in love with anyone that I'd want it to be you."

hehe love yall <3

[shellswritesstuff]

Titus without a doubt gives the best (and slowest) head

𓊆ᴅᴇᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴀɴ ᴛɪᴛᴜs X ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ - ᴇsᴄᴀᴘɪsᴍ.𓊇 .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚(⸝⸝> ᴗ•⸝⸝)

rating: explicit. (explicit sex, oral.) cw. size difference, afab!reader, g. neutral pronouns. 

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴᴏɴ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ǫᴜɪᴄᴋɴᴇss ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀsᴛᴇ. ᴏᴍɢ, ɪ ғᴇᴇʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴇnʟɪɢʜᴛᴇɴᴇᴅ. ᴍᴏsᴛ ʜᴏɴᴏʀᴀʙʟᴇ ᴀɴᴏɴ. ɢᴏᴏᴅ ʟᴀᴡᴅ. ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

In this grim universe, little to no solace existed. Death was more of a paradise than anyone could imagine... yet many choose to fight on. Every damn day was a struggle for a cause much bigger than you know. Nothing was, or ever will be in your complete control. That includes your fate. It was a damn depressing fact.

Though, having a handsome space marine between your thighs does help ease the mind.

"Mmph.." Honorable Lieutenant Titus was making a mess of himself between your thighs. The sight was downright pornographic; your much smaller frame spreading wide to welcome his needy mouth. One leg was slung over his broad shoulder, while the other was gently held in place by your lover. "Dear one, I can't help but get lost in your.."

You rise your hips off of the bed, silencing Titus. Your aching slit closing the dreaded distance. Sweet nothings would have to wait. Thankfully, the space marine got the message. His heavy tongue gave languid strokes across your clit, pleasure with every movement. He ate your pussy slow, intently, and skillfully. Where he'd picked up such talents, unknown to you both. To quote your lover; he just followed his instincts. Fucking hell.

You writhed under the act, staying anchored in place only by Titus' will alone. The heavy muscle bullied your swollen bud, the exerted pressure only heightening the coming orgasm. You wanted to cry out his name. Not the one his superiors wore out, but his first name. A deeply personal gesture, now turned corrupt by lust. Damn his quarters being so close to others. It was a battle to keep quiet, Titus makes it so fucking hard not to scream. Deep down, you knew that fact got him off. Pervert.

He made eye contact with you, not ceasing his actions for moment. Your climax had been steadily building, it's peak dangerously close. You wanted to cum so bad, beg Titus to speed up and give you more, but you weren't the one in control here. His subtle dominance made you drip. Titus took a moment to breathe, looking at his work. A plead was about to escape your mouth, but got quickly forgotten as your lover pressed two large fingers into your entrance. Your hands shot up to your mouth, muffling the squeal. It was a sinful stretch. Not one your body hasn't experienced before, but a welcome challenge nonetheless.

Like it always happened, Titus's fingers and tongue guided you to climax. You'd cover his face in your juices, marking him with the love you two created. The feeling was unlike any other, your body convulsing to a beat that was never there, hushed cries of your lover's name... Titus committed the sight to memory. His and his actions alone wrecked you. It was one of the selfish comforts he took in this dire world.

[thegildedbee]

:: March 4 :: Selection for Week 10 of 2025 :: 🐝"a study in scarlet" (1887) from sherlock holmes: a year of quotes* 🖊️

"I never read such rubbish in my life." "What is it?" asked Sherlock Holmes. "Why, this article," I said, pointing at it with my egg spoon as I sat down to my breakfast. "I see that you have read it since you have marked it. I don't deny that it is smartly written. It irritates me though. It is evidently the theory of some armchair lounger who evolves all these neat little paradoxes in the seclusion of his own study. It is not practical. I should like to see him clapped down in a third class carriage on the Underground, and asked to give the trades of all his fellow-travellers. I would lay a thousand to one against him." "You would lose your money," Sherlock Holmes remarked calmly. "As for the article, I wrote it myself."

The first two chapters of A Study in Scarlet are a master-class in writing -- and although I've made desultory dissections of them multiple times, it seems that no matter how much I deposit into the dusty trunk in my mental lumber room, oddly enough, the interior space never seems to fill up. Hmmmm.

So, the appearance of this article, "The Book of Life," which sports a "pencil mark at the heading," occurs simultaneously with the curious incident of the flatmates at the breakfast table. What curious incident, you may ask? That Holmes was already ensconced at the table before Watson's arrival, when -- heretofore -- "he had invariably breakfasted and gone out before I rose in the morning." And yet, on March 4th, Watson arrives somewhat earlier than is his norm (some manipulation on Holmes's part?), and it seems likely Holmes lingered somewhat later than his norm, and there, placed to hand, the periodical in question, containing an article that not so subtly announces: "read me!"

You can see, no doubt, where I'm going with this :-) Watson has been fascinated by Holmes over the many weeks they've shared digs, and one of the objectives of his Sherlock-sleuthing has been the effort to fathom what in the devil his fellow lodger's occupation may be, reticent as he himself is to inquire straight off. I imagine Holmes has been equally fascinated by Watson, and fascinated by Watson's responses to Holmes's being, and has been deliberately mum on the topic of his lifework just to see how Watson proceeds in consequence. How likely is it that Holmes has ever had such an up-close and personal continuous opportunity to observe another individual? That in itself was likely an addictive circumstance. I find it hard to believe that Holmes was unaware of Watson's perplexity, and therefore had, for whatever reason, decided that March 4 was the day the question was to be answered, in a manner of his own choosing. So: in which periodical did "The Book of Life" appear? This is, admittedly, a tangential question and likely there is little to be gained by trying to posit a realistic option (and here I've no doubt made it obvious as to why it is taking me so long to process two (!) chapters). . . . Nonetheless :-) I reckon that the periodical would be a weekly, because that would allow Holmes, after however many weeks he and Watson had been not-answering the question, to be able to arrange for the article to appear at a non-too-distant time, once he had hit on the idea of using TBofL as his door-opener -- to the world, and to Watson. That is, I don't think it is a coincidence that this event happens when it does (and the universe would never be so lazy, correct? :-) After pondering and hunting, my candidate is Nature, which was founded in 1869, and in which it was not unusual for articles to appear without an attributed author. I think that the Proceedings of the Royal Society are unlikely as Holmes isn't FRS, and the dry exactitude of the essay rules out a general interest publication intended for entertainment. Nature seems to hit the sweet spot between these two poles. As editor Walter Gratzer notes in A Bedside Nature: Genius and Eccentricity in Science, 1869-1953, the journal was filled with material such as "leisurely ruminations on phenomena involving rainbows and lightning and the curious behaviour of ants and pet spaniels," and of reports from all over the globe, such as those of the Astronomical Society of Riga and the Montevideo Natural History Association. I propose, therefore, that Nature is likely to be a congenial home for the purported article.

And in taking a closer look at the period roughly from 1873-1891 (Holmes and Watson are held to have met in 1881), here are some indications of the potpourri of topics one would find within the pages of Nature: observations on how tuning-forks affect garden spiders; whether scorpions are suicide-prone; if sea urchins are capable of altruism; and a weighing of evidence that animals have a sense of humour. Surely there is room for a report within Nature's pages on how observations on "The Book of Life" might best be conducted?

But consider as well: there is an article by Francis Galton on the genetics of criminality; an article on the chemistry of cremation; a review of a work of geometry by Charles Ludwige Dodgson and his construction of an algorithm for finding the day of the week for any given date; reports on the physics of surface tension by Agnes Pockets, a German woman who had not been allowed to attend university and used her kitchen as a laboratory; and "The Remarkable Discovery of a Murder in Bermuda" (of a man who had killed his wife, weighted her corpse, and deposited it in the ocean, calculating "truly enough that the fish would very soon destroy all means of identification; but it never entered into his head that as they did their ravages, combined with the process of decomposition, would set free the matter which was to write the traces of his crime on the surface of the water"). I rest my case :-) Sherlock Holmes himself subscribed to Nature, and announced the arrival of the science of deduction within its pages! The readers of A Study in Scarlet might themselves have made such a comparative observation, underscoring -- between the lines -- a strong indication of Holmes's membership within the scientific community, broadly understood. And, for fun, two more examples of the congeniality of Nature's topics in this time period and the Sherlock Holmes stories: 1) the first is editor Norman Lockyear's stamp of approval for Jules Verne: "For in the author we have a science teacher of a new kind. He has forsaken the beaten track, bien entendu; but acknowledging in him a travelled Frenchman with a keen eye and vivid imagination--and no slight knowledge of the elements of science -- we do not see how he could have more usefully employed his talents." and

2) A rhapsody on the introduction of the Remington Typewriter: "The principal question which this beautiful and ingenious little instrument suggests to our minds is, whether it would not be better for every one of us to learn the Morse telegraph language, and employ it for writing upon all occasions instead of the cumbrous letters now in vogue." (Oh, and it was here that William Gladstone published his argument that Homer was colour-blind, which apparently excited much heated discussion!) [If you're curious about the question of color identification (and how blue and green figure into this in particular) here's a good place to start (in today's world): "The way you see colour depends on what language you speak." . . . And, guess what, I haven't even had time to consider the specifics of Watson's remarks! I am a slave of the digression . . .

...................................................... *Levi Stahl and Stacey Shintani, eds., U of Chicago Pr, 2019

& bespoke notifications as requested :-) [thanks for reading!]: @totallysilvergirl and @winterdaphne2 and @keirgreeneyes and @calaisreno

[lucystark12]

milevens are insane

warning now - i get extremely heated in this so if you're going to tell me to calm down leave. before any of you weird bitches tell me to go do something more productive or to touch grass- no. i'm fifteen, it's summer, and i'm a highly involved high school student. i'm not here because i have nothing better to do, i'm here because i understand good writing and am able to have hobbies ❤️

anyways

was on the mileven endgame hashtag just now and because i don't choose violence i wont be addressing any of them directly, but i will be addressing some of the ridiculous bullshit on there. term bullshit used intentionally

the love confession came as a result of mike "gaining the confidence" to tell el how much he loves her because he was afraid that he loved her more than she loved him.

are you listening to the words that are coming out of your mouth right now? i want to sit down and get a coffee with you and dissect what the fuck you meant by that. sure, right, yeah, he gained so much PRODUCTIVE confidence from his conversation he had with will where will was using eleven to mask his own feelings for mike. it makes so much sense narratively that this end all be all mileven event is sparked from will's feelings and not mikes! sure! right! this is such an idiotic piece of reasoning. you are literally saying that you are okay with your endgame ship only being endgame based on faulty communication and lies. are you joking? "you just gotta improve your motivation" ass piece of evidence

also, mike being insecure about loving her more than she loves him is complete, total, utter bullshit. el frequently expresses her love to mike via letters and youre here to say that mike would have any problem with doing the same thing if he were insecure about her love for him? that literally makes no sense. i wouldn't be afraid of loving somebody more than they love me if they are actively putting more effort into insuring me that they love me than i am to them. like, what does that even mean?

“Will Byers is a pathetic loser annoying character and contributed little to the plot of ST. "

yes that is a direct quote. no i'm not kidding.

what kind of fucking neanderthal watches stranger fucking things- a show about a kid who disappears- and thinks the kid who disappears isn't a central part of the narrative? the first episode of the goddamn show is called "the vanishing of will byers"! maybe this is hard for you and your confused brain to get your head around, but el and mike met when mike was out looking FOR WILL. mike and el are still together because mike gained courage from WILL'S LOVE FOR HIM. what a fucking idiot you must be. i would try to explain to you the myriad of other reasons why will is absolutely central to the plot of the show, but since the show itself has clearly gone in one ear and out the other, i probably wont be able to get through to you either.

“what if we learned to cope with world that doesn’t accept us as individuals by embracing each other completely?” said about mileven

um.. what. that's literally byler. closeted gay guys in the 80s. but sure, the ones that aren't being accepted are the two white and allegedly heterosexual individuals. the "world that doesn't accept us" in question is a few high school bullies in comparison with the stigmatization, violence, and ostracization that has longstanding been a part of what it means to be queer. be so serious right now. mileven is not important for being non conformist, the GAY SHIP IN THE 80S IS!!

“The only people who queerbaited, was byler fans themselves lmao.”

even if we're ignoring the horrible grammar there are still SO many things wrong with everything that was just said. what they're saying above for anybody who can't decipher the weird medieval english code this person is using is that bylers actively queerbaited themselves which inherently makes no sense at all.

below i have included the oxford dictionary definition of queerbaiting: "the incorporation of apparently gay characters or same-sex relationships into a film, television show, etc. as a means of appealing to gay and bisexual audiences while maintaining ambiguity about the characters' sexuality."

how is it possible that byler shippers themselves are the ones doing the queerbaiting? are we running the show? nope! before you come on and post something as offensive as this- which i will get into- at least make sure you know what you're saying. xoxo

to insinuate for even a second that mike wheeler not being gay would be anything other than deliberate queerbaiting is insane. there is something wrong with you. aside from the parts of the show where his queerness is deliberately alluded to like music, costuming, analogies, allegories, and set design, netflix has been, weather you like it or not, actively marketing in favor of byler and mike not being straight. all below come from official netflix accounts-

how is this not queerbaiting? genuinely what are you on about. this is literally textbook.

“will is fruity but mike didn't like the fruit on his pizza”

you seriously are basing your argument about mike not being gay on him not liking fruit on pizza? you seriously think that some of the most commended and celebrated writers of the last decade would use symbolism involving a word that can literally be interpreted as a slur when their show has two characters who are canonically a part of the group affected said slur? are you fucking stupid? that was harmless banter used to communicate the differences in habitual action across the country. it wasn't the duffers trying to do for you what they do for us in deliberate, straightforward NON-OFFENSIVE symbolism.

i saw somebody claim that mike's character arc in season four was inherently about not believing in his self worth nor in his competency to be in a relationship with el

while i do for the most part agree with you, i'm going to ask you a question- mike was never anxious about his identity and self worth involving el before season four. why do you think that just came up now if not for the fact that he's been having insecurities involving his sexuality and romantic attraction to women as a whole? in my opinion, mike realized that he might not like girls in that way circa the end of season three- a realization that only festered and grew through the absence of not only the boy he loves that is causing this insecurity but the girl whom he is using as a way to say hey, i can't be gay, i have a girlfriend! mike was clearly going through some serious emotional struggles as we can immediately see in this scene with how suddenly awkward he is with will and the immediate emphasis that's put on the "from mike" on the flowers.

i agree that his season four and part of his season five arc are about his feelings of insecurity about being in a relationship with el, however, i don't think he's insecure because he thinks she's better than him in the sense that she's some superhero, i think he thinks she's better than him because he knows that he'll never be able to love her the way she deserves to be loved. he's not going to outright come and say to will that he doesn't think that he can love her in the way she deserves to be loved. he's closeted. what he says in the van scene is the only way he knows to express his feelings. it's very similar to what will does in the same scene. it makes no sense for this insecurity to randomly manifest in him if it wasn't for an external factor that doesn't involve el, because nothing has really changed with the dynamic of their relationship other than the move. one could argue that mike is feeling insecure over el's supposed popularity she claims to have in her letters, but mike's arc has never been about caring about popularity in school. that's not something on his mind so much as the grand scheme of the world is. lets not forget that he joins hellfire in season four.

“When Mike didn’t say “I love you”, By*ers twisted it to their narrative. When Mike did say “I love you”, By*ers twisted it to their narrative.”

you literally sound like trump going on about the democrats. listen to what your saying right now. also, it's a ship name. there's no need to censor it you fucking weirdo.

wasted time building up mileven

i'm sorry, what build up? i'm confused. there's no "build up". THIS is build up:

above is will, possessed by a monster who feeds off of those lacking love in their lives, only being able to be broken out of possession by a heartfelt monologue by the PERSON HE LOVES detailing how the best decision he ever made was to befriend him.

above is will claiming he will never fall in love, then his love for one of the other main characters becomes a central plot point of the two seasons to come. joyce and i see through will and all of you weird milevens

mike telling will how it's not his fault will doesn't like girls only after he loses the person he's been using to cover up his own insecurity about the same thing- not liking girls. suspicious.

will's LOVE FOR MIKE being the thing to give him the confidence to help el SAVE THE WORLD, only episodes after we establish that mike is bound to be pissed that he was lied to. and theres no buildup? THERE'S REALLY NO BUILDUP?

if you don't see buildup i fear you are literally just a lost cause because it is so painfully obvious to anybody who made it past seventh grade english class that there is something deeper and more intimate than friendship going on between will byers and mike wheeler.

“Women can be independent while being in a relationship guys😭!!”

OBVIOUSLY! i am literally the biggest feminist on the entire western seaboard. i couldn't agree more with this, which is why we have arcs like nancy's where she actively becomes more independent while still maintaining a relationship with jonathan. the difference is that mike and el have been together since they were like thirteen. when el was immersed into the real world for the first time in season two she immediately leaned on mike for support in that. it's not that she can only be independent on her own, it's that mike is directly symbolic to her of a time when she was stumbling around the world with naivete and not quite knowing how to navigate that. by spreading her wings away from that relationship, it will not only give her independence, but also a way to see beyond the barriers of hawkins and a life where she was valued mostly for the qualities she brings to the supernatural equation. el's arc is one of my favorites. i would never claim such a thing and discredit the essence of what makes the emotions behind her character so interesting. she's somebody who was literally raised in a lab. she shouldn't be held back by somebody she is quite literally dependent on.

last but not least, i saw a post that said milevens always win.

"are you sure about that?" i ask, noah schnapp's most recent instagram post open on my phone, finn wolfhard's spotify playlist in my headphones, my mike holding will's painting funko on the desk in front of me, wearing a yellow shirt with a blue sweater over it.

thank u for listening to my ted talk 💙💛

[genericpuff]

This might be kind of a stupid question, but in total, how many times did Rachel retconned LO? I clearly remember Hypnos being trapped for 10 years and then it getting retconned to "a few days"

Also, Hera, Demeter, Hestia going from friends to sisters

Did something else get retconned…?

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-

this question got me thinking so hard i consulted the UnpopularLO crew, here's what we were able to come up with but there are almost definitely more examples:

Melinoe claims she's only been trapped for a few days but this contradicts what Hypnos told us about Kronos using a child deity to overthrow the Underworld in the first place. Unless this just means Persephone showed up just a day or two after everyone fell into a deep sleep, but considering the state of the Underworld when she arrives and other things we're told after the S2 finale, there's no way this is the case.

Speaking of Melinoe, the whole concept of "the interloper" was clearly something Rachel came up with on the fly and didn't have an actual solution to because when we're first told about them, they look nothing like Melinoe:

The weird replacement of Hades' imagined childhood self with Melinoe as a dream child who was actually "always present" throughout the first two seasons. Like, why is Hades so familiar with the ghost child 'checking in on him' if this was some random thing that started happening due to Kronos messing around with the timeline?

The sudden 'reveal' that Ouranos was the one pulling the strings and manipulating Apollo since the very beginning even though that makes zero sense and was completely unnecessary to explaining Apollo's motivations. Apollo himself even constantly flip flops between being some evil mastermind out to get Persephone for a very specific purpose (overthrowing Zeus) and being just a completely oblivious obsessed asshole who doesn't understand consent and actually believes Persephone is in love with him. After all, why would Apollo go on a date with Daphne and then ask her if she'd be willing to cut her hair to look like Persephone's if the goal was to get his hands on Persephone specifically for the purpose of using her powers to overthrow Zeus? How in the world does Daphne factor into that?

Throughout S1 and 2, the gods claim that the mortals are largely disposable and easily replaceable, but then when Persephone causes the plague, suddenly mortals need to be protected because their beliefs and rituals are necessary to sustaining the gods (funny how Hermes bounces between the mortals being necessary to save at all costs but also just inconvenient to live without, like which is it lmao):

The whole "plan" to overthrow Kronos bouncing between being Hera's idea and being Zeus' idea. Rachel just couldn't seem to decide if she wanted a strong female character like Hera to be a victim manipulated into abuse or willingly choosing to put herself in harm's way for the "greater good". IIRC it's written out in the end that Hera and Zeus couldn't even remember who came up with the plan first (but don't quote me on that, I need to find the panels, they do stick out in my mind but I don't know which episode they're specifically from)

The reveal that Hera was the missing fertility goddess depicted on the mural when the original reveal of the mural looks nothing like how it looks later in the flashback sequences. This is the same as the Interloper problem where Rachel was clearly grasping at setting up some kind of mystery box that she didn't know the contents of.

The reveal that Zeus and Metis had a relationship which is what allowed him to use her powers in the first place (because within that same episode Rachel revealed that a bond of love was necessary to using them, but then clearly realized that meant Zeus and Metis had to be in love)

Zeus consuming Metis was changed into some plan to "protect Hera" from being used as a fertility goddess power battery, but then Zeus just went ahead and slowly drained Hera of her powers anyways.

Metis becoming a star after being eaten by Zeus because reasons.

The text messages from Leuce and Hades were retroactively changed into a "manifestation board", probably to absolve Hades of "fooling around" while Persephone was trapped in the Mortal Realm, but all at the expense of a woman who was now retconned into being delusional just for the sake of strengthening the main ship and giving Persephone someone to bully.

The reveal during the trial that Eris was the cause of Persephone's wrath when there was literally zero reason for that to be the case.

The reveal during the trial that Thanatos was actually Hades' adopted son, which really doesn't look good on Hades considering how much of a dick he was to Thanatos throughout the entirety of the first two seasons without any impression given that they might have a canon father-son dynamic.

Apollo and Artemis WEREN'T originally going to be children of Zeus in LO, as Rachel didn't want to create any possibilities for incest within the messy family tree of the Greek gods, but then she decided to make them the children of Zeus anyways as a "plot twist" which is really silly considering 1.) most people would assume they're Zeus' children anyways due to being his children in the myths, and 2.) she still designed them to look just like Zeus.

The subtle but very present SA retcon. This one's so egregious and in-depth I wrote an entire essay about it.

Minthe was originally written with BPD which Rachel decided to "move away from", probably because she realized how shitty it made her look to give BPD to the one character she was pitting the audience against as the "mean other girl" who we all knew was eventually going to be turned into a plant.

Edited panels and changes in the physical books. This is unfortunately not something that I can fully document here, I'm planning on making an actual dedicated post for it, but people have caught changes both in the webtoon version of the comic AND the physical prints that point to Rachel trying to quietly retcon things in the wake of her own bad writing, one of which is present in that aforementioned SA erasure essay in which a scene was added to make Persephone seem more sympathetic towards Apollo. That said, there's also a scene in the trial arc that was changed in the webtoon version, in which Rachel retconned Eris' dialogue from revealing that Hades was the reason Demeter wasn't queen of the mortal realm to reminding her that Hades was the reason (because obv later on we'd get a flashback sequence showing us what happened between Demeter and Hades, which implied that Demeter knew all along what Hades did because he did it right in front of her):

(isn't it funny-weird how Persephone never asks about this despite being in the courtroom when Eris mentions this?)

There are almost DEFINITELY more examples of Rachel absentmindedly and/or intentionally retconning things throughout LO, but that's what we were all able to come up with and should at least get the gears moving in our heads when thinking about other instances of it throughout the comic. Granted, some of these are arguably less 'retcons' and more so just logical inconsistencies / plotholes / etc. but they all still point towards Rachel doing a very bad job at keeping track of her own comic's narrative, its characters, and its twists, even in spite of having multiple other people working for her who all seem to enjoy LO (including heyitsjaki, who is also a webcomic creator), an editor with a background in television writing, and a massive and dedicated fanbase that actively keeps track of her story and its themes arguably more than she does. At that point it feels less "oopsie daisy!" and more just deadass not giving a shit. I don't want to accuse her of intentionally doing this, but it's like she knows her fanbase will just go with whatever she tells them even when it doesn't align with other things she's told them or make sense within the overall narrative - and she'll still be rewarded with Eisner awards regardless - so she doesn't bother to actually try when it comes to the writing, it's just about meeting that panel quota and giving people more H x P fluff.

The simpler answer though, even outside LO, is that Rachel just can't write.

[yandereunsolved]

Good timezone, I was rewatching some of those “Gotham FYP” tiktoks from a couple months ago and I wanted to ask you a question. If you were in Gotham, which Robin/vigilante would you want to save you? Personally, either Jason or Damian.

Dick is out bc I feel like I’d give him something as a thank you and then I’d never know peace again. I don’t mind clingy but trouble follows that guy like a deranged stalker ex 😭. Which would just make me want to help him? Like yeah sure Nightwing. You can totally crash on the couch while I’m at work, need any Tylenol? There’s soup in the fridge. Byeeee

Tim is out bc I don’t want to be saved by someone who can hack me and know my ao3 history/tumblr account. If I ever need to be saved again I feel like he’d know my fanfic preferences, and I’d know he’d know. Then he’d know that I know that he knows. Can’t have that.

Batman is out bc, and I mean this respectfully, he’d scare the shit out of me. The whole appear and disappear into the shadows thing would cause me to faint or panic and end up knocking myself out. That’d be humiliating. It would keep me up at night and I can’t have that. Or worse, I ask a dumb question. “How often do people ask you if you’re a vampire? Follow-up question, how often do people quote twilight to you?”

I picked Jason bc he won’t hurt you unless you’re selling drugs to kids or apart of violent crime, I’ve done neither and plan to never do either, so I’m safe. For now. Plus if I give him a “thank you” gift, he’d be the most chill about it. Plus, depending on the run, I just really like his costume and want to see it up close. Double plus, red is my favorite color, so he’s therefore my favorite.

I picked Damian bc if it’s kid Damian, I’d love to know how he’d react to being called “the sword Robin”, and I feel like his sassy remarks would snap me out of any possible panic I may have. If it’s adult Damian then I get to see some pretty cool assassin techniques. Win-win. I’d also would want to see if I could get him to infodump about animals.

Oh! Good question, anon. I dug this out of the archives because for some reason it got lost in all my drafts.

"If you were in Gotham, which Robin/vigilante would you want to save you?"

I'd have to choose Dick or Jason.

First of all, he will not be immune to the dick jokes. There are just so many jokes I could make and after being saved, I feel like I would accidentally make one. And then I'd probably be questioned about how I know his indentity, but like- "Where's Dick?" "I need Dick!" "Dick is stuck between a rock and a hard place." I already don't know peace. And he's less likely to send my body into shutdown panic attack mode.

Jason because of the reasons you stated previously. I am not a violent criminal or anyone on any category that he'd want to harm. Despite appearing frightening he is quite chill. So I feel like he'd be pretty chill with me. And I would just wanna touch his mask. :3

Batman, Damian, & Tim are out for me.

I feel like I would make Bruce suspicious. Like I'd be like "T-Thank you, B-Bruce. I mean Batman!" Just like the thing with Dick. While Dick may be chiller with it, I don't trust 'I'm fine with making kids child soldiers Mc traumatized man'. I'd more likely to be assaulted by him or harshly interrogated. My throat would shutdown and I'd just be standing there with wide eyes. Like bro chill tf out. Take a Xanax or something. Does Alfred not slip baby pain meds into your food when you're being stubborn?

Damian is too violent for me. Sure he's flashy but he can also be very bratty. I don't need to be insulted (victim blamed) for getting into a vulnerable position and needing help. I love Damian... but he's more of a dick than the dude named Dick. I can also be a smartass so I feel like the two of us would end up bickering.

Tim, yeah. I feel like he'd cyberstalk me. And then he would be walking around as a civilian and would geek out. Dude is into yanderes. I can feel it in my bones. "You're yandereunsolved right? I love your works. I really think how you portray [insert character] is super close to canon. I also have a Tumblr account. Wanna be moots?" And then that's how I would end up with yandere Tim. I'd never be able to write or read fanfics in peace again.

[afsosville]

Here's the Shen Jiu addition to the PIDW x Avatar the Last Airbender AU ˚˖⋆.ೃ࿔.✧˚.💚⋆

The Luo Binghe/ge version

So, Shen Jiu being reborn as an air nomad! Let him have his well deserved peace!! Oh look, it’s a loving community that doesn’t have any hierarchies or power issues to fuck him over, and air being the element of freedom?? Fuck yes. 

ALTA lore dump and extreme self indulgence up head >>

Ideally, Shen Jiu would be reborn during Yangchen or Kyoshi’s time, coz I still need the air nomads to be, yknow, around. 

The air nomads lowkey act like a sect that practices aesthetic cultivation ( they reminds me of the Lan Clan too).

A quote >>

“The Air Temples had an expression regarding outside visitors who were shocked and disappointed by the incredible volume of chores the monks and nuns had to busy themselves with to support a few hours per day of meditation and study. Weak eyelids. Enlightenment was a muscle, and the world was too heavy for most.”

They work hard and are always studying philosophy and spirituality to seek enlightenment. Since they don’t hire people to do things, they do everything in their community themselves and depend on each other. Who knows, it could be therapeutic, and it’s not like Shen Jiu’s afraid to work hard. I think he would enjoy reading up on stuff about this new world he's in and there's access to so much knowledge and information in the air temples. He’d like travelling around to all of them. And a sky bison!!! He gets to have a fluffy sky bison of his own!! When it’s bonding day, he obviously doesn’t think any sky bison would want to choose him. Ofc he would make a terrible companion. Even great beasts are motivated by self interest, and he’d simply be a poor choice- 

Then, he sees one that’s nudging her head on his arm. She strayed away from the rest of the herd and the other kids and wandered over to the lone boy sitting by himself, who was too busy feeling sorry for his life to even notice her approaching him. He felt a tug on his soul and knew he had been picked and there was no changing that. 

Shen Jiu named her Xiyue, which means joy. Shen Jiu with a sky bison Shen Jiu with a sky bison Shen Jiu with a sky bison-

The air temples are segregated by gender, the monks live in the northern and southern air temples, and the nuns live in the eastern and western temples. Ofc all of them are traveling to wherever and staying in other temples for certain periods of time tho. Shen Jiu was originally from the northern temple but got relocated pretty quickly to the western one with his guardian once his aversion/fear of men became pretty apparent. They don’t understand just why another person who’s not the avatar has memories of a past life but they’ll make sure one of their own is cared for regardless. So now he gets to be surrounded by people who are mostly not men, and not a single person is around to judge him for it. He does go back to visit his home temple, and stays there when he’s older because he's learnt that the air temples are practically the safest of places. Pre-Sozin at least lol. I’m leaning towards this being Yangchen's time. She’s an air avatar from the western air temple and she’s unique for an avatar in the sense that she also remembers her past life. Or ten thousand of them in Yangchen’s case. 

She’ll sometimes have past avatars outright possess her and start talking or doing things as if they’re still alive. The people who know about Yangchen think it’s a gift, because she’s got the easiest access to her past lives. Lol. As if. Yangchen’s out here living through the trauma and grief of so many of her lives in the worst moments possible. The first time she went into the spirit realm, everything went to shit because one of her past lives had an intense fear of spirits and Yangchen started having an episode while the spirits were attacking her. She was with her sister, and ended up losing her on that trip :( And there was this other time, one of her past lives straight up tried to convince her to give up on humanity altogether during another episode. This was exactly what he said;

“They take with both hands, and they pay only with blame. They find your edges and then they dwell there. Work a hundred miracles? You’re worthless for not performing a hundred and one… Human beings choose their own misery, over and over again. Tell me why humanity deserves an Avatar” 

I was thinking this scene could be a character development moment for Shen Jiu, if he tries to convince her why she shouldn't give up on humanity. This seems like the kind of thing Shen Jiu himself would believe wholeheartedly, but he already spent a whole life believing that, and it didn’t do him any favours. (Yes, Shen Jiu is part of team avatar, he's the first member actually) He and Yangchen have something to bond over lol. Miserable past lives and all that. 

Also Yangchen was shrewd. She needed to engage in clandestine operations and spywork to even hope to achieve what she needed to. Guess which former Qing Jing peak lord could've helped nudge her in that direction? 

Not to mention she also knows forbidden air bending techniques (the one that Zaheer used on the Earth Queen that sucked the air out of her lungs to kill her heh). She perfected it completely and made her own variations. It's not mentioned just how Yangchen learnt of these techniques, but I imagine here that Shen Jiu had access to many of the archives and libraries (even the forbidden ones) in the four temples bc of how much he frequents them (the airbenders just like him a lot). And Yangchen knew this and asked him in which archives she could find them too. Shen Jiu is not going to teach the avatar voidbending! As if he'd risk getting in trouble with the elders and have all his access denied bc of it! *Cue Yangchen pestering Shen Jiu about it like a spoiled younger sibling and convincing him to just tell her which scrolls to look for, or else she'll tell tell the elders that he's the one who's been practicing voidbending*

It's not like he was even against teaching voidbending, he literally took it upon himself to learn and any all forbidden techniques he could get his hands on. And it's the fucking Avatar. Who would miss out on a chance to teach the Avatar?? But getting banned from the archives, or even from one of the air temples is a real fear of his soshjigl

Honestly tho, he could totally be on Kyoshi's team too. You know Kyoshi, she'd love learning those forbidden techniques too. Heck, Shen Jiu might as well be Kyoshi's airbending master in this AU.

He would totally find Wan Shi Tong's library without even trying. Idk how long it would take for him to get kicked out tho heh.

Shen Jiu would be one of those people who can easily get into the spirit world through meditating (he had a boon from having learnt cultivation in a xianxia world, that's why it would be easy for him). But since the spirit world reflects your emotions like a dream realm, Shen Jiu is not having a good time there. 

I think he'd be insanely good at metalbending if he was an earthbender further along the timeline instead. The first time we see Shen Jiu do any form of cultivation was literally him reshaping metal into a blade! Lowkey feel like drawing him in the Zaofu metalbending uniform too. He'd look good in those dfdggfdf

Remember when I said he's going to live a peaceful life? I lied. Guess what demonic tyrant's getting reborn as a waterbender? Yuh Luo Bingge's here too.

He picks up on bloodbending way too easily, and learns how to take away bending too, coz you can do that with bloodbending apparently! (Freakin Amon over here) And the moment he gets 'reacquainted' with Shen Jiu, Luo Bingge's gonna give him more shit to have nightmares over.

And he will take away Shen Jiu's bending too. And while I believe in Shen Jiu living a life of respite after going through the entirety of PIDW, it's even more fun to torture him again after he's got a brief taste of freedom.

[dr5amatic]

THE ABILITY TO HOLD PAIN ,

a sentence starter prompts list comprised of quotes from the novel the sword of kaigen: the theonite war story by m. l. wang. please be advised that this list may involve topics including, but not limited to, murder, death, and violence. change verbiage as needed.

you don’t need to play dumb with me. i like you better when you’re smart.

be careful how hard you love what you know you can’t have.

i’ve never seen you smile. what’s wrong with you? are the corners of your mouth busted or something?

you’re not a disappointment. you couldn’t be if you tried.

you… are you saying our government would lie to us?

any warrior will tell you that even the strong can’t afford complacency.

you’re a good fighter and your small-town pride is cute, but it’s all based on a lie.

you’re talented, but talent is meaningless without self-discipline. you will never be fully realized if you continuously let your pride run away with your principles.

you’re patriotic and loyal. you’re exactly what everyone’s told you to be.

if i kill you, you’ll be facing me with a sword in your hand.

i don’t just make up ridiculous, self-serving lies whenever i feel like it.

i’m too young to die!

are you hurt anywhere else? is there any bleeding?

the moon and ocean fear no change.

we can’t claim to be crime-fighters if we disrespect life just as much as the criminals we fight.

i don’t think killing a horrible, hostile person is really disrespecting life.

if you didn’t want your enemies dead, why even bring me onboard? why did you choose me?

street fighting is always messy and full of cheating.

so, you care that everyone lives, but you don’t care whether you fight clean?

how easy do you think it is to build a life out of nothing?

it’s not your powers that make you special.

i know you can take care of yourself. i’m just not sure you will.

do you not understand? you’re going to die!

if i think your life is in danger, i will kill for you.

only you could turn an offer for help into a threat.

for someone so proficient at fighting, you certainly seem to loathe it.

careful what you wish for.

you should lie down and rest for at least a little while.

can i tell you why i hit him?

you learn over time that the world isn’t broken. it’s just…got more pieces to it than you thought. they all fit together, just maybe not the way you pictured when you were young.

listening never made any man dumber, but it’s made a lot of people smarter.

the world is whole. you are on the right path. everything is going to be alright.

ours is borrowed power, a gift and a blessing. the true power belongs to the gods.

respectfully, i just want to know how you feel about your government lying to you.

do you fight to be remembered?

if it came to it, i would have killed without a second thought. if it was to save [name], i would have killed as many people as i needed to.

that is the dumbest thing you’ve said all day. square up.

you can try to stop me.

i’m not sure i’m worthy of your pride, but i will be. just wait.

you’re going to find something worth fighting for and you’re going to get your chance to fight for it.

you think i’m a good person. that saved my life.

you saved me. i’m going to return the favor, but i need you to trust me and hide.

are you serious? you’re sure you don’t want to run?

power. that’s really the thing people use to decide who they marry?

i don’t want to leave without you.

a life of dangerous adventures might seem worth it now, when you are young and seemingly invincible, but one day, you will have children, and you will not want that life for them.

you’re trying to hurt me so i can leave you here without any guilt.

i know your tactics. they won’t work on me.

this doesn’t seem like something you would have chosen of your own free will.

i made a decision you don’t like, so i’m a coward?

divinity lives here. i think this is a place of miracles.

i never loved you the way i should have.

the least i can do is warn you about what is going to happen next.

are you always going to be this mean to me?

this power… i might not understand it completely, but i know that it comes from my will to protect the people i love.

i’m impressed. patience has never been your strong suit.

you’re good at talking to people – lifting them up, breaking them down. you’ve always been good at that.

i’ve stood by too long while you disgraced yourself, but this–this is the last time you will be weak in front of me.

do you ever feel love?

the anger is not going to go away, but you are going to face it and tame it.

you’re guilty of the same thing i am.

if you don’t want to hurt me, you will face me like a real fighter, with respect

there are worse things than fighting. i like a bit of fighting. it’s silence i can’t stand.

when you’ve been around the world and seen all different kinds of lies, it gets easier to see through them. i don’t fault you for being misinformed.

what happened to the fearless optimist i knew?

a person’s tragedy doesn’t define them or cancel all the good in their life.

how many of them did you kill?

i’ll never understand how you forgive people you disagree with so fundamentally.

i thought i could become strong enough to protect the people i cared about from anything. i understand now that that’s not true. and it’s too late.

[bossthebicon]

burnout syndrome: everything we know & my guesses

since burnout syndrome seems to be in its very early stages of development, here is what we know & certain of my plot point guesses:

while the show is written by jittirain (who wrote theory of love), it does not come from one of her novels. it will therefore be an original script made for this series.

offgun must have had some details about doing this show for about 6 months, since off has worked out very intensely almost every day since then (since p'nuchie required it for this role), and it also coincides with gun saying that off would have a six pack next year. I believe offgun had a knowledge that their next show would be more mature & sexual, which is when p'nuchie got brought in, and I believe dew arrived later as the third one in the love triangle, around the same time jittirain signed on.

p'nuchie working with offgun again is surprising considering her previous treatment by gmmtv (cutting her budget repeatedly & not promoting not me at all despite p'nuchie being a big deal director), however it is not THAT surprising since not me was by far her most popular & mainstream project, and she has always had a soft spot for gun with whom she has worked repeatedly. she also seems quite close to off.

now, for the plot: we do not know any character's name or much about them at all, which is why this project really seems to still be in its infancy. I would not expect an early 2025 release... I think this will be an end of the year release à la not me & cooking crush.

gun seems to play a poor character compared to white in not me, while off plays a rich character compared to sean in not me... it's a role reversal! gun's character seems to be the struggling artist type, and an openly queer character. he's basically yok from not me (yes I'm keeping the not me comparisons bc there's a LOT!) he's down to do any odd job for money which is how he meets off's character. he seems quite daring & confident, while also a bit introverted & in his own world.

off's character definitely has todd vibes for me (and not just bc that pool kiss scene reminded me of the first toddblack confrontation lol). he seems to be a businessman but is very shady. he is described as a "bad boy" by emi's character, and he hires gun to be his "stand-in"... but he's still in the same room, dictating everything to him?? he says he doesn't like people, but what does it mean exactly? does he have a phobia of people? then in this case, why is he going outside so easily? all of these questions will be answered once the script will be fully written imo. I think that, just like not me, the mock trailer & final show will be very different but evoke the same vibe & characters. in any case, off's character is highly intriguing, he's clearly a red flag & kind of a weirdo, and I can't wait to know more!

next we have dew's character, who is a fortune teller? probably not as a job but as a hobby? (side note, I find it funny that so many gmmtv 2025 featured fortune tellers & psychics lol.) although I feel like choosing dew for the role bc they seem to make him want to seem a soft nerd against off's character who's possessive & rough is kind of a miscast bc since dew is SO tall he just doesn't give off these kinds of vibes imo, I'm quite interested in this love triangle. both dew & gun seem to like each other, and gun's tears when dew leaves are giving SERIOUS "in love" vibes. HOWEVER, gun's character definitely has a strong attraction for off & uses him as his artistic muse... the last quote of the trailer is "if one day he has a heart... I can love him, right?" indicating that off's character has shown gun that he has no heart but gun falls for him anyways... I JUST WANNA KNOW THE BACK STORY FOR THESE CHARACTERS SO BAD BC I KNOW IT'S GONNA HIT SO HARD!!! but to get back to dew, I really wanna know where he fits into this story, because...

this is almost guaranteed to be an offgun endgame. I say almost bc there's always the possibility of it being a poly endgame but let's be for real, I don't see dewoff having any chemistry lol (though they can surprise me, I didn't think dew would have romantic chemistry with gun either!) but the fact that offgun have been a stable ship for 9 years, that they came out on stage from a different platform than dew, the positioning in the poster... and also everything in the trailer indicates that they are endgame. I'm curious to see what happens to dew then though lol, we shall see.

I'm very curious about emi's role. she obviously played gun's sister in the trainee, and now she plays his best friend so she's now the only actor who has been featured in 2 offgun shows with sing, especially back to back lol! seeing how there's only 5 characters shown for now & she was in the main actors list alongside offgundew... I think she'll have a big role, but I have no idea what it can be. in any case, I stan!

lastly for the characters, we have thor, who I'm also really intrigued by. we know he works in burnout bar but WHAT is burnout bar? why do they match random people by numbers? does everyone who comes there needs to be burned out? as a background place for the show, this bar is interesting & reminds me of the one in the jungle (which also featured off!) I wonder if we'll see off in that bar, even though it's been established as dewgun's place in the mock trailer, it's too central to the story to keep its main character out of it for the whole show. I'm hoping thor has a bigger role than just the bartender lol.

in conclusion, a lot of things are very vague about this show, which is a bit frustrating bc I WANNA KNOW MORE, but also really nice bc it means that, compared to certain other shows from gmmtv 2025, we won't be spoiled most of the story by the trailer :) also I'm betting that they will add one or two other cast members, but they haven't written the show yet so all of the characters aren't fleshed out yet. anyways, I can't wait! 💚💚💚

EDIT: turns out I have more to say lol

so I was looking at the poster closely while editing my thumbnail for my gmmtv 2025 reaction video, and I noticed something:

the whole poster is in red tones: the background, the title, the lighting in their hair... and their clothes... EXCEPT for dew's shirt.

although this is just a mock poster & once again, the show will likely evolve once the script is written, the visual story telling of this poster is extremely interesting!

dew's shirt is light blue compared to the rest of the poster which is overwhelmingly red. blue represents calm and peace, which seems in line with the little we have seen from dew's character so far.

gun's shirt is pink. in terms of value, him & dew both have lighter colored shirts, but in different families. dew's blue is a cold color while gun's pink is a warm color.

now onto off, who has a dark red shirt. in terms of value, his is completely different from both dew and gun's, which also fits the little of his character we've seen. he is called a "bad boy" and "chaos" in this trailer after all, which fits the darker red color well. however, in terms of color family, off & gun are more in line bc they're both wearing a shade of red which is a warm color. since this show will clearly hinge on their sexual desire for one another, this makes sense. and since the poster unity is in the red, which IS the color of passion, sex, and violence, it is clear that offgun are the main pairing of this show, with off's hand on gun's head while dew is only passively touching gun by being close to him.

although red is the color of violence, I don't think there will be much physical violence in this show, as the trailer didn't hint for it at all. although I wouldn't be surprised we get a scene of off & dew sparring to stay in line with the classic bl love triangle tropes. though since dew is much taller than off, I wonder how they'd make it look like a fair fight lmao.

anyways, back to the poster. by having gun & dew's clothes in the same value which is light, as well as dew snuggling to gun's heart, we can infere that gun will first like dew. after all, we meet dew before off in the trailer, and it seems to be the same for gun's character. dew is the "good guy" in this show, the one that "makes sense", where things are "easy." however, his clothes ARE in a different color family as gun's. blue is calm, but it's also cold. which is why dew seems to be able to walk away from his job with off, and more importantly, gun, in the trailer.

but for off, whose clothes are darker than gun, showing his "bad" side, he is at least in the same color family as gun's. we see in the trailer that gun has a lot of sexual desire for off, which is clear with the drawing he does of him where off's genitals are OUT and he's touching himself:

side note - I'm gonna need the full nude scene to include the moment off touches himself while gun dies in a sea of desire bc I genuinely think this will be the peak of queer cinema. yok in not me said nude drawing isn't sexual? make it. please p'nuchie, make it sexual in burnout syndrome 🙏

second side note - damn they made off's waist so snatched in that drawing, I love it 😏

ANYWAYS to conclude: we have offgun showing so much more visual cohesion in this poster, which really makes me think this will not be a full love triangle (in a poly way) but a show where the logical suitor (dew) gets overtaken by the chaotic, messy one (off.) now, how are they going to make it make sense and make us root for the bad boy? idk & I CANNOT wait!

although I do think that having dew (light blue) and off (dark red) have some sort of gay scene together WOULD make sense, and it would even more make sense that they wouldn't work bc they're literal opposites in everything, creating even more stakes in the love triangle.

that's it, I've ruled out that I don't want a poly ship or any trio scene, I want offdew having hooked up in the past & it haunting them LMAO

[stupidphototricks]

Just going to dump my notes file of favorite quotes from The Fifth Elephant and Wintersmith here, it's an odd pairing but what the heck.

"Sometimes," Vetinari said, testily, "it really does seem to me that the culture of cynicism in the Watch is... is..." "Insufficient?" said Vimes. -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

He enjoyed moments like these, the little bowl of time when the crime lay before him and he believed that the world was capable of being solved. -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

"I hate when you get too many clues, it makes it so damn hard to solve anything." -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

"Dere's guys in der road," said the troll. "Dey got halibuts." Vimes looked out of the windows. There were half a dozen guards, and they did indeed have halberds. -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

"Yes," mumbled Vimes, experiencing vertigo and seasickness in one tight green package. -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

It wasn't just that his brain was writing checks that his body couldn't cash. It had gone beyond that. Now his feet were borrowing money that his legs hadn't got, and his back muscles were looking for loose change under the sofa cushions. -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

"Where should I fire it, Mister Vimes?" "Good grief, not in here! This is an enclosed building!" "Only up until I pull dis trigger, sir." -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

Vimes sat and stared. His head felt like some vast sea that had just been parted by a prophet. Where there should have been activity, there was just bare sand and the occasional floundering fish. -- Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

"This I choose to do. If there is a price, this I choose to pay. If it is my death, then I choose to die. Where this takes me, there I choose to go. I choose. This I choose to do." -- Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith (Tiffany Aching is thirteen years old here)

You had to deal every day with people who were foolish and lazy and untruthful and downright unpleasant, and you could certainly end up thinking that the world would be considerably improved if you gave them a slap. But you didn't because, as Miss Tick had once explained: a) it would make the world a better place for only a very short time; b) it would then make the world a slightly worse place; and c) you're not supposed to be as stupid as they are. -- Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith

I mean the range from comic quips to unusual yet perfect metaphors to breathtaking insights is just. How.

[starry-bi-sky]

I'm slowly becoming obsessed with the childhood friends au and it's mostly bc of something you said in the tags of an ask lol. you mentioned that they weren't soulmates they were something better. that they were two balls of yarn they batted around until they were intertwined, that they chose and continue to choose to be as close as two souls can be.

it's so poetic, the idea that fate has nothing to do with it. they looked at each other and said this is it, that's the one. It makes me think of so many different quotes but here's just a few. Hozier "lay me gently in the cold dark earth, no grave can hold my body I'll crawl home to her (him)" or like patroclus saying that if Achilles were to die that "all things soft and beautiful would be buried with him" and poor Danny grieving so long and so hard because "what is grief if not love perserving?" when you're in love with someone, that person is the lighthouse of your universe and to lose them is to be thrown to a tempestuous sea.

and thinking of their reunion makes me feel a little crazy too cause I see what you've been plotting and it just makes me think of how their relationship is going to be at first. like here's a person that you love so deeply and it's been so long since you've seen them and you've both changed since. will they click back together seemingly effortlessly? attached at the hip for a bit because they're both/or one is scared of being separated again? or will there be some friction for a while while they try to realign their pieces to fit together, to figure out what's different and what's practically the same? "you are a language I am no longer fluent in but still remember how to read"

sorry for rambling, I love them your honor.

🫵 DONT YOU DARE APOLOGIZE FOR RAMBLING I LOVE GETTING RAMBLING ASKS. AND SAME.

There was this one sound on tiktok that I heard that reminded me of them, and I just went and found it, and it goes: "I would recognize you in another lifetime entirely in different bodies, different times, and i would love you in all of this. Until the very last star in the sky burnt out into oblivion." and the first time i heard it i literally thought "this is CFAU Danny and Jason"

AND YEAH THEY JUST. I love devoted characters, i love when characters are so deeply devoted and loyal to each other its like you can't imagine them being anywhere else but at each other's side. That wasn't wholly my intent when I first came up with CFAU last fall, but god I am not complaining about how it turned out. My favorite part of the chapter 1 rewrite is making sure Danny's devotion to Jason was reciprocal.

god those quotes. they're so accurate too. yeah. i thought about this au once in the context of a soulmate au, and just couldn't get behind it. It made their whole dynamic felt cheapened, like of course they're soulmates; it was destined. When no, it wasn't. They made it that way.

(If the two of them were somehow transported to a universe with soulmate marks, they would not have matching symbols. That's okay, Danny and Jason don't need them to be. They'd pick up a tattoo gun or a pen and make their own. They wouldn't call it a soulmate mark, just a them mark.)

("Why should I share my soul with some schmuck I don't know? I want to share my soul with you.")

yeah. their reunion is. ! about as exactly as intense as it needs to be :]. They've both changed so much, and they're both scared of being separated again. Jason purposely stayed away from Amity because he knew he couldn't keep away if he didn't. Being back together again is like having a piece of them returned.

SPEAKING OF QUOTES. Here's one:

I don't believe in the death that you're bringing The reason I'm living is you Wherever you go That's where I'll be Even if death tags along, I don't mind It's still you and me I'll never leave you alone

"Death's At My Door" - The Outsiders Musical