#like a third of the way through the book and it’s great so far

[adashofniallandasprinkleoflunacy]

Percy Jackson on god we’re gonna get you a break bro

[fiapple]

lonely castle in the mirror appealing to my drop-out trauma… rude.

[i-am-a-bad-influence-writes]

P*rn ☆  Introduction

Masterlist Word count: 1 k Sylus x Fem!Reader

Summary: You have been following a spicy content creator by the name of Red Crow for some time now. Nothing could’ve prepared you for what would happen when he moves into the apartment next door.

Warning! This story is meant for mature audiences. It contains sex, swear words, porn, smoking, intimate piercings, mentions of drugs, and other mature themes. Do not engage if you are under 18.

Mature content under the cut. This part is setup. No graphic content yet.

∘₊✧───────────────────────────────────────✧₊∘ 

It's been fucking years! Not by your choice. No, not at all. You just hadn't had the time or the energy, but God do you crave it. It hadn't really bothered you the first year. You had gone on dates regularly, but despite your love for intimacy you need a certain level of connection before you lay down and take it. Sure, you had a few nice connections but no one that managed to turn you on. 

Not like he does. 

Ever since your regular booty call called it off, you started watching some adult content. At first nothing really seemed to call to you. You were flipflopping from category to category as if you were flipping through a magazine, leaving you high and dancing on the edge of full gratification every single time. Sure, you came but it never felt that great. 

Then you found him. 

Tall as a fucking mountain, grey hair, red eyes, sly smile, toned body, strong nose that's ever so slightly crooked. You even remember the little scar under his left eye. But what does it for you, most of all, is his voice. Low and gravely, constantly teasing and commanding. There's something more to it though. When he gets to the edge, it's almost as if he wants someone to take over and it fucking gets you going. Makes your panties go from bone dry to soaking wet in a matter of seconds. 

Worst of all, the man has a TikTok page and a Tumblr page. Neither are all that suggestive. The TikTok has some thirst traps and workout videos, but the Tumblr page is a different story. On there, he reads spicy romance books to his audience. He had tried it before on YouTube but got taken down real fast. Those books, the way his voice picks up and changes with the story. It's truly something magical. You'd almost consider it better content than the videos of him stroking his dick, though you don't mind that those exist at all. 

And today is Friday, which means he's posting a new chapter and there's a possibility of a new video on TikTok. Nothing too riveting but enough to get you going and keep you going for the weekend. You're looking at a long and satisfying weekend with your magic wand. Just one more hour until your shift is done. 

∘₊✧───────────────────────────────────────✧₊∘ 

'Again?!' Sylus’ voice booms through the living room of his apartment. If it were any louder, the walls would shiver. 'I was so fucking careful this time,' he says through gritted teeth. His hand has a strong grasp on his phone, almost snapping the thing in his fit of rage. 

"I don't know what to tell you man. Maybe someone followed you?" Kieran, the ever daft creator that makes spicy content with his friend Luke, tells him in the kindest voice he can must up. He knows just as well as Sylus that the man is impossibly popular. It all happened overnight just a year or two ago when he made a video humping a pillow and groaning praises to a nonexistant partner. Ever since then, he's been making content solo. It's doing much better than his partnered stuff used to.  

It also came with unwanted attention. Sylus lives for the praises and truly feral comments on his socials and spicy content, but this. This goes too far. It's the third time in as many years he's been doxed. If it were a stalked he could go to the police but it seems to be someone different each time. 

Sylus groans and runs a hand through his hair. 'I should move further away this time.' 

"That's the understatement of the century. Just be glad they haven't got your name yet." 

Yet. The word rings in Sylus’ head for a little longer than he would like it to. If those feral women and men got his name, he would never get any peace again. Sure, he was the one that decided to put his face in all those videos and that might've been stupid. It is stupid. Especially for someone who likes his privacy as much as Sylus does. 

"Oh, Luke just said he knows a place for you. He has a friend who owns an apartment ages away from your place. He's been looking for someone to lease it to." 

'I can trust this person?' 

"Yes, for sure. I know this guy too. He's some flamboyant artist that owns too many properties to keep track of who lives where." Sylus sighs, a rumble going through his chest. 

'Fine, get me the contact info.' 

∘₊✧───────────────────────────────────────✧₊∘ 

'You doing anything fun this weekend,' your friend and colleague Tara asks with a sweet smile. You almost spill and tell her, but she's far too pure to understand any of your desires. It'd be better to keep this friendship as wholesome as it is. 

'Nothing much. I don't have any plans for once. I'm probably going to binge that TV show you recommended.' 

'Oooh, tell me what you think about it,' she replies excitedly. At that moment, a car honks, and she looks up. Her lovely boyfriend is waiting for her in the car. 'See you soon,' she says with a quick wave and off she goes. The man even gets out of the car to open the passenger door for her. Such a nice man. He waves to you and you nod back. You know him a little, but he never comes along to any company events or dinners. If you're not mistaken, his name is Kieran. Nice guy. 

You make your way to your car and drive home. Traffic is terrible but uneventful. All you can think about is sitting down on the couch at home and listening to whatever Red Crow has cooked up this time. 

Next

[skay-ali]

The Forgotten Daughter

Chapter 1

You still clearly remember when you arrived at your new home  It was the biggest house you had been able to see in your short life.

When you got a better look, you felt a great sadness emanating from the outer walls, each space filled with a lifeless neutral color.

The owner of all the hallways, floors and valuable things, he was also a spitting image of melancholic, that was what you wanted to believe for a long time, that your new father was so damaged, that he couldn't afford to fix anyone else, besides him.

You took refuge in your room, the first days were full of tears and great sadness, you had not only lost your dear mother, but also your home, you ended up in an unknown place, with unknown people, you were miserably alone.  

Recovering a little from your depressed and lifeless state, you decided to seek comfort, whatever you could get, it didn't take a hug or sympathetic words, not even a minute of attention, just an empathetic look, a pat or some miserable affection.

Alfred, the butler, was the one who was in charge of taking care of you, he tried to give you the affection you needed, he was a father, while your real father continued to behave like an adult with no responsibilities at home, he was a sought-after bachelor with no children.

Seeing him and a new woman passing through the hallways hurt you a lot, not because of jealousy, you thanked all the divinities that your mother never stayed with your father, but rather because those women received more love and attention than the one you you had when you arrived at this house, of course they were only small one-night stands or fleeting relationships, but they still had your father's attention.

Some time passed, your father brought a boy, upon returning from one of his outings, you knew his secret that he was a superhero, you knew it from the day you saw him injured in the dining room chair while you were leaving with a tray of cookies you made with Alfred for their movie night. The point was that you never went out with your father, not even when he was in his role as a millionaire.

You thought that new boy was just your father's whim, to help someone in trouble, but he became your new brother, was that his way of helping?  

You tried to establish a friendly relationship with the boy, your new brother Dick Wayne, but he was so focused on his pain and hatred that he didn't even look at you at first, but with a little perseverance, you became his rock of support in his lowest moments together with Alfred, it's a shame that in trying to find his new path he left you behind.

Unlike you, your father did pay attention to him and looked at him, he was his son.  

He did the same with his next two adopted children, Jason, the brother you were able to get along with the most, he told you a lot about the adventures he had or the books he finished reading, he was like a little child next to you. Until he died. It was sad, not seeing him anymore. It depressed you for a long time.

After Jason, Tim followed, he was a very closed child with you, he didn't give you an ounce of his attention, just an unfriendly face.

You only had these little descriptions of your siblings, not that you knew much about them, you never dug deep into their past, you tried to be a good big sister. 

When the third child arrived you had already graduated and managed to enter a university very far away from Gotham City.

You packed your bags, said goodbye to the only person who was your family in this house and went to form your new life.

You didn't expect that a few years later, while you were preparing dinner with one of your best friends, he would tell you that you have a person at the door looking for you. 

 Less see a child who was the same carbon copy of your father.

"Well... What brings you here?"

The boy's raised eyebrow told you how bad you were starting the conversation, but in your defense you didn't know what to do, you were full of nerves, leaving the boy outside your house was not an option, it was at night and it was dangerous.

"I am Damian Wayne, the first blood son of Bruce Wayne, a true Wayne" what great arrogance this boy possessed.

"I came to this place to look for the first girl my father adopted"

"You know we are half-brothers from what I understand your speech." 

His look full of anger and indignation showed that he did not like your words.

"YOU…"

He was ready to get up when some whimpers stopped him.

"Excuse me for a moment if" you left the room and ran to the cause of the whining.

Damian was regretting having come to this place just with the goal of meeting a girl, Alfred had made her sound like someone great, but seeing her for the first time disappointed him, you weren't even half as good as his other brothers, that It meant you couldn't even reach his heels. But still there was something that stopped him from leaving when he saw you, your kind way of receiving him, how you treated him as kindly as possible without you knowing him.

He got very angry when you named him an equal, his half-sister, he didn't like that title, he was ready to start a fight and teach you a lesson, but some whining stopped him from continuing.

Seeing you return to the living room with a baby in your arms baffled him, maybe you had a son.

He watched you sit down, you rocked the baby lovingly and you hummed a song to him.

"This is Alice, she's my little princess" you smiled as you showed her to the boy.

If your little adventure with the stranger who joked about being a hero ended with the origin of your cute baby, you became a new version of your mother.

Your new half-brother focused a lot on watching the girl.

"Now, as I understand it, you were looking for me because you wanted to meet me, right?"  

"No, of course not, I just wanted to know who the girl Alfred always talked about was."

"It's not the same as what I said"

It seems that you provoked the boy, when you saw him go towards the door.

"Hey why don't you stay to eat" you stopped the boy, if you weren't already over this family.    

You got up with your baby and carefully placed her in the child's arms.

"Here, load it up, I'll put the plates for dinner."

  You went to the kitchen and the boy quickly followed you with the baby.

"I'm not your babysitter to take care of your daughter," he complained.

"No, of course you're not her babysitter, you're her dear uncle" I smiled at how adorable they looked "Look, it seems like she adores you, she almost never likes to leave my side and cries when someone else picks her up."

There were a few more complaints from the boy, but you saw that your words made him proud and made him play with the baby in his arms.

If the yandere family has not yet appeared, it will first start from the smallest, the indirect cause that all the others are yanderes, maybe??? an attempted introduction to what ___'s life was like in the mansion and his relationship with his first 3 brothers and a comforting scene with one of the brothers. I hope you like this attempt at a story, I'm still thinking of more ideas for drama and anguish and who could be the baby's father and new yandere

@kore-of-the-underworld @vanessa-boo @jsprien213

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

I've mentioned this in passing in this post, but this is hands down my favourite line in The Fellowship of the Ring. The line speaks volumes about Glorfindel, and yet the details are easily missed by a first-time reader travelling along with Frodo and friends, and that's because not once does Glorfindel explain how significant his words and actions were. Yet there is so much to unpack! It is only left to us to appreciate them after learning more about this world.

“There are few even in Rivendell that can ride openly against the Nine…”

Again, Glorfindel only mentioned this in passing and did not explain, but the reason for this is because the only ones Rivendell would send to ride openly against the Nazgûl were special members of the Eldar: the Calaquendi, old Elves from Valinor and who have seen the light of the Two Trees. Gandalf later explains that these Elves “live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and Unseen they have great power”. The Nazgûl, as we learn, were wraiths that reside only in the Unseen world, and so to anyone else, they were invisible.

We know there were very few Calaquendi remaining in Middle-earth by the Third Age, and most of them reside in Rivendell. But even among them, likely only the warriors could be sent to go after the Nagzûl, chief of Sauron's servants. This early, we get a clue that Frodo and company have met someone extraordinary.

“It was my lot to take the Road…”

By “Road”, Glorfindel meant The Great East-West Road, an ancient road that cuts across Eriador from the Grey Havens to Rivendell and the Misty Mountains. This would have been the most perilous of the roads because it would have been the most obvious path passing through the Shire. Later, during the Council of Elrond, it would be mentioned that Sauron would be expecting the Ring to go from the Shire either to the Grey Havens or to Rivendell, both routes reached primarily via the Road.

It was to be expected therefore that this is the one path most guarded by the Enemy. Again, Glorfindel only mentions his task securing the Road in passing, but the fact that he got the most obvious and thus most perilous path speaks volumes of his ability and position in Rivendell. Only a few deemed able to ride openly against the Nine were sent out, and out of them, Glorfindel was the one sent to secure the most dangerous route. What ability and skill must this Elf have to be entrusted with such a task!

"I came to the Bridge of Mitheithel, and left a token there, nigh on seven days ago."

The Bridge of Mitheitel, or The Last Bridge, is the only way to cross the great River Hoarwell (Mitheitel) from Weathertop to Rivendell. Aragorn, as much as he could, avoided the Road, himself knowing the dangers possibly waiting for them there. Later though he tells the Hobbits, "I am afraid we must go back to the Road here for a while, [for we] have now come to the River Hoarwell... There is no way over it below its sources in the Ettenmoors, except by the Last Bridge on which the Road crosses."

Aragorn and the Hobbits therefore went to the Bridge dreading to encounter the Nazgûl, only to find it safe. Instead, Aragorn finds an elf-stone in the middle of the bridge, which gives him hope. We now learn that it was Glorfindel who left it there, for he has secured the Bridge, likely knowing how important it was to do so because unlike all other paths, this was the one path that Frodo and company would inevitably need to take. If the Enemy wanted to lay an ambush, they would have done so at the Bridge; strategically Glorfindel understood this, and coming after them at the Bridge was exactly what the company needed from him for them to stay safe.

“Three of the servants of Sauron were upon the Bridge, but they withdrew and I pursued them westward. I came also upon two others, but they turned away southward.”

Here once again is Glorfindel describing something incredible in the simplest of ways: the Nazgûl actually flee from him! Thus far in the book, the Nazgûl were the first source of terror for Frodo's company as well as for us, the readers, yet here Glorfindel was riding about with bells on his horse, not even trying to hide at all. He is the one hunting the Nazgûl and not the other way around, this was made very clear.

Glorfindel has been my favourite character from the start. He got me from their first meeting because he gave the Hobbits a sense of safety, even though they and we perhaps do not yet fully appreciate who he was and what he was capable of. As we read through the rest of the books, and even beyond through The Silmarillion, The Fall of Gondolin, The Peoples of Middle-earth and all these other books that share his history, I only learned to love him all the more. Years later, having read all these other books, I still sometimes just sit in awe thinking back on this first encounter in this first book, in the Fellowship of the Ring, about how Frodo and his friends met this seemingly humble Elf, who in actuality was literally an Elf of legend. Yet apparently one would not think it, encountering Glorfindel on the road.

[communistkenobi]

I’ve watched the first three Mission Impossible movies now and it’s crazy how they’re all completely different films from one another lol. which probably has to do with the fact that they all had radically different directors (Brian de Palma, John Woo, JJ Abrahams), but the only real consistent through line is Tom Cruise. Because even within the ten year time-span between their releases, the series is already unrecognisable from itself

The first one is a 1990s genre-defining heist spy movie and its concerns are very much rooted in the fact that the CIA is now basically this massive institutional leftover of the Cold War with many hanging threads that need to be dealt with (one of the main McGuffins being a list of names of undercover CIA agents scattered throughout ‘Eastern Europe’). When I first watched it I thought it was pretty good but not like great, but after having watched two of its sequels and thought about it some more I’m a lot more positive on it. The imagery of that movie is unforgettable, the highlight being the completely silent scene where Tom Cruise hangs from a wire in an all-white room trying desperately not to touch the floor. It’s crazy that de Palma directed this and Carrie and Scarface, all films with scenes permanently lodged into the cultural consciousness. And like it is a distinctly ‘cool’ movie, but not in the insane rabid jarhead post-9/11 action movie cool way, like there isn’t this fascistic military masculinity grafted onto it, its way more sleek genius spy guy shit. Anyway this one is really good.

The second movie is pretty bad and often barely comprehensible, like the scene-to-scene editing is hard to follow and the pacing is horrible. The experience of watching it is like watching Face-Off (another John Woo movie), like same weird ass vibe and editing except in this case the movie is boring and bad. Some of the stunts are pretty cool but they can’t really rise above the film they take place in. It’s also not a spy movie, it’s just a bad action movie. I feel like MI2’s biggest crime is trivialising Tom Cruise, like he has no presence or command in that film at all, he’s literally just a random guy with long hair. It’s insane the immediate drop in quality. This one is about a bio-engineered virus that the villains want to use to start a pandemic, but the concern feels very far away and immaterial ? Idk I really didn’t like this one

And then the third one is also just as bizarre because it looks and sounds and is written exactly like a Michael Bay film, down to the same vibrant ugly orange-blue colour palette and quippy dialogue and saccharine ending. And it’s also not a spy movie either lmao!!!! Like god the jump in representation of US intelligence agencies from 1996 to 2006 is staggering, it’s moved from using fantastical spy gadgets to very real military hardware and technology, only keeping the spy-magic tech in MI3 (like 3D printing the villain’s face as a mask disguise) because it was already established in the first one. And the action scenes are straightforwardly action scenes, shootouts with military helicopters and dodging precision drone strikes. Tom Cruise does an insane amount of running in this movie and it looks sooooo good, like there are so many long-ass shots of him just fucking booking it at full speed and that dude’s running form was made to be captured on film. But MI3 is like so deeply entrenched in Bush era catch-the-terrorists stuff, though somewhat offset by having Philip Seymour Hoffman as the main villain instead of like Al-Qaeda (although the main anxiety has still firmly shifted from a post-Soviet ‘Eastern Europe’ to a scary generalised terrorist ‘Middle East’). But again it feels so incredibly different in tone and fixation and motivation than the first film. 9/11 really did permanently break the brains of every USAmerican. Anyway I can’t wait to watch the next one

[notedchampagne]

What makes a tlt au work for you? Do u have any favourites out there/that you’ve thought of?

its hard because it can go down to the writing! i have a huge bias for things that put focus on the characters acting awful and driving the story forward- if a story has a plot thats great, but its the difference between "gideon and harrow keep meeting up at parties and fall a little bit in love every time" and "gideons angry she lost her childhood to the cult so she attends a party with the tridentarii to shotgun adolescent experiences, and harrowhark, frustrated that gideon is pulling on her metaphorical leash, follows to stalk her". the former retains a 5+1 fic format and is more bite-size, while the latter puts more focus into their growth as characters. im not great at articulating what i like specifically, but ill put my favorite fics below:

what if nona was dogs tugs at my heart: its post-canon, slice-of-life, and has a unique concept (said in the title). i judged a book by its cover because i thought the premise seemed too silly at first but ive been made a fool and its pet clown. it feels so true to nona the way its about all the things nona loves and how she gets to explore the world through new eyes. i love the way it explores characters softening up and getting hurt through a third person pov

we have always lived in the apartment by @thatneoncrisis i keep saying this but for the love of GOD guys this au is so good it makes me cry and feel such a deep catharsis from it. it takes gideon and harrow and the ninth as a cult and explores their struggle to adapt to a modern society when noone ever gets a break (WOW ITS JUST LIKE IN REAL L-). quinn writes the sides of griddlehark i think go overlooked in fanfic often: their codependency, their tendency to lash out when theyre defensive, their mutual paranoia and different coping mechanisms, harrows psychosis and gideons bitterness, their relationships to each other as being the only other person who really understands what the other suffered through. god. i feel lightheaded.

"but SAM, i dont like angst but i want to see this writing!" read gap between a tragedy and a comedy

"SAM, i also like when gideon and harrow are horrible because theyre maladjusted teenagers! but i want more antics where the characters drive things forward over angst!" read whats eating gideon nav

you just aint receiving is one of my FAVORITE modern aus of all time (and i heavily recommend the authors other fics as well!) if you really want to see how much i love this fic the fact that my comments take up the entire phone screen probably says a lot. its hard to put it concisely: it keeps harrows air of misanthropy and cruelty but redefines it as the result of her upbringing and personal struggle to live in a university while dealing with a backpack of mental illness and frustration. it changes gideons personality as the daughter of john gaius in a way that makes sense having her grow up with johns middling parenting skills and getting everything she ever wanted (connecting it back to kirionas personality in ntn!). it brings in side characters (specially palamedes. my beautiful boy palamedes) in ways that compliment harrow and gideon but not so obviously that they only exist to be supports. they have their own lives and ideals. its a modern au that brings in the boiling politics of johns cult uprising once again in a really novel way

semi charmed kinda life by @griddlebait. jesuchristo and all his middle names this fic is GREAT for you if you want a slice of life, coming of age type modern au that explores what its like for gideon and harrow if they actually got the space to see who theyd become outside of the stifling fate tlt has for them. as far as modern aus go im usually very hesitant to read them because im afraid modernizing the characters takes features away from their core but i really love and respect the way the author treats the 69ers with care and draws distinct lines that shows me how their grow and change while keeping a line to the anchor. also they write HIDEOUS (complimentary) PINING. DISGUSTING. some of these chapters were so chock full of dyke drama that they made me nauseous and whimsical. i think once a friend said this fic felt like if gh could be reincarnated and i like that descriptor a lot

til the cows come home is another postcanon fic that made me feel sick and crybabyish about it- i would definitely recommend it if you want to explore a happier ending with griddlehark! with this and what if nona was dogs the thing i like most about them is that they mix up vulnerability with pain and fear, so it feels more lifelike that way if that makes sense. i lost my taste in fluff fics over time but when its interspersed with struggle and characters causing problems because they cant cope with themselves it feels much more earnest and raw

this became very long. im not sorry

[captainmalewriter]

Freak Accidents

Seth woke up in an incredibly good mood. Today was the big day and he knew it. He practically jumped out of bed as soon as he heard his phone alarm go off for 7 in the morning. Seth walked to his bedroom door, opened it slightly, and stuck his ear in the crack. He waited for a moment, listening, but as far as he could tell, the house was almost completely silent. The only noise he could just barely make out was the sound of his tío Ronnie sleeping down the hallway. Seth smiled, then closed his door again. Seth then opened the closet and pulled out a leather bound book he had stashed in the back. The book was called the Tonis Maximus. It was in tatters, ready to fall apart at any second, but he made extra sure to keep it safe. 

The Tonis wasn’t like any other old, beaten down book. While it seemed to be nothing special on the outside, it actually held a plethora of magical knowledge on the inside. Seth was able to get hands on it thanks to his job at the city library. The book was just sitting in the library archives along with all the other books nobody's checked out in years. It was dismissed as being just another collection of old myths and folklore. Nobody knew the great power the Tonis contained, nobody except Seth. He was digging around in the archives one day when he stumbled upon the book. Out of pure boredom, he decided to read a page or two out of the Tonis. From the moment he first laid eyes on it, a world full of supernatural phenomena was opened up to Seth. Realizing what kind of power the book contained, Seth decided to smuggle the Tonis out of the library and keep it all for himself. 

Since he first obtained the book several years ago, Seth has been studying up on its magical content. He’s tried his hand at turning objects into gold through alchemy, predict the future through clairvoyance, and he’s even communicated with souls of the dead! Although Seth was very limited in what he could do (casting magic was very draining on the body after all), he was still on his way to becoming a proper witch. And the best part? Nobody except Seth knew about the Tonis!

Seth sat on his bed and he opened the Tonis to a page he had bookmarked. The bookmarked page contained instructions for the latest ritual Seth wanted to master. Body possession. 

Seth read through the directions, then took off his clothes just as the book said to do. He then pulled out his phone and recorded a quick video of himself.

“Alright, Seth here, I’ll be attempting the body possession spell again. Hopefully the third time’s the charm, but even if it fails again, I’ll just try again until I get it right. I’m staying at my uncle’s place in Mexico for the summer, so I got plenty of time to perfect this spell. Wish me luck!”

Seth finished recording his self-documentary and put away his phone. He paused for a moment to reflect on his previous attempts. The first time he used the spell was when he tried to possess his neighbor back home. While he managed to get inside his body, the bodybuilder had no problem expelling his soul right out through sheer willpower. The second attempt was no better. He used it to possess his old high school principal, but although he got inside his body, he couldn’t move at all! Seth was starting to grow impatient after having back to back failures. He wanted to get it right this time, and with tío Ronnie on standby, he was sure he’ll nail it down in no time!

Seth placed his hand on his doorknob and took a deep breath. He then mentally reviewed the ritual procedure one last time; first, get naked, next, find a vulnerable target, then, recite the incantation, and last, push your way into their body! It was a simple 4 step process, all Seth needed now was more practice in executing it. He hyped himself then stepped out of his bedroom, only to be mortified when he saw his tío Ronnie sitting on his bed. He was still visibly sleepy, but now he had a clear view of Seth in his underwear.

“Seth?” Ronnie said in a low, groggy voice. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I- uhh…” Seth didn’t know what to say. He didn’t prepare for this scenario. His eyes darted around the hallway while he searched for an answer. “I was… I was on my way to the bathroom! Yeah, I just really needed to pee!!” 

“Dude,” Ronnie winced. “No need to yell, I’m right here. That’s cool, but why are you just in your underwear though? You never do that.”

“Uhhh…” Seth was scrambling again. He could hear his heartbeat getting louder with each passing second. He felt as if no matter what he said, Ronnie would be able to see right through him! “I, um, well-”

“You know what, Sobrino, save it.” Ronnie yawned as he threw himself back on his bed. “It’s too early for this. You do you, but just let me sleep a little while longer, okay?” 

“Y-yes! Goodnight Tío!!” 

Seth hurried into the bathroom and forced himself to pee just like he said he would. He sighed a breath of relief, not because he actually needed to go, but because he was so sure he was about to get caught performing magic. Thankfully, Ronnie’s inability to care about anything kicked in and saved the day. But even though Seth got scared shitless almost getting caught, it wasn’t enough to stop him from his mission! All he needed to do was wait a little bit for Ronnie to fall back asleep, then he could try again.

Seth went back inside his bedroom while he waited Ronnie out. Nearly a full hour had passed before Seth decided it was safe enough to try again. He crept into Ronnie's room and surely enough, he was sound asleep. Seth couldn’t help but grin as he watched Ronnie’s chest rise and fall with every snore. He took off his underwear, ready to attempt the body possession spell for the third time. 

He started by reciting the incantation from the Tonis out loud. As soon as he finished reciting the last word, a wave of nausea overtook Seth. Seth was ready for the lightheadedness to hit him like a truck, but no amount of anticipation could prepare him for how sudden it was. He nearly fell over, head throbbing with pain, but Seth was determined to see the spell through to the end. 

Hand pressing against his temple, Seth forced himself to stumble over to Ronnie. He then laid his nude body on top of Ronnie as carefully as he could. Seth was able to get on top of Ronnie without waking him up, and although it wasn’t his first time getting on top of a man or possessing someone’s body, Seth wasn’t prepared for how intimate it was. He could feel his junk resting on top of Ronnie’s. The thought of them touching dicks was enough for Seth to start getting hard, but he forced himself to shake off the bad thoughts and focus on his real goal. 

Alright… 1… 2… 3, now!!

Seth started pressing his body against Ronnie’s sleeping body. He knew if he wanted the body possession spell to activate, then he would have to push with everything he’s got! Magic never worked with half-assed effort after all. He pushed and pushed until finally- he could feel himself sinking into Ronnie. It began with his legs and feet. Suddenly, the feeling of Ronnie’s thick leg hair pressing against Seth’s smooth legs was gone. In its place, Seth felt his legs become consumed and enveloped by Ronnie’s thick legs. His feet aligned with Ronnie’s feet like a pair of well-fitting socks, then they began growing and stretching to match their new form. The rest of Seth’s lower half followed suit. His cock and balls slid inside Ronnie’s groin. Seth stifled a moan as it happened. The feeling of his cock slipping into Ronnie’s member like a personal dick sleeve made a rush of pleasure surge through him. That feeling only grew as his dick grew bigger and fatter until he had an identical member to his uncle’s girthy cock. Within seconds, the lower halves of their bodies had fully aligned with another. Seth tried wiggling his hips, and surely enough, he made Ronnie’s hips wiggle around. He could even start to feel the bedsheets underneath Ronnie’s/his ass. The body possession was going well so far. 

“Nrghh…” Ronnie murmured. Seth’s eyes shot open. It seemed like Ronnie was waking up, so he knew he had to hurry up and possess him before it was too late. 

Seth’s torso was pressing against Ronnie’s thick, hairy belly and chest. With some more pushing. Seth could feel his body go past physical limitations and slip inside its new vessel. Seth’s presence inside of Ronnie’s body grew with each passing second. He could feel Ronnie’s body heat combine and become his own. Their arms, chest, and gut aligned perfectly as Seth inserted himself in. His body then once again started growing. Seth’s thin frame was rapidly taking on extra body mass. He grew bigger until he had the same bulky build his uncle Ronnie had.

“Ahh fuck!” Seth accidentally squealed out loud. He couldn’t contain himself anymore after all the warm, body stimulation from transforming and possessing Ronnie. Only his head was left. While the rest of his body was already deep inside of Ronnie, his head was sticking out just above Ronnie’s chest.

“Hrm? What the-” 

Ronnie heard Seth’s outburst and lifted his head. Seth saw he was waking up and wasted no time slamming his head into his. He phased right through. The impact made Ronnie lay back again. He then let out a loud, guttural moan that echoed throughout the house. Except it wasn’t Ronnie groaning, it was Seth using his newly obtained voice after a successful body takeover. He had done it. Ronnie’s body was officially his.

“IT WORKED! IT ACTUALLY FUCKING WORKED!!”

Seth was ecstatic. Not only was he able to enter someone else’s body, he was actually able to move around this time! The body possession spell worked! 

He jumped out of bed bursting with excitement, although he nearly fell over due to almost losing his balance. He immediately felt the difference in body weight between his body versus Ronnie’s body once he was on his feet. Seth took a moment to let himself get used to moving around with a bulkier body, then walked up to the mirror to admire himself. 

“Whewww… Looking good, Tío Ronnie… Or should I say, me?” 

Seth chuckled. He ran his hand across his face, letting his fingers stroke against the fine beard hairs he now possessed. Seth always shaved off his facial hair before it could fully grow in. He was amazed how it felt to have an actual beard on his face.

Seth looked down and smirked as he saw Ronnie’s body instead of his own. He laid a hand against his new hairy belly and gave it a shake. Seth was always a skinny twink, so to actually have a gut was a new experience for him (and one he was actively enjoying). He ran his hands up his torso, stopping at his chest to cup his squishy pecs. He then tried flexing his chest muscles and watched as he managed to get each pec to bounce up a little. Ronnie wasn’t a couch potato by any means, but also he wasn’t a full fledged gym rat either. The end result of being somewhere in between led to him having a larger, bulkier build with some muscle behind the girth. It was definitely a different body type than what Seth was used to, but it was one he was actively enjoying as he stripped down naked and continued admiring the newly possessed goods he now had thanks to the magic book.

After he had successfully possessed his Tío Ronnie, Seth decided to keep practicing the body possession spell until he decided he had mastered it. He decided to step it up and try possessing a police officer the following day. Unfortunately, while Seth was able to sneak his way into the cop’s body, he was unable to take control over him. Seth was trapped as a mere passenger inside the cop’s body as he went about his day like normal. 

Seth had no idea what he was doing wrong. After failing to fully possess the police officer, Seth decided to try possessing Ronnie again. Surely enough, he was able to slip inside Ronnie and take control like it was nothing. Why was Seth able to possess his Tío Ronnie but not anybody else? None of the other spells in the Tonis gave Seth this much trouble! It was certainly an intriguing problem, and it was one Seth would have to solve alone. He had to keep his magical activities a secret; after all, who knows what would happen if someone found out… 

Over the course of the next few weeks, Seth focused most of his time and energy on figuring out how to master the body possession spell. He decided to try possessing a variety of men first. Although Seth’s actions were pretty limited due to the fact he had to be naked in order to perform the spell, he was still able to possess a dad, a bear, and another twink just like him. He wanted to see if it was a matter of a specific body type. But it was no use. No matter who he possessed, Seth just wasn’t able to take control over their bodies. Yet, despite all those failures, Seth was still able to possess Ronnie without a single problem! 

Seth was getting pretty frustrated. He just couldn’t figure out why he could possess Ronnie but not anyone else! Against his better judgment, Seth decided to entertain the possibility that the spell was limited to familial members only. However, even when he tried possessing one of his cousins, he still couldn’t possess them! Seth was truly stumbled, but even so, he refused to give up. He refused to accept that there was a magic spell he could not fully master.

Seth’s next action plan was to go all in with possessing his Tío Ronnie. He figured if he can’t fight against the current, he might as well swim with the current instead. Seth started possessing and staying inside of Ronnie’s for longer periods of time whenever he hopped into him. At first it was just overnight, but then it grew to a day, then two days and so on. Ronnie had mentioned to Seth that he began to feel weird. He couldn’t articulate the strange feeling very well, but he said felt as though he had become a bystander in his own life. Seth reassured him that it was nothing, that it was probably just the summer heat getting to him. Ronnie bought it, and Seth was glad he could keep possessing him without much worry. He needed to! Seth’s rationale was that if he could get accustomed to controlling a body that wasn’t his own for an extended period of time, then maybe he could use that experience to take over other bodies. Practice makes perfect, or so the saying goes anyway. 

Seth continued practicing the spell on Ronnie regularly. It had gotten to the point where Seth didn’t even need to check the Tonis for the lengthy cantation anymore. He already had it committed to memory with how many times he used it! Seth’s next goal was to possess Ronnie’s body for two weeks straight. After so much time possessing Ronnie, Seth considered it his second home away from home. There was almost nothing Seth could do with his body that he hadn’t already tried doing with Ronnie’s body. He was that comfortable now. 

The sun was setting on his 14th day as Seth came out of the gym, drenched with sweat after a good workout. Seth sat in the car and let out a heavy breath as he waited a minute to let himself cool down. Ronnie was a heavy sweater, way more than Seth was. And with all the body hair he had, the sweat would bead up and drip off of his hair whenever he worked out. Although it was an adjustment at first, Seth grew to love it. He never realized how good his uncle’s body odor smelled. He had a naturally manly musk that was incredibly potent and intoxicating to sniff. Seth couldn’t help but sniff his own armpits after he got all sweaty. He loved his scent, and he loved watching as drips of sweat hung off of the forest of hair he had in his pits.

Seth intended to just take a quick sniff of his pits before driving back home, but he was getting too entranced by his own sweaty aroma. The tent forming in his mesh shorts was undeniable proof that he was into it too! Seth paused and looked down to see his protruding bulge. He shouldn’t be this aroused, but he knew he was the reason why he was already hard with just smelling his own sweaty pits. 

When Seth first challenged himself to possess Ronnie for 14 continuous days, he also swore to himself to not do anything sexual while inside his body. He was able to get by the two weeks without much difficulty. But of course, that also meant he was holding a 14 day load in. No doubt his body was itching for some relief, and although Seth was ready to just power through the last day, he couldn’t help but stare at the large, obscene bulge in his shorts. Against his better judgment, Seth let one of his hands slither down his body until it reached his bulge. His fingers wrapped around his rock hard member and gave it a light tug through the mesh fabric of his shorts. It was nothing more than a quick rub, but it was enough to get Seth squirming in his carseat as the warm pleasure of rubbing his sensitive, erect dick began to kick in. It was no use, he had to get off and he had to do it now!

Seth practically ripped his shorts with how quickly he took them off. His cock sprang out as it was released from its clothing imprisonment. Seth looked at his uncle’s fat cock with wonder as it stood upright in its full glory right in front of him. He was jealous that Ronnie had a view like this everytime he jerked off. Seth grinned as he wrapped his calloused palm around his new dick, fully relishing the fact that it was his turn to tug on that girthy member now. 

His breath became bated as he pumped himself. Seth threw his head back and let out several guttural moans from deep within his lungs. 

“Fuck yeah… You like that…? You fucking dirty bitch, yeah you like that huh…”

Seth kept talking dirty in between groaning and panting like a wild animal in heat. He loved using his uncle’s deep voice and heavy Mexican accent to talk dirty. Just hearing Ronnie’s voice come out of his mouth while he jerked off made his throbbing dick leak with precum. His thick, hairy thighs became soaked with precum and sweat as he increased the speed of his strokes. He had all the car windows closed and the AC off. In cutting off the air flow, it quickly became very warm in the car. Seth’s stolen body started sweating again, which in turn, made his sweaty musk come back. He grunted as he sniffed his pits, fueling his mind with an ecstasy-like sensation through the power of smell. 

“Arghh, fuckk…!”

Seth couldn’t last much longer. He was getting close. He picked up his stroking speed and within the next minute, ropes of warm cum shot out of him. Seth bellowed his moans as the endorphins rushed throughout his body. His fat cock was like a water gun as it shot load after load of sticky cum until both his body and the car was covered in jizz. Seth was red in the face and out of breath by the time he fully finished. After all the time and energy he put into researching the body possession spell and while trying to stay abstinent too, a good jerk off session was very much needed! But although Seth got the relief he didn’t realize he was desperately needing, his intense self-pleasure session caused the already finicky spell to act up again. Before Seth could even react, he was ejected out of Ronnie’s body. The sharp pain of getting literally torn out of Ronnie was overwhelming. Seth blacked out as a result.

…When Seth came to, he found himself lying on his bed. He looked around his room, letting the comfort of a familiar place ease his mind while he got his bearing together again. He had some mild body pain, but nothing he couldn’t manage. Seth was grateful that he came out relatively unharmed after a freak accident like that. 

He sat up in bed and realized he was wearing shorts now. Seth wasn’t sure how he got clothed or how he even got back home, but then he found a note on the ground with answers to his questions. It read: “Found you knocked out so I carried you to your bed. I also put on some clothes so you weren’t naked. Don’t go out drinking so much if you can’t handle it. Rest up, I’ll see you soon,” signed by Ronnie. 

Seth let out a heavy exhale after reading the note. He was horrified at the thought of his uncle finding him naked and passed out somewhere. However, as far as he could tell by the note, it seemed like Ronnie was still not the wiser about what his nephew has been up to lately. Seth could rest a little bit easier knowing his secret was still safe.

Seth picked up his phone, which was right next to the note on the ground. He unlocked it and checked the time. Apparently, a full 24 hours had passed since Seth was forcibly removed from Ronnie’s body. He wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but he figured it must’ve been pretty bad if it knocked him out cold for an entire day! 

Seth wanted to spend the rest of the day resting, but then his mind began abuzz with thoughts. He walked over to his door and peeked out of it, where he then saw Ronnie taking a midday nap down the hallway. The sight of his sleeping tío made the urge to possess him kick in. Seth’s initial thought was to just let both him and Ronnie rest before he tries casting magic again. But then the memory of the freak accident came back. Seth had magic accidents before, but they were never to that extent. The more he thought about it, the more he worried that he might have lost the power to possess people due to the accident. His mind became restless worrying about it. Seth wanted to ignore it, but he just couldn’t. He needed to know if he had lost his casting abilities for good or not.

“Okay… Just one quick possession…” Seth whispered to himself. “I just need to check if I can still possess people. Just five minutes, then I hop out and rest…”

Seth repeated his plan to himself multiple times. He knew this was probably the riskiest thing he had done with magic thus far, but with how great his anxiety was becoming, it quickly became his only option in his mind. Once he reassured himself enough, Seth took the first step towards his tío’s bedroom. It should be simple, just a quick in n out. He had already possessed Ronnie so many times after all, it should be easy enough. It should’ve been. But when Seth stepped into Ronnie’s bedroom, he was nowhere to be found. Seth tried looking for him but he couldn’t find him anywhere. It was like he had disappeared from the house!

“Maybe it’s for the best… I’ve been getting too reckless with magic anyway…” Seth mumbled as he walked back to his bedroom with his head dangling with defeat. He stepped back into his room and closed his eyes to take some deep breaths. However, just as he stood in the middle of his room, his door was slammed shut and standing in front of it was Tío Ronnie.

“Looking for someone, Sobrino?”

Seth felt his heart drop into his stomach when he heard Ronnie’s voice. He turned his head slowly and was met with Ronnie’s staring daggers into him. Seth swallowed his breath. The air in the room had become nauseatingly tense. He wanted to get out of there, but with Ronnie standing right in front of the door, chances of escape were slim to none.

“Um… Hi, Tío…” Seth said meekly.

“Hey. Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

“Hm? N-No, I don’t think so…”

“Really. What’s this then?” 

Ronnie reached for something in his back pocket. He pulled it out and threw it onto the ground right in front of Seth. Seth’s eyes nearly jumped out of his head when he saw the Tonis Maximus. His breathing became shorter and labored. He knew more likely than not that he had been caught.

“Uhh what is that?” Seth feigned a laugh. Ronnie shook his head and took a step forward.

“Drop the act, it’s not cute. You’ve been acting weird ever since you got here back in July. At first I just ignored it, figured you just needed some time to get used to living here. But you never did. You just kept acting weirder and more secretive, almost like you were paranoid about something. Meanwhile, I started feeling weird too. I would wake up with body aches and random bruises, even when I don’t remember doing anything that would cause that. But I figured these two things just couldn’t be connected. Right, Seth?”

“But I was wrong, they were all connected. What really set me off was when I woke up in my car sweaty, naked, and covered in my own cum. How the fuck did I end up like that? Why would I end up like that? None of it made sense! But then when I got home, I found you passed out and naked in the backyard. I can handle one or two strange, out of the ordinary things happening, but this many? Nah. I can’t ignore that, I needed answers. And so, while you were passed out, I decided to snoop around your room for a bit. And surely enough, I found the one missing piece to the puzzle I needed tucked away in my beloved nephew’s clothes.” 

Ronnie pointed to the Tonis laying on the ground. Seth felt a cold shiver run down his spine, but remained quiet. 

“I’m not stupid, Seth. I know you’ve been using magic to take over my body. I couldn’t believe it at first- Hell, I didn’t want to believe it! But it’s the only thing that explains everything that’s been going on in this house ever since you arrived.”

“Wh-Wh-What are you going t-to do with me…?” Seth finally spoke up, albeit with a shaky voice.

“I’m glad you asked,” Ronnie smirked. He then got closer to Seth while taking off his clothes. Seth took a step back, but froze with sheer panic when he heard Ronnie recite the body possession spell. “Now it’s my turn to have some fun! You don’t mind, right? It’s only fair, after everything you’ve done…”

Ronnie charged at Seth. Seth was able to sidestep him, but as he ran for the door, Ronnie grabbed onto him and slammed him face first onto the bed. Seth got the wind knocked out of him, and even though he struggled to break free, Ronnie had him firmly pinned down. It was no use, he had lost.

“Alright! Now all I gotta do is enter you right!?” Ronnie yelled. Seth could feel something long and hard rubbing against his ass and knew immediately there had been a misunderstanding.

“Wait! You’re not supposed to literat- AH FUCK!!”

Seth was too late. He shouted out in pain as Ronnie shoved his fat cock into him with little to no warning. Ronnie then started to thrust his hips into Seth while keeping him pinned onto the bed.

He was pounding away at Seth’s ass like an angry jackhammer. Seth could feel the weight of his big and strong uncle laying on top of him as he fucked him. The hair on Ronnie’s chest and stomach felt good brushing against his back while he thrusted into him. Seth was a well experienced bottom. If he wanted to have a good time, he knew not just any random top could get the job done. But with Ronnie’s girthy cock filling him up and his aggressive hip-thrusting rhythm, Seth found himself in heaven as Ronnie fucked him like a personal sex toy.

“Ah! Nrghhh… Fuck! Ahh!!”

“C’mon, open up that ass for me!”

Ronnie had Seth in a tight bear hug as he fucked him. Seth could feel his uncle really laying out all his body weight on top of him. Then, it happened. Seth’s moans grew louder and more intense as he began to feel his uncle phasing into his body. It was only his asshole at first, but then his entire body started getting filled up with the warm presence of a man as he got possessed. However, Seth was a much thinner man compared to Ronnie.

“Fuck…! Fuckk…! FUCKKKK!!! AHHH!!!” Seth cried out. He could feel his body getting stuffed to its physical limits as Ronnie pushed his bulky body into his twink body. Seth felt as if his skin was about to burst open with how full he was. But luckily for him, Ronnie was able to get inside of him without severely injuring him. However, although Ronnie had fully inserted himself into Seth, he was unable to control Seth’s body. The body possession was a failure. But to add insult to injury, Seth couldn’t move his own body either because he had become too bloated to move! It took several minutes but eventually Seth’s body was able to return to normal once it was able to adjust for all the extra body mass it had taken on. Seth was able to move like normal again, although thanks to Ronnie, he was no longer the same skinny twink as before. He had grown to match Ronnie’s body type.

“Man! I look pretty good!” Seth said out loud. His voice had dropped several octaves in pitch. He wasn’t sure exactly what was happening- the body possession spell was clearly too unstable to follow any logic, but at least this time, Seth was enjoying the results!

Hey! What the fuck!? Why can’t I move! I want to possess you! Not just sit in here!!

Seth could hear his uncle’s voice inside his mind. He felt an itch in his head for a brief moment, but then it disappeared. But then Seth felt a sudden, burning sensation in his chest. It made him kneel over with pain. He felt as if every fiber of his existence was getting pulled and tugged on!

“Hey!! What are you doing!?” Seth shouted out in pain.

I’m going even deeper!! I’m gonna possess you no matter what, even if it means I have to take over your soul!!

Seth’s mind went into full panic mode. He wanted to scream, he wanted to shout at Ronnie to stop. He was going to depths even he had never explored with magic! There was no telling what was going to happen, but so long as Ronnie was inside of Seth, there was nothing Seth could do but endure it…

Seth was gasping for breath as he felt a cold wave flow over his body. The icy sensation began in his heart then spread throughout the rest of his body. No doubt Ronnie had made it inside of his soul by now. All of the major muscle groups in his body inflated with body mass. His chest filled in with firm pecs, his bicep and leg muscles became toned, his ass grew larger and well rounded. Hair began to sprout on every square inch of his body. At first, his hairy body resembled Ronnie’s, but the hair growth didn’t stop there. Arms, legs, pits, ass, pubic, beard, everywhere on Seth’s body had become a jungle of thick, black hair, far surpassing Ronnie’s body hair! 

Seth groaned as he felt his cock stretching and growing. His cock thickened until he had the same hung, fat dick as his uncle. It grew out into an impressive 6.5 inches with some heavy girth to boot. His hairy balls hung lower than before as they began producing cum and testosterone en masse. By the time Ronnie finished possessing Seth’s soul, Seth had become completely unrecognizable. Seth and Ronnie had merged together to form a new man due to the soul possession that had taken place. The soul possession had taken traits from the 20 year old and 38 year old and combined them together to create the new 29 year old Ignacio.

Seth was breathing heavily as all of the bodily sensations he was experiencing began to subside. His vision grew blurry, but never recovered. Seth closed his eyes, panting for breath, and passed out on the ground.

Days had passed since Seth and Ronnie fused together. After the fourth day of being unconscious, the newly formed Ignacio woke up with groggy eyes. He picked himself up and let out a guttural yawn that nearly shook the house walls. He scratched his chest as he stretched, his fingers getting caught occasionally due to how thick his curly chest hair was. 

“Man… What the fuck happened to me…” Ignacio thought out loud. His voice had a baritone pitch and a heavy Mexican accent. Ignacio looked around and spotted a phone on the ground. He picked it up and opened the gallery through the quick start camera shortcut. The first thing on the phone gallery was a video of some shirtless young man recording himself. Ignacio played the video. 

“Alright, Seth here, I’ll be attempting the body possession spell again. Hopefully the third time’s-”

Ignacio grew bored of the video and deleted it. He had no idea who Seth was or what he was talking about, and didn’t care enough to find out. Instead, he cleared out the phone entirely and claimed it for himself.

While cleaning up the room, Ignacio found a book titled Tonis Maximus. However, he couldn’t make sense of any of the writing inside. So he tore it apart and threw it into the fire pit, ready to burn at some point. 

Ignacio then proceeded to take a shower to get ready for the day. It was a big day after all, his brothers and sisters were supposed to fly in from the States later that day. Ignacio smiled thinking about his beloved nephews and nieces. He was sure they were just as excited to see Tío Ignacio as he was to see them. 

Ignacio hurried to get dressed and make his way to the airport asap. He was completely oblivious to all the reality-altering magic that made his existence possible, and with the Tonis Maximus destroyed, there was no turning back. Not that Ignacio really minded it; after all, he was living the easy life in his little city in Mexico, fucking men on the downlow and overjoyed whenever his family visited him. Life was as good as it could be now that magic was out of picture, permanently. 

[eelclaw]

okay new arc... my thoughts.

leafstar:

leafstar was one of my favorite characters as a kid, but not because of anything she actually did. i liked her graphic novels, but only mostly because i was delighted by sol being a pathetic girlfailure.

also my copy of skyclan's destiny was misprinted and had pages out of order, and i loved having a fucked up book.

i liked her in firestar's quest, but... she's done nothing in every book since.

sharpclaw pushes her around in skyclan's destiny, then tells her he was just challenging her to make her a more confident leader. nothing comes out of this.

she's worried about female leaders not being allowed to have kits and about inviting daylight warriors into the clan, and it would've been great to just skip these plotlines entirely. skyclan had a chance to be a different kind of clan, a breath of fresh air from the shit we normally read about, and they didn't take it.

in ravenpaw's farewell she decides that skyclan hates outsiders. then ravenpaw proves her wrong by helping chase out some rogues that skyclan somehow couldn't chase out on their own, so she changes her mind, but only enough to take in bella and riley.

the general back-and-forth and nothing getting done in avos, tbc, and asc just annoys me.

her going blind is actually pretty interesting, but it needs to be handled well, and it's not going to be.

she's pretty old at this point, so i hope she dies, but the kid in me still hopes she gets an awesome death.

tawnypelt:

the way she's treated in avos and in her novella is incredibly uninteresting.

her clanmates don't take her seriously because of how closely she was associated with rowanstar. that's cool! that's interesting! but how long has it been since avos? she's far and away proved herself to be a valuable member of shadowclan.

the "kids these days" plotline is so fucking frustrating, i don't want it to come back.

i thought her novella had a nice conclusion. she accepted that her lost loved ones were lost, and that she could not go back to the way things were, but she could keep moving forward, and she would see her family in starclan some day. from the blurb, this conclusion is going to be completely trampled.

i'm also sick of tigerheartstar changing every book, just to drive whatever the current mess of a plot is.

moonpaw:

not many thoughts. betting her parents are nightheart and sunbeam.

hoping she's distinct from frostpaw and shadowsight. i can't take a third one.

it would be interesting if nightheart dies before she's born, paralleling larksong dying before nightheart was born. then nightheart might realize a bit of what his parents were going through.

overall. not hopeful. i'm super tired of the formula they've been using for the past few arcs. i don't care about "the end of the cats' connection to starclan". just because these books are about religious cats doesn't mean we can't have deep, meaningful, character-driven plots. why can't we get one of those.

[echantedtoon]

A Lovers' Circle (Poly Haishira x Reader) Ch24 A Little Closer

Taglist: @shadyd3ar @jcrml

@tengensangel @miniverse-zen @mysteri0uz @jjamsbangtan

@the-unknown-fandom

@lavenderdropp @mimisweetz. @purplesoulsapphire

@kksmush @denkpanda18 @whomisi @lessthanimperfect @silver-rin

@namis-noodlebox

@k1ttyluverz @akiramente

@rascalraccoon @ravenclawkae1

@gilded-sunrays @crescent-blades

@yukari1k @bloodymarysgirl21

@artbyrebel @abaker74 @lunarluna9482

@rainbowidol @lanabanoms @whatarewe-choppedliver

Remember if you want to be added to the taglist lemme know

(Hearts conquered so far: Gyomei, Sanemi, Tengen, Kyojuro, Suma, Hinatsuru, Makio, Shinobu, Kanae, Mitsuri, and now Obanai. Congrats! You've successfully conquered all hearts! But the journey isn't over yet. The painting Tengen painted is similar to the picture above I found on Pinterest but different. The poem Obanai wrote is also something I found on Pinterest. Also warnings for mentioning of Obanai's scars and the death of most of Tengen's family. The song Y/n sings is Golden Dreams from The Stingiest Man In Town by Rankin Bass linked below.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/600104719130125897/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=skhZiUkKtkc&list=LL&index=14&pp=gAQBiAQB8AUB    )

It was Tuesday. Just a few days until New Year's Eve and the party Tengen and Kyojuro would be hoisting at The Uzui's home. You agreed to go when Kyojuro texted you the day after Christmas inviting you to said party. Of course you accepted since you couldn't remember the last time you were invited to a party surrounded by friends. Actual friends you made that you liked a great deal. However this particular day, you had nothing to do and no one else to do anything with. So you cleaned up your house a little bit before deciding on trying out one of the recipes from your new cook book. 

You'd gotten a few Christmas gifts from your friends including a pretty necklace, a cute little throw pillow, and a new cookbook from Sanemi whom looked so flustered when giving you the gift bag it was in. Guess he wasn't used to giving anyone presents outside his partners and family. It was still a good gift however and you settled on trying out the no bake cookies recipe after flipping through the pages trying to decide on what to make. So there you were in one of your aprons mixing the dark brown dough together for the next step of the recipe when you had heard it. The knocking at your door.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

You stopped mid stir blinking up towards the front door as it came again but louder this time. Odd. Who could that be? You weren't expecting anyone today. Everybody else was so busy. Maybe it was the mailman? When the knocks came the third time, you gently placed the bowl down and made your way towards the door. Opening it up and blinking at who was on the other side. 

A man your height stood there staring at you. A thick wool scarf around his neck and lower face, and and even thicker black and white coat making him look comically round. Yellow-green eyes stared at you from between the black locks around his face and you instantly knew who you were staring at.

"Oh. Hi, Obanai. I wasn't expecting to see you here." You smiled but you were a little confused by his presence here. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer at first before saying two words. "Totoro kombu."

You blinked. "I'm sorry. What?"

"Totoro kombu," he repeated seriously.

You still stared at him confused at first before it hit you. "Oh. Do you want me to make you more?" He instantly nodded eagerly. "Oh sure. I can do that right now since I got some seaweed. Do you wanna come in? It's cold out there."

He nodded again and you stepped aside to allow him to come inside. He gave a curious look around your house and turned his head hearing you close the door and turning to walk around him. 

"I wasn't expecting you y'know."

"Oh." He slowly blinked. "Did you rather that I have not come?"

You shook your head holding up your hands. "No, no. It's not that." You assured him. "If you just wanted me to make you some more food, you could've just called me instead. You didn't have to go out of your way to come all the way here." You paused when a realization hit you. "Wait. How did you get my address?" You know Giyuu and Shinobu gave everyone your phone number but as far as you knew, no one gave Obanai your address.

"I remembered it from when Mitsuri brought me here before Halloween." Ah. When you asked her to help you bake cookies for Kyojuro's party. That explained it. He then reached up to unzip his coat. "I also wanted to return this to you." You watched as he reached into his coat and pulled out an empty tupperware container, the one you gave him that day at the cafe, before he held it out to you. "Here."

"Oh. Thank you. I hope it was ok," you said while taking it from him.

He nodded looking down. "Yes...Thank you."

You smiled at him. "Of course! I'm just happy you liked it. Do you want some hot chocolate while you wait?" Your head nodded towards the kitchen. "It'll take me a while to make you some more food since you caught me in the middle of making cookies."

He hummed before shrugging. "Sure."

"Alright. Come on in and make yourself at home."

He made his way into the kitchen taking off his coat and scarf before placing them on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. His eyes watched her form walk past him and back towards the kitchen, placing the tupperware in the sink before going back to her bowl of cookie dough, starting to pull out enough for a cookie before rolling them up, placing them on a tray covered in parchment paper, and repeating again and again until the bowl was empty and the tray was placed in the refrigerator. He was silent during the entire process just watching her work from his seat at the table.

When her business with the refrigerator was done, she turned to put the dishes she used in the sink and pulled out a mug from the cabinet. The process of making him a cup of hot chocolate was a little longer than he thought was necessary but when she placed it in front of him he understood why. It was one of those fancy hot chocolates like you'd buy at a cafe. Whip cream on top perfectly with marshmallows stuck in its white creaminess, a candy cane and reusable plastic straw sticking out of it, and some spices sprinkled on top to give it a brown tint to the top. Cinnamon or more powdered chocolate maybe?

"Careful. It's hot."

"Thank you."

He'd let it cool down a little bit before he drank it. Instead he just focused on observing her work still, fetching a small pot from the kitchen and filling it with water from the sink before placing it upon the stovetop. Turning it on before she opened the fridge and brought out a jar. From the sight of it, it must've been the pickled vinegar seaweed used for the recipe. 

"I see you don't have Kaburamaru with you today," you broke the silence as you just simply continued to work catching his attention. "Is there a reason for that?"

"It's too cold for him to be outside," he said simply, "It's safer to just keep him at home warm in his enclosure."

"Oh, I see." Some splashing sound went off as you poured the seaweed from the jar into the pot of water turning on the stove to boil it. "I suppose winter is no place for a cute snake like him."

"No....He didn't feel detect you as a threat."

You paused looking over your shoulder at him. "Come again?"

He stared intently at you still pointing a hand. You noticed that he still wore a medical mask over his face without the scarf to cover him. "Kaburamaru doesn't like people plain and simple. Even only tolerates some of my partners because he knows that I care about them, but that doesn't mean he likes them. He loathes strangers coming up to me however..." He slowly lowered his hand still intensely staring at you as if you were some kind of revaluation to him. "He hadn't once threatened you anytime you were near me. It made me wonder why that was."

You were speechless for a long moment pausing to stare at him. You never once thought of his snake as a threat. After all he wasn't even venomous. According to Obanai, Kaburamaru was just a harmless albino rat snake. He never hissed at you when you saw him, and you only saw a cute noodle with big eyes staring back at you.

"Well.. maybe it's because I never saw him as a threat?," you offered with a shrug, "I mean he's just a harmless little snake, he's not even venomous. If anything he'd probably be more scared of me because I'm a lot bigger and could hurt him if I stepped on him by accident."

"You aren't scared of him at all?...Why?"

"I grew up with an aunt who had a few pet tarantulas and believes in things like talking to spirits with ouija boards and reading palms to predict the future." You shrugged at his wide eyed expression. "A harmless little snake isn't going to phase me."

Obanai slowly blinked even slower nodding his head. "That..makes more sense now..I guess. But if Kaburamaru sees you as no threat, then that means a lot." 

You smiled. "Well I'm glad he's not scared of me. Are you going to drink your hot coco?"

He hummed again but simply just took the straw sticking out of the cup to poke it under his mask, taking a few sips of the sweet drink as you continued to walk around the kitchen grabbing utensils and spices you'd need to make Obanai the food he came all the way out here for. After all you didn't want to be a rude host. He continued to watch you in silence once more as you worked for the next ten minutes taking sips of the drink to not seem rude.. before he stopped glancing down at the drink, contemplating something in his head for a moment, before his eyes glanced back up to you.

"Did you see my face?"

Again you were caught off guard almost dropping the spoon in your hand. "What?"

"On Christmas. My mask was taken." A single finger pointed at his face. "Did you see my face?"

The silence increased in an awkward degree as you both stared.  No sounds other than the boiling water upon the stove before you sighed through your nose with a worried expression.

"I did." You decided to be honest with him. "But you reacted so fast running away and covering yourself, that I didn't really get to see what you looked like under your mask." You answered truthfully. And it was true. He reacted so fast it was almost inhuman. "Plus it's been a good while since last week and I haven't been thinking about it." You really hadn't given it a second thought too busy with so many other things, and you thought the whole situation was behind you. So you never thought about it again until Obanai brought it up again just now. "I honestly don't know what you look like under your mask, Iguro."

He still stared silently at you not saying a word before his eyes narrowed suspiciously. They slowly looked you all the way down to your feet before slowly raising all the way up to your eyebrows. He seemed to be studying your body language as well as your expression. Seeming to trying to find a single shred of deceit. But strangely found nothing in your face or posture to back up his suspicions. You only had a concerned frown.

"You... hadn't seen anything?"

"I mean..I did saw what looked like marks-" He flinched and you quickly held up your hands. "-but like I said, I don't know what you look like at all. It was too fast and long ago for me to make out anything about you."

He had tensed up upon your honest answer...but with an inhale slowly forced himself to relax. "I-I see. So you really hadn't seen my face?" You shook your head no and with how your reaction was, he was inclined to believe that this time. "I see." He repeated again but this time he sounded relieved.

"Did...you want me to know what you looked like?"

"NO!!" You jumped again and he seemed to since at how loud he was. "I mean no. I-I'm not comfortable with showing it." Perhaps maybe in the future but definitely not now.

"That's fine. You don't ever have to show me if you don't want to," you assured him turning back to the stove to finish cooking the food. "I won't ever pressure you too and it's none of my business. If you ever do decide to show me just know that I won't judge you but I want you to do it because YOU want to and only if you're comfortable with it. Not because you think you should. We don't even have to talk about them if that makes you more comfortable."

He said nothing as he just stared wide eyed. So you just continued cooking away as the minutes ticked on and the kitchen was filled with the smell of food. Obanai hadn't moved from his spot even when a plate of food and a pair of chopsticks was placed in front of him before you pointed towards the living room.

"I'll be in the living room." You decided to give him space to eat comfortably. You have to wait for the cookies to get really cold in the fridge anyways. "If you need me, I'll be cleaning up in there. Ok?"

He slowly nodded watching you walk off towards the other room leaving him alone to eat in the silent kitchen. Ever so slowly, his hands reached up to remove the mask from his face. The chopsticks left to the side getting picked up and picking up the strands of shredded seaweed before him, making it's way to the scared mouth from the accident long ago. A sigh leaving his nose as the peaceful atmosphere allowed him to relax. Although his head perked up slightly at the sound of a voice singing softly from the other room alongside the shuffling of footsteps and sound of broom bristles gliding across the wooden floors.

"I think of you and my future gleams.~ My mind is filled with golden dreams.~ I think of you and I love you so.~ All the world takes on a golden glow.~ So hold me close tonight, and fill me with dreams of delight.~ I think of you and your love for me.~ And I know that life with you will be more beautiful than it seems in my golden dreams.~"

That was a song from a Christmas movie wasn't it? Although he wasn't sure what movie if it was from one it was from one but he enjoyed listening to the singing and humming in the background as he ate. You decided to busy yourself by sweeping the floors in your living room and under the furniture. Biding your time to allow Obanai some privacy, however you hadn't noticed the man standing within the same room until he cleared his throat. You looked back up and smiled at Obanai awkwardly standing there coat in his arms, mask back over his face, and his eyes looking down.

"Oh. Are you finished?"

He nodded. "Yes. I left the dishes in your sink."

"That's fine." You glanced at his jacket. "Are you leaving now?"

He nodded again. "Yes. I came to do what I needed to."...He slowly looked back up to you again. "Here." He held up a hand holding a small folded piece of paper. "Before I go."

You slowly took it from him turning it over in your hands. "What is it?"

"Something to say thank you for your help. Nothing more."

A gift? But is wasn't Christmas anymore. You curiously looked at the paper before putting the broom to the side and unfolded the paper. On it in scribbly handwriting looked to be..A poem?

'If I'm being honest

it was a disturbingly short

amount of time

between meeting you

and wanting to say

'"I love you."'

You were surprised by the love poem from Obanai of all people and gave him a confused look but he only looked to the side to avoid eye contact. Oh wait a minute. Didn't Tengen mention that Obanai liked poetry? He must've written this as the thank you he mentioned earlier. You looked between the gift and himself before smiling at him.

"How sweet. Thank you, Iguro. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." He mumbled slipping the cost over his body. "I was just thanking you. Don't take it the wrong way."

"I won't." You beamed at him in a similar way Mitsuri does. "Thank you, Obi. I love it."

He stared before his face lit up a pink and he swiftly twisted to the door swiftly walking away. "Right!Seeyouatthepartybye!!" He quickly forced out as he all but rang out the door leaving you dumbfounded staring after him.

Huh. That was strange but maybe he felt too awkward in the moment or wasn't comfortable with your prescense yet. Either way you appreciated the gift and later pinned it up in your bedroom that night. The rumors Murata had warned you about him was absolutely wrong. He was just as big of a sweetheart as Sanemi and Tengen was. Even if he was a bit strange, he had a good heart.

Another four days passed by. You hadn't heard from Obanai since Tuesday but you didn't expect to when he said he'd see you again at the party. But you were glad for Shinobu calling and giving you a heads up that she and Giyuu could carpool with you much to your delight. If you were going to attend a party until midnight then you didn't think you would be awake enough to drive back home in the middle of the night.

So here you were late that evening sitting in the back of Shinobu's car as she drove herself, Giyuu, her sister, and you to Tengen's home. Already the sky was dark and the first few stars were out. This was very peaceful. It didn't take long to arrive at the familiar fancy Uzui household where other cars were parked and your party walked right up to the door. Snow crunching under your feet and the cold air nipping at your noses. Giyuu got there first and knocked loudly. Just a few seconds later you all heard someone literally run up to the door before it was thrown open and you all were face to face with a beaming Suma.

"YOU'RE HERE!," She cheered loudly before backing up and quickly beckoned you all to come inside. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Everyone else is already here!"

The inside was decorated beautifully. Black, white, and gold streamers and balloons were tied up everywhere and a large table of pizza, sodas, and other party food was displayed out on it. By said table you spotted Mitsuri holding an entire pizza box for herself scarfing it down. Next to her was Obanai whom was watching her with adoration. However he turned to as soon as you walked in the door. You smiled and waved at him to which he quickly turned away turning a pink and making Mitsuri blink at him.

"Well if it isn't my flamboyant muse!" Your attention was quickly turned to Tengen whom smiled at you and waved a hand. "I was wondering if you were ever going to show!"

"I wouldn't miss this. Not when you promised to finally show everyone your painting." You'd been anxious to see it ever since he promised to show everyone at the party. "Is it finished?"

"Of course it is! I never lie about my painting skills!," he stated matter of fact as he puffed his chest out in pride hands on his hips. "I put the finishing touches on it just yesterday but you're gonna have til midnight to see it just like everyone else!" A hand was held up. "I want this masterpiece to be my first art showcase for the next year!"

"Ok. Fair enough. I'm so excited to see it!"

His smile turned softer then looking at you. "Y'know...this just might be my new favorite painting thanks to you." He gestured a hand to the table. "Make yourself at home! We're gonna be playing a few games and watching a movie tonight so might as well pregame!"

"Thanks, Tengen!" You smiled at him as he walked away and you turned to go hang your coat up when you ran into Hinatsuru.

"Here. Let me get that for you." She gestured to your coat.

"Oh. Thank you and thank you guys for inviting me to your party."

Her pink eyes softly smiled at you in response as she took your coat. "Actually.. it's us who should be thanking you." You were visibly confused so she sighed. "Tengen often gets very sad around this time of year because of his family's tragedy but you managed to lift his spirits this year. I just wanted to thank you for that."

"Oh. There's no need to thank me. I didn't do much aside from posing for a picture."

"Actually you've done a lot more for everyone here than you'll ever realize."

Huh? What did she mean by that? You didn't get a chance to ask her before she had already turned and left. Well...That was certainly strange but you assumed she was just happy with your attempts to help everyone here and be friendly. Shrugging it off, you made your way to Gyomei whom greeted you with a kiss and an arm pulling you against his side as he continued to speak to Sanemi and Kyojuro about how their classes had been going and discussing some historical facts Kyojuro brought up. Gyomei and Kyo seemed to really enjoy discussing the history of religion and the shrines he loved to visit.

You didn't mind just enjoying the company for now until you felt something like your arm to get your attention, making you turn and look surprised to see Obanai standing there. He stared at you before looking off to the side and holding up a single can of cold soda. 

"I-..got you a drink."

You blinked but smiled at him before taking the can. "Thanks, Iguro. That's very thoughtful of you." 

He just quickly mumbled something under his breath before spouting out some excuse and walking away quickly. Earning a raised brow from Gyomei and Sanemi but the two were quickly drawn back to Kyojuro when he brought up the name of a famous mathematician from history. None of you noticed the pink and green haired woman who had been watching the interactions between you and her boyfriend VERY closely. You hadn't even noticed Mitsuri following close behind you until you excused yourself from the men to go get some of the pizza on the table. Well not until you had gotten to the table and started to get some pizza.

"Hi, Y/n!"

You looked up and smiled at Mitsuri happily tilting her head towards you. "Hi, Mitsuri. Am I in your way?"

Her head shook braids swaying. "Nope! I was just wondering what you and Oni were talking about."

You blinked. Obanai? "Nothing really. He was being nice and got me a drink. That's all."

She hummed interested in that fact much to your confusion. "Really? That's it?"

You nodded. "Uh huh. I guess he wanted to try and talk more since he visited me."

"Obanai visited you?" The shock and surprise on her face took you aback a bit.

"Yeah? On Tuesday. Did he not tell you?"

"No." Her green eyes glanced up towards said boyfriend but he was busy with Kanae probably discussing the similar sciences behind their studies. "What did he want?"

"Oh. He was just returning the tupperware I gave him a while back." Obanai didn't tell Mitsuri he visited you? That was strange considering how close they were but you supposed he really didn't want anyone to know about what happened. "He also wanted some more Totoro kombu so I made him some."

"Really? That's all he wanted?" She almost sounded disappointed. "You guys didn't talk or anything?"

You shrugged. "We talked about some stuff that happened at the fair last week and he thanked me but that was it." You told her the truth but left out exactly what happened at the fair you two were discussing and what exactly he thanked you for in order to keep your promise to the snake loving man. "Oh. And he told me a little about his snake but that's it."

Immediately Mitsuri's expression when from disappointed to surprise to absolutely BEAMING. "He told you about Kaburamaru?!" You nodded. "How do?!"

Again confused you shrugged. "Just about what kind of snake he was and things like that. Why?""

You just got an excited squeal out of her which wasn't uncommon as she smiled widely. "Obi, told you about Kaburamaru! He only talks about his snake with people he likes!!"

You blinked. "Really?" She nodded excitedly which made you smile. "I guess we're starting to become better friends then!" You were genuinely happy to be making process with befriending him.

Mitsuri had a strange gleam to her eyes but happily nodded in agreement. "Oh yes! Friendships are a beautiful thing! And so are other relationships too!"

You have her a strange look but nodded in agreement anyways. It was true but a strange choice in words. "So how did you like playing Clara in The Nutcracker?"

You both chatted with each other a bit discussing the play before Shinobi announced she was putting in a horror movie she had brought along called simply 'ONI' as everyone waited for midnight to slowly approach. Hour after hour ticked away and despite the movie taking up a lot of the time, you still felt yourself getting more and more tired. So Tengen decided of another way to distract everyone from the time. And arm wrestling contest between the girls. Of course no one was too enthusiastic about that but complied as just a means of passing the time...You probably should've known better when you sat down and immediately Giyuu stood next to you with his arms out ready to catch something. You should've seen it coming when you agreed to go first against Mitsuri-

"Ready? Set. GO!!"

It was all one big blur. One moment you were sitting at the coffee table as Sanemi shouted go, then the next you were flying to the left and into Giyuu's awaiting arms like a goalie waiting to catch the ball. He stumbled back from the sudden force of your body flying into him causing him to stumble back and you both landed in a heap on the floor.

"OH MY GOSH!! ARE YOU TWO OK?!," Mitsuri instantly shouted shooting up to her feet. "I'm so sorry! I was trying really hard to not do it so hard!"

"We're ok." You both slowly got up with the help of everyone else. Now you knew why Giyuu prepared himself to catch you. Mitsuri had insane strength!  "I guess this just means I'm disqualified."

It was no surprise Mitsuri had won in the end. Tengen suggested another arm wrestling contest between the guys but that was quickly dismissed in favor of Kyojuro offering to go get Saki for everyone. You declined staring that you didn't drink but Obanai was nice enough to get you another soda surprising everyone else but making you happy.

Hours continued to tick by slowly and slowly until someone realized that it was eleven fifty right. Then everyone seemed to completely stop what they were doing to stare intently at the clock on the wall as the hands slowly moved with each passing second. Two minutes felt like an eternity as the hands carefully turned to eleven fifty nine p.m.. Everyone intensely staring at it with baited breath as the seconds tilted down..

Down..

Down..

Midnight-

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"

You nearly went deaf from the loud shouts and claps that sounded off around you and someone squeezed you in a happy hug amongst the festivities. Being super tired and fighting sleep,you didn't fight back and just chose to smile at everyone until the cheers slowly subsided and only a happy murmuring was about the home.

"Hey, Tengen! Are you gonna show us that painting you've been boastin' about or what?!"

That made you perk up a bit. The painting you've been posing for hours for. The only one's who's seen it had been Tengen himself and two of his wives. You were VERY interested in seeing it before your body forced yourself to pass out. The silver haired man seemed to beam brightly at it being brought up and placed a hand to his chest. 

"But of course! I've been waiting ages to show this!" With a smile everyone watched as he simply waltzed on into the kitchen and a few seconds later he came back out carrying a wooden stand with a tablecloth covering the square top. Covering a painting! He took his sweet time setting it up in the middle of the room, and grabbed the top of the cloth. "Behold! The eighth wonder of the world!" He gestured to it with his other hand. "I call it 'Newest Adoration!'"

With one swooping motion, the tablecloth was torn off the top and fluttered to the floor. A round of awed stares and gasps filled the room and your eyes widened at the sight of what you saw.

It was you!

Well half of you. Your face looked as if it had been magnified, before strands of your f/c hair had been turned into sickened strands flowing in the wind across the soft skin. Your pupil turned into a f/c diamond crying miniature diamonds falling down your cheek like crystallized tears. A few jewelled strands of the crown you wore for the costume dancing around your forehead. 

"Well?" Tengen gave an expecting look around. "What do you think?"

"It's so pretty!!," Suma gushed clasping her hands together. "You did it again, Tengen!"

"How the fuck is he able to make them look like real jewels?" "It's lovely! You really captured her complexion." "Good job, Tengen!"

He smiled proudly at the praise it garnered but laser focused back on you as you continued to stare at it silently. Wide eyes looking at the beautiful painting before you just looking at it before slowly an arm half reached out towards it before it stopped and instead your hand reached up to run over your own cheek.

"Is that really me?" You almost didn't recognize your voice, it was so small barely a whisper.

Tengen nodded before rubbing his chin looking over the painting. "I mean I did add a fantasy tweak to your eyes but the rest of the painting is just what I saw when you modeled for me." Magenta eyes glanced over you gauging your reaction. "What do you think, Y/n?"

"... It's beautiful. I-..I didn't think I could ever look that beautiful."

"Are you kidding me? You were always this beautiful! You still are even as you stand there!" He gestured to the painting. "The only difference here is that one version of that beauty is engraved in paint." 

A sniffle left your nose. A sleeve reached up to wipe at your eyes before they could start tearing up. 

"Aw. Hey, Y/n. It's ok to cry." You felt Mitsuri hug your side patting your head. "There, there."

"I-I don't know what to say. *sniffle* T-Thank you."

[0o-junebug-o0]

OH OH OH how about a coffee shop/bookstore date like reader is new to town and Spencer decides to take them out to his favorite book shop and coffee shop (gn reader if possible:3)

Ways to Say "I Love You"

thank you so much for the request! I had a blast writing this

spencer reid x gn!reader (no use of y/n)

cw: nothing, just pure fluff

wordcount: 2.6k

You pace in circles around your living room, avoiding the boxes still piled up along the walls. You’ve been here two months already, but starting as a new professor and researcher at Georgetown has kept you so busy you simply haven’t had time to finish unpacking. You suppose you could do it now, a distraction would probably help your nerves, but you’d rather continue with your circles. 

You check your watch. You have six minutes until Spencer will be here. He always arrives exactly on time, never early or late if he can help it. You take a deep breath. “It’s just a date,” you whisper to yourself. “No expectations. Just have fun.” You know you will but your heart is beating so fast and hard that you can feel it in your chest. 

To be honest, you don’t know why you’re so nervous. You’ve known Spencer for years. You met at CalTech in your freshman year of undergrad while he was finishing up his third PhD and you’ve kept in touch through letters and occasional visits ever since. He even flew out to watch your thesis defense. 

You’ve loved Spencer for nearly as long as you’ve known him and the fact that he asked you out is like a dream come true but you can’t help but worry that he’ll realize he made a mistake.

A knock at the door startles you from your thoughts and you almost trip over a box. You glance down at your watch. It’s two o’clock exactly and you can’t help but wonder how long Spencer waited outside your apartment door before knocking. You take a deep breath and run your hands down the front of your shirt, smoothing down any wrinkles in the fabric, before making your way to the door.

You will your shaking hands to be still as you unlock the door and pull it inwards. Your jaw nearly drops at the sight of Spencer. He’s dressed how he usually is, looking as good as always, but he’s wearing his glasses and smiling softly at you, a nervous flush on his cheeks. He holds a bouquet of flowers in his right hand. The bouquet is made of three types of flowers. You recognize the sunflowers and daffodils, but not pale purple, pinwheel-like ones.

“Oh, Spencer, thank you!” you say, taking the bouquet as he hands it to you. You bury your nose in the flowers and smell them with a smile. “This is lovely! Come in while I put these in some water.”

You step aside and Spencer slips awkwardly into your apartment. 

“Ignore all the boxes,” you laugh. “I’ve been too busy to finish unpacking.”

He nods, looking around your apartment as he follows you into the kitchen. He seems twice as nervous as you are. 

“Can you hold this for me for a moment?” you ask, holding out the bouquet. He nods and takes it from your hands. You turn around and climb onto the counter to reach the empty vase you’d placed on top of the cabinets once the housewarming flowers your parents sent you had died. You slide off the counter and head over to the sink to rinse off any dust. 

You dry the outside of the vase with a dishtowel before filling it halfway with water. You set the vase on the small dining table pressed against the wall. “So, where are you planning on taking me?" you ask, taking the bouquet from Spencer and slipping it into the vase. 

“There’s a nice little bookstore and coffee shop right next door to each other not far from here. I was thinking we could go there if that’s alright.”

You smile at him, his obvious nervousness making yours fade. “That sounds great,” you say. “But first, now that our hands are free, can I give you a hug?”

Spencer nods and pulls you into a tight hug, resting his face in the crook of your neck. You’ve always loved his hugs, they make you feel safe and loved. And knowing that you could probably count on your hands the number of people Spencer feels comfortable hugging makes it feel that much more special.”

“I’ve missed you,” you whisper.

“We saw each other last week,” Spencer says, sounding confused.

You chuckle and end the hug. “I know, but it still feels like it’s been years.”

Spencer’s brow furrows. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m just saying that because we saw each other so rarely before I moved here I still feel like I haven’t spent enough time with you now that I am here. Like I need to make up for it. I can still miss you even if I’m close by,” you tease.

“Oh, then I missed you too.” 

You chuckle lightly and pat him on the shoulder. “Alright then, Spence, take me to that bookstore.”

________________

The walk wasn’t a long one and with the nice spring weather and catching up with Spencer, it almost felt like it went by too fast.

“This is it,” Spencer says, stopping in front of a cafe. 

You look at him confused. “I thought we were going to the bookstore first.”

“We are,” he says with a smile. He reaches his hand out toward yours and after a brief moment of hesitation, takes your hand in his. You can feel yourself blush and wonder if you're as flushed as Spencer. 

He guides you toward a small alleyway about three feet wide with a cat sleeping on a book painted on the ground and leads you down it. The alley curves to the right and then back to the left and at the end is a little courtyard and an old brick building. There are stacks of books on and under a wooden table at the side of the courtyard, shaded from the sun by an awning that extends from the wall of the neighboring building. Along the back of the cafe are three small tables with two chairs each and along the third side is a small garden filled with wildflowers native to the DC area. 

A large window covers the front wall of the book store and there’s a classy-looking decal of the same image on the alley floor a sign that says “Alleycat Books”. The view inside the store is mostly blocked by stacks of books but through the gaps, you can see shelves stretching along the walls from floor to ceiling and multiple shelves in the middle of the room, all filled to the brim with books.

You look around the courtyard in awe. 

“Spencer, this is amazing!”

He smiles at you, his nose scrunching up adorably. “I’m glad you like it. But the inside is even better.”

You laugh as he leads you to the door and opens it for you with an awkward little bow. He’s right, the inside is better. It looks almost magical. Floor-to-ceiling shelves cover every inch of the side and back walls. About fifteen feet away from you, halfway across the room, another floor-to-ceiling shelf with gaps on either side acts as a divider. Two rows of three shoulder-height shelves with gaps between each of them fill the ten-foot width of the room in front of the dividing shelf and based on the line of sight you have through the gaps of the divider, the same seems to be true on the other side. A woman greets us from a small desk in the corner as we enter and Spencer waves awkwardly at her as you nod your head in greeting. 

“The sci-fi section’s over here,” Spencer says, leading you to the back half of the room. “I know it’s your favorite genre.”

You laugh and nod, tilting your head to read the titles of the books. Spencer laughs softly as you start to tilt your whole body to read the names of the books on the lower shelves. 

“I’m going to look in the poetry section,” Spencer says. 

You nod in response, your upper body still tilted almost horizontal. You hear his footsteps retreat to the opposite side of the divider. You stand to see where he ended up and can’t help but laugh when you see his hair poking over the two rows of books on the divider. 

“What?” Spencer asks.

“Stand on your toes,” you say with a laugh. 

His head rises as he does what you say and you stand on your toes as well to see his eyes poking over the books.

“I can see you,” you tease.

“Yes.” You can hear his smile in his voice.

You laugh and return to browsing the books. Your gaze brushes over a copy of DUNE and you pull it from the shelf to look at the cover. “Spencer!” you call, running around to the other side of the shelf. He looks at you with raised eyebrows. You hold out the book. “There’s no sticker! I love this book and I’ve been trying to find a copy without the sticker for so long! I hate the stickers.”

“They do ruin the covers.”

“Well, that’s it. I just wanted to show you. I’m going to keep looking.” 

You both spend almost an hour looking around the store and by the time you’re both satisfied, you’ve found three books, including the copy of DUNE, and Spencer has read two collections of poetry and found a vintage copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Spencer tries to convince you to let him pay for your books and after a brief and silly argument, he relents to only paying for one of them. You make sure to pay first so he can’t try to tell the cashier to put all of your books on his card. He pouts slightly when as you pay, but you won’t let him guilt you into relenting. You smile and pat softly on the shoulder as he sets his book and the third of yours on the counter to pay.

Once he’s finished, he holds his messenger bag open and you slide the books inside. Ever the gentleman, he holds the door for you again on the way out. “What kind of stuff does the cafe have?” you ask as you lead the way through the alley back out to the street.

“They have hot chocolate, so that should make you happy,” Spencer says. You step out of the entrance and turn around to watch him emerge. “They have really good pastries too. And toast with butter and honey.”

“Hmm, I think I’ll get that and a hot chocolate.”

“The toast? You nod as he opens the door for you. “Okay, I’ll order while you grab us a table.”

You look around the room for the perfect spot as Spencer heads to the counter to get in line. There’s a small table for two in one of the corners by the window and you slip into one of the chairs to claim it. 

You can’t seem to take your eyes off Spencer as he waits. He’s just so beautiful. His hands clutch the strap of his messenger bag and you can see his fingers tapping slightly. When it’s his turn he shifts his weight from side to side as he orders. He’s never been able to keep still the entire time you’ve known him, but that’s just another thing you love about him. You smile and wave at him as he turns around and a flush lights up his face. He holds up a small stand with the number twelve on it and sets it on the table as he slides into the seat across from you.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Spencer asks, embarrassed. His cheeks are still bright red.

“No reason,” you say. “You’re just pretty.”

Spencer’s face gets impossibly redder and he hides his head in his hands. “Y-you’re pretty too,” he mutters, his voice muffled behind his hands.

You reach across the table, gently grabbing his sleeves to tug his hands away. He stares at you with wide eyes. He opens his mouth to speak but before he can a waiter comes with the food and drinks and Spencer shuts his mouth again. 

You thank the waiter and Spencer mutters a thanks as well. You slide your hot chocolate and toast over to you and Spencer moves his coffee and croissant to his side of the table.

“What were you going to say before our food came?” you ask, spreading the butter and honey onto your toast.

Spencer’s blush, which had started to fade, comes back in full force. He lowers his eyes to his coffee as he tears open a couple of packets of sugar and dumps them in.

“That I’m really glad you’re here. In DC,” he says awkwardly, stirring the sugar into his coffee with a wooden stir stick. “I’ve missed being around you. And I like that you’re so close now.”

Your face heats and you know that you’re blushing now too. 

“I’m glad, too, Spencer,” you say softly. He raises his head to meet your eyes. “I really like being around you. And I’m really glad you asked me out. I’ve liked you for years and now that I’m here and we can actually see each other I would’ve done it if you hadn’t.”

Spencer smiles widely at you, his nose and eyes crinkling and his tongue poking out slightly between his teeth.

You and Spencer stay in the cafe long after you’ve finished your food and drinks, just talking about anything and everything. You tell him about your research and invite him to come to some of your lectures and he tells you about work and his team. Eventually, the conversation slows and you and Spencer walk back to your apartment in a comfortable silence only occasionally interrupted by Spencer voicing a thought because he knows you like to listen.

________________

Once back inside your apartment Spencer holds open his messenger bag so you can take out your books and set them on the dining table to put away later. 

Spencer gently runs his hand over the bouquet in the center of the table.

“Vinca minor,” he says softly, pointing at one of the purple flowers. “The lesser periwinkle or dwarf periwinkle. It’s a member of the dogbane family and is native to central and southern Europe and southwestern Asia. In the language of flowers, it means early and sincere friendship and tender memories.” He points at a daffodil. “Narcissus jonquilla. Commonly referred to as Jonquil or Rush daffodil. It’s native to Spain and Portugal and represents desire or returned affection. Helianthus annuus. The common sunflower, it’s native to the Americas and represents loyalty and adoration. But I mostly just included them because they’re your favorite.”

You can feel your cheeks warm with a blush and you smile big and wide at him, enough that your eyes close partially. “Spencer?” He looks up at you and you take a few steps forward until you’re right in front of him.

“Y-yeah?” he asks, stuttering slightly.

“Can I kiss you?”

His eyes widen and he nods. You reach up to cup his cheek and kiss him softly. It’s full of love and care and words that should have been said years ago but are finally being shared now. You pull away with a smile and chuckle as he chases after you slightly. You drape your arms around the back of his neck and look him in the eyes. “I love you too, Spencer.”

[kalims]

STEREOTYPICAL IDEALS

˖ ִֶָ here we have the stereotype love interests for every love story.

characters. ace, azul, leona, malleus, idia

content. gender neutral reader, kinda cafe au for idia

cw. mention of.. embryo eggs 😁 it's just malleus being vague about it and us mistaking LOL

note. mc does not like cats at first for the sake of plot :)

thank you for 5K <3 mwa

ace trappola | the resident 'bad boy' troublemaker that everybody dislikes (oh well. those are the ones usually misunderstood anyways)

though severely lacking in the physical quantities of your resident bad boy, (leather jacket, too much gel used for a horrendous slicked back hairstyle, cold demeanor, and the same motorcycle that seems to be present in every variant) you can say that although he fits in the category pretty well the title didn't really suit him.

every professor on campus despises ace trappola and his 'unfunny' pranks (of which they claim so.) you had bear witness to one of them so when he ran out of a classroom and locked eyes with you. you knew you should have ran away in turn because he shoved you in the way of a furious crewel and has the audacity to laugh as he escaped.

(crewel, AKA the scariest professor on campus so you definitely peed your pants a little when you heard the grunt he emitted when you collided into his probably hundred dollar fur coat—and wow, who knew he hid such a broad frame?)

but still. you sulked in misery at the silent room. even though you had told him several times that you, were indeed not an accomplice to that insane red head's crimes crewel did not let you off without a punishment. "had you not been in my way I would have captured that little puppy," he had said.

I didn't know. you cried comical tears at your horrible timing. wrong place in the wrong time. being a new student is hard around this place.

only then was the sky freed from your vengeful glare when a body falls into the room just after the door opens—then closes.

a new object of your hate. you suppose, far more deserving than the sky.

"this freaking sucks," ace trappola had to audacity to complain when you were the one he dragged to his stupid scheme. the moment he saw you heartedly glaring him down from your seat is when he released another groan. great, the person who he sacrificed for the better cause.

yeah that's right this is your fault, you watch him through accusing eyes as he stands up and starts circling the room. carelessly touching the several expensive looking items around the room with no regards; which honestly gave you a heart attack but either you give up the intimidating act or assert your dominance?

easy choice.

finally you scowl, albeit a bit softer than the previous face you adorned. "what in the hell are you doing?" ace looks back at you with a casual grin—the kind of grin that would lead into nowhere good but you and your stupid self engrossed in too much stories (in your opinion but you'd probably pick up another book later on,) paused to register the fleeting sense of attraction.

my teenager hormones always at the wrong time. you deadpan.

ace leans over the counter and gives the window a little push. smiling when the window creaks open with age and the wind brushes over his face. (ooo rhyme.)

you watch him. too entranced for your liking.

"are you coming or not?"

you sputter. "uh, excuse me?"

this time ace looks like he's having fun. (did you miss that kind of face everytime he was in trouble just cause of the adrenaline?) "have you ever left detention without permission?"

the second you took his hand and let him guide you down the third floor was definitely the time you knew you were in trouble.

ㅤ

azul ashengrotto | that one sophisticated, cunning character that's in the 'out of your league' circle (except this one immediately falls over for you)

' to mx.lastname '

' professor crewel has assigned me to foresee your school activities for the period whereas you still are behind his classes. though we haven't met officially I know you. my name is azul ashengrotto. (yes, the scholar. which is why the professor had me tutor the lowest in class) I hope we can come to an understanding during our time together. in the library we will meet after school hours. '

signed.. azul ashengrotto in some fancy font you'd spend forever perfecting.

well you had no idea people in your time that still uses letters as a form or communication still exists. you do see a simple text far more convenient that this thing but whatever he wants you suppose..

should you be happy, sad, or offended by this?

happy because azul ashengrotto is the best, out of the best. and there's no doubt that there's gonna be results when he's the one that's going to be tutoring you. sad because you literally need a tutor—actually it's just happy and offended.

offended because he called you the lowest of the lowest, using it to boost his little ego? you've seen the guy, never met him but that's a little.. strange. you won't jump to conclusions because that's what idiots do.

unfortunately you are an idiot so.

although azul is definitely popular kid material for some odd reason everyone seems to avoid him like the plague when he's around these two.. what's their names again? leech siblings? it isn't any better when he's alone though. you conclude it's just the natural air around him that makes it so hard to approach.

despite the offense you had taken what he said was merely the truth. you were at the bottom of the class right now. (you're just annoyed he never considered the possibility of getting better) plus can't he cut you some slack? it's not like moving to a different school in an entirely different place magically made you knowledgeable about the history of this place.

monday flies by faster than you anticipated and you find yourself standing across the infamous top 1.

azul casts you an easy smile. "how about we get to know each other first? despite us working together.." he pauses. "—quite closely. I'd like to get to know you first." suspiciously, you sit down without much argument. and it's scary because it's like he left no room for it.

he sure has a way with words. you muse. no wonder why he's the best you eventually thought.

you spent a hefty amount of time just conversing with each other. hell, everyone was freaking wrong! there's nothing bad about this dude he's just the normal, rich looking smartie. (attractive, you'd add but you figured he didn't take compliments well when he went silent after you had gave him a positive comment.) <- one that was honestly more like flirting if you'd look back but you refuse to let the embarrassment consume you.

(come on honestly! who even says; "I like your mole, it makes you look very pretty." as a compliment and not assume it was you attempting to rizz up the smartie?)

no one had ever complimented that part of him.

honestly it felt like less tutoring and more like a date because if there's anything you learned it's that azul was pretty.

.. uhm.. pretty smart.. yeah..

there was zero history you learned about NRC but rather the history of azul. his family restaurant and explaining his two friends when you had brought them up. the whole time you were both just all smiley, a little shy but time eased the tension out and you both had conversations you'd never thought you'd have with a stranger.

that day when you said your pleasant goodbyes and turned turned leave azul had offered to atleast walk you home. to which you replied in an easy joke; "sorry I don't let people I meet once take me home."

his eyes glinted. "oh? I had assumed we were well acquainted by now." azul ashengrotto gives you an award winning smile. "my apologies then. have a save trip home."

for once you almost regretted not saying yes from his words alone.

I take it back maybe there is something bad with him? you think back at your old assumption awkwardly.

you end up finding another letter stuck on your door. somehow it feels like the contents inside were vastly different from the first.

' dear mx.lastname '

' I enjoyed our time together yesterday. I apologize for taking up all the time without studying but it's like I could not stop talking with you. ' is he flirting with you right now?

' though our official study sessions will start tomorrow. if you ever find the spare time I'd like continue our conversation elsewhere. '

' of course wherever you think is fit will do nicely with me :) '

sincerely, azul ashengrotto.

... definitely different

ㅤ

leona kingscholar | the brooder that just looks done with everything 99% of the time but will end up having a soft spot for the main lead

coughs maybe leona is the bad boy in this case?

everyone knows leona 'I hate everyone' kingscholar. be it from the missing seat in their class or the clump of brown and yellow passed out in the botanical garden. in your case it was the latter. (you being too engrossed gawking at your phone you literally tripped on something and ungracefully landed on the floor)

you just went through the seven stages of pain cause pardon your language but holy fucking shit you feel like you just broke your jaw.

question is who the hell would carelessly leave something on the floor for an unfortunate soul to trip over? (which is you.) the pain stinging your jaw as an awful reminder of your oblivious nature to your surroundings was already depressing but there lays your phone in the literal lake swimming around pretending it's a fish.

"I hope you got some good explanation as to why you ruined my sleep." a deep voice says, nearly making you shit your pants. you turn and stare fearfully at the dead, annoyed face the newcomer gives you. though the rest of his arms are hidden by the shirt you can tell he wouldn't have much problem pushing you in the lake so you can join your phone.

"listen i—" you wince at the jolt of pain accompanied by your words. you learn quickly that perhaps this isn't the time to speak at all. though the man who is way too mad over an accident doesn't seem to care.

he raises his brow and huffs. "what? do I need to take a tooth for you to talk?" yeah asshole like causing me more pain is gonna make the words come out of my mouth.

you slump. as much as you'd like to defend yourself right now, you honestly have more problems to think about. like how your phone just drowned or how you're gonna have to make a trip to the infirmary.

you do the most rational thing you can do.

you make a series of incoherent sounds, point at your phone in the lake and run a marathon once this fool actually looks over to the end of your finger. sucker. you think smugly.

(should leona exert the energy to catch you right now?) I'll get that one next time. he grunts and lays down, facing towards the sun. leona recalls the name on their ID. (name) lastname)

3-A. he closes his eyes.

in your assigned classroom you sit. your friend grimaces. "what the hell happened to you?" he gestures to the obvious bandage under your chin ending over your head. if the ice pack you held your jaw doesn't give him the confirmation that it's broken then you don't know what does.

you sigh. missing the times where you could reply to this idiot.

the class atmosphere is just like any other you've encountered. surprisingly bright and chatty. all forms of sounds immediately halted once the door creaked open and crewel strutted in. he doesn't cast all of you a glance but you can see the approval when you all fall silent.

"hunt. name all the herbology we studied yesterday." you and your friend both exchange looks of relief. I'm so glad I didn't get picked.

not that you can recite it anyways. your friend snickers. thought they didn't speak you both reached a point in your friendship where you could understand through eye contact. you're so lucky.

be for real I'm literally in so much pain. you roll your eyes

as hunt enthusiastically does so you could hear a faint noise from the door. though in favor of continuing your 'conversation' with your friend you both ignore it.

only then when your friend pauses and gawks behind you do you stop.

"kingscholar. I'm suprised you decided to grace us with your presence." who the hell is kingscholar? a clear thump resounds behind you.

wow almost like if someone sat behind you but that's impossible because the guy behind you is always running his mouth and annoying you in every way possible.

AKA the seat was occupied and dude was already sitting there before you arrived. and if he was really your seatmate for what? months? you'd know that he does not get up at all.

"what the h—" speaking of there he is. why does he sound scared though? you wonder.

you turned and if you could make a sound, (to be more specific a scream of horror right now you would. loud and full of terror) holy fucking shit is that the guy you literally used the oldest trick in the book and ditched?

you aren't even given the opportunity to mask your expression.

malleus draconia | typically mysterious stranger that everyone goes insane over

the one you'll meet 'by chance'. actually the first few times you did meet was a complete coincidence but the following was just malleus knowing where you are and when. hence... he just is there..

in conclusion this dorm was really shitty. you sulk, placing a hand to support your body so you could lean but the quality of it had other plans.

you stare blankly at the piece that just broke off in your hand.

but you suppose you ought to be grateful. you sigh, throwing the piece aside. it's not everyday you get given a home for free. problem is the food though, I don't wanna starve.

let's see. very dusty bed or very dusty couch to retire in? you hum in contemplation. even the grass sounds better. you'd sleep outside if you could but the variety of insects just...

no.

it's has it's charm though. though you'd prefer it with less dust. atleast it's not haunted!

something creaks near you.

nevermind.

you would have screamed very, very loudly if the emerald eyes figure didn't place a finger to his mouth and you consider this.. random person to be very intimidating and it actually scared you to obedience and silence.

he raises a brow at your shell-shocked look. "w-who the fuck are you?!" you croak out.

at your words he seemed quite surprised like HE WASNT THE ONE ON YOUR TECHNICAL FRONT DOOR. "oh? it seems like you don't know me," he chuckles, as though pleased. no shit sherlock you don't know me either you grumble.

he smirks. "I'll leave that up to you to find out then," this bitch.

ever since that you always seem to encounter than random guy everywhere. what surprised you more is the fact that he actually goes to the school you go to, which you admit was a stupid thought cause he was on school grounds when you met him and this school doesn't let random people in.

even with the godly amount of times you both meet he.just.wont.tell.you.his.name. annoying the hell out of you because you can't keep calling him tsunotaro when his green haired dog came close to biting your leg off when you did.

even though you don't ask him to he always seems to be trailing after you wherever you go but you can't really tell since, he scarily does not make a single sound when he's following you. (which is strange because it's always silent when he's there, even in the crowded halls.) it's like someone just flipped a switch!

"isn't this a party? even the music stopped," you frowned.

tsunotaro casts a look at your confused face and shrugs with a smirk. "hm. I wonder why indeed,

he always seems to appear at the most convenient of times. he's honestly saved you many times from a pile of medical bills for accidents which is a relief and an anomaly in itself because that's just.. eerily mysterious.

if a person was involved it's like your luck is always there because you never see them again.

somehow you befriended some short dude who calls himself lilia and likes bats. you assume he knows your friend because he's always dancing thin circles around you practically flaunting his knowledge of your friends true name.

said lilia is the one that assures you that 'nothing came to harm to that person. I heard they're merely on vacation' which is strange cause you never mentioned them being hurt at all.

for a single day you left your usual spot with them in favor of sitting with your friends during lunch and the thunder storm that week was so bad that you had to just pray that the old wooden boards would be able to withstand the water and shelter you.

you watch a piece of your roof fly off into the unkown. "the weather forecast literally said it was gonna be sunny all day," you deadpan.

once his dog had almost came close to saying his name which was a pain because HE SHOT HIM ONE LOOK AND THE BOY IMMEDIATELY SHUT UP. you were literally shaking said dog trying to get his name out of curiosity and anticipation so when you look at tsunotaro with a glare of playful annoyance he actually droops and looks lost

that by the way. is only a fraction of weird stuff that happened after you 'met' malleus. met as in met once then meeting each other so often that you had just allowed him to follow you around and befriend you.

cause. can you blame yourself? he's very adorable in his own right even if your friends insist that he's literally terrifying. <- you deny it to defend tsunotaro cause he's the purest being on the planet! you say as your friends shiver at the figure behind you wearing an ominous smile.

they run away as you trail off. "hey you—! ugh.. what a bunch of assholes," you fume. who even runs off in the middle of a conversation? you wonder in your mind. did they dislike your friend so much that they'd run away? but you don't get it! you've been telling them how good your friend is and how wrong they are.

you scratch your head.

a voice clears their throat behind you as you blink then perk up.

when you turn tsunotaro is there in all his glory. dorned in the most simple school clothing yet looking so elegant, don't forget his pitch perfect posture. wow.. it's almost like he's a regal royal haha.. but that can't be right haha..

he looks.. upset.

you frown. "what's with the face?"

he tilts his head. "what face? I've always had my face since I was an egg,"

what. you blank. one thing about your friend was that he had weird.. vocabulary, you've heard it plenty of times but it doesn't make new ones less surprising to hear. as in embryo eggs? you grimace. again, weird.

you choose to ignore his response.

"you look sad," you clarify.

ah. very observant. he thinks. tsunotaro hums in contemplation. "you seemed upset with me earlier, naturally I got upset since you were. I just.. don't want our.. friendship—" his face shifts a little at the mention of friendship. "—to change after you know who I truly am,"

aw. your eyes soften. "tsunotaro.. I won't judge you it's alright, to be honest I don't really know anyone here and even if I did know you I would always find you and befriend you," you say firmly as his green eyes seems to be sparkling as he takes in your words.

it's settled then.

a calm period of silence crosses over the two of you. perhaps it's the relief knowing that he had finally expressed his reasoning. it's not that often you both talk in an emotional degree like this seeing as tsunotaro doesn't seem to have anything he kept from you.

even if he did you reckon he'd tell you pretty quickly.

"malleus.. draconia,"

"excuse me?" you blink.

he looks at your eyes deeply. searching them inch to inch making sure he takes in every feature of your face. he looks at you so seriously that it honestly makes your heart skip a little beat. "it is.. my name, you can call me what you'd like—" as though a curtain is being drawn right before your eyes. "—please do not let this change anything," he makes sure to add.

but there is no frightened yell over his name or the fearful eyes latched on his figure during everything he does.

but the welcoming warmth that the cold is too unlucky to not have.

there is only the eyes that is so blissfully ignorant. because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you look at him like he's.. someone and no one at the same time.

malleus is not sure if he's happy that you are so unknownst to the perspective of others. they have a point, everything he's tied to demands intimidation. so even if you don't understand the significance of his name you take in every one of his imperfections and accept him wholly.

malleus would cut out not even a piece of his heart but just hand it to you on a silver platter cause that's you already have. though not his eyes, arms, or legs it's him. his heart is his whole and you have it.

your eyes crinkle. "how about mal?"

idia shroud | introvert cat lover, stranger danger aka hitoshi shinso 2.0 but more shy

that guy by the cat cafe is pretty weird.

besides the blue bundle on his head—that you refuse to call hair because hair has strands and by the blue, wavy flames framing his head there's obviously none on his head right now.

maybe that's what had gotten you stealing glances from across another table despite the research paper draft on your laptop that hasn't been changed for the past five minutes. you like to tell yourself that the only reason you're staring is because he's.. peculiar.

yeah nothing else!

since last month, where you started claiming a particular spot in the cat cafe. (not a normal one because you have something similar on your bucket list that includes getting buried by cats) you've never not seen flame boy over there in the cafe.

judging by his usual spot in the far corner where he thinks no one sees him this guy does not have a life but fuck that cause so do you.

life update: that bucket list goal is not gonna get achieved anytime soon cause you can't help but grimace away from the cats. you don't blame yourself cause since you got chased by a cat and proceeded to get beat up by it you steered clear from them.

and you can't literally dislike cats forever cause they're like.. a very common animal to see in the world and your delusional mind thinks that this silly little opinion will get you killed.

spoiler alert! it did not get you killed but it did get you working in the cafe temporarily since you literally forgot your wallet, therefore you can't pay for what you just ate. (which they would've let you off cause you're practically a regular now but somehow you narrowly avoiding a kitten made you bump into a vase) so.. yeah.. temporarily.. for a week atleast cause the vase was pretty costly and you're lucky theh let you off without a fee.

but labor instead sighs.

your temporary manager points to a table.

okay so maybe this will prove a little useful. you just want to get to know this dude for.. blackmail purposes.. nothing else.

"hi um—strawberry shortcake for idia?" you place the order in the counter carefully. raising your voice a pitch to let it reach the farthest table. you already knew that the flame boy is gonna come get it since it's hid order but you still hide your suprise when he does.

neither does he. in his very pretty, yellow eyes flashes recognition but it vanishes as he lowers his eyes. as though, nervous. "that's for me," he says quietly. bowing his head and muttering a quick thank you. before you know it he's already gone back to his abode full of kittens leaving you a little flabbergasted at his voice.

so idia was his name. what a pretty name.

the next day idia orders the same thing and with explicit permission you ask the temporary manager if they'd let you deliver it to his table personally (you lowkey felt bad for using their menory to convince them but you're on a mission here!)

"hi," you greet with a small smile. the boy avoids your eyes and instead focuses on the cup of coffee jelly beside his plate of shortcake. "uh—here's your order. I hope you don't mind, idia right?" he nods mutely as you slide the two dishes to him. little force so it won't slide off completely.

"I didn't order that—" he glances at your chest quickly, scanning your borrowed uniform for a sign of a name tag. you smile. "(name),"

"—(name)," he repeats slowly. internally panicking in his mine cause one. he knows you! somehow you're now working in the cafe and two, was this a game master ploy to assassinate him?

you glance at the coffee jelly. "it's complementary," complementary your ass you bought that with your own cash but he doesn't need to know that.

at some point you rushed through the paper to apply for the cafe part-time job just because you had enjoyed the time you served under idia. cause it gave you all the well I've to communicate with him since both of you are way. too awkward to do it normally.

it was a grueling two weeks of you waiting to get accepted and for once you felt accomplished when you received an email. wanna know the first thing you did? go straight to idia's table a few minutes after he arrives and slide him a coffee jelly.

a contrast to his wary expression his face visibly relaxes—and even brightens at your face. (beautiful, beautiful face.) "I'm back," you huff proudly, hugging your own clipboard to your chest and pointing at your personal name tag. "welcome back loser," idia snickers.

during the time you were giving him orders before you had managed to sneak a couple of words for conversation and boy did you learn a lot. to be honest those conversations was the reason you squeezed enough time in your schedule for this job. at some point you're convinced idia enjoyed it as much as you did because he even shyly asked if you played any games and had twstcord.

suprise suprise. idia was a freaking nerd and had.. weird humorous words. (in a joking, good way,) ever since you both exchanged info it was basically never sleeping in favor of talking 25/8. you like to say you were both exceptionally close and reached a peak in your relationship.

did you mention that idia had taught you the way of the cat?

—

"what if they tear my eyes off?" you worry as idia forcefully gets you to lay on the grass with a small grunt. he deadpans at your words. "chill out. I'm a level 99 cat whisperer I got this," as you said. weird humor and words. still. it's reassuring enough.

then he just stands up to scoop up the cats he can find and pours them on you. giving you a heart attack everytime one leaves and he just yanks them back. you realize—"this.. this is heaven, I'm in heaven," you breathe out.

idia looks at you then pauses. oddly looking like the same the first time you've seen him. he grows quiet. ".. y-yeah,"

—

"BTW where's the complimentary jelly?"

"there's none today. I'm freaking broke,"

"WDYM.. that has nothing to do with it cause it's complementary,"

"..."

"..."

(idia thinks the person in the cat cafe is weird.

in a good way he supposes.) but who is he to judge when said person just.. turned into someone he'd consider a player two?

note. umm just pretend that we get a broken jaw like that because it's for the sake of the plot LOL

send help it's like almost 1 in the morning and I just wrote for the whole period of midnight

not proofread

ko-fi

[bradleysass]

Five Encounters - Word Count: 689 - Starchaser

The first time James Potter and Regulus Black crossed paths that day, it was just after breakfast. The Hogwarts corridors were alive with chatter and footsteps, yet as soon as James turned a corner and spotted Regulus—lean and graceful in his pristine Slytherin robes—the world seemed to quiet. James’ stride faltered for a fraction of a second, and his usual grin softened into something unreadable. Regulus glanced up, his steel-gray eyes meeting James’ warm hazel ones. Neither of them said a word. They passed each other, both craning their necks slightly to steal a glance over their shoulders before disappearing into their separate worlds.

The second time, it was in the library. James had been balancing a precarious stack of books, much to the amusement of Remus and Sirius, when he noticed Regulus sitting by the window, immersed in a book. The sunlight streaming through the glass caught the raven-haired boy in a way that made James’ breath hitch. As if sensing the gaze, Regulus’ head lifted. Their eyes locked, and James’ heart gave a traitorous thud. Regulus’ expression was inscrutable, but there was a flicker of something in his eyes—curiosity, perhaps, or recognition. Before either could react further, Madam Pince shushed James for nearly toppling his books, breaking the moment.

By the third encounter, it was lunchtime, and James was weaving through the throng of students heading towards the Great Hall. He spotted Regulus leaning against the stone wall, speaking quietly to Barty Crouch Jr. Their eyes met as James walked past, and it was as if an invisible thread tethered them together. Regulus’ gaze lingered, his lips slightly parted as though he had something to say, but he didn’t. James’ chest tightened. He offered a small, almost imperceptible smile before continuing on his way. He could feel Regulus’ gaze burning into his back.

The fourth time was in the Astronomy Tower just before dusk. James had gone up there for some air, his mind buzzing with thoughts he didn’t quite know how to articulate. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be there, but as soon as he stepped onto the landing, he saw Regulus standing near the edge, looking out at the horizon. For a moment, James debated turning around, but then Regulus turned, as if sensing his presence. They stared at each other, the silence stretching between them like a taut bowstring. James took a hesitant step forward, but Regulus looked away first, his fingers gripping the stone ledge tightly. Without a word, James left, his stomach churning with frustration and something that felt dangerously like longing.

It was the fifth time that everything changed. It happened in a quiet corridor on the fifth floor, far from the bustling crowds. James had been walking briskly, running late for Quidditch practice, when he saw Regulus approaching from the opposite direction. This time, James didn’t slow down. Neither did Regulus. Their shoulders brushed as they passed, and the contact sent a jolt through James so sharp he stopped in his tracks. Regulus did too, just a few paces ahead. James turned first, his heart hammering in his chest. Regulus turned slower, deliberate, his eyes dark and intense.

James took a step closer, and then another, until they were barely a breath apart. Regulus’ hand shot out, his fingers curling around James’ wrist. Time seemed to freeze. James’ skin burned where Regulus touched him, and the air between them felt electric.

“James,” Regulus whispered, so soft it was almost swallowed by the stillness.

James swallowed hard, his voice caught somewhere between his heart and throat. He wanted to say something clever, something disarming, but all he could do was stare at Regulus and the way his expression was both guarded and vulnerable all at once.

The moment stretched, and for the first time, words didn’t seem necessary. Regulus’ grip on James’ wrist tightened, just slightly, before he let go and stepped back. The spell broke, and Regulus turned, walking away without looking back.

James stood there for a long time, staring at the space where Regulus had been, his pulse racing and his world irrevocably changed.

[pasukiyo]

Hi! Not sure if you are still taking requests but I had an idea and so I was curious like Tom has no interest in Quidditch at all, a big zero but! How would Tom react when he comes to the play for the first time, because he promised reader that he would come and watch her play and then something goes wrong and he sees her gets badly hurt?

𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 | tom riddle

tom riddle x f!hufflepuff reader 5,694 words warnings: fluff (for once) slight angst summary: tom riddle wasn’t one for quidditch. or love. but everything he thought would be questioned the moment you convince him to come to a quidditch match, and he nearly loses you. it all feels like a dream.

 Tom Riddle remembered the day he began to fall in love all too well.

 It started off a day like any other, he remembered sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast, Tiernan Lestrange and Clarence Avery at his sides, the others on the opposite side of the table. The two of them were bickering back and forth about some Slytherin girl they both seemed to fancy, the others snickering behind their goblets while Tom remained silent, frankly quite uninterested in the topic as he chose to instead engross himself in his Astronomy book. 

 “She always sits nearest to me in Potions,” Tiernan was saying, leaning forward to glare at Clarence over the table. “It must be true love then, right Lestrange?” Liam Mulciber sniggered from behind the rim of his cup, and Tiernan turned to curl his lip at him. 

 “Well, she let me borrow her Divination book,” Avery replied, a smug look washing over his pale face. “I don’t suppose she lets you borrow any of her things?”

 “Divination?” Dolohov snorted across the table. “You don’t need the book for that class, all you have to do is make stuff up. Really, Clarence, she probably just thinks you’re stupid.”

 Lestrange’s body trembled with the force of his laugh, and Tom narrowed his eyes, trying to will his mind back on the black, inky words of his Astronomy book.

 “That’s not true,” Avery hissed, cheeks seared with scarlet flame. “I’ll have you know that I have top marks in—“

 “Would the two of you be so kind as to take your argument elsewhere?” Tom’s eye twitched and he tore through the conversation like a knife, leaving the others to tighten their lips, not daring to make even the smallest of sounds. “I am trying to read.”

 For a moment, all was silent, and the group blinked at Tom as his shoulders heaved in a sigh, attempting to re-immerse himself back in his book. Lestrange swallowed the boulder-sized lump that had formed at the base of his throat, bowing his head, the others following suit. “Yes, of course. Sorry, my Lord.”

 They didn’t dare utter a word for the remainder of breakfast and eventually, they all up and left, leaving Tom on his own at the Slytherin dining table, save for a group of third years at the end. At last, he could read in peace without the others breathing down his neck or arguing over something as silly as love in his ear. 

 Just as he flipped to the next page of the book, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, laughter and conversation pinging off the stone walls of the large room, Tom’s focus all at once being thrown off course. His eye twitched again as he snapped his head up to the source of all the noise, his gaze following the mass of yellow Quidditch uniforms as they made their way over to the table on the far side of the Hall. 

 And just at the head of the group was her, hair swept back into a ponytail, her eyes locking onto his even from all the way across the room. Her face split into a brilliant smile and she raised a leather-clad hand above her head, wobbling it in a wave. 

 Tom Riddle blinked. 

 It was classic. It was her. 

 He should’ve anticipated this. She was always there, and for a reason unbeknownst to him, he was always drawn to her, could always feel her presence in a room, could always find her in a crowd. It was frustrating. It was irritating. It was disgusting. 

 He remembered watching as she sat to join the other Hufflepuff Quidditch players at their table— they must’ve had an early morning practice. He wasn’t sure why he felt inclined to care—after all, it was no secret that Tom Riddle loathed Quidditch. 

 He could never understand the interest. Why watch a bunch of fools fly around on broomsticks and toss balls into hoops when there were more beneficial ways to spend your time on? To be quite frank, Tom saw Quidditch as nothing more than a waste of time. 

 But even then, he still couldn’t bring himself to tear his eyes away from her. Seeker and Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team— he’d heard she was actually quite good at the sport, but a series of losses seemed to muddy her reputation. He’d heard other Houses snicker about it before— “Hufflepuff’s Captain caught the Snitch again, but the team was still down nearly two hundred points, and they lost anyway. Honestly, how unlucky can you be?” 

 How unfortunate, indeed. 

 Even then, she seemed content with her team, her House, everything. Tom couldn’t seem to understand how someone could be so happy, so fine with having to settle with everyone else’s ignorance. Nevertheless, there she was, laughing and cheering with the rest of the Hufflepuff team, as if they weren’t the worst Quidditch team Hogwarts had seen in years. 

 She must’ve felt Tom’s stare on her, for he could see even from all the way across the Hall how she blinked and turned her head, her eyes quick to find his. Her face lifted into a grin and she raised her hand to wave again. 

 Tom pursed his lips and slammed his Astronomy book closed. He needed to leave. 

 Tucking his book under his arm, he pushed himself away from the Slytherin dining table, striding towards the double doors of the Great Hall. He could feel eyes beading into the back of his head and he sniffed at the feeling, willing himself to keep his head forward. 

 He couldn’t understand why she was capable of getting so into his head. No one had ever had such an effect on him before, so why her? They were polar opposites— she loved Quidditch, she loved being around people, she was outgoing, fun, and he was… well, quite introverted. 

 People adored him, even he, himself, knew it. He guessed it came with being Head Boy, along with his services to the school. But Tom was less than appreciative towards the attention he received— he wanted nothing more than to be left alone, whether it be by the other students or the teachers. Professor Slughorn, in particular, was one of his biggest obstacles. Even his followers were as burdensome as they were irritating, more times than not. 

 All Tom Riddle really needed was himself. He didn’t care for anyone else, and he never would. He had come this far without trusting anyone— so why did he feel like that all could potentially come crashing down because of her? Why did he feel a pull towards her, like metal to a magnet? 

 The irritation with himself grew like a weed inside of him and with each angry step he took up the Grand Staircase, he tore through his annoyance with a blade. He needed to get a grip on himself, and as he made his way down one of Hogwarts’ many long corridors, he chanted the same phrase over and over again inside of his head:

 You do not need anyone else. 

 He spent the latter half of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon in the Library, forcing his mind into the hardcover spread on the table before him, his fingers gripping either edge of the book like it was the only thing anchoring him down to the inky, black words on the pages. Still, he could not rid his mind of the Hufflepuff girl— but why? He tried to remember every interaction he had ever had with her, if there was anything she had said that seemed to stick with him. Instead, the image of her smile and the memory of her warm, benevolent words made his insides twist with a feeling he didn’t even want to acknowledge. 

 He’d tried his best up to this point to make himself as unlikeable as possible— but even being short with her or brushing her off altogether never seemed to steer her off course. She was always just there, finding him even during the rush of lunch or dinner, asking how his day was or wondering how he felt about his classes. She seemed to try to find anything to say that may keep his attention. 

 She was nothing if not for her persistence. 

 And no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that she was annoying, he still found himself thinking of her, his mind burning with the way her face would split into a smile when she saw him, how happy she always seemed to be to see him. 

 He hated how fluttery his heart would feel at the notion that perhaps, she fancied him, his stomach doing somersaults at the idea of a relationship with her.

 Tom blinked down at his book. 

 This was really getting quite annoying. 

 For the second time that day, he slammed his book closed and sighed, leaning back into his seat, absentmindedly staring at the old hardcover. Perhaps a walk would suffice in clearing his mind— yes. Maybe all he needed was some fresh air in his lungs. 

 He pulled away from his seat and tucked the book away in his knapsack, nodding his head in acknowledgment to the old Librarian as he pushed the doors of the Library open. Keeping his lips pressed tight together, he clasped his hands behind his back as he ventured down the hallway towards the entrance to the Hogwarts Grounds, breathing the fresh air into his nostrils when he pushed the doors open, the afternoon sun kissing his pale cheeks. 

 The Grounds were bustling with students, which made sense, considering it was a Saturday. He just hoped he looked as unapproachable as possible— the last thing he needed was for someone to bother him, and he desperately hoped his followers weren’t around. He wasn’t confident he’d be able to bear their company without snapping at the moment. 

 It was warm today, the breeze adding the perfect amount of chill. The sky was a bright blue, and only a few wispy clouds painted its canvas. He thought for sure his mind would clear in no time—it was a beautiful day, after all. That was until just up ahead from the North exit of the Grounds emerged a group of students in bright yellow uniforms, their leader being none other than the very girl he had been trying to rid from his mind. 

 And of course, she was looking his way, and of course she was trotting up to him, that damned face illuminated with that damned smile. 

 “Tom!” She exclaimed as she jogged up, and once she was in front of him, he could see the faint traces of dirt on her cheeks, as well as the way the skin on her hairline glistened with a thin layer of sweat. His gaze flickered to her lips as her tongue swiped between them, and for a moment, he eyed the way her chest heaved as she caught her breath. 

 He could practically feel the knot tying itself at the base of his throat. 

 He cleared his throat and murmured her name in acknowledgment, nodding his head. “It’s a fine day today, isn’t it?” She asked, squinting her eyes as she gazed up at the sky. “I was lucky to have reserved the pitch for practice this morning. Finally beat your Neil Lament to the punch, for once.”

 He blinked— why was it that he suddenly seemed interested in Quidditch so long as she was the one talking about it?

 “Yes, I suppose,” he replied, his voice sounding void of emotion. This would usually be enough to scare anyone away— but not her. 

 “You know, I wish you’d come to our Quidditch matches, at least every once and awhile,” she leaned in, nudging his arm with her elbow. Tom tensed at the touch, the little hairs on the back of his neck standing erect, his skin erupting into flame in her touch’s wake. “We play Slytherin next Saturday, and we looked really good at practice today. Perhaps we’ll even have a shot at getting our first win of the season!”

 She trailed off, suddenly looking anywhere but at him. “I’d… I’d really love it if you’d come.”

 She blinked up at him, and she seemed to flush when he met her gaze, clasping a hand over her wrist. Tom could hear his heartbeat thundering in his chest at the realization that for some strange reason, he felt he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he disappointed her. His voice hardly felt like his own when he said, “perhaps, I will.”

 She blinked once, twice, thrice, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was hearing. Tom, himself, couldn’t quite believe the words that had tumbled from his mouth either. 

 “Really?” Her lips curved into a grin and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth— Tom hoped the swift glance he stole to her mouth was as discreet as he intended it to be. She grasped the handle of her broomstick with either hand and she turned her head to glance over her shoulder at her team where they stood waiting, calling out her name and waving her back.

 She tried to conceal her smile as she began to back away from Tom, hugging her broom to her chest. “I’ll hold you to your word then,” she said. “I expect to see you there!”

 Tom watched as she turned and bounded back to her team, peering back over her shoulder at him as the others dragged her away towards the castle. 

 Tom couldn’t believe he agreed to go to a Quidditch match— something he’d avoided altogether for seven years— all because she said she wanted him to. Tom swallowed a lump of saliva back down his throat— strangely enough, he found himself looking forward to the match next week. 

 He didn’t think the Quidditch match that next Saturday could come any sooner. Of course, he’d seen her around the castle, but something within him couldn’t quite wait to see her reaction when she noticed him in the questionable Quidditch stands. 

 Course, he still didn’t understand why he felt the urge to go in the first place. Why was it that he hated the idea of letting her down if he didn’t show up?

 If Saturday had only crept up on him, then the time for the match to begin made a break straight for him and sent him pummeling to the ground— and it was only when he entered the empty Slytherin common room that he realized he was running terribly late. 

 He made haste for the common room exit, failing to notice the group of boys looming in the corner until they were right on his heels, and he stiffened at the sound of someone’s voice.

 “My Lord, we’ve been waiting for you all morning.”

 He turned to gaze at his followers, expression as hard as stone. Liam Mulciber was at the head of the group, and the ball at the base of his throat visibly bobbed when he swallowed, realizing nobody else was going to speak up. 

 “Forgive me for asking you of this, my Lord,” he murmured, wetting his lips with his tongue. Tom only looked at him, not bothering to feign interest. “Well, I… we… were wondering where you were going,” Liam managed at last, his shoulders now lax as he inhaled. Tom sniffed, “since when did my whereabouts become your business?”

 Liam Mulciber’s body tensed again, and the others seemed to be more interested in the floor than Tom. Mulciber’s lips moved to speak again, but the ticking of the mental clock in Tom’s mind was thundering now— he was late. 

 “If you all are done interrogating me now, I’d like to get moving,” Tom said simply, turning to push open the door of the common room. “I have somewhere to be.” 

 Tom left them in the common room speechless, the sound of the door slamming shut behind him echoing in the Slytherin dungeons. His heavy, methodical footsteps were next to permeate the stone corridor as he strode to the exit, pushing open the next set of doors until he was on the steps of the Grand Staircase. Seeing as nobody else was around, he fell into an uncharacteristic sprint up the stairs. 

 “Is that Tom Riddle?” One of the paintings on the wall asked somewhere behind him.

 “I suppose it is! Hah! Never seen that boy run a day in his life. Always so aloof, that one is,” he could hear another one say. He didn’t allow himself the time to even scowl at this remark. 

 He bursted through the doors leading to the Hogwarts Grounds, and just over the stone walls on the far side of the yard, he could see the top of the Quidditch pitch, a flurry of yellow and green uniforms every once and awhile peeking from behind the stands. He could hear the muffled cheers and chants even from all the way down where he stood and he huffed, making a break for the North exit. 

 When he finally arrived, he clambered up the first set of stairs leading up to the nearest green stand he could find, dusting off his robes and huffing when he reached the top. 

 So this is what the Quidditch pitch looked like, he thought to himself. He’d never been up in the sketchy wooden stands, never been on the pitch itself, never even been within feet from the bleachers. He could feel hundreds of eyes on him as he sat in the nearest available seat in the front row, pressing his lips together and clenching his jaw, ignoring the murmurs behind him. 

 “Jason Wilbrook scores another ten points for Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff is now up eighty to thirty!” 

 The Slytherin students around Tom all grumbled, the stands on either side erupting into cheers, chanting for Hufflepuff. He blinked— although he knew absolutely nothing that was going on in the game itself, he knew it was an absolute rarity that Hufflepuff was actually winning, and against Slytherin for that matter. 

 He scanned the air and the different players in yellow uniforms until he saw her, dormant where she sat on her broom, her ponytail whipping behind her as she searched— more than likely for the Snitch. But when she looked down and her line of vision seemed to aim straight for him, he knew the little golden ball wasn’t the only thing she had been looking for. 

 Even from all the way down where he was, he could see the way her skin lit up as her lips curved into that bright smile of hers, and he could already see her leather-clad hand raising above her hand to wobble down at him in a wave. Tom didn’t make any moves to reciprocate, but he couldn’t seem to peel away from her either. Not even when something small but shiny whipped by her and she gasped, squeezing the handle of her broom with either hand as she leaned forward in pursuit of the Snitch. 

 “Oh! It seems Hufflepuff’s Seeker has spotted the Snitch!” The announcer’s voice bellowed from the amplifier in his hand. “Hufflepuff scores another ten points, making the score ninety to thirty but— uh oh, it seems Slytherin’s own Seeker, Neil Lament, has spotted the Snitch as well!”

 It was all happening so fast, but still, Tom’s eyes were trained on her and the way her yellow uniform whipped behind her as well as her hair while she chased the Snitch. Neil Lament, a burly seventh year with olive skin was at her side, his lips curled in a snarl as he rammed his shoulder into her, nearly knocking her from her broom. 

 Tom could taste bile on his tongue and his brow deepened with a scowl. The other Slytherins around him were chanting Neil’s name, yelling foul things about her, things that he hadn’t even realized were making his blood boil until he felt his cheeks warm with vexation. 

 “Hufflepuff scores another ten points and— oh, Merlin! Neil Lament has shoved the Hufflepuff Seeker and—“

 Tom needn’t hear more. He saw it as it happened. 

 Neil was seething, and seemed to have enough with this race. Gripping the handle of his broomstick with black leather gloves, he used all of the strength he could muster in his body to throw his shoulder into the girl beside him and her fingers slipped from her broom, just barely managing to latch back on before it was too late. 

 With her heart thudding against her chest, she willed her balance back onto her broom, exhaling a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she looked up and—

 —everything went black. 

 Tom’s lips parted as he watched the large, mud-colored ball ram into the side of her head before dashing away as if nothing had happened. He watched as her fingers unhooked from around her broom and her eyelids fluttered closed, her consciousness slipping away from her as she fell slack, her body limp as it fell from the broom and began to make its long descent for the ground. 

 Tom’s fingers were curled around the wand in his robes before he could even wrap his head around what was happening, his lips parting and forming the word “Levioso!” just before her body could hit the ground below. His blood was running cold, frost icing over his lungs as he guided her down into the green of the pitch, and he released his breath as soon as she was sprawled on the grass. 

 Everything after was a blur. 

 He barely remembered the trip down the wobbling wooden stairs of the stands, hardly remembered searching for the entrance to the pitch, but he did remember when a group of teachers emerged from beneath one of the stands, her body limp in the arms of Albus Dumbledore. 

 His feet were moving without his brain willing them to, and it wasn’t long before the professors acknowledged his presence. 

 “Tom, my boy,” Professor Slughorn’s lips curved into a smile as he grabbed his shoulders, locking him in place as her body was being taken away. His eyes couldn’t leave her. “That was you that casted the Levicorpus charm on her, yes? I must say, I admire your quick thinking and—“

 “Apologies, Professor. But I wish to see to her—“

 “Not to worry, dear boy,” Slughorn clapped his shoulder, brushing a piece of lint from the black of Tom’s robes. “Rest assured, Madame Everleigh will see to it that she’s nursed back to full health. Now, in the meantime—“

 Tom couldn’t bear to hear whatever it was Slughorn had to say next. He was tearing away from the professor’s grip and making long strides toward the castle where Albus Dumbledore, along with the rest of the teachers, disappeared into. His feet were on autopilot, making a beeline for the Hospital Wing. 

 When he finally arrived, she was already settled onto a bed, Dumbledore and a few other teachers talking amongst themselves as the Matron, Madame Everleigh, tended to her. Albus Dumbledore caught Tom’s eyes where he stood at the entrance to the infirmary. He excused himself from the other teachers and sauntered over to where Tom stood, hands clasped behind his back. 

 “That was some quick thinking you had back there,” Professor Dumbledore praised, but Tom was hardly comprehending his words. “Is she alright?” Was all Tom could bring himself to ask, and Dumbledore turned to glance over his shoulder before turning back to Tom, pursing his lips and nodding his head. “She’s unconscious, but she’s stable. She’ll definitely wake up with a ghastly headache, that’s for certain.”

 Tom blinked, expressionless. He wasn’t one for humor. Perhaps Professor Dumbledore already knew that. He wouldn’t question it, for now. 

 “I’m sure Madame Everleigh will have nursed her back to consciousness soon,” Dumbledore said. “She needs rest. I wouldn’t suppose Mrs Everleigh would find any issue in you keeping her some company, so long as you stay out of her way.”

 Tom bowed his head, and Dumbledore reciprocated as he watched the Head Boy pass by, noting the concern the boy had for the girl lying on the hospital bed. Interesting, Albus Dumbledore thought to himself before ambling towards the exit, pushing open the door in front of him. 

 Madame Everleigh paid him no mind, most likely not even realizing he was there at all as she fluffed the pillow beneath the girl’s head, making sure it was well supported. The other teachers had since dispersed, leaving the only ones left in the infirmary Tom Riddle, Madame Everleigh, the Hufflepuff Captain, and a young Gryffindor on the opposite wall, groaning into a large tin bucket. 

 Tom cleared his throat and it was then that Madame Everleigh acknowledged his presence, blinking up at him. “Excuse me, Madame Everleigh,” he began. “You wouldn’t mind if I stayed and kept her some company, would you?”

 Madame Everleigh shrugged, her small frame circling the bed to reach for something from the table on the other side. “So long as you stay out of my way, I see no problem with it.”

 Tom Riddle spent the afternoon sitting in a chair at her bedside, letting Madame Everleigh tell the other Hufflepuff Quidditch players her condition when they finally arrived, a somber air around them as they grumbled about their loss when the game had started off so promising. 

 It wasn’t until after dinner that the girl on the bed finally began to stir, and Tom pushed himself up on his seat, blinking down at her as her eyelids began to peel open. She grumbled something incoherent as she cradled the side of her head, the very one the bludger had hit hours before. 

 When she finally came to, she squinted over to the boy at her bedside. “Tom?” Her voice was low in a hoarse whisper, and Madame Everleigh was quick to join her at her other side, holding a cup of water to her lips. 

 “You will be sore for a while,” the Matron informed her. “It’s best if you stay here and rest for the time being. You’re lucky you weren’t unconscious for days.”

 She waited until Madame Everleigh was gone before turning back to Tom, even in pain, her face splitting into a smile. “Quite the first Quidditch match for you, wasn’t it?” 

 Tom, with his expression as hard as ever, leaned back in his seat and scoffed, not a hint of amusement on his face. He couldn’t believe she was cracking jokes when she was in pain, when he was over here worried for her. Her ignorance was astounding. 

 “You were hurt,” he replied, voice deep and rumbling. Her smile dropped and she frowned, furrowing her brows. “But I’m alright now,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at him. For a few moments, neither said anything. Her gaze was penetrating, as if she were trying to see through him. 

 None had ever tried and succeeded before. 

 “You were worried for me, weren’t you?”

 Until now. 

 Tom blinked, his eye twitching as he tore his gaze away from her, choosing to instead peer out the windows on the far wall. It was all becoming too real, this ever-growing feeling inside of him for the girl before him. Up until now, he could’ve played it off as being all in his head. But now that she was saying it aloud— it was too much. Too real. 

 She released a breathy laugh, and she reached to prod a finger against his forearm, his skin tingling with the phantom of her touch. “You were totally worried about me,” she tittered. “How lucky am I to have Tom Riddle, Hogwarts’ very own Head Boy looking after me?”

 Tom sunk his molars into the flesh of the inside of his cheek and he sniffed, shifting in his seat. “Do you want an award or something?” He questioned, and she chuckled. “Now he’s making jokes?” She raised an eyebrow to her hairline. “You’re full of surprises, Tom Riddle.”

 “It’s called being sarcastic.”

 “Is it?”

 Tom pressed his lips together to form thin, white lines and after a few beats, she turned back to look at him. “What happened after I got a bludger to the head?” She asked, noting the blackness outside the hospital windows. Tom shifted in his seat. “I left after you were injured,” he replied. “Your teammates came to visit.”

 She perked at this. “What did they say? Did we win?” She asked, and Tom shook his head. “They said they substituted another Seeker in for you. Hufflepuff lost one hundred to two hundred and forty.”

 She groaned and banged her fist against the mattress, spatting a “damn!” She grumbled, “if not for that blasted Neil Lament, I would’ve had the Snitch and we would have actually won for once.”

 Tom scoffed at this and she eyed him from the corner of her sockets. “What?” The wrinkle in her brow deepened at this. “Last I checked, you don’t even care for Quidditch. Why should you care if your team gets another measly win?”

 Tom rolled his eyes, “I don’t care about Quidditch. It’s the fact that you’re fussing over a damn sport when you’re lying in a hospital bed, injured.” 

 Silence swept over them like a wave and she blinked over at Tom who couldn’t bring himself to look at her anymore, staring out the windows instead, his arms folded over his chest. She eyed his pale skin, the sharpness of his jaw, his full, pink lips as they pursed together, his piercing, dark eyes as they looked anywhere but at her. 

 She could feel her heart as it drummed in her chest, a warmth washing over her that she’d felt many times before. She ached with affection for him, ached with want, with desire. And now that he was sitting here, her only acquaintance in the otherwise empty hospital— save for the small Gryffindor boy now sound asleep on the other side of the room— she felt a burning in her chest, a burning of hope that he felt the same way too. 

 After all, why else would he spend his entire day sitting with her until she woke up when he was always so insistent on using his time for other more important things? With the clearing of her throat, she mustered all the confidence she could to her mouth as her words formed on the tip of her tongue. 

 “You know, if I didn’t know any better Tom, I’d think you were falling for me.”

 Her heart was racing, especially when he turned to gaze back down at her, that murky, black stare of his piercing right through her. She felt like she was suffocating the longer he made her wait for his response, she could feel the crimson heat as it crept to her cheeks. 

 Tom Riddle was usually calm, cool, and collected, always knew what to say and when to say it. This was the first time he could remember being rendered speechless. 

 It was real now— never had anyone been able to see through him before, no one had ever been able to see him, to slowly begin to figure him out. But she did. She somehow knew about this strange and foreign feeling within him, something he wasn’t sure what to name. Attraction? Desire? Infatuation? Love?

 Could this be love? Could love be this sudden, this unexpected? Could this be what love was, to care so deeply for someone without even fully understanding why? To burn for someone else, to have your heart beat erratically at just the idea of them? Was love something else?

 Tom didn’t know. But perhaps, this was what it was like to fall in love with someone else. This was a day he’d remember all too well. 

 Tom straightened in his seat and cleared the heavy lump in his throat, his lip quivering as he opened his mouth, although unsure what to say. “Perhaps, I am.”

 Her lips parted and her brows knit together, and suddenly, she didn’t feel like she’d just taken a bludger to the head, or that she had nearly fallen to her death only hours ago. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than for Tom Riddle to kiss her. Her lips were practically throbbing with the idea of Tom’s on them. 

 “I don’t know whether or not I’m dreaming right now. And I really, really hope I’m not,” she murmured, losing herself further into the darkness of his eyes until she couldn’t tell when she ended and he began anymore. “Perhaps I’m dead and this is all just a hallucination,” she whispered, breathless. “Whether or not this is real, I’d really like for you to kiss me right now.”

 Tom could feel warmth surge through him at her words, his lip quivering as he leaned forward, their faces now so close, their lips but mere wisps against one another. “I hope you aren’t dreaming either,” he murmured and she trembled, feeling her lungs shudder in her chest. 

 And then Tom’s lips were on hers, and she was sure this was real. 

 Tom Riddle’s lips were on hers, soft and pliant, kissing her with an urgent, tender need. If she was a candle, then he was her flame, and she was melting like wax, sinking further and further down into the plush of the hospital bed’s mattress. If it weren’t for the pain in her head, she’d follow his lips when he pulled away, blinking down at her. Her gaze met his and his irises were so dark, she couldn’t quite tell when his pupils began or ended. 

 All she could feel was his hot breath as it lingered like an ember on her skin, and she shuddered as she exhaled. “If I’m dreaming, please don’t pinch me,” she whispered, and Tom breathed, the closest she’d ever heard him come to a laugh. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured back and the corners of her lips curved into a smile, a giggle slipping through the cracks. 

 Tom Riddle was making a joke. 

a/n; i literally just finished writing this like twenty minutes ago and i shit you not, i wrote the last like 3k words of this in one sitting 😭 not sure how i feel about the beginning, but i think i feel good about my writing at the end for once. and i actually wrote fluff and not smut for once!! look at me!! anyways, IM NOW CAUGHT UP WITH REQUESTS! so feel free to send in more if you’d like lol

| 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 |

@darkmoviesquotespizza @lyis @upsidedownspidey @michelle-26

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's 2024 & I'm talking about TayNew... really?

(They pretty much told us all to sit down and shut tf up, 'cause they got this. AND THEY DO.)

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Feb 2024 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 9 of 12 - I broke. In my defense, it was Monday, I needed comfort, and TayNew were right tf there. Ya know what? They are great in this show. It's a great adaptation. I might like it more than the JBL live action. You know why? Really, honestly WHY...?

That was a PHENOMENAL KISS. Those boys did Thailand fucking proud. They did fandom a solid. Thank you OGs for reminding us how it's done. I was getting used to SloppyHot. And SloppyHot has its place, but that TayNew rooftop kiss was a top tear class act. It was tender and sweet and respectful and joyful. It was eye work and breath work and years of practice. How very far BL has come while still staying so much the same. TayNew - I salute you!

(Read all about distribution issues here.)

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 12fin - we waiting, I guess? Bah.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - The recipe book thing was so damn cute and I love a claiming. YOU KNOW I LOVE A CLAIMING!

In fact, I love OffGun.

I love food based BL.

I adored seeing a reboot of "the infamous dragging". 

But I don’t love anything else about this show. Sigh.

1000 Years Old ep 1 of 12 - Finally we get our gay vampire BL from Feel Good Bangkok. Stars Shane (My Engineer) and fresh face Opal, directed by Champ (2gether). It’s kind of odd but enjoyable. A group of teen UFO seekers find a vampire instead. Opal looks a bit like a mix between Newnu + Leo (VIXX) - so cute + edge. Also, nice to see Shane again on our screens after so long. 

Finally, I like the subtle (and sometimes not subtle) presence of ghosts permeating this show. Do the friends know she's there? Do they know she's dead? Is the existence of paranormal accepted but not that of aliens? Or are the two combined? Is this lazy writing or just fun world building? Who cares! It's enjoyable.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 12fin - the nail painting bit was very cutie queers and I've not seen it done in BL before, so that was nice. For some reason captions never dropped for me on this last episode, but it didn’t really matter. Not much happened and I understood everything anyway.

Quick pitch?

From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night based on a y-novel, about a young man nursing a heartbreak who has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. This turned out to be a pulp that wasn’t half as good as it should have been and even less memorable, but not terrible. 5/10 DON'T BOTHER unless you're v bored

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Oh it is such a pulp: the acting is not good and the script is terrible. Of course, I’m mildly enjoying it. Very good dream kissing. There's something appealing about these main characters - I think it's the moot crushes. We rarely get to see that. These days everything feels very one sided, this... isn't.

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - Khonprot, a third-year hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks maybe a boy has a chance.

I tried but I can't get into my WeTV account anymore and I'm way too lazy to figure it out. I'll catch it grey if I can, since I've rebooted the bootlegging side of my BL life for Cherry Magic anyway.

So this show may stay in this section, or I may bump it down to "it's airing but..."

If anyone is watching it, let me know if it's good?

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Ugh it was GREAT, despite some pretty telling flaws. I ended up feeling like some of the filming was amateurish (very overworked low angles - director's first feature, I assume), and the narrative is a little disjoined and on the nose, AND the subs are clumsy (which I don't expect from KBL) BUT I still loved it. (FYI - I wouldn't be so harsh on a BL for this kinda thing except one from Korea.)

Quick pitch:

This isekai-based KBL is about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness. Like many queer narratives, this show is actually about self worth, trust, and found family, and it is VERY on the nose. But I don’t expect subtlety from my BL and I enjoyed it's truly lovely redemption arc and earnest performances. While I found the narrative a touch disjointed with overworked filming angles and poorer than average captions, this is certainly much better than early KBL in terms of consistency of tone, script, and immersion. Highly rewatchable and charming, which counts for a lot. 9/10

Trigger warning for suicide depicted.

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 6 - Gosh, it’s so lovely. But I do just constantly want to give them both hugs. 

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh look, Taiwan has created yet another BL where I spend most of the time watching it grinning like an idiot. Surprise surprise. The pet name thing was fucking adorable. Also Taiwan once more proving they come by their "kings of kissing" title honestly. I mean to say. In a week of good kisses this one was just... WOW.

On the other hand, some of the underpinning themes are starting to v worry me (ownership, consent, age), and we only just got started, and I don't trust this production company so... I have concerns.

But also... YAY KISSES!

(I'm made of weak moral fiber.)

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - Like many other shows on this list. I just enjoy it the most when the two leads are on screen together. So this episode was kind of lacking because they were apart for most of it. I also am starting to agree with the tone of the plot, that maybe they ARE better off as friends not lovers. (And I'm sure I'm not supposed to want that.) Oh Japan, must you?

My Strawberry Film (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 8 - Oh it’s good. In the arthouse lane so don’t expect sweetness & light or an HEA. If there’s no cartoon aspect to a JBL, there’s usually no joy. But it is certainly good. Teens uncover some old film and a mystery around a pretty girl. The background music is wildly annoying (and rarely in the background). 

It's Done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam, it's on YouTube. I will give it a try when I have a window of time.

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) - Gave me Luminous Solution vibes have decided not to watch.

It's Airing But...

Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - rumors are it's interesting. I'm waiting to know how it ends.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Next Week Looks Like This:

2/24 Unknown (Taiwan Youku) 12 eps - Older brother tough guy breadwinner looks after his sister and defacto adopted little brother. Little bother falls in love with him and is sent away after a stolen kiss. But when he comes back…

Sam Lin has a cameo so even if I wasn't already excited, I'm in. We should be on our guard though, Taiwan will occasionally go edgy, dark, and sad... this could go there.

One assumes GMMTV is filling in the BL time slot with something queer on their YT Channel after Cooking Crush ends, they gonna lose subs if they don't. But I've not been paying attention to the chatter so I don't know which of their line-up it will be. I think G4 are filming/off radar now, and Earth is in that het noona thing? Plus they gotta sort out the IP for MIx-Up and Ossen. So it won't be one of the announced adaptations. They'll hold My Golden Blood for the high season, so I think it'll be one of the lesser known lead-outs. Wandee or Only Boo maybe? But they only just started filming those. Are we getting our long awaited GL? Anything else left from 2023 that I forgot about?

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Two crawling kisses from Thailand this week. Now this is a fetish I didn't know I had. Turns out, we love this one! (*waves hand in air* I speak for all of us now.)

Cooking Crush

City of Stars

Possibly the best tsundere to cinnamon roll pivot we've had in a long time.

Also the best asshole to KING pivot. Could we have a whole drama staring this character now? Please?

And finally our sunshine learning to love himself.

SIGH. what a lovely show.

And a good SMILEY kiss from a KBL.

And then some cute cuddles? Korea is spoiling me these days. I'm catching expectations now. What's next? Japan learns to kiss in their light BLs? Ha! I kill me.

(All Love for Love's Sake).

(Last week)

[whetstonefires]

Do you have any opinions on Scholomance?

I do! I like it a lot. I really enjoyed all three books, blitzed through them easily and was much more excited to see how the plots unfolded than I'm used to these days, as a jaded adult, and I also really appreciated them as works of craft.

Especially the first one, I spent the whole time being all 'wow!' at how simple it was. So easy to read, but no waste. You really need to know what you're doing, to get that kind of pared-down elegance of form to work and still fit so much content in.

Like these are dense, there's a fantastic stylistic minimalism that allows El's character all the space it needs to breathe by making absolutely every other thing and person in the whole novel also do character work for her, which is exactly where the first person voice shines.

Also great use of character perspective to make the pacing feel really natural, so the fact that the first book takes three weeks, the second book takes one year, and the third book is like. Five or so incredibly stressful days spread out over the course of a few weeks? Doesn't feel imbalanced.

I actually got distracted from the story a few times by noticing the strength of Novik's technique. 😂 This is a me problem, in itself it's the opposite of distracting. Very low-profile.

I think the Scholomance is a great example of how far you can go in specfic when you aren't cringing from the label 'derivative,' because the Scholomance books feel very fresh ad clean specifically because nothing in them is concerned with standing out as 'original,' whatever that's supposed to mean, only with being well-executed and suitable to its task.

Hm, maybe that's where Liesel was born, the intersection of the efficient narrative style and the vast proportion of the story that concerns the maximization of utility and the instrumentalization of persons by themselves and others, and the forces that incentivize these behaviors. Or maybe she's just the narrative counterweight to Orion 'Head Empty' Lake lmao. How's that for a principle of balance, Galadriel?

I really did enjoy how beautifully it was laid out, over and over, in dozens of shades of humanity, how no matter where you go in an exploitative system almost everyone is being driven by the same survival instincts.

Because I don't think I've ever seen made so cleanly clear why you just can't expect any person or small group of people, no matter their level of goodwill or status, to unmake one of these systems from the inside; how it's not a matter of people being bad but of every single person being very...small.

And then not retreating into the idea of a person who is Big coming and breaking the cruel system from the outside as some kind of panacea, because 1) that is terrible, even if it's necessary and done in the best way possible and 2) that's not a sustainable answer to anything. Getting a balance between the protagonist being able to effect change and not subscribing to the great man theory of history can be really tricky!

Also did I mention, I love El, and I love most of the cast, even the dreadful ones. How am I going around with this many feelings about Li Shanfeng who doesn't appear until the actual climax?

The romance murdered me a bit, but it took up no more space than it absolutely needed to do its job, and I respect that. Also I appreciated Orion as a love interest; Novik has a slight record at this point of a version of that style of male love interest who's like a caricature of Mr. Darcy but old, which was shaping up to be my least favorite thing about her body of work.

...Orion is kind of like if you took the human king from Spinning Silver and gave him an alignment flip come to think of it, so he's not coming out of nowhere. Lmao.

Which reminds me (re: romance character typing) I've heard Novik didn't want it to be known she was astolat, which this series has renewed my sympathies if so. Because if I were a published novelist I wouldn't want people going 'you know, that resolution was really emotionally satisfying! reminds me of that fic she wrote where optimus prime and megatron get stuck in a hole underground and hatefuck about it.'

I don't even like Transformers. That fic almost made me cry. Actually I suspect it reads better if you don't like Transformers because I'm sure it does not give a shit about canon.

Anyway, whoever pointed out that one of the things El has going on is she's Enoby (and we're going to sit down and explore what the true reason to put your middle finger up at preps is, and what are some constructive ways to channel that socioeconomic wrath, and what it means that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism) was right and I'm not entirely over that either.

Fucking love El's mom as a character. Spectacular level of parent relevance and usefulness. A+.

Aadhya and Liu are also characters who fucking delivered.

Re: minimalism though, I laughed at the start of The Golden Enclaves when I realized that none of the enclaver characters who'd gotten development in the the first two books were from London, the enclave El was theoretically shooting for when we met her.