#literally has he just been wandering around for years smelling like a feast for the crows the whole time?

[navigatorsghost]

[Idle Naruto meta thoughts, under a cut for graphic discussion of decaying bodies.]

Thankfully, my life is not one where I encounter rotting corpses very often, and even more thankfully the only ones I have encountered have been animals and not humans (which by all accounts are far worse). But every time I do, and catch a whiff of that particular smell, I can't help but think: Hidan had such a valid grievance with Kakuzu over the whole Chiriku thing.

In case you've never experienced it, corpse-smell even in small amounts is, for want of a better description, sticky. Almost sweet, intensely organic, cloying - and viscerally discomfiting, because your instincts know exactly what that smell means and want you to get away from it before you get sick. It's similar to but worse than just plain old rotting meat, because you're getting the decay of everything else that was in the body, not just the muscle tissue. And the organic compounds that actually make the smell are so pervasive they can seep out of or into pretty much anywhere, and moreover, so persistent that they're almost impossible to scrub out of anything even slightly absorbent once they've worked their way into it.

So that days-old corpse, which seems to be pretty well embarked on the decay process judging by its unhealthy colour and general battered appearance, and the man who's had its oozing juices soaking into his coat for the last however-many miles of walking in the summer heat, have got to be generating the most unbelievable area-effect of pure olfactory horror. Every scavenger animal and bird for miles around has to be going "whoa, did lunch just walk by?" - not to mention that there should be enough flies tagging along with them to make an Aburame blink. And if Kakuzu pulls this type of stunt regularly, he'll have that smell so ingrained into his clothes, hair and skin that he's going to reek like a walking corpse himself all the time.

(My working theory here is that Kakuzu's sinuses are so full of Earth Grudge Fear that he genuinely hasn't been able to smell a thing in decades, which means he can be this gross with personal if not social impunity. Hidan, meanwhile, who has perfect physical regeneration, only wishes his sense of smell would finally stop working for good and fucking save him from this.)

[holykillercake]

Coin Stealer

Trafalgar Law x psychic!Reader

word count: 3.3k

summary: Law does not believe that you can see dead people, so you crochet him the strange-looking beanie of the strange-looking man that walks around the Polar Tang. 

highlight: ¨I´ll give a chance to the uniform, and I´ll only address you as Captain when you behave as Captain.¨

warning: You are entering Trafalgar´s room. 

notes: Bello, ma people! This is the 3/3 part of a lovely anon request in which the s/o makes them a thing with crochet! This time is Dr. Heart Stealer edition!! I really enjoyed writing this, and it got a little long, but I did not want to cut off important things. Anyway, I hope you like it!

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞!

¨Hey, Bepo! Have you seen Law?¨

¨Y/N! I don´t know where he is... I´m sorry.¨

¨Oh, it´s ok!¨ you patted the mink´s shoulder, giving him a warm smile. 

You were never a big fan of his constant apologetic personality, but you couldn´t deny that you missed it during your time apart from the crew. 

The Heart Pirates had parted ways a long time ago when your Captain decided that the time to put his life-long plan in action had finally come. The crew split into three parts, and each one followed a different path. 

After the sudden disappearance of the Strawhats, the Paramount War, the Rocky Port Incident, and Law obtaining his title as a Warlord of the Sea, you were the first to depart, remaining in Sabaody Archipelago, waiting for the owners of the Thousand Sunny to return. You fought alongside a fishman called Hacchin, a weird guy that reminded you of Black Leg and other allies to protect the ship. 

Next to leave was Law, who sailed to Punk Hazard, where he formed a partnership with a crazy scientist bastard. Then the rest of the crew went on their own towards the island where you would meet once the plan was concluded.

The trajectory was not smooth by any means, but you did it, all of you. And now you feasted along with the Strawhats, celebrating whatever it was that you did not understand. Maybe they were like that, or maybe they didn't understand the risks you would take from now on. 

Anyway, the crew seemed to be in need of some music and fun, and you were too busy looking for your Captain to care about that.

In the midst of the evening breeze, the crackling of the fire, and the barrels of beer crashing in celebration, you saw the answer you were looking for.

Of course.

¨If I didn´t love you...¨ you growled as you made your way out of the island to reach the Polar Tang. And let´s face it, that was a detour.

You went straight to your room, where Law would probably be sipping coffee, napping, or just running from the crowds. And just like you, it has been months since he stepped on his own ship and slept in his own bed. 

So maybe you could cut him some slack. 

However, as you approached the room, there was no smell of coffee. No smell of coffee and no light snoring. Just a stillness carried with heavy emotions and your boyfriend, sitting in the dim light holding tight the crochet piece you gave him years ago. You swayed in place, expecting that thing you made to provoke him to be at the sea bottom.

¨Wondering why I kept this?¨ he asked. 

¨Not really.¨ you replied. ¨But I am surprised. Am I disturbing?¨

¨You never do.¨

You jumped on the bed, sitting beside him and resting your head on his shoulder.

¨YN-ya... do you know how he...¨ the question struggled to come out.

¨Peaceful.¨ 

¨Hm.¨ he nodded.

¨I don´t like when he smiles, though. It creeps me out.¨ His body bounced slightly as he joined you in a chuckle. 

¨Remember when you gave me this?¨

¨Of course, you almost kicked me out of the ship!¨ you giggled with the memory.

¨You were really annoying back then.¨

¨Hey! Objection!¨

¨Objection rebuffed.¨ he smirked and moved on the bed, pulling you to lay down on his chest.

You told him to shut up before cuddling in, not falling asleep immediately. None of you said much. Instead, you enjoyed the calming and comfortable silence of each other´s company. 

It has been a while since you had that. 

You remember every moment of your early days as a Heart Pirate. You and Law hadn´t started on the best terms, but he needed you - well, your skills - and you were given a good deal. 

The pivot of your history together began on a chain of coincidences. The first one being both of you docking on the same island. The second one was him finding a rare coin for his collection, the same one you would later slip into your pocket. 

You wandered around towns using the beautiful art of distraction to get anything you wanted from anyone. Watches, necklaces, wallets, and, well, coins? It was all he had in his pocket, and since it was a cute one, you decided to keep it. 

Some called you a thief. Some called you a burglar, and some may even have called you a big son of a bitch. But the thing they all had in common was that none of them knew exactly who they were calling those names. 

The thing is, you messed up the first rule and made eye contact with him. Well, it was more of you not being able to take your eyes off of him. He stood out in the crowd, and you had gotten cocky. So when he later found out about the missing coin, it did not take him long to connect you to it. 

A lot of things went through his mind. He felt frustrated because his Haki failed him, annoyed for the trouble he would have going after you, and intrigued by the touch so light he did not feel at all. 

Or that is what he kept telling himself. 

Yes, he was interested in someone with skills like yours, but maybe there was something else he would not admit. The way you looked at him as if you had deciphered his entire life and found the missing pieces of his puzzle. Even the ones he tried to hide. 

That night he went out for your head. Or better, your heart, literally. 

You were enjoying the comfort of your hotel room, eating some snacks, and playing with your new commemorative coin when he materialized himself by the bed. You instantly knew something was about to go down.

Oh, fuck.

That situation got pretty tense pretty quickly, both ends asking things, and no one willing to offer any answers. The stakes were high, glares cutting the air like blades. It did not help to ease the mood when in the sway of his hand your heart popped out of your chest. 

Long story short, his plan was never to drag you to the Polar Tang. Law wanted you to go willingly, joining his crew in exchange for your heart. However, the unfortunate variable he did not consider in the equation was that you would not go down without a fight. So by the time he reached the ship, he noticed the gentle fresh breeze ruffling his hair. 

You know, since his hair was usually covered by the hat. 

...

THE FREAKING HAT!

The next morning when he returned, you were waiting for him with a satisfied smirk bending your lips, the hat on your head, and the coin dancing between your fingers. 

At some point, you had stolen it, and once again, it passed unnoticed by him. That was not a good night for the Heart Pirates. And that was also the night Trafalgar Law realized a couple of things. The first, he needed you on his crew. And the second, you were going to be the death of him. Or maybe the aneurysm of him, he would not give you such credit. 

¨You´re late.¨ you said, amused, and his grip tightened around the sword.

¨What´s your name?¨ he repeated the question you dodged several times during your last encounter. 

¨What´s with the dog?¨ you pointed at the tall, white polar bear wearing a uniform. Law pursued his lips, breathing heavily through the nose.  

¨I am B-¨

¨Bepo-ya don´t talk to he-¨

¨Your name is Bepoya?¨ you ignored the man, bumping into his shoulder as you walked towards the mink ¨Hi, I´m Y/N! Nice meeting you.¨  

The polar bear looked back and forth at you and his Captain, not knowing how to behave in this situation, so he apologized and stepped farther back. 

¨Alrighty, now that we are all introduced, shall we go?¨ 

¨What?¨

¨Come on, Law, focus.¨ you snapped your fingers multiple times, teasing him. ¨You came here to pick me up, right?¨

¨No. I want my hat back.¨ He tried to grab it, but you ducked in time, holding the hat on your head with both hands. It was so soft. 

¨How about a trade? The coin for the hat.¨

¨How about my hat for your heart? Do this, and I won´t...¨ his words died in his mouth as he clutched his pockets. 

¨Looking for this?¨ You held your heart, wrapped in a cold and gelatinous box that you retrieved when you bumped into him minutes earlier.

How could you fool him again? He kept seeking answers that explained why it was so easy for you to outwit him, and his expression showed. 

¨You´re getting close, Law. Put your little trash can to work.¨ you tapped your temple, smiling mischievously at him. 

¨YN-ya, you know I can kill you, right?¨

¨Yeah, but you won´t.¨

¨How do you know?¨

¨I got a sixth sense for these things.¨ 

The rest of the conversation did not take long to come to an end. Amid sarcastic comments and threats to each other's lives, what should have been the pinnacle of the moment became a random passage in the Heart Pirates´ logbook.

¨So, YN-ya, do you want to join us? You´re gonna have to wear a uniform and address me as Captain.¨

¨I´ll give a chance to the uniform, and I´ll only address you as Captain when you behave as Captain.¨

Law sighed, giving himself a carotid massage ¨Ok. Let´s go.¨

He walked a few steps ahead of you and Bepo, wondering why he spent so much effort on an arrogant thief that wouldn't even call him Captain.

You quickly became friends with the polar bear, even apologizing for calling him a dog. He strangely apologized for your apologies, culminating in what would almost make the notorious Surgeon of Death suffer a stroke.

¨What the hell is that?!¨ you shouted when the Polar Tang entered your field of vision ¨That´s not a ship!¨

What if I am claustrophobic?

The ya thing is a schtick?

Death? That´s a little borderline controversial for a doctor.

Trafalgar more like Trafraude!

On occasions like that, Law wondered how peaceful and quiet would be the sixth level of Impel Down. From a current perspective, your initial interaction served as a vaccine, creating the necessary antibodies Law would need to deal with future pirate alliances. 

The crew got attached to you very quickly. Your adventurous spirit, your stunts, and street trades fascinated them. Losing bets against you seemed acceptable, your card tricks and the thing of guessing the numbers they thought was like fuel for a good day at work.

Law didn't seem to mind that much. After all, you wouldn't get him on his nerves if you were busy with them. However, one day, you let slip something that caught his attention. 

¨YEAH! That´s exactly what she looked like! How did you do this?!¨ 

Law heard Shachi´s roar, followed by a wave of surprised ´ooh´s coming from the kitchen, where the majority of the crew hunched around the dinner table. 

The doctor leaned against the door, silently observing what could possibly be more important than keeping the ship working. He had been drowning in files all night, and now he decided to have a coffee break. That mess early in the morning did not make him happy. 

No one seemed to be too intimidated when he cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Everyone greeted him with smiling 'good mornings' and turned their attention back to you.

 ¨What is going on here?¨

¨Captain did you know Y/N can see dead people?!¨ 

The coffee left a bitter aftertaste on his mouth.

¨What?¨

¨Yeah, Captain!¨ Shachi yelled on Law´s face, earning a death glare ¨She just described my mom!¨

¨Really, Y/N-ya? Now you´re a magician and a psychic?¨ he asked, taking the seat across from you. 

¨The perks of being me.¨ you shrugged. 

¨Do you see more dead people here?¨ 

Yes

¨No. But you sound a little skeptical, Law.¨ 

It was way too early for that discussion, but your biological clock didn't seem to care. Whenever Law came with his teasing, you would be ready to strike back.

He gave everyone a lecture about empathic accuracy and how good you were reading cues communicated by words, emotions, and body language. Or some crap like that. 

¨Ok, let me see if I got this right.¨ You shifted in the chair, hands moving in the air ¨You can pull organs out of people´s bodies, cut them in pieces without killing, switch their souls, but you do not believe that I can see dead people?¨

He tilted his head, but not giving you an exact answer.  

¨Do you wanna know what I think?¨

¨No.¨

¨I´ll tell you anyway. I think you have something you don´t want people to know, like a soft spot or a tragic past.¨ you sought the answer in his eyes ¨I´m guessing a loved one who died?¨ 

Overall, he was not wrong. You were a master in reading people´s body language, but you were not a jackass. So when the slight twitch of his mouth cleared up your doubts, it was time to stop. 

You knew how it felt, soft spots, tragic pasts, or late loved ones. There was no need to go further and throw more salt on his wounds. Hopefully, that taught him a lesson. 

An awkward silence ensued while everyone watched the scene, uncertain how to act, fearful that an extra spark would make everything explode into massive destruction.

¨Whatever.¨ he sighed ¨Show´s over. We´ll be reaching land in a few days, and we should be preparing to dock.¨ 

When everyone left the kitchen to go about their businesses, you remained alone with the figure that constantly wandered the submarine. He didn't do it in a creepy way. Despite his extravagant makeup and the intimidating aura, he was not a bother.

And it wasn't like he was there all the time, definitely more than anyone else. His passages were guaranteed on the days when Law was more sensitive. For bad or for good. He would look after him from the distance like a parenting figure. 

¨Who are you?¨ you murmured under your breath. 

For the next few days, Law made sure you were too busy to foster discussions about dead people or paranormal abilities.

When your services stealing rare supplies or getting answers to your Captain's questions you weren't required, you would help him with mountains of paperwork.

Only this time, he had outdone himself.

He managed to assemble the annual check-up of the crew, the inventory packing list, and the update of the logbook at once. This last one could easily wait until after you docked. But that freaking workaholic sadistic surgeon would not let this opportunity slip. So you pulled several all-nighters writing, signing, and stamping, all without exchanging a single word.

When you emerged, a few miles from land, you barely enjoyed the fresh breeze and sunlight. The crew hopped around, getting ready to put their feet on the continent as you sat in the kitchen profusely grouchy.

Your brain was fried, burnt, carbonized. 

¨You´re not coming?¨ Penguin asked, and you shook your head. ¨It´s been a while, Y/N, you should come.¨ you shook your head again. ¨I guess you´re not buying anything for the Captain´s birthday as well.¨

An incohesive question came out of your exhausted being. Penguin couldn´t help but feel sorry for you. ¨By the time his birthday comes up, we will be underwater, so everyone is preparing.¨ 

¨Do I have to?¨

¨No!¨ he chuckled ¨He doesn´t really like it, but we still buy him something.¨

¨Why?¨

¨´Cause he is a good Captain!¨ he said and sprunt out by the voice of someone calling him, waving goodbye at you. 

 It wasn't that you didn´t think Law was a good Captain. It was just an inherent nature of yours to clash every time you looked at each other. 

But on such occasion, you could combine the useful with the pleasant. After all, you were grateful because he gave you friends. Of course, he was the unfortunate by-product that came with them, but you could handle him. 

So fighting against your will to stay and sleep, you forced your way out to the solid ground, hoping to find the most random store someone could wish for, a haberdasher. 

Much to your delight, you did it. You picked a burgundy color wool and the first hook you put your eyes on and returned to your soft bed. 

The chances of you having scared your crewmates by staring at the blank for hours were high. In reality, you wanted to memorize and come up with a pattern for the strange-looking beanie that man wore. 

It had no pompom at the top like Penguin´s. Instead, two long pieces of fabric ran down from each side with heart-like things hanging.

When the sixth day of the tenth month arrived, Law´s desk was cluttered with presents. You had decided to wait until you were done with work and heading to bed to give it to him. 

After conquering that task, you locked yourself in your room, where you stayed until you had it finished. For some reason, you bothered to buy a box to put it in. Whatever.  

On the sixth day of the tenth month, Trafalgar Law could not focus on work. Every slight movement of yours, every bathroom break got him jittery, rehearsing words that wouldn´t make you hate him more. 

Not that you ever hated him, but you didn´t talk, so he didn´t know. After some time starting small talks and being ignored, you just gave up trying. 

By the end of that night, he had given up too. So when you placed the golden-yellow box on his desk, he couldn´t vocalize his feelings. It became just another silent night. 

Chests tight and hearts clogged with unspoken words. 

Law did not work for the next couple of days, and if he left his room, no one saw. The gifts on his desk were not even opened. Everything was left the way it was. 

Maybe you had crossed a line. 

As you marched up to the room at the end of the hall, several paths popped into your mind. You could act like you didn´t care, so what if you left? You had been alone for so long, it wouldn't make any difference! Still, something was begging you to apologize. To ask to stay, because being there was good, everything you never knew you wanted.

You were ready to pack your bags and have your title as a Heart Pirate retracted when you woke up one morning, finding a note on your desk telling you to meet him in his room. Your nails dug into your sweaty palms. Where did this tightness in your chest come from?

When you set foot in the room, your eyes hovered around. It was the first time you saw Law's room. It was exactly how you thought it would be.

Keeping your gaze locked on his was more difficult. He was sitting in an armchair near the foot of the bed. From afar, his appearance remained neat, as always, but as you approached you saw the circles under his eyes even darker. A thing you didn't think was possible.

For the first time, you didn't know how to read his expression. And seeing him vulnerable like that made your stomach drop. So you prepared yourself for the worst. However, to your surprise, all he did was ask you questions. 

No snarky remarks. You just talked.    

That day something changed. And from that day on, Law had found someone to help him carry the unbearable weight he had on his shoulders, and you found a place to call home. 

                                                             ...

¨Y/N-ya.¨ he called you, who was a cuddle away from sleeping.

¨Hm?¨

¨Before you left, in Sabaody...¨

¨Uhm.¨

¨You stole the coin again, didn´t you?¨ 

You giggled and pulled the commemorative coin from your back pocket, snuggling closer to his body and feeling the vibration of his chest as he chuckled.

Extra notes: I hope you had enjoyed it! It came out a little too long, but I have been feeling like I´m limiting myself when it comes to the number of words... I don´t know, I´m confused. 

Anyway, is that pink and red that I see on the horizon?

[potter-imagines]

Meadow (George Weasley x Reader)

Prompt: Hi, maybe fred or george (you can choose) and the reader are spending the afternoon in a flower meadow together? (sorry for my english, it's not my first language)🙈😊

Notes: okay I'm sure spring break isn't a thing at hogwarts but for this write, it is . hope you enjoy !!

Warnings: none, just a lot of fluff cause everyone loves george

Word Count: 3.5k

Spring break was winding down to a close as early April broke through. New life was brought to fruition as the snow from the harsh winter evaporated into the ground. Outside the grounds of the Weasley’s home were fields and fields of open land. Flowers sprouted in every step creating a kaleidoscope of colors. Those tumbling plains seemed to extend for miles beyond the horizon. Just beyond those grassy hills and slopes was a large, secluded meadow.

It was the early hours of a Saturday morning when a pair invaded the area far before the sun began to rise. The meadow Y/n and George had been occupying seemed to be the perfect location to view the birth of the new season. The perfect spot to enjoy each other’s company. Soon they would be ushered back to Kings Cross and board the Hogwarts Express- George for his last time and Y/n, well it certainly wouldn’t be her last time, no matter how hard she dreamed it was. The topic of George leaving Hogwarts was one the couple tip-toed around. Break was only two weeks but that meant two extra weeks for the pair to be together. With the school year tumbling to an end, George would be leaving school soon with his brother to start his dream and Y/n would be stuck needing to finish her last year at Hogwarts alone. The girl was a year below her boyfriend and although it never caused any friction for the pair, the gap was finally giving them issues.

In George’s mind, arriving to his last school year was both an accomplishment, and a burden. As excited as he was to finally leave those stone walls that held him back, the last thing he wanted was to leave her behind. It didn’t make any of the pain easier knowing that he’d be leaving alongside Fred earlier than the rest of their classmates. Y/n had been the only other living soul Fred and George had filled in on their grand exit plan. They needed someone to keep guard and be a lookout so who better than the one person they trusted not to run their mouth.

There was a heavy smell of earth in the air, mixed with the faint odor of new growth. The vivid green leaves and the cheerful colors of the blossoms are a feast. Flowers popped up from the soiled ground and the fruit hanging from the trees were starting to come to life.

The couple had spent a good portion of their break at the secluded meadow. In a way, it became their little secret spot. Not that it was a secret location by any means. Fred and George had discovered the meadow a few years back when they had ventured miles away from the burrow. The boys were always adventurous, especially when Molly and Arthur finally allowed them free range outside the family home when they were eleven. There were miles and miles of tall grass and woodland that made it easy to get lost. Of course with Fred and George, losing their way was never a worry. When the boys stumbled upon the breathtaking meadow, George seemed to be the only one interested in their find. Fred had wandered off into the section of forest they entered through, his attention captured by a group of baby deer camouflage in the woods. For years George would wander back to the meadow on his own when he needed a break from the loudness of his siblings or grew tired of Ron trailing on his coattails every turn. He promised himself he would keep the spot to himself, let it be his own private sanctuary. This plan ran smooth for a few years before George made the exception to break the rule for one person only.

But for now, the two could only take advantage of the time they had together and they didn’t intend to spend a second apart. It looked as if Y/n and George had stepped straight into a storybook. The grass was Eden-green and thigh-high to a thrush. A neon-blue ribbon of river ran through the ground in a squiggle line. A party of bright yellow ducklings scattered in the calm water, small quacks filling the air. Chirping and sweet songs from the birds made that feeling of Spring become a reality. Buzzing bumble bees and wildflowers sprung along the land. The sounds of nature engulfed the girl whole as she melted into the soft grass.

“I could stay here for the rest of my life- away from people, away from the world. It’s peaceful.” Y/n hummed softly. Her large doe eyes observed the clouds that formed a perfect line-up in the baby blue sky, as if they were boats safely moored in celestial harbour. Peeks of sunlight seeped in through the cracks in the fluffy clouds casting a shimmering light as they danced slowly by in the sky. Just a moment before she was listing off all the animals and objects she saw in the sky. Now she was considering the thought of staring at them forever.

George stole a quick glance down where she laid in his lap. Strands of her h/c hair flowing across his legs and hands. It tickled against his skin as a light breeze swept past. Her abrupt words had caught him off guard. He had missed the sound of her voice for the last hour, although adored the trance-like state of happiness that she was in so he was constantly biting his tongue to keep his thoughts from pouring out. Now that she was somewhat back to earth, he was eager to chat. Tilting his head in her direction George raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah?” He questioned.

A smile graced her lips as she nodded in confirmation. The land was beautiful, unlike anything she had seen. There certainly weren’t any meadows with such serenity as this in the city of London. For once in her life she could hear the sound of her heart beating in the quietness of the open land and she loved it. No cars honking, no crabby cityfolk shoving their way through crowds, no taxi drivers screaming at pedestrians to move, no bright lights, just nature and all of its creations.

Extending her arm, Y/n pointed out to the land. George followed her direction to see she was gesturing to a small section of the meadow that was surrounded by an eyecatching army of poppies and bellflowers. A large willow tree stood towering over the side. In the middle was a bare section- large enough for a home to fit. Y/n grinned in excitement as she suddenly sat up straight.

“Yeah. Build a little cottage, start a garden, maybe even a family… I think it would be lovely.” She said dreamily. Her eyes looked up to George in wonder, silently asking him to share his opinion. Mirroring her previous actions, George scanned the meadow. He placed his hand against his chin, pretending to think long and hard about her idea. Y/n giggled besides him and shoved him lightly on the shoulder. He chuckled in response and leaned back into the log supporting him. George nodded in agreement to the pondering dream.

There was a casual grace to the meadow, as if it has a peripheral awareness of its own beauty yet would rather be at peace in this warm sun. It was quaint and humble yet glowing in - like a glorious mansion hidden away in a forest. A hidden gem that was to be kept away from the rest of society. Their own little happy place that opened and bloomed just for them. There was something so magical about the meadow that George couldn’t pass it up. It felt like fate leading him there- leading them.

“Think we could make that work. The family part is a definante- it’s just building a home that’ll take a bit of time. We could get started on making a family of our own right now-” George was cut off when a hand clamped over his mouth. Although he was only joking, he wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.

“George-” She warned playfully.

“Or in a few years. But living out here would be nice. ‘S not like I got to worry about commuting for work. It’d be a nice escape from the shop once we get business running, and once you graduate. Not to mention moving out here would mean I’d get to see more of you in that pretty dress. Flowers in your hair... you look so enchanting, darling.” A bashfulness struck Y/n to her core at his words. Her eyes instinctively shot down to the grass as a paint of red rose to her face. George’s heart quite literally stuttered at her reaction. Making her blush, seeing her smile because of something he said never failed to bring a sense of happiness to George. That damn smile, he thought to himself. He was sure she could convince him of anything when that innocent look took over. It was natural for her. Y/n was simply ethereal in every way.

His hand brushed as gently as a feather across the skin of her cheek. Pushing the daisy back in place behind her ear, George drew his hand down from her ear to her neck. Gripping her softly George pulled her towards his body, lessening the space between the pair. Dipping his head he leaned in towards the girl until their lips were only inches apart. He smirked teasingly, ready to make a remark when Y/n took matters into her own hands.

Linking her hand around his chin she pulled his face in hers with a deep kiss. Although she initiated the gesture, it was George’s response that made her lose all sense of control. His large hands moved from her face to her waist in an instant. Much to Y/n’s surprise he lifted her without warning, still holding her lips in his, and placed her in his lap so she was facing him. Her hands instinctively switched to wrap around his neck for stability. Fingers gripped at his short ginger locks as she adjusted her hips into his.

Y/n’s heart pounded in her chest as her entire body got weaker. She could only focus on how soft he felt against her mouth, how addictively he invaded all her senses. Everytime their lips met a rush of adrenaline and love ran through her veins. The muscles in her body went limp at his touch, jelly like. George held a tight lock around her waist keeping her steady against him. He slipped his tongue against her mouth, visibly shuddering when she slid her tongue against his in return. Tension was pooling by the second as the kiss intensified. Y/n’s strawberry dress cascaded down the side of legs as she repositioned in his lap earning a groan from George. Hot breath fanned against her face briefly at her movements. His hand darted from the small of her back to the exposed skin on her upper thigh, pushing her further into his body. The vibration of his voice against her lips and the tight grip of his hands on her thighs sent shivers down her spine. His kiss was sweet, like a long awaited embrace. Stars blurred her vision as George gripped her against his chest. The moment was quickly turning into a not so innocent kiss causing Y/n to slowly detach her lips from his. As she pulled away she remained sat in his lap, fingers brushing along the skin of his face as she admired his beauty. A smug smile was displayed on his face while he repositioned his hands behind his body to hold the pair up. Still holding his face in her palms, Y/n pressed forward to scatter a line of kisses on his cheeks. He chuckled in amusement before her kiss latched to his mouth once more. Between short and passionate pecks she fought for words to tell him how much he meant to her. She wanted to tell him all the emotions of love and desire he brought onto her. Tell him how she could never live with another- how he was the only one she wanted for the rest of her life.

“You’re too good to me, George.” She whispered against his lips. The lack of space between them was intoxicating. Heat emanated from George’s cheeks as he desperately attempted to regain his breath and compose himself. His chest was light with air caused by the sweetness of the girl before him. A small smear of glitter lip gloss covered his bottom lip in a shine.

George tasted a hint of bubble gum as his tongue swept along the skin of his bottom lip.

“I’d give you the whole world if I could but I’m afraid I don’t have the coins for that yet, princess.” Pressing his forehead against hers, George hummed the words. Y/n shook her head with a smile as she countered his grand proposition with one of her own.

“All I need is a quaint, cozy cottage out here and you… well a dog or a kitten would be nice too.” She laughed.

George could only stare at her in that moment. Her words registered although the naturalness to her beauty was too much for him to process. The sun hit her back in with such purpose it was as if she were an angel breaking through the sky. Her strawberry midi dress flowed down her sides and pooled in between his legs. Pretty pink satin clung to her form. The sparkling red strawberries fitted her perfectly. The ruffles on her shoulders gave her the look of a cottage princess, a fairy even. Hair flowing freely in the wind, it was a sight he’d never grow tired of seeing. He’d never seen someone as breathtaking as her.

Taking advantage of his silence, Y/n looked up to George in seriousness. His large brown eyes stared lovingly back to her. Gesturing to the meadow surrounding them, Y/n asked him,

“Do you think you’d be happy out here?”

George tore his stare from the girl to scope out the land once more. All the years he spent wandering down here alone in his mind and looking for some sort of answer to life, now he had found it. He could already picture where he would build a playset for the children and where he’d be able to make a small Quidditch pitch to teach your future kids. Ideas were forming for the house and how many rooms you’d both want. George was thinking somewhere around eight- extra room for more kids. Mapped out where the house would go, where he’d build a garden for you, figured out what tree would be perfect for him to put together a treehouse with Fred for the kids, and where the path would go towards the lake. The layout was quickly forming and he wanted in.

Y/n watched in curiosity as the thoughts swarmed through her lover’s head. She could see him intently thinking things over, then smiling before tilting his face back down at the girl. His head moved down so his lips could press against the skin of her forehead as he kissed her.

“Darling, as long as I’m with you, I’ll be more than happy.” He reassured her.

Y/n melted into the warmth provided by his lips. Her body leaned into his, desperate for more of him. George wrapped his arm around her shoulder tightly and fixed his body so he was sitting tall. She clung to his frame like a koala to a tree, burying her face into the material of his hoodie.

“Once I graduate?” Her muffled voice vibrated against his sternum. George ran his fingers up and down her spine as he held her tight.

“Once you graduate.” George repeated sincerely. Although they’d gone over the conversation a million different times, Y/n couldn’t help the shadow of doubts that crept into her mind. She trusted George with all her heart- every inch of her being but they’d be living in two separate worlds for a year and she worried that was something he might not want. Maybe he would realize he wanted to be with a girl his age, or someone older, someone not stuck at Hogwarts. Even without reason for worry, it still came.

Remaining in his hold yet moving back slightly, Y/n’s eyes darted to the flower covered ground. Her fingers ran along the petals absentmindedly as she worked to find the courage to speak. Her shift in emotions did not go unnoticed by the boy. George focused on the look of contemplation adorning her. As adorable as she looked, he hated seeing her in the slightest bit of distress. This went for any situation whether Y/n was stressed about a class, feeling ill, or just sad because she’s hungry, George does everything in his control to fix it for her.

“You’ll wait for me?” The sudden question took George aback. Her tone was a mix of innocence and fear. His confusion arose for the grave manner of her inquiry. Even if her worries were astonishingly unworldly to George, he knew better than to shut down her insecurities brashly. If the topic at hand weren’t so significant to their relationship, he might even crack a joke. However the seriousness in her features was not to be ignored.

George reached out to interlock his fingers through her warm hands. That comforting smile of his graced his face as he brought her knuckles up to his lips and placed a trial of kisses along the bones.

“Of course I’ll wait, love. No other girl I’d want to spend the rest of my life with- no other girl I want to call my wife, the mother of my children. No one but you, my love.” George insisted. It seemed magical to Y/n the way he always knew exactly what to say. Always so heartfelt and honest in meaning. He never told her a lie to make her happy but somehow managed to piece together a perfect string of words to make her whole again. Something in the way he spoke, in his words, it made her believe nearly anything was plausible. Most of all, she trusted him and believed that he had every intention of sticking around, which brought a sneaking grin to Y/n’s face. All those worries washed away at his words. It was a part she loved deeply about him.

The feeling of George’s touch smoothing over the bottom of her pink dress pulled Y/n back to the meadow. The scent of lavender and vanilla wafted past his nose from the perfume he had gifted her for Christmas. His fingers would skim against her bare leg in a teasing fashion as he smirked. Y/n let out a giggle at the tickling sensation of his touch. Her arms wrapped around his neck for support while her bashful grin never ceased.

“There’s that pretty smile.” George remarked with a chuckle. A sense of victory took hold of him at seeing her worries vanish. Arms locked around his neck, Y/n pulled him towards her as her head fell to his chest. Given their limited time, all the couple wanted to do for the next month was be in each other’s arms. George cherished every opportunity he got to hold her, knowing he’d spend the next year missing her everyday. It came in the little things as well like the way her hair always smelled like a basket of delicious fruits, or how she’d hum to herself while they were studying together. He already knew he’d spend most days babbling on to Fred about how much he missed Y/n. Break was almost over which meant the twins would be leaving Hogwarts for good within a few weeks. Y/n dreaded the idea of not seeing George every day, not getting to kiss him or hug him. George hated thinking about having to hear from her through letters and not getting to hear that sweet laughter every day. So for now, all George wanted was to hold his girl and enjoy the excitement for their future he felt budding inside of him.

The colors in the sky were starting to grow brighter by the minute and without saying it, the pair both knew they’d be needing to head back to The Burrow for lunch sooner then they’d care to admit. In the serenity of the meadows the couple found a sense of home. Y/n soaked in their last bits of time in the meadow before George mentioned them heading back. Although neither moved at his words but instead remained holding onto one another.

“I love you, George.”

“I love you more, princess.”

[nanashiii]

Heron x queen!reader

So this is my first fandom contribution ever and even if it sucks I'm happy with it lol, it's kinda of a wip and since english is not my first language...well, it may just worsen the whole thing :,)

@zen-gordon I'm sorry it took so much time to write it 😖😖

↠ Wc: 1.7k

↠ Chapter 1

↠ Warnings: none yet

There was something to be revealed to you, the new queen of the polis, your mother wanted to warn you about who you really are.

She seemed to be delirious that night, it was a celebration, everyone was partying, the Palace in an uproar for some successful hunt or something of the same relevance for the nobles.

"Y/n, my ... daughter, listen to me, please ..." she was disheveled, so different from her usual self, eyes trembling. You thought it was the drink's fault, the wine must have been too strong.

It was a foolish judgment, the queen had been poisoned that same night, during the feast.

You guided her to the royal quarters, your mother's speech becoming more and more vague. And waiting for her to fall asleep, you stared at the night sky.

An eagle watched both of you from the top of a tree, which years before, had been struck by lightning. The bird was abnormally big, aside from the fact that it was nothing nocturnal.

The observation lasted a few minutes - a clash of swords and shields made you jump from the bed, which you have sited next to the queen - the woman lulled into an apparently peaceful sleep.

A maid - Lamia, the queen's most old and loyal lady, entered the room like a gust of wind, her eyes wide and blood on her robes matching her panicked face.

She was crying, her hands trembling as she grabbed yours in an attempt to get you out of the room.

You were on your feet instantly.

"My sweet child." The maid sobbed. "I can't let them kill you too."

"What?!" You felt the air escaping your lungs way too fast.

"The king is dead ... the queen ..." the woman staggered, trying to contain her crying. "Poisoned. There was poison in her food and drinks and ..."

The world seemed to shatter around you, at least, you world, the servant's words becoming distant murmurs. You turned, almost falling on the queen's bed, grabbing a hand that was already cold and purple with some grotesque poison.

Before a scream broke from your throat, someone covered your mouth, dragging you out of the room. You couldn't tell if it was the maid or a guard. Everything looked like a blur between tears, howls and a metallic smell that was beginning to approach.

The guards who remained in the stable placed you at the maid's side upon two black steeds, assuring that they would follow the new queen, you, soon. But first they would need to find the murderer.

The night had never seemed so terrifying to you, but Lamia tightened her knuckles, her eyes red with tears lit by the moon.

"We will take refuge in the Palace of your Aunt, in the neighboring polis." She will give you all the support you need." Lamia said, looking back one last time, you followed her movement.

Something in your heart seemed to sunk, as if someone had staked it there, tears flowed hot, sobs broke out and somehow now your horse was on the trail of the other steed.

It was a nightmare, Phobetor was playing with you.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<

He wasn't.

The next morning was so real that you almost felt ill. Taken by the shock, you arrived at your Aunt's palace in the polis that had heavy rain clouds but, strangely, didn't let not even one drop touch the soil. Even so, nothing seemed to matter at that moment, you were guided to a new room, an aunt dismayed and angry at what they did to her brother, shouted orders to your own remaings guards and when things calmed down days later, she decided that you coronation should be done there and soon.

The aid of a noble should always be questioned, she would probably ask for favors during the next years, but you couldn't even bear the thoughts of dealing with it, so the best option was to ignore your aunt's apparently innocent help.

"My queen, may I suggest something?" Lamia mumbled, she have spent more time by your side since that cursed night.

She couldn't ignore your current state, the sleepless nights and nocturnal fears were claiming it's own price. There were always creeping nightmares waiting for you, so the wandering nights inside your aunt's palace seemed much more appealing than a nightmare filled sleep. Soon both of you would need to go back to your truly palace, it seemed that your aunt's mercy was coming to an end more quickly than what you have expected.

"What is it?" You didn't even blinked an eye as you replied to the maid, one commotion down the plebe stands catching your attention as the sound of shouting voices started to reach your ears.

It seemed like a group of men harassing a lonely woman - well she looked a bit like an outcaster there, with everyone turning their eyes to the explicit violence against her.

"A guard's switch, my queen." Lamia approached your side.

What was making her so absorbed after all? The servant questioned herself, seeing nothing but a normal day at the polis.

"I think that, with a personal guard selected by yourself will bring you some peace, most nobles do this when they ascend to the throne" Lamia explained.

When the woman was brutally pushed by one of the five men, an young man appeared, he came running and as fast as he reached the group, he punched and even used a knife at some point. Almost slicing someone's throat.

He helped the woman to rise again, with some caution.

The two left, disappearing from your view.

I may need warriors like this one.

No...

I need this one.

He was ...

"I accept your suggestion, Lamia, can you organize everything so I can meet and choose them during the next week?"

"Of course my dear queen, I'll start it immediately." Lamia bowed, now questioning what could possibly have happened for the queen's complexion to light up. Nonetheless what has caused it she was glad for.

"And Lamia, make sure that they know about how generous the new queen is when it comes to payments."

"Yes, I'll be sure they hear about it" the servant bowed a second time and then left you, it didn't take too much time to another servant to come and replace her.

Your thoughts seemed to run more wildly as the day passed by.

The sudden attraction to the man made you question yourself, was it because he was the one who made you wake up from an aphatic state?

You weren't sure.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Zeus, in this case and in this form, Elias, was once again wandering drunkenly through the streets of the polis, enjoying the few pleasures that an old mortal could give himself and also maintaining his disguise.

He had overheard the conversation of one of the servants of the new queen, queen who was Demeter's and a mortal's daughter mortal which the goddess decided to deny the existence, handing her daughter over to a sterile human queen.

A demigod, just like his own son.

The two shared a strangely similar past, even when it came to traumatizing nights.

The disguised god walked back to his lover and son's home, the new queen's offer was too tempting for Heron to refuse, no matter how stubborn he could be. He had declined Alexia's offer, and perhaps the regret would make him choose right this time.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<

Lamia had organized everything just as the queen asked, her aunt did not hide the relief that you were leaving soon and wandered happily around the room in which the three of you were.

"The men in my polis make great guards, excellent warriors." the mourning for her brother had dissipated quickly, and it also increased your desire to leave that place, now the cloudy clouds seemed to worsen your mood.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<

You were waiting for them inside a kind of canopy like bed, Lamia had murmured something about only the selected ones seeing your face. It was a strange security issue and the day was particularly hot making you hate the stupid idea even more. But there was something, making your afternoon a little more tolerable.

The chance of seeing him again.

A few remaining men from your old guard positioned themselves near the door and soon it was opened, the first candidate entering the room, an undoubtedly strong man, but it wasn't the one you're seeking to see.

Your frustration almost materialized right there, and a doubt arose, what made you believe that he would appear?

As you were selecting the most competent ones, or at least apparently competent, your hope of seeing him again was being drained as the hours passed by, soon you would have to leave the polis and perhaps you should have to accept the fact that you would not see him again.

Besides, as a new queen there would be more important things to deal with, and soon this sudden...

The door opened again, the last one to be chosen and you had to control yourself not to tear the canopy.

It was him.

You were silent for a while, observing every possible detail through the fine fabric, his frame but what has made you literally frozen were his eyes - a vibrant blue, as if the sky and the ocean were inside those irises.

"My queen?" A servant called, waking you from your almost trance.

You composed yourself. Continuing with the same questions I had repeated so many times earlier.

"Your name?"

"It's Heron."

"Well Heron, you must already know I'm not from this polis, even so, are you willing to work as one of my guards?"

Tension filled your brain, after all he could simply deny it, you remembered the woman he helped, could she possibly be a relative?

He stayed silent for some seconds, his face was doubt itself but soon with was replaced by calm and determination.

"Yes, I'm willing too." Heron replied.

"Great." your response didn't matched the sheer happiness that you were feeling. You proceeded with the other questions about what weapon could he wield, combat experience...

You weren't really listening to Heron's answers, still mesmerized simply by seeing him close enough, even so, you managed to inform him that you all would be departing soon and he should prepare for doing so.

"You can go now."

He left the room and so did you, watching from a safe distance as he kept walking down the aisle, there was definitely something different about him.

Something that seemed weirdly familiar to you.

What was it?

[bluejaywriter]

Anyway, here’s my How To Fix WW84 in 42 scenes (or less) list:

BTW, this is a very long post. It is a whole movie :P

1. Delete the first scene with the Amazons and have the opening credits be over the 80s montage. I KNOW, but trust me.

2. Mall robbery scene goes normally, but like... less clunky. And there’s a bop playing in the background because it’s the 80s.

3. When Diana comes back, she’s wearing her armor underneath her jacket; have a shot of her hanging it up in her closet, and pieces of the Golden Armor are displayed nearby. She has dinner by herself, and looks lonely. 

4. Diana meets Barbara, and it’s the same, but if she needs something “human”, how about she walks with a cane instead of being clumsy in heels because it may be 1984, but it’s also 2020 :P (also Rucka’s Rebirth run literally has her walking with a cane??) And a girlfriend

5. They bond over the FBI artifacts from the mall robbery, Barbara’s studying something that will be important on an expedition later (a map?), but it’s not like. Placement. It’s just buried in the list of things they’re looking at. Also Barbara is smart and also knows Latin and Diana is impressed.

6. They go to dinner (and there’s a bop playing in the background) and Barbara asks what made her get into archeology, and Diana is vague, and Diana asks what made her get into archeology, and Barbara is also vague, but says she’s always loved ancient civilizations and things. No one asks about anyone’s love life. :P

7. Diana walks Barbara home. Diana asks if she’s in pain (the cane), and she says no, and then it’s never mentioned again because it’s 2020. Also there are no drunk creeps, and no amiable homeless black guys, because… euuuurgh.

8. There’s a scene with another version of the map (or not a map), and a faceless somebody having a vague, Villainy conversation about it (and not Dr. Poison faceless, just... we don’t see their face, lol).

9. Barbara gets to work early and finds out she has to give a tour to Maxwell “The Oil Guy” Lord. This scene goes as normal, and he insists they both come tonight to the gala he’s hosting for the museum at his house. Diana thinks galas are stupid, but she plays along because she wants to keep Barbara away from Max she can tell Barbara wants to go she wants to protect Barbara.

10. Insert artistic shots of Diana’s office here. Basically ancient artifact porn. Show us the cool stuff, God.

11. Diana looks irritated/confused about something and is flipping through books (although computers did exist in 1984, right? Right?). Barbara comes in asking if Diana wants to go shopping for the gala, and Diana asks if she still has the FBI artifacts, and Barbara says yeah, why. Diana says she just wants to check something later, then they go shoe shoppingggggg

12. Diana does all the things the store attendant does. Dialogue, facial expressions, everything. Harold they’re lesbi—

13. Barbara asks if she wants to share a cab to the party, but Diana has to put out a wildfire or something, and says she’ll meet her there.

14. Action scene fire-putting out that somehow relates to a moment later in the movie. Diana can’t save a cat stuck in a tree

15. There’s a shot of Diana stepping out of the burning forest and looking out over the sea, and there are burning embers falling around her, and the sun is setting, and it’s beautiful dammit. And then she remembers she has a date, and she smells like a wildfire, and the music comes in because this was the best scene in the real movie.

15. Gala scene. Entrances and music are perfect, change nothing except man creeps are like… more subtle? And more insidious/Mr. Nice Guy, sure. Diana finds Barbara Ann, and she mentions that she hasn’t drunk/partied like this since college, because she’s a confident woman who can drink, dammit.

16. Pedro Pascal invites Barbara up for a drink, and Diana is prepared to come along uninvited, but there’s an invite for her, too.

17. The three main actors from this movie actually get to hang out together and bond like atoms because they have serious chemistry. Max is a bit of a douche at first, but he relaxes after a bit of goofing off. Diana asks him about the pictures on the wall of his son, and he says he’s the smartest boy in his school, and his goal every day is to make his son proud of him. Barbara Ann (who is slightly drunk) mentions that her father didn’t want her to become a scientist, and they swap horrible Dad stories for 45 seconds. 

18. Diana’s Horrible Dad Story: “My mother never told me his name.”

19. Pedro Pascal mentions that he’s putting together a team for a dig (Apparently they dug up some stuff while he was looking for oil) and he wants Barbara Ann to lead the expedition. 

20. Barbara Ann wants Diana in her team don’t we all. Pedro Pascal pretends to be surprised and delighted by this idea. There’s a shot of his happy face disappearing once the girls leave.

21. Diana goes to find the FBI artifact she’d been wondering about (it’s after the gala, so it’s dark in the museum), and it’s gone.

22. They fly to the dig, and everyone has their passports, and Kristen Wiig does not reprise her Bridesmaids airplane scene, but she can mention that it was nice of Max Lord to put them in first class. It’s also the 80s, so flying looks like whatever flying looked like in the 80s (more leg room? :P) Also, there’s a bop playing in the flying montage. 

23. They get to the dig (in a helicopter), and a bunch of diverse people introduce themselves, because we have to have diversity somewhere in here, it’s 2020.

24. Barbara Ann gets to work, and Diana goes exploring because she’s the main character and doesn’t need to work. She sees a temple/palace further up the island, and it looks like there’s smoke coming out of the courtyard, but she’s called back for dinner before she can go see. The other people tell her the building is abandoned.

25. Diana goes later that night to see, and it is abandoned and there’s lots of animal bones lying around and weird symbols on the walls and it’s creepy AF. But there are other things (pottery?) that remind her of Themyscira, and there’s a flash of a memory from an Amazon feast, and she sees Antiope laughing with a group of Amazons because we need a Robin Wright cameo, and then a hard cut to—

26. Barbara Ann comes to find Diana sitting on the edge of the cliff looking over the ocean, and she asks if she’s jetlagged too, and she says no, just homesick. She tells Barbara Ann that she grew up on an island, and after she left, she spent years trying to move on and assimilate into the new world, but she kept finding things that reminded her of her homeland, and she finally accepted that she should be proud of who she is and where she’s from. Barbara Ann says she should never be ashamed of her true self and then they kiss

27. In the morning, there’s a dig montage, and a bop playing in the background. Diana pretends that heavy things are heavy. They find Diana’s golden helmet and other scraps of the golden armor and a bunch of other stuff so then it’s not conspicuous, and then there’s a tsunami/hurricane, and the rest of the crew dies or evacuates or something. It’s dramatic, and Diana and Barbara almost drown, except Diana is Wonder Woman. 

28. The two of them end up heading up to the abandoned building for shelter, and it looks sturdy, and the animal bones are gone, which is weird, but it’s dry, so Diana tells Barbara Ann to sleep while she takes the first watch. Barbara Ann says this isn’t the worst night she’s spent on the job.

29. Diana falls asleep and has a dream of this building in its heyday, and there’s an Amazon feast, and Diana wanders through the dream looking sad, and Hippolyta stands up to give a toast and is shouting about their guest of honor, the Princess from—

30. And then Diana wakes up, Barbara Ann is gone, and it’s full daylight, and there’s no sign of the storm or their camp. Diana hears a sound and goes to investigate likes she’s in a horror movie or something, and it takes her to stairs that lead underground, and she realizes that the tunnels match the map from the FBI (this is too convenient, but whatever, this is the first draft okay :P).

31. Maxwell Lord is sitting on a folding chair (or a couch!) in the cave at the end of the tunnel, and he’s surrounded by animals in cages. Diana recognizes some of the animals from the bones she saw earlier, because why not. He says that he brought Diana and Barbara Ann here to settle some old scores. Diana thinks for a minute that he’s Ares or something, and he says not MY old scores. 

32. And then Diana is attacked by a Cheetah (why not), and she’s not wearing her armor, but she can fight in her indiana jones outfit, and it’s kind of a lame fight (dark, realistic, no slow-mo), and she re-cages the animal pretty easily, and THEN she’s surrounded by the blurriness like she’s dreaming (bad, but it’s the first draft, okay), and Eva Green’s voice says some villainy things about is this how she treats her friends and she’s just like her mother—

33. And then Diana realizes that Barbara Ann is the Cheetah, and there’s a montage of her falling into Circe’s trap and being turned into a Cheetah, and then a scene of Pedro Pascal’s son being kidnapped while they’re on rich people vacation and being turned into a gerbil, and transformations of a bunch of explorers and warriors from over the years getting turned into animals (including Asteria), and then a scene of Circe being banished from the Amazons and not being allowed to return to (old) Themyscira.

34. Circe isn’t actually in the tunnel, but in the fog sequence, she talks to Diana through a mirror and occasionally morphs into Diana’s reflection, because she’s magic, and that’s creepy.

35. After the fog is over, and Diana’s wearing the Golden Armor because we need to sell toys, and then there’s ACTUAL fight with Cheetah, and a bop (Sebastian Böhm’s “Sweet Dreams are Made of This”) is playing in the background, and this time there are actual stakes because Diana doesn’t want to hurt her. And it’s like, the Cheetah and Wonder Woman fight from Rucka’s run, okay. Cheetah says this is her true self and to leave her alone, and Diana says no, this isn’t you.

36. Diana breaks Circe’s curse with true love’s kiss. Diana breaks Circe’s the curse with the lasso and a speech about love, and it turns out the Cheetah form is held back by the lasso, so Diana lets her keep it. 

37. Pedro Pascal gets his son back and it actually makes sense for him to run out from the bushes. He apparently doesn’t remember anything about Circe.

38. A helicopter comes to get them, and Diana is uneasy, because there’s a third movie, but she leaves and there’s a bop playing, because this is the end of the second movie.

39. Diana adds the helmet and the rest of the armor to her collection in her closet. 

40. Barbara Ann now has to tell the truth all the time because she’s wearing the lasso all the time. This is terrible, but the movie plays it off as amusing. 

41. Diana promises to find help for Barbara Ann, and they kiss

42. I guess the mid credits scene with Asteria can still happen. She could clean up after herself though, lol. A possible end credits scene is Diana finding the lasso on her work desk and Barbara Ann’s desk cleared out, but that’s kind of a bitter ending, and the lesbian ending is nicer.

In the third movie, Diana tries to find Themyscira and Circe is the main villain and maybe Cheetah comes back. Boom.

[faejilly]

transient

while this is from the 7kpp fictober prompt list, I’m doing a Shadowhunters Malec fill instead! Sleeping Beauty, and my apparent recurring fascination with dream-walking & fairy tales. (This is for Day 6 [list here], I just failed entirely to post it yesterday. *laughs*)

Lord Lightwood stood by the steps up to his parents’ thrones, nodded gravely at anyone who met his eyes, and refused to dance.

Lord Lightwood stayed until the receiving doors closed, and slipped out into the crowd, a handful of greetings, a few brief conversations, and then he was gone.

No one ever saw him leave, but no one expected him to stay.

He never did. 

Not once. He’d refused formal recognition as heir, kept his old title even when he came of age and ought to have become Prince of the Realm. He served on his parents’ council, but made it very clear he would be making no alliances. He would not marry, and he would never be King.

No one knew why, though numerous rumours worked their way through the Court, and no one could make him budge an inch. Not even his sister Lady Isabelle, no matter how she pleaded, and normally he could refuse her nothing. She had accepted his decision, reluctantly, and would be recognized as Princess of the Realm as soon as she came of age.

Sometimes he slipped away from formal feasts and balls and wandered the gardens, or the library. Sometimes he went back to his rooms to make an early night of it.

Those were always the nights he was nervous, the nights he hoped. The nights he hoped he’d dream.

It had started when he'd turned down a betrothal proposition from the Branwells. He’d met a man in his dreams, literally, and woken up assuming it was nothing but wishful thinking. They'd walked by a river Alec had never seen before, and flirted gently beneath sweet spring sunlight.

Who wouldn’t dream of the things they wanted but knew they could never have?

His dream suitor was a remarkable man. Alec didn’t know his own imagination could be so good, could create someone so unlike anyone he’d ever seen, anyone he’d ever admired, and yet been everything he could ever want. Never knew he had it in him, to imagine someone so beautiful. 

But the man came back, and seemed as startled to be seen as Alec felt to see him. But Alec greeted him with a smile. No reason not to enjoy himself, no reason not to play along with the dream.

“You remember me?” The man lifted a dangerously eloquent eyebrow.

Alec snorted. Alec also wasn't sure where he'd gotten the idea of eyeliner and nailpolish and heavy layers of jewelry, but if there was a way to give his imagination a reward he'd do so. He needed a better word than beautiful. Stunning? “Has anyone ever forgotten you?”

The man smirked, almost sly, but still his eyes were wide and startled, and when he stood still he looked almost sad.

He didn’t stand still for long enough to be sure, however, a grandiose wave of his arms shifting the air around them, turning it into a ballroom. 

“I haven’t had anyone to dance with in ages, I don’t suppose?” The man held out his hand, and lifted a single brow, and music started to sweep in from nowhere, from everywhere.

No reason not to play along with the dream.

The man smelled like sandalwood, the music was flawless, the floor smooth beneath his feet. The man was the most graceful person Alec had ever seen, and Alec had more fun dancing with him then he ever had in a lifetime of classes and formal balls. 

"Could I kiss you, young sir?" The man asked in a whisper, when the magic candles started to flicker, and the music started to fade. 

"I don't even know your name," Alec answered, though his chest burned with how much he wanted to say yes. 

"Magnus." The man bowed, a hint of something bright in his eyes, though his mouth looked sad, and Alec woke up before he could introduce himself in return. 

It was over a week before he met the man again, before he saw Magnus in his dreams. His breath caught, and Magnus' eyes widened, and they were walking towards each other before Alec even realized they were in a forest this time, cool and dark.

Magnus started to bow again, an echo of last time, but Alec reached out and stopped him, suddenly afraid he'd disappear again. "I'm Alec."

Magnus smiled, and Alec hoped he never woke up again. Magnus waved his arm, and Alec followed, and they wandered their way through the woods. It was an old forest, trees tall and thick enough to keep the sun away, to keep the ground covered with layers of old leaves and pine needles. 

They talked as they walked, randomly, peacefully. Magnus had an odd turn of phrase sometimes, like the court documents from far back in the palace archives, but he was eloquent and sharp-witted and his voice was so very warm; Alec never wanted to stop listening.

Alec spoke more than usual himself, relaxing sooner than he usually did around people he didn't know. Though he supposed dancing through a ball together made their acquaintance closer than most. He gave more of himself away in that conversation than he thought he had ever before, talking about his sister and his brothers, the discomfort of his kingdom's expectations. The sorrow in his mother's eyes when she looked at him, as if she knew how much he hated the box closing around him.

Magnus was as good at listening as he was at telling extravagant stories, and Alec was sorry when the light around them started to fade again. He grabbed Magnus' hand, and gripped it tight, hoping... 

He woke up in his own bed, just like normal.

Sometimes Alec didn't dream, sometimes his dreams were like they used to be, but scattered throughout his nights were these sporadic meetings, odd walks and dances and once an entire imaginary feast that left Alec twice as hungry for breakfast as usual when he woke up. 

It was three months before Alec couldn't take it anymore, and pulled Magnus to him, and paused, their mouths so close together he could feel Magnus' breath against his lips, and asked him if he could kiss him.

Magnus nodded, just a little, and his mouth was soft and warm for the barest second before Alec jerked awake in his bedroom. He lifted his fingers to his mouth; he could still feel Magnus' lips on his.

That was the day he started his research; the nights after that he started to ask proper questions, questions Magnus usually tried to deflect, but he started getting bits and pieces, here and there, just a little.

Just enough.

Asmodeus Bane was once King of a land that had been split apart and swallowed by Alicante and Dudael, until there was nothing left, nothing except a few scattered ruins and even more decrepit rumours. He’d insulted the then Faery Queen, Lilith of the Winter Court, and she’d cursed his son.

Asmodeus managed to kill her, but it was too late, the curse took hold, and Magnus Bane fell into an endless sleep. There was a counter-curse, but the woman in the prophecy never showed, and Edom fell apart, and everyone knew the Banes were no more.

Except for Alec, who had met Magnus Bane in his dreams, and wondered if somewhere in one of those ruins, somewhere lost for hundreds of years, Magnus Bane still slept.

And soon, when Izzy took the throne and didn’t need him anymore, he was going to go in search of his beloved. He was going to find him, and wake him up.

No matter what it took.

[random-imagines-blog]

Shut Me Up {Tom Riddle One Shot}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 4788 Synopsis: A Slytherin and a Gryffindor do their prefect rounds together and run into a spot of trouble on Halloween Night. Notes: John Murphy as Tom Riddle.

The Halloween celebrations at Hogwarts were legendary, and much looked forward to by students and staff alike. Pumpkins, carved with faces and sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar, brought both the autumn look and smell to the great hall as they hovered above the tables during the feast. Some of the students went as far as to wear costumes, though most were attired in their warmer robes with bright colored scarves around their necks in shades of orange. Honeydukes in Hogsmeade had provided mountains of candy which piled up around the puddings during dessert, but the feast was not the highlight of the day for many of the students. That would come later, when the teachers retired to their rooms except for those on patrol, for Halloween was a night of mischief for ghost and student alike.

All prefects were put on patrol duty for the night, and that meant that you - a fifth year prefect representing the proud house of Gryffindor - were out of bed and wandering the dark castle rather than sharing a cup of pumpkin juice with your friends and guessing if the candy handed to you was an acid pop or a muggle lollipop. You weren’t alone, but you might as well have been for you had been paired with Tom Riddle, Slytherin prefect, and a person known for being the strong and silent type, and not at all given to conversation, even to pass the time.

Tom Riddle walked with his hands clasped behind his straight back. His eyes were always ahead, never on you. He didn’t even suggest bringing out his wand and casting lumos so you two could see if anyone was standing in the shadows, he seemed to be able to see in the dark. The candles were just enough for you to be able to tell if something was moving but apart from that, you were blind.

You couldn’t take it anymore and brought out your wand, casting the light giving spell, but immediately, the Slytherin beside you gently pressed it down so it was pointed at the floor. “We want to catch people, not let them on to our presence so they can stop their activities.” He spoke, his voice deeper than that of most people your age. You rolled your eyes, persistent on keeping the light.

“I’d rather them stop their activities and go to bed than have to chase them around the castle, in the dark nonetheless.” You argued.

“Shh.” He said, and muttered the counterspell to darken your wand. You opened your mouth to argue but realized that it would be absolutely pointless in this case. Any other Slytherin, you would have taken on, but there was something to Tom Riddle that made you stop and ponder whether it was a good idea. It didn’t matter if it was or not at that moment, for you too heard whatever noise that he had his ears caught onto.

Around a corner, there was sounds of muffled laughter. Students out of bed, and as of yet uncaught by the caretaker or a prefect. You just had to hope that they were not Gryffindor students, giving your house a bad name and the potential of getting points taken away which was something that you could ill afford at this time.

You held your wand in your hand, your thumb grazing a knot in the wood, ready to defend yourself from an ever-bashing boomerang or a dungbomb or whatever they might have had planned.

You were much more subtle than Tom, creeping rather than merely stepping, hoping to catch them off guard, startle them into silence and enforce some discipline which was your responsibility, but Tom’s footsteps could be heard down the hall. It did not scare away the students, but brought about some laughter and shushing. They were evidently not going to be giving up on their prank, no matter who it was that would pass into it.

The two of you turned into the next Hallway but it was empty. A flash of movement in one of the classrooms caught your attentions however. You grabbed onto Tom’s robe and chased after it, heading into the unused room. You raised your wand to light it again but the sound of the door slamming shut behind you, and then being blocked rather than just locked, was loud enough for you not to hear yourself reciting the spell. It lit anyhow, and the white light showed that the two of you were not alone.

There was something pale in the corner of the room. It had spots missing from it, but the light from the end of your wand reflected off the white, making it appear like a ghost. You thought perhaps it might be one of the many Hogwarts ghosts on a late night stroll but the thing moved closer and showed a much more solid form than any of the ghosts had. Each step had an odd sound, like rubber slapping against wood, followed by a squeak like a person coming out of the rain.

“Stay there,” You said, raising your wand. Tom took a step closer to the figure, his arm also raised, and the thing changed itself, following into shadow and dropping onto the ground noiselessly. It was only the wind coming from it as it fell that gave you any indication of what had happened.

Tom lit his wand as well, finally using his common sense in your opinion, and took a few confident strides over until he stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” You questioned, whispering.

“Boggart.” He finally spoke. Your mind whirled with this new information, and curiosity did overtake you. You knew that you would do well to retreat back to the door, cast a blasting spell to get whatever blocked it out of the way and capture the students who had locked you inside - but you were curious about what the fear of someone like Tom Riddle would be.

The light showed the figure on the floor, with dark hair covering his eyes, pale skin nearly glowing. The blood that was on the hands, and on some of the exposed skin, was a violent crimson that could not soon be forgotten. Tom kicked the figure just a little, to reveal its face.

Tom’s own.

You gasped and put your hand to your mouth. It took a moment for you to control your breathing, but now that you had, all you could think about was going out that door and taking all of the points away from those students, no matter which house you were in, and report them to the Headmaster immediately.

“Ridikkulus.” Tom said, the light at the end of his wand going out, and was replaced by the sparkle of the spell. The body was lifted, and started to jerk and dance about like it was a puppet on strings. This attempt to make it funny just made you feel more uneasy. You started to feel sick to your stomach.

But eventually the puppeted corpse of the boy next to you dissipated, and in it’s stead, a clown stood. The corners of it’s large red mouth were particularly pointy, the nose was as red as blood. The pointed cone-shaped hat that was on it’s head seemed as sharp as the end of a needle, and it’s eyes as black as coal.

Seeing it brought you back to third year, when you had learned how to deal with Boggarts in DADA class. Relax, do not give into fear, think of something to make this big nosed, big footed thing amusing. Pointing the wand right at the clown’s chest, you muttered ‘Ridikkulus.”

A popping sound filled the empty room, and then a wheezing. Like the balloons that clowns often carried, this clown was leaking air and folding in itself until there was nothing left but a deflated shape. That soon disappeared, and the two of you were left in utter darkness. A few seconds later, before you could respond to what had just happened, a wardrobe door opened and shut, the boggart trapping itself since it had been beaten.

And in another couple of seconds, a blast came from the direction of the door that you had come in through, as Tom used ‘Bombarda’ to literally make it explode out from it’s hinges. Once the dust settled, you were out of there, following the Slytherin prefect as he ran after the boys that had locked the two of you in there with literally your worst fears.

In the dark of the castle, you seemed to have lost them. The adrenaline and the fear had gotten the best of you back in the classroom, and you leaned against a wall in the corridor to catch your breath.

“Do you care to tell me why a classroom has been blown up?” You looked up to see a tall figure walking towards you, but you felt no anger, surprise or fear. The voice was that of the kindly Transfigurations professor, Dumbledore. You explained as quickly as possible what had happened, and that you had lost the trail of your co-prefect and the culprits. “Return to your dormitory, and you’ll be summoned in the morning to tell this all to Professor Dippet.” He said, calmly. You nodded, excused yourself and headed to the Gryffindor tower, unable to get the sight of the clown out of your mind.

The next morning, you were indeed called to Professor Dippet’s office after breakfast, where you stood with Tom, and the three seventh year Slytherin boys who had been the ones to pull the prank. You explained your piece, and were told in return that the boys would be receiving detention with Professor Slughorn every weekend for the next three months. That didn’t seem good enough to you - the Professor would probably bond with the boys over their rich and resourceful families and treat them to desserts, but you didn’t press the issue. Dippet did what he deemed best and as prefect, you had to trust that it was the right thing.

“Clowns.” Tom murmured as the two of you walked back to the staircases to proceed to your next lessons, which you were already running late for but you had signed notes from Dippet.

“Excuse me?” You asked, thinking that you heard him wrong, for it was such an odd thing to say.

“Your boggart was a clown.” Tom stated. You shot him a glance as you hopped up on one of the staircases as it started to change direction. He had stepped on as well but didn’t give you a single look.

“Have you seen those things? Terrifying. Definitely not appropriate for children at all.” You justified yourself. You very well could bring up his but anything personal about Tom felt off-limits to you. It was strange to even consider.

“They entertain children.”

“By hiding their faces and features under caked on paint, laughing menacingly, spraying water in your face, honking your nose, waving at you from across the room with it’s obnoxiously big white gloves...” You went on. “I’m not ashamed of it.”

“Clearly.” Tom said, with what sounded like amusement in his voice.

He stepped up a stair to join you, and you found his closeness to be quite uncomfortable. He was silent now, and you felt the pressure of having to say something, anything, to get rid of the quiet tension. “Can we just pretend that it never happened? I won’t ask you any questions about yours, and you leave me alone about mine.”

“Fine.” Tom said with a nod. The staircase clicked itself into place, and you proceeded up the rest of the way and onto the landing, looking over your shoulder at Tom, who stayed on the staircase as it moved away from the sixth floor corridor towards the Astronomy tower. You shook your head to yourself, and attempted to brush off the cold feeling that had come over you when you had stood near him.

The students that had been apprehended had been looking at you and sniggering all throughout breakfast, which made you feel uneasy. Your friends noticed it and kept shooting them dirty looks - one of them even offered to send a howler, pretending to be their mothers, but you rejected it. It would just make things worse, you felt, so you took the high road and attempted to ignore it. That was until you and most of the other students started to get up, adjust your robes, and head off to your first class of the day.

Through the massive doors that lead to the great hall strode in a clown. Okay, it may just have been Peeves the Poltergeist in a polka-dotted get up with some sort of colored grease paint all over his face, which you weren’t sure was possible since his face was not exactly solid, but it was still enough for you to lower your face to the ground, put your hands over your ears, and take a deep breath. You attempted to imagine that you were anywhere else but here as the jingling sounds of the bells on Peeves’ hat moved closer and closer.

Footsteps echoed on the floor as they came closer to you. You could just hear them over the sound of people in the Great Hall laughing at what, to you, was a terrifying sight that made you feel like you could melt into a puddle on the floor.

“Leave, Peeves.” Tom Riddle said, his voice forceful enough to make you shudder. If he had ever talked to you like that, you weren’t sure what you would do. And you were put in Gryffindor for a reason - you did have a great deal of bravery, he was just that intimidating.

“Itsy Little Riddle - I’ve got a Riddle for you!” Peeves said, bouncing around, making his hat jingle all the more. “I live for laughter, I live for the crowd, without it I am nothing, what am I?” He laughed loudly.

“We get it, you’re a clown.” Tom said, his voice even. “I’m sure the Baron will find it hilarious. I’ll summon him now-”

“Aiiee!” Peeves the Clown immediately fell through the floor, leaving the hat and clothing on the floor, which you only saw when you finally opened your eyes, following no further noise from the poltergeist. You avoided looking at the clothes after your first glimpse, and you definitely avoided looking at Tom. Rather, you just hurried from the Hall as fast as you could, and away from the laughter.

The Prefects bathroom was where you went, rather than the classroom. You went to the sinks, put your hands on either side of one of them, and took a couple of deep breaths. The vision of the deranged clown that the boggart had turned into flashed into your mind and you winced.

“I suspect it was those seventh years who put Peeves to the task.” Riddle said, strolling in. You looked at him through the mirror, but said nothing. He had as much right to be in here as you do, since you are both prefects. “I can’t prove it, however.”

“They got their laughs,” You said, straightening your back and then adjusted your red and gold striped tie that showed off your Gryffindor pride. It directly opposed Tom’s green and silver tie and badge. “But then again, your house is known for being utterly relentless.” You caught his eye in the reflection.

“Aren’t Gryffindors supposed to be brave?” He retorted, coming in closer to you. He stood directly behind but your eyes hadn’t moved, staring straight into his through the mirror. He leaned forward, his chest against your back, and turned on the water in the sink. “Splash some water on your face, you look pathetic.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see how you react if anyone ever makes Peeves dress up as your corpse.” You said, doing as he had said for you to do, and splashed some cold water on your face. To your surprise, Tom held out a towel to you after that was done, and you took it and dried yourself off.

“Don’t ever mention that to anyone.” Tom threatened. You pretended not to hear him, using the towel to dry some of your flyaway hairs that had become wet as well.

“Did people see?” You asked, tossing the towel into the laundry bin where it would go down to the house elves, be washed, and brought back up. “My reaction, I mean, Peeves was hard to miss.”

“I doubt it, they were laughing until I ruined their fun.”

“Good. I’d hate for them to think I need to be shut up in an asylum because I cannot stand the sight of clowns.” You turned around and faced Tom straight on, and gave a weak smile. Despite the ribbing, you were still thankful that he had helped you in the Great Hall and that he had followed you in here. “They’re lucky I don’t know what they’re afraid of.”

“Do you want to find out?” Tom asked. The question hung in the air like a heavy cloud. He was full of surprises today, but this one was one of the bigger ones. He was never one to mess with drama, at least not in the school. He kept his focus on his studies, and on himself, he never gave a care about the other students, in a good or a bad way. This was the most Slytherin like that he had ever seemed to you.

“No.” You said, after a few minute deliberation. “They aren’t worth the trouble that we may get into. However - the moment that I graduate from this school, I’m tracking them down and challenging them to a duel. I plan to bombard them into the last century.” You said, with a determined tension in your jaw. Tom snickered - actually goddamn snickered at your gumption.

“Now that, I would like to see.” Tom said, retreating from you to head back towards the door. “I’ve got a few plans of my own.”

“Are you going to be a prankster, Tom Riddle?” He hardly seemed the type. He was so uptight, and so serious. He probably never went near a dungbomb in his life.

“No.” He said, as if it was the most preposterous idea that he had ever heard. “I’m not sinking to their level. I’m raising them to mine. Excuse me,” And with a bow of his curly black hair, he left the prefects bathroom. A moment later, you followed, heading the opposite way however to get to your first class of the day.

At which point did Tom realize that he was doing things for you, and not for himself? He couldn’t say - it had always been in the back of brain, that image of you, the way that you had shut down when you saw your greatest fear in front of you. It fascinated him, it intrigued him how you had frozen rather than face your weakness. Loud and obnoxious, those seventh year Slytherins were, and so it was easy to find them after dinner when he entered the Common Room. “Someone’s come to get the bloody baron before the Gryffindork pees themself?” One of them laughed, seeing Tom Riddle enter the dreary room.

“Interesting, isn’t it? The way that the simplest minds get fixated on one thing, when they should be worrying about many others.” Tom said, cool as an ice cube. “Now, for instance, yours shouldn’t be focused on the prefect, or on clowns, but on yourselves. I’d be very much concerned about that.” Maybe it was the tone of voice, the detection of a threat or how unfazed Tom was that alarmed the three boys. “Chances are, someone is going to stand up for them eventually, and it’s going to be known that you’re the only ones who knows about the clowns. Or maybe she’ll stand up for herself? Or maybe this will backfire in your face and it’ll be you on the end of the Bloody Baron’s sword. Maybe all the above.”

“I wouldn’t talk so much if I were you, prefect.” The largest of the boys said, forcing a smirk onto his face. “You could just have a laugh like the rest of us are doing.”

Tom brought out his wand, and quickly - very quietly - mumbled out the silencing charm on this leader. It was one of his own invention. Instead of just taking away the voice, it took away the entire mouth, leaving the skin from nose to chin without marr or features.

“The Gryffindor prefect is under my protection.” He gave no excuses, no reason for declaring it. He could have a million things to say, like it was because he didn’t want the trouble or the house points taken away. Those weren’t the reasons. He had no need to justify himself. “If one more clown related thing happens, I will have no remorse over what I will do to you.”

The two boys who weren’t silenced were much too fussed over their leader to pay much attention, but they nodded their heads, not wanting the same thing to happen to them. With his wand raised straight in front of his face, Tom strode in close to the mouthless boy, and raised an eyebrow. “Are we clear?”

The boys fingers touched where his mouth had been, and tried to open a space that wasn’t there. Hysterical grunts came through his nose, but he nodded in response to Tom, who poked the boys face and brought the mouth back. “Good. Not a word, lads.”

Over the next couple of weeks, there were no more sightings of clowns. Not a letter, not a ghost dressed up as one, not a thing, and you started to wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that Tom always seemed to be hanging around you now. Since your time together in the prefects bathroom, he seemed to be strolling behind you on your way to class, or sharing your table in the library when you went to study.

You started to welcome the company of the isolated teenager, slowing your pace so that he would have no choice but to either stop or join you on your walks, and you started to share books as well so you wouldn’t have to hunt for a second copy of something you both needed for an essay. It began to be easier to be around him. With you being a Gryffindor, and him a Slytherin, there was some tension still when it came to certain topics but you eased him into a friendship, slowly but surely.

You might even be the only friend that he’s ever had.

In the library, close to the end of the school year, you were studying for your OWLS diligently. Around you were all the different textbooks of the classes that you were taking, and you were jotting down important notes then muttering them to yourself so they would stick in your head better. Tom had joined you, and though he too took notes, there was no sound at all coming from his corner of the table other than the rustling of parchment and the turning of pages.

Then there was three minutes of straight silence. No quill scratching, nothing, so you looked over to his side of the table and saw him sitting straight, a dark look in his eyes, glaring over your shoulder. Slowly, you turned your head around with no expectations of what it was that Tom would be giving this look to. What you saw were the three seventh years who had locked you and Tom in the room with the boggart. They were trying to look brave, but you could see right through them. They had fear in their eyes as they looked right back at Tom.

“What is that, in your hand?” Tom asked viciously, getting to his feet.

“It’s a card for my little brother -” One of them said, and held it up. There was a dancing clown on the cover of the card. It looked happy and jolly, and held up a big banner that said ‘Happy Birthday’. It wasn’t at all menacing but it still put a shiver down your spine and you tuned to look away from it.

“Incendio.” Tom had his wand out in the short time that you had looked over your shoulder. Your mouth fell open as you realize what he had just done - he burned the card until it was nothing but ashes on the library rug.

“No magic in the library!” The sharp-voiced librarian said from behind her desk. Her eyes were like that of a hawk and her ears that of a dog or something, for she knew exactly who it was. “Mr. Riddle, out!”

With that same dark look in his eyes, he slid his books and parchment into his bag, and walked out, leaving a cold feeling in the room despite the fire.

“If you didn’t have a fear of clowns, my brother would get a birthday card this year.” One of the seventh years glowered at you. You stood up and packed your own things, then made a face over at the older boy, then rushed out to catch up with Tom, your mind trying to figure out what had just happened. Both you and Tom have run into these boys since their little prank, and there had never been this sort of reaction.

You saw the dark-haired boy turn a corner, so you quickened up your pace to catch up. “Tom!” You called out, making him slow down. You stopped in front of him, and poked his chest hard with your index finger. “Why did you do that? He wasn’t bothering you!”

“I told him that if he, or any of his friends, came near you with any sort of clown-themed thing, I’d do something to them. As it happens, burning a card is the least that I could have done.” Tom said, flippantly.

“You think that I can’t handle myself?” You questioned.

“You’ve proven that you freeze up if someone is even dressed as a clown, so no.” Tom took hold of your wrist and forced you to walk alongside him. “So I have to take care of you, for you.”

“Oh no you don’t! I fight my own battles, Mr. Riddle!” The anger that was bubbling in you, the bravado that came from being a Gryffindor, meant that you were going for the complete formal rather than informal. But you were not stupid enough to continue on when he gave you the dirty look he had given to the seventh years.

“Don’t ever call me that.” He spat. “You’re the only one here that I even remotely care about, so you’re mine and I’m going to take care of you until this stupid fear of yours is gone.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended.” You folded your arms in front of your chest, leaned on the heels of your feet and looked down at the floor. “Tom - if you want to be friends, lets be friends. Drop this whole clown thing. I will be fine. I’m not going to go into hysterics over a bloody birthday card, now am I?” You glowered.

“Friends?” Tom asked as if it were some sort of alien concept to him. The confusion and the aggression did not mix well, and his face showed that conflict. He muttered it again, wiped his mouth across his lips and then laughed. “Friends?” He said once more. If he was trying to scare you off, it wasn’t working. Rather, you stood still in your place.

“Friends.” You said firmly. “A level above acquaintance. But now thanks to you, we have to find a better place to study. Let’s go to the courtyard.”

With your backpack tight around your shoulder, you walked off in the direction of the beautiful outdoor courtyard which was blooming with Spring flowers. Tom watched you go, looking at the way that your hips swayed as you walked. As you took command.

“Unbelievable.” He said, but followed after like a disciplined puppy.

[passionate-baker]

Four Days in Amsterdam, Holland

There’s something magical about Amsterdam. This was my second visit to the Dutch capital, and still I have trouble explaining to people what is so captivating about the place. For example, I can never quite get across how genuinely crooked all of the buildings are - crooked doors/windows/walls/steps all going in a different direction to each other, but yet all fitting together so perfectly. It genuinely boggles my mind, & no picture on earth can accurately capture the imperfect perfectness of it all. I love the attitude of the city, it’s relaxed and easy going, but everything still runs smoothly & efficiently. I love the wonky gingerbread houses lining the canals, a classic car or two parked nonchalantly outside. Wandering along the canals almost transports you to another time; it feels otherworldly and special. Somehow, I even grew to enjoy the thrill of nearly being mowed down by any number of the bloodthirsty cyclists at every corner. 

I visited the city with one of my best friends & we dedicated our time to walking along the canals and eating as much as humanly possible. Below is a lengthy list of recommendations and a whole bundle of photographs from our time in the city. Enjoy!

Stay

Hotel Mozart // our cute hotel was so perfect for us. We opted for the “romantic canal view room”, which was a weensy bit more expensive than the other rooms, but totally worth it. At night we could look out our window to see the glistening canal & a super cute classic car parked across the way that we affectionately named Louis. The hotel is literally a five minute walk away from the Rijksmuseum - aka, within walking distance of almost everywhere you’ll want to go - so we were pretty dang happy with the location. Added bonus: it’s nestled in along Prinsengracht, which is one of the prettiest canal/streets in the whole city. 

Eat - Brunch / Lunch / Sancks

Gartine // let’s just take a step back for a second while I admit two things: eggs benedict is my weakness & french toast is my friend’s weakness. We are powerless creatures of menu habit & that didn’t change while we were in Amsterdam. Gartine was my first eggs benedict of the trip, & it was also the worst. That said, my friend had one of the best french toast experiences of her whole life - if I remember correctly, it was a little blueberry number that stole her heart - so I guess I ordered wrong. The whole cafe has just a handful of tables & is effortlessly gorgeous, so be prepared to wait a little. Think mismatching cups & saucers, hipster-chic waiters, cups of mint tea filled with real life stalks of mint, & an extremely lovely barista. Added bonus: there was the most beautiful flower installation draped across a stormy grey statement wall. 

Bakers & Roasters // B&R was my most favourite brunching experience of our whole trip. We loved it so much we actually went back to squeeze in a quick meal before catching our flight home. No surprises about what we ordered: classic eggs benny for me, banana nut bread french toast for her. Friends, we died & went to brunch heaven. The portions are massive, and thank goodness for that because the food is amazing. The bacon was crispy & delicious, the hot buttered sourdough was so thick & fluffy I nearly cried, the poached eggs were perfect, & the coffee was so good I had two before my food even arrived. We were lucky when we visited in that we didn’t have to queue, but by the time we were leaving there was a long line snaking down the street. Pro tip: if eggs benny ain’t your thing, I can also vouch for the ‘Navajo eggs’ - a pulled pork, poached eggs, avo, salsa + toast number - that I opted for on our return & literally filled me to the brim until we touched down in Dublin nearly 10 hours later. 

Dignita // we decided to hit up the Dignita at Hoftuin (they also have a location at Vondelpark) which is inside the garden of the Hermitage Museum & is absolutely stunning - head-to-toe windows, crawler plants hanging from the ceiling, glorious sunshine filling the whole room. We loved it immediately. I have to say, the eggs benedict I had at Dignita might just about steal the crown for The Best Eggs Benedict in Amsterdam. Not only were the eggs & bacon perfect, but they were served on the most crispy - yet tender & luscious - generous pillows of hash browns. I ate every single morsel of food on my plate, not a crumb survived. It was perfection. After the success of our meal we opted for some extra coffees &  a brownie between us - cream cheese & raspberry, no less - and we nearly ended up in a food coma. A happy, happy food coma. Added bonus: their profits go towards helping victims of human trafficking. How awesome is that?

Foodhallen // as the map told us we were getting closer to Foodhallen, it appeared as though we were walking out of the city & into a more residential area. Then, suddenly, we turned a corner & there it was: a massive indoor market, one section of which is dedicated to food + drink. We walked there shortly after brunch one morning & had chatted about just getting a snack or two, but after a quick walk around the stalls that idea went hurtling out the window. We secured ourselves a table at the communal seating area, picked up two glasses of cheap wine from the bar, & ordered a sharing board from a Spanish stall called Jabugo. We sat there for the guts of an hour, relaxing, drinking, eating meat & cheese, people watching, living our best lives. Pro tip: I’ve also heard wondrous things about the burgers at The Butcher, but I’ll have to save that for my next trip. Added bonus: there’s a fabulous atmosphere in the market (it reminded me of the Time Out Market in Lisbon), that feels so good you could sit there for hours snacking and watching the world go by. 

Eat - Dinner

Hap-Hmm // walking to Hap-Hmm along a pitch black street with no lights was more than a little terrifying, but thankfully entirely worth it. A traditional Dutch restaurant serving the kinds of food I imagine Dutch grandmothers make, Hap-Hmm has been open for over 60 years. We queued for 40 minutes to get a nice little table right in the centre of everything, & the smells wafting past us as we waited had our tummies seriously grumbling. The menu was small but good - I opted for the wiener schnitzel & my pal went for the house specialty: a beef stew. Both mains were melt-in-the-mouth good (especially the stew) & came with large sides of potatoes + miscellaneous veggies. A couple of beers later, we were totally satisfied & much less terrified walking home along the pitch black street.

Los Feliz // owned by the crowd behind Bakers & Roasters, this is the Mexican restaurant of my dreams. As we perused the menu, I treated myself to a good old fashioned margarita & we let our inner beasts run wild when ordering. Friends, we feasted. We can, without any reservations at all, vouch for most of the menu: guac + chips, a whole host of different tostadas + carnitas, & the chipotle aioli fries. We couldn’t decide which tostada stole the show (a tie between the tinga de pollo & the carne asada), but really everything was so goddamn delicious & flavoursome that it was much of a muchness. After the roaring success of our meal, we simply couldn’t leave without trying a dessert (& another margarita, just in case). We went for the tres leches cake, which neither of us had ever tried before, but which we devoured within seconds. From beginning to end, it was glorious. 

Thrill Grill // TG is a burger place. At the time I rather enjoyed my burger - & my pal really enjoyed her hot dog - but thinking back on the experience as a whole, there wasn’t really anything fantastic about the place. Not necessarily a bad restaurant, there was just nothing about the place that would make me go back. 

Drink - Alcohol

Cafe George // we stumbled across Cafe George completely by accident one day & it ended up being one of our favourite stops. It’s a kind of hipster-chic place with an American/French bistro vibe going on. There are marble tabletops, mirrors lining the wall, cute candles lit regardless of the time, & a solid snack list (definitely try the traditional ‘bitterballen’). We stopped by more than once to enjoy a couple glasses of wine in the shade. 

Wijnbar Boelen // we decided to treat ourselves to a fancy glass of wine before dinner one night & this was the perfect spot. I opted for a big glass of Valpolicella, which was so delicious that I treated myself to a second. 

Drink - Coffee

Scandinavian Embassy // I somehow discovered online that Scandinavian Embassy have the best cinnamon rolls in the city (obviously something I investigate before going anywhere). It’s a very cool, very chic place, with the very alluring smell of cinnamon wafting out the front door. SE are also real deal kind of serious about their coffee. We sat right at the bar so we could watch the barista work his magic & we pretty much sat there openly gawping at him the whole time we were there. The cinnamon roll was amazing, but it was the coffee that stole the show. A lot of care & attention went into making every single cup, & you could definitely taste it in the end result. 

Lott Sixty One Coffee // we actually have an Instagram pal to thank for leading us here - @sandy.somewhere, thank you for your tip about the attractive Thor-type baristas, we are eternally grateful. Attractiveness aside, the baristas seemed to be really know what they were doing - the coffee was amazingly smooth. Cute boys + delicious coffee = match made in heaven. 

Do

Canal Cruise // I feel like this is a must in Amsterdam, you just gotta do one. We went with a company called Lovers, but I think they’re all basically the same. The tour lasts an hour & brings you down all the main canal routes, with an informative little electric tour guide narrating your trip. Our boat driver threw out a few tid-bits of information every so often: did you know that the canals in Amsterdam are 3-metres deep? He reckons they’re actually only 2-metres of water & 1-metre of ill fated bicycles, of which they pull over 12,000 from the canals every year. Mad.

Rijksmuseum // another Amsterdam must. I headed straight for the Van Gogh self-portrait & stood there taking in every single brushstroke for a good 20-minutes while waiting for my pal to catch up. It is exquisite. The museum also holds an extensive Rembrandt collection on the top floor, including his massive painting “The Night Watch”, which is definitely worth a visit. Pro tip: don’t miss a trip to the library inside the museum - it's a three storey room filled entirely with books about art history & is extremely pleasing to behold.

Moco Museum // skeptical as I was about visiting Moco, I thoroughly enjoyed our time in the museum. Perhaps that’s because it’s much less museum-ey than the Rijksmuseum etc, it is more just a collection of art. The museum houses contemporary works of art - we saw a Banksy & a Roy Lichtenstein exhibition - in a seemingly random layout. Added bonus: in the basement of the museum there was a 3D interior room installation of Lichtenstein’s painting “Bedroom at Arles” - it was literally like we stepped into the artwork; we were amazed.

I Amsterdam Sign // just one of those stupid/half fun things that you have to do when you’re in Amsterdam. If you’re one of the unlucky few whose name begins with any of the ‘iamsterdam’ letters, then you get to try climb up on top of said letter for that cliche tourist shot. Let’s just hope that you don’t slip or embarrass yourself on the way up, because there are a heck of a lot of people waiting for their chance to climb aboard. Thankfully, there’s no hidden ‘V’ in ‘iamsterdam’, so I’ve been spared the public humiliation thus far.

Vondelpark // I imagine Vondelpark would be a lovely place for a summer picnic or a stroll, but you must remember that we were there during the winter/spring. If I’m being completely honest with you, it was so bloody freezing when we got there that we briskly walked 10 paces in, glanced around, & briskly walked right back out again. Only when we were safely inside a warm coffee shop 10-minutes later did we decide that yes, it was indeed a pretty park.

Classic car hunting // Amsterdam is full of quirky old cars - they’re impossible not to come across. Go for a wander along the canals & see if you can stumble across that insta-perfect shot. I dragged my poor friend halfway across the city to go back & take a picture of a classic car I’d spotted while we were on our canal tour. The things you do for Instagram!

.

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[dat-town]

Charm me

Characters: Slytherin troublemaker!Jae  & Hufflepuff prefect!You

Setting: Hogwarts AU

Genre: fluff, humour

Summary: Secrets don’t exist in a castle full of speaking paintings. (Aka they know about your little crush and won’t shut up about it.)

Word count: 3.7k

For the September @day6imagines task, school prompt.

Good girls falling in love with bad boys is such a cliché, right?

Of course, you know that Slytherins aren’t bad by nature and certainly not all of them turns out to be one but Jae Park can, undeniable, be a pain in the ass. He’s sassy and cocky, a real trickster and troublemaker. Not even the headmaster can stop him. You, as a Hufflepuff prefect, had your fair share of running into him after curfew...

(“Hey prefie, whatcha doing?” he greeted you with a beaming smile. You frowned.

“My job, patrolling but I can’t say the same about you.”)

Or catching him using charms and spells he definitely shouldn’t.

(“Why would anyone give legs to a pot of petunias? Now, it’s running around!” you sighed exasperatedly but he just laughed it off.

“Exactly.”)

However, you also heard that he tells younger students scary stories about monsters in the Forbidden Forest that attack rebellious children just to keep them away from trouble and you found it endearing when he takes the blame for something he didn’t do. He’s a light-hearted and careless jokester, too cheeky for his own good, though his jokes are mostly harmless. You, on the other hand, like rules and actually follow them. They must be rules for a good reason after all, right? Then why is your gaze always wandering around the Slytherin table in the Great Hall?

 It all started last Christmas, during the Hogsmeade visit you couldn’t attend because you had to make sure that those who stayed in the castle didn’t cause any problem. It’s not like you haven’t been in the nearby village before, it just would have been nice to have a glass of butterbeer or something sweet in the cold, snowy weather instead of walking around in the empty hallways. But you always did your job without complaining and that day wasn’t an exception.

While strolling up and down the corridors, you only ran into a few first and second years who haven’t travelled back home for the holidays. Since they couldn’t go out of the castle yet, most of them wandered around in the unusual quietness or had fun in the snow outside. It shouldn’t have surprised you to meet with Jae too because he was prohibited from the visits as a punishment. If you recalled correctly, it was for the stunt he pulled last year: he conjured dozens of sparrows during the End-of-Term Feast and caused quite a big rufus. So yeah, he wasn’t allowed to go for the trips in Hogsmeade in his last year. Yet, he suspiciously approached the entrance of a secret passage that the previous prefects warned you about, the one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy.

“Hey, where are you going?” you called after him, only urging the boy to go faster but eventually, he stopped in his tracks.

“Out,” he turned towards you with that characteristic, lopsided smile of his and replied simply, without any sense of regret or shame. He was truly one of a kind.

“You can’t if you are not on the list or have a written permit of leave,” you recited the regulations you were taught over the years but it still didn’t dishearten Jae at all.

“Have you seen a single paper stopping me before?”

You frowned at his reluctant behaviour while pointing your wand at him in case he’s trying to play it dirty. “I can’t let you go.”

Still as unfazed as ever, the boy pouted.

“Oooh prefie, but it’s Christmas. Doesn’t it warm your heart a little? Shouldn’t Hufflepuffs be nice and all?” he whined, flattering his eyelashes behind his round glasses. His ash blonde hair cutely stuck to his forehead decorated by snowflakes and instead of warm, it made your heart weak. Since when did you associate him with cuteness? Gosh, this boy! Who did he think he was?

“Fine,” you sighed but couldn’t believe you were actually agreeing to it. Maybe it’s the holiday spirit but it would have saddened you to see him all alone in the castle while all his friends were in the village. What trouble could he get into there anyway? “Go before I change my mind. And don’t you dare get caught!”

“Gotcha,” he flashed you a dazzling smile and made finger guns at you with a wink.

You quickly turned on your heels but already felt your cheeks on fire in this cold, cold weather.

 The following day you found a box of creamy chunks of nougat and a large barrel of Every Flavour Beans on your bedsheet.

“What’s this?” you pointed to the yummy desserts in confusion and looked around in the room you share with several other Hufflepuff girls.

“Oh, Jae asked me to give them to you,” one of them answered casually like it was no big deal, something that happened every single day. But no, you don’t usually get gifts from boys and especially not from boys like Jae. Knowing him you thought it might be a prank. Of course, he would do something like this. Just to confuse you a bit more. Jae was infamous for his unreasonable acts. Buying thank you gifts for you in Honeydukes but not talking to you later? Who heard of such thing? So your first reaction was suspicion and you avoided the chocolate for days before finally, giving in and deciding to give it a taste. The nougat melted in your mouth like it was made of dreams… just perfect. Without any tricky after-effect.

 That’s how it all started and nothing has changed in the last five months. Nothing at all, so you think this day is going to be just like any other. But oh boy, you are wrong!

Your Potions professor is famous for his unique teaching methods like offering a bit of serums as a prize for the most excellent students. The task is easy: to find the happiness serum out of seven foiled liquids that contain harmless potions. The trick is that when you think you are sure of your choice, you have to drink the chosen one no matter what.

You are so so sure you got the right one but as soon as your tongue touches the bitter liquid, you realize the mistake you made. Silly you mixed up the descriptions of the peppermint smell of Veritaserum and the Elixir of Euphoria, so you drank the wrong poison, one of the worst, not deathly kinds. The truth serum.

"For those who worry, the effect will wear off in maximum of a couple of hours," the professor says calming down a girl who has had elephant ears grown.

It doesn’t help you stay calm either.

"What’s up with you? You don’t seem happy," your best friend, waiting for you in front of the door, nudge your shoulder when you leave the basement classroom and you can’t help but snap at him:

“Of course, I’m not happy. I messed it up, so badly. Over a stupid mistake. I was so sure though, I had everything written down...” you’re rambling like you never do but everything you say is honest and that’s the worst because even before Brian could interrupt you, you suddenly freeze in the middle of the sentence, your gaze following a figure who just stepped out of the Slytherin Dungeon.

"Okaaay… then what got you all smiley suddenly?" Brian asks utterly confused while nervously scratching the back of his neck. He probably doesn’t know what to do with you now because usually you’re not this blatant and impulsive. Or the type to have sudden mood swings from mad to dreamy in the matter of seconds.

Normally, you would have shrugged his question off with a Nothing but since you took a sip of a freaking damned truth serum, it just slips your mouth: "Jae just walked by."

Poor Brian, he still doesn’t understand anything.

"Aaand?" he widens his eyes trying to pry further and lucky for him, the potion got you in the mood to talk about literally anything that’s on your mind.

"Have you ever noticed how he always wears his backpack on one shoulder? It makes him walk so cute, a little one-sidedly,” you whisper to the boy never taking your eyes off of the blondish guy’s retreating figure. “And remember that when he made that clumsy mistake with a charm and got his hair pink? He just laughed it off. I admire him for that so much. I would have been so mortified. Like now… Oh my god, why do I keep talking?"

"Oh my Merlin! You have a crush on him!" Brian exclaims a little louder than he should but blame his dumbfounded state. At least it makes you shut up because for a moment, you take control of your brain and chant: don't say it, don't say it, don't say it!

But you say it anyway. "Well yeah..."

"No way," your friend gapes at you in disbelief. He would have never thought he would live that day when you admit something like that out loud, especially if it concerns Hogwarts’ infamous troublemaker.  But then another voice chimes in making you both jump.

"Yes way!" A painting hurrahs, clapping his hands and grinning from ear to ear. He looks Renaissance but apparently he’s certainly modern enough to know what ‘crush’ means. "This is the juiciest romance we have heard since last year’s drama between two profs. A Hufflepuff prefect and a Slytherin mischief-maker. It’s almost like that tragic Verona story our dear old friend, William always cries about."

"Please, please don’t tell anybody about it," you turn to the painting begging, hands intertwined in a prayer.

"Oh but what are gossips for if not for telling?" the man laughs carefreely and steps out of his frame into another painting until he disappears from your sight completely.

So yeah. By the time the serum’s effect wears off, the whole castle, at least every painting and probably most of the ghosts know about your crush. Great!

Between these old stone walls your little puppy love can’t be kept in secret for long. Hogwarts is a place where even walls have ears. Okay, maybe not the walls, but the paintings that hang on the walls certainly have, so same thing. You really don’t appreciate the teasing of the middle-aged, thick accented man in the common room, nor that lady’s nagging every single time you walk to your Astronomy class. But of course they can’t shut up, so Jae is ought to get to know about your interest in him soon.

“Oooh, have you told him yet? Does he know?” she singsongs and you keep hissing at her to keep quiet:

“Shh... Shut up, please!”

It’s only luck that the word of it seemingly didn’t get to Jae. The guy who brought back gifts for you from Hogsmeade and ever since he occasionally hid some sweets - which he most likely got from the kitchen elves - in your robe’s pockets when you weren’t looking. He probably used some kind of a spell because otherwise you would have noticed him. You can’t be sure but maybe that’s his childish way to thank you for not turning him in.

You haven’t seen or much less talked with him properly since that one time. It’s either because you avoided him like plague or that he has been out of trouble for once. Which, let’s be honest, is highly unlikely. Still, you keep lying to yourself saying it’s nothing. Because it is… right?

 Days pass, you’re getting closer and closer to N.E.W.T. which throws you on edge most of the time. Especially when you see younger students enjoying the warmer weather instead of hauling themselves into studying like you have to. So maybe, just maybe, you might have snapped at them at the first sign of infringement.

The school year, your last Hogwarts year is almost over. Unbelievable. You liked it here a lot, you liked these trees, the magic in the air and the castle with all of its blabbermouth paintings. Looking back there’s only a tiny pang of regret in your chest that you have never acted on your crazy and unreasonable feelings for the Slytherin boy (because what’s the worst thing that could happen, right?) and now you will have to live with the what ifs for the rest of your life.

Or you thought.

Next Friday, you completely and utterly mess up your Advanced Charms exam and you don’t want to do anything but run to the closest girls’ restroom and cry. You can already feel the tears that are threatening to fall as you rush out of the classroom and out of the way of the professor’s disappointed gaze. That’s when you literally bump into someone in the corridor.

"Sorry," you mumble an apology out of habit, head kept hanging as you want nothing else but hurry along. But something… or rather someone stops you.

"Oh prefie, how did it go?" Jae asks all cheerfully but soon enough he notices your sorrow and his usually gleeful voice turns into something softer than velvet. It’s so soothing, almost comforting. “Hey, what's wrong?”

You pretend not to hear the paintings aww-ing behind you and shake your head.

"I just failed my Charms exam. I won’t get those extra credits I need to get into the Ministry," you sob and blink rapidly in order to prevent the tears from falling. At least, until then you don’t have to look at him and see the pity on his face. Yes, you wanted a boring office work but you can’t even get that.

"Look I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think," Jae keeps shaking his head and you make that mistake to catch a glimpse of him. A horrible slip-up because now you can’t look away from that small, reassuring smile of his.

"Oh but it is. I mistook the wine-making spell with the water-making one and my mug that was supposed to jump and do a backflip simply fell off the table after one try," you explain bitterly your lameness and shrugging as you cast your eyes down. Sure, the non-verbal spells went okay, you suppose, so you maybe get lucky and a Poor or Dreadful mark instead of Troll but that’s still not enough to make it.

"Look, Y/N..." Jae’s voice is so soft when he speaks, it literally takes your breath away. Wow... does he actually know your name? Apparently he does because he’s talking to you while tapping your chin with his index fingers lightly so you would look up at him. His eyes, often filled with mischief, now ever so genuine, rake over your features, settling at your eyes as he continues. "You are the smartest in our year and the best in Charms, I'm sure you only exaggerate this and it wasn’t that bad."

"No, I’m sure I..." You are so ready to protest, to prove him wrong even though his words of compliment still ring in your ears. Does he really think you are that smart?

"Come on, I have an idea," Jae exclaims suddenly and grabs on your hand pulling you towards the end of the corridor. You can’t find it in you to say no to him, so you just let him drag you along while you rub your eyes with your robe’s sleeve and ignore the excited whispers coming from the walls around you.

Neither of you says a word, not until you are out of the castle targeting the woods ahead of you and that’s when you have a bad feeling about where you are heading.

"Are we…” the question dies in your throat as you become more and more certain that your suspicion is right. Your steps halt abruptly as you furrow your brows in a strict manner. “No! I’m not going into the Forbidden Forest with you!"

"Why not? Live a little. There would be no point of expel you now anyway," Jae sighs dramatically, lightly dropping your hand but you still feel the buzz where he touched you.

For a moment you two just stand there, unmoving like statues, staring each other down. Then the boy cracks the most mischievous grin ever and you already know you lost this battle. You never had a chance anyway.

"Or... as a prefect, shouldn’t you stop me from going there? And how are you going to do that without following me?" he’s provoking you and you know that as you watch him getting further into the woods. You should just call the Keeper of Keys and Grounds but his words stuck in your head. Live a little. It doesn’t matter anymore, right?

You let out a frustrated sigh and take a deep breath before setting a foot on the path that’s disappearing among the shadows of the eerie forest’s trees. You are only a few steps into the dimmed woodlands when you spot Jae casually leaning to a trunk, arms crossed, seemingly waiting for you.

"I knew you had it in you," he smiles brightly like the Sun when he sees you and you have to look away blushing from his intense stare.

“Come on, this way,” he beckons your closer, leading the way into a deeper part of the forest and you clutch onto your wand as if it was your life-belt. Just as when you are about to ask him jokingly if he wanted to kill you and bury your corpse in the Forbidden Forest, you reach a dark lawn and you forget to breath for a second.

"Oh my... are these unicorn babies?" you blurt out totally swept off your feet as you catch a sight of these golden furred equine creatures. They must be really young since they haven’t changed colour yet and you stare at the playing ponies fondly.

"Yeah," Jae nods, a doting smile adorning his features. He doesn’t even take off his eyes off of you but you are too occupied with that one approaching unicorn to pay attention to him.

"How do you know about this place?" you ask astonished and you dare to tenderly pat the animal’s back when it snuggles close to you.

"I like to hang out here when I want to think."

At the boy’s answer you look up and catch him keeping an eye on you which makes you feel all fuzzy and warm inside. He only smiles wider with which you can do nothing but return with your own shy smile. Somehow there, deep in the forest you two are not a Hufflepuff prefect and Slytherin troublemaker, none of it define you. You are just a girl and a boy laughing a lot, talking about future plans and opportunities until the Sun goes down. You get to know about him more than you have all this time and you feel falling harder than ever. He says he would like to work with Muggle-borns because they are misunderstood but he would also happily do something like Zonko’s Joke Shop. He tells about his non-magical family and how his dad got a job in London before he turned eleven and how surprised but enthusiastic everybody was when they found out that he’s a wizard. He tells you silly jokes, funny stories and so many interesting things about the world outside of the wizarding one you have always known, time really just slips out of your fingers and that a wolf’s (let’s hope it’s not something worse) howling is your cue to head back to the castle.

Going back, Jae persists to escort you right up to the Hufflepuff Basement’s entrance, so that’s where you stand awkwardly, not sure how to say goodbye or what it means at all. The school year is almost over and after that, you will probably go on your separate ways.

"This was really nice. Thank you for bringing me there," you mumble, cheeks furiously red but thank Merlin, he cannot see that in the light of the distant torches. Still, his dark eyes are sparkling, even in the dark.

"You are welcome. I hope you feel better."

A lot better actually, like a literal weight was lifted off of your chest but you miss your chance to tell him this when an impatient voice snaps at your duo, or most precisely him.

"Kiss her, you idiot!"

Jae doesn’t seem too surprised at the painting’s suggestion and while you almost jump out of your skin, he calmly dismisses the idea.

"I will not. I’m a gentleman. I will wait... well, at least until the second date," he smiles at you and oh, it’s so damn cheesy, you can’t believe your ears. Did you fall asleep during studying? Are you dreaming? There’s no way your crush just promised to take you out once again and to kiss you no less!

"So it was a date?"

"It may have been,” he muses a little uncertain this time, eyes searching for yours, hands sweating as he tries to play it off coolly with that confident smile of his. And you think: to hell with fears and insecurities. Live a little.

"Hey Jae... I think I like you," you confess as straightforward as you can and for the smile that spreads on the boy’s face, all teeth and eyes in crescents, it’s worth it.

Even if he’s irritatingly sure of himself when he answers with "I know."

"What?" you blink, taken aback but Jae just shrugs as if it should have gone without saying.

"Otherwise, you wouldn’t let me get away with everything. Oh and maybe a little birdie told me,” he adds in a whisper signalling towards the eavesdropping paintings on the wall.

“I knew it, damn,” you smile and don’t have it in you to be mad. Not even when Jae leans forward, almost only a breath away and your heart skips a beat when his playful voice drops seriously low.

"Do you really think I’m charming?"

You don’t know if it’s the confrontation or his closeness but it makes you bold and you don’t back away or deny the truth.

"You definitely are," you nod a little, sheepishly and in return, Jae gently pecks you on the cheek, wishing you a good night’s sleep with the promise of tomorrow and a lot of another days in the future. You step into the common room with a dreamy smile on your flushed face and a rapidly beating heart.

“Oh the lovebirds!” One of the paintings coos and this time you don’t tell them to shut up.

[charllieeldridge]

15 Things You Didn’t Know About Goats

Aren’t goats the best? If you’re wondering can goats swim, do they like water, or if they sleep, you’ve come to the right place. Learn all this and more about goats in this article. 

We call ourselves Goats On The Road for three reasons.

We call each other “goat” or “goady” as pet names.

We always see goats wandering around on the road when we travel. Plus, we are on the road (notice the double entendre).

We love goats!

Who doesn’t love goats? If you’ve ever seen a baby goat, you’d know that goats are one of the cutest animals alive. But there is a lot more to goats than you may think. They are smart, fashionable and absolutely hilarious.

Here are 15 things you may not know about our favourite nomadic livestock.

1. Goats Are Responsible for Cashmere

If you’re in the fashion business you may have already known that cashmere is made from goat fur, but this was news to me. I was reading a post on this blog and I was shocked to find out that goats actually produce this expensive and luxurious wool!

If you’ve ever smelled a goat before, you may be surprised to find out that people actually wear their fur. Cashmere has been manufactured in Nepal for thousands of years. The fiber is also known as pashm (Persian for wool) or pashmina (Persian/Urdu word derived from Pashm) for its use in the famous handmade shawls of Kashmir.

2. Goats Are Very Social

Despite being represented as shy and introverted in the 12 animal Chinese Zodiac, goats are actually very social. They frequently communicate with each other and mothers can recognize their “kid’s” bleat even after a year of being separated.  

3. Goats Discovered Coffee

Long ago in the Ethiopian highlands, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed that his goats were acting a bit strange. They were hopping up and down and running in circles into the wee hours of the morning.

He soon realized that their strange behaviour was due to their consumption of a certain berry. The berry soon became known for its energetic properties and word about its amazing effects spread into the Arabian Peninsula, and from there it was transported and traded around the world.

The Dancing Goat Coffee Company in the UK has clearly heard of this legend. Today coffee is the world’s second most traded commodity (next to oil). Thanks, goats!

4. Goats Are Quirky

We all know that goats are a quirky animal, but their scientific name, Capra aegagrus hircus, actually derives from the Latin word Capra, which means quirky, whimsical, fanciful and apt to change suddenly.

5. Goats Have Eyes in The Back of Their Heads

Well, not literally, but goats have a strange, rectangular pupil that allows them to see 320 degrees around them. Their oddly-shaped eyes also grant them great night vision!

6. Big Goat, Small Goat

Goats actually vary greatly in size from small 35 lb pygmy goats to giant 240 lb Boer goats! Both species are raised for meat and while Boer goats clearly have more fat to feast on, pygmy goats are known for their high-quality milk.

7. Goats Faint When They’re Scared

Actually this is a controversial myth.

In reality, goats don’t faint, but the Tennessee Fainting goat has a condition of the central nervous system called congenital myotonia, in which their muscles become temporarily paralyzed when they panic.

The condition causes no pain, but the animals do fall over. No matter what causes them to tip over, it is hilarious, but you shouldn’t go around screaming at goats to make them faint… just watch it on YouTube instead!

8. Give Two Kids a Buck and Call Them a Trip

Young goats are called kids and adult male goats are bucks (or billies). Females are called does (or nannies) and a group of goats is called a trip.

9. Wild Goats Never Sleep

That’s right, wild goats are like Chuck Norris, they don’t sleep, they wait.

This is actually a controversial topic but many goat specialists (yes there is such thing as a goat specialist) say that wild goats never sleep. Others claim that it’s a “tree falling in an empty forest” situation and the goats actually do sleep when nobody’s watching.

Meanwhile, domesticated goats sleep about 5 hours a day.

10. Goats Were the First Animals to be Domesticated

Recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains are the likely origin of almost all domestic goats today.

It is thought that humans domesticated goats as early as 7,000 B.C. Maybe goats are really man’s best friend?

11. Goats Use Tools

Goats are one of the few animals known to manipulate their surroundings to do their bidding. It may not be as dramatic as a chimpanzee using a branch to harvest honey, but goats have been known to pick up straw and use it to scratch their backs.

12. Goats Can Catch Colds

Don’t cough or sneeze on your goat because they are susceptible to many human ailments including colds, flus and pneumonia.

13. Goats Are Great Swimmers 

Hearty seafarers, goats have long been a sailor’s companion.

They have been historically kept on ships for meat and milk over long journeys and they were occasionally thrown overboard.

When the captain made his goats walk the plank, it wasn’t a ritualistic sacrifice. He was actually giving the goats a much-needed swim around the boat to prevent their muscles from dystrophy.

So, can goats swim? The answer is they’re great swimmers and have been known to swim long distances and even across seas to populate on close neighbouring islands.

14. Goats Climb Trees

You haven’t truly lived until you’ve seen a goat in a tree. Seeing goats precariously hanging from the outermost branches of an argan tree in Morocco was one of the most hilarious sites I’ve ever seen. Just check out this picture:

Photo By: Gavin Oliver via DailyMail.co.uk

15. Goats are Smart, Inquisitive and Picky

You may have seen goats chewing on rubber and random household objects, but this is not because they are hungry or mindlessly chewing.

Goats are actually very inquisitive and they frequently pick up items to investigate them. While goats will put almost anything in their mouth for examination, they absolutely hate paper and tin cans.

GOAT (Greatest Of All Time!)

There you have it!

Goats aren’t just adorable and hilarious, they’re actually extremely intelligent and complex animals with many behavioural quirks and a long history with the human species.

This article was inspired by the funny video below and my subsequent goat research. I hope you enjoyed reading it!

  The post 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Goats appeared first on Goats On The Road.

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[haggertyadventuretime]

Good morning, Vietnam!

Actually, it’s night time for us here, but the rest of y’all are just waking up, so hello!

(TL;DR: Vietnam is beautiful and crazy, the museums are eye opening and depressing, and some crazy shit has happened to us already and this post will slightly scare at least one mom... Sorry mums and dads! We are ok and loving it!)

Today is our third full day in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon). Definitely the sketchiest place I’ve ever been, with the craziest traffic, and we are LOVING IT. No travel book or YouTube video can really prepare you for the onslaught of sounds/tastes/smells/sights that are packed into every square inch of this place. It’s also an area with very high crime, mostly petty theft via motorbike (or motorbike/cyclo gangs luring you into alleyways), so we have not been taking as many pictures like we would like, even though our phones are not the most desirable... We just don’t need to be targeted like other tourists! I am also wearing a face mask for the smog/exhaust while walking around since I had an athsma issue right before we left the US (although it is much better now! Yay!).

In terms of attractions, we have visited the War Remnants Museum, the colonial district, and the former US Embassy where that one famous picture was taken of a chopper evacuating Americans and Southern Vietnamese refugees.

This next part of the blog is going to be a little disturbing, so if you don’t want to re-live the horrors of war for a minute as I discover them, please skip the next full paragraph.

The War Remnants Museum is amazing and devastating. It is a three-story building full of artifacts from the Vietnam War, or as it is referred to here - the War of American Agression. It was heavier than going to Hiroshima for us, especially the exhibits about Agent Orange and ‘ordinance’ aka bombs/mines/grenades. At the entrance of the museum there is a group of individuals who are children (some third generation) of people who were exposed to Agent Orange and were thusly deformed and injured and it is HEART BREAKING. One man who was born without eyes or eye sockets was playing ‘Imagine’ and ‘Let it Be’ on the organ the entire time we were there. There was an exhibit about the photographers (on both sides) who captured the war and died doing so, noting how important it is that journalists keep lawmakers and generals honest about the truths of war. It was refreshing to see how appreciative the Vietnamese people are of those even on the US’ side who captured pictures of atrocities just before they happened. For example, there are several photos of Vietnamese families begging for their lives (children, women, elderly), and often the caption says under the photo, “[the journalist] told the soldiers to not do anything while [the journalist] took the photo, and as [the journalist] walked away, gunfire was heard and the pleading stopped.” There were pictures of people after they had been shot apart by bullets or torn apart by grenades. It was at the site (I’m think? Or a reconstruction of) where a POW torture area was for the Viet Cong, complete with tiger cages and torture devices (and pictures and figures to match). It’s crazy to think that all of this happened not so long ago in this same city, but you can see the scars. You can tell that these are buildings that have been bombed out and rebuilt, the dirt and fire marks are still there. Quite an experience for someone who was taught in middle school (incorrectly) that the US had never lost a war. If anything, we all lost, and people still suffer on both sides. Really, if you are human, is there any side other than that of the living?

OK, end of the super heavy stuff!

Food here is amazing. We have pho (beef broth noodle soup, about $3 each with vietnamese coffee [extra thick coffee with condensed milk]) every morning for breakfast, 50 cent beers and water bottles to drink, and 75 cent bahn mi (skewered minced beef sandwiches) as a snack. We had a full-on feast last night with a friend of a friend who had recently moved here (Meredith) who is also an IC alum and former Ithaca bartender. She gave us lots of great tips about getting around and out of the city and how to haggle effectively, not that I have had any problem with that 😼. It’s part of the culture, and even if it’s just a matter of a few cents, you are participating in the game, and you may get a few laughs and more respect as well as a better deal in return.

We are definitely staying alert as we walk around the city. Taking cyclos/unlicensed motorbikes is inadvisable, as many are just scams to take you to a back alley and rob you. It rains often and unexpectedly, and on our first night we had to turn back during a walk because the streets were flooded over a foot high. That night, funny enough, as we were wading, I felt something on my leg, and it was a GIANT cockroach (I’m talking over an inch long), which I flicked off and it subsequentially SWAM AWAY. The Vietnamese people are tougher than us, they just wade through the water in their flip flops. I have yet to see any Vietnamese person in anything other than flip flops or thin flats, including construction workers. I lied, the trash guy working the street today was wearing rain boots. That’s it. There are also lots of exposed wires on telephone poles, although I’m not convinced that they are active rather than just being old and been replaced by covered wires with the old ones never removed. Either way, we warn each other every turn as we approach those at our height.

We took a stroll through the catacomb-like alleyways today looking for a new cheap/slightly sleazy spot to squat and drink (DURING THE DAY, MOM. Ok? We were being careful as well as curious) and saw what it is that I’m sure other tourists don’t realize some of the people live in... Apartments that are one room for many people, only four or five feet between the floor and the ceiling, just a cot on the floor and all kitchen supplies stacked around with no running water source that I could see. I’ve never witnessed this type of abject poverty, and I’m astounded that people can still be so kind to strangers from another country like we have experienced thus far despite where we are from. The Vietnamese are truly an amazing and tough people. That being said, we have to stay on our guard everywhere we go, because we obviously stick out from a crowd. We are definitely not the only westerners staying here though, this is the backpacker’s district, so once you hit the main road, it’s white people, Chinese tourists, and Vietnamese street vendors hawking knockoff Ray Bans everywhere you look!

Finally, I will leave you with a list of the craziest things that have happened to us thus far/weirdest stuff I’ve seen in our first few days of Vietnam: We took a 25 cent bus ride for 30 mins from the airport to our hotel, when all other foreigners were taking $15 flat fee busses to the same area (being the only westerners on the bus= winning!); On the 5 min walk from our bus top to the hotel we were propositioned for marijuana three times by roaming cigarette vendors; An old lady punched me in the butt yesterday to get me to move out of her way (she was hunched over, so it was in line with her hand, and she was probably about 200 years old, so I don’t blame her); We made friends with a Canadien named Brock who was “robbed” two days ago in Hoi An by a motorbike gang because he was dumb and didn’t have a fake wallet like we do; We keep on watching creepy middle aged Australian men hit on teenage waitresses when there are hookers LITERALLY EVERYWHERE in all of the massage parlors, but today we watched one shopkeeper’s dogs bark at this one guy who was hitting on the daughter till creepy dude shut up (yay!); In the same place met a very affectionate (and tiny!) cat who has doggy sisters that chase her into her ceiling bedroom; Last night a drunk person wandered into our hotel and must have tried to open our door, because we heard drunken stammering and our (obviously locked) doorknob wiggle, so Brendan and I, decked only in underpants, listened to the hotel manager calmly tell the guy to leave, while we (ears pressed on the other side of the door) were ready with empty beer bottles and a shoe ready for a fight (as if we needed it/would be ready for it... we must have been quite the sight if you saw us!😹)...

Despite the negatives/craziness, we are loving it here, but cannot wait to escape to the countryside soon in the next couple of days! Saigon/HCMC is the craziest of all the cities in Vietnam, or so we are told, so if we love the rough and tumble here, we have been told we will love it everywhere.