#tell me more abt ruth!!!

[pathetic-gamer]

i never know how to talk about my hobbies and interests with coworkers since they're all women in their 30s who have kids and read books by Ruth Bader Ginsburg and watch whatever popular shows are out, so I get scared that telling them all I do is play video games will make them judge me or think I'm even more of a weirdo than they already think I am, but then I was like OK fuck it, dnd is getting more popular, I'll say that's my hobby bc it is and immediately three of them were like "ooh me too!!!! what's your character like??" and such, and then I overheard a different person talking with someone else abt me and thought they were going to be gossiping about me but it turns out they actually were actually asking basic Qs about dnd because they don't know anything about dnd but were excited to have something to talk to me about to get to know me so anyway the moral of this story is 1. everyone plays dnd now so thats actually extremely normal, and 2. everyone has fun hobbies they want to talk about but are worried will make them seem weird so you should be loud about your hobbies no matter how embarrassing you think they are.

[royall-ass]

Richieeeee Richie Richieeee

YIPPIE YIPPIE

I love how much of a smartass he is?? a lot of the fandom mischaracterizes him (tbh sometimes i do to) but hes such an asshole 😭😭 like he tries to cool but hes a cringe loser i hate him /j /pos

Sometimes the lines he has… they send chills down my spine. Specifically the anime love pillows one 😭

”No he thinks the ghost is real, he’s just really fucking brave!”

PETE AND RICHIE!!!! God the way Richie fucking says shit to him and is such a jerk i love him 😭😭 i feel like despite always hating on each other they’re actually so close. Also Richie and Jason!!!! I need more of them together

Heh,,,, call me crazy,,,,, you’ll never believe what im abt to say, not in a million years,,,,, take a wild guess,,,,,,,,,, michie 😈😈😈 (this is sarcasm i love michie and theyre everything to me and and and)

Richie and Ruth 😞 they just have such a sibling dynamic that i cant see them together. Also the fact that Richie wingmans her by telling Pete to hit it and quit it

One time he gave out a bunch of invites to his birthday in fifth grade and nobody showed up because it was anime themed. Grace showed up but left quickly because she said it was sinful. Pete and Ruth would have gone but they had dance class that day

Idk if I really have any unpopular opinions??? maybe just how despite how much i love him he does sometimes say stuff that like i have to pause snd think about but like i think thats the point. Like for when Steph grabs him by the collar. It’s weird, but his character is weird. You’re supposed to love how nerdy and loser core he is

Okay this song is him AND Max, but idc,,, Jason by Bonnie Parker. I don’t need to elaborate just go listen to it and you’ll get what I mean (this is strictly for a michie headcanon but oh well)

And for my fav pictureee,.,,,,

HE JUST LOOKS SO COOL HERE SHAHGS

okay ty for ur time

[the-halls-of-hatchetfield-high]

ruth have you ever heard of the anime ouran high school host club? Ask Richie abt it, he might know what it is

Ruth: ooh, i haven't! *turns to Richie expectantly*

Richie: *eyes widen, cheeks turn a light shade of pink. he clears his throat* u-uh, it's...a-an anime! t-that, uh...you'd really l-like, ruth....

Ruth: well? go on, tell me tell me!!

Richie: *gulps and bends down to her height, whispering the plot in her ear*

Ruth: *Ruth's eyes widen with excitement the more she hears about the show, she giggles with delight* okay you HAVE to show me!

Richie: *blushing deeper* I-I'll just burn it on a d-disk for you, okay? i don't want to be in the room when you...when you watch it...

*under his breath* who knows what would happen...

Ruth: *chuckling* Okay, DEAL! *she turns to you with a wide smile* Thanks Theo, you're the bestest!! :DDDD

// i LOVE the sound of this anime!! i'm such a fan of gender subversion :D //

[evb0]

first starkid fic! pretty happy w it.

jason x richie (aka weeball), chatfic, slightly angsty, 1052 word

*10/21/21 , 4:07 pm*

*DMS with @jsnjepson and @weeaborichie*

jsnjepson: hi 

jsnjepson: did u get home safe?

weeaboorichie: I’m omw home right now

weeaboorichie: ╥﹏╥

jsnjepson: okay !!

jsnjepson: you have food yeah?

jsnjepson: for the plane tomorrow 

weeaboorichie: yeah

weeaboorichie: I have like everything 

weeaboorichie: I’m still so pissed abt it tbh (¬､¬)

weeaboorichie: god my eyes hurt

weeaboorichie: from crying o(TヘTo)

jsnjepson: I’m so sorry love

jsnjepson: it’s so unfair I’m sorry you have to go through this

jsnjepson: you wanna call?

weeaboorichie: that would be nice

weeaboorichie: I’m sorry about all of this

jsnjepson: it’s not your fault

jsnjepson: I’ll text you every day 

jsnjepson: I promise

*@jsnjepson started a call that lasted 4 hours, 21 minutes and 8 seconds.*

*10/22/21 , 10:35 AM”

*DMS with @jsnjepson and @weeaborichie*

jsnjepson: what are u doing rn? <3

weeaboorichie: we just got in the place

weeaboorichie: haven’t taken off yet 

weeaboorichie: when we do my wifi will probably get so shitty too

weeaboorichie: idk if I can talk to you then (ノ﹏ヽ)

jsnjepson: that’s fine, don’t worry about it please love

jsnjepson: how do you feel?

weeaboorichie: physically or mentally

weeaboorichie: physically fine , I took advil 

weeaboorichie: but mentally. god. so shit

weeaboorichie: jace I’m gonna miss you so so much

weeaboorichie: and pete 

weeaboorichie: and ruth 

weeaboorichie: I don’t wanna leave

weeaboorichie: I’ve never even met this woman

weeaboorichie: uncle paul hasn’t met her since he was like. a baby

weeaboorichie: I have no clue why we’re MOVING. to like buttfuck nowhere texas 

weeaboorichie: neither of us care abt her

weeaboorichie: but we gotta uproot our whole fucking lives to take care of her

weeaboorichie: I DONT KNOW WHY WE CAN’T MOVE BACK WHEN SHE KICKS THE BUCKET TOO

weeaboorichie: god I just. he won’t tell me much and

weeaboorichie: I love you guys too much to. never see you again

weeaboorichie: god I can’t think about that

jsnjepson: that’s so shitty

jsnjepson: I’m so sorry love 

jsnjepson: I love you so so so much okay prince?

weeaboorichie: I love you too

weeaboorichie: thank you

weeaboorichie: I love you

weeaboorichie: fuck fuck fuck we’re taking off

jsnjepson: have a good flight love

jsnjepson: text me when you land please?

weeaboorichie: will do

weeaboorichie: I love you

weeaboorichie: bye bye

jsnjepson: bye love <3

*11/02/21, 12:43 am*

*DMS with @IAMJAGERMAN-IAMGOD and @jsnjepson*

jsnjepson: dude I just fucking

jsnjepson: I miss him so god damn much

jsnjepson: I don’t want to get out of bed

jsnjepson: ever

jsnjepson: my eyes hurt from crying

IAMJAGERMAN-IAMGOD: you’re like 

IAMJAGERMAN-IAMGOD: so down bad man

IAMJAGERMAN-IAMGOD: you wanna

IAMJAGERMAN-IAMGOD: come over to my house or something 

IAMJAGERMAN-IAMGOD: later

jsnjepson: not really

jsnjepson: I don’t wanna do anything

jsnjepson: but thanks bro

jsnjepson: for asking 

*11/04/21, 3:14 pm*

*GROUPCHAT with @micropeter, @flemwad and @weeaboorichie* 

weeaboorichie: i want to go HOME

weeaboorichie: this SUCKS

weeaboorichie: I don’t know ANYONE HERE!!!

weeaboorichie: I still get bullied

weeaboorichie: I miss you guys so so much

weeaboorichie: I’d do anything for a movie night with you two

weeaboorichie: and Jason

weeaboorichie: oh god Jason

weeaboorichie: I miss him so so much

weeaboorichie: it like actually hurts

weeaboorichie: we text and call like every day but

weeaboorichie: it’s not the same

micropeter: Sorry Richie :(

micropeter: We miss you a lot here too.

micropeter: Study sessions are so so much more boring without you.

flemwad: YES THEY ARE

flemwad: godddd I’d even watch one of ur weird ass animes w you I miss you so much

flemwad: and not  for the sexy anime girls !!!

flemwad: not just for the sexy anime girls

weeaboorichie: thanks guys

weeaboorichie: I love you two

weeaboorichie: I’m gonna go eat dinner now

*11/07/21, 2:21 PM.*

*DMS with @jsnjepson and @weeaborichie*

jsnjepson: hi love!!

jsnjepson: how’s it going? everything sorta ok over there?

weeaboorichie: actually. pretty good! 

weeaboorichie: I met this kid at my new school

weeaboorichie: his name is Ethan

weeaboorichie: he’s so cool

weeaboorichie: he likes anime and stuff!! he’s all caught up on Naruto too!!! 

weeaboorichie: he lets me borrow his manga alllll the time

jsnjepson: woaaa!!!

jsnjepson: that’s so cool! I’m so happy for you!!! 

jsnjepson: you wanna have a movie night tonight? online? we can watch the movie for that anime you like

weeaboorichie: maybe sometime

weeaboorichie: I’m hanging out w Ethan tonight 

weeaboorichie: okay okay I gotta go!!

weeaboorichie: I love you so much 

jsnjepson: okay!! I love you prince

jsnjepson: have fun

*11/11/21, 6:58 PM*

*DMS with @jsnjepson and @weeaboorichie*

weeaboorichie: hey jace!! sorry it’s been so long 

weeaboorichie: I’ve been busy with my new school and Ethan and everything

*11/11/21, 8:43 PM*

weeaboorichie: jace?

weeaboorichie: sorry if ur busy I totally get it

jsnjepson: SORRY SORRY I’m so so sorry I’m sorry I was at Max’s house

jsnjepson: that’s fine that’s fine!! I’m glad you’re settling into things!!

jsnjepson: how’s everything going ?? how are you?

*12/02/21, 9:32 AM*

weeaboorichie: fine

weeaboorichie: school is nice! 

weeaboorichie: me and Ethan have an anime club now and it’s so cool we watch two episodes every Friday and it’s like book club but for anime

weeaboorichie: he’s so cool he got me a jujitsu kaisen hoodie for my birthday!!!

*12/02/21, 12:59 AM*

jsnjepson: that’s cool

jsnjepson: a bunch of scouts came to the last game at hfhs and talked to me and max

jsnjepson: we might get to go to a really good collage for this

jsnjepson: college

jsnjepson: what college are you going too? 

weeaboorichie: uh idk

weeaboorichie: I think the same one as Ethan he has it figured out and stuff

weeaboorichie: I want to at least

weeaboorichie: you could send me whatever college u wanna go too

weeaboorichie: I guess I could look into them

*01/01/22, 1:00 AM.*

weeaboorichie: happy new years

jsnjepson: happy new years

*02/16/22, 9:30 AM*

weeaboorichie: sry it’s been awhile since I checked in

weeaboorichie: hru?

*02/17/22, 2:54 AM*

jsnjepson: good 

jsnjepson: wbu?

weeaboorichie: fine

*02/20/22*

*03/05/22*

*03/15/22*

*03/20/22*

*03/29/22, 12:43*

jsnjepson: I dont think i’m in love with you any more

*Read*

[1eos]

Hii Kendra! I love your reading/book tag and I wanna start reading more diverse books because my thesis is abt to end and I'll have more time to get into non-academic reading do you have any recommendations?

Also i think ur super cool in general I hope you've been doing well!

omg congrats on almost being done w your thesis! i know that extra free time is gonna feel soooooooooo good. and ofc i have recs!

the vanishing half by brit bennett - omggggg one of my most favorite books of all time currently. its almost a set of twins who run away from their hometown that's obsessed w breeding dark skin away basically and how their lives diverge with one twin passing as white and the other deciding to 'stay black'. its a romance its a family history its an homage to toni morrison. the prose is AMAZINGGGG and the characters are just so good. i love this book

this is your mind on plants by michael pollan -a very interestingly written nonfiction book on the like...contradictions of what mind altering plants are demonized/normalized. was hooked from the opening tbh

natural beauty by ling ling huang - how the toxicity of the beauty industry and societal pressures for woc to assimilate visually go hand in hand. the ending was wild but i really liked it

yellowface by r f kuang - a white woman has an inferiority complex bc shes a mid writer and instead of tackling her innate belief that she deserves recognition for being white and mid she proceeds to pretend to be asian. an infuriating but good read bc the narrator is the epitome of That Kind of white person 😭

my sister the serial killer by oyinkan braithwaite - title tells you the premise but it goes sooo much deeper than that. tackles what it means to be the 'ugly sister'/the 'sister's keeper' bc you're the eldest. devoured this book in just a day its so good

the only good indians by stephen graham jones - horror book rooted in the lives of a group of native american friends that grew up on the same reservation and the manifestation of intergenerational curses......metaphorical curses and like LITERAL curses. be warned ppl do die.......and it gets kinda crazy at some points so check does the dog die for list of warnings

a tale for the time being by ruth ozeki - this book got me into reading again. its two stories in one almost? a writer finds a lunchbox on the beach that has the journal of a japanese high school student named nao who is having a shit time in school and its this really amazing coming of age story not only for nao but for the writer who finds her story. warning. nao is casually suicidal at the beginning of the book and its not too graphic depictions of bullying towards the middle

[doug-meat]

parts of the npmd soundtrack that scratch my brain perfectly (act 2)

again its all under the cut. i hope this is comprehensible its longer than the last one. idk what else to say

HATCHET TOWN

dan's whole bit at the start. just the way he says everything. so good

the ahh ahh ahhs

the electric guitar <3

curt's voice for bailey esp the growl

A LOSIN STREAKS COMIN!

the smoooothness of corey's voice and the way he sings things auuauauuau

IF HE GETS ME NEXT I COULD BE THREE!

the harmonies on man down down down down

the little plinky organ melody in the backround that comes in halfway through the chorus UAUUAUAUA

the way jon says donna

donna's "DAN!!!"

i certainly dont LOVE killing!

the harmonies on "bailey's/barry's on the loose and he's got a gun" (im talking mainly abt the soundtrack and not the proshot so bailey is more applicable here but both r so good)

I'M A COP!

fits the bill! it fits the bill!

THE HARMONIES ON THE SECOND MAN DOWN DOWN DOWN DOWN UAUUAUAUAU

the who's swingin the hatchet now harmonies

HATCHET TOOOOOWN

I AM THE MAYOR!!!!

HOW DARE YOU!!!

bryce's solo <3 all of it is so good

BOY JERRY <3 and gerald monroe ig but i love jerry

LET'S KILL 'IM!

CAN I SHIT OR WILL I DROWN

kim's little opera bit

the final in hatchet town harmony <3

JUST FOR ONCE

this whole song in general btw. i love ruth fleming so so so so so so so so so much this song was such a silly contemperary theatre tribute

NO, i haven't seen your grill brush, MAURY. huh YEAH! i used it to BRUSH MY HAIR this morning CANT YOU TELL. ugh

DONT LEAVE ME OUT HERE WITH THE MEAT, MAURY! medium WHA? how can something be medium AND WELL, MAURY?

ugh. maury.

*sigh* i turned 40 today.

the piano coming in

the synthy strum

the way lauren sings the word saturday. her voice throughout this whole song just scratches the brain itch so well

the way she says window, right, dream, and had

they never win

and LIIIIIFE is FULLL of all of the Trappings of The Well to Dew

god i love ruth. i love this song i love this song.

the slight tonal shift (thats not the right word ugh) for the choruses.

39 I LOSE MY HAIR UNDER CAREFUL CHEMO TREATMENT

the way lauren says ensnared

JUDGE ME.

IT FUCKING WORKED I'M FUCKING HERE HE'S FUCKING HER IM DISAPPOINTED

and of the two who's the worse for wear (ME.)

the tambourine

idk what that instrument is in the bg of second chorus it sounds like a saxaphone but also synthy???? idk but i love it

SHOULD I FLIP THE BURGERS NOWWW!

the clarity of lauren's first oh UAUAUA

SHOULD I LET THE YEARS COOOK MY BODY DOWN IN FRONT OF HIM

all 3 just for onces esp the last one with the riff

THE WAY THAT BEHIND THE JUST FOR ONCES YOU CAN HEAR THE "if i can finally be cool i will know that i'm not a loser" MOTIF AUUAUAISUAUUAISIAU

the way the tone calms back down but its still like so vulnerable... uuuuuauu

the way she says every word in this last verse

i used to dance :(

IF I LOVED YOU

THE SYNTH

I NEVER WANTED YEW ANYWAY!

joey's general tone in this UAUAU so good

mariah's deeper voice HEART EYES AUUUU

i just love lautski this song is so good i can barely pick things out bc this whole song scratches my brain

joey's lil growl on "oh babe i'd let u know"

OOOO! i guess we'd better save the date!

need a lover MAYUN

i love when jeff blim crams a lot of syllables into an amount of time like that its so fun

the harmonies <3

wake me up when u turn 18!!!

if i IF I!!!!!

the repeating round style of singing in order to come together eventually I lov them

dissonance <3

THE SUMMONING

the way the lords names are sung i love it sm

the lords names being whispered in the background

tNOY karaxis

WIGGOG WIGGOG Y'WRATH

the woah ohs and the drums kicking in

the music cutting out

HELLO FWENDY WENDS

the we will build a portal motif

the laughter

just the whole little lord verses its so discordant and fun and i love it so much i love the voices they put on i love the lyrics

LA LA LA LA LA ALALALALALA

the book has all but closed on ur life!

THE LORDS IN BLACK ARE THE LORDS IN BLACK ARE

blinky's we've been watching u gracie

the way curt says spankoffski and toy box

GOOOO NIGHTHAWKS!

tinky's laugh

jon's wiggly voice

WHY HELP U WITH THE JAGERMAN WHEN WE CAN HELP THE WORLD

the drums

swallow his soul i wanna lick it!

i wanna see thaaaat

WHATEVER WE WANT WE WANT WE WANT WHATEVER WE WANT WE GET

AAAAUHGUGH there IS something!

something FUN!!!

the lords in black the lords in black call us...

what do u want steph...

do it... or DIE

WE DONT GIVE A SHIT ABT UR PHONE!

AHHHHHHUHGHHH THERE HE IS

what's in your pocket STEPH-A-KNEE

STEPHANIE HAS GOT A GUN TRALALALA HOW FUN! STEPHANIE HAS GOT A GUN SHE KNOWS WHAT MUST BE DONE

i love this whole song its so silly and crazy

YUM YUM!

or FUCK OFF

that last "the lords in black the lords in black call us"

COOL AS I THINK I AM REPRISE

this one makes me really sad :( still so good

one of us is in love :(((((((((

it doesnt TAKE a detective

the violins coming in again

is it really a crime if you get to live your life to the fullest :((((

YOU GET TO LIVE ON :(((((

the i love u i know :(((((((

ur not as cool as u think u are! :(

THE HARMONIES :(

IF I CAN FINALLY BE COOL :((((

i will know that you have to do it :(((

joey's lower register for this last little if i loved u chorus :(((

loved u more than the stars above :(((((( (how many sad faces can i use)

the pause before could've :((((

i cant even say anything more abt this one it makes me too sad

ok yes i can the i never wanted you anyway breaks my heart

BEST OF YOU

the guitar

the needy beast esque pronounciation of words idk how else to say it i just love it

LIKE EYE DEW

we hurted!

the harmonies on town and down

IM THE BEST OF YEW!

this song is just so fun

it's like you knew me b4 u knew me! that whole bit! i love it!

THE AHS IN THE BACK OF THE SECOND BIT OF THE SECOND VERSE

ABSCONDED BELOVED

FOREVER!

WE'RE GONNA RUN AROUND 2NITE!

I BELIEVE IN YEWWWW

never gonna fall!

the echoey verse in the back at the end Auuu so good

the ending note harmony

DIRTY DUDES MUST DIE

the souls of the pervs make me strong

her laugh

I LOVE ANGELA'S VOICE

everything she sings here sounds so incredible

ARE U HARD BC UR STRESSED

what????

i just love this reprise its so so good

i cant point out specific parts bc its just all incredible

OF THE NERDS U MINIMIIIIIIIZED!!!! her RIFF!

THE LAUGH

when the ensemble comes in heart eyes

WHO WILL PRAY 4 U WHEN UR BODY'S GONE THIS IS THE CONSEQUENCE FOR WHAT YOUVE DOOOOONE

DARKNESS WILL SPARE MY SOUL

run pervs RUN

[henriiiii-1001old]

tmc fairy tale au!!!

SO this is actually a concept i had a few months ago that i never rly expanded upon.

first, let me explain the basics:

i assigned different tmc characters to different fairy tales, but they all exist in the same universe.

Adam - Rapunzel Evelin - Snow White/Flynn Rider Jonah - Little Mermaid Sarah - Gretel/Daughter from The Juniper Tree Mark - Hansel/Stepson from The Juniper Tree Cesar - Frog Prince Thatcher - Lumberjack guy from Red Riding Hood Ruth - Red Riding Hood Dave - Father from The Juniper Tree Six - Gothel Gabriel - Stepmother from The Juniper Tree Preacher - The Sea Witch Stanley - The Candy Witch Alt!Thatch - Big Bad Wolf

next, some art i made for the au!!!

and now, huge lore dump! >:)c its gonna be long so buckle your seatbelts LMAO

so, the main plot of this au is basically that adam has been stuck in a tower in the middle of nowhere for almost 21 years. he had been raised by six, who is actually a witch set on taking over the kingdoms that surround the nearby areas (aka the counties). one day, six it out doing stuff, and while he's gone prince evelin (yes she's a prince bc fuck it) ends up finding the tower. she decides to climb it out of curiosity.

she ends up in a standoff against adam, but to try to deescalate things, they introduce themselves to each other. all of a sudden before they could talk more, adam hears six coming back and hides evelin in a nearby closet. evelin sees adam and six get into a fight abt adam wanting to go out into the world for once, but six is all "you're not ready" and it just gets really bad. all until six lovebombs adam and leaves again to get something for adam's upcoming 21st birthday.

evelin had exited the closet as six left, and she's like "you let him do that to you?" adam is like "uh yeah? he always does? i dont see them problem" and evie starts making adam question everything. she promises to take adam into the world but return him by night in case six came back. they'd also stay near the tower just in case as well.

cut to jonah's pov! he's a simple merman wanting to be a part of the human world! he sees evie and adam having a lot of fun and wishes he could join them. his dad (yes, if jonah is the little mermaid, the fucking mervin marshall is the king by proxy DCFVGBHNJ) is all like "nuh uh too dangerous, especially with most of the witches residing on land anyway" and jonah is like "FUCKING BET!"

he goes to the sea witch, preacher, and asks for legs and talks about seeing adam and evie hanging out! and preacher is like "im sorry WHO????" bc she knows that adam shouldnt be out and about. she makes jonah promise that as part of the deal, he must return adam to six in three days time, otherwise he'll turn back into a merman. he quickly agrees, and the whole deal is made. preacher does go tell six about this, and while he freaks out at first, preacher is like "it's ok dude i got this. i got a client to promise to return him home as part of our deal. you're fine m'dude."

jonah ends up on land and tries teaching himself how to talk while finding a cloth to barely dress himself with. adam and evie do eventually see him and they're like "yo who tf are you?" and while jonah cant talk, they do find a way to write to each other and they become friends!!!!

they do also eventually meet sarah at some point, and oh b o y does she have a backstory.

SO, in order to explain her backstory, let me explain the story of "the juniper tree" (copy pasted from discord LMAO)

"so a mother is peeling apples under a juniper tree and accidentally cuts her finger. the blood drips onto the snow on the ground, and that (somehow) grants the woman's wish to have a child as white as snow and as red as blood. she dies after giving birth to her perfect child, and the father soon remarries, having a daughter of her own.

she loved her daughter but hated her stepson and abused him every day and is all "i want my daughter to inherit your father's money." she then leads her children to a chest of apples one day. she lets her daughter pick an apple from the chest, but when her stepson came to pick one, she slammed the chest on his head and decapitated him.

she then set it up to where the same thing would happen again but the daughter would be there to witness it all, and her mother would gaslight her into thinking that she murdered her own brother. she then literally turned her stepson into soup and fed him to her husband. the daughter was so grossed out and distraught the entire time, but she couldn't rat her mother out. she ended up burying her brother's bones under the juniper tree.

then, he reincarnated as a bird and sung a song to some townspeople to convince them to help him get revenge on his stepmother. he gathered a golden chain for his father, red shoes for his sister, and a millstone to crush his stepmother. he reveals himself to his family and they live happily ever after."

here's the changes i made to the original story:

instead of just the mother dying, both of mark and sarah's prents die, and now they are in the sole custody of dave

instead of having the caretaker marry someone, dave asks his friend "o'brien" to help raise mark and sarah

instead of the stepmother dying, it is revealed that o'brien was actually the great mage gabriel trying to steal something important to their plans that dave just so happens to have

and thats it CFVGBHNJM. gabriel does try and come back every once in a while to coax gabe into either letting them come back or trying to make dave give himself up for sarah's sake.

cesar's story is also p cool imo! he is the prince of bythorne and evelin's cousin! they got along great when evelin was younger, but that stopped once cesar disappeared.

this was caused by him saving mark and sarah from the candy witch, stanley, who had lured them in to specifically kill mark. cesar saw what was going on and saved the two of them before it was too late.

later that night, stanley decided to be a petty bitch and curse cesar into being a frog so he wouldn't be able to save anyone else from her or her sisters' (in which six is her like. brother but i'll explain why later LMAO) plans. cesar hid in the shadows of mandela kingdom's palace for years since then.

since cesar's disappearance, evelin had wanted to take the role of prince to honor him. she also used it as a way to not have to be trapped inside the palace walls and coddled. she ended up still feeling stuck anyway, which led to her sneaking out to travel through the woods, which ofc led her one day to find adam's tower.

at some point (if anything this would be after evie and adam meet and stuff), evelin finds cesar in his frog form on the windowsill of the guest room he would regularly stay in whenever he would come to mandela to visit. he finds that she isnt revolted by his new appearance and is actually willing to help him out!

he explains that he learned that most curses can be cured by "true love's kiss", which in storybooks was always seen as romantic. he had always viewed evelin like a little sister, so he felt that he was hopeless.

that was until evelin thought of a loophole, since the stories never explicitly said that it was romantic, she would try to break the curse purely through the love she has for him as her cousin. she kisses the top of cesar's head, and cesar has returned to his human form!!!

...well, somewhat. the curse had altered his human form due to it not being broken for years on end, so cesar came back deformed. his limbs were too long and half of his face was always covered by a dark shadow. cesar did freak out about this, but evelin assured him that he'll always be her cesar, no matter what he looked like.

evelin and cesar explained the situation and cesar was finally returned to bythorne. he did write a letter a bit after wards telling her that he has resigned from his princely duties to become a princess! maybe it would help him not have to struggle with the expectations of needing to be brave and bold, and it would be a thank you to evelin for taking his role as a prince!!!

speaking of evelin, let's go back to her for a minute. so, i had also put her as snow white, but we haven't really seen her fulfill that role yet. weeelllll...

at some point in the story, six finds evelin alone in the forest and offers her to take a bite of an apple in exchange for knowledge about adam and his past. the thing is, evelin HATES fruit so she's like "ewww do i have tooo" and six is like "if you really wanna know, then you gotta."

evelin agrees and bites into the apple. it tastes so fucking gross, but she feels like she was to swallow it to finish her end of the deal. once she swallows, the pieces suddenly cling onto her throat, choking her in the process. as she struggles to breathe, six begins to tell her who adam truly is.

adam is a regular boy who six took as part of a deal made by his parents. lynn had been getting pregnancy cravings and wanting the rapunzel frm the neighbor's garden. she made jude retrieve them for her, but it wasn't enough. eventually, jude got caught by six and agreed to give up their firstborn child in exchange to continue taking the flowers.

once adam was born, lynn and jude were killed by six, and he took adam away to raise him as his prodigy. as a catalyst for the witches' plans.

as six is explaining all of this to evelin, she is trying her hardest to take him down with her. fuck the info he's giving her, he tricked her, and now he has to pay. she swings with all her might but falls in vain. her vision goes black as six walks away from her dying body...

there's probably a "mother knows best reprise" moment here and six is all like "oh you might wanna go save your friend if you care about her so much" and adam freaks tf out. she's desperately trying to think of something to help evelin.

eventually, the group remember's cesar's story with "true love's kiss" and they're like "fuck it let's try that". adam, while literally sobbing, plants a small kiss on her forehead and prays for her to wake up.

while this is all happening, evelin ets visited by mark's spirit. he basically hypes her up and is like "you got this girlie!!!" and she wakes up after adam plants his kiss on her. she starts to choke again, but adam helps her with it and heimlichs the apple out of her throat. she's finally able to breathe, and the group celebrates.

however, the happy moment doesn't last for too long. jonah does eventually return adam to six behind evelin and sarah's backs, but afterward he feels so guilty for it. they literally sacrificed one of the first human friends he's ever made for legs. how stupid is that? they eventually go to sarah and evelin and they quickly figured out what happened. while evelin goes to the tower to save adam (with help from a certain spirit), sarah and jonah confront preacher.

there is gonna be a plot abt preacher almost taking over the seas, but jonah and sarah do eventually take her down and retrieve jonah's voice. and yes, sarah gets to see that jonah is a merman and she's actually like "YO WAIT YOU GUYS ARE REAL???" and jonah is like "UH YEAH?????"

and yes, adam does eventually escape as well, but i dont have those details either so ye :')

that's the main plot at least! i do have a subplot for thatcher's pov tho! more copy paste from discord

"thatcher and ruth are friends and live nearby each other. ruth usually helps out w raising mark and sarah, though mark by this point is dead so dave DEFINITELY needs help. he and sarah havent been taking his death well, especially since dave literally ate mark’s remains without knowing. and sarah feels guilty enough for being gaslit into believing that she killed mark.

so ruth is about to go to dave’s place and has to walk through the forest to get there. she eventually meets what seems to be a very friendly wolf. she is a little weirded out by it, but she eventually tells it how dave lost mark and that she’s helping out! and the wolf is like “oh thats cool! i wish you luck on your journey. though i must say, these flowers smell beautiful! maybe you should pick some and take them to your dear friend!” and as ruth collects flowers as the wolf suggested, it found thatcher nearby and took his appearance to take a visit to a particular dave lee." ...

"she gets to dave's place who has been escorted out by the wolf/alt thatcher, right? so he's like "dear friend, why don't you rest! you've spent all day walking here, and you should be able to rest" aaaaand he tries to turn her into a werewolf but then thatcher comes in and is like "AYO TF YOU DOING TO MY BESTIE????" and he and the wolf fight. thatcher ends up getting bitten but is able to ward him off with his axe that was laced with silver just in case. so ruth is saved, but overtime thatcher feels more pain surge throughout his body and just kinda. turns one night.

unfortunately, he ends up killing ruth. alt thatcher tries to take this as an opportunity to maybe make him join the witches, but thatcher ofc refuses and makes a break towards dave's house. thatcher ends up telling dave what happened, and dave is okay with helping him hide it as well as hiding his newfound lycanthropy

sarah overhears this convo and becomes EXTREMELY angry at thatcher bc ruth was helping dave raise her after mark died. she was basically the mother figure sarah had always wanted, and thatcher took that away from her."

that's it for plot!!! now for some witch shenanigans >:)

so the witches are basically all the alts who usually practice shapeshifting magic to like. deceive others and all that jazz. ive made it a running joke that six is technically the only guy there FVGBHNJ

like, stanley is fem, preacher is female, alt!thatcher is copying thatcher who is transfem in this au, and gabriel dresses fem. six (and by proxy adam) is literally the only guy there DCFVGBHNJ

i am. running out of energy but i think that's everything for rn. hope you enjoy this au though!!!! ive put a lot into it <33333

[ruthiesrambles2]

Sorry, I gotta hear your theories abt the snow piercers burials at your earliest convenience

Sorry to disappoint not theories just thoughts!

Like how it's acknowledged multiple times in canon that bodies go to compost. Melanie tells Jackboots to take Josie there, Ruth complains of bodies stacking up after the rebellion.

Which makes total sense composting bodies is probably the best possible option, but it's not super easy to do in a safe way and would need to be far more complex and scientific than the den of sludge that we see on Big Alice.

But then the Breachmen get what you gif'd - wrapped in cloth and jettisoned. Inherently wasteful, a not insignificant amount of cloth and rope on top of the loss of the soil feeding nutrients of the body itself.

This is presumably supposed to be an honour. Breachmen are third class, though. Do they get the honour because of the work they do, revered as they were amongst the working class? Do they get the honour because they were murdered, or young, or innocent? Do we only compost Tailies and rebels?

Do you get an honourable send off if you commit suicide? Even if your a firstie? In fic I refer to those as The Ungrateful Dead (an imagined Wilfordism, to be clear) and they get sent to compost.

Assume for a minute that the honour is generally reserved for the upper class, or at the very least the heroes. Even in death, even after the end of the world, how very like reality. The working class interred or burned, given back to the earth, the upper class entombed in mausoleum, great metal lined slabs, perfectly preserved... For posterity.

Of course the main point and one my mutuals are sure to be bored of is this.

Send me to compost.

What horror to be flash frozen, shattered flesh, scattered on a dead planet and trapped in this lifeless fragment of a life cycle for decades or centuries. What horror to be wasted.

Send me to compost. So I can feed the fungus, the bacteria, feed the earthworm and the cockroach, bring life to the fruiting tree and the sprouting herb. Send me to compost so I can feed you and you can have me back again. So I can be again. Life unto life. Keep me close and keep me warm, don't throw me out into the frozen wastes.

Sorry @gifsofhubris I just really wanted to wax lyrical about compost 🤷

[dinoplantsghost]

pairing: Tom Riddle x fem! original character

warning(s): tom is a warning in itself, 1940s: discussion and mention of World War 2, possible time-accurate prejudice, mentions of death & su!c!de, violence, mild bodily horror

word count: ~3040

Disclaimer: I have a huge google doc that holds all of my drafts and I'm quite literally just copypasting everything, so if there are any typos/errors, no there isn't!! :)

-- genuinely so horrible at tags and titles bro my bad 💀💀 (some silly anon person was complaining abt my tags but literally idk what they were mad abt specifically because they didn't tell me so womp womp ig gotta be more specific)

Chapter List

Friends [4]

Blinding white cursed Saoirse’s eyes as she gained consciousness, her throat dry and her limbs light. She failed to sit up in the creaky hospital bed that scratched at her skin, the paper already littered with holes and snags. 

“Maybe it’s best to lay back down,” a voice said. “Madam Ruth just went to check up on some first year; said he broke his leg on the stairs or something. I think it’s quite funny.” 

With a dull pulse in her skull, Saoirse looked to the side to see a boy holding her satchel in his lap, the inner color of his sleeves a striking Ravenclaw blue. The pink patches on his cheeks were prominent on his pale skin, faint copper flecks just below his cheekbones and divots reminiscent of a crescent moon marked his flesh. “Professor Merrythought told me to bring your belongings to the hospital wing, but I decided to stay because you looked lonely.” 

“Who are you?” Saoirse asked, coughing as she squinted her eyes at the boy with eyes similar to hers, covered by the disheveled mop of blond on his head. 

His lashes fluttered, crows feet showing as he smiled at her. “I’m Tracy Mayfield, a fifth year student in Ravenclaw. It’s nice to meet you.” 

The shutters to the left of Saoirse slid open, a scrunched and wrinkled face of an older woman standing by the girl’s bedside. “Boy, you should have told me she woke up a long time ago.” She huffed. Madam Ruth placed a cold hand under Saoirse’s chin, forcing her to look into her gaze. “How do you feel, dear? Any headaches, difficulty breathing?” 

The matron handed Saoirse a glass of water, then bent down to finger at the rough gauze that covered the girl’s neck. “How long have I been out?” Saoirse asked, handing the now empty glass to the boy beside her. 

Tracy replied, “You’ve been unconscious for a few classes, lunch is almost over, actually.” 

Saoirse flinched at the sudden flush of cold on her neck, relaxing when she realized the nurse was only putting ointment on her neck. “I don’t understand how you children can be so reckless,” the lady scolded. “If I ever see that boy who did this to you, I’ll be having a stern conversation with him.” 

“Speaking of Riddle,” Tracy continued. “What happened during the duel? He kind of ran away with his boy party after the smoke went away.” 

Ignoring the way Madam Ruth badmouthed the mention of smoke, Saoirse shrugged. “He was asking me about something Merrythought told me, but in reality she never really said much; she just gave me permission to use spells I’ve been working on for a while. In fact, I think that Riddle boy should come to the hospital wing himself.” 

“Why, girl, what did you do to him?” The Matron pressed, redressing Saoirse’s neck. 

“Well, the spell I used is supposed to—” 

The double doors swung open, hitting the walls with a loud crash as audible leather hit the tile floor. As the footsteps got closer, a boy with hardened eyes and a set jaw stiffly made his way to the three by Saoirse’s hospital bed, ignoring the way the boy next to the foreigner leaned in to whisper in her ear. “My skin is rotting,” he said simply, a breath leaving his nostrils as he watched the way the Matron’s eyes bulged, her words sputtering when she strode around the rickety bed to pull Tom by his shirt. 

“What do you mean your skin is rotting,” she yelled. “You idiot children—someone is going to be killed one day, mark my words!” 

As Madam Ruth walked away with the Slytherin boy in her grasp, Tracy dropped Saoirse’s bag on the floor, scooching his metal chair closer as he propped his arms on her bedside. “What did you do?” He asked; a question Saoirse had heard for what seemed like the umpteenth time. She smiled, a twinkle in her eye as she signaled the boy to pull a journal from her satchel. On the edge of his seat, Tracy waited as Saoirse flipped through the messy pages, the parchment stained and its edges tattered and distressed. Ink blots covered the papers as well as an unknown language in the male’s eyes, scribbles of black running across the journal’s entirety. 

“My spell worked,” she chirped, stopping at one page with a dry piece of something pressed into the material. “My Rotting-Flesh Curse.” 

Looking at the page closer, Tracy finally saw the little holes in the unknown piece on the tree pulp, discoloration everywhere on its gray, fleshy surface. “Is that dry skin?” He asked, raising a finger to poke at the dead slice. 

Saoirse nodded, her own finger trailing to the paragraph below the large characters at the top of the page. 

‘𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆-𝒐𝒖𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎. 𝑰𝒇 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉; 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆. 𝑶𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔.’

“So, Riddle is dying?” Tracy gasped, glancing back up to see the matron and the snake walking back to Saoirse’s bedside, Tom’s left shoulder fully exposed. 

“Saoirse,” Madam Ruth said. “What you did to this boy is unacceptable; I don’t care if he choked you. This boy is dying and you need to heal him right away.” 

The girl frowned, her brows furrowing as she saw the tiniest quirk of Riddle’s lip twitch before going back to the usual pout on his face. The matron handed Saoirse a strength potion and a general healing potion. Downing both of them back-to-back, she smacked her lips in disgust as she pulled her wand out from its place on her forearm. She sat up straight, raising her right arm before flicking the tip around. Reminiscent to the Flagrate charm, the three watched with bated breath as strokes of blue formed four characters in a column before melting together and gently settling down on Tom’s skin. From his bicep to his jawline, sparkles of light blue glistened, the color of his surrounding flesh becoming more flush as his skin mended right in front of his eyes. As the wound healed, a faint yet noticeable discoloration was left, a reminder of what she had done to him; how she had almost killed him effortlessly. 

“Was that the counter curse?” Tracy muttered, to which Saoirse nodded, leaning back on the smashed pillows behind her. She muttered the name of the spell, her voice significantly honeyed and matured than when speaking English. Tracy crossed his arms, attempting to repeat Saoirse, only to fail miserably and settle on the phrase ‘chewy necktie.’ “Japanese is hard…” 

Saoirse ignored him, sliding under the thin covers as she tossed to her side, her back facing Tracy as she forced herself to fall asleep.

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

Saoirse could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. Tracy, for whatever reason, allowed himself to stay in the hospital wing with her, running his mouth on and on until Saoirse threw a pillow in his face. 

The moment Saoirse healed him, Tom left in a haste. It didn’t matter to her, though; that Riddle boy wasn’t of much interest to her. Maybe the spell she used was too harsh; maybe she could have used something more simple, but she was proud of her results nonetheless. She had never used it on a human before, only having access to rats and other small animals like toads or fish. Considering how fast his skin deteriorated his mind wasn’t all that strong; she assumed he was panicking the moment he saw the injury. 

“So, what’s Japan like?” Tracy swiveled his head on his neck, unaware of the way Saoirse’s cheek twitched the moment his nasally tones filled her ears. 

“It’s awfully hot, at least on Iwo Jima,” she started. “And it’s windy almost all the time. I never knew October could be so cold; it’s usually scorching this time of year.” 

“Really,” Tracy wowed. “That’s so cool! What kind of animals do you have in Japan? Oh, and what do you wear? Is it true that Japan—” 

“Mayfield,” Saoirse coughed. “Please stop talking.” 

The boy pouted, his shoulders sagging as he fiddled with his sleeves. “Do you want me to leave?” He whispered. The girl nodded, not noticing the way Tracy’s nose scrunched as he stood up from the metal, rusty chair, his footsteps echoing as he got further away from Saoirse. 

She never had anyone force themself to stay around her for so long before. Usually that only happened when someone was dared to—though, she was never bullied; it was common for students to make bets and commit other mischievous activities regarding others. 

One girl—her name irrelevant—had been dared to befriend a boy in exchange for a chocolate, one that Saoirse herself loved. The brand was founded in recent years, Meiji, an homage to the beloved emperor, and had been gaining major popularity on the island despite being a brand from the non-magical population; the jyōjin. 

Turns out, the boy had actually liked the girl, and her friends were attempting to be matchmakers, but eventually it was revealed that the girl didn’t like him at all. It was a huge debacle; she had slapped the boy in the middle of the courtyard, yelling at him about how she wished her friends never dared her to talk to him, how that stupid piece of chocolate wasn’t worth the hours being in his presence. In the end, the boy took his life, embarrassed by the girl’s dramatic spectacle. 

Of course, it didn’t surprise Saoirse that the superintendents and the High Priestess did not do a thing about it; the girl was given a few weeks of punishment until her father wrote to the staff, and she was let go with a mere slap on the wrist after the fact. Saoirse always thought about that day, the day the boy died. He had hung himself in the middle of the dining hall, surrounded by precious stones that so many had ironically died to get their hands on. 

Nonetheless, that didn’t go without saying that Tracy’s presence wasn’t appreciated. Saoirse’s head hurt, yes, but it was dull pain, one she could cope with. She was sure to get used to the boy soon enough; she doubted he was going away any time soon.

By a half-hour past 19:00, Tracy had unsurprisingly returned to the Hospital Wing, but with two more people. Days like this made Saoirse regret ever killing Himiko, she thought. People drained her energy. Behind the Ravenclaw was a boy and a girl, one with yellow lining in their robe and the other with red, respectively. The boy, hair fluffy and in complete disarray, was much taller than the other two. There were very noticeable scruffles of coarse hair along the sides of his face; Saoirse couldn’t tell if it suited him or not. Beside him was a girl in stark contrast; she was very short, similar to Himiko’s height. Her hair was a light brown, fluffier than any hair she had ever seen. 

“Why did you bring monkeys to harass me with?” The hospitalized girl sighed, a noticeable hump in her back as she sat up slowly under the light blue blanket—the one that barely kept her warm. 

Tracy only laughed, waving a hand as he sat back down in the chair he was once in hours ago, a plate of hot food in another hand that was set down near the girl. “You’re funny!” 

The other two dragged chairs next to him, sitting by Saoirse’s bedside. Tracy leaned in his seat, pointing to the boy to say, “This is Eugene,” he pointed to the girl, “and this is Ava-Lynn. They’re my friends, if you couldn’t tell.” 

Ava-Lynn, as Tracy named her, crossed her legs and lifted a manicured hand in greetings while Eugene only raised his eyebrows; his mind elsewhere. 

Saoirse blinked before looking back to the blond boy. “Why did you bring them here?” She asked. 

“Well, I thought you were lonely; you weren’t used to me talking your ear off. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“It’s not like I can kick you three out.” She huffed.

“You don’t want to kick us out anyways, right? Hopefully not…” 

Saoirse shrugged, picking the warm plate up to put in her lap. The foreigner was getting used to the food in Hogwarts. Compared to the food she was accustomed with, it was rather bland. There were a lot of carbs in their diet. “Did they even want to come here?” She hummed, shoving the fork in her mouth. 

Tracy turned, whipping his head around to face his two friends who sat further away from the girl. “I didn’t drag you guys here, did I?” 

The other boy—Saoirse already forgot his name—shook his head, his hair moving along with his movements. “No,” he said, his voice low and his accent American. “I wanted to hear about the new girl; her country bombed mine last year, after all.” 

The girl beside him slapped his bicep, an offended look on her tan face and a sloppy, crooked grin on his. “You can’t say that,” she yelled. “She probably didn’t know about it, you dolt.” 

Saoirse interjected. “I did know about it; though Japan wasn’t very proud of how it failed. But it doesn’t concern me, really. Mahoutokoro doesn’t have  jyōjin in its population—Muggleborns.”

The boy only shrugged, his head flopping to rest on the shoulder of the girl beside him. “I’m really sorry about him,” she waved. “He’s usually more shy when meeting new people; I don’t know what’s up with him today.” 

The following half-hour was filled with idle chatter, with Tracy carrying the majority of the conversation. Ava-Lynn introduced herself as an immigrant from Spain. Her parents were low on money and with the war going on, as well as being in-between the polarizing Germanophiles and Anglophiles, her family was aligned with the United States. So, they fled the country. Other countries right of Spain on the map were out of the question, being so close to the bloodshed that only got worse deeper in the east. The de la Rosas needed to go west. Her family settled in Scotland a couple years back, long before Ava-Lynn obtained her letter from Hogwarts. 

“You’re a Muggleborn, then?” Saoirse asked, her legs folding as she sat tailor-fashion. 

The Spanish girl nodded, a small smile on her plush lips. “You mentioned Mahoutokoro doesn’t accept Muggleborns, yes? Why is that?”

“From my understanding there’s never been any instance of a Muggleborn before; many are usually a Pureblood or a Halfbreed.” 

“And what are you?” Asked Eugene. 

“I’m a Pureblood.” 

“What’s your last name, then? Purebloods are usually famous for their lineage, yeah?” 

“Yes,” Saoirse nodded. “But I can’t say; my mother and father are sticklers for secrecy and being overly cautious.” 

“But they’re not here, just say it,” Eugene scoffed. 

“It would be rude of me to.”  

The boy sighed, “Lame.” He stood up from his chair, dusting imaginary dust off his trousers. “Well, I’m off to sleep; can’t handle being in this infirmary any longer.” He walked off, a slight sway in his steps as he disappeared behind the tall and dark wooden doors of the Hospital Wing. 

Ava-Lynn stood up as well, her eyes bright yet tired as she said, “I should be going to bed too. It was nice meeting you, Saoirse. Linda noche, que descanse.” 

Once the girl left, Tracy and Saoirse were left alone once more, before the boy spoke, “It’s nice to have friends, isn’t it?” 

Saoirse nodded, a flutter of her lip catching his eye. “Mn, I suppose so.” 

Saoirse could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. Tracy, for whatever reason, allowed himself to stay in the hospital wing with her, running his mouth on and on until Saoirse threw a pillow in his face. 

The moment Saoirse healed him, Tom left in a haste. It didn’t matter to her, though; that Riddle boy wasn’t of much interest to her. Maybe the spell she used was too harsh; maybe she could have used something more simple, but she was proud of her results nonetheless. She had never used it on a human before, only having access to rats and other small animals like toads or fish. Considering how fast his skin deteriorated his mind wasn’t all that strong; she assumed he was panicking the moment he saw the injury. 

“So, what’s Japan like?” Tracy swiveled his head on his neck, unaware of the way Saoirse’s cheek twitched the moment his nasally tones filled her ears. 

“It’s awfully hot, at least on Iwo Jima,” she started. “And it’s windy almost all the time. I never knew October could be so cold; it’s usually scorching this time of year.” 

“Really,” Tracy wowed. “That’s so cool! What kind of animals do you have in Japan? Oh, and what do you wear? Is it true that Japan—” 

“Mayfield,” Saoirse coughed. “Please stop talking.” 

The boy pouted, his shoulders sagging as he fiddled with his sleeves. “Do you want me to leave?” He whispered. The girl nodded, not noticing the way Tracy’s nose scrunched as he stood up from the metal, rusty chair, his footsteps echoing as he got further away from Saoirse. 

She never had anyone force themself to stay around her for so long before. Usually that only happened when someone was dared to—though, she was never bullied; it was common for students to make bets and commit other mischievous activities regarding others. 

One girl—her name irrelevant—had been dared to befriend a boy in exchange for a chocolate, one that Saoirse herself loved. The brand was founded in recent years, Meiji, an homage to the beloved emperor, and had been gaining major popularity on the island despite being a brand from the non-magical population; the jyōjin. 

Turns out, the boy had actually liked the girl, and her friends were attempting to be matchmakers, but eventually it was revealed that the girl didn’t like him at all. It was a huge debacle; she had slapped the boy in the middle of the courtyard, yelling at him about how she wished her friends never dared her to talk to him, how that stupid piece of chocolate wasn’t worth the hours being in his presence. In the end, the boy took his life, embarrassed by the girl’s dramatic spectacle. 

Of course, it didn’t surprise Saoirse that the superintendents and the High Priestess did not do a thing about it; the girl was given a few weeks of punishment until her father wrote to the staff, and she was let go with a mere slap on the wrist after the fact. Saoirse always thought about that day, the day the boy died. He had hung himself in the middle of the dining hall, surrounded by precious stones that so many had ironically died to get their hands on. 

Nonetheless, that didn’t go without saying that Tracy’s presence wasn’t appreciated. Saoirse’s head hurt, yes, but it was dull pain, one she could cope with. She was sure to get used to the boy soon enough; she doubted he was going away any time soon.

By a half-hour past 19:00, Tracy had unsurprisingly returned to the Hospital Wing, but with two more people. Days like this made Saoirse regret ever killing Himiko, she thought. People drained her energy. Behind the Ravenclaw was a boy and a girl, one with yellow lining in their robe and the other with red, respectively. The boy, hair fluffy and in complete disarray, was much taller than the other two. There were very noticeable scruffles of coarse hair along the sides of his face; Saoirse couldn’t tell if it suited him or not. Beside him was a girl in stark contrast; she was very short, similar to Himiko’s height. Her hair was a light brown, fluffier than any hair she had ever seen. 

“Why did you bring monkeys to harass me with?” The hospitalized girl sighed, a noticeable hump in her back as she sat up slowly under the light blue blanket—the one that barely kept her warm. 

Tracy only laughed, waving a hand as he sat back down in the chair he was once in hours ago, a plate of hot food in another hand that was set down near the girl. “You’re funny!” 

The other two dragged chairs next to him, sitting by Saoirse’s bedside. Tracy leaned in his seat, pointing to the boy to say, “This is Eugene,” he pointed to the girl, “and this is Ava-Lynn. They’re my friends, if you couldn’t tell.” 

Ava-Lynn, as Tracy named her, crossed her legs and lifted a manicured hand in greetings while Eugene only raised his eyebrows; his mind elsewhere. 

Saoirse blinked before looking back to the blond boy. “Why did you bring them here?” She asked. 

“Well, I thought you were lonely; you weren’t used to me talking your ear off. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“It’s not like I can kick you three out.” She huffed.

“You don’t want to kick us out anyways, right? Hopefully not…” 

Saoirse shrugged, picking the warm plate up to put in her lap. The foreigner was getting used to the food in Hogwarts. Compared to the food she was accustomed with, it was rather bland. There were a lot of carbs in their diet. “Did they even want to come here?” She hummed, shoving the fork in her mouth. 

Tracy turned, whipping his head around to face his two friends who sat further away from the girl. “I didn’t drag you guys here, did I?” 

The other boy—Saoirse already forgot his name—shook his head, his hair moving along with his movements. “No,” he said, his voice low and his accent American. “I wanted to hear about the new girl; her country bombed mine last year, after all.” 

The girl beside him slapped his bicep, an offended look on her tan face and a sloppy, crooked grin on his. “You can’t say that,” she yelled. “She probably didn’t know about it, you dolt.” 

Saoirse interjected. “I did know about it; though Japan wasn’t very proud of how it failed. But it doesn’t concern me, really. Mahoutokoro doesn’t have  jyōjin in its population—Muggleborns.”

The boy only shrugged, his head flopping to rest on the shoulder of the girl beside him. “I’m really sorry about him,” she waved. “He’s usually more shy when meeting new people; I don’t know what’s up with him today.” 

The following half-hour was filled with idle chatter, with Tracy carrying the majority of the conversation. Ava-Lynn introduced herself as an immigrant from Spain. Her parents were low on money and with the war going on, as well as being in-between the polarizing Germanophiles and Anglophiles, her family was aligned with the United States. So, they fled the country. Other countries right of Spain on the map were out of the question, being so close to the bloodshed that only got worse deeper in the east. The de la Rosas needed to go west. Her family settled in Scotland a couple years back, long before Ava-Lynn obtained her letter from Hogwarts. 

“You’re a Muggleborn, then?” Saoirse asked, her legs folding as she sat tailor-fashion. 

The Spanish girl nodded, a small smile on her plush lips. “You mentioned Mahoutokoro doesn’t accept Muggleborns, yes? Why is that?”

“From my understanding there’s never been any instance of a Muggleborn before; many are usually a Pureblood or a Halfbreed.” 

“And what are you?” Asked Eugene. 

“I’m a Pureblood.” 

“What’s your last name, then? Purebloods are usually famous for their lineage, yeah?” 

“Yes,” Saoirse nodded. “But I can’t say; my mother and father are sticklers for secrecy and being overly cautious.” 

“But they’re not here, just say it,” Eugene scoffed. 

“It would be rude of me to.”  

The boy sighed, “Lame.” He stood up from his chair, dusting imaginary dust off his trousers. “Well, I’m off to sleep; can’t handle being in this infirmary any longer.” He walked off, a slight sway in his steps as he disappeared behind the tall and dark wooden doors of the Hospital Wing. 

Ava-Lynn stood up as well, her eyes bright yet tired as she said, “I should be going to bed too. It was nice meeting you, Saoirse. Linda noche, que descanse.” 

Once the girl left, Tracy and Saoirse were left alone once more, before the boy spoke, “It’s nice to have friends, isn’t it?” 

Saoirse nodded, a flutter of her lip catching his eye. “Mn, I suppose so.” 

Saoirse could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. Tracy, for whatever reason, allowed himself to stay in the hospital wing with her, running his mouth on and on until Saoirse threw a pillow in his face. 

The moment Saoirse healed him, Tom left in a haste. It didn’t matter to her, though; that Riddle boy wasn’t of much interest to her. Maybe the spell she used was too harsh; maybe she could have used something more simple, but she was proud of her results nonetheless. She had never used it on a human before, only having access to rats and other small animals like toads or fish. Considering how fast his skin deteriorated his mind wasn’t all that strong; she assumed he was panicking the moment he saw the injury. 

“So, what’s Japan like?” Tracy swiveled his head on his neck, unaware of the way Saoirse’s cheek twitched the moment his nasally tones filled her ears. 

“It’s awfully hot, at least on Iwo Jima,” she started. “And it’s windy almost all the time. I never knew October could be so cold; it’s usually scorching this time of year.” 

“Really,” Tracy wowed. “That’s so cool! What kind of animals do you have in Japan? Oh, and what do you wear? Is it true that Japan—” 

“Mayfield,” Saoirse coughed. “Please stop talking.” 

The boy pouted, his shoulders sagging as he fiddled with his sleeves. “Do you want me to leave?” He whispered. The girl nodded, not noticing the way Tracy’s nose scrunched as he stood up from the metal, rusty chair, his footsteps echoing as he got further away from Saoirse. 

She never had anyone force themself to stay around her for so long before. Usually that only happened when someone was dared to—though, she was never bullied; it was common for students to make bets and commit other mischievous activities regarding others. 

One girl—her name irrelevant—had been dared to befriend a boy in exchange for a chocolate, one that Saoirse herself loved. The brand was founded in recent years, Meiji, an homage to the beloved emperor, and had been gaining major popularity on the island despite being a brand from the non-magical population; the jyōjin. 

Turns out, the boy had actually liked the girl, and her friends were attempting to be matchmakers, but eventually it was revealed that the girl didn’t like him at all. It was a huge debacle; she had slapped the boy in the middle of the courtyard, yelling at him about how she wished her friends never dared her to talk to him, how that stupid piece of chocolate wasn’t worth the hours being in his presence. In the end, the boy took his life, embarrassed by the girl’s dramatic spectacle. 

Of course, it didn’t surprise Saoirse that the superintendents and the High Priestess did not do a thing about it; the girl was given a few weeks of punishment until her father wrote to the staff, and she was let go with a mere slap on the wrist after the fact. Saoirse always thought about that day, the day the boy died. He had hung himself in the middle of the dining hall, surrounded by precious stones that so many had ironically died to get their hands on. 

Nonetheless, that didn’t go without saying that Tracy’s presence wasn’t appreciated. Saoirse’s head hurt, yes, but it was dull pain, one she could cope with. She was sure to get used to the boy soon enough; she doubted he was going away any time soon.

By a half-hour past 19:00, Tracy had unsurprisingly returned to the Hospital Wing, but with two more people. Days like this made Saoirse regret ever killing Himiko, she thought. People drained her energy. Behind the Ravenclaw was a boy and a girl, one with yellow lining in their robe and the other with red, respectively. The boy, hair fluffy and in complete disarray, was much taller than the other two. There were very noticeable scruffles of coarse hair along the sides of his face; Saoirse couldn’t tell if it suited him or not. Beside him was a girl in stark contrast; she was very short, similar to Himiko’s height. Her hair was a light brown, fluffier than any hair she had ever seen. 

“Why did you bring monkeys to harass me with?” The hospitalized girl sighed, a noticeable hump in her back as she sat up slowly under the light blue blanket—the one that barely kept her warm. 

Tracy only laughed, waving a hand as he sat back down in the chair he was once in hours ago, a plate of hot food in another hand that was set down near the girl. “You’re funny!” 

The other two dragged chairs next to him, sitting by Saoirse’s bedside. Tracy leaned in his seat, pointing to the boy to say, “This is Eugene,” he pointed to the girl, “and this is Ava-Lynn. They’re my friends, if you couldn’t tell.” 

Ava-Lynn, as Tracy named her, crossed her legs and lifted a manicured hand in greetings while Eugene only raised his eyebrows; his mind elsewhere. 

Saoirse blinked before looking back to the blond boy. “Why did you bring them here?” She asked. 

“Well, I thought you were lonely; you weren’t used to me talking your ear off. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“It’s not like I can kick you three out.” She huffed.

“You don’t want to kick us out anyways, right? Hopefully not…” 

Saoirse shrugged, picking the warm plate up to put in her lap. The foreigner was getting used to the food in Hogwarts. Compared to the food she was accustomed with, it was rather bland. There were a lot of carbs in their diet. “Did they even want to come here?” She hummed, shoving the fork in her mouth. 

Tracy turned, whipping his head around to face his two friends who sat further away from the girl. “I didn’t drag you guys here, did I?” 

The other boy—Saoirse already forgot his name—shook his head, his hair moving along with his movements. “No,” he said, his voice low and his accent American. “I wanted to hear about the new girl; her country bombed mine last year, after all.” 

The girl beside him slapped his bicep, an offended look on her tan face and a sloppy, crooked grin on his. “You can’t say that,” she yelled. “She probably didn’t know about it, you dolt.” 

Saoirse interjected. “I did know about it; though Japan wasn’t very proud of how it failed. But it doesn’t concern me, really. Mahoutokoro doesn’t have  jyōjin in its population—Muggleborns.”

The boy only shrugged, his head flopping to rest on the shoulder of the girl beside him. “I’m really sorry about him,” she waved. “He’s usually more shy when meeting new people; I don’t know what’s up with him today.” 

The following half-hour was filled with idle chatter, with Tracy carrying the majority of the conversation. Ava-Lynn introduced herself as an immigrant from Spain. Her parents were low on money and with the war going on, as well as being in-between the polarizing Germanophiles and Anglophiles, her family was aligned with the United States. So, they fled the country. Other countries right of Spain on the map were out of the question, being so close to the bloodshed that only got worse deeper in the east. The de la Rosas needed to go west. Her family settled in Scotland a couple years back, long before Ava-Lynn obtained her letter from Hogwarts. 

“You’re a Muggleborn, then?” Saoirse asked, her legs folding as she sat tailor-fashion. 

The Spanish girl nodded, a small smile on her plush lips. “You mentioned Mahoutokoro doesn’t accept Muggleborns, yes? Why is that?”

“From my understanding there’s never been any instance of a Muggleborn before; many are usually a Pureblood or a Halfbreed.” 

“And what are you?” Asked Eugene. 

“I’m a Pureblood.” 

“What’s your last name, then? Purebloods are usually famous for their lineage, yeah?” 

“Yes,” Saoirse nodded. “But I can’t say; my mother and father are sticklers for secrecy and being overly cautious.” 

“But they’re not here, just say it,” Eugene scoffed. 

“It would be rude of me to.”  

The boy sighed, “Lame.” He stood up from his chair, dusting imaginary dust off his trousers. “Well, I’m off to sleep; can’t handle being in this infirmary any longer.” He walked off, a slight sway in his steps as he disappeared behind the tall and dark wooden doors of the Hospital Wing. 

Ava-Lynn stood up as well, her eyes bright yet tired as she said, “I should be going to bed too. It was nice meeting you, Saoirse. Linda noche, que descanse.” 

Once the girl left, Tracy and Saoirse were left alone once more, before the boy spoke, “It’s nice to have friends, isn’t it?” 

Saoirse nodded, a flutter of her lip catching his eye. “Mn, I suppose so.” 

Saoirse could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. Tracy, for whatever reason, allowed himself to stay in the hospital wing with her, running his mouth on and on until Saoirse threw a pillow in his face. 

The moment Saoirse healed him, Tom left in a haste. It didn’t matter to her, though; that Riddle boy wasn’t of much interest to her. Maybe the spell she used was too harsh; maybe she could have used something more simple, but she was proud of her results nonetheless. She had never used it on a human before, only having access to rats and other small animals like toads or fish. Considering how fast his skin deteriorated his mind wasn’t all that strong; she assumed he was panicking the moment he saw the injury. 

“So, what’s Japan like?” Tracy swiveled his head on his neck, unaware of the way Saoirse’s cheek twitched the moment his nasally tones filled her ears. 

“It’s awfully hot, at least on Iwo Jima,” she started. “And it’s windy almost all the time. I never knew October could be so cold; it’s usually scorching this time of year.” 

“Really,” Tracy wowed. “That’s so cool! What kind of animals do you have in Japan? Oh, and what do you wear? Is it true that Japan—” 

“Mayfield,” Saoirse coughed. “Please stop talking.” 

The boy pouted, his shoulders sagging as he fiddled with his sleeves. “Do you want me to leave?” He whispered. The girl nodded, not noticing the way Tracy’s nose scrunched as he stood up from the metal, rusty chair, his footsteps echoing as he got further away from Saoirse. 

She never had anyone force themself to stay around her for so long before. Usually that only happened when someone was dared to—though, she was never bullied; it was common for students to make bets and commit other mischievous activities regarding others. 

One girl—her name irrelevant—had been dared to befriend a boy in exchange for a chocolate, one that Saoirse herself loved. The brand was founded in recent years, Meiji, an homage to the beloved emperor, and had been gaining major popularity on the island despite being a brand from the non-magical population; the jyōjin. 

Turns out, the boy had actually liked the girl, and her friends were attempting to be matchmakers, but eventually it was revealed that the girl didn’t like him at all. It was a huge debacle; she had slapped the boy in the middle of the courtyard, yelling at him about how she wished her friends never dared her to talk to him, how that stupid piece of chocolate wasn’t worth the hours being in his presence. In the end, the boy took his life, embarrassed by the girl’s dramatic spectacle. 

Of course, it didn’t surprise Saoirse that the superintendents and the High Priestess did not do a thing about it; the girl was given a few weeks of punishment until her father wrote to the staff, and she was let go with a mere slap on the wrist after the fact. Saoirse always thought about that day, the day the boy died. He had hung himself in the middle of the dining hall, surrounded by precious stones that so many had ironically died to get their hands on. 

Nonetheless, that didn’t go without saying that Tracy’s presence wasn’t appreciated. Saoirse’s head hurt, yes, but it was dull pain, one she could cope with. She was sure to get used to the boy soon enough; she doubted he was going away any time soon.

By a half-hour past 19:00, Tracy had unsurprisingly returned to the Hospital Wing, but with two more people. Days like this made Saoirse regret ever killing Himiko, she thought. People drained her energy. Behind the Ravenclaw was a boy and a girl, one with yellow lining in their robe and the other with red, respectively. The boy, hair fluffy and in complete disarray, was much taller than the other two. There were very noticeable scruffles of coarse hair along the sides of his face; Saoirse couldn’t tell if it suited him or not. Beside him was a girl in stark contrast; she was very short, similar to Himiko’s height. Her hair was a light brown, fluffier than any hair she had ever seen. 

“Why did you bring monkeys to harass me with?” The hospitalized girl sighed, a noticeable hump in her back as she sat up slowly under the light blue blanket—the one that barely kept her warm. 

Tracy only laughed, waving a hand as he sat back down in the chair he was once in hours ago, a plate of hot food in another hand that was set down near the girl. “You’re funny!” 

The other two dragged chairs next to him, sitting by Saoirse’s bedside. Tracy leaned in his seat, pointing to the boy to say, “This is Eugene,” he pointed to the girl, “and this is Ava-Lynn. They’re my friends, if you couldn’t tell.” 

Ava-Lynn, as Tracy named her, crossed her legs and lifted a manicured hand in greetings while Eugene only raised his eyebrows; his mind elsewhere. 

Saoirse blinked before looking back to the blond boy. “Why did you bring them here?” She asked. 

“Well, I thought you were lonely; you weren’t used to me talking your ear off. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“It’s not like I can kick you three out.” She huffed.

“You don’t want to kick us out anyways, right? Hopefully not…” 

Saoirse shrugged, picking the warm plate up to put in her lap. The foreigner was getting used to the food in Hogwarts. Compared to the food she was accustomed with, it was rather bland. There were a lot of carbs in their diet. “Did they even want to come here?” She hummed, shoving the fork in her mouth. 

Tracy turned, whipping his head around to face his two friends who sat further away from the girl. “I didn’t drag you guys here, did I?” 

The other boy—Saoirse already forgot his name—shook his head, his hair moving along with his movements. “No,” he said, his voice low and his accent American. “I wanted to hear about the new girl; her country bombed mine last year, after all.” 

The girl beside him slapped his bicep, an offended look on her tan face and a sloppy, crooked grin on his. “You can’t say that,” she yelled. “She probably didn’t know about it, you dolt.” 

Saoirse interjected. “I did know about it; though Japan wasn’t very proud of how it failed. But it doesn’t concern me, really. Mahoutokoro doesn’t have  jyōjin in its population—Muggleborns.”

The boy only shrugged, his head flopping to rest on the shoulder of the girl beside him. “I’m really sorry about him,” she waved. “He’s usually more shy when meeting new people; I don’t know what’s up with him today.” 

The following half-hour was filled with idle chatter, with Tracy carrying the majority of the conversation. Ava-Lynn introduced herself as an immigrant from Spain. Her parents were low on money and with the war going on, as well as being in-between the polarizing Germanophiles and Anglophiles, her family was aligned with the United States. So, they fled the country. Other countries right of Spain on the map were out of the question, being so close to the bloodshed that only got worse deeper in the east. The de la Rosas needed to go west. Her family settled in Scotland a couple years back, long before Ava-Lynn obtained her letter from Hogwarts. 

“You’re a Muggleborn, then?” Saoirse asked, her legs folding as she sat tailor-fashion. 

The Spanish girl nodded, a small smile on her plush lips. “You mentioned Mahoutokoro doesn’t accept Muggleborns, yes? Why is that?”

“From my understanding there’s never been any instance of a Muggleborn before; many are usually a Pureblood or a Halfbreed.” 

“And what are you?” Asked Eugene. 

“I’m a Pureblood.” 

“What’s your last name, then? Purebloods are usually famous for their lineage, yeah?” 

“Yes,” Saoirse nodded. “But I can’t say; my mother and father are sticklers for secrecy and being overly cautious.” 

“But they’re not here, just say it,” Eugene scoffed. 

“It would be rude of me to.”  

The boy sighed, “Lame.” He stood up from his chair, dusting imaginary dust off his trousers. “Well, I’m off to sleep; can’t handle being in this infirmary any longer.” He walked off, a slight sway in his steps as he disappeared behind the tall and dark wooden doors of the Hospital Wing. 

Ava-Lynn stood up as well, her eyes bright yet tired as she said, “I should be going to bed too. It was nice meeting you, Saoirse. Linda noche, que descanse.” 

Once the girl left, Tracy and Saoirse were left alone once more, before the boy spoke, “It’s nice to have friends, isn’t it?” 

Saoirse nodded, a flutter of her lip catching his eye. “Mn, I suppose so.” 

┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

1:15

“I apologize for the impromptu meeting, but there is something that must be addressed amongst the Inner Circle.” 

Tom stood at the round table in the Come-and-Go Room, this time the furniture being significantly smaller. Sitting at the table were only four young men: Abraxas Malfoy, Miles Lestrange, Orion Black, and Patrick Nott. Among the seven of the members, these were Tom’s most trusted—as far as his trust would go, that is. While the others are valuable, these four were perfectly picked for their unwavering loyalty and determination, as well as their sharp minds. The other three were not the brightest, especially compared to the Inner Circle. 

“I cannot trust this information with the other members because of their lack of composure,” Tom continued, now pacing along a small line of tile. “The girl, the foreigner, almost killed me today.” 

“How bad was the spell?” Patrick asked, his voice grave as he whipped his quill and ink pot out, parchment floating in the air as the tip of his crow feather.

“It caused my skin to decay,” he said, ignoring the way his followers gawked in surprise. “The pain was minimal, but the spell was very effective. From 9:00 to 13:00 the injury spread from my shoulder to my lower jaw and the midsection of my left bicep. When I went to the Hospital Wing, Madam Ruth was unable to heal it at all, though the pain did go away.

“The girl was the only one who could fix it; the use of magic was much different from the European way. The counterspell she used, she wrote it in the air and it healed my skin. There was also a boy visiting her—though irrelevant—and when he asked her what the spell was, she replied in what I assume to be Japanese.” 

As Patrick’s quill scratched against the parchment, Abraxas asked, “Do you have the memory? Maybe we can find something in the library.” 

“No, that won’t work, no matter how hard we look,” Patrick muttered. “The spell system is different in Mahoutokoro; I picked up a book about it a couple of days ago. Apparently people will make spells of their own due to the nature of Japan’s writing system, so if anything that spell is uniquely Saoirse’s. People will also make talismans for other purposes.” He leaned down, rummaging through his satchel before pulling out a spare test tube. “A memory could be helpful, though.” 

Tom nodded, handling his yew to his temple. A sliver of blue phased through his skin, a soft glow emanating from it before he slipped it in the small glass. “We need to speed up our plans. The Chamber must be opened by this year, preferably discovered before Yule Break.” 

“I’m sorry, my Lord, but we’ve been trying to look for ways since our third year.” Miles said, sweat sliding from the crook of his nose. “Are you sure we’ll be able to figure it out in time?”

“If you are doubting your own skills as well as my own, by all means, go ahead,” sighed Tom. “But this is crucial. This random, foreign girl appears out of nowhere, and she single handedly almost killed me—Salazar Slytherin’s only living descendent, his heir.” 

Tom leaned against the table, the wood creaking under his weight as he pressed his palms on it. “Surely you wouldn’t want our House and your family to know your laziness is stopping my rise to power, Lestrange.” 

Miles coughed, fingering at his collar as he sunk into his seat. “No, my Lord, why would I ever doubt you and your following? My apologies. I’ll owl my mother again as soon as I can—in fact, I’ll write to her tonight after this meeting.” “Good,” Tom hummed, his shoulders lax before he moved his gaze over to Orion and Abraxas. “Now, you two will help me search the school for any clues tonight. Patrick will keep on with his research.” The two boys nodded, their expressions firm and undeniably confident in their leader. “And for that girl,” he said. “Keep her close. she’s a threat to our operation—my legacy, my birthright; my purpose.”

Credit(s): Dividing banner (^^^) by Chen Lu (1436 - 1449) - "Plum Blossoms in Moonlight" scroll painting; sourced through Pinterest

[localvoidcat]

tell me abt ur au boy

since i've posted the main summary i'll talk about some extra things i've been thinking about :3

alright so. divorceduo. right from the get-go of the whole situation dave's very suspicious as to why, after SEVENTEEN YEARS of trying to talk to thatcher and getting dead silence, it's only now that thatcher actually tries to help him. at first it's easy to chalk it up to the "nearly died and lost my eyes in a horrific supernatural incident" thing but over time it just leads to more suspicion on his part. eventually thatcher slips up while talking and brings up ruth/mixes up the names during one of his more nervous moments and dave's like oh. so that's what that was then. and from there on out things just get a little more tense. thatcher keeps apologizing for it and saying that he just messed up in the heat of the moment but it's already pretty clear that his concern for this whole situation has been tied to ruth's death. and that's one of the main reasons why dave tried to leave in the first place and he's really tired of it looping back to this. at some point they probably need to confront each other and try to fix things after almost two decades of not fixing things but that's going to have to wait until after the world ends

i got an ask about the heathcliff siblings so i'll skip them for now :3c

ADAM AND MARK AND THATCHER. HOO BOY. so when the catalyst stuff happens and adam starts turning into an alternate it hits mark. very hard. not in a "someone i care about is getting hurt" way but in a "someone i care about betrayed me" way and that. isn't healthy for adam or mark. he's kind of too overcome by his hatred of alternates (after years of being tormented and tricked by things that have taken on the forms of people he cares deeply about) to understand that this really isn't adam's fault and he has no say in this. it's here that thatcher has to step in and be the one that helps adam and this - as with every single goddamn relationship thatcher has with people - really makes things between thatcher and mark tense. because in mark's eyes thatcher is helping out an enemy. he's helping out something that has been contributing to the thing that is ruining everyone's life. he's turning against everyone else in the group, hell, he's turning against his own friend by helping an alternate, isn't he? but for thatcher he sees it as someone being in crisis and he's so quick to want to help people to make up for his own failures that he has to help adam. they do have a sort of fight over this and it. doesn't go well. mark brings up alt thatcher and dave and thatcher immediately gets very defensive over this and doesn't want him to bring his friend into this. i'm guessing this is the fight where thatcher gets his face broken things get VERY heated. afterwards, they start to try to understand each other and team up to help adam. they don't like each other but right now it's more important that they help everyone else instead of wasting their time fighting with each other

[dissectedgrrl]

okay fir starkid

whats ur favorite song and why?

who’s ur favorite character? and whats ur favorite moment from them

were you sad or happy with the ending, and what do you think it contributes?

(assuming u mean hatchetfield since thats my obsession atm)

omg okay so. i have so many favorite songs its ridiculous . . . . so i'll color code them. if the words r in color it means im still on this question 😭

from tgwdlm i LOVE join us and die, cup of roasted/poisoned coffee + not your seed

join us and die because it just feels so. CREEPY !!!!!!! and the scene itself is so great i love that charlotte's guts r spillin outta her eww

cup of roasted/poisoned coffee because again VERY CREEPY. and the choreo is so nice to watch. not to mention their VOCALS when they sing the last "hey mr. business how do ya, how do ya, how do ya doooooo ?" like omgggg

not your seed because i relate to it a bit AND the scene is so important 2 me. when alice says its "all your fault" while addressing bill . . . . she wasnt thinking abt bill when she thought that originally she was most likely saying that to herself and UGH my baby 😭

from black friday i <3 caliform.i.a + do you wanna play

caliform.i.a is js such a sweet song to me idk. you can tell how much lex and ethan care abt each other and hannah and and and. UGHHHH. in my mind they made it to california idc idc

do you wanna play because. EVIL. WOMEN !!!!!!! becky is so hot i mean what who wrote that. seriously tho i just love her voice sm UGGHHHH

from npmd my faves r hatchet town, nerdy prudes must die (omg they said the thing !!) + just for once

hatchet town because. good lord. THE VOCALSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. send tweet

nerdy prudes must die bc the scene ?? the line delivery ?? the peak villainy radiating off of man jagerman ?? hello ?? omg ?? im in love ??

just for once because its from the pov of a character in an in universe play but it also shows us how ruth really feels. she just wants to be seen. me n her r twinning frfr

i have a lot of faves (becky, linda, ruth, richie, paul, zoey, bill, etc etc) but background characters always capture my heart so im gonna go with ziggy. they r sooooo important 2 me and they barely even talk omg. when they said "so is that a crime?" to being called out for being a drug dealer . . . . oh ziggy they could never make me hate u

i was happy with every ending !! i feel like theyre all so perfect especially black friday's. they always leave you wanting more

[teknicaldifficulties]

my autism has been vindicated, so here's my ziggs high school hcs yippee

not technically school-related, but they realized they were nonbinary during the summer before they started high school. their parents sent them to camp idonwannabang bc they were caught smoking weed (abstinence includes abstaining from drugs, don'cha know), they saw the whole "pink shirts for the girls, blue shirts for the boys" thing, and a very specific part of their brain that they didn't know existed went "hm! don't like that!". by the halfway point of their freshman year, they'd learned what "nonbinary" meant and went "oh that me".

on that note, tom was the first teacher they told abt them being nonbinary. they'd already told their immediate group of friends, and just about every other student in their grade kinda figured it out via gossip, but they were particularly nervous about telling their teachers about it. tom- being the absolute Dad that he is, was immediately super accepting and encouraging, which was a gigantic weight off of ziggs' shoulders. they just really like tom in general, and they were super bummed when he had to leave after jane's passing. on the flipside, they were absolutely overjoyed when they started working at perky's buds and learned that their new boss was "mr. houston's" sister-in-law. you've heard of the queer kid who's super tight with their english teacher, get ready for the queer kid who's super tight with their shop teacher.

they dated steph lauter for about half a year, had a relationship with the hatchetfield bee for nearly 3 years (they were actually each other's prom dates!), and did at one point reciprocate deb's old crush on them (though that never went farther than the occasional flirty banter). also, ruth flemming got super into them after they were nice to her Once, but they never found out about that before graduating. (this bitch is getting long, so i'm putting the rest under a cut)

they never really gave a shit about hf high's weird "cool kid vs. loser" hierarchy thing, nor did anyone else in the smoke club, really. this is ziggs "tried to 'peace and love' their way out of a tense conversation" nolastnamegiven we're talking about here. which made it all the more surprising to them that max jägerman was like, weirdly chill with them. like, yeah ziggs is a grade above max. but max has been a known menace since 1st grade, has been known to torment students in grades higher than him if they were particularly unpopular, and also significantly taller and more athletic than ziggs. max's influence over hf high only grew stronger as the years passed, and while ziggs wasn't scared of him per se, they did occasionally worry that he would suddenly decide that they were no longer cool and start turning people against them. only occasionally. but it never happened, and to this day ziggs doesn't really know why max was so cool with them- a pacifistic, unathletic, trans, autistic stoner.

oh yeah, ziggs is super autistic, also. they'd been diagnosed sometime either just before or during middle school. they didn't think it really affected them all that much, but then high school happened, and Oh No Now It's A Problem. the high stress and general chaos of high school made them kinda prone to sensory overload. of course, cool kid ziggs didn't need their peers to see them having a meltdown in school, can you imagine the gossip if that happened? so, if they felt sensory overload coming on, it was off to the restroom to hide in a stall and wait it out, even if it took two whole periods to get their bearings. unless it happened during lunch period, at which point they'd go to tom's classroom and ask to spend their lunch period there (which he always allowed bc again, tom is everyone's dad).

that whole situation kinda caused them to wall off their more negative emotions for a long time. like, ziggs is generally a cool, funny, confident kid, but there's still a small part of them that believes they don't deserve to be as well-liked as they are. imposter syndrome at its finest. so, they felt as though they'd lose all that goodwill if they ever let those self-doubts and negative emotions and (to an extent) their more noticeably autistic mannerisms show themselves. as a result, they got good at hiding all that stuff away, and it wasn't until after graduating high school and going to work at perky's buds that they learned not to repress all the "ugly" stuff. and even then, it took a while.

[annahanover]

you should..... tell me abt your agere headcanons..... oooooo you wanna tell me sooooo baddddd....

i really do...

we've been over tatiana. but she deserves a mention, i love my girl <3

little girl jeri and caregiver karen. for the soul. jeri has one of those little books of the bible for kids (i have one of those !) and karen reads it to her. they bake cookies and stuff, and jeri likes painting too. i think that jeri regresses to deal with icky thoughts (what is projection)

i dunno if you've watched headless, but if you have, then little matilda, especially after everything in canon. she deserves a break.

also don't know if you know 25th annual putnam county spelling bee, but one of the spellers. right now i'm leaning towards leaf and/or marcy being littles.

i consider duke and holloway to both be regressors, and duke is more caregiver leaning, though that might just be because i want holloway to have good things.

little charlotte! i think she gets nervous about regressing, and doesn't really consider it safe for her, but when she does, ted is as good as he can be.

LITTLE BECKY!! i saw something about that and i latched onto it so here's her mention.

little ruth and caregiver richie!! he will tolerate her love of star wars if it makes her happy <33

just had the wild idea of regressor max. what does that entail? i have no idea. i think he'd hide it like his life depended on it, and steph would probably be the only person he told, even in the best of timelines

[datura-tea]

I think ur lone wanderer Gwen and my lone wanderer Ruth would get along. fuck that vault

yeah fuck vault 101!! join the gang, ruth!!!!

[henriiiii-1001old]

ohohohoh yesss tell me what puppet’s theme songs are!!!! >:^3

TY BBY!!!!!!!!! i have more theme songs for puppet but i’m only gonna talk abt two of them for rn

so like. the first one i wanna talk abt is one that would be easier to explain, “Spider on the Wall” by GHOST-P (specifically the remaster bc OMG YUMAAAAA)

the song is basically abt someone stalking someone else, and the spider on the wall is supposed to be a sort of metaphor for that. perfectly fits puppet’s whole vibe of stalking thatcher and not wanting to be caught. plus the way the song is tuned is just. aaaaa it just dits him really well.

the next song is “キラースパイダー” (きらーすぱいだー/Killer Spider) by ピノキオピー(ぴのきおぴー/Pinocchio P), which is probably gonna be a lot longer but we’ll see

so the song (from what i can see) is about someone who is executing a very possessive, abusive relationship with an unknown party. it’s shown from the beginning that the singer wants to trap her lover in a sort of web (most likely a metaphor for abuse) even before she gets with this person. she repeatedly throughout the song says “アイシテタ” (あいしてた/i really loved you (according to the english subtitles of the video). she also talks a lot about “breaking [something] again, how many more have been broken?” meaning she most likely has a history of abusing her partners.

this. i just- looking at the lyrics again this PERFECTLY describes puppet (except without the concept of him falling in love, as one of the lyrics literally says “蜘蛛は愛していた” (くもはあいしていた/the spider was in love). he does think he gains a crush after he starts holding ruth captive in her own home, but he quickly sees his attraction more as a bloodlust than an actual, genuine love for her).

his time with ruth puts him in the worst light ever, having him explore new desires to hurt others within himself as well as strengthening the need to actually kill his victims instead of having them kill himself. he wants to trap them in a sort of web, lie to them and tell them he “loves them” and then kills them when they’re nor useful to him anymore. but he’ll still mourn their loss when they die, holding their corpse gently and still telling them that he loved them when in reality he can’t feel any sort of love at all. he never wanted to in the first place. he only mourns their usefulness to him, mocking whatever attraction the victim ever felt towards him.

[josephandjamie]

I need to say something that has been bothering me a little, sometimes the twitter people don't have much idea about things, right, I've read a lot of people speculating about Joseph's sexuality, I find it so strange to discuss it, for me it's very invasive. They've already leaked his home address, allegedly, and are now debating whether he's bi or not. I don't know, I find it very invasive.

A lot, really? I’ve seen two people say that over there and one of them “connected the dots” by saying his character in Dickensian is gay, his character in Make Up as well (clearly didn’t watch the movie, Ruth is the one discovering more abt her sexuality) and ofc there’s a huge group of ppl absolutely convinced that eddie is also gay and that’s what the person used as like “evidence” lol….. Its v unsubstantial, but let me tell you something about people, especially people in fandoms: they like to project. A lot. A lot, a lot. We know v little abt Joe and when it comes to relationships we know literally nothing so idk where the hell ppl get that from but when they choose to believe something they will find anything to validate it.. Some ppl seemingly cannot stan a man if they can’t see or as i said project some queerness onto them. They joke a lot abt it here on tumblr.org (and i guess it goes for ppl on Twitter as well) but they mean it: they look at everything through a queer lens, usually more with characters.. I simply don’t get it but as long as they don’t harass anyone irl life abt it I pay no mind. As Joe himself said “people can dream i guess” lmao