#that'd be my number one concern

[misc-obeyme]

there has to be a loophole to get a cat past luci. i refuse to believe old man luci is impossible to convince that felines are a good idea inside the house. he has the energy of a dad who says he dosent want a cat but handing him a kitten he'll never put it down. surely if the mc had a pet cat before being spirited away it'd be allowed to come with!!!!

it is an INJUSTICE that theres zero cats in that giant house!!! whos cleaning all the dark forgotten corners of spiderwebs with their dumb little faces otherwise!!!!

I am in full agreement with you, anon! Let there be cats!!

As a cat owner myself, I have often thought about what would become of my floofer if I was the one randomly transported to the Devildom. (I think about my mortgage and my job too but that's far less whimsical.) And I have come to the conclusion that I would refuse to be an exchange student unless my cat could come with me. Like are you kidding, I can't leave her behind. It isn't even just that I want her with me (which I do), I live alone! Nobody else can take care of her if I'm not there! She would starve until one of my family members figured out that I was missing and she might die by that time!! Unacceptable.

So I definitely think that they could end up with an MC who refuses to leave their pet cat behind and therefore Lucifer would have to make an exception.

I believe the issue was that once Satan had one cat in the HoL, he just kept getting more and more cats until they were overrun. And in the end Lucifer had to ban all cats.

But I think he'd make an exception for MC. Especially if it was a situation where MC really needed their cat. I could easily make the argument that my cat helps with my anxiety. And yeah, maybe demons wouldn't normally care about that, but this is MC we're talking about.

It's really cute for me to think about how Lucifer would react to my cat. I think he'd love her. She's very pretty and she's very sweet, but she's also loud and demanding. He wouldn't like her fur, which is light and would get all over his black suit lol. But she would love him, so I definitely see that reluctant dad being like okay I love this cat.

And Satan would be thrilled. And if he could control himself about it, maybe MC could convince Lucifer to let them have another one. Or two. Or seven. No wait...

Anyway, all big old houses are required to have at least one cat. That's the rule, I didn't make it up (yes I did). Because just as you said, someone's dumb little face needs to clean the cobwebs! And chase the spiders! And get stuck in the tiny spaces! And sit on top of the fridge!

[stackslip]

i simply do not believe people have a right to biological parenthood sorry

[lackadaisycats]

Hey Tracy! Have you heard about the new Ai called Sora? Apparently it can now create 2D and 3D animations as well as hyper realistic videos. I’ve been getting into animation and trying to improve my art for years since I was 7, but now seeing that anyone can create animation/works in just a mare seconds by typing in a couple words, it’s such a huge slap in the face to people who actually put the time and effort into their works and it’s so discouraging! And it has me worried about what’s going to happen next for artists and many others, as-well. There’s already generated voices, generated works stolen from actual artists, generated music, and now this! It’s just so scary that it’s coming this far. 

Yeah, I've seen it. And yeah, it feels like the universe has taken on a 'fuck you in particular' attitude toward artists the past few years. A lot of damage has already been done, and there are plenty of reasons for concern, but bear in mind that we don't know how this will play out yet. Be astute, be justifiably angry, but don't let despair take over. --------

One would expect that the promo clips that have been dropping lately represent some of the best of the best-looking stuff they've been able to produce. And it's only good-looking on an extremely superficial level. It's still riddled with problems if you spend even a moment observing. And I rather suspect, prior to a whole lot of frustrated iteration, most prompts are still going to get you camera-sickness inducing, wibbly-wobbly nonsense with a side of body horror.

Will the tech ultimately get 'smarter' than that and address the array of typical AI giveaways? Maybe. Probably, even. Does that mean it'll be viable in quite the way it's being marketed, more or less as a human-replacer? Well…

A lot of this is hype, and hype is meant to drive up the perceived value of the tech. Executives will rush to be early adopters without a lot of due diligence or forethought because grabbing it first like a dazzled chimp and holding up like a prize ape-rock makes them look like bleeding-edge tech geniuses in their particular ecosystem. They do this because, in turn, that perceived value may make their company profile and valuations go up too, which makes shareholders short-term happy (the only kind of happy they know). The problem is how much actual functional value will it have? And how long does it last? Much of it is the same routine we were seeing with blockchain a few years ago: number go up. Number go up always! Unrealistic, unsustainable forever-growth must be guaranteed in this economic clime. If you can lay off all of your people and replace them with AI, number goes up big and never stops, right?

I have some doubts. ----------------------

The chips also haven't landed yet with regards to the legality of all of this. Will these adopters ultimately be able to copyright any of this output trained on datasets comprised of stolen work? Can computer-made art even be copyrighted at all? How much of a human touch will be required to make something copyright-able? I don't know yet. Neither do the hype team or the early adopters.

Does that mean the tech will be used but will have to be retrained on the adopter's proprietary data? Yeah, maybe. That'd be a somewhat better outcome, at least. It still means human artists make specific things for the machine to learn from. (Watch out for businesses that use 'ethical' as a buzzword to gloss over how many people they've let go from their jobs, though.)

Will it become industry standard practice to do things this way? Maybe. Will it still require an artist's sensbilities and oversignt to plan and curate and fix the results so that it doesn't come across like pure AI trash? Yeah, I think that's pretty likely.

If it becomes standard practice, will it become samey, and self-referential and ultimately an emblem of doing things the cookie-cutter way instead of enlisting real, human artists? Quite possibly.

If it becomes standard industry practice, will there still be an audience or a demand or a desire for art made by human artists? Yes, almost certainly. With every leap of technology, that has remained the case. ------------------ TL;DR Version:

I'm not saying with any certainty that this AI blitz is a passing fad. I think we're likely to experience a torrential amount of generative art, video, voice, music, programming, and text in the coming years, in fact, and it will probably irrevocably change the layout of the career terrain. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was being overhyped as a business strategy right now. And I don't think the immensity of its volume will ever overcome its inherent emptiness.

What I am certain of is that it will not eliminate the innate human impulse to create. Nor the desire to experience art made by a fellow soul. Keep doing your thing, Anon. It's precious. It's authentic. It will be all the more special because it will have come from you, a human.

[feefivefoe]

Please can we hear your thoughts on what Bruce does/thinks when being confronted with his neglect by Jason (and maybe the other boys too)??

Thank you, and have a nice day!

Bruce is the one I have the hardest time characterizing tbh.

I think his first reaction would be denial? He hasn't been the best father, but even he wouldn't go as far as to forget his own chi...

Oh my god he doesn't know how old you are. You were...you were older than Tim but younger than Dick, he thinks.

Wait.

When was your birthday?

Did he ever give you a birthday party?

What wing of the manor did you sleep in?

Where were you right now?

Unlike Tim who starts the unofficial search, Bruce heads right to the batcave to find your official records. Social security number. If you worked anywhere or has anyplace legal to stay, you'd have to input that. He's ashamed he has to go through a government database to find it, rather than simply knowing it.

And just like Tim, he finds nothing. Which scares him beyond belief. Had he lost you already? Did he actually forget about one of his children and then unknowingly replace them? Was he actually guilty of what Jason had accused him of years ago, albeit to a different child?

In reality, you're living solely through cash. Plenty of individuals are eager to avoid paying all their taxes, and are thrilled to accept cash only payments on your rent, or paycheck. Legally, you haven't done anything since graduating high school.

Not necessarily hiding from them, per say, as you don't think they'd go looking, but just because you don't want to be known as a Wayne.

And god, there is so much guilt, fear, and anguish rolling around inside that man. He needs to find out where you are, and if you're okay, and if anybody had done anything to you.

He swears if they have, he'll rip the motherfucker to pieces-

No. That isn't going to help. So instead he checks every reported death within not only Gotham, but any city within a 50 mile radius. For the last 10 years.

As well hidden as you are, nobody can hide from Batman while he's concentrating every effort to find you.

He's hesitant to bring you home at first. How can he call himself your father after forgetting you for your whole time living with him? But his regard for your safety eventually wins out. Until then, you just get a concerning amount of money just...stashed in your apartment??? What the fuck??????

Dick also feels a lot of guilt, but he somewhat subconsciously channels that into abundant overeagerness. Instead of focusing on how many important moments he missed...that he can never get back with his first baby sibling...

...ah, he should focus on all the memories you can make going forward! He has to take you to all his favorite spots, and you take him to yours!

What interests do you have? Are you a go to the aquarium person? Family movie night? Spa night? Just having fun with everyone at dinner? He has to do these things with you! And then you'll be his family again, and he'll love you, and you'll love him-

In spirit, he shows up outside your door like Damian. But he is self aware enough to know that'd freak you out, so instead he 'coincidentally' shows up at your work...in the bad side of town...and his attitude definitely gives away it was planned.

He messes up your "I'm a nobody like all of you" persona you'd spent years cultivating, and by the time he leaves, all your coworkers and customers know that you're Dick Grayson's sibling...which means Bruce Wayne's child, but he likes saying you're related to him more.

Tim doesn't give a fuck at first, like I established. It really is a game to see if he can find you before anybody else does. When he loses that to Bruce (damn it-), he decides he'll just know you BETTER than the others to win.

So he starts literally stalking you and making a psyche profile, like you're a case rather than his sibling. Any interest you've ever listed in your social media is cross checked with any belongings of yours. Merch or posters? Songs you listen to? Any of that content, he consumes as well. He's going to need conversation topics with you.

I'm not entirely sure if he actually loves you as family, or if you're just a hyperfixation that's consistently buzzing at his brain. It's like he wants to dissect, then digest you. Pick you apart piece by piece so he sees every last skin cell, then make that information a part of him

Though, he'd claim it's the former. To him, there's no discernable difference.

He's the one who meets you at your hobbies. Claims an online friend brought it up, but hey, it's crazy to see you again!

Even though it's your first conversation...maybe ever?

He's chatting to you like you haven't been estranged your whole life.

And the look in the eye is...a little unnerving.

[everythingisromant1c]

It's Always Been You - Chapter 12

james potter x fem!reader

summary - Things hadn't gotten much better with James, and you knew you could only go so long without talking to him—after all, he was still your best friend. But, considering all that'd happened, along with some encouragement from your friends, you knew the time had come to finally admit you wanted more than that.

wc [6.2k]

a/n: alr guys ... very happy and also sad to say this is the last chapter of it's always been you!! :( i've loved every minute of writing this series as well as sharing it (its become my baby atp), and it is definitely because of all the love and support everyone reading has given it. thank u to everyone stuck around to this point, & i hope u guys enjoy this last chapter!! i send all my hugs and kisses <3 - e

all chapters | <- Chapter 11

It'd been another hour or two until everyone had fully returned from Hogsmeade and dinner was being served in the Great Hall. You finally changed out of your dress and into your everyday clothing again, already feeling better, but that didn't mean you felt good. You didn't think you could feel good when both your brain and heart were hurting like they were. And worst of all, the one person you'd go to in times like these for comfort was the same person you couldn't go to. Not now.

The girls had been doing their best to get your mind off of everything that had happened that day, aside from when Marlene profusely apologized to you for letting Potter hear her outburst in the common room.

"Although, I have to say," she admitted afterward. "I'm not completely sorry for him that he had to hear it. I may be brutal but I never tell a lie."

That fact didn't leave you as you sat with her and Lily in the Great Hall for dinner, a number of seats away from the other Marauders. You recognized with a skip in your heartbeat that James was with them, surprisingly enough since you knew how he was accustomed to skipping meals in the dining hall when he wanted to be alone, a habit you both unfortunately shared. But that didn't mean he was enjoying himself either.

You could see even from your seat down the table that he wasn't saying much, mostly keeping to himself quietly, something so out of character for him yet you'd seen him do it constantly the entire week. You wanted to yell at him and shake him silly, but you also wanted to hug him. When you caught yourself in the midst of those thoughts you turned back to your own spot at the table shamefully.

You tried to force yourself to eat, catching your friends' concerned looks at your full plate, but you didn't feel much like it. Especially not when you still felt maybe a dozen pairs of eyes on you from every corner of the Great Hall.

Even with all that'd happened since just that morning, the rumors and whatever else people had come up with to talk about had not yet been forgotten about by the school like your friends said it would be. Then you thought about whether news had spread of your disastrous date in Hogsmeade, and prayed that nobody had caught wind of that incident either. You didn't think you could handle any more of the staring.

Immediately after you had that thought, you spotted a fifth-year in Ravenclaw robes walking past your table, watching as he blatantly pointed at you as he spoke to his friend, and you looked down at your plate with hardened eyes.

You heard Marlene scoff from next to you. "Hey!" she called to the boy. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to point?"

The fifth-year didn't respond to her but looked to his friend, hurriedly taking a seat at his own table, his whispers being drowned out in the loudness of the dining hall.

Marlene fumed from next to you. "I can't believe these people. Are they really that bored with their own lives that they're so obsessed with a bloody rumor?"

You shook your head toying with your fork. "Just ignore them. That's what I've settled on doing."

She sighed from beside you and you thought that'd be the end of everything, until you heard gasps from down the table. You looked up and followed the sounds and were met with a sight not even the magic of Hogwarts could've prepared you for.

James—your James—had stood up on the bench he'd once been sitting in, and you thanked Merlin he wasn't standing fully on the table; though you had absolutely no idea what he could possibly be up to, you knew it couldn't be anything good. He cupped a hand to his mouth as your heartrate picked up.

"Can I have everyone's attention?"

He didn't have to ask twice for it. His voice boomed out loudly, something that seemed to come naturally to him, and the noise in the Great Hall had died out in a mere second until it was almost completely silent—quiet enough for you to hear the beating of your heart in your chest as you looked up at him. Your throat went dry.

"Not that it's any of anyone's business," he started confidently to the hundreds of eyes now looking at him, tone nothing but sober. "But nothing happened in the broom closet. Or in the locker room."

You felt the churning in your stomach claw up into your throat, then felt it drop back down, keeping you stationed in your seat. He didn't give much context to his declaration, but with the popularity of the topic amongst the school, it didn't seem like he needed to. His voice almost seemed to echo, all other noises drowning out as everyone stared up at him. James looked around the entire room appearing completely unafraid and you didn't know how the hell he did it; you probably looked more fearful than him.

"So," he began again, "I don't want to see or hear anyone talking about those rumors any longer. And if anyone has a problem with that, they can answer to me. Alright?"

Of course, nobody said anything then, but you could see in their eyes that they were going to listen to him. Or at least, they'd make sure they didn't get caught going against him. Maybe it was from his impenetrably confident voice or his respected status around the school, you weren't sure, but he had that unique effect on people in an almost effortless way.

When it was clear he'd gotten his point across, he scanned his eyes over the sea of students until they found yours. In a dizzying way, it felt like you were the only two in the room for a moment, as cliché as the thought sounded in your head.

You didn't know what had motivated him to do what he did, but you could see in his eyes something fragile that juxtaposed the self-assured look they'd had only seconds ago. He looked away again and stepped back down to floor level once more, not taking a moment before striding out of the Great Hall, his form disappearing seconds after.

Even without his physical presence, his action seemed to linger over the room for a moment more before chatter broke out once again. You were still frozen in place, not knowing if moving would finalize the idea that whatever just happened was real and not just part of some wild dream.

Marlene had confirmed that it definitely had happened, however, when she turned to you with her jaw dropped, an amazed but delighted sparkle in her eye. "Someone tell me you saw that too."

"Oh we saw it," rang Lily, who also looked much too happy about that fact, probably just relieved James's antics weren't centered on her for once. You could see them both staring at you expectantly, waiting for you to react. You could also see the boys in your peripheral, the three of them remaining at the table searching your face for a reaction.

Yet, all you could do was stand up and walk hurriedly towards the exit. Dozens of conversations rushed past your ears as you did, a blur of remarks ranging from "Potter's lost it" to "He's so bloody fit." Whatever they were saying, you noted with gratefulness in the back of your mind that none of the conversations were about you.

You reached the doorway and stopped once you were a safe distance away in the hallway, heaving breaths in for a moment to yourself before finding that you weren't alone. All of your friends had followed you without blinking an eye, and you didn't know whether you found it endearing or inconvenient. Though, to be fair, you didn't know where you were going. You just knew you couldn't sit there and pretend as if nothing had happened.

You blinked at the three boys who neared you with puzzled looks on each of their faces. "Did you guys know anything about this?"

"No," promised Sirius. "In fact, James has hardly said anything to us since this morning."

You shook your head to yourself, feeling breathless. "I can't ... believe he would do that."

"Really?" Lily stared at you. "I mean, it's Potter we're talking about. It's exactly something he would do."

You couldn't fight the smile that tugged on the corners of your lips even as you shook your head. You ran a hand over your hair as the blonde from next to you hit you in the shoulder.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" You frowned over at her as she stared at you expectantly. "Go to him."

You stilled, gaping at her. "What?"

"Go to him. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

You tipped your head at her like it would help you understand her better, parting your drying lips. "I thought you said he was a selfish git." You heard Remus snort from beside you.

"I did, sure," reasoned Marlene, not without a hint of pride. "But only because I thought he was ruining your chances of moving on now that you were over him. But seriously, I can see your face when you look at him." She shook her head. "That's not the look of someone who wants to move on."

Your eyes flickered over her face as she spoke, an infinite number of thoughts overtaking you. In the silence of your thinking, a Hufflepuff boy walked past the six of you in the hallway, staring all the while.

"What are you looking at?" snapped Marlene, turning to him without missing a beat. "Did you not just hear Potter?"

Like he'd heard him loud and clear, and also like he was scared of Marlene, he hurried away with his head bent forward. Satisfied, the blonde turned back to you. At your conflicted expression, she asked, "Well?"

You chewed on the inside of your cheek. "It's just that," you began, not even knowing where you were going with your rambling. "I've spent so long trying to get over him. It's not fair to myself to just forget all of that, and it definitely wasn't fair to Sebastian-"

"For Merlin's sake," cut in Lily, to your surprise. "You keep talking about what's fair and what's unfair, but what about you? What do you want?"

You stared at her, beginning to feel breathless under the eyes of all your friends. "It's not just about what I want. It's not that simple."

"But what if it is?" she questioned. "I know how difficult this has all been for you. And I know you said Potter doesn't just get to realize his feelings for you and suddenly be with you, that it doesn't work like that. But what if it does?" She raised her hands at her sides. "Not everything is a perfect story to tell. Especially not when it comes to you two. It's not every day you fall in love with your best friend and he finally sees that he's fallen for you too. Are you seriously going to let him go because of some made-up system of rules?"

Your breath was becoming staggering now, and you didn't know what to think, because everything they were telling you sounded so right.

"I don't know," you began unsurely. "Of course, I don't want to lose him. Not talking to him for the past week has been harder than I ever could've imagined. I don't even know what it would feel like to have to do it for longer than I already have been." You blinked down at your shoes, truly realizing those things at the same rate you said them. "I think I just ... miss him."

"Of course you miss him." Marlene looked at you sympathetically. "That's why I think you should go tell all this to him."

You felt bile rising in your throat. "I don't even know if he'd want to see me after all we've said to each other."

"Are you joking?" Remus butted in exasperatedly. "Prongs is bloody in love with you. Can't you see that?"

"Remus," you warned softly because you didn't know how much more of this hope you could take before you did something you'd regret.

"I'm telling the truth." His voice was heavy with meaning. "Maybe it took him a while to realize it himself, but the rest of us have had to sit back and watch you both act like you don't have feelings for each other for years. Believe me, the only reason he's in his room right now and not with you is because he thinks that's what you want."

Your brows pinched. "You can't truly know that."

"Really?" he laughed. "What do you think we talked about that night Vance asked you out?"

Your expression faltered and you forced yourself to think back to the night James had begun acting distant from you, though it wasn't difficult to, the storyline of it all clicking into place in your head.

"You," breathed Remus. "We talked about you."

"Not to mention," Sirius added, "we're the ones who've had to spend every night in our dorm listening to him bitch and moan about Vance this and Vance that." You swallowed at your friends' words, but they didn't quit.

"And we know James was being a right idiot today," Sirius insisted honestly. "But you should've seen him this morning right after you two argued. He was heartbroken. More than he'd ever been over Evans." He turned to the redhead in question. "No offense, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes lightheartedly. "Trust me, Black, none taken."

He nodded and turned back to you swiftly. "So for you to think that James would want anything other than to fix things with you and just be with you is bloody mental."

You stared at all of your friends who were looking so determinedly back at you that you didn't think you could tell them 'no' now. But still, your feet didn't budge.

"It's not just that," you almost whispered. "I guess I'm just ... scared. What if it goes wrong and we get into some ridiculous fight again? What then?"

Marlene took a hold of your shoulders, slightly scaring you in her resoluteness. "Potter just stood up and yelled at the entire bloody school and you're trying to tell us you'rescared?" She shook you a little, and your friends smirked from behind her. "Be a Gryffindor for Godric's sake! Go to him!"

Before you could say anything more, she was turning you around and shoving you a little until you had the momentum you needed to take steps toward the Gryffindor common room. You made it all the way up the nearest set of steps before you paused, turning back to your friends with a grateful smile.

"Thank you, you guys." You expected them to share the sweet moment with you, but they only rolled their eyes.

"Go, woman!" Sirius groaned, and you rolled your eyes back at them, but it lacked any real annoyance.

You didn't know exactly what you were planning on doing, but you didn't have time to think about it because your legs were carrying you speedily through the halls in your anxious state and wouldn't let you stop until you reached the portrait entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Taking a steadying breath in, you said the password and entered the room.

With everyone else still being at dinner in the Great Hall, it wasn't exactly difficult to find James. He sat in the common room, his brunette head of curls visible to you in the low light. They covered the majority of his face that you could see, his head tipped downwards with his elbows resting on his knees. That changed within the blink of an eye as you entered the room, his head swiftly lifting until he locked eyes with you, and you had to fight a shiver at the feeling it sent shuddering through you.

He seemed to think you were just going to go to your own dorm and ignore him, and he averted his eyes to look somewhere else, maybe the fireplace, until you left—but you didn't. You only walked closer to him until you were separated by only one of the couches, the distance still small enough to make your breathing quicken.

At the soundlessness of your stilled footsteps, James looked back up and met your eyes again, and he swallowed. Clearly, he hadn't expected you to make any move to talk to him that night, even after the scene he'd made in the Great Hall. The problem was that you hadn't expected yourself to either, and now you didn't know what you wanted to say first, because there were certainly a million things you had to make sure he knew.

"Thank you," you said, because you figured it was a good place to start. He nodded up at you, his eyes not revealing much of anything, but you didn't let that sway you. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Of course I did." His voice was stubborn, but too sincere for how little his expression gave away.

You looked down at your feet, letting a moment pass before speaking again. "Well, now it seems like everyone is going to be talking about you from now on."

"That doesn't matter to me." James's voice cut through the air richly, and when you looked back up from the floor he was staring at you meaningfully. "They can say whatever the hell they want. As long as they're not talking about you."

Your shoulders dropped at his words, and the way he held your eyes as he said them made your heart beat faster in your chest. It hadn't even been a full day since you'd last spoken to him, but you already missed him.

"They wouldn't leave you alone," he said concretely, his tone beginning to fill with emotion. "And then, I heard what Marlene said in the common room, about some girl harassing you in the library? I-" he shook his head frustratedly, rubbing at his forehead with one of his hands. "I'm just mad at myself that I've let it go on for this long. Or that I didn't even know that happened."

You already felt too emotional for your liking, the feelings inside of you swirling more aggressively at every word he said to you. "It's not like it's your fault, James."

"Well it's not like I did much to stop it, did I?" He seemed genuinely angry at himself now, and you didn't know what you could do to help. A painful lump was rising in your throat, but you stayed rooted in your spot behind the sofa. "And I'd ask you why you didn't come and tell me, but that'd be a bloody stupid question."

He shook his head, eyes becoming wistful like he was recalling a memory, one that pained him. "Earlier, when Marlene was defending you in the common room, the look on your face was ... I don't know. Crushed. Sad."

You swallowed at the memory, because that had been exactly how you were feeling, amongst thousands of other ways. James looked down at his lap.

"I just wanted to try and help, do anything to make that look on your face go away, but I couldn't. So I just kept replaying how you looked in my head, and the more I thought about it, the more I hated myself because I realized you were only hurting because of me. And that was the worst part. Realizing that it was all my fault."

You felt yourself wanting to take a step towards him, wanting to just reach out to him as the tips of your fingers teemed with the longing you felt in your chest. "James," you began, your voice hushed. "It's not all your fault."

You meant it. To try and say to yourself that you had no part in all the confusion between the two of you would be a blatant lie, one that you couldn't let James go on believing, especially not with the pained look on his face.

He only shook his head at you. "It is," he insisted. "And here you go, being perfect towards me when I don't deserve it." A muscle worked overtime in his jaw. "Marlene was right. I was being selfish, and petty, and a lot of other things, but most importantly, I wasn't being a good friend." He paused, a grieving confliction tugging at his brow. "That's ... that's not what friends do."

You went still then too, the word 'friend' hanging in the air between you with a weight that only made you tired. The truth was that cobwebs had grown in the house where you'd fostered that unforgiving title, and it felt like some intangible force had locked you both inside with it blindly.

"Yeah, well," you began, your voice small, "we've been doing plenty of things that friends don't do, lately.Like you said, we kissed, right?" You let out a breathy sound like a laugh that lacked any joy, and the way James's eyes flickered up at you knocked the rest of the air right out of you.

"About that," he began hesitantly, and you could tell he was thinking about both the night it'd happened and that morning when you'd fought, just like you were. "I know you don't want that to mean anything, so it- ... it doesn't have to. Even if I want it to. Because it doesn't matter what I want—what matters to me is you."

You were thankful you had the couch next to you to brace a hand on, because you'd never felt so swept up by a conversation and you weren't sure how much longer you could stand the way your heart was nagging at you.

"You were right," swore James, but the slight shake of his eyes back and forth on your face didn't look as adamant as he sounded. "It's not fair for me to expect something from you when you already got over me."

The words you'd shouted at him in Hogsmeade that morning sounded foreign and wrong coming from his lips, and you knew the months of dishonesty that laced them like you knew the back of your hand.

"And it's too late now, I get that." His voice went from deep and determined to on the cusp of breaking, and it killed you. "I just want to know that you're happy, and if being happy means being with Vance instead of me, then ... I can deal with that."

You watched as he swallowed, like he was forcing the words to come from his lips even if it pained him. The way he hadn't broken eye contact with you the whole while was starting to make your head spin.

Your blinking sped up, maybe holding back the emotion you knew you was fighting to come out, and you whispered, "James."

Maybe you hadn't been loud enough, or maybe he just knew you'd try to disagree with him again, but he only continued determinedly at you.

"I know I probably went and ruined your chances with Vance, like an idiot, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you another date with him." He nodded at you once firmly, and within a second he was standing up, taking an intentional step forward. "Hell, I'll even go talk to him right now and-"

"James," you called again, louder this time. "Stop."

You put a hand out and it landed on his arm softly but firmly, and all you could was pray you could find the right words to say to him as he stared at you, level with you now in an unsteadying way.

"You didn't ruin my chances with Sebastian. It wouldn't have worked out regardless, even if I'd wanted it to. Because being with him isn't what I want." You shook your head, recalling back what James had said to you only moments before. "He wouldn't have made me happy." You sounded desperate now. "He's not you."

James stilled, his glistening eyes the only thing showing movement as they danced across your face intensely, though you saw them widen with something bright like hope. "What?"

The confusion of the word that he'd practically whispered out unspeakably attested to how you felt yourself, the terrain of the land you were exploring right there and then with James uncharted and rocky. You pushed on, knowing there was no going back now.

"Marlene wasn't completely right, James. She only said all of those things because I'd spent all this time trying to convince her—and myself—that I didn't still have feelings for you. But I do, clearly." You tipped your head down for a moment in exasperation and exhaustion, willing yourself to keep going. "Everyone can see it. All of our friends. Hell, even Sebastian could see it." You laughed, though your eyes were growing blurry. "So for me to try to push those feelings down any longer would just be lying to you and to myself." You let out an exasperated breath. "And I'm so sick of lying."

Your shoulders sunk as you stood there, a steadily shrinking distance between you and James that was both comforting and daunting to you. You couldn't do anything but watch as James's face stilled and then shifted as he thought, studying your own face in a way that made you conscious of every shift in your expression.

"I just," he began, and then raked a hand through his hair. "Why did you feel like you needed to hide how you felt in the first place?"

You felt your mouth go dry at the question—one you knew came only out of a desperate curiosity and nothing else—and your mind began spinning. The last few years of your friendship seemed to swirl in your head, flickering in and out of focus as you tried to come up with an answer.

"I-" you began, willing yourself to say something, anything at all. "I was scared." The words rang true so much that they made your heart pinch. "Scared that you wouldn't feel the same and I'd go and ruin everything. That I'd lose you."

James's hands lifted up from his sides like he wanted to reach out to you, and he did. He took your hand in his, grasping lightly at your fingertips in a touch that steadied you and made you feel lightheaded at the same time. He shook his head at you with a firm hold in his brow.

"You could never lose me."

His lips were parted, and his hazel eyes glistened over in the low common room lighting like the thought of your suggestion was painful enough on its own. Looking at him then, his face lined with years of a comforting, steadying familiarity, you knew deep in your chest that what he said was true. But that didn't alter all that you'd felt for the past number of years.

"It's not just that," you said, looking down at his hand that held yours and blinking away the guilt that crept into your stomach, because it wasn't James's fault that you had felt this way. "Even in Hogsmeade, James." Your voice was becoming unsteady again and it only frustrated you more. "What if everything you said you felt for me was just some spur-of-the-moment thing from some kiss? What if you didn't feel the same way a week from now? Or a month? I knew I wouldn't be able to get over that fear. Especially when I'd been hiding how I felt from you for years. And then there were your feelings for Lily to think about and ... I don't know."

You trailed off, finally able to stop yourself. You felt petty, so petty, because you were so close to getting what you knew your heart wanted, but you felt the insistent need to ruin things for yourself and think of every way things could go wrong. You'd never felt closer to James then, but also never farther away. All you could do was stand there and wait for him to say something, anything.

James stayed unmoving for a beat staring at you, wordlessly taking everything in with a fragility in the air that hallowed your labored breathing. Then he started to shake his head like he was in disbelief. He ran a hand through his brown hair.

"For Merlin's sake."

His voice was low, a mutter, and he stared at the ground for a moment in thought before dropping the hand that once held yours, turning and walking away from you, leaving up the steps to his dorm room. You watched his back as he disappeared, your fingertips feeling cold and empty.

You felt your blinking speed up in a dizzying confusion. You didn't know what had come over you, not even sure exactly what you'd said in all of your desperate rambling that had made him decide to leave, but your vision started to blur even more than it already had until you recognized the wetness forming beside your eyes.

Nothing made sense. Not then, and not in the last twenty-four hours. You moved until you were sitting down on the couch in front of you, feeling lightheaded as the fireplace crackled a few feet away. The light from outside had left with the sun and the room had a comforting kind of warm lighting, though even that did little to soothe you as you sat there with all the unresolved feelings within you.

You were confused and lost and wanted nothing more than to just fix things, but you were even more at a loss for words when you heard quick footsteps coming from the staircase James had left from, and then saw his returning form making its way down the steps.

You turned your head to him swiftly in confusion, following him and his soft but energetic steps as he came to sit next to you, and that was when you noticed he was holding something—a box. One that was tattered on the corners, its black fabric aged and dusting over.

You wiped at your eyes quickly, brows tugging in all your bewilderment as you waited for James to explain.

"I-" he began, and stopped as soon as his eyes focused more on your face. You must've looked as broken as you felt, and at seeing the look on your face, he held one of your hands in his before swiping across your cheek gently with the pad of his thumb.

You felt like wilting under his soft touch that you'd missed more than anything in the confusing weeks, mentally and physically exhausted from everything but still wanting more than anything to understand.

When you looked perhaps more stable, he looked back at the box that he'd set down beside him and placed it on his lap delicately as he spoke, his words echoing out slowly.

"I know you think I've just realized my feelings for you a week ago, and that they came from some kiss at a party. But, you have to believe me when I say that they're so much more than that." He placed the box in your hands, and you took it from him with a note of fragility, resting it atop your legs. His eyes bore into yours, like it would break him if you couldn't understand the words leaving his lips. He took a shaky breath in. "I need you to know, more than anything, that you're everything to me. You always have been."

Your lips began to shake at the earth-shattering words coming from your best friend's lips. "James, what-"

He stopped you with a gesture of his head that told you to look inside the box, and you did. Carefully, you lifted the flimsy cardboard top and placed it to the side, brows pulling together tight and something loud and hearty threatening to pull from your chest. You shook your head as tears began to well over your eyes again as you recognized what James had given you.

The box, the measly and old mess of cardboard and paper, was full of all the letters you'd written to him over the years—all the thank you notes, the letters you'd sent him from that summer and all the past ones—every single one of them. Your eyes raked over each of them when you felt too stunned to use your hands, but your heart still felt touched by the memories of each one all the same. It took everything in you not to release the sob you felt rising in your lungs.

"It's you. It's always been you."

James's eyes never left your face as you took everything in, the look behind them never having seemed so determined, so desperate. But there was something behind the way he looked at you, something so warm and honest, so familiar that you felt ridiculous for never noticing it before. And when your gaze flickered downward for a second in contemplation he tipped his head to follow it endearingly.

"Always," he promised. "Not Evans, not anyone else. I know I'm a bloody idiot, and I know I haven't been great at showing my emotions when it comes to you, but that's because it's you, and you mean everything to me and have since we were kids, and if this can't make you see that then I promise I'll spend every day trying to make up for it, and-"

"James." You stopped him, not knowing how much longer you could take sitting next to him and not getting rid of the frustrated crease between his brows, or how much longer you could ignore the thrum of your heart that called out to him so clearly now.

"Yeah?" he asked, and his eyes were like a deer in headlights. The warmth in their color reflected the simmering warmth from the fireplace, but that didn't compare to the fire that lay behind his gaze.

You placed the box, his box of the last six years of your friendship and then some, atop the couch next to you, and didn't wait another second before engulfing him in a hug. Your body crashed into his as he leaned back against the couch, his hands coming up to embrace you right away, and you heard him breathe a smile by your ear before he laughed, a perfect noise.

You felt like laughing then too, and crying, and everything else, because you couldn't remember the last time you'd gotten to hold him like this without the fear of revealing too much to him nagging at you. Your cheek pressed against his neck, his curls fanned against the top of your head, his hands held you tight, and you never wanted to leave the safety of his arms. Except to do one thing.

You pulled away from the hug and so did James after a second, his eyes wide and glistening but truly happy. He was smiling widely, his lopsided grin appearing after days like the sun after a storm, and you loved the sight more than anything, locking it away in the back of your mind as a memory you'd keep forever, like the box that sat next to you.

You laid a hand on his chest, another on his cheek, and James grasped the one that was flattened on his chest in his own, quickly glancing down at your hand in his like he couldn't believe he was holding it. He pulled you into him with it and leaned his head on yours.

"It's always been you, too," you whispered, and his eyes glanced down at your lips as you said the quiet words that'd been lingering on your lips for much too long. You had to push away your smile because you were aching to just kiss him like you'd wanted to for years. With a courage that could've only come from Godric himself, you finally did.

You leaned in until your lips met, a flutter of skin dancing shyly together until you leaned into him even further, and suddenly it felt like the crash of a wave, and sounded like the earth was moving beneath your feet, the sound of something right—and this time, you knew it felt the same for him too, because you could feel his boyish grin that you'd spent years admiring tugging against your lips.

You were kissing your best friend. For real this time. It felt so impossible for your mind to imagine such a thing, but luckily it didn't have to.

James moved his hands but they never left you, one sliding through your hair smoothly and one delicately holding your waist like you were something fragile. Butterflies fluttered through you at his touch, something familiar but foreign, wrong but also right, and somessilyperfect. You couldn't believe you'd spent all those years just a few words away from getting to feel it, getting to be surrounded by it.

You pulled away after a moment, your lips feeling puffy and burning with the heat of his kiss, but all you could think about was how free you felt, how happy you were that he was finally yours.

James looked down at you, his eyes dancing all across your face and stopping on your lips, and then somehow growing even warmer when they met yours again.

"I can't-" he began with a slight disbelieving shake of his head, voice coming out breathless and dazed as heat flushed into your own cheeks at the sight. "I can't believe..."

You laughed, feeling out of breath too, and adjusted the glasses that now perched crookedly on James's nose in an agonizingly cute way.

"Me neither," you finished for him, because you knew just how he felt, a secret the both of you shared; it was the only secret you still wanted to keep.

And it was a feeling you never wanted to have to live without again. Though now, with him in your arms and his familiar chocolate curls still brushing against your forehead, you knew you would never have to.

taglist!!

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[savannahsdeath]

"I'm supposed to protect you."

knight!ellie x princess!reader

warnings: angst, readers mom is reaallyyy annoying (my mommy issues speaking up), being forced to get married (typical for those times), hidden/not tolerated relationship kinda, execution and bad english cuz its my second language sorry bear w me😮‍💨😮‍💨

writers note: wait .. im actuslly surprisingly proud of this one ?? this was supposed to be a lil 1k special because its the first long one shot im posting i think ..anyways enjoy pookies<3<3

'understand that when you leave here

you'll be clear among the better man'

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

you looked at the prince from across the table. you tried to find something—anything that'd remind you of her, so your agony will stop, or at least decrease. but even his green eyes, the same color as hers, weren't looking at you with such admiration. his sword was just as shiny, sharp and impressive, but it wasn't made to protect you. and his words, oh his words... they were smart and stern, slightly softening when speaking to you - his soon to be wife - but they were meaningless compared to hers.

you knew that's what awaits you, you were preparing for this moment since the day you were born, but this fact didn't make it any better - any easier to accept.

you peeked a last glance at him - the prince, considered being the most handsome out of all principalities. but he was also the love of your life, against your own will, and that made your body fill with disgust. your face heated up and your hands started shaking, so you stared down, trying to pretend you're focused on eating. the view of your plate, the not finished meal, made the nausea only worse.

you stood up, making a loud scraping noise when your chair moved on the wooden floor. everyone's eyes were on you.

your stare was shifting across the known and unknown faces for a split second, your gaze lingering for a little longer on your mother's disappointed, scolding face.

"i'm sorry." you muttered and quickly left the dining room, leaving a chord of whispering, probably gossiping voices behind you.

you felt your eyes starting to water up, single tears slowly falling down. you just pushed forward, hoping to find an empty corner in the hallways full of busy maids and other services.

"your highness?" someone asked, but you felt too overwhelmed to think who it was. eventually, the person forcefully grabbed your arm. even though the touch was soft and somehow comforting, you stopped walking and aggressively broke your hand free.

"how dare you—!" you shouted, sounding more sad than mad. whoever it was, you had to admit that touching princess like that was brave. you turned around and through your blurry from tears vision saw your knight, number one protector, staring at you in deep disbelief and concern. "i'm sorry." you murmured and quickly began making your way to your dorm again. you wiped your cheeks with your palm, not bothering to find a tissue in the pockets of your uncomfortable but pretty dress.

the footsteps won't stop - in fact, they surpassed you and their source blocked your way.

"what happened?" ellie asked, raising her arms to caress your face, but not doing it yet - not without your permission.

you grabbed her wrists and brought her hands to your face, leaning into her touch and falling apart in this exact second. she spent a moment trying to calm you down, but even her proximity wasn't enough. she started dragging you outside, before anyone could find you both like that.

she stayed quiet until you found yourself in the castle's backyard, decorated with every kind of flowers possible. it was already dark, since you spent the whole day preparing for your wedding. without a word, she lay down on the grass and patted the space next to her, motioning for you to do the same, and so you did. for a second nothing but silence comforted both of you. you looked at the stars, trying to find any constellations your teacher told you about. the last wet tears on your cheeks started to flow down, leaving only barely visible drying stains.

you thought about how ellie treats you, and how you treat her. does every princess feels so warm whenever her knight is near?

you felt embarrased at the thought, and about the current situation. you were allowed to cry. your cherries were too sweet? too sour? cry about it, blame everyone and act all hysterical because it's, obviously, the end of the world! you have every right to do that - you're the princess and everyone should risk their life if it means you will be satisfied.

no. you weren't like that. you didn't cry when you cut your palm with a kitchen knife or when the wound won't heal properly. you accepted the doctor's help and, what's unbelievable, thanked him for it. how could you be grateful to someone who isn't royal in any way? you'll never forget how mad your mother was back then.

while your gaze was on the sky, ellie's was on you. you could feel it, so you turned your head to the side - and you were right, prince's eyes were really nothing compared to hers.

she spoke up as soon as she saw she has your attention; "is it because of the stress?"

"stress?" you repeated, biting your bottom lip, almost making it bleed.

"maybe you're sick?" she put her hand on your forehead, surely trying to find an excuse to be close to you. or maybe she was really concerned? your cheeks were probably really red due to her closeness, she could misinterpret it. "are you feeling unwell, your highness?"

you looked away, trying to brush your flushness away by getting lost in the moonlight. the full moon was approaching, and you tried to guess how many days are there left. maybe four?

ellie's hand slowly slid down your face, stopping on your chin, before slowly leaving your body. "you should be excited." she stated, but her tone made it sound like she was ranting about it. maybe you're not the only one who's not happy about the situation.

"well, i'm not." you shrugged, trying to sound as emotionless as possible, though it probably made your discomfort even clearer. your eyes wandered around the sky and you raised your hand, pointing at seven stars. "look, big dipper."

she took a moment to find the constellation, before slowly and firmly pushing your arm down. "i need to know what's wrong." she sighed, her worried eyes begging you for an answer.

an answer you couldn't give her, because what were you supposed to say?

"you don't." you denied in a quiet tone.

"please," she continued, stubbornly not giving up, "i'm supposed to protect you."

another sigh, this time yours. you stayed silent for a moment, before spotting different stars creating a familiar shape. before your hand could fully raise, ellie held it down. in any other circumstances, she would get roughly punished for treating you like that. she was lucky you wanted to be treated like that - like a normal human, and not a piece of delicate glass.

"i don't want him." you finally admitted, rolling onto your side to look at her. "he doesn't want me, either."

she scanned your expression, her own seeming deadly serious. you looked down and saw some smudges of dirt on your dress, hoping your mother won't notice them.

she frowned a little, knitting her eyebrows together. "i'm sure he does."

"then he's bad at showing it." you muttered and saw her confusion deepen. "why would you bring me here?" you looked around and took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of flowers. their colorfulness was visible even despite the late, dark time, standing out above the solid green grass.

she thought about your question for a quite long time, not sure is it tricky or rhetorical. "i like this place." she finally spoke up, her lips turning into a soft smile.

"no, i'm asking..." you shook your head, fixing your rolled down sleeves. "why would you bring me here?"

this wasn't a question she expected. even you weren't planning it and now you regretted pushing this subject. what answer did you expect? no matter what would it be, you still wouldn't be satisfied.

"it's important to me." she tugged a loose strand of your hair behind your ear, before caressing your cheek. "and so are you." you stared at her lips as she spoke, admiring how soft they look even though the words leaving them were serious and important. as soon as she finished, your gaze shifted back to her eyes.

"i think—" you gulped, feeling the meaning behind her phrase weigh on you. "i think this is something i need to hear from the prince. from my—" husband. say it. the voice in your head tried to convince you it's not a bad word, but it just felt so wrong. you felt like you're close to breaking down everytime you remembered you're his wife. well, you'll be tomorrow.

"i mean what i said, your highness." her thumb traced the outline of your lips, as her own uncontrollably parted. your body trembled and your eyes closed shut for a while. before you opened them, you heard her body shifting and soon, you felt her lips on yours.

the kiss confirmed your belief that she is soft, but she was even softer than you imagined. her fingers glided across your face, gently stroking it and moving your hair out of the way. her body fit so perfectly into yours, like she was made for you, and you were made for her. you felt something strange in your stomach, like you just got rid of a knot inside it, though you didn't even know it was there in the first place. the time was fleeting but you managed to remember every little detail, so when she pulled away you let out a satisfied sigh.

"i'll miss you, ellie." ugh, addressing to a knight by their name in such a soft voice- if only your mother was there. but it was only you two, surrounded by the beautiful scent of flowers and stars which seemed to be hanging right above your heads.

she smiled, though there was a hint of surprise, maybe confusion, in her expression. "i'm not going anywhere."

"but once i'm married, i'll leave with the prince." you stammered, your eyes suddenly glistening. her own became glossy, like they were covered in a thin mirror glass which perfectly reflected the moonlight. "i have to." you added after a moment, making sure she knows it wasn't your choice.

"i—" she started but didn't make a second attempt to speak after her voice drifted off once. she rolled onto her back and looked at the sky. "this is your home, your highness. you can't leave." she seemed to plead you to stay, and god, how much you wanted to...

"i'm scared." you admitted, your gaze desperately lingering on her, as if she'll disappear once you look away.

"of him?" she inquired as her hand found yours and gently rested on it.

your arm tensed at her sudden touch, but your whole body relaxed as soon as her thumb started stroking your palm. deep breath. "of living without you." you whispered, ashamedly looking to the other side to avoid her. you felt her squeezing your hand, and your grip on her also tightened. you started silently begging for the ability to stay like that forever, even if it meant you will spent the eternity in silence and with teary eyes. it would be the best reward you could ask for, a dream coming true.

──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

the first thing you felt after finally coming to your senses was your mother fastening the corset, tightening it to the point your breath hitched. an hour of scolding for you leaving the dinner passed and now she went back to her stern, rough, but at least not mad facade. you weren't listening to whatever she was saying, thinking about how did you end up in your bed this morning. did you came here by yourself and you just don't remember? or maybe you fell asleep, ellie carried you here and tucked you in bed? at just this single idea of her, your mind wandered to the previous late evening. you felt overwhelmed by the memory of her words and, most importantly, her kiss. your breath got heavier, the corset not making it any easier to stay calm. your body started suddenly sweating, as if a wave of heat just washed over you.

"mother— i'm in love." you blurted out, before you could think of the consequences. you just had to get that off your chest.

"well, that's good." you saw a small smile creating on her lips. you finally received a human-like kindness from her, probably for the first time in years. "i hope you won't change your mind before the wedding."

your worry quickly turned into confusion and, eventually, the same disgust as yesterday. "i'm not talking about the prince!" you paused and looked down, not wanting to drag the topic but, at the same time, not able to stop it. "it's one of the knights." you really weren't controlling the words coming out of your mouth and that could only mean one thing - problems. "ellie."

your mother quickly spun you around and forcefully grabbed your chin. "i'm not even surprised." she hissed, making sure you know how disappointed in you she is. "but i won't tolerate that." the sharpness of her statement successfully shut you up, so you didn't argue nor pushed the topic when she went back to preparing you for the big, big day. she started acting like nothing happened and kept reminding you about how important it is. of course she only cared about her own good, or at least it felt like so, as she silenced you everytime you wanted to speak.

everyone was formally dressed, even the poorest maids found something noble. they all cutely smiled at your sight, probably impressed by your dress. the dominant color was clearly white, a sign of purity which you seemed to lack. that's what your mother made you believe, at least. but maybe she was a bit right after all? because your feelings towards ellie- oh, ellie.

you shook your head, forcing yourself to get her out of your mind. you looked at the service again, and they all immediately flashed you a smile as if on command. you reciprocated the gesture, though you could guess what was really on the women's mind. they hated you. they hated the ungrateful princess which would pick a knight over a prince. your obvious dissatisfaction, even without knowing the real reason behind it, seemed stupid. if only you could swap your places with one of them— not only you'd make her happy, but you and ellie could... oh, so you're thinking of ellie again.

you tried to move your veil so it'd cover the tears in your eyes, but there was always someone who'll fix it for you, not knowing you're doing it intentionally. you felt weak. physically and, mostly, mentally. because your knees, which barely held you up, which felt so light compared to the rest of your body as if they were made of cotton wool, everything above could be explained. by stress. but the intangible weakness was way worse. the prince seemed really nice and wasn't too old, you could get along well. but your heart was already taken by...

you turned around and your gaze wandered across the benches - you saw your family on the one side, his on the other, and a row of services against the wall. you could only think about one thing. where's ellie?

the question intrigued you to the point you started mouthing it to yourself, imagining 'if i were her, where would i go?'. but did it matter? she could be everywhere - in her room, in the garden - the point is, she wasn't there. your mother noticed your anxiety and walked over to you, hoping she'll be able to stop you from ruining the ceremony.

"where's ellie?" you immediately asked, frowning but calming down as there was someone able to answer your question.

"ellie?" she queried with a frown on her own, though hers quickly softened. "oh, the knight. look, there's other knights—"

"but ellie..." you cut her off with a sigh. "only she can protect me." you looked at the opened, massive doors, staring at the little stairs leading to the church you were in now, hoping to see her.

"there are dozens of more experienced knights." she rolled her eyes, discretely pointing at the row. "you and your stupid whims." with that, she left you and the prince alone at the altar. you awkwardly fidgeted with your fingers. you didn't need experienced knights, you didn't need knights at all - you needed ellie. she knew you have nightmares after arguing with your mom or during full moon, and she was there for you. she helped you take off your corset when you were alone, because she knew how much you hate it. she wasn't only your protector, she was someone way more important. not your friend. she was the love of your life. and you had to realise that right before the priest started the ceremony. great.

the whole time, you just watched the doorstep through the corner of your eye. there's no way she'd miss the wedding, so you couldn't help but wonder 'what did my mother do to her?'. you knew you're being naive, but you couldn't stop yourself from it.

you weren't listening at all, but one statement caught your attention, since priest's voice got louder and more stern.

"should anyone present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."

a wave of gasps filled the room and as you looked back at the doorstep, you saw that your prayers have been answered. her hand was covered in blood, probably her own since she had it pressed against her stomach as if to stop it from bleeding. you couldn't see how badly she was hurt, since her clothes were messy and torned. she was breathless and her knees seemed to be as weak as yours, but she still managed to shout a raspy; "i object."

it caused a bitter laugh from your mother, followed by shouting at the knights to get her. they hestitated, respecting ellie as one of the best equestrians, but they had no choice. they weren't acting quick or aggresive, and she'd easily get away if she wanted to. she knew her objection won't stop anything and it'll only get her in problems, as if she doesn't have enough yet. but she also knew this was her last chance to show that she'll always, at least try to, protect you. not only from dangerous rebels, but also a non-threatening man you're forced to be with.

you grabbed your dress, slightly rolling it up so you won't stumble as you run, but someone's hands held you in place. you turned around to see the prince and, i have to add, you never really blamed him for that. he had no idea who's ellie, maybe he thought she was a bad person, considering the queen's reaction. everything would be probably even worse if you'd have the chance to intervene. you understood that, though you couldn't calm down for long after ellie was taken out anyway.

the priest looked at your mother, asking the question to which the answer intrigued everyone. "continue." she commanded in her usual firm tone. you could see her mumbling a quiet "this stupid girl won't ruin the wedding" under her breath, but it went unnoticed by everyone except you.

and so the celebration continued as if nothing happened. you stood hand in hand with a man you'll spent the rest of your life with, believing he will never love, know or even see you in the way ellie does. you knew he won't stroke your wet from sweat hair after a tough night, he won't help you dress up and, what hurt the most, he won't take you to the castle's backyard just to rest and watch the sky.

you thought about running away, but the row of ready knights who only waited for the queen's orders made you lose your hope. of course they'd probably hesitate for a moment too, giving you some time, but you still didn't stand a chance. plus, you had different things going on your mind, keeping you busy and unfocused on the ceremony. namely - what will happen to ellie?

──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

you saw an envelope laying on your desk, having only your name on it. you teared it apart, impatiently wanting to get the paper out. you knew who's it from right after reading the first two words - not only because of ellie's handwriting, but also the way she addressed to you; 'my princess.' my princess.

believe me, all too aware am i of what i did. a lot happened behind your back but it is not a topic we should discuss like that. my friend took care of me, and even with the cold taking my body over i am just proud i am still alive, with the chance to write to you. i did something reckless but i believe it was caused by love. luccy says the same, we both think the thought of you controlled me. i could never forgive myself if i didn't see you in that dress. i think this is how i will forever remember you - dressed in white, looking so pure and angelic. i won't waste the ink for trying to compare you to anything, because i will miserably fail. nothing can be compared to you.

how does being married feel? i think you were unnecessarily scared. besides my little antic, it went smoothly. that is what i am told, at least, by the people in town. the queen was wrong about them, they are much more than poor slums. well, maybe they are poor, but i am truly in love with their modest cottages. they do not need much, they are happy with what they are given, and there is something magical about it. i think i would want to live like that. with you warming the other side of our bed. we don't need anyone else, i am sure we would enjoy life on our own.

the wound on my stomach seems to heal correctly. luccy thinks it will leave a scar, but i have some already, so what is one more? our biggest problem is food, because my friend gets a portion which is only enough for her. your mother took my money and weapon, the injury makes me useless anyway. to make matters worse, i have to stay in hiding. i haven't seen the sky since your wedding. oh, the things i would do to see big dipper again. i am not sure how it looks anymore, i have to admit i wasn't paying much attention. i apologize, but in my defense, my focus was on you. you are more interesting than any constellations.

i hope your poesy ring is pretty, at least. i want you to rememeber that you will always be in my heart and a simple ring other man gave you won't change it. maybe he did claim you, but i see you as mine anyway. my princess.

the letter wasn't signed, maybe to avoid any problems if someone else found it, but you were sure who's job is it. you quickly took a piece of paper for yourself to write, but you remembered the envelope didn't contain her address. you were left alone, your only hope was praying you'll get more messages from her. you could try to find her, ask the town residents, but they'd quickly start gossiping.

you looked down - at your promise ring. you couldn't deny that it was perfect and most definitely woth a lot, an ordinary resident of your kingdom could probably afford a food supply for the rest of their life with it. it was way too loose, so you started rolling it around your finger, deep in thought.

──────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────

your mother pushed you forward, motioning you towards the gate. you saw a young woman led by a pair of knights, just another prisoner. she intensively stared at you and you wanted to ran up to her, no matter how suspicious it'd be. she just seemed so... familiar.

you slowed down, much to your mother's displeasure. "where are we even going?" you inquired, glancing at the carriage. days passed and you should be in prince's castle by now. yet, his visit kept getting longer.

"surprise." she murmured, her tone sucking every remaining bit of happiness inside of you.

you looked back at the woman, getting further and further away from you with each step. you hestitated between obeying your mother or trusting your intuition. the second option prevailed as soon as you saw, or at least could swear that you saw her mouthing ellie's name. you ran up to her, ignoring the queen's shouting at you to go back. the knights ignored you, holding the prisoner's wrists behind her back. you had to walk backwards in order to be able to look at her face. your dress made it hard, but you had to find out what's going on.

"ellie." the woman spoke up, her voice was weak but not from sadness, it sounded more as if she lost it due to screaming for too long. "i'm sorry, your highness. i couldn't protect her—"

"you tried." you cut her off, trying to sound reassuring. "where is she?"

luccy bit her lip and looked down. you wanted to push the topic, but as you turned around to see if you have any obstacles on the way, you saw you're already near the basement - were prisoners were usually located. without thinking, you took your ring off and put it in her pocket. maybe she'll be able to bribe the knights, and even if not, she'll definitely need it more than you.

as you went back to your mother, her yelling wasn't getting to you. you didn't pay attention to anything she said and once she finished, you whispered a quiet; "where are we going?" again. she, obviously, got even more mad at you for ignoring her. the whole ride passed rather quickly, as you relaxed to the melody of your mother rambling about how much of a disappointment you are.

when you arrived to an open area, full of people of all social degree, you felt a knot in your stomach. your whole body was either hurting or weak. you didn't see what are the residents watching, but only big events get so much viewers. you left your mother behind, though this time she didn't try to stop you with her worthless shouting as you made your way through the crowd. you probably hurt a lot of people while doing so, but it was worth it, as you were now standing in the first row, right in front of the... oh. gallows.

a wave of nausea and tears washed over you and you had to hold yourself up by an unknown man's arm. he didn't complain - everyone here knew who are you and they didn't want to end up being the executed ones. as you calmed down, you looked up to see ellie, seeming fearless or even proud. her chin was bruised but raised, showing how unfazed she felt. maybe she was only pretending, who knows, at least she was a good actress.

you screamed out her name, your voice breaking and trembling, as you swallowed your own tears which flowed down your face. she was surprised to see you so close to the gallows without anyone protecting you. her unbothered facade drifted away, and she mouthed "go!" or "don't look!" towards you, wanting to spare you the view. but you couldn't look away, you had to enjoy her green eyes until they were opened, and freckled skin until the blood was flowing beneath it, honoring her with a slight blush. she bit her bottom lip, just like luccy did not long ago, and broke the eye contact. unlike you, she couldn't stand the view of her love. not in those circumstances.

you saw your mother standing outside of the crowd, closer to the gallows than anyone else. she scanned the faces of the already dead people, and you wondered what did they do to deserve this. then, she gestured for some formally dressed men to start. as the noose wrapped around ellie's neck, you screamed again, this time taking action. or, well, trying to, since the crowd held you back, forcing you to not leave them. queen's commands. you cussed them out, trying to break free with all the strength you had.

"any last words?" your mother tauntingly asked, pacing back and forth.

ellie cleared her throat, before looking at you, what only gave you energy and motivation in trying to pull away. "if that's the price of love, then so be it" she was speaking slowly and clearly, making sure these words will be remembered by the community. "i am supposed to protect our only princess, so i'm more than happy to die knowing i did everything i could to—"

"oh, enough!" the queen hissed. "how dare you talk about love!" the way she snapped felt personal, so you almost forgot hundreds of people watch it too. with that, you also failed to remember that they're holding you, so you stopped fighting back and just hopelessly watched the scene.

"what else do we have to talk about?" ellie bitterly laughed, her voice a mix of amusement and hatred. the noose around her neck didn't seem to bother her. she was just so strong and- god, how much you admired this woman.

your mother turned around, waving her hand at the men responsible for the whole ceremony. you screamed again, though this time it wasn't her name. it was a weak but loud scream of protest, the one that tired you to the point you fell down on your knees, violently sobbing as the trapdoor opened.

✧˖°

endings;

the witch hunt

the loop

the connection

[wilhelminyard]

part 2 of the foxes insulting people to their face without giving a single fuck :

WYMACK :

"I'm not here to offer you kind words and pats on the back"

"some people are just hardwired to be stupid"

"neil is a walking tragedy" "you're a pretty pathetic sob story yourself"

NEIL :

"you make me uncomfortable because you don't make sense. I don't understand you"

"I can't stand you"

"I'm remembering why I don't like you"

"what I'd like is to put this phone through your teeth"

"you know, I get it. being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you're worth a damn off the court - yeah, sounds rough. kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it's not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you're physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like evey other normal human being can, but I don't think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. so please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone."

"do you understand?" "yeah I understand you're a complete asshole"

"I can give you my number" "what for? [...] I wouldn't call you"

"you're not part of that family, remember? you're the cast-off"

"you are all insane"

"you are one seriously fucked-up individual"

ANDREW :

"kevin, kevin. so predictable. so pathetic."

"maybe he is afraid she'll die on him like the last woman he really loved"

"newsflash nicky: neil isn't normal" "this is beyond abnormal" "I am standing right here and I can hear you"

"you have this way of making people want to kill you"

"who am I supposed to call?" "nicky, coach, the suicide hotline, I don't care"

"you could occasionally grow a spine. I know it's a difficult concept for someone whose kneejerk reaction is to run away at the first sight of trouble, but try it sometime. you might actually like it."

"you don't have any room to judge other people's problems"

"sometimes you're interesting enough to keep around. other times you're so astoundingly stupid I can barely stand the sight of you"

"sometimes I forget you are sharper than you look"

"you and I both know you have a dreadful sense of humor so this can't be a joke"

KEVIN :

"hear that kevin? your sub said you're incompetent" "his opinion doesn't matter to me"

"you are a fucking idiot"

MATT :

"one day I want you to look up 'insensitivity' in the dictionary I'm sure it'll do your ego wonders to see your picture printed there beside it"

"would it kill you to smile when no one's paying you to?"

"no one wants you here"

AARON :

"I'm going to pretend I don't know you"

"we don't socialize with you"

DAN :

"we would make a drinking game out of it but we don't want to die of alcohol poisoning" "yeah that'd be a shame"

"I have serious concerns about your academic standings"

"hope you feel that one for a while you lowlife asshole"

NICKY :

"*points at kevin* there's a sucker born every minute"

"shut up, sour face. save your grouching for the ride back and stop spoiling our moment of glory"

"we all know kevin's as bratty as they come"

"you can be a real jerk sometimes"

[yeeterthek33per]

Careful (Steph Catley x Caitlin Foord x Reader)

A/n requested

It was hot.

That was an understatement.

It is fucking hot.

The heat wave that'd hit London just a day earlier was predicted, and yet it was still a lot. Even for an Aussie such as yourself who'd grown up in the gross heat of Brisbane.

The warmups were a nightmare, and it was prediscussed by the officials that there would be set water and ice breaks for both teams.

For whatever reason, you'd forgone having much water after warmups, leaving you stuck feeling a little dehydrated during the first twenty minutes.

The game was rough, which certainly didn't help either. The late afternoon sun was beading down heat on your slightly bloodied up shins.

Unfortunately, you were one to wear your socks low, so you copped more studs than either of you girlfriends liked.

That being said, it feels like your blood is being cooked under the radiation from above.

Running around the field in a black shirt and shorts made you question everything, that's for certain.

The moment the whistle for the water break is blown, you duck into the shade by the bench, immediately grabbing an ice towel and a cold bottle from the cooler, dousing yourself with the cooling liquid.

Katie plonks down next to you.

"You alright?"

You nod.

"About as fine as it gets on this lovely thirty-seven degree afternoon. You?"

"Sweating my non-existent balls off, but what else is new?"

You laugh at that, clapping her on the shoulder before standing again. There's a little whooziness from the sudden movement, but you brush it off.

You join the noticably distanced huddle, standing beside Caitlin who shifts to let you in to the circle.

"Alright ladies, we're doing well out there, but we need to take more caution with those midfielders. They're wedging themselves between you, and that's not what we want. Make sure you're tight on them. Don't let those through balls get to them so easily. Strikers, I need you back when you can be. Leave those extra leads for when we're one hundred percent certain we can break that defensive line. That's the only way we're beating them today. Other than that, perfect work, all of you. Remember to track back where you can, watch that mid, keep it tight. Team on three."

"1.2.3 Team!"

You all disperse, tossing the now warmed ice towels to the sideline and running back out onto the pitch, the sun immediately returning it's assault on all of you.

What you don't notice is the concerned glance from Steph, who now sees the paleness of your face. Your sweating was a concerningly low amount, especially in this heat.

Regardless, the game plays on.

Half time can't come quick enough in your opinion.

You start feeling like the world is spinning a little... differently than what it should. Regardless, you shake your head and press on.

The number of times you hit the ground increases as it gets closer to the end of the first half, leaving you to struggle more and more to get up after each tackle.

At one point, you have to accept the hand up from Kim, who gives you a mildly concerned look as you stumble a little trying to jog back to position, but you wave the older woman off.

Thanking god for the whistle, finally blowing for half time, you make your way off the pitch, hoping the wave of nausea that came over you about two minutes ago would go away.

Making your way into the heavenly air-conditioned locker rooms, you find yourself collapsing a little heavy-handed onto your cubby chair, water bottle in hand.

The noise attracts a few concerned eyes, but you quickly straighten up, avoiding meeting your girlfriend's gaze, who stays watching you for a little longer.

You know Steph's just worried, but you can't help not wanting her to be. Especially not during games.

What you couldn’t see was the exchanged look she shared with your other girlfriend, who had seen your pale face when you'd stood in the circle next to her during the drink break earlier.

You weren't sweating nearly enough for it to be healthy, and they hadn't seen you pick up a drink after warmups when everybody else had, but they'd both brushed it off thinking they'd just missed seeing it.

Now though, they were worried you hadn't been careful with this weather.

Avoiding slouching too much, despite your exhausted muscles' protests, you take slow, small sips of water, not wanting to completely kill your stomach, especially not when the nausea was starting to lesson off now that you were cooling off again.

Your head was starting to hurt now, too, a heat headache setting in. Using the supplied wet cloths, you tried your best to keep away throbbing in your temples, which seemed to worsen the moment you were all told to head back out to the pitch.

A hand on your shoulder makes you jump as you walk out onto the pitch again. You relax a bit before tensing up at the look she gives you.

"You doing alright, puddin?"

You nod, covering a wince as the pounding worsens at the movement.

"I'm doing fine. Let's get back to it, yeah?"

Jogging back to position, you shake off the jelly feeling in your legs, brushing it off as just lactic acid setting in and push it down like everyone else does.

It's just twenty minutes later, after a much more scrappy start to the second half, you realise, oh shit, maybe this might be bad.

Struggling to get up for a third tackle in four minutes, you stumble to your feet again, waving off your now slightly fussing teammates, your girlfriends in particular.

"Y/n... maybe you should go off -"

You shake your head no immediately.

"I'm fine, it's only twenty minutes left anyway, I'll be fine. It's just muscular exhaustion setting in, I can push it."

Turns out, you could not, in fact, push it.

Just five minutes later, after receiving a wayward pass from the backs and turning to send it into the box, you're wiped out from behind by one of their midfielders, earning a free kick for your team.

Unfortunately, you hit the turf a little harder than you expected, and it completely winds you.

You take a second to get up, stumbling to your feet to move so Katie can set up for the free kick.

Before you can make it back to your full stance though, the nausea and woosiness come back full force and you collapse like a sock of rocks, vision blurring heavily as you fall, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist stopping you from hitting your head, but your vision still goes dark for a few moments.

A frantic whistle blowing and several bodies surrounding your own is what brings you back, the pounding in your head far worse as your chest rises and falls with laboured breaths.

The moment you went down, Caitlin and Steph are beside you, frantically calling the ref and medics over, and that's where everything goes dark again.

--------------------------

Everything feels like a blur to you, and you don't fully come to for a long time. Which scares the crap out of your girls. It's not until you're laid on a bed in the paramedic's office of the stadium that you fully regain consciousness.

You feel like absolute crap. Everything feels limp and achey as you shift on the cheap cushioning.

Both of your partners are sat on stools beside you. The doctor is sitting at the desk, writing on some paperwork.

"How you feeling, baby?"

"Like shit, what happened?"

They both frown at that, and the team doctor's head perks up at your answer.

Steph cautiously takes your hand.

"You don't remember how you got here? Or what happened?"

It's a little fuzzy and strain as you might. You don't recall anything that might indicate why you're in a doctor's office. You just feel like shit and are wondering why you couldn't remember anything past getting up again after being tackled.

You wrack your brain a bit more, realising you'd felt like you were practically melting under the heat. Was that why? Had you collapsed? Or had you been taken out? You remember copping a few tackles during the game.

"I- not really. Did I get knocked out or something?"

"Uh, no Y/n, it was heat exhaustion. You collapsed during the game. Can you tell me what might’ve happened beforehand?"

He moves to stand by you as well, clipboard in hand.

Furrowing your brows, you try to think back, but the pounding in your head makes it difficult.

"Not really, I just remember copping a few bad tackles. That's it, really. That and just feeling, I don't know, hot? It's just fuzzy after half time."

The doctor's brow creases slightly in thought, leaving a worried expression on both of your girlfriend's faces.

"That's alright, we can try again later, we'll keep you on watch with the medics at your training centre overnight in case anything comes up."

"In case anything comes up? Is she gonna be okay?"

The question out of Caitlin's lips makes him look up with a reassuring smile.

"It's perfectly normal for people who pass out to not remember the incident itself for a bit. It's just as a precaution. She should be fine."

She nods, and you let your head rest back on the pillows.

"Keep drinking water for us, I'll be back in about twenty to check on you. As for you two, I recommend you both go wind down from the game, take your showers, do what you need to do."

They both go to protest.

"Or if you wanna take turns, your bus will be leaving soon. We'll arrange for her to get transported back to the training centre."

Reluctantly agreeing, Steph moves to go shower and change first, Caitlin stubbornly still gripping your hand.

"I'm alright baby, you can go clean up."

But try as you might, she still refuses.

"I'm not leaving you here on your own."

You smile softly, thumb caressing her hand gently, though it turns into a slight grimace. Having your eyes open at this point is a bit of a struggle.

"You wanna tell me what happened now, or am I wrestling it out of Kimmy later?"

Caitlin shakes her head.

"Hush baby, at least wait until Steph gets back, and we'll tell you. Just rest your head for now."

You hum softly, letting your eyes fall closed again. You must drift off for a moment because it's Steph who gently shakes you awake again.

"Hey, no sleeping just yet, baby."

A soft grumble leaves your lips.

She runs her fingers through your hair, gently massaging your scalp, and it helps relieve the throbbing a little, to the point where you fully lean into her touch.

Pouting when she pulls away, you grab her hand and put it back again, which makes her chuckle softly, moving to sit next to you the bed.

"Still bad?"

Nodding slightly in response, you tuck your head into her lap and turn onto your side, letting her continue to comb through your hair.

"So, do I get to know how it happened?"

"We've gotta see what you remember first, baby. Let the doctor do his thing."

The whine from you makes her sigh softly.

"I know, but I wanna know what happened, though."

"You'll find out later, babe."

You look up at her, wincing at the blinding light of the office LEDs.

"But-"

She gives you a stern look but her tone remains soft.

"Patience, Y/n."

Huffing softly, you cuddle back into her lap, nose buried into the skin of her stomach where her shirt's ridden up slightly.

Her hand continues its ministrations while you wait for the doctor and Caitlin.

--------------------------

You do end up staying at the training facility. As the night progresses, and the pain lessens slightly with mild painkillers, the event comes back a little fuzzy, but not entirely. You vaguely remember actually conversing with your girlfriend's in the doctors office for a while before you fully came to.

That's probably what had them so concerned in the first place that you weren't fully with it. They end up allowing one of your girlfriend's to stay while the other goes home to rest, but, knowing Caitlin, she'd be up pacing a hole in the floor anyway, most likely texting Steph the whole time.

Being woken every two hours with a killer headache until eight the next morning wasn't pretty to witness. Your girlfriend winced every time the medic received a grumpy swipe as they woke you to quiz you in the middle of the night.

You would later feel bad, knowing they were only doing their jobs, but your beauty sleep is your beauty sleep, dude.

It's about nine the next morning that you're allowed to go home under the condition that if you nap at all, you're to be woken every two hours and if anything worsens, you're to go straight to a hospital over the next few days.

Your girlfriends are also under strict instruction to make sure you actually drink water for once.

You do get a visit from the girls over the next day or so, making sure you're alive still and not going totally batshit crazy. You also do eventually find out what happened.

"God babe, you just crumpled. Like, you got wiped the fuck out and when you tried to shrug it off and get up ready for the set piece, you just fell again. Lucky McCabe caught you or it would've been a worse head injury I reckon."

"Really? What happened after I passed out? Because I don't remember anything after that, just vaguely some conversation in the doctors office before he assessed me."

Steph's hand rests on your leg from beside you, squeezing softly.

"That's what was a little scary. You were talking to us. Conversing with us. You complained you were feeling way too hot. But then you kind of, I guess, come to a bit more. It's like you weren't even awake before."

Caitlin nods.

"You know you really gave us all a heart attack out there."

Sighing softly, knowing you'd been too stubborn to admit it, maybe you needed to be subbed off.

Steph rubs your shoulder.

"You just need to be more careful, babe, especially in a heat wave like this. We hadn't even seen you drink water when you should have after warmups."

There's a guilty look on your face.

"It was just a minor mistake, that's all."

The incredulous look you receive makes you wince slightly.

"Okay, minor mistake, slightly less minor consequences, yeah, I know."

They both shake their heads, Caitlin moving to sit beside you, arm around your shoulder, Steph moving her arm around your waist.

"Look, baby, we know you were trying to push through. But we love you, and we don't like seeing you hurt. Just be more careful, yeah?"

You nod your head in agreement and let it fall to rest on the brunettes shoulder, her hand tightening on your waist, to which you squeeze her leg comfortingly.

She was right. You were a dipshit at the time and totally put your life at risk because of some stupid game time. And you scared the life out of your family and friends whilst you were at it too.

They couldn't bear to see you like that. Neither could you frankly.

Never again.

--------------------------

[splitster]

answering more asks!!

featuring pom wraith, pingo, ocs?!, and older art check it out (three's some art 💖)↓↓

THANK you!! ohhh i do have old pikmin ocs... i actually revamped my old captain a while back, i can share him:

i had a whole crew of pikmin ocs who were a part of the S.S. Harmony, they were gonna be SUCH a nuisance to everyone they ran into...

i thought about making a rescue corps oc for fun. hrmm! maybe...

AHHH thank you!! i've seen a shocking number tags and asks from people saying that I'm apparently the reason they like Dingo now? and i have to say that is so mind boggling to me, because when i first played Pikmin 4 I didn't care about him at all!! he was a nothing sandwich to me... but then i drew him a few times... and started thinking... and then things went downhill and now i REALLY like him...

(referring to this post) i think dingo is better when he's withered

(referring to this comic) I HEAR YOU... I HEAR YOU... but if any tear at all would cause oxygen poisoning, i wouldn't be able to draw them all battered and cool :(

i imagine that there's a seal around the neck in case there's a breach in the suit's lining. so as long as their backpack (life-support) works and is connected to their helmets, then they can breathe✨

(referring to this post) Olimar would be horrified because he knows Louie, and if he sees that note there's only one thing it could mean! his coworker tried to eat pom!! if pom hasn't been outed as wraith and Olimar is questioning her, she'd just say Louie bit her and then refuse to answer any follow up questions 💖

Shepherd would be... concerned. she might think they have a weird fling going on and louie's talking about a kiss? she probably wouldn't realize Louie quite literally means he ate something from pom. oops!

that's a really good question... I'll be honest, with a lot of the "when and how did x happen" questions, there's not an official timeline or anything; the pom wraith au is sort of an umbrella with a bunch of different stories and what-ifs underneath it. although there was one story where louie does find out her secret!

louie and pom end up bridging their differences (with the help of olimar), and become good friends while pom is continuing the rescue effort. then there's a very unfortunate incident where pom and louie are away from the base and they're attacked... pom has to reveal herself to defend them and she accidentally hurts louie :(

its fine though, louie doesn't care what pom is. they're both freaks in his mind and that's all that really matters. he does end up having to defend pom from olimar (who's been made vindictive through his trauma with the plasm wraith) sometime later!! here's some older art:

sure

me too! they do NOT get along... louie's kinda pissed at her for chasing him around on PNF404 and beating him in dandori battles when he just wants to stay there and vibe. pom meanwhile doesn't understand him, he pisses her off too! she likes olimar a lot, and as an outsider it looks like louie doesn't appreciate the friendship olimar offers him. to someone who's trying to understand and participate in this whole friendship business, she thinks he's ungrateful and weird. they do not get along!! at the beginning at least...

AHHHH!!! THANK YOU!!! WAHH...🥺💖💖 i'm very glad you enjoy my silly little art style!! i want to make things very squishy so i appreciate that 💖

i don't think that man is going to live!

wait actually if you eat enough maybe you just turn into a wraith. that'd be scary! hopefully olimar's there to stop him

that's a fun thought! he would probably be able to sense that something is off about her. but he'd also probably just think "she's weird like me." honestly, the whole wraith thing doesn't really matter much to him -- the only thing it changes is that pom can now offer her tendrils as a skewer for his cooking at any time and location!

i think i'm gonna call her rose wraith!! and ohh, i didn't know that... i was just gonna call her rose wraith since she has a rose head. i'm creative i promise

(referring to this post i think) AHHH hehe... honestly, when Pom first learns about Dingo's fear of blood, she only tries to keep him from it because it's really annoying dealing with your coworker when they faint. he's like a sack of potatoes when he's knocked out. but yes, as they become actual friends pom will (subtly) do her best to keep blood away from dingo. it's fortunate she doesn't have any!

she might not get phobias, but she understands what its like to have a crippling fear, so she's empathetic!

THANK you. he has sunglasses. he's pretty cool

AHH THANK YOU... i like them a lot... 👉👈

let the marching pikmin give you the energy you need to practice🫡

[catboygirljoker]

curious on your thoughts abt master of basterds in general; imo i cant wait to see more of whatever the story has in store w/ him i'm intrigued (true of all the foretellers/new saga but anyway)

i have thought a LOT about the master of bastards (lmao) but unfortunately, necessarily, most of it is speculative. we know so little about him that any number of theories could be true given any number of imaginary other scenes in games that havent come out yet! (also a lot of the speculation is very much shaped by my fic, so it's stuff that'd be really effective there but doesn't have much textual support currently)

i honestly really love watching every scene he's in—not only because he's a lot of fun, his VA does a great job and his animations are all really expressive, but because IMO he's really well-written. he's...shockingly very grounded as a manipulator character, compared to like, Master Xehanort in Birth by Sleep (though tbc his scenes with terra were some of my favorites in the game!)

i think a lot about this scene in particular from Back Cover. the little bit at the beginning where he has what seems like a moment of affection with invi, right before he smacks her on the shoulder. it doesnt seem like it hurts her, but it's at least shocking and disconcerting—and though it might be a stretch to say this canonizes him being physically abusive to his students, i don't think it's a stretch to theorize that based on this interaction alone!

also, him keeping a laid back attitude with her while he gives her a task she seems clearly apprehensive about, sidestepping and minimizing her concerns, then doing the whole "oh you hate me you want me to leave—just kidding tee hee" routine that i think many people who have known toxic, manipulative people will be familiar with. he forces her to appease him, then ducks out of the responsibility for it. he maintains complete control of the tone and direction of the conversation and won't let invi rest for a second.

i have seen multiple people say that they had trouble watching, or couldn't watch, Back Cover because the MoM's behavior skeezed them out so much. i think that's a testament to his writing! they really pack a lot of slimy, awful, manipulative behavior into every scene he occupies. even then he's still likable, in my opinion, because he's still so damn fun to watch.

Back Cover is an excellent example of that Authority Figures Failing Those Under Their Authority theme i love mentioning so much—the way the MoM fails the foretellers directly results in the keyblade war. he foments an atmosphere of paranoia and distrust, an inability for them to rely on one another, an inability for them to act wthout his guidance, and this explodes into the keyblade war when they allow all of this to motivate them to send their students to their deaths.

clearly i dont think the MoM's treatment of them excuses their actions. i just love parallels and cycles and theames etc.

[benewol]

beat the shit out of them [Vin Jin x Reader]

this work is heavily influenced by @wannaeatramyeon 's works, especially her unhinged reader fic featuring vin!! no warnings, reader can also be considered genderneutral as far as im concerned just a bunch of cussing tbh. hope you enjoy :))

"Vin Jin."

...

"Hey, Vin Jin."

...

"I'm fucking talking to you!"

The next thing he feels is a harsh smack on the back of his head as he quickly catches himself before the chair can tip over.

"The fuck do you want?! Fucking crazy ass bitch," he rubs the now throbbing, sore spot you gave him, face scrunching up as usual.

Dramatic motherfucker.

"If you didn't tint your glasses over so much you wouldn't be getting smacked. You would've seen me preparing to swing, too," you smirk in retaliation, your arms moving from their crossed position to resting next to your sides while you're leaning against his table.

He merely sends you what you think is probably supposed to be a nasty glare and re-positions his legs on that same table, nudging your back with his polished sneakers.

So you continue talking.

"Mary's been trying to gesture for you to leave the classroom without making a commotion, you know."

"Okay, and?"

"Your bff needs you and that's all you can say? Really?" You roll your eyes.

"Can't be so important if it only took you to solve it."

"Fuck off."

"Lol, you first."

"Sure. Tell me why you keep tinting your glasses and I will."

His eyes furrow inquisitively.

"I don't need to do shit. Class is starting soon so you need to move your fat ass soon anyway, might as well do it immediately," his smug smile one of those you'd love to fill with a pile of some of his ridiculous sheets of lyrics crumpled up.

That's a good idea. You're adding that to your list titled 'what would piss vincent the fuck off'.

"Your sense of time is, unsurprisingly, tremendously shit. We have another half an hour left, you moron," you reach out your hand to flick his wide forehead, which he now sees coming and dodges, catching himself before falling yet again.

What a fucking loser, you shake your head and keep yourself from succumbing to laughter.

"Whatever. I'm not showing you shit."

"Come on. I'm sure whatever it is you're blowing it out of proportion," you reach out again to touch his glasses.

He reaches out too. To stop your hand from moving towards his sunglasses. And his grip is not as harsh as you'd expected it to be.

"Stop it. If you see it, I'll have to kill you."

"See what? You're being so ominous. Do you have weird rectangular pupils like goats or what?"

He sputters for a moment.

"That'd be funny."

"The fuck?"

"You could come up with a line like 'my eyes are like those of a goat, yeah, I'm the GOAT'," you press your lips together to stop the laughter from spilling out of your mouth.

That line was good.

He won't tell you that, though, because you were way too close to uncovering the truth.

He huffs, turning his head away from you and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

What he doesn't know is that his oh-so-clever self forgot to re-tint his glasses.

This in turn means the sun's rays hit his lenses so nicely you were able to catch a tiny glimpse of his two grey irises and the resulting pupils in his left eye.

Your breath catches in your throat.

A soft gasp makes his head turn back to you, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"What's that? Pulling a stupid line like that and immediately growing quiet?" He mumbles to mask his alarm.

You hum, and he notices your solemn expression, making him grow apprehensive.

"Weren't you Cheonliang's number one?"

"Still am."

"And Allied's number two?"

"Yeah."

"How come you don't just lose the shades and simply beat the shit out of anyone who comments on your eyes, then?"

He stares at you. Still occasionally having rubbed the wound you'd inflicted on the back of his head, he loosens his arms which were crossed behind it.

Placing them on his thighs, he balls his fists.

"Shut up."

He abruptly stands up and moves towards the door, shaking the table you were leaning against, making you furrow your brows in irritation.

Typical.

At least you'll know where to find him.

If things don't go his way, he'll just lock himself in the boys' bathroom and listen to one of Duke's albums.

You don't intend letting him flee the scene this time, though.

"Don't you dare run away now."

He doesn't know why, but he halts in his steps.

"Or else what, pipsqueak?"

He turns back towards you.

"Your eye adds to your nonexistent charm."

...

"Hello?"

...

"Earth to Vincent?" You wave your hand in front of his shielded eyes.

Turning on his heel, he doesn't leave without wanting to have the last word.

"Fucking weirdo, I don't need your pity."

"Asshole, I'm not pitying you!!"

What you fail to see is the faintest of rose-coloured blushes on Vin's cheeks as he puckers his lips, absentmindedly scratching at his lenses while sauntering down the hallway.

[synergysilhouette]

Remaking "Hogwarts Mystery" (Years 1-7)

This is my first time doing a rewrite for a mobile game, but I thought I'd try my hand at it, particularly since I feel like the game didn't live up to it's potential. To clarify, this isn't going chapter by chapter, but an overview of the school years. That said, SPOILERS GALORE. Now that that's out of the way, let's start off with general stuff:

Friendship matters. A big issue I had was that starting around year 5 or 6, it no longer mattered how close you were with your friends; unlike previous years, you no longer had the choice to include them on adventures. I'd fix that so you have choices on who goes on adventures with you rather than it just being a default number of people. Along with this, you'd maintain consistent friends; Rowan mentioned in Year 6 that you've been distant lately, and that's true, especially with them; Rowan was kind of always a background character on your adventures despite being your best friend. And possibly I'd reduce characters for a more intimate friend group: ie Rowan having Liz's traits (intelligent and rule-following), Penny with Chiara's traits, Barnaby with Diego's traits, Merula with Ismelda's traits, and Alanza with Corey's traits. This would leave Ben, Andre, Jae, Badea, Talbott, Tulip, and Victor unaffected (plus adding your quidditch friends, but more on that later). And possibly controversial option, but I'd make Merula and Barnaby twin siblings; I came up with the idea after removing Ismelda, and I think it'd explain why they stick together as a duo, and their similar background make for more synergy as twins. I'd probably also remove Beatrice as a friend due to her storyline being similar to Victor's and her not really being a big factor after Y6.

Further customization--I'm removing the familial elements of the storyline. While Jacob is still your brother, he's much closer in age to you (being about one or two years older, so you can go through school together), and you get to see your parents, go home, and establish what kind of background you come from, concerning your blood heritage. I feel like half-blood would be the most likely default in-universe (though muggle-born is also very possible), with pureblood being very unlikely here. I'd also show visual signs of aging; some characters such as Jae and Barnaby already look like adults when they're supposed to be 11, and everyone keeps the same appearance throughout the school years, making it easy to forget that 17 year-olds aren't 11. It'd also be cool if you could get an attribute boost based on your heritage, ie being part veela or merperson (though this may not be likely for a mobile game, since an aspect like this would probably not be changeable once set). Your dad wouldn't be leading "R"; that'd be Verucca instead, and their goal would essentially be Voldemort's goal of wizard dominance, but it's more global-scale now, recruiting purebloods from all over the world to help. If you're a pureblood yourself, dialogue with their members will be considerably nicer.

The story takes place AFTER Harry Potter's adventures, not before. Maybe even the year after his 7th year. I feel like it was very obvious that the OG HM game was riding off the coattails of the original, especially since "Beyond Hogwarts" coincides with Harry's school years. As such, this removes the Weasley brothers, Cedric, and Tonks from your friendship list, allowing more time for the other characters to shine and get attention. I do like the idea of some characters being in different school years, but it works out better if everyone is in the same year.

Side adventure characters have more involvement. Originally, Talbott and Chiara are people you just interact with in a couple side quests and become more involved in the main story in later years. In retrospect, they should've been included in the main story earlier on. I'd probably introduce Talbott in Year 3, based on when his Special Adventures pop up (Chiara isn't a factor here since I'm putting her characteristics into Penny). I'd also introduce Quidditch in Year 1 and allow for the Quidditich adventures to be weaved into the main story rather than seen as a side thing that all seems to happen in your 2nd year (according to the Special Adventures). While Murphy, Skye, and Orion wouldn't be involved in your fight against evil, they would serve a similar function of Alanza/Corey of taking your mind off of your adventures and reminding you of other parts of the magical world you can enjoy. Since Rowan and your quidditich team (plus Murphy) are in whatever house you're in, I like to think there's in a more intimate friend group, since you all hang out and study together, with whatever other allies that share your house weave in and out. Perhaps include the Wellnelly brothers as well, along with Rath.

Less Special adventures. I feel like some of them are unnecessary, like helping your friends prepare for the N.E.W.T.S. (the reward is that based on the subject, you can still miss a question and make a perfect score--but this means nothing if you follow an online guide), or repetitive like some romantic adventures, or something that could've been included in the main story rather than a separate thing, like helping Talbott find his special item. Then there's just some events like the Sorcerer's Olympiad that didn't seem to add anything to the story, nor was it interesting when compared to something like the Triwizard Tournament. And it SUCKS that some events are holiday-exclusives. Plus a lot of these wouldn't exist since they're focused on characters from Harry's time. And regular adventures don't exist since they don't offer rewards and most of them are related to your magical creature.

More involvement with other schools. There's a large appeal to that, I think; there are 8 known schools, but we've only had an event relating to Beauxbatons and Alanza not being a big enough character for us to learn more about Castelobruxo. Having more insight into Ilvermorny, Uagadou, Mahoutokoro, Durmstrang, Koldovstoretz, and any other wizarding schools would be cool.

NO VAULTS. It was pretty repetitive, especially since the better half of each school year was occupied with researching and finding it, with only two or three chapters having you actually there, and once there, it was pretty straightforward. I feel like this wasn't a very interesting storyline in contrast to the goblin uprising of "Hogwarts Legacy" (though THAT story could've also been better) and the Second Wizarding War during Harry's time. Another wizarding war/dangerous wizard is always an idea.

Attributes have a lower cap and most classes are optional--In my version of the game, you don't have to complete lessons, but it's recommended so that you learn spells that can help you on your adventures, as well as special interactions you could encounter from going to class. Since classes are optional, the attribute cap isn't ANYWHERE NEAR 120; I'd cap them at around 50 or 60, but the required points for them are lower since most people probably wouldn't grind if they didn't have to. (I know this is more suited for a video game though, since reducing the cap and making classes optional greatly reduces the need for and desire to have diamonds). And since your overall player level only seems to determine what accessories you can buy, I'd remove that altogether.

Glad to have that stuff out of the way! Now I'd like to get to how I'd change the story for each year at Hogwarts. I may tweak some of this later.

Year 1--I'd probably make it longer (not TOO long since it's the first year; maybe 20-30 chapters), and introduce Barnaby here since he's Merula's brother and thus probably more involved and attached at her hip, given how big he is on loyalty, though he wouldn't become an ally this year. Collaboration with Merula also doesn't happen here since she starts off as antagonistic; instead more focus is on Jacob, Rowan, Penny, and Ben, and Ben and Rowan become close friends over the school year (though not as close as you and Rowan). The year is mainly introducing you to magic and magic culture, and the vaults don't exist in this story. I'd also make DADA classes available this year, with the DADA instructor being a half-elf, and he ends up being murdered at the end of the school year. Your first Quidditch championship happens this year as well. There isn't a major "break the rules" situation where you're given a stern talking to this year, so you just get the 100 house points.

New Classes: DADA, Potions, Charms

New friends: Rowan, Ben, and Penny

Side quests (Some would need tweaking to adjust for current Hogwarts staff): Party Planner, Christmas at Hogwarts, Dueling Deathday Parties

Year 2--Again, more chapters here. Merula is more antagonistic to you this year, but Barnaby ends up becoming an ally towards you in the end due to your loyalty to your friends and personal discourse between him and Merula, and he will help you track down your previous DADA instructor's murderer. The current instructor is a by the book woman, who's more into visual instruction and textbooks rather than kinetic learning styles, which both Rowan and Ben enjoy. She's a temporary teacher who was homeschooled in her youth due to travel, but she is talented, and while she comes off as strict, she has a soft side for pretty much anyone but Gryffindors, who she sees as reckless based on what she's researched (Hufflepuffs are loyal, Slytherins are misunderstood, and Ravenclaws are studious). At this point, the discussion of forming a team (similar to the Circle of Khana and Order of the Phoenix/Dumbledore's Army) is brought up to train and track down the killer, bur nothing is seriously considered due to everyone being in their second year. Given that Bill isn't present, Andre is available for recruitment this year, and he makes disguises for you and your trio (which will automatically include Barnaby, but you can pick between Ben, Rowan, and Penny to join you guys). Merula taunts MC about her learning wandless magic here and there, with your adventures and Barnaby being a skilled dueler, singer, and magical creature expert (all of which are canon in the game, anyway) making her very insecure and feel a need to be stronger. Rowan is still injured during the confrontation with the murderer, though this results in the murderer being killed himself by the organization he worked for because Rowan is a pureblood witch/wizard. It's revealed the previous DADA instructor was killed because he was considered impure, being a half-breed. The stress leads to you bonding with Skye (who feels like a "nice" version of Merula), who becomes an ally here and a reminder of the good parts of being at Hogwarts. Given Andre also is involved with quidditch, you interact with him more often there than during classes. And the reason Barnaby and Merula are having conflict is revealed: they sent word to her that they're planning to escape Azkaban and come for them. At the end of the year, it's revealed they (and several others) have escaped.

New Classes: Tranfigurations, Flying

New Friends: Andre, Barnaby, and Skye

Special Adventures (Some requiring tweaking based on Hogwarts Staff): Become an Honorary Rocker, Comet, The Quidditch Cup, A Special Celebration of Hogwarts Teachers

Year 3--Again, we need more chapters. Starting off, the DADA instructor has changed again, due to the previous instructor having been injured battling against "R," but the new instructor is of little help, being a part-time worker from the ministry and a last-minute substitute. On your first visit to Hogsmeade, you're offered the opportunity to work for Zonko's, Madame Puddingfoot, or the Three Broomsticks, which you accept to explore the magical world beyond Hogwarts, which you accept because several Hogwarts students years 4-7 have started to disappear. Talbott becomes an ally this year, with his "Birds of a Feather" quest being part of the main storyline around chapter 7 or 8 ("Become an Animagus" is still a special adventure), and he shows you more isolated parts of the wizarding world, as well as Tulip helping you come up with ways to plot against "R" thanks to her creative pranks. The focus on extracurriculars is continued in Quidditch, with Murphy becoming an ally and helping you plan strategies against "R." Rowan is still reeling from the events of last year, but they're also important for brainstorming plans, and Penny, Barnaby, and Ben mainly work on their proficiencies in dueling, potions, and charms to protect themselves and their friends, however Penny, Rowan, and Barnaby end up being kidnapped as well. Jacob and your prefect encourage your intuition, but essentially acts as your protector from doing anything too stupid--and vice versa. It's revealed upon a failed attempt to kidnap Jacob that R is inducting wizards and witches whose ancestry is the purest--a Slytherin mentality, so half-bloods are permitted (if Jacob and MC are muggleborn, it'll be stated that they just wanted him because it's revealed that he's a seer, explaining his silver lime wand), explaining why many of your friends were kidnapped. Talbott managed to escape thanks to being an animagus, Skye managed to get to a brown and take to the sky to outmaneuver them, and Murphy was thought to be an "unattractive" option to join their ranks. Those who joined "R" willingly didn't return to Hogwarts, and while some of the kidnapped victims escaped, most of them were revealed to be trapped in the Forbidden Forest, some being subject to the cruciatus curse or imperius in order to be made to join. While Rowan and Penny are rescued, Barnaby and Ben are sadly not. Strangely, Merula is not one of the missing students, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by this.

New Classes: Herbology

New Friends: Tulip and Talbott

Special Adventures (Some will need tweaking based on Hogwarts staff): The Second Quidditch Cup, New Arrivals, Become an Anigamus, The Frog Choir, Wandering Sea Serpent, Slytherin Celebration, The Wisdom of Ravenclaw, Family Feast, Gryffindor Celebration, House Points, Hufflepuff Celebration, Pumpkin Johnny Rises, The Tale of Pumpkin Johnny, Secrets of Godric's Hollow

Year 4--Once again, more chapters. This year's DADA professor is Peregrine, who in this universe is a renowned wizard who loves to relive his glory days and wants to live vicariously through his talented students. He's not a bad guy, but very misguided; it's implied he's lost people he cares about against dark wizards and witches, and hasn't allowed himself to grieve and instead embraces toxic positivity. I like the idea that if you choose to be raised by a single father or by both your parents, Peregrine IS your dad in this game, resulting in more dialogue, including the fact that he took up the job to keep an eye on you and Jacob. Otherwise, he's just an unrelated teacher who's heavily dad-coded since he takes an interest in you. It's later revealed that the reason he takes interest in you (if you're not his child) isn't just because of a talent at regular school subjects, but your adventurous exploits and the fact that you're a Legimens (which you only just realized and are classified as of this year). Meanwhile, Jacob takes to the forest with his friends Olivia and Duncan in order to speak to the centaurs about divination after discovering he's a seer. You try to help him by speaking to the Divination professor, but she's less than helpful, and you instead focus on training your legilimency with the headmaster when you have time, though you tell no one about your skill except Jacob. You befriend Orion during your quest to understand destiny and the universe, as well as Badeea for her unique and artistic perspective. The Headmaster manages to rescue some of the missing students, and while Barnaby seems more or less the same, Ben is traumatized over being tortured by "R" due to being a muggle-born.

New Classes: Care of Magical Creatures and Divination

New Friends: Badeea and Orion

Special Adventures: Become a Prefect, First Date, The Third Quidditch Cup, Become a Prefect, Celestial Ball, Torvus and the Troubled Forest, The Valentine's Day Masquerade, A Dragon's Quest, A Bad Omen, Magical Creatures Everywhere, Making Mischief, Hosting the Beauxbatons

Year 5--After speaking with Peregrine, he decides to retire from the position in order to relax and work through his past trauma (if he's your dad, additional dialogue will say that you guys have been vacationing in various spots and he's more attentive to you, not just for your skills, but as a person). However, after taking Peregrine's advice about sacrificing yourself for your friends, you are given detention for your recklessness, even though Peregrine profusely assures the Headmaster that it is his fault. As such, you befriend Jae in the kitchens. The new DADA professor is a mute, bringing a unique perspective on spellcasting and manifesting your power through your wands via your feelings rather than your words. This causes a stir at the Ministry, as some officials think this is the gateway to practicing wandless magic. Whispers begin to circle that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts, putting all your friends on edge. Penny's identity as a werewolf is revealed, and your friends begin to become suspicious of each other, with Barnaby begging everyone not to fight, but to no avail, creating factions among the friends (such as a suspicious Rowan and a cynical Ben, your quidditch friends, etc.) Barnaby sticks to you in order to solve the situation, and Merula is surprisingly sympathetic to you, expressing vulnerability to you, and introducing you to a friend of hers, Kuzuhiro, who acts somewhat as a therapist to you. Rath notices your increased aggression in quidditch, and unofficially takes you under her wing since she harmed Skye back in the earlier years by accident and don't want you to do the same (though her attitude towards helping you depends on whether or not you believed her or not). To focus on the root of the "problem," you join Penny for the Wizarding Schools Potions Championship in order to bond with her and remind her of your friendship, and in a rare moment of vulnerability, she asks you not to tell, since they're all she has left (despite MANY consequences of harboring dangerous fugitives). You can promise not to tell or tell her that you've got to report them; regardless, they're found out, but how Merula interacts with you later is reflected in whether or not you promised to keep the secret. It is eventually revealed that a member of "R" had infiltrated the school, and your DADA professor is arrested as a result of a student reporting her practicing the dark arts. You attempt to use your legimens ability, but you find nothing to ensure her guilt. Before graduating, Duncan reveals (against Jacob's wishes) that Jacob had a prophecy of someone close to you betraying you, further stressing you out at the end of the year. You notice Talbott acting oddly at the end of the year, and decide whether or not he's a part of "R."

New Friends: Rath and Jae

New Classes: History of Magic

Special Adventures: OWL, CDAH, Ticket to Love, Valentine's Day Ball, An Enchanted Kiss, The Legendary Snitch of Hogsmeade, Out of Sorts

Year 6--This year, there is a great emphasis on exchange programs after the success of the Beauxbatons' visit, leading to Alanza to come to Hogwarts, and Kuzuhiro is the new professor, having been personally appointed by the Ministry. You don't share Jacob's prophecy with anyone but Rowan (against your better judgement), and as you suspect, they are weary of your friends, but vow to stick by you better than last year. This year, you become friends with Alanza, who is unperturbed by the revelation and dark circumstances at Hogwarts, becomes stronger as the two of you interact more so you can "get away" from everyone, and Merula is pushed in your direction by Kazuhiro, who wants more "unity" between his students and less conflict. Dementors begin to appear on the school grounds, despite no longer being used by the Ministry, leading many students and even some staff members to become suspicious of the Ministry and fearing that it's been corrupted once more, perhaps by "R." As such, you see even the teachers become more secretive as rumors swirl that the Ministry has planted spies at the school, and you wonder if Alanza is one of them. Your friendship with Merula comes to a head when she invites you to visit her and Barnaby's parents, and you agree to it, and you're joined by Alanza, Rowan, Barnaby, and your new friend Victor, a transfer from Beauxbatons (he was originally a Hogwarts student, but after being attacked by a vampire in his 3rd year, he had to regularly visit the a local magical hospital to help him overcome his bloodlust, only letting him go to Beauxbatons when he presses to continue his education). It's revealed Ben, Tulip, and Jae also followed you, and that Kazuhiro reveals he is the teacher working for "R." In the middle of the year, they kidnapped Talbott, who had discovered at the end of last year who Kazuhiro was, as he was the one who killed his parents. Kazuhiro reveals R's true goal; to reveal magic to the muggle world and establish supremacy (similar to Lord Voldemort's goals), and that they have achieved an international scale at this point, with several schools already having fallen--and the Ministry was covering the whole thing up. This sheds a negative light on Talbott, who had become a spy for the Ministry upon realizing who Kazuhiro was, as well as making the Ministry look bad for putting his life in danger and hiding sensitive information from most of the wizarding world. You are considered a significant member of the group, since you are a direct descendant of one of the four Hogwarts founders (which one it is is dependent on your house; it'll be the opposite of whoever you choose), which is used to dismiss your "inferior" blood heritage if you're not a pureblood--though other members of "R" will contest this. When Ben engages in a fight, Tulip and Jae sneak away to get your friends, which sends a chain reaction of students and staff discovering what's going on. With Ben defeated, you beg the present members of "R" not to hurt him, and they say he's damaged enough, and they will stop hurting him if you join them. Before you can answer, the staff members appear and chase off Merula and Barnaby's parents and arrest Kazuhiro. While things seem to be getting back to normal, Barnaby is revealed to be controlled by a legitimens, and kidnaps you while you're on the train leaving Hogwarts.

New Classes: Astronomy

New friends: Victor and Alanza

Special Adventures: Love Story, Hogsmeade Festival, Valentine's Day, Rivalry Respect and Rath, Head Boys and Girls, The Dragon's Treasure, Career Days at Hogwarts

Year 7--You wake up unsure of where you are. You're no longer in Hogwarts, and you're unsure if you're even in the UK. You discover that it is the first day of your seventh year, but you cannot recall the events of the summer, only that you have to keep ahead of individuals chasing you, those who brazenly wear clothing "R" on their clothes. You make friends with a red-haired adult, a Weasley, who says they are the new DADA instructor following Kazuhiro's arrest. They explain that the professor from Year 5 is helping to hunt "R" down after being released of false charges, and while they bring you back to Hogwarts, you're horrified to find out that this year is the Triwizards championship, resulting in your headmaster and most of your friends gone, having gone to France (as Rowan suspected "R" may try to pull something during the championship and bring you there). Slowly, your memories resurface as you recall being imprisoned for months until escaping one day somehow, though how you did, you have no idea. Only Merula remains among your "friend" group at Hogwarts, who makes your blood run cold at the thought of having less defenses than before, especially as several students give you strange glances. She's always following you, and you insist on focusing on your studies despite the frequent nightmares, and you eventually find yourself in the mind of Jacob, seeing your friends die in France. Eventually you convince your eccentric Muggle Studies professor (who is also new this year) to bring you to France during your Christmas break, and you reunite with your friends, several of whom have stuck close to Victor, one of the few students who is educated in French thanks to his stay there. Throughout your stay in France, you do battle with several members of "R," including Kazuhiro, who somehow escaped imprisonment. You recall Barnaby kidnapping you due to being controlled by a legitimens, and you fight the urge to become suspicious of the friends you had fought to reunite with. Jacob is also present as he took time off of work (having become an Auror last year) to come and see you, and is happy to find you okay when he didn't originally see you with your classmates. However, his actions make his friends worried. In a battle, Duncan is killed, as is Rowan (though your actions beforehand can prevent one or both of these deaths), and the trauma undoes the false memory spell, revealing that you were tortured by "R" in many ways until you managed to come around to their ideals, and you even helped them with certain criminal acts, including rescuing Kazuhiro from Azkaban. You defeat your friends while they're distracted in battle, and you must decide who's side you're on: "R" or Hogwarts.

New Classes: Muggle Studies

New friends: Merula

Special Adventures: NEWT, Summer Nights, The Curse of Love, The Fourth Quidditch Cup

Hope you enjoyed my idea! To note: I kinda fell off of this game series not too long ago, so I didn't have all the special adventures that are currently available.

[muttsterion]

Out of curiosity; before "The Scoots" and Post Covid, did you have any hcs on what job Kenny would have in the future? Or a general idea of what he would do? (Additionally, what were some popular theories on that concerning him during the early-to-mid 2010s era? I know 'high school dropout', [redacted], 'drug dealer' or some variation of how his parents ended up were often passed around.)

I actually remember quite a variety of HCs concerning Kenny's jobs/future. One of my own I could member before Mysterion revealed that apparently no body remembered his deaths I had pictured Kenny taking the job of a stunt double and doing the most dangerous stunts cause ha if he died he'd come back so no harm really done. Snc I imagined him getting paid handsomely for it because every movie studio would hire him. But...now no one remembers he can't die so I don't know if that'd still work. I still think maybe he'd make a great actor or musician maybe. XD

I also thought he'd work well with children due to how well he was taking care of and comforting little Karen in "The Poor Kid". Like I thought he'd make a great social worker esp with kids and maybe because of his experiences with the social worker from the same episode he'd want to make the system better for people and esp children who were going through experiences similar to his own. And there's also detective since he proved to be very observant as Mysterion. He was able to quickly determined who broke into his hero base wasn't Cartman because they were looking for something.

But in the past yeah I've seen different takes and theories in other fans' works. Him dropping out of high school and either picking up odd jobs or just disappearing were pretty common. I've seen fast food worker, mechanic, I remember one having Kenny working at a car wash? Also remember dealership Kenny...and a few others. But I also remember seeing other fics/works of Kenny getting through high school or some way somehow getting into an unexpected better paying job/s. I remember some making him a doctor and one made him dentist... they really liked medical field Kenny and others still saw him pursuing singing/music due to his interest in opera.

Yet still some other works had him just die and not come back due to have just been forgotten about. Ha that was a depressing one. But yeah Kenny's been given quite a number of job/future HCs/theories in the fandom.

[wardensantoineandevka]

I've been doing a LOT of thinking about how Nathaniel's two character sheets work, and how one is clearly drawing from the person he was during the war. (Journalist and Detective are fun choices because they're conceptually the same, really, just oriented in different directions, but that's for another post.) It's an interesting bit of mechanics because they not only have different abilities but also have different action ratings. This leaves a question of how do point shifts from scars affect the Detective sheet?

I don't know how Spenser did it, but if I was the one mechanically working this out, my solution to that would be: they don't.

The sheet clearly represents a snapshot of Nathaniel's life during the war. This is the character sheet for Lieutenant Trapp. It represents the focuses, approaches, perspectives, concerns, methods that Nathaniel had then. It is, as he terms it, a place. It is what is inside the metaphorical box in which Nathaniel compartmentalized his wartime experiences. When he takes a Brain mark to switch between them, it's not just for balance, but it also represents the stress of stepping into old habits and old patterns and old perspectives, of dipping back into a very traumatic period in his life.

Toward that concept, I personally would have made the Detective sheet static. It is a moment in the past. It shares marks and spent drives with the Journalist sheet because those mechanics represent his material reality, but the action points are redistributed to reflect the different ways of thinking and focuses between now and then. (Personally, I'd work it out so if he were to take a scar, it kicks him back to the Journalist sheet, knocked back into the present or however you want to call it, and the point shifts are made at the Journalist sheet.)

The ratings never changing means he is guaranteed that number; he never loses points in Focus or Survey or etc. However, the ratings never changing also means they cannot improve and have no opportunity to reflect the ongoing narrative. Scar point shifts speak to how a character has been changed, often creating a mechanical narrative of adapting and improving as needed to survive. A static Detective sheet does not respond to the current reality. It remains, unmoved and unchanged and unaffected by the situation, never adapting to what may be needed or happening now, never accounting for the ways that Nathaniel would be changed by these experiences.

I think that'd make sense mechanically and conceptually. It is, after all, a picture of a Lt. Nathaniel Trapp who last truly existed three years ago, and Nathaniel did change and adapt once in that way since: that's where the Journalist sheet comes in.

[vaiztohirez]

SVSSS College/University AU!!

(mostly STEM, and with assumptions arising from the American systems, bc that's what I know)

Shen Yuan: In accordance with my headcanons for canon, I think he'd still be studying evolutionary biology in this AU. He'd have fun with it, and I think he'd be decently good at it. Same energy as my roommate doubling Chem and Archeology bc Alchemy isn't an option

Luo Binghe: Shen Yuan tutored him once when they were in middle school and high school respectively, and Bingy majored in STEM about it. That and I think it would make sense with his backstory, for him to be studying biochemistry or molecular biology with the intent of becoming a cancer biologist. Like I said earlier, he'd be phenomenal in wet lab because of his skills in the kitchen (and general badassery) transferring to the lab. If he actually had Protagonist Powers I think he'd probably manage to actually cure cancer lol.

To get the relationships right, I think Ning Yingying and Ming Fan have to be studying something related to biology, but I don't have a good enough handle on their characters to decide what exactly within the broad broad field of bio they might be interested in. But I do know that the three of them were put in a study group during intro bio and managed to make that into actual friendship further down the line.

Shang Qinghua: I Knew he had to be Computer Science all the way. As someone who is intimately acquainted with the precise flavor of dying all CS majors are, he's absolutely got the energy. Plus, I had a daydream/plot bunny back when I was taking Algorithms that the type of procedural thinking taught in CS would be invaluable on An Ding. He absolutely still writes a ton to keep some semblance of sanity. If you see him in the CS building at 11 pm typing furiously it's a coin toss as to whether he's writing or debugging lol. He and Shen Yuan made instant hatefriends with each other in the university's anime club their first year, and slowly transitioned to being die-or-die (yes, that was not a typo, they are both dying at the end of this ride lol) best friends.

Literally everyone else I could think of under the cut:

Shen Qingqiu: I think he and Shen Yuan are cousins at most, so the QiJiu backstory can be had in some capacity. Of course, they can't literally be slaves named after numbers in a modern AU, but the separation/reconciliation/etc can happen. I think he's either premed and angry about it, or aggressively going towards academia. Math, maybe? I know those are two very different things, but whatever he's studying, he's mean about it, but very good.

Yue Qingyuan: I think he is in the med school at whatever university he's at. One of those freaks who manages to be dying entirely on the inside instead of the outside. This is why I think it'd be useful to have SJ|SQQ as premed, so their paths crossed. I think SQQ was delayed in enrolling by QiJiu Backstory, which is why they're in different years. He's maybe planning on going into family medicine, I think.

Mu Qingfang: How could I make the doctor character not a doctor? He's out of school, kind of. I think he's doing his residency at a hospital near the university. He's friends with YQY, and is Concerned at the bits of QiJiu Backstory he's picked up over the course of that.

Qi Qingqi: Thinks all you doctor types are a bit insane (affectionate, but deep down). I think she's a graduate student studying chemistry, maybe drug delivery if I had to pick something specific? No real reason, just vibes.

Liu Qingge: The emotionally constipated Sporty Ponytail(TM), so... Sports Medicine, obviously. I think he might be minoring in environmental studies or something, so there's reasons for him to cross paths with Shen Yuan. Story reasons, I mean -- he's doing it because he got interested in high school.

Liu Mingyan: I don't know if it's too on the nose to tie her to a field that'd make her excruciatingly aware of the reasons why to wear a mask, but I think she'd be studying Epidemiology or Public Health, something similar to that. I think she'd be good at thinking on the personal, community, and population levels, and balancing that.

Sha Hualing: So that she has some overlap with both LMY and LBH, and because I just think it fits somehow, I think she'd be studying molecular biology with the intent to go into virology.

Mobei-Jun: Honestly I'm not entirely certain he's in school. I think it might make more sense for him to be running the restaurant location Binghe works part time at. Which brings me to the rest of the demons!

Meng Mo: Head chef of the restaurant Bingy managed to finangle his way to a part time chef position at. No, I don't know how he managed that either, because it's a pretty high end restaurant, and "chef" doesn't tend to be a part time position from what I know. Binghe is just that good at cooking, I guess. Meng Mo is kind of mad about it.

Tianlang-Jun: He owns the restaurant and probably a bunch of other things, but he's rich-person bankrupt because he was suspected of murdering his wife (he didn't, obvs. Honestly it might be funny if Su Xiyan wasn't even actually dead). It was suuuuuper awkward when it came out that LBH was his biological son, but Binghe Refuses to touch business, so Zhuzhi-Lang is the successor.

That's all I've got for now!

[tgrailwar-zero]

Check out the Pad?

It really only seemed to come to life when MUSASHI came in contact with it. You could turn it on, but it seemed like she was the 'passkey'. So, she picked it up and booted it up.

It seemed like you had new messages, and a list of all of your fellow fighters.

-

New Messages: ✴{JAGUAR} - 1 New Message! (Hey, newbie!…) † {FATHER} - 1 New Message! (Hello…)

-

Recent Messages:

🗲 {THUNDR} - Fighter: THUNDERER

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❀ {JERAN} - Fighter: WINTER PRINCE JERAN ✩ {3STAR} - Fighter: TRI-STAR ☠︎︎ {MNSLYR} - Fighter: MAN-SLAYER ✘ {BLADE} - Fighter: WANDERING BLADE ☕︎ {CHAJIN} - Fighter: CHAJIN ♛ {JISHNU} - Fighter: JISHNU ✴ {EAGLE} - Fighter: CUAUHTLI 🗡{STRONG} - Fighter: STRONG MASK ➶ {KARASU} - Fighter: CROW PRIEST ༄ {MOBYDK} - Fighter: MOBY DICK ⟡ {ADAMAS} - Fighter: ADAMANT 𓆟 {WTRREV} - Fighter: WATERSIDE REVENANT 𖦹 {TWISTR} - Fighter: FLESH-TWISTER ☀︎ {CITT} - Fighter: SUN SOLDIER

-

MUSASHI opened up the two new messages, reading the one from 'JAGUAR' first.

--

-{JAGUAR}: -- [ Hey, newbie! So, you've got yourself a fancy new Flame Pad, made especially for fighters in the Flaming Bout! Maybe talk strategy, or just about fighting, or about whatever else comes to mind. I dunno. We're supposed to be monitoring these, but isn't that kind of creepy? I do scroll through the logs once everything's over. MAN there's some juicy stuff in those. I totally won't do it this time though, so just message people as you usually would. Best of luck! I've got high hopes for you! DON'T DISAPPOINT! You got picked because you're powerful, so I don't wanna see any slackers! This is serious stuff, and I wanna see that 24/7! Got that?! No playing around! PS: Anywaaaaays! There's a cute little cafe that's super nice? Wanna go? ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝) I'll totally send you an invite after matches! Bye bye~! ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ ) ]

--

MUSASHI closed the message, before opening the next one.

-- -{FATHER} -- [ Hello. This is Father Kotomine, one of the War Monitors. I will have the privilege of being the Overseer and referee for this event. How exciting. I will explain match rules when they begin, however there are three simple rules for your conduct when not engaged in fighting. 1. Remember your curfew, and do not leave arena premises after dark. 2. Be on time for your matches. Excessive lateness will count as a loss for the tardy individual. 3. Do not attempt to kill each other between matches. For number three, I would add the addendum 'at least where people can see'. Hahaha. That was a joke. If you are caught breaking those rules and reported to myself or Miss 'Jaguar Man' with proper proof, you will be punished for your infractions. Feel free to message me with any questions or concerns. Thank you. Best of luck in this Flaming Bout. ]

-

MUSASHI closed the Flame Pad, and returned it to the shared Inventory.

MUSASHI: "Hm. I'd assume 'Chajin' would be the tea master, Rikyu. Assassin would be 'Man-Slayer', Pretender is 'Jeran', Duryodhana is 'Jishnu'… Orion is 'Tri-Star'? The rest… I don't have a clue. I guess they're Solar Cell natives? That'd be my best bet."

MUSASHI: "Oh, and Moby Dick seems self-explanatory, I guess."

MUSASHI: "Anyways, this is my personal device, so if you're going to message people on it… be clear that it's you- my 'Manager'- speaking. So that if you say something weird and dumb, nobody thinks it's actually me being weird and dumb."