#to this point would disgust you. but i suppose i am meant to disgust. i am a creature in some respects.

[outlying-hyppocrate]

i hate being self-aware (i'm not, really, and i don't know why i'm saying this; or why suddenly i'm correcting myself and making an attempt at using proper punctuation; here, would you look at that, an oversaturation of semicolons; what a ciceronian sentence this has become; how so.)

[pomefioredove]

If you don't mind, could you do for Flirty prompts event: "Trouble never looked so goddamn fine." with Riddle?

absolutely o7 I had a lot of fun with this one

summary: "trouble never looked so goddamn fine" type of post: short fic characters: riddle additional info: romantic, reader is gender neutral, reader is not specified to be yuu, maybe a little ooc, riddle being a repressed victorian LOL a part of this event

"Are you done yet?"

Riddle knows, logically, that you're only doing this to get on his nerves. No matter how he chides, shouts, threatens (and makes good of those threats), you keep coming back for more.

You flash him a big grin, strawberry staining your teeth red.

He grimaces. You either have a death wish, or you're stupid enough to think that he won't punish you.

"We're on a schedule," he says, though you're already well aware.

"The unbirthday party ended an hour ago. You can't possibly still be eating."

"And let this go to waste?" you gasp, pointing your fork at the last remaining slice of tart. "That would be rude, Housewarden."

You're clearly being sarcastic.

Death wish, it is.

"There is no rule about having to finish an entire tart by yourself," Riddle crosses his arms. "Let alone one about having to stay after an unbirthday party has ended for it."

You roll your eyes. Testing his patience once again.

"I didn't say it was a dorm rule. It's just common courtesy. I'm sure Trey will be flattered once he sees the entire plate licked clean."

Riddle shivers at the mental image of that. "That is wholly unnecessary,"

"Maybe if you help me finish, I'll be done faster," you hum.

It's a trap. He knows it is. But...

"If it will get you back to your room, so be it," he sighs, taking a seat beside you. "I suppose I have room for half a piece. Shall I c-"

He turns, and is met with a forkful of glistening strawberry, mere inches from his lips.

"What is this?"

"Tart,"

He sighs. "No, what are you doing?"

"Sharing, like we said,"

You address him as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Riddle narrows his eyes.

"I'm not eating off that. Your mouth was on it,"

You shrug, eyes brimming with barely-restrained mirth. "I cleaned it,"

And he's supposed to believe that? He crosses his arms, glaring, but you still don't back down.

You're nearly as stubborn as he is. After an agonizing eternity of staring, he closes the distance between himself and the tart, eating off your fork.

Only to be met with another piece.

"I am not a child. I can feed myself," he mutters. He can feel his face turning red, and not from anger.

"Sure, you can, but I bet this is much better, right?"

Riddle sighs, taking another sweet bite. He really shouldn't entertain you; he doesn't want you getting any ideas...

You hum, clearly pleased with his compliance, and then take bite off the same fork.

He pales. "That's disgusting,"

"I actually quite like this tart, thank you," you say merrily, talking through a mouthful of strawberry.

Such a clear disregard for table manners... It makes his heart skip a beat.

"That is clearly not what I meant. And I'm not having any more,"

You scoff. "What are you, five? Afraid of cooties?"

Riddle's face turns redder than the tart itself. He stammers pathetically for a moment, at a loss for his usual sharp words.

"I-I am not! It's unsanitary to share utensils!"

"Is that a rule?"

He simmers, crossing his arms again. "As you put it, it's just common courtesy,"

You draw another forkful up, letting it linger in front of your lips for a moment. "Fine, I'll leave..."

Your hesitance turns into mirth, and you point the tart towards his own mouth. "But... just one more bite."

Riddle scoffs, studying your expression. He hopes you're joking.

You're not.

He knows he really shouldn't indulge you. You're enough of a troublemaker as it is... but...

...He leans forward and takes the bite. Trouble never looked so goddamn fine.

[puripurin]

PLEASEEE I NEEEEEEED MORE ARTIST YAN ( more specifically a detailed scene of the cum room<333)

also can I claim shark anon?

[Artist!Yandere introduction post]

— You slowly blinked open your eyes, and sleep wanted to take over your mind until you realize the situation you were in after recalling that you got hit in the head.

You looked around the room, only to realize it was the room you last stepped into, which was, unfortunately, that disgusting room. Now that you had been bound to a chair in the room, you had a chance to take in this horrid scenery.

Although you were disgusted, you were impressed because artist!yan excelled in many different mediums of art and was top of the class in his first year. Drawings such as charcoal, mixed-media— wait a second— is that a scuplute that was two times your height?? When did that happen??? This is one of few times you put your brain to good use because you never even recall artist!yan asking you to be a model for a sculpture.

Just then, the door opened, and finally, you saw the perpetrator. He gasped before putting down the food tray he held in his hands and shuffling towards you.

"My love!! I am so sorry! You weren't supposed to see this room!!" He weeped pathetically as he dramatically fell close to your knees and rested his head on your lap, knowing that you couldn't even move due to how tight the ropes were.

"Um, was this necessary??" You stared at him in disgust. He choked back a fake sob and turned his head away.

"Yes! Only you deserve to be drawn and scuplt—"

"I MEANT THE DRIED UP CUM STAINS IDIOT!"

Hoi. I'm not sure if you wanted exactly this, but i was slightly drowsy while reading it. Yea, you can be shark anon. I'm still kinda new to tumblr, so imma just gonna assume that i can identify by emojis n shii. Also yall really like yan artist that much.

😶 yall like having a dedicated cum room from a yan? I thought i was makin shit up cus i was just writing until i got to a point where i thought it would be okay to finish at. ngl i had no idea what the intro post to artist yan would end like.

The only reason why i did artist yan was bcos of one of those "Kings Choice" (i think) ads 💀💀💀💀 pls i cant with myself sometimes. Anyways wnough rabling im too tired for this shit.

[selenitesdawn]

Temperance (2/3)

pairing: wanda maximoff x female!reader plot: Your best friend Kate convinced you to do charity work in Sokovia with some of your old classmates, including your former bully Vision and his girlfriend Wanda Maximoff, who you inconveniently took too much of a liking in. warnings: 18+ !! minors dni. wanda is with vision... bad words, allusions to suicidal thoughts, angst. mild sexual content. that’s it. i think <3 word count: 2500

: Part 1

Once again, you laid awake at night, thinking about Wanda. Ever since you've met her, she's been the only thought on your mind. Well, not quite literally. Of course you still had time to worry about other things. But as soon as you laid in silence, it felt like your brain was broken. No matter how hard you had tried, in the end it was all Wanda. You were sure that after this trip you'd have to put yourself in a mental hospital. Or at least have a bunch of therapy sessions. How else were you ever supposed to return back to your normal life after you met her?

“Time to get up you fuckers!,” roared Bucky from the ground floor. His raspy voice echoed through the halls of the huge building you were sleeping in. Still half asleep, you turned to the side and looked at the time.

Fucking hell.

You felt like you've been hit by a truck. Before you even had a chance to sit upright, the door swung open.

“Get up, princesses. You don't get paid for lying around.” ordered Bucky, who was still standing in the doorway in his pyjamas.

“Bucky, we're not getting paid at all. Besides, it's only 6 o'clock. Since when do we get up so early?” you replied, obviously annoyed.

It wasn't that you didn't feel like helping anymore. Making a difference was a nice feeling, especially because you felt like you hadn't contributed anything meaningful to the world in recent years. You might as well have not existed at all, you always thought to yourself. The days were all just a blur. But now you were here and everything was different. Getting up earlier also meant seeing Wanda for longer. You didn't quite know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. You wanted to see Wanda. Of course you wanted to see her.

“We are getting paid with love and gratitude, so get up,” Bucky said firmly. He grabbed the first object he could find, in this case luckily a stuffed animal, and threw it at Kate, who was still asleep next to you.

“You too Kate!,” Bucky warned.

“I'm awake!!!,” Kate grumbled and threw the stuffed animal back in a heartbeat, right against Bucky's head.

Wanda and Vision were asleep in the next room. On your first day here, you thought that would be a good thing. At least you'd be close to Wanda. However, Vision wasn't included in your calculations. The first time you heard banging against the wall between your room and theirs, followed by dampened moans, a cold shiver ran down your spine.

No fucking way.

You had met Wanda for the first time less than 24 hours earlier. When you and Kate were standing in front of Vision's luxurious private jet, you almost failed to see the vehicle. You were busy working on your suitcase when you looked up and saw her. Wanda was standing just a few centimeters in front of you, talking to the pilot, when she looked over and smiled at you. In that very moment, your world has been turned around. You don't know if you imagined it, but she wasn't just quickly grinning at you. It felt like minutes were passing, the pilot next to her engrossed in a long monologue. You don't know what he was talking about. All you know is that at some point you had to break eye-contact because it felt like she was starring right into your soul. Almost like she was reading your mind. Since then, it's been all going downhill. Getting up early means seeing Wanda for longer. And seeing Wanda is probably not good for you. You can't bear a broken heart right now. You just wanted to help dogs.

“Vision get your ass up and put some clothes on man, that's disgusting,” you heared Bucky shout from next door.

Why am I still doing this to myself?

By 8 o'clock, everyone had managed to get out the door reasonably fresh. Vision had rented two extremely expensive cars from his daddy money, which you used every morning to drive to an animal shelter in the north. The journey took about 40 minutes. Something that could have been easily avoided if you hadn't had to rent the only available mansion in Sokovia. But who were you to judge.

“Babe, I think I want to drive the Lambo today and give y/n a ride. Please?”

You turned to your right and saw Wanda looking up at Vision with an innocent smile, her arm wrapped around his bicep. You didn't know what to say. Whether you should say anything at all. Why would Wanda want to give you a ride? Does she want to be alone with you? Would you even survive being alone with her? Vision looked at Wanda critically, then his eyes drifted to you.

“Um…sure,” Vision replied, somewhat perplexed. He seemed just as surprised as you were.

“I'm going with you guys,” Kate said almost in the same breath and put her arms around Steve and Bucky.

Of course Kate knew how you felt about Wanda. You told her straight away, otherwise you probably would have gone mad. Now she grinned mischievously at you.

And suddenly you found yourself alone in the car with Wanda. You don't remember how you got into the car, but you could swear your heart was pounding in your throat. Wanda, on the other hand, looked calm. She always looked calm around you, as if nothing could faze her. She had her left hand on the steering wheel, her right arm resting loosely on the center console. You couldn't read her. Not even close. Her eyes were fixed on the road, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. You, on the other hand, were nervously playing with your hands and tried to keep your focus on your surroundings. While you started counting the trees you were passing in a desperate attempt to not lose your shit, you noticed that the ride was already halfway over and Wanda hadn't said a word.

Why did she want to drive with me if she wasn't going to say a word to me? Does she expect me to say something?

But what could you say? You didn't know much about Wanda and you got incredibly nervous around her. It's not as if you had nothing to say. The contrary was the case really. You wanted to know everything about her. What her favorite books are, what movies remind her of her childhood, what perfume she wears. What perfume does she wear? Whenever Wanda was close to you, you felt almost bewitched. Her smell was definitely etched somewhere into your brain. But you couldn't ask that. Sometimes it's better to say nothing than to break something. Something that doesn't even exist yet.

But then you looked to the side. And Wanda smiled at you. You hadn't noticed that you were standing at a traffic light. The first rays of dawn shone into her moss-green eyes and you couldn't think straight. You had to take the chance.

“Hi,” was the only word that left your lips. You said it quickly and energetically, as if you had just met each other randomly on the street.

Wanda smirked and returned a somewhat confused “Hi?,” before the traffic light turned green and her gaze went back to the road.

Great y/n, really great.

After you managed to somehow compose yourself, you tried again. “I-... wanted to thank you. For letting me see the Lamborghini from the inside. That's really kind of you.”

Wanda chuckled, her eyes still focused on the road, “Don't be silly. It's my pleasure.”

Usually either Wanda or Vision were driving the Lamborghini to wherever you guys were needed. But it was always the two of them, alone, together. The rest of you would take the other car. At first you were upset about you and Wanda never driving together. Sure, Kate, Steve and Bucky were probably a lot more fun to drive with. But you were wondering what kind of music Wanda was listening to. If she had a certain playlist she would put on in the car. Now you were sitting next to her and the volume of the music was too quiet to hear much.

“What song is this?,” you asked quietly. It was supposed to come out louder, more confident.

Wanda turned her head slightly towards you again.

“Excuse me?”

You could already feel the blood rushing to your cheeks. She didn't understand you. And now that you had to repeat the question, you realized how stupid it was. You could have asked something, just anything else. Show that you're interested in her. But instead-

“Y/n?,” Wanda asked with a worried look. Her head tilted a little to the side. You were getting so hot it was almost unbearable.

“Sorry, did you say something?,” you asked, your cheeks flushed.

Wanda was silent for a moment and then smirked again.

“Y/n, you were saying something.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I-. Just asked what song is playing. But that was a stupid question-”

Before you could finish, Wanda firmly put her hand on yours. You hadn't realized that you were nervously tugging at the hem of your jacket. Now her hand was holding yours still.

“You don't have to say you're sorry sweetheart,” she said with a calm expression, her eyes fixed on the road again. Wanda lifted her hand from yours and turned the volume up. You immediately missed her touch. How intense it felt. As you looked to the side, you saw Wanda smiling.

“This song is one of my favorites. My brother and I listen to it all the time when we hang out.”

“You have a brother?” you asked, genuinely interested.

“Yes, a twin brother," Wanda replied, her smile only getting bigger. “His name is Pietro. We were attached by the hip when we were kids.”

You spent the rest of the journey talking about Wanda's family and why Pietro wasn't in Sokovia to help the street dogs. Wanda had suggested it to him, but according to Wanda, Pietro has “more important things to do”. It turned out that Kate was right; it was Wanda's idea to come here. As a child, she had always wanted to take all the street dogs home with her, but her parents didn't have the money or resources for a pet. They could barely support the family.

“Today I'm in a position where I can really make a difference. I guess that is all I have ever wanted. Changing something for the better,” Wanda said, her tone carrying sincerity.

“You should be really proud of yourself Wanda,” you responded, the admiration you felt for the woman in front of you written all over your face.

“Thank you y/n. I really appreciate it,” Wanda retorted, placing her hand gently on your knee. Even through the fabric of your jeans, you could feel how soft her hand was. Her index finger began to circle around on your knee and it took a lot of self-control to not let out any inappropriate noise. You bit your bottom lip to suppress your building excitement, your eyes everywhere but on Wanda. You two just had your first decent conversation and you weren't about to let it go to waste. But before you could collect yourself, the hand on your knee lifted and you felt two fingers under your chin. Wanda turned your face effortlessly in her direction. One could think that the look on her face was innocent and sweet. That her thumb didn't intentionally brush against your bottom lip, trying to get a reaction out of you. But you knew better.

“You don't have to hold back y/n. You can't hide from me anyway,” Wanda murmured, her grip on your chin slightly tightening.

And before you could process what situation you were in, your alone time was over. Wanda couldn't even bring the car to a halt, Vision already knocking on the window with a smarmy grin on his face. He had once again shoved a toothpick between his teeth, probably because he thought it would make him look cooler. When Wanda got out without looking back at you, Vision took a good swing and slapped Wanda on the butt. You didn't understand how Vision had managed to pull Wanda. You wondered if Wanda knew how Vision treated you back in school. How could Wanda fall in love with such an asshole?

“Y/n?,” you suddenly heard from your right side. Kate had opened the passenger door for you and was grinning in your face.

“Are you ready?” she asked with a sly smile.

Without Kate, Vision would probably have bullied you into adulthood. But rich people always have to play nice with each other. Being friends with Kate has at least always guaranteed that no one dares to put you down. And somehow she's become your anchor ever since.

“Sure, I'll come,” you said a little frantically and got out of the car.

Today you were just on site, making sure that all the new arrivals were bathed and cared for. It was actually a relaxing job, but your mind was racing. You kept losing your focus when the redhead crossed your path. You tried to stay cool, to pretend that you hadn't been up all night because your thoughts about Wanda wouldn't let you sleep.

“And? How was the ride?” Kate asked excitedly as she sat down next to you on a bench, a little away from the others.

“Good, I think.”

“Good, what else?”

“Nothing more.”

Kate sighed and looked at you critically.

“Come on y/n. You've wanted nothing more than to be alone with Wanda all these days. And now you're saying it was good?”

Kate had this way of not leaving you alone until she heard what she wanted to hear from you. And in the end, you couldn't hide anything from Kate anyway. So you started to tell her. What you talked about, that Wanda told you about her family. And, of course, that her hands had found their way to you. Once again. She's been driving you crazy the last few days. Sometimes it's a light touch on your arm, sometimes a hand on your shoulder, sometimes her hands end up on your hips. You wondered if you were just imagining the magnetic bond between you two. Maybe Wanda was just a touchy person in general. It wouldn't be the first time you imagined someone liked you more than they actually did.

“Well, Wanda hasn't touched me, as far as I know, in the last few days. Or at all,” Kate recalled.

“Do you think I'm imagining things Kate?,” your concern clearly written on your face.

“I don't know y/n. But either way, you should be careful. We don't know Wanda well and I don't want you to come out of this hurt.”

You really wanted to listen to Kate. But deep down, you knew it was already too late. You were too deeply invested in this. Wanda already had you wrapped around her little finger. And it wasn't just you who knew that. Wanda was aware of it too.

: Part 3

[deadghosy]

“Patience”

SLYTHERIN OC X HUFFLEPUFF READER

Dynamic: reckless x nurse

Prompt: when the healer comes to the rescue or needs the rescue.

Warning: violence, blood mentions, fluff, and slight suggestive.

How in the hell are you supposed to tame a wild snake when all he does is get into trouble. Cleaning your boyfriend’s knuckles was not on your list for a relaxing evening. Christopher Locks, a Slytherin boy who had taken your heart back in 4th year was certainly sitting in front of you after he had gotten into a fight with a gryffindor. You were tired of these house rivalry as it just seemed dumb as hell. “Really Chris? Why can’t you ever just stop acting like a dimwit.” You said throwing the boys slightly big hands at his legs. Christopher tilted his head a little before smirking. “Why can’t I have my future spouse tend my wounds? I choose you over these bloody nurses in the hospital wing any day.” You only sighed once again feeling him pull you to his lap. “Chris.” You flicked his head which only earned a small laugh. “Im not a nurse..or even a specialized nurse at the fact.” Grabbing his hand again and dabbing the cotton swob with alcohol gently on the spilled knuckles. “Yeah but..” he says whilst his other hand resting on your thigh.

“Does it really matter love?” He looked up at you with those dangerously low eyes. You felt your breath get taken away by those green eyes of his. You look away from him and back onto his knuckles. “Other hand please.” You said holding out your own hand for the other you haven’t tended to yet. He lended you his hand with a smile as you quickly get to work. You were begging Helga Hufflpuff for patience as sometimes you didn’t have the patience to keep tending your lover. “I hate you…” “I love you too darling.”

It was now another "normal" day, or so you wish it was. Having a Slytherin boyfriend meant that some people would have problems about a hufflepuff and a Slytherin being together as a Slytherin is evils while a hufflepuff is an angel. Honestly you didn’t give a care in the world for people trying to trash talk your own relationship with your lover. Honestly Christopher is a lovely person after all. Protective, charming, funny sometimes, and very much a good lover. Hell, he had given you a promise ring that had your favorite gem in it. It was like you were swooning over him all over again. Your love sick thoughts were cut off by a student, a Gryffindor of kind to shoulder check you. “Ah, apologies—” “Ew. Aren’t you that hufflepuff dating Locks?” The gryffindor said with a disgusted face. Your face faltered into one of a frown and distaste. “Yes..I am.” You said eyeing the student.

“Yikes! I feel bad for you and your relationship. To even date a Slytherin might as well be foul to even imagine. Or maybe you’re foul yourself.” The student started to walk towards you, making you uncomfortable and back up. “Please back up—” the Gryffindor cuts you off, “I’m thinking that maybe you were forced into a relationship with that bloody snake. Maybe you are just blind and an imbecile to even see what’s in Locks.” You narrowed your eyes, as you opened your mouth to counter on what was said. Christopher came around the corner with a dark look. “There you are love..” he said with a dark tone. His eyes were sharp into the student that seemed to now back away from you. “Is this person bothering you?” He had now stepped in between you and the Gryffindor, Christopher already heard what had happened earlier. He just wanted to see if the problem needed to be solved. You looked between your boyfriend and the student, and nodded your head confirming his accusation.

He smirked at the student in front of him, making sure you stayed behind him before he started talking. “So mate, I see you’re starting trouble with my love.” He puts his hand on the student’s shoulder, gripping it to the point his defined hand was showing veins. “I shall say, if I see you messing with them again.” He leans against the person’s ear. “I’m breaking your face and wand.” His voice was low into their ear, gripping the shoulder with a deadly grip. The student made a sound of displeasure and it was enough to make Chris smile at that with a dark look. “Do I make myself clear?” Chris then punched the student’s stomach making the poor person kneel down and hold their stomach. Your eyes widen with a gasp. “Oh yeah..and that’s for calling them names you prick.” Chris grabbed your hand and walked away from the agnozing crowd that seemed to grow large at what happened.

You frowned, “that wasn’t necessary chris…” Christopher bit the inside of his cheek. “You know what isn’t necessary? That bastard making fun of you. Even calling you names love. And I will not stand for that.” He said looking at you, squeezing your hand as well. You sighed at this boy, “what am I gonna do with you..” you said walking side by side with him fully. “..you could give me a kiss.” You looked at him with a shocked face. Smacking his arm with your free hand he laughed. “Kidding, kidding..or am I?” He bellowed out a laugh for a second time as you let out a small giggle. You felt a little better getting out of that situation, and he knew it as well.

But sadly, it wasn’t the end of it.

Screams erupts the halls as you were walking with another hufflepuff, Elizabeth to class. You raised an eyebrow and Elizabeth squinted her eyes before screaming. “Omg! Isn’t that your boyfriend?!” Your own eyes widen as she pointed over to a crowd of students in a circle. You could only see two heads, one head was definitely Chris but the other wasn’t. “What?!” You yelled shocked, you started to run over there. Pushing through the crowd that’s when you see Christopher throwing a punch at the student you seen harassing you yesterday. Apparently the student didn’t learn their lesson from yesterday and had insulted you to Christopher’s face. “Cmon mate, throw a good one while at it!” Christopher said with a smirk, he gestured with his hand towards the student who whipped out their wand. Swiftly Christopher dodged a depulso spell, without hesitation the Slytherin boy whipped out his own wand and depulso the student away. The crowd ooh’s at this as the student was laid out on their arse, you looked at the student who seemed to have a slight bloodied face. Then you looked your Slytherin who had surprisingly clean knuckles, a little red on them. But clean.

“Christopher Locks!” Christopher looked at his beloved with a smile, showing off his sharp canines. “Ah, my dear badger. What brings you here love?” He was acting as if he didn’t throw that waste of time Gryffindor across the hall. You only narrowed your eyes as you walked up to him, he still kept a smile watching you closely. “…why must you cause mayhem everywhere you bloody go!” Christopher was going to answer before you grabbed him by the hood of his cloaks and drag him off from the crow that now surrounded the knocked out Gryffindor. “Love please slow down or else—” “I don’t give a rat’s arse! I worry about you too much for you to only start another fight?! What if you get suspended from the school?! I swore, you need patience to think before acting out.” You were obviously upset and it made the Slytherin frown.

The walk from away the crowd turned into him taking you to the Slytherin’s house. “Pureblood” he said as he let you walk in first and then him. You didn’t even look at him as he sighed. You had walked ahead of him, that was before he picked you up bridal style and took you to his room. “Hey! Put me down you idiot!” You tried to get out of his hold, but you knew if you did you would’ve busted your own behind on the floors. “Can’t, I gotta show you I’m sorry my love.” He opened the door with his hand and closed it with his foot. You only huffed when he set you down. You looked at him, eye to eye to see he had no expression before he leaned his head towards you.

“I’m sorry love..” his voice was low, slowly his hands grazed your waist. You pouted while his eyes were clearly onto your lips. He dipped his head lower capturing your lips perfectly onto his own. Your eyes widen before relaxing, wrapping your arms around his neck. He chuckled into the kiss. The kiss was passionate before turning sinister. He bit your lower lip asking for permission, and you clearly gave him it as he pushed you against the bed. Claiming dominance over you. Your hands gripped his back as he pushed back and licked his lips. “You drive me fuckin' crazy angel…” he said with a low growl. Before he could even say anything else mattheo came in, ruining the moment. You and Chris looked at the door, your face showing clear embarrassment as Christopher was nonchalant. Poor mattheo only saw a hufflepuff looking flustered with bruised lips from kissing, and his housemate that had disheveled hair and a cloak that seemed to drift off of Christopher’s shoulder.

“Yep I’m gone.” The riddle brother said, closing the door quickly. Chris only shrugged and kissed your lips one more before sitting on the bed beside his darling. “Think he’s gonna tell the others?” You said to the Slytherin boy next to you. Chris only shrugged again, slithering his hand to hold yours. “The others wouldn’t care that I’m dating a lovely badger like you my dear.” Chris showed a soft smile, his low eyes showing protectiveness. You giggled squeezing his hand happily. “Awww.. you’re so cute when you’re sweet” Christopher immediately jokingly gagged when you called him sweet but he held a smile on his face. “Cmon now love, you know I can’t ever be mean to you.” He says leaning his face down to yours to give you a small peck. After that the rest of the day and night was trouble free. He knew he had to learn patience just like you.

[balkanradfem]

So... I'm about to write something messed up, that I learned today and I'm freaking out. If you're from balkan and you knew this please message me and explain how.

I was on wikipedia, reading the page 'Human' because I was curious what it said, and honestly that article is unhinged and sounds copied from an alien textbook. It goes over the history of human development and at one point starts going over slavery and I accidentally clicked on 'atlantic slave trade'. Since the page was open, I thought, why not learn more about this, always good to know about history of slavery since it set the world up into what it is today.

So I am reading, and it explains how big empires relied on slaves to produce sugar, cotton, and other commodities, and at first trafficked and sold people from Africa for this, but then also incorporated religion as a judgment of who can be a slave. So they weren't supposed to enslave people of their own religion, but could enslave someone they believed to be a heretic. Catholics were enslaving orthodox christians and muslims could enslave shia muslims.

I am reading this and thinking how religion is even more evil than I originally thought and this is disgusting and then I read the words 'balkan slave trade' and I'm just ????. Like what do you mean. I know I havent paid attention in history but come on. That I would surely remember?

So I click it, and find out. In 14th century, balkans were pagans, and there was also 'Bogomilism' religion which meant 'dear to god' and it was anti church, gnostic practice that went against christian hierarchy. Since balkan was on the religious borders of christianity and islam, they were allowed to be taken slaves and were trafficked via port in Dubrovnik. The pagan religion of balkan was the confirmation of their slave status, and Bosnians were most aggressively targeted. Women were trafficked to be house help in Italy, while males were turned Egyptian soldiers. The practice stopped when Ottoman empire claimed balkan in 15th century at which point the slave trade was absorbed into the ottoman slave trade.

I've never even heard of any of that before. I'be been mad about destructiom of pagan religion for years but they actually enslaved and trafficked pagans? I didn't know. 

Then I wondered why I didn't know, and asked wikipedia to show me the same article in croatian language. It didn't exist. In fact, the article only existed in english language. I then googled 'balkan slave trade' in croatian. Zero results. Nothing. It wasn't that I didn't pay attention, there are no sources about this written in my language!

We just DON'T TALK ABOUT THIS??!!

Was the only way for me to find out a miniscule chance I stumble on it accidentally on wikipedia? I need more info. Who knew about this and why is it hidden. I need to know everything. I want to understand why things are the way they are. 

[beta-therapy]

You are not Entitled to Sex

Society has made massive strides in allowing women to be sexually free, the most important of which being the development of effective technology for contraception and female reproductive health, as well as the large-scale social destigmatization of public displays of female sexuality. Although this societal transformation is only just getting started, we are now at a point where women in Western countries can dress how they want in public without getting judged (for the most part; misogyny still exists but more and more people are taking a stand against it). We are at a point where women can have sex without having to worry about getting pregnant. As such, the downsides of sexual promiscuity have been eliminated, and women are no longer required to constrain themselves to a monogamous relationship in order to have sex. They are free to have sex with whoever they want without being forced to settle for a man who will actually dedicate himself to a long-term relationship.

And we are all familiar with the main result of this sexual liberation: a small minority of hyper successful men get to experience the vast majority of sexual encounters, and if this is not you, then you either remain a completely sexless virgin, or you have to fight for crumbs of attention from older, less attractive, or “ran-through” women who don’t respect you and will cheat on you in a heartbeat. After all, women fantasize about sexual encounters with hyper successful men, and in modern times they are free to act out this fantasy without having to worry about whether the man will stick around or not. We as a society have outgrown the “ideal” from ancient times of a 1-1 male to female pairing where sex is practically guaranteed to anyone willing to commit to a relationship. Now, your mere willingness to commit to a woman does not make you worthy of sex. Society is now embracing the fact that not all men are meant for sex.

For many men, this is a tough pill to swallow: that just being a good guy with a decent personality does not mean that you are entitled to sex. It can feel quite frustrating when you see women in public dressed in a way that flaunts their sexuality, but you also know that this display is not for you. Furthermore, any attempt you make at flirting or trying to make a sexual advance on these women is met with extreme social blowback. Who do you think you are? Trying to “pick up women?” They’re not just sexual objects for your disgusting pleasure, perv. Learn to respect people’s boundaries. Women should be able to exist in public life without getting harassed by lonely horny men who think their provocative outfits are an invitation to disturb them. The toughest pill to swallow is the fact that yes, staring is harassment, and if you get caught making a woman uncomfortable with your inappropriate glances, you deserve to get kicked out of whatever place you’re in, and you likely will.

“But she’s asking for it, right? With what she’s wearing, she’s advertising her sexuality on purpose! How am I supposed to completely avoid looking at her or getting an erection/orgasm?”

By learning to be an ally to women instead of a misogynist. Learn to have empathy. Does she want some creep approaching her and asking if she’s single? Or would she rather you keep your head down and mind your business? Yes, in modern times there are lots of beautiful women showing a lot of skin in public. You must learn to control yourself around them. If that’s too much for you to manage, you don’t belong in public at all.

“But then how am I supposed to meet a woman? When I approach them in public, it’s like they can smell the virginity on me, and they always reject me. And I can’t secure any dates online either. What am I supposed to do? Just respect their decision to reject me and stop creeping them out with my unwanted advances?”

Exactly. We aren’t living in the 1900’s anymore. Just being a nice, respectful guy doesn’t give you the right to sex. The men who get all the sex have been doing so since high school. They have very large social circles, which function almost like a funnel that brings them more women to fuck, thereby increasing the scope of their social circle even further. They have social media accounts that illustrate their social dominance. After all, it’s 2024 and one of the main ways people meet their hookup partners nowadays is through Instagram DM’s or dating apps. There certainly is a positive feedback loop causing the male social elites to have sex with more and more women, whereas for a male virgin, one reason women avoid him is specifically due to his lack of experience, thus perpetuating his sexlessness.

[crowhunterzz]

i know it’s been said on here plenty of times but i genuinely get so upset when i see people continuously perpetuate the whole “Gehrman’s a creep and the Doll is a sex object theory” when there’s an actually direct in-game evidence showing that none of that is true. and yk what despite the posts abt this that already exist i am, in fact, gonna make one of my own.

Okay so first off, The Voiceline. You know the one.

Yeah this line got interpreted by a portion of the fandom as weird, especially because of the tone it’s said in. However, there are two pieces of context that immediately show what he meant by this.

The first, is that you DO use the Doll. She provides a service for you by taking your blood echoes and turning them into your strength (the level up system).

Aside from this, the ability to talk to her, and the option of giving her an item, there is nothing else you can do with her, and nothing else the game even implies you can do with her. She does not even have any truly “romantic” dialogue. She mentions that she loves you, but that she does because she was created to do so.

She loves all the hunters because her purpose is to care for them, and in her words, embolden their sickly spirits.

The second piece of context is in Gehrman’s dialogue just before he says the line about the Doll.

He is telling you that anything you find in the workshop is a tool you can use to strengthen yourself and make the hunt easier. He is referring to the Doll as a tool, because she is one of the few the workshop has not lost. He’s not sexualizing her, he’s talking about her like she is a tool, and something to be used, not seen as a person.

Is it a good thing? No, but considering he resents her for not being what he created her to be (or by another interpretation, coming to life when he never intended her to), it’s not unreasonable to assume that over time he would just categorize her as a thing instead of a person.

The second piece of evidence towards this god awful theory is the Doll’s white blood. Honestly I cannot believe people genuinely take this as being semen, because not only is there a canon reason for creatures to have pale blood, but also it’s just disgusting.

You need a minimum of one insight to see the Doll during the game, she was given life by the Moon Presence following Gehrman’s placement in the Hunter’s Dream, and she bleeds pale blood. She’s kin. (Yes I am aware the game does not consider her kin in regards to whether or not she can be dealt damage based gems that alter your attacks vs kin, but you’re not supposed to be fighting her anyway, and it’s not like you need a bonus to kill her in the first place).

And finally, to address the other big point, the item descriptions that appear on Maria’s Hunter Garb and the Doll’s Set.

I would like to address first, the obvious, that Maria’s garb says directly she was “unaware of his curious mania” (however you interpret that), but the point is she was unaware, he clearly in life, never made advances on her (which is something I’ve seen a few people state is ‘implied’???).

The second, and this one is a bit in the subtext, is that the Doll seems to not have any idea that Gehrman ever had any positive feelings towards her at all, she expresses a love for the hunter in a way that reflects someone who was never shown love in any capacity (likely due to the circumstances surrounding her achieving sentience), so its reasonable to assume as well that she was entirely unaware of the ‘curious mania’ as well.

Additionally I would point out that while referencing Gehrman’s mania once more, the Doll’s description also directly states that she was once loved and cared for, something that changed after she gained sentience. She likely served as a memorial for Maria, considering there is no canon evidence Maria herself actually has a grave.

The grave that provides the Old Hunter Bone may be hers, but the item description refers to the hunter it came from as “he.” This could be due to it being placed there prior to the decision to give Maria the quickening skill in her boss fight, or it could be that Maria did not have a proper grave for whatever reason, and thus the Doll was needed, which could then relate the obsession to an obsession with Gehrman keeping a memory of her, as there is nothing else he seems to have of her.

Everything here aside I would like to also point out that the Doll is quite literally, a doll. There is nothing that would even suggest she would be capable of any sort of sexual relationship.

Especially because even before the Dream, the Doll did have a specific purpose. She seems to be modeled after Victorian mourning dolls, which were items used to help families/loved ones process grief, typically of children, by having something to remind them of the deceased that did not itself look deceased. If you consider the grave in the Abandoned Old Workshop to be Maria’s and know that that’s also where the Doll is in the waking world, then that’s probably what she’s for. Or as stated before, the grave may NOT be hers, and the Doll itself IS her grave.

Another thing I didn’t point out but will, for a moment get into, is the Doll’s clothing being feminized. A lot of people take this as Gehrman being a misogynist and sexualizing her in a more feminine way as if he himself was not training Maria (and likely other women) to be hunters during his life. He encouraged the less feminine life she lived as a hunter!

That point always confuses me, especially knowing that one of the last things Maria likely said to Gehrman was what she said after the massacre at the Fishing Hamlet where she threw away her weapon and renounced the hunt, choosing to retire (and potentially become a caretaker for the Church’s patients, judging by her role in the Hunter’s Nightmare). Like OF COURSE he dressed her like that, she expressed that she no longer wanted to be a hunter so he made her the opposite. The only reason she is dressed the way she is in the Hunter’s Nightmare is because that is how Kos is depicting her, not because it’s her conscious choice.

The point of this is, Gehrman is one of my all time favorite characters alongside Maria and the Doll, and while yes, I am well aware he isn’t perfect, it’s still frustrating to see him get so mischaracterized by a fandom who insists they love lore so much, and care about the tiny details. You can dislike Gehrman or think he does shitty things and that’s fine, but creating a story where he’s a creep just to prove you care about Maria and the Doll is weird. And it’s weirdER that people argue IN FAVOR of the theory as if it MUST be true, because honestly why would anyone even want it to be???

This post also was specifically done without consideration for whatever type of relationship Gehrman and Maria had according to canon or any interpretations. Essentially I’m not necessarily saying any of this has anything to do with whether or not you ship them, I personally don’t, but I know some people do, and I feel like on either side you can still be critical of this Doll theory, as it is entirely baseless.

(In case anyone is interested, the images and references used for this were from the Bloodborne wiki, specifically this one.)

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

Introducing... 8 am in the (fucking) neighborhood

Papyrus is back with the groceries.

Unfortunately, his Karen neighbor is still mad at him for ruining her perfect white wall.

Alas, Papyrus is in trouble once again! (or not).

You can read it down the line or on AO3:

8 a.m in the neighborhood

Papyrus finally had his groceries. After a long morning that almost felt like an entire year, the house was finally in sight. He took a look at the clock in his car. He had to meet with Undyne at 2 p.m., which meant he would have to leave at precisely 1:38 p.m. to be on time. It would leave him plenty of time to clean the groceries and wait by the door until it was time to leave.

The skeleton turned at the end of the road to park in his alley. Or at least he intended to. Because he had to stop almost immediately.

His two bins were in the middle of the alley again.

Oh no. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Please, please just leave him alone…

A terrible knock on his window made him jump out of his bones. He looked up in disbelief. Here she was once again.

His Karen neighbor.

Papyrus tried to keep his cool. Everyone said he was the most patient monster they had ever met. So he was going to honor them and be patient with her as well. He could do this. He was the Great Papyrus after all!

He forced a smile and rolled down the window.

"DEAR NEIGHBOR, WE MEET AGAIN! IS SOMETHING WRONG?"

"Something wrong? You dare to ask me if something is wrong? You ruined my wall!"

Papyrus turned around. Ah, yes. He almost forgot the amazing crack he made in that horrible perfect clean white house of hers. She was just dramatic. If he closed his eyes hard enough, no one could notice it.

The skeleton rolled his eyes. Where was he? Ah yes, being patient. He was the great Papyrus and according to Tumblr, he was supposed to be nice and always smiling, because cute boys can't be sad or have a bad day. He couldn't betray his Tumblr fans. He needed to stay in his role. Hum… What would his Tumblr fans do in these types of situations?

Oh!

He knew!

"RUINED IS A BIG WORD. YOU COULD EASILY HIDE IT. I SUGGEST YOU PUT A PRIDE FLAG ABOVE IT AS WE ARE IN JUNE, THE PROUDEST MONTH OF ALL!"

Well, for sure, Karen didn't expect that. Her face turned from angry to disgusted very fast. Did he say something wrong?

"You are one of them?"

"THEM?"

"Those people who are identifying to helicopters and wearing pink thongs in the streets. Don't you think you did enough already? You're going to contaminate the children with your… Ideology. We're respectable people in this street, you can't just show your pink string to the children and call that an identity. That's absolutely disgusting."

Papyrus shuts his mouth in a loud bone noise. He took a deep breath, then made a slow turn towards the screen of his phone, hanging to the opposite window of his car.

"DEAR TUMBLR FANS, I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS AS I WILL BE OBLIGED TO USE A LOT OF STRONG WORDS IN THE NEXT FEW SECONDS THAT ARE NOT VERY PAPYRUS AT ALL BUT HOLY FUCK. EXCUSE ME FOR A SECOND."

"Who are you even talking to? Do you hear voices?"

Papyrus forced a huge smile and met her eyes.

"JEEZ LADY, YOU ARE SOMETHING ELSE. I KNEW YOU WERE A RACIST FUCK ALREADY, BUT THAT'S EVEN MORE FUCKED UP SOMEHOW. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING? DO YOU THINK THIS IS A NORMAL THING TO SAY TO SOMEONE? DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT EDUCATION WHEN YOU HAVE THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION OF AN OYSTER."

She gasped loudly.

"I am not an oyster, you sick asshole!"

"THIS IS NOT THE POINT! YOU COULD BE A MOLLUSK OR A CRUSTACEAN FOR ALL I CARE, THIS DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING: YOUR OPINIONS ARE DISGUSTING, HURTFUL, AND DISGRADING. INSTEAD OF BEING JEALOUS OF ME AND MY GROCERIES, WHY WON'T YOU BUY SOME DECENCY TO THE GROCERY STORE? IT'S JUST TWO MINUTES DOWN THE STREET."

"I will talk to your brother about your behavior! If I can't make you realize how wrong you are, maybe he will! I can't believe how immature you are! What a shame for your kind! And gay with all of that! Poor, poor children! What an example you are for them!"

"FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT GAY BUT ASEXUAL AND AROMANTIC. SECONDLY, I AM AN ADULT AND CAN TALK TO MYSELF. AND LAST…"

"if it can help, i don't identify as a helicopter but i for sure wear bright pink thongs. they're cute." Sans said from the first-floor window, watching the drama show playing in the street. "also, my bro is right. he's not gay. i am though. need something else?"

Karen opened and closed her mouth in shock, like a dying goldfish. She then let out a scream of rage and left, raging. Sans lazily waved goodbye at her as Papyrus, very satisfied, flipped his two middle fingers in her back. Anyway. He still had groceries to clean.

Maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all.

Fuck Karens.

[queenjunothegreat]

Chapter One: JASON Has a Bad Day

Okie dokie everyone! I've decided to stop being lazy and finally post The Heroes of Juno to Tumblr! I'm not gonna be spamming the tag, though, promise! I'll post one chapter on Sunday and one chapter on Wednesday until you guys are all caught up! I hope you enjoy!

According to Leo, their destination was a museum on the Grand Canyon, not that that really meant anything to Jason. Coach was herding them towards a squat, red stucco building when he shouted, “Do not — I repeat do not get separated from your partners, do you hear me?” Leo turned to Jason, likely to inform him that they were working together, but Piper grabbed his arm before he got the chance. “You're my partner, Leo,” she said firmly. “Uh, sorry, but as the only one claiming to be a non-amnesiac, I'm here to tell you that I'm supposed to be with Jason.” “We're always partners on field trips, though.”  “Yeah, which is part of the reason Coach Hedge banned us from working together,” Leo pointed out. Then, in a remarkably good impression added, “McLean, Valdez, if you so much as look at one another on this trip, you'll be getting a one-way ticket to the bottom, fast lane!” “Which means you'll be working with me,” another voice drawled. Jason stiffened, which was the correct response, based on the disgust that crossed Leo and Piper's faces. Another boy, not quite as big as Jason, but definitely taller and broader than Leo and Piper both, had slung his arm around Piper's shoulders. “Lucky you.”

Master List

Jason knew he was going to have a lousy day when he woke up on a school bus holding hands with a girl. He was pretty sure that normally he wouldn’t mind holding hands with her, as she was very pretty, but he had no idea who she was or why he was holding hands with her. 

Apparently, the girl also didn’t know why he was holding her hand because she snatched it away and punched him in the arm with a surprising amount of force. Jason yelped in pain, but she just glared at him in obvious distrust, clutching her hand to her chest like she thought he would try to take it again. She was leaning so far away from Jason that he thought she was going to fall out of their shared seat, and when he went to balance her, she twisted her face into something that reminded Jason of a very agitated she-wolf

“Don't touch me,” the girl snapped. “Who the hell are you?”

“Uh, I’m Jason,” he stammered, putting his hands up in surrender. “And I don't—”

“What's wrong with you two?” a new voice asked. A boy was sitting on the seat in front of them by himself. He had his arms folded on the back of his seat and he rested his chin on them as he watched Jason and the girl like they were a tennis match. He raised an eyebrow when Jason gave him a blank look.

The girl, on the other hand, was visibly relieved. “Leo!” she all but hissed as she quickly vacated her spot at Jason's side and took up the one by her friend.

The other boy — Leo — turned and looked at her with his brow furrowed. “Seriously, Piper, what's up with you tw—”

“Who are you?” Piper interrupted glaring at Jason even more ferociously now that she was in a more defensible position. 

“What do you mean ‘who are you?’” Leo asked. “That's Jason. You know, big guy, blonde. Our best friend, your recent boyfriend? That Jason?”

“You're my best friend, and I would never date someone like him,” Piper corrected, giving Jason a somehow dirtier look than before.

Leo just looked confused for a moment before he laughed. “Alright, Pipes, whatever you say.” He gave Jason an easy smile. “Come on, Jason. Tell your amnesiac girlfriend who you are.”

“I'm sorry, but I don't know who either of you are,” Jason admitted. “I—I'm not even really sure who I am.”

Leo stared at him, gobsmacked. Then he turned to Piper with an almost betrayed look. “Okay, I get why Jason would be messing with me over the whole shaving cream on the Jell-o thing, but you, too? I didn't even do anything to you. You date the guy for two weeks and you're already picking him over me?”

Piper looked pained at his words, which Jason thought was odd because shaving cream and Jell-o sounded like something he wanted no part of. “No, you did the shaving cream and Jell-o thing to me. Because this guy,” she scowled at Jason just in case her message wasn't clear and Jason resisted the urge to scowl back, “wasn't even here when we got on the bus this morning.”

Leo wrinkled his nose at her and they made direct eye contact for several seconds in silence. They must have communicated something that Jason couldn't hear, though, because Leo laughed. “This is your idea of a prank? You telling me you don’t remember your boyfriend? Not your best work, Pipes.”

“Leo, I swear, I have never met that guy before in my life.”

Leo turned his amusement back on Jason. “You're serious, too? Committing to the bit?”

“I've never met either of you before in my life,” Jason said genuinely. 

Leo looked startled and a bit hurt for a moment – which Jason felt really bad about – but he quickly slapped on a smile and he shrugged. “Yeah, alright. I'm willing to play in this space with you guys. So, first things first: we go to this place called Wilderness School, AKA where all the problem kids get dumped. I ran away six times, Piper stole a BMW—”

“No, I didn't!”

“Right, right, he let you borrow it.” Leo rolled his eyes and gave Jason a look he somehow knew he was supposed to laugh at, but didn't and Leo winced. “And you—” he cut himself off and looked at Jason curiously. “I actually don't know what you did. I don't think you’ve ever told us.”

“That's because neither of us have ever spoken to him before,” Piper insisted. “Leo, do you really think I'd somehow just completely forget a person but remember everything else? There's no way that's how amnesia works.”

“Actually, it can be. Kind of,” Leo shrugged. “Though I'm not sure how you would have gotten it. Both of you, actually. Pretty sure head injuries are usually involved.”

“Look, I don't think I'm supposed to be here at all,” Jason confessed. “I think Piper,” she looked annoyed that he dared to use her name, “is right. I don't think I was on this bus this morning.”

Leo seemed to consider that for a moment before he leaned around Piper to look at the seat beside them. “Hey! Mary! Lisa! You see the blonde dude behind me? I can't for the life of me remember his name. Help a guy out?”

The girls snickered at him, but the one with red hair replied, “Pretty sure that's Jason. He's the bodyguard you and Piper hired to follow you around and clean up your messes.”

Leo snapped his fingers and shot them a wink. “That's it! It was on the tip of my tongue. Thanks, ladies!” The girls giggled again and Leo turned back to Jason with a look that clearly said See? I told you.

“They didn't say anything about us being friends with him,” Piper pointed out. “And they definitely didn't say anything about me dating him.”

“It hasn't been that long and you two are trying to keep things quiet,” Leo explained. “And everyone calls Jason our bodyguard after he kicked Tyler's ass for us the first week he got here.”

“Why would you need me to kick someone's ass for you?”

“Well,” Leo said, drawing out the word with a mischievous grin. “It may or may not have involved replacing his laundry detergent with bleach and RIT dye, and because Tyler has more biceps than brain cells, Pipes and I kinda needed someone to swoop in and save our skins. Which is where you come in, Superman.” He turned and gave Piper a frown. “Surely you remember that.”

“I remember pranking Tyler,” Piper admitted. “But I also remember us having to hide on the roof until curfew and missing dinner to avoid becoming a news head line.”

Leo frowned at her and opened his mouth to say something but he was interrupted by a short man in pristine white athletic wear yelling at them from the front of the bus. “McLean! What are you doing? You were strictly told not to sit with Valdez!”

“Sorry, Coach. What was that? We couldn't hear you all the way back here!” Leo shouted back, completely ignoring the conversation they'd been having moments before. “Maybe your megaphone will help?”

“Coach” whoever that was, seemed pleased with the idea and picked up his bullhorn, but instead of his voice, the only thing that came out was a tinny recording bellowing “THE COW GOES MOO,” which caused the bus to erupt in uproarious laughter. Coach turned purple. “Valdez!”

Leo and Piper ducked their heads together and snickered, elbowing each other in the sides while Jason blinked at Leo in baffled wonder. “You did that?” he asked. “How?”

Leo smirked at him and wiggled his eyebrows, twirling a tiny screwdriver between his fingers. “You may not remember, but I can assure you that I am a very special boy.”

“You're a menace is what you are,” Piper teased, Jason seemingly forgotten. 

“Oh, I'm the menace?” Leo snorted. “Care to remind the class who stole the megaphone?”

“That's it!” Coach shouted. He had abandoned the use of his favorite toy, but it still belted out the lyrics to “Old McDonald” because he had his fist in such a death grip that he wasn't able to let go of the button. “You three back there are going to be the official clean-up crew after lunch, capisce?”

Piper grumbled her discontent, and Leo rolled his eyes, but neither of them seemed all that upset. Something told Jason that the two of them were well-acquainted with lunch clean-up as a punishment. The mildly anxious churning in his stomach told Jason that he was not. He slouched down in his seat, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible while Leo and Piper did whatever they could to seek it out. Leo turned back around and he actually looked concerned when he looked at Jason. “You're really doubling down on the not knowing us bit, huh?” He glanced at Piper. “The both of you.”

“I'm beyond serious,” Piper swore. “You know I wouldn't lie to you about this.”

Leo didn't say anything in response, he just frowned at Jason like he was trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube with seven colors. Jason turned and looked out the window, unwilling to meet his gaze.

*-*-*

The rest of the trip was blessedly short and quiet. Coach had yelled at them about how Piper and Leo still weren't allowed to sit together, which had led to the two of them bickering over who was to give up their spot. Leo eventually gave in to Piper’s insistence that she was not sitting with Jason, and he climbed over the back of the seat and flopped down at Jason's side. Coach yelled even more about that, and Leo accidentally kicked Jason in the jaw, but he politely kept that to himself. At first, Leo thought it would be fun to fill Jason in on all the stuff he'd forgotten, and started up his “Crash Course for the Amnesiac”. Jason wasn't sure how truthful it was, seeing as he'd claimed to be a gift from the gods and that Jason thought he was so cool that he did all of Leo’s chores and surrendered all of his desserts, but it was somewhat entertaining. Leo quickly grew bored, though, and started fiddling with a ball of pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks he'd pulled from his pocket. Based on the way his fingers twitched and his eyes darted around the bus, Jason was pretty sure Leo got bored often. Piper, on the other hand, was more than content with watching Jason with narrowed eyes over the back of the seat the whole time. It made her look like she was nothing but a nose and a pair of angry eyebrows, but Jason knew better than to point that out. 

According to Leo, their destination was a museum on the Grand Canyon, not that that really meant anything to Jason. Coach was herding them towards a squat, red stucco building when he shouted, “Do not — I repeat do not get separated from your partners, do you hear me?”

Leo turned to Jason, likely to inform him that they were working together, but Piper grabbed his arm before he got the chance. “You're my partner, Leo,” she said firmly.

“Uh, sorry, but as the only one claiming to be a non-amnesiac, I'm here to tell you that I'm supposed to be with Jason.”

“We're always partners on field trips, though.” 

“Yeah, which is part of the reason Coach Hedge banned us from working together,” Leo pointed out. Then, in a remarkably good impression added, “McLean, Valdez, if you so much as look at one another on this trip, you'll be getting a one-way ticket to the bottom, fast lane!”

“Which means you'll be working with me,” another voice drawled. Jason stiffened, which was the correct response, based on the disgust that crossed Leo and Piper's faces. Another boy, not quite as big as Jason, but definitely taller and broader than Leo and Piper both, had slung his arm around Piper's shoulders. “Lucky you.”

“Don't touch me, Dylan,” Piper snapped, and Jason felt a bit guilty over holding her hand earlier because she sounded very familiar with that particular phrase. 

“Aw, don't be like that,” Dylan crooned. “Most girls would do anything to work with me.”

“What a coincidence. I'd do anything to avoid it.”

Dylan tilted his head back and laughed, running his fingers through his hair like he thought he was on some kind of commercial for hair care products designed to make you look like your hottest delinquent self. He looped his arms through Piper's and started dragging her along, ignoring the way she yanked to try getting away from him. Jason clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

“I hate that guy,” Leo said quietly. Jason turned to see Leo glaring after Dylan and Piper, and he looked so angry it made Piper's scowls from earlier seem almost cordial.

Jason reached out and brushed his knuckles along the back of Leo’s wrist. “Hey, you alright?”

“Yeah, I just hate that I—” Leo cut himself off with a sharp head shake and he gave Jason a wide smirk. “He's just so annoying, you know?” He rolled his eyes and put on a dumb little voice to say, “Wow, I am so cool and handsome and awesome. You guys are so lucky that you get to know me. I wish I could hang out with myself, but I can't figure out how, so you all will have to make do. Aren't I so generous? I'll take your thanks in the form of praises sung to my pure handsome awesomeness.”

Jason blinked down at Leo, but he couldn't really hide the way his voice trembled slightly on a suppressed laugh. “Leo, you are so weird.”

“Yeah, you tell me that a lot,” Leo grinned at him. “Now, come on. Let's get inside before Coach decides to make good on his Fast Pass promise.” He offered Jason his arm and batted his eyelashes like some kind of cartoon princess. “Shall we?”

Surprising both himself and Leo, Jason took the offered arm and let Leo drag him inside like Dylan had with Piper moments before. He figured that if his life was messed up enough that someone like Leo was his best friend that he might as well own it. 

*-*-*

Jason thought that the museum was probably really cool and interesting, and he was pretty sure that he might like to revisit it one day, but a lot of different things made it very hard to pay attention that particular afternoon. Coach Hedge had apparently decided that using his megaphone was worth occasionally sounding like a Sith Lord or helpfully informing everyone around him about the sounds various barnyard animals made because he was constantly shouting instructions in it, every now and then one of the other kids would shove Jason or Leo from behind and snicker, and he was still suffering from amnesia. Jason suggested that maybe Leo should take him and Piper to an adult to get medical attention, but Leo had snorted and informed him that Coach Hedge was the only adult around and that his idea of “medical attention” would likely be hitting them both over the head with his baseball bat in order to knock their brains back in place. Jason told Leo he watched too many movies. 

Leo was probably the most distracting thing, though. Ignoring the fact that he kept fishing a seemingly never-ending supply of nuts and bolts and string and wires out of his pocket to twist together, he was constantly bristling up at Jason's side and shooting murderous looks at some of the other girls in class. Jason understood why he was upset — after the third comment, he'd figured out that they were actively being mean to Piper, and even with her attitude towards him, he still clenched his fists with every sickly sweet barb thrown at her — but he couldn't understand why Leo wouldn't say anything. He'd just stand there and seethe in obvious resentment, but as soon as he noticed Jason looking at him, he plastered on a wide smile and made yet another dumb joke and pretended like he had no idea what Jason was talking about when he mentioned the girls. 

“Look, do you want me to do something about them or not?” Jason asked flatly. One of the girls had said something incredibly stupid about a rain dance and he felt his temple throb with frustration. “Because I will make them stop. But only if you and Piper won't get mad at me.”

Leo stared at him in shock for a moment and Jason thought he might play dumb again, but instead he just gave Jason a rueful smile. “Do I want you to? Sure, I love to watch you stomp around and bash heads, especially if it's someone who deserves it. But you probably shouldn't. Piper would get mad at both of us if we tried to turn her into some sort of damsel. Besides, you—” he poked Jason in the chest, “definitely can't do anything. You're already on thin ice; if you start a fight while we're on a trip, you'll definitely wind up in ‘self-focused learning and meditation’ again, and you hated it last time.”

“What's self-focused learning and meditation?”

“Well, this place isn't actually a prison, so they can't call it solitary confinement, but that's basically what it is,” Leo explained. “You're taken out of the dorm and you have to sleep in a room by yourself and you do one-on-one classes with the disciplinary teacher and you go to meals at a different time from everyone. It's  just you and your teacher slash prison guard for however many days they give you.”

“And I…” Jason gulped to quash down his queasiness. “I had to do that?”

“Once,” Leo shrugged. “You were stuck in it for three days and when you came out you didn't really want to talk about it. You made me and Piper promise to never let you get in enough trouble to do it again, though, which said plenty to me.”

Jason felt sick at the idea that he was ever getting in enough trouble to deserve that kind of punishment. He shuddered. “What about you and Piper? Have either of you had it?”

Leo shook his head. “Nah. Pipes and I make sure that they can't prove it was us. Everyone knows that we did it, but even Wilderness School follows the justice system. ‘If it doesn't fit, you must acquit’ and all that.”

Jason blinked. “What?”

Leo looked disappointed in him. “Dude.”

There was a sudden commotion and the two of them turned around to see Piper with her teeth almost bared at another girl, who was clutching her hand to her cheek in shock. “Coach, Piper just hit me!”

“No, I didn't!” Piper snapped back. She was subtly shaking out the fingers of her right hand, and having been on the receiving end of one of Piper's punches earlier, Jason almost felt bad for the other girl. Or, he would have if she weren't awful. 

“Yes, you did!”

“No, I didn't!” Piper turned to one of the other girls. “Amy, tell Coach that she's lying!”

Amy suddenly looked like she'd been hit by an invisible truck. She stared at Piper like she'd never seen her before and then turned to Coach Hedge and stammered out, “Uh, yeah. I— I dunno why Macy is saying Piper hit her, Coach. She definitely didn't.”

Jason gaped at her. Anyone with eyes could see that Piper had obviously hit the other girl, but everyone was muttering to themselves about how they were pretty sure Piper was telling the truth. Then again, it's not like Jason saw Piper hit Macy, and if everyone seemed to be in agreement, then maybe—

Leo snorted at his side and gave Jason a wide grin. “That's the other reason we've never landed in solitary. Piper is scary convincing when she wants to be.”

Coach actually seemed to be the one person Piper hadn't managed to convince, but it didn't really matter because he didn't really care. “No fighting! Now, come on, cupcakes,” he called. “You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork.”

Jason let Leo lead him outside, and when he did, the air rushed out of his lungs. He wasn't sure what he was expecting the Grand Canyon to look like, but this was beyond anything he could imagine. Jason had known that they would be pretty high up based on the drive, but he hadn't appreciated just how deep it would be. The cliffs were made of layers upon layers of rock, each one of them a distinct color from the one next to it like a rainbow of browns and oranges and grays. Bushes and trees were dotted around, but they were so far off that they just looked like little smudges of green to Jason. They were so high up that even birds were flying in lazy circles beneath their feet, and down at the bottom the winding river cut through the rock like a sacrificial knife through the gut of a teddy bear. 

Jason winced at the sharp pain that burst behind his eyes and rubbed his brow. He had no idea where the comparison had come from. What kind of person thought to compare one of the wonders of the natural world to teddy bear slaughter? But it felt important. It felt like an omen. Like something big was coming and he had to prepare.

A hand tugged at his shirt sleeve and he turned to see Leo staring at him with his eyebrows puckered in concern. “Hey, man, are you alright? You don't look too good.”

“I'm fine,” Jason dismissed, shaking his head. “I've just got a headache. You're the one who said I had some kind of brain injury, remember?” Leo didn't look convinced, so Jason offered him a weak smile. “Come on. Let's get a better look over the edge.”

Leo followed him, but the closer they got to the edge, the antsier Leo got. When a cold wind blew across the skywalk hard enough that it would have knocked him down if Jason hadn't been there to steady him he scowled up at the sky. “Dude, there is no way this is safe. Look at this storm. It's literally right above us and nowhere else. There's gotta be some freaky weather shit going on.”

Jason looked up and saw what Leo was talking about. There was an inky black storm cloud above them — a perfect anvil-shaped cumulonimbus, and Jason didn't stop to wonder why he knew that of all things — but everywhere else was the same crystal clear skies they had driven through on the way here. Coach shouted something about making their time out there quick, and Jason's headache got worse. He stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jeans and frowned when his fingers brushed up against something cold.

He pulled it out and examined it. It was a coin. It appeared to be solid gold, about the size of an extra thick half dollar, but it was lumpy like the person who made it wasn't exactly skilled at making coins. A battle ax was stamped on one side, and some guy surrounded by laurels was on the other. Carved around the edge were the letters IVLIVS.

“Dude, what is that?” Jason turned to see Leo eyeing the coin appreciatively. “Is that real gold? Can we sell it?” A thought occurred to him, and he gave Jason a betrayed look. “Wait, don't tell me you were rich this whole time, too. It's bad enough that Piper is richer than the Pope, but I thought you were middle class at best.”

Jason’s frown deepened. His grip on the coin tightened like it was a safety blanket. It felt important. like he was going to need it soon. He stuffed it back in his pocket. 

“I dunno. Pretty sure it's just a coin, though.”

Leo raised an eyebrow at him, but he shrugged, happy to let it go to move onto bigger and better things. By this point, Jason was pretty sure Leo was always moving in every sense of the word. “Come on. Dare you to spit over the edge.”

*-*-*

Jason wanted to say that he and Leo put effort into their worksheet, but that would be a lie. In his defense, he didn’t know what most of the words meant. How was he supposed to “name three sedimentary strata” or “describe two examples of erosion” when he was asking Leo to define every other word? Besides that, he was still more than a little distracted by the freaky storm and his own mixed-up feelings and making sure to avoid Piper’s gaze every time she saw him talking to Leo.

Leo wasn’t exactly helpful, either. He was too busy messing with his pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks from earlier. He didn’t even have his worksheet because he’d apparently folded it up into a flock of birds when he was bored in class the day before.

“Were they able to fly?” Jason asked, tilting his head to the side.

Leo snorted. “Would you believe me if I said yes?”

“Probably.”

“Then yes. The origami cranes I made in pre-cal were absolutely capable of self-sustained flight,” Leo said with a fond eye roll. “Now, watch this.”

As Jason watched, Leo furtively glanced both ways before gently tossing his pipe cleaner contraption over the side of the fence. Jason could tell it was a little helicopter now that it wasn’t hidden by Leo’s hands. He expected it to immediately spiral down and crash, but instead the little propellers actually spun and got halfway across the canyon before giving out. Jason gawked at where it fell before turning back to Leo. He was definitely sure that if Leo told him he’d somehow managed to fold life into his origami, Jason would believe him. “How did you do that? That was amazing.”

Leo’s grin from before came back, wide enough to make his nose wrinkle. “You should have seen the prototype. It would have worked loads better if Mrs. James hadn’t confiscated my rubber bands.”

Jason couldn’t help but notice that Leo didn’t actually answer his question of how it was done, but he figured he probably wouldn’t understand even if Leo had whipped out a blackboard and gone over every step. “Are you sure we’re friends?”

“Last I checked, yeah.”

“How?” Jason asked earnestly. “Like, how did we meet? Why did we start hanging out? What was our first conversation like?”

Leo frowned. “Hey, man, I’ve got ADHD. You know I’m not great with remembering details like that. I just remember that you came to school around the time they decided Piper and I couldn’t share a dorm, so you and I wound up together. You didn’t really talk to anyone at first, and then, like I told you, you saved us from Tyler that one time and the three of us have been inseparable since. I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this.”

“Because I don’t remember any of it,” Jason insisted. “I don’t remember you or Piper or Wilderness School. I don’t remember anything but it feels like I’m not supposed to be here. I don’t know why you and everyone but Piper remembers me but I feel like…”

“Like we’re all wrong and you’re the only one who’s right?” Leo suggested. “What, like we all have fake memories? Piper’s the only one remembering stuff properly?”

Jason winced. It sounded crazy when Leo put it to words, but a little voice in his head screamed Yes! That’s exactly what I think! “Yeah, pretty much.”

Leo pursed his lips. “Look. Jason. I don’t think I like this game you and Piper are playing anymore. Like, I never thought it was all that funny to begin with, but at this point keeping at it is kind of just a dick move. Can you just drop it? You got me, okay? Haha, Leo caved first or whatever. But this sucks, alright?”

“I’m sorry,” Jason said softly. He felt a bit like a horse had kicked him in the chest, but that didn’t change the facts. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t remember you.”

Leo looked like he wanted to be angry, but any fire in his eyes was doused by the little well of hurt that it was sitting on. He turned his head sharply. “Give me the worksheet. I’m going to go describe shale or whatever.”

Jason dutifully handed over the paper and watched Leo turn on his heel and wander over towards one of the podiums with fun facts that they’d mocked together not too long ago. Jason couldn’t help but feel a bit like a dog who had been left on the side of the street. No matter what Leo said or thought, Jason didn’t know these people, and so far Leo had been the only person willing to give him the time of day. 

He looked around feeling a bit lost when a gruff voice shouted, “Hey, blondie!”

Jason’s head whipped around. Coach Hedge was staring him down, but he still looked around him before pointing at himself. “Yes! You! Come here!”

Jason did as he was ordered and trotted over to Coach Hedge’s side. “Uh, yes, Coach? Sir?”

Coach Hedge visibly recoiled at the title. “Don’t call me that. It’s unnatural.”

“Uh, sorry. Coach.”

He snorted, then gave Jason a critical look over and gestured at the sky. “Is this you?”

“Is what me?”

*-*-*

“Don’t toy with me, kid,” Coach Hedge snapped glaring up at him from under the white brim of his baseball cap. “You and I both know this storm isn’t natural. Now, tell me who you are, where you came from, and why you’re trying to screw up my job.”

Jason’s heart leapt. “So, you don’t know who I am? I’m not one of your students?”

“Never seen you before today.”

Jason wasn’t sure if he was going to cry, collapse, or kiss the short gym teacher. Well, he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to kiss Coach Hedge, but the other two options were still on the table. “Look, I don’t know who I am or how I got here. I woke up on the bus with no memory and Leo just started telling me that we’re best friends. I just know I’m definitely not supposed to be here.”

“You can say that again!” Coach Hedge barked. Then his voice got dangerously low and quiet and Jason felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. “Listen here, kid. You may know your way around manipulating the Mist with the way you have everyone fooled, but you couldn’t get one past me. I’ve been smelling a monster for a while now, but I can tell it’s not you. You smell like a half-blood and a powerful one at that. Now. Tell me who you are and how you got here.”

Jason felt a bit closer to crying than before, but he grit his teeth. “I told you, I don’t know. I don’t remember anything before waking up on the bus earlier. You’ve gotta believe me. I need help.”

Coach Hedge studied him, and then, for some reason, he took in a deep breath through his nose like he was trying to sniff something out. Whatever he smelled was obviously unpleasant because he grimaced. “Great. You’re telling the truth.”

“Of course I am! I’ve been telling the truth all day, you’re just the first person to believe me. And what do you mean about Mist and monsters and half-bloods? Are you part of some secret organization? Are those codewords or something?”

Coach narrowed his eyes at him. “I can’t tell you who you are, I can just tell you what you are, and right now what you are is a major problem. I already had my hands full protecting two before, I wasn’t exactly planning on someone coming in and making it three. Wait, are you the ‘special package’?”

“I don’t think so? What package?”

Coach glowered up at the storm which was getting worse by the minute. Some of the other students had started to notice, and were muttering to one another and gesturing at the dark clouds. Jason quickly looked around for Leo, who was standing a safe distance from the edge and shifting from foot to foot like he was going to take off running at a moment’s notice, and Piper, who was glaring at Dylan like this was somehow his fault.

“I got a message from Camp this morning,” Coach said. “There’s an extraction team on the way. Said there was some special package that they needed to get as soon as possible, but they wouldn’t tell me what it was. I figured it was the two I was watching. They’re obviously powerful and older than most and I know for a fact that there’s something after them. Thought maybe Camp had just decided they needed these two ASAP, but then you show up and throw a wrench in every plan. So, tell me. Are you the package or not?”

Jason’s headache was getting even worse. Everything Coach Hedge was saying sounded crazy, but at the same time it made sense. Well, it almost made sense. It felt like an encrypted message and Jason just needed to remember the cipher key. “I told you. I don’t know.”

Coach wasn’t pleased with his answer, but he seemed to understand it was the only one Jason could give him. “Fine. I’ll just keep an eye on you until reinforcements arrive. Then we’ll take you to Camp, and the director can figure out what to do with you.” 

Jason did not like that phrasing. “What director? What do you mean ‘do with me’?”

“Just sit tight. Like I said, they should be here soon. We just have to hope nothing happens before–”

Lightning crashed directly overhead and thunder rolled loud enough to shake the earth and Jason froze. Kids started screaming and stumbling around, clinging to each other. Jason whipped his head around to see Piper and Leo scramble towards each other, but Dylan grabbed Piper’s arm and yanked her back, and the wind blew Leo so hard he fell over. 

Coach swore under his breath. “I just had to say something, didn’t I? Couldn’t keep my big mouth shut.” He pulled out his bullhorn, and Jason was relieved that it worked as intended this one time. “Alright, everyone! Back in the museum! Off the skywalk! Now! Move it or lose it! Lawrence, get your tail in gear or you’ll be doing suicides until you die!”

“I thought you said this thing was stable!” Jason yelped as the bridge shuddered and swayed beneath his feet. 

“Under normal circumstances, it is.” Coach said seriously. “These circumstances are anything but normal. Come on!”

*-*-*

The freaky storm from before had churned itself up into a hurricane. Funnel clouds formed and dipped, reaching towards the bridge, but never quite making it all the way down. Jason could almost hear a taunting voice snickering I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!

Hats and notebooks and backpacks whipped back and forth through the air, their owners having abandoned them to the winds in their panic to get inside. Jason slipped and skidded across the slick glass to where Leo had been knocked over and hoisted him to his feet by the back of his jacket.

“Thanks!” Leo yelled. “But can you maybe go for a less ‘momma cat and kitten’ approach next time?”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jason said distractedly. “Come on, we need to get inside!”

Coach Hedge was blue in the face blowing on his whistle, waving kids into the museum where Piper and Dylan were struggling to keep the doors open. Well, Piper was struggling. Her snowboarding jacket was flapping all around her and her expression was screwed up in effort to keep her door from slamming shut, but she still seemed confident as she urged the other students inside. Dylan just stood there, holding his door with one hand, not a hair out of place while he watched the chaos with something like amusement on his face. 

Soon, Jason, Leo, and Coach Hedge were the only ones left outside. Jason pushed forward, keeping his grip on the back of Leo’s jacket to make sure he wouldn’t blow away, but every step felt like he was towing a pick-up truck behind him. Jason wasn’t sure how, but he knew with every fiber of his being that the winds were fighting him specifically.

Then, as soon as the last kid was inside, Dylan grinned malevolently and slammed the door shut with a blast of wind that managed to knock Piper’s grip loose, too. Piper uselessly yanked at the door handles, before rounding on Dylan with fury in her eyes. “Help me,” she snarled.

Surprisingly, Dylan reached out a hand for the door, but shook his head and dropped it just as fast. He smirked at Piper. “Sorry, but it’s time for the next act in our show. And I don’t need you interrupting it with your little tricks.” He flicked his wrist and Piper went soaring through the air to land in a heap against a nearby wall.

“Piper!” Leo cried. He tried to charge forward, but Jason held him back. “Lemme go!”

“Stay behind me, kids!” Coach Hedge barked. He had his baseball bat in his hands, but as Jason watched it started to look less like a baseball bat and more like a crude club with leaves and vines growing off it. “I knew there was a monster skulking around. I should have known it was you!”

“What are you talking about?” Leo demanded. A worksheet hit him in the face, but he smacked it away. “What monsters?”

As if to answer his question, a gust of wind snatched Coach’s hat right off his head. There, below his curly hair were two little horns. He hefted his club. “Come at me!”

“Why bother?” Dylan cackled cruelly. “It’s not like you’re a threat. I mean, they retired you, didn’t they? That’s why you’re at this school in the first place. And it’s not like you’re doing all that well here, either. I was on your track team for two months, right under your nose, and you never noticed. Do you really think you can keep three half-bloods safe? Admit it, you old goat; you’ve lost your touch.”

Coach bleated angrily at him. “I’ll show you who’s lost their touch, cupcake! You’re going down!”

Dylan’s smile was maniacal. “Not before that one does.” He pointed at Leo and a dark funnel cloud erupted from his fingertip, snatching Leo out of Jason’s hold and sending him toppling over the side of the bridge.

“Leo!” Jason shouted, eyes wide with horror.

As Jason watched, Leo scrambled at the rocky cliff face, and finally managed to get a foothold on a thin outcropping of stone. His eyes were screwed shut and his voice pitched a bit when he shouted, “Hey! Can someone please come get me? This really fucking sucks!”

Jason looked around desperately for some sort of rope, but Coach was faster. He shoved his club at Jason’s chest and said, “You take care of that windbag! I’ll get Valdez.”

“How? Can you fly?”

“Not fly, kid.”

Then Coach did something Jason would never forget: He dropped his pants.

That would have been traumatizing enough on its own, but Jason now had to grapple with the fact that his PE coach had goat legs. “You’re a faun!”

Coach gave him a disgusted look. “I’m a satyr. Now, get in there!” Then without another word, he hopped over the fence and started picking his way down with the confidence and efficiency of a mountain goat. Which, he kind of was. Jason’s formerly-forgotten headache throbbed a bit, and he decided to think about anything but the half-goat man. He turned back to Dylan and gripped the club.

Dylan snorted at him. “Cute. But yeah, I’ll take you out first. I’m flexible.”

He lifted his hand, but before he could blink Jason threw the club at him with all his might. Had Jason even thought about what he was doing for half a second, he likely would have dismissed the idea because there was no way he would have managed to hit Dylan through all the wind. Fortunately, Jason was running on pure instinct because the club curved through the air like Jason was guiding it with his mind and hit Dylan directly in the gut, knocking him flat on his butt.

Dylan got back to his feet before Jason could celebrate his victory. He spat blood – gold blood – onto the ground. His eyes flashed like lightning and the winds picked up around him, shaking the skywalk so hard that hairline fractures spread over the glass like spider webs. He rose into the sky and then his body dissolved into smoke. Jason could still see where he was, his face was still the same – oddly handsome, contorted in rage – but he was see-through and almost angelic in a strange, evil kind of way. 

“You’re a ventus!” Jason gasped, though he couldn’t say how he knew that. “A storm spirit!”

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” Dylan snarled. “I was considering letting you live before this. The other two would have made a fine prize, but my mistress told me to wait. Said another was coming. I’m sure she will be pleased to know that I killed you here.”

Jason clenched his fists. He was unarmed, but when he glanced over to where Coach’s club had rolled off to, he saw that Piper was on her feet, club held aloft like she was getting ready to hit a homerun. She had the element of surprise; maybe if Jason kept Dylan busy, she could sneak up on him and make good on the murder in her eyes. 

Dylan was too quick for him. Before he could open his mouth, two inky black tornados carrying their own storm spirits touched down in front of Piper and Dylan lifted his hand and blasted two bolts of lightning directly into Jason’s chest.

Surprisingly, Jason wasn’t dead. He’d lost one of his shoes, so his sock was soaking wet, and his mouth tasted like he’d gotten his chewing gum confused with a jar of fifty year old pennies, but he was alive. He blinked the stars out of his eyes and saw Piper furiously swinging at the storm spirits around her, but every swing passed through them. That didn’t stop the storm spirits from being scared of her, though, evident by the way neither of them would get close to her. Beyond that, Jason saw Coach Hedge bouncing up the cliff with a Leo-shaped koala clinging to his back. 

Dylan swaggered towards him, back in his normal teenager body, with a smirk on his face, and Jason’s chest filled with rage. With a grunt of effort, he pushed himself to his feet and glared at Dylan. “Cute,” he spat, venom dripping from his tone.

Dylan pulled up short and he looked terrified for a moment. “How are you alive? That was enough electricity to short out New York City! Just who are you?”

Jason ignored him. Once again acting on impulse, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the old gold coin. He tossed it in the air, but when he grabbed it, it wasn’t a coin any more. It was a sword, gold all the way through, perfectly balanced, with a handle that felt like it was designed to fill Jason’s palm. Jason felt something click into place in the back of his mind and he gave Dylan a wicked grin. “My turn.”

“Kill him!” Dylan screeched, backing away with wild eyes. “Kill him!”

The other two storm spirits didn’t exactly look thrilled at the order, but apparently Dylan was the windbag in charge, so they abandoned their assault on Piper and started slowly approaching Jason. 

Jason didn’t wait for them. With a battle cry from the depths of his chest, he charged. It wasn’t a long fight. Jason sliced through them both, shattering them into gold dust, and turned his attention back on Dylan.

At that moment, Coach hefted himself over the edge of the bridge and dropped Leo, then whirled around with his fists up like he was ready to start boxing. When he realized that Dylan was the only one left, he scowled at Jason. “Really? You couldn’t have left some for me? I was looking for a challenge!”

“Leo almost died!” Piper snapped. “You do not need to be asking for challenges!” She and Leo had immediately run together as soon as he was back on the bridge and they were clinging to each other. Jason was relieved to see that Leo looked no worse for wear, though he was smearing blood from his hands all over Piper’s jacket, but Jason doubted if either of them cared all that much. 

Dylan didn’t pay attention to them, he was too busy glaring at Jason. “You have no idea what kinds of enemies you’ve made today, demigod. My mistress will awaken, and she will bring with her foes you couldn’t dream of. She will destroy all demigods. You cannot win this war.”

Jason tightened his grip on his sword. “Yeah? Well, I’ll be sure to tell your mistress hi for you, because you’re not going to get the chance to do it.”

The sky opened up above them, clear blue in the sea of black, and Dylan smirked at Jason triumphantly. “My mistress calls me back, and I’m taking you with me.”

Dylan dove towards Jason, who braced himself for the attack that never came. In a burst of heroic goat-itude, Coach Hedge headbutted Dylan so hard it knocked him completely off-course and sent him rolling away. Unfortunately, it also caused a blast of wind that knocked Jason and Coach on their butts and separated Piper and Leo. 

Jason tried to attack, but Dylan was faster. He grabbed the closest person to him, Piper and took off into the skies. “Fine! I’ll settle for this one!”

“Help!” Piper screamed. “Somebody help!”

Jason froze, considering if he could throw his sword with enough accuracy to hit Dylan without getting Piper, but in that split second Coach Hedge had already made and executed his plan. He ran at the ledge, then with all the strength he had in his little goat legs, he launched himself at Dylan and Piper. He barreled into them mid-air, and they scuffled for a moment. 

Then Piper fell.

“Piper!” Leo screamed, flinging himself at the side, half hanging over and reaching out towards her, grasping at nothing but air. “Piper!”

Without a thought, Jason jumped after her.

Next Chapter

[kobayashisoul]

》 Numb 《

Raziela felt Numb.

That was literally the only Thing she felt since the Evening Kankuro told her what happened to her Husband and Son. That Gaara was sealed away by Shinki, critically wounded. That sealed in a nearly dead State, and Shinki sacrificed himself to save him.

It's been nearly two Weeks since she lost them. Two weeks of feeling nothing but sadness and sorrow.

And since she lost her unborn Child.

Gaara would have been there for her and that was what was missing. She had to Face this Loss alone, without him. They had always faced everything together, were there for each other. They had each other and now Raziela was alone with this Situation. Alone without her Soulmate. Alone with the Fact of not being pregnant anymore.

She wanted that Child so bad, she dreamed of that Moment for three years. Dreamed of the Moment she would tell Gaara that she's pregnant, and dreamed of how happy they would have been. It was her Dream of becoming Mother of a fifth. She wanted that more than anything else. It supposed to be one of their happiest times.

And what was left now? Loss, Sadness and a big Unknown.

She didn't know when and if Gaara and her Son would return alive. The Man she loved more than everything in her life, the Light of her Life was gone, maybe forever. And her Son too, her beloved Son turned into an Tree, becoming that... Thing. No one at this Point did know if there was a way to undo this state of him. And it needed Shinki to Release Gaara from his Seal.

That meant that if they couldn't find a Way to bring Shinki back, Gaara would be sealed forever. Forever in that state of not being alive and at the same time,.Not being dead. So close and yet so far.

It was a Situation that nearly killed her inside.

The only Thing that kept her in Line were her Children. They needed her more than anytime before, but believe me, it was hard. It was beyond hard to show them a positive Face.

Raziela didn't tell the Girls about what happened to their Father and Brother. Not because she didn't want to, but she simply wanted to protect them from the Truth. The only one she told about what happened was Jiro. He was calm and reserved, like his Father. She told the Girls that their Father and Brother were on a Mission that would last very long.

Reeze felt overhelmed with everything at first, but slowly all her Emotions seem to fade away. Everything except sadness.

She felt Numb and lost her Smile completely, she lost herself. The only Thing she could think about was that her Husband and Son wouldn't come back to her alive. Even she couldn't know that yet, her Mind told her that they would die.

She fell into a Hole that was deeper than anytime before. She fell into deep Depression, became sensitive to Touch and grew a PTSD because of the miscarriage.

She was disgusted by herself. In her Opinion, her Body killed the unborn Child. How could she ever forgive herself?

Nothing made Sense anymore.

➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️

Art © Yukuid on Instagram

Raziela Kobayashi © @kobayashisoul

Kankuro © Masashi Kishimoto

I bought her Outfit from Gevielus

Naruto & Boruto © Masashi Kishimoto and Mikio Ikemoto

I hope you enjoy. ;v; ♥

This Picture was a Comission for me from Yukuid. I am not the Artist of this Artwork. I was given permission to upload this drawing to my gallery by the artist.

The Oc, her Design and Story belong to me. The Outfit was an Adopt I bought from Gevielus. ⚠️

Without my and the Artists written permission you have no right to recolor/repost/trace/edit/use this in any way. Also please don’t use my Characters for Roleplay or Fanfictions. ⚠️

[featherstorm2004]

All For One and the power of context

I tend to drift alongside the BNHA fandom as a somewhat casual enjoyer so I haven't really made much posts about the series even if I do like it. Mostly because the things I want to say have already been stated by someone else so, I never felt a need but with these latest chapters I wanted to mention what I believe is Horikoshi"s biggest strength "context".

What I mean by that is his ability to turn seemingly boring or one note characters into some of the most fascinating by showing how these characters upbringings and living situations made them who they are today. And I believe we can all agree this is shown most strongly with the villains, are most recent example being All For One who has made the transformation from a pure evil one note villain to a complex human being within just a few chapters, even if All For One himself would refuse to admit to such humanity.

This can also be seen with other examples such as Mr Compress, Dabi and Toga with the later being the most demonised by the fandom until recent chapters. But for now I wish to focus on All For One as I find his situation to be the most fascinating because unlike the other villains who desperately want to be seen as human and accepted by the world around them, All For One seems almost afraid to admit his humanity and the cruelty of his circumstances.

Ever since All For One was introduced we have been lead to believe by the narrative and All For One himself that he is simply pure evil, that there is no complex reasoning behind what he dose or why he dose it he was simply "born arrogant". But I don't believe that and I don't think Horikoshi wants you to believe that either, it has been displayed to us multiple times in the series that there is no such thing as people who are born evil. I would argue that nature vs nurture is one of the key themes of BNHA.

One key example of this is Endeavour and Dabi, where in the early arcs of the series we are led to believe Endeavour to be this pure evil abusive monster who tormented his family and whilst he was most certainly an abusive prick, Endeavour can't be simplified so quickly with his atonement arc being a clear sign of that. And then there's Dabi who was hated for not caring about his family or friends because of the way he tried to deflect and hide any emotions that weren't pure anger or disgust, then his complete backstory that wasn't from Endeavour's point of view we see almost immediately after the fire he rushes back home to apologies to his family.

The reason I bring these things up is because it displays seamlessly how the lack of context to Dabi and Endeavour's stories led to them to be demonised and simplified into pure evil characters when that is far from the truth.

And I believe a similar phenomenon has begun to scour with All For One, as with the most recent chapters, where we have been allowed to peel back to mask the demon lord just a little bit to see the real man behind the mask of evil. Now dose this mean I am implying that All For One is simply misunderstood or that he can be redeemed? God no but that's not the point, that''s never been the point.

We aren't meant to like All For One or think that he deserves forgiveness but we are supposed to understand him, to deconstruct the layers of the number one villain and understand how he has gotten to this point. To understand that he was a child born in what was essentially an apocalypse with no parents, no name and no one willing to help him because of his quirk, where him and his brother where hunted by hate groups and the government for simply being born different, where he had to not only find a way for himself to survive but also his sickly twin who couldn't help him much due to his illness.

It is this very important context that allows us to understand how a man like All For One came to be. But we must also understand two very important things and that 1) All For One is a liar and 2) he is very childish. At first I thought it was strange how juvenile he acted during these recent arcs and even stranger when he started de-ageing but now I understand why, because the truth of the situation is that All For One never truly grew up from his days as a young child reading comic books with his brother.

In many ways all of this conflict, pain and destruction is merely an extension of that, he is quite literally a child playing at being the big bad in his favourite story. It also explains why he doesn't understand why his brother wants to stay away from him because it's just a game why are you getting worked up over me breaking a few toys? This also would explain all his tantrums first with All Might and now Hawks because they're ruining his game and his story.

Now that's not to say that I think All For One doesn't understand all the pain he's caused or that what he's doing is wrong. But like early Shigaraki he's distance himself to it, it's a similar phenomenon where people in a video game are more willing to do more messed up stuff like murder or bulling a character because they are distanced from it to a point they feel comfortable acting that way just to see what happens.

That's also why I believe All For One clings to his demon persona so much, because if he is truly a demon if he was simply born evil with no ability to feel love or empathy then that also means that he doesn't have to take accountability for his actions because that was simply how he is.

But it's not just about accountability.

I also think the demon persona is a form of self defence for All For One, a way for him to take back control from a world that denied it to him. Like most victims of trauma he is trying to create a way for him to have agency in a situation he originally had no control in, this can be seen in many children who place themselves in the positions of the hero's in the stories they are exposed to, so they too can feel that sense of power and control in they're own lives.

So, that's simply what All For One did only instead of mimicking the hero he decided to mimic the villain. And I think his reasons for doing so are fascinating, at first he relays to the audience and All Might that it's simply a power thing or his desire to rule the world but it's not that simple.

The real reason is surprisingly more human, All For One wants to be loved, to be relied on and trusted. Essentially, All For One desires a family, a community to call his own after being denied one his entire life and this explains a lot about his earlier actions, hell in one of the first vision's Deku receives about All For One he refers to his minions as his "dear friends" and when he is fighting with All Might one of his biggest grievance is how All Might forced his "dear friends" to go under ground.

He even refers to Aoyama as his nephew and gets him and his family to call him uncle, this man is obsessed with the idea of family. Which in turn explains his absolute rage and hatred to all the barriers of One For All as in his eyes they stole the only family he's had since birth, the only person who loved him unconditionally, until he went too far. It's probably the reason All For One chose to fixate on Tenko so much despite having an army of children who could be his successors as not only did he get his revenge by stealing a family member of one of All For One's holders but he also gets to have a child who appears close enough to him and his brother that he could pretend he is actually family.

However, I don't think All For One can admit this to himself, that he is in fact a human being. A human that desires to be loved and love in return because if he dose admit that to himself then he would shatter and he'd have to face all the emotions and consequences that he's been running from for over a century. It would essentially be an ego death for him as everything he's convinced himself he is and what he was taught to be by the world who fears him would suddenly be a lie and he can't handle that.

So, he lies to himself and to the world desperately trying to convince everyone that he is in fact the demon lord, and not a child who desperately clings to fiction. It's tragic in a way as ultimately I believe Yoichi was correct, if given the right care and upbringing All for one could have been the kindest ability in the world, but alas they were not so lucky.

As, for where his story is going I honestly have no idea, he may be killed, he may De-age into nothingness. But I think it's important to remember this context whenever we discus the story of BNHA with all it's flaws it is ultimately about broken people desperately finding a place in the world.

But that's just my opinion.

[robindrake93]

11 days since I sent you that ask and I can now say, I get it. I get what you meant about episode 8. WE DID NOT JUST GET LUKERCY CRUMBS HOLY SHIT-

ALL OF THEIR SCENES TOGETHER WERE MAKING ME FERAL FJGKD WHICH WAS SO HARD TO KEEP IN WHILE WATCHING IT WITH MY SIS 😭😭 IT WAS SO GOOD

the training!! the entire fucking fight with luke practically begging percy to believe that he is his friend and wants him to join him!! the lighting!! just everything!!! you can soo tell luke wanted to shove percy in that portal and take him along no matter what!! (ignoring annabeths appearance cause im still on the fence with that change even if I get why they did it)

i am so going to binge read lukercy fics the entire night just to fill my rabid need for content of them after seeing that AHFJVKDKD I CANT-

You're right we didn't just get crumbs, we got a whole damn pie.

Luke not only welcoming Percy to camp but being the one to show him around, constantly by his side. Even watching him sleep from across the cabin.

The look on Percy's face when Luke tells him he's always on Annabeth's side.

Luke breaking the camp rules that two demigods (with different parents) aren't allowed to be alone in the cabins together to give Percy the shoes in his cabin (as opposed to on the hill like in the book).

Percy wanting to take Luke on the quest but being afraid that Luke would prioritize Annabeth over him.

The jealousy and disgust in Luke's voice during the Iris message when he makes the comment about "when did you two become an old married couple" and the look of equal disgust and discomfort from Percy when he says "gross let's move on from that." (paraphrasing but you get the idea)

Luke influencing Percy so much that the very first words of Percy's book ("Look, I didn't want to be a halfblood") are actually a quote from Luke.

The whole training scene.

Sword under the chin is always hot. Percy's making a face like he knows it too.

When Luke goes to sit on that rock beside Percy, he chooses a spot that lets them sit eye-to-eye but also he rocks toward Percy for a second like he's going to go in for a kiss.

Percy mirroring the head tilt that Luke (Charlie?) does.

Luke's voice full of pride when Percy does good.

Luke telling Percy he's small and scary. So fucking cute.

The way we can see via body language what book!Percy has been telling us all along: that every time Percy picks up his sword, he hears Luke's voice in his head telling him what to do.

Percy and Luke almost never take their eyes off each other for the whole secret meeting about Clarisse.

They're meeting in the woods at night. Luke didn't even have to bribe Percy this time, he just trotted after him.

Luke coaxing Percy into talking. (in the books Percy doesn't do a lot of talking out loud and Luke actually does break the ice several times because Percy is just standing there staring like a little weirdo [affectionate].).

Fireworks from beginning to end. Love the red and blue ones especially for that bisexual lighting. It was easily the best lighting in the whole show.

"Easy. I just want to show you." Everyone says that the maia scene was the hottest thing Charlie said as Luke but they're sleeping on this. Those are 'gonna take your virginity' words and his tone of voice? Mmm. Yum.

AND it's about his sword? HIS SWORD?! The most phallic weapon of all? Gods help me.

Just an interesting detail but Luke doesn't actually ever point his sword at Percy until Percy attacks him. It really shows that his plan is to convince Percy to leave with him.

"The gods are my enemy. You....." - Luke searching for what Percy is to him. lol I guess it's supposed to be a dramatic pause for dramatic effect but it really just makes it sound like Luke is debating how exactly to define their relationship.

Both of them have watery tear-filled eyes? Excuse me? Cry babies? Yes please. I told all of you so.

Also Luke is comfortable with turning his back on Percy to draw the runes (?) even though Percy drew his sword and is sweating like a sinner in church.

Luke actually proposing that they run away. Together. Just the two of them.

"We"

Percy is literally swaying on his feet. You can see that he's nervous but he also doesn't take so much as a single step backward. He still wants to be close to Luke!

Luke's determination to bring Percy with him. During their fight he does his best to keep Percy between himself and the portal. He even tosses Percy towards it a couple of times. Luke wants Percy to run away with him voluntarily but you can see as the fight goes on longer, he decides kidnapping is an option.

Luke is not leaving without his boy.

The skill difference between Percy and Luke. We see this during training too, where Luke is tossing Percy around and basically playing with him (I mean it's serious training but Luke's skill level is so above that it looks like playing). Luke is not seriously fighting Percy. He's trying to herd Percy into that portal.

Luke praising Percy in the middle of their fight.

Percy cutting Luke.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -" Because Percy really doesn't want to hurt Luke and he's never like actually hurt someone he cares about.

Luke cutting Percy.

Looming.

The way after Annabeth shows up, Luke's eyes flit down to Percy three separate times. You can visibly see him weighing his options. I think he was debating if he could sling Percy over his shoulder and run into the portal faster than Annabeth could catch them.

"I know Luke wasn't trying to kill me." - WOW what a change from the book. I can't believe they had Percy understand that because in the pit scorpion scene, he did not get it. I'm happy about the change but surprised they made it. (makes me wonder if Percy's the one who's loyalty we're supposed to question instead of Annabeth's as the next seasons come up).

Sorry that was long but like. Wow. We won hardcore.

As for reading more lukercy fic, you'll be pleased to know that it's the lukercy valentine's event this week (02/12-02-15) so there should be ✨ new fics. ✨

[ivoryghostyy]

「 image isn't mine. sourced from pinterest. 」

「 this was supposed to be a re-vamp of "love bite" but, well, i guess i got a bit too carried away. this one's pretty long, so have fun! 」

「 tw: possessive behaviour, swearing, non-consensual biting, mentions of blood, mentions/implications of violence — read with caution. 」

"don't touch that!"

crash!

"oops. :("

"oops? that's all you have to say- don't give me that look."

":("

"fuck you."

"ohhh, i like the sound of that-"

you groan in frustration, rubbing your throbbing temple. pieces of a broken flower pot lie carelessly on the tiled floor—a flower pot that was meant to house your newly grown Daffodils if someone could keep his hands to himself.

he frowns at your distress, snaking an arm over your shoulders to pull you in. his free hand rests snugly on the small of your back. right where it belongs.

"i'm sorry, sweetheart. i'll get you a new one, okay?"

you shake your head, making your way through the array of potted plants within your shop. once your hand grasps the familiar wooden handle of your broom, you reply.

"no. it's alright. i can just order another one; it wasn't that expensive, anyway."

he hums, looking through his phone. at this point, you know he hadn't listened to a single word you said. he's been your closest friend for years. by now, he's probably-

"i got you a new set. they'll arrive in a few days. is that alright, honey?"

-already ordered another one. actually, he ordered more. you don't even need that many pots right now! you can feel another headache settling in.

"okay, whatever. what are you doing here, anyway?"

you sweep up the sad pieces of the flower pot, sending your Daffodils an apologetic look. 'i'm so sorry, my babies. i'll get you a new home soon, i promise.'

he watches the exchange, eyes squinting. you're no stranger to the look. you've seen it more times than you could count on two hands.

or, well, you assume that was the case. you're not really counting-

while you're cleaning his mess, the man in question leans idly on the counter.

'how strange,' he muses. he's seen the way you coddled your.. shrubs. for the last time, they're not shrubs!

maybe you were unknowingly born with the ability to talk to plants? or you simply have some form of connection with your babies, as you liked to call them.

or perhaps you've simply lost your mind ages ago, so you've convinced yourself that the shrubs- they aren't shrubs!!

-sorry, the not-shrubs could communicate.

wait, did you talk in his head?

you ignore his sudden confusion, opting to mourn over the loss of a perfectly good pot. fly high. you will be missed. after dumping the broken pot, you turn back to the insufferable man.

"you didn't really answer my question."

"what? am i not allowed to visit my favorite florist?"

"mind you, i am the only florist you know. besides, you're too busy to pay any unnecessary visits."

he laughs, muscles flexing as he pushes off the counter.

"alright, you got me. so you remember when i told you that i've found her?."

her? oh! he means his, uh, what did he call it? ah, right. his destined pair. pfft, that sounds cheesy as hell. why can't he be normal and say he fell in love?

"yeah? are you going to man up and tell her? you've been dancing around it for years; you haven't even introduced me yet!"

with a snort, he crosses his arms.

"well, sorry. i don't really find the need to introduce you."

eh? you take personal offense to that!

with a dramatic gasp, you clench the fabric of your top, right where your heart is.

"i've been your best friend for this long, dealing with your stupid ass for years, but you won't tell me who the love of your life is? i see how it is."

he smiles, "i.. don't think we'll still be friends after i tell you.."

what?

"don't tell me, is it my sworn enemy!? i can't believe you would settle for that-"

he denies it immediately, face scrunching in disgust.

"absolutely not. i would sooner choose to marry a horse."

you crack up at that, clutching your stomach as you laugh.

his eyes soften with a small grin. sometimes, he wonders what he'd done to deserve you.

you, with eyes that light up every time you see him. with that smile stretching your lips into a carefree curve; delighted and so full of life. you fill his heart with an immeasurable amount of love. if only you know what you do to him.

everything about you is so perfect. you're mesmerizing. you're his everything.

but he's not the only one.

just thinking of all the eyes who've dared to look at you..

his smile falls.

if only he could gauge their eyes out; or better yet, he could keep you all to himself. he'd mark you as his own, give you everything you could ever want or need. it isn't hard for him to do as he pleased.

but at what cost? you wouldn't be happy. you would hate him. but worst of all, he would hurt you.

and he couldn't hurt you. never.

and yet, as he watched a customer—another man—flirt with you, he couldn't help but rethink his choices. would it be better for him to take you, after all?

his eyes darken.

you're stuck.

after you had closed the shop, you were forced down.

he held your trembling wrists, firmly pressing them against the counter. 'his hands are cold,' you noted, breath hitching as he stared you down.

"look, i know i said 'fuck you' earlier, but i didn't mean for you to actually do so-"

"shut up."

you did.

he was mad, you could tell. frustrated, even.

why? did you do something wrong? were you being too mean earlier? did he find the secret stash of snacks you've been hiding from him-

you squeak when he hauls you up by the waist, fully lying you against the wide counter instead of the previous awkward position.

"w-wait, seriously, we can talk about this-"

you're cut off when he grips your chin, roughly forcing your eyes to meet his own.

"you know i don't like it when you avoid my eyes."

he's only an inch away from your face; his stare holds an intense wave of emotions. they swirl within his eyes, almost unreadable to you—but one stands out.

you lean your forehead against his, facing him head on. you don't avoid his eyes. you're not scared of looking directly at him, even in this situation. that might be another one of the reasons why he's fallen so hard.

"why're you hurting?"

his eyes crinkle as he grins. such a sweet human. no matter the circumstance, you never lose your heart. do you not find him threatening? he stares at the guilty little twinkle in your eyes. how can one be so cute.

you're not making this any easier for him, are you? he can barely control himself as is.

your eyes catch a glint, honing onto his sharp fangs.

what-

"ah, the cat's out of the bag."

his voice sends shivers down your spine, and unconsciously, you move back.

he doesn't allow it, however, as he guides you closer. his fingers draw up your leg, leaving a trail of heat despite the contrasting temperature of his hand.

he stops at your thigh, pulling it up to his hip.

he's so fucking close.

"i can feel you shaking, sweetheart. are you scared?"

you shake your head, but he's already caught the traces of fear that linger on your features.

"lying is a sin, love. weren't you the one who taught me that?"

the next moment is a blur.

he leans down, fangs poking the skin of your neck. dread settles into the pit of your stomach. the fear comes after; and then the panic sets in.

but it's already too late.

you whimper, biting your lip to distract you from the pure, unadulterated pain. your trembling hands find their way to the back of his shirt, tightly clutching the fabric.

you don't even realize that you're crying until he rubs your cheek, and you feel the tears sliding against your skin.

his fangs sink deeper, and the agonizing pain melts away, replaced with a growing heat in your abdomen. you stifle a moan, the metallic taste of your blood lingering on your bitten lip.

he keeps you against the counter, a hand tracing circles on your waist. suddenly, you're not scared anymore. your heart beats erratically, but you find nothing out of place. in fact, everything feels right.

a headache surfaces, and you groan into his shoulder as he pulls away. a drop of blood trails down your neck, but he licks it off. you shiver, feeling hyperaware of every movement.

he smiles at your dazed state. he rubs your head, pulling you closer when you bury yourself in his chest, nuzzling into his embrace.

his eyes trail down to the mark on your neck, and he grins with pride; kissing your temple.

you'll probably be mad when you're not dazed anymore..

no matter, he'll make it up to you later. right now, he can't wait to take you home.

[prickly-paprikash]

Don't you just hate it when one of the biggest grifters online decides to like a piece of media you like?

Gatekeeping is wrong. Forcing someone to like something in the specific way I interact and consume a piece of media is wrong. Art is meant to be viewed through a multitude of lenses, and each individual will have their own way of interpreting that creation. And that's good. That's fine. That's human.

But when an Anti-Woke Grifter who thinks alcoholism is a really cool personality trait and decides to brand everything about themselves as that; who has historically engaged and criticized films and shows and games and books in bad faith; who has put down women and POC's and Queer representation in media; who is one of the biggest dicks in the online space decides to actually pay attention to an art that is pretty much dipped, coated, laminated, and injected with fucking GAY, ANTI-PATRIARCHAL ENERGY—that's when I get mad.

For those not in the know, Critical Drinker has posted a review for Blue Eye Samurai, saying he likes it.

You know... Blue Eye Samurai?

The show that oozes Queer Wrath? Feminine Rage? Curb-Stomping Toxic Masculinity and the Patriarchy whenever and wherever it can? That Blue Eye Samurai?

See, he's done this before with Arcane.

He says he likes it. Him and his ilk say that, "Finally, the wokies have done something actually good!" and point to Vi and Jinx as strong female characters written well!

But they also say, dang, feels like all the men in that show are idiots and that they had to be dumbed down to make room for the rainbow-haired girlies brigade. Who have all remarked that Vi and Caitlyn's relationship is forced and being shoved down our throats because god forbid women like women!

I got sick of watching his Arcane review halfway, and this was before I knew what a douche Critical Sucker was.

So I ain't watching his Blue Eye Samurai review. Why?

His Glass Onion review was done in bad faith.

I didn't like She-Hulk, but that's because that show was a byproduct of abused VFX animators, creatively bankrupt executives, and writers desperately trying to manage a convoluted shared universe that continues to buckle under its own weight. Political Stinker over here thinks that it's pandering, stupid, feminist garbage. He is one of the biggest Anti-Feminist voices in Youtube.

Him and his incel brigade have an obsession over hating Captain Marvel and Brie Larson. These basement dwelling cucks rant and rave over a mediocre duology and an actress that just lives in their tiny heads rent-free.

He says that they are removing men from leading roles and roles of great importance!

So why would I want to listen to an inebriated libertarian's opinions on a show that has become the show for lesbians, trans mascs, and other lovely brands of gay and feminism that he oh so despises? He'll most likely praise the action and violence and shit like that, then probably say that Mizu and Taigen's homoerotic rivalry isn't gay actually. Or that Mizu and Akemi's narrative foils don't scream enemies-to-sapphics. Or that Mizu, WHO'S NAME MEANS WATER AND HER ENTIRE CHARACTER REVOLVES AROUND FLUIDITY ISN'T IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM FLUID IN HER GENDER AND SEXUALITY.

Fuck. I'm sorry. I don't even care if he doesn't say that. He's made so many disgusting, disparaging remarks about any piece of media that shows an inkling of progressive themes that what else am I supposed to expect?

If anyone watches it and sees this, lemme know. Watching an Anti-Woke bullshit video with just myself is just straight up wading through the desert without proper protection. No thanks.

Anyway watch Blue Eye Samurai again. Because I know you watched it. Watch it again. And again. And when you're done, watch Arcane. Watch She-Ra. Watch Dragon Prince. Castlevania. Watch anything "woke". Consume trans-positive shows. Make all the haters and even the ones who like it but have no ounce of media literacy irrelevant. Let them dry out and die, please.

[chronophobique]

Prompt: Is that blood on your shirt?

— 793 words

When she starts and her cup of tea slips between her fingers, Hermione waits for an impact that never comes.

“I didn’t know a simple flu could make you this clumsy,” her surprise visitor says, wand in hand, before levitating the cup he’s stopped mid-air to her kitchen counter.

“Malfoy,” she exhales, relieved in spite of herself to find a familiar face in her living room. “What are you doing here?”

And what are you looking at? She thinks irritatingly when she catches his judging eyes sweeping her body up and down as if it’s his first time seeing a nightshirt and a pair of comfortable slippers.

“I was in the area,” he replies, averting his gaze to analyse her flat like the snoop she now knows him to be.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she watches him scrutinising the furniture, her choice of decoration, her photos. “So you thought it would be a good idea to pay a visit to your sick coworker? That’s not very perspicacious of you, is it?”

He who spends most of his time at the Ministry trying to outsmart her instead of focusing on his own tasks.

“Hm, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure some would call it a thoughtful gesture.”

Hermione rolls her eyes, then asks again, “Why are you here?”

“Are you expecting someone?”

Confused, she waits for him to elaborate. When he doesn’t, she follows his gaze to her bare legs. “It’s pyjamas,” she grits, suddenly very aware of her attire and general appearance.

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“At least I’m wearing clean clothes. I can’t say the same about you. What’s that, on your shirt? Blood?”

Taken aback, he stops his pacing to look down at himself. After barely a second, he shakes his head. “Coulis.”

“I beg your pardon?”

He walks to her then.

“What’s this?” she asks when he hands her a verrine.

“Ever more questions,” he mutters. “What does it look like?”

“Well, some kind of yoghurt, I suppose.”

“Some kind of—” he repeats as if he’s never heard anything more offending. “This, Granger, is a panna cotta.”

Her favourite dessert.

“And…” she trails off, observing him carefully. “You bought it for me?”

“I made it,” he corrects at the same time he practically shoves it in her hand.

“For me.”

Although the rational part of her mind wants to blame it on the fever or the lighting, Hermione can swear his cheeks turn a beautiful pink.

“Actually, it’s for the monstrous ball of fur currrently hissing and spitting at me,” he replies sarcastically as he eyes Crookshanks with both disgust and annoyance. “What do you think?”

Too tired to match his attitude, she gives him the fakest smile she can muster, making sure he knows it’s anything but sincere. “Thank you. I’ll get it tested for poison.”

That makes him grin. “I expected no less from you.”

With that, he turns on his heels and heads for the fireplace. “Oh, and Granger,” he says as he looks at her over his shoulder. “You look positively dreadful. Did I already tell you that?”

“Git!” she exclaims as she throws the verrine at him a second too late, disappointed to see the glass shatter against the brick wall instead of his oh so perfect suit.

At some point during her day, her medication is so strong that Draco visiting her to give her her favourite dessert is starting to feel like a product of her imagination.

At least until the weekly phone call with her mother.

“How was the panna cotta? Not too liquid, I hope. You know how I am, I always have the recipe in mind, but my quantities are always approximate.”

“Wait, wait, wait, Mum. What are you talking about?”

“Is there a problem with the reception? I was talking about the panna cotta,” she screams directly into the receiver.

Hermione winces. “No, I heard you. I meant—how did you know about it? Who told you?”

“Well, your boyfriend, of course. You haven’t eaten it yet?”

At her mother’s words, the witch nearly chokes on the bread she’s nibbling. “My boyfriend?”

“Oh, what a funny man you found, Hermione,” she giggles. “It was almost as if he’d never used a telephone before.”

A nervous laugh escapes her. It can’t be.

“Are you telling me that Malfoy—I mean, Draco, called you?”

“He didn’t tell you? Oh, he sounded worried. At first I thought something had happened to you. But no, it turns out your considerate boyfriend simply wanted to surprise you with your favourite dessert, hoping it would brighten your day a little. Did it work? Is there any chance that it was a subtle way to propo—”

Hermione hangs up before her mother can finish her sentence.