#we're all trying very hard to keep a lid on it

[moocha-muses]

"You two should come over for dinner soon. We still have some of Lilo's baby stuff-"

[sh4nksslvt]

sooo what if reader and shank,established relationship,and they keep their relationship pretty hidden for a long while until one day one of their crew m mates found them making out/kiss(?) by accidentally but that crewmate keeps that secret hidden but slowly teasers them during dinner(which made the others confused) but soon after they kind of reveal their relationship and the crew goes shocked or something

thats a nice idea~ hope u like this!

Six Months of Secrets, Five Minutes of Hell

Keeping a relationship secret on the Red Force is hard — especially when your crewmate catches you making out and decides to turn dinner into your personal hell.

Shanks x gn! reader | ONE SHOT tags: sfw, fluff, secret relationship, banter, chaotic crew, red hair pirates shenanigans, humor a/n: this js me trying to write ffs, this is experimental and for fun only so expect this ff cringe and oc word count: 1.7k

masterlist | ko-fi

: 𓏲🐋 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖✩࿐࿔ 🌊

The Red Force rocked lazily on the evening tide, the low hum of laughter and clinking mugs filling the warm air. As always, dinner aboard the Red-Haired Pirates was less a meal and more a festival of chaos. Plates clattered, arguments erupted over who cheated at cards, and somewhere in the back, Lucky Roux and Bonk Punch were having a loud, messy food-eating contest that Makino would absolutely kill them for if she were around.

Amidst the noise, you and Shanks sat far apart — as usual. It had always been that way: yelling across the deck, trading jabs and insults like candy. To the crew, you were the ship’s resident cats-and-dogs duo: always ready to bite each other’s heads off, throwing punches (mostly playful, mostly), and causing drama like your lives depended on it.

Which made it the perfect cover.

Because behind closed doors — in stolen moments under the stars, behind barrels, in empty storerooms — you and Shanks weren’t fighting at all. In fact, if Lime Juice hadn't turned the wrong corner half an hour ago and seen his beloved captain pressed against you, hand tangled in your hair while your legs wrapped tight around his hips, he would still be as blissfully oblivious as the rest of them.

Instead, now he sat at dinner looking like a man who had seen the very fabric of reality torn apart.

You caught his eye across the table. He twitched violently and immediately looked away, face burning. Shanks, the bastard, just kept eating, hiding his smug smile behind a mug of sake.

It was going to be a long night.

Earlier That Evening

It wasn’t supposed to happen. You both knew better. But Shanks had looked at you a certain way, had that lazy, half-lidded, I'm about to ruin your life grin — and well, one thing led to another.

You were tucked away in the shadowy corridor near the storage rooms, your back to the wall, Shanks’ mouth trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses along your neck. Your hands fisted the fabric of his shirt, tugging him impossibly closer. His hand splayed along your hip, anchoring you there like he never planned to let go.

"You know," you gasped between kisses, "someone’s gonna catch us one of these days—"

"Let 'em," Shanks muttered into your skin. "I'll kiss you right in front of them."

The taste of him — rum, sea salt, and something recklessly him — made your head spin.

"we're really pushing our luck here." he murmured against your mouth, hands skating under your shirt to press warm palms against your lower back

You kissed him harder in answer, swallowing the grin tugging at his lips. "You’re the one who dragged me back here, Captain."

He hummed, low and pleased, nosing along your jawline before trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down your throat. His beard scratched deliciously, making you shiver and clutch at his shirt.

"Couldn’t help it," he muttered, voice rough. "You looked too good tonight. Wanted to —" Another kiss, wetter, deeper. "— ruin you a little."

Your laugh dissolved into a gasp when he tugged you flush against him, hands greedy, mouth finding that spot just below your ear that made you tremble.

You twisted your fingers into the front of his open shirt, tugging him even closer, losing yourself in the heat, the hunger, the low rumble of approval he made when you bit his lip—

—and that's exactly when Lime Juice rounded the corner.

You barely had time to flip him off before you heard a yelp — a very familiar yelp — and the clatter of dropped crates.

You and Shanks snapped your heads around in unison.

Lime Juice stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights, mouth opening and closing uselessly like a goldfish. One of the barrels he was carrying had rolled away, leaking pickles everywhere.

"...Oh" he said faintly. "Oh no."

"Yo, Lime," Shanks greeted casually, still holding you scandalously close.

You elbowed Shanks hard in the ribs, making him grunt and finally step back. Lime Juice immediately spun on his heel and sprinted away, arms flailing.

You both stared after him.

"...Think he’ll keep his mouth shut?" you asked.

Shanks grinned, cocky and unbothered. "Depends. Might have to bribe him."

You rolled your eyes. "You're insufferable."

"You love me," he sing-songed.

You did. God help you, you really did.

Dinner — Lime Juice: Menace Unleashed

Dinner was supposed to be your safe zone. Laughs, food, and maybe some semi-violent card games.

Instead, you felt like you were on trial.

Lime Juice sat across from you, sipping soup very pointedly. Too pointedly. He kept darting glances at you and Shanks, grinning into his cup like he knew something the rest didn’t.

You felt sweat trickling down your back.

Shanks was no better. His fake casual air was cracking at the seams — his laughter a little too loud, his drinking a little too fast.

"Oi, [Name]," Lime Juice drawled suddenly.

You stiffened.

"If someone was, say, very... energetic... tonight, would it be because they had a good workout?"

"...Workout?" Yasopp repeated, confused.

You nearly knocked your plate off the table.

"You good?" Yasopp asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'M FINE," you wheezed.

The crew blinked.

"Yeah," Lime said smoothly. "Like, I dunno. Someone looked... very physically satisfied coming to dinner."

You choked on your drink so violently that Benn Beckman actually looked concerned.

"Oi," Lucky Roux said, frowning, "what are you going on about, Lime?"

"Nothing~," Lime Juice sang innocently. "Just making observations."

Benn Beckman narrowed his eyes. "You’re being weird."

Shanks shot Lime Juice a murderous look. Lime Juice only smiled wider, sweet as poison.

"And you, Captain," Lime said innocently. "You seem... loosened up. Someone helping you relieve that tension?"

You squeezed your eyes shut. He's going to kill us. He's actually going to kill us.

Meanwhile, the others were getting suspicious.

"Something’s weird," Bonk Punch muttered.

"Maybe they're possessed," Hongo said wisely.

Beckman was watching you two now, sharp-eyed. "You’re twitchier than Shanks at a wine-tasting."

"I am NOT twitchy," Shanks snapped way too fast.

You kicked him under the table. He kicked you back.

Even Monster the monkey was looking at you weirdly.

But Lime Juice wasn’t done.

A few minutes later, while you were mid-bite, Lime leaned back and loudly said:

"Captain~ Been... getting lucky lately?"

The clang of Shanks dropping his fork was deafening.

You wanted to sink through the floor.

The table stared at him. Shanks cleared his throat, cheeks darkening.

"Just... lucky at cards," he said weakly.

"Riiiight~" Lime said with an evil wink.

Hongo scratched his head. "Is he drunk already?"

"I don't get it," Bonk Punch muttered. "What's Lime talking about?"

"Maybe he's implying Shanks got laid," Yasopp joked, laughing.

Everyone chuckled.

Except you and Shanks — who went rigid.

Lime Juice just smiled, swinging his legs casually like a cat about to knock over a full glass.

When dessert arrived, Lime Juice decided to finish you off.

"Say, Y/N," he said loudly, as you reached for a slice of pie. "Didn't realize you had a thing for redheads."

You froze, hand hovering mid-air.

The whole table turned toward you like vultures.

"...What?" you croaked.

"Redheads," Lime Juice said innocently. "They're so... passionate, right? Bit clumsy. Lots of scars. Missing limbs, sometimes."

He was describing Shanks down to the last goddamn freckle.

"So, Cap. Hypothetically," he said, voice dripping fake innocence, "if you were secretly dating someone hot and chaotic, who throws knives at you for fun... would you keep it hidden? Or would you, say, be caught making out behind the supply crates?"

Bonk Punch's fork clattered to his plate.

Yasopp’s eyes widened.

Lucky Roux gasped.

"Wait," Benn said slowly, staring at you both. "Wait a damn minute."

"LIME!" you hissed under your breath.

"WAIT," Yasopp said. "ARE YOU SAYING—"

Absolute silence.

Even Monster the monkey dropped his banana.

Shanks groaned into his hands.

You dropped your forehead to the table with a loud thunk.

Then —

Shanks groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Fine. You win. Whatever."

Lime Juice’s grin split his face.

"Wait," Lucky Roux said, slowly connecting the dots. "Are you two actually—"

"YES," Shanks barked.

"FOR SIX MONTHS," you added miserably.

Dead silence.

Then all hell broke loose.

"WHAT THE HELL—"

"HOW?!"

"WHEN?!"

"WHY DIDN'T WE SEE IT?!"

"I THOUGHT THEY HATED EACH OTHER!" Yasopp screamed.

"BECAUSE THEY ACT LIKE THEY WANT TO KILL EACH OTHER!" Bonk Punch yelled.

"That’s called foreplay, Bonk," Lime Juice said helpfully.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Bonk Punch yelled..

Beckman just sighed like a man sixty years too old for this shit and took a long drag of his cigarette. "I'm gonna need another drink. Maybe ten."

The Aftermath

"You threw a chair at him last week!" Hongo yelled at you.

"It was flirting!" you shouted back.

"YOU BROKE A WINDOW!"

"IT WAS A SEXY WINDOW BREAK!"

Shanks just slung an arm lazily over your shoulder, laughing so hard he was hiccupping.

"So what," Shanks slurred, grinning. "You guys are just mad you didn't notice how hot we are together?"

"I'M MAD I HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT!" Yasopp howled.

Monster made gagging noises.

Lime Juice beamed with the pride of a man who had lit the match and dropped it into a fireworks factory.

You thought, maybe after the initial explosion, they’d move on.

You were wrong.

They would not shut up.

"So, Shanks," Yasopp smirked. "Who's on top?"

You hurled a bread roll at his head. He caught it and winked.

"Oh my god, did you guys bang in the crow’s nest?" Bonk Punch gasped.

"Don't answer that," Beckman muttered.

"You’re gonna answer that later, right?" Lucky Roux asked you, waggling his eyebrows.

"I’M LEAVING," you shouted, standing up so fast your chair toppled over.

Shanks caught your wrist, laughing. "Aw, come on, Y/N. You can't leave me alone to suffer."

"You’re the reason we’re suffering!"

"I call it mutual destruction, baby."

You kicked him lightly under the table. He kicked you back. Several of the crew made knowing noises.

Later — Peace (Sort of)

You slumped against the rail later that night, exhausted and mildly traumatized.

Shanks sidled up beside you, bumping his hip into yours.

"You still mad?"

"I’m plotting your death," you muttered.

He slung an arm around you, pulling you in.

"You love me."

"Unfortunately."

Across the deck, Lime Juice cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted: "USE A CONDOM NEXT TIME!"

You flipped him off so hard you nearly dislocated your wrist.

Shanks just roared with laughter, burying his face in your shoulder.

Maybe getting caught wasn't the worst thing after all. Not when you had this.

© ᵈᵒˡˡʸʷᵒⁿˢ ᶠᵒʳ ᵗʰᵉ ᵈᶦᵛᶦᵈᵉʳˢ <³

[ssaalexblake]

The thirteenth doctor is Really mean when she's angry (and she's angry very frequently) and her shielding her companions from that 95% of the time is her trying her hardest not to take her own issues out on them. It Doesn't always work, sometimes she slips and is cruel to them, but she tries.

Just because she's not quite got that the way to deal with your anger Isn't to bottle it up and then take it out on bad guys and evil aliens when you get the chance, doesn't mean she's not making a genuine effort to Not be a jerk to her friends.

I mean, I know full well that acting nice as pie to them and then finding somebody to take the aggression out on is not a healthy coping mechanism. There is no way on earth that the doctor would ever know this.

And sure, she's also trying her hardest to keep them around and not show them her darker side, but that doesn't mean she's not also trying not to hurt them. She does a lot of shielding them to protect them in different ways.

Fandom really needs to stop acting like we're her companions in s11-12 who don't also get to see behind the curtain into her private moments. I'd forgive the fam for not knowing about some of her rage and meanness because she Is trying hard to keep a lid on it, but We're not them. We get to see her taking this out on bad guys in private. We get to see her alone. We're not supposed to have the same view of her as the fam because we know more about her

She's mean, toothy, angry, callous, trying her damn hardest to shield her friends from these things. She's happy, she wants to help, she adores science, she will put herself in danger for others. She'll try and help still even if she wants to curl up in a ball and cry.

By Flux, Yaz knows her Far better and thirteen knows this and it's why they're in conflict more often. Yaz isn't the type to let things go easily (or at all) and Thirteen is confident that Yaz won't ditch her and for all this relationship seems more contentious, they're on much more equal footing now.

But like, thirteen is a mean angry person, she's not a screamer or a cryer, she'll lose her temper and aim a verbal hit below the belt in a low pitched growl. I forgive the fam for missing this one at first because it was intentional that they did, but the audience is supposed to be able to identify behavioural differences when she's with one group of people and another group. Or just notice in general that she's nasty to people when she loses her temper.

It's not the show's fault the audience didn't pay attention. Or that it thinks women's anger is screaming and crying and that everything else should be disregarded as nothing.

[dadsbongos]

sorry no posts here's a jimmy blurb i did to keep the fingers flexible

722 words. unedited.

@jimmyscanongf ❤️ i hope it's tasty 2 you specifically

~~~

You must be sick. 

Worse than your neighbor's kid with influenza. Worse than your dad's weekend hangovers. Worse than Anya every morning. 

Because the way Jimmy looks at you is starting to feel real good: hot butter sizzling in a pan, startlingly loud pops when meat slops out of tight seal grocery store packaging. Or the sun on some Sunday morning in April right before the monsoons hit. Soft beach sand wiggling between each toe and curling deeper.

So strange -you think while recounting how badly the shared bathroom stank after Swansea- the way Jimmy looks at you.

“I had to hold my breath,” you wheeze and the scarred corner of his lips raises higher than the other, “Seriously, I'd ask what the guy eats but it's the same cheap shit we're fed too!”

He doesn't respond for awhile, gaze flickering from your right eye to the left before he swipes his tongue over his bottom lip and shrugs, “Could be all the fucking coffee backed up in his gut. You know he's the one that sucked the tap dry?”

“Ew!” you swat his firm arm, it doesn't budge even a centimeter, and sneer, “I don't wanna think about his coffee guts.”

Jimmy snorts, lips still barely parted, “But you'll talk about his shit?”

“What his shit smells like,” you correct.

His lids flutter slowly as if paranoid you will be gone once they're open again. Lashes batting against scruffy cheeks before resetting on your face. His pupils are blown out: two ink wells in one ring of some murkier color. Brown maybe. Potentially possibly you spot a smidgen of green, darker than swamp water. Hard to tell with all that black eating at the edges, nibbling and swelling until you can see your entire face in one little eye.

Jimmy watches you like he studies you -- photographer to hunting lion style, each twinge of muscle commands attention. He'll settle on one eye, then your other, then the dimple in your forehead and your cupid's bow and your chin acne. Only a few burgeoning red bumps surrounded by pinprick sebaceous filaments, but he traces each inflated pore with the care of fine porcelain. So intent with his staring you think he may be trying to peek right through your skin.

To a degree it's unsettling, that animal instinct mewling inside you for mercy. To another it's flattering, ego cawing for preening and pets. And a third suggests you only like what remains unsaid. 

Jimmy scratches beneath his chin, stretching out that thick neck peppered with bristly hair. Stubbornly, though, his head is angled your way with both eyes in one searing spot. A wider grin spreads over his face,

“I bet it's old age. Gutty works are already gone sour.”

“That's terrible!” you cry, shuffling closer on the lounge couch. Both shoulders cramped around your chest, one arm flush against his. 

Two very good coworkers with an on par professional relationship. No more, and certainly no less.

“Am I wrong though?” he prods, unblinking. 

You can see the red spindles webbed around the rims of his sockets, disbelieving his face is relaxed with how wide each eye sticks. That thought vanishes as soon as he chuckles at his own awful jab. Jimmy the stickler has never been more easygoing.

“You shouldn't say it out loud,” is all you can mumble when the doors gasp over your shoulder.

Wheezing apart, old maid Tulpar unveils the disheveled nurse. Dark hair tangled around her neck and gloomy eyes bordering yellow. Contrasted with the violently violet skin sagging beneath her droopy bottom lashes. Cracked lips twist unpleasantly at the sight of you both before a soft,

“Good morning.”

Jimmy grunts and breaks his focus from you to spotlight the daytime window screen. 

“Morning, Anya,” you drone.

As she scurries out quicker than she wandered in, you consider chasing the nurse back to her office. You must be sick after all to so crave the crazed eyes of Jimmy. Every second he goes without looking at you is just another reason to end it all. 

You may as well crash the ship- be rid of Swansea’s rank guts, Anya’s mysterious stomach bug that came with an adorable pink plus sign, and worst of all: your crush on this virus with the worst eye contact you've ever seen.

[vshiftsss]

asks for saia's ask game!!

⊹ 🔮 PROPHECY — ✶ do you have a special role or purpose in your dr world?

⊹ 🛍️ TREAT YOURSELF — ✶ what’s the coolest thing you own in your dr that you don’t have in your cr?

⊹ 💔 GHOST OF THE PAST — ✶ have you experienced loss or heartbreak in your dr?

⊹ 💭 UNWRITTEN PAGES — ✶ if your dr had a book, what is a chapter title that describes your journey?

SMALL TOWN DR Q&A 2 - (ASK GAME)

woo! row's back again! thank you for the ask fren <3

🔮 - PROPHECY...

i wouldn't say i have a special role, per se, but everyone knows me as either the librarian or the substitute teacher in our town. eventually, once i start helping simon with the case he keeps coming back to the library for, the town starts to see me in a different light. so i'm not sure if i have a special role or purpose, but i try my best to help as much as i can!

🛍️ - TREAT YOURSELF...

the coolest thing i own is definitely the family piano. it's been passed down from generation to generation, and in our town, it was initially used by my great grandmother who was a famous musician in her time. she collaborated with many legends, and we even have some signatures on the lid! some of the keys still have faded labels on them from when i was learning how to play. as for the piano itself, it is a beautiful chestnut color with a glossy finish. very pretty! i play it often, and simon tries his best occasionally.

💔 - GHOST OF THE PAST...

the first thing that comes to mind is when my mom first told me she was leaving to live in another state. there was a hospital offering her a higher position than the one she had in our town, so she took that opportunity immediately. however, she told me (i was 19 around this time; just got my job at the library and i was enrolled in community college) that i would need to take care of the house and my sister. of course, she would send financial support, but i couldn't handle the fact that my mom, the sole figure i looked to for guidance and comfort, was leaving. in such a short time, as well.

after she left, the house didn't feel the same. aviva (my sister) seemed as if she was mostly fine, but she could tell i was feeling the pressure from the sudden shift in authority. but, we worked around it, and now we're closer than ever. now that i'm financially stable on my own, my relationship with my mom has weakened, mainly because she's so busy and, frankly, doesn't try to reach out as much as she claims. but we move!

💭 - UNWRITTEN PAGES...

holy shit. a chapter title? you would think i could come up with those, but if i'm being frank...i haven't titled a chapter since i was in fifth grade. erm. awkward! i can try though.

i think mine would be, "she's trying. she's succeeding. and finally, she's opening her eyes."

this dr is just a fun small town, but it's also a place where everyone already knows you. whether it's as the librarian that's all easy smiles and playful banter, or as the oldest sister of two who tries too hard just for no one to see her. when you get a new chance to prove yourself as someone who is worthy of being proud of, you take it. and that opportunity is simon asking me to help with his case.

i learn a lot of things, i make mistakes, but most of all, people see me. people see the woman i can be and what i can do for others. i finally feel as if i made an impact, and that i did something that benefits everyone. even if my mom doesn't see me, other people do. simon does. my friends do. aviva does. and at the end of my journey, i finally notice that. shit like that changes mindset, and it will in my dr!

whoops, got a little deep there...lol! my bad.

END OF POST - HAPPY SHIFTING!

divider.

tags...@visualcve @julianasversee @miaojune @avelineshifts

ask game :)

[greennoobartist]

Replying to these again bcuz yes :)

@lilyhatesthenumber4 @i-love-zelda-16 @thebackofmymind4 @nevermatchandscpsradadventures @blupeeblep

I don’t care about how old you are; if you’re going through this kind of stuff, it doesn’t matter. You need help. I am a Christian, so in a way, religion does matter to me, but it won’t stop me from trying to show you the love of Christ through our screens. I don’t know what to say to the rest of the post, except that stress and anxiety can definitely mess with your memory (personal experience, not trying to gaslight/anything), and you’ve been dealing with a lot. Definitely not discounting trauma-induced amnesia/whatever, just acknowledging what I do know. I will continue to pray for you through this and do my best to support you. God bless you - Nevermatch

<Gently grabs you and wraps my arms around you in a hug and rocks us back and forth> (if you like physical touch) I'm so sorry that that's happened. Healing is a long journey I've heard. I don't know the entire situation, but if you think you've been abused, that's probably what's happened. I know depression is a hard thing. My mom has it and still struggles with it daily. But that doesn't mean you should give up. Every day there's a chance of something amazing that you might miss. Look for the silver lining. It's hard, and even harder with depression, and I don't have it (I don't think), so I don't know entirely what to say. (And I have to go now, so... Rest of response a little later) You're not dumb and blind. You've been hurt, and a blindfold forced upon your lids. When you're used to something, it's hard to get rid of. It takes a while to adjust. Being honest to oneself is a very good step. It's hard. I, myself, still many times lie to myself. It's part of human nature. And trying to be open to oneself is a hard, but fruitful, journey. Idk for sure what the voice is, but it could be (forgive me real quick because I'm religious) the devil, Satan, trying to win you over and drag you down. He does that when he knows that you're a grand spirit who has a grand purpose. Don't let him win. Happily punch that guy in the face! (It'll be hard, but I believe in you, and have your back at best I can! You've got this!) It sucks that you have no backup in your family. I extend being able to be part of my hoard (dragon name for family that I use in my found family ^w^) if you'd like. Also, would totally kid nap you, fr. I don't know how to get away with it, or if we're close enough, but I would. I don't know your family situation, but if there was an adult that you know irl that you're close with, you might be able to tell them and get help there? Idk. (I may not be a professional (yet), but I am a friend, and friends help each other and make sure their mate knows they've got the others back. 🫂) Also, age and religion doesn't really matter to me. Age is a number, and religion is a view point of the world. You can be any age or any religion, and I wouldn't give two shakes. You can talk about either, you can keep it secret, I don't mind. I'll support you and be with you either way, no matter what. And crying is good and important. It's a release mechanism our body has for stress and such. It's part of the healing process. It's not weak. It's strength.

(Lmao Blep is the kidnapping part a good or a bad thing XD. Literally like paused and was like....whut? Should i be happy about it or freaked out XDD/joking)

Thx for support again, y'all. I am definitely planning to go to a therapist or psychologist or someone classified to help me. I think that keeping it under a rock will just make everything way worse than it is.

I don't think ill share it with my family, and idk if I should. Ill probably just go to the psychologist during school hours so that no one figures it out (and even if they do, my mom knows that im not alright, she just doesn't know that this is the matter)

I literally feel like what Nevermatch said, kinda like i was putting Mentos in a bottle of Coke and keeping it closed and then just snapped. I never usually rant like this but recently I just felt like letting it out anyhow cuz it started to physically hurt.

Until I figure out with the psychologist, i decided that I should probably do my part, which would be more self care. I think I neglected myself with everything that was happening and I think that i should do my part and take care of myself before seeking deeper help. I definitely did abandon my needs and both physical and mental health just bcuz of others, so I should, at least for this upcoming spring break, cheer up myself and take care. I mean like, if im not kind to myself, then I don't think that anyone can help me.

Now when I think about it, i was being a hypocrite recently. Always telling everyone else to be kind to themselves and rant whenever needed and seek out help while I was here bottling up everything and keeping it to myself and neglecting my wishes and health. I was literally doing the opposite of what i was telling to everyone else.

Thank you all for support, this would've probably been burning inside me for longer until it just.... ... Finishes me off....

Also, Lily, for those antidepressants. I actually didn't know what that was until I googled it, and i don't think I am. The thing is that im not professionally diagnosed with any mental illness for now so that's why I wasn't even taking those. If now being nice to myself and some self care counts as an antidepressant, then I am planning to and definitely should.

Im glad that none of y'all care how old i am or whats my religion, bcuz here's the thing. If I was in LU, i would fall in the same category as Four and Wind. We don't know how old Four is but he's the second youngest (according to that one post imma try to find) and Wind is nearly 14. So yeah actually if imma rank myself like that, i would fall in the same age group with them i think. Yeah, im that young 😶 (Four can't be older than 16 now can he???)

Again, thank you all sm. Your support means the world. I think that i would've committed smth horrible if I didn't snap like this *nervous chuckle* Anyways-

Since I said that i want to care about myself again in hope to retrieve what I lost, ill place the rants aside and focus on positive things about the world. If smth really bad happens that i have to then I might drop down a short rant but ill aim not to. I wanna retrieve what I lost and I think that self care should be my first steps.

Thank you all so much ❣️💖🫶

Now that ill take care of myself, ill do things that i like, which means rambling :D

[hiskillingjar]

helloooo, hope youre having a nice day :) can we maybe get mc huffing strades sweaty pits? im am a very normal anon who can be trusted around stinky men, if you cant tell

you....you understand me, anon. like nobody else. this is totally pornographic and ya'll better be cool with it.

600+ words. we're on some faggot shit

The headboard of Strade's bed banged rhythmically with each hard thrust, accompanying grunts, groans and whimpers, and the sound of slapping flesh on flesh.

He had you on your front, hands and knees, head down and ass up. Stereotypical, really. Or, your head would have been down if he didn't have his thick fingers fisted in your hair, pulling your neck and chest upright as he fucked into you hard.

"Nghhh-" You moaned mindlessly, your drooling mouth wide open and panting as the headboard banging got a little less rhythmic and erratic, the more he went on.

You felt his hot breath on the back of your neck as he let out a gritted teeth groan, irritated by how long this was taking.

"Fuck, you're taking a lot out of me today, you little whore," He grunted, his accent thick, each breath heavy as he let go of your hair and placed his hand on your hips. "Let's have you doing some of the work, hm?"

You whined as he pulled out of you (feeling somehow empty without his pulsing cock), though you couldn't mourn the loss for long before he was man-handling you into a new position, pulling you into his lap, yanking your soft thighs apart and forcing your head down, so that he could wrap his arm around it, lodging you deep into the grove of his armpit, and keep you still in a tight headlock.

"Mmph…" You murmured, still a little dazed, your lids fluttering as he slid back inside of you and resumed thrusting, his other hand on your hip, forcing them to bob in time and putting a little more effort on your part.

He was already sweaty before this from a hard day of work, evidenced by wet stains in the pits of his overshirt and a thick, sour smell of sweat lingering on his tan and damp skin. Despite popular belief, he actually showered every day, but that wasn't enough to keep up with what he got up to (nor did it keep up with his German genes, he blamed it on once).

Sex had exerted him all the more though, and the scent of sweat and sex, deep and heady and teeth-achingly addictive, had only gotten worse, which meant being nestled so close to his armpits was sending you into absolute fucking overdrive.

"Goddduh-" You moaned stupidly, feeling your body tighten involuntarily when you felt the thick, wet hair that dusted his armpits against the corner of your mouth.

"Oh yeah, you like that?" He asked between pants, sliding a little deeper inside you, like he was trying to penetrate an organ (and you wouldn't have put it past him. "Your pussy is clinging onto me, so you must like it an awful lot, liebling." He laughed and flexed his bicep a little tighter, squeezing around your neck and making your head rush all the more.

"You're so fucking gross," You slurred, gasping as he pulled out of you and pressed the head of his cock up against your erect clit, stimulating it but barely. "Nghhhhh, so disgustinggg…guhh..."

"Mm, you like that though, don't you?" He teased, shifting his arm up a little more so that you were pressed right up against the deepest groove of his armpit, your nose nestling against the damp hairs, breathing in the thick, rich smell of his sweat. "You wanna be fucked by someone as gross as me, which, if you think about it," He breathed out, sliding back inside of you and feeling you grow tighter. "Makes you even grosser than me."

You couldn't resist a deep moan as you buried yourself more against his skin and dragged your tongue over him, tasting his body, tasting the thick scent, the sour, salty taste of his sweat.

"Gaaah," He groaned, squeezing your neck even tighter. "You little freak…"

"So fucking good," You murmured, your voice thick with demented lust as you delved your tongue back against his armpit, moaning as it worked its way against the sweaty and warm fold of fat, muscle and flesh, and your cunt squeezed even tighter against his pounding cock. "You smell so fucking good."

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for giving away my sisters fish?

This is a dumb and very long story (i could probably shorten it somehow but I don't know how) and I know the title makes me look bad.

Ok so, one evening my mom and my little sister(let's call her Jess) brought home a container of four fish that mum said she saw a guy selling on the road for about 2 dollars (I'm not american so I just calculated and it comes out to around 2 dollars)

This was during the end of year break when Jess was home (usually we all go to boarding school) None of us had ever had pet fish before and we didn't know what kind of fish they were, they looked different from each other and their size difference was pretty big too(the largest was about the size of three nail clippers stacked on top of each other and the smallest was about the size of 1/2 of a car key). So we weren't sure of the species of any and bought the most nondescript pack of fish food we could find, they ate it so we thought things were ok.

About 1 month into the break though (the end of year break where I am is 2 months), 1 of the fish died for reasons we still don't know (we changed the water every 3 days) and two weeks later a second one just disappeared, it wasn't in the bowl, and no one knew what happened. So by the time school started there were 2 fish left (Jess was sad but we also have dogs so she wasn't too sad)

All of us go to different boarding schools but ive been going to a day-school this past year because I'm scheduled for a surgery, so when everyone went back it was just me with the fish.

My elder sister (let's call her Kat) came home from university for a while and she thought the fish were cool so she asked my mom if she could tell her where she got them so she could get some for her dorm. My mom told her she just got them from some guy on the road who didn't have a stall and probably wouldn't be there if she drove to the place she found him. So she went back to uni without any fish

Flash forward, 4 weeks into the term, my mom comes to get me from school and she says was passing the area she saw the guy and he was there with another container of fish this time with about 10 fish also of various muddy and sandy colours, about length of the diameter of a soda-bottle cap (my mom said they also cost her about 2 dollars). I said we could split the fish in half, keep 6 and give Kat 6 for her dorm.

So I'm sitting in the car, holding the container of fish my laps and my mom suddenly stops the car because a person walking on the sidewalks falls into the trenches on the sides of the road. The person is ok but the car stops so suddenly and I'm not holding the container securely so it falls from my laps.

The container has a lid so the car is ok but the guy added some small rocks and a fake plant to the container so they kind of bury the some of fish and 6 of them die. I look on like an idiot while mom tries to settle the rocks but another fish is buried when the rocks are settled.

By the time we get home and transfer all the living fish into the bowl we already have, we have 5 fish in total. We move them to a new, slightly bigger bowl and feed them but by the next morning when I'm going to school i see 3 fish left.

When I get home, I tell my mom that maybe we aren't ready for fish and we should give them to Kat whose dorm may be less of a safety hazard (during the end of year break we used to play with the fish a lot, trying to touch their tails etc so we're definitely the reason the first batch died anyway. We're also 8 kids and there are kids older and younger than me so it would be hard to stop EVERYONE from being rough with the fish). I also had exams coming up and I was starting to put of changing the water and cleaning bowl until i saw algae growing on sides.

Kat has a roommate who thinks the fish are cool too so incase one of them forgets maintaining the fish the other can do it. (I also kind of secretly hoped the all fish would just die a week or two into being with them so it wouldn't bother them anymore I feel bad about it)

Anyway, 3 weeks later when Kat came home she took the fish with her. It's around the middle of the first term so it was Visitation Day at Jess's school yesterday (I think the name is self explanatory) and the first thing she asked about was the fish. I didn't know what to say so I told her the truth and she was so SAD!!(I mean obviously she'd be sad but visitation day is supposed to be a good day) because we named the fish and everything(the first batch, not the second) . I tried to tell her how Kat and her roommate were nice and would give the new fish good name but she said that was dumb I knew that was dumb and I wish had just lied about the whole thing and asked my mom to buy new fish but I feel like Jess would know so said nothing else

My mom kind of cheered her up by saying that during the holidays they could go get a good tank and actual goldfish from a better place but she was mad at me because I suggested that the fish be given to Kat and I feel like she's right because it would be stupid to ask Kat to bring the fish wish her the next time she came home.

All my other siblings not just Jess also got attached to the fish so I'll just be breaking the news to everyone for the next three weeks (because all schools where I am schedule visitation day in the same month) and just generally ruining the mood.

What are these acronyms?

[theflyindutchwoman]

Listen, about -- We should prob-- Sorry. Oh, the -- Sorry, no. Go ahead. You go first. You s-- You sure? Mm-hmm. Okay. I-I just wanted to say… …we need more work on our back story. Give it more depth. Key moments, you know? Yeah, we, uh, we could take the morning -- you know, while we're waiting for Hajek to call. That's great. Great.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 4.22 - Day In The Hole

That kiss really changed everything… It may have been initially for 'work', but the feelings it revealed? They were real… no matter how much they are going to try to pretend otherwise. And this scene gives us a really good aperçu of what's to come. The image of Tim waiting in his car, looking lost for a second, all pensive and preoccupied, already sets the tone. It's clear that he still hasn't completely recovered from his revelation in the hallway… Not that Lucy is faring any better : her little dorky wave speaks for itself as well...

Their meeting in the parking lot in front of the station also underlines the growing awareness of their feelings. Up until now (and Tim's fake proposal), they tended to meet in the parking garage, underground : a fitting metaphor for their feelings being buried underneath the surface. But now that they're out in the open, this is no longer necessary. I love the little details of these two meeting halfway and wearing matching outfits… It just reinforces this idea that they're both on the same page in that regard… And it makes their uncoordination sticks out even more. They're both so awkward around the other. She tries to break the ice by talking about their case, starting with a safe topic… But it feels clumsy, as further illustrated by how they speak at the same time, simultaneously… It is so rare to see them like this… so out of sync, so off-balance...

For a few seconds it seems like Tim is about to address the (new) elephant in the room, to confess… Lucy is looking at him intently, all curious and hopeful… There's so much longing and pining in that instant - before Tim changes his mind, following Lucy's lead instead. And yet… It's so obvious he wanted to say something else entirely. The more he talks, the more he keeps nodding, as if he's trying to convince himself. And Lucy… She's trying so hard to contain her disappointment, but her face still visibly falls. She was clearly expecting a very different type of conversation. Her stuttering when she answers just shows how flustered she is. And it makes me wonder what she was going to say at the very beginning, before Tim took the lead...

The way they both say 'great' couldn't sound any less convincing… Their relationship is shifting and they don't really know how to behave around the other anymore. They may want to downplay that moment to 'just a kiss', but they both know better. They need time to re-adjust, something they didn't necessarily need after that fake confession or after their almost kiss… There's no going back this time. They can't put a lid back on those feelings. This is just a prelude of what's to come… From Tim needing to confide about the kiss to Angela… To Lucy dreaming about it… To him trying to talk about what's happening in Vegas… And most importantly : to their awkward and pining era...

[supurman-a]

“you're safe here with me.”

he sees it again... he sees it clearly. metropolis in ruin. the anguish of cries that are happening all around him           too many to save at once. an onslaught of hands reaching at him in desperation. his friends... diana, bruce... they look at him in anguish anger. the fear of making a mistake haunted the perfect man. he could never be out of line. else there would be disappointment, failure, death, and ruin. everything far of perfection and benevolence that he strove for. messing up... having an accident. it could be catastrophic. a man like him, no matter how kind , could never make an error.

tonight having had stayed the night at bruce's home. a rare night bruce would sleep for an actual night ( after had been up for 36 hours, probably ). at first, it was nothing but some tossing and turning. but as the ailments in clark's own dreams turned to that of nightmare it all became much more than that. his heart was beating rapidly despite slumber. soon, he was levitating bemoaning the ailments that all we're within his head. ❝ i didn't mean it… ❞ a sorry tone, so small and desperate. it wasn't easy being a man made of steel, not at all. to never make a mistake. to worry about the ones you may make. even in his own sleep did he worry.

the terror only grew... under closed eye lids a threatening red glow permeated through the skin . even the sigh of pulsating blood vessels could be seen under the glow ready to shoot ultra condensed uv plasma. but then there is a rough touch on his wrist... an anchor from below . a jerk, a tug... keeping the kryptonian from floating any higher. urging him to wake. eyes snap open when the tug feels more like a hand pulling him out from under water. those very same red glowing eyes snap at bruce. they're so bright, giving the dark room red sheen. it really is bruce... but this time he wasn't looking at him in anger, it was concern. ❝ honey... ❞

It takes clark a moment to realize all the distress he was giving. flying, threatening plasma that begged to release from his gaze. ❝ oh - i - i'm sorry i just... it was a nightmare. i… ❞ he stutters helplessly over his words as he desperately pulls himself together.

red is dismissed to welcome a familiar ethereal blue just as he lowers back onto the mattress... a instant wave of dread comes over the super. how dangerous could he be when not in control. he saw it in his nightmares, and bruce saw it in clark's sleep. clark finds himself shrinking into the sheets trying to steady a racing heart and fast paced breath. shame... uncertainty. he felt like a wounded animal. ❝ i'm sorry. im really sorry. " pleading, almost. the large man becomes an ensnared hare and the sheets become brush to hide in. he can't look bruce in the eye, though he feels his hands along his hair and across his cheek... ❝ i could of hurt you. ❞ humans had nightmares. they tossed and turn with them. but clark was different; everything was different when he did anything. someone could die if he's ever out of line. it was hard being this way in front of his boyfriend. he only ever wanted to be perceived as reliable, dependable, steady, resilient. not small, anxious, clumsy, uncertain....

the super can feel bruce uncover his face. lift his head, and gently place it upon his lap to steadily run his hand along his hair.

“ you're safe here with me. ” @crimenight

the words come as a light in the dark - like the full moon. they halt clark's breath with it just for a moment. comforting were they just like his warm hands letting him know he wasn't alone. he could feel his eyes become glassy. the glisten builds into tears. they silent ones where he doesn't sob. only does he release a heavy sigh. though, its now his breathing begins to steady and heartbeat finds a more relaxed pace. ❝ i just don't want to let anyone down... my best. that's all i want to do. ❞ his voice is small in the darkness of the room. something raw and vulnerable. clark turns in bruce's lap to turn so that he can look upward at his dearly beloved... ❝ i love you.. can you hand me my glasses ? ❞

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

We know you enjoy fucked up characters. But which HP and Twilight characters do you actually like/consider decent at least as people, not characters? I'd love a reasoning, if you have time for it, but if you don't, just a list would do, thank you!

In the traditional sense that tumblr would readily accept? Alright, I'll try listing things off and see what we get.

(As for my actually 'liking' that's a different story, as you note, I do genuinely like the fucked up characters who I claim are abominable. They're interesting to me, anon.)

Harry Potter

I'm only going to bother listing off the at least somewhat present characters. We're not going to talk about shop keepers who have two lines one time or someone who just gets mentioned offscreen.

Neville Longbottom

Neville's a good kid and kind of the Charlie Brown of the series. Just, god, this kid puts up with so much shit even from those who are supposed to kind of be his friends.

However, I can never remember him ever being remotely awful even in a normal teenage way. He's just a really nice kid who has shitty teenage friends.

Luna Lovegood

Luna's a bit strange but also suffers from the seeming to be a good kid with shitty friends syndrome. Especially when those friends are worse to her than they are to Neville (quite the accomplishment). Luna should have blown her lid years ago but takes it all in stride even when Ron, Harry, and Hermione are actively making fun of her to her face.

God, Luna, I'm so sorry.

Fleur Delacour

Fleur is standoffish to Harry at first, but it's reasonable given the position she's in, her age at the time, and that it looks like Hogwarts favoritism. However, to me she generally acts nice and like a very decent person, even when the Weasleys are giving her constant hell for daring to date Bill.

Viktor Krum

Viktor seems like a nice enough guy. We don't see too much of him but he's friendly, approachable, he and Hermione have a great time at the dance and brief romance and every bad thing he ever did turned out to be him getting imperiused.

Twilight

Charlie Swan

Charlie has some serious flaws and some issues when it comes to seeing Jacob clearly/disregarding his daughter but he does genuinely seem to try his best and have her best interests at heart.

Billy Black

Billy, you poor man. In every instant Billy is trying to do right by his son, his people, his friends, or Bella and he comes off a superstitious madman, an old man who has no idea what he's talking about and the Cullens are amazing, or someone who doesn't understand.

Jessica Stanley

Jessica's a gossip and a teenage girl but she goes out of her way to do right by all of her friends. We don't see too much with the other girls, as Bella... cares about Bella, but she goes above and beyond for Bella when none of her other friends are there for her.

She nopes out (as she should have when hanging around Bella became dangerous for her) but she hangs out with Bella later when Bella's... stabilized and never brings up what happened.

Beautifully repaid for this by Edward and Bella both thinking she's The Worst.

Mike Newton

Mike's not a bad kid, he's just a teenage boy. He's about what I'd expect from any teenage boy in any high school. He's very interested in girls, yes, but he also reacts in ways normal people should like say when Bella looks like she's going to pass out in Biology over the blood testing and he's freaking out over it.

Sam Uley

I may get flack for this but the man does try. A lot. He tries to do right by all the people in the pack, tries to do right by Bella, tries to do right by Leah and Emily (even when imprinty shifty nonsense happens), and is forced into making very hard decisions. However he seems to be a very honorable and standup guy just in the worst circumstances.

Emily Young

Emily's another that tries to do right by everyone and is just caught in an awful mess. She tries to do right by Leah, by Sam, then keep her tribe together when these teenage boys keep imprinting on everything.

Leah Clearwater

Leah's full of anger but again always tries to do the right thing and is very levelheaded considering her circumstances. She doesn't want to hate Sam or Emily for what happened to her and actively tries to move on from her own hurt.

Seth Clearwater

Seth seems like a good, earnest, kid. His flaws are actually in his naivite and willingness to see the good in everybody when, yeah, Seth, maybe the Cullens are in fact dangerous and you shouldn't be buddy buddy with them. I've got nothing against Seth.

Quil Atera IV

Quil seems like a decent kid who got stuck imprinting on a toddler and is desperately trying to make the best of it in the only way he can: just being her baby sitter one time a week. Before the imprint he seemed like a decent enough guy.

I'm not going to list off all the pack but most of them seem like decent people trying to do the right thing if a little teenage boy-ish (which can sometimes make them assholes).

Carlisle Cullen

The man has some serious flaws and issues but I think he is a decent person at heart who does strive to live by his principles and do the right thing. (Also, you guys knew this one was coming).

Esme Cullen

Esme's bizarre, but she's a very sweet and caring person who I think is quite genuine in her compassion towards others. She may not be entirely there, but she does mean what she says and genuinely mean well for her family and for others. She just... says things sometimes, or doesn't realize that telling Edward it's okay to eat the girl means Edward would be... eating a teenage girl...

[tea-tarot-and-me]

Pick a Pile: Gateway Messages for the Weary Traveller

I don't know about you but it's been rough(er) since those March eclipses. The issues I'm facing and confronting for myself are very real and are for my benefit, it just feels like the universe is saying get with the program or stay in the blender until you're ready to do so. Welp...some choices will be made!

So, for my first pick a pile in a long while, I want to offer some words of encouragement as we all make our way.

Pile 1 (Top Left); Pile 2 (Top Right); Pile 3 (Bottom Left); Pile 4 (Bottom Right)

Disclaimer: These readings are for entertainment purposes only and are not to be used in place of medical, legal or professional advice.

Pile 1:

I chose this pile with you so let's get this message. There's a bit of a good domino effect happening. We're choosing to let go of burdens we've taken on or been handed that aren't for us, so that we can in turn, let go of the some of the stress that has been accumulating. Instead, we turn our attention to what we've been working on for the future. And we have been working, but it isn't time to harvest yet. There's still a ways to go.

Thankfully, in all of the craziness that life (and our past decisions) have brought our way, we've grown comfortable with hard work. And have grown our capacity for patience as we steadily make our way towards our goals. This has had a direct impact on our self-confidence and passion. We're standing tall(er) because we know what we can accomplish with our own hands, we've seen the direct effects. What hasn't come out quite so intact, is our relationship with our own intuition. There's still a disconnect when it comes to listening or following what we hear/see/know from what our intuition tells us. Chalk part of that disconnect up to exhaustion.

We're tired because we've been trying to keep it together for quite a while and the burdens and stress we were carrying have taken their toll. Our emotional landscape? A rollercoaster of a mess. Moodiness is overflowing as we try to keep a lid on overflowing emotions. Not wanting to deal with others' drama while simultaneously trying to avoid our own drama. The universe isn't on board with our avoidance tendencies.

Long story short, we need to sit with our emotions and work through processing them. Whatever that looks like for each of us. It's not going to be an instantaneous healing, however much we'd prefer it. We need to sit in this space and take care of what we've been given to take care of.

Take off that lid and let things overflow (when and where you feel safe) if they need to until we reach an equilibrium. And, when there is energy to spare, we need to work through our emotions involving the relationships around us. If we have the strength to release burdens and release stress, we can also embrace our emotions and let them be what they are and take us where they take us. This is the healing we are called to.

Pile 2:

This pile is for those who've been spending a lot of time working on their internal world. Some of you by choice, some of you were forced into it. Either way, you've come to understand the assignment and have been working towards independence and freedom from the ties that held/hold you down.

The wheel has been turning and perhaps, for this round, not in your favour. What that's done has call to attention where you are distracted and unable to rein in your energy and intentions, and also where you have been placing your compassion. Because we can be many things at once. And perhaps, while you have not been able to make progress in the spaces where you are distracted, you have been working on self-compassion and the compassion you extend to others. You've come a long way.

In the physical world things are...not great. This is perhaps the realm in which the wheel hasn't been turning in your favour most. Your situation is drawing a lot of your attention because you'd like to fill the holes and feel less helpless, but things just haven't been changing.

Some fundamental worldviews are changing for you during this time adding to the general turbulence happening around you. It's going to be up to you to navigate these changes in worldviews with as much tact and grace as you can give yourself in this time. Be patient and when emotions are running high, give yourself the time to calm back down before you delve back into the work you need to do within to find a point of harmony.

Practice speaking to yourself with love, patience and compassion first. In all of the chaos happening outside and on the inside, practice using kind words and watch a good shift happen in perspective. Your path might remain rocky yet, but you can choose to make the journey a little easier for yourself.

Pile 3:

You, my friends, are the tightrope crew. But I think you're on the path to recovery. You're honing in on what matters to you, focusing in on the core of things. The core of you. Have you found love there where you were looking? In its many shapes, sizes and colours? It has been there all along.

You well understand the art of balancing and keeping a great many things on the go. Because of it, you end up taking on too much and honestly, I think you like it that way. But that isn't the life you're being called to make for yourself. Learn balance of a different nature in moderation. Watch what else you can accomplish, learn, take on when you aren't pouring all of yourself into keeping things running where you shouldn't be working so hard.

The journey you've been on has been both forcing you and urging you to let go of the things you hold on to too hard. Only you can name what that might be for yourself. You have been letting go, if even only loosening your grip. Keep going. Again, this is trading one thing for another.

What you've held on to isn't growing you and on some level you're aware of this...but comfort, or familiarity or security keeps you holding on. But perhaps it's time to take an uncomfortably close look at whether you actually feel comforted, familiar or secure.

If you get confused, go speak to someone who loves you. Soak in that energy and power up and continue on to creating that new balance that is calling to you. It sounds so lovely.

Pile 4:

This pile is kickass and badass...usually. Have you lost your mojo this past while? Past few months? Past few years? Yeah, I get how that feels.

You haven't lost everything, because you're a hard working pile and you've been putting your nose to the grindstone (perhaps to avoid the mess that is the rest of your life) but that has been yielding wonderful results. It has helped you maintain some kind of an equilibrium, and acted as a callback to the you that is still there, just buried a bit.

My friends, you can't avoid what is meant to come and will come for you. The end of one situation, relationship or circumstance might just be that transition into a situation, relationship or circumstance that is more in line with where you hope to be. And a bit of a sharp warning, don't fool yourself into thinking that not looking at a thing means it isn't there.

For the times when your life is being upheaved by the universe, take the time to train your inner ear. Listen to the parts of you that used to be decisive and pay attention to what you need to learn there. Listen to the parts of you that used to be confident and pay attention to what you need to learn there.

This is a learning time for you and honestly, how well you do is up to you. Yes, there are a great many things that might be happening outside of your choice and control but what are the things that are within your choice and control?

[nancypullen]

Well, Hey There!

Gosh, I let the last few days get away from me and this poor ol' blog paid the price. I don't even have anything exciting to report, I've just been puttering - a bit in the yard, a bit in the house, even did a little Xmas shopping, but mostly a whole lot of nothing.

A decision was made that we would not be joining the Y, so I'm trying to discipline myself into at least a 30 minute dance workout every day. Let's just say I'm not very disciplined. There's a treadmill in the garage that works perfectly fine and I really don't mind turning on some music or a podcast and killing 30 minutes on it. Unfortunately I can always find something else that I want to do more - like reading, painting, watching a murder show, writing limericks, picking fuzz out of my navel, watching clouds, naming birds at the birdfeeder...see? Busy, busy. Speaking of that treadmill, until recently it was blocked by that desk/hutch combo that I bought at an auction for 7 dollars.

I finally painted it and got it moved into my craft room!

I'm still organizing it and will probably switch the items on the shelves until I'm satisfied. I'll move that basket out from under the desk too. I suppose it's the lighting, but the handles and knobs really do match. Know what my favorite bit is?

The bottles.

Those are just old Starbucks bottles. I painted the lids with the same paint I used on the desk and then sorted my buttons into them. I need a couple more for black and brown, so I have to keep drinking.

I'm tickled with the extra storage (the drawers are so tidy!) and I love it when organization can be pretty.

The drawers have glues, scissors, blank cards & envelopes, cardstock for printing my dead people, etc. The shelves hold everything else I use for my silly cards.

My paper is sorted in those clear bins on the right - I only bought four, so it's sorted into florals, patterns, holidays, and "special" stuff like maps, sheet music, and that sort of thing. I didn't have to buy anything else, the baskets and stuff were hanging around the house waiting for a job to do. The wooden crate holding markers, colored pencils, and paint pens was gifted to me from Tyler & Jamie's wedding.

Remember that Goodwill print that I was turning into a witchy picture? I finally stopped dabbling with it and put it back in the frame. First I painted the frame black, and because I ruined the original mat (oops) I had to fish around and find one that would work. Nothing I had on hand fit the print and I wasn't about to buy a new mat, so I edged the print with gingham and lace (my answer for everything) and slapped it in the frame.

Poor photography skills, but you get the idea. What was once a prim and proper street scene is now giving Halloween vibes. now it can go into the back of a closet with the rest of them. Why do I do this?? I should take them all and donate them back to Goodwill and let them find homes. I'm home alone. For the last two days Mickey has been out day and night snapping photos of Summerfest, Denton's big bash marking the end of summer. I hope Mother Nature sees it and turns the heat down. It's been drizzling on and off today, so I'm sure everything is steamy. No, thank you. Hard pass. There will be a handful of vendors selling stuff I don't need, no decent food or food trucks, a decent selection of bands playing at different times and on different stages, a great area for kids with slides and bouncy houses, and at the end of the night, fireworks. I may go sit on the front porch later and take a peek at the fireworks. I was spoiled by attending the Wilson County Fair every August , that was always the official goodbye to summer for us, even though the weather didn't break until a month later. Annnd speaking of weather, I saw that The Old Farmers' Almanac issued their winter forecast. I was disappointed.

We're up there under "Mild,Wet". Every year I cross my fingers for "Cold, Above Average Snowfall" and it never happens. Thanks to Climate Change I think it's going to become rare if not extinct.

Oh well, I need to tidy up a bit and then choose a movie to watch with the girls. This is who I mean by "the girls."

They keep begging for the BBC version of Jane Austen's Persuasion, so it looks like tonight is the night. I'll try to think of something more interesting to write about tomorrow. The rest of the week may be a wash. We're getting the grandgirl on Monday and returning her Thursday, so I'll be busy and tired. It's her last week before school starts so there needs to be some fun. She's had a great summer, vacation and camps, but we'll have some Grancy-style fun. Look at these cute sprinkles I picked up for back-to-school cupcakes. Perfect for a first grader!

I'll have to see if there's a movie playing that she might be interested in, and I'll bet she'd like to go on a treasure hunt in Target with me. The rest of the time it will be Barbies, pool, books, and probably some arts and crafts. The only things that she requested I add to the grocery list (I asked) are apples, pretzels, and pizza Lunchables. I have a feeling her parents may want me to get some veggies and good protein into her. Grandpa sees nothing wrong with that list. If I turn my back he'll have her at the 7-11 getting a blue Icee right before dinner. Anywayyyy, I'm rambling. I'll wrap this up by saying that I hope your Saturday evening is a delight. If that means running wild with friends or being in your jammies by sundown, I hope you love every minute of it. Sending out loads of love tonight. Take what you need and pass it on. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[panzershrike-pretz]

Okay so its too late at night and I'm having thoughts so here's

Reasons I think Brazil would have no problems with a zombie apocalypse

Based on a conversation me and a friend had a few months ago (maybe last year)

1. Cemeteries

Okay. First off- we're used to seeing zombie movies taking place in the US, right? And from all the movies I've seen, american graves are like a hole on the ground?? And of course the fellas would crawl out easy (they'd still have to get out of the casket but we'll imagine they managed that already

Now, I don't know 'bout all of my fellow brazilians but all of the many funerals I've been to, when they lower a casket they put a few concrete slabs above it. Now- let us think

Its hard enough for a zombie to crawl out of the wood, but then move concrete slabs??? And then we have these bad boys:

Those things above the grave surely would make the zombies be stuck for a while, right??? I've seen alive people struggle to move those lids-

And I took plenty of walks through cemeteries to know that the zombies would be having a HARD time navigating through those bitches. They're all uneven?????? I trip all the time and have fallen more than once and I'm alive enough to calculate my steps

Also. Gates. Never seen a brazilian cemetery without gates. But lets say the zombies do get through, so now we move onto subject 2;

2. Temperature

I'm sorry but you CANNOT tell me that a zombie would make it through the Brazilian weather!!! Not a way in hell

I can barely make it through the heat of here, a dead person would not!!! Never!!!

They be far beyond decomposed as soon as they manage to get out of their graves, with how hot this place is. Sure there are the colder places and the ines that rain, but that'd also not help?????

Without a beating heart to keep the body warm, that shit will freeze. They'd be so fucked down ere on the South tbh, especially high places

And lets say they are from somewhere rainy. The zombies are already decomposing and being rained on??? Just?? They'll be falling apart by the time they reach the road

But okay. The virus keeps them from decomposing at normal speeds. Next:

3. Critters

Tell me the sheer amount of street dogs would not be eating that free meat up, I dare you. Not a word about our caramelos, they're the biggest help 🐕

They'll be fighting over that amount of food. Sure the zombies may walk but they're too slow and there are simply Too Many strays everywhere?? Sometimes they even walk around in gangs

And that's not to say bout the other nasty fellas like my big boys: vultures. They'll be so happy- and everywhere there's vultures. They'll feast✨️✨️✨️ but also flies

Moscas. They'll be everywhere but putting their larvae on the zombies will sure help them decompose????? I hope??????????????????????????????? Anyway, if none of that works:

4. Walls

Unlike all photos, videos and movies of American houses I see, we have walls protecting ours. A giant variety of them with many ways to keep people out

I cannot believe a zombie would go up a 3 meter high wall with glass shards on top and barbwire that Zenaide and José built 40 years ago because there was one (1) single break in in the city around that time. Nuh-uh

And there's the ones with all of that AND electric fence on top. We live inside prisons of maximum security just so we don't get robbed

The zombie's not getting past our defenses!!!!!! And if they do.

5. Bars on every window and door

My house has them. Every single window, even the bathroom ones. And both of our doors, too.

A lot of houses have them in addition to the high ass prison walls. Sure they may get past the walls but I want to see them try and get inside the house.

6. Zombies are slow

This one depends but mostly, they really are slow- so you'd have time to prepare, I guess??? Could even still go to work?? If your vejicle is fast enough???

I can very well see a scenario where everything keeps happening but we just act like the zombies are a minor nuisance like- oh yeah I guess I'll go to João's birthday party yeah. They built a new wall and gate :/ hard to see which houe is it oh uh oop there it is! The one with the ugly graffiti :D just lemme go through here- yep- gotta outrun Seu Jorge here-

Anyway. Yeah. I can see brazilians still going to work like "uuhhhhg if I have to I guess :/ "

7. Hygiene

We do have the fame of being very clean so the disease would be very less likely to spread (i hope). And in line with my prior point, if we still work there'll still be clean water and food and what not

Just don't think too hard about it ok? Ok

8. Roads

The stupid ass infrastructure of this stupid ass country is shit. The ground is uneven as all hell and there's no accessibility almost at all

You tell me if a dead person can walk through here without falling- they can't. Just can't.

We literally have anniversay parties for holes on the road if they stay there long enough, you cannot come here and think that a zombie will be able to navigate through without eating the ground first

9. Big ass country

Giant.

10. Day-to-day life is already a struggle

What? We already have to walk around with wide eyes and cluthing our stuff close or someone could just snatch it away

What is walking just more alert so you're not bitten??? I mean, its nothing too big. A zombie is better than two guys in a motorbike anyway

I for one already walk around like everyone can and will eat me if they have the chance, so upping the game up to creatures that actually will eat me is not that big of a step.

That being said, I'd still end up dying in very stupid way 💀

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

Feel free to add more reasons, my fellow BRs!! Or gringos (maybe)!!

[fcllederage]

DRAG RACE FRANCE PROMPTS prompts from season 2 translated from FR to EN

"Skinny, huge hair. It's the first time I see a walking Q-tip."

"I'm photogenic and I have to live with it every day."

"And I won't judge you… but still a little."

"Be yourself/yourselves and the world will adapt."

"This hat suits you so well. To each trash can its lid."

"So tall I wondered how many times your forehead hit the entrance of the werk room when you walked in… and then when I heard you talk, I figured it hasn't only happened once."

"With all the Botox in you, why didn't you just reincarnate? It's faster and cheaper."

"You're the personification of tachycardia."

"Right in between April and June. Meh."

"The people who are supposed to love us the most in the world are those who can make us feel the most miserable."

"Jam is like culture. You spread it."

"You're a star ! You're a star ! You're a star ! Not you, you're a hobo. You're a star !"

"What's under the sea and that everybody forgets? The Titanic!"

"I haven't found the heart of the ocean, but I hope I found yours."

"I'm feeling something hard!"

"I don't understand what I'm doing wrong."

"It's the world that's crazy for judging people like us."

"It's the world that's crazy for wanting to control everything."

"You're free to be who you want to be."

"It's important to tell people who aren't free yet that they can be themselves, that we're a family, that they're not alone and that they won't ever be because they will always find people to welcome them."

"I'm convinced we've done something very big."

"Fear is a plague."

"We have to learn to stop scaring others and to stop being scared."

"Hey, you, in the audience! Didn't I see you on Tinder/Grindr, yesterday?"

"Who was already alive back then?"

"I leave you alone for five minutes and it's a mess."

"They kicked you out because you were dancing!?"

"It happens all the time, every day, everywhere in the world."

"Take action because you can never know what could happen."

"I go out to go from point A to point B but I don't know if I will even get there."

"I don't know how to talk about it at a family diner between a roast and a baked potato."

"I can't go on, actually."

"I'm always scared to disappoint so I always want to do good but sometimes, trying to do too good can simply just hurt you."

"I think it's my strength that allows me to leave."

"If you think it's too much pressure, I can only respect your decision."

"I don't regret anything."

"I'm scared people will think I gave up but I actually had the strength to choose myself."

"I'm proud of myself."

"Thinking about yourself first is one of the biggest acts of courage."

"All my life, I dreamt of being a pony."

"I had arguments with Y/N, Y/N, Y/N, the journalists, the cameramen, Y/N, their grandmother and soon, the chairs!"

"I would replace the police by drag queens."

"I didn't have time to eat air for five days."

"Don't give up on one another because that's all we have left in this world."

"If you don't make each others shine, nobody will."

"I'm the whore of the group, the one who never wears anything."

"I want to show my children that they can be who they want and that there are no limits as long as they listen to themselves."

"The children who can have a parent like that today, I keep telling myself that these aren't children who will have to go through what we did."

"I trained by walking on my tiptoes at home!"

"I will never apologize for being myself."

"You're amazing allies, thank you so much."

"Thank you for proving you can be united and open-minded."

"I proved that you can come from nothing but show that you're determined and that you can dream bigger than you could have imagined and I'm the living proof of it."

"It's again only goodbye."

"You downgraded me so much but look at me, baby, I'm at the top now."

"Too late, I'm already a star."

"Whether you are he, she, in a dress, in pants, dress yourself with love, it's the most important."

"Don't wait to be yourself."

[braveclementine]

Chapter 11

Warnings: None, Readers under 18 can read this book. It is solely fluff- nothing sexual

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

.❤️.

𝖂𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖉 𝖙𝖊𝖓 weeks left before exams and I was spending less and less time with the others. Most of the time, I was either in the library studying on my own, or I was outside, sitting under a big oak tree near the lake. I was constantly tired, visiting the centaurs more often than I had in the beginning of the year. I was counting on Firenze's knowledge of the stars to get me through Astronomy rather than the actual teacher.

Harry and Ron weren't as concerned with the studying and were more preoccupied with making sure Quirrell seemed motivated. That was also one of the reasons I was keeping my distance, I was on the verge of telling them that Quirrell was the one who was attempting to steal the stone. But it would have to come as a surprise to Harry in the dungeons so I kept my mouth shut.

Professor Flitwick had told me to take a break from our private lessons. He said at the moment, it was more important for me to review everything we'd learned over the course of the year, but I could still come to him for help. Not having the private lessons did help a little bit, especially over Easter break when I pushed my magical homework aside for my Muggle school studies.

The teachers were dumping more homework on us than they had all year. It wasn't too bad, I had been working hard all year, but there was still a strain. I personally wondered why we got more homework when we had exams than when we didn't have exams. It seemed a bit backwards to me.

On a nice, clear, day I was out under my tree studying, when Hermione, Harry, and Ron came over to me.

"We're going down to Hagrid's," Harry said, "Want to come along?"

Though I already knew the details of the visit today, I didn't know every word that would be spoken. I shoved my books and quills into my bag and tossed the ink in as well after screwing the lids on tightly.

We made our way down the lawn, passing students who glanced at Harry until we reached Hagrid's cabin.

The curtains were closed when we approached and there was smoke floating out of the chimney. It was on the verge of warm today so it was going to be stifling hot inside, I thought gloomily. I shrugged off my robes, laying it over my bag. I rolled up the sleeves of my uniform shirt, hoping it would be enough to relieve some of the heat in the cabin.

Ron knocked on the door and Hagrid let the four of us in rather reluctantly. He sat down near the fire and we settled on different seats. He offered us tea and Stoat sandwiches. I refused both, not being very hungry.

"So- yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" Hagrid asked, his back to the fire. He was trying to hide the fact that he was boiling a dragon egg from us.

"Yes. We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy." Harry said with no preamble.

Hagrid frowned at him. "O' course I can't. Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here for a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts- I s'ppose ye've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"He almost killed us." I muttered under my breath but Hagrid didn't hear me over the crackling of the fire.

"Oh, come on, Hagrid," Hermione said in a warm, flattering voice I'd never heard her use before. "You might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here. We only wondered who had done the guarding really," She continued. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's chest swelled out with pride. I hissed, putting my head in my hands. Poor Hagrid. Meanwhile Harry and Ronald beamed at her. I wanted to hex her.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that. . . let's see. . .he borrowed Fluffy from me. . . then some o' the teachers did enchantments. . . Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall, Professor Quirrell- an' Dumbledore himself did something', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone." He paused, thinking for a moment. "Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?" All three of them said together in what sounded like shock. Well duh, I thought viciously. I felt a strange protection about Professor Snape that I couldn't explain yet. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that him and my mum had been friends before. Or maybe it was because I believed in 'innocent until proven guilty'. After all, just cause someone's a werewolf doesn't mean their evil. And just because someone swoops around the castle all mopey, grouchy, and mean doesn't mean their evil either.

"Yeah- yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it." Hagrid said, frowning again.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" Harry asked anxiously, exchanging looks with the rest of us. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something." Harry said at the same time I muttered, "Keep it that way." Harry added, "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. He glanced back at the fireplace and the four of us looked at it as well.

"Hagrid- what is that?" Harry asked although by the look on his face, I knew that he already knew exactly what it was.

It was a large black egg, oval shaped. It was shiny and looked like a large piece of onyx. The shell looked very thin and when it glowed in the fire, one could see inside and see the silhouette of a rather small wing.

"Ah." Hagrid said, fiddling with his beard and looking very nervous.

Ron crouched down near the fire. I wondered if he thought he was an expert on dragon eggs just because Charlie, his brother, was. "Where did you get it, Hagrid? It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," Hagrid said, rather proudly I thought for winning an illegal object. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

No kidding, I thought though my heart was sinking. I'd misjudged the timeline, not really paying attention because I'd been focused on studying. He'd already told Quirrell how to get past Fluffy. I bit my tongue. Hagrid looked at me. I smiled and winked, recovering quickly from my disappointment. I saw the book I'd given to him for Christmas laying on the table.

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Hermione asked, her voice up two octaves.

"Well I've bin doin' some readin'," Hagrid said holding up my book and also pulling another large book from under the pillow he was sitting on. "Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here- how ter recognize diff'rent eggs-" he said, switching over to my book. "what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked pleased with himself and I smiled, happy that he was happy. Hermione however, looked much more serious. "Hagrid, you live in a wooden house."

Against my will, I smiled.

Hagrid paid no attention and when we left, he was humming Ode to Joy as he stroked the fire.

.❤️.

𝕬 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖔𝖋 days later I was eating breakfast at the Hufflepuff table before Herbology when Hedwig landed in front of me with a note. I was surprised, but pulled it off carefully, offering her some bacon grinds. She took one in her mouth before flying off. I read the two words on the piece of parchment while taking a sip of grape juice.

It's hatching

Oh bloody hell, I thought. I quickly burned my note. I got up, stuffing a last piece of breakfast pastry in my mouth, and hurried out of the grounds. Hermione, Ron, and Harry ran to catch up with me. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to get rid of pastry crumbs.

"Did you get a note too?" Ron asked as they joined me.

I nodded, pulling out a blush compact. I didn't actually use blush, just the mirror. The sugary crumbs were gone and I stuck the compact back in my bag.

"Let's skip Herbology and go to Hagrid's now." Ron said.

"Absolutely not." Hermione and I said together. I was not missing Herbology for anything. Not even the once in a lifetime chance of watching a dragon hatch, although it was rather tempting.

"It won't hatch yet." I said firmly. "If we go during morning break, we'll be able to watch it hatch." I said and I sounded so confident that the other three agreed without argument.

I wondered if the fact that Ron and Hermione hadn't argued the discussion out meant that Draco wouldn't know about the dragon. He was still nearby though and it was a bit hard to tell what he had heard and what he thought we were talking about. Anything could be hatching at Hagrid's house. Maybe he'd think we were talking about fairy eggs.

Herbology was an easy class. We were replanting roses which were a mundane plant but had over twenty-five different medical uses when put into potions. When the bell rang, I quickly laid my trowel in the bucket and used my wand to clean up the space, joining Harry, Ron, and Hermione on the way to Hagrid's cabin.

I hadn't seen the dragon yet in my visions, I didn't look for everything and I was getting better at controlling when they came in though I certainly had a lot to learn.

I knocked on the door to Hagrid's cabin and called, "Hagrid, it's us!"

He opened the door, his face flushed, either from heat or excitement, I couldn't tell yet. He ushered us inside saying, "It's nearly out."

I took a seat near the window. The black egg was on the wooden table. I wondered if the table would catch fire. I touched my wand carefully in case I needed to put one out, though I wasn't entirely sure what the water spell was. Something to do with Agua? We hadn't practiced it yet- weren't supposed to till sixth year.

There were already deep cracks in the egg, a brown colour showing where they cracks were. I could see something moving inside, a shadow and there was a clicking noise coming from it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione pulled up chairs to the table. Hagrid sat on the other side, intently watching the egg.

"It's coming." I said. All at once, there was a scraping noise and the egg split wide open. The baby dragon fell out of the egg, flopping on its chest. It wasn't cute, like I thought it might be. It was dripping with egg yolk and had wide nostrils and stubs where its horns would grow. It eyes were much larger than they should've been in proportion to its body and were a bright orange color.

Then it sneezed, a couple of sparks flew out its snout. It made a high-pitched squealing noise. Okay, so it was somewhat cute.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured, reaching out and stroking the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers and I gasped, but quickly stifled it because nothing had happened.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" Hagrid said. I suddenly wondered if getting him the dragon book for Christmas had been such a good idea after all.

"Hagrid," Hermione asked in a strained voice. "How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid opened his mouth to answer and his eyes flicked up to the window. His face drained of color and I quickly turned around. Draco and I locked eyes for a second, and then he darted off towards the castle.

"What's the matter?" I heard Harry ask behind me.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains- it's a kid- he's runnin' back up ter the school." Hagrid started to panic.

I heard someone dart to the door, most likely Harry.

I was wrong, Draco had followed us anyways, and now, he had seen the dragon too.

.❤️.

𝕴 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊 next week trying very hard not to go up to Malfoy and punch him in the face. He kept smirking at me, whenever he saw me in the hallways. If I wasn't so worried about getting a perfect record at Hogwarts. . .

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I had started spending all our free time down at Hagrid's which was certainly putting a strain on my study load.

Harry and Ron tried convincing Hagrid to let Norbert go. They weren't very good at it.

"I've decided to call him Norbert. He really knows me now, watch." Hagrid said, bending down face-to-face with the baby dragon. I had come down with Harry and Ron, thinking about the amount of potion essays piling up back in the Hufflepuff dorm. "Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"

"He's lost his marbles." Ron muttered in mine and Harry's ears.

"Hagrid." Harry said finally, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his bottom lip which quivered and I closed my eyes, hoping he wasn't going to cry. "Harry," I finally said, "I don't think Dumbledore is going to care much."

"I- I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't." Hagrid said.

Harry turned, looking around me to say to Ron, "Charlie."

"You're losing it too. I'm Ron, remember?" Ron said stupidly and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"No- Charlie- your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!" Harry exclaimed. Brilliant really. I would've voiced the opinion if I wasn't so worried about Norbert shooting flames at me.

"Brilliant!" Ron echoed my thoughts. "How about it, Hagrid?"

Hagrid hesitated, looking between the three of us and then Norbert as though someone might object.

I looked at Hagrid and said softly. "It's the best option for her, Hagrid. She'll be happy there, with the other dragons."

I accidentally let slip that Norbert was actually a girl (more by accident than really knowing that it was a girl), but Hagrid didn't seem to pick up on it and reluctantly agreed that Ron could ask Charlie.

.❤️.

𝕴 𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖓 to Hagrid's cabin every day to help him out with Norbert. By Wednesday of the next week, I was sort of regretting that Norbert would be going to Romania. It was actually kind of fun, taking care of a baby dragon. Regardless, I needed to study so Ron took over my shift that night and I hurried back up to the castle to study.

The next day, Ron was in the hospital wing because Norbert had bitten him. I was secretly glad I hadn't stayed. Of course, now Malfoy knew the exact same time that Charlie was going to get the dragon which was really horrible. Harry talked with Hermione and I in the library about it.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry said. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only change to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

"We'll have to go down and tell Hagrid." Hermione said, biting her lip. I could tell she didn't like the idea of breaking the news to Hagrid.

"Just don't forget the invisibility cloak." I said, seriously.

I let them go and tell Hagrid without me, and I started to head to my private study session with Professor Flitwick before remembering that I wasn't doing those anymore until next year when we would pick back up.

So, I headed in the direction of my common room and then realized- that wasn't where I wanted to be either. So instead, I headed back to the room where the Mirror of Erised used to be. Of course, I knew it wouldn't be there anymore but it was a quiet room and no one would be in there. No one besides myself, Ron, Harry, Dumbledore, and Snape had been in there this year at all. At least, as far as I could see.

I sat down in the middle of the room and pulled out my potions book. Taking out my quill and ink, I started an essay on the ethics of research in the area of experimental potions.

It wasn't until much later that I realized I had stayed in the room way past curfew. I shrugged and decided I would keep working. There were no clocks in here so time was absent in a way. Then, I heard a voice coming from a different room.

It was high pitched and evil and I shivered. "You must not fail Quirrell. . . you must get the stone."

"I know, I know. But-"

"No buttsss. You will go through with the plan. You must not let them stop you. . .at any cost you will get your hands on that stone and bring me back to life."

I started quietly putting my stuff back into my leather bag, my heart beating horribly fast. I had just dropped my textbook into my bag when I heard the voice again.

"Quiet! I think there is someone nearby. . . someone listening. . . a student perhaps. Yes a student. Find them! They must be silenced."

I grabbed my bag and ran for my life. I passed the library door and hurried up some stairs. I kept running, trying to be as silent as possible. I was nowhere near the Hufflepuff common room and I was desperate so see someone, anyone. A teacher, a ghost, even peeves.

"Miss Kane!" Came a voice from behind me.

I slowed down a bit, looking over my shoulder. It was Quirrell. He was pulling out his wand. I turned another corner and then darted through a tapestry, hoping that Quirrell didn't know about the passageway. I kept sprinting down the corridor and down a flight of stairs.

Was he going to kill me? Erase my memory? I didn't really want to find out.

I could still hear sounds of pursuit and a second voice, urging Quirrell on. I found myself in the dungeons now and realized I'd been completely turned around. I found a random door around the corner, pulling it open, and closing it as quietly as possible.

Whipping out my wand I pointed it at the lock. "Colloportus." I said. I heard the lock click. That was a surprise. I hadn't expected the spell to work- it was an extremely hard spell, something that Fred and George were learning in their Charms class this year. Perhaps it was the adrenaline and fear that helped me succeed with the spell. I heard the footsteps go past the door and continue down the hallway.

I dragged myself over to a table and fell down into a stool, resting my head down on the table. I breathed in heavily, letting my beating heart calm down a bit. My breaths started to shudder as I started to cry. I kept quiet to the best of my ability, wiping away my tears frantically. I felt panicky and shaky and I sank to my knees.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I actually screamed, jumping up, spinning around, and backed away while raising my wand.

Professor Snape raised his hands, alarm in his eyes, and I lowered my wand. "Sorry." I said, catching my breath. I hoped my scream wouldn't attract Quirrell. "I thought you were. . .well someone else." Could I tell him that Quirrell attacked me? Would that change the future?

"What happened? Who hurt you?" He asked seriously, not seeming to want to question my story.

I shook my head, sitting back down, this time on a stool and not the floor. I realized that I was in the Potions classroom, a door was open by the side of the classroom which led to Professor Snape's office. "No one hurt me. I was in the room where the Mirror of Erised was. I wanted somewhere solitary to study. I lost track of time until I heard people talking in a different room."

"Quirrell and who else?" Snape asked, sitting down next to me, but facing me so that we were looking at each other.

I hesitated. If he guessed that it was Quirrell then it was okay to continue with it, right? Just not with who the second person was. "I don't know. I haven't heard the voice before. I don't know what they were saying, I only heard snatches and they didn't really add up to anything either of us don't already know. 'There's a plan in the making'. Anyways, the other person seemed to know someone was nearby, but I had already packed up all my stuff and had started to leave. Quirrell chased me and I got turned around trying to get away from him and I ended up here." I waved my hand around as though Professor Snape didn't know we were in the potion's classroom. "Why were you in here?" I asked, trying to distract from my jumble of words.

He pointed across the room to the open door that I had already recognized as the door to his office "That's my office. I was up grading papers when I thought I heard a noise in here and I came to investigate."

"Oh," I muttered stupidly, "duh."

"Do you want me to walk you back to the Hufflepuff common room?" He asked.

I shook my head. "He'll be waiting for me, I think. I'm just going to stay right here."

Snape looked at me for a long moment and I thought he was going to insist I go back to the common room. Then, he said, "Come in here then."

I popped my head up curiously, to see where he was going, and then grabbed my bag and followed him into his office. There were two other doors in the office. I assumed one probably led to his potion storage. He opened one of the doors, leading me through to his bedroom.

It was quite large, a circular room decorated in Slytherin greens and his favored black. There was a large fireplace on one side of the room, two arms chairs and a loveseat near there as well. There were several bookcases that were filled with books.

The bed in the corner was low set, but plush. The pillows were white, the covers green. There was a rug under the bed, as well as another circular rug under the chairs by the fire. The rest of the floor was oak wood. There was another desk on the other side of the room, less cluttered than the desk back in his office. There was another door that I supposed led to the bathroom.

With a wave of his wand, one pillow and blanket appeared, having been duplicated.

"You can have the bed." He said shortly, pointing to a bed in the corner of the office. "I'm going to take the blankets back to my office and sleep out there. I have a settee out there."

My mouth shaped into an o. "You don't have to do that." I protested, feeling embarrassed. "Really, I don't mind. I'd feel better if you were in here too."

Snape hesitated and I knew why- I wasn't just Magically smart or book smart, I was also Muggle smart, street smart. An adult man and little girl in the same room wasn't an ideal situation for him to be in, but I knew he wasn't going to hurt me. I could feel it.

"Please?" I asked, embarrassed, red cheeks, staring down at the ground. "I know you're not going to do anything. Future visions, remember?" I smiled at him and his resolve broke.

"Very well." he said stiffly. "I'm going out to wait for a few moments though." He left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

I pulled off my robe and draped it over his chair, looking around. I examined one of the other bookcases which had jars on the shelves instead of books. There were all sorts of things in the jars and I wondered what they were. I was going to have to ask him what everything was eventually. I set my shoes down beside the bed and pulled my hair out of its ponytail.

I started to examine the books on the other bookcase. They weren't all potion books. There were also dark arts books about curses and magical creatures. It was all so fascinating. I wondered if he would let me read any of his stuff. Probably not. Well. . . maybe? After all, he was letting me sleep in his bed.

I turned to the bed and grinned. Time to see what it was like, sleeping in the great Professor Snape's bed. Maybe I'd gain extra knowledge about potions.

I climbed into the bed and turned to face the wall. His sheets were much warmer than I had expected, being in the dungeons and all. Everyone seemed to portray him as the kind of guy that would sleep on a concrete bed with metal sheets. Hard, no softness or kindness to him.

They were wrong, I thought as I drifted off to sleep. He had a kind heart, just one that he didn't let anyone see. Anyone, except- for some reason- me.

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