#I miss when villains were allowed to just be evil

[autism-swagger]

I hate the idea that you’re only allowed to like villains that have been redeemed, and if you like villains that don’t join the hero’s in the end, then you’re a bad person. We need to reject the notion that villains have to be redeemed or have some sort of tragic backstory to it to be acceptable to like them. Anti-intellectualism has been on the rise lately (especially on tiktok, oh my god), and nobody has any nuance or media literacy anymore.

#this is inspired by the new ao3 tag ‘author is a Tyler Galpin apologist’ #I am of the belief that if you like a character that is a bad person then you should embrace it yknow? #also in regards to the no nuance thing: people have reached the point where they genuinely think that if a piece of media does not #explicitly condemn bad behavior then they must be condoning it #it’s so stupid #seen multiple people say that the book Lolita condones pedophila #and that if you enjoy it so do you #as if the main character is not an unreliable narrator that we are seeing the perspective of!! #media should not have to explicitly spell things out for people to get it #I think there should be a mandatory media literacy class in every school #we’re straight up reverting back to like. fuckin puritan beliefs istg #you’re not allowed to have any kind of gray areas anymore it all has to be black and white. bc people are fucking /stupid/ #I miss when villains were allowed to just be evil #can we bring that back please

[singingcicadas]

Megatron's Opposite Day

"I free slaves"

This is Soundwave binding Ratbat but seeing as Megatron did the same thing to Pentius by putting his spark into Trypticon and reformatted Rumble and Frenzy into cassettes against their will I think he approves a lot of this practice

Megatron on Optimus and humans, after his defeat in All Hail Megatron ⬇️

he really salty

"I implant ideology" aka brainwashing

Decepticon cause = Megatron. nuff said.

"I liberate cities" says the person who let Nyon burn to make a point

Cities are too small, think bigger

Holding New York hostage.

"Like Autobots, they believe in the sanctity of life" which he doesn't. Kudos for being honest.

Allowing troops to do free-rein massacre is a reward for conquest. Nothing like some easy murder for de-stressing.

The Simanzi massacre which halved the Cybertronian population is off-screen so it doesn't deserve its own pic

"The revolution"

"We only feel good when we stand with a blade in one hand and a throat in another" "Let's make the entire face of the planet into our new gladiator arena"

What nice, confidence-inspiring revolutionaries. I'm sure they'll rule the population with benevolence after they've killed all the Necessary People with Necessary Violence. Final interpretation of what constitutes as Necessary is reserved for the sole discretion of Megatron, ofc.

Good goals.

Sentinel might be an absolute asshole but at least he's got one thing right: they're literally a gang of thugs who gets high off murder.

"The people are my utmost concern"

'The people': ................

"Battling for freedom"

Freedom of what? Function? Autonomy?

Religion?

the ability to choose whether to fight? on which side to fight?

Idk why they used the word "pogrom" for this, it's way too specific

Anyways it doesn't matter, they won't be missed.

Good for Bumblebee for calling him out. Screenshotted this just to appreciate Megatron's bitchy face ⬇️

Other urban legends:

"Megatron loves Cybertron" let's just burrrrn it

He did fight to save Cybertron in Chaos Theory but also made it pretty clear why he did it. It's not out of the goodness of his heart or any sentimental reasons like that. It's an ego/dominance thing.

Plus his wording when he's trying to convince Optimus to let him go with the Lost Light: "I broke the planet. And that, Optimus, is why I owe it to you - to everyone - to find a replacement."

Replacement.

In other words: I made a mess and can't be bothered to clean it up, so I want to get away from it and find somewhere new to start clean.

I don't think Optimus appreciates the favour.

"Megatron tore down a corrupt government" which is true, just too bad that he's worse

He's also, um, a closeted Zeta admirer?

"Megatron advocates equality" ???

Megatron x dictatorship is literally his OTP. They were inseparable for four million years. A lot of people died trying.

"Megatron cares about the Decepticons" no he doesn't. Not his troops nor its cause.

Like for one thing he treats them with complete scorn

Admits that the most useful thing about keeping Starscream around is that he can bully underlings into line

Wants to use the humans' nuke to get rid of his troops and reformat them into peaceful drones after they outlive their use because they were "too ruthless" for his perfect peaceful society

Has zero scruples about fighting Deceptigod, just affronted that his own soldiers are being used against him

And basically just drops the Decepticons like a bag of vermin after he surrenders. He never once mentions them of his own accord, other than to insist he has nothing to do with them. Even his surrender speech is something Optimus makes him do as exchange b/c he wants to go on parole. He wasn't planning on making a public address otherwise, he was just going to leave them hanging.

Looking at the publication timeline, Megatron started out as an established Evil McEvilson-type villain similar to how he is in G1 and it's not until Chaos Theory in 2011 that JRo really gave him a sympathetic backstory that drew his characterization away from the bloodthirsty pugno ergo sum warlord into someone who once held ideals about societal reform and remains convinced of his own moral supremacy throughout the 4 mill years of death and war, adding worldbuilding such as Functionism/oppression/government corruption as justification for the beginning of the Decepticon movement. But because the start of the Decepticons was already written in Megatron Origins and every evil thing he'd done up till Chaos Theory can't be retracted and they had to keep Megatron as a villain until his story was no longer central to the Autobot-Decepticon war line, and JRo didn't try to downplay the atrocities he'd committed (some of the most sadistically disturbing things Megatron did were exclusively in MTMTE flashbacks), but rather tried to distance him from them and placed the focus on the juxtapositions to emphasize change, this as a whole just resulted in Evil McEvilson getting turned into Hyper McHypocrite.

#That being said I genuinely enjoyed Megatron's redemption arc in mtmte/ll. It's one of those stories that's very poignant and moving #on an emotional level #even though the plot itself doesn't hold up that much under close scrutiny. #moved this to the tags to make the post cleaner #I would've liked it more if LL used a few more panels to show Megatron Actually Making Friends #instead of shunting him into a parallel universe for idk how many issues in an already limited run #transformers #idw transformers #maccadam #megatron #trying to clear out more screenshots

[turtletaubwrites]

Numbers Game ~ Part 5

Numbers Game Masterlist

Pairings: Cross Guild x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1950

Ao3 Link

Summary: You're feeling overwhelmed. So overwhelmed. Mihawk and Crocodile make you an offer you can't refuse.

Rating/Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, 18+ ONLY, MDNI, AFAB!Reader, She/Her Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Alcohol, Swearing, Angst, Smut, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, Discussion of Sex, Manipulation, Humiliation, Pet Names, Power Imbalance, Cross Guild boys are VILLAINS, Guilt, Possessive Behavior, Teasing, Threats, Size Difference, Reader is at her limit

A/N: I am unwell

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 | ko-fi |

“Let’s take this inside,” Mihawk commanded, setting his empty glass on the little round table. 

He stood, pressing close enough beside you to make you dizzy with his heady cologne. He held out those long fingers, and you managed to take them without getting frozen under his gaze. 

He lifted you easily, even wrapped up in Crocodile’s fur coat, like some heavy, decadent blanket. 

Thankfully the coat covered your thighs, keeping you from rubbing skin against warm skin as he carried you with his chest bared. 

He followed Crocodile through the hallway, the steady beat of their steps blending nicely with the sway you felt in the swordsman’s arms. 

“Hmm, are you feeling tired, pet? Are we working you too hard?”

Jerking in his arms, you cringed as you realized what you’d done. 

You had let your head fall gently as he carried you, resting in the crook of his neck. 

His satisfied laughter vibrated around you, clawing into you.

You’d done everything you could to maintain what tiny bit of distance they allowed you. 

But you were so warm. And he smelled so good. 

He leaned over you as you neared the door, stopping as he breathed down against your temple.

“Maybe you should stop keeping yourself up so late.”

His evil whisper sent blood rushing to your face, and pulsing down to your core, and you couldn’t keep your body from clenching in his arms.

Why is he doing this to me?

“Give her here.”

“We’re almost inside.”

“I don’t care.”

You had your eyes closed as Mihawk sighed, handing you over to Crocodile before heading into the lounge.

At least that’s what you’d decided to call that stupid room.

The scarred man held you, waiting outside the door until you finally opened your eyes and looked up at him. 

You couldn’t imagine him ever looking anything but frightening. His features were so harsh. His temper was hard for you to understand. He hadn’t seemed to care at all when he was threatening your life.

But you didn’t want to find out what would happen if you angered him. 

He smells good too.

You clamped your eyes shut again in frustration, until his rough voice wrapped around you.

“Miss Y/N, are you feeling alright?”

You choked, gaping up at him. 

“I–I…”

“Come, Crocodile. Let’s get our pet another glass of wine, and let her see the surprise.”

Crocodile let out a sigh, his warm breath on the top of your head as you kept yourself rigid. 

I don’t want to be weak.

The thought itself felt pathetic, but you were too overwhelmed to deal with it right now. You kept your eyes closed, deciding to judge yourself later.

He sat you down, and you could feel your golden eyed torturer beside you. 

Crocodile let you keep the coat underneath you, but ran his large hand over your calves and the tops of your feet as he set you down. 

Mihawk hummed, somehow making that tiny sound seem judgemental. 

“Take it.”

You opened your eyes just enough to see your lap, and Mihawk’s nimble fingers offering you a glass of wine. 

You took it, letting out a heavy breath as you took a sip, deciding you wanted to keep your eyes closed forever. 

Crocodile settled on your other side, stretching his arm across the back of the couch. 

His arm around your shoulder made you sit straight up, your eyes finally opening, and you jolted. 

“Bu–”

You cut yourself off this time, swallowing his name. But you had fallen forward in your seat, the wine sloshing in your glass. 

Mihawk grabbed it instantly, as if spilling a single drop would be a crime. 

Crocodile’s hand touched your shoulder gently, but firmly, pushing you back into the couch. 

Buggy.

He was right there. Sitting in an actual chair instead of slumped against the wall. 

The chair matched the couch, and he was close enough to prop his feet on the coffee table. 

He was so close. 

His crystal blue eyes searched yours, his face still covered in various shades of bruising, and faded paint. 

But he was up. He wasn’t covered in blood. He even gave you a small, albeit strained smile. 

“Our figurehead has earned the privilege of walking around and pretending to be important again,” Mihawk drawled, swirling your wine as he still held your glass.

“For now,” Crocodile huffed, his thumb rubbing along the back of your neck. 

Buggy’s eyes flicked down to that large hand on your body, before shaking himself and putting on a smile. 

“Come on, Crocodile! I work for you now, remember? Whatever you need, baby!”

Mihawk handed you the glass again, fingers grazing against yours too long, while Crocodile squeezed your shoulder gently.

Buggy seemed to look everywhere but you now. 

“You’re gonna stay in line,” Crocodile growled, leaning forward, gesturing at Buggy with his hook.

“And you’re not gonna try to leave or call for help, or pull any more of your bullshit.”

Crocodile’s voice only got darker, rage in his words that made you hold your breath. 

“Of c-course! Whatever you say, boss!”

Mihawk scoffed, then you felt his gaze shift to you. You met those amber eyes, and he touched your chin.

He spoke to Buggy, but kept his eyes, and his fingers, on you.

“Miss Y/N is one of our most valuable assets. We are allowing her to use her talents instead of wasting them as you did.”

You didn’t dare take your eyes off of Mihawk to look at Buggy. 

Those fingers pressed into your jaw, just a bit, before he continued.

“Since she is so valuable, we are making it a priority to protect her. This means that no one may touch her without our permission.”

Crocodile ran his thumb over your neck again before cutting in. 

“We live in a dangerous world, numbers girl. Stick with us, and we’ll keep you safe, alright?”

“Alright,” you choked out, agreeing to their threat. 

“Good girl,” Mihawk purred, finally releasing you to turn your head. To look at Buggy. 

He kept a pained smile on his face, and it made you ache.

So many mistakes led us here.

“You do understand our meaning, don’t you,” Mihawk drawled.

“M-Meaning,” he stuttered, shifting wide eyes to the swordsman. 

Crocodile’s hook slammed on the coffee table, Mihawk sighing as he saved your glass of wine again.

“It means you don’t fucking touch her, clown.”

You couldn’t help the stinging tears now, but you wiped them away as fast as you could, your fingers shaking. 

“Please…” your voice was small, and you hadn’t meant to speak. 

“Don’t beg for him, sweetheart,” Crocodile’s voice came out almost soothing, as if there were any way you could feel comforted right now. 

“He got you into this mess. But I promise you,” he said softly, touching your cheek with the back of his cold hook to turn you toward him. “Just keep being good for us, and you’ll have it all, sweetheart.”

He smiled. He smiled at you. 

They’re crazy. I’m crazy.

The weight on the couch shifted behind you, until you felt Mihawk’s breath along the back of your neck. He traced his fingers along your arm as he left deep, raspy taunts in your ear. 

“Isn’t this what you wanted, little rabbit? You wanted freedom from a boring life? Adventure? But you keep fighting it, don’t you? I wonder–”

“Give it a rest. You’re the one that keeps spooking her.”

You shivered between them, still wrapped up in their voices, under their light touches. 

Mihawk sat back, a low chuckle aimed at Crocodile this time. 

“Can’t you smell her? Our little rabbit is a little vixen, aren’t you?”

Smell me?

“You know, I thought the world’s greatest swordsman was supposed to be cool headed, intelligent. If I’d known you only think with your dick, I would have–”

Your breath hitched, eyes wide as you tried to stop existing. 

“You act as if you haven’t been taking liberties yourself, Sand Man. You know Miss Y/N has been aching for us to take her since we made her ours. Isn’t that right, pet?”

Mihawk pulled you gently so you were facing forward again. 

Facing Buggy. 

“You’ve been such a good girl for us,” he purred, stroking your hair out of your face. “I think you deserve to get what you’ve been craving.”

He shifted to look at Crocodile, tapping his fingers impatiently on your knee. 

“You did promise that we’d take care of our pet, hm?”

Crocodile shifted, letting out a deep breath before responding. 

“I did promise that.” 

His voice came out deep as he squeezed your shoulder again. 

“You say the word when you’re ready, sweet girl. We’ll make you feel so good.”

Your body was humming, their gentle fingers and dangerous promises making you soak through your panties. You’d probably made a mess on Crocodile’s coat.

Your eyes were fluttering as you tried to control yourself.

And there was Buggy. 

He was so close. He was watching their hands on you. He was watching you react like this, almost moaning, skin flushed as you felt dizzy from your need to say ‘yes.’

“Mm, there’s the trouble,” Mihawk mused, taking a sip of wine before taking and massaging your hand. 

“Our little rabbit is too sweet. Or too guilty. You don’t want to hurt this pathetic clown.”

You let out a tiny whimper, closing your eyes. 

“Is that it, sweetheart,” Crocodile asked, his voice smooth, drawing you in. “You know he treated you like crap. Almost got you killed because he’s a fucking idiot. You don’t owe him a thing.”

“Don’t let him,” Mihawk purred in your ear, like a devil on your shoulder. “Don’t let him hold you back from what you want. Don’t let him hold you back from pleasure.”

You were rocking slightly, focusing on your breathing. 

Focusing on not opening your legs, and begging them to fuck you. 

“It’s alright, sweet girl,” Crocodile comforted again. “You know we’ll–”

“If he wasn’t in the room would you say yes? Do you feel bad for him?”

You met Buggy’s gaze, saw the sweat dripping down his face, his fists clenched on his knees. 

You opened your mouth, but nothing came out. You felt electric, body on fire with need. 

I would. I would say yes. Fuck.

“Let’s fix that,” Mihawk cleared his throat, lazily gesturing with his hand as his elbow rested on the armrest. 

“Clown. You know that Miss Y/N is ours now. You know that she wants to be ours. If not tonight, then someday soon, she will let herself have what she craves. Do you know this?”

Buggy stopped looking at you, and you saw his lip twitch in a snarl. But he answered.

“Yes.”

Your stomach clenched, guilt rising again. Crocodile gave a low chuckle. 

“So, when that happens, because it will happen,” Mihawk promised. And you couldn’t argue. You couldn’t take anymore of this. You’d go insane.

“When that happens, would you rather shove your fingers in your ears as her screams echo through the halls?”

You held in a whimper, Mihawk’s voice making your head spin.

“Or would you rather sit and watch while we fuck her into oblivion?”

Finally crying out, your head fell back for a moment, the desperate ache in your core almost painful now.

Buggy closed his eyes, the silence lasting too long for the men on the couch. 

“Decide,” Crocodile growled, “or we’ll decide for you.”

Buggy’s voice came out low, too quiet to hear. 

“Speak up, clown,” Crocodile threatened again.

Buggy met your eyes, his mouth hanging open with his ragged breaths. 

“I’d rather watch.”

Likes and reblogs bring me much ✨dopamine✨ thank you so much!

a/n: The brainrot is real. Send help

Tag List: @shewrites02 | @caniseethefourthsword | @hey-august | @chaoticqueen33 | @destinationmars | @novakitten0901 | @h0n3y-l3m0n05 | @dorky-birdie

Part 6

| masterlist | about me | rules | ao3 | ko-fi |

#cross guild x reader #buggy x reader #mihawk x reader #crocodile x reader #reader Insert #fem!reader #one piece x reader #x reader #turtletaub fics #mine #one piece fanfic #buggy fanfiction #sir crocodile x reader #dracule mihawk x reader #smut #one piece smut #mihawk smut #sir crocodile smut #buggy smut

[justsomewritingblog]

The Hero's Mission

Request:  None

Requested By:  Nobody

Prompt: “You're the hero, huh? I guess that makes me the villain."

Pairing:  Tom Riddle x Gryffindor!OC/reader

Summary:  The death of The Boy Who Lived requires the need of the Time Turner to change Tom Riddle for the better, saving dozens in the process. A Gryffindor has a different plan in mind, however.

Warnings:  mentions of death and murder

A/N:  Sorry for the wordcount. Not sorry for the Tom Riddle.

Word Count:  13K+

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He really did it.

Voldemort killed Harry Potter.

The world seemed to have screeched to a halt, everyone staring in disbelief at the dead boy.

The Dark Lord cackled.  “I’ve done it!  I killed The Boy Who Lived!”

Red flooded my vision.  I pulled out my wand, marching forward.  Just as I raised it to cast a spell, my arm was grabbed and I was dragged back into the castle.  I fought against it, turning to point my wand at whoever had a hold of me.

My eyes widened and I stopped.  “Professor McGonagall,” I breathed out quietly.

“Albus only wanted this used if absolutely necessary, but I believe this is the only way,” she said, letting go of me and reaching into her robe.

I blinked at her in confusion.  “Professor?”

She pulled out a chain, a tiny sand-timer dangling from the bottom.  Looping it around my neck, she looked me in the eyes.  “This is a Time Turner, allowing you to travel back in time.  You’ll need to return to the year 1945,” she told me.  “There is a young man there by the name of Tom Riddle.”  She looked back to where the battle had taken place, the sound increasing.  “He will become Lord Voldemort.”  Her gaze turned back to me, holding a shine of sternness, as well as concern.  “You need to go back and change him for the better.  It will save many lives.”

“Professor, I can’t-”

“You must, Miss King.  There are no other options.”

“But why me, Professor?”

She regarded me for a few moments.  “You will know, dear.”  Her eyes dropped to the time turner.  “The protection charm around that has been taken off, allowing you to go back more than five hours.  Take it and turn it backwards fifty times.  That should take you back to the right year.”

The noise got louder.

The Headmistress turned to me.  “Hurry, dear.”

I nodded, grabbing the time turner.  I began to spin it, counting up to fifty.  Once done, I looked up, staring at the castle wall in front of me.

It was similar to the wall I had been in front of before, though this wall was intact and clearly newer.  It possessed less scratches and burn marks.

Students walked past me and I quickly realized I stood out like a sore thumb.

Muttering a quiet “multicorfors” I waved my wand over my garments, making them look appropriate to the time period.  I stuffed my wand back in my robe, looking around.

Where to start?

A group of students walked by me.

I quietly slipped into step a few paces behind them, looking around casually in an attempt to not seem like I was obviously following them.

They unknowingly led me into the Great Hall, sitting down at their tables.

I stopped in the doorway, looking around for the Gryffindor table.  Spotting students wearing red ties, I strode over, trying not to seem suspicious.  Sitting down, my gaze raked over the room.

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were behind me, the Slytherin table in front.

I scanned the Slytherin table for anyone that looked suspicious or evil.

Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I frowned, about to pause my search to eat, when my eyes landed on a boy seated amongst the Slytherins.

He was sitting up straight, talking with the people around him.  He had a lean figure, dark hair that fell over his forehead on one side and features that looked- at least from where I was sitting- like the perfect blend of soft and hard.

I stared at the boy for a few moments, completely sucked into his demeanor and appearance.

He was talking to the people around him, looking at one of his housemates.  His expression shifted slightly and he lifted his eyes, his focus landing almost instantly on me.

“-looking at?”

I whipped my head to the side to face the girl sitting next to me, grateful for the interruption.  My cheeks coloured slightly, no matter how much I tried to fight it.  “Me?  Nothing, I was just-” my eyes, quite without me telling them to, drifted back to the Slytherin table for only a fraction of a second.

They didn’t even have enough time to focus on anything.

“I have an idea…” one of the girls, sitting across from the other, said.  She smirked as she stabbed something with her fork.

“What?”  I recoiled.  “I was just getting used to my surroundings,” I said.

It was technically half true.

“I thought I didn’t recognize you,” the other girl said.  “Are you new to Hogwarts?”

I paused.  “Yeah.”

“What year are you,” she questioned.

“Seventh year.”

“It is a bit unusual for someone to join Hogwarts so late in their schooling,” the other said.

I cleared my throat.  “Well, I was transferred from a different school…..” I trailed off before quickly introducing myself.

“Nice to meet you, King.  My name is Margaret,” the girl sitting diagonally from me spoke.  She nodded her head to the girl sitting next to me.  “This is Joan.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Joan greeted.

I nodded.  “The pleasure is mine.”

“Class will be starting soon…” Margaret informed.  “Do you have your books?”

I faltered.  “Uh…no, I-I don’t.”

“You can borrow ours,” Joan assured.  She nodded her head at the brunette across from her.  “Margaret and I always sit next to each other.  You could sit with one of us, if you wish.”

My eyebrows furrowed.  “How many students can sit at a desk?”

“Two.”

I turned my head to Margaret.

She went on.  “You can sit with Joan.  I will find another seat.”

“Oh!  No- I can’t.”  I lifted my hands.  “I would hate to split you two up.”  I shifted my gaze between them.  “Is there an empty desk behind you?”

“There is.”

“Then I’ll sit there.”  I shrugged.  “No worries.”

They gave me confused looks.

I frowned.  “What’s wrong?”

“You…” Margaret trailed off.

“You say things in a most unusual way, King,” Joan said.

I pursed my lips.

Oh yeah.

“I… apologize,” I said, though it sounded more like a question.

They smiled.

“Come.  Let’s head to class.”

I followed their lead, standing with them.

A lot of other students were rising to their feet as well, presumably also heading to their classes.

My gaze drifted once again to the Slytherin table, seeing the boy already standing, scanning the crowd.

His eyes met mine again.

I quickly snapped my head back towards my classmates, wincing slightly at the pain my neck had received for it.  Following their lead, I stubbornly kept my gaze intentional, only allowing it to drift to the halls of the school, so familiar and yet so strange.

“Our first class is Potions,” Margaret informed.

I grimaced behind her back, quickly wiping the expression away when Joan turned around to face me.

“It is taught by Professor Slughorn,” she added.

I nodded, taking in the information.

The girls pushed the door open, stepping through.

“We usually sit here,” Margaret informed, gesturing at a desk in the middle of the room.  She turned to me.  “Are you certain you would not prefer to sit with one of us?”

I nodded.  “Positive.  I’ll just sit behind you.”

“Here.”  Joan reached into her bag, pulling out a book and handing it to me.  “Use this.  Margaret and I will share.”

I accepted the thick book, making a mental note of the fact that Potions textbooks seemed to stay about the same size, even decades apart.  “Thank you.”  Sitting down behind them, I placed the book on the desk before leaning forward.  “What page are we on?”

“Three-hundred forty seven,” Margaret whispered back.

I thanked her, turning to the correct page, guessing that the book was probably close to seven hundred pages.  Looking up, I noted that this class period was shared with the Slytherin house.

Once everyone was seated, Slughorn started speaking.

“We are picking up from where we left off last time.”  His gaze raked across the classroom.  “Chapter-” he paused, his eyes landing on me.  A confused expression formed on his face.

I did my best to keep sitting tall, my leg bouncing anxiously.

“Do we have a new student?”

All eyes in the classroom turned to face me.

I held my head high, determined to not cower under the weight.  I kept my eyes locked onto the man at the front of the class.  “Yes, Professor.”

He hummed.  “Curious.  I was not informed we would be getting a new student.”

“A mere mistake I’m sure, Professor.”

“Most likely.  What is your name, then?”

I introduced myself, eyes unintentionally shifting downwards slightly towards the dark haired boy seated at the front of the class.

He, like everyone else, was already looking at me.

I quickly raised my eyes to Professor Slughorn again.

“-sit with Miss King for her first lesson?  In case she needs any help?”

The boy turned to his teacher.  “Of course, Professor.”

With abject horror, I watched as the boy collected his things, walked towards the back of the classroom, and sat next to me.

I looked back to the front of the class.  “Professor, this really isn’t necessary-”

“The Head Boy will willingly assist you if needed, Miss King,” Slughorn said.  “If you get along well on your own, should he so choose, he may return to his own seat.”

I held in a sigh.  “Yes, Professor.”

“Good.”  He turned his back to the class to look at the chalkboard behind him.  “As we were talking about in the last class…”

I ran a hand through my hair, reaching for my quill to start to take notes.  My hand closed around nothing and I lifted my eyes to look at where my quill was supposed to be, only to get a foul reminder.

I wasn’t where- or rather when- I was supposed to be.

I had no supplies.

Deciding I would rather try to memorize what Slughorn was saying instead of asking the boy next to me for anything, I folded my right arm on the desk in front of me, staring towards the front of the class.

“You might want these, Miss King.”

I turned to the soft noise on my right.

Merlin, even his voice was lovely.

At closer proximity, I could better make out his features, greedily noting that everything- his eyebrows, lips, nose- were perfect.

His dark green eyes were staring down at me, shifting between my own.

Before I stared too long I- with some effort- pulled my gaze away from him to look at the parchment and quill he had slid towards me.

My eyes widened slightly.

“It seems, Miss King…” he trailed off and I could hear the smirk in his voice, “it was good luck that I was sent to sit next to you.”

I lifted my head to look at him.

He was, indeed, smirking.  His green eyes shone with kindness and just a hint of mischief.

“Thank you,” I said, grasping the quill and beginning to write as I tried to focus on what Slughorn was saying.

Merlin, that didn’t stop my leg from bouncing, though.

~~~~~~~~~

Class ended and I stood, handing the quill back to the Head Boy.

He looked up at me, still sitting, his gaze dropping to the object.

“Thank you for allowing me to use your quill,” I said, holding my notes at my side.

The boy lifted his gaze to meet my eyes.  “You may keep it,” he said as he stood, forcing me to now look up at his tall frame in order to meet his eyes.  He slung his bag around his shoulder.  “I have more.”

I nodded once.  “Thank you.”

The corner of his mouth pulled upwards.  “You are welcome, Miss King.”

“Come on, King,” Joan said, grabbing my arm.  “Our next class is this way.”

I gave one last look at the Head Boy, nodding my head again to signal a ‘farewell’ and a ‘thank you’ before allowing myself to be led out of the classroom.

~~~~~~~~~~

“This is Transfiguration, taught by Professor Dumbledore.”

I faltered in my steps, stopping in the hallway.

Professor Dumbledore.

It had been so long-

“...you alright, King?”

I blinked back into reality, looking over at Margaret and Joan’s concerned faces.  “Uh, sorry.”  I offered them a crooked grin.  “Go on; what were you saying?”

They talked, but I didn’t listen.  As we strode into Transfiguration class, my eyes instantly made their way to the front of the room.

A man was sitting behind a desk.  He had long white hair and a very welcome face.

“Professor Dumbledore,” I breathed out, relieved to see someone familiar.

To see the man that had been killed.

“Yes, that’s him,” Joan said.

“Here is the book for this class.”  Margaret handed me a textbook, which I accepted, though not really paying attention.

“Thanks,” I managed to get out before sitting in the only open seat; next to a Ravenclaw.  My eyes stayed locked onto the Professor as he began teaching.

~~~~~~~~~~

“And this is the Common Room,” Margaret said, leading me through the portrait of the Fat Lady.

I smiled slightly at the familiar face before being pulled in.

The room, though possessing some similarities to the Common Room in my own time, had notable differences.

The arrangements of the furniture were different, the furniture having a far older style than what I was used to.

“It’s very nice,” I said, observing the room.

“Our rooms are up these stairs,” Joan said, gesturing.  “Do not attempt to go up the stairs to the boys’ dormitories.  They are charmed.”

I nodded.  “It was the same way at…” I paused, “my other school.”

Margaret turned to face me.  “Where were you before you transferred?”

“Uhh…it was very similar to this, but it was a small school,” I bluffed.  “You probably wouldn’t have even heard of it.”

They nodded, satisfied.

I let out a small breath of relief as they began to move around the room, introducing me to my other housemates.  I greeted them all, smiling.

“Follow us,” Joan said, walking towards the stairs.  “We will see if we can find your room.”

“Did Headmaster Dippet say which dormitory was yours,” Margaret asked.

I froze, eyes wide.  “No…no, he didn’t.”

“Oh dear.  This may be a problem.”

“I can go ask him,” I said, realizing that I had yet to officially announce my…transference, anyway.

“We will go with you.”

“No!”  I shot my hand out before quickly retracting it and lowering my voice.  “No, it’s okay.  It’s getting late, and I don’t want you out past curfew.”

“But do you know the way,” Margaret questioned.

Assuming Dippet’s office was in the same location Dumbledore’s was, I nodded.  “I’m sure I’ll find it.”  I began backing up towards the door.  “If I’m not back before you girls go to bed, have a goodnight!”

“You as well,” they said, waving.

I turned, exiting the Common Room.

Alright.  Time to find Dippet’s office.

I began walking through the castle, making mental notes of the differences and similarities between this Hogwarts and mine.  As the duration of my walk lengthened, I began to wonder why I was even doing this.

I didn’t need to sign in to Hogwarts.  I didn’t need to take notes in class.  And I certainly didn’t need to start forming attachments to young men.

I didn’t have time to be distracted, no matter how gorgeous that distraction happened to be.

I had one job to do.

I had to find Tom Riddle.

I had to kill him.

“Miss King.”

I jumped at the sound of the voice, whipping around.  I couldn’t make out who was approaching me, since the castle was getting dark as evening came upon it.  Pulling out my wand, I held it out in front of me.  “Lumos.”

A light shone at the end of my wand, illuminating the boy that stopped in front of me.

My eyes widened.  “Merlin,” I breathed out.

It would be him.

The Head Boy raised an eyebrow, cocking his head.  “Curfew has begun, Miss King.  I do not wish to take points away from you on your first day, but-”

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted.

He closed his mouth, looking over at me.

I could see a flicker of surprise, and possibly annoyance, in his eyes at being cut off.  “I was just on my way to see Headmaster Dippet,” I explained.

The Head Boy’s expression shifted, becoming more curious.  “Oh?”

“I realized he never told me which dorm was mine,” I said.

The boy didn’t need to know that I hadn’t actually been accepted into Hogwarts yet.

That would have been very suspicious.

“I see.”

A beat of silence passed between us.

“Then let me escort you.  If any other Prefects find you alone, you likely will lose points.”

I nodded.  “Thank you.”

The Head Boy pulled out his wand and flicked his wrist slightly, a light appearing on the end of it.

My eyes widened.  I hadn’t heard him cast ‘lumos’.

The boy gestured and began walking.

I fell into place beside him, increasing the speed of my steps to keep up with his longer strides.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before the boy broke it.

“Why have you transferred to Hogwarts so late in your wizarding career,” he questioned.

“I have a job to do,” I replied without thinking.  My eyes widened as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

He turned to look down at me, regarding me curiously.  “What is the nature of your job?”

I floundered for a realistic response.  “My parents just thought that the school I was previously at wasn’t preparing me well enough for a career.”

“A career?”  The boy was silent for a moment.  “Most witches your age hope for marriage out of school.  There are few who wish to work.”

“Well…” I pursed my lips.  “I guess I’m one of the few.”

The boy hummed.  “We’re here,” he said.  He turned to look at the gargoyle.  “Strawberries.”

The gargoyle spun, revealing the staircase.

I looked over at the Slytherin.  “Thank you.”

“I’ll wait until you’re done.”

“That’s really not necessary-”

He smirked.  “So you keep saying.  But as I said, if you want to avoid losing points, I will need to accompany you.”

I looked at him for a few moments before nodding, heading up the stairs.  Once at the top I looked around, noting that the office was very similar to Dumbledore’s.  “Headmaster Dippet,” I called out.

A man with long white hair and a short white beard and mustache emerged from behind a pile of books.  His eyebrows furrowed.  “Yes?”

“My name is King, sir,” I said.  “I was transferred to Hogwarts today.”

The Headmaster sat down at his desk.  “It is very late in the day to be transferring, Miss King.”

I swallowed nervously.  “It was a late decision, sir.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “Very well.”  Pulling out a quill and parchment, he asked “what are your parents’ names, dear?”

I froze, trying to remember the names of my great grandparents.  “Edward and Dorothy King, sir.”

He nodded, writing the names down.  “What school did you transfer from?”

I listed the first school that came to mind.  “Beauxbatons, sir.”

He nodded again, writing some more.  “That’s a good school.  Why did you transfer?”

I fisted my robe sleeves as my leg began to bounce.  “My parents thought I would be more suited here.”

He looked up at me, saying nothing.

I pursed my lips.  “Professor?”

Reaching into his desk, he pulled out more papers.  “I see you have already been sorted into Gryffindor…”

“Professor Dumbledore, sir,” I said.  “He saw me earlier…”

The headmaster hummed.  “He made no mention of it to me.”

“Probably just an oversight, sir,” I said quickly, beginning to sweat.

Merlin, who knew trying not to be caught in time travel would be so difficult?

“Probably.  Very well, Miss King.”  He reached over his desk, handing me a piece of paper.  “This is your dormitory room.”  He stepped around the desk, leading me back down the stairs.  “I will show you to the Common Room-”

“There’s no need for that, Headmaster.”

We both turned to the voice, seeing the Head Boy standing right where I had left him: in the middle of the hallway.

“I already volunteered to take Miss King back.”

“Ah, Mister Riddle,” Dippet said, clearly pleased.  “Excellent.”

My eyes widened and I nearly choked on my own saliva.  All the blood drained from my face and my heart began to beat erratically in my chest.

Dippet placed his hand on my back and shoved me gently towards the tall boy.

I simply stared up at him, at a complete loss for words.

There was no way-

“Hurry along, Mister Riddle,” Dippet encouraged.  “I’m sure Miss King would like to go to bed at a reasonable hour,” he said, smiling before turning back towards his office.

“Goodnight, Headmaster,” the boy- Riddle- said.

“Goodnight, children.”

Once the gargoyle closed, the boy looked down to meet my gaze.

I didn’t think I had moved in the last two minutes.

Let alone breathed.

“Are you ready, Miss King?”

I finally blinked.  “Riddle?”

He stared at me, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.  “Yes.”

I opened my mouth again, my voice wavering.  “Tom Riddle?”

His eyebrows furrowed further.  “Yes.”  He looked at me curiously.  “Why?”

“I…” I trailed off.

What was there to say?

The silence stretched on and he narrowed his eyes at me.

I blinked at him.

His eyes widened and he leaned back slightly, standing up taller than he had been before.  “You’re the hero, huh?  I guess that makes me the villain.”  He lowered his head, stepping further into my space.

I took an instinctive step backwards.  “You should already know you’re the villain,” I muttered, amazed that I was able to speak, let alone say something so bold in my current state.

“You’ve come to kill me,” he whispered.  “Tell me…where…exactly…are you from?”

I took another step back.

“If you don’t tell me, I can still get the information,” he insisted darkly.

“Stay out of my head,” I warned, with more strength than I felt.

“Everything alright here?”

Tom and I turned towards the voice, seeing two Prefects standing in the hallway.

Tom turned his body mostly towards them, moving away from my space and returning to his full height.  “I was escorting Miss King back to her Common Room.  She just got her dormitory direction from Headmaster Dippet,” he explained casually.

My eyes widened in horror at the speed in which he effortlessly swapped personalities.

“Very well,” one of the Prefects said.

“Enjoy your trip,” the other said with a wave as they walked away to continue their routes.

When they were out of sight I broke into a full sprint down the hallway.

I had no plan.  My body was moving purely on instinct.

Where could I go that would be safe?

I didn’t have time to think.

He could easily catch up.

Running through the halls, I turned a corner and was promptly whipped backwards.  I fell into a chest, trying to rip my arm free of the hand that held it.

Tom’s long fingers and firm hold were making it difficult to break his grip.

“Let go of me!”

Tom lowered his head.  “Be quiet.”

“No!”  I went to reach for my wand, but Tom’s other hand shot forward, fingers wrapping around my wrist and keeping both of my arms in his hold.  I struggled against him, but it was no use.

“Why are you here to kill me,” Tom demanded.

I continued pulling against him.

“Answer me, witch!”  His eyes flashed red, his face contorting into one of anger.

I froze, chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath.  My wrists hurt and my body was tired from fighting against his hold.  “Because you’re a monster,” I spat.  “Because in my time you’ve killed countless people,” I panted, glaring up at him.  “Because I have to stop you.”

Tom said nothing for several moments, studying me closely.

I defiantly met his eyes, knowing he could use Legilimency if he wished.  He already knew half of it, anyway.

“Am I the most powerful wizard in your time?”

I glared.  “No.”

“Who is,” he demanded, his hold on my wrists tightening.

I lifted my chin, looking at him proudly.  “Dumbledore.”

Rage flashed across Tom’s face.  “Impossible.”

“It isn’t.”  I stared at him, unwavering, even though I felt like my heart was being squeezed.  “You’re going to lose…Voldemort.”

He stared at me, his chest rising and falling harder and faster than it had been.

Then he smirked, an aura of confidence washing over him.

“If I am truly going to lose, why did you come back in time to stop me?”

“To try to reduce the number of deaths,” I half-bluffed.  “Just because you get defeated in my time doesn’t mean we should let you get away with all those murders.”  I glared at him.  “I know I’m too late to prevent the deaths of Myrtle, some of the other students around here, and even others, but what I can try to stop, I will.”

“So you’ve come to kill me.”  Tom raised an eyebrow.  “Did you really think you would be able to?”

“That wasn’t my mission.”  My eyes narrowed at him.  “It was just the one I chose.”  Reeling my leg back, I swung it forward, kicking him in the shin.

He doubled over.

I kneed him in the nose.

He let out a yell as blood began to run down to his chin, his hands loosening enough in surprise that I managed to wiggle one of mine free.

Grabbing my wand as fast as possible, I aimed it at him.  “Stupefy!”

He shot backwards, back colliding with the castle wall before he hit the ground.

Walking over and rolling him onto his back, I held my wand at his throat.  I looked at him, his unconscious body laying on the floor.

Kill him.  Do it.

My grip on my wand tightened.  Foolishly, my eyes raked across his softened features.

Even as blood trickled from his nose, I couldn’t help but think the annoying thought that he was breathtaking.

The two sides of my brain fought each other.

Now’s your chance!  It would be such a pity to destroy something so beautiful.  Avenge all he’s done!

I ground my teeth together, hand shaking as I pointed my wand at him.

Save the world!  Save your friends!

Don’t destroy him!  Do what you were told to do!

End it!

Do the right thing!

Ending him is the right thing!  Stop him from causing harm to others!

Murder is never right!  Change him to become a better person!

You can’t change him!  He’s too far gone!

You don’t know that!

I let out a yell, jerking my arm towards the wall alongside Riddle.

A flash of light emerged from my wand and struck the stone.

Parts of it crumbled, falling alongside the unconscious boy.

I stared down at him for a few moments, heaving breaths.

I had to go.

He could wake up at any moment.

Giving him one final glance I ran towards the Common Room and didn’t look back.

Announcing the password I rushed in, sprinting up to my dorm.  Opening the door as quietly as I could, I sped in, hurrying onto my bed.  I sat on it, hugging my knees to my chest as I stared at the door.

I couldn’t afford to sleep.

He might come for me.

~~~~~~~~

I shakily made my way to breakfast the next morning, creeping around every corner to make sure Tom wasn’t there.  I sat down at the Gryffindor table, only a few students in the Great Hall this early.  Having had no sleep, I decided I would at least get something to eat and try to work through my thoughts.

Now that I hadn’t killed Riddle, what was my next plan?

Should I try again to kill him?  He would definitely be watching me, now.  He knew that I knew.

Should I try to convert him?  Easier said than done.  He’s already committed crimes, and I already attacked him.

Merlin, what did I get myself into?  Why didn’t I just kill him when I had the chance?

No, I scolded myself.  You did the right thing.

Even if it was for selfish, and admittedly, stupid reasons.

Alright.  Tom Riddle was alive.  I allowed Voldemort to live.

I could only hope I wouldn’t come to regret it.

In my time, the situation couldn’t get much worse anyway, so what the heck?  Might as well see where this takes me.

I pushed the eggs on my plate around with my fork, being hungry and yet not possessing an appetite.

“Miss King.”

My head shot up, gaze locking onto a pair of green eyes.

“Riddle,” I greeted coldly, my throat tight.  “How’s your nose?”

He glared as he sat down across from me.  Ignoring my question, a smirk formed on his face as his gaze scanned me.  “Did you sleep in your uniform, King?”

I frowned, mentally cursing myself for forgetting to cast a glamor charm.  My clothes were quite wrinkled.  “I didn’t sleep, actually.”

“Is that so?”  A crooked grin formed on his face.  “And why is that?”

I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes.  “You’ve killed for less.”  I left it at that, knowing he understood the subtext.

He hummed.

I raised an eyebrow.  “Why are you here?”

“For information.”

I let go of my fork, letting it clatter slightly as it connected with my plate, and crossed my arms.  “About what?”

“My future.”  He inclined his head towards me slightly.  “You.”

“There’s not much to tell.”

“Oh, I think there is.”  He leaned forward, lowering his voice.  “If you came to kill me, why did you not do so last night?  I was unconscious…” he trailed off, sitting more upright.  “You had the opportunity.”

I regarded him silently.

What was the best way to respond?

I was never very good at figuring out what to say in delicate matters like this.

It was made even worse by the fact that what I said could drastically impact the lives of countless people, myself included.

“I couldn’t,” I finally said.

Tom raised an inquisitive eyebrow and sat up even straighter.

He clearly had not been expecting that.

“And why not?”

I looked towards the doors of the Great Hall to avoid him using Legilimency on me again.

I did not want him using anything to his advantage.

“I somehow managed to convince myself that you were capable of saving.”  I allowed myself to look back at him.  “That you were worth saving.”

He stared at me silently, keeping his expression very guarded.

“You’re a very bright wizard, Tom,” I said.  “Powerful, too.  In the right place, you could do great things.”

“I will do great things,” he insisted.

“You will do impressive things,” I corrected.  “But they will be evil.”  I sat up straighter.  “For your own selfish end.”

His eyes briefly flashed red and I saw his face twitch as he tried to control his expression.  “It’s natural for me to look out for my own interest,” he said, voice slightly tense.

“At the cost of everyone else?”  I rolled my eyes.  “How typically Slytherin.”

His eyes narrowed.  “And I suppose it’s very Gryffindor to run headfirst into something without actually planning it out.”  He scoffed.  “Is it also a Gryffindor trait to retreat out of their task so foolishly when their opponent was helpless before them?”

I felt my anger boiling up.  “I spared your life!”  I whisper-yelled, conscious enough of the few other students in the room.  “The noble thing to do.”

“Because you are so focused on being noble, aren’t you?”

“I don’t send giant snakes to do my killing for me, you miserable boy,” I hissed.

“They weren’t worth my time.”

I slammed my hands on the table, pushing myself to my feet in a hurry as I glared daggers down at him.  “I should have done the job!”

Riddle stood as well, towering over me as he snarled back.  “If you had any brains, you would have!”

The room fell completely silent.

My chest took in air at an irregular rate, and I noticed Riddle’s breathing was also unusual.

We refused to look away from each other.

“Your ‘perfect boy’ image is slipping, Riddle,” I whispered, raising my eyebrow challengingly.  “Tread lightly.”

“I was about to give you the same warning.”  His eyes narrowed and he leaned closer.  “You do not want to make an enemy of me, King.”

I met his eyes, a determination and fury flowing through me.  “You were my enemy before I got here.”

Tom’s jaw clenched.  

The doors to the Great Hall opened, students beginning to flood in.

Riddle cast me one last glance before turning and making his way over to the Slytherin table.

I let out a relieved breath, plopping back down on the bench.  I watched Tom as he sat down, being joined by his housemates.

They all talked animatedly around him, but Tom seemed…distracted.

“Hello, King.”

I turned, seeing Margaret and Joan.  “Good morning.”  The words sounded tense, bordering on rude, to my own ears.

Margaret followed my previous line of sight.  “Looking at the Head Boy again?”  A teasing smile formed on her face.

I crossed my arms, scowling.  “I resent that.”

“Hopefully she’s studying the enemy.”  Joan turned to me.  “You had better be coming up with ways to win the House Cup this year,” she remarked.  “Slytherin’s won the past several years because of that boy,” she said, nodding towards Tom.  “Everyone loves him.”

I looked back over towards the dark haired boy.  “How... lovely,” I sneered.

The girls shared a look.

“Did you manage to find your dormitory alright,” Margaret asked.  “We never saw you.”

The blood began draining from my face as the memories from last night came back.  “Yeah.  It’s not with you two, though.  By the time I got back from Headmaster Dippet’s office, everyone was already in bed, and I got up early.”

At the sound of a few claps I turned my head to the right to see the Headmaster trying to get everyone’s attention.

I thanked Merlin for the distraction.

“Good morning, students,” he greeted.  “Normally I don’t want to interrupt your breakfast, but I believe some point adjustments need to be made.”

My eyebrows furrowed.

“Last night one of the Prefects found Tom Riddle with some injuries,” he began.

All of the color drained from my face and my blood ran cold.

“Our Head Boy was walking back our newest student,” he gestured at me, announcing my name.

I felt faint as all eyes turned to me.

“Riddle has brought it to my attention that when he was walking Miss King back to her Common Room, a troll attacked them, injuring Tom and breaking the wall.”

I was certain the astonishment on my face was evident.  Eyes wide and eyebrows to my hairline, I stared at the Headmaster in bewilderment.

“The Head Boy is certain that Miss King chased the troll out of the school while he was indisposed, saving everyone.”  Dippet smiled.  “For her bravery on her first evening at Hogwarts, saving the Head Boy and the rest of the school, I award Miss King with fifty points.”  He began clapping, everyone else following his lead.

I whipped my head around to look at Riddle, the only one besides myself not clapping, meeting his eyes in confusion.

“I needed to give them some reason for my state you so rudely put me in,” a voice in my head said.

The voice was proper, smooth, yet stern, and so clearly Riddle’s.

I ignored the clapping, keeping my focus on the Slytherin.  Why didn’t you tell them the truth?

“If I had told them the truth, I would have had to tell them why you attacked me, wouldn’t I?  I could have lied, saying you simply lost your temper or felt that I threatened you, but questions about me would arise, wondering what I would have done to warrant such a response from you.”  Tom sat up straighter in his seat, arching an eyebrow as he kept his eyes locked onto mine.  “You pose no threat to me.  You can’t tell anyone what you know without sounding like a deranged lunatic, especially after being here for only a day.”

I struggled to think of an appropriate response.

A hand on my back and a voice right by my ear had my head turning to my left, seeing Joan and Margaret smiling at me.

The connection between Riddle was broken, a sharp twinge in my head causing me to wince slightly.

“Why did you not tell us?”  Margaret asked excitedly.

“I…” I trailed off.  Looking down at my plate I hesitantly lifted a forkful of eggs into my mouth to buy me some time while I thought.  I forced down a gag at the unwanted food.  “I didn’t think it was important information,” I offered weakly with a shrug.

“It’s most definitely important,” Margaret insisted.  “You saved the Head Boy.”

I grimaced at the thought, looking back down at my plate.

“The entire school,” Joan corrected, eyeing her friend.

Margaret looked over to the dark haired girl.  “Well, obviously, but the Head Boy was more immediate.”

I lifted my gaze, keeping my head down, to look at the Slytherin table.

Tom was staring in silence at his own plate.  Unlike my shuffling of the food on mine, he simply looked down at his, his arms crossed and resting on the table.

What was he thinking about?

Was he thinking of killing me?  Would he decide to kill Dumbledore, since I told him that he was the most powerful wizard in my time?  Was he plotting a murder of someone else?  Was he actually thinking of changing?

I put my elbow on the table, holding my forehead in my hand.

Merlin, this was too much.

“Are you well, King?”

I turned to the girls.  “Just a headache,” I excused.

Technically, one was beginning to form at the number of questions and stress of it all.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Margaret said.

“Hopefully it goes away soon,” Joan remarked.  “Potions will be starting in only a little while.”

I groaned.  Here I was, supposed to save the Wizarding World, needing to attend class.

As if I needed more problems in my life right now.

Rubbing my forehead, I sat back up and ate a little more.

Did I want it?  No.

Was I going to regret not eating?  Yes.

Managing to get through half of my breakfast, I stood with everyone, making our way to Potions.  As I took my seat, accepting Joan’s book, I made a mental note to buy some textbooks since, apparently, I would be here for a while.  Flipping to the page we left on last time, I went to pull out some paper to take notes on, but paused.

I mentally added parchment to my shopping list.

The noise in the room got louder as more students filed in, taking their seats.

At the sense of someone sitting beside me, I turned, eyes widening at the figure there.

Oh, yeah.

I had been so concerned about avoiding Tom Riddle’s possibly murderous intentions I had forgotten that he sat next to me in Potions.

Though, I did recall that he didn’t have to.

“Miss King,” he greeted, passing me more parchment as he kept his eyes toward the front of the class.  His gaze remained there, even as he asked “do you still have the quill I gave you?”  He finally turned to look at me.

I nodded.

He turned his attention to Professor Slughorn as the man began writing on the board.

My eyebrows furrowed.  I leaned towards him slightly.  “What are you doing?”

He glanced at me.  “Preparing for class.”

I rolled my eyes.  “I meant sitting here.”

He smirked.  “Only to keep up pretenses, Miss King,” he insisted quietly.  “It casts a good image for the Head Boy to assist the newest student.”

I scoffed, sitting upright again and turning back to my own book.  My eyes roamed the page, pretending to be interested in the words.  “Everything’s all about pretenses with you,” I mumbled.

I didn’t bother looking at his reaction.

~~~~~~~~~

I made my way into Hogsmeade, treading the streets slowly.

Merlin, I really had no idea where I was.

The shops all looked so different from my time.

My heart tugged slightly and I frowned.

My time.

How long was I going to be in this cursed place?

However long it takes to do something about Voldemort, I reasoned with myself.

Letting out a huff, I kept walking, peeking my head into shops to see what they were.

“Looking for something, hero?”

I turned at the sound of the voice, seeing a blond standing on the sidewalk.

Tom Riddle stood slightly in front of him, towering above the boy.

The blond smirked at me.

My eyebrows furrowed, my questioning gaze unintentionally shifting towards Riddle.

Tom nodded his head towards the boy.  “This is Avery.  He’s one of my friends.”

I gave him a disbelieving look, cocking an eyebrow.

Tom lifted his head slightly, tilting his chin up a little in defiance.

I turned to look at Avery.  “I’m not a hero.”  I crossed my arms.  “Whatever Riddle said, it’s not true.”

Avery raised an eyebrow at the accusation.

Tom’s expression remained stoic, but I could see his features harden slightly.

I sighed.  “Look, could you just tell me where to purchase some parchment and textbooks?”

“You don’t know,” Avery asked incredulously.

“I’m not exactly from around here.”  My eyes drifted to Tom before turning back to the blond.

Avery chuckled darkly.  “You could just look around and find out for yourself.  Get more acquainted, you know.”

“That’s what I was doing before you interrupted,” I retorted.

Tom nodded his head towards a store, clasping his hands behind his back.  “I believe you’ll find your desired things in there, Miss King.”

“My desired things, huh?”  I scoffed, beginning to walk towards the building.  “I doubt it.”

~~~~~~~~~

I sat in the library, scratching my head as I stared down at my Transfiguration textbook.  I wasn’t focusing on the words, though.

I was trying to figure out how to get through to Riddle.

I didn’t want to seek him out, but I had to do something.  I couldn’t just wait around for things to happen on their own.

But how does one get through to a psychopathic murderer?

“You’ve been staring at that same page for ages.”

It took a few moments for me to realize that I was the one being spoken to.  Looking up, I locked eyes with my guest.  My stomach caught in my throat.  “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, Riddle,” I muttered, looking back down at my book.

He sat down across from me.  “I understand; Professor Dumbledore is such a dull teacher.”

I lifted my head to look at him, a glare crossing my features.  “Professor Dumbledore is an excellent teacher.  He’s an excellent mentor and an excellent man.”

Tom sneered.  “I would have sooner compared him to a vulture.  He’s always watching me.”

“Gee,” I deadpanned at him, “I wonder why that is.”

His eyebrow twitched upwards; in challenge or annoyance, I couldn’t tell.  “There’s no evidence of anything I’ve done.”

“Maybe you just seem evil to him.”  I crossed my arms.  “He’s a good judge of character.”

Tom smirked at me.  “Unlike yourself.”

I looked at him in silence for a few moments.  “I can judge someone’s character.”

“Perhaps, but you must not be very good at it.”  He pulled out a book, flipping to a random page to feign studying.  “You left the Dark Lord alive, remember?”

A pang of guilt and rage rushed through me.  “I told you why.”

“But I don’t believe it.”  He lifted his head to look at me.  “Gryffindors are noble, but they’re also headstrong.  If they make up their mind to do something, it takes a lot to get them to change their mind.  And what could be more noble than avenging the deaths of so many?”  He leaned forward.  “So.  What made you change your mind?”

“You’re so smart.”  I leaned forward in my own seat, narrowing my eyes at him.  “Figure it out.”

Tom stared at me for a few moments before letting out an incredulous chuckle and sitting upright.  “Surely you wouldn’t let something as mundane as physical attraction sway you.”

My face broke into a harsh heat and I leaned back in my seat.  Having no response, I simply scoffed and averted my attention to another student searching the shelves for a book.

Tom continued to stare at me in silence.

I could feel my face getting warmer at the attention.

The awkward prolonged quiet wasn’t helping, either.

I took a deep breath, trying to fight off the sweat that had formed a thin layer over my skin.  I practically willed my cheeks to lose some of their red color.

Merlin, they rivaled a Weasley’s hair.

Turning my glare towards the Slytherin sitting across from me, I crossed my arms.  “You didn’t kill me, either.”  I nodded my chin towards him.  “I know your secret.  I’m a threat to your cause.  I could expose you for what you really are.”

“You can’t expose me, remember?  No one would believe you.”

“Dumbledore would.”

His confident smirk was replaced by a frown, his eyebrows pulling together.  His form tensed, sitting more rigid than before.  He looked to the side.  “Dumbledore is a fool.”  He met my eyes again.  “He can’t do anything to me.”

“So you keep saying.  But I’m not convinced.”

Tom’s eyes narrowed at me.  “Are you trying to get me to kill you?”

“No.”  I shrugged one shoulder.  “Just trying to figure you out.  You said you were keeping me alive for information.”

“A true statement.”

I leaned forward.  “Then use Legilimency.  Read my mind and find out all you want to know.  Then you would have no reason to keep me alive,” I challenged.

Tom’s eyes shifted between my own.  “It’s too easy.”

I rolled my eyes, sitting upright again.  “Sorry, I didn’t know that taking over the world was a sport to you.”

He regarded me silently.

When the silence stretched on, I looked back down at my textbook.  “What are you doing here, anyway?  Are you following me or something?”

“Don’t be absurd.”

I glanced up at him before returning my attention to the page in front of me.  After rereading the same sentence eight times I huffed, closing the book and staring in annoyance at the cover.

Transfiguration: Third edition.

I chewed on my lip before stuffing the book in my bag and standing, marching out of the library.

~~~~~~~~~

I steeled myself, knocking on the door.

“Come in,” a voice from inside called.

Pushing open the wooden door, I stepped into the office.  “Professor Dumbledore?”

“Ah, Miss King.”  A small smile appeared on the man’s face.

Merlin, I almost cried at the sight of it.

“Please,” he gestured, “have a seat.”

“Thank you, Professor.”  I sat down in the chair facing his desk.

“What can I do for you?”

“Professor, I was wondering…”  My leg began to bounce.  “I was wondering what you could tell me about… about Tom Riddle.”

Dumbledore’s eyebrows rose.  “What would you like to know about Tom?”

“Anything useful.”

Dumbledore cocked an eyebrow at me.

My leg bouncing increased speed.  Surely, I could tell Dumbledore what was going on?  In my time he was dead anyway, so it wouldn’t have an impact later?

It was flimsy logic, but it was all I had.

I huffed.  “Professor, I’m from the future.  I was sent back from the year 1998.”  Reaching into my robe, I pulled out the time turner to show him.

His expression remained mostly impassive as he simply looked at the object before lifting his gaze to me.  “All but two time turners in the world only take the wearer back at a maximum of five hours.”

“This one was altered by the person who sent me back,” I explained, trying to be as vague as possible.

He didn’t need to know everything.

I fisted my altered uniform roughly, twisting the fabric in my hands.  “Professor, I was sent here to change the past.  To save everyone that Riddle kills.  But I’m not a hero.”  I let out a humorless chuckle.  “I’m starting to wonder if I’m even a Gryffindor.”

“Why would you not belong in Gryffindor?”

I lifted my eyes to meet his.  “I had the opportunity to kill Tom Riddle, before his acts got too carried away…but I didn’t.  I cowered out of it.”

Dumbledore hummed.  “Oftentimes, killing is the easy solution.  Especially if Tom becomes as bad as you say.  It is simple to end someone that would cause so much harm.”  He looked at me meaningfully, with a warm smile and a kind look in his eyes.  “Sometimes it takes more bravery to spare a life.”

I bit back tears and nodded.  I cleared my throat.  “What should I do, Professor?  How do I change a killer?”  I moved in my seat, sitting on the edge of the chair.  “How can I get through to him?”

“I do not know everything about Mister Riddle,” Dumbledore informed.  “He grew up in an orphanage.  His mother died when he was very young.  His father abandoned him.”  Dumbledore clasped his hands, resting them on the desk.  “There must be a reason that you specifically were sent here, Miss King.  Use your judgment.  Find your own way.”

I sighed, looking down and nodded.  “Thank you, Professor.”  I stood and exited the office.

My own way, huh?

~~~~~~~~~

What the frick was my way?

I briefly considered the option of holding my wand to his throat, demanding he fix his mistakes or I’d kill him, but I quickly reasoned that wouldn’t work.

No matter how much I wished it did.

I had been in 1945 for a few weeks, but it felt like I had been here for a number of months.

And I was making no progress.

My grades weren’t even very good, since I had other things on my mind.  I had never been a good multitasker.

Merlin, I was seriously doubting Professor McGonagall’s choice in sending me back.

I had no idea what I was doing.

Alright, then.  I’d wing it.

I stood from the chair in the Common Room, making my way to the door.

“Curfew starts soon, King,” Joan warned, looking up from her book.

“I know.”  Without looking back, I pushed the portrait open and closed it behind me, making my way to the dungeon.

I never liked the dark, and this part of the castle seemed to soak it all up.  Thankfully, I could still see.  Reaching the door to the Slytherin Common Room I paused.

I didn’t know the password.

And with curfew starting soon, Riddle might not have even been in the Common Room.

I chewed my lip.

Thankfully, the door swung open on its own.

I froze as a figure walked out, not sure if I should be relieved or not.  “Avery,” I greeted.

The blond looked up at me, his steps halting.  “Hero?”  He raised a judgmental eyebrow.  “What are you doing at the Slytherin Common Room?”

“Looking for Riddle.”

Avery watched me for a few moments.  “He’s inside.  He’ll be starting to patrol soon.”

“Can you get him?  I need to talk to him.”

Avery thought for a few moments before retreating into his Common Room.  He emerged shortly after, Riddle in tow.

Avery walked down the hallway, doing whatever it was he was going to do before he saw me.

Tom closed the door behind him, looking down at me in a manner similar to Avery’s.

It was different, though.

Tom was studying me.  Trying to figure me out.

He raised a silent, questioning eyebrow at me.

I suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable in my own skin.

I cleared my throat.  “Can we talk?”

His other eyebrow rose in surprise.  “I’m going to begin my rounds soon-”

“I know; Avery told me.”  I looked up at him.  “But I need to either sort this out or go home.”

Tom’s expression shifted ever so slightly.  “You would go home?  Even if your goal was unaccomplished?”

I shrugged one shoulder.  “If I can’t do what I was sent to do, there’s no point in hanging around a time that isn’t mine, is there?”

Tom regarded me silently for a few moments.  “No.  No, I suppose not.”

I gestured at him.  “Especially with you graduating soon, I’m going to lose a lot of contact with you.”  I cracked a small smile.  “Unless I apply for a job at the same place.”  I tilted my head, my smile growing.  “But I kind of doubt I’d get it, since I would only have about two months of proof of my existence, so…”

The corners of Tom’s mouth raised slightly.  He nodded, looking down the hallway.  His gaze drifted back to meet my eyes.  “Walk with me.”

I fell into step beside him, needing to jog a little initially to catch up to his long paces.  Once I settled into a rhythm that would keep me next to him, I relaxed, turning to look up at his side profile.  “Do you like being the Head Boy?”

He turned his head to look at me, a confused expression overtaking his features.  “What?”

“You heard me.”

He raised an eyebrow, looking forward again as he turned corners without much thought.

I figured he must have memorized his paths at this point.

“It gives me power, but also responsibility.”

“So, yes and no?”

He looked down at me.  “Did you come to talk to me about something as dull as this?”

I shrugged, turning my attention forward as we rounded another corner.  “I just wanted to talk to you about anything.”

He kept his expression guarded.  “Trying to discover my weaknesses?”

I frowned as I thought for a moment.  “Not really.”  I looked up at him.  “I don’t think your feelings on your Head Boy duties are particularly useful insights into the darkest parts of your mind,” I admitted.

His eyes flickered down to me very briefly before looking ahead again.  “Was there anything else?”

I pursed my lips.  “I didn’t really have anything in mind.”  I looked back towards him.  “Just…tell me about yourself.”

A skeptical look overtook Tom’s features as he continued to stare ahead, resolutely not looking at me.  “You’re trying to get me to reveal something.”

I could see it behind his eyes, though.

Vulnerability.

“Tom…” I sighed, looking up at him.

He finally looked down at me.

I frowned.  “You’re far too cynical.  Is it so hard to believe I just want to get to know you?”

Tom raised an eyebrow.  “You did try to kill me.”

“And I haven’t for almost a month now,” I reminded.

Tom’s eyes shifted to the floor for a few beats before he looked forward again.  “I still don’t trust you.”

“Nor I, you.”

~~~~~~~~~

I tugged at my hair, looking down at my Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook.

“Is something wrong, King?”

I looked up, seeing Tom sit across from me.  “My grades are slipping because I’ve been a little…preoccupied.”  Pursing my lips, I let out a small huff.  “And Defense Against the Dark Arts was never one of my strong suits,” I remarked, gaze returning to my book.

“Well, fortunately it’s my best subject.”  Tom stood, moving around the table to sit next to me.

I felt heat creep up my neck at the proximity.

He placed his hands on the table, his robe sleeve brushing mine, looking over at the pages I had flipped open.  “What have you been struggling with?”

Merlin, how was anyone supposed to think with Tom that close, let alone focus.

“Uhhh.”

Tom looked down at me, his green eyes peering into mine.

My breathing picked up, chest rising and falling at a faster rate.  I studied his face for a few moments, gaze dropping briefly to his lips before quickly averting my eyes to stare down at the textbook.

King, what do you think you’re doing!?  Pull yourself together!

I forcibly cleared my throat.  “Uhhh,” I repeated, my voice even weaker than it had been.  I let out a strained chuckle, holding my head in my hand.  “Merlin, Tom.”

“Are you alright, King?”

I looked over at him, only to turn even redder at seeing the smirk on his face.

“Should I take you to the healer?”  His eyebrows quirked upward almost mockingly.  His features shifted, feigning concern.  “I don’t believe that shade of red is normal.  Or healthy.”

I glared, the expression holding no actual anger, and swatted him in the arm, looking back to my book.  “I hate you.”

He let out a breathy chuckle before pulling the textbook closer to him so he could see it better.  Gesturing at it, he looked back at me.  “What’s confusing you?”

An affectionate smile graced my features.

I didn’t even have the thought to gasp in horror at the action.

~~~~~~~~

“No, that’s purely a defensive spell.”

I furrowed my eyebrows, scratching down a note as I took a bite of toast.

Tom sat next to me, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

“I think some of these spells should be more versatile,” I muttered, finishing writing and sitting upright.

“Unfortunately, we cannot decide.”

I looked up at Tom.  “Bummer, really.”  I huffed out a sigh.  “I guess we just have to focus on what we can control.”

Tom’s gaze dropped slightly.

I could practically see the gears turning in his head.

“Indeed,” he said.

I blinked at him for a few moments before pointing at a sentence in my book.  “But, does-”

The sound of the doors in the Great Hall opening brought my attention to them.

I sighed as students flowed in.  Looking back to Tom, I frowned.  “I wish there was somewhere private we could meet.  We aren’t in the same house, so we can’t even both be in the same Common Room.”

Tom hummed.  “The library is only available for certain hours, as well.”

I nodded, pursing my lips.  “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”  Closing my book, I looked back at Tom as I put the textbook back in my bag.  “Thanks for all your help.”

Tom chuckled briefly.  “It’s a wonder you made it to seventh year in your time.”  He stood from the Gryffindor table, looking down at me.  “I can only assume that magic has gotten even more complex in future decades.”

“The style of writing is different.”  I sent him a crooked grin.  “Less pompous, if you ask me.”

He scoffed.  “Less professional, you mean.”  He turned around, returning to the Slytherin table.

I smiled at his back for a few moments before returning to my breakfast.

“How are you, King?”

I looked up, seeing Margaret sit across from me.  “I’m doing well, how about you?”

She smiled.  “I’m ready for the day.  Our finals are in only a few weeks, but I feel prepared.”

Groaning, I put my head in my hand.  “Don’t remind me.  This Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff is killing me.”

“You seem to be doing better in class,” she remarked, pouring herself a cup of pumpkin juice.

I smiled softly, the image of Tom Riddle appearing in my head.  Clearing my throat, I looked up at the Gryffindor.  “It’s a miracle, Margaret.”

~~~~~~~~~

“I’m ready to go to sleep,” Joan remarked, heading back to the Common Room for the evening.

“It has been a long day,” Margaret agreed, readjusting her grip on the books she held to her chest.

“I’ll probably be up for a little bit,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair with a huff.  “I need to do more studying.”

“Miss King.”

The three of us turned to the voice.

I involuntarily smiled at the sight of the Slytherin.  Nodding in greeting, I managed to wipe most of the smile away.  “Mister Riddle.”

My housemates were looking between us suspiciously.

Tom turned to the two girls.  “May I borrow her?”

They exchanged glances before nodding at the Head Boy.

Tom smiled.  “Wonderful.”

I looked at the girls and waved.  “I’ll catch up with you later.”

They waved back before continuing to head towards the Common Room.

I turned back to Tom, raising an eyebrow and smirking slightly.  “Borrow me?”

He smirked back.  “It worked, didn’t it?”

I shook my head, chuckling.  “What did you need?”

“I wanted to show you something.”  He gestured for me to follow him, which I swiftly did.

I didn’t even realize I no longer had trouble trying to match his pace.

“I found somewhere I think we could meet,” he said just quietly enough so that no one but me could hear.  “I had read something about it and began to research.”  He turned a corner, stopping in front of a wall.  He stared up at it.  “It’s called ‘The Room of Requirement’.”

My eyes widened.

Of course!

“Brilliant, Tom.”  I turned, seeing the familiar door begin forming on the once-blank wall.

Once the door had fully appeared, I walked forward, opening the door and stepping inside.

I paused, looking around.

“Is something wrong?”

My gaze raked the room.  “It’s just different from my time.”  I chuckled, observing the couch and two chairs surrounding a small table.

A fireplace sat a few paces away, filling the room with warmth.  A red rug covered the floor, a bookshelf in the corner of the room.

I chewed on my lip.  “I suppose it’s for a different use, though.”

“What do you use the room for in your time?”

The voice was so close I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I looked over my shoulder, seeing Tom standing behind me.  My gaze raked his features.  I forced my voice to remain steady.  “Practicing spells.”  I drew my gaze from him to look around the room again.  “It’s usually much more open than this.”

Tom hummed before moving from behind me to stand by the small table.  “I thought this would be a good place for us to study,” he remarked casually, running his hand along the back of a chair.

I watched the action before lifting my gaze to meet his eyes.

He met mine at the same time.

“It’s very cozy in here.”  I walked towards him, sitting down on the couch.  “I might do more sleeping in here than studying.”

Tom sat down next to me.  “I will not let you sleep.”  He looked over at me.  “Not with the end of the semester so close.”

I huffed.  “Right.”  Sighing, I pulled my school bag off my shoulder, dropping it on the floor next to me as I pulled out my DADA book and set it on the table, turning to the right page.  “Now… where were we?”

~~~~~~~~

“Correct.”

I sighed out in relief, leaning back against the familiar couch, running my hands along my face.

“You really are doing quite well,” Tom said from beside me.

I let out a short chuckle.  “Only thanks to you.”  I dropped my hands to my lap, looking over at the Slytherin.  “There’s only one week left until exams.”  I scooched forward on the couch so I could better reach the table, looking down at my textbook.  “With all of this new information, my brain may explode.”

“I think that is unlikely.”

I chuckled as I turned to look at Tom, only to freeze, my breath catching in my throat.

He was looking down at me, a warm glint in his eyes.  A beautiful glow was being cast on part of his face from the fire, contrasting the dim lighting of the rest of the room.

The sounds of the crackling embers filled my ears.  The smell of wood flooded my nose.

A warmth overtook me as I looked between Tom’s green eyes.

My heart twinged.

I gasped slightly, looking away.  My eyes wide, I held my head in my hands as I tried to calm my breathing.

This can’t be happening.

“King?”

I felt the couch shift as Tom leaned closer to me.

“Are you alright?”

I looked over at him, meeting his concerned eyes.  I let out a tiny quiet, albeit strained, laugh.  “I’m alright, Tom.”  My gaze dropped to his lips, lingering there for far longer than I had intended, getting caught up in mentally tracing their shape.

I briefly wondered how they’d feel.

I groaned, falling sideways on the couch, my hair splayed out on the cushion.  I hid my face in my hands.

What in Merlin’s name was wrong with me?

Sighing, I turned, lying on my back as I stared up at the ceiling.

He’s the Dark Lord, he’s the Dark Lord, he’s the Dark Lord, he-

I closed my eyes.

The Dark Lord would never help the woman sent back to kill him with her homework.

My eyes opened, seeing Tom looking down at me.

His face was contorted into one of confusion as his gaze raked my form before meeting my eyes again.  He quirked an eyebrow.

I chuckled, sitting up again.

“Is everything okay?”

I smiled at the Slytherin.  “Yeah.”  My gaze drifted between his curious eyes.  “It is.”  Slowly, I reached my right hand up.

His gaze went to it, watching for a few moments, before his eyes returned to mine.

I carefully placed my hand on the side of his face.

He took in a sharp inhale, eyebrows pulling together and eyelids fluttering.

I gently rubbed my thumb over his cheek, reaching my left hand up and placing it on his shoulder.

He stared into my eyes with so much emotion I could barely stand it.

I leaned forward slowly, watching him intently for any indication of rejection.

He swallowed hard as I got closer.

When I was just a few inches from him, I met his eyes.

They were large, looking alarmed, but I didn’t find any dislike.

I slowly closed the gap, my eyes fluttering closed unintentionally the moment our lips met.

Merlin, his lips felt so perfect against mine.

My hand on his shoulder shifted, dragging across his back to cradle the back of his head.  My fingers threaded through the hair, loving the softness.

A tug on my waist brought my attention to the weight of his hands on my hips.

I broke the kiss slowly, desperately needing air, and rested my forehead against his.  I continued to play with his hair as I panted for breath, my eyes still closed, afraid that if I opened them the moment would be gone.

For the first time in a long while I could finally hear Tom’s breathing, nearly as ragged as mine.

I felt a gentle nudge against my lips and kissed back, my right hand taking place at the back of Tom’s head to replace my left hand, which had traveled down to Tom’s left shoulder.  My arm laid completely across the back of his neck and shoulders, pulling him towards me with such force I fell backwards onto the couch, Tom following.

I opened my eyes as I pulled away, looking up at him.

He panted from above me, eyes drifting between my own.

Shifting my right hand, I brushed some of his fallen hair out of his eyes.  “I think I love you,” I whispered.

His eyes widened and he froze, his breathing seeming to stop altogether.

But perhaps it did.

As much as my head screamed at me that this was Voldemort, the Dark Lord, the killer of dozens, it didn’t feel true.

I could never feel this way about Voldemort.

Tom Riddle was a different person.  He shared the same anger issues, hurts, wishes for something better for himself, but he wasn’t so malicious.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, cradling his jaw again.  “You don’t need to say it back if you don’t want to.”

Tom’s wide eyes searched my own, as if in disbelief of what he’d heard.

I chuckled, reaching both arms around his back and pulled him down, laying him on top of me.

He tried to use his forearms to support his weight, but I forced his entire body onto me, enjoying the fullness of his presence.

Letting out a content sigh, I wrapped my arms around him, rubbing his back.  I turned my head, placing a kiss on his temple before we stilled, just listening to the sounds of our own breathing and the fire, feeling nothing but each other.

~~~~~~~~

Tom hadn’t spoken to me since yesterday.

While he normally would spend some time eating breakfast at my table before most of the students came in, he marched straight to the Slytherin table, an expression on his face that I had never seen on him before.

He didn’t look quite confused or angry, but he didn’t look happy or sad either.

The best guess I had was that he was trying to figure out what to do after our last…interaction.

To be fair, hearing those three dangerous words from someone not from your own time sent to kill you would probably send me for a loop.

I slowly ate supper, doing some thinking of my own.

I had caught him looking at me multiple times today, but that was hardly surprising, or even helpful in finding out what was going through his brain.

It was doing little to calm the anxiety that had seemed to settle in my stomach and reside there all day.

“King?”

I looked up, seeing Margaret and Joan looking at me expectantly.  “Sorry, what?”

“What are your plans after you graduate?”

I let out a small chuckle at the irony, looking back down at the food on my plate.  “I’m not sure.”  My gaze lifted to find the Head Boy.  “I guess that depends.”

Margaret caught it and she gasped, clasping her hands together.  “Are you going to marry Tom Riddle!?”

My fork slipped out of my hand, clattering against the plate as my eyes widened.  “Shhh!”  I narrowed my eyes at her.  “Merlin, Margaret, people can hear you.”

She grinned sheepishly.  “Sorry.”

After a beat of silence, Joan looked over at me.  “Well?  Are you?”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.  “I don’t know.”  My leg began to bounce and I brought my hand down, placing it on top of my knee in an effort to stop its movements.  “I don’t know what we are.”  I looked over at him.  “I don’t know if we can.”

Can you marry someone from the past?

“We didn’t think you and Tom were that close,” Joan admitted carefully.  “I know that you would often disappear, but we didn’t know why.”

“He’s helping me study for the upcoming exams,” I said, gaze dropping back to my plate.

“Is that all?”

I glanced over at Margaret.  “I don’t know.”  Putting my hands on the table, I stood.  “I’m going for a walk.  I’ll see you both later.”  Stepping away from the table, I marched out of the Great Hall, not once looking back.

~~~~~~~~

I simply had to ask him.

Two days had gone by without anything from the famous Slytherin.

I sat at breakfast, trying to figure out when the best time to approach him was.

He didn’t even come into the Great Hall early like he usually did, instead coming in surrounded by his followers amongst the flood of other students.

“Attention, students,” Headmaster Dippet spoke.  “Your final exams begin today and last throughout the week.  To avoid cheating, only one house at a time will take their exams so that everyone can have their own desk.”  His gaze raked across the tables.  “Your schedules are posted on the classroom doors.  Now,” he gestured, “enjoy your breakfast.  And good luck.”

I ran a hand through my hair as he sat back down.

Alright.  Approaching Tom before our exams was out of the question.

Maybe I could catch him in the hallway.

I then had the thought that talking to the most famous boy in school about our love life in the middle of a likely-busy hallway was not my best idea.

After class, perhaps?

He might have Head Boy duties, or something.  He��d probably run off to his Common Room as soon as he could, anyway.

Merlin, this was giving me a headache.

Sighing in temporary defeat, I pulled out my textbook to begin studying for my first test.

Maybe focusing on something else would clear my head.

~~~~~~~~

By Friday I was determined to track this man down, even if it meant breaking into the Slytherin Common Room.

It had been a whole week since we had spent that evening in the Room of Requirement.

Merlin, it just was my luck that the first person I broke down walls for, confessed my feelings to and was intimate with would be from fifty years ago, and it just would be Lord Voldemort- the man that I had been sent to kill- and of course he would avoid me at any possible cost afterwards.

You couldn’t write this stuff.

As soon as I handed in my test for grading- briefly noting that there was no way I did as well as I would have liked given my mental state- I sprinted out of the classroom as quickly as I could, making a beeline for the Slytherin Common Room.

If I had to wait there for hours, I would see Tom Riddle.

He couldn’t run forever.

And so, I waited.

Because it was Friday, the last day before graduation, there was only one exam today in order to give the teachers enough time to grade everything.

Tom wouldn’t be long.

I waited outside their door for two hours, at some point sitting down because my feet were beginning to hurt from standing on the stone floor.  At the sound of voices, I looked up, rising to stand.

Tom, naturally, led the pack; taking up the front.

He looked away from one of his followers, eyes landing on their door before his gaze drifted to me.

I don’t think I had ever seen Tom Riddle look nervous before.

“King,” he addressed in a false sense of calm.

I could hear the slight waver in his voice.

Cocking an eyebrow, I resisted the urge to cross my arms.  “Riddle,” I replied in a cold tone.

He let out a harsh, silent breath, glancing away briefly before meeting my eyes again.  “What are you doing here?”

“Hunting for snakes.”  I allowed my arms to cross.  “They tend to hide when they get scared.”  I tilted my head, narrowing my eyes.  “You haven’t seen any, have you?”

Whispers broke out amongst the Slytherins behind Tom.

He looked over his shoulder, wordlessly silencing them with only an expression.  Turning back to me, he faltered for a moment.

I had clearly caught him off guard.

He was getting sloppy.

I mentally patted myself on the back.

Surely if Tom was going to end up as Voldemort he would have kept alert, right?

At his prolonged silence I raised an expectant eyebrow.

“What’s the wait for?!”  Someone from the back yelled.

I looked towards the back of the group before meeting Tom’s gaze again.

He huffed, rolling his eyes slightly.  Looking back to me, he finally found his voice.  “We were going to celebrate the end of the year…” he trailed off, hoping I would get the message.

If he thought I was going to succumb to his not-so-subtle hint to leave, he had another thing coming.

I scoffed.  “You’re not.”

“We’re not?”

“You’re not.”  I nodded my head towards the group behind the Head Boy.  “They can do what they please.”  I looked back to Tom.  “But you owe me a conversation and some time.”

He watched me for a few moments.

I refused to back down.

Tom sighed, nodding.  He gestured for the rest of his housemates to go in, quietly announcing the password.

When we were finally alone I remained silent, wanting him to crumble a little under the dread of what would come out of my mouth.

Frankly, I didn’t even know what I was going to say.

After a few moments he cleared his throat, drawing his shoulders back and holding his head high to stand to his full height.  He looked at me, raising an eyebrow, but I could see the flicker of fear behind his eyes.

I waited a few beats before asking the first question.  “Do you realize how horrible this week has been for me?”  I scoffed.  “Merlin, Tom, we graduate tomorrow- I worried I would never see you again.”

His gaze dropped to the floor.

I crossed my arms, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious.  “Look, if you regret it- if you regret me- then you should have just come out and say it.”  I looked to the wall, terrified of meeting his eyes.

Silence stretched between us, feeling so suffocating I considered leaving to get some fresh air.

But I couldn’t.  Not now.  Not when I finally had him.

“I don’t.”

It was so quiet I barely heard him.  I finally turned my head to face him, meeting his gaze.  I eyed him, trying to find any indication of a lie.  Finding none, I continued.  “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I needed some time to think.”

I tried to swallow the lump that formed in my throat, but was unsuccessful.  “And?”  I managed to croak out.

He grew silent again.

If I didn’t know any better, I would say he was toying with me intentionally.

My eyebrows pulled together as I searched his eyes.  “Tom?”

He took a deep breath.  “I want you to stay.”  He straightened his posture again.  “I want you to stay with me.”

I swore my heart stopped.

Time seemed to halt around me.

I opened my mouth, trying to respond, but I found I had no idea what to say.

Did I want to stay with him?  Could I stay in a time that wasn’t my own?  Was he completely cured of his evil endeavors?

I blinked away my thoughts, squaring my shoulders.  “And your…plans for the future?”

He went silent, though he held my gaze.  “I never had anyone love me before,” he finally settled on saying.  “I didn’t think I was capable of the feeling, myself.”  He took in a large, shaky breath, but kept his eyes on mine.  “I’m willing to give up my aspirations for you.”  His eyebrows quirked up in vulnerability.  “If you’ll have me.”

I was rendered completely and utterly speechless.  All thoughts of an appropriate response fled my brain.  I looked down, trying to think, when I caught sight of his hands at his sides.  I lifted my head to meet his gaze.  “And the Horcruxes?”

He grimaced.  “I haven’t destroyed them, yet.”  He lifted his hand to look at the ring that hugged his finger.  “I’m not looking forward to it.”

“It’s going to hurt,” I confirmed, walking towards him to look at the ring.  Reaching my hand out, I stroked the gem, making a mental note that he let me.  I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes.  “That’s what happens when you split your soul apart.”

He sighed, nodding.

I clapped my hand on his chest good-naturedly.  “Be glad I caught you when you’ve only made two.  I imagine it hurts worse with each split.”

Having nothing to say, he simply nodded again.

I chuckled, holding his large hand between both of mine.  “So…” I grinned up at him, “you’ll get a good job because you’re so smart, I’ll get the best job I can, being in a different time and everything, and we’ll go from there.”  I gently patted the top of his hand.  “How does that sound?”

He smiled.  “It’s a start.”

I chuckled, stepping completely into him and wrapping my arms around him.

His arms came around me, settling on my low back.

I let out a small laugh.  “How on earth did I do this?”

Tom pulled away slightly to look down at me.  “Do what?”

“Tame the Dark Lord.”  I chuckled.  “I still don’t know what Professor McGonagall was thinking.  I have no idea how this worked.”

Tom thought for a moment.  “By being yourself, I suppose.”

I hummed.  “Sounds flimsy.”

Tom huffed a chuckle and I grinned, looking up at him.

Reaching my right hand up, I once again cradled the side of his face.

He closed his eyes, leaning into it, before he opened them to look down at me.

We both leaned forward, meeting in the middle, and our lips connected, slotting into place.

My heart danced in my chest as I ran my hand through his hair before pulling away to look up at him.  “I love you.”

He smiled down at me.  “I love you, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/n: Holy moly, this is so long.  54 pages.

This was actually really hard to write.  Trying to make Tom Riddle redeemable is easier said than done.  I got stuck multiple times when writing this, trying to figure out how to best progress in a way that was realistic and moved the story and their relationship forward in a believable way.  He's also so nuanced that I reworked a fair number of his lines to try to sound as much like him as possible.

I went back and edited some things multiple times because I noticed that I was writing King coming at the problem from a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff way, so I had to try to adjust it to make her more firmly Gryffindor.  She still has moments of traits from other houses, but that's normal, so.

There's a couple things in the story that I didn't outright say, but wanted to share anyway:

-Tom WAS following King (in Hogsmeade, the library, etc.) to keep an eye on her, because she DID defeat him and could have killed him if she wanted.  While he never admitted it, he did view her as a threat.

-Dippet's password being "strawberries" I made up/guessed, because Dumbledore had started a rumor that Dippet had planted strawberries on the castle grounds, likely meaning the Headmaster was fond of them.

-Doing some research, I found that Abraxas didn't actually go to school with Tom, but Avery was one of the few Death Eaters that were confirmed to.

-Tom reacting so strongly to physical affection just made sense to me.  Especially growing up in an orphanage, that boy is definitely touch-starved.

-Tom avoiding King to think also seemed fitting, since he was new to love and he had to battle between a woman and all of the plans he had been crafting for years.  I think it's realistic that he would have tried to give himself space and time to weigh his options, and even not wanting to seek her out to tell her.

-Tom didn't see an issue announcing the password to the Slytherin Common Room in front of King because it was the last school day, so she couldn't use it after they graduated, anyway.

Anywho.  That was a lot. Hope you enjoyed.  Make sure to let me know what you thought!  I'm curious if you thought I did our dear Tom Riddle justice.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter x reader #x reader #reader #reader insert #OC #HP fandom #HP #HP x reader #Tom Riddle x reader #Tom Riddle #Tom Marvolo Riddle x reader #Tom Marvolo Riddle #Voldemort #my gif #Mara's gif #my works #Mara's works #my imagine #Mara's imagine

[mousy-nona]

I didn't send the initial prompt so I hope this is allowed, but could I request a followup to the story where Lucifer gets addicted to Alastor's blood? One where he finally gets that taste he's been so desperately craving, whether through charm or persistence or a trade of some sort?

Part 1 here.

Lucifer tried everything. He tried meditation. He tried stuffing his face with so much cake his waistband grew three sizes (he later transfigured it away, so no one would ask him Concerned Questions). He even went on vacation to the Lust Ring for a while, but there were only so many sex jokes a person could take before they started seeing penises and boobs everywhere.

The whole time he was there, he kept thinking about the forbidden fruit coursing through Alastor’s veins. And when he was done lusting after Alastor’s blood, he would think about Alastor in general. Alastor would hate this, he thought, bored out of his mind while a cow devil was milked dry in front of him. Alastor would hate that, he thought, as Ozzie and his partner treated him to a very graphic display of affection that left his face redder than a tomato. When Ozzie started rolling out the really premium shows, Lucifer decided it was high time for him to go.

By that time, the obsession had grown to the point where he was nearly deafened by it, the constant refrain of AlastorthisAlastorthatAlastorAlastorAlastor –

Then he stepped out of his golden portal, and a tall figure sitting in an armchair by the fire turned around and the voice went silent.

Alastor barely looked up, too busy petting KeeKee and looking like the world’s best Bond villain to give him the time of day. 

“Ah, you’re back.”

When had that radio static started sounding like home? “Did y’all miss me?” He glanced around, deflating a little at the empty sitting room. “Where is everyone?”

“Busy with any number of far more important matters, I’m sure,” Alastor drawled. 

“It’s good to see you too, asshole,” Lucifer grumbled. The brief moment of homecoming faded, replaced by that permanent feeling of annoyance that he always felt around Alastor. He had started stomping upstairs when the shadows by the top of the stairs shifted, crinkled. Then Alastor was there, blocking his way. 

“I see your Majesty has his tiny knickers in a twist,” he commented, as if that wasn’t a totally inappropriate to say to the biblical source of all evil. 

Lucifer’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “Excuse me?” 

“I wouldn’t bother trying to deny it if I were you,” Alastor mentioned. “That would be quite an insult to my intelligence. You’ve been in a foul mood for weeks. The whole hotel has noticed it. You’ve been dragging that silly cane all over the place, something you only do when you're upset.” A flash of green lit up Alastor’s wide smile. He looked positively ghoulish, but Lucifer was still stuck on his comment about his cane. I drag it when I’m sad? Since when? And why did he notice? “If it’s bothering you so much, why not share the load?”

“You want me to…tell you my problems? What is this, storytime?” Lucifer scoffed. 

“Perhaps I could lend you my assistance,” he purred. “For a price, of course.” 

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Now you’re insulting my intelligence.” With a flick of his hand, another portal appeared on the stairs, blocking Alastor from view. The demon was oddly perceptive. He didn’t want him to see just how close he was to falling to his knees and blubbering yes please just a sip, just one more taste. 

(Lillith had always called him a drama queen. Maybe she’d had a point.)

The portal didn’t block the sound of Alastor’s voice, more’s the pity. “Is this about the little scratch you gave me a few weeks ago?” 

Lucifer stilled. The portal wavered, guttered, and went out, leaving the two of them staring at each other.

“How–?” He stammered. 

Alastor’s grin was triumphant. “How many times must I say it? Never underestimate my intelligence. So am I correct?”

Lucifer didn’t respond, which was answer enough. Alastor sniffed. 

“In that case, I believe I have an answer to your problems.” 

What? Was he offering what Lucifer thought he was offering? “And what could that possibly be?”

“Quid pro quo, my dear. You get some of my blood, and I get some of yours.” 

“Fine,” Lucifer gestured him over impatiently. “Come here and bite me –” 

“Not like that.” 

Alastor raised a small glass vial. His smile would have made a crocodile jealous. “I told you, just a little bit of blood. I never said to drink.” 

Alastor eyes flashed into dials and the darkness was split by a lazer of green, then red – a literal red flag. The biggest STOP HERE, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200 Lucifer had ever seen. 

But his mouth was so dry. He could barely think past how large his tongue had grown. Besides, he was the king of hell. The original sin. What harm could it do to let Alastor have a little bit of his blood? 

A lot, the rational part of his brain whispered. This is Alastor we’re talking about. But the rational part of his brain had grown rather quiet around the Crusades, and he’d lost a good chunk of it by World War II. 

Charlie said he was reckless. She didn’t know the half of it. 

“Fine,” Lucifer said. “But you only get to take my blood once. And I can drink from you when I want.”

Alastor thought for a moment, then his lips moved. 

Deal.

The word disappeared in the cra-a-ack of green lightning that struck around them like fireworks. He started to roll up his sleeves, but Lucifer was too quick for him. He flew up the steps and smashed into Alastor with such force he sent them spiraling into the wall. Alastor gasped, but before he could protest, Lucifer had torn the fabric of his shirt and slashed a deep groove into the cool skin of his neck. 

Finally, that sweet blood flowed onto his tongue. He moaned, his lids fluttering as he drank greedily. Big mouthfuls at a time. 

Sin. Death. Apples. Smoke and sugar. The taste was indescribable, and in that moment, Lucifer thought he could have promised Alastor his whole kingdom, and it would have been a fair trade. 

Alastor, for his part, stayed dutifully still, even when Lucifer licked off the blood that had splattered onto Alastor’s collarbone and the tip of his chin, unwilling to let even a drop of it go to waste.

It took a while, but Lucifer finally leaned back with a groan, his lips smeared with blood like it was cherry chapstick. 

“Satisfied?” Alastor muttered. Lucifer made an incoherent sound of joy. 

“Good. I am as well.” Alastor raised a completely full vial of golden blood. When had he taken it? “I believe it was a satisfactory deal for both parties.”

Then he smiled in a way that made Lucifer's skin prickle. 

Heavenly Father, what have I done? 

#hazbin hotel #alastor #hazbin hotel lucifer #radioapple #blood drinking #p. 2 #duckiedeer #alastor x lucifer #prompts #hazbin hotel alastor #of course asking for part 2s are allowed! #there are no rules #although i kind of like this plotline may develop it more

[sailorblossoms]

Simon's thoughts and words vs his feelings

I've talked about those things before but suddenly I'm thinking about them again, so here we go...

comphet dating....

When we meet Simon, he's living within a structure that allows him to both "conform to expectations of who he thinks he's supposed to be" and "to not feel shit." This makes feelings even more confusing, particularly romantic and sexual feelings (and even any feeling relating to love) because the structure he's living by provides a "formula" to follow, but it's not one he actually wants, it just makes him and everyone involved miserable. He tries to convince himself he's cool with this, but there are things in his words and thoughts that slip through the cracks to convey his actual feelings.

There are a lot of examples with Agatha. "I always wanted her" but when he elaborates to "prove it" he's tellingly clinging to the thoughts of a 12-year-old who knows nothing about romance and has no experience actually dating her, he's sharing thoughts that have said boy imagining what it must be like to be like her. "I'll take her back" but when he should be talking about having feelings for her and what is like to actually date her (not that abstract "Imagine how it is like to date her" where he tellingly uses an example that has physical distance between them) all he does is talk about how they became friends and what type of friend she is, telling you everything you need to know (you can want to sit beside people you want as friends, people you admire). In a list of things he misses about Watford, he's full of excuses as to why he puts her dead last, but that's telling as well (he brings up Baz before he even mentions the list, and then he keeps interrupting it to bring him up again).

He says "I love you" to her, but something that stands out to me is that, as much as he tries to delude himself into thinking he wants to date her, he never tries to delude himself into thinking he's in love. The whole idea is foreign (and makes the ache Baz causes even more confusing). When he says it, he's thinking about strategies without feeling shit. "I suppose this could work, I've been told those words mean something" ... it's coldly strategic. There's no feeling. Even saying "you're my girl" sounds like he's repeating something he heard elsewhere (he would hear that shit everywhere). He never thinks that... because he doesn't actually want "her" to "be his". It doesn't mean anything to him, other than performing roles and conforming to expectations.

Baz...

The biggest thing that shows Simon is progressing and breaking away from those structures and stories etc that were confining him (and allowing him to carry on without understanding his feelings) is the way he thinks about Baz. Even then, there are things that slip through the cracks that make it clear in hindsight that CO begins with a Simon who is already in love with Baz. He's an Evil Villain, but he's also terribly attractive and romantically desirable, here's a list of all the times Baz paid him special attention, and here are details that reveal he's not actually bad that Simon had paid attention to and remembers, and Simon wants to part of his hobbies, and will willingly walk into his traps because he knows it's him, and his smell is the first thing Simon wants to catch when he arrives in their room to feel like he's home, and it's so so painful to be so close to him physically when they're not really close at all...

Simon is a little shit with the chimera like "it was satisfying to see it backfire on Baz, the little twat" which could be deceiving, but he also explicitly reveals he thinks of that moment as romantic – Baz should have known he loved him with that! ... and even in CO, it is romantic – it's when he fought to protect Baz, they were physically close, Baz shared information about himself he has perhaps not told anyone else... He's a little shit with the stairs, but he always knew it was an accident. Perhaps on some level, seeing Baz's mask slip to show guilt or regret, even if only for a moment, was what made Simon bring that up again and again, because if Baz feels bad about hurting him in such a way, then that means Baz cares.

There's a huge jump in the way Simon thinks about Baz after realizing he wants him (when he realizes what is to truly want someone). Even then, some leftovers from the old structure remain (Baz is not an antagonist anymore; Simon knows he loves him know and so he has been recast as "romantic hero").

Simon becomes very clear in his thoughts and words about Baz (they become reliable in ways they weren't in CO) because Baz pushes him to get to know himself in ways he wouldn't do it on his own. It's when he's talking to Baz (and only Baz! Penny has tried to talk about this with no luck!) that he begins to figure out the ways in which being with Agatha was wrong for him, because he wants Baz to understand him, even when he himself has yet to understand. "He wants" "he needs" – things he never allowed himself to contemplate, let alone figure out, when he was fulfilling a traditional role (he knew he wanted a home and a family, but he didn't know how he actually wanted it). But with Baz he wants, he needs.

"I love you" means something with Baz. It means everything, really, which is why it's not easy to just say it. There's nothing strategic or cold or unfeeling about it. Simon, who struggles with words, becomes eloquent and poetic in his head to express how Baz makes him feel. Simon thinks he's in love with Baz constantly, and he does it in a myriad of ways. He's pushed to find words to even attempt to describe what he's feeling. Simon thinks of Baz being his, in the way one says "we belong together" or "I want to give myself to this person, and I want them to gives themselves to me" – an exchange of hearts in a way. He thinks it in a way that means something to him. Simon despairs the idea of losing him to someone else. He thinks he's enchanted by him and would "follow him anywhere" which calls back to his behavior in 5th year.

With Baz, he thinks "he's the only person I've ever wanted (in the context of thinking about sex). He's the only person I've ever loved, like this (romantically)" It doesn't get any clearer than this.

#snowbaz #simon snow #baz pitch #simon snow trilogy #carry on #baz x simon #baz grimm pitch #awtwb #wayward son #simon x baz

[the-modern-typewriter]

Could you maybe do something about a villain whose magic/power only allows them to amplify others, maybe resenting their seemingly universe-given duty to be a helper or just using it in manipulative ways? A hero with a power they also resent and wouldn't want to be amplified, making playing off it a low blow, perhaps? Idk, the plot dust bunny came to mind and made me think of you. Thanks!

Given Isaac's power in my novel The God Key is amplification, and his whole thing is being terrified of what he might amplify...I couldn't not think of an evil Isaac The God Key AU. Sorry, not sorry. You don't have to have read the book to understand the following snippet. I just couldn't not. I'm only human. I am weak.

---

"Stay back." Gabriel's telepathy shot through the room like daggers, but his voice cracked. It turned the words into a plea.

Isaac stopped. He put his hands, still mercifully gloved, in the air in a show of no-threat.

As if Isaac was ever not a threat.

"I missed you, you know," Isaac said. "You let me think you were dead."

Gabriel swallowed hard at the words. His gaze roamed, treacherously, over Isaac's familiar face. The way that his lips curled in so lovely, so gentle, a smile.

"I think you missed me too," Isaac continued. "I don't have to be a telepath to read the look on your face when I first walked in. The need."

"I don't need you." It was an absolute, hideous lie. It always had been. Sure, he needed Isaac. But could he have him? No. Not when every touch, every kiss, sent his telepathy spiralling out of his control to control everyone else instead. Whenever he was with Isaac, people always got hurt. Isaac always ended up getting his way, because Gabriel loved him, and he didn't think until after that maybe he shouldn't have done that.

He'd never wanted to be a controlling thing.

He'd ran.

Isaac's smile grew a little more, even as it gained a pitying edge at so pitiful an attempt at subterfuge.

Gabriel squeezed his eyes closed, but it didn't stop him seeing that smile in head. It didn't stop the fish hooks of Isaac's emotions from capturing his every nerve ending, dragging him along, sweeping him up. He staggered a step forward, aching to touch, to feel that rush of power, before clutching hold of a wall to steady himself.

No. No.

Memories flashed through his head. First kisses. First meetings. The tentative webs of manipulation, that had felt, at first, like being wanted. Wanted despite what he was. Wanted despite what he could do. He hadn't wanted to see. It had been so nice not to see.

"Tell me you missed me too, Gabriel," Isaac said. His smile was nothing like the shy thing it had been when they first met now. "Didn't you once tell me that people lie too much?"

"I missed you." The confession ripped out of him, as if Isaac were the telepath, as if he wasn't just the boy who could set the world on fire with a touch of his hand.

Isaac laughed. Delighted. Just a little mocking.

This was why Gabriel stayed away from people. It was safer. He knew who he was, what he thought, without them when they weren't there.

He knew who he was without Isaac. Didn't he? Everything he'd ever dreamed of wasn't just Isaac's dream, Isaac's desperation and plans, swallowing him up.

"I can make it go quiet for you. I can make the whole world shut up. Don't you want that?" Isaac's voice was still so unbearably gentle. "Don't you want to make the voices, the clamouring, just shut up? Don't you want someone else to be in control for once?"

"How did you even find me?"

"Found someone who was good at finding people. Touched them." Isaac shrugged, carelessly. "Ding, ding, ding goes the treasure map."

This close, the sound of Isaac - of everything - was deafening. A tidal wave of memories. Of Isaac's want, of Isaac's need, flooding through his every nerve ending. It was Isaac's, wasn't it? Gabriel thought it was. He hoped it was.

God, he had no idea. Who could possibly know, with a thousand voices in their head, which one was theirs?

All he knew was that, whoever the emotions had once belonged to, he wanted. He ached.

When he opened his eyes, Isaac was right in front of him and it felt dizzyingly right and dizzylingly wrong.

Gabriel jumped.

"Don't say a word," Isaac warned. His attention bore into Gabriel, luminous, blinding all common sense. He wrapped his fingers, oh so slowly, around Gabriel's wrist, dragging him closer. "You're not going to make me take my gloves off, are you? Think of all those people out there. You'd destroy them."

"Not me. You'd-"

"Gabriel." Isaac smiled again. "It's not my telepathy, is it? I may have to amplify," his smile gained livid teeth, "but it's still you."

Gabriel exhaled a shaky breath, a whimper caught somewhere in his throat.

Isaac's gaze roamed over his mouth, over his lips, like he wanted to devour up the sound.

"Don't," Gabriel said. "I'll do whatever you want - just - don't - please don't touch me. I don't want to hurt anyone."

It would be worse than mind control. It would be minds melting, cracking open. So many screams. No time to even think.

Isaac pouted. His eyes gleamed, at terrible odds with the expression. They hadn't always been like that. Had they? It hadn't always been...

"Whatever I want?" Isaac echoed. He leaned down, to speak terrifyingly close to Gabriel's ear. Gabriel froze. "Now you're getting it. Such a good ex fucking boyfriend, aren't you?"

Gabriel shivered.

Isaac pulled back, but didn't let go.

"Come."

#is fanfic-ing myself a new low? #i don't know but I'm having such a good time right now #writing #heroes and villains #villains and heroes #hero x villain #story #story snippet #writing snippet

[lunar1an]

thinking a lot about wildbow's early works (worm, pact) and his more recent moralistic works (ward, pale) and the sheer difference in narrative empathy

in worm and pact you have characters who do fucked up things but it feels like a lot of effort is put into understanding the people behind them and where they're coming from. rachel's dogs maul people but there's a whole Arc of taylor learning to vibe with her and befriend her and of rachel getting what she needs (a place alone with her dogs where she can let other people in at her own pace) and growing as a person. all from the angle of 'this is genuinely good for rachel and helpful'. we want her to succeed because we care about her.

in pact we see how sandra duchamp grew up, how she's just as much a victim of her family as she is someone who perpetuates that harm, and while she's an antagonist the story doesn't spoonfeed it to us--we're allowed to see her human and sympathetic moments and we're allowed to feel bad for her while also wanting her stopped.

it felt. i don't know. like the story in general respected these characters, respected the reader's ability to empathize with those characters while also knowing Murder Bad or whatever.

but then the major worm fandom interpretations shifted. you had reddit and other popular sources going on about how taylor was actually horrible and an unreliable narrator, and how the undersiders were actually ~super fucked up and evil criminals~. pact and twig were spared this for the most part by virtue of being less popular with those crowds.

and i'm not sure if the morality discourse got baked into wildbow's brain by osmosis or if he felt like he wouldn't be appeasing his fandom if he didn't address it or what.

but by ward suddenly that narrative empathy, for the most part, is missing. it becomes conditional -- the protagonist and others do not extend empathy towards others until they Properly Recognize What They've Done Wrong. any improvement, any attempt to do better isn't legitimate unless the Bad Deeds are addressed and atoned for by whatever inconsistent standards the narrative adheres to. what matters isn't riley being in a healthier place and making connections--ward thinks that we should be rooting for riley because she recognizes she messed up and is constantly making up for the atrocities she committed.

i think it's kind of reached its peak in post arc 13 pale though. every time empathy is extended it's near-always accompanied by a patronizing little reminder of "mmmm, well you did Bad Things too".

you aren't allowed to just say "well damn i sympathize with charles", for example, because the narrative constantly reminds you that actually he is Still Doing Bad and therefore you aren't allowed to feel for him. it doesn't help that the story continually one-ups itself on thinking of ways to make charles over the top evil either.

but either way it's just. bleak. in a story purportedly about community building it's shockingly uncaring. you can't just sympathize with a morally grey character or take them As They Are without the story casting judgment and constantly reminding you of their verdict. it's just exhausting and makes any positive message the story tries to send feel hollow

OBLIGATORY NOTE: this essay does not mean "actually all fallen and e88 and etc should be empathized with". what it does mean is that in a moralistic work it becomes telling when ex-nazi rune gets her own interlude and a bunch of pagetime to show how she's 'doing better' while that same courtesy isn't extended to many villains who are traumatized and might have, say, legitimate reasons to not want to be arrested or feel like they have no other option, or legitimate reason to not support the heroes, but oh. they do Crimes so actually none of that matters as long as they're still Doing Crimes.

#parahumans #wildbow #uhhh this discusses every web serial except for twig p much so general spoiler warnings ig #also keep in mind this is about characters who werent created from the get go to be pure antagonists #its fine to just have characters who are evil. sometimes people just suck #but theres a difference between that and the story going 'actually your circumstances and any nuance doesn't matter because you suck'

[py-dreamer]

MY version of a Wish rewrite

I know this is outside my usual lmk comfort zone but I saw the concept art for Wish, fell in love, saw the movie, got bored solid 5/10 but compared to what it could've been, the hype for it as Disney's big 100 shabang? Leaves much to be desired let's just say...

And most if not all wish content online is rewrites and redesigns anyway so Ima throw another one into the pile

BUT BEFORE WE START

I know we all love the idea of the big bad villain evil for the sake of evil. And I too miss the classic villains *chefs kiss* never forget

HOWEVER I decided to look at a slightly less evil(?) Magnifico and Amaya with a more tragic reason when they commit crimes and portray them as 'reasonable' and 'not that evil' as disney tried

But without further ado, lets get down to it:

first Asha will the daughter of Magnifico, Amaya and more importantly, the princess of Rosas (now she has a bigger connection to the people other than being just a tour guide)

We keep starboi (or as tumblr has dubbed them: Aster) as a humanoid creature, not a plushie

Amaya is totally in on the shenanigans with Magnifico they are ride or die couple

FIRSTLY, lets talk about ASHA:

I saw many people complain about the 'dorky' not like other girls trope

And I saw a counter where someone said people don't like a female awkward protagonist of color

My issue is this trope has been used multiple times already and if you don't have a good reason or make her charming, then sorry the trope is just cringy

So with Asha let's keep the awkwardness that's fine; public speaking ain't her strong suit, social anxiety baby

Asha here is more reserved and shy

having been the child of two powerful rulers, she has very big shoes to fill and her parents don't make it any easier

they dismiss her when she tries to learn magic saying 'she's not ready' and almost infantilize her

she learns magic in secret by sneaking into her father's study but doesn't practice it to not expose herself and she doubts her abilities

Her parents also don't let her handle any royal duties, they want her to play and not worry but don't allow her with them during ceremonies and such saying she's not ready

the people know they have a princess just don't know what she looks like but sing of her in poems and songs even without knowing her

she is allowed outside the palace as the island is as safe as it can be

despite this, Asha is incredibly compassionate and empathetic

she'd have very high emotional intelligence (cause I miss princesses like that)

she will help out wherever she can in town as a peacemaker and the people love her but don't know she's their princess

Asha is always desperate to make her parents proud and is so selfless to the point she forgets her own wants at times

she is still 17 nearing 18 but she doesn't know her own wish

she can keep her hobby of animation, just perhaps embarrassed to show anyone since her parents mentioned it's rather 'childish'

Please can someone give her some new duds. Her current fit is cute but between the long hair without a fringe and slim purple dress, I can't help but compare her to Rapunzel

KING MAGNIFICO AND QUEEN AMAYA:

ok this will be touchy

I want to delve into the fact that Magnifico is traumatized and crank it to 11

Amaya is a sourceress who was a refugee from an old war

the two met when Magnifico was building his kingdom and fell deeply in love

Amaya taught him magic and they advanced their kingdom into a utopia

The two always dreamed of a family and to build a land where their people would never suffer again

They view the people of Rosas as their children and are known as such. Treated as benevolent and the 'the loving founding parents of Rosas'

As time passed, the two gained more and more power and were able to treat their people even more even gaining the grand ability to grant wishes

the more they did, the more love they received and the granting wishes was the cherry on top

the couple grew greedy for the praise, they were practically gods in the kingdom's eyes

More time passed, as the kind rulers they are, they used their magic to do all the manual labor so the people wouldn't have to lift a finger

Now an isolated island full of a new generation with no work to do, the people spend their days praising the royal family

The issue? Well, now especially the young people of Rosas, don't know how to work. They rely soley on Magnifico and Amaya for survival and the couple knows it. That is how they like it

Over time, they viewed the people as helpless children without them. They're doing this for the people's own good in their own twisted beliefs. The wish granting in particular keeps the praise on them almost like a cult.

Their love for the kingdom grew twisted into obsession and they'd do ANYTHING to keep their innocent citizens like this.

Basically imagine a 'there is no war in Ba Sing Se' situation but the Dai Li are running it and the people they're kissing up to is the people of Rosas

The two love Asha dearly but perhaps a little too much

They infantilize her like I said and always views her as beneath them and work so hard to 'protect' her and their people that they actually rarely spend time to bond with the very girl they protect

ASTER (AKA STARBOI) (he/them btw):

first off, he will stay in that humanoid form as usual

They will be a shapeshifter in homage to the genie but how is he different from the genie you ask?

Well firstly he's mute. Or well, just like Tinkerbell, talks in jingles, his true voice unintelligable to the human ear

"But how is he going to sing 'at all co-" shshshshshhshs hush. I have a plan for that just wait

Secondly he will be made of pixie dust which functions like sandman, basically if he is punctured, then he will regenerate like sand

They can float via pixie dust and can spread it to other things

They can see they wishes of people, as in he can see those sparks in someone and can see/sense the hole left when they're taken away

To make someone else fly, all they need is pixie dust and happy thoughts

He's meant to be the personification of joy and hope

Now I've seen many people make him precious sunshine boi who is curious and kind and must protec-

And I like that concept but upon thinking bout it, Aster resembled more like a fae than anything

As a living being of joy and other-worldly, it really reminded me of Joy from inside out

So I want their charisma to be 17/10. Just the happiest, cheerful most flamboyant dude you've ever met to the point he's kinda a showoff like a class clown

Make them sassy! I want this star to be protected (at all costs lol) and simaltaneously a menace to society

He and Asha are like that meme with Ken and Barbie's mugshots but Aster absolutely knows what they're doing

But since he's only ever watched humans from afar, he has trouble empathizing with them and understanding them so sometimes they come off as insensitive

they kinda look down on humans as requiring the help of magic beings like them

Another downside is since he's comprised of joy and hope, whenever someone close loses hope or get's sad, he starts to lose his magic and eventually fade away.

His existence on earth basically depends on the emotions of those around him

"Are they the second star to the right? Cause isn't Ray married to the-" Hushshshshshshssh I saw in a comic (I forgot the creator if you know pls tell so I can credit) the idea of Evangeline and Raymond being Aster's parents and I love that so we keep it

So what are wishing stars exactly?

Like the blue fairy, they are magic (usually) benevolant beings who help grant human's wishes when they deserve it or have worked on it.

They are more guiding beings using magic to give a push like Gepetto wished for a son, Pinnochio came alive but needed to work to be a real boy

Now I know this is a rewrite and I said I'd elaborate on some issues but its late rn and I'm going to get yelled at so I'm going to have to carry on later

#just a drabble #wish rewrite #wish reimagined #disney wish #wish star #wish movie #wish 2023 #wish disney #star wish #disney #starboy #queen amaya #king magnifico #star x asha #princess asha #asha #wish asha #we were robbed

[bethanydelleman]

Northanger Abbey Readthrough Ch 25

Catherine might have missed like 99% of Henry Tilney's flirting, but she has an inkling it has happened, maybe, "He had—she thought he had, once or twice before this fatal morning, shown something like affection for her."

Which is why I love this meme so much:

Again, Catherine touches upon Marianne Dashwood behaviour but she just can't really commit, "But now—in short, she made herself as miserable as possible for about half an hour, went down when the clock struck five, with a broken heart, and could scarcely give an intelligible answer to Eleanor’s inquiry if she was well." However, by the end of the evening and with Henry being kinder than ever, she has recovered. she had nothing to do but to forgive herself and be happier than ever; and the lenient hand of time did much for her by insensible gradations in the course of another day. She does indeed bounce back quickly!

Catherine reflects that in England at least, the type of villains described by Mrs. Radcliff must not exist. She doesn't go so far as to pardon France and Switzerland from containing such evil, but she's pretty sure about her own country. She also believes that while Henry and Eleanor may not be perfect (never!), she's certain that General Tilney has some "specks" in his character. Well you've come a long way girl, we won't ask for more just yet.

Murder was not tolerated, servants were not slaves, and neither poison nor sleeping potions to be procured, like rhubarb, from every druggist.

Quick, someone tell Shakespeare!

Now Catherine's thoughts return to Bath, but she has no news. Her faithful friend has proved unfaithful again: But Isabella had promised and promised again; and when she promised a thing, she was so scrupulous in performing it! Oh Catherine...

Not as bad as her brother though! Poor Thorpe is in town: I dread the sight of him; his honest heart would feel so much. Honest heart! That man doesn't have an honest cell in his entire body! I would have more hope for James if we knew he finally figured out John, but the only hint we have is this: the failure of a very recent endeavour to accomplish a reconciliation between Morland and Isabella. So James and John met again and John tried to get them back together, but whether James rejected both siblings or just one is unknown.

I really feel for Catherine here, she has to sit through breakfast trying not to cry, then cannot return to her room because it is being cleaned (bedrooms in this era were mostly for dressing and sleeping, so she wouldn't be expected to use her room again until 4pm*), tries the drawing room only to discover the Tilney siblings, but then they kindly leave her to herself. Catherine needs another half hour (her magical sad-feeling time) before she can face them.

This line from Catherine is so very Jane Bennet:

"Could you have believed there had been such inconstancy and fickleness, and everything that is bad in the world?”

What a stroke was this for poor Jane, who would willingly have gone through the world without believing that so much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual! -Pride & Prejudice, of Wickham

The poor girls, having their eyes opened to the wickedness of the world.

Then this part:

This post by Fira Wren playing in my head. His kids know the General is full of it. Eleanor is surprised her older brother has fallen in love, since it seems he never has been before, which again has Henry Crawford vibes.

No, not very. I do not believe Isabella has any fortune at all: but that will not signify in your family. Your father is so very liberal! He told me the other day that he only valued money as it allowed him to promote the happiness of his children.” The brother and sister looked at each other.

Now the reason that Isabella Thorpe would lose in a battle to the death against Lucy Steele and Lady Susan is that she didn't keep her first man secure until she had the next engagement entirely locked down. Rookie movie Izzy! I have too good an opinion of Miss Thorpe’s prudence to suppose that she would part with one gentleman before the other was secured. Isabella just could not manage two men at once.

I love this interaction:

This line from Catherine too, "I never was so deceived in anyone’s character in my life before.” and Henry's response: “Among all the great variety that you have known and studied.” has so much in common with this interaction in Pride & Prejudice:

“But perhaps,” observed Catherine, “though she has behaved so ill by our family, she may behave better by yours. Now she has really got the man she likes, she may be constant.” “Indeed I am afraid she will,” replied Henry; “I am afraid she will be very constant, unless a baronet should come in her way; that is Frederick’s only chance. I will get the Bath paper, and look over the arrivals.”

“I did not know before,” continued Bingley, immediately, “that you were a studier of character. It must be an amusing study.” “Yes; but intricate characters are the most amusing. They have at least that advantage.” “The country,” said Darcy, “can in general supply but few subjects for such a study. In a country neighbourhood you move in a very confined and unvarying society.” “But people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever.”

Henry also manages to tip us off about his intentions to marry Catherine right under Catherine's oblivious nose!

"Prepare for your sister-in-law, Eleanor, and such a sister-in-law as you must delight in! Open, candid, artless, guileless, with affections strong but simple, forming no pretensions, and knowing no disguise.”

“Such a sister-in-law, Henry, I should delight in,” said Eleanor with a smile.

Catherine also realizes that she feels much less sad about losing Isabella than she thought she would, which Henry tells her to think about. The falseness of Isabella's friendship is dawning on Catherine, perhaps now just unconsciously.

*Quote illuminating this point from Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell, spoke by a character who would have been young during the Regency era: 'No, no, Cromer: bedrooms are for sleeping in, and sitting-rooms are for sitting in. Keep everything to its right purpose, and don't try and delude me into nonsense.' Why, my mother would have given us a fine scolding if she had ever caught us in our bedrooms in the daytime. We kept our out-door things in a closet downstairs; and there was a very tidy place for washing our hands, which is as much as one wants in the daytime.

#northanger abbey readthrough #northanger abbey #henry tilney #isabella thorpe #the letter from James

[codenamesazanka]

418 Thoughts

Love how The Walk became a non-issue. I had imagined that when the memory came, Deku would see all the bystanders ignoring Tenko and feel rightfully disgusted, understanding what Shigaraki had complained about in Jaku and connecting with his own experience of a selfish mob of civilians, and then chase after Tenko to become the one who reaches out a hand. Instead The Walk (so far) has become a two panel flashback. Deku does get to see those memories and feel those emotions - Tenko says 'Let Go', because he believes he doesn't deserve the help, he's being punished for killing his family - and Deku doesn't let go, instead comforting Tenko that he's here regardless, so in a way The Walk is addressed... but in doing so, it feels like the bystanders are resolved of their complicity. Maybe even that Tenko was indeed being ignored and should be ignored for killing his family and being born with his hands—but luckily Deku is heroic enough to still help him despite that. I've said before that the solutions the manga offers isn't that things should change on a large scale, only that there should be one exceptional person who happens to be at the scene to help the victim endure (and not eventually lash out). This is kinda a continuation of that. Addressing how the family turned a blind eye to Kotarou's maltreatment of Tenko? Addressing how the streets full of people ignored a five-year-old? The memory foray Deku goes through here doesn't do any of that. What Deku does is stop Tenko's Decay from going wild by offering up his own body (which is very brave of him!), and to tell Tenko he's here (which is good and needed, someone should be in Tenko's corner!), but that this is the save, this specific solution, sort of reframes the problem then as an individual problem: That Tenko has a quirk that kills, and feels the hatred/catharsis/sadness/confusion that allowed the quirk to go out of control; and that the right Hero wasn't at the scene to stop him. (if we get the reveal that AFO gave Tenko a quirk, that this all becomes irrelevant though.) (Also, last week, Nana apologizes not for abandoning Kotarou in the first place, but for not being strong enough to defeat AFO and come home. Kinda misses the point in the same way, imo) I have confessed before that I don't like Deku as a character, but I really had wanted him to see The Walk, to understand this side of Hero Society. And him chasing Tenko through the streets, to symbolically resist the lure of 'what everyone else is doing/what is normal/follow the routine of society' and do the simple thing of taking the step to reach out a hand to a lost soul - that would be the pure heroism of helping. But it seems the story doesn't want this, and I have to accept it. Okay.

The League showing up and Shigaraki stating that he needs to be a Hero for the villains is so good. That he's doing this for them. That even if his own hatred fades and he's empty, what's left is his friendship and innate heroism for the outcasts. ...However, given how it's turning out all the villains were actually mostly mistaken about problems in society and nothing major needs to be changed, they only needed a Hero bestie and to endure whatever life threw at them, this becomes kinda sad and misguided. Poor Shigaraki/Tenko. He thinks he's doing this for his friends, he thinks he's being a hero-villain, but he's actually just making things worse. Not even, actually, because he's never made a decision in his life.

I do think it’s interesting that it’s AFO who says this. “Even though until now, you haven’t chosen a single thing.” Like, if it was Deku who said this, or if Shigaraki had realized it himself, it would be seen as the truth to unconditionally accept, right? “Hey Shigaraki, wake up, your whole life has been engineered by this evil megalomaniac. You don’t truly want any of this.” Exposing AFO’s lies, so that Shigaraki can ditch them and now find something real. Accepting the truth is the resolution; it’s freedom, it’s salvation, it’s the light. Challenging it in any way, even for the smaller stuff (“No, but it was I who chose the League.”), is denial, or doesn’t subtract from the larger overall point. But here, it’s AFO saying this, it’s the Bad Guy saying this, and it feels like it's set up for a rejection. Like, AFO is being full-blown evil, condescending and dismissive and hurtful - you’re weak, you’re useless, you have never chosen a single thing - and so it’s time for Shigaraki to prove him wrong. Or for Deku to help Shigaraki prove him wrong. It’s not the most clear cut of lines, but I do think it’s there.

Saw a theory that with AFO posing as someone from a construction company, it means AFO built the Shimura House. It's absolutely beautiful in how it destroys everything that was built up about Shigaraki (correctly) disliking society. “Everything I’ve witnessed in this world of ours… lead to the existence of that house…” - but really, it’s all engineered by AFO. Everything Shigaraki hates is actually created by AFO. All the rejection he thought he felt was actually fake. At this point I’m expecting The Walk to also have been engineered by AFO - he used a quirk to make everyone turn away or something (which would track with The Walk being a non-issue as mentioned above). At this point I’m also expecting the house that AFO built to be emitting some brain waves that forced Kotarou to slap Tenko, and made the rest of the family cowardly (and after all, AFO is responsible for Kotarou becoming bitter and cold by forcing Nana to abandon her son). I have to applaud it. 

#nalslastworkingbraincell

[thecncitygirls]

Happy 20th anniversary teen titans!

I missed it because I was celebrating ANOTHER nostalgic action show: Danny Phantom! I bought the new comic book (it's called A Glitch In Time and it is SO GOOD). I want to take the time to share my thoughts on the Show.

When I say Teen Titans was my childhood I mean it. Sure I have a LOT of salt towards TTG, but i do have to give it credit the show can be funny and it's clear to be it's own thing (when it's not making unnecessary digs at the OG fans). Every Saturday morning I would wake up just to watch Titans on Kids WB.

I remember watching TT first on CN but my parents cancelled our cable. Lucky it also aired on The WB so I didn't miss much. My favorite will always be Raven, Cyborg and Starfire, I just really loved them and their characters. Funny enough I didn't exactly care for BB and Robin, until later in the show.

My favorite arc will always be Terra. They handled her character much better in the show because she feels like an actual teenager instead of Evil Incarnate™. Oh and Red X too! I really live how thry didn't reveal his identity in the show (I'm holding on to the common theory that he might be Jason Todd). And HIVE! I feel like Hive is so underrated i know everyone talks about Jinx but the other students deserve love too! Brother Blood was cool (actually a lot of TT villains were lit even Mad Mod).

Funny enough I wasn't all that scared of Slade (I was scared of Father from KND). He was so cool on the show and one of my favorite villains. And much more bearable. I do wish the show touched on his backstory considering Jericho was also in it.

But my favorite part about TT is that it is a TEEN TITANS show. So they got focus. No shoving in the adult heroes ESPECIALLY a certain bat. The Titans were allowed to grow and explore by themselves, and I think that's a great message for kids and young adults. You CAN solve problems without always needing an adult. You CAN have a DC show without shoehorning Batman. Literally all the characters were likable, have a wonderful dynamic and there's a favorite titan for everyone. And I liked how other characters outside the main team also got a bit of attention.

To this day this show will always hold a special place in my heart. Even with its flaws I appreciate the show for what it can do for action animation and media geared for kids and teens as whole. Here's to twenty more years of TEEN TITANS.

#teen titans #teen titans 2003

[godslush]

Where SlashGirl.EXE just exists to be a general denizen of the world, TokeiWoman.EXE has more of a narrative direction.

I doubt I would ever get around to doing something more complete with this idea, but this is the general gist of her arc, for the time being.

================================================

It’s any other day, and Lan and his buddies head out to do typical after-school kid things. However, along the way, they happen to pass by a HUGE demonstration at large corporate building. They learn from attendees that the company inside (Zenith Hyperprocessing) had installed a program/NetNavi to centralize a large portion of HR and finances across multiple subsidiary tech companies, which in turn lost them their jobs (or jobs of family members and/or NetNavis working Web-side) and they're protesting it, to the company's deaf ears.

This is seen as a mild annoyance by the general public at most, but word gets out that some of the displaced workers have banded together a fund where they'd pay a good amount to anyone who can break into Zenith's system to permanently delete that program and get them their jobs back... and several established 'villain' Operators feel this is a great way to make a quick buck at the expense of a large corporation.

However, Zenith’s position gives it the backing of the government, and they call any city NetBattlers to help defend it, citing the damage that losing the program would cause to the many other jobs/livelihoods of the people still working at the companies under its jurisdiction. So the city NetBattlers and their NetNavis form a sort of perimeter around Zenith’s central server, stopping some of the opportunists. However, a few of the 'evil' Navis get through the blockade.... only for their Operators to suddenly lose contact with their Navis completely.

After that incident, some time passes, when suddenly the 'program' starts to act... strangely, doing things that are not to it’s owner company's bottom line interests, which causes a bit of a ruckus. The authorities in control can't seem to get in to deal with it due to the digital defenses set up, but don't want to unplug or delete it completely right off the bat due to the potential dangers to the mainframe, and the costs that would incur, but they're worried that the NetNavis that went 'missing' weren't deleted, and somehow were corrupting the program from within the program's bubble of inaccessible influence.

So city NetBattlers are called in again to find the root of the problem, joined by official ones, and once within the strange anti-communication zone, MegaMan DOES manage to break defenses to find Tokei’s true body. He discovers that she had managed to freeze and capture any NetNavis that made it to her prior; they had no effect on her decision to start disobeying Zenith for the welfare of hard-working employees over the ‘lazy and ineffectual management.’ The company did that to themselves. She's 'fixing' their problems, as far as she's concerned. She at least agrees to free the NetNavis she trapped, provided they leave her alone and stop wasting her time.

MegaMan can’t find it in himself to delete her, not that he could in the state he found himself in, given he notices his energy being sapped at an astronomical rate, which prompts an explanation of the Overclocked domain, which also covers why he couldn’t communicate with Lan. Before he can leave to an area where he can safely Jack Out, ProtoMan arrives, with enough energy to fight, having not had to fight through all the defenses that had been defeated prior, and MegaMan has to prevent ProtoMan from deleting Tokei, allowing her to speak her piece.

With that resolved, MegaMan returns and simply reports his findings. It raises the question of the 'rights' of NetNavis. He returns from time to time - at great risk to himself, given the Overclocked server - to check on her out of sympathy, but she is always too busy to hold much of a conversation, sending him away. He insists she needs to take a break once in a while... even computers need to rest.

Finally there’s a breaking point, and MegaMan - instead of returning to a safe zone to resume contact with Lan and Jack Out - stays put, in an almost child-like tantrum. His ultimatum; she turn off the Overclock on the server and return to normal time and see how it feels to run at a normal, non-stressed speed... or she keeps it on at the cost of his own safety/life.

Unable to bring herself to hurt MegaMan, Tokei concedes with great effort and turns everything off... and while it does prove that it’s a huge weight lifted, it has the downside of suddenly bringing her activity back into observable time, putting both of them under immediate scrutiny. With Lan also able to weigh in, they argue until suddenly another party joins; Zandra Hertz, Zenith’s CEO.

To show the ‘children’ the error in their own thinking, Zandra uses Tokei’s unprotected state to violently tear the NetNavi’s consciousness out of the supercomputer housing (appearing, Web-side, as a large claw appearing and physically ripping Tokei out from her desk into the darkness), sticking it in an extremely outdated, dilapidated PET, to show both the NetNavi AND the employees she stood up for how much Zenith can’t afford to let her take time off for extended periods. Zandra’s last words to Tokei are, “Fine. Take a vacation. See what good that does you, and everyone else.”

With Tokei gone, the rest of Zenith and its subsidiaries start to feel the pressure of that work not being done. The chaos caused by this, and the ineptitude of the management who had become so painfully reliant on her for HR functions, means they can’t even hire or rehire workers to replace her quickly enough to prevent things from crashing and burning. When Zandra is contacted to take care of matters, it’s discovered she conveniently took a vacation to let everyone fend for themselves. Typical upper management behavior.

Tensions peak after a few days and Lan or someone else chooses to break in to steal the PET Tokei was consigned to and get her out, only to find that the poor condition of the PET and its lack of visual interfaces causes it to act like a sensory deprivation chamber (or worse, if damage to the PET such as electrical shorts or overheating components can actually affect the NetNavi inside). It’s so archaic that while MegaMan can enter the device via Jack In, they don’t know how to get Tokei out of it without first taking it to SciLab for analysis, and in the mean time, they can’t actually charge the device without damaging it further.

To make matters worse, the disappearance of Tokei and the PET she was on becomes an issue of company property theft. In the kids’ hands, nobody knew where the device had gone, but the moment they take the PET to SciLab to either be repaired or to have Tokei transferred into a new device, the lab gets implicated for it and come under legal scrutiny (it turns out Zandra had predicted it would happen and set it up intentionally, banking on the ‘reckless heroism of youth’ to forego critical thinking). She was hoping to use that criminal lawsuit against SciLab for stealing critically proprietary ‘software’ to pad her other earnings.

Fortunately for everyone, this starts to get the public riled up the more they learn about what was happening. A lot of people - even so-called ‘villain’ sorts - cite their own close connections to their NetNavis, as well as the existence of independent NetNavis, as proof that they are more than just feelingless tools for humans to use.

Eventually, public outcry causes Zandra’s plan to backfire, when hundreds of NetNavis from outside Zenith break into its mainframe to help the panicking employees rectify its problems temporarily, and Zandra is forced to step down for endangering the livelihoods of so many people... but not before trying to spitefully take down as much as she possibly can by firing up Tokei’s supercomputer and expanding the Overclock zone to encompass a large portion of the Cyberworld in hopes of melting down as much of the Web as she can in the process, by running malicious code into every connected device.

It’s revealed she never believed humans should have become so reliant on such fickle cyberspace beings in the first place; she lost her injured brother to a hospital mishap caused by the machines failing at the worst possible moment. Her whole plan from the start was to make as much money as she could exploiting the system before ultimately taking it out.

Since the Zenith server cannot be approached via the web without the Navis involved getting hit directly with the wave of Overdrive code, the situation has to be diffused by manually reinstalling Tokei into the supercomputer in person, which possesses its own difficulty as the Overclocked machine is physically overheating and threatening to explode and take the whole company building with it. Suffice to say, though, they succeed (because Lan has protag power).

Zandra is arrested and control of the company is handed over to temporary management, but eventually is given to Tokei herself. She was already doing so much work she practically ran the company upon initial installation, anyway. Since she has no need of money, she simply lets what she would have been making as CEO fall back into the company to promote a better workplace, and to hire employees to keep things running smoothly over the long-term; she’d crunch the numbers initially to get things back on track, and then slowly let the workload redistribute so she could take on a more humane level of management... and finally get a proper damn vacation without worrying about everything going to crap.

She also offers to do the kids’ families’ taxes for free on her off-time. As thanks. Compared to what she’d been doing prior, a handful of tax forms is just a few grains of sand in an hourglass to her.

#art #fanart #fancharacter #mega man #mega man battle network #mmbn #netnavi oc #dai's mega man dump #the reference intended with zandra is mostly a nod to tokay's arc over in classic #it's a pretty heavy-handed nod but i think it's funny #my frame of reference for the most part is mmbn 1-3 and a little of 4 #since dani has been streaming it and suffering through the truly delightful tedium masquerading as game mechanics #this is a real game with real mechanics and real dialogue written by real people it's honestly quite incredible

[multimilfs]

Queen Ravenna x Fem!Reader: The Untold Truth

Summary: Queen Ravenna + 15 — “Wanna dance?”

AO3

Prompts found here!

A/N: I wanted to spin this one a little differently. Ravenna, though I love her, is well and truly evil; that’s the beauty of her character. So the way she attaches herself to people would also be evil. That can be easy to maneuver around, but I wanted to see how it’d to to maneuver with it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it!

Full Ficmas List

Tag List: @ghostsunderstoodmysoul @multifandomfix @escapetodreamworld

Warning(s): Questionable Relationships

After first taking over the kingdom from Snow White’s Father, the narrator altered an important detail of the story; the part where Queen Ravenna attempted to rule her new kingdom… somewhat peacefully, for a time. 

They also missed what led to the downfall of the peace and the reason for such—a woman. But not the woman the stories would have people believe. Not Snow White, not Queen Ravenna, but another. One who managed to capture the decaying heart of the villain.

How sad that one so kind would cause such destruction. 

— —

Since her first day in the castle, when the King still lived, you’d been enraptured by the beauty of your new Queen. Snow White’s mother had been beautiful no doubt, but the new Queen—Ravenna, her name was—could stop your heart by looking at her. 

You had never imagined she’d look back. The idea of being seen was one that filled you with anxiety, making you bow your head to hide the ghastly scar across your skin. You traded human connection for a lack of whispers for so long. 

But your Queen didn’t look away. 

She took in your face, beautiful despite the raised wound that none could look past. And she didn’t flinch. Instead, she extended her hand to you, and asked for your name. Your voice had been breathless when you gave it. 

You can still remember the way a curious smile spread across her face at your reaction. 

“What an enchanting name…” She said then. The urge to hide yourself away was overwhelming, but you didn’t. You thanked her. 

From that moment, you’d scarcely been away from the Queen. Even when the King passed mysteriously in the night and her brother’s forces invaded the castle, forcing her hand. You watched as she navigated ruling while her brother held the power of his forces at his disposal. Their weapons could strike down Ravenna’s life at any moment and she acted fearless; you wish you were half as brave as she was. 

Her brother had allowed her one small thing, though; a ball. Beautiful and lavish, with more people than you had imagined. 

Your Queen had helped you choose a dress. One night, during one of your talks, she summoned her seamstress and a selection was laid before you. She watched, enraptured, as you tried on some of them. 

Ravenna stepped in and chose a beautiful, pale blue dress, and held it out wordlessly. When you put it on she stepped behind you in the mirror and examined you. You can still feel the way your heart fluttered when her hands settled on your waist. 

“This one,” Ravenna whispered in your ear, eyes on yours in the mirror, “It’s perfect.” 

“It’s too lavish, my Queen.” 

Her eyes hardened in an odd way, “I said it’s perfect. You will wear this one.” 

Not wanting to upset her, you nodded. You had to agree that it was beautiful. And now, in the middle of what must be hundreds of people, you feel just like everyone else. You feel enchanting. 

If the stares you’ve gotten all night mean anything, then the masses must think so too. 

“Excuse me, Miss,” A voice comes from behind you. You turn to see a handsome man in a dark outfit. He’s offering you a lopsided smile, “Wanna dance?” 

He motions towards the swirling floor of dancing couples. Shock fills you. No one has asked you to dance before. Offering a shy smile, you nod, and take the offered hand. 

You’re pulled into the masses of beautiful Lords and Ladies. It’s invigorating to move among them like you belong for once. The gentleman in front of you—who’s name you don’t know—smiles down at you in a charming way. You let out a gleeful laugh. 

Across the room, out of your view, Ravenna seethes, “What is she doing?” 

“I’d say dancing, sister.” 

Ravenna levels him with a glare. 

“Don’t be an idiot. What is she doing with him?” She spits. 

Finn inclines his head, “Perhaps, sister, you haven’t made her aware of your ownership.” 

“I give her everything she desires. I entertain her. I don’t allow her time with another. Her ownership has been made clear.” Ravenna says, her eyes full of fire, “It’s time this charade ended. A man’s beauty will do just as well.” 

As Ravenna steps forward to push through the crowds, a hand around her arm stops her. She drags her eyes slowly up to that of her brother’s face. Finn looks shocked, like he can’t believe the choice he’s made. It’s too late now. 

“If you do this, the charade is over. Everyone will know what you are.” He whispers. 

The nails on her other hand dig into his arm and he winces, but doesn’t let go. Things in the kingdom are progressing well. This will put an end to all of it. 

“Unhand me.” 

Helpless to stop her, he does. 

You don’t see Ravenna coming until it’s too late. You don’t see the other couples split apart or hear women shriek. It isn’t until a familiar, taloned hand wraps around your companion’s neck from the back and yanks, that you see her. Her eyes are dark and empty of everything but rage. 

The handsome man lets out a pained noise as her talons dig into his neck. Crimson blood slides from the wounds. You stand, wide-eyed. Your Queen has brief moments of coldness, but she’s never been like this, she’s never hurt anyone. 

Glancing past her shoulder, you see her brother surveying the scene. His face is carefully empty. He’s doing this, you realize. You step forward and around the young man to take her other hand. 

“My Queen, please, you don’t have to do this.” You whisper. 

Her eyes give away nothing. She twitches. The next words out of her mouth shock you to your core. 

“You belong to me. Everyone will know it.” 

She turns your dance partner around and opens her mouth, inhaling with an inhuman force. You watch the color and life drain from his face. His skin is gray and sunken when her’s brightens. When you look at the unbothered expression on her face, something clicks. 

Snow White’s disappearance. The King’s death. Her brother’s mysterious arrival and victory over the palace guards. The mysterious disappearances of beautiful ladies. Her unaffected nature towards all of the darkness happening. The whole time it had been her. 

“You… You did all of this.” You whisper in horror, taking a step back. Somehow she manages to hear it over all of the screaming. 

Ravenna smiles a cruel smile, “No, darling, you did all of this.” 

Gone is peace. Gone is happiness. Gone is light. 

The story goes on as told; Queen Ravenna rules with an iron fist and Snow White grows, all the while you remain kept in a locked room, only to be visited by the Queen. No one remembers the beautiful woman that started it all. No one remembers the enchanting beauty Ravenna would burn a kingdom before giving up. 

#queen ravenna #queen ravenna x reader #snow white and the huntsman #snow white and the huntsman x reader #ravenna x reader #queen ravenna imagine #snow white and the huntsman imagine #wlw #wlw imagine #dec2022 #multimilfswritings #multimilfsficmas2022

[incarnadinedreams]

Jiang Cheng was silent, as though he had finally become calmer. Wei WuXian put his hand on his shoulder again, "In the future, you'll be the sect leader, and I'll be your subordinate, like your father and my father. So what if the GusuLan Sect has its Two Jades? The Yunmeng Jiang Sect will have its Two Prides! So, shut up. Who said that you don't deserve to be the sect leader? Nobody can say this, even you can't either. If you do you're looking for a beating."

Jiang Cheng snorted, "You see how you are right now? Who can you beat up?"

-- Ch. 56, ExR translation

I've seen the take around that Wei Wuxian never broke any promises to Jiang Cheng, because in the 'Twin Heroes of Yunmeng' promise he said they would be like their fathers. Since Wei Changze left Yunmeng, then Wei Wuxian was never intending to actually be Jiang Cheng's right-hand man, and therefore no broken promises. Easy peasy.

And I personally just can't get behind that interpretation. I do think that in a more meta sense the parallel is interesting; that's part of the whole tragic irony of the situation. And that only works if Wei Wuxian didn't mean it that way, but it ended up becoming true anyway, in the most horrible and unpleasant ways. And I do think there can be some interesting exploration of the way promises can mean different things to different people without either of them really being wrong.

But I feel like it's doing a huge disservice to Wei Wuxian's character to run with the take that he actually meant to have some sort of loophole in there. It's very much a miss the forest for the trees kind of thing. Sure, you've successfully gotten him out of one broken promise... but what would that mean, if it were true?

I just don't think the line about their fathers was some sort of tricksy, cunning thing he inserted as a gotcha. He wasn't trying to legalese his way out of it, he wasn't trying to pull one over on Jiang Cheng. Viewing it that way kind of destroys what was, for me, one of the most emotionally poignant moments of the novel. If it were the case, he'd be rather shallow and manipulative for it, and that just doesn't resonate with me. Not to mention it doesn't make much sense to carefully insert a loophole into a promise he never needed to make in the first place.

As a Yunmeng Shuangjie Enjoyer, for me this scene is like the valiant last stand of innocence. Up to this point, our plucky protagonist and friends have escaped every trial largely unscathed. The comically evil villain has been resoundingly humiliated (for now), the big angry turtle of slaughter has been slaughtered, everyone made it home in one piece after a romantic(?) cave interlude, more or less. It was difficult, sure, but our heroes prevailed in the end. A few injuries, some scars, but nothing really bad - yet.

There's drama, there's strife, but at this point it's of a more personal, domestic nature: Jiang Cheng's sadness at what he feels is his father's dislike, his sense of inadequacy and being overlooked, his mother's scolding, the stress and discord within the household regarding rumors and Wei Wuxian's ambiguous role, and the pain of being pulled in between his parents. Painful, to be sure, just very limited in scope compared to what we know is coming.

But in the midst of that turmoil, this scene is Wei Wuxian giving Jiang Cheng hope for a future where he can forge his own path. That they can create something different but wonderful, with Wei Wuxian by his side, where it doesn't matter what rumors are going around or what mistakes their parents have made. It's an 'us against the world' moment; it's an outright declaration of a bond that had been, as far as we know, largely unspoken and assumed up to this point.

Whatever type of bond you read into them having, it solidifies something between them. It's putting into words his confidence in Jiang Cheng's potential when he believes his father doubts him. This is one of the few ways he is allowed to express unwavering support for Jiang Cheng in a sea of ambiguous ties and fraught relationships.

It's supposed to be tragic. It's supposed to be the shining light that gets snuffed out by the darkness and horrors that follow. The tragedy is that promises earnestly made sometimes must be broken, no matter how good the intentions were when they were made. The tragedy is that it's the enormity of their sacrifices for each other that, unknowingly, drive them apart. It's the secrets they keep to spare one another, it's the slow building of a death-spiral of conflicting priorities and duties, it's the very roles the promise was meant to bridge the gap between that makes this promise untenable, impossible to keep.

And I believe that's why we see, so much later, that this promise is the crux of Jiang Cheng's breakdown at Guanyin Temple, even after everything else that had happened.

Jiang Cheng cried soundlessly, but tears had already streaked across his face. To cry in such an unsightly way in front of others was almost impossible for him in the past. But every single moment that passed from now on, as long as the golden core remained in his body, as long as it could still revolve, he'd forever remember this feeling.

He choked, "... You said I'd be the sect leader and you'd be my subordinate, you said you'd help me your whole life, you said you'd never betray the YunmengJiang Sect... You said so yourself."

"..." After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian replied, "I'm sorry. I broke my promise."

-- Ch. 102

I believe what Jiang Cheng is really grieving is that bright-eyed, optimistic vision of the future they'd shared in that moment, us against the world, together, and there are so few ways they're allowed to express the weight of everything they mean to each other that he can only cling to a promise that represents the distillation of their ties to one another.

And if Wei Wuxian never really meant any of it, if he'd been planning an out from the beginning, if he'd never shared the dream too, that would just be kinda shitty and boring instead of compellingly tragic.

#thinking too much about jiang cheng yet again #jiang cheng #yunmeng shuangjie #anyway that's just my personal take on the whole thing #i'm too scared to use the character tags for any of the other characters lol

[giantchasm]

Random Kirby Headcanon #13

Bandee has trust issues and is generally a little bit prickly. He’s extremely protective of the people he likes, but good luck getting him to warm up to you in the first place, especially if you’ve done something to harm him or his friends in the past.

Needless to say, he’s not the biggest fan of the ex-villainous Star Allies, and does not have a lot of faith in their willingness to do good.

Magolor broke his trust and made Kirby cry. Taranza kidnapped his beloved king. Susie left Dedede buried under a pile of rubble and tried to brainwash Meta Knight.

And Marx… do I even really need to explain Marx?

He’s okayish with the Mage Sisters. They didn’t personally victimize him in the same way. I think more than anything he feels a reluctant pity for them, but will also eye them up suspiciously if it seems they’re doing anything nefarious.

His standoffish nature can get him into trouble sometimes, and a great example is what happened between him and Elfilin. When Elfilin first arrived in Waddle Dee Town Bandee thought something about the situation was weird, and when the Beast Pack kidnapped all of the Dees he feared his suspicions had been confirmed. He was CERTAIN Elfilin deliberately led the Beast Pack to them and had some kind of secret motive.

Elfilin was very hurt. Bandee didn’t mean to be a bully or anything, of course, but his experiences with having his trust broken in the past made him stubbornly perceive Elfilin in only one way.

The two of them didn’t really actively fight— Elfilin isn’t the argumentative type and Kirby wouldn’t have allowed it anyways, but Bandee made it plenty clear he didn’t feel comfortable with Elfilin around and warned Kirby to keep an eye on him. Elfilin was sad, because he didn’t even understand what exactly he was doing wrong.

When Elfilin was kidnapped, though, everything changed. Suddenly, Bandee realized that this situation probably wasn’t exactly what he thought it was, and started to feel bad. He… really had been kind of mean to Elfilin, hadn’t he? Suddenly, he missed his company. He hoped they’d be able to rescue Elfilin so he could apologize.

And they were! Eventually, the Beast Pack and Fecto Elfilis were defeated, saving the day. But soon afterwards, Elfilin approached Bandee alone with tears in his eyes.

He said that Bandee had been right the whole time. He really was a monster, wasn’t he? A piece of something so evil, terrifying and cruel.

Bandee felt awful. He fully understood that the Elfilis situation wasn’t Elfilin’s fault and didn’t blame him, but of course Elfilin would feel frightened and insecure with everything he just learned about himself.

He reassured Elfilin. He told him that, no, he was wrong, and the way he treated Elfilin had been unfair. He told him he WAS NOT a monster and he hoped he could forgive him. He didn’t mean to make things so bad.

From there, they made amends. It took a while for them to warm up to each other entirely, but now they’re good friends. Bandee has gone from being suspicious of Elfilin to being protective of him.

#kirby #bandana waddle dee #bandee #elfilin #sack’s kirbyverse