#a GOOD WHILE on the albatross w the other two

[enderspawn]

thinking.. jay can be so undiagnosed-until-adulthood autism coded <3

#i don’t have the words for this nor explicitly the like. scenes slash proof to point to im just right #she just generally Masked So Good she didn’t even realize shit was up til like #a GOOD WHILE on the albatross w the other two #and being in that Open Neurodivergent space she starts to unmask more and connects the Dots #and has like a Oh Shit. Huh. moment #< is not projecting any here btw /lying #but yeah. chip was. stereotypical adhd young boy syndrome and even if never Diagnosed they Know #while gill also probably never was diagnosed he’s just fuckin autism man look at him #so being on Chip’s shitty lil crew and having him be like ‘eh go wild so X’ invites the other two to chill more #and. yeah <3333 #ANYWAY uh. speaking of the proof thing beyond projection it’s like #how she bounces off. other ppl? like #you see it Best in bits or the like but she bounces off the energy the other person gives #often in stupid fucking ways (a la shooting gillion for fun or the cinnamon rolls) #OR HELL EVEN!!! #her mocking chip is intentionally her mirroring Chip’s early behavior— she observed how he interacted + bonded w ppl and emulates it #(which could also tie into her not Noticing how Chip’s kind of hurt by it— she doesn’t think to check #bc she learned/observed the behavior FROM him) #anyway. tldr jay masking queen but I Know <3 #og post

[craneworms]

strawhats (except jinbe) + ace & sabo winged au because i love birds:

LUFFY:

Albatross.

Chose an albatross because they are common seabirds and represent freedom & they meant good luck to sailors. <- basically a lot of positive connotations that i felt fit luffy’s character. also the thought of him with these ridiculously large wings made me giggle.

Has disproportionately large wings compared to his body. When fully grown his wingspan reaches around 10 ft (approx 3m)

His wings are active soaring wings. They are very long and narrow. They have a grey colouration on the dorsal surface of the wings and white on the undersides.

He’s always been drawn to the sea, thanks to being a seabird, and that helped shape his dreams of becoming the pirate king.

He has trouble landing and setting off, but can fly for very long stretches of time. He mostly glides and can do so for miles at a time without flapping his wings.

Along with having wings, he has feathers running across his shoulder blades, connecting his wings together and down his spine to about the middle of his back.

He preens his wings only when absolutely needed, so they look very scruffy. Luckily, it doesn’t affect his flying in any way and instead confined to looks simply because he was taught by garp & his brothers to at least take care of his wings a little before it does get to that point.

ZORO:

Heron.

Decided on a heron because they use their beaks kind of like a harpoon, which is kinda like a sword? They are also seen as being the messenger of the gods for some greek mythologies. They also represent the sun in Egyptian mythologies <- nice tie in with his role in the crew & relationship w luffy.

His wings are very big and broad and rounded, reaching around 2m long. They are made of dark plume, varying from greyish on the innermost part of the wing to pure black on the primary feathers.

He has passive soaring wings which allow him to fly for long periods of time. Despite this, he prefers to stay on ground and only flies when necessary. Unlike most other people, he doesn’t use his wings much in combat beyond movement and instead prefers to rely on his swordsmanship.

He grew up regularly grooming his wings, taught by the dojo the importance of preening and maintaining them. Although, after leaving the dojo, his maintenance of his wings began to slip. They were extremely damaged for a few years, becoming so bad that it even began to affect his flight.

After joining the straw hats, he began to take care of his wings better (mostly upon nami’s insistence). Although they still look quite messy, the damage is reduced and his flying is hardly compromised anymore. He still gets a few weird glances from outsiders because of the state of his wings, though.

NAMI:

Pigeon.

Decided on a pigeon because of their excellent navigational & directional skills which they are noted for. They are also a more domestic species of bird, which i thought fit her character more than a more wild species.

Her wings are typical pigeon wings, rounded and suited for long flights. They are mostly a light grey with some feathers tipped in a darker shade. She has two bars across both wings. They are a pretty average size, not too big but also not too small.

Along with her wings, she has a little bit of loose plumage on the back of her neck, coloured grey and iridescent green/purple.

She’s an extremely strong flier, the best in the straw hats, and very manoeuvrable. She can launch herself quite quickly, although his is taxing and only done during emergencies. She also normally flies in a direct path to where she needs to be.

She preens herself often, believing that maintaining your wings is very important. This is partly due to the fact that it was one of the things she did to ground herself while in Arlong’s crew. Her wings mean a lot to her. Most people don’t seem to recognise her effort, however, and instead completely dismiss her wings due to being dull and uninteresting compared to others.

She was once quite vocal, cooing and calling often over anything that interested her or while communicating with others. Although after joining Arlong, this habit was discarded quite quickly. After she officially joined the straw hats, she began to become more vocal. Although, she isn’t at the level she used to be, it is a huge improvement.

USOPP:

Kingfisher.

Decided on a kingfisher (after a lot of debate) because they are pretty small & unassuming but actually really amazing hunters. And i thought their method of flying/hunting really suited him!

His wings are quite small compared to his body with his wingspan only being less than 1m long. His wings are specifically suited for fast, direct and precise attacks/movement and hovering. He can also fly backwards.

His plumage on the dorsal side is a brilliant metallic blue and the underside is brown. He also has bright blue plumage surrounding his eyes.

He takes relatively good care of his feathers, so they look pretty healthy and well groomed. Thanks to this & his vibrant wing colours they are considered quite beautiful. He gets a lot of compliments on them.

He has extremely good eyesight, although his eyes have pretty limited movement in his eye socket so he has to move his head to track things. His eyesight really helped to elevate his sniping skills.

He doesn’t sing, but he has a pretty distinctive, kinda shrill sounding, call. He mostly uses it to warn the other strawhats of danger. He also doesn’t really fly a lot for leisure since his wings can only sustain him for a short time.

SANJI:

Secretary Bird/Bird of Paradise.

I chose a secretary bird because they are a very unique kind of raptor (literally having it’s own family group). It’s known for it’s unique way of hunting, using it’s long legs to hunt/kill prey & being a largely terrestrial bird.

His wingspan is pretty big, around 2m long, and like zoro his wings are specifically made for soaring. Although, thanks to germa, one wing is kinda deformed, which makes it hard for him to fly. He only really flies in emergencies & to soften landings because he has very little control over his flight path. He usually ends up spiralling to the ground rather than actually flying.

Along with having wings he also has some head plumage and some loose neck plumage.

Regarding his feather colours, it’s very unlike a secretary bird’s usual coloring. It’s a iridescent black with glossed blue, green and purple shades mixed in, reminiscent of a trumpet manucode. He got this from his mother, which shouldn’t usually happen but germa experiments messed weirdly with the genetics of all the vinsmoke siblings.

His feathers are extremely well groomed but thanks to his wing deformity and strange colouring people struggle to tell what bird he is. His wings are still regarded as quite attractive despite that.

Most people assume he’s simply a bird of paradise thanks to his colouring so his fighting skills are underestimated for a while. There’s a stigma about birds of paradise being rather weak, mostly seen as entertainment for others.

He has a pretty unique call. It’s more of a deep croaking noise rather than the typical bird call. He doesn’t use it a lot however, mostly just in dangerous situations like usopp.

CHOPPER:

Sparrow.

Chosen because, again, it’s a more domestic bird which i felt represented him better. I also thought it fit considering he was once a wild reindeer but instead found him home with humans, rather than in a wild settlement. They also round and plump, which fit his rounder design.

His wings are quite small and round, being elliptical shaped. His flying is mostly very direct and in short but fast bursts. Colour-wise, his plumage is mostly various shades of brown with some feather tipped with white. The undersides of his wings are significantly lighter than the dorsal sides.

He’s very vocal when it comes to calling & he has a typical chirp that you would expect from a sparrow. He also likes singing, although it’s more of a long string of calls rather than an true song with a rhythm.

He also has some more chestnut kinda markings along his face, reminiscent of a male sparrows markings. Although, he doesn’t have any extra plumage like some other people.

Like a sparrow, he actually engages in dust bathing. He tries to get the other strawhats to join him in doing so, especially because it’s a more social behaviour. For similar reasons, he enjoys water bathing with other people too.

ROBIN:

Peacock

Peacock for obvious reasons.

Robin’s wings are elliptical wings, suited for short bursts of flight that allow for a lot of control. They are quite large and, along with her long tail, make up for most of her body length and weight.

Her plumage looks like the typical peacock colouring, with iridescent blues and greens on the innermost part of her wings and browish-white on the primary feathers. She also has the distinctive tail with the feathers of a peacock.

She can’t fly very far & only does it when she absolutely needs too. but her devil fruit makes up for her lack of mobility compared to her crewmates.

She used to hide her plumage when she was on the run from the government. She didn’t really take care of it properly, she was always too busy and saw it as a burden during her youger years. It was very recognisable, after all. Although, after Ennies Lobby, she begins to put the time into correctly caring for her wings and tail and actually takes great pride in them, despite how flashy they are.

People are usually impressed by her wings & tail as they are very eye-catching and beautiful (especially after she began properly caring for them). But, they can really add to the creepy factor when she wants them too.

FRANKY:

Crow.

Chose a crow because they are widely known for their intelligence. They are able to use tools very efficiently, which i thought suited Franky thanks to being a very good shipwright and very handy.

He once had a pair of wings that he didn’t care for well, often leaving pin feathers in and damaging the feathers during while building his ships. Though, after he was hit by the Puffing Tom, one of his wings was mangled so badly that it had to be amputated, and the remaining was broken in a way that prevented him from folding it inwards. It looks bent, clear where the bone had snapped and healed incorrectly, and hangs loosely by his side most of the time. He can still use it, although his range of motion with his wing is limited and he can no longer fly.

He had elliptical wings and his flight consisted of little to no gliding. He was also very acrobatic in the air, able to change directions and even backflip in the air. His wings were an average size, black plumage with a green/purple sheen to them.

Now much older and having lost his ability to fly, he regrets not taking better care of his wings. Nowadays, he actually puts a surprising amount of care into looking after the remaining wing he has.

His calls are the typical crow calls and, like chopper and nami, he’s rather vocal & uses it in day-to-day life to express emotion and communicate with others.

BROOK:

Hummingbird.

Chose a hummingbird because they make a very distinctive humming noise when they fly. Reminded me of Brook, especially because his first epithet was Humming Brook. Also, they are very swift & light.

After he died, his wings became simply bone, but when alive he had a pair of striking emerald green hovering wings. They were thin, lithe and small and allowed him to move very swiftly in any and all directions, although flying was highly taxing on him.

His wings also made a distinctive humming sound, which was what first intrigued Yorki, especially since Brook incorporated the noise his wings made and his chirping into his music.

He can make a wide range of vocalisations, including chips, buzzes and hums. He isn’t particularly over-vocal like Chopper & Franky, but still more vocal than Zoro & Sanji.

Nowadays he cannot fly, although he can still make his vocalisations. Much like Franky, he greatly missies his wings, especially since they were like another instrument to them & one of the reasons as to why he joined the rumbar pirates in the first place. He & Franky probably bond over their shared experience of loosing their wings (although in different ways) and understand each other’s feelings when it comes to the matter the best.

ACE:

Eagle.

Decided on an Eagle because they are seen as very powerful and intelligent, which is what he’s first introduced as. They also represent freedom, which all of ASL associated with so i thought it was a nice way to connect him to them. Also, in some depictions, the Phoenix is based on an eagle, which is thought fitted his whole fire thing.

Ace’s wings are quite broad and long (although not as long as Luffy’s), being about 2m. They are passive soaring wings, very powerful and fast. He flies directly, most of the time.

He uses his wings during fights a lot, mostly taking advantage of their speed to catch up with faster opponents and their surprising agility to avoid attacks.

He used to be quite ashamed of his wings, especially due to sharing them with his father. This was only exacerbated by people’s dislike for eagles shortly after his father’s death due to Roger’s eagle heritage. Thanks to this, they were very unkept. He didn’t seem to care when feathers were caught on branches in the forest, damaged or ripped off, and sometimes plucked his own feathers too.

Despite this, after meeting Sabo (and later Luffy) he eventually began to like his wings and separated them from his father. He still has some mixed feelings about them, but sees them in a more positive light from when he was younger, especially after joining the WBP and making a name for himself, separate from roger.

His wings are still a little scruffy, although a lot less than Luffy’s and Zoro’s. It doesn’t cause any real problems for him, and instead manages to look almost intentional despite it absolutely not being.

SABO:

Bluebird.

Chose a bluebird because they typically represent new beginnings & the dawn of a new day & spring in various cultures. They also have a historical connection to death, specifically the death of a loved one. <- thought it was a nice way to tie him in with his brothers & his literal storyline as a revolutionary & his not-death. I also thought it would be ironic to have someone who was born noble be a common bird - it’s like a physical representation of his disconnect from his origins.

Sabo has rather small, round wings that are a vibrant blue colour with his primary feathers tipped with black. The colour is little duller on the underside, a more pale blue-white and tipped grey instead. They are Elliptical wings, lending themself to shorter and more direct flights.

Sabo is actually quite proud of his wings. They are small, simple and that of a common bird, which is generally quite frowned upon by nobles & celestial dragons. As such, he takes good care of them. For him, they represent his disconnect from his family and the nobles at large.

He takes pretty good care of his wings. He’s really the most serious about it between the ASL trio and his pride in his wings is one reason that inspired ace’s turnaround in his feelings about his own. He taught ace and luffy how to properly care for their own and carrying on that lesson is probably the only reason theirs aren’t damaged beyond repair.

Later on, his bluebird wings become a symbol synonymous with the revolutionary army and the concept of liberation as a whole. A lot of countries rioting inspired by the revo army fly flags and symbols with bluebird wings upon them.

#i’m pretty proud of usopp’s & sabo’s i think they fit really well #i struggled a lot w brook tho I couldn’t decide on hummingbird or nightingale for a long time #& choppers he went from a swan to calling duck to a sparrow #one piece #monkey d. luffy #roronoa zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #tony tony chopper #nico robin #one piece franky #one piece brook #straw hats #portgas d ace #sabo #asl trio #winged au

[kaeyx]

STRIP BILLIARDS W/ ALBATROSS?? i’m actually screaming.

ugh that has me thinking sooo many thoughts rn. like idk imagine how that would play out.. (personally i’d just do everything wrong so i could strip for him tbh..) and then fucking on the table thing that you play billiards on, like him bending you over and fucking the absolute shit out of you. possibly even breaking the table if it gets too heated (definitely not saying this bc my friend and i broke an air hockey table once!!)

OR OR- him teaching how to play billiards. like, standing behind you showing you how to position your arms and stuff. and totally not leaning over so he can kiss your neck and whisper to you about how good you’d look bent over and fucked out underneath him.

i like that everyone agrees that we would have a lot of energy, he could fuck me for literal hours on end with no breaks and i wouldn’t mind at all <3

Anon this is soooo sexy omg. Albatross is better than you obviously, you both know what you're getting into when you decide to play. He might lose a round or two but just so he can shed his jacket in preparation for later. Or so he can lose the shirt too and distract you with the view. Whoever gets naked first loses and the other can do whatever they want with them, and of course it ends with you bent over the table and Albatross fucking into you so vigorously that your feet can't touch the ground and the table scrapes across the floor, jostling the billiard balls.

Or he can teach you too! As an excuse to cuddle up to you, angle your hips and tell you to bend over more to get a good angle, draping himself over your back and praising you for lining up your shots. Saying things like "that's it, just like that", and pretending he doesn't understand why you're squirming.

And as a little extra for the masochists, Albatross can use those pool cues more inventively. Hitting the backs of your thighs or even tapping the end cruelly against your pussy while you're only in your underwear, reprimanding you for being so wet and easily distracted.

#albatross.bsd

[supernova-variations]

11th Doctor, Goodbye universe

11th Doctor x reader warnings: angst. honestly guys, r u okay? almost all of my requests are angsty. word count: 800 request:  request for eleventh doctor where reader comforts him after losing amy and rory w a lil bit of angst :) A/N: i know the request was a bit different but i had no idea how to write the 11th doctor in this scenario. at times, he seemed so consumed by grief that he was irrational and almost scary. do you know what i mean? i also had much trouble with writing this. i don’t know. it’s just angst is not my main area of expertise. 

“Goodbye universe”

‘Hello universe’ –  the first thing the Doctor has ever said to Y/N, pulling all the funky leavers, giving her the key to new worlds undiscovered by humanity. A moment that was to be the ‘albatross around his neck’, reminding him not to be cowardly in the future, as he wandered across the galaxy, wearing a new face. Y/N’s name leaving an imprint on his ship’s console.

Y/N cherished all the moments tinted by the strands of Amelia’s red hair and Rory’s soft chuckles. What came after, touched by the cold hand of a Weeping Angel, lost its colours. Reality became a mere washed-out photograph, robbed of people that were no longer there.

But no more. He would save her. Even if it turned her into the last page of a book left unread, never to be finished, hung in the limbo of unspoken goodbyes. He would give her freedom by robbing her of the only choice had left.

They stood at the doorstep of Y/N’s home, rain sogging their figures. The universe was grieving with them, the dark sky above them breaking and wiping out the hopeful light of stars. Rory and Amelia died many years ago, only to be commemorated right now, their voices echoing in an empty Tardis.

“You want to be alone, I understand.” Y/N was trying to reason with him, wet hair sticking to her tear-stained face, eyes full of fright. The Doctor snapped away as she reached to stroke his cheek. His shoulders, burdened by grief, pulled him down, making the movements sharp and uncontrolled.

“You don’t want to do this.” The girl’s hands trembled as she grabbed onto the sleeves of the Doctor’s striped jacket, trying to grasp the last touches she could be granted while he was still there. Y/N wanted to remember how extraordinary he felt, even though the light he cast out with his presence was long gone. “You can’t push me away like this, you need me. Now that there’s only two of us.” The tears rolled around Y/N’s chin, dripping onto her jacket, making it more damper than it already was.

He seemed mad, out of place, and old. The person he was before fleeted from his body, remains buried at the bottom of his deep-brown eyes, flickering with rage and sadness. The boy that she knew, chasing stars and unknown planets, was gone. He left with the first-face-this-face-saw. Amelia Pond chose her husband and Y/N was there to pick up the pieces. Only the Doctor wouldn’t let her.

“You don’t understand.” He spitted out with rage, pressing his fists against tightly close eyelids.

“You want to save us, but we’re not yours to save, Doctor.” She said coldly and uncovered the anguished face of the Time Lord. The least he could do was look at her. “You wanted me when it was all about the never-ending race, but as soon as it gets difficult you choose to abandon me. That’s not what family does, Doctor.”

“Who said I was your family?” The dead expression on his face made her heart shatter into a million tiny pieces, that were to be spread across the galaxies. They would become the traces of what she saw, could see, and would never lay her eyes upon. “You don’t let go of a family.” He turned his back to her, stepping out into the pouring rain. “Try to see what I see.”

The Doctor was a witness of things she wouldn’t believe and could never understand. At least for now, as she was only to experience true grief – the death of herself. Gradually, Y/N would forget all the good bits. The pure smile and dimples in his cheeks would be replaced with the moment he didn’t want to be touched by her. Memories about travels in time in space would always reach its conclusion at the moment he refused to be her family. Waking up in a cold bed, living her mundane life, she would think of what she has done wrong, wanting to swap places with Amelia.

Deep inside both of them knew – if it was the other way around, he wouldn’t have abandoned the Ponds. He was Amelia’s raggedy and imaginary Doctor, leaving a hole in her childhood. As his own redemption, he intertwined their fates among the stars, becoming the castor of improbable dreams. He did good by Amelia. Because he had to. With Y/N, the atonement would never come.

Months later she did what he asked her to: she tried to see what he had seen.

She wished wsomeday, hopefully, he would read the last page of her book, allowing her to pay her farewells.

‘Goodbye universe’ Y/N would say to him, the song of Akhaten reaching her in her dreams.

#11th doctor x reader #11th doctor imagine #11th doctor oneshot #11thdoctor/you #eleventh doctor x reader #eleventh doctor #eleventh doctor/you #eleventh doctor ganger x reader #doctor who oneshot #doctor who imagine #doctor who #dw imagine #dw oneshot #dw #oneshot #reader insert

[magma-cjay]

https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D14083841/

(warning! some intense drama and injury, this chapter takes a bit of a turn…)

It was a pleasant sunny day on the harpies’ island, as the warm breeze gently caressed the trees. Bruno’s flock stayed back at their tree, nursing Ghiaccio back to health while the rest of Risotto’s gang hung around in the shallows curiously observing the feathered folk they hadn’t seen up close until now.

But Risotto and Bruno were nowhere to be found, for they were out at sea, trying to find some food for their newfound troupe of finned guests.

Out at sea, together, just the two of them.

Bruno wheeled circles above the ocean, gliding gracefully over the waves like an albatross, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the feel of the breeze. Below him in the water Risotto effortlessly cruised through the waves, leaping periodically out of the water like a dolphin.

It felt great for Risotto to swim around again, as he’d been cooped up in the little pool for so long. His tail felt restless and he took great joy in being in his natural environment once more, soaring gracefully through the waves as smoothly and effortlessly as Bruno did through the sky.

Risotto surfaced above and gazed up at Bruno, high up in the air, who glanced back down at him and smiled. Risotto couldn’t help but be mesmerized at the winged wonder, facing with his back to the sun, as the golden light shone through his feathers and accentuated his ethereal, majestic beauty.

But he faced his back to the sun. And he faced his back to danger.

Suddenly, to Risotto’s horror, a second winged shadow suddenly swooped down from behind Bruno, blotting out the gold sunlight. The faint rays shone through his wings, illuminating them an ominous shade of red, like the color of freshly-spilled blood.

“BRUNO!” Risotto cried. “LOOK OUT!”

But his cry came to late, and he gazed in terror at what had unfolded in the skies above, far out of reach. Helpless to stop it.

A second harpy, with a wingspan nearly twice that of Bruno’s, clutched Bruno’s wings in his talons while the two grappled midair. A piercing shriek broke the air, as falling feathers, both cream and crimson, floated downward–

And then all was silence.

The silence was broken by a loud splash as Bruno’s limp body hit the waves. Without a moment’s hesitation Risotto plunged into the depths, grabbing the harpy as he sank into the sea, clutching him around the waist as he hauled him to the surface. The other harpy had gone by the time they made it to the surface, leaving only a few red feathers in his wake. Feathers whose color Risotto suddenly remembered all too well.

“Bruno! Bruno, please!” Risotto cried, trying to keep Bruno’s head above the waves. Bruno was breathing. He was alive, at least. Risotto held him around the waist and carried him piggyback, swimming to shore as fast as he can, while Bruno’s wings, drenched in blood and seawater, trailed limply behind in the water.

The other harpies were on shore when Risotto came dragging himself up the beach, trailing a bloodied Bruno behind him. They quickly glided over at the sight of their leader, badly wounded and unconscious, but still alive.

“What the HELL did you do to him you DAMNED FISH!?” snarled Abbacchio, lunging at Risotto, who flinched in surprise. “IT WASNT ME!” he pleaded to the enraged avian. “I… saved him! You need…to help him…it was…it was…the Crimson King–”

A sudden silence suddenly fell over the entire flock, and even Risotto’s gang who sat on the beach nearby, as soon as he spoke that name.

“D-Diavolo…” whispered Abbacchio in sudden horror. “He knows where we are.”

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME!” Risotto yelled, rising to a kneeling position as well as he could on his tail, while he cradled the wounded Bruno in his arms. “Bruno’s hurt! He may be DYING! He needs help THIS INSTANT!”

“We need to take him to our healer,” Fugo added. “Giorno’s just in his hut by the stream. He’s skilled in potions and the magics of life, he surely can do something to help.”

That evening as the sun fell beneath the horizon the harpies gathered in the small, inconspicuous hut, as Bruno lay motionless on the wooden platform, unconscious.

“Is…Is he going to be okay?” Narancia asked sadly.

“He’s going to be fine,” Giorno reassured, as he applied healing salve onto Bruno’s wounds. “Unfortunately, he appears to have broken a small bone in his wing…he won’t be able to fly for another two weeks at least, before his wing fully recovers. I recommend he rest and shouldn’t attempt flying or he’ll hurt it more.”

“Two weeks?” Abbacchio snapped. “What if Diavolo comes back? He won’t be able to protect himself if he can’t fly, we’ll have to defend him!”

A loud thump suddenly caught everyone’s attention, as Risotto suddenly barged into the hut, laboriously dragging himself across the floor and panting heavily.

“B-Bruno…” he gasped dryly. He needed water, like any mer did. But he needed Bruno just as much.

The pink-winged harpy seemed unperturbed by the sudden entrance of the beached merman. He walked over to him as Risotto pulled himself toward Bruno, inch by painful inch. He picked up a flask of water nearby and handed it to Risotto.

“Here, here, have some water,” Giorno said reassuringly. “How did you even get here? What are you doing?”

“I crawled, how else,” Risotto responded, as he desperately gulped water from the flask and poured the rest over his gills and drying scales. “It took me all damn night to get here but I need to know! Is Bruno alive? How is he?”

“W-where am I…?” Bruno mumbled as he slowly stirred. “Ouch…my wing…” he complained as he sat up.

“Oh good, he’s awake!” Giorno said cheerfully. “You’re in my hut, Bruno. The others told me you were hurt so we brought you here to mend your wounds. Also, there is a merman sitting on the floor, by the way,” he added matter-of-factly.

“BRUNO!” Risotto exclaimed in a mix of relief, joy and sorrow, as he frantically squirmed towards Bruno as well as he could. From his position on the floor he could only reach Bruno’s ankles, but for him it was enough, as he embraced Bruno’s legs tightly, sobbing. Bruno gently ruffled the merman’s pale hair. “I’m alright, Riz. I’m alright.”

“Your wing is hurt,” Giorno explained. “You shouldn’t try flying for at least two weeks, give it time to rest and heal.”

Risotto smiled as he looked up at Bruno, his dark eyes meeting the harpy’s gleaming blue ones. “Then I guess it’ll be me watching over you this time. I say we’re even now, consider this my thanks,” he told the harpy, who bent down and planted a kiss on his forehead in return.

“Next patient, please!” Giorno cried out in the background, oblivious to the two’s tender moment.

Fugo walked into the hut, carrying a wildly-struggling Ghiaccio in his arms. “He’s all yours, Gio,” he sighed, exasperated.

————–

Ghiaccio grits his teeth and yells, "WHO THE HELL IS THIS FLAMINGO LOOKING BLONDIE!?"

"My name is Giorno. I'm here to heal you" "heal me?" Ghiaccio calms down a little and huffs, "didn't think bird brains like you could even do that!"

"well we can, but only certain harpies can do it" Giorno hums and takes Ghiaccios wounded tail into his hands, and begins to apply the needed salves. "This won't take long I promise, you'll be better in no time"

"well do it QUICKER! THIS FUCKING HURTS!" Ghia winces and tenses up, trying not to thrash too much in his grip.

"Patience, my salves aren't too powerful since I'm only young. But I'd say in a few years I'd be able to heal without worry of pain" and soon enough, the wound is healed. "You have to be very careful, we don't want the cut to tear the tail"

"ugh... Will I atleast be able to swim?" "Of course. Just take it easy in the water" Giorno smiles and Ghia sighs in relief, atleast his wound doesn't hurt as much as before.

#merharpyau #Oh my god once again you impress me #thank you #<3 #submission

[poems-and-pillows-and-puppies]

Song of the Sea: Chapter 1- Bow

Hello there. I decided to make a fanfiction based off of @thenerdyalchemist‘s amazing pirate!AU! Here’s the link to the Ao3 page- https://archiveofourown.org/works/22967113 

Chapter 1- Bow

     Walking along the beach of Alorminia, Ethari felt the wind blow its sea-salty breath onto his already salt-encrusted clothes. Rayla giggled, letting the waves’ spray pelt her face. The colors of the pier rushed in, a whorl of blues and browns and yellows on the winding beaches. The sound of children laughing echoed in Ethari’s ears. Children rolled in the sand, making miniature dust-storms in their wake, as parents, disapproving and encouraging alike, followed in tow. The sand felt like satin under their callused, well-worn feet. Rayla smiled at the other children’s antics, but made no move to follow. Ethari wondered when their little girl went from exploring everything and escaping his and Runaan’s grasps to mellowly holding onto their hands as they went exploring through new towns and cities beside the sea. As he stood there, lost in memories of long, long ago, Rayla turned her eyes toward him and tugged on his shirt. He turned his gaze to her, and she beamed at her adoptive father with the warmth of a sunbeam on a cloudy day. Ethari returned the favor, giddy from the feeling of stable land- at least, as stable as sand can be- underneath his heels. He could see Runaan making his way towards one of the sandside stores, already haggling for a better price on a pair of bandanas. At the moment, Runaan looked deep in thought, his brow furrowed like the loose plank he had fixed at sea the night before. Sweat glistened on his brow, reflecting off the blue henna-like tattoos that defined his entire identity, his silvery-white hair untied and flowing off his shoulders like the many waterfalls he and Ethari have passed by under the light of the moon. Ethari’s gaze moved down towards his waist and noticed that Runaan’s purse had already shrunk, albeit not by much, the leather rope that bound the pocket was a little slack and Ethari had a slight pang of anxiety overtake him. ‘What if he had been pickpocketed?’ Ethari shook his head slightly, his slightly spiked hair swaying in time with his head movement. ‘No,’ he said to himself, ‘the king of the pirates wouldn’t possibly allow himself to be pickpocketed.’ He strolled toward his husband, the sand shifting beneath his feet to accommodate his weight. Runaan snapped out of his trance and turned slightly to look at his first mate. “Runaan?” 

“Ethari.”

“What are you haggling for?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

    Despite his cold and harsh words, Ethari could sense his affectionate tone. ‘What a grouch I married. Can’t even show his love. Well, two can play at that game.’

“Dear, we don’t need to distract this merchant anymore. We can get a cheaper bandana at the other store.”

    He kissed his husband’s forehead, ignoring the faint saltiness of his sweat, for the sake of the performance. The recipient looked at him with confusion in his eyes but caught on in a split second. He faked acquiescence. His blush from the kiss, however, was genuine. They acted like they were moving on. The merchant spluttered. 

“W-wait! I can give it to you for 10 coppers! 10!”

   Runaan stopped in his tracks. Ethari, sensing that this was an exponentially better deal than before, based on his spouse’s actions, waited for his husband to pay for the clothing. Rayla bounced up and down on her heels, violet eyes wide and sparkling, taking in the hustle and bustle of the town. Now that he was closer, Ethari took a good look at the merchant. The merchant was well-rounded, as if he had eaten a few steaks too many for his body to have handled it nicely. His voice, though rough-sounding at first listen, was oily and sent uncomfortable shivers down his spine. The next time the two had eye contact, Ethari gave a half-lidded glare at the shopkeeper, making the man’s wattle tremble. After Runaan had finished his purchase, the group plodded on with the nearest produce shop in mind. As the ground turned from sand to hard-packed mud to cobblestone and the open airs of the beach turned to crowded wooden stalls and people from all sides, the two pirates argued over what to buy for the ship with playful tones, with Rayla adding her own two cents every once in a while.

“...so there, Runii! Fruits are a must!”

“They’re expensive, you big buffoon.”

“Hey! I’m only a little bit taller than you!”

   Rayla chipped in, “You guys are both the same height to me! You two are so silly!”

   The group laughed, each in their own ways. Runaan looked forwards. “We’ve reached the produce stalls. Why don’t you two go look for some treats or something? I heard Alorminia has the best sugared apples.” Ethari and Rayla bobbed their heads up and down like birds, making Runaan chuckle. He made a shooing motion. “Go on, you two.” The two scuttled off, disappearing into the crowd. 

   Ethari and Rayla strolled through the marketplace, searching for the sweet stands. People who noticed their markings kept a wide berth around them, much to their degree of comfort and space. Rayla frowned at the looks of fear on some of the people’s faces. “Why are some of them scared of us, Papa?” Her wobbly voice caught him off guard and he crouched to her eye level. “My little Rayla, you mustn’t be afraid of them. They may seem afraid of us, but that’s just because they’ve been taught to do so.” He winced inwardly at the lie. “Really?”

“Yes, my little albatross.”

   “Okay!” Her smile came back full force. He stood up, searching for the stands once more. Much to their annoyance, there was a large crowd of people in the way of the streets stand that were watching a group of dancers pirouette in the square, stopping their adventure in their tracks. The jolly music of harmonicas and banjos filled the air with whoops of joy and yelling. Rayla sighed in disappointment. “I guess we should go back to Dad now.” Her ears drooped. She turned around and started walking back. A call from Ethari stopped her. “Rayla! I’ve found a little passageway. Wanna try?” She did a full 180 to see her father point to a narrow streetway. Her ears went back to full mast. “Yeah!” She ran to Ethari, renewed delight scrawled onto her features. 

   The streetway was narrow, but it was still full of people. Elves of all kinds strolled through it, but more humans than elves manned the stalls. Ethari began to suspect something was wrong when he accidentally bumped into someone and a small, bejeweled dagger fell out of the hooded stranger’s clothes. His mind whirled with worry, but he tamped it down for the sake of his daughter. ‘Why am I so scared, anyway? This is an elf-friendly town and nobody is foolish enough to attack the family of the most famous pirate of this time. What is there to worry?’ As the streetway narrowed even further, his anxiety rose, until it reached his throat. ‘Something is wrong!’ He whirled around in a hasty frenzy, but nothing caught his eye. A tug on his clothing turned his gaze back downwards. “What’s wrong, Papa?” Rayla’s confused eyes acted as an anchor point for the antsy elf. His breathing slowed. His pulse stopped beating in his ears like a frantic drum. “N-nothing, sweetheart. I thought I-I saw something,” he stuttered. The road had narrowed to a one-person space only and alarm bells were ringing in his head like a death knell. He turned around. The hooded stranger from earlier was not far behind them. His mind raced. “H-how-”

“Did you think that we humans couldn’t do magic, too? Too bad. Hand the girl over.”

“N-no. This is my daughter.”

   The stranger chuckled. “Really, now? Then why does she have the pirate king’s markings and you don’t?”

   Ethari did a double take. “What?”

“Come on. Did you think that I would be that foolish?”

“I have the markings too.”

   Ethari bared his arms, showing off the faintly-glowing markings. The human gasped quietly, a noise that Ethari barely heard, even with his sensitive hearing. The human shook their head. 

“Unfortunately, my client told me the girl, and the girl only. If you won’t cooperate, we’ll take her by force.”

   Ethari’s heart stopped. “We?”

   The human looked at him, eyes glinting electric blue in the shaded darkness of the alley. “Yes, we. Who do you think was the first alerter to your presence? The people who were peddlers in the so-called ‘streetway’? We were all waiting for you, and you walked straight into our traps.”

   The figure held their hand out. “Now, hand her over.”

   Ethari bristled. “No! How dare you! We have not done a single thing to you or your city!”

“Very well then, we’ll do it the fun way. Suit yourself.”

   Men began to surround the way the two came from. Ethari glanced back to see men cover the other way out of the alley. He raised his arms into a guard position, poised to fight. Rayla cowered beside him, trembling in fear. 

   The human raised their arms and stood there, static, unmoving. Ethari waited, breath held, ready for their first word. The human exhaled, and Ethari tensed. The slightest word fell from their lips. “Move.” And the men came from all sides. Ethari fell under a flurry of punches and kicks. He was strong, as he was a pirate and a former blacksmith, but even then, he could not fight against so many assailants unarmed. Pain flared from every point of contact, and Ethari cried out in pain whenever someone hit him in an extremely painful spot. His sight began to flicker, and with one last burst of strength, he reached out to his daughter, miraculously untouched other than a few jostles here and there. Rayla grabbed his hand one last time, and his mind went dark. His limp body fell to the floor, unmoving. Rayla shrieked in fear, concern, and sadness. “Papa!?” Hands grabbed her from all angles. She fought with them, desperation leaking into her features. A sharp tang assaulted her nostrils, and within a few seconds, she had followed her father into the realms of unrestful rest. 

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

   Ethari awoke to sharp pain all over his body and the concerned face of his husband. He hazily sat up, much to Runaan’s relief. “Oh my Xadia! Are you okay?” He drowsily smiled at his husband. He slurred, “Sure. I ‘eel fine. ‘ere’s ‘Ayla?” He looked around in confusion. “Yeah, that was my next question too. Where’s Rayla?” With those words, his anxiety skyrocketed. He shook himself out of his daze with a predatorial growl. “That little bastard- I’m gonna’ put ‘im in a barrel-” Ethari muttered, eyes taking on a deadly shade of anger. Runaan, confused, inquired, “What do you mean? Who are you talking about?” Ethari looked up at his concerned partner, and with a deep undertone of outrage at the hooded human, retold his story to Runaan. As the story went on, Runaan began to growl himself, and by the end of the tale, was already on his feet. “And that’s it? He’s just.. Gone? You let him?” Incredulity filled his tone and Ethari hissed in annoyance. “You blockhead. I just said that I tried my best to fight back! There were too many-” 

“You still let him!”

“I tried my best!”

“It wasn’t enough!”

“I couldn’t do anything!” 

“Rayla’s gone!” Ethari snapped his mouth closed. “She’s gone, Ethari. And it’s all your fault.”

Rage clouded his husband’s features. The face he had grown to love, to cherish, to care for with all his heart- Tears welled up under his eyelids, threatening to spill out onto the ground below. He turned around, sobbing, and ran in the direction he had entered. Tears altered his vision. His ears heard nothing but the echoes of “It’s all your fault.” His mind, usually full of words and thoughts, was silent, as if punishing him for his failure. “It’s all your fault.”

“It’s all your fault.”

“She’s gone….And it’s all your fault.”

#tdp #pirate!au #thenerdyalchemist #fanfic #inspired work #writing #the dragon prince #thedragonprinceofficial

[bensakindofmagic]

Chapter Eight

Warnings: swears, smoking (which is real bad kiddos, but I couldn’t help it, it looks so sexy)

A/N: we’re back to some good ol’ fashioned ben content here folks, and it’s all unrequited fluff (that is a term i have coined, feel free to use it, i think it’s perfect).

w/c: 3.5k+

Chapter Eight

The next week went by in a blur. You were filming the Japan tour, which made you hellishly busy. Having so many extras in one room, along with all the lights and sound tech, kept you on your toes constantly. You hung out with the guys when you could but often you were called away the second you sat down. You would always groan and roll your eyes exaggeratedly, but part of you was glad for the work. It kept your mind off everything. Ending things with Matteo, even though they had been so short-lived, weighed heavily on you.  It brought all the memories of the first time tumbling back in like a crack in a dam, and the effort of not getting sucked under the waves was exhausting. On top of it all, the lack of any possibility with Matty sent your mind reeling back to Ben, and it didn’t help that he looked so fucking good in the costume. That white, fringed waistcoat had you all but drooling, and kept finding yourself staring at the necklaces that fell against his chest, bouncing softly with the rhythm of his drumming. After all the emotional turmoil of the last week you were exactly where you started, with an inappropriate crush on a colleague, only now you had the trauma of a past heartbreak woven in. Great. 

On the plus side, Josh seemed to finally be getting the hint and leaving you alone to do your job, even if he was a little sulky with you.

“Y/N, can you come help us for a second,” you heard Joe call, as they waited around for Rami to sort something out with Polly. 

“What d'you need?” you asked when you reached them. 

“We have a very important question we need your considerable expertise to answer,” he continued.

“Does this top make me look more like a dove or an albatross?” Gwil asked with absolute solemnity. You had to smile to yourself at their blatant efforts to spend time with you.

“Oh, for sure an albatross, you’re far to big to be a dove,” you confirmed, mimicking his tone. Joe gave a triumphant, “I knew it.” 

“But I’m so graceful! Albatrosses are such lanky things,” he pouted.

“Um, I believe the plural is albatroi,” Joe teased with mock snobbishness.

You smirked, ignoring him and turned to Gwil, “I think they’ve very majestic. Just because something is big it doesn’t make it less beautiful,” you cooed, standing up on your tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. You turned to leave but as you did Joe moaned, “Where are you going?” 

Before you could respond with a sarcastic, “To do my job”, he complained, “We’ve barely seen you this week, we miss you, Y/N.” 

Ben piped up for the first time, “Are you really so busy that you can’t have a conversation with us?”

You felt guilt washing over you as you met their eyes, the three of them looking at you like abandoned puppies, desperate for attention. 

“I’m sorry guys, I’ve just had a lot on my plate the past few days.”

“Exactly, that’s why you should be hanging out with us, your friends, to take your mind off it all.”

“It’s not like I don’t have any work to do,” you defended. 

“Not in the evenings! You keep blowing us off.” 

“Next time, I promise.” 

“Tonight, my place,” Ben said assuredly, like he wouldn’t take no for an answer. For a moment you were distracted by a trickle of sweat running down the hollow where his collarbones met. “I live not far from here, we can get in some beers and snacks, have a chill one. Most of us don’t have to be in tomorrow.” Only Rami was due on set the next day.

You nodded, knowing full well that there would be no getting out of it even if you wanted to, but the thought of spending a night with the boys was actually quite a comfort. I would be good to relax and let loose a bit, have some fun.

“Okay, tonight.” 

Nervous energy infected Ben for the rest of the day. He was exited to spend time with you again, especially outside of work. You’d been distant, and he missed your tenacity, your unbridled excitement to work, to be part of the family that was celebrating something so wonderful. He missed the way you had always showed up to work grinning, infecting the rest of them with your enthusiasm. As much as it pained him to see you so deflated, he couldn’t deny his relief when you’d told them about breaking things off with Matteo. It made him finally realise that he had to do something about his feelings for you, even if you rejected him; he couldn’t keep pining after you, wishing something would happen between you but never trying to make that a reality. He couldn’t risk seeing you with someone else again, at least not without telling you how he felt. If you met someone else and he lost his chance he’d never forgive himself. 

As he let you all into his apartment he thanked God that he’d recently cleaned. Lucy had been invited along too, and arrived soon after you guys got there from set. She’d only done a few days with everyone but she was already fitting effortlessly into the group. And you could see they way she and Rami looked at each other, even if they couldn’t yet. You looked around Ben’s place, a little nervous at the intimacy of it — being in his home, his private space. The front door opened to an open-plan living room and kitchen with a large island separating them, and a couple of sofas clustered round the TV. The corridor led to two other others rooms, you presumed the master bedroom and a guest room, and the bathroom. The decor was minimalistic, mostly white and grey with some bright green notes from a couple of houseplants, but there was a ruggedness to it, like a layer of venire was hiding something more unkempt. It looked like him. 

You noticed a couple of dog bowls in the corner of the kitchen. “You didn’t tell me you have a dog!” you squealed. 

“Yeah Frankie, she’s a beagle. My parents are looking after her while I’m filming.” He showed you a picture of him with a very young looking puppy laying in his arms. He seemed so soft in his hoodie with his tousled hair, as he looked down at the little pup, holding one of her paws affectionally between his fingers. What a precious dad. 

“That’s adorable.” You were talking about Frankie, of course. Ben didn’t need to know that you really meant him. 

“Who wants a cold beer?” he called, taking cans out of the fridge and restocking it with the ones you had bought on the way there. The chucked one to you, which you caught and tapped the top to get rid of the bubbles. While the others opened their drinks and made themselves comfortable on the sofas, you instinctively went to the cupboards to help. 

“You can sit down, you know,” Ben said, glancing you over his shoulder. 

“I know,” you shrugged, “Where do you keep your bowls?”

He motioned to a cupboard and you got a couple out to serve the snacks in. 

“I thought I was supposed to be hosting.” 

“Everyone can use an extra pair of hands,” you smiled, popping a peanut into your mouth. 

“Chuck me one of those,” he said, so you did. He tried to catch it in his mouth but it hit his chin and bounced onto the floor. You giggled, “Here, try agin.” The second time he caught it and grinned widely, “Nailed it.” 

“Dream team.”

You started to make your way over to the others, hands full with snacks.

“Bring my beer with you when you sit down, will you?”

“Yes ma’am,” he replied. 

You were sat on the floor beside Ben’s legs due to the lack of sofa space. You didn’t mind, Rami and Lucy were curled up together on the smaller sofa (apparently they did know it, because they could barely keep their hands off each other), Gwil was on the armchair, and Joe and Ben were on the bigger sofa. You could have squeezed on but you were more comfortable on the floor, your legs curled up to your side, leaning ever so slightly against Ben’s calf.

“Okay, so who would win in a fight between Freddie and Lady Gaga?” joked Joe.

“Excuse me, why on earth would they be fighting?” you interjected with incredulity.

“Hypothetically,” he said rolling eye eyes emphatically.

“Hypothetically, they would hug and fangirl over each other and probably sing a beautiful duet in perfect harmony.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he relented.

“I’ve got one,” you said, shifting your weight, “who would win in a fight between John Deacon and Eugene Sledge?”

“Ooph, that’s a tough one,” Joe hesitated.

“Sledge, surely,” Ben reasoned, “he’s a trained marine.”

“Yeah but Deacy is scrappy, I think he could hold his own,” you hummed. 

“Okay, what about Angel versus Roger,” Joe offered.

Ben grunted, “That’s not fair, Angel has superpower wings.”

“Rog v. Walter?” you suggested.

Gwil roused from his sleepy silence, “Who’s Walter?” 

“From Woman in White.”

“You watched that?” Ben muttered, looking down at you with mild astonishment.

“Mmm,” you hummed affirmatively. “You look good in period costume. I particularly love the sideburns,” you joked. 

“Oh fuck off,” he nudged your arm with his knee. You giggled, but the image of Ben in those baggy white linen shirts lingered in your mind’s eye.

“Gwil, wake up,” Joe scolded, throwing a bottle top at the welshman. It hit him in the face and he jolted upright. “Sorry, the beer’s making me drowsy.”

“Let’s put some music on,” you proposed, and Ben motioned to his speaker, inviting you to play something.

You played Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol, and instantly started to sway your hips to the drum beat, letting the rhythm travel up your body once the guitar came in. 

“Excellent choice Y/N,” Joe praised, tapping his foot appreciatively. 

True to the lyrics, you danced around the middle of the room, kicking your feet and unapologetically enjoying yourself. Before long Rami and Lucy got up too, and shimmied around together, laughing adorably as they tried not to step on each other’s feet. 

You glanced at Ben, only to see he was already watching you. You beamed, shaking your hair out and you pointed at him, “Get up here, Hardy.” He shook his head with a laugh, but you weren’t having it. The beers had loosened your inhibitions and you wanted to dance with him, so that’s what you were going to do. You leant down, still swinging your hips and grabbed his hand, taking his beer and putting it on the table. You pulled him to his feet and purred, “Dance with me.”

“I’m a terrible dancer,” he whined, but you didn’t care. You pulled his body close to yours and let your hips loose. You ran your hands through your hair, letting hang down over your shoulders, and bopped your head to the beat. Shimmying round in circles, and pulling Ben along with you when he got too static, you laughed and smiled, letting your heart soar for the first time in weeks. 

“You look happy,” Ben murmured. 

You smiled, “You said that’s what I deserve, right? Someone who makes me happy?”

“Right,” a wistful smiled pulled at his mouth. Bright green met your eyes and confidence seemed to flash there as he said, “Who made you this happy?”

A grin split your face, and you tugged at your lip with your teeth. “Me,” you beamed and rushed to  play Good as Hell by Lizzo. That song was exactly what you needed, and you belted along, tossing your hair and grinding your hips unashamedly. You watched Ben over your shoulder and smirked at the look of awe and hunger painted over his features. Seducing him would of course be a terrible idea, and you definitely weren’t trying to, but you couldn’t help but shimmy a little harder when you saw him watching. In the end though you were dancing for yourself.

When the song ended you were sweating and decided you needed some air. 

“I’ve got a balcony, here I’ll come with you,” Ben said after you had inquired.

You followed him, grabbing your beer as you went. You shut the door behind you and sucked in the cool November air. It was crisp, a welcome refresher. You took a sip of your drink and watched as Ben pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket. He slipped one into his mouth and, raising an eyebrow to you, offered you one. 

You nodded, “Cheers,” and leaned in towards the lighter he held up. Puffing lightly, you watched the flame dance in the moonlight. With the cigarette lit you inhaled deeply, letting the tobacco burn your throat a little and the nicotine make you lightheaded. 

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Ben mused as lit his. The way he sucked in his cheeks, the cigarette dangling from his lips, had you all but dripping with desire. 

“I don’t,” you responded, “But I went to uni.”

He nodded, understanding the implication, “I’m trying to cut down. Smoking kills and all that.”

You simpered, “It just looks so damn sexy though.”

“Right?” he chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his throat. He raised his hand to his mouth to inhale, lifting his chin and extending his bottom lip as he did. Your eyes skimmed over the veins in his hand, protruding like a Renaissance sculpture. You licked your lips and took a drag.

“So tell me Benjamin, how’s it going with this crush of yours?” you pried, “You know, you still haven’t told me who she is. Assuming it is a she, of course.” 

He scoffed and shook his head, “It’s a she.” 

“You laugh but it could very easily have been Joe,” you giggled. Ben just took another drag, and looked out over the city below.

You persisted, “The fact that you haven’t told me who she is makes me think I must know her.”

Still he refused to look at you, so you nudged him with your elbow. 

“You could say that,” he mumbled. Triumph and envy swelled in you in equal measure. “I’m still not telling you who she is.”

“You told her how you feel yet?” He shook his head, dejected.

“What are you waiting for?” you asked with genuine curiosity.

“A sign she likes me back.”

“Ben, how could she not? Have you looked at yourself lately?” you said, incredulous. He gave a bitter laugh. “I mean it Ben, seriously. You’re kind, and smart, and passionate. I’ve seen your capacity for love, I can see it in your face when you talk about her, and she would be so lucky to be loved by you. Whoever she is.”

Smoking the last of your cigarette in silence, you looked up at the cloudless night sky, and admired the stars. You shivered as the bitter chill infected your skin.

“You cold?” 

“It’s my own fault,” you shook your head, “I should have brought a jacket.” He unzipped his hoodie and shrugged it off, offering it to you. You took it gratefully and hugged it around your body, letting the heat still held in the fabric from Ben’s body envelop you. He rubbed his hands up and down your arms to warm you further, his biceps tightening where they emerged from the sleeves of his tshirt, and the veins in his forearms swelling. 

You hummed, “Thanks,” and met his eyes. They glistened, pupils blown in the dark, streetlights reflecting like constellations. There was something twinkling in them, something tender and inviting; you wanted to swim in them.

“You’ve got goosebumps,” you breathed, looking from his bare flesh to his face through your lashes.

“I’m okay,” he murmured. Little you knew, the bumps on his skin were as much from the cold as his proximity to you and the way you looked at him.

You unwrapped the jumper from around you and took a step towards him, leading his arms to wrap around your waist and then pulled it closed behind him. He shivered infinitesimally from your heat. Every inch of your torso was pressed against his, muscular arms pulling you so tight, but still you didn’t feel close enough. You let your head rest against his chest, feeling it rise and fall with his deep, steady breaths. You inhaled the scent of him, natural and elemental, like a forest after rain. It was a forest you wanted to get lost in. A contented hum resounded somewhere deep in your chest and the vibrations of your body syncopated with his. Your eyes drifted shut and you succumbed to him, allowing him to infuse into your senses.

“You know,” he cooed, you could hear the smile in his voice, “We could go inside.”

“Not yet.”

You stayed like that for a little while, indulging your desire for intimacy, until the chill penetrated and you shivered. You followed Ben back inside, and when you offered him his jumper back he declined, saying, “Keep it on, it looks good on you.”

Your cheeks flushed discreetly. He took his seat on the sofa and you settled yourself beside him, squeezing into the gap between him and Joe.

“What have you lot been gossiping about then?” you said as you tucked your legs beneath you. 

“That guy Josh who kept hitting on you,” Rami explained. 

“That must have been horrible, Y/N,” Lucy gushed sympathetically. 

“It’s okay, I think he got the message eventually.”

“How come you said no? Just cause you work together?” Gwil questioned. 

You shrugged, “I mean I wasn’t attracted to him, but working together basically put paid to it from the start.”

“Would you ever break the rule?” Joe asked.

You had to stop yourself from glancing at Ben, but the urge was instinctive. “If had an absolute guarantee that it wouldn’t come back to bite me then sure, but no one can guarantee that.”

“What do you mean, ‘come back to bite you’?”

“Say I slept with you Joe,” you ignored his self-satisfied smirk, “and maybe one of us developed feelings for the other, or it got awkward between us, or we fell out, that could cost me my job and my reputation.”

“Oh come on, you wouldn’t get fired for hurt feelings,” he scoffed. 

“No Joe, you wouldn’t get fired for hurt feelings, I very much could. I’m expendable. If you kicked off and it damaged the on-set environment, the easiest way to solve that problem is to remove one of us, and it sure as hell won’t be you that gets sacked.”

The guys seemed shocked: they had clearly never thought of it from the perspective of those on the other side of the camera.

“Surely they wouldn’t just fire you though?” Gwil reasoned. 

You scoffed, “Producers like quick, easy solutions. Firing me and hiring one of the hundreds of people who would cut off their arm for this job is quick and easy. Believe me, they would.”

“You’re not expendable, Y/N,” Ben asserted. You opened your mouth to retaliate, but he cut you off, “You’re amazing at your job, I’ve never felt so at home on set and that’s down to you. You understand people, you know how to get the best out of everyone. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film collapsed without you.”

You smiled bashfully, a little embarrassed but warmed by his words. “Thanks, Ben,” you breathed.

“Okay, so if there was one person you’d break the rule for, who would it be?” Joe pressed. 

Ben’s name danced on your tongue. “Oh Hardy, for sure,” you smirked at the look on Joe’s face, “Tom, that is.” 

“Tom Hardy?” 

“Yeah, I’m really into the whole rugged bad boy thing,” you grinned. You looked pointedly at Ben who ran his tongue over his teeth under pursed lips.

You chatted aimlessly for a while, until Rami and Lucy made their excuses as they both had to be on set the next day. The scene featured just the two of them and only required a limited crew, so you’d been allowed the day off. However, you, Ben, Gwil, and Joe stayed up for hours, talking about everything and nothing. Despite the extra space you stayed curled up with Ben, at one point you laid your legs horizontally over his, and his hand rested easily just below your knee. You were vaguely aware of Joe and Gwil eyeing the effortless propinquity between you, but you didn’t care. A welcome, carefree contentedness had settled in you, and for the first time since Ben had tumbled drunk into your trailer so long ago you let yourself feel the way you did, and it set you free. Your feelings for Ben weren’t going to disappear straight away, so until they did you would just have to feel them, along with the inevitable longing that accompanied them when you reminded yourself that you couldn’t have him. But eventually they would pass, and you would move on.

tags: @anikatcmh @queen-turtle-boiii @orchideax @rogerspoison @my5secondsofneverland @mrsmazzello @ixchel-9275 @radiob-l-a-hblah @devin-marie  @luvborhap @mercurycrowley @spaghetittiesbcimgay @valeriecarolinaw @saint-hardy @caborhapch @stephanie-everlasting @coldmuffinpartycloud @drowse13 

(let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!)

#kind of magic series #ben hardy #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy fanfiction #roger taylor #bohemian rhapsody #borhap #bohemian rapsody movie #bohemian rhapsody fan fiction #queen #joe mazzello #gwilym lee #rami malek #lucy boynton #fluff #friends to lovers

[artificialqueens]

Underneath The Mistletoe, Part 3 (Bianca/???) - Albatross

AN: short chapter but the next one is the final installment and will be a lot longer!

Saying their goodbyes to one another a short time later, Bianca hurried back to her car to call Willam with her updates.

“It’s not Dela and definitely not Manila,” she stated with a short huff of annoyance.

A snort of laughter quickly echoed through the phone’s mic. Rolling her eyes, Bianca waited out the storm until Willam regained control of herself, or at least enough that she was able to ask, “How’d you find out?”

“Texted Dela,” Bianca replied simply as she set her phone on speaker mode and began to drive home. Once she was clear of the driveway, she added, “She took Jinkx home a little bit after 2. Couldn’t have been her. You made out with Jinkx, by the way. Dela saw it.”

“Yeah,” Willam drawled out, sounding a little pleased with herself, “Sounds right. Jinkx had been trying that all night.” There was a short pause, probably reminiscing, Bianca realized, but then she heard Willam inquiring, “What about ‘Nila?”

Bianca stayed quiet for a few moments, debating if she really ought to tell Willam about this but ultimately, she decided, it didn’t really matter. Willam would probably find out from the couple at some point anyways. So, keeping most of the details to herself, she replied back, “I stopped by their house to drop off gifts. Ended up kissing her before I left. Definitely wasn’t her at the party.”

Immediately a loud, echoing burst of laughter filled her car as though Willam were right there with her. Bianca had thought it would die out soon enough but she was dead wrong. Almost half of her drive home was spent listening to an unending seal-like laugh coming from someone she was questioning for the upteenth time, why they were friends. In the end, Bianca’s self-conscious irritation, especially with Willam cackling out “I gotta tell Adore!”, got the better of her and she abruptly ended the call to stew in silence.

Upon arriving back home, she found her notification light flashing away as if to continually mock her. Of course it was only because of Willam. Bianca was inclined to ignore it but it seems Willam did have something of potential use to share about another party guest and potential suspect:

W:😂😂😂😂

W: daaaaamn!!!

W: but you do you

W: btw i was looking through trixie and katyas posts. trix had waaay too much to drink. 

W: she was making less sense than katya!!! 

W: god she’s a mess. i love her

W: but talk to trix

Interesting. 

Bianca thanked her for the information and made a mental note to follow up on it if nothing panned out with Phi Phi. After Manila, Phi Phi seemed to be the next most likely. She was there alone that night, as far as Bianca remembered, and it wouldn’t be the first time they’d gotten a little too close while drunk. Usually it only involved Phi Phi hanging off her or burying her face into Bianca’s neck before being interrupted by a roar of laughter. But it wouldn’t take much of a stretch, especially if both of them were drunk off their asses, for Bianca to picture herself kissing Phi Phi. That stupid mistletoe was probably just the right catalyst they both would need in order to cross that last remaining line.

Deciding that Phi Phi seemed even more like a viable suspect than before, Bianca could hardly wait for their dinner date. They had decided on Thursday night, the last free night Phi Phi had before flying out the next day. She hadn’t been thrilled giving up that chance for a good night’s rest before rushing off to the airport in the morning, but for Bianca…well, Phi Phi always made some extra allowances, Bianca had noticed. After all, Bianca knew she could be difficult to book for a casual hangout most of the year anyway; she preferred to keep herself busy and last minute offers or even inviting her out a week or two in advance would often yield no results.

It was almost a miracle this year that both women happened to be free at the same time, especially so close to the holiday itself. And each snatched up the opportunity to meet up without another thought. Now all Bianca had left to do was find out just what Phi Phi remembered from that night.

*******

Raja: Ladies!

Raja: Do we have a story to tell you.

Willam: go on, girl. I got something even better to share after you

Raja: Just steal my damn spotlight, huh?

Raja: Fine. So Bianca came over and-

*******

The night of their dinner date was pretty relaxing, all things considered. Though the restaurant was a tad crowded, it was nothing overwhelming and the women had no trouble tuning everyone else out. They caught each other up on recent events and ordered drink after drink to accompany their meals. If the service was slow, neither really noticed, preferring instead to just focus on each other. Come the end of it, both women were laughing away about anything that came to mind as they walked back to their cars. Bianca handed over her gift first, something she had taken a chance on in the hopes that it would work out.

Back in the spring, she and Phi Phi had been hanging out with a couple of other friends. At some point in the conversation, Phi Phi’s eyes lit up as revealed that some new game was announced to be released for one of her favorite series. Bianca, and a few others, rolled their eyes at the announcement, but Phi Phi was as excited as ever as she described (in a bit too much detail, in Bianca’s opinion) why the series was so incredible. She spouted out every hope and theory she had for this new installment based on the limited information in the trailer.

Bianca distinctly remembered telling her, “Girl, you are almost 30, why are you still playing those things? Just drink like the rest of us.”

But Phi Phi emphatically defended her choice. Even then, Bianca was a little amused by the passion she had for both this series and other games as well. A few others made a comment or two and then the conversation shifted once again to something else. A movie or something, Bianca thought, but that game that Phi Phi mentioned stuck with her for some reason.

That same night Bianca tried watching the trailer but admittedly nothing really stuck out to her about it. It had that fantasy element that Phi Phi adored combined with the fighting aspect that she seemed reasonably good at. Other than that, nothing spoke to Bianca the same way it obviously did to Phi Phi. She did notice a few things listed in the trailer that were of interest; the release date was still months away but pre-ordering was already in full-swing. She had no doubt Phi Phi already gave the gaming company her money but there were a few offers otherwise for a variety of merch items. Everything from blankets to water bottles, they stuck either a logo or character from the series on anything that could be printed with a design.

But one of the characters did stick out to her…she’d seen it often enough in Phi Phi’s apartment in the form of little dolls, plushies, and even her phone case. There was no denying that this was probably Phi Phi’s favorite character, not just of the series, but in general. And this one seemed to be popular with a number of others as well; many items had the red “Out of Stock’ warning that Bianca felt she’d seen all too often while shopping for herself.

There was one figurine however, that really stuck out. It was an alternative outfit design than what was depicted on almost every other piece of merchandise and of course, was out of stock to boot. But in all the times Bianca had been around Phi Phi’s apartment, she didn’t remember seeing that particular figure anywhere. And when she looked at the price on the website it wasn’t hard to imagine why. She nearly choked on her drink as she saw what the cost was normally. No doubt since it was unavailable through the game’s official site that the price had now skyrocketed.

But it didn’t take a genius to know that Phi Phi probably wanted that figure more than anything. Likely she was waiting and hoping that it becomes available somewhere, perhaps even on the game’s site itself, and she can snatch it up without it costing an arm and a leg. And just in seeing that figurine, Bianca knew what gift she wanted to give Phi Phi for the holidays. She scoured the internet, hoping to find a decent price and kept herself updated whenever a new listing would be added. Finally after a month or so, an ad came out on Craigslist and within a few minutes Bianca was contacting the seller and exchanging shipping information.

The amount she paid meant nothing, hell, she’d even pay triple now, just for that look of absolute joy on Phi Phi’s face. It was even more stunning than Manila after receiving her bracelet back. A wide toothy grin broke out and even her attempts at hiding it did nothing to dull the happiness exuding from her very being. She immediately engulfed Bianca in a tight hug and refused to let go until she had said ‘Thank you’ at least a hundred times.

An unknown tension released itself from Bianca’s shoulders as she returned the gesture and let Phi Phi cling to her for a few moments longer. When she finally pulled away, she looked like she was dying to say more but bit it back in order to shakily hand over her own gift to Bianca. Her eyes drifted to the ground more than once as Bianca tore back the paper. Once it was finally free, a jewelry box was left staring back at her and her heartbeat picked up as she opened the top.

Inside was a beautiful pair of stud earrings. Sapphires so blue they almost looked black in the dark of night and cut into an oval shape set in sterling silver. Surrounding the sapphires were a ring of amethysts and on the posts themselves, small diamond chips extending down the short length. The design was incredible…and quite familiar.

As if sensing her thoughts, Phi Phi mentioned with a hint of nerves, “Yeah, when we were at the mall that one time, I saw you looking at them for awhile. You didn’t say anything but…”

“Thank you!”

Bianca truly couldn’t find the right words to express how much she loved her gift. She’d honestly forgotten about these earrings until now. She had intended to go back another day to pick them up but life just always got in the way. She always found herself too busy to get back to the mall or on the rare instances when she was there, she’d completely forget about heading into the store. 

But Phi Phi didn’t forget. 

She had recognized the interest Bianca took in those earrings and had gone back for them. That meant more to her than words could ever express.

Closing the box, Bianca stepped forward until there were only a few inches of space left between. She had just enough time to see Phi Phi swallow back a nervous gulp before their lips were pressed together and a pair of hands were resting firmly on her hips. Her own free hand found its way to Phi Phi’s face, tucking back the loose waves behind her ear, before cupping her cheek and letting their lips glide against each other until it came time to part.

Though this still wasn’t the kiss she was looking for, Bianca almost wished it was.

There was something there…something that she hadn’t felt in any of the other kisses. That tiny little spark was present but there was nothing calming about this kiss. It left her nerves on edge…like they’d been thoroughly fried by a sudden jolt of electricity…

Even Phi Phi didn’t seem too certain of what to say. Her eyes looked a bit dazed and an almost goofy looking smile rested on her lips. It took a few seconds for her to find her way back to reality, only then did she dare let out a nervous laugh, “Wow…really liked those earrings, huh?”

“I do,” Bianca assured her, taking a step back so they both could get some breathing room. “I really do. Thank you.”

“No problem,” came the vaguely distracted response. It seemed like the conversation would end there, that they’d part ways to each bang their heads on their steering wheels before driving home but Phi Phi dared to make one final inquiry before Bianca slipped away. “Hey…when I come back, after the holidays, I mean…do you wanna meet up again? Just us, like we did tonight?”

Finding herself relieved at the proposal, Bianca confirmed, “I’d love that…Pick a date and I’ll make it work, promise.”

With that understanding, the women said their goodbyes and returned home. Before falling into bed, Bianca texted Willam a quick update.

B: Not Phi.

W: what? kiss her too?

B: Yes

W: gross

W: lol

B: She was better than you.

Bianca let out a soft laugh as her phone became flooded with message alerts. Ignoring them for the time being, Bianca instead let her mind wander to her dwindling suspect list. Though that kiss with Phi Phi was a nice turn of events, she certainly wasn’t the same person she’d kiss beneath the mistletoe. Thinking back on it again, Bianca was sure there was another detail she remembered but just couldn’t pick out what it was. Something familiar…

But she didn’t dwell on that for long before realizing she now only had two names left (if she ignored Willam’s earlier suggestion of certain person, and of course, she would). 

Trixie and Shangela…Well…Willam did mention that it looked like Trixie had been drinking a bit that night…perhaps it really was her, after all.

But would she remember anything if they had?

Maybe Katya knows something…it certainly seemed like she was posting a lot of her roommate that night…but then again, when isn’t she? About half of Katya’s posts on any platform are of the various tactics she uses to annoy her roommate. Hell, it was a wonder that Trixie hadn’t killed her by now. 

Mmm…she still had yet to deliver their gifts…perhaps a visit this weekend is in order? 

Bianca was dead certain that if either of them knew something, she’d find out before too long. After all, they both turn into quite the chatterboxes when placed together and neither was above spilling secrets if the right buttons were pushed. Or…with a little luck….all she might need is just a bit of alcohol and some encouragement and off those two would be recounting the party and everything they remember…

*****

The next morning Bianca awoke to no less than 23 messages from Willam revolving around her kiss with Phi Phi. A few were demanding to know why Phi Phi was better, some even accusing her of lying and then finally it just devolved into sulking and name calling, ending with a simple text of ‘hateful old cunt.’

Sending back a short series emojis to further taunt Willam, Bianca let the conversation die with that and moved on to her next person of interest. She sent a quick inquiry to Katya to see if both she and her roommate would both be at home tonight, or failing that, when they’d be together so she could drop off their gifts.

A flurry of emojis flashed across her screen less than half an hour later and somewhere mixed in with all of that and a few nonsensical words (thank you button-mashing), Bianca learned that Sunday night they’d both be in for a ‘quiet’ evening together. With that understanding, Bianca sent a confirmation that she’d be over for a quick visit while out dropping off gifts for them and a few other friends she’d not yet seen. 

******

Later that week, the group chat came alive once more and immediately Willam tuned in to see what was developing. Things had been silent for awhile but now it seems Bianca was back in action and one of the other girls had news.

Trixie: You were right Willam.

Willam: i always am

Willam: about what this time?

Trixie: B’s coming over tomorrow. Katya just told me. At least i think that’s what her text said

Sharon: Does she know?

Trixie: Katya?

Trixie: No, I haven’t told her if that’s what you’re asking. But I know someone told Adore.

Trixie: Willam

Sharon: Willam

Vanessa: Willam

Jinkx: Willam

Willam: what? it was funny!

Mariah: She better not ruin this for us.

Willam: she won’t. as long as i keep her updated. that was our deal.

Willam: she’s having just as much fun as we are

Mariah: If you say so. No one told Phi Phi, right?

Sharon: I haven’t heard anything since Willam told us. 

Sharon: Pissed off at her. Why wouldn’t she tell me? You sure it actually happened Willam?

Willam: trust me, bitch. it happened.

Sharon: Bitch.

A few further texts of name calling were exchanged before the conversation reverted back to Trixie. She had precious little information to go on but anything she knew, she gladly shared with the group. By the time the conversation faded out for the evening, Willam was dying to know what would happen. She was certain that something huge was gonna go down Sunday night. But just what, she could only guess.

#rpdr fanfiction #albatross #lesbian au #underneath the mistletoe #bianca del rio #laganja estranja #willam belli #bendelacreme #alyssa edwards #alaska thunderfuck #phi phi o'hara #raja gemini #manila luzon #adore delano #shangela laquifa wadley #katya zamolodchikova #trixie mattel #fluff #mystery #drinking #submission

[tmorriscode]

Official Weasley

(Charlie Weasley x fem!MC)

Summary: Molly Weasley is nobody’s fool.

A/N: set in the same continuity as the rest of my imagines, but you don’t need to read them to follow this. Woo continuity! But if you want to, the masterpost is here. 

—

“We might have to make you an official Weasley” - Charlie Weasley, Hogwarts Mystery

1. The first time Molly Weasley sees you, she knows something isn’t right. You’re an eleven year old girl, alone in a train station, struggling to get your luggage onto a cart and looking lost. (In eight years, she’ll have the same thought about another solitary lost child.)

But then you spot the Khanna girl and wave. The Khanna family helps get you sorted, so Molly puts you from her mind.

2. During Bill’s fourth year, he fails to make it home with his old jumper. Usually when he outgrows them, Molly will recycle the wool to make a new garment for one of the littler children, so she asks him what happened.

“I gave it to a girl at school.” Bill shrugs.

Molly sighs. Wool is expensive, and she puts a lot of time into those jumpers. Too much for her boys to be giving them away to a girlfriend.

“(Y/N)’s a good friend of Bill’s.” Charlie speaks up before Molly can work herself into a lecture. “Her brother is missing.”

“She’s like a little sister, Mum.” Bill nods.

That’s when Molly remembers the articles in The Prophet about your brother, the mad, missing (Y/L/N) boy. Her heart goes out to you. If one of Bill’s worn out old sweaters gave you some comfort, then she supposes that’s alright.

3. Molly next sees you in a picture in Charlie’s tent at the dragon reserve. It’s his first Christmas at his new job, and she and Arthur brought Ginny to make sure he was settling in, (and if the job was safe).

“That’s (Y/N). Remember her?” Charlie says. “She’s a good friend to me and Bill. She’s working in Greece as an apprentice curse-breaker.”

Molly looks at the photo, and remembers the lost-looking, coltish girl from the train station. You seem to have grown into yourself, even if you look like you could stand to have a meal or two. Under the Aegean sky, you look impossibly tan with sun bleached hair and a shell necklace at your throat.

You’re smiling and waving in the photo, the Parthenon in the background. But there is a moment when the moving image thinks no one is looking that it seems troubled. Molly wonders why. Then Ginny calls that she’s going to have a closer look at the Ironbellies, and Molly forgets about you in her rush to stop her youngest from giving into the Weasley instinct for trouble.

4. When Charlie comes home from the Quiddich World Cup, he keeps glancing out the window distractedly. Molly is about to ask when Bill pulls her aside to explain. “We were supposed to meet up with old friends from Hogwarts after the World Cup. I think Charlie’s hoping they’ll send a bird to let us know they’re alright.

Molly nods in understanding, but wonders at Bill’s odd word choice.

Until an albatross shows up at the door with a letter that afternoon.

Really? An albatross?

5. “Would you mind if I invite an old friend over for dinner?” Bill asks when he and Fleur bring the baby by.

Molly gives him a funny look at that. Sunday diner is usually reserved for family.

“I ran into (Y/N) in muggle London today,” he explains. “I think her mum took a bad turn. She said she has no idea where her brother and his wife are. Off on some mad adventure, or some such. So she’s dealing with things alone.” He shrugs. “I thought she could use the support.”

Molly looks at Fleur to gauge her reaction. But her daughter-in-law seems unconcerned.

Molly remembers how lost you have always seemed, and agrees. You could stand to have . . . At least a good meal. She’s not sure what else she could offer you.

6. You seem cheerful at dinner, bringing Arthur muggle candy (“Look Molly! They’re printed with tiny W’s!”) and joking with George and Angelina. Apparently you were a prefect in their time at school, and the twins gave you no end of trouble. “Payback for all the headaches I gave my own prefect, I’m sure,” you say.

At one point, Molly moves your haversack from where you left it by the kitchen door to the cat-shaped hook. That’s when she notices the sleeve of one of her knitted jumpers peeking from under the flap.

Surely you haven’t kept Bill’s old jumper all these years? She glances in concern at her oldest.

It’s not in her nature to pry, (OK, maybe it is. But it’s her prerogative to protect her sons from potential brazen harlots who might or might not be trying to tempt them away from their wives. Even if said potential brazen hussey is no competition at all for said wife who is part veela!), but Molly has to know, and so pulls the jumper from the bag.

She’s both relieved and confused to find a C on the chest. What are you doing with one of Charlie’s old jumpers?

She replaces the garment before anyone can see that she’s been snooping.

When she returns to the living room, George is giving you a hard time because you have an albatross instead of an owl.

7. Her “ah-ha moment” comes four Sunday dinners later, when her eternal bachelor, dragon-mad son comes home to visit. (He promised Molly that he would be there at least once a month. Molly promised him that if he wasn’t, she was sending Bill and Ron to drag him back by the ear.)

This time she watches Charlie a little closer. Her patience is rewarded when his shirt shifts a little. He’s wearing a shell necklace that Molly remembers you wearing in a photo under the Aegean sun.

As Charlie is leaving that night, he stops to give Molly a hug. She pulls his ear and says “I expect you to bring (Y/N) round in the future.”

Her second son looks at her in shock.

“Did you think I couldn’t figure it out? Which side of the family do you think you get your devious streak from?”

Charlie turns a violent shade of red while Bill, George and Percy laugh at him.

That Christmas, you get your own jumper.

—

A/N: The muggle candy is of course M&M’s.

A/N 2: MC was also at Dumbledore’s funeral, Bill’s wedding and the Battle Of Hogwarts. But Molly had too many other things on her mind those days to take note of her.

#hogwarts mystery imagine #hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #hphm #molly weasley #bill weasley #charlie weasley

[edenfalling]

[Fic] Random fragments that I will never finish

#liz writes stuff #liz talks about random stuff #fragment #harry potter series #homestuck #daredevil (mcu) #riddlemaster trilogy #fairy tales #all my original fiction (which you can find on dreamwidth) #liz is thinky #decluttering

[overwhclms]

        º◦·✧·◦º  ┊  kj apa,  he /  him  &  cismale  ┊  damn,  look  at  archibald  andrews  this  year !  i  heard  he’s  seventeen and  has  lived  on  the  northside  for  seventeen  years.  also,  his  favorite  milkshake  flavor  is  black  &  white  with  whipped  cream,  chocolate  chips  &  two  straws,  just  in  case  you  wanna  get  in  with  him.  a  free  dessert  goes  a  long  way !

          hi  !!  ok so.  ya’ll KNOW arch,  so instead of going on about him,  i’m just gonna throw in some shit to help a lil w my portrayal  !  winks  .  finger guns  .  enjoy the ride children  .  (  ps  .  plot w me pls  )

post  ! arrest leaves a sad,  vulnerable,  sleep deprived archie.  he’s  SCARED,  in all honesty,,,  scared of what’s to come next,  scared to keep people around  ‘cause he knows he’ll drag them down with him.  he knows the arrest was only the beginning  &  he has no fuckin clue on how to make it stop.  it’s safe to say he’s feeling waves of  PARANOIA  &  ANXIETY,  but he’ll supress it literally as much as he can.  he’s getting back into writing music,  tho,  so hopefully that helps  ?

like i said,  archie is  HELLA  sleep deprived these days.  he’s kept up late w pressing thoughts  /  stress  / anxiety  / paranoia,  &  will literally just sit in bed until he either decides to run it out,  or talk to betty ab it  (  if her light’s on,  ofc  !  )  in this verse,  it’s not odd to find the boy w deep bags under his eyes  /  literally just drifting off in school.  sad.

he broke up with ronnie via the notion that he needs to step back as far away as possible from the lodges.  he still loves /  cares about her so much  &  wants to support her  /  be friends,  but it’s a scary time for him.  he needs to disaffiliate w lodge industries,  &  get back to his roots ! he’ll focus on being her  friend,  &  honestly,  that’s what they  both  need right now.

speaking of roots,  archie has been spending  A  LOT  of time w betty  !  they’re next door neighbors  /  best friends,  so naturally,  he’s going to her with a lot of his fears.  when he can’t sleep at night  ???  he calls her.  when he's tryin not to be alone  ???  he calls her.  various other issues  ??  u guessed it.  all her.  she’s become his literal  girl friday,  &  it’s inevitably making him think about her a ton  ??  while he’s at it,  he’s been pondering their kiss,  &  is allowing himself to recognize the immense feelings he’s had for her.  even tho he  KNOWS  he’ll never be good enough for her,  he’s finally willing to let himself  try  to be.  he doesn’t want to hurt her again,  though,  so he’ll walk on egg shells until she’s ready  !

miscellaneous fun facts  /  late night musings

obviously he’s primarily riverdale based, but as an avid reader of the comics,  i’m inclined to throw some of his personality from those in as well  !  this means arch is  ?  i guess more so in touch w his emotions  ?  like,,,  he  is  in the show,  but in the comics it’s just.  deeper.  i dunno.  he’s an emotional lil boy.  fav comic moment is when he tried to call himself an  albatross  but accidentally said albacore.  tragic.  :(

there’s no single,  widely accepted star sign for him,  so i’ve decided to make my archie a  pisces  !  seeing as i myself am one  &  a lot of the charas i draw inspo from are  (  ie.  ron weasley  ),  i only feel like it’s fitting.  defense:  arch is extremely sensitive  /  emotional.  he has a huge heart,  he’s the ~creative~ type,  he’s idealistic,  loyal,  patient,  genuine  &  hella romantic.  &  finally  ??  the 1985 birthday issue for archie states that his birthday’s is in march  !

in his earlier high school days i think he focuses his relationships a lot on lust rather than love  (  grundy,  val  &  even ronnie to an extent  ).  he’s v quick to say i love you  &  a lot of his relationships are v sexually based.  i think as he grows up tho he’s kinda realizing the importance of like  ? love  > lust.  this does not in the slightest invalidate his relationships  ( besides grundy bc that shit is fucked up.  he was so manipulated  &  it was mentally awful for him.  gross.  ),  i think it’s just the fine line of Who He Was  vs  Who He’s Becoming.  maturity at it’s finest,  my dudes.

archie andrews is an  INCREDIBLY  physical guy  !!  meaning he’s  gonna  hold your hand,  put an arm around you,  hug you,  etc  ...  it’s just a show of him caring  !

while post arrest has him scared  &  trying to back off everything  ...  it’s only a matter of time before arch starts plotting to take down hiram with the rest of the gang.  he just  ... needs some time.  betty needs time.  veronica needs time.  &  jug  ?  he’s  kinda  got his hands full w the serpents,  so  ...  we’ll table that,  for now  ! (  aka:  i’ll explore this more when we finally get a hiram !!  )

#rvr.intro #ooop #i love and adore archibald andrews w my entire heart thx

[jainarepellista]

Tower of God S2ch303 Rough Translations

I need to be up early tomorrow, so I’ll be queuing the translation for this chapter instead. Pretty sure a lot would enjoy this chapter kukuku

(also to all those who message me to say thanks, I do read them but am too lazy to reply one by one. I’m so sorry >.<)

A ludicrous guy

Came to the tower.

From now on.. // I should get serious.

...?!

The core!!

I have to destroy it first!!

??F Hell Train - Power - 02

!!

Rekalecus Second Form

Coelacanth!!

!!

Kuhugh!!

Baam!!

That bastard..!!

Oi!! What're ya staring blankly at!! // You scared of me?!

(Hey, are you not getting off me!?)

Come on!! I will chew off your flesh and turn you into bare bones!!

Ah!! You already are bare bones!! // Then I will use your bones to make a bone soup out of you!!

Bring it on! You good-for-nothing scale, not even good enough for cooking a bone soup!!

This.. asshole..!!

Argh!! I'll erase you!!

!!

Here it comes-!!

Huh...?!

No!!

You'll die if you get reflected in that mirror!!

Stone stone stone stone stone stone!!

Rak & Koon Collab

5 Second Freeze & Petrification

We did it!!

How..!?

Could it be..? // Those two used their shinsoo..!?

Yellow!! Hurry!! // It came into the area!!

Alright-!! // Opening the gate!!

!?

Coelacanth..!!

He pulled out something difficult..

Rekalecus' Second Form // It's thin but its attacks have a wider range // It sends out light in a straight line and then spreads shock waves

Combined with Zahard's shinsoo manipulation techniques, the range and speed of the shockwave are incredibly fast

A needle without its disadvantages, that often can't do anything other than fast but straight-line attacks-

The unstoppable needle..!!

Now, only one core remains.

(Haa-)

(Haa-)

I thought I definitely blocked it but the aftereffects followed right after.

(Haa-)

This is a deep cut.

(Haa-)

Scattering the orb didn't work. // It'll be dangerous if this keeps up. // But it'll be over if he gets the next core-

Here he comes again!!

A shockwave!!

Keuk-!!

(woong-)

(woong-)

(woong-)

(woong-)

(woong-) [T/N just count them plz]

(Baam Style Shinsoo Manipulation Technique)

(Orb Defense Mode)

?

The Blue Oar changed..?

Well, this is a more convenient shape, that's for sure..

You have beautiful wings.

!!

Zahard Style Shinsoo Manipulation Technique

Cosmos

Like a newborn, you change and grow in an instant

I don't know what I am // But you certainly have the talent to reach the outside me. [T/N: dunno if typo but SIU really wrote "what I am" instead of "what you are" >.>] [T/N: Even Naver comments think it's an typo, so personally I would go with Baam not Zahard]

You must've felt it too, right? // That your friends and Yellow have disappeared.

!!

Yellow thinks I don't know, but I'm actually aware that he's up to something.

And if he goes through with his plan, everything will be over. // After all, they will all die with regret.

What..?! // What did you..!!

Well.. it will become clear once they break the scale.

The outside me is the king of this Tower. // The fate of the King makes everything goes his way.

From the very beginning, you have been fighting a fight that you could not win.

That's not true!!

You-

can never surpass the outside me!!

Kurgh!!

Are you trying to kill Baam, you fake!!

Fate?

I.. // will never acknowledge a person who calls himself king-

but does not seek others' approval.

If that is how Zahard was crowned as King- // If that fate has plagued and caused tragedy to a lot of people-

I will break that fate from now on-!!

and call that as my fate.

What..

is this?

This is the first time I've..

I haven't seen those buildings..

It's not.. balanced!!

Alright!! // It's reacting!!

To keep the balance..

I have to copy them!!

!!

What's happening!? // Erro~r?!

There's a bug!!

It...

succeeded!!

Gator!! We gotta escape fast!! // It's dangerous if we stay here any longer!!

Got it!! // Let's go, albatross!!

What did you just call me!!

(What do you mean by albatross!!)

!?

Krgh!!

Blue Turtle?!

What's the matter, blue turtle!!

What's happening..

Cough!! Cough!!

Oi!!

I feel dizzy // It's almost like my heart is gonna stop any minute now..

How was it?

This "timing"

Rachel!?

I thought this was about the time // so I added a bit more pressure-

Wait, did you!?

That's right. At "that time" // I planted a bomb in your heart while pretending to save you.

So at the most crucial moment,

(Haa-)

Sh.. it..

I wanted no one else but me-

(Haa-)

(Haa-)

(Haa-)

to kill you.

(Haa-)

Bye bye-

I don't have time. I don't know what he's talking about // But it's clear that Koon-ssi and the others are doing something dangerous.

I somehow have to finish this quickly..

It's finally possible for me to fight him straight on

Still, the gap in our abilities is too big // It would be impossible to fight him while time is running out.

If only there was a way to pull out my strength now....

Like-

That fight with Hoaquin-ssi-

Some.. way..

!!

It's risky

but should I try it?

Ignite!

With all my strength-

and in one go..!!

?

Stab!!

?!

W-what is he doing!!

That kid!!

!!

The surrounding.. shinsoo.. is trembling?

This feeling // It's weak but..

It's almost like..

the "power of a floor guardian".

#Tower of God #translations #S2ch303

[thotyssey]

On Point With: Nicole Onoscopi

One of the city’s newest queens is off to a amazing start in her drag career, having won a major pageant her first time out the door just a few short months ago. Now she’s already hosting a weekly party, and blowing up all over the damn place. Join Thotyssey as we open up for Nicole Onoscopi!

Thotyssey: Nicole, hello! thanks for chatting with us tonight! So, Drag Con Weekend in LA has come and gone... did you wish you were there, or is that just Too Much Drag? Nicole Onoscopi: Hello Hello! Thank you, I'm so glad to chat! I would've loved to have been there. As far as drag goes I can never get enough.

It seems like it was a lot of fun, but some fans were complaining about high prices that several Drag Race queens were charging for photos. Do you think these gals have a right to charge fans so heavily for these?

Well, I can't deny that they've earned the right to reap the benefits of their fame; but surely they can show some love back to the community by being at least reasonable? But hey, you've got to make that coin!

I hear that! 

So, you're on your way to becoming huge in the drag biz yourself, with a great few months under your belt already! How long have you been a queen now?

Thank you, you're too kind! I only started performing last October while I was out of town doing a production of Little Shop of Horrors. As soon as I got back into the city, I thought I'd dive in and give it a serious try. I've truly thrown all of myself into the art of drag and the NY community, and I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've had already.

So far so great! So, where's your hometown?

I grew up in Albany, Oregon. It's the most wonderful town with the loveliest people, but growing up I always craved something more. I've been here in New York almost five years now.

Did you come here to pursue theater, or something else?

Theater! Like so many drag queens before me, I moved to the city to study at AMDA.

Drag University! Were any queens you know today in your classes?

There weren't! It truly is a musical theatre factory. They pump students through there so quickly that's it really is a miracle when two alumni know each other.

So after Little Shop, how did Nicole come into being?

I had seen on Facebook that Marti Gould Cummings and Nedra Belle were looking for more contestants for the Ultimate Drag Pageant at the West End Lounge. Having freshly caught the drag bug, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to explore it further!

Wow, so the pageant was your debut! 

It was!! Fortunately, the people liked me!

How did your drag name come to you, by the way? It's certainly memorable.

My name is Cole, and growing up the other kids would mockingly call me Nicole because of my more "feminine" interests and impeccable style. I thought I would turn the name around on my childhood tormentors and wear it with pride. I realized early on that I'm a comedy queen and have always enjoyed queens with punny names. “Onoscopi” seemed the perfect last name to complete the pun, as someone that enjoys making the boys bend over.

The Ultimate Drag Pageant runs for several weeks, with multiple themes. Given your newness to the world, it must've been a crash course in all things drag.

It sure was!

What skills and strengths did you draw from to land the win? And what did you discover about yourself during the process?

I was very proud of all I accomplished and learned. It was so thrilling to have the creative push to build a look and number around a different theme for eight weeks. It forced me to try things that I never would've ventured to try on my own, and showed me where I excel and what were my shortcomings. 

I think the greatest thing I took away from the competition was the knowledge that I have the tools to entertain and inspire an audience without a huge production being made. I'm learning that when I am in drag, people listen more closely. To have an impact in that way is such a gift.

It sure is! You've guest performed in a bunch of shows since the win, and you even hosted some pop-up solo shows at Icon in Astoria, one just last week. How did that go?

It was such a wonderful night! I've actually had the chance to have two solo shows there now, and it's become one of my favorite places to perform. The staff and crowd are the loveliest, and the lights and stage create such a theatrical vibe. It thrills the theater kid in me. 

I'm so excited to be back in Astoria at the sister bar, Albatross, with “The (W)hole Show with Nicole” this Saturday at 8pm! It should be a fun night.

Have you been following the All-Stars season of the Ultimate Drag Pageant? The finale's this Thursday!

I have! It's been so stressful, yet fun, to see so many of my dear sisters go head to head with each other. Having just come off of the competition myself, I know how much work goes into it. And it's been a treat to watch them all pour their hearts out on that little stage. They've pumped out some top notch drag, and I'm really looking forward to seeing who snags the crown on Thursday!

And you've got your own thing going at the West End, meanwhile! You and your UDP season sister Tiffany Anne Coke began hosting Boca's Night of Nostalgia, a weekly Friday night 90s party! 

Yes! We just had our first go this past Friday, and I'm so excited to watch it grow! Tiffany and I dated for all of a week in the past, so it's fun to get to work together! She's an incredible dancer and performer, and I love to wiggle and entertain on the mic, so it's sure to be a good time every Friday night.

What's your 90's jam of choice?

Definitely “Cotton Eye Joe.” It's a real bop.

And the the guest spots continue... Tuesday night you're with Coco Taylor  at Rockbar. Have you performed with her before?

I haven't yet, and I'm so very excited to finally get to play!

Anything else coming up?

This week, I'll also be at the West End on Thursday after the finale of the pageant for “Do the Deux,” with the lovely and talented Vanna Deux.

Have great shows! So to wrap up: in light of Avengers: Infinity War (which I still haven't seen), if Nicole was a superhero, what would her superpower be?

Teleportation! I hear it's FAR more reliable than the MTA these days.

It can only be! Thanks, Nicole!

Nicole Onoscopi co-hosts (with Tiffany Anne Coke) “Boca's Night of Nostalgia” at The West End (Fridays, 10pm). Check Thotyssey’s calendar for other upcoming appearances, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

On Point Archives 

#onpointwith #nicoleonsocopi

[deniscollins]

For Millions Deep in Student Loan Debt, Bankruptcy Is No Easy Fix

Bankruptcy gives over 700,000 debtors a fresh start every year. Bills for credit cards and medical expenses can be wiped away by a few strokes of a judge’s pen, and debts that don’t vanish are reduced. But student loan debts don’t go away as easily. For decades, politicians have slowly made them harder to discharge. If you had a large student loan debt that was extremely difficult to payoff due to losing your job, would you: (1) try negotiating a deal with the lender to delay paying the loan or (2) declare bankruptcy to significantly reduce the amount owed? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

With two mortgages, three children and $83,000 in student loan debt, the financial strain finally became too much for George A. Johnson and Melanie Raney-Johnson.

New bills kept piling up: The couple had to buy another car when Mr. Johnson wrecked one in a snowstorm, but their insurance didn’t fully pay off the totaled vehicle. Old debts never seemed to get any smaller, either: A mortgage modification they spent months working on fell through when the bank lost their paperwork.

And their student debt, an albatross born of aspiration, grew heavier each month.

Bankruptcy was the only way out.

“It was not an easy decision,” Ms. Raney-Johnson said of filing for bankruptcy in 2011. “It was a feeling of despair, for sure.”

Bankruptcy gives over 700,000 debtors a fresh start every year. Bills for credit cards and medical expenses can be wiped away by a few strokes of a judge’s pen, and debts that don’t vanish are reduced.

But student loan debts don’t go away as easily. For decades, politicians have slowly made them harder to discharge, while differing standards in courts across the country mean a debtor’s chances can depend on where he or she lives.

The few debtors who attempt it are subjected to a morality play unlike anything else in the world of personal finance: so-called adversary proceedings, where they must lay themselves bare in court as opposing lawyers question how much they pay for lunch or give to their church.

The Johnsons tried anyway. They had borrowed about $45,000 for Mr. Johnson’s degree in sociology at the University of St. Mary in Kansas and Ms. Raney-Johnson’s pursuit of a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis. Unable to pay, they had received permission to put off their payments, but their balance nearly doubled as interest charges continued to pile up.

Mr. Johnson lost his job after they filed for bankruptcy and, unable to afford a lawyer, Ms. Raney-Johnson prepared their case. She remembers how she felt when they arrived at the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse in Kansas City, Kan., on a sunny September day seven years ago.

“My heart was beating, and I was sweating,” said Ms. Raney-Johnson, now in her mid-40s and a billing supervisor for a federal agency.

In 2015, the year the Johnsons got their ruling, 884,956 personal bankruptcy cases flowed through the courts. Only 674 sought to discharge student debt, according to a recent analysis by Jason Iuliano, assistant law professor at Villanova University.

The New York Times reviewed dozens of cases in which a judge issued a published opinion — the Bankruptcy Class of 2015 — to understand the pains and payoffs five years later. Some debtors are on a better course. But for others, the struggles never went away — or came back after they thought they were free.

Rising Costs, Rising Debts

Bankruptcy begins with debt, and student loans are the second-biggest form of household debt in the United States. More than 43 million borrowers hold over $1.6 trillion in student loans, a sum that has more than tripled in 13 years. It exceeds what Americans owe on credit cards or auto loans and trails only mortgages.

Sixty-two percent of students who graduated from nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt, according to an Institute for College Access & Success analysis. Their average balance was $28,950 — not including borrowing by their parents.

Many struggle mightily to pay: Before the government’s coronavirus relief efforts paused federal student loan payments, 7.7 million borrowers were in default and nearly two million others were seriously behind.

The solution has been a public-policy patch job.

About eight million additional borrowers use income-driven repayment plans, which can be challenging to enter. And while the plans lower payments, borrowers accrue interest on the unpaid difference. The debt is eventually forgiven — usually after 20 or 25 years — but the forgiven amount is taxable income.

A related program forgives the federal student loan debts of public-service workers, tax free, after 10 years, but it has been deeply troubled. Borrowers have made payments for years only to learn they were in the wrong kind of payment plan. It got so bad that Congress had to create a separate pot of money to try to fix it.

The election could give momentum to a change: President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. — who supported a 2005 law that made private student loans harder to discharge — has vowed to change the loan rule back if elected. But few Republicans have voiced support for a plan to change bankruptcy rules. A House bill has one Republican co-sponsor, Representative John Katko of New York, but the Senate’s version, led by Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, has only Democratic support.

All the student debt poses a problem. Its weight, experts say, has macroeconomic effects, dragging on homeownership and small-business formation. But the fallout goes beyond simple economics.

There is also a mental toll.

‘No Way Out’

Noelle DeLaet earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2008 — the teeth of the Great Recession. She tacked on another year for a degree in English to make herself more attractive to employers. Perhaps in publishing, she thought.

She left school with $110,000 in debt: roughly $27,000 from the federal government and the rest in private loans co-signed by her mother. The $810 monthly bill, set to climb when the payment plan on one private loan expired, soon overwhelmed her.

Ms. DeLaet, now 34, landed in the child welfare field as a foster care review specialist in Lincoln, Neb. — rewarding, but not lucrative. She sent out hundreds of résumés for better-paying jobs and pleaded with her lenders to reduce her payments. Soon, the creditors started in on her mother and put her on the verge of bankruptcy, too.

Ms. DeLaet’s breaking point came in May 2012 when she ran up against the $4,000 limit on her credit card while trying to buy a burrito at a Mexican grocery. She felt so helpless at times that she considered suicide.

“I looked all over Google for some sort of support group for others going through this,” Ms. DeLaet said. “I felt like there was no way out.”

When Ms. DeLaet squared off in court against her student-loan creditors, they quibbled with the $12 she spent each month on recycling. She should have tried harder for a promotion, they argued. Or moved somewhere else for more money.

Judge Thomas L. Saladino bristled at that idea. In his opinion, he wrote that she lived in the state’s second-largest city, “as good a place as any to seek a better-paying job.”

The judge discharged about $119,000 in private loans, and an additional $23,000 was forgiven by one of her lenders. But her $27,000 in federal loans stuck: She’s paying those back through an income-driven repayment plan costing about $260 a month. Because she works at a nonprofit, her debt should eventually disappear via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

For Ms. DeLaet, the process was worth it: She has married her boyfriend, had two children and bought a home. Her mother is an “amazing” grandmother, she said, although they still cannot discuss the past.

“It is an untouchable subject,” she said.

Rumors and Rules

The transformation in the bankruptcy rules began in 1976, with unfounded rumors.

A handful of legislators claimed to have heard about a parade of young doctors and lawyers who were trying to game the system and shed their debts while embarking on lucrative careers. The lawmakers toughened the rules, largely preventing borrowers from seeking a discharge within five years of graduation. The rules only got tougher over the next three decades.

Borrowers must show that their student loans are an “undue hardship” — a standard interpreted differently, depending on where you live. Some judicial circuits, including those in Nebraska, where Ms. DeLaet filed, have the judge review a “totality of the circumstances” for the debtor and make a decision.

Other jurisdictions employ a less flexible standard, the Brunner test, named for the case that established it. Judges must answer three questions affirmatively to discharge the debt. First, has the debtor made a good-faith effort to repay the loans? Second, is the debtor unable to maintain a minimal standard of living while making the payments? And, finally, is the debtor’s situation likely to persist?

But even jurisdictions that use the Brunner test apply it differently. Some require the judge to find that the borrowers have a “certainty of hopelessness” in paying off their debt. Other jurisdictions do not.

Here, the Johnsons may have benefited from geographic good fortune.

‘Virtual Lifetime Servitude’

Lawyers for the Educational Credit Management Corporation — a nonprofit that collects defaulted loans on behalf of the federal government — examined how the Johnsons spent their $2,100 monthly income.

Every expense was scrutinized, including Ms. Raney-Johnson’s $35 monthly union dues, her $100 retirement contribution and $215 to repay loans from her retirement plan. None, the nonprofit’s lawyers argued, were necessary to maintain a “minimal standard of living.”

In his opinion — written more than a year after hearing arguments — Judge Robert D. Berger disagreed. He wrote that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which covers Kansas, had shifted from the most rigid interpretation of the three-part test, which he described as “an unfortunate relic.”

Judge Berger wasn’t sure how the Johnsons were subsisting at all based on their income, and he said courts shouldn’t rely on “unfounded optimism” about a debtor’s future.

“It is disconsonant with public policy and bankruptcy’s fresh start to leave debtors in virtual lifetime servitude to student loans,” he wrote.

The judge discharged their student loans: $83,000 in debt, wiped away.

“I was ecstatic,” Ms. Raney-Johnson said of the moment she received the decision letter. “I probably said some curse words.”

Their good fortune didn’t last.

Laughs Over Lunches

Opposing lawyers — whether they work for the federal government or for private lenders — are tenacious. Their approach can feel like bullying, if not humiliation.

When Pamela Monroe went to an Arkansas bankruptcy court in 2015, she was 57 with a student-loan balance of about $56,000. She was working in the fragrance section of a Dillard’s department store, and her lunch habits — like $6.10 at Taco Bell and $12.72 at Olive Garden — were a focus of intense interest.

Eating out, Ms. Monroe testified, was her primary form of recreation and a midday necessity: Co-workers would sometimes steal colleagues’ lunches from the break room.

“They laughed about that when I told them,” she said. “I felt at that moment like I was a cornered animal and they were poking sticks at me.”

Ms. Monroe said she had spent her life making choices that others seemed to dictate — marrying two years out of high school and becoming a mother, as her parents seemed to want. After two divorces, she reached for higher education in a bid for independence.

She graduated from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith with a communications degree and pursued a master’s in speech language pathology. She didn’t finish that program, leaving her with the debt but not the advanced degree. And she couldn’t seem to break out of low-paying work.

“I would have loved to pay them back,” Ms. Monroe said. “But I never could, because nobody ever saw any value in me.”

Judge Ben Barry found Ms. Monroe’s restaurant spending excessive, but noted that she had changed jobs frequently seeking higher pay. Her income, he wrote in his opinion, about doubled between 2010 and 2015, to over $26,000.

But even a reduced budget he outlined would not leave her enough money to make her student loan payments, so he discharged just over half of her student loans.

She would most likely have been paying that off until she was in her 80s. But last year, Ms. Monroe, now 63 and dealing with osteoarthritis and other health problems, received a disability discharge for the rest of her debt.

Now all she wants to do is live out her days in her $510-a-month apartment in a retirement community. “It has a sprinkler system and an elevator, very safe,” she said.

But she hasn’t stopped thinking about the way the system and its actors — like the lawyer on the opposite side in her case — seemed to render judgment on her life choices.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “I was just living, but I got in trouble for eating.”

Back to Haunt Them

In 2016, the Johnsons learned their loan discharge was being appealed by lawyers for Educational Credit Management Corporation.

Paradoxically, they were worse off because their financial situation had improved: Ms. Raney-Johnson earned a promotion, and Mr. Johnson, now in his mid-40s like his wife, found a stable government job. A year after discharging their loans, Judge Berger concluded that the couple could now “easily” maintain a minimal standard of living and reinstated their debt — which had ballooned even more because of interest charges.

Preparing to send their own children to college, the Johnsons requested another forbearance. Their balance continues to grow: It’s roughly $104,000 today.

Ms. Raney-Johnson took the final class she needed for her biology degree over the summer. But the debt was already piling up for the next generation. Their oldest, a college sophomore, expects to owe about $45,000 when she graduates. Their middle child, a high school senior, is looking at colleges now. Ms. Raney-Johnson said she and her husband — who are putting about $5,000 a year toward their daughter’s tuition — would try to remain in forbearance for now.

In August, they received a notice about an income-driven repayment plan, which would start out costing about $550 a month. From there, the cost depends on many factors, including job changes, raises and eligibility for forgiveness programs. If they’re able to get into the public service program, the debt could go away a decade after they start paying. If not, the bills could continue coming for about 20 years — right around the time the Johnsons will be trying to retire.

The experience, Ms. Raney-Johnson said, has been “disheartening.” She and her husband had run up against opposition that could keep going with little regard for time or expense, knowing that they couldn’t.

“It feels like getting screwed over by someone with a lot more power and money,” she said.

#Student loans #Bankruptcy

[enambris]

Through Time, Space

[1] [2] [3]

Mentions: @valanthius-xiv

[[Vibes]]

Long post under the cut, this piece is part of a longer series.

Her voice is gone, she discovers. The air in her lungs, too. Staring at the woman, a near-solid face staring through her with eyes that would be tearful if they had any tears to hold, Enambris wonders if she might collapse. But it lasts only a moment longer as the woman once again fades from view, leaving Enambris alone in the room with the frozen corpse of an imperial officer decorating the corner, ice crystals formed in the gaps of the lethal wounds that had claimed his life. On the edge of the bed she sits, taking in the room, the cushioned window nook, the blood-stained pillows and the weapons on the ground. She takes several shuddering breaths, and lets the tears roll down her face, clutching the tiny stuffed lion to her chest.

“I made it home, uncle,” she murmurs to the room. Opposite her, cut expertly into the wall, the rune continues to shine brightly, a beacon casting a warm, gentle glow against the walls and floor, and carved beneath the books is the message, what she assumes is a warning: Með tíma, rúm. Through time, space. Still those words mean so little, three odd words meant for who, exactly? For her? Did the author know she might find them again, or was it a warning to any who might stumble here, as unlikely as it would be?

The thoughts are enough to slow her tears. She wishes she could wipe her face and the suit responds, drying the moisture from her cheeks and allowing her to stand, clearing her throat and turning her attention to the corpse in the corner, the second reason she had chosen to delve back down. Bell had made him for an officer, marked as MIA and never documented as deceased. The regalia adorned upon his coat had clued them into his Legion, and it didn’t surprise any of them to know that he belonged to the XIIIth. Slowly she kneels down, taking the rebreather mask from the corpse’s face and pulling the eyepiece from it, releasing the mask itself and allowing it to drift slowly back toward the floor through the water. After a moment inspecting it, she holds it up to her eye and watches as the recording flickers faintly to life.

The man, whatever his name was, charged through the door as he chased a woman, his grunt of pain loud as his shoulder smashes into the thick, stone-like wood. It flew open and the man shouted, some kind of war cry too difficult to hear, and not a moment later he looked down, panning the device down as he did to draw a long, bladed weapon from his holster. Looking up he lunged forward, and for the first time she gets a good look at the woman’s face in startling contrast. Light blue eyes, frazzled, straw-colored hair, lines that marked her age and curved figure that marked the relaxed later years of her life. She was adorned in the trappings of a governess, but she carried herself as a warrior did.

“L-Lisbet…” Enambris manages to murmur.

It’s all she can do to contain the outrage as that weapon found its mark, burying its keen length into the woman’s stomach. But Lisbet turned, bright eyes ablaze, and she repaid the soldier’s favor in kind, thrusting her sword hard through his leg and shoving him off. The man hit the ground and Enambris turns, as if perhaps somehow she might catch a glimpse of the door through the man’s perspective, though it proves fruitless..

Then, as Lisbet moves to escape, clutching her guts, another rushed through the door, a tall, broad-shouldered man with shoulder-length pale blond hair and kind blue eyes, narrowed in wrath. He snatched the weapon from Lisbet’s hand, turned in a single fluid motion and whipped the blade just below the device’s view, across what Enambris assumes is the man’s throat; the gunblade dropped to the ground where the imperial had been previously on his knees, in his dying moments deprived of any way to return fire on his enemies. It took mere seconds for the gurgling of air escaping a rent windpipe to cease. But onward the recording played, as the lifeless imperial officer had died looking at his killer.

“Enad! Enad please, the boats–”

“Hush, Lisbet. Time is short. Help me move the books before you bleed out.”

His voice was gruff, and he bore serious wounds across his chest and arms, an ugly gash painting his otherwise handsome face, but she knows him still. She could never forget her uncle’s face. She watches on in amazement as he pulled Lisbet to her feet. With a single hand Enad moved the bookshelf, Lisbet clutching her belly with one bloody hand while the other shoved a large mound of books off of the shelf, trying desperately to keep them in something resembling a stack. The knife in Enad’s hand set to work carving neat, perfect lines into the wall behind the shelf.

A shudder rocked the world, the reactions of Lisbet and Enad making it clear as both found themselves unbalanced, forced to steady themselves against the bookshelf. “She’s almost here,” Enad stated, his voice calm. “We must protect the city, we must–” another rattle shook the room and he paused. “–We must at least try to stop her.”

“Then she…?”

“Aye. Now place your hand here.” Those piercing blue eyes fixed on Lisbet, and the grim, somber expression on his face belied what he must next ask her to do. “Can you hold her off?”

There’s no hesitation on the older woman’s face, the lines worn by toil and laughter both tugging at her lips as they twitch into a determined but knowing smile. “I’ve seen it,” she replied, removing her bloodied hand from her belly, tapping a drop of blood to the corners of both eyes and then pressing it to the sigil carved into the stone wall. “I’ve seen the mage-sister come, it will hold until then.” She paused a moment, before venturing hesitantly, “What of my lady?”

“Aboard her ship, but the Albatross won’t make it out of the harbor if we don’t move quickly–” his words were cut off as gunfire peppered the air beyond the door. “They’re here. The Praefectus was ripping through the knights like some kind of demon, I think he’s looking for her but I didn’t stop to ask, the monster is just killing indiscriminately…. I’ll hold them off, power the seal.” He reached out and they caught one another by the forearm, from one warrior to another, as death stared both of them in the face. Light suffused the room around Lisbet, while Enad moved to throw his weight against the bedroom door. Her body began breaking down, piece by little piece like sand blown away by the wind, her component aether pouring into the seal, and just like that, she was gone.

Enambris finds herself choking on sobs again as she watches her nursemaid die, the threads of her body and soul rent willingly apart and pressed into the wall of her room. But the recording isn’t over, and she continues to watch on as Enad pressed himself harder still against the door. Sharp, heavy banging echoed loudly through the room, peppered by the grunts of effort of the man and the beastly roars just beyond the door. Then all at once the door crashed open, and the dead imperial officer slouched over, the device listing down. She hears the scuffle of two men battling, the sounds of steel kissing steel. Their loud battle crashed into one bookshelf, knocking its contents to the ground, and a moment later she sees Enad land on his back.

He turned, ripping a dagger from his belt and kicking in the knee of his attacker, to buy himself a little time, taking the weapon and carving into the floor until the hilt of some massive sword comes bashing down against the back of his head. Enad had lost, and blood poured from his head where it was struck, the sound of a skull cracking echoing louder than the gunshots and cannon-fire beyond the palace walls. She screams, and watches as the heavy boots of an unknown figure stepped into view of the device, the breath and heat rolling off of him palpable, even visible, radiating. The ground shook again, more intensely than before. She watches as the figure, a man, reached down to the tiny stuffed lion on her bed, lifting it for a moment before dropping it unceremoniously among the scattered pillows ruffled in her flight from the room. He checked the wardrobe, flinging it open, and behind the shelves for anyone else that might be within the chamber, but found naught. The man doubled back, bending down, and finally his face comes into view.

Enambris knows that face, and she knew he was here. But she never knew how painful it would be to see it happen. Dark skin adorned in ink, covered eye and snowy hair, the metal arm of the man-beast reached down to grip the bleeding Enad by the head, hoisting him into the air and out of the device’s view. Then, just like that, he left, and the room was empty once more.

It’s too much to take in all at once, as Enambris watches her uncle and governess in their last living moments, playing over and over again. Despite the pain she watches on, a second and a third time, and each time it breaks her heart again, and she sinks to the floor. But on the fourth time, as Lisbet begins to break down, her eyes shift. She turns completely, still glowing like the sunrise, and stares firmly at Enambris. It takes a moment before Enambris realizes that it’s not the eye beholding the device which finds Lisbet staring at her.

The room trembles, something moving in the deep. “Enambris,” the woman says, reaching out as if to touch her. “Enambris listen to me, you must go. Time is short, and she is coming again.”

The girl cannot respond immediately as her brain finds itself gridlocked for several moments. It takes another rumble beneath the earth to shake her from that reverie, enough for her tongue to remember movement. “W-who? My mother?”

“There is no time to explain. Promise me you will survive, whatever the cost! Promise me and go!”

#ffxiv #rp #balmung #plot happenings #glass network #writing #the queen drowned arc

[stitchcasual]

Top Five/Bottom Five

Rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!

tagged by @the-tevinter-biscuit, @theoxfordcommando, AND @gothic-princess-witch! wow guys, I guess I really gotta do this, eh?

What are your five most popular works?

Albatross [269] (surprising absolutely no one, I hope)---My Fenhawke in-progress-I-swear-I’ll-update-it-again-at-some-point modern!AU longfic. An AO3 exclusive

Stares and Whispers [126]---an “imagine your otp” fic I wrote. An office setting where Hawke and Fenris are presumed to be having an affair with each other while married to other people...while actually being married to each other. An absolute delight to write and, apparently, it’s a pretty popular read too. An AO3 exclusive

Up High, Down Low [51 + 45]---a height difference kissfic I wrote very quickly for a friend who prompted me. I like it but also want to write another based on this prompt. AO3 + tumblr

That’s a good look for you [86]---a fluff fill from one of those fluff prompt lists that ran around a little while ago. Such a wonderful fic, I always write such fabulous fluff when @theoxfordcommando asks for it ^_^ a tumblr exclusive

Die to Protect Me [53 + 31]---my hella angsty Fenris-is-gravely-wounded fic for my canon Hawke. I adore this piece (and it’s the one piece I’ve received an ART for, so it’s really got a special place in my heart). The pain in it is wonderful and it sets up a lot of shit that happens for my Hawke’s Inquisition story line. AO3 + tumblr

Important Questions [65 + 18]---I’m cheating and putting this one up here because it’s so close in number to DtPM (since I think DtPM probably has a little note buffer from self-reblogs). Another piece of @theoxfordcommando fluff, actually the first one I ever wrote for her! AO3 + tumblr

AO3-only generates the same list of fics (while removing Good Look) tumblr-only generates a completely different list: Good Look, Give me a Hand [64, Fenhawke fluff], To Be Content [54, Fenhawke fluff], Barely Dawn [51, Fenhawke fluff], and Lightning [37, Fenhawke DAO!AU].

What are your five least popular works?

Should the Worst Come to Pass [2]---my very first fic up on AO3. It’s an ME3 fic, following my Paragon Shepard, Taran, as she deals with the aftermath of Thane’s death and creates scenes that should have happened in the game to generate better closure. There’s three chapters and oh wow has my writing gotten better since then. It’s a pretty choppy fic and I’m not sure it’s accomplishing what I want it to, but I still might go back to it at some point. An AO3 exclusive

What is This? [3]---a very tiny fic based on a post about two-handed warrior!Hawkes in Inquisition. A tumblr exclusive

an untitled Voltron drabble [6]---just some Sheith angst after the end of season 2. A tumblr exclusive

Things You Said I Wish You Hadn’t [6]---an ask fill from a prompt list. Very short and really angsty because this is the letter my Hawke leaves for Fenris when he leaves for the Inquisition. A tumblr exclusive

Staying Warm [7]---A Pavellen fic! My first and only for the pairing (so far), featuring my second Inquisitor, Mirallen Lavellen. He’s a wonderful, sneaky, conniving bastard, and I love him. A tumblr exclusive

AO3-only generates a completely different (almost) list: Should the Worst Come to Pass, Three Oh Four Nine Four Two [6, a ME2 Shrios fic], A Precious Gift [8, Albatross!AU Cawke], A Change of Pace [9, Sebris], and What Once Was [10, Fenhawke, DAI reunion].

Are you surprised? Why?

1000% not surprised that Albatross is the tops and Should the Worst is the bottom. Some of my favorite fics are square in the middle of the popularity rating, which is kind of sad. Some of my fics also do better on tumblr than they do on AO3: both longer Voltron fics, A Change of Pace (the Sebris one), and Nothing Hidden (Fenhawke mostly-fluff).

I guess I have a skewed idea of which things are popular and which aren’t. There are a few I thought were more popular that are a little more middle of the road (or that are popular on tumblr, in comparison to some of my other things on tumblr).

Also, I really kind of thought the one pretty damn explicit, smut-based fic would get more notes but I guess not? Maybe it’s just not everyone’s cup of tea. I get that. Maybe the 4k of buildup bored people? idk

Optional: If you want to calculate this, what are your works’ average number of notes?

AO3-only: 45.58 (probably weighted heavily due to presence of Albatross) AO3-only w/o Albatross: 33.167 tumblr-only: 26.2 (heavily weighted by the few fluff fics that reached over 50) total: 37.03

Today’s date, so you can see how your results might change if you do this again in a year.

7/26/2017

Tag six people to do this next!

tagginggggg: @hollyand-writes, @erandir, @storybookhawke, @wildwildwasteland, @probably-a-synth, and @beetle-ships-it-all, should they choose to do it, and also any of y’all, should you choose to

#tag meme