#charlie has chosen to avoid his entire life.

[gctchell]

@xluciifer asked: 🤔 for all of your muses :]

FOR  EVERY   🤔  I’LL  POST  A  HEADCANON  ABOUT  OUR  MUSES.  ADD  A  +  FOR  A  SEXCANON. // 𝖆𝖈𝖈𝖊𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌

w/ 𝕷𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖍;

🎶 Calling from the shore to a distant star You've been drawn out, but you have not gone far I can see you still, glowing in the dark Hear my heart calling to you now, Calling for it's other part Come to me, come to me soon, Come to me like the tides to the moon 🎶

Depression is self-destructive and isolating, it's your brain boxing you in and closing you off from the entire world, numbing from what's good and what you love. You know this, you've written about Lucifer's depression before and how it has eroded his relationship with others. Lilith, however, remained constant and did not let it get in their way - she knew what was going on with her husband, and she made the effort to pull him out from where he shelves himself away with a song.

Her voice is her signature power. She has incredible influence in the emotional category - she can incite a rebellion, she can quell a mob, she can call to her husband who has sunken so deep inside of himself that he's almost hard to reach, so out of touch with reality he is distant in the eyes. Lilith's voice cuts through that, it swims through the murk and it latches onto him and pulls him, for the time being, into a lightened state of mind, that heaviness lifted by the melodic beams she sets in place. She is not a cure, but she is a remedy to break him from that deep mental fog, and an anchor to keep him in the moment and present. A lighthouse in the dark. He gets a pep back in his step for a time, alleviated.

It's difficult to balance a husband with depression, a child, and an entire Realm, so he is not always swimming in her song. But, when Lilith comes home and she realizes he has not moved from where she last left him, she sings.

It empowers him, as well. In such a desolate state, she is helping him lift and rise up from beneath the weight. She's helping him, for the time being, take back his life. She calls to him to come to her, offering him the rope to pull him up while he pulls himself along. There's so much power in being able to rise yourself with depression, you just need the help.

w/ 𝒩𝒾𝒻𝒻𝓉𝓎;

Niffty is a pest, plain and simple, and she is a persistent pest. Niffty and Lucifer do not know when it started (it was Lucifer, but he doesn't recall and frankly neither does she, it's vague and they don't care to bother with the small details like that), but they both just clicked in a 'I need to troll the absolute hell out of you' manner almost from the first moment they saw one another. Just the vibes they noticed from one another set them off and they've been at it ever since.

They're a weird amicable-rival situation. There's no actual bad blood between them, it's just impish energy pinging off one another and finding an outlet in just getting at the other in such stupid, petty ways. He trips her with his cane, she lunges out of vents in the floor to bite his ankle, he puts a spell on her to let him know when she's approaching, she doesn't know about it and maneuvers in her own way to avoid it, catching him by surprise when she comes flying out of a potted plant..

In the weirdest way, they could consider the other a friend. Nothing they'd admit out loud, but it's there in their heart of hearts. Matters help that Niffty is actually a very good ally to Charlie and fights by her side to help defend her dreams, so bonus points for being a friend of his baby.

w/ 𝔖𝔱𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔞;

They're both losers, baby, losers goddamn baby.

I mentioned it in one of our conversations, but I can see them building a bond off of being awkward at parenting. They love the hell out of their kids and want to do right by them, but they just keep stumbling. They first met during a particularly heavy winter storm that took over Pride, both wandering the park of the city as Stella had chosen to go ice skating (she thrives in the cold). Lucifer decided to join her, and they just sort of hit it off from there.

She respects the man because of course she does, she is royalty beneath him in the latter and her allegiance is sworn to him, and that helps matters. Cordial, but they get to a point of speaking quite openly to one another. They're such awkward personalities that meet at the right time in the right circumstances, and build from there.

He's also managed to fluster her once and he keeps that memory in his pocket. Who doesn't want to remember making a pretty bird blush?

w/ 𝒞𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶 𝒞𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒;

If it were not for outside introduction, they could have spent the good portion of eternity not intermingling in the slightest. Carmilla sticks to her business and Lucifer sticks to his. However, now that they are aware of one another, Lucifer pokes around curiously in the holy weapons business and it's a little like a kid in a candy store. "What's that? Ooh, THAT'S got to hurt, huh? You really built this fucked up thing? That's terrrrrrrible, haha."

The curiosity is on a shallow level, intense intrigue before it begins to fizzle out, but he becomes more invested when she offers to do a commission for him. They sit down and figure out the sort of weapon he would want, and she goes to work making it.

He's the King, he can get anything made for him at any time - he has weapons made specific for the Morningstar lineage (see: Charlie's shield and pitchfork, I'm sure). However, this is going to be his first holy weapon, and that has him kind of excited.

#(( i tried to channel ur lucifer and idk if i succeeded. i hope it's ok uvu )) #(( i've had depression since I was a teen so skksfd. writing that headcanon for him and lilith got more energy. )) #xluciifer #[ games. ] #[ ooc. ] #[ asks. ] #long post

[thefanficmonster]

My Kind

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warning: Swearing

Genre: Fluff, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Having been chosen by the gang to be a guest streamer on today’s stream of Among Us, it’s safe to say Y/N’s super excited but also a bit nervous. The whole of her anxiety gets lifted off her when she meets someone with the exact same vibe as hers - yeah you guessed it.

Requested by @monizzle96 Hi dear! Thank you so much for your wonderful request! I’m so terribly sorry it’s taken me so long to write and post it but here it finally is! I hope you come across it and read it and if so I hope you enjoy it! Love, Vy ❤

This has to be the fiftieth time I’ve checked my setup in the past twenty four hours. But no, I’m definitely not nervous, what are you talking about. Pshhh. Nah, being nervous isn’t in my brand. Plus, what do I have to make me nervous - a group of famous streamers inviting me onto their stream to play Among Us with them because they enjoyed my own streams? Ok yeah, that’s a pretty good reason. Not gonna lie, I almost chucked my phone out of excitement when I received that DM from Toast, telling me they’d picked me to be their guest streamer for today’s date. My stomach was doing somersaults for a good forty-eight hours following that text and then the anxiety slowly started setting in fueled by the expectations they probably have of me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not inexperienced in the streaming field, I’ve been a streamer longer than some of the members of Toast’s streamer gang actually. But I never managed to garner that big of a following which I’m honestly quite ok with. I have a modest - ok, maybe larger than modest - following consisting of incredibly loyal fans which I will never stop being grateful for. They are all so respectable of me, my privacy and my boundaries. They know the main rules: no shit-talking in the chat or in any of my comment sections, no bashing other YouTubers in my comments/chat, and most definitely not asking for a face reveal. Fun fact: I didn’t even set up that last rule, they all just collectively know not to ask for it. 

I’ve been keeping my brand pretty low-key to avoid garnering some unwanted attention - some of which I’ve already experienced on certain social media platforms following the full body pictures I posted on there - face not visible of course. I tend to also have my webcam on, facing towards my hands working away on the keyboard sometimes when I stream. I don’t know why people obsess over faceless content creators’ hands, but I appreciate the enthusiasm - it also drives me to do a manicure every now and then which ain’t so bad, self-care and all that you know.

Now, back to the subject of my ridiculous nervousness.

You see, it has layers.

I’m nervous of ‘preforming’ underwhelmingly and I’m nervous of what my own fans will think of the person I will become during this stream. They know me as a super chill and laid-back person, which I am by the way, but they might think I’m putting on a show if I exhibit any nervous gestures/vocabulary. I highly doubt they would, but the possibility is not letting my mind rest. And now that it’s about ten minutes till the stream starts, I’m getting doing my best to calm my nerves.

They are all just people. You know they are super chill too. Just be yourself, that’s why they invited you, because you are yourself on all your streams. They liked you for your personality, humor, maybe even your gaming skills. So chill the hell out and be yourself, damn it!

Easier thought than put into action that’s for sure.

I start my stream five minutes early just so I can vibe with my viewers for a little while before I have to meet the gang. My fans always have a way of injecting me with confidence, they remind me of where I was when I started and how far I’ve come. How much I achieved when I thought I’d be nothing and no one, someone the algorithm would simply overlook. But then they entered my life and I entered theirs and it all became much better than I ever thought it would get to be. I rarely tell myself ‘good job’ for the milestones I’ve reached or the hard work I’ve put into my content, but that’s probably cause I orient myself based on that quote from the movie Whiplash: ‘There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job’ - simply put, I’m never satisfied with what I do and I always strive to do better. My fans, however, make sure I don’t go overboard with it - always serving as a reminder that I’ve done plenty for myself and others. And that’s what makes an amazing fandom, one I consider family.

Whoa, when did those five minutes fly by?!

Ah shit, here we go. Deep breaths, Y/N you got this.

“Hello!“ I say as I enter the Discord call, subconsciously biting my lower lip, grateful the camera isn’t capturing it. However, I make a mental note to keep my hands steady cause that’s the one part of me people can actually see and the last thing I want is for them to see how much my fingers are trembling.

“Oh hi, Y/N!“ Toast is the first one to greet me, “Welcome to the stream! Thank you so much for accepting our invitation.“

“Thank you for having me and inviting me, Toast. This is a huge deal for me. You guys are basically YouTube legends, this is unreal to me.“ I reply, cringing immediately afterwards because of my fangirl rambling. Great way to make first impressions, Y/N. Bravo.

To be fair, they already have an impression of you. Quit stressing.

Aright, you’ve got a point, me.

“Oh please, we owe all that to our fans. We’re really nothing special. All streamers are almost completely alike, we all owe where we are to the people who helped us make it there - our fans. We’re no legends.“ Toast says, bringing a small smile to my face as well as a light pink blush to my cheeks, “And from what I’ve seen, you yourself have quite the following. And your fans seem to adore you.“

“And I absolutely adore them.“ I chuckle, “They mean the world to me. They are the reason I’m here today.”

“Then we have to give them a special thank you, don’t you think?“ The teasing, familiar giggle, widens my smile - it’s Rae, “Nice to meet you, Y/N! I’m Rae, and, no cap, I’m quite a fan of your content. No joke, I binged your entire series of Resident Evil 7 as soon as I found your channel when Toast said he’d invite you.“

This rattles me a bit. I can hardly believe it - am I really receiving a compliment from an A-list name in the streaming world? My fans must be hella proud of me right now. A quick glance at my chat confirms that they indeed are. That in and of itself fills me with joy and newfound confidence.

“Oh Gosh, thank you so much Rae! That means the world to me. You’re all so sweet.“ I reply, lifting my ice cold hands to cool down my burning cheeks, my lips spread into a grin, my stomach filled with butterflies.

“Oh please, we have some real savages around here.“ A male voice, seemingly Charlie’s scoffs, “Don’t overlook us please.“

“Wait, we do?“ A deep voice, one I immediately know the owner of speaks up, “Who? How come I don’t know about that?“

I can’t help bust snort, “Nice to meet you, Corpse. Sarcasm central, I see.”

He laughs, “Just returning it to where it’s due. Nice to meet you too, Y/N. Sick Outlast series, by the way.“

Ok, wait, I have two A-list streamers complimenting my content. Ok, I’m bound to crack open a few beers to celebrate later cause OH MY GOD.

“Thanks! I’m a horror junkie so I’d be lying if I said I haven’t binge watched all your story-times. Personal favorites are the deep web ones, they fascinate me.“

“Oh, you’re one of my kind even more than I expected, huh?“ He replies, the tone of his voice changing, raising a bit due to what I can only describe as excitement and enthusiasm. “I’ve had people tell me it’s twisted, but I really like seeing the lengths to which the fucked up human mind can go to. Like, the shit I’ve read is insane! Some stories I didn’t narrate cause I would’ve probably had my video taken down, it was that messed up.“

My eyes widen, sharing the same excitement at the thought of digging deeper into this phenomenon, “Careful, Corpse, you’re walking a dangerous line of tempting me to deep-dive on Reddit in search of those exact stories.”

“No need.“ Corpse says, his tone now taking up a bit of a cocky note, “I still got them all saved, I can send them to you no problem.“

“Please do! I seriously gotta read them now. If I can’t sleep afterwards, I’m blaming you, Corpse. Just FYI.“ I say, giggling slightly, finding myself all but completely comfortable now. I wonder where all that anxiety went? 

“Blame fully taken. Given that I’m not much of a sleeper, I’ll keep you company whenever you think there’s a killer hiding in your closet or fear a red room pop-up will appear on your computer screen.“ He replies, chuckling.

“Um, that’s oddly specific.“ Charlie comments, “Been there yourself, buddy?”

“Perhaps.“ Corpse wheezes, getting a laugh out of me too, “I will neither confirm nor deny.“

“You know what, I’ll just private message you my number so if you see it call you at some ungodly hour, you don’t freak the fuck out. Sounds good?“ I ask, already prepping to type it out and send it to him. 

“Perfect. Wait...“ he pauses for a second, sounding puzzled for a second, “You don’t have mine.“

“Oh, do I not?“ I reply with a sinister tone - thought to answer the question, I of course don’t have his number.

“Oh, do you?“ He sasses me right back. “If so then you don’t need me to send it to you. Cool.“

Ah, shit

“Wait, no! I-I need to confirm it’s the correct one!“

Damn, never did I think I’d be complimented by some of the most important streamers on this platform, but to get a number of theirs too? That’s a whole another level that will take me time to process. But I’ll do that another time, right now, I have to kick these people’s butts in Among Us and later I have some deep web stories to read.

Turns out, all it takes to get comfortable in a new surrounding is someone of your kind. And Corpse is definitely one of my kind.

@maat-the-prescriptive  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @itsminniekat  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams @solowheein  @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01  @buddyemily   @the-albino-lioness  @stardream14  @gdhdkfnn  @nomadicgypsyy  @preciousskye  @fluffysuicideunicornsworld  @o-kaelin  @manacharlotte  @awkward-youtube-trash  @lolalee24  @bonky-beerns  @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian  @strawbrinkofdeath  @teenloves  @tams0527  @browneyespinkhair  @starstruckllamapuppy  @daisychains012  @y0ulooked  @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life  @jula-pauline  @melodykitty  @just-that-bi-girl  @crazybutconfidentaf  @lowellshade @alphakees  @bellero  @weallneednamjesus  @starryhanji  @boiled-onionrings  @husherstan  @fockingwhore  @melaningoddessthings  @prettypastelpetals  @haleypearce  @godwhyamiawkward  @y-napotat  @daisychainyoonmin  @little-miss-rebel3  @free-wheelin-bi-sexual  @redmoon261 @darkacademic2  @wiseflamingoqueen  @into-the-end  @namikhai-i  @nastiablr  @thelittleplantlover  @mirktuan  @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny  @vintagegothlover  @easygoingtheatre  @itsrandombooklover  @miiaivi  @emmybaybee  @befourgolden  @jjk-is-my-shit  @eternalteaaars  @spacebadgerx  @princesslunalight  @acequinn14  @samm48  @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa  @fo-love  @marishimomura-blog  @therealglenncoco  @cinnamonbun332  @killtherandomness  @sanshinexxxsan  @fee-btheweeb  @press-lay  @cathleenpotgieter16  @jazzydoesstuff  @moonlxghtbay  @forestrain2000  @hyunjinhugs  @blood-of-fandoms  @lovellylies  @ukiyolixx  @simpforhpcharacters  @chrisdylan17  @parkerjisung  @pedernille  @theodonyous  @wineandionysus  @malfoystilinskii05  @morbid-x  @coryisagee  @jessewa26  @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365  @raeanneinwonderland  @indecisive-empanada  @gluttonypalace  @loriane2503  @btsiguess-kpop  @khaoticbunny  @lucidlycactus  @smiithys  @rottenroyalebooks  @kpopgirlbtssvt  @fangirl-tc27  @fr0z3n-1  @notmesimpingfortechno  @shotarosleftpinky  @kunoi-chan  @idk-whats-wrong-with-me  @yikeroonie  @goldenstarofthunderclan  @poetry-and-tea  @ama-do-writing-stuff  @wishbonewolf  @emeraldxhope  @t0xick1tty  @kusuinko  @speakyourselfloveyourself  @sophia902103  @lo-manburg  @classsykittykat  @dmgama  @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee  @btsiguess-kpop  @akaashi-baby  @gun-jong-simp  @geschichtenfee  @yerapotato-wp  @browneyedgirl365  @thysagclub  @sparklycloudnight  @helloatomicshadow  @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal  @lucy-bunny17  @aaliyahh0  @katluckybear  @boyleanti  @straybids  @franchesca-791  @cosmicstorm19  @averyisbackinthetrashcan  @aomi-nabi  @xlanawriter  @allensimpsforcorpse

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse fanfic #corpse fanfiction #corpse fluff #corpse fic #corpse fandom #corpse simp #corpse x reader #corpse x you #corpse x y/n #corpse imagines #corpse imagine #corpse husband x y/n #corpse husband fanficiton #corpse husband x reader #corpse husband fanfic #corpse husband fluff #corpse husband fic #corpse husband fanfiction #corpse husband imagine #corpse among us #amigops #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #fandom #fluff #fan #request

[ckret2]

Do you have any headcanons about the Hazbin's (minus Charlie) lives back when they were alive?

I scrolled through all 42 pages of the hazbin tag on my blog and literally every one of my premortem headcanons are about Alastor and Sir Pentious lmfao

So sure! Want an entire novella about my headcanons for Sir Pentious's backstory?

For Alastor, I can offer:

a traumatic toddler experience

his mother observing him with ghosts as a child

Alastor working with demons (funny)

Alastor working with demons (creepy)

Alastor and his asexuality/aromanticism (mostly postmortem but it has some premortem flashbacks)

Alastor with friends in the 20s trying to explain he does not get horny

a fic that didn't ACTUALLY happen but that demonstrates my headcanons for how he works with demons

And moving away from fics and on to tumblr posts!

For Alastor:

Alastor fought in World War I

another WWI post

headcanon about how he died (I've since changed my headcanon—hunting accident rather than manhunt—but the position's the same)

excerpt from one of the fics above about Alastor's first kiss

early headcanoning on Alastor's relationship with the queer community in life

Alastor saw but didn't learn the lindy hop in life

Alastor's accent makes people (in this case Sir Pentious) think that he's upper class when actually he's just had theater training

Alastor's family tree comes from a mix of socioeconomic backgrounds and before he died he achieved fame but not fortune

Alastor does not feel broken/insecure due to being ace/aro and never has

what people in Louisiana thought of Alastor as a radio host

what did Alastor look like (and Sir Pent)

Alastor only saw 10% of the Golden Age Of Radio and that's fucked up

fun fact when Alastor was on air radio stations weren't "just news" or "just (one genre of) music," a single station would play music and news and soap operas and sports etc

random links of queer history, 1920s gay culture, slang, and NOLA history

Alastor's mother grew up while Sir Pentious was menacing the US and she has very vivid memories of living in fear of him, and also she doesn't know her son is a cannibalistic murderer

Alastor wore glasses in life and only switched to a monocle in death

Alastor was never identified as a serial killer and there's probably unsolved true crime documentaries made about his killings (and these documentaries unknowingly use a recording of the killer's real voice, a clip from a news broadcast where Alastor read about the killings on air)

check out how hyped this newspaper in the 20s was for radio like goddamn

Alastor listened to radio all day every day

more 1920s research links

very loose overview of New Orleans race relations 1890-1920

how NOT to write about Voodoo

reminder that "alastor did magic in life" is a headcanon until we SEE him using magic before he died—also "Voodoo" is a religion not a magic power

how Alastor avoided getting caught as a serial killer

I doubt Alastor was famous enough for queer historians to have discovered he existed, only niche radio broadcast historians know about him

Alastor was raised to be courteous to (respectable) women, but not to genuinely see them as equals in a modern sense

1920s hair facts and headcanons on Alastor's hair

scene from one of the above fics of baby Alastor being haunted as shit

Alastor is a hedonistic thrill killer not a mission-oriented killer

his killing method was shooting from a distance, like hunting game

Alastor was kinda psychic in life and his psychicness interacted with radio signals

this includes developing a hella accurate sense of time

Alastor's always been hella into Mardi Gras

here he is in a ridiculous Cajun Mardi Gras costume

how the Great Depression probably affected Alastor

Alastor feels 0% empathy for other people but 500% empathy for fictional characters in musicals

For Sir Pentious:

he was so infamous that today he's a common character used in historical fiction in the same way that Victorian-era historical fiction commonly uses Queen Victoria as a character

(and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle references him in a Sherlock story)

(and he really did call himself Sir Pentious in life)

(and every character who lived after him had to study him in school, including Vaggie writing a paper about him and Alastor was cast as him in a school play)

(and now let's talk about historians dying and meeting the people they studied in Hell)

he has a son who's probably now in heaven

Sir Pent is trans

no seriously he has a son

Sir Pent has a chain of deadnames he used before settling on "Sir Pentious" and all of them are snake puns

one of Sir Pent's chosen names

based on Victorian sexual mores Sir Pent probably got kinda homoerotic with some dudes

this is just big Trans Sir Pent energy

what did Sir Pent look like (and Alastor)

I don't think Sir Pent used a wheelchair in life (but do think he had to for a while after he died)

Sir Pent is Pussyeating World Champ no I do not accept arguments

Sir Pent and his wife were very loving until his wife went "nope, you're planning world conquest, that's too evil for me"

he rigged his clothes to self-combust so he could choose death if he was ever on the verge of capture

his wife was named Helena and here's why

this is his self-destruct binder/corset

the one headcanon everyone shares

Sir Pent ain't Jack the Ripper

And there's a ton more headcanons on @dontasktheradiodemon my Alastor ask/RP blog but listen, I just went through 42 pages of one tag and it's 3 a.m., I'm not going to comb my roleplay blog for every premortem headcanon I've ever mentioned about him over there. It includes stuff like "he did deliberately shitty horoscope readings on air" and "the first time he summoned a demon he was on the Western Front and also coming down with Spanish flu so he's not sure how much of the ensuing chaos was real vs fevered hallucinations or how much was the Germans' fault vs the imp's" and "he lived a few years in New York and did drag."

These are not the only headcanons I have. These are just the headcanons I've been asked about or made time to type down. (And not counting all my postmortem headcanons. Or the premortem headcanons sprinkled into postmortem fics.) Feel free to ask me for more. Ideally with a topic you'd like to hear about; otherwise asking me "do you have any headcanons?" is like walking into a library and asking "do you have any books?" Gimme a section to start with.

#alastor #sir pentious #hazbin hotel #headcanons #reference #anonymous #ask

[after-witch]

Yandere Ransom Imagine

“That's some heavy-duty conjecture.”

Word Count: 2700ish

notes: unhealthy relationships, emotional and physical abuse, financial abuse, yandere

Imagine being a struggling adult working a full time job plus freelancing gigs just to get by in your one-bedroom apartment where the ceiling always leaks when it rains and you have to perform a complicated maneuver to make sure the door doesn’t jam up on you and you’re constantly worried about your landlord raising the rent.

Maybe a well-meaning friend gets you a gift card to an upscale bookstore because they know you haven’t had a new book on your shelves in years, or maybe you find $20 on the street like a veritable Charlie Bucket but instead of buying a Wonka Bar you head into a this fantastic artisan coffee shop on the rich side of town, a place that everyone always raves about on Instagram, just so you can try an expensive latte with hand-ground beans and flavors you’ve never heard of before--because don’t you deserve a treat, for once?

Whatever it is, wherever it is, Hugh Ransom Drysdale is waiting inside and sees you there.

And oh my God is it obvious that you’re out of place right off the bat. I mean, what the hell is someone like you doing in this part of town?

With your worn out clothes that are worn from necessity and not from being fashionably thrifted and your ratty purse stuffed with papers and candy wrappers that spill out when you dig in for your card or cash and your winter boots that you’ve probably worn 5 years in a row, ripped in the hell and patched with black tape that you hope people don’t notice.

It becomes even more obvious that you’re out of your element when something goes wrong. The gift card isn’t activated. The $20? A fake, probably a movie prop that blew in the wind. Whatever goes wrong, it means that you’re suddenly at the register, impatient people with real money tapping their expensive shoes behind you, unable to pay. You’re left standing there like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to do or say.

Normally he might just roll his eyes and remind himself that people like you ought to stick to your own shops, your own place. But something about the way your eyes go all downcast and you seem to shrink down in embarrassment makes him take pity on you. Like a stray cat in the alley hoping someone will toss it some scraps.

So he strides up and flicks out a card and hands it to the cashier, dropping a friendly greeting to them because he spends like crazy and they probably know him by name at this place, and he’s the one who hands you your coffee or your bag and your hands touch ever so briefly during the exchange.

He leads you away from the register--don’t want to piss off the spoiled debutantes and assistants on lunchtime coffee runs--and you stammer out a thank-you-thank-you and you promise you’ll pay him back as soon as you can and Jesus Christ, isn’t that just adorable? Someone like you, some lost kicked puppy who can’t even afford new boots, promising to pay him back?

He doesn’t care if you pay him back, but he finds that he would like something out of this exchange, so he says that instead of paying him back you can do him the honor of going to lunch with him. His treat. 

He insists. And you can’t really say no, can you? You are hungry and he did just pay for your things and it’s the least you can do to oblige his request.

He’s not stupid. He doesn’t take you to some razzle dazzle fancy restaurant where you’ll feel embarrassed and out of place. Instead he takes you to a quiet diner, classy not greasy, where you can have an easy conversation and tell him all about yourself.

It’s funny. Normally he brings up his family name, his grandfather’s books, to women he picks up, to get them impressed and hooked and pliable. Something about you, though. Something about you is making him want to turn this into more than a lunch date and pressure for a quickie in the car to repay him. 

So he holds back to see what he can do with you on his own. No quickie in the car, but instead before he drops you off--at a bus station, you insisted--he brushes his hand over yours. Can he get your number? He swears he can feel the heat coming off your cheeks as you fumble for your phone and let him put his number in your contacts.

He waits a day, then asks you out again. Dinner, this time. He asks you if you know any good places and you recommend a dive bar that you can go to after work (because 1) schedule and 2) cheap) and shit, he’s all for it. There will be time in the future to impress you with restaurants that have dress codes instead of sticky floors. You sit close on the stools and you buy him a drink (real cute, real real cute) and just for you he keeps the baggie in his pocket there all night instead of heading to the bathroom to liven things up.

Your relationship develops with an almost shocking speed. He knows just how to reel you in. I mean--look at you. Working your ass off at some dead end job, living in an apartment so shitty it takes you almost a month before you reluctantly agree to let him see it.

He can understand, though. Because you’re not that stupid and you know he’s wealthy, even before he casually brings up his family in a “it’s no big deal but I don’t want to keep things from you because we’re getting serious” sort of way. 

You pretend to be casual about it all, but he can tell you’re suddenly wondering: why the hell would someone from this wealthy family want anything to do with me?

It’s a question Ransom asks himself a lot. He asks himself this when he’s snorting coke off another woman’s stomach (hey, you’re dating, but he’s got needs and they aren’t met with hand-holding) or when he’s eating another greasy burger at a shitty bar because you refuse to let him buy you a nice dress to wear so he can take you out somewhere fancy.

You’re not the type of person he normally goes for, not at all. He has strings of girlfriends and flings, but they all tend to fit that same cookie cutter mold: wealthy do-nothings with their parent’s credit card who want someone else to spoil them for a while, without caring who it is or what they’re like. They’re easy pickings that Ransom can burn through and then toss aside when he’s bored of them. Some of them cry but a few days later he’ll see them on someone else’s arm, it’s the circle of life.

With you, though, there’s more. You don’t expect him to pay for dates or anything at all (even when he wants to spoil you a bit) and you have actual conversations and you seem to actually give a shit about what he says and does. You argue with him, too, when he wants you to do something (just let him take you shopping, for Christ’s sake!) or he asks you to move in (again) and you say no (again). I mean, you really fight with him, spitting words and all.

And unlike his previous girlfriends, you don’t come crawling back a few hours later because you want to buy a new purse with his shiny credit card. Instead, you make him apologize first. Fuck, that’s hot. It’s also something he tucks away in the back of his mind to work on later--but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t admit that he sometimes has the overwhelming urge to push you against the wall and fuck you for the first time right after a good argument. 

But he knows that would destroy your image of him entirely, so he holds back. He’s good at crafting a version of himself that appeals to others when he has to, and you’re maybe the first person that’s been worth all the effort he’s put into you so far.

But you need a push, a push that makes it so you can’t go running back to your shithole apartment when you fight or when you question whether or no you two have a future. You do, you’re just too naive--too inexperienced with money, to say it charitably--to realize it.

So he tips off the fire marshal about your apartment building’s shoddy fire escapes and well, damn, in the process of the investigation all the little corners that your landlord has cut come crashing down. At least they were discovered before it was the building that came crashing down.

But the evacuation of the building leaves you--and countless others--high and dry. You don’t have any family in the area, and your only half ass-decent friend in the city lives in the same building but her parent’s aren’t going to let a stranger move in.

When you finally realize you have no options and call him, voice tentative and embarrassed, he knows just what to say to get you to pack your meager belongings and wait for him to pick you up. He’s no-nonsense about it. 

He knows how to avoid deflating your pride, how to keep you from deciding you’d rather stay in a shelter than take his charity. You’ll pay him back, he says, you’ll figure out a rental plan or whatever. He even teases--he’s not the best landlord, but he won’t take 2 weeks to change the toilet if you submit a maintenance request. It makes you crack a smile and bam, just like that, he knows he’s gotten in.

That night, after takeout and wine and a Netflix movie neither of you paid attention to, you fuck for the first time on his expensive sheets on his expensive bed and afterwards, when you’re both sweating and cuddling and reveling in the afterglow, he makes a note to buy you some new lingerie. 

It’s all very homey, for a while. He could do without you leaving for work and working your ass off, with your freelance shit, sometimes staying on the computer until two, three in the morning. But it’s nice to have you close all the time, available to him whenever (almost whenever) he wants. He brings home takeout and you snuggle on the couch and he finally even convinces you to go out with him to a nice restaurant wearing something he’s bought and hot damn, do you look good, head-to-toe in the clothing he’s chosen for you. Especially, later that night, in private, in the lingerie. 

Does he love you? The word hasn’t left his lips yet, hasn’t crossed yours either, but he can feel it underneath the surface. No. It’s more than love. He wants you. He wants to have you. And not just for the afternoon or the summer, but forever. 

He spins daydreams about how he’ll clean you up nice and introduce you to the family. Probably to Harlan, first, because everyone knows that’s whose opinion really matters. Harlan will like you--he would probably like you without any primping or fixing, actually, which is more than he could say for his parents or anyone else in the family. Then once you’re in, you’re in--you’ll come to family dinners and vacation retreats where people always end up in ridiculous arguments, and you two can exchange snarky comments about the family on the ride home.

And yeah, sure. You fight sometimes.

He throws out your old clothes and buys you a wardrobe befitting someone he wants to integrate into his family. You fight about that.

He makes comments about you how you should quit your job or at least try to get a degree--he’ll pay, as long as you agree to go to a university within driving distance--to work somewhere more respectable than a chain restaurant. You fight about that.

He gets pissed when you want to meet some “friends” at a bar without him, because why would you need to go anywhere without your loving boyfriend in tow, unless you were trying to flirt with someone else? You definitely fight about that.

And, okay. Maybe he’s hypocritical.

Maybe he goes out late at night when you’re stuck doing your “freelancing work” and he’s in a rotten mood about it, and he ends up on the floor of a swanky club with drugs in his system and lipstick on his neck. He doesn’t come home until the next morning and you’re pissed and red-eyed and arguing with him, accusing him even, but you have no shitty apartment to stomp back to anymore so you’re stuck. 

Until you’re not stuck. Until he casually snoops through your phone and sees that you’re looking up cheap-ass apartments and hey, you’ve already booked a few interviews already. The thought of you slipping through his fingers makes him more sober than he’s been in a while. He’s got to do something. Not to himself, of course. But to you. To keep you with him.

It’s easy enough to get you fired. He’s a ‘Thrombey’ after all, and some nice crisp bills anonymously sent to the right hands is all it takes for you to come home one night, cheap mascara (he notes: buy you some better quality makeup soon) running down your cheeks. Your freelancing isn’t nearly enough to get you into an apartment.

He assumes that you’ll give up on the idea after losing your job, but you’re nothing if not stubborn (one of the reasons why he likes you) so you start the job hunt the next morning, fresh mascara in place. 

Damn, do you keep him busy. Anonymous calls. Cash in nice white envelopes. Rejection after rejection. You get so sad, so depressed. You don’t even want to go out to restaurants, so he orders in and you snuggle in his lap while he feeds you bites of orange chicken and rubs your back. It almost brings you two closer again, starts to mend the rifts that began when you refused to get over his occasional late night out.

But then you break the uneasy mending by snooping and woah, you don’t like what you find on his phone. 

You fight. 

Damn, do you fight. This time there’s no pretense of potential forgiveness as you begin wildly throwing your clothes into your ratty duffel bag from the back of the closet, telling him to fuck off fuck off fuck off, telling him he’s crazy, telling him that what he’s doing is fucking illegal and--

It’s the shock that hurts you the most.

The shock you feel when he grips your wrist hard and pushes back on your shoulder when you try to yank away, pushing you against the wall with a hard thud. It’s like having a rug pulled out from underneath your feet when you feel a slight ache in your back, on your shoulders, when you tell him to Let go, goddamn it and he only pushes back harder to keep you in place. It’s Ransom. It’s Ransom who’s doing this.

His voice feels unrecognizably cold when he leans in and hisses in your ear.

“You think you can just leave me? After all I’ve done for you? Let me tell you something--you won’t get another job within one hundred miles of here, within one thousand miles of here, unless I say you can. So just put your clothes back in the closet, chill the fuck out, and stop being such an ungrateful bitch.”

It’s the shock that makes you numbly hang your clothes back up in the closet, fold them again with shaking hands, and sit on the bed until the dam breaks and you cry.

And oh fuck, he’s sorry. Really. He wraps his arm around your shoulders and then he’s the one who’s crying and confessing that he didn’t want you leave him because yeah, he knows he’s a fuck up, he knows he’s got a drug problem, but he loves you. 

It’s the first time he’s ever said it out loud. He loves you. “I love you,” he says, again and again, half-laughing.  And he tells you you’re the only person he’s ever dated that made him want to be a better person but he doesn’t know how.

You don’t know what to say because maybe you do love him--but he hurt you and got you fired, but the tears on his face seem so genuine and he tells you he’ll never, ever hurt you like that again and fuck, he says, if you want to go get a job he’ll drive you to the interview right now just-let-him-blow-his-nose-first-please.

You make him sit down and then you’re the one apologizing and the rest of the afternoon is a shaky truce between you two as you drink hot chocolate and order in takeout and watch a movie together.

It’s not until you’re both under the sheets, satisfied and then showered, that you think about what he did to you in a clearer light. The thoughts weigh heavy on your mind, pulling and tugging. You think you might love him. He hurt you. He took care of you when no one else would. He cheated on you. 

I love you, he tells you, when your mind is starting to tug itself into sleep.

He hit you. He said he was sorry.

He hit you.

#ransom drysdale #ransom x reader #yandere x reader #afterwitch headcanons #afterwitch writes #I'm not sure what to callt this because it's not a normal fic but it's not headcanons either #just #word vomit about ransom after i watched this movie every day for a week straight

[spooky-z]

MIDNIGHT SKY

I have three important warnings about the AU oneshot.

The first is that this story is a little different from what I have already written. What does that mean? It means that the story will have dirty jokes, (1) detailed french kiss and alcohol. And sexual tension. Yes. An ace trying to write UST. Ah! They are 18 here.

The second is, of course, language. There is nothing more explicit than what I have written in other stories. It's just that it's hard for me to write stories without cursing like a sailor. Sorry.

The third is that I didn’t tag anyone in this story for the reasons above. I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

The two songs featured in the story are (in order of appearance): Gone by Charli XCX and Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus.

9.6K (the story is under "read more")

Maribat by @ozmav

In that au, Alya and Marinette dated for a year at the Collège, but when they joined Lycée and Lila arrived, they broke up because Lila managed to convince Alya that Marinette was cheating on her.

Lila's obsession with Adrien in the canon is replaced by Marinette, that is, instead of Adrien, Marinette is Lila's target here.

Since Lila never lied about being friends with Ladybug, Mari never suspected the girl.

So, Lila comments to Alya that it was very strange Marinette's constant disappearances and how the girl made up weak excuses about it

Alya is hard to convince at first, but with Lila's time and persuasive words, she ends up giving in and believing in Lila.

Alya accuses Mari, Mari denies it, but it's no use.

They break up.

Everyone starts to exclude Marinette, supporting Alya who is heartbroken because she still loved Mari.

Except Adrien, who is a good friend for the designer.

So, while everyone was focused on Alya, Lila approaches Marinette and Adrien in the image of a concerned and supportive friend.

She offers a shoulder for Marinette to cry, and friendship to Adrien.

This is, of course, hidden from everyone.

Lila uses Adrien and Marinette for personal gain. Knowing that Adrien was too innocent and Marinette too kind.

Marinette falls in love with the Italian and with Adrien's encouragement, she confesses.

They start dating and Lila loves that Marinette kisses the floor she steps on

This is all hidden from the class.

Lila gives the excuse that she didn’t assumed her sexuality to anyone and that she is not ready yet

Mari and Adrien are quick and comfort the Italian, telling her that she doesn't have to force herself into anything. That they loved her.

Months go by, Kagami arrives at Dupont stealing Chloe's heart and befriending Adrien

Eventually she joins the pair (adrien and marinette) bringing Chloe and Sabrina together, who apologize to Marinette

They start to hang out together as friends and Mari is happy.

This makes Lila angry, since adrinette are no longer isolated and available to her all the time.

Lila accuses Mari of not having more time for her and not loving her anymore, trying to make the girl feel guilty

Mari fearing that the same thing that happened with Alya, happens with Lila, starts to isolate herself from her friends, giving her full attention to Lila

Kagami and Chloe notices Marinette's behavior and how sad the girl looked

Marinette can't take it, and tells the four friends what had happened and that sends red lights to Kagami who starts watching Lila closely.

That’s until Chloe and Sabrina find a mistake in one of Lila’s lies and tell the fencer

And so, Kagami investigates and uncovers all Lila's lies

Including why Alya broke up with Marinette and she tells Marinette

Marinette doesn't believe in Kagami and fights with her friend, because Lila would never do that to her

So, Mari starts to avoid Kagami and Chloe and Lila celebrate with the victory

Lila warns Kagami to stay away from Marinette, because Mari was hers, thinking that the Japanese girl was interested in Mari

Kagami becomes Onii-chan, exposing Lila to Chat Noir and Ladybug

Marinette again has her heart broken and she cries on her friends' shoulders after asking for forgiveness for not believing.

She breaks up with Lila the next day when Lila is alone without the class present.

Lila tries to make the girl change her mind, blame Marinette's friends, emotional manipulation, but it's no use and Mari leaves without looking back

Lila has an outbreak of anger, but surprisingly, no butterfly appears

She tries to win Marinette back throughout the week, but the girl pretends not to see her and the group of friends was also quick to repel the Italian.

Kagami being the most brutal

With that, Lila takes personal revenge and begins to lie about Marinette and her friends

About them bullying her and harassing her.

Everyone believes in the girl and the group of friends become the outcasts of the class

Even though Lila made their lives hell, she still believed that Marinette would come back to her

The same for Alya, who still liked the girl, but treated her badly for revenge.

That is, until Lycée's graduation party takes place.

▫▪▪

The fact is: Marinette was happy.

For a while she thought it would be impossible to be happy. When you discover that the two people you loved with all your heart were two fake ones, it’s kind of makes you think that you are actually the problem.

And for a while she thought just that.

When Alya, instead of asking her to talk privately to try to understand what was going on, decided that the best time to yell at her was in the middle of the courtyard with all the students watching the show; her thoughts were that she might deserve it.

It had been humiliating, yes. She never felt so much embarrassment and hurt as she did that time. But being honest, Marinette knew that something like that could happen, since she couldn't tell her secret to Alya. It wasn't much of a shock.

She tried to convince Alya, denied it, did what she could. In the end she gave up and ran home to lick her wounds, putting on her big girl mask.

It was really a surprise that there wasn't even a butterfly. For her or Alya. No sign of akuma for an entire week.

Or later, when she found out that the girl she loved, the same one she loved the floor she stepped on, was all the time lying to her and that it was Alya's cause to break up with her.

And that in the end she became a villain almost bigger than Hawkmoth in Marinette's life; leaving her isolated, almost without friends; making up lies or accusing her of things she hadn't done. Lila tried, and in a way, managed to ruin Marinette.

She thought this was her destiny: failed and illusory relationships. No sincere and passionate romance. Kisses that wouldn't make her blood boil or her heart race. Nothing that made her weak and wobbly legs.

Marinette had broken up with Lila just six months after they started dating. She was about to turn sixteen. Alya broke up with Marinette after a year of dating, she was fifteen.

Maybe it was a curse, she thought. Since she was lucky enough to have been chosen to be a hero; loving and concerned parents; wonderful friends (all four); talent recognized by powerful people (Audrey and Gabriel).

In the same way as Ladybug and Chat Noir, if she had one side too good, the other would have to be as bad as to balance the scale.

What Tikki had firmly denied and said that Marinette just needed to be patient, that the right person for her would show up. She just needed to mature and wait for it.

Marinette tried to be positive about the words of the little goddess. Really. She really tried.

So, when she turned sixteen and Adrien announced that he and Luka were in a relationship, Marinette celebrated for her friends. She was genuinely happy for them. But when Sabrina, not even a month later, appeared hand in hand with Felix, both with red cheeks and babbling about deciding to try a relationship; Marinette broke.

She broke down and gave up.

Seeing how Chloe changed when she was with Kagami or how Felix was opening up more and more because of Sabrina, showed Marinette that she hadn't been enough for Lila. Or Alya. She was the problem.

Then she stopped.

Marinette began to focus more on studies, friends, commissions, training as a guardian and life as a hero. Not looking once for romantic relationships. And she was like that. Increasingly strong and independent, not once bowing her head to other people.

For her seventeenth birthday, Luka - who had discovered he was Jagged's son and was now living with the man - invited family and friends to celebrate at the rockstar's mansion in Gotham. Trying to keep the group away from Paris and Akumas for a while. Everyone agreed, since it was a good idea.

(Gabriel who was leaving for a business trip in New York and allowed Adrien to go with them, like a long-delayed vacation.)

And it was there that Marinette met Damian. Tall, arrogant, beautiful green eyes, olive skin, broad shoulders, defined muscles, dark hair like the night and a permanent frown as a causal expression. She felt like air was being stolen from her lungs.

The second time they kissed - the first being just a brush of lips - Damian held her tightly. His fingers sinking into the flesh of her hips, the palm leaving feverish impressions on her skin, the fullness of his cologne soaking her senses, the sharp drag of his tongue against the roof of her mouth, pulling the tiniest delightful sighs from her lungs.

Marinette had been lost in Damian. She dragged her hands through his smooth, combed hair, as if she were drugged with passion. Her nails scraping over the bare skin on the back of his neck, never wanting to let go. The sounds that escaped, Damian swallowed fervently, looking just as drunk as she did.

Marinette was weak, wobbly, her blood was like lava, her heart was beating as if it wanted to break her ribs, she was short of breath and her brain was like goo.

It was there that she gave herself over to love once again.

They returned to Paris, Luka staying in Gotham, but promising video calls and visiting when he was off tour with Jagged; Adrien was sad, but he was also the musician's greatest enthusiast.

For Marinette, leaving Gotham and, consequently, Damian, had been painful. The chaotic, disgusting thoughts about how the relationship had been only a 'summer love', but in the end it was him who insisted on continuing. Then the same promise that Luka had made to Adrien, Damian made to Marinette.

Returning to Paris was fine, but returning to Dupont had been disappointing. Somehow, Ms. Bustier's class came to believe that Chloe, Adrien, Marinette and Sabrina had been absent for a week, just to get attention and as a result, the verbal attacks became more violent. Alya and Lila being the two most aggressive.

Aurore, a few days after the group's return to Paris, had told Marinette that Alya let slip that she was dating Nino just to hurt her. As revenge for being 'unfaithful', so that Marinette would regret having deceived her.

Marinette was really sad for Nino, as he seemed to really like Alya.

Thus, a year passed in the blink of an eye and in two days, there would be the graduation party for all classes of graduates.

The first idea - coming from the teachers - was that the party would be in the American style of prom. Beautiful dresses, king and queen and all that bullshit, but all the students who were graduating refused. They wanted something different.

Hawkmoth and Mayura had been defeated, they were all graduating, all of them of age wanting to leave the lycée in style. And Chloe - as always - at the meeting with all the class representatives, offered the Moulin Rouge as a graduation party.

Everyone loved it. Well, almost everyone, since the teachers thought that a graduation party at a nightclub would be overkill; but with all the students excited about the idea and the fact that they were of age, the school allowed it.

It was three months of organization. Selling tickets to non-students, buying drinks - alcoholic and non-alcoholic -, food - since no one would be able to stand all night without eating -, talking to the club's employees, making the guest list. It was exhausting, but it only increased general anxiety.

"What do you think, bug?" Chloe was wearing a yellow sequin bodycon dress with spaghetti straps and four-inch silver strappy high heels. "Kardashian or Paris?"

Marinette chewed the strawberry in her mouth. One side of the earphone to the ear, the phone in one hand on a video call with Damian and with the other hand, she wagged her finger, asking Chloe to turn.

"Hmm, I think it would be better to choose something that you won't have to fix up every time you move around a lot." The brunette considered after Chloe turned to her again. "We are going to a nightclub to drink and dance, so I think a bodycon is not the best idea."

Chloe pouted, looking at the back of the outfit in the mirror. “But that dress makes my butt so round. 'Gami would love it.”

Marinette looked at the phone in time to see Damian raise an eyebrow at the subject, an amused gleam in his eyes. "For sure, but choose something that you will be able to dance with me because I intend to leave that club without feeling my legs."

She was biting into another strawberry when Chloe put her hands on her hips, still looking at herself in the mirror. “Watch out, bug. You spend a lot of time without feeling your legs, an hour can become dangerous.”

Marinette frowned without understanding, but the wink that Chloe sent and Damian's laughter took the confusion out of her.

"Chloe!" She took the pillow closest to her on the bed and threw it at her friend. "No sexual jokes." The blonde was laughing as she returned to the closet, easily avoiding the pillow.

"Because actions speak more than words." Damian had a small mischievous smile on his face. "And I'm a man of action."

“Oh? We'll see." Marinette threw the second and last piece of the strawberry into her mouth, chewing it slowly as she stared at the camera. "I'm looking forward to your actions, baobei."

▫▪▪

While Marinette was eager to leave the lycée and forget her classmates for good, she was also feeling salty about everything. About how Lila would get away with it, go on with life as if she hadn't fucked Marinette's entire lycée life.

On the one hand, she wanted to unmask Lila so that everyone could see how rotten the Italian was. On the other hand, she no longer cared what others thought of her, much less wanted to help them get rid of Lila's slimy claws.

There were more cons than pros and she didn't know what to do.

"Marinette, why don't you let your hair down?" Tikki flew to the girl.

"I don't know, Tikki." She took the mascara, wiping it on her lashes. "My hair is too big and I'm going to sweat." Marinette turned her face away from the mirror, studying the makeup.

She had decided to dare that night. After spending years with just mascara and gloss, Marinette had smeared black eyeshadow on her upper and lower eyelids, a little highlighter above the pink cheekbones and a pink nude lipstick.

The makeup had become a spectacle, giving it a mature look.

"Just take a ribbon to attach." The little kwami pouted and Marinette rolled her eyes affectionately. "And it will also match your outfit."

"Okay, okay. Let me fix this mane, then."

Marinette thought about wearing one of the many evening dresses she had designed before, however, considering the same advice she had given Chloe, she choose something safer.

Skinny jeans with subtle rips in thighs and knees, lace crop top with spaghetti straps and sweetheart neckline, her loyal Louboutin daf platform ankle boots. All black except for the Chanel red – synthetic – leather jacket that Damian had given her as a gift.

She opted for different jewelry this time. Tikki and the earrings would stay with Sabine, and a small, discreet pink gold earring in the shape of a ladybug took place. On the neck, the choker that matched the earrings adorned the delicate skin, as well as the ring on the finger.

"There." Marinette announced. The hair was in uneven curls, giving volume. "What do you think?" She opened her arms for Tikki to take a closer look at the choice of clothes.

She had adopted the sexy and dangerous look with praise.

"You look wonderful, Marinette!" The kwami squeaked excitedly. "Damian will love it!"

Marinette smiled excitedly. "Do you really think?!"

"She's right, my love. You look stunning.”

The two jumps in surprise at the new voice and Marinette turned in time to see Damian enter her room. Tikki soon became scarce.

"Dames!" She quickly approached her boyfriend, happiness on her expression. “When did you arrive? I didn't get late, did I?”

Damian was quick to wrap his arms around her waist, pressing the smaller body against him. There was an evil smile on his face. "I just arrived and I missed my girlfriend a lot, so I decided to show up early."

Marinette wrapped her arms around his hunched shoulders, her fingers sinking into the short hair on the back of his neck. "Good, because your girlfriend was really missing you too."

"And what does she intend to do about it?" Damian dragged his hands under the leather jacket, letting his hands roam over the bare skin on her back.

Her eyes darkened with the touch and the proximity of their faces. They hadn't seen each other for a few months since Damian had been busy joining Tim in charge of WE and that took a toll on both of them.

The hunger for touch - Damian's touch - for Marinette had become unbearably difficult to control without him around to relieve. But now he was there, so close that every slight movement of their heads resulted in their noses rubbing against each other.

And she wanted more, much more. Damian didn't seem averse to that, if the warm look was any indication.

"What do you want-" He didn't give her the chance to finish her thought, his lips firm against hers in a passionate kiss.

And Marinette gave herself up again, as anxious as she was, to get lost in their own little world. She wanted it so, so much. It was disturbing how lost in Damian she was.

"I didn't want to disturb the love birds, but they are all waiting in the limo." The two of them reluctantly moved away.

Both were panting, Damian's lips red and damp with lipstick marks on his skin, his hair ruffled by Marinette's fingers; she was no different, lipstick had smeared the skin around her mouth, her lips were red and her eyes were blurry.

Adrien had been the one to interrupt the two, still standing on the stairs and leaning on the bedroom floor as if watching a very interesting movie. He had a mischievous smile on his face.

Damian sighed, regaining consciousness, frowning at being interrupted.

"Sometimes you are a pain in the ass, Agreste." He grunted as he helped Marinette adjust her clothes.

"And you still love me." Adrien showed his tongue in retaliation. “Don't forget to clean that lipstick stain. You know that if Jason and Tim see it, they won't be talking about anything for a week.”

“Thank you, Adrien. We will be leaving soon!” Marinette replied before Damian said something rude and dragged her boyfriend over so she could wipe his face with makeup remover.

The model took no more time in the room and went down.

"I think it's best not to apply lipstick again." Damian leaned against the dresser, arms crossed over his chest, watching Marinette fix her smudged makeup.

Her hand faltered over the lipstick tubes with his comment, rethinking the options, and decided to pick a strawberry chapstick.

"I don't think you're going to care about the artificial strawberry taste, are you?" She winked at Damian boldly and took a second look at what he was wearing.

"Not at all. Now let's go, before Chloe comes for us.” And he pulled her into the hatch on the floor.

The girl was so distracted by his presence that she hadn't even paid attention to what he was wearing. And she approved the choice of the set.

Damian wore a gray v-neck t-shirt folded inside his black slim fit pants - without a belt -; over the shirt, a graphite blazer folded below the elbows to show the inner print of the piece; polished black shoes on the feet.

And she thought seeing him in a three-piece suit was surprising.

They left the house without much fanfare. Sabine and Tom sitting on the couch with Tikki and Plagg watching some old movie on TV just waved their hands, telling them to have fun and call if they needed anything.

Chloe's limo was parked right next to the bakery exit. Luka leaning against the open door, talking to Félix and Jason.

Félix had - surprisingly - left his ties and waistcoats in the closet this time. Wearing a rare gray polo shirt, regular cut black jeans with leather belt and on his feet, Gucci loafers. Only the hairstyle remained the same, as he and Damian were two people who breathed hair gel.

Jason hadn't changed much. All in black, regular pants looking well-worn on his knees, combat boots, Henley with open buttons and a leather jacket. Hair looking much wilder than on a normal day.

Luka, on the other hand, wore almost the same as Jason. The differences were that Luka did not have a leather jacket, his shirt was a white button down and was wrapped around his forearms and his pants were leather. But that was not what caught Marinette's attention about her friend.

It was the first time she had seen Luka in person in months (almost a year) and she learned from Adrien, that he had adopted a new haircut and that he had gotten some tattoos. But she didn't think he would have both arms full with complex designs and colors.

His hair was short on the sides and nape, the natural tone left untouched in the shaved parts. With longer top totally dyed blue. She was able to see that there were more piercings in the ears, a dark ring on the nose and a black plug in each ear.

"Hey, guys! Sorry we are late." Marinette smiled at their friends who had stopped talking to look at them.

"Good night, Mari."

"Bugnette, what's up!"

"Ma-Marinette, your music is still fantastic."

"Luka, you're total rock 'n roll! Jagged must be proud.” She commented.

"I liked the Red Hood style, Bugnette." Jason pointed out the similarities.

"It would be interesting to see Red Hood kicking ass on a six-inch platform heel." Felix looked at Jason, considering.

"There is an image that I would rather not have in my head." Damian groaned as if in pain.

Jason opened his mouth to probably swear at his friends and brother, but was interrupted by Chloe, who came out of the limo snorting in irritation.

“Can you guys get in soon? I want to make a dramatic entrance and you are getting in the way!”

“Wow, Chlo. You are wonderful." Marinette ignored her friend's angry snort, preferring to look at the clothes the girl was wearing.

"Of course. I am always wonderful.” Posing with hands on hips.

Chloe's outfit was not the most outrageous outfit she had ever worn before. They were simple pieces, but together they made a fatal set.

She wore a black satin top with spaghetti straps, folded into a white high-waisted mini shorts, on the legs, four-inch black over the knee boots - Tom Ford's lace-up nappa she loved - and on the neck there were two chokers: the broadest was white with black print and the thinest was leather decorated with crystals; plus a gold necklace with bee pendant.

Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her makeup was simple; black eyeliner, shadow on the eyelids was a sparkling metallic - yet soft - there was a lovely pink on the cheekbones and her lipstick was nude.

"I'm getting more and more excited about it all." Marinette murmured, an evil smile on her face.

Chloe winked at her friend, having the same thoughts as her. "Come on suckers!"

▫▪▪

When they arrived at the club street, there was a considerable line at the entrance for people who had bought tickets; but as Sabrina, Adrien, Chloe, Marinette and Kagami were students, they were entitled to VIP entrance and could take two guests each.

"That's a lot people." Adrien commented sitting next to Luka and Chloe.

He wore an oversized pastel pink button-down shirt; the last three buttons open with the left end folded into the slim fit light blue denim pants. On the feet, off-white converse with white socks.

The hair, which he had let it grow - not too long, just long enough for a little ponytail - was parted on the side and messy, two kitten clips holding the right side of the bangs, while the left side fell textured over the eye.

"I see Nath and Marc from your class coming." Kagami lays a finger on the window, showing the two boys to enter.

She wore a pleated red peplum off-shoulder knit top, black leather pants with golden zippers on both sides; and on the feet, six-inch silver gold peep toe platform high heels.

Her hair, now in a pixie cut, had her bangs pushed aside. The makeup, she just had a thick black eyeliner on her eyes, ruby lipstick on her lips and minimal blush. Accessories include a pair of diamond earrings.

"Aurore and Claude too." Sabrina replied. That night, she had left her glasses at home, opting for contact lenses.

Sabrina opted for a black backless bodysuit with spaghetti straps, a pleated two-tiered skirt with the first being gold sequin and the second layer was peach tulle. On the feet, five-inch black lace up bandage high heels.

Red hair in a French bob, with loose curls and messy bangs. A silver necklace with a fox pendant around her neck. The makeup the same as Kagami's, changing only the color of the lipstick, which was a wine purple.

"Everyone has arrived." Jason says, his eyes glued to the phone.

"Everyone?" Marinette asks, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah..." He looks up, feeling the sharp edge.

"Everyone who?" Damian asked, already knowing the answer to that question.

"You know..." Jason looks away before speaking again. “Artemis, Dick, Kori, Tim, Conner, Cass, Steph, Babs, Duke and Jon. Bruce and Selina didn't come because Helena cried every time they put her in the crib.”

Damian grunted and Marinette laughed, incredulous. Luka and Adrien were out of breath from laughing.

"My god, the entire Wayne family under one roof..." Félix gasped in horror.

"If Paris remains whole tomorrow, I will ask my father to declare a holiday." Chloe joked.

"Okay, I think we better get in soon because this is getting weird here." Marinette opened the limo door and let out a breath.

It was now or never.

▫▪▪

Lila was ready. This was the last chance she would have to mess with Marinette, before everyone followed the path of adulthood with colleges and jobs.

Was she a little obsessive? Yes. She would not deny it. But there was something about Marinette. Something that she couldn't name, that made her waste hours of the day thinking about her; feeling angry that the girl broke up with her and never looked twice at Lila again.

She simply pretended that the Italian did not exist, regardless of the lie that Lila told or accused her, Marinette did not even blink in her direction and that left her burning with frustration, a bitter taste in her mouth.

When Marinette broke up with her, the first thing she thought was that it was Alya's doing, but she soon gave up on the idea since Alya was her most loyal follower and didn't know about Lila and Marinette's relationship.

But she knew that Marinette would not have found it out on her own, that she had help and that the person who had done it would pay. It was only when she noticed Kagami's murderous looks that everything fell into place and she tried.

Lila tried so hard to ruin Kagami Tsurugi's life. At school, at home, with the girl's fencing partners. Everything. But somehow Kagami was untouchable.

So, she went around, attacking Chloe with gossip around the school, accusing Marinette of bullying, telling everyone that Adrien was gay, throwing suggestions to Sabrina's stupid father; everything she could do she did and in a way, she got some results, but nothing significant.

Not even when Lila talked – lied - about lovers or high society ex-lovers like Damian Wayne, Peter Stark, Princess Shuri to make the girl jealous, Marinette reacted.

It was frustrating. Marinette getting further and further away from her control, the days and months passing, the anger rising. But she had everything ready for that night.

Lila would recover what was hers for better or for worse.

Nino choked on his drink and coughed violently, drawing her attention.

"You're right, man?!" Kim asked worriedly as he hit the DJ on the back.

The whole class was sitting in a discreet corner of the club that filled up more with each passing minute, so the boy was soon surrounded by concerned colleagues.

Lila tried not to roll her eyes in annoyance.

Nino inhaled the air trying to compose himself, his outstretched arm pointing to a somewhere in the club. "Ma-MA"

Alya frowned in confusion before following the direction with her eyes, where Nino pointed. The reaction she had was almost identical to Nino.

"MARINETTE?!" She screamed; the club's music drowning out, but the class was able to hear without a problem as they were close.

Lila felt a sharp pain and burning in the back of her neck from the speed that she turned her head, but it didn't matter. With ‘Marinette, Marinette, Marinette’ singing in her mind, she rested her eyes on the sight of the gods.

There she was. Sin itself. Lila felt her mouth dry, feeling deeply dehydrated.

She had other people with her, but the Italian had eyes only for Marinette. For the way the pants hugged the curves like a glove, the contrast of red and black against the alabaster skin, the sudden ability to walk in heels.

The loose hair that she never showed anyone, just for Lila, but now everyone was seeing.

"Wow, Marinette looks beautiful." Alix sighed.

"I didn't know Sabrina could look like this..." Max commented back.

"Chloe looks beautiful, too." Kim's cheeks were flushed.

"... Mari..." Alya said again, her eyes glassy, unaware of Nino's grimace.

Lila felt her anger burn again.

Everyone was looking at Marinette. Everyone was coveting what was hers.

She swallowed the rest of the gin violently before placing the glass on the table and walked to the dance floor.

Tonight, Marinette would look at her, only at her.

▫▪▪

Meeting Damian's family on the sofas in the VIP area of the Moulin Rouge had been quite a scene, since the group of heroes - and vigilantes - attracted a lot of attention, even though they were doing nothing but talking and drinking.

Artemis and Kori, two tall and strong women, wearing simple clothes: Kori with a black lace trimmed silk satin mini dress accompanied by black shorts, and on her feet, four-inch open toe pump noir from Visage; Artemis, on the other hand, was more comfortable with blue ripped skinny jeans, a transparent black button-down blouse - a lace bralette underneath - and on the feet, Jeffrey Campbell's four-inch rodillo-hi wedge sandal.

Babs was also tall, but not quite as tall as the other two. She was wearing a scribbled multicolored Jeremy Scott mini dress and red YSL stilettos opyum 110 on her feet. Cass was the most casual, all in black wearing a black t-shirt with sleeves wrapped around her shoulders, denim and converse Chuck Taylor.

Steph was wearing a black Prada technical nylon jumpsuit with black Oxford heels and Marinette was never so proud.

She succeeded in just a year, making them understand that jeans and hoodies were not the solution for everything. Only Cass who was still fighting her, but Marinette was nothing but persistent. She was going to make it.

From the boys, there was not much difference from the ones she had seen before. All between Félix and Luka. Which was disappointing, honestly.

They were all sitting, talking and drinking, Jon had disappeared with Mirelle in the middle of the dance floor and Tim had gone to the bathroom when Adrien jumped off Luka's lap.

"I love this song!" He shouted excitedly. "We have to go!" He took Marinette and Chloe's hand, pulling both without thinking twice.

Chloe laughed excitedly, turning quickly just to wave goodbye to Kagami and Marinette blew a kiss to Damian who leaned back against the couch, relaxing to watch the girl.

They had to push some people out of the way to get a good space, but soon they were dancing.

‘Why do we keep when the water runs? Why do we love if we're so mistaken?’ Adrien sang for both of them, arms up as he moved his hips.

‘Why do we leave when the chase is done? Don't search me in here, I'm already gone, baby’ Chloe sings back shaking her head while tossing her ponytail over her shoulder.

‘Why do we keep when the water runs? Why do we love?’ Marinette shrugged to take off her jacket and do a slow body roll. The sharp and sensual hips.

She looked over her shoulder, catching Damian's eye across the dance floor. He smiled; his eyes dark. Tim catches the change and laughs hard. Damian looks at his brother, his expression irritated.

Marinette dances again with her friends, putting her jacket back on her shoulders, getting lost in the music. Feeling the melody vibrate under the skin. Dancing was really wonderful.

The three of them stayed on the dance floor for what seemed like hours. Jumping, singing or just playing with each other. At one point, Sabrina joined them, but she didn't stay long.

Adrien was flushed from the effort; Chloe had a wet neck and Marinette was scalding in that leather jacket. That's when they decided to stop and go back to their table.

Chloe and Adrien were quick to sit on the plush seats, leaving only Damian's lap free for her to sit on, which she didn't hesitate to do.

"Hey, big boy." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "You come here often?"

Damian hugged her waist. "No, but if you want, I can come." He kissed her neck, his arm stretched out on the table to pick up the water bottle. "But first you have to drink water and take that jacket off to cool off."

She made a face, but didn't complained when she took off her jacket - which Damian threw on the table - and took the water from his hand. She managed to drain the bottle without having to stop to breathe, the thirst she hadn't noticed, calmed.

“Water has never tasted as good as it does today. Wow." She sighed in delight.

"I know something much better." Damian whispered in her ear and lowered his head to place a kiss on the back of her neck, enjoying the goosebumps.

"D-"

"If you guys stop flirting for a moment and pay attention to me, I would appreciate it." Adrien caught their attention.

"Agreste." Damian growled as he pulled his mouth away from her skin. “This is the second time today. Second."

Luka laughed at his friend, blinking slowly. “Easy Wayne. He just wanted Marinette to see that.” He pointed discreetly at the dance floor.

Dance floor where Alya and Lila danced against each other, trying to sensualize. Trying was the key word, since Lila didn't seem to know what she was doing. But the worst was not them trying to sensualize, but trying and, on top of that, looking at Marinette waiting for a reaction.

"Do they really think this is going to work?" Sabrina asked really surprised.

"I wish I could unsee it. Jesus." Felix grunted.

"They can be worse than Tim." Dick stifled his laughter in Kori's dress and she stroked his hair.

"It's like a live trainwreck." Kagami had a glass of whiskey in her hand, trying to hide her laughter.

"This is disturbing." Jason raised his eyebrow at Alya twerking. "Very disturbing." He was sitting on Artemis's lap, his eyes barely open, almost asleep.

"I should sue them for this." Chloe was extremely irritated.

"Think on the bright side: at least they haven't started-" Damian raised his eyebrow, before rolling his eyes. "Forget what I was going to say."

"They really are- oh my god." Marinette put her hands on her face in disbelief.

Lila and Alya were kissing. Kissing in a very obscene way, if Marinette could add.

"Guys, this is worse than I expected." Cassandra commented without emotion. A beer in her right hand and her left arm on Stephanie's shoulders.

Marinette was not really believing the general situation of what was happening. Of course, she imagined that Lila would try some of her irritating plans to humiliate her in front of everyone, but she didn't think that Lila would be allying herself with Alya in such a rude way.

For God’s sake! Alya had a boyfriend and even though she didn't really like Nino, she should at least respect him. Nino was not a bad guy, perhaps too innocent for falling for the lies of the two girls, but he was still kind and fun. Quite honest.

Seeing Alya simply dismissing his feelings as if it was nothing, made Marinette disgusted.

If she still liked either girl, that would be the moment when the feeling would end.

"I feel so bad for her boyfriend." Steph said pointing to a dark corner on the other side of the club, where Nino looked devastated.

Marinette felt her anger burn at the sight.

She had arrived at the club determined to do nothing against Lila or Alya, but that changed when she saw Nino looking so heartbroken.

Those two would pay for thinking only of themselves.

Marinette turned to her friends, the miraculous team, with a stormy expression. “Bee, Cat and Fox-” Chloe, Adrien and Sabrina straightened up, their eyes hardening. "I have a plan and I think you will like it." She smiled like the devil, the three showing equal smiles.

"What about me, Mari-hime?" Kagami asked, eager to help.

"You and everyone are going to sit here and watch."

Damian squeezed her waist, reaching for her ear again.

"I love it when you look like this. Ready to bite heads off."

Marinette turned her face only to place an innocent kiss on his lips, before moving away to Damian's ear.

"Then you will love even more what I am about to do." And she bit the lobe of his ear, pausing only to appreciate the way his fingers dug into the bare skin of her waist, before getting up.

"Now if you guys excuse us, we have a show to do."

▫▪▪

Lila was about to open her mouth again to deepen the kiss with Alya, when the music was abruptly cut off and everyone started booing.

"Sorry! Sorry!" The DJ - Allan from Mr. Dubois' class - said into the microphone. "I know you want to keep dancing, but a very peculiar request came and I thought you would love it."

She looked at the spot where Marinette had been sitting - sitting on the lap of a man Lila had never seen before - but did not find the girl. Only Tsurugi and Couffaine were still sitting there with the strange friends. None of Marinette's other three minions were there.

The man who had been with Marinette before noticed Lila's gaze and raised an eyebrow in defiance and she had to look away back to the DJ booth.

"What do you think of a live show?" Allan asked, getting excited by the enthusiasm of the audience. "Great, great- because I have four friends here who want the high point of the night!"

Lila had a really bad feeling about what was about to happen.

He turned back, waving to the people in the back and when they reached the light, Lila's heart dropped to her stomach.

Marinette, Chloe, Sabrina and Adrien were smiling like a cat that ate the canary while waving to everyone.

"You must recognize them: Adrien Agreste, Sabrina Raincomprix, Chloe Bourgeois and Marinette Dupain-Cheng, from Ms. Bustier's class!" Everyone shouted excitedly. "The stage is all yours." He said to them when he handed the microphone to Marinette.

Adrien, Chloe and Sabrina already had microphones in their hands.

The melody started and Marinette, along with the three of them, headed for the stairs that led to the dance floor. The light following in their footsteps.

La-la, la-la, la

They leaned against the railing, posing. Marinette first, Adrien behind her, Sabrina next and Chloe at the top.

Yeah, it's been a long night and the mirror's telling me to go home (go home)

Marinette started to sing, her voice rocking everyone in the club watching her and the three friends doing backing vocals.

But it's been a long time since I felt this good on my own (uh)

She ran a hand over her bare belly before going up to her hair, pushing it out of the way. Marinette was breathtaking.

Lotta years went by With my hands tied up in your ropes (your ropes) Forever and ever, no more (no more)

Marinette rocked her hips to the side, shaking her head in denial and the other three did the same, but Lila's focus was only on Dupain-Cheng.

The midnight sky is the road I'm takin' Head high up in the clouds (oh, oh)

Her voice came raw, sensual. She slid while holding the railing of the stairs, never failing to move her hips. A wild glow in the eye.

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (by you)

She got up and the four started to sing together in what looked like the chorus.

Fire in my lungs Can't bite the Devil on my tongue, oh no Don't need to be loved by you

They started down the stairs slowly, still dancing to the melody of the song.

See my lips on her mouth Everybody's talkin' now, baby Ooh, you know it's true (yeah, yeah)

It was then that Marinette, for the first time in months, looked directly at Lila. To Lila and Alya, who was shaking next to the Italian.

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (loved by you)

She raised her hand and with her finger, signaled a 'no' before winking at them and looking away again. Lila was having trouble assimilating everything.

La-la, la-la, la

They reached the dance floor, everybody making room.

She got her hair pulled back 'Cause the sweat's drippin' off of her face (her face) Said, "It ain't so bad if I wanna make a couple mistakes"

Side by side, they waved their hands in front of their faces as if they were hot.

You should know right now that I never stayed put in one place Forever and ever, no more (no more)

They started to walk in a circle, looking at each person around them and smiling.

Marinette took the lead again.

The midnight sky is the road I'm takin' Head high up in the clouds (oh, oh)

Her voice was raw, resonating through Lila's body like a charm.

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (by you)

The four returned to stand side by side, to sing together.

Fire in my lungs Can't bite the Devil on my tongue, oh no Don't need to be loved by you

Adrien turned to Chloe and Marinette turned to Sabrina, her back to Adrien. They approached, so close that any mistakes Marinette and Sabrina could bump each other's mouths.

See my lips on her mouth Everybody's talkin' now, baby Ooh, you know it's true (yeah)

Lila felt the hatred burn in the pit of her stomach, disgusted by the intimacy that Sabrina - the same girl who had scorned everyone with Chloe for years - had with Marinette, while she only had a quick look and worst, she had to share with Alya.

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (by you)

They moved away from each other and started walking on the dance floor, messing with people. Marinette getting closer and closer to her.

Until she stopped in front of Lila.

Oh I don't hide, blurry eyes like you

And sang to her. Directly to her. Marinette inches from her. If Lila reached out, she could touch Mari's skin again.

Like you

Marinette looked up at someone - Alya - behind her for a moment, before leaving again.

The meaning in the letter does not go unnoticed by either.

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no I don't need to be loved by you (by you)

They walked on the dance floor again singing and dancing together.

Fire in my lungs Can't bite the Devil on my tongue, oh no Don't need to be loved by you

Marinette approached someone, the same guy as before, the one she was sitting on the lap. He was a few people away from Lila, but even with the distance, she was able to see the way his eyes were dark with possessiveness.

He advanced, being pulled by Marinette, before she turned her back to him making him embrace her.

See his hands 'round my waist Thought you never be replaced, baby Ooh, you know it's true (yeah)

Lila saw his hands go over Marinette's hips, the comfortable way he hid his face in her neck and the swing of her hips against his. As if it were normal for them.

Jealousy was burning again in Lila's chest.

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no Don't need to be loved by you (yeah)

Marinette looked up, meeting Lila's. The lyrics of the song were like a knife in her skin.

La-la, la-la, la, la-la

She saw Marinette turn around in his arms and kiss him. Slowly and deeply, completely oblivious to the screams of the audience.

You know it's true, you know it's true Loved by you

The others finished singing the song and with the end of the song, the hope that Marinette would return to her died.

But Lila would make her regret that.

▫▪▪

"MARI, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD SING!" Kori shouted over the applause.

"I didn't know the three of you sang." Conner commented in surprise.

"I think everything they do comes out well." Jon snorted.

"Thanks, guys." Marinette laughed sheepishly. It was still difficult to receive so much praise.

"You sang like a Rockstar, Bugnette." Jason raised his hand and she hit a hi-five.

"That's why I always invite her to be part of my music." Luka laughed; arms wrapped around Adrien.

"Damian doesn't seem happy about it at all." Tim commented, looking at his sullen brother.

"Oh no. He's like that because you interrupted us four times tonight.” Marinette replied.

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried to kill us yet." Dick laughed.

After the group of friends finished singing, they were approached by friends excited by the show. Damian getting annoyed at being interrupted for the third time that night.

Chloe had kissed Kagami, Adrien jumped into Luka's arms, Sabrina and Félix having a moment; but when Damian tried to monopolize Marinette, his family appeared to interrupt them.

"It’s because I’m without my katana here, otherwise I would have already killed you."

"Uh-oh here comes trouble." Adrien looked over Marinette's shoulder and she feared what it was about, but she turned nonetheless.

And for sure. There was a problem.

Alya, Lila and the entire class, even a constipated-looking Nino, walking up to them.

"And here they come wanting to be humiliated again." Sabrina shook her head in disbelief.

When the class reached them, Marinette was able to notice Alya's murderous look at Damian, as Lila had a smug smile on her face and Nathaniel's apologetic look.

"Good night, Marinette." Lila greeted, the fake sweet tone already taking Mari's patience.

"So, it's him, huh." Alya snarled, Nino looked like he was about to cry.

"He...?" Damian frowned.

"You must be Marinette's boyfriend." Lila doesn’t answer the unspoken question. "My name is Lila Rossi; it is a pleasure to finally meet you." She raised her hand to him, but he didn't react. Still looking at the group with contempt.

"Damian." He replied dryly.

The two had a silent dispute to face.

"Ah- hi, Juleka!" Adrien waved at the girl and she looked away, refusing to wave back. Luka had a sad gleam in his eyes.

Juleka was not part of the group of people who attacked them verbally, but she also remained neutral, since Rose really believed in the bullshit that Lila told. She didn't want to become a pariah of the class like Marinette, and it hit the Couffaine siblings hard.

Which got worse with the discovery that Jagged was Luka's father and that Luka was leaving Kitty Section to live with him in Gotham.

Juleka never forgave him for it and blamed Adrien for supporting Luka's departure

"So, it was with you that Marinette cheated on Alya, huh." Alix said without caring about anything.

"You aren’t that great." Kim looked analytically at Damian and Marinette felt Damian exhale heavily.

"Who said that?" Marinette asked Alix.

Ivan raised an eyebrow at her. "It's common knowledge that you cheated on Alya, Marinette."

"Don't act innocent!" Alya shouted. "I can't believe you exchanged a year of relationship to be with this... ugh."

Chloe stepped forward to defend her friends, but Marinette stopped her.

"Alya, whether you believe it or not, I never cheated on you." She said calmly.

Alya scoffed. "It seems to me that you got over it really fast, since you were exchanging spit with this one."

Marinette blew out an incredulous breath. “We broke up almost three years ago, Alya. Did you really think I was going to be single forever?”

Max frowned upset. "People who can't stay faithful shouldn't be dating."

"I agree with you, Max. I'm glad I was never unfaithful." Marinette responded as calmly as she could at that moment.

"You should have more compassion for other people, Marinette." Lila decided to get involved. "Knowing that Alya would be hurt to see you being cozy with your... boyfriend." A false expression of concern on her face.

She looked at the Italian, her face blank. Lila hadn't noticed the opening she left for Marinette.

"What are you talking about, Lila?" She asked, confusion on her face. "You didn't seem concerned about Alya when we dated for six months after she broke up with me."

Alya turned to face Lila, surprised by Marinette's words. The class was in the same state.

"What are you talking about, Marinette?" Rose asked, shock clear in her expression.

“Lila, after Alya broke up with me, came to me offering a shoulder to cry. She stayed by my side while I tried to forget about Alya and in the end, we started dating.”

"YOU WHAT?!" Alya snarled.

Marinette tilted her head. "I thought you told them, Lila."

Lila's eyes were wide, not knowing what to say.

“But why would Lila date you, if she was the one who said you were cheating on Alya? It doesn't make sense.” Nino pointed.

"Maybe because Marinette never cheated on Alya and Lila lied to you about everything." Felix replied.

Alya shook her head in denial. "This has to be a lie, because if it's true..."

"... If true, you broke up with your girlfriend just so that Lila would have the opportunity to date her." Nathaniel commented, a devilish smile on his lips.

"It's a lie, guys!" Lila shouted. "She's just saying that to mess you!"

Alya stopped shaking her head, considering Lila's words.

"I have proof." Marinette said and Lila stiffened. “But it doesn't matter anymore. Today is the last day I have to see you, so it makes no difference whether you believe me or not.”

"Last day?" Lila asked curiously.

"Yeah. I'm going to live in Gotham with these losers here.” And he pointed to the batfam, superboys - even if they were from Metropolis -, alien, amazon and the miraculous team behind her. "Today is our farewell." She shrugged.

"Oh." Alya sighed.

Lila didn't like what she heard. Angry again.

"So what? You are leaving just like this? Are you going to leave me to live with this nobody?! "

Damian snarled. "What did you call me?!"

"Damian." Marinette said and he stepped back. “And yes, Lila. I will leave just like this. I owe you no satisfaction from what I do or don't do. You decided to lie to me and I decided that you would not be part of it.”

She picked up the jacket on the table and took Damian's hand. The party was over for her.

“I grew up and you should do the same. Goodbye."

Deciding to leave as soon as possible, Marinette did not wait for Lila's answer and pulled Damian away.

She was an adult now; teenage intrigues were no longer part of her daily life.

When the two reached the Moulin Rouge's sidewalk, Marinette turned to Damian.

"So, how about a tour in your hotel room?" She winked at him.

Damian smiled beatifically. "I thought you'd never ask."

Tikki was right. Waiting was worth it.

BONUS #1:

"Hey, Damian did you saw Ma- oh"

“Okay, this is it. Run Agreste.”

"But-"

"Shut up and run."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...!"

"LUKA HELP ME!!!"

BONUS #2:

Marinette picked up the phone, noting that there were two voicemail notifications.

She was surprised, since everyone who had that number was in the gardens enjoying Alfred's birthday party.

Marinette put the phone to her ear, curiosity eating at her.

"Hello, Mari?" She inhaled hard. How did Alya get her phone number? “Hi, it's me Alya, Alya Césaire. Hah of course you know who I am... You, uh, must be wondering how I got your number... I got it from Nathaniel. Don't be mad at him, please! I needed to talk to you, but it's like you moved to Narnia. You probably blocked me, hah.”

She felt tears prick her eyes. As much as Marinette held a grudge against Alya, she still missed the friendship they shared and hearing her voice like that was like putting salt in the wound.

“Mari- Marinette. I wanted to apologize. I'm sorry for everything.” Tears falling freely. “I know that just words won't undo everything I did or said to you, but I needed you to know that I regret everything. I loved you, I still love you, but I see that feeling has rotted and blossomed into the worst of me. You didn't deserve anything that we did for you. I want you to understand that I was stupid, childish and did not weigh the consequences of my actions, but that I am trying to improve-“ The signal for the end of the voicemail rang and Marinette immediately clicked on the second message.

“Sorry, I reached the time limit. Hah. After that night at the club, I came home and thought about everything a lot. Nino has been helping me daily and- I'm grateful Mari, because Nino was kind enough to forgive me for what I did. I think I'm really falling in love with him now that I'm not blinded by meanness. Lila is no longer in Paris. I may have... left some videos at the Italian embassy for her mother to see and even if she is of age, some things would be really harmful for Ms. Rossi at the embassy, so the two left Paris. The last thing I heard was that she was arrested for stalking a girl from university she was attending. Anyway. I thank Mari, for being my best friend, my girlfriend. I love you. Bye." The finishing beep rang again and Marinette put the phone down.

The tears came down salty, wetting the beautiful fabric of her summer dress. She felt light, relieved as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Marinette knew it would take her a while to actually talk to Alya, but deep down she knew she had already forgiven the girl for everything.

"Mari?" She heard Damian's voice and the silent footsteps on the wooden floor.

She quickly wiped away her tears, trying to compose herself. "I'm here, Dames."

He entered the room worried. Her voice seemed unsteady. "Hey-" Damian stopped, observing the state she was in and ran to her side on the bed. "What happened, habibit?"

Marinette pressed her forehead against his, a shy smile on her lips. "I'm fine, love." Damian put his arm around her, pulling the girl onto his lap. "Really. I'm fine. No need to worry."

Damian kissed her lips tenderly. "Of course I worry. I will always worry about you.”

She pulled him in again for a kiss. Longer, but no less sweet.

"I love you, Damian Wayne."

"I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

#one shots #daminette #maribat #lukadrien #chlogami #felix x sabrina #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #luka couffaine #chloe bourgeois #Kagami Tsurugi #sabrina raincomprix #ml felix #ml salt #lila rossi salt #lila bashing #alya redemption #miraculous ladybug #ml x dc

[kidslovecudi]

Man On The Moon III: The Chosen - Album Review By “kidslovecudi“

Before I say anything about this album, let me say that I am so excited that Cudi is finally releasing new music! Speaking for all Cudi fans, we have all been waiting for new solo material from the moon man for the longest time and the few teasers he’s been releasing over the last year, with “Leader Of The Delinquents” and his collaborations with Travis Scott, (“The Scotts”) and Eminem (“The Adventures of Moon Man & Slim Shady”) have not been enough to fully satisfy us. With Man on The Moon III: The Chosen, Cudi fulfills on a promise to his fans he made years ago and gives us quite a lot to digest. However despite how fulfilling this record is, Cudi still manages to leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more and I personally can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next!

1. Beautiful Trip (Intro)

Produced by Kid Cudi, FINNEAS, Plain Pat, Emile Haynie & Dot Da Genius

And it starts...

2. Tequila Shots  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Produced by Kid Cudi, Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

On this first track Cudi brings us back into the dark world of the moon man but this time with a new outlook. Referencing his previous works, Cudi aims to prove that he’s “not just some sad dude” and feels that despite his mental well being still occasionally being unstable he’s ready for whatever he has to face. What I loved most about this record was Cudi’s consistency. Throughout the years Cudi has mastered the art of having his own unique galactic sound that transcends through all of his music, despite the genre, and that sound is very present here. Along with his classic hums and hypnotic melodies, this track, known as the fan favorite, has the potential to be a classic.

3. Another Day ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Nosaj Thing & Take a Daytrip

When I first heard this song, I absolutely lost my shit. Cudi started this album off swinging and I was not prepared for him to go so hard. I’ve had this song on repeat quite a few times since I first heard it and along with the beat being absolutely sick, Cudi is rapping his ass off! My favorite part is when the beat breaks down in the second chorus, and I get hype as fuck every single time.

4. She Knows This ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

 Produced by J Gramm, FnZ & Dot Da Genius                  

This song on first listen reminded me of a song by another of my favorite artists, called “The Let Out” by Jidenna but Cudi took it to a whole other level and isn’t as repetitive. Once the track speeds up Cudi goes even harder with even trippier sounds that will make you feel like you’re driving through space. One of my favorite things about this album is that a lot of the songs change in the middle keeping you that much more engaged in the whole song than to quickly digest it, like a lot of records on mainstream radio. On top of that his bars are on complete fire and it’s always great to see Cudi flex his rapping skill that a lot of people don’t give him credit for.

5. Dive ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Anthony Kilhoffer, Aaron Bow & Teddy Walton

Dive ends the first act of the album and serves as Cudi’s goodbye to his fantasy high. The guitar riffs at the beginning of the song is my favorite part and I wish they were made a bigger part of the song. However this song is classic Cudi, I initially thought it was missing something but after listening to it on it’s own a few more times, I feel like this song is absolutely perfect. It’s groovy as fuck and  I think because it kind of ends so abruptly that it leaves a lot to be desired, but that also might have been Cudi’s intent, allowing it to serve as interlude of sorts. I loved the transitional elements through out the song, like when the bass comes in, his adlibs throughout the song and especially the echoing adlibs like, “MOVE, MOVE” “towards the end. It takes a few really good listens to fully enjoy the song as a whole, like it did for me but the more I played the album the more and more I fell in love with it.

6. Damaged ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

I loved the words to this song and the overall message that Cudi was trying to convey throughout the song, but the song itself didn’t do a whole lot for me until I actually found myself in a similar dark place. It’s one of those classic Cudi records that really makes you sit and reflect on your life and everything you’ve gone through, which was exactly what the song did for me. This song is where the album starts to slow down a bit and Cudi sings and raps about his trials and tribulations of being a damaged man and that sometimes his demons still come back and he has to deal with them. A common struggle most of us who’ve ever dealt with feelings of anxiety and depression all know too well.

7. Heaven on Earth⭐ ⭐ ⭐

 Produced by Dot Da Genius, Anthony Kilhoffer & DST The Danger

This song really didn’t do a whole lot for me but what I loved the most about it again, were it’s adlibs. Cudi really showed out with the adlibs on this album and that’s what made this song enjoyable for me. The song for me just sounded too typical to me but even despite that, it’s still a great track to vibe to, just not something I’d put on my favorites.

8. Show Out (feat. Skepta & Pop Smoke) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Anthony Kilhoffer & DST The Danger

Easily one of my favorite tracks on the album, when I first heard this, I completely lost my my shit and it was almost impossible not to turn my entire bedroom upside down. For one beat is absolutely sick and picks the tempo right back up. Cudi, Skepta and Pop Smoke’s voices are infectious together and everyone shines on this song without any one of them over shadowing the other’s performance. Definite a track to rage the fuck out to.

9. Mr. Solo Dolo III ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Kid Cudi, Audio Anthem, Dot Da Genius & Plain Pat

This song is trippy as fuck. From beginning to end this song takes you on an absolutely journey from the chords and the keys and there are no words to describe it. I remember playing this song while I was driving home from work on my scooter at night and man oh man, the vibes this song had was incredible. It made me feel like I was traveling to another galaxy. As a loner, this song really spoke to me and it made me feel like someone else understood exactly how I felt. My favorite part was his scream after the second verse. It made me feel free and liberated and that my feelings in that moment had been validated.

10. Sad People ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

This song is an absolute vibe. Cudi’s in his bag, back in his zone, as he said and my favorite thing about this song is the chorus. Cudi’s harmonies are absolutely incredible and my favorite part is towards the end of the chorus when the song takes on an eerie west coast like synth and it’s absolutely infectious.It’s like a dark B side to “Cudi Zone” from the first album which is one of my favorite songs by Cudi to this day. It’s songs like this that made Cudi the legendary moon man that he his, in the first place.

11. Elsie’s Baby Boy (flashback) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by E*Vax, Kid Cudi, Heavy Mellow & Dot Da Genius

This song sounded like a leftover track from “Speedin’ Bullet To Heaven” and despite how much negative criticism that album got, I absolutely love when Cudi dives into his alternative roots and I really hope he decides to dive deeper into it even further at some point. In this song Cudi sings about his relationship with his mother Elsie and his childhood upbringings. By this it in turn gave me flashbacks to my relationship with my grandmother and my childhood memories which all brought back happy and sad moments for me.

12. Sept. 16 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Emile Haynie, FINNEAS, Plain Pat & Dot Da Genius

What I loved the most about this record was Cudi’s vulnerability. Cudi has a few rare moments on his albums where he actually sings about love and being in love and it’s always great to hear. Cudi’s such a hopeless romantic and I love when he let’s his guard down and expresses his feelings. This song takes me back to “Kitchen” on “Passion, Pain, & Demon Slayin’“ and though I love that song more, this song was definitely cooked in the same pot.

13. The Void ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by Dot Da Genius, Kid Cudi & MIKE DEAN

The most uplifting song from the album, this song takes me back to some of the vibes from the first album, like his song “Up, Up, and Away”. That was one of the songs in my high school days that made me fully accept myself for who I was, regardless of what people said and this song is just as motivating and uplifting. On the same wave of “Reborn”, Cudi sings about avoiding all negativity on this record and only focusing on the positive. I almost cried towards the end when he thanked us, his fans, for staying with him and never leaving him. It’s a very beautiful song, but I just personally feel like this song should have been the one to end the album or close to end because to me this track is a hard one to follow behind.

14. Lovin’ Me (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by William J. Sullivan, Charlie Handsome, Rami Beatz & Dot Da Genius

It took a little while for this song to set in for me but after it did, it made me want to cry. If you ever struggled with self-love or self-acceptance then this song is for you. What I loved most about this song was the message because it really hit home for me. It’s a beautiful anthem about finding happiness within yourself that I feel a lot of people will relate to.

15. The Pale Moonlight ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Produced by E*Vax, Rami Beatz & Dot Da Genius

Wasn’t feeling this one all too much, but what I loved about it most again, were the adlibs. I loved Cudi’s multiple layering of his vocals throughout the song, especially the “la-la-la-la” parts. The sounds very remiscent to some of Cudi’s earlier music and if you didn’t know any better you’d swear this was a leftover track from “The End Of Day”.

16. Rockstar Knights (feat. Trippie Redd) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Produced by Jenius, WondaGurl, MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius & Take a Daytrip

I’m not a big fan of Trippie Redd but I really fuck with his contributions on this song. This is another song where I really loved the chorus and I also love Cudi’s flow once his verse comes in. Cudi’s wordplay is out of this world on this record and it’s hard not to beat your head as Cudi delivers bar for bar for bar throughout his entire verse. Cudi really shines on this record with his skills as a MC and if Cudi ever felt he had anything to prove as a rapper, he definitely did that here. As the song ends it feels like Cudi just turned the spaceship on hyperdrive and took us along for the ride as he drifted further and further into space- Totally sick.

17. 4 da Kidz ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Produced by WondaGurl, MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius, 18YOMAN & Take a Daytrip

A song dedicated to the “kidz” reminding us that we are not alone and this song is another song to vibe out to. With instructions from Cudi, to turn it loud if we need to, this song, on the same frequency as “love.” is another song where Cudi is speaking to us as our big brother and giving us a well needed pep talk. What I loved most about it was Cudi’s vocals on the chorus, especially the way he pronounced the “oo” vowel sounds. It was very reminiscent of a Baltimore accent which I always found comical in the best way which is one of things I love the most about Cudi. He’s not afraid to try different things or pull different things from his various influences despite the genre and on this record, he ties them up beautifully.

18. Lord I Know ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Produced by MIKE DEAN, Dot Da Genius, 18YOMAN & Take a Daytrip

Serving as the closer to the album and the man on the moon trilogy, this song is a classic Cudi hym that tells us that we’re not alone regardless of what we face in life. What I liked most about this song was the message, and that’s why I rate it so highly. In this song Cudi expresses being content with the path he’s on at life and after everything he’s gone through, it makes me happy to finally hear that he’s found peace within himself. The song/album ends with his daughter Vada saying, “To be continued” and I can’t wait to see what Cudi has in store for us next. I just have a strong feeling that all of us Cudi fans are about to eat REAL GOOD.

There’s been a lot said about this album, good and bad but I feel this album is merely a taste of what’s to come. Is this record my favorite? No, but what I can say is that it’s an ALBUM, meaning it’s not a group of songs that you can easily separate like many others. This is the kind of album where you have to play the whole thing all the way through time in and time again to really get what Cudi was trying to convey. It’s not a record that you can just play a few times and be done with, no, it’s a grower. There were a lot of songs on this record that I did not like at first, but after having some time to let them marinate, they became some of my favorites and it made me truly appreciate Kid Cudi as an artist because people don’t make albums like this anymore. There’s rare artists that are this detailed with the way the songs transitions, the interludes, and how copacetic the album is in it’s entirety. This album was truly a gift and I can’t wait to see what else Cudi has left up his sleeve.

                                          Top Favorite Songs

                                                  Another Day

                                                          Dive

                                                Tequila Shots

                                             Rockstar Knights

                                                     The Void

                                              Mr. Solo Dolo III

                                  Listen For Yourself Here!

#kid cudi #man on the moon 3 #man on the moon iii #motm3 #album review #2020 #motmiii

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 117

Apologies for not getting this up at 2pm today EST like usual. Thank you to @baelpenrose for reminding me... There isn’t any particular reason, honestly. I’m taking some time off of work and actually forgot what day of the week it was.

Extra kudos to everyone who found this story this past week and absolutely blew up my notifications.  There are so many of you that I can’t name you all, but you made my heart swell with gratitude. I hope you all enjoyed it!

This chapter is revisiting something that has been hinted at in the story so far, and it’s something I’m setting up for later. 

I groaned as I looked at the sheer size of the files just transferred to my datapad. “Are there seriously that many to go through?”

Alastair took his seat across from me, already looking through some of the information. “When the Council agreed that open cooking classes were a good way to share our pre-Exodus cultures, it had to be expected.  One thing consistent across every nation on Earth…”

“We all gotta eat,” I sighed. Scanning through the files, my mind was already whirring away. “It looks like we can already sort this on a high-level and let the system do some of the work for us.” I grabbed a file and flicked it over to the emitter in the middle of the table. “Three main groups. First, suggestions sent in can be completely sorted by the computer so we can pull out most popular dishes, techniques, etc.”

Alistair nodded. “I will never argue my way into reading repetitive information.  The day I do, please drown me most unpleasantly.”

“Duly noted,” I grinned. With another flick, I added our second category. “Then volunteers for actually leading the courses. The computer can pull them out, then we can go through them once we have the data from the first group.”

Tapping his chin, my assistant made a thoughtful noise. “That should just leave people hand-waving to take the courses. How do you plan to go through that mess?”

“Throw them right out.”

He sputtered before staring at me. “Rather mercenary of you, don’t you think?”

I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, I want a total of how many people are showing interest, but that’s it. I’m loving the enthusiasm, but we don’t even know yet which courses we are going to do, or even what order. Once we have that set up, we can figure out how many people per group and create a formal sign up.  Hopefully one we won’t have to manually handle.”

“Mr. Khan can certainly handle that.”

“IF he has time,” I pointed out. “Pranav is grooming him as a candidate to take over on the Council once the colony is established.”

“Rather unfair to the voting process, isn’t it?”

I waved a hand at him. “He’s not the only one Pranav is mentoring. Pranav wants the ship to have a very strong pool of candidates, who are definitely capable of the job, whoever gets chosen.”

“I have to admit, it’s very forward-thinking of him. We are eight years out, aren’t we?”

“Seven and a half, I think. Noah?”

“Yes, Wisdom. By current calculations, we are seven years, eight months, three weeks, and four days from Von, using Terran standard time units.”

“And since we do not have time units established for Von, that’s the best we can do,” I sighed. “Thank you, Noah.”  Between work, therapy, and sparring with my sister and Charly, I hadn’t seen the big guy in weeks. It felt weird to miss someone who was omnipresent, but here I was, wishing I had more time to spend with a giant talking mushroom.

Dragging my focus back to Alistair, I answered his question. “Most of the Council are currently identifying candidates who they can pass the torch to once we are able to step down.”

“Most?”

Spreading my hands, I gestured to the room. “Do you see anyone here other than us?”

Alistair paled. “I beg you, please do not tell me…”

I groaned and dropped my head to the table. “No one wants this position, I swear.”

“Nearly dying several times does not make the role appealing, no.”

“Still alive,” I reminded him. “Besides, you know that has less to do with the role and more to do with me.”

“Well, yes. You have near-death experiences drinking tea.”

“Ass.”

Alistair smirked at me. “Yet you did not say I was wrong. Besides, I would have thought you were grooming Tyche to take over for you?”

“She would kill me for asking and you for suggesting it. Probably. If we’re lucky.”

“Fair…” he admitted, unphased. “Miss Harper?”

“Huynh got to her first.”

“I would have thought he would be more focused on your Mr. MacMaoilir.”

“Somewhat? But there is an arms-length clause to serving on the Council.” When he stared at me, clearly expecting clarification, I went on. “Councilors cannot be related, either romantically or familially. So, Conor would not be able to serve until I step down, which isn’t looking all that great at the moment.”

“And yet Councillor Huynh is still considering Miss Harper?”

“Ersatz sister is not real life sister, legally.”

He snorted. “Rather ridiculous, but if it allows Miss Harper to succeed, I will excuse it.” He tapped his chin again, thinking.

After an extended silence, I gave him a sardonic look. “See the dilemma?  I never thought that I would regret Jokul swearing to never take a position on the Council.  Hell, I told him before he pulled that stunt that I would gladly give him my job if I could.”

“As much as it pains me to suggest, have you considered that rather rude friend of yours?”

“Arthur? Sorry to say, your best friend is being mentored by Eino.”

“Mr. Costa?”

“Grey, duh,” I rolled my eyes. “Arms-length enough that they see no issue with my sorta-brother-in-law, apparently.”

“Your predecessor,” he threw out, exasperated.

“Said absolutely not, and is also being mentored by Eino.”

“Miss Reid, you are sorely in need of a wider social circle.” Scrolling through a list on his data pad, something caught his eye. “Has Councilor Kalloe considered her replacement?”

“Evania Josue is the favorite there,” I admitted.

“That could be our solution.”

“Our?” I teased.

“Very few people have the opportunity to choose their future boss,” he pointed out. “But if Councillor Kalloe steps down before or at the same time you do, Parvati Fletcher would be an option.”

“Huh,” I grunted. “I didn’t consider that.”

“There is also Hannah Bodenheimer, depending if Mr. Khan replaces Pranav,  or possibly Sebastian Reed. His file shows he was actually considered for my position, so he would be a good fit.”

I threw my hands up again. “How? How!? I’ve been trying to find someone for a freaking year and you just gave me three in five minutes.” I scowled and pointed at him as I brought my arms down.

“Rigorously avoiding potential death does wonders for my mental capacity,” he stated drily. “Also, had you asked me a year ago, you would be significantly less frustrated, I believe.”

I made a note on my calendar to speak to the three in question, while trying not to give him the satisfaction of looking too relieved. I’d never live it down. I was already concerned that this entire conversation was already logged right next to the choking-on-tea incident as ammunition for future needling.

I also resisted the urge to hug him in gratitude, largely because I wasn’t entirely certain the urge was actually to hug him, or if it was to choke the smug look off his face.

<< Prev   Masterlist  Next >>

#the miys #humans are space orcs #humans are weird #found family #not always fun #aliens #apocalypse #science fiction #hfy #scifi #original sci fi #original fiction #original science fiction #my writing

[rons-hermiones]

Come Find Me

Come Find Me

by rons-hermiones

Summary: Unplanned, Hermione is forced to spend Christmas at the Burrow due to her grandmother falling very ill. After being ignored by Hermione for weeks, Ron is determined to show her how much she means to him. Just before he gets the chance to tell her, Bellatrix Lestrange shows up with other plans for Hermione. Can Ron get to her before it's too late? (Ron/Hermione Half-Blood Prince AU)

Rating: M for language & dark themes in later chapters.

Chapter Four

Not even realizing it, Ron had wallowed in self pity and hatred the rest of the ride. Eventually, the train came to a halt as he hurried to leave Lavender’s compartment, not being able to stomach another talk with her. 

Scrambling, he walks down the corridor against the mass of students and eventually retrieves his trunk, stepping from the platform later then most. 

The mass of redheads is easy to spot despite the crowd. 

His Mum is embracing Ginny as he sees Harry shaking his Dad’s hand. Fred and George have also come, he watches as they step forward and tenderly embrace Hermione. The act is out of character for the pair, but he figured that this gesture coincided with the McLaggen stint. 

The three begin talking in what seems like hushed whispers, no doubt about what transpired, well that is until Ron gathered the courage to join his family. 

As his mother called his name and embraced him, Hermione went silent. Slowly, she slinked back, away from the twins, away from the Weasley’s. 

She was never supposed to even be here. Hermione had told herself that she needed to separate herself from them in order to ensure Ron had the holiday he deserved without her bothering him. 

Ron seemed to notice this, heart breaking a little. He wanted nothing more than to hug her himself and assure that he wanted her here, that he was so happy she was. 

He couldn’t though, not yet anyway, not when he was still reeling from his half breakup with Lavender not long ago. 

Instead, he grabbed onto the Port Key his father got from work, jolting slightly as Hermione’s fingertips gently brushed his as she grasped the old scarf they were using. 

Once the dizziness had subsided and they landed on the grass in Ottery St. Catchpole, he was disappointed to see Hermione already retrieving into the Burrow, ahead of everyone else. Alone. 

He can’t help but groan aloud. 

“Did you do it?” Harry asks as he offers a hand and helps Ron from the ground. 

In response all the youngest Weasley brother can manage is a groan. 

“Sort of.” Ron whispers slightly embarrassed. 

“Sort of?” Harry questions rather loudly, warranting a glance from Ginny who is only a few paces ahead. 

“Shush,” The ginger starts, “and I mean the words ‘I’m breaking up with you’, certainly left my mouth. More than once. In a variety of ways.” He explained, his anger bubbling back up at the recollection.  

“Alright so you did it?” The Boy-Who-Lived asked, confusion evident in his tone. 

“Yeah I told her that and she definitely heard but all she said was no,” at this point he’s stopped walking, “that’s completely mental! I told the girl it was done with and she said no!” He was yelling now. 

At this point, Ginny had come to a full stop, the twins were lingering by the front door, and Hermione had thankfully disappeared  inside along with his parents. Harry was faced with horror stricken on his features. 

“You keep it down!” The dark haired boy staged whispered. 

Ron twinged as red as his hair, “sorry,” he said lamely, “she even started on Hermione. By that time I had already told her it was done twice, maybe three times.” 

A low whistle escaped the chosen ones lips, “so let me get this straight, you broke up with Lavender at least three times, and all she said was no?” This sounded like something out of a Muggle film. 

He nodded, a sour look on his face, “And after all this, she kissed me on the cheek, called me ‘sweetheart’, and wished me a Happy Christmas!” He recapped sounding beside himself. 

“You’re right,” Harry said after a moment, “that is mental.” 

At this the pair started trudging along the grass again, taking it slow as they wanted to finish the conversation away from prying ears. 

“Good news is you did break up with her.” The green eyed boy tried optimistically, a rare thing from him these days. 

Harry was really trying to be a better friend. 

“Bad news is I don’t think Lavender broke up with me.” He notes. 

The pair seemingly sigh in unison, both frustrated, one more so then the other. 

“So what? I just tell Hermione I’ve broken it off with Lavender? I’m sure by now she’s owled all of England that we’re still together.” 

Potter contemplates the situation for a moment before answering, “well you can tell Hermione you’ve told Lavender you’re done but she didn’t seem to accept the fact. Even though that may be the case, when we head back you’ll be implementing this break up full force. Avoiding Lavender even more than before, as if we thought that was possible!” He tries to joke.

Surprisingly a small laugh sounds it’s way past Ron’s lips, “I suppose.” By this point they’ve reached the front door, “it’s kind of mad to be thinking about all this with everything going on isn’t it?” He thinks aloud. 

Harry shrugs, “I know your life may feel like a bad soap opera but it’s quite nice for me to focus on something else for a bit. Especially if it helps you and Hermione out.” He pushes open the door and finally steps inside. 

“A soap what?”

...

Hermione really wished there was a spare room in the Weasley home. Not that she’d ever ask for it, being she would never want to upset Ginny. But an escape would be nice. 

Surely Ginny will try and get her to talk about everything that’s transpired lately, especially with the red heads new found confidence her brother wants to try and patch things up. 

It didn’t matter though, Charlie and Bill were returning for holiday for the first time in years apparently so there was no available room to escape to. And being Fleur was joining as well, Percy’s room was off the table. 

Hermione supposes she’ll just have keep Ginny at bay as long as possible. Which should be easy enough considering all the action within the Weasley household. 

Even now, unpacking her trunk a floor above them, she could hear the hustle and bustle of the Burrow. 

The twins were no doubt sounding off somewhere. Ginny was probably yelling at them to keep it down. It’s very likely Mrs. Weasley was cleaning the house to prepare for Charlie and Bill’s arrival. Mr. Weasley was somewhere consoling said stressed out wife, resulting in more screams. And as previously mentioned, the twins were probably sounding off to Harry and Ron. 

And right now as she considers all this play out, she can’t help but feel a little empty. 

For the first time since she’s been a guest at the Burrow, does she feel like a true guest. Hermione doesn’t feel like she’s at home. Not like she normally does. 

She knows exactly why too. 

After the run in with Lavender and Ron this morning, she decided she’d back off. Ron was probably better off without her constant nagging and knowledge of useless facts. Hermione would do her best to stay out of his way, starting with holiday. She’d hate for him to feel uncomfortable in his own house of all places. And after, she supposes she’ll do the same at Hogwarts. For him. 

It’s kind of twisted isn’t it? Even after all the times she’s felt hurt by Ron, she still cares about him more than anything else. 

Even now, she can still feel her heart clenching, breaking, as he agreed to the terms earlier in the compartment. The feeling alone may kill her, yet, here she is, willing to make that sacrifice for him. For his happiness. 

All this coupled with the pain of her grandmother's condition has been borderline unbearable. She wishes she still had Ron to help her through this. She needs his strength. 

Too bad she’s ruined that. 

As much as she’s yearning to blame Ron for their divide she knows it’s entirely her fault. Because despite being the brightest witch of her age, she is surely stupid for thinking he could ever love her back. To even think he thought of her like that in the slightest. 

Asking him to Slughorn’s,  it had taken everything for her to do. To him it meant nothing. 

And if the past few months have taught her anything, it’s probably that Ron just stuck around for Harry and as an extension, Hermione. All the taunts and jabs Lavender was constantly throwing her way must be true in Ron’s eyes, she isn’t exactly shy about the whole thing. 

And part of her brain convinces herself that Ron thinks she’s an insufferable, ugly, no good know it all. But part of her knows that isn’t true. 

Ron, who saved her from that troll her first year. 

Ron, whose voice rang in her head every night while she was laying petrified. 

Ron, who defended her mercilessly during their confrontation with Peter Pettigrew, despite having a torn up leg. 

Ron, who comforted her to no end when the nerves struck before the second task. 

Ron, who gently would rub dittany on the backs of her hands after detentions with Umbridge. 

Harry hadn’t been there for any of that. Surely that must mean something. 

And deep down she knows it does, but whenever the rational part of her brain pushes that forward, images of him wrapped around Lavender flicker in her head. These thoughts quickly bring back unwelcome ones of the possibility of Ron loathing her. 

She really wishes things were simple. Harry spent summers and holidays with Sirius at Grimmauld place. That Neville could talk to his parents and they’d recognize him. That Ginny would stop tossing and turning, mumbling things about a diary in her sleep. That she didn’t fear for her parents lives everyday. That her grandma would be magically healed and she’d take Ron and Harry up to France one summer to meet her. 

She wishes that Ron was her friend again. If not more. 

But that’s the problem, these are all just wishes. Figments of her imagination, something her heart longs for. Something that’ll never come true. 

And just like that, her thoughts are becoming too much. She’s supposes it’s a bit of a curse to always have your mind working this way. 

Tears begin stinging the backs of her eyes and Hermione wants nothing more to immerse herself within a book. To forget for a little while. Maybe even let her mind wander to a brighter future. 

But instead, she makes use of her whizzing brain by beginning to unpack her trunk. First she checks for the black book, that’s now a lifeline to her. Once she spots it, she relaxes a little and silently begins preparing a letter to her parents in her head. 

Surely that letter would evoke more unwelcome emotions. 

Happy holidays to her. 

...

So far life at the Burrow has been rather uneventful. Sure, they only arrived here three hours ago, but deep down everyone had this silly little notion that upon their return everything would change. 

Of course it didn’t. 

The twins were still taking the mickey out of Ron and Harry. Ginny still yelled when their fighting reached her in the living room. Molly still fussed over preparing the house for her eldest sons as her husband tried to calm her. 

In a way it was nice though, that things were the same. Sure, everyone wishes they could be better 

There was one notable difference. 

Normally, Hermione could be found sniggering behind Fred and George or defending Ron and Harry from their taunts. If not, she was curled up on the sofa with Ginny as she complained over her Quidditch magazine. Oftentimes, the witch was offering Mrs. Weasley assistance with household chores or was explaining a Muggle appliance to Arthur. 

Instead, she was just gone. 

And no one noticed her absence more than Ron. 

“Ginny, be a dear and fetch Hermione for supper would you?” Molly’s voice didn’t leave much room for argument. 

Ron peered up from where he had been setting down the utensils to see his sister rush up the steps leaving a flash of red. 

Upstairs, Ginny tapped on the door lightly, waiting a moment before pushing it open. There, she found Hermione slumped over the youngest Weasley’s desk, writing mercilessly on some parchment. She was honestly shocked to find her nose not in that odd, coverless book. 

“Hermione.” She called out, the brunette hadn’t noticed her presence. 

Startled, Hermione jumped a bit before relaxing at the sight, “yes?” Her voice cracked. 

“It’s time to eat.” Ginny told her. 

“Gin,” The bushy haired girl sighed, “I hate to be rude, but could you tell your mother I won’t be joining you guys tonight.” 

The ginger shook her head, “Hermione if this is about,” 

Granger wouldn’t let the name pass her friends lips, “it’s not about him.” Not a total lie. “I just want to get this owl out to my parents as soon as I can. I have some questions about...” she trailed feeling the tears prick her eyes. Clearing her throat she went on, “anyway, I ate on the train. I promise once I’m finished here I’ll explain everything to your Mum.”

Ginny began to open her mouth questioning the use of the word ‘everything’. Hermione, being brilliant, seemed to sense where this was going and bear her to it. 

“Everything about my Grandma.” She amended. 

Noticing the sad look in the sixth tears eyes, Ginny conceded, “alright but I’m saving you a plate and you best eat it later!” She scolded, sounding just like Molly. 

At this, Hermione was able to muster a true genuine giggle, “thank you Ginny.” She called as the girl vacated the room. 

The last thing Ginny heard Hermione say was a quick ‘thank you’ before she descended back downstairs. 

As she re entered the kitchen she noted everyone seated already, waiting for her. For them. 

Molly however, was standing, hands on her hips and stern look on her face. 

“Now Ginny I asked you to fetch Hermione.” She scolded with a wag of her finger. 

Sighing, the girl plopped down, “she isn’t hungry.”

All the younger Weasley and Harry, had exchanged knowing glances. Ron however, decided to bow his head, focus his eyes on the floor boards. 

“Non sense!” Her mother started. 

“Mum honest, I told her we’d save her plate.” She pauses as her mother frowns, “look Hermione’s got a lot going on right now.”

Concern struck over Molly instantly, “oh Merlin! Is she okay? Are her parents alright?” Then she swiftly turned to the twins, “have you two done something to her?” The older woman asked sharply. 

“We didn’t do anything mother.” Fred starts. 

“Yeah it wasn’t us who did something.” George says next, emphasis on the statement as he looks to Ron. 

“Not us!” They sound off in unison. 

Noticing Ron’s fist clenching beneath the table Ginny jumps in, “it’s nothing like that, it hasn’t got to do with the Burrow.” Her eyes found Ron’s as if to tell him that Hermione wouldn’t spill to their mother about Lavender Brown, “Hermione and her parents are alright. It’s best if she explains.”

Molly opens her mouth to protest before Arthur cuts her off, “it’s okay Molly, the girls fine, remember? We saw her hours ago. Come on let’s eat.” He reasons. 

Nodding to herself Mrs.Weasley finally calms down as they start their meal. 

And dinner was going fine. Ron had done little talking, thankful that Harry was the one recapping the Quidditch season thus far. 

Again, everything was fine. Until Arthur asked his twin boys about their business. 

“So boys how are things down in the alley?” The older man asking, earning a scowl from is  disapproving wife. 

“Wicked dad.” George says. 

 Placing his fork down Fred jumps in, “absolutely wicked. Witch weekly wants to do an article on our love potions, it’ll be great for business.” 

Shockingly, a proud smile crosses Molly’s lips. 

“Yeah we’re thinking of making scented ones, something girls will like. What do girls like?” George wonders, sarcasm underlying his words. 

“Yeah Ronnie, what do girls like?” Fred repeats facing his younger brother. 

Mrs. Weasley not understanding, interjects, “flowers.”

At this Ron grips his knuckles on the table. His brothers are smiling like it’s Christmas morning. His mother just unknowingly set her troublemaker sons up for a joke to make Ron twitch. 

“Hear that Freddie? Flowers.” George grins like the Cheshire Cat. 

“It’s perfect. I wonder which ones though, there are roses.” Fred responds 

“And daisy’s.”

“Orchids.” 

“Jasmine.” 

The pair switch off before Fred’s eyes light up, “wait I got it, how about...”

“Lavender!” The two exclaim in sync. 

Ginny does her best to surprise a chuckle. Harry looks like he wants the floor to eat him. Ron is about to punch something. 

“Yeah how about it Ronnie, Lavender. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” George says leaning in closer to his baby brother. 

A look of anger passes Ron’s face, his Mum  surveys the scene with a curious expression, “what would Ronnie know about Lavender?” Molly questions. 

“Oh mother!” George says scandalized. 

“Ickle Ronniekins didn’t tell you?” Fred asks, already knowing the answer. 

She shakes her head, “on with it.” 

“Your baby boy has a girlfriend.” George announces, loving the luck of disdain across his youngest brother's face. 

“Ronald Weasley!” His mother says standing from her chair and wagging her finger at him. 

Merlin he wishes You-Know-Who would kill him right now. 

“I don’t have a girlfriend Mum.” He defends gruffly. 

“You don’t?” Ginny says with slanted eyes. 

“Not anymore.” Harry mumbles loud enough for everyone to hear. 

“Not anymore?” Molly starts, “and you knew and didn’t tell me Ginny! You boys knew too!” She points to the twins. 

In defense the pair throws up their hands as the red headed girl starts to explain, “it wasn’t really my place to tell. Anyway Mum, it’s not like we were the only ones. Bill knew too.” 

Angrily, Ron stomps on his sister's foot. 

“You told Bill and not your own mother!” She screams, ignoring the yelp that left Ginny’s mouth. 

“Molly...” Arthur warns, trying to tug gently at her sleeve. 

She rips her hand away and places both on her hips, “I am very disappointed in you Ronald! All of you actually.” The woman huffs. 

Ron squirms, “it doesn’t matter. She’s not my girlfriend anymore.” 

“Well...” Harry can’t help but say. 

All eyes land on him. He thinks Ron may strangle him. 

“‘Well’ what Harry Potter?” Ginny asks, tone matching her mother’s. 

Now it’s the chosen ones' turn to squirm, “well,” he repeated, “I don’t think it’s my place to say.” 

At this, all eyes fall back onto Ron. Sighing in defeat, “well you see, the thing is, Lavender is,” 

“Annoying.” Ginny finishes. 

“Loud.” Harry cringes. 

“Pathetic?” George tries 

“Desperate.” Fred corrects. 

And to Arthur and Molly’s surprise, their youngest son nods in agreement, making no move to defend this girl. 

At this, the couple exchange a look. If the twins so much as look at a certain bushy haired witch the wrong way, Ron is up in arms, ready to curse anyone who crosses her. 

“Alright,” Ron says, stopping whatever they were going to say, “let’s just say I chucked her.” 

“That can’t be true! I heard her telling Parvati about how she won’t survive a month without snogging you when we got onto the platform.” Ginny calls out. 

Her brother groans, “Lavender is not my girlfriend anymore, but I might still be her boyfriend.” He explains. 

There’s a silence. 

“I don’t know what you mean son.” His dad finally speaks. 

“What I mean is that when I broke up with her she just said no.” He admits exasperated, pushing back his chair and digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. 

One of the twins lets out a low whistle. As the room enters a tense silence until Molly breaks it. 

“Ronald,” she sounds disappointed, “this Lavender wouldn’t have anything to do with why Hermione didn’t join us at dinner would it?” Her voice is growing louder. 

And there it is. 

Of course his mother would know. 

He had been painfully obvious over the years. 

Ron told himself when she didn’t come down that it was because she was probably writing her parents. But, he also knows, Hermione is capable of constructing a letter in minutes. 

“Why would you think that?” He chokes out sounding pathetic. 

The twins and Ginny laugh at this. 

“Ronald Weasley I am very disappointed in you. Look at the mess you’ve made! Your father and I raised you better than to go around treating women this way!” She screams. 

Losing it, Ron stands up angrily matching his mother’s tone, “why are you assuming any of this has got to do with Hermione?” He screams. 

In all the ruckus, he failed to notice the new presence in the doorway. 

“Hermione.” Ginny says loudly, rather soft. 

Annoyed, he turns to his sister, “Ginny I’ve just said,” before he can finish, Harry is pulling on his shirt and bucking his head to the doorway. 

As all eyes fall on her, she shrinks away, looking almost to tears, “I can come back, I just wanted to talk to...” she doesn’t get the words out, lamely she points to Mrs. Weasley. 

And just like that, any anger washes off the older woman’s face, “of course dear,” she steps over and places a hand on her shoulder, “why don’t you wait for me in the living room while I clean this up.” 

Hermione nods vaguely in response before sauntering out of the room. 

“Way to go Ronnie.” George whispers. 

And just like that, Molly is seeing red again, “all four of you, dishes.”  She says to her kids. 

The twins are ready to complain when they realize they can just do magic. 

“And no magic!” She berates. 

“What did we do?” Ginny retorts, “you’re mad at Ron remember?” She reminds. 

“You three didn’t bother to tell your mother anything!” She stops, “and you.” She turns to Harry. 

“Me?” He asks, scared. 

“Yes you, Harry Potter. You are to stay and make sure not one wand is flicked or else all five of you will be working in the gardens until all the gnomes are gone.” 

“But Mum it’s freezing.” Ron groans. 

“Well then you better do as I say, and being that I have no more house duties for tonight, I’m off to talk to Hermione. Goodbye.” At this she stomps away. 

Sympathetically, Arthur pats his youngest son's shoulder before walking off to his shed. 

A tense silence falls over the group as each of the Weasley’s exchange glares. 

“Well time for dishes!” Harry tries to break the tension. 

Scowling, they all work in silence.

#ron x hermione #ron weasley #rons-hermiones come find me #ron and hermione #hermione granger #romione fanfic #romione #hp #sixth year

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Sorry if this is a weird question. It’s been awhile, but I think it was your blog that once posted about a list of adult books for YA readers? Did you ever finish that? I’ve pretty much read exclusively YA for years, but as an adult, I’d like to start exploring some books that aren’t about teenagers. Thanks! (And if it wasn’t you, then just ignore this.)

not a weird question, pretty normal question. I don’t know if such a book list could ever be finished, exactly, because more books just keep on coming and there are definitely some I will never know about that are no doubt fantastic, but I have posted two rec lists, which I’ll copy paste here for your viewing pleasure:

The Beautiful Ones (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) - absolutely BUCKWILD romance with a dash of telekinesis; nonstop high society drama and misunderstanding from start to finish, happy ending guaranteed. STRONGLY recommend if you, like me, are a basic bitch who enjoys a bit of Pride and Prejudice.

Binti (Nnedi Okorafor) - a math prodigy runs away from Earth to become the first of her people to attend a prestigious university in space, but shit gets real when a crew of hostile jellyfish aliens attack her ship.

Chilling Effect (Valerie Valdes) - a spaceship captain and her crew take on a series of convoluted missions in order to rescue the captain’s sister, who’s been frozen and held for ransom.

The City of Brass (S.A. Chakraborty) - an 18th century conwoman and a mysterious djinn team up to go looking for a legendary hidden city.

The City We Became (N.K. Jemisin) - a scrappy bunch of Chosen Ones have to band together to defend New York City (which is very much alive) from a huge ass monster.

The Empress of Forever (Max Gladstone) - a lady supervillain gets blasted into space and meets an even bigger, planet-destroying evil space empress. literally WHAT is not to like?

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo) - high fantasy royal drama about a woman making her way to power in the wake of a political marriage that left without friends or allies.

Escaping Exodus (Nicky Drayden) - a space-faring clan are creating their latest spaceship from the insides of a giant monster when absolutely everything goes to shit (as things are wont to do in science fiction stories).

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars (Kai Cheng Thom) - a trans girl runs away to the big city, where she uses her martial arts skills to team up with other trans woman and form a vigilante gang to defend their own when police look the other way. a fascinating blend of poetry and prose and magical realism.

Finna (Nino Cipri) - two exes working at an IKEA have to team up to save a customer who disappeared through one of those interdimensional portals that all IKEAs have laying around. you know how it is.

Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir) - come on, you’ve heard about this one. it’s the one with the lesbian space necromancers? yeah, that’s the one. you got it.

In the Vanishers’ Palace (Aliette de Bodard) - a Beauty and the Beast retelling based in science fiction and Vietnamese fantasy, featuring a young woman falling in love with a “beast” who’s actually a motherly dragon after becoming a tutor to the dragon’s two powerful children.

Jade City (Fonda Lee) - urban fantasy gang wars, pitting one magically enhanced family against rivals and a new drug that lets anyone mimic their abilities.

The Library of the Unwritten (A.J. Hackwith) - hell’s librarian gets sent on a quest to find a runaway soul.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Becky Chambers) - aka one of my favorite books ever, essentially slice of life science fiction following an interspecies crew of deep space truckers making the longest and most complicated delivery of their lives. very warm and fuzzy.

Mort (Terry Pratchett) - one of many MANY Discworld books, but a very good one to start with, following the adventures of a boy named Mort after he’s taken on as Death’s apprentice. you know, like the Grim Reaper? that Death.

River of Teeth (Sarah Gailey) - historical AU in which the United States imported and domesticated hippos in the Mississippi River; follows a crew of hippo-riding crooks and hooligans as they plan one heck of a caper.

Space Opera (Catherynne Valente) - a washed up rock star and his old bandmate get roped into performing in an intergalactic singing competition that will determine the fate of the entire planet Earth. full of aliens, attempted assassination, art, and emotional turmoil.

This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone) - time-travelling assassins from rival factions fall in love in a poetic and breathless story that spans centuries and reality.

Under the Pendulum Sun (Jeannette Ng) - fairyland is real, and Victorian England is sending missionaries. a woman and her brother attempt to bring the good word to the fair folk, but start to suspect the queen might just be screwing with their heads. PEAK gothic horror with a creepy fairy twist.

Witchmark (C.L. Polk) - a doctor and former soldier with magical powers of healing is trying to live a quiet life and avoid his controlling, aristocratic family’s plans for him, only to get tangled up in a massive political conspiracy when one of his patients mysterious dies. accompanying him in his investigation is a mysterious and gorgeous faerie man. romance ensues.

(this second part is a list I made specifically focused on trans authors)

The Black Tides of Heaven (J.Y. Yang) - twins with Powers rebel against their politically powerful mother, hell yeah

The City in the Middle of the Night (Charlie Jane Anders) - dystopia sci-fi where The Government is controlling a city’s passage of time and light. sounds like somebody should overthrow that…

Confessions of the Fox (Jordy Rosenberg) - I haven’t read every book on these lists, including this one, but it’s described as  “a mind-bending romp through a gender-fluid, 18th-century London” and I personally would love to read that.

The Deep (Rivers Solomon) - mermaids are descended from women who jumped overboard from African slave ships, and one carries the memories of all their collective trauma. what will happen when she decides to explore the surface?

Docile (K.M. Sparza) - sci-f m/m romance story about autonomy and criticizing capitalism; what’s better than that?

The Future of Another Timeline (Annalee Newitz) - murder! time travel! queer ladies! idk, what else do you need?

Freshwater (Akwake Emezi) - a twisty little story about mental illness and being possessed by a god; magical realism ensues.

The Merry Spinster (Daniel M. Lavery, published under the name Mallory Ortberg) - a collection of short stories drawing inspiration from classic fairy tales, Biblical mythology, and more recent works. the way Lavery reimagines “The Velveteen Rabbit” is one of the creepiest things I’ve ever read, and also one of my favorite short stories.

Ninefox Gambit (Yoon Ha Lee) - you like big ol’ dramatic space operas? I’ve got one for you right here!

#queenofseelie

[katherinewilliams221b]

For A Greater Good 10/18

not my gif just the text (Feels Like Home)

Summary: Kate Williams, young healer and member of the Order, joins Durmstrang’s staff at Dumbledore’s request. Her mission? Find a   Death Eater and survive long enough to tell the story. Set in 1996.

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x ofc/mc

Masterlist

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

[Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9]

--

“I snuck out some tea from the kitchens.”

Kate left two teacups and a teapot on a small table in a corner of the first floor of the library.

Corentin raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not my first time.” She sat down in front of him with a small smile and nodded, letting Corentin serve the tea.

“Well... how’s life as a librarian?”

“Busier than it might seem. I’m constantly learning. So, I hear you’re a teacher now.”

Kate wrinkled her nose and took a sip of her drink.

“Attempt to be... with poor results. Let’s change the subject, I need to think about something else. Tell me about yourself.”

Corentin drank from his cup and looked up, pretending to think.

“Let’s see, I have a sister, Arlette, who lives in Lyon. She is an artist. That painting over there is hers.”

Kate turned and twisted her neck to see the painting hanging on the wall. It was a tree among mountains of snowy peaks with long branches that, instead of leaves, hung tiny books that opened and closed.

“The landscape changes with the seasons and the books come and go from the canvas according to the flow of the library books.

“Your sister is a genius.” She commented, admiring the painting.

“I will make sure she never hears that; we must not feed her ego.”

Amidst her laughter, Kate gasped and Corentin silently admonished her for being too loud.

She reached inside the cape and took out the copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

“At last. Something more suitable for your age next time, perhaps?

“It took me a long time, I know, I didn’t have time. But I think I’ve understood. You told me that the key to Grindelwald’s power was in this book. And one of the stories caught my attention.”

“Well?”

“The fountain of fair fortune. Three witches and a knight are chosen to make a wish to the fountain of good fortune. On the way, they encounter different challenges. They must deliver three things: the proof of their pain, the fruit of their efforts, and the treasure of their past.

The librarian patiently drank his tea while Kate spoke.

“Leaving aside the moral, if that fountain were to come into existence, did Grindelwald manage to find it to ask for power? And the experiments he was doing here in Durmstrang, were those sacrifices?”

Kate stared at Corentin, excited by her reasoning and waiting for his approval.

“I like the way your mind works, but you’ve got the wrong tale.” Kate deflated and finished what was left of her tea in the cup.

Corentin raised an arm and a scroll and a quill flew at them. With graceful fingers, he drew a circle on the paper.

“The resurrection stone.” With three lines, he wrapped the circle. “The cloak of invisibility.” And finally, a single straight line crossed both figures. “The Elder Wand. They are called: the Deathly Hallows.”

Kate’s brow jumped to her hairline thinking about the column in the courtyard, but then she looked at Corentin in confusion. “Do they exist?”

“You were willing to believe that there was a fountain that grants wishes, weren’t you?” Kate shrugged her head in agreement.

“I know that Gellert believed in them and that he spent the time here in Durmstrang looking for them. And I have the impression that, some time later, he found at least one.”

“The older brother’s wand.” Corentin nodded.

“The mark on that column has nothing to do with him. People began to associate him with it, and he never denied it.”

She sighed and looked up at the centre of the tower where the enormous chandelier hanging high in the air sparkled.

“Williams. You must understand that if you tell this to anyone, you will look like a fool. No one believes that they exist because they have never been found.”

“Then why are you telling me?”

“Because you asked me and I’m telling you what I believe.”

They continued to drink tea in pleasant silence while Kate thought about the importance of this new information.

Nothing that Corentin was telling her served her well in her mission and, although it was true that curiosity got the better of her, the whole thing was a dead end.

Just before she was about to return the tea set to the kitchens,  Corentin stopped her.

“I don’t know if you know this already, but there’s a greenhouse behind the castle.” Kate’s eyes rounded. “Flavia wasn’t using it, but you might be interested.”

“Corentin, you don’t know how happy you’ve just made me now.”

“And Kate... do you want another piece of advice?" She nodded, "be the teacher you wish you had.”

 --

A greenhouse. A greenhouse that no one had told her about. It was a mistake on her part not to have insisted on it.

This was exactly what she needed: having something to put a little green in her life, to feel the earth in her hands, to water flowers and to see them grow.

After sneaking back into the kitchens to return the teapot, she went to the place Corentin had indicated to her right by the lake.

It was quite far from the castle and it was abandoned, Professor Hodges didn’t use it for her classes, and that showed in the students’ knowledge.

With a look full of hope, she ventured inside the building.

She walked through the rubble, full of broken pots and dry leaves. The plants that were there were dead except for the ivy that had worked its way through the broken glass on the roof.

“I must cut that down.” She muttered to herself.

She ran her hand over the wooden table. It was in good condition, not a single splinter, and the varnish was practically intact. It was big enough to teach all the children at once.

She inspected every cabinet and drawer, taking inventory of the material and equipment she had. She could give a decent lesson with those instruments and was looking forward to that.

She looked around once more and, filled with joy, she was soon trying to put on one overall she found over the dress. Luckily, it was loose enough.

After making a bun with a rubber band, she armed herself with a pair of pruning shears and a ladder and climbed up to the glass roof to get rid of the ivy which covered the inside of the building.

The hours passed, and the morning turned into evening faster than she would have wished. For the first time since she had been at Durmstrang, she felt at home.

From the top of the dome and with her wand between her teeth, she admired the colours of the sky. It looked like a freshly painted canvas, one of Badeea’s paintings.

She was mesmerised for a few minutes, during which she began to feel the effects of a whole day’s hard work. She massaged her thighs and threw away the last branch of ivy she had in her hand before going back down into the greenhouse.

She picked up her wand and with a wave of the hand all the crushed glass on the floor flew to their rightful place, recomposing the roof and walls.

The broom that she had bewitched a few hours ago rested beside the mountain of leaves and dust that waited to be picked up by the door.

Kate looked at her work with satisfaction, and though it might have taken much less time to restore the building completely with magic, the manual labour also restored her spirit and soul.

She circled the centre table and headed for the flowerpots in the closet at the end of the room.

She decided that removing weeds and changing the soil was part of the experience of learning herbology, so she just removed the dust and cobwebs to save her students some work.

Her students. It was a curious phrase. She had never seen herself as a teacher. It was Rowan who did that work, not her. After seeing the essays that they had done, she had no hope of improving her teaching skills until that point.

The opportunity to be able to interact with the plants they had been studying would perhaps make them all less miserable and might even get them to learn something. Getting them to be interested in the subject was going to be a more laborious task.

Charlie would be a brilliant teacher, with that infinite patience he has, she thought.

A wave of melancholy washed over her unexpectedly.

Oh, how she missed him. It was usual to go for an entire day without seeing each other, or speaking, each one busy with their respective work, but both knew that the time would come to meet for dinner and share their day amidst laughter and kisses.

Now that was impossible.

As she let her mind torture her, she had not realised that she had begun to stir the soil with her fingers and that in turn, all those thoughts were channelled into the pot, making a small orange flower grow. She was startled to feel the warmth of magic in her fingers reaching the flower.

Her eyes suddenly blurred, and without being able to avoid it, one tear after another ran down her cheeks and made their way down her throat.

She sniffled and then grunted, feeling stupid. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and with a sad smile, picked up the flower that had reminded her of Charlie to keep it between the pages of her journal.

Just as she was picking up her coat to leave, the door to the greenhouse opened.

Too early for the moon to appear, the light coming from the castle was not strong enough to identify the figure that had just entered, so she approached the table with a quick ‘Lumos’.

“Professor Angelov!”

The secretive transfigurations teacher was startled to hear his name. It was clear he didn’t expect to find anyone there.

“What happened here?” he sounded strangely offended, even though Kate had done in one day the work that should have been done in months.

“I repaired the building. I plan to use it for my classes,” she hesitated to criticise Durmstrang’s teaching system to a professor, but her mouth went ahead of her brain and she wasn’t quick enough to stop it. “as it should have been done.”

Angry eyes shone in the light of her wand.

Kate put aside the reason for Leron’s visit to the greenhouse and focused on deciphering his anger. Even her legilimens skills couldn’t figure out its origin. She could only pick up confusion and... fear?

Angelov did not bother to say another word to her and with a movement of his cloak, which reminded Kate of her former potions teacher, he strode out into the night.

--

The next day, Kate decided to put to good use the new and improved greenhouse and took her students through the grounds of Durmstrang.

“I think you’re going to love this. Well, at least I’m excited.”

She waved her wand to keep all fifteen books in the air as she walked down the path to her students.

There was a lot of grunting and snorting when Kate told them they would not be in the classroom that day, but she was convinced that a little natural light and playing with dirt would change their mood.

“We’re almost there. I know you were bored the other day, and so was I, so...”

Kate stopped in front of the glass building and showed it off with her arm outstretched.

Several students exchanged glances, others stared at her, waiting for instructions.

“Well? What do you think?”

“Are we going to have a class here?” asked one girl.

“Indeed, Dana, we’ll do three hours a week here: one on Wednesday and two on Friday, what do you think?”

“That this place is dangerous.” Said Jon Hopkins.

“Ah, but that’s not true anymore. Come on, let’s go inside.” The sparkle in her eyes went unnoticed by the students who, skeptical of the change of scenery, entered behind her.

Kate surrounded the long central table where she left her books and headed for the end of the room. She waited for everyone to finish looking around and pile in with her.

“Lesson number one: safety. In that cupboard over there there are overalls for everyone, I’ve washed them, of course, so take one all and put it on over your uniform. There are also protective gloves. Take a pair too.”

Michael Angelov went to the table and took out a scroll to write something down. One of his companions looked at his writing and began to laugh.

“Are you going to write down everything she says?” The others laughed with him.

“Who knows, it might be an exam question. I recommend that you do the same. Memory can be treacherous.”

As they reluctantly left their bags and backpacks, the speech continued.

“You are responsible for your new work clothes. We will use potions, spells and dangerous plants, the suit will protect you and it is vital that you wear it. If someone is not wearing the suit, they cannot enter; if someone is not wearing gloves, they cannot enter and I will be very strict about this”.

She indicated that they should sit around the table, each on a stool.

“Lesson number two: know what materials are available. In the drawer in front of your seat there are: a small shovel, tweezers, garden shears, a spray and a brush”.

She left a moment for everyone to rummage through their drawers and continued.

“You are also responsible for the material. Before and after a class everyone should check that they have everything and put them in the drawer. I want you to write down the date and the list of your material.”

Everyone was silent, clearly confused about what they were doing. Kate went around the table, giving some directions and helping those who seemed to need it.

“Lesson number three: know what you are going to do.” As she waved her wand, the books placed on the table flew to each student.

“Today we’ll focus on the first part of Lesson Five: recognising soil types. This was part of the last test, and it’s clear that I didn’t prepare you enough for it. It’s important that you know how to do this because it’s fundamental. Make a note of the purpose of this practical class. I would have liked to do this earlier, but... that’s the way it is.”

As the children opened their books and whispered to each other, Kate handed out a tray with three small pots of different types of soil. Each with a label with a letter: A, B and C.

“Try to identify the three pots with the help of the book.” She said when she finished.

“Ah!” a little girl, Greta Eberhardt exclaimed. “There’s something in my pot!”

“It’s called earth, silly.” Replied her partner.

Kate came over to inspect Greta’s tray. Something bright blue was buried. She took one of the tweezers from the table and pulled it out.

“It’s a billywig. See the wings coming out of its head? Don’t worry; it’s dead.”

Not only did the wings catch the children’s attention but also the long, pointed sting of the torso.

She stared at the insect for a long time and looked up when it became silent in the greenhouse. Such discipline cannot be healthy, she thought, as she saw them reading or sticking their fingers in the pots without looking up.

“How quiet you are... I never said that you cannot work as a team.”

--

That evening Kate sat in her room drowned in pieces of parchment, both her students’ work and her notes from her mission.

She returned her attention to Vivien Argar, the name that was written on top of the paper, and sighed when she noticed that her assignment was two parchments longer than it should have been.

Kate put her quill down and pinched her nose, her thoughts returning to the Order. She considered Kent Jorgensen and wondered what kind of business he had going on with Leron Angelov.

Perhaps she was jumping to conclusions, letting her suspicions cloud the logic, but she could have sworn that they left the Great Hall together when Astrid Rhode was giving her speech. She never confirmed it.

Several taps on a glass caught her attention. 

A red bird was standing outside the window and demanded to enter the room.

“Fawkes?” She hurried to the window and opened it, allowing the phoenix to enter. He circled her and screeched while she closed the window again.

“I know, I know! How demanding…” Kate grabbed a blank piece of parchment off the floor, made a ball with it and set it on fire before conjuring it to be suspended in the air at ground level.

Fawkes cuddled up near it and let out a grateful tweet. 

“What do you have in there?” She said, noticing the roll of paper that Fawkes guarded in his claws. She tried to grab it but Fawkes hid it between his feathers, opened his beak and stayed that way for a while.

Kate rolled her eyes and walked to the closet to look for the small bowl where she kept a roll of spellotape and some quill tips.

She emptied it and conjured some water before bringing it to an impatient Fawkes. He lowered his head in a small reverence and extended his open claw for Kate to inspect.

“Always want something in return, huh? It is true that pets are like their masters…” Fawkes huffed and sipped from his water, ignoring her.

She unrolled the tube to find two pieces of parchment. The first one had a short sentence.

 Trust him in the woods.

 “Great. I didn’t have enough with what I had.” she complained out loud.

She unrolled the second paper, but to her disappointment it was blank.

She left the parchments on the bed and sat down at her desk again, trying to resume her work, but Fawkes got up and flew to her shoulder. He bit a strand of her hair and tugged.

“I don’t have anything for you to eat, Fawkes.” The phoenix ignored her comment and kept on pulling at her hair until she turned around. 

“Alright, that’s quite enough!” Fawkes flew to the bed and stood on the blank parchment, tapping it several times with his beak.

Kate took a deep breath before approaching the bird.

She grabbed her wand and pointed at the paper before murmuring ‘Revelio’.

 A black line started to appear, drawing an uneven path that rounded the parchment and ended in the same spot that started. A cross appeared in the upper corner of the deformed oval. It wasn’t a circle or any geometrical figure; it looked like…

“A map.” she whispered. The question was, a map of what? The figure consisted in a single contorted line. There was nothing inside of it, just a cross. She turned around again and winced at the sight of her desk. With a flick of the wrist, all the pieces of parchment of the table flew around to settle down in tidy piles on one side of the desk.

She let herself fall backwards onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

With only one candle flickering in the room, the darkened atmosphere made her want to close her eyes, and she did, letting her exhaustion take over her.

--

[Part 11]

Tag List: @eldritchscreech @meteora-fc @cazreadsstuff

#charlie weasley #mc #charlie weasley x mc #charlie weasley x ofc #hphm #charlie x jacob's sibling #charlie weasley fanfiction #kate williams #durmstrang

[gameofdrarry]

Drarropoly 2020 Submissions: Gryffindor

Drarropoly ’20: Founders Edition ran from November 22 2020 until January 22 2021 with a total 51 players, and 117 submissions. list of prompts players were given, as well as the drabbles players submitted to fill each of the prompts, sorted by level. Just as in Monopoly one can use their money to upgrade their spaces and buy houses or hotels, players in Drarropoly were able to write more with more restrictions and higher word counts at the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. levels to earn more points.

The Leaky Cauldron

"What's the harm in just one drink?"

Choose one of the following tropes:

In Vino Veritas

Pranks, Bets & Wagers

Memory Loss

The Scale

First Years Level: Minimum: 674 words Maximum: 947 words

O.W.L.s Level: + Write the entire fic without using the word "drunk". Minimum:  1647 words Maximum:  2764 words

📜 The seven stages of alcohol intoxication by Sassy3 Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  2714 Tags: Alcohol, Drunkenness, Drunken Confessions, In Vino Veritas, Auror Harry Potter, Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Partners, Oblivious Harry Potter, Supportive Ron Weasley, Supportive Seamus Finnigan, Minor Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Alcohol Intoxication, Friends to Lovers, Drunk Harry Potter, 7 stages of alcohol intoxication Summary:  After a challenging day at work, with a big presentation the next day, Harry wasn't quite in the mood to celebrate Seamus' birthday. But, what's the harm in just one drink? Stage 3: Excitement Harry was in the middle of a shot race with Seamus, when he got the brilliant idea that he should inform Malfoy what a good partner he was. He’d never told Malfoy how much he appreciated him and how much Harry enjoyed working with him, but he should totally do that right away. Harry dragged Seamus in for a hug, and shouted into his ear. “Mate, I’m going to talk to Malfoy. Tell him how much I like him. Like work. No, like working him. With him?” ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Looking for Last Night by chxrlieweaslxy Rated:  General Words:  2650 Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Memory Loss, Pre-Relationship Summary:  Draco parties with the Gryffindors, who party much harder than he expected. He wakes up the next day feeling dreadfully embarrassed, but unsure why. His mission? To find out if he spilled the beans on his own big secret. ❤️ Read on AO3

The Burrow

Things are always easier in groups. Unless someone is keeping a secret.

Choose one of the following:

Group Project

Group Date

Group Vacation

The Scale

First Years Level: Minimum: 315 words Maximum: 599 words

📜 A Secret Stolen Moment by Ladderofyears Rated:  General Words:  599 Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Secret Relationship, Boys kissing, Boys in love, potions. Summary:  Harry Potter is keeping a Draco Malfoy sized secret from his mates. ❤️ Read on AO3

O.W.L.s Level: + Include the Established Relationship trope OR the Secretly Pining trope. Minimum: 1212 words Maximum: 1471 words

📜 The Surprise Is The Best Part by Samunderthelights Rated:  General Words:  1312 Tags: Fluff, Short & Sweet, Surprises, The Burrow, Christmas, Established Relationship, Harry Potter Being an Idiot Summary:  Harry knows his boyfriend well enough to know when he is keeping a secret. “They’re probably just discussing your Christmas present. You don’t think something’s going on between them, do you?” ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 An Evening At The Funfair by Curlyy_hair_dont_care Rated:  General Words:  1476 Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Secret Crush, group date, First Kiss, Funfair, Ferris Wheels Summary:  Eighth year at Hogwarts has led to inter-house mingling and some interesting pairings. Except for Draco and Harry who are (not so) secretly pining for each other and their friends have had enough. ❤️ Read on AO3

N.E.W.T.s Level: + Include non-linear storytelling. Minimum: 3333 words Maximum: 4444 words

📜 The One Where Ginny Keeps a Secret, Sort of by graymatters Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  4039 Tags: Fluff, Christmas, Established Relationship, Non-Linear Narrative, Group Vacation Summary:  Harry is determined to have a good time with Ginny and Pansy for a trip to NYC over the winter holidays, even if Draco can't join them. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 what will this change? (everything) by ibelieveinahappilyeverafter Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  3347 Tags: Harry Potter, Drarry, Relationship - Drarry, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Not Epilogue Compliant, Post-Hogwarts, secretly pining, Non-Linear Narrative, non-linear storytelling Summary:  Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter have never gotten along as everyone in their lives will attest to. That's about to change when their so called 'friends' betray them and force them all to go on a group vacation together. It goes better than they would have expected. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Truth is like water (it passes all barriers) by Andithiel Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  4408 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Beach Holidays, Vacation, Pining, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Non-Linear Narrative, Party Games, Truth or Dare Summary:  When Pansy asks Draco to accompany her on a trip with her new girlfriend Luna and her friends, he reluctantly agrees. The fact that Potter is going on the same trip shouldn’t be a problem, nor the fact that Draco has been pining for him for about a year. But when Ginny unexpectedly arrives, Draco finds it increasingly difficult to be around the loving couple, as well as tamping down the memories of what almost happened on a drunken night outside a club. Pansy and a game of Truth or Dare don’t help things either. Or maybe they do? ❤️ Read on AO3

  Romanian Dragon Preserve

There is one item that a Dragon Tamer can't live without.

Choose one of the following fanon themes:

Healer!Draco

Wizard audio books/erotic novels

Dragonhide clothing

The Scale

First Years Level: Minimum: 821 words Maximum: 1288 words

📜 Dragon Rotation  by Missussblack Rated:  Mature Words:  1296 Tags: Healer Draco, Dragon Tamer Harry, Romanian Dragon Sanctuary Summary:  The war was over. Voldemort was defeated. Harry was free to live. It was a few weeks after the war ended, after the trials, when Harry realised his sexuality was more than he’d originally. He was helping Charlie in a section of the castle restoration and Charlie being Charlie whisked him away, away from Britain, to help figure it out. It was supposed to be a few months living on the reserve. A gap year, like what many British teens did at the end of their A levels. Harry could do this. Four years later he was still there. Rather than spending a few months away finding himself before retiring to start his Auror training. Harry being Harry fell into life as a a dragon tamer. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Dragonhide Trousers Required by glittering_git Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  997 Tags: Dragon Tamer Draco Malfoy, Dragonhide Trousers, Fluff, Banter, Flirting, Dragons, Romanian Dragon Sanctuary (Harry Potter) Summary:  Harry arrives at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary to find Malfoy has developed a certain affinity for dragonhide trousers. He doesn’t mind, exactly. ❤️ Read on AO3

O.W.L.s Level: + Write in the present tense. Minimum:  1812 words Maximum:  2218 words

📜 Dragons Brought Me to You  by SlowTortoise Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  2187 Tags: Pre-Slash, Pre-Relationship, Falling in Love, Mutual Pining, Dragons, Healer Draco Malfoy, Dragon Tamer Harry Summary:  Years after their last meeting, Draco and Harry meet again at the Romanian Dragon Preserve where more than dragon sparks fly. ❤️ Read on AO3

The Shrieking Shack

Having a secret hideaway is great until someone else discovers it and it isn't so secret anymore.

Choose one of the following:

"Malfoy is up to something."

"Where on earth could he be going with that?"

"Missing? How could he be missing?"

The Scale

First Years Level: Minimum: 183 words Maximum: 417 words

📜 A Meeting of the Fairies by Sumthin Clever Rated:  General Words:  421 Tags: N/A Summary:  "Missing? How could he be missing?" ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Practice Makes Perfect by rei382 Rated:  General Words:  401 Tags: N/A Summary:  Harry knew Malfoy was up to no good. ❤️ Read on AO3

O.W.L.s Level: + Quote the chosen dialogue line in your story. Minimum: 1290 words Maximum: 2300 words

📜 Spiced Rum Kisses by Samunderthelights Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  1766 Tags: Drinking, Hook-Up, Shrieking Shack Summary:  Harry notices that Draco has started disappearing somewhere after dinner, so one night he decides to follow him to find out what he's up to. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Secrets of the Quiet Night by chxrlieweaslxy Rated:  General Words:  2283 Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Pre-Relationship, emotionally constipated boys having crushes Summary:  Malfoy is definitely up to something and Harry is determined to find out where exactly he keeps going to in the middle of the night. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 everything the sun touches by saltwatergarden Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  2299 Tags: Suspicious Harry Potter, Sassy Draco Malfoy, Lunch, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, EWE Summary:  Harry stared, as Malfoy unfastened his cloak and elegantly draped it upon the grass, sitting down cross-legged on it, and taking his book bag off of his shoulder. Harry had the time to briefly wonder what on earth Malfoy was doing here, before Malfoy spoke. “Are you going to join me, Potter, or just stand there staring?” Harry very nearly fell backwards into another thorned bush. Sheepishly, he yanked at the Cloak, pulling it off and further messing up his hair as he did so. “How did you know I was there?” “You breathe as loud as a hippogriff,” Malfoy said, still not looking up at Harry. “And I don’t know of anyone else at Hogwarts with an Invisibility Cloak.” ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 He Must Be Up to Something by Cami_soul Rated:  General Words:  2291 Tags: fluff, post Hogwarts, EWE, baked goods, Malfoy's up to something Summary:  Harry thought he and Malfoy had started to become friends, and maybe even more. But now Malfoy was avoiding him, so the obvious conclusion was that Malfoy must be up to something and Harry is determined to find out what that is. ❤️ Read on AO3

  Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes

Harry and Draco think the best way to prank their friends and family is to pretend to date. There's no way this can go wrong.

The Scale

First Years Level: Minimum: 372 words Maximum: 722 words

📜 I'll be your clean shave by Thunder Rated:  General Words:  598 Tags: Hogwarts Eighth Year, Roommates, Pre-Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff Summary:  Draco and Harry make plans for the upcoming holidays. ❤️ Read on AO3

  Madam Malkin’s

There's nothing like a new set of custom tailored robes, especially when others notice them.

Choose one of the following:

Attending a Ministry Gala

Attending a Wedding

Receiving a Promotion

The Scale

First Years Level: Minimum: 572 words Maximum: 820 words

📜 What New Robes Will Do by Sumthin Clever Rated:  General Words:  820 Tags: Pining Draco. Smitten Draco Summary:  "There's nothing like a new set of custom tailored robes, especially when others notice them." ❤️ Read on AO3

O.W.L.s Level: + Give the robes magical properties and describe what they do. Minimum:  1001 words Maximum:  2599 words

📜 The Pacific Collection by Curlyy_hair_dont_care Rated:  General Words:  1293 Tags: wedding, pining, potions master draco, background pansmione, madam malkins Summary:  Their best friends are getting married. Harry and Draco bump into each other at Madam Malkin's who's new line of custom robes called The Pacific Collection is all the rage and helps our two pining idiots to get together. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 A Memorable Speech by Samunderthelights Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  1300 Tags: Established relationship, fluff, silly, weddings, short & sweet Summary:  Harry is asked to give a speech at Teddy's wedding, but when he gets flustered, it becomes a speech the wedding guests will remember for a long time. ❤️ Read on AO3

N.E.W.T.s Level: + Write the entire story using ONLY dialogue. Minimum:  3050 words Maximum:  4230 words

📜 This Is Me Trying by Kasena Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  3066 Tags: Pre-Relationship, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Dialogue-Only Summary:  Harry and Draco meet at a Ministry Gala after not having been in contact for a couple years since school. They have a lot to talk about. ❤️ Read on AO3

#game of drarry #drarry #drarry recs #drarropoly 2020 #drarropoly 2020 submissions

[feuilly-cakes]

Eclipse - 3* Review

Alright, so, this book dragged on. Lots happened, but in my opinion it should have been split up, perhaps pre-graduation and post-graduation. I couldn't tell you what order most things happened, whether half the scenes were necessary, or whether I really enjoyed most of the book, because it was just so long. I can say I didn't hate it, and though I was wishing for it to be over by page 400 I knew certain points that were upcoming that had to happen first, so I used them as little goals to reach. For a first time reader I'm not sure how well the length of this would go down as the plot is a bit repetitive, with Bella running off to La Push, going back home, running off to La Push again, running off home, and arguing with Edward, arguing with Jacob, arguing with Alice, arguing with Charlie, arguing with herself... I'm simplifying of course, but it was really a bit long. Despite all this repetitiveness there was growth. This book was mostly about wrapping up old plot-lines and Bella working through her complicated emotions around being changed into a vampire and giving up her human life. Spoilers from this point on. Bella, in this book, has discovered she's not ready to be a vampire yet. Amongst being targeted by unknown vampire threats and her complicated relationship with Jacob, she feels "unease" at her impending deadline, only a few weeks away, after graduation. Edward, bless him, is really trying to convince her to go to college even for a year to give her time to make up her mind fully, but she's having none of it, while also having very real terror at the realisation that she will be leaving everything and everyone behind after graduation, only a week away at this point, to become someone bloodthirsty and wild. Emmett and Jasper have been taking bets on her body count, the news of crazed newborn vampires on a killing spree in Seattle has reached her ears, and she is Panicked. Adding to this, Edward wants her to marry him before he will personally change her, and later add the condition that he will only sleep with her as a human if they are married first. So she's not ready for marriage, not quite ready for vampirism, and her best friend Jacob is being mean about it all. It takes her nearly 400 pages to work through these feelings, and I greatly appreciated her arc in this book. It's very realistic to have these emotions right before massive life changes like marriage or eternal life as a creature of the night. When she is finally ready, she's ready for everything. Another aspect of Bella's story is her new knowledge of her selfish actions regarding Edward and Jacob and even Charlie. She feels very guilty about keeping Jacob around when she's chosen Edward, for both of their sakes, and also for threatening to move out every time Charlie is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Edward. It's a big step up from the last book, where she was constantly behaving badly, though she never acknowledges that Jessica is against her because of her own actions putting them both in extreme danger. Some Vampire things, including Edward, because he didn't really stand out much. -On Edward: He was pretty much obsessed with the idea of being a soldier when he was human. He said he was "too eager to be a soldier" for love. Edward is once more coded as Demisexual, obviously unintentionally, but I'm sticking by this one. He "wasn't the least bit interested" in Rosalie, when everyone else was, and in Rosalie's words, someone who has known him for 70-ish years: "he never wanted anyone" and "never showed the slightest preference" when meeting the beautiful Denali sisters. I will die on this hill. Edward tells Bella he actually wants her to be a vampire "more than anything" but feels that he's being selfish and so denies that wish, hence his being so against it. - Bella feels relief when Edward touches her, "as if [she'd] been in pain and that pain had suddenly ceased." This is either a Bella thing or a vampire thing, and one is more interesting than the other. - Jasper feels gratitude towards the Volturi for their part in keeping the Southern Vampire Wars in check. Bella doesn't understand how he could see them as the good guys, but there's definitely a middle ground to be seen. - Victoria has a babyish voice, "the kind of voice that went with blonde curls and pink bubble gum" and I still can't compute this information. - On Rosalie: She, like Bella, knew the Cullens as a human. She said she "never liked Dr. Cullen or his wife and her brother" because they were all more beautiful than her. She isn't actually that vain in current day, as after what happened to her she "began to blame the beauty for what happened" and wished she looked normal and not beautiful. As far as victim blaming, this isn't really the best point of view, but she goes on to describe how she murdered her attackers. It's still a harmful mentality to be sharing with a teen audience though. After explaining her history and her full reasoning for her dislike of Bella in the beginning and the reason for not wanting her to become a vampire, she apologises for her behaviour and they share a smile. Bella knows they aren't friends yet but they are on their way to not being against each other. It's a good moment of development that I missed in all my previous times reading. Onto the main differences to the films. - The terms of Bella's grounding are different. She must go home straight after school and work, but Edward is allowed over for a certain amount of time in the evenings. - After the Florida trip, Jacob calls Bella's house to check in on her and see if she would be at school the next day. Bella assumes it's to check she's still human. Jacob was checking to see if Edward would be there to talk to him about the treaty in a public area. Bella never gets on his motorbike. She goes to class and has a bizarre conversation with Edward. Her actual first trip to La Push happens a different day, as a split second decision after losing a shift at work, and she drives herself down quickly to avoid being caught by Alice. - The motorbike scene takes place on another day, with Alice as the vampire instead of Edward. Alice has kidnapped Bella to prevent her going to see Jacob when they made plans. At school he turns up and she bolts with him, then later has a fight with him and rides herself on her own motorbike back to Alice. She does take the bike back, after she makes up with Jacob, Edward buys his own motorbike and Bella realises that's weird, and Edward gives her a helmet and jacket so she can ride back on her own with him following for protection to the treaty line. - Jasper tells Bella his story at the Cullen house, in front of everyone, and explains the history of the Southern Vampire Wars in detail. - After getting back from the fight, Bella gets the story from Charlie's point of view. He heard howling, Billy was acting weird all day long, like he knew Jacob would get hurt, and when he was at Billy's he heard a wolf yowling in pain right outside, only for that to stop when Jacob starts swearing up a storm as he is carried inside. Charlie remains oblivious. There were several instances of creepy/gross behaviour, offensive language, uncomfortable situations, and straight up disgusting behaviour that I noticed. I should just call this Red Flags at this point. Let me count the ways, in chronological order. 1. Edward displays some creepy and controlling behaviour when Bella decides to go see Jacob and gets to her truck only to find Edward there and the truck missing a vital part. He refuses to allow her to go to La Push. Throw the whole man out. 2. One of Bella's school friends calls Jacob "the big Indian". 3. "You're kidnapping me, aren't you?"Edward bribes Alice into kidnapping Bella and guilting her into going along with her plans. 4. The bonfire scene. Stephenie Meyer made up those legends entirely, which begs the question: why not make up a whole new group of people to be werewolves instead of bastardising the belief system of a real group of people? 5. Jacob assaults Bella. He kisses her against her will and acts like he hasn't done wrong even after she punches him and makes it clear he's done something terrible. Trash. 6. In response to this information Charlie, a police officer and Bella's father congratulates Jacob and takes his side. He praises him for assaulting his daughter. ACAB. That's all I can say. 7. If the previous incident isn't enough, Jacob later threatens suicide to make Bella kiss him. For clarity: he threatens to kill himself to manipulate Bella into kissing him, then when he doesn't like the kiss he does it again to get a more enjoyable one. Kill it with fire, you disgusting future r*pist. I hate him here. Considering at the beginning he was defending Bella's right to choose and to know everything that happens that could endanger her, these vile actions are a huge departure from his character, and I don't know how we are supposed to believe the idea that he can go back to being the good, friendly Jacob who would never ever hurt Bella. None of that should have happened, and it was pure laziness that there wasn't a more believable reason to make them kiss instead of an assault and emotional abuse. It makes me so angry because when I hated Edward in New Moon his actions were actually in-character for him and made sense, but these efforts to make us hate Jacob and then forgive him are so out of character that its clear how Stephenie Meyer wanted the story to go, and she did a bad job of it. To end on a less angry note, let me slip in these little tidbits. Sam feels "betrayed" that Bella let the Cullens back into her life after they hurt her, and that information makes me want to know even more what went down at La Push in New Moon. Who was she close too? How close? Did Sam become friends with her or does he really know her through Jacob's memories? Also, Edward's been dropping hints about the Pack not being normal werewolves, so there's a bit of foreshadowing for Breaking Dawn.

#twilight #eclipse #twilight renaissance #book review #book blogger #team edward #you know what no im team rosalie #and team dont be fucking racist #and also team stop messing my faves up for more money

[inmyownlittlecorner5]

Moonlight Chapter 21: Dust to Dust

A fanfic Novel by la-topolina

Rated for Mature Audiences

Warnings: Language, Violence, Sexual Content

Chapter 21/26

Moonlight Masterpost+

<< Chapter Twenty+

Chapter Twenty-Two+ >>

“Avada Kedavra!” A shock of acid green light blasted from Severus’s wand, striking its target with a sickening finality.

Bile rose in his throat as he stared down at the crumpled body of the old Muggle. He forced himself to slow his breathing as the nausea threatened to overtake him. Most of the time he was able to avoid murder. Sometimes he was even able to prevent it. Killing had never been particularly enjoyable to him, even when he had truly been what he pretended to be now. It was so wasteful.

“Finished already?” Lucius asked from the stairwell leading to the crumbling basement of the warehouse that was to be this unlucky group of Muggles’ tomb. His face was obscured by his etched silver mask, and a smaller Death Eater was on his heels. “I left that one specifically for you.”

Severus shrugged, his stomach mostly settled. “He was a good tailor. I thought he’d earned a quick death. Bella took more than a few bites out of him before you threw him down to me.”

“I think you’re getting soft, Snape,” hissed Bellatrix’s voice from behind her mask. “It’s no wonder that you are going to be left behind when…”

“Bella,” Lucius interrupted, “go upstairs and help Vincent with the rest of the mess.”

She gave Severus a final glare before flouncing away, her shoes clicking noisily on the metal staircase. Lucius continued into the basement, avoiding the heaps of rubbish littering the floor. He glanced indifferently at the corpse and prodded it with the tip of his polished shoe. Severus continued to force himself to breathe slowly as the bile rose up again, worse than before. It would not do to lose control in front of Lucius, so Severus willed himself to think of anything other than the current moment. Perhaps because he had been so stern during the last month about forgetting the scene by the Lee’s fireside, it immediately came to mind. He did not bother to question it, he merely allowed the warmth and comfort of the thought of Miranda holding the sleeping infant to flow through him. Gradually his nausea subsided, and he held onto his memory like a dragon clings to gold.

“I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that the time has come for you to deliver your little plaything to the Dark Lord,” Lucius commented.

“Has it?” Severus hoped that he sounded as bored as he meant to. He was glad that his mask covered the twitching muscle in his jaw. “I am rather busy at the moment. A jaunt to Romania to subdue her would be impractical.”

“No doubt you have your ways. And fortunately for you, you have until Thursday to complete the task.”

“Why Thursday?”

“That is my business. Your business is to do as you are told. I doubt I need to explain the consequences if you fail to do so.”

“I understand you perfectly, Lucius.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Be so good as to clean up down here before you leave. Best that this look like a Muggle crime for the time being.”

Severus inclined his head to his ambivalent friend and Lucius started back up the stairs.

He paused halfway to add, “I am sorry to deprive you of your whore and your tailor in such rapid succession.”

“Of the two, the tailor will be the more difficult to replace.”

Lucius laughed. “Truer words were never spoken. What a cold bastard you are.”

Severus waited until Lucius was gone before stooping to close Mr. Frost’s eyes. It was not lost on Severus that his neighborhood and his neighbors had been targeted tonight. He knew a warning when he saw one. Lucius must be smarting under Miranda’s humiliations of him more than Severus had thought.

Merlin, he hated his life.

*****

Miranda dismounted easily and gave Balour a firm scratch just behind his purple, scaly ears. He snorted flames and rubbed against her appreciatively. She knew now just how to lean into him so that his affection wouldn’t knock her to the ground. It offended him when she stumbled under the weight of his mighty head. Although the second task was less than a week away, she felt they were more than ready to take on the mountain.

“Thanks for the ride,” Miranda murmured.

He nodded imperiously, and she waited politely until he had lumbered off for his lunch and afternoon doze. When he was out of sight, she started down the path to the locker-rooms and her own meal. As she approached the lake, she saw Charlie and another man coming around to meet her. Even from a distance, she could make out a long white beard and brightly colored robes. Miranda furrowed her brow. What was he doing here?

“How was the ride today?” Charlie asked as they met.

“Good. I think we’re ready,” Miranda replied. “Albus, what a nice surprise. How are you?”

“Well, very well,” Albus said. “Charlie, thank you for helping me locate our wayward American. I will speak with you in your office soon.”

Charlie accepted this dismissal, although his face bespoke his curiosity, and he headed back up the path. Albus waved his hand and a pair of the rocks bordering the lake shifted into a pair of comfortable armchairs, complete with umbrellas to shade them from the noonday sun. They seated themselves and Albus produced a basket from his robes. A pair of table legs popped out of it and, when he set it on the ground between them, it opened to an inviting spread of ham, watercress, plum cake, and butterbeer.

“All this for me? What do you want?” Miranda said wryly as she helped herself to the bounty. Dragon riding did tend to give her an appetite.

“Merely a concession to the time of day,” Albus reassured her as he did the same. “You look well. I take it that the Romanian climate is agreeing with you.”

“It’s a lovely place. Although I won’t be sorry to be released from it when this is all over. I’ve never liked being trapped anywhere.”

“Trapped is such a strong word.”

“What would you call it? I’m under the equivalent of the Unbreakable Vow.” She took a sip of her butterbeer. “But if I can help those children, it’ll be worth it.”

“Yes, you are quite a helpful person, as I have seen. Even if you are also rather a headstrong one.”

“There’s good and bad in all of us. So, what’s happened? Do you need me to take another vow?”

“Not exactly.  I don’t suppose that Severus has communicated with you about recent events regarding our friend, Lucius Malfoy?”

“Friend is not the descriptor I would have chosen. And no. I actually haven’t heard all that much from Severus since I visited in May. I assumed he was busy with the end of term troubles. But I take it something else is going on?”

Albus sighed. “Plum cake is a delightful confection, is it not?”

“It is.” Miranda raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

“Apparently Lucius is planning some large, and presumably unpleasant event that will occur this week on Thursday. He wishes for Severus to have you on hand to bring to Tom.”

“Tom?”

“Pardon me, Tom Riddle is the true name of Lord Voldemort. At least, that is how I knew him when he was a student. Old habits die hard.”

“It’s good to know that Hogwarts turns out such promising pupils.”

“Everyone comes from somewhere. Alas, I cannot take credit for some of Tom’s more, shall we say, impressive accomplishments.”

“I assumed as much. This is the first I’ve heard about Malfoy’s plans. Why am I hearing it from you and not Severus?” The hair on the back of her neck pricked her in warning. She did not like the direction this conversation appeared to be headed.

“I believe that Severus wishes for you to remain ignorant.”

“Then how is he going to introduce me to his other boss?”

“I believe that he does not intend to do so.”

Miranda frowned. The plum cake no longer tasted quite so good, and she pushed her plate away.

“This is a test, isn’t it?” she asked.

“A test for whom?” Albus responded. His face was pleasant and inscrutable, and his tone was incongruously cheerful.

“I’m guessing it’s a test for both of us. Malfoy and the Dark Lord want proof that Severus is on their side, and you want proof that I’m on your side.”

“I’ve always thought that you were a clever young lady.”

“Thanks.” She choked down another sip of butterbeer and twirled the bottle slowly between her fingers. “If Severus doesn’t bring me to Tom, as you call him, they’re going to kill him, aren’t they?”

“That is entirely within the realm of possibility. Of course, I do understand that Severus is not the most pleasant individual and he may not have secured your loyalty to the point that you would feel the need to walk into the lion’s den for him.”

Her loyalty? Good Lord, this was not exactly the moment that Miranda wanted to contemplate what Severus meant to her. And, in any case, she wasn’t about to discuss it with Albus Dumbledore.

“Albus,” she said, letting the edge of her anger into her voice, “let’s not muddy the waters with that kind of game. It’s beneath you.”

He smiled as one would smile at a child who has said something particularly adorable, but his eyes lost their customary spark. “I thank you for the reminder, my dear. Your relationship with my spy aside, if he were to be killed it would be a gross loss for the Order. I’m certain that you realize this. His information and the information that he may be privy to in the future could be the difference between victory and defeat.”

“I know.” She blew out her breath. “Should I just go to his rooms on Thursday then?”

“That would be for the best. Then you would be in a position to adapt to whatever is required of you.”

“Fine. I’ll be there with bells on.” She stood up quickly. “Have a good day, Albus. Thanks for lunch.”

He was beside her before she could storm off, his wrinkled hand on her arm to stay her.

“Please know that I do understand what I am asking of you. If it could be any other way…”

“Then it would be another way. I guess Catalina Dragnea will have to save the children herself,” she snapped.

“Perhaps it is not quite time to give up hope. Severus is a clever man and you are extremely resilient. All may not be lost.”

“I haven’t given up yet.”

“Very good. I shall inform Severus of your arrival as soon as I have finished meeting with Charlie.”

“No. I’ll tell him. Have a safe trip home, Albus.”

She shook off his hand and stalked back towards the mountains before he could say anything further. Severus was going to hate this but, as infuriating as Albus was, she was angrier at Severus for not telling her about the problem in the first place. It was her own fault that Malfoy wanted her dead. She’d known what kind of man her former employer was when she’d baited him and beaten him all over town.

If there was a lion’s den to walk into, she and Severus were going to walk into it together.

*****

“Coffee. You do like me,” Miranda said.

It was ungodly early on Thursday morning, and she was pleased to see that Severus had thought to have breakfast ready when she arrived. His sitting room had gradually been acquiring more furniture during the time she had known him. In addition to the arm chair and desk, the space now held a sofa, and a table just large enough for two. She poured herself a cup and started buttering some toast. Severus paced with his teacup, irritably straightening his already immaculate desk and the perfectly aligned books on his shelves.

“You should eat,” she chided gently. “I get the feeling it’s going to be a long day.”

“I do not require a nursemaid,” he snapped, but he did sit down and follow her advice.

“I take it Malfoy is still being coy about his plans for tonight.”

“Unfortunately. We shall have to think on our feet.” Severus stabbed a sausage with his fork as if the entire predicament were the banger’s fault.

“Well, assuming the worst happens and I get the pleasure of meeting the Dark Lord, I’ll just taunt him until he kills me. Then you won’t have to.”

He gave her a ghost of a smile and shook his head. “I believe that now I understand how you came to destroy your potions classroom. Subtlety is not your strongest quality.”

“Do you have a better plan?”

“I should hope so.” He pulled a small round box out of his pocket and pushed it across the table to her. “Keep this with you. There is a pill inside that contains the Draught of Living Death. When we are summoned, you will conceal the pill in your mouth. When the torturing begins, break it and drink it.”

Miranda eyed the box. “This plan didn’t work so well for Romeo and Juliet.”

“That is because they involved a third party. We do not have such complications. I am certain that the Dark Lord will find it most appropriate for me to dispose of you. Then we will simply have to hide you back in Romania the best that we can.”

She pushed her food around with her fork and sighed. “Severus, I don’t think you should take this chance. I knew what I was risking when I pushed Malfoy the way I did. If you’re caught…the Order will lose one of its best assets.”

Severus set his fork down and fixed his black eyes upon her. “I told you that I would not hand you over to the Dark Lord. I will thank you for not arguing with me about it.”

Miranda returned his gaze steadily. “Were you going to tell me about what happened last week at all?”

“No.”

“So I have Albus to thank for cluing me in on everything.”

“I don’t believe that thanks are the proper sentiment for Albus’s interference.”

“Do you have anything you’d like me to do while I wait around for my impending doom?”

He sighed with resignation. “There are always flobberworms to be juiced if you wish to borrow trouble.”

“Borrowing trouble is my middle name. And I’m the world’s fastest flobberworm juicer.”

“Dare I ask why?”

“What do you think I did in detention all those years I was at Ilvermorny?”

“Ah. My sympathies to your professor.”

A bell chimed, warning that it was nearing time for classes to begin. He started for the door but, when he reached it, he stopped and returned to her side. Before she realized what he was about, he had pulled her to her feet and kissed her with a combination of tenderness and regret that made her heart ache.

“Miranda, it should not have come to this,” he said roughly.

“It hasn’t come to anything yet,” she replied, with rather more bravado than she felt. “Go teach. I’ll be here when you need me.”

He took the time to trace her cheek with his finger, and then he was gone.

*****

“Miranda, put your boots on!” Severus ordered as he burst into the sitting room around dinnertime that evening.

His tone left no room for argument, and Miranda set aside her book and silently accioed her boots before bothering to ask why.

“Quickly!” he barked.

“I’m going as fast as I can. Can’t Malfoy and the Dark Lord wait two minutes?” she asked as she tied the final knot.

“It isn’t them. Dolores took Potter and Granger into the Forbidden Forest hours ago. They never returned and you are going to help me find them.”

Without further explanation, he whirled and strode back out the door so quickly that Miranda was hard pressed to keep up. They made a beeline from the dungeon to the forest, cutting through the strange twilight shadows heedless to whether or not they were seen together. Miranda could tell by the way that his jaw muscle was twitching that her companion was in no mood for conversation, which was just as well. She needed her breath to keep up with his long strides. Although she was not a slow walker by any means, he was a head taller than she was, and by the time they were half-way across the lawn, he had broken into an outright run.

The Forbidden Forest loomed ahead of them, ominously quiet. Only a few feet into the trees it was already full dark. Without speaking, Miranda and Severus split apart, both of them stooping to study the mess of footprints marring the ground. The light was so dim that Miranda drew her wand, and the doxies flocked to her, tugging at her hair and clothing in protest of a stranger’s magic. She swatted them away and continued her search, but the battered ground was not giving up its secrets willingly.

“It looks as though the entire school has been over this patch of dirt today,” she muttered.

Severus grunted, his face drawn with worry and anger as he searched. A quarter of an hour passed and they were squatting shoulder to shoulder. He passed behind her, going over the ground that she had already covered, and she sat back on her heels. Instead of redoing the work he’d done, she let her eyes drift over the torn grass, slightly unfocused. For a time, patterns formed and faded before her until they suddenly snapped into place. She leapt forward, stopping over a trio of prints—two sets of trainers and one set of sensible heels.

“Bingo! I’ve got you. Miskawew.”

The rainbow colored light shot out of her wand, skipping over the trail and into the forest. She and Severus were hard after it, making far more noise than was prudent in their haste. The dark pressed in on them as they wove through the trees, but she refrained from casting Lumos. The creatures lurking here were sure to be more used to Severus’s magic than hers, and they could make due with the light from his wand. Best that they not draw any more attention than they were already doing.

They were both panting for breath when they halted ten minutes later in a jagged clearing. The rainbow light from the tracking spell fizzled away and Severus held his wand high as Miranda dropped down to explore the floor of the forest.

“Well?” he demanded.

“There’s too much damage to the ground,” Miranda explained, running her hands over the trampled earth. “Severus, there was a herd of centaurs here! They were everywhere. They wouldn’t have hurt the children, would they?”

“They usually leave the young in peace, but it is possible,” he replied grimly.

Miranda scoured the ground, patiently following the tangled hoof prints. The marks spiraled around and around, and it was difficult to make any sense of the stampede. Severus followed, keeping the light over her. When she reached the edge of the clearing she gasped in surprise.

“What is it?” he snapped

“There was a giant too! Good Lord, what goes on in these woods?” she breathed.

“They are forbidden for a reason.”

“So I see. And I had thought that Bigfoot was trouble.”

“Bigfoot?”

“Never mind. I’ll tell you later.”

The height difference between the forest floor and the giant’s footprint made it easy to distinguish, but there were still a host of prints littering each one. She searched methodically, hoping that she would not miss a trainer among the hooves. Severus’s eyes darted about the darkness, vigilant for centaurs or anything worse as he lit her way. She greatly appreciated that he held his impatience in check, but she knew that they were losing time. Wherever the children were, it was almost certain that they were in some sort of trouble.

“I see them!” she said at last. “Miskawew.”

The rainbow light took off again, and they ran after it. Miranda was starting to wish that she’d brought a broom after all, when the spell circled a new clearing and faded away. They began their tedious search again and, before long, their patience was finally rewarded.

“I see Potter and Granger, but Umbridge is gone.”

“She is not important. Where did they go?”

“They were joined by three, no, four other people. They look lighter than adults, but not by much. Miskawew.”

“I suspect their little friends must have escaped Dolores’s office,” he said irritably, watching the tracking spell skip between the twisted trees. “I shall have to see what damage they did to the members of my house when we return to the castle.”

The rainbow light circled the clearing twice and disappeared.

“What does that mean?” he snapped.

“It means they didn’t leave the clearing. Not on foot anyway.”

“Brooms then.”

“I’m not sure of that.”

She chewed the inside of her cheek as she traced one of the teenager’s footprints. While she didn’t think that they were deep enough to suggest that their owners had been carrying anything beyond wands, it made more sense that they would have gone off on brooms than anything else. She followed the tracks around the clearing once, twice, coming to no satisfactory conclusion. On the third circuit, her stomach lurched as she caught a whiff of something terribly familiar. She dropped to her knees, burying her hands in the earth and bringing a handful of dirt to her nose. Myrrh. Tentatively, she touched the tip of her tongue to the dirt in her hands. The taste of blood and aloe was unmistakable, and she could not stop the image of her dearly departed from flashing before her eyes.

“Thestrals,” she murmured. “There were thestrals here too.”

Now that she knew what she was looking for, the flickering tracks of the ghostly creatures were obvious. She could see where they and the children had come together, and she could see where the children’s footprints had disappeared. There was a clear depression where the thestrals had pushed off the ground to gain the air.

“The children rode the thestrals out of the forest,” she said, astonished.

“That’s impossible!” he protested, pulling a mirror out of his pocket, even as he denied the reality of the situation.

“That’s what happened. I’m sure of it. But where would they have gone?”

He didn’t answer her, his attention was on the face in the mirror.

“Albus,” he snapped, “Potter has gone to the Department of Mysteries.”

*****

Waiting was the worst part of any hunt. It made perfect sense that Severus could not possibly risk his cover by joining the Order at the Ministry, but staying behind might well drive the man insane. After the few moments it had taken him to disperse Bat Boogey Hexes and give his students a dressing down for allowing the missing members of the DA to escape, there had been nothing left to do but watch the minutes turn into hours. In an attempt to pass the time, Severus had decided it was necessary to undertake the annual purge and deep clean of the Potions room and supply closet. Miranda hadn’t argued with him, she had simply rolled up her sleeves and started scrubbing. Every half hour or so Severus would break something in the closet and swear under his breath. She wisely let him be.

Sometime in the small hours of the morning, she gave in to her rumbling stomach and excused herself to the kitchens. He didn’t acknowledge her errand, but she did take the trouble of bringing back a tray of roast beef sandwiches and a pot of tea for him. She set the sustenance on his desk, put a warming charm on the teapot, and went back to scouring cauldrons. The smell of the tea wafted through the room, drawing him out of the closet to irritably partake of it.

“It must have taken them hours to fly from here to London,” Miranda observed calmly. “There’s every chance that the Order was able to get to the Ministry in time to help.”

“I’m aware of that,” he replied tersely.

“This must be the big event that Malfoy was talking about.”

“Obviously.”

“Look, it’s not my fault that Potter and the others decided to go out on heroics. You don’t have to be sarcastic with me.”

Severus glared at her and opened his mouth to retort, but she never heard what his caustic wit had devised for her, due to some obnoxiously loud singing that began that moment in the hallway.

“Severus, Severus, Severus Snape! Looks like he’s dressed in electrical tape! His nose is an uncircumscribable shape! Severus, Severus, Severus Snape!”

“Peeves!” Severus roared, setting down his cup with a rattle and storming out the door after the naughty poltergeist.

Miranda laughed out loud, but she managed to get herself back under control by the time Severus returned. From the way he was fuming, it appeared that he had not managed to catch his tormentor.

It was impossible to resist. “Dare I ask the provenance of that ditty?”

He answered her with a black glare, but the laugh had rid her of her irritation. She glided over to him and traced his nose with the tip of her finger.

“I think your nose is perfectly circumscribable. It’s an aquiline nose, in fact. You probably have Roman ancestors lurking in your family tree somewhere,” she commented, placing a kiss on the end of his maligned facial feature.

He did not smile, but he did stop glaring and went back to his tea and sandwich. She curled up in his desk chair, tucking her legs under her and suppressing a yawn and watching him pace as he ate.

“This is exactly the sort of self-aggrandizing stunt I would expect from Potter. I should have known that he would not allow his betters to deal with matters,” he said bitterly between bites.

“From what you said earlier, the boy thought that his godfather was being tortured. I can see why he would feel compelled to do something.”

“He should have left it in my hands.”

She shrugged. “In his place, I would have done the same thing.”

“Merlin, woman. I should hate to think you capable of such stupidity.”

“I think we’re all liable to do stupid things when someone we care about is in trouble. Why do you think I’m here now?”

The change in his countenance at that observation was something remarkable. The angry mask fell away to display the fear and anguish that had been lurking beneath all night, and he turned away from her, leaning heavily on the doorframe of the supply closet.

“I haven’t been summoned yet. There is still time for you to leave.”

“And miss my chance to play Juliet? I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”

“Be serious, Miranda. You know as well as I do that this plan is foolhardy at best.”

She contemplated his taut shoulders and rigid back. It had been longer than she could remember since she had thought about the future, and she’d been careful not to think about the startling revelation that he’d considered with pleasure the prospect of them having children together someday. It was entirely possible that her future would end tonight. But she couldn’t bring herself to be sorry that she had met her fascinating, infuriating lover. And she wasn’t sorry that she was with him now.

Pulling herself up from his chair, she crossed the room to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He tensed under her touch, but she left her hand where it was.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said firmly. “I trust you.”

He froze for a moment at her words. Then a shudder went through his body, and he turned to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. She wasn’t sure exactly why, but she had the distinct feeling that she’d said something exactly right.

“Whatever else might be said about Peeves, he does think of catchy tunes,” Albus said as he entered the potions room, humming the ghost’s most recent song.

“Albus! What has happened?” Severus demanded. His mask was firmly back in place, and he released Miranda from his arms, stepping away from her.

“Is everyone all right?” she demanded at the same time.

Albus held up his hands, and Miranda could see that they were shaking slightly.

“All in good time. I only have a moment, as this is one of many meetings I must attend this morning. In short, Harry and the rest of the children are all fine. Lucius and his friends have been arrested and taken to Azkaban, all except for Tom and Bellatrix, both of whom managed to escape. Cornelius cannot deny reality any longer and will be publicly announcing the state of things shortly. And the Order came through mostly unscathed, save for one.” He paused and swallowed before continuing. “Sirius Black did not survive the battle.”

Miranda crossed herself automatically. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

“Not as sorry as Harry is.”

“That poor boy.”

“Yes, Harry has been given more to bear than a child of his age should be given and I must soon add to the burden.” Albus mustered a smile that did not reach his eyes. “But do try to take some rest now. Severus, I suspect that none of your students will object to a free hour today in lieu of a potions lesson. Please join me this afternoon so we can discuss the day’s events more thoroughly.”

“That is, assuming Miranda and I are not summoned in the meantime,” Severus remarked angrily. “The Dark Lord will be furious with Lucius’s failure.”

Albus’s body seemed bent with exhaustion. “All the more reason for you both to rest while you can.”

With that, Albus withdrew before either Severus or Miranda could say anything further. When the older wizard was gone, Severus reached over to take Miranda’s hand, but absently, as though he were not quite aware of what he was doing.

“I will say that I could use a nap at least,” Miranda said. “Should we go to your rooms while there’s still the opportunity to do so?”

“Actually,” Severus said slowly, “I was thinking that a walk in the downs by your cabin would be a more effective aid to composing myself for sleep, if that is not disagreeable to you.”

“And watch the sun come up over the Channel?” she asked with a tremulous smile. “I can’t think of a better way to spend my last hours on earth.”

*****

Friday afternoon found Miranda only mildly refreshed as she attempted to sort though the various stacks of papers scattered throughout the cabin. This was one of her least favorite chores, but she’d already cleaned everything that could be cleaned and she was in no state to be distracted by a novel. Severus had been in a foul mood when he’d left an hour ago to see Albus and she wasn’t sorry to miss that meeting. As the day dragged on though, her anticipation of being summoned grew exponentially. She almost wished that the Dark Lord would just call them already and get it over with.

A ping sounded in her ear and she jumped involuntarily as she felt the prick of the wards tripping. Her wand was in her hand in an instant, but when she saw who it was that had disturbed her, she threw open the door happily.

“Aaron! What brings you here?” she asked.

Aaron embraced her and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I tried to get you through Charlie Weasley, but he said you were here. I thought I’d take the chance that you were home and not at Severus’s.”

“Severus is in a meeting with Albus, but he’ll be back later,” she explained as Aaron settled himself on the sofa. Just having her friend nearby put her at ease, and she filled the kettle, setting it boiling with a charm. “That still doesn’t answer my question. Are Rachel and Maggie alright?”

“They’re just fine. In fact, why don’t you and Severus come by for dinner, we’d love to see you. You won’t believe how big Maggie’s got since you saw her last.”

“It’s a deal, but what’s going on?”

“Robert just had a hell of a meeting with Cornelius Fudge. Thought you’d like to know about it.”

“Let me guess. Fudge finally admitted that Voldemort is back?”

“You are always stealing my thunder, woman,” Aaron complained good-humoredly.

“Sorry. It’s a specialty.” When the tea was black enough, she started pouring sugar into Aaron’s glass, stopping when she’d added two spoonfuls more than David had thought perfect. When the tea had submitted to the invasion of the sugar, she cast another charm to chill it to cellar temperature. She didn’t care much for sweet tea herself, but she had learned to make it for David in a fit of teenage affection.

“How did you know about it? Don’t tell me you were at the battle?” he asked, taking the glass she offered.

“No, I was at Hogwarts. But I did help Severus figure out that Harry Potter had gone off to the Ministry. And Severus got the Order to the Ministry in time for there to be a battle instead of a slaughter.”

“I’ll drink to that. And did you also hear that Lucius Malfoy is snug in prison as we speak?”

“I did. Good riddance.”

“Agreed. I feel bad for Narcissa though. She deserves better. And there’s that kid of his too. I can’t imagine what it’d be like being brought up by a man with that kind of sick view of the world. You’d have to be crazier than an outhouse rat to want to join the Death Eaters.”

Miranda almost choked on her tea, but she covered it with a smile. “I don’t know. People join extremist groups for all sorts of reasons.”

“They join them for a few reasons, all of them bad. And I’d find it hard to believe that they’d ever really get over it, even if they learned to act housebroken later. Look at Lucius.”

“Point taken.” She’d been fairly certain that keeping Severus’s former loyalties to herself was a good idea, and she was glad that she’d listened to that instinct. “Did you just come to gloat together?”

“Pretty much. And for your sweet tea. Rachel’s never been able to get it right. She thinks sugar and tea together are an abomination.” He finished his glass and started for the door. “I’ve got to head back to the Embassy, but I’ll see you and the fella later. Do you have any idea how much longer you’re going to be on this Romanian assignment?”

“I should be able to come back in October. Why do you ask?”

“Robert wanted to know. He’s got some ideas cooking and I expect he’ll want you to be part of it.”

“Do I want to be part of it?”

“With Robert, it can be hard to tell. But he’s at least worth listening to.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. See you soon.”

She kissed his cheek and shut the door after him. Severus was probably going to complain about going out, but she thought it would be better than staying in and driving each other crazy while they waited for her doom. If the Dark Lord was going to kill her in the next twenty-four hours, she’d rather spend some of them pleasantly.

*****

The wild metal knocker of St. Matilda’s seemed to throb with life as Miranda pulled open the creaking door later that night. Dinner had been a welcome diversion, but she knew she was far too wired to go home yet. When her walk with Severus had taken them past the church that had witnessed such happiness the month before, she felt compelled to go in.

“Thanks for agreeing to stop in,” she said as they crossed the threshold. He grunted noncommittally and she left him to pace the back of the church alone.

Ever since she had been a little girl, walking into a church at night had sent a thrill of anticipation down her spine. Her brothers had not been shy about telling ghost stories to their baby sister, and more than one story had involved the spirits that supposedly haunted such sanctuaries. Upon entering the magical world, Miranda had met more than her share of ghosts, most of whom were perfectly decent folk. But something about encountering a ghost in a church still struck her as different. It was as though the veil between the worlds were thinner here, and legions of spirits and other beings were watching and whispering just beyond it. As she drifted up the aisle lit only by flickering candles, she felt that at any moment Sirius Black himself might appear from behind a pillar and give her his hand.

Her rambling led her past sober statues in their lonely alcoves until, near the transept, she found the perfect spot. There, set apart from the others, sat a charming carving of a young woman holding her laughing Son. Unlike graver representations of the Holy Child, Miranda was drawn to this playful moment and the honesty of the amused and exhausted face of the Virgin. She dropped a coin in the waiting box, lit a candle on the rack of sentinels sending prayers up to heaven, and knelt on the prie-dieu before the statue with her beads in her hand. Although she was not consistent with her prayers, she did try to pray them with her whole heart when she took the trouble.

Most of her thoughts tonight were on the late Sirius Black. Severus might be convinced that Black was the worst creature ever to crawl the face of the earth, but Miranda felt oddly connected to the unfortunate man. She’d spent almost a year trying to protect Black by pretending to work for his enemies. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had thought that they would meet someday and laugh over her charade of a hunt like old friends. And the idea that he had left behind a lonely boy who had known so much loss already tugged at her heart.

As the smooth beads ran through her fingers, other faces appeared, calling for their own attention. Columba and David were never far from her mind when she thought of the dead, and she spared prayers for them even though she presumed that they didn’t really need them. A gust of wind blew through the church, making the candles sputter. She shivered and the superstitious thought occurred to her that death and sorrows come in threes. As the candle flames righted themselves from the assaulting breeze, she began fervently and selfishly praying that her Englishman was not going to be one of those three. This intention was on her heart until she finished the round and rose to join him and say good night to the church and its secrets.

“Are you quite finished?” Severus asked when she fell in next him.

“I think so,” she replied, her mind still on the living and the dead.

He shook his head at her. “I have no idea why you insisted on coming here.”

She shrugged absently. “I guess I wanted to say thank you that I’m still alive.”

“Those thanks may be premature.”

“Maybe. But maybe not. And I had a few souls on my mind that I thought could use a word.”

He smirked as they walked out of the church into the warm June night. The streetlights obscured all but the brightest stars and the light of the crescent moon was feeble in comparison to them.

“For a woman as intelligent as you are, I find it astonishing that you can be so superstitious,” he observed.

“I wouldn’t complain if I were you. You are one of the souls I mentioned. If you don’t need prayers, I don’t know who does.”

She was certain that he would have a snide remark to give her in return, and she was surprised when he took her hand instead and pressed his lips to it.

“I have never complained about you wasting time on me before. Far be it for me to do so now.”

*****

An unceremonious crack broke the quiet of the woods, sending birds shrieking into the air. Severus stumbled, caught his balance on the trunk of one of the trees, and sank down to the ground, leaning his back against the rough bark. He hated apparating that soon after enduring the Cruciatus, but he would rather risk splinching himself than stay a moment longer than necessary in the Dark Lord’s presence. The man was a hyena. If he scented weakness, he would attack without mercy.

With a shaking hand, Severus fished the cigarette case out of his robes. He dropped it more than once before he managed to extract a cigarette and light it. One drag. Two drags. The smoke filled his lungs and the magic spread through his body, soothing the pain. The heat was unusually welcome to him, warming him after the chilling effects of the curse. For a long while he simply sat and smoked, thinking of nothing at all.

Presently the cigarette case on his knee reminded him of his Barbarian. He had promised to inform her if the Dark Lord called him after her return to Romania, but he was tempted to let it be. All she could do now was worry.

The cigarette kept him company as he deliberated. In the end though, a promise was a promise, and he took pains never to make them idly.

I HAVE BEEN TO SEE THE DARK LORD His fingers were slow at tapping, but he managed.

ARE YOU ALRIGHT was the instant reply.

YES THE CRUCIATUS WAS LACKLUSTER TODAY HE MUST HAVE SPENT HIMSELF ON BELLA

WHEN DID HE CALL YOU

AN HOUR AFTER YOU LEFT

I AM SORRY I WAS NOT THERE

DO NOT BE SORRY HE DID NOT MENTION YOU AT ALL I THINK WE MAY HOPE LUCIUS TOOK HIS PLAN TO MURDER YOU TO AZKABAN WITH HIM

THANK HEAVEN FOR SMALL MERCIES ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE ALRIGHT

He shifted against the tree, trying fruitlessly to find a comfortable position. YES I HAVE THE CIGARETTES AND IT IS NEAR ENOUGH TO EVENING THAT I WILL USE THE OCCASION AS AN EXCUSE TO MAKE UP FOR LOST SLEEP

YOU WILL EAT SOMETHING BEFORE YOU GO TO SLEEP RIGHT IF ONLY FOR MY SANITY

He snorted, but capitulated. I SUPPOSE BUT ONLY FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR SANITY THE LAST THING I NEED IS A MAD LOVER

YOU ARE TOO GOOD

DO YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME TO FINISH PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEXT TASK

I AM READY DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT JUST WISH ME LUCK

He was worried, but not because he doubted her abilities. YOU DO NOT REQUIRE LUCK YOU REQUIRE SKILL WHICH YOU HAVE

THANK YOU I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES

YES DO

He hauled himself to his feet and set off towards the castle, moving at a slow but determined pace. The pains he had taken during the previous month to put Miranda out of his mind proved useless now, and his thoughts were full of her. Trust was a gift that Severus found he prized above all others. It was a gift that he had rarely been given and a gift that he had been known to mismanage when it had been bestowed. He had neither expected nor hoped to receive such a gift from Miranda, and it had startled him as much as it had warmed him when she’d presented it to him with no questions or reserve.

As unexpected as it was, he found he wanted it the way he wanted air to breathe.

*****

End Notes:

Many, many thanks to Potionspartner for beta-ing this chapter and saving me from an enormous blunder!

I think that Thestrals would smell and (shudder) taste differently to different people, based on their experience and beliefs.

Peeves’s song was written by my husband, Mr. Zingarella. It was featured in my one shot, Mairi’s Ghost--check it out if you’d like to know the whole story.

The term “uncircumscribable” means “not able to be circumscribed” or “not able to draw a circle around.” It was used during the debates in the Eastern Church about whether or not God could be depicted in icons. The iconoclasts argued that God was “uncircumscribable,” or that one could not depict Him in icons, and the iconodules, argued that He could be depicted, most often as the Ancient of Days. Was that too much information? Anyway, Peeves is just using that fancy word here to make fun of Severus’s nose.

Miranda is praying the rosary with her beads. Catholics do all kinds of things for the dead.

Churches are totally haunted, but only by souls looking for prayers.

*****

Moonlight Masterpost+

<< Chapter Twenty+

Chapter Twenty-two+ >>

#severus snape #snape #severus snape fanfiction #severus snape fanfic #snape fanfic #snape fanfiction #harry potter fandom #snape x oc #oc appreciation #second wizarding war #ilvermorny #american magic #espionage #spying #romance #adventure

[freemanswood]

EDINBURGH FILM FESTIVAL REVIEWS

Ode To Joy: Martin Freeman shines in delightfully heartwarming rom-com (Review)

SERENA SEGHEDONI

JUNE 28, 2019

Jason Winer’s clever drama about a man who can’t experience happiness is a funny, uplifting, insightful story that surprises us with hilarious sequences and witty dialogues and features impressive performances by Martin Freeman, Morena Baccarin and Melissa Rauch.

What if experiencing strong emotions made your body shut down for hours? And what if the feeling that triggered you the most was the most important emotion of all? The protagonist of Jason Winer’s Ode to Joy (played to perfection by Martin Freeman) is a man who suffers from cataplexy, a symptom of narcolepsy that does just that: every time he feels an emotion to an extent he can’t control with “unhappy thoughts”, he collapses on the floor. And, though feelings such as anger, surprise and fear definitely affect him, the one that triggers him the most is the very same emotion that makes one’s life worth living: happiness.

I’m not just talking about that kind of happiness caused by one in a lifetime experiences. Charlie’s neurological disease can be triggered by seeing a mother holding her child, or by noticing a particularly cute animal while walking down the street. In fact, it can even be provoked by thinking about the feeling. And so, while major events are definitely risky, so are stories with a happy ending, cheerful music and unsolicited comments from strangers. If we stop to consider how many times we happen to think of something that makes us smile, it’s not hard to understand that, when we first meet Charlie, his life is not exactly the definition of easy.

With this premise, Ode to Joy could have easily turned out to be one of those mushy, predictable stories we’ve already seen a hundred times before, one that would focus on the illness and try to make us cry as much as is humanly possible. Instead, Jason Winer’s thoroughly enjoyable drama is an uplifting, endearing, genuinely hilarious and widely entertaining romantic comedy with likeable characters, delightfully absurd sequences, unpredictable turns of events and more than one lesson to teach.

We first meet Charlie (Martin Freeman) at a wedding, the perfect occasion to get familiar not only with our protagonist’s “adorable quirk”, as his brother Cooper (Jake Lacy) would later describe it, but also with his special brand of humour, that will keep us company throughout the film. Charlie’s coping mechanism consists in thinking “unhappy thoughts” whenever his cataplexy is about to overcome him. He has gotten used to avoiding happy situations and seeing the negative side of everything, and his daily routine is an endless source of perfectly timed and extremely funny sequences that keep us company for the entire duration of the film. And, while most of the credit is due to the excellently written screenplay, it needs to be said that Martin Freeman is absolutely perfect for the role.

Although we don’t always agree with the choices he makes, Charlie’s dry humour and expressive glances make him so relatable that he connects with us instantly, as a victim of circumstance whose absurdly comic endeavours can’t help but make us burst into laughter every time he says or does something out of the ordinary. And, just when you think you know where the film is headed, here comes an unexpected character or event that changes everything and makes you fall in love with Ode to Joy all over again.

The first surprising character is Charlie’s love interest, Francesca (Morena Baccarin). If our unhappy hero is the pessimistic but likeable protagonist Ode to Joy needed, Francesca is his perfect match and the one person who is able to balance out his sarcastic comments with her warmth and spontaneity. When we first meet her, she has just been publicly (and hilariously) dumped by an ex-boyfriend who couldn’t even begin to understand her, and who intentionally picked a public library to tell her the news, so as to prevent her from making a scene. Needless to say, Francesca does make a scene, and that is when Charlie, who happens to work at that very same library, intervenes. Which leads to a series of events that put to the test all the defence mechanisms he has put into place to keep all kinds of pleasant emotions out of his life.

There are so many reasons why it simply shouldn’t work between Charlie and Francesca, and yet they end up presenting us with a love story that is not only the source of many hilarious scenes, but also very real. The chemistry between the two leading characters (and the two leading actors) is undeniable, but there’s more than that. Ode to Joy enfolds in a completely unexpected way that keeps us guessing until the end, which is a very rare thing to find in a romantic comedy these days. It’s also what makes Winer’s gem of a film so compelling and so very watchable.

If Charlie and Francesca are the two protagonists of this story, they are not the only characters worth mentioning. Charlie’s little brother Cooper (Jake Lacy) is an excellent wingman: not only he provides much of the comic relief in the film, but his character is absolutely essential in this movie. Cooper helps move the narrative in unexpected directions, as he is much more impulsive and less empathic than his restrained brother, and Lacy’s performance brings his character to life in a very believable way.

Jane Curtin also makes an appearance as Sylvia, Francesca’s closest relative and source of infinite wisdom. Aunt Sylvia is yet another brilliantly written character who approaches a serious subject in an unconventional, unexpected way, acting as a guide for Francesca and helping us understand her motives and actions. It’s thanks to Aunt Sylvia that Ode to Joy can remain the funny comedy it is, while also approaching complex themes such as fear and loss in an immensely moving way.

But Ode to Joy‘s surprises aren’t over, as its most impressive character only shows up halfway through the movie. Played by The Big Bang Theory‘s Melissa Rauch, Bethany is Francesca’s hilariously boring co-worker and, therefore, perfect “girlfriend material” for Charlie – at least, according to Cooper. From the moment she unexpectedly makes an appearance, Rauch absolutely owns every single scene she’s in. We don’t even care if it takes our attention away from Charlie and Francesca: we can’t get enough of seeing her in (slow) action. And it’s not just her fascination with the most tedious subjects and her long, improbable speeches that make us laugh: Bethany is also responsible for the film’s funniest moment by far, a meme-worthy scene you wish you could rewind over and over again.

Ode to Joy is an unconventional, poignant, hugely enjoyable and wildly entertaining drama that combines the right amount of dry humour with a series of witty, well-timed and surprisingly meaningful turns of events. It presents us with a series of believable, well-rounded characters, it keeps us entertained with clever dialogues and twists, it touches upon serious issues with extreme delicacy and it ultimately sends across a thought-provoking, heartwarming, beautiful message.

Ode to Joy had its European premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival on 22nd June, 2019 and it was so well-received that it was chosen to be part of the Festival’s “Best of the Fest” Strand: another screening has been planned for 30th June, and tickets are on sale at this link.

#martin freeman #ode to joy #reviews #edinburgh international film festival #edinburgh film festival #this is a really nice review 👍

[lunarity2013]

OC Details: Lucy Stone

So, I figured it was high time I told you guys about my Hogwarts Mystery OC! I got most of these questions on here from @thewasp1995 (Go check out his OC David, btw, it’s super detailed and so cool!) I really hope you guys enjoy!

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Name: Lucille Maria Stone

DOB: October 16, 1972 (turned 12 during her first year)

Parents: Candace and Sean Stone

Siblings: Nathan Samson Stone (oldest, 9-year age difference, Ravenclaw), Casey Andrew Stone (youngest, 6-year age difference, muggle)

Nationality: Irish

Ancestry: Muggleborn

House: Hufflepuff

Height: as of Year 4, she's 5'1". She doesn't get much taller until after graduation, stopping at about 5’3” by age 25

Eyes: large, round, dark brown

Hair: waist length, light brown, wavy

Sexuality: Demisexual, hetero-leaning

Likes: reading, writing, singing, helping others, cheering her friends on, card games, charms, astronomy, ancient runes, nifflers, cats

Dislikes: being the center of attention, hurting people, fighting, doctor’s offices, spiders, clowns, being betrayed, baking (she’s bad at it)

Friends: Rowan (best friend), Ben (best friend), Penny (surrogate sister), Charlie (competitive best friend), Bill (surrogate brother), Tonks (good friend), Barnaby (crush), Tulip (good friend), Andre (friend)

Enemies: Merula (formerly), Ismelda (thinks her constant threats are a big red flag), Rakepick (evil), Snape (his decision), Nathan (depending on the game's ending)

Neutral: Skye (she helps tutor her), Talbott (more Penny’s friend, but she enjoys seeing him), Merula (after finding Nathan), Liz (Barnaby and Charlie's good friend), Murphy (he's cool)

*Badeea, Jae, Diego, and others to be decided at a later date, after I actually meet them in-game*

Love Interest: Barnaby Lee

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Strengths/Weaknesses/Hobbies: 

Positive traits: honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused  | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly | empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty |funny

Negative Traits: moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power - hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | masochistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous | oversensitive | rebellious

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What’s their personal philosophy?  Do they even have one?

For much of the earlier portion of her life, Lucy’s motto would be “do unto others and you would have them do unto you”. Up until about the time Rakepick shows up, and Ben’s secret-keeping, and just the all-around mess that her life becomes when the Vaults come into question, this is what she lives by. After about Year 4? It shifts a bit, focusing her own values and energy towards protecting her loved ones and innocent people from those who would cause harm, and doing whatever necessary to stop them. And after finding Nathan, she begins to include him in the latter.

How do they feel about their status and reputation as the curse-breaker in the school?

Lucy was never one for the spotlight, even as a little kid. She was content for years to simply look up to her older brother in his successes, and then later to help her parents with her baby brother, showering him with love and attention. Actively searching for the Vaults, and subsequently breaking the curses within, was only part of her plan to try and find some closure as to her brother’s disappearance (something she has convinced herself he was merely a victim of and not an active participant, to save herself grief of her brother not being what she thought). She doesn’t like having so many eyes on her, especially for something she knows is dangerous and putting herself and her friends in harm’s way. But every time she tries to back out and leave it be, she gets dragged back in.

Did they get sorted into the Hogwarts House they expected to?  Did the Sorting Hat have any problems sorting them?  Or did it not even have to touch their head?

Before Nathan’s disappearance, she would have loved to consider herself lucky enough to be a witch, let alone be sorted into her brother’s house. After his disappearance, however, she had mixed feelings about the idea of sharing his crest and colors, and possibly having more eyes on her than before. Her values lined up differently than his, however, and the Sorting Hat gave her an out in the form of Hufflepuff house. She was still a little disappointed by being so far from her brother’s life there, but years later, she’d swear up and down that being put in the house of fairness, honesty, and loyalty is where she truly belonged.

What’s their personal style?

Lucy wears a lot of early Autumn colors, usually. Lots of oranges, yellows, browns, and olive greens are kind of signature to her style. She typically wears things that make her feel cute and kind of kid-like, so over-large sweaters with skirts or overall shorts and dresses with print tops (floral or stripes, typically). She usually pairs both with comfortable boots and long socks. She wears her hair down most of the time, except when actively exploring the Vaults and when studying for final exams.When it gets cold, she’ll sometimes “borrow” sweaters from her friends to stay warm (usually Bill and Barnaby).

What are their coping strategies for dealing with everything (the Vaults, Jacob, etc.), if they have any?

Lucy has terrible coping mechanisms for her problems, unfortunately. She convinced herself early on that her brother had probably been killed by the Cursed Vaults while trying to help protect others from the curses, and is thus even more broken up when she eventually does find him and sees what kind of person he’s really become. She tries at the start of every year to ignore the signs of another Vault opening, just trying to live a normal, Hogwarts-student life, only to be dragged into it when people have already been attacked or hurt. After the incident with the dragon and Rakepick, she tries to close herself off, thinking it’s because they’re so close to her that her friends keep getting hurt. It doesn’t work, and her friends end up finding her and hugging her as she cries about everything that seems to go wrong with her life.

What electives do they take throughout their time at Hogwarts?

If she could, she would take every class available because it was so hard to choose just a few! In the end, however, she settled on Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Ancient Runes, because Alchemy was only for 7th years, and Arithmancy was “just magic math”. Muggle Studies was almost chosen instead of Divination, but Luc decided she wanted something a little more challenging. (She didn’t realize her patience was what would be tested lol).

Are they in any clubs or extracurricular activities?  What about Quidditch?

It’s really hard to find time to do extracurriculars when you’re trying to protect people from being frozen in ice blocks or sleep-walking into an acromantula nest. She did join the Frog Choir after third year, though unfortunately drops out between 5th-6th year to focus on her studies (and the Vaults). She occasionally goes to the music club, though is not an official member. Unfortunately, Lucy may be a decent flyer, but isn’t quite cut out for Quidditch. Besides, she’d rather be in the stands (huddled and warm) while watching her friends play instead. Sometimes she’ll help Madame Pomfrey with healing students in the Hospital Wing, but the smell of the potions and medicines reminds her of the doctor’s office, so she wouldn’t ever do it for a living.

How studious are they?  What kind of studying strategies do they use?  Do they have any study groups with their friends?

Lucy is a stickler for good note-taking, bringing a bunch of spiral notebooks and colored gel pens and highlighters with her every year to take “proper” notes to share with her friends during their weekly study sessions. She and Rowan usually lead for most classes, though Penny takes charge for Potions, Ben (and Rowan and Bill, sometimes) lead for Charms, and Charlie and Barnaby for Care of Magical Creatures. Lucy, Rowan, and Bill sometimes help some of the younger students set up study groups as well, and often let the younger Weasley siblings and Cedric join their sessions, too. Liz doesn’t always study with them, but will when she needs to, Tulip and Tonks only show up when forced or bribed, and Skye was wrangled into coming once, but got everyone off task getting into a trash-talk showdown with Andre over the Gryffindor v. Ravenclaw game the following day; everyone else either has a different group to study with or refuses to do so entirely.

How willing are they when it comes to breaking school rules?

Lucy hates getting in trouble, since it’s being put under a spotlight in a more negative context for her. The first three years of school, she tries whatever she can to avoid breaking the rules when possible. After the Fear Vault is closed, however, she starts loosening up a little bit. She still doesn’t like to break the rules, but she’ll do it with less coercing, and gets even sneakier to get away with it.

Do they hang out with any of their friends over breaks?  If so, which one(s) and what do they do?

Living all the way out in Ireland, just outside of Dublin, it’s a bit harder to get to visit her friends before she heads into London for her school shopping at the end of summer holiday. Charlie and Bill make use of the fireplace to invite her over for dinner a few times during the break, flooing her there and back without much hassle. She makes time to spend with Rowan specifically during the summer, inviting her over to spend a week or so every year, and Rowan inviting her for the same amount at her house right after. She gets an owl (a cooky brown owl that her little brother named Bernard) for her family to send her mail during the year, and uses him herself to keep in touch with the rest of her friends until September rolls around again.

After they graduate, do they fall off the map and keep a low profile?  Or do they continue to exist in the public eye?

After deciding very early on that she didn’t much care for being the center of attention, once she had the opportunity to fade into obscurity, she took it. She eventually married Barnaby and moved with him to Romania, where he and Charlie work together with dragons. Lucy decides a little later on to document some of her childhood, but feeling awkward about writing her own life story down, changes the names and some of the details to instead create a fictional book series for kids. It later gets published under a pseudonym and achieves moderate success in both the muggle and magical worlds.

How does their career path differ from what they thought they’d be doing?  Or does it differ at all?

It took Lucy her entire life to figure out what she wanted to do. At Hogwarts, when asked what career path she wanted to pursue, she was so shocked that she asked if she could “just go back to bed”. She decided to take whatever classes could be most broadly considered for a number of professions, and even then wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do once she left Hogwarts. She decided to handle her personal life first, cheering her friends on as they found their paths, and then going with Barnaby so he could achieve his dream. It was only later, after beginning to just write things down, that she realized how much she enjoyed doing it.

Do they have any hobbies?  What about any talents or aptitudes?

She loves taking some time to just goof off with her friends, playing Gobstones or getting some Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. She’ll spend some gloomy weekends curled up in a big armchair in the library, quietly reading to herself (and later, helping Barnaby with his dyslexia). She’s also a major card shark, winning almost every muggle card game she’s ever played and often tricking her friends into playing with her and losing anything from candy to wizard cards to even money, on occasion. She’s particularly good in Charms class, as well as Astronomy and Ancient Runes.

Do they have any favorite spells?

She likes spells that can used to help others, like Episkey or Protego. She has a certain fondness for Expecto Patronum, of course. She also likes using Lumos, to light up her bed behind the curtains after a bad nightmare.

What’s one thing they did or thought as a child that they later look back and cringe about?

Long after she and Barnaby finally get together, they both end up hearing about the bets their friends placed on their relationship and how lovesick they apparently acted before asking each other out. Tonks and Tulip will sometimes act out their mutual pining at lunch or at the Three Broomsticks, leaving both of them flustered and cringing over just how insufferable they must've been before they realized their feelings were returned. If she could go back and do it over, she might almost be tempted to have just kissed Barnaby at the Celestial Ball and avoided the whole mess. Almost.

If they could travel anywhere at all in the world—money, time, and language not being an issue—where would they go and who would they take with them?

It's a tough choice between some very good options, travelling to historical landmarks across the globe with Rowan, getting tasty food in Paris with Penny, or taking her family for a nice, normal vacation to Disney in the States. But eventually, she'd probably decide on travelling the world looking for various beasts and creatures with Barnaby, and writing about their adventures.

If they’re an Animagus, how easy was becoming one for them?  Were they happy with their Animagus form?  Or did they want it to be something different?

Lucy studied up on being an animagus with Talbott while at Hogwarts, but couldn't bring herself to actually become one until after graduation. She remains an unregistered sparrow animagus even after Voldemort is finally defeated. She would've liked to be maybe some kind of cat, but can't deny that being so small and being able to fly are some great advantages when the second war rolls around.

Do they like what they see in the mirror?

Had it not been for her magical abilities making themselves known as she grew up, she might've gone through all of primary school unnoticed. As it was, kids often ostracized and ridiculed her for being weird and different until she finally went to Hogwarts. Between that and the guilt she carries for everyone that gets hurt by the Vaults, it takes her a very long time to come to terms with herself and her self-worth.

How good are they at taking compliments?

Lucy is pretty decent at taking compliments, so long as it's not a bunch all at one time; she gets anxious when too many people try and talk to her at once. When Barnaby compliments her, though, she gets flustered and stumbles over her words while blushing really bright, almost blocking out her freckles.

How much do they trust their friends?

Lucy trusts those she keeps close to an almost impossible degree. It can sometimes lead her to trouble, such as leaving her vulnerable to pranks by Tonks or Tulip.

Are they pretty self-reliant?  Or do they like to go to their friends for help?

At first, she's much more willing to do things as a group, having her friends' backs as much as they have hers. Later on, however, she begins closing herself off, trying to take on everything herself to avoid her friends getting hurt because of her. It doesn't last very long, however, as they all work better as a team.

Who is their favorite Weasley?  Or can they not choose?

Ginny and Ron are just too cute, from what little she's seen of them. Bill is like another older brother, and she loves him dearly. She and Charlie are great friends, but anything and everything becomes a competition with them, starting with a "who knows more about dragons" contest that she actually won in their 2nd year. They could almost have been considered rivals up until later on in Year 4. Percy is alright, she Guesses, but even she thinks he needs to loosen up a bit. And she spends most of her time trying to just keep the twins separated from Tonks and Tulip, if only to avoid the Apocalypse.

What’s the thing they like least about themselves?

She's a little stuffy about rules, she worries too much, her actions and choices keep putting people in danger, and FFS, she faced a DRAGON and still can't kill one measly little spider??

What’s the thing they like most about themselves?

She cares about her friends and family, she would never go out of her way to betray them or to hurt others. She takes pride in the lives she's helped and saved.

How bad is their temper?  Do they tend to lash out at others or themselves?

Her temper only gets really out of hand when someone she cares about gets hurt. She can usually handle someone hurting her with nothing more than a few years, but attack the people she cares about? That'll be the last thing you ever do.

What’s their biggest regret in life, if they have any?

She blames herself for far too many things. She wishes Ben hadn't been hurt and controlled by Rakepick, she thinks she could've done more to help and support him. She feels like if she had been more observant as a kid, she might've seen something going on with Nathan and could've stopped his disappearance. She's terrified about how the two of them being so involved in the Cursed Vaults with effect Casey as he grows up, and if he'll end up inheriting their legacy or not, if it might get him killed.

What kind of first impression do they tend to leave on others?

Lucy is sweet, doe-eyed, and a little naïve. A pretty face, very smart, but very open and trusting. Would apologize to you if you poured soup into her lap. Most would either want to protect the sweet, innocent child or absolutely take advantage of her trusting and kind nature.

What is the achievement they’re most proud of?

She once managed to eat an entire tin of her mom's homemade butter cookies without vomiting (her mom isn't a very good cook, and definitely can't bake). But now she's expected to eat at least some every time her mom bakes them when she's home. (Just another advantage to being away at a boarding school most of the year).

Do they like having photos taken of themselves?

She's a little camera shy, depending on who she's with; any groups larger than maybe 5 and she'll try to duck around and take the picture herself instead. But small groups, she can handle it. And she'll take any photo with Tonks, so long as she changes something about her appearance to take the main attention off of her.

What’s one big way that your MC differs from the in-game canon?

Lucy does not like searching for the Vaults. She would have been content with maybe a few of his journals and an official, personal explanation from Dumbledore. Sh didn't need this. She doesn't want to be the one fixing this, but apparently no one else knows how or cares to try, so she feels responsible. She's also not in the same house as her brother.

If they’re an Animagus, why did you choose the form for them that you did?

Lucy becomes an animagus much later than in canon. She becomes one right before the 2nd war, in order to evade detection. She becomes a little sparrow bird, small and common enough to escape notice. I chose it because of its relation to the second Fable game, whose protagonist is named "Sparrow".

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So, I hope ya’ll enjoyed! Let me know if any of you have any more questions!

(Edit: I am so sorry about the picture formatting, I know its hideous, but I have somehow lost the ability to use my mobile app to fix it (no fucking signal, my ass) but I promise I will try again tomorrow, when I am far away from the lack of signal at my house.)

#hphm #hphm mc #hphm oc #hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery oc #jacob's sibling #oc details

[gayregis]

i’m glad people out there like gerlion content because [charlie voice from it’s always sunny from the pepe silvia bit] that right there is gerlion. now let's talk about gerlion. can we talk about gerlion, please, witcher fandom? i've been dying to talk about gerlion with you all day, OK?

anyways the idea of dandelion leaving the company in toussaint strikes geralt so hard because of three manners.

guilt

dandelion’s leave demonstrates to geralt how different they are and this vast difference scares geralt because he considers the thought that he dragged dandelion — fragile, lute-strumming, softly-singing dandelion — across the continent on the account of his own vain quest, and that it was a horrific experience for him that’s traumatized him for the rest of his human life.

Dandelion muttered some indistinct words, bent down in a courteous, though somewhat shaky bow, then fell to his knees and vomited.

“Who is he?” The archer wiped the tip on some wet leaves, and put the arrow back into her quiver. “A friend of yours, witcher?”

“Yes. He's called Dandelion, he's a poet.”

“A poet.” Milva looked at the troubadour who was now dry-vomiting, then raised her eyes. “Well yes, then I understand. I do not understand, however, why he is here puking, instead of sitting in a town quietly writing rhymes. Anyway, its not my business.”

of course this isn’t the case because dandelion followed geralt out of his own volition and love for the witcher but geralt still fears...

geralt already has HAD issues with accepting the help of others, understanding that others are there for him and he does not have to share the burden of losing and searching for his daughter alone, but dandelion’s leave stirs up these emotions which have since become weaker... and so yes, geralt fears that he’s mistreated someone very close to him. a word on this before i continue onto the next point: geralt carried dandelion on horseback through the dark wilderness as he bled, shaking and terrified, screaming and stammering.

Dandelion yelled, this time in pain and dug his fingers into Geralt’s ribs. The witcher felt something warm splatter on his neck.

“Hold on!” he caught the poet’s arm and pressed him hard against his back. “Hold on, Dandelion!”

“They’ve killed me!” the poet yelled, a little too loud for the dead. “I’m bleeding! I’m dying!”

“Hold on!”

(...)

Geralt took off his jacket and tore off a sleeve. The tip of the arrow had scratched Dandelion’s ear, leaving a cut that reached to his temple. The poet, every now and again touched the wound with his shaking hands, and then looked at the blood covering his hands and sleeves. His eyes were lost. The witcher realized that before him was a man who, for the first time had felt real pain and for the first time in his life seen so much of his own blood.

so when dandelion leaves the company as soon the opportunity presents itself, this comes off as if he’s been trapped or held against his will. and geralt feels guilty that dandelion has experienced this journey, because it is not his place. since dandelion chose to journey with the witcher, this fear and guilt is false, but geralt still feels it.

jealousy, or worry

The Duchess was silent for a while, stroking Dandelion’s forearm with a rhythmic movement, like a cat.

(...)

“Have you ever heard a saying,” said Geralt, “that princesses leap after love like hares? (...) Your chosen duchess is arrogant and ridiculous and spoiled. She is a big child for whom you are nothing but a toy, which she will discard without reproach as soon as a new musician appears with a fascinating new repertoire.”

geralt can see that dandelion and anna henrietta’s relationship is one of infatuation, like the majority of dandelion’s relationships with various women. the thing that makes this specific relationship dangerous is that anna henrietta is incredibly fickle and incredibly politically powerful, and geralt knows this will mix poorly with dandelion’s... ‘free and unrestrained personality,’ let’s put it that way. and geralt is right later on when he returns to toussaint to see dandelion about to be executed.

naturally, he worries for dandelion. he worries for his safety. but there is also an element of jealousy or envy involved, as anna henrietta’s relationship with dandelion is implied to be... possessive, in a manner. she treats dandelion like a thing, or a pet or a servant, and not like a lover. so geralt has a thorough distaste for this relationship, not only because he knows it will eventually sour and become dangerus for his friend, but because he thinks dandelion deserves more. more than a duchess? interesting point of view... geralt feels dandelion deserves actual love, full love, deep love and passionate, equal love that recognizes his whole person, not just his... imagined persona of a handsome troubadour. geralt, knowing dandelion’s flaws and not overlooking them, but rather, loving him even more for them, finds anna henrietta’s approach to his friend disturbing and... wrong.

insecurity

but geralt questions his own knowledge of dandelion— or rather, viscount julian de lettenhove. just a while ago, they sat in a marshy plain laughing over ridiculous titles and unnecessarily long names. geralt THOUGHT he knew everything about his best friend. but apparently he didn’t... and this relates back to the first point, but is its own as well, that geralt is afraid because he realizes that he doesn’t know dandelion as intimately as he thought he did. unlike anna henrietta, he knows dandelion’s entire personality, but he also has NO IDEA of this new, unknown side of nobility to dandelion. it’s jarring to once feel so secure in knowledge of your closest friend, and then have new and entirely unbeknownst information presented to you... geralt is upset by the fact that in toussaint, he cannot approach dandelion in a casual manner like he has become accustomed to. he must address him, his BEST FRIEND, as some high-ranking prince-consort. which is entirely uncomfortable and upsetting.

and this also relates back to the first issue of guilt — geralt fears that he cannot love dandelion like he has, because dandelion has found his ‘ideal’ — and if anna henrietta is his ‘ideal,’ then what is geralt?

geralt begins to deeply question and become highly insecure about his relationship with dandelion, because how could the gentle, sensitive artist in service to his lady poetry ever come to love and join with an emotionless, mutated killer, slayer of beasts? the wilderness, swampy and muck-filled marshes and long, exhausting and dangerous road ahead of the company is no place for a troubadour... as milva said, why is he not sitting in a town quietly writing rhymes? dandelion deserves to be with a duchess, reclining in a palace dressed in crimson embroidered with gold, hand fed grapes and whatever other royal and noble nonsense... and that’s simply something geralt has no desire to partake in, no experience with, and no understand of. and he feels guilty that he could not have realized this sooner and avoided distressing his friend by carrying him through this journey. and he feels jealous that he will never be able to provide this kind of life for him, and so he must leave, say his goodbyes, and face the road without him.

#the witcher #gerlion #geralt #dandelion #lady of the lake #baptism of fire