#Choosing between 'hate myself for what I'm about to do' and 'live without her' was a question he didn't even need to think about to answer

[readychilledwine]

A Page From Another's Book

Eris Week - Day 1 - Bonds and Bargains

Summary - After 2 full years without you acknowledging the bond, Eris is willing to do whatever it takes for just a moment of your time

Warnings - Smut, choking (kind of), mating bonds, forced proximity, slight manipulation, and possibly a few missed errors. If you see them, no, you didn't 👀

A/N - Happy @erisweekofficial! I have challenged myself this week to try to use both prompts in one fic. Why? Because I could not choose! They were so good this year.

🍂Eris Week Masterlist🍂Eris Masterlist🍂Master Masterlist🍂

Dividers by @tsunami-of-tears 💕💕

The look in your eyes was not what a male wanted to see from their mate. You looked at Eris like you hated him, a soft snarl always playing on lips too plush to have been real.

But Gods that look did things to him. Things that had his own smirk growing as you two stared at each other in silence, waiting for Rhysand to finish looked over the contact for trade Beron had forced his heir to come present. Rhysand was using his hand to hide a smirk.

The scent of the bond between Eris and y/n was potent. Honey and apples. Ginger and cinnamon. The High Lord understood now why so many of his family members complained about the way his and Feyre's scents mix. He could hardly tell who was who anymore but he couldn't stop breathing it in all the same.

“You can go sister, I believe I can hold my own against our dear Eris,” Rhysand dismissed you so easily. Your eyes met his in silent conversation before you stood, black dress swishing as you did and walked out of the room.

Eris felt himself relax then, body melting as he and Rhysand began to show each other vulnerability, “You told me she'd warm up to me by now.”

Rhys pinched his brows, “Y/n is a complex creature. Beautiful as the rising moon, complex as the stars.”

“And crafted from the very darkness between them,” Eris's fingers rolled, nails tapping the table in a pattern of annoyance. “What do I do?”

“Force her into a bargain,” Rhysand was half joking as he struck out a line on Beron's trade agreement. He paused, sharp mind and eyes hitting Eris. “That.. May actually work.”

Eris looked at Rhysand like he had grown two heads, “She would not make a bargain with me, she hates me.”

“She likes knowledge more than she hates you, trust me. And, Eris Vanserra, you live in a court she has never been able to go to.”

Eris fell into a brief moment of silence, “And you believe this could work?”

“It turned out well for me,” Rhysand picked at his jacket. “Make a bargain with her, force her to spend time with you.”

Rhysand slid the contract back over, a look of annoyance on his face as he did, "Your father,” the word spoken with such disdain, “needs to learn what fair terms actually means.”

“I do not believe my Father would know fair if it bit him in the ass,” that snake like smirk came forward. “Luckily, it will be me you deal with soon-”

“Is it not you I deal with already,” Rhys groaned. “Anyways, y/n. Bargain her a week in Autumn in exchange for intel.” He said it so casually, having accepted what the Fates and Cauldron decided would be with you the second the bond snapped during the war with Hybern.

And what a dramatic way for it to have snapped. A fight between Autumn and Night's emissaries leading to you pinning the heir to the ground, dagger at his throat.

It was one thing you and Azriel had in common:

Going for the jugular whenever you two deemed it fit.

Rhys waved a hand dismissing Eris, “I'm sure she is in the hall, waiting to guide you to your room.”

And you were, leathers clinging to every curve, one wing stretched out while you pulled your arm across your body, “Sore, assassin?”

Defiant eyes met his, narrowing slightly as he stared, “Only by the sight of you, heirling.” You began to walk away from him, forcing Eris to follow you to his room in Hewn City. Footsteps fell in time, breathing in sync as the bond between you two pulled and flickered.

It wasn't tense, but the quiet that lingered was thick. There were mountains of emotions between you two. Anger that lingered from years of what he claims was all an act and lies.

“You look beautiful today,” you were the only being he ever spoke this gently to. “Your hair has gotten longer.”

“Are we making casual observations?”

Eris smirked at the way your held a bite yet your eyes were soft. You were truly the most beautiful creature he had ever gotten to lay eyes on. In a dress, armor, casual clothing, leathers. Your confidence was unmatched. You owned every room you walked into. He admired that about you.

Eris opened the door to his room, hand going just above the small of your back to usher you in, “I have an offer for you.”

You leaned against the wall, a shadow coming to check on you. It indicated he was on a time crunch, that your brother would be coming soon. “I am listening.”

“Come with me to Autumn. A week of your time in one of my private residences in exchange for intel on my father.”

Your mind began to race at the possibilities. Bringing home info to Rhysand that the Night Court could use was like dangling a sparkling object infront of a fish. He knew you would bite. “What is in it for you?”

“You. Just one week where I get to see my mate in my court, in our fashion, enjoying our food. Such a small thing to give me in exchange for the knowledge I will give you, and your ability to stay safely in a court you've never enjoyed.”

It was tempting, so tempting the shadow on your shoulder panicked and ran to Azriel. “What's the catch?” You moved to sit on the chair, long legs crossing at the ankles as the two of you continued staring each other down.

“No catch, my lady.” He moved to you, a hand touching the loose hair from your braid. It was a bold and dangerous choice, touching you so freely. “Just a week in exchange for information. That's all I wager.”

His hand raised to you, the freckled skin calloused from training and earning his place as a general, but so soft. Hands spoke volumes to you, and his were so similar to Rhysand's. You raised your hand slowly and took his, feeling the warmth from his skin heating yours.

The bargain mark for you was nothing, a small rune on the inside of your left ring finger, but he flinched slightly before moving to the mirror across the room and pulling up his shirt. He rolled his eyes at the small matching rune above his heart. “What does it say?”

“Agape,” you responded quietly. “We need to leave if you plan on getting out of this alive. Azriel is coming.”

He grabbed your without hesitation, without even putting his shirt back on. Fire and smoke surrounded you before the silence of a cabin. Soft whimpers immediately started before howling. Loud howling. 12 hounds all began to point their noses to the skies they couldn't see. It was a celebration of his arrival home before the smallest then began to pawn at the door.

Eris just smiled as he made his way over, “Be back before dinner,” he told them, patting each one on the head as they can out into the warded clearing. Your feet carried you behind them, eyes wide in wonder as you took in the colors of the trees.

Warmth.

A fireplace with a good book and spiced cider.

Chilled air and pumpkins.

You had always longed to see Autumn, but Beron's prejudice towards Illyrians always got in the way. “Eris..” You were speechless as you admired the woods, the crunchy leaves on the ground. “Its-”

“Home,” he finished as he leaned on the railing watching his hounds. “We're right on the border of Autumn and Winter. There are times where the run rises and sets on the creek and lake near by that makes the snow of Winter appear like it is on fire.” His smile was so soft, eyes relaxed, muscles even slowly loosing tension. “This is my favorite cabin I have. The village nearby is quiet, open minded, hates my father.”

“That seems to be a reoccurring theme,” you jumped in.

Eris smirked but didn't say anything. “Can I offer you more comfortable clothing? A drink?”

Night one with him was filled with you two reading silently, one of his hounds being the first to inch his way into your lap and cuddle. Rhysand had not checked in, Azriel had not searched for you. Not even a mocking letter from Nesta. It was peace, bliss that allowed your guard to fall down.

He allowed you to sleep alone in a spare bed, not even asking as you used your ability to shift to get rid of your wings for the night and stole his sweater to sleep in.

The smell of bacon woke you from your lay in. A rare lazy morning that had you stretching as you walked on in just his sweater.

It felt so domestic, natural to both of them. He wordlessly handed her coffee and sugar, sipping his own. He was shirtless, lean form on display and making your brain spiral to the what ifs. His sweatpants hung low on his hips as he continued cooked breakfast, knowing you could not do it.

“How far do you powers as a wild form go?” You glanced at him, not ready to speak without at least getting one sip of coffee in. His hands shot up in defense, a graceful step back as he did. “I am asking because I wanted to leave you with some marks so you could do shopping. Observe the village here.”

You only hummed, reaching for a finished piece of the crispy bacon and bending down to give it to the sweet hound that had attached himself to you. “What's his name?”

Eris sneered as you gave his well trained pet a piece of bacon, dark brown eyes meeting his like it was a victory, “That is Whiskey.” The Hound seemed to skip away as you stood up, “And you will not spoil him.”

“Says the male who had 3 in his bed last night and the rest all in fluffy dog beds that a nicer than what some poor lower fae have.”

“They are orthopedic. Smoke hounds require comfort for their limbs,” his tone was definitely defensive. Almost parental. “They are faithful companions. They deserve comfort.”

You were thankful for your ability to hide laughter, but your eyes began to betray you. This male was not the one you knew, the one who you believed left your dear friend for dead. “To answer the earlier question, it's limitless, like Tamlin's ability, only less effort and my scent is hidden.”

“So you can spend my coin today,” he tossed the bag casually on the counter. He moved the pan from the heat before reaching around you, “You are even beautiful in the morning.” He'd carry the torch for you. He'd carry it even if you rejected the bond, as pathetic as that was.

Day two with him was filled with heated glances that grew the more he showed you who he was. Touches that lingered as he took you from shop to shop, purchasing candies, clothing, books.

He was a handsome male. You'd be a fool to lie if you said otherwise.

The third evening is when things became more. The bond was humming, desperate for anything to happen between you two. Music was playing softly as you two read again. You books on the history of Autumn, Eris a novel he refused to let you see the cover of. His fingers swayed his bookmark in a small dance, the movement as smooth as you had witnessed as he and Nesta glided across the floors of Hewn City.

“You're staring,” He said without looking to you. “Did your high lord never teach you it's impolite to stare?”

“Maybe if your bookmark wasn't waving all over the place while you read your smut,” you muttered back at him. Amber eyes met yours, brows raised as he mouth tried to formulate a response.

“It's not smut. It's a love story!”

You snatched the book from him, the brief contact of your body against his making the bond pound, “Her body sang for him. Each roll of his hips setting fire to her veins,” Your voice reading those lines had the scent in the air shifting. He could no longer mask his need for you as he took a deep breath. “His length filled her, reaching places inside of her she'd never find without him, pulling sob after sob from swollen lips as she held to him.”

“Enough.” He grabbed the novel back and drank his whiskey like a shot as he stared at you now.

No more words passed as you tell held eye contact.

No pointed remarks. No jokes.

The music seemed to fade as the bond began ringing in your ears.

2 years. 2 years if knowing who your mate was. 2 years without even so much as a kiss.

It was finally too much. You had never enjoyed slow burn romances. Why turn this into one when the longing lingered all the same.

Perhaps he closed the gap. Or maybe you did, but it happened. His lips on yours in a passionate kiss, dominating you quickly by tugging your hair back to angle your head.

There was no looming war. No assassinations waiting to happen. No lingering past wounds. Not as he lifted you, laying you down infront of the fire place.

Not as he pulled your shirt off, then his own.

Not as he kissed down your body, nipping and marking his favorite places to remind him to spend more time there later. Neither of you could wait. Neither of you wanted to.

Your bodies were born ready and aching for each other. Like two halves forced apart and just waiting to collide.

Even in the heat of this moment, he looked at you, eyes searching for a sign of doubt, for anything that didn't ring a resounding yes. All he found was lust. Heavy deep want weighing on both of your souls.

He reminded you that you two were nothing more than stardust. Stardust given life and form. Needs and wants. A chance.

You understood the book now as he filled you, stretching you after time spent without a partner. You understood that now, too. Understood why Lucien was all too happy to wait as well.

It had never felt like this. Sex had never felt like coming home. Like your soul was nurtured as he wrapped your legs around his hips. As he moved, he used the bond to instantly get his feedback. He wanted you to sing for him, to cry his name, and when he found that soft spot inside of you, he knew he could have it.

His movements focused on that spot as you grabbed his forearms, back arching off the ground for him, mouth falling into a silent scream.

“Look at me, y/n,” he panted. “Look at me when I make you see the heavens.”

His thumb moved to your clit, circling and rolling it in time with his hips, watching as your breasts bounced.

There wasn't an inch of you Eris wasn't instantly falling in love with. You were exquisite. Not too thin, curves in all the right places. Muscles strong and flexible.

“You are better than I dreamed,” he moaned. “A muse hidden to all but me.”

You whispered his name, eyes squeezing shut as the coil began to build and tighten. He would be the death of you. You of him if he wished, “Eris.”

“Sing for me, my fire.”

The coil built more and more, “Eris!”

He kept pushing and kept hitting that spot. He wouldn't last, not with the way you two fit like a puzzle. With the way your warmth hugged him. But you were also there, dangling from the edge by a string Eris held in his hands.

“Eris, please?”

“What do you need,” he whispered. “I want to hear it. Beg for me it.”

Your hands trembled as you moved his hand that wasn't occupied with your sensitive clit to your throat, eyes looking at him in silent understanding.

Life had not been gentle or kind to you, nor to him, love would not be either.

He squeezed softly, only enough to make you feel the euphoria. His pace picked up, driving hard and faster into you.

It was a chain reaction as you hit your high, screaming his name like you had in all of his dreams. He followed you over, groaning loudly before he praised you and worked you through your heightened state. Screams fell to soft whimpers, whimpers to pants.

Eris waited until the shaking set in, until he knew you were done to pull out before standing to grab a cloth to clean you. Soft kisses were shared as he took care of you before wrapping you both in a blanket.

You two said nothing as you processed what happened.

You didn't even mention the mark on his left hip. One that you knew. That matched Mor’s only hidden mark.

You just processed. Processed that you knew deep down that you loved him. Processed that in few days the bargain mark you shared would disappear from you both, fulfilled and nothing more than a smear on your histories.

In a few days, you'd be going back to the Night Court.

And you couldn't help but you find yourself considering if that was truly home.

How could it be when it wasn't where your mate was?

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[missyxxxxx]

Killer | Ivan Drago x fem!reader

Summary : It was an extremely brutal fight - to say at least - but his focus wasn't entirely there. Her scared gaze made him feel something that he shouldn't. He was angry at himself. She was scared of him. She was scared of the raw unfiltered strength he has. She shouldn't be feeling this way.

Tw : emotional distress, violence and physical harm, aggression and rage, power dynamics, possessiveness and jealousy, kinda angsty in general but there is a lot of unresolved tension between them, size difference just because.

Notes : To answer your questions about this, no, Ivan isn't married and no, he doesn't kill Apollo Creed but he still fights Rocky. Y/N is Rocky's younger sister and Andrian's best friend. And yes, they get together at the end so don't worry.

Edit : English isn't my first language so please just bare with me, also I tried proofreading this and this was the best I could. Also if you don't like what you're reading just scroll down and don't leave mean or hateful comments, I'm doing the best I can.

Tags : @unimportantbabymilksharkte

I’m so proud of myself, I was able to create this GIF 🥹

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

"For the love of God Rocky , please just hear me out for one second." You begged your brother.

"Just shut up and get out of my face Y/N i'm sick of this." Rocky screamed back at you.

Andrian was sitting in the couch silently observing you two. She knew that it would be better if she didn't interfere, but this time Rocky had actually crossed the line. Telling you to shut up ?

"She's right Rocky. You're gonna get yourself killed. Remember what Apollo told you after the fight. He's ruthless." She told her husband.

"So what ? " He screamed back at them.

"What do you mean so what ? Are you kidding me right now ? Are you joking or do you seriously want to get punched to death by a human mountain ? Because if you do you are just so incredibly stupid." You said angrily.

Rocky's response was a small chuckle, but before he could respond you interrupted him.

"His coach said that whatever he hits, he destroys, and don't deny that Rocky. I was there. I saw the whole thing."

And it was true. You were there when the Siberian Bull - as they call him - fought Apollo Creed and won. And of course you sow the whole thing.

And more.

You were anxiously fidgeting with a small gem that was on your nail, ready to fall out.

"Jesus." You heard Andrian silently saying to you as James Brown started singing Living In America and Apollo made his way to the ring stealing the spotlight with flashing lights.

"I know." You said back not looking away. His gaze wandere around, taking the magnitude of what was happening around him.

Ivan was already bored and not at all amused by this. Even though he liked and respected Apollo as a fighter, he was tired of his constant need of being extra. He rolled his eyes and slowly turned his head towards her.

He was looking for her angelic presence amidst the chaos. Her was struck, almost phusically, by her beauty.

As the bell rang he moved towards the center of the ring just wanting to get this done so he could go back to his hotel room and think of her not feeling guilty.

His powerful frame moved with precision and force, each punch a testament to his immense power, but his mind was elsewhere.

Her.

He noticed how tensed she was or how she was flinched every time he exchanged punches with Apollo.

Besides her Rocky Balboa, his wife and Apollo's wife. He connected the dots.

Great.

She was Rocky's sister.

But that didn't stop his feelings. If anything, now he wanted her even more.

Without realising it his punches became even more forceful, but his eyes were locked on her.

Unfortunately Andrian had caught up on this. She knew that look. Fear and desire.

"Tell me your not serious ? Please." She told Y/N but she already knew the answer to that. "Oh come on Y/N not him. Out of all the guys you choose him ?

"I'm sorry alright ? But, I can't help it. You know what I'm going through. You went the same with my brother." Y/N said to her.

"He is the enemy. How did that even start ? " Andrian asked curiously.

"He's been looking me since the interview." Y/N answered.

"Since then ? And you told me nothing ? " Andrian said shosked but deep down she knew that things like that happen. It wasn't Y/N's fault.

As the fight continued it was clear that Apollo was losing. Rocky was getting angrier by the second. Apollo was really hurt. "He's ruthless." Apollo said to Rocky and without hesitation Rocky rushed towards the center of the ring dropping Apollo's towel, signaling that the fight is over, but demanding a rematch.

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

He was relentless. Walking back and forth in his hotel room, taking showers, running, lifting weights, punching bags his thoughs were consumed by her.

Nothing helped. Touching himself made it worse. But he couldn't seem to stop. Constantly being hard and in private his hand was always fisting or stroking his dick thinking of her. Her innocent eyes, her lips, the curves of her body.

He imagined her eyes rolling back, kissing her lips until they bleed, how his big hands would look at her small waist.

He couldn't wait until the next game. Tension was building inside him- one that was raw, primal. Need to consume. He thought about her fear and vulnerability.

The desire was undeniable, they both felt an urge that demanded to be fullfilled.

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

She literally had no idea of how she found herself in this situation.

They were so close.

Everyone was staying in the Grand Hotel in Las Vegas for the preparation for the fight. Today was the interview of Rocky and Ivan, but she left during the middle of it wanting to escape Drago's intense stare. She knew that he would find it weird, but she didn't expect this.

Him standing in front of her. Her heart raced. Drago's eyes locked onto hers as he slowly approached her.

"You were difficult to ignore tonight." He said to her, his voice deep.

Her cheeks flushed slightly at his comment,his eyes scaned her face.

"I didn't mean to distract you." She said, trying to maintain her composure.

He stepped closer, the space between them narrowing as he continued to study her. " Are you afraid ? " He asked.

"No, I'm just worried about your fight with my brother." She answered.

His eyes were now glued to her lips. "And what about me ? " He asked.

She hesitated, struggling to find the correct words.

They were both aware of their feelings for each other, the sexual tension between them becoming unbearable. presence both commanding and soothing.

He took a step closer to her, his large hands found their way to her delicate waist gently bringing her closer to him. Their faces were mere inches apart. Her lips just a breath away from his.

Their lips brushed together briefly, the touch was enough to sent a jolt through both of them. Her eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment, her body instinctively leaning into him, craving more despite the fear that gripped her.

His hands found themselves travelling up the sides of her waist, the moment their lips met, he pressed his lips against hers parting them as his tongue explored her mouth.

Drago's hands remained on her waist, as they broke their kiss. Their breaths came in ragged gasps. They simply stared at each other, the air between them was thick with tension.

He kissed her again, slowly pushing her against the wall, his lips travelling from her mouth to her neck searching for the sensitive spot that woud make her react to his actions. Her head tilted back, her eyes fluttering closed as she surrendered to him. His palms found their way to her breasts, his touch firm and possessive. A quiet moaned escaped her lips and he swore that was the sound that he loved the most.

Voices could be heard coming towards them so he quickly backed off not wanting to get caught up in the act. But it was probably for the best. They could continue someplace else.

"Come with me." He said to her while grabbing her hand guiding her elsewhere.

[wynnshxfts]

ֺ ۪ 　　𝜗𝜚⠀　and give me just one more chance, one more glance ..

━ a reupload of an old storytime !

Let me start by saying I didn't have a set dr in mind when I shifted. I absolutely hate scripting. Cannot sit through it. I go where the wind takes me lol. So keeping this in mind, I go to a lot of unscripted dr's - random places. Random times.

Now that I've got that out of the way, let's begin.

ֺ ۪ The students all lived in dorms. These dorms spanned on for a while, as it was suited for the entire school rather than just the hero course. You could choose to live in them - or not. This takes place after the war, so living in dorms was no longer mandatory.

ֺ ۪ Students were chatting in the common area. I shared a dorm (Yes, joint dorms) with a gen ed student who very much did .. not like me. I will not blame them tbh, they had their reasons. But that is for another storytime.

ֺ ۪ The campus was huge, not even exaggerating. The school was not only tall, but wider. It looked intimidating, tbh. I'm not too sure on how the schedules worked now since my memory is off, but I know by the time I got there it was about time to go to class 2-A.

ֺ ۪ I was actually so embarrassing. I was walking through the halls and saw Bakugou with a student. Foolishly, I waved my arms around and drew attention to myself while I called for him and said hey.

ֺ ۪ He was not a fan, and continued to actively ignore me while he continued to talk to this student - who will be mentioned later.

ֺ ۪ When we got to the ,, wtf are they called?? Training Fields?? Anyways when we got to our little activity - Aizawa explained that someone would be joining us and using a classmate of his to use his quirk on! The rules were that the chosen person wasn't allowed to use their quirk while chosen - having to rely on what they were given - and everyone else had to find a way to immobilize the chosen one. Simple enough!

ֺ ۪ QUIRK : TITAN ... This user has the ability to shift between a 'titan' form, sort of similar to Mt. Lady and her gigantification. Of course, they could turn others into a titan as well. Drawbacks are that this quirk can be pretty hard to use - you can unintentionally hurt people, and cause a lot of property damage. Adding onto this for later that this worked very similarly to the Titan power from AOT, if it wasn't blaringly obvious enough. To disable someone's titan form, you have to slice a chunk from their neck or somehow free them from the back of the neck area. Due to the titan form being more of a puppet than them, they don't get any physical injuries on their real body. Oh, and about the student - he really hates the hero course. Of course, this may be because he didn't get in.

ֺ ۪ ...Did I say simple? Yeah, anyways.. imagine our horror when he chose Bakugou (putting the pieces together - they plotted this when I ran into them in the hall)

ֺ ۪ We all did our best to immobilize or even just .. get him to stop moving for a second - but he was so HUGE. We didn't wanna get crushed or anything. Also the added fact that no one knew about the neck thing that disables the titan form. Thanks, Aizawa.

ֺ ۪ At this point, people were giving up. Aizawa was watching from a high building, most likely as annoyed as everyone else. People were joining him up there, admitting defeat.. except for Midoriya.

ֺ ۪ Did I mention this is after the events of the manga? Midoriya didn't have a quirk, and here he was - running laps around Bakugou. We (Me, Sato, Sero.. some others) tried to get Shinso to restrain him before he could hurt himself, but Shinso went on to explain to us on what he was doing:

ֺ ۪ He was trying to get Bakugou to trip! It's so hard to explain without visuals, so hopefully words are enough. Bakugou was still trying to get him even so. Midoriya was working with a student from class 2-B as well (did I say this was a joint activity?) Their quirk? cement. I know someone already has that quirk. Don't ask me anything, I'm as confused as you are.

ֺ ۪ The cement student was building a path for Midoriya to run along as he spiraled around Bakugou. At one point, the walls could no longer reach the height he was at. They started to crumble the higher he got.

ֺ ۪ Before you ask where Aizawa was - this all happened very fast.

ֺ ۪ Midoriya tripped off the rocky path. In what I assume was worry, Bakugou reached out to catch him. As he did, the walls around him caused him to fall. They started falling together.

ֺ ۪ Everyone got knocked out from Bakugou's impact. All those who tried to help were covered in rubble, on the floor - hurt.

ֺ ۪ At this point, teacher's and medical assistance had stepped in. Midoriya kept going, crawling from Bakugou's hand to his neck. He tore at it with the last of his strength, and in the end? Won. He got Bakugou out.

ֺ ۪ After that I knocked the hell out. The story time WOULD end here.. but I recently shifted back for closure. Midoriya had gotten in trouble and explained that he saw Bakugou wasn't safe in that state, as he had analyzed this quirk and it often caused others to act reckless, like they couldn't think properly. The student had apparently kept that part of their quirk to themselves. The media also went crazy on the situation because someone snitched about what happened. UA got a lot of backlash. It also wasn't Aizawa's idea. I actually have no clue on who thought of that exercise.

ֺ ۪ That's the end :) my final thoughts are just.. wow. Midoriya reallyh is the worlds greatest hero. He's so smart, kind. Determined and strong even without his quirk. He doesn't let anything stop him. Personally, I always think about this story. Missing him.

That's all! For anyone who read this far, I hope you have a good day or night!

[linkspooky]

Spinner ending kind of confirmed for me that even if Horikoshi does bring back Shigaraki/Tenko, it won't be so he can heal the League, and they can reform together. I get the sense that we are even supposed to feel like all of the villains *deserved* their fates, that it isn't something they deserve saving *from*. It's like he couldn't decide between having them be evil + getting punished for it and having them be sympathetic to an extend + humanising them. I'm seriously trying my hardest to wrap my head around this, it feels so cruel??

I already talked about it in this post, but Obito's death is a much better example of how to "save the villain's heart" then what MHA is trying to sell us.

It's this excessive focus on whether or not the league's crimes are forgivable that's really the problem, because it comes down to the implication that once the league has crossed a certain line into unforgivable territory they're "no longer human" and therefore not deserving of human empathy for what they've suffered.

The main characters constantly use that line "I can't forgive them" so they don't have to think about the league as human beings who have suffered greatly.

What does it matter if they're forgivable or not? My Hero Academia is not a work that analyzes moral philosophy. I'm not reading Crime and Punishment here.

The theme they brought up is "Are heroes obligated to save the villains too, even if those villains have done unforgivable things."

I've stated this before but whether their crimes are forgivable or not is irrelevant to that question, because it's about the heroes obligation to save everyone not pick and choose who to save. They are government servants who are supposed to use their quirk to stop villains and save lives, but at the start of the story heroes only focus on the brutally beating down villains part of the job. The central theme of the manga is that the greatest hero wins by saving, and saves by winning, therefore Deku must save even his enemies.

The worst part is that despite bringing up the topic of forgiveness, MHA basically has nothing to say about the issue of what should be forgiven, what shouldn't, and how justice should be applied in this situation. It is wildly inconsistent because the villains are all held to task, whereas characters like hawks are never held accountable, and Enji while put in a wheelchair suffers way less consequences than his son and victim Toya.

Since MHA has like nothing intelligent to say about accountability, redemption and what merits justice and what merits forgiveness it might as well have just swept everything the villains did under the rug and thrown them in prison because we would have gotten the same result regardless. The story never addresses anything it brings up or applies consequences to the heroes so why do villains need consequences too?

I'm reading another comic right now Gunnerkrigg court, which actually discusses these themes of morality, and whether victims should be saved even if they've harmed others in the past.

Zimmy is a character being used as a human battery for the court's (a shadowy organizations) plan to create a new world without the Ether, which is a chaotic force that warps reality. Omega is a character who is for this plan, because she is 1) a semi-omniscient being who sacrificed her own bodily autonomy in order to help the court by giving them predictions of the future that furthered it's plans.

(Therefore, she does have the understandable perspective of, Well I sacrificed myself for the greater good so why can't Zimmy?)

and 2) Zimmy is kind of a jerk, who has an incredibly dangerous ability that puts everyone around her in harm's way. Therefore if you're going to sacrifice someone for the greater good she makes sense.

Zimmy isn't a perfect victim. She constantly gaslights her girlfriend by telling her that everyone hates her except for her so she'll never leave. (A girlfriend who is rather selflessly devoted to I might add). She is like, a walking bomb ready to go off at any moment.

At the same time the story never minimizes Zimmy's suffering with the idea that she "deserves it" for being a bad victim. The main character is consistently advocating for her, which also SHOWS the main character's empathy rather than MHA's habit of continually INISTING upon Deku's empathy without ever showing it.

I don't think the author expects us to side with Omega, but it does entertain her argument so it's a two sided discussion. To cap this off I hope this demonstrates the difference between what I think is a thoughtful depiction of a bad victim and to what extent the main characters are responsible for saving them, and a completely thoughtless one and why one is more entertaining to read than the other.

[fenrelmercar]

Ship Tropes Game

Thank you for tagging me, my love @wickedviago

RULES: Pick one of your ships and name 5 tropes that apply to them. For each trope, explain why it fits—not just in terms of dynamics, but what it reveals about your blorbos as characters. Think of it as both ship analysis and character dissection.

Fenrel & Solas

Let's start with one that is not even an official trope. Just a quote that came up in my writing and stuck to them, and nothing could describe what they are better

Mutual Surrender - It's not about choosing another as a lover. Or even a friend. It's finding that another is the only person who understands. They are both surrendering to each other, again and again. Laying down their preferred weapons - words, to stop and understand the other when no one else could even begin to do so. It's compromising all that they are for something that they know is their damnation, and still bowing down. It's two broken people finding each other amongst bloodshed and knowing that they are seen. Truly. She is angry and defiant. He is cold and evasive. And yet, they both find ways to break those walls down and see each other beyond them, as long as they are willing to give in. It's not about loving one another, but learning to share their pain without trying to outrun it for once. Just living in that commonality, and finding solace.

"You see, love isn't rescue, it's someone to lose My feet burn, but dear, now I'm in this with you"

Star-Crossed Lovers - Fate, gods, ideologies - everything stands between them. Whatever they feel for each other is meant to be their damnation. The closer she gets to him, the more she questions herself, the more he doubts himself. They want the same things - freedom, forgiveness, peace, but what each needs to do to reach them is incompatible. They can't have everything and each other. Or they have to sacrifice everything for another. There is no world where they both win and get everything they want. And yet they both actively try to have it all, while the ground beneath their feet gives out. They were never meant to fall in love in this timeline, and yet fate had its plan for them.

Belligerent Sexual Tension - It's not "will they/won't they", it's "just fuck already for everybody's sake". They could have a normal conversation, but why would they? Everything has to carry a double meaning, words they want to say hanging in between words they do say. They argue. They stand too close. They mock and tease. They truly should stop touching each other if they are not going to start tearing their clothes off. You are never sure if they are flirting or speaking in veiled threats. They circle each other like wolves and if one stops, shit's about to go down. Silence between them is more dangerous than words because it is closest they can get to breaking.

I Hate How Much I Love You - They cannot look at each other without thinking how wrong this is. Fenrel goes looking for distraction in another, telling herself that she has to hate Solas. It's the only right way. There is no plane on which what she is feeling could be right. So she avoids, denies, and defies her feelings. Solas, on the other hand, tries to bury them in preemptive regret. These feelings are something to use and let him get his way, no matter his heart telling him how wrong that is. To fully accept their feelings as they are would feel like a betrayal of everything they've built up themselves to be and their end goals. Worst part is, when it would come down to the end, neither is sure if they would still choose those dreams over each other.

It's the

"I love you and it's ruining me."

"I love you, but I can't choose you."

"I love you, but I can't forgive you."

"I love you, and for that, I can't forgive myself."

Weaponised Weakness - They are each other's Achilles' heel. Whatever they feel for each other can and will be used against them. They are each other's weak spot. She makes him soft. He makes her face her feelings. Neither trusts the other fully, and yet neither could take the other down unless pushed to the very edge. Both are strong-willed. Both have a one-track mind. Both would do whatever it takes. But when it comes to another, they suddenly waver.

And now, I am waiting for your tropes: @amellderiva, @notyourmamasdeerbat, @danikaivashkoff, @litchigaming, @woundedsoul12❤️

[coolbeesbro]

Brief brake from COTL content for a Helluva Boss hot take

This might be an unpopular opinion, but also this is a cartoon so keep that in mind before you light your torches please.

So I've been stewing on this since the release of the season two finale for Helluva Boss. Although I understand where people's irritation with Octavia is coming from, something that's being overlooked big time (at least from what I'm seeing) is the fact that Octavia's entire life has been in a house where her parents very obviously hate each other. Despite Stolas' best efforts to make things in the house ok and make her feel loved, her mother didn't exactly do the same. The constant screaming from her mother, who smashes things in fits of rage and verbally (potentially even physically) abuses her father isn't exactly an easy childhood.

Being a child growing up in an environment like that, she's bound to be dealing with untreated mental illness, like self esteem issues and depression. We as the viewer see both perspectives, and although Stolas is my favorite character I can see exactly where Octavia is coming from. He did leave her for Blitzø, however justified and right he was to do so given the circumstances, and left her all alone in a home with her mother and uncle who both don't seem to care about her at all.

She's still a teenager, and I myself at 17 wasn't exactly the best to be around and had a hard time seeing reason in times of conflict. Depression and OCD made things difficult for me, and it only got better when I started going to therapy at 18 and taking medication for it, and by 21-22 it hit me what people mean when they say you're not fully done developing until early to mid 20's. For Octavia, being 17 mixed with the feeling of betrayal she felt by her father choosing to be executed to save Blitzø on national television is a very heavy thing to experience. He chose to do this, saying his life wasn't worth living without Blitzø by his side, and that has to fucking hurt.

Once more, this situation is incredibly complicated. I do agree Stolas doing what he did was the right thing to do, but Octavia is absolutely justified in feeling the way she does.

At the time she is finally face to face with Stolas, she just came to the realization that her father was on happy pills for her entire childhood. She's unsure if it's her own fault, and even though Stolas tries to reassure her that that isn't true, she doesn't know what to believe anymore. There are so many things she's handling, plus the growing understanding that her mother is abusive and is celebrating her fathers downfall at her own expense, and her uncle doing the exact same, she's really hurting and has nobody she feels she can rely on anymore.

She's hurting, and in response is hurting the person she thinks caused it in turn. When she gets older I can see Octavia learning more about Stolas' childhood and see everything he did to break the cycle of abuse he lived with (even though he failed spectacularly in other areas). Unlike Stolas, she wasn't forced into an arranged marriage, let alone with someone who's very clearly a narcissist (at least from what the writers are showing us). She wasn't growing up with absent parents (I don't know what's up with Stolas' mother, and we all know how awful Paimon is as a father) and Stolas did things to distance himself from his father's actions. She'll begin to see why her father was so unhappy in his marriage (outside of being gay in a straight relationship), and will understand why Stolas was so attached to Blitzø.

I feel like once she hits 19 (the age Stolas was when Octavia was born) she'll also start to consider all the things he had to deal with at that age moving forward that she didn't before. They will probably make amends between now and then, and I also get the feeling that either Luna or Blitzø (or both) will be the one to bridge that gap. For the time being, for her character to grow she'll need time away from Stolas to come to her own conclusions. Most importantly, I think she needs to be the one to reach out.

Once more, this is just a cartoon, and I'm just a guy on the internet offering a different perspective.

[sawyerslvt]

Johnny or Leland? | Episode 4

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This is a choose your own ending story. I have also included links to porn in this series, for better visualization ;) I haven't been feeling in a very 'writing mood' so please excuse the lack of episodes + this short one. I'm working on the endings but I can't get myself to love what I'm writing at the moment. I don't want to release stuff I'm not proud of. Hope you understand <33

Word Count: 1,346 Warnings: MDNI, abuse

It’s difficult to keep track of time when you have no clue what time of day it is. You feel like it's been days, maybe weeks? Johnny brings food and takes care of you like he said he would. You fail to see what the end goal is. Is he gonna kill you? Is he planning on releasing you or… is this it? Being held captive in his basement, keeping you alive but you don't get to live life. You’ve grown really fond of him, he’s the highlight of your day whenever he walks through that door. Sure, he’s the only human interaction you get, but it wasn't bad human interaction, certainly doesn’t feel like a hostage situation.  He’s kind and gentle. He sits down and eats with you, youre talking and laughing. If the circumstances were different, you would be head over heels in love with the man. And of course, he fucks you real good. Sometimes he’s rough and other times he’s slow, passionate and loving, making you wonder if he’s as fond of you as you are of him. 

Johnny can't stay with you all the time and he leaves you in the cold and dusty room alone. He brought you a blanket and pillows to keep you company and warm when he’s away. But other than that it was painfully quiet. Sometimes you swear that you hear Leland calling for you. It echoes in your head but when you call for him, you don't get a reply. You know it's your mind playing tricks on you, hallucinating, but you miss Leland. You’re scared of what might've happened to him. With your time alone, you find yourself thinking about him a lot. His playfulness, laugh and charm was burned into your mind, stinging more and more. It's not rare for you to cry as you imagine him holding you. You remember his desperate screams as you were pulled away by Johnny. You hate how complicated everything is. You hate that you can't decide between the two men when the answer should be so simple. 

Your thoughts get interrupted when you hear the familiar door open again. It's Johnny and he’s holding your breakfast… or lunch… or dinner, you're not really sure which meal it is. It feels like your mind goes blank whenever you see him, you shoot him a warm smile and get up to greet him. You walk over and balance on your toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, he has to lean forward a little to have you reach him. “How did my woman sleep?”. Based on his question, you assume maybe this could be breakfast then. “She was lonely without her man to keep her company”, you make a pouty face and cross your arms. You were playful in your tone but you were serious. It was always so miserable and scary sleeping alone. He has slept with you a couple times but recently says he’s too busy to spend all that time with you. You hold some resentment, but you’re happy he’s back. 

He puts your plate on the ground by the mattress and comes back to give you a big hug. He holds you in his arms for a while without saying anything. Your head is pressed against his hard chest and you hear his heartbeat. “I missed you so much today, I couldn't even do my work proper… You were on my mind too much” his voice is low, like he hates admitting it to himself. You smile and look up at him, giving him a quick peck. He turns the quick kiss into a long and passionate one. He’s cupping your face with both hands and making out with you like he hadn't seen you in years. You welcomed his kiss, you had missed him too. His touch was enough to make you feel like you're floating. But you keep getting flashes of Leland. He’s haunting you. The more you enjoyed Johnny's presence, the more of Leland you saw and you think a big reason is because you think Johnny is the cause for something bad having happened to him. 

At the very least… you have to know. You have to find out what Johnny did to him. Is he still in that room waiting for you to come back? Does he think youre dead or did his mouth dig his own grave? Making Johnny kill him? You had so many questions and all of them could be answered by the man kissing you. You break away from the kiss and look down. “What’s wrong, doll?”. His voice is concerned and his brows are furrowed as he tries lifting your chin to make him face you. You reject his touch and continue looking down, you know he’s getting more and more worried. “...w-what did you do to him?” Your voice is soft and quiet. Johnny is so good to you, so kind but you're scared the mention of his name will make him snap. He sighs. “what i did to who?...”. He’s not asking cause he doesn't know, he's asking cause he’s testing you. You don't care if he snaps, you have to know. “...W-what did you do to Leland?”. His name was like a trigger and he grabs your face, harder than he’s ever done before. “Don't you ever utter his name. Besides, why do you care? You have me. Am I not enough?”. He squeezes harder with that last question, he’s hurt that you would bring him up. “you… y-you’re hurting me Johnny”, your voice is soft and careful. “Answer my question”. His voice is weak, he’s hurting and demanding for you to validate the feelings he already has for you, thinking you felt the same way towards him. “you’re more than enough”. Tears are streaming down your face at this point. It was true though, he was enough but that didn't erase the feelings you had for Leland. 

His grip loosens and he steps away from you, putting his hands behind his head, then on his hips. He’s pacing back and forth not knowing what to say or do. “Why do you fucking care about him anyways? You met him the same damn night you met me. You've spent more time with me than you did with him”. You don't know what to say, you don't even know what he wants you to say. It's a question designed to trap you no matter the answer. “I don't care about him… i- i just don’t…” he interrupts you. “Well obviously you do care, otherwise you wouldn't bring it up, would you?”. His voice is angrier than it's ever been and for the first time, you're scared for your life in his presence. “I’m sorry… it won't happen again” Your voice is weak and you try hugging yourself to calm yourself down, a form of self soothing. “Damn right it won’t happen again… I mean FUCK” He kicks your food that was laid on the ground. The food goes flying and the plate nearly hits you but you manage to dodge just in time. You hug yourself harder, trying to shrink yourself. Maybe if you stayed still enough, he wouldn't see you. He walks over to you and the sight of him angrily approaching, makes you backup a little. He grabs you by your hair and gets close to your face. His grip is hard and he’s hurting you again. “You’ve lost food privileges, I'll be back in a week”. He lets go of your hair and almost throws you away like he was disgusted seeing your face. He starts walking out of the door and you run after him crying, grabbing his forearm trying to pull him back. You don't care even if he slaps you, you didn't want him to leave you, especially for a week. You don’t care about the food, you want him. “Let go” he says simply and pulls himself from your grip and locks the door behind himself. You fall to the ground crying hysterically.

Previous Episode ♡ Next Episode

credit for dividers: @kyunlouy

[tubbytarchia]

Apparently despite the length I somehow did not make my point clear. Nor was it "hatemail" as that other person stated, but I already predicted that given given the double standards of tone interpretation I see here. This is unrelated, but sometimes seeing how you but especially your followers talk about things I disagree with makes me completely reexamine the things I do agree with, and if theyre equally as unflattering an interpretation of other people's opinions and words. If I've also ever used "can't someone have an opinion" as a way to dismiss other opinions.

I wasn't criticizing you for having criticism, or telling you not to analyze things deeper. Nor did I say anything about whether you maintag or not? I follow you for other things I'm not a Lizzie stan who dug too deep and hate you for having your own opinions. I did acknowledge that there are and always will be people who examine things much more shallowly than you or I and so there will always be some work out there that your critique applies to wholeheartedly, because it would be disingenuous not to. There's always going to be people who don't examine the ideas they like too closely. Usually, personally, I find those are people who also heavily project onto the characters so I find myself not nearly as comfortable casually lumping the misogyny card onto them with mcyt, because its their personal passions and experiences projected onto a character that is already much more closely tied to a cc's personal experiences and choices, and for me it falls into a similar vein as how you can't say a real person living their real life is queerbaiting. There's a level of personability and depth, due to, ultimately, being the persona of a real person, to these characters that your critique often ignores where you treat things like theyre a problem of their writing rather than a feature of their character, and the fanworks that incorperate those things.

I was saying that Lizzie does not get boiled down to one note as often as you portray, to where it deserves to be the only thing about her talked about rather than actually talking about her. and that her relationship with Jimmy is not based in misogyny or flattening of her character into "big sister", as their relationship gets boiled down to within these critiques. That the people who complain about such fail to go on to create anything to fill the gaps they supposedly see from their once yearly skim in her tags after a big event that involved not just her, to instead simply complain about thoughts and works that exist not existing. And the way you talk about it feeling dismissive of all of the care and thoughtfulness and fanworks that are more numerous than you portray as existing when talking about her. Your critique feels shallow, is what I mean, viewing things in isolation with no context and premade assumptions about others thoughts and feelings.

I also am not particularly happy with how you talk about the subject of seablings being an empires 1 topic, either, mainly because you talk about it in the exact way that is what I am talking about as hypocritical. Many things are elaborations based on events of previous series incorperated into a larger narrative and dismissal of the way their narratives are connected in secret life as misogyny and a detriment to their characters is picking and choosing that this specific history between these two characters is outdated and not as relevant even while utilizing events and dynamics that happened in tandem without question.

You can have your opinions and critiques, I'm not trying to take that away from you and I know it won't change your mind so I'm not trying to I guess. Especially not while surrounded by people who dismiss other opinions and critiques as hatemail and not as smart and feeding into the idea that someone who disagrees just hates critique in their happy fandom space. I just want to talk aboit my own opinions and how your critique makes me feel, which is that you don't really talk about Lizzie at all except to complain that other people who feel passionately enough about her to create and think about her character don't do so in the way you like. Which I suppose is entirely within your right to do, but you do it so dismissively of any other takes with an entourage of anons declaring your opinion correct and laughing at any other opinion, it's downright frustrating.

I guess this is probably getting too long to be coherent again...

I don't condone what that anon said as although they were undoubtedly referring to you, whose input I don't regard as hatemail, I have tended to receive blatant hate of no substance and didn't think anything of it when replying to it in a casual manner. I would appreciate if there weren't in-fighting between anons for lack of a better word and maybe I should have left that ask unanswered

For that much I'm sorry as I feel like your response has been fuelled by it and you're being very defensive and dismissive. You continue to both make assumptions about me and accuse me, just as you accused me of policing people, which is the only reason I brought up maintagging and reasoned with you why that's not the case. My opinions on my blog are very clearly stated to be just that, and filterable. I can understand that you are genuinely frustrated, which is why I want to give you the time of day and respond to you honestly, as this is the type of engagement I encourage. But if it is genuine criticism or discussion you wish to have, then frankly speaking, you accusing me of being a fake fan because of how you assume I absorb, interpret and create for media, in a way that goes against your belief of doing so correctly (in order to be able to call oneself a fan), which is incredibly subjective, has no place in this conversation and I would hope you have it in you to agree

Additionally, you fault me for levying criticism on the fandom for how they treat a character, because those same fandom goers imprint on those characters. And you don't draw total distinction between character and creator, but I do. I understand people do imprint on characters and especially creators, but please understand that that is not my problem. I think it's absurd to alleviate something of criticism just because of its nature or because of what it means to someone, if that were the case, we should be letting people get away with just about anything including genuinely harmful beliefs and practises, and I don't see why you or anyone else should be able to draw a line in the sand as to what can be criticized and what cannot. Even so, I have done nothing to go out of my way to police these people. If they see and are hurt by the way I speak, as are you, you have all the tools at hand to filter and block me. The same way you might be frustrated by the fact that I do not draw connections between characters and creators - we are inherently different in our interpretation in that, so please just block me if you don't like it instead of trying to explain to me how I'm doing it wrong as opposed to you. The same way you are frustrated that I, as many others in the fandom, don't view Seablings as having relevance outside of ESMP1. It is incredibly invalidating of you to call that train of thought shallow and prop up your own as somehow righteous

I've remained clear about my stances whilst also remaining respectful and as in depth as I think the subject matter warrants. I'm not going to continue to reason with you as to why I think one or the other because I know that you will continue to disagree, and my opinion will remain unchanged. I understand your frustration and I wanted to try and cap this off politely. If you read this as being dismissive or bullying, then I don't know what you expect of me. To reiterate: we are going to have to disagree, and I'm not going to hear you out any longer

[pink-slay]

I cannot begin to describe you each small horror of being severely disabled, except I can, and I am.

Many low supports need people dislike distinctions between HSN/severe disability and LSN and ambulatory disability, but there are some days, weeks, moments where the distinction is just so important.

Don't get me wrong, my support needs being identified how they are allows me to receive home healthcare and other things I could not otherwise access without diagnosis and labels and severity. However, that isn't what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about community and loneliness-- isolation and dehumanization and loss.

Cleaning is particularly challenging even though I'm just talking to the person so it goes somewhat how I want it, but the anger that brews inside me has a lot to do with the fact that being severely disabled puts me at the whims of others in every minuscule thing in my life, and it is a struggle non-severely disabled people or those without caregivers simply do not have.

Yes, people with LSN disabilities have to deal with being somewhat at the whims of others (and there are others who have to deal with it more so than me), but I can't even take things out of my caregiver's hands and do them for myself. It isn't just painful; I literally cannot.

I loved the way I did things before my physical disability progressed (and I know to have a before at all is a privilege). It was extraordinarily difficult, but I still had so much more control. I have OCD (genuinely not like trendy) and (lower support needs) autism and I have a very specific process of systematically cleaning and organizing my room too.

However, caregivers care about efficiency (even sometimes friends or family members). They often don't give a fuck about where stuff is or if it's accessible to you after the fact. They just need it out of their way. They just want your space to look less ugly.

I just keep thinking about this and how it is so so so unfair. So many people have posted similar things, but today it is just getting to me. So much has happened when trying to receive care that entirely devalues any preference I have (and often my needs).

I've been told to be polite and kind which did not allow for involuntary wincing to significant changes to my organization system. I was told wincing was rude, and if that was going to continue, my caregiver would stop.

I've been entirely ignored in the process despite willingness and wanting to help explain complex organizational systems I try (and usually fail due to disability and uncaring caregivers) to fulfill.

I've gotten reactions of disgust or pity.

All I try to do is be polite. Sometimes my tone is more flat. Sometimes it looks like I may sob. However, always, I end up feeling emptier afterwards. I try so much in every way in my life, but when I stand up for myself, it's as if I am universally perceived as overbearing.

People say disabled people deserve autonomy, but often they don't like that autonomy in practice.

Months ago I read my mother a post about disabled autonomy and she said how it really opened her eyes, all while she wasn't respecting my choices, wants, and needs.

Disabled people are pitied and hated and ignored, but if you could see all the bright colors I coordinate and all the squishmallows and earrings and storage containers I have, you would know how much every little thing means to me.

Non-disabled people and LSN disabled people make choices every day. Choices we all inevitably have varying opinions on, but those choices should be just that: choices.

If severely disabled people are denied such a right to choose the most basic or joyous things, disabled people may survive, but we don't truly live.

[bitchfitch]

Dead fish washed up along the banks. Their still twitching bodies boiled by the monster sheltering in their river.

The hero to be sighed his frustrations as he picked his way towards the source of this mess. The river steamed before it boiled, the water level lowered by the monster sitting in the middle of the bed. There was no water surrounding him, the heat of his small body evaporated any drop that got near.

The Villain, the boy, V, sat bare and alone, curled up on himself with his demonic tail whipping against the stone behind him. There'd been another incident, Connor hadn't stayed to listen to the details but this one was the first to have a potential body count. No one was dead yet, but the initial fire had left four badly burned and a stable without a roof.

V's powers were growing more and more with each day even as his ability to control them stagnated. It was a worrying turn of events for any young mage, a omen of the future to come for a prophesized demon king.

Connor undressed quickly when he was close enough. He may be fire proof, but his clothes weren't and V always made such a fuss when he accidentally seared something of Connor's.

"Go away," V snarled, not looking up from where he had his face tucked behind his boney knees.

"Nah. You successfully saved me from having to listen to another one of Madame Periwinkle's lectures about nature or whatever. I'm choosing to use this new free time to hang out with my friend," he sat behind V, leaning along his back and bumping their heads together.

"We're not friends." V curled tighter. He felt like a rock that had been warmed by the sun. Gentle and familiar even when Connor knew that if anyone else were to touch V when he was worked up like this, they'd have their flesh instantly evaporated. A part of him liked that. It meant V was safe even when Connor wasn't there to protect him.

"Yes we are. More than that even, we're practically brothers, V."

"You're going to kill me."

"No, I'm not."

"You can't escape fate. You're going to kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you. Ratna and I have already decided it. We're not going to let a dead guy decide out lives for us, and since we're ignoring the prophecy on every other front, I'm choosing to also ignore the part that says I'm going to kill my best friend."

"You have to kill me, there's no other choice. "

"Did you listen to anything -"

"I can't control myself Connor. I- I'm going to hurt people and I won't have anywhere to go and I'm going to be alone and hated and- and I'd rather you just kill me than make me have to find some other way to die."

"I'm here. Ratna wants to be your friend too. between the three of us... we'll figure something out, V. In her last letter she- don't tell her I told you -but she's started learning to control her magic. She's got this tutor, and thinks she might be able to help you too. Ratna wants to be the one to talk the teacher into it so we'll see how that goes-" he stops his ramble, "- What I'm saying is, you aren't going to be alone. Us, you me and Ratna? We're a set, and we'll do what we have to to stay together."

"I've never even met her," it was a weak protest.

"So? You will and you two will get along like rats and fleas," Connor let V settle into silence. The smaller boy was relaxing bit by bit and that was all they needed to worry about in that moment.

The water came back slowly as the heat of V's body calmed back to a normal for him level. Still too hot for anyone besides Connor to touch, but no longer was he so hot as to incinerate anything that so much as brushed him.

"Are they going to let me back into town?" V finally asked, his voice small and defeated.

"Probably. I talked to Lord Archibald before I came to find you and told him what actually happened. "

"That I let Devon get under my skin and burnt down a stable because of it?"

"No, that Devon and his lackeys were throwing stones and goading you while you were doing the cleaning."

"That's not true-"

"It is now. Archibald trusts my word over theirs and wants you in town for as long as possible. No need to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Most gift horses don't want to make you into a weapon."

"So? He's human, in the worst case scenario I can stab him to death for you," Connor grinned when that got a shakey laugh from V.

[kyoukaru]

ooooo can u tell us about ur AU??!?!

Dont think I've spoke about my Creepypasta AU (not the British school one) and it's still a pretty big WIP, But I am down!!! I've been considering writing some fics for it so ;)

Okay! So the main thing is that Slenderman "feeds" off of the fear of people. Serial killers like Jeff, Nina, Liu, Jane and Natalie help him without realising it. When they become infamous enough, Slenderman proposes to them a level of supernatural support in exchange for them occasionally killing certain people of his choosing.

Meanwhile the proxies (Toby, Kate, Tim and Brian) are stuck in a more abusive relationship with Slender, where he's engineered their situations so they have to rely on him. He keeps them around in the mansion for when he wants to do an organised attack and also because their direct fear of him is pretty powerful.

The Serial Killers can enter the mansion, be that to hide, gather supplies etc... but only as long as they're following the deal with Slenderman. They don't have access to it in the same way the proxies do (I'm thinking the mansion is kinda like a haunted house. It's hierarchy is Slender -> Proxies -> Serial Killers -> Normal people) but their also not aware of the more sinister parts of the house.

Gonna put more individual character thoughts under read more :)

Toby has the most positive relationship with Slender. Primarily because unlike the other proxies he doesn't a) remember what happened pre-Slender. So he's his only frame of reference. b) know there's something wrong with how he's being treated because his brain is still affected by the abuse he faced from his dad.

The other proxies try to explain why it's wrong but it normally falls flat. They try to use their relationships with as a basis (Kate would never hurt him. Tim and Brian would never hurt each other) but Toby's like: yeah. That's because we're forced. Don't wanna know the punishment for killing one of you fuckers.

Tim and Brian are by the far the most defiant and like their life style the least. If it weren't for the fact that they saw they know if they run away, die or kill other proxies or even caused too many issues they'd just be replaced, they'd still be fighting. They plan to take advantage of all the weakness of Slender that they know. But they don't really have a solid plan. They also push the rules to their limits. Slender wants a random guy to die? Well they're gonna choose the worst guy in town.

Tim is more accepting of their situation than Brian. Tim's been dealing with Slender for a lot longer and has a bit more of a defeatist mindset between the whole thing. He settles in easier. Brian still thinks there's a life for him after he escapes, that he can get out.

I need to refresh myself on Kate but I think she's the most neutral of the 4. She goes along with what she's told to do Beyond making sure nothing bad can be linked back to her, she lets the other three do as they like.

Clockwork is the most outwardly hating of Slendy. She signs up to the deal one year after her story and already has a sort of civillian disguise set up (a normal looking prosthetic eye for example.) and was mainly living in motels and doing odd jobs to get by. While she likes the perks, such as having a place to stay and a network of people who get her, she has hard limits she won't cross. If Slenderman tried to push her past them, she'd pack up and leave. When this inevitably happens, she breaks up with Toby and goes no contact with everyone besides Jane.

Jane mainly uses Slender for his network to other killers. While part of her deal is that she can't go after those also "protected" by him, through Liu is how she first hears of Nina. Clockwork knows a couple of killers she's willing to rat out for Jane. For Jane, money and the resources to escape the police is less important because the government already provided that for her. Jane has the most neutral relationships out of everyone but she and Natalie get along well. When Natalie leaves, Jane pretends she doesn't know where she is, as long as the Clockwork killer doesn't start striking again.

Jeff and Liu have the worlds most toxic co-dependency known to man. Jeff cares a lot of Liu and attempted murder thinking it would be worse if he knew what he became. (As he gets older and can think of his life better, he only gets more firm in this decision.) Meanwhile, Liu is pacing around the hospital after being stabbed worrying about his police being too harsh on his brother and how is Jeff gonna get food? He can't exactly hide. Liu himself isn't homicidal per say but it's his way of trying to show Jeff that he's still on his side. Eventually, he just turns to murder when in tricky situations but he doesn't find enjoyment in it.

Jeff was initially offered the deal with Slender because simply hearing he might be in a nearby state is enough to make people panic, a lot. Liu's offer came after the two brothers meet and Jeff threatens to get his life together if Slender doesn't extend the deal. Liu's under no deal himself, as long Jeff is in Slenders debt, so is Liu. They never really get a reputation as a duo though.

Nina's story's basically the same. She's elated that the deal with Slender let's her meet Jeff. Or at least, get closer to meeting him. Jeff's a bit of an ass and she refuses to accept this. She slowly starts to kind of get her own identity as a serial killer while literally everyone besides Jeff tries to convince her to give up this life if it's not what she wants. Nina kind of takes it to heart.

This was going on way to long without the more detailed relationships :sobs: so I'm gonna leave it here. As mentioned, I plan on writing some fics for this AU so feel free to send me requests/prompts in my asks. Or ask me anything else about the AU.

[mikuni14]

Perhaps because of how angry, frustrated and irritated I was with the last episode, I can't stop thinking about Living With Him 😭 Regardless, it's a really good reminder of how much of a negative impact low self-esteem and easy giving up can have on important things in your life. I take it very personally because I have exactly the same tendency, I always felt like I was inferior and not properly "qualified" for everything . And this is very bad, because, for example, I often found myself not wanting to apply for a job "because they definitely won't choose me" or "because there is definitely someone better for this position than me." This is exactly what Living With Him shows, and what I hate so much - because I can't stand this trait in myself and I see how terrible it looks from the outside.

About the series: perhaps I would look at it differently if I saw these boys making some minimal effort to overcome it (I know it's hard, but I want to see them try), to - and this is the most important thing for me - FIGHT FOR THEMSELVES, FOR THEIR RELATIONSHIP, FOR THEIR LOVE.

Watching Ryo create wild scenarios in his head and NEVER say anything directly was very irritating. Because it was more or less like this:

Kazuhito confesses his love to Ryo

Kazuhito is invited to a group date

Kazuhito clearly and firmly refuses

Ryo: well, that's it. Kazuhito is so cool and popular, I won't tell him how I feel, it will be better for him (completely ignoring Kazuhito's feelings and his WORDS)

Or:

Kazuhito confesses his love to Ryo

Kazuhito's mother makes a casual remark that most parents in the world make about wanting their child to take over the family business, about that child starting a family, without even meaning anything bad - at least at that moment

Ryo: well, that's it. Of course there's no place for me here, I'd better step down immediately so that Kazuhito can find a wife and fulfill his mother's dreams. It will be better for him this way. Better hurry up and run before Kazuhito returns.

The worst thing about these "noble" actions is that they are actually very selfish, *I* know what is best for the other person, *I* know best what they want, even if that person said exactly the opposite. *I* don't have to ask them because *I* know, *I* am the good one in all of this, *I* am doing the right thing. In such behavior there is no room for the other person, for their true dreams, desires and, above all, FOR HER CHOICE.

It's just as painful to watch Kazuhito, who confessed his love to Ryo, left it for him to deal with, without once addressing it, without trying to do something about it, to win over his beloved, to hit on him, seduce, court him a little, win him over, to present himself as an option to be partner in a love relationship. Then he withdrew everything and acted weirldy, which only intensified the confusion in Ryo's head and heart. Again, he thought he's doing the right thing for Ryo, but not asking him about his answear, his feelings directly. He just made the decision for him.

That's what I miss in this series. Some internal struggle, struggles with each other, arguments, even fights, tension, jealousy, important moments when their relationship moves to a new level, when there is some shift, when they grow and develop. I know I'm boring when I keep bringing up I Cannot Reach You, but this series really shows it perfectly. The story is also very similar: a popular, "perfect", handsome boy has always had a crush on his "not perfect" friend, this friend finds out about it quite early in the series and from then on the tension between them can be cut with a knife. There are also attempts to give space, but there are also scenes when they cannot control their feelings and are all over each other. There are scenes when they try to behave nice and nobly, but there are also scenes where they are aggressive and fight with each other. And there is also a scene where the "imperfect" boy wonders how someone like him can gain the affections of someone so perfect, to which Mr. Perfect reacts with fury - gosh, this scene was so very good. Oh, and Mr. Perfect is moody and gets angry at his crush quite often, which is so good.

But what I liked about I Cannot Reach You (and many other favorite series) is that you can see from the characters that they want to be with each other and repeatedly fight for their love, one way or another, sometimes they're so bad at it and they mess up 😆 Even if it takes them a lot of time, even if they are struggling with problems, even if they are jealous, they still want to be with the other person, even if they fight with each other. And they talk to each other, even when they shout at each other :) They also talk to others, family or friends about how things are not working out for them, when the struggle. But what I hate is giving up without a fight and assuming you know what's best for the other person. And above all, lack of communication. My main problem with this is that it does not bode well for the relationship in the future, because it will mean that whatever problems such a couple will have, the most possible scenario of how they will deal with it will be to avoid the problem, avoid talking about this problem, avoiding talking about their personal problems with the other person, removing themselvesself from the situation, literally from the room, running away from the problem, assuming that they know what their partner wants or thinks, instead of asking them about it. And, well, that's not romantic at all 🙂

[ghostwriterxp]

continue.

Taking a sip of my still cooled beverage, my eyes were locked onto the thousands of stars streaked across the sky above as my ship hovered over Earth's orbit, the low hum of her mechanical parts filling my ears as the alcoholic liquid temporarily swished around like a mouth rinse before gliding down my throat and earning a gentle but aggressive chill from me, causing my fur to stand for a moment. I could never get used to that, but it was enjoyable on most occasions. A single thought filled my head as my eyes darted around the astral field, landing on star after star, each one taking its place amongst its friends, families, and strangers alike, balls of gases that burned and showcased how bright they could shine. "Lord knows how caring I can be," I said to myself as I looked back towards memories that brought me pain, reshaping them into strength. "But He also knows that I should be weary of my enemies in disguise. How foolish I was to believe your lies, old friend."

I sat in the comfort my starship's cockpit, at first my eyes locked onto the see-through ceiling, blessing me with an overhead view of the cosmos, now closing them and remembering the times I spent with someone whom I believed I could trust my life with, someone whom I would've killed for, but wouldn't dare do the same for me. My trust and devotion meant nothing to her, coming to realize that I was merely an item to abuse and be discarded. Quiet growls escaped my lips as I unknowingly bared my fangs, my claws digging into the lush fabric of the arm rest's cushions, that pain I experienced was fresh in my mind as if it was yesterday. The things I created and became proud of, ignored and not even acknowledged. The activities and creations that brought me joy and excitement, shot down and making me forced to believe that I was in the wrong for enjoying such. Last I checked, I was the only one in control of my actions, my emotions, my thoughts, what I choose to enjoy, what I choose to do with my life, who I wish and choose to become so why, for three years, did I choose to let this demon decide my fate?!

Halting all my thoughts in their tracks before I did something incredibly rash was a skill I wish I learned a long time ago, but thankfully, I had it here with me in this present moment. I took a deep breath, exhaling softly and repeating these actions several times while fiddling with the glowing necklace between my digits. A gift from someone who was like a sister to me, it was a reminder to always keep my eyes up, through even the most dreadful, darkest of times. After my final breath, a smile slowly streaked and took its rightful place on my face as I stood from my throne and approached the front of my ship, looking out toward Earth below.

"Envy is a strong emotion and hate is a strong word. I may not know where you are, what you're up to, but to be honest with you, I simply don't care, just as you didn't care about me." Whether I was talking to myself, my demons, or her, I needed to express my internal rising stress in some way and speaking my mind and goals was certainly the best way instead of wrecking my room and taking hours to clean like previously. Not one of my best moments. Taking more cautious, but still productive routes was needed, without a doubt. "Know this. I'm up now. I've been through hell just as you, seen things nobody should have to see, go through things no one should go through, yet you think you're so special. You should consider yourself lucky I never lashed out on you because if I did," Looking over and picking up my helmet, I admired the front, noticing the streak of blood and the crack in the shielding, a small fix but it was a reminder that I had survived a very daunting challenge, something that many people would willingly choose to do in their lives, not even to save the people they love, but me...

"I would have you begging to reach out and take death's hand...but after everything you did, I'm not even sure if you deserve that kind of treatment." The Big Man's got better plans for me and I plan to stick to them, not worried about the past, no matter how much it still hurts. "Em, time to go. There's other places to be. No more time needs to be wasted here." I ordered to my ship's artificial intelligence, Emerald. "On it, Cap!" He replied cheerily, activating the ship's warp drive as I walked back to my seat and strapping in, ready to leave my mark on wherever I go next. My story wasn't set to end with me drifting off in the far reaches of space, no oxygen and no contact, I refuse to have it end like that. If anything, we're going out with a bang.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back into the writing game, or well, sharing my stuff after somewhat of a hiatus (yo @skelly-delly shout out to you homie for the push), plus being busy with work. I refuse to let my demons and ex-friends try to take that joy away from me like they did with streaming and enjoying movies/TV. Not this time. Now, I'm back, and this time, good luck trying to get rid of me.

QUOTE: "Back like I never left!" - Clove, Valorant

AUDIO INSPO: Rule the World Remix - Zayde Wolf/Generdyn

[foldercompilation]

Man Of The Year: Edoardo D'Marco for QG Magazine, photographed by Arabella Sørensen. January/2024.

Jacket by Tom Ford. Shirt, bow tie, cummerbund and pocket square by Charvet. Panta by Saint Laurent. Glasses from Selima Optique. Earrings, his own. Ring from FD Gallery.

Tank top by Ami. Pants by Saint Laurent. Shoes by Manolo Blahnik. Socks by Pantherella. Watch by Cartier. Lighter by Dunhill.

Meet Edoardo—a master of understated elegance, his journey from Madrid to fashion prominence intertwining family roots and Jewish heritage. A mechanical engineering graduate, Edoardo defies norms, blending precision and glamour with an enigmatic touch. Away from the spotlight, his collaboration with Ivy Prada adds a mysterious note to his narrative.

Shirt by Valentino. Pants by Gucci. Belt by Artemas Quibble. Watch, his own.

A: Hello, Edoardo! It's a pleasure to have you here, and I'm delighted you chose me to step out of your comfort zone. I hope you feel comfortable being here. I'd like to start by asking how you would describe your personal style, considering your more timid and discreet nature?

E: Thank you for the invitation, Arabella! You're sweet... I think I have a very classic, basic style. I don't strive to be the most stylish guy in the world; in everyday life, I wear whatever is in the closet. When I have an important event, I ask my girlfriend to choose the outfit – she definitely understands more about it than I do. I prefer to be discreet, with plain pieces and not too much fuss. I often wear Ralph Lauren, Tommy, and now Prada.

A: How has your relationship with your family influenced your life and style choices?

E: My whole life has been trying to follow what my parents taught me and please them. My family is very traditional, and I think my reserved, quiet personality comes from there. I've always seen my father as an inspiration, and I believe I dress like him, especially now that I'm getting older; most of my clothes used to be his.

A: Are there elements of your native culture that you like to incorporate into your style?

E: I'm not the biggest patriot, and honestly, I don't care much about Spanish culture, so no, there aren't.

A: Do you see any connection between your academic background and your unique approach to style?

E: Not anymore, maybe when I was in college, but it's hard to say. I think every teenager studying engineering dresses the same, and I didn't think much about having my own style at nineteen.

A: What are the challenges and benefits of staying a bit away from the spotlight?

E: The challenge is obviously being with someone in the media; I always have to look for more secluded places without paparazzi to go out – it's annoying. I hate gossip and people talking about me; those are the biggest advantages, not having people scrutinizing what I do. It's good to be away from all that craziness; I don't like exposing myself.

A: Regarding your personal life, can you share a bit about your relationship with Ivy Prada and how you met?

E: She's going to kill me, but I really don't remember how we met; it all happened very quickly, and before I knew it, we were living together. Ivy is smart, I like her.

A: Is there any Jewish cultural element that you unintentionally incorporate into your personal style?

E: Not intentionally. Being Jewish and growing up in Judaism made me who I am, so it definitely reflects in my clothes and everything.

A: That concludes our interview. Again, thank you for taking on this challenge, and I hope we can meet again soon. Goodbye, Edoardo!

E: Thank you for the opportunity, Bella. It was fun to break out of the routine a bit.

1. Jacket by Tom Ford. Shirt, bow tie, cummerbund and pocket square by Charvet. Panta by Saint Laurent. Glasses from Selima Optique. Earrings, his own. Ring from FD Gallery. 2. Jacket and pants by Prada. Shirt by Saint Laurent. Shoes by Manolo Blahnik. Watch by Cartier.

Production credits:

Photographs by Arabella Sørensen.

Styled by George Cortina.

Hair by Orlando Pita using Orlando Pita Play.

Skin by Mark Carrasquillo for La Mer.

Set design by Stefan Beckman at Exposure NY.

Model Edoardo D'Marco Wampold.

[braveclementine]

Chapter 1

Warnings: 18+ readers only, mentions of smut

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

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝕴 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖜𝖆𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 the dishes while I listened to Dad and Trang in the living room. Dad was trying to catch Trang up to the spells she needed to know between her first and sixth year for Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

It was a nice surprise that Dumbledore had let Trang come to Hogwarts though she was five years late, now six, and even more of a surprise that her parents had finally given in, considering they were the ones who stopped her from going in the first place.

'Dumbledore is the only Professor who would've done so' Dad had said when we'd arrived home from the train a few weeks ago, talking about Trang. 'He let me come to Hogwarts when no other Professor would'.

Dad, being a werewolf, would normally not have been allowed near children or any people for that matter. However, Dumbledore had great faith in him and had made the necessary precautions so that he could attend.

In order to catch Trang up so that she could come in as a 'third-year', Dad was teaching her a number of spells and making sure she could actually do them and also giving her lessons in Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy. Being a third-year, she could take two electives and she'd chosen Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.

As I was going to be a sixth-year this year, I'd had to change my classes to only the necessities. So, I was taking Herbology, Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms. Those were my necessary classes. I'd thankfully dropped Astronomy- the bane of my existence- and also History of Magic. However, I'd made a difficult decision where I had to choose between Divination, Ancient Runes, Magical Theory, and Care of Magical Creatures.

I'd dropped Divination and then decided that it didn't matter about choosing between Ancient Runes, Magical Theory, and Care of Magical Creatures because I had my time-turner. So I still had a schedule that didn't match that of other students.

Trang had wanted to take every class, but we'd smashed the time-turner cabinet at the Ministry last summer. . . but I wasn't going to think about the Ministry.

I couldn't even be mad at Severus for what he'd said to Bellatrix because I knew he had to keep up pretenses and if he was going to congratulate Bellatrix on killing Sirius. . . but I wasn't going to think about the Ministry.

And of course, it wasn't my fault that Sirius had died, something I'd finally come to terms with. I'd gone to save Trang and I couldn't hate myself for that. And Hagrid was right, Sirius wanted to go out fighting. That was the way anyone wanted to die. If I wanted to die, I would've done it by fighting. That or jumping in front of someone I loved. But I hadn't jumped in front of Sirius, had I? BUT I WASN'T GOING TO THINK ABOUT THE MINISTRY!

I sobbed, breaking a dish as I dropped it into the sink, and pressed a hand to my mouth. The voices went quiet in the living room and I quickly repaired the dish with my wand and then washed it again, setting it aside. Tears were flowing down my face and I couldn't wipe them away because I didn't want to get soap in my eyes.

I heard footsteps in the kitchen and I closed my eyes, hoping dad wasn't going to try and get me to talk to him or something.

But he wrapped his arms around me and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Yes, because it was his fault now, was it? Of course not! Why did people always apologize for things that weren't their fault! Was it really a way to express sympathy, or a way to get sympathy! Well, if anything, it was maddening and a pet peeve of mine, which he fully knew.

"It's fine." I said softly. "I just need to stop thinking about him- it."

"There's nothing wrong with grief." He said softly.

"There's nothing wrong with love either." I said in a biting voice. He recoiled. I sighed and gritted my teeth. "I didn't mean that, I'm sorry, I know you're not pushing her away because you don't love her damnit."

"I know." he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. We weren't looking at each other. He left to go back to the living room. Feeling like crap, I waved my wand and finished the dishes in a second. Then I trumped up the stairs and collapsed on my bed. I could hear Trang shouting below me in frustration.

Tonks was in love with Dad. Dad was in love with Tonks. But Dad said he wouldn't endanger Tonks like that. He said that Tonks deserved better. He said that Tonks life would be abnormal if she married him. He kept pushing her away.

She'd gone to me and I'd gone to him and he'd stayed his ground. He wasn't marrying anyone. He wasn't endangering anyone. I pointed out that I'd lived with him for nearly fifteen years and his face grew red and he'd said that a daughter was different than a wife. Well!

I was very emotional recently, and there had been an increase in emotions since last time I'd been at Severus' house.

I drew in a shuddering breath and heaved myself up from the bed, beginning to pack. Dumbledore had sent a letter only a few days back from Hogwarts. He wanted to pick me up on Friday at 10:45 PM and then spend the rest of the summer at the Burrow.

After much discussion with not only dad, but also Severus, I'd sent back a replying owl saying: Yes.

Dad had found it a lovely idea. He hated leaving me alone for long stretches of time and since he was still trying to be a spy for the underground werewolves, he was underground quite often. And that was on top of teaching Trang, so I wasn't going to spend much time with him anyways.

Severus had been less enthusiastic because it meant I wouldn't see him for nearly two months until school started. We'd gotten used to having a lot of alone time for days on end. I usually spent time at his house when dad was underground and Trang was at her house.

It was so silly, when I thought back to last year and how upset I'd been when I thought I wouldn't see Trang for nearly two or three years, possibly more. Now, we'd be going to school together.

Of course, we weren't going to be in the same house. As I'd predicted, she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and I was in Hufflepuff. Of course, I figured that this meant I was going to be able to explore the Ravenclaw common room now. I'd always wanted to know what it looked like.

It was Wednesday now and Dad was going to go into the underground on Thursday. I'd have time to slip back to Severus' house. . .

I twisted the ring on my left hand. It'd become a bit of a habit. My eyes barely glanced at the red words on the back of my hand, 'As a Werewolf brat, I must learn to keep my mouth shut'.

I hadn't had to write those lines for nearly two months now, giving my hand time to heal. It no longer started bleeding randomly and had healed some. The letters were thinner now, looking more like quill marks than charcoal. They also weren't purple red anymore but rather, a light pinky red color. Dad, at least, didn't flinch every time when he saw my hand anymore.

Someone knocked on my door and I got up from where I was cleaning out my trunk. It was Trang.

"Hey!" I said in a thick voice and cleared my throat and crouched back down to clean out the trunk. "Scourgify." The trunk looked good as new.

I started stacking my books in neat stacks on the right side of the trunk and then packed my quills, artbooks, and robes on the other side. My pajamas and toiletries on top of that. I went to close it but Trang's hand darted out and brought out a small box. She held it up, raising her eyebrow, "What is this for?"

I blushed, grabbing it back and throwing it in. "I'm married, Trang! I might need it."

"You're having-" Her eyes flashed and her face paled and then it returned to normal, "You really ought to have told me sooner."

I rolled my eyes. "How's Oliver?"

Oliver Wood was one of the guys I'd met at school. He'd been in Gryffindor and a huge Quidditch fanatic. He'd been captain and keeper and was playing on the Puddlemere team. I followed it briefly in the Quidditch magazines but Trang had him as a bit of a pen pal.

She blushed and said, "Oh, well, we er- met a few weeks ago. A bit like a-er date- I suppose."

I glared at her. "And you get on me about keeping secrets!"

She grinned reluctantly. "Well, I was trying to keep it a bit of a secret because I try not to tell my parents anything now."

Yes, her parents. Now that she knew about magic, they'd started being more open about the magic that they'd been part of and used it at home. She was still very irate with them and they were still very angry with my dad and I for teaching her magic. They were also mad at Dumbledore for letting Trang into the school. I don't know how he persuaded them to let her come. I also wasn't so sure why they were mad about it. Surely, they knew that Hogwarts was one of the safest places in the world.

They were extremely irate when they found out that she had a broom, an owl, and a thousand different books hidden in her room. I guess they weren't like other parents- going in and snooping around. Then again, Dad wasn't like that either.

We both had Firebolt brooms. (I'd bought a Firebolt in my fifth-year when I became Quidditch Captain). That'd been expensive but the mysterious conundrum was that it looked as though my gold vault barely had a dent in it.

And then, Trang's parents had introduced her to their family Gringotts vault. They had quite a bit of money in there, which I wasn't surprised about. They had made themselves rather rich in the Muggle world, and as they wouldn't be using wizarding gold, it had probably increased over the many years of leaving it there because of interest.

Trang would be going to the burrow sometime after me, I think about a month or so. She'd be taking the floo network. Dumbledore had said he'd be taking me somewhere. I figured, considering I'd foreseen a bit of the summer, that he'd be taking me to Harry's house. That would be weird.

Trang picked up a newspaper by my bed. I'd started getting the Daily Prophet and- much to her parents frustration- so was Trang.

"Do you think he's good?" Trang asked, turning the paper around and pointing at Rufus Scrimgeour. He had succeeded Fudge as Minister of Magic which I'd seen way before it'd actually happened.

"Sure." I said with a bit of a shrug. I welcomed conversations that would take my mind of. . . well anything. "He'll take Voldemort much more seriously than Fudge did. He's an Auror too so you know he's smart."

"I thought you said Kingsley was going to be Minister of Magic." Trang said fondly. I think she'd developed a bit of a romantic fashion for Kingsley, as he was the one who'd come to her rescue at- NO!

"He's the next one after the one that takes over after Scrimgeour." I said quickly, cleaning out Sadie's cage, leaving the cage door open.

"Well what happens to Scrimgeour?" Trang asked, turning the newspaper back to stare at the wild, lion-like man.

"Think he dies." I said, frowning a bit.

Trang looked at me sharply. "What?"

"Well I don't know for a fact." I said blandly. "I haven't foreseen it. It's just a feeling."

"Your feelings are usually really good. . ." Trang sounded nervous.

"Don't worry about it Trang." I said. "Sometimes I'm wrong. How's training going?"

She tossed the newspaper aside and said, "It's going okay. Your dad's a really good teacher. I wish I'd been at school when he'd taught. Why doesn't he teach anymore?"

"He took up the Defense Against the Dark Arts post." I said, grabbing my Firebolt and polishing it quickly before attaching it to my trunk. "It's a cursed position, has a new teacher every year."

"Oh." Trang said. "Is it. . . usually hard for wizards and witches to get jobs?"

"Oh no." I said, waving my hand. "It's only dad and other werewolves because the magical world has such a hateful bias towards them. I mean, there's a book called Why werewolves shouldn't be allowed to live or something to that affect. Most wizards and witches get jobs fairly easily."

"Wonder what job I'll get." Trang said thoughtfully.

"Well what did you want to do when you were a Muggle?" I asked.

She stuck her tongue out at me and said thoughtfully. "Mum and dad were always pushing me towards the medical field, but I always wanted to be a teacher. Of course, I'm sure there are a large amount of possibilities for jobs now that the magical world is open to me."

We talked for a long time before she went home and dad came into see me, sitting down on the bed next to me.

"I haven't spent any time with you this week." He said, echoing my thoughts from a few hours ago. He put his arm around me, pulling me in. "How're you keeping up?"

"I'm going okay." I said honestly. "You know, sometimes I can forget and be happy and sometimes I'm so filled with grief I can't stop crying. And of course, I promised myself I wouldn't take anything for granted anymore so I'm keeping busy, ya know? And anyways. . . well you're doing important work."

Dad grimaced, "Doesn't matter."

"What do you mean?" I asked, upset. "You've been working so hard!"

"Yeah but Greyback's undone a lot of my work." Dad said with another grimace and self-consciously touched the scar on his face.

"Greyback?" I asked blankly. "The one grandfather offended?"

"Yes." Dad said in a sour voice. "You stay away from him, you understand?"

"Of course." I said, frowning. I'd stay away from all Death Eaters. "Are you sure you're okay with me leaving the house so early?"

"Of course." Dad said, putting a second arm around me and I hugged him back so tightly he fell back on the bed. I nestled my head onto his chest and he kept an arm around me. I loved these moments with dad. "Besides, I have to go back underground for most of August. I'm only staying out for a bit of July so that I can get Trang up to speed and even that's rough. So you might as well go ahead and hang out with your friends. I'll see you during Christmas break if you come back."

"Yeah, I'll come back." I said, feeling a bit guilty. Severus' and mine first year anniversary was Christmas Eave. Then I scolded myself- we weren't married yet. "Of course I will."

He sighed. "God I love you Lizzy, you know that right?"

I felt tears spring up, mostly from affection. He hadn't called me Lizzy since I was eight. Then I felt frustration at my feminine hormones because I really hated crying in front of him. "Yeah Dad, I know. I love you too."

He kissed the side of my head and I thought that maybe he was crying too. Sirius had been his friend too after all. And he'd watched me be tortured in front of his eyes. He'd watched Bellatrix break my back in front of his eyes. He'd thought I would never be able to walk again. He was probably relieved that I was going to be able to go to the Weasleys this summer and be able to fly and walk and run and that I was alive.

"Dad." I whispered, having to get the question that was weighing most heavily on my heart out. "Do you think. . . do you think if I hadn't gone to save Trang. . . that Sirius would still be alive?"

"No." Dad said softly. "In fact, I think if you hadn't gone to save Trang, I think more of us would've died."

"R-really?" I asked in surprise, tears flowing down my face, "H-how do you f-figure that?"

Dad was silent for a moment and said, "We didn't know where you guys were Elizabeth. And if it hadn't been for the fact that you'd left the door open when we came in, well I don't think we would've found you for a bit longer. But we would've been searching that place forever and then when we finally found the Death Eaters. . . well no doubt they would have seen us before we'd seen them. We probably would've split up to cover more ground. I think we might've all have died that night if you hadn't gone for Trang."

I hadn't thought about this and I realized with a bit of surprise that he was right. I hadn't told Kingsley where we were. And after all, would they have even gone into the Ministry to get Trang in the first place?

"But Sirius wouldn't have gone because it wasn't Harry or me." I whispered.

"No, I think he would have." Dad said. "I've known Sirius since I was a kid Elizabeth. He was never going to have stayed behind. Not when it was you, not when it was Harry, not when it was your best friend. He might not have cared for Trang as much as he cared about. . . about you or Harry, but he cared about Trang the way that he cared about Ron or Hermione."

I nodded, feeling better but still crying, "So who's fault was it?" I asked.

"Voldemort's." Dad said firmly. "It's always been his fault and it will always be his fault."

I let out a small sob and said, "Madam Bones is dead too."

Dad's arm tightened. "Yes, that was a shame. And we lost Emmeline Vance- you knew her too."

I nodded. "It's so. . . strange. . ." I said. "I only met her once and I feel so wrecked about it. . . or maybe that's just Sirius's death bleeding into the others."

"Get some sleep." Dad said softly, kissing my forehead. "I'll be gone in the morning."

"Will you stay?" I asked softly, my fingers clutched around the front of his shabby robes. "Please? Just till I fall asleep?"

"Of course sweetheart." Dad said, sitting up a little so that I could get under the covers. He reached for the throw blanket and laid it over me. In only a few moments, I was fast asleep.

🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎🤎

𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖐𝖊 up, Dad was already gone. The house was completely empty and I wasted no time in going to the fireplace and grabbing some floo powder and throwing it down and shouting "Spinner's End 37"

Then, turning into a cat, I stuck my head in and quickly looked around. Not a soul in sight. I stepped through and jumped up onto the armchair that Severus had been sitting on when Bellatrix and Narcissa had come over.

I draped a paw over the side of the chair, become as cat like as possible. I'd been practicing for a long time. I'd fooled dad a couple of times when he came home tired. It was funny watching him trying to struggle and figure out when he'd let a cat in. Even Severus said that he sometimes forgot I was human.

"Ah, you're here." His voice filled the room. I perked an ear up and opened one large eye and then purred, closing my eye again. "Humorous." He said warmly, picking me up in his arms.

He carried me through the house to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and locking it. I turned back into a human, surprising him and pulled him down on the floor.

"Don't you want the bed?" He murmured, sounding giddy for some reason.

"Not particularly." I murmured back, locking my legs around his waist to pull him down onto me.

"Fuck Elizabeth." He muttered, his hands slipping down to the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I felt an electric shock go through me every time he said that. His fingers clasped behind my back for my bra strap, and pulled that off too.

"Something wrong?" My voice sounded a bit unsure.

"Just don't want you to get cold." He muttered in my ear.

"Good point." I whispered against his neck.

He got up and lifted me into his arms and then walked a few steps and then we were on the bed. He pulled me on top of him, taking off his own shirt. I always felt an electric shock go through me because he always looked so different underneath. The abs, the muscles, the pecs. He chuckled, brushing a couple fingers across my cheeks.

"So lovely," He murmured before rolling on top of me, pressing his lips to mine. I closed my eyes as a reflex, feeling his fingers moving down my hips and pulling off my shorts. I shivered a bit at the tickling sensation and pressed my lips to his jawline.

And then there was that feeling that was shocking and lovely and pleasant and a bit painful all at the same time as he slid into me. But it got easier each time, and felt more lovely and more pleasant than ever.

"Sev. . ." I moaned softly. He buried his face into my neck. I turned my head slightly so that my lips grazed his throat. I loved doing this because he shivered, and he never shivered at anything else. His fingers trailed up my thigh to my breasts and I pushed myself into him as we rolled over. "Oh Sev. . ."

The blankets tangled around our bodies as we started becoming more and more just one person. He swept my hair out of my eyes, still moving furiously. I moved with him, small pains in my breasts as they bounced slightly till he reached up to cup them before pulling me down to kiss me. I melted into him.

This was our little world. This was my life. And it was all that I could ask for. 

⬅️➡️

[utterlyinevitable]

↪ series masterlist  

30. Casual, yeah?

Pairing: Colin Bridgerton x Penelope Featherington   Format: textfic   Chapter Rating: T+

Summary: interlude of colin alone at aubrey hall, and we learn more about the whereabouts of ben's painted denim

30th May

Hey

I’m coming back for a few weeks. Aubrey’s free. Wanna go?

Isn't June like the most ideal month to get married?

Apparently not!

TBH I think the family was gonna go for a bit but cancelled last minute. I've been assured that not a single person or Bridgerton is planning on travelling down while I'm there.

Soooo.. you in?

I can’t get off work

You’re off your probation though?

Yeah but i only get 3 weeks of holiday and I’ve already booked up 10 days

How? You’re always at work!

Pips wedding

Oh. Right. When’s that?

August 10th. Plus all the bridesmaids stuff

I do not envy you women.

Why are weddings such a big fare? I swear Daph had a whole months of events and rehearsals leading up to her wedding day.

History and the patriarchy telling women their only goal in life is to marry??

Ouch

It’s fine for marriage to be something a woman wants, but for it to literally consume literal years of life? No thank you.

Still cynical on love, I see. I take it you’re also against marriage too

No, I wouldn’t say that.

There’s tax breaks involved 💰

Ha. Ha.

I think committing to a partner is beautiful.

Pip and Albie are perfect for one another and I am so happy these two oddballs found one another.

What's the difference between marriage and love for you? The two go hand-in-hand in most cultures.

Marriage is a choice between two people choosing each other. It's an agreement of partnership and committing to building a life together.

Love can be unrequited and irrational and make you think things that aren't really there.

So you'd rather an arranged marriage? Take the feelings out of the affair all together?

I'd rather be comfortable in myself and my career

Yeah but what about growing together? Literally building your lives together from the ground up like our parents

My parents married bc Portia got knocked up on their third date.

I f Philippa can find her person there is hope for Prudence after all.

What about you?

Apparently she's bringing a plus one to the wedding but won't tell anyone who it is!

I'm not planning on bringing anyone.

No matter who I bring i'll be criticised for taking the attention from my sisters. Best to blend in and nod when spoken to at this thing.

I'll go with you

Portia would have a conniption!

That would be the opposite of blending in

and worse than bringing a colleague

Your mother cannot hate me that much, we've barely interacted all these years!

and she must know i am heaps more delightful than Eloise!

You're a Bridgerton. She'd freak even if i brought Greg or Hya

They're literal children

Of one of, if not the most, prestigious society families.

Mum would retcon the whole day if she knew a Bridgerton was attending. Pip and Albie's wishes be damned.

Just when I thought your mother couldn't get any more eccentric...

Imagine what she'd be like at a Featherington-Bridgerton wedding 😶

You'll have to fight the mystery man for Prudence's affections

🙄 My cap has been sufficiently set elsewhere thankyouverymuch

Sure, jan

Ok anyway, I think I’m gonna head to Aubrey for a few weeks. Feel free to pop in for a weekend I’d love to see you x

11th June

I miss u

I’m only a train ride away

This place is too big and scary for a boy on his own

It's your childhood home.

You've literally only been there two days

Come see me

I can’t, Col

Pretty pwease 🙏🏻

Think of all the fun we can have Ferris Bueller-style with no one around.

I don’t think I’ve ever been here without the family let along staff.

Did I mention there’s no staff 😏

I am quite literally the only person on the estate.

I can’t.

You can. I'm inviting you.

It doesn't feel right to be impeding on your sisters spaces.

We're not friends anymore and i doubt she'll take kindly to me being around

Eloise doesn't have to know. Only the estate manager knows I'm here and blacked the time out for me.

That's worse!

I thought we agreed to be honest at the cabin

We did.

We are. 

I am.

I don't feel comfortable intruding on the aspects of your life you share with your sister.

I want to respect her right to space.

When are you going to tell me what happened between you two?

Its been a long time. I'm over it. You know how she holds a grudge.

If you're over it then... 🫴🏻

Please respect my boundaries about this

13th June

Swear you’ll keep a secret

I swear I won’t say a word.

What is it?

[Penelope sends a picture of painted denim jacket hanging on the back of one of her dining chairs]

No way!

[Hungry One 🦛 forwards a picture of a sketchbook with a pencil sketch of a girl that looks like Sophie]

I knew Sophie looked familiar!

Ben is gonna lose his mind when he finds out his mystery girl doesn’t even live in London.

Yeah but we can’t tell him

What why not

I promised Sophie

Did it mean as much to her as it does to Ben?

She… is very quiet about the whole thing.

I think so, though.

I think she’s really nervous about it all. She doesn't regret what happened but

she said she bolted after finding out he’s a Bridgerton.

You lot come with a lot of expectations and baggage.

She’s not comfortable with that

You make it seem like we’re toxic

No, just in a whole other league us mere mortals are not equipped to cope with

You handle it well

We’re under the radar. Your family doesn’t know we’re involved.

I also grew up with you lot.

She comes from a very very different background

Ben knows we talk. Among other things

Talking and dating are two different things.

If Ben finds out he won’t stop until he woos her into submission

And that’s bad because

She’s not ready for that

It’s been a year, Pen

She thought she’d never see him again.

So why steal his coat if she didn’t want the reminder?

I really do think she feels the same way

So what do you want to do about it? You’re not telling me just to gossip about your friend

I thought you’d want to know

I can’t do nothing, Pen.

It’s against the bro code.

When someone knows where the love of your life is we gotta make it happen.

You’ve gotta let Ben decide if she’s worth it to him - and if I know my brother he’ll move mountains to make it work

That’s what she’s afraid of

Why not give it a shot

I don’t know.

Fear of falling and failing I suppose

What’s the worse that can happen? They find out they’re not compatible and break up

Heartbreak is a real bitch

But it could be so beautiful! They could go the distance.

All they have to do is try.

Put themselves out there, let their hearts open up and be rewarded

We can’t tell him

Does she know I'm his brother?

Idk, she's never said anything.

I don’t think she’ll trust me if I tell her now...

Pen

Let’s let fate or destiny or the powers that be bring them together, hm

You’ve got to tell her. It’s unfair.

Wouldn’t you want to know if you were one degree away from the person you’re in love with?

I wouldn’t put myself in that situation

I’d want to know.

Even if she lived a hundred miles away, I would want to know if my brother knew where she was

if he's had dinner and drinks and has built a friendly rapport with her

I’d want the choice to act on it or not.

So, what, you tell Ben?

You tell him you’ve been staying with me and that Sophie is my friend?

and you send him knocking on my door begging for an introduction?

No. It’d be more elaborate than that if you let a Bridgerton scheme

Does he know you stay with me?

Does your family know?

He and Ant know I have a launchpad up north with a friend.

But they don’t think it’s me

I don’t know what they think

And you haven’t told them because…

We agreed to keep this casual, no?

We did and I’m not saying to change but like

reflect on why you don’t want them in know of this friendship of ours.

And then see how that might affect Sophie - someone who knows nothing of you guys

Can’t they keep it just between them?

I think she’s afraid of being just another muse.

She's seen tabloid images and obviously pieces he's done of Genevieve and Tilley etc.

You can't preemptively compare what he had with them to what he could have with Sophie

I'm not!

Believe it or not I'm being bipartisan here.

I haven't told her anything I know about Ben or the family.

I need you to keep this between us, Col. Please.

If you think that's best, fine.

Thank you❤️

but, like, what are the odds?!

The universe always conspires to point a Bridgerton to their soulmate 💛

16th June • 17:26

I really do miss you, Pen

That lonely, huh?

Yes.

But also I have had way too much time to think

Penelope read at 20:35

20:44

Do you ever think that things happen for a reason? Like everything you’re doing is meant to happen no matter how lost and listless you feel? Or how life would be different if we didn’t reconnect. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if we didn’t cross paths that night, or if we didn’t acknowledge one another, or if we were awkwardly pleasant and went our separate ways, or godforbid we left it at a one night stand. In all these scenarios I can’t even come up with a good ending. I can’t imagine my life without you, Pen.

22:06

[Hungry One 🦛 sends a screenshot of Penelope's most recent Instagram story: She’s at what looks to be a sitting room in a house party. She's surrounded by four men and Mel all huddled together for this candid picture. Penelope is just sitting a little too close to one of the guys - a boy with dusty blonde hair and skin as pale as a porcelain doll. So close that she’s perched on his lap with her arm thrown around his neck and looking just too comfortable]

Looks like you're having fun!

New friends?

17th June  • 00:15

yeah :) jealous? ;)

No....

Thinking about me in your lap?

No....

Remember that time we went skinny dipping in the lake?

I don't think it could be call skinny dipping if we were all in our underwear

but yes i remember

some idiot slipped on the dock and got a two inch splinter in his ass

Don’t act like you don’t love my ass

I’m surprised I’m not scarred for life.

you also got a temporary tramp stsmp that night

I did get into Oxford

Penelope read at 00:33

00:40

Home doesn't feel like home without you.

are you drunk?

just thinking a lot

about us? our past?

yea amongst other things

01:22

You have nothing to worry about

We're just friends

WE'RE friends

Not that kind of friends

Good. That's good

Is it

Isn't it?