#putting the lesser seen ones on here...

[smilesessions66]

ORL Group in Moscow by Andrew Lee on flickr

[queerhelpol]

It makes me so sad that in the HelPol community I see people screenshot some kid's posts just to ridicule their worship here. I've seen that multiple times, and not just with children. Disabled pagans get ridiculed here as well.

I think it's cute when a kid offers kid things to the Gods. It's innocent and sweet. I also think it's cool to see the creative ways that disabled or poor people carve out our own access to worship. It's not disrespectful to offer what you have or what you care about to the Gods. It's not disrespectful to share your meals and snacks with the Ouranic Gods. Kids, the poor, and the disabled all have very limited resources to work with. There are also people that have to hide their worship. And we all still make it work in our own way.

If you start getting some elitist thoughts about this, consider why you do. Is it not the effort/sacrifice or LOVE that matters most? What makes you think that a disabled or poor person is not putting in an equal amount of effort as you? Because the results aren't as grand and conventionally attractive? What makes you think their love for the Gods is lesser than yours? Because you have more resources to show it? Get a grip.

Xenia is one of the most important aspects of Hellenic Polytheism, so have some basic respect for innocent strangers.

Praise be to the Gods, especially Lord Zeus, and may we all receive the same treatments we give to others.

[bigtreefest]

Cinnamon Rolls

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Steve has to decide which is the lesser of two evils: waking you up from your nap, or letting the cinnamon rolls in the oven burn.

Word count: 1,686

Content/warnings: fluff! Kissing, cooking, Steve being too perfect and sweet, tickling

A/N: hehehe, thanks to @thezombieprostitute for always indulging my thots and whims, especially regarding my love for cinnamon rolls and cinnamon roll-like men.

Comments, reblogs, and asks are especially appreciated!

Dividers by @mikeykuns

Main Masterlist

You looked over the back of the couch and towards the kitchen in the open living area of the cabin you and Steve were staying in for the weekend. Tony had insisted, of course, that the two of you take some time off and away from the city, which at this point, didn’t take much convincing, even for two people who worked themselves to the bone as much as you and Steve.

The past three weeks had been grueling, as you guided Steve and the rest of the Avengers through a mission in a South American city via coms. It was a series of sleepless nights and food rations, but worth it for the safety of the world. Both you and Steve were willing to pay that price, but afterwards, somehow Tony talked you into taking him up on his offer for alone time in his remote property upstate.

It was nice, but cold, which you would’ve complained about if you hadn’t had a personal heater in the form of your super soldier husband. The same man who was bent over the oven right now, sliding in a tray of something that he wasn’t letting you see. What you were happy to look at in the meantime, though, was that ass, somehow still so plump and prominent in a pair of flannel pajama pants that you’d hardly seen him take off since you’d gotten here. One of your favorite sights, that probably would be until the end of time, was Steve when he was relaxed and comfy. And you knew he loved to see you the same way, wearing a pair of old sweats and his Army hoodie that he’d gotten soon after joining this century.

The view earned him a cat call whistle, and when he stood and closed the oven door, you were sure the blush on his cheeks wasn’t just from the heat in the kitchen. It was nice how much you could still make him a little bashful after all this time.

You watched his eyes, full of amusement and affection as he rounded the corner of the couch to move towards where you were curled up in a blanket by the fire.

“You gonna tell me what you and those buns have got cooking, good looking?”

Steve let out a lighthearted chuckle and the corners of his eyes creased, still as beautiful as ever. He shrugged as he lifted the soft throw blanket and settled in against the armrest before gesturing for you to snuggle up to him.

“No way. It’s a surprise. You can guess once it’s done, though.”

You sighed as you laid a hand and your head on his chest, adjusting until you were comfortably laying with him, legs tangled. Steve reached for the book you had turned upside down on the coffee table to keep your page and looked over a few lines.

“The Hobbit, huh?”

You nodded, the rustling sound of his threadbare hoodie on your ear just covering his faint heartbeat.

“Yeah, Bucky lent it to me.”

Steve exhaled a laugh through his nose, a boyish grin rising on his face. “That’s the least he could do. Punk stole my copy back in the day, then gave it to some girl he never saw again after he was done.”

You smiled in response to the way he reminisced about the old days. You absolutely loved when Steve would bring up his childhood memories. They were so different from yours, yet so full of parallels. Kids will be kids, after all.

You put your chin on his chest to look up at him, met with sparkling blue eyes, reflecting the bright light that bounced off the snow outside the windows.

“Of course he did. He was a charmer, wasn’t he?”

Steve leaned down for a kiss as you stretched to meet him.

“For sure. Not as much as me, though, of course.”

You playfully rolled your eyes along with him. “Right, of course. I’m sure you were a real heartbreaker back in the day.”

Steve’s eyebrows lowered and the corners of his lips turned upward in a sarcastic smile. “Left and right.”

You placed a reverent kiss on his sternum before resettling yourself on his pec, squishier than usual from not having been to the gym in a few days. It was perfect.

You smiled to yourself. “Well, I’m glad those days are behind you.”

Steve brushed a hand up and down your back. “I’d never break your heart, you know, I’d rather work to fill it with love every day. Forever if I can.”

Steve always knew exactly what to say to have you blushing, too, even if it was unintentional. The words that spilled out of his mouth warmed you from the inside out with how sincere they always were. You patted his belly gently, “and I hope to do the same for you.”

Steve hummed before he held the book back up in his line of sight.

“Glad we’re on the same page. Speaking of which, you want me to read for you?”

You nodded again, tucking a hand up under his hoodie, warming your cold fingers against his abs. “Mmmhmmm.”

Steve cleared his throat and began, his voice a smooth, deep rumble conducted through his chest and across your body. It was one of the best sounds, one of the best feelings, to be curled up close to him and taken care of. Cherished.

The gentle cadence of his voice carried in the cozy air around the couch as your breaths began to even out. Steve sensed it as your body relaxed into his, fully softened in a light slumber. He finished the page he was on just to make sure you were fully out before marking where he stopped and placing your book back on the table. He continued lulling you to sleep gently, his blunt fingertips drawing circles between your shoulder blades. Steve basked in the sunshine of enjoyment that came from how safe he knew he made you feel.

He sat there for a second, satisfied with everything in his life. With you, everything hard he’d gone through before was worth it. Nothing could break the feeling of fullness in his heart.

And then he smelled it. The cinnamon rolls. How long ago had he put them in? He craned his neck to look at the timer on the stove. They were just past halfway done. And Steve would rather die than move you right now when you were so peaceful. He considered his options and pulled out his phone.

Tony, can you remotely turn off an oven up here?

No. What part of ‘everything’s off the network except whatever you bring up there’ did you not understand?

Steve sighed to himself. He thought Tony was joking. Could he actually have a place somewhere so disconnected? He knew there was at least a Wi-Fi router, but really? Nothing else? Tony Stark has changed.

Why? Doing something else that’s keeping you from the oven?😏

Yes. But not like that. Steve rolled his eyes and opened up a different text conversation.

Sam, can redwing open doors?

Yeah, but the door probably won’t close again. He’s got lasers. You need help?

Steve sighed again. That wouldn’t work either.

No, I’ll figure it out.

One more try. Maybe Bucky and Nat?

Hey. Either one of you close to Tony’s place in the mountains? I got a favor to ask.

No. We’re at dinner in the city. Why? Everything ok?

Steve bit his lip in contemplation.

Yeah. Nothing I can’t handle. Thanks anyway.

He locked his phone and set it on the coffee table next to your book, running a hand over his face. He could do this. Maybe he could carefully carry you to the kitchen, just to take them out, then go back to the couch? But would that disturb you too much?

Maybe he could stuff pillows into his spot and you wouldn’t even realize you were clinging to something else. Yeah. That could work.

He looked back over at the timer on the oven. It had just reached two minutes left. Okay, he was gonna do it. Just move carefully and quietly and quickly to hit the button so the timer didn’t startle you awake.

But it was too late. Before he could even move a muscle, you were stirring. Eyes still closed, your nose rose to the air, taking a deep breath of the scent that had permeated the cabin. A smile took over your face and your eyes finally fluttered open, landing on Steve. Your voice held a light rasp to it.

“Cinnamon rolls. My favorite.”

Steve nodded. “Uh huh.”

You shifted to straddle his waist, arms clinging around his torso. “Cinnamon rolls made by my favorite cinnamon roll.”

Steve laughed at the long running joke of what you always called him, moving to sit up, big hands holding you steady against him. He stood with your body wrapped around his and made it to the oven before the loud beeping started, shutting everything off and setting the tray on the counter.

“Of course, darling.”

He set you on the granite beside the stove, kissing your nose at your whine at the loss of his touch. He opened the fridge and pulled out a container of cream cheese icing he had made, setting it in your hands as he sifted through the drawers for a knife.

You took off the lid, swiping a finger through the frosting and sucking it off with a moan.

“Dang, that’s good.”

You scooped up another bit, holding it out for Steve, but when he opened his mouth, you booped it onto his nose. With a giggle, you went to kiss it off but Steve was too quick, whisking you away back to the couch.

“Ohhh, you’re gonna get it.”

Before you knew it, you were kicking and laughing so hard that your stomach hurt, surrounded in a world of love and warmth with your husband. Even though this was a short trip, every day with him felt like this on the inside.

Bonus A/N: ohhhh sweet Steeb. Gimme this cinnamon roll🥺

Taglist: @hawkeyes-queen @ronearoundblindly @mercurial-chuckles @steviebbboi @thiquefunlover63

[angel-sweets666]

stay…

Katsuki bakugo x reader

Katsuki and you spend your first night together in the same bed and he’s never been so comfy. this is rlly short, when I say I’m uninspired I mean it

His bed was warmer than usual, felt safer. Bakugo had always been skeptical of the dorms at UA, convinced they were sketchy and inadequate. But the day you, his partner, offered to lay down and sleep in the same bed, everything changed. The once cold and uninviting bed now felt like a haven of comfort and security. He watched you sleep, feeling an unfamiliar sense of peace wash over him.

As Bakugo tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, he couldn't help but marvel at how serene you looked in your sleep. He glanced up at the clock momentarily, noting the late hour, but his eyes were drawn back to your face. Your cute, sleepy expression put him in a trance. He had never thought so softly about anyone before. To him, people were usually lesser then him, nothing more then the ants he stomped on . But you? You were different. You were his baby, his precious, sweet little baby.

Even though you were strong and capable, Bakugo felt an overwhelming need to protect you. He knew how vulnerable you made him, how much of a target you could be for villains who sought to exploit his weaknesses. The thought of anything happening to you made his blood boil with a fierce protective instinct. He had to keep you safe, no matter what.

Bakugo rested his chin on your shoulder, listening to your steady breathing. The rhythm of it was soothing, grounding him in a way he never thought possible. He thought back to all the times he had seen people as lesser, as annoyances he could easily discard. But with you, it was different. He couldn't imagine his life without you in it.

You stirred slightly in your sleep, a soft sigh escaping your lips. Bakugo smiled to himself, feeling a warmth in his chest that he rarely experienced. He tightened his arm around you, pulling you closer. In this moment, everything felt right. The chaos of his day-to-day life, the constant battles and struggles, all seemed to fade away when he was with you.

"You awake?" Bakugo asked as softly as he could, trying not to disturb the serene atmosphere of the room.

"Mhm…" you replied sleepily, rolling over to face him, your eyes barely open.

"Well, you shouldn't be… Go back to sleep, dumbass. It's late, and we have training tomorrow," he grumbled, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

"Nuh-uh…" you mumbled, nuzzling your head into his chest, seeking more warmth and comfort.

"If you go to sleep now… I'll buy you food…" Bakugo offered, his voice a mix of exasperation and affection.

"…What kinda food?" you asked, your interest piqued despite your drowsiness.

"How's chocolate sound?" he proposed, a small smirk forming on his lips as he knew he had your attention now.

"I'm going back to bed now, Katsu," you responded, already feeling more relaxed at the thought.

"Atta girl/boy," he murmured, wrapping his arms tighter around you. He pressed another kiss to your temple, his heart swelling with a tenderness he rarely showed.

You felt his strong, steady heartbeat beneath your cheek, and the promise of chocolate was enough to lull you back into a peaceful slumber. Bakugo watched as your breathing evened out, a soft smile playing on his lips. He knew he would do anything to keep you happy and safe, even if it meant bribing you with your favorite snack.

He closed his eyes, allowing himself to fully relax. For the first time in a long while, he felt content. You were the one person who could calm the constang rowdiness he always had. bakugo watched you slowly fall back asleep, wrapping his arms around you tighter and rolling over onto his back just so you can lay ontop of him. He pulls the blankets over your shoulders to keep you nice and warm. Bakugo sighed and stared off at the white ceiling again, maybe he could convince you to permanently move into his dorm..? here you were cuddled up to him! You were so cute.

[happypeachsludgeflower]

SVSSS BRAINWAVE JUST HIT! I HAD A THOUGHT ™

An average modern person transmitigates into SVSSS. Mind you, I specifically mean SVSSS and not PIDW. That’s right, our protagonist awakens to find themselves as a NPC in the world of Scum Villain Self Saving System. And they think to themselves upon waking up, “Oh, I’m an NPC in a xianxia novel with a happy ending! Cool!!” and goes about their life being a background nerd geeking out about plants, and monsters, and cultivation in general, and neat flying swords.

But this is a world of sex pollen and wife plots and unfortunately the cure for a lot of diseases is duel cultivation with a heavenly demon, and we all know who that demon is going to end up marrying, so it’s best to mess around with meta cultivation knowledge and prep for the worst case scenario, and honestly, they may as well solve some of the minor issues in the plot while their at it, so they invent some new cultivation techniques from some of those nifty svsss fanfictions they read while alive (I’m specifically thinking of this fic’s explanation of duel cultivation and cauldrons, but other weird cultivation methods could be used from other fanfics and xianxia books), so they can tidy up some things.

For instance, is it really necessary for Zhuzhi-lang to be stuck as a weird snake creature for nearly twenty years? Is it really needed for Yue Qingyuan to have crippled cultivation due to his sword?? Does Tianlang Jun have to be stuck under a mountain and then escape only to slowly die in a decomposing body??

They know they can’t change everything without the system interfering, but small nudges should help right? After all, they’re just a background NPC and Shen Yuan will show up eventually and everyone will fall in love with him and no one will even notice the NPC’s existence even if they had noticed something was up during their miraculous healing and salvation spree.

So they go about fixing those things. They catch Zhuzhi-lang unawares and feed him a sun and dew mushroom seed while he’s confused and do some funky cultivation shenanigans and pat him on the head cause he’s really such a cute weird snake creature and give him some vague warning about not trusting in laws and then fucks off to somewhere else.

I’m still caught up on Metagaming’s concept of duel cultivation transactions where you give and take—like taking something from someone’s cultivation, not just power, and returning something else—and keep getting stuck in a brainrot loop of the NPC taking some bloodmite powers from Zhuzhi-lang when they gave him a fully humanoid form that’s not reliant on Tianlang Jun. So my main idea for how the NPC plots to hold Yue Qingyuan in place is feeding him lesser bloodmites (not full ones because they only took a minor ability and can only hold someone for a few minutes before the bloodmites die), while they hold Yue Qingyuan still long enough to draw some ritual to heal his soul and separate it from Xuan Su. But honestly, I’m sure other ideas could apply here too. My Metagaming brainrot is just too strong right now to think of any.

And Tianlang Jun? Simple. Zhuzhi-lang’s got a humanoid form and can easily get the sun and dew mountain flowers for himself. They can’t stop the man from being imprisoned entirely. The system says no since Luo Binghe needs a dramatic entrance. So while they can’t stop the tragedy, they can put some pieces into play for an early escape, maybe a new plan to get him a better body once’s he’s back, and be a ferry for Su Xiyan’s body to revive her at some point as well.

It’s nice being an unnoticeable NPC, isn’t it? You can do whatever you want and no one’s going to know!!

Except. Someone does notice (as we all could have seen coming). And Shen Qingqiu is suspicious as fuck of this obnoxious Shidi because he notices everyone due to paranoid, and he’s even MORE suspicious of the mysterious character that healed Yue Qingyuan’s soul (and wasn’t that a doozy of a realization to have when Yue Qingyuan burst into his bamboo house one day freaking out because some disguised, powerful cultivator somehow did the impossible after ambushing him and holding him down as they healed his soul, and Shen Qingqiu is still reeling from learning that Yue Qingyuan’s SOUL was damaged trying to save Xiao Jiu and the stubborn asshole never told him because he apparently assumed Xiao Jiu knew there wasn’t a single universe where Qi ge didn’t try to come for him). And so yea, Shen Qingqiu is suspicious as all hell and starts snooping and plotting to catch the mysterious cultivator by combing through Cang Qiong because whoever it is has to have an in at the sect somewhere to know about Yue Qingyuan’s soul.

And that’s not even mentioning how suspicious Zhuzhi-lang and Tianlang Jun are now. They might not have realized what that strange cultivator did when they did it, or understood the cryptic in law mention, but they certainly have some suspicions now that Tianlang Jun was as imprisoned by in law like people, and Zhuzhi-lang kept his humanoid form just fine without Tianlang Jun, and now the hunt is ON for the mysterious benefactor, so they can repay the kindness and find out what the fuck is going on.

The NPC is, of course, oblivious to all of this going on and goes about their merry way thinking they’re being the Best ™ at being lowkey. They are SO good at being inconspicuous!! They deserve an award really!!

And then. Shen Qingqiu doesn’t qi deviate.

Shen Yuan doesn’t show up.

Oh shit, the NPC thinks to themselves as they begin to panic. They even check Shen Qingqiu out themselves to see if it’s Shen Yuan just being really good at acting. Maybe he was a better actor in the book than he gave himself credit for or something?? But no. That’s Shen Qingqiu all right. Shen Yuan is missing in action, and someone has to fix the plot of Cang Qiong is doomed.

Thus begins the NPC’s journey to try and unobtrusively fix PIDW’s child abuse problems (that they’re unaware are already fixed), save Liu Qingge from his qi deviation in Ling Xi Caves, make sure Luo Binghe doesn’t raze the sect to the ground someday and hopefully find him some sort of husband replacement to keep him under control when he does return, possibly dispose of the Huan Hua Palace Master at some point because he’s vile trash, and did I mention there are multiple man hunts for this poor oblivious dude currently on going??

And the most important question for them to solve? Where the fuck did Shen Yuan go??

Hmm I wonder where that man could have gone.

[yes-no-maybe-soo]

What Sylus can do with his Evol

(That we know of. Will be updated sporadically as new info comes out)

A few notes:

1. Sylus' Evol is Energy Manipulation. Which is a bit vague to interpret just what that encompasses, but if we take it to mean all form of energy then the implications of his powers become staggering and honestly pretty terrifying. Quite literally everything around us contain energy. As per Einstein's famous equation, E=mc², mass itself is a form of energy, ie simply having mass means an object has energy. Meaning that there might be no limit to what Sylus can control and manipulate, and this is supported by the original CN text of his anecdote, where his Evol is described as essentially all-encompassing and all-powerful.

2. This post is merely a list compiling all (or nearly all) that we have canonically seen Sylus do with his Evol. It is purely for enjoyment and to hype up our man. I will not go into details on the physics behind his power or anything like that – that I leave to more intelligent minds than mine. I'm just a gremlin who likes making lists and looking at details and (sometimes) connecting dots. Math and physics? Worst subjects in school ;-; would rather sit through 89 consecutive rounds of Find Tobias than one half hour of math.

3. If I missed anything on this list, don't hesitate to point it out to me!

4. I want to give huge thanks to @kookieluvs for kindly sending me the direct (fan) translation of Sylus' anecdote! It goes into more detail on Sylus' Evol than the localization (where things sadly seem to have gotten lost in translation) does, and really gives you a sense of how truly powerful (and frightening) it is. A link to the translation is included above, and I highly recommend you check it out!

Without further ado, here is the list of what Sylus canonically can do with his Evol

✧. Disintegrate fully grown men in a matter of seconds

Nothing is left behind of these men. No blood, no matter, no nothing. As though they never existed in the first place.

(He has also done the same to inanimate objects, like bullets)

✧. Create extremely powerful energy charges

The man actually punches a crater into the ground oml

✧. Create energy bursts

✧. Infuse his energy in weapons

✧. Create black holes(?!?!)

...do you see what I mean when I say that this power is lowkey frightening af?

✧. Transform his body into pure energy

Great for when he needs to dramatically leap off skyscrapers or old cathedrals. Taking the elevator or the stairs is for lesser men. Gotta make a memorable first impression, you know?

✧. Teleport (himself and others)

✧. Heal wounds in an instant

These wounds can range from minor cuts to bullet holes. Meaning that he can repair deep internal injuries and bleeding.

✧. Mend shirts

Yes. I'm deadass. Look at the images above.

✧. Evaporate blood

And presumably other liquids.

✧. Halt fatal internal diseases

We see him do this – rather brutally – to the twins in Mischief (World Underneath Story). The twins had 3 months left to live before that. They're alive and thriving over two years later.

✧. Summon people and objects to him/Levitate them

He will occasionally do this with plushies in the claw machine too, if you let him play and if he is feeling extra helpful. A (small but still important) portion of my affinity comes from Sylus summoning plushies in a color I hadn't gotten yet.

✧. Control and restrain others' movements

✧. Manipulate Objects

Another example of this is him shutting the doors in Philip's shop in the main story. Or unlocking the handcuffs in Midnight Stealth.

✧. Put out lights

He does this in chapter 3 of the anecdote

✧. Seal off entire areas

Does this as well in the same chapter as above

✧. Strangle

What he does to Sherman in the main story

✧.Change colours of flowers

And presumably of other things. I gotta be honest, this right here is to me one of the most insane things he can do because of what it implies about just how crazy powerful and encompassing his Evol truly is.

✧.Make seeds sprout and bloom without soil

He does this in chapter 1 of the Wildlight Chronicles. The flower crumbles and wilts seconds after he makes it bloom, but still, he made it happen. Which is very impressive. Like MC points out, channeling energy into and changing something as small as a seed takes a lot of control and precision. Another major thing that I want to add on to this is that this confirms that Sylus can force a living organism to speed through the different stages of life, manipulating and changing them. Or to put it simply he can age them up. And if he can do so to one type of organism... who's to say he can't do it to other? IE animals and humans. And maybe he can even do it in reverse? This is not confirmed but it is interesting to think about and makes me ponder about his claim in Beyond Cloudfall of being able to raise the dead... maybe it is tied to his Evol after all? Or maybe his Evol powers are somehow tied to his demonic powers? 🤔

✧.Purge metaflux

MC and him use their resonance to clear a metaflux contaminated lake in Chapter 2 of the Wildlight Chronicles.

That's all I have for the strictly Evol driven powers (I have more than likely missed something, in which case I apologize 😔 I am only human. A very tired one at that. But like I said, there probably isn't a limit to what Sylus can manipulate anyway so... writing down every individual thing would be... a lot dhdjfj).

However.

I am not done.

I still want to quickly discuss a few more of his powers, because this man still isn't OP enough ig. But I put them in a sort of separate category since I am pretty sure they are not tied to his Evol but rather to his aether core and his demonic powers.

Anyway, to start off

Sylus can control/invade minds

This is only really touched upon in the anecdote as far as I can remember.

Those affected by this lose all awareness and consciousness of their surroundings for as long as Sylus wants them to. We learn that some of the victims were never quite the same again after. These details make it clear that this is not strictly mind control, but something deeper and more terrifying – a complete and total invasion of it.

Sylus can see people's innermost desires thanks to his aether core

He reveals this to MC in LAR.

Sylus can transform into a dragon

99.9% sure of this. Check out this post for more of my reasonings.

Sylus (or Stayrus) can resurrect the dead

"Even if your desire is to resurrect the people of the Ivory City, it's still within my capabilities" word for word what Sylus/Stayrus says in Beyond Cloudfall (Chapter 3). We don't know whether Sylus at present still has this ability or if it is affected by the tether/shackles that restrict his powers.

Which reminds me of one final thing...

All of the above that I have listed (excepting the final one), have been performed by Sylus in a nerfed state. He is unable to use his full powers due to above mentioned tethers/shackles. It's still a mystery when, how, and by who they were placed within him.

Sure would be nice to have some extra lore right about now don't you think, Paperfold?

Anyway, Sylus OP as fuck. His only true weakness is the love of his life. How that will play out only time will tell (actually I can tell you right now. They will marry and live happily ever after with their baby girls and with Mephie and the twins. The end. Trust.).

With this, I am finally done with this post. I hope you guys enjoyed it ♡

I myself will finally go to bed

_(´ω`_)⌒)_

[everythingspokenfor]

All characters are aged up 18+. MDNI.

━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━

You knew this was a possibility, that's why you took extra precautions, tied the strings so well that you were sure you'll have to cut them at the end of the day. But here you were, contemplating how on earth did this happen...

Mina had finally pulled the entire group into going on a vacation, choosing one of the Okinawa beaches, all of you packed up and came to the private penthouse. The vacation was long overdue, everyone too excited to chill out and relax.

It was all good, friends chilling out eating, drinking and finally relaxing after months of tedious hero work.

You were thoroughly enjoying yourself, even if you had to deal with him. Bakugou and you had a sort of love hate relationship, constantly fighting but still having each other's back. Friends constantly commenting about the thick sexual tension between you both, which left you yelling at them, they weren't wrong tho, not that you would admit outloud.

"Move, Sugar." Bakugou rasps out, hand holding a can of beer, he was shirtless, wet swim trunks sticking to him thighs, tan lines clearly visible on his legs, he was still glossy from playing in the water. Had you hated him any lesser, you would have licked the water off him, alas that thought is something to be revisited in darker hours of the night.

"Go around the towel, dipshit", You retort, going back to lathering yourself up with sunscreen, he snorts, before stepping on your fucking towel and going along.

"Asshole!" You yell at him, whole he continues to laugh at your face. You took in deep breaths, this fucker isn't going to ruin your vacation.

You got back to your sunscreen, before reapplying you lip gloss, you put too much effort into your appearance today. It was a deep maroon two piece, the bottoms had a fabric around it making it seem like a mini skirt, while the top was tied with strings.

As much as you loved the bikini, the top was making you nervous, you had taken every measure to prevent the strings from untying, even kept a spear towel, having heard too many stories of women losing their bikinis in the sea making you paranoid. It was probably also why you hadn't ventured into the ocean yet.

"Gurll- you lookin' cute there." Mina walked up to you, handing you a bright blue concoction, you grinned at her before downing the drink.

"Thanks, babes." You giggled, cheekily winking at her.

"What aren't you getting into waters tho? The weather is pleasant too." She queried, leaning in to steal your gloss. "I am gonna go, just applied sunscreen." You dusted your hands, as you stood up, Mina finished putting on the gloss, tossing the tube in your bag before both of you raced into the waters.

The boys, Kaminari, Kirishima and Sero welcomed you both in with splashes, playing around in waters lasted for a bit, after multiple rounds of chicken fight, Kirishima called Bakugou, asking him to join in.

"Ain't interested in yer shitty games." He yelled back, didn't bother looking at the group.

"Scared you'll lose," Sero provoked him, knowing that with right words he can get Bakugou to do anything.

"Fuck did ya' say?" He grits out, before standing up and charge towards your group, all of you scream before swimming in different directions, trying to not be his first victim.

Adrenaline pumped through your vessels, as you swam to furthest end of the shore, leaning against the big rocks keeping you hidden from the main shore. Breathing hard, you placed a hand on your chest, trying to slow the beating of your heart. Only to come to a horrible realisation that you weren't wearing your bikini top.

You were bare from waist above, frantically you tried looking for you top, hoping to find a maroon cloth lying somewhere, unfortunately you couldn't see anything that could vaguely resemble your bikini.

Panic set in when you realised that from this end of the shore, you can't even go to your spot on the beach, chance of grabbing your towel without being seen by your friends were too thin.

"Caught you!" Bakugou roars as he swims around the rocks, only to be stopped as you let out a yell, turning away from him.

"Stay there, Bakugou!" You barely even stay afloat, hairs shielding your back, while hands crossing over your chest.

"What? You suddenly don't want to play, when I catch you?" He rasps out, slightly curious as to why you wouldn't even turn to face him.

"It's not that." You let out a sigh, contemplating whether it's a good idea or not to ask Bakugou for help, he could potentially swin back and get you a towel.

"What is it then, Sugars?" He is much closer now, you can almost feel him behind you. "My top is lost." You whined out, praying he helps you.

"Sorry, what?!"

"My bikini top is lost, it untied while swimming." You whisper-yell at him, giving him a stink eye over your shoulder. He doesn't reply, instead it goes too quite, you slowly peek over your shoulder, only to lock eyes at Bakugou who is already looking at you.

Infact he was looking slightly below, as if checking whether or not you had the top. "Fucking pervert, I'll beat your ass!" Had your hands not been busy you would have whacked him.

"I am not a fucking pervert, I was thinking."

"Had you thought longer, you would have popped a boner."

"You want my help or not."

You went silent at that, of course you needed his help, especially if you didn't want to flash your friends.

"That's what I thought." He speaks at your silence, his voice a little too smug, "you got spear clothes here?" He queried, swimming back a little to look at your bag by the beach.

"I have a towel in there, it's big enough for me." You answer him over your shoulder, he wasn't looking at you anymore instead he was turned away mostly, head slightly tilted so he could hear you.

"Stay put, I'll get it," he almost start swimming before he turns towards you and says "Try not loosing the bottoms, in the meantime." And off he goes.

You knew just from that comment, he isn't going to let you live it down, you are sure he'll probably end up changing your name to some stupid shit constantly reminding you of today, but at least he is helping.

Everybody had already gone inside, letting Bakugou get you, when he reached where your towel had been laid out, he looked for your bag, not wanting to snoop too much, he got to work, quickly looking into the back to realise that there wasn't any towels in it. For a moment he wondered whether he should gather up your sand towel but decided against it.

He quickly jogged over to his spot at the beach, and grabbed the t-shirt he was wearing earlier, getting back into the ocean, he swam towards the rocks where you were hidden.

"Oi! There wasn't any towels, got you a t-shirt tho." He stretches an arm towards you, wet t-shirt in his fist.

"I had one, tho." You look at him in confusion, submerged neck deep into the ocean, hands crossed tightly. You were facing him slightly, eyes looking that clothe, you unwrapped one arm, from around yourself and reached for it, Bakugou averted his gaze, further stretching out his hand so you could reach it.

He moved a little closer, eyes still looking away, arms spread to make sure nobody can see you, even if it a private area of the beach.

You put the shirt on, feeling a little less exposed, turning around to fully face Bakugou, "Thank you, I suppose." You sheepishly scratch the back of your head, assuming the interaction is over and you'll both head back in.

"First of all☝🏻'you suppose?' and secondly you owe me more than a thank you."

He spits out, crossing his arms, and jutting out his hips. You eyes immediately drifted to his tits pecs that had become extenuated, before immediately locking eyes with his.

"Fucking pervert," He mimicked your earlier words.

"I am not! What do you want, Bakugou?" You exasperated, sighing dramatically, crossing your arms as well.

He moved towards you, arms unfolding to sway by his side, "Be nice, Sugar."

You scoff, eyes squinting at him suspiciously, more than aware of how close he was to you. He leans in clear, backing you against the rocks, leaning towards one side, leaving ample space for you to move away from him if you wanted.

He was close enough you could feel his minty breath onto your face, he locked eyes with you before leaning in, instinctively you closed your eyes, head tilting as your hands came to rest on his chest.

The kiss was taking a bit too long, peeking with one eye, you realised Bakugou was staring at you with a grin on his face.

"You asshole!!" You yelled at him, pushing at his chest, trying to move away from him, he was cackling, hands still grasping at your wrists, not letting you move away from him.

"Sorry, sorry." He wheezed out, pulling you towards him,"Oi, I am sorry, listen Sugars."

You didn't care tho, too tired to be dealing with his shenanigans, he was determined tho, pulled at your wrists, turning to glare at him, you were surprised by feeling of his lips against yours.

You stood there limp, Bakugou taking the lead for you, one arm around your waist other tilting your head to the side, deepening the kiss. You slowly brought you hands around his neck, fingers coming to run through his blonde hairs.

You pull away breaths heavy, he continues kissing down your jaw, leaving behind love bites for you to later press into.

He comes back up, pressing his forehead against yours, "So, how 'bout I take you out, Sugars?"

━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

So You Wanna 'Revive' Your Show

Hi Tim. This took me like ten minutes because I actually have two brain cells to rub together. <3

Give the 911 call center more to do. Linda and Sue especially in my opinion.

Go back to what made the show great in the first place which was the core characters becoming/being a family.

Mix up the dynamics. Remember Chim and Bobby's friendship in season one? Hen and Athena's bestieism? Bring that back along with some lesser seen dynamics. I want more of Chim and Karen's friendship. Have Maddie and Bobby work together on something. Pair Athena and Eddie together and have Athena realize just how like her husband Eddie is (and maybe in doing so they help each other get perspective on other things).

Give Bobby a promotion and have him deal with that (although so soon after he quit being an advisor and was clearly enjoying being captain might not work but something to consider).

Have Athena retire and become a private investigator.

More fun filler episodes. A bottle episode where they have a boring day at the station. An episode made up entirely of B shift or the non-firefam members of A shift like SG-1's The Other Guys. An episode entirely from Jee-Yun's point of view showing a young child's perspective of crazy silly adult drama. Boys Night Out/Girls Night Out a la Leverage. "Alternate universe" episodes like Bones' season four finale and Castle's Blue Butterfly episode.

Keep Buck single for a while and give him a safe haven baby. Another way to bond with Hen and Karen over adoption, another way to bond with his sister, and another way to bond with Bobby by making him a grandfather. And oh, hey, Eddie, you want to help me coparent?

Maybe stop having all of Eddie's important shit happen offscreen, I don't know if there's BTS beef or what but grow the fuck up and keep it out of the script. Professionalism, heard of it?

Make Buddie canon. Yes my bias is showing but it's what a large percentage of your audience and media reporters have been clambering after for years. Put guns to heads if you must. Jesus. You want to revitalize the show that's literally the number one way to do it. You dumbasses.

Okay I always said I didn't want it and I still don't but fine. fine! do a musical episode! if that's the price of Bobby's life I'll fucking pay it!!!

Maybe relearn the concept of arcs that last an entire season and not just two-three episodes.

Michael and David have a destination wedding and every single firefam member encounters some kind of emergency, either life-threatening or comedy-of-errors, that means they all show up looking like they got run over by trucks.

RASHOMON EPISODE. For either dramatic or comedic effect. Or both.

Everyone loved the heist episodes like The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1 and Ocean's 9-1-1. Like come on you fuckwit let the show be fun again.

Actually commit to giving any of the main characters a pet. I know everyone wants Buck but it could be Athena and Bobby, Hen and Karen, Maddie and Chim... personally I would love to see Eddie get hit by the Cat Distribution System.

Firefighters do charity drives all the time, go to schools to do talks about fire safety - show the team interacting with the local community more. Show the parents interacting with their kids' schools or the parents of their friends' kids a bit more. I want to see Eddie and Karen fight the PTA.

It's not hard. That's what gets me. You don't actually worry about the show becoming stagnant. You just wanted to do a really big shocking holy shit episode that everyone would be talking about, forgetting that truly good shows earn those. Shit shows that pull that kind of nonsense lose their audience and get cancelled. You did it because you're a mediocre, boring, never-quite-popular-enough egotist with an inferiority complex who was luckily born with a dick so you fell upward your entire career, and you orgasm to other people's pain.

And for once in my life? I hope cast/crew do know my tumblr. I hope they are on here. I hope they fucking read this, and I hope they print it out and tape it to your office door and every other door on set they can manage like Martin fucking Luther. I want you to go to bed at night knowing you are despised and that a starving barely-breaking-even idiot who wrote a stripper!Buck fanfic knows more about television writing and comes up with better ideas than you do.

To quote David Lynch, fix your heart or die.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Can we talk about Harry having leadership thrust upon him in Deathly Hallows, please?

Like, I know he had a leadership role with the D.A. and with the Quidditch team to a lesser extent and he was always the leader of the Golden Trio, but I kinda want to talk about the flavor of leadership the wizarding population thrusts on him and how Harry is essentially the "promised king"/Jesus during DH. Like, there were 2 quotes specifically that really stood out to me, and I kinda wanted to talk about them even though I mentioned some of the points I bring up here before (if not in the same post in this way).

Like, I talked before about Harry's charisma and how others seem to see him, but there is something about the reverence he gets in DH, that makes me feel things.

I talked in the past about how Harry is the defacto leader of the Golden Trio when shit gets dangerous, and the D.A. treat him like the leader since fifth year:

“I think we ought to elect a leader,” said Hermione. “Harry’s leader,” said Cho at once, looking at Hermione as though she were mad, and Harry’s stomach did yet another back flip. “Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly,” said Hermione, unperturbed. “It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So — everyone who thinks Harry ought to be our leader?” Everybody put up their hands, even Zacharias Smith, though he did it very halfheartedly. “Er — right, thanks,” said Harry, who could feel his face burning.

(OotP, Ch18)

But, the rest of the WW kinda treat him like that too, even when he's a young child. Even in book 1, Harry isn't really seen as a person; he is a saviour, a public figure, a beacon:

Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron. [...] Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.

(PS, Ch5)

His time, his body, his existence isn't seen as his own — it's everyone's. It's why the Prophet keeps writing about him like they do, it's why everyone feels comfortable to stare and whisper about him to his face. It's why no one (in the wider population/school) is really concerned when Harry faces danger (like the tournament) — because he's Harry Potter. He isn't just some child, he's The Boy Who Lived.

And Scrimgeour and the Death Eaters all understand the political threat he could pose, if he was inclined to it, ad the asset he could be:

“It would give everyone a lift to think you were more involved, Harry,” said Scrimgeour, sounding relieved that Harry had cottoned on so quickly. “ ‘The Chosen One,’ you know . . . It’s all about giving people hope, the feeling that exciting things are happening. . . .” “But if I keep running in and out of the Ministry,” said Harry, still endeavoring to keep his voice friendly, “won’t that seem as though I approve of what the Ministry’s up to?” “Well,” said Scrimgeour, frowning slightly, “well, yes, that’s partly why we’d like —” “No, I don’t think that’ll work,” said Harry pleasantly. [...] “I don’t want to be used,” said Harry.

(HBP, Ch16) - I love how smart Harry is here. He has that Slytherin cunning when he wants to. He sees right through Scrimgeour and plays him so well.

“That’s certainly part of it,” said Lupin, “and it is a masterstroke. Now that Dumbledore is dead, you—the Boy Who Lived—were sure to be the symbol and rallying point for any resistance to Voldemort. But by suggesting that you had a hand in the old hero’s death, Voldemort has not only set a price upon your head, but sown doubt and fear amongst many who would have defended you.

(DH, Ch11)

And Dumbledore purposely set him up for this position. Everything Dumbledore did, giving Harry the credit for his misadventures at school, putting him through fifth year in the public's eye only to come out as the Chosen One the ministry prosecuted unrightfully (because Dumbledore planned for that. He positioned Harry with him and set the stage for when he lores Voldemort to show himself). Harry was set up to be seen as a saviour to the Wizarding World. To be the symbol and Dumbledore's successor in the public eye.

The instructions Dumbledore left for the Order to follow before his death fit this goal too (Remus implies it at least). He sets Harry as his successor, whether Harry wanted it or not:

Lupin hesitated. “I’ll understand if you can’t confirm this, Harry, but the Order is under the impression that Dumbledore left you a mission.”

(DH, Ch11)

“Romulus, do you maintain, as you have every time you’ve appeared on our program, that Harry Potter is still alive?” “I do,” said Lupin firmly. “There is no doubt at all in my mind that his death would be proclaimed as widely as possible by the Death Eaters if it had happened, because it would strike a deadly blow at the morale of those resisting the new regime. ’The Boy Who Lived’ remains a symbol of everything for which we are fighting: the triumph of good, the power of innocence, the need to keep resisting.” [...] “And what would you say to Harry if you knew he was listening, Romulus?” “I’d tell him we’re all with him in spirit,” said Lupin, then hesitated slightly, “And I’d tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.” Harry looked at Hermione, whose eyes were full of tears. “Nearly always right,” she repeated.

(DH, Ch22)

They back him up in spirit, they resist in small ways, but none of them is waging a war, not yet. Everyone, adults and teens, is waiting for Harry's order to start the real fight. They are waiting for Harry to lead them into battle. The Order is literally just focusing on hiding and keeping its members alive and hidden until Harry's orders:

“What are we going to do, then, Harry?” asked Seamus. “What’s the plan?” “Plan?” repeated Harry. He was exercising all his willpower to prevent himself succumbing again to Voldemort’s rage: His scar was still burning. “Well, there’s something we—Ron, Hermione, and I—need to do, and then we’ll get out of here.” Nobody was laughing or whooping anymore. Neville looked confused. “What d’you mean, ’get out of here’?” [...] “I sent for her,” said Neville, holding up the fake Galleon. “I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up I’d let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows.” [...] “We’re fighting aren’t we?” said Dean, taking out his fake Galleon. “The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight! I’ll have to get a wand, though—”

(DH, Ch29)

That's insane.

Like, all these people were readying for a fight, they were prepared for months. Neville led a whole underground resistance on his own, Kingsley led the Order in hiding and kept the idea of Harry alive, he goes on to become the next minister — but neither of them really does anything on their own. At least nothing big. They don't help the muggleborns in the Ministry, they can rally people, but not in their own right. Like with Hermione and the D.A., Kingsley and Neville are rallying people around Harry.

And all their preparations and machinations are just waiting for Haryr's word. Just waiting for the king to give his general (Neville) the word to rally the troops — because this is what happens at the end of DH.

I specifically want to talk about this quote:

The most recent of these, shining brightly over sixteen years’ worth of magical graffiti, all said similar things. Good luck, Harry wherever you are. If you read this, Harry, we’re all behind you! Long live Harry Potter.

(DH, Ch17) - Quote number 1 that really stood out to me.

"Long live Harry Potter"

Like, this line stood out to me. This is a "long live the king" sort of line that's so on the nose. And I know as a Fandom we call Harry a war symbol, but I don't think we really talk about it. and how much Harry is aware of it, and somewhat accepts it, because he has no choice.

About how the WW truly hinges their salvation on this 17-year-old kid. How Harry just being alive is a sign of resistance.

How when he arrives at Hogwarts, everyone is convinced he's there to lead a battle. Adults look to him to tell them what to do:

“Time’s running out, Voldemort’s getting nearer. Professor, I’m acting on Dumbledore’s orders, I must find what he wanted me to find! But we’ve got to get the students out while I’m searching the castle—It’s me Voldemort wants, but he won’t care about killing a few more or less, not now—”’ not now he knows I’m attacking Horcruxes. Harry finished the sentence in his head. “You’re acting on Dumbledore’s orders?” she repeated with a look of dawning wonder. Then she drew herself up to her fullest height. “We shall secure the school against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named while you search for this—this object.” “Is that possible?” “I think so,” said Professor McGonagall dryly, “we teachers are rather good at magic, you know. [...] “Harry, what’s happening?” said Lupin, meeting him at the foot of the stairs. [...] “They’re evacuating the younger kids and everyone’s meeting in the Great Hall to get organized,” Harry said. “We’re fighting.” There was a great roar and a surge toward the foot of the stairs, he was pressed back against the wall as they ran past him, the mingled members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Army, and Harry’s old Quidditch team, all with their wands drawn, heading up into the main castle.

(DH, Ch30)

Everyone turns to Harry to tell them what's happening and what to do. McGonagall, Lupin, and everyone else who was called to the battle arrived because of Harry. They were ready to fight and die to end Voldemort, but they were only willing to take the risk because Harry told them they had a chance. Because they had faith in Harry.

If they believed they could do it without him, they wouldn't have waited. But they waited for Harry's order. He didn't even need to tell them anything beyond: get the innocents out and fight. He didn't force anyone to do anything; he didn't really order anyone — they are just willing to follow him to a crazy degree.

And Harry doesn't like it, but he knows how to lead people and stay calm under pressure; it's what he does because he never allows himself to show weakness. Harry is looked at by adults way more experienced than him because Dumbledore told them "Harry would know what to do". Harry was thrust into this position and is crumbling so badly but no one except Ron and Hermione see it... and even they don't see it all.

They try to help, and get him to get help from others:

Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, who murmured, “I think Ron’s right. We don’t even know what we’re looking for, we need them.” And when Harry looked unconvinced, “You don’t have to do everything alone, Harry.” Harry thought fast, his scar still prickling, his head threatening to split again. Dumbledore had warned against telling anyone but Ron and Hermione about the Horcruxes. Secrets and lies, that’s how we grew up, and Albus. . . he was a natural. . . Was he turning into Dumbledore, keeping his secrets clutched to his chest, afraid to trust? But Dumbledore had trusted Snape, and where had that led? To murder at the top of the highest tower. . .

(DH, Ch29)

The message is against Dumbledore's secrecy, that trusting and asking for help is good... But in the end, Harry is alone. He is much more similar to Dumbledore than he wants to be. He accepts the position Dumbledore set him up for. When he faces death, he leaves Neville with a mission, just like Dumbledore:

“No,” Harry lied easily. “’Course not . . . this is something else. But I might be out of sight for a while. You know Voldemort’s name, Neville? He’s got a huge snake. . . . Calls it Nagini . . . ” [...] But he pulled himself together again; This was crucial, he must be like Dumbledore, keep a cool head, make sure there were backups, others to carry on. Dumbledore had died knowing that three people still knew about the Horcruxes; now Neville will take Harry’s place. There would still be three in the secret.

(DH, Ch34)

This above section kills me. Because it is exactly what Dumbledore did (except Dumbledore chose the position, Harry didn't). Harry, as much as he dislikes it, is a leader; he knows people, he understands he can't show weakness, and that there are things he has to do alone. He knows he needs contingencies, that he needs to lie... He is a leader when push comes to shove, always was.

What's insane to me is that Harry is this wise, and has this understanding of sacrifice at 17! Sure, Dumbledore understood all of these things too, was as politically savvy as Harry (well, a bit more), as charismatic and as good of a liar, but we (and the Wizarding World) saw him like that when he was over 100 years old! Even when he fought Gridnlewald, he was 64 (he was born in 1881). Harry is so young for all of this. When Dumbledore chose to die for the mission, he was 115, Harry was 17.

I just... Harry, man. He's so mature because he never got to be a childhood in the first place.

(I think, like Dumbledore, if Harry asked to be Minister (which he would never), the WW would say yes)

And, like Dumbledore, Harry is alone in his position. The position of a figurehead is a lonely place. You keep secrets, you lie, you can't show weakness. And even if Harry had Ron and Hermione (which Dumbledore didn't), who cared for him and knew him and his struggles, and loved him as just Harry, at the end of the day, he is alone. The Wizarding World looked to him. When they arrived at the RoR, everyone looked to Harry. They were happy to see Ron & Hermione, but it was Harry who carried their hopes.

And when he walks to face death, he does it alone:

The castle was empty. He felt ghostly striding through it alone, as if he had already died. The portrait people were still missing from their frames; the whole place was eerily still, as if all its remaining lifeblood were concentrated in the Great Hall where the dead and the mourners were crammed. [...] The Resurrection Stone slipped from between his numb fingers, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw his parents, Sirius, and Lupin vanish as he stepped forward into the firelight. At that moment he felt that nobody mattered but Voldemort. It was just the two of them.

(DH, Ch34)

And then, again when he faced Voldemort after he came back from the dead:

“I don’t want anyone else to try to help.” Harry said loudly, and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. “It’s got to be like this. It’s got to be me.” [...] They were still moving sideways, both of them, in that perfect circle, maintaining the same distance from each other, and for Harry no face existed but Voldemort’s.

(DH, Ch36)

Harry's strength of character kills me. I love him, and he didn't deserve any of it. Nor did he ask for it. But he felt it was his responsibility — his duty. Dumbledore taught him that he can only count on himself and Dumbledore's plan, and this is what Harry does, regardless of all his doubts about Dumbledore — because he doesn't have a choice.

The other scene in Deathly Hallows really hits home the Jesus/"long live Harry Potter" bit for me, is this one:

Harry could not hear a word that anyone was shouting, nor tell whose hands were seizing him, pulling him, trying to hug some part of him, hundreds of them pressing in, all of them determined to touch the Boy Who Lived, the reason it was over at last—

(DH, Ch36) - Quote number 2 that really stood out to me.

I know he died and came back; there are plenty of religious allegories when it comes to Harry and his story, but I care more about the Wizarding World & Harry's reaction to it than the actual symbolism itself in this post.

Because this mirrors the first time Harry arrives at Diagon Alley. People flock to him (a saviour — not a person, the Boy Who Lived — not Harry), to try and touch him. Like just being in his proximity could be their salvation. Harry is someone who sacrificed everything (both unwillingly and willingly) for them — his childhood, his studies, his parents, his godfather, his happiness, his health, his life — but they don't see the sacrifice for the most part. They don't see Harry when he's tired or crying because Harry learned long before he arrived at Hogwarts to hide his pain, that no one cared if he cried.

I just love how empty "long live Harry Potter" is. He is their saviour, the promised king who would return to save them when they need him most. He is Jesus come back from the dead, he is King Arthur returned, he is the Boy Who Lived — he is everything except just Harry.

And Harry doesn't complain because when did that ever help him. He lets everyone try to reach out to him because he understands on some level (since he's 11) that he unfortunately isn't just his own. That he was never just Harry. (mentioned it a little here)

(One of the other things that bother me about the epilogue is that it ignores all of that. Like, I can't imagine the Wizarding World acting normal about Harry anytime soon after DH. They were never normal about Harry, and after he came back from the dead and defeated Voldemort again, you're telling me people would treat him like he's any other celebrity? Like, he is The Boy Who Lived Twice, and you're telling me people would be normal about that? After they practically worshipped this poor kid for a whole year, maybe more, depending on how you count?)

[lokicraft]

Cod thoughtssssss. Inspired by @beloveds-embrace ‘s harpy Gaz + wingless reader concept

CW: kinda angsty with talk of Simon’s past and serious injuries

In a winged!AU, where everyone’s wings are based on real birds and such, some people view those with crow or raven wings as bad luck or cursed or otherwise undesirable. Cliché start, I understand 😅. 

So our boy Simon grows up with his past, abuse amplified by his pitch black wings. Escapes to the military where wings are seen as an asset, and his powerful dark ones make him amazing at stealth. Through being with TF 141, he sees his wings as tools to protect his flock, and he grows to like them. Soap also helps by telling him how much he loves his LT’s beautiful black wings: “It’s like looken at th’night sky ye ken?” Oh yeah there’s definitely poly 141 in here, I love me some winged found family vibes.

And then he finds you.

Maybe on a random night out on the town after a mission. Maybe on a mission and you are a hostage. Maybe you are a specialist coming to base to share info. Or to teach a class. Or just to fix the dammed printer.

It doesn’t matter, because he sees you.

You, who doesn’t have your wings out (totally normal, for a variety of reasons people like to be more private). You, who he knows is just like him. He just knows. It’s in the way you hold yourself, the way you shy away from looking at other people’s wings. The way you subconsciously act like you are lesser than others, because that is what the world has beaten into you. He knows. And he sees the rest. Sees how kind and thoughtful and beautiful and genuine you are. Sees how you show love to the world and the people around you. Sees how smart and funny you are, whether you are fighting with the printer, or fighting for your life. And he kinda falls in love right on the spot.

He courts you. Tries to do it as properly as he can. Introduces you to his flock. They see how much Simon loves you and, through dinner dates and baking cookies and just simply hanging out with you more and more, they fall in love with you too.

And you, despite your best efforts, fall in love too.

You can’t say no to these men. They are charming, honest, handsome, intelligent, irresistible. And even though Simon is still the most mysterious of the bunch, you know him.

You know him because you were just like him once, with beautiful black wings. And every time you look at that man, and you see his wings, proudly splayed in private and public settings alike, your heart soars and crashes simultaneously. You see in Simon the best of humanity, how people can grow to love and protect and live even when they’ve been buried in the darkest pits of the past. You also see what was taken from you. You are reminded of the night where humanity showed you its worst face. In your ass-backwards home town in a country across the sea, where the bigotry of the people you grew up with reached its boiling point. When you were held down and “cut loose of the curse you bring to our homes”. When you lost your wings.

And eventually the boys see you. All of you. And they love you all the more.

They are your protectors, your loyal soldiers, your wings. And you are their reason to fight, their guiding light, their heart and soul.

And it takes a while to get there. You enchant them, and heal them, and give them a home. And they break down your walls, comfort you, and love you like you always deserved.

And who knows if I’ll ever be able to put this in to more words, but at least it’s out there now.

[gay-dorito-dust]

*Shuffles in* Prehaps, I could request John Walker with dark magic witch user dating hcs, please and thank you 🥹👉👈 If not, than maybe this prompt with Jaoquin!!

i just wrote joaquin as a bonus as i can't pass up writing him.

you probably didn't get off on the right foot, but that's neither here nor there, and after saving his ass on multiple occassions with your magic and the growing tension between the two of you a relationship was inevitable to happen. Even if it was in an unconventional way but no one is perfect and certainly neither were you or john.

John’s not so much a believer in magic, seeing as it’s not something he’s seen a lot in his life nor was exposed to, so needless to say he thought your magic was nothing more then parlour tricks for kids.

That was until he saw your dark magic in full display as you manipulated the shadows, shaping them into hellish demonic beings to hunt down and hurt your enemies on your behalf, or the time you had manipulated reality so that when someone tries to run away from you, they’d ultimately be warped into running into you time and time again until they cave in.

Your magic wasn’t pretty and he knew that, it was demented, forbidden, looked down upon and vowed to be eradicated for good by those who thought all who wielded dark magic were destined to be harbingers of destruction and evil.

However your personality shone brightly in a room where your magic had darkened it, the contrast between you as a person and your magic was so jarring that it in of itself was dangerously deceptive, and something that you could use to your advantages should you so wish.

Yet while John might not be a firm believer in magic or the mystic arts or whatever you wanna call it, but that doesn’t mean he’s no less impressed with the feet’s you are able to accomplish in due to your magic and control over it as well as execution as though it’s become second nature to you. Yet you do have days where your magic did act out and people got hurt, which resulted in you being publicly scrutinised for your seemingly ‘lack of control’

John had seen you scowl down at your phone multiple times, reading the same articles over and over again, so much that he had to take your phone off of you -something you did to him whenever he did the exact same thing- and sit down next to you and hold your hand within his own, his thumb rubbing the pulse in your wrist in a manner he hopes is soothing.

‘Why are you listening to the public opinion of others when you know what you’re capable of?’ He’d start. ‘You can fly, control shadows, manipulate reality and perception, absorb light and generate darkness from it, and so much more. They-’ he raises your phone in his hand. ‘-Can’t even leave the keyboard alone for a single second?' he's been where you've been, hell he still is but he didn't want some keyboard warriors words to get in your own head, make you think lesser of yourself becuase everyone was scared that you'd do when unleashed.

'don't give them power over you becuase you will spend your life appeasing people who's oppinons on you will never change, no matter how much you yourself have changed.' John finishes as you look at the way he held your hand, strong, firm and says all the words he couldn't dislodge from his throat, it was grounding and reminded you that the only opinion you should ahere by was your own and his.

for someone who considered himself a broken toy, John was all too well put together and a source of reassurance for you, a shoulder to lean on even if he did stiffen before relaxing afterwards, you were both learning and overcoming the hardships your relationship would undergo together, hands clamped tightly.

you even use your magic to tease john, whether it'd be by making his shadow tap him on the shoulder, or stealing his shield by making it seem as though it was waddeling away from him. forcing him into following after it until you have the shield in your posession , smirking at him while he looked at you unamused. 'you and your parlour tricks.' john would say as you shrug.

'you still fell for my parlour tricks regardless john. you're dating me remeber.' you replied as you kissed him on the cheek before giving him back his shield and walking away. John swears you'd be the death of him.

nightime is the when the worst swarms john's mind, leaving him restless and incapable of sleeping after waking up once and this is when your magic works it's...well magic. sure your magic is rooted in dark magic and it's fuled by your anger and hatred but you could still use it to manipulate John's dreams to ones that were more pleasent for him, to have him unlcench his jaw and lossen his shoulders and have his eyelids droopy enough for him to fall asleep for the rest of the night.

you always ask him if you could as you never wanted to use your magic without his conset, john would only hum and bring your hands up to his temples while resting his head agaisnt them, silently displaying his trust in you and allowing you into his mind to help him in a way he's never asked for before. you always make sure to never delve too deep within his mind, there was alot to unpack there and most of it wasn't anything that you should make your own buissness, and instead focus on reminding him of the good times you shared together and how you see him.

it might not be enough but it would do until you both decide to have a deeper conversation about it. There was a mutal understanding between the two of you that didn't need any words and never would as you understood each other on a deeper level then most, which often lead into bouts of over protectivness from one another on most occasions. not unexpected and not unwelcomed either.

if you ever were to overexert yourself in due to your magic -especially on a mission- he's stubborn in making sure you were okay as he made you food, make sure you were comfortable by fluffing your pillow and even insiting on endurance training so that it wouldn't happen again, for the betterment of yourself and him as well as future missions.

john was a secret worrier and thought the worse at the time as he hovered over you, checking your pulse but still being worried as he kept you safe until the rest of the team joined up with the both of you. he's a feral man on a mission to make sure nothing happened to you while you were in such a vulnerable state, wide eyes and his shield wielded like a weapon instead of something made to defend and protect.

he didn't care, he just needed you safe and would go to many lengths to ensue it.

he honestly loves whenever you used your magic, seriously you swear you've never seen a man's eyes become as wide as his as you manilpuated shadows to do your bidding with a flick of your wrist or using simple tricks to complete mundane tasks when you're feeling a little lazy to do so yourself.

he finds every bit of your magic fasinating even if it's origins aren't so favourable in the eyes of your fellow magic users. he's your reminder that your magic could never be evil if Joaquin is looking at you as though your had light emmiting from your palms instead of darkness and destruction.

‘Is there anything you can’t do?’ He would ask when you told him about how you could walk through shadows, trap people within prisons of utter darkness and audial illusions of their worst fears and memories, minor reality manipulation, consume light and even generate it into dark magic, teleport, telepathy, flight amongst many other abilities you have honed overtime and with experience.

You shrug. ‘I’m sure there’s somethings I can’t do but I won’t know until I get there.’ You tell him before adding. ‘But having such…power is draining and I don’t mean when it’s in terms of overexerting myself.’ You tried to joke but from the way Joaquin fell silent told you that it didn’t land how you’d wanted it to.

'you're doing your best.' is what he says in response.

'people still fear me joaquin,' you tell him, 'it'd been months and i'm still seeing no change in how people see me.'

joaquin's jaw clenched as he brings you into his arms, kissing your forhead as he rubs your back soothingly, not liking how you resented your magic because people didn't understand. joaquin understood you, admired you and sees you as a fountain of strength and power. 'then don't look at them, look at me when you feel lost, i'll always be there for you no matter what.'

'even if it means going agaisnt everyone that sees me as a disaster waiting to happen?' you asked him, burrowing your head against his neck, nosing his pulse.

'especially then.' joaquin promised as he continued to cuddle you against him in hopes it would give you comfort, give you something to remind you is real whenever you felt lost amidst your own power at times.

you swore he had magic within him aswell with how effortlessly he brought warmth and comfort to your life unlike anyone else in your life. he was bright, smart, warm, a sense of peace and hilarity that your life oh so desperately needed right now.

Joaquin was beautiful, calming and grounding for you as you wordlessly cling to him, safely knowing that you wouldn't be pushed away and instead brought into his embrace and melting into him as you felt yourself able to breath.

he might think your made out of magic but you thought he was the embodiment of magic even if it was small acts he did, he just radiated something beyond describing as it wouldn't do him justice.

joaquin would also ask if there was anything else that you haven't tried with your magic before pulling out a whole list as you both spent going through together, taking it as an oppertunity to spend time together however you could and treasuring it and the way he spoke as though he was on a time limit, how animated he is when talking about your magic and his over usage of hand gesutres of how he seen you use magic.

he was also your hype man too, whenever you did something cool with your powers, or just did anything in general, he's smiling widely and giddy as he possibly could. 'that's my baby!' he'd exclaim. 'looking good honey!' he'd add when he noticed that you had heard him.

sam finds the interactions between you and joaquin funny as he watched joaquin grab your hands and rub your palms where your magic resided, speaking sweet nothings to you, displaying an exciment when you made a bit of your magic weave between yours and his fingers.

joaquin even asks if you could fly with your magic, if you could then expect flight dates to be a very common thing between the two of you, even becoming healthy competition between you and him to see who could get to the rooftop of a building first, where waiting was a picnic blanket, fairy lights and food that was set up by joaquin hours prior. it's cute and you loved every second of it as it was just another thing about joaquin that you very deeply loved.

you even use flight competition to see who had to do what. ie; who had to do the dishes, who got to cook, who got more kisses and cuddles, who's the big spoon, and other things that many would probably be viewed as silly or unnecessary but neither of you cared, it was something that was yours and yours alone.

[tobeafangirl]

a warm welcome

Words: 6,819 Rating: M (language, underage drinking, teasing, slight exhibitionism, oral (female receiving), unprotected sex, harry is a bit of a sub oops) Type: Oneshot (Harry Styles x Reader) A/N: This is actually an old fic I reworked, might be posting a few of those while I am writing my currents. Gotta keep my lovelies fed.

Secondary school was complicated and parties were stupid. You had only lived in London for around a month now and when it came to making friends or even being noticed, you failed. So far you have only acquired one friend, Maddy, a girl who is currently not being such a good friend right now since she was planning to drag you along to a party. But not just any party, oh no.

“It’s Jessica Knox.” You said as you smoothed down the small skirt that could be an inch or two longer. 

“She’s my friend, and a lot less intimidating than you think.” Maddy reassured me for maybe the tenth time today, you just couldn’t shake the very familiar feeling of misplacement – like you didn’t belong. “Listen, (Y/N), I was the new girl once, I was awkward, weird, and all around I felt like a walking embarrassment. But these people took me in as one of their own --- I really think you are going to fit in perfectly.” Maddy’s words were inspiring, always were. She knew how to say the right things at the right time. So, with a tug of your skirt for the last time, you announced that you were ready for whatever the night had in store.

Jessica’s house was more than impressive, delicate on the outside, huge on the inside. You wondered what it was like to see the house empty, what it would be like to roam the halls as a guest, maybe a friend. The music was loud, booming from an unknown source as various bodies swayed to the beat. It smelled strongly of sweat and faintly of cigarettes, a mix that one could get lost in, you nearly found yourself in the mystical world until Maddy tugged at your arm pulling you towards a small group of people.

Stacy was the first person to greet you. You had seen her around the halls and never had spoken, she was the wild card of the group, always too bold, loud, and yet caring in a way that proved right in her own mind. “Nice to meet you, (Y/N)!” 

Next to be introduced was the party thrower herself, Jessica, looking as stunning as the sunshine. There was something about the way she carried herself, so elegant, wise, but still never put you in a position where you felt the lesser. “I really like your outfit, it has a lot more taste than some of these girls here.” She points slyly in the direction of a girl, sloppily grinding on a guy while wearing a near-to-nothing leopard print dress – as if that was still in style. Jessica rolled her eyes, it made you laugh. You were starting to think that maybe you would get along with these people after all.

Then there was Niall, the lover boy. Him and Maddy had been going strong for a while now, and honestly, you couldn’t blame her. Something about those baby blues and Irish accent really intrigued you, there was a story behind that boy and you wanted to figure it out. Although you two just met, the swift haired boy pulled you into a hug and welcomed you with literal open arms. “(Y/N)! Maddy has been telling me a lot about you! Welcome to London!” You couldn’t believe that these people were being so nice, it almost felt unreal.

The last was a boy standing with a puzzled look on his face. “This is Harry.” Maddy introduced him. His name clung in your mind in a way that was unnecessary but you tried to shake that away. He looked nervous for some reason, but it was in a cute way. Darting eyes, small pink muscles coming out to wet his lips. Nervous looked well on him. He must have realized because sooner than later a smile rose upon his face, all his features lighting up as the corners of his lips lifted. His eyes sparkled, flickering of all these colors. You were almost mesmerized, so much so that you almost didn’t hear him speak. “I think we have a class together, forensics?” His eyebrows raised, if this boy was in one of your classes, how come you have never noticed? With eyes like his, you were sure to be able to spot him in a crowd. “Yeah.” You breathed out, were you holding your breath? How embarrassing. “Staccato, real pain huh?” You tried to redeem yourself, it worked for the most part, making the dark chestnut haired boy laugh. 

“Now that we are all acquainted, let’s dance, shall we?” Maddy squealed as she took your hand, leading you out on the dance floor with Stacy and Jessica in tow. You danced, you swayed, all four of you even bounded while out on the dance floor. To say the night was going great would be an understatement. However, the night was young and those three beautiful girls found a guy to dance the night away with while you drifted away into the crowd. The one sad thing about coming to a party without a guy is being without a guy. And if you add the nerves and anxiety to the table, meeting one didn’t seem like a possibility for you. Earlier that night being proof, the way things went down with Harry was embarrassing enough.

You found myself easing your way to the outside world, the night air drawing you out like some kind of special mating call. It was nice, the light thumping of the music mixing with the calm of the night. Like a scene from a movie, you felt like a star. “You too?” You heard from beneath you, causing you to jump back a bit, startled. Laying on the grass was a Harry, a slightly drunk, smiling, adorable looking Harry. “Yeah, it was getting a bit much in there.” You commented. His hand sprawled out beside him, patting on the grass for you to take a seat. You took a moment to admire his hands, they were huge and supporting these veins that made you bite your lip in awe. Your eyes followed a few of them up until they disappeared in the flannel, making you only wonder what was underneath. You sat, finally, and his goofy smile grew wider. 

“Why here? Why London?” He asked lazily and you couldn’t fight the dancing smile on your face. “At first I thought it was for a fresh start, to get away from the dreaded town I came from but it turns out it was for a guy.” You let out a defeating sigh, as Harry brought himself up onto his elbows. He looked slightly hurt, a little sad. “Y-you came here for a guy?” he asked, looking up at you through lashes that looked beautiful and faux. “No, no. My mother did. I was just a tagalong.” You told him and you could swear that you saw relief on his face. 

“So, no boyfriend?” Was Harry’s next question. It wouldn’t have caught you off guard if his eyes weren’t filled with hope, it was enough to make your stomach feel like a home for butterflies. “No.” You answered shyly, ducking your head down as you did. You didn’t want him to see you blush. “Good.” You didn’t have to look to know he had moved. His voice was extremely close and it dared you to look up, but you didn’t have to, fingers were placed under your chin lifting your head. Bright eyes were met with dark ones and you knew what was about to happen.

Your heart was pounding, beating so fast that you were afraid he could hear it. He was so close that you could smell the warm whiskey on his breath, it was intoxicating your mind and you soon found your eyes closing on their own, beckoning for the small gap to be closed. And it was. Cold soft parted lips pressed against warm ones and it was like two opposite worlds colliding in the best possible ways. 

It was as if time was standing still. You didn’t know this boy, not a single thing about him, and yet you felt like you’ve known him forever. It took one small movement from you, a slight touch to the cheek and it was like it flipped a switch, as if he was waiting for approval before letting go. His fingers laced in your hair, pulling you into him daringly close. A shiver going down your spine as you felt his tongue slide against your bottom lip. You took no time in accepting the offer, letting your tongue slip past his lips. He let out a soft hum at the sensation and you couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. 

“Holy shit.” Your head snapped to the side at the words, standing there was Niall and Maddy looking down at you two with probably the biggest grins you’ve ever seen in your life. Harry didn’t seem to mind the loss of your lips however, he found his way down to your neck, causing you to stifle a moan as the couple watched with raised eyebrows and sly smiles.

“Harry.” You whispered trying to get his attention, and he hummed in approval, his teeth sinking into your skin making your eyes flutter, your nails digging into his shoulder. “You like that?” He murmured onto your skin and you could feel yourself turn bright red. “Yeah, (Y/N), do you like that?” Niall asked as Maddy giggled.

Harry's head snapped up at the voice, his face and neck became blotchy with bright red, looking at you with apologizing eyes. 

“We should probably get going.” Maddy said, gripping your hand and helping you up as you situated yourself. “Yeah, it is kind of late.” You replied with a nod, putting it off as if you were tired even though you doubted sleep was in your schedule tonight. Maddy gave Niall a knowing look before dragging you through the thinning out dance floor.

“I think the real question is did you like that?” You heard Niall’s laugh as you walked away followed by a stumbling Harry. “Shut up! You know, this is why I can never get a girl because of you and your – face.” More laughter came from Niall, “How about just getting your drunk ass in the jeep?” And with a final defeat, “Okay.” that was all you could hear of the conversation before you were bombarded by questions from Maddy.

“What just happened?” Was the first.

“Was he a good kisser? Because I’ve always been curious.” Was the second, that one made your brows fly up a bit too high.

“Dish the details, girl!” The only answer you could give her was the big plastered smile across your face.

Maybe London was going to treat you well after all. 

***

It had been three days since your very eventful night at Jessica’s party and you were still dealing with the endless teasing and questions. However, the person you’d rather be hearing from somehow had disappeared from the face of the earth. You hadn’t seen Harry at all, which was odd since him and Niall were usually inseparable. You wanted to talk to him, to possibly try and salvage something between you two, even if it was just friendship.

You don’t know what came over you that night, but there was no regret on your part. His lips have been dancing in your mind for the past few nights, waking you up in a sweat just before things got heated between the two of you. Part of you deemed yourself crazy for thinking like that about someone who was technically a stranger, but another part of you was yearning to experience your dreams in person.

The bell rang and it caused you to grip onto your book a little tighter. It was time for your forensic class, the one class you had with Harry. This was the make or break moment. He was either going to speak to you or act like you were nonexistent and you debated internally on which one you truly wanted. “Here goes nothing.” You whispered to yourself, holding your head up high as you turned the corner entering your classroom.

So maybe you slightly over reacted, in fact, he was not even in class yet. You let a sigh out and took a seat, watching as the crowd grew as the class filled. There was still no sign of Harry, and you could feel your stomach churn at that. Was he avoiding class because of me? You thought to yourself as you felt your body start to seep into your seat even more than usual.

“Okay class, this will be a partnering project for today. So, without further ado, find yourself someone and get seated – We don’t have all day!” Within seconds’ chairs were filled and partners were set, you didn’t know many people so it was not as if you stood out as a potential partner for anyone. It looked as if to be another day where you would be paired up with the teacher, again. 

You placed your head in your hands, sighing for the seventh time. The guy you liked was ignoring you, no one ever took the time to get to know you, and now you had to partner with some mid-aged man who tried too hard to ‘keep up with the times’. You could have possibly catapulted yourself across the room until you felt the presence of someone sitting down beside you. Removing your hands, your eyes quickly adjusted to a familiar goofy smile sitting beside you. Harry.

It was silent, awkward. You didn’t even get to croak out the soft ‘Hi’ hanging in your throat before Mr. Staccato started to speak, giving out the instructions of what the project had in store. You watched as Harry took notes while acting mysteriously normal. It was practically eating you alive. You needed to talk to him, to know what he was thinking and what the other night meant to him.

You took a deep breath, waiting for the teacher to stop dragging on before you spoke. “I know things got a bit crazy the other night, and I’m sorry – not that I regret anything, I just don’t want things to be awkward between us. We are going to see each other – obviously, and I don’t want—“ Your rambling was embarrassing, you knew that. You knew you were talking too much and that you were probably digging yourself the biggest hole but what you didn’t expect was the reaction you got. 

You didn’t expect Harry to have a small smirk placed upon his face as he looked down at his book so innocently, didn’t expect his hand to be caressing and rubbing soft circles on the warm flesh of your thigh. Didn’t expect to be thanking all the gods that you decided to wear that daring skirt that starred at you in your closet. Your teeth sank into your bottom lip, eyes widening at the boy beside you.

“Harry!” You hissed at him, which he responded to with a hum. His hand was inching up at an agonizing slow pace, causing a warm sensation to stir between your legs, you could feel yourself getting wet at the idea of what was going on and to say it was driving you insane would be an understatement. “Think you can answer the last two questions for me?” Harry whispered in your ear and when did he get so damn close?

His hand was still now, no longer moving on your skin but so close to your core that you could feel the heat from his body and it made you want to buck your hips in anticipation.  “Y-Yeah.” You nodded your head slowly. You knew you were blushing, you could feel it, and it felt like the entire class was staring at you although that was nowhere near the case.

Speaking of cases, you had to answer the last two questions on a case study that you had not been paying attention to at all. “Consulting pictures A-D what can you tell us about the crime scene?” You gasped, but not because the question caught you off guard but because of Harry fingers that were ghosting over your underwear, teasing you in all of the oh-so-right ways. 

“Uh –“ Your eyes flickered over the pictures, trying to come up with an answer. Your mind was running a mile a minute and as you glanced at Harry with the most pleading eyes, he did fuck all but smirk in response, causing you to clench your fists as you made a mental note to get back at him for this.

It was then when he applied pressure, his fingers skillfully running over your slit in the most exciting of ways. As if on cue, the bell rang as you let out a moan, your eyes rolling into the back of your head. “Okay class, like I said, we do not have all day. However, I do expect this to be done and completed by – You guessed it, Friday!” Mr. Staccato’s voice snapped you back to reality. Well that and the loss of Harry's intimate touch.

“You really need to start paying attention in class. We can finish this later. My place? Seven?” Although it came out as a question, he didn’t mean it as one. It was more of a demand and somehow you were okay with that. You didn’t respond though, you didn’t have to, the dumbfounded look on your face being well enough of an answer. Harry then stood, “Maybe after that, we can finish the project.” His voice was low, eyes were playful as he turned on his heels exiting the room before you could speak.

Did that really just happen? It took you a minute to compose yourself. “Shower. I need a cold shower.” You breathed, as you grabbed your things quickly walking your way to your next class. You couldn’t get what just happened out of your head, or even better what was going to happen later. Your body was still tingling from his touch before, you only wondered what else his fingers could do. 

The time seemed to pass eerily slow as you jingled your keys in your hand. You had been sitting in your car for about ten minutes awaiting the perfect time to leave. Worst part was, Harry's house wasn’t too far from yours, so you knew your drive would be short, the clock struck 6:45 pm and you cranked your car, trying your best to ready yourself for whatever was about to happen. 

When you arrived, you walked slowly up the steps, you could feel your palms begin to get clammy and by the looks of the lack of cars out front, you knew he had to be the only one home. Nervous was an understatement at this point. You knocked, the door almost instantly opening as Harry appeared. He had changed from earlier, plain gray shirt and sweatpants now covered his body and you couldn’t stop yours eyes from raking over him.

He stepped aside, allowing you in. No words had been spoken yet and it made you slightly frown. He glanced back at you, giving you the signal to follow him as you two made it up to his room. It was dimly lit, and you wondered if he had planned that out. “It’s crazy, how much you’ve been going through my mind.” He closed the door behind you two, you could feel his hot breath on your neck, sending chills down your spine as strong hands gripped your waist. “You’ve put a spell on me.” He whispered, “But I like it.” He nipped at your ear with the last word and you couldn’t take it anymore.

You turned so you were facing him, everything happening at a pace that probably seemed much faster than it really was. You kissed him desperately as his back hit the door behind him and he chuckled in the kiss. You couldn’t help yourself, all the teasing and games were driving you crazy. He had said you put a spell on him but really, he had been the one to cast the spell.

It didn’t take him long to catch up however, tongue tracing your bottom lip as you granted him entrance. He couldn’t keep his hands still, they were in your hair, waist, sliding up the back of your shirt. It was like he couldn’t get enough of you and there were no complaints. “Bed.” You said against his lips, his feet moving instantly, making sure not to break the intimate contact between you two.

Although you hated to part from his lips, the dancing images of earlier that day came flooding back to your head and you knew you had to get him back for it. Staring at him with bashful eyes you slipped your shirt over your head causing Harry to suck in a breath at the sight. You smirked, you liked that you had that power over him. Next, you stripped your pants away and you could feel his eyes boring into you, it almost made you blush. You pushed him down onto the bed and straddled him. “No fair.” You whispered as you tugged at the hem of his shirt, he got the message and took his shirt off in a hurry. He kept reaching for you, trying to kiss you, but you slapped his hands away, you were in control now.

“Please.” His voice was below a whisper and the way he sounded so shattered made you want to give in and let him do whatever he wanted to you, but you had to stay strong. “Tell me what you want.” You beckoned, leaving a hot trail of kisses down his neck. You made sure to pay attention to his sweet spot, sucking a soft red mark onto the skin. Your lips kept moving downward, connecting with his collarbone, you felt his breath hitch in his throat. His body vibrating beneath you was absolutely beautiful.

You kissed your way down his chest, taking your time and paying attention to every muscle, every inch. His body was art and you were admiring it. The whimpers that were releasing from his mouth was also a very nice feature. “You.” He breathed, “I want you.” And you debated on actually giving him that. You reached his sweatpants, hands quickly to slide under them, pushing the thick fabric down to his knees. 

Kissing along the top of his briefs, the moan that left his lips surprised you. You had been with a few guys before, but you had never had this effect on them. You smirked, eyeing his bulge before you kissed it gently. Throwing his head back against the pillows, he let out another moan. You palmed him slowly, sweet sounds escaping him. You were starting to realize this was hurting you more than it was hurting him. You had to stick to the plan.

You had to get out of there.

Stopping abruptly, you stood up. You were silent as you started to pull on your clothes. “Wh—What are you doing?” His voice was soft but you didn’t answer, just looked at him. He was sitting up and yet still sprawled out. His eyes were glazed over and he looked lost in his own world. You took mental pictures for later. “I actually have to go.” You said calmly, tugging your shirt down. “You can’t just – We were – You can’t leave me like this!” He directed your attention to the throbbing state you left him in. “So, I can’t tease you like you tease me?” You raised an eyebrow.

He connected the dots then, his eyes narrowing at you. “You’re going to pay for this.” And there was that smirk, “I’m counting on it.” You replied, taking no time to rush your way out of his bedroom door. Your body was beating you up for leaving, missing his touch already, but this was all part of a bigger plan – a game if you will, and there was no way you’d be losing. 

***

Vibration seeped through your body. It was from the continuous stomping of the people around you. It was game night and you were here to cheer on your school, it also helped there was a curly haired boy who looked pretty damn good in the light burgundy jersey. “Now it’s time to get out there and kick some ass!” Coach yelled after one of his huge pep talks, causing the boys to get riled up and ready for a good game. “Not you Horan, sit down. No one wants you out there.” You couldn’t help but smile, Harry giving you a small wave before he went to take his position on the field, you were so lost inside your own mind, swimming with the things you’d like to do to the boy, you almost didn’t hear Maddy talking to you.

“He likes you. I think it’s cute.” You laughed softly at her words, if she only knew. The last few weeks between you and Harry had been something else. It was filled with secret looks that only you two understood, followed by under the table hand jobs and hickies that were becoming too hard to cover up after 10 minute breaks between classes. The thoughts caused a smirk to appear on your face, although things had been pretty heated it hadn’t passed the threshold of no return yet. Oh no, you were saving that for tonight. 

You knew it would be perfect, the boy would be slightly worn from all the activity. He would have aches and small pains and you’d help him relax, maybe a little too much at first and he’d be somewhat confused, but he would get it. He always got it eventually, and when he did, it was like a whirlwind of excitement. His eyes lighting up, his hands becoming grabby in all the right areas. You had to squeeze your thighs tight together at the thought, pushing back your urges until later. 

Roaring applause filled your ears, snapping you back to the real world. You figured the team had scored as you watched Harry jump up into the air, his shirt lifting in a way that should be casual, but it was so much more to you. As it probably was to half the crowd. Apparently, Harry believed that no one in this school found him attractive, but you knew he was dead wrong. Would you tell him that? No way in hell. The thought of him being with someone else shot a pang to your heart.

You must admit, for something that was only supposed to be fun, you were getting a little more attached than you previously thought you would. Harry had become almost everything. He was the guy you called when you needed help with homework, even though you only ended up making out. He was the one who drove you around because you didn’t want to go home and deal with your mum. He was the one who thought about you and brought you things to brighten your day, it was like dating without the official tagline, it was something different.

The game ended with surprising results. Forty-seven to nineteen, we won. It’s not like they were horrible at the game, Maddy had said they always seemed to win and come out on top, but the difference was quite unbelievable, especially for the first game of the season, and it caused for a celebration. Everyone found themselves back at Jessica’s house as always, bodies swaying again to the mind-numbing music. This time however, it was different. You weren’t a scared new comer who didn’t know anyone, you weren’t dancing and getting to know people all at once. It was quite nice to fit in.

Your back was pressed firmly to the wall behind you, eyes drifting over Harry and he took a sip of his beer lazily. It was cute, watching sleep seep into him as he tried his hardest to celebrate with his friends. His face brightened when he saw you, excusing himself from his fellow teammates as he brought himself over to you. The smile on his face was cozy, it made you laugh. “What? Do I have beer on me?” Harry instantly started to feel himself, pressing his shirt to reveal the muscles underneath. You had to bite down on your bottom lip, that feeling from earlier coming back between your legs. “No, just admiring.” 

Lifting your hand, you raked your fingers through his slightly messy and tangled hair, causing his eyebrow to arch. You two were touchy in public, but never to this extent. It always seemed friendly, or they tried to make it look that way at least, but right now you didn’t care who looked or stared. You were going to look at him with glazed eyes, and he was going to sigh at your touch, and the people around you were slowly disappearing. A smirk appeared on his face, and he leaned down, lips contacting the shell of your ear. “Are you trying to start something?” His voice was hot and it sent shivers down your spine. “I just want to take care of you.”

Those words were all it took, Harry took your hand and led you upstairs, his tired eyes showing some gleam of light. You found yourselves in the guest bedroom, locking yourself in as the music turned into a dull thump. “Bed.” You said before he could speak, you heard a small chuckle come from him as he sat at the edge of the bed. You could feel his eyes on you, and they dared you to turn around. “Shirt off.” You demanded again, you didn’t have to look at him to know his eyebrows were lifting, probably an all too happy smile on his face. You heard the rustle of clothing, first the sound of a loose-fitting flannel hitting the floor, followed by a slight heavier thud of a shirt. You grinned, finally turning around. Eyes gliding over skin, landing on a pair of perfect pink lips that were curved slightly. 

You walked around him slowly, his neck craning to follow your every move. You crawled on the bed behind him, balancing yourself on your knees as you pressed your chest against his back. “You seem tense.” You cooed, fingers grasping his shoulders, working the pad of your fingertips into the tender muscle. Harry closed his eyes, head falling forward as a groan fell from his lips. You giggled, leaning down to press kisses along his neck and your fingers continued to work magic on his shoulders.

The sight beneath you was absolutely breathtaking. There was Harry, mouth agape as his head pressed back into your chest. Soft noises would escape him from time to time and you constantly thought about how lucky you were that it was you that was in this room with him. His eyes fluttered as you pressed a small kiss to his temple, something innocent enough, but he knew your intentions. The smirk on his face was apparent. You kissed him again, but this time softly on his lips. It causes the fluttering to stop and eyes to open. Your hands began to move, to explore the body in front of you, nails across back, light touches on chest, anything you could do to tease and drive him restlessly up a wall. 

“(Y/N)” Your name left as a moan from his lips, and that was all that you needed. You were surprised that you had held on for this long, your stomach doing flips as your lips connect to his. The position was awkward but the kiss was sweet. Sending waves down your body as you move your way around him, straddling his lap as you pressed your clothed chest against his bare hand. “Not fair.” He whispered, tugging your shirt at the bottom, indicating he wanted it off and as soon as possible. A call back, one that made her smile. You let him slip your shirt over your head, cold hands pressing against soft warm flesh. It was enough to make you suck in a breath. You could feel him hardening beneath you, and it caused your hips to move involuntarily, bucking down and colliding with his. You moan in unison, the fact that he felt this good against you and you were still clothed was a scary fact.

“Tonight. I want to tonight.” Your voice was low, you almost didn’t recognize it and he gave you a look of question. He probably thought this was still a game, probably thought you’d get so eerily close before pulling away. Maybe it was the dark intensity in your eyes, but he realized this was no longer some play thing, that you really meant what you said and his fingers gripped your hips at that, dragging your hips against his in a sweet way. 

His lips were on the move at that point, planting kisses along your jawline and down to the crook of your neck. He made sure to leave his mark this time, wanting everyone to know he finally got what he was after, that he finally got you. He left wet hot kisses down the valley of your breast, his fingers fumbling behind you, his eagerness causing a small giggle to escape you. You reach behind you, stop his frantic hands and unclasping your bra for him, allowing him to do the rest of the work. 

A smirk was placed on your face as you watched his eyes widen and he slid the straps down your shoulders. It was not your first time bare in front of Harry and yet he looked at you as if it was, it caused you to feel a bit self-conscious, having a nervous feeling coming over you as the instinct to cover yourself came to mind. He however noticed your hesitation and took a hold of your hand before you could do anything. “Beautiful.” His words were soft, “I don’t say it often, but you, (Y/N), are absolutely beautiful.” 

Maybe it was those words that set a fire inside of you that you had never felt before, or maybe it was Harry soft lips caressing you in places that made your eyes roll into the back of your head. You don’t know how it happened, but within seconds you were flipped, back pressed into the mattress. You let out a small whimper at the loss of his lips, the warmth of him being away from you causing pain. He was taking you in, the sight of you, as his fingers worked the button of your jeans and you cursed yourself for not wearing a skirt like Jessica has suggested, but you couldn’t do it anymore, couldn’t take the slow sweet pace Harry was trying to set up, you reached, crashing his lips back down to yours in almost a bruising manner, this time he was the one who was whimpering. 

Finally, fabric was removed as Harry got the hint, nothing but thin material separated you two from what you really wanted and it caused a delicious sigh to leave you as Harry lips began to trail, leaving hot wet kisses down your stomach to the place you needed him the most.

Although it was not as slow as it seemed, it felt like it took forever for him to remove your final piece of clothing, the only thing that was keeping you from what you wanted. His lips felt soft and warm as he kissed up your thighs, you could feel your muscles tense at how close he was, your fingers wrapped in the sheets with anticipation, you could feel your breath start to quicken. The sharp noise that left your mouth when his lips finally came in contact with your folds was almost inhuman and you could just feel the smirk placed upon his lips as his tongue poked out, licking a long swipe up to your clit, the moans escaping you almost uncontrollable. 

“Fuck baby, you taste so good.” Your hands were now tangled in his curly locks, softly pulling and tugging as you withered on the bed, the expert workings of his tongue causing you to see white. He hummed against you, bringing one of his hands to smooth down your stomach as he brought the other to your entrance. Without warning he pushed two fingers inside of you, “Fuck, Harry!” What left your mouth was somewhat between a whimper and a moan, you could feel the knot in your stomach begin to tighten, so close to breaking at any moment, coming close to your orgasm at an alarming rate. “That’s it baby, cum for me.” His voice was low, husky, it sent chills up your spine as you cried out, reaching the edge and tipping off into a world of pure bliss and pleasure.

Harry chuckled as he kissed his way up your body, “Shut up.” You said between soft pants, his lips finding their way to your neck. You could feel him, thick and hard on your thigh, drawing a breath from you as you realized what was about to come. You felt like you had waited your whole life for this moment, to actually be this close to him, to feel him in ways that most wished but hadn’t. He didn’t ask questions, but he didn’t have to. You both knew this is what you wanted, that this was something that had kept the two of you up for the past few weeks. You both knew that this was right.

He lifts your legs, placing them around his waist as he lined himself up with you. His eyes were dark as he looked down at you with admiration, taking in the sight before him. With ease, he slid himself inside of you, causing the two of you to let a drawn moan out in unison. You bit your lip at the size of him, you knew he was very gifted in that area, but to actually feel him inside of you was another story. It took a lot for him not to be frantic, you could tell he was holding back as much as possible, wanting this to last longer than the both of you feared it would. His hips moved slowly, trying to find a perfect pace for you two. It was all grunts and moans, and you were pretty sure he had marks down his back by now. “Faster, Harry.” You appreciate him wanting to make things last but with each thrust it sends an agonizing feel of need through your body. He obliged, not even batting an eyelash as his hips started to quicken, with each trust you could feel him getting deeper and deeper, him getting lost in pure lust.

The noises alone were purely erotic, skin against skin, a competition of who could moan the loudest. His teeth were digging into your shoulder, trying to muffle his sounds while your lips pressed against his neck, possibly deafening him with the sound exiting you. The headboard was hitting the wall behind it, and if it weren’t from the loud music that was seeping through the walls, you were sure every person down stairs could hear what was happening. 

“Fuck, (Y/N).” His thrust started to get more frantic, his release nearing him as you could feel your walls begin to tighten around him, your second orgasm coming down on you fast and hard. You gave your final moan, his name leaving your lips as you pulled him as close to you as possible. It was like the world around you stopped, you couldn’t see anything but stars, your heart was beating in your ears. It was the most amazing feeling to ever wash over you. He never slowed, using this new tightness to find his own release as he let out a small cry, hips jerking at random times, his body laying breathlessly on top of you. “Bloody hell, baby.” He breathed, his body rolling off of yours. 

The smile on your face couldn’t be broken as you laughed softly. Lazy eyes looked over at you, one eyebrow lifting. “Shut up.” He mumbled, face flushed from the previous activities. You were amazed that you found him so beautiful, even with small beads of sweat gathering on his forehead, you couldn’t help but find yourself so far in with the boy lying beside you. “So,” You pressed, moving your body closer to him as you placed a hand on his chest. “Round two?” You gave him a small smirk as he chuckled, his fingers lazily tangling in your hair as he sighed. “You’re going to be the death of me.” 

[ataleofcrowns]

Progress Update [28/JAN]

Hey all! Hope the new year has been treating you well so far 💖

If you're pledged to the Patreon, this progress update won't have anything new for you! The first progress update for January that you got weeks ago already went over all this. For everyone else, here's a little update of how CH13 is shaping up so far! I'm hoping to do these on a monthly basis as we go forward.

Most of January has gone pretty well writing wise, aside from that one week where I got horribly sick lol. If you've read previous progress updates/seen previous previews for CH12, you might remember that in the original draft, CH12 included a court scene with the Crown taking public petitions and dealing with more politics. I decided it would be too much to include in CH12, however, since the chapter is already quite expansive at 76k words.

Putting it at the start of CH13 gives it much more room to breathe and will allow me to delve in deep with all the different variations and make it a bigger scene. And that's kind of necessary considering all the different decisions the player has made that will feature into it:

How you decided to handle Steward Bazo's absence from your coronation back in CH7 (condemning him, forgiving him, or waiting before making a decision)

Whether you fired the Office of Law/Minister Besna, and if you did, whether you chose Noble Nûdem to be her replacement

Whether you have Lady Naza as your Minister of Defense

Whether you have an alliance with the Office of Imperial Decrees/Minister Awir

Additional variations for those romancing R and A, like how X and D's routes got extra court scenes back in CH11

Yeah, it's... a lot 💀

On top of that, as I mentioned before, the Crown will be able to make some decisions on petitions from the public. This will be the scene where you'll be able to gain the most increase to your relationship with the public (or the nobility, if you choose to go that route)! So if you fumbled it before with the Office of Law, this scene will allow you to recover from that (or not).

That aside, the route regarding the peri trader will also be resolved in this chapter. If you have played both the peri trader route and the Kham meeting route, you may have noticed that the route where the Crown goes to meet the peri trader doesn't have all the exposition that the Kham route does--this will be saved for CH13, with some revelations that you won't get in the Kham route. It's a trade-off in that way!

And, of course, more romantic developments with your chosen love interest, but to a lesser extent compared to CH12. In CH13 is where we're wrapping everything up in Marabad, and setting off to the expedition to the mountains 🙏🏼

So far I've started writing the public petitions, and some variations of the court scene for R and A's routes, so I'm hovering around ~10k words at the moment. It's not as much as I hoped to write for January, but a lot of the process also involved planning the chapter, so hopefully February will be much more productive now that I have the structure of the chapter figured out.

Until then 💖

[loojii]

Constellations as blue aliens! I made these last year, only uploaded them on Patreon Aquila, Cygnus, Pavo, Canis Minor, Canis Major, Boötos, Minor Leo, Lepus, Lupus, Cetus, Centaurus, Orion

For more info about them see the lore dump under the line ~

Aquila the eagle constellation. A myth tied to the constellation tells about Zeus, who transformed himself into an eagle, and kidnaps a pretty boy to be the cup bearer of the Gods. This boy was of course Aquarius. So the characters are friends! Or well, Aquila pressures Aquarius into doing dumb stuff and Aquarius can't say no (in a way kidnapping him for a good time). Aquila's outfit is based on an eagle as well, with white on top and dark on the bottom. He, and other bird constellations, have feather like hair! He is the younger brother of Cygnus and Pavo, and the older brother of Columba and Corvus (they're a big bird family!)

Cygnus the swan constellation. A myth tied to the constellation is that about Zeus, who again transformed. He got a woman pregnant and from that a set of twins were born, one mortal and one immortal. The twin being Gemini, of course. So the character here is best friends with Gemini (she seems to be the only one that is able to handle him). Since Gemini's alpha and beta star are actually the twins, she often visits them and favors Pollux, the immortal twin from the myth. She's like a fun aunt! Another myth tells about a lover being lost or something, drowned in the river depicted by the constellation Eridanus. So she probably doesn't like her that much.

Pavo the peacock constellation. One of the myths tied to the constellation tells about a monster with many eyes that was able to act as a spy for Hera. As a thank you she put his eyes on the peacock feather and the monster himself in the sky. The constellation also depicts the captain of a ship, who are also depicted by several constellations. I don't know what to do with that part yet for this character, maybe those constellations admire Pavo as a teacher? But as for the spy part; this guy obviously loves gossip and always knows everything about everyone. He is the oldest of the bird siblings!

Canis Minor the lesser dog constellation. In the sky the dog is seen hunting Lepus, together with Canis Major and Orion. So all three of them, the characters, dislike her of course! He is always seen hanging out with Orion, following him around and being his yes-man. He's the younger brother of Canis Major naturally

Canis Major the dog constellation. Another yes-man of Orion. I like to take inspiration from myths and science when it comes to their personality / relationships but sometimes I just go by vibes too. And what I feel is that Canis Major gets awfully flustered when Ursa Major is around (yes its solely based on the fact that both of them are the only ones with Major in their name). He does not know how to deal with her overly friendly demeaner and gets kinda angry

Boötos the herdsman constellation. In the myth tied to this constellation a herdsman was killed due to his bad whinemaking skills and his daugther and dog moarned him so much that they died too. The daughter was seen as Virgo and the dog as Canis Major. So the characters are friends! Boötos also has Canes Venatici (the hunting dogs constellation, no design yet) next to him, but the reason that constellation doesn't take on the role of the dog in the myth is because it was first known as Bo's staff. So that character would also be friends with him of course! Maybe part of the dog family? But I'm not sure yet. Boötes has multiple friends but he especially adores Virgo, in his eyes he can do nothing wrong and is the depiction of perfection. Many see Virgo that way but Bo is just a bit more extreme about it. The constellation is also seen hunting Ursa Major in the sky, so maybe they don't have a good relationship?

Minor Leo the lesser lion constellation. I was actually unaware this constellation excisted until I did this project. He is Leo's biggest fan and follows him around. Despite the name they are not related, they're just great buddies! The constellation at one point was planned to be changed into the lioness constellation, but eventually this didn't catch on. So this guy here is sometimes mistaken for a girl!

Lepus the hare constellation. In the sky the hare is seen being hunted by Orion and his two hunting dogs (Canis Major and Minor). So this character of course hates them. She's very quick on her feet and tries to outdone Orion every time she can.

Lupus the wolf constellation. The wolf is also being hunted in the sky, this time by Centaurus. So he dislikes him as well. But he's almost always silent and hangs out with Lepus a lot. It has nothing to do with their myths or anything. They just have similar names and are both being hunted, so I declared them buddies. Lepus always knows what Lupus means, without saying a word, and they are often spotted hanging out (Lupus following Lepus around)

Cetus the whale constellation. Cetus is the unofficial 14th zodiac sign, having the sun in its constellation for just one day. To represent this Cetus (the character) is engaged to Sagittarius, to one day become part of the Zodiac family (but he said yes when they were children and doesn't want to anymore, because who in thei right mind regocnizes Cetus as a Zodiac sign). The myth tied to Cetus is that of a sea monster who only came out of the sea to eat a beautiful maiden. Cetus (the character) is very insecure and never leaves her house. She's the big sis of Ophiuchus, the 13th Zodiac sign

Centaurus the centaur constellation. No, it's not Sagittarius. Both Sagittarius and Centaurus are depicted as centaurs in the sky and because of that their myths are sometimes mistaken for one another. So this guy here is very often mistaken for Sagittarius. But he's taller, better looking, stronger, more mature, etc. The myths of Centaurus go crazy and he's literly tied to everyone. In the discord server theres the ongoing joke that Centaurus is actually the main character. So this guy is just a very popular guy that everyone (excepts Sagittarius, who hates him with the might of 30 suns) likes! He is actually nice and unaware of Sagittarius hatred. Lupus, the wolf constellation, also doesn't like him but he's not as vocal about it as Sagittarius.

Orion the hunter constellation. Orion's myth he was a great hero who was defeated by a little scorpion. He and the scorpion were put in the sky but he's still avoiding the scorpion till this day (they are never seen in the same sky). The scorpion in question is of course Scorpio. Orion (the character) absolutely hates Scorpio and avoids him at all costs. He is seen hunting a hare (Lepus) in the sky together with his two hunting dogs (Canis Major and Minor). So this character of course is buddies with the two dogs and they all hate Lepus.

(Disclaimer: I summarize the myths in a quick dumb downed way - don’t see my words as fact)

[technically-human]

So I've seen you mention fics in the tags of some of your art and I'm just wondering if you write fanfics???

I do, though not very often! I wrote The devil wears black and I'm currently writing a post second movie one from the Doctor's POV. Here's a scene just in case I never do finish it

When Robotnik was around 4 years old, bored with the coloring books and the rhymes in the ones that actually had words, he had read about symbiotic relationships, and concluded it was a good enough way to classify human interaction.

Parasitism was easy enough to understand, and something to be avoided. He knew himself extraordinary, and was aware of how that could attract all kinds of leeches to him. He couldn't allow anyone to benefit from his spoils while actively harming him. If he was prone to that kind of analysis, maybe Robotnik would claim that was when his paranoia and distrust began to build. In reality, he considered that his default mode ever since birth.

Mutualism seemed like something to aspire to, beneficial for both parties, strong. Unfortunately, Robotnik would later learn that while lots of people –and institutions– wanted something from him, rarely did they have anything to offer. He was self-sufficient, and although some things he couldn't get on his own, he was sure he could find suitable replacements if he felt so inclined. Mutualism was rare, perhaps even unrealistic, at least for him.

Commensalism was stupid. Even if he wasn't being harmed, why would he allow someone else to benefit from him without giving anything in return? Sounded like slightly more subtle parasites, in his opinion.

So Ivo Robotnik learned to live surrounded by leeches and ticks.

People, yes. Foster parents who only wanted the benefits of having a genius at home, colleges that wanted him to attend even if they had nothing to teach him, because his presence made things more prestigious, government organizations that intended to put a leash on him, to guide his genius like it belonged to them.

He managed. He learned when to say no and when to say yes, when he could tolerate the sting and painstakingly squeeze some benefits for himself.

He didn't reconsider his stance on commensalism until he got Agent Stone assigned to him. Robotnik didn't actually need him, he had lived more than enough on his own to be confident in that assessment, but… having him around actually didn't hurt. Stone never took from him, never subtracted. He just attached himself to the Doctor, clearly got some things out of it, but without stealing them from him. Like a barnacle.

What do whales think of the barnacles that cling to them? Do they even notice? Robotnik certainly did notice his, but found he didn't actually mind. Even while knowing that Stone held on waiting for future compensation, he found that it was acceptable. When he eventually revealed his true nature as yet another parasite, Robotnik concluded, it would be fine, for he, unlike everyone else, had earned it. The Doctor had bled for lesser men, he could spare a few drops for a pest that at least was loyal.

The idea that he could be the parasite had never occurred to him before.

Ivo Robotnik was the man with the resources, the one with the brains and the plans and the irreplaceability. People wanted, needed things from him. Even when he was a child, an orphan with nothing but his half-baked plans and the few spare parts he could collect and transform, it was easy to see potential in him. It was easy to know he had a lot to offer, if one was willing to take the risk of trying to steal it.

Ivo Robotnik had nothing now, defenseless and empty in a way he had never been. He couldn't even move. He couldn't even build or create or think. And he was only alive because he was taking from his own agent.

Subtracting.

There weren't mosquitoes in the crab, but Robotnik could almost visualize it. Stone distractedly slapping his hand on his own arm to eliminate the pest. Looking at it, at the tiny trace of blood with disgust. Then pausing, turning towards the Doctor, who couldn't move and wouldn't speak and had nothing anymore, and realizing…

Well, the crab was underwater and mostly free of living organisms, except for Stone himself and, if one felt inclined to count him, Robotnik, so that wasn't realistic.

The image still played in his mind every now and then.

[nithica]

you could of been saving yourself but i’m gonna put you through hell you wanna know what it is inside i get it, i get it but it’s gonna burn i’ll be your new fever your temperature is summoning me sweat it out and get on your knees

tw: mentions of substance use, alcohol, suicide, depression; self-insert has BPD, is splitting and messed up :>

the booming music in the club almost popped your ears. techno, or something. it wasn’t really your vibe, but that wasn’t why you were here anyway. it didn’t matter what was playing, as long as it was obnoxiously loud, there was a bar serving drinks and enough to people willing to help you forget, even if they didn’t know they were doing it.

you were messed up, you knew that a long time ago, but hell was so deep you didn’t care to climb out anymore. its walls were slippery, there was no light peeking through the darkness. you were tired and your hands bloodied from years of trying to survive.

they said drowning was a beautiful death.

you were pretty certain that was a lie; the few times you tried to go under in a shady hotel’s bathtub were more painful than the few other methods you’d tried, but hope was a painful thing too. if you could choose one of the lesser evils, surely drowning would be it.

what better substance to drown in than alcohol and the very questionable pill someone put on your tongue, smirking like they finally got you where they wanted and all?

you’re sure he would’ve gone in for a share, too, if it hadn’t been for your strange guard dog. what was he doing here?

the ‘guard dog’ in question leaned on the bar with one arm, his red eyes trained on you and only you. you always did say you liked being in the spotlights, but no one needed to know that was a pointless lie. you hated it. hated that indescribable feeling of being watched, of standing out. being watched was a common recurrence in your life and standing out meant your demise. your whole life felt like a push and pull between survival and death. and while you didn’t feel unsafe with gaku watching you, there was something more unsettling about it all.

because, while you were unfortunate enough to be on first name basis with disdain, there was something in his gaze that was new to you. it almost felt like adoration, but surely that couldn’t be it. not while you were off your rockers in a disreputable nightclub god knows where, with your make-up running and your eyes red from the substances in your system, whatever those may be.

you swayed lightly from side to side, trying to stay upright by the bar. you’d swear you’ve been waiting for the bartender for at least ten minutes by now, but he didn't seem to make any plans coming to serve you anytime soon.

shooting a glare at the man beside you, you scoffed.

whatever the reason was, somehow you knew he had something to do with it. how were you going to get rid of this guy?

gaku didn’t drink, at least, you hadn’t seen him touch a drink. at best, you’d seen him order a water. water, in a club, of all things. with a strange look on your face, you’d laughed at him, but he hadn’t even so much as grimaced. he just looked at you, with those unsettling red eyes, pushing your glass of umeshu towards you without a word. you’d taken the drink with a scowl. how ridiculous.

“are you twelve?” you’d asked him, turning your eyes away.

but instead of humouring your sneer, he just held the glass up for you. “someone’s got to make sure you get home.”

“my god.”

the sweetness of the drink was a welcome distraction from that awkward encounter. gaku had since learned that you didn’t have much of a sweet tooth; you much preferred the burn whisky left in your throat. at least it reminded you, you were still alive. still suffering. you didn’t know why he tagged along either; uzuki kei would have sent anyone else to tail you, if he so pleased to keep a closer eye on you. he didn’t drink, nor did he dance. in fact, he hardly ever left the bar; only if it meant following you, like he couldn’t leave you out of his sight for more than five minutes.

maybe he couldn’t. maybe you were wrong and he was sent by uzuki after all. or maybe he just simply didn’t trust you.

or worse: maybe he was looking after you.

that thought was scarier to you than getting caught in the riptide, or the faceless strangers you’d let throw you around like a used rag. because if there was anything you knew, it was those who came close to you got scorched.

rushed as hell and not proofread but i am EXTREMELY UNCONFIDENT AAAAAAAAAAA so im going to throw this out there and crawl under a rock

art by the absolutely wonderful @nykur0h, seriously i can’t say anything other than holy wow she’s gorgeous 🥹 i was blown away, AM blown away and so so so happy to see my vision come to life in this way. absolutely a piece of art 🙂‍↕️

and also thanks to @sugurouge for pushing me outside of my comfort zone ndjxjsnsbx sometimes i really do need your kick up my butt. ALSO I’M SORRY FOR POSTING THIS WHEN YOU’RE AWAY I GOT SCARED 🫩 do you still love me

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