#Centaur Aisle

[vio-starclad]

Saw a post about bad book covers and wanted to share one of my favorite good ones: by Michael Whelan for Piers Anthony's Centaur Aisle.

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Omg congratulations on 700! 🎉 It is so so we’ll deserved. I must admit that I reread your work a lot because it is just so good and some of my favorites! 🥰

For the prompt, as always I am a SUCKER for the one bed trope, but I’d like to add another fun element so….

Blue + Lion + Hummingbird perhaps? 😈

Okay this one was a request by many, including my cutie pal @thirstydiglett and @truebluesanji and HOT DOG is it a good one!

Just One Bottle (+18)

Pairing: Sanji x Strawhat Fem!Reader

Prompt: Only One Bed x Aphrodisiac

WC: 2000 lol

Warnings: Open for interpretation on how the pals ended up ingesting the aphrodisiac, forced closeness, unprotected sex, p in v sex, morning after pill discussion, drug use, creampie, Sanji being a gentleman!

— — 

You strolled the aisles of the bookstore as you waited for Sanji to finish up his snail call outside. You ran your fingers across the labels gently as you passed by each shelf. You glanced towards the shop windows and saw that Sanji was outside giving some choice words to whoever was on the end of his transponder snail. The sun was setting and you found yourself captivated by the way the low light reflected off his blonde hair. He looked handsome. 

But he wasn’t your type. He was always fawning over you, even more obnoxiously so than for Nami and Robin. You never gave him half a thought in terms of a choice as a romantic partner, he was just a crew mate that you cared for deeply… as a friend. You turned down another aisle of bookshelves as you could clearly tell that Sanji wasn’t finishing his conversation any time soon. 

You found yourself stopped at the romance section and pulled a bright purple tome off the shelf. “Part Time Human, Full Time Lover…” You read the title to yourself before flipping it open. You find yourself reading a rather graphic passage describing an intimate encounter between the human protagonist and her well-endowed centaur lover. “Goodness…” You whisper to yourself as you find yourself flipping the page in interest. 

“Y/n!” You snap the book closed instinctively as you hear your name called. Sanji was rounding the corner of the aisle and came up to you. 

“Sanji! Hi!” You hurriedly put the book back on the shelf. “Any news?” 

“Well, the sun is going down fast and the moss head idiot got his group lost so we have to stay on the island for the night. We’re all too far apart to get back to the Sunny. We can find an inn around here and get some rooms.” Sanji explains to you. 

“Fine, hopefully somewhere with a restaurant. I’m starving.” You smile. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a night off from cooking?” You raise an eyebrow at the tall blonde. 

“I guess. Don’t expect the same quality of food that you’d get back on the ship. Shall we?” Sanji remarks as he gestures to the door of the bookstore, letting you go first. 

— —

After wandering the small village for awhile, the two of you find a small inn that had a tavern on the first floor. You ducked in, trying not to draw attention seeing as the two of you were highly wanted pirates. 

Sanji strode confidently to the front desk. 

“We require two rooms for the night. Money is no issue.” Sanji stoically demands of the innkeeper. 

“Sir I’m sorry… but we only have one room left tonight… I’d be happy to give you a discounted rate…” The mousey old man behind the counter said as his voice trembled. 

“This kind of dump has no vacancy? You’re telling me that this hole in the wall has only one room available-“

“We’ll take it.” You pushed past Sanji’s shoulder and placed your stack of Beri on the counter. 

The innkeeper’s eyes danced from your smile to Sanji’s scowl. 

“We’ll take it.” Sanji echoed, lowering his voice. 

“E-e-excellent news! I will issue you your keys now. Would the couple like one set or two?” The old man sputters out. 

“Two.” “One.”

You say two and Sanji replies with one. He clears his throat. 

“Two, please sir.” Sanji changes his response. 

The old man issues you two sets of keys and hands you your change after you pay for the room. 

“Please, enjoy our restaurant. You may find that sharing a room is not uncommon among couples at this hotel.” The innkeeper mentions. 

You look up at Sanji. 

“I am kind of hungry, Sanji. Shall we?” You question. 

“Can’t go to bed with any empty stomach, can we?” Sanji shrugs. 

Sanji put his hand on the small of your back and led you in the direction of the small restaurant. 

“Two of you?” The stout hostess asked and you nodded. She led you and Sanji to a candlelit table in the back of the pub. Of course, Sanji pulled your chair out for you. Once seated across from one another, you picked up the drink menu. 

“The room was so cheap… should we get the champagne?” You smirk over the menu across the table at Sanji. 

“Nami would kill us… what’s the label?” Sanji gestures to grab the drink menu from you and you hand it to him. His brows furrow. “I actually haven’t heard of this brand before… but it’s expensive… must be from the South Blue…” Sanji quirks a curled eyebrow up at you. “Should we?”

The sides of your mouth curl up. 

“Yes.” 

Sanji breaks into a grin as the waitress arrived at your table. 

“Anything I can get you two tonight?” The cute redheaded waitress asked you both. 

“We’ll start with a bottle of the champagne.” Sanji says to the waitress. “And for food… anything your recommend for a night on the town?” He says with a smirk. 

“Oh, I think our chef can do something for you.” The waitress says with a smile. 

“Perfect.” Sanji says as he snaps his menu closed and hands it to the waitress. 

— — 

The two of you had finished your bottle of champagne and dinner and were waiting around for the waitress to bring you your bill. 

“No no, it really was lovely. I just have never had a champagne like this…” Sanji says as the two of you discuss dinner. 

“The oysters were a nice touch, I thought.” You remark. 

“Mr BlackLeg sir thank you…” The waitress interrupts as he places a large stack of Beri on the tray containing your bill. 

“That was a nice tip you left…” You say as Sanji ushers you softly out of your seat, covering your back with his suit jacket. “Far more than most would.” You didn’t feel drunk, but you felt some strange warmth growing in your lower half. It started building when you drank that damned champagne. 

“It’s nothing for someone who used to work in hospitality. Their service is worth far more than the champagne.” Sanji says as he guides you to the stairs, leading you up to your room on the third floor. 

You reach your room and Sanji fumbles with the keys before getting the lock open. The door opens to reveal a small room with a queen size bed and an ensuite bathroom. 

“I-I can sleep on the floor.” Sanji says immediately. You turned and saw that his cheeks were bright pink. Was it from the alcohol?

“It’s fine, we’re adults. Let’s just get to bed.” You respond and begin stripping off your pants. You then unstrap your bra and take it off through the front of your shirt. Sanji hesitates for a second before stripping down to just his boxers. 

“I’ll take this side.” You said awkwardly as you slide into the bed. 

“Right. Goodnight then.” Sanji shuts off the lights and hops into bed on the side opposite you. 

“Yep. Night.” You curl up into your side, so that you wouldn’t encroach on your crew mates sleeping space. 

All you can hear is labored breathing. 

Was it your own?

Was it Sanji’s?

Something was off. You couldn’t sleep. 

Why was your pulse thrumming in your privates? Why was there slick gushing out of your slit to soak your underwear? Nothing even remotely sexual has happened tonight and yet your levels of arousal were off the charts. You tossed and turned for several minutes trying to ignore it, having the ache between your legs only grow more intense. 

You couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Sanji?” You whisper out into the darkness. 

“Gods, Y/N, tell me you feel like I do right now.” Sanji responds in between pants. 

“What the fuck happened to us?” You breath out to the dark ceiling above you. 

“Something in that drink…” Sanji breathes out. “It fucking hurts…” 

You peer over to your left and see Sanji grabbing at his crotch beneath the sheets. 

“They drugged us.” You pant out, right hand delving into your panties and rubbing at your clit, trying to get some relief from the burn this mysterious wine was causing you. 

“I-I don’t know how to say this, mon cherie… But what if we… helped each other…" Sanji said as he saw you pleasuring yourself beneath the bed covers. 

“Right… it’s just helping a friend…” You say softly as you touch your sex further, reaching your left hand out under the sheets to wrap around Sanji’s erect penis. 

“YES- I mean, yes-“ Sanji jerks at your touch. “It’s just relieving each other…”

“Okay… fine…” You relent. 

Sanji jumps up and positions himself above you in a nanosecond. You take this time to push your panties down and your t-shirt over your head.

“Spread your legs for me, my love…” Sanji whispers as he hovers over you. “Show me what you need…” 

“Sanji please, I need you inside of me.” You pleaded as you brought your hand down to spread your pussy lips. “Sanji why does it hurt?! Please help me!” You bucked your hips in his direction. You were desperate. 

“I’m gonna fix it, okay? I’m gonna stop it from hurting. Do you want that, y/n?” Sanji asked. 

“Yes! Please help me!” You cried out again as you saw Sanji pull himself fully from his boxers. 

Sanji dances the head of his dick across you clit as you whimpered. 

“I’ve got you, mon amour…” Sanji assures you as he leans down and pushes his cock into your trembling hole. 

“OH-!” The moan is ripped from your lungs as you feel the throbbing head of Sanji’s member push past your g-spot to fill you completely. “Fucking finally-“ You groan as your eyes roll to the back of your head, the fullness you’ve been craving in your bones finally being fulfilled. 

“More, more, more….” You chant as Sanji bucks his hips into yours with a fervent pace. Whatever aphrodisiac was in that wine had fully engulfed your brain and all you wanted was a thick cock inside of you stretching you out. The only thing you could focus on was the wet glide of Sanji’s heavy dick in and out of your hole. “Please, more!” You cried. 

“My love, I’ll give you everything you want…” Sanji’s eagerness to please came through as he pushed your thighs up towards your chest, allowing him further access to your favorite spot. “Need you to cum on me… please..” He begged. 

“M-More.. want more..." You whimper out. 

Sanji takes one of his hands from the crook of your knee and places it around your neck gently. He leans in and places a tender kiss on your lips. He moves his other hand to the top of your sex. Sanji slips two fingers inside of you next to his own cock, assuring you're full to the brim and your favorite spot is being stroked with every thrust.

"San-ji! So- Fuckin- Full!" You cried out in the throws of pleasure, finally feeling exactly what you wanted.

“I can’t do this much longer, mon cherie, so wet and so tight…” Sanji groans into your lips as he ruts into you like an animal. “Need you to cum…” 

“I’m…cumming… fuck!” You scrunch your eyes shut and scratch at Sanji’s naked back. 

“So perfect….” Sanji whimpers into your sweaty neck as he shoots his load into you. You stroked his neck all the way down to the base of his spine. 

“Aaah- Fuck- Ah!” You hear the cook grunt into your flesh as he digs his hips into yours further. 

“A-are you cumming again?” You ask with a heavy sigh, coming down from your own orgasm. 

“Sh-shiiiit….” Sanji groans. Tears prick at your eyes as overstimulation sets in. “M-my love…” 

You feel Sanji’s hips drive further into yours, impossibly deep. He was emptying yet another massive load in you in less than a few minutes, it was spilling filthily out of your hole around his cock. Sanji collapsed almost immediately on top of you without pulling out. 

Sanji wrapped his arms around your torso and settled in.

“You know you’re going to have to ask Chopper about a ‘morning after’ situation, right?” You muse as you stroke Sanji’s lower back. 

“I think the embarrassment is worth it.” Sanji smirks as he nuzzles into your breast. 

You smile and pull your love-cook close to fall asleep.

— —

Hope you ALL enjoyed!

xx

Mo 

[keyforshort]

Dimension 20 Live Highlights

*Spoilers*

Cast was;

Murph - Riz/Kugrash

Emily - Ylfa (Jet cameo)

Zac- Pib (Pis)

Ally - Kristen

Siobhan - Ruby

Setting - Unsleeping City

Pib oneshotting Don Confetti by eating him and becoming the new Don

Yfla and Ruby immediately play fighting but also kinda real fighting and being unsure of what was happening

Pib: "Wait am I the adult here?"

Pib and Ylfa both thinking the Bodega was Ylfa's grandmas apartment

Ruby commanding the sweets aisle

Lemone coming to life and Gilear (who was a table) making him his bitch

Epona holding a table at gun point and Riz not reacting until remembering it was Gilear

Pib pretending hes a New York native

Riz almost getting oneshot by a disintegration ray until zac reminded him of uncanny dodge, and then getting swapped out for Kug anyway

Riz's reaction to gettting disintegrated was just "ow"

Kug and Pib going for each other almost immediately (I didnt realise Riz had left because Murph started hissing)

Ylfa trying to play Gin Rummy with everyone she meets

Ylfa beating La Gran Gata at Gin Rummy

Pib and La Gran Gata having the most instant flirty energy

Ruby asking everyone if they're Ceresian and Ylfa thinking she means lesbian

Ruby being Ylfa's lesbian awakening

Wally thinking he's in Die Hard

Ylfa holding Chunggledown Bim's ass cheeks closed like a vice

Kristen elbow dropping table Gilear because she misunderstood a plan

Pib getting shoes and renaming himself Pis (and regretting it immediately because the audience would not let it go)

Pissandra

YLFA ADOPTING AURORA NEBBINS

Kugrash kept turning people into reverse centaurs

Aguefort saying "You guys do the plan, while me and Babayaga do something else" "what?" "SOMETHING ELSE"

Chungledown Bim getting a nat 1, Siobhan getting up and spinning in a circle celebrating like 10 times before realising no one else got up at all

CDB getting another catastrophic failure, Brennan sitting on the floor in reaction to it

The cameramen struggling to get Ally in frame when they all got on tbe floor together. Finally getting them in frame and then they FUCKING MOVED AGAIN

La Gran Gata calling him Pib, the audience yelling "Pis!" And the LGG going "No, PUSS IN BED MOTHERFUCKERS"

Jet lives

Will add more if I think of them

[monstersandmaw]

Here's August's offering for you! Hope you enjoy it - I had fun with writing it! We return to Starfall Springs!

Content: seemingly-grumpy, slightly older, scarred, Shire centaur meets peppy human female in a DIY store after his niece spills a lot of pink paint on the floor, and each is instantly attracted to the other. When the reader's truck breaks down a week later, it must be fate when the same centaur comes across her on the side of the road and offers to tow her truck to his mate's garage in Starfall Springs. One thing leads to another, and the two get better acquainted. Mention of alcohol, but no inebriation.

Nsfw: non-penetrative sex, messy intercrural sex, outdoor but not public sex, reader receives oral, cis female terminology used. Both parties also say 'fuck' a lot.

Wordcount: 9453

Preview:

Despite having moved to the foothills of the Glasspeak Mountains almost six months ago, you’d only been into the quaint little town of Starfall Springs a handful of times.

Now that you’d fixed most of the structural issues in your off-grid cabin — at least the estate agent had been very open with you about the modernisation needed on the property — you were turning your hand to making it prettier.

The urgency of the advancing year and the upcoming winter had driven you into a DIY frenzy over the summer months to get the place functional, and now that it was done, you never wanted to feel PTFE tape between your fingers, or see a wrench or a screwdriver again. You’d had drywall dust in places you never wanted drywall dust too. But, while the place was no longer letting water in from places it shouldn’t, or letting water out from places it shouldn’t, it did look very stark and very bare, with raw wooden surfaces and no colours or comforts.

Right on the edge of Starfall Springs was a small industrial park which somehow still managed to look leafy and quaint. The lot was made up of three large warehouses, one a rambling garden centre overflowing with verdant life, another a dealership for all sorts of motor-vehicles, from centaur-accessible vans to naga-accessible motorcycles, and the last was a DIY and home improvement centre, selling everything from plumbing supplies to lumber, and even offering bespoke kitchen and bathroom refurbishments. You’d saved yourself the cost of the latter by doing them yourself, but the staff there knew you like family for how many times you’d been back to ask where to find all the things you needed for the cabin.

You’d supported Dhurak’s small hardware store nearer the centre of Starfall Springs when you’d first moved there, thinking it would be better to support an independent business, but as it turned out, these stores weren’t franchises of larger chains, and were in fact also independent businesses. The parking in the centre of Starfall Springs also wasn’t great, especially since you drove a huge pickup truck, and this place had literally everything you could ever need. It even had a crafts section on the off-chance you decided to take up knitting for the winter months.

So it was that, halfway down the lighting aisle, you heard a high-pitched, whinnying whine coming from the next aisle over, followed by the stamp of small hooves and then a loud clatter. Someone inhaled sharply as if about to curse, and then a deep, resigned voice said in a rather clipped, northern burr, “I told you to let me get it down, Clara. Now we’ll have to pay for that as well.”

“I- I’m…” came a quavering response, and then the sound of a child crying in quick, ugly gulps.

You pushed your laden trolley around the corner and saw a huge, black-coated centaur’s muscular backside as the figure bent one foreleg and ‘bowed’ down at the front. To your surprise, he scooped up a much smaller centaur under her belly, like a fashionable lady grabbing a wayward handbag-dog, and lurched back up onto all four hooves. He stepped easily away from a slowly-spreading mess of spilled pink paint all over the tiled warehouse floor, still with the young centaur tucked under one arm.

Backing up a few paces on hooves that had to be as big as dinner plates, the figure set down the young child and said in a strained voice that was clearly trying very hard to be patient, “I’ll have to go and tell someone we made a mess. You need to stay here while I do that. Do not move, Clara, and do not touch anything else. You understand me.”

“Yes. I’m sorry, Uncle Jack,” she sniffled as she got a hold of herself again, cuffing at her face with her sleeve.

Unlike him, she was tiny, but like him, her equine coat was jet black, and the skin of her upper, human torso was dark. To keep her equine body warm from the nippy, autumn wind outside, she wore a cosy-looking pink coat like a horse rug, and her human upper body was swathed in a voluminous, pink puffer jacket. Her hair was tied up in two high buns that looked like mouse ears and secured with pink scrunchies. With her dark eyes all watery and her mouth crumpled up into a pout, she looked adorable, and thoroughly miserable.

‘Uncle Jack’ did not look adorable. He looked… intimidating.

If Clara perhaps resembled a shaggy little Shetland pony, her uncle looked like a Shire centaur, with massive muscles in his bare equine body, and a shaggy, dark coat. To your surprise, he had a short and traditionally-docked tail, and his lovely, fluffy, white fetlocks were now spattered with pink paint. The pink didn’t lessen the impact of his presence at all. Your eyes travelled up his torso, swathed in a brown, waxed jacket, up to his weathered face, and you tried not to let your shock show when you found a set of four, huge, scars slashing across his rugged features. He looked like he’d been mauled by a bear at some point in his youth. His textured black hair was long and tied back in soft, fuzzy dreads at the nape of his neck, with flecks of grey streaking through it at the temples. His eyes though, were a startling, sapphire blue.

He turned carefully in the limited space that the aisle afforded him, and caught sight of you. You’d stopped in the dead centre of the aisle, and there was no way he could squeeze past you unless you tucked yourself right up against the side, so you hitched him a shy little smile and nudged your heavy, ungainly shopping cart over to one side so he could pass.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said, ducking his head in a tight nod. “I’ll get this mess sorted out.”

“Don’t worry,” you smiled. “You want me to stay with her while you go find someone?”

He eyed you up and down with a frightening scowl on his scarred face, and then he scrubbed one rough-looking hand over his mouth, his short, dark beard rasping against what you could only assume were calluses on his hand to make that kind of noise. “Would you?”

You smiled. “Of course. I’ve had my fair share of paint related disasters in DIY stores, trust me.”

The centaur gave you an odd look at that, but he didn’t pry, and just nodded again and turned to look over his colossal shoulder, where the poor kid was standing and sniffling beside the widening tide of pale pink paint. “Clara, this kind human’s going to stay with you, ok? Don’t give her any trouble.”

Clara shook her head, giving you a wide-eyed look that told you she wasn’t entirely comfortable with being left with a stranger, and then mumbled, “Ok.”

“I’ll be two minutes,” he growled at you, and then stalked off to find a store attendant.

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[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hi! First, I want to say I love your theories! Each one is so compelling to read♡♡♡

Second, I was thinking about holidays breaks at Hogwarts and it lead to "wait, is there some sort of magic 'religion' or have I read too many fics?"

Like, they celebrate Halloween and Weasleys celebrate Christmas, but isn't it a contradiction? I know Halloween has celtic roots, but as it is today, it's "All Hallows' Eve", a christian celebration like Christmas. And both the Catholic and the Protestant Church weren't the ones involved in witches' trials? Shouldn't they avoid each other like plague as a general rule?

Maybe they have some pagan rituals and festivals, like the eight sabbat, and they call it Halloween at Hogwarts instead of Samhain due to muggle influence over time?

I don't know, it's just a thought, but it'd be interesting to see your opinion on it

Thank you so much! 💓

Honestly, I was thinking about this a lot, like, wizards and religion, particularly Christianity. And in the books pure-blood wizards like Ron, Neville and Hagrid use the word "hell" as a swear:

“Oh, she was perfect, obviously,” said Ron, before Hermione could answer. “Perfect deliberation, divination, and desperation or whatever the hell it is — we all went for a quick drink in the

(Ron in HBP)

“I’ll join you when hell freezes over,” said Neville

(Neville in DH)

So their language has borrowed terminology from muggle Christianity. They also celebrate Christmas and Halloween at Hogwarts, as you mentioned, in addition to celebrating Easter as they have an Ester break at Hogwarts. So it appears wizards in the UK are Christian.

If we look at the Dumbledore's funeral:

A little tufty-haired man in plain black robes had got to his feet and stood now in front of Dumbledore’s body. Harry could not hear what he was saying. Odd words floated back to them over the hundreds of heads. “Nobility of spirit” . . . “intellectual contribution” . . . “greatness of heart” . . . It did not mean very much. It had little to do with Dumbledore as Harry had known him.

(HBP, 643-644)

The little man in black had stopped speaking at last and resumed his seat. Harry waited for somebody else to get to their feet; he expected speeches, probably from the Minister, but nobody moved. Then several people screamed. Bright, white flames had erupted around Dumbledore’s body and the table upon which it lay: Higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body. White smoke spiraled into the air and made strange shapes: Harry thought, for one heart-stopping moment, that he saw a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue, but next second the fire had vanished. In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore’s body and the table on which he had rested. There were a few more cries of shock as a shower of arrows soared through the air, but they fell far short of the crowd. It was, Harry knew, the centaurs’ tribute

(HBP, 645-646)

We see a wizard who acts as a priest, and we see speeches for the deceased are allowed along with other tributes. We also know most wizards (like James and Lily) are buried in regular muggle Christian graveyards. They are buried in tombs or coffins like Christians. This all leads to wizarding funerals in Britain being like any muggle funeral in Britain with a bit of a magical flare on occasion.

The fire engulfing Dumbledore's tomb is a surprise to the audience because it's Fawkes doing it and not a wizard customer. The same goes for the Centaurs' arrows (the Centaurs seem to have a different religion).

Then, we also see a wizarding wedding with Bill and Fleur, which looks like any Christian wedding:

A great collective sigh issued from the assembled witches and wizards as Monsieur Delacour and Fleur came walking up the aisle, Fleur gliding, Monsieur Delacour bouncing and beaming. Fleur was wearing a very simple white dresses and seemed to be emitting a strong, silvery glow ... “Ladies and gentlemen,” said a slightly singsong voice, and with a slight shock, Harry saw the same small, tufty-haired wizard who had presided at Dumbledore’s funeral, now standing in front of bill and Fleur. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls . . . ” ... “Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle. . . . ?”

(DH, 127-128)

Bill has a best man, Fluer goes down the aisle with her father, wearing a white dress and she has two bridesmaids. The wedding is officiated by the same wizard priest from Dumbledore's funeral. And they have the regular "I dos".

Sure there is some magical spectacle afterward, but it's after the ceremony and just that — a spectacle and not part of the proceedings of the wedding.

So, overall it seems like wizards in the UK have a variety of Christianity (most likely most are Protestants (Anglican) due to the whole history of Christianity reform in Britain but I'm not going into that). And it makes sense too, because they lived very close to the muggles (same villages and much more intermarriages) up until 1692 when the Statue of Secrecy was officially established. Even the Malfoy family had close business ties with muggles:

Historically, the Malfoys drew a sharp distinction between poor Muggles and those with wealth and authority. Until the imposition of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the Malfoy family was active within high-born Muggle circles, and it is said that their fervent opposition to the imposition of the Statute was due, in part, to the fact that they would have to withdraw from this enjoyable sphere of social life. Though hotly denied by subsequent generations, there is ample evidence to suggest that the first Lucius Malfoy was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I, and some wizarding historians allege that the Queen’s subsequent opposition to marriage was due to a jinx placed upon her by the thwarted Malfoy.

(From Pottermore)

By 1692, Christianity was the main religion in the UK. It stands to reason it'll be the most common religion among the British wizards because of how closely they interacted with the muggles back then; from business to marriage even among supposedly pure-blood families like the Malfoys.

As such, I assume wizarding religion varies just like muggle religion, where different magical cultures would have different religions depending on where they are in the world and the common muggle religion in the area. It doesn't really seem there is a proper "magical religion". I think there were just a lot of influences going back and forth. As you mentioned, Halloween has Celtic roots and probably had some magical roots in the HP universe. The word "hell" originates in Norse and Norse mythology but traveled into English and Christianity. Catholicism especially is very influenced by Roman Paganism, etc. Religions are influenced by each other and no one exists in a vacuum, so it makes sense wizards would just practice the common religion where they are with perhaps some magical embellishments (as we see in the wedding). Similarly, the muggle religions were probably influenced by magic and some muggle religious rituals and ceremonies probably have their roots in magic and wizardry that the muggle world has forgotten about.

As for the witch trials in Europe, in the real world, the church didn't function or involve itself in witch trials until the 15th century. During the Medieval Era, the church defined believing in witchcraft as heresy since you believe in magic that doesn't come from god. Attacks on supposed witches went actively against church doctrine at the time.

During the 14th century, witch trials became more common in France, England, and Germany, but still not a full-on frenzy. The trials then weren't exactly witch trials either as the accusations were of diabolism, heresy, and nocturnal orgies, not exactly witchcraft. Witchcraft accusations grew more common towards the end of the century and in the 15th century, we actually start seeing more of the typical witch trials whose popularity grew with the publication of Malleus Maleficarum in 1486. This book redefined how to recognize a witch and fueled the already growing unrest. This led to more witch accusations as paranoia regarding witchcraft grew.

Only afterward do we see the church outright getting involved in witchcraft and the association of witchcraft and devil worship. This led to the peak of witch trials in Europe between 1560–1630. Even during these trials, many figures in the church (both Catholics and protestants) have cast doubts over the trials and their legality and outright oppose them. The frenzy of the witch trials in the 15th century also lines nicely with the Statue of Secrecy that was drafted a few decades later when the trials were winding down.

The point of all this is that the witch trials weren't led by the church in many places and for most of the trials' history it was considered heresy to even believe in witches by the church. So, I don't think the wizarding world would have an issue with Christianity over the witch trials, but an issue with muggles, which is actually what we see in the books. Also, whole communities don't tend to change their religion overnight, if they were Christian before the witch trials, they'd likely stay Christian after them.

I think a magical religion can be fun to explore in fic, but in the books, they are clearly Christian with a magical coat of paint (at least in Britain).

(There are probably a few British wizards who aren't Christian, just like in Muggle Britain. I personally headcanon Anthony Goldstein is Jewish since his last name is very Jewish)

[monsterfuckerconfessions]

one thing that i think non-monster fuckers dont understand is that i don't necessarily want to (as in, personally, in real life) get rawed by a 30 inch centaur dick that pumps my ass so full of cum that that my stomach bulges and i start choking it up the other end. that my imagination works on cartoon logic. the *idea* of what i just described is delectable. mm, yes please! but only if i delibrately ignore my common senses. if i start thinking about it happening in reality, it just kills the mood. first, ouch! second, i dont think that's how intestines work. third, i dont think there's anything less sexy than vomiting mid sex. fourth, i would probably die. fifth, if monsters *were* real, there'rd probably be some kind of anti-monster/human-relations hate group that wants to shame, imprison, or kill us for our love. gross! my mind kind of wonders around the aisles of impracticality, and looks on despondently. "I *know* all that stuff, believe me, I've thought about it", i want to say to the people who just dont get it. "but I'm choosing not to think about that stuff because that's *not* the fantasy." the fantasy is in imagining if all of those problems weren't existant, and getting lost in how goddamn pleasurable it would be just to have every orifice explored by curious tendrils, to be knotted from moonrise to midnight, to be used as a breeding vessel and kept as a pet, and filled to the brim with hot centaur spunk.

.

[sizebrained]

Ben Realizes That He's Actually In College to Learn, Part 5

Ben gets a schooling from Hazel about an ancient counterpart.

CW: Adult themes, language, mention of fictional character self-harm/death, mental illness. *** "You remind me of him and...it worries me a little." Hazel said to Ben.

Hazel had steered Ben up to the third floor of the library, to the Classics section. She was pleased to find several different translations of the Illiad, including the ones she had first read so long ago. But she was overjoyed to find a new one she had not seen before--translated by a woman, a first at least in publishing. Hazel had demanded Ben grab it and they were flipping through it now together, Hazel remembering the different parts unchanged after thousands of years. But others were the same, familiar despite the passage of time. It made her feel young and old at the same time. They were deep in conversation between two aisles, like they were the only ones in the library at all. It was the first time Hazel thought Ben didn't seem to be the biggest thing in a space. Books towering over him somehow. She enjoyed it. "So I remind you of Ajax?" Ben asked still a little confused but following along as he reached a section about Ajax in a race with Odysseus. "Yes in some ways, and hopefully not others. But that remains to be seen. I take it that you have not studied the Greek classics then?" Hazel said already knowing what his answer would be if he didn't know of Telemonian Ajax. "By the way, we are bringing this book back with so you can hold onto it until your sister finds us again." Hazel said sitting down on his shoulder now, her feet dangling over the edge of him.

Ben flipped through the very thick book hoping for pictures, but there were only a couple of maps. He didn't recognize anything on them.

"There were two Greek heroes named Ajax actually, but you are definitely more like Ajax the Great. That is what is so worrisome." "Why?" Ben asked interested.

His neck was starting to hurt a bit. He wanted to just pick her up and set her down on a shelf so he could see her better. But he didn't dare try.

"Ajax the Great was considered to be the best Greek warrior...besides his cousin Achilles. They were both even trained by Chiron the centaur." Hazel started explaining. "There were centaurs?" Ben asked. "Yes. There were all manner of creatures and such in the Greek myths. Achilles had a bit of an unfair advantage though because he was a demigod, meaning one of his parents was a God the other a mortal. You can't really compete with that as a human." Hazel explained.

It made her pause and look at him slightly differently. Being around a human like this after so long. She'd forgotten what it was like, how disorienting and powerful. She better appreciated how the humans must have felt around demigods and gods. She noticed his enormous face scrunched trying his hardest to listen to her. Despite his size, he could be quite cute at times.

"Ajax was also always described as being the largest of the Greeks. A similarity you two share I think. He was colossal and towered over all the others. He was even the first to duel the Trojan hero Hector, the breaker of horses, until Zeus the king of all the Olympian gods intervened and called it a draw." Hazel went on the poetic descriptions rolling of her tongue fondly.

"Are you like...reading from this right now or did you memorize all of that?" Ben asked. He was a little amazed and scanned the page he was on to see if what she said was on it.

"Memorized. This is what you are supposed to be doing in college by the way. Learning? Instead of just great feats of athleticism in a game. Which is what the Greeks would have called your basketball, a distraction from their true tasks at hand. But they did love a game." Hazel said slightly teasing Ben from his shoulder.

"Besides, I do not know if you fully appreciate this, but it is a considerably greater amount of effort for me to read a book than you my darling boy. And their duel is not on this page." Hazel said before continuing with her original point.

"As I was explaining, Ajax was the biggest, and the bravest, and the strongest of the human Greeks. You are certainly like him in that way." Hazel added.

Ben could feel his cheeks threaten to blush at the way she said it. It was so different from what he was used to with other people.

"But it is how Ajax the Great died that makes me worry for you. I want your size and strength and bravery to be the only thing that you share with him...if he ever even existed." She said slower and softer than before. "What?" Ben asked confused rather than not being able to hear her. He was still trying to figure out if she was giving him a compliment or not anymore.

"The Trojan War was terrible Ben. It was said to have been the worst war that humanity had ever seen, up to that point. But your lot never seem to give up on trying to outdo the last war." Hazel said with a heavy sigh. "It lasted for ten years until Odysseus's trick with the horse. Ajax had survived the war and saved quite a few of his fellow Greeks. He was sometimes called the bulwark of the Greeks. Bulwark means wall by the way." Hazel went on.

"I know what bulwark means..." Ben objected before she continued.

"Ajax defended more than he attacked. In fact, he was known for having a gigantic shield that only he could carry just like Odysseus and his bow that only he could string and shoot. I supposed you could say it was his signature. Achilles and Ajax were sometimes called the sword and the shield of the Greek armies." Hazel said pausing.

"He did so much for the other Achaeans. Achaens means the Greeks by the way." She explained. Ben didn't know that one and stayed quiet.

"He endured so many terrible, bloody things in the stupid war over an insult. And then after Achilles died, there was a fight over who got to keep his armor. A trophy of sorts." Hazel said raising up one leg to pat the spot on her own leg when she mentioned Achilles' death. She learned during her time at the hospital that the mythical Achilles' injury was the namesake for that shared part of every human body. She loved that.

"There was a great argument over who got to keep Achilles' famous armor. And they decided to ask Trojan prisoners who they feared the most and it was decided that Odysseus was the most feared over Ajax. So the trophy of the armor went to him instead." Hazel said.

"Odysseus was so clever...and being Athena's favorite certainly helped." Hazel said getting lost in her own web of facts. She adored Odysseus the most of any of them. He even escaped a giant using only his wits once. A feat whose difficulty she appreciated, and she felt made him a kind of unofficial patron saint for her kind.

"Athena?" Ben asked. He was starting to she should be teaching a course at his college. No one would notice in a virtual class if the camera was close enough.

"A very important Olympian goddess...Anyway....you see...Ben...when Ajax did not get the armor...he went a little mad. So mad that he was so ashamed and embrassed over his behavior that he...killed himself. He cared so much about the opinions of others he would rather be dead than live with what he felt inside. Humans used to hide that sort of emotion with the word honor." Hazel said slowly.

Whoa...Ben thought but stayed silent. He moved his neck a little out of discomfort. Having to turn his head the way that he was just to see her perched on him was really making it sore. "Sorry this is...Can you hop off?" Ben stopped himself from apologizing.

He brought his shoulder right up against a bookshelf where there was a large empty space between the frame and the last upright book. He could see that she could just step down from him onto it. "I can only look at you that way for so long," Ben finished and Hazel nodded. She stood up from his shoulder and walked onto the bookshelf. She was only slightly below his line of sight now. Ben sighed in relief, rubbing his neck as he turned his whole body to face her and give his neck a break. She felt his green gaze on her. He was watching her with a mixture of confusion and thought across his face. "So you think I'm going to kill myself over not getting a trophy?" Ben asked confused. He had a bunch of those already in a closet back in his condo. "I'm not going to be playing basketball anymore anyway...I don't think why would I care about a trophy that much." He added.

Hazel sighed. At least he wasn't that far off the mark.

"No. Ben. I do not think you are going to kill yourself over a trophy. It is what the trophy symbolized. I do worry that you care so much about the opinion and perception of other people that you will suffer because of it. Unnecessarily, and I pray not fatally like Ajax." Hazel said taking a step closer to him on the shelf.

"You and the ones who love you are the only people's opinions who should hold sway over you. That is what the Trojan War was really all about I suppose, people defending what they loved." Hazel said and reached an arm out towards him.

He was just close enough that she could rest her hand on the long bridge of his nose while she continued. "I pity him him in his misery though he is my enemy because he is bound fast by a cruel affliction." Hazel whispered in a slight sing songy voice.

Ben thought it sounded way better with her accent.

"What page is that on?" Ben asked innocently but kept his eyes locked on Hazel instead of checking the book again. "It is not in The Illiad. It's from Sophocles." Hazel said quickly. "Who?" Ben asked and blinked slowly, his eyes still set on hers.

"Greek playwright, different book entirely. Parts of it survived. They may have a copy up here somewhere too, we should grab it." Hazel added sounding a little flustered. She was always a little flustered when he looked at her like that with his eyes.

"What?" Ben said having a hard time keeping up. He wondered how she could know all of this.

"Anyway, Odysseus said that about Ajax the Great. Ajax was so large and strong and brave that he could only be felled by a god or himself." Hazel said ignoring his confusion and trying to force her way through her own.

"I pity him in his misery. And I think Odysseus did pity him. He pitied himself and everyone who died in the war. Then he spent the next 12 years he trying to get home to his family. He cried through most of it." Hazel finished. "Talk about someone who they should put in that book about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Hazel said under her breath, thinking shell shocked was far easier to say. He hand was still running up and down along Ben's nose while she spoke.

Hazel had learned the new term after she had made Ben and Sam go through several books looking for shell shocked. She asked where the card catalog was so they could find the proper book when her search was turning up empty.

Sam explained that she hadn't even seen a card catalog since she was in first grade. It wasn't even being used. The librarians just kept it around because they thought it was cute to see the kids play with it. Instead, Sam rifled through what she remembered from her college classes and found a basic psychology textbook.

Hazel stared at the page of the book when Sam held up and open for her. Shell shock was in a footnote as an outdated term for what is now properly called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She was fairly certain Ben had it and that it was the source of his panicked episodes.

Hazel was still stroking Ben's nose with one hand as she talked from her spot on the bookshelf in front of him. She was lost in her own thoughts again and didn't even seem to notice.

She set her fingers down first. Lightly. And then she lowered her the hand the rest of the way down. Skin on skin. Hazel pulled her hand down from her shoulder in one slow movement.

It was so intimate...and familiar.

Ben was frozen. He wanted to close his eyes and pretend that they were curled up together somewhere in the library. He imagined her human sized.

Like she was just someone he stumbled into at the library today. And it all started from polite small talk. But in his imagination, he was smooth and charismatic not awkward and forced. It made the imaginary version of her like him immediately. That would have been nice.

In Ben's mind, his head was now resting in her lap while she told him all of this. Playing with his hair. He was having a hard time listening to what she was actually saying anymore.

He didn't notice but he was holding his breath. Then his need for air snapped him out of his daydream.

"The only person capable of destroying Ajax was Ajax himself. His own thoughts caused him more harm than anyone else could. His death was another avoidable tragedy after countless others during the war."

Hazel stopped stroking Ben's nose and then patted it several times as she made her point more plainly. "That is what worries me right now my modern Ajax. Your mind is your own worst enemy. Ajax was so ashamed of himself that he took his own life. I would spare you from being so haunted and I think you have the power to change that if you want. We can take small steps at first, like with the librarian just now."

Hazel said and held her hand against Ben's nose. Her small bright blue eyes stared into Ben's. They were like great green lakes by comparison. She wanted to fall into them.

"You saved me like Ajax saved the Greeks so often. Because you both are so big and strong and duty bound....but I do not want you to end up like him despite those other similarities. Do you understand?"

Ben only nodded in stunned silence at her. Then he brought one hand up, the fingers curled towards his palm. The back of Ben's massive hand came up towards Hazel and tilted, the smooth back of his bent pointer finger grazed her cheek so lightly that Hazel could barely feel it. Hazel's breath stuck in her chest at the motion watching as Ben looked just as surprised as she did at having done it. His hand dropped and held onto the edge of the shelf where she stood. He looked away. Hazel's heart beat stronger a few times as she collected herself and changed the subject. "So on our way out you are going to find that librarian and apologize to her and try to engage in some polite conversation yes?" Hazel added. But then was interrupted before she could get her answer. "Hazel!" Cob shouted from on top of Sam's shoulder a few feet away. Sam had been watching them in silence. Hazel jumped, pulling her hand away from Ben's nose in surprise. She was so lost in Ben she somehow missed a nearly similar sized human walking towards her. Such was the effect he was having on her. It unsettled Hazel.

Ben looked over in suprised too, wondering how much his sister had heard or seen. Not that they were doing anything wrong it just felt...like they'd been caught.

"Uh sorry to interrupt. It's probably better for you that I did Ben. She can go on about the Greeks forever. I had an idea...a good one!" Cob added, their words garbled by so much gum in their mouth.

They were chewing and their tail was swishing wildly in excited anticipation. Her eyes were suspiciously looking at Ben. Sam blew a large bubble from several pieces of gum filling her mouth.

"Hey! Wait how did you do that with it?!" Cob asked trying to peer inside of Sam's mouth, not noticing Sam's face. Sam's attention switched to Cob as she opened her mouth wide to show how she spread the gum with her tongue then blew into a bubble.

Hazel did not look like she was going to agree that whatever Cob wanted to share would be a good idea. She watched the two of them silently.

Hazel and Sam looked directly at one another as Ben looked back down at the copy of The Iliad he was holding. He wished that he was invisible right now. He also wished the book had some more pictures. *** End Part 5

[afniel]

Oh I guess I gotta do this now, let's see here...(thanks for tagging me @bloody-fraise!)

Last song I listened to: well this isn't saying anything about me because I'm not even all the way through it and I've never heard it before this, but Disorder by Third Eye Blind I guess? Before that...uhh. Trying to remember. I think Halo by Starset, which is a lot more representative. (Hey, is your blog title from Perfect Machine by the way?)

Currently reading: ...literally just last night I was hoping nobody would ask me this BUT I'LL BE A GOOD SPORT: I'm unfortunately reading Centaur Aisle by Piers Anthony. In fact I'm trying to read all of the Xanth novels in order. I think I don't even like them at this point? But I did read them as a kid and I have this inexplicable urge to go back through them and see what they look like as an adult. It's not good so far, though I gotta say this book is an improvement over the first three...? nOT THAT THAT'S A HIGH BAR!! BUT STILL. In my defense I'm also currently reading all the Discworld novels in order because all things in balance et cetera and I recently finished Soul Music, which slapped super hard.

Currently watching: Yeeeaaah my ADHD doesn't like watching things. I have not currently watched something since like 2020 and even then I didn't finish it, so...on that technicality, I guess Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance? ...sort of. It's as close to an answer as I'm gonna get.

Current obsession: I gotta finish decorating this house in FFXIV or I'm gonna screech a little. I have had it for over a year now and not done shit with it. But I'm almost done! Also RimWorld, Terraria with the Calamity mod, and I really want to make some cinnamon rolls with brioche dough at some point soon here.

Tag 9 mutuals you want to get to know better!: Uhhhh shit nine? Can I count to nine? Let's try...

@hockpock @princeofsparkles @grossjay @dezdemonomania @rilgon @burgerkingkirbykidsmeal @catgirlwheels @woolen-feathers @etotheoneeyeowl

But also anyone else who wants to fill it out, 'cause fuck knows I got more than nine mutuals.

[greypetrel]

🙤 Unusual OC Associations 🙧

Aisling

Tagged by @demandthedoodles , thank you very much this was SO interesting to do! I love some moodboard-ish, synesthetical memes.

If it counts for all blorbos I'll do it for the other girls as well? Anyway, here's the cinnamon roll.

Seasoning: Orange/Lemon, something sweet and tangy.

Weather: Rain in late spring, the one that makes the meadows go green and the flowers bloom and fills the air with the smell of earth, when it's not cold anymore so you can enjoy it outside if you want.

Colour: Teal, that deep shade of green that you're not sure if it's still green or blue, dark, saturated. All blueish shades of dark greend, rich and soothing and warm. Dandelion yellow, warm and cosy. The turqouise of clear water with a shallow bottom.

Sky: That exact point when the clouds are dark and promising rain, but it's still not raining and the sun shines in just that side way that makes all the greens of trees and grass pop bright against the deep gray of the sky.

Magic power: Weather magic, thunder and rain, water healing the earth and making plants grow.

House plant: Sage or Rosemary. Not decorative, it doesn't bloom in bright colours nor big flowers, it won't make your friends gasp in admiration. Something aromatic, humble and unassuming, easy to grow and resistant, that smells nice if you rub your hands on it. Doesn't need much care, it won't catch anyone's eyes, but it useful. Put them in your food, use it to cook, or for home-remedies for a sore throat or a cold.

Weapon: A magic staff built of a loose branch or driftwood. Or, a rapier.

Subject: Experimental physics, electromagnetism. Or, pharmaceuticals.

Social media: She'd be a great Tumblr girl. Tumblr.

Make-up product: Hydrating cream, coloured lip-balm, or blush.

Candy: Lemon drops.

Fear: Abandonment, being left behind and forgotten by people she loves.

Ice cube shape: … Unicorn.

Method of long distance travel: With no one's surprise, horseback.

Art style: Art Nouveau, something whimsical and airy, but VERY controlled and studied, clean lines and precise details

Mythological creature: Again, with no one's surprise, Centaur, on a Chiron style. Half-horse, half-human, fierce when enraged but very wise.

Piece of stationery: A sketchbook. Not the most expensive, but with a sturdy hard cover and decent paper, perfect for scrapbooking.

3 emojis: ⛈️🦄🌈

Celestial body: Polaris, aka the North star, showing you the direction to follow.

Tarot card: Queen of Cups (Upright: compassion, warmth, kindness, intuition, healer, counsellor, supportive || Reversed: insecurity, giving too much, overly-sensitive, needy, fragile, dependence, martyrdom )

Tagging: @shivunin, @dungeons-and-dragon-age and @scribbledquillz (as a thank you for THAT ask :P -joking I appreciated it it's just... Who needs FEELZ anyway right.) and whomever leaves a comment writing Pimpiripettenusa.

Edited with the tarot card, because Shivunin had the great idea and I jumped at it. :3

[fjadwrites]

Our Memory Of The Dawn 7 - You Opened My Eyes

You showed me something that I couldn't see. You opened my eyes and you made me believe... ~ Crazier, Taylor Swift

xxxxxx

Though she didn't create an argument over Peter's decision to proceed with the raid, Amy stood by her decision to remain in Aslan's How. Her reason? No one knew what the enemy was planning, so it was for the best that she stayed and protect the Narnians that would be left there.

Edmund was just looking at her, though. But she knew he could tell that she had already made her point across. And she was thankful that the Just King didn't force her to do anything at all. Then again, perhaps she knew he couldn't convince her to do otherwise. She didn't attend the meeting. Instead, she continued sorting out the medicinal herbs and helped the other Narnians prepare to head out.

As much as possible, Amy didn't want to cross paths with Peter while she was almost fuming in anger. And fate seemed to be in her favor. She was done setting up the saddles and armors on both the centaur and the griffin beside her when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned rashly, only to be surprised to see Edmund standing behind her.

"Edmund! I thought you were preparing for the raid," she started and patted the griffin to signal that she was done setting it up.

"Yes, I was. But... I knew I have to talk to you before I leave."

Those words were surely enough to make Amy's heart pound fast once again. But she knew she had to control herself or the conversation could lead nowhere. Especially when she was still angry over Peter's rash decision.

"Is there anything else that we need to talk about?" she asked instead and proceeded to walk towards the weapons aisle.

"Amy... please don't be like this."

Before she could even take anything from there, Amy faced Edmund who now had a worried expression on his face. By the way, it wasn't what she expected.

"I'm not mad at you, Edmund. So please, don't look at me like you've done something wrong, and you badly want to apologize."

"But -- "

She cut him off upon placing a sword on his hand. Edmund frowned at the sight before facing her once more. She sighed before speaking.

"Use this sword. At least... this is my way of being with you on this mission. I can't keep you safe myself. So I want my sword to do that for me," Amy said, without looking away from Edmund.

It took a while before he took the sword from her hand, not removing his gaze from her. Without a doubt, the gesture accelerated her heartbeat. But so did this mission that Edmund was about to head out to. And she couldn't deny that she was worried. Not just for his safety, but also for the others.

"Be careful out there," she whispered as she held his hand that was holding the sword that she gave to him.

One more long look at her and then he nodded. "I will. Thank you."

xxxxxx

It was a long night and Amy, for the first time, couldn't wait for it to end. That night raid was making her more anxious than ever. Then again, it wasn't like she could easily admit it. Well, she was able to do that -- in her adventure journal. They were still thoughts related to her adventures in Narnia, after all.

The other thing she was able to admit in her journal was her worry for one particular person in the group. She had been sighing nonstop since she finished writing and decided to head to the top of the How to wait for the group to finally return from the raid. Being outside could possibly help her calm down, as well.

"Please come back safe..." Amy pleaded in a whisper as she looked up to the still dark sky, even though dawn was already starting. It had been the only thing she'd ever think of ever since Edmund and the others headed out. Perhaps she won't stop uttering that until they return.

The sun was about to rise up to the sky when she saw figures approaching the How that she immediately stood up as soon as she realized who they were.

"Thank goodness, they're here!" she breathed out in relief.

But the smile that formed on Amy's face along with the relief she felt soon disappeared upon noticing something strange.

What happened? They weren't this little before they left. They were more. Her heartbeat accelerated as a thought struck her. She was shaking her head, almost in denial. She tried to find Edmund among the crowd that had arrived in the How from her spot. She managed to do so almost immediately.

Amy was about to approach the said young king when she heard Lucy shouted and swords pulled out from its scabbards. Her eyes widened at the sight of Caspian and Peter pointing swords at each other.

"What happened?" she could only ask in confusion as she watched how would the situation unfold from her position.

It took a while before the intensity of the situation died down and she saw Lucy approaching the dwarf Trumpkin who appeared to be injured. It looked like she used the Polyjuice potion to heal the dwarf.

While it was all happening, Amy could only look at Edmund who appeared to be calm while all of this was going on. But she knew, he was only trying to stay calm. And when he looked up to where she was standing, her heart broke at the sight of hopelessness in his eyes.

At that moment, Amy knew she had to do something to help him.

xxxxxx

Though rested enough after the ordeal they went through following the raid at Miraz's castle, Edmund wasn't feeling good at the moment. He couldn't help feeling down and restless. Because of that, he didn't even go out and face Amy, even though he knew very well he needed her presence to help him somehow at the moment.

Unexpectedly getting summoned back to the place that he and his siblings once ruled as kings and queens, meeting Amy and befriending her was the last thing he ha expected. And now, needing her presence to calm himself down and stop himself from feeling bad about what happened was an unexpected thing for him to feel, as well. How did it come to this point, anyway?

He sighed as he looked around while sitting at Amy's favorite spot at the top of the How. He decided to go there when he knew he had rested enough. Also, he went there when he knew that Amy wouldn't be there.

"It's unusual for you to be here."

Edmund froze at that voice he heard that he didn't even turn around. He remained in his position and sighed not long after.

"You're really not going to face me, huh?" she asked.

The next thing he knew, Amy sat beside him that made him face her. To his confusion, however, she was looking at him with a smile. It was as if she was reassuring him.

"You don't have to hide what you're really feeling from me, you know. I can tell you're not feeling good because of what happened. Susan told me all about it."

"We could've done something more to save them. And yet..." He couldn't continue what he wanted to say. Instead, he looked away from Amy and faced the surroundings. To be honest, he didn't want to show to Amy how badly he felt for what happened to the other Narnians at the raid.

On the other hand, that was all he could do. His heart felt heavy just remembering that once again.

"Maybe this is the reason why you thought that Peter's plan was such a bad idea, to begin with," he said, before facing Amy.

Her understanding smile was still on her face, and he couldn't help starting to feel good at the sight of that.

"I'm not a seer for me to know what could possibly happen. But Peter's mind hadn't been in its clear state since I met all of you here. And you know that making a decision with such a mind can lead to dire consequences. We can't do anything now to change what had happened. But we still have a chance to change Narnia's future once and for all. We just have to keep believing that there is a way for us to do that now that we're here."

Edmund could only look at Amy even after she said those words. It was unbelievable for him to realize the effect that this young woman had on him even at such a dreary time. He wanted to believe that she was just saying this to calm him down and she'd forget about it soon.

But this was Amy. They've only gotten close over the past days, but he could feel her sincerity in her words. Now he could see why Grandfire and those wolves had chosen her to be a queen back then.

After sighing, Edmund smiled at Amy and held her hand. Though the act had obviously startled her, she didn't do anything to remove it from his hold. He took it as a signal.

"Thank you, Amy. Thank you for understanding."

The girl just smiled and nodded not long after. "You're welcome. So how do you feel now?"

"A little better. But unsure on what to do next. The Telmarines are surely going to strike at us any time soon because of that," Edmund admitted.

Silence surrounded them after that. He couldn't help frowning because it only meant that Amy was doing some thinking again. He patiently waited until she was ready to talk before he spoke.

"I guess retrieving that flute is my only way to help, then." Amy faced Edmund with a determined expression. "If we're sure to be heading out on a sure war, it's best to be prepared."

But before he could even say anything about it, he soon noticed something approaching that made his blood run cold. Amy then followed his gaze as soon as she noticed his expression.

"What the --?"

It took a while for them to comprehend the situation. But they knew it was real this time.

"They're here."

xxxxxx

This was supposed to be my update last night (Philippine time), but I didn't get to do so. That's why I'm doing it now. I know it's been a long while since I last updated this story. Though I have an outline for this story, I didn't have enough time for me to proceed with the story, for some reason. But now I have some. And now here is the update. This will be 12 chapters all in all, so I still have 5 chapters left before I can say that this story is finished. By the way, as decided by lottery, this story would be updated every Sunday. Maybe I should put that on my profile just so people would know. In any case, enjoy reading!

[moon-child-wild]

My Strange Library (Chapter 1)

My library is strange. I am the Librarian, and as such, I am in charge of all the odd things and happenings in this place. I sit in my little cove, reading an ancient book that bleeds black ink into my hands as I turn the pages. That's when I hear the tinkling of the bell at the door, and I raise my eyes to face the figure who walks into the library. She is around my age, with blonde hair and pale brown skin, her eyes like diamonds.

She walks into the main aisle of the library, the one containing non-fiction stories. I frown and stand up, walking over to the woman. She looks up at me, adjusting her jeans skirt and pink blouse.

"Can I help you?" I ask her, my tone polite and even.

"Yeah, uh .... I'm looking for a particular book. One thats kinda .... rare."

"Alright. Do you know what it's called?"

"Um, I think it's called The Empaeriym."

My heart skips a beat, my hands starting to sweat, making the ink that spilled on them flow once more. She does not seem to notice that, until a pool of ink falls to the floor, and swirls into the shadow beast that is behind me now. She gasps, horror etched on her face.

"What the fuck is that?" she asks shakily.

"Oh, this?" I ask, gesturing behind me to the creature. She just nods, mouth agape. "Don't mind her. She's a guardian of this place."

"Um, okay," she says, stretching the "o" in the word. She slowly turns back to the stacks, and sighs.  "I'm not sure what the book looks like."

"I know," I say. I turn, brushing past the shadow creature that towers over me. She follows me deeper into the library and the girl slowly trails after us. I pick up the book I'd been reading before, and turn back to the girl. The shadow creature snarls low in her throat, and the girl winces.

"Um, why is your shadow thingy here?" she asks me, her tone clearly nervous.

"She's just got my back, this is a dangerous book that cannot leave the walls of this library," I say.

"Oh, okay. Can I.... read some of it here?"

I nod.  "Yes, here, I'll take you to the reading area."

We walk into the area filled with couches, chairs, and tables here and there. I gesture to one table, within eyeshot of my own little reading cove by the desk. The girl sits down and starts to read the book. She's anxious, so I walk over to the desk and sit, letting the shadow watch her.

The sound of skittering draws my attention back up to reality, as I'd been reading yet again. The girl is gone, as is my shadow creature. Dread coiling like lead in my gut, I jump up and start to search for them. There's a clicking sound that's growing louder the closer I get to the stacks that hold our history books are.

I round the corner of the aisle, and freeze. The girl's not here. Neither is the shadow.  Instead, there's a small, chittering insect-like creature pulling itself from a book, which is on its back, open on the floor. The chittering creature has the appearance of a mix between a scorpion and a spider, and its chitinous body is black and shiny. It clicks and skitters away from me, racing down the aisle.

Swearing under my breath, I chase after the thing. But I do not get far. Because standing at the end of another aisle is a Spidermaiden. No, not a knockoff of Spider-Man. These things are much, much worse. Like a centaur, but with the body of a spider, and the torso of a woman. Her full breasts are covered in thick silk, but that's the only part of her covered. She makes a soft clicking sound to the insect, and it chitters, dancing in front of her.

Her long, black hair and equally black eyes seem to absorb the flourecent lights above us. Her spider body is massive and her eight legs tap as she steps forward, her attention finally landing on me.

"Oh, look at you," she croons in a warped voice. She steps closer to me, the insect following her. She tilts her head to the side and smirks, showing me her tiny fangs like needles in her mouth. "The Librarian all alone, struggling to keep us all under control. One curious mind is screwing everything up, isn't she?"

"What do you know about this?" I demand.

"No more than you, I'd guess," she answers, her eyes gleaming.  "But I'll say this. That girl who came in looking for The Empaeriym is not a human. A lot like you, she's also from a book. But the thing is .... which one is she from? Oh, the questions swirling in your head. Oh, how wonderful! This is getting very, very interesting."

I swallow hard.  I am from The Empaeriym, I just don't like to admit it. All Librarians are from a book in their collection. I am no exception. And because of that, I am not human, and so, I can do things that most people who walk into this Library can't. But if that girl is indeed from a book.... then why haven't I seen her before? Or heard of her? I've been the Librarian for 20 years, despite the fact that I look like I am only 22.  But that girl ....

The Spidermaiden clicks her tongue and shakes her head. The insect at her feet shrieks and charges at me. I jump to the side at the last second, and the insect crashes into a cart full of books. I swear under my breath again as I see three books fall and open, ink spilling onto the floor.

A wall of crows swarms around me, frantically flapping their black wings and cawing loudly. Then, a man appears. Beside him is two new creatures, beings from new books appear from the inky pools.  The one looks like a gray wolf, only the size of a horse. The other is a massive snake.

"One Librarian, against all of us," the Spidermaiden says, chuckling.  "You're done for, girl."

I glare at the man, who is also chuckling and grinning at me. He flicks his wrists, and a murder of crows bursts forth, flying right at me. They swarm me, pecking and clawing at my skin. I cry out, my inky blood spilling across my pale flesh, and onto my clothes.

The insect thing beside the Spidermaiden comes at me, stinging me in the back with its scorpion tail. I scream, my legs failing me as I collapse to the floor. The snake coils itself around me, and the wolf bares its sharp teeth as it glares at me.

The Spidermaiden and the Crow Killer (yes, that's the man's name) come over to me, both grinning. 

I cannot move. Im paralyzed.  And if I don't try to fight it, I will likely be the cause of death for countless poor, innocent humans.

"Good luck fighting the paralysis, girl," sneers the Crow Killer.

I can't speak. I can barely even breathe. I just stare as the Crow Killer dissolves into a murder of crows, and then he and his friend the Spidermaiden leave. And then, the venom from the sting kicks in full force, and I black out.

To be continued.....

Authors note: There is a chapter two, and I'm gonna try aiming for six chapters in this story. This is a Creepypasta story I'm writing. I have been posting this story on Wattpad under the story "Book of Nightmares" by me, Ravin_Raven! If you'd like to read chapter two, tell me please, and I will post it. But for now, this is just up as a taste of my horror works. I will post other stories, like poems, but this one in particular is up on Wattpad first. So follow me there if you enjoyed this one! It'd be much appreciated!

[canichangemyblogname]

CONGRATS ON ONE YEAR 🥂 ✨ These are all over the place, so please don’t feel obligated to answer all of them.

Is there a specific theme, plot, or concept that keeps swimming in your head, but you have yet to write?

Is there a canon character that you think fandom takes for granted or underestimates? 

And the cliche Star Wars question - what is your lightsaber color?

Thank you SM!!! Love the new pfp, btw.

I will answer all of them because this is fun and I enjoy receiving asks from everyone!

Is there a specific theme, plot, or concept that keeps swimming in your head, but you have yet to write?

There are two.

One is a modern gods/mythology mystery-adventure told from the point of view of a mythological monster, like a gorgon or cyclops or siren or centaur or werewolf. There would be ancient pantheons and modern pantheons, but which is relevant to a society would be entirely dependent on that society's values.

The second is inspired by the concept of liminality. It's a story about a minimum wage worker; a dishwasher for a mom-n-pop restaurant in The American City™️ as well as a caterer for a different company. The majority of their life's story takes place in empty spaces. Empty apartments despite living with 4 roommates because they're all working all the time. Empty laundromats. Empty alleys. Empty parking lots. Empty aisles. Empty bus stops. Empty streets. Places where the earth pops through the cracks; where the weeds have taken over but there is no life. There is no life in the buildings and there is no life in the people, except in the background. In the background there are warm dining rooms and busy kitchens and houses with lights. I felt that a story about physical emptiness would be able to convey loneliness and dilapidation very well.

I also felt it would convey the myth of the "American Dream" really well. The lack of upward mobility is physically represented in what the main character lacks access to- spaces full of life- as well as such things as living in a basement apartments but walk up the stairs into the house of the wealthy people you work for.

I was inspired by the art of John Register, the liminal nature of the start and end of pandemic life, my own background as a minimum wage worker in the service industry living with three roommates to make ends meet, and the beauty in visual storytelling that is Parasite.

Is there a canon character that you think fandom takes for granted or underestimates?

Hmm 🤔.

I'm going to go with Finn. Finn because the character got pushed to the side in the narrative, so fans often push him aside as well. I feel he has a lot of potential as a person and a lot of skills we never had the opportunity to see as well as a backstory that never had the privilege of being told.

And the cliche Star Wars question - what is your lightsaber color?

Either blue or yellow just because I think they're nice colors.

[monsterhighdiaries]

Iris’ SDCC Diary - 03.12

I'm not sure if it will be possible to put what happened today into words, but I think I have to try. We had a special assembly in the creepatorium that every monster was required to attend. The speaker was a famous centaur explorer/biteologist who was going to talk about his travels and adventures. It sounded pretty exciting when Headmistress Bloodgood was making the announcement over the intercom, and by the time I was able to hobble in, all the seats were taken except one in the very middle of a top middle row. I looked around for Manny and saw him several rows above me, sitting next to Heath. I managed to get to my seat without doing too much damage to either myself or any other monster, but I had to leave my crutches leaning against the wall since there was no way I could make it down the aisle holding onto them. As it turned out, the speaker was a bit of a blowhard, and after 30 minutes of telling the assembly how great he was, most of us were figuring out this wasn't going to be as exciting as we were led to believe. That's when he brought out the chimera. Although our speaker assured us that he had tamed it, our biteology textbook said that it was impossible to do so. I guess every other monster in the creepatorium had read the same book because they all started shifting in their seats and looking for the closest exit. The speaker asked for calm and told us the creature was as harmless as a kitten. Not a beat after he said this, the chimera breathed a cone of fire into one of the stage curtains, and mass chaos erupted as every monster tried to leave at once. I vaguely remembered seeing my crutches being kicked down the stairs and then disappearing under the mass of students trying to get out. It seemed like it was every monster for himself, and there was no way I was going to be able to get out. That's when I felt myself lifted out of my seat, and I looked up to see Manny's face looking down and... smiling. "Need a lift?" he asked. I just nodded, and before I knew it, we were standing outside the school with everyone else. I kissed him on the cheek, and he gently set me down. I think I need a new scale for how my heart feels now.

[gummy-axolotl]

Every day at half past two

A-diddly dee, a-diddly doo

Cataurs prance round pageant-style

Vanilla’s in the baking aisle

Wearing their boas

Wearing their hats

Bittily bits and cattily cats

Crumbly doughnuts are better with milk

We compete for a sash

Made of magic and silk

Jonathan Teatime, he lives in a cup

We’re all polydactyls

We give you thumbs-up

We only like Centaurs

Whose faces are pretty

The fur’s only soft as

The heart of the kitty

The fanciest colors are teal

And chartreuse

What’s a Cataur’s favorite beverage?

It’s juice

Who wins the thing that we do every day?

Blimblippity pea pods, cabana, sashay!

Prettily is as prettily do

Does anyone have a high-heel shoe?

[coyotefather]

i'd like to HEARTILY un-recommend everything by piers anthony because he's a creep and his writing is also not good lmfao

how the hell do you fumble the bag so bad that a book called "Centaur Aisle" isn't good

[deepdarkspaceblog]

Centaur Aisle