#I would rather just watch the show and discuss it with my lil friend group cause seeing everyone freak out over nothing day in and day out

[ghostfoolish]

xxx

[tteokdoroki]

Taro tea title game request.

So, I know I've sent you two things recently and one for your 3k event already (congrats on that btw!) So feel free to ignore/skip this or the other but, I have a scenario, not really sure if you'd wanna write the beginning, ending or anything but feel free to be creative and go where your inspiration takes you.

So, I have to believe being Kiri's girlfriend means he brags/shows off anything he like/love/remotely enjoys about you with anyone and everyone who will listen to him. Not in a 'look at what I have you fucking losers' kind of way but rather in a 'i fucking love my girlfriend and love sharing how amazing she is' kind of way.

I feel like kiri being kiri also has no trouble sharing even things about your sex lives (unless you say you're not ok with that). Which leads me to the kinda kinky but also super hot (at least to me) mess.

So one day he's having a guys night or something so Sero, Bakugou and Denki are over. They get on the topic of sex and stuff and somehow squirting comes up and Kiri is just like "yea, y/n does that. It's super hot." Que the group, except bakugou, who already know about this and has probably seen it cause he and Kiri are just that close being like wow that's hot and amazing.

Now at this moment you happen to stroll through the room cause you're hiding out in the bedroom so they can have guy time but you needed a snack or something. And a lightbulb goes off in Kiri's head. He loves showing you off.

One thing leads to another, and there you are on his lap, with him giving a demonstration of you *talents* with three sets of eyes taking in every detail to permanently etch it into their memories.

(this is all under the presumption that you are a consenting participant and all on lookers are either single or have an understanding with their S/O)

Hope you don't mind me sending this and once again no biggie if it's not something you wanna write! Love you and your content and don't wanna demand anything! 🦊

taro title: wide open + beginning.

tteokdoroki teaparty event masterpost!!!

♡ pairing: eijirou kirishima x fem!reader.

♡ genre: mdni, 18+, smut.

♡ summary: eijirou gives his friends a demonstration on how to make their girl squirt and you are the test subject.

♡ warning(s): heavy smut, squirting, exhibitionism, male masturbation, fingering ( female receiving ), pussy slaps :]

♡ author’s note(s): reee don’t worry about the number of requests darling !! i want to do as many as i can to give back to everyone 🥺 GOT A BIT CARRIED AWAY BUT anyways i hope you enjoy this one !!

in all honesty, you weren’t to sure how you ended up in this situation. one moment, you were headed downstairs to grab a quick drink during your study break; the next you were plastered against your boyfriend’s firm chest— his large hand between your thighs as he spreads you out for all his friends to see.

one a month, eijirou invited his old college buddies over for guys night— a lot of them lead busy lives now and your boyfriend never asked for much, it was the least you could do to open up your home to his friends. for the most part, they were all nice guys, bakugou you had known the longest and he was much like a brother to you whilst you’d met kaminari and sero at your boyfriend’s college reunion. you never really sat in on the guys nights, keeping to yourself in your shared bedroom. occasionally when you popped out you’d be able to hear their topics of conversation.

tonight, just so happened to be about squirting.“oh yeah, my pretty girl squirts for me all the time.” eijirou hums proudly, taking a sip from his beer with a smirk as two of three out his friends hoot wildly. bakugou might have seen one or two things in the past, but the others believed you were completely innocent in bed due to your naturally quiet aura and personality. “it’s pretty cute, actually.”

and thats how you end up in your current predicament. your body flares with heat as three sets of eyes watch your movements eagerly— from the drastic rise and fall of your chest to the rapid, slick movement between your shaky legs. “c’mon now angel, feel your thighs tryna close around my hand— keep em wide open for me... so we can put on a show for them baby...” you look up to kirishima with tear stricken eyes, his hand never stopping as his thumb swipes vigorously against your clit. pressing two fingers against your entrance, you whine and search for the comfort in his ruby eyes.

you know that kirishima would never do anything to put you at risk, your comfort was always his top priory in the a scene like this and his only rules were that you listened and behaved well for him. with laboured breathing, your hole spasms around the digits that stretch you wide open and spread your arousal across your puffy folds. “yes, daddy,” comes your vulnerable smile as you relax your thighs that straddle your boyfriend’s. pride flashes across his face and he relents in curling his fingers to press down on your spongy g-spot. a reward for his good girl.

“she calls you daddy?” sero asks, succeeding in capturing your attention. your gaze trails down the man, his lean figure practically hanging off of his seat to catch sight of your cunt. eijirou had made sure to show you off nicely, shredding your cotton shorts and forcing your panties to the side in order to put your glistening hole on display. he’d rip your panties off later if he needed more room. either of your legs are hooked around his own, so if he spread his legs with you in his lap— he could help your flower blossom.

eijirou nods to his friend, free hand sliding up your flimsy camisole to expose your breasts before he pinches at the pebbled nipple. “the key to getting her to squirt isn’t just the way you touch her, but the way you talk and handle her as well. she trusts that i’ll take care of her as her daddy, right baby?” the way the red head and is friends discuss you as if you’re not even there makes your heat spasm— the sight alone earning groans from all three men, noises that you admit you want to hear more of.

“mmhm,” is all you manage to whimper out.

kaminari speaks next, amber eyes locking with yours. “fuck that’s cute, your lil cunt gonna squirt from the way daddy talks to you?” the blonde chuckles, forcing you to watch as his own hand slides beneath his pants to relieve the hard on thats formed from watching you. it doesn’t take you long to realise that all three men have been fisting their cocks to you. you almost nod your head in agreement.

a growl of possession rumbles in kirishima’s chest, the vibrations going straight to your pussy and adding pressure to the unwinding knot of your orgasm. he delivers a harsh spank to your folds, euphoria clogging your brain and clouding your vision as you cry out for him. “look at me,” kirishima snarls into your ear, laughing lowly as you gyrate your hips into the heal of his palm to earn friction against your clit. you glance up; a dark look you’ve seen oh so many times before. “why don’t you squirt for them baby? and after that, daddy’s gonna make them practice what they’ve learned on you, how does that sound?”

your body shakes and you can see the peak of your release on the horizon. you’d be a fool to say no to that.

[prose-for-hire]

The greatest gift of all

[Bonus 12 Days of Christmas fic]

Pairing: Giles x reader

Request: Hello 🥺 so I was thinking of this scenario where reader and the scoobies had Christmas dinner at Giles' house and they all leave for the night, cause it's no secret that reader and Giles have been subtly 👀 at each other for a while. So reader stays behind to help clean up after the meal. And they're both just in a good mood, and maybe a lil tipsy cause they drank a little and basically feelings are accidentally revealed and perhaps a kiss and they're both just- OKAY 😳

Requested by: @korinainspace​

Warning: A tiny bit of alcohol consumption mentioned.

A/N: This is a little bonus christmas fic, I always intended to include this (it was saved in my inbox!) but I didn’t end up putting it on my list for whatever reason !! Hope this is okay !! 💖

You worked at the Magic Box and there was this guy. He was deeply understanding and he spoke with such meaning and wit behind his words. He had a heart of gold that you were sure was more precious than any of the costume jewellery you had ever owned.

I mean, he was technically your boss. This man. Giles.

He spoke to you as if you put stars in the sky. As if you were the one that had created goodness and light.

But you didn’t recognise this, you supposed he was just like this. You watched at how he cared for the younger people in his life. A father’s love. Something that didn’t extend to you. But there was certainly love there. Reverence. A timid affection that was starting to grow more bold.

He was a really kind person and he was always very understanding if you needed time off. Which, was barely ever. You didn’t like to take much time off, your favourite recent memories all had him in them. And you just wanted more.

You assisted him and the rest of their group in saving the world many times. Without the long evenings you had given up to research you would have surely be in the middle of some desolate wasteland trying to barter your last vial of dragon’s blood for food.

He insisted that he wouldn’t have been able to solve or translate as easily had you not been there, but secretly you were being selfish. So, very selfish. You didn’t stay behind so often because you wanted to save the world from impending doom, you had faith in Buffy that she would have figured it out some way or another. You recognised she was protected by the powers in some way.

No, you stayed behind to be by his side. The cosy nights where you fell asleep over the research. Where his hand rested on your shoulder blade and he told you that he was pleased you were here. To share these moments with you. To share

You tip-toed around your feelings. Keeping your cards close to your chest, never sharing your hand for long enough for the other to fully comprehend the implications. You caught yourself staring at him a lot. When he was doing seemingly insignificant things. But everything he did just made you swoon.

He was strong, but embraced his emotional side – especially with you. You didn’t realise, but he watched you as you zipped around helping customers. He couldn’t help himself, he adored to watch you that way. Your form pleased him immensely and he lowered his gaze whenever you looked back at him. He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.

He loved your personality. Your intelligence and the way you held yourself. He found himself making excuses to spend time with you more and more. You drove him wild. His feelings were growing stronger and stronger.

You were spending Christmas in Sunnydale this year, you hadn’t had any plans to travel back to your hometown. As soon as he heard this, he decided that he was doing Christmas for everyone this year. He hadn’t even mentioned it to the others yet (because there were no plans of this sort until he realised you would be alone).

You smiled, looking at the ground. Did he really want you to spend time with him, for Christmas? Your heart sped up and your mouth became dry. Of course you wanted to spend the day with him and the others, but mostly him.

So, the day came. Buffy, Xander, Anya, Tara and Willow happily arrived with gifts and food. They greeted you, hugging you and making you feel as if you were one of their family. It felt nice, to be included. To have real, well-intentioned friends all around you.

They had all noticed the way that you and Giles seemed to stare longingly at the other when you thought other people weren’t looking. They were looking and gossiping all about you. They were obsessed with the pair of you getting together and they had tried so many plots before without success. Willow had even checked to see if there had been a curse cast on your both to keep you apart when you so obviously were meant for each other.

They decided though seeing as it was Christmas, to just leave it today. Let whatever happened, happen. Giles had overheard them discussing how obvious his affection for you was and it had embarrassed him to no end. He had politely but firmly told them not to. So, they started to whisper quieter and not discuss their love for your love in front of anyone.

Giles soon noticed the hushed looks and the way the younger people’s eyes danced between the pair of you. He held his head in concern, he really didn’t need them to be so wrapped up in his feelings.

The meal was divine and the conversation was good too. Everyone appeared to be in good spirits and the gifts were very kindly thought out by all. You enjoyed spending time with your friends and especially him. You only wished you had been seated closer to him.

There was music and games. Everyone had such a wonderful time without having to worry about demons or saving the world. You and Giles had shared a drink or too through dinner. The warming liquid creating courage where it hadn’t been before. As you drank, your tongue became a little looser. You didn’t have too much, not wanting to embarrass yourself in front of him. But it was pleasant.

You swapped gifts and thanked everyone. You were pleased when Giles practically started gushing about the gift you gave him. It made a heat rise in your cheeks, you were afraid he would notice.

It was eventually time to leave and the Scoobies all made their excuses before looking between you and Giles and grinning at each other. They made sure to give you some time alone together.

“I can help you clear up, if you like” You offered sweetly to Giles, a hand lingering on his shoulder as you spoke. You had become more bold. You felt so at home here, you couldn’t help it. He agreed, thanking you and smiling. You were always so thoughtful. He adored this about you.

They all shared looks with each other, stifling their excited giggles over the gesture. They gave Giles a look that made him cough and reluctantly move from your touch to show them out. Make sure they weren’t lingering outside, watching through any windows.

As he said farewell to the others, you stared to clear the plates away and bring them all into the kitchen, letting them soak for a moment.

After a moment he walked back in, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. You watched him, your eyes not able to move from the action. You eyed the forearms he had now exposed. He was so attractive you thought you might cry. To even be so close to him.

You turned back around, averting your gaze. Trying to focus on washing the dishes. He had walked towards you, your breath catching as you heard him.

He leaned in, his hand hovering over your waist as he leaned in behind you. The proximity without being able to touch him the way you wanted was almost painful. His face was beside yours and you closed your eyes. He was leaning to pull the blind of the window that was in front of the sink.

He inhaled slowly as he stood so close to you. He never usually got the chance. You smelled so good to him, he wished that he could tell you just how deeply he felt. How he wanted to take you and pull you into a passionate embrace.

You didn’t realise that you were holding your breath until he moved back again. He offered to take over the washing in the sink and you could dry instead. You smiled, moving from the sink and taking the drying cloth.

It was really nice, as if you were long since married. The simple domesticity was beautiful to you.

“Thank you for coming, Y/n” He said softly, handing you a plate he had just cleaned.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” You admitted with a little smile as you watched the plate you were drying rather than him. He glanced at you from his place beside you, your words fluttered softly and landed upon his heart. Making a home there. It made him say something he had only ever thought.

“I adore you” He said it quietly, but you heard it clearly. It had slipped from his mouth, the alcohol had made his constant thoughts trickle down into his mouth.

You were clutching a plate when he said this and his expression was so sincere. So loving. Your grip loosened, could this be true?

The plate slid through your hands at his words, the plate crashing to the floor with a loud crack. You looked down and winced. You started to apologise profusely and leaned in to clear it away.

He moved in, swiftly scooping you back to your usual height. His hands held yours as he scanned your face. Your delight at his words hadn’t been missed and now his heart was thumping dangerously out of his chest. You appeared to want to say something and he couldn’t bare wait any longer to hear your thoughts.

He needed to know, now. It was more important than the plate. When you didn’t say anything, finding yourself instead lost in his eyes, he began to backtrack.

“I’m sorry, I-I-” He damned himself for his words. Giles had wished so much to have confessed in a much more profound way. You deserved swirling romance and rising music as a beautiful confession was laid before you. You deserved perfection.

You didn’t have any words for what he just said. Your brain was working in overdrive. You caught his eyes again, before your eyes slowly reached his lips. Instead of speaking, you leaned in. The moments leading up to this kiss were agonizing. It had been so long and these few seconds more seemed to last even longer than that. You were so close you could feel his breath on your face. It was so excruciating. You wanted him. All of him.

You crashed your lips against his, desperately. This was all you could do to show him. Spurred on by your long-held emotions and a little by the alcohol you had with dinner. You grasped at him, pulling him into you further. Sliding a hand through his short hair as he moved to cradle your head. His lips moved against yours, this was urgent and propelled with everything he knew you deserved. The feelings that he had allowed through the cracks didn’t amount to the true nature of his affection.

It was a release, this kiss. A revelation. The kiss deepened. There was nothing in his mind anymore except you. You were in every breath. Every thought. He only ever wanted to touch you for the rest of his days.

It was desperate fumbling as he pressed you against the kitchen counter. It was feelings that you couldn’t even begin to explain. Only show to him. Your passion for this man was beyond words. Beyond anything.

His lips were demanding and soft at the same time. He wanted to cherish you, wanted to take you to his bed and worship you the way that you deserved. There was so much he had thought about.

But the powers had other ideas. The crockery that had been balanced precariously had been your undoing. They slid against each other making a noise that made you jump apart.

You stared hard at the object, both realising there was no threat. You were both breathing heavily, this had been all you wanted for these past months and you could barely recover. Your chest was heaving. You could feel yourself flushing.

It made you realise what you had just done. That kiss, it had been amazing. Better than you could ever wish. But neither of you could speak.

You had just kissed your boss. He saw you worrying and couldn’t find the words. You just stared, the silence stretching before you. The kitchen was closing in on you and you just didn’t know what to do.

“I-I had better go” You rushed the words out, regretting them as you left for the door. You just bolted and walked out onto the street. It was deserted, most people were in their homes. Probably celebrating. Not running from the man you loved. Frightening yourself into escaping rather than talking to him.

Your feet stopped down the street. You stood under a street lamp, shivering slightly as the temperature had dropped since you had arrived.

So many stupid thoughts ran through your mind.

He was your boss. You had just kissed your boss. Why did you do this to yourself? It could never work.

No, you had just kissed an attractive man. Who you had feelings for. Of course it could work. Your feelings were so real.

Oh God, you had just run away. He was going to think you didn’t like him. You never wanted him to have that impression. You loved him.

As you came to this conclusion, you heard him. His voice. As if you had manifested him there yourself. You turned, seeing him rushing towards you with your jacket in his hand. You had left it.

“Y/n!” He called the concern evident in his voice, “Y/n, I apologise if I made you feel as if you, ah, had to-”

“No! No, you could never make me feel like that. I-I was just overwhelmed, I needed air… this is all I’ve ever wanted. You, I mean…”

“You truly mean that? I have never felt this way about another, Y/n. This wasn’t just a kiss to me, it was much beyond that”

“I always tend to sabotage myself this way” You shook your head at yourself, barely registering his words until after you spoke. You looked up to meet his eye, “It meant more to me too that’s, uh what scared me”

He nodded, understanding your actions. Your reservations. The dynamic had concerned you, but he would never use you that way. This was love, not power or mere lust.

He didn’t say another word, he just presented his hand for you to take. You watched his hand, staring at his palm for a moment. Before you smiled. It was a small smile, but it made his heart soar. You reached for his hand and took it in your own. A bond that would last the rest of your lives. Beyond, even.

You were the greatest gift you both could have hoped for that year.

[rolyatswonderland]

TWST: A Mermaid’s Tale Pt.2

Yay it’s part 2 ^o^ I’m still not sure how many part’s this’ll have, but at most possibly 4 or 5-? we’ll have to see ^^;

Thank you so much to my bestie @blackevermore for helping me beta read the story! ;7; 

Pt.1 - Pt.2(Here) - Pt.3(Soon)

Professor Divus sat quietly in his office, completing a stack of paperwork, until his door was roughly slammed open. He glared, watching a few papers from the stack fall to the floor due to a sudden breeze sweeping in, but the moment he saw the familiar shade of red hair all he could do was sigh in annoyance. 

“Ah, you four again, whatever could be the issue this time.” Professor Divus saw Grim’s flames and knew that it meant that Deuce and Rolyat weren’t far behind. In all his years of teaching he had dealt with many troublesome students, the flaw of teaching at an all boys school. However it seemed that this year of teaching a new litter of puppies as troublesome as this four really had him questioning his profession, and one was neither human and the other not a boy.  Despite having dealt with many of their shenanigans before, the sight of Deuce carrying Rolyat with a mermaid tail certainly caught him off guard.

“Ah- W-Well you see Professor we...sorta need your help- haha.” Ace couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head, glancing over to Deuce who was still holding the newly transformed girl.

“Explain yourselves,” Divus commanded with a sharp glare, his stare so serious that surely the four students before him felt a shiver of fear go up their spines. Ace and Deuce took the lead in explaining what had happened, presenting him with the two cans of scales and Grim even admitting to his own mistake and stubbornness. He remained partially quiet for most of it, only letting out a hum in response or a nod. After they finished explaining, Professor Divus took the cans and examined them, turning them over before letting out a dissatisfied grumble.

“I see, some foolish pup did not properly label these containers.” Divus held the cans in his hands with a dissatisfied expression on his face, then looked to Ace who seemed to have a confused look on his face. 

“Uhm so, how come Roly didn’t turn into a whole fish on us? I mean she totally got splashed when the potion erupted but how come it’s just her legs that got the scale treatment?” Ace asked, Deuce and Grim nodding along, wondering the same thing.

“See this can here? It has a full fish drawn on the lid, this means that these were the fish scales you were meant to use in your assignment. ” Divus held up the still full can of celadon silver scales to show the group before placing it down and picking up the other can. “While this can looks like it has a fish on it, in actuality, it has only a fish tail drawn on, as these are mermaid scales that you seemed to have mistakenly dropped into your potion.” He held up the other can, displaying the pattern that could have been misinterpreted as a fish, but if viewed long enough will show the very obviously mermaid tail like pattern.

Deuce sighed, crossing his arms with a shamed look on his face,“Ah- they both just sort of looked like fish to us so...we weren’t exactly sure.” He felt quite foolish for not noticing such a difference before since he only paid attention to the labels. 

“Hmmm,” Professor Divus looked over to Rolyat. The girl had been awfully quiet throughout their discussion, seeming rather spacey and she simply stared down into her lap while being held in Spade’s arms.  “Miss Rolyat?” It took her a moment to respond, with a slow reaction time as she lifted her head, as if having just realized someone had called her name, she warily looked over to the Professor but didn’t say a word.

Staring intently, the Professor could see that the girls lips were awfully chapped and dry. Focusing his view on her tail he removed one of his gloves, reaching out his hand to touch at the pearlescent tail to find it surprisingly dry, with no feeling of the slick ooze that should have coated her tail. But after adding all these things together did he realize what was going on, looking at the boys with an urgent but serious look in his eyes. 

“I’d advise you three to find Miss Rolyat a body of water immediately, her scales have started to dry out in the air, so her body is quickly being affected by the changes from the potion.” 

“H-Huh? What does that mean?” Deuce asked, looking down at the girl in his arms with extreme confusion. 

“Merfolk can survive out of water but not for very long, if they are kept too far from a body of water like any regular fish they will begin to suffocate, and due to the circumstances of her sudden transformation I worry that Miss Rolyats dried out tail is evidence that such a process has slowly begun.”

“HUH!?” The trio all gaped in shock. Their friend..was going to suffocate!? Immediately panic set it as they frantically looked to one another for what to do, but it seemed like Ace was the quickest to calm down after he realized something. 

“I-I know just the place we can take her to! But Professor what about an antidote?” Ace asked concerned, looking over at his teacher in hopes of an answer, but the seemingly unsure expression on the Professors face drew a pit in his stomach. 

“Sadly I ordered all the materials for the reversal potion to come in tomorrow, seeing as that was when you all would turn in your finished assignments and we would have then proceeded to the next phase of turning the animals back into their original forms.” Divus crossed his arms as he continued to stare at the girl.  “I will go and discuss with Mr. Sam to see if we can obtain the materials sooner, but if not she should be fine as long as you find her a body of water to reside in until a reversal potion can be made, so for now I suggest you three hurry.” The trio nodded, taking a small bow before excusing themselves as they quickly exited the room. Divus could only sigh as he sat back down into his chair, resting his head in his hand with a troubled expression. “What troublesome puppies indeed…”

~~~

Ace ran ahead of the group with Grim still latched onto his shoulders, and Deuce was following close behind as he held on tightly to their friend. “S-So- Where are we going!?” Deuce shouted, the trio speeding past students who looked on in confusion and surprise.

“We’re heading for mostro lounge!” The red head’s answer almost made Deuce stop in his tracks entirely, but he continued running. 

“Huh!? The freaky fish dudes!? You want us to go there?” Grim yelled in surprise, completely baffled as to why they would ever need to go to the Octavinelle dorm. 

“Look those guys are fish people too right? So if anything they’re our best shot of helping us out! I mean they’ve got that big tank too in the lounge!” Ace looked back at Deuce as they ran. The trio didn’t have the fondest memories of the lounge, the place only serving as a reminder of their time as forced servers and Grims poor time as a dishwasher made them shutter. But if there were any people who could help their new mer-friend then it would have to be them. 

“H-Hang in there Roly, okay?” Deuce looked down at the poor girl in his arms, she didn’t so much as open her eyes but she could still hear him, weakly giving him a thumbs up in response. 

~~~

After weaving and bobbing past various students and racing to the hall of mirrors, not even hesitating for a moment before jumping into the Octavinelle portal. Soon they made a beeline for the lounge, bypassing any curious dorm members. 

“Huh!? The Doors are locked shut!” Ace was the first one to get there with Grim, doing his best to push open the lounges double doors only to find them shut tight. 

“Nyaa! What the hell! Don’t tell me they’re closed- there’s no way!” Grim shouted, baffled at the locked doors, seeing how Azul would never miss a chance for business unless he really needed to. 

“Stand aside!” Deuce yelled, still running down the corridor before stopping just a bit away from the doors, and without a second's hesitation he turned his body, raising his leg in the air to swiftly kick at the doors, the trio watching them open on impact with his kick. Ace and Grim stared dumbfounded at their friend for a moment before watching him rush inside, the duo shaking it off as they ran and followed right behind them.

“Oh my, it’s you four” the tall Jade Leech was currently behind the bar counter, drying away at some dishes while Floyd, who sat at the bar, swiveled around in his seat to see who had made all the racket.

“Ehh, it’s crab and mackerel, with little sealy and lil’ shrimp too?” Floyd tilted his head curiously as he got up out of his seat, noticing the ‘little shrimp’ not looking too good in the arms of her fellow classmate. 

“Just who do you lot think you are to cause such a commotion before opening hours?” An annoyed looking Azul came walking up the steps behind them, having heard the crash of the lounge’s doors opening and assessing the damages that would surely need to be paid back. 

“Argh look we’ll pay to fix the door but seriously let us use the tank!” Ace didn’t want to be bothered with getting bombarded with questions, pointing at the large tank in the lounge as he stared down with Jade with a surprisingly determined expression, especially due to the fact that Ace was still somewhat scared of them. 

“Oh? The tank you say?” Jade raised an eyebrow curiously at his underclassmen. His brother however just stalked closer to Deuce and Rolyat before reaching a hand out to take off the blazer on her waist, revealing the beautiful light pink tail. 

“Waah! Little shrimps got a tail!” Floyd looked rather surprised, staring at the girl's pearlescent tail in awe. 

“Okay yes she has a tail! Now just use that benevolent heart of yours and help us!” Ace shouted.

“Fgyaa! She’s gonna’ suffocate if we don’t hurry!” Grim followed right after. Grim and Ace’s words of panic seemed to fully settle in for the aquatic trio. Azul seemed shocked and baffled at the sight of the mermaid tail before quickly regaining composure, adjusting his glasses before looking to his vice dorm head. 

“R-Right, Jade?” Azul was hesitant but quickly found his wording and turned to his right hand man.

“Hm, right away,” Jade nodded, setting the glass down and quickly making his way around the bar, beckoning his hand for the underclassmen to follow him through a door in the back of the lounge. The doorway leads to a backroom with a metal staircase leading upwards, seemingly for the top of the large fish tank that spreads a good amount around the lounge and even has a tunnel that connects the tank to the vast ocean that surrounds the rest of the dorm. Quickly the group made their way up the staircase, stopping at a platform before the large opening of the tank, the trio looking at their friend warily. 

“Ah, pardon me but could I see Miss Rolyat for just a moment?” Jade held out his arms to Deuce who seemed wary at first, looking to his friends before Ace just nodded, telling him it would probably be alright. Deuce sighed, nodding back to Jade and handing him Rolyat. Jade immediately took notice of the girls pailing complexion and how dry the scales on her tail had become, so without a moment's hesitation he carefully slipped off the girls blazer and began unbuttoning her dress shirt, revealing the simple whitish pink camisole underneath. 

“What are you-” Deuce went to stop Jade but stopped in his tracks when Jade shot him a look.

“It’ll be much easier for her skin to breath since it’s quickly started to change, merfolk are not known for wearing heavy layers you know.” Jade’s words quickly cut off Ace’s, the trio were about to question their upperclassman actions before simply letting it be, feeling that he would know best. 

They did stand by and watch warily however, watching as Jade carefully lowered her body into the tank before letting her go as her body floated down to the bottom. He turned back to go down the stairs, the trio following close behind as they joined Floyd and Azul who were watching the tank to see what would happen.

Rolyat looked as if she were peacefully sleeping despite being in water. A couple of curious fish would swim over and stare, some even having the courage to nudge at her with what little force they had. Eventually however, her tail slowly started to move as her eyes fluttered open, she moved to sit up, tiredly confused until she came face to face with a yellow tang. 

She screamed, hardly any sound coming out but saw the pleather of bubbles spill out of her mouth, suddenly realizing where she was she quickly covered her mouth and shut her eyes. But she soon realized that she wasn’t drowning, she uncovered her mouth and warily opened her eyes, looking around with confusion and then looked back at her tail as she moved around. 

The sound of Jade gently knocking on the glass caught her attention, her view immediately catching sight of her friends as she clumsily swam over to them, head accidentally bumping into the glass barrier that separated them. Holding her head in slight pain she continued to look on in confusion, just barely being able to hear what they were saying as the group talked. 

“She may remain here and we’ll do our best to provide support where we can, however I will expect some form of compensation for the repairs on the door.” Azul adjusted his glasses as he stared at the troublesome trio. The group only seems to sigh in response. 

“Yeah yeah we will, sheesh.” Ace scratched the back of his head in annoyance as he glanced over to Deuce who seemed to be typing something on his phone before holding it up to the glass for Rolyat to see.

“We’ll come see you again when lunch time rolls around, but until then hang in there okay?” Deuce’s words of encouragement could barely be made out through the glass, but Rolyat read along with his phone, but all she could do was simply smile sweetly and nod her head. 

They parted ways and she waved goodbye as her friends ran off to class, but now she felt a feeling of loss as she floated in the take, unsure of what to do in her current state. 

She looked over to the Octavinelle trio, Azul simply nodding to her as he adjusted his glasses and walked away, likely going back to the vip lounge. Jade simply gave her his usual mysterious smile, taking a small bow to her before turning away and going to assess the damages of the door that Deuce had kicked through. Floyd on the other hand simply sat in the closest seat to the tank and grinned his sharp toothy smile at her, finding something amusing, which made her worried since Floyd’s smile’s could mean a plethora of things. 

So just as Deuce had told her, all she could do was simply hang in there until they found whatever they could to fix this mess, and hopefully it wouldn’t take too long.

[tirednotflirting]

i'm all butterflies (i'm sky-high for you)

just found this lil thing in my wips and i’ve decided (like two months after not thinking about it) that i actually like it.

title from feels like this by maisie peters

read here on ao3

It’s too early to be thinking like this, Ashton keeps telling himself. He can’t be thinking like this so soon. It’s asking for complete and total disaster, for running back up and checking to see if you lit the fuse on the firecracker kind of disaster. It feels terrifying but it’s the kind of feeling he’s found himself craving as of late. 

Some 20 or so feet away he can Luke smiling brightly as he tells a story, his hand not holding a glass of wine waving through the air, those in the little circle around him laughing like he’s telling them the funniest thing they’ve ever heard. Luke tends to do that, he can capture the heart and attention of anyone around him in seconds with his bright smile and wide blue eyes. He makes coming to these kinds of things easier. And not just because Ashton suddenly has someone to smile beside rather than forcing himself back into the role of the class clown. He wants to listen to and look at Luke just as much as everyone else in the room.

He had been hesitant to ask Luke to join him for the several weddings and showers he had been invited to that summer. This thing between them was still new. It was intimidating to ask a new love to attend one wedding let alone five in the span of two months. But when Luke had come back to Ashton’s after a movie for a coffee and a finish to their never ending conversation, he had seen the save the dates on the fridge and practically begged Ashton to take him along as a plus one. Helped search through registries and everything. When Ashton had teasingly asked about his interest in attending so many celebrations of love, Luke had only smiled lazily and spewed a few wine drunk poetic lines about love that had Ashton diving across the couch to press their lips together and fit his fingers in the spaces betweens Luke’s.

The summer of weddings had been fun. They had danced and sang and drank their way through May and June, giggling through cheesy slow dances after too many spritzes and shared blushed looks when reaching for sweaty hands during vows that hit just a little too close to home. This was so so new, Ashton kept reminding himself every time Luke would finish his sentences when speaking to old high school friends or when he would wrap his arms around his middle once returning from the bar with another glass of wine, blue eyes meeting his own hazel before a kiss was pressed to the tip of his nose in thanks. 

In his earlier twenties, weddings had been a bore for Ashton, even when he managed to find someone else going stag to spend time with, he still felt very on his own. Which he always justified to be as okay; it was a celebration of the love between two other people, he didn’t need to be trying to force that emotion into his own life. But then a bubbly blonde quite literally tripped his way over his own legs in a coffee shop and into Ashton’s life and suddenly the idea of navigating any part of life without him, even after just under four months, made no sense at all to Ashton.

They’re at an adoption party now. The summer of weddings was over though Luke had a countdown on his phone to the winter destination wedding Ashton’s friend from his cohort was having in December. It was early September so classes had started up again but no one was really too thick into the courses they were teaching to have an excuse not to attend the celebration for Michael and Calum’s little one that had just arrived into their life. How anyone had the time for babies during graduate school was beyond him, but Ashton was over the moon to see his friends so happy. 

His focus returns to Luke then, his story obviously coming to a close now as Kaylee, one of Ashton’s past colleagues in the lab, sets a hand to his arm and smiles up at him as Luke nods, his focus settled intently on the shorter girl. Luke laughs brightly then and nods and before he knows it, both of their faces turn to where Ashton sits at a baby yellow draped table. Ashton feels a blush creep up to his cheeks as he tries to playfully roll his eyes as he gets up to meet the small group.

“What are you kids getting up to over here, huh?” Ashton jokes as he lets a hand drop to the bottom of Luke’s back, not missing his way he leans just slightly into the touch. 

“I was just telling Kaylee about how much of a zombie you turned into last month the week those grant proposals were due,” Luke smiles as he leans over just the slightest bit to press a kiss to Ashton’s temple. “And she was telling me the story of when you slept in a sleeping bag in the lab when testing those catalysts during your rotations. Said it looked like you were having a bit of a slumber party.”

“Oh come on,” Ashton scoffs with a laugh. “If Henderson had just had the guts to ask that post-doc to split the measurements with me this wouldn’t have been a problem! God, I was barely a person that semester.”

Kaylee shakes her head, excusing herself from the conversation to go grab herself a drink. Luke smiles his goodbye, thanking her for the conversation, before turning to face Ashton, his arms moving to drape over his shoulders. He lets his glass of white wine dangle somewhat precariously between his fingers as he pulls Ashton closer in, the other boy’s arms moving to wrap around his waist. “Feel weird yet that you’re going to be a whole Dr Irwin in a few months?

Ashton hums at the feeling of Luke brushing his fingers through the curls at the back of his neck. “Probably won’t feel real until I’m handed the diploma. Or when a student shows up scared at my office hours and says it for the first time.”

“You’re ridiculous.” “I don’t know,” Ashton smirks up at his boy. “You ready to hear Dr Hemmings yet?”

Luke lifts the hand that holds his glass of wine and waves it around at nothing while smiling at Ashton’s playful tone. “It’s different for musicians. We always call each other by first names. Nothing like this nonsense you guys have over in science. Too stuffy.”

Ashton raises a brow at the comment. “I’m stuffy?”

“Oh hush,” Luke shakes his head with a pout. “You know you’re not like most of them. You’re special to me in every definition of the word. Come on, I want to meet Aleena.”

Ashton lets Luke reach down for his hand, their fingers tangling together as he pulls them in the direction of the table where Michael and Calum sit, a tiny bundle tucked against Calum’s chest while they speak with their mothers. Calum seems to be doing much more of the talking while Michael smiles softly at the baby in his husband’s arms, his finger tucked inside her tiny fist.

“Hi boys,” Calum greets them warmly as they approach while the mothers wander off toward the tables of food set up on the opposite end of the lawn. The signs of parenthood already show on the couple, their eyes just a little bit more tired than a typical graduate student. Calum rubs his hand against the back of the tiny human tucked against him, his upper half gently swaying back and forth some. 

“Congratulations, guys, happy she’s finally here,” Ashton smiles warmly as Michael tucks an arm around him to pull him briefly into his side. The three of them had started their program together what felt like a lifetime ago. Ashton had felt a particular joy getting to watch the couple come together and start their own family. 

“You know I was thinking about it the other day,” Michael muses as he steps around Ashton to greet Luke in a similar fashion. “And all of the paperwork combined probably weighed more than our child does. It’s mad.” 

“To be fair, Mike, babies are small,” Ashton laughs. He turns then to see Calum handing over the tiny bundle to a now sitting Luke, softly instructing how to support Baby Aleena while he adjusts the fleecy blanket around her tiny frame. From where he stands, Ashton can see the baby is fast asleep and his eyes glitter at the way Luke looks down at her.

He feels something akin to a fight or flight response as he carries on the conversation with his two friends, discussing their projects and what the start of the semester has looked like for him. He can’t help the way he tucks himself a bit closer to where Luke sits, letting the blonde lean his head against his hip while a hand moves to fix the collar of his shirt. More than once does Ashton catch a knowing look from Calum.

Eventually Aleena starts whining some, her nap seemingly over and her confusion at the number of people around her evident. Luke gently hands the baby back up to Michael and the couples part ways, the new parents heading in the direction of the backdoor into their house. Luke stands then, his hands dropping to Ashton’s shoulders as he presses a kiss to his forehead. 

“Gonna grab another one of those lemonades, you want anything?”

Ashton shakes his head, one of his own hands lifting to cover Luke’s on his left shoulder, his thumb running over his knuckles. “I’m good for now. Thanks, love,” he stops his thumb for a moment and moves to better hold his hand. “Hey, I’m glad you’re here. Like, with me.”

Luke lifts Ashton’s hand that had been holding his own up to his lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles as he smiles dazedly. “Happy I’m with you too, Ash.” There’s something just a bit more ambiguous in the way he responds but Ashton isn’t given a chance to question him before Luke turns and heads in the direction of the drink table.

Ashton gets pulled into a different conversation then, getting asked about how his writing is going and the new project he’s started his undergraduate assistants on. He knows it's rude but he can’t help the way that he keeps looking to find where Luke has gotten up to in between his responses to questions. He finds it so curious how his eyes are instantly drawn to the tall, smiling blonde regardless of where he’s made his way to around the room. He considers for a moment if it’s just the more definable physical characteristics of his boyfriend that make the search easier on his eyes but as he catches Luke tossing over a quick wink, Ashton’s heart fluttering some at the action, he knows then that it’s something different.

It’s the ease in the way their love fits into Ashton’s life and the warmth he felt watching Luke hold his friends’ daughter. It’s the gentle touches and the way Ashton can hear Luke’s laugh the second it leaves his lips regardless of where he is in a room full of people without a moment of hesitation. It’s love, he thinks. And though it's still so early, Ashton finds himself thinking that that kind of love is something he could get used to.

*

[maraudersandlily20]

Repetition of History

James sat around with his friends, discussing their most recent missions. James and Sirius had been off to locate a Death Eater hideout, while Remus and Peter and Fabian were sent out to do ministry detailing. They were waiting for Frank and Gideon to return to report the settling of different wizarding families that had been affected by the fights. It was busy work, they felt like they hadn’t slept in days. But they were all buzzing, feeling the highs of their different victories. It was their typical lighthearted behavior.

Sirius was retelling a rather dangerous moment that had played out to the boys and they all laughed or cheered for him as he recounted facing the death eater. Lily stood in the doorway, arms folded, quietly watching the boys and their rambunctious natures clearly at play. James looked almost wild with excitement. 

“You know, boys, in a way I’m glad we’re all in this together. Those pricks don’t stand a chance against the likes of us!” he declared, laughing. “There’s nothing they can do to stop us! We’ll get this war out of the way in no time.”

It was words spoken by someone who had yet to really experience the hardships of war, or loss, or pain. They were pompous, arrogant words, laughing in the face of fear. And they were completely idiotic. 

When Gideon and Frank returned and the boys left the flat, James wandered into the kitchen to find Lily, furiously washing dishes. “Love?” He called, watching her stiff movements in curiosity. 

“Yes?”

“Are you alright? You look like you’re about to break that plate in half.”

She suddenly set the dishes back into the sink and braced herself on the counter, taking deep breaths in and out. When she seemed to get her bearings, she turned back to James with fire in her eyes. His look of confusion colored his face. 

“Do you think that this is a joke?” She said, her voice cold.

“What?”

“These battles. These missions. This war. Is it all some kind of big joke to you? A fanciful time to play hero with your mates?”

“What, Lily what are you-”

“Do you have any idea what is actually happening James? Do you understand how… how important what we are doing actually is?”

“Yes, Lils, I do. That’s why I’m going out on missions and risking my life. Because I know how serious this is.”

She growled in anger and fisted her hands. “I don’t think you do!” She yelled, her voice getting higher in pitch. 

“Lily,” James said, trying to soothe his fiance, “what’s going on?”

After a tense moment of silence, she grabbed her jacket from its hook and tossed James his as well. “Put that on. I have something I need to show you.”

He had barely obeyed her order before she grabbed onto his hand, and he felt the sudden gut flinging feeling that only came with apparation. When the moment was over and they had arrived at whatever location Lily wanted to show him, he felt the chill in the air. 

It was late September and the fall was coming in quickly and with a vengeance. You could feel it when you breathed. James took a moment to orient himself as Lily stepped away from him. They were standing between two large buildings, red bricks stacked on top of each other, the top layer looked a tad cleaner than the lower ones. He could see they were standing on a makeshift street, similar buildings lining up side by side. He stared up at them in wonder, confused as to their purpose and their sinister feeling.

He turned and found that Lily had walked away from him and was standing beside a small tower that held a compass arrow on top. It stood, like a bearer of death, in the clearing between buildings. The sun was going down, casting the entire place in a golden light, but it didn’t seem kind or warm. He went to stand beside Lily, hoping she would explain to him what was going on.

“I asked Minerva, once, what wizarding school was like before Hogwarts. Eleven years is a long time to go without a proper education. She said that some families sent their children to muggle primary school. Others, like your family, that had money, were able to send their children to group tutoring, like a pre-Hogwarts.” James nodded, confirming this. He had been sent to tutors before Hogwarts, a perk of his parent’s wealth. Lily pushed on. “I asked what was taught to these students throughout this time. She said it varied from teacher to teacher, but it was heavily focused on controlling young magic, as well as the history of the wizarding world in Britain and greater Europe. And I asked her,” she turned to look at him, “if muggle history was ever taught. She said that no tutor she had ever met taught much muggle history, unless they were passionate about it.” 

She walked toward the tower, her palm resting on the bricks. “My mother would never stand for that. She didn’t much like public school, so she and my dad would read us history books. They wanted us to know what the world was like, what was good and what was bad, and how to tell the difference. They took us here when I was fifteen.” She turned to look at him with a tightlipped smile. “I was heavily immersed in magic and saw no real reason to continue my muggle studies. But my mother said that I would continue to learn about all aspects of the world, wizard or no.” 

Her eyes scanned around the buildings, as if seeing memories in her mind that James could only imagine. Like there was a world right in front of her that he was not able to see. “Standing here, it’s almost like I can hear them.”

“Hear who?”

She looked at him sadly, and simply said, “The dead.” Her voice was unsettling. He shifted at her words, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. “This was what is known as Roll-Call square. The prisoners would be pulled together into this square every morning, having their names called off one at a time, wondering if that day was going to be the day they would die. Their captors would make examples of a few of them, having mass hangings of those suspected of escape attempts. Hundreds of people were killed every day.” She started walking, as if taking James on a tour of this place of death.

They walked past another building on their left, and the building on their right had what looked like large chimneys sticking from the roof. With a sinking feeling, he began to have an inkling as to where they were. Lily turned right past the chimney building and James could see a large imposing fence, made of barbwire. It was something out of a nightmare.

“Is this…” He started, not sure if he wanted to know the answer. 

“It’s called Auschwitz.” She stated calmly, her hands burrowing into her jacket pockets. They headed toward the fence as Lily continued talking. “My parents brought Petunia and I here as teenagers because they wanted us to understand how terrible human beings could be. I think, in their minds, you didn’t understand the world unless you knew about Nazis.”

“We did learn a bit about this,” James murmured, trying to keep his tone low. “I guess I just had never really understood the weight of it all until I was, well, here.”

They walked a bit in silence, taking in the buildings that surrounded them and the fence they approached. There was a huge feeling of history in the air, as if this place had never really moved on from the terrible years it had experienced. It was as if someone had gathered all of the bad memories, the bad feelings, anything associated with death, and wore it like a cloak. It was suffocating. When they reached the long stretch of wire, Lily reached out her hand and enclosed it in her grasp. 

“So many people died here. It’s estimated that over 1 million people were killed within the confines of this fence. Hangings, shootings, gas chambers, starvation, dehydration, illness. Some people were even experimented on. It never ended.” Without looking at his face, she reached down and grabbed James’ hand, pulling him to the fence. He followed her actions and grabbed hold of the wire beside her, as if it were a talisman into another world. 

“When people got off of the train, they had no idea what was waiting for them.” He felt as if he could see the scene she laid out for him. People hurried into the camp, trying to keep hold of each other, and failing. “They had been sent away from their homes and upon arrival were stripped of all of their belongings and clothing. Then, they were shaved and branded, like animals. It was like losing their dignity one moment after the other.” There was an emotion on Lily’s face, like she was seeing the same scene, a movie that neither of them wanted to watch, and it hurt him to see her like that. “Families were separated, many of whom were never able to reunite again.” She looked up into his eyes. “If ever I were allowed to forget about history, erase something completely from the world, it would be this. I can’t imagine being part of a race that undertook the killing of so many people simply because of who they were, what they believed, how they were born. They had no judge, no jury, no verdict. They were sentenced to death the moment they were born.”

James took a moment, listening to his fiance speak, to look at the world around him. He could hear them, then. The voices. The screams, the soft singing, the moaning, swirling around him like the fall leaves. It was haunting. He was beginning to understand and feel the gravity of this world that Lily had brought him to. 

“I never really understood what it meant to kill people needlessly until I came here. So much of muggle history is ignored by the wizarding world because it is seen as lesser or not as important, and it isn’t right. Their history is our history.” Lily said. “Museums and memorials are all fine and dandy, but they only tell stories. This place holds lives. Experiences. Torment. Regret. Hatred. Love. It’s so much more than words on a page. It’s like a piece of the world, stuck in time, replaying the same horrible movie over and over again, until human beings don’t need to see it anymore.” 

And James could feel it. He felt the pain and sorrow that seemed to seep out of the dirt. 

“Why did you bring me here, Lily?”

She turned and grabbed his other hand. “Because I need you to understand, even just for a moment, what this war is going to mean. To all of us. To everyone. It’s not a game, or exciting missions, it’s not something to sit around and joke about. It’s going to be earth shattering. Voldemort is doing to the wizarding world what the Nazis did to the Jewish world, the Polish world, the Austrian world. He is going to take every opportunity he can to steal the chances of millions of innocent people. MY people. Mudbloods.” She had tears in her eyes as she explained her reasoning, her emotions bubbling to the surface. 

“Pureblood families will never understand the chains that come with being muggleborn. We face oppression for something that we have no choice over. People are killing us because of how we come into the world. That is what this war is about. No about being a hero, not about bravery or courage. It’s about people believing that some are better, more elite, more important than others. It’s not a war for the sake of fighting, it’s a war on the existence of people who are different. 

“So if you’re going to fight in this war, you need to understand what you’re fighting for. It’s going to be for muggles, who have no idea what is going on. It’s going to be for mudbloods, who had no choice in their heritage. It’s for people who cannot stand and fight for themselves. That’s why we’re fighting, James.”

She grabbed on to both sides of his face, as if to emphasize her point. “I love you. I love how brave and kind you are, how willing you are to risk your life for people. I’ve always admired that quality in you.” He tried to hold his tears in at her confession, wondering how he could ever convey his sorrow or his fear about what was happening. He was terrified. And Lily knew that. But she didn’t care. She needed him to be brave. “And I am asking you to stay that brave. Because these missions aren’t always going to end in a comfortable circle, full of jokes and laughter. People are going to die. People we know and love are going to die. It’s going to happen.

“I’m fighting in this war because I cannot let what happened here happen to anyone else ever again. I’m fighting because I want our children to grow up in a world where they won’t be judged by the purity of their blood. By ideals that separate good people from each other. I can’t, James. I will bend over backwards if it means giving anyone who has ever felt like me the chance to feel accepted and normal and loved, despite their parentage. If my legacy is dying for people like the ones who lost their lives here, then I will die proudly.”

He gave a sad laugh and pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her. She sighed into his embrace. Her hand rubbed gentle, soothing circles against his back and she tried to compose herself once more. 

“The world doesn’t need anymore of this hate, James. It doesn’t need another Auschwitz. It needs freedom, light, understanding, love. It needs you. Because you are all of those things.” He was crying in earnest and was glad that her head was buried against his chest. “It’s our responsibility to fix the world now, because no one else will. I can’t let this happen to anyone, ever again.”

“It won’t Lils. This will never happen again. I promise.”

And they stood together, arms wrapped around each other, beside the wire fence in Auschwitz, hoping that they would see a better world then the one they had been given. And the fall air, holding the memory of millions of people who had lost their lives, settled around them. The echo of screams on the wind faded slowly into nothing. 

((This felt very fitting, considering the political climate of the world as of now. If you believe in something, you fight for it. We are the ones who have to remember, we’re the ones that are responsible for fighting. I wish it wasn’t that way, but here we are. So stand up, be honest, and make sure the world we are creating for our children won’t ever look like the one our parents have given to us))

[vaguely-gestures-to-the-void]

Hindsight: My thoughts on Loki (2021)

As always, thanks for being here my friends. There’s definitely more nuanced discussion of this show, but I’m here for the vibes. Anyways, here’s my thoughts on Episode 3 of Loki. Bear in mind I hadn’t watched episode 4 before I wrote the review for 3. No hate on anyone/thing, it’s all my opinion.

Episode 3: LAMENTIS

Pre-title scene

I rioted when I heard Hayley’s voice. It’s a win for all of us.

C-20! Sylvie!

C-20’s lil dance was adorable. I love her.

I want Sylvie’s tie dye.

Is that Ralph Bohner?

The same place, but at night. Coincidence? I think not.

Sylvie’s powers have limits. She can’t search someone’s mind and take information, she needs them to willingly tell her though she can use her powers to do that.

TVA

Sylvie’s experienced. Always tie your hair into a bun before a fight.

Her music is nothing like what we’ve heard previously. It’s the Sylvie show folks.

The mural on the left side of the hall is the one from the credits scene.

The plaque above the elevators says ‘FOR ALL TIME ALWAYS’.

Even in the mural on the right side, the Time Keepers aren’t equal, the middle one takes up the most space.

Ravonna!

I love how their movements are similar. The head-snap-hair-flip combo is nearly identical, reflecting how they are the same person to some extent.

2077 Lamentis - 1

“Get off my leg!” SiblingTM energy.

“Goodbye, variant.” She sure has the Loki drama.

I finally remembered it’s called a TemPad. Rip.

“Don’t ever call me that.”

“Tech savvy?”

That’s so Ragnarok.

I love the music as we pan up to the planet. It’s the familiar, anxiety-inducing ticking for me lads.

“You idiot! This is Lamentis - 1.”

“I don’t know what that means!”

My siblings when I can’t restart the router (every country has an AT&T).

I like that it’s a moon that’s inhabited. It’s nearly always the planet, still not great for the people on it.

That slide to get under the dump truck was so smooth.

“So we’re a team now?” Jesus Loki needs friends. Probably a good therapist too.

“Didn’t need your help!”

“You’re so weird!”

I like the way Tom runs. Don’t know why. Just do.

Sidenote, my favourite running form is Chris Evans’.

Sylvie’s magic flickered so I genuinely think the enchantment didn’t work.

“Well then I’ll cut it out.” I like the way she says that. I am questioning so many things rn.

“Just because I have to work with you doesn’t mean I wanna hear your voice.” It’s ironic since they spend so much time talking about themselves.

“Alright, well, slow down… Variant.” They really play off each other’s egos to find weaknesses.

“You don’t know what you want.” Sylvie’s more straightforward in everything she does. She efficiently points out Loki’s flaws but when it comes to a goal, she’s meticulous.

“...just walk away.” Loki stops walking, but Sylvie does walk away. There is distance between them (for now).

I’ve had experience with mining towns like this one and whilst they weren’t so out-of-this-world (ya know) there is a tendency for rural and isolated communities to struggle with old/not maintained infrastructure. This is not everywhere, but it’s not uncommon from what I know. Even though these towns are a source of wealth, there isn’t distribution of the money and it’s a grim reality that’s being shown. I appreciate it.

The shot of them walking past a slab of that planet towards the hut is incredible. Wow.

The person in there is just waiting for their death. I’m going to be addressing a lot of the harsh realities in this episode folks so it won’t be so cheerful.

I understand that people weren’t so happy with this being a filler episode, but I think they got it right. It’s strange that a literal planet-moon collision doesn’t bring the tension that the hurricane did in the last ep, but by having an atmosphere that wasn't so omnius, they conveyed (to me at least) that hope was already lost. In the Roxxcart Disaster, the people believed that it wasn’t going to be the end. There’s desperation on Lamentis - 1 but as Sylvie said, the collapse of society occurs. That’s a large group of people realising that class divides will cause slaughter. It’s greed portrayed in two different ways, one being the integration of excessive capitalism into society, the other being social structure based on oppression. Not everyone’s reading into Loki like this but it’s a change from how Marvel usually approaches conflict.

We learnt about the characters and whilst I’m not a fan of when a plot line is moot (my bet is that Loki and Sylvie will be rescued next ep, making all the attempts to get off Lamentis - 1 pointless), it’s necessary for the characters to develop. The way Loki and Sylvie end up on Lamentis - 1 makes sense and the plot doesn’t feel forced.

“It’s remarkable that you made it as far as you did.”

Devils is recurring in this episode. Maybe this has implications on future episodes?

“Which one was that, diplomacy?” Why are their interactions so funny?

I don’t think I need to comment on the significance of the train station scene.

I would like to acknowledge that though this is good writing that’s relevant in the time it was released, we shouldn’t forget it’s coming from large corporations who aren’t perfect.

How do they just walk past the line?

The people who snitched were right in front of them.

Did the cat get Loki’s silvertongue? That was the most graceless lying I’ve ever seen.

Sylvie not sitting with her back to a door makes sense, but why won’t Loki go backwards on a train? They both have little quirks.

“That’s not a plan. That’s just doing a thing.” Loki went to the Thor school of planning, it’s Get Help all over again.

Loki’s exaggerated nods at the other guards lol.

Sylvie growls whenever she’s mad, it’s hilarious.

The close ups of their faces when the conversation gets personal and isn’t just trading jabs is great for conveying the authenticity of their answers.

Loki not pressing Sylvie when she clearly didn’t want to talk about what happened to her mother is something I appreciated.

Here’s to Tom for having to do magic for more than 10 years now. He’s so serious, I can only imagine how funny it is without the effects.

“Well she did.” Yeesh, has Loki gotten time to grieve?

Sylvie is genuinely impressive.

“Pity the old woman chose to die.”

“She was in love.”

I don’t quite understand what they were talking about then, I guess we’ll find out later?

Loki, why are you so unnecessarily dramatic?

I laughed. Who am I kidding, they’re dorks and I love them.

Loki is trying to find out anything, anyone who could be used against Sylvie.

Here’s to the postman, they’re probably dead but we appreciate Sylvie’s happiness anyways.

“A bit of both. I suspect the same as you.” AND THAT’S HOW YOU WRITE IN REPRESENTATION FOLKS!

Let’s just take our scraps and be happy, eh? It made my week.

They both need real relationships of any kind, guys.

“Love is… uh, something I might have to have another drink to think about.” Me whenever anyone asks me about my love life.

“You do realise… ...a civilisation’s only hope?” I think this was Sylvie’s way of making sure Loki’s (albeit grey) morals and drinking habits don’t interrupt her plan.

The train sure gives me Snowpiercer vibes.

Do I have to talk about Drunk Loki?

Tom’s singing voice is lovely.

Sylvie’s eyes shift nervously to the door and then back to Loki. She’s initially tense but she relaxes slightly though she knows she’s gonna have to clean up the mess.

“Nobody cares. It’s the end of the world.” Again, Loki’s headspace is one where existence is futile.

The green walls contrast the purple lighting nicely.

You can see plants (?) from the outside if you look out the windows. Talk about attention to detail.

Bruh what is the dagger about? Drunk Loki’s a comedic genius.

The descending notes in the background of Loki’s fireworks.

Sylvie’s smile when she goes to attack is animalistic. I’d like to see her character explored more in terms of how she views violence.

YEET.

“You’re right. I’m a god.” Loki’s defense mechanism is to state that his motives are above the understanding of others.

“You’re a clown.” Sylvie tells it as it is.

Loki and Sylvie’s reactions to the TVA contrast the most here. Sylvie is potentially motivated by vengeance or a need for revenge whilst Loki has resigned to numbing the pain (for now at least) as he comes to terms with his reality. The question of what drives you is so important for these characters, I’m excited to see whether they’ll find a common ground and wreak havoc on the sacred timeline.

Loki and Sylvie both struggle with communicating in a healthy way. Sylvie calls him out on his directionlessness and Loki tells her what may be the harsh reality of her plan. Neither of them are willing to accept it, but there’s potential for a strong bond if they do.

Sylvie’s scream lmao.

I love the colour of Loki’s pants.

Problem? Solution! Do thing! Is Sylvie’s method of thinking when all is lost.

Gosh I love the shots in this episode.

“That’s a pretty good life.” Sylvie’s definitely not lived as a royal, or not from what she remembers.

“I just need to know if I can trust you.” Sylvie giving up how she enchants people is an olive branch because as useful as the things that Loki told her may have been for manipulation, they both know the importance of her upper hand. But she only relents once Loki doesn’t have the TemPad. Later, when she asks whether she can trust Loki, it’s more of a reassurance because he’s already been vulnerable around her.

The actor’s body language and facial expressions are incredible. Loki’s eyebrow’s furrow slightly when Sylvie mentions C-20’s mind but Tom takes a second for the information to be processed rather than instantly reacting to Sophia’s next line. She does the same when Loki talks about the TVA workers being created. What skilled people they are.

The city is a wonderful piece of set design.

“We do, and you can.” They step into the light, neither of them have tunnel vision and are able to see a bigger picture.

“They’re gonna let these people die.” This show explores a side of Loki we haven’t seen before, his morality and compassion. He has grey areas that could be explored in the next season. It also points back to how Sylvie and Loki differ in their view of others. I think this is partially because of their childhoods. Loki was raised as a prince and cared about his people, but Sylvie doesn’t share that perspective (“...they usually survive”), maybe because of her past. Hopefully in the upcoming episodes we’ll get a bit more of her backstory.

That sequence is beyond words. The constantly rotating and revolving camera really hammers home that it’s a disorienting fight for their lives at the end of the world. I’m speechless, just watch it.

The music in that blue-purple-pink club was banging tho.

Loki and Sylvie’s posture, facial expression and general body movement is similar. The variant point is hammered home here.

It’s interesting how Loki is in shock/denial of the Ark being destroyed whereas Sylvie immediately leaves.

The end music of this episode is beautiful. I love how it all builds to leave us on the soft tones of Dark Moon.

No one’s interested, but my mum and I bonded over the Jim Reeves version of this song and the Bonnie Guitar one.

Ep 3 review

Short episode with not much going on other than character development. However, if the first two were anything to go by, this episode will have greater implications on the plot. The pacing of this show is a bit strange, but we may see this change in the next season.

I mentioned previously that it would be a shame if the entire plot of this episode was made irrelevant by how they get off Lamentis - 1 next ep. This show has been really good at keeping us on our toes with the writing so they probably won’t take turns that have been speculated.

Happy mid-season guys! The following two episodes were apparently Tom’s favourites so we can expect some mayhem up ahead. See you next time!

Here's the link to my Ep 2 review

[another-mexico-oc]

💖 What your favorite Mexico´s ship/OTP says about YOU ...

Spanish version ��> AQUÍ

Hello everyone! The month of love is finally over, but before that, inspired by the “What your Favorite Hetalia ship says about you” and related; and since Mexico is one of the most shipped countries (at least by the Hetalia and Countryhumans latin fandom), I decided to make this in collaboration with my cousin. If you are not familiar with this, basically it is a recopilation of facts some people share when they ship Mexico with another country.

WARNINGS AND NOTES BEFORE WE START:

- This post is for both, Hetalia and Countryhumans fans. I clarify that in this blog we don´t discuss which one is better than the other, we enjoy the healthy part and avoid the toxic part. 

-  This is just for fun, and IT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. Think of it as a horoscope, you can share some of the facts, maybe not. The main purpose is to have some fun. 

- We are aware that not all the ships will be here, or that not all of them will have the same extension. We tried to gather all we could. 

- This is an extra warning for the English translation: This post may contain a lot of mexican and latin american modern references. Also, the best known historical periods are going to be mentioned, so if you are not familiar with the history of Mexico, we invite you to watch this video, and to consult other articles and media.

Without further due, let´s begin: 

FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS ONE OF THE POSSIBLE REASONS YOU SHIP MEXICO WITH ONE, IF NOT, MORE COUNTRIES: 

- You are mexican, I don´t have a doubt. You have a Mexico OC and you make fanarts and write fanfics about him/her with your favorite character.

- You are latino, and you came from the Latin Hetalia fandom, or you are from the latin fandom of Countryhumans (obviously, Miss Sherlock Holmes).

- You are neither mexican or latino, but still you like Mexico. 

- If you are from Hetalia, you are still waiting the day Himaruya publish the official design of Mexico, so he/she can interact with your favorite character. 

OKAY, NOW LET´S GO WITH THE SHIPS:

IF YOU LIKE 🇺🇸 USAMEX (USA X Mexico) 🇲🇽

- Favorite fanfic genre: Angst.

- Your guilty pleasures are the toxic love, the impossible love or the unrequited love. Or perhaps you like stories about people who fall in love with their chilhood friend. Or you like the phrase “From hate to love...”

- If you are from Hetalia, (also applies to Countryhumans) probably you also like FrUK (France x UK) or SpUK (Spain x UK). Or you simply don´t support USUK (USA x UK).

- If you are mexican, probably you are from the North, and you love the North and South Mexico OC´s. (And obviously, you ship North Mexico with USA).

- If you are mexican, you probably have visited the United States or your have relatives living there. Going further, you are chicano.

- You love the states personifications of both countries, and you are fascinated by the idea that Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California are the USA and Mexico kids. 

- If you are from Hetalia, you like cowboy America, and you also like Mexico dressed as a revolutionary or adelita.

IF YOU LIKE 🇷🇺 RUSMEX (Russia x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You hate USAMex and surely you don´t like United States if you are mexican.

- Your favorite historical event: the Cold War.

- Favorite word: Tripaloski.

- You like couples with a lot of height difference. Lil Mex is the most adorable thing in the world. 

- If you are a Countryhumans fan, probably you also ship Perú with USA.

- You like love triangles stories. (Cough… cough… USA x Mexico x Russia)

- You have seen Youtube videos of “Rusos Reaccionan a…” (Russians react to), and of mexicans in the Russia 2018 FIFA. 

IF YOU LIKE 🇨🇦 CANMEX (Canada x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You like fluffy ships.

- You think Canada is a better suitor than the toxic USA and the distant and cold Russia. (Or if you are from Hetalia, you think Russia is too mad and unstable for Mexico)

- If you are mexican, you have visited Canada, you want to work or study there, or you have relatives living in Canadá. 

- If you´re from Hetalia, it is likely that you don´t like CuCan (Cuba x Canada).

- Also, if you´re from Hetalia, you got excited when in the anime and the manga, Kumajiro mentioned Mexico, and then you got mad because he/she was never showed up!

- If you´re mexican, you were into the memes of Peña Nieto and Justin Trudeau. 

- Like Russia case, you adore the love triangles, but in this case you like stories about brothers who have a crush on the same person.

IF YOU LIKE 🇪🇸 SPAMEX (Spain x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You like sugar daddies. (Daddy Spain 😏)

- Your guilty pleasure are stories about possesive couples and couples with secret lovers. (Okay, that´s not healthy...) 

- If you´re from the Hetalia fandom, you do not like SpaMano (Spain x Romano), and if you are mexican, you will never accept (or you ignored) that canonically, Romano received better treatment than the rest of Spain colonies.

- If you are mexican, you like when Mexico (or New Spain) is represented as the spoiled kid, as daddy´s little princess, and as the best colony of Spain. (Sorry, the other Spain former colonies.)

- Your favorite Mexico periods are the Conquest, the New Spain colonial era and the Independence. 

- Probably you not only ship Mexico with Spain. Actually for some reason you like Mexico cheating Spain with another country, either England, France, a latin country and, why not? with the United States.   

IF YOU LIKE 🇫🇷 FRAMEX (France x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You like to live the expensive life: Eating in gourmet restaurants, buying brand clothes, expensive trips with a five-star hotel stay. Or if you had money, you would love to live the expensive life. 

- You like fashion and architecture.

- Favorite Mexico period: The Porfiriato. If you´re mexican, you think that outside of the bad things, Porfirio Díaz made great contributions to the country, and his remains should return to Mexico.

- If you are mexican, you live in the capital, or/and you love to visit Mexico City downtown. 

- You like stories about characters who made the casanova to fall in love with them, or stories about the stalker gaining his crush´ heart. (Creepy...)

- If you like male Mexico, you like him to be a flirt and gallant. If you like female Mexico, you like her to be very femenine and dressing pretty outfits.

IF YOU LIKE 🇬🇧UKMEX (England x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- If you are from Hetalia, obviously you like tsundere characters. 

- You are fan of Harry Styles, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Queen, the Beatles, David Bowie, Alan Rickman, or any other english celebrity. 

- You´re a big fan of gentlemen like Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice or Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. In fact, you have readed a lot of books from that period and from that genre.

- You like black humor, wordplay and double entendre phrases. 

- You hate Spain and you think England would have been a better sugar daddy. (Why would you think that?)

- You think England would have been a better colonizer than Spain (Why would you think that?)

- If you´re from Hetalia, you like pirate England.

IF YOU LIKE 🇩🇪 GERMEX (Germany x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- If you´re from Hetalia you think Italy doesn´t deserve Germany. In other words: No GerIta.

- You like dogs, and you want to adopt Paco from Countryhumans.

- Favorite historical period: WWI and WWII.

- You are one of those who think the Zimmerman Telegram was a love confession letter from Germany to Mexico.

- You think England and United States are the worst for intervening on your OTP. 

- You like stories Romeo and Juliet´ type: Two people who are from opposite groups who fell in love with each other.

- Also if you´re from Hetalia, besides you like the Doitsu, you like his BDSM side. (Fifty Shades of Germany, coming soon to your nearby bookstore)

IF YOU LIKE 🇦🇹 AUSMEX (Austria x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- If you are mexican, you think Maximilian I of Mexico would have been better governor than Benito Juárez. 

- If you´re mexican, you think Mexico should have been an empire since it´s independence.

- You like stories about arranged marriages, or stories about a poor character who marries a rich one, like in telenovelas!

- If you are from Hetalia, probably you prefer PruHun (Prussia x Hungary).

IF YOU LIKE 🇮🇹 ITAMEX (Italy x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- Congratulations! You are 1000% unique and different. Oh, and you are alone in your fandom too.  Barely there´s someone who shares your ship. 

IF YOU LIKE 🇯🇵NIMEX (Japan x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You´re mexican and you are 100% otaku.

- You are tired of Mexico being shipped just with europeans, latinos and north americans. Asians also deserve time y admiration.

- You love cats. (You may be also in the furry fandom)

- If some of the previously mentioned ships have this feature, with this one you confirm that you like complete opposite couples.

- You love long distance relationships.

- If you´re from Hetalia, you like Japan quiet, shy, inocente tiene la mirada… 🎵 🎵 🎵Le tomo la mano, y siente algo extraño … 🎵(Okay, i´ll stop singing)

IF YOU LIKE 🇨🇳 CHUMEX (China x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You don´t like neither USAMex or RusMex. 

- Or maybe you like the Rusia x México x China love triangle. You can add USA, and now you have some kind of love square.

- You have seen the Chumel Torres on HBO videos, specially those that are titled: “Mexicanos al Grito de Trump” and “Latinos Enemigos”.

- You like the apps Wish and Tik Tok.

- Unlike those who ship FraMex, you prefer to save money by buying good, pretty and cheap things. You have bought in Miniso and in other Chinese low-cost variety stores.

- You like couples with a lot of age difference (If you are an Hetalia fan, you know what I mean). In other words: 🎵A mí me gustan mayores, de esos que se llaman señores … 🎵

- You prefer Huawei rather than Iphone.

IF YOU LIKE 🇰🇷 South Korea x Mexico 🇲🇽

- It is more likely that you came from Hetalia than Countryhumans, and you think Korea needs more recognition alongside China and Japan, even more when this character was censored from the anime.

- If you´re mexican, your ship started when: “Hermano coreano, ya eres mexicano”. (Korean bro, you are already mexican)

- You like K-Pop.

- You have seen videos of El Coreano and Coreano Vlogs on Youtube.

IF YOU LIKE 🇧🇷 BRAMEX (Brazil x Mexico) 🇲🇽, 🇦🇷 ARGMEX (Argentina x Mexico) 🇲🇽, 🇨🇱 CHIMEX (Chile x Mexico) 🇲🇽, 🇵🇪 MEXRU (Mexico x Peru) 🇲🇽, or ANY OTHER LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRY X MEXICO.

- IN GENERAL:

    - If you are from Hetalia, obviously you are from the Latin Hetalia fandom. If you are from Countryhumans, obviously you are mexican and/or latino.

    - Your favorite characters are without doubt the latinos, and you prefer that all stays in family. In fact, you don´t like to ship Mexico with first world countries, or you use these last ones to create love triangles, love squares, or any other love geometric figure. 

    - You like Mexico being the dom of the relationship.

- BRAMEX: If you are from Countryhumans, you are most likely to be a fan of @torakashu. You don´t like Argentina x Brazil, or maybe you like the Argentina x Brasil x México love triangle. You also ship Argentina with Chile.

- ARGMEX: You don´t like Argentina x Brazil, or maybe you like the Argentina x Brasil x México love triangle. You also ship Brazil with Uruguay.

- CHIMEX: You live with roomies. You love tsundere characters like those who ship UKMex, but maybe not too tsunderes. And people who don´t like your ship, you smack´em with your guitar! ( 😁)

- MEXRU: If the people who ship RusMex like lil adorable Mexico, you think that Peru (who is even more short sized) is the most mega super 1000% kawaii thing in the universe. Probably you also like the Rusia x Peru x USA x Mexico love square.

IF YOU LIKE 🇺🇦 UKRAMEX (Ukraine x Mexico) 🇲🇽 or 🇧🇾 BELMEX (Belarus x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- Your favorite historical event: the Cold War.

- You think that RusMex is very overrated, and similar to the CanMex case, you think Russia siblings are better suitors.

- You don´t care to ship countries which do not share a lot of history and interactions compared to others.

- If you are from Hetalia you are a Belarus fan,and you ignore or hate her canon personality in the manga and the anime. 

IF YOU LIKE 🇳🇱 NEDMEX (Netherlands x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You are from the Hetalia fandom, without doubt. 

- Favorite Mexico Historical Period: The New Spain Colonial era.

- You like mysterious guys and with aura of "bad boy" but romantic on the inside.

- Eh… you like tulipans???

IF YOU LIKE 🇵🇭Phillippines x Mexico 🇲🇽

- Favorite Mexico Historical Period: The New Spain Colonial era.

- More probably you are from Hetalia than Countryhumans. 

- You like dom Mexico.

- Is probably that you ship, both Phillippines and Mexico, with other countries, since this two have their own harems.

IF YOU LIKE PRUMEX (Prussia x Mexico) 🇲🇽,  🇵🇹 Portugal x Mexico 🇲🇽,  Scotland x Mexico 🇲🇽

- You are an Hetalia fan.

- PRUMEX: You don´t like GerMex.

- PORTUGAL X MEXICO: You don´t like SpaMex.

- SCOTLAND X MEXICO: You don´t like neither UKMex or USAMex.

- IN GENERAL: You don´t like popular Mexico ships, and you prefer to ship Mexico with the siblings of the popular countries. 

IF YOU LIKE 🇲🇽Mexico x Any other country which is not on this post 🌎

You like random ships, you are unique and different, or you simply are a mexican who has visited or likes certain country. 

IF YOU LIKE 🇲🇽 Mexico x Mexico 🇲🇽

- You are a 100% patriot mexican.

- You like the North, South, and even Central, Mexico OC´s. 

IF YOU LIKE 🌎THE MEXICO HAREM (Everyone x Mexico) 🇲🇽

- You are mexican without doubt.

- You like submissive Mexico, or you like the flirty Mexico OC´s. 

- You think Mexico is the best country in the world and everybody should know it. 

- You get excited everytime a foreigner speaks well about your country. You often read the news about Mexico and it´s negotiations and agreements with the other countries.

- You have thoroughly investigated the history of Mexico and its relations with other countries. You've watched the YouTube channels of MainWatchers, Yolo Camotes and The Nopal Times Tops

- You are studying or you are interested on the next careers: International relations, History and Languages. 

- If you´re a fan of Hetalia, you like all the male characters and you fantasize about them. 

————

We finish! If you like it and you had fun with it, I invite you to reblog it with this emoji: 💟. We also invite you to reblog it so you can share it with more fans :) 

I still have a lot of work and it seems it will get more hard, but I´ll do my best to keep active. Without anything more to say, see you all on the next post. 

[seancekitsch]

Stan Uris x Reader: Making up for Lost Time, the Final Part!

This will probably be the last part, and then like a cute lil epilogue

Warnings for the series include: canon issues including self harm, attempted suicide, emotional trauma, mentioned disordered eating, the clown, anxiety, adult Bill Denbrough’s personality, book and movie canon being merged together because I like to play god, light smut and my terrible vocabulary, canon events.

-Stan thinks about his divorce the second he wakes up. Mostly, it’s prompted by the fact that you’ve already left before he woke up. That’s fair, he understands the uproar in the townhouse if you’d been caught sneaking out of his room. And the fact that he had just strayed from his marriage, and that he felt more loved last night than he had since he was a teen. But he thinks about how easy it will be. How he would much rather be facing divorce and talking to his attorney than being in Derry right now.

-Patricia was amazing. Maybe that’s why he had fallen for her at one point in his life. But after they had stopped trying for kids, all sense of romance had fizzled from the relationship. She wanted kids, and he couldn’t give them to her. He couldn’t blame her for being distant and she would never blame him for falling out of love. That’s why if he called her right now, she would already be cancelling their trip to Argentina, and they’d both agree they’d have to work on some paperwork, and they’d both hang up feeling unhurt.

-So He makes that call, and Stanley Uris breathes a sigh of relief for once. He hopes they remain friends. He wants Patricia to know she meant a lot to him.

-Downstairs, a storm is brewing. The losers are wracking their brains to think of tokens they can use to defeat it. You are especially struggling, as you cannot remember being alone once that summer. You had never encountered it alone at any time, despite being one of the losers most aggressively attacked by it. You remember the scar on your leg, how it hurts when it rains. But you don’t remember solitude. Everything that summer was the losers. Everything that summer was Stanley, too.

-But then a memory with Beverly seems to be your best lead. Although you weren’t alone, it was the most alone you’ve ever felt, save for her hand holding yours and pulling you away from public pain and bullying. She was there when Greta had somehow gotten a hold of your journal. You knew something was up when you found the lock for it in your bag without the book attached.

-You remember it vividly, how she stood on a bench in the cafeteria and read it aloud. She spilled everything from your parents neglect, to your struggles with body image and how you skipped meals, to your crush on another loser.

-God, it reminded you of that movie Carrie, how they all laughed at you and you couldn’t do anything to stop it. But then Bev tangled her fingers in yours and dragged you out of there, out of the school and back to the quarry. You couldn’t even feel yourself crying in the water. You really had to thank her, but she probably would just shake it off. That lock would be your token, but you knew it would have to be at the bottom of the quarry.

-Stan doesn’t come down until the token discussion is almost over, but you notice he looks at peace for the first time since you reunited with him. He moves to get closer to you, but you figure he has to do this alone just like you. It’s not a coincidence that Bill and Bev are also not acknowledging each other personally.

-As you go to head off to the quarry, Stan catches you by the door. The way he grabs your wrist is soft but firm, and fills you with the feeling of last night. Your body calls to him and you feel flush all over, but now is not the time.

-“Find your token, then we’ll talk about this.” You dismiss him before he even begins. It’s as gentle as you can be, but it’s not the time for this. Last night can wait until after this clown is dead. You cannot afford to be distracted, even if all you want to do is sink to your knees in front of him and worship.

———

-Finding the lock was more than a struggle. The second the lock was in sight, the algae came to life. Pennywise no doubt, but you barely escaped with your life. Half drowned, you Trek back to the townhouse and ignore the stares around town. The rusted lock is held in your vice grip, and that is all that matters.

-But what you come back to is Eddie bleeding profusely from the face. Richie, Mike, and Bill are all missing, and there is absolutely no time to lose.

-You all meet Bill at the Neibolt house after patching up Eddie, and fear almost makes you run right then. You can’t find yourself actually entering the house until Stan is behind you and using his hand to guide you up the steps with him. You are the last two to enter the house.

-It shows itself to you as Stan in the kitchen; but as a corpse. Waterlogged, bleeding black from the arms. All the sudden all of the little comments and the bandage on his arm makes sense, and you’re paralyzed with fear. You knew what he was going to do before coming here. And he was going to leave you alone.

-Bill, Stan, and Richie all have to work together to pull the corpse off of you. You didn’t even try to fight it off and accepted death with tears running down your face. You hear Bill yell at Eddie for not helping, but it doesn’t process the way it should. Everything feels far away, your ears are ringing, you can’t focus on any one object or face. You don’t care. You don’t care at all about what could have happened to you and all about what could have happened to Stan.

-Meanwhile Stan is terrified for you. He watched you give up and succumb to fear before you even reached the sewer, all because of him. He holds you close and wipes the blood from where it cut you and tries to hide the tears on his face as he pulls you further and further with the rest of the group.

-The two of you are gripped to each other as you enter the cavern with the crater, until you all have to hold each other’s hands and throw in your tokens. His is a shower cap; yours is a lock, and neither of you explain your tokens. But you close your eyes and chant with everyone else.

-And it almost seems to work. But then it gets bigger. It separates you. And all of the sudden you’re back in the cafeteria. And the laughing from that day surrounds you but there are no people in sight. It’s just you and the laughter and the walls closing in on you.

-Through the laughter, a voice rings out, snaps you out of your trance like fear and brings you back. Stan screams out to you and grabs you by the arm. You’re yanked out of the cafeteria and somehow back into the cavern.

-“Stay the fuck away from my girlfriend” Stan cries, as he starts pelting any rocks he can at the now spider like Pennywise, running away from you to get it away from you, even if that means putting himself in danger.

-But instead of him it’s Richie in danger, and then Eddie. And by the end of the battle, Eddie is gone. But there’s no time to save his body or say goodbye because the cavern is collapsing and Richie needs to be dragged out.

-Once the remainder of you are safe, you go back to the quarry for the second time in twenty four hours. You wash yourselves of the sewers and hold each other as you cry. Cathartic doesn’t even begin to describe it.

-“Stan you called her your girlfriend!” Followed by “Beep Beep Richie” and you all knew it would be okay from here on out. Eddie would not be forgotten, you could all live without fear, and new futures could be planned.

-Ben and Beverly left first, together, which surprised you but you figured you somehow always knew. Richie left soon after, but not before telling you to visit often now that he knew you were on the west coast as well. Bill left to write a new book. A tribute to Eddie. He also got divorced, which he didn’t need to call to tel you because you saw it in a tabloid magazine in a pharmacy. Mike decided he would finally leave Derry, but he had to plan where he would go first.

-Stan went to Atlanta without you, and you took a flight back to Seattle. He had things to sort out, but you had no doubt that he would come to you when it was time.

-One day, weeks later, the phone rings and it’s your Stanley. “Open the door, Babylove,” he says. And he’s there. Just like he always should have been.

———————————-

Epilogue maybe?????? Idk

[allhalloweve]

Chapter 4: The Wildland

Chapter 4 of Axe and Sword is up! Read it here on AO3!

If Lily ever saw that fucking wizard again, she was going to kill him. “How’re you doing, Dorcas?” she shouted over the roar of quaking trees and the rumble of the earth.

“I’ve been better!” Dorcas clung tighter to her branch as the trunk groaned beneath her; with each lurching roll, the arrows in her quiver came closer to spilling out.

“James?”

James’ hand slipped on the flat bark and he scrambled to wrap both arms around the tree. “Ask me again when this stops!”

“If we make it out of here, you and I are going to have a discussion about insulting magic lands.” Lily’s heart leaped as the wood beneath her hands gave a threatening creak and she silently cursed her decision to follow a gang of idiots halfway across the world. Maybe if she had just minded her own business and stayed home, she wouldn’t be in this situation.

A strange rustling noise grew steadily louder and she craned her neck to look further into the jungle, where the canopy swayed in the earthquake. “I think something’s coming!” Dorcas warned.

“I’d rather face shaking ground than being eaten alive,” James said as be began to slide down his perch.

“Agreed,” Lily and Dorcas chorused. Alright, Lils, step-by-step. Imagine you’re at home. Trees in Bailey were easy to climb—their gnarled knots and sturdy branches were ideal for long afternoons spent climbing toward the sky with little fear of falling. These trees, on the other hand, had sand-smoothed bark and made her hands itch when she touched them for some unknown reason.

She made it halfway down before her foot missed a spot and her palms, covered in fear sweat, skidded into open air. The cracked ground was hard as stone when she smacked down and her breath disappeared in a single huff, making her vision turn black for a moment. “Lily!” A blurry form appeared moments later, and two warm hands dragged her into a sitting position. “Are you hurt?”

“Dorcas,” she wheezed as soon as the first wisps of air entered her lungs. “Fine. ‘m okay.”

“Good. Come on!” Lily stumbled upright and kept a tight hold on Dorcas’ wrist as the three of them sprinted deeper into the forest, away from the sunbaked wasteland they had first been dropped in. It was, unsurprisingly, quite difficult to run when the earth made a point of trying to turn itself inside out every few seconds; Lily was sure her shoulders would be bruised from bumping into anything within three feet of her.

The rustling turned into screeching and they poured on speed, but they weren’t fast enough to outrun the things coming in behind them. Lily had heard stories of the monsters of the Wildland: massive boars with metal tusks, sand worms the size of rivers, and flesh-eating deer were some of the frequent characters in fairy tales. She had never believed them before.

Dorcas let go of her hand and spun around, nocking an arrow and firing into the trees in record time. There was an earsplitting scream and a huge bird dropped from the tangle of vines, its razor-sharp beak open wide enough that Lily could see the tiny teeth inside. “We can’t outrun them! James, give me a hand!”

James was already in motion and a second bird fell moments later with a red-feathered arrow embedded in its neck. Lily drew her axe—the wave of rippling vines overhead became interspersed with feathers in a rainbow of colors and she was deafened by a cacophony of shrieking bird calls.

The first dive-bomber was met with a shorter, blue-fletched arrow and Dorcas turned her attention from shooting into the group to picking them off one by one as they appeared. “We can’t do this forever,” James yelled. “Sooner or later, we’ll run out of arrows, and I don’t know where we’ll get new ones.”

And, miraculously, the ground stilled. The monsters flew back into the canopy and disappeared with a soft ­shush of leaves. The only trace of their existence were five dead birds sprawled around the glade. “James, what did you do?” Lily asked cautiously, keeping her axe ready just in case.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s really quiet,” Dorcas said. “I don’t like it.”

“Do we…keep walking?”

“Hang on a second.” James lowered his bow and crept toward the corpse of a falcon-like creature, reaching out on hand to grasp his arrow by the hilt. With a sharp tug, it came free, and the bird disintegrated into a patch of… “Is that moss?”

“What the fuck?” Lily murmured. “That’s not normal.”

“These are gryphons,” Dorcas said as she followed James’ lead and collected her arrows. “I’ve seen them flying above the border once or twice, but they never came close enough to be an issue and they never travel in packs.”

“So the Wildland is out to get us?” Lily rolled her eyes. “I wonder whose fault that is.”

James sighed deeply. “Look, it was a simple observation and I wasn’t exactly expecting the whole place to take offense.”

“It’s magic! That’s what magic places do!”

“How would you know?”

“How would you?”

“Will both of you give it a rest?” Dorcas interrupted in exasperation. “At least now we know what to expect. We should get started on looking for the weapon if we want to have any hope of catching up to the others.”

“Dumbledore gave us a map, right?” Lily set the rucksack down and loosened the drawstring. Carefully, she poured the contents out onto the ground and began sifting through. “Looks like we have…an empty waterskin, a doll, a square of fabric, and a broken compass. Oh, here it is.”

Honestly, the other items in the bag should have prepared Lily for disappointment. “What?” James asked as her face fell.

“There’s no names or anything, just lines.” She laid it out for all of them to see and weighed down the corners with the other useless objects.

“I’m going to kill that wizard,” Dorcas muttered as she squinted at the map. “Which way is north?”

“No clue.”

James ran a hand through his hair. “Y’know, I thought forgetting a map was bad, but this…”

“So we have a useless map for a monster-infested place none of us have actually been to, and the fate of the world rests on our ability to find a single cryptic spot. That’s not difficult at all,” Dorcas said sarcastically. “Didn’t Dumbledore mention a compass?”

“He said Riddle’s weakness was in the compass rose,” Lily recalled.

“Is there something hidden in the one he gave us?” Without waiting for an answer, Dorcas grabbed the dented bronze compass from the pile of junk and began feeling along the edges. “There aren’t any latches or seams. Do we have to crack it open?”

James shrugged and grabbed one of his arrows. “Can’t get more broken than it already is.”

“No!” Lily snatched the compass away from them. “We’re not just going to shatter it! It has to have some sort of purpose.”

“Does it though?”

“A wizard gave it to us, right? That means it’s either helpful or cursed and I’m not ready to die from some sort of booby trap you two set off by prying it apart with an arrowhead.” Lily opened the top and watched the needle spin. “I think we should try and follow it.”

“If it’s cursed, we’ll be walking straight into a trap,” James pointed out.

“I think we have worse things to worry about than traps,” Dorcas said. “There are a lot of stories about what lives in here and I’m not keen on getting killed by any of those. Let’s find some water and a safe place to plan before we make any big decisions.”

They set off deeper into the forest, keeping the edge of the woods in sight in case the gryphons came back. Lily’s knees ached from running through an earthquake and she hoped a shelter showed itself soon. The sun was astonishingly bright even through the trees and it was difficult to tell how much time had passed with the glare; Lily’s best guess was that it had been two hours since they left Dumbledore’s house, but her knowledge of magic was limited to the events of the past twenty-four hours.

More than once, she caught herself looking over her shoulder for the other four members of their party. It was especially strange seeing James without Sirius, and she realized a few minutes into their journey that she had never actually seen James without his living shadow.

During one such time, he caught her eye. “What?”

“Sorry.” She shook her head. “It’s just weird seeing you without Sirius.”

James’ face fell. “Oh, Yeah.”

“What’s the story with that, anyway?”

“What story?”

“He told me he came to live with you when he was sixteen, but most people don’t get adopted by royalty on a whim. He got all weird when I asked where he lived before.”

“Then he probably doesn’t want you to know,” James said, sounding strangely annoyed.

“He doesn’t like talking about it.” Dorcas shared an uneasy glance with James and indignation sparked in Lily’s chest.

“Oh, so you know what happened, too?” When they both stayed quiet, her frustration grew. “I get that I’m not some high-born royal but that doesn’t mean you can just ignore me.”

“This has nothing to do with your status.” James stopped in his tracks. “For your information, I’m not royalty.”

“You’re a prince!”

“No, I’m not! My dad is an elected official for the mainland because the last one’s kid didn’t want to continue,” he snapped. “And I don’t plan on following in his footsteps.”

Next to Lily, Dorcas’ eyes widened, and James looked like he regretted his words. “What?”

“I thought you knew.”

“No,” she said, clearly upset. “James, I thought you wanted that.”

“I’m missing something,” Lily said, holding up her hands for a time-out. “What’s happening? You can’t just give up a monarchy, can you?”

“Like I said, the Eastern Coast doesn’t have a monarchy,” James sighed. “Each of the islands, including the mainland, elects a representative when the previous one steps down and their heir decides not to take their place. My dad was elected the year before I was born and I…I don’t want to do that.”

Dorcas frowned. “Did one of the others say something to you? Hang on, have you even told your parents yet?”

James shook his head. “You guys are my best friends; this has nothing to do with you. And no, not yet.”

“How long have you been thinking about this?” He was quiet. “James.”

“A couple years.”

From the look on Dorcas’ face, he may as well have smacked her between the eyes. “But you—at the councils—does Sirius know?”

Lily didn’t think it was possible, but James’ shoulders shrank in further. “I was planning on telling him after we got home. My parents would be so disappointed in me if they knew.”

Dorcas’ anger softened. “No, they wouldn’t.”

“They’ve been preparing me my whole life and I’m throwing it away.”

“What’s your plan?” Lily asked at last.

James’ eyes flickered over to her and his face flushed. “My granddad builds and sails ships for all the islands. I want to work with him.”

“That doesn’t sound like throwing your life away to me. You’d be really, really good at that,” Dorcas said. “James, your parents are good people. They’ll love you no matter what and I’m sure once you explain, they’ll understand.”

“Maybe,” he muttered. “After what happened to Sirius—”

“Your parents are not Sirius’ parents.” Dorcas’ voice was firm. “You know that.”

“What’s the deal with Sirius’ parents?” Right back where we started, Lily thought.

James hesitated for a moment, then started walking again. “Sirius used to be part of a super wealthy and ambitious family that wanted him to continue their bid for power. They were involved in some really nasty stuff, a lot of corruption and such, and he told them he wanted to no part in it. They disowned him within a week and shipped him off to the Eastern Coast.”

“It was a huge deal among the upper-class families,” Dorcas added, her face stormy. “People called it the scandal of the century.”

“It happened at a big party, too.” James frowned. “He still won’t tell me the whole story.”

“Shit.” Lily didn’t know how to respond to that. “I don’t think he believed me when I told him he was a good person. That explains why.”

“I swear he’s vainer than a cockatiel sometimes, but his mother took it upon herself to make sure his self-esteem scrapes the floor. Horrible woman.”

“If I ever meet her, I’ll kick her in the kneecaps for him,” Lily said, earning herself a bark of laughter from James.

“I’d pay to see that,” Dorcas snorted. “I met her once when I was a kid, and once was enough.”

“What’s her name?” Lily asked.

James bit his lip. “Walburga Black.”

Lily’s stomach dropped to her feet.

--

Lily was still thinking about their conversation as they set up camp in an abandoned cave lit by dim crystals that dripped condensation onto the ground. Walburga and Orion Black were notorious for exploiting workers and getting away with it due to their wealth; Lily had heard traders and woodcutters cursing their names in taverns more times than she could count.

But Sirius? Protective, reckless Sirius who made a point of cheering up the group whenever they needed it? It was hard to believe he was raised in a family like that. I suppose that’s the point, she thought as she spread her cloak over the damp moss and laid down. He’s not like then and they hate him for it.

Sixteen years old. When Lily was sixteen, her father taught her to use the largest saw he owned; at the same age, possibly the same time, Sirius had been thrown out of his family and sent across the continent. I still had a fucking bedtime, she realized just as she was about to doze off. The urge to hit Walburga Black with a chair increased.

Needless to say, Lily didn’t sleep well that night. She kept watch until sunrise, when James and Dorcas woke up and they agreed to follow the compass’ needle on the off-chance Dumbledore was actually trying to help them in his secretive way.

“I miss them,” James said out of the blue around a mouthful of ham, cheese, and bread when they stopped by an unnaturally large tree for lunch. “I miss them a lot.”

“Me, too,” Lily admitted. It was silly, but the sandwiches made her heart ache with homesickness. “The sooner we find the mysterious weakness, the sooner we can get back.”

“You know we’re friends when you don’t even have to clarify who you’re talking about,” Dorcas smiled weakly. The conversation dulled after that until they began walking again. “So, Lily, tell us about Bailey.”

“What about it?”

Dorcas shrugged. “Anything. The rest of us have known each other for years, but I don’t know much about you yet, beyond the fact that you can crush us all at board games.”

Lily laughed. “Well, it’s a pretty small place. I think you can see most of the town out the window of my mum and dad’s house.”

“You said your dad’s a merchant, right?” James asked, walking backwards to face them.

“A woodsman,” she corrected. “He travels to discuss lumber prices, though, which was why I was in Silvalith. He was supposed to go, but the mill called him in for extra shifts.” A sudden thought struck her and she slowed down. “If he had gone, he’d probably be dead right now. Huh.”

“Are you alright?” Concern laced James’ voice. “Lily?”

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m—I’m okay. It’s just weird to think about.”

“What do you do for fun?” Dorcas quickly changed the subject. “When you’re not on life-or-death quests with a bunch of strangers, of course.”

“I don’t think any of you count as strangers anymore,” she said with a smile. “I climbed trees a lot when I was little and went on long walks. The woods are so different for each season and in winter, the snow is perfect for playing in. All the neighborhood kids used to get together and build forts for snowball fights.”

“I wish we got snow,” James mused.

“Frystmark is hoarding it,” Dorcas joked. “We should get Remus to ship some to us in the winter.”

“You don’t get snow?” Lily supposed she should have known that, but it seemed impossible. Winter was for hot cider, snowmen, and fuzzy socks, not sunshine.

“No,” Dorcas said. “There’s a running joke that Hisanon is where the sun goes when it’s nighttime in other places. We take it from you all since you don’t appreciate it, but that means we don’t have real seasons.”

“We have seasons back home.” James tilted his head slightly as he thought. “No snow, but there’s a lot of wind and rain off the water. Springtime is the best.”

“I love autumn,” Lily said. “It’s strange not being home to see the leaves change this year.”

“Hopefully we’ll be home before winter sets in,” Dorcas said. She paused for a moment. “I forget what day it is, actually.”

“Oh, fuck, Sirius and I were just talking about this.” James scrunched his nose up and counted softly under his breath, frowned, and counted again. “It’s been seven days since the attack.”

“What?”

“I call bullshit,” Lily said immediately. “No way.”

“We spent one night in Hemgard, one in the next town, two with your mum, one with Dumbledore, and one in that cave.” James held up his fingers. “Six nights, seven days.”

“It feels like a month,” Dorcas said. Lily nodded in agreement. “Too much has happened in too little time. We need to keep it to one disaster per day, alright?”

In the distance—but not nearly far enough away in Lily’s opinion—something boomed. “You had to jinx it,” James sighed. “Trees again?”

“Gryphons, probably.”

“Let’s run first and discuss later,” Lily suggested, keeping her eyes steadily in the direction the noise had come from. It sounded like heavy footsteps and she really didn’t want to know what kind of creature was big enough to do that. “Go!”

They took off at a sprint, keeping in a close group with their weapons at the ready. She could hear the galloping footsteps growing closer; it was almost as if a herd of deer were all running at the exact same time. It’s the flesh-eating deer, her terrified brain supplied. All the stories are true.

“Holy fuck!” James yelped as he looked over his shoulder. Lily glanced backward and saw a bristly hilltop charging through the underbrush at full speed—no, not a hill. A boar.

“Don’t climb the trees!” she shouted. “We can’t outrun it, but it’ll knock down anything we can climb!”

“Those aren’t normal tusks!” Dorcas’ voice cracked with fear. “Is that metal?”

“Let’s not find out!”

“If we can’t outrun it and we definitely can’t beat it in a fight, what the hell are we supposed to do?” James nearly tripped over a large root and Lily’s heart stuttered in her throat. She couldn’t bear to lose any of them, and not just because of the promise she made Sirius. All six of those wild, chaotic, wonderful people were her friends now, and she would keep them safe if it was the last thing she did.

Come on, come on, there has to be something we can use, she thought desperately as she scanned the jungle. Her chest and legs burned from running and she could hear the others panting heavily. Finally, she saw it. “Over there!”

“What?” Dorcas shrieked.

“Would you rather get gored?”

“We’ll die either way!”

“It’s less of a guarantee here, now jump!” Rather than waiting for an answer, Lily shoved her axe into its place, grabbed her hand, and vaulted over the edge of the ravine.

Things got a little hazy after that. The initial drop was short, maybe four feet, before they hit a claylike outcropping that cracked beneath their combined weight and sent them skidding down a steep slope of pebbles, dust, and prickly plants. She lost her hold on Dorcas, but she could hear two different voices alternating between panicked yelling and grunts of pain when they hit a rough patch. The slope came to a sudden end and Lily braced herself for the fall—she hit the rushing water below with a splash, and then everything went dark.

Being underwater was a strange experience. It was quiet, save for the low rumble of the source waterfall that sent her tumbling through the current like a smooth stone. Her senses were completely overwhelmed—her ears popped, her vision was murky, and the only thing she felt was cold. The tightness in her chest snapped her out of her shock and she struggled to the surface, breaking through with a gasp.

“James! Dorcas!” she called frantically. Lily had waded in ponds and the lazy stream by her house, but she wasn’t the strongest swimmer. To be honest, she had not thought there would be water at the base of the hill.

James surfaced with a spluttering cough, saw her, looked around, then immediately ducked under the water again. She bobbed further down the river and hoped with everything in her heart that her half-baked plan hadn’t accidentally killed two of her friends.

There was a splash behind her and she turned as quickly as she could, only to see James and Dorcas struggling against the current. “Head for the bank!” James yelled, leaning back and kicking his feet. He was holding Dorcas tight to his chest; she looked terrified. “Lily, hurry!”

Lily paddled as hard as she could until she reached a tangle of grass and used it to haul herself out of the river, where she collapsed on her stomach. James splayed on his back on the dry earth and tried to catch his breath while Dorcas coughed up water. “I can’t swim,” she managed, glaring at Lily.

“Sorry. Didn’t think there would be water.”

James’ head lolled to the side and he squinted at her. “You jumped over a cliff not knowing what was below it?”

“In my defense, there was a fucking huge boar with metal tusks chasing us down.”

Dorcas’ coughing turned into giggles, then full-blown laughter; Lily and James followed suit until they were all slightly hysterical with joy and relief. “We just did that,” she gasped. “Let’s never do it again, alright?”

“Deal,” Lily and James said in unison.

“Our stuff must be soaked,” Lily groaned, peeling the bag off her back. She knelt and emptied the contents of the rucksack onto the grass, only to see they were completely dry. “Or…not.”

“Woah.” James scooted closer. “You were underwater, right?”

In lieu of an answer, Lily gestured at her soaked clothing and dripping hair. “Well, he is a wizard,” Dorcas said. “Making a waterproof bag would not be the craziest thing he did.”

“That’s true. Where do we go from here?”

Lily spread the map out again, using river rocks to hold the edges down. “This doesn’t make any more sense than it did yesterday.”

“Hang on.” Dorcas bent over the map and traced the thick lines, then looked around them. “Yes, it does. Does this look familiar to you?”

Lily looked at where she was pointing, then glanced around the clearing. The wobbly shape on the map was the exact same as the waterfall in the distance. “Oh.”

“Which means this…” Dorcas traced down the squiggle and tapped the page. “Is about where we are.”

“So where are we supposed to go?”

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait.” James poked Dorcas on the shoulder. “It’s ‘in the compass rose’, right? Four corners. Four countries.”

Dorcas’ eyes widened. “You don’t think…”

Lily scanned the map until she saw an intersection. “That’s where the borders meet, isn’t it?”

“The Middle Kingdom.” James touched one section, then moved clockwise. “Marajis. The Wildland. Silvalith. Four countries that meet at one point.”

“That’s where we need to go,” Lily breathed. “I’m so glad you two are on my team.”

“It’s not far, come on!” James and Dorcas helped her stuff Dumbledore’s items back in the rucksack and they hurried away from the river; Lily could already feel the sun’s heat drying her clothes as they hiked through the tangled plants.

The landscape grew more and more desolate as they drew closer to their destination. The earth, which had been mossy in their cave and drier than a desert outside of the forest, was the same color and texture as slate. The twisting plants were blacker than charcoal and just as brittle—it even smelled dusty. Dead. Leeched of all life. If a shadow had a scent, this was it.

The ground dipped as they neared the center; everything around it had been blasted smooth and shiny by some enormous force, and in the middle of the shallow pit laid a rusty dagger. It didn’t look special, and if Lily didn’t know better she would have dismissed it as a useless relic. “There it is,” she said, pointing to the blade.

James picked his way around broken stones and thorny plants. “Will it fit in the bag?”

“I don’t think you should touch it with your bare hands,” Dorcas said. “Your track record with magic things so far has not been great.”

“It was one comment,” James grumbled, though he did refrain from grabbing the dagger. “That doesn’t count as a track record.”

“Still.” Dorcas stepped behind Lily and reached into the bag, then emerged with the piece of fabric. “This should work.”

Carefully, James reached down with the cloth and wrapped King Riddle’s weakness up.

As soon as the dagger left its place, the ground began to shake and a mighty roar grew around them. “Really?” James yelled as he clambered back up to them and shoved the package in Lily’s bag. “Not this again.”

“We should aim for Hisanon!” Dorcas shouted over the howling. “We’ll find help there and it's safer than the Middle Kingdom!”

Neither Lily nor James was particularly inclined to argue, so they followed Dorcas’ lead, stumbling over debris and the gale force winds. The forest teemed with life, but they didn’t stay to find out what it was and instead crashed through the underbrush until they emerged in a stretch of land similar to the desert they had arrived in.

“That way!” It was too loud to hear Dorcas’ words, but her mouthed message was clear as she pointed toward a long line of grass a few hundred feet away. The tumult grew as they ran; Lily was sure something was following them out of the trees and she focused her attention on the pounding of her feet against the ground instead. Do not look back.

As soon as they tumbled into the grass, the air turned fresh and the trembling ground stilled. Lily took a deep breath of the sweet breeze; she had not realized how stale the air of the Wildland was until it was gone. James whistled lowly next to her when he looked back from where they had come. Above the treetops, gryphons flapped and screamed, and the whole place looked like it was rioting against an unseen enemy.

“I’m glad we got out of there,” he muttered.

Just as Lily was about to agree, the bag grew unbearably hot against her back. She untangled its straps and practically threw it to the ground; it rattled and glowed for a moment, then went quiet. She poked it carefully with her toe. When nothing happened, she untied the drawstring and let the contents spill out.

The dagger steamed as she peeled the covering away and all three of them gasped. The rusted, corroded metal was shiny and pure silver now, revealing an intricate snake with perfect emerald eyes curled up along the hilt and a scale pattern decorating the base of the blade. “It’s pretty, but I still don’t want to touch it,” she said, folding the cloth over it once more.

“Turn around and put your hands up!” a stern voice commanded behind them. Lily whirled around and snatched the bag up for protection as three sturdy horses came trotting toward them. Their riders wore leather armor and had their bows trained on their group. “Dorcas?”

The lead rider removed her helmet and dismounted, slinging her bow over her back. “Hestia!” Dorcas ran forward to nearly tackle her in a hug.

“I thought you were dead,” Hestia said, pulling away to search her for injuries. “The news of the attack on Varghal came in two days ago and we’ve been patrolling the borders ever since. What happened?”

“Silval soldiers and mercenaries raided the city in the middle of the night. They kidnapped the royals and the rest of us barely got away with our lives.” The horses nickered and danced nervously.

“Is Marlene alright?” Hestia asked.

Dorcas paused. “I hope so. We had to split up two days ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“She’ll be alright. Is there a place we can talk about this is private?”

Hestia nodded and looked back to Lily and James. “Can either of you ride a horse?” At their nervous expressions, she nodded toward two of her companions. “You can ride with Alice and Emmeline, and Dorcas will ride with me. You should get comfortable; it’s a bit of a trek.”

--

Technically, Lily had been less comfortable before, but horseback riding was getting high up on her list. Emmeline was a talented rider and knew everything about the history of the western lands of Marajis while Alice was chatty the whole way about nothing in particular. It was hilarious seeing James wrap his arms around the waist of a girl who was at least six inches shorter than him while he tried not to slip off the saddle.

“Where are you from?” Emmeline asked as the sun began to set. The high grasses turned a million shades of copper and rose; not for the first time, Lily wished she was an artist so she could remember it forever.

“The Middle Kingdom, up north in a town called Bailey. You?”

Emmeline pointed to a distant shadow of buildings. “That’s my hometown, Fansen.”

“Vance?”

“Fan-sen,” Emmeline repeated. “The ‘n’ is soft.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, a lot of people get it wrong the first time. What are you doing so far away?”

“It’s…kind of a long story. Are you one of Dorcas’ friends?” Up ahead, Dorcas and Hestia were talking in low voices.

“The four of us learned to ride together,” Emmeline explained with a fond look on her face. “Hestia became captain of the border guard a year ago and specifically requested that Alice and I be on her team. Dorcas was a little busy, as you can imagine.”

“I bet,” Lily laughed. “It must be nice to work with your friends all the time.”

She nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. We miss Dorcas, though.” There was a moment of hesitation before her muscular shoulders sank. “We were so worried about her.”

“We were lucky,” Lily said. If she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could still smell the acrid smoke of the wall in flames, still hear the screams and the howling of wolves. “Really, really lucky.”

“Is it true? Varghal was burned? The rumors are vague at best and—”

“Yeah.” A lump rose unbidden to her throat as she remembered the beautiful frozen lake and the mountain fortress with its people who welcomed them with open arms. “It was the middle of the night, there was no warning. They lit the gate on fire and killed anyone they came across. Remus—he’s the prince who helped us escape—he went back and said there was nothing left.”

Emmeline swore under her breath. “I’m going to assume you three were in the Wildland for a reason, but I’m not going to ask why. I’ll help you find whatever you need.”

“Thank you.”

A sharp whistle pattern drew both their attention and Lily’s jaw dropped. Ahead, a magnificent city rose against darkening sky, lit by a thousand torches that made it glow like a miniature star. “Welcome to Hisanon,” Emmeline said, sounding rather smug. “Capital of Marajis.”

Lily and James were a little wobbly once they dismounted the horses, but Dorcas was steady on her feet and nearly bouncing with joy to be home. Lily could relate—entering Bailey after the chaos of the previous days had been the best feeling in the world. “Hestia and I are going to talk for a while, but I think you two should get some sleep,” she said as they stopped outside a large building.

“You need to rest, too,” Lily protested. “We can do it as a group in the morning.”

Dorcas gave her a gentle punch on the arm. “Princess, remember? I have a lot to get done, but I promise I’ll sleep. We’re safe here, don’t worry.”

“Sleep well, Dorcas, and good luck.” James exhaled slowly as she walked away arm-in-arm with Hestia. “And then there were two.”

“And then there were two,” Lily echoed.

“I really hate splitting up.”

“Same.”

Alice appeared from the stables with Emmeline behind her. “We have some rooms for you to stay in,” she said with a bright smile. “And food.”

Lily had never followed someone faster and probably never would again. The guest rooms were cozy and cool against the rippling heat of the prairie outside and she reveled in the change; now that her clothes were dry, it was easier for her to overheat. Emmeline and Alice kindly refrained from asking them any more questions until they were done shoving bread and meat into their mouths—Lily would never be a picky eater again, holy fuck—and pointed them toward the washroom when they were done.

Rivers were nice and did an amazing job of getting into every nook and cranny, but there was no feeling like scrubbing down in clean, fresh water that wasn’t full of silt. Lily stayed in the tub until the water was cold enough to make her shiver before rebraiding her hair and slipping into loose pajamas with an intricate pattern.

“Where’s James?” she asked when she entered the room again and found Emmeline snacking on some of the dates.

“His room is next door,” she said casually, then did a double take. “It’s okay, you’re safe here. The doors aren’t locked, so you can go wherever.” Lily managed a half-smile and settled back into the cushions. Emmeline’s face softened. “You really aren’t comfortable apart, are you?”

“I haven’t slept alone in over a week,” she confessed, a little embarrassed. “In almost every place we’ve stayed, we’ve been attacked or forced to split up. I’m already worried about the others.”

“Who else was with you?”

“Marlene, her friend Peter, James’ best friend Sirius, and Remus, the prince of Frystmark. They’re somewhere in the Middle Kingdom right now, I think.”

“Dorcas has mentioned Remus before. They’ve been friends for ages.”

Something in Emmeline’s tone prickled at the back of Lily’s neck. “You don’t like him?”

“Never met him.”

A realization dawned on Lily. “You like Dorcas.”

“No,” Emmeline said far too quickly. “She’s engaged.”

“To Marlene, not Remus.”

“I know,” she snapped. “She’s one of my best friends, after all.” Some of the defensiveness melted away. “I’m one of her bridesmaids.”

“I’m sorry.”

Emmeline shrugged. “I’d rather be there as a friend than not at all, you know? The worst part is, Marlene is awesome and they love each other so much. I’m happy for her, but…”

Lily let her trail off before reaching over and gently squeezing her arm. “Hey. You’re an amazing woman and anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“You’ve known me for five hours.”

“And in that time you’ve carried me on your horse back to your city, told me about your hometown, and let me take my first real bath in about three days. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Thanks, Lily.” Emmeline looked up from her hands to meet Lily’s eyes. “I meant what I said earlier. If there’s anything you need for your quest, I’ll help you get it. Sorry, I should probably let you sleep now.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“You bet.”

Lily smiled and Emmeline headed back into the hallway, leaving one torch burning happily in the holder by the door. The sheets were soft as Lily slipped into the bed, but she stared at the ceiling for an indeterminate amount of time as the sound of the city outside slowly died down. She tried closing her eyes, counting sheep, and about a million different sleeping positions before giving up and padding into the hall.

She knocked on the door to the right of her own as quietly as she could, just in case. It swung open a few moments later; James looked exhausted and wide awake at the same time. “Hey.”

“Hey. Can I come in?” He held the door open further in answer and they sat next to each other at the foot of his bed. “You stopped flirting with me.”

“What?”

“Before we got to Dumbledore’s you were insufferable,” she teased. “But since then, you’ve been awfully normal about it.”

James snorted and flopped onto his back. “You seemed uncomfortable. You’re awesome and strong and funny, and I’d rather be your friend than chase you away by being some gross guy.”

“You’re not gross.” The bed bounced as she stretched out as well. “Awkward, yes. A little over the top, definitely. Mildly annoying at times, but never gross.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” A few beats of silence hung between them. “I’m sorry about Sirius.”

James exhaled and his nose whistled a bit—Lily was glad the shadows hid her smile. “I’m more worried about him than anything. It’s my job to protect him.”

“I’m a hundred percent sure he thinks it’s the other way around.”

“That’s just who he is. Sirius finds someone he cares about and goes all in, and it’s gotten him bruised more than once. It’s just…he’s never left me before and I’ve never left him, either. Six years and the only time we’re apart is the councils.”

“Why did he come this year?”

There was a light laugh next to her. “My parents thought he’d keep me in line.” Lily chuckled at the idea and soon they were both muffling their laughter into their hands. “Even though that was doomed to fail, I’m glad he was there.”

“Same here.” Lily bit her lip. “Can I stay here tonight? It feels weird being alone now.”

“Absolutely. I can sleep on the floor if you want?”

“Please don’t, I’d feel bad.”

“Alright.” They both curled up under the covers and for about ten seconds, the only sound was their breathing. “Night, Lils.”

“Night, James.”

--

When Lily awoke, a cool breeze from the window ruffled her hair and the sounds of a bustling city filled the air. James was on the other side of the bed, his arms and legs spread at strange angles in contrast to her own tight ball. She stretched her legs out, relishing in the pop of her back and the heavenly mattress.

“James.” She poked him on the shoulder. “James, wake up.” When he didn’t budge, she shook him lightly. “James.”

He snorted and batted her hand away. “Five more minutes.”

Lily rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the bed and wandered back to her own room. There was no harm in letting him sleep, but they would have to leave at some point today if they wanted to have half a chance of catching up to the rest of the group. Emmeline knocked on her door a few minutes after she had finished washing her face with a neat pile of clothes in her arms.

“They’re clean,” she said as she handed them over. The rough green and brown fabric of Lily’s vest and pants had never been so vibrant, and she saw that someone had stitched the torn edges of her sleeves with a careful hand.

“Thank you.” As silly as it might be, Lily was grateful to have a small piece of home with her in such a new place. She had never been so far from Bailey before. “James is still asleep, sorry.”

Emmeline shrugged. “I can dump some cold water on him if he’s not up in twenty. Dorcas is in the dining hall if you wanted to meet up.”

By the time Lily was done getting dressed, James was awake and rustling around in the room next door. “I’m heading to the dining hall to see Dorcas, d’you want to come with me?”

“One second!” There a thump and a muffled curse and James appeared in the doorway a moment later with his hair sticking up at all angles. “Alright, let’s go.”

The dining hall was not hard to find—a long line of people stood outside the door and Lily and James only made it through because Alice recognized them. At the end of an intricately-carved table, Dorcas was up to her elbows in paperwork. “Morning,” Lily said as she took a seat next to her. “Did you sleep?”

“I did.”

“How long?”

Dorcas glanced up at her and cracked a smile. She looked worried, but rested. “Well enough. Hestia made me go to bed just after ten and I slept until eight, which was nice.”

“Excellent.”

“I was thinking we’d leave around eleven?” Dorcas suggested as she turned back to her work. “That way I can get a bit done here while you two pack our stuff. Emmeline and Alice can help you find good horses.”

James, who had taken the seat on her other side, went ashen. “We’re riding horses again?”

“Unless you’d like to spend eight or nine days walking, yes. Don’t worry, you’ll pick it up easily enough.” Dorcas shuffled through a sheaf of requests and sighed. “I’ll meet you in the stable at ten-fifty, okay?”

“See you then.”

It was surprisingly easy to find horses for Lily and James to ride, even though as they had no prior experience whatsoever. The horses of Hisanon were well-trained and absolutely beautiful—Emmeline shone with pride as she talked about their incredible stamina and speed. “If I had to wager a guess, I’d say you’ll be near Bailey in three days with these horses,” she said, absently stroking a mare’s black-and-white nose as it nuzzled her for treats.

Riding was the real challenge; she nearly fell off several times despite the sturdy saddles and Alice’s close instructions. In the two hours they had to prepare, she learned more than she would ever have dreamed of about proper techniques and how to hold her seat. Her thighs and lower back ached when she finally dismounted to help James load their supplies.

“Good choices,” Dorcas said as she entered the stable and made a beeline for a golden horse at the end of the stable. She murmured to it softly for a moment and it whinnied softly back, nosing at her face and hands for more pats. It followed her out of the stall without any lead and Lily marveled at the ease that settled into Dorcas’ whole posture. “Ready to go?”

“Are you?”

“I’ll be back,” she said, casting a glance over the city outside. “At the end of this, we’ll all go back home and things will be better.”

As they set out northwards at a steady walk, Lily found herself believing that more and more.

[jxffhxrdy]

RAW 5/19/2020

Wassup everyone. Back again with opinions that you didn’t ask for on Monday Night RAW tonight 5/19/2020. I am not related to WWE in any capacity, so what I say is not bible. 

The show in general tonight? Sucked. I’m sorry, but it really did. You’d peaked my interest with a Drew/Corbin fight, because I think Drew is the most talented big guy on RAW and Corbin is the best heel on Smackdown. But even THAT let me down. Alright, let us discuss, shall we?

♡Edge Accepts Randy Orton’s Challenge (-)

I mean, duh. God, I am so bored with this. WWE, I played your little game and allowed it with Wrestlemania, since Edge had just come back and let’s face it- I am a big ol’ fan of Adam Copeland. But this is just overworked, overdone, overpromoed, just... over everything. And calling this “the greatest match ever?” Really? In an empty arena and no fans, no pop, no nothing? Please WWE. Chill with that. It just makes me cringe. I could easily list 10 matches of both of theirs that are undoubtedly going to be better than this match. Minus.

♡Murphy vs. Humberto (-)

Jesus christ. I’m sorry, but you cannot take someone who was literally a jobber last week to trying to take on the biggest tag team on RAW. You just can’t do that. You just sent Humberto to the slaughterhouse because you wanted a hispanic wrestler to stand up for a hispanic wrestler. Let’s be real. Now, if Aleister Black had come out for a little pre-match tussle, it would’ve been more forgivable. But this was just random and boring.

♡Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ruby Riott (-)

Honestly, forgot this match happened. CHARLOTTE FLAIR SHOULD NOT BE ON 3 SHOWS. I see so much of Charlotte Flair during the week that I literally do not care what she does anymore, because I know if she loses a match on Monday, I’ll see her fight on Wednesday and Friday again. Yes, I commend her for working like she does 3 days a week, that must be insane. But it is Charlotte City so much that all of her matches just run together. Give Rhea back the NXT belt, take her off Smackdown, and just keep her on Raw. Less is more here. Also... what is Ruby’s storyline? Redemption? Isn’t that Liv’s story? Like this match just made no sense for either character, unless they’re trying to make Charlotte seem like some tyrant and Ruby even more of a loser than she already is. Seriously, when was the last time that girl won a match? Please don’t turn even more of your female roster into jobbers for the 4HW. 

♡Whatever the Asuka thing was (?)

So it got leaked after Becky’s announcement last week that at MITB this year, we were supposed to get Nia Jax vs. Becky, with Nia taking home the belt. But with her sudden pregnancy and Nia not being the most well liked woman on the roster, they figured giving the belt to Asuka was the safest option. Which, yes, that is correct. I get Asuka and Kairi are cute lil weirdos and they play their parts well, but this was a very weird start to the Asuka/Nia feud. It was just kinda sped through and all over the place. However, I did enjoy including Kairi. I am terrified of them splitting up the Kabuki Warriors. I just don’t really know how I feel. 

♡R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley (-)

The only positive out of this is I absolutely adore R-Truth. He is so damn funny (until he puts those damn teeth in) and I cannot wait to see how he gets Gronk. On the other end with Bobby.... I just really don’t care? I mean, 3 weeks ago, we saw the man flip a tire. Like, that was a whole segment. And if you want Bobby to seem like the biggest badass, why oh why would you put him with Truth? Why wouldn’t you have a Jinder Mahal vs. Bobby Lashley for top contender spot? That would be FAR more entertaining then watching Lashley put the beating on Truth every week. MVP is settling quite nicely into the manager position though.

♡Women’s Tag Team Championship (A BIG -)

I AM FURIOUS. ABOUT THIS MATCH. FIRST OF ALL. Fuck WWE for ending it on a DQ, because if it were a male match, it would’ve been completely fine and not mentioned. I am very very tired with womens’ wrestling in WWE being so quick to DQ. Second, why would you have an ACTUAL tag team lose to this awful combo? Put Nikki back in NXT with Sanity; you can’t deny that would bring BIG interest into NXT. Alexa... I don’t know. She has a horrible mean girl thing about her that I can’t take any of her feuds seriously because she reminds me of high school. I truthfully don’t see her in the title picture, especially not with the likes of Nia and Asuka, But you know who she would absolutely kill with? Zelina fucking Vega. Ruby, maybe? Liv even? The combo with Nikki and Alexa is just so awkward and I’m over it. The IIconics are annoying- BUT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. You can tell they are best friends and have the best chemistry in and out of the ring. They are so entertaining and a genuinely good team. Please. 

♡Shayna Bazler vs. Natalya (-)

Natalya deserves better than a year of losses. That’s all I am going to say about this match. Shayna is very talented and will do very well in the current main title picture.

♡Owens/Crews vs. Andrade/Garza (+) (MVP)

I actually liked this match! Kevin Owens is the fuckin’ man. He is so talented, he’s amazing on the mic, and honestly- he is what kept this episode afloat for me tonight. Plus getting Crews back was amazing; he is the most underused talent on the Raw roster. I enjoyed getting a taste of the Andrade/Garza tag team that’s been rumored for a while and I think once Andrade loses the belt (which is undoubtedly coming shortly), I’d love to see them do some stuff with Street Profits. Or even Mysterio/Black if we get that tag team. I would absolutely love to see Crews get that belt next week, it is time for him to. If he does get it and they’re going the McIntyre/Lashley route they seem to be going on- maybe pair Crews with Jinder? Shelton or Titus maybe? I think that would be great. A lot of potential here. MVP of the night!

♡Murphy vs. Aleister Black and randomly austin theory and seth rollins (?)

So, everyone knows I love me some Aleister Black. I think the man is insanely talented and should be in a title picture ASAP. And honestly, I’m a fan of Murphy too! I think the two of these men have great in-ring chemistry and I enjoy watching them fight. The reason this match is getting a question mark is... Austin Theory? Really? So, I know Theory was kinda brought up to give Angel Garza something to do while Andrade was out on probation, but why on God’s green earth are you going to put him with Seth and Murphy? I was hoping after the split of Zelina’s group, he would go back to NXT and maybe work with Undisputed Era or Cameron Grimes. I also know he’s not been moved from the NXT page on the WWE website to RAW yet. But if you’re planting the seed of him “following” Seth, then when are you going to make that pull official? Should they? No. Theory is not ready yet. He doesn’t have a distinct ring persona yet. Out of the three, Andrade is the cocky workhorse, Garza is the flirty ladies man, and Austin is... there. Send him back and if you want to fill your roster, pull someone who could make some good ass TV (Damien Priest with Aleister Black, thank you). 

♡Axe Throwing (+)

Scrolling on Twitter, it seems to be that a lot of people cannot stand the random competitions between the Street Profits and Viking Raiders, but honestly? I’m a fan! With the empty arena era, all of WWE’s matches are just grunts and ring slaps. Long matches become literally miserable to watch (ie. Orton vs. Edge at Wrestlemania 36). Having these random cutaways, while aren’t wrestling, is something different from the usual. And frankly, I’d rather see this than most of the other matches I sat through tonight. I don’t want to see the Street Profits lose their belts just yet, I absolutely adore them, but I think these cutaways are setting up a really fun feud. 

♡Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Baron Corbin (-)

Drew wins, fucking obviously. Did people REALLY think Corbin was going to win here? Against Drew, who is literally a tank? No ma’am, not a chance. This was kind of a throw away match just to set up the feud with Drew & Lashley... yawn. MVP is the best part of Bobby Lashley right now. I just love Drew McIntyre so much, I never want him to lose the belt ever. Bobby vs. Drew at Backlash, most likely. Whatever man. 

♡General Thoughts

~Please just never let Lana speak anymore. No promos anymore from Lana.  ~More Kevin Owens. More Aleister Black. Yes. ~Where the FUCK is Cedric Alexander and Ricochet? Please bring them back, WWE. Please stop destroying legitimately good tag teams.  ~Lana Never Speak Again 2020 campaign. 

Thanks for reading my rambles and I’ll be back on Wednesday for AEW thoughts. <3 

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 218: Purse Pilferage and Mouse Murder

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan and Deku sparred in an attempt to draw out Deku’s mysterious new power once again, but to no avail. In a brief flashback, the OFA Scooby Squad (now including Bakugou!) discussed Deku’s recent visions and his multiple quirks. Kacchan pointed out that it was very similar to All for One’s power, which seems to be weighing on Deku’s mind some. That evening at the fanfic dorms, Shouto approached Deku asking if he had been hiding a second quirk. Deku assured him that the new quirk surprised him as much as everyone else, and fibbed that it was probably derived from his original quirk. Meanwhile the U.A. faculty accepted Shinsou into the hero course, and Aizawa acted all weird and cagey about someone from his past named “Shirakumo.” Later, Monoma met with Aizawa, Mirio, Deku, and Eri at the teachers’ dorms and unsuccessfully attempted to copy Eri’s quirk. Eri apologized for being so troublesome, and the others assured her that she wasn’t and Deku told her that even seemingly dangerous quirks can be used for good. It wasn’t lost on him that this applied to his own powers as well, and he resolved to keep working to master OFA.

Today on BnHA: Early one December morn, the kids of 1-A gather in their common room to watch some TV while they wait to hear if Bakugou and Todoroki passed their provisional license retest. The news is reporting on a company called Detnerat which has recently entered the hero equipment business. Their CEO is some Joker-looking dude who’s apparently a big fan of AFO’s old nemesis Destro of Meta Liberation Army fame. Destro’s book has recently been republished and is making the discussion rounds. DetCEO discusses it with his cute lil mouse subordinate Miyashita, but Miyashita isn’t really a fan. This proves unfortunate for Miyashita, as DetCEO is all “that’s too bad, guess I’m just gonna have to snap your neck then.” Like, for real though. Anyway so then DetCEO heads to a secret meeting of like-minded individuals who are apparently Destro’s descendants and are seeking to make his goals a reality. We then segue to a group of purse-snatchers led by someone who I really thought was Shirakumo for a hot minute, ngl. He’s not, though. Anyway so they’re wreaking some havoc and stealing people’s shit -- that is, until two good boys who just earned their provisional licenses after three months of hard work show up to spoil their fun.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 225, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

HOLY SHIT

BABY WE GOT OURSELVES SOME MOTHERFUCKING SNOW IN THE FANFIC DORMS!!!

holy shit. and it’s the weekend! ARE WE GONNA HAVE SOME ANTICSSSS YES PLEASE I REALLY NEED THIS SO BAD RIGHT NOW YOU HAVE NO IDEA

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

KIRISHIMA WHY ARE YOU TAKING YOUR CLOTHES OFF

I hope they get a ton! I WANT SNOWBALL FIGHTS AND SNOW FORTS AND TODOROKI TO LET IT GOOOOOO LET IT GOOOOOOO

ahh but apparently he and Bakugou are away right now

wow they even got that class on Sundays now, huh

also, who did Sero borrow the tankoubon from? because more likely than not it was Bakugou since I can’t even picture Shouto reading manga (unless he borrowed some volumes from Deku, maybe). so that means Bakugou is (a) a big ol’ manga-reading nerd who brought his manga to school with him, and (b) sharing with friends. both of which make me so, so happy

(ETA: Viz translated this as “I want to borrow the next volume of this manga from Todoroki,” but as far as I can tell, in the RAW version he doesn’t specify who he borrowed it from. I think Caleb Cook just doesn’t think Bakugou is capable of sharing. give him some credit, Caleb Cook.)

Deku says they should be back around six, and Iida says it’s apparently the last day of their provisional class!

OHMYGOSH. hold up. so that means that their re-test is in like a week, no? holy shit. oh my god I’m so hypppppped ahhhhhh

SDLFKHASLDFKJLK HOLY SHIT

IT’S TODAY!?!??

YOU CAN DO IT KIDS I BELIEVE IN YOU. YOU GOT THIS

KACCHAN ARE YOU READY TO OFFICIALLY BECOME KACCHAN THE HERO

(ETA: maybe we’ll actually get Kacchan’s hero name before I grow old. maybe.)

SDFKASLDHK AND LOOK AT THIS SETUP!? AHHHHHH PLEASE DON’T CUT AWAY FROM THIS. OH MY GOD

but snow antics though. oh my god I’m so torn lsdkjlk

anyways of fucking course we cut away, and I don’t really mind because I love cozy 1-A snow day dorm antics also. plus everyone is gossiping about Todo and Baku, and Satou is baking a cake like the Princess Peach he is

Kami is playfully lamenting the fact that he’s about to lose the one leg-up he had on those two, and flipping on the news

oh shit are we gonna get some Plot

I guess so. what is this

Detnerat?? is that a portmanteau of something? an acronym? or another Star Wars reference I failed to pick up on??

(ETA: yeah so it’s the word “talented” spelled backwards. except with an r instead of an l.)

so the news is showing some people with mutant quirks, including a four-armed lady, a jello child, and a walrus with a bowler hat

and the narration is talking about how people like this used to be a minority but now “their era arrived”

interesting. I guess there’s pretty much no such thing as “one size fits all” anymore these days huh. so does that mean there’s been a shift back to custom-made tailored items?

this pointy nose guy is extremely theatrical

calm down buddy

so he says his company has come all this way while building products that meet the needs of each of their customers individually

this is cool and all but I’m trying to figure out why this new arc is opening with an infomercial

I’m expecting things all right, but I think it’s a little too early to say if they’ll be great

and now we’re cutting to this guy’s office, where his employee is concluding his presentation. apparently he was showing his boss the finished commercial

and now they’re discussing the thus-far lukewarm reception to their recent announcement

(ETA: holy shit. famous last words. fuckin’ jinxed it Miyashita.)

are you guys... good guys? bad guys? how is this related to the plot?? a new arc all about stock holdings and market shares. Iida did you write this arc

so pointy nose says that they’ve been doing this on a much larger scale for a long time already, so he’s confident they’ll be successful

oh shit

it only just occurred to me that he used the word “superpowers” instead of quirks

AND LOOK AT THIS SHIT

IT’S THAT BOOK. THE ONE THAT WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN BY DESTRO OMG

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IT WAS DESTRO. CALLED IT WOOP WOOP

Mishiwhatsa says he read the book too but “it’s a load of crap if you ask me”

he says that what the army was doing was nothing but terrorism at the expense of innocent people, and yet Destro “had the gall” to act like he was in the right

hot damn this guy really was Magneto. are we going full-on X-Men in this arc. I want the works. I want fucking sentinels and everything oh god please

oh shit I’m starting to worry about ol’ Mishi here

MIYASHITA, RUN

OH SHIT

IS HE GOING TO SNAP HIS FUCKING NECK!?? HOLY SHIT!??

holy fucking shitballs oh christ

this dude is straight up murdering his best employee, Nezu’s cousin, all because he didn’t agree with his favorite book!?

...

holy shit

fuck. I’m speechless

okay. okay shit. well. uh. Detnerat, huh

you have my attention, plot

hooooooooooly shit

holy shit holy shit holy shit

okay. calm down, self. let’s jot down some thoughts real quick

okay so one, that one shot of that guy with his hand on his hat has a decided Ian McKellen vibe to it. I’m telling you guys. X-Men references all over the damn place in this arc

two, the word “supremacy” was used. meaning this wasn’t just a “quirk rights” group, this was a quirk supremacist group. or is a quirk supremacist group, I should say. these people believe themselves to be the future of humankind. they don’t want liberation, they want control. and assuming we continue to follow the X-Men parallels here, they also believe themselves to be superior to those without superpowers and they’re looking to assert their authority over them

they clearly believe the current laws restricting the usage of quirks are a form of oppression and persecution and are looking to eradicate them

this seems like exactly the type of philosophy the League of Villains would be eager to spread, and I wouldn’t be surprised if another team-up is in the works here

lastly, if these guys are now in the business of making hero equipment, whoever buys from them had better be really careful, as I can easily see some sort of Iron Man 2 plotline going down in which there’s a secret command built into the coding of the new equipment which will sabotage its users once activated. or if you’d rather think of it in Star Wars terms rather than MCU, call it an “order 66” ploy

(ETA: well I partly called this one. still up in the air honestly, who knows.)

also: friendly reminder that Bakugou’s gauntlets were recently destroyed and he’s gonna be needing new ones! (:

so having said all that, let’s see how this pans out!

and right away, the prediction about them teaming up with the League is panning out. waste no time, huh

so Hooknose is telling him to do so at once

oh shit hold up

WELL I SURE GOT THAT BACKWARDS NOW DIDN’T I

lol oh shit. I totally forgot that AFO was the one who bombed the Army’s HQ all those decades and possibly centuries ago. I can’t believe these guys still remember that and know how AFO was connected to boot

also, is there a Rorschach thing going on here? I wonder if it’s a reference to the psychologist or to the comic book character from Watchmen. I’m betting the latter given the way they’re using the inkblots as masks, and also because this is a manga based on superhero comics after all

(ETA: yeah, Rorschach, Joker, and Magneto... drawing on a lot of classic villains and anti-heroes in this arc.)

ah so now we’re getting details on their new bid to enter the hero market

HOLD UP

WHAT THE FUCK THIS GUY LOOKS AWFULLY FUCKING FAMILIAR

IS THIS SHIRAKUMO??? AIZAWA WERE YOU NOT CONTENT WITH THE STRIKING SIMILARITY YOU ALREADY BORE TO KAKASHI? HAD TO GO AND ADD THE OLD FRIEND TURNED EVIL BACKSTORY TOO?? OR WHAT

given that this guy seems to have some sort of cloud-based power (look at what he’s riding! and now the people he just harassed and stole from are describing it as “carbonated water”), and kumo means “cloud”...

(ETA: nope, this is just good ol’ Soda Sam. Carbonation Carl.)

okay and now we’re cutting to a conversation between two as-yet-unknown parties that seem to be witnessing this robbery from a distance, and deciding whether or not to intervene

for a moment I entertained the idea that this might be Kacchan and Shouto with their hot-off-the-presses licenses, possibly talking to All Might? but none of this dialogue seems to have that Kacchan flair, and it also doesn’t make much sense for them to have attended the lesson accompanied by All Might and no one else. Aizawa’s been pretty good about making sure there’s always at least one other fighting pro accompanying them

so now this group of merry bandits is celebrating their new haul

OH SHITTTTTTT

ODDS OF THIS BEING BAKUGOU AND SHOUTO JUST SHOT WAAAAAAAAAY WAY UP OH MY GOD?!

OH MY GOD IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT?!

I SHOULD STOP DOUBTING MYSELF AND HORIKOSHI’S PROPENSITY FOR GIVING ME EXACTLY WHAT I WANT ALL OF THE TIME

motherfucker. you just know Kacchan spent that entire cab ride with his nose pressed to the window trying to sense danger and keeping his fingers crossed something like this would happen

(ETA: him and Shouto both, since the dialogue suggests it was Shouto that spotted it first! so basically one of them stationed at each window with All Might sandwiched in between wondering if he’s even going to survive this trip. the answer is yes, All Might, but not without it becoming Eventful.)

also, 30 minutes or 30 seconds, it hardly matters All Might. you know these two spent the last three months anticipating this moment every single minute of every day. they’re gonna go do reckless hero shit, All Might. THEY’RE JUST GONNA

oh my godddddddd

TodoBaku fighting against Aizawa’s possible friend-turned-villain in the snowwwwww having JUST EARNED THE SHIT OUT OF THEIR NEW LICENSES HELL YEAHHHHHHHHH

and it appears Kacchan does have a gauntlet. goddammit. make that propensity for giving me almost exactly what I want, most of the time

anyways, I don’t really care! life is good. life is fucking amazing, fam

[lentaska]

Height Difference - Part Two

Note: First person POV, OFC from non-wrestling background English is my second language, I apologize for any grammar/wording mistake. This is a work of fan fiction using characters from wrestling, I do not claim any ownership over them.

@thecristsandcallihancult @monstersmaid

Part Two “I wanna talk to you about something.”

Road trip usually made me sleepy, but I was too nervous to even think properly now. We would arrive at the stadium within one hour, and for the first I’d meet Fulton’s friends.

It might sound weird that we finally got chance to meet each other’s friends after five-months dating. The schedule conflict had been the issue, we had friends who must travel around to work, and both of us agreed to meet them when they were gathered together. Which meant, I was about to meet not only one or two wrestlers, but whole group of them.

“Are you sweating?” Fulton eyed me, joked. “They’re not gonna interview you, lil’ bird. They just wanna know what kinda person you are.”

“What if they don’t like me?”

“They will like you. Take it easy, they’re all nice people.”

As a wrestling newbie - I only knew how it looked like - my subconscious reply was “no they are not nice, they hit you with chairs”. And it made Fulton laugh hard.

“My bad, I should teach you the basic. Those scenes you saw is part of the story plot, we all have plots at some level. It may be easier for you to consider it as TV show.”

“But you got hurt... I don’t wanna see you get hurt.”

No matter how many times I told myself that wrestling was his passion and job, and he could handle it well, seeing him got injures still scared me. The biggest worry I ever had while dating an artist was “my boyfriend cut his finger when sharpening pencil”, to date a wrestler was something way different. I was very frustrated during the first month of the dating when he returned with bandage wrapped his arm or bruises on back

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” He gave me his hand and waited for my response, “Trust me.”

Nodded, I put my hand on his, he grasped it and rubbed carefully. He might not be good at comforting people by words, but he had his way to show consolation and support.

I looked outside of the window, we were getting close to the destination. Wondering what a real wrestling match would be like, I heard Fulton’s voice, “I wanna talk to you about something.”

The serious tone gave me bad feelings.

“When we were with your friends, you said you don’t wanna move in together now.”

Swallowed hard and told myself to act cool, I replied, “well, it’s only five months and we never talked about financial stuff.” The latter part was a lie, I was hoping to use it to make the statement more cogent. The thing was, I had never been through this stage, it’s a totally new concept to me.

“We discussed the financial stuff weeks ago, it was the day I got my contract with Impact, remember?”

You had no idea how much I hated his good memory sometimes.

“Right...” I coughed embarrassingly. Wording was an art that I wasn’t equipped with, especially when I panicked, I didn’t even gave second thought to what I said, “you know it can end up in bad way right?”

“What do you mean by ‘bad’?”

My voice faltered, “moving in can be different from what we think... W-what if we break up?”

Fulton’s face clouded over, brows knitted together in exactly the same way when he faced a difficult opponent in match. “So you think it will somehow ruin everything. I kinda start to wonder if you have enough faith in our relationship.”

I screwed up.

Having the thought that he might refuse to talk to me, I turned away, couldn’t help feeling despondent. The abnormal aura between us did not vanish after we arrived the destination, although Fulton acted like nothing happened and introduced me to his friends - he even grinned like usual, but I could sense his displeasure.

The meeting with his friends was short since they were in hurry of preparing for the match, but they were all friendly and considerate people. They knew it’s my first time watching wrestling show with almost zero knowledge, and were willing to answer every question I had, even the stupidest ones. After a short chat with the Sami Callihan - whom I learned that actually had easy-going nature in real life rather than the malicious personality in rings - about what the main event was tonight, I looked up and found Fulton was gone. I didn’t even have the chance to say “good luck”.

A hand patted my shoulder, it’s Jake Crist, “looking for Fulton? He already went to the ring. Aren’t you going to watch the match?”

“I’ll just stay here.” I forced a smile.

The younger Crist stared at me for a while, said, “I don’t wanna be gossipy but did you two have argument?”

“It’s my fault.” I replied, eyes downcast, “I said stupid things and upset him.”

“This is how relationship works. Couple always argues about small things.”

“But today is the first time he brought me to meet you guys, it’s so special for him and I ruined it.”

“Don’t say that. Whatever the argument is, I believe there’s a reason.” Jake gave me a comforting smile. “Fulton talks about you a lot. Every time he mentions ‘Birdie’, we know the topic is about you.”

I blushed. He liked to give me pet names.

“You two are deeply connected, things will work out.”

I nodded, feeling much better, “thank you.”

“By the way, you can also watch the match here.” Jake turned on the TV.

The first scene I saw was Fulton leaning at the corner of the ring, face covered in blood.

“Hey are you alright?” Jake asked me.

Slightly shaking my head, I bit my lips in disquietude. It didn’t take long to know that Fulton lost the match, he looked like a beast in trap, wounded and dispirited, I wanted to hug him so badly, hence the first thing I did when he walked into the room was to grab his hand.

But he gestured stop, “Don’t touch.”

My arm froze in an awkward posture. Everyone in the locker room turned their sights to us, the confusion in air suffocated me. I didn’t want to act like grouch in front of his friends, it would embarrass him, so I mumbled “sorry” and left quickly.

 Wandering in the hallway, I tried to figure the reason that he said those words: was it because the argument we had in car? Or was he displeased that I didn’t go to the auditorium but stayed in backstage? I made mistake too and I wanted to fix it. Maybe we could try cohabiting first? It sounds fine for me...

With no attention paid to signs and turning, I somehow got lost in the building. Guided by intuition, I took another turn and was immediately stunned by the person appeared in front of me. It’s Fulton. He looked better than when he was locker room minutes ago, all the blood and mess was cleaned up.

“Where have you been?” he asked in worries.

“I got lost.”

Fulton let out a sigh, “like always...”

Before he went further, I cut him off, “I want to apologize.”

He looked puzzled, “what is it for?”

“I’m sorry for what I said. I have faith in our relationship with no doubt, but I never went so far in the previous ones and didn’t know what to do...”

Fulton dragged me into his arms, I was relieved a little in his bear hug. “I’m sorry too, Birdie.”

I looked up at him for an answer.

“You’re gonna think it’s stupid... I was covered in blood and I don’t wanna ruin your dress. I know how much you like this dress, you only wear it on special occasion.”

I wasn’t sure which one surprised me more: the reason why he didn’t want me to touch him after match, or how much attention he put on the details. But this was not what I needed to consider now.

“Listen, I have been thinking about what you said. I shouldn’t push you, if you’re not comfortable with moving in now, I’ll wait.”

Grasped Fulton’s fingers, I asked, “what’s about we start with cohabiting?”

“Are you sure?” his eyes widened. “I don’t want you to force yourself...”

“I’m sure.” I threw my arm around his waist, “by the way, can you take me to another wrestling show, I’ll definitely be out there to support you.”

With little strength, Fulton scooped me up and let me sit on his shoulder, “whatever you want.”