#Sorry it's long

[wildcxrds]

10 & 11 for thor

10.     believe negatively shaped them into the person they are today. 11.     believe positively shaped them into the person they are today.

(warning: long ass response ahead because I'm so bad with NOT WRITING A FUCKTON OF SHIT LMFAO)

10 - His ego had always been a problem. Always. Even in these days, Thor gets too into his own head over his capabilities, overestimating himself. Believing it's he who needed to solve the problem. That only he can do it. Even the God of Thunder has his limits.

It was a day in his youth - akin to young adult years for human years, but to Thor, he'd already been a young man for hundreds of years. And Odin had called a meeting for just him and Loki. His quarters overlooked the whole of Asgard and the young princes arrived with anticipatory butterflies in their stomach for what they knew was an important discussion with their father.

"You will be faced with challenges and responsibilities someday," Odin began, pacing before them by the balcony, "There is much to expect from the young princes of Asgard. Only one of you may be a leader in my stead, once my time has passed, and it is not something that should ever be taken lightly." Odin's eye gazed on Thor, lingering upon him and Thor swelled up with pride. His father had been training him all his life, for him to take the throne. Thor knew this would come to pass, it was guaranteed. He was destined to be King of Asgard.

He would fail to notice his brother's small scowl in the absence of their father's attention. Notice the way his emerald eyes hardened slightly, before his expression cleared in favor of intentional ignorance to the favoritism.

"When this time comes, I know you shall make me proud." Odin strode to a sealed casket nearby, brushing his fingers lightly over it. The casket glowed with Norse runes, followed by the sound of a latch unlocking. Odin opened it carefully, and Thor felt the air escape his lungs.

Mjolnir's steel shone beautifully from the golden Asgardian sunlight pouring into the room. Odin took it by its handle, supporting the head of the hammer with his other hand and carried it to Thor.

"You have great ability, my first-born." Odin said. "With the support of your brother, you have demonstrated great strength and power. This will be but a channel for you, a symbol for our people and any who oppose or support you. I entrust this to you. I know you will never fail us."

"Thank you, father." Thor said as firmly as he could, taking the handle. There was weight to the hammer, but he immediately felt the connection. The prickling extended from his chest through his fingers and blue lightning crackled around the steel. He pulled his gaze to look at Loki, beaming with an 'I told you so' sort of look.

They knew of Mjolnir's existence, knew that one day one of them would be entrusted to it, but Thor always believed it was destined to him. And this confirmed it. He was always powerful, strong - physically and mentally - and Mjolnir being bestowed to him along with Odin all but confirming that he was to be King of Asgard told Thor he was the absolute fucking greatest. (One of too many situations that he, in retrospect, now saw as blatant favoritism and flaunting in Loki's face that he was never truly and Odinson. Which was never the truth. Blood never made them brothers, their bond did.)

But this was also one of many situations that solidified in Thor's head that he was great, and always strong, and could never show any weakness or failure. He was always on a pedestal. It doesn't manifest anymore in brutishly running into battle without care for his companions, or being selfish anymore. But it manifests in never asking for help for himself. In extremely high expectations and a crippling fear of failing. In a determination and unhealthy manner of pushing to physical and mental limits.

---

11 - It's that momentary respite where he can finally breathe. He's deep in his grief because in the last couple years alone, he'd become orphaned and fully believed he lost all his family. And just moments ago, Asgard.

And even though that deep annoyance and resentment to Loki still lingers, his relief that his brother had survived and, seemingly, was on a better path. He wouldn't expect a lack of mischief, or suddenly a completely good moral compass..

But watching his brother catch the object physically in his hand, proof that he'd shown up and hadn't absconded off the ship somehow, gave Thor hope. Hope that there was a better future on the horizon with their time to relocate.

The smile on his brother's face made Thor feel like they were kids again. With no pressure of the throne on Thor's shoulders, and no favoritism flaunted in Loki's face - at least not completely. They were brothers, joyfully running through their mother's gardens trying to catch one another. They are brothers, now older, standing across from one another, with nothing but their now reforming bond. It gave Thor a deep appreciation for those he still has in his life, and to his own growth to becoming a much better leader than he'd once envisioned. There was no more power, there was just reliance. Community. Family.

[potatocrisp]

i’m interested: what does astarion think about the whole raphael+zarra thing? could you spare us some headcanons? 🙏

holy shit i forgot how to answer on this site anyways yeah! idk who also follows my twitter where I'm even more annoying about them so I'm very sorry if this is like "you've said that before" info I never remember anything and frankly I should write headcanons down but don't.

Astarion is fine with it, he's included even and an active participant when it suits him. I really liked that fact that Astarion seems curious with Raphael from the jump when I was first playing, and especially in act two playful says he thinks Raphael likes [them], and then later he has a positive (in his own way) reaction to the House of Hope

I've called Zarra and Raphael "worsties" before but what they have is very different from what Zarra and Astarion have. With Astarion, while they are still shitty and deceitful/manipulative (to others) at times, they encourage each other to try to be better and heal themselves. Whereas Raphael is quite tragic (to me) in that he will keep seeking to covet things that he can never truly, completely control, and because he won't come to terms with that he won't be happy. I think Astarion would see that, see how ascension could(/would?) have sent him on such a path, and pities that for him. Although, because he finds him interesting and attractive, allows him his pleasure when it suits them both, or all three depending.

(Zarra on the other hand proooobably recognizes the tragedy in Raphael as well to a degree, but is also drawn to him in a more self-sabotaging way. But you were asking about Astarion so here you are!)

[casadegatos]

Favorite Thing I Wrote Today, gloomy Sunday edition:

At the end of my first week, Alice sat on the edge of my desk, crossing her legs at the ankle. I pretended to still be working on a graph so that I could look down and admire the curve of her calves and thighs. She tapped a manicured nail on the corner of the desk. “Have you been out and about yet? You said you moved here from Palo Alto, don’t you want to see the sights?”

I blinked up at her. “What are the sights of Lancaster, then?” The town was pretty paltry in my opinion, but it was where a lot of the single civilians lived. It was quieter than Edwards, but not by much. It was hard to avoid any of the flight patterns around the base.

“There are a few cafes, some honkytonks, a couple of roadhouses,” Alice paused to consider me, “but you seem like a cinema gal to me. Come on, we can get a bite then go to a late showing of whatever’s playing at the Bijou. What d’ya say?”

Pretty girls don’t have to ask me twice, I thought. I gathered up my things and extended my arm. “I am at your mercy, ma’am.” She hooked her arm around mine and led me to the bus stop.

[wallcrawlparker]

@deceitfultrickry plotted starter with Peter's Lokison verse!

The combat had been pretty intense, let alone confusing. Not only was the team clearly outnumbered, they were also not on their home turf and in full-blown blizzard mode. That wouldn't usually be a huge deal as most of the team was enhanced and/or bundled up in self-heating gear and literal heaters.

But Peter.... Peter's got spider DNA, and spiders can't thermoregulate. He'd been hypothermic a few times just from patrolling in the winter, so... when the youngest teammate didn't answer the call to regroup, panic immediately sparked.

Mostly, it was Tony flipping his shit, panicking about how the kid's not dressed for this and his suit's tracker must be damaged and he could be anywhere!

What Tony doesn't know, though, is that Peter had been in extreme cold before. Once he goes past his enhanced-human threshold and his life is endangered by the cold, he.... goes blue. Literally, yeah. He goes blue. His (unknown) paternal heritage saves his life, literally, by morphing him into his frost giant form. Not that he knows that. It's only happened once before and... well, he figured he must have just been seeing shit. Anyway. While the team freaked out and seemed to forget they had a literal Frost Giant/Norse God on their team currently, Peter was a few kilometres meters away, halfway buried in snow after a particularly hard blow to the head knocked him out, taking out some of his suit's gear; including the tracker.

[wolftroll2]

MY CARRD! (it has info about me n all that)

YOUR REMINDER TO CLICK FOR PALESTINE:

MY FICTIONKIN ACC: @wolftroll2s-fictionkin-blog

----------

USER BOXES BCS I LOVE THEM:

[general-kalani]

{ @stars-over-kanmar​ sent; "Do you need help with that?" (Sinai)

Prompt from here! }

He must’ve been focusing too much on the wood these suppliers had. Truly, it was marvellous! So different to what was on Eden-6 and yet the quality in them. He’d have to let his people actually work on them to see if they’re as high a quality as he’s seeing...

Or, if it wasn’t, he could just blame his bad eyesight.

Maybe his tragically bad eyesight was good for something for once.

Fat chance.

He almost didn’t hear who was talking to him! Thank you obsession with the damn Jakobs company to keep an eye out for almost any kind of wood.

He was quick to stand up straight to face the person talking to him. “Oh not at all, thanks for asking though.” What kind people... So much better than what the hell was happening out in the Borderlands.

Though he did try to look around for his dear Alistair...

To no avail.

Seriously where did he go?!

“I am missing my husband though but I’m sure he’s around here somewhere. He probably got caught up on something like I did...”

Damn his lack of research not telling him who the hell was talking to him right now. He should’ve been nice back and checked but no, focus with the corporation had him doing anything but research.

“Before you ask, I’m Wainwright Jakobs.” Please don’t recognise the name or something I don’t want to be treated with reverence or anything like that... Wait, this wasn’t the leader he was meant to be talking to for a deal was he?

Whatever gods were in the Borderlands bless him for not making a fool of himself.

Where the hell was Alistair anyway?!

[faffreux]

I don't know if you've answered this before, but what was Fawfuls motivation for wanting to take over the Beanbean kingdom with Cackletta and later trying to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom? 👀

Power!

I honestly believe that Fawful was always power hungry but likely didn't have a clear idea of a direction to go about gaining said power until meeting Cackletta. Here was somebody not only more experienced than he was but who shared a similar lust for power to his own! Studying under her (and assisting in her goals) would be the perfect way to get his metaphorical foot in the door towards greater things.

A huge part of appeal of working with Cackletta was simply the fact that she was a witch and magic is something Fawful lacks but earnestly desires- I feel this is also implied further just by the fact that his plan in Bowser's Inside Story is becoming all powerful by obtaining magic, specifically. Fawful's talents lie in the sciences, not the fantastical. It makes sense then to me that a guy like him would want to increase his power through any means necessary, and robots just weren't enough to do it.

That being said, I acknowledge that there's some headcanon going on here but I try to form my headcanons based upon what we're shown in the games and none of this really contradicts that so! That's where I am with it!

The second battle with Fawful (pink spandex, my beloved) in Superstar Saga tells us more about him through his dialogue in the sense that that up until then, it hadn't really occurred to Fawful that he could accomplish these goals on his own. Saving Cackletta opened up a new world to him and once he realized his capability, nothing could stop him from there. And he no longer felt (nor wanted) anyone else telling him how to go about it.

In my eyes, Fawful's loyalty towards Cackletta was a combination of transactional (in the sense that he knew he'd gain something from it) and actual respect for her power and experience- things he didn't possess at the time. Neither of these things mattered after the end of Superstar Saga, though. This is why we never see Fawful mention Cackletta again - she was essentially a stepping stone to what he REALLY wanted in the end, and we all know how completely self-absorbed Fawful can be.

And the story would continue from there...

And well, we all know how that went.

[withoutawar]

endgame compliant-ish verse ; 

steve sets off alone on his journey to return the stones

the past 5 years has been his definition of hell. his worst nightmare is not being able to do anything and that was pretty much the situation he was in after the first snap, and upon finding out that thanos had destroyed the stones already 

he tries his best to help people. his words have always carried weight and have helped people keep fighting on when they were about to lose hope. he’s inspired entire platoons and men on the brink of death before. group therapy isn’t exactly the the same and he finds himself flat out lying to people and therefore not gaining anything out of it himself 

he’s ready to die facing thanos in the final battle

he’s prepared to die returning these stones 

he knows how important it is to return them exactly where they’d found them in order to keep the timeline in tact

the last 2 he has to return is the soul and space stone

vomir, with no stone to guard, has no guardian. he makes the exchange, a soul for soul. perhaps he could have asked for anyone’s soul but he asks for natasha

her soul was taken before her body hit the ground. once returned, she has the spirit to fight. she survives. steve puts his space suit on her, and takes her to the top of the cliff where the red skull has been called back by the soul stone, forever under its curse

steve and red skull fight. red skull wants natasha dead again to free him from the curse, steve wants red skull dead because. well, he’s a nazi and did atrocious things and also don’t touch natasha. 

the space stone, in steve’s safe keeping has a bond with the red skull because it is what sent him to vomir in the first place, way back in 1945 

because 1945 middle of the atlantic ocean, and vomir is a known path to the space stone, it reacts and reverses the first space-jump, sending both steve and the red skull back to the valkyrie, 1945 ( shhh space, time, what’s the difference . . . )

natasha is left --- if she’s smart, which she is --- to use the quantum jump thingy in her / steve’s suit to escape vomir. there are two jumps programmed in. one to 1970-something where steve was supposed to return the space stone. and one to the present. she completes the mission --- half dead, mind you --- in putting the space stone back into the lab, and uses the last jump back to the present to hopefully find out whatever the fuck happened to steve

in doing so --- she corrects the timeline in which the stones were stolen from, and returns to the ‘ main ’ timeline. minus steve 

because the space stone had essentially pulled red skull and steve from two spaces into one, they become one with their counter selves that were fighting on the valkyrie

steve decapitates the red skull fucking finally, and in doing so, creates a reality branch ( or whatever it’s called when a timeline diverges with no real consequence i.e. TVA doesn’t give a fuck ) 

because he’s a live ( yay ) he’s found by the search party that peggy sent out

the time travel and the space stone magic fucked up his serum allowing him to grow old

it should be noted that when he gave natasha the suit, he slapped the spare time jumpy bracelet thing on himself ( because ofc bruce gave him a spare. ) he very much has the ability to go the present but chooses not to 

natasha arrives in bruce’s little portal platform ( again she’s basically dead someone PLEASE help her ) 

steve being the dramatic bitch that he is chooses that moment to use his time jumpy thing to portal in and the rest goes as it does in endgame, except that steve would be more emotional to see sam and bucky, who are practically ghosts from a different life to him now 

[bloomette]

about what happened yesterday and why i’m at my lowest point (again in 2022, shittiest year).

Yongguk (my ult bias, profile picture (if you didn’t know), the one I like for at least 11 years) had a fanmeeting, I bought online tickets (even if I dislike this concept) because it was his 1st fanmeeting ever,and because we don’t have a lot of content of my boy so I’ll  take everything possible. ANYWAY, this was planned and with the tickets 30 people could win a 1:1 fancall with the artist (60 seconds), that’s a typical thing in kpop and it’s known to be very difficult to have (it depends the artist). And last friday they announced the winners: I GOT SELECTED. I was shaking, so happy the whole day and finally a light of luck and happiness for 2022. Yesterday I woke up at 7:45am to watch the fanmeeting starting at 8am, we had SO MUCH fun with Babyz (fandom name) in the chatroom, we were from around the world and we were so happy to see Yongguk performing + being shy overall. Part 2 was later, and the fancall was after that. Part 2 went well too, had so much fun, he read my comments (”mama bang”) and even said my name (for whatever reason, I don’t remember). But here the thing....the fancall....I was No.20, I was waiting in the chatroom (where you should wait until the artist call you and you just answer and that’s it) and you could see the number like “No.5: ended” going on at the top. And when it reached 19, I was almost throwing up of stress HAHA, and I waited....waited....waited.....nothing happened ??? and suddenly it was written No.20: Absence. and i was like “EXCUSE ME ????” trust me if I saw Yongguk calling I’D HAVE ANSWER RIGHT AWAY ?? I was devasted like wtf was happening. it was written “the artist will try to call you at the end of all fancalls, after 2 calls it’ll be over”. So I started to panic, turned off the app, started again, looked at the network 3 times, everything was fine. And.....yet again at the end they “tried” to call, but I still didn’t get any calls ????? nothing...... So here was my last hope of happiness gone.....I cried (still am) so much. I know it’d seem stupid for you (like “MEH just a 1min call with a korean guy”) but to me it was everything.....I’ll never have that chance again in my life. So yeah I cried so much and drank the whole bottle of red wine (that I was planning to show him cause he like red wine), as I never drink I was quite tipsy....then went to BBQ at my friend and drank some more (don’t do that guys...), he gave me a candy “which help relax” (not weed but don’t remember what) and it felt a little better ( I laughed for nothing at least). I went home by feet, kinda wasted but not too much (I wanted....but yeah). Cried all the way back and at least reached home.

Sunday morning and still feel like shit.

[luv-eddiediaz]

Grief, sadness, depression, desperation - these are emotions and mental states people cannot control. Even on medication, even with therapy, and because there is such stigma still over mental illness a lot of people don’t even get the help they need. Mothers especially.

Because if I, as a mother go to my health professional and say I’ve been thinking about how I want to die, or how I’m having a really hard time coping with my day to day life and I think it’s affecting the way I care for my children, I will be terrified the whole time that what they will deem me an unfit mother and take them away from me. Not for a little while so I can get better, but forever. And my children being ripped away from me because I’m not strong enough to keep my shit together? Not going to happen. 

So, let me get real personal here, my current situation is shitty. My husband is mentally and emotionally abusive, and it’s a relatively new development, so I’m still here trying to “make things work” instead of running out the door (plus, we should all know by now, it isn’t easy to just get away). My mother in law has been living with us for two years. She’s a toxic, alcoholic who has done and said really awful things to me - none of which my husband has cared anything about, of course. He’s also cheated on me several times in the last couple years.

Oh, and he’s also pathetically co-dependent. 

And while all of this has been going on, my mental health has declined. Greatly. Now, depression is a family trait - my mom suffered from it for as long as I can remember before she died a few years ago; my dad has had it for a long time too. I never was, and am still not diagnosed with it, but believe me, I am depressed. 

I am also traumatized.

And through all of this anger, sadness, grief, frustration I feel every single day I have to raise two children. They are 9 and 3. And you better believe, no matter how hard I’ve tried not to let them see it, they have seen it. My oldest has held me while I ugly cry on the bathroom floor several times. She has straight up asked me if I want to kill myself, and I have always told her no, because that’s the truth - I don’t. Because I don’t want to leave them behind. THEY are the reason I get every day and go to work, and make dinner and do the laundry, and give baths, and help with homework. Even if some days it’s harder to do than others, even if all my smiles are fake (they’re never fake when my three year old is being silly or my 9 year old is being ridiculous like only a tween can be). I may only be half living right now, but I am living for them. 

So why am I oversharing all this? Because apparently tonight's episode got people all up in arms about Margaret Buckley. She wasn’t a great mother, no, and maybe she could/should have tried harder, but given the fact she was obsessed with appearances do you really think she went to seek help for her depression? Do you think maybe she had an underlying medical cause as well that could have attributed to it, but was never found? 

She was lost in her grief, and she never found her way out, but she also never took that final opportunity out. She could have left this world and been with the son she lost, but she didn’t. She stayed. And maybe that was for appearances too, but maybe, just maybe, it was because she loved Buck and Maddie. Truly. She just didn’t know how to do it right anymore. She was afraid that they’d be taken away from her the same way Daniel was, so she was hyper vigilant, she was distant and cold. But she lived. The same way so many of us mothers do - for them. 

Now, I’m not excusing it. She really messed those poor kids up, but I’m saying maybe we don’t look at a situation so one-dimensional. Maybe we don’t treat depression as a villain, maybe we try to understand where the “villain” is coming from sometimes, and we’ll see that we aren’t so different after all. 

[heroic-endeavors]

All the music questions. ALL OF THEM!

1:A song you like with a color in the title Heavenly Blue

2:A song you like with a number in the title

1000 Words

3:A song that reminds you of summertime

California Girls

4:A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about

I don't think there is a long like that. There is only a few people I dislike that much. But there are no songs connected to either of them. But one song I try to avoid is One Sweet Day. I loved the song. But until it really clicked what it meant and after someone I knew died I couldn't listen to it.

5:A song that needs to be played LOUD

Most songs I like I tend to have loud. Or at least when my headphones are in. So I guess I can just list a song I like.

Rivers in the Desert.

6:A song that makes you want to dance

Last Surprise.

7:A song to drive to

I can't drive.

8:A song about drugs or alcohol

Addict

9:A song that makes you happy

Xanadu

10:A song that makes you sad

Again, One Sweet Day. There is another song in which I can't remember the name. But it has a similar tone. But unlike One Sweet Day it isn't obviously about death and could just be a breakup song. I think it's called Unbreak my Heart. Just gonna add Aerith's Theme to this.

11:A song that you never get tired of

I'm not sure if any song are songs I might be tired of. I tend to listen to songs on repeat until I get sick of them. There are times I don't do this. Currently the song I have stuck in my head is 'We don't talk about Bruno.' but there might be a point where I will get sick of it.

For a while I couldn't really listen to any Lady Gaga songs because those were the first songs I bought from iTunes. Just Lady Gaga. So when my iTunes account was fresh and there wasn't much selection I was stuck with either Lady Gaga or some Final Fantasy songs.

12:A song from your preteen years

Shape of my Heart

13:One of your favorite 80’s songs

Everybody Wants to Rule The World, or Take On Me. I almost wanted to put some of my favorite Queen songs but they were all made in the 70s.

14:A song that you would love played at your wedding

Either Dearly Beloved or a piano rendition of Suteki Da Ne. Maybe Melodies of Life.

15:A song that is a cover by another artist

Most songs have a cover by another artist. The first one to come to mind would be Weezer's cover of Africa.

16:One of your favorite classical songs

Moonlight Sonata. I almost wanted to type in Toreador March. The sad part I only really know of those songs because of horror games. Moonlight Sonata because of Resident Evil, and Toreador March because of Five Nights at Freddy's. [Though I've heard the song before the game, but I didn't know the name of it until after.]

17:A song that would sing a duet with on karaoke

Are we talking about songs that are already duets or make a song a duet? First thing that came to mind was Beauty and the Beast.

18:A song from the year that you were born

Get out of my dreams, get into my car. I couldn't mind many songs I recognized let along ones I actually liked.

19:A song that makes you think about life

Miss Wanna Die?

20:A song that has many meanings to you

I'm not sure.

21:A favorite song with a person’s name in the title

We Don't Talk About Bruno? That's the only one that came to mind.

22:A song that moves you forward

Most songs do. Though, Wake Up Get Up Get Out There.

23:A song that you think everybody should listen to

Xanadu

24:A song by a band you wish were still together

??? I'm not too familiar with bands enough to know if any that I like are split up. But I do like Panic! At The Disco. Though I don't know many of their songs.

25:A song by an artist no longer living

Magic Dance or Smooth Criminal.

26:A song that makes you want to fall in love

... I don't have any like that?

27:A song that breaks your heart

Unbreak My Heart.

28:A song by an artist with a voice that you love

real Emotion

29:A song that you remember from your childhood

Under the Sea

30:A song that reminds you of yourself

Behind These Hazel Eyes.

[ofsvnlightt]

@drvcxrys​ gamora 

having been here for a while now, vex’ahlia had slowly realized that this place was pretty safe. she’d been taking her bow out less and less, realizing that she didn’t always need it. the people here were pretty nice and mostly kept to themselves. the night life was a different story. it wasn’t too bad, but shady people were everywhere and what happened in the shadows was never good. hearing a scuffle, vex went to investigate. by the time she got around the building so she could come into the alley from the back and not be noticed, the noises had stopped and the person was running away. “wish i had fenthras,” she said out loud to herself, walking up to the victim of whatever happened. “are you okay? are you hurt? i can’t do much but i can heal a little bit if you are.”

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 15: Wings

Harry was not a big fan of parties.

In fact, Harry downright hated parties because he hated all of the unwanted attention. Fortunately, this masquerade gala allowed him to remain anonymous.

After all, who would expect Harry Potter to arrive in a pirate costume with skintight breeches, a billowy white shirt that exposed his chest (and the fake anchor tattoo), and thigh high boots? The black mask that covered much of his face and the pirate hat with a huge, gaudy feather helped, too.

He'd happily avoided anyone and everyone on his way to the snack table and had just stuffed a tiny, flaky, savory pastry in his mouth when he looked up to the top of the staircase that led into the room and promptly choked. There, standing at the top and looking down at all of them, was a literal angel.

The man had gorgeous white and gold wings magically attached to his back, Harry's fingers twitched as though reaching for the soft feathers as they fluttered in the breeze drifting through the open door behind him. Gold sandals graced his feet, and golden straps wrapped up his legs, stopping mid thigh. Silky white fabric was artfully draped around his hips, protecting his modesty, but only just. He wore a golden corset with a delicate structure that emphasized the narrowness of his waist and the broadness of his bare shoulders. Gold was dusted lightly across his skin, making him shine even more radiantly. His mask was also gold, hiding everything but his sharp chin, strong jawline, and his lovely lips. To finish everything off, a golden laurel wreath graced his pink hair.

He was gorgeous, ethereal. And Harry's gut told him that he had to meet him. His gut was hardly ever wrong.

(Read more below the cut)

Without stopping to think, Harry set off toward the other man, but was beat to him by a man dressed in a muggle constable uniform. As Harry approached, he heard the constable berating the angel and he felt his metaphorical hackles rise.

"Oy!" he said as the constable shoved the man's shoulder. "Back off. What's the matter with you?"

The constable spluttered at him and placed his hands on his hips in indignation. "Well I don't think a costume like that is appropriate."

And suddenly, Harry recognized that voice, recognized posture and his puffed out chest. "Well, first, Auror Hibbards," he said, "It's not your place to enforce a dress code. And second, I don't think the business you conduct with your secretary after hours is appropriate but no one's confronted you or your wife about that. Perhaps you'd like me to go and have a conversation with her about what I find inappropriate?"

He followed the other man's panicked gaze across the room to two women who were standing together talking, and tried to remember what Laura Hibbards had looked like when he'd met her a few years ago.

"She's the one in the striking medi-nurse costume isn't she?" he asked. "Laura, right?"

Hibbards took a step back and his arms fell to his sides, "Who are you?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," Harry replied. "You mind your business and I'll mind mine."

Without another word Hibbards turned and fled across the room.

He turned to look at the angel standing next to him, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," the man replied, voice warm and a smile tugging at his lips. "I daresay you arrived in the wrong costume."

Harry looked down at his pirate apparel. "Sorry?" he asked, looking up at him.

"I think you ought to have come as a knight dressed in shining armor," he teased.

"Hardly," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

The other man's eyes traveled up and down Harry's body, "So, let me guess, you're an auror? I would say that maybe you just work in the auror department but it was clever of you to get him to look at his wife so you could deduce who she was."

"Clever, hmm?" Harry teased. "I wouldn't go that far, but you're not entirely wrong. I've recently left the Ministry and I was an auror."

"What made you leave?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Harry lifted one shoulder, "I got fed up with the bullshit and the hypocrisy; I felt like I was slowly becoming someone I didn't want to be, so I left."

"And what do you do now?"

He laughed, "Do you want the truth?'

"Always."

"I work part time at a muggle coffee shop," he replied.

"Ah, so you're independently wealthy then."

Harry shook his head, "And you said I'm the clever one. What do you do?"

"I'm a solicitor," he replied.

He laughed, "So you really didn't need my help dealing with Hibbards then. I'm sure you could have talked circles around him."

"No, I probably didn't," he conceded. "But it was nice, just the same. A man who spends all of his time fighting on behalf of others appreciates someone fighting on his behalf every so often."

Harry smiled, "Are you here with anyone?" he asked, "Or can I get you a drink?"

"A drink would be great," the angel replied.

----------------

Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a night as much as he had this one. His angel was quick-witted with a dry sense of humor, he was smart and sexy, and Harry genuinely enjoyed his company. They'd danced, and talked, and enjoyed the food and drinks available; and Harry found himself wishing that the night would never end.

When the clock stuck eleven, surprising both of them, they looked around to see that many people had already left. "Salazar, is that the time?"

Harry nodded, "Seems to be."

"I've an early morning tomorrow," the angel told him, "As much as I've enjoyed this, I should probably be on my way."

"Can I see you again?" Harry blurted.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," the other man replied slowly. "This was meant to be a bit like Cinderella at the ball for me."

"Are you going to leave me your sandal, then? Expect me to come and find you?" Harry teased, really hoping that the other man would give in or at least give him something to go on. He was good a puzzles, good at pulling at loose ends until he'd unraveled the mystery.

"No, no, nothing like that," he said quickly. "I just wanted one night where I didn't have to be me. One night that I didn't have to walk around with my face and all of the baggage that goes along with it. This was never meant to be more than that."

"I hear you," Harry said, emphatically, "I really do. I find it difficult," he confessed, "connecting with people. People can't seem to see past their preconceived notions of who I am, but you..." Harry trailed off and shrugged helplessly, "it was easy. To be with you, to talk to you. I'd really like to get to know you better."

The angel rubbed the back of his neck, "I would like that, too," the other man replied softly. "Truly. But once you know who I am, you're going to change your mind."

"But isn't it worth to find out?" he asked, pleaded. "Even if you're right and I never want to see you again, that's the outcome you've assigned without even knowing."

"Maybe I'd prefer for you to remember this night fondly," the other man suggested.

"Maybe I'd prefer to have many more fond memories with you," Harry countered.

"You were a Griffyndor weren't you?"

"Guilty as charged," Harry replied with a grin. Then he grew serious, "Look, if you enjoyed tonight even half as much as I did, please just give it a chance. You might take one look at me and think this was a mistake, but at least we'll know and we won't have to spend the rest of our lives wondering what could have been."

The angel blew out a breath and Harry fought the nerves that had risen up in his chest. "Fine," he conceded, "but don't say that I didn't try to warn you."

"Okay," Harry said, giving him a big smile.

"Before we do this," he said, "I want you to know that I had a really nice time tonight. Thank you for everything."

"Stop sounding like you're saying goodbye!" Harry protested.

The angel gave him a sad little smile, "Ready, then?"

"On the count of three?" Harry asked. When he received a nod in return, he reached up and said, "One, two, three," as he pulled of his mask.

A slap to the face would have been less of a surprise than the person he saw standing before him.

"Potter?"

"Malfoy?" he splutted. "What? How?"

"This explains so much, actually," Malfoy said, his mouth twisting in a displeased little grimace. "You got to come sailing in like the hero you are to rescue a damsel in distress-"

"That's not fair," Harry replied, still reeling. "I didn't even know it was you."

"No," Malfoy agreed. "It certainly would have changed your reaction if you had." He shook his head, "Well, this has been fun. I do so love being proven right."

"It's still better to know that this was not worth losing sleep over, don't you think?" Harry replied.

"Right," Malfoy clipped. "I'm off. The pirate costume seems a bit like false advertising, by the way," he said as he started to walk away without a backward glance.

"What?" Harry asked incredulously, "And the angel costume wasn't false advertising?"

"It's a Victoria's Secret Costume, Potter. Honestly."

Before Harry could make sense of that statement, Malfoy was up the stairs and out of the door, leaving Harry staring after him with a mixture of irritation, and confusion, and oddly a bit of attraction.

"Oh, Mr. Potter!" a voice called from beside him, "How lovely to see you!"

Harry turned to see Laura Hibbards standing next to him. "Your husband is cheating on you," Harry informed her.

"Excuse me?" she asked, her right hand fluttering up to cover her heart.

"With his secretary. I should have said something a long time ago, I'm sorry," he added, because he was. No one deserved to be cheated on.

Then he walked away, leaving her floundering, and headed out the same door Malfoy had moments before.

When he got outside he looked around, hoping to see wings or a flash of pink hair, but the road was empty. Was he really lonely and desperate enough that he was thinking that he and Malfoy might be a good fit?

Harry gave it up, he didn't even know what he would have said if he had seen him. It wasn't worth losing sleep over, he reminded himself before appartating home.

Whiskers was waiting for him when he arrived and he scooped her up and nuzzled his nose into her fluffy white fur. "You love me, don't you?" he asked her. Her sweet, little meow confirmed it and he kissed her head before going in to get ready for bed. It wasn't worth losing sleep over he reminded himself again.

------------

Harry had, in fact, lost quite a bit of sleep. He'd spent the night tossing and turning, grumbling to himself, and hating himself every time his mind replayed a part of the evening and butterflies took flight in his stomach.

By the time the sun was illuminating the sky, turning it bright pinks and reds, Harry only knew one thing: he couldn't get Malfoy out of his head.

He got out of bed and he started to do some digging on the other man. It took half the morning but he discovered Malfoy had made a bit of a name for himself. He worked for a wizarding law firm and he'd made a habit of only taking clients who were desperately in need of help that they couldn't afford. Harry had a hard time learning anything else about his personal life, it seemed like he didn't really have one, but it didn't take long for him to find an address.

From there, the planning was a bit shoddy. Harry hadn't ever really been good at making plans and sticking to them so he just showed up outside of Draco's office at 5:00pm and waited.

And waited.

And then he waited some more. He waited until 6:30, wondering if he'd missed the other man somehow and as he was about to leave and return tomorrow, the door opened and out stepped Malfoy. His hair was blonde and he was wearing a well-tailored suit but he looked just as breathtaking as he had the night before.

He froze when he caught sight of Harry, looking stricken for just a moment before smoothing his features. "What are you doing here?"

Harry opened his mouth, "I'm sorry." They weren't quite the words he was meaning to say but it was too late to take them back now.

"Whatever for?"

"I had a brilliant time with you last night," Harry said.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, "Right up until you realized it was me."

"That's what I'm sorry for," Harry said. "Malfoy," he started, then he changed tracks, "Draco, you made me feel like I was just a person. Just a guy flirting with another person, enjoying life, free of all expectations."

"Yes, we established that last night," he replied as he stepped down the stairs and stood on the pavement in front of Harry. "That was the point of the masks and the costumes."

"Right, but I don't think it was just the masks and costumes. The person I was last night," he licked his lower lip but forced himself to continue, "That's who I really am. Without the weight of being Harry Potter. And I would be willing to bet my vault at Gringotts that the person you were last night is who you really are without the weight of being Draco Malfoy."

"Can you afford to bet your vault at Gringotts?" he asked. "Aren't you a barista? What if you're wrong?"

"Shut up," Harry said, "I'm trying to say something profound here."

"Apologies," Malfoy said, taking one step closer to him as his mouth tilted up at the corner.

"When who we both really are seems to be so compatible, doesn't it seem silly to throw that away on a childhood rivalry?"

"What exactly are you proposing?"

Harry took a breath, "Dinner? Or coffee if dinner is too much. I'd like the chance to get to know you better."

"You would?" Draco asked softly, looking open and vulnerable, and Harry's heart expanded in his chest until he couldn't breathe properly.

"I really would," he said, reaching out to take Draco's hand.

"Alright. Dinner," he agreed. "But don't blame me if this doesn't work out."

Harry grinned at him, "Feel free to blame me when it does."

Day 14: Louder, So Everyone Can Hear | Day 16: Tulips

[shinpikurage]

Don't Interact - Dni list, i'll block you to build a safe space

Anti-Pan, Biphobes, Aphobes, Lgbtq+phobes in general (Babs and others too) (And If you think being aroacespec doesn't make you lgbtq+)

Anti-Mogai

Anti He/Him lesbians (Counting other pronouns and sexuality in the same context) and If you don't believe pronouns ≠ gender

Anti Mspec Lesbians

Fujoshis/Fundashis/Himejoshis/Fujins/Etc

Lolicon and Shotacon supporters

Notch supporters

Terfs, Swerfs and RadFems

Truscum/Transmeds

Anti neo pronouns

Dream Stans (Also Jschlatt, etc etc) and c!Dream apologists (Click here to see more)

Consensual Non Consensual blogs

People that don't believe minors can be Aro/Ace and/or trans (Or have any other identity)

Alt-Rights

Nazis and Racists

Discourse centered blogs

Pro Shipers/AntiAnti/If you ship real people

Pro-Cops

Bolsominions and Trump Supporters

Pedophiles/Maps

Zoophiles/Bestiality people

(Pro) Jeff x Annie Shippers

Religion centered blogs

Hisoka supporters

AOT fans

Hetalia

Your boyfriend fans

Alfred Playhouse and It's creator supporter

If you don't like fat people

Super straight (and other super identities)

People that believe in "Straight Pride Month"

People that support Birdie/Jack

Anti It/It's pronouns/neopronouns/pocket pronouns/nounself pronouns

Anti-Agere

Anti Furrys (Or just those bad jokes agaisnt furrys)

Ableists or If you believe ND people can be fixed

[rookieforlife]

have you ever felt that kind of ultimate love you describe? even if just in that moment?

Sorry for replying so late! I felt love and I fell in love, yes. Not the one I described because my description was more about what I would love and want from a partner and a relationship. Loving someone was the most beautiful thing in the world, it’s hard to explain but I felt consumed by it ? like every part of my being was so into that feeling... and it was weird you know... you feel so many things at the same time: you love, you’re happy, you’re scared, and I think you lose your mind a bit in a way where you forget every piece of rationality. It took me years to realized I was in love, because thinking about it had a lot of implications... and I fell in love with a girl/woman at a young age, I was discovering everything. I think the feeling embraced me before I could recognize it. That’s how I know it was real, pure, natural... because there was no way to stop it or deny it. It felt like a magnet, and I didn’t expect anything, it was just the act of giving, and I was lucky because I feel I’ve received the same love. Then life happened and it took me years to get over that love and experience, but in a good way. It was really strong but I’m grateful and happy that I could feel it. It was real. I don’t know, sometimes I feel people, in general, live these things and experiences so fast ? that it makes me think that they don’t really feel it at all... or that I’m wrong all the time because I’m not able to do that you know, like maybe I’m expecting to feel and fall deep and to know someone for real and build a real connection and that doesn’t happen... or at least not often. 

[theartisticintrovert]

[image id: a snapchat photo of a large poster on a glass window. the poster features cartoons of four people in greyscale, three of which are wearing face masks incorrectly. the poster has the baskin robbins logo, beside which is text reading "No mask, no service. Masks must be worn correctly."

the first person is an old man, with a blue medical mask tucked under his chin. his face is entirely exposed. underneath him is written "NO" in red marker.

the second person is a young man wearing an orange mask with white polka dots. the mask is covering his mouth, but is exposing his nose. the "NO" is present underneath him.

the third person is an old woman wearing a pink mask with white polka dots. the mask is covering her mouth and nose, but is not tucked under her chin. the "NO" is present underneath her.

the fourth person is a young woman wearing a pink medical mask and large glasses. the mask is over her mouth, nose, and chin.

the caption on the image reads "baskin robbins ain't fucking around". /end id]