#Yet Harry was offered to be a captain TWICE

[ikeameatballspoisonedme]

Was searching on Fayde for video purpose then I found out that you can gain your Kimpoint back in the slur scene if you apologize to him.

Perhaps this was done so that people who has low authority and don't want to save scum and didn't expect to get that didn't feel too unlucky but it's so sad from Kim's POV. Someone who has a terrible amnesia, had no concept of money, called him a racist slur out of nowhere. Deep inside his subconcious he has a memory about this and knew that it was often used against people like him. How often does Kim hear something like this from people who have all their memories intact? Was Harry one of those people? Harry apologizing made him realize that maybe he wasn't, but the fact that Kim set the bar THIS low to earn his respect just shows that not many people had the decency to at least apologize. Even in his own precinct.

[jmagnabo92]

GGSB Fest 2024 - Quidditch

@goodgodfathersiriusblack

Prompt - Quidditch

When Sirius is freed after POA, he takes custody of Harry and plans to be Harry's biggest fan for his quidditch aspirations.

AO3

***

One of Sirius’ favorite things about sneaking around Hogwarts before finally capturing the rat was watching Harry’s games that year.  So, when he finally gets freed (and custody of Harry), he immediately plans to attend all of Harry’s game, thereafter.  

Over the summer, he and Harry discuss all of his past games, which were rather interesting.  Sirius had never expected that Harry wouldn’t exactly have normal games, and he’s just grateful Harry’s survived them.

“Well, next year, I’ll be there cheering you on and making sure your games are as safe as quidditch can be.”

“You’re going to come to my games?” Harry questions, uncertainly.

“Of course I am,” Sirius states.  “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, I mean … none of the other parents come… as far as I can tell,” Harry offers.  “Just figured, it wasn’t a thing wizard parents do.”

“Well, it’s a thing I will do, you know why?” 

Harry shrugs.  

“Because I’m a Godparent, and godparents are better,” Sirius says, half teasingly.  “Now, what do you say to helping me decorate a game day shirt to wear?”

“Game day shirt?” Harry asks, confused.  

“Well, yeah.  Your biggest fan has to have a special game day shirt.”

Harry flushes, looking pleased.  “If you’re sure…”

“I am.”

***

Although Sirius had assured him that he would, in fact, come to the game, Harry wasn’t sure if he believed him or not.  

Yet, the second they walk out onto the field, Harry can’t resist looking for him and sure enough – there he is: Potter Fan Club shirt in the center of the Gryffindor section, right underneath Dean’s Potter banner.  

Sirius yells to him about knocking them dead, and Harry grins.  It doesn’t matter what he says… he’s here just to cheer him on and that means more to him than he can say.  

***

Naturally, Sirius continues going to the games (and Harry wins every one) for all of fourth and fifth year.   Then, when Harry receives his letter for year six, he gets a surprise – Quidditch Captain.

“I’m captain?” Harry asks, somewhat surprised.

“You can’t be surprised, kid,” Sirius states.  “You’ve managed to single-handedly win a game for them, you’re a natural on a broom, and a natural leader.  With most of the original team gone…”

“Yeah, but … I thought… Katie.”

“She’s a good player, but she doesn’t want to be a leader and she’s not as good as you.”

“It’s a lot of pressure… to be Captain,” Harry states, uncertainly.

“It is, but I have no doubt that you’ll do great,” Sirius states, grinning brilliantly.  “And if you want, we could talk through some strategies… maybe you could go to that training camp you’ve been eyeing overseas?”

Harry lights up.  “Really?  ‘Cause I thought you said I didn’t need it.”

“You don’t, but you did mention joining the professionals for your career and you’ve got the talent, so…”

Harry grins.  “I’d like that – all of it.”

“Then, let’s celebrate – to the new Gryffindor Captain.”

***

Sirius couldn’t prouder as he watches Harry win the Quidditch cup for the fifth year in a row, second as captain.  He’s still wearing his slightly worn ‘Number One Potter Fan’ shirt that he and Harry created the first summer they finally got to live together.  

He’s always going to be Harry’s number one fan and judging by the scout approaching him… that’s going to continue to the professional world of quidditch.  

He makes his way towards his kid, happy to see him smiling and chatting with England’s scout.  

“Oh, there he is!” Harry says, cheerfully upon spotting him.  “Pads!  This is the England Scout, Cory Feeny.  He wants to recruit me.”

Sirius grins as he offers his hand to Mr. Feeny.  “Of course he does, first Hogwarts student to play all seven years – win five years in a row, twice as Captain.  Come on, kid.  You’re a recruiter’s dream.”

Mr. Feeny laughs.  “He’s right, Mr. Potter.  Any team would be lucky to have you – so, when would you like to come and properly try out?  We’ve got an opening for seeker, and while would normally have public tryouts, if you’re interested and the rest of the team meshes with you…”

Harry looks to Sirius.  “Can I go this weekend?”

“What about N.E.W.T.s?”

“I’m ahead in most subjects and it’d only be a few hours… besides, didn’t you always say that sometimes we do better when we take breaks?”

Sirius laughs.  “Using my own words against me, alright then.  We can check it out.  Saturday.”

“Perfect, see you both then.”

***

Of course the tryout goes perfectly.  Harry fits in with the team naturally, and the offer is fairly amazing.  

Naturally, Harry’s going to take it, and Sirius is going to be his number one fan into the professional world.  

***

“Go Harry!” Sirius yells as he watches his godson in his first ever – though likely not last – Quidditch World Cup.  It’d taken a few years of a hard training and getting to the finals on more than one occasion, but Harry was nothing if not determined.  

He’s not the youngest seeker to make it – that fell to Krum, who did it while still at school – but it’s close.  Especially at only twenty-one.  

Sirius is watching him zoom on by, thrilled that he had on a new number one fan shirt (this one dedicated to England – his old one folded up and pinned to the wall as if a trophy on the living room wall).  He’s always going to be here for his kid – cheering him on win or lose (although he’s still only lost a handful of times as a professional and once as a Hogwarts player).    

Suddenly, he dives.  

He’s seen the snitch and though his fellow seeker (Krum) has seen him as well, Harry’s further ahead and gets there first.  

“AND POTTER HAS IT – ENGLAND WINS THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP!”

The crowd erupts in cheers and Sirius is thrilled when the teams make it up to the box and he’s able to congratulate his kid in person.

“I did it!” Harry cheers as he throws his arms around him.  

“Yeah, you did!  Congrats, Kid!  Always knew you could do it.”

“Just like you’ll always be my biggest fan?”

“Always.”

“Good.”

[grissomesque]

I like silent movies

From the csi prompts! J/P maybe 👀✨

Eee, thank you, @regionalpancake! And I'm sorry this has taken so very long - in between the asking for prompts and now I've been sick twice and am in fact still sick, this being the annual punishment for my taking a vacation.

I hope you like it! I tried to keep it short 🤍

The Better Part of Valor g / fluff / 1070 words / ao3

Turbolifts, when they fail, make a uniquely identifiable sound. It is the sound, Kathryn thinks now, of inevitability. The overhead lights flicker, die, and come back online at the one-quarter brightness indicative of backup generators at work, and this, exactly this, is why Kathryn has so far in her career made a point of not drinking on the holodeck while in command, even off-duty. Because in space, there’s no telling when one might become trapped with one’s senior staff.

She wouldn’t say that she is drunk, per se. And Tom seems perfectly at his ease, though she has long since learned that how Tom seems is no indicator of his sobriety. But then she looks to her left, to where Harry, with his wide eyes and his gin and tonic buzz, seems to be regretting every decision he’s made this evening since uttering those fateful words, if you'd care to join us, you'd be welcome.

She doesn’t take this personally. In his place, she, too, would fear what might come out of her mouth while stuck in a turbolift, inebriated, with her commanding officer.

She shoots a dark look at Tom. Careful, it warns.

I’m always careful, his eyes protest.

Praying to the gods of starship malfunctions for serenity, Kathryn slams the palm of her hand against her combadge and barks, “Engineering, report.”

“It’s just the turbolifts, Captain,” B’Elanna responds. “We don’t know what happened, yet, so I don’t have an ETA for you.”

“Just the turbolifts,” Tom mutters.

“I am in a turbolift, Lieutenant, so I would appreciate your urgent attention to this matter,” Kathryn says.

“Yes, ma’am,” B’Elanna answers vaguely, and then the comm line goes dead.

“Well,” Tom says.

“She’s… like that, when she’s focused,” Kathryn offers. “Or so I’m told.”

An awkward silence descends over the group. Until Harry, in what can only be a fit of nervous hysteria, suggests, “How about a game?”

He pitches a ‘getting-acquainted’ game he claims to have played at the Academy. They’ll each take turns asking each other questions, and if the ask-ee refuses to answer… well. Well, if they refuse, then… that’s their prerogative.

“So, Truth or Dare,” Tom says. “Without the dare.”

“No!” Harry protests. “No, no, nothing like that, it’s just a getting to know you game, like, like an orientation game…”

“It’s Truth or Dare,” Kathryn says resignedly. It shouldn’t surprise her that this is what would come to mind, Harry being such a recent graduate. He probably thinks it’s a safe choice. Safer than some others, certainly, though she can’t imagine Harry, of all people, playing—

“That’s not all we played at the Academy,” Tom winks, as though reading her mind.

Serenely, she steps on his foot as hard as she can. “Go ahead, Harry. You go first.”

I’m serious, she tries to reiterate with the force of her stare.

Tom scratches his chin. It’s just Harry. It’ll be fine.

Kathryn, lowering herself to sit cross-legged on the floor, pinches the bridge of her nose at him in sincere disagreement.

By unspoken consensus, they ask the only most absurdly innocuous questions anyone participating in this hallowed tradition has ever posed. For instance: “Um. Favorite color?” Kathryn asks Harry, while Tom smothers a laugh.

“Okay. If you had to bunk with someone, like, say artificial gravity goes out and deck seven’s evacuated for a week, who would you pick?” Harry asks Tom a few turns later. And Tom—either indeed less sober than he appears or else simply in the mood to court danger—glances over at Kathryn, who flushes.

“Please do not speak of such things aloud in a broken turbolift,” she tells Harry. “Our luck out here so far, that’ll be next.”

“It hasn’t been so bad,” Harry objects. Sweet, earnest Harry. Her skepticism must show on her face, because he adds, “Really, Captain. Voyager is—you’ve made this ship our home away from home. We all believe in you.”

She doesn’t know what to say to this. Blames the whiskey for the emotion that wells up inside her, the impulse, which she obeys, to take Harry’s hand and squeeze it lightly. He looks pleased, if a little flustered.

Tom comes to their rescue. “All right, all right. Captain: what’s your favorite movie?”

Harry frowns. “Movie? Don’t you mean holonovel?”

“I certainly do not,” Tom says, scandalized. “But speaking of which, remember that one—”

“I like silent movies,” Kathryn interrupts meaningfully. “Ones that are silent.”

Harry looks between them with more suspicion than she would’ve credited. “O…kay….”

“Movie night!” Tom declares. “A movie night is very definitely in our future. Kids these days and their holosuites, unbelievable.”

Harry continues to stare, and frankly, Kathryn can’t blame him.

“You can tell him,” she sighs.

“Finally!” Tom explodes. “I’ve said all along you’re being too—”

“Wait. Did you two know each other? Before?”

“It’s only been—,” she starts to argue, then pivots, seizing the opportunity not quite reveal everything yet. “Yes, we knew each other before.”

“And you told me not to invite her to sit with us!” Harry accuses Tom.

Wait. What? “Why would you do that?” Kathryn asks, feeling oddly put out by this.

“Okay! That, Harry, I would call that a mischaracterization. What I actually said is that captains don’t sit with the lower deckers. Did I use her name? Did I say: Harry Kim, do not under any circumstance invite Kathryn Janeway to join us?”

“I mean,” Harry says, baffled, “yeah. Basically that’s what you said. You said that if she wanted our company she would ask for it.”

And that, actually, makes sense. Leave it to Tom to hear her request for discretion—just while she sorts out the crew! Many of whom personally object to Tom specifically!—and take it to the absolute limit. “You’re hopeless,” she says, but fondly.

“I would’ve said ‘devoted’,” Tom agrees.

Suddenly, and with an almighty lurch that does not immediately feel like deliverance, the turbolift car heaves itself back into motion. They blink under the full-strength lights.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Tom says.

“Do I still get a ‘movie night’?” Harry asks.

“Of course!” Tom cries, throwing his arm around Harry’s shoulders. “And you know,” he adds for Kathryn’s benefit, dropping his voice to a stage whisper, “people didn't go to the movies just for the movies.”

“What did they go for?” Harry asks. Sweet, earnest Harry.

“Popcorn,” Tom and Kathryn say, together.

[nami-writes]

Seek, And Ye Shall Find - Harry Potter

[ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 ]

content warning: past self harm

the underdog.

It's close. 130-150. The crowd roars with mixed cheers and boos as Slytherin’s Chasers score yet again, bumping the score up 130-160. A Bludger aims straight for them but by the time it gets there it's already too late and Harry darts over to instead swat away the other Bludger on their Chaser’s tail.

They’re doing bloody well, if you ask him. They’re practically head-to-head with the Slytherins— in fact, they are head-to-head, their Chasers scoring another twenty points at once to bring them to 150— and the Keeper helps deflect enough of the Slytherins’ attempts to score that their Chasers’ goals are catching up quick. They’re doing great, but Draco…

Draco is faltering.

He puts up a good fight but he backs down easily. Twice he’s locked in, fixated on the Snitch, been absolutely determined to catch it— only to back down at his opposing Seeker flying at him, throwing him off his rhythm. A Slytherin Beater bats a Bludger at him and he freezes and ducks. His Gryffindor teammates are starting to give Harry foul looks that say everything they’re thinking: why in the world did you choose him?

Draco’s better than this. He’s so much better and Harry’s seen it, they’ve all seen it before. What went wrong?

He’s fighting off a Bludger from attacking a Quaffle-bearing Chaser when he realizes neither Slytherin Beaters are anywhere to be seen. An angry yell above him catches his attention and he whips around to find out why— Draco is caught between both opposing Beaters batting the other Bludger back and forth, taunting him, trapping him, until he reaches out to grab it and it rips him off his broom, sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Draco!”

A whistle sounds out and their Captain calls time. Draco doesn’t get back up, wincing and clutching his arm. Their teams descend to the ground and Harry makes a beeline to Draco, scrambling to his side.

“Draco,” he says, “Draco, are you okay?”

He hisses with pain. “Fuck,” he breathes, “fuck, oh bloody fucking hell.”

“Come on. Come on, I’ve got you.” He slings Draco’s arm around his shoulders and hoists his body up. Draco stumbles, catches himself, clings to Harry. “Can you walk?”

“...Think so,” he mumbles, and Harry carefully lets go. Draco wobbles but remains upright. “Yeah. Yeah, I… oh, Merlin. Fuck.”

“Come on. Broomshed.” Gently, he guides him along, past their staring teammates and snickering opponents. A few Slytherins watch with worry but he doesn’t care. Their Captain not-so-discreetly chews out the Slytherin Captain and Harry wishes he could do the bloody same.

Draco is unsettlingly, terrifyingly silent, save for heavy breathing and stifled grunts. Harry opens the broomshed door for him and when he closes it after himself, he turns to Draco.

“Are you oka—”

“I can’t do this.” His eyes lock desperately onto Harry. “I can’t. I can’t do it.”

He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know what to say. He just wishes Draco saw in himself what Harry does. “You can. I know you can. You’re incredible at Seeking. Those Slytherins are just a couple of tossers.”

“No, Harry. I really can’t do it.”

He winces mid-gesture. Harry looks him up and down. “You’re hurt?”

“Aside from the twenty-meter fall?” he snaps, then softens. “Shit. Sorry. Meant to say yeah. The, uh… the Bludger messed up my arm.”

“Not broken, is it? That would probably put you out of commission for good this year, though I guess that’s what you want.” He takes the hand Draco offers out to him with a slight teasing smile. “Wouldn’t suggest it though. Hurt like hell when I did it.”

He hooks his thumb under the edge of his sleeve.

“Wait—”

Draco yanks his arm away with alarm. Harry stares. “What? Did I do something?”

“I… no. No, no, it’s not you.” His eyes search him— for what, he isn’t sure. “It’s just… I don’t know how to, um…”

“Draco, whatever it is, I don’t care. I just want to make sure your arm’s okay.”

“It’s not broken,” he says. “It’s fine in that regard. It’s… something else.”

Harry frowns. “Okay.” He’s curious but Draco is worried, almost scared. “Do you want to tell me?”

Draco’s quiet.

“It’s alright if you don’t. We can just get back to the game,” he adds, pointing with his thumb behind him.

“No, I— I do.” He sighs and looks away. “Erm… you remember how I was a Death Eater?”

“Yeah. Kind of hard to forget.”

Draco cringes.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. Go on.”

“It wasn’t my favorite time of my life either,” he shrugs. “I did a lot of things I didn’t feel very good about. And I… I’m better now, I think, but I just couldn’t forget it. My Dark Mark didn’t make that any easier, so I…”

Harry doesn’t like this. Doesn’t like where he thinks this is going, but Draco just looks solemn.

“I tried to get rid of it.” He chuckles but it’s empty, there’s no lightheartedness to it. “Didn’t work very well.”

He holds his arm out again. Like he’s voluntarily subjecting himself to Harry’s scorn. His eyes lock onto the floor.

Harry takes his hand and pulls his sleeve up. Sure enough, his Dark Mark is there.

Mangled underneath a myriad of scars.

Somewhere in there he sees neat lines, faded white rows along his forearm where there was once order. Calculated attempts at relief, he thinks. But somewhere along the line, it devolves into chaos. Angry slashes at the snake, X’s crossing out the sockets in the skull, a slight curve along the top of his forearm that looks like he tried to carve the entire patch of skin off and gave up soon after he started. The scars cover most of it and yet it’s still clear as day what it is. A sign for everyone to see how low Draco had once let himself get. An indicator of the worst time of his life.

“I didn’t want you to look at me differently,” he says softly. “But… I guess you’ve already watched me contemplate throwing myself off of the Astronomy Tower and seen me at my worst last year, so how much worse could I make it?”

Harry puts a hand over the Dark Mark. He runs a thumb over the scars, feeling every raised line and rough surface. He’s especially gentle with the reddening bruise forming underneath. And then he pulls Draco in close. “I don’t care who you were last year. I care who you are now. And right now, all I see is you. Draco Malfoy. Not a Death Eater, and not your Dark Mark. That’s not who you are.”

For a moment, Harry thinks Draco’s going in for a kiss. But Draco’s arms wrap around him tight and he returns the hug as Draco clings to him like his life depends on it. Frankly, it just might.

“You know who you really are?” Harry asks, smiling. “My hot not-Gryffindor boyfriend. The best player on the Quidditch team. And the one who's going to win us the game.”

The shoulder of his robes feels wet. He rubs comforting circles against Draco’s back. Just the rise and fall of his chest is comforting enough to Harry.

Eventually, Draco pieces himself back together and takes a deep breath. He pulls away but looks into Harry's eyes with a deep affection he's never seen before in anyone, yet it looks so natural on him. “I, um… thanks. A lot. I really needed that.”

“‘Course.” He leans in for a final reassuring peck. “Ready to get back out on the field?”

Draco flushes red, then nods. “Yeah.”

—

Harry doesn’t take his eye off of Draco once, and he’s glad it seems he doesn’t need to. The Slytherin Beaters don’t try any bullshit again and now Draco has a fair chance against the other Seeker. It shows in his flying; he’s more confident, more bold knowing his team is on his side and Harry is never too far away. Harry focuses on keeping the heat off of Draco when he can and Draco channels the same energy and determination he has when it’s just them, alone, battling for the Snitch.

The score is 210-200 and the Slytherins are getting more aggressive, but the Gryffindors don’t let up. Their Seeker flies close to Draco, their billowing robes almost tangling in the wind, but Draco doesn’t back down, doesn’t so much as falter, and pride fills Harry’s chest. He stifles it and puts it away for later when they win. Because there’s no chance in hell they’re going to lose this, not when they have Draco on the team.

210-210 and now all eyes are on the Seekers, red against green, racing around the pitch side by side after the Golden Snitch. They fly dangerously close to one another but neither one of them falls behind. The announcer calls out another goal for Gryffindor and Harry doesn’t even realize their Chasers are still scoring. All he sees is Draco.

The Snitch flies upward and they shoot up in pursuit. They’re both inching closer, the Snitch just barely out of reach, when the Slytherin Seeker lifts a foot up to plant it on their broom.

Draco glances over and realizes what they’re doing as the crowd goes quiet, watching with bated breaths. The Seeker climbs to their feet on their angled broom, crouched with one hand still on it, other hand outstretched and still just the slightest bit too far. Panic sets in, but at the same time Harry can see the gears turning in Draco’s head.

It’s just like that night flying down the Astronomy Tower. One Seeker tempting fate, the other trying to keep up. In the end, Draco still won. Harry has no doubt he can do it again.

This time, though, it’s not his cunning or cleverness that saves the day. It’s not any particular quality from any particular House. It’s a flick of his broom, base knocking against his opponent’s in what could almost be an accident mid-turn, that sends the Slytherin falling off and gives Draco just enough time to secure the Snitch and the win.

The crowd roars. Harry’s throat hurts from screaming with pride, he can’t smile nearly as wide as he wishes he could. The Slytherins fly over to catch their teammate but Harry flies over to jump onto Draco’s broom in front of him, grab the back of his neck, and kiss him.

He doesn't care who's watching. The only person he sees is Draco. The rest of the world never mattered at all, and it seems by the way hands grasp the back of his robes that Draco finally shares this sentiment too.

When they finally separate, the crowd is still cheering, and it takes him a moment to realize that now it’s for them. The Chosen One, but more importantly, the new Seeker who caught the Snitch. The final score is 370-210 and when Harry meets Draco’s eyes again, it’s all they can think to do to break out in laughter.

“Told you you’d win us the game,” Harry says, and Draco laughs awkwardly.

“Glad you had confidence in me,” he says, “because I had none. I don’t know how I pulled that off.”

“Because you’re a bloody genius, and an incredible Seeker, and my goddamn boyfriend.”

Draco laughs again, real this time. “And now you finally get to brag about it. Not much of a secret anymore, is it?”

“Did you want it to be?”

He pauses. Then he shakes his head. “No.”

[battingforhours]

Basin Reserve, Wellington: Day Two

Even though much of the evening sessions on days one and two have been washed out (well, more of a drizzle) England still find themselves in a staggeringly strong position in this match. Their relentlessness with bat and ball leaves opponents little room to manoeuvre and even less margin for error. New Zealand look particularly frazzled here.

The session of day two, which had begun half an hour early, offered quite the contrast in fortunes. At one end, there was plenty of dubious cricket, where wickets fell with regularity:

- Harry Brook struggled to regain his imperious timing from the previous day, chipping a return catch to Matt Henry in the third over to depart without adding to his overnight score.

- Ben Stokes replaced him and played what is becoming a frustratingly familiar innings — equal parts watchful, sumptuous and silly. One late cut down to third man stood out in particular, but he once again threw his wicket away playing a very low percentage shot to a shorter ball. He’s a much better player than this.

- Ben Foakes managed to trip over when coming down the wicket, comically attempting to save himself by shoving his feet backwards whilst prone on the floor, but he was out stumped.

- Stuart Broad arrived, swung hard, stole a few runs and then swept over the top of a full delivery from Michael Bracewell.

- Ollie Robinson connected with a couple, was given a reprieve by a stunningly unexpected dropped catch behind the stumps, but decided to chip the next ball to mid-off.

At the other end, whilst watching his partners all finding ways to dismiss themselves, Joe Root was helping himself to some handy runs that eventually nudged his Test average back above 50. Having played himself in for three balls, he unfurled his reverse scoop and collected six runs. He timed the ball better than anyone else, making perfect connection with a slog sweep over cow corner that drew a purr from the crowd. Ben Stokes surprised everyone by cutting this sublime effort short, calling his team in at 12:20 with Root 153* — such a well crafted innings, changing in tempo as it moved the match further in England’s favour.

New Zealand did not fare brilliantly in the brief period before lunch. Devon Conway was nicked off by some classical Jimmy Anderson seam bowling, despite the complete absence of an appeal from the keeper. Kane Williamson then played a baffling shot, prodding out at a length ball with a back foot cover drive that was merely edged to Foakes for another catch. The championship-winning captain looks a shadow of his former self at the crease, which is sad to see. 12/2 at lunch — once again, Stokes earns reward for putting opponents in positions they don’t want to be in.

Will Young had been brought into the side to bolster the misfiring batting lineup, but he struggled to escape the same fate as his dismissed colleagues when facing up to Anderson’s examination. It meant New Zealand emulated England in being 21/3, although the expectation from this point was that lightning was not about to strike twice.

Henry Nicholls did show glimpses of his runscoring ability of old, cleanly driving down the ground and sweeping Jack Leach hard once he was introduced into the attack. Tom Latham, the top order’s lone survivor, was also playing assertively against Leach — one shot down the ground in particular made a real statement of intent. Unfortunately for both, it would be their undoing.

First, Latham. He played a reverse sweep to Leach, appeared to glove it up in the air and was caught by slip. Rod Tucker had no hesitation in raising the finger; Latham had no hesitation in raising his arms to review it. Aleem Dar spent a long time comparing angles and judging the lines on Snicko for a decision that appeared to be a fairly obvious not out. And yet at the end of his one-man deliberations he decreed that the umpire was to stay with his original decision. He was evidently unable to conclusively rule that the ball had not flicked the glove strap on its way up to the arm guard, so the original decision was retained. Latham was not happy. A local fan directed some abuse to him for his shot selection. It was a tough scene at 60/4.

Nicholls had escaped unharmed after a couple of attempted sweeps earlier in his innings, but for him too it was the reverse that dismissed him. The ball was too short for the shot, particularly given it had started to really bounce quite sharply at times on the second day, and he merely edged it into his pad and watched the ball plucked from the air by a tumbling Ollie Pope at short leg. Things were looking rather problematic for New Zealand at 77/5.

The wickets had brought together the stars of the 2021 tour to England, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell. Both had made runs in the previous game, although not simultaneously. This seemed the chance to stop the bleeding and recover the innings. Mitchell had driven the first ball of his innings back past Leach for an impressive boundary, but then played quite watchfully. As tea approached, Stokes and Leach took time to bring what had been a fairly defensive field up into a more attacking one. They were offering runs if Mitchell was willing to take the risk with a solitary ball to be bowled before the break. He chose a defensive shot, but the ball looped off the face and gave Ollie Pope a whiff of an opportunity — he moved forward with the shot, snatched the ball from the air and celebrated the catch. 96/6 as the teams walked off for tea. England can do no wrong at the moment.

Michael Bracewell has some talent with the bat, but seems to be someone that has never made it hard for anyone to get him out. This latest soft dismissal saw him chip a ball very tamely back to the bowler, giving Broad his first wicket. Tim Southee walked out at eight, struck two big sixes, and helped Blundell through to a premature close of play at 16:45 when the rain started to fall with sufficient strength.

The small matter of a three-hundred run deficit with just three wickets in hand faces New Zealand at the resumption of play on day three. There are few signs that they have anything in reserve that can halt England’s serene progress towards a second victory here. Perhaps they can surprise everyone tomorrow. Perhaps they will have to follow on. Or, most likely, they may have to spend another day chasing leather around the Basin Reserve as England pile on a big score.

[danwebster37]

Basin Reserve, Wellington: Day Two

Even though much of the evening sessions on days one and two have been washed out (well, more of a drizzle) England still find themselves in a staggeringly strong position in this match. Their relentlessness with bat and ball leaves opponents little room to manoeuvre and even less margin for error. New Zealand look particularly frazzled here.

The session of day two, which had begun half an hour early, offered quite the contrast in fortunes. At one end, there was plenty of dubious cricket, where wickets fell with regularity:

- Harry Brook struggled to regain his imperious timing from the previous day, chipping a return catch to Matt Henry in the third over to depart without adding to his overnight score.

- Ben Stokes replaced him and played what is becoming a frustratingly familiar innings — equal parts watchful, sumptuous and silly. One late cut down to third man stood out in particular, but he once again threw his wicket away playing a very low percentage shot to a shorter ball. He’s a much better player than this.

- Ben Foakes managed to trip over when coming down the wicket, comically attempting to save himself by shoving his feet backwards whilst prone on the floor, but he was out stumped.

- Stuart Broad arrived, swung hard, stole a few runs and then swept over the top of a full delivery from Michael Bracewell.

- Ollie Robinson connected with a couple, was given a reprieve by a stunningly unexpected dropped catch behind the stumps, but decided to chip the next ball to mid-off.

At the other end, whilst watching his partners all finding ways to dismiss themselves, Joe Root was helping himself to some handy runs that eventually nudged his Test average back above 50. Having played himself in for three balls, he unfurled his reverse scoop and collected six runs. He timed the ball better than anyone else, making perfect connection with a slog sweep over cow corner that drew a purr from the crowd. Ben Stokes surprised everyone by cutting this sublime effort short, calling his team in at 12:20 with Root 153* — such a well crafted innings, changing in tempo as it moved the match further in England’s favour.

New Zealand did not fare brilliantly in the brief period before lunch. Devon Conway was nicked off by some classical Jimmy Anderson seam bowling, despite the complete absence of an appeal from the keeper. Kane Williamson then played a baffling shot, prodding out at a length ball with a back foot cover drive that was merely edged to Foakes for another catch. The championship-winning captain looks a shadow of his former self at the crease, which is sad to see. 12/2 at lunch — once again, Stokes earns reward for putting opponents in positions they don’t want to be in.

Will Young had been brought into the side to bolster the misfiring batting lineup, but he struggled to escape the same fate as his dismissed colleagues when facing up to Anderson’s examination. It meant New Zealand emulated England in being 21/3, although the expectation from this point was that lightning was not about to strike twice.

Henry Nicholls did show glimpses of his runscoring ability of old, cleanly driving down the ground and sweeping Jack Leach hard once he was introduced into the attack. Tom Latham, the top order’s lone survivor, was also playing assertively against Leach — one shot down the ground in particular made a real statement of intent. Unfortunately for both, it would be their undoing.

First, Latham. He played a reverse sweep to Leach, appeared to glove it up in the air and was caught by slip. Rod Tucker had no hesitation in raising the finger; Latham had no hesitation in raising his arms to review it. Aleem Dar spent a long time comparing angles and judging the lines on Snicko for a decision that appeared to be a fairly obvious not out. And yet at the end of his one-man deliberations he decreed that the umpire was to stay with his original decision. He was evidently unable to conclusively rule that the ball had not flicked the glove strap on its way up to the arm guard, so the original decision was retained. Latham was not happy. A local fan directed some abuse to him for his shot selection. It was a tough scene at 60/4.

Nicholls had escaped unharmed after a couple of attempted sweeps earlier in his innings, but for him too it was the reverse that dismissed him. The ball was too short for the shot, particularly given it had started to really bounce quite sharply at times on the second day, and he merely edged it into his pad and watched the ball plucked from the air by a tumbling Ollie Pope at short leg. Things were looking rather problematic for New Zealand at 77/5.

The wickets had brought together the stars of the 2021 tour to England, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell. Both had made runs in the previous game, although not simultaneously. This seemed the chance to stop the bleeding and recover the innings. Mitchell had driven the first ball of his innings back past Leach for an impressive boundary, but then played quite watchfully. As tea approached, Stokes and Leach took time to bring what had been a fairly defensive field up into a more attacking one. They were offering runs if Mitchell was willing to take the risk with a solitary ball to be bowled before the break. He chose a defensive shot, but the ball looped off the face and gave Ollie Pope a whiff of an opportunity — he moved forward with the shot, snatched the ball from the air and celebrated the catch. 96/6 as the teams walked off for tea. England can do no wrong at the moment.

Michael Bracewell has some talent with the bat, but seems to be someone that has never made it hard for anyone to get him out. This latest soft dismissal saw him chip a ball very tamely back to the bowler, giving Broad his first wicket. Tim Southee walked out at eight, struck two big sixes, and helped Blundell through to a premature close of play at 16:45 when the rain started to fall with sufficient strength.

The small matter of a three-hundred run deficit with just three wickets in hand faces New Zealand at the resumption of play on day three. There are few signs that they have anything in reserve that can halt England’s serene progress towards a second victory here. Perhaps they can surprise everyone tomorrow. Perhaps they will have to follow on. Or, most likely, they may have to spend another day chasing leather around the Basin Reserve as England pile on a big score.

[hpimaginesandblurbs]

hey hey hey, could you make sub harry x dom fem reader smut where the reader finds out that harry spying on her in the showers with his cloak, so she takes revenge after the quidditch match on the showers? basically shower sex but reader being dom as hell. face slapping, choking, eating out, lots of degration, just pure sub harry smut!! and i loveee your writing btw love 💖🤧

pairing: harry potter x reader 

warning(s): 18+, dom!reader, mentions of voyeurism, shower sex, oral (female receiving), choking, slapping (like once), degradation, mentions of orgasm control/edging 

word count: 1.6k 

a/n: sorry i haven’t uploaded in a while, i’ve been busy but i have the week off so i hope to post more often! as always, enjoy! 

Once you saw the last of the team travel out of the locker room, you were quick to barge in - knowing your boyfriend, and the team’s captain, was the only one left. 

He was taking his jersey off when you arrived, his muscular back facing you. 

“You were great out there,” you said softly as you approached him, wrapping yours arms around him from the back despite how sweaty he was. You knew you’d be showering with him anyways. It was a little post-game ritual the two of you often loved to share. 

Harry leaned into your touch, letting some of the weight from his sore body rest on you. You almost felt bad for what you were about to do to him. He didn’t even know what was coming. Didn’t even know he had been caught this morning. But you surely weren’t going to let it slide. 

“Where were you this morning?” You asked him, innocently enough. 

“Went to breakfast then came down here,” he answered easily, moving out of your grasp to turn the water on. 

“And before that?” You asked him, raising a sly brow at him. 

You saw him freeze for a moment, but he recovered quickly. It almost made you giggle - the thought of him thinking he could get away with it. 

“What do you mean?” He asked, not turning around to face you. Instead, he opted to begin removing his pants. 

“Don’t act stupid, baby boy,” you said, almost mockingly. “We both know exactly what I’m talking about.” 

He froze for real then, his hands glued to the hem of his pants. You could practically feel him wracking his brain for something to say, but you both knew he already lost. 

When he turned to face you, his expression was filled with guilt and shame. It was almost cute how pitiful he looked. You walked up closer to him, completely invading his space until your chest was pressed against his. You could hear the way his breath hitched before he released a shaky breath, and you knew he was exactly where you wanted him. 

“Did you think it was okay to peep on me in the shower? You’re not slick, you know? I know when you’re using the cloak,” you questioned, referencing what had happened just that morning. 

You had been taking a shower, excitedly getting ready to watch your boyfriend play in his game today, when you heard an unmistakable swishing along the bathroom floor. You barely even had to look up when you saw it hit the light in exactly the right way. To anyone else, it may have just been a trick of the eye, but you knew exactly what it was. You had been underneath it enough times to know. It was Harry, underneath his invisibility cloak, watching you shower. 

And as aroused as you were that Harry had managed to sneak all the way in there just for you, just to see you naked, you refused to give him the show he wanted. After all, he didn’t need to know you knew was there. So you continued your shower as you normally would, finally hearing the unmistakable swishing leave the bathroom once more. 

“I’m sorry,” he finally said, looking down at his feet bashfully. 

“I’m sure you’re not, but you’ll make it up to me. Won’t you, baby?” You asked teasingly, palming him through his briefs to find him already half hard. When all he could do was whimper, you couldn’t help but chuckle, but you let it slide. “Help me strip.” 

He moved eagerly, quickly helping you out of your layers until you were naked. You moved under the water, letting it encase you before you turned back to him. He was watching you with eagle eyes, not daring to take them off of you. 

“Down on your knees, baby boy. I don’t know what you think you were doing, but I’m in charge now,” you told him, spreading your legs seductively, leaving him with a perfect spot to place his mouth. 

He was down on his knees within a second, not even minding the cold, hard bathroom floor. His lips sucked around your clit harshly, forcing your hips to buck up from the wall. He didn’t miss a single beat, almost effortlessly working your body with his lips and tongues. Regardless of how you felt about this morning, your man was good and you both knew it. 

“Look at you finally being good. Maybe if you had been good all day, I would have been the one on my knees,” you told him between your moans. You felt more than heard him whimper against your body, picturing the roles reversed. 

He got you off quickly after that, wanting to prove to you so badly that he was good, so that hopefully, if you allowed it, he could get off too. You came with a deep moan, your back arched against the cool shower wall and your fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him as close as possible to your body. His tongue didn’t stop until you were writhing, forcing him off of you. 

When you looked down at him again, a whole new rush of arousal shot through your body. His hair was a beautiful mess, tousled under your fingers and the water. His lips were swollen and wet, slightly parted as he finally got the chance to breathe. And his eyes. Oh his fucking eyes. He looked like an absolute glorious fucked out mess even though you hadn’t even touched him yet. He looked as breathless as you felt. The power you had over this man was borderline insanity. 

“Do you think you did a good enough job to fuck me?” You asked him lowly, watching his eyes widen. 

“Please. I’ve wanted to all day,” he told you honestly, the plea evident in his eyes. 

“I really don’t think you deserve it after your stunt this morning but I’ll be nice. You can fuck me, but you better make me cum twice of your cock before you even think about cumming,” you gave in with a dark chuckle, watching as a blush crept to his face and his cock twitched. 

He was on his feet in an instant, easily lifting you up and balancing your body between the wall and his strong chest. It didn’t take him much longer to slip his cock inside of you and from the angle, you could feel everything. Every vien, every ridge, every throb. He definitely chose correctly when he picked this position. 

WIth every thrust, his pelvis was brushing against your clit and the tip of his cock was perfectly hitting your g-spot. You couldn’t even hold the moans back. He was proving just how good he was tenfold, he deserved to hear how good he was making you feel. 

“You were so fucking bad this morning, you know that?” You asked, slowly dragging your hand up his chest and to his throat. You didn’t clench down hard, but the fact that your hand was there was enough to make him moan. “Who gave you the filthy idea that peeping on me was the right thing to do?” 

“Y/N, fuck,” he said back, not quiet an answer, but you knew exactly what it meant. It meant that as your orgasm was building, so was his and he was having a hard time controlling it between your words and your hand so perfectly placed. 

And you knew exactly what to do to tip him over the edge. To make him cum and break the rules some more just so you could fuck with him more later. It was devious, but it was the perfect punishment. 

“You’re not showing me how good you can be. I know how close you are. Are you thinking about me in the shower again? How good I looked touching myself while you watched?” You questioned, your hand only gripping his throat tighter. 

“No. Fuck. I’m being good, please,” he begged aimlessly, thrusting inside of you erratically, just proving how close to the edge he was. 

“If you were good, you wouldn’t act like a desperate little boy,” you told him, trying your best to sound coherent through your own moans. 

You gripped his chin between your fingers to hold him steady before bringing up your other hand and swinging it against his face, a resounding crack echoing around the empty locker room. His head remained steady, but his entire body trembled. He managed to keep you upright, but he was breaking down slowly, spiraling to his release. 

“You better make me cum before you do,” you got out, at least managing to sound menacing enough. 

“I’m so close. Please cum, please,” Harry whimpered, fighting against himself to get you there. 

No matter what, you could never say that Harry Potter was a quitter. He raced to get you to your finish, and when you did, you contracted around him so tightly he hissed and you released with a scream, unable to hold back the sound. He came with a groan, his head buried in your shoulder. 

You took a moment to catch your breath before opening your mouth to speak. “I thought I told you to make me cum twice before you did,” you offered weakly, still a little breathless. But nevertheless, your words had their desired effect. 

Harry’s head immediately snapped up and you could already see the apology in his eyes. You chuckled slightly as you slid back down the wall, gracefully landing on your feet. 

“Don’t worry, baby boy. You’ll learn your lesson for that one later - nothing a few edges won’t be able to fix. But first we need to finish your shower, hm?” You asked softly, moving his messy hair back out of his face. 

He gulped but gave you a steady nod before flashing a barely there grin. He was a little shit - basically asking for a punishment. But he was all yours.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

The Long Con Part Five

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part Pairing: Marcus Pike x Reader Rating: T Notes: I hope y’all had a good week! 💕 Warnings: This is almost purely fluff. There’s some angst in there, but it’s just, like...A speck. And it’s covered over by fluff. Also I’ve never been to Austin, I did a lot of Googling for this bit, so if any of it is inaccurate, I’m sorry!! It seems like such a cool town and I don’t wanna do it a disservice! Lastly, I linked the museum and the art pieces mentioned in the chapter at the end of the chapter, under the tags. Summary: You’d stayed behind to get ready— but you didn’t know what exactly what you were be getting ready for.

While you and Marcus would be helping Marnie and the family out with wedding prep during the week, they didn’t have anything in particular scheduled for that day. After he’d had his breakfast, Marcus had showered, gotten dressed, and left to get the car that he’d rented for two of you to use that week. You’d stayed behind to get ready— but you didn’t know what exactly what you were be getting ready for. “I wanna show you around while we’ve got some time,” Marcus had told you between stealing sips of your coffee (which were solely permitted because the two of you were pretending to be together - if this had been under any other circumstance, he would not have gotten away with a single sip. His parents had found it adorable. You had found it a loss of coffee).

You dressed in casual clothing, things that you knew you’d have no trouble walking around in for the day. Marcus honked twice once he was outside in the rental, and you bid quick goodbyes to his family. 

-- “So,” Marcus glanced over at you from behind the dark lenses of his aviator sunglasses, “We have a few options-- well, we’ve got a ton, but, I was thinking we could take a tour of the Capitol building, and check out the Harry Ransom Center -- it’s this massive archive and library. There are a few places we could hit for lunch, and then… I don’t know, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center? And I thought we could finish with the Blanton Museum of Art?... Or is that, like, a no, since we’re both kinda around art all the time?” You watched him for a few moments, stunned. He’d clearly gone out of his way to think about what you’d like to do -- places that he knew and that you would like. He wanted you to have fun, and time out of the house - away from his family. Marcus was taking you out and about like… Like he probably would a real girlfriend. “That all sounds really awesome,” You admitted softly. Marcus grinned at you, and you settled back in your seat, facing forward again. -- Conversation came as easily as it had when you were in D.C. Marcus dropped the odd fact about Austin now and again (though it was nothing near his panicked post-flight info-dump), pointed out his old haunts, told you about his and Marnie’s childhoods. Even without his family around, you found that the two of you kept close. You reached for one another’s hands; Marcus drew you into his side when you were in crowded places; even when there was plenty of room, Marcus’ hand was on your shoulder, or your back. The contact was comforting; it didn’t feel forced.  You found yourselves strolling through the Blanton with your fingers intertwined, speaking in hushed tones so as not to disturb the patrons around you. It was where the two of you wound up spending most of your day, discussing Fogel’s Conflict and Kern’s The Adoration of the Magi and Dorigny’s Diana of the Hunt. When you drifted into the Klimt pieces on loan from the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and the two of you stopped in front of The Kiss, Marcus cupped your chin and leaned down, pecking the corner of your lips. You couldn’t help the stupid grin that took over your face, and you leaned into him, turning your head and hiding your face in his shoulder. 

He just curled an arm around you, smoothing a thumb along your side as you let your sheepishness run its course. You turned your head as it ebbed away, finally, taking in the intertwined lovers, robed in gold and adorned with flowers. 

--

“Okay, this… Is stupidly cool,” You admitted, looking around. “I was a little worried that you were going to stop at ‘stupid’.” “No!” You laughed, “I’ve never been anywhere like this.” Marcus had brought you to a bar with an arcade in Southern Congress for dinner. The two of you had ordered dinner and were looking for a few games to play before the food arrived. “They’ve got a little bit of everything. Pinball, Pac-man, Tron, Skeeball,” Marcus listed off. “Galaga?” “They’ve got Galaga.” “Perfect.” Marcus was exceptional at Pac-man and pinball, but you learned that you had the upper hand when it came to air hockey. You managed to play two games of it (both of which you won) before the food came. “Today has all been insanely awesome,” You told him after you’d polished off your pizza, “Thank you. I mean-- Seriously, you didn’t have to do this.” “I didn’t want you feeling like we were stuck at my family’s place all week, and...I mean I know we’re down here for Marnie, but you said you’d never been to Austin. I didn’t want you to miss out on seeing the city.” You and Marcus shared a smile before he added, “The whole day has been insanely awesome, huh?” “Yeah.” “Even in the kitchen?” “You mean when you were drinking my coffee? ‘Cause that put you on thin ice, mister.” “Right before that,” He corrected. The smile he was giving you was two parts bashfulness and one part coy. You folded one arm on the table, pillowing your chin on your other hand. “...Yeah, I’d include that. As first kisses go, it was…” You nodded a little, eyeing Marcus from under your lashes, “It was very...Very nice.” “‘Very nice’?” Marcus repeated, “I guess that’s not the worst review I’ve ever gotten.” “Don’t get all huffy,” You chuckled, ”I mean it, it was… I forgot what being kissed like that even felt like.” “What do you mean?” “I mean that...Was my first kiss in two years.” “Two-- How is that possible?” Marcus’ brow furrowed. You rolled your eyes a little bit, glancing away from Marcus as embarrassment swirled in your stomach. “The last person was my ex-fiancé. After that fell apart…” You shrugged, “I haven’t dated since.” You felt Marcus lean a little closer to get a better look at you. “Did you give up on finding someone?” “Not on purpose. I think I just...Built up some walls that I had torn down really quickly with them. And I built those walls up double. I prioritized work-- the devil I knew, you know.” “No dates, nothing?” “Nope.” “How many people did you turn down?” “What makes you think I turned anyone down?” Marcus tipped his head to the side, giving you a slight once-over as he muttered, “C’mon.” You shook your head, letting out a quiet, embarrassed laugh. “Well, how long after your engagement broke did you wait to date?” You asked. Marcus’ lips pressed into a thin, contemplative line before he admitted, “Five months.” “What made you get back out there? I mean… How’d you know you were ready?” “I wasn’t, but I was worried that if I waited until I was, the woman that had asked me out wouldn’t be available when I got there. I took a leap. It wasn’t a good leap, but it was a leap,” he chuckled, “And it made me remember that dating can suck and putting myself out there could be scary, but… Ultimately, it’s worth it.” You and Marcus regarded one another quietly for a moment. You couldn't even imagine what he was thinking. You couldn't understand how he was still so open to finding love when he'd been hurt the way he had. That sort of loss had only made you want to recede; it seemed to make Marcus even more determined to find love. Frankly, it was a wonder that he hadn't yet— he was the kindest man you'd ever met. You lowered your eyes to your empty plate as you realized that you were staring. It was easy to get caught up in his warm eyes; you’d found it happening more often lately, and it certainly suited the purposes of the lie you were playing up around his family. But there was something about all of it— his gaze, his smile, everything that the two of you had done today — it stirred up twinges or remorse. Lately you’d found yourself wondering if there ever could’ve been something real between the two of you, if you’d met under different circumstances. That was a very dangerous line of thought.

“If you’re finished with your food, we can go play some more air hockey.” You smiled at the offer, glancing back up at him as you asked, “I didn’t kick your ass enough the first time?” “Oh-- I was just warming up.” “Clocking all of my moves?” “Exactly.” “We’ll see about that.” (You beat him three more times.) (You let him win once.)

--

You flicked off the light before getting into bed, tucking yourself in beside Marcus. He yawned and mumbled, “G’night.” “Goodnight, what?” Marcus let out an exaggerated sigh, “Goodnight, supreme air hockey winner.” “Thank you.” “Mhm.” “I don’t ask for much.” “I know.” “Just that you steer clear of my coffee—” “Uh huh.” “And address me by my proper title.” You glanced over as you felt Marcus shift in the bed. Your breath caught in your throat as his arm wound around your middle, his hand dangling against your side as he rested his forehead against your shoulder. “Sleep,” He urged in a mumble, “Oh supreme one.” You settled down, resting one of your hands atop Marcus’ arm. It was a warm, comforting weight; a sweet touch that you could, if you weren’t careful, find yourself getting used to. “‘Oh supreme one’,” You repeated quietly, peering up at the ceiling, “I could get used to that.” Tag list: @hufflepuffing-all-day-long​ ; @spideysimpossiblegirl​ ; @blueeyesatnight​ ; @elen-aranel​ ; @yespolkadotkitty​ ; @artsymaddie​ ; @phoenixhalliwell​ ; @lunaserenade​ ; @winniedaboo​  ; @empress-palpat1ne​ ; @randomness501​ ; @nutmeg-20​ ; @leonieb​ ; @the-feckless-wonder​ ; @lou-la-lou​ ; @captain-jebi​ ; @supernaturalgirl​ ; @naturenebula21​ ; @evelynseventyr​ ; @giselatropicana​ ; @heatherbel​ ; @marydjarin​ ; @annathewitch​ ; @absurdthirst​​ ; @hnt-escape​ ; @writingletterstothefire​​ ; @misswriter​​ ; @bison-writes​​

Museums & Art Work

The Blanton Museum of Art

Fogel’s Conflict

Kern’s The Adoration of the Magi

 Dorigny’s Diana of the Hunt The Belvedere Museum

Klimt’s The Kiss

[descendantofthesparrow]

Commission work - Harry Hook x Darling! Reader - two parter - unpredictably adorable - part 2

commissioner @thebookbakery​

=

Since you were a child, your mind was constantly overthinking, every single possibility, good or bad, bombarding your mind about everything and nothing at the same time.

-what if I never live up to my mom's expectations-

-if I don’t pass this test everyone will hate me-

-they aren’t really my friend; they just feel sorry for me-

-I need to shut up I’m talking to much-

-they are ignoring me; they must hate me-

-everyone is faking-

-if I’m not careful I'll cut my finger and then I'll have to get surgery to remove my hand because I was too careless-

Yeah…it got tiring after a while.

Everything made sense when you were 10 and were finally diagnosed with anxiety, everything got a little bit easier to deal with after that, one of your tactics was just pretending your best friend Piper was talking you down

-I forgot to turn off the oven, and I’m going to burn my mom's house down, and I’m going to go to jail and-

‘no, you didn’t, you always check every single time, twice, you turned it off, now shut up before I smack you, I’m trying to eat this churro.’

It always loomed in the back of your mind, though hanging out with your closest friends did deafen the noise a bit, but it was always there.

You had little toys to help you focus but you were always looked at oddly when you had a little cube with millions of buttons on it so once again, your anxiety won out and you picked at your fingers, bit your lip, rubbed the fabric of your clothes between your fingers, and sometimes dug your nail into your thumb to distract yourself from your own brain.

Crushes, were one of your ultimate weakness, even the thought of someone you had a crush on sent you into a spiral, your brain would tell you they didn’t even know you existed, that they hated you and faking being nice, that your crush would never go anywhere.

Now you only had two crushes your whole life.

One from when you were little, Piper, but that didn’t last long (After you saw her eat a caterpillar bleh) and EX-prince Ben himself, that one had lasted a whole two years, and while you had been his friend before your crush grew, that didn’t stop your brain from shoving those random piercing thoughts into you.

And now, there was another one.

Harry, freaking, Hook. Son of Captain Hook himself, the villain of your mother's story.

And he was the sweetest thing you had ever encountered, you gushed to jane about his little nose scrunched when he grinned, how his tongue poked out of his lips slightly when he concentrated, when he fluffed up his already floofy hair when he was frustrated.

It was just all too much for your anxious little self,  it took all your might to keep yourself from bolting away from the handsome pirate.

You sighed, splashing cold water against your face and blindly grabbing for your towel and patting your face dry. You felt your face heat up as you thought back to the day before, in study hall, when Harry ever so gently placed his thumb on your chin to stop you from chewing on your lip.

You let out a long sigh/squeak as you grabbed your bathroom counter and sunk down into a squat, puffing your cheeks as you tried to calm yourself down. “I’m so doomed” you muttered to yourself, this crush on Harry was worse than the one on Piper OR Ben.

With the two aforementioned crushes, you never imagined it going any farther than dating, so imagine your internal embarrassment when one day you realized you were daydreaming about being buried into Harry's side as you slept in on a weekend in your very own place, living together with three dogs and two cats, and four birds, with two guest rooms specifically for Uma and Gil.

It was nice to dream about but once the dark shadow that was your anxiety reared its ugly head and whispered horrid thoughts about Harry’s “true” feelings about you, it was harder to enjoy your daydreams.

-he’s just using me to get revenge~-

-he’s just like his father, a filthy, cheating pirate-

-he’s faking everything-

-he flirts with everyone; I am nothing special-

You knew it was all bullcrap, even your own mother had met harry (at her request) and happily told you that he was nothing like his dad, and one of the sweetest boys she had ever met, even piper and Peter themselves, liked harry.

But like always, your brain never liked to listen to others and always took a darker train of thought.

You shook your head out of thought and stood, walking back into your room and grabbing your bag, slinging it over your shoulder and grabbing your keys, slipping out of your dorm room and locking it behind you, checking twice to ease your mind.

“hey (y/n)” you flinched as you spun around, letting out a sharp sigh as you realized Uma was the one to call out to you, she rose her brow, a small smirk on her face “sorry, thought you heard me walk up to you”

“you-you’re fine” you smiled back, huffing as the girl tossed her arm over your shoulder and started walking with you to the cafeteria.

“hear the rumor that Mrs.Popin is pop quizzing us in algebra today?”

“she is?” you asked, calm as could be on the outside, but once again your mind started running

-what if it's something we haven’t covered yet? Or what if I wasn’t paying attention to the subject?! What if I accidentally check the wrong one! What if-

Uma tugged you into the seat next to her, picking up a clementine and peeling it open, offering you a slice, shrugging as you declined “suit yourself, yeah, I’m wondering how Harrys gonna do, with his problem with numbers after all”

“oh right, his dyscalculia” you muttered, mind now running wild worrying for harry. “I think he’ll be fine, Mrs.Popin is lenient with him, and she lets all of us take the tests over and over again until we get a passing grade”

“yeah” Uma hummed, chewing on another slice “waffles or pancakes today?”

“I heard It’ was French toast~” Harry purred, plopping down next to you and leaning into your space once again, setting your face on fire and cutting off your voice as usual. “you okay (y/n)?” you whipped around to look at Harry with wide eyes, that….that was the first time he had ever called you by your name, it was always your last name.

“I-yes?” you shrugged, looking down at the table and picking at it “I’m fine”

Harry just hummed and leaned away from you, starting a conversation with Uma about the upcoming math quiz.

Your mind whirled as you processed the fact that he called you by your first name. but thankfully it never went anywhere as the bell for breakfast being served rang throughout the room. Uma tapped your arm, hurrying you to the line to grab the hot and ready food before it was gone.

You grabbed your preferred bread and usual toppings, sighing happily as you noticed your favorite drink was in stock this morning. You grabbed the bottle and tossed in on your tray, following after Uma as she went down the sides line, grabbing a handful of bacon for herself.

After dodging the oncoming breakfast crowd, you, Harry, Gil, and Uma finally settled back at your table. Evie, Jane, and Dizzy joining you moments later “morning~” Jane sang, poking your cheek with a ‘boop’ and starting to eat her breakfast. “oh (y/n), the planning committee is needed in the gym later today, about prom n stuff”

“kay” you muttered, quickly going through your slices of French toast and gulping down your drink “still don’t know how I got roped into the planning committee in the first place” you laughed to yourself, you hardly spoke during the meetings, you were more the errand girl and the one who wrote down what needed to happen as everyone else actually planned.

Jane giggled and patted your shoulder, turning her attention back to the conversation of the table, to which you weren’t bothering to pay attention to.

You dug into your bag and pulled out your notebook, going over your previous notes for math to prepare for the quiz later that day.

Sometimes Jane and Harry would bump into you randomly, Harry's fingers brushing your arm when he would reach for something across the table, you did your best to keep the heat from your face.

At some point harry gently probed your shoulder, making you squeak from surprise, unexpecting of the touch as you looked to harry with wide eyes. He gave a soft smile and nodded towards the doors “bell rung for class darlin’, don’t want yeh ta be late” you quickly stood, yelping as your knee bashed against the table.

“ooow” you bent over slightly, palming your knee as you felt the pain bloom across it. “shit”

“wow” Harry chuckled, grabbing your bags and slinging them over his shoulder “never heard yeh swear before darlin’, come on, ill escort yeh” he placed his hand on the small of your back, and lead you toward your first class.

While you appreciated Harry's chivalry, your mind….was not helping.

-everyone is staring at me-

-they are going to think it's odd he has his hand on me-

-everyone is staring at us-

-everyone is going to think it’s weird that Harry is around me-

-EVERYONE IS STAR-

“here we are” Harry thankfully interrupted your train of thought as he handed you back your bag and gestured to your English class “I’ll see yeh later darlin’” he winked at you and strut away, leaving you with your usual burning face and fidgeting fingers.

You sighed, walking into class and hurrying to your seat, ignoring the imaginative eyes on you as you took out your notebook.

-

The sound of your pen quickly tapping on your clipboard was the only thing that kept you from screaming at everyone.

It was just…too…loud…so many voices at once, all speaking at different volumes and all needing different things, many of them speaking at you, all too much for you to handle.

You gave one look at jane and she nodded, taking your clipboard and walking into the crowd of planners, distracting them as you exited the gym, heading for your room to calm down.

You rubbed your chest and focused on controlled breathing. Everything felt so tight, like something was sitting on your chest as you walked through the halls, fingers gripping your skirt to ground yourself.

You stumbled a bit as a barrage of screaming hit you, you tuned a bit, seeing two of your classmates that you never bothered to learn the names of screaming at each other in the hallway.

Your ears began to ring as you stared at them, unable to continue onto your room. one of the boys looked away from his friend, glaring right at you. “OI WHAT ARE YOU LOOKIN AT!” he screamed, hands balling into fists as he seemed to look into your soul.

You let out a breathless squeak, bolting down the hall, sliding as you took a quick corner and continued to run where ever.

Your original destination was lost, mind yelling at you to hide.

-THEY ARE FOLLOWING ME-

-HIDE-

-THEY ARE GOING TO HURT ME-

-HIDE-

-IM GOING TO DIE-

-HIDE-

You gasped for breath, letting a scream as you slammed into a wall that wasn’t there a moment ago, you slid down to your side, curling up into a ball and letting out choked sobs as the world went dark around you.

You could feel yourself passing out but you couldn’t get a grip on yourself.

You were having a panic attack but you couldn’t do a thing to make it go away, whenever they happened one of your friends was always there to ground you, always helping you come back down to earth.

You couldn’t breathe, air only leaving you as you gasped. Through the ringing in your ears, you heard a voice, but you couldn’t recognize it as whoever it was grabbed onto your shoulders and tried to lift you up.

You felt yourself screech and lash out, your fist hitting something almost solid, whoever it was didn’t flinch and trailed their hands down your arms, grabbing gently onto your hands.

“hey-hey” they whispered, breaking through the chaos of your mind “hey, it's okay, you’re okay. nothings here. you’re safe. no one’s going ta hurt yeh”

You forced your eyes open, and through your blurry visions you saw Harry staring back at you with a soft smile “hey darlin’ can yeh breathe with meh?” you tried to speak but a sob ripped through your throat, you moved forward, crashing into Harry's chest and wrapping your arms around his torso. “hey hey, breathe, in-“ you felt his chest rise, and you swallowed down another sob and took a wobbly breath.

Harry continued to calm you down, soon your breath synchronizing with his “yer doin’ amazing darlin’ now, give me five things yeh can see”

You pulled back slightly from his chest, sniffing as you glanced around “um- locker, window,” a light sob choked you, but Harry just rubbed your back and continued to take deep breathes for you to follow. You glanced down slightly, seeing Harry’s red leather jacket against your shoulder “your jacket, my-my bag, and-and-the school symbol”

“good” Harry cooed, hand running up your back and fingers slipping through your hair, fingers scratching at your scalp comfortably “now name four things yeh can touch”

You looked around again, slowly feeling your body relax, and letting your headrest completely against Harry's chest “wa-water fountain, door handle, vending machine, um-jacket” Harry chuckled at the last one, but nodded.

“amazing love, name three things yeh can hear” you closed your eyes, your lip twitching as you felt your head bump up for a moment.

“your heart” you whispered, not hearing Harrys breath hitch “birds, static”

“a-awesome” Harry sighed, shifting to sit against the wall and pulling you up further into his arms “now, two things yeh can smell”

“metal and leather” you whispered, feeling the grips of the panic attack leaving your body, mentally thanking the gods that Harry had found you.

“good, now, one thing yeh can taste”

You pushed away from Harry’s chest, opening your eyes again and looking around “um-oh! Cookies!” you chirped, leaning up a little as you spotted a bag of Oreos inside the vending machine across the hall.

“amazing job lass, are yeh okay now?” you took a deep breath and looked back at Harry, giving him a tired smile.

“better but” you could still feel the tightness in your chest and your limbs felt like lead “thank you….could you help me to my room? I’m really tired and I need to take a break from everything for a bit”

“of course,” Harry nodded, helping to your feet and grabbing your bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you into his side, letting you take your pace as he helped you to your room.

He glared at anyone you passed by, tightening his grip on your waist and even snapping his teeth at Chad as he sneered at you and Harry together. You were too tired to pay attention to anything though, sighing in relief as your room appeared around the corner. Harry dug your key from your bag and quickly unlocked your room, holding onto your hand tightly as you walked into your room and towards your bed.

He released your hand as your knees hit the edge of your bed and you flopped onto the sheets, blowing out a harsh breath as he ruffled his hair.

“so yeh all good?” he asked again, tilting his head at you, you lifted your head and gave a small nod.

“I will be, thank you, Harry”

He gave a grin and walked over to you, kneeling beside your bed “I've got yer back darlin’ get some rest, and I’ll get yer homework from our classes kay?”

“okay” you whispered, flopping your head back on your bed, feeling your face heat up again as Harry leaned over and pressed a kiss to your head “um-Harry?”

“well talk about it when yer right of head love, see yeh later” he stood and walked out of the room, locking your door and tossing the key on your dresser. He smiled at you and closed the door, his heavy footsteps quickly walking away from your room.

You pressed your fingers gently to the place Harry's lips were moments ago, feeling the heat in your face reaching your ears and stretching down your neck.

‘was-he-a kiss?’ you thought, sitting up and staring at the door. ‘he-wow’

You stared at the door for a moment longer before you kicked off your shoes and just crawled under your covers, smiling as you thought back to his kind words and soft lips.

You closed your eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, forcing down the thoughts that said Harry was only being friendly, you could bear to let yourself dream for a bit.

-

Harry sighed, flipping through the multiple sheets of homework he held in his hands, pursing his lips as he thought back to (y/n), something had set her off to have such an intense panic attack. He was just glad he knew how to calm someone down from it after helping the smee twins through them after so many years.

He looked to his right as Jane passed by him, he reached out grabbing her shoulder, she jumped slightly, looking at him with wide eyes.

“uh, hey Harry? What's up?”

“I came across (y/n) havin’ a panic attack like-two hours ago? Any idea-woah!” Jane’s eyes widened and she grabbed onto his shirt.

“what?! Is she okay? Did-“ Harry quickly covered the girl's mouth.

“she’s fine Jane, she’s in ‘er room now restin’ I just wanted to know if this is a recurring thing or that was the first time it happened”

“recurring” Jane sighed, wrenching Harry's hand from her mouth “she has an anxiety disorder, that’s why she's always so quiet, doesn’t like to draw attention to herself and all that”

Harry furrowed his brows, fixing his bag on his shoulder “ah, is that why she’s all blushy ‘round me then? All those thoughts goin’ wild n stuff?”

“nah” Jane waved her hand nonchalantly “She's just crushing on you….oop didn’t mean to say that!” Jane looked back at him with wide eyes.

A small smile grew on Harry's face “she-she has a crush on meh?”

“I-uh-fudge, yes” Jane sighed, slapping her palm against her forehead “dangit she told me about it in confidence and I just blurt it out like tha-wait!” Harry patted Jane's shoulder with a chuckle and pushed her aside a bit.

“Thanks, Jane~ I gotta go!” Harry took off towards leaving a confused Jane in the hall.

“wait what are you going to do!” Jane yelled, huffing as no response came back “…OH!” Jane squealed, hopping in place. Harry liked (y/n) back! Ohhhh this was going to be so cute!

She had to tell the VK girls, Evie and Dizzy would die!

-

You sighed, smoothing down the front of your oversized hoodie and further curling into a ball on your bed, sporadically clicking the attack button on your gaming device as you fought one of the hardest mini-bosses of the game.

“come one-, die you-gah!” you seethed, cursing as your weapon broke “again?! goddammit!”

“I have’ta say, it’s weird to hear yeh curse darlin’” you screeched, halfway tossing your switch across the room, the device bouncing off your bed and landing on the pile of pillows on the floor.

You looked towards your door, pressing a hand to your chest as you let out a long sigh “Harry! Geez I’m still calming down from earlier, don’t barge in like that!”

Harry winced, closing the door behind him “sorry love, I brought yer homework and some food fer yeh” he held up his bag and a white plastic bag holding a box of food.

“oh” you felt your face heat up as he stepped closer to your bed “thank you”

“no problem darlin’” he purred, setting the bag of food next to you and tossing his bag on your desk. “so~” he started, leaning closer to you with a sly smirk on his face “I heard something really~ interesting on meh way here~”

You rose your brow and flipped open the box of food, humming at the still steaming (preferred lunch).

“little Janey said yer crushin on meh~” your entire body stopped, it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on you “and before yeh freak out with all those thoughts yeh get” he leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek “it's not one-sided darlin’ “

You felt your brain short circuit, unable to think ANYTHING as you stared at harry. He chuckled softly and gave you a toothy smirk, his eyes crinkling as he looked at you like he never had before. “Cat got yer tongue love?.I’ll let yeh process it all, but just know, I do like yeh back, and I would jump off a cliff sooner than hurt yeh….” He kissed your cheek again and stood, stopping as you suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“um-I-, I just wanted to say it myself” you muttered, tugging him back down to your side “I-I-I” you stuttered, feeling your face heat up as harry smiled at you with that adorable crinkled nose “ilikeyou” you gasped, grabbing his collar and pulling him towards you, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and quickly falling back on your bed, pulling your pillow over your face and screeching into it.

Harry just chuckled and patted your knee “like yeh too darlin’ I’ll see yeh later love, okay?”

You just let out some sort of garbled response into your pillow. “okay, text me if yeh want me ta bring yeh dinner” he quickly took his back, emptied your homework from it, and left the room, locking the door behind him.

You let out a huff as you chucked your pillow at the wall, feeling a grin blooming on your face. You squealed, patting your cheeks to try to make the heat escape from it.

“he likes me back” you breathed, giggled erupting from your chest “he likes me back!!!!!” fits of laughter overtook you as you wiggled happily in your bed “he likes me!!!!”

Harry bit his lip to hide his grin as he listened to your mini-celebration “She's so adorable” he chuckled, fixing his bag and walking off, whistling a little tune as he did so.

-end-

permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @imtryingthisout​

@verboetoperee​

[arrthurpendragon]

ICYMI 4/24/21

This is a list of OC fanfictions that have updated over the last week.  Some that were summitted, some that I found in the #ocappreciation tag :)  I hope you find a story! :)

Doctor Who

Time Child: Preservation by: @dannifielding

Sequel to Time Child: Recovery. Danielle Fielding certainly never saw herself housing the biggest monster in the universe while her husband and his newest companion travelled the universe, nor back at university feeling like she'd gone full circle. But something lurks out in the stars that might just save her from her past, should she listen? 12/OC. READ CHAPTER 21 FFN

Falling Skies

Not Dead Yet by: @jemmalynette

OC. Sequel. Season 2. Three months have passed since Tom took off on the alien ship and he's back, much to the relief of Grace and her brothers. But life hasn't got much easier since his return. Now Grace must navigate new threats from the alien enemy, loss of a loved one, and the promise of a new safe haven. But can she make it with her family in one piece? READ CHAPTER 3 FFN

Game of Thrones

Growing Strong by: @a-song-of-quill-and-feather

When the Kingdoms are thrown into chaos Astrid Tyrell ends up in the newly crowned King in the North's camp, where she ends up finding herself growing closer to the king through kind words and company that does not look to him to be anything but him. And when a betrayal hits she offers him more, and with it finds herself wed and moving far from where she ever thought she'd end up. READ CHAPTER 2 FFN + AO3

Grishaverse

Kingdom of Cards by: @materialkii​

Returning to court after a year away, Irina Lantsov is unnervingly no different to when she left. But the cracks in Irina's dazzling mask begin to show, and the Darkling sees more than the spoilt princess she appears to be. With Irina's secrets and Ravka's future hanging in the balance, the game is changed once again when Nikolai comes home. READ CHAPTER 2 FFN

Kings and Queens and Vagabonds by: @papergirlverse​

Reyka Kovacs was a wanderer. It was in her blood, passed down from ancestor to ancestor, never staying in one place for long. But that was before Ravka, before a woman in red stole her away from her parents and forced her into a prison with gilded walls and watchful eyes. And then a Sun Summoner appears at court and Reyka finally sees a way out. READ CHAPTER 2 FFN

Harry Potter

Blood Does Not Family Make by: @nurselaney​

Cateline Fawley has felt the burden of her destiny from childhood. Her mother's visions are her inheritance and she feels pressure to rise above her father's sins. Harry Potter is the boy-who-lived, the Chosen One who must defeat Voldemort when he returns... and Cate is the unknown factor who is determined to make sure he succeeds. TW:Discussion of past rape of secondary character READ CHAPTER 7 FFN + AO3

The Clockwork Collections by: @booty-boggins

Bonus material based off 'The Clockwork Locket' and 'The Phoenix Ascending.' Marauders Era. READ CHAPTER 1 FFN

Decadence by: @materialkii

Phoenix Black is torn between a bright future and a Death Eater husband, and what her heart desires—her older brother's best friend, Remus Lupin. With both of her brothers in peril, Phoenix's role in the First Wizarding War is set in stone, as the Black family hurtles headlong toward tragedies they will never recover from. Remus/OC. READ CHAPTER 16 FFN

Make Them Gold by: @fyeahnevilleslongbottomsocs

Asterope Malfoy after being mutually disowned wants to make herself gold and free herself from the confines of her family's dark past. The last thing she wanted was to wind up in the Triwizard Tournament, have a year long identity crisis, and fall in love with her best friend. But things never did go easy for the members of the Black family who tried to free or better themselves. READ CHAPTER 35 FFN + AO3

Marvel

As I Was by: @sgtbuckyybarnes

The Captain America exhibit had always been the one constant for Harper Rhodes. Until she walks out of her office one night to see a man she believed to be dead standing reading her work. A man with a shining metal arm. Soon Harper begins to uncover truths she could never have predicted. Truths about the family she didn't even remember and the people she thought were friends. READ CHAPTER 23 FFN + WATTPAD

Power Rangers

Aegis by: @fandompariah

A new threat bearing a familiar name is gathering its' forces. Tommy led a force of over 100 rangers in a desperate attempt to buy time. 20 years later a new generation of Power Rangers are being assembled to defend the galaxy. This is an OC centric story, though several canon characters will appear and have prominent roles. READ CHAPTER 81 FFN + AO3

Turn: Washington’s Spies

Luck be a Lady by: @ms-march

Lady Adrienne Fairfax had never gotten to know her betrothed. Lawrence Washington was a man twice her age who was arranged to marry her eldest sister, Anna. However, after Anna’s passing, she found herself being the only one who could have fulfilled the marriage contract, as she had none of her own. Anna died when Adrienne was 3. And by the time she reached 13, Lawrence was sent off to fight a war for King and Country. After that, he fell prey to the same illness that took Anna and died not long after. Her family considered this as a sign.

Adrienne had always been stupidly ambitious, and she intended to use his naive attachment to her benefit. Now, she was not a bad person, but she frankly had goals to reach. Goals that she’d never achieve if she did not jump at all opportunities to achieve them. Unfortunately, this godforsaken winter encampment was a sacrifice she must make to maintain her influence over the over-glorified Commander-in-Chief. READ CHAPTER 22 AO3

If you would like to be added to future ICYMI lists, send me the link via ask/submission by next Saturday!  Be sure to be following me and your fic is an OC fic! :)

ICYMI Masterlist

[bensoloslover]

her.

Kylo ren x Force Sensitive! Reader

(She/ Her Pronouns)

Preview: Madam (L/N) is called aboard  to the Supremacy to discuss the terms of an alliance with the First Order. She gets much more than she expected when she finds she has a very special connection with a certain dark harried man 

Y/N’s POV 

The Debutont, Mega- class Lead Ship of The Dowarly, Deep Space.

“Madam (L/N), the supremacy has requested you attend a meeting to discuss an alliance with The First Order.” Mela stated as she entered your office quarters, carrying her holopad in one hand and interplanetary communicates device in the other.

The Supremacy. Oh how you loathed the idiots who ran that joint. Between them and their whole little empire knock off, otherwise known as the First Order, you could give a womp rats ass about forming an alliance with them.

“First, I’ve asked you to address me as by my name when we’re not in a formal setting. Second, Why exactly would they believe we’d want to form an alliance with them?” You mused looking up at your darling assistant, Mela, who’d be with you since you became head of the coven for The Dowarly. The Coven consisted of a chosen representative from each planet allied with The Dowarly, and the leader of the organization, otherwise known as you.

What’s The Dowarly some might ask? It’s an mostly neutral interplanetary state, dedicated to protecting their allies from the ravages of the war. With its allies choosing not to join either side of the war.

“Not a clue. But they’ve been begging for years. Also with so many of our allied planets thinking of joining, maybe it’s time you at least consider meeting to hear their offer before they make us an enemy, (Y/N).” Mela replied as she took a seat in your office.

“When you speak like that Mela I am tempted to give you a seat on The Coven, even if you’d never accept it.” You laughed as you sat back and weighed your options. Even with Dowarly’s promise of protection and peacekeeping within its allies wall, and it’s neutral stance in the ever growing war between planets, more and more planets had been making the move to either alliance with The Resistance or The First Order.

“I’d hate it, I’d rather just feed you my ideas as your humble assistant and watch them unfold from behind the scenes.” Mela laughed. You’d always thought her to be the smartest person you knew. She’d been your best friend at the academy, you’d grown up together, and when your grandmother passed down her seat at the table to you when you were 19, just a year before her passing, you’d without second thought chosen her to be your right hand woman and most trusted advisor.

“What have you heard from The Coven members about meeting with The Supremacy? I’m sure many of them have been asked to represent their plants.” You asked, knowing Mela had been keeping up with the topic since eventhing started.

“Most of them have already met with them. The rest are waiting for your call. Most will follow The Dowarly’s lead whether we decided to stay neutral or to join the First Order under Supreme Leader Snoke.

“Then let’s prepare the ship, we have a meeting to attend, and once this is over call The Coven to meet so we can state our decision.” You smiled as you stood, your hand outstretched as your saber flew off its pedestal beside you.

“Shall I Call the dressers to get you something sent up that’s… appropriate for a formal meeting perhaps?” Mela mused as she looked at your uniform up and down, with a look that said ‘I dare you to say no.’ “Make sure they prepare something for you too, if I’m stuck meeting with the Supreme Leader, so are you.” You laughed as you both made your way to the hangers of the ship.

Location: The Surprency.

You knew in this moment if your grandmother could see you now, dressed like a queen of some planet in the Outer Rim, walking up to the outside door of Supreme Leader Snoke’s Throne Room, she would have slapped you for even stepping foot on this ship. Let alone what she’d done if she heard you were staying on it for the next week. Force. This is dumb. This was very very dumb.

Your grandmother’s parents had denounced their monarchy, and in her young adult years she had become the senate representative of their home planet, Centonia. She was dear friends with the late Organa Family of Alderaan, who’s daughter is not only the face of the rebellion/ resistance, but also your late mother’s best friend. Though your mother had passed when you were only 3 years old, your grandmother had told you stories of the two of them growing up.

You’d always wondered if she would remember you if she saw you now. You had only met her three or four times as a child, mostly in passing at import meetings and events held by your grandmother. One of the last times you saw her was at your coronation and at your grandmother’s funeral. It was quick, it only felt like she’d said hello and given her condolences before she’d left the planet on urgent business, you were only Twenty at the time and you were too distracted to hear exactly what she said before she left.. Something about her son and her brother's Jedi temple, if you’re not mistaken.

That was well over five years ago now though. God you’ve gotten old.

You’d always thought she was the coolest person ever though. A princess turned General of a Rebellion Group, fighting for their beliefs, plus she was force sensitive? She was everything any little girl would dream of being at your age. At your mother's funeral she told you that if you ever needed anything that you were always welcome. She even offered to take you in as a child when you’d been discovered to be force sensitive, having a son maybe three years older than you with the same abilities.

Stars, did you feel like a traitor at this point. Your grandmother, mother, and the closest thing to another relative you’d ever had would absolutely knock you upside the head for this. You also couldn’t help but think of ways an alliance with the First Order would be beneficial.

“Are you ready to enter Madam (L/N), I was told to announce your arrival.” Said the First Order Captain standing by the doors, her silver armor and perfect posture making her look intimidatingly powerful. Phasma you’d remember her saying her name was when she met you when you docked your ship.

You looked down at your dress, smoothing down the black velvet fitted to your body. Too much you’d thought when you noticed almost everyone dressed in uniform here. Mela was beside you in a navy gown, she’d agreed the dresser had gone a little too hard with your attire, but it was too late now. You adjusted your lightsaber on your navy leather belt, now or never I guess.

“I’m ready.” You started, but then cleared your throat once again. “Also, please announce Mela Montanno, my advisor as well, her opinion is vital to my decision and her presence at this meeting is significant.” You spoke as you reached for Mela who looked as stunned as you could assume the Captain looked under her helmet.

“Yes Madam.” Phasma said, she turned to the doors and knocked twice, the shuffle of feet could be heard and the doors to the throne room were pulled open by two guards clad in red armor.

“Introducing Madam (Y/N) (L/N) of Centonia, Granddaughter of Rosemary (L/N), and esteemed leader of The Dowarly. And Mela Montanno, her distinguished Personal Advisor.” Phasma’s voice seemed to echo throughout the hall as you and Mela walked side by side through the doors into the red throne room. Phasma branched left and kneeled next to a ginger haired and a dark haired man kneeling next to the foot of snokes throne.

Kylo’s POV.

(L/N). Force sensitive. He’d surely heard that name before. Kylo could almost remember the day he’d heard his mother tell his father that she’d offered to take in the (L/N) girl. Force sensitive. She hoped her presence would be good for him. He’d only been ten years old at the time.

“What a pleasure to be in the presence of (Y/N) the Divine Ruler of The Dowarly. The last of a long line of royals and a force user if I’m not mistaken.” Supreme Leader Snoke spoke, Kylo could still hear their heels click against the floor as they approached the throne. “Ren, Hux, Phasma, rise please and greet our guests.”

As Kylo stood he looked up and saw her approaching. Her (H/C) hair shines under the light, her (S/C) complimented perfectly by the black velvet hugging her curves. Her strides powerful and head held high, her aura dripping with the confidence of a queen.

She was stunning. He knew he wasn’t the only one who thought so when he heard General Hux gulp next to him.

“It’s an honor to be here Supreme Leader Snoke, though my grandmother Madam (L/N) II was the Divine Ruler of The Dowarly. I’m simply the Leader of The Dowarly. Madam (L/N) would be fine.” She spoke, her voice sounded angelic yet strong. Her words were confident and precise.

Everything about her screamed power. As he took her in he saw the lightsaber attached to her hip. He knew then she was the little girl his mother had offered to take in. She had to have been. From what General Hux had told him about her family, they’d all died off long ago, her being the soul survivor of her bloodline.

Kylo almost couldn’t take his eyes off her, how he wished he had his mask at this point. At least it wouldn’t make it feel as wrong to be looking at her. He tried to clear his mind of her, Supreme Leader Snoke would surely notice his wandering thoughts.

“Well Madam (L/N), it is an honor to have you here. This is my apprentice Kylo Ren, and General Hux of the First Order. I know you’ve already become acquainted with Captain Phasma. They are here to help discuss the benefits of our alliance, for both sides of the party.” Snoke spoke proudly as he gestured to Kylo and the others with him.

When their eyes met Kylo could feel his heart skip a beat. Her (E/C) eyes pierced holes into his dark ones. That’s when he felt it. The force. The draw. The energy in the room shifted. As if the stars and planet had aligned themselves for this.

He felt her.

(Y/N)‘s POV

Suddenly everything in the room seemed to stop. All noises faded into the background as I locked eyes with him.

He felt so familiar.

Like, someone she’d known before, but she’d never seen him before. She’d surely remember someone so beautiful. Oh god this is supposed to be my first meeting with Supreme Leader Snoke and I’m staring at his apprentice. Shit.

(Y/N) turned away to look back at Snoke, but she couldn’t help but feel the waves of disappointment almost roll off of Kylo. This was already weird and it was only going down hill now.

“It’s an honor to meet you all. I look forward to our meeting about a future alliance. I hope we can come to a mutual agreement.” (Y/N) said, braving another glance towards the dark haired mysterious man, who seemed to be looking anywhere but her, thankfully.

Supreme Leader Snoke smirked, turning his head towards his followers. “Ren.” He said with a tone sharp enough to cut the tension in the room like butter. “Would you please show Madam (L/N) around the ship, and then escort their shared quarters. It should be right near yours. And General Hux, could you escort Lady Mela back to their ship to help receive their bags, and then escort her to their quarters as well. Then you both can be their personal escorts for the remainder of the trip. We wouldn’t want anything or anyone getting lost.”

“Yes sir, Supreme Leader. Captain Phasma could you please arrange a group of stormtroopers to help with the luggage, right this way Lady Mela.” Hux spouted off, holding out a hand to Mela with a warm smile, looking almost relieved to be able to leave the room. Mela on the other hand gave you a painful smile and squeezed your hand goodbye.

“Thank you, it was an honor, Supreme Leader.” Mela bowed and turned to the ginger haired man still holding his hand out to her. “Thank you General Hux.” Mela smiled. Taking his hand and letting him guide her. “Armitage is fine ma’am.” He replied as he led the both of them out the door, you could hear Mela giggle on her way down the hall. Dammit.

“Yes Supreme Leader, right the way Madam (L/N).” Kylo gestured as he walked towards the door. Unlike Mela you didn’t receive a hand, arm, or even a warm smile. Great. At least he’s as uncomfortable as I am, you thought to yourself as you two made your way towards the elevator at the end of the hall.

Force save me now.

“Ladies first.” Kylo spoke softly as the elevator doors opened in front of them, stepping aside so you could enter. Nervous? Why do I feel so nervous, you thought. I’ve been around plenty of powerful men before. Hell I just spoke to The Supreme Leader of The First order. I wonder if he can feel how nervous I am. I can feel how uncomfortable he is. Or maybe he's nervous too. Maybe I should say something. 

“This is a huge ship, definitely bigger than our debutont.” Oh god that was dumb.Now we sound like an dumbass. God I’m Dumb. 

“Yes. It is large. It’s one of our Mega- class Star Dreadnoughts. It houses our most esteemed Generals and Supreme Leader Snoke.” Kylo spoke, the words coming out flatly. You've already annoyed your tour guide and it's been two minutes, good going. Try and make it less awkward please (Y/N/N).

“So you must spend a lot of time here then?” Worse but whatever, guess you're trying to make the First Order hate Dowarly. 

“I reside on the finalizer most of my time, I'm only here for as long as you are Madam (Y/N).” Kylo spoke out, once again very monotonically. 

“Since we’ll be spending some time together this week, (Y/N) is perfectly fine outside of formal setting Mr. Ren? …” Moving to a first name basis so fast? Brave. Maybe it'll break the ice some. I thought while looking up to the man next to me. God he’s tall.. 

“Kylo is fine, (Y/N).” He turned his face to mine and once our eyes locked again it was like I was thrown back in time. 

“Leia …” Was all I could utter before I felt myself fall before too large arms grabbed my shoulders.

Fin.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to send me feedback if you liked it!

[soldouthaz]

Do you have any recent fic recs? 🥺 I just finished reading Baby Blue and now I don’t know what to read next. (It was amazing by the way).

hii!!! I'm so happy you liked baby blue! thank you so much for reading and for reaching out! :))) 

I don’t have any specifics on what you like to read, so I'm just going to give you a bit of everything - I hope that’s alright! if you want more you always know where to find me ;) 

--

recently read fics (July 2020) - 

✰ sleeping on our problems (E, 67k, bL) by @risthebrave / falsegoodnight 

Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about. 

✰ tell it like an old song (E, 26k, bL) by @outropeace

where Harry is a bit lost (just like his memories), his best friend is hiding something, the love of his life is gone and love... love is like flowers. 

✰ soaked in the blood of angels (E, 40k, bL) by @crazyupsetter / whoknows

The boy looks drugged, caught between a man who’s almost twice his size and a girl who looks like she wouldn’t even break a sweat snapping him in half despite her small stature, eyes closed and mouth open as he pants, arching up between them almost as if he’s trying to escape. 

Normally, Harry would ignore it and continue on his search for someone to drink from, someone who wouldn’t mind his sharp teeth and rough hands. He’s seen plenty of boys like this one, ones who picked the wrong playmates, and if he stopped to rescue every single one of them he would have died from thirst a long time ago. 

This one, though. There’s something about this one, the sheen of his bright blue eyes as he blinks slowly, looks around as though he doesn’t know where he is, the weakness of his hands as he tries to push the girl off of him and make his escape. 

✰ like the earth around the sun (E, 23k, bL) by astrangepurplefairy

the one where Harry bursts in on Louis in heat and things only get more complicated from there.

(*personal note* if anyone happens to know if this author has a Tumblr please let me know!)

✰ we both got nothing to hide (E, 43k, bL) by lovelarry10 / @chloehl10

Omega Louis has a secret nest. Alpha Harry keeps losing his clothes.

✰ move so pretty (you’re all I see) (E, 10k, bL) by @risthebrave / falsegoodnight

Harry’s pretty content with his life. He loves his job- a veterinarian at a local clinic who’s already built up a name for himself despite his young age. He loves his gorgeous flat with its wide, open space and minimalistic, yet still homey feel. He loves his family who he talks to and visits as much as possible, not bothered by the long hours of driving to Holmes Chapel from London he endures multiple times a month. He loves his friends and his coworkers and his neighbors- especially Allison, the little old lady next door who brings him and Louis cookies on holidays and who always comments on how “strong and handsome you are, Mr. Styles,” everytime he sees her.

And most importantly, he loves Louis, just- maybe in a slightly different way.

✰ maybe, baby (M, 16k, omega!L) by @thoughtsickles​

Louis runs away. Harry finds him.

✰ when tomorrow comes (E, 11k, bL) by @jacaranda-bloom

the one where Louis is an Omega who has been keeping himself pure for his Alpha, Harry is a traditional Alpha focusing on his studies while he waits to find his bondmate, and Niall is a sneaky bastard who keeps borrowing Louis’ clothes and never returning them.

✰ in a world alone (E, 50k, bL) by @risthebrave / falsegoodnight

Harry’s breath catches as the glow grows bigger and bigger until he’s squinting his eyes and blinking at the sudden intense brightness. He closes his eyes, rubbing at them helplessly. When his eyes open again- he gasps, grip loosening on his bow as he gawks at the sight before him.

Because the swan is gone.

And in its place is the prettiest omega Harry has ever seen.

-

A Swan Lake AU

re-reads - 

✰ like a siren in the night (E, 24k, bL) by @crazyupsetter / whoknows

“There is an infestation in my home,” Louis hisses, righting himself quickly and pushing his way past Harry, heading directly for the kitchen. He’s rather haphazardly dressed himself, a coat thrown on over a loose flannel shirt and black pants, slippers on his feet.

Harry resists the urge to sigh, closing the door and trailing behind him slowly. “What kind of infestation?”

For all he knows, Louis is going to claim that there’s a ghost infestation. Harry has no idea what the end game is here – all he knows is that Louis has found at least three complaints a week to bring up since he’s been living on Harry’s property, and he’s been living here for six months.

It’s way too many fucking complaints, is what Harry is saying. Especially when most of them are ridiculous to start with.

✰ ours are the moments I play in the dark (E, 20k, bL) by @holdingthornsandroses / edensrose

Jane Austen's Persuasion AU. Nine years ago Louis Tomlinson was persuaded to break off his engagement to Harry Styles, a poor sailor. Since then Louis has come to regret being so easily convinced to give up his one chance of happiness. Now Louis' family is in debt and his childhood home is being sold. In a complete reversal of fortune, Harry has returned to England a wealthy bachelor looking to settle down. Events conspire to bring them together once more though Louis is- must surely be- the last man on earth that Captain Styles would think of now. 

✰ pretty please (with sugar on top) (E, 113k, bH) by @angelichl

Harry is a sugar baby omega who cons rich alphas for a living. Louis is a rich alpha with too much self-control.

✰ dance like warriors on a battlefield (E, 20k, bL) by @crazyupsetter / whoknows

Down in the arena, the triumphant gladiator places his foot on the back of the loser, holding him there as he waits for instruction on his next move. Kill or let live. It’s barbaric, really, the bloodlust involved in this sport. Louis is pretty sure that if it wasn’t for his distaste for the killing there would be a lot more blood soaking that sand.

As it is, his father rarely gives the kill order anymore. He gives the order to let the loser live. Louis rolls his eyes, turning away. He doesn’t miss the way the gladiator’s eyes linger on him.

fics on my list to read soon - 

✰ until (E, 38k, bL) by @allwaswell16

Rural Eagle County, Colorado wasn’t the type of place to find a famous musician or actor. At least not until songwriter Louis Tomlinson showed up with pop star Niall Horan to visit his uncle’s horse ranch, and they just happened to find themselves next door to a reclusive former movie star.

(*personal note*- I'd put off reading this until I finished my own cowboy fic so that I wouldn’t subconsciously copy anything but I’m so so excited about this one!) 

✰ smells like omega spirit (NR, 11k, omega!Louis) by @lululawrence

Louis is an omega doing a test run on neutralizers for a class project. Every time he talks to Harry he smells completely different.

Harry is an alpha who can't figure out if he's going crazy or his sense of smell is broken, but all he wants to figure out what Louis' real scent is.

Somehow they figure it out.

✰ ever since I tried your way (E, 25k, bH) by anonymous

In 1949 Harry left his bride at the altar, running away from the only life he'd known. When a kindhearted farmer offers him a ride in his truck and a place to sleep the two find themselves inexplicably drawn together. Isolated on Louis' farm with nobody but a field of dairy cows to intrude, the men are finally able to explore the parts of themselves they've spent their lives hiding away.

✰ was in no hurry, had no worries (E, 21k, bL) by @larrywmi / defencelouis 

The year is 1999 and Harry can’t stop dedicating songs to Louis on the radio. Or the one where Harry hits Louis with his car.

✰ the murmur of yearning (E, 93k) by @mediawhorefics 

Four years ago, Harry Styles was forced into a marriage of convenience to enrich and ally both his and his promised's families. The sudden, and slightly suspicious, death of the Marquess of Haxshire, however, brings great disturbance to Crescentfield Hall and, as his late's husband's closest male relative, Harry unexpectedly finds himself the head of a family he never felt he belonged to. Between a meddling distant cousin hellbent on inserting himself in Harry’s life, his wicked and mistrustful mother-in-law and his late husband’s advisors refusing to help or take him seriously, Harry struggles in the fight to keep what he’s earned and make the Estate finally feel like home.

Luckily, he doesn’t stand completely alone and finds himself an unlikely ally in Mr Tomlinson, the elusive Land Stewart who has been taking care of the property in the shadows for years. Louis Tomlinson is caring, patient, and unlike everyone else, he doesn’t seem to think Harry committed a murder.

-- 

as always, please let me know if I tagged anything incorrectly etc. and I hope this helps you a bit!! I hope you’re well and happy reading! :) 

[oswincoleman]

2020 Jenna Coleman’s Year in Review, part 3: Jenna and the Media

To summarize all of the following in one sentence; it is absolutely despicable how terribly print media treated Jenna Coleman this year. 

The Daily Mail’s obsessive stalking of Jenna

Typically, the Daily Mail releases about 5 sets of paparazzi pictures of Jenna Coleman each year (not counting instances when she was seen attending, arriving, or leaving an event). This year, there were 21 such instances. It seems as though the Daily Mail, desperate to keep their celebrity section going, have increased their efforts of stalking celebrities. The pictures themselves reveal a lot about the kinds of methods the paparazzi employed throughout the year to fill the tabloid with nonsensical repeated stories, and desperate attempts to turn boring uneventful stalker pictures into somewhat interesting stories. 

It all started out so well, with what might be my least disliked set of paparazzi pictures of Jenna. You could see Tom Hughes buying her a new bike for her birthday. Jenna could be seen beaming ear to ear while riding it, and Tom was visibly happy at having found such a great gift for her. The pictures captured such a beatiful moment that provided a great light during a dark time. 

Jenna was pictured by the paparazzi once in a while over the next few months, mainly in Islington, and other nearby areas of London. The frequency was already alarming, but the pictures and articles weren’t nearly as intrusive as they would become later in the year. That all changed thanks to one particular article from The Sun. 

The Sun and their invented rumour of Jenna and Tom’s split

On the 11th of July The Sun dropped a bombshell. They claimed that Jenna and Tom had split, after being together for four years. It didn’t take long for this news to be picked up by numerous other sites, who also wrote their own take on this news, eager to not be too late to the party.

And yet, where was the proof? Did The Sun have any evidence for it’s claim whatsoever? No, they didn’t. Their “evidence” is that an “onlooker” (aka the paparazzi taking pictures of them) said:

She seemed pretty subdued. She’s usually very smiley, but she and Tom looked really flat when they were talking — it was clearly not an easy conversation.

I wonder why they might look subdued when being stalked by a paparazzi, any ideas? The only other evidence is that an unnamed “source” who has no justified authority to speak on these matters said about them: 

They are trying to salvage a friendship but obviously these are trying times, and it’s not easy. Tom actually helped Jenna with her new place, and they’ve met up this week to talk things through and keep everything as friendly and civil as possible. Both Tom and Jenna are terribly sad, but the relationship ran its course. There was no third party involved. Jenna’s career is going from strength to strength, she’s being offered increasingly more roles abroad, especially Los Angeles, and she wants to focus on this while she’s still young.

Notice how this “source” said a friendship. Not their friendship. A friendship. Not their relationship, but the relationship. Then there is the incoherent nature of these comments. Why does this “source” never directly say anything as simple as “Jenna and Tom ended their relationship”? All of this makes it seem as if The Sun saw the opportunity to invent a “rumour” of their split, and then cut certain parts of a text from the “source” to remove the context, and to make it seem as if the “source” was talking about Jenna’s and Tom’s split, even though they were actually talking about something else entirely. Taking a few choice segments from a long text, rearranging them, and telling the reader what the are supposed to say, will allow you to get readers to think pretty much whatever you want them to think. 

But it should also be noted that not a single part in the above text provided anything to justify this “source” as having any authority whatsoever. In fact, the ability to look at this in retrospect puts even more doubt on the above quotes from the “source“. Jenna hasn’t had any role in LA except a tiny insignificant role in Captain America. And as pictures of Jenna and Tom since this article showed, they are still living together. Jenna does have a new house in the Cotswolds, but she has still not moved out of her London home, more than 5 months after this “source” seemingly claimed that that is exactly what she had done. In her recent interview for BBC Radio 1, Jenna was in her London house (the one that The Sun and the Daily Mail had claimed she had moved out of in July). And just briefly before and afterwards, Tom had also been seen at that very same house. They have both been seen there several times in all the months since The Sun first published these fake “rumours“. 

The article in itself had more problems than truthful sentences. The authors of it even forgot how to write Jenna’s name halfway through, said that Jenna and Tom had been together for 4 years, even though they it’s been 5 years already,  they got names, roles, places wrong, and didn’t bother checking their work afterwards. There are probably more mistakes in that article than there are sentences. Does that constitute a trustworthy source?

Oh and a friend of Tom had also confirmed that the breakup rumours told by The Sun were lies, that they didn’t break up. In the last 5 months, there has been more and more evidence to suggest that they didn’t break up at all. But that didn’t stop many news outlets from repeating The Sun’s lies, without ever questioning their validity. It’s like a repeat of 2015, when The Sun claimed that Jenna was dating Prince Harry. Countless media jumped on board with that, never even questioning the validity of the claim being made. And to this day there are still news outlets saying that Jenna dated Prince Harry, even though Jenna very clearly said that those rumours were completely wrong, on live TV. 

This whole issue has been very illuminating in terms of which media outlets can not trusted; which news sites just copy and paste newsworthy articles, not bothering to question the validity of the claims being made, not trying to do their own investigation, not even considering the possibility that the claims could be wrong, not even if they are made by a highly dubious source with a long history of lying and deceiving. It’s startling how many news sites care more for jumping on the bandwaggon than accuracy, truth, or the principles of good journalism. Many sites that I had thought to be more respectable have lost that respect. 

And even once the media will finally catch on to the lie that this story is, it will probably still persist. I won’t be surprised if we will still get media articles referencing Jenna and Tom’s 2020 “breakup” and subsequent “reunion” for many years to come. 

Subsequent intensive stalking by the Daily Mail

Once the “news” of their alleged breakup was revealed, the Daily Mail decided to show it’s worst side. They ramped up attempts to stalk Jenna as often as possible. They stalked her right to her doorstep. So many of the paparazzi pictures since July were taken right in front of her and Tom’s house (though of course the Daily Mail never admitted where those pictures were taken, because that would contradict the story they wanted to tell). So it seems as if the paparazzi were just waiting in front of her house every few days, to see her either leaving or arriving at the house that she had, according to them, moved out of months ago. 

The Dail Mail thought that they could test the gullibility of their readers even more than The Sun had already done. They pictured Jenna giving Tom the keys to their car. It is completely unambiguous that she is handing over car keys, not house keys. And yet, the Daily Mail made a huge deal of apparently capturing THE moment when Jenna gave Tom back the keys to the house they used to live in. And people actually believed it, even though the picture very clearly shows something very different. It’s times like this that I really lose faith in humanity, when a very dubious tabloid writes “this is a circle” below a picture of a square, and people genuinely believe that what is shown in the picture is a circle, and won’t be swayed by any evidence to the contrary. It sounds absurd, but that is what happened. 

One week later, a paparazzi saw Jenna and Tom at the house that Jenna had allegedly already moved out of. The paparazzi even wrote “Have Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes reunited?” alongside the pictures they took. But of course this contradicted the successful story the Daily Mail wanted to tell about them breaking up, so they obviously did not abandon their wrong narrative in favour of the truth. Once the paparazzi realized that the Daily Mail was willing to go with the story of their breakup, no matter the lack of evidence for it, and the mountain of evidence against it, they took special care to never picture Jenna and Tom together, even though the paparazzi did see them together several times over the next few months. Several pictures sets feature Jenna, and Tom at the same place at the same time, but the paparazzi deliberately waited for them to stand apart, before taking pictures of them separately. 

In September, when Jenna was packing her stuff for a weekend trip with her school friends, the Daily Mail alleged that they had captured the exact moment in which Jenna was moving out of her house that she had lived in together with Tom. They never bothered mentioning that their new article completely  contradicted all their previous articles, and yet people still believed the lies told by them. Unsurprisingly, time would tell that once again, the Daily Mail was wrong. And yet, it seems that the phrase “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” does not apply to many people who can be fooled by the same lie again, and again, and again, and again, even though the new lies from the same dubious source always contradict the previous lies. 

The intensive stalking of Jenna in this period seems to have had one main goal; to picture Jenna together with a possible new boyfriend, so that the Daily Mail would be the first to announce her new relationship. But no matter how hard and how long they tried, not even the liars at the Daily Mail could spin the frequent paparazzi pictures to indicate any new relationship with anyone other than Tom. 

The Daily Mail’s Publishing of pictures of Jenna’s and Tom’s house

On the 24th of October, Jenna and Tom put their house in London up for sale, and attached several pictures of the interior of their house, featuring all their possessions, which provide a lot of insight into them, and their private lives. The listing of their house never mentioned thier names. Unfortunately, 3 days later, the Daily Mail got word of this, and knowing their precise address from all the stalking they did, published the pictures of their house on their front page. 

Now I have to say, their house looks absolutely beautiful, they made such a wonderful job of decorating it to their tastes. But I really hated how these pictures were associated with them, and how these were then seen by many thousands of people, who now were able to learn very intimate things about them. Who could, in less than a minute, find out the exact address at which they are living. Jenna and Tom have tried their best to keep this a secret, and to not attach their names to this, but in vain. 

Jenna and Tom have had a very clear approach to discussing their personal lives in public. They don’t say a word about it, ever. I think they are absolutely right to do so, because it is nobody’s business, and they deserve to at least have a tiny bit of privacy left, that was not yet completely invaded by the media. So this must have been a very great shock for them, to see how the Daily Mail discussed their house and their possessions in great detail, to many thousands of people. 

It was a horrendous thing to do, and the real magnitude of how hurtful this was to Jenna and Tom can be seen in what happened within the next day. They no longer listed their house as being up for sale, got all websites featuring it, and the pictures from it removed, and even managed to pressure the Daily Mail into deleting their article. Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and could not be reversed. It is entirely possible, that Jenna and Tom would have already sold the house, had it not been for the Daily Mail’s horrendous decision to share these pictures to all of their readers. 

Obviously, given the other “rumours” that the Daily Mail had repeated for months already, the selling of their house only had one reason; the proof of the breakup of Jenna and Tom. They even went so far as to ignore the fact that the house had been put up for sale by both Jenna and Tom, and instead said that Tom alone had put it up for sale. They ignored the fact that they would have no reason to sell the house if they had split; one of them could just keep on living there. They ignored that over the next two days their paparazzi pictured Jenna entering and leaving the very same house that they had claimed she had moved out of in July, and then moved out of again in September, the same house that was now up for sale. 

Tatler and The Times

This year, Jenna had two photoshoots and accompanying interviews; one for Tatler, and a second one for The Times. I think the style of the Tatler photoshoot doesn’t suit Jenna at all. But The Times’ photoshoot looks amazing, but unfortunately, only 2 pictures of it have been released so far. 

As for the interviews, although they both were initially intended to be about The Serpent, most of it (for Tatler), and a significant portion of it (The Times) was devoted to other issues, most notably, to badger Jenna repeatedly about her personal life, even though she made it very clear from the beginning, and has done so far years, that she was not going to say a word about it. 

It is quite depressing to see both of these magazines blindly trust the lies told by The Sun without evidence, and repeatedly ask Jenna questions directly about that. If the rumours were true, those are painful questions, and if they’re not, those are still very painful questions. And even besides the repeated pestering of Jenna on a topic she wasn’t going to discuss with them, there were some unpleasant parts in both interviews, with the interviewers making quite disrepectful comments to Jenna. It’s a shame that these magazines felt the need to resort to this. 

But on the plus side, both of these interviews provided several interesting points, for instance the mention of Jenna’s upcoming secret big-budget fantasy project in The Times’ interview, or Jenna’s story of taking a spaniel into Boots. 

BBC TV and Radio Interviews

In the last 2 weeks, as promotion for The Serpent has finally gotten started, Jenna took part in a TV interview for BBC Breakfast, and three radio interviews, one of which was filmed. A segment of that can be seen here: https://youtu.be/4FqH8GvxVzA

These interviews were all really lovely, especially the last one, which was by far the longest, most informative, and most interesting. The interviewer, Ali Plumb, did his research on Jenna really well, and it’s a real joy to watch. I think this has become my favourite interview with Jenna that I have ever seen. 

Since this post is already getting very long, I will not be discussing these in detail here, but you can always look up my recent posts in which I was discussing them, in the last few days. 

[luca-moreno]

Operation Asteria (follows x)

Luca follows the blips on his omnitool, backpack bursting and chewing on a strip of something sinfully sweet and tacky he’s sure is going to give him a stomach ache later. He had managed to find almost all the items on Harris’s and Davis’s lists respectively and they were being delivered to the shuttle that very moment. He was feeling pretty smug about a job well done.

It’s easy to spot the flash of red through the masses and for a moment his stomach drops, wondering if it meant trouble and dreading what how it would turn out - but the crowd of people around the phoenix don’t seem hostile. In fact, it feels a little like a party. There’s laughter and chatter and plenty of smiles and it’s only once he relaxes that he spies his captain and Eva amongst the revellers.

He weaves his way through them, careful not to jostle anyone with his bag until he falls in at Isaac’s side.

“Luca,” the captain greets him warmly and with a simple incline of his head. Then he eyes Luca’s pack warily. “What have you got there?”

“Oh, you know.” Luca waves his hand dismissively as he tries to spot Ben through the crowd. “Stuff. Things. Hey, what’s going on? Is Hurricane okay?”

“More than okay,” Eva tells him, stepping close to his other side. “Turns out he’s a bit of a hit with the locals.”

“Well, of course he is,” Luca says proudly, as though he’s somehow responsible for Ben’s winning nature.  

Eva chuckles and he watches on in amusement as an elder woman pinches Ben’s cheek with a trembling hand. Ben looks startled for a second, then his face splits into a smile that makes Luca’s heart skip a beat. Damnit, he was supposed to be over his stupid crush by now. Apparently not. 

Luca grins as he looks on anyway. 

Eva chooses that moment to notice the strip of sweet fluff in his hand. “What’s that?”

“Delicious,” he beams and shoves it towards her in offering. “Wanna try some?”

Eva plucks it out of his grasp and takes a nibble. Her eyes all but roll back in her head and Luca has to stifle his snorting giggle when he notices the captain suddenly looking everywhere but at the fury. “Oh… Luca, this is amazing.”

“I know,” Luca nudges her once he’s wrestled back his treat – he sincerely regrets not buying two, or maybe fifteen – and jerks his head in the captain’s direction as he speaks out of the side of his mouth in a low voice. “So… how’s the date going?”

Eva’s nose wrinkles as she responds in kind. “Not a date.”

He frowns. “It’s totally a date. This is a date kind of place. It’s got all the required date things. Music, good food, pretty, sparkly things... D’uh.”

“Oh, so is that why you requested Ben could come along,” she says teasingly and swipes another mouthful. She was so fast Luca didn’t even see her move. Did she teleport!? Talk about an unfair advantage.

“Hey! That’s mine.”

“Tell me where to find more then.”

Luca jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Back there about twelve stalls, opposite the Akantha vendors. Did you know Kassa Fabrications has a booth here, Cap? Same with Armali Council but I guess that’s to be expected being asari and all. Shame Zeus isn’t here to splash his credits around and spring us all some new goodies.”

“I’m sure the Alliance has us covered, Luca,” Isaac says soothingly. Luca thinks of his recent purchases and squirms as Eva helps herself to the last of his food. He doesn’t bother to fight her.

“Uh, about that. So it turns out that the bits Davis wanted were a bit exxier on the credits than I expected so, um, sorry about that, Captain.”

“What parts?”

“Uh,” Luca gulps suddenly, his thoughts rapidly tripping over themselves as Davis’s voice screeches ABORT in his brain. Whoops. She’s gonna kill him for that. “Hey,” he says brightly, perking up. “So I’m hungry, are you hungry? Eva, I know you’re hungry, what’s good to eat at this stall?”

“Here,” Isaac says flatly as he slides Luca a tray of golden spheres. “Local delicacy. Try one.”

Luca eyes them suspiciously. Glances up at the captain then back at the tray. Suddenly he’s aware of all eyes on him, including Ben’s, so he picks one up and plops it into his mouth.

“Eyeballs,” Eva informs him pleasantly just as he starts to chew.

“Mmm,” Luca smiles weakly around the bulge in his cheeks at the eager sea of faces watching him. It’s kinda slimy even if the flavour isn’t the worst thing he’s ever tried. 

“It’s, uh. Kinda chewy.... Tastes like chicken.”

--

The golden sunset is starting to wan towards twilight when Luca nudges Ben lightly as they walk through yet another part of the market trailing behind Eva and the captain. “You know, I knew all the things about I heard about Cerberus couldn’t have been all bad.”

Ben nods, a small smile on his face. “Phoenix. Did good things. Still doing good things.”

Luca hums in agreement and they walk together in silence for a few steps more before Luca stops abruptly. He was going to wait until they got back to the ship to do this but he’s never been good at waiting so he digs around in his pack and pulls out a woven strip of scarlet.

It’s a scarf, similar to the verdant and blue toned one he wears around his own neck and Luca hesitates briefly as he holds it in his hands. He glances at Ben sheepishly from under his curls. 

“So, ah. I got this for you.” 

Then before he can think twice about what he’s doing, he steps forward and drapes it around Ben’s neck. The red knit blends too closely against the ruby shade of Ben’s phoenix armor and Luca wrinkles his nose slightly in disappointment that it doesn’t stand out more. Maybe it will look better against his fatigues once they’re back on the ship. 

Ah, Amonkira, he knew he shouldn’t have done this yet.

Ben looks down in surprise at the scarf then picks up a handful in his gloved hand. He can’t feel it through his armour so he rubs it against his cheek instead. 

“Soft,” he says, and Luca is pretty hopeful that’s a smile playing about his lips.

“Yeah. Uh,” Luca shifts nervously on his feet. He hadn’t really given his impulse buy much thought - He’d picked one out for himself then saw the scarlet tones and immediately thought of Ben. He doesn’t know if it’s the sort of thing Ben would even like but suddenly to Luca, it’s important that he does. Important that Luca expresses his gratitude for the words Ben had given him multiple times over when words were sometimes so hard for him. “So, um. Do you like it?”

[astranne]

FanFiction.net MASTERLIST

Here are the FanFiction I’ve read on FanFiction.net. Hope you’ll enjoy!

For each recommendation I’ve linked the story to the title and wrote/copied a little summary. Please remember that many stories are rated M or E, if not stronger. Read on your own risk!

justhugefangirl’s masterlist

fanfiction recommendation masterlist

Love’s Labour Found  by Peanutbuttertoast1

The War may be over, but Hermione Granger's life is just starting as her true heritage is revealed. Being the Heir to the Throne of England and a real life Princess is just the beginning of Hermione's story...but how will the Wizarding World react when they learn the Golden Girl and Gryffindor Princess is really a real life Royal?

This fanfic os one of my favourites, read it already three times- I can’t. It’s perfect, okay? For me it’s perfect. 

---

A Witch in Gotham by Peanutbuttertoast1

After the Second Wizarding War, a curse rips through the Magical World, leaving devastation in its wake. Hermione Granger is tasked to find the reason, and the cure before more lives are lost. Retreating into the Muggle World to start over, Hermione finds her way to Gotham City as Mia Black, Head of the Black Foundation. Her decision to help the Batman changes her life forever.

A perfect crossover- honestly, this author is perfect. As well this story. I don’t link more of the authors work but there are some other ones which are just ... perfect.

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Mischief Managed by fringeperson

A man with black hair, green eyes and pale skin watched over a child with black hair, green eyes, pale skin, and a variant of the Elder Futhark rune Sowilo etched upon his brow.

Mischief Mastered (part of story)

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Green Eyes and Red Hair by fringeperson

He was a practical joker with messy black hair. She was a talented woman with bright red hair. It turned out that they both had green eyes. Their daughter, when she came, was untouchable for more reasons than one. Loki-is-James, Natasha-is-Lily, Rogue-is-Fem!Harry.

I love the relationship between Loki and Natasha :)

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Love on Her Arm by Eye Greater Than Three

During a trip to Gringotts, Hyacinthe Potter discovered she met her soulmate, William Weasley. Bill/Hyacinthe. female!Harry.

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The Winter Witch by Kneazle

Hermione realized it began with a sense of Impending Doom and finished with a battle outside her tent. The deciding line between staying and helping Robb Stark, or returning to her universe, is getting harder to see the longer she's in Westeros. But it's a decision that she has to make, or it's one that will be made for her. Part 1 & Part 2 complete! Part 3 now ongoing.

This... is one of my favourites crossovers,,, the slowburn between Hermione and Robb,,, and it’s so fluff,,, I’m such a sucker for dark stories but this is just pureness and ugh-

---

Moratorium by Darkpetal16

Harry Potter could never be the hero. But, she might make a great villain. Satire. Parody. -COMPLETE- F!Harry Fem!Harry Gray!Harry.

Uhm- this is one of the darker fics I love. It’s very good written, cause of this I really don’t mind the ship fem!Harry x Tom Riddle

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A Life Twice Lifed by Nemesis13

Draco Malfoy died at the venerable age of 107, and who awaited him at the crossroads? His mother? His wife? No, it had to be his eccentric former rival, eventual best friend, and far too often partner in chaos Harry Potter. Oh, and of course he had a deal to offer Draco to live his life anew, and obviously there was a caveat to it all that he wasn't privy to, damn Potters.Fem!Draco

Ahh, Drarry. How I love this ship

---

Persephone by dulce.de.leche.go

Better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path. Better still to be the consort of Hades than a part of his collection of souls. Ten years after Voldemort has won the war, Hermione reaches a breaking point and shreds the flow of time to change her future. If she can't change the world, she will change her place in it. Extremely dark Tomione/Volmione. Warnings inside.

As already written in the summary, this fic is hella dark. So if you don’t like dark fics (especially with all the warnings mentioned in the first chapters) don’t read. I still love it tho-

---

The Muddy Princess by Colubrina

Just another Pureblood!Hermione story. A hidden adoption revealed, a brother found, a new world to figure out: "What are you hoping for?" he asked as they stood ready to do the spell. "I don't know," Hermione admitted. "You?" His knuckles were white on his wand. "A sister," he said, his voice very low, "I'm hoping for a sister."

There are more stories from this author which are just- awesome and absolutly perfect, like the next ones. Since they have over 60, I won’t link every work here. 

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Lady of the Lake by Colubrina

Hermione and Draco team up after the war to overthrow the Order and take over wizarding Britain. They have plans and they'll get power, but the cost of victory may be higher than they expected and more than they can bear. Dark Dramione. COMPLETE

This is perfection. Nothing more to say. 

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Dark Cherry Chapstick by Colubrina

Hermione returns for an optional 8th year after the war and Draco Malfoy, also back at Hogwarts at his mother's request, notices she's changed. A brief dip into the 'makeover' trope AND the 'goth' trope in one fic. ONE SHOT. Dramione.

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The Green Girl by Colubrina

Hermione is sorted into Slytherin; how will things play out differently when the brains of the Golden Trio has different friends? AU. Darkish Dramione. COMPLETE

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The Last Peverell by animerocker 646

Being the Master of Death made life difficult, especially when you need to save all of magical Europe from inbreeding its way to extinction. At least Death was enjoying watching his Master attempt this over and over again. Harry didn't find it nearly as entertaining. Well, tenth times the charm right? (FemHarry)

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Soft, Low, English Accent by Tsume Yuki

'God, you've got a beautiful voice.' Hariel always found it funny, that of all the things her soulmate could take note of -the messy hair, the bright green eyes, the scar- it's her voice he points out first. FemHarryxMatt

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Bless the Broken Road by Tempestas D. Uzu

Her resolve crumbled in the face of Pietro Maximoff's scruffy good looks and warm blue eyes, and she found herself falling for another person who would be doomed to die for her selfishness. (One Shot)(fem!HarryXPietro)(cannon-divergent)(full warnings inside)

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The Death of Natasha Romanoff by Philosophize

While helping to stop Stane, Natasha encounters a face she never thought she'd see again. Forced to deal with memories, decisions, and a life she thought she'd long left behind, will she survive the emotional upheaval, not to mention the rampaging, homicidal Stane? Or will she have to face her fears & transform herself, becoming once again what she once was? AU; fem!Harry; femslash

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Code Of Conduct by tlyxor1

A year after the war, Gwen Potter joins SHIELD. It's a life in the shadows, and a perpetual dance with death, but for the Witch Who Won, SHIELD - and Clint Barton - is exactly what she needs. She just doesn't know it yet. AU. Clint/Gwen. Fem!Harry. Pre-MCU. Post-Hogwarts, Post OOTP. Discontinued.

It already says it’s not finished,,, but oh well- I still liked it.

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The Almost Forgotten Marriage Contract of 1763 by worldtravellingfly

What would you do when suddenly confronted with a 200+ years old marriage contract by a teen and her lawyer? Run for the hills? Call the nice guys with the white jackets? Certainly not - agree? Well, Tony Stark always was a bit unique.

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Some Hearts by sakurademonalchemist

Robin Black was a bound witch. However, as the new Mistress of Death she was able to break free to Asgard and prepare to reap her vengeance. What she didn't count on was falling for a certain green-eyed, silver-tongued God of Mischief or being hit by Time Sand before the war restarted. Can she make her way back to Loki, or will she be stuck on Earth? FEM HARRY! YOU WERE WARNED!

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A Man of Honor by bloomsburry-dhazel

One day, Lyanna Stark discovers an unconscious man in the Wolfswood. Not knowing who he is, she takes him back to Winterfell where he is nurse back to health... Steve Rogers can't remember what happened to him, or how he ends up there, but he does remember who he is. He is Captain America, and somehow he has become Lyanna Stark's sworn shield.

---

The Origin of The Black Widow by The Black Shadowx

The story of how the Black Widow became to be. detailed description of her life in the Red Room and what happened when she defected. this is my own creation so if things appear that is not in the comics thats the reason. i don't things can ever be too far stretched so excuse me if it gets weird. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING TO DO WITH MARVEL . WRITTEN FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY

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will be updated...

[thewebcomicsreview]

Normally I open up the Homestuck 2 liveblog with a tongue-in-cheek comment about how reading HS2 is pain, but I just watched the debate and HS2 looks incredible by comparison, so let’s see if this good mood carries over. Looks like we’re on Candyland, too, Candy updates tend to be better (or at least bad in a funny way) than the oft-boring Meat updates, and personally, I think “The Omega Kids fuck around” is the best part of HS2 by yards.

Man, that lamp is almost perfectly positioned to draw a line through the image separating the two scenes (the dialogue for which is on two separate columns), but it’s just the tiniest bit off-center. I wonder if that was intentional and mobile-responsiveness is just a cruel mistress. It’s a cute touch, if so. I suppose the door (and the photos, which are the same height as the door) also serves the same purpose of having the two scenes be sectioned off. I don’t really know a lot about “scene composition” so maybe I should stay in my wheelhouse, but I think it’s divided very nicely

HARRY: and some of us aren't gods and shit. JOHN: i'm detecting a hint of judgement in your voice, there, harry anderson JOHN: don't you enjoy being a part of all this? finally getting to be in the thick of it all?

John, always dense, has not picked up on Harry Anderson’s demotion to Harry. He’s also inserting a lot of his own desires onto Harry, here, too. Vrissy is the one who wanted to be in the thick of it all (thematic idea to stick a pin into to see if it plays out: John should be mentoring Vrissy and Vriska should be mentoring Harry. Some evidence that HS2 is building this idea, but not a lot yet)

HARRY: now YOU look like you're hiding some extra commentary. JOHN: oh, i don't need to burden you with all the bureaucratic stuff, it's boring.

You gotta subscribe to John’s $20/mo Patreon tier for that, Harry.

JOHN: because here i am, sitting in the dugout, same as you. HARRY: in the dugout? JOHN: oh, or, uh... JOHN: what's a metaphor you might like better... HARRY: no, JOHN: i'm like the uhh...understudy. HARRY: dad. no, jesus, you don't have to do this. JOHN: or i got cast in as babysitter number 2 when i had auditioned for, i dunno, HARRY: yeah, please, i got the baseball metaphor. HARRY: i'm not a complete fucking nerd.

John doesn’t really “get” theater kids, I get. It makes me think a little of how John’s dad thought John was massively into clowns. Also, this is a cute.

JOHN: it's been really nice to get to spend so much time with you. HARRY: um. yeah, it's not so bad. HARRY: anyway, before you ruffle my hair or anything, it looks like things are getting a bit heated between the vriskas over there. HARRY: maybe we should offer them a snack to bring the mood back down? JOHN: me, mess up your hair when you’ve worked so hard on that look? i do know you at least that well, harry anderson HARRY: thank god.

This is also cute. Harry maybe the only person in the entire cast of Homestuck or Homestuck 2 to have a semi-normal relationship with his parents.

Speaking of semi-symmetry, the line where Harry says how happy he is to stay home almost lines up perfectly with Vriska being furious that she has to stay home. I wonder again if that’s a coincidence of if someone had a really clever idea that didn’t make it fully intact through editing (or was considered not worth the effort). 

VRISKA: How are you so calm right now? Your lusii were training you, right? And you’re a troll, you’re definitely five times stronger than a human! And if you’re my clone, you are way more 8adass than little miss Fussy Fangs.

Vriska is making several false assumptions here, but the most interesting one is that Vrissy is Vriska’s clone. She’s not. She’s descended from Vriska, and takes after Vriska very strongly, but it’s not a one-to-one thing.

VRISSY: 8ut I guess this Situation is Kind of Serious? VRISSY: There’s a whole Plan and Stuff Like that. VRISKA: Clearly not a good plan, 8ecause then I would 8e part of it!

Vriska.jpg

VRISKA: That’s just even more indication that they don’t know what they’re doing! Lalonde and Maryam have had however many sweeps to get older and stupider, 8ut from where I’m standing, it was literally only a few days ago that I was their commander! I am primed for the 8attlefield!

Okay, this line is across from John saying he’s in the dugout. There is absolutely an intentional, if not one-to-one strict, mirroring of these two conversations that’s actually really neat. I should go back to the other times HS2 has had conversations formatted like this to see if this mirroring has been happening all along. It’s a really good use of the format! I like this a lot! 

JOHN: so anyway, as you can see, this would have worked just fine! HARRY: no i think karkat’s right. this looks like shit, dad. JOHN: you know, me letting your earlier use of the word "fuck" slide wasn't a blanket approval for all cursing in front of me. HARRY: sorry. HARRY: try not to make such a shit plan, and i won't call it that. JOHN: haha wow.

The other thing I like is the John/Harry dynamic. 

HARRY: it's not like i think i'm any better! HARRY: i mean, i still can't believe i told vrissy and them to bring a dead celebrity to school. HARRY: what was i THINKING. JOHN: you were thinking it sounded hilarious! JOHN: but yeah, in hindsight, maybe not the best call. JOHN: maybe it’s genetic? HARRY: yeah. HARRY: i kinda can’t believe we’re all still alive, actually. HARRY: and how did YOU make it this far, being so bad at this? JOHN: i had my friends with me, i guess.

John your friends repeatedly tried to kill you and succeeded at least twice. 

He’d spent so long seeing mostly the best parts of Roxy in Harry Anderson. He forgot, he guesses, to look for himself in there, too. And if what they have in common right now is a lack of strategic foresight, hey, he’ll take it.

I’m slowly developing a theory that John is subconsciously the narrator of Candy, given how everything suddenly started going John’s way after Calliope left (and how the narrator seemed to really hate Gamzee last chapter). Remember, John has spoken in narration before in HS1, but never seemed to realize he was doing it. I probably need to essay this theory out at some point, but not now.

Oh, hey! Jane does have goons! And they’ve slightly change the way they draw Rose’s hair, so her head isn’t a perfect circle with lines on it. This looks much better. 

JANE: I haven't given a political speech in years, Ms. Lalonde. I don't know what you're referring to. I'm just a simple business woman. JADE: right with her own talk show JADE: and multi billion dollar merchant company and lobbying groups! JANE: That's what a business woman is, Jade, dear.

I know that this is supposed to be Capitalism Bad, but “You claim to be a businesswoman when you own a merchant company!”. Jade. Come on. This reads less as Jane going “Of course I’m evil, I’m a CEO” and more that Jade literally doesn’t know what a business woman is. 

JANE: You are on my territory, in the presence of my secret police, laying your hand on my investment.

Jane you don’t own “territory” do you not know what a businesswoman is either?

JANE: Your ship is in contested airspace. You will land, whereby it will be confiscated by the Royal Human Guard. After that you will be taken into custody. 

CONTESTED BY WHOM, JANE? WHO THE FUCK IS THE WAR BETWEEN?!

JADE: shut the fuck up for a minute and look up!

There’s a BIG-ASS spaceship like ten feet in front of you! Did you not notice until Jade pointed it out?

Also why does the Rebellion ship have the Crockercorp prongs on it?

JANE: Or have you forgotten who has been paying for her schooling and taking charge of her introduction into society? JADE: i never asked you to do that! JADE: you offered! JADE: so stop calling me ungrateful for not sucking your dick over things i never asked for!

Sorry again, Jade, are you implying that you wouldn’t have given your daughter an education had Jane not offered? “Rose and Jade entrusted their daughter to Jane, who they were at war with” is an enigma of a plot point.

The world is watching her be dressed down by a couple blood traitor rebels, one of which has very prominent dog ears. Jane wonders if either of them are even recognizable to the assembled as two of the old gods. One of her PR managers had recommended that she keep her look as static as possible, so that people can always recognize her as Jane Crocker, Captain of Industry, Creator of Earth C, Maintainer of Peace and Plenty.

Jade has always had dog ears what the fuck? I guess this is supposed to be Jane’s warped thinking.

So, anyway, Kanaya fake-holds Tavvy hostage, Jane buys the threat as real and they build up like Jane is going to sacrifice her own son for PR points but she ultimately stands down and lets everyone go. It’s left intentionally vague whether or not she was always going to do this, or if she didn’t want to do it in front of Jake, or if the presence of Jake stirred something in her that made her change her mind. I like the ambiguity. 

This was a very “Homestuck 2″ update. The plot of kind of nonsense, but it’s carried by the character interactions and a bit of cleverness.