#a plain of stars

[inthewindandinthewater]

A Plain of Stars (Chapter 3)

A/n: Finally I wrote another chapter. I know I said I'd write it like a month ago but I had a lot going on with my family and school, plus every time I tried to write I just couldn't put the words down. I also wrote a full chapter that had a huge plot hole, like something so stupid you'd think I haven't been in this fandom for years now. But, I did write the into to chapter 4 by accident so that one should be alone quicker now that I'm done with school for the semester. I hope y'all like this one, it's a little short. Feedback is always appreciated.

(I always end up rereading these and making little edits, all my stories are always getting a little bit more readable :0)

Warnings: Light cursing, arranged marriages, reader is kinda mean

Summary: Agnes Goyle is quickly working her way into your circle.

Chapter 4

⋆⋆⋆☆✦☆☆✭☆☆✦☆☆✭☆☆✦☆⋆⋆⋆

Chapter 3

Poor Agnes. 

Poor boring, tactless Agnes; who had no shot with the boy of her dreams. 

You and Agnes Goyle had become friends last semester, not good friends but friends came few and far between so you would have to grin and bear her. The two of you had been assigned partners for a potions assignment and she had quickly latched. She asked you to take her places, walk the castle with her, and had intruded on your meals with the twins. 

It was about two days in that she began to shift, she’d always been outgoing and friendly, not particularly funny but to her credit she didn’t try to be. But whenever Evan was concerned she seemed to second guess herself, cutting off her sentences or looking anywhere but him when she would speak. Evan, who could be called a moron but never oblivious, immediately took notice of this. 

“What’s up with your shadow?” He’d said one day on the way back to the dorms after dinner. Agnes and Pandora had decided to study that even, Dora had either taken a liking to or a pity for the girl. “Agnes?” You say, shrugging “no clue.” You knew. Of course you knew, but her crush wasn’t for your entertainment and you didn’t fancy playing matchmaker. “Hm” Evan looked annoyed but didn’t dwell on it. 

She was always walking a step behind the rest, cutting herself short when one of you spoke over her, tugging at her clothes, staring off into space. Nothing like she had been when it was just the two of you, then she couldn;t seem to shut up. She filled the empty silence with random facts and stories about her day. You found the chatter a little comforting, Agnes talked and you listened, there was no pressure on you to drive the conversation. It was like having a companion with whom you could be completely mindless, you liked that about her. And if you were busy, or had another place to be, she never minded. 

Even now as she walked slightly behind you, Regulus, Pandora, and Evan she wasn’t the same bubbly girl you’d come to know in the first months of your friendship, it was really starting to grate on your nerves. If she was going to be around she could at least be herself, it was far more enjoyable than the simmering shyness that clouded her now. You tug Regulus closer to you and away from Evan, effectively putting a space between him and the blonde. Agnes, thankfully getting the cue, gives you a surprised but grateful look and steps into the space. “Goyle! Didn’t even know you were there, when did you get so quiet?” Evan chirps, in his all too easy way. “Oh, I just-” she fades away, you give her a stern look. “I just didn’t want to interrupt, plus you couldn’t hear me back there.” An amused huff escapes Regulus as he watches the events play out, he gives you a bit of side eye. To which you shrug. “Next time just shove Reggie over, it’s not like he speaks anyway.” 

Later, when it was just you and Regulus in the library he broached the topic. “So, your shadow has a crush.” He raises an eyebrow at you, “I guess, I really hate what it’s turned her into.” You say, not averting your attention away from the essay you're revising. “So your solution is to play cupid?” That makes you look up at him, the way he’s leaned over the table with his chin in his hand. “No” You exasperate, “my solution is to make her more comfortable so she’ll stop acting like a kicked puppy.” He leans back then, a sardonic expression painted across his face as he crosses his arms over his chest, “is that right?” You roll your eyes and go back to your essay, “what happens when she gets the wrong impression? Evan is used to two kinds of girls. You and Dora, who may as well be sexless, and objects of affection. Personally, I don;t think Agnes Goyle falls into that second category.” 

You huff and throw you quill back into its inkwell, “I don’t know Regulus, maybe I wasn’t thinking about it. Maybe he will like her or maybe she’ll have to realise that she doesn’t have a chance and get over it. Either way it will be a learning experience for one of us.” You snatch you quill back up and go back to writing, Regulus for once allows a smile to curl over his features as he watches you. 

Okay, so maybe it was cruel and self motivated. But, you didn’t have time to worry about it, and for all other people knew you were just trying to make her feel included in the little ‘in-crowd’ the four of you were forming. 

The buzz around Regulus’ reappearance had spread quickly throughout the school and even more had the news about who he was hanging around. Now that you had all grown up a bit people were starting to take sides. War was inevitable, most families had either pledged their children to the darklord or outright denounced his ideology. The four of you sat at the centre of it, not in the sense that you were the main problem in this war, but more that you each straddle a fence. Before Sirius had left it was so clear that all of you, or at least Regulus and the twins would take the dark mark, but now doubt had set in, especially as you all neared your seventh year. Chatter was ceaseless and endlessly annoying, you knew it mattered, you knew the moment any of you made a decision you would polarise either way. You just hoped you wouldn’t be polarised against one another. 

Unlike the others your parents hadn’t made a decision. Obviously they leaned one way, and by doing so and being of the relatively new families to join the sacred 28 you managed to skate by. But the pressure was increasing and you all knew it. “I’m scared” Dora had said to you one night, “I’m scared for all of us.” Her expression was uncharacteristically grave. The lofty demeanour she was known for was slipping out her day by day, the weight of decision squeezing it out her. It seemed even the brightest of you were losing your colour. You shifted closer to her on the couch, putting your arms out as she fell into them in time. You’d never been a touchy person, but Dora knew comfort one way. You’d stroked her hair and whispered sweet nothings, ‘it’s going to be okay’s,  and ‘we’ll be alright’s. All manner of things you didn’t really believe. 

Your little in-crowd was becoming more and more tight knit every day, but not in the way that made it seem like you’d always be this way. Not like Sirius and his friends, who seemed to suck new people into their friend group like a vacuum as time went on, they seemed like they’d be a family forever, it made you sick to your stomach. You opted not to think too much about it. No, your tightness felt like a rubberband fit to snap, that one day it would break and you’d all be scattered out the edges of the world. Now, Agnes was slipping her way under that band, none of you felt the security to warn her. Too worried that acknowledging it would be just the thing to break it. 

Regardless, you were becoming more fond of them each day. Even for all of Evan’s chatter, and Regulus’ lack of chatter, and for Pandora's odd remarks, or for Agnes’ little observations; you still wouldn’t trade them for any of your classmates. There was something about the way you fit together, it made the snugness of the rubberband feel more like comfort than an inconvenience. You’d never had friends like this, before you’d had Sirius. But this was almost better, when one of them annoyed you there was always someone else to go to, and for the most part you were all together. Either at meals or in classes you were a unit, the consistency was so nice that the thought of them slipping away made your chest ache a little. 

Christmas decorations had finally been draped across the castle, the yuletide in the air lightened everyone's mood. “Don’t you think hanging mistletoe around a castle full of children is a bit odd?” Agnes remarked as she cut into her pie. “Now that you mention it, yeah.” Regulus spoke, looking across the table at Agnes, who always looked a little ajar when Regulus spoke to her. “True! What are they playing at?” Evan chimed in, looking more over to Regulus than to Agnes, who’d broached the question in the first place. “Maybe it’s just one of those archaic traditions, they probably don’t even think about putting it up anymore. It’s just like the garland of the bobbles.” Pandora directed her musings at the sky, serverying the floating wreaths above her head. “Except it’s not” Evan furrows his eyebrows at her and eventually rolls his eyes when he is given no response from his sister. “I mean, she has a point. I don’t think anyone’s holding a wand to the first years heads and making them kiss for our amusement.” You say, your tone lovingly chagrin. “I should hope not” Regulus says, looking over to you where you sat next to him. 

This had become commonplace, it didn’t matter where you were, you sat down and he sat next to you. It was kind of adorable, like a standoffish housecat that insisted on following you around but never sitting directly with you. “I don’t know, anything above my head in a doorway makes me uneasy after what happened to Severus.” Agnes shivered, remembering the concoction of red paint and god knows what that was soaked Severus Snape as he entered the potions room last week. None of you had been there, being in the year below Severus and not sharing any classes, but everyone had either seen or heard about his march of rage through the corridor back to his dorm. “Those four need to be jailed, if not only for annoying the piss out of everyone who has to deal with Snape.” Evan looked genuinely exhausted, he’d been assigned Severus as a tutor for potions and had to deal with his attitude biweekly. “Maybe, try studying on your own and passing your own classes and you could avoid him.” Regulus shot Evan a look that was returned back twice fold. “Maybe Slughorn should do his job instead of networking with his students” Reglus only nodded at that. 

“He does what?” Agnes said incredulously, Pandora piped up in turn, sensing something that needed explanation. “He likes to form connections with the wealthiest and most intelligent students in each house, he invites students with promise to be a part of an exclusive club so they think fondly of him when they’re more successful.” She says, her gaze falling from the sky and onto Agnes. “Oh” she says, the same look of simmering shyness falling over her once again. Evan spoke next, “his standards are almost inexplicable, don’t worry about not being invited” He elbows her in the ribs gently before leaning down to fake whisper “I’m not in it either.” This turns Agnes into a puddle of blush and giggles in her seat. “His definition of promise is obviously skewed considering both my brother and I made it,” Regulus remarks, pushing food around his plate. The table is silent for a second, all of you surprised at the mention of Sirius. “He has no standards, his methods are about as clear as divination.” You say, effectively smashing the silence and diffusing tension. 

The conversation picks up once more as Agnes tells her latest story about divination, to which Evan can’t help but make commentary. It’s in these moments of distraction that Regulus finds his excuse to scoot ever so slightly closer to you on the bench, and for once.. You notice. 

[operagroove]

They call him loser boy

[the-astral-express-archive]

Honkai: Star Rail CN | "Little Misha: I want to wake up from my dreams and embrace the stars"* From Pom-Pom's Favorites

Artist: 月见玉子烧 *Rough translation

[spadillelicious]

A redraw of the first concept sketch I ever did of LDR Sun 6 months ago! 💞💞💞✨✨ (He was always intended to be in rollerskates but I wanted to design his after hours look with regular shoes on first! ;D) I love the final design he has now with the rolled up sleeves, the pink and purple windbreaker and the purple t-shirt SO MUCH MORE than this one but ouGH that star pattern.... I miss it....!! 🌟💖

[archivistofnerddom]

One of the funny things about Rex and Omega being in the Rebellion at the same time is that they could have any number of conversations that basically are this:

Omega: *does something impressive and chaotic to help people and to fight against the Empire*

Rex: *deliberate breathing as he’s watching her do this, knowing he’s the only person who knows how she got those skills (and from whom)*

Omega: *gets hurt or does something that has the absolute slightest chance of giving Hunter (aka Stressed Protective Dad) heart palpitations if or when he finds out*

Rex: *sighs* Okay, on a scale from “Crosshair’s Pabu Meditations” to “Escape From Tantiss 2: Zillo Beast Electric Boogaloo,” how much lying am I going to have to do to keep your brother from needing medical attention and/or coming out here to read us both the Riot Act?

Omega: Do you want the sanitary version, the Echo version, or the Bad Batch version of the truth?

Rex: I’m getting too old for this.

Rex: *proceeds to cover for Omega anyway when Hunter asks because she’s his sister and they bonded over Blond Shenanigans a while back*

Omega: Thanks, Rex! (I’ll tell you the real story after you talk to Hunter.)

[dreamlogic]

y'all have to meet one of my most treasured possessions, who i got for $1 at a thift store, but is priceless in my heart. 1999 officially licensed star wars the phantom menace collectors drink cup exclusive to pizza hut, KFC, and taco bell:

important detail: his arms are posable. 360° jar jar action 24/7.

he was first christened Jar Jar Drinks, on account of being able to stick a straw through his skull and. drink. however, he tastes strongly carcinogenic and probably contains several types of plastic that have been banned since his manufacture in 1999.

so, when i was working food service and a good chunk of my income was from cash tips, i started stuffing a fat roll of cash inside him for safe keeping. he became known as Jar Jar Banks.

since i stopped living a life where i have large sums of cash money i need to squirrel away regularly, the name fell out of favor. but i still cherish him, and i knew he's destined to be filled with something someday.

well. i just realized i can hide my weed stash in his torso. so, without further ado, i would like to introduce you to this thrice-christened icon: Jar Jar Danks.

[masterhandss]

Anzu & Ensemble Girls references (but it's mostly just her little step-brother)

I really enjoy drawing tenn(kousei)-kun, I just thing the ensembleverse protags are so interestinfg!! (depictions aren't 100% accurate btw but based on other fanon works with him in it)

[commanderfoxdeservesbetter]

Clone Wars: When Brothers Lie

Fox hides behind the Vod who swears his name is Cody, out of sight from the Kaminoan Senator that passes by.

Cody gently shushes him, grabbing the small cadet's hands as he pretends to stand at attention with arms behind his back.

The Jedi with him cover Fox's feet with his cloak, standing too close to his apparent brother that Fox wonders if they're more than friends.

Once the Kaminoan is out of sight, Cody drops to one knee, holding Fox's face between his hands.

Fox would have thought the Vod to be Alpha-17 if it wasn't for the distinctive scar on his face, the scar Cody got protecting him from a trainer a few weeks ago.

"Why are you big?" He asks and Cody quips back, "why are you small?"

Neither refuses to back down and Fox wonders if the war was anything like how they'd imagined it.

He traces a small wrinkle on Cody's face, identical to the ones Jango sported.

"What happened to you?" He whispers and Cody grabs his wandering hands, bringing him into a gentle Keldabe.

"I grew up."

"And I didn't?" Fox doesn't think that makes any sense. Cody's lips quirk upward just a bit on the side.

"You did." His eyes become haunted, despair clouding his vision. "Perhaps a little too soon." His brows furrowed down in regret and Fox gives in to the urge to hug his Ori'vod.

"What happened to me?"

Cody squeezes Fox tight, the cadet hardly minding. He rarely got hugs on Kamino and if he closes his eyes, he can pretend it’s from Alpha-17.

"I don't know."

Fox stares at the carpet, eyes flicking back and forth in thought. He breathes in.

Cody always was a shit liar.

[bearforceone3]

full ref of my donna design

[404sketches]

Hey, about time I post something on here, right? Well, just did these two studies of random stills from DS9. Couldn't tell you what episodes they're from, got them from google images. Kinda blurry and relatively low resolution, but salvaging them from that is almost kinda part of the fun!

[nothingbeforenothingagain]

TRACK SUIT GARAK 😭

[inthewindandinthewater]

Hey kings, hopefully a new chapter of A Plain of Stars tonight <3

[bigskydreaming]

Imagine looking at a character whose entire premise is that in every stage of his life, he's made every version of himself into someone that inspires people to such a degree that EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF HIM has people wanting to literally follow in his footsteps in some way or another.....

And coming to the conclusion that like.....the most important things about him are the sum of all his trappings. His entirely homemade developed from scratch could not exist if not for what he already was and brought with him BEFORE crafting this newest version of himself trappings, with his greatest trait throughout all of it being his adaptability; his ability and willingness to roll with the punches and not try to simply weather any opposition or changes to his life but instead reshape himself as needed to better fit INTO whatever new shape his life and the world around him takes. All while managing to carry the most innate, fundamental and necessary aspects of himself from one version to the next. Thus every single version of himself is different but simultaneously every single version of himself is also undeniably the same person.

The strength of this character, to me, will always be that he can be so many versions of himself, he can become so many things, all without ever actually losing or discarding any of the aspects of himself he considers most essential, the things he's not willing to lose or give up just to keep going. Finding that road not taken by most, usually because most never even think to look for it as an option. But one that he's always able to find because the one trick he's mastered in his tumultuous life is threading that needle of not just digging in his heels in an unproductive way but rather being selective about when and where he makes a stand and decides "this is not a thing I'm willing to compromise about" but here are places and ways I can and will change and evolve and adapt in order to make it possible for me to hold onto these parts and keep them as they are.

And that's why its always so mind-boggling to me that so many writers can't seem to think of anything else to do with Dick Grayson other than invent some new reason for him to just....not be that person, or to like just take the character whose most basic fundamental trait he's NOT about to compromise on is willingly giving up his spot in the driver's seat of his own life.....and make him just a passenger in his own life and stories.

Dick Grayson at age nine....at age nineteen...at age twenty nine....the one core thread running through all versions of him is the only way he's standing back and letting you call the shots for him or putting him on the sidelines in some way is over his dead body.

HOW he goes about that, what that looks like, who he becomes and what aspects of himself he plays up at some times and what traits he lets fall by the wayside at other times when they offer less in service to his primary goal here....that changes constantly. He changes constantly.

But those changes are almost always (or at least they used to be/should be IN MY OPINION) made with the intention of keeping certain things about him or his life as consistent as possible.

That's the duality of Dick Grayson that I'm here for. The inherent contradiction of him that COULD allow for endless conflict and breaking new narrative ground in all sorts of ways if mined properly:

His eternal willingness to compromise....but only ever in pursuit of doubling down on the ways he's not willing to compromise.

Forever walking that tightrope in ways that only a kid born and raised in a circus could ever hope to.

[the-astral-express-archive]

Honkai: Star Rail | Characters' Phone Cases (5/?)

[enfinizatics]

okay i’ve got to vent about the nicki minaj situation bc yeah. i used to be a hardcore barb for almost 10 years (2010-2019). and when i say a HARDCORE stan i truly mean it, i had a twitter account dedicated to nicki, she was even following me and often interacted with my tweets when she was online. i was absolutely in love with her and her work. i met my best friend, who’s like family to me, because of her. the pinkprint helped me survive middle school bullying. i followed her through europe when she went on tours. i supported every project, stayed chronically online for her and engaged in petty arguments with people on stan twitter to defend her. i fell out around late 2019 because i felt like most of her lyrics had sounded the same for a while but mostly because she started seeing her current husband, a confirmed rapist. seeing nicki pick up a beef after beef with every young female rapper gives me a huge ick and internalized misogyny vibes. but the beef with megan? it’s been years since i last followed news on nicki, but now i find myself losing my mind every time i see something on here or tiktok. not to mention her twitter omg. it truly feels like i’m witnessing her downfall caused by no one but nicki herself. she’s literally destroying her legacy, a legacy tied to so many memories i made during those 10 years while being her fan, and it just sucksssss. it feels like she no longer has a pr team capable of damage control or persuading her to take a break from social media. she seems to be spiraling with everything she posts. not to mention that ben shapiro tweet, congratulating a white, homophobic supremacist. and the barbz who let her remain in her perfect little bubble, shielding her from any criticism, constructive or otherwise (perhaps out of intimidation – i know, i've been there) and doxing people in the name of what? a millionaire to whom you’re a literal stranger?

[doctorelleth]

How does this not have ten million views?!!!