#and i'll actually know what i'm doing this round instead of just winging it

[sonic-rebellion-official]

torn between starting rebellion over and doing better or just sucking it up and moving on

[monstersdownthepath]

Monster Spotlight: Heikegani

CR 4

Neutral Evil Small Aberration

Bestiary 5, pg. 141

Easily among the most bizarre creatures found in Paizo's later Bestiaries, the Heikegani (which I'll be calling "Heike" from now on) are based on a real world crab with a much less berserk backstory than the ones on Golarion; on Earth, the shell of the Heikegani merely look like faces through sheer serendipity. On Golarion? They're one step away from being Undead, because they're inhabited by the ghosts of warriors who died at sea but who have refused to actually become Undead due to the disgrace such a transformation would bring them. So, instead, their soul seeks a suitable host to inhabit, and what's more suitable than the pinnacle of evolution?

Now, let's address the crab-that-used-to-be-an-elephant in the room: the bonkers lore. While the book itself states ALL Heikegani are born from the souls of, very specifically, samurai who died from a magical catastrophe near a crab breeding ground, that's... More than a little goofy, if I'm being honest. Now, I'm normally all for ludicrous backstories for a monster species, but the idea that there's enough samurai dying in magical explosions around newborn crabs that their restless souls create a noteworthy population of murderous crustaceans (which can travel in groups of up to seven!) is too much, even for me. If you've seen my more ridiculous homebrews, you'll know that the bar for the lunacy I can tolerate in lore is embedded four feet in bedrock, so this should REALLY tell you how silly I find the idea! So, in my own take on the lore, Heike are born from any sufficiently motivated warrior perishing at sea whose soul refuses to give in to the temptation of undeath, and multiple Heike showing up means the warrior had an especially powerful soul, so much so that it couldn't be contained in a single crustacean body. If you want to go in a different direction, Heike could be born from fragments of the soul rather than the entire thing, much like how a ghost is just the negativity left over by the true soul, its presence weighing the rest down like an anchor. They do, after all, carry little else but hatred for the living and a need to fight greater and greater foes until they can finally die an honorable death... or kill everyone else trying.

The first sign that the party is dealing with something far more than just a common crab that happened to pick up a dagger is the Unnatural Aura cascading off the thing, the Heike's aberrant nature causing common wildlife to tremble in their presence. No animals willingly travel within 30ft of a Heike, leading to the amusing possibility of a party's horses suddenly flinging their riders from their backs because a big crab reared up at them. Less amusing is the possibility of it terrifying the party by rearing up, because it can use Intimidating Glare as a full-round action to make an Intimidate check (+9) against everyone within 30ft of it, potentially shaking up the entire party for multiple rounds in a single move. It doesn't even suffer from the normal penalty it'd take by being Small-sized!

Once the party is debuffed, the Heike can issue a Challenge to a foe it wishes to slay as a swift action, making it more vulnerable to the attacks of other creatures (its AC goes from 18 to 16 vs anything but its target) but vastly more dangerous against its victim, not only gaining insurmountable DR 2, but +4 damage. Its twin claws already deal 1d3+4 damage each, but with +4 damage on top of it and the threat of Power Attack looming in the wings, suddenly the encounter is no longer a joke... Not that battles against crabs should ever be treated as a joke. Giant Crabs only seem silly until they're tearing the Rogue in half after drowning the party Wizard, and the Heike's damage output vastly eclipses its un-possessed kin while giving up none of the crab's normal tricks. Despite being Small, its Grab attack can latch onto Medium targets without needing to do anything special, and it's got a +10 to grapple checks--enough to cancel out the penalty it would normally take for grappling larger targets--AND it constricts its grappled victim for 1d3+4 additional damage each round... which is also augmented by Challenge, as the damage boost applies to all damage rolls it makes. One round of being grappled by a Heike could mean taking upwards to 30 damage, or even higher if it Power Attacks! Really, the fact they can wield a dagger almost feels like a waste when their normal claws are powerful enough weapons, but a Heike will always choose to wield the weapons it did in life... and if the DM is feeling mean, this means they have permission to have the things armed with whatever magic items they've scavenged from the sea floor.

About the only mercy granted here is that a Heike's size means it cannot easily drag victims into the water to drown them, as normal Giant Crabs are infamous for (their grapple modifiers aren't quite unbreakable in Pathfinder, but they're still high, people!). They're also less inclined to do so thanks to their obsession with honorable combat (which is why they prefer weapons), but going full dishonorable is the best way to beat them; unlike a Giant Crab (a Vermin), Heike are vulnerable to mind-affecting effects. Unfortunately, the aforementioned obsession with honor allows them to tap into their Memories of Honor 1/day to grant themselves a +4 bonus to any saving throw they make, something they normally reserve for a battle-ending ability like the Slumber Hex or Color Spray, the latter of which they're still vulnerable to at only 5 HD.

The problem is that fighting dishonorably will cause it to fight dishonorably in turn, abandoning its weapon in favor of its (normally) vastly more dangerous claws. Whatever spell or ability you try and end the combat with had better end it, or you're likely end up as just another tallymark scratched into its blade.

You can read more about them here.

[rounderhouse]

hello big man rounderhouse, the house is very round 🔥 i'm a big fan of your redtape series and your worldbuilding; i've been writing my own original story for years now, and all i've been doing is planning, planning and planning, but i feel like no matter how much i do, i keep feeling like i won't be able to write a cohesive or good story. how do you plan your stories, and more importantly, how do you manage to actually get those words on the paper ? of course, i know you just gotta do it, but whenever i try, i just hit a wall halfway, and feel like i need to plan even more

i always have a bit of trouble answering these questions because they come from a place very orthogonal to how i write -- not that that's a bad thing! but for me the issue is rarely one of wanting to have it 100% planned out before i jump into it. i rarely plan out my stories beyond the broadest strokes; maybe i'll write an outline, but unless i'm expecting it to be novella-length, i kind of just wing it beyond that, and i recommend giving that a shot. you know where you're starting, you know where you want the story to end, so instead of painstakingly drafting out every bit, just start at the start and, well, keep going until you end up where you wanted to. i think part of it is that beyond storytelling i also just enjoy the act of writing -- putting sentences together, making them flow, communicating tone and vibe to the reader. i think you need to cultivate an appreciation for that to some degree, otherwise writing is just a grueling trudge to get to your final product, which is no fun at all

as for feeling good -- you can only get good at writing by doing it. it's a practice sport, just like anything else, and the improvement only becomes apparent after dozens of stories. not a fun answer, but the only true one. you can help that along by analyzing stories after you write them for what you and other people think works, doesn't work, but that does require you to silence the voice of "i'm not good enough". you're not good at most things until you do them a lot, so not being good at them is a terrible reason not to do them. you have literally no stakes in writing on the internet, so i really recommend taking advantage of that to cut your teeth writing whatever. all storytelling is practice

there's a very compelling temptation to all creatives to avoid doing the hard creative work and take refuge in what they know won't challenge them -- making plans for your stories for you. for me, it's making images and CSS instead of writing. but growth requires challenge, and you gotta break out of that hole if you ever want to see the story on the page.

i wrote quite a bit more than i intended to, but i hope that ramble helps you at all! i look forward to seeing what you make

[itsgonnagetinspiringsoon]

ok so i know i've literally never posted abt sanders sides before on this blog (i haven't been keeping up for a few years) but i've been tumbling down a waterslide lined with my old hyperfixations for the last few hours and ended up creating D&D au character designs for the core four sides using heroforge. images and descriptions under the cut if you're interested ❤ bonus points if you can guess what classes they are (this is EXTREMELY self-indulgent so pls forgive the ranting abt them, they're very important to me ok)

First up we have Roman! my beloved. one of my first questions when starting his design was how can i make him look as cunty as possible? the answer: heeled boots and winged eyeliner (It's a little tricky to see but he's got gold metallic eyeliner). I ADORE Roman's colour pallet so i kept it as close to accurate as i could, making white the base colour and accentuating it with the gold armor and the dramatic red shoulder cape as my stand-in for his sash. he's wielding a katana OF COURSE how could he not be. he's slaying ⚔ 🐉 and slaying 💅💋

moving on:

Patton. my baby, my honey, my ragtime gal. i decided to make his hair a little longer than roman's bc i thought it made him look softer and more approachable. it was UNBELIEVABLY hard to find something that sort of replaced his cardigan without looking too chunky but i did like this kind of loose tattered mantle, so i went with that. kept the sky blue shirt and gray cardigan/shawl, but gave him more greyish blue pants so they didn't blend into the shirt too much. glasses are round instead of square bc again i thought they made him look friendlier than the square ones. freckles bc i personally think freckles are very cute and patton is very cute so he got freckles. no shoes he's travelling the realms like the gods intended. the dad vibes are strong i want him to give me a hug 🥺

next up:

logan is quite possibly my favourite side so i really wanted to get his design right. the MOST important thing was giving him his iconic necktie, which ended up being pretty much the same color as his canon design. i couldn't give the tie specifically a pattern, so i made his vest stripy like his tie is in the show and i think it looks really good. his glasses are the more classic nerd ones which is perfect for him and i gave him black eyeliner bc i thought it made him look more serious. i added the coat for more of a d&d look (it doesn't make sense to traverse planes wearing a vest and tie) i think it gives him an extra bit of style that i love.

and last but not least:

the Anxious BoiTM himself (i've only had him for five minutes seven years but if anything happened to him etc etc). virgil's was one of the easiest designs aesthetically and hardest mechanically (you'll never guess what class he is guys i took some BIG swings). I knew i wanted him in black and purple (obviously) and i knew i wanted to give him the iconic purple hair dye and eyeshadow. i almost said screw the genre and put him in a zippered hoodie but i do think that a cloak and cowl would suit him very well (good for hiding in) and i found a combo that looked equally cosy and spooky. a bow is good for attacking long range and keeping out of danger (appropriate for anxiety, i thought) and the mask looks intimidating but actually helps him with sensory overload (with the cowl and mask on he's basically in a mini sensory deprivation bubble). an eyebrow ring bc he's edgy idk why honestly i thought it looked cool.

So that's basically it! As i said before if you can guess their respective classes i'll give you a cookie (🍪). since i can't draw, heroforge is usually my go-to for character creation and i have to recommend it (i think i talk abt this site a lot but 🤷‍♀️) it's so helpful for non-artist types like myself.

I hope you enjoyed! please leave comments if you liked they feed me (if you didn't like it, please just move on and don't let me know, i'm doing this for fun and i don't want any negativity please ❤) @thatsthat24 hope you like 🥰

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

7 & 10 or perish

7. Share a line/paragraph/snippet that you were especially proud of.

Okay so I love this chapter just for the fact that everything I've been setting up for 200,000+ words culminates in here (but this section I've chosen also should reveal nothing heu heu heu). Also @needfantasticstories complemented the wording of one of the sentences, and I seeing my work through another's eyes really makes me appreciate it? If you know what I'm saying? But yeah, I wrote this during the poetry section of my AP Literature class in high school, if you couldn't tell by my gratuitous use of alliteration, semicolons, and parallel sentence structure.

[Have I posted this before? I hope I haven't DX I am very proud of it. If I have let me know and I'll try to find something else]

Wild stepped into the ornate church. High stone ceilings flew overhead, lined with stained glass windows—depictions of their Golden Goddess—that sent shattered slivers of light dancing along the cold stone floor. Rows upon rows of lowly stone pews stood in ordered procession on either side of the walkway, stretching all the way to the raised platform at the front of the cathedral. A great statue, so unlike the one that he knew, loomed over it all. The Hylia he knew had hair of flowering vine, and robes of majestic moss; this one's every strand was spun of gold, this one's every fold formed of ivory. His Hylia’s face was of cracked calcite, worn down and rounded out over years of exposure to the elements; this one’s was of sharp, shining porcelain. Little gray wings he’d only ever seen tucked to her sides, like those of a Rito fledgling, were now golden and stretched out in their full glory. She did not lower her head over clasped hands in constant thought of her people, as said by her now-extinct priests; instead, her gaze was cast victoriously outwards, her hand thrust forwards like that of a sovereign, conquering queen. White rose petals drifted and fluttered gently down to lay scattered across the stone pews. They trailed after Wild, swirling around his ankles with every step, as he walked forwards in a dreamlike state to the foot of the statue. It only grew larger, more imposing, as he approached, and himself so much smaller.

10. What are your writing goals for the upcoming year?

Okay okay okay okay. Just because you asked, I'm going to end up having to write out my entire planned chapter by chapter schedule and pin it to the top of my blog, aren't I?

But for a summary, basically--right now I'm trying to finish up my Noble's Warning chapters, which will get me to through February and some of March, so that I can participate in FebWhump without juggling two projects. The Differences chapters, which are pretty much done besides a few select bits that actually need to be written, should carry me all the way to Spring Break and through. During Spring Break (cuz I'm a cringe college student) I will try to finalize enough to make it close to the Heal Chapters, which should free me up until finals are over in May/June-ish.

Summer is when things get real. That's when I'll evaluate how much of Arc 2 I have done and how much time I think I need to finish it. If I'm ahead of schedule, I'll make sure I've hit all the finishing touches for Arc 1 and start releasing chapters twice a week. If not, I'll give myself more time with the once a week updates. Plus, I want to take a break between Arc 1 and 2 just to let ya'll squirm, so that gives me at least a month, I think, depending how hard ya'll cry at me to continue. There's also a whole timeline thing there of whether I want to do flashbacks of a section or if I just wanna say F it we ball, but that's beside the point.

If I do once a week releases, I already have enough planned content for Arc 1 + the occasional Prologue pieces to get me through the entire year and then some. So yeah, that's the plan for the year :D

[cutekittenlady]

Tumblr Plays Pokemon White 2 - Part 5

I just need one.

Just to steady my nerves.

JUST. ONE.

GLUG

GLUG

GLUG

Ohhhh thats the good stuff.

Okay Polly. You can do this. Just walk out on that soundstage. And, i dunno, act?

Dear lord this is like third grade talen show all over again. Only this time I don't have Hugh to dig the hole.

......

The filming... actually turned out okay? It was pretty standard fare hero schlock but ah well.

And hey, i actually have a fan!

Hmmm this is going straight into my veins.

Dont tell my mom.

Your lucky I've had my lemonade hit today old man.

Welp. Guess I'm a move star now.

hehe.

Oh shoot it's dark. Uhhh is Pop Roxie still running his boat? I did say I was gonna do all the gym matches so I kinda gotta go to Castelia right? Hnngh maybe I'll come back to do more films later?

At least after getting a set of wings or something to get here and back again in a jiffy.

I wind up running to the pier in the rain.

Okay Hugh I'm here, sorry I took so long. See there was this bald guy with a really unfotunate name and-

Whaaaats going on here?

What like.... like the terrorist group? I mean lets not jump the gun here Roxie. I mean just cause theyre dressed kinda funny doesn't mean we can just jump to conclusion. Besides even if they WERE Team Plasma they wouldn't just admit to it. Nobodys that-

... Wow okay so... you guys are like... actually that dumb then?

Look I- No I get you wanna make some big dramatic speech but I- Stop cutting me off you RUDE LITTLE-

Hugh, baby, do NOT cut the Polly off when shes speaking! You know what happened in third grade.

Anyway Hugh goes off on this whole hate filled speech about how much these guys suck. And I expected some kinda edgy response but instead.

Home slice. You were chased... by Lillipup? Dude I hit a Lillipup with a bike when I was, like, five and it was flattened like a pancake. Sure, I got banned from riding for, like, ten years but my point is that anyone who runs from a Lillipup, a Lillipup right?, has no right joining a terrorist organization.

God its the third grade all over again.

Hope you have a shovel Hugh.

Oh sweetie.

We're gonna bury you.

Plasma Grunt sent out a Patrat against Bentley and you can just tell that Bentley has a chip on his shoulder over the Gym battle because hes raring to go. Patrat starts with bide after Bentley wraps him up, after that I had Bentley use growth while Patrat stored energy. Next round Patrat releases the energy and Bentley hit him with vine whip. That combined with wrap gets the little rat int he red. Patrat manages to forestall hi defeat with detect but one return later and its over.

After defeating the Patrat Bentley learns Leaf Tornado.

The Plasma grunt and his buddies have enough sense to run off before we can really get going and run for their lives.

Its okay Hugh you didn't have a shovel anyway.

Uh... Pretty sure thats a YOU job? Your the gym leader here.

However Roxie gives me the HM for Cut before running off.

Well Hugh guess we have a free HM now soooooo

Deep inhale through nose

Yeah okay.

Your lucky were friends Hugh.

The things I do for friendship.

Thats what I DOING! GAWD

Look its not like we're even going to find them! If they're really in a terrorist cell theres no way they're just going to be standing out in the open like a jackass saying "Come and get me Polly"

.... Bentley.

Go loose buddy.

Hey look its a purrloin.

And now its dead.

Just like old times. Old times being, like, the day before yesterday. Or whatever.

Aaaand the Plasma grunt runs away.

Hugh get her!

I... you... She ran RIGHT PAST YOU!

YOU HAVE A PIG WHO BREATHES FIRE!

wHaT... i DONt.... THIS IF YOUR VENDETTA!

oh please do tell

Okay she said they have a boat. Castelia City has a port. Hmm Okay.

I... we were JUST there Hugh! We'd have been better off just waiting in Virbank for them to come back and then jumping out at them from behind a trash can! Or dragging them into an alley to get info or something!

Arceus Dammit Hugh! This is YOUR revenge quest! I'm just tagging along cause Prof. Juniper asked me to complete... the... pokedex....

You know what Hugh, you uh, you go on ahead. I have some stuff I gotta... take... care of....

Shit shit shit how many pokemon do I have to catch?!

Ran into a shaking bush and caught an audino on the way to the pokemon center. Shove THAT into the PC for now, what else....

Route 19... Route 19 gotta start with route 19. Habitat mode dont fail me now!

GOT IT!

YOU. IN BALL. NOW

DANGIT YOU ARE NOT GETTING IN THE BALL

ARIES GT OUT THERE AND PARALYZE THAT CRETIN!

YES

IN BALL

CAUGHT

MOVING ON

DAMMIT OF COURSE THE FIRST PURRLOIN I FIND HAS LIMBER

AAAAAAAHHHHH

[megidoreyn]

Hihi! For the ask meme, perhaps 4, 8 and 14?

Hey there! Aw, thank you for the questions! It's super rare to get asks like these, so it really made my day! 😇🙏

⭐️4. What defines your artistic style?

That's a good question!🤔 (Especially since I don't know how others might perceive my art!) Due to my own visual agnosia as well, it skews my perception of my own works... So I actually end up disliking the grand majority of the things I create tbh🤣 It's hard for me to become cognizant of any strengths due to the weaknesses being highlighted (in my skewed POV) sometimes! But from the comments I have kindly received before, I would say that my art is defined by: clean/polished lineart, round/"squishy" chibis, warm colors, and "an aura of softness/tenderness"! Truthfully, I would love to be known for having a well-rounded and versatile style! As in: switching from a dynamic + appealing full-body style to a charming chibi style with precision and confidence!💪 And in general: I'd like to be known for drawing handsome faces on full-body characters instead of only having a "cute" style tbh LOL

⭐️8. What is your favourite piece that you have done?

Oh man…For a self-critic, this is a tough yet great question too!!😂--There's usually elements of a picture I enjoy working on VS how the overall picture eventually turns out! But looking back at everything I've posted publicly so far on twitter from 2022-2023…I think it'd have to be these! ↓

And a special shout out to this Walter-Lucifer pseudo-fiend character turnaround sheet that started off as a "haha just messing around :^)" sketch but then quickly turned serious 2 days later LOL. I did like incorporating SMT4 Lucifer's Phase 2 wings on him, since the in-game design includes this gradient on the wings too. 😇🙏

⭐️14.What do you like drawing the most?

As a surprise to no one, my favorite thing to draw would be WalterJonathan---both the pairing and the individual characters LOL. There's actually a personal reason for this, but maybe that'll be a story for another time! Whether or not the majority of these (finished/ polished) sketches will ever see the light of day is also to be determined in the future...😂 Despite these canon Satan Husbands going through the many unspeakable horrors they suffer within base SMT4 + SMT4 Apoc's canon (and even the duology of the SMT4 manga's canon too!), I'll always prefer to draw them being sweet with each other...🥺 To at least give them a single soft moment of reprieve that they deserve...!😭🙏

↑ I also enjoy drawing the details of the SMT4 samurai coat/uniform! As well as other things and details like: 💙the SMT protags' COMPs + SMT4 Gauntlet 💙Clothing folds 💙Side profiles 💙Backside angles 💙Painting hair 💙Drawing hands 💙Dynamic chibis + dynamic body language in general (that convey a character's personality)

…and probably some more things I'm forgetting LOL.

💙↑ edit: I forgot how much I like sketching out Pokemon as quick warm-ups + other critters like the MOTHER/Earthbound Mr.Saturns too! It's good practice in understanding different shapes.

Again, thank you so much for the questions!🙏 It was fun to answer these!

⭐️⭐️⭐️It's still 12/31 here in my neck of the woods, so I wish you and everyone reading this a Happy New Year as well!

[singular-yike]

May we round out the Shitodo analyses with Hooaka?

The last Shitodo sibling we haven't gone over yet, and indeed the most mysterious. Be sure to check out the general Shitodo post if you haven't yet, since I'll skip over things I've already gone over there.

Cool-Headed Hot-Heeled Thermal Runaway — Hooaka Shitodo

Name

We've already gone over Hooaka's last name, Shitodo (鵐), in the general post. So I'll just make a brief mention that it is an archaic word used to refer to buntings (genus Emberiza).

Onto their given name, Hooaka (頬赤). The characters in the name respectively mean "cheek(s)" (頬 hoo) and "red" (赤 aka). Much like Aoji's name, it is directly the word for another bunting, this time the chestnut-eared bunting.

Below: A chestnut-eared bunting.

Funnily enough, there's actually a canonical(?) reason as to why Hoojiro and Kuroji have such playful given names when Hooaka and Aoji's are simply the word for the bird itself.

Tweet from 11 Nov 2018 Someone must've gotten mad at the bizarre naming sense of whichever parent(s) named the Shitodo, so the younger children got names with decent readings. (Not that they're really all that decent either.)

Title

Their title, "Cool-Headed Hot-Heeled Thermal Runaway" (頭寒足熱で熱暴走), can be dissected into two parts.

What we have translated as "Cool-Headed Hot-Heeled" (頭寒足熱 lit. "head cold feet hot") is actually a Japanese idiom that gives advice as to how to stay healthy, by "cooling one's head but warm one's feet".

Since all the EE characters' titles contain a four-character idiom, even though the idiomatic meaning doesn't really fit Hooaka as far as we know, interpreted literally, it really is a perfect fit.

The second part is "Thermal Runaway" (熱暴走), no translation quirk here, we've simply used the English equivalent of the term. It refers to a process that is accelerated by increased temperature, in turn releasing energy that further increases temperature.

I'm frankly not entirely sure why this was chosen for Hooaka, perhaps a reference to how they get carried away quite a lot? We do kinda see this in BPoHC, with how much they tease Kuroji and such.

Potential Basis: Thermodynamics

Back to the theory that all outsiders in the series are based in some field of academic study.

If this were true, Hooaka certainly references thermodynamics, a branch of physics that deals with heat and temperature. There's not much more I need explain here~.

Hooaka the Magician

Much like their older sibling Kuroji, Hooaka's "species" is not listed as human. In Hooaka's case, they are instead listed as a "magician".

Thanks to the series' close ties to the Touhou Project, this immediately rang a bell in some players. The world "magician" in Touhou refers both generally to people who can wield magic, as well as a type of youkai.

What this mainly did was call into question Hooaka's humanity, not on a moral level (though they are in the Scoundrel Team so) but on a (meta)physical level.

Hooaka certainly does exhibit some non-human-like traits, most iconic perhaps their eating dry ice and drinking liquid nitrogen.

Another thing is their dual souls, indeed Hooaka would seem to have two souls within one body, not dissimilar to Suzumi Kuzu. As Hamal Cine describes it, Hooaka has "two spirits and the strength of two people within a single body".

Curiously, Hooaka seems to have thought it was a closely kept secret, but Hamee suggests that Tsubakura, Kuroji and perhaps even Yabusame know about this as well.

Another example is their "wings", within which are stored heat energy, which they can apparently spread open once they've sufficiently familiarised themself with the world they find themself in, able to make bigger wings the more familiar they are.

Below: Hooaka with their wings spread open.

However, when once asked about whether their wings are related to them being a magician, JynX answered:

Tweet from 18 Feb 2016 Hmm, you might be quite sharp~? Well, there are several reasons as to why Hooaka is a magician in the first place. Although strictly speaking, they're not a magician at all. Details will be revealed in the Past Arc~.

"Not a magician at all"! Perhaps Hooaka gained mysterious abilities thanks to their dual soul-ed nature, and people simply attributed them to Hooaka being a magician, hence what we have now.

Hooaka the Air Master

Hooaka's EE theme, Air Master! ~ Soul Dualism, seems to imply that they are known by that title, which is confirmed in BPoHC:

BPoHC Shrine Team: Neutral vs. Hooaka

Tsubakura "That's our Air Master. Always good at reading the atmosphere."

The title here came from the Japanese expression "to read the air of the place/situation" (場の空気を読む), which refers to reading the atmosphere of the situation, sensing/understanding others' feelings and intentions without the need for the spoken word.

Evidently, Hooaka is extremely good at this, adjusting their tone, tension, etc. according to the other party's mood and intentions.

This talent of theirs even extend to their ability to use magic, being able to cast different magic depending on the mood of the situation they're in. Inversely though, they're also incapable of using magic that's too great, if it doesn't suit the atmosphere.

Even when a conversation seems to have completely broken down or gone nonsensical, Hooaka and whoever their talking can still come to a mutual understanding.

Although they seem to also be able to use this talent to shut down a conversation quickly, if they want it over with. (See: BPoHC Suzumi vs. Hooaka)

There's examples of this here and there in EE and BPoHC, so go give the dialogue a reread and see if you can spot the Air Master in action!

Other Curiosities

Hooaka is apparently also known as "walking strategic weapon" (EE Yabusame Route), perhaps this has something to do with Kuroji's past as a military tactician?

Among the Mugenri Shitodo, Hooaka is the only one not to have a "symbol of power", a symbol that grows in a rainbow colour when their ability is being used. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that their main ability wasn't awakened during EE?

Personal Notes

On a more personal note, I personally find Hooaka's personality very difficult to read, no doubt thanks to their status as the Air Master. I'm not entirely sure whether this is the canon intention, so I'm putting this under personal notes instead.

Hooaka of course come off as a very easy going person, but one can only assume there must be more to them than that. Yet, thanks to their amazing ability to read the room, they deflect most attempts to really get to really understand them more deeply.

I actually really like Hooaka because of this, they feel very human in that regard. It's not often that I like a character because of the kind of person they are, rather than the lore/story they bring with them to the world, Hooaka really holds a special position to me in that regard.

Anyways, that's all I have on Hooaka, you'd notice that it's very introductory and not very deep of an analysis at all. Hooaka truly is the most mysterious Shitodo we have, indeed I'd argue even more than Hoojiro.

As JynX teased, we'll apparently learn more in the Past Arc, so let's patiently await for Monochrome World~.

As usual, I hope you enjoyed~! :)

[macaroni-rascal]

Okay, here comes the ice dance roast.

I'm calling this first team Olivia and a Half, because dude is barely there. I liked her previous costume too but she's also a smokeshow in this one. I'm convinced they're putting her in distracting costumes so we won't be looking at Tim, who desperately needs to discover that there's an audience there that he should be projecting to. Good outing, but it made me miss Adrian.

I'd give anything for Katerina's skirt lengths not to give me anxiety for one (1) season, and now she's added a long ponytail as well - why does she hate me so? These costumes are giving 2000s more than 80s. They desperately need our mother hen Madison Hubbell to take them under her wing, these unpointed toe kicks are not it.

Why are the Browns skating in what are essentially practice outfits to the famously flamboyant Elton John? Give these talented children funding! Otherwise they slayed, which is why I'm annoyed at the packaging. Best sibling team here, I said what I said.

HanYe with the costumes of the event and possibly the field. Only guy with an actual outfit. I wish her sleeves were attached to the bodice more in the front, we don't need armpit cleavage, but other than that, best dressed. Levels were oof. IAM needs to leave their teams with Paul Mac over the summer to learn how to execute their turns, they've got pretty much everything else figured out.

Holly and Jason looking hot af. I prefer her golden butt to Olivia's in the free. His corset-y mesh top - cunty af. Her bodysuit seems very intricate up close, but I wish that same level of attention went into getting their levels.

Taschlers look okay for a European team and the costumes are accurate for the music choice, but why oh why is the cutout on the side of his stomach round instead of matching her pointed one? Love their attack and unison but wish them better programs moving forward.

I actually like this French team this season and I hate that for me. His boatneck I'll allow because he isn't a broad boye but I'm not quite sure what his top has to do with the 80s. Her outfit is cute but I wish she'd move on from the Slutskaya cut and the henna dyejob to a more contemporary pixie or bob or something, they need to look more polished because they are indeed very trained and technically strong.

Marjo and Zak - my loves. The only ones I genuinely care about, not gonna lie. Seemingly the only team that read the ISU Communication on the theme this year. Fantastic campy costumes, killer performance ability, couldn't take my eyes off them. Noticed in the warmup that the costume designer shaded his butt crack as well and for that, that mofo need Jesus. They need to sort their levels situation out because they're the stars of the discipline, really, but we're not allowed to talk about that just yet (🤫).

Now for the crime of the night - the grand larceny that was Green/Parsons' score. They were the strongest team here across the board, they're the most complete all around, and I was fuming when I saw 4th. They def need to rework the cut but I like this better than the Paula, it suits them, the costumes weren't revolutionary but they both looked fine af. I know he's old enough to be her great uncle but at the same time I don't want them with lesser partners. The judges went out of their fucking way to prevent last year's situation when H/B (let's be honest) obliterated C/B. Maybe if G/Pa weren't coached by human silver medal and Canadian trophy husband Charlie Allen White, they wouldn't be in this mess.

And now for the grand finale - I'm dispatching a firing squad for the tech panel because are you seriously telling me that this team that graduated with honors from the Diana Davis School of Edgework is best-in-class??? And I can see what she was trying to do with the dress but she didn't quite nail it, the front is awkward, the mid-buttcheek zipper-like split in the back is a choice, and the skirt flaps around awkwardly. Meanwhile, Evan's outfit is just low-effort and perfunctory. They should've just put him in a white tank top and lightwash jeans to highlight his white basicness, since he wears her like a jacket for most of their programs anyway, it would've been apropos. They were out-skated but most of the teams here, they had no energy, speed, power or ice coverage, and to top it all off, they were on the edge of disaster in the lift again, and that was the only edge they were on the entire program. They deserve a surprise P/C comeback at this point, I can't take this anymore.

A masterpiece of a roast.

Anon, I want you to know I got three OTHER anons that were excited to hear about your fashion opinions.

Olivia and a Half is beyond correct, I can forget he's there if I squint, and I enjoy the program so much more. I honestly don't think the Browns have ever had a good costume, and that's a damn shame. If Paul MacIntosh cam to IAM, I would cheer for years, they really need a kick in the ass in terms of tech, and quickly. Holly looks so good in that gold outfit, it's wILD. French team I can't even get into, they are never not So Deeply French Looking. You are spot on with G/Pa, they do not deserve to be sitting in 5th right now. I also can't even get into C/B, cause it's just Too Much at the moment when I'm trying to switch into women mode for the short program that starts in 5 minutes.

Anon, you're a damn icon.

[bitchfitch]

The sniffling whimpers were the worst part of this mess. Quiet, choked off noises so clearly meant to never be heard by anyone besides the monster wearing his beloved's face.

Daeodon wanted to be angry at the beastly creature. He wanted to call forth all the rage he had felt the first time he'd laid eyes on that faun and funnel it all into mauling him.

But he couldn't. Every time he dared to glance the man's way some stupid part of his heart would momentarily stall his movements and snuff his flames.

The eyes that looked at him with all the fear of a man facing down a dragon could hold were the same shade of honey brown and held all the same light and life his husband's had all of those years ago.

The voice he cried with was the same, the way he held himself through the pain of their first and only clash. The rounded tear stained cheeks and full lips pulled into a pained grimace were his beloved's too.

Daeodon knew his beloved lays dead deeper within these caverns. His body cold but whole and untouched by rot after all these years as only god's would be.

But that man could have fooled him were it not for the anger that burned through him as he wielded the intent to kill Daeodon with the same mighty sword that had killed his love those years ago.

The man now sat in Daeodon's bedroom. His wounds bandaged and his broken arm set.

In the pouring rain outside he'd screamed for Daeodon to just kill him. He'd fought his wounds being see too until all the fight he had just evaporated and the tears began to flow until they two evaporated into those solemn whimpers.

Daeodon paced the chamber beyond his bedroom, his wings ached with the need to fly away from this mess, his mighty claws with the need to end it with violence. Static itched through his mane and lightning struck outside the den. He needed to do Something, but what that something was remained a mystery to him as every thought that tried to piece itself together instead tied itself up in knots.

He turned to begin pacing back the way he came, but saw that monster beside the doorway.

His heart thudded with that same painful hope the man's mockery of a visage always seemed to fill him with before his mind could catch up.

"Go back. I'm not ready to deal with you yet," Daeodon snarled,

"Too bad," the man snarled back, his hooves clacking against the stone floors as he approached, "I want to go to the village on the other side of the forest. So either take me or let me leave on my own,"

"No, Go back,"

"Fuck you, just tell me how to get out of here, so I can be on my way,"

"No, There's monsters-"

"Shut up, I know there's monsters, I know the forest is a fucking death trap because of the storm you're causing. I don't care. I'm not staying here and I'm not going home,"

"You ungrateful brat, I could kill you-"

"But you won't. You've already proven you're not good for it. So, let me go either find a monster who actually will or get to the village where- I don't know. I'll figure something out once I'm there,"

"Is your death wish truly that strong?" Daeodon expected him to step down. To finally obey and return to where Daeodon didn't have to look at him.

"Yes," The firery resoluteness of that single word felt antithetical to the meaning it carried.

Daeodon tried to find something clever to say in response, but instead all he could ask was "Why?"

"Why would you care?"

"I don't. I'm just curious. You come to fight a dragon wearing the face of his long gone love, hoping to die. I want to know why,"

The man shifted, his arms held tightly crossed against his chest as he seemed to argue internally with himself,

"Because, There's no better option for me. Happy now?"

"No, Stop being cagey and explain yourself,"

"I don't have to-"

"I'll take you all the way to the village if you do," Daeodon cut him off. It was a win win in his eyes, the man would gone, and he'd have his answers.

The man stopped his protest, his eyes calculating as he carefully picked his next words, "Give me something worth selling and I'll tell you why I look like him too,"

"Deal," Daeodon nodded towards the lounge he'd kept since the days of his lover living with him, "Take a seat and get talking,"

The man did, settling down as he picked his words, "You've made it rain constantly for all of these decades because of what happened to Tahir, right?"

"They took away my sunlight, so I took theirs, yes," Daeodon confirmed.

"Yeah, the priests tried to resurrect him but it didn't work. So, they decided to reincarnate him," he gestured to himself with a sour look, "That's me. I think they failed though because besides looking like him I don't think I'm anything like him. So, sorry, your sunlight isn't coming back anytime soon,"

"Fools," Daeodon growled, "How dare they besmirch my beloved's memory like this,"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up and let me finish. They raised me to be his replacement, and made sure I spent my entire life knowing I'd be wed and sacrificed to the same beast that's murdered all but one of his brides... I got fed up with it all. Always being compared to the actual god of love and beauty gets old real fucking quick, and if I failed to be him, either you killed me like you have all the others or leave me to the rest of the beasts. And if I wasn't a fuck up and you accepted me then that would just mean I'd be even more Stuck in his shadow. Filling his place in your bed and forced to pretend I'm him every waking moment lest you drown everyone again.

"I Didn't care to wait for our wedding to find out what you'd do, so I just, took the sword and ran when they weren't looking. If you killed me I'd be free, if I killed you I'd be a hero who stopped the rains, but I knew I had no chance against you. It was just the quickest route to the same end, " he shrugged, as though everything he had just said was normal.

"And now that I haven't killed you, you're going to try to start a new life in the other village?"

"What else is there for me to do?"

Daeodon tried to find a rebuttal, not because he particularly cared but more that he was starting to resent the newly calm air between them. Eventually, he had to admit his defeat, "We'll leave in the morning. The jungle is too dangerous to risk going at night even if I am beside you,"

[artobotsrollout]

Transformers: Harbingers

The Pirate Scream AU

Before I talk about it you guys are the best thank you for indulging me and my AU from this post xjdjd. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

@badlydrawntransformers @cosmic0de @warrioroffandoms @measlyfurball13 And a bonus thank you to those encouraging me in the tags as well ❤️

I plan to do art for it as well as accompanying written bits and maybe even an animatic but till then have some general info under the cut.

Also there is transformers: Prime spoilers below so open at your own risk.

TRANSFORMERS: HARBINGERS

So this AU comes from the same place many AUs heavily involving TfP Starscream come from: the unfulfilled potential in our boy Scream. Now deeper discussion of that is not gonna be in this post. It'd be a whole essay.

It also comes from just how salty I was that the Team's kindness never really benefitted them much and they kept getting slapped for it. And OP really wanted to win over a con and Starscream kept wanting a partner. ALSO ALSO Optimus was portrayed as keeping his emotions in check and then never really gets a message that it's okay to be emotional so... I'm doing that here.

And the Starscream Pirate AU was born...

Aka Transformers: Harbingers (maybe idk if it's catchy enough djjsw)

Why Harbingers? ''It's just a SHIP Starscream chills in for awhile in the show' ' I hear you say. WELL HANG ON!! I got two very good reasons!! .

First off: Starscream, with the help of some Cybertronians who he wins over one way or another (Ill get to that), help him essentially use the remains of the Harbinger to put together their own functional ship. It's smaller than the Nemesis and will take some pirate ship inspiration. While it is a hardy beast it's a bit jury rigged.

Second of all:

Imagine being a fictional character living in a ship with a name that basically means 'Foreshadowed bringer of change' and then going back to Megatron and his bullshit. I'm gonna grab this and run all the way with it. Highway to Hell just came on my Spotify so... That may be an omen.

---------

NOW LISTEN

I feel like Starscream and Optimus could really have had such an interesting dynamic but we never really got to see that in TfP and I feel cheated. Also both could have mutually benefitted a great deal.

So what do I do? I shove them together to be sorta begrudging Co-Captains. As a result there's a lot of shenanigans to be had!

How this happens OP has some run ins with cons and, through a way I'm still deciding, has the opportunity to extend a hand to Starscream. Starscream, being kindness starved, doesn't entirely know what to do about Optimus being nice to him one whole time with no sarcasm or ulterior motive and sorta starts trying to get his attention.

Starscream and his crew are a bit of their own team at this point. MEANING sort of new LOGOS!

I'm yoinking the crossed out Decepticon logo from the Dark Energon Starscream and Dark Energon Knockout toys cause I mean... It's right there and also kinda like a skull and crossbones. It fits too well guys.

Starscream essentially manages to win over the autobots enough so they can sorta make a mutually beneficial, if strained, alliance to aid their aligned goal: killing Megatron and revitalizing cyberton. This is aided by some slight changes to the plot of course. It's also a benefit, much to Ratchet's delight, since they finally get some cybertronian tech to work with.

And so they gotta work together to take Megatron out and there's much bonding moments esp later when the autobot base is destroyed. Starscream extends his hand to them and offers them a more permanent position onboard. (rubbing in how unfortunate their situation is and how this is such a big favour but he's paying Optimus back.)

And insert team dynamic stuff!! Like cons teaming up with Bots, Starscream and Optimus trying to stick with it leading their own teams but keep accidently backseat-leadering one another. I will write some other ex-con and bot dynamics cause there's a lot of chaos to be had.

Optimus doesn't open up to his crew for morale sake and masks his emotions well, and Starscream is... well Starscream is Starscream so he masks what he truly feels a lot and doesn't share a lot of personal stuff besides complaints with his team either. So there's a lot of tension.... That is until Starscream has had it at just how good a poker face Prime has.

Because he's absolutely paranoid got a harmless curiosity about Optimus's ulterior motives and wants potential dirty secrets he can use as blackmail to have power over the Prime, he essentially puts cybertronian booze (but kid friendly version of course fbejek) in Optimus's energon heavily expecting him to spill the beans when heavily drunk. What he doesn't expect is that Optimus is just... LIKE THAT to his core. He's smart but very sad and guilty. And maybe a bit weepy and exhausted cause this man has not shown an emotion for eons now. /s. Starscream doesn't know wtf to do but swayed by how earnest Optimus is he sorta softens up and does open up. Might have helped that he took a swig of the tainted energon to get on his level though. But it also helps that neither is the others subordinate so they don't need to maintain their image as badly with the Co-captain as they do their team.

The ex cons sorta accidently absorb some of the autobot's morals over time. The cons help the autobots have some fun. There's a lot of stuff learned both ways. Also the cons realize how cool humans can be and after a lot of argument and forced time spent with the kids, they want to protect earth too.

Starscream, helps Optimus open up a bit more and allow himself to be emotional. He also shows him how to be a little selfish. Optimus in turn helps him with self confidence and making friends. Both help each other with the shit Megatron put em both through and overall boost one another up. (This also does change the start of the war a bit but I'll get to that in another post.)

Miko tries to fight all of the cons at first but quickly changes her tune cause "BOOYAH PIRATE CONS!!"

Other bits about this AU:

Starscream will eventually get a slight design change. It'll be less scrappy and look more confident and put together. It'll be minor

Because they are on a flying ship but have less energon than the Nemesis, everyone gets equipped with mods for flight. There is a jetpack upgrade one can get or Knockout can straight up help change their alt mode surgically.

I'm working up a list of who gets what flight mod but... Ya'll should know that Wheeljack dares Knockout to make him into a flying car. Largely cause I just got the image of Wheeljack flying above vehicons and just turning into a car and dropping on them. That and driving up the side of the Nemesis and confusing the fuck out of Megatron. Out of all the characters you know that would be a Wheeljack thing.

Arcee and Knockout grieve together.

Knockout loves bugging the hell out of Ratchet. It's extra fun for him cause Ratchet often can't do shit about it since they both need the room and tools.

Knockout and Wheeljack become an insufferable duo with the nicknames they have for everyone.

Wheeljack won't leave Starscream alone and keeps coming up with worse and worse nicknames like he did with Ratchet.

Starscream and Ratchet become complaining buddies.

STARSCREAM'S SEEKER SQUAD REJOINS. Well some of them. Skywarp, Thundercracker and maybe other peeps.

Miko manages to befriend Skywarp and Bulkhead now has to watch both Miko AND Skywarp. Wheeljack refuses to help Bulkhead round them up.

Raf hits it off with Thundercracker.

Knockout: "FINALLY a team with fragging MANNERS!"

Instead of Beeftimus Prime from the forge, Optimus actually gets access to a third alt mode and.. Idk something else primely. So he actually gets wings.

Starscream and the other fliers are greatly amused because Optimus, as great as he is at his poker face most of the time, hasn't yet figured out how to not emote with the pair of wings he gets from the forge. Thundercracker is the one who eventually informs him while the rest of the crew are booing loudly in the background.

I actually do have designs of TFP Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Ironhide in the works.

Fowler and Starscream have insult battles. Oddly both grow a weird almost fondness for these verbal sparring sessions

They frequently raid the Nemesis

Miko keeps talking in a pirate voice. Smokescreen has joined her.

AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF I'LL GET INTO WITH MORE DETAIL AND ART. I'll also talk more in depth about some of these things that isn't a ramble like this post is. xnwjskw.

Feel free to ask about anything you're curious about.

[multi-lefaiye]

HI hello hi :D can I... can I perhaps get some Tunes? any and all WIP tunes you're in the mood to share!! I love all ur projects c: though if you'd like me to be more specific if you have any from A Modern Ghost Story up your sleeve I would love to hear those 👀👀👀

Ooooh yes yes hello hi!!! Sharing Tunes is my passion,,, also thank you that is so nice asdfjkl;

Very funny because literally today I revamped/remade the A Modern Ghost Story playlist b/c the original didn't have the right vibes. This story is very much just Vibes atm for the most part (at least, aside from Roach), but I will share some of the Vibes Tunes. And also I will share a song or two from the separate Roach Playlist,,,,,, because yes I made a Roach playlist.

Actually one of my favorite things to do, as a lot of people I talk to on discord can attest to, is to take songs from my playlists and analyze them/explain why they relate to that story. I might...do a little of that... here.... Not to the extent that I usually do, but some of it.

Might put this under the cut actually whoops- Sorry I cannot answer asks concisely </3

So the first vibes song that I will share is The Perfect World by Marty Friedman! Just in general the vibes of apathy towards faith and accepting death, and like. Saving yourself and creating our own perfect world instead of relying on external forces... yeah <3 That vibes a lot.

Some lyrics I think are particularly fitting:

Broken people, broken feelings Feeling numb but know they're bleeding Light and darkness bond together "Faith will save you" (Yeah, whatever…)

And then also:

Sometimes we try to feel how things just used to be in yesterdays But never seem to believe in what we see today No one ever make it better, no one ever lives forever Wake me up and let me go

This song's vibes are Impeccable.

Aside from that, other songs that I think vibe pretty well are Along Came A Spider by Czesław Śpiewa (I know it's a song about World War II but the Vibes..... really feels like a good horror song in general), The Business of Paper Stars by Hawthorne Heights (which is apparently about the education system but I am relating it to my OCs because it's got good vibes <3), aaaaand Bird With a Broken Wing by Owl City (idk how to explain this one but just the vibe of like. the idea that ghosts in A Modern Ghost Story are just sad, lonely, scared people).

OKAY so now I want to share a Roach Song. The Roach song I'm thinking of is one I actually used to associate with a different character, but it's a Roach song now. That song is Kiss Me, Kill Me by Mest!!! Specifically I relate this song to their relationship with a character I've deliberately been kinda quiet about, Vulture!!! He'll be explained a bit more in part two of Vultures are Holy Creatures (the Roach Ramble).

The TL;DR of Roach and Vulture's relationship was that it was super nasty and toxic and codependent and it's the reason behind a lot of Roach's persisting self-esteem issues, and that's the vibe I get from this song </3 I'll share some lyrics I like tho:

Our tragedy Seems to be killing everything it sees Like death itself This valentine still looms In the darkest hour, the killing moon If I could do it all again

And also:

Your eyes unwind the tragedy of our lives My eyes went blind Believe when I say Hell burns bright When this night dies Hell burns bright

I kinda wanna type up a full summary/analysis of Kiss Me, Kill Me and why I think it fits Roach and Vulture, but I'm gonna wait at least until after I finish part two of Vultures are Holy Creatures.

Anyway to round this off, rather than sharing a bunch more Roach songs, I want to share songs that make me think of the other characters. Because I feel bad about how much I latched onto Roach. I won't share lyrics for all of them, I'll just share the song and explain it briefly.

Sydney Ambrose - Toxic Thoughts by Faith Marie (vibes of Syd's struggles to live up to their own expectations and their relationship with themself) (Fun fact this is also a good song for my OC Ink, but he's not in this story, and that's for very different reasons)

Yara Key - I Don't Daydream Anymore by Unlike Pluto (the vibes of this song are kind of wild but they make me think of Yara's desire to live her life to the fullest and enjoy it while she can rather than dwelling on what comes after)

Oliver Cox - It's Alright by Mother Mother (vibes of Oliver struggling a lot with his own mental health but putting off helping himself in favor of helping others, and him struggling with doubt but still trying to stand strong and have confidence in himself)

Vincent Cruz (new guy) - TV Head by Elliot Lee (vibes with Vincent being raised with very strict standards that he couldn't quite live up to and his need to lie to make others think he's something he's not so they'll like him)

Juno London - Dead Girls by Penelope Scott (honestly could vibe with most of the voids, but for Juno I relate this song to Juno's self-hatred that they mask by being an asshole to everyone, as well as the fact that they aren't a very empathetic person but still make the choice to show compassion, even if their methods are unconventional)

Asher King - Cradles by Sub Urban (also a song that applies to most of the voids, but for Asher this makes me think of her desire to mask her true feelings from others and come off as always cool, collected, and competent)

Apollo - Sleepwalk by Forrest Day (this song once again fits all the voids but for Apollo specifically I think this song fits his struggles trusting himself and his own perception of reality)

Bonus:

Vulture - The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie by Colter Wall (,,,, vibes)

[stellarrmoon]

Before I die, I'm tryna fuck you, baby

Pairing: Bokuto Koutaro × fem!reader

Genre: Smut

Honorary Mention: name??? kink

Status: unedited

You were at a volleyball tournament that your cousin was playing at. You had to support him since you hadn't seen him in a year or so and his team was playing against the nationally known Fukurodani volleyball team. The actual game hadn't started yet but you were there early because you wanted to cheer him up before he had to go play.

"You're gonna do amazing, cuz. I believe in you!"

Your aunt's eldest son looked down at you with a smile, embracing you in a hug of gratitude. "Thanks, y/n. I hope we win but if we lose then we'll lose with dignity. The country's 4th top ace is in their team after all."

"Wait really? That's insane. I wonder what he looks like."

You didn't know that that curiosity of yours would be solved in the next 5 minutes. When it was time to go to the stands, you bumped into a quite beefy (in your words) person's chest and judging by the number 4 on the front of his shirt, you guessed that he was on one of the teams in the tournament.

"Hey, hey, hey, be careful, pretty lady." He had a pretty playful voice and you looked up to see a smirk on his handsome face.

"Oh. Excuse me, sir." You bowed your head and walked on when he stepped aside for you. But you couldn't help but look behind you as you continued your journey and the grey and black back of his head stayed in your mind the whole walk to the stands.

Once you got there, you saw that the teams were already on the court, in their huddles, getting themselves fired up for the match. People were cheering all around you for their respective teams and you called out your cousin's name in support. He looked up and found you instantly, putting a thumbs up in the air.

The Fukurodani team did a small warcry before dispersing to their positions and when you saw who their wing spiker was, your jaw dropped. The smirk that was on his face was a bit different that the one you saw earlier and as soon as the whistle blew, you figured out why.

The match was intense and while you were meant to be looking at your cousin, your eyes were stuck on the wing spiker, who you realised was the 4th ranked ace your cousin was talking about. He flew and slammed each and every ball that was set to him and after each spike, he let out a cry of victory. You thought it was quite attractive, seeing how fired up he got but at the end of the match, your heart broke a little for your cousin seeing how they were beaten 2 sets to 1.

"I'm so sorry, cuz, you'll get them next time."

You spent the next 20 minutes cheering him up and catching up with him before his team had to leave for their next match. Before you knew it, the tournament was over and you bid your cousin adieu as their team bus left for their home school.

"Was that your boyfriend, pretty lady?"

You gasped when a sudden presence appeared beside you. It was the beefy dude. Aka the wing spiker, ace and captain of Fukurodani. "Wow, when did you get here?"

"I've been watching since the other team entered the bus. Wanna answer my question?"

You shifted your position to face him and damn, you could've swooned right there. His nose bridge was perfectly straight and the only curve was the upturn between his nostrils. His lips were a luscious baby pink and his eyes a golden brown. Coupled with his confident aura, this man was hot.

"Enjoying the view? I don't blame you."

You smiled in amusement, "If you must know, that wasn't my boyfriend, that was my cousin."

"Oh, well that's good news for me."

"And may I ask why?"

He looked you up and down before biting his lip and saying, "That means you're free to take."

You couldn't help but get embarrassed at his statement and suddenly, you wondered why you hadn't called a taxi yet. "You're very... confident with your words sir."

"It's my specialty." He smirked again but this time, it was a bit lazy, which made him seem more attractive to you. "Are you waiting for someone?"

You got out your phone and started to call a local cab agency, "No, I've got to order a cab."

Unexpectedly, he gently took the phone from your hands and ended the call just as the number had answered. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I've got a car."

Even though you had just met this guy, you decided to accept his offer. He told you that his name was Bokuto Koutarou, which had a nice ring to it once you got used to the pronunciation. You told him your address and before you knew it, you were back home. "Hey, I didn't even give you directions."

"Well, sweetheart, that's because I live right next door to you." He said it so casually as if it was a mystery why you hadn't met each other till then.

"What?! Since when?"

"We moved in last month but since I'm always having practice, I usually come back home later than everyone else in the neighbourhood. Anyways, it was nice meeting you, pretty lady. I'll be sure to see you again."

You exited his car and walked to your porch chuckling at the odds. You had a feeling there was more to happen than you thought.

Weeks went by and it turned out that your room was directly across Bokuto's, which meant that you could wave to each other through your windows every morning when you got ready. He'd be wearing his uniform to go to his school and so would you when you saw each other before leaving.

He didn't take his car though, which meant that you couldn't get any more car rides from him. But it was probably for the best since you couldn't stop having dirty thoughts about him. It's how your day would start, seeing as you imagined having his school tie wrapped around your neck while he pulled you towards his face so you could-

See?

Sometimes you would have conversations through your windows but they were often short seeing as you were both in your final year and had to study for the last exams and for some reason, everytime he cut your chats short to go back to the books, it made your heart pound.

But it wasn't to say that it wasn't the same for him. Seeing you in that short, plaid skirt did something to him and he didn't particularly enjoy having a boner while going to Fukurodani High.

One day, he came back home early since there wasn't any practice and saw you changing through your window. Well, not exactly, but he could see your silhouette through your thin curtains and my, my, did he not almost drool.

You took off your shirt first and threw it on your chair, then your skirt came off next. The curve of your spine blended perfectly with the rounded shape of your butt and he subconsciously bit his lip while his eyes stayed glued to your form. He guessed that you were now only in your underwear and the thigh high socks you had to wear and his pants immediately felt tighter at the image. "Fuck."

Before you continued to take anything else off, he turned away and went to go have a cold shower. Deep down, he was nervous wreck. The confidence was natural to him but when it came to you... it seemed that it was wearing thin.

Only a few days went by and Bokuto caught you every time after school when you were changing. He felt like a pervert for using the short scene to masturbate every single night.

That saturday, your mother asked you to go take over some muffins to the house next door, because she had met the parents of the home earlier that week. You were fine with it until you realised that it was the Bokuto Residence and you would see... him.

Softly, you knocked on the door and unbeknownst to you, a shirtless Bokuto Koutarou answered the door. Both your eyes widened, his with shock and yours with embarrassment. He was sweating and you watched as a few drops travelled down his hard chest, six-pack abs and into his shorts via his very prominent v-line. "Woah..."

"Hey, hey, hey. Nice to see you in front of me again, pretty lady."

He propped his elbow on the side of the door so you could see his laterals and biceps become more prominent and you felt yourself swallow. "Uh- my, uh- mom. Cupcakes. Bring over. I–"

He took the container from you and opened it, while raising an eyebrow. Inside were red velvet cupcakes, with white, cream icing on top and they looled good so he took one. One bite in, he closed his eyes and moaned, "Mmm, sweetheart, that's delicious."

When he opened his eyes, they were lazier as he licked the icing on his lip off. "T-thanks. I'll tell her that..."

You left immediately after that and as soon as you entered your room, jumped onto your bed and screamed into the pillow. Even Bokuto heard it from his kitchen while finished his 3rd cupcake and he furrowed his eyebrows.

You couldn't believe you saw him like that. He looked so... hot. His black and white hair was drenched in sweat and instead of classically being styled up, it fell over his forehead. Not to mention his amazing body and the... the veins that disappeared into his shorts.

"What the hell? What just happened?"

You stared at the ceiling for longer than you thougt and before you knew it, it was nighttime. Looking over to Bokuto's window, you saw that it wasn't covered by curtains. His bedroom door opened and he plopped onto his bed without noticing you. You were about to greet when he flopped onto his back and suddenly, his dick sprung up in the air.

What. The. Fuck?

You were frozen in astonishment and it was worse when you saw his hand start to slowly move up and down his shaft. He was moaning softly from the little you could hear through the open window and before you knew it, he was thrusting into his hand. He seemed so desperate trying to catch his high that you clenched your thighs as you felt yourself get wet.

"Mm, fuck, Y/N!"

And he exploded. You saw his cum shoot up into the air before it landed somewhere, you didn't know the exact place but, as soon as it happened, you closed your curtains and went to your shower.

Bokuto heard the noise but when he looked back, nothing was out of the ordinary. Except... his window. Wide open. "Shit."

When you were done with your (cold) shower, you saw a text from Bokuto that read:

Bokuto Koutarou: Hey, did you hear anything weird today?

You: what do you mean?

Bokuto Koutarou: like... from my house.

You contemplated your answer before responding.

You: nope.

He left the message on read and let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank God you didn't hear him or else he would've buried himself alive.

Both of you went to sleep feeling weird that night; none of you knew of the rest to come.

On Sunday, you were home alone and suddenly remembered that your mom asked you to fetch your container from the Bokutos before she left on a business trip. "Oh shit!"

You went over immediately, without thinking of what you were wearing and knocked. Luckily, Mrs Bokuto answered the door but she looked as if she was leaving. "Hi Mrs Bokuto. May I please fetch my mom's container?"

"Oh, of course, darling. Me and my husband are going away on holiday for the week and we have to leave for the airport now so help yourself, please? It's on the counter. The kitchen is to the right."

With that, she exited her house and her husband followed with two suitcases on either of his hands. He smiled in acknowledgement and without any more time to waste, their white Lexus sped off.

Like she said, you helped yourself in and went to the said kitchen. You were glad it was easy to spot the container because it really was on the counter. But what you didn't particularly enjoy was freezing when you heard a familiar voice speaking to you.

"Hey, hey, hey, pretty lady. Any reason why you're in my house?"

You turned and saw Bokuto Koutarou leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Thankfully he was dressed today. "Bokuto. Hi. I'm here to fetch my mom's container."

"Oh. And here I thought you were here to visit me."

You smiled sheepishly and started moving forward, container in hand. As you were about to exit the room, he moved in front of you, arms still crossed.

"Um..." you stepped to the side but he followed you. "Can I get passed?"

"No."

"Wh-"

"You can't get passed. I'm tired of playing your games, pretty lady."

"Bokuto-"

"Koutarou. Call me by my name."

For some reason, his hostile behaviour was making you... horny? The way he crossed his arms so his jacket stuck to his muscles like a second skin; the way his jaw was locked as he looked down on you with his golden eyes. The way he towered over you with his legs apart, his stance mimicking that of a predator about to catch its prey.

"Go on. Say it."

You hesitated and stammered. Instead of you usual strong voice, his name came out as a defeated whisper, "Koutarou..."

He took the container in your hands and threw it into the counter so that it banged against the wall between the cupboards and the former. You flinched at the loud sound, but impressed with how good his aim was. He took steps forward which made you step back in turn. This continued until your back hit the island in the middle of the kitchen and you had nowhere else to go. "You know what I'm talking about right?"

It sounded more like a statement than a question. "No..." You had a feeling that:

"I know, y/n. I know you saw."

"Saw what?" You didn't know why you were still acting clueless because it didn't seem to be working. But what made you finally succumb to his interrogation was when he forced his knee between your thighs and pressed his body against yours.

It was hot. Or was it you? Maybe him? You couldn't think straight with his cologne engulfing you. "Mmm... just like you to get sll flustered. You know how cute you look when that happens? Now I'm going to give you one more chance to admit to your actions."

"I... I did see." You sighed.

"Mhm. Tell me what you saw, pretty lady."

You closed your eyes and went limp, "I saw you cum. When you said my name."

He grabbed your thighs and lifted you so you could sit on the counter of the island, situating himself between your legs. "And did you enjoy that, princess?"

"I don't know."

He squeezed your waist.

"I think you're lying." He moved his head so that his lips were by your ear. "You know what I hate? It's how you don't know how sexy you are to me. Look at you." He was speaking so lowly and slowly that you were hooked on his every word– it was making your pussy quiver. "You think you can come into my house wearing that thin fucking sundress?"

Suddenly, his other hand moved under your dress, caressing your thigh and stopped at the apex where he rubbed his thumb back and forth on the soft skin.

"You don't even have any panties on." You could feel his smirk against your ear. "It's like you knew you were going to see me."

He pulled back and you could breathe again. He walked away, his large back moving further and further away from you as he stopped his antics. "Bokut- Koutarou, wait!"

He stopped and craned his head. He had such a beautiful side profile.

"I did see. And... I liked it. I liked it a lot. In fact, I've fantasized about you so many times since we met and I can't take it anymore."

"So what am I supposed to do about that, sweetheart?"

"Bokuto Koutarou... please fuck me."

It sounded like a plea for help and honestly, it was all he needed to unleash himself. The next few moments were a blur for you because you went from being on the island to being in Koutarou's bed, watching him strip down to nothing without shame.

"Koutarou." You breathed when you saw his dick – it looked even bigger than before. Was that going to fit inside you?

"I'll make it fit, princess." He grinned and beckoned you over to him at the edge of the bed.

You crawled on all fours, feeling your dress ride up over your ass and it was met with cold air. So now you were face to cock with Bokuto Koutarou and it looked like you were about to know the true meaning of choking.

"You're staring at it like you want it in your mouth." He caressed your cheek and let his thumb run along your bottom lip, pulling it down before releasing it. His strong hand grabbed a hold of his hard shaft and you felt a sudden slap against your face. "Is that what you want, princess?"

He slapped you with his dick. Due to the size of it, it was a bit painful but instead of feeling offended, you felt your wetness drip down your thighs. It was still in his hand, but this time, when he moved it, he placed the tip against your lips.

"Hm? You want this cock down your throat?"

You were looking up at him with your pretty brown eyes that looked like they were tearing up and it turned him on to no end.

He leaned over and to your surprise, swiped his hand across your slit from behind, collecting a sticky puddle of your wetness in his hand and placing it on his dick. Your eyes widened as he coated his shaft with it while your lips were still on his tip. "I'm gonna need you to be a good girl for me and take my cock well, okay?"

You nodded without hesitation and finally, you opened your mouth. In went his dick and you gagged immediately at the shear size as it touched the back of your throat. It was already slippery due to the coat of your juices but one thing was prominent.

"Can you taste yourself on my cock, baby? Hm? Do you like it? The way you're slobbered all over my dick?"

You couldn't do anything except blow him. Your cheeks hollowed out as you took him in and out, and in and out. Eventually he had his head thrown back and he was moaning out every other word like "baby", "fuck", and "you're killing me, princess".

It was another 5 minutes before he had enough and he pushed you onto your back, spread your legs as wide as they could and dived into your cunt. "Fuck, Bokuto!"

He slapped your thigh hardly which led you to yelp, making you wonder what you did to deserve it. "I told you to call me by my name."

You understood him perfectly. But the way his tongue moved against your clit didn't warrant any say of his name, or any word, even. All you sounded like was "Mmm" and "yes" and "please"; it was music to his ears. He coupled his tongue movements with two fingers inside you. You were tight around them so that he could barely separate them but the way he curled them towards himself hit a spot you didn't know you had. "Ohhhh my God, Koutarou."

"That's right, say my name, princess." He growled against your clit. He started getting more aggressive as time went on and eventually, he started hitting you on your abdomen, your thighs, and even your clit. Your nipples were straining against your dress as you arched your back, feeling a particular knot get tighter and tighter.

"Koutarou, I'm going to-"

"Do it, baby. Cum on my face."

He sucked and fucked until you did as he said, hips locking as lapped his tongue along your slit while you rode out your orgasm. Your legs were trembling by the end of it but he didn't feel like giving you a break.

"I'm going to fuck you so good, princess." He said as he climbed over you, kissing you deeply and letting you taste yourself on his lips. His tongue entered excitedly and he moaned into your mouth. Your dress was long gone now seeing as he ripped it straight down the middle.

Your chests were pressed together so your boobs were against his pecs and it felt so good to you that you let out a small mewl. While he planted kisses and bites down your neck, you caught your breath and looked up to the ceiling to see... a mirror. There was a mirror on the ceiling and that meant you could see everything that was happening.

Your worn out face. Koutarou's back muscles rippling as he paid attention to your chest and neck; his ass that you could imagine gripping onto as he thrusted hard into you.

He stopped what he was doing and looked into your eyes, "Are you ready?"

"For what?- Ohhhhh." You looked at your own face through the mirror above as he slowly pushed himself in. The stretch of your cunt felt so good that it hurt and you couldn't help but cry. "Fuck, Koutarou."

"Say it again." He started thrusting, "Say my name again."

"Koutarouuuu." You droned out.

His hips moved relentlessly. It seemed that he was waiting for this for a long time and now you understood why. It felt so good. "I fit so perfectly inside you, princess."

As his dick slipped in again, he hit the spot from earlier except, it felt so much more intense. "Yes, Koutarou, do it again."

And so he did. He was moaning along with you, whispering dirty words into your ear and the deeper he went inside you, the closer you were to cumming. You pushed his shoulders up so that you could see his face and as soon as you made eye contact, he smiled. It was so devilish and hedonistic and it fit him perfectly.

He bit his lip as he looked down to see yourselves colliding. In, out. In, out. That's what his dick was doing. In and out of your squelching pussy and so easily, that he could've sworn that your hole was made for him. "Koutarou, I'm going to cum again."

"That's a good girl. Do it for me, princess. Cum on my cock."

He went back to thrusting deeply and languidly and as you watched his big form move above you, you went over the edge creamed with him inside you. "Oh yes, oh yes, Koutarou, I love it."

"You love it?" He asked as he pumped through your climax.

"Yes, baby, I do. Give it to me, more, please, Koutarou."

He groaned, "I love it when you say my name. Can I cum inside, princess?"

"You ca- do whatever you want, Ko- koutarou." You belted out as more orgasms overtook you.

"Say it again."

"KOUTAROU, MY GOD!!!"

That was what it took for him to cum inside you. He stayed in there for a while, sweat dripping from his chin onto your face. Your bodies were sticky and sweaty from his sex and it both of you were worn out.

"Koutarou..." you started but were interrupted by him pulling out and roughly turning you onto your stomach.

He pulled your hips up so you were face down, ass up and licked his lips when he saw your combined cum squeezing out of your cunt. "Round Two, pretty lady."

I guess, you were the only one worn out?

[stresseddepressed-student]

Chapter Nine:

Unfortunately, Potter was powerful and uncontrolled so his magic refused to keep itself contained. Stupid dumbass idiot who didn’t know how to control himself.

“Potter, your presence is messing with the delicate potion in the cauldron, please remove yourself.” Draco tried his best to keep his voice level, to be bigger than him, to not sink down to his level. He really didn’t want any conflict with Potter this year. It would be difficult enough without Potter Problems.

He finished mincing the wings of the Hercules beetle, wincing as he eyed the poor bastard who was still crawling around his tank. Now that he was wingless, his only purpose would be to breed one last time and then be tossed into a Fortis Invigorate potion. Draco felt a lot like the beetle, he had no life other than to be used and trapped in a glass tank. He then minced the Aconite, admiring the purple flakes created as he cut.

He cast a discreet tempus, 3:00, damn it, it's been 3 hours since he started the potion. If he was going to be successful in any way, he needed to put the wings and flakes in now. He gracefully turned, holding the cutting board in one hand and the knife in the other. He kept his gaze on the cauldron, refusing to spare Potter a glance, slowly he scraped the ingredients bit by bit. Wolfsbane was particularly difficult and if he wanted to get this right, he would need to be patient.

“What are you making?” Potter insisted, coming up closer.

Draco looked up into his eyes, barely biting his tongue at the disgust in the other boy's eyes. He glanced down, tracing the sweat and water that left trails on his brown torso and down into his pants. His trousers were hanging perversely on his hips, heavy with exertion and water. Draco could see the other boy's hip bones, the defined muscles eating away his stomach, rounded strong pecs. And his shoulders, Draco was sure that Potter could probably carry him easily and Draco was quite muscle-laden himself. His legs would definitely help him, they were thick, strong, the kind of thigh perfect for spreading his-

Draco turned away, thanking his father for the years of training in keeping his emotions out of his voice, “I don’t answer to you, Potter. Please, escort yourself to the showers as you are in fact messing with a highly volatile potion. Thank you.”

He went back to the book, listening to Potter's steps as he came closer. He inhaled sharply, the smell of rain and musk robbing him of his senses.

Draco didn’t dare turn as Potter whispered in his ear, his spine-tingling, “you’re up to something Malfoy and I’m going to find out. I’m going to figure you out and when I do, I’ll ruin you.”

You already have.

Potter stepped back and Draco could practically hear the sneer painting on his full lips. Draco finally looked up as Potter walked away, burying a groan at the sight of his muscled back and broad shoulders. He looked like a man. His trousers were barely being held up by the curve or his arse, Draco could see his pants peeking out, darkened by sweat and water. Draco knew he was absolutely fucked if this was his reaction to Potter after working out. Draco hadn’t missed how tight his pants looked around his front, Draco resisted the urge to lick his lips.

Merlin.

He felt like a pervert, he needed to get his mind out of the gutter and focused back on the potion before him. He wanted to figure out a way to make the potion better in every way-- taste, texture, effectiveness, cost of production-- anything to fix the things he broke.

Turning the flame off, he carefully poured the potion into the vials, closing them so they could ferment. They should be done by the next full moon so he had about a month or so before it had to be perfect. He wasn’t sure who would accept his potion but he wanted to perfect it before he showed it to Minerva. He rolled his back, stretching the aching muscles as he leaned over the book.

“I thought I might find you here.”

Draco whirled around, his mother's wand discreetly tucked by his side-- poised to strike. He relaxed once he recognized the dirty blonde hair and shy smile-- Astoria Greengrass.

He relaxed his mouth into a subdued smile, only the barest hint of teeth peeking through. “Astoria,” he acknowledged, nodding respectfully.

Her smile curved even more, a pretty red thing that for anyone else would have signaled something seductive, but Draco was so gay that the promise held in her lips did nothing to excite him. “Draco, how are you?”

Still, it's a lot easier to get information from a distracted person and there had to be a reason Astoria was here. He hoped she wasn't here for some nefarious purpose but soon remembered her family played a minimal role in the war, far less so than his friends' families.

He crossed his arms, flexing purposefully to see if her eyes followed the movement. They did. “I am well. Or as well as I can be considering my circumstances. And you? How is your sister?”

Her nostrils flared, once, then twice. The slightest expansion of the curve of her nose that promptly settled back into its natural state. “She is well, the climate agrees with her. Theodore, Tracy, and Millicent are there as well.”

“Yes I heard, Theodore wished to be here, but he found his family in Belgium much more amenable to him being in France than Scotland.”

“England,” she corrected, her smile smaller than before. “We’re in England.”

“Only for those who haven't learned otherwise.”

She turned her head away from him, her focus instead on the cauldron glowing purple with the remnants of his work. He decided to interrupt her before she asked any more questions.

“You didn’t answer my question,” He let one of the corners of his lips tug upward, his eyes fastened on her-- everything in his posture and countenance used to flirt with her.

She lifted her chin, tilting her head to one side to expose her neck. “What question?” she demurred.

He stepped closer, “how are you?”

“I am better now that I’m here.” She stepped back and he followed her until they were walking side by side out of the classroom.

“Here in Hogwarts or here right now?” He guided her away from the empty lab room, walking towards the Slytherin dormitories.

She peered up at him through her dark lashes, “that’s for me to know and you to find out.”

He chuckled, a gravelly sound he used when he wanted to sway his victim or seduce them, “well now I’m intrigued by the mystery you present.”

She murmured the common room password, and let him escort her through the dark passage. He tucked her hand through the crook of his elbow, teasing her lightly about spiders and snakes, all the things girls liked to be teased about. It felt a bit surreal if he was being honest, to be flirting and walking through the shadowy corridor like before. Usually Pansy would be the one to have her hand tucked into his elbow, or Blaise, or Theo; Greg and Vincent bumbling happily behind him, messing with his hair, or ticking him just to get a rise out of him. It felt so much like before that Draco's chest hurt a bit, a gentle persistent pressure growing exponentially with each step he took. Finally, they emerged into the softly lit common room although it was oddly packed to the brim.

Astoria guided him to the front where Blaise, Pansy, and Slughorn stood.

“I- I don’t understand? What’s going on?” Draco whispered urgently to Astoria, taking in his friend's smug looks.

Pansy glanced at him before settling her attention on Astoria, “so?”

Astoria pouted, “he did everything you said he would.”

Draco glanced around, bewildered. Blaise was softly giggling, patting Pansy on the back.

Astoria leaned on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek, patting him gently, “thanks for going along, love.”

Pansy grabbed his arm and dragged him to stand next to her, “shut up and I'll explain later,” she hissed, keeping her stiff smile pasted on her face. She was still mad it seemed.

Slughorn stepped forward, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Students, new and old, welcome to Slytherin, your new home. Today we must assign the student advisors, of course, I am always available to the public! I make a point to keep my door open and I'm actually writing a book on teaching principles everyone could apply to their everyday relationships, I’m sure it will be a bestseller so if you want to pre-order your copy be sure to Owl me. An open door rule isn’t the only policy I will write about in fact I-”

Blaise cleared his throat, flashing his eyes at a startled Slughorn.

“Er- right! Today we will elect from these three. Please, er, raise your hand if you would like Pansy Parkinson as an advisor.”

Several murmurs could be heard and Pansy rolled her shoulders nervously. No one was raising their hands and Draco could feel her disappointment.

Draco swallowed his pride, stepping forward, “Professor, If I may?” At Slughorn's nod, he began to address the room, “some of you do not know Pansy, I believe it would be beneficial to have a few testimonies in regards to her and Blaise so that the newcomers may have an accurate picture of them. I would like to go first.”

Slughorn clapped his back, “right you are m’boy. Excellent Idea, have you been reading my early drafts?”

Draco nodded tightly, barely concealing a snicker. He took a deep breath before speaking once more, “Pansy happens to be my best friend and I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of things about her from different people. But I would like to tell you she is the most generous person. She will offer you her time, her talent, her knowledge so that you can succeed. More than anything else, she cares about the success of Slytherin as a whole, and if you’re lucky to be her friend, she cares about your personal success. She’s third in our class right behind Hermione Granger and me. She is passionate about her work and a good teacher. Blaise is also my best friend, he’s understanding, he sees you even when you cannot see yourself. And If you find yourself in a snit, he’s the best person to help you get out of it.”

Mitch Creevy stepped forward, looking around nervously, “I'm the first Slytherin in my family, all my cousins are in Gryffindor and neither Draco nor Pansy nor Blaise made me feel any different. Pansy protected me when the Carrows were asking about my bloodline.”

Draco turned back towards his best friends, returning Pansy’s watery smile. Hopefully, this would make her forgive him and see that everything he did was for her good.

Several other people spoke up, each other saying kind things about Pansy and Blaise. Draco tried to ignore the prick in his conscious about the lack of kind words directed at him.

That was until Astoria stepped forward again, her posture relaxed and strong, “I understand many of you are avoiding the controversy of Draco Malfoy but we must not forget all that he’s done for us. He showed us how to fake curses and hexes or lower the intensity when we were forced to attack our fellow classmates. He fought in the war against the Dark Lord-”

“After he let them in!” retorted a student. A chorus of agreements and Draco looked down at his feet, it wasn’t like he could contest. He had done that and much more.

“But he fought even against his father.”

“Astoria!” Pansy hissed, her mouth settling into a harsh line.

it was becoming hard to breathe for Draco, buried his nails into his palm to ground himself. It was for naught, if Astoria didn't stop soon, he was going to have a full-blown panic attack.

“Who do you think put every single captured death eater in prison, who provided the evidence? He was ra-”

“Astoria!” Blaise warned, starting towards her, his eyes flashing gold. Draco felt sick, he didn’t want his secrets uncovered, everything he did, his shame, uncovered. He felt naked under the disgusted stares.

Astoria took a deep breath, “today, he went to his lab to work on a Wolfsbane because he knew that many students, Slytherin or other, could not afford good quality Wolfsbane. He is the only reason Goyle passed his classes, he tutored every single Slytherin falling behind. He is more than his name. I urge you to consider him.”

Mercifully, she didn’t mention Vincent. Draco didn’t think he could handle her mentioning his dead friend, someone rotting in the ground because of him.

Astoria turned towards him, her mouth pinched tightly, she didn’t say sorry, she didn’t like to lie. And even though Draco was close to tears, he admired her tenacity, her passion, her intelligence; he privately thought to himself that she would make a better teacher than Slughorn. She was almost at his level in potions but she had more of an inclination towards being an Auror than anything else. Pity. She had some inane belief she could reform it. She certainly was more ambitious than her sister.

Slughorn looked around nervously, his fingers twitching as the muttering increased. “Have we come to a decision?” he tried.

Leon Moon, the first year from earlier, stepped forward; his shaggy auburn hair reminiscent of Remus Lupin. “Is it true that you’re making wolfsbane for everybody?” he demanded, his tiny figure puffed up.

Draco buried his shock at seeing a miniature version of his old teacher. He nodded, clearing his throat before giving the fierce boy a resounding yes.

Moon glanced around, looking at his fellow first-years to see if they had any objections, “We would like Draco to be our advisor, and Pansy too.”

Everyone agreed with the little boy, save for a few people who grumbled that Blaise should be one of the advisors. Draco snorted, every single one had been one of Blaise's conquests.

Pansy stepped forward, “there can be three advisors. It was more of a matter of choosing who you didn’t want.”

Blaise rubbed his neck, “that’s alright Pansy. I don’t really want the responsibility, but I’m happy to help you guys out along with the 7th years.”

Steeled by everyone's vote of confidence and the trust in her eyes, Draco stepped forward again. “Then it’s settled,” Draco said, his voice clear and determined. “Pansy Parkinson and I will be your advisors. Professor Slughorn, are you prepared for a swearing ceremony?” Draco didn't even know why he asked, the man definitely didn't understand the sort of commitment Slytherin had towards each other.

Draco rolled his eyes as Slughorn babbled, snapping his fingers to request Mipsy.

Mipsy arrived with a pop and several first years gave a surprised yelp. She punched her fist onto her hips, looking up at him expectantly, “Yes Master Draco?”

“You can’t have a personal elf apparate in and out of Hogwarts wards!” Slughorn fretted, his chest puffing as he tried to assert his dominance. What he didn’t realize was that Draco took responsibility seriously, took vows seriously, and this was both. Slughorn didn’t even want to be the head of house for Slytherin.

Mipsy answered him before Draco could, “I work in kitchens, missus Minnie allow me to work by Master Draco.”

Draco smiled, “Thank you, darling. We’re going to do a blood oath, do you mind notarizing?”

“Elves cannot notarize!” Slughorn complained. Oddly enough, he had no qualms about performing a blood oath, something considered dark magic but he had a problem with Elves becoming Notaries. Typical.

“Certainly Master. Raise you's hand.”

Both he and Pansy raised their right hands, Draco remembered that he was mostly naked save for his shirt and he tucked his left arm tightly into his side. Though it was useless, a lot of people probably saw his mark.

“Speak vows now.”

Pansy went first, “I Pansy Minato Parkinson, vow to protect, encourage, defend, teach, and care for the students under my care.” She tapped her wand against her palm and a sliver of blood fell onto the stone floor. The stone glowed green before absorbing the blood and returning to its natural gray.

Draco stepped forward, his wand poised, “I Draco Lucius Siran Malfoy-Black, vow to protect, encourage, defend, teach, and care for the students under my care.” He pressed the wand against his palm, shivering under the surge of magic slicing his skin. The blood dripped down his wand, spiraling around the natural grain of the dark brown wood, the single drop falling into the stone, glowing a blinding silver that lasted a lot longer than Pansy’s had.

He could feel his peers' eyes on him and titled his chin up, not meeting anyone's eyes. He stood back with Pansy and Blaise as the group dispersed, his mouth tight. “Mate I-”

He shook his head, dispelling the apology he knew was to come, his arms clasped behind his back to hide his mark.

Leon came forward, his dark blue eyes glancing wildly around. He coughed and sidled up next to Draco, “Mr. Malfoy sir,-”

“Draco is quite alright.”

The boy flushed and nodded, “I was wondering, I have been, that is, I was wondering if you had finished the potion, I, well I-”

Draco placed a hand on the small boy's shoulder, crouching down slightly, “Leon, you are a smart brave boy, and I'm not going to hurt you no matter how scary I look. It’s okay to ask for things.”

Leon, flushed, scowling, “I'm not a baby, don’t patronize me, I know I can ask for things. This is a secret thing and I've never told anybody else. I was wondering if you could help me during my-” he lowered his voice and leaned closer, “transformations.”

Draco’s smile faltered, the spunky kid was so young, too young to have to be afflicted with this. He nodded, “the night before your transformation, meet me at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest.”

The kid flashed him a smile, the ones that come easy when you're smaller no matter what’s happening around you. Draco's eyes burned, visions flashing of the small boy before him losing that smile because of the life ahead of him, of the boy becoming like Lavender. Draco stepped away, casting a sonorous so that everybody in the dorms could hear him, “If you require assistance for your transformation, werewolf or other, please meet me the night before the full moon in the entrance of the Forbidden Forest.”

Pansy’s hand moved towards him but he walked too quickly out of the common room for her to catch him. He ran down the corridor, down the hallway, back to his lab, breathless. He stumbled over the cauldron and retched, bile and vomit spewing from his mouth into the cast-iron cauldron. His yellow vomit smelled so horrible mixed with the wolfsbane, and he vomited even more. A hand found its way onto his back, rubbing soothingly up and down his spine. Smaller hands combed back his hair, holding the fringe away from his sweaty face.

“He’s so young!” he cried to Pansy and Blaise. “He hasn’t lived yet and his life is ruined.”

“It's not ruined,” Pansy answered sharply, “it's not. And even if it was, it’s not your fault.”

He sobbed into the cauldron, everything from him mixing in there, his potion, his bile, his tears, his sweat-- all of it combining to present a reflection of him.

Blaise pulled his shirt off, using it to wipe his mouth and neck, banishing it with a shudder “Come on love, let's go to bed.”

Draco shook his head, dazed, “no, I’ve got to clean up first or Minnie won’t let me back here.”

“Minnie?” mouthed Pansy to Blaise who only shrugged.

Draco summoned a low dose pepper-up charm from his stock already organized in the storage room adjoined to the lab. He gagged as he swallowed the spicy concoction. Shaking his head to clear away the haze of guilt, sickness, and shame.

He conjured a scrub and some soap in a bucket. Pansy summoned another bucket and he hefted the cauldron up to pour the remaining mixture into the spare bucket. Blaise banished the bubbling bucket once it was full and Draco set the cauldron down again. Pansy whistled at his flexed muscles and he threw some soap at her playfully.

He snapped his finger and music played, lately Pansy had gotten them into Spice Girls and oddly enough, an androgynous band named Eurythmics. Wannabe’s poppy beat echoed around the room and Blaise danced comically around the room, swaying his hips and thrusting in the air every so often. He moved his hips as he scrubbed the Cauldron, humming the lyrics under his breath. None of them noticed when the door opened and Neville barreled out of the greenhouse into the lab.

“Uh-” Neville stammered, eyes wide.

Draco paused mid-gyration to stare at the blubbering boy.

“I’m gonna go-” Neville mumbled, running out of the room, leaving a trail of dirt behind him.

“Do you think he-”

“Did you see his face?!”

Blaise and Pansy both hollered at the same time, cutting Draco off. Draco grunted, drawing the attention of his two friends who promptly rolled their eyes at his pinched mouth. He cast a scourgify on the mud tracks, charming a mop to follow Neville’s path.

“Oh, will you wipe off that pinched ferret expression you’ve got!” Blaise called, slapping his bum as he passed by.

Pansy cackled, bent over in exaggerated laughter. “You do look a bit like a ferret, love,” she sighed, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes.

Draco grunted, wiping his sweaty brow. “Do you think he saw me, so…”

“Human?”

Draco glared at Blaise, who raised his hands in mock surrender. “Disheveled, unprofessional, inelegant, un-Malfoy," he corrected.

Pansy ignored him as she shucked her shirt, though there wasn’t a single drop of sweat on her back or neck. She rolled her bony shoulder as she conjured a scrub and a mop. Casting an Augementi, she started working on the walls, throwing the mop to a pouting Blaise. Draco was at once, filled with relief that his friends, his posh wanker friends, were helping him with the menial task of cleaning.

Pansy didn’t turn away from the wall as she spoke, casting several charms at other conjured scrubs to reach the places she could, “Isn’t that the point, Draco? To be un-Malfoy. To be yourself? Look at what I'm doing! I’m bloody scrubbing the wall, I would have never done that years ago!”

Blaise passed the mop between his hands, “I know you think nobody will believe the person you’ve become, that you’re good, but you don’t help when you shut people out and continue to put up wards around yourself.”

Draco wiped the cauldron down, carefully oiling it to preserve its integrity. “What would you have me do? Scream at anything and everything that I’ve changed, that I’m not a blood purist?! What would you have me say?! “Hey guys, I know you lost a brother, son, daughter, father, mother, friend-- people! But! Guess what?! I’m not a bad guy anymore, see I’m good, I can even shake your hand and I won’t break out in hives!” Yeah, that’s a great idea guys, ” Draco scoffed.

Pansy marched over, grabbing his chin gently with her soft soapy hands, “that’s exactly what you need to do because that is exactly who you are.”

He turned away, his voice weak and resigned, “and if I’m not. What do I do if I'm the same exact person as before?”

Blaise strode to him, cradling the side of his face in his hand, pressing his forehead against Dracos’, “You are. You are good. You deserve good things. You are good.”

Draco leaned forward, pressing his lips against the boy, wanting to have the maker of his affirmation breathing those words into him. There was something venerating about this kiss, about the tenderness of their lips against each other. But too soon did Blaise pull away, looking at him regretfully, “this isn’t what you want.” Draco whimpered and Blaise thumbed his temple, “ it’s okay, I won't take the words away, they’re yours, they're who you are.”

Pansy pulled him off, “go to bed with Blaise, I’ll meet you later after I finish here.”

“No, no I've got this,” Draco objected, pulling his wand out. He conjured more scrubs, mops, and dusters, easily manipulating them to clean the entire room. It was exhaustive on his magical core, especially after the day he just had, but he needed this lab to be spotless for the plan formulating in his mind. With a just wiggle of his fingers, he took over the scrubs Pansy had been manning and the mop in Blaise's hand. Pansy and Blaise gawped at him and a rush of pride swept through him. He walked over the cauldron, hoisting it up to flip it over, he wasn’t able to carry it with just his own human muscles. Sighing, he focused his remaining magic on lifting all of the spare cauldrons and organizing them on the newly cleaned floor. He was just about to set them down when his chest began to ache, a sharp digging sensation that made him stumble back. Pansy and Blaise rushed forward, grasping his sides as keeled over. Thankfully, the very expensive cauldrons were too close to the ground to have any resounding impact.

Blaise whipped out his wand, shouting “Finite Incantatem!” with no success. Dracos magic was too strong for him to make the dizzying cleaning supplies stop dancing around the room.

Pansy tapped Dracos cheek hard, “Draco, stop the spell. It’s hurting you, stop the spell!”

He groaned, his head rolling to one side. With all the strength he could muster, he whispered the spell, his wand falling limply from his hand.

[sidleyparkhermit]

first lines meme

Tagged by @joycecarolnotes (thanks!)

List the first lines of the last 10 stories you published. Look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any. Then tag some friends.

I actually rounded these up a little while ago when I saw the meme circulating, but didn't get around to doing commentary and posting it.

1. The air was biting cold down in the village, just as it had been up-mountain. - late spring (Wheel of Time [TV])

this was for a shiritori round-robin comm. I couldn't come up with something using the full last sentence of the previous story, so I chose to use just the last two words and turn it into talking about the weather. ;)

2. "I wasn’t lying, you know," Mat said on the second morning at the inn. "I did fight a trolloc." - roll of the dice (Wheel of Time [TV])

looking at this and #3 below made me realize that I had spun off a one-shot into a series where I should have been posting the new material as chapters instead. they each follow very closely on the end of the previous story, both chronologically and structurally, and they really don't stand alone. I'm already asking people to make the buy-in of a rare pairing, so it's no wonder readership plummeted as new stories went up. I'm bringing all of it together under one work now before I continue (though everyone will have to pardon the construction dust for a while because getting divorced sucks)

3. The rain was back in the morning, freezing cold and pattering hard at the roof, as if it had come on cue to pen them inside for the day. - the wind and the rain (WoT TV)

see above

4. Mat locked eyes with Moiraine as the Waygate closed, and he thought: She understands. Deep down. She has to. - if your memory serves you well (WoT TV)

I think this always has been one of my top ways to start a fic: at the precise moment of something that just happened on the show, with a POV angle that lets us know we're branching off into an unseen story from here.

5. “You owe me $30,” Charles said. Whatever he was cooking smelled amazing. - I hate to say it, but it’s probably me (Only Murders in the Building)

rock-solid opener for new and established characters alike: wake up slightly uncertain what's going on, with someone there to simultaneously take care of you and remind you you're a loser.

6. “I was starting to wonder if you even remembered.” - turn the clock to zero, mac (Only Murders in the Building)

I was hindered by the word limit here; I'd have liked to find an 'in' a little bit earlier in the scene.

7. MMMDCXI booted up. - booting up (Loki TV)

well, it tells you you're in the sci-fi genre, I guess that's about it. if you didn't read the tags first you don't even know the story is about Miss Minutes and He Who Remains. makes sense that this is one of my least-read flashfics, though it's also one of my favorites.

8. Mobius was so absorbed in his work that he didn’t notice anyone standing there until a warm voice asked, “Do you mind—?” - before sunset (Loki TV)

now, you know what you're getting into here! Mobius and Loki are immediately on screen together, there's already a hint of mystery about who they are to each other in this setting, and you know the answers are coming within 980 words. naturally you're going to dive in.

9. “Go back to sleep.” - quarter to one (Loki TV)

a first line provided by @joycecarolnotes in a writing game. I didn't write it, so I'll just say it's an excellent prompt line; clearly in media res but with limitless possibilities.

10. “Wing One and Wing Two are not pets, they’re combat drones.” - #postedbyteamcap (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)

commentfic for the very fun prompt "Dress Up Your Pet Day." it reflects, perhaps, how my first impulse is almost always to try the opposite of the thing suggested and see where it goes. ;D

(I skipped my 3 Sentence Ficathon fics, because they're three sentences long.)

tagging: @errorbrainloading @shunshuntaiga @evilphrog @the-neon-pineapple @esaael @vriah @severina2001 @shinysylver @kimmycup and anyone else who wants to!

[ana-benn]

Inspired by this interview:

If Only You Knew

Jamie Benn friends to lovers story featuring: angst, fluff, and a whole lot of miscommunication.

When you'd first accepted a job as the Stars PR assistant you figured you'd stay a few months, boost your resume, and move on. Quickly though you found yourself falling in love with the guys, and the job. It was fun to just be able to interact with them on a human level, and the fact that you knew the sport helped. They trusted you, so when your boss couldn't handle something you were called in. Especially if it was something pitiful. A guy wanted to do dinner and talk about getting his face out there more, or dealing with a girlfriend fall out. It usually fell on you.

The best part about the job was the friends you'd made, and for the first time in your life you had a beat friend. You and Jamie had instantly bonded, both being the ones who preferred sitting off by yourselves during events and parties. Of course the addition of Boston's resident playboy had originally put a damper on things, but they'd found a balance. Each bringing out the best in the other. It was endearing really, and you found yourself enjoying a different side of your best friend.

Gone was the shy behavior replaced by a new confidence and a desire to just be as good as he could. You found this new side of Jamie more and more attractive. At the same time it seemed all of a sudden the guy who'd schedule meetings when Tom, your boss, was busy so you'd have a built in excuse to have a mid-week hang out day was gone and all of a sudden he started dating like crazy. You'd spent so long taking for granted that Jamie was just as much of a workoholic as you, it was a shock to the system when he started bailing on your biweekly movies and junk food sessions. He wasn't able to eat crap that often, and you tried to eat right typically so it was a fun night, and one you both looked forward to.

Now here you stood in his dining room for the first time in months, after a decent but ultimately disappointing season, setting out a spread. Wings, pizza, beer, every kind of chip Jamie had in his pantry, with ice cream in the freezer for later. Your own growing interest in him romantically was under control at the idea of just spending quality time with your best friend.

"Hey!" Jamie greeted walking downstairs. "That smells amazing, but I've got to bail tonight. Jordie is on his way with crappy movies though so you and him can definitely hang out."

"Oh," was all you could think to say, trying to hide the disappointment on your face. "That's okay I'll just head home then."

"Come on, don't be like that. Jordie loves your company," Jamie tried.

"I like his too, but I kinda thought it would be nice to spend time with you," you tried to cover. "Don't worry about it. Another time."

"Come on, just hang out with Jordie. It's not like you have other plans," Jamie said walking to the living room.

You followed him, anger bubbling up, "I'm sorry?"

"Look you're here, right? So you didn't make plans, so hang out with Jordie, so you aren't alone," Jamie shrugged.

"I didn't make plans, because I thought you were making time for me for once." You muttered.

"What was that?" Jamie asked, you could sense his frustration mounting too.

"Jamie," you started, pausing to control your anger. "If you don't want to spend time with me that's fine. But don't pretend okay? I'm a big girl. I can find someone else to spend time with, you don't need to pawn me off on your brother."

"I'm not pawning you off," Jamie tried to placate you. "I just forgot Segs set up a double date, and I promised I'd come."

"Jamie, you don't have to do this," you sighed rubbing your fingers over your face.

"Obviously I do," he retorted.

"Jamie, just be honest!" You said exasperated.

"Honest about what, exactly?"

"You make time for the things you care about," you felt the break in your voice. "Don't pretend to care about me if you can't be damned to show it."

"Can we try irrational for $1000," Jamie snarked.

"I just can't do this anymore!" You yelled, furious. His mocking was the end of your rope.

"Really?" Jamie shouted back, sarcastically, "I thought you were being a bitch for no reason."

"You know what Jamie," you fumed. "Fuck you. I'm leaving." You went to grab your purse off the dining room table, where dinner sat getting cold.

"Fine," came his cold reply. "Lose my fucking number while you're at it."

"Bye Jamie," you said shutting his front door behind you.

You felt yourself fighting tears wondering how it came to this. Two hours ago you were excited, looking forward to a nice relaxing evening. Now it seemed everything was falling apart.

You made it into your car, and halfway to your apartment before the tears fell. You sucked it up long enough to get home, and before you'd even made it to you room your heart shattered. You laid in the hallway for an undeterminable amount of time, before the tears stopped. Your eyes hurt from crying so hard, and it felt like your heart had been removed from your body. You felt like you should call someone, anyone really, but the only voice you wanted to hear was the one who left you this sobbing waif.

It wasn't fair to expect Jamie to act any different really. You were the idiot who caught feelings, not him. He was free to date or spend his time however he wanted to. You just wanted the courtesy of him saying it, instead you lashed out and watched the friendship you'd built crumble.

That caused a new round of sobs as you thought you heard something in your hallway. You wrote it off as you focused on trying to calm your breathing. As you finally started to feel calm you heard a distinctive thump against your door. You slowly got up, wiping your face as best you could, thinking that there was a chance your elderly, Mr. Barnes, had fallen. You looked out your peephole and saw nothing. So you opened the door and before you could react you had a very drunk 6'2, 207 pound hockey player at your feet.

"It's you!" He exclaimed.

"Jamie?" You questioned. He nodded excitedly, "What are you doing here."

"I was drunk," he explained.

"I know that," you replied. "Why are you at my apartment instead of your house?"

"You've been crying," he announced finally getting up. You closed the door as he wandered to your couch, throwing himself on it. You hated how at home he looked here.

"Jamie, it's late I don't want to fight anymore. I'm going to get you a blanket," you said walking to your linen closet.

When you returned he looked at you with sad eyes, "I never want to fight with you."

"Jamie, I'm sorry about what I said okay. My feelings were hurt," you tried to soothe. He wasn't in a place to have a real conversation, but you knew he wouldn't sleep without something.

"You hurt mine first," he mumbled. His voice sounding much more sober suddenly.

"What?"

"You went out with Ben what's-his-face. I wanted to punch his face, but noooo. Tyler said I had to just let you realize we were perfect together, but you never did," he sounded so sad and broken.

"Jamie," you sighed out. But before you could say anything he was asleep.

You eventually made your own way to bed, determined to talk to Jamie tomorrow.

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

The next morning you greeted Jamie with a bottle of water and Tylenol, "Here." You felt suddenly very shy with him, not knowing how today would go.

"Thanks," he mumbled downing all of it in one go. "How'd I get here?"

"I was hoping you knew."

"All I know is we fought, I went to my stupid dinner and I think I drank the place," he said rubbing his head. "Oh God, what did I say to you?" He suddenly jerked his head up.

"A lot actually. Apparently I hurt your feelings?" You said, not wanting to have this conversation, and also desperately wanting to have it.

"Look, I had feelings for you, but your my best friend. I shouldn't lash out like that, I'm sorry," Jamie apologized.

"What if I have feelings for you?" You asked, shyly meeting his brown eyes.

"Then, we have a new conversation to have," he said gulping slightly.

"I don't think so," you said, sliding your leg over his seating yourself on his leg. His hands immediately wrapping around your waist. "I think it's best if we just start right here." You kissed him softly.

"Now," you said, getting off him and taking his hand. "Neither of us got any sleep, so come with me." You pulled him back to your bed room onto your bed. As you both got situated his arms wrapped around you and your head rested on his shoulder. "We can't figure everything else out after we sleep," you whispered as you felt his lips against your head.

@captainbenn sorry it took so long. I already started a part two!