#but it does also mean that 'wandering off by myself to look for frogs' was never going to be remotely possible

[blujayonthewing]

the problem with adulthood is that I do actually really like catching up and socializing with other adults, but I still also want very badly to wander off by myself and sit on the ground and pluck grass blades and look at bugs and pet the cat, and there just simply isn't enough time for both

[ladytemeraire]

20

20. favourite things about the night?

The quiet. The peace. The way things settle, slow, soothe into a softer and gentler rhythm.

The way the heat and humidity drop, reducing sensory overstimulation and encouraging me to go outside while (after a certain hour) also meaning the insects that I react badly to are far less likely to be around to bite me. (I have borderline allergic reactions to certain insect bites, including mosquitoes, and while I recognize they are part of the ecosystem I also try to limit my exposure both to them and to pesticides/insect repellants as much as possible.)

The release of immediate constraints and deadlines (see also: "revenge bedtime procrastination"), freeing me from the need to be "on" in a social sense or worry about someone checking in on me and my progress, so I am more likely to pursue both personal and externally structured goals.

Being able to walk Sadie around our neighborhood without fear of other dogs, or random pedestrians, or motorcycles whizzing by at peak hours.

Related: the knowledge that if Sadie does react to something while we're on a walk, it's a legitimate issue, there is Something There, because she doesn't bark at nothing, and in the dark I can trust her instincts and senses over my own vision (vs the daylight, where I generally rely on my own reaction and perception to intercept triggers before she can react to them).

Being able to enjoy the outdoors in peace and stillness in a way that's not always possible during daytime hours.

The soft susurration of crickets and cicadas and frogs; seeing bats and night-flying birds dart about in their regular pursuits and hearing their noises as they go.

Watching lightning bugs/fireflies dance over any open space available, during the few months they are around.

The ability and freedom in all seasons, since I live in a relatively rural area, to step outside and (to paraphrase Walt Whitman) wander off by myself, in the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, look up in perfect silence at the stars.

Thank you so much for asking!

[Questions I think it would be fun to be asked]

[sonickitty]

hey so if someone thought they might possibly be slightly less cis than they assumed would you have any resources you'd wanna point them to, asking for a friend, the friend is me

Hello Friend! It would be my absolute pleasure to point you in a less than cis direction! First off, I’m going to get a little sappy and say your own thoughts and feelings are a very valuable resource! But I also know that’s probably not what you mean, SO - let me try and list out a few things that helped me as I was questioning my gender, and things that continue to help me to this day. 

1. The first thing I did was a lot of thinking about the stories and characters that meant a lot to me throughout my life - especially characters I modeled myself after. What was it about them that I liked, and why were so many of them men? Why did stories about transformation scare/fascinate me so much? Why was I obsessed with ladies in disguise as men when I was a kid? Sometimes your questions are your answers. 

2. Get exposure to trans and gender non-conforming people. Youtube, bloggers, your friends, anyone. Put yourself in the same physical or virtual space and see how you feel there. Are you comfortable? Does it feel right? 

3. Talk to trans and GNC people. I volunteer myself! Just being able to have conversations with other people who were somewhere outside the gender binary really helped me contextualize myself. 

4. I’m sorry I don’t have like, specific links apparently. I feel like there must have been articles that I read, but I’ve lost track of all of them. I remember liking Jack Monroe’s quote about still “being on the girl’s team,” which made me feel confident about supporting and celebrating women while stepping away from them. 

5. I’m trying to think of books I read early in my transition, but damn, I have to admit...there was a lot of Captain America fanfic. I also read Gender Trouble, Orlando, Les Guerilleres, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, The History of Sexuality and then a lot of Drarry fanfic. I do remember reading a lot about women and lesbians as a sort of cat-in-the-hat “find out what it’s not” technique. I read about lesbians and queer women and knew I wasn’t one. (Years later, I read Maurice and freaked out like a kitten seeing its reflection for the first time.)

6. I wasn’t kidding about you being your own resource. This thought came from you. Your brain, filled with all the thoughts and experiences you’ve processed, came up with this idea of who you might be. So while you’re collecting resources and thoughts from other people, check in with yourself and see how those new ingredients make you taste. 

7. Sorry for suggesting you taste yourself??? But what I mean is - the way you think of yourself is significant on its own. Your questions have their own value, and simply asking them is significant. In other words that I found helpful early in my transition, “cis people don’t just sit around wondering if they’re cis.” 

8. I’m not sure the above is true? I think it’s good and constructive to question yourself, even if you end up back where you started. Cis people should feel free to question their genders and still wind up cis. But the difference, as far as I can tell, is something like this: 

My sibling and I go on a lot of walks together and sometimes we hear frogs or birds in the woods. I hear the sound, but I don’t need to know what it is. It melts into my atmosphere, and that is enough for me because I find the walk itself more edifying that stopping to investigate. My sibling always stops, and says “I think that’s a bramble-throated burbler!” or somesuch, and then creeps off in the direction of the sound to get a closer look. 

I think trans people are like my sibling. Cis people can have these thoughts in a way that melts into their existing realities and identities without disturbing their foundations. Trans people have to know. We have to wander off into the woods and name what sings to us. 

[cryingoverafictionalcharacter]

Grand Gestures

Prompt: Fred Weasley x Reader: Y/N is many things, smart, funny, attractive, kind, they are all of things, but observant is not one of them. Y/N has a massive crush on Fred, and Fred returns their feelings and has been trying to hint at it for over a year, which has gone completely over your head. Finally, Fred decides enough with the little hints, and does something that will make you realize his feelings.

Warnings: Swearing, Fluff,, I think that’s it

A/N: So, I have COVID, yay, so to cope I’m probably going to be writing a shit ton more to cope, so if you have any suggestions feel free to leave them. Smut is allowed, and I write for other characters besides Fred so just LMK

Also I used they/them pronouns in this but there is a part that says that the reader sleeps in the girls dorm so there's that as well. If I missed wrote any pronouns LMK because I’m hella dumb and cant read.

It was the weekend, and the storm raging outside meant no quidditch practice, so what better way for a gaggle of Gryffindor's to spend the day in the common room trying to kill their ever-growing boredom.

You, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Fred and George Weasley and Dean Thomas were all currently splayed about the common room, either paired off to have more private conversations, or just laying on the floor, which you were currently doing.

“I’m so bored!” You suddenly shouted

“We know Y/N, its only the 5th time you’ve said it” Hermione said from the couch, where she was currently reading a book.

“I only say it because I’m suffering” You said from the floor, causing Hermione to roll her eyes, but still smile.

“Well find something interesting to do” She said, going back to reading her book.

You stared back up on the ceiling, trying to think of anything you could do. It was to rainy to go outside, the dining hall was closed, and you’ve already read all the muggle books you brought from home. After a few seconds you turned to look to your right, where Fred Weasley was laying beside you, his head at your feel, and George beside him, his head at Fred's feet, all three of you staring at the ceiling.

“Can you read Georges mind?” You asked, propping yourself up on your elbows so you could look at the older twin, who was now looking at you with a confused look on his face.

“What?” He asked.

“Can you read Georges mind? It’s a simple question” You said like it was the most casual conversation in the world.

“No I can’t read Georges mind, why do you ask?” Fred said, now sitting up as well, intrigued by your weird question.

“I don’t know, don’t twins have like, freaky abilities or something? Have you ever tried?” You asked fully sitting up, causing Fred to look at you with a look that could only read as ‘what kind of weird muggle drugs is this bitch on?’ But he decided to humor you, looking over at George.

“George, I’m looking at a color, what is it” Fred asked, causing the younger red head to furrow his brows in concentration.

“Yellow” George said, earning a head shake from Fred.

“It was Blue, guess that answers that question” Fred said looking back at you.

You furrowed your brows, looking around the Gryffindor common room, which was pretty full of Reds and Yellows, trying to find the blue he was seeing.

"Blue?” You asked looking at the older red head.

“Your sweater dummy” Fred said laughing, making you look down and laugh as well.

“Why my sweater?” You asked.

“It looks cute on you” He said, making you smile and blush a bit as you looked down at your hands, which in turn made you miss the thumbs up George was giving Fred, which he quickly slapped away.

“Why thank you” You said, appreciating the compliment but not thinking much of it. You did fancy Fred, but he was nice to everyone, so you were sure the compliment was only that.

“It looks like the rain is letting up a bit, you guys want to stop by Hogsmeade?” Harry asked looking at the group, who nodded eagerly.

“Yes! I would kill for a butterbeer right now” Ron said, already standing and practically running to the door, the rest of the group following.

About ten minutes into your walk, you realized that you should have brought a coat, your knit sweater not doing a whole lot to protect you from the cold. You shoved you crossed your hands under your arms and tried to focus on the walk and not on the wind that was causing goose bumps to rise on your skin.

Fred noticed, having put on a coat before he left, but he didn’t bring it for himself. He knew you got cold easily and were also to stubborn to bring a jacket anywhere, so he brought it along just in case. 

“Here” He said, grabbing your attention and slipping off his jacket, holding it out to you.

“Won’t you be cold?” You asked looking at the article of clothing, and then at Fred.

“Nah, I run hot” He said. You looked at him skeptically, before giving in and taking his jacket, slipping it on and instantly being enveloped in warmth.

“Thank you” you said, a smile crossing both of your faces. This wasn’t the first time Fred has offered you his jacket, but all you thought was that he was probably just being nice, he would probably do the same for anyone.

In reality, seeing you in his jacket made Fred’s heart pick up. He thought you looked cute in his clothes, your face blushing from the cold. He smiled and wrapped his arm around your shoulder, continuing their trek to the village.

“No problem” He said.

Your first stop when you got to Hogsmeade was Honeydukes, seeing after a stressful week of classes, you in some desperate need for some chocolate frogs. As you walked into the store, Fred’s are slipped from around your shoulder so you could move around the store more freely, which made your heart sink a bit, but seeing how cramped the store was it was definitely necessary. However, before you were even fully in the store, Hermione suddenly grabbed your arm.

“Oh my god, they have a new bookstore across the street! Can we please go see, I know you’ve read all your books from home and you may find something you like” Hermione said, making you smile at her excitement.

You looked into the shop to see Fred and George, George laughing at something Fred said or did, and I guess he didn’t like whatever it was because he was currently glaring at his younger twin. You made eye contact and you made a hand signal letting them know you were going across the street. They nodded in your direction, letting you know they understood, and then you were on your way across the street.

When you were fully out of the store, George started laughing again, making Fred hit his arm.

“Would you knock it off! I’ve tried everything I can think of!” Fred said, making his brother laugh even harder, this time causing some people in the store to look over.

“My dear brother, I think Y/N’s great, I do, I love them like a family member, but they are absolutely clueless. You need to step up your game.” George said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Luckily for you, I have a plan for you”

“Really?” Fred asked, suspicious of what George had planned.

“Yep, I got Hermione working on it now”

The bookshelves seemed to go on forever, lined with thousands of books. You didn’t know where to begin, so you just started wandering the isles, trying to find things that sounded interesting. So far you had a book on magical creature care, and a book about a young witch who saves her true love. It sounds corny, but also like it might be good.

“So” Hermione said from beside you suddenly “I noticed you and Fred are getting pretty close, what's that about?” Hermione asked as casually as possible. In reality, she's been watching Fred drop subtle hints that he liked you for almost a year, and at this point it was getting a little hard to watch you not get the hints, so she and George made a plan to push things along.

“Oh, I was cold so he gave me his jacket. He was just being nice” You said, face heating up at the subject, which Hermione noticed.

“Do you fancy him?” She asked, causing your eyes to snap from the bookshelves to hers.

“I... I guess... why do you like him? Because if you do I can-” You started but Hermione shook her head violently interrupting you.

“Oh god no, not that there's anything wrong with Fred I just... Have someone else in mind. Anyway enough about that, so you do like him?” Hermione asked again, to which you nodded.

“What do you like about him?” She asked, adjusting her bracelet, which was actually a charm she and George came up with. It allowed the person that was wearing the other charm to hear what the other person was saying. Basically just a magic Walkie Talkie, but you didn’t know that, and that Fred and George were currently listening.

“Well you know, he’s really funny, and not in a mean way, but in a way were everyone thinks its funny. Even his pranks are pretty well intentioned, unless they’re at Snape which I can understand” You started, leaning against the bookshelf, meanwhile Fred had a giant smile on his face from across the street.

“And he’s so nice, like when I first met him I was really shy, and he introduced me to all these people and encouraged me to be myself, and he’s the reason I’m friends with all of you.” You continued, Hermione nodding to what you were saying, showing she was listening.

“And he’s just... so nice to look at, like he’s tall, and his freckles are adorable, and his smile gives me butterflies, and his hair looks so soft, and I once saw him without a shirt because George gave him a dare or something, and bitch... quidditch is the best thing to ever happen, he has such good abs.” You finished, causing George to let out a laugh, which could be heard through the bracelet, but Hermione covered it up with a cough, covering the bracelet with her sleeve and cutting off the connection to the other charm.

“I didn’t know you liked him so much” Hermione said smiling. “I think he might fancy you as well you know” She said, to which you shook your head.

“No, I don’t know if I’m his type, he’s just being nice” You said

Meanwhile across the street.

“See, I told you they liked you back, now will you go tell them?” George asked Fred, who currently had the most ridiculous smile on his face.

“Yeah I will” Fred said, looking out the store window, and into the shop across the street. Looking at you. 

By the time you and Hermione were done at the bookstore, it was time to head back. You didn’t end up getting your chocolate frogs which was a little disappointing, but you had four new books to read, and seeing you still had another day of the weekend, that will most likely be rainy, you couldn’t wait to start reading them.

You and Hermione met the rest of the group outside Honeydukes before making your way back. On your way back you were clinking your two of your new books to your chest, Fred offering to carry some as well, and talking to Fred about how excited you were, which made him smile. He loved how your face lit up when you talked about something you were passionate about. Before you knew it, you had made your way back onto the campus, and into the common room.

“Whelp, that was fun, now I’m going to sleep for the next twenty hours” Ron said, making the group laugh.

“I’m pretty tired too, see you guys tomorrow” Hermione said, cutting off from the group as well.

“I think I’m going to start one of my books. See you guys tomorrow?” You asked the rest of the group.

“Yeah sounds good”

“See you tomorrow” Dean and George said, heading towards the boys dorm.

“Oh Y/N” Fred said, stopping you and handing you your other books that he carried for you.

“Oh, thank you! Sorry you really didn’t have to carry them if you didn’t want to” You said.

“Oh hush I wanted to” He said smiling ‘Oh, and I think you should start with the green one, it looks interesting, see you later” Fred said, before headed to the boys dorm, leaving you to head to yours.

When you walked in you set your books down and went to change your clothes, realizing you were still wearing Fred’s Jacket. You held the jacket out and smiled before bringing it to your face and taking a breath in. It smelled like fireworks and cinnamon. Like him.

You put the jacket on your bed and went to go to your trunk, when you noticed something sticking out of one of your new books, the green one about magical plants.

You picked up the book and opened the cover to find a folded up piece of paper. You unfolded and read the parchment.

‘Meet me at the astronomy tower in an hour, I want to tell you something’ the paper said.

You knew it was from Fred, you could recognize his handwriting anywhere, still why would he need to talk to you... in the astronomy tower? Regardless of why he might want to talk to you, the butterflies in your stomach were going crazy, and all you wanted to do was watch the clock until it was time to meet him.

As you made your way up the steps on the astronomy tower, you could see lights coming from the landing. You carried Fred's jacket over your arm, thinking it would probably be best to return it. However, you almost dropped it when you walked into the room.

The room was glowing, the light from the moon illuminating the whole room. A couple of blankets were laid out on the floor, along with some candles, chocolate frogs, and Fred, who was now smiling at you.

“About time you showed up” He joked, but you barely heard him, to mesmerized by the room.

“What's all this?” You asked, walking over to where Fred was standing.

“Well its for you” Fred said, the confidence in his voice faltering a bit at your lack of a reaction. He was about to explain some more, when you spoke up.

“You did this for me? Why?” You asked, finally looking him in the eyes, a confused look on your face.

“What do you mean why?” Fred asked

“Is it my birthday and I forgot?” You half joked, wondering if you might have missed something.

“No, its not your birthday” Fred laughed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I did all this because I wanted tonight to be special” He said, waiting for you to finally put all the pieces together.

“Again, why?” You asked, causing Fred to mentally face palm.

“Because I like you, you dummy!” Fred finally said, looking at your face for a reaction.

“Like as a friend or-” You asked, but before you could come up with something else to say, Fred had taken his hands out of his pockets and closed the space between you, cupping your face and pressing his lips to yours.

Time seemed to stop as you felt him kiss you, before you finally dropped the jacket you were holding, and moved your arms to rest around his neck, deepening the kiss, only for his to pull away, much to your disappointment.

“Not as a friend” Fred said, making you smile.

“Well, I’d hope not after that” You said smiling as Fred lead you over to the blankets on the ground, taking a seat.

“Chocolate frogs?” You asked, picking up one of the packages, a huge smile crossing your face.

“Yeah I know they’re you’re favorite” He said, who was also smiling, but because of your reaction.

“So wait, you fancy me? For how long?” You asked, making him laugh.

“For over a year! I’ve been trying to give you hints all this time and you just never picked up on it, and I was too nervous to ask you out directly, so I just kept hoping you would notice” Fred said, making your face heat up.

“So what made you tell me tonight?” You asked, this time Fred getting flustered, a tint dusting his face.

“Hermione and George got sick of watching you not notice and me not make a move, so they made a charm and... I heard that you liked me too”

“Wait, so in the library when Hermione asked me-” You started, to afraid to finish the sentence.

“Yeah” Fred said

“Oh my God! How much did you hear?” You practically yelled making Fred laugh.

“All of it” He said, causing you to hide your face in your hands.

“I’m going to kill them” You said, before feeling Fred’s hand gently pull your hands away from your face.

“I thought it was cute” He said, making you give him a look of suspicion.

“You promise this wont change the way you view me for the rest of our lives” You asked, making him laugh again.

“I promise” He said, making you laugh before he closed the space between you two again, this time your hands moving to his face to deepen the kiss more, his hands moving to rest on your waist. The kiss was just starting to get a bit more heated when-

“So you think I have nice abs?” Fred asked, breaking away from the kiss and laughing when you swatted his shoulder.

“I swear to god!”

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

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! Even if its kind of cringey lol. Feel free to leave any notes or requests <3

[thedaughterofkings]

feels like...

For my very best @ohfuckthisshit!!! I hope you like your almost 2k of eighth year Birthday Drarry fluff <3<3<3

Harry stumbles across him in one of the Potions practice rooms. They’ve gone largely unused the last couple of years, at least as far as Harry is aware. Snape was never fond of students brewing potions unsupervised, but that is no longer an issue, is it?

Still, Harry doesn’t expect to see Draco Malfoy down here, at 3 am in the morning, brewing god knows what. Harry can’t complain about the time of day, or night rather - after all, he’s still awake, too, and wandering through the castle. Turns out that the nightmares don’t stop just because the bad guy has been defeated. 

They are just nightmares now, no longer visions. Sometimes Harry thinks he preferred the visions, as horrible as they were - at least with them, there was a chance he’d learn something helpful. The nightmares are just horrible period. 

So when all he sees when he closes his eyes is blood and bones and broken stones, he gives up on sleep entirely and walks the castle, drawing comfort from the mended staircases and trusty walls. 

Hogwarts is still standing, and she’s still breathing with life, and that brings Harry immeasurable comfort. Her halls are quiet and calm at night - well, usually. Malfoy’s muttering and cursing is what draws Harry into the Potions practice room in the first place. 

He is wearing the invisibility cloak, so he doesn’t worry about being seen when he steps closer to take a look at what Malfoy’s brewing. The cloak is distorting his view a little like always, so Harry isn’t sure whether the pearlescent sheen is the potion itself or the cloak. He’s more distracted by the scent anyways, because there’s something really familiar about it. He’s so busy sniffing that he doesn’t even see the hand coming at him until it has ripped the cloak off him.

Draco is looking particularly smug, keeping the cloak out of reach, and raising a single eyebrow in silent judgement.

“Spying on innocent classmates, Potter? Whatever would your adoring fans think?”

Harry glares at him and crosses his arms in front of his chest defensively. He’s only wearing his pyjamas, and next to Malfoy, who is impeccably dressed even in the middle of the night, that makes him feel almost naked. 

“And what about you?” he returns. “What are you cooking up here in the middle in the night?” He takes another sniff and starts laughing. He suddenly remembered why that scent was familiar. 

Malfoy has raised an eyebrow and looks decidedly unimpressed.

“Are you quite finished?” he asks when Harry has calmed down again somewhat. “Care to share with the class what is so funny?”

“You are brewing up your own perfume!” Harry honestly is delighted by that revelation, and resolutely ignores the voice piping up with the question why he knows Draco’s perfume so well.

Draco’s face has become unreadable - not hostile and not quite blank either, but Harry still can’t tell anymore what he’s thinking.

“What exactly are you smelling, Potter? Harry?” he asks, correcting himself. They’ve mostly stopped calling each other by their last names. Like with Hermione and the troll in first year, there simply are some things that forge a connection between you, and surviving fiendfyre together is definitely one of them. It felt wrong to keep up a petty school rivalry in the face of that - and everything else. 

So in the name of newly forged connections and truces, Harry answers truthfully:

“Your perfume - or aftershave? Are you experimenting with the composition, though? Because there’s something sweet - treacle tart? - here that I don’t remember smelling before. And to be honest, I love Quidditch at least as much as you, but that grassy element is definitely too strong for a perfume.”

If only his first year self could see him now - discussing Draco Malfoy’s perfume with the man himself in the middle of the night. 

Draco Malfoy who has stepped around his cauldron and closer to Harry now, a hint of a smile playing around his mouth and crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“Want to know what I’m smelling, Harry?” he asks and Harry shrugs, looking up at him questioningly - because Draco has stepped close enough that their height difference becomes noticeable. Up close, his perfume is even stronger and Harry barely resists the urge to scrunch or worse, scratch his nose.

“I also smell the Quidditch pitch,” he starts, and Harry nods, because yes, why wouldn’t he. But then Draco continues: “Then I smell cake, carrot cake to be precise, and chocolate frogs, and a hint of mint.” Harry does scrunch up his nose at that and takes another deep breath. But he still smells treacle tart, not any of the things that Draco has mentioned. They do remind him of something though … oh, the care packages Narcissa still sends Draco, though only weekly instead of daily nowadays. 

He opens his mouth but whatever question he was going to ask slips from his mind immediately when Draco puts a finger to his lips, smile more obvious on his own right now.

“Then I smell fire, not fiendfyre-,” here he shudders almost unnoticeably, due to their proximity Harry feels more than sees it- “but hearthfire, big logs and glowing embers. Did you know Gryffindor tower is the only dormitory to still have an open fire?” he asks conversationally, as if they are just talking about the weather. Harry doesn’t know what they are talking about, it’s certainly no longer about Draco’s perfume, but it’s also not the weather. Or hearthfires.

“The other houses have of course long switched to more modern warming charms,” Draco adds, and Harry rolls his eyes. 

“Of course,” he mockingly agrees, trying not to feel charmed by Draco’s ability to sound wistful when talking about Gryffindor’s fire in one sentence and then immediately subtly insult it with the next one. He wonders whether that alone counts as character growth - subtlety certainly didn’t use to be one of Draco’s strengths.

It is apparently now, though, because without Harry noticing, Draco has pressed in even closer and his finger has moved from Harry’s lips to his chin, gently coaxing his face upwards, until he’s looking Draco in the eye. Draco’s face is no longer blank, his eyes in particular are shining brightly, their grey almost silver, like the potion brewing in the cauldron next to them, and Harry suddenly finds himself breathless.

“More than anything else, though,” Draco starts again, voice even, but insistent, begging Harry to listen, to listen and understand, “more than anything else, I smell you, Harry.”

And without giving Harry a chance to wrap his head around that, to make any sense of that statement, he ducks down and presses a gentle kiss to Harry’s lips. Harry blinks dazedly when it’s over, realising he’d closed his eyes without intending to, and licks his lips instinctively. He almost thinks he can taste Draco on them.

“You’re not making your own perfume,” he states matter of factly.

“Ten points to Gryffindor,” Draco mockingly praises and Harry pinches his arm in retaliation. At some points his arms have wrapped around Draco’s shoulders. Harry considers removing them, but Draco hasn’t stepped back yet, so Harry doesn’t feel obliged either.

“You are brewing Amortentia,” he says next. It’s the easiest of the thoughts that are running wild in his head to put into words. “Why are you brewing Amortentia in the middle of the night?”

“Extra practice.” Draco shrugs. “Extra credit.” His voice is perfectly even, but Harry can tell how much it rankles him to have to admit to needing extra credit in Potions of all subjects. It doesn’t seem fair to Harry either, Draco’s potions skills are second only to Hermione’s in their class, if that. He’s certainly better than her at anything that requires even the smallest bit of intuition beyond precise measurements. Harry makes a mental note to keep an eye on that. Their current potions teacher is less obviously partisan than Snape and Slughorn were, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s fair. 

But they were talking about Amortentia.

“So you smell - me?” Harry asks, still not quite able to believe it.

“And you smell my perfume,” Draco answers, which isn’t really an answer at all, and an answer and another question at the same time. “And you thought I was brewing it myself!” he adds, sounding incredulous.

“Don’t you?” Harry has to ask, because it honestly sounds like something Draco would do.

But that just gets him a scoff. 

“As if! It’s imported from France obviously.”

His nose turns up so haughtily at the obviously that Harry just has to reach up and drag him into a kiss before he says anything even more obnoxious.

Their second kiss is much better than their first, if only because Harry’s brain is actually working this time, registering how soft Draco’s lips are, and how one hand has curved around his jaw, gently moving him until their mouths fit together just so, while the other has taken hold of Harry’s hip, and how its grip tightens when Harry’s tongue teases at the seam of Draco’s lips.

The kiss is also better somehow because Harry was the one that initiated it this time. He doesn’t even really know why, but perhaps because it made him feel more like an active participant? He was a Gryffindor after all. 

Draco nipping at his lower lip derailed his train of thought rather effectively and drew his attention back to the kiss and all the sensations that were almost threatening to overwhelm him, like Draco’s nose tickling his cheek, Draco’s hand slipping into his hair, Harry’s hand doing the same, wondering how soft Draco’s hair feels, slippery, silky, very luxurious in any case, which is only fitting of course. 

And then a horrible, horrid thought cuts through the blissful fog that has clouded Harry’s mind and he breaks away from the kiss with a gasp.

“You were brewing Amortentia!” he accuses, not even yet fully able to verbalise what exactly he’s accusing Draco of, but mind full of memories of chocolate cauldrons, mead, and bezoars. 

Draco’s annoyed groan drags him out of the dark spiral he was going down.

“For goodness sake, Potter, stop thinking, it’s obviously not working very well, and keep kissing me instead,” he demands and it’s so obviously, horribly, wonderfully heartfelt and obnoxious, and nothing like Ron’s poisoned ramblings, that Harry shoves aside any lingering suspicions and throws himself into another kiss, not without giving Draco’s hair a quick tug in punishment for the insult first. 

This, their third kiss is definitely the best of the lot so far, and Harry wonders whether it’ll continue like that, if he’ll keep counting every kiss, and if every kiss will be better than the one before. 

It’s a nice thought, and with that he pulls Draco yet that little bit closer and decides to turn off his brain for now. 

Perhaps this is what Amortentia feels like.

But perhaps it’s just what love feels like.

[geekybisexualwriter]

Dream(James Potter x gender neutral!Reader)

Pairings: James Potter x reader, (minor)Wolfstar

Words: 1746

Y/N = your name

Y/M/N = your middle name

Y/L/N = your last name

Y/F/I = your first initial

*Note: they are 16*

“Tellmetellmetellme-” James smirks at them.

“No, James.” Y/N sighs. The truth was, they had a massive crush on him for years, and Marlene let slip that they had a crush. Not ideal.

“But come onnnn…” James smirks at them, running a hand through his hair.

Y/N glares at him, blushing lightly. “I’m going to the library,” they say, standing up. “Anyone want to come?” 

Lily nods, standing up as well. “Yeah, I have a Transfiguration paper.”

Y/N smiles and they start walking out, not aware of the disappointed frown on James’ face as he watches them walk away from him.

After a few hours filled with writing furiously and internally(and outwardly) cursing certain professors, Y/N finally leaned back in their chair, watching the snow fall outside the window, smiling softly and letting their mind wander to a certain messy haired Gryffindor. Lily looks up from her book and smirks. “You thinking about him?”

Y/N jumps and almost falls out of their chair and stares at her, blushing. “Who?”

Lily chuckles. “You know.”

“I do not.”

“James.”

Y/N blushes more, if possible. “What about him?”

“You like him.”

“Sure, as a friend.”

“And as a crush.”

Y/N sighs, too tired to fight it. “Fine. Yeah, I do. But I can’t tell him! He’d laugh and then tell me that he only sees me as a friend. Or tell me that we can’t even be friends-”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Lily says, cutting them off. “He wouldn’t do any of that.”

“Yeah, I guess you might be right, he wouldn’t laugh, he would just tell me that we will only ever be friends.” Y/N nods thoughtfully and disappointed. “I mean, he’s basically in love with you.”

Lily shakes her head, laughing. “James was never in love with me.”

“But he asks you out literally all the time.”

“‘All the time?’ When was the last time that he flirted with me?”

Y/N opens up their mouth to answer, but then realizes they don’t know. 

Lily nods. “See? And he only loved the idea of me, not me myself. But you know who he does love romantically?”

Y/N shakes their head.

“You.”

They laugh. “No way. He only loves me as a friend, like he’s done since forever.”

Lily smirks. “You’ve never really seen the way he looks at you, have you? He looks at you like you’re his entire world. Which you are.”

“He’s looked at Sirius the same way.”

Lily sighs. “There really will be no way to convince you, will there?” 

Y/N shrugs. “Nope.”

*THAT NIGHT*

“Mr. Potter, you will be paired up with… Y/L/N.” Professor McGonagall announces and then continues with the rest of the partners.

12-year-old James frowns in disappointment, he really wanted to be with Sirius or Lily or Remus. He’d even be ok with Peter. He looked over at his future partner, who was yawning slightly and looking at him, a bit intrigued.

The first thought he had when he first saw them? ‘They’re actually really cute.’ But he liked Lily. He didn’t like them. He didn’t even know them. But he still smiled and walked over. “Hi there, I’m James Fleamont Potter, the star chaser for the best team in school. And you are?”

Y/N looks up and grins at him, chuckling a little. “I’m Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, the star of not giving a crap about that.” They hold out their hand to shake and James takes it, laughing.

“Oh, I like you already.”

The scene of the two hands shaking swirls around, goes out of focus, and settles on the sight of leaves falling down from trees outside of Honeydukes.

Chatter and laughter float through the air. That was definitely one of his favorite sounds, but over it all, 13-year-old James loved the sound of one voice in particular, who was gushing over their new chocolate frog card.

 “I got an Agrippa card! Can you believe it, James? It’s like, the most famous and hard to get one! (Author’s note: I dunno if this is true)” Y/N grins excitedly.

He shakes himself out of his stupor and shakes his head. “Nope! Maybe it’s a fake and you’re tricking me.”

Y/N laughs. “Come on. If one of us is going to trick the other into thinking they have a rare card, it would definitely be you.”

“Or maybe you’re trying to convince that to be the case to throw me off!” James exclaims triumphantly, grinning.

Y/N rolls their eyes. “Oh Merlin. I can not believe how jealous you are.”

“I’m not jealous!”

“Uh huh.”

“I hate you.”

“Nah, you looooove me.”

James laughs and shoves them lightly, ignoring the light blush that blossomed for some reason. “As if.”

The sound of laughter fades out and the sound of a page turning fades in.

“Come on James, we gotta finish this.” 14-year-old Y/N sighs. 

“But Minnie absolutely LOVES me, I’m sure she’ll give me an extension.” James laughs.

Y/N glares at him. “Well, I gotta finish this. Quit distracting me.”

“But I’m boooored!” James sighs dramatically. 

“Go bother Sirius then.”

“He’s bothering slash flirting with Remus.”

“Ok, then go bother Peter.”

“He’s eating somewhere, and he looks slightly scary whenever he does that.”

“Then go bother Lily, ask her out, or whatever.” Y/N frowns, not wanting to ask that but also really needing to finish this deadline.

“She’s with Snivellis.” James wrinkles his nose. Partially, that was a lie, he probably definitely would have still bothered her even if Snape was around. 

Y/N sighs and looks at him. “Give me twenty minutes.”

James grins. “Yes! You’re the best, I love you!” 

Y/N blushes darkly. “Um, as a friend though right?”

James nods, blushing as much if not more than them. “Y-yeah, of course. Obviously.” He chuckles nervously.

Y/N nods as well, disappointed but determined not to show it.

The disappointed look in Y/N’s eyes disappears and an excited look replaces it.

“That’s amazing! I knew it!” 15-year-old Y/N grins at Remus and Sirius, who are holding hands and grinning as well. “Not to mention…” Y/N looks at James, a smirk on their face. 

James groans and fishes out ten galleons from his wallet. “Couldn’t you guys be oblivious cowards for another year?” He hands them to Y/N, grumbling under his breath.

Sirius chuckles. “Now it’s your turn.”

Y/N looks at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

Sirius gives her a look. “Come on. We all know.”

They shake their head. “Nope. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Sirius sighs. “The fact that you two idiots are deeply in love with each other and won’t admit it.”

James and Y/N’s eyes widen and they’re cheeks are immediately colored in a deep red. They both stutter, trying to think of a witty comeback while Remus and Sirius laugh.

“Well, that certainly shut them up.” Remus snickers.

Finally, Y/N and James regain their speaking ability.

“James is madly in love with Lily, not me.” Y/N protests

“Yeah!” James agrees, not bothering to mention his heart wasn’t really in it anymore when he asked ‘Evans’ out. 

“Uh huh.” Sirius and Remus say in unison

“I knew it,” James mutters. “I knew that when people got together, they would become telepathic. Y/N, we should get together just for the pranks.”

Y/N forces a laugh out, struggling to ignore the pain that that comment caused her. “Yeah, that’s actually not a terrible thought.”

The dream fades to black

James wakes with a start, smiling to himself, thinking of one person. The person who he cared about the most.

Y/N.

He goes through the motions of waking up(taking a shower, brushing his teeth, etc.) with a grin.

Sirius smirks. “What’s got you so happy?”

“I’m a man in love, Padfoot.”

“So you and Y/N finally confessed to each other>”

“No… not yet anyway. I’m planning on doing it later today.”

“Ah. Mind if I make a few bets? I mean, I already did, but I lost some so I’m going to make some more.”

“Yeah, sure- wait what?”

Y/N was sitting in McGonagall’s class, taking notes every so often when they feel a pair of eyes watching them. They turn around to see a smirking James Potter, looking at them with an intensity that made them blush fiercely. They frown and take out a small piece of parchment.

J,

Why are you staring at me? Are you planning something?

-Y/F/I

They throw the letter at James who catches it and opens it up with a grin. He immediately starts writing back.

Y/F/I,

Yeah, I’m planning something. You caught me. 

Love, J

Y/N blushes slightly at the use of ‘love’ right before he signed his name, but shakes it off. ‘Just a friend…’ They remind themselves.

J,

Well? What are you planning? Also, you still haven’t answered my first question.

-Y/F/I

Y/F/I,

Meet me after the rest of the classes today. I promise I’ll explain everything.

Love, J

P.S. You look nice today.

‘Ok, now he’s being an asshole. Making me all flustered just so he can make fun of me later…’ Y/N sighs and picks up her quill.

J,

Fine. Tree by the Black Lake?

-Y/F/I

Y/F/I,

Can’t wait.

Love, J.

Hours later, after begrudgingly making a mental note to complete a History of Magic essay, Y/N makes their way to the Black Lake, to the tree where James is resting against, smiling softly.

“James?” 

“Y/N,” he looks up and his eyes brighten. “Hey. I missed you.”

“We just saw each other like a few hours ago.”  They chuckle.

“I know, but still,” James says, completely serious for once in his life.

Y/N blushes and sits down. “So. Care to explain why you were making me flustered? Was it just another one of your pranks so that you could make fun of me?” Y/N looks at him, eyes with a hint of anger and hurt.

James’ eyes widen. “No! Of course not! I’d never do that to you.”

“Then why were you?!” 

“Because I’m definitely in love with you!” 

Y/N was about to have a comeback but then hears it. “R-really?”

“Yeah. I think I have for a while, but I only just now realizes it this morning.” He confesses. “But you probably don’t like me back, I can go-” He moves to stand up

“No, wait! I-I’m definitely in love with you too.” Y/N gives him a smile.

James sits back down and kisses them. “I’m so happy.”

“Me too.”

[kusunogatari]

[ ObiRyū October | Day Twenty-Nine | Along the River ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Uchiha Sachiko ] [ Verse: River Runs Deep ] [ Blood, death ]

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He was barely a toddler when the raids came through. When houses burned, blood ran, and lives were lost. Among the fallen were his mother and father, leaving him only with his grandmother to raise him in her little house along a creek. Memories of that night were fogged, blurred...and only faded as he grew older.

By the time he is six years old, they are all but gone, knowing only his grandmother’s house and her love.

Little boys, however, are mischievous little things. And Obito is no exception. Inquisitive and daring, he often wanders around the woods behind the house, sitting at the very edge of the village. Animals and spirits alike scurry from his sight, sticks held like swords as he battles imaginary foes. And other times, he jumps around in the creek, catching frogs and salamanders, and sometimes even little fish!

But that’s not all that lurks in the water.

Sitting on a rather large rock along the bank one afternoon, he catches his breath, having just finished chasing a bullfrog. His bare feet are all muddy, the hems of his pants wet. Sachiko will surely scold him, but...he wasn’t paying as much attention as he should have. He had a frog to catch! Dazedly watching the sunlight warp and wiggle along the surface as it tumbles over some stones, Obito then slowly sits up straight.

...is...is that…?

Blinking large eyes, he stares at a gap in the rocks. It almost looks like there’s a face there...looking back at him from the water.

“...hullo…?”

Rippling with the flow of the water, the face...blinks!

It is a face…!

Forgetting his manners for a moment, Obito goes plunging back into the water to get a closer look. And as he does, the being’s eyes go wide...and it disappears.

“...huh?” Looking around, he searches for...whatever that was. “...hey! Come back!”

Behind him, unseen, the face peers around his previous perch, watching him silently as he goes rummaging around in the little rapids.

“Come back! I just wanna see ya! Where’d you go…?” He peers into crevices in the stones. All that looks back is a crawfish, clicking its pincers menacingly. “Aww…”

“...what do you want?”

“Yah!” Startled, Obito scurries forward, spinning around and bracing for a blow. But all he sees is the little face behind the rock. “...who are you?”

“I asked you first!”

He stares. This kid - girl? - has hair as white as snow. It curls about her ears like the white foam that gathers around the rocks. And the large, mirror-like silver eyes in her face are like a snake’s, pupils long and thin. Her ears are pointed, and the beginnings of moonstone horns - little more than nubbins at present - peek out from her temples. “I, uh...I thought I saw a person in the water! Was that you…?”

She nods. “Mhm. This is my river!”

At that, Obito frowns. “...river…? It’s barely even a creek!”

The girl’s cheeks puff in a pout. “That’s because I’m still little! See?” Out she comes from hiding, revealing she looks no bigger than himself, maybe even a little smaller. “I’m young for a river! But I’ll grow!” A finger points north. “My mother is over there...I branched off from her banks. Someday I’ll be just as big and strong as she is!”

“...uh…” Obito’s a little skeptical, but who is he to tell a river spirit what is and what isn’t? “Okay. So are you...a kami…?”

“Mhm! You can call me Ryū,” she offers.

“Do you have a shrine?”

At that, Ryū balks, suddenly pink with embarrassment. “N...no. Not yet…”

“But every kami needs a shrine! Are you really a kami without one?”

“O-of course I am!” she rebukes, stomping a foot and sending a huge splash outward, knocking Obito over to sit in the shallows. “Someday I’ll have a big shrine, and you’ll have to come pray to me for your fish and your water!”

Braced up on his palms, Obito stares up at her. Okay, so...she’s stronger than she looks. “O-okay! I...I didn’t mean t’make you mad. M’sorry. I’ve...never met a kami before. Just the little ones that run around in the bushes! Bāchan’s got a whole bunch of little houses for them in the garden!”

At that, Ryū perks up. “...she does?”

“Yeah! I leave ‘em candy sometimes.” Grimacing, he hauls himself to his feet, dripping. “Ehhh…” It’s gonna take forever for him to dry off!

Studying him for a moment, Ryū then claps her hands. At her beckoning, a whirlwind dances over the top of the water! With a few turns, it whips all of the water out of Obito’s clothes, his hair left standing on end.

Seeing as much, Ryū breaks out into giggles caught in her hands.

“...what?”

“N-nothing! But...you’re dry now!” Suddenly looking coy, she smiles behind her palms. “...I didn’t mean to knock you over.” Barefoot, she walks atop the water to where he stands, offering a hand.

Nervously, Obito takes it.

“Step up!”

“...huh?”

“Just do it!”

Looking unsure, he does as asked. And like a solid step, his foot rests atop the water. “...eh?!”

“Other foot, now!”

Gawking, Obito takes another step. He’s...he’s standing on the creek!

...river.

“Is...is this magic?”

“Mhm!” With a tug, she takes him back across, letting Obito step off onto dry land and ridding him of the last of the water. “There!”

“Er...thanks.”

“Be more careful next time you go splashing around for frogs, huh? You never know what might be in the water,” Ryū teases.

It’s Obito’s turn to pout. But he doesn’t really have a retort, either. “Okay, okay…”

With that, Ryū gently ushers him back toward the house where Sachiko begins calling him for lunch.

When Obito turns around, she’s already gone.

...that did really just happen...right?

At least he’s not wet and muddy anymore.

“There you are!” his grandmother greets as he steps back up into the house. “Catch any fish?”

“Nah...tried to get a bullfrog, but it got away.”

Sachiko chuckles, ruffling his wind-puffed hair. “Well, someday you’ll catch some. Then we’ll have fresh lunch, hm?”

“Hey, bāchan?”

“Yes, dear?”

“You believe in kami, right?”

“But of course!” The old woman points to the kamidana that looks out toward the entrance with a gnarled finger. “I still put out offerings for our house spirit. And whatever I can for the little ones in the garden.”

“There’s one in the creek, behind the house!”

At that, Sachiko’s eyes widen. “A river spirit…?”

“Yeah! She’s little, though. Like me!”

“I see…! Well, we’ll have to make her feel welcome, won’t we?”

“Mhm!”

With a little blade, Obito takes some branches from the forest, and begins to whittle in his spare time. More than once, he nicks his fingertips, having to stop and stuck on them to stop the bleeding. With little nails his grandmother gives him, he carefully starts constructing his very best attempt at a tiny little shrine. While he knows it’s nowhere near a proper one...well, they all have to start somewhere.

When it’s finished, he goes about settling it in the proper spot. Carefully wedging it protectively in a nest of stones, he stands back to let Ryū come up and take a closer look.

“...what is this…?”

“It’s a shrine!” He braces proud hands on his hips, looking smug. “I made it all by myself! With bāchan’s help.”

She just...stares at it.

...and Obito starts to get nervous.

“Do...you like it…?”

After a pause, she turns to him, chin trembling and eyes teary.

Obito stiffens. “Wh-? What’s wrong? Is it -?”

“It’s perfect!” she cuts in, leaping forward and latching onto him tightly, forcing him to spin slightly at her force to avoid falling over. Around them, a joyous wind eddies and ripples the water in an arc. Face hiding in her neck, she quietly mumbles, “...thank you.”

Above her, Obito’s cheeks tinge pink. “...y-you’re welcome.”

Every morning, he and Sachiko dutifully come out and leave an offering. To Obito’s surprise, Ryū never shows herself when the old woman is around. It’s only in front of the boy she emerges from the water, always miraculously dry.

“How come bāchan doesn’t get to see you?”

Sitting on one of the rocks by her shrine, Ryū hums. “...well...sometimes seeing a kami can be a bit, um...much for people. And I don’t want to frighten her.”

“You wouldn’t scare her!”

“...no,” Ryū agrees, still frowning. “...but it can still startle them. And it’s not good to startle old humans. It can make their heart go too fast. For you it’s okay, because your heart is young and your mind is open. Sachiko-bā’s mind is open, but...I’m afraid her heart might not do well, ne? So I want to be safe. Humans don’t live as long as we kami do.”

That makes Obito stiffen. In truth...he hasn’t ever given his grandmother’s mortality any thought. To him, she’s a constant. She’s always been here, so...surely she always will be!

...right?

“...but…?”

Seeing the conflict in the boy’s face, Ryū gently sighs. “...we river spirits can help with healing - water is the element of it, after all. I’ll do my best to help keep your grandmother healthy for as long as I can! But, Obito...all things have to pass eventually. It’s part of life, ne…?”

Frowning heavily, he wants to argue...but despite his young age, he also knows she’s right. He sits beside her, looking somber. “...yeah…”

She carefully leans against him. “Just make sure she drinks water from my river every day, ne? I’ll do all I can.”

“...thanks.”

Time, however, stops for no man and no kami. Seasons blend together, rising and falling as years begin to pass. Obito gets a little older, and a little older. Sachiko, however, hardly seems to change: sitting on the rear engawa and slowly fanning herself, looking over the water with a Buddha smile.

And it’s not just Obito that grows. With every passing wet season, the creek behind the house grows a little deeper, a little wider. Reeds grow along the banks, which Sachiko teaches Obito to weave into baskets to hold their food. Fish begin to swim in the currents, Obito spearing them for food whenever the weather is good, as well as finding freshwater clams and crawfish. And every evening, little glowing mushi float over the water, their light reflecting along the surface.

They, however, aren’t the only kami that start gathering by the river.

A kappa spoon shows up. Lurking in the waters, she watches the humans with her amber eyes. And every so often, an okuri inu wanders from his guarded path to drink from the banks.

Ryū welcomes them all. Like her waters, her physical form also matures. Taller, her silver-threaded white kimono grows with her, the patterns shifting and changing depending on her thoughts or mood. Her hair is longer, falling nearly to her tailbone: a mess of waves like her rapids. And the horns at her temple have grown, with several branches that curl out behind her head.

A few years later, Obito makes a second attempt at her shrine. This one is bigger, more refined, and set atop a stone slab he hauls in along the riverbank. Ryū still keeps the first one, nestled among other treasures beneath the water.

Even other villagers begin to make offerings. Sake and plum wine are poured into her currents with every harvest. She brings rains in the Spring, and cool winds in the Summer.

Life is peaceful.

...but peace rarely lasts.

At the elders’ requests, the boys begin to learn how to fight. Obito trains with blades and armor, often practicing his forms behind the house.

With doleful eyes, Ryū watches.

She still remembers how her mother’s waters would run red with blood when war swept over the land.

And like the turning of seasons, war once again falls upon them. The boys wait anxiously for the day it finds their village.

That is all they are: boys.

Children.

As Summer wanes, the fighting finds them. Samurai on horseback, intent on conquest, ride through and alight thatch roofs. Men who dare lift blades to them are cut down. Blood pools in the mud of the streets.

It all seems so hopeless.

“No...no!”

With every ounce of effort she can muster, Sachiko makes her way to the banks. In her arms, slack and unconscious, is Obito. Blood runs down his face...and horrible burns pucker his flesh.

“O-kami-sama...please! Don’t take my boy...don’t take what I have left! Please...please spare him…!” Stepping into the water, she brings his body with her. “Save him, I beg of you…!”

Emerging from the water, Ryū’s face is tightened with emotion. Water drips from her form, kimono heavy. “Obito…!”

“O-kami-sama…” Sachiko reaches a trembling hand, which Ryū gently takes. “Please…!”

Looking near tears, Ryū then turns to her friend. Carefully, she urges him further into the current, palms at his cheeks as he floats along the surface. A wind begins to eddy around them, the god’s eyes closed as she concentrates.

Around her, the water begins to shimmer, taking on an emerald hue. As it washes over the boy in her arms, his wounds begin to close, scarred and pink.

His eyes open, looking foggily up to her face. “...Ryū…?”

“Shh...you’re safe now…” Glancing aside, she motions to the kappa. “Hold him here.”

“Where are you going?”

Her silvers turn to steel. “...to finish this.”

Face slack, the kappa doesn’t argue, watching as the god approaches the bank.

Water brings life, washes wounds, and nurtures fields.

But so too can it drown.

Within moments, tumultuous storm clouds gather over the village, dark and rumbling. Lightning strikes, winds whipping. Torrents of rain begin to fall, dousing the flames. And as Ryū walks the street, forks of lightning find marks in the samurai’s iron armor. The god’s wrath washes over the village, scourging the invaders and leaving the villagers untouched. Screams of terror sound from the samurai, who scramble to retreat.

With a geyser-like hiss, Ryū shifts into her true form: a ribbon of white and silver scales, needle teeth bared in fury as claws dig into the earth beneath her.

“BEGONE!”

...then there is silence, broken only by the rain.

Staring out after the warriors, Ryū watches as the hiding villagers slowly reappear. Mourning cries begin to build for the fallen. Hands reach for the burned and broken buildings.

But those who survived will rebuild.

At each of the wounded, Ryū stops and does what she can. Many are saved. A few are still lost. Only once all are accounted for does the rain begin to ease, the clouds lightening and starting to scatter.

Returning to the river, she carefully brings Obito to the bank. Already the kappa has peeled away what remains of his armor, his body light.

“O-kami-sama…”

Turning her head to Sachiko, Ryū watches the human cry in relief, smiling as tears tumble down her face.

“Thank you...thank you.”

Softening, the god brings her snout to the old woman’s brow, carefully resting the cool scales against her skin.

“Ryū…?”

In a blink, Ryū retakes her human form, knelt and bringing Obito’s head to her lap. “It’s over. And I doubt they will return. Not knowing an angry god watches over this place.”

With a swaying, scar-marked hand, he reaches up to cup her cheek. “You saved me.”

“Of course,” is her soft reply. “You were my first friend...you built me my first shrine. You are forever nestled at the center of my heart, Obito.”

Smiling, he lets his eyes close, exhausting overtaking him.

For weeks, the village licks its wounds. Homes are rebuilt, graves dug, memories shouldered. And along the riverbank, a proper shrine is raised for their patron god. Dragons adorn every surface: painted, carved, and molded.

Standing within it, Ryū quietly takes in its beauty.

“Well...I think this one is better than either of mine.”

Turning, she alights as Obito enters. Still recovering, he leans heavily on a crutch. “They are all beautiful,” is her retort. “It’s not the appearance, but the intent. And yours were always the most heartfelt. So too is this one. But I will always treasure yours the most.”

Head ducking, he goes red.

“How are you wounds…?”

“Fine...I’m just sore. I’ll be all right. I was lucky.”

Her gaze drops at the memory of the fallen. “...it won’t happen again.”

“I know.”

Considering him for a moment, Ryū then crosses the floor to stand before him. “...you know, I wouldn’t be as I am if it weren’t for you.”

“Huh…?”

“You befriended me, and respected me. Believed in me. All kami need to be believed in and remembered, lest we disappear. Without you...perhaps I would have dried up. Faded away. But now...now I’ll flow for generations. And it all began with you.”

Now quite brightly blushing, Obito has no retort.

Allowing a smile, Ryū takes his cheeks in her hands, bowing his head to plant a kiss on his brow. “...thank you, Obito.”

“B-but -? I should be thanking you! You saved me, you -?”

“I did what I had to. What I wanted. It seems...we needed each other.” Her hands lower, taking his spare gently in her grip. “...and so...we will be together. Won’t we…?”

Looking a bit dumbfounded, Obito then softens and shuffles closer. “...yeah. We will.”

     This is depressingly late, but honestly I just...got too burnt out. Things I were trying weren’t working. So I gave up for a few days, let my brain rest. I THINK I can finish, now. One more free day for my choice, then another prompt from Meg, then we’re done! At least it’s not December, yet :’D      But anyway, some kami verse! I am...a huge sucker for this, okay. Japanese mythology is so interesting. I feel like maybe I don’t know enough to write this kind of thing perfectly well, but I try! It’s a bit like Obito’s bakeneko piece, but...reversed! lol      Anyway, gotta get some stuff done, but I’ma try to at least start another one tonight. We’ll see how it goes~ Thanks for reading!

[randomnoteforfuturereference]

The Quarry

This piece is actually part of a larger fic I did a while ago (fic on AO3 is called Quarried Depths, which @kleeklutch helped with during the beta process), but I thought it capable of standing alone as a one-shot. It takes place between “2.3 Meet the Frogs” and “2.4 Hazeapalooza”, when Nursey and Dex... didn’t have the best relationship; this piece specifically takes place right after that scene where Nursey spilled the cereal and milk on Dex (and in this case, on Dex’s laptop as well). It also explores a bit of how Dex looks up to Ransom.

Warning: There’s a first-person depiction of an anxiety attack, as well as unintentional self-harm via scratching.

Anyways, hope y'all enjoy.

---   ---   ---

“There are eight d-men on this team,” I breathe through clenched teeth. “Eight. Coaches could have paired me with any of them. Instead, I have to. Put. Up. With. You.” I punctuate the last few words by prodding a trembling finger into his chest.

I don’t give a damn if Nurse gets the message or not, but a distant tendril of satisfaction blossoms within me when he flinches back. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that something crumples behind those dollar-green eyes of his.

Not bothering to wait for a further response, I turn back and continue on my way.

Nurse doesn’t bother following.

I don’t go back to my dorm. In all honesty, I don’t know where I’m going. I just need to be somewhere without people. Without judgement.

As my feet carry me on my way, the haze of rage begins to ebb and the thrumming gradually quiets. With that ebbing, my brain plays catch up and clarity is restored. With that clarity, two things hit me.

The first is the fact that I had wandered out of campus and into Samwell Park. Not only that, but judging by my vantage point and surroundings, I went past the dam and past any defined trail. I really am in a spot where I won’t be bothered, even with the university visible across the Pond’s surface.

The second thing that hits me is the full weight of what just happened. The possibility that my computer will not survive this. The fact that this fight between me and Nurse was probably the worst that has happened between us. The fact that this blow-up happened in front of the team and much of the school.

That weight settles into my stomach and pulls my insides down with it.

Did you really think you’d make it? He’s right. You don’t fit here. You don’t fit with them.

Did you see their faces? They hate you. And why shouldn’t they? You never say the right thing. They were just being nice before. They were being generous. And now you’ve really blown it.

My skin pulls taut and, as it tightens, it constricts my chest and sends a familiar damn itch all over. Shedding my backpack does nothing to ease that.

Now they are going to tell Hall and Murray. Now the coaches are going to kick you out. Then where are you going to be? Where’s your scholarship going to be? Gone. All that investment. All his investment for you. It’s all going to be gone. You’re going to lose a scholarship and a laptop. All within one semester.

Just because you have to be Billy the Blunder.    

Gasping for air and clawing at my arms, I finally collapse and curl in on myself to weather the storm.

Because that’s what you’re good at. Weathering.

It’s all you’re good at.  

I don’t know how long I lay where I fall. Could be seconds. Could be minutes. Could be hours.

Whatever the case, the storm finally ebbs, and as my breaths slow and even out, I unfurl and lift myself off the forest floor.

All things considered, it was probably one of my worst attacks. I don’t even have to look at my stinging arms to know that I’m going to have to keep my sleeves down for the next few days or so. Easier will be not showing my hands so that nobody can see the little bloody crescents gouged into them.

Just to be sure, I sit on a rock that juts out over the water and go through some of the breathing exercises taught to me. It doesn’t banish completely the tight feeling in my chest, but little by little it loosens things up.

As things loosen up, I take stock of the setting: The clear sunny day with just the a slightest cool breeze. The extreme clarity of the water suggesting that turnover hasn’t happened yet despite the time of the year. The shore terminating in a rocky drop-off with no bottom beyond.

It dimly occurs to me that this spot most likely was a quarry once.

Feeling back in control and getting a good gauge on my surroundings, I get an idea.

I place my laptop in a shaded location where I can see it, strip down to my underwear, use my clothes to make a nest around the computer, inhale a deep breath, and take a leaping dive off the rock.

The briskness of the water is like a sledgehammer to my lungs. It’s a familiar pressure, however, and not unwelcome. As my momentum slows, I release just enough air to allow for a steady descent. The cloud of shimmering bubbles clears to reveal a sight before me. Shafts of dappled light from the noonday sun dance around the pale surroundings and occasionally illuminate the blurry forms of various fish gliding and hovering around in the distance. Unlike the majority of the Pond, which is shallow enough to walk through for a hundred feet without the water reaching your neck, here I’m rendered tiny by the cliff-like wall plunging down to indiscernible depths.

If anything, and despite the very real danger it can pose, the incomprehensible nature of the environment that dwarfs me is a source of comfort. It doesn’t judge. It doesn’t spurn. It doesn’t give a flying fuck where I come from and who I am. It just is and offers a familiar presence that supports and embraces even as the mild protests of my lungs signal for me to kick back up to the surface. That embrace relaxes me in full, and the breath I take upon breaking the surface reinvigorates my body.

I should do this more often.  

As I swim around the surface, the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs breaks me out of that state of calm, and it gives me cause to press close to the edge and reach for a small rock. That is, until the crunching is accompanied by the grumbling of a familiar voice and the flash of a white cap.

“Over here.” I punctuate my call by lobbing the rock into a leaf pile in front of me and pushing off the rocky wall so that I can be seen.

Ransom jumps straight up and lets off a high-pitched yelp — city folk… — before he whips around, does a double-take, and finally focuses on me. After taking a few steadying breaths, he gingerly picks his way towards the edge of the rocky bank. I doubt those loafers, which probably cost as much as everything I had on half-an-hour ago, are made for going through anything rougher than cobblestones. “You’re fucking hard to find, you know that right?”

“Wasn’t planning on being found,” I counter. “How’d you get this far?”

“Left breakfast early, and I saw you stomping southbound along the Pond. Wasn’t too hard to follow your trail — if I had to ask some random witnesses that you passed — until the damn path withered away to nothing after I crossed the bridge by the waterfall,” he grumbles while looking around. “This really is the fucking Forbidden Forest.”

I can see how he may have that impression. The vegetation here’s likely secondary growth, but considering how well-established it is in general and how thick the trees are, it’s really old secondary growth. Perhaps old enough to be non-virgin primary growth. Don’t know the age of Samwell Pond, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s at least a century old. The quarry itself was probably abandoned long before it and the surrounding land was flooded when the dam was built.

“Anyways, took me a while, fuck you very much, but here you are.” He looks me up and down with raised eyebrows. “Didn’t expect this.”

I’m just glad that he didn’t find me while I was having the attack. Still, I scowl back. “What’s so strange? Students play in the Pond all the time, and last I checked the park has a ‘swim at your own risk’ rule.” Then I realize that the water’s clarity means that he can easily see my briefs as I keep afloat. “Also what I have on has nothing on the stuff, or lack thereof, idiots have worn around town.”

Ransom mulls that over and shrugs with a chuckle in acknowledgement. “I’m more meaning that it’s the middle of fall.”

“It’s a nice day.” Possibly the last nice day in a while if the forecast’s correct. “Isn’t Toronto supposed to be around the same temperature?”

He snorts. “You picture me going out for a Halloween plunge in Lake Ontario?”

To my own surprise, I bark out a small laugh. “Guess not.”

Satisfied with my swim, I climb out, shake myself off, and hop back onto the sun-warmed rock to lie down to bask and dry off. I don’t miss that Ransom’s staring at my arms and hands, which I keep balled up. While he thankfully doesn’t say anything specific, he still asks, “Are you going to be alright?”

I give a shrug of my own. “I’ve had worse.” Guess it’s already time to face the music. “So when do I need to clear out my locker?”

“Don’t be dramatic, Dex,” Ransom huffs while kicking his shoes off, plopping down on the ground next to my rock so that we’re eye level, and swinging his feet over the edge. “So you two got in a little tiff. Okay, a major tiff. Still, you should have seen some of the tirades Jack meted out. Especially at Bitty. They got pretty epic.” For good measure, he pops those last few syllables and kicks at the water to send it upwards into a sparkling arc.

“Sure, but I bet they weren’t regular. Let’s face it: there’s no way Nurse and I get along, the other D-men are already paired up, and the team clearly likes him more. Hell, I know I’m good on the ice, but I’m certainly not spectacular like you or Holster. So if I were in charge and had to trim things down,  I’d  bin me first.”

Ransom widens his eyes at my admission, and even I’m a bit surprised how easy it is to say that.

Maybe I really don’t belong here.

“Fuck,” Ransom breathes as he squints at me, “you’re serious aren’t you.”

I just shrug at that. “Don’t want pity, if that’s what you think.” I really don’t. I wouldn’t mind if people here actually managed to see things from my perspective, but there’s no point in being broken up about them not understanding.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to be a doormat if shit’s thrown my way.

Minutes of silence pass between us. Silence that Ransom breaks first: “Two weeks.”

“What?”

“Give your partnership with Nursey two more weeks.” He holds up his fingers for emphasis. “If you both truly think this pairing is a disaster, then I’ll talk to Jack and the coaches to see if we can work something out.”

That’s more than cutting it close if they think something can be worked out before the season really starts getting into the swing of it. I squint up at him. “You really think two weeks will make a difference?”

Ransom shrugs. “It might. Better chance than if we don’t try anything. And seriously…”

“Yeah?”

“You two fit together better than you think.” Ransom doesn’t acknowledge my scoffing but instead holds his hand out. “So do we have a deal?”

“That assumes he wants to stay partners with me.” The image of Nurse flinching back from me plays on repeat, and for some reason my stomach clenches at it.

“I’ll talk to him.”

Like it will do any convincing. Whatever, it’s two more weeks. “Don’t get your hopes up,” I mutter as I shake the offered hand.

Deal settled, the two of us continue staring out at the Pond and university itself in silence once more.

And once more, Ransom disrupts it.

“Dex?”

To my surprise, Ransom’s voice now sounds stilted and hesitant. When I look at him, his face is a neutral mask except for a clear twitching tension within his jaw. Considering the air of confidence he always shows in his casual banter and poise, the unease that he’s radiating makes me sit up and turn towards him. “Yeah? What’s the matter?”

“What did you mean when you told Nursey that he’s ‘given everything’?”

That’s what he’s so conflicted over? “What do you think I meant? Just because Nurse has been swaddled in luxury doesn’t give him the right to lord it over me.” As I’m talking, it dawns on me why Ransom was so apprehensive. “Wait, I don’t have a problem about you and the rest of the team being rich. I don’t have a problem with him being rich. If I hated rich people, I wouldn’t—”

Ransom holds his hand up to stop my rambling. It doesn’t escape my attention the massive exhale that he releases. “It’s okay. It’s o—“ The words die as his brows pinch together. “Wait, no, it’s not okay.”

The backtrack puts me at a loss. “What are you talking about?”

Ransom stares at me, opening and closing his mouth as if he’s ready to say something but holding back. Ultimately he shakes his head and looks away. “Nope. Nah. Not doing this.”

What. “What?”

“Even if I didn’t have a meeting later in the afternoon, I’m not putting myself through this. At least not right now.” I try to ask him to clarify, but he just continues: “Go to the library. Talk to someone willing to discuss with you. Except for Shitty; he’s smart and a great guy with great intentions, but…”

“No fucking kidding…” Nurse is obnoxious enough, but I don’t know what I’d do if Knight was a D-man I had to be paired with. I've been civil and deferential all this time, but I’m not going to go out of my way to be chummy with that lefty-than-thou blowhard.

Ransom must have heard my muttered statement, as he lets off another sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose. “See, it’s shit like that why the team… nevermind.” He shakes his head. “Look, all I’ll say is that Nursey probably didn’t think you were yelling at him for being rich, and remembering some of the stuff he talked about may help you figure out what I mean. Also there’s a term that I recently learned that might be useful to you: ‘Intent versus Impact’. If you think you got it figured out and want to make sure, then we can talk.”

“But you’re barely giving me anything to figure out!” It’s fucking ridiculous. Why should Nurse get any sympathy from me if I don’t even know what supposedly bothers him?

My protests are answered with a snort. “Like you’ve been forthcoming about yourself.”

Ransom’s disdainful scoff feels like a slap in the face, and I can’t help but reel back a bit.

He must notice my reaction, as his voice softens. “I don’t want you to think I’m unwilling to talk if there’s anything you need help with. But William?” Both the use of my first name and the plea in his voice makes me look up at him. Really look at him to see lines of worry etched into his face. “We’re a team. I’m not saying that you should bare your soul. But we can’t have your back if you shut us out.”

A stiff breeze makes me pull my knees up to my chest.

I don’t need anyone to have my back. I’ve already said what I’ve needed to say. No reason for anyone to go out of their way for me. I did alright before, and I’ll do alright now.

Still, I humor Ransom: “I’ll take that into consideration.”

His raised eyebrow makes it obvious that he doesn’t believe me, and he looks ready to call me out on it. Ultimately he just shakes his head before glancing at my clothing nest. “Anyways, I was just coming to check to see if your computer’s alright.”

At least that’s something straightforward I can talk about. “I need to wait for it to dry first. Then I’ll check if there are any issues.”

“Well, I hope there aren’t any…” That air of pensive awkward settles over him again.

This time, I huff, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

Ransom allows for another minute or so before speaking: “You can’t afford a replacement, can you.”

Is he just figuring that out? “Well technically, I have enough money to buy one…” Really don’t want to elaborate beyond that.

I don’t have to. Ransom wide-eyed stare and the sharp exhale tells me that he's read between the lines. I’m still baffled that he didn’t know, but I’m also beyond thankful that he’s not showering me with platitudes or falling over himself with guilt.

“If it’s truly busted, I’ll see if I can rally the guys to help you replace it.”

“I don’t need your charity,” I growl. I’m completely sincere when I say that I don’t mind that my teammates are rich. But like hell I’m going to let them pay their way into my good graces or buy themselves a pat on the back because they are oh-so-generous. And like hell I’ll let Nurse buy himself out of the mess he made.

Ransom sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose again. “Then don’t think of it like that. Think of it as a team expense to make sure that things run smoothly. After all, the last thing we need is for the loss of your computer to put your academics at risk, which would put your athletics at risk, which would disrupt team dynamics,” he notes while ticking off each stage of the scenario with his fingers and waving them in my face. “So it’s not just about you.”

Well, when he puts it like that, the last thing I need is to be a burden on the team.  And if they— fuck dammit, he’s good.

I take a deep breath. “If, and only if, anything needs to be replaced, it will probably just need to be a part and not a full replacement.” Not to mention that I would need to figure out how to repay them.

Hopefully it won’t come to that. It better not come to that.

For once, Ransom is satisfied with my response and relaxes fully to pipe, “Sure thing! Just let us know.”

“Also… do you think you can refrain from mentioning this spot? I’m not saying to keep it top secret, and I know it’s public land anyways.” Hell, for all I know, people come here all the time, and I just caught a lucky break today. “But it’s nice to have a quiet place, just in case.” Not to mention that the last thing I want is for this patch of forest and pond to become sullied by a kegster crowd.

For one reason or another, understanding dawns behind Ransom’s eyes even though he keeps his tone light. “I don’t think you have to worry about crowds of people here.” He scowls at the surrounding vegetation with suspicion. “But how about this: I’ll keep it on the lowdown if you help guide me back to civilization. Deal?”

“You do know that I practically came here by accident, right?”

He shrugs. “Even if you did, I trust you to find a way out. Faster than me for sure.”

I blink. I mean, I’m not exactly surprised at the assertion that’d I would be better at navigating a forest than most of my teammates. Haven’t made it secret that I hunt, after all. But that one trusts me to lead him out catches me off guard.

Once I get my bearings straight, I murmur, “Deal.”

Ransom flashes one of his trademark smiles and holds his fist out, and his smile widens when I bump it.  

He has a really nice smile.  

[cookieek]

Chapter 2: In which Miss Edda learns about a curse

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Epilogue ao3 Wattpad 

Edda let out a startled shout and so did the human. She tried to swing at them, but missed and stumbled right into them as an effect. She could feel how large the persons body was, which did not help her growing panic over the situation.

“Who are you!? What are you doing in here!? How did you get in here!?” She said as she tried to back away from him.

“Calm down it’s me!” The man shouted back in an oddly familiar voice.

“Who!!!??? I don’t remember letting in a grown man into my house!!!” She started searching with her hands for something to protect herself with.

“It’s me Arthur!!!”

“Do you think I’m an idiot!? You may sound somewhat like him, but you are clearly not a dwarf!!” She backed, and almost tripped into the fire place. Her hand found the fire stick above it, and pointed it at the darkness.

“I’m not a dwarf right now, but I am him!”

There was a bit of clarity in Edda’s head as she smacked the fire stick against the fire place, which started a magical fire that threw light over the room.

“If you won’t tell me I’ll just have to see for myself-“ She looked to where the man seemingly had been mere seconds ago, and there stood Arthur, the dwarf.

“What.” Was the only thing she could utter as she searched for any sign of the human man she very clearly had felt, who she had touched. She couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Oh finally, you’ve calmed down.” Arthur seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

Edda felt like she was going insane. “Where did he- He was right there? What the?” She stumbled back against the fireplace.

“Hey, you okay?” Arthur took a step forward with his hands held up. “You don’t have to be scared I’m not going to hurt you.”

She was barely listening as her head slowly put the pieces together. 

“That was you, wasn’t it?” She said as she looked at him again. “How?”

“Well, long story short, I used to be this big, strong, or well stronger than now, and incredible hero, that you may or may not have heard of, and now I’m not that,” he took a pause after looking down at himself. “And I wasn’t green.”

“That explains absolutely nothing,” she leaned forward dragging a hand through her hair, trying to sort her thoughts. “Is it like some sort of curse? But then why were you clearly not a dwarf just now?”

“Curse is definitely what I would call it.” Arthur seemed to scowl a bit as he thought about it.

“It can’t be the fact that it’s night can it? Because it’s still night right now. Then why-“

“Hey, Hey, Hey! Calm down, this is my curse to deal with, you don’t need to worry about the details.” He scurried up to her his hands up as of to calm her down.

She slid down to sit on the floor, while breathing deeply.

“Sorry,” she said looking at him “I’m not usually like this, the last week has just been very overwhelming, and you have to admit that it’s pretty confusing and scary to just bump into what seemed to be a large burglar in the middle of the night.”

“You thought I was a burglar?” Arthur said, looking absolutely horrified.

“Well, yeah. What would you think if you suddenly bumped into a person you for sure knew wasn’t supposed to be there? Hell, you could have been some sort of murderer for all I knew.” She tried make her words sound less harsh by speaking in a softer tone but she wasn’t sure if it was working.

Arthur’s eyes were wide as he looked at her, seemingly unsure how to deal with what she had said.

“Look,” she steadied herself against the fireplace, “I think we’re both a bit out of it right now, also I’m really thirsty, so let me put on some tea. I have this type that does wonders for bad nerves.”

Arthur backed away a little as she started to stand up, his arms moving a little as if he wanted to help her, but wasn’t able to muster up the courage to go through with it. 

Edda just shot him an awkward smile as she shook the wrinkles out of her nightgown, and walked over to the kitchen, which she now could see better with the light of the fireplace. She pulled out a chair for him by the table before starting to prepare the tea. The chair creaked signalling that he had sat down on it.

The silence hung over them like a thick fog.

“So,” Edda turned around and leaned on the dish bench, letting the tea heat up, “Feel like doing some small talk first, or should we just enter the deep end immediately?”

He looked up at her, having stared down at the floor the entire time while sitting there. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, that was the last thing I would want.”

“Oh,” she let out a short nervous laugh “Don’t worry about that, water under the bridge, as they say.” She gestured around aimlessly with her right arm. “Just, please tell me next time you, decide to wander around in the dark of night.”

She lowered her hand a bit. “May I ask what you were doing up so late by the way? Oh man, I have so many questions right now, but let’s start with that one.”

“Thought I heard something outside the window, and I needed to see what it was.” He said, still a bit tense, but way calmer than before.

“Ah,” Edda snapped her fingers “It was probably just the arms trying to get you outside again.” She turned around again to check on the now warm tea. “They’re really persistent bastards like that.”

Lifting the kettle away from the heat she poured the tea into two separate mugs she had prepared. “I remember hearing noises from them occasionally the first weeks I stated living here as well, I guess they wanted to take a new shot at you since you apparently aren’t familiar with them from before.”

She put his mug in front of him on the table, before sitting down on the opposite side. “Taste it, you have my promise that it isn’t poison.”

He shot her a befuddled look.

“A joke.” She said awkwardly in return, before taking a sip out of her tea.

He took a sip of the tea as well, and as put the mug back on the table he looked up at her again. “How long has you lived here Miss? You seem very calm about those monsters outside, weirdly calm.”

“Oh,” she said, not really expecting the be one answering questions. “Well, a few years I guess, and I mean so long as I stay inside they can’t get to me, so I don’t really see a reason to worry too much about them.” She leaned back a bit in the chair “I mean don’t get me wrong, they have the capacity to be very dangerous, but they aren’t the hardest creatures to avoid, if you know what you’re doing, and also while they are absurdly persistent they are very bad at adapting to pretty much anything besides being straight on attacked, not to mention that they are kinda dumb to be honest?”

He squinted at her, “You said before that the entire house is covered in charms because of how dangerous the forrest is.”

“Yeah, but that’s every house that is in the middle of a forrest! All things considered this is a pretty nice place to stay.” She said shrugging.

“Are you telling me that it’s normal to plaster charms all over your damn house if you live in the woods?”

“Are you telling me it isn’t?! What sort of houses the woods have you seen?!” She was admittedly getting a bit heated over the conversation before she realised just how far they where straying away from the topic she originally wanted to discuss.

“Ok, look I admit that I haven’t seen many that weren’t a hideout for a witch and maybe that’s not the sort of houses a innocent bystander like you would live in but,” he was still talking.

“Uh- even a witch would have the decency to have protection charms, especially a witch, what are you even-,” she leaned back a bit to take a breath, this was getting a bit out of hand, better reel it back in a bit.

“Forget it,” she said exasperatedly “Let’s get back to the whole curse thing.”

“What, What is there to say about it?” he said “I was once a big strong human, now I am a small green dwarf, that’s about it.” He took another, more confident, chug of the tea.

“Yeah, but how does it work?” she leaned forward a little, she had heard of humans being cursed to look like different people or creatures before, it is after all a pretty basic curse all things considered, but there was usually always a meaning to the madness.

The swan turns into back into a princess in the moonlight, the prince cursed to look like a frog gets saved by a princess kiss, but this curse was unlike anything she had really seen before. Arthur did strike her as some sort of foreigner, with all his brashness towards charms and strange assumptions about houses in the woods. It was quite possible that his curse was put on by some magic creature or human of a kind she had never seen before outside of her books. And oh boy, did it spark an interest.

“What is the factor behind you turning back to a human? How do you break the curse? How did you even get it in the first place?” She found herself leaning forward more and more with each question.

“Whoa whoa whoa!” Arthur held his hands up in front of him as if warding of her questions. “Why do you wanna know so much about it?”

She sat back a bit with a huff, maybe she was coming off as to eccentric, she did have a tendency to do that sometimes.

“Look,” she said “I study magic, you have been cursed, which is a form of magic, which makes it a bit of an interest of me to understand it. Right?”

He looked a bit suspiciously at her. “Okay...?”

“So, there’s a possibility that once I fully grasp whatever you're cursed with, I can reverse engineer it and, you know, uncurse you.” She gestured around a bit with her hands trying to get her point across.

“You mean you can figure out how to break the curse in another way?” His eyes widened a bit.

“Yes! But I need to get some sort of understanding of it first!” Then she fully registered all that he had said. “Wait, there is a known way to break it? What is-“

“A kiss from the most beautiful woman in the world.”

What.

“What sort of- how to you even begin-“ she leaned back in an attempt to register what he had said. “A kiss, that’s fine, common even, but. The most beautiful woman in the world!? How are you even supposed to know when you’ve found her? There’s so many people I the world! How on earth are you supposed to-“

She took a big gulp of the tea, and slumped a bit against the chair. “Not to mention that beauty is incredibly subjective.” She massaged her forehead a bit.

“How the shit did you even get this ass of a curse in the first place?” she mumbled as she looked down at him.  

Arthur shifted a bit in his seat, having seemingly spent his time durning her rant just staring at her. “That’s... not important. But, you think you can really find a cure?”

“After hearing the only suggested way to cure it, yeah I’ll try alright,” she sipped a bit more of her tea in a second attempt at calming herself down a bit. “The most beautiful woman in the world...” she mumbled under her breath. According to who? How would the curse know who was ‘most beautiful’? Absolutely absurd.

“A mate of mine did manage to cure himself,” Arthur started.

She almost chocked on her tea. “What? How?”

“Pretty sure he fell in love...” he said.

Huh.

“So it’s actually more of a ‘true loves kiss’ than one with a ‘beautiful woman’?” That would make a bit more sense, that didn’t mean she liked it that much more though. The romantic love that was involved with the true loves kiss had always been a confusing thing to her, and just like ‘the most beautiful woman’ it seemed to her that people could never really tell for sure when they find it. Who’s to say if the person in-front of you is 100% the most beautiful women, who’s to say that the love experienced between two people really is some sort of idea of true or not.

“Eh,” she said “doesn’t matter, I’m going to see if I can find a easier way to break this curse.”

She stood up and went and grabbed a notebook that had been haphazardly thrown onto one of the bookshelf a few days earlier. She opened a drawer below the bookshelf and pulled out a pen.

Sitting back down by the table she opened the notebook and prepared her hand in a writing position.

“I’m just going to have to ask you a few questions and you have to answer them at the best of your abilities.”

She was going to break the shit out of this curse.

[vikolai123]

Monster hunter world review

Monster hunter, a game that was not popular in the west but is in the east . Created by capcom the monster hunter franchise has grown over the course of the decade with many games,spinoffs most of them are region locked( *cough* frontier*cough* spirits *cough* almost every monster hunter mobile game*cough*)and merch, as a fan of the monster hunter games you can tell how big of a reaction when seeing the monster hunter world announcement back at 2017,heck its the reason why i bought a playstation 4 for christmas so i can play the game. I was hyped when i got the game look at me now in 2020 and i still got the game so dose it hold up well lets see heres my review on monster hunter world the base not iceborn.

The plot of this game is that you're are a part of the 5th fleet of hunter off exploring a new continent dubbed the new world and check out strange phenomena that cause the elder dragon to go to one specific location. accompanied on your journey is your palico and another character the handler the person who gives out quest to hunters on your way to the new world your ship has b capsized by an elder dragon known as Zora magdaros but eventually, you, the handler, and the palico made it to the new world this beginning your adventure. The gameplay of monster hunter world is almost the same if with some slight alterations first off the weapons has new moves and also your equip with an item called the slinger what slinger does that it shoot out pods that you've to find wild you can use it to gain the attention of other monster deal extra damage to them(depending on the ammo you find) or use as a way to escape of way from a monster, which leads me to one thing I liked about the game is the monsters themselves. In In the old games how does the monster does is that they wander around the area you're currently in, sleep and when they spot a hunter they will immediately engage in combat but in the new world thanks to stronger software the monsters act more like animals you can see them wandering the area, go out hunting, taking a shit, and finally the new game mechanic the turf wars, where when a monster encounters another the two monsters will fight each other which deals massive damage each other and in some cases drive a monster away which leads me to another point is for how alive the hunting areas are in this game. In the earlier games, the hunting areas are mostly barren aside from the smaller monsters like the bugs or the jaggies or the aptonoth or apceros there's isn't that much wildlife in the areas you hunt but in this game, there's life teeming all over the area, bugs scuttling on the ground, birds flying through the sky, fish swimming in the sea and or lake, the devs did a good job of making the player feel like the wilderness. In the older games one thing they did include in inventory management with the items and materials you mind for material, catch bugs or carve out pieces out of monsters you kill this leads me to remove a lot of items I don't need but I do in a way to give me more room to stuff more materials so I can make my armor and weapons but in monster hunter world you can say goodbye to all of that because you have a butt-ton material without you removing any of the items you would need to progress speaking of which the items you would have to bring like pickaxes, paintballs they ain't here in this game in the older games if you find mining deposits you would have to bring your pickax and if you wanting to know where a monster at you have to bring in your paintball and if you wanted to know where you have to bring in a map but in mhw you already have these items from the get-go, needing mine ores you already have a pickaxe, wanting to know where's the monster well by the new scoutfly mechanic which basically you collecting tracks or residue you can easily able to track your monster with ease. The final two things I liked about the game is that you can move while drinking your potion and sharpening your weapon no longer you have to find a perfect spot and praying that the monster won't attack you you can move out the way and also you can change weapons and armor during quest if you forgot to change weapons or equips a certain set of armor for that one tough monster you can do so with the tents also you can have food power-ups as well during quest as well. Time for flaws in this game first off the lack of verity of the monster. In monster hunter, there's a lot of monster types we have the flying wyvern, Sudo wyvern, bird wyverns, the brute wyvern, tennoceron, caracipation, fanged wyvern pescine wyverns, Pelagus, fanged beast, snake wyvern, leviathans, amphibians, elder dragons, and black dragons

In monster hunter world we have fanged beast, bird wyverns, flying wyverns, piscine wyverns, pelagus, elder dragons, and black dragons and that's it where my snakes, my giant bugs my monkeys my leviathan's my crustations frogs there all not in the game due to leviathan one I get it's because of its difficult to get the skeleton to work but still what happens to the other monsters types and another flaw is the handler she's pretty much useless in the game's story and we don't that much of her backstory all we know that her father is an adventurer like her but that's all we know I wish we do more for her character finally the biggest flaw if the game is the weapons designs monster hunter despite is grounded in some sort of realism it also doesn't itself seriously leaving the weapons designs to cool to weird and that's why we love about them who doesn't wanna take out a dragon with a big fuck you drill hammer or claws of a demon or even a teddy bear but in monster hunter world we have a regular longsword but some monster parts slapped on it, regular hammer, with monster parts slapped on it, and if your lucky you can get a dual blades...with some monster parts slapped it you see what i mean in the old games the weapons looks amazing and i know that they try make it a bit more "realistic" but if realistic mean we get generic boring ass weapons then sorry i aint buyin the next thing anyway thats all the flaws i can think up with the mhw

So would i reccomend mhw the answer is no despite the praise i give it the game has some flaws to it not a bad game belive me but i see myself returning the old world

Overall i give mhw a rathalos/ 10

[micerhat]

Oh no, Micer is gonna have a ramble.

For starters, these are my headcanons.  Ignore them at your leisure, most times they’re generally garbage. 

So my version of Emilie is something similar to Audrey in the sense of 'Career First - Everything Else Second' that she and Gabriel are perfect for each other in that they are both career and success driven. If they're wandering the friggen mountains of Tibet, perhaps we should tag a 'By Any Means' onto that.

Of the two of them, Emilie cared more for Adrien (not to say Gabriel doesn't, he just has a hard time of showing, anything) but she still held goals of continuing her modeling career/aspiring actress/anything that isn't just 'The Beautiful Model, Muse and Wife of Gabriel Agreste'  Let the nanny raise my darling son - but if my son so much as calls the nanny mommy, even by accident - she's fired.  What are supposed to be good intentions for all the worst reasons, especially if she had Adrien in her mid to late 20s.  She loves her son but wants her career, but she sure as hell isn't going to give up the mother title and will out-argue anyone who tries to explain how it is hurting Adrien's development.

Aka. If she saw Adrien smile at Nathalie like he does now?  She would be smiling but would be more bared teeth than actual smile and you would also start hearing that low growling sound cats make when they’re being annoyed coming from her general direction. 

Did she use the Miraculous to help her fame - who the hell knows. I like to think she was creating Sentimonsters that looked like her but acted and emoted with the skill of top Emmy/Academy Award winners to get through screen-tests and auditions in hopes of getting herself noticed. 

To the point where she pushed and pushed until she went too far.

For the public and their circle of friends Gabriel is pushing the narrative of - My wife wanted to go off and find herself.  It's simply a spiritual journey while leaving her worldly things behind, when she's ready she will come back.  I'm sure of it.  My son and I will wait for her when she is ready to return.

While people just kinda shake their heads and go 'Poor bastard, she's likely scarpered off with a movie co-star or a director or one of the photographers, she’s holed up on some island paradise love-nest, probably waiting for Gabe to work himself into a heart attack...' and others go 'Good for her, Mr. Agreste might make beautiful things but he's odd, cold - I wouldn't stay either. Shame she didn't take little Adrien with her, that boy thinks the world of her...'

But onto @cottoncandycorn 's questions and the tangent they’ve lead me to go on: What will Nathalie and Gabriel say to each other before/after?

"I said I would do anything for you Gabriel..."

"I know, that is why I'm asking you to quietly leave, Nathalie. I will have someone clear your desk and bring your belongings to you. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be.  Please."

Haaaa.  Kidding.

Gabriel is already a private and reserved person and Nathalie touts a goddamn philosophy of outward professionalism and inward self doubt - but they've worked together enough to start picking up the others quirks.  Not so much is said - What am I doing? To themselves, to each other - or - Wait. No, this is wrong and should stop.

Because they’ve gotten really good at ignoring that internal voice.

Before?

I think out of the both Nathalie would be louder in doubting herself in the beginning - ‘Should we be doing this? This is my fault its happening. I should have kept my feelings to myself, found a way to bury them - I love you, but I hate what I've done. Emilie is your wife, but I still want this, whatever it is - but I don't think we can continue doing this without recognizing there being damages (says the pair that destroy Paris on the regular) - but you deserve to be happy.’

Yet, she is more than happy to let it keep going because as terrible as this feels (as much as she would like to not be exhausted and risking a damn coma) it also feels wonderful and exciting and the other shoe hasn't dropped yet, so she'll take whatever happiness she can until that day comes that he succeeds and drops her for his restored family - so she can be ‘happy’ for them and fully prepared to hit send on her resignation tender immediately and leave to go figure herself out.

Gabriel?  He may have his internal moments of What am I doing, this is pointless, I should give in - give up.  But they’re short lived - because of the goal!  His Emilie!  Just like there is apparently no harm in destroying Paris time and time again to attain the goal. 

And it’s the same with how he regards Nathalie, ‘There is no harm in this, I love my wife and want her back, I am doing this so my son can be happy, so I can be happy - Nathalie is just showing her support.  She wants me to succeed.  It’s harmless and I don’t need to say no and I don’t want to admit that I’ve missed this warmth - to the point that if I had to say no, I would be reluctant to do so.  But since it is just the two of us that know, what we are trying to achieve - there is no harm in it.’

Ya know, just like how Hawkmoth is harmless. 

No harm in this, so he ignores that the dynamic between them has shifted more and more from replaceable and bumbling employee to acquaintance to ‘Partner in Crime’ - he let her in and she’s staying and he’s gone and boiled that frog. 

He may hold Nathalie in a high regard because of her loyalty (even if it is self-destructive), but she won’t touch the level that he holds Emilie - she wouldn’t want to and would be offended if he did.  But he cares for her in his own extremely reserved (Gabriel for the love of god stop strangling the emotions that aren’t full tilt ranting and see a goddamn therapist and get Adrien one too) way. 

He still loves Emilie and holds the memory of her dearly and feels an obligation to help her - but how long before he realizes again that maybe this promise is too much, that maybe his memories are a little rose colored from nostalgia and he begins to regard her more as an object or a burden?  Even if she is currently serving as a goal post to strive towards.

I still wonder if he was aware of what Emilie was doing, or was it too little too late?  Does he hear her sometimes when he is down there?  ‘Gabriel, fix this, you have to fix this - you always fix these things for me.  I hate feeling like this - Promise, promise me, you will fix this, Gabriel.  Please.’

If he did know from the beginning is this a divergence?  Nathalie being the Emilie he could save?  He is still selfish enough to allow her and even encourage her to continue to use a broken Miraculous - because of the goal - but that guilt got tired of muttering ‘Look what you did, Gabriel, look what it is doing to her’ and found a bullhorn this time and had a round of screaming ‘Look what you did!  Look what you did and she is still doing it for you - for you!’ at the end of Miracle Queen - to the point where It was all for nothing. 

I’m sorry.  My grandiose plans fell apart again. 

Look at what I did, what I did to you, but the guilt bullhorn got confiscated at the mention of the translated texts and fixing the Peacock Miraculous.  Because Nathalie pulls him out of that hole and he’s likely back to ‘Go Rest’ and I’m going to go destroy Paris. 

Does it work?  Does he pour over those translated texts for some solution and find there’s absolutely none?  Or does he find something in the text that pretty much lays down that maybe his initial plan won’t work?  

Would much change?  Change has already started and it usually begins with the little things. 

I still like to think Nathalie got called in Tokyo during the night after the events of Party Crasher with Gabriel practically having a goddamn nervous breakdown over being at first unable to protect Emilie, what would have happened if he hadn’t located a victim for his Akuma and the confusion and anger at just how much joy was suddenly within the mansion.

So much happiness because he was gone. 

Perhaps in private, they still have those moments of closeness, dear god don’t get me started on Hawkmoth/Nathalie or the damn petting and personal-space ignoring that would probably occur if Nathalie can become Mayura again without risk to her well-being because dear god those two are so friggen dysfunctional they need to be completely other people just to let go a little bit. 

But I think they sooner or later they would talk, but would say more without words, like one of their normal working late dinners where suddenly there’s a fancy little lonely candle sitting on her desk as is a spare chair and Nathalie just starts trying to strangle down a laugh at seeing it, because it’s silly and yet she loves it. 

Contract reviews usually don’t come with mood lighting. 

They would agree to keep whatever this is (it’s a relationship, the beginnings of one, you both wear the same goddamn hats to care for goddamn butterflies, but okay go with guilt and denial) secret, to let what happens happens since it seems to keep both of them going towards Gabriel’s goal - a goal that slowly is being reconsidered as futile?  A goal that might change into him moving on?

Who the hell knows, I’m enjoying it though. 

[aures-rose]

Dear Diary,

It’s been a really long time since I wrote and I’m sorry! I’ve been feeling really down and just trying to focus on classes. And then I felt bad for not writing so I put it off even more. Silly, isn’t it? So, I guess I’ll start this entry with… I’m in a boat! There’s this little pier where boats are tied up near Dumbledore’s grave, so… That’s where I’m writing this from! 

Anyways, a lot has happened for me to update. I should probably start with last Tuesday. Tuesday we had Transfiguration and Eve and I sat together. It’s the first time we’ve really talked in a bit and it was really nice. We talked about our birthdays, our hair, and our favourite flowers. Eve showed me this cool transfiguration she could do where she conjured my favourite flowers after I described them to her. I’m kind of jealous of that, I’m still only just getting used to colovaria, that’s the spell to change the colours of things. Anyways, this was just a theory class, so we were just talking about transfiguration when suddenly Eve looks back at the person behind us asking if they need something. Turns out it was Octavia Dechants. She’s a second year Slytherin who always seems to look really mean. Well, she told Eve to shut up and apparently Professor Banks heard. She asked Octavia the answer to the question she’d just asked and if she’s telling her to shut up. Octavia was like “Of course not, I was telling Truegarden to shut up.” I was so confused! I hadn’t even said anything! Well, Banks asked Eve and Octavia to stay after class and Eve looked terrified! She asked me if I’d wait for her outside and of course, I said I would so after class I sat down in the hallway and waited. When she came out, Eve looked pretty relieved. Turns out, Banks just wanted to tell her she’d gotten her extra credit and ask her to tell her parents hello from her. I think it was pretty cruel of Banks to make her worry like that but I like Banks so I’m sure she didn’t mean to be frightening. 

After that, Eve and I wandered around the castle talking about our aspirations. I told her I wrote O’Keeffe about learning mermish like she told me to and we talked about her being a famous playwright. But then it all went downhill…. Dechants found us. She started yelling at Eve and saying all these horrible things about how she’s got Ruby fooled. I tried to step in but then she told me I was barely even human and kept calling me a beast! She even tried to slap Eve but Eve caught her wrist and told her off. I told her we would always be better than her because we weren’t insecure racists and she left, leaving Eve and I standing there alone. Then Eve grabbed me and we ran through the rain. I think she’d started crying, I know I did, but the rain hid it. It just… hurt so much to be called that, and that it’s not the first time either! Anyways, I ended up taking a calming draught and we spoke to some prefects about it before I left to go play my violin to calm down.

That night I had a magnificent dream though, I think it’s because Eve and I talked about magical marine creatures. In my dream I lived on this pirate ship and every day I would dive into the water to swim with the creatures. Specifically, I was swimming with a sea serpent in this dream and it was so beautiful and wonderful and peaceful. Eve says it might be a prophetic dream but I’m not a seer like her. If it did ever come true, I think it’d only be because I dreamed about what I wanted and decided to work for it.

There’s also been a lot of frogs around the castle. I decided to follow them and I found a big one out in the forest. I was doing all this searching around the castle for clues. But right now, I’m stuck on a potion I need to brew but I can’t! Hopefully I can find an older student to help me, because I really want to help that big frog in the forest.

Oh! But also, O’Keeffe wrote me back about wanting to learn Mermish! Her letter was really scary to be honest. All she said was for me to meet her in her office and it was so short, I was scared. She told me I could bring Everlina, and Eve was acting incredibly suspicious! She was like “I know what this is about!” And she wouldn’t tell me. I liked that though. I like seeing her be playful. The next day we went to O’Keeffe’s office. She was talking to someone when we entered but I didn’t see anyone. Anyways, she was asking all these questions all serious like, like why I wanted to learn Mermish. I told her and when I was done…. She smiled! She smiled and invited me to join this private tutoring she offers, to teach students things their regular professors can’t or won’t teach. Apparently Evie’s in the club too, but she hasn’t gone to a meeting because she forgot where it was. Luckily, I can take her with me now and we can go together. I can’t believe I’m going to learn Mermish! I wonder if I’ll have an accent….

Anyways, I guess Evie and I aren’t the only ones with bullies. I’ve noticed a lot of people who are mean to people like Tom. I know he isn’t always the best at expressing himself, but he’s really nice and the other day in the courtyard I watched two different students be mean to him. First, Arthur threatened to hit him, and told him to ride a Kelpie, and I mean… Kelpies EAT people. Then an older boy in my house called him stupid and told him to never have kids. It really made me feel uncomfortable and I think if it weren’t for my calming draughts, I would have been really angry.

Everyone at Hogwarts isn’t mean though. I spent some time talking to an older student about how my first year is going and exams. She was really nice and she also told me how she wants to be a dragonologist so we bonded over talking about magical creatures. Then I met Levi. Levi’s a second year Hufflepuff. They don’t talk much but they seem really nice and I like to spend time with them. They’ve offered to help me study and when I was stressed in charms, they were really supportive. I think Levi’s a little different than other wixen but I don’t know what it is about them.

Oh, I guess I should write about Defence Against the Dark Arts too… We had to face boggarts. I didn’t know exactly what I would be facing. Well, when the cabinet opened, the first thing I saw was my violin. And then a voice called out saying, “No-one will ever love you… a half-breed? Someone like you..?” It was just like Dechants had said…. Like Rubicon had said when we first met. Then I was there, holding the violin and playing it with this sad… sorrowful sound. Every time I drew my bow across the strings, the bow would fray, the strings would break, the wood would crack. The room behind the other me, was boarded up and chained closed and… I was trapped and alone and I couldn’t play my music… I could hear my classmates telling me it wasn’t real or true, that I was loved. But it was still so hard. I failed to cast the spell we were supposed to, so Vikander had to save me…. 

I don’t know how I feel about that… but I never want to experience it again. I don’t want to feel alone and vulnerable… I don’t want to be weak and to have everyone see that weakness and fear, ever again.  

*Here, the ink is different, as though it was written at a different time.*

Sorry, Diary, I had to head back up to the castle. Evie wanted me to go with her with her to talk to Rask about Octavia. I don’t understand it. Rask… and Eve both are looking for excuses for Octavia. They say she’s afraid, but she’s not afraid, she’s just mean! I don’t know how I can just…. Let her be so cruel to me… or my friend. I was really upset at this and I thought I’d be in a bad mood all night but then at dinner August Wellbelove asked me to sit and have dinner with him. He even said he liked my coral crown (So did Tom but August said it first). I thought August hated me, but it turns out, he’s just really quiet. I really like August and talking to him and he really cheered me up. 

Now, I wonder if maybe they’re right. I mean… Will it solve anything to be mean back to Octavia? But Everly’s been nothing but nice to everyone and Octavia is still targeting her… I’ve never had a bully, I don’t know what the best decision is. Do I fight for myself and my friend… or do I try to show Octavia kindness and that… she can change? Am I supposed to be angry about the things she said to me and Evie? That she tried to attack her and is tormenting her? Should I stay out of it? Is this fight that I don’t have any part in? Do we have to fight? Does it make me bad to want to fight? 

I’m so confused and… My head hurts… Maybe I should sleep on it. I think we have Astronomy at 1am and I don’t want to be exhausted. I’ll write again soon, I promise

[ginnyzero]

Retelling Old Stories

I've written a book based on old fairy tales and legends and am currently reviewing the Shrek movies in Action Movie Friday. (Shrek 2 post coming next, I hope.) I thought I'd talk about retelling fairy tales, myths and legends.

Myths, fairytales, legends, these are the stories that are near and dear to our hearts. And let's face it, they're familiar, comforting and popular. Fairy tales such as The Sleeping Princess, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast have been told over and over to young children for generations. These stories are oral traditions passed down from generation to generation and have strayed quite a bit from their horrific and sexist roots. So much, that outside of a few key points their original creators may not recognize them anymore.

These oral traditions form the basis of the hero's journey which can be found in high fantasy stories such as Lord of the Rings and Science Fiction stories, such as Star Wars. They've been satirized (Ella Enchanted, the movie), parodied (Shrek) and outright made fun of (Mirror, Mirror) and also taken far too seriously (Snow White & The Huntsman.) Just as much as they've been played straight (see the Elemental Master Series of Mercedes Lackey.) And they've been mixed together until almost unrecognizable. (The Princess & The Frog, Frozen, Once Upon a Time, the 500 Kingdoms also by Mercedes Lackey.)

The great thing about fairy tales and myths and legends is that they have a very low risk level. People are far more likely to pick up something to read of watch that is relatively familiar to them and that they know they already enjoy rather than a brand new concept they don't understand and aren't sure they'll like. Fairy tales are comfort food. People know they like them. And given a choice between a concept they aren't sure of and a fairy tale based media, they're more than likely to choose a fairy tale based media.

So, how do you go about retelling these fairy tales and making them fresh and new for your audience? This was a question I (sort of) asked myself when I started to write the Dawn Warrior. (Available in Ebook & Paperback.) How do I take Sleeping Beauty and make her different without relying on, say, what we know of her through Disney or from Grimm, not the TV Show. (Which honestly, isn't much in either case.) And make them partly relevant without losing making a good story?

Change the Roles:

What if the Princess really isn't the Princess? What if she's the bodyguard in disguise that's protecting the real princess from assassins? (The Decoy Princess, Dawn Cook) What if the Princess is also a spy? (The Princess Series Jim C. Hines) Maybe Prince Charming is actually an actor!

I mean, come on, in real life unless your Prince William and Harry and work for the British Royal Navy, royals don't really have adventures. (I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of Queen Elizabeth either.)

Or, maybe the Princess and Prince aren't really the good guys after all. Maybe it's the Big Bad Wolf or the evil stepmother or even the sea witch. (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Gregory Maguire) Or, to borrow from Hoodwinked, the Big Bad Wolf is really an investigative reporter trying to do an expose on Red Riding Hood. (I mean, she can't be all that sweet and innocent.)

A good example of this was a recent Sleeping Beauty movie that was in the horror genre. (Unfortunately I heard it was a really bad horror movie.) The Sleeping Beauty in the movie was supposed to be the damsel in distress and ended up being both the trap and the villain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdEo_t-iVbM

(I'll just leave this here.)

Change the Setting:

Fairy tales in SPACE!!! (Lunar Chronicles, Marissa Meyer) Okay, there aren't a lot of fairy tales in space. I think I saw another example on instafreebie the other day. In fact, there aren't many romances in space either. (I was listening to a podcast about an indie author who was doing this and she was the first writing romances set in the backdrops of aliens?) But, this is like Star Wars. Greek Myths in SPACE!!!! (Seriously, Star Wars is built around the classical hero's journey. The franchise even freely admits it in their authorized literature. I've got a book by Bantam called Star Wars: The Magic of Myth that goes through it step by step.)

This is one of the easier ways to make fairy tales seem more relevant and seems to be currently the most popular. Grimm the TV Show, Once Upon a Time (in Wonderland), The Harry Dresden Files, and Fables, all take fairy tales and legends and drop them into the middle of the modern world. I include Harry Dresden, not because he's playing out a fairy tale so to speak, but he's some sort of misguided Prince Charming type on his own hero's journey. The book Charming by James  Eliot, takes the character of "Prince Charming" plays it straight, and makes it a bloodline that is involved in some sort of knighthood charged with keeping the mundane world safe from the evil things that go bump in the night set in modern times.

Mercedes Lackey took a slightly different approach with her Elemental Masters series. She took fairy tales, played them straight, but set them in Edwardian times right up through the First World War. By doing so, she was able to show how the beginnings of the modern world like industrialization and rail roads and wars fought with machine guns instead of swords were effecting the world of magic and the magical creatures. (For instance, all the pollution made it easier for evil or nasty type elementals and creatures to thrive and good elementals and creatures that couldn't abide cold iron were dying off or going into hiding.)

Change the Genders:

Let's face it. Fairy tales are pretty sexist, no matter what your gender is. I had in the first draft of the Dawn Princess an entire rant by Roxana, who is a 'Beauty Asleep' about the differences between how a female Princess who is cursed to sleep and a male Prince is cursed to sleep and how neither tale does royalty any justice whatsoever.(Seriously, in the male version, when the Princess who had been sitting by his bedside took a nap, the clock should have reset, the Prince shouldn't still have sneezed and been woken by the maid.)

Maybe it's really Prince Charming asleep in the Castle and well, Beauty has to belt on her sword and gird her courage to get through the hedge and kill the dragon. Or, the tower bound male Rapunzel is intruded upon by a Pirate Princess who is looking for gold, not love. Maybe it isn't a brave little tailor but a brave seamstress! Or it is a male who is captured by a bunch of cannibalistic female bandits.

...

Okay, there is taking some things too far. (That story is terrible no matter what.)

Apply some Common Sense:

In fairy tales, things don't always make sense. I read them and go "why? why would they do that?" A lot of times Princes don't get punished for their ill deeds. Another Prince comes along, "saves" them and they go about their adventures without showing any sort of remorse for what they did in the first place. Princes don't become goose boys or shepherds or kitchen tweenies.(Or at least, not very often, I think Faithful John/Hans is about the only one I can think of.)

No, those punishments are reserved for Princesses who have been tricked into changing places with their maids and end up being goose girls or in the kitchen. (I can think of half a dozen variations of that tale.) And the Princess, instead of finding a nice baker or farmer to settle down with who appreciates her, instead figures out how to reveal her plight to the Prince who actually married her uppity maid/sister and seems happy with the maid/sister and once the maid/sister is out of the way, marries the Prince. (The Prince was tricked, happy to be tricked and the Princess took him anyways? That makes no sense.)

A really good example of this is the original and horrific Beauty Asleep tale. In the original tale, the King comes upon Beauty Asleep in her tower and rapes her, while she's asleep, repeatedly. In fact, he gets her pregnant with twins. The babes are born and he doesn't even take them with him! No. He leaves them with their sleeping mother. One of the babes gets hungry, as babies do! And sucks the thorn out of her finger that was keeping her asleep. Beauty wakes up. The Queen finds out about her existence. Tries to kill her. The King kills the Queen in turn and ends up marrying Beauty and bringing her and his twins to the castle.

Just what the ever loving hell?

It's good to be king?

No, really, the Queen should have taken Beauty's side. They could have killed the King for being an adulterer and ruled the kingdom together setting up the twins as the heirs. Female solidarity. Because the story as written is insane.

There's a post wandering about tumblr about swan maidens and selkies. And how awful the stories are about the men who take the swan maiden's cloaks and the selkies' skins to force these women to be their brides. One of the reblogs adds the caveat that it feels like these stories don't take into account the actual nature of swans and seals. Swans are pretty. They look graceful.

Swans are mean, they hiss, they bite, they're incredibly aggressive and they can break bones. Approach with caution. Don't try to steal from them. Don't try to pet them. Aggressive swan is aggressive. Okay. Anyone who steals a swan maiden's cloak deserves the punch in the face!

And seals, seals aren't all that nice either! Zefrank1 hasn't done a true facts about seals, but maybe he should. Male seals are called bulls for a reason! Elephant Seal bulls charge at each other when they fight. Leopard Seals are considered one of the ocean's more dangerous predators and take on whales and sharks. Seals train well to do tricks. Look,  just, don't mess with them because not only are they cute and have sharp teeth and claws, they're smart. Do you really want to mess with the woman who can steal all your nets and drive the fish away and beat you to a bloody pulp? Seal fights involve mud wrestling.

Add some reality to the stories. Give the actions of those involved real consequences. Change the personalities to actually reflect the animals they are sharing their bodies with.

Mash things together:

This is another popular tactic and TV Tropes calls it the "Fractured" Fairy Tale. Think how in Once Upon a Time, (spoiler alert) Rumpelstiltskin is also the Beast of Beauty and the  Beast and his father is Peter Pan. And he's the grandfather of the Truest Believer and thus the "father in law" of Emma Swan the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. And that barely dips a toe into the confusing of Once Upon a Time Family relationships.

Mercedes Lackey also did a version of mixing up of fairy tales in her 500 Kingdoms. In the 500 Kingdoms, The Tradition is a form of magic that ties to make fairy tales happen no matter what type of tale they are and no matter if all the pieces are actually 100% correct. Fairy Godmothers are there to steer the tradition so that disaster doesn't strike constantly. (Because what if the Prince of the Cinderella tale was actually a Princess or well, a Prince who was too young, too old, or just liked other Princes.)

Fables does this as well. Prince Charming is the same Prince across Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Sleeping Beauty ends up marrying the Beast in her second marriage. (Prince Charming is good at wooing, not staying.) The Gingerbread witch of Hansel and Gretel ends up being the witch who puts most of the tales in action across the Enchanted Forest. The last arc I read, Rose Red was making her own version of Camelot (and there was much trepidation about how that was going to turn out, probably badly.)

Grab a bunch of different stories that seem to work well together, stitch them together in a way that makes sense or seems fun. It's okay not to always tell the exact same tale.

Add Real People's stories:

Look, if you're going for a more empowered woman in your stories. There are plenty of women in history that were actually pretty awesome. And I'm not just talking about Esther from the Bible or Rahab. (Both pretty awesome ladies.) There were female pirates and female queens who outwitted and beat their male counterparts to be on the throne and to keep themselves out of jail. There are female scientists, female snipers and well, I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find something a woman did in real life that men get praised for more often.

In fact, one person go so fed up with the way fairy tale princesses are praised at places such as Disney, they created a site/book for girls about such heroines at Rejectedprincesses.com.

Youtube has videos labelled things like Top Ten Badass women from History you probably don't know about. (But if you'd read Rejected Princesses you actually might!)

So, don't be afraid to use some real world inspiration to give you ideas about how awesome your female characters can be.

And these are just a few ideas on how to take something old and make it something "new."

In the Dawn Warrior, I took a bunch of these. I applied some common sense. Changed the Princess' role. And really mashed some things together. But, I kept a medieval fairy tale like setting because I wanted to keep this series different from my other series, Heaven's Heathens MC, which is a light science fantasy that could read urban fantasy if you squint at it. (Or maybe it's the other way around.) Two series set in the modern/future world seemed a bit silly to me.

Mostly, my advice is if you want to retell a fairy tale or myth or legend, have fun with it. Take your ingredients, mix them up as needed and don't sacrifice your story for message. (Because really, that gets old very quickly.)

Whelp, now if you like fairy tales there are plenty of pieces of media in this post to check out. Happy reading/watching/researching!

[chimcharstar]

ALL THE COLOURS

HERE WE GO BOYS

zinc white; how are you really feeling today? no one-word answers please!

I’m feeling tired because I’m supposed to be in bed. But happy because I did the work and I can get away with sleeping in and things are just chill right now. I have devised a way of sneaking waste food at work. If you put it in these little metal containers and hide them under the fridge, nobody notices them and throws them away. This eve I dined on garlic bread and prawns.

cadmium yellow; when you think of the word “happy” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Walking with coffee and tunes. I’m trying to appreciate things in my life I will feel nostalgic about later in the moment, so I don’t regret anything. This is one of those things. Although I might not have the tunes part for long because I fucking broke my headphones and they may or may not start playing my music out loud for all the world to hear. I hope people like disco!

lemon; what’s your comfort food?

Food from my old workplace. I have trouble finishing food usually but not this stuff. I will probably scream while eating it. You know this and you love me

hansa yellow; what’s your guilty pleasure song?

“I Will Survive”. People were singing it in the Office and I guess it’s so famous and ironic and cringey now or something. But then I remember that one fucker

yellow ochre; name an artist/band whom you just discovered & can’t get enough of!

Herbie Hancock. I don’t know if I’ll listen to every single thing from him but I was just listening to some funk as you do and his like solos? I was vibing. We were having brain to brain communication. It was an experience. It was so so good. It was good fucking music. Listen to this shit. Herbie Hancock - I Thought It Was You This stuff makes me want to wiggle on public transit. 

naples yellow; where do you feel most at home?

Bonsais and my quiet neat fucking room. Or not giving a fuck in other people’s mess.

raw sienna; with whom do you feel most at home?

YOU HO

golden ochre; describe the relationship you have with your closest friend.

We reblog asks and send each other all the asks. ADHD disaster energy finding balance. The worst posts I’ve ever seen followed by revenge. Two gay best friends who are best friends. No seriously I am so grateful for your unconditional love and your warmth

golden deep; what’s your favorite season?

Autumn. When the leaves were falling and the sun was shining all bittersweetly I was running around taking so many pictures because there’s like this golden time and then it’s gone.

cadmium orange; what do you like to do on your days off?

I like to buy too many plants and pretty rocks that are just vibing. I just like to wander around with coffee without a schedule. Listening to funk and disco. Seriously I’m the coolest person ever

orange lake; do you have anyone you can turn to when you’re sad?

U HO. And some online mutuals of course :) I feel like I don’t turn to people when it’s real sad hours though. I just give my ocs more PTSD.

titans; do you prefer slow mornings or relaxing evenings?

Relaxed evenings. Fuck mornings. All my mornings are slow buddy. 

shakhnazaryan red; are you currently binge-watching anything?

No, because I had to go and cancel my Netflix as all my favourite things got more episodes. 

red ochre; are you more right-brained (creative) or left-brained (analytical)?

Oh right brained bitch.

burnt sienna; is there a painting that brings you peace when you look at it?

No, paintings are stressful. It’s always like “Holy shit, that must have been so much work! I don’t enjoy painting myself! This person is better at painting than me!” I have much love in the heart for Van Gogh.

english red; what animal do you relate to most?

I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not going to work. I could say a cat, because I want to lie down in a patch of sun, knock things over, and complain loudly. I would say a dog because I think people are way better than they really are, am tenaciously loyal to them, and get excited about going for a walk.

vermilion; what’s your favorite accent?

Whatever this one hot guy at work has.

cadmium red; do you have a “type” when it comes to a significant other?

FOR FUCKS SAKE okay I’m going to google what my type is

You got: Mr./ Mrs Perfect

You like someone that truly has is all. You need someone who is well rounded in all aspects of life. When it comes to looks and personality, only perfection receives your affection.

Wow, what does that mean at all

scarlet; describe your current crush/es.

Ok, one of them gave me cheesecake, one of them offered me pizza, another one is the guy whose Facebook you stalked for me and we still couldn’t find his birthday but I laugh about one adorable photo still (the car one), and one of them I spent half an hour trying to find where I put the birth chart of and we’re actually really compatible. I’m sorry, if you want more information I’ll have to ramble about it in your messages.

ruby; what does your ideal first date look like?

OH I JUST WANT TO WALK DOWN A STREET HOLDING HANDS AND GO TO A RESTAURANT WEVE NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE AND TRY SOME FOOD AND LAUGH A LOT, AND THEN MAYBE GO ENJOY THE VIEW OF THE OCEAN AT NIGHT. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? IS IT?

carmine; what does your ideal second date look like?

I don’t know, fuck it let’s go to the aquarium!

madder lake red; would you ever kiss someone (or accept a kiss) on a first date?

I dunno man. I feel like I wouldn’t if it wasn’t socially acceptable but I’m also wild and crazy.

rose; what’s something really positive going on in your life right now?

I REALLY ACTUALLY LIKE MY WORKPLACE. And my living situation is pretty okay. It’s not great I guess but I’ve been coming a long way.

quinacridone rose; what’s something you’re really looking forward to?

Literally what are these colours. Okay, I’m looking forward to putting wires around crystals to make them into jewellery. Then, I want to give the jewellery to my friends. 

violet rose; what does your dream house look like?

An old as fuck, old fashioned as fuck haunted-looking mansion I can give some love.

violet; is there any place in particular you’d like to settle down?

I need the outdoors bro. I need those trees. I gotta live in the countryside again someday.

blue lake; what would you like to do/accomplish before you settle down?

Write some books! Run rampant in the city…

cobalt blue spectral; what is the most beautiful place you have ever been to?

I think it would have to be the hills where I grew up. It was bursting with biodiversity, there was a rustic sheep farm, everyone shut the fuck up, there would be frogs, the smell of the fresh air in any season, some days would just be heart-stoppingly beautiful and I ache for it sometimes. Birdsong? I heard some birdsong today and I wanted to cry. I remember our hedges would be deafening with the birds in it.

ultramarine; when was the last time you were in a good mood? do you know/remember what sparked it?

Today, it finding something I maybe could sit around and read and then finding it in me to actually get out of bed lol.

blue; what’s the most recent dream you remember?

The one I just had. A lot of it is blurry, which is frustrating because I got some strong almost-memories of it throughout the day, but it sticks out to me because I was bawling my eyes out a lot in the dream, and I also hurt myself the way I used to and I had to check that I hadn’t done it in my sleep. But I think it was a very expressive dream and those are my natural emotions.

bright blue; what does your dream family look like? any kids or pets? 

I like the idea of a husband and some dogs, cats and chickens. Kids maybe.

how many of each?

A lot of chickens, but not too many please.

blue cobalt; do you like your name? would you give yourself a different name if you could?

I do like my name, and I did give myself a different name. Even if I knew how annoying everyone would be about pop culture Gordons, and I did. I still would choose this name.

prussian azure; what’s your favorite scent?

I’m running out of things to say as my favourite scent. OK, Nomad from Old Spice. I don’t know why, I think it must suit me or something. Maybe it’s the citrus… stuff going on there.

azure blue; what’s your favorite type of tea, if any?

Red Rose, my mom made it for me as a kid and she drank it all the time while teaching me piano or reading books.

turquoise blue; if you could start a garden, what would you plant?

Flowers, to show off to everyone, and then I don’t know, maybe some fucking pumpkins and easy things like corn and peas.

cerulean blue; if you were guaranteed to have a viewership, would you start a youtube vlog?

I think I’d be happier to have one if I knew no one was watching my antics LMAO

glauconite; describe your body without using any negative adjectives.

Best of both worlds

yellow green; picture yourself walking in a field. what do you see & hear in this scenario?

I’m still thinking of where I grew up. I see the sun through the branches of very old maple trees, and hear the wind in the long grass.

green light; are you in a comfortable place in life? if not, what do you think might make it better?

Yes, but I could make it better by moving in with cleaner roommates and getting a cat. And maybe work at something I’m actually interested in, or go to school or something.

green; name three countries you want to visit; do you have any actual plans in place to visit any of them?

I don’t have plans, but I’d like to visit Mexico, France, or Japan.

emerald green; do you speak any languages besides english? are there any additional languages you want to learn?

Kinda French. I want to learn Spanish… now Portuguese because everyone at work speaks it… literally, any very popular language. I want to learn so many languages

oxide of chromium; what’s your favorite book?

BRO WHAT IS A BOOK

olive green; are you currently reading anything? how do you like it so far?

Yeah, I’m reading a personal account of a Satanic cult. I had to stop reading it because I wasn’t ready for the graphic details.

mars brown; what’s a movie that always puts a smile on your face/makes you laugh?

Megamind/Thor Ragnarok

burnt umber; what’s something you plan to do before the day is over to take care of yourself?

Wow I feel really called out right now. I was going to eat some chicken because I’m hungry. Because that’s what I should be doing at 3AM.

umber; have you drank enough water today?

Yes, but probably not. I’ve been trying really hard today though.

voronezhskaya black; what or who is your go-to outlet for when you need to vent?

Probably you again, welcome to the salt mines!

sepia; name five things that always make you happy.

Buying a plant, rolling around on my fuzzy blanket, videos of cats being idiots, little unexpected thoughtful gifts, people sharing food.

indigo; what’s the best/sweetest compliment you have ever received?

A Treasured Mutual once spontaneously said I was a really good person because I was chill and they felt free to be themselves, to be vague.

payne’s gray; describe your aesthetic?

Looking around my room, it would seem to be whatever those studying people organizing notes with the window open on a sunny day have. I don’t know if this is me, but my room looks… vaguely feminine and organized in that way.

black; post a selfie because you are so beautiful!

I’m in my PYJAMA CLOTHES. I only want to take a selfie with GOOD NATURAL LIGHTING and the DAYTIME DARK CIRCLES around my eyes not the NIGHTTIME DARK CIRCLES. Maybe I have one hanging around

[everbrilliantheartbreaker]

Fanfiction Reader Tag

Tagged by @eyeliner-vampire  ♡ ♡

Fanfiction Reader Tag!

1. When did you start reading Fanfic (How old you were or how long ago)?

When I was probably...11 ish? so like 13 years ago

2. Do you have an AO3 account?

Yeh (LadyWisteria)

3. Do you read WIP (work in progress)? Why or why not?

All the time. I’m not picky about this at all. I’m a simple person. I see fic I think I’ll like? I read. doesn’t matter if it’s finished or not. I’ll make up my own ending til it is lol. also authors need that encouragement. finishing stuff is hard

4. What time of day is your ‘fic reading time’?

Usually late at night (like 1 a.m. and later..much later) but sometimes I’ll waste an afternoon instead (2 p.m. ish til I either have to go to work or I finish the fic)

5. How much time do you spend reading fic per week?

Not remotely as much time as I used, that’s for sure. Anywhere from an hour (if I’m rereading That favorite fic) to 2-4 hours if my friend has sent me a longfic again.

6. Do you listen to podfic (fanfic recorded like an audiobook)?

I...didn’t even know this was a thing tbh, so no. Sounds very neat but also I don’t listen to audio books anymore bcus my attention span re: audio input has gotten so bad over the years I can’t focus for more than a few minutes. 

7. What’s your favorite fic genre to read?

AUs AUs AUs. and fantasy. and fantasy AUs (although good long AU fics are harder to find). I am a very simple person. I see magic mentioned, I read. I also read a lot of romance fic (proving once again that fanfic writing is often better than mainstream original writing, bcus romance is one of my least favorite YA/movie genres). I don’t read as much of them but I also love mystery and paranormal fics

8. Are there any genres that you tend to avoid?

Super angsty no happy ending type stuff. “Major Character Death” is an automatic nope lmao (unless the summary looks reaallyyy interesting or it was recc’d to me). Tragedy is definitely Not my thing

9. What tag(s) do you track?

I don’t track any fic tags (I stopped tracking tags at all since Tumblr changed it from “keeping track of new posts in said tag” to “dropping random posts from that tag into the middle of your dash, and usually the same three”)

10. How do you find new fic?

Nowadays I mostly just read what friends send me or the new stuff a very few writers I follow post, but sometimes I also come across stuff through Twitter or Tumblr and curiosity wins out

11. How do you organize your fic bookmarks?

I..don’t? Is this a thing people do?? If I wanna reread something I either search through my bookmarks by title/author or just. filter by fandom. 

12. Do you subscribe to authors or stories?

Yeh. I only keep up with a very select few of them though. altho part of that is due to several of them being people I followed on fanfic.net years and years ago and never unfollowed, even though our interests may no longer be the same. (the other part is me going “oh I’ll read that later” and then just. never doing it.)

13. What is your favorite fanfic trope?

fake dating and bed sharing are always good

everyone is gay. also Good

14. What kind of plot line are you always here for?

“everything’s the same but they’re soulmates” (oh my god they were soulmates)

mafia AU

MAGIC

I really like in-between scene fics too. the events and character interactions that happen off-screen. I like writing those

15. What can an author do to make you love them?

write about my faves frequently

cool AUs

write about minor characters

good sense of humor

16. What can an author do to make you avoid them?

not into mpreg fics

a/b/o fics make me super wary I usually pass on those, even if the summary looks mildly interesting. they’re rarely if ever done in a way that isn’t rapey and gross

don’t care for fics period that have rapey scenes but you’re supposed to find them romantic

adult/minor ships

characterization is a big deal to me so if I don’t like how they handle the characters, especially faves I probably won’t be back

17. What do kudos mean to you?

when I get one I have a few seconds of “oh someone kinda liked this thing I wrote” and then I carry on about my day >.>;;; (I do appreciate them tho)

18. What kind of commenter are you (No comment, short comment, keyboard smash)?

I don’t comment as often as I mean to or wish I did, but when I do they’re loong comments (I’ve passed the AO3 character limit at least once kshg)

I tend to quote favorite parts and then react to them, and I like to theorize and ask questions about character’s thoughts at a certain part or what author imagines happens before/after the fic

19. Have you ever stopped reading a fic? Why or why not?

Yes. Once because I stumbled into a very sexually explicit fic when that was. Not at all what I was expecting (I was also very young lol), I think there was a very few I quit because they were boring or very poorly written, but most often I “quit” a fic for the same reason I don’t do audio books anymore lmao: because my attention span is sht and my motivation and commitment are extremely fickle things. I either forget or just wander away for a bit and then forget. Often I mean to come back and finish it; it’s just a matter of how long it takes. (I also second hand embarrassed out of a fic so hardcore that it’s been a whole 9 months since I’ve touched it khdfgd)

20. Have you ever read a fic more than once? What is it about that fic that makes you want to read it again?

YES. This requires like a minimum 4 separate posts to really answer but:

Behind Bricks and The Penance of a Killer by Deathbelle

this person is my fricking favorite author ever and these are two of my fricking favorite fics ever, I must’ve reread Behind Bricks 6 or 8 times now and Penance is the BokuAka-centric companion piece to my favorite fic of all time that I always wanted 

Mending Bonds and If the Heart Breaks, Does That Mean There’s No Home? by RussianSunflower3 

Mending Bonds is soft found family fluff centering on a very minor fave of mine and If the Heart Breaks is very angsty found family fluff that also focuses on some minor characters and it always hurts my heart but the ending and the soft middle always heal it right back up (“[Hanamaki] has a heart big enough for everyone in the world, and then some.” ohhhh my godd)

Boiled Frogs by ReginaGalaxia 

this one is. a really hard read centered around emotional abuse and manipulation and hoooo boy it is a rough read especially if you’ve experienced any of that personally but it’s so well written and the character dynamics are great and in its lighter moments it’s fricking hilarious. 

(bits and pieces of) The Roost by Ugglabarn 

 bits and pieces only bcus Roost has a lot of very heavy dark content that I’d have to be in a specific mood to reread the whole thing because it hurts my heart way too much but also it’s one of the best Fukurodani-centric longfics I’ve ever read (PLUS AN AU..!!) and I love love how they write the characters and how much focus there is on the minor members and ships and in its lighter moments Roost is also really funny the most recent chapter was hilarious

Expensive Hotel by Crown_of_Winterthorne

smut. explicit smut. excellent explicit smut with loving polyamorous boyfriends and plenty of consent discussion and kissing. my entire jam right there

Class 1-A Whomst? by Ya_Boi_Hal

this is the funniest chatfic I’ve ever read in my life and the first good chatfic I ever read. absolutely hysterical. also has some really good serious content in the middle and some Aizawa dialogue that punched me right in the feels. 12/10 will read again. sometimes I just randomly say “Mineta whomst??” and cackle to myself

and back in the day it was:

The Flame of Betrayal by DataIntegrationThoughtEntity

I guess traitor! Tahu was a popular trope back when Bionicle fandom was at its peak?? and not everyone liked it apparently but I enjoyed this fic greatly every time I read it it was well written and had interesting OCs and I am actually highly tempted to go reread it again

and Asleep Beneath a Wheat Field by Feline Freak

this was a very peculiar little OC-centric one shot that was also very sad and I don’t know why it grabbed me like it did but I remember rereading it 3 or 4 times at least

21. Do you like sequels?

The fics I like don’t usually come with sequels but The Penance of a Killer is one so Yes

22. Do you like dabbles?

I guess? I haven’t read too many I don’t think but hey, more fic is more fic. Who’s gonna complain about that?

23. What do you wish more fic authors would do?

Write about minor characters more

24. What do you wish more authors would stop doing?

that thing where they latch onto one facet of a character’s personality - or worse, one that fandom made up - and write them as if that’s the only trait they have

25. Do you like one-shots or multi-chapter?

Multi-chapter. I mean both are great obviously but the majority of my faves are multi-chapter and obviously if I like a fic I’m gonna wanna spend as much time in that universe as possible

26. How long do you like chapters to be?

Usually I feel the longer the better. once in a while I’ll hit one that’s so long it’s kind of distracting but extremely rarely

27. What’s your favorite POV (point of view) to read (first, second, third)?

Third

28. What do you think of OC’s?

I didn’t use to care for them very much but as I started reading fic by more advanced writers I found several I really liked. have a very small list of OCs from recent fics I’ve read I would actually kill a man for I love them so much

29. Do you download fic?

No, but seeing as my absolute favorite Bionicle fic vanished off the face of the earth several years ago and I cannot find anything about it an y wh ere sometimes I think about saving my faves. I never got to finish reading that fic and I am absolutely devastated every time I think about it. 

30. Tell me something else about your fic reading! Anything else!

best thing is when my friend and I buddy read a fic and send each other our favorite parts

Tag!

@yaelathewordsmith and @samantha-girlscout  ♡ ♡ ♡

[geminijackdaw]

Fanfic Author Asks

Tagged by @bereft-of-frogs​! 

I... have a really hard time being positive about my own writing, but I tried OTL 

Author Name: I’m KiwiMeringue pretty much everywhere! I might change it to this one sometime? But I’ve changed it before and I don’t want to keep like, switching all the time OTL I should probably just have called it like KiwiWrites or something, but the thing about this username is I just thought it was cute and unintentionally led a bunch of people to assume I was from New Zealand which is patently false advertising and very disappointing when it turns out I’m Canadian xD; 

Fandoms you Write for: I’ve got stories published for the MCU, and Naruto!  Uhhh I’m blanking on things I’m famiiliar enough with to write for but there are a bunch? Critical role, the adventure zone, Good omens, netflix she-ra., maybe? Homestuck, but more @mr-alice and I’s fantrolls and kids, who still have a huge place in my heart, more than canon.  

Where you post: I’m kiwimeringue on AO3 and FF.net, and then any like small prompt fills I’d probably leave here, 

Most Popular One-shot: Hands down, it’s Therapy Dog.  In which a young Hatake Kakashi deals with grief, survivor’s guilt, or PTSD by acquiring an irresponsible number of dogs. (Disclaimer: this does not work irl if you’re not a magic dog whisperer with a large property out of town) 

Favourite Story You Wrote:  This is as far as I got and this has been sitting in my drafts for days because I really, really struggle with this. I have a hard time being proud of anything I write. I guess it’s Therapy dog, becuase it’s definitely the one that’s resonated best with people, and probably my best example of “Look, I wrote a fanfic!” without having to qualify it with a bunch of asterisks. 

I have given myself a self-imposed deadline of from October 1st to halloween to finish a prompt that I got from @portraitoftheoddity​ in her discord server, (it’s not SUPER spooky, but it’s tenuously thematically appropriate enough that I’m making it my project for the month xD) if I can pull this off, it will be this one. It should be fun. 

Story You Were Nervous to Post: ALL OF THEM. Time I had some Time Alone (TIHSTA) is like a self-indulgent au of a self indulgent au, and I;m amazed anyone enjoyed it xD It got more of a response that Undying Fidelity (UF), the fic from which is is derived, did, for a while, which surprised me. I sort of what to qualify that I started this before I found the incredible corner of the MCU writer’s fandom that I currently frequent, so uh... this is very much Disney Grandmaster. This is Jeff Goldblum in space. Which is what I’m comfortable writing, but feels really pale and inconsequential in contrast to the horrifically vivid and rich dark carnival of twisted Grandmaster fan content that exists, like welcome to fucking weenie hut Jr’s, population: me. 

How Do You Pick Your Titles: With great difficulty and much waffling! Kintsugi is named for thematic relevance that... I haven’t actually gotten to yet but it’s about to become stupid literal anyone who read version 1.0 knows how I mean this. But the idea of things history, and damage being inextricably linked to them, but that the thing can go on anyway, changed but not ruined, there’s recurring imagery and points of fault lines, places where things have been weakened, but that these are important and necessary. 

I don’t feel like I have to explain Therapy Dog xD it’s about coping with grief... with dogs. 

Undying Fidelity is like, painfully obvious, but it’s what I had started calling it, and it just. stuck. Obviously from Loki’s like... second last line in IW, and Sigyn’s title in the Marvel Comics. I’m kind of wishing I’d chosen something else, because there are definitely other fics with the same title, and it’s the name of a song from the IW soundtrack that is... less than fun. For obvious reason. I mean it’s perfect for what it was used for, but it’s not a “ahhh gonna pop this one on for a listen” kind of piece. I still can’t think of anything better, though we’re kind of in a weird place because I don’t quite have all the cards on the table, yet. On Loki’s end though,I’m hoping that I’ve sufficiently established this like... tenuous vestigial little flicker of affection that he’s been able to more or less ignore, but that simply would not go out, despite how much easier that would have been, that’s been given a little room to breathe now. (I could definitely go on trying to justify this for paragraphs, so I’ll stop now xD). Thematic chapter naming is another thing I love to inflict on myself and I always regret it, though I love it so much when other people do it, ahhh. UF’s chapters are all named after cards of the Major Arcana in the Tarot. I’m going to get to one eventually and you’re all going to see why I did this, and you’re all going to hate me and I deserve it xD 

Time I Had Some Time Alone is the thing that’s repeated at the end of REM’s :”It’s the end of the world as we know it” and does sort of describe our reluctant hero’s state at the beginning xD Thriving in his completely self centered backstabbing Littlefinger party hellscape. (I went off on a huge tangent here that I have removed, I may make it its own post). Anyway, more thematic chapter naming, everything’s based on some apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic story. So 21 Days later (since for Loki it felt like three weeks) instead of 28, and chapter two is now titled “beyond thunderdome” because of course it is. (it was “the man come around” for like, THE ARRIVAL OF DEATH  but that uh... that’s going to be a later chapter now). 

Fic-in-planning stages will be called some variant of “Again, from the Top”? Take it from the top? ugh I’m trying to evoke like... redoing a scene. 

There was also Errant, my NaNoWriMo story from like 2012 or something? xD It was about a bunch of idiots that were basically an RPG party in a shitty High fantasy bullshit setting. So like, as in, “a knight errant” wandering in search of adventure, but also in the sense of like like... they’re a bunch of dumbasses making mistakes. 

Do you Outline: Yes! I definitely need to be more organized about it because my outlines are like these stupid irreverent event sequences that involve me remembering nuance way too well. Like for Kintsugi especially I’m scared I’ll have forgotten important minutia that I didn’t bother including becauyse oh pfft, of course I’ll remember that. And then I ...dont. My initial outlines for UF were an excel spreadsheet with scenes in various tiem periods that I dragged and dropped all over the place xD It was SUPPOSED to be thematically relevant paired scenes, with one part of each chapter being zset in the past and one half on the statesman and it just... did not work out that way. 

How Many of Your Stories are complete: One! And it’s the one-shot! FML!

In-Progress:  Undying Fidelity: Currently working on chapter 10 out of 22 TIHSTA: 2 out of... probably 4+ epilogue? Kintsugi: 13/Mayyybe like 30 something?

Coming Soon: From the Top is in its planning stages~! 

Do You Accept Prompts: Absolutely! I can’t guarantee that a prompt is going to like... spark writing? in me? But I’m always open to the idea. And that doesn’t mean that an idea is bad or anything! Just like, can I, personally, take this idea and run with it somewhere. 

Upcoming Story You’re the Most Excited For: Probably from the top, though I am two chapters out from part of of UF I am reeeeeally looking forward to writing :D 

Tag Five Fanfic Authors to Answer These Questions: I don’t know who’s been tagged already, I’m so bad at this, so uhh~ If you have been already, or if you just don’t feel like it, please disregard this! And if I don’t tag you but you feel like it, go for it!  @teleris-night @malicemanaged @cosmicmewtwo @not-so-terrible and @ramblingredrose