#i am not very sorry for how long and mostly a ramble this is

[songofwizardry]

it’s strike evening! tomorrow teachers in england and wales start on a series of discontinuous strike days, over teacher pay and funding.

i have had this long post of anecodates the state of state education right now sitting in my drafts for months. but i think it’s a good time to share it. there are no graphs or national statistics—you can get those from the neu, and if you’re reading this you probably know them already. but i think it’s worth sharing the personal side of why we’re striking as well. this is very disconnected, and rambly, and frustrated, but here goes:

i’m a physics graduate. i trained to teach at one of the largest ITT providers in the country a few years ago. there were about 25-30 physics trainees in this batch

at least ten have already left the profession, or left the country to teach elsewhere. this is not including people who left state education to teach in independent schools, or people who dropped out during the training year

i trot this statistic out a lot, because it’s shocking—this year, we have recruited one physics teacher for every eight state schools in england. that’s just trainees recruited. several of them will drop out during the training. even more will leave during their induction period (25% of new teachers leave within two years). it gets worse every year

over the last two years, i have watched my school (a comprehensive secondary) try to replace, or find long-term supply, for several staff—maths teachers, science teachers, MFL teachers, technicians, pastoral staff, etc. pretty much every time, it’s taken at least 3 months to find a long-term replacement. the ‘revolving door of supply staff’ is very true, and supply staff are also hard to find

nationally, schools are ridiculously tight on money. this hits the poorest areas and kids worse—we push up every class to 32 students because that means more money for the school, we turn what were previously free trips into paid ones because schools can’t afford to cover the costs, we turn off the heating at 4pm, we cut TAs and extra-curriculars and sports and equipment budgets. this is a funding crisis as well as a staff pay crisis. a non-funded pay rise is useless

these are not hypotheticals btw—they have happened and are happening in my school and in schools near me. we are cutting trips, clubs, TAs, mentoring support, you name it. if it can be cut it will be.

the easiest way to cut costs is by cutting down on staff. so all our timetables are as full as it is legally possible to be. there is no breathing room. one class can be shared by multiple staff to make this timetable mess work. staff are stretched to their limit, and if someone falls sick long term, there’s no staff free to cover and – see above – we cannot recruit! so we return to a revolving door of supply staff (whom we also can’t get)

the cuts to additional support affect kids with SEND needs, emotional needs, kids who are having a hard time, etc the most. i cannot tell you the number of kids i have who need a TA or a mentor and don’t get one, need counselling, need a reader, need a scribe, need 1-to-1 EAL support, etc..... it goes on

and at the same time social services across the board have been slashed after years of tory austerity. camhs is a mess, the nhs has no money, youth services are gone, libraries and community centres are shut—we are trying to fill a gaping hole, with no goddamn money

and on the note of staff pay—support staff especially don’t get paid enough, but across the board, I’m hearing of colleagues using food banks, not being able to afford heating or feeding themselves or children, struggling to make rent, etc. especially for early career teachers, it’s not enough. I know of plenty of colleagues who took on additional responsibility way earlier than they wanted or were ready for, because it means extra pay, and the standard salary isn’t enough to live on.

couple that with the fact that in a subject like maths or science, there are plenty of entry-level jobs that pay much better, and it’s no surprise people aren’t coming into the profession.

i care deeply for my students. i want the best for them. they deserve teachers who are not overworked, exhausted, and bitter. they deserve subject specialists, not four months of rotating supply teaching their GCSE chemistry class. they deserve staff who feel valued, and thus stick around long enough that they can build relationships with them. they deserve enough lab equipment, textbooks, glue sticks. they deserve extra curriculars and trips they don’t have to pay for, that aren’t funded out of whatever I can spare from my own tight budget that month. they deserve dedicated TA support where they need it, again, with TAs who are valued and have time to build connections with them and support them.

and i am also tired, and i care deeply for my colleagues. we all deserve better.

so i am striking tomorrow, for my students, and my colleagues, and myself, because i deeply love this profession and it deserves so much better than a government that clearly doesn’t value educators or education. if you can, join us on the picket line at your local school, or at a march! there’s a strike map in the notes.

[volfoss]

Actually sorry I need to bitch and moan about this. I've been reading the san.dman (do not ever do this to yourself it's a hell unimaginable by anyone) and like... I really think it's interesting how much ga/iman is praised as super progressive on Tumblr for THIS specifically when it has so so much bad in it. About 10 issues in I started a game with how many women were in the issue who survived/were raped/nearly raped and it was insane how little women did not fit into these categories. One black woman lived and the rest were all burned alive. And he then later gave an excuse that it was bc of how Dream imprisoned Nada (16 year old African queen who fell in love with him. Its a very big mess and really sucks) in Hell so of course it influenced the entire world and so every black woman but ONE (who was introduced in the second to last issue) died and died violently. Not even to get into how it plays into the really violent misogyny that he had during the short story he wrote around the end of San.dman (when he was in his mid 30s) that was literally just one graphic rape scene to a minor after another (his snow white retelling is pretty infamous bc of how bad it is just by the summary but let me tell you that it is FAR worse to read). Like there's so so much that I think people do not discuss with his writing and it honestly just is very baffling that people hype him up given well. Everything that happens in San.dman. like the endless alone has a lot of... Well let's say interesting issues. Every single woman dream comes across wants to fuck him (to the point that at his funeral, it's 90% the women he was with/wanted to be with him and then a little from his siblings????), despairs entire character is literally just that she's depressed and coincidentally the most prominent fat character (and also naked all the time. Which they did seem to fix in the show but it's baffling how it's like her, one serial killer who nearly raped a woman before dream stops him, a guy that dies and I guess Abel if you squint for the fat rep) and then desire oh my god. I wish desire was written well instead of here's our nonbinary/gender fluid/genderless rep (cool in theory!!!) and then the fact that it (in the original series, she uses he she and it pronouns) raped a woman is dropped on your head and he is not at all regretful about it and ends up like.. taunting the victims granddaughter??? And delirium my god if there was ever a representation for born sexy yesterday and also being weird as fuck about mental illness it would be her. She's barely clothed most of the time, referred to as very very young most of the time and her mental illness (vague) is just kind of used as a joke a lot of the time? Like it's a funny joke that she doesn't remember stuff or that she's overstimulated or that she's using the wrong words or talking like a child. It's really weird because all of these characters have potential but they aren't really ever treated that way. Me when I get him for every single woman treated horribly!!!!!

[arolesbianism]

The sadness and agony that emerges everytime I start a new oni save and am forced to remember what it's like to have a dupe without a hat only to put them in a hat because I think they'd look cute only to remember hats make half of them look bald but I spent this long maxing out a skill for them so Im too stubborn to back down and remove the hat

[luveline]

I’m begging for more Golden Retriever Girlfriend with either Steve or Eddie- scraped knees? Doesn’t even notice, just too excited to tell their boyfriend about the butterfly they saw on their way over to see them…

I chose Eddie again cos I like him ♡ gn!reader | 1k words

The walk to Eddie's house is long but not boring. The trailer homes are dispersed over long stretches of green grass, so sometimes you see bugs. Mostly caterpillars, sometimes spiders, snails and slugs, ants, crickets if you're quiet enough. 

Today, two butterflies. They swing through the air beautifully as if orbiting the other, pure white with wings as unremarkable and delicate as tulip petals. 

They're distracting. You follow them for a short while until they fly too far to see and hurry the rest of the way to Eddie's home, rushing on toes up the steps into his trailer. 

"Eddie?" you ask into the empty living room. 

The bathroom door opens but he doesn't emerge. "In here." 

You stride over and peer inside. He's spitting toothpaste foam down the sink, his hair in a tie, his eyes still droopy with fatigue. 

"You get up way too early, you know that? I don't know how you can already have walked here when I got up five minutes ago."

"The weather's great," you say easily, pushing into the small bathroom though you shouldn't to wipe sleep from the corners of his eyes. 

He bats your hand away. "Stop." 

You stop and frown for the five seconds that you feel scolded until he grabs your fingers to give you a quick reassuring squeeze.

He drops your hand in favour of washing his face, cupping hot water in his hands to scrub at his nose roughly. You ramble mildly about the journey here.

"They were dancing, Eddie. I've never seen anything like it. They were really pretty..." you detail, distracted by his face, his lashes heavy with wetness.

He dries off with a towel. You reach around to the back of his head to pull his hair tie free and he sets his hands over your waist, a casual proximity as you run your hands through his curls. You're careful. You know how prone to tangles he is. 

"I can feel you looking at my face," you say, trying not to breathe too heavily. 

"Sure am, sweetheart." 

You feel as radiant as a marigold under his appreciative gaze. "There. Perfect again," you mumble.

"Thanks."

You nod and move out of his reach, back into the cooler space of his living room. You do a little spin as you go, an unbearable amount of happiness in your chest as you pose in front of the couch, one hand at your hip and the other pointing at your still-tired boyfriend where he follows you. 

"We have the whole day! What are we gonna do first?" you ask. 

"Baby, what the fuck have you done?" 

The smile slips off your face. He sounds mad enough to startle you and you drop your hands. "What?" you ask weakly. 

His eyes flit from your face to your knees and he gestures to them. He looks wide awake. "You're bleeding. Sit down." When you don't move he takes your shoulders into stern hands and guides you backward. "Sit down! Jesus, sit." 

You drop onto the couch and look down at your knees, surprised to see them all bloody and scratched. When you'd slipped on leaf litter walking down the main road into the park you'd assumed everything was fine despite the stinging pain, and by the time you'd seen the butterflies you'd forgotten altogether. 

"When did you do that?" he asks. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"I forgot," you say, eyes blinking owlishly at his fierce expression. 

Eddie spins on his heel to dig through a kitchen cabinet for his first aid kit, popping it open by the sink. "Piece of shit kit," he mutters, piling foil wrapped bandages into his hand. 

He looks less formidable as he kneels on the floor between your knees, thumb probing the edge of your grazes one then the other, very gentle.

"You didn't tell me what happened," he says quietly, eyes on your knees as he sprays a small bottle of disinfectant over your knees with no warning and you flinch. 

"Shit, I'm sorry," he says. 

You blink back tears. "Stings," you say, giggling wetly.

He wipes your grazes with precise, almost calculated movements. One hurts worse than the other. "Sorry," he says again as he drops the bloodied wipes to the floor and rips a sterile packing open with his teeth – which is all types of wrong – and unrolls a length of white bandages. 

"Hold the gauze, honey," he says. 

You move your hands as he instructs, wondering if he's ever called you honey before. You're still deciding by the time he finishes, his hands in twin position just below your knees. 

You brush your bandages together and smile. "They're white. Like the butterflies." 

"Is that why you fell? Watching the butterflies?" he asks, sounding curious. 

You laugh and weave your fingers into the soft hair at the back of his neck, dropping your face down. "I'm not that stupid. It was all the fallen leaves by the turning." 

He smiles and clasps your wrists. "You're not stupid at all."

He doesn't give you time to argue as he stands and cleans the small mess he'd made fixing your bloody knees. You stand too, always trying to follow him despite limited places to go. Eddie's more than used to it by now. 

"For future reference," he says, a certain roughness to his tone. "Don't wait ten minutes to tell me the next time you split your knees." 

"Sorry." 

He throws an arm over your shoulder and tugs you into his side, giving you a good shake. "Stop. I'm serious, stop. Be sorry about how you've been here twenty minutes and haven't asked for a kiss yet." 

"I wanted to, but you got all scary about my legs!" 

"I can be scarier." 

"No you can't."

"No, I can't." 

You share what feels like an especially private smile despite being on your own and drop your head into his shoulder. He rests his cheek atop your crown.  

"You had blood down to your ankle," he murmurs. "You scared me." 

"Can I have a kiss now?" you ask. 

"You'll have to let me think about it," he bluffs, already leaning in. 

[abstractnaturaldisaster]

is it over now? (was it over then?)

part four

part five: i was hoping you'd be there

Robin managed to keep her shit together for approximately ten minutes after she stopped watching Steve make his way through security and into the depths of the airport. In the ride back to Steve's place, her leg was shaking so much Nancy discreetly grabbed Robin's pinky and held it in the back of the car.

The rest of the trafficky route back to Steve's all Robin could think about was how to fix things. She knew Steve didn't tell her about Eddie so she could fix things and Steve didn't run off to Italy to hide from everything but the situation still bothered Robin. She hadn't known Eddie for a terribly long time but he made her dingus happy so she held him in relatively high regard. It didn't make sense for him to just cut tail and run without leaving some sort of door open for a resolution and Robin was going to her darndest to figure out how on earth she could find that crack.

When they got back to Steve's apartment, Nancy didn't let Robin go long without asking for an explanation.

"Robs, babe, what is going on?" Nancy asked.

"I need to figure out how to solve Steve and Eddie." Robin answered.

"I don't think Steve wants you too. He seemed pretty resolved to close that chapter." Nancy urged.

"I know what he said but that's not what he wants. Also Eddie is a huge dummy if he doesn't realize how good he had it with Steve and also that Steve would never cheat on anyone. Especially not after y'all's whole thing. No offense." Robin continued.

"Okay so we aren't letting this go. What's the plan?" Nancy asked.

"Thanks for your support, love. I just can't figure out why Eddie jumped to the conclusion that you and Steve were together again. I mean no offense but like that ship very publicly sailed," Robin said.

"I'm trying really hard not to take offense but the more often you say it the more I am having trouble not being offended," Nancy snarked.

"Sorry, dingus wormed his way into my little heart long before you so I still gotta give you shit over soulmate solidarity. But back to the matter at hand. Eddie only assumed you would only be visiting Steve if you were trying to get back together when really you were coming to see little old me. So what if I came out. Like what if we came out? And shared some of the pictures from like super early on and thanked Steve for being a great friend for many years when I wasn't ready to take that step," Robin knew she was rambling but, hell, she was on a roll.

"Are you ready for that? I'm happy to take your lead on all this. It's not like we haven't already told everyone who is actually important to us. I mostly write freelance nowadays anyways so there isn't really some big bag corporate overlord I need to worry about. You know Steve doesn't need you to do this? It's one thing if you're ready to come out on your own, it's a whole different thing to do it for someone else," Nancy counseled.

"I really think I'm ready. I'm sick of Steve feeling like he needs to come to everything with me and you're stateside a lot more often and I'd love to go out on dates without the next day having like a million articles speculate if you're trying to move in on Steve. I think it's time," Robin rationalized.

"All right, then. We're doing this. Should we use this as an excuse to make Jon take cute couple pictures of us?" Nancy giggled a little at her suggestion.

"Yes! Perfect. Get him over here. Operation Save Dingus from his Self Sacrifice is a go!" Robin jumped up on the couch to make her point and Nancy immediately had to come to her aid as she wobbled enough to lose her balance.

Robin was excited. She was ready for the next step with Nancy and if it helped Steve get out of his own head and/or convinced a certain metalhead with very few remaining braincells to get his head out of his ass then so be it. Robin couldn't wait to think of all the sappy shit Nancy would pretend to be annoyed at she'd be able to do now. Steve would be back in a few weeks so Robin anxiously awaited Jon's response and started several caption ideas in her notes app.

part six

@lololol-1234 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @zombiethingy @grtwdsmwhr @dreamercec @anne-bennett-cosplayer @strawberryyyenthusiast @mensch-anthropos-human @kal-ology @ttyrussss @kristmkris @starman-jpg @wonderland-girl143-blog @child-of-cthulhu @legalmenace87 (if you wanna be tagged in future parts feel free to comment! happy to add people)

it's not quite fixed yet but we are getting so close!!!

[hyperfixatedbastard]

Hi i hope you doing well. I have a resquest... more like a headcanon. What if Adam was a dad ? What his behaviour will be ? Does he be a good or a bad father ?

I understand if you don't do it. I don't want to force you for something you don't want to.

Dadam (Dad!Adam) Headcanons

we bringing out the daddy issues on this one boys

WARNINGS: none

A/N: I haven't done a headcanon type of post yet, but they're easier to write than regular one shots and I'm too tired for that shit. The request didn't specify what kind of Reader (spouse or child), so I just went with general headcanons that don't specify the Reader at all. Insert yourself as you wish!

Also, thank you all for your patience! It's been very busy for me lately and I've been too exhausted to write much, so expect a lot more of these kinds of posts (the formatting is easier and I don't have to write a bunch of dialogue lol).

Dividers

As the father of humanity, Adam had...a lot of kids. The guy lived for 800+ years just populating the earth. That's a LOT of kids. We all know how the first two turned out. That is, not fuckin' well. To be honest, I don't think Adam valued his children. It was just kinda... a thing he had to do. (When Abel died and Cain got exiled, he fr just went and had another kid to replace them.) But I am in deep, deep denial and this is for my enjoyment as someone with severe daddy issues. So fuck all that.

At first, Adam is 100% the guy that freaks the fuck out when he finds out he knocked someone up. That man is SWEATING. He's actually pretty chill if it's someone he's in an established long-term relationship with, though. He still freaks the fuck out, but to a significantly lesser degree and with a much smaller chance of up and leaving. Once he's over the initial shock, he's shocked to find that he's kind of excited. Back when he was alive, having kids was just normal because it was such a common occurrence.

This man knows every little detail about pregnancy and infants. With the amount of kids he's had? He has seen it ALL. Sure, all his information is thousands of years old, but knowledge learned through experience is super valuable when it comes to this shit! He doesn't know what the fuck a uterus is, but he knows exactly how to make his partner the most comfortable, how to deal with cravings, etc. If his partner has a problem, he's got a solution. It might be a fuckin' weird one, but it works! He'll probably grumble and complain, but he doesn't actually mean it. Bitching is just his thing, y'know? But... pregnancy hormones + Adam's douchebag-ness = feelings getting hurt. If his partner starts crying because of some shit joke or complaint he made? He's scrambling so fast. "Shit, babe, fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, fuckfuckfuck, don't cry—"

Once the baby is born, he definitely surprises literally everyone but his partner by actually doing helpful shit. Changing diapers? Easy fuckin' peasy (he does watch a tutorial online because he doesn't know how tf modern diapers work but he's a fast learner) Feeding? No problemo. Getting up in the middle of the night to do both of those things? His sleep schedule's already fucked, this shit ain't new.

When it comes to parenting and raising the kid, though... that's definitely where Adam struggles. He'd struggle with bonding. A lot. Adam mostly talks about things that you really shouldn't say around children, much less bond over. I think he'd be better at just letting the kid ramble while he's just sitting there, fully engrossed in whatever bullshit his child is saying. He's not just passively listening with little 'uh-huh's and nods, this man is active in the discussion. Have you ever heard a small child speak? They say the most random shit ever, and Adam would love it. It's peak entertainment to him. Even if it's just incoherent babbling, he'll have full-on conversations with this baby.

He'd definitely have some shared interests as the kid gets older. I think Adam's favorite shows/movies are a mix of action movies and shit like Power Rangers. He's not ashamed of it either—'fuck you, the Power Rangers are fuckin' cool.' This also goes for video games. I know that man is a toxic COD gamer boy and you can't prove me wrong. Basically, the only thing that keeps him from becoming one of those husbands that locks himself away in a man cave to play video games is the fact that he can game with his kid.

And once they get into school, he just gets really invested in the drama. Elementary school drama is such bullshit, and it'd be the best reality TV he's ever seen. "Oh, don't tell me—it's that bitch Cindy. The fuck did that little shit do this time?" He'd be gasping like it's a damn soap opera. 'Oh no she didn't!' kinda vibe.

He'd talk so much shit around his kid about the parents of their classmates, the teachers, anyone. Then the kid would repeat it and Adam would get sat down in the office with his kid like: "Your child said, and I quote, 'My dad says your mom's a bitch.'" "What? She fuckin' is." And yeah, he's not wrong - some of those parents are fucking nightmares.

If his kid got in trouble for fighting, his reaction would depend on the situation. If it was unprovoked and/or a part of bullying, he'd originally laugh it off but would be freaking the fuck out internally. He's probably a little traumatized by what happened with Cain and Abel. But if the fighting was an act of defense (whether of themselves or someone else) he would be the proudest dad ever. Fist-bumps his kid in the office in full view of the principal.

You cannot trust this man to give his kid the sex talk. It just will not go well. Like, if his kid needs advice when they're older (basically anything beyond 'where do babies come from') then he's your guy, but it's still gonna be awkward and uncomfortable. He'd probably have Lute handle most of those issues just so he doesn't have to know about his kid's sex life but can still trust that they have a responsible(?) adult if they have questions.

In terms of where Adam is lacking as a parent, there's a few areas in particular to focus on.

Emotional availability? Not his strong suit. At all. He can't deal with his own feelings, let alone his kid's. Most of the emotional support will be coming from his partner. That doesn't mean he doesn't try. But he can't show it with words all that well. He'll show emotional support in other ways—quality time, gifts, and acts of service for the most part. Like going out for ice cream, watching a movie, etc.

He's not good with discipline. To him, everything's no big deal. If his kid hasn't killed their sibling, that's good enough for him! Generally, his partner will choose when/how to discipline (with Adam's input ofc), but Adam's job is to just enforce it/not overrule it. He's 100% the type to be sneaky about it tho. If his kid is grounded, he'll go out with them to give them a break from being stuck in the house, y'know, stuff like that. Because of this, his kid forms a closer, different kind of bond than with Adam's partner. It's more friendly, I guess is the word? Like, his kid won't go to him for actual helpful advice, but if they fuck up somehow or are in a bad situation that they kinda got themselves into (drinking, car accident, etc.), then Adam is the parent they call.

I think Adam's peak parenting era would be when his kid is a late teen/young adult. 'Cause then he can actually be himself, for the most part. His personality is not very kid-friendly, so once his kid isn't really much of a kid anymore—he is so fucking excited. His relationship with his kid would be a lot more unconventional as they grow older. Like, he's really close with his kid once they're an adult. (totally not basing this off my relationship with my mom) His advice would be shit, but he'd give it if his kid needed it!

Definitely the type to text his kid more often than most parents. Mostly because he texts more like them and has the same sense of humor. Lots of shitty memes.

Also!! I think Adam would definitely make time for his partner. Date nights are a must. His kid better get comfortable with sleepovers at friends' houses or getting babysat by Emily 'cause he ain't letting parenthood fuck up his sex life.

I think that's all I got. Not sure how to end this so uh... shoutout to all you bitches with daddy issues lmao

Taglist: @little-miss-chaoss @fakeguysarehot @3sire-777

[flickering-nightfall]

I’m pretty sure that you made a post explaining why the arm is not the umbilical but I can’t find it, so, if you did make one, can you give a link to it? Sorry if you didn’t make one, I don’t have very good memory.

I'm not entirely sure which post that is but it sounds like something I'd ramble about? I have this post talking about making a 3D umbilical and this post talking about making a 3D arm with allusions to that buuut...

If that post doesn't exist then I'll make one right now!

Here, I made a diagram of terminology I use for the puppet/arm/umbilical structure. These terms aren't necessarily canon - they're just what I use.

As for umbilicals being different from mechanical arms, it's an interpretation, I think. But there's reasons why I call them different things.

So first here's this Moon dialogue.

(I think that's vanilla dialogue? The wiki confuses me sometimes. Link here if you want to see it yourself.)

We can assume from that dialogue that the wires + cord are the "umbilical." Moon's are obviously cut, but Pebbles' are not. And Moon's puppet is still attached to her mechanical arm.

(Lots more under the cut)

Umbilicals in real life resemble the wire/cord structure far more than the mechanical arm portion does. So that's another reason I refer to the wire/cord as the umbilical.

Lemme slap some stuff from my iterator headcanons doc here.

I like interpreting the puppet as a place to focus an iterator's consciousness. It acts as a sensory hub and a means to interact more finely with their surroundings. Neurons, in turn, are active memory comparable to RAM. Moon refers to Pebbles' imprints on his neurons as "a ghost left from his processing routines." They're not meant for long-term memory storage, but upper processes such as, well... thinking... cannot be done without them. So removing neurons affects an iterator’s ability to encode, recall, and process information. (Courtesy of my friend Folly, I also think they're mostly made out of fat. Kind of gross to eat.) Although Moon's umbilical is severed, she is still able to see through and control the movements of her puppet. So either she has some sort of other connection to the rest of her can, or her consciousness comes from the puppet rather than the can. The mechanical arm’s functions would be mostly structure-to-puppet function (control movements of arm and puppet, transmit the sensory information of the puppet) while the wire/cord handles more consciousness-in-puppet-to-structure function (facilitates awareness and control over superstructure and all that encompasses). So both the cord and the arm are part of the iterator-to-puppet connection, but the cord is more important. I feel like with the wire OR the arm's internals intact, the iterator can maintain perception of the puppet. When you give Moon an overseer eye, she says, “I am not much more than what you are looking at - a little creature in a box.” This can be literal, or it can imply that her perception is just limited to what she can see through her puppet in her damaged state.

In Rivulet’s campaign, the rarefaction cell could be partial compensation for a missing umbilical. Moon can move on her arm, call up image projections, reconnect to her overseers, and broadcast locally to Pebbles after getting the rarefaction cell. She refers to it as finally having her freedom back. But we don't know how many of her systems she does or does not have access to anymore.

If you eat one of Pebbles' neurons in front of him as Rivulet he says "I would appreciate if you would not eat those. My umbilical will keep me conscious, but every neuron lost is a piece of me lost as well..." We know that Pebbles keeps his wires/cord/arm connected in Saint's campaign, though, and he remains conscious despite having no visible neurons. Does the umbilical compensate for the lack of neurons as well? Maybe there are some still alive in the structure that we can’t see, and the umbilical allows him to stay connected to them.

...honestly, I think downpour makes questions about umbilicals harder to answer than if you only base off of vanilla lore. But I like working with downpour stuff, so oh well.

One last thing - the wiki page for Moon also says this under her trivia: "Looks to the Moon is still connected to the wall by her umbilical, but the damaged hardware lacks power to let her move around." Other references to umbilicals written throughout the wiki imply the arm is the umbilical as well. But! I don't know where the writers of that got that information. I don't think there's anything in the game that confirms that the umbilical and the arm are the same. If there's anything in the game that supports that, let me know~

So to summarize: I think evidence suggests the wires + cord are the umbilical because Moon refers to hers being cut. The mechanical arm could also be a part of the umbilical, or it be considered a different part that provides function in a different way. I usually refer to them separately, but that's just me, and I mostly do it for the sake of clarity. It's not confirmed canon.

There are a lot of things about Rain World lore you can run in circles around for hours, but not find any definitive conclusions for. It's part of the fun even if it drives me nuts sometimes. Come be confused with me :)

[damagedcoda6669]

okay so i am. so confused! are you a system/plural after all?

you made a post on your twitter about being the "original host" which is. a plural term of course but ALSO i'd like to say that the idea of there being an "original" is veeery misleading and not actually possible in DID/OSDD

the reason DID/OSDD exists at all is because a child's identity was unable to fully form in their developmental years, so the identity splits off and fractures into several parts necessary to keep the child safe. because of this, there can be no "original host" because there was never an identity formed that could be considered the "core," in a way, at all. it gives off the idea that there was one set identity that split off others later on in life, which isnt how DID/OSDD works in terms of alter formation

also, the disorder can only be developed in your early formative years, so its mostly unheard of for a system to go through life with a single part only to split off later on. your brain splits off alters in response to stressors or traumatic experiences, and so when the disorder is formed there would have to have been a fracture from the beginning where your identity wasnt able to come together to form a single one. multiple alters can be "original," in a sense, but there is not one sole original

i suppose that other alters could have simply been integrated and so they arent a part of your system anymore (leaving you as the "original host"), but thats probably not my place to explore and its all a bit too complicated for a tumblr ask

there are parts that have been around longer than all the other parts and there are parts that identify with/as the body or the head of the system, buuuut i just wanted to share that tidbit of information because misinformation can be very harmful when it comes to healthy plurality!!

in any case, dont let this cause you to spiral into more self-doubt because — surprise! DID/OSDD is supposed to be hard to understand or identify within yourself. its a trauma disorder formed to make you as functional as possible, so generally the disorder tries very hard to hide your other parts from you as to protect you from those traumas. being confused is a major part of plurality, and most long-term hosts do have the misconception of being "original" because there was no reason to think otherwise.

its also fully possible that you have been the host for the majority (or entirety) of your life, so dont get me wrong! im just trying to share that the idea of an "original" alter isnt possible.

regardless of whether or not you're plural, i wish you the best in exploring yourself and the way that your brain functions. you're doing great, truly!

and if i misinterpreted anything, im deeply sorry for that too. i'm just a stranger on the internet trying to provide input using the information i was given, and i genuinely dont mean any offense by this ask. DID/OSDD is also something i'm very interested in and passionate about as an autistic individual, so... im very sorry for the essay

THIS IS SO HELPFUL U HAVE NO IDEA. I KNOW NEXT 2 NOTHING ABT PLURALITY AND SYSTEMS. dont apologize 4 the rambling, its much appreciated!!! i get the same way abt bpd and autism so i get it!!! psychology and mental disorders r one of my special interests so im the same way!!! ^_^

i guess my post moreso came from the concern that i only have vry vry spotty, fuzzy, sometimes FAKE memories of my childhood, if any at all (id say i remember less than 1% of it, and most of what i "remember" is only becuz of photo evidence or testimony from other ppl) and my identity only rlly formed when i joined the internet at maybe 12 yrs old. so i sometimes have doubts that i formed when the body was born, but rather that i was created and that im a product of the internet inparticular, but that might also be a delusion??? its confusing, whenever i get ideas abt my identity they turn out 2 be fake sometimes. its hard 2 pinpoint what i am. so i was trying 2 say that i dont think ive been here since the birth of the body and that i spawned later on. idk if im explaining myself correctly, its hard 4 me 2 understand. but i appreciate u correcting me and explaining it 2 me in a way thats easy 4 me 2 digest!!! i dont want 2 spread misinfo evr.

i think im plural??? ive had liek 8 headmates (and a headspace at one point) that ive been able 2 identify, but nobodys rlly taken me srsly abt it until vry vry recently. ive always been told that im making it up 4 attention, or that im faking DID, and i was even told by a dumbass doctor that it was just my autism and that they were all imaginary. i nvr rlly claimed 2 be plural either, i always just got shot down whenevr i introduced the possibility of there being other sentient ppl in my brain. but i think that i am, probably. im not sticking 2 any labels atm becuz im confused and uneducated abt my headmates and im not diagnosed w anything, but i feel comfy with plural as a label becuz its a vague umbrella term. i nevr claimed 2 have DID becuz ive always known that my headmates cant front and take over my body (ive even asked one and she told me she couldnt LOL) ALTHOUGH. they MIGHT be able 2 front simultaneously as me, ive had edgy (whos currently dormant) finish art 4 me if i got tired, back in 2020 when he was still active. and i know alters fronting is a diagnostic requirement for DID (i think???) but i dunno. theres SOMETHING up w my brain.

i tried 2 post abt it on twitter actually, that i thought i was plural (a handful of ppl asked me so i wanted 2 confirm) but i deleted the post like an hour later becuz i wasnt getting any comments or likes and i was scared that i did something wrong and didnt know, or that im not actually plural and other plural ppl were mad at me 4 using their label. it made me so anxious >n<

i am such a yapper.. 4give me

[ourlittleuluru]

How... How do I even put the things going on in my head into words 😭 I can't with the new trailer and and the eventttttt

I'm sorry I'm gonna be so annoying on main for a bit, am totally freaking out. Sorry for the long post ahead... and by long, i mean... LONG

That BGM in the trailer is pretty 🔥🔥🔥 Ngl, very phantom thieve-y

ALSO the 4 star?????

This looks so gorgeoussss???? The rain and blood and him covering his face when the mask is taken of?!?!

THE DUALITY OF HIM IN JUST THE 5 stars as well????

FROM SHY AND AWW VS ANGY AND POUTY???!

The new couple pose!!!

The chat bubble is so pretty toooooooo and the ultimate????

The moon and stars in the backgrounddddd

Just him teleporting around and with the halo like a moon behind him. I have no words

Overall, loving the aesthetics!!!

can't stop looking at this pouty baby 😭🥺💕

AHHHHH NO XAVIER BBY You're no idiot sandwichhhh ToT

Look at himmm he looks so sadddddd 😭😭😭

Finally, about MC

Her outfit. I have... mixed feelings? I love it but yet something feels just a tad little awkward to me?? But I still mostly like it either way ><;;;

Maybe it's the exposed collar bone area???

Same block animation but that same moon phase background QwQ

The new skill seems to be a gathering skill??? Which will help a lot ngl X'D;;; If not it's a plain AOE skill, WHICH IS STILL USEFUL because there's no pushback! TwT

okok i better end my ramblings here. This post is loooooong enough

[crystaldoodler]

A very long post of doodles relating to @theminecraftbee ‘s smallishsona AU (sorry for the tag again). I think of this AU while wandering Tartarus, so, I’ve had a lot of time to think. This post is really long and has a lot of rambling so, I’m putting it all under the cut. I’m sorry world I have too many words and rambles in me

First up, character designs!

I used primarily their mc skins for design, with only a few rl things thrown in. But, I didn’t bring them up so the colors are off a bit.

Starting off with Joel:

He’s following the persona protagonist tradition of mostly wearing the school uniform correctly, but with some minor embellishments. I’m still debating whether or not to add more, but w/e. His signature color is green.

Then Skizz and Impulse:

The greatest dichotomy of time to design, Impulse I knocked out on the second go, but I’ve done many iterations of Skizz and I still am not satisfied with this design. The ripped sleeves looked too out there (to me, at least) but nothing else seems to work so I settled for the shirt under uniform shirt look. Something I struggled with that these two emphasize is making them look like teenagers, and what they look like, and also keep to the anime style, and also my own incompetence with drawing facial features so It’s something all of these lack in. Impulse is yellow, and Skizz is blue.

Scar and Grian are next up, Scar’s facial Scar is from summoning his persona, because he stabbed himself in the face lol. Not much to say about these guys, I settled on orange for Scar and red for grian, which I am still struggling with beacause mumbo:

is ALSO red. So I guess they are just, both? red? If you look at the party select screens in persona though, the characters have pretty strong color coding, so I guess I’ll figure something out. If anyone is still reading: help. Anyway, mumbo wins the award for wearing the uniform the most normal (except for the tie)

Last but not least, Gem!

She’s wearing a longer skirt than the usual uniforms and also some big-ass boots. Also, she’s a sea monster thing? So, I was thinking, staring at SEES cool new uniform things and thinking about the Phantom Thieves and how cool their outfits are and realized the persona games have at least some design change to separate their daily looks from shadow hunting. Even if it is only glasses in p4 lol. So, I thought maybe weapon holsters? but, that seemed a little too generic. So! I decided to combine how I normally draw the hermits (and a lot of the fandom does) as having non-human traits as the big things setting their combat looks apart. It is both a) fun to draw, b) creates an eye catching and distinctive design for combat and c) is really funny. I thought it was funny so I drew a comic about it:

and here’s a sketch of what everyone looks like and also the transformation gives them very distinct eyes, for no reason other than I think it looks cool:

mumbo is a normal human btw (or at least, he appears to be)

Welp,that’s all I got. If I look at these drawings any longer I will hate them so here they are, yippee. Also, Bee/OP, sorry for exploding; I am into persona and hermitcraft right now so this AU is like a perfect storm to give me brain rot.

[catboybiologist]

I was wondering if you had any readings on the biological aspects of transitioning, especially with the info you use to deconstruct the transphobia argument that being transgender is ‘against biology’. Im a biological sciences major, but haven’t gotten to discuss (much less find resources on) this topic.

Thanks in advance.

Long and rambling response incoming! Sorry for leaving this in my inbox for a few weeks.

This is a very interesting topic to me, and doesn't really have a clean answer. Because its not really about the biology itself, its mostly about the philosophy of science, and how it interfaces with ethics, etymology, and societal understanding. The primary thing to understand is that science is *descriptive*. Morality or classifications are societal determinations that we use to "wrap" scientific observations- gender is therefore the societal "wrapper" to sex, which, over centuries, has snowballed and taken a social definition well past any biological system.

That being said, most of my arguments hinge on the totality of changes that are possible with HRT, and how they affect the molecular mechanisms of sex determination. To me, this sheer totality means that a trans man with significant time on HRT can actually be considered a "biological man", and vice versa for a trans woman. To me, the sheer extent to which cell expression patterns change, and structural elements of the body change, means that the way that transphobes use terminology like "biological sex" is bullshit. And as I've said before, this is NOT a transmedicalist argument, and if I ever sound transmed, I am sorry. Part of the totality of this biological definition includes the interface of genetics, pyschology, and sociology that comprehensively includes all trans people, even those not on HRT. Rather, I use the changes of HRT as a way to demonstrate the plasticity of sex in humans and other animals, and how thin the barrier between sexes actually is. This punches holes in a lot of the propaganda that transphobes tend to roll out, and helps demonstrate how flimsy their talking points are. All of this is to say, something can't be "against biology" because biology is morally neutral. It's not morality. It's not static definitions. It's a set of observations. But, our thinking about definitions and classifications can reflect and be advised by these observations. For me, it helped to think about HRT changes, because my personal mentality is one of a constructed identity. I define myself by what I am in the moment, and if I can document my current state, that helps define who I am- which is a woman. The biology of transition told me how deeply that is true, and continually becomes more true, on a molecular level. So. Here's some individual papers and points that help guide my thinking on the topic, and how each helped me find peace with transitioning: Medical descriptions of changes on HRT:

I'm sure everyone is familiar with this and the WPATH, but from the perspective of medical expectations. Instead, take a look at the changes documented here, and start thinking about how deep and profound they are- these cell types and body structure are sitting there just waiting to happen, and they are literally the same as their cis counterparts. This was huge for me in accepting that my post-HRT body wouldn't be "fake", and actually is literally the

Review paper of sex determination pathways in the animal kingdom:

Transphobes use chromosomes as a prescriptive definition of sex and gender. However, if you take a broader look and see how sex determination works in animals with similar genetic mechanisms as us, it becomes pretty clear that chromosomal sex determination is a late addition to the party. Essentially, most animals use a fairly random mechanism to ensure an advantageous sex ratio in their population. This is often environmental or based on some random gene on chromosome that looks nothing like XY sex determination, but if a large chromosomal deletion comes along, its a convenient way to keep the big version of the chromosome always paired with the small chromosome- for example, the X chromosome always being paired with another X, or its half-deleted pair, the Y chromosome. But there's nothing intrinsic about the chromosomes itself that define sex, its just an evolutionary ride-along mechanism.

So what does actually determine sex? Well, as with any broad scale developmental effect, one signalling molecule or gene can cause extensive downstream genetic effects, and that active, lived set of gene expression then defines what secondary sex characteristics develop.

(even though the main point is about spermatogenesis, it does provide a lot of nice summary figures about testosterone signalling) While these papers don't talk about trans people, the introduction of cross-sex hormones will activate these pathways, and cause the wide variety of downstream transcriptional changes in gene activation. Essentially, the active genes in your body will follow the dominant upstream sex hormones in your body. If you're transfemme, on HRT, the active genes in your body are female ones. If you're transmasc, on HRT, the active genes in your body are male ones.

While I never explicitly studied trans people in my biology education, studying principles of gene regulation, chromosome biology, and just a tad of reproductive physiology means that I started to think about how all of those interface with the way we define ourselves in a lot of ways. And usually, that is dynamic- you can have developmental changes kicked off by signalling molecules later in life, and it would be deranged to ignore those changes out of spite and insist that the biological system is still the thing it was before. Sex determination is not exempt from that.

Again, I use HRT changes as an example, but you can find many similar papers on the psychology of transness even pre-HRT. But, I would caution against trying to find a "root biological reason" for being trans pre-HRT- its likely too polymodal to accurately characterize. It's why I stray away from neurological papers and arguments here. That is an ENTIRELY different argument and this post is already long. But hey, every ask I get like this helps formalize my thoughts on the matter. Hope this helped!

[rassvetsky]

If Without You

part one | part two

bucky barnes x fem!reader

"After opting to resettle in Delacroix, Louisiana; Bucky Barnes finally found the peace he yearned for. Though, when a friend of the Wilson's past successfully inconveniences him with the butterfly-in-the-stomach thing, he doesn't know if he could possibly complain."

[3.6k] | fluff fluff fluff, bucky's got a crush and he doesn't know how to deal with it, savage sam, the happiness and peace bucky barnes deserves, kissing!! ill do a part 2 just because happy bucky makes me wanna slide down the wall while weeping

reblog and/or like for a kiss, feedback much appreciated! not proofread.

Bucky Barnes yearned for a lot of things. He yearned for the sanity he had back in the forties, the connection he had with Steve, the way ladies swarmed around him before he was deployed to Europe, or the small fraction of peace Wakanda offered him…

But one thing he missed the most was to… feel things freely. Be the good old Bucky for once; be a man, a human being- not a vicious cycle of a man who doesn't allow himself to be happy like he should. Hell, Sam Wilson could talk his ears off about how he should treat himself with the same amount of respect he treats others, but it just wasn't that easy of a habit to change.

Not that he was unhappy with how things were going at that very moment, relocating to Louisiana -or 'following Sam around like a lost puppy', Sam's words, not his- was easily one of the best choices he made. The nightmares continued for the most part, but he felt like The Winter Soldier was buried deep enough to never resurface again. And the relief of being sure of that, how wonderful of a riddance finally making amends was; for once in his life, Bucky was sure Steve would be proud of him.

He helped out with the family business mostly, starting to get his way around a boat even though Sam didn't nearly trust him with that machine enough to let him go on a ride by himself. Not that Bucky minded anymore, having Sam by his side wasn't as bad as he made it out to be for the past months and, sure, it's hard to accept, but he felt himself growing closer to the man by each passing day.

They'd share sunsets together. A bottle of beer tucked tight in their palms, quiet waves lightly swaying the boat beneath their feet as the remnants of the sun shined through the water. The chit-chat was repetitive but never boring, and if Bucky wasn't ashamed to do so, he could probably admit that it felt good to talk to somebody.

He spent a lifetime not even sparing a word to anyone.

"... And like, the texture of it was so off that it felt like I was wearing a condom or something," Sam rambled on, stiff leaves crunchy under their feet as the duo walked through the path to the Wilson residence. "Really missing the good old days where fabric was taken seriously."

"You're the only person who's taking fabric seriously." Bucky commented, earning a scoff with a smile hidden under. "Better safe than sorry. I'm not opposed to condoms."

"Chill out, Mr. Sex Education, I'm not opposed to them either. I just don't want my t-shirts to feel like them." reaching for the front door to push it open, Sam allowed Bucky to enter first, shutting the door behind them. His attention was snatched away from their insightful conversation as he knitted his brows a little, following the sound of the light chatter in the kitchen with Bucky close behind.

"Hey th- Holy shit." he muttered out, glancing between his sister and someone he hasn't seen in a long, long time with his lips parted. "Am I crazy or is that Y/N?"

"In the flesh," your laugh felt as if it lit up the entire household with a deep ember gleam as Sarah joined along, your arms immediately wrapping around Sam's shoulders in a tight hug. "Missed you, buddy."

Bucky shot a glance at the others and then at Sarah. She must have noticed the curiosity in his eyes as she moved a little closer and mumbled, leaning against the counter between them. "Childhood best friends," she chuckled softly, watching you and Sam seemingly catching up as quickly as you could. "Haven't seen her since highschool."

You noticed Bucky's presence then. You knew him, obviously, you weren't all that disconnected from the world- yet he seemed much less intimidating when he was smiling at you, one hand going up to offer you a small wave. He was understandably built, shiny metal bicep peeking through the short arm of his blue shirt, two dog tags dangling down from his neck and shining along with his incredibly beautiful- alright, pretty- okay, that's not a good sign- his incredibly mesmerizing eyes. Yeah, that works.

You reached in almost immediately to shake his hand, a grin on your lips as he didn't immediately let go. "Y/N."

"Bucky." he replied, earning a nod from you before you looked at Sam again, pointing towards the pot of tea Sarah brewed for you earlier. "Tea, you guys?"

It's either you were a comedian, or Bucky really needed a good laugh recently because God, his cheeks started to hurt from how much fun he was having with that shared conversation. As the Wilson's and you reminisced about the good old days -mostly with a shit ton of funny stories sprinkled in between-, you told everyone about how your life had been since you left the city.

"I missed it here, to be honest." your slight hum pulled an 'aww' out of Sarah. "I went to see my father's doctor a few weeks after the funeral to thank him, you know, for his efforts. He told me that, um, my dad talked about this place so fondly and I just realized, you know. Realized that if there's peace in this world, it's here."

Bucky nodded slightly at that.

"I mean, I'll still work remotely but I don't think I'll go back to the city. The past year- it was just me, practically living in the hospital." Sam's hand found yours as he gave it a slight squeeze, his signature smile causing relief to surge through your veins.

"L/N residence kind of needs some TLC since the last time anyone's been there but we'll help out, alright?" he offered, pulling a grateful smile out of you as you sighed and gave his shoulder a firm pat. "This guy over here is good at lifting things, you should make use of him."

"I'm a human being, not a cyborg-" as Bucky was about to complain, your slight laugh cut him off, reducing his reaction to a shrug. "Alright, sure. Lifting things, here I go."

'Some TLC' was an understatement.

With Louisiana's humid summers and freezing winters, any Delacroix resident in their right minds would routinely give their houses a check. But you haven't been here for so long; asking for your dad to move in with you after your mom passed away was the correct thing to do, and obviously, the lack of care in the house for the past years definitely showed.

Bucky wanted to see the house when you announced that it's late and you had a lot of things to do at home anyway, offering to come with you just in case there was anything urgent to do. You didn't think much of it before agreeing, as you let him drive with you all the way over to your house- approximately the same size as Sarah's, but absolutely lacked TLC.

"Home sweet home," you mumbled through the breeze of the night, hands in your pockets before you pulled your keys out and let him in, hitting the light switch for the room to brighten up. The house seemed so cosy despite the old furniture and the crumbling layer of paint on the walls which definitely needed a varnish, there were a few spiderwebs here and there and obviously, a good amount of dust, but hey, he'd kill to live somewhere like this instead of the annex cabin Sam prepared for him. "It's not that bad, just some paintwork and I gotta fix a few things."

"Yeah, not as bad as Sam made it sound like," he hummed, earning a soft chuckle from you as you walked towards the kitchen area. "I hope you like coffee." you hummed, but as soon as you opened the cupboard door, you were met with the sight of yet another cellar spider so you shut it back immediately. "I hope you like spider flavored coffee."

It was his turn to laugh as he walked towards you, slightly hovering over you before opening the cabinet again, totally ignoring the spider crawling there as he reached for the coffee jar. "Spiders are a good sign," he spoke softly, helping you with the mugs too before you edged away towards the sink to give them a good wash. "At least you won't have to deal with other insects. Spiders eat 'em."

"Yeah, but I don't exactly wanna be roommates with them." you shook your head, cold water against your hands as you scrubbed away the mugs. "I mean, would my thoughts change if they decided to pay rent, sure, but-" his laugh cut you off again, successfully placing a smile on your lips as you started to make coffee for the both of you.

"That's rich." he commented, leaning against the countertop as he watched you maneuver through the kitchen. "I hope this doesn't come off weird but, um, I'm actually kinda glad you came. The age average is quite high here, so.."

"I'm pretty sure you're single handedly bringing that number up," you playfully teased, Bucky's scoff making you laugh and God, you felt like you haven't smiled so much in just a couple of hours ever since you left here.

"Oh, so that's how it is? Ageism much?"

"Call it whatever," you shrugged, finally handing him his own cup of coffee as you held yours, leaning against the island counter right in front of the one he was currently against. "I was actually kind of worried that I wouldn't find anyone to talk to here, except for the Wilson's, obviously. For the first time in a long time I feel at home, and I think I'm glad you're a part of it, too."

His smile was tender as he averted his gaze from you a little bit, shrugging before bringing his cup to his lips and taking a small sip. "To be fair, I feel the same way. I feel at home."

Bucky was easily the most selfless man on the planet, you thought.

He was quite adamant about helping you out with the rest of the housework, even coming with you all the way to the city center to pick up everything that you needed. Thank goodness that your father was smart enough to invest in a Dodge pickup truck, you were able to get everything in one go.

"Let's just get this over with," you sighed, carrying the bucket of paint over to the living room as Bucky followed suit with the paint rollers and the smaller brushes to get the edges. "Anything to get this process done quicker."

He laid out the paint tray on the floor before crouching by the bucket, opening it swiftly before pouring some over to the tray. "Sure thing. It won't take long anyway, don't worry."

"Would you mind if I put on some music?" you asked, happily pulling your phone out when he shook his head to both sides with a quiet 'nah'. "Anything specific you want?"

"I like 40's music, so.." he trailed off for a moment, chuckling to himself before removing the tape cover of the paint roller, slowly dipping it on the paint before rolling it a few times on the protruding side of the tray. "Just put on the ones you like. It's about time I listen to some newer stuff."

"Alrighty," your hum filled his ears, and he momentarily looked away from the paint to look at you. Feeling his gaze, your eyes met his, but he averted his gaze to finally start painting the wall instead. Deciding to go with your favorite, you hit the shuffle button, setting your phone down on the couch before grabbing your own roller and doing the same.

It was a mortifying realization as you glanced at him from time to time, but his concentrated face made you feel lucky to be able to witness such a sight. His brows were slightly knitted, lips pursed into probably the most soft-looking frown someone like him could muster. Someone who went through decades of pain. Slight stubble made his entire face look even more chiseled than it originally was, and God, you wanted to feel it against your fingertips.

Now that you thought of it, you wanted to feel him against you.

Not in a sexual way, I mean, sure, why not, but mostly in a way where you could take in his warmth. Let him shelter you from anything that could come your way. Even the metal arm, you wanted it wrapped around you, tugging you close to his chest tightly just to sway you from one side to another, dancing to those 40's songs that he seemed to never shut up about.

Clearing your throat, you didn't let your mind wander any further. Focusing on the task at hand, you completely missed the way his lips slightly tugged upward in a smile as he got lost in thoughts of you. About how he wanted to shelter you from anything that could come your way. Wrap his arms around you, tug you close to his chest tightly just to sway you from one side to another, dancing to the songs he missed listening to so much.

If only it came easy to tell you about it all.

"Ask. Her. Out."

"What?" Bucky's I'll-kill-you scowl was enough to scare an entire army away, but not Sam. Sam knew him like the back of his hand and judging by the way he was acting around you, asking you out proved itself to be mandatory. "Who?"

"I'm going to ignore that last word," shaking his head to both sides, Sam leaned back on his seat, gentle swaying of the boat lulling him into losing the last remaining pieces of filter he had. "Y/N. You're basically living by her ass, either stop being creepily attentive or ask her out."

"I'm not being creepy. Just helping out." Bucky grumbled under his breath, arms folded against his chest as he kept watching the stranger boats swimming through the lake. "She's not complaining."

"Yeah, because I bet your ass that she's expecting you to ask her out too, man," Sam's exhausted sigh caused Bucky to roll his eyes. "C'mon, she's nicer than anyone else you could've considered. What's there to lose?"

"What if she says no?"

"Why the fuck would she say no? Have you seen yourself, Bucky?"

"Are you hitting on me?"

"Alright, for fuck's sake," getting right back up on his feet, Sam walked towards the rudder inside, figuring it's time to get back -totally not because Bucky's paranoia was driving him crazy-. "Most of the shit she did for the house wouldn't take that long to finish. Unless you two are incredibly slow idiots, she was dragging it out too."

That kind of made sense to Bucky, sending his stomach into a slight turmoil as he faced the other side of the boat- just so Sam wouldn't see the excitement on his face. "Stop being ridiculous, she wants to get it done as soon as possible."

"But you two won't have an excuse to see each other as much as you do now, once it's all finished." Sam pointed out matter-of-factly, the grin of victory apparent on his lips when he couldn't hear any protest from the other. "How tragic."

"Fine. Just edge in, I'll go talk to her."

But he didn't even know what to say. Where to begin, how to even come close to explaining how he was feeling. Even he wasn't sure how one would describe it. But Sam's words- they planted hopes waiting to bloom with all their glory on his chest. Of course. You were dragging it out.

How you'd offer him to watch a movie with you instead of putting together that cabinet you bought because "It's considered slavery if I let you work any longer!", or when you'd pull over by a coffee shop to share a plate of tres leches because "I bet they didn't make it as good in the 40's."

How you'd stare at him all grateful when you thought he wouldn't notice. How you never seemed to notice when he did the same.

At a normal rate, the two of you could've finished everything up a week ago. So, you didn't want to let go of the only excuse you had for seeing him as often, and he really had no idea what to make of it.

"So! What did you want to talk about, Sergeant Barnes?" your playful figure sat cross-legged on the sofa, and although you felt like you were doing a good job at hiding it, Bucky could feel the anxiety radiating off of you.

Half-an-hour walk wasn't nearly enough to plan for what he needed to say, he secretly prayed that you could pull the words out of his soul magically by staring at him instead.

"I, um," off to a wonderful start, Bucky couldn't help but avert his eyes, seemingly unable to move an inch from where he was seated across from you. "Didn't- not really. Just wanted to spend some time with you, you know?"

"We've been spending a lot of time together," you mumbled out, fingers fidgeting with the end of your band t-shirt which was probably a size or two bigger than you. He couldn't believe how effortlessly breathtaking you looked at that moment.

"Yeah, but without excuses this time. I don't want TLC to be our reason to get toge- um, to hang out."

"Okay!" you chirped out, slowly getting up from where you were seated with a huff. "What does my resident super soldier want to do, then?"

He couldn't help but smile at that. "I wanna know everything that you like."

"Can't exactly tell you all about yourself, Sergeant."

As it turns out, Bucky was a wonderful listener.

Not even missing a word, he sat by you, a glass of half-drunk wine on the coffee table as he listened to you tell him stories of your childhood, the ones that you held close to your heart. In exchange, he told you all about his- about how he met Steve Rogers and how he was quite the ladies man back then -and you weren't surprised to hear that at all-, about the dances he'd drag all of his friends to. At one point, given the courage alcohol brought, you asked him to teach you how to dance- the way they did it in the forties. Thankfully, you were able to find some songs from those times, even Bucky's favorites as he carefully held your hand, chuckling along with you as his arms gently wrapped around your waist to keep you close.

"Bucky," you laughed out, bracing yourself against his chest as you looked down at your feet. "I'm so bad at this."

He just shook his head at you, a gentle smile painting his lips before pulling you even closer, just to guide you through it. "You're better than you give yourself credit for," his whisper brought a sigh out of you as you looked up at him, arms now wrapped around his neck with your love-sick gaze trailing through his face.

He looked so happy. So smitten- and it warmed your heart beyond anything you ever experienced before.

"Still not exactly the dance partner you would've wished for, huh?" your tone was softer than ever, quiet, as if anybody else would hear if you spoke any louder. He shook his head rather immediately before reaching in to lean his forehead against yours, eyes closed, heart in bliss.

"My imagination couldn't even come close."

It was either his incredible body warmth or the proximity which had your entire physique feeling as if it was on fire, and the way his soft breath hit against your face with each step he guided you through didn't do anything to help. You melted into it- enjoying the way he was quite obviously savoring the moment, engraving it deep in his mind to never forget how it felt to hold you close like this, with music from his time filling his heart with so much familiarity.

He knew for sure then, that you were his home. And you couldn't say that you felt any different.

It was as if your body went on auto-pilot when you pulled away a bit, only to reach back in but this time, in a way where your lips would meet his. He was naturally taken aback at first, body tensing for a split moment before stopping the movement of his feet altogether, one hand going up to rest against your cheek as you kissed him. You were gentle and he was chivalrous, a wonderful rendezvous of the feelings you two harbored for one another. Not even caring for oxygen, you kissed him through the loneliness of the past seventy years, feeling his walls crumble under the soft mewls you let out, before he pulled away to catch his breath.

"You beat me to it," he whispered out, a breathy chuckle leaving him as you still kept him close.

"Yeah, sure, Mr. Ladies Man," your taunting tone brought him back to reality as he laughed along with you. "You were too scared to do it anyhow."

[magnet-lattice]

(Lifesteal s5 spoilers for my understanding of The Players' plans, from catching incomplete sections of streams and osmosis. I do not think this is spoilers for any of them but I am not keeping up very well, so please correct me if I am wrong and I'll edit this. It's a little bit rambly, sorry.)

So, aside from the unrequited pitchflirting, my understanding of the Players' main finale plans are that they want to remove all of the buildings and restore the server or at least the main areas to looking the way they did at the start of the server, before anyone built anything. And this has some justification about like being a fresh start to the world, aside from the fact that it's a cool dramatic thing to do, but also!

It's really neat how the thing it does is specifically making the server look as though nobody ever played on it. Because the Players' whole thing, their primary conflict with primarily Jumper and Minute (I don't think they have a team name?) is that they're the only people willing to play heel, to do cool evil dramatic shit that other people can make content by fighting against, and almost everyone else (no offense intended to Squiddo or Wemmbu but they haven't been on much lately?) is either neutral, inactive, or insistently playing face?

And in the arguments between the players and Jumper and Minute, it has come up that the opposing side wants to end the server without conflict, and the Players' argument in favor of what they're doing is that it's interesting content which creates a reason for the other players to log on and participate. (This has consistently been their motivation since early in the Abyss arc)

And I think that in addition to the other justification, restoring the world to look untouched is a pretty powerful statement of "This is what you're advocating for the world to be: one where nobody ever logs on and does anything or fights or builds things that matter."

(In the interest of fairness, I know Minute was talking about like, getting people onto the server by having temporary mods during the sessions, and Branzy does have his carnival, and I do enjoy this content, but... at least to me, the fundamental strength of Lifesteal content qua Lifesteal (Minecraft's deadliest SMP), as a reason to be watching this rather than something else-- like a modded or survival series that happens to be made by the same people-- is the social effects of a bunch of people who are mostly tryhards in a competitive environment that encourages conflict and teaming and subterfuge and paranoia and big dramatic clickbaitable gestures?)

(I do in fact think it's fun and interesting when there are some people on Lifesteal who care about morality and want to do the nice thing! This is a fun source of conflict! I just... think it's more fun when that's not the majority of people who are logging on and doing anything, because then there's the risk of them uncomplicatedly winning, or successfully preventing or mitigating or discouraging the majority of the dramatic evil/annoying stuff, and then nothing happening? Lifesteal content is primarily about conflict. It's maybe a little more fun when the people involved have in-universe justifications that are not just "it's for content", painting the fourth wall with a thin veneer of "it's because it's cool and asserts our power" or some galaxybrained self-serving philosophical/metaphorical justification explaining why this supervillain stuff is the real moral thing to do, or whatever? But it's still fun as long as people are like, logging in and doing stuff and fighting or arguing with each other, and maybe having some big feelings? and at least one person is live or making videos so we can see what's happening)

[toomanyplotbunnies-sendhelp]

Hello and welcome to Day 27 of "Let's Explore My Plot Bunnies"

(Sorry Cale, I will be, once again, taking away your peace and quiet)

How is everyone today? Me? I AM IN SHAMBLES! I just finished the Penacony Story Quest Act 1, and my mind and heart are broken. But I still want to finish the 31 days of plot bunnies so here I am with day 27.

This plot bunny is literally an entire series of books. More precisely, this plot bunny is my rewrite of Harry Potter with Cale Henituse (and other characters from the novel) as part of the actual cast.

I titled the plot bunny: "A small change in the script"

I will explain the idea below, but beware it is going to be kind of a long explanation. So, enjoy my rambling! (And I am gonna post some memes about this Au pretty soon)

PS: This is really long. I go through the first 5 years at Hogwarts in some detail (I still have a ton of things I haven't spoken about because brain power is very low and I just wanted to get the idea across first). Also, I am sure I made some miskates, so please forgive me. So beware before you start reading!

We start with Cale Henituse and the Henituse and Thames families in this world.

Starting with the Henituse side, they are a pure-blood wizard family that live in the far north of Germany. They are a family that excels at Charms, especially the Shield Charm, Protego. They are known to be neutral when it comes to the idea of muggles and muggle-borns learning about magic. Or rather than neutral, they think the following: "If the muggles/muggle-borns bring trouble, we will do something about it. But if they don't endanger anyone, there is no need for us to intervene." As such, the family keeps out (for the most part) of the drama that the Wizarding World seems to deal with.

Since they are located in the far north of Germany, Deruth attended and graduated from the Drumstrang Institute, just as many other members of his family.

On the other hand, we have the Thames family. They are a pure-blooded (originally) nomadic wizard family that is scattered around the world. They have (lesser known) ties with the Pevrell and some who know members from this family would say that the Thames family have made deals with Death just as the Pevrell brothers did, for they seem too... welcoming, for the lack of better word, of death.

The Thames family are more akin to a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it comes to their magic. Jour Thames, herself, was extremely talented at Dark Arts (mostly in knowing how to repel them), but her parents were more oriented towards Herbology as a subject of specialization.

Jour Thames had decided to remain in Britain once she got her letter to Hogwarts, while her remaining family still wandered the world. She ended up as a Slytherin, beginning in the same year as Severus Snape (and the rest of the Marauders + Lily). She was pretty much Snape's friend (alongside Lucius) in Slytherin.

Jour and Deruth met during the summer before Jour's 7th year at Hogwarts when she decided to take an impromptu visit in Germany. The one who fell first was Deruth.

Deruth was always interested in Muggles and their technology. He is dead set on settling in the Muggle world and living there for the rest of his life. Jour liked the idea enough, as long as she is still free to go to the Wizarding World to talk with her friends and help them in certain missions - Deruth, of course, had no problem with that.

They married after graduating from their respective schools, moved into a muggle city in Germany (somewhere around Berlin) and had Cale Henituse just 2 years after, when they were 20 (Jour) and 21 (Deruth). Six years later, Jour died under mysterious circumstances, leaving a grieving 6 years old Cale and her husband Deruth behind.

Just a year later, Deruth remarried to Violan, a muggle, who already had a son, Bansen. Violan becomes pregnant with the Lily Henituse the following year, making Lily two years old when Cale leaves for Hogwarts.

As a side note, we also have Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo, and Lee Soo Hyuk, who attended Hogwarts and were in their 4th year when Jour and Snape entered their first. Kim Rok Soo was in Hufflepuff (everyone in there called him "the little snake that was raised as a badger" because, technically speaking, he would have done splendidly in Slytherin); Chou Jung Soo was in Griffindor; Lee Soo Hyuk was in Ravenclaw.

Kim Rok Soo grew close to Jour Thames, to the point where Jour is ready to publicly claim Rok Soo as her sworn brother, which in turn should make him Cale's uncle. Kim Rok Soo was one of the people (besides Snape, Lucius, and Narcissa) called by Jour after Cale was born to see him. Btw, the date of Cale's birth still coincides with Kim Rok Soo's own birthday (November 8th), and Rok Soo believes Cale to be akin to a blessing to him, which is why he vows to protect the kid even after Jour is dead.

Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo and Lee Soo Hyuk will later form the "Supernatural Prevention Team" within the Ministry of Magic, a separate type of organization that is mainly about finding whatever "supernatural creature/phenomenon" that appeared in the Muggle world and eliminate it before magic/the supernatural is revealed to Muggles. (Think Mystery Inc. gang from Scooby-Doo but the monsters are half of the time actual real creatures and not just some dudes in constumes)

Cale's name was written in the Book of Admission since the day he was born, mostly because, upon being born, baby Cale managed to let out an influx of magic along with his first cry which shattered the windows of the hospital they were at - thankfully, Jour decided she will give birth to Cale in a Wizard Hospital rather than a Muggle one.

Growing up, Jour basically taught Cale both magic and how to handle magical creatures (I can just imagine that Jour became friends with Aragog during her stay at Hogwarts and she was like "Give my son a giant spider friend too"). Cale, just like the rest of the Thames Family, is a "jack of all trades, master of none" when it comes to his magic and, just like the members of the Henituse Family, he uses Protego a lot more than other spells.

When he goes to Hogwarts, on the train he meets with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. All of them are 1st years, but Cale finds the other two a bit... too childish - especially when Ron starts insulting the Slytherin House and its members by calling them all "evil" and "deranged". But instead of lashing out, Cale calmly points out that Merlin was a Slytherin too, while also calling out different names of people from the Griffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff who were branded as criminals in the past. When asked by Ron how he knows so much, Cale's response is "Unlike you, I do enjoy reading books", before taking out a book and starting to read, completely ignoring the other two.

When Cale gets sorted, the Sorting Hat pretty much is at a loss. Cale has recklessness of a Griffindor, the intelligence of a Ravenclaw, the loyalty of a Hufflepuff, and the cunningness of a Slytherin. Cale's own mentality of "I don't care in which house I get sorted into" doesn't help the Hat either. So the Hat spends well over 5 minutes trying to dig deep enough into Cale's character so that it can actually put him in a house. In the end, the Hat finds that Cale's ambition - which is to take over Kim Rok Soo's position as the current leader (which he got mainly because Lee Soo Hyuk decided ot will be funny to put Rok Soo as the leader) of the "Supernatural Prevention Team" - is pretty strong and decides to sort him into Slytherin. Snape is pretty pleased with that since he also wants to look after Cale. Dumbledore isn't as pleased since Cale looks like a smart kid, and he thinks he is very vulnerable to Voldemort's influence.

Cale integrates pretty well into the Slytherin House, getting along well with Blaise Zabini and, somewhat well, with Draco Malfoy. (It's mostly as "babysitter" type of relationship at the beginning: Cale makes sure Draco doesn't get in that much trouble by calling him out of some things, while Draco is basically the sulky kid that was told "no" for the first time in his life - Cale is not impressed by Draco's attempt at "puppy dog eyes")

However, Cale also ends up, more often than not, around Harry, Hermione, and Ron and deals with their shenanigans. He is the one who convinced the 3 that it was impossible for Snape to be behind Harry's broom going out of control during the Quiddich match and, while they Ron and Hermione don't truly believe him, Harry thinks Cale is not lying. The reason Harry believes Cale so much? Because Cale has never in the months prior ever told lies - Harry fact checked even the names that Cale said were criminals on the train at the beginning of the year, and it turned out he was correct. Same goes for anything else Cale has said before.

Because of this, they reason that Professor Quirell might have been behind all of this, but without proof, they can't be sure of anything.

When they find out that the Philosopher's Stone is in danger of being stolen, the 3 (who also kinda dragged Cale with them) attempt to get to the stone and protect it while Dumbledore is away in London. Cale takes a liking to Fluffy and employs the methods that his mother taught him to calm down magic creatures of all kind - sharing a bit of his magic with them. By doing this, Cale basically shares his emotional state with the creatures he gave magic to, and manages to calm them down as long as Cale himself is calm.

He insists that the other move quickly after Quirell and tells Harry to be careful because he just knows that Quirell's magic just feels off. Once they are gone and Fluffy is back asleep, Cale goes to Snape and informs him of Quirell's actions. Because of this, Snape ends up there when Quirell dies from a combination of Lily's protective charm and the true Quirell's will fighting against Voldemort's control at the very end. (Basically while his body was burnt from the protective charm, Quirell's mind was trying to keep Voldemort from doing too much damage because he realized... Harry is a fucking child and this is wrong on so many levels. So Quirell fights back, but still dies)

While Dumbledore tells Harry he did the right thing, trauma is a bitch, and I refuse to think Harry wouldn't have trauma from seeing someone die in front of him. Cale finds Harry looking like he is about to cry in the hallways so he takes Harry away and, once more, puts his mother's teachings in action. Jour told Cale when he was little that in Hogwarts, as long as you actually need it, you can ask Hogwarts itself for a room - be it if you need it for studying or just as a place to hide.

Cale asks Hogwarts for a place where he and Harry can be alone, and Hogwarts obliges. Once in the silence and safety of that room, Cale tells Harry he can let it go. Harry starts crying. While he may not be the best at comfort, Cale shares that Harry is not the only person who went through something like that since Cale himself watched his mother die on a hospital bed. Harry feels closer to Cale after this instance and thinks to himself that he will try his best to be a good friend to Cale as he was to him. (Cale: Since when was I a good friend? Since when are we friends?)

In the 2nd year, Cale's interest was piqued when Harry spoke Parseltongue during his duel with Draco Malfoy. This alone made Cale suspicious about how intertwined their family lines were with the Slytheirn line since Cale can also speak Parseltongue.

Since the Secret Chamber's serial petrifications cases already started, Cale is immediately suspicious since he knows Harry doesn't have the spine to do such a thing, and Cale himself thinks it's too much of a bother - so someone else is doing something here, and Cale has a strong belief that there is something more to Moaning Myrthle, the ghost from the girl's bathroom on the second floor. (In the meantime, Harry is freaking out because he is half convinced he is doing something while sleep-walking)

After Hermionie is petrified and Hagrid is sent to Azkaban, both Cale and Harry (and Ron, who still didn't like Cale all that much) decide they should do something.

Trying to prove that Hagrid is innocent, Harry and Ron take Hagrid's advice to follow the spiders while Cale tries to find something by asking Hogwarts. Cale asks if there are any books that might help them discover the reason why students are getting petrified. Hogwarts' response is to get him into a room with books on magical creatures.

Once Cale finds out about the Basilisk and about the Acromantula. Knowing that both Harry and Ron went to the Forbidden Forest following Hagrid's advice, Cale immediately goes there as well, making use of his mother's way to tame magical creatures to get to Aragog's lair. Since Aragon knew Jour, Aragog recognizes Cale's magic as belonging to someone blood related to Jour. By sharing his magic with Aragog, Cale gains Aragog's favor and lets the 3 go. (It's way more complicated that I made it look here, but the words elude me for the moment, so this is the short version)

After this, Ron seems to be just a tad nicer to Cale since he pretty much saved them from the giant spiders. Cale tells them about what the information he found about the Basilisk, a creature that fits the narrative of what has been happening recently. Finding a note in the petrified Hermione's hand just proves Cale's deductions correctly. And then Ginny is kidnapped.

When they hear that Lockheart wants to deal with the creature himself, Cale advises Harry and Ron to be careful when dealing with Lockheart since Cale's instincts scream danger whenever the guy is near. They still go and try to tell him what they found about the Basilisk but instead they find that Lockheart, as per Cale's ("frankly scary" as Ron would say) intuition, is a fraud and tries to use the Memory Charm on them too. Cale disarms him.

This time around, both Harry and Cale are trapped inside the Chamber of Secrets after the ceiling caves in due to Ron's broken wand's misfire (don't worry, Lockheart still gets a taste of his own medicine called the Memory Charm).

This is where Harry learns that Cale can also speak Parseltongue and where Cale informs Harry that it is mostly only the descendants of Slytherin who can speak it, bringing forth the idea that in some way they are both related to Slytherin by blood.

During the battle with Tom Marvolo Riddle, Cale is the one who decided to take a leap of faith and protect Harry when Tom ordered the Basilisk to kill him. Thinking fast, Cale orders the Basilisk to stop altogether, banking on the fact that he might also be a contender for the "Slytherin's Heir" position. If the gamble fails Cale dies, but if it succeeds Cale, Ginny and Harry will manage to live. The gamble pays out as the Basilisk stops and, through broken hisses, wishes for her death so that she will not become a weapon of war for Tom Riddle.

Harry pulls out the Sword of Griffindor from the Hat and stabs the Basilisk, after which Tom decides to take matters into his own hands by attacking Harry. Cale, during the battle, talks with the Sorting Hat and finds out that Basilisk Venom will kill whatever the Tom Marvolo Riddle in front of him is as long as he uses it on the source of the magic. To put an end to everything, Cale is the one that stabs the diary with one of the Basilisk's fangs, causing the Tom before them to dissipate.

Towards the end of the year, Cale is dead set on getting him and Harry to Gringotts, where they could have a test done to decipher their family tree and relations to other families. Once there, Cale teaches Harry another thing: the Gringotts Goblins can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so choose wisely. Cale's associate from the bank, a goblin named Rodnar, is the one that they met and the one that helps them with the test.

Turns out, both of them are related to the Slytherin Family, which explains the Parseltongue. They expected that much. Harry got confirmation about his own family and was informed that he is the one in charge of the Potter Family Vault - provisory for now, permanent holder once he reaches 17 years of age.

At the same time, because of the tests they had to do, the Goblins become somewhat worried when they detect foreign magic inside of Harry Potter's body - specifically, dark magic.

Remembering what happened with Voldemort during their first year, Cale and Harry accept a full test on the dark magic and decide that if it is Voldemort's, they will find a way to get rid of it. This marks the beginning of a 3 year-long plan to get rid of Voldemort once and for all.

During the summer before the 3rd Year, Cale spends time with Kim Rok Soo and his team. Rok Soo tells Cale stories of his years at Hogwarts, and he teaches Cale the Patronus Charm. Cale's Patrons turns out to be a Thestral - mostly because most of the happy memories Cale has are with his mother and her death affected Cale a lot more than people think at first glance.

Year 3 begins with both Cale and Harry meeting a Dementor on the train, with various reactions to it. While Harry faints and develops as deep fear of Dementors, Cale's experience is a bit different. When the Dementor appears before him, Cale's magic seems to go just a bit out of control, which makes the Dementor flitch due to its potency. Cale doesn't seem to be as affected by that encounter, which is something Remus Lupin takes note of when Cale comes and visits Harry's train compartment to check on him.

When Harry sneaks into Hogsmeade, he meets up with Cale, who is there to buy candy for Bansen and Lily as Christmas gifts. While Harry is in one of the shops, Cale notices a black dog and starts petting it, finding the animal quite cute. When Harry comes out and finds Cale petting the dog, he not only recognizes the dog but also believes it is weird for the dog to have followed him around.

When it is time for them to return, Harry tells Cale both about the dog and about the tunnel he used to get to Hogsmeade (and the conversation he overheard). Cale is immediately suspicious about the dog and very interested about the Marauder's Map, thinking that whomever created it is a very skilled wizard.

After the divination class where Professor Trelawney gave her prediction about what will happen in the future, Cale contacts Rodnar and asks him if he can find anything on the case of Sirius Black, since he believes something is not quite right there. Rodnar contacts Cale back a bit later, telling him that there is no such thing as a court hearing of Sirius Black and that he was sent immediately to Azkaban. From there, Cale works with Susan Bones and her aunt to resolve this clear lack of justice accorded to Sirius Black's case and to get his name cleared.

In the meantime, Harry, Hermione, and Ron hear about Buckbeak's execution and try to prevent it.

The more Cale digs into the past of Sirius Black and his crimes, the more suspicious everything becomes. Then, he remembers Scabbers looks peculiar for a pet rat - specifically, that Scabbers is a rat with a missing finger. Realizing Harry and the others are in danger, Cale attempts to reach them in time to help, only to end up coming a bit too late and assisting Harry and Hermione with the Time-Turner, coming with them to the past and having his Patronus help Harry's when they need to get the Dementors to back away from Sirius and past Harry.

Once Sirius is safe, Cale presents to Sirius his options: 1. He continues like this and hides for the rest of his life or 2. He can accept help from Cale and present his case to the Ministry of Magic and get some mind healing sessions, after which he will be free to take custody of Harry.

Of course, Sirius accepts Cale's help, and Remus Lupin even jokes that if he didn't agree, Remus himself would have dragged him to get help. When Sirius asks why Cale is doing all of this, Cale just replies that this will help Harry and annoy a certain people he quite dislikes. By the 5th year, Harry is in Sirius's custody.

Towards the end of the 3rd Year, Cale tells Harry to meet him in the Chamber of Secrets. When Harry arrives, Cale tells him that there is something very strange about the Chamber - it was way too empty. Understanding where he is going with this Harry asks if Cale found anything that tells him there is something more to the Chamber. Cale says that it is merely his intuition.

The two spend the night there trying to find something amiss within the room. During this time, Cale tells Harry he should be weary of Dumbledore. When Harry asks why, Cale replies: "Men like Dumbledore care only about their plans, not about the people that are part of their plans. Dumbledore is the same type of person that I am. So be careful around him and scrutinize every word he says."

Harry, internally, disagrees on the view that Cale has of himself, thinking that although Cale might not show it the conventional way, he truly does care about him and the others.

The two, in the end, find that there is a secret library inside the Chamber of Secrets, full of books from the time of Salazar Slytherin. They even find his journal. Cale decides to try and memorize as much of this library as he could, looking for ways to try and get rid of Voldemort, whom Cale suspects to be behind the Dark Magic inside Harry's body. In the library, Cale and Harry find some information on Horcruxes - something even Salazar Slythrin called "a practice that no one should ever attempt at any point in their life" and they both start making connections between Voldemort and Horcruxes. This is how year 3 ends.

Year 4, for Cale, starts with hearing about the Death Eaters raid after the Quidditch Championship. Knowing that this is merely the beginning of the trouble, Cale starts conversing with Kim Rok Soo about the situation. Kim Rok Soo asks Cale to be careful and not to be reckless should he ever come across a Death Eater.

At Hogwarts, Cale decides to make more progress in the memorization of the books in Salazar Slytherin's secret library. The book that he starts reading explains the concept of "magic reflection" as a defensive technique in a duel. Cale starts thinking if this could be used against the Unforgivable Curses that Mad-Eye Moody showed them during the Defense Against the Dark Arts.

When the Triwizard Tournament starts and Harry is suddenly and inexplicably chosen to be part of it, Cale immediately suspects Dumbledore of putting Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. He tells as much to Harry and the others, feeling that even if his suspicion turns out to be wrong, at least they will keep their guard up during the competition.

During the competition, Cale tries to help Harry as much as he can to prepare - and that includes stopping Ron's jealousy from going too far. So Cale invites Ron to have tea with him and talk to him about his insecurities. Cale tells Ron not to let his feelings destroy a friendship that he cherishes, and instead, invites Ron to come to him and talk about whatever he wants as a way to get things off his chest. Cale reasons with himself that he already does that (in some capacity) with Draco since the second year so having Ron do this too is not that much trouble now.

From there, things progress normally. During the Yule Ball, Cale attends with Susan Bones. The two discussed the happenings in the previous year and what happened this year as well. Susan is well aware that Harry couldn't have gotten into the TriWizard Tournament without someone else putting his name in the Goblet, and she feels pity for Harry, who has to deal with so many things happening to him. Both Susan and Cale decide that this year protecting Harry and finding who made him part of the Tournament is the most important thing. Both also remark how Rita Skeeter is a very annoying type of journalist and that if she becomes a problem, both of them will do their best to deal with her.

On the day of the last task for the tournament, the Weasley Twins decided to pull a little prank and, though sheer bad luck, Cale ends up being the one that the prank falls on. Cale has to change clothes due to the twins' prank, and a Hufflepuff student tells Cale he can take his spare robes. (The Hufflepuff kinda like Cale ever since Susan vouched for him despite being a Slytherin.)

Cale takes the offer. Feeling that something is about to go wrong, Cale asks Harty before hand if he can borrow the Invisibility Cloak. Harry, although confused, accepts.

When the third task starts, Cale sneaks into the labyrinth with the Invisibility Cloak and tries to stay around Harry to make sure he will be fine. Cale loses sight of Harry at one point but finds Cedric Diggory, a 7th year Hufflepuff student and gives himself away in his haste. When Cedric asks Cale why he is there, Cale tells him he is not there to intervene with the Tournament, he is just there to make sure Harry makes it out in one piece. Liking the loyalty Cale showed and fully agreeing that Harry is in need of protection, Cedric tells Cale he will help Harry if he is in a any trouble. Cale thanks him and the two make their way through the maze, later meeting Harry at the place where Cup was.

When Cale realized that the Triwizard Cup was a Portkey, Cale also held onto the Cup being transported with Cedric and Harry to the graveyard where Peter Pettigrew was. When Peter tries to use Avada Kadavra on Cedric, Cale employs the "magic refection" technique he read in the Chamber's library, casting Protego and praying that the Unspeakable Curse will bounce off the shield he created. It does happen, but Cale miscalculated and Harry still ends up injured and his blood is used to raise Lord Voldemort from the grave.

Voldemort and Harry still duel, which resulted in the Priori Incantatem still taking effect. Thinking fast, Cale tells Harry to come behind him with Cedric and sets up a new shield. This buys the three kids time, as Cale tells Harry and Cedric to take the Cup once again while their are under the shield so that they can go back. When the two ask Cale what he will do, Cale just tells them he will be fine. Once they are gone, Cale turns his attention towards Voldemort and his followers. Voldemort is indignant at the attitude of a mere Hufflepuff child and fires another Avada Kadavra. Cale knew that if that spell hit the shield will not save him. As such, Cale did another stupid thing: he used a type of magic he only read about before, Apparition.

Cale ends up in the Forbidden Forest, with a shoulder injury but otherwise alive after his 1ts successful Apparition.

Later on, after Cale makes his way back to Hogwarts, he finds out that both Harry and Cedric are alive and well. Harry and Cedric were worried sick about Cale but unanimously decided not to mention Cale's presence in the graveyard because they know Dumbledore doesn't like Slytherin students and they both fear Cale will be in trouble.

When Dumbledore talks with Harry in private later, Harry keeps in mind that Cale warned him not to trust Dumbledore. Cale's works seem to be proven right when Harry noticed Dumbledore looks triumphant when he hears Harry's blood was used to bring Voldemort back to the living. Feeling hurt, Harry seeks out Cale to tell him thing, and Cale comforts Harry as best as he can.

A bit later, Cale tells Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, and Cedric to meet up to discuss what happened during the tournament. Cedric shows up and brings with him most of the other classmates who also feel something is weird about this. When Harry tells about his conversation with Dumbledore, everyone is quite mad because they don't like that Dumbledore went to the extreme of putting Harry's name in the Goblet to use him as a pawn in his own schemes. When someone points out that Barty Crouch Jr. who disguised as Mad Eye Moody could have done that, Harry points out that Moody was Dumbledore's friend, so would Dumbledore really be fooled by Barty's act?

When that was pointed out, everyone became quiet. Cale breaks the silence by telling everyone that whatever is happening will not be resolved by the Ministry of Magic. Susan backs Cale up, stating that her aunt told her that Fudge is not as reliable as people think.

Cale proposes everyone to work together from the inside of Hogwarts since they will most likely be in danger, most are skeptical - especially Ron who doesn't trust Draco or any of the other Slytherin that much. Cale tells Ron it is understandable for him not to he OK with this arrangement but if they don't work together, the ones that will lose will be them.

Someone asks Cale if he has a plan since he is so sure of what he said. Cale looks at Harry, who nods in response, and says: "Harry and I have a plan. It's risky and very difficult to put in action. But my main question to you all is: Do you trust us?" The others nodded, some faster, others more reluctant. Cale smiles and then proceeds to tell the: "Then trust me when I say, we need to help the Slytherin students to be on our side. They are just kids. They are scared more of their parents' words/actions if they disobey, rather than the consequences of their blind loyalty. That undying piece of shit is using them as a means to an end, and when their usefulness expires, he will get rid of them. Just because they are Slytherin doesn't mean they don't deserve to be helped." Harry takes it from there: "Which is why we want to show them that they still have a choice. Cale has tried his best until now to make his fellow Slytherin understand that, but to no avail. Now, if we work together, we might just be able to save them from all of this."

Draco is a bit surprised by this since he never realized Cale tried to help the others in the Slytherin House. Cale, seeing his reaction, explains to Draco that when dealing with Slytherins, you can't show too much that you are against the Dark Lord's orders since that will immediately alert them. The Slytherin kids know that if someone betrays the Dark Lord, they should tell their parents, or they will be called an accomplice to their betrayal. So Cale cannot be upfront with the others, but putting seeds of doubt in their minds is better than nothing at this point. If they play their cards right, the other Slytherin will doubt the validity of the Dark Lord's words at one point or another. What they need is to make that happen sooner.

The meeting ends with that and with a confirmation from Cedric that he will help Cale with whatever he needs over the summer. Cale tells Cedric, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Neville, Luna, Susan, and Terry to meet him again during the summer because he needs their help with something that is essential to their plan.

(After the meeting, the Hufflepuff house pretty much adopts Cale as well. Especially after Cedric tells them that Cale saved his life during the confrontation with Peter Pettigrew and later with Voldemort. When they realize Cale's shoulder is still hurt after the Apparition, the entire house puts Cale into blankets and makes hot chocolate for him. Cale, albeit confused, doesn't complain)

During the summer, the group meets up and, amidst all the planning, they bond. Draco becomes more friendly with Harry and his group, much to Cale's approval. Meanwhile, everyone starts seeing Cale as the leader of the entire movement/group, although Cale remains oblivious to that. Harry is officially put under Sirius's care during this time, to Dumbledore's disapproval. (Not that there is much he can do about it since the Ministry of Magic not only approved of this but pushed for this to happen. All thanks to Amelia Bones, btw.) Because of this new arrangement for Harry, Cale ends up visiting him at 12 Grimmauld Place during summer and, though Cale honestly doesn't know why, Kreacher takes a liking to Cale, while still disliking Sirius and, somewhat, Harry too. (Look, don't ask Cale. He was just polite to Kreacher. He was taught to be polite to older creatures since young goddammit)

Also, Cale and Harry get some useful updates on the research for a way to get the Dark Magic out of Harry from Rodnar and the staff at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. All in all, the summer passes quickly for everyone. Especially with the hearing Harry has to go through in August - thanks a lot, Dumbledore - but at least now they know fully that no one believes that Voldemort is back. They can cross out the idea of going to the Ministry for help in this situation.

Then, the fifth year starts, and everyone is introduced to Dolores Umbridge, their new DADA teacher for the year.

When Harry first gets the Umbridge Detention experience, complete with the (illegal) enchanted quill, it is Cale that he chooses to go to first. Cale, although enraged with Umbridge, tells Harry to keep his head down and try not to go against Umbridge. When asked why, Cale replies with: "I have a plan to deal with her, but I need you and everyone else to keep out of trouble for now." Harry, reluctantly, agrees to that.

Meanwhile, Cale poses as a perfectly obedient student in front of Umbridge, telling her that his father has chosen him as the successor to the family business and that he has to conform, and, as such, he won't be able to join the little army of students she is making. Umbridge, seeing that as a pertinent excuse, agrees and notes that Cale and his family would be a wonderful addition to the Dark Lord's army, especially once they are swayed to his side. Cale, on the other hand, is actually digging for misdeeds of Umbridge so he can report her.

To make sure that the report would actually work, Cale meets with Snape and asks what the requirements for a Hogwarts teacher are to be expelled from their position. Snape, guessing where this is going, tells Cale that there needs to be 3 wrongdoings recognized by the Ministry of Magic (with proof) for the teacher to be expelled. He also warns Cale that he will not hesitate to expell Cale should he be found out to be the one behind whatever he is trying to do. Cale takes that as a challenge and asks Snape for a favor: to give Cale lessons in Occlumency. Snape does agree. However, he states that the lessons will stop the moment Cale makes one mistake or the moment he thinks Cale's little scheme to get rid of Umbridge (which Snape also wants to happen mind you) will be found out. And so, before in October, Cale's first lessons in Occlumency begin.

During this time, Cale works with Harry and the others and creates the Hogwarts Army, once it is clear they won't learn anything from Umbridge as their DADA teacher. They use the Chamber of Secrets as their true meeting spot, with the Room of Requirement as a front. Meanwhile, Draco, who is part of the group created by Umbridge, named the Inquisitorial Squad, is trying to do as Cale told them at the end of last year - to place seeds of doubt in the minds of the other Slytherin students. Draco chooses to do so by pointing out that Umbridge's temperament is getting worse - today she was screaming at some 2nd year kids from the Hufflepuff house, and tomorrow she might just start screaming at us. To divert suspicion from himself, Draco just says that he just finds the old hag's attitude annoying since she is merely a half-blood compared to most of the Slytherin students who are pure blooded and that if she ever rises her voice at us then should we, pure-bloods, just stand there and take it? ("My father will hear about this" intensifies)

This attempt does plant some doubt in the others although Draco sees it as a failure.

Until Januray, Cale puts his little scheme in action. First, using the Occlumency Lessons from Snape, Cale makes sure to create a pensive containing the memory of Umbridge stating that she is part of the Swayer Family - which he will use later in the year. Next, after digging into Umbridge's past, he strikes a deal with the Ghosts of Hogwarts - including Peevees - that has them spreading rumors around about Umbridge and whatever mistakes and scandals he could find in her past. Finally, he contacts Kim Rok Soo with these findings and urges his uncle to finish his part of the plan before coming to Hogwarts to take care of Umbridge.

When Harry has his vision of the attack on Mr. Weasly, instead of bringing it up to Dumbledore, Harry finds Cale and tells him that they need to start putting their plan in action. This leads to Harry still taking Occlumency Lessons, but instead of Snape teaching him, it is Cale (who took the Polyjuice Potion to look like Snape) that teaches him. This is merely a front for part of their plan. Since they know now that Voldemort is the owner of the Dark Magic inside Harry, the two want to use this connection Harry has with Voldemort to find out about the locations of his Horcruxes. The principle they use is something studied by Salazar Slytherin, who writes in his library that there is a way to feed false information to someone but that person's mental state should be less than perfect for it to work. Combined with the knowledge that whomever attempts to create a Horcrux will have their mental state damaged, Cale and Harry decide they can actually try this on Voldemort. So Cale teaches Harry how to implant imaginary situations inside Voldemort's head, with Voldemort thinking that these are Harry's actual memories that seeped through their connection rather than just made-up scenarios. In the meantime, Harry learns about the Horcruxes: the diary they have destroyed during their 2nd year; the Gaunt's Family Ring that is currently in Dumbledore's possession; the Slytherin Locket - location unknown; the Hufflepuff Cup - location unknown; Ravenclaw Diadem - location unknown; and finally Nagini, who is always with Voldemort.

Knowing they have to destroy these items, the two start searching for them using the easiest way they could think of - asking Hogwarts. Cale asks Hogwarts if there is any room inside that castle that has a Horcrux inside of it, and, in response, Hogwarts opens the way to the Room of Requirement where the two find Ravenclaw Diadem - after a long time of searching.

From there, they announce Rodnar and the Gringotts Bank about the fact that there are more Horcruxes than anyone could have guessed and tell them what items they are. Knowing this, the Goblins make an inspection of the vaults in search of a signature of dark magic, finding the Hufflepuff Cup and giving it to Cale. With 2 Horcruxes in their hands, 1 already destroyed and 1 in Dumbledore's hands, the two decide that the Slytheri Locket should be their next target. But, with no concrete location for it yet, the two turn their attention towards dealing with Umbridge, who has been getting more and more angry due to the rumors that were spread around by the Hogwarts Ghosts.

Umbridge's temperament is truly getting out of hand, for she even starts yelling at her own Inqisitorial Squad when the rumors don't stop. This makes the Slytherin doubt their choice of loyalty even more since Umbridge is a half-blood and she is allowed to yell at them (pure-blood wizards) and the Dark Lord seems to not have heard or done anything about it.

In April, where Umbridge would become the Headmistress in canon, instead there is a visit from Kim Rok Soo, his teammates and 2 other officials from the Ministry of Magic because Cale sent the evidence that he found about Umbridge. They accuse Umbridge of "impersonation of a successor to a pure-blood wizard family" with the proof being the pensive that Cale send of Umbridge claiming she is related to the Swayer Family which turns out to be a lie. Next, they present the evidence of her taking bribes and other means of payment as a member of the Ministry, which is illegal by all means.

During these accusations, Umbridge becomes more and more furious, knowing that it was a student who organized all of this. Since the accusation scene takes place in the Main Hall with most of the students and teachers present, Umbridge sees Cale, who appears (to her) a bit smug. Knowing that even if she tries, she can't prove her innocence anymore, she decides to take Cale down with her. Umbrige uses Crucio on Cale, which causes him quite a lot of pain.

Meanwhile, Cale is very much aware that there is a chance that Umbridge will attack whomever she thinks is responsible for her downfall. He, however, is fully ready to take whatever Umbridge will do because 1. it will only serve to incriminate her further and 2. Cale was the one that came up with this plan, he will not let someone else take the fall for him. (Although Umbridge casting Crucio was not in his plans)

The pain that Umbridge's Crucio brings Cale is quickly stopped by Kim Rok Soo who punches Umbridge and leaves her unconscious. (Go get her, Rok Soo!!!!)

This incident happens in front of the already doubtful Slytherin students, who know (read: think they know) Cale is innocent and immediately jump to help him since he is pretty much down for the count, Draco and Blaise being the first ones to try and see if Cale is alright. Harry and the others then point out that this is not the only time Umbridge has resorted to punishments such as these, telling the officials of the Ministry about the enchanted blood pen that Harry was forced to use in detentions. (To say that Snape and McGonagall weren't horrified was a lie) Other students, including the Slytherins, came up to tell about how Umbridge kept yelling and blaming them for every little thing that went wrong for her.

Cale was taken to the infirmary where he is recovering, while Kim Rok Soo is very much aware that Cale might have even planned for himself to become a target of Umbridge to further incriminate her. Kim Rok Soo doesn't like that one bit. He tells as much to Snape in private (with whom he is still friends btw) and asks Snape to look after Cale. Kim Rok Soo is not able to stay long since they have to get Umbridge to an interrogation (Kim Rok Soo promises to make her scream during it btw) and, later, to incriminate Fudge who was responsible for putting Umbridge in charge of children at Hogwarts. (In other words: Operation "Ministry Take Over" is a go!)

A few days later, Cale wakes up at the infirmary. He is still in a bit of pain, but not nearly as much. Snape is the one that stays with him and the one that is there when Cale wakes up. Snape does tell Cale that what he did was extremely dangerous and stupid (2 attributes that are very much Griffindor-esque), Cale counters with "I can't just let her send a Crucio at another, probably, even younger student, right? Also, how was I supposed to know she knows Crucio of all spells?" Still, Cale does get a lecture from both Snape and, later, McGonagall. And it's not like his friends (from any house) are pleased with this either.

After this, things go back to normal. However, in May, Cale gets a letter from Kreacher. Kreacher feels like Cale and the late Regulus Black share a lot of things - specifically their desire to make things right. In the letter, Kreacher states that he knows where the Slytherin Locket is and that he knows (from the Goblins that he converses with) that Cale is after the Horcruxes. Kreacher says he is willing to give the Slytherin Locket to Cale as long as Cale promises that what they are doing will bring justice to the death of Regulus Black, the last member of the Black Family that Kreacher actually cares for. Cale sends back his promise to do so and tells Kreacher he could come and see that the promise is kept towards the end of the year.

When the O.W.Ls begin and Harry has that vision of Sirius dying, the group knows it is time to move. Harry and Cale instruct the remaining members of the Hogwarts Army to be in full alert mode, knowing that Voldemort plans to keep Hogwarts occupied by sending an army of Dark Creatures while he is at the Ministry of Magic. Harry also tells Sirius to not, under any measure, come to the Ministry of Magic - advice which is ignored and Sirius even brings Remus along since he was there when Harry sent the message. (Thankfully, Kim Rok Soo intercepted the 2 idiots or they would be dead)

Cale, Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, Terry, Susan, and Cedric go to the Ministry of Magic, fully aware of Voldemort and his Death Eaters being there, but also fully aware that they have a plan.

The final showdown happens in the Department of Mysteries, where Cale has convinced his uncle, Kim Rok Soo, to set up the trap that they need to get rid of Voldemort once and for all.

When Voldemort and his Death Eathers (Bellatrix included, but no Lucius) appear, the trap activates, and there appears an array under their feet. The ten kids start their incantations (all of them having different ones, mind you), and a shield separates Voldemort and his minions from the kids. As they continue their incantation, Voldemort tries to use Avada Kadavra on Harry or Cale, but the shield redirects the spell towards Voldemort himself (tho it doesn't quite hit him). Bellatrix is also trying to use any spell against the kids, Neville in particular, but they are also bounced back. Seeing that their spells are ineffective, Voldemort and his minions resort to taunting to make even one of them lose their concentration, which could lead to the array breaking. Bellatrix starts taunting Draco saying things like "If your parent saw you doing this, they will do everyone a favor and kill him on the spot" or "You are a traitor who sided with the mugles. Do you really have no shame or respect for your pure-blooded origins?". Draco, although he is deadly afraid of his father's opinion of him, is also fully aware that he had never felt more at ease than when he is around Cale and the other. He, aware of the consequences, decided to take matters in his own hand and chose his own path - and he chooses to help Cale and Harry. He doesn't falter in his incantation, nor does he fall for the taunts of Bellatrix, which annoys her.

Voldemort, meanwhile, is going back and forth between trying to get a raise out of Cale and Harry or trying to recruit Cale in his army by telling him about the power he will be given. Neither budge.

When the incantations are complete, Voldemort and his minions find themselves sealed inside a crystal ball. The walls of the crystal ball basically absorb any spells thrown at them and reflect them right back. This makes Voldemort and his minions into a non-existent threat. Cale even taunts Voldemort saying that only our blood can get them out of the crystal balls now. The 10 kids congratulate each other for a job well done. Before they leave the Ministry, they meet with Lucius. Voldemort and Bellatrix are gleeful, thinking that Lucius will kill the kids. The one that speaks up is Draco, who tells Lucius not to get in their way. Lucius looks at his son, lowers his wand, and let's them through, telling Draco that he is proud of him. Voldemort and Bellatrix call Lucius a traitor, but Lucius looks at them as says: "The only one I was ever loyal to was my family. You are not part of my family" before ruffling Draco's hair and leaving. Draco is still in shock (but also very happy) even after they leave the Ministry and go to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, the rest of the Hogwarts Army decides to take part in the fight against the Dark Creatures sent by Voldemort, much to the disagreement of the teachers. During the fight, Slytherin students also enter the fray on the Hogwarts Army side. Most of the Slytherin students were already against the Dark Lord after seeing how Umbridge behaved towards them and how she attacked Cale. Now, they make a full statement by fighting against the Dark Lord. The fight ends without casualties - the injuries the students get are not death threatening.

When McGonagall and the other teachers (including Dumbledore) are about to ask/scold the children for their recklessness, Cale and the others return with Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the crystal balls. When Cale starts explaining the plan that has been in the making for the last 3 years (at least), Cedric, Ron and Neville dissappear for a while, only to return with the Hufflepuff Cup, the Ravenclaw Diadem, and the Sword of Griffindor and a vial of Basilisk Venom in hands.

Cale tells everyone present of what Voldemort did to his own soul and how the items that were brought here are some of the Horcruxes. Ron takes the Sword of Griffindor and puts Basilisk Venom on it, before bringing it down onto the Cup and the Diadem, destroying 2 of the Horcruxes in front of Voldemort.

Luna and Hermione look at Dumbledore and tell him to give them the Gaunt Ring that they know is with him so that it can be destroyed too. During all this, Cale explains how he and Harry came across the connection between Harry and Voldemort and how they used said connection to make sure that they found the Horcruxes. When Occlumency is mentioned, it finally clicks for Snape what Cale used his lessons for. When Snape asks Cale why he couldn't tell him directly of his plan, Cale says: "You were already in a lot of danger since you played the double spy for Dumbledore, Professor Snape. If I told you all of this, it might put you in even more trouble with either Voldemort or Dumbledore." (Cale has suspected that Snape was a double spy since the beginning but with no proof it was hard to even say this; the others started suspecting this during this year). The Ring is also destroyed, this time by Cedric.

Voldemort laughs since there are 2 more Horcruxes, and the kids don't have them. Cale stops him by calling out for Kreacher, who is waiting with Dobby to make his entrance. Kreacher gives Cale the Slytherin Locket and, while looking straight at Voldemort and Bellatrix, tells Cale to destroy it and finally fulfill the last wish of his late Master Regulus.

Cale takes the Locket and looks at Kreacher, who nods. He takes a breath and speaks, for the first time in front of everyone, in Parseltongue, and thus opens the Locket. Once open, he holds out his hand to Cedric, who gives Cale the Sword of Griffindor, and Cale destroys the Slytherin Locket. Now, 5 of the Horcruxes are destroyed. But there is still Nagini, who is still missing.

When Voldemort points that out, Harry looks at the clock and tells everyone to wait a bit.

After a while, Kim Rok Soo (together with 2 dogs *cough* Sirius and Remus *cough*) enters the Main Hall and says: "Sorry I was late. I was snake hunting, and I found 2 dogs on the road as well, " and points to Nagini (who is struggling against some magic binds) and Sirius and Remus, who look like confused puppies.

Cale and Harry tell them they were just in time. Cale then looks at Voldemort and states: "I thought about how you deserve to die, Voldemort, and I felt like a quick death is too kind for you after the amount of trouble you gave everyone. So, I decided I should let you die the death you fear most: the death of muggles. No death in a battle, nor by a sword. But by starvation. Slow and painful."

While Cale was speaking, Kim Rok Soo brought Nagini closer. However, in a last-ditch effort, Nagini manages to free herself from the bindings and makes a dash to bite Cale. Neville, although scared, takes the Sword of Griffindor from Cale's hands and kills Nagini, protecting Cale.

And with this all the hope Voldemort ever had vanished as Nagini dissipates.

Everyone congratulates Neville for his bravery, although Neville doesn't feel like he did anything much - he just says that his body moved on its own and that this was by far the scariest thing he ever went through.

Cale and Harry share looks, and then they say things aren't really over yet. Cale passes Harry a bottle of liquid and tells everyone that Voldemort has one more Horcrux, one not even Voldemort knew about - Harry. He then proceeds to tell everyone about their findings at the end of the 2nd year and what the St Mungo Hospital found as a solution - it is a potion that will expell any magic in someone's body, be it theirs or someone else's. Harry says he will take the risk that the potion poses because he trusts Cale to bring him back if something goes wrong. Harry then proceeds to find a chair nearby and sit down. He drinks the potion and slowly falls unconscious.

Cale keeps a keen eye on him the entire time while explaining how the potion works. Whoever takes the potion will have their magic slowly seeping from their body into the air around them. This can kill the person, which is why a maximum of 5 minutes of unconsciousness is the amount permitted before someone actually dies. If the person who took the potion spends more than 5 minutes into unconsciousness they will defines die.

During the next 2 minutes, everyone witnessed a black fog exiting Harry's body, and after it is fully gone, Cale goes to Harry and makes him drink another potion, the one that will wake Harry up.

During his sleep, Harry enters the Limbo, where he meets and talks with a young Tom Riddle who feels very guilty about everything that Voldemort has done. He apologizes to Harry for all that he went through and explains that the piece of Voldemort's soul that Harry had inside of himself was the last piece of humanity that Voldemort possessed. Tom then explains that he had tried to stop Voldemort from going down the path he did, but he was always brushed aside. Voldemort created so many orphans when he himself lived the life of an orphan before. Voldemort went against everything that was his old person when he killed Harry's parents and tried to kill him. So, when the opportunity appeared, he attached himself to Harry and tried to help warn him of Voldemort's presence around him. Harry says that it is not his fault, for he tried his best and failed. As such, Tom has no reason to apologize, and the one who should feel guilty is Voldemort and not him. Tom thanks Harry before saying that he will spend his remaining time here, in Limbo, as he waits for Voldemort's remaining soul to follow him into death. He also tells Harry not to worry, for he has made peace with Death and is ever eagerly awaiting the slumber now. Before Harry comes back to reality, Tom tells Harry to live well and cherish his friends.

Once awake, Harry asks if it worked, and Cale answers with a resolute yes. After this, he is hugged tightly by Sirius and Remus, who were worried beyond words.

Cale takes the crystal balls containing Voldemort and his minions and gives them to Kim Rok Soo for safekeeping. When asked why Kim Rok Soo gets to keep the crystal balls, it is revealed that Kim Rok Soo took over the position of Minister of Magic after he and his team arrested Fudge after it was found out that him and a good chunk of the Ministry of Magic were supporters of Voldemort. Kim Rok Soo referred to the whole thing as a "Well needed sping cleaning" and mentioned that most of them are currently in Azkaban or awaiting trial. He also mentions to Dumbledore that he is also on the list for the amount of sketchy things he had pulled over the years and that because of this, from the next year onwards, either Snape or McGonagall will be Headmaster/Headmistress. Snape immediately gives the position to Minerva, stating he is already done with children for the rest of his life. Everyone laughs at that, and Rok Soo says gleefully that Lee Soo Hyuk owns him money now, which earns him a glare from Snape.

And so the 5th year ends. Voldemort and Bellatrix are basically waiting for their death in the crystal balls, and the other Death Eaters (bar Snape and Lucius, who are exceptions - one because he worked for the Order of the Phoenix; the other because he turned himself in and even turned other Death Eaters in so Kim Rok Soo decided to lighten his sentence to a life of working for the Ministry under a blood contract) were hunted down and send to Azkaban.

What no one knew was that while everyone was high on the relief of getting rid of Voldemort or focused on getting the Death Eaters, Voldemort was visited by an individual. This individual wore a mask and was very disappointed in Voldemort: "Taken down by a bunch of kids? Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is why you were never going to be the strongest wizard - no matter what you wanted or sacrificed for it" said the masked man. "Too bad. I didn't think I had to take the stage this early but oh well. I would say you were useful for as long as you existed, but I would be totally lying. Enjoy death, Tom Marvolo Riddle." said the masked man before putting Voldemort out of his misery, his body dissolving inside the crystal ball.

Even though Cale and Harry expect their 6th and 7th year to be way less eventful, what awaits them is a fateful meeting with the one that calls himself "White Star."

A war is on it's way and they can only hope to survive.

And done. Thank fuck this was long as hell, but then again, I did go through 5 years worth of events for this fic. And, I still have some little details I need to speak about:

Cale was born on the 8th of November 1979. This makes him 11 on the 1st day of year 1 at Hogwarts, and he turns twelve just a bit after the Troll Incident.

Cale is extremely happy to have someone like Kim Rok Soo in his life, and he is also very grateful for his presence. Kim Rok Soo feels more like an older brother that Cale never had, rather than an uncle.

Cale's boggard is... well, himself, in a way. After his mom died, Cale tended to lash out at everything and everyone. He fears returning to the type of person he was back then, when he would say hurtful words even to Kim Rok Soo.

Kim Rok Soo took Cale around with him and his team during the summers after the death of Jour, mostly to make Cale have some good time and a change of scenery.

This is how Cale met Alver in France. (I swear I can't NOT have Alver as French. He looks like he would eat a baguette and correct your pronunciation of "croissant" - I know you think the same now)

Here, Choi Han is Choi Jung Soo's nephew. Choi Han goes to Drumstrang btw.

Ron and Beacrox are still serving the Henituse family. (Cale also feels guilty for saying bad things to them as a child)

Bansen is a muggle, but Lily turns out to be a half-blood. This is one of Cale's main reasons for going against Voldemort - a world where Voldemort wins means a world where Bansen and Lily can't live.

There are a ton of things that I haven't even mentioned: like how many people Cale (unwittingly) befriends at Hogwarts; Cale also stress bakes (which makes him share whatever he ends up baking with other students, which results in him being liked because who would turn down baked goods?); Cale is friends with most of the Elves and they like Cale because he is nice; Cale and Hagrid become good friends because they share their adoration for magic creatures; Ron admits that Cale has "balls of titanium" after he approached Fluffy without fear - and ever more so after meeting Aragog; Blaise feels like he is the only truly normal and sane Slytherin whenever he watches Cale;

I want to introduce Raon, Ohn and Hong, but I dunno if they should be introduced from year 1 or if I can introduce them during Year 6.

Cale, as always, destroys White Star's evil plan in 2 years tops while juggling graduation and studies. For reference, taking down Voldemort basically took 5 years, so yeah, WS should be ashamed since his minion was harder to deal with.

You read that right, Voldemort was thrown down the road he went by White Star. He was the one who actually gave Voldemort the information about Horcruxes.

I want to mess with the canon because canon is dead to me for the most part. This also means I want to make new ships. I wanna put Draco with Ginny (it will work out later on, I feel); Harry either with Hermione or Hannah Abbott; Neville Longbottom with Luna Lovegood; Cale might get together with Susan Bones (political power couple these 2 are); Ron either with Hermione (like in canon, if Harry doesn't end up with her) or Lavander Brown. Trust me, I know the ships are weird but if the narration works, the ships will also work.

Harry and Cale kinda end up like brothers - mostly because they have the same amount of bad luck and they end up in the same shit-show together.

Cale feels indebted to Fred and George Weasley after the prank from year 4 because he was in Hufflepuff robes instead of Slytherin robes when Cale went against Voldemort, so he was kinda saved from a lot of trouble. Cale literally tells them "Whatever you need, whenever you need it, as long as I can get it - it is yours".

Lee Soo Hyuk becomes again the leader of the "Supernatural Prevention Team" after Kim Rok Soo becomes Minister of Magic. He is still laughing since Kim Rok Soo ended up with even more paperwork to do than him. (This usually ends with Rok Soo giving him more paperwork to do)

Rok Soo might end up with Severus Snape... at least as an implied relationship. They have been friends since Jour basically forced them to become babysitters for her in Hogwarts and implicitly trust each other.

Lucius is more loyal to his family than to Voldemort here, which results in him just turning his back to Voldemort once it is clear he is dealt with. He never wanted Draco to end up as a Death Eater and is very proud he never did.

After the confrontation with Voldemort at the end of Year 5, Draco can perform a Patronus Charm. His Patronus is a Falcon.

And yes, Draco actually gets friends and a personality beyond being just a bully in the first 4 books/movies. Like seriously, let him be a child, and he can change for the better goddammit. (Cale will be a good influence on Draco, but, essentially, Cale is bad for Draco's heart rate because he is damn crazy)

Kim Rok Soo's Patronus is Runespoor. Choi Jung Soo's a St. Bernard. Lee Soo Hyuk's is a Crow.

I haven't planned out Year 6 or 7 yet but I do know that White Star quickly became a problem for everyone.

Also, during years 6 and 7, the Thames family and the Pevrell family became more important. I know I want Death to still be intertwined with White Star and the 2 families. (And yes, Death is still very much a whining child that wants either Cale or Harry to take his place like in the TCF/LCF canon)

Cage and Taylor are working at St. Mungo's Hospital. They are the ones that create the potion for Harry.

Dumbledore will answer for the bullshit he pulled - especially, for putting Harry with the Dursley's and keeping him there, whether he knew about the abuse or not. He will also answer for the whole "Sirius's missing trial" thing.

Yes, I am giving Sirius therapy. You can't expect him to take care of Harry without going through therapy first, can you? Some other kids will also get therapy through osmosis from Cale himself.

I will also explore Jour's time at Hogwarts as well - probably in a separate series, like a prequel. Also, the reason Kim Rok Soo, Choi Jung Soo, and Lee Soo Hyuk are in Britain is because their families fled Korea after the Korean War that ended in 1853. Kim Rok Soo is around 34 when Cale is starting Hogwarts, just for reference.

Cale is very mature for his age, and Kim Rok Soo kinda hates it because, to him, Cale is still a baby, and he needs to be protected. But fate said a big "Fuck You" to both of them.

This is all my brain is capable of rn. This damn thing took 2 weeks to write - because I couldn't stay and write it in one go like many of my other ideas.

So what do you think? Good? Bad? That I am high on magical mushrooms with this?

Hopefully, you had fun with my ramblings despite the length of this idea.

Either way, I hope you have a great day/night and that you take care of yourselves!

See you soon (because I need to recharge after this),

- TooManyPlotBunnies- Send Help

[jullbnt]

Hello :D besides Zelink, are there any other loz ships you ship? :3

Oh hello thanks for asking!! I guess I'm going to disappoint you though cause I don't really ship anyone else? Besides Zelink variations such as Shink or Hylink of course (I'm dying to draw something with Hylia and the Fierce Deity... I love that stuff 🥹)

I guess the only couple that comes to my mind is Anju and Kafei, but they're canon so 😅. I'm not exactly obsessed with them either but their quest is my all time favorite (pretty sure I’m not the only one). Also I'm convinced Kafei is meant to be Link's equivalent in Termina with, you know, his whole business of being an adult trapped in the body of a child and being torn apart from his love because of it. A bit of a stretch maybe but I can't unsee the parallel with OoT Zelink!! So yeah they're meaningful to me but for Zelink related reasons again...

As for the main characters I'm not really interested in Link or Zel being with anyone else. I understand that some people can find these two cliché/boring/forced or whatever, but for me seeing them as soulmates/eternal lovers makes their stories so much better and emotional (I'm also really into the "union of wisdom and courage against absolute power" symbolism, I wish the Triforce would be brought back in the games for that reason).

That being said I don't mind some other ships, mostly Malink (I love Malon and can definitely see her with Link if Zelda is not an option), Midzel (cause I've seen some amazing fanart and it kinda makes sense to me, I much prefer it to Midlink) or Link/Marin (but I see it as some sort of dream version of ALttP Zelink so...). I'm not actively looking for that stuff and am not interested in drawing it cause I'll always prefer Zelink, but I don't mind stumbling upon it.

I guess the one ship I really don't like is Sidlink? Or anything with Link and a Zora character really (yeah sorry haha). Also Ganlink/Zelgan tend to make me a bit uncomfortable (except if Ganon is portrayed as a good guy but that’s still not really my thing). Same for any villains, I'm just boring like that I guess

Oh also. Ilia. I don't dislike her as a character but I hated how she was forced on Link in TP (like most people I suppose?)

And that's all I have to say? I didn't think I would end up writing that much, sorry for rambling a bit 😇

(and also for my English. I'm always a bit nervous when I write something long)

In case this wasn't obvious I very much enjoy talking about LoZ so feel free to ask me anything haha 😁

[doumadono]

Emergency request!

Hello, I hope you're having a good day! Could I bother you to write Izuku x model!popular!reader who is really insecure and unsure about what to do in her life despite her status in life? As a child, I always had a people pleaser trait and because of this I followed everything my parents wanted me to do.. now I don't know what I want to do with myself. I've joined numerous activities but I'm mostly known for modelling for events or for school activities, which made me popular among students and other crowds. I constantly need to put on a smile at all times or I'd be in a rumour again, I need to be kind and innocent at all times or I'll be called arrogant and prideful. I seriously don't know what to do anymore, and I can't come to anybody even family because they have high expectations of me and they would be more upset than I if I were ever to cry to them about the pressure. There was a one time that I cried to my mother about how I felt so pressured about everything but she just told me that I should be grateful for the opportunities she had given me, and I really am. I never even wanted to be in the spotlight, but I couldn't reject the offer because everyone would be so disappointed. I also have a big sister!! She's the sweetest girl in the entire world and she does everything better than me effortlessly, I deeply admire her for that. She supports me in everything wholly but I never told her anything because she'd be so disappointed, atleast that's what I think anyway. It just hurts me even further that so many people are expecting and looking at me everyday, I feel like I'm not grateful for the things I have received but I really am. I constantly feel pressure and do things that I am not even interested in for the sake of others, and I have forgotten my own interests because I have been doing this for so long. I can't come to anybody because of the risk, maybe I will eventually, I hope. I don't know why but I also have damaging self-esteem, people compliment me too much saying that I'm so pretty and so smart and so skinny and I really am so thankful but it just makes me wonder if they ever saw the true me. Would they still call me all those good things?? I really don't know. Thank you for listening to me ramble I kept this for so long HAHAHA I'm sorry😥😥!! Back to the main topic, I always wanted to be comforted by such a sweet person like Izuku and take the burden off my shoulders even if it's just for a little while. Thank you for reading all this!! I really wonder what it would feel like to be held by a person who sees me as me.

Beyond expectations - Izuku x popular model!reader

A/N: I'm truly touched by your openness and vulnerability in sharing your feelings. It's not easy to carry the weight of such high expectations and the need to please others. Remember, you are more than the roles and labels placed upon you. It's okay to explore your own interests and seek support when you need it. Your true self is undoubtedly remarkable, and those who appreciate you for who you are will continue to see the genuine you, beyond the spotlight 🌟

EMERGENCY REQS MASTERLIST

Izuku Midoriya was always known for his kindness and compassion. It was a part of his nature, a core aspect of who he was. And when he met you, the very popular model who was struggling with insecurities and the weight of her status, he couldn't help but feel a strong desire to comfort and support you.

The two of you had crossed paths at a charity event, where Izuku had been invited as a special guest. The moment he saw you, he was struck not by your fame and beauty, but by the vulnerability he saw in your eyes. You were surrounded by admirers and photographers, but the uncertainty in your smile told a different story.

After the event, when most of the guests had left, you found yourself alone in a quiet corner, staring out of the window. Izuku approached you with a gentle smile. "Hi, I'm Izuku Midoriya. I couldn't help but notice you looked like you could use someone to talk to."

You turned to him, surprised by his sincerity. "I'm Y/N," you replied, offering a hesitant smile. "Thank you.. Sometimes it's hard to be myself in a room full of people who see me as an object, not as a person."

Izuku nodded understandingly. "I can imagine that's tough. But I want to get to know the real you, not the persona. What's been bothering you?"

As you started to open up about your insecurities and your struggles to find your true path in life, Izuku listened intently, his caring emerald eyes never leaving yours. He was a fantastic listener, and his genuine concern for your well-being put you at ease.

"Izuku, I just wish I could find someone who sees me as me, not as the 'popular model.' I want to feel valued for who I am," you admitted, your voice quivering.

Izuku placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "You're not defined by your status. I see the real you, and I think you're incredible. Your insecurities don't make you any less amazing. In fact, they make you even more relatable."

In the days that followed, Izuku and you spent more time together, and he continued to be a pillar of support in your life. With him by your side, you began to find the courage to pursue your true passions and aspirations, knowing that you were cherished not for your status, but for your genuine self. Izuku, with his sweet and caring personality, had become the source of comfort you had longed for, and together, you walked the path to a brighter future.

As weeks turned into months, your connection with Izuku deepened, and the two of you shared many more moments of sweetness and warmth, seeing each other frequently.

One evening, as you sat together on a park bench, the sun setting in a blaze of oranges and pinks, you couldn't help but smile at the serenity of the moment.

Izuku glanced at you, his eyes reflecting the same warmth as the setting sun. "You know, Y/N, I've come to treasure our time together. You've inspired me in so many ways, and you've shown me the strength it takes to be true to oneself!"

Your heart swelled with affection, and you took his hand in yours. "And you, Izuku, have shown me the power of kindness and unwavering support. You've made me feel like I can conquer anything."

He chuckled softly, "We're a team, then, helping each other grow and discover our true selves."

The evening breeze rustled the leaves, creating a gentle, soothing melody. It was a perfect backdrop for the words you wanted to share. "Izuku, I love the way you make me feel—safe, cherished, and loved for who I am. I wonder what it would be like to be held by you, to experience that warmth and care every day."

Izuku's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, but his eyes sparkled with affection. "I've been wondering the same thing, Y/N."

With that unspoken understanding, you leaned in, and he met you halfway. Your lips touched in a sweet, tender kiss, sealing the unspoken promise to be there for each other, to cherish each other for who you truly were.

In that moment, as the sun dipped below the horizon, you both knew that you had found something special. And as you held each other close, the world seemed a little brighter, and your futures felt a little less daunting, all thanks to the sweet and caring presence of Izuku.