#riddle master

[teresiel]

This dog peddles riddles.

[sunthroughdarkclouds]

Patricia McKillip was by far my favorite author in my early teen years. Her along with Tanith Lee, Peter S. Beagle, Ursula Le Guin, Tolkien and Roger Zelazny. She died recently and in my reminiscence and feeling the loss of this guiding light, I started reading Stepping from the Shadows which I understand is semi-autobiographic in a magical realist sort of way, starting in childhood and continuing into the college years. Now inspired to better understand her in the context of her lived through experience, I was disappointed to find very little on the web in the way of photos or info.

At risk of being a tad creepy, I generated these. Patricia in her younger years because she captured my heart at a young age when I discovered The Forgotten Beasts of Eld in my junior high library a lifetime ago.

[cisusnar]

Penitence

[aethon-recs]

Tomarrymort Recs by aethon 🐍

Hi! Thank you for your interest in this blog 🤍 This is a rec blog focused exclusively on Tomarrymort recs.

If you're looking for Tomarrymort rec lists, keep reading! I will keep this master list of links updated as I post more rec lists to this blog.

*

My standard list of rec list disclaimers:

• Please mind all tags and warnings on AO3 before reading (including CCNTW, explanation here). I strive to include a balance of themes and a diverse range of fic genres and ratings in my rec lists, so you'll come across lighter fare such as fluff and crack fics, along with fics that may cover darker themes. • Recs are always listed in alphabetical order by title. • Because I'm reccing Tomarrymort ship fics (all ratings from G through E) rather than gen fics, I aim to find fics where both characters in the ship are a meaningful part of the story; there isn't significant focus dedicated to side ships for Harry or Tom before getting to the endgame ship; and the Tomarrymort ship is central to the story. • Finally, this blog is not a fic-finding blog, but please visit our friends at @findingtomarrymort if you're having trouble locating a specific fic!

*

Tomarrymort Recs Master List

I. Longfic Recs

(coming soon) Part 0 — Longfic Master List (56 fics) Part 1 — Tomarrymort Beginner Pack (10 fics) Part 2 — Intermediate Pack (16 fics) Part 3 — Advanced Pack (12 fics) Part 4 — 2024 Longfic Update Pack (8 fics)

II. Themed Rec Lists

Harry-Raises-Tom Riddle recs (14 fics) Voldemort-Raises-Harry recs (13 fics) Fem Tomarrymort (F/F) recs (15 fics) Part 1 — Dead Dove Tomarrymort recs — Non-Con/Dub-Con (30 fics) Part 2 — Dead Dove Tomarrymort recs — Incest / Chan (25 fics) Tomarrymort Recs by Horcrux (22 fics) Tomarrymort Recs with Hemipenes (24 fics)

III. Answered Asks

Professor Potter recs (13 fics) Professor Riddle recs (12 fics) Tom & Harry Co-parenting recs (8 fics) Creature Fic (naga, vampire, mermaid, werewolf, veela) recs (25 fics) Unhinged/Dark Harry recs (13 fics) Independent/Strong-Willed Harry recs (10 fics) 1940s-era Tomarrymort recs (23 fics) Tomarrymort crack recs (34 fics) Tomarrymort casefic/mystery recs (15 fics)

IV. Recs by Publication Date

24 Tomarrymort Recs for 2022 (24 fics) Jan 2023 recs (10 fics) Feb 2023 recs (30 fics) December 2023 HP Rec Fest (36 fics) 23 Tomarrymort Recs for 2023 — One-Shot Edition (23 fics) 23 Tomarrymort Recs for 2023 — Multi-Chaptered Fics (23 fics)

[flowerofthemoonworld]

Twisted wonderland - Master chef event ✨

[greenglowinspooks]

(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (Pt. 4)

—

Tw: descriptions of body horror, Dr. Crane has PTSD and Does Not Realize, Crane has an actual panic attack and just doesn’t care, the Riddler makes one (1) sex joke about Batman

Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually

(Pt. 1 here) (Prev here) - (Pt. 5 here)

(Masterlist here)

—

Dr. Jonathan Crane is in his lab, the acrid scent of chemicals filling the air, and his hands are shaking.

Danny’s health, for the first week that he had him, had been steadily improving at an extremely quick rate. However, his healing had begun to stagnate. Danny said that it was because his body had run out of ectoplasm, and that while there was a lot of ambient ectoplasm in Gotham, he needed a stronger type in order to heal.

And so, that led Dr. Crane here.

He had stolen the research notes from the Penguin years ago regarding his experimentation on him.

(He quite vividly remembers the sound of bone creaking and groaning as it twisted, lengthened. The squelching of shifting tendons and muscles, the strange fabric-like tightening of skin. The feeling of going from man to monster, of losing all claim to his humanity.)

Danny had called him Liminal, part ghost. He had said that he was transformed by, among other things, a kind of synthetic ectoplasm.

Danny needed ectoplasm.

Crane had the research notes. He had every ingredient necessary. And yet, attempt after attempt failed.

The chemical smell burns his nose. His hands tremble.

Dr. Crane is not afraid.

He doesn’t feel fear anymore. He’s tried to, many, many times, but nothing has worked. And yet, his hands are shaking still.

(The horrifying sensation of vertebrae pop-pop-popping along his spine, growing and lengthening. The unbearable itching beneath his skin as toxin glands begin to form. The feeling of his teeth sharpening and elongating, of his skull growing, of his vision changing and brightening. The awful stench of chemicals. The awful stench of ectoplasm.)

Jonathan takes careful note of his shaking hands, his blurring vision, his accelerated heart-rate and shallow breathing.

(Human hands. Human vision. Human heart and lungs and organs.)

He takes note of them, but he does not let that distract him from the task at hand. Danny is not a chemist, but Jonathan is.

The boy knows enough about chemistry in theory, but he won’t go anywhere near Crane’s equipment. He seems to have some sort of intense fear of laboratory settings, probably developed during his stay with the GiW, and Crane is willing to respect that, if only because he cannot afford to lose him.

As such, Crane is the only one qualified to do this. And, unfortunately, if he isn’t successful the boy may very well die.

He heats the chemicals to precisely the right temperatures, adding each one to its correct container.

Dr. Crane thinks of the Scarebeast, that creature born of cruelty and greed and a sense of superiority. That creature which he tries to ignore is a part of him, that can never be removed. A damage which cannot be undone.

He pours the contents of a small beaker into a larger flask, watching the liquids swirl together. The stench in the air is becoming closer and closer to the one burned into his memory.

Crane’s whole body is wracked with unpleasant sensations. It’s truly unfortunate, he thinks, that despite his mind’s lack of fear, his body still reacts so harshly.

Jonathan’s eyes wander, eventually settling on a purple and green card sitting innocently on the corner of the table.

Right.

Even if they wiped out the GiW tomorrow, and even if Danny could survive without ectoplasm, he would still be in danger.

Crane has to get him back to good health. It’s the only way he can be sure that the boy can defend himself properly.

The solution in the flask begins to foam, and Jonathan does not hesitate as he adds the final ingredient. He pours the mixture into a new container, capping it and placing it into a freezer set to -40 degrees.

Hopefully this time he got the timing right.

Jonathan tries to relax, the ventilation in the room slowly but surely clearing the familiar smell from the air.

He thinks of the letter.

Surely, he thinks, that man can come up with some better material for his jokes. Or, at least something new.

Same old threats, same old attempted poisoning.

Aiming his threats at Danny, though, that was new. New and utterly unacceptable.

Scarecrow did what he had to.

He doubted that his solution would last forever, of course, as with that man it never did. As such, he would prepare both himself and Danny for the inevitable moment that his choices came back to bite them.

However, for the moment, they were safe. Danny could rest and recover, and Jonathan could figure out a plan to minimize possible damages.

Jonathan is no longer shaking.

He’s exhausted. This is his fifth attempt today, and each one leaves an unfortunate strain on his mind and body.

With a sigh, he settles himself into his seat at a nearby desk, opening up his computer and logging his most recent attempt. He still has to wait for it to chill to know if it was successful, but he can always update the logs later.

Once he’s done, he stretches, joints popping loudly as he walks to the freezer.

When he sees the results of his tireless work, the ghost of a smile flits across his face.

Success.

Jonathan picks up the jug of ectoplasm and leaves the lab, which is in all actuality the basement of the new apartment that he moved himself and Danny into after receiving the note. The scrappy old woman who was his landlord had told him that as long as he paid her five hundred dollars up front, she would let him set up in the basement without any questions or cop calls.

And so, the most expensive apartment in the Narrows was his.

At least, he thought, the distance between the basement and the apartment was short enough that Danny didn’t have to sit in while he was doing his labwork.

Jonathan knew that he didn’t exactly have a strong grasp on the concept of ‘lab safety,’ proven by his built-up immunity to almost every toxic chemical he’d ever encountered, and he doubted that Danny should be around such an environment.

He was back to the apartment quickly, not bothering to hide the self-satisfied smile on his face. Danny is sitting in his armchair, trying to read one of his books. Danny looks up, ready to greet him, when he sees the jug in his hands and pauses.

“Is that..?”

“Synthetic ectoplasm,” Jonathan says proudly, “I found the Penguin’s research notes and decided to recreate it, since you said that you needed it to heal properly. I’m not sure if it’ll work the same as what you usually have, but I hope it’s helpful all the same.”

Danny is standing, now, and looking at Jonathan with a strange look in his eyes. He looks, Jon thinks, like he’s about to cry.

Then Danny is rushing forward and wrapping his arms around Jonathan, his scrawny form shaking.

Jonathan is, for a moment, horrified. Did he do something wrong somehow? Why is this child, who’s so afraid of touch, hugging him?

And then he hears Danny’s voice, and he knows that it was all worth it.

“Thank you,” he’s mumbling, over and over, “thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much.”

“Of course,” Jonathan says softly, because what else can he say?

The boy cries in his arms for a while, and Jonathan briefly wonders what his life must have been like before, if a person like him can be seen as a comforting figure.

Then, Danny pours himself a small glass of the synthetic ectoplasm, putting the rest into the small fridge which had come with the apartment, and he settles back down, sitting in the armchair once again.

Jonathan sits opposite of him, and they chat with one another as Danny drinks.

Danny talks to him about the stars and tells him about different spaceships, and Jonathan makes sure to pay attention and ask the boy questions.

He doesn’t miss the way that Danny lights up every time he asks him something about his interests. He’s so passionate, so smart, a trait that he seldom sees outside of his fellow rogues, and Jonathan wants to encourage that.

It’s…nice. Peaceful, almost.

And then the front door flies open, because Jonathan isn’t allowed to have nice things.

“Jon,” a familiar voice rings out, “what the hell?!”

Danny is frozen in place, clearly terrified.

Jonathan heaves a sigh, turning to face the nuisance who’s entered his apartment.

“Eddie,” he drawls, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Edward’s face is red with anger as he invades Jonathan’s apartment.

“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe it’s the fact that you sent a bunch of rogues a cryptic message and then dropped off the face of the earth for two weeks! I was worried, Jon!”

Jonathan hums in acknowledgement.

“I didn’t think it was that cryptic,” he says, picking up a book in order to pointedly ignore the Riddler.

“Oh, of course you didn’t, you straw-stuffed hickory dickory dickhead. I swear, you’re always—” he pauses, finally having noticed Danny sitting opposite of Jonathan, “—who is this?”

“My apprentice,” Jonathan replies, dreading the upcoming headache he was no doubt going to develop from Edward’s company, “he’s helping me hunt down the GiW. His name is Danny.”

Edward gasps dramatically.

“You—an apprentice?! And you’re letting him sit in the old man chair?! You don’t even let me sit in the old man chair,” he wails, draping himself over the headrest of the couch with a flourish, “Jonathan, I thought I knew you!”

“Edward,” Jonathan says, “get out of my apartment.”

“Oh my goodness, this is incredible. You’re becoming the bat!”

“I am not becoming the bat, Eddie, now get out.”

Edward has a shit-eating grin on his face as he waltzes over to Danny. Danny, who seemed terrified when he first appeared, is now looking at him with obvious amusement written all over his face.

“I mean, look at him! The hair, the eyes, the scrappy build. If you put him in one of those traffic light vigilante costumes, he could easily pass as a Robin!”

“I’m not doing this with you today, Eddie.”

“Riddle me this, Jon: I am a treasure hidden inside of a chest. You can break me, or steal me, or give me a rest. I can flutter, or pound, or attack, or drop, but if you don’t have me, you’re certainly fucked. What am I?”

Jonathan pauses for a moment before he groans, dropping his head into his hands.

“Eddie.”

Danny sits still, a confused look on his face as he repeats the riddle silently. Then, his face lights up in delight.

“A heart!”

“Jon, I like this one,” Edward says with a smile, ruffling Danny’s hair, “you are correct! A heart, something that I wasn’t aware that our dear Jonathan had!”

“Eddie, stop.”

“No, no,” Edward says, “I was worried about you, you deserve this. I mean, you even missed girls night! You never miss girls night!”

“Girls night?” Danny asks, absolutely delighted.

“Oh, of course,” Edward says, sprawling over on the couch, dangerously close to just laying in Jonathan’s lap, “we have it once a week. I’m invited because of Selina and Jon’s invited because Harley likes him.”

“And what does girls night entail, exactly?”

“Eddie,” Jonathan groans, “please.”

“Well,” Edward hums, “we usually paint our nails, or watch a movie, or gossip about the other rogues, and occasionally, we tell each other about any ‘encounters’ we have with Batman,” he says, raising his eyebrows up and down.

Danny’s jaw drops.

“Edward, shut up,” Jonathan says, an irritated tone in his voice that wasn’t there before.

“No way,” Danny says, “I thought that Batman, like, hated you guys or something. You mean he actually..?”

“Oh, the Bat is much like a bottle of liquor or a cheap cigarette, in that he was made to be passed around.”

Danny chokes on air.

“Edward Nygma,” Jonathan hisses, getting out of his seat and looming over the man, “get the hell out.”

Edward pales.

“Leaving, leaving!” Edward says, dashing away from Jonathan. He pauses, turning to flash Danny a quick smile.

“Remember Danny, I’m your favorite uncle! Not any of the other rogues, me!”

With that, he leaves, the room falling completely silent.

And, as per usual, that silence does not last.

“You full-named him?” Danny asks gleefully, “and it worked?”

Jonathan just sighs, sitting down on the couch and rubbing at his temples.

“Please, don’t take anything Eddie says seriously. He’s a moron.”

“Dr. Crane, please let me come to girls night with you,” Danny pleads, his eyes sparkling, “I promise I won’t embarrass you.”

Jonathan groans.

“Of course you won’t, Eddie will do it for you.”

“Come on, please?”

“I think we’re a bit busy with the GiW at the moment,” Jonathan snaps. He pauses as he notices the crestfallen expression on Danny’s face.

This boy is going to be the death of him.

“Perhaps, though, when all that is taken care of…”

Danny cheers, grinning wildly, and Jonathan is not at all relieved to see him happy again. Certainly not.

The rest of the day is relatively normal.

Danny works on trying to get information from the GiW database while Crane refines his his fear toxin, both preparing for a raid on the GiW base they located in Gotham.

It was only a temporary base, nothing of note, but there was a chance of discovering more bases through it, and that wasn’t something either of them were willing to give up.

Still, something like this would take time. Rushing would only lead to failure.

…

Late in the night, long after Danny is fast asleep in his room, Jonathan pauses.

The GiW are not the only threat out there. They aren’t the only threat to him or to Danny. Perhaps it could be helpful to reach out to someone with greater resources than himself.

He sends a quick message to Red Hood.

Hopefully, he thinks, everything will go smoothly.

—

[coldemergency]

Voldemort: There must be endless information you’ve gathered throughout all your past lives

Harry: I know everyone’s dirty little secrets

Voldemort: I don’t suppose you’d share any with me…?

Harry: You would never guess which Hogwarts professor has a foot fetish

Voldemort: Not at all the sort of information I was looking for

Voldemort:

Voldemort: who

[virgil-anon]

The tomarry micro trope that gets me giggling every time is when Tom is trying to find a way to make Harry immortal with him because he's THAT obsessed and that much of a simp, meanwhile Harry's either knowingly or unknowingly immortal already, either from being Tom's horcrux or being the master of death

And I just love it

Tom: here, I've found a ritual to bind your life to mine so we can both live forever!

Harry:

Harry: Tom I CANT DIE

[chuueppz]

Tom's Professor Harrison

Tom Riddle was ready for the new year it was a few hours to begin. Not because he was becoming older, but because now he finally had all the connections he could dream of to accomplish all the greatest things that he was worthy of.

When he Woke up earlier this morning in his bed at Slytherin he was blinded by all the presents he received from his Knights, and now at night, he was ready to go to sleep, Wake up in a new year and Conquer the world.

But he felt compelled to take a walk on the grounds one more time, and thanked Merling for that, because now in front of him was a beautiful boy that's maybe five years older than him, with a white streak of hair on the right side accompanied by a huge lightning scar that only brought more delicacy. And the greenest eyes he had ever seen.

was he blind in his right eye too? No problem, he would give a new eye for him if he wants..

"Hello Tom, would you mind leading me to the headmaster's quarters?"

And instantly Tom knew that he would do anything to be by this man's side. He would split his soul a thousand times more, kill an entire city, create empires and present him as king, Tom would be his servant and kneel in devotion every hour of the day.

And What a blessing, his god knew his name.

"of course Sir...? "

"Harrison"

"Harrison" Tom says bowing his head

----

Can someone please take this idea off my mind and transform it into a fic?? I just need some silly Tom who would do anything to have the new professor's eyes on him for even a millisecond.

Like, he would try a zillion personalities only to see which one Harrison would like more, he would kill in front of him and would be merciful if Harrison asked to.

Only he could have Harrison's attention and if the teacher thought that he needed to be beaten, hugged, treated with roughness or showered with kisses, so be it.

(please, if you wanna do this fic just say so, I can even draw more)

[onelungmcclung]

We got a thirty minute delay.

[izharmilgram]

born hungry.

[slitheringghost]

Unweaving Canon Lily: Master Of Death

In this meta I wanted to explore how the text portrays Lily as Death. 

Dumbledore tells Harry, “You are the true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.” 

Since Harry mirrors Lily in his sacrifice (“I’ve done what my mother did”), and since Lily is the reason Harry survived the Killing Curse and Voldemort was vanquished (IMO due to deliberate planning by Lily), what goes unsaid, but what readers are meant to weave together, is that Lily too is the Master of Death, and Death itself. 

1.0 Lily as Death

If you pay close attention to the scene of the Potters’ deaths, you’ll see that it parallels the story of Death and The Three Brothers, with Lily as the main one playing Death, and I'll be weaving the two together below to illuminate this (from DH 21 and DH 17):

There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight And along a new and darker street he moved, and now his destination was in sight at last - In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear... He climbed the steps, listening with faint amusement to her attempts to barricade herself in... - However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand - They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure. ...and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead... - “‘And Death spoke to them —’” “Sorry,” interjected Harry, “but Death spoke to them?” “Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!” “Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now.” “Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —” “This is my last warning —” “Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy... Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I’ll do anything —” “Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!” ‘Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way, and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death’s gifts.

(The line about the river being too deep to wade through etc. could probably apply to some other lines too) The most notable connection is Voldemort repeatedly telling Lily to “stand aside” and the line “Death stood aside”. 

The connection to the line “Death stood aside” is reiterated in the language surrounding Voldemort, Lily, and Harry as a trio, with the three of them described as “standing” - because the three of them are Death, and are (one variation of) the three brothers who conquered Death:

He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand... and there she stood, the child in her arms.  The child had not cried all this time: He could stand, clutching the bars of his crib, and he looked up into the intruder’s face with a kind of bright interest  And now he stood at the broken window of Bathilda’s house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss (DH)

More on these lines in my meta about Lily and Harry as Voldemort’s Mirror Of Erised. 

Additionally, Voldemort who also plays Death is described explicitly as a “hooded figure” - “He saw the small boy’s smile falter as he ran near enough to see beneath the hood of the cloak”; but Lily too is a “hooded figure” in a more subtle way, because her face covered by her long hair evokes the hood of a cloak - "the mother entered [...] her long dark-red hair falling over her face." More on this in section 4.0.

2.0 Lily’s arms are Death’s arms

Lily's arms are repeatedly emphasized, especially in the scene of her death where they open towards Voldemort, because they're Death's arms wrapping around both Harry and Voldemort - welcoming for Harry, crushing and choking and drowning for Voldemort.

But though gashes appeared in their sodden rags and their icy skin, they had no blood to spill: They walked on, unfeeling, their shrunken hands outstretched toward him, and as he backed away still farther, he felt arms enclose him from behind, thin, fleshless arms cold as death, and his feet left the ground as they lifted him and began to carry him, slowly and surely, back to the water, and he knew there would be no release, that he would be drowned (HBP 26) “Death’s got an Invisibility Cloak?” Harry interrupted again. “So he can sneak up on people,” said Ron. “Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking" (DH 21) Thrashing, suffocating, he scrabbled at the strangling chain, his frozen fingers unable to loosen it, and now little lights were popping inside his head, and he was going to drown, there was nothing left, nothing he could do, and the arms that closed around his chest were surely Death’s… (DH 19) […] Harry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms. (DH 34) - Harry saw Sirius move up the bench to make room for her. She took one look at him, seemed to recognize him from the train, folded her arms, and firmly turned her back on him. (DH 33) It was nighttime. Lily, who was wearing a dressing gown, stood with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. (DH 33) there was a statue of three people: a man with untidy hair and glasses, a woman with long hair and a kind, pretty face, and a baby boy sitting in his mother’s arms. (DH 16) and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead… (DH 17) Flitwick’s spell hit the suit of armor behind which Snape had taken shelter: With a clatter it came to life. Snape struggled free of the crushing arms and sent it flying back toward his attackers: Harry and Luna had to dive sideways to avoid it as it smashed into the wall and shattered. When Harry looked up again, Snape was in full flight (DH 30)

The suit of armor Snape hides behind is implied as the one by the door where Harry first found the Mirror of Erised, thereby tying it to Lily, who is both Harry and Snape's Mirror of Erised (For more on this, read my meta When Lily Cast Her Life As A Shield”: Analysis of the Shield Charm).

3.0 Lily’s ties to the Deathly Hallows

Since Lily is portrayed as Death, the text gives Lily links to all three Hallows, and I'll go through them below.

3.1 The Elder Wand

The scene with Snape, Lily, and Petunia by the Cokeworth river and Lily picking up the fallen twig evokes the imagery of the river of Death and the Elder Wand:

“‘So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother .” (DH 21) He was now in a small thicket of trees. He could see a sunlit river glittering through their trunks. The shadows cast by the trees made a basin of cool green shade. Two children sat facing each other, cross-legged on the ground. [...] “...and the Ministry can punish you if you do magic outside school, you get letters.” “But I have done magic outside school!” “We’re all right. We haven’t got wands yet. They let you off when you’re a kid and you can’t help it. But once you’re eleven,” he nodded importantly, “and they start training you, then you’ve got to go careful.” There was a little silence. Lily had picked up a fallen twig and twirled it in the air, and Harry knew that she was imagining sparks trailing from it. Then she dropped the twig , leaned in toward the boy, and said, “It is real, isn’t it?" (DH 33) There was a crack: A branch over Petunia’s head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. (DH 33)

3.2 The Resurrection Stone

An important implication is that it's specifically Lily's soul that came out of the Resurrection Stone and created the versions of James, Sirius, and Remus, the way the Tom Riddle locket horcrux soul piece creates Riddle-Harry and Riddle-Hermione.

Several details point to this - Sirius and Remus look much younger, rather than how they looked when they died; presumably their shades match their appearances in 1981, because they match when Lily last saw them and how she remembers them; likewise, James is stated to look exactly how he did the day he died, because that’s how Lily remembers him.

Lily's shade’s eyes being emphasized is a huge clue that it was Lily’s soul, as eyes are windows to the soul; this idea is echoed in Tom Riddle's eyes in the locket:

Behind both of the glass windows within blinked a living eye, dark and handsome as Tom Riddle’s eyes had been before he turned them scarlet and slit-pupiled. Ron raised the sword still higher, and as he did so, Riddle’s eyes gleamed scarlet. His [Ron’s] eyes were wide, and the Riddle-Harry and the Riddle-Hermione were reflected in them, their hair swirling like flames, their eyes shining red, their voices lifted in an evil duet. Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in his eyes. (DH 19) She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough. (DH 34)

Lily’s stated as looking at Harry hungrily - because Lily’s soul has been separated from Harry. 

Interestingly, Lily’s shade and Harry both speak to each other the least - Lily only says four words “You’ve been so brave”, and Harry likewise only tells her “Stay close to me”. This is because Lily's speaking through the others to Harry. The strongest evidence towards this is the echoing here:

“And what use would that be to anyone?” said Dumbledore coldly. “If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear.” [...] “You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily’s son.” (DH 33) “I didn’t want you to die,” Harry said. These words came without his volition. “Any of you. I’m sorry —” He addressed Lupin more than any of them, beseeching him. “— right after you’d had your son ... Remus, I’m sorry —” “I am sorry too,” said Lupin. “Sorry I will never know him... but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.” A chilly breeze that seemed to emanate from the heart of the forest lifted the hair at Harry’s brow. (DH 34)

Lily also died right after she’d had her son, and this is Lily telling Harry that she’s sorry that she’ll never know him, and he’ll never know her, but she hopes he understands why she sacrificed herself - to vanquish Voldemort and create a better world.

The breeze lifting Harry’s hair echoes Hermione doing the same thing earlier, who also echoes the gesture of Lily pushing her hair back to look at Harry - AKA that breeze is Lily’s hand brushing Harry’s hair, perhaps kissing his forehead (for more on how Hermione performs the part of Lily, read my meta Hermione As Teacher And Connections To Lily):

She picked up the book and then walked back past him into the tent, but as she did so, she brushed the top of his head lightly with her hand. He closed his eyes at her touch […] (DH 18) “Hermione!” She stirred, then sat up quickly, pushing her hair out of her face. “What’s wrong? Harry? Are you all right?” (DH 19)

Other connections include:

1. Harry’s dream with Nagini (Voldemort's symbolic mother) going through the Gaunt ring with the Resurrection Stone and then Lily's grave - in the same chapter the Silver Doe appears, and only a chapter after he visits Lily's grave and sees the memory of her murder, and

2. the Lily from the Resurrection Stone parallels Morfin while he's wearing the Gaunt ring with the Stone in it:

Harry’s dreams were confused and disturbing: Nagini wove in and out of them, first through a gigantic, cracked ring, then through a wreath of Christmas roses. (DH 19) Lily’s smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough. (DH 34) Morfin pushed the hair out of his dirty face, the better to see Riddle, and Harry saw that he wore Marvolo’s black-stoned ring on his right hand. (HBP 17)

As fandom has pointed out, the real James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus never would’ve told Harry to die and so it’s a theory that it was Death purposely luring Harry - but if you accept that the Resurrection Stone’s shades were all Lily, and that Lily is Master of Death, it would make sense that they all tell Harry to sacrifice himself, because unlike Dumbledore who can only guess, Lily knows that Harry will come back to life, as it was her magic in the first place that caused it to happen (of course, in a way it was Death, because Lily is Death, etc).

3.3 The Invisibility Cloak

Despite the Cloak belonging to James, Lily is implied as the "true owner" as the Master of Death. For more on the Cloak’s link to Lily and how it represents the Aegis which is sometimes featured as a cloak, Lily passing the Cloak onto Harry as Zeus gives Athena the aegis, see the Shield Charm meta.

An important detail regarding both the 1981 flashback and the shades from the Resurrection Stone is that Voldemort, Harry, James, Remus, and Sirius's clothes are mentioned, but what Lily was wearing is never mentioned - because we're meant to make the connection that Lily is Death and Death wears an Invisibility Cloak:

“Nice costume, mister!” He saw the small boy’s smile falter as he ran near enough to see beneath the hood of the cloak, saw the fear cloud his painted face […] Beneath the robe he fingered the handle of his wand (DH 17) he saw them quite clearly in their little sitting room, the tall black-haired man in his glasses, making puffs of colored smoke erupt from his wand for the amusement of the small black-haired boy in his blue pajamas. (DH 17) James was exactly the same height as Harry. He was wearing the clothes in which he had died, and his hair was untidy and ruffled, and his glasses were a little lopsided, like Mr. Weasley’s. Sirius was tall and handsome, and younger by far than Harry had seen him in life. He loped with an easy grace, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. Lupin was younger too, and much less shabby, and his hair was thicker and darker. He looked happy to be back in this familiar place, scene of so many adolescent wanderings. (DH 34)

Note that mentions of Remus's "shabbiness" throughout the series are often references to his clothes ("The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard’s robes that had been darned in several places"), so his clothes are referenced, if obliquely.

The text also emphasizes that Voldemort can "see James and Harry clearly", as well as see the child’s face clearly, with the unsaid implication being that he can't see Lily clearly - because her face is covered by her hair that resembles a cloak, perhaps because she's wearing Death's Invisibility Cloak around her shoulders (in a metaphorical sense) or has Disillusioned herself and therefore only part of her body is visible.

Additionally, one way to read the Three Brothers story is that Lily is the third brother who met Death as an old friend - and Harry is the third brother’s son, who she passes down her Cloak to; and when the text tells us that Harry is descended from the Ignotus Peverell, the hidden meaning behind this is that he's descended from Lily.

4.0 Additional details 

“Death’s got an Invisibility Cloak?” Harry interrupted again. “So he can sneak up on people,” said Ron. “Sometimes he gets bored of running at them, flapping his arms and shrieking" (DH 21)

Death “running at” people is echoed in Voldemort’s words about Lily, and “flapping his arms and shrieking" is evoked by Lily’s arms opening wide and her screams:

“Dumbledore’s favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter — and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?” (DH 36) He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear (DH 17) At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide (DH 17)

As for Death sneaking up on people. Lily and Voldemort mirror each other here - as Voldemort is sneaking up on the Potters, so Lily is sneaking up on him (from DH 17).

And he made less noise than the dead leaves slithering along the pavement as he drew level with the dark hedge, and stared over it A door opened and the mother entered, saying words he could not hear The gate creaked a little as he pushed it open, but James Potter did not hear.

The wording also echoes Lily’s shade in Priori Incantatem: 

She walked close to Harry, looking down at him, and she spoke in the same distant, echoing voice as the others, but quietly, so that Voldemort, his face now livid with fear as his victims prowled around him, could not hear… (GoF)

More on this in future metas.

-

The part with the small child going up to Voldemort and running away is echoed by Voldemort and Lily, with Lily taking Voldemort’s role and Voldemort playing the child:

“Nice costume, mister!” He saw the small boy’s smile falter as he ran near enough to see beneath the hood of the cloak, saw the fear cloud his painted face: Then the child turned and ran away... (DH 17)

Remember, Voldemort turns into a child after he’s vanquished, as we see in GoF, and Harry compares him to a child in DH ("Harry […] thought absurdly of a child counting in a game of hide-and-seek", "His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded.")

As mentioned before, Lily’s hair covering her face is meant to evoke the hood of a cloak and echo Voldemort's face being covered by his cloak, and it’s heavily implied that Voldemort never sees Lily's face or her eyes beneath the hair (remember the Lily from the Resurrection Stone pushes her hair back to see Harry, drawing a contrast to the Lily in the 1981 memory that Voldemort sees).

This is Voldemort first smiling with amusement like that child:

He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear… He climbed the steps, listening with faint amusement to her attempts to barricade herself in (DH 17)

When Voldemort murders Harry, he finally sees beneath the hood of Lily’s Cloak (AKA sees Lily's eyes) through Harry, because he’s looking into Harry’s eyes, which are exactly like Lily's, as he casts the Killing Curse on him (Lily and Harry’s eyes also being the color of the Killing Curse):

He pointed the wand very carefully into the boy’s face: He wanted to see it happen, the destruction of this one, inexplicable danger. The child began to cry: It had seen that he was not James. He did not like it crying, he had never been able to stomach the small ones whining in the orphanage — “Avada Kedavra!” (DH 17)

And now Voldemort’s amusement is replaced by fear, and he runs away, exactly like that child:

And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away... far away... (DH 17)

This is what Remus tells Harry about dementors:

“If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself... soulless and evil.” (PoA 10)

Similarly to that quote, Voldemort turned Lily into someone like himself - turned her into Death.

-

The description of the street getting darker in the 1981 memory echoes the description the dementor's darkness, indicating that Voldemort is walking closer to Death:

And along a new and darker street he moved, and now his destination was in sight at last, the Fidelius Charm broken (DH 17) They turned right down the narrow alleyway where Harry had first seen Sirius and which formed a shortcut between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty and much darker than the streets it linked because there were no streetlamps. (OoTP 1) Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch-black and lightless — the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished [...] They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them. (OoTP 1)

Additionally, we never get an explanation to why Harry and Voldemort see this full memory - it’s the same memory Harry relives with the dementors, however it’s much stronger. Dementors don’t show visual memories, only emotions and voices - and the only thing stronger than dementors is Death itself, so presumably it’s actual Death that made them both view the memory.

Dementors are implied as created by Death and are “Death’s servants”. Therefore the effect of the dementors on Harry (making him relive the moment of Lily’s death and vanquishment of Voldemort, which is the same memory Voldemort and Harry both relive when they get near the site of murder) may be related to Lily’s role as Death.

5.0 Veil of Death

Lily’s role as Death might also be the reason for Harry’s attraction to the Veil of Death, with the implication that it was Lily whispering to Harry being the Veil, as Lily in the Mirror of Erised and the Veil are similarly described:

He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand very tightly, he edged around the dais, but there was nobody there. All that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil. (OoTP) There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder — but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror’s trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not? He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he’d touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air — she and the others existed only in the mirror. (PS) - He took several paces back from the dais and wrenched his eyes from the veil. (OoTP) He tore his eyes away from his mother’s face, whispered, “I’ll come back,” and hurried from the room. (PS)

This implication is also weaved in via it being specifically Luna’s mother who is emphasized regarding the Veil, as well as Lily’s letter in DH described as “a friendly little wave from behind a veil”. 

Lily's long hair covering her face in her death scene also evokes the Veil, and Lily enters the memory through a door - which echoes both the Mirror of Erised and the Veil described as an "ancient doorway".

6.0 Draught of Living Death

JKR describes characters’ clothes often, and I expanded on Lily's tie to the Invisibility Cloak, but notably the only time Lily’s clothes are explicitly mentioned in the series is when she’s wearing a dressing gown outside of Gryffindor tower at night time, about to go to sleep. This is partially an allusion to Lily being in an “enchanted sleep”, like the state of the Draught of Living Death, which includes asphodel as an ingredient, a type of lily - again tying Lily to Death. When Harry needs her, her spirit is awoken from her death-like slumber and she comes to save him.

The Draught of Living Death’s connection to Lily is further shown in HBP, where it’s the potion that wins Harry Felix Felicis, or Liquid Luck - and other than the alliteration with Liquid Luck and Lily, “luck” is constantly used to describe Lily saving Harry from the Killing Curse:

“But Harry — what if You-Know-Who’s with him?” “Well — I was lucky once, wasn’t I?” said Harry, pointing at his scar. “I might get lucky again.” (PS)

(Harry does "get lucky" again - Lily's blood magic saves him from Quirrelmort right after this.)

So. Your mother died to save you. Yes, that’s a powerful counter-charm. […] But after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. (CoS) “Harry Potter escaped me by a lucky chance.” (GoF)

But of course, it wasn’t luck, it was Lily. (The Draught of Living Death’s modification also includes the number 7, the magically significant number of horcruxes, and the amount of times Lily says “Not Harry” in her final words). 

This ultimately threads to the scene where Harry, under the influence of Felix Felicis, uses the graphic details of Lily’s death - and Lily’s eyes - to manipulate Slughorn into getting the real horcrux memory. More on this link in future metas. 

7.0 Conclusion

To summarize, Lily is portrayed as Death itself and is linked to everything surrounding Death - to the three Deathly Hallows, Death’s arms, dementors, the Veil of Death, the Draught of Living Death.

She’s the one whose magic conquered Death and caused both Voldemort and Harry’s death and resurrections, the one who keeps reaching out from beyond death to save Harry again and again - the true Master of Death.

Thank you to @artemisia-black for helping me with this meta, and credit to slashmarks fics for some of these realizations.

Part 2 of this meta coming soon.

[c0nfessions-of-a-writing-freak]

What Lurks In The Dark

Pairing: Marcus Lopez Arguello x fem!reader

Word count: 3.7k

Warning: Mild cursing, Mild Graphic description of violence

Summary: Paranoia had always been a common occurrence in her life so when the feeling of being watching started to rise in the back of her mind she couldn't tell if it was just a conjured-up feeling or reality. After a heavy night of avoiding anyone and everyone at all costs, a deal is sent her way that she would be a fool to pass up on or maybe a bigger fool for agreeing to it.

(Y/N): Your name

(H/C): Hair colour

(E/C): Eye colour

(F/C): Favourite colour

*Gif does not belong to me

Worn out Converses smacked against the concrete sidewalk as (Y/N) walked through the streets with purpose. Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her oversized hoodie, the back of the (F/C) piece of fabric falling past his skirt and rubbing against the back of her stocking-clad thighs. Her (H/C) was pulled back and out of her face, a few wisps of hair falling out of the tie that kept the rest of her hair back and invading her vision.

(Y/N) tried not to stay in one place for too long, not when she had a doped-up dad with buddies all over the city. It was still beyond herself why she hadn't decided to flee the city yet. Perhaps the only reason she chose to stay was to keep an eye on her mother, but even then there wasn't much the woman was doing that gave (Y/N) a proper reason to stay behind.

She had only ever run into a few people that seem to recognise her. Normally, they would try and ask her if her dad had anything good going around or if she was carrying any on her. There was only one occasion where one of her dad's mates had tried to get physical with her, claiming she had to be brought back to where she belonged. It didn't take much to get the man off of her, mainly because he was drunk and clutching onto a half-empty beer bottle for dear life.

Tonight felt just like any night to begin with as she walked through the streets of San Francisco. She kept her head down and her hood up as she tried not to draw any more attention to herself than a teenage girl walking through the dark streets of San Francisco could get.

It was only when she saw the same boy with a bright green mohawk skate past her for the fourth time that she began to raise her guard. (Y/N) was willing to shake it off at first, but after seeing him a few too many times for comfort she began to realise she was being circled by the boy.

(Y/N)’s pace picked up only slightly along with her heartbeat. Her original plan was to try and lose him in some back alley that ran behind some of the apartment blocks and led back to one of the main roads. But upon further evaluation, it probably wasn’t the best idea to be followed into a back alley, even if she was being followed by a rather flimsy-looking boy that seemed to be around her age.

She had two other options that could work out in her favour, of course, with the possibility that her plans could backfire in her face. Her first option was to wait the boy out and lead him out to the main roads where she could hopefully lose him or he would be detoured because of the uprise in people. The second idea that had come to her mind was to try and meet the boy head-to-head and throw him off his course where she could try and get away from him in his moments of instability.

Both ideas could work out in her favour but just as easily give the green-haired boy the upper hand. In the case where she tried to lose him, he could get to her before she made it to a more crowded area and with the second choice he could overpower her, his looks may be deceiving to something stronger. Neither necessarily worked out in her favour but at least with the first option if she needed to she could make a run for it or later dissolve into the fight she was hoping it didn’t have to come down to.

In her head, the decision had already been made before she could properly think and weigh out her choices.

Turning left, (Y/N) felt the flesh of another hand latching onto her upper arm. Whipping her head around with a few strands of hair flying in the wind, (Y/N)’s eyes landed on the same boy that had been circling her as the night progressed. A choked yelp escaped from behind (Y/N)‘a lips at the sight of the boy, instantly trying to pull her arm away from him once it registered that the limb hanging onto her belonged to him.

“Woah,” The boy quickly called out, a laugh on the tip of his tongue as he planted a foot and held onto (Y/N) a tad bit tighter. Raising his chin a little, the green-haired boy said, “I’m just here for a fun time. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You creep,” (Y/N) quickly exclaimed, her lip curling in disgust. The boy's eyes seemed to widen at (Y/N)‘a words, like what he had said had finally registered in his head for the first time. Trying to keep a steady voice, she said, “Get off of me.”

“No can do, Runaway Legacy,” The boy’s overjoyed voice rang out, a matching unwavering grin plastered on his face. “Need to get you back to King's Dominion so I pass the assignment. I can’t let Lex get a good grade for this assignment this time around or he’ll have two to hold over my head.”

“One, I'm not going anywhere with you and your greasy mohawk,” (Y/N) started, getting cut off by the boy as he made his dissatisfaction known.

“It’s not greasy.”

(Y/N) gave the boy a deadpan at his words, watching as he raised his free hand in surrender and gave her room to speak once more. “Two, I don’t care about Lex or this assignment you claim that I supposedly am. If you want to kill someone, pick a different target. And three, the hill is a 'Runaway Legacy?'"

“I’m not going to kill you,” The boy exclaimed with a mortified gasp. “The whole point of this is to bring you back alive. Master Lin wouldn't have a use for you if we brought you back dead.”

“That’s not helping your case,” (Y/N) said, giving the boy a moment to answer before she kicked the skateboard out from under his foot, sending him skidding back in his moment in surprise. In his fall the boy had let go of her, so with a few steps forward, (Y/N) took control of the skateboard that the boy had just lost.

“Oh, come on!” She heard him call out from behind her as she began to pick up speed. As the boy stumbled to his feet, preparing to run after her he yelled, “Not cool man. Not cool.”

"Looks like your gonna have to go back to Master Lin empty-handed and fail your assignment," (Y/N) shrugged as she looked back at the boy only to find him a few paces from where he had originally fallen, not putting in too much effort to go after her. "I guess Lex is gonna be the one to bring home the gold."

"You would have much rather gone back with me, I promise," He called after her in a sing-song tone making chills shoot down (Y/N)'s spine. "If I don't get you, Lex or someone else will."

Shooting her head back around, (Y/N) focussed on getting away from the creepy boy and out of the part of San Francisco where she currently found herself in. But no matter where she went the feeling of someone watching her stuck with her throughout the night, making her never stay still for too long on the stolen skateboard she had obtained.

In the end, she didn't end up getting too far before another mysterious figure was making their way towards her.

"Oi, you've been assigned," A boy with cornrow braids said as he stepped towards (Y/N). He wore a dark athlete's hoodie with a toothpick between his teeth as his eyes scanned over her, landing on the skateboard beneath her feet where his lips twisted upwards. "Master Lin don't do well tardiness so we gotta move."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," (Y/N) uttered quickly, turning around the boy as she leaned heavily on one side of the skateboard. "As I said to your green-haired freak of a friend, this is an assignment you're gonna have to fail."

A loud scoff rang out from the taller boy. "Don't let any of the Rats hear you speaking about one of their own like that. They're known to not be as friendly as I am."

"I'll keep that in mind," (Y/N) said dryly, her (E/C) eyes half-hooded as she circled the boy. "Note to self, if you ever see someone looming in the dark, ask them if they are a Rat are not. It will certainly work out well in your favour."

A bemused chuckle left the boy's mouth as his shoulders bunched up and his head lowered. He reached up to pluck the toothpick from his mouth and flick it somewhere behind himself. "You're going to have to drop the attitude. That's the sort of thing that gets you killed in King's Dominion."

"Well, as I said to your Rat friend," (Y/N) began, not bothering to look over her should as she escaped from the boy as she already knew he would be lent against the wall behind him, "Master Lin's gonna have to learn that he ain't gonna get everything he wants."

"I would congratulate you for your bravery if what just left your mouth wasn't complete stupidity," The boy called out, not bothered by the ignorance he got in return. "Good luck escaping this one kid. No one gets away from Master Lin."

(Y/N) tried not to pay any mind to what the boy had said, attempting to let the words go through one ear and out the other. But the warnings she got from both strangers were daunting. Once was a coincidence but twice was an omen. And it didn’t take long until that omen was put into play.

Coming to a quick stop, the skateboard whipped out from under her feet as something knocked (Y/N) off her feet after rounding a corner. As she came crashing down a tall boy with blonde hair made his presence known. He spoke with a thick accent as he said, “We were told you were a Legacy, but I don’t see anything but a Rat.”

“Are you sure we’ve got the right girl?” Another voice spoke up with a just as thick accent. Coming to stand next to the taller dude was a girl with curly blonde puffed-up hair. She wore a cheerleader outfit with two dark-shaded pom-poms resting on her hips. “I’m not one to say Master Lin is wrong but this can’t be the girl everyone’s throwing a hissyfit over.”

“Would hate to agree with the emo cheerleader,” (Y/N) started as she stood from the ground, eyes landing on where the skateboard had fallen before looking up at the two blondes in front of her again. The girl had a glare on her face as she watched (Y/N), the title not sitting well with her. “But I think you and your other friends running around have to reevaluate who your stalking and threatening to kidnap.”

"We ain't going to have to kidnap you if you follow along willingly," The girl spoke up, popping a hip to the side as she stared expectedly at (Y/N).

"You see, as much as I would love to make this easy for you both," (Y/N) started to circle the two of them, stopping once she was at their sides and they had turned to face her. Trying to keep the attention on her face, she slowly stretched a foot out until it bumped into the skateboard lightly. Lifting her foot up until it rested on top of the board, she slowly pulled it back towards her. "I was taught not to go with people I don't know. You know, stranger danger."

The girl scoffed while the guy's face seemed to lift slightly. "There is no need to worry about strangers. I assure you, if you are the Legacy Master Lin claims for you to be, I am positive we will be far more than strangers."

"Ew, gross," (Y/N) shook her head, face twisting into disgust as she backed away from him with a few stumbled steps. "As enlightening as this whole interaction has been, I'd much rather decline and be on with my day."

"That's not going to happen, sweetie," The girl said stepping forward. With her steps, her hands moved from her hips, her pom-poms growing two large blades out of each one. (Y/N)'s eyes quickly flickered down to the spikes, taking a gulp as they seemed to glint in the streetlights. "We're allowed to take you back using whatever means necessary, and if that means by force… then so be it."

(Y/N) didn't need to wait another second to figure out what that means. Turning and launching herself onto the skateboard and onto the pathway. Thinking back to her earlier plans, (Y/N) starts to migrate her way back to the more crowded places of San Francisco. Maybe then she would finally be able to escape the several advances of strange teenagers and Master Lin, whomever that may be.

The pair of blondes must have been prepared for (Y/N) to make a run for it since they weren't too far behind her. The skateboard didn't act as much help and she probably would have been better off legging it herself but there was no time to jump off and hope for the best.

At the first sight of a large crowd of people, (Y/N) could feel some relief starting to creep up inside of her. That hope quickly diminished as something sharp pierced through her shoulder. She didn't scream but a deep disgruntled sound tore through her throat as she fell from the skateboard, crashing into a few pedestrians that gave her disgusted looks as they went barreling down with her.

Climbing to her knees, (Y/N) pushed herself up quickly. She crawled forward a step before she was tripping over her feet to stand once again. People parted the way for her as a hand craned back to wrap around one of the blades that had lodged in close to one of her shoulder bones. A steadying breath was taken as she began to inch the blade from her flesh. She kept walking as she tried to pull it out, stuttering in her steps every once in a while as she fought down a wince and had to pause in her movements. When a coalesced hand gripped hers, she turned around quickly, ready to see one of the attendants she had already run into that night. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What?" (Y/N) questioned as she focused on the boy that had come up behind her. He had dark curly hair that was cut into a short mullet. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt and some jeans, something plain to blend in. In one of his hands was the skateboard (Y/N) had discarded earlier.

"Pulling the weapon that punctured you from the wound," He said as he carefully tore (Y/N)'s hand away from the blade stuck in her shoulder. "It's like basic knowledge at this point."

"I think I was more concerned about getting away from the two lunatics that were chasing after me." (Y/N) watched with narrowed eyes as she pulled her hand away from the boy. "And why do you sound so calm? Anyone else would be a bit more worried about the massive chunk of steel sticking out of my back…"

"Well…" The boy said, bringing a hand up to scratch at the back of his neck.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" The words came out like venom, already backing away from the boy as her hand shot back up to clutch at her shoulder while her head tipped back so she could stare up at the sky. "Why won't you and the rest of your Rat and Legacy friends leave me alone?"

"If it makes you feel any better, you were able to avoid Saya and Maria last night. They didn't come back to King's Dominion until lunch today because they didn't want to be failed," The boy offered the information to (Y/N), trying to smile in some form of reassurance. All the boy got in return was the annoyed stare of (Y/N) as she began to turn away from him. With hurried steps to keep up with (Y/N), the boy said, "Of course that wouldn't make you feel better. Look, I know I'm probably one of the last people you want to trust, but if you let me take you back to King's Dominion-"

"Absolutely not," (Y/N) exclaimed, effectively cutting the boy off. She shook her head as she waved a hand at the boy, trying to shrug him off. "I've been running away from people trying to drag me to that place. Why would I willingly go with you of all people?"

"Because we have healers," The boy said exasperated. One of his hands jotted forward to reach out for (Y/N) but stopped at the large flinch on her part when he got too close. "I'm not saying you have to stay, hell you could be out of there as soon as the medics are done with you. But you'll have a better chance of coming with me than you will be trying to get help at a hospital.

When (Y/N) couldn't think of anything to say, the boy took it as his signal to keep on speaking.

"I was just like you once, okay? Scared and living on the street, on the run from cops and anyone who got too close. King's Dominion is far from a home or somewhere safe, but if you're willing, you can find yourself fitting in with the right group of people and making something for yourself there," It wasn't the lecture (Y/N) wanted to hear but it seemed to knock some sense into (Y/N)'s head. “Yeah, most of the people there are scum-sucking ducks, and the teachers couldn’t care less if you got poisoned or shot at, but at least you’ll have a future there. And hey, maybe in a month or two you’ll get to be the one chasing kids down the street trying to recruit them into this secret society where they could go and work for NASA even.”

“What does NASA have to do with any of this?” (Y/N) questioned with furrowed brows, allowing the boy to get a little closer to her and place a steadying hand on her back near the puncture wound.

“More than you think,” He laughed. (Y/N) turned to him, trying to arch one of her brows to show her confusion, only getting a shake of the boy's head as if signalling it was for another time. "I'm Marcus."

"(Y/N)," She says, allowing Marcus to push her forward and lead her King's Dominion, keeping an eye out for any of the strange faces she had run into previously that night. "You know your little rant wasn't very effective if you were hoping to get me to stay at King's Dominion."

"Yeah, the more I spoke the more I began to realise that." No one seemed to care much for the blade sticking out of (Y/N)'s back, passing by as if there wasn't a thing wrong with the image. (Y/N) couldn't decide if that was a good thing or if it was alarming how much people were willing to ignore what was right in front of them. "But I was inspirational, wasn't I?"

"Oh, very," (Y/N) concluded, a scruff of a smile appearing on her face. "Had the troops rallying. Could barely contain my excitement to get to this place where I'll have scum-sucking kids drooling over me and knobs of a teacher cursing me to do homework that will hopefully get us all killed"

"Don't be surprised if that's their objective," He warned before abruptly turning into a food store where a few people were already waiting. As (Y/N) followed after him, a question on the tip of her tongue as she stepped into the store which quickly dissolved as she saw some familiar faces.

"Hey Marcus, you got my skateboard back," The green-haired boy from earlier yelled happily as he jumped off one of the tables he had comfortably taken a seat on. Bounding over he extracted the board from Marcus before looking over at (Y/N). "I thought Marcus may have been able to woo you over here. I get it, I'm not your type. At least Lex wasn't able to get to you and bloody you up too badly."

"I wouldn't say that," Came the voice (Y/N) grew to find annoying. The same bush of blonde hair came wandering over, plucking the blade from (Y/N)'s shoulder, earning a gargled-out wince from the (H/C) haired girl as a hand shot up to apply pressure to the now exposed wound. Thick welts of blood began to smear across her fingers as she was guided through the store. "I think I did a pretty dandy job of giving her her first King's Dominion scar."

A scorn flashed across (Y/N)'s face as Marcus kept her moving, pushing her away from the blonde girl. It was then that her attention was caught by a boy with poorly bleached hair that he had been able to spike up. "Looks like you were able to strike out before me Marcus, good work there chap."

An uncertain familiarity took over (Y/N) at the sight of the boy. She found herself going out on a limb and asking, "Are you the famous Lex that greasy over there was going on about all night?"

"Someone been talking about me?" Lex asked with a bemused grin, eyes skittering around the room.

At the same time as Lex spoke, the green-haired boy yelled out, "My hair is not greasy!"

"Oh, I'm gonna like this one," Lex announced before he started to walk to the backdoor of the small building. "Now, you've been keeping Master Lin waitin' a long time. You ready to meet the man and be turned into a killer?"

Despite herself, (Y/N) found herself looking back at Marcus. She was either seeking out his reassurance or guidance, something she wasn't sure why she was doing. His shoulders quickly raised in an act of surrender. He spoke lowly, almost a whisper like it was a secret between them, "Don't look at me."

Turning back around to face Lex, she found him leaning against a door with a sign on it that read staff only. The boy with green hair was standing next to him while the other three he had seen earlier were standing slightly out of the way, waiting for her answer.

"Lead the way," She settled on saying.

[anteroom-of-death]

I mean, if the Doctor can fuckin hear music, and always has...Like, why did they never think "oh I got a schizophrenic friend who hears drums... maybe we should talk! I hear music period....wonder why they just hear drums!?" And go from there...

[jinxthejubilee]

My birthday is on Tuesday, but my bestie gave me my presents early!

I don't know who designed that print, but I love it so much! Riddle is absolutely adorable!

Also:

Behold! My wonderful collection! I have so far to go...

[flowerofthemoonworld]

Culinary Crucible ✨

Thanks @alchemivich for the visuals 😊