#this is a fun way to start

[bcbdrums]

A Soul Eater fanfic.

The silence of the library was almost eerie up on the fourth level. The first few times Maka had been there alone she had been almost frightened, anxious that someone or something would catch her there violating the rules, or worse.

She stepped slowly, the only sounds the soft pacing of her soles on the ancient floorboards and the distant ambiance of the cooling system. The library had been a great source of comfort to her lately, ever since the noise at home had become...less than pleasant.

She took a deep breath, gratefully breathing the scent of age and peace, and then exhaled slowly. She continued walking toward where a panel of sun was illuminating a small square of the floor, watching the dust float leisurely through the air. And then, she stopped—there was a small stack of books on the floor she hadn't remembered seeing before.

"Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully. "The academy is always kept really neat."

She approached the stack of books and stared down at them. The ten-year-old studied the smooth covers for a moment before reaching down to pick up one of the heavy tomes. These were newer publications, judging by their appearance and the white edges of their pages. There was also not one speck of dust atop the stack.

"Hmm," she repeated. She was about to flip open the book, when a quiet cough arrested her attention.

"Hello..?" she called softly, stepping forward down the aisle of shelves. She had never encountered another soul on level four. Even when she came with her papa, they were the only ones there.

There was no reply to her call, but she listened intently, closing her eyes to focus her senses. And after a moment, more than hear, she could feel a familiar presence nearby, intent upon something.

She opened her eyes and continued down the row of shelves.

"Hello? Who's there?" she called softly, her gaze fixed on the patch of sunlight on the floor. She reached the end of the row and stepped around the tall shelf, and...she was nearly blinded by the reflection of sunlight off of electric blue hair.

"Huh?" the boy said, snapping out of the study of the book in his lap. His face was in shadow due to the sunlight from the window behind him, and he glanced around as if dazed for a moment before his eyes found the girl at the end of the row. "Oh, it's you Maka."

"How did you get up here, Black Star?"

"Do you even need to ask? I'm the world's greatest assassin after all."

"So you snuck in?"

"Not all of us can get special privileges being Death Scythe's daughter," Black Star said with a slight eye-roll before frowning down at his book.

Maka pursed her lips, her cheeks reddening. Why was he always bringing up her dad?

"Since when do you read? The only time I've ever seen you touch a book is when I hit you with them."

She crossed the distance between them and peered down at the pages thick with text...only for Black Star to slam the volume shut and tuck it to his chest.

"Mind your own business, will ya? Can't a guy just want some alone time?"

"Sure... But you spend your alone time trying to do five hundred push-ups. Not going to the library."

"So I wanted to sit and read for once, big deal. Don't tell anybody."

Black Star's eyes were narrowed upon hers, and he still held the book tightly to his chest, concealing its title and any other useful information.

"Okay. So what's so interesting you had to sneak up to level four to find information?"

"I told you, none of your business," Black Star said with a scowl.

Maka frowned. She considered for a moment trying to steal the book away from him, but fights with Black Star usually ended her first in the academy's infirmary, and then grounded with a lecture from both of her parents. And the last place she wanted to be right now was stuck at home.

"Fine," she said, turning on her heel to go back the way she came.

She was about to turn back down the row of books, when she spotted the stack on the floor again that had surely been taken off their shelves by Black Star. She sighed in annoyance and bent down to start picking them up. She couldn't count on him to put them back, if he even remembered he'd taken them all out to begin with.

She read the catalog number on the first, and then stood to slide it into its spot on the shelf. But as she peered at the second, her eyes drifted to the title: Important Battles of the Twentieth Century, Volume III

Maka looked at the other titles. They were all in the same series, except for the one that was missing.

She peered back around the shelf to where Black Star had re-opened the book and was scowling down at the page.

Her brow furrowed, and she began tiptoeing forward. She fairly held her breath as she strained to see anything on the page before he became aware of her presence and snapped the book shut again.

Black Star turned the page backward, and Maka's brow rose. This page had an illustration of a large, jaggedly-drawn star, and she could make out the same word in a header atop the page.

"Hey!" Black Star said, clutching the book to his chest again. "What, can't find a single interesting book up here anymore? You have to read mine?"

Maka frowned. "So who's this 'Star Clan' you're so interested in, but that you don't want me to know about?"

"What part of 'mind your own business' do you not understand?"

Maka hesitated. There was something in her sometime-friend's eyes that made her wonder if his ire was motivated by something other than a desire for privacy. For some reason she thought he might cry, even though she knew it was far more likely he'd give her a black eye before she ever saw that type of weakness in him.

"You're right."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry, Black Star. Go ahead, read your book. I won't bother you."

She turned to go back the way she'd come a second time. After she finished putting away the rest of the books, she'd find one of her old favorites to read. Perhaps the history of scythes; it never ceased to fascinate her.

"Hey... Wait, Maka!"

She turned around.

"What now?"

Black Star looked uncertain. "If you swear to never tell anyone... Not a single soul. Not even your old man..."

"Yeah..?"

"Could you uh... Read this to me?"

Maka looked down at her friend. His visage had changed again. The stubborn pride hadn't gone, but there was something again in his eyes that she couldn't put a name to. But he was holding his breath where he now sat erect, the book open across his lap as he waited for her reply.

"Okay" she said. And as she walked back to sit at his side, the tension left his shoulders. She found herself relieved when the hint of a familiar smile turned the corners of his mouth. And even with the shadow across his face, his eyes shone bright.

[hinamie]

newest issue of first years fashion just dropped

[retquits]

our theater for sonic 3 was exclusively children except for me and my brothers and, inexplicably, one solo 70ish year old man. i couldn't stop thinking about him so i drew him with shadow the hedgehog. i hope he liked the movie

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

sentinel cant be a bad person

[lemongogo]

life of regret

[hoarderheart]

stupit ass trio

[miscellaneouzz]

There is no better duo than the high charisma low wisdom method actor and his ride or die partner in crime.

[starlingfawn]

through starless sky to blackest ground

[wardingshout]

the Zelda timeline ??? yeah I know about it

[huntingrays]

pjo prompt: percy and jason have to go on a quest together, so they both decide to bring their respective partners (annabeth and leo). during the quest, they get kidnapped by monsters and percy and jason wake up in an arena. the monsters explain that they have their partners and in order to save them, they have to fight to the death, with the winner getting to leave alive with their partner, while the other is killed. however, the monsters are very shocked when percy and jason sit down and start calmly playing cards with each other. they’re not worried about their partners. instead, they’re worried for the monsters. they trapped annabeth and leo together, two of the smartest demigods. the girl who redesigned olympus and the boy who built a warship in six months. they were toast.

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[hinamie]

self-indulgent sukuna sheet

[valtsv]

that shitty thing some people do where they compliment something about you, only to take it back and reveal that it was meant to be a joke at your expense when you sincerely thank them for it, used to bother me until i realised that you can just. keep it. refuse to hand that power back to them. they are never prepared to deal with this.

[tekatonic]

doodle i made on my brother's phone today

[roryfrommybabysittersavampire]

I think one of my favorite little details about spike's character is how he treated drusilla. he wasn't just "patient" with her disability, he actively treated it as just another thing about her to love. he verry rarely coddled her or tried to get her to be more present in a situation when she wasn't capable. (I can't think of a single time that he did but i feel like there were some when he was already upset at other people?). he learned to understand what she was saying even when it sounded like nonsense. when she was upset he comforted her, no matter how often it happened. when she started dancing he danced with her.

and we see in buffy 5x20 that it wasn't just his love for dru that made him act like that. when tara was incoherent and opened the window in the van, he didn't just immediately forgive her for burning him, he never got upset in the first place. he yelled, of course, because he was hurt, but as soon as willow started apologizing and trying to explain he just nodded. because it's no biggie! he already understands. some people are just like that, and he doesn't see accommodating that as the big deal that the people around him are making it out to be.

[crescentfool]

december 31st but i make it silly (based on a tumblr post, below the cut!)

everyone say thank you xenia, i made adjustments for the december 31st context but nyx avatar is still fitting.

original draft of the last panel. i considered putting the bi flag but i didn't know how to squeeze it in. we love ryoji mochizuki in this house.