#what the heck happens to the professors house

[applesandpavenders]

[ashdreams2023]

Hello again! I was wondering if you still do requests and if so, can I request a Severus x reader but platonic? Like we've all read Sev being like a guardian of sorts to students but what if reader is like the prof that cares for Sev when he was a student? Like Severus' favorite teacher is reader cause not only is she smart and teaches well but she has a soft spot for Sevy and is one of the profs that punishes the marauders every time she catches them bothering Snape. Snape can see her as a mother figure that even up to the point that Sev actually became a teacher he still goes to her for his problems and she just babies him lol. (Reader was once the youngest teacher to teach in Hogwarts before Snape took that role)

Alright alright gonna do this now!

Platonic Severus snape x fem reader

All my respect

Severus had a rocky relationship with adults from a very young age that’s for sure, his home life and neighborhood left little in his faith for grown ups.

It was a rocky two first years when he couldn’t even trust his head of house let alone another professor, he felt uncomfortable if he had to seek his head of house for help, he preferred to suffer in silence, even if it meant having to sit in aching bruises from his bullies until he learned how to brew a cooling balm.

No one did a thing to genuinely help him, no one, he hated how everyone overlooked him, how They saw him just as a weird kid who others avoid for no reason but that they didn’t understand him.

That continued until his third year, after a brutal beating from Sirius and his wand almost snapping in half, he remembers it very clearly he was sitting in the hall feeling the entire world was against him.

Then you came, young looking and worried, at the time you were only 28 years of age, he knew you were the new hired substitute professor for charms.

He expected to be scolded and sent to his dorm but instead you kneeled down and without even asking a question tended to his injuries self, he flinched when you first touched his face but that didn’t stop you from applying some healing balm and checking his medical chart with your wand.

He was speechless to say the least, no one ever cared this much about him…even his mother…

"Tell me who did this to you and I don’t want any lies little boy" you tried to sound firm but he could tell you were still panicked about his state and what you saw on his medical charm, he was a scrawny malnourished boy "you can tell me, you’re not gonna be in trouble I promise"

Next thing he knows points have been deducted from the lions and he’s all healed up. Although that still didn’t make him trust you that easily.

But it kept happening, you stopped whoever was bothering him, looked out for him when he seemed a little off and much more, you didn’t rest until you got the marauders suspended from hogwarts for a whole semester because of that idiot and deadly prank.

You scolded him still but always with a gentle hand checking if he’s hurt or hiding an injury like he sometimes did.

"One of these days you will kill me with a heart attack!"

"They started it!"

Heck you even helped him get some rare plants for his potion making and recommended him to higher education, even after he messed up and used that awful name, you believed him, you saw the good in him and stood by his side.

He can thank you a million times but he still feels like it isn’t enough, even now at 35 of age, you’re 50 and still working in the same school.

He comes to you for guidance, he has tea with you every other day and you sit there smiling fondly as he complains and rants about his day, just like the little boy you once knew.

"With all my respect to you mother but these kids are insufferable" it takes him a minute to realize what he just said and he blushes crazily but you chuckle.

"Oh please, you’re the son I never birthed"

Severus sighs still blushing slightly from embarrassment "Isn’t it too late for me to call my professor mum?" He used sarcasm to hide his embarrassment.

You sipped your tea and leaned back on your chair "I remember when you were just a little lad, sneaking around to brew your outrageous potions and getting burned then coming back to me with a pout and tear stained eyes demanding I give you my cooling balm"

He smirked crossing his arms "I can make it myself now, I don’t need to be babied anymore"

"Oh? So you don’t your favorite tea cup?" She laughed softly.

Severus frowned dropping his arms, his tea cup, the one you bought specially for him because the design reminded you of a cauldron, it was childish and looked out of place in your neatly organized cabin with all the good China sets.

But he still went for it, he wouldn’t pick that one round tea cup and take it for himself, you would tease him about needing a grown up one but he would defend himself saying he would do just fine with this one.

"Well, good to know some things just don’t change sevy"

"Don’t call me that I’m a grown adult! I’m taller than you!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night sevy" fighting you was useless, he should’ve known better but he always felt light, he breathed out and let a small smile creep on his lips.

[leafostuff]

Nana Potter [Ft. Woo!Ah Nana] + Announcement

Tags: Smut, Hogwarts AU, Blowjob, Lap Grinding, Banter during Sex, forced creampie Author's Note: Please Stay till the end of this Fic for a huge announcement, you really don't want to miss it.

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In Hogwarts, Punishments are Punishments

As much as people want to believe Hogwarts is a place that understands and let's everyone have its place, the place still has rules or else the entire school will be stuck in eternal anarchy. And of course Punishments have to happen for those who do not obey the rules.

So basically, the situation you were currently in the moment.

You were currently sitting in professor Dumbledore's office, as he looks at you directly with a look that you couldn't be sure if it was anger or disappointment but you could be sure on one thing: you were in BIG trouble and you couldn't run away from it

"Mr Seungkwan…do you understand what you just did?" He calmly said, his right hand scratching his beard while his eyes were directly looking at yours as you felt more and more intimidated by the second.

"...Yes" you said as your eyes looked down, disappointed in yourself that you actions turned out the way they did, but it didn't matter since In Hogwarts Punishments are Punishments and you will have to take responsibility for your actions that cause this entire happening.

However you suddenly hear a bang on the desk, as you look to the right you find Nana, one of the students from Gryffindor and your rival for over your 3 years in Hogwarts, Her face showed only showed Anger, heck she was so furious at the current moment that one wrong sentence can find you dead on the spot, if not physically, then she will kill you mentally.

"Miss Nana-" Dumbledore started talking as his face went to look toward the girl in red and yellow clothing but she immediately stopped the professor's speech In its start "god the nerves that this girl have sometimes" you curse to your own thoughts, looking at her in a look that can only be described as disgust.

"Dumbledore, it is simply not fair what you are doing!" Nana Shouted, "It's not my fault, it's Seungkwan's fault for taunting me, calling my family a dynasty of liars" she added, looking at you with the same anger she looked at Dumbledore before, however in your defense it was true.

You and Nana for the most part were pretty similar, starting from your very high intelligence which already marked you Two as rivals, to how both of you were talented in pretty much everything from magic to alchemy to broom riding, and ended by how most of the house saw you two as leaders, however after this the similarities ends.

Let's first of all start with how you were sorted into Slytherin and how Nana was Sorted into Gryffindor, being the rival houses of each other it was pretty ironic that from this house there will be a rivalry, however your differences also come to your personalities.

While you were pretty closed, preferred to mostly spend your time alone with your novels and only had your couple of friends which you trusted and enjoyed with, Nana was the complete opposite of you, instead being very extroverted, would rather spend every moment outside with people and really enjoyed being in the center of attention, crowning her one of the most popular students in Hogwarts 

"And yet you let him offend you, Miss Nana" he stopped her in her ramble, "just like your argument with Seungkwan during alchemy that almost blown the entire class, or like the time during the quidditch game between your houses that you two almost started using magic in school grounds" he added as Nana's expression changed from angry to disappointed as she looked down.

"Or maybe like today, while a broom riding lesson was going, both of you broke the window of the school and made a mess of the library" he said as Nana face turned even sadder than before. "Now tell me miss Kwon…what will I have to do with you two antics?" He asked, thinking to himself as now the two of you look at each other, for the first few seconds the looks were of anger to each other but later both of your faces turn into a bit of sadness as you start thinking what will your fate hold.

"Perhaps…being expelled will finally let you learn your lesson" he said as both of your faces turn blank but as quickly as your faces turned blank, they quickly gained their color back as Nana is the first to speak

"Dumbledore, you can't do this to us" she shouted, standing up from her chair and banging her fist on the desk

"Nana-"

"Please…there has to be another way of punishing us, just… don't expell us" she said as suddenly her eyes started to change colors from her usual brown eyes to pink, "ugh, she is doing it again" you cursed to your mind as you look at Nana in annoyance

One more Trait that made Nana even more of an enemy in your eyes was her unique ability that passes through family was rare Ability to cast spells without saying the spell's name, making it easy for her family to use spells without any suspicion, and of course Nana would use this trait to her advantage as much as possible, to get her from every problem possible 

"...Seungkwan and Nana" Dumbledore simply said you both find yourself looking at Dumbledore. "Are you actively going to stop your arguments? If it means by either ignoring when someone annoys you…" he said looking at Nana. "...Or not starting an argument in the first place" he continued as he turned his look toward you as you could feel the guilty hammer striking you as you looked down.

 "are you willing to do that?" He asked again, with both of you two hesitating to say something, both Nana and you simply look at each other eyes and again turn your gazes toward the old man before nodding in agreement, as his now serious face now turned into a happy one as you start to feel more and more relieved.

"Well… so as your punishment, you two will be absent from class for today and tomorrow, instead you will clean up the mess you made in the library, plus you will be prohibited from magic for those two days. I hope you two will use this time to get alone with each other and who knows…maybe your rivalry will turn into a beautiful friendship one day" he said as you could see Nana sighed in relief

"Now if you will excuse, I have stuff to do so if you will leave the office I would be very pleased" he said. "and besides…don't you two have a library to clean?" He asked as both you And Nana stood up from the chairs and left Dumbledore's office

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"You used a charm spell on Dumbledore didn't you?" You asked Nana while you two were on your way to the library, "I noticed your eyes changed colors…" you added as Nana looked at you in the eyes with a cute grin and looked back forward and continued walking with you following behind her.

"Well of course a talented student like you would be able to notice my spells even without me speaking them" she said, waiting for a couple of seconds for the moving staircases to come, as you two get on them you feel the staircase moving, causing you to fall in surprise and Nana laughing at you as you stood up, annoyed by her laugh

"You know, I am really not sure what makes you a Gryffindor, since it's obviously not your chivalrous acts that made the sorting hat choose you" you said while cleaning yourself from the mess.

"Well if I am not mistaken, Slytherin's will do anything to get their goal, and like I saw you freezing in Dumbledore's office I would assume you don't really fit there as well, no?" She asked as you could remember vividly how much of a coward you are and how Slytherin never really fitted you.

You could remember vividly the day of the sorting hat, especially the first night where you told your parents, whom both have been at the red gold house in their time at hogwarts hence the reason they met, but after you told them you were in Slytherin, you could only regret your next years in hogwarts

Besides the initial disappointment of your parents after hearing the news, in the holidays and the time you were at summer break your family were always mentioning how much of a shame you were, they would never give you letters nor gifts from home so for you, hogwarts was the only safe space, and to think that you could almost be expelled from hogwarts from your fight with Nana? Your parents would disown you at the spot.

"But look at the bright side Seungkwan"

You could hear Nana said as your face rose up in surprise, for the first time today Nana had a  genuine smile pasted on her face. "At least we are not expelled" she said as you find yourself staring into her eyes and start to show a weak smile toward the black haired girl

"Now let's get this dumb library cleaned up shall we" she asked as she she put her hand in front of you, waiting for a high five from you, as your smile grew larger and returned the high five

"Whatever you say, Fake lion" you said as Nana start to giggle cutely from your funny attempt of a nickname.

"Shut up, Coward Snake" she said cutely as you two continued walking toward the library. "Maybe she isn't so bad" You thought to yourself as you began following her.

10 minutes fly by fairly quickly and you finally get to the place of the accident you two had only this morning however now this entire moment felt strange to the both of you.

"Sigh…well Seungkwan…you ready?" She asked as you smile to her with a goofy grin, making her a bit confused but the next sentence already got her hyped

"Bet that I can clean this place faster? Loser has to buy the lunch for the winner, deal?" you asked as her eyes lit up in excitement however instead of answering she simply ran away

"Deal!!!, Bet starts now" she said, dashing toward the depths on the library as you found yourself laughing to yourself and immediately running after her.

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You could say that both of you were fairly motivated, maybe because of your everlasting rivalry, or maybe it was the fact that this task immediately became really boring, to the point that your competition was over as soon as it began due to the sheer amount of books but you two finished cleaning up at least three quarters of the library in 5 hours, and considering how enormous Hogwarts's library is, cleaning this much of the library in 5 hours seems like an almost impossible task.

"Wow, I just looked at the time" Nana said, taking a look at the her watch as her face filled with shock. "Like it's 19:30 and we finished it fairly quickly, like we started at like 14:31, like are we gods at cleaning or something?" She asked as you couldn't help yourself by her joke.

"Well…I guess we should head toward our common rooms? Else the teachers might get worried about us, no?" You asked, starting to head out toward the lobby of the library however Nana immediately rushed over to you.

"Wait Seungkwan?! Where are you going?" She asked you as you were confused. "I…thought maybe well…you know since we already partners in crime, maybe you want…you know…to…to…hang out?" She asked, looking a bit nervous for some reason.

"Look I promise we will get to our common rooms before lights out, it's in 23:30 so we should get in time" she quickly added, trying to convince you to come with her, However even with her promise You were still hesitant to come with your rival.

"I brought snacksssss" that was the final straw that broke you, with the fact that it's snacks and how cute she said this sentence you couldn't help but sigh, finally giving in as Nana eyes lit up and her smile grew bigger.

"Yayyy, thank you…I promise this hang out will be fun, think of it as turning our rivalry into friendship" she said, give you a cute smile as she dragged you toward back toward the depths of the library.

As time went on and you two were talking about your every day life in Hogwarts you realized how much more stuff in common you had, like your sense of humor, or how you two both loved putting chocolate and peanut butter on your sandwiches, and how both of you cannot shut up about astrology and star signs.

You couldn't lie to yourself: this was the Nana you didn't  expected to know, before she will always be mad at you or in the good days just annoyed at you for some reason, however this Nana was different, she was happy, chill, funny and cute which you couldn't lie that the cute part was big.

Not even including her face that just screamed "cute" in your mind especially when she smiled, she would often make those hums when she was laughing which would always make your heart skip and let's not forget her addictive laugh that will make you join her in the laughing festival when either of you would tell a joke 

However, like anything fun, it always has to end at some point.

"Aww, are you sure you can't stay for a little more? We have so much fun together" she said, the hour was currently 22:45 and bed time was getting closer and considering how much of a travel it's from the library to your common room in Slytherin you had to head out of the library in the moment or else the teachers will get you, and considering how earlier today you got in trouble, getting in trouble again will not end good for you.

"Sorry Nana" you answered as you stood up. "I really don't want to come late to the bed time" You added as The girl immediately stood up as well and started following you 

"Come on, listen I promised I will get you in time, and I will-" Nana started running toward you however something she never really told you about was that she is clumsy…very clumsy, and in result of a book that was on the floor for some reason, Nana ended up tackling her leg on the book, causing her to launch herself on you which…

*bang*

Your eyes were closed from the pain you felt, as you start to open your eyes slowly you find yourself in the most awkward situation you could ever find yourself in: Nana was on top of you, your chest almost touch each other and your face are even closer, you could also feel her straddling your lap making the situation much worse, honestly you would rather die than be in this situation however…

"OH my God, Seungkwan are you okay?" She asked, her eyes were looking worried when suddenly her eye color started flashing pink, signaling only one thing for you and as you could only guess: you were probably casted a charm spell on.

"Listen I am so sorry I didn't notice where I was running and I am…woah" yeah, woah was pretty much was the summarized emotion you felt right now, you could feel how your hands slowly started traveling behind her back while her hands started placing themselves on your chest as slowly but surely both of your faces started inching toward each other closer…and closer until both of your lips touch.

The feeling was nothing more then…breathtaking, mostly but how soft her lips were, like pillows you could feel your own lips wrap themselves in the feeling of it, what also could describe her lips was sweet, even without lipstick you could feel how her lips tasted like strawberries…and heaven, not that you can taste heaven but if you could, this is probably what it would taste like.

Slowly both of your lips part from each other as you could notice the sparkles shining in her eyes, and by the way she was smiling at you, you could assume that your eyes sparkled as well. The silence finally breaks as Nana started speaking

"So?" She asked as a grin now fully shows itself

"I… guess five minutes couldn't hurt right?"

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5 minutes she said… yeah totally since the time was 23:05 at the moment yet currently you were completely invested in a hot makeout session with Nana, though honestly, you couldn't really complain since you just now realized how not only Nana was cute, but also how surprisingly hot she was

Yea, complaining was not really an option for you, especially how she started moving her hips up and down your clothed crotch while in the times you didn't made out you could hear her moans come out in sultry sound

"Mmm Oppa~" she cutely said as a giggle could be heard from the girl. "I can already ugh…feel how hard you are" she said as now her lips move toward your neck, planting quick yet very wet kisses on the right side of it as you could only tilt your head in a way that could make Nana's "presents" easier for her to do.

"God Nana" you could only moan as her kisses continue and amplify in their intensity. "You are so…"

"Hot? Yeah it really starts to get warm in here" She said as her hands started to go toward your shirt, slowly pushing it upward, as you realized what she was planning but at the current moment you were completely into the entire feeling as finally she fully takes your Green and black robe including your shirt, revealing to Nana your naked Chest for the first time as you could notice how her mouth start to water from the view

"Excited are we?" You ask teasingly as Nana quickly snaps from the trance that is your chest, shaking her face quickly as you can notice her cheeks having shades of pink.

Quickly however Nana gets to her confident old self and refocuses on the situation both of you were in. "Well with a body like this, how could any girl not?" she said, adding a wink in the end as now her hands traveled toward your jeans as you already knew what was coming,

you could hear the zipper moving, the buttons popping one by one as in the same speed she took your shirt off, now both of your jeans and briefs were taken off, leaving you completely Naked as Nana could only grin.

"Not gonna lie: I seen bigger" she said as you could only roll your eyes in annoyance. "Well you don't mind me taking your "broom" on a test ride, correct?" She asked.

"Uhh-" you wanted to answer however Nana immediately pushed her finger toward your mouth in an attempt to shut it

"Shh Just kidding, I didn't really asked you, of course you will enjoy it" she said as quickly her head dipped down toward your cock, with her lips opening up and slowly started taking it inside of her mouth "by the way oppwa" she added while mumbling "noh talking besidews moawning my nawme" she said as now she was completely focused on devouring your currently hard member.

Slurps could be heard loud and clear as the feeling could only be described as total Euphoria as Nana bobbed up and down your cock, letting herself taste you to the fullest like an all-you-can-eat buffet for her liking.

Suddenly it was enough for you, not being able to hold it in you could feel yourself feel unloading all of you “stress” into Nana’s Mouth as Nana’s face seemed much more relaxed, signaling she did get your stress into her mouth as now she has detached her lips from your cock while looking at you with a naughty grin

“Hmmm, didn't expect Oppa’s cum to taste so good,” she said while cleaning some of the white liquid that got stuck on her lips, showing how hungry she was as without any warning she straddled your lap, “Guess now it's my turn to feel good no?” she said as you got the hint.

Your hands started to mess around with Nana's Gryffindor robe, slowly taking it off, revealing to your eyes her hot pink lace bra. “Not gonna lie: i have seen bigger” you say, returning to Nana’s comment about your cock, however unlike you Nana just seems to smile cutely, showing how she is unfazed by your comment

“you still like the view of it though, no?” Nana said as takes your hands, now guiding them to her pants as you get the hint, quickly trying to get them off her body. “Oh wow…very eager, are we?” she asked as after a minute or so of attempting to take off her pants you finally succeed, revealing her panties which match the same color as her bra.

You could immediately notice how in her panties there is a darker spot in the middle as you look up toward the girl, looking at you with a grin and giving you a wink, signaling to you the thing that by now seems obvious, but just to be clear she leans herself toward your ears about to whisper the next words.

“Fuck me Oppa” now everything was clear, every light in this stop was green, signaling to go, and by how desperately she said those she seemed she couldn't wait anymore as Nana now takes her hands behind her back as an audible click could be heard and her bra slowly falls, showing you her hardened nipples.

Like magic your right hand magnetized toward Nana’s right boob as you look up at her again, trying to be sure if that is what she wanted as she simply nodded as you give a small squeeze, resulting in a small yet very arousing moan,

You, being already turned on from Nana’s sultry moans you could feel your cock is getting bigger by the second as you scoot even closer to Nana, feeling how your cock is touching her clothed pussy as you continue to squeeze her boobs as now the left hands joined the party, squeezing the other boob as the moans from her just grows louder and louder, which honestly makes you a bit surprised about how no one has heard you fucking in the library.

“OH GOD, OPPA PLEASE, FINISH INSIDE ME, I AM SO CLOSE. PLEASE FILL ME” she screamed as you oblige, taking her panties and revealing her pussy to you as suddenly you froze, maybe it was the first time you have seen that part of a girl in real life but something just made you freeze.

“Nana, are you-” you were suddenly were shutted by nana grabbing your hips and pulling them toward her, lining it up so that your cock will be inside, as both of you screamed in pleasure the same time

“JUST DO IT FOR FUCK SAKE” Nana screamed as your pleasure couldnt be stopped anymore as you release your cum into her as both of you fall into the Library’s floor, exhausted from this entire event

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“Can i tell you a secret Oppa?”

“Yeah” You said, the hour is now 01:00 as the both of you were currently looking at the stars from the Library’s balcony, both of you were cleaned up from the sex using a simple cleaning spell that both of you learned in class, however, you didn't expect the spell to be used in this way.

“I…haven't used a Charm spell on you” you said as you were shocked, you thought the entire time you were under a spell that made you fuck the living brains out of Nana but here she is, telling you its all false.

“But, i saw your eyes turn pink” you answer as Nana just giggled cutely.

“Oppa, if the spell was on casted on you, you will not be able to see my eye color change” she explained as it now makes sense how she was able to cast a spell on Dumbledore without being caught, which means the spell she casted when you had sex did something else, however Nana seemed to be a silent for a moment, you were a bit confused about the situation

“I…like you a lot Seugnkwan…i always have been” she said as you were caught off guard by her saying, but you smile back, it was shocking to you that your rival, the girl you disliked for the entire time at Hogwarts had feelings for you, “Can…we test it please? like us…for a month or so…please?” she asked as you smile at her and instead of answering you simply leaned into her forehead, kissing it as her blush seemed to grow even more.

“Is this a good enough answer for you?” you asked as Nana simply hugged you for a good minute or so. Honestly, you couldn't lie that all of this night, from the kiss to the sex and all the way to this simple hug: all of this felt right”

“Oh shit, its like 01:05 , and the teachers do a stroll around the school, let me teleport you to your bed, i will do some quick checkup here to see if everything is clean” she said as you nodded and stood in place, ready to be teleported, Nana quickly mumbled some words and soon enough you found yourself in the Common room of your dormitory, as slowly but surely you sneak to your bed when suddenly

“So…how it was?” you freeze in place as you see a girl you didnt expect to see awake in the middle of the night…Sakata Sora.

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Thanks a lot for reading this fanfic, it took very long time to finish it but its because i really wanted to give you a really good fic, and i hope you enjoyed reading it

and as for the Announcement:

I am writing a book!!!!

as some people know i came from Wattpad writing books however i took a break to focus on one-shots on tumblr but after a lot of time of practice on this platform and i am finally ready to write another book and for what group the book will about? well...

the book will be first updated on Wattpad however i will post the chapters on Tumblr soon after so i will not completely die on here, and i will still be uploading oneshots from time to time

See yall on the first chapter and have a good day Leafies

[lil-gae-disaster]

okay so uhm. Decided write more Nox and Clorinde. Clorinde focused. Yeah uh. Enjoy. Rather short, I'd say.

The summer you were gone

30 June 2009

It wasn't like Nox to just disappear over night. Heck, it scared the fuck out of Clorinde when she caught wind of it.

At 10 in the morning, she decided to show up at his doorstep - something the 23 year old did regularly during her time as student. This time, however, she decided to pay her brother a visit for some wonderful news - she might start teaching at Hogwarts in a year or two. What she didn't expect upon arriving is no response to her knocks and an unlocked door. Weird, he never leaves without locking the door. He might life far from civilization, but his paranoia makes him always lock his house. But maybe he just didn't hear her knocking.

"Sorry for barging in like that, but you didn't answer- Eh?" She expected a response from Kimmy, her brother's Kneazle, at least, but the house was completely empty. It also looked like the 36 year old left in a hurry. Or he forgot to tidy up before leaving, she can't tell. Looking around, the young woman notices a note left behind. And the writing on the note was definitely her brother's messy writing.

I don't know who's reading this and honestly it doesn't really matter. Fact is, I won't be home for a while. There are currently some problems with magical creatures in trouble and, even though i don't work with them anymore, the ministry of magic asked me if I could help rescuing them. Frankly, I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I hope it's not for too long.

And under that, his signature. Of course, the note had a few spelling mistakes, some even alright crossed out and corrected by the dyslexic man himself. Even though the note was most likely supposed to calm her, she felt even more confused and irritated.

"He's gone, just like that? What the heck! What's gonna happen to his stupid house now." Grumbling angrily, she leaves the house again, locking the door with the hidden extra key. She'd just take care of the house whilst his absence.

Clorinde would never admit it unless under the influence of Veritaserum, but she's somewhat worried about her brother. She's being irrational, considering his duelling experience as former Auror. He'd be able to defend himself if he'd need it, plus, he wouldn't be alone. But still, she's worried he'll stress himself even more. He's only 36 and his hair is already graying slightly from the shit he's been through lately, it might only get worse.

✩ ✩ ✩

12 October 2011

"Professor Sallow, I think I saw a person moving up ahead."

"Don't be irrational, Mister Clemmons. The only people here right now are the students in this class."

But deep down, the stoic Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher knew that the Gryffindor prefect was right. There was someone else here. She saw the rather hunched person too. And she knew exactly who it was.

"Professor, are you sure?" These kids were going to be the death of her.

"You know what, class dismissed. I will escort you back to the castle and investigate this later."

And so, later that day, she found herself in the forest again, a lantern in her hand and her wand in the other. It took her a while, but then she saw a bonfire up ahead on a clearing. Upon stepping onto it, she immediately saw who she expected: Her older brother, with a few Puffskeins and his Kneazle, Kimmy, cuddled close to him. As he catches sight of her, his expression shows surprise. "Clorinde?"

He looked tired, exhausted even. His hair had, as already expected by her, a few more gray streaks than before. His eyes were droopy and tired and his clothes were torn at some points, especially his sleeves. Even his hands were adorned by scratches. But how'd she tell him how terrible he looks without sounding mean? Especially after not having seen eachother for a while?

"By Merlin's beard, you look like shit."

smooth, Clorinde, smooth.

[twistedtummies2]

Fifteen Days of Disney Magic - Number 7

Welcome to Fifteen Days of Disney Magic! In honor of the company’s 100th Anniversary, I am counting down my Top 15 Favorite Movies from Walt Disney Animation Studios! Today’s entry might be called an Underrated Mouse-terpiece. Ha Ha. Number 7 is…The Great Mouse Detective.

This is one of at least two films on my list where, if you don’t know me well, the movie being in my Top 15 – let alone my Top 10 – will probably be a surprise. However, if you DO know me well, then you probably won’t be surprised at all. “The Great Mouse Detective” is one of those hidden gems in the Disney canon: it’s not exactly a hated movie – I don’t know anybody who dislikes it outright – but it’s a film that frequently seems to get overlooked. It’s the very definition of a cult classic: a movie with a small but devoted fanbase, and a lot of other people just sort of go, “Oh, yeah. That movie exists.” There are a few reasons for this, I think; one is that the film, in its own time, wasn’t necessarily a smash hit. Oh, it was a successful film, don't get me wrong, and a much-needed one, at that. The previous movie, “The Black Cauldron,” performed so poorly at the box office it lost to the bloody Care Bears Movie (yes, seriously), and didn't exactly get a lot of critical praise. This film was a modest commercial hit, and critics seemed to like it both then and now, but it wasn’t something that revolutionized the company or made people suddenly become die-hard Disney fans again.

The other reason is merchandising: this film just hasn’t had the level of ATTENTION a lot of other films, both before and since, have gotten, or so it feels to me. Disney doesn’t exactly make a lot of toys, coffee cups, t-shirts, and so on based on this movie today, and I’m not sure if they ever did. Even the characters seem to be quite forgotten in the annals of Disney moviemaking; I think Bongo and Lumpjaw from “Fun and Fancy Free” have made more subsequent appearances in comics and cartoons than any of the characters in this film. Heck, outside of a cameo in an episode of “House of Mouse,” and a few obscure children’s books, I actually can’t think of ANY real subsequent appearances for these characters, off the top of my head. Whatever the cause for all this, it’s fair to say that “The Great Mouse Detective” isn’t a movie with the same level of enthusiasm, from fans, critics, and the company itself alike, as something like “The Little Mermaid” or “Big Hero 6.” Which is a shame because, very obviously, I think it’s a great film! Admittedly, a big part of my love for this film stems from the story itself, and what it's inspired by. The film is a pastiche of Sherlock Holmes. The movie was based on a series of books called “Basil of Baker Street,” which I’ve admittedly never read; from what I understand, however, the film has almost nothing to DO with those books, and instead treats itself as a more or less straightforward Sherlock Holmes movie. It just so happens that the names are different, and all the characters are now mice, rats, dogs, cats, and so on. As a kid, this was my introduction to the concept of Sherlock Holmes, and anyone who knows me well knows how much I love the Conan Doyle classics and their titular detective. So you can absolutely blame this movie for that obsession: I wouldn’t care about things like “Sherlock” or “Moriarty the Patriot” if I didn’t first see “The Great Mouse Detective” many times while growing up. In fact, as an adult, my love for this movie has only grown, because I now love it for both different and similar reasons to when I was a child. The main thing that I marvel at with this movie, now that I’m older and have so much more experience with the source material, is just how much this film pays homage to the stories. Some elements are quite transparent, like the characters: Basil is very obviously Holmes, Dawson is very obviously Watson, and Professor Ratigan is very obviously Professor Moriarty. They are the three key examples. Another is the battle atop Big Ben, which is a transparent riff on the climactic duel atop Reichenbach Falls from the books.

However, some details are surprisingly subtle. For example, the whole sequence with Basil and Dawson disguised as sailors is based on a specific episode of the probably-just-as-obscure-then-as-it-is-now 1950s Sherlock Holmes TV show. Unless you happen to have seen that show, you won’t pick up on that detail. Another example is the use of Toby the Bloodhound: he actually does appear in the Holmes story “The Sign of Four,” where Sherlock uses him to track down a peg-legged villain. While I knew of Toby’s origins, it wasn’t until earlier this very year that I realized that’s EXACTLY what Basil does with the pooch in the film: use him to track down a peg-legged villain, albeit one unrelated to the tale. A direct reference to one of the books I somehow never picked up on before! When even a die-hard Holmes fan like myself can be surprised by the film all these years later, it’s clearly doing its job well! Even if you AREN’T a major Sherlock Holmes fan, however, the movie is definitely worth looking into. It has wonderful characters, with a superb voice cast behind them (VINCENT PRICE IS THE VILLAIN, PEOPLE), an atmospheric setting, a couple of good songs, and a lot of fun, adventurous shenanigans from start to finish. While at first it may seem like just a typical “cute little mouse movie,” it’s actually got some real nail-biting moments, including one of the best and most action-packed climaxes of any Disney motion picture ever made. If you haven’t seen it before, find time to do so. And if you have seen it already, watch it again: I can promise you there’s always something new to uncover with this wonderful little crime story. The countdown continues tomorrow with my 6th Favorite Disney Movie! HINT: “Most Everyone’s Mad Around Here.”

[braveclementine]

Chapter 20

Warnings: None. However, future chapters will contain sexual content so readers that are under the age of 18 may have to skip those chapters (However they are very few so those under the age of 18 can still read a majority of this book. However please keep note of the warnings).

Copyright: I do not own any Wizarding World characters that J.K. Rowling wrote. I do however own Elizabeth Kane (main character) and Trang Nyguen (best friend). There should be no use of these two names without my permission. I also do not condone any copying of this.

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𝕯𝖆𝖉 𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖉 𝖚𝖕 a day before Christmas Eve. I was already out of bed and helping Sirius decorate the house. I was in the piano room by myself, playing softly when he knocked on the door. I thought it was strange because I'd left the door open and then I looked over, hopped up, and practically tackled him.

He stumbled, catching me and hugging me back. "Hey." He said softly.

"I've missed you so much!" I exclaimed, pressing my face into his chest. His arms were tight around me.

"I've missed you too sweetheart." Dad said gently. "How are you feeling? Sirius said you were sick?"

"Oh, yeah" I said, turning back to the piano. "Severus said that it was just a cold. It felt horrible though."

"Severus?" Dad asked in a strange voice and I froze.

"I mean Professor Snape." I said weakly, closing the piano lid.

"You're seeing him, aren't you?" Dad asked in a strangled voice.

"I don't. . . dad this isn't something I want to talk about right away. . ." I said, turning around and pleading with my eyes.

Dad's hand was clenched tightly in his pocket over his wand. I walked over and gently pried his fingers from his wand and smiled gently. "Yes, we're together." I said softly. "But we aren't doing anything that you would disprove of."

"Except being with him in the first place. He's to old for you." Dad said adamantly, squeezing my hand.

"Dad. . . I don't interfere with visions. I'm supposed to be with him and even though you don't like that- and you have every right not to as a dad- I do love him. I love you and he puts up with that little fact." I laughed a little. "Because he has to. I suppose if you're really mad at me you could disown me."

Dad inhaled tightly and blew out air, "Fine, but I really, really hate it."

"That's okay." I said, kissing his cheek and then laying my head on his shoulder. "I've really missed you."

"Yes." Dad said, sounding amused, "You've said." He kissed my temple and said, "I'm going to go get some shut eye. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Sure." I said, a bit disappointed and I bit my lip.

He observed my face and said, "Oh what the heck, I'll stay up."

"No!" I said a wave of guilt washing over me. I pushed him towards his room. "Go get some sleep or you'll be the next one who's sick."

He chuckled and pulled me into a hug. "Oh I really have missed you Elizabeth."

I hugged him back tightly, a feeling of panic coming over me again about that death thing. My heart thudded in my chest and it was hard to let go and put on a smile. I did it anyways, I didn't want him to be worried.

"What happened to your hand?" He asked, pointing at my bandaged hand after I'd let go.

"Oh." I said, jerking it automatically and then letting it hang by my side, "It's just a little cut up, that's all."

"You should change the bandages." He said frowning. "I can do it for you if you want."

"It's okay dad. Go get some sleep, I can do it." I smiled and kissed his cheek again and then reluctantly went back down the stairs.

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𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖘 𝕰𝖛𝖊 𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖊 and there were quite a few people there. Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Tonks, Dad, Sirius, and all the Weasleys except for Mr. Weasley. It was like the party before I'd seen Sturgis. I had taken the bandage off my hand and was keeping my hand palm up whenever dad came over so he didn't see the back of my hand.

Sirius pulled me aside and said, "You're going to have to tell him, you can't avoid it forever."

"I will." I muttered, "but not now, it's Christmas Eve. I don't want him upset tonight."

"When are you going to tell him you're an Animagus?" He hissed.

"When no one from Hogwarts is in the room." I hissed back. "Just because Harry's not possessed doesn't mean that Voldemort doesn't have access to Harry's memories."

"Hello Elizabeth." Kingsley said in his deep voice. "How has Hogwarts been?"

"Horrible." I said, flashing him a smile. Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and Ginny all laughed but Hermione pursed her lips.

"It really has been terrible." Hermione said. "Of course, it's been worst for Harry and Elizabeth but still."

"Why would that be?" Kingsley asked, frowning.

"That horrible Umbridge woman." I said vehemently and though dad's back was turned to me, I could tell that he was listening.

Fred laughed. "She'll put Elizabeth in detention for just breathing."

"Pretty much." I said, laughing too.

"It's not funny!" Hermione said sharply. "She's really horrible. She tried to take Elizabeth's Quidditch Captain badge away from her and her prefect badge from her just because she's-"

"Shut up." I said sharply.

There was a sudden, ringing silence in the kitchen. Hermione's face was pink.

Dad turned slowly and said to Hermione, "Because she's?"

Hermione looked nervously between dad and me. "Um. . ."

"What's that on your hand Elizabeth?" Uncle Moody asked, his magical eye zooming in on it. I flipped my hand over.

"Just something from detention. . ." I muttered. Well, tonight certainly wasn't going the way that I had expected it. Sirius was leaning against the kitchen sink, his face in his hand.

Dad's eyes were looking at me hand and then he grabbed my wrist and flipped my hand over. I tried to jerk it out of his grasp but he just held tighter and read the words, his face grew steadier pink until it was red and he dropped my hand and then said. "Because she's my daughter."

"Dad. . ." I whispered, my heart plummeting. He turned sharply and left the kitchen. Kingsley, Tonks, Bill, and Mad-Eye were looking back and forth, looking extremely confused. I sighed and held my hand up for them to read. "When Umbridge puts you in detention, she makes you write lines with a cursed quill. Harry's got scars on the back of his hand too."

Kingsley, Mad-Eye, Bill, and Tonks looked over at Harry who lifted his hand. The words 'I must not tell lies' burned back at them.

"But. . ." Tonks said hesitantly. "Harry's is no where as bad as yours is."

"Yeah, well, I've been in more detentions." I said with a bitter laugh.

Mrs. Weasley was hovering near the stove.

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry." Hermione said, tears in her eyes. "I thought he already knew. . ."

"Of course I didn't tell him!" I exclaimed, furious with her. "He was always going to blame himself! I knew that! We're too much alike me and him. . ." Tears were building up in my eyes and I turned away from all of them. "I need to go talk to him."

Kingsley put a hand on my arm and said, "Let me."

He left the room.

"Bed." Mrs. Weasley said softly. Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione all left the kitchen. I heard them walking quietly up the stairs.

I stayed in the kitchen, my face in my hands. I should've kept my hand bandaged. Why was I making so many horrible decisions?

Sirius put an arm around my shoulder. "It's alright."

Dad and Kingsley came back into the kitchen ten minutes later and I looked up. "Elizabeth, don't cry." Dad said, coming over and hugging me.

"Erm, dad, you should sit down because I have another er- secret to er- show you." I said, blushing. Tonks and Mad-Eye who had been talking in the corner looked over. Dad sat down heavily in a chair, looking apprehensive.

I glanced over at Sirius and he nodded encouragingly, smiling. I closed my eyes and then opened them and I was much shorter, so I assumed I was a cat.

"You know." I heard Sirius voice above me. "I always preferred dogs."

I hissed at him and jumped up on the counter. Dad's face was a bit of shock and when he finally spoke he said, "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, your one of the smartest and most rebellious students there."

"Meow!" I said proudly.

Kingsley chuckled. "I always liked cats." I jumped on his bald head and wrapped my tail around his head. Tonks spit out her butterbeer and started laughing hysterically. Sirius was howling with laughter. Mad-Eye was smiling and Kingsley had that low chuckle. Bill had snorted Butterbeer out of his nose and was now coughing.

"Good look for you Kingsley." Mad-Eye grunted. He rarely ever smiled so I thought this was a bit of an accomplishment.

Dad, I was glad to see, was smiling now, though he looked stressed. I leapt from Kinsley's head onto his lap. I walked in a circle twice before settling comfortably down on his lap. I felt his hand running over my head and back and I purred in content.

I saw Tonks pulling Uncle Moody, Bill, and Kingsley out of the kitchen. Sirius didn't exactly leave the kitchen, but he'd busied himself by the stove like he wasn't paying attention.

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth." Dad whispered. I turned back into a human so that I was sitting on his lap.

"It's not your fault dad." I whispered. "I'm the one who told her to shut up. I'm the one who told her that the other teachers are better than her. I'm the one who kept being disrespectful to her. I'm the one who keeps causing trouble even though I know what my punishment is. I don't care what she makes me write on my hand, I love you. I'm always going to defend you, I don't care who I attack back. You're my dad."

"Elizabeth." Dad said softly. "Has she really tried taking your Quidditch Badge away from you?"

"She said that half-breed brats didn't deserve to be in positions of authority so she wouldn't remake the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. So I tried to give Professor Sprout my badge and she wouldn't take it. Dumbledore intervened. But she's tried taking it a number of other times but hasn't been able to. But if anything, it just makes her angrier that I still have my badge. She'll give me a detention for literally anything."

"It's still my fault." Dad said.

"Fine." I said, a bit angry. "Your fault, happy?"

Dad's lips twitched into a smile. "Not really."

I sighed, pressing my forehead to his forehead. "Dad please, don't be sad. Please? Or feel guilty? It really isn't your fault."

He picked up my hand. "She had you write As a Werewolf brat, I should learn to keep my mouth shut Elizabeth. Even if you'd gotten detentions, if you had a different father, different parents, she wouldn't have made you write that."

"It doesn't matter!" I exclaimed, frustrated and angry. "I'm a werewolf brat! And guess what dad? I'm proud of being a werewolf brat! I'm proud to be your daughter! I'm happy to be your daughter! I don't want a different father. I just want you. And I need you too." I said, much softer than before.

Dad and I hugged for a really long time without speaking. But it was comfortable, I didn't feel that I needed to talk. I loved him and he loved me and if the entire world was against us- well then we were going to fight it- together.

Sometime around midnight, we got up. Sirius had long since gone to bed. We walked past the front door when it opened and Severus stepped inside. Dad stiffened, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Dad. . ." I whispered, taking one of his hands and prying his fingers apart.

"I was wondering if I could er- speak to you, Remus." Severus said with a bit of difficulty.

"Certainly Severus." Remus said with a bite of coldness. Severus looked at me and I rolled my eyes. "Elizabeth, bed."

"Er- actually, it pertains to her." Severus said.

Dad's lips tightened but he didn't say anything and led me and Severus into the kitchen. "What's wrong with him." He muttered in the lowest whisper.

"My hand, and er- I told him about us earlier." I barely breathed under my breath.

Severus' muscles tightened in his cheeks.

"Well?" Dad asked and I wondered if he would've acted this way for any person of the male gender in love with me or if it was just because it was Severus.

"I wanted to ask your permission to marry Elizabeth." Severus said in a quick voice, not taking his eyes off of dads.

I opened my mouth in surprise, just a small little o. I was in shock. I mean, I'd foreseen us getting married, but so soon?

Dad's face turned from pink to red to purple back to pink and then colorless. His eyes jumped to me and saw that I was genuinely surprised. "Don't you- don't you think it's a bit soon?" He asked in a hoarse, strained voice.

"No." Severus said with finality. "I've never loved anyone this way before. Obviously, we won't actually marry until she turns of age, but-" he pulled a small box out of his pocket, "I want to start making things final."

Dad looked like he wanted to collapse into a chair but remained standing. He looked at me. I wasn't sure if I was scared or happy.

"I suppose you'll marry her anyways whether I give you permission or not?" He said, locking his jaw.

"Well." Severus said with a small smile. "I'd hate to do that. I'd much rather have your blessing because Elizabeth's so special, that's what she deserves. I don't want her to feel she has to forsake her father for me."

Dad looked genuinely stunned by the way Severus was speaking. I supposed because he'd known him in school. Oh Merlin, I thought weirdly. Dad is going to be Severus father-in-law. I nearly giggled aloud.

"Then. . ." Dad seemed to be having difficulty getting the words out of his mouth, turning purple again. "I suppose you er. . . have my blessing."

I found that I had been holding my breath and I let it out, relieved. Severus didn't waste any time. In a split-second, he was on his knee with the box open and was saying, "Elizabeth, will you marry me?"

My brain wasn't working. Was this really Severus Snape on one knee in this kitchen? This was not the Severus Snape that everyone else knew. No one but myself, Dumbledore, and dad would ever know this side to him. My throat didn't seem to be working either and I thought about just nodding, but felt it would be more official if I said something so I managed to say, "Yes."

I thought that was the end of it, but he was placing the ring on my left hand, and then he stood up and kissed me right in front of dad, and on instinct, I closed my eyes and kissed him back. Luckily, he did pull back quickly because I thought dad might have a seizure.

Then he turned back to Dad and said with complete sincerity, "Thank you Remus. See you later love." He touched my cheek and then turned from the kitchen and walked out. I heard the front door click and I collapsed in a chair, looking down at the ring.

It had a neat, thin, golden band with a small, singular diamond on top. It was exactly the type of diamond ring that I thought about whenever I thought about getting married. Dad had collapsed into a chair too, staring at the ring like it was a death omen.

"I can't believe that just happened." Dad said in a shaky voice.

My throat was still tight. "Me. . . me either. . ." My eyes were still on the ring and then I burst into laughter. I was so relieved that tonight had gone so well despite the earlier problems. Dad looked at me incredulously.

I sighed, wiping tears away. "Oh man. It's just. . . after everything that's happened tonight I was worried if you'd even talk to me and yet you just let Severus marry me. Or let me become engaged with him, whichever."

"You were afraid I wouldn't speak to you because of that stupid fucking bitch- Er sorry, I usually lose my temper when I talk about her. I just meant that sorry excuse of a woman was torturing you?" Dad asked incredulously.

I laughed again. "You can call her whatever you want. I'll most likely agree with you. Umbitch, that's what we call her at school- behind her back of course. But yeah, I was a bit afraid you'd be mad at me for some reason. Or guilty enough that you'd think the solution was removing yourself from my life and. . . and I wouldn't be able to live with that dad." I said softly. "I'm so worried about you all the time especially since we can't write to each other and if I lost you. . . I don't know. . ." Dad was out of his chair by the time the tears were spilling over and scooped me up into his arms like I was a baby.

We sat down on the kitchen floor and I poured out all my fears to him. That horrible feeling in the bedroom that I was going to lose everyone, my hatred for Umbridge that there were days I wanted to curse her to oblivion, everything.

"I just. . . I think I'm going to lose everyone." I finished, wiping away tears with a trembling hand. "And I can't. . . I'm not strong enough."

Dad's hands were on either side of my face. "You're not going to lose all of us Elizabeth. Maybe one or two, I can't deny that. There are going to be people that die- I can't argue that. But all of us? Me and Uncle Moody and Sirius and Fred and Severus? No one's that unlucky." He chuckled, brushing another tear away.

I nodded, hoping that he was right. Of course he was right. Fred definitely wasn't going to die- how could he? And Uncle Moody had been around for years! "Right." I murmured. "I know that, I just. . ."

"I understand, you know." Dad said gently. "I get the feeling. And Elizabeth. . . if you did lose all of us. . . I know for a fact that you are strong enough to continue, and I want you to remember that. . . alright?"

I nodded again. Dad kissed my forehead and said, "Well, it's been an exciting day. I think we should go to bed."

I looked over at the clock. It was twelve twenty. "Merry Christmas dad."

"Merry Christmas sweetheart." 

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[justatypicalwizard]

Wants Within | S. Shinazugawa | Chapter 19

✦ Sanemi Shinazugawa x femReader!, college au, reader is adult

✦ Synopsis: You're a college student taking classes with a very strict lecturer- professor Shinazugawa. Because of an unfortunate event you got on his bad side so now you're trying everything to regain in his eyes. Well, you most certainely didn't expect that kind of attention.

✦ Word count: 2,2k

18+, minors do not interact

‘’You can stay the night if you want.’’ Shinazugawa shrugged.

Your eyes lit, even more alone time with Sanemi? Oh heck yes!

‘’If it’s not a problem.’’ You answered, glad that he asked. ‘’But what about your brother?’’ You were genuinely curious where he was. 

‘’He’s out at a friend's house and won’t be back until tomorrow evening so no need to worry.’’ You nodded at his answer, fair enough. 

‘’So, what do we want to do?’’ You asked, not sure how to carry out the night.

‘’Well, we can just talk, it’s kinda… nice.’’ He struggled a bit to let it out of his harsh throat but in the end the white haired admitted it, he liked you. ‘’Also, I’m still curious about one thing.’’ 

‘’Yes?’’ Your head perked up. 

‘’Just how little shame do you have to go after your lecturer? I’ve seen students eye me but never did they do anything like you.’’ A low chuckle exited his vocal chords as he teased you. 

‘’Oh, I’m so sorry, you look like you really hate the attention.’’You spat back. He only shrugged, not ceasing to eye you. ‘’I also don’t know, it was just so random and dynamic at times. I’m not the bravest person but it kinda just… happened on it’s own.’’ You tried to explain the whole situation best you could, but it was pretty hard.

‘’Don’t fuck around for a moment. You did think about me.’’ He grinned your way, happy with the victory. 

‘’And did you think about me?’’ You tried to attack back. 

‘’I was being professional, at least to some extent.’’ He shrugged once more, trying to mask how he really felt about this situation. 

‘’Oh yeah, you’re very professional with my pussy.’’ You mimicked his ignorance and he gave you a dark glare. 

The alcohol did make you brave. 

‘’What are we?’’ You asked out of the blue after a few moments of cloudy thoughts. 

‘’Why do you need to name everything so much?’’ Sanemi scoffed. 

‘’It’d just complicated for me.’’ Your head sunk. 

‘’Eh, okay. What would you say if we just agreed that we are not dating but kinda, getting to know each other for now?’’ He tried to come up with a solution that would please both sides. 

‘’That sounds… understandable. Though, we started from a shitty side.’’ You giggle, wiggling your brows. 

At this time your humour was really up and down all the time. 

The two of you spent a lot of time talking, not messing with hard topics anymore. Soon it was late and you started to get tired. Fighting off your yawns you tried not to look sleepy. 

‘’Hey, I see that’s your falling asleep on the couch.’’ Sanemi laughed at you.

‘’Mhm, eh, sorry.’’ You apologised. 

‘’Whatever, I also want to go to sleep.’’ He standed up and started to roughly clean everything. 

‘’Where do I sleep?’’ You asked in a sleepy tone. 

‘’Where you want.’’ He threw at you, minding little. 

‘’Is the couch okay?’’ You asked, patting the palace that you just sat at.

‘’It’s cold. You can sleep in my bed.’’ Your head darted his way as he was putting the plates in the dishwasher. ‘’What?’’

‘’Nothing.’’ You shook your head abruptly. 

Having sex is one thing, sleeping in one bed in another. You didn’t know what you wanted at that moment. 

Unsure, you standed up and slowly, step by step started to move towards his room. You still waited for him to jump at you and say that it’s a joke and you go sleep somewhere else, but he didn’t. He finished the cleaning and marched your way, soon standing behind your back. 

‘’What are you doing? You're in the way.’’

‘’I’ll just go to the bathroom.’’ You shoved yourself behind the bathroom door and shut them. 

Looking in the mirror you washed your face and hands, the alcohol not leaving you even for a single moment, making your decisions rush and mind hazy. Did you want to sleep in one bed with him? 

Sliding out of the bathroom quietly, you looked at the door to his bedroom, they were cracked open a bit. Your actions were lightheaded, as if the only thing in your brain and stomach right now was thousands of butterflies, fluttering everywhere. 

You saw him on the bed, under the blanket and scrolling something on his phone, the screen illuminating his palace features. You slowly slid beside him, Shinazugawa putting the device away. You lied down for a moment, not sure what to do. Did you even want to cuddle with him? 

Your students brain told you not to, but your greedy heart wanted so. Turning around you faced him and saw that he was eying you. The cushion embraced him, his white hair looking like a snowy halo. 

‘’What?’’ He asked but you only shrugged. ‘’Go to sleep.’’ 

‘’Yeah, okay.’’ You pulled the dark blanket up to your nose and closed your eyes. 

Even though you were excited about the whole situation, the sleepiness took over you, powered by all the wine you drank. Slowly, you felt your consciousness fade away into the depths of dreams.  Unconsciously, you turned around and lied on your side, facing the other side. Just as you were about to drift away you felt someone's hands snake around your form. 

Sanemi struck to your back, embracing you in a firm grip. He mumbled something but you couldn’t make out what it was. Maybe he was also partially asleep?

‘’Goodnight.’’ The white haired said in a perfectly conscious voice and you gasped at it, at the way in which he held you. 

Just then, your eyes shut. 

-

Grey light sneaked through the blinds, creeping up your face and waking you up. 

‘’What are you doing here?’’ Shinazugawa’s voice shook you awake. 

‘’You invited…’’ Just as you were about to defend yourself you say that he was not in the bed. 

Instead, he was standing in the bedroom door, covering the frame with his body. Then you heard another, unknown voice. 

‘’Sorry, I just need to take one thing. I forgot to grab the controller and now we can’t play games toge…’’ 

‘’Whatever, just take it and go.’’ Shinazugawa’s voice was unpleasant, suddenly you felt as if he was once again scolding a student. 

‘’I’m sorry.’’ Genya pleaded in a quiet voice but his brother’s anger was already there. 

The younger one looked past Sanemi’s form and spotted you in the bed. You quickly shoved the blanket over your face, you didn’t want to get recognised. 

‘’I didn’t know you had a new girlfriend.’’ He whispered. 

‘’I don’t.’’ Shinazugawa spat out and it made your heart drop, reminding you what you were to him. 

‘’Oh, so who is…’’ Genya paused for a second, then mumbled something. 

You heard his footsteps past the room. Then, after a while the front door closed. 

Sanemi came back to bed with a sigh. 

‘’Sorry about that, he’s too stupid to take everything with him, always forgets something.’’ He groaned, hitting the blankets. 

‘’Didn’t you tell him that you invited someone?’’ It was weird to you. 

Shinazugawa could just tell his younger brother that he had someone overnight and he shouldn’t come earlier. That would definitely stop him. 

‘’We don’t talk that much.’’ Sanemi ended the topic with a dark whisper. 

You didn’t want to budge him more, sensing something in the air. Instead, you faced him and smiled a little. 

‘’At least he didn’t spot me.’’ 

‘’Yeah.’’ 

-

The two of you ate breakfast and then you went home, cautious to not meet anyone familiar around Sanemi’s apartment. For the rest of the weekend you studied, texted a bit with Sanemi and once again met with Tanjiro. Soon it was Monday and you had to get your ass to the university. 

You got a text from what seemed an unknown number. Yet, you recognised the name that you keyed into your phone. Tomioka. He wanted to meet today at the laboratory to show you everything and talk about what you’ll be doing. After classes you headed his way, meeting him at the lab. 

‘’Good afternoon Mister Tomioka.’’ You greeted him, dressing up in a lab coat. 

‘’Good afternoon.’’ He replied, not looking at you. ‘’Look at this.’’ He pointed at a few vials with some liquids that were all transparent. ‘’Do you recall any of these?’’

‘’With all respect, Mister Tomioka, I can’t identify them by only looking at colourless liquid.’’ You shrugged. 

‘’That’s… quite right.’’ He was uneasy. 

Without further honorifics and chit chats he started to explain what he was going to do today and how you were supposed to help him. You nodded, listening to him patiently. It seemed rather interesting. You also wanted to keep everything here formal and professional, given what Sanemi told you a few days ago. 

It looked like Tomioka had the same thoughts because he didn’t try to pull any moves on you. Literally nothing happened. When you finished for today he thanked you, watched over you so that you exit the lab and not harm yourself, he closed the doors and said goodby. 

Maybe Sanemi was overreacting? Maybe Rengoku told the black haired man something about you and that’s why he asked. In fact, your grades were good and you were eager to study, giving all the paper works you handed to Sanemi, the trip and the competition. It did seem like a good explanation. 

You sighed in relief, there was nothing to worry about. You were just overthinking and Sanemi might be… jealous? It was funny to think about him like that. Nah, he is just angry by default. 

Happily, you skipped to the cafeteria for a late dinner and saw Zenitsu sitting there. Waving at him you bought yourself some food and sat down next to the guy. Because of the hour there were little to no people around here, beside the two of you. 

‘’How are you doing?’’ You asked.

‘’Good, and how are you?’’ The blonde answered, glad that he had company. 

‘’Actually great! I started to help one bachelor wannabe in the lab and it’s an amazing opportunity for me.’’ 

‘’Oh, I heard about him. Is he the one that recently moved here?’’ Zenitsu asked. 

‘’Yes.’’ 

‘’Professor Rengoku told us about him.’’ You nodded. ‘’Isn’t Professor Shinazu… you know who… jealous?’’ The blonde whispered. 

‘’Why would he be? And why are you asking?’’ You became defensive. 

‘’Ugh! Nothing, I- I’m just trying to get along!’’ His eyes filled with tears and you instantly regretted you lashing out on him. 

‘’Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I just get anxious when it comes to this topic.’’ You rubbed your temples in annoyance. 

‘’I get it, if you don’t want to talk about it it’s okay.’’ His head went low. 

‘’No, well…’’ You had an idea in your head, but you didn’t know if you wanted to go through with it. ‘’You are aware of the… situation. Could I maybe ask you for… advice?’’ Hope lingered in your voice. 

‘’Of course.’’ He answered eagerly. 

‘’But you have to promise that you’ll keep it low. Even from T.’’ You looked him deep in the eye.

‘’I’ve never said anything.’’ He waved his hands in front of his face.

‘’Okay.’’ You sighed. You really needed support at this moment because few things messed with your feelings. ‘’We met again and it was nice. He prepared a lot of things. Later… you know. But that’s not the important thing. At the end of the night I stayed over and we kinda… cuddled, I guess you can name it like that.’’ You spat out everything, a waterfall of words out of your mouth. ‘’I don’t know what to think about it. I thought it would be just a one night stand or a fwb at most!’’ You bent his way to whisper the last part really quietly. ‘’But he said I’m girlfriend material for him.’’ 

‘’And is he boyfriend material for you?’’ Zenitsu looked genuinely shocked and concerned with your problems. 

‘’I don’t know. That’s what I have a problem with.’’ Wringing your hands, you felt defeated, your brain was your biggest enemy right now. ‘’The whole university stuff complicates it all. And I don’t want to wait, what if he meets someone else before I graduate? Just look at him!’’ You started to panic a little bit. 

‘’And if… Hey, Y/N, imagine if you would meet him just like that. No university, no honorifics, you just meet him as a man.’’ Zenitsu looked you deep in the eye, even though the blush being the colour of a matured strawberry in June, lingering on his cheeks. ‘’What would you think of him then? Would he be a boyfriend material?’’

You really focused on this, making mental lists and calculations. 

‘’I think… I would go for it.’’ Even though you were not hundred percent sure of your answer, your heart whispered to you such things. 

‘’Then here’s your answer. Give it a try.’’ 

Normally, Zenitsu was a blushing, flustered mess that had a hard time talking with people whatsoever. Sometimes, he was able to give the best advice one can think of. 

‘’Gosh, why does everything seem so simple when other people tell you about it?’’ You rested your head on your arm with a blank expression. 

‘’Magic of overthinking.’’ The blonde grinned at you, lightening your mood in an instant. ‘’That’s what you have friends for.’’

SERIES MASTERLIST

Taglist:

@secretxchive @vesperazhier

[codradin]

It's been a long day for a lot of reasons, and a long couple weeks for every more reasons. Guess I decided to vent it all into my take on a creepy pasta.

TW: FIRE, DEATH IMAGERY

I've always loved pokemon. Course I have, it's a massive franchise. Probably will be one of the biggest in the world some day, even with only a few games out.

Smoldering Silver

I don't really remember a lot--it's never really been a bother, though. I just go to school, forget it, and come home to play pokemon. Nothing else really matters. It's almost nice--every playthrough is fresh.

I know I've played red and blue to heck and back--but I do own silver, too.

I've been meaning to play it. Maybe I have. Doesnt really matter.

I decide to pop it in the old Gameboy one school day, sitting in my dirty room on my bed. It's very warm out today, even inside, but what're you gonna do.

I turn it on, excited, faintly surprised to see no save file. Maybe I keep forgetting to play it. Whoops.

Oh well! New adventure starts now.

Professor Oak talks to me, tells me my name is Red, which is a little odd--isn't that the red and blue protagonist? Maybe they brought him back for a new adventure. That's fun. I liked Red.

I never liked Blue, though. He was always mean to red. I didn't get it. It made me scared.

Oak goes to release me on my journey, before the game seems to freeze, audio pausing.

Eh? Did the game freeze already? I know red and blue were kinda funky sometimes, but--

The Gameboy let's out a horrific scream, a human scream, and I jump as Oaks face seems to melt--

I panic turn off the Gameboy, heart racing. What the heck?-

I stare at the dead screen, confused and scared, but so unbearably curious at the same time. That's not normal, I know that.

I slowly turn the Gameboy back on.

No intro plays--the game boots up, and reds sprite is standing in a new town, a town I don't recognize, but that's not super surprising.

I amble up to the biggest house in town, a nice tune playing. There's a different sprite staring into the side of the building. Oh, like the guy outside my window! Okay.

I walk into the big building, and get to choose a pokemon! Exciting!

The choices are new and different, especially considering I've apparently never played this, so this'll be cool.

I've never liked fire types, though.

I go with Chikorita. Silly little guy.

I accidentally forget to name them, but when I go to examine my new friend, they already have a name.

Chrysanthemums? That's a big word I don't know. It's silly. I'll call her Chrys.

I walk outside the lab after being told something or other, I dunno, it doesn't really matter.

The man in the window is still there, and I look at his sprite a little more closely.

It's all monochrome, so colors are a little weird, but they seemed "tall", with a yellow hat and beige clothes, something covering their face, and in the low quality pixels, it's hard to tell what they're holding in their hands, but it's long and straight.

Huh. Thats a funny character design.

I take Chrys and go out onto the first route! I destroy some silly rats and birds, considering I have no pokeballs, but that's okay.

The first town I enter seems normal. I heal up, I talk to an old man, but his dialogue is kinda weird.

"I don't think they meant it to go this far."

What?

Man, my game is corrupted as heck, isn't it? I wonder what happened.

Oh, well, the battling seems to be working, so I quickly get distracted again. Away I go.

Up to the house I guess I was supposed to go to, woah, egg?? I have egg. Egg is exciting, and I guess the guy who gave me Chrys wants it. Cool!

I walk back to the second town-- no one is around. It's weird--I thought npcs had just been around? Eh. Memory probably is wrong again. Silly me.

I walk back to the first town. I haven't encountered any trainers yet. I wonder why.

I go to cross the line into the first town--

The game crashes.

Aw, cmon! I haven't saved. I debate just giving up right then and going back to my actually working games, but something urges me on.

I sigh and restart the game. Again. Man, this game is worse than the silly missingnos.

I load back in--oh, it...saved on its own? But wait, where am I?

I'm in a completely new town. What?

I check my pokemon--Chrys has, apparently, evolved, into a long necked flower dinosaur. It's almost giving me a sad look.

It's level 39.

What kinda memory black outs am I having? I was just...okay. this is weird.

The town is large, with a railway track running through the middle of it.

I must've gotten badges to get this far, right? I check my trainer card.

I have 3 badges, now. But my trainer doesn't look like Red...they're familiar, in a way. Long ish hair, a dirt smudged face, a strange look on their smiling face, hatless, almost vacant yet carefree.

Their name is Nina.

Huh. More corrupted cartridge nonsense, I guess.

All the npcs in town are wearing all black. It seems to be raining. None of them talk to me--I can't interact with them at all.

Okay. Uhm.

I walk north for a while, before walking through a transition tunnel.

It's a lovely park, and I think the music should be peaceful and soothing, but it's distorted into sadness, somber and...disturbing.

My skin prickles with uncomfortable goosebumps, and I continue forward.

There's a large gathering of npcs, all wearing the same black in the now pouring rain, the pixels blocking the screen solidly.

I walk up to them, but they don't move. They don't talk. They don't do...anything.

This is stupid. I just wanna play some pokemon. Why is it all creepy and sad?

I accidentally press forward--and can step through the npcs.

Oh, what? I'm the invisible man!

I walk forward to the two pixels their surrounding--a brown pixel and a grey one.

I can't move over the brown one, but I can interact with the grey pixel.

NINA GREY HAWKINS

DEC 7 1992

NOV 22 1999

I stare at the Gameboy picture of a gravestone.

A face stares back at me.

My face.

My tomb.

The heat gets worse and worse and I look up as the room fills with smoke and ash, I can hear screaming, at the window is a man with a strange protective helmet, a gas mask and heavy clothes, an axe shattering my window.

I scream, and he shouts something at me as the entire house rumbles.

I run to him--

--

I've always loved Pokemon.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Did you get this message?, by Esther Pearl Watson © The artist. Courtesy Vielmetter Los Angeles

* * * * *

New Books

by Dan Piepenbring

So you’ve seen a UFO—great! May I suggest keeping a lid on it? The past decade, with its hearings and headlines, has brought close encounter a new plausibility, but talking about aliens will still sully your reputation. No one is credible enough to deliver such earth-shattering news. This summer, David Grusch, a former U.S. intelligence official, told Congress and the media that the Pentagon had recovered materials of “exotic origin,” including “non-human biologics.” The Intercept promptly reported that Grusch was a suicidal alcoholic.

Carl Jung described UFO accounts as “visionary rumors” with the power of myth, which might explain why we vilify those who tell them: they resonate too strongly with our fears and desires. But today’s stories, with their cockpit footage and military hearsay, lack something of the flair of their Cold War predecessors. My favorite comes from Joe Simonton, a plumber in Eagle River, Wisconsin. In 1961, he claimed that a flying saucer resembling two “washbowls” facing each other had descended on his property piloted by several short men, “nice looking” and “swarthy, like Italians.” Their leader, his eyes “so penetrating” that Simonton had to look away, gestured for water. Simonton brought him some. Another spaceman was cooking something on “a square grill-like concern”: pancakes. “If that was their food, God help ’em, because I took a bite of one of ’em and it tasted like a piece of cardboard. And if that’s what they lived on, no wonder they’re small.” The spacemen gave him a stack, shut their hatch, and flew off in haste. “There I stood in the driveway,” Simonton said, “with a handful of greasy pancakes and my mouth open, wondering what the heck I’d saw.”

His was a vision of extraterrestrial life as commonplace as a roadside diner. I’m enchanted by the loping vernacular, the homespun loneliness, the griddle as an instrument of cosmic goodwill. “These men were friendly to me and I was friendly to them,” he said. He was strenuously honest—a county judge noted that he neither drank nor read science fiction—but reporters ridiculed him, strangers descended on his house, his business suffered, his chickens died, and he soon wished he’d kept the encounter to himself.

A few months later, a couple from New Hampshire reported having seen a cigar-shaped band of lights looming over Franconia Notch. Their announcement thrust them briefly into the gears of the military-industrial complex, which wrote them off as unreliable witnesses—a dismissal that altered the course of their lives. In The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America (Yale University Press, $30), Matthew Bowman, a professor of religion and history, argues that no UFO sighting happens in a vacuum. The Hills’ interpretation changed with the times. As optimistic New Deal liberals, they understood it to be a markedly different event than they would at the end of the decade, by which point they’d embraced New Age conspiracy and claimed to possess an arcane knowledge. Their evolving story allowed for “the rewriting of disempowerment into a strange new power,” Bowman writes. It reflected a burgeoning resentment of “the expert establishment” which is sustained in present strains of populism—and thereby suggests that the current wave of UFO interest is at root an expression of the vexed relationship between the state and its citizens.

The Hills’ account began simply. Driving home after midnight from a trip to Montreal, they spotted ominous lights flying toward them and pulled over to look at the object through binoculars. Spooked by its enormous size and oblong shape, they fled, hearing buzzing sounds “like someone had dropped a tuning fork.” “Do you believe in flying saucers now?” Betty asked Barney. “Of course not,” he said. At home, feeling “unclean,” they took long baths.

The Hills were government employees. She worked for the state welfare office, he for the post office. As devout Unitarians, they valued scientific expertise and open conversation. They were also, crucially, an interracial couple—Betty, white; Barney, black—active in the civil-rights movement. They saw themselves as people to be taken seriously. The sighting rattled them enough that Betty reported it to the Air Force. A man spoke to the couple over the phone, noting in his report that Barney “feels somewhat foolish—he just cannot believe that such a thing could or did happen.” Betty found the officer brusque. “The Air Force,” Bowman writes, wanted to use “the language and authority of science to defuse reports of unidentified flying objects before they turned into rumors that could stoke civic worry and unrest.”

Betty didn’t want to be defused. The event felt blindingly real. Barney was “driven to anxiety at his inability to understand what had happened to him.” The more they told their story, the more their memories perplexed them. Barney recalled having seen men on the ship scurrying in black uniforms with the “cold precision of German officers.” Betty thought the aliens handsome; Barney emphatically did not. He couldn’t remember how his shoes had gotten scuffed or why his wife’s dress was torn and stained with sweat. They kept returning to Franconia Notch for clues, “looking for the elusive moment their lives had changed.”

They found solace in UFO research groups, such as the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), a non-profit that prided itself on its rational, technocratic approach. “We are mature people associated with a major electronics and engineering corporation,” two NICAP members wrote, leveraging their jobs at IBM. “Our discussion would be entirely objective.” The Hills also underwent hypnosis with a psychiatrist, believing, mistakenly, that the process would “clear away the rubble of anxiety and forgetfulness and restore them to complete control.” But what they dredged up made them look even crazier and, to their chagrin, their doctor refused to endorse it.

If you have notions of a prototypical alien abduction—sloe-eyed, gray-skinned, narrow-chinned creatures conducting anal probes with malevolent dispassion—they derive from the Hills’ hypnosis sessions, wherein the couple came to believe that they’d been brought aboard the craft for medical testing. Betty found the experience fascinating, except for the part where the aliens shoved a long needle into her navel for a pregnancy test. Barney felt like a rabbit in a trap. Bowman writes that he remembered “a small tube about the size of a cigar inserted into his rectum and the eerie sensation of a single finger pressing against the base of his spine.”

As these details emerged, the Hills found themselves the object of a national obsession. Books, articles, and TV shows exposed them to new levels of scrutiny and derision. (Last year, Penguin reissued The Interrupted Journey, John Fuller’s 1966 bestseller about the couple.) Even sympathetic observers assumed that the “abduction” amounted to mangled angst about either their interracial marriage or their childlessness. People egged their car. Someone painted a swastika on their sidewalk. But Betty in particular still treasured the visitation. She had communed with an advanced civilization whose technologies the government wished to suppress. Some years later, she noted approvingly that the needle the aliens had inserted in her abdomen was “now in everyday usage in big city hospitals.”

After Barney died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1969, Betty started seeing UFOs with increasing frequency, sometimes accompanied by black helicopters. She learned “to distrust anyone who offers to analyze anything I find” and avowed that she’d lived a past life as “an English girl, herding geese.” Bowman is acutely sensitive to the pressures the couple must have felt as their concept of reality crumbled, revealing something “esoteric and divisive, something that splintered American communities rather than unified them.” Conspiracy theories were their only solace. When Betty saw a spacecraft after Barney’s death, she assumed it must be looking for him and started shouting at the sky through her tears: “Barney died. He is no longer alive. . . . We bury our dead.” She pointed toward the cemetery and told them they’d find him “by the flowers on his grave.” The ship “rocked back and forth,” she remembered, “crossed the highway, and headed the direction I had pointed.”

For Bowman, “the Hills’ project was one of adaptation”: fitting the square peg of their story into the round hole of the society that had ostracized them. Without the Cold War’s existential threat, would they have believed that they saw a UFO? What if the state had treated them as more than a nuisance, or if the experts conceded that their experience was beyond explanation? Garrett M. Graff’s UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here—and Out There (Simon and Schuster, $32.50), focuses on the top brass and the talking heads who made the couple feel irrelevant. Graff chronicles the nation’s failure to develop a consistent, top-down response to weird stuff in the skies—a program that served both citizens and the national security apparatus.

The state could shrug off the occasional space pancake or anal probe, but it couldn’t ignore its own pilots, who in the Forties had begun to report credible extraterrestrial threats. The Air Force launched Project Sign, its first UFO-tracking initiative, in 1948. Its analysts were overwhelmed with sightings that seemed to defy the usual explanations—ball lightning, weather balloons, meteor showers—prompting the memorably titled “Estimate of the Situation,” a top-secret assessment so incendiary that every copy of it was burned. “The situation was the UFO’s; the estimate was that they were interplanetary!” one of the researchers later wrote. In 1949, Project Sign issued a more measured statement, concluding that most of the 273 incidents were probably meaningless. As for the chance of advanced technical developments from another nation or world, “no facts are available to personnel at this Command that will permit an objective assessment of this possibility.”

A Navy video still of a UAP, November 2004. Courtesy the Department of Defense

After Sign came Projects Grudge and Blue Book, which leaned just as heavily on bureaucratese to mask their uncertainty. (An official history of the Air Technical Intelligence Center, which oversaw the Air Force’s UFO research, bragged that they had introduced “100,000 new technical terms to the English language.”) Pilots, meanwhile, grew leery of reporting their encounters to a hierarchy that filed them away as oddities. The Air Force promoted the term “unidentified flying object” to give the sightings a scientific sheen, encouraging airmen to tell their stories.

The rebrand didn’t help—a chilling effect had taken hold. J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer who’d worked with the Air Force since the Forties, said that many scientists were less skeptical of UFOs than they would admit in public. He grew frustrated with the official line, which he felt was designed to quell the nation’s suspicions rather than figure out what was really going on. In 1953 he’d joined the Robertson Panel, a secret committee convened by the CIA “to reduce public concern” about UFOs. “Their basic attitude was very clearly an attitude of ‘Daddy knows best, don’t come to me with these silly stories,’ ” Hynek said. In 1959, an ATIC report stated that Project Blue Book was “extremely dangerous to prestige.” The program was terminated in 1969, just before the start of a decade whose scandals would completely undermine the public’s faith in its institutions.

The government’s prickly paternalism—and its annoying habit of rechristening flying objects every few decades, most recently as UAPs—generated countless conspiracy theories, which Graff soberly investigates, down to the last crop circle and cattle mutilation. Most are bunk, but he acknowledges “an active, ongoing cover-up over decades” and believes that “even today, the U.S. government is surely hiding information from us.” (The “even today” seems needlessly charitable.) Hynek was one of the few who saw the advantage of greater transparency. “You can cover up knowledge and you can cover up ignorance,” he said. “I think there was much more of the latter than of the former.”

Suppose aliens do show their faces. What will we call them? How will we introduce them to heads of state at black-tie banquets? One of my issues with Star Trek: The Next Generation is its assertion that intergalactic amity can exist only in an atmosphere of stifling formality. The Enterprise crew are military factotums like those in Graff’s book—their sometimes rigid adherence to protocol means they can barely be trusted to talk to other humans, let alone to extraterrestrials. No one in Starfleet could pull off Joe Simonton’s quick, wordless, water-for-pancakes transaction.

Untitled, by Alexandra Duprez © The artist. Courtesy MEPAINTSME

Or so I thought before I read Robert Hickey’s Honor and Respect: The Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address (University of Chicago Press, $80), which argues convincingly for the merits of decorum. This is a stately brick of a reference text, “a record of how officials are directly addressed in English at the beginning of the millennium.” It describes how tenuous and brittle communication is on our planet, and also how ornately beautiful. Though it’s intended primarily for diplomats, anyone who relishes language will enjoy it for its exacting specificity. At last, definitive advice on how to address the wife of a younger son of a marquess; the royal heir apparent of a Malaysian state; the territorial commander of the Salvation Army; the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “The Master of the Horse is an honorary post in the United Kingdom ceremonially responsible for the royal carriages and horses,” I learned. “Astronaut is not used as an honorific,” and “deceased persons are not typically listed on an invitation’s host line.” Should I deliver my calling card in person, I know to leave a note in pencil; if I send a courier, I must use ink.

In a foreword, Pamela Eyring (of the Protocol School of Washington, naturally) wonders if “the demise of protocol is approaching” in an increasingly informal world. But Eyring insists that every detail matters. The place cards, the honorifics, the way that the State Department addresses a chargé d’affaires ad interim. “Why? Because everything speaks.” Indeed, everything does. Revisiting Simonton’s UFO story, I noticed a detail I’d missed. The spaceman, receiving his jug of water, “gave me a salute with the back of his hand—a gesture of thanks, I presume,” Simonton said. Not knowing what else to do, he returned the salute. It was this exchange that got him the pancakes.

From the Archive :: [HARPERS]

Timeless stories from our 173-year archive handpicked to speak to the news of the day.

[skzhocomments]

I can read your smile - Choi Minho SHINee Fanfic - Chapter 3 - Work sucks

Story masterlist - please consult it for the summary of the story, trigger warnings etc.

Wattpad | AO3

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

---

Chapter 3 - Work sucks

word count: 2k words

~third person POV~

At around lunchtime, Crystal returned to her new home and found Minho watching a football game in the living room.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Welcome back!"

"Hello." She took off her shoes and entered the living room.

"Where have you been?" The boy turned her attention to her briefly, watching her walk in the living room and bringing him a water bottle. "Thanks."

"Library." She smiled. "I needed to read something from a book I don't have, but they didn't let me borrow it, so let's just hope I memorized enough."

"Go check my room. I have all the books our professors recommended us, so you might find what you need." He replied nonchalantly, then scoffed loudly as someone missed the ball.

"Something happened?" Crystal asked amused. She knew next to nothing about football.

"Yes, this idiot just- whatever. He messed up big time." Minho sighed. "Go see if you find your book."

Crystal nodded and headed towards the forbidden room - as she liked to call it - Minho's bedroom. She was pleased to see his bed was made, and everything was kept as arranged as in her room, albeit him owning way more stuff.

She approached the shelves she previously saw the trophies on, and read each of them carefully, before moving them aside to see if he had the book she needed.

Swimming Competition - January 2019 - 2nd Place

Football Competition - June 2021 - 1st Place

Swimming Competition - December 2015 - 1st Place

Baseball Competition - July 2018 - 2nd Place

He dedicated a lot of time playing sports, Crystal noted. There were way more medals, but she didn't want to intrude too much. She moved everything aside with care and browsed through the titles of various books he's collected over the years, when she finally found her target.

"Yes!" She exclaimed happily, grabbing it and going to the living room to show Minho.

"Found it?" He chuckled as soon as she entered the room, holding the book over her head victoriously.

"You're gonna be my life saver this semester. I'm going to save so much time by not going to the library." She spoke happily, and he found her quite amusing, being so excited by such a trivial thing.

"I'm glad." He looked at her and smiled, almost forgetting that his favourite team was losing on the TV screen.

"Thank you. Truly." She smiled, and Minho wasn't sure how, or why, but it somehow felt like he was seeing her true, genuine smile for the first time. He simply nodded.

"Did you... eat?" She asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Not yet."

"Uhm... can I maybe cook something for the both of us, after your game is over? Late-lunch."

"Late-lunch sounds good." Minho smiled.

"Great. When is it over?"

"In about 45 minutes."

"I'll get started, then!" She exited the room and headed happily towards the kitchen, humming as she pulled out the few ingredients she bought from the store on her way back.

She was thankful for the supermarket in the building, and she ended up buying quite a lot of vegetables, and found some fresh pork, so she thought of making some roasted potatoes with vegetables and cook the pork in the oven. An easy to cook meal, but delicious as heck.

~

Minho was getting annoyed at how his favourite team was playing. They seemed to do everything wrong, and it irked him to no end. By the end of the game, the team has unsurprisingly lost, so he got up from the couch, still annoyed, and opened the door to the hallway.

The house smelled heavenly.

He couldn't remember when the last time he cooked something was. Key was the one to cook sometimes, but with both of them busy, they resorted to ordering food more often than not.

He headed towards the kitchen where Crystal was softly humming a song he couldn't recognise while reading from the large book she picked off his shelf. He just stood there, in the doorframe, watching her scribble notes down in her notebook, reading so intensely she didn't even notice his presence.

"It smells good." Minho spoke.

"Hm?" She raised her eyes and watched him open the fridge and take some more water.

"What are you cooking?"

"Just some pork with roasted potatoes. I figured it's a good healthy meal for you to eat."

Minho smiled.

"I said it smelled amazing."

"Yea? I'm glad. It's gonna be ready in about 30 minutes, so you can go relax for a bit if you want."

"Hmm... why don't you tell me about your exam tomorrow? What are you reading about?"

"Would you really like to know?" She asked with a slight chuckle.

"Of course. I don't know if I'll remember anything, but try me."

Crystal started explaining everything she read for her test the next day, and they ended up having a very detailed conversation on this class and the possible exam questions.

They spoke all throughout lunch, and Minho offered to help her study for the rest of the day. While he made a quick salad for dinner for the both of them, Crystal continued reading and studying, and by the end of the day she was more confident than ever in what she's learnt.

Minho was also surprised by what a fast learner Crystal was; she was absorbing information like a sponge, and she was so smart. He genuinely enjoyed talking to her about her thoughts and ideas when it came to the subjects she studied.

---

~the next day~

Mondays have always been hectic.

For Minho, they meant classes from 9 to 16:00, a break until 18:00, then football training until 21:00, or even 22:00 if a game was approaching.

If he wouldn't have training, he'd hit the gym downstairs the building complex he lived in. Sport was truly something he enjoyed, and there was nothing better than a good workout.

Today, practice ended at 21:00, but he decided to go for drinks with his peers and talk a bit more about their strategies, and what other things they should implement, and even about themselves. They would do that sometimes, stay out a bit after practice just to catch up. Knowing people's achievements or struggles would strengthen the teamwork.

After spending time with his teammates at the pub, Minho finally headed home.

He was surprised to see that all lights were turned off, but maybe you were asleep; it was pretty late, after all.

He decided against knocking on your door, and instead made his way to his room to change, then went out in the living room and turned on the TV, browsing through the sports channels.

Unintentionally, he fell asleep in front of the TV, tired after the full day he had.

~

~Crystal's POV~

After a long shift, I was finally able to go home. Minho's place was closer to the restaurant than my older apartment, about a 15-minute walk away, so I enjoyed breathing in the 3AM air, filtering it through my lungs.

I always preferred night to day. It was quiet and pleasant.

If only I weren't so tired.

This day was hectic. I had the exam and felt quite hopeful about my answers; studying with Minho helped.

I should make sure to get him something, for spending his time helping me. Or maybe cook something again. He seemed to enjoy yesterday's meal a lot. He ate two full plates.

After Uni, I had a two-hour break before I needed to go to the restaurant, but instead of going home, I ended up spending time with Jude and Lydia at this new café that opened right next to our campus.

Another money wasted on bad coffee, I thought, but socializing with the girls was worth the 7$ at least.

Finally home! I sighed, opening up the door to Minho's apartment.

Faint TV sounds could be heard from the living room, and I wondered why he's not sleeping yet.

I quickly found out that was not the case. He was asleep in the most uncomfortable position ever on the sofa. He was manspreading in the middle of it, with his head rolled back.

Should I wake him up, or should I try to move him and get him to lay down, instead of sleeping with his head in that awkward position?

His neck will hurt like hell tomorrow if I leave him be.

Instead of waking him up, I placed my right hand on his cheek, and my left hand on his left shoulder, and I began pushing him down to the side.

When his head hit the sofa cushions, I removed my hand and went to grab a blanket, cause what if he caught a cold?

When I returned, however, he was up once again, rubbing his eyes.

"Crystal? Where are you going?" He asked, watching me up and down.

I was still wearing today's outfit, a red sundress with winter black thighs warm enough for the weather outside.

"Nowhere." I talked quietly, as he just woke up, and I personally hated people speaking loudly to me in the first 20 minutes. "I just got back."

"Huh?" He looked around confused, and I barely stopped myself from chuckling slightly. "What time is it?"

"3:23." I spoke. "You should go to bed. Otherwise your neck will be really stiff tomorrow."

"Why are you back so late? Where have you been?" He stood up and stretched a bit, and when he did, his t-shirt rode up a bit, exposing a small happy trail.

I shouldn't have looked.

"Work." I sighed. "I have classes at 9, so I'm gonna take a shower then head to bed."

~Minho's POV~

"Work." She let out a big sigh. "I have classes at 9, so I'm gonna take a shower then head to bed."

Why was she getting back home so late, on a Monday night? Why did she have to work so late in the first place?

3 AM is not the time for a girl to walk alone in the dark.

Our neighbourhood is pretty safe, but still, you can never be too careful.

I was somehow deeply uncomfortable with this thought, but I didn't say anything. What could I say, anyway?

"Okay, Crystal. Good night." I smiled and turned off the TV, deciding to go to bed myself. She offered me her signature smile as well, then left the room, and I could hear the shower running briefly, then her bedroom door opening and closing.

She turned on some music, soft tunes once again, and I noticed, as if for the first time, how thin the walls were. I felt like I never paid attention to Key and what he was doing in his room when he was living here, but I was hyper alert when it came to Crystal.

I placed my head on the pillow and listened to the song before I fell asleep. It was the same one she was humming in the kitchen yesterday.

When I woke up the next morning, she was already gone, but she left me an apple on the kitchen table, which I lazily ate on my way to campus.

My day was full again, but I finished a bit earlier thankfully, so I was already at home relaxing when 10 PM hit the clock.

This time, I decided to stay awake and see when Crystal turns up.

2:48 AM. A bit earlier than last night, but still late.

"Hey, did I wake you?" She frowned, but her expression quickly changed to a bright smile after I shook my head.

The next night, she was back at 2:15.

Then, 2:20.

Friday, however, it was already 3:45 and she wasn't back yet.

Should I text her? I pondered, then I started feeling a bit off. There was no reason for me to keep track of her schedule so closely.

Still, I couldn't sleep for some reason.

She came back at 4:23, I checked the phone for the time. However, this time I haven't gone out to greet her. I just listened to her steps in the hallway, to the running shower, then to her bedroom door closing. The music started again, and only then I allowed myself to fall asleep.

I asked her the next day at what time she got back, and why she worked so late, and she told me Friday nights are a bit busier than the rest of the week. It rarely happens for her to stay so late, but she doesn't mind it, for she gets good tips, and the owner pays her a bit more those days. Plus, she can sleep in on Saturday.

Win-win, she said.

That's all she did on Saturday, pretty much. She just slept, probably to take back her energy.

How did she survive on less than 5 hours of sleep per night?

---

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

[sweetchildcloud]

Modern!Trigun au plot/ideas

Mine do not steal! @sweetchildcloud property!

It all started when I was drawing my sona with their child that they had with wolfwood, clover

WARNING SAD/DEATH HEAD!

Von(my sona) is pregnant and struggles to give birth to their child,it all happened in their house in wich Wolfwood called Vash for help, yes Vash can go in house and help in labour on requesta, and so they are there in assistance. The child is soon born, however, Von was down with an high fever in wich it didn't help the situation but at least they can hold the child and comment on it before slowly succumbing to the complications of labor, causing Wolfwood and Vash to become hysterical over the matter

So they vow to care for the child as Von would have wanted it.

(I know it sad I'm sorry)

This is just a sketch comic of their first Halloween

Also in my modern!trigun au

Vash is a doctor,nurse,even surgeon, he participate in donating,helping poors

Wolfwood is a professor/kindergarten teacher along Livio (so taht they can keep an eye on Clover too)

Robert is a bartender

Milly and Meryl are the maid of Robertos cafe/bar

Knives was a criminal now released

In my au plants still live but added in human society and sometimes some of them go in special places to donate energy to the city

But still there still hate for them

Humans think that vash is doing this for attention,that he is a plant that he thinks that he is better than humans

knives hates humans but helps in any way pants childrens or half and half children but he despise adults

infact he once killed some criminals humans got arrested and now he is relesaed,he can create knives out of him,he will not kill anymore but will punch,battle,infact he gets in many bar fights for his past but he doesnt care,he always wins

"gotta show what a strong plant do when is pushed too much" knives

Vash:

°here vash its called vash the sugar coated

°Hes a psychologist,surgeon,pediatrician basically the health care of the city,there are many others but since he lived more than humans he know how to act

°Hes a good soul,helping the poor,participant in manifestations,helping the weak,teaching his job or things about bullism,sex education,helping others at schools

°When Vash gives birth to a baby(helps the mother), he begins to cry like a fountain as if to say: "He's alive, he was born thanks to me, I helped him" and then he congratulates the baby's mother

°then during the birth she says words of encouragement such as: "you are doing great" "a little more" "breathe everything is fine, you are doing a great job"

°He starts crying when he hears the baby crying he gets emotional because hell he just helped a woman giving birth to a new life thanks to him

°*cash hold the baby snuggling it*

"Mr.Vash can I hold my baby now?"

*sniff* "oh..yeah srry"

Knives:

°Here knives is a tsundere,hes not evil like in the original anime but still a hot headed guy,rebellious,violent,it will take time for him too get attached to someone,he and his brother losted Rem because of humans in a revolution against plants in the..80? Well heck they watched Rem being assassinated by humans because she was protecting some specimens

°He was an assassin who in the end killed his boss without anybody noticing

Wich brought us in the present where he was arrested for killing some human criminals

°Poor bean he just wanted the best for his brother so he started killing for him but Vash didn't want that,he kept telling him that not all humans are bad that there will be people like Rem but Knives doesn't believe him:"how..how can u say something like that.. they call us monster when ..WHEN THEY TOOK AWAY REM! SHE BEGGED THEM TO STOP BUT..THEY ARE THE MONSTERS VASH! I WILL KILL THEM ALL!" Wich he did in that time,he was full of hatred,despair so much that Vash didn't know what to do but he always stick with him,they were the only family he had left but one day Vash was kidnapped by some men and solded him by a woman who teached him about being kind,helping others,then he found out his passion for animals, the woman was a veterinary so she had a big garden full of flowers and animals that roamed freely, this in the 1870

Knives on the other hand was took under military action,tortured and all that,thinking that is bro was dead

Vash was devastated when the woman died at aged 100,it felt like a second rem for him,he started writing at knives that was what made Knives changed from killing criminals, now he lives with his bro in the old woman house both happy and all but knives is afraid to tell his brother what he had done in the past,he doesn't regret it but he's afraid of his brother judgement

But the thing knives doesn't know is that he knew about is brother past because the woman for searching for him to reunited with his brother infact she has filed about him and all that

"Its sad to see a family being torned so abruptly and fast, I will do everything I can to help your brother, vash,I know your brother feeling, I despise humanity too they took away my husband and son,my whole family for being Jewish, I managed to escape but..nevertheless I kept living enjoy life,helping others do that they don't feel like us

Listen sweetheart want a cup of tea? I will brew some"

°Also knives tries to be better,he still doesn't like humans but doesn't kill them at least,he has many panick attacks due to his other him tell him that he cang change that his brother will hate him and all that

Vash will help him,holding his face in his hands telling him to breathe to do not listen to it,do look at his brother

This is all hope u had fun reading it

[crimsonfacets]

"alt!"

Send me “alt!” and I’ll introduce you to a character I’ve rped in the past, want to play in the future or are currently playing somewhere else!

There was no one in the kitchen, yet a dark figure suddenly walked by the doorway in Dib's peripheral, a breeze clipping his hair and ear to solidify the fact that something did just pass. Peeking back in, he'd see that someone was in the kitchen: a woman, decked in all black with only hints of a dusty mauve cuffing her collar and the long sleeves of her dress. Her hair was weirdly familiar.. Gaz? No. No way. It couldn't be. Gaz was paler, and her hair was way shorter than this. Also, Gaz was a kid, not an ADULT.

"Foodio has made your coffee, ma'am." And Foodio 3000 just rolled up to her like she wasn't a total STRANGER who broke into the house, not whipping out Mega Membrane(tm) lasers and electric taser buzz saws, but instead whipping out hospitality by serving her a steamy mug of what smelled like super strong coffee. "Only one tea spoon of sugar, no milk. Just like [ PROFESSOR MEMBRANE PROGRAMMED INTO IMPORTANT MEMBRANE HOUSEHOLD FAMILY FAVORITES ]! I hope you enjoy it."

The woman appeared to be trying to keep quiet, glancing over her shoulder now and then with a squint, eyes actually open in comparison to how his little sister's always preferred a tight scowl. Same eye color as both of theirs, though. Gloved hands reached to grab for the coffee when Clembrane came bodyslamming through the wall into the poor food service bot, holding up a spoon.

"I GOT IT, HONEY!" He announced happily, wiggling it around in the woman's face. "You so clumsy, but that what so cuuuuUUUuuute about yoooou!" He cooed, rubbing fingers into the woman's quickly heated features as she twitched. Her brows popped. Dib could hear her growling.

"Yes, you did. Thank you... dear." She responded with a low tone of voice. A wispy, black tendril emerged from the shadows beneath her and wrapped around the spoon wiggled about in the air, flinging it from the clone and out the window. "Oh, poor me. I lost it again. What will I do without it. Oh no. I'm sad. Tragedy."

"!!!!" Clembrane whipped around and threw his bowl of fresh pudding to the side with a loud smash. "I'LL GET IT! DON'T YOU WORRY YOUR PRETTY LITTLE HEAD, NEESY DEESY!" BAM! Annnnd there was another hole in the kitchen as the enormous second father figure went bounding out again, car horns quickly emitting in the distance with the sound of crash.

The mug of coffee that should have sailed into oblivion with the recovering robot was instead frozen in the air, still steaming and untouched. The woman gripped it and inhaled the vapors deep, sighing with tension leaving her body. She murmured something to herself, an indiscernible bout of mumblings in Spanish with a few words in there that were definitely not appropriate for children's ears.. that was until her eyes flicked across the way and made contact with Dib's. She stopped in an instant.

Uh-oh. She was Aware of him now. What was going to happen?

.. Apparently, she was going to cross the kitchen and pull... oatmeal? Off the stove? What the heck is oatmeal doing there?? And mix it in a bowl that was nearby, throw in a few fruits with cinnamon and chocolate and bring it to him. She gave his head a few gentle pats and a ruffle while in the background, those weird eldritch tendrils stretched from shadows beneath the dinner table and sucked a black typewriter that he'd never seen before into its shade.

The woman fussed over his coat and fixed it, buttoning it up. "This needs to be buttoned, Dib. It's cold outside." Was she really bossing him around? Who the heck was she? How did she know his name?? Then she did something WEIRD.. She kissed him on the head! "You never seen me. I wasn't here. I need a break." She told him, hand cutting to the side of her face to block out the Clembrane-shaped holes in the wall before slipping past.

Blink.

Those holes weren't there anymore, and there was no debris all over the kitchen. Foodio was idle and in one piece, humming to himself as he charged in the wall socket. There was no pot on the stove or oat-smattered spatula. But, there was still the faint scent of that super black coffee in the air, and Dib would notice he was still holding a bowl of hot oatmeal in his hands, and his coat was still buttoned up. There was no sight of the woman though, even if he looked the house up and down, she just wasn't there. Foodio had no idea who he was talking about either when he asked.

Why did this stuff always happen to him when he had nothing to record it with!?!

[clarktooncrossing]

Giraffe's Eye View | Spy x Family REVIEW (Kind of)

Hello there people of today and robots of tomorrow! It's me, Clark, here with another rambling collection of my opinions. When last I did this it was in regards to Komi Can't Communicate, my favorite anime that actually originates in Japan. I have since watched all of Season 2 of the show, which amplified the adorable factor with all the times Komi had full conversations with Tadano. Seriously, my heart melted knowing whenever I saw her overcome her phobia. That said, Season 2 had by far the worst moment on the show, one I saw coming thanks to the manga. While on a school trip to Kyoto, Stalker McGee (Amai Ren to the people who somehow like her) plans to gaze upon Komi's breasts when they the girls have to share a bath house together. I was already annoyed by how Agari's seemingly gigantic boobs were once again acting as the butt of the joke, so seeing Stalker salivate at the idea of touching Komi's boobs made me physically uncomfortable. Heck, considering how much of a psychotic pervert she is, I'm surprised she even asked. To top it off, the next episode has Komi interacting with two very sweet students that I wish the show would focus on more. One's a busy body named Katou Mikuni and her yo-yo loving friend is called Sasaki Ayami. They treat Komi to a fun day at totally not Universal Studios Japan, never once trying to grope their new friend. Why this series puts so much focus on Stalker McGee as apposed to any of these characters is a mystery to me, but following this episode I pretty much fast forwarded through every scene she was in. Their White Day episode took place on Friday the 13th, leading me to hope Jason Voorhees could show up and shut this creep up! No such luck.

The one time this guy doesn't wanna introduce a horny teenage idiot to his machete, unbelievable! And no, I don't actually wish horrible things upon this character, I just wish she'd go away!

Needless to say I was feeling pretty annoyed when I decided to check out another anime that had been gaining popularity ever since it started streaming on Hulu.

Every where I turn on the Internet there's clip compilations of Anya being cute or inappropriate fan art of Yor on deviantART, and of course none of my friends on Discord will shut up about this show. Being the fan of the found family trope myself, I finally caved in and gave it a watch myself.

The show centers around Michael Weston, a recently burned spy who's forced back to his hometown of Miami, Florida due to unforeseen circumstances. There he's joined by retired Navy Seal Sam Axe, ex-girlfriend and explosives genius Fiona Glenanne, and even his mother, who all help Michael clear his name over the course of eight seasons.

No wait, I'm thinking of a different spy show.

It's called Burn Notice and all of you should totally watch it! If the compelling ongoing story of what happened to Michael doesn't draw you in, the promise of eight seasons worth of Bruce Campbell should!

Back to the show we were talking about, it centers around a super-spy known only as Twilight!

Out there is a universe where this guy has the codename Agent Rainbow Dash. In this universe Twilight / Loid Forger is tasked with stopping a war between two countries. How do they intend on him doing that? By turning him into a family man of course! In order to prevent war Loid has to deal with a man named Donovan Desmond, who only appears at social gatherings held at his son's super-elite school. Twilight accepts, adopting the most adorable little girl known as Anya, not knowing that the pink-haired cutie can read minds.

Anya uses her Professor X style powers to get out of a lot of scrapes, such as reading her potential new dad's mind in order complete a crossword puzzle. This convinces the super spy of the girl's intelligence, being the fifth person to adopt the poor little girl. Given how utterly depressing Anya's backstory is, rooting for her proves to be no problem, even when she does act somewhat bratty. If nothing else this show does a terrific job showing how unpredictable children are. She's never a little devil in disguise, nor is she a fallen angel. She's just a decent kid who loves peanuts, penguins, and anime. She also hates carrots and wishes bakery sold bacon. Heck, I'm with Anya on that last one, why don't bakeries sell bacon!?

She also figures out pretty easily that Loid is a spy, a factor she loves considering her favorite show is all about spies.

Her excitement only grows when she meets her new mother, an assassin known as Thorn Princess/ Yor Forger.

Behold, the subject of so much fanart online! I kid but honestly Yor's the most likable character on the show. Despite her night job as an assassin, she tries to be as good a mother to Anya she can be. She's nurturing, supportive, and kicks the ever-loving crap out of anybody who'd dare harm her baby. Yor Forger has the best Momma Bear Mode in all of freak'n fiction.

Along with her relationship with Anya, Yor's relationship with Loid is pretty sweet too. Like so many rom coms, the two get together under contrived circumstances. The school Anya needs to enroll in excludes single parents for whatever reasons, meaning Loid needs a mate in order to achieve world peace. Meanwhile Anya needs a cover up to her assassin job, plus she doesn't want her somewhat creepy brother Loid to find out she was lying about having a boyfriend. The two find each other with Anya's help, forming a fake bond with some very real at its center, regardless of whether or not they want to admit it. Yor gives Twilight the best advice she can, Twilight tries to navigate Yor out of awkward situations, and both act as protective parental units for Anya. A good example of this comes during Anya's entrance exam, one obnoxiously rude headmaster asking Anya if she prefers her new mom or her old one. With tears dripping down their baby's face, you can believe that Yor or Loid would've killed this pompous ass-wipe for saying something so cruel.

Luckily Anya is accepted, which is only half the battle. From there she has to contend with homework and Desmond's second son Damian. If my exposure to the DC Universe has taught me anything, it's that spoiled rich sons called Damian are the biggest brats of them all. While this Damian never gets his butt handed to him by the Ninja Turtles, Anya more than picks up the slack due to training from her mom.

As someone who was bullied extensively when he was younger, scenes like this always feel like karma finally being fulfilled. Unfortunately that's the one kid in school Anya has to befriend. And despite the weird feeling in his heart whenever he's around her, Damian refuses to play ball. Unlike Becky, the daughter of a military contractor who immediately forms a friendship with the Forger kid. Honestly it's so nice when anything good happens to Anya, considering this is the first time a family hasn't returned her. Seeing how all the Forgers help support each other despite continued claims that they're a 'fake family' is beyond heart-warming. It's easy to see why everybody's addicted to this show.

However, that brings me to a major problem. Not with the show mind you, but with Hulu. Back with my Princess Mononoke review I made a big stink about subs vs dubs, rambling on about why I prefer dubbing over subtitles. It all boiled down to me not wanting to read anything at the bottom of the screen when my full attention should go to the bigger picture as a whole. This wasn't a problem with Spy x Family, their first 12 episodes dubbed over. Then came episode 13 and all of a sudden every other episode was subbed. The heck? What happened to the dubs?

My friend Alec explained there are dubs for the rest of Season 1, all of them locked behind a paywall on Crunchyroll. Anybody who's about to type how I should join their premium service can stop right now. I'm addicted to four animes out a billion. Why would I sign up for a service I'd rarely use? Bad as I am with saving money, I ain't that financially foolish. Now I tried to watch the version with subtitles, but I realized how that wasn't gonna fly when a scene with multiple people talking at once played out. Yeah, nope. So for now I have to track down the mangas while waiting for Hulu to get the rest of Season 1. This is really a bummer considering I know who was joining the family come the later half of the season...

What a freak'n tease! For now though, I can confidently say that Spy X Family is fun for the whole family! Grab yourself a bag of peanuts and go check it out for yourself.

Meanwhile, wanna know my thoughts on other anime content? Check out my previous reviews for Komi Can't Communicate and Princess Mononoke! Until then; may the glasses be with you!

NEXT TIME ON GIRAFFE'S EYE VIEW...

[edwardslostalchemy]

Ohmg I don't want to sound materialistic, but I want to get something off my chest because I don't find it to be fair.

So like when it comes to presents, my family is all about giving them with lots of love and purpose and intention. We gift each other clothing, money, perfumes, creams, soaps. One of the most common is clothes, so that's pretty standard and easy for all of us. We just ask for each other's sizes so we get something that fits. My brother and I grew up with this kind of tradition and custom, so we are not new to this at all. If you cannot give everyone a gift, make sure to at least give your parents and sibling something. This is mostly for Christmas. My brother married a girl who is not used to this custom at all. This is new to her and she is uncomfortable with this tradition. She had told my parents she didn't do this with her family when she and my brother were dating, so we tried not to overwhelm her. We want to make people feel special and loved and we shower people with presents and gestures like cake and hot chocolate. So we learned she wasn't used to this and we didn't do it again so as to not make her uncomfortable. But just as we knew that she wasn't used to this, she knew we were used this. So there had to be some kind of compromise. However, that didn't happen and she ended up blowing up on my mom a few months ago (the reason wasn't even super extreme either, but she made a really big deal about it and yelled at my mom, to which my brother did nothing and sided with her while ignoring my mom's feelings). It was a really tense time and she ended up apologizing to my mom, but mom is still hurt. My brother has become a huge cheapskate. I wanted to say he and his wife are frugal, which is okay. But after seeing their gifts for past parties, they have been either inappropriate or generally just lacking effort. We didn't expect much for Christmas because we have an idea of how cheap they are. But I think my brother should have put SOME effort into my mom's gift. She's his MOM. You know... she's like the important person here in the family. Dad and I are like beside the point; we really don't care what we get. But my mom is disappointed in what he got her for Christmas. We all got a mug. And I mean, mugs are nice. I've given people mugs. I filled them with chocolates, added other gifts to make it look nicer, decorated them. They were for professors, friends, roommates. A mug can be a simple yet decent gift for everyone EXCEPT your mom on Christmas. I've given mom a mug for her on mother's day with money, so it had something in it. But my brother just gave her a mug and that's it. After my mom puts in a lot of effort to get him something nice. So yeah fine it's a nice mug, but. At least make it look presentable and nice. Add $20 bucks into it at least. He uses the excuse of not helping us because he has a family, and I mean fair. But like, I don't think he understands his mom is like. The one person that loves him the most in this world. She's never done anything to hurt him. She was never abusive. She always spoilt him ROTTEN. He's done some awful, nasty stuff to me and she still let him live in the house!!!! She was always supportive of him. She fought tooth and nail to defend him from people. She prayed and cried her eyes out so he could stay in school. My mom has done the most for him and he doesn't appreciate him. At all. It's confusing and we didn't do anything to hurt him. I know because I asked him personally and he answered me by telling me we didn't hurt him in any way. He just doesn't like that we always need help. (As if he's never needed help in his life ever...i have receipts...i know I helped him when he needed it so idk where this attitude even came from. Mom and dad have literal receipts saved when they helped him.) He's ungrateful, he forgot where he came from, and it's like we don't really matter much anymore, especially mom. And i know I've complained about stuff mom does, but heck if i don't appreciate what she has done for me throughout my life. Dad, too. We're just tired of him.

[cheeseandcake-from-ao3]

For the fallen hero in Gen 9, is the MC themselves. Due to slight OCD, Paledea will be functioned in a hypothetical 3rd version. Naranja and Uva are houses in the academy. Recently, a third house was made to help any unfortunate souls, thus the focus on the "present". Like Xavier being a custom Player, the MC is customized from Florain/Juliana (Heck, the two make cameos being part of Uva and Naranja respectively) & like Akari, trauma happens to take the "Paradise Protection" in the name of order

Ohhhhh, I like that.

"Lots of things could realistically happen to the MC in an 'open world'" That is. Very true. Especially considering the Potential.

Also- the fact that the Professors are already possessed and completely seperate? Opens up a whole lot of New Ideas for how the heroes can interact with them in this scenario, especially considering the AI Professors didn't have a choice here. It can just fuel the tragedy- especially if the groups defeat the MC, and then have to stop the professor, who really doesn't want to fight (Would they both be used in this scenario? Would it depend on who gets chosen as the final chapter hero? The choices of the MC? Or would they be merged?)

No, no, have this over Gen Four. Do it- (Just because I will never portray Giratina as a villain. Because Reasons. Those reasons being it was my first shiny so I will never accept it as a villain no I'm not bias what are you talking about-)

Also, yes to the idea of having the two legendaries for the pre-history and distant future- if you want to go really out there, you can have them as the protagonists for those chapters.

...That does make me wonder, though- is it possible for Paradise in this scenario to take away someone's emotions, but, as they still have their will, they come to the conclusion that while emotions are troublesome, they help people survive? So, despite being 'brainwashed' by the Light Side(TM) they still fight on neutral ground-

Ah, sorry for the ramble- in summary: I love the idea, and am always open to hearing more of it!

[bluewavesofchange]

The guardians of the Pharaoh

The return of the Seal

I don't own Yugioh or it's characters

Chapter 7: The road to devastation part 2

Mokuba didn’t know what to expect when they arrived at Industrial Illusion when he and his brother arrived at the HQ of the company that produced Duel Monsters…certainly not a giant explosion going off in the entry way the moment they landed…certainly not his friends strewn about on the floor or Lillian barely conscious as he and Seto rushed into the building…

 

What they heck was going on? Roland had tried to explain what was going on; telling them how Lillian had asked him to prepare the jet and get the Muto’s to safety because 2 goons that was part of this whole Oricalcos nonsense had arrived at the game shop and wanted to kidnap Yugi and his sister. Mokuba wasn’t like this at all. Why was all this happening now? If just seemed like they couldn’t catch a break these past few months. As soon as they got done dealing with one life threatening mad man another one showed its ugly face.

 

The youngest Kaiba watches as his brother rushes to his girlfriend side, hearing her call him some strange name, a nickname maybe? He watches as the colour drain from Seto’s face as he tries to keep his expression tries it’s best to remain emotionless as always but Mokuba knew better…He was worried for his brother, he could tell something had been bothering him since they escaped the virtual world. But he knew better than to ask him what was wrong. He just hoped he could work through it…

 

Seto remained behind with Lillian and surprisingly Joey volunteered to stay back too, wanting to make sure the raven head was alright after the blast…Mokuba could see the vein in Seto’s forehead throbbing as he watches the annoying blond was invading his space while checking on Lillian, continuously asking her if she was ok while the poor girl was trying to remain awake. Slowly the two boys started arguing over nonsense and throwing insults around while the other teens headed upstairs…

 

Mokuba stood in the doorway of the room they had found, the space filled with duel monster statues and paintings on the walls, in the centre of it played a hologram of Pegasus explaining what was going on to everyone…that the leviathan had existed nearly 10 000 years ago and nearly destroyed the world under the command of a man named Dartz and that he had now returned to once again raise the ancient beast. He tells them that there is a card hidden within the room that would help to defeat Dartz and take down the leviathan once and for all.

 

Mokuba wanted to roll his eyes as he watched his friends search the room. He had to admit that he found this all rather cool and interesting, like seriously a real life monster that they had to fight. Sounded like something out of a superhero movie or an anime. Unlike his big brother he didn’t dismiss the fantasy and supernatural things that happened around them. it was pretty obvious to see.

 

Eventually they found the card Pegasus had mentioned in a large ceramic Pot of Greed, how original. They headed back downstairs finding the lobby strangely empty…they headed outside to see Kaiba and Joey standing by the limo, their gaze fixed on a large plume of smoke in the distance…as if an explosion had gone off…

 

They all hopped in the long vehicle and headed in the direction of the smoke (because who wouldn’t run straight towards danger). They arrived at the remains of a large house that had been blown up…a little girl with blond hair and glasses kneeling before the remains of the building…

 

Turns out this was Rebecca Hawkins, the granddaughter of Professor Hawkins who had been Grandpa Muto’s lifelong friend and the man who had given him his Blue eyes card. Solomon had talked about him on numerous occasions while Yugi and Lillian were growing up, they even met the man a few times when grandpa had invited him over for dinner when he was in Domino for work. He was a sweet and kind man, he had brought Rebecca one or two times when he visited…

 

She was…an interesting child. She had a massive personality and was rather entitled all things considered. She liked to play with Yugi while the adults talked while dinner was being cooked, the spiky haired kid finding the blond girl a bit terrifying but still tried to be nice. Meanwhile Lillian had not been a fan and wasn’t afraid to put the brat in her place when she acted out.

 

The teens had gotten out of the limo as they checked out the remains of the burnt building, Rebecca running to Yugi and hugging him tightly as she cried, explaining how a group of bikers had shown up and took her grandfather before blowing up his house. She tells them that he had been working on his research that he obtained when he had discovered the remains of Atlantis. Yugi felt bad for the girl and wanted to help her. After all Professor Hawkins was grandpa’s friend and the teen was always ready to help someone in need…even though he wasn’t entirely sure how…

 

 

Night fell over the desert as the group of teens got settled in the professors trailer (mainly because the trip back to the city would take hours and everyone was rather exhausted after the day they all had and because they wanted to wait near the remains of the burnt down house in case the kidnappers returned).

 

And while Seto wanted nothing more than to leave and head back home with Mokuba and Lillian, his little brother had convinced him to stay for the night, stating that Lillian was in state to travel as she had been out since they left Industrial Illusions, her face becoming flushed as she had developed a fever. Rebecca got the bedroom in the trailer set up for the sick girl to rest in, Kaiba setting her down in the bed, making sure she was comfortable before getting a cool cloth to put over her forehead to try and cool her down…

 

He sat beside his girl, refusing to take his eyes off her for even a second as he ran his fingers through her raven locks, watching the few drops of sweat forming on her skin as her breathing was staggered. He wished he knew what was wrong with her, she had been fine when he last saw her and now she was sick all over again, covered in scrapes and bruises…not to mention the fact that he was sure he heard her calling him by his old name when he had arrived after Wheeler had duelled Mai…

 

He rubbed his forehead as he sighed, why couldn’t things be easier? He had enough stress as it is and now he had to deal with this? Not that he minded taking care of his love but he just wished that she wasn’t suffering like this and there was nothing he could do about it. He hated feeling helpless more than anything else…

 

He hears a faint noise as he turns his attention back to Lillian, seeing her eyes opening a little as she looked up at him, “S…Seto? Wh…when…did you get here?” he could see the confusion on her face, probably from the fever and nearly being blown up (if what Wheeler had said was to be believed). She tried to sit up but the brunet stopped her, resting his hand gently on her arm to keep her lying down, “Easy. You shouldn’t move around too much.” Lillian wanted to protest but she didn’t have the strength as she settled back down.

 

Her mind was foggy and her body was aching and hot, her skin felt uncomfortable and she was feeling nauseous again…this day had been beyond horrible. But at least she had her beloved beside her… “Where…where are we?” Seto took the cool cloth and gently dabbed it over her skin, “Out in the middle of the desert outside the remains of some guy’s house.” He mumbles softly as he ran his fingers over Lillian’s cheek, “Think they mentioned his name was Hawkins.”

 

The girl groaned softly before sighing. Of course he would be involved somehow. Grandpa had mentioned the professor had just returned from an expedition to explore the remains of Atlantis, “Great…” she rubbed her forehead, “Is everyone else ok?” she asks softly, Seto nods as he is quiet for a moment before glancing at her, “Wheeler’s worried about you…” he wasn’t normally a jealous man but she was his…his mate…………he means girlfriend.

 

Lillian gnawed on her lower lip for a moment; she understood why Joey had been concerned. After all he knew her biggest secret at the moment…but if the look in Seto’s eyes was any indication she should probably come clean…but was this really the right time?

 

“We both had a tumble off my bike back in Domino while we were trying to get away from…It’s not important.” She mumbles softly, “He’s just concerned, we’re friends after all.” That wasn’t exactly the answer he was expecting but something still wasn’t sitting right with him, he could tell she was hiding something and it was getting on his nerves. They never kept things from each other, not for a long time at least (and yes he was a hypocrite considering he had his own secret he had been keeping from her for a few weeks now).

 

“Look if you don’t want to tell me its fine, but don’t lie to my face.” He gets up and heads for the door, a part of his brain was telling him that he was overreacting and that what she said was true but the paranoid part of his brain was getting the better of him…

 

Lillian got up quickly, a wave of dizziness taking over as she nearly topples over, “Seto wait!” the tall teen had his hand on the door handle, glancing back for a split second, “Why can’t you tell me what’s going?” Lillian was swaying on her feet as she wrapped her arms around her midsection, this wasn’t how she wanted to tell him and she wasn’t even sure if she was ready to, “I…I just…” Seto had enough and yanks the door open, pushing past the other teens that had been busy with dinner before he gets out of the trailer.

 

He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair, staring up at the full moon in the sky. He should just take Mokuba and head back to Domino to try and save his company. He couldn’t deal with all of this right now. He hated all of this; he hated feeling like he had no control of anything…not to mention the pain of the past was crawling back into his mind. The pain he had felt after being separated from his beloved for so many years, his soul that had degraded with time and the sacrificed he had made to come find her. He wished things could be simpler…but then again his life had never been simple…not in this life time or even in his previous life…

 

He heard someone approaching him and turned to face them, seeing it was Lillian, tears in her eyes as the pale moon shone its light over them. He was too frustrated and overwhelmed to want to deal with any of this right now, “Look I don’t want to talk right now. Just give me some space and go back inside--”

 

“Seto I’m pregnant.”

 

The brunet stopped talking and stared at the raven head, his eyes falling on her arms that were wrapped around her stomach…a million things ran through his mind in that moment and yet for once in his life he was rendered speechless…

 

The tears started to run down Lillian’s cheeks, “I…I found out yesterday. And I…I was waiting f…for the right time but s…so much was h…happening.” She couldn’t read the expression on the others face as she spoke, fear of rejection was starting to buddle up inside her, “And…and I wasn’t e…even sure how I felt a…about this and if I …I even wanted this b…but then today…” she sniffles as her body becomes wrecked with sobs, “I…I thought…I…I nearly lost her…” she gripped her shirt as she hugged her stomach tighter, “…a…and I…I was s…so angry w…with myself and scared and just hmm?!”

 

She had been so lost in her ramblings that she hadn’t noticed her beloved walking over to her and pulling her close, pressing his lips to hers in a deep tender kiss as he cupped the back of her head while he wrapped his other arm around her waist, holding her as close as he could. Slowly she melted into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him as if her life depended on it, forgetting for a moment the turmoil she had been experiencing just a few moments ago…

 

They slowly parted to catch their breathes as Seto rested his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently wiping away the tears staining her pale skin as he stared deeply into her eyes, his expression still unreadable. Lillian was starting to become worried again as he stepped back, “S…Seto?” what happened next she wouldn’t have expected in a million years as Kaiba fell to his knees before her, gripping her sides as he rested his forehead against her stomach. Lillian felt the world slowing down as she didn’t know what to do as she watched his shoulder starting to tremble as if he had started to cry, his fingers curling as he gripped her shirt…swallowing the lump in her throat she was about to ask if he was alright when Seto stood up, lifting the girl in the air and spinning her around, a rare smile on the brunet’s face.

 

Out of everything that had happened these past few days, hearing this news had ignited a spark of joy in the normally cold man’s heart. Out of all the uncertainty and troubles, finding out that he was going to have a child…a child with the woman he had loved for so many years…the woman he thought he would never see again and had lost long ago…to be having the family he thought he would never have because of the cruel world that had caused him and his parents so much pain and suffering…and yet fate was giving him, giving them a chance of something beautiful…

 

Lillian couldn’t help the smile forming on her face as she was spun in the air, before being brought down and is held once again in the arms of the man she loved more than life itself. She pressed her forehead against Seto’s, cupping his cheeks. They didn’t need words in this moment as the actions between them spoke louder than anything that could’ve been said. Despite the horror that they were facing and the return of an old enemy, they had this little joy between them…Seto moved his hand to rest over the slight baby bump protruding on Lillian’s abdomen, the thought of his child…their child growing within her filled him with a feeling of pride and joy…Forgetting just for a moment the world and the struggles that they would soon have to face…

 

And with all this, Seto decided he would do anything this night…not wanting to wait any longer (and not even having had a fully thought out plan), he slowly stepped back and pulled out the small white box that he had been keeping in his pocket…getting down on one knee as Lillian stared at him with wide, covering her mouth with her hand as she once again teared up as without a word he opened the small box, revealing the white gold ring in the shape of her beloved’s dragon, a beautiful blue jewel set in the mouth of the creature…

 

Seto took a deep breath, “I’m not good when it comes to words from the heart but for once I know what I wanted to say…For a long time I felt lost in this world…I felt like a part of me was missing…a piece of my soul was out there somewhere…that I had been wondering alone for so many years…” he takes in a deep breath, “…for thousands of years I was without you…a part of me had lost hope that we would be reunited again…I had forgotten the life we had once shared…the promise we made…and yet here we are…” he couldn’t help the small smile forming on his face as he took her hand, “…the vow we made that day we said goodbye finally coming to fruition as we found each other again in this life…and…I never want to be apart again…I want to spend the rest of my days building or lives together…I love you…I will always love you…no matter where we end up…no matter who we might become…I will always find you and my heart and soul will always be yours…just as yours is mine…” he intertwines his fingers with hers as tears were running down Lillian’s cheeks.

 

Someway…somehow…despite everything he had remembered…how much he remembered she wasn’t sure but the man before her was a mix of the one she had said goodbye to so many years ago and the one she had grown to love all over again…she squeezed his hand as he asks, “Will you marry me?” Lillian didn’t trust herself speak so all so could do was nod, a sob filled with joy escaping her lips as she held out her left hand, Seto taking the ring and carefully sliding it onto her ring finger, the blue gem glimmering in the moon light as he stood up and pulled her into a passionate kiss once again, holding her tightly as he poured his love and devotion into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him, the smile never leaving her face as she felt his heart beating alongside hers, her soul singing as it reached out for his and his answered in kind, as if they swirled together before merging in a glorious brilliance of love and passion.

 

They were one again…they had found each other again and no matter what the world brought upon them, they would face it together…they would protect each other and stand alongside each other against any danger and evil the universe would throw at them…

 

 

Eventually they returned to the trailer, never having noticed that the teens inside had been spying on the couple through the windows…no one had heard a thing that was said but their actions told them everything they needed to know. Mokuba was overjoyed of course but Yugi on the other hand had mixed thoughts on the matter…not only was his sister expecting but…now she was engaged too…he felt like he was losing her in some way he wanted to be happy for her but…a part of him felt sorrow…

 

Yami was there however and eased the boys mind and heart, expressing that they would always be family and just because his sister was moving on to a new part of her life, he would not be alone…that he still had his friends, his mother, his grandfather and of course he still had Yami...promising to never leave his side no matter what…this seemed to cheer the short teen up a little, easing the turmoil in his heart.

 

The teens agreed to say nothing about what they had witnessed (despite Mokuba really wanting to) and would wait for their friend and her egotistical fiancé to tell them. They finished making dinner as the couple returned, heading straight to the bedroom so that Lillian could lie down, and the whole ordeal having taken a lot out of her. Seto returned to the kitchen to grab something to eat for the two of them without saying a word. He gave his little brother an out of character hug before returning to his beloved, the two of them eating supper together before lying down in bed together, Lillian resting her head on his chest as she had fallen into a peaceful sleep. Seto remained awake for a little while, his mind too busy to sleep as his fingers were lightly running over his beloved’s baby bump…thinking of the little girl that was growing within her…

 

They would need to eventually talk as it was clear that they both remembered their past lives and there were still questions that needed to be answered. But for now they would rest and wait for morning to come…

 

 

And oh boy did it bring a day with pain and regret…

 

After everyone had gone to sleep Yugi snuck out of the trailer with Rebecca…the girl had been searching the burnt remains of her grandfather’s house and found a note for the Pharaoh…challenging him to a duel and he needed to be in the valley by sunrise or Professor Hawkins would never be seen alive again…

 

Yugi and Yami agreed to accept the challenge and took Rebecca’s horse, the pharaoh taking over to ride it to the location where he came face to face with Raphael…

 

Little did either of them know that the Professor had arrived back at the trailer…Duke, Tristian and Joey being woken up by Rebecca to help her grandfather…she explained to them that Yugi had gone off on his own a few hours ago…so the trio took Duke’s card to go find their short haired teen…no one noticing the shadow figure that was following them…