#IT WOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON TEENAGE HELGA

[spiderwingz]

have recently learned that we almost got a tv show on the pataki family from hey arnold and i have never felt more robbed

#IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO GOOD #IT WOULD HAVE FOCUSED ON TEENAGE HELGA #BUT IT WAS TOO MUCH FOR NICK AND TOO SIMILIAR FOR MTV AT THE TIME #helga as a character just means so fucking much to me #her and her whole family dynamic and how that affects everything about her #i could go insane #i could go into heavy detail #i have been rewatching this show and it has dug up so many old feelings #and brought up new ones #i love it so much #words #hey arnold #hey arnold! #btz.txt

[whythehellnaut]

The secret brilliance behind Nickelodeon All Star Brawl‘s marketing

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the Nickelodeon fighting game after it was announced, progressing from mild interest to ironic excitement to unironic excitement for it.  So many jokes and memes have been made about it that they’re almost impossible to avoid.  But when I thought about it, I realized that that’s exactly what the marketing team for this game wanted.  The idea of the game is so absurd that no one would expect it to exist, but they figured out a way to make absolutely sure that it would create just the right buzz to get people like me to take serious interest in it.

Watching the trailer again, I figured out that every character they picked to showcase in that minute and a half trailer were carefully and strategically chosen to cater to as many people as they could.  Even the order of their appearance had deliberation behind it.  Here are my thoughts:

Michelangelo comes first, establishing that the game is combat focused.  After all, who better to show off first for a fighting game than a character that has already appeared as a playable character in at least two of them?  Plus, the Ninja Turtles are the oldest characters in Nickelodeon’s library when you consider that they first aired in the 80′s, before Nickelodeon even started making cartoons.  This is a character that everyone recognizes, parents included.

Lincoln Loud comes next, a more modern character that adults might not know but kids will.  This is to quickly lure the kids, who have less patience than adults, into watching the rest of the trailer, assuring them that it won’t just be older characters like the turtles that show up.

Powdered Toast Man comes next to snatch up the other side of the equation, the adults/90′s kids who remember him from the original Ren and Stimpy show from 1991.  I’m not sure if it’s still airing as reruns on Nick today, but considering I hear very little about the show online, I’m guessing not.  This is a bit of a surprise to the adults who thought it’d be a kids’ game, so it lures those folks into staying for the rest of the trailer as well.

Sandy is important to show off early for a number of reasons.  Spongebob is popular among kids and Millenials, and is arguably the only property here as well known as Ninja Turtles, so they’re luring in more fans.  It also serves to imply that other Spongebob characters will join, as, even though Sandy’s passion for karate makes total sense for her to appear in a fighting game, you still can’t leave out Spongebob himself.  Showing her first implies more possibilities of characters to come, proving it won’t just be a festival of protagonists like Jump Force was.  It also shows off their female representation to keep women interested.

Patrick is just a fan favorite to get out of the way before the sponge shows up, so he’s only here to confirm that the game is going to be full of characters that people actually want to see.

Oblina was personally a shocker to me, as I barely remember Ahh Real Monsters from my own childhood, but I remember enough to know that she wasn’t the protagonist, necessarily.  I also know it’s relatively obscure in comparison to Spongebob or Ren and Stimpy, so they proved that they are willing to take characters from more obscure shows that the young kids won’t remember.  This solidified my interest as I could tell that they are doing more to cater to the 90s generation than just confirming Powdered Toast Man.

Nigel Thornberry is arguably their most important addition at the halfway point.  Outside of Spongebob characters and maybe Stu Pickles, I would say Nigel is the internet’s favorite Nickelodeon character to use for memes.  The marketing team had to have known this.  After getting some of the core audiences hooked, they now have the memer crowd invested, ready to spread the word about the insanity of this game’s premise across the internet.  This is exactly what happened, and why the trailer has 2 million views on Youtube right now.

Lucy Loud is shown off quickly to remind the younger crowd to keep watching, and to add a little bit more female representation.

Spongebob is shown off a little bit late, but since we were expecting him to show up, it’s just to make sure the casual fans who only know the big names stay watching.

Helga is an older character, but I recently saw a young kid wearing a Hey Arnold tee shirt at the supermarket, so I’m positive it’s being shown as reruns on Nick today, so most Nick fans of all ages will be excited about her.  Moreover, since she came immediately after Spongebob, who is a protagonist that was introduced after Sandy, a side character from his show, it gives an implication that Arnold will also appear.  Although he is not introduced in this trailer, it allows the fans to speculate that he will soon be showcased, perhaps in the next trailer.  Also, she’s the fourth female character shown, confirming that the game is being fair and inclusive to both sexes and not simply catering to male gamers, like say, Jump Force or Dragonball Fighter Z.

Reptar is another shocker, because although Rugrats is very popular and well known throughout the generations, he is a very, very minor character in the show.  He is literally a fictional character within a separate fictional universe.  The marketing team threw him in to show off that just about any character from any Nick property, no matter how minor or obscure, has a chance of making it into this game.  Again, this forces the fans to speculate about future announcements with even more creative thinking, as we now know that it won’t just be major characters joining the fray.

Zim is a well thought out choice because he caters to a specific crowd that I’d describe as the alternative niche.  That is to say, there are people who are fans of Invader Zim who don’t watch other Nick shows, so they are luring in the folks you’d expect to see at Hot Topic and the like.  It was an edgy show with a feel and fanbase unlike other shows of its era, so it’s important to use him to diversify the roster.  They also showed off Gir as his assist, and although that may deconfirm him as playable, it still pleases the fans, who often prefer Gir over Zim.

Danny Phantom is the only character that comes strictly from the 2000s era, so they are making sure to maintain the attention of the teenagers who watched that show as kids.

Leonardo seems like an odd choice to end on, maybe even anticlimactic, since they started with Michelangelo, but it makes sense when you think about it.  They couldn’t show just 1 turtle, or else it might imply that the game’s roster was small.  But if they showed all 4 turtles, they would have needed to leave two other characters out of the trailer to make room for them, and they didn’t want to make it look like a Turtles fighting game with guest characters.  So having exactly 2 turtles allows them to show off enough characters from other properties, while also confirming unofficially that the other turtles would appear later, since you can’t just have 2 of the 4 turtles in the game.  By leaving it open like that, they’re giving an implication that the roster is going to be huge.  So big that the turtles were just a small portion of it.  They end the trailer this way to leave the crowd speculating again: how many characters will appear in total?

The only characters that curiously don’t show up in the trailer are the cast of the Avatar franchise, who are quite popular.  However, one of the stages shown is clearly the Air Temple with Aang’s glider in plain sight, implying that Avatar characters will be announced later.  Another smart move to instill hope in the fans.

Finally, the Rollback Netcode announcement that came afterward solidified a very important group- the serious/competitive gamers.  For those who don’t know, rollback netcode is relatively new technology that speeds up online gameplay to cut down on input lag, which is super important for fighting games in particular, as they rely on strict timing more than other game genres.  It’s so new, however, that not all competitive fighting games use it.  Popular tournament fighters like Super Smash Bros, Tekken, and Dragonball Fighter Z have not implemented rollback netcode for their games yet, so of all games, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl beating them to the punch is causing a stir.  This is a sign that the devs are putting serious effort into making the game enjoyable online, which could potentially help its chances to be taken seriously in competitive settings.  Only time will tell if that truly happens, but it’s a sign of quality, nonetheless.

So ultimately, this short trailer and announcement manage to cater to dang near every crowd that may want to play it: Kids, teenagers, young adults in their 20s and 30s, parents in their 40s, men, women, memers, casual fans, alternative fans, and serious gamers, and opens up a ton of potential for speculation regarding new announcements.  That’s a fantastic way to start off and explains why this game, which for all intents and purposes should have been nothing more than a thought experiment that people joke about in the car with friends, has been trending so much for the past two weeks.  Congrats to the marketing team for what they put together.

#Nickelodeon #nickelodeon all star brawl #fighting games #fgc

[hellstenglow]

Hogwarts AU

Anyway, here where I (me and my personal opinion) will sort the Hargreeves in the classical Hogwarts houses. Shippy headcanons (mention of fiveya and alluther, if you don’t like, don’t click) and scenarios included, because my brain can’t help it. I also think I want to write this into a fanfiction, but I have not the time and I am not confident enough in my skill at the moment? Yeah, I just vomit a lot of words. 

Five – Ravenclaw. People would put him in Slytherin because he can be ruthless, but I see his clever brain being his prominent feature. He loves knowledge, he just focuses on what he loves the most of course (math, physics in real world). He is also cocky and smug about his own abilities and intelligence, which is a side-effect on a lot of Ravenclaw. They think they know better. He thinks the same. I can see him excelling in Arithmancy since it’s the Math of Magic.

Ben – Ravenclaw. He likes books and he is pretty rational most of the time. He has a gift with words and with them he reaches people’s heart. He doesn’t notice a lot of people have a crush on him, because he is good looking, a funny sensitive guy and when he starts talking about the beauty of latest discovery on Runology people are influenced by his passion. Yes, he is definitely good in Ancient Runes.

I like the idea of my favourite boys being in the same house. I am sure Five would insult Ravenclaw’s eagle knocker every time he can’t get inside their dormitory, because the eagle goes all philosophic and Five has no time for that. Ben always gets the answers right.

Ben: “It’s about the perception of the question, not the accuracy of the answer per se.” after Five flipped at the guardian of their house once again that week.

Five *snikers*: “Bullshit, Ben. The Eagle just hates my guts since the first year I called him an obnoxious opinionated rusty emblazonment.”

Ben: “I am sure Rowena Ravenclaw would have loved to listen you insulting her enchanted knocker! But may I remind you, you cannot threaten to melt him in an ashtray every day and demand him to like you.

Klaus – Hufflepuff. He is so random and full of chaotic energy, Hufflepuff can be that. He is also very empathic and has a very acute emotional intelligence. He is better at school subjects than what people gave him credit. Since in the wizarding world ghosts are more common than the muggle world, he learned to not be afraid of them. They do not have superpowers in such AU, they’re already magical so seeing ghosts isn’t something special. I imagine him having a sort of sixth sense though, not powerful enough to be a Seer but good enough to have amazing intuitions. He had tons of fun in the Divination class, because he can talk for hours about random sh*t (remember the frog and the scorpion) and it sounds like a prophetic genius. 

Vanya – Hufflepuff. People always look down on this house because they are “the rest” and their good features are loyalty and just. What’s wrong with being loyal and just? Helga Hufflepuff thought everyone with magic deserve an education when she decided she would take everyone else the other four didn’t want. That’s an educator, great Helga! This house encourages the students to be proud of who they are. Vanya being in a house that welcome people and treat the students equally is a fitting choice for me, she would love the warming dormitory too. Vanya is loyal to the people she loves and at the core she is a good person. Extra points for the fact you must get the right musical rhythm to open the secret entrance. She nailed it. She joined the Hogwarts Orchestra in the Third Year and have a wicked talent for Charms. (I am biased because I am an Hufflepuff, but my house is good!).

I imagine Ben and Klaus’ friendship being the reason why Five and Vanya’s orbits collided at the beginning. One day Klaus drags Vanya with him in one of the study rooms to join a study group for the next Transfiguration test “Benny is funny and adorable, but he is also bringing this other super nerd Ravenclaw who is kinda of a jerk. I CANNOT deal with studying Transfiguration and two brain-suckers at once. You are my emotional support.”

Vanya accepts because she had to prepare for the same test anyway and she already knows Ben, she likes him. So, they met, everything is fine except for the fact Five is being his snarky self. Then I imagine Vanya saying something very witty at him to shut him up and suddenly Five feels a sort of sparkle inside (brain Five: Oh. Wait.). 

He doesn’t expect such a counterattack from this seemingly timid shy Hufflepuff girl. By the way he has noticed her since the third year, when she casted an actual Patronus charm during a lesson in DADA (Yes, Vanya is a powerful witch). Five was VERY impressed that day (probably turned on, but he is a teenager that’s normal. Hormones suck). However his brain didn’t catch up the hints from his heart until that moment in the study hall. 

Allison – Slytherin. I could put her in Gryffindor, but I like the idea that she subverts the typical image of a Slytherin. She is cunny, clever and ambitious like any Slytherin can be, she also doesn’t mind being at the center of the attention. However, she is also caring, kind and a social butterfly among her peers. She befriends Vanya because she genuinely likes her, who care if she is of another house. She certainly doesn’t care if his boyfriend Luther is a Gryffindor, the “enemy” of their house. No Slytherin bullies can ever have the best on her, she hex them before they can blink. Excellent in Cure of the Magical Creatures and Transfiguration.

Luther – Gryffindor. He wants to do the right thing and showing it. Big body, bigger heart. Quidditch player in the house team, probably a chaser. He is doing it just because Diego asked, he is more into Astronomy and Herbology (he was very caring with his little plant on the base on the Moon, I like the idea he is good with plants in general) than sports. I mean, if not Gryffindor where else?

Diego – Gryffindor. In this reality he doesn’t have such a bad hero complext, but he has a strong sense of justice and he wants validation through his good actions. He does them because he is a brave of course, but also because he’s a little show-off like any Gryffindor on monday morning. Captain of the Quidditch team, a chaser and he loves to participate at the duel club (a proper duel club, not the fake one created by Lockhart years before). He is good on Defence against the Dark Arts. He wants to be an Auror.

Klaus convinces Diego to join the “How long it will take for Five and Vanya to finally confess their feelings and snog in one of the broom closets?” bet he made with Ben. Allison and Luther try to help them by organizing a double date at Hogsmeade, one of the weekends when the students are allowed to visit the village. Five almost chokes his own twin brother (YES, Luther and Five are twin brothers canon in this AU. Like in the comics. It’s my guilty pleasure okay) for tricking him, altough the plan worked at the end of the day. Ben wins the bet. 

#Fiveya #Alluther #Hogwarts AU #TUA AU #headcanon #my headcanons #my scenarios #things I should just write into a fanfiction #I think I will write this into a fanfiction #I post this again because I want to fight TUMBLR AGAIN #Hargreeves siblings

[cdt12345]

I just finished answering one of these and now I wanna know yours. Top 10 straight OTPs?

1.) Ben and Leslie - Parks and Recreation

If this was my OTPs list, they’d be second after Gallavich, but since this is straight couples, they have to be my number one. Amy Poehler and Adam Scott had great chemistry. Adam Scott played a lot of creepy/bad guys before this. So, when he showed up in Pawnee, I didn’t know what to make of him when he came in at the end of season 2. Pretty quickly I realized I was not only going to love the character of Ben Wyatt but we finally found Leslie Knope’s perfect match! I’ll never forget the moment I knew I was going to ship them. It was at the Freddy Spaghetti concert when Ben helped Leslie after he was against doing the concert in the first place. As soon as I saw Ben give Leslie that look as she walked away, I knew I was all in with this ship. That’s all it took! Leslie finally met someone who got her, admired her, was in awe of her, and was so supportive of her and her ambitions. They were both willing to put their jobs at risk by making their relationship known. And if you know Leslie Knope, her job is her life. Leslie’s love for Ben’s butt is also something I loved. Their love for each other is so beautiful and one of my favorite things about this amazing show.

2.) Ava and Boyd - Justified

Joelle Carter and Walton Goggins did amazing work together onscreen. Ava and Boyd Crowder did not have the most conventional start to their romantic relationship, seeing as Ava was married to Boyd’s brother. For me, that is a deal-breaker! I know they’re not blood relatives but it’s still weird to me when in-laws get together. In the pilot, we learn Ava has just killed her husband in self-defense and Boyd was supposed to be killed off in that episode. The powers that be, loved both Joelle and Walton so much they brought them back for more and they were series regulars for the rest of the series run. To keep Ava part of the storyline, they had Boyd staying at Ava’s house in season 2. It all evolved from there. I had no intention of shipping these two during season 1, but by season 2, I was all about Ava and Boyd getting together. They were the true definition of a power couple. They even had matching bullet scares on their chest! They stood side by side as a strong force against anyone who tried to overpower them or intimidate them in their growing criminal enterprise. Boyd really saw Ava, treated her with respect, and saw her as his equal. They had a long history, even went to the same high school together. I always love a couple who has known each other since they were kids. I never thought I would root for current or former in-laws, but it was hard not to fall in love with them.

3.) Jess and Nick - New Girl

I knew I was going to ship them from the very first episode. They are everything I love in a good ship, complete opposites who bring out the best in each other, who are also friends. Over the years, any time Jess would describe her perfect man, she was always describing Nick without realizing it. Once she was asked what her dream guy would be, and she said Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men and Nick fits that perfectly. He really is like a grumpy old man. There was nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other. One example of this was when Jess burns her finger on a cigarette lighter in the car and Nick puts his finger in the cigarette lighter so they would be in the same amount of pain. Who even does that?! I was so happy when they finally had their first kiss and when they officially got together. Those are some of my favorite episodes when they were finally dating. Any time they dated anyone else it became even more clear how much better they are together. They never fit with anyone else as well as they fit together. They really were perfect for each other.

4.) Corey and Topanga - Boy Meets World

Corey and Topanga are the OG’s of childhood sweethearts on TV. They’ve known each other their whole lives and were very believable in their genuine love for each other. It’s not always easy to believe that people who get married that young can make it work, but these two always seemed to defy those odds. They got married during their sophomore year of college. Today I would be like whoa that’s too soon to get married! But they felt so right together, I believe I would still think they made the right choice. I may be biased because I grew up watching this show and I was even younger than them at that time, but it always felt like they were meant to be. I still remember what a big deal their wedding was. My friends and I were so excited about that episode. They clearly did do the right thing because the show came back as Girl Meets World, which was more focused on their daughter than them, so of course, I wasn’t planning on watching all that. The only good thing to come out of that reboot, for me, was to get confirmation that Corey and Topanga were still together and had two kids. 

5.) Arnold and Helga - Hey Arnold!

This was a very one-sided crush on Helga’s part for years! This was another show I grew up on. I shipped them so hard because Helga was obsessively in love with Arnold. It definitely wasn’t a healthy obsession, but she really loved him. It was hard not to root for her. She fell in love with him when he was the first to notice her and be nice to her on their first day of preschool. A part of me could identify with her at that time in my life. I was in 5th grade and was experiencing my first love too. She was always so mean to Arnold because she was terrified for anyone to even suspect she had a major crush on him. The best way to describe Arnold is through Helga’s own words, he’s “a funny little football-headed kid with a good heart but no sense of reality”. Helga was realistic and tough but very poetic and sweet in private. In 2017, when Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie came out, I was really hoping she would finally come clean with Arnold about her feelings. It FINALLY happened! That was 21 years in the making. Talk about slow burn!

6.) Tiffani and Jake - California Dreams

Jake and Tiffani are one of my very first ships ever. They were high school students who were in a band called California Dreams together. They were like night and day. She was the surfer type, who was positive, sunny, and friendly. Whereas Jake was a biker type who scared everyone. They were even too scared to let him audition for the band. He played guitar and would sometimes sing and write some of their songs. He wasn’t the main singer of the band, but he would sing every once in a while. She played the bass and would sometimes sing too. They did have a breakup that was heartbreaking for me. He dated their friend Lorena for a short time, and it felt so forced and didn’t work at all. Again, I could be biased because I love Jake and Tiffani, but Jake himself and Lorena realized they didn’t work either. That’s when Jake realized he was still very much in love with Tiffani, and they got back together. This show also had the best theme song ever! I sing it every single time I hear it and when I do hear it, it’s stuck in my head all day.

7.) Monica and Chandler - Friends

I always preferred Monica and Chandler over Ross and Rachel. They were never on and off like Ross and Rachel, which would get tiresome. We never had to deal with that with Monica and Chandler. Obviously, they are friends and know each other so well that it was easy for them to get through anything because of it.

8.) Castle and Beckett - Castle

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett had amazing chemistry, even after the actors themselves were no longer getting along behind the scenes. I am amazed at how they were still able to be so believable at being very much in love with each other. Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist, and Beckett, a New York City homicide detective. Castle is inspired by Beckett and she becomes his muse for a new book he is writing. Castle uses his connections with the mayor to force the police to let him shadow Beckett. Their personalities clash in the beginning but they soon find their groove and become friends and great partners at solving crimes. The will they, won’t they was excruciating at times but paid off when they finally got together.

9.) Sabrina and Harvey - Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina and Harvey were such a cute couple. I already went into this show knowing they were meant to be because of the Sabrina comic books. Harvey was always the boyfriend. So, when Harvey left the show after season 4, I was surprised and saddened. Especially, since Harvey had finally learned about her powers. He did guest star in season 5 but was brought back for the last two seasons. I really loved when he came back because Sabrina and Harvey’s relationship was so much better after he knew about her powers. They didn’t get back together and were only friends but whenever things got complicated, he was there to help her now that he knew she was a witch. She didn’t have to hide who she really was or lie to him anymore and I really loved how that changed their relationship. Sabrina was dating someone else at this time and was going to marry this other guy, but she doesn’t go through with it. For once I can actually say Sabrina and Harvey are soulmates and really mean it! Remember she is a witch and has a soul stone and Harvey was given one too. Harvey is waiting for Sabrina outside the church when she comes out and they kiss. Their soul stones drop to the ground and fit perfectly at 12:36pm, the exact time they first met seven years ago.Then they drive off together in his motorcycle.

10.) Kelly and Zack - Saved by The Bell

Who didn’t grow up in the 90′s and wasn’t shipping Zack and Kelly? I thought they were the most gorgeous couple I had ever seen. Saved by The Bell: The College Years wasn’t a great show, but I was happy to see Zack and Kelly went to the same college, and eventually, we got to see them get married in a TV movie with Saved by The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.

#parks and recreation #leslie knope #ben wyatt #ava crowder #boyd crowder #justified #new girl #jessica day #nick miller #boy meets world #hey arnold #california dreams #friends #castle #caskett #sabrina the teenage witch #saved by the bell

[polkahotness]

SHORTAKI WEEK DAY 1

FFN // AO3 

               Long Gone

Sometimes when I look at Helga, it's difficult to remember what it was like before we admitted our feelings for each other. Granted, Helga had admitted her feelings to me countless times and on numerous different occasions, but I had never been all that great at that sort of thing in response.

I supposed that my 'love language' just wasn't the same as hers and it made navigating through our relationship a tumultuous and difficult process at times.

Helga had always been so good with words—her feelings, though oftentimes hidden deep inside, were always so well-articulated. When she wanted to give up the truth behind them, her sentences were thoughtful; poetic, and they came out of her mouth with ease, despite inwardly struggling with that piece of vulnerability.

But me?

It seemed that I still hadn't quite figured out how to best voice my feelings.

It wasn't that I had a problem voicing them—I had no issue whatsoever telling Helga, Gerald, my next-door neighbor, or the entire world how I felt about her. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that I couldn't do it well. My attempts were often clumsy, and I had the tendency to ramble and stumble over each word like I was once again learning how to speak for the first time in my life.

Thankfully, Helga never held it against me. In fact, her response to my feeble attempts usually sounded something like, "Still struggling with that word thing, are we, footballhead?" Then she'd let out this soft little laugh while I blushed and would open my mouth to try and dispute her, though she never let me get that far. "I get it, babe. You love me. And I love you—" then she'd pause and smack my butt while following it up with, "—and that cute little ass of yours."

A lifetime of confusing feelings had changed a lot in the dynamic between Helga and myself—the last six of those years cementing our relationship in a way that 10-year-old-me could have never imagined.

We were the couple people oogled over. Our stories of the bully and the victim turning into lovers was one for the ages, and we never grew tired of talking about it or reminiscing over the foolish children we once were. While anyone with eyes could see the love that we held for one another, it was always Helga who seemed to vocalize it best. As the self-appointed designated speaker, she was usually the one who told our complicated love story as I draped my arm over her shoulders to hold her into me wherever it was that we sat.

Helga had figured out in our time together that I was the shower, and not the teller. My love for her looked like me making dinner when I knew she had a hard day at work and would be too tired to even heat up a tv dinner. It looked like me rubbing her feet while she lay unsuspecting on the couch with her legs on my lap as we binge-watched another series. My love was shown through buying her that book she'd been talking about for three weeks because it was the long-awaited follow-up to her favorite author's poetry book—and I'd even gotten the limited edition copy with the ornately designed cover and gold-lined pages because, while she'd never say it, I knew she preferred the special copy over the boring (and cheaper) paperback version.

It was all of those little things and more that told Helga how much I loved her. But all of those little things could never express what I needed to tell her next. The emotions and feelings I had to say this time around would require me to put my strengths of showing and my weaknesses of telling together so I could be bolder than I'd ever been before.

Because there was nothing in the world that I wouldn't do for her.

It may have taken us a while to realize just how deeply our love for one another went. Even after we'd admitted our feelings, we struggled to get to a place where we mutually realized we were each other's end game. I'm sure Helga already knew this fact because she seemed to have always known, even when we were children, but me? It had taken me much longer.

With Helga, I was always just a few steps behind.

But it was okay.

Helga always managed to wait patiently…always somehow knowing that I was making my way to her.

Throughout our years of syncopated dating habits, a funny thing happened that I could never push away. Helga never left my mind. No matter where I was or what I was doing with who, Helga always remained. It may have taken until we both hit 21 for the stars to officially align, but that night six years ago when we reconnected on our favorite bar's balcony that overlooked the bright lights of Hillwood… that night forever changed my life.

I could only hope it would provide that same luck tonight as we stood together, once again, on the bar's balcony while looking out at our hometown on a quiet autumn evening.

"You know, Arnoldo," Helga said after taking a swig from the bottle she was holding, "I was kind of surprised you wanted to come to this joint on our anniversary of all days."

Smirking at her statement, I shrugged my shoulders. "The balcony here is nice. I like looking out at the city, don't you?"

"Well, sure," she replied while focusing her attention out on the dotted lights of the faraway buildings that made up the skyline. "But we could have easily done it from somewhere less…" Twisting her body, she glanced behind herself towards the hubbub of noise from within the bar. Turning back around, she returned her gaze outward while finishing her sentiment. "I don't know, somewhere less… cheesy."

"Cheesy?" I intoned while eyeing her carefully. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know," she simply said while fixating her eyes ahead without so much as a flinch in my direction. "Taking me to the same place where we first 'officially' rekindled our relationship. I guess I would have thought you'd pick some fancy-pants restaurant to propose to me at."

My jaw instinctively dropped as I stared at Helga with my mouth agape.

Slowly she turned her head to look at me with a wicked grin. "I like the sentimentality part though," she offered as some kind of consolation prize. "But if you were to take us back somewhere and be all romantic by talking about the past, I would have chosen P.S 118 or something. Now that's a good throwback."

I was still in shock as she spoke; my mind not comprehending that Helga had so easily figured out my plans and then called me out on them without so much as a care in the world.

It seemed that, yet again, Helga was still one step ahead of me.

"But you… how did you… but," I shook my head while struggling to force out a somewhat-coherent response. "Didn't you, how could you have—"

"Arnold," she deadpanned, though a hint of a smile twitched at the corner of her lips, "You were at Gerald's for four hours the other day. You really think I didn't hear about your little 'plans' from Phoebe?"

"Phoebe told you?" I repeated in shock. "Phoebe. She's smarter than that, Helga. Why on earth would she think it was okay to tell you something this important?!" I exclaimed and Helga remained unphased; merely tilting her head in thought before looking away from me again.

Casually, she explained, "I never said she thought it was okay. I mean, criminy, I practically had to force it out of her."

"And you did that because…?"

Helga let out a chuckle before fully turning her entire body to face me directly. "I've been waiting for you to propose to me for years now, Arnold. Years." I could feel heat beginning to rise and fill in my cheeks. "Honestly, I was about ready to propose to you, and then Phoebe kept telling me that I couldn't do that because our anniversary was coming up so then I told her that it was the perfect time to propose, then one thing led to another and—"

"She didn't actually tell you, then, did she." I finished for her in a statement rather than a question, and Helga let out a heavy sigh.

"She didn't have to tell me," Helga said with a twinge of humor beneath her tone. "By the way she acted, I knew immediately what you were up to."

Silence settled between us and I fought the urge to explode in anger, frustration, and sheer disappointment. How was it that I was still so incapable of surprising Helga? How was it that even after all of this time, I was still that dense little boy unable to catch up to Helga and be the first to admit something for once.

How was it that I was somehow perpetually in the fourth grade, avoiding acting on my feelings?

Impulsively, I grabbed Helga's hand and began pulling her towards the inside of the bar, "C'mon," I told her as she followed along with an inquisitive set of eyes. "We're going somewhere."

"Where?" She scoffed out. "I thought you were going to ask me to marry you…"

"Oh, I am," I answered immediately and in a firm tone. "But I'm not doing it here."

"Ahh, a field trip, I see," Helga replied as we dodged and weaved our way through the drunken crowd of dancers cluttering the small bar. "And just where is it you have decided to take me for this romantic gesture?"

"Somewhere you won't be expecting this time," I told her with about 86% certainty. "At least… I hope."

As she set her half-empty bottle on a table that we passed by in pursuit of the door out, we finally exited the bar and began making our way down the sidewalk. I led us forward with determination while Helga trailed along in my wake; her longer legs allowing her to keep at my pace with ease.

"Seriously, what are you up to, Hair Boy?" Her tone was becoming almost nervous, and it only heightened my confidence that this new destination was where I should have brought her in the first place. It was a deep-seeded memory that we hadn't discussed since we were teenagers. This had to be the perfect place for a proposal.

This had to be it.

Continuing to drag her along, Helga's eyes shifted to take in her surroundings. Her brows furrowed as she tried to piece together the strange environment that I was leading her through—an old part of Hillwood that had been long forgotten. Most everything on each block had either been abandoned or demolished; the promises of new complexes and mini-malls now only graffitied rubble lost to the recent economic recession.

"Do you even know where we are?" Helga continued to try and coax my true purpose out of me. "You do realize that if we're lost, I am not paying for the taxi back."

It was a backhanded joke that signaled Helga was out of her element. I knew her tactics by now and she was currently baffled as to what was in store. The fact that I was going to propose tonight was already out in the open and there was no pretending it wasn't still going to happen. The way it was going to happen, however… now that was going to be vastly different.

I just hoped I was going to be able to pull it off. I didn't exactly have the greatest track record with speaking my feelings on the fly, but maybe that was for the best. In fact, by doing this completely unrehearsed, Helga would know that my words—as jumbled and clunky as they may come out—would be directly from the heart, my heart. Unrehearsed. Unpolished. Unfiltered.

Pulling Helga to a stop as we reached the corner of an unassuming block hidden in the outskirts of Hillwood, the two of us stood in place in front of a small building. Inside the window was a faded, 'For Lease' sign, and the cement that made up the foundation was filled with cracks that had allowed wild weeds to spurt from the ground and wiggle their way up towards the sky. At first glance, the building was old and decrepit—absolutely nothing special and certainly not somewhere worthy of a marriage proposal.

Glancing around at where I'd brought her, Helga eyed the building carefully before slowly turning to face me. "An abandoned building? What's so special about this place? There's nothing here."

"Exactly," I answered as Helga's brow raised in curiosity. "There isn't anything here. Not now, anyway." Looking over my shoulder, I gestured towards the dilapidated structure before continuing my thought. "It's been a lot of different things in the past, though."

"Oh really?" Helga humored me while letting go of my hand to cross her arms loosely over her chest. "Like what?"

"A clothing boutique. A tailoring company. I'm pretty sure there was a craft store in here too at one point—"

"What in the hell does any of that have to do with—" Helga interrupted, though I didn't allow her to keep talking.

Instead, I finished my sentence by asserting dominance and talking over her as she unsuccessfully tried to speak over me. "—but before all of that, this was a daycare."

Helga's eyes widened minimally, though she remained silent as if to give me the chance to continue.

And that's exactly what I did.

"Not so much a daycare as it was a pre-school, though."

More silence settled between us as Helga's eyes drifted from mine to look at the run-down building she hadn't recognized. "Urban Tots," she muttered out as though it were an afterthought rather than a declaration of acknowledgement.

At her fixation towards our old pre-school, I took the opportunity to shakily get down on one knee; my hand fumbling to reach the small box I'd been hiding inside the pocket of the jeans I was wearing. Pulling it out, Helga's eyes returned to me; water gathering at the base of her vision as she looked down at me with laser-focus.

"Helga," I began precariously, though I tried to keep myself calm as I turned the blue-velvet box over and over in my hands anxiously. "As you've proven tonight, you are and always have been one step ahead of me. Since the moment we met, something in you had the wherewithal to know that we weren't just classmates in some random neighborhood in a random city in this random universe we find ourselves living in. Something inside of you knew that we were more than that. It knew… you knew that we were so much more, that we were… that we are, soulmates."

"Arnold," Helga breathed out, but I held up a finger to stop her from saying anything else and throwing me off of my groove.

"Do you remember when we were fifteen?" I started and Helga smirked while staring at me incredulously. "You told me that you had loved me from the moment you first saw me which, to be fair, wasn't the first time you'd told me that, but I asked you when that was, when you had first seen me."

A small laugh escaped Helga as she recalled the moment I was referencing. "You'd never asked me that before. It was a stupid question."

"Not really," I countered while adjusting from where I knelt on the pavement; my knee suddenly telling me that I'd chosen the wrong time to begin kneeling. Unfortunately, it was definitely too late now to get back up, so I instead took a deep breath to calm my angry kneecap and proceeded with my story. "It's funny because the memories that I have of you and things you've done or random conversations and moments we've shared… they're different than your memories."

"How do you figure?" Helga pressed and I knitted my brows together while trying to find the most effective way to explain my thoughts.

"You have a whole other set of memories that I don't remember because, at the time, they didn't mean anything to me yet. Just like some of my memories don't align with yours because they weren't as significant to you as they were to me in that moment." I took in a sharp breath before finalizing, "A lot of your memories are different because you've known about us a lot longer than I ever did."

"Long before there even was an us, you dingus," Helga chuckled out, and I rolled my eyes at her comment.

"Anyway," I emphasized before pressing onward. "You told me all about that day, that day back at Urban Tots when we apparently first met—a memory I had never actively remembered but suddenly did as you told your side of the story. It was one of the first times you broke down that wall, completely destroyed it to bare your soul to me without insults or nicknames or jokes to cover up the raw truth. You told me about what happened before you got to the pre-school, about Olga and your parents and the rain and your lunch and-and…"

I had to stop myself because the rambling had begun to rear its ugly head. Taking a moment to collect myself, I inhaled deeply before re-routing my conversational direction so I could get back on track with the task at hand.

"I never forgot that story," I admitted while looking down at the ring box I was still playing with in my grip. "You went back to the casual bullying and nicknames, both of us knowing how we felt about each other, but I never forgot that story. Each night I'd lay in my bed staring up through the skylight at the stars and imagine that memory I'd forgotten over and over again. Your pink overalls covered in mud. That sad look in your eye. It was like you'd never been loved… like you didn't know what it meant to be loved or to love another person."

Helga chewed on her lip for a moment as though trying to find the right thing to say—something she didn't typically struggle with. After a moment, she settled on, "What's your point. Aren't proposals supposed to be romantic or something? Not some… excuse to go drudging up my messed-up past and all of the memories that I've worked really hard to forget—"

"I know, I know," I tried to subdue her before she could indulge any further in the anger that was rapidly bubbling up inside of her. "What I am saying, is that the little girl who stood right here all of those years ago… that unloved toddler is gone now, Helga. She's long gone, okay?"

Her deep azure gaze bore into me as I kept talking; my knee now completely numbed from any pain or feeling as my body began to follow suit from nervousness alone. "The woman who stands before me isstill the same feisty, stubborn, thoughtful, smart, talented… and amazing person she has always been, but unloved?" I shook my head a couple of times. "That girl from long ago and the woman of now and forevermore is not unloved. She never will be or feel unloved, ever again. And that's something that I can and do promise you."

With that, I at last presented the box and carefully opened it to reveal a golden engagement ring with an opal at its center. Surrounding the stone was a halo of small diamonds; the ring itself appearing as the most dazzling of flowers attached to a plain gold band. The ring sparkled effortlessly under the glow of the moonlight, though the sky threatened its romantic lighting with oncoming and fast-moving storm clouds.

As Helga's eyes went back and forth between the ring and myself, I kept talking; the next set of words something I had always planned to say no matter where I ended up proposing. "Helga G. Pataki, you have been my bully for as long as I can remember. You teased me relentlessly and never stopped giving me attention, no matter how much I thought I didn't want it. You confessed to me time after time that you loved me and yet, even after all of this time, I've never confessed how I feel to you—at least, not entirely. So, I guess… well… here goes."

Nodding her head for me to keep going, she pressed her lips together in a tight line as though trying to hold back the tears I could see pooling in her eyes.

"I love you. I'm head over heels, wildly, desperately, endlessly in love with you, Helga," my words were earnest; genuine. Each sentence I said with the utmost care and sincerity. "I don't just want to have you in my life, I need you in my life. I need your nicknames, your teasing, your each and every thought, your embrace… your everything because you are my everything. And this ring—" I took it out of its box and held out the specifically-chosen engagement ring for her approval, "—I chose it for a reason."

"The opal," I said while using my other hand to point to the main stone, "it's iridescent. It looks like one color, but it never really ever stays that way. It changes and evolves and looks different under whatever light is shining on it—and yet it always somehow stays the same. And that's us. That's our love. We've always loved each other. It may have looked different as we grew, but it's always been there. And if you marry me… I promise that it will always continue to be there."

Swallowing hard, Helga let out a tidbit of her own, "I thought opals had to do with love and passion," she paused for a moment before adding, "and desire. Seduction. Are you trying to get in my pants, Shortman?"

"Always," I admitted which made Helga giggle; a few stray tears jiggling loose from her laughter. "But yes, those are the other reasons why I picked it. Every time you look down at this stone, you will know that I love you. That I desire you and to be with you. That I want you passionately in every meaning and interpretation of the word. That I will be faithful, and loyal until my very last breath. With this ring… I promise that you will never, ever, ever spend another second of your life being a muddy little girl who doesn't know what love is. I will spend every moment of my life proving to you and showing you and making up for all of those times when you needed love and didn't have it."

The two of us stared at each other as I held the ring out towards her, my arm growing more tired with each second that passed. Our eyes remained locked on one another as eons, and decades, and lifetimes seemed to happen while I agonized over her answer. Why wasn't she saying yes? I'd shown her the ring… she knew what I was doing… so why hadn't she accepted yet? Was she not going to accept? Worry fluttered through my mind as a sudden thought filled my senses, What if she doesn't want to get married?

As I lost myself in my thoughts, the clearing of Helga's throat brought me back to reality; her eyes no longer wet with tears and instead looking down at me skeptically. "Hey Arnold?" She asked me and I blinked my eyes a couple of times to refocus my attention on the current moment. "I'd love to say 'yes' here and put on this super sexy and seductive ring you've so thoughtfully picked out for me—"

"Well, my mom helped…"

"Of course Stella did," Helga affirmed with a smirk before sucking in a deep breath of air. "But the whole point of a marriage proposal, as nice as your words were and all… well, you kind of left out one very, very important part."

"…huh?" was all I could manage as I stared up at her in horror.

A sly smile spread across Helga's face. "You haven't actually asked me anything yet."

"Oh god," I mumbled while shutting my eyes in utter embarrassment. "Oh, god, I just… I got so caught up in all of this and then I kneeled way too early—"

"I know!" Helga exclaimed in amusement. "Your knee must be killing you right now."

"Eh," I quickly dismissed, "I stopped having feeling in my kneecap about a minute in so you might need to help me up—"

"Because you're an old man, now. Yeah, I know," Helga teased before sighing and tilting her head slightly. "You're only getting older the longer you wait, Footballhead."

"Yeah. Yes, of course. Right. Okay," pushing through the numbness of my knee and the nervousness I still felt for no reason at all, I held the ring out once again and looked deep into Helga's ocean blue eyes. "Helga G. Pataki. Will you marry me?"

Her smile widened to reveal a toothy grin. "Criminy, Arnold. I thought you'd never ask."

As I slipped the ring onto its new home of Helga's finger, she helped to yank me up from where I'd potentially done permanent damage to my left knee.

I didn't even care.

From where the two of us kissed under the moonlight at what remained of Urban Tots Pre-School, I knew that the Helga and Arnold who had once occupied this exact spot years ago were long gone. And as the sky at last opened up, allowing buckets of rain to downpour on us, we laughed while getting soaked to the bone because this time, the rain itself didn't matter.

The only umbrella Helga needed was one made entirely of love. And, just like when we were mere toddlers, I was happy to provide it for her. Not only in the rain, but through every storm we may weather and every warm day that is enjoyed safely under the shade.

For Helga, I was prepared to hold that umbrella over her for the rest of our lives.

And I couldn't wait.

#shortaki #shortakiweek #shortakiweek2020 #shortaki week 2020 #shortaki week #hey arnold #heyarnold #helga g pataki #helga pataki #arnold shortman #helga and arnold #helga x arnold #writing prompt #fanfiction #fanfic

[nocturna-iv]

HUMA HCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, this is going to be long and I don't think everyone thinks these ideas are good. But my readers will already know several of these. And these ideas are very diverse.

- Harry fell in love with Uma when he saw her fight. Seeing her smile and laugh while fighting was the beginning of his fall

- Uma is very good in melee fights. She knows how to slip away from her enemies.

- Concerning their privacy, Harry never touches Uma directly unless she permits him. He can do 99% of the approach, but she shortens the last distance.

- Uma won't admit it out loud. But she needs Harry's contact. He relaxes her.

- Uma and Harry are the parents of the crew.

- They are very protective. But Uma focuses more on providing them with security, food, clothing, training, among other things. Harry is very protective of them. If someone in the crew asked Harry to throw someone to the sharks. Harry would do it without asking. The majority of fights in which he has participated have been to protect or avenge someone in the crew.

- Harry has specialized in scaring people so that his simple presence is enough for anyone to no mess with the crew.

- Uma and Harry are incredibly protective of Gil.

- Harry is in charge of the crew's punishment if they misbehave. To the surprise of many, he uses a lot of 'Time Out'.

- Uma is in charge of the awards. Uma's approval is ambrosia for anyone.

- Harry isn't jealous that other people succumb to Uma's charm. Because it's inevitable.

- The responsible that Harry has such a big ego is Uma. When they are alone, she flatters him a lot. She doesn't say "I love you" but she says "You're too attractive for your own good." and things like that.

- Uma and Harry often talk about how attractive other people are and theorize what they would like. Type of kisses or what compliments would work to blush them, among other things.

- Uma likes Harry's broad arms and shoulders.

- In general, she likes muscles. No rough muscles, but firm.

- Harry and the majority in the crew know that. That's why they rarely wear sleeves.

- Harry may lose the thread of a conversation if he sees Uma's thighs.

- She knows it and usually uses that against him.

- Neither Uma nor Harry have thought about having blood descendants. But they would like to adopt. Technically, they have been doing it since they are teenagers and plan to continue doing that.

- For Harry, Uma is a Goddess.

- She really is one. No, not a demigod. No. A Goddess.

- For me, Ursula and Morgana are daughters of Anfitrite and Asopo. Yemayá is the other mother of Uma. Whoever has seen an image of Yemayá or knows about her myths, can see how incredibly similar Uma is to her.

- This explains why Uma is so powerful and has a human form, but she can be transformed. Uma quickly learns to use her powers, in an incredibly natural way.

- According to me: Who is Harry's mother? Oh well... Harriet and Harry's mother is Queen Narissa (the main antagonist of Disney's 2007 fantasy film Enchanted). And CJ's mother? Helga Katrina Sinclair from Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

- For me, Queen Narissa is a warlock. She must make a contract with a superior being to use magic. That's why Harriet and Harry can't use magic immediately. But, you know, Harry could make a contract with a powerful being, a Goddess, for example. Already, he hears the call of the sea. The magic is there, it just needs to be free.

- Uma, deep down, is a cheesy one. She always seeks to secure Harry emotionally.

- Uma is full of details. She knows everyone's favorite food in her crew, their favorite colors, and what they fear, etc.

- Harry learned to swim with Uma and it was one of his best memories.

- Uma enjoys hard caresses. Strong massages. Bites. And things like that.

- Harry loves to slide the edge of his hook through Uma's skin. He would never hurt her, but Uma's skin shivers when she feels the edge of his weapon. He also likes to bite her.

- Uma enjoys hearing Harry sing, he is usually very inventive and easily changes the lyrics of the songs to invent stories.

- Harry was the first to realize that when Uma speaks, people tend to listen to her. And when she sings, everyone falls into her spell.

- Uma enjoys reading about important historical figures and their achievements.

- Harry is an astronomy expert. Also, he knows the name of the constellations from multiple cultures.

- Uma likes to hear Harry tells about pirate stories and legends about gods and sea creatures.

- Harry loves to get gold accessories from Uma. Goddesses wear gold.

- On one occasion, when Harry got sick, Uma thought he was cursed and tried to use true love kiss. It didn't work. She almost became depressed and questioned life. Luckily, someone explained to her that he was just sick.

- Harry often brags about the special treatment Uma gives him. He doesn't do it verbally, but he looks at everyone with pride when Uma treats him differently than the rest.

- Uma and Harry wear accessories and clothes that combine.

Gods, I see this is very long... I think I should continue on another occasion if you want more. 

#ask box #ask response #ask me anything #Huma #huma hc #huma descendants #Uma hc #Harry Hook hc #Uma #Harry Hook #descendants harry hook #harry hook descendants #harry hook x uma

[valkerymillenia]

Binging on Young Justice

So I used to watch random Young Justice eps on tv and lightly followed the plot but I finally decided to binge watch the whole thing and I'm just loving it.

I'm currently halfway through season 3.

As a comic nerd I particularly like the way the changes are woven in, how rare characters pop up, how the intricate DC universe is slowly developed, and the lovely little nods to comic canon (ah, Mal wearing Superboy's 90's outfit on Halloween and telling Conner it's "superman done right", that one killed me) and some wall breaks and references to other media (I never laughed so hard as I did with the dark humor Doom Patrol Go skit *insert guess I'll die meme*).

Gotta say I really prefer the Kaldur'ahm incarnation to the Jackson Hyde version but either way I just really want more of Kaldur'ahm/Jackson in the comics (and show, been seeing too little of him in s03), he's such a good Aqualad. And an LGBT+ POC!!!

I mean, I like Garth but I prefer him as Tempest (I never really liked his incarnation of Aqualad in the comics), Kaldur is such a refreshing take on Aqualad and feels like so much more than a sidekick.

Kinda like the changes to connect Artemis and Cheshire, even if Artemis feels a bit like another Arrowette, still I find this dynamic a lot more interesting anyway.

Love all the Flashes and all the BatFam and just generally all the family and next gen stuff with everyone, it's pretty awesome. And Billy Batson!

Ok, maybe I just like kids and the mix of family stories with superheroes, in fact I squealed upon seeing baby Damien and all the kids at the playdate (Jon!!! Tornado twins!!! Traya!!!! Arthur!!!), although in that ep one thing annoyed me - Amistad, although hilarious, was too young since he should have been born years before, I very much liked the single-teenage-mom drama of Rocket in the comics.

And the fact that we actually get to see rare team-ups like the Super Friends or the Outsiders? And characters like Icon, Rocket, Red Tornado, Adam Strange, and other rare references? Brilliant.

Anyway...

I can see why season 2 took so many years to be green lit, seeing as season 1 was marketed as a show for children with the intent of making money out of the merch. Ultimately it was too complex and mature for what was being aimed and ended up appealing to an older crowd which is not bad at all but wasn't the intended goal.

Nonetheless, the end result was brilliant and I hope we get many more seasons now that the tone had been established and it's officially being marketed to the older crowd.

Personally though, I'd like a Justice League spin-off show too. The reason being that the cast of YJ has grown very large and forces the the writers to either focus on one group per season or divide attention so much that some characters end up neglected or robbed of development (which is what the comic adaptation was initially for! Filling in the gaps that we can often feel are there in the show, I'm not sure what's the status of the comic though, I need to check).

So, yes, I know there's been several JLA shows in the past already but my reasoning for a spin-off/reboot is that it would be cool to have two shows canon to each other but focusing on the two different teams (YJ and JLA), thus finally giving us a more complete JLA and allowing us to enjoy the two shows within the same universe. It just has so much potential!

Anyway, about season 3... I have to admit I'm quite impressed by the evolution of certain aspects of the show.

Despite the cast being very big and forcing our focus away from some of our fav og members, we do see an evolution in other aspects that were restricted by the age rating and tv rules before.

Season 2 itself already have us more politics and trauma than is usual in a kids show but season 3 breaks even more barriers- intimacy between couples shown more openly and with more subtext (heck, Jefferson and Helga in bed together), more detailed and graphic blood and injuries (I mean, the Victor Stone accident, for example, you'd be lucky to see a smear of red in previous seasons but in this scene you get blood, exposed organs, eyeballs, bones and brains, or, hell, just look at Halo's "deaths"), actual dead bodies and murders being shown (so taboo in kids shows that deaths were just mentioned or censored in other seasons like Tula or Wally as opposed to the Markov royals, Orm or Olympia Savage in this season), the mere fact that the "nuclear option" is even a thing, etc.

And let's not forget that although it's a pretty inclusive show for POC and women (even approaching subjects such as racism, xenophobia and misogyny before), there are certain types of representation that they only had the guts to show now- LGBT+ and religious rep, for example.

So the show as evolved but the change in broadcasting medium and DC policies between seasons also seems to have had a heavy influence and I for one love it but I also love that the first 2 seasons were so good for any age.

Anyway, I might add more to this once I finish this season (although I'm so aware of the comics that I know a lot off plot points that are going to happen already).

However, I already know that season 4 is coming next year so I'm already excited for that.

#yj #young justice #young Justice season 3 #yj s03 #dc #yj outsiders

[bloody-red-bats]

Glancing at a few posts here about Jeff’s reaction appearing to be excessive, but that’s missing out on who he is, fundamentally, and his entite motivation. I think what would have helped prepare us is if he hadn’t been so out of focus. He’s a teacher, he should have been around the kids more often and acted as a foil to Helga as a mentor. The series began with him quitting the League after a mission off-world resulted in him killing a teenager unwittingly. He’s been trying to recover from that since. But after switching the focus to all of the other kids, he became out of focus.

I have no issue with how he reacted. The build up to it didn’t even feel heavy handed, nor should the setul with his arc be anything similar. It’s clear the YJO writers dropped the ball on this and haven’t been able to capture the same magic of an ensemble cast since season 1.

There are so many stories and characters to explore, it would have made more sense if they gave this an anthology series approach where a short season was focused exclusively on one side of the story, and the finale be a 1h30m long movie bringing it all together.

We’re nearing the end of the season and the old TV formula just cannot keep up with the stories they want to tell anymore. Compare this with Justice League, which did defer to an episodic anthology-style narrative where only major beats required two-parters. It allowed for greater character exploration and a balance with the ensemble cast.

#young justice outsiders #yjo spoilers #jefferson pierce #black lightning #justice league

[annerbhp]

2018 fic year in review

Now that I’m fairly certain I won’t be posting anything else before the end of the year.... (are we still doing these? We should!)

Total word count: ~164,000  Total fics written: 4 and a half? and a handful of ficlets never posted to AO3?  Fandoms written in: 1. all Harry Potter this year

Chronological list of fics

finished off we can still be, who we said we were (Harry/Ginny) - second story in the Armistice Series covering Slytherin!Ginny’s last year at Hogwarts - 124,000 words

you don’t have to stay (Harry/Ginny) - short prompt response ficlet about Harry and Ginny navigating life in the public eye together - 2,000 words (And the smutty sequel here, only posted to tumblr)

i just really need you here right now (Harry/Ginny) - short prompt response ficlet about Harry’s struggles with relationships and communication - 2,000 words

we can’t control (watch me unfold) (Harry/Ginny) - smutty friends-with-benefits Harry and Ginny meet as adults fic - 73,000 words

in my head we do everything right (Armistice Series #3, Harry/Ginny) - 26,000 words - WIP

(I did also write an answer that turned into a ficlet of sorts here about what would have happened in The Changeling if Harry had died. Do I need to warn for major character death?)

From my past year of writing

My best story of this year: Well, I only really completely finished and posted one fic this year other than the little prompt response ficlets, so I guess I’m gonna go with we can’t control.

My most popular story of this year (by kudos, comments or notes): Well, as sometimes seems to happen, the smutty we can’t control has the most hits of any of my stories this year, but when it comes to kudos and comments, the award goes to we can still be. Not sure if that is a preference for the latter fic, or if there is a hesitance to kudos and/or comment on something explicit. Or if people just re-read the explicit fic a lot. It’s a mystery! 

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I don’t feel particularly underappreciated this year or anything. I feel I’ve been very lucky. If we are talking about everything I’ve written and posted ever, I still have a ridiculous amount of love for the Greer/Ginn fic I wrote for Stargate Universe, which I keep wanting to somehow turn into a much bigger novel. You know, maybe minus all the Stargate stuff. Lol. But it’s such a small fandom and a minor character that went a completely different way on the show kind of thing that I get why not many people got into it. (who i am at the end of the day)

Most fun story to write: I really loved writing chapter 1 of in my head we do everything right. It was fun to write normal teenaged-shenanigans and people just being happy for once. And it had a kind of atmosphere that I think I forget to include sometimes as I’m just trying to churn out chapters or getting to the next plot point. I love giving places a real feel beyond just being a place for characters to exist.

Hardest story to write: Um, it’s all hard? Honestly, just finishing things is so tough. Or maybe the hardest part is really taking the beta criticism I ask for and doing the hard work of editing, even if it means tearing things apart, deleting things, taking everything in a new direction. It always makes the story better, but it can be tempting to ignore and just post as is.

Biggest disappointment: No really big disappointments. Just the rare comment here or there that sting a bit and linger far longer that I should let them. I have a tendency to give the odd negative comment far more power over me than I should.

Biggest surprise: Actually writing little response ficlets to prompts people gave me. That never happens anymore, even though I used to do it a lot in my last fandom.

Most unintentionally telling story: That would certainly be telling. ;) I think all stories have pieces of the author in them. We build the fics from our own memories and traumas and observations and experiences. It’s inevitable.

Favorite Opening Lines: None of them, honestly. I’m laughing as I go through them. I apparently have a thing for starting with a line of dialog. Or short declarative sentences. (One, I notice, starts with “Ginny hates London,” and another starts with “Harry hates to be nagged.” I start with people hating things? Lol) 

Favorite Closing Lines:

Everything but him.

Reflection time

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I’m actually impressed I managed a few ficlets and an entire standalone fic. Most of the time the majority of my fannish brain is focused on Armistice Series. I’m pretty happy with what I came up with.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? I was pretty boring this year. (I think my bizarre Helga/Salazar thing was in 2017.) Or I was just dedicated!

What’s your own favorite story of the year? I’m really happy with the way we can still be, who we said we were wrapped up in the end. There were some things I didn’t plan at all in there that just showed up and set up camp that I loved quite a bit in the end. I loved writing all the stuff back in Hogwarts, the wide variety of characters, but now with Harry, Ron, and Hermione thrown in the mix.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Uhhhhh, I STILL can’t believe I wrote we can’t control, let alone posted it. That was definitely a first for me, all that smut. I blame @weatheredskies and @blvnk-art forever and ever for that one.

Do you have any fanfic goals for the new year? Oh, millions. I really, really, really want to finish in my head we do everything right as well as Armistice #4 (the devil’s right there, right there in the details). I’d like to do even more than just those two, but I’m not gonna be greedy.

I’d also like to finish this drunk!hinny one-shot that someone requested that is almost done. I’d be happy to get the sequel to my coffeeshop Muggle!AU at least started.

Beyond that? I hope I can play with this ‘Harry comes to go to school at Hogwarts for the first time right after defeating Voldemort’ fic that I have titled as Perceptions at the moment but will doubtlessly change. That one will play with having tons of different POVs, and I’m excited to try and stretch myself to other character POVs, such as Ron, McGonagall, Hermione, Lupin, etc. There’s a Harry travels through time fic I would also like to finish or at least get a bit more done with.

And anything else that might catch my attention! Maybe try to do some sort of prompt/exchange/ficathon type thing.

#year in review #2018 fic roundup #annerbfic

[mimixis]

Towards the sun - Part 2: Dancing queen

Paring: Ivar x OC

Word Count: 1988

Summary: Pia just wanted to go to work, but oh well, shit happens.

AN: Here’s Part 2 of Towards the sun. I hope you’ll enjoy it just as much as Part 1 or maybe even more. :D Ifnyou want to be tagged, let me know. :)

(Part 1)

Pia was used to the enthusiastic crowds.

She went on sales, to the concerts. And for God's sake, she lived in London for over twenty years. That's why she knew it wasn't the crowd that was her problem. 

In addition, because of Ivar's presence, people weren't standing close to them. On the one hand, she enjoyed having her personal space unaffected, but on the other, she was doomed to be alone with Ivar.

During the ritual. She was to stand next to Ivar during the Viking ritual. She wrote about it in one of her assignments in high school and knew there would be a lot of blood. And that worried her. Because of that her hands and back were covered with sweat, she was feeling nauseous, and she wanted to escape far away from here. Which she tried to do, but the darkness surrounding her and Ivar's hand on her calf had changed her mind.

“Do I really have to watch it?” she asked in a weak voice.

"Yes," he answered. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down so she would kneel beside him, while he was sitting on the log. “You must look at it. You are a gift from the gods, and he is a gift for them.”

Pia looked at the man who was walking toward the woman with an owl on her shoulder. In her papers, she described many forms of rituals over the centuries, and the Vikings were only a small part of what she wrote about, so she had many questions that were demanding to be answered this very moment. She rested her elbows on Ivar's thigh to get a little more comfortable. Thanks to that she saw how on the other side of the boy appeared a tall man and a woman with a teenage girl at her side. They talked to Ivar, and he put his fingers in her hair.

Pia's eyes met the girl's gaze. She looked different from others, and Pia decided she must have been taken away on one of their raids. The woman who embraced her did it too hard, or the girl didn't enjoy the hug very much. Pia asked in Spanish if the girl needed help and the girl immediately revived. She talked about how Vikings killed her parents and kidnapped her.

The girl's knowledge was much greater than she expected. She knew Spanish, but it was not her native language. Her accent was too hearable. She also knew the people who were keeping her against her will, and she managed to learn a few words from their language.

Pia stood up when the girl began to wriggle in the woman's grip and when she succeeded, she ran to her and hid behind her back. Tall man stopped the woman from throwing herself at them and calmed her down.

"We'll talk about it after the ritual," Ivar said in a low voice, his eyes never breaking away from the harsh scene that had taken place before them. “Now watch.”

Pia didn't want to, she really did not want to watch it, but... Something pulled her in. She watched as the man willingly impaled himself on the blade. Blood ran down on his stomach, and he fell to his knees. Pia pressed the girl's face closer to her chest, not wanting her to see his death. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ivar leaning forward, thrilled by the sight of blood.

Pia hid her face in the girl's hair. She didn't know what worried her more. The fact that the sight of the murder didn't bother her, or the familiar feeling of lust that had burnt her, when she looked at Ivar.

;:;

Pia had to let Tanaruz go, no matter how the girl wanted to stay. The tall man, who was introduced to her as Floki, lingered with them. He didn't leave with his wife, Helga, and their adopted daughter. This situation helped her to understand how talkative Ivar was when he was moved.

She followed them to the beach. The sand was cold, and the wind was cutting her cheeks, but it didn't bother her. She laid down on her back and stared at the sky full of stars. The men were talking to each other and Pia was too sleepy to listen to them. She curled up next to Ivar's legs like a cat, then closed her eyes. She almost fell asleep when she felt a hand on her head. She rose up. They were alone again.

“Why were you kind to that slave?”

Pia immediately sobered up. She sat on her heels and looked at the boy.

“She's scared, Ivar! She is in a new place, with strangers. She has no one here.”

“You've lost me. Are we talking about her or you?”

“Stop joking. She needs help...”

“Helga lost her daughter. That's why she acts that way,” he said, ending the topic he himself started.

Pia snorted irritated, but it only amused Ivar more. She changed her position and now sat beside him, resting her arm on his. Ivar put his hand on her knee, and Pia felt at home. She imagined that she was still in her small town, sitting on the beach with a newly met boy and was ready to show him her lace underwear.

How much she wanted it to be true. How she wanted it all to be a dream. But everything felt too real. She sighed and shifted her gaze to Ivar. He was looking at their hands, which they had joined together a few minutes ago. Pia was here only for a few hours, but she did notice some facts about Ragnar's son.

He wasn't close to his brothers. Well, maybe one of them seemed interested in his well-being. Only Ubbe spoke to Ivar, using the gentle tone of voice. Hvitserk was nice enough, but his behaviour suggested he considered himself to be better than his brother. Bjorn and Sigurd didn't even try to hide their dislike. Other people's behaviour was similar. They avoided Ivar and Pia was not sure if things were like that because he was disabled or because of his... originality.

Floki, however, seemed to be his good friend. They knew each other well and Ivar trusted him. Even more than Ubbe. She also learned that he has a disturbing fetish of knives and blood.

"It's kind of funny," she said, clearing her throat. Ivar hmmed, letting her know he was listening. “When we first met, I felt like a rabbit trying to escape the big bad wolf, and now I imagine improper things about you.”

Ivar's thumb stopped forming circles on her palm. Pia looked at him from under the fan of dark lashes. His eyes were shining, he moistened his lips and focused his attention on her. Only now she noticed how young his face looked. Her fingers created a route from his eyebrows, through his nose to his lips.

“How old are you, Ivar?” she asked and immediately regretted her decision when he answered. She moved away from him. “Seventeen? You are seventeen years old?”

“Is that a problem?”

In a sense, it was. She was legal, he was not. She was five years older than him, and Pia wouldn't allow herself to be in this situation if she still was in the twenty-first century. But she was not. This was the Viking Age, and they didn't worry about such things. Purely theoretically, they were both mature. She put her lips to his cheek.

“No,” she smiled and stood up, dusting off the sand. “Now come on, I left my backpack in that big hall, and I want to smoke. And I'm hungry too.”

;:;

“They think you're a völva.”

Pia looked from the goblet full of alcohol to Ivar. She raised an eyebrow up in a questioning gesture. They sat at the same table, with the same people, in the same place. From the crowd and ale, it got hot. She pulled off her jacket and sweater, staying only in a white shirt. She put her hat and scarf in her backpack. Her belly was full, and she was sleepy, but she tried to look solemn.

“And who völva is?” she asked, moving her gaze to the observing them Ivar’s brothers.

They had not exchanged a word since they entered, and Pia probably knew the reason. Ivar felt either rejected or embarrassed. Now she knew it was the second one.

“It's a female shaman, a woman who sees the future.”

“I'm not a seer, I'm from the future, Ivar. I don't think you understand English equally well as I thought.”

"I understood everything perfectly," he replied, putting his hand on the back of her neck. “You do not understand your role. And if you're from the future, it means you've seen it.”

Pia blinked several times, she had to admit that his logic made sense. She laughed loudly, not caring she would attract others attention even more. She broke off a piece of bread from the plate and put it in her mouth, still chuckling.

"So I'm a witch," she said, looking for a woman with a jug. She smiled and lifted her cup up, asking for a refill. “Did I bewitch you, Ivar?”

She took a sip of beer, looking at Ivar's reaction. It took him a moment to understand her cheesy joke, but when he did, he beamed. He understood her attempt to flirt and apparently liked it. She put her hand on his cheek, then combed his hair with her fingers. She couldn't believe how breathtaking he was.

Pia wanted to kiss him here and now, ignoring the presence of assembled Vikings. She also knew when the alcohol stopped to swim in her blood, she would regret it. Ivar's hand moved to her thigh, and she didn't mind it.

“Not only me, lítit dróttning*” he laughed.

Pia hit him gently on the shoulder, wanting to get rid of the sexual tension between them, and then stuck out her tongue.

“Why did you do that?” he asked, and Pia understood, that he didn't know the gesture. Ivar caught her chin with his two fingers, drew her face closer and told her to put out her tongue again. “What is it?”

"Tongue ring," she replied, putting it back, then showed her ears, in which there was a lot of earrings. Then she leaned back, lifted her shirt up so he could see her pierced belly button. “I have one here too.”

Ivar's fingers went to her belly, and he played with her gem. Suddenly the room became even hotter, a shiver passed through her body, and she could bet that Ivar had noticed goose bumps on her exposed skin. Pia used the music that Sigurd began to play as an excuse to leave the table and started to dance.

It wasn't the music she listens to or usually danced to, but it wasn't bad. It reminded her of the folk songs that her mother listened to. She raised her hands and swayed her hips. Firstly, she slowly made eights with them, then she sped up and added twirling. She waved her hair, laughed and acted as if nobody was watching her.

When Sigurd stopped playing, Pia gasped and was ready to think she would lose the button from the top of her shirt, because of all that breathing. She returned to the table, but this time she scrambled to Ivar's lap, she drank ale and lit a cigarette. When she did a trick with smoke that flowed from her mouth to nose, she looked at Hvitserk, who seemed shocked. Pia felt it wasn't because of the cigarette.

"Ivar, I want to do something," she whispered seductively, not noticing his surprised but satisfied face. “Just don't cough, okay?”

Pia took a drag and then kissed Ivar, breathing smoke into his lungs.

______________

lítit dróttning* - little queen

@unicornbaby741 @ivarandersen @jamierdr

#ivar #ivar the boneless #ivar lothbrok #ivar's heathen army #ivar x reader #ivar x oc #ivar imagine #ivar fanfic #vikings #vikings imagine #vikings fanfic #vikings fandom #vikings floki #vikings helga #vikings fic #ivar ragnarsson #alex hogh andersen #ivar ragnarsson imagine #vikings ivar #history ivar #ivar the boneless imagine

[malfoygrass]

Hybrids and beauty queens

An: A little gift for my @my-light-into-the-darkness who recently became my follower #400, hope you like it! This was super fun to write

“So you’ll come to the party right?” Neville Longbottom smiled, his sweet expression so earnest Astoria could only nod with perky enthusiasm.

In this life there were cruel romantic ironies…and then there were messed up love hexagons.

None so much more than for Miss Godric Hollow twice in a row Astoria Greengrass. Especially since she lived in what some people might call a magnet town for supernatural trouble.

To put it simply Astoria adored Neville (Vampire brother #1), who liked Luna (Witch), who was in love with Harry(Vampire brother #2) , who was dating Ginny (Doppleganger) who actually swooned over Victor (Original Vampire) who only had eyes for Hermione (Witch) who was happily in a relationship with Ron (Human with resurrection stone) aka the only lucky person who’s love wasn’t unrequited.

Who loved Astoria? Absolutely nobody, because charming as her personality might be, sometimes even that wasn’t enough. She sighed slamming the door of her locker

“I see, still mooning over the the ripper, angel” A London accented voice said mockingly as Astoria turned to glare at one of the most handsome guys she’d ever known.

Okay so maybe there WAS someone who fancied her, sadly he was also a ego maniac bully with a crazy family and an obsession with vampire blood purity that wasn’t healthy, his name was Draco Malfoy, or as the vampire comunity called him: The original Hybrid.

“don’t you have junior death eaters to torment or something?, stay away from Neville” Astoria glared at the blond man blocking her way “he hasn’t done anything to you and fyi I don’t moon, I admire him…you know, from the distance” Astoria winced at how pathetic she sounded 

Neville Longbottom in Astoria’s eyes, could do no wrong and Draco knew it, it had been Neville who found Astoria the night she was turned, dirty and shivering after Pansy (Ginny’s Doppleganger) shoved a vial of vampire blood down her throat and killed her, Neville had been there to teach Astoria the ropes of vampirism, he’d promised her that she didn’t have to be a monster and taught her how to hunt animals and drink from blood bags. So yes, maybe Astoria had a tendency to sigh like a character in a romance novel whenever he so much as smiled at her.

Draco on the other hand hand seemed to exist with the sole purpose of proving murder was a solution to life’s every problem.

Doppleganger ex girlfriend spends five hundred years running away because she screwed you over one time?

Try to murder her. 

Can’t murder your cousins because they are also Original Vampires and the only family you have left?.

Dagger them for a few hundred years.

Feeling hungry?.

Murder some innocent passerby.

Feeling sad?

Murder a therapist.

Your witchy psycho aunt Bellatrix is back from the dead and wants revenge for the last time you had her violently burned at a stake?. 

Murder her again and this time scour the earth for a way to keep her dead.

Neville and Harry team up to help the newest doppelganger avoid being ritualistically drained of blood for your curse’s convenience?.

Threaten to murder one or two people they care about, that always keeps people in line right?.

Draco was nothing like sweet and brave Neville (And Astoria didn’t know why that made her feel at odds with her emotions) 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night heart'o mine” Draco chuckled “you know some days I wonder why you of all people are still in Godric Hollow, a smart baby vampire like you, why even your sister got out when she could” And Astoria had paid for it with her life.

Pansy Parkinson hadn’t liked the fact that Daphne had stabbed her in the back when Draco and the Malfoy extended family came to town, selling her out to the original Hybrid in exchange for the protection of Draco’s cousin Theodore, so the evil Doppleganger had kidnapped Astoria and damned her to be forever seventeen. 

“I’m not like you Draco, I can’t turn my back on Luna after everything she’s done for me, she’s my friend” Luna, who despite only being cassually acquainted with her, hadn’t judged Astoria’s vampirism and embraced her into the fold like an old friend, making her a daylight ring and nursing her back to health when she’d tried to kill herself multiple times by walking into the sunlight, Astoria paused and added “not on Neville either”

“Enphasis on Luna, she’s probably the only one in that group who cares about you and that’s the only reason she’s still alive, although your little friend keeps getting used for her seer powers and isn’t very good at picking friends you know, the Lovegood bloodline might be older than vampirism but even powerful witches have weaknesses….if Potter had any eyes in his head he’d know what an asset she is” Draco taunted belligerently “but of course she’s no match for the famous Doppleganger allure, a pity really that the hybrid ritual didn’t kill Ginny" 

"And there you go, I was wondering when murder threats would start to be trown around, it only took the great Draco Malfoy about five minutes ” Astoria shot back “whatever you think of Ginny she IS a good person, she tries really hard to be there for her family” she felt herself compelled to defend the redhead, if only because she liked Ginny’s brothers and they wouldn’t appreciate if Astoria subconsciously spurred Draco’s venomous fangs in her direction.

“Yes of course she is” Draco snorted giving her a look that was too amused for her tastes “be reasonable little treasure, admit that having someone as powerful as me around you makes your dull little life much more interesting than helping Lovegood with her witchery ever did" 

"Can you stop it with the endearments” Astoria snapped crossing her arms over her chest walking down the hallway to the school exit, he easily fell into step with her “I don’t understand why you like me so much! Seriously I’m not that big of a deal, go away, move on leave Luna’s friends alone" 

And by that she meant Neville…and maybe Harry when he wasn’t being a winny man child. Because Draco was right about one thing, other than Luna most of Astoria’s long time friends had moved away from Godric Hollow the moment too many people started becoming victims of ‘animal attacks’ only the ones who truly loved the town ever stayed. 

Draco grinned flashing her that devilish smirk that had probably been causing panties to drop since the fall of Rome "what’s there not to like, you’re a resilient little thing, clever, willfull, ambitious and beautiful, there’s a certain spark of light about you that’s quite disarming you know" 

And how do you respond when a vampire old enough to know himself really well says stuff like that around you? Astoria Greengrass was no fool but it didn’t mean that she was immune to Draco’s advances, any female faced with his single minded pursuit wouldn’t be. But life, even the undead type was a bit more complicated than that.

"you know Mister Malfoy sometimes you say the nicest things” Astoria laughed without an ounce of humor, shaking her head in dismay “that it almost makes me want to believe in you" 

"What’s stopping you? I could lay the world at your feet if only you will it”

“Common sense” the baby vampire replied after a moment “I guess I always thought I was better than the typical prom princess that falls for the bad guy yet here you are, one of the top three of the supernatural community" 

Draco raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on the obvious breakfast club reference, he understood where she was coming from, Draco hadn’t known Astoria in her human life but from what he’d been told she had been a sickly teenager always trapped in Daphne’s shadow. Draco knew Daphne Greengrass since long before making a move against the Doppleganger of Godric Hollow, she was a shrewed, icy blonde with razor sharp wits and an even worse tongue and it was hard to imagine how she was related to someone like Astoria, but Daphne evidently loved her sister.

Ironically Draco had met Astoria the night of the hybrid ritual, she had been wearing a bloddied prom dress, as part of the paltry reinforcements that were helping Luna Lovegood throw some very harmful potions in his direction, on seeing her, Draco’s first thought had been that when he killed her it would be a monumental waste of beauty and had Harry not goaded Draco into a fight, it might have been. 

"Pretty tiara” Draco laughed focusing his yellow eyes on her when the girl aimed a surprisingly strong pouch of verbain in Crabbe’s direction disturbing the candle formation holding Helga Hufflepuff’s grimoire “did the ball end early Cinder girl?" 

"No, but someone told me this party was to die for” the baby vampire snarled back ripping a strip of her voluminous velvet skirt to fight his cousin Tracy on better ground

By the time the battle ended and his curse was successfully removed thanks to a timely intervention of his cousin Blaise, Draco was ready to make it rain blood and the image of the girl with the ripped prom dress refused to leave his mind.

he later learned from Daphne that long before he had made his move against Ginny, Astoria had originally been intended as the human part of the hybrid sacrifice by Pansy, but she and professor Lupin had escaped their conditioning cells with Longbottom’s help and in return Pansy had to compell Ron in her place. But by then the golden trio had already returned Astoria to Daphne who was more than glad to stop being Pansy’s minion and become an informant for the Malfoys now that Draco wasn’t going to kill her sister. 

A fact that backfired dearly days later because Theodore himself hadn’t thought that Daphne’s sickly human sister required much protection and had given Pansy a perfect opening to hurt Daphne. Turning Astoria into a vampire under horrifying conditions.

But considering his first meeting of Astoria, he didn’t take her for the tragic case Daphne described, in fact all the story did was intrigue him more.

“we both know that’s not all you think you are, you’re more than the beauty pageant girl of a small town, everybody else might beleive you’re a walking cliche but I know the truth Astoria Greengrass" 

Astoria rolled her eyes laughing as she briskly skipped her way to the parking lot "you don’t know anything about me, so don’t even try to figure me out Mr I’m-so-much-better-vampire-than-Potter" 

"Oh But I do, I know more about you than you think, you’re a big fish in a small pond”

“And you’re the shark that awaits in the ocean" 

"Wonderful description little treasure, but I promise my bite is nicer than my bark" 

This brought a smile to her face, that she tried to hide "Argh you’re impossible!” She exclaimed crossing her arms over her her chest

“Impossible…to resist I hope" 

"Impossible to get away from” Astoria shot back

Draco made a thoughtful face “not exactly the love confession I expected but its a start, we both know that deep down you like me”

Astoria didn’t bother dignifying that with a response, getting into her car and heaving a sigh to her deity of choice when he got in the passenger seat looking like he had no intention of leaving until he got what he wanted.

Or got bored…which could take ages, since Draco Malfoy thought she was supremely interesting. 

“I don’t like you Draco, I mean just because you’re handsome and powerful and can ocassionally be nice to people doesn’t mean I’m attracted to you, like the rest of the females you meet” the baby vampire was really tryingto concentrate on the road but with him next to her it simply wasn’t happening “only an idiot would take you at face value and I’m not the swooning type" 

"Ah so you think that I’m handsome, the plot thickens” Draco smirked and Astoria tried to hide her blush

“Never said you weren’t” Astoria deadpanned determined to not let him fluster her, she was a Greengrass for pity’s sake! Where was her mettle? “ but that’s just fortunate genetics, not a reason to like you”

“Liar liar, dress on fire” Draco taunted flashing her his sharp canines

The truth was that Astoria WAS attracted to him, but he was a foul person and that made her feel awful about her judgment of character. That was the problem.

Astoria knew that girls like her were a dime a dozen in small towns, bright young things that wore pretty clothes, had smiley face posters in their bedrooms and gossiped with other carbon copies of themselves ( if it felt a bit plastic to live that way, she’d never bothered to do anything about it) in fact before she became a vampire she’d liked to tell herself that she was okay with the dollhouse like monotony of her entire existence, always being good, but not good enough to be outstanding, it was okay, not everyone got to be the heroine of a novel, sometimes being a face in the crowd had its own value.

But she’d been lying to herself and she realized it when she went back home after a crash course in vampirism with Luna and Neville. As a vampire Astoria could run, jump and enjoy sports witout bothering about allergies or human sickness, she could savour the beauty of a perfect vision and the strenght that her human self hadn’t even dreamed of having because of her bad metabolism. 

Astoria adored being a vampire, when before she’d been content to dabble in gardening and piano playing, now she could play volleyball and swim without having a heart attack, her ballet dancing improved in ways she’d only dreamed about because her limbs were now more sturdy.

Her new friends had taught her how to control the only downside of vampirism and in a way she felt that she owed them more than she could repay. So she helped them whenever she could.

Evil dopplegangers, crazy witches, house elves gone rogue, if Luna needed Astoria’s help she gave it.

And then Astoria met Draco Malfoy.

“Why are you here Draco?” She sighed knowing instinctively that he was here for a reason 

“Down to the point then, well my starlight truth be told: I came to say goodbye, I’m leaving tomorrow” he delivered it with his usual aplomb, words wonderfully executed that suckerpunched Astoria in the gut

“Godric Hollow? You’re actually…just leaving” Astoria gasped hitting the breaks of her car and pulling up at the nearest stop signal “why, when, where, how" 

"Well, rumor has it that an old foe of my family rose again with the help of dear Aunt Bellatrix and Wormtail, you might understand if I don’t want to stay here to see it” Draco comented dryly “London is my city and while Theodore and your sister have been gracious enough to hold fort for a while, some people need to be reminded of who is really in charge" 

"London?…so far” Astoria mumbled looking down at her hands 

“Very far, but I was hoping….” Draco hesitated

Astoria lifted her eyes “yes?" 

"You don’t belong in a small town” Draco said instead swallowing what he’d been about to say and looking straight ahead “I know you think you do, but you’re never going to be happy here, one day, years down the line, you’re going to be a glorious vampire if only you dare to stretch those wings and I want to be there to see it” he sighed and turned to her “but I can’t stay in Godric Hollow that long….I wonder if you can?”

“You’re asking me to leave the only home I’ve ever known" 

"I’m asking you to give me a chance to show you who I am, come with me" 

Professor Lupin once told her that becoming a vampire didn’t make you an entire different person, it just enhanced what was already there. And as a human Astoria had been a kind and sweet, musically inclined girl with a perchance for ballgowns and pageant crowns. but she’d always been ambitious, in school, at home, in her every action there was always a drive to be better, and no matter how much she tried to pretend otherwise, ambition was part of Astoria’s less than cute qualities.

Astoria wanted…she wanted and wanted. What scared her about herself was simply that she didn’t like knowing to what extremes she’d be willing to go to satisfy those wants. (She wanted blood, she wanted clothes, she wanted to be prima ballerina, she wanted power…she wanted Draco)

She was sure Draco knew that he held in his hand the parts of her that she was scared of embracing. The side of her that was attracted to power and desperately wanted to have it, the dark wants, that whispered selfish things in her ears. 

"You really wont come back To Godric Hollow then” she said instead, avoiding giving him any answers.

“Oh I will, if you stay here, someday when you feel you’ve had enough of pretending to be mediocre, I’ll come back for you" 

"That’s not very reassuring” Astoria murmured shaking her head in disbelief 

“I’m not used to giving up on the things I want, even since before I was turned, I was an only child you see” Draco shrugged unapologetically “you’re special”

Yes Astoria knew the story as well as most vampires, Draco’s parents had once been part of the most powerful witch coven in Viking era, legend said that their coven had at least one member for each of the twenty eight purest witch lines in the old world and their leader had been a mad man obsessed with inmortality who just went by the name of 'Voldemort’. 

According to Theodore, Draco had been the apple of his parent’s eyes, much to the envy of his aunt Bellatrix, who couldn’t conceive children and was rumored to be 'trying’ to give the dark lord a heir. It was her who had infected Draco’s blood with the werewolf gene sometime between his birth and the ancient blood ritual that turned Draco’s cousins into the first vampires and it was Bellatrix again who willingly killed her own sister to seal Draco’s werewolf side, driven mad with spite after the first hybrid trasformation made Draco powerful enough to tear half of the coven apart.

To avenge himself and the awful wrong done to his cousins Draco had gone on a rampage that killed most of Voldemort’s acolytes and painted a target on the back of the Originals…or that’s how Theodore told the story anyway.

Harry and Neville painted him as a monster witout any redemption.

But Astoria knew Draco hadn’t always been the fearsome monster he was now, maybe that’s what always made her hesitate whenever he tried to charm her. Sometimes she felt like she knew parts of him that people didn’t see, yet she was scared because being attracted to him was dangerous. 

“I’m not special Draco, youre just not used to being told no, I’m just one girl in a thousand” Astoria deflected with a self depreciating smile “just another girl, in another town, hardly a drop in the ocean for a someone a billion years old, you wouldn’t have given me a second look if I’d lived in your era of birth”

“You say that but I lived trough the Renaissance ” Draco replied suddenly studying her face “Michelangelo used to look for girls with your face for the cherubs in the sistine chapel and Raphael would have fought him if only to inmortalize you as one of his maddonas"he continued reaching out with one hand and caressing the softness of her cheek "Queen Elizabeth poisoned herself for skin like yours and your waistline alone is something that would have made you a sought after bride in the Victorian era, those eyes would have kept men from war during the rise of the Reich and your legs driven lesser men insane in a speakeasy…yet here you are, the best of what a thousand years of beauty have to offer, daring to say you’re not special" 

Astoria blushed, for once becoming tongue tied under his gaze "you lie”

“If you had lived in my era, I would have ripped you from your sister’s loving arms and dragged you to my home without a word, I would have taken you and taken you again not resting until my child was in your belly and my name on your skin” Draco’s eyes darkened with sinful promise “make no mistake, I would have branded you as mine”  

The images his words evoked made Astoria shudder with pleasure, because she knew he spoke the truth, had she been born in his time, he would have had her and she would have damned herself willingly for him “Sometimes I catch myself wondering how you were before becoming a monster” Astoria admited in a soft voice “I wonder if it would have made any difference if we’d met as humans and done the normal things people falling in love do. I dont know of course, you’re Draco Malfoy killing legend extraordinare but I wish, sometimes, that I could forget that”

“I know” his voice carried a sadness that Astoria knew he wasn’t faking “but I can’t change my past, I can only offer you everything else in my present”

“Supernatural London isn’t a place for a girl like me" 

"But my side is” Draco’s face softened again taking her hand “all I ask for is one chance, you can go back if you don’t like it I wouldn’t keep you against your will” and then he delivered an that he knew would strike in her hidden weaknesses “think about it as being queen for a day, ask me for anything and its yours”

“Don’t say that…I might decide I want something obcenely rare, what would you do with me then?” She panicked trying to sound less breathless 

“I can afford to say it, I’m the original Hybrid ” Draco shrugged with false modesty that made her laugh 

Because a man like Draco would definitely give her anything she wanted witout a care of who got hurt in the process, he would snap his fingers and Astoria wouldn’t have to fantasize about Tiffany diamonds, she’d never be hungry or browse longingly trough the pages of a high fashion magazine, because he’d compel any desiger she wished to fill her wardrobe while he offered her the necs of presidents and royals to feed on. He would give her luxury with his lips and insist on showering her naked body with whichever gemstones caught her eye in a passing store.

Temptation was seductive when the Original Hybrid looked at her as tough she was the only girl in the world, beautiful grey eyes that could convince her that giving him her soul was only a small price for all the decadence he wanted to share with her.

“Draco I…"Astoria opened her mouth to say something meaningful but he interrupted her

"No, don’t reject my offer just yet” Draco said abruptly taking her hand again and bringing it to his lips “you don’t owe me an answer but a brief vacation in London won’t hurt you little treasure, all I ask is for you to think about it” and putting a train ticket in her lap he vamped away from her car, leaving Astoria more confused than ever.

That night the baby vampire couldn’t sleep, replaying over and over again the conversation she’d had with Draco. Knowing witout a doubt that if she’d said yes he wouldn’t have been satisfied with a few days in London.

But would it really hurt her to get to know him beyond what he had done in Godric Hollow? She knew he had good in him and if he left she’d never get a chance to explore that mysterious part of Draco, why not be brave for a change?. Daphne was already in London and yes she hated Draco by virtue of sisterly dissaproval, but too many times had Astoria let her family expectations dictate her life.

Maybe it was time to discover what her true self was made of.

Draco stood in the train station knowing she wouldn’t show, it was stupid to think Astoria Greengrass would leave the comfort of her family cottage and adoration of her highschool cliques for him, when Godric Hollow was everything she considered familiar, everything she knew how to control was in that town. Taking his offer would mean…

“I’ll come with you” Draco’s thoughts were interrupted by the sweetest sentence he’d ever heard, turning around he was greeted with the sight of Astoria as beautiful as ever holding a simple suitcase but smiling all the same “Draco, did you hear me? I said I’ll come with you to London" 

A smile that made Astoria’s heart skip a beat broke trough his face as he strode forward and spun her around in his arms "what are we waiting for then? The train is about to leave" 

"Wait don’t you want to hear why I’m coming?”

“Not particularly, you’re already here” he smirked down on her with a smug look “it means you are giving me a chance, that’s all I need to know” Draco pulled her in the direction of the private train compartment he’d hired and held his hand out to help her get inside

Astoria looked at his hand with a wry smile “No promises?” She asked curiously

“No promises” Draco lied opening his palm wider “trust me”

“I will” and with that Astoria took his hand, knowing for sure that her life as a vampire was about to change.

An: some people write Hogwarts aus, I write tvd aus out of Hogwarts characters

#tvd au #drastoria #with shades of klaroline #really lots of klaroline shades #draco malfoy x astoria greengrass #draco x astoria #i'm hoping to start a trend #original hybrid x baby vampire