#girl help my halloween bias is showing

[jessamine-rose]

Ok, I'm mostly asking for story research purposes and because I simply for him, but without bias, what kind of girl do you think Leona Kingscholar would want. He obviously probably wants to be the dominant one in a relationship since he stated that he is intimidated by afterglow Savanna women but I'm curious what you think! ❤

Please note that this is my own interpretation of Leona, so it could be OOC and should not be perceived as a perfect/ strict “guide” to Leona’s character. Leona’s ideal s/o will be referred to using gender-neutral terms.

Edit: Tagging @nrc-archives to see this!! Thank you so much for your ask!! I thought you were referring to the post tags and not a blog, so my apologies for the late mention ^^;

TRAITS WHICH I THINK LEONA WOULD NOT WANT IN AN S/O:

♡ Same attitude as Leona – According to Endless Halloween, it is hilariously canon that Leona dislikes people who act like him. Ohhh the irony xD

♡ Childish personality – We already know that Leona dislikes dealing with kids or overly childish/ naive people, as seen in his interactions with Cheka and his Lab Coat SR. He would probably prefer a romantic relationship that isn’t identical to those he already has with Cheka and his kouhai  -.-

♡ Toxic positivity/ blind naivete/ black-and-white morality – These qualities are similar to how Falena and Jack judged Leona’s actions in the Main Story. Leona would thus dislike people who immediately judge his personality and belittle his experiences without considering the serious psychological effects of his upbringing. At the very least, in order to call out Leona on his BS, his s/o should be willing to understand his perspective and have a two-sided conversation with him.

TRAITS WHICH I THINK LEONA WOULD WANT IN AN S/O:

♡ Maturity – Considering his status as an uncle and senpai, I think Leona would prefer an s/o who can look after themselves and think critically. That way, he can distinguish his lover from his other relationships  <3

♡ Optimism + Realism – While I already mentioned why an overly positive s/o is not ideal for Leona, an overly pessimistic s/o could feed into his feelings of hopelessness and negativity. So I think a relationship with Leona needs a healthy balance of optimism and realism. This type of s/o can help Leona appreciate what he already has and show him that a happy, fulfilling future is within his grasp–and beyond his original dreams of becoming king.* Even better if they can recognize Leona’s good qualities, especially the underrated potential of his Unique Magic  ^o^

*Do note, however, that Leona’s s/o should not be the one to “fix him.” Ultimately, it is up to Leona to come to terms with his situation and change his mindset. Without proper character development, I don’t think he would be ready for an intimate relationship to begin with.

♡ Not afraid of him – This ties into the Sunset Savannah servants’ fearsome perceptions of Leona. Aside from viewing King’s Roar in a different light, Leona’s s/o should not be afraid to point out his faults. This trait establishes equal standing in their relationship and shows that Leona’s s/o trusts his strength.

♡ Consideration and firmness – Another important balance of ideal traits!! Leona’s s/o should be the type who knows when to indulge him and when to be firm with him. Someone who takes the time to understand Leona’s situation, but does not overly coddle him or excuse his actions. Someone who accepts Leona’s hobbies and lifestyle, but is responsible enough to wake him up and tell him to attend his classes. On that note, I think an active s/o who strives for their own goals can in/directly encourage Leona to take action in his own life  ٩(*•͈ ꇴ •͈*)و

Thank you again for asking me!! I had to delay my answer again for academic reasons, but I hope you were able to read and enjoy this post. I’m rlly flattered that you asked me for my thoughts on Leona  :’>

#leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #twst leona #twst #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland leona #g/n reader #jessamine-writing

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

Sort of faintly connected to your awesome on-off disucssion about Matty's identity and different ways of presenting himself, when I watching the stream of the Halloween show I really felt like something about being in costume freed him up to be looser, more fun, maybe more "himself" in some ways. I do think part of what I was seeing was just that last night was a break in what must sometimes be an exhausting routine of repeating most of the show over and over again, but I wondered what you thought about how dressing up as a character seemed to dial down his self-consciousness levels. (I'm sure there's a fic idea somewhere in here, also). Forgive the long ask, I'm procrastinating on a work task! 😂

I mean, yes: this is absolutely spot on.

Let me start off by saying I haven't watched much from last night, or from this tour in general really. I am going through a personal content detox because I started off very annoyed at the whole concept of SATVB and I really want to get to my shows next week (!!!!!!) without too much bias.

I am an ATVB girl at heart, it was my first tour that I followed closely both as it was happening and obviously afterwards (the amount of ATVB content I consumed while writing ILYDYM is worrying and I can tell you pretty much everything about any date, god help me), and I find myself missing the "method acting" bit in some capacity. Not the capacity that was driving Matty's mental health into the ground, obviously, but the bit that effectively allowed him to play a character every single night (albeit one very very similar to his own self) and then in the second half completely let go of it and be the real Matty. I remember when I got hit with that realisation at the end of January, just watching as the show transformed from the first to the second half and he blossomed into somebody else, someone familiar and so different from the guy we'd been looking at for the first forty-five minutes.

So this Halloween show was special, yes, because it effectively was the best of both worlds: it allowed him to play a character, do things he normally wouldn't have done for the sake of entertainment (not only other people's, also and most importantly his own), and yet be himself while at it.

And to bring it back to the "Matty is queer" discourse, since that's where I generally gravitate: Halloween is inherently very queer. Dressing up, stretching normal boundaries of appearance, sometimes gender-bending (we all see you and worship you, Adam Hann and John Waugh)... It's all queer as fuck. And even if Matty's chosen costume was admittedly very boring and fairly OBVIOUS for him, I am still happy with it because he looked like he was having an absolute blast. And isn't that why they do what they do, and have done so for the past twenty years, really?

(long ask, even longer reply: apparently I had A Lot Of Thoughts about this ❤️)

#answered #matty is queer #the halloween show #satvb

[sheewolf85]

New Fic - Who's the Prettiest of them All? Mutt/Reader Angsty Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Sequel to Puppy. Set a few months later, Mutt takes Iris to the market to look for Halloween decorations and the like. There, he makes a decision concerning Iris. Reader misunderstands and has a few thoughts to share.

Notes: I didn't get this done in time for Halloween, but have it anyway.

Reader makes a big misunderstanding here and her emotions take over. I understand it may be frustrating to some, but my intention here is to show that it's not always easy to see things as they are when your views of certain things are clouded by such bias. In my opinion, her bias is not wrong at all, she just mistakes what is actually going on for a different thing.

Tags: Established Relationship, Female Reader, Mutt is best partner, Mutt is best dad. Fear of losing a child. Like in a crowd - not a pregnancy. Arguments, Misunderstandings, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mostly Resolved

Read it on AO3!

Or, read it here!

Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!

You were going to murder him. Hell, you were gonna have to get in line because he’d murder himself first. 

Mutt took a deep breath and closed his sockets for a second to regain his sanity before he started looking around again. He’d brought Iris to the market with him to look for Halloween decorations and costume ideas like he’d promised, and she was having so much fun. He’d told her to stay right by his side, had held her hand for all but two goddamned seconds. 

And in those two seconds? She’d disappeared. Gone. She wasn’t beside him, wasn’t on the other side of the barrel of whatever fruit he was trying to identify, wasn’t fucking anywhere. 

He’d called her name three times now, and was close to grabbing the nearest motherly looking person to help him find his daughter before he died from sheer panic. 

He thought he’d known fear before. He’d led his team of Marine Rangers into too many operations to count, he’d seen the most horrific and violent acts a group of people could do to each other, been injured so badly he thought he wouldn’t live through it, and he’d been on the receiving end of his brother’s discipline. 

None of that could have ever prepared him for losing his kid. 

“Puppy!”

His entire being sagged with the weight of relief as he turned to the sound of the sweetest voice in the world to see Iris bouncing up to him. 

“where’d ya go, li’l flower,” he asked as he bent and scooped her up, holding her probably too tightly. 

She leaned back, struggling a little against his arms, and waved around a half sheet of paper. “Look what I found!”

Mutt buried his wildly conflicting emotions and went with curious as he shifted Iris to one arm and used his free hand to hold the paper still. It was a flier for an event. 

Who’s the Prettiest of them All?

A cute costume contest from the looks of it, meant for kids ages two to five. It was coming up soon, only two weeks away on the day before Halloween. The rules were all listed, along with categories, prizes, and how to enter. 

He’d seen worse ideas. 

Iris was all but vibrating in his arms. “Do you think I’d win? The man said I’d win cuz I’m the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.”

Mutt glanced at her, and his jaw tensed. “what man?”

She pointed off in the direction she’d come running from. “He’s over there. He gave me the flier and said his nephew is going to be there but he thought I’d win anyway.”

And wasn’t that suspicious? Mutt made a mental note to let his brother know about this man. Black was just as protective of Iris as Mutt was himself. For now, he had a kid to teach a lesson to.

He nodded and started walking toward the corner he’d stashed their stuff when she disappeared before sitting down next to it. 

“Puppy?” She sat on his lap and looked up at him curiously. “You don’t think I’d win?”

Mutt smiled despite himself. “‘course ya’d win, little darlin’, but before we c’n talk about that, we need to talk about somethin’ else.”

Her face scrunched in confusion. “What is it?”

“i told ya ta stick by me,” he said gently. He watched sadly as her face fell. He truly hated the worry in her eyes. “ya ain’t in trouble,” he added quickly, “but ya scared me real bad.”

Her little lips pursed. “I scared you?”

He nodded. “yeah. thought i’d lost ya, sweetheart. ya know how much i love ya, how much it’d kill me if ya got hurt.” He decided not to mention the things he might do if he found out she’d been hurt. She didn’t need any extra early childhood trauma. 

Iris looked down and picked at the chain around his neck. “I’m sorry, Puppy.”

He hugged her tightly. “can’t really say i’s okay, but i forgive ya if ya promise me ya won’t do it again.” He pushed her back just enough to look into her eyes, hoping she could see just how sincere he was. "Promises mean a whole lot ta me, little flower. if ya promise this, ya can’ break it.”

Iris nodded resolutely. “I promise, Puppy! I won’t ever do it again.”

Thank the fucking stars. 

“good.” He lifted the flier again. “now, le’s talk about this contest.”

--------------------------

You’d just gotten home from work when Mutt and Iris got back from the market. You were a little surprised; you’d thought they were going earlier in the day. It wasn’t a big deal. Your only stipulation to Mutt was that you didn’t want them gone after you’d gotten home and he’d only missed that mark by a maximum of two minutes. 

“sorry!” Mutt said as he carried Iris and a half a dozen bags in. 

You watched with a smile on your face as he shut and locked the door, then set the bags down all without Iris so much as wobbling in his grasp. His strength didn’t surprise you anymore, but you remembered a time when you’d asked if he needed help with something similar and he proceeded to pick you up right along with everything else in his arms. 

After he’d set everything but Iris down, he came up to you and pulled you in. “sorry, darlin’,” he said, holding you to his side. “we got a late start’n ended up stayin’ longer’n i thought.” He kissed the top of your head. 

You stood up on your toes to kiss him properly. “It’s okay, baby; I only barely got home, too.” You took Iris into your own arms and hugged her. “Did you guys have fun?”

Iris nodded wildly. “We saw so many fun things!” she cried. She went on to tell you all about the different Halloween displays and the candy shops. One shop was decorated like a magic pumpkin and everything inside was pumpkin spice flavored. 

You smiled up at Mutt and pulled away to go to the kitchen to start figuring out something for dinner. “You didn’t spoil your appetite, did you?” you asked playfully. 

Iris sighed dramatically. “No. Puppy wouldn’t let me get anything when he realized how late it was getting.”

Smart man. 

Mutt brought the bags with any food or fridge items and you helped to put them away after setting Iris down. 

Iris sat down at the table to watch you and Mutt do the work. She was watching him with an expression you weren’t sure how to name. 

“Puppy, do we have to tell her?”

That caught your attention. You looked at Mutt. 

He nodded. “course we do, little flower. we don’t lie ta mama, not even by not sayin’ what needs ta be said.” He looked at you then. “we had a…well, somethin’ happened, but nobody got hurt.”

That didn’t sound good. 

Iris sighed once again. “I got in trouble,” she said, looking down at the floor. 

“Okay?” 

Mutt pulled you into him and kissed your forehead. “‘m sorry, darlin’. i let go’a her hand for a few seconds ‘n’ by the time i looked up she was gone. she came right back, though; i only lost’er for a minute.”

Oh. Well, it wasn’t exactly thrilling to know he’d lost sight of her, but it wasn’t like it had never happened to you. She was slippery when she wanted to be, and kids moved a hell of a lot faster than one might think. 

“I really appreciate you telling me,” you said with a smile. “But I’m not mad. I'm pretty sure whatever panic attack you had when you realized she was gone was punishment enough.”

He barked out a laugh. “ain’t that the damn truth.” He kissed you again. “thanks, darlin’. i already talked ta her too, but you prob’ly want to, too, huh?”

You shook your head, smiling at Iris’ expression. “No, I don’t think I need to. Even with as much of a softie as you are, I trust you gave her a sufficient lecture.”

Iris nodded heartily at that. “He said I scared him! Can you believe that?”

Yes, you could, and you could also see exactly why that would shock young Iris. Mutt was never scared of anything, not the boogeyman in the closet or even the creepies and crawlies. Iris didn’t remember being left alone for four hours, didn’t remember the fear of being abandoned, and for that you would be eternally grateful. In turn it meant she didn’t understand how scary a loss like that could be. 

“Well, it would scare me too!” you said with wide eyes, walking over to ruffle her curly hair. “So yes, I can believe it. But his secret will be safe with us.” You gave him a wink. 

Iris giggled. “Yep!”

You finally got to work figuring out dinner. Cooking with Mutt was interesting. He always followed your lead, but even though you’d been cooking with him now for over a year, he still acted like he didn’t know what he was doing. You weren’t sure if that was because it just wasn’t a skill he was good at or if he was actually playing around. Either way, you fed into it and walked him through each step like you had the first time, sometimes even with your hands guiding his. It was never boring or frustrating. Only a lovely experience creating tasty food for your little family with the man you loved. 

It wasn’t until after dinner that Iris started talking about the market again. She talked about all the people she’d met and the things she and Mutt had done. And then she said something that really caught your attention. 

“And Puppy signed me up for a pageant!”

“A what now?” You asked, looking at Mutt. “What kind of pageant?”

He smiled and pulled a half sheet of paper from his pocket. “she brought this back after she disappeared on me,” he explained, handing the paper to you. 

You told yourself it couldn’t be what it looked like. Mutt wouldn’t sign your baby up for a beauty pageant, would he?

“The man said I’d win because I’m the prettiest!” Iris all but shouted. 

You heard Mutt’s voice, but the thoughts in your head were too loud for you to make out what he was saying. Instead, all you could see were the faces of those precious babies on that show you’d watched that exposed all the horrors of beauty pageants. How so many of those girls were sexualized and pressured to be so much more than the children they were. Their freedom stripped away from them so they could live out their greedy parents’ fantasies. 

And now Mutt had signed your daughter up for one. Your precious Iris was going to be looked at like she was nothing more than a toy, a doll for the viewing pleasure of some sick judges, most likely men who just hadn’t had their twistedness found out yet. 

“No!” you shouted, standing up from the couch. “Iris, I’m sorry honey, but this isn’t going to happen.” How could Mutt do this to her? You already felt tears stinging your eyes. “Please go to your room, I need to talk to Mutt for a minute.”

“But Mama—“

You sniffled and shook your head. “No, not right now. Please go to your room and shut the door.”

Iris stared at you for a second before she nodded and left the room. She knew what this meant. She knew the yelling was going to start and you wished so hard she didn’t have to be right. 

You sucked in a deep breath and turned to see Mutt standing next to you, his hands in his pockets. 

“i take it yer not a fan’a the idea?”

“How could you do this?” you hissed, shaking the flier at him. “How could you do this to her?”

He had the audacity to look confused. “what d’ya mean, how could i—“

“This, Mutt!” You shoved the paper at him and watched as it fell to the floor. Your vision was starting to blur as tears continued to build. “I understand that monsters experience the world differently, but you can’t tell me you don’t know what kind of sick things happen at those events.”

That time he held his hands up, palms out. “alright, darlin’, yer obviously pissed, but i think yer missin’ somethin’ here.”

“I’m not the one missing things!” You shouted. “Don’t you dare start that bullshit, Mutt; I have been there too many fucking times. I’m not the one who fucked up here, and you don’t get to decide I’m wrong when I’m not!”

It was one thing to have Mutt do this to Iris, but then to turn on you and pull the same manipulative bullshit your exes had done, too? You loved him. You trusted him! How could he…?

He reached out to you, and you smacked his hand away. “Don’t touch me!”

“c’mon, sweetheart, let me—“

“No!” You stepped away from him then, putting more physical distance so he couldn’t try other ploys you’d experienced. You wouldn’t let him kiss you into compliance or try to distract you with his touch. You weren’t giving in, not for anything. 

“okay.” He held his hands up again and took a step back as well. “okay. i’ll call ‘n’ get‘er outta tha contest.”

That made you stop for a second. It couldn’t be that easy. Nobody gave in that easy. 

“What?”

He nodded, hands still held up. “it won’t happen. we’ll forget about it, ‘n’ i’ll explain ta iris i made a mistake.”

You swallowed, wondering where the catch was. Maybe he was going to wait until later tonight to say it. Whatever it was. The fact that you couldn’t even think of what it might be was unnerving. 

“And you’ll sleep on the couch tonight,” you said, making a snap decision. If he couldn’t touch you, then he couldn’t coerce you. 

The utter devastation on his face hurt, and a part of you wanted to take it back. You had to be strong. 

To your surprise, he nodded and wrapped his arms around himself. “okay.” 

Tomorrow, with a clear head and some sleep behind you, maybe you’d be brave enough to find out what the catch was. 

“Okay,” you agreed, straightening your shoulders. “I’m gonna go get Iris ready for bed.”

You didn’t wait to hear what he might have to say about that. Instead, you went down the hall and stopped just outside your daughter’s room to cry for a few moments. Your whole body shook as you tried to be as silent as possible. You wanted so badly to believe that Mutt had made a simple mistake, but how could he not know?

After a few deep breaths to try to calm down, you wiped your face and knocked gently on Iris’ door before opening it. She was curled up on her bed with every stuffed animal Mutt had given her on her bed, her arms wrapped around them all as much as possible. She’d obviously been crying, and it nearly sent you right back into full tears to see her sad eyes. 

You walked over and sat on the side of her bed. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

She sniffled. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

You nodded. She had every right to be mad at you for taking back something Mutt had already promised her. She didn’t know better than to ask for things like being signed up for a beauty pageant. “That’s okay. You don’t have to talk, but you still need to have a bath.”

She nodded and got up. 

Her silent treatment was unbearable, but you could take it. You’d dealt with worse tonight and would have harder things to deal with tomorrow. Iris would forgive you, eventually. 

After her bath, you got her dressed and went back to her room. 

“Can I still have Puppy read to me?” Iris asked, her voice so tiny.

You nodded. “Of course you can, honey.” You kissed her forehead and went out to the living room. 

Mutt was on his back on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest and his sockets closed. It was pretty easy to tell he wasn’t asleep. You cleared your throat, and he looked over at you. 

“Um. Iris wants you to read to her.”

He nodded and rolled to his feet. He all but tip-toed around you, careful not to get too close, and went past you to Iris’ bedroom. 

You listened as Mutt read to her, your heart breaking all over again when his voice shook. 

Your relationship with him was going to survive this, wasn’t it? It was strong enough. Oh, how you wanted to believe that. There was no question that the love was there, for both of you, but… Yeah, but. 

Your eyes landed on the crumpled flier where it had fallen to the floor during your fight. You walked over and picked it up, gingerly unfolding it. Maybe you could find the wording to help him see why you’d gotten so angry. You doubted it; these things usually relied heavily on pretty talk to cover up their ugliness. 

Before you had a chance to look it over, you heard Mutt closing Iris’ door. You folded the flier and quickly shoved it into your pocket just as he rounded the corner. 

“she’s out,” he said softly, tucking his hands awkwardly into his pockets. 

You nodded. “Okay, good. Let me help you set up the couch.”

He shook his head. “ya don’t gotta do that. i know where stuff is.”

You had no argument for that, so you just nodded again. “Okay. Goodnight, Mutt.”  

He just nodded but didn’t say anything. For a few long minutes, you just stood there staring at him before you gave up and turned around. You went to your room and shut the door quietly. 

You had never made a boyfriend sleep on the couch before. If an argument had ever gotten that heated, it usually meant he left in a tantrum and you were left comforting a frightened Iris. 

You were mad enough to let it get that far if Mutt had pushed, and you still wondered why he’d given in so easily. 

You pulled the flier from your pocket and unfolded it again, sitting down on your bed to get a good look at it. 

Who’s the Prettiest of them All?

You shuddered and closed your eyes briefly, but forced yourself to continue reading. As you did, you felt your whole body grow cold. Realization was like an ice bath and it left you shaking just as hard. 

Oh god. You’d fucked up. You actually had been wrong and Mutt had only been trying to explain himself. 

A costume contest. An actual costume contest for cute costumes like princesses and pumpkins and kitty cats, meant for young children who probably wouldn’t want to be scary things anyway. It was open to boys and girls ages two to five and was free to enter.

How did you manage to twist this into something so different? 

And what must Mutt be thinking of you right now?

You wanted to rush out there and talk to him, but you were so scared. You’d already made such an idiot of yourself and hurt him so badly, what was to stop him from lashing out too? You certainly deserved it. 

You sucked in a shuddering breath and decided to wait until morning. You really hoped you could fix this. 

-------------------------

Mutt didn’t sleep that night. He’d made up the couch after you’d gone to sleep only to say he had. He knew you’d feel guilty for some reason if he didn’t. 

He laid there staring at the ceiling and wondering where he’d gone wrong. After finding the place he needed to sign Iris up for the contest, he talked to a lady there for a while and got some more information about the whole thing. It sounded like it’d be fun, and Iris was really excited to show off her costume that she didn’t even have yet. She’d decided to be a fairy this year, and costumes were among the many things they’d be looking for at the market. 

They did actually find some good stuff to use for her outfit. Some cool wings and some pointy ears that were small enough to fit her tiny ones, and while they didn’t find a wand they did get some inspiration and decided to make her one themselves. 

But did any of it really matter when he’d made such a huge mistake? He didn’t even know why it was a mistake, but the fact was that he’d betrayed your trust in him somehow. He wanted to fix it, but where was he even going to start? He didn’t know what to apologize for, aside from that contest. If he could maybe ask you to explain why it was such a big deal to you, but he didn’t want to risk getting you that upset again. 

It was just after one in the morning when he heard it. The tiniest of whimpers, coming from Iris’ room. He listened carefully for any other noises and sat up when he heard another whimper. 

Iris had been known to have night terrors on occasion. You’d told him they started shortly after she’d been left alone for hours. He still wanted to find that fucker and make him pay, but he had bigger issues to deal with. For one, his daughter was sobbing in her sleep. 

He crept down the hall and opened her door silently to see her tiny form shaking on the bed under her covers. He walked up to her bed and knelt down beside it, reaching out to carefully lay a hand on her back. His soul broke in half at the sight of her wet little cheeks. 

“iris?” he whispered, “little flower? wake up, sweetheart.” He shook her gently. 

Iris woke up with a gasp and looked at him, her big brown eyes filling with more tears. 

“Puppy?” She sniffled and sat up, her voice shaking as she said his name again and shoved herself into his arms. “Puppy, don’t leave.”

He hugged her tightly to him, shifting to sit down on the carpet and cradle her to his shoulder. “i ain’t leavin’, li’l darlin’.”

She sobbed again and squeezed his shoulders. “Not ever?”

Well. He’d already gotten in trouble for giving her something that seemed like a good idea. As much as he wanted to believe that that mistake didn’t mean he had to give this up, could he really tell Iris he’d never leave only to watch her faith in him disappear when you asked him to?

“you know how much promises mean ta me,” he said instead, “an’ that means i don’ make ‘em ‘less i know i c’n keep ‘em.” He couldn’t look at her, held her tighter when she tried to pull back. He couldn’t bear whatever expression was on that precious face. 

She didn’t struggle, only held on as tightly as she could to the point of nearly strangling him. He’d dealt with worse. 

He held her for a few minutes longer before he decided he needed to take her in to you. As much as he wanted to just hold her all night long, not letting you know your daughter’d had a nightmare was a mistake he was not going to make. 

-----------------------------

You woke up at the sound of a knock on your door. You opened your eyes in time to see Mutt come in with Iris. 

“i know yer mad at me, but iris had a bad dream’n i thought ya might wanna know.”

He was cradling her to his chest like he did every time she had those horrible night terrors. You nodded and patted the bed beside you. 

“Lay down with us?” you asked, knowing he’d leave her in here with you if you didn’t specify. For as lazy as he could seem sometimes, he was downright rigid when it came to consent, and the more you had thought about it over the last few hours, the more you realized it was going to take some work to fix the damage you’d caused. There was no better place to start than where you were. 

Mutt nodded and gently placed Iris down beside you. Or tried to; she clung to him as though letting go would mean saying goodbye for always, and wasn’t that a kick in the teeth?

“i’s okay, li’l flower,” he said softly, “‘m gonna stay right here with ya.”

Iris nodded and let him set her down, but kept one hand on him until he was settled in beside you. Despite being tucked between the two of you, Iris snuggled herself deeply into Mutt’s embrace. 

“She’s afraid of losing you, isn’t she?” You asked, rubbing your daughter’s back. 

Mutt nodded. “yeah. can’t say ‘m real sure what ta say ta that.”

Could your heart hurt any more? It twisted hard at his words, only proving again how much damage you’d done. 

“I’m so sorry,” you said, voice wavering. You leaned into him, kissing Iris on the shoulder as you attempted to hug the two of them.

Mutt wrapped an arm around you. “fer what, darlin’?” He sounded bewildered. 

You pulled back then and met his lilac eye lights. “For misunderstanding and overreacting. You made a quick decision with Iris’ best interest at heart, and no matter what my thoughts on the actual thing were, you didn’t deserve for me to get as angry as I did. I never wanted to hurt you, Mutt. I never wanted to make you feel like you can’t be the father you want to be for her, because I do love you so much, and I know I can trust you and the reasons you have for the choices you make.” 

Iris chose that moment to peek up, turning just enough to look over her shoulder at you. “Mama, I don’t wanna say goodbye like the other ones.”

You gave her a watery smile. “Mutt is nothing like the other ones, honey. He’s so much better, and so long as he can forgive me for making such a big deal over something so trivial, then he’s not going anywhere.”

You looked at Mutt, hoping you had read him right. “You do want to stay, right?”

Mutt snorted. “ain’t no way i’m leavin’ my girls over a li’l tiff like that.” He hugged the both of you tightly, smushing Iris playfully between you and him until she giggled. He finally released his tight hold and pressed a soft kiss to Iris’ head. 

“I do still want to talk about what happened,” you said softly, keeping your eyes down and staring into Iris’s hair. “I want to talk about why I reacted the way I did.”

Mutt’s fingers under your chin gently urged you to look at him, and you did. He was smiling so softly, such pure love shining in his eye lights. “‘course, darlin’; we’ll hash all that out and set ourselves straight. but can it wait ‘til mornin’?”

As if on cue, Iris sucked in a huge yawn that managed to spread to both you and Mutt in a matter of seconds. You chuckled and nodded. 

“Yeah, probably a good idea. You’ll both stay here, right?” You pressed yourself just a little closer. 

Mutt nodded. “jus’ you try ta make me move,” he said, a playful growl in his voice.

Iris turned to you again, a giggle in her voice as she spoke. “I wouldn’t if I were you.”

You nuzzled your nose against your daughter’s before giving both her and Mutt a goodnight kiss. 

“Love you both.”

They repeated the sentiment, and soon the three of you were drifting off to a peaceful night’s sleep. 

#my writing #undertale fanfic #undertale #swapfell #swapfell papyrus #mutt #mutt/reader #angst #angst and hurt/comfort #happy ending #hurt/comfort

[soul-music-is-life]

PLL: OS thoughts on episode 7 (SPOILERS)

Spoilers below cut, cuz I’m not a monster who wants to spoil shit.

I assumed this would be the episode where Elodie’s secret came out. Here we go…gearing up to hate Elodie, which is going to hurt my heart because I love Lea Salonga.

Hmm, so…this funhouse mirror scene is like…a reverse-uno Alison where Elodie is coming on to Angela. In PLL it was Emily being interested in Alison and Alison going along with it only to hold it against her, whereas Elodie led Angela right into it because FEELINGS. *sigh* I get that Elodie was freaking out about hiding her sexuality, but…c’mon. What she did was shitty, but I don’t hate her near as much as the other moms…yet. Maybe it’s Lea bias. Maybe I just hate it when LGBTQ characters are villains. Or maybe it’s because I don’t think Elodie planned that. She just freaked out. The other girls intentionally planned to hurt Angela. Doesn’t make it right. But I’m analyzing this...and Elodie was probably the least bitchy to Angela given what the other girls did to her. The others physically and mentally abused her on purpose.

Bro, the way Corey is icing Faran out like it’s her fault. Girl, bye. She is the worst mother. Marjorie ties with her. Woman, this child did not make you get in that car and start driving. Fuck this bitch. She deserves the Davie treatment.

Noa out here spilling the tea on Sheriff Beasley. MY GIRL!!! She is definitely my favorite. *standing ovation*

I like the sensitive spot that Faran has for Kelly. She may be hot and cold with the girl, but she does care.

Calling it now. Mouse was kidnapped on Halloween night at the carnival.

*almost kidnapped. Close enough.

Ash is the best. Love him. Supportive, kind, empathetic. On that note, I know something about Ash that is not common knowledge yet. HOWEVER, it changes absolutely nothing. He is perfect.

Why are all the teachers at this school so creepy? Only adult figure I like is the nurse. And I’m still kind of pissed that she didn’t refer Imogen to a Doctor when Imogen was freaking out and talking about an abortion. I get why this is so problematic and controversial, but she was 15 years old and raped. So...the least she deserved was a conversation with someone who had a PhD

I don’t know anything about ballet, so someone tell me how Faran is doing.

Get creepy Wes off my screen THIS instant! And of course he likes movies with rape in them. I hate him.

That fake out pen scene with Tabby is probably the corniest thing I have seen on this show thus far. So I will give it a pass.

This Steve/Mouse shit is getting to be too much. I am really unnerved by it. This full-ass adult freaks my adult ass out.

I can’t tell if Tabby’s mom is actually trying to help Imogen or not. I do not trust her.

Imogen lost her fake child. I am not supposed to be laughing at this. And the fact that the baby’s name is a fucking nod to Hannibal…dead.

I understand Tabby facing her demons. I do. But honey…going into the middle of the woods when a psycho is out there?!

Why is this Sheriff not dead yet? You are slacking, Masked Creeper. Get on that.

How is Corey going to straight up pretend she wasn’t an absolute See You Next Tuesday that morning? Good on Faran for giving her the metaphorical finger.

I wanted to leap through the screen and punch Steve for grabbing Mouse like that.

Ohhhh, Mouse’s dad is gonna be the one who tried to snatch her!!! I just feel it!

I don’t know how I feel about Chip/Imogen

Noa is a badass. That girl was about to take on a whole football team.

Shawn is back on my shitlist. Fucking testosterone hyena hiveminded bitch.

That house of mirrors scene was as intense as Noa’s apartment scene. Poor Mouse.

Bruh…what Elodie did to that man trying to start a family was MESSED UP. I figured it was her dad, but Elodie fucking ran off with the child when she was a surrogate?!

Oh shit. Ohohohoh…hold up. MOUSE USING BURNERS. What in the actual -A?

Ahh, I feel bad that Mouse’s family is breaking up. But understandable.

THAT ENDING!!!!!!! Epic. Do not RIP, Tyler.

So I feel like I have to speak on something. One thing that really annoys me: I feel like Elodie has had way less screen time than the other mothers and that bothers me for some reason. It’s not because I like Lea. It’s because I’m annoyed that the only LGBTQ couple doesn’t get the same treatment as the other moms. And what we see is always toxic. There was not one loving scene with Elodie and Mouse and I don’t like that. I understand that the other mothers are toxic, but we’ve also seen scenes of them with their children that were really sweet (Davie/Imogen and Tabby and her mother as well). Faran’s mom can choke. But her dad is wonderful. I guess I could probably say the same thing for Noa/Marjorie that I can for Elodie/Mouse. Both of them have been nothing but poison. I’m uncomfortable with that.

Last thoughts: what I thought was going to be spoiled in this episode (fucking asshole people on reddit) was not spoiled, so I’ll go into that particular thing I know when it happens.

I can’t wait until next week!! I was pretty dead on about my theories (I swear these are things that I did not know going into this show), so I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Anyway, ranking the Liars for fun:

1) Noa. Call me a sucker for a girl with a tough outer-shell, but is loyal AF and vulnerable inside.

2) This is tough, because Imogen and Mouse are tied for me. Imogen, because she is so fleshed out, but Mouse’s storyline constantly has me on the edge of my seat and I’ve enjoyed seeing her develop from meek to “don’t fuck with me.” So on that alone, I think I have to give this slot to Mouse.

3) Imogen. One of the most fleshed out characters and fantastically acted. Can I make her 2.5 instead of 3? It was a tough choice for me. I do love Imogen and I’m engulfed in her story…and Bailee is absolutely crushing it. But the storylines for Noa and Mouse have been more gripping…and frankly, terrifying.

4) Faran. It actually kind of pains me to put her this low because I love her and her storyline has been so amazing. Her one-liners are fabulous and her growth and the fact that she’s shedding herself of her mother’s shadow is such an incredible arc. I just seem to be grabbed more by the others right now. *subject to change.

5) I like Tabby. I do. I see a lot of hate for her on reddit. But I do like her. I think she’s going to be key to solving the entire mystery (her and Imogen), but the others have held my attention more often than not and I find myself so engulfed in what is happening to them that sometimes I forget about Tabby (ie: Noa in her apartment running from the Masked Creeper, Imogen and her grief during the Ouija board scene…fuck that cut me deep and I am traumatized, and Mouse with Steve the creep and in the house of mirrors. I just don’t have that kind of connection with Tabby yet. There has been no ‘it’ moment…except when she punched Tyler, which was awesome).

#Pretty Little Liars Original Sin #Pretty Little Liars Original Sin spoilers #PLL: OS spoilers #PLL: OS

[carbonateds-oda]

🎃🦇🦇🦇🦇 Trick or treat!!! 🎃🦇🦇🦇🦇

(it's funny cause your name is candy lol 🤭)

anyways..so in this game, we can give anything..

I give you..

the nosy anon asks you reblogged! 🤭🦇 (and some more)

[disclaimer: I edited it a bit]

[only answer the ones you want to tho!]

[feel free to vent]

[it's not me, it's the post that's being nosy]

[I added/removed some questions too tho]

*** okay let's start! 🤭🎃***

Do you smoke/drink/take drugs? (don't look at me, it was from the post TT - but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested HELP TT )

Age you get mistaken for?

Have tattoos/Want any tattoos?

Got any piercings/Want any piercings?

Best friend/close friends?

Biggest turn ons?

Biggest turn offs?

Favorite movie?

Favorite show?

Someone you miss? (honestly, I think I alr know the answer but I'm still going to ask) TT

Most traumatic experience?

A fact about your personality?

What you hate most about yourself? (I'm going to virtually dazai-slap you if you say 'everything')

What you love most about yourself?

What you want to be when you get older?

Your relationship with your sibling(s)?

Your relationship with your parent(s)?

Your idea of a perfect date?

Your biggest pet peeves?

A description of the girl/boy you like?

A description of the person you dislike the most?

Type of people you dislike? (for no particular reason, just personal bias)?

A reason you've lied to a friend?

Do you prefer white lies or harsh truth?

What you hate the most about work/school?

What makes you happy when you're at work/school?

What words upset you the most?

What words are you dying to hear from someone else?

What words make you happy when you hear them?

Are you into girls, guys, or both? 👀

What makes a person attractive to you? (/what's your ideal type)?

Where would you like to live?

One of your insecurities?

Your childhood career choice?

Your favorite ice cream flavor?

Who you wish you could be?

What's the nicest thing someone has done for you?

What's the nicest thing you've done for someone?

Where would you want to be right now?

Sexiest person that comes to your mind immediately? (back off. Oda's mine /j).

What's one phrase you say often? (can be either in English or Spanish)

How many languages can you speak? Enumerate them based on how fluent you are (ex: 1. English; 2. Japanese, etc)

Are you a math or arts girlie?

Have you ever played candy crush? (sorry that's kind of a bad pun 😅🤭)

When a friend wrongs you, do you confront them about it or silently grow distant?

would you rather initiate physical affection or have someone else suddenly give you physical affection?

What's your love language/how do you show love to your loved ones?

and last but not the least

share one random fact you want to share <3

(just make sure its not private info lol)

🎃🦇🦇🦇🦇 Happy Halloween, Candy!! 🎃🦇🦇🦇🦇

my fellow Oda simp who's quite insane and funny 🥰🤭🤭

[pls pls pls i hope i don't come across as nosy TT just answer the ones you want :") ]

🎃🦇🦇🦇🦇 Happy Halloween, again!! 🎃🦇🦇🦇🦇

<333

xoxo

Do you smoke/drink/take drugs?

-I do not do any of those :) but I’d b lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to start

Age you get mistaken for?

-I’ve nvr been mistaken for a diff age so none ig

Have tattoos/Want any tattoos?

-do not but I do plan on getting at least one sometime, prob zelda related

Got any piercings/Want any piercings?

-just my ears rn but I rlly wanna get my nose re-pierced and maybe an eyebrow one too

Favorite movie?

-shrek 2 that movie is just rlly funny in spanish and I grew up watching it a lot

Someone you miss?

-…maybe my brother. but only a rice grains worth. oh and def my cousins I haven’t seen them in a while but I’d die before admitting that out loud

Most traumatic experience?

-every first day of school Ive had ever

A fact about your personality?

-well i have the same personality type as saiki and according to multiple sources, it def checks out

What you hate most about yourself?

-I’ll just take that slap then thank you.

What you love most about yourself?

-im occasionally funny w is nice ig

What you want to be when you get older?

-hopefully a writer

Your relationship with your sibling(s)?

-oof idk anymore but we were pretty close I’d say, we have a lot of similar interests but he’s like way older so he had too much other shit going on for us to b super close

Your idea of a perfect date?

-if we manage to make each other laugh that’s an automatic win for me idrc what we do

Your biggest pet peeves?

-when ppl ask me stupid questions that they could easily answer themselves I rlly don’t like talking more than I have to

Type of people you dislike?

-anyone who knows anatomy bc I’m bitter and envious of them

Do you prefer white lies or harsh truth?

-harsh truth

What you hate the most about work/ school?

-being expected to talk to ppl

What makes you happy when you're at work/school?

-I like having structure and being told exactly what I need to do and when so that

What word's upset you the most?

-“you have to order ur own food” <\3 😔

What words are you dying to hear from someone else?

-an explanation abt sm that happened yrs ago I still have yet to hear their side of things

What words make you happy when you hear them?

-my mom told me it was cold outside and i nearly exploded from joy I’ve been waiting so long to b able to wear sweaters again

Are you into girls, guys, or both?

-both, i am bi (mysel- I’m sorry.)

What makes a person attractive to you? (/what's your ideal type)?

-just someone funny and well read. and if they have a nice voice

Where would you like to live?

-somewhere where it isn’t always hot as fuck

One of your insecurities?

-rlly living up to the pfp, I get hair on my chin w I forget to shave sometimes and it’s dark so ppl close to me can def see it w is embarrassing

Your childhood career choice?

-artist

Your favorite ice cream flavor?

-vanilla, but specifically the blue bell one

What's the nicest thing someone has done for you?

-my six yr old cousin threatened to call the police on my mom cuz she thought she was hitting me and then used herself as a shield to “protect” me😭

What's the nicest thing you've done for someone?

-just lending an ear to sm who rlly needed it ig

Where would you want to be right now?

-can’t believe I’m saying this but school, I can’t function w out the constant over looming threat of deadlines, they keep me in check

Sexiest person that comes to your mind immediately? (back off. Oda's mine /j).

-^ I’m gonna have to ask u to step tf away from my wife please. ok but fr no one rlly comes to mind rn

What's one phrase you say often?

-“no thanks” and man does my fam hate it

How many languages can you speak?

-two, English and Spanish

Are you a math or arts girlie?

-ARTS. I fucking hate math sm

Have you ever played candy crush? (it’s ok lol)

-a few times, on my moms phone though cuz ofc that lady was obsessed w it

When a friend wrongs you, do you confront them about it or silently grow distant?

-silently grow distant I need to fix that fr

would you rather initiate physical affection or have someone else suddenly give you physical affection?

-neither tbh

What's your love language/how do you show love to your loved ones?

-acts of service ig

share one random fact you want to share <3

-my fav soda is Pepsi (idk there’s like three bottles rt in front of me and I can’t think of anything else)

ty for the trick or treat asks 🫶

and Happy Halloween to you too 🎃🍬

#also dw abt the nosy part I wouldn’t have rb it if I minded 🫶 #candy box

[prophet-of-fire]

fuck it i'm making the days events real holidays, they're too cool Not to be part of lore.

it's gonna be a loooong post so here's a a readmore

DAYS OF FORTUNE / NEW YEAR FESTIVAL: starts a few days before the actual lunar new year. festivities include dressing in red and gold, firing off fireworks and having a big feast on the night of the new year. just before the feast everyone prays for a prosperous year

DAYS OF LOVE: typical valentines' day deal, except that the form of love used in the holiday's name means familial love in the skykid language so gifts are prepared for family members instead of lovers. it's still a popular time to get engaged or married, though

DAYS OF BLOOM / CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL: again, a typical spring festival with flowers and young livestock and such. a lot of the festival is spent making crafts with flowers and young plants

DAYS OF NATURE: assimilated into the cherry blossom and summer festivals

DAYS OF HEALING: first celebrated on the day a long war ended. white veils and/or head coverings are worn and the healthy fast for two weeks

DAYS OF RAINBOW: pushed back and assimilated into days of healing. people cast rainbow spells on the last day of the fast

DAYS OF SUMMER LIGHTS / LANTERN FESTIVAL: dedicated to partying, really. on some nights in the wasteland back when it was the capital, it was easier to see the fireworks and lanterns than the stars. gifts wrapped in colorful paper and sealed with white wax are often given during the lantern festival, so it's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year™ for a lot of people

DAYS OF SKY: not celebrated since it takes place entirely in an area that doesn't canonically exist

DAYS OF SUMMER: less of an actual holiday and more like when summer is

DAYS OF MISCHIEF / SCARECROWS' NIGHTS: it's halloween babey!!!!!! at first it was just when people got together to shoo away the migrating birds feeding on the crops, but eventually "human" scarecrows were replaced with wooden ones. the tradition still remains though: skykids of all ages dress up in their "scariest" costumes and go out caroling and make crafts with the autumn plants. anyone wearing a bird mask gets bonked on the head. the more devout pray for good harvests but most people are more concerned with carving gourds and making wreaths

DAYS OF FEAST / BLACK NIGHT'S FEAST: on the winter solstice, provided the harvest was good, everyone in a given village gets together to make a feast for everyone. this is the second most popular time to get engaged or married, so extra food is always made in the event that a family gets a new mouth to feed :)

#sky cotl #sky children of the light #sky worldbuilding #sky headcanons #also anyone who tries to Actually scare the little moths on the nights of the scarecrow gets shunned for the rest of the festival #and they have to clean up on the black night's feast #girl help my halloween bias is showing

[midasinc]

modern era courfius hcs:

for @a-rose-remembered, bae asf

-courfeyrac likes marius from the start. he has it BAD and it absolutely wrecks him when marius starts talking about this girl that he is deadset on being in love with, but courfeyrac is a good friend even when it hurts and helps marius to find and date this girl. he's happy that marius is happy, but it sucks to see him happy with somebody that isnt himself

-marius gets capital d Dumped because cosette realizes that oh my god she just isn't into guys. marius is sweet and she likes him as a friend but being with a man isnt what she wants and he is SO heartbroken and cries to courfeyrac. courfeyrac doesn't use this as an opening because once again, he's a good friend, and chooses to comfort marius and help him move on. it takes a few months for him to totally recover before he starts thinking that courfeyrac is a really good friend and also has very soft, curly hair and very pretty eyes and oh wait-

-bicon marius pontmercy confirmed

-anyway, they both really love halloween and do matching costumes every year. they always pick a new theme and never repeat a costume. joly and bossuet do the same thing, however, and the two pairs are weirdly competitive about it. one year, all four of them show up in matching sexy-zombie-french-revolution-bourgeoisie and it starts a legitimate fight that takes two months for joly and courfeyrac to fully forgive each other. the next year, feuilly and bahorel show up to the party as "joly and courfeyrac fighting in sexy-zombie-french-revolution-bourgeoisie" and neither courf or joly find it funny at all

-marius is trans and just saved up enough to get top surgery last year. courfeyrac was sosososo supportive and helped him out a lot after the actually surgery by lifting things for him and washing his hair and making sure he was comfy all the time and taking his meds and everything. courfeyrac was a very good bf when it really mattered to marius and that made him very very happy

-courfeyrac was also really helpful when it came to unlearning lots of things. marius's household had really old fashioned viewpoints and those fell onto him as well, but after meeting les amis and seeing different kinds of people and listening to their arguments (more listening than talking after the iconic Marius Gets Owned By Combeferre Incident) helped him realize that he had a lot of internal bias and he wanted to be a good person. courfeyrac explains to him when things are particularly harmful to another person or group when he just genuinely doesn't understand why what he said was bad and i also hc marius to be autistic so he appreciates that courfeyrac tells him straight up without being condescending or talking down to him like he's a baby

-courf has so many food allergies. so many. he's lactose intolerant and marius gets so stressed out when he comes home to see courfeyrac eating ice cream straight from the carton because "nnnnooooooooooooo you can't eat that!" but he's still nice enough to bring him pepto-bismol and his lactaid pills when courfeyrac gets a stummy ache

-marius can't stand pickles and a lot of other foods. he's not purposely picky but so many textures of food make him gag and he just can't do it. marius doesn't really like eating out for this very reason because he doesn't want to be in a situation where he just can't stomach something he didn't ask for. courfeyrac notices this when they do go out, though, and he wants marius to eat enough so if an order comes and it has something that marius can't do, he'll go up to ask the worker about it because marius is too anxious to. either that or he'll eat the pickle! courfeyrac loves pickles and he eats them all the time

-THE FISH!!!!! they have fish. courfeyrac has owned a fish every year of his life and he won't stop now. marius moved in and at first he didn't really notice or care about the fish but now he cares just as much as courfeyrac. they both fret the fuck over this little fish in its tank and are horrified of the thought of accidentally killing it. they both have a part-time job of worrying about this fish. its tank is very cute, though. jehan bought them LED lights for the tank and it's very well stocked and decorated for the lil guy

-marius had to have physical affection grow on him and it took a while, but the best way for courfeyrac to work with this was to always ask first and never be surprising. if he wanted to hold marius's hand he'd ask. if he wanted to hug him from behind he'd ask. even after marius becomes desensitized to touch with courfeyrac, courfeyrac still asks for permission every time he wants to do something

-courfeyrac is an attorney (he actually works at the same firm as enj) and marius has a job at a natural history museum. usually once a week, courfeyrac will come over during his lunch break to pick up his bf and they eat at the museum's cafe because marius already has an order he likes to get and courfeyrac is just happy to be there and see his bf

-marius also works in the back part of the museum, cataloguing new items and such and he fucking loves his job. evenings are always very eventful bc he can just infodump about this and that history-related topic while courfeyrac makes dinner

-courfeyrac gets insecure about his looks really easily. he doesn't mean to, but it happens. a lot of people have put so much worth on his looks during his life that he worries that when his looks aren't great, his worth as a person decreases. marius has learned to not be shocked by the occasional meltdown over a breakout or a change in courfeyrac's weight or worst of all- the day courfeyrac found a grey hair. he's not always sure what to say but he can press a kiss to courfeyrac's cheek and reassure him that he still loves him very much and he's still worth very very much as a person if he breaks out on his chin

-marius doesn't smoke weed because it just heightens his anxiety (he's tried it once and will never again), but he doesn't mind courfeyrac smoking. the smoke he isn't a fan of, but courfeyrac usually smokes outside or uses a dab pen so it doesn't bother marius. marius also doesn't mind a high courfeyrac because he gets very sleepy and is very happy and splays himself across the bed

#love love love #les mis #les miserables #les mis headcanons #relationship headcanons #modern era #modern au #les amis de l'abc #les amis #tw weed #tw drug use #tw drug mention #courfius #courfeyrac #marius pontmercy #trans marius

[randomtheatrethoughts]

Broadway Cast Recording Review: Mean Girls the Musical Act 2

In honor of the now closed Mean Girls the Musical, I will be talking and rating all the songs in the cast recording. Keep in mind, this is all my opinion, and is subject to change. This rating is as of right now, February 14, 2021. I’ll be honest, it will probably change tomorrow. Feel free to comment your own opinions, but don’t disrespect other people’s opinions.  Act 1

Stop: (8/10)

TALK ABOUT A WAY TO KICK OFF ACT 2! Man, I send this song to my friend at least once a week because she is impulsive and needs to hear it. I feel like the first beginning is a bit slow, but again, very essential when sending it to my friend. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT HER, LET’S TALK ABOUT PHILLIP. I LOVE PHILLIP’S STORY. And I absolutely adore how its such a theatre kid story. I love it. The tap number is also great, and the three boys in the beginning adding little bits of their own commentary (he didn’t stop 😑) are just hilarious. I love this song, but I have to be in a certain mood to listen to all of it. Also the beauty of “she’s leaving, just like my dad!” is amazing.

What’s Wrong With Me (Reprise): (6/10)

Another decently short song, but I’m not a huge fan of Kerry’s part (I love Kerry just not her part in the song). I feel like they should be singing something similar, rather than “oh my daughter hated me from age 3″ ya know? The harmonies are beautiful though, so I could listen to that part on repeat. I don’t like how it just opens with an aggressive ‘WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME,” maybe a little bit of an interlude before would be helpful. Not in the show, because contextually, it makes sense why that’s the opening. But when I’m listening to it on its own, the opening is...a bit startling. 

Whose House is This?: (1/10)

Ima be honest, this is easily my least favorite song on the Mean Girls Recording. I’m not a huge fan of those really big party numbers (Big Fun from Heathers, Halloween from Be More Chill, etc.) because in general I’m not a fan of the high school party where everyone gets ridiculously drunk idea. Like the rap is fine, but its high key kinda cringey (at least for me). The only reason I rated this as a 1 (and not a 0) is because of the choreography and the parts that Erika sings (like the actual singing). It’s definitely a skip song for me. 

More Is Better: (9/10)

I LOVE THIS SONG. I love the melody, I love how its this cute little “love duet” if you even want to call it that. I’m a sucker for ballads so I love this song. Erika sounds so beautiful, I love the chorus, and I genuinely adore this song. Kyle is AMAZING in this song, and seeing it live was pretty cool. It was kinda cringey since she’s supposed to be drunk, but again, that’s my bias from the song before kicking in. I wish Kyle got more singing parts in this song, and just in the musical in general, which is why its not a 10. But truly, I love this song. I did not appreciate the Cameron Dallas version though...

Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise): (4/10)

Listen, the song itself is like 43 seconds long. Most of it is talking, and seriously, its only this high because of Barrett’s lovely belt and the humor of Damian and Janis riding the tiny scooter. There’s not much to say, but I really do appreciate the repeated use of the chorus of Someone Gets Hurt. 

World Burn: (10000000/10)

I LOVE WORLD BURN. It’s absolutely beautiful. I love how it builds, I love Taylor’s use of her lower range, the riffs, the high part, the CADY TIME TO WATCH YOUR BACK and just IUHKSHFLEUA9PAHH. anyways, this song is literal perfection. There is nothing bad. It is beautiful. Whenever I listen to it, then get out of the car, I feel like I am the baddest bitch in town. It’s such a powerful song and its such a bop. WOAHWOAHWOAAAAAAAAHWOOOOOOOOOOOOAHHH--

I’d Rather Be Me: (9/10)

--anyways, this song is beautiful. Its such an anthem, I feel like it helps my self esteem. The confidence that it brings me is beautiful. The belts, the words, the chanting, everything! I especially love all the male ensemble members dressed as girls, its hilarious. The reason I have it as a 9 instead of a 10 is because I have to (a) be in a specific mood to listen to it, and (b) I only like Barrett and Gianna’s versions. I was not a fan of the actress who performed on Best of Broadway a few months ago, like she was good, but it just wasn’t it for me. 

Do This Thing: (7.5/10)

Okay. Not a fan of the massive dialogue-ish bits at the math competition. Essential for the musical, not for the recording. I guess it was just a really hard song to put together on the recording, because of how much dialogue there is during the song. However, I love the ending and the parts with Mrs. Norbury and Cady. Also the mathletes? Yesssss! We stan Kevin G, Marwan, and Tyler! 

I See Stars: (10/10)

Y’all I love this song. I love this as an ending. I love the message, the vocals, the choreography, Kyle dressed in the Northshore Lion costume, the KISS, and just everything!!! Also the key change? CHILLS. EVERY. TIME. Erika sounds so good, and the revamped version (that was performed at Mean Girls interview at Google, not sure if it was added to the actual show) with miss Renee Rapp RIFFING? If you haven’t listened to it, go listen to it. Right now. It’s near the end. Go do it. 

PLEASE REMEMBER THESE ARE JUST MY OPINIONS. PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL.

I love you all! 💖

#Mean Girls the musical #mean girls broadway #mean girls #broadway #musical theatre #Barrett Wilbert Weed #erika henningsen #kyle selig #ashley park #kerry butler #ben cook #rating #my opinion #taylor louderman #grey henson #musicals #newsies #act 2 #obc #original broadway cast recording #renee rapp

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

What about a character analysis of Will Byers? :)

Will is my favorite character, no question. I identify with him for a few reason, too. I’m not sure I can do an analysis that is without bias, but I’ll give you what I have. I’ve done works on Will before here and here. You may want to check them out.  Will’s development has been largely influenced by two things: his family and his friends. A broken family can be hard on anyone. Combine that with poverty, sexual identity issues, and being bullied for being “a queer” we have a perfect storm that could lead to anxiety and/or depression. Fortunately, Will has a loving mother and brother, and some very good friends. Jonathan has been a supportive mentor. Joyce has been a loving caregiver. His friends accept and care about him. This all leads to him being a very sweet boy despite what he’s gone through. He hates to see his friends fight. He risks his life to warn his mother of the Demogorgon. He shows concern for Jonathan’s hand despite having just woken up in the hospital himself. He values all of these people, though one person seems to stand out: Mike. Will met Mike on the first day of kindergarten. It was a memory that was clearly dear to Mike, as he recalled it easily, but it was shown to be special to Will as well. Mike’s story is the one that seemed to break through to Will. You can see Will, under the influence of the mindflayer, staring blankly as Mike starts his story, but by the end his eyes look red and glossy, and his mouth is trembling. It doesn’t last, but somehow Mike got through to him. Will trusts Mike completely. He confides in Mike his misgivings about Dart. He’s the only one who Will tells about the Shadow Monster and the return of the Upside Down threat. He calls out for Mike when he finds himself in the Upside Down during Halloween. He remembers Mike when his memory starts to be consumed by the Mindflayer. He’s even compelled to be honest about rolling a 7 on his Fireball, despite Lucas urging him to keep it from Mike. Will’s total faith in Mike is what makes his pain so great in Season 3. While there are signs that Will is still important to Mike, he takes a backseat whenever Mike and El are together. His hurt is clear when Mike is indifferent about his D&D campaign, and he breaks down when Mike finds a way to end it prematurely. During the fight in the garage, Will lets his feelings fly. Mike is ruining everything so he can spend time making out with El. He isn’t shown being so angry with Lucas, despite him also not taking the game seriously. It’s not that Will doesn’t like Lucas. Mike is simply that important to him, and he’s watching him drift away. Will is stopped in his tracks when Mike lets the big gun out: “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” This is the final straw for Will. He always imagined a life with Mike, and he’s basically being told that he was silly to even think that. He flees to Castle Byers where he attempts to comfort himself, but he’s surrounded by memories of his life with Mike. He recollects Mike narrating a campaign while looking around his sanctum. He tears up a photo of the Party from Halloween, the rip going directly between himself and Mike. When he destroys his hideaway though, his anger is directed at himself. For the life of me, I can’t find it, but I know I some something once where Noah Schnapp said that the most important person in Will’s life is Mike. Unfortunately, trying to search for Schnapp talking about Will brings up a million hits of him ducking the question of his sexuality. Now we can’t trust everything an actor says, as they often misdirect, but they will generally be given character notes to help them portray their role as the writers intend. Based on what we see, this statement certainly seems to be true. Will is absolutely jealous every time he witnesses Mike and El together. The others get annoyed with how Mike ditches them for El, but Will is shown sad, distraught. He thought asking to be his friend was the best thing Mike had ever done, but Mike basically said that it was inevitable that girls would change everything. Despite not being shown any closure between them, Will seems to have made a peace with Mike by the time the Byers move. He donates his D&D set to Erica, expressing to Mike that he’d just use his when he comes back. This tells us that Will not only expects to return, but that he doesn’t intend to play with anyone else. He assures Mike that it’s not possible for him to find a new party. This seems to be a coded conversation where Will is promising Mike that he’s irreplaceable. It’s a brief, but somewhat nervous, conversation. They both seem a little uneasy at what the other may say, afraid that the move could mean the end of them. In the end they are both reassured, and part with matching smiles. Will has managed to reconcile Mike’s place in his life in one way or another. Only time will tell what exactly that looks like, but Mike’s importance in Will’s life remains a powerful force.  Will loves Mike. He may not fully grasp it yet, but he does. This may be a terrifying revelation for him. It’s not an accepting time for gay kids, and his father already looked down on him for perceived homosexuality. My hope for Season 4 is to see him go down this road and come out happy on the other side. 

#stranger things #will byers #byler #byeler

[princess-butters]

Just a celebrity [knj X reader]

A/n: Hi, I know it’s been a while since my last post, I legit have no excuse except that it’s procrastination and that I had no ideas to go by, I still don’t, but I’m trying my best to write as much as I can now. I have a fanfic in the works that I have coming up and it’s hard to write each chapter without it being mostly filler and actually relevant to the story, you know? It’s actually something that’s been in the works for almost 4. Fucking. Years. and I’m just now writing most of the chapters I have planned. It’s somewhat of a short story too which I’m glad because I was really worried it would be too long and dragged out with said filler but what I do have is a character introduction to the characters. It’s not all of them but it’s at least something to begin the story so once it’s done, I can post it and show you guys what I’m working on. But anyways I’m getting sidetracked. This was originally supposed to be for an imagine but it became too long and I decided it should be its own story so enjoy.

Warnings: [TW // Mentions of forced strict diet, and starvation, Namjoon really wants to eat but can’t because of his company, description of being underweight. Fluff with bits of angst. Y/n is a cynical bitch to Namjoon in the beginning but warms up to him at the end of their first encounter. It’s a fluffy relationship at the end. If I’m missing any TW, please let me know.]

Word count: 1.8k

Your first interaction with Namjoon was during his concerts in Korea since you were studying abroad and your friend, whom you’ve met online and was the sole reason why you wanted to move here, told you about a K-pop group that had debuted a while ago and it’s safe to say that you...didn’t care too much for their music and you only went to their concert to support your friend who was quickly becoming a big fan of them. It’s a unique story, really, it’s not your simple story of a fangirl who goes to some concert and one of the members sees them in the audience and brings them backstage. No, this was completely different. You never had the desire about fantasizing idols when you were younger, now that’s not to say that you didn’t enjoy music because you did, hell, you even own band merch that you still proudly wear but you never found them to be attractive like most fans would and always saw them just as artists.

While Namjoon did spot you and your friend in the crowd, he didn’t tell some security guard so you could exchange phone numbers – it was by complete accident and fate one day when you were walking home from the grocery store to pick up some food for you and your friend until you heard someone bolting towards you, running away from something that seemed serious. Annoyed and a bit taken back by his actions at first, you glance behind you not expecting much but what you didn’t expect was the amount of crazed fangirls heading your way. Gasping as you saw the hurdle of fans, your feet were stuck planted on the ground, standing there frozen with fear as the young, violent fans inched closer and closer, pushing each other around like a bunch of wild animals, until you felt the warmth of someone’s hand, presumably the same guy from earlier.

“Come on, don’t just stand there like a crazy person! I know a place where we can get rid of them!” He sounded young, about your age, the young musician took your hand in his and dragged you with him.

And that’s how you became stuck with each other behind some gritty, old building, trash bins and garbage all over the bleak scenery, you and the young musician huddled up together in-between two dumpsters as the loud and obnoxious cheers of fans faded out into the air. Both sighing with relief, you look up at him unimpressed.

“I guess this is your everyday lifestyle?” You question the young star and he lets out a heavy sigh, still trying to catch his breath from running so fast. It probably didn’t help matters that he was also dragging you along with him.

“You haven’t seen the worst of it. I usually find these girls in my room.” He tells you nonchalantly, like he’s used to it at this point.

“Shouldn’t that be considered trespassing?”

“Yeah but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m a big star around here and what these girls want, they’ll sure as hell get it.”

“Wow. And here I thought you were just another puppet for the music industry.” You reply back with a snarky undertone, lifting yourself up from the ground and wiping any muck and dirt left on your clothes. The young musician didn’t take your words kindly and narrowed his eyebrows together.

“Hey listen, it’s not as easy as you may think. Just be thankful you’re still alive because if they had caught you, you would’ve been roadkill by now.” He commented as if it was a statement of fact.

“I barely know you!” You argued, lifting your arms up to emphasize your point.

“Doesn’t matter to them. They see some girl out with a popular celebrity, they become lions and you’re their prey.”

You roll at his comment, thinking he’s just over-exaggerating. “Well thank you for the joyride, but I really should get back to my apartment.”

“What did you get?” He asks curiously as he stares at your bag full of food, he sounded like a kid who saw a bag full of candy on Halloween.

“Black bean noodles with rice on the side.” You explain to him simply, going over to make sure you got exactly what you needed and it didn’t fall out while you were running.

The man rests his hand against his stomach, it begins rumbling with hunger as he heard those three words. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday because of the intense and strict schedule his company has forced him to go through and he would be lying right now if he said he wasn’t hungry. “Black bean noodles? That sounds really good! That’s one of my favorite dishes, I haven’t had something like that in a while.”

You cross your arms, thinking it was his way of attempting to relate to you on some level. “Oh please, you’re a star! I bet you eat everything that’s handed to you.” You didn’t mean for it to come out so cold and bitter but you couldn’t help yourself, this was some celebrity and you’ve had a dislike for them because a lot of them are just stuck-up snobs who bully everyone lower class than them. The man gives you a look that even you couldn’t figure out, almost like he was envisioning the different foods he wished he could eat but couldn’t.

“I wish it were that simple. My company would kill me if they saw me eating anything like that, I’m forced to be on a strict diet and I’m barely allowed to eat a granola bar let alone noodles.”

Shocked by his explanation, you lower down your arms and began feeling bad for making such assumptions. You alternate looking between him and the food, clearly the thought of him starving had profusely disturbed you and you couldn’t help but send an expression of empathy and sadness to the lone musician. When you decided to speak up once more, your voice went up an octave, softly responding back in a more friendly manner, it was your discreet way of apologizing to the poor guy for being so harsh. “Really? I’ve never got it before. My friend likes them and practically begged me to get it for her.”

“Your friend has good taste. I guess I better get going, the fans have died down and it’s probably safe for me to leave. It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah.” You mindlessly say as you watch him turn around before you could say anything else but when he rounds the corner, you quickly find your voice once again and call out to him, hoping he hasn’t left just yet. “Hey! If you want to, why don’t you come over and have dinner?”

He emerges from the side and leans against the bricks walls, hands in his pockets like he’s trying to protect himself from the freezing cold. “I can’t. Mostly because we don’t know each other and my company would kill me if I ate something that wasn’t on their list which is not many, to be honest.”

You slowly walk up towards him and look at him directly, taking a minute to look at his features. Poor thing looked like he was starving himself, even though you’ve never liked idols and found them all to be the same mindless puppets, it can’t be said for this guy. His cheek bones were hollowed, he’s skinny but to an unhealthy standard, and his eyes were baggy and darkened around the sockets, almost sunken in. You couldn’t tell if it was from a lack of sleep, starvation, or both. You hesitate for a moment before placing your mitten hand on top of his exposed hand. “But you’re starving. I can’t let you walk away and not have something.”

“I really can’t.”

“Please? I really don’t want to leave you in this state and the food I have isn’t that bad for you.”

After realizing that you’re not gonna give up on this and that you really were serious, he took a second to think it over. The thought really was enticing and he would be lying to himself once more if he said he wasn’t interested and desperate to eat anything, even if it came from a complete stranger, and he knew the food was legit because well, he can see it very clearly. “Well...alright.”

Once you heard his confirmation, you show a small smile and nodded with him. “Then it’s settled! Off to my house we go!” You latch onto his arm and begin walking home with him when another thought came to mind and halted in your steps. “Oh yeah, you’d better wear your disguise or we’re gonna be running from your psycho fans. I didn’t even catch your name.”

A chuckle came out of him as he placed his cap snug on his head and his mask covering half of his face, the only thing visible were his eyes, everything else made him seem like he was invincible to the public eye. “My name’s Namjoon.”

“So you’re that Namjoon guy my friend always talks about! Oh boy, this is gonna be fun.” You smirk to yourself as you two resume walking, the thought of your friend acting like a complete psycho in front of her bias entertained you.

Once you and Namjoon arrived at your place, your first instinct when you walked through the front door was give an explanation to your friend about why you were late and how worried she was. When you told her what had happened and showed her evidence to prove your case, her reaction was a lot more different than how she usually is. Throughout the evening, you and Namjoon got along fairly well—with the exception of your friend asking him benign questions about his career as an idol and if the other members are exactly the same in real life—you would frequently apologize for her erratic behavior as it worried you it would make the idol uncomfortable but he says it’s nothing compared to what he always hears from fangirls.

You and Namjoon surprisingly hit it off at the end of the night and you exchanged phone numbers when he was about to leave and promised each other you would meet again soon, this time without your friend in the picture. After he left, thoughts began to provoke and you wondered to yourself that maybe, just maybe, you were wrong about idols for once.

And now let’s look at today’s events, where are you and Namjoon right now in your relationship? Well one thing’s for certain is that you two are officially dating and have been since 2017, two years after your initial meeting. When you two became more comfortable with each other, he had invited you over to the dorms and introduced you to his members, to which they immediately welcomed you into their group with open arms, you’ve actually become best friends with some of them. It’s been a fun and crazy ride, exploring different countries and cultures had never crossed your mind before but now you can safely say that it’s been one of the best things to have ever happened in your life. You were fortunate to have somebody like him and him you because along the way, you have made each other better, Namjoon had taught you that being guarded and stubborn shouldn’t lock you out of the world and it’s okay to let your guard down sometimes, and you taught him that just because he was an idol doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be any boundaries and that he was a human being first.

Whenever the media caught wind of your relationship, they always thought it was just a fling and that the two of you would break up like everybody else in the industry but so far, you have proved each and every one of them wrong and now both you and Joon don’t give two shits about what everybody says.

#bts #bts one shot #kim namjoon #namjoon #rm #fluff #some angst #one shot #bts namjoon #namjoon x reader #namjoon one shot #namjoon x you #namjoon fluff #namjoon angst #kpop #kim seokjin #jin #min yoongi #yoongi #jung Hoseok #hobi #park jimin #jimin #kim taehyung #Taehyung #jeon jungkook #Jungkook #bangtan #bangtan imagines #bangtan reactions

[incomprehensiblelentils]

@dollsome-does-tumblr​ does this and opened it up to anyone and I am feeling chatty today SO!

Because I co-write a lot with my lovely wife, I might answer some questions including those co-written stories, or I might not, depends on how I feel when I get there.

name:

Megan but I go by Lentils most places on the internet, Shadowcrawler over on AO3

fandoms:

at the moment: MCU, especially Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil; Terminator: Dark Fate; Halt and Catch Fire. Oh and I wrote Dollhouse fanfics a thousand years ago. Sometimes I will watch a movie/show and think “those two girls should be gay” and bang out 2k of fic about it and then never write for that fandom again. (I THOUGHT this was going to be HACF but as it turns out, no, it’s not done with me yet.)

where you post:

AO3, at Shadowcrawler. I also have a tumblr @lentils-writes​ where theoretically I post links to fics/advertise them in the tags, because I used to be real precious about not putting porn on this blog, but fuck it.

most popular multi-chapter fic:

Co-written, it’s definitely mallverse, which is I think the reason most writers definitely hate us because it’s very long and there are a lot of tags lmao. The problem is that every tagged character HAS shown up in a significant fashion at some point so we can’t just...untag them! It doesn’t update weekly anymore because we’re exhausted by life lmao so at least there’s that???

As for a multi-chapter fic that was just me, I don’t tend to do that so much, so actually it’s say you will, my 3-chapter Endgame fix-it where Clint dies instead of Natasha and Natasha and Laura have a past. It actually has over 1000 hits which is very exciting! I feel like it’s...niche in a way that is frustrating but understandable lol. I put a lot of my heart into it and some people really liked it, so that’s gratifying.

favorite story you’ve written so far:

Co-written, I think our SHIELD Dollhouse AU is very underrated for the amount of work we put into it. Author bias evident here because I love Dollhouse warts and all, and it’s a lot of fun translating episode plots as well as the general trajectory of the show into stuff that will work with SHIELD characters. We don’t just rewrite episodes, we really try and rework them as needed. Also it features both Skimmons and my beloved rarepair Bobbi/Kara, though of course they won’t get together until later.

Of my own stuff, I’m still really really proud of the AU where Kara Palamas didn’t die. I think that was a pretty severe misstep of the show and I think I did a good job of fixing it. (I haven’t forgotten Kara, promise!)

fic you were nervous to post:

lolololol I wrote some uh. Terminator pornography last year and. They are very porny! I had co-written a bunch of smut obviously, but that was the first time I’d posted like, PWP all by myself on purpose??? and that was TERRIFYING. Also I was very nervous to post the Engame fix-it because that was my own personal goodbye/tribute to Natasha.

how you choose your titles:

They are always either song lyrics or jokes (such as Three Lawyers and a Baby, my Daredevil Accidental Baby Acquisition fic). My WIP docs are always titled either obvious shit like “RoseJannah horse girls” or memes like “what if we belonged to a fire cult and we fucked haha just kidding unless...?” or “Morgan has two mommies.”

do you outline?:

B and I typically outline for the co-written fics, although it’s more often chapter-by-chapter outlines since that’s how we write them. On occasion we’ve fully planned multi-chapter stuff out in advance but that’s less common. Oh and the one-shots are nearly always outlined as well, just to keep ourselves organized.

When I have written planned multi-chapter fics in the past I have used outlines - particularly for the Kara one and I had to do that for the SHIELD Kill Bill AU because I was trying to follow the format of the movie. For things that are allegedly supposed to be one-shots I almost never outline, which turns out to be a terrible idea when they inevitably balloon beyond my control and become 45k like say you will. That one, I wrote out a list of scenes I thought needed to be in it and then I wrote about 75% of those scenes and then I wrote a bunch more scenes I hadn’t planned for. Don’t be like me, kids!

complete fics:

According to AO3, 89 as of right now. Uh, you do not want me to list all of them, here’s a link, I guess!

in progress:

I don’t understand what the difference is between this question and the WIP questions lmao help????

posted WIPs that I have active plans to continue at this time:

Cowritten: mallverse as I said, and its femslash smut oneshots spinoff and character flashbacks spinoff and older characters/teachers spinoff (these get updated, uh, irregularly), the first half of a Piper/Snowflake SHIELD s7 fic that we are planning on finishing the second half of soonish, SHIELD Dollhouse AU, SHIELD Teen Beach AU, SHIELD Buffy AU. You may notice a pattern!

By myself, I have: Have Your Elf a Merry Little Christmas, a Terminator Hallmark Christmas fic that I ambitiously posted the first chapter of in 2019 and then lost steam immediately (I am going to go back to it sooner or later bc I had some cute ideas for it); the SHIELD Fate of the Furious AU that has one chapter to go and which I do intend on finishing eventually; Three Lawyers and a Little Lady, the Daredevil Accidentally Baby Acquisition AU that is literally just cute kidfic and poly avocados and which I have a bunch of ideas for and just need to buckle down and finish some.

posted WIPs that I have given up on:

Lol so there’s a Dollhouse Caroline/Bennett Doctor Who AU that I wrote purely as idfic and which nobody ever cared about except me, and I think that ship has sailed! RIP darlings. I also had an ongoing Skimmons series waaaay back when where I posted oneshots that were like missing scenes or gay readings for each s1 episode, and I just feel like it would be inauthentic to even try and finish it at this point. (It does include the first ever Skimmons fic to be posted on AO3! Really truly, there’s one fic that shows up as older but it’s an ongoing fic and was updated with the tag way after I posted mine.)

exchange fics due soon/unrevealed:

I haven’t done an exchange since like 2015 lololol I am so bad at them. I am currently working on finishing up my MCU Femslash bingo card, very late, and I do have plans for almost all of the remaining squares!

WIPs that live in my fanfic folder and are incomplete and who knows when they’ll be finished:

“RoseJannah horse girls,” which has been put on hold temporarily but is literally just Rose and Jannah being gay while riding orbaks

half of a Daisy/Gwen fic from Marvel Rising because I know they’re not making any more of those but I stg those two were really gay

multiple fics about Elise Nelson-Page including: avocados Halloween with smol Elise, Aunt Elektra very reluctantly taking smol Elise shopping until she realizes smol Elise also likes weapons (she buys her a fake katana), Uncle Frank is a pushover and spoils the shit out of Elise, and baby Elise has a high fever and everyone freaks out but then she gets better and smile at them for the first time (inspired by baby me lol).

coming soon/not yet started:

“Morgan has two mommies,” yet another Endgame fix-it where Maya Hansen did not die in Iron Man 3 and she resurfaces and she and Pepper kiss and eventually she adopts Morgan

Claire and Colleen go on a nice date to get coffee/tea where Danny doesn’t interrupt them goddammit

Bobbi/Kara Warehouse 13 AU which is sort of like “For the Team” but gayer ft. grappling hook

X-Men: Evolution Tabby/Amara fluff

Cameron/Donna character study disguised as smut

Grace proposes to Dani with a ring made out of the metal from her power source and Carl officiates the wedding 

Dani gets horny watching Grace eat a peach and jerks off and Grace ends up hearing her and then they fuck (I have been calling this “the peach fic” in my head but I gotta stop being delicate about it lmfao it is just porn)

B and I have plans to do a Nico/Karolina Jasper in Deadland AU but we keep forgetting

I MUST WRITE FOGGY AND KAREN SADLY FUCKING IN A CHURCH WHILE THEY MOURN MATT THIS YEAR I STG

do you accept prompts:

uhhhhhh I have on occasion written a prompt for someone before but it’s pretty rare and I have enough trouble writing the shit I come up with in my own head lol. but never say never?

upcoming story you are most excited to write:

I’ve got a bit of the Bobbi/Kara Warehouse fic written and it’s nice to go back to that world. Also I’m weirdly excited about the Cam/Donna smutty character study I mentioned above, I have a lot of what I think are good ideas for it and it’ll be fun.

tagging @unwind-myself @swiftzeldas @swashbucklery @loved-the-stars-too-fondly and, if you want to, you!

#sometimes I write things

[tetrakys10]

Sweet Elite episode 9

It’s Halloween at Arlington academy, and we get a nice, lighthearted episode to make up for all the angst we went through lately. Long post below the cut.

The episode starts during preparations for the official Arlington Halloween party, you have a chance to ask someone to help you with putting up some decorations. Our favourite senior shows up to explain that this person will be the one we spend most time with during the episode. Whatever LI you chose, you have a chance to get to know them better and raise your infinity meter.

The following day we notice Ellie, Tayler and Tegan acting strange, we have a choice to follow them or not, not sure what happens if you chicken out, but if you go ahead you find out that they are building a robotic Arlingtonator to scare Tadashi on Halloween.

Afterwards, scholar suddenly remembers that they don’t have a costume yet and it’s very late for last minute shopping, so they end up buying a simple witch hat online. I don’t know if this changes between male and female scholar, but my two girls look really really cute.

(The one on the left is Tetrakys who is romancing Axel, the one on the right is Nyx who is on Tegan’s route.)

Then we go back to class, science class specifically, and realise that we don’t understand what the teacher is talking about and we need help. Luckily, depending on the person you chose to spend time with, someone will come to your help and organise a study group where your chosen crush will also be present.

Now, allow me to digress for a moment.

---

I don’t like when my scholar proves to be less capable than the others, she is a scholarship student, she should be smarter. While on Tegan’s route this part only slightly annoyed me but I soon got over it, on Axel’s route it was worse. Because, firstly, Tetrakys is in the science department, so not undertanding the science lecture and needing help is more serious and I would completely freak out. Second, the person who came to her rescue was... Claire. FREAKING CLAIRE. I hate Claire. Ok... I don’t hate hate her, but she really got on my bad side for multiple reasons:

1) The first time I played I was trying to pursue Tadashy, I didn’t know that, when the meter is the same, you get the illustration of the first person in aphabetical order. Which was... Claire.

2) Scholar was amazing during the department competition, she did a great interview, came up with the best idea and saved the day when things went downhill, and she ended up third place behind effing Claire who, of all things, was spending her time MANUALLY COPYING her notes for her classmates instead of scanning them.

3) When we were all helping Tadashi and people where looking for someone to help him write his speech I thought that it was finally our moment since our contribution that far had been to just buy computer parts online... and instead... they picked Claire! For the sole reason that apparently everyone loves her...??? We nailed the interview in episode 4!

And now, Claire again saves the day coming to our rescue using her superior intellect to explain the lecture for us...

It’s clear we will never be best friends.

---

Anyway, moving aside from my dislike of a 2D fictional character, we at least end up spending a bit more time with our crush, and even see some teasing from the other characters pointing out how that person was excited to have us in the study group.

Following this, we are asked to join a meeting with all the LIs except Tadashi, where Ellie explains that they have been organising a secret party and we are going to trick Tadashi to join it. One group is going to attend the official Arlington party and get Tadashi away with an excuse, another will stay at the dorm and prepare things. Scholar is always part of the kidnapping party.

While going back to the dorms we assist at a conversation between Karolina and Neha talking about an important fashion show that is going to happen soon at Arlington, a hint to the next plot I guess, probably Neha and/or Karolina’s arc.

Then it’s finally time for the party. We wear our hat (first illustration) and go to the gym. Once there we manage to take Tadashi away saying that we saw the Arlingtonator luriking in the dorms corridors, Tadashi believes us because Alistar is there too. We see Tadashi trying to put a brave face and not show how freaked out he actually is, we take him to the dorms and at the right time the Arlingtonator appears, scaring the crap out of him. Everyone laughs and the real party can finally start. They put Tadashi in a Pikachu onsie and crazy makeup

he is a good sport and lets people do whatever they want to him (he must be really greatful for the help everyone gave him during his whole ordeal). This is where we get the second illustration depending on the group we chose to spend time with.

Then we are told (but we don’t see it) that more time goes by chatting, playing, doing tarots, and finally telling scary stories. We see only the last bit of it before we hear some noises from the corridor, it’s the custodians who are making rounds. Time to end the party and rush back to our room. Before we can close the door someone burges into the room right behind us. We wait in the dark for the custodians to go away and then we find out that it’s the LI we chose to spend time at the beginning of the episode. There’s a cute scene between the two, then they leave and the episode ends.

---

What I liked

I liked the episode in general, I think we needed something lighthearted and fun, and there were lots of funny moments there. I loved how everyone ganged up on Tadashi because he is the perfect sacrificial lamb 🤭🤭🤭 but you could tell they were also doing it for him, to make him have fun and distract him after everything he had gone through, and he appreciated it. That’s real friendship.

I also liked that it feels like the company really listens to their players’ feedback and takes it into account. There were two main problems that I had found in the past few episodes: the fact that we were spending very little time with our LI, not advancing the relationship, and the fact that we were forced to spend time with all 10 of them equally, again reducing the amount of time with the characters we really want to focus on. This time they made up for both, by chosing our crush at the beginning we were able to spend more time with them and with just a few selected other characters. No one is forgotten, we eventually meet and talk to everyone, but it doesn’t feel like the time is equally shared and the game feels more focused and with a proper direction.

Another thing I really liked were the costumes. They were so damn on point. For everyone. They really capture the essence of the characters and I love when a game is able to stay true to its characters’ personalities even with the little things. And they all looked so damn good. Alistair as a firefighter?? HELLO MISTER! Raquel as a cheeky pirate, Ellie as a deadly Alice and... Axel 😍 Axel was some kind of modernised version of the Phantom of the Opera (I think) and HELLO??? This is one of my big bias, he looked so good 😍 I have only one complain: he took the mask off too soon 😭 he should’ve worn it the whole time 😭 I don’t care that it was too hot, it was hot in other ways too if you know what I mean...

One last thing I’d like to add is that I think the art was really pretty. I am totally useless when it comes to art, but to my ignorant eyes it looks like the artist is making lots of progress.

What I didn’t like

There’s only one thing, actually, and this is probably just a matter of personal taste. I thought that the writing lacked heat when it came to the romantic parts. I think that it was pretty good with comic and fluffy moments, but there was little passion. And I know this is a game aimed at a young audience so that’s why I said that maybe the problem is me, maybe I’ve just outgrown this type of games, but I also think that you don’t have to go all bang bang to describe heat between characters. Scholars says multiple times that she feels attraction towards the LI, and I read it but I didn’t feel it. I’m happy that I waited to play Axel’s route before making up my mind, because that’s actually better. And yes, Axel is more forward than Tegan, so there’s that, but it also felt like Axel’s romantic moments were more developped than Tegan’s as if the writer was more interested in him, if it makes any sense. However, even with Axel, I think they could’ve pushed more.

This is the first time in a long while that I’m in the mood to rewrite the scene of a game the way I have it in my head, maybe this will help me get out of my writing slump.

---

Anyway, all in all, I’m pretty happy. Looking forward to episode 10!

#sweet elite #se #se episode 9 #I just found out what happens if you pick the third option and play a game #GUESS WHO WINS

[girls-scenarios]

Mobile Masterlist 4

Look at Unlisted Holiday and Halloween Prompts Here

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

LOONA

Reaction to Meeting A Cute Fan They Recognize From a Previous Fan Sign - by Admin Kiwi

New Beginnings - A Kim Lip Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Loona as Girlfriends - by Admin Kiwi

Do You Love Me? - A Kim Lip Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to You Cooking For Them After a long Day - by Admin Kiwi

Rendezvous In The Middle - A YYXY Scenario by Admin Kiwi

MTL To Adopt a Dog With Their S/O - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their Idol GF Singing Their Song on King Of Masked Singer - by Admin Kiwi

Better Late Than Never - A Chuu Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Being Called “Baby Girl” - by Admin Kiwi

The Perfect Shot - A Chuuves Fic by Admin Kiwi

Let’s Play - An Olivia Hye Scenario by Admin Kiwi

I Promise My All - A Go Won Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Secret No More - A Choerry Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Let Me Know - A Yves Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to You Sleep-Talking and Snoring - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Finding Out Their Shy GF Raps - by Admin Kiwi

Loona Date Headcanons - by Admin Kiwi

Excited For Us - A Chuu Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Yes We Are - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Start It Over (It Was All New) - A Yvesvi Fanfiction by Admin Kiwi

She Was Art - A Haseul Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Having To Break Up With Their GF Because of Their Company - by Admin Kiwi

Love and Relaxation - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being a Producer/Lyric Writer - by Admin Kiwi

Curiosity - A Hyunjin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

I’m Your Fan - An Olivia Hye Scenario by Admin Kiwi

I Want to Be Your (Girl)Friend 1//2 - A Viseul Fanfiction by Admin Kiwi

Girlfriend Jinsoul Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Not Just a Rumor - An Olivia Hye Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Show My Love - A Hyunjin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Falling for their Manager Who’s Against the Idea of a Relationship - by Admin Kiwi

Dates at Home with Loona - by Admin Kiwi

Of Slip-Ups, Apologies, and Bonding Sessions - A Choerry Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Soccer Player!Loona Reaction to Playing Against their GF - by Admin Kiwi

The Truth - An Olivia Hye Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their GF Being Taller than 175cm/5'8 - by Admin Kiwi

Show Them All - A Hyunjin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their Girlfriend Having Chronic Insomnia and Helping Her Deal With It - by Admin Kiwi

It’s Going To Be Okay - A Haseul Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Girlfriend Kim Lip Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Hold On - A Choerry Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Ain’t Together - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Stuck Together - A Chuuves Fanfic by Admin Kiwi

Skater Girl - A Kim Lip Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Having a Crush on their Fansite - by Admin Kiwi

Happy Ending - An Olivia Hye Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Yandere!Unnie Line’s Reaction to their S/O Running Away - by Admin Lee

Eyes On You - A Yves Scenario by Admin Kiwi

The Funny Thing About Life - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

The Truth - An Olivia Hye Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being Clingy - by Admin Kiwi

Whenever You Need Me - A Haseul Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Hearing their Shy S/O Secretly Singing - by Admin Kiwi

My Favorite - A Jinsoul Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Having a Bias Other Than Them - by Admin Kiwi

The Ways I Love You - A Haseul Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Their S/O Fainting - by Admin Kiwi

A Touch - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Lucky One - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Inspired - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

As Long As I’m With You - A Choerry Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Not Being Able to Visit Them Often - by Admin Kiwi

Video Games and Ice Cream - A Haseul Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Maybe It’s Not So Bad - A Choerry Scenario by Admin Kiwi

In The Moment - A Choerry Scenario by Admin Kiwi

A Little Curiosity - A Heejin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

That’s My Girl - A Chuu Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Baby, You’re Worth It - A Kim Lip Scenario by Admin Kiwi

DREAMCATCHER

Wanna Hear a Pickup Line? - A Sua Scenario by Admin Bee

Poems From My Memory - A Siyeon Scenario by Admin Bee

Walk, Run, Fly With You - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Siyeon Fluffy Fake Texts - by Admin Kiwi

Handong Missing You - Fake Snaps by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Their S/O Telling Them a Bad Pick-Up Line - by Admin Bee

Reaction to Waking Up Next to their Girlfriend - by Admin Kiwi

No Label Can Ruin My Love - A JiU Scenario by Admin Bee

Reaction to their S/O Surprising Them With a Date After a Long Day - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to You Falling Asleep Next To Them - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to First Meeting You - by Admin Kiwi

MTL To Be Dom - by Admin Kiwi

My Leather, Lipstick Girl - A Siyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Light My Way (Don’t Go Too Far) - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

In The Shadows - A Yoohyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Step by Step, Me and You - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

If I Could - A JiU Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Surprising Them Backstage - by Admin Kiwi

Cat Heaven - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Fake Snaps Motivating You For Exams - by Admin Kiwi

Guide To My Heart - A JiU Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being In University - by Admin Kiwi

Dreamcatcher as Supernatural/Mythological Creatures - by Admin Kiwi

Dating Dreamcatcher - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their GF Being Scared of Everything But Horror Movies - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to You Doing Something Dumb and Getting Hurt - by Admin Kiwi

Tripping Into You - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to S/O Being a Sleep Walker or Sleep Talker - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Realizing They’re in Love with their GF - by Admin Kiwi

Adopting Diva - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Raising a Family with Dreamcatcher (Headcanon) - by Admin Kiwi

Math Is Hard But Crushes Are Harder - A JiU Scenario by Admin Kiwi

They’re So Pretty - A Poly Siyeon/Sua Scenario by Admin Kiwi

How Dreamcatcher Flirts - by Admin Kiwi

The Game of My Heart - A Yoohyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Back and Forth - A Siyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Look At Me - A Sua Scenario by Admin Kiwi

The Nightmare Begins - by Admin Kiwi

No Reason Not to Love You - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Sweetener - A Handong Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Thinking of You - A Handong Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Dreamcatcher as Best Friends - A Headcanon by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Speaking in their Native Language - by Admin Kiwi

Awkward Cliches - A Gahyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Catching their GF Who Isn’t Fluent in Korean Trying to Learn their Song - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Finding Out their Shy GF Writes and Performs Her Own Raps - by Admin Kiwi

Oh, Right - A Handong Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Just This - A Dami Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Staring Lovingly and Suddenly Saying “I Love You” for the First Time - by Admin Kiwi

Do Something - A JiU Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Dreamcatcher as Older Sisters - by Admin Kiwi

Jealous Dreamcatcher Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

With The Rain - A Yoohyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Fated - A Handong Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Mafia!Dreamcatcher Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Drowned in Countless Thoughts - A Siyeon Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being the CEO of a Big Company - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Trying to Cook a Romantic Dinner but Making a Huge Mess Instead - by Admin Kiwi

Trip Into My Heart - A JiU Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Your Heartbeat - A Handong Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Singing Them to Sleep - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Crying Over a Video Game Ending - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being a MMA Fighter - by Admin Kiwi

EXID

Distancing - A LE Scenario by Admin Kitty

Lies and Surprises - A Solji Scenario by Admin Kitty

We’re Not Just Friends - A Hani Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Don’t Worry, There’s Nobody Like You - A LE Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to You Attempting to Rap - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Having to Keep Their Girlfriend a Secret - by Admin Kiwi

Lean On Me - A Jeonghwa Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Wanting to Arm Wrestle - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Having To Cover Their Girlfriend’s Song - by Admin Kiwi

Hope On Paper Wings - A Hyelin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Mistaking Your Child As Your Little Sister - by Admin Kiwi

Cappuccino Kisses - A Hani Scenario by Admin Kiwi

All I Need - A LE Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Weekend Happiness - A Poly Hani and Bora (Sistar) Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Cheering You On During a Hard Time - Fake Snaps by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to You Dying Laughing Over the DDD Part Switch - by Admin Kiwi

Fake Snaps by Their Long Distance S/O - by Admin Kiwi

EXID as Supernatural/Mythological Creatures - by Admin Kiwi

You’re Like The Weekend - A LE Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Girlfriend LE Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Girlfriend Hani Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Be My Baby - A Solji Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Jealous EXID - by Admin Kiwi

Daily Love - A LE Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Sleeping Beauty is Dangerous - A Hani Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their Rookie Younger Sibling Coming to Them for Advice - by Admin Kiwi

Welcome Back - A Solji Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their Quiet S/O Back-Hugging Them and Saying “I Love You” - by Admin Kiwi

EXID as College Students - by Admin Kiwi

For You, My Love - A Hani and LE Fic by Admin Kiwi

Bear With Me - A LE Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Quietly Serenading Them While Being Intimate - by Admin Kiwi

My Lady - A Hani Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Mafia!EXID Reaction to their S/O Being Afraid of Them - by Admin Kiwi

Let Me Know - A Jeonghwa Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Will You Marry Me? - A LE Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Dating Poly!Solji/LE - Headcanon by Admin Kiwi

Your Company - A Solji Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Conspiracies with EXID - A Chat Fic/Fake Texts by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Having a 4D Personality - by Admin Kiwi

EXID as Older Sisters - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Walking in on Their S/O Crying Because of a Movie/Book - by Admin Kiwi

SISTAR

When I Close My Eyes, It’s You - A Soyou Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Weekend Happiness - A Poly Bora and Hani (EXID) Scenario by Admin Kiwi

It’s the Small Things - A Soyou Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Sistar as Girlfriends Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Like a Sunflower - A Hyorin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

WJSN

Finding Love - A Soobin Scenario by Admin Kitty

Congradulating You on Dating Yeoreum 1//2 - Fake Texts by Admin Kitty

The Shanghai Lights In Your Eyes - A Cheng Xiao Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Members Missing and Wanting to Meet You 1//2 - Fake Snaps by Admin Kiwi

Nights By Candle Light - An Eunseo Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Do You Believe In Wishes? - A Mei Qi Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Of Biology And Library Crushes - A Luda Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Seeing Their Fem!Crush in the Morning During a Reality Show - by Admin Kiwi

Obvious Love - A Bona Scenario by Admin Kiwi

I Do - A Yeoreum Scenario by Admin Kiwi

The Beautiful You - A Bona Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Broken Vases and Full Hearts - A Yeoreum Scenario by Admin Kiwi

WJSN as Girlfriends - A Headcanon by Admin Kiwi

OH MY GIRL

Cheer Up Baby - A Mimi Scenario by Admin Kitty

Say You Love Me - A Seunghee Scenario by Admin Kiwi

This Is What I Dreamed Of - A Mimi Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Meeting a Cute Fan that Doesn’t Speak Korean - by Admin Kiwi

Girlfriend Yooa Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Cherry On Top - A Yooa Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being Their Choreographer - by Admin Kiwi

Right Here - A Yooa Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Just a Look - A Yooa Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Shower You In Love - An Arin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Oh My Girl as College Girlfriends Headcanons - by Admin Kiwi

Come On Over - A Jiho Scenario by Admin Kiwi

ITZY

Reaction to their First Kiss With their Girlfriend - by Admin Kiwi

Fair Play - A Yeji Scenario by Admin Kiwi

What Are The Odds? - A Chaeryeong Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Girlfriend Chaeryeong Headcanon - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their Crush Being their Secret Admirer - by Admin Kiwi

At The End Of The Day - A Ryujin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Take Some Time - A Ryujin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Actually, I Kinda Like You - A Yeji Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Melt Me - A Yeji Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Goodbye - A Ryujin Scenario by Admin Kiwi

Reaction When 6th Member!Reader is Forcibly Outed by Antis - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Being Taller Then 170 cm - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their Actor S/O’s Character in a TV Series Dying in a Sad and Heroic Way - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to Their S/O Pranking Them - by Admin Kiwi

Reaction to their S/O Landing their First Major Role in a Drama - by Admin Kiwi

Teaching Their S/O One of Their Dances - Headcanon by Admin Kiwi

SECRET NUMBER

Waiting to Love You - A Denise Scenario by Admin Kiwi

OTHERS

Who Would Be High School Cheerleaders? - by Admin Kitty

Who Would Be Into Sports in High School? - by Admin Kity

Idols That Would Be in Slytherin - by Admin Kiwi

Idols That Would Be in Ravenclaw - by Admin Kitty

Idols as Disney Princesses and Greek Gods/Goddesses - by Admin Kitty

Idols That Would Be in Hufflepuff - by Admin Nan

PART ONE - PART TWO - PART THREE

#mobile masterlist #mobile links #masterlist #girl groups #kpop girl groups #kpop masterlist #girl group masterlist #yep another one

[magicalforcesau]

Dancing With Ghosts in Your Garden~ Chapter 7- Year 1: February

(Ao3 link)

One thing Obi-Wan and Satine agreed upon was that despite their shocking discovery in an unsuspecting broom closet, they should do their utmost to maintain decorum. The very last thing they needed was every student getting it in their heads to explore the school for secret tunnels. Regardless of what this meant for their pending investigation(s), keeping the peace was essential if they wanted to get any further.

The second thing they agreed about was whom to share this information with, which considering the perilous circumstances that were already weighing on this school year, logically meant heading straight for Headmaster Yoda. For the busiest wizard in the school, he saw them quickly and took their accounts very seriously, even going as far as to follow them and excuse them from their studies for the morning to help clue him in.

Unfortunately, as far as agreement went, that was as far as it went between Obi-Wan and Satine. 

“You didn’t show him the robe.” Satine said tersely as they walked back to the common room to pick up their books for their afternoon classes. 

He sighed, knowing in the back of his mind that this confrontation was inevitably coming, even if he chose to ignore it all day, “You know why.”

“We took an oath to lead without bias.” She returned with the same level tone. “In case you’ve forgotten.”

“And I am insulted you would insinuate that’s why.” He walked along her step-for-step and felt the blood boil in his face. No, he would not break first.

“You’re withholding evidence!” She waved her hands around, turning her back to him so she could ascend up the winding stairs, “And you know it.”

“A discarded robe is hardly evidence when we know for certain that this alleged cheater has been masquerading as a Slytherin this entire time! If anything, it likely exempts Anakin as a suspect and quite possibly, Gryffindor house.” 

“Or,” Satine said archly, “Your tornado of a mentee has been running around the tunnels this entire time, as insinuated by a conversation we overheard between him and Rex.”

“My-” He shook his head, and while he would normally quell his rising tone, freely continued without hesitation when noticing they were alone in the common room, “My what of a mentee? You have the audacity to call me biased when you’ve had it out for Anakin this entire bloody time!”

“I do not have it out for him, Ben!” She implored, for once not as angry as him and more exasperated than anything else, “I don’t have the time or energy to hold grudges against 11 year old’s!”

“And yet,” He rounded the couch, dramatic as that may be, “At every single turn you insist on accusing him before even pausing to think about other possibilities.”

“Then read them to me!” She snapped, “Because here are the facts that I see: Anakin has admitted to discovering the tunnel system on Halloween night, Anakin is always popping up seemingly out of nowhere, Anakin is the only one to score 100% on Professor Windu’s homework assignments lately, we found his robe inside the physical tunnel, and Rex and Anakin were literally talking about his going out the night before.”

He clenched his jaw and stuck out his hand, tallying off rebukes to each of her statements, “Professor Windu and Yoda confirmed a trap door leading to those tunnels, making it quite possibly an accident, Anakin is a quiet and sneaky little boy, he is so frightened of Windu that he doesn’t want to set him off and actually tries in that class, I still stand by my previous statement of this being an easy frame-job, and that conversation was so obviously taken out of context.”

She rubbed at her temples, “I’m not sure what kind of “research” you and Qui-Gon do during your not-so-secret late night investigations, thank you for the invitation, by the way, but you are being absolutely delusional.”

Obi-Wan’s jaw went slack as he floundered a bit at her knowing that. He sniffed and straightened his posture. It never remotely occurred to him that Satine would want to be involved. He’d been far too concerned about Anakin to think of it. Any guilt that might have snuck its way into his chest was just as easily banished when he remembered why they were quarreling in the first place.

“You’re being petty.” He said calmly.

“Maybe I am.” She retorted and made her way over to the bookcase that led to the girl’s dormitory, “And maybe I’ll relent on pettiness when you decide to wake up and look at what’s right in front of you.”

***

Anakin was unsure what was up with Obi-Wan, but the older wizard seemed incredibly tense when he caught up with him by the prefect bathroom on the third floor. Evidently, Hondo had snuck inside and tried to promote his new business venture by scribbling his information on the bathroom stalls. 

“Why do prefects even get their own bathrooms anyway?” Anakin thought aloud, “What’s so great about you guys that you need to pee in private?”

Obi-Wan sighed through his nose and kept his stare straight, “I’m afraid I don’t have a proper answer for you Anakin.”

Anakin would normally pester for at least a slightly more riveted response, but it didn’t seem like his mentor was in the mood. Because of this, he read the room and assumed it was not the time to bring up the herbology essay he had due in a few days that remained untouched at the moment.

“You look tired.” Obi-Wan said after a long period without talking. 

“I was up late.” He said.

“So, I’ve heard.” Obi-Wan replied dryly and Anakin stopped in his tracks.

“Windu told you?” He whined. “Man, Echo and Fives were already giving me a hard time for costing Gryffindor 10 more points.”

Something in Obi-Wan stiffened again before turning back to look at Anakin with a calm yet scrutinizing stare, “He caught you out of bed late.”

“Yeah, I had a really bad dream about-” He wasn’t sure why, but Anakin knew he shouldn’t share his experience with Dooku and Palpatine to Obi-Wan. It was far from the concept of mistrust, but more because it felt sacred. Palpatine followed Anakin’s beliefs without question and saw them through to the end, even enlisting Professor Dooku along as well. Even then, Anakin hadn’t shared entirely what he’d seen. He didn’t want to until he knew for certain.

“-About the Zillo Beast.” Which was a lie and yet it came much easier than the truth of talking about the true threat. Maybe this was why Anakin was initially accepting of the beast’s death sentence. He thought it might solve something within him, but it didn’t and it wouldn’t. “I went looking for Qui-Gon.”

Obi-Wan paused and Anakin wondered if he was actually going to believe him, before softening and guilt twisted in the young boy’s gut. 

He placed a supportive hand on his shoulder as they continued to walk, “You shouldn’t wander the castle alone. It isn’t safe.”

“You do it.” He mumbled.

“I’m not the one with a price on my head.” His voice was gentle and he seemed considerably eased in comparison to the beginning of their conversation, but his eyes were still stern, “Though I can’t necessarily blame you for seeking out Qui-Gon.”

“Windu didn’t even listen to me.” Anakin said glumly.

“Professor Windu tends to look only at the facts presented in front of him,” And for once, Obi-Wan appeared to grow mad at this thought, “Which can admittedly delude one from the connecting factors.”

“It’s like he thinks I’m guilty of something that I don’t even know about.” He shrugged.

His mentor ran a hand through his immaculately combed hair and sighed, “I know what you mean.”

***

Cody tried to stifle a chuckle as he watched his two best friends try to pretend like they weren’t utterly pissed with each other during breakfast. Because it was “strictly prefect business”, neither had opted to share the dirty details of their most recent quarrel with Cody, but from what he could tell, it was personal.

Obi-Wan was typically the more apologetic of the two by nature. Satine tended to dig her heels into the ground to stick up for what she believed in while Obi-Wan was a bit more open-minded. Obi-Wan often said the wrong thing based on past bias that hurt Satine’s feelings and Satine usually let him know it with her own fires that upset him. He always knew they would bounce back, because they always did. It was the nature of their friendship and most of the time, he just had to sit back and watch.

The roles seemed to be reversed this time around, which was always an interesting change-up. Obi-Wan clearly was being headstrong about his beliefs this time, which eliminated it being over any sort of familial relation and Satine was exasperated with his mindset and had likely said something offensive in the process.

Did that stop them from sitting side-by-side and attending all of their classes and obligations together? Apparently not.

It didn’t mean they were above passive aggression. 

“Just to let you know, pretending that those pancakes are Kenobi’s face isn’t going to make the anger go away.” He quipped and Satine set aside her utensils, of which she was previously butchering her pancakes with.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything except:  “So, OWLS.”

It seemed the subject of OWLS was the only thing that prevented the two of them from biting each other’s heads off. He didn’t know how, since the idea of standardized testing always made Cody feel at risk of his own head exploding.

“Before you go all “post-Quidditch-loss” glum, I’ve devised a schedule to optimize all of our success.” Satine reached across the table and patted Cody’s hand.

He smiled, relieved that he didn’t have to say anything at all for them to understand his concerns.

“I might straight up fail out of my potions exam.” He grimaced, “I think I tie with Hondo for the most explosions in that class.”

“Except Hondo’s might be intentional.” Obi-Wan mused before shrugging, “So, we’ll pay extra attention on that one.”

“I’ve already accounted for that, actually.” Satine said curtly, but didn’t add in any snark, and showed him the color-coded schedule she’d assembled.

“Defense Against the Dark Arts is pretty low on the priority list.” Cody commented, not really thinking that much on it. They all did sufficiently well with Kenobi being the most proficient at the subject, as he was at most things. However, he expected it to be quite hard, with Dooku being behind it and all.

“Well,” Satine’s voice was even more clipped now, “It’s not like any of us will be needing it next year.”

It was the first time it had been mentioned- even indirectly, but from across the table, Cody had optimum viewership of the way Kenobi’s entire body seemed to grow incredibly taut. Truthfully, Cody had never asked what happened during his friends’ meetings with the headmaster. He figured they would all eventually be forthcoming with what transpired and Satine had done as such with her decision to work for the ministry, but Kenobi hadn’t said anything. 

He cleared his throat, “That’s alright. I mean, I don’t love spending my time thinking about that stiff, Dooku, anyway.”

His attempt at levity didn’t work much. It was almost like he hadn’t spoken at all.

Obi-Wan looked stuck between a scathing comment and retreating altogether while Satine seemed like she was daring him to do either. It gave her a different excuse to be frustrated or annoyed and that seemed to be what she wanted. 

Obi-Wan finally broke the silence between them, “Regardless of what we use, we ought to do plenty of research. You know, in-depth analysis that isn’t taken purely at face value.”

“That is true.” She said coolly, “But true research is, of course, at least acknowledging a clear trajectory as opposed to ignoring it simply because you do not like it.”

“True research is also about being able to trust your participant’s judgment.” He said, “Which is why only few are eligible to participate in the first place.”

“It’s got nothing to do with trust and everything to do with refusing to collaborate.” She snapped, “And- You know what? Nevermind. I feel like I’m talking myself in circles here. I’ll see you both at a later time for studying. I’ve got to go help Vizsla prepare for his potions project.”

“Be sure to make the smiley faces extra obnoxious this time.” Obi-Wan called after her. 

Satine gave him a not-so-friendly hand gesture and disappeared from the Great Hall with the only trace being the deflated Obi-Wan Kenobi, who watched where she left with a curious mixture of contempt and admiration.

“So,” Cody folded his hands, “Is Anakin prepared for his potions project?”

Obi-Wan grimaced, “Never actually told me there was a project. So, no.”

***

Anakin wasn’t exactly surprised to be summoned into Qui-Gon’s office that following day, given he was sure Obi-Wan passed on any concerns about Anakin to the professor. It was complicated in a sense, because while Anakin appreciated having people who looked out for him in favor of the alternative, he wanted to prove that he could sort out his own issues and didn’t need babysitters. 

“How can you lecture me about not getting any sleep when Obi-Wan has looked like a zombie half the time these days?” Anakin protested.

Qui-Gon poured him a cup of tea that Anakin would fail to feign enjoyment of and chuckled softly. “Do you truly believe I haven’t lectured Obi-Wan about his self-care habits?”

“I haven’t seen you do it.” Anakin said.

“Same as Obi-Wan isn’t present now, I try to keep my chastising towards only him. In any case, I did not invite you here to discuss your sleeping habits. At least, not in the way you believe.”

Anakin was thankful to have the teacup in order to have something to do. Even if tea did usually taste like rooty leaf water. 

“Have you ever heard of parseltongue?” Qui-Gon asked calmly.

He scrunched up his nose- both in response to the gross taste of the tea and in confusion over what the professor just asked him.

“Is that a disease?” He asked.

“No,” He chuckled and set his own teacup down, “It’s the language of the serpents as well as those who can communicate with them.”

“Who would want to talk to a bunch of snakes?” Anakin questioned, “I’d rather talk to a shark or dog or something.”

“Salazar Slytherin saw it to be a very useful trait. He didn’t just use it to speak to snakes, but influence them as well.” He said, “Most parselmouths, as the speakers are generally called, derive from his bloodline.”

Anakin tapped his chin, truly trying to think about what this had to do with him. It wasn’t like his dreams ever involved snakes. Then again, he had told Obi-Wan he’d been dreaming about the Zillo Beast, who while unlike a dragon as previously discussed in Palpatine’s class, could have been more like a snake.

“Is this about the Zillo Beast?” He broke the silence, which had previously only been filled by the soft crackling of the hearth central to Qui-Gon’s office. It made Anakin remember with clarity his moment on Diagon Alley, when the dark wizard was speaking to the flames.

“Not directly,” Qui-Gon said and pulled out a book that appeared to be some sort of translator, “The night of the holiday party when you were incapacitated, you were muttering… Words in parseltongue.”

“That’s not possible!” Anakin frowned, “I’m horrible at second language. You should have seen my French grades in school.”

“Parseltongue is not typically something learned, Anakin. It can be mimicked, but most of the time it is a purely genetic trait.” He said.

“But, that would mean...” Anakin didn’t have a proper answer for that. His mother had left him so in the dark regarding wizard lineage that he didn’t have a rebuttal for why he spoke a hereditary language among snakes. It sounded cool enough, but Qui-Gon was doing that thing adults did when they tried terribly hard to appear calm, even if they weren’t. 

“I don’t expect you to have the answers.” Qui-Gon said gently, “It’s quite possible you were simply relaying the message of the dark wizard that poisoned you. However, as word of these dreams persists, I’m concerned that you are… Seeing things that could be of assistance.”

Anakin squirmed in his seat, unsure how to possibly express that he was already looking into this with Dooku and Palpatine. However, neither of them had mentioned parseltongue. Maybe there was something Qui-Gon could decipher that they couldn’t.

“The word you primarily kept muttering over and over again, was “Vader”, which is German, for-”

“Father?” Anakin guessed, having to really dig in the crevices of his mind to a day where his school was not one of magical ability. 

“Exactly that.” Qui-Gon paused, “Forgive me if this is out of turn, Anakin, but do you find it possible that your father could have anything to do with this?”

“My father is a muggle. I never knew him.” Anakin said tersely and tried not to make it sound as foul as it tasted to say.

Qui-Gon’s eyes grew very sad as he nodded, “Very well. I will continue to search for any other utterances that strike out. And Anakin, please remember that you can always talk to me should your dreams trouble you any longer.”

“Yes, Professor.” Anakin said, but it felt more automatic than anything, because the mention of his deadbeat father, who didn’t so much as have a face to Anakin, made him feel a numbness that he hadn’t remembered for a long time. “Hopefully, I’m not busted by Windu next time.” He added, trying to add a sprig of humor to his voice.

Qui-Gon frowned, “When did this happen?”

“Two nights ago while he was on patrol.”

“Windu wasn’t supposed to-” He cut himself off in what seemed to be intense thought. “Well, I will talk to him.”

Anakin took this as his cue to leave, but turned back to catch Qui-Gon staring thoughtfully in space, feeling his skin prick from the unspoken accusations that floated aimlessly between them. Windu was not supposed to be roaming the castle either that night.

So, what was he doing?

***

“I’ve searched each path as instructed, Headmaster.” Mace Windu walked into the room without any warning of his arrival.The little headmaster was propped up on a stack of firm pillows in order to see over his desk, which no doubt had been designed for someone of the height of the average adult. His eyes were bright this evening and his long green ears perked up when he noticed he had company. 

“Found nothing, have you?” He spoke in that reversed verbiage that had become commonplace for Windu to understand. 

“The tunnel that led to the Zillo Beast is significantly newer than the rest of the tunnel systems.” He said with a nod of concession, “The infrastructure of these tunnels are ancient in make- whereas the tunnel that led to that dark lair was only meant to look old for aesthetic.”

“Sealed these tunnels should have been.” Yoda said gravely, “Meant for dark magic and smuggling, they initially were.”

Mace Windu knew this and while his peers and students would likely assess that he was an extreme stickler for the rules, he was not by any means unreasonable. He did not see the pure dangers of these tunnels for merely existing. Should they receive proper care and supervision, they just became different pathways to class. 

“Would you like me to seal them?” He asked.

“Tried many times, I have.” Yoda shook his head, “Against the will of the school, it is.”

Mace frowned, “Against the will of the school? With all due respect, Headmaster, regardless of all the magic in the world, this place is not physically alive.”

“Hmm,” Yoda gave him a look of appraisal, “Sure of that, are you?”

“It is not sentient.” He responded plainly, “It doesn’t have a beating heart or required source of sustenance. Biologically, it is not living.”

“Constrained, your definition of alive is.” He said, “The beating heart, the students are. The sustenance, knowledge is. Sentient, it is not, but intentions, it does have. For as long as it’s needed, alive, Hogwarts is.”

It took much patience to prevent himself from releasing an impatient sigh. Really, he knew what Yoda meant, but working amongst those that refused to see things straightforward could be frustrating. He supposed he was already spared enough from Qui-Gon’s presence for the night. Then, he’d be double-teamed.

“That does not help us with preventing another attack.” He said with folded arms.

“Then, the matter of the cheater, there is.” Yoda added thoughtfully.

“You’ve already declined my suspicions.” Mace said, trying too hard not to sound bitter about being rejected. 

“Keep looking, we must.” He pulled out a wrinkled map from his desk drawer. It was a map that was enchanted to show the whereabouts of every student in the school. It showed the blueprint of every location with the exception of the secret tunnels. His little green hand slid the map towards Mace. “Patrol the tunnels again, you shall, but tell anyone, you must not.”

***

He was in the hallway, late for class or at least he thought he should be. The sky was blue and he could hear birds, but the clouds looked stormy. He turned away from the window, but no one was there. In fact this wasn’t the hallway at all.

He was in the library, but it was loud and there were no windows. The book shelves seemed to trap him, he couldn’t walk towards the entrance, or try to find Obi-Wan at his usual table; whenever he tried it was only another shelf of books. He tried to grab at one, maybe there was a secret passage he’d missed somehow, but the books were stuck in place. He grabbed one with both hands and he pulled on it so hard his feet left the ground for a second, but still it didn’t budge.

He decided to continue down the passageway. He wasn’t even sure why that book stood out to him so much. Still, his hands itched to rip it from the shelf. It’s spine had been a deep blue, so deep in fact that it may as well have been black, he hadn’t caught the title, but it must have been important.

Before he could turn around and go back for it, a drop of water fell onto his hand. He looked up and realized it was too dark to see, looking behind him he could no longer see any books. The only light in the room were the walls, dazzling bright lights burst out of the carvings there. Stick figures were walking with him on either side and although they didn’t have mouths or really any way to make noise, he could hear them chanting almost like it was coming from the beat of his own heart.

“Vader, Vader, Vader,” It echoed in his mind even if he wasn’t sure he was really hearing it or not. He tried to tune it out as he continued, nowhere else to go, but the figures continued to follow him, glowing eerily in the dark.

He felt eyes on him, like he was being followed, but when he turned around there was nothing. He turned to continue forward picking up his pace. His heart was hammering louder and with it the chant did too.

“Vader, Vader, Vader,” He hit the end of the hallway. 

The Zillo Beast’s cage.

The beast was no longer there, but the bars had narrowed and there was no way for him to squeeze his way in, or escape from to the other side. He looked left and right, but there were bars there too, so he turned slowly, heart pounding, head filled with chants to see he’d been trapped. There was no way to escape. He pulled at the bars, even tried to climb them, but his palms were slippery with sweat and it seemed as if his strength had left him.

From the shadows he heard a deep voice speaking, but of what he couldn’t hear over the chant:

“Vader, Vader, Vader,”

Footsteps he felt more than heard were coming towards him at a painstakingly slow pace. He was pulling desperately on the bars, but his hands continued to slip. He saw a glint of silver from the darkness and he knew it was the blade he and Rex had seen. Then he saw the man’s robes, still no face, but it was damning enough. The dark robes, nothing fancy, but the inside was a deep mauve which stood out almost unnaturally in the darkness. The color was practically blinding, hypnotising him into standing still, hands sliding off the bars to fall at his side. Their surroundings had changed and he didn’t even notice, trees had sprung up around them and they leaned towards him as if to mock his suffering.

The sword was being raised, it glinted ruby red and the blade looked golden although he was certain it was meant to be silver. The hood of the cloak shifted though it still revealed no face; it did however allow the cloak to move in such a way that a wand was visible, if only for a, strangely long, second.

It was a twisting dark wood wand, blackthorn, he knew almost immediately because he’d seen such a wand before. It was a wand that did such elegant wand work for its owner, crafting the most beautiful charms.

A wand that belonged to Professor Mace Windu.

The sword swung.

***

Anakin’s eyes shot open and he pressed a hand, still twisted in his sheets, to his mouth to stifle the cry he was sure he’d made. He didn’t dare to move, eyes roving around the parts of the room he could see, but there was no glint of silver or gold, no mauve-lined robes, and no twisted blackthorn wand. He heard a rustle from behind him and he snapped instantly to a sitting position, grasping his wand he’d kept under his pillow in trembling hands pointing it towards the source of the sound.

Rex was rubbing his eyes and looking blearily at him.

“What’s wrong?” His voice was thick with sleep and Anakin lowered his wand, but he didn’t loosen his grip. Although Rex had already done so, he couldn’t allow his voice to break the silence of the room. His heart was beating quickly and he could almost hear a voice speaking behind the sound, but of what, he did not know. 

“Are you ok?” Rex looked more awake now, and more awake translated to more concerned. Rex slipped out of bed and Anakin tried to focus on the soft patter of feet before Rex was climbing onto Anakin’s four-poster and whispering quietly, “Did you have a bad dream again?”

The fears and terrible memories swelled forward and Anakin felt his breath catch and tears slip from the corners of his eyes. He was trembling and he tried to stop by clutching his wand tighter, but all that did was allow a few golden sparks to fizzle out the end.

“It’s Windu, Rex,” Anakin said although he was sure the shakiness of his voice would not sound convincing, “I saw the tunnel again, but it felt different, like a warning, not a memory,” He was crying now, much as he tried to banish the tears.

“What do you remember?” Rex asked, he wrapped an arm around Anakin’s shoulders, and Anakin had to fight with himself to not cry into his friend's shoulder. He wanted his mum. She’d make things better. For the first time he really wondered if she had been right to stay away from the wizarding world.

“I was in the tunnel, but this time I got put into a cage,” He explained to distract himself, “He had that sword, the one we found and then there were trees.”

“And you’re sure it was Windu?” Rex asked and Anakin nodded frantically.

“His robes were lined with purple, like the scrap we found,” He pushed, “It was so bright like it wanted me to see, and the sword he had… it should have been silver, but it was gold and red-”

“Gryffindor colors,” Rex gasped, pulling away in shock.

“And I saw his wand,” Anakin wiped away tears, “It was Windu.”

“We have to tell Obi-Wan,” Rex whispered with a frown, but Anakin shook his head and practically leaped across the other boy to grab his shoulder.

“We can’t! Obi-Wan doesn’t believe me,” Anakin reminded him.

“But what if it is a warning? If he’s planning to do something-” Rex’s forehead wrinkled as he considered the little knowledge they had.

“He’s too cunning,” Anakin shook his head sadly, “The whole school thinks he’s great. Qui-Gon would hear me out, but without proof he can’t do anything! Everyone at this stupid school would rather have me dead then believe me!” 

This had been weighing on his heart for some time now. He looked to the wand in his hand. When it chose him, he had been elated, it had been one of the best days of his life. To be chosen to do magic and study away at a castle in the hills had easily surpassed everything he’d ever wished for. He wondered now, if it hadn’t been a blessing, but one big curse he was playing into.

“That’s not true,” Rex patted him on the shoulder, “I believe you,” Anakin felt his eyes tearing up again, but he threw his arms around his best friend before they could fall, “If Windu tries to get you, he’ll have to go through me too!”

“Thanks Rex,” Anakin failed at steadying his voice once more, “You're the best friend I could ever ask for.”

***

Anakin awoke to the feeling of his eyelashes being stuck together. So, he scrubbed at his eyes until he could open them enough to see Rex, who must have fallen asleep, still in Anakin’s bed. He was wrapped in all the sheets in a way only the youngest of such a large family could and he only woke up when Anakin tried to pull some of them back.

“Get your own blanket,” He grumbled without opening his eyes, clutching onto what he could with an iron grip.

“These are mine,” Anakin complained, tugging harder. Rex opened his eyes then and sat up, allowing the blankets to fall from his hands as he realized he was in fact, a thief.

“Ah, whoops,” He grinned sheepishly, “Sorry mate, Fives always did say I was a blanket hog.” 

Anakin just shrugged. As if both remembering how they ended up fighting over blankets in the first place, Anakin’s face fell and Rex’s drifted back into concern, “Any more dreams?”

“No,” Anakin shook his head, “But I’m not sure anything could top that last one even if I did,” He admitted and Rex just frowned, slipping off the bed and towards his trunk.

“Well if you don’t want to talk to anyone, maybe we should keep an eye on Windu?” Rex suggested.

“How so? Last time he caught me out of bed I got in trouble and I wasn’t even doing anything,” Anakin complained and Rex just gave him a look.

“The map, you idiot,” And he slapped a hand to his forehead, grabbing it from under his mattress.

“You’re right!” He held the paper up to the light before suddenly dropping it into his pocket and looking around to ensure none of the other first years were awake.

***

“So, Windu’s been going off property, huh?” Rex thought aloud as he and Anakin walked down the winding hill of the front entrance. Anakin’s eyes were glued to the map that rested on top of his textbook, trying to accurately see where the map tapered off. “That’s weird, I find it hard to imagine any of the professors having actual lives- let alone someone as stiff as him.”

“I just assumed they all lived at Hogwarts.” Anakin shrugged, “I guess that would be a little odd.”

“Some of them do.” Rex pointed out, “But yeah, I can’t really see any of them exactly going out on the town and grabbing a beer.”

“Most of them could use one.” He said and frowned, “It still shows us on the map.”

Eventually, a professor or prefect was bound to look and see the two first years drifting seemingly aimlessly across the lawn, looking like they were up to no good, and would surely corral them in. In reality, Rex really needed to study for Charms, but knew Anakin had the subject on lock. Despite being under clear scrutiny with Windu, Anakin had a natural talent for the subject that Rex might never understand. 

That being said, even coupled with the crunchy snow that they squashed beneath their boots and the damp wind that smacked them in the face, there was something about the wide open stretch of white landscape before them that promised the possibilities of great adventure. 

“The grounds are very large.” Rex voiced his thoughts, “I reckon it’ll show us all the way to Hogsmeade if we let it.”

Rex knew the smile that appeared on Anakin’s face quite well. It was one of both determination and mischief and admittedly, it sparked excitement with Rex as well. 

“I don’t see the harm in trying it.” He grinned and then gave pause, “Though, we probably should take an alternative route.”

“I could go for a butterbeer.” Rex answered with a smile that matched his friend’s. 

“I’ve never had one.” Anakin said.

“Great, a bonus mission, then.”

***

Satine prided herself on the ability to multitask. She could simultaneously observe that the first years were behaving as they enjoyed their time after school in the Great Hall, playing board games and chatting amicably, while also trying to mentally construct what she was to do for their latest Charms project.

It was an interesting one, for sure, which involved presenting a counter-charm in front of the class. She and Obi-Wan had paired together of course and despite her recent frustrations with the boy in question, had no worries about their imminent productivity.

Aayla and Stass, who always worked together, were not as confident in the merit of their own work ethic.

“Would you happen to know the counter-charm to my brain melting through my ears?” Stass groaned as she slumped off the bench and onto the floor.

They didn’t have to sit with her while she essentially babysat the younger students, but neither girl seemed to have anywhere else to be and Satine would be a liar to say she didn’t appreciate the company. 

“It’s only a counter-charm if it’s actually you know, countering a different charm.” Satine said with a smile, not taking her eyes off her scan of the crowd. She spotted Viz, who sat in the far corner to the right with a few other students around him. It was a relief to Satine that he’d found more friends. He’d been such a loner in the beginning of the year, only really seen occasionally beside Anakin Skywalker.

Satine bit her tongue. She was especially glad he found other friends.

“We could go simple, you know. That is always an option.” Aayla said, “A locking and unlocking display wouldn’t hurt us.”

“You know Windu will have a well-timed and well-deserved lecture about taking the easy way out.” Stass sighed, “He’d rather see us fail at something hard than opt for something too easy.”

“When you’re right, you’re right.” Aayla flopped backwards so she was lying flat on the bench. One of her blue lekku dangled over the side, just barely above the stone floor. “What are you and Kenobi working on?”

“We haven’t discussed it yet, actually.” Satine kept her hands folded in her lap and tried not to appear visibly cross with him, even if most could tell by the way they behaved around each other. It didn’t help when she could practically feel the curious stares of her prying and procrastinating friends.

“You haven’t come up with the full plans for the project?” Stass gaped, “But it’s been a whole week since it was assigned.”

“I’ve been a little busy, you know.” She pointed out, “Those essays for potions were not exactly what I’d call a fun time.”

“You still got the best grade in the class.” Aayla said.

“Second best.” She corrected almost automatically. “By a whopping half point.”

“Good thing you’re not keeping score.” She smirked.

Satine rolled her eyes. She really wasn’t. So, it was in her nature to be a little competitive when it came to academics. It was always in good nature. She was never mad when he scored better than her on something… Just, determined to be better for her own sake. 

She was already considered at a disadvantage at this school for being a muggle-born. She didn’t grow up with magic the way many had. Satine merely felt the need to fill in those gaps in whatever way she could. If it were always easy for her and she was simply always the best, she would grow uninspired. In comparison to this, she always had someone to walk in tandem with in terms of intellect, even if that person was presently being an idiot.

As if on cue, Obi-Wan Kenobi walked into the Great Hall, scanning the crowd with determined eyes until they landed on her. She cocked an eyebrow in response, contrasting the smile she might shoot him if she weren’t still cross with him. Most students liked to relax after the course of the school day, which might involve untucking their shirts, rolling up their sleeves, loosening their ties, or removing their jumpers. Obi-Wan was far from “most students” and almost constantly opted to dress with the primness of a new day.

He walked over to her, but kept turning his head around the crowd. Most students spared him a brief look of concern, noting that two prefects in one area was rarely a good thing, but seemed to recognize Obi-Wan and Satine’s close friendship and continued on with their antics.

It was refreshing in a sense, because the little first years were not nearly as concerned with their friendship as say, third or fourth years were. Satine could not quite fathom why.

“Hey, Kenobi! Here to talk strategy for the match?” Aayla teased as he got closer. 

Satine wasn’t sure how she managed to forget that Ravenclaw’s next Quidditch match was in just a couple weeks’ time, but she guessed her increasing annoyance with her most valuable player was a large component of this. 

Obi-Wan chuckled and shook his head, “No, but that doesn’t mean I’ll say no to advice on how to keep my head on straight against Ventress’s vital blows.”

“Keep the ball from going in the hoop for a start.” Stass offered.

“Mind-blowing. Please go into sports analytics.” Aayla playfully jabbed her friend’s torso with her pointed toes. 

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Obi-Wan said with a smile that faded into caution when he finally regarded Satine, “May I speak to you alone?”

“That depends, are you going to acknowledge my thoughts and opinions or will you be ignoring all of that completely?” She replied sarcastically and not quite caring if they had witnesses. Obi-Wan could read that the moment he came into the room and she knew it.

“Satine…” He begged quietly in a voice he rarely reserved for anyone else.

She hated how her heart still skipped a bit when looking at him for too long and in favor of avoiding the embarrassment of flushing red in front of her friends, she slid off the table and wordlessly joined him across the room. They could still manage to watch over the first years if they needed to, but it was slightly more secluded.

“I’m assuming this doesn’t have to do with our Charms homework.” She said, but frowned as she noticed he was still searching the crowd with growing tension in his form. “What’s up with you?”

He gave another onceover across the room before returning his gaze back to her and she realized with growing clarity that he wasn’t simply looking from the perspective of a prefect that was trying to do his job, but someone who was actively looking for something else.

Or, as she considered the entirety of first years filling the Great Hall, someone.

“You’re looking for Anakin, aren’t you?” She said with the shake of her head. 

“And Rex.” Obi-Wan sighed, “They skipped their final class today.”

She knitted her eyebrows together, “So-”

“-For the record, this does not mean you were right.” He said pointedly. “These could be two completely unrelated incidents.”

“Oh, well, heaven forbid that ever be the case,” She drawled and crossed her arms over her chest, “And I wasn’t about to say anything of that matter, actually. It’s still my responsibility to ensure the safety of younger students, regardless of who they are.”

“I’m just ensuring you won’t use this as an opportunity to lay a preemptive “I told you so” on me.” 

She bristled, “It’s good to know your faith in me is ever persistent.” 

“I’m here for assistance, aren’t I?” He retorted.

“Are you?” She frowned, “Because you’ve got a funny way of asking for it.”

“Please?” He returned to that gentler tone that stroked something soft in her chest and she shoved it somewhere deep where she didn’t have to think about it… For now. 

She sighed, “Let’s check the common rooms first.”

***

Anakin walked the secret tunnels beneath Hogwarts with enough confidence to make an outside viewer think he carved them out himself. It certainly paralleled significantly to a few months before when he’d merely been eager to see them in the first place. Rex held his glowing wand over the map and huddled close to Anakin as they followed its lead to see just where the map trailed off. 

Even without the map, it was obvious they were no longer beneath the castle as it was beginning to feel like a refrigerator as they continued onwards.

“You know, this is an awful long path for a shortcut.” Rex muttered.

“Pretty straightforward too.” Anakin commented, noting that they had only made one or two minor turns in their trek towards Hogsmeade.

“I wonder what shop we’ll drop in on.” Rex said, though it wasn’t the first he’d thought of it. “It might look a bit funny to pop up behind a merchandise shelf in Zonko’s or something.”

“As long as Windu doesn’t catch us, we’re good.” He said, “He’s observing Slytherin’s Quidditch practice in place of Palpatine. I’d say we’re in the clear for now.”

“I gotta hand it to ya, mate,” Rex began, “Despite all the thinly veiled threats, you really don’t ever quit, do you?”

“Hogwarts is my home.” Anakin said sharply, his high-pitched voice echoing off the wet stone walls, “And I want to keep it safe. I can’t do that if some creep is trying to kill me at every left turn.”

If Rex was going to argue that they were too young to be so protective of their school, he didn’t give any indication of it. It was a relief to have someone in his life that wasn’t so quick to comment on the more augmented portions of Anakin’s statements. 

They walked a little longer in comfortable silence. The only space that filled them was the sounds of their boots sloshing around in puddles. Lining the walls was ice and while there didn’t appear to be any icy patches, the ground was a bit crunchy from snow previously tracked in. 

It was strange, Anakin was beginning to feel even safer in the tunnels than he did walking through the main corridors of Hogwarts. Of course, he felt plenty fine going to and from class as was expected of him. However, exploration of Hogwarts on the surface was strangely forbidden, clearly containing more secrets than the teachers could manage. It was easier to delve deeper.

Not only that, but knowing there was a straight escape out of the building if need be was a bit comforting for Anakin. Seeing as his life had been attempted twice at this point, it was always good to know. That, or if Sebulba figured out it was he who turned his bed into a swamp.

“Hey,” Any comfort he felt seemed misguided by Rex’s tone, “Have you taken this route before?”

“I told you, I’ve never been to Hogsmeade.” Anakin said, but when he tried to continue walking, Rex grabbed him by the sleeve of his robe to force him in front of him. Concern filled the wide brown eyes of his friend, who was only illuminated by the soft glow at the tip of his wand. “What?”

“If you’ve never taken this way before, then how does snowdrift get dragged in here?” He nodded towards the small little dustings of snowy residue that peppered inconsistently across the surface leading forward. 

Anakin frowned and held the map down to his side, giving Rex his full thought and attention for that moment, which was all the more chilling. As much as the tunnels had become a safe haven and escape for Anakin, they were also the primary mode of transportation for his alleged attacker. 

“It’s cold down here.” He added, trying to remain optimistic.

“Not cold enough to freeze.” Rex said.

No, that was also true. While muggle school had bored him, he did understand the basic concepts of temperature control and how water would only freeze when reaching zero degrees celsius. And there were puddles of murky water lingering throughout the tunnels. If it were truly that cold, they would have froze over as well.

He sighed, “Okay, so should we turn back or go-”

Anakin didn’t have the time to finish that thought, because any suggestion he was about to make died on his tongue at the sound of shoes hitting stone flooring at a rapidly approaching speed.

He didn’t have to encourage Rex to follow him as he turned on his heels and began sprinting in the opposite direction. While he nearly dropped his wand in the process, Rex staggered next to him, trying his best to keep up. Somehow, he managed to keep his wand aglow, which did help a little in terms of allowing them to make out what was directly in front of them. However, the speed at which Rex flung his arms made the light seem like it was flashing. 

The way back towards Hogwarts was dark and the brandish motion of Rex’s wand gave off the heightened sensation of a strobe- slowing time impossibly. Anakin balled his hands into fists as he ran, crinkling the revered parchment tightly through his sweaty fingers.

In those seconds, his mind raced to many things.

Windu.

Phantom.

Vader.

The footsteps grew louder and more frantic, even over the sound of his brain pounding in his skull. Whoever chased them was quick and determined, but not heavy on their feet. Anakin veered his head to the side, trying to catch Rex’s eyes in the flickering light of his wobbling wand, but only saw a blur of his friend beside him and tried to focus more on getting out of here. 

It occurred to Anakin, suddenly, what it would take to discover the identity of this masked evil and he squeezed his fist so unbearably tight that it hurt. He wouldn’t tell Rex, so his friend would go on, but he had to know. He could only run for so long.

So, he stopped to a complete halt, trying to hastily unwrinkle the parchment he’d previously crushed in his knee jerk reaction. The tension that was caught in his digits made this exceptionally hard as well as the way his heart threatened to burst through his chest in anticipation. 

The map would reveal the truth. He would have his proof. He would have his name. There would be no more doubt that the person who has repeatedly made Anakin’s first year at Hogwarts so uncharacteristically strange was-

-BAM!

The breath was stolen from Anakin as he bore the full weight of a shrouded body that had been hurtling towards him. For a moment, he was floating and the only thought that drifted across his mind’s eye was that he was no longer holding the map or his wand. He wanted to curse, but the words were also no longer a luxury he could afford.

He skidded to the cold and damp floor, splashing into a puddle with a grunt and a gasp. It felt as though he’d gone into shock as he briefly wrestled in the dark with his witless attacker, who also seemed to have their senses knocked out of them by the impact. 

Blood pumped into Anakin’s ears and pain finally caught up with him after a moment and he looked up into bleak darkness, but had the presence of mind to shove this surprise guest off of him. It was surprisingly an easy feat, not nearly as dense as the menace on Halloween had been when he’d snuck up on him.

Even in his haze, it was clear to him that this wasn’t the same person. This person was small and desperate, scared even. As they rustled a bit in an unsure scuffle, he could feel what seemed to be an emblem on the front of the robe. 

There was no answer of course.

As if also just coming to, the mystery person scrambled to their feet in equal terror as Anakin had initially felt, and stumbled into what would become a running position, the sound of distant footsteps hitting puddles as well as strangely, an irregular fluttering. In what small lighting Rex’s wand allowed for him, he could see that this person was a young boy.

“Anakin, Anakin!” Rex’s arms were underneath Anakin’s armpits as he hoisted him to a standing position. His worried voice indicated that this had not been the first time he’d said his name. “Was that-”

“-That was a student!” Anakin gasped as he dusted himself off, no matter how little good that was going to do when he now had ice and dirty water on his robe. 

“We ought to go after him then!” Rex urged.

“The map!” Anakin panicked, “I was trying to get a look at the map and I dropped it!” 

Rex waved his wand across the floor and both boys exchanged shocked glances when they noticed not only Anakin’s map and wand in a particularly jagged shaped puddle beneath them, but several different slices of parchment all around. Anakin wasted no time looking at them yet as he plucked the map from the water.

“What’s it say?” Rex asked.

“Bollocks.” Anakin cursed, “It doesn’t work when it’s wet, apparently.”

“Well, what kind of spell is that?” He complained. 

“I’m sure Palpatine never thought I’d be dragging it through mud.” Anakin defended slightly and winced, “I hope I didn’t break it.”

Rex bent down to pick up another piece of parchment and frowned, “Well, I think this answers any question of what he was doing down here.”

Anakin looked over his friend’s shoulder and wrinkled his brow, “Homework?”

“This isn’t homework,” Rex rolled his eyes and brought the papers closer to the light, “These are answer keys to the OWLS tests for the fifth years.”

***

Obi-Wan and Satine had searched what seemed like the entire school with growing trepidation. Obi-Wan, in particular, was trying his best not to seem shaken by his mentee’s absence while Satine wondered when and how she was going to suggest adult intervention.

She didn’t have to, luckily, because right as that moment felt inevitable, they stumbled across Anakin and Rex as the boys stood with hands on their knees, huffing and puffing outside of the Gryffindor common room. From her peripherals, she could see Obi-Wan relax substantially and she was also glad for their safety. However, such relief did not prevent varying questions from flooding her mind.

Obi-Wan beat her to the first one, “Where have you two been hiding?”

Anakin straightened with the alarm of someone that was trying to disguise having been caught. Doing what, Satine supposed they didn’t have definitive proof of. At the very least, they’d obviously been running.

“Um, cardio.” He so obviously lied, “For Quidditch.”

“In your full uniforms.” Satine said plainly and then looked to Rex, “Rex isn’t even on the team.”

The youngest Fett’s frown deepened, but after exchanging a quick glance with his best friend and co-conspirator, eased into what Satine could only assume was purposeful ignorance. “I’d like to be someday.”

That much, while true, was irrelevant. She wasn’t buying it and clearly, Obi-Wan wasn’t either. 

“You skipped class- Herbology, mind you, which is far from your strongest subject in order to run around like hooligans?”

“We didn’t mean to miss class.” Anakin justified, “We completely lost track of time!”

Satine rolled her eyes, “You’re really going to have to do better than that. For skipping class no other purpose besides playing hooky, I’ll have no choice but to assign detention for the both of you this evening.”

“Wait, okay!” Rex broke a bit, clearly not keen on spending his time with the likes of Krell and truthfully, Satine didn’t want him to either, “We were… Investigating.”

“Rex!” Anakin glared at his friend.

“No, do share, please.” Obi-Wan said, holding out a hand to cue Anakin to silence.

“We were trying to figure out who was behind this cheating scandal that’s going around.” Rex said and Satine furrowed her brow at the way Anakin slackened ever so slightly at this “admission” of truth.

“That’s the job of prefects and professors.” Obi-Wan reminded them, “Not first years.”

“Yeah, well, did either of you find this?” Anakin boasted as he held a surprisingly wet piece of parchment out in front of him, “Because a couple of dumb first years did.”

“I never said you were dumb.” Obi-Wan returned as he took the dripping paper away to take a better look at it. Over his shoulder, Satine caught a glance too and couldn’t help the small gasp that she took in.

“Where did you find this?” Satine asked in a treacherously concerned voice. 

“And why is it wet?” Obi-Wan winced and wiped his hand on the side of his robe. 

“Outside.” Anakin said, “Right near the entrance.”

“We were running, because we thought we saw the kid.” Rex added and for this bit, Satine could see that Rex was relaying what he believed to be the truth.

The heaps of snow that covered the rolling terrain did explain quite obviously why the parchment was soaked in some parts, but not why it existed at all. The OWLS weren’t for another couple of months and yet, the answers (albeit, smudged) were right in Obi-Wan’s hands. Neither prefect took to looking at them too closely in fear of glimpsing any of the answers in-context, but enough to know this was certainly the key for a Transfiguration exam.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention.” Obi-Wan nodded at the two of them. He was very practiced at maintaining a cool composition, even if Satine could see the cracks in his display from a kilometer away. It seemed to placate Anakin and Rex, who were also trying not to seem jostled.

“Does this mean we don’t have detention?”

If Satine had it her way, she’d want to add further questions before making such a promise, but Obi-Wan seemed to have other ideas.

“For now.” He said sternly, “But see to it that your spree of vigilantism stops right here. The main priority for you two is to go to school and learn, not engage in criminal investigations.”

“Leave that to us.” Satine added with hands on her hips, “And remember that we might not be as kind next time you choose to skip class.” 

Both first years nodded their heads hastily and at Obi-Wan’s firm dismissal, jogged off to dinner, trying to beat the other through the doors. Instead of following them inside, Obi-Wan shared a concerned look with Satine.

“What do you make of this?”

“It was one thing when it was regular exams and essays,” Satine admitted, “But this is supposed to be a standardized examination. Whoever is doing this has contacts that run deep.”

“I know.” He said, “It’s good that you have seen reason.”

Feeling as though something halted and reverberated within her, Satine stepped back, completely incredulous. “Pardon?”

He frowned in confusion, “You see that this cannot be Anakin now.”

“I see no such thing!” She offset, “We’ve drawn no absolute conclusions yet!”

“He literally handed us the test paper, Satine.” He said. 

“Need I remind you that he clearly did not want to?” She argued, “Rex was the one to goad him into it.”

“He doesn’t have the sort of contacts to get access to this level of cheating!” He said, “And I’ve been with him almost constantly.”

“Almost constantly except today.” She reminded him.

“And you believe Rex complicit.” 

“I didn’t say that!” She said, “I don’t know what I believe and neither do you.”

“I believe Anakin wasn’t being wholly honest with us, but he’s not a cheater. If anything, he was likely trying to seek out more information on who freed the Zillo Beast.” Obi-Wan stood up straight, as if his more impressive height would give him an advantage in this spinning wheel of an argument. 

“And I hope that’s the case!” She insisted, “But even still, that is something he should most certainly not handle alone.”

“Anakin doesn’t trust the manner of investigation here,” He said firmly, “And frankly, I can see why.”

“That sounds a bit fishy to me, actually.” She said, “You and I have given him no reason for mistrust.”

“Well, I haven’t.” He said bitterly.

“Don’t you dare try to lump me in with Windu’s oversight regarding Krell.” She poked him hard in the chest, “I don’t believe with certainty that it’s Anakin, I admit, and I do have many more questions in relation to this whole mystery now, but I will not rule any potential suspects out.”

“God forbid we rule anyone out in an investigation!” He said, waving around the parchment, “Good thing you’re not an Auror, because everyone would constantly be a possible suspect of crime.”

“Yeah, well good thing you aren’t one either!” She snapped and it felt cold as it came out, but her mouth seemed to move before her brain could think, “Because not only does it require the courage to pursue Defense Against the Dark Arts, but critical thinking!”

His eyes widened a tad and his mouth fell open a tad, “I- Well, then. Why are you even investigating alongside me in the first place?”

“Ben...” She tried, regretting what she said if only a little bit.

“I’ll see you later.” He said shortly, “We’ve got a counter-charm to develop, no? I am smart enough to help with that, right?”

“I never said-”

“-No, but you did.” He laughed a little, even if it wasn’t funny to him, “And it’s okay. Really, it’s inconsequential since we both know that’s not where my path is going anyway.”

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but couldn’t figure out what to say. She didn’t believe Anakin was entirely innocent in all of this, but she wasn’t hellbent on his guilt as Obi-Wan seemed to believe she was. And regardless of how it came out, the most infuriating part of Obi-Wan not actively pursuing what he dreamed to do, was that he was perfect for the job.

***

Hondo Ohnaka specialized in many things. 

Bribery, scheming, smuggling. All things pirating, really, but most of all, he prided himself on his charms- both in the magical and personal sense. He’d never have such an aptitude to sell his scams if he wasn’t so damn convincing. Plus, there was his fearlessness. He did not fear trouble and almost welcomed it… To an extent. 

He took a very large hit when exempting himself from the cheating scandal. It was a shame, really, because it was just the kind of sleaziness that Hondo could have made a killing off of! It was not as though he hadn’t thought of it in the past, of course, but he didn’t have the means that this mystery cheater had. 

Even though he had been insulted that Kryze and Kenobi initially suspected him, he became truly offended when they believed he wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. Naturally, he could. He totally could. And yes, he had inadvertently promised to keep an eye on things for Kenobi, because even though Hondo was a pirate at heart, he did have a soft spot for the prefect. It was dangerous, he knew, but Kenobi was one of the few people to be nice to Hondo in those early days.

It counted for a little bit, that was all. Should this cheater offer Hondo a great sum of the profit, that would be a different story and he’d hope Kenobi would understand.

In a way, his promise to play lookout benefited him in the long run, making it possible for him to sell his Valentine’s Day gags more in the open. He could keep watch for anyone exiting from any secret corridors or at the late night, seeming like his typical troublemaking self, while getting a first glance at the person AND making a profit or alliance.

He knew with Kryze involved that he would be on a short leash, but he would make do.

He was just in the middle of making a decent sell- heart shaped chocolates that were supposed to make you look like your crush’s exact type- when Anakin Skywalker seemed to appear from nowhere, running right into him.

“Hey, kiddo, watch where you’re going!” He scolded, only irritated because the chocolates hit the floor. His buyer, a sad sack named Max Rebo, raised and lowered his large blue ears in exasperation, before scurrying away.

“Sorry, Hondo.” The boy dusted himself off and bent over to help him pick up the candies. “What are these?”

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Hondo warned him when the boy raised the chocolate to his lips, “It could give you horrible diarrhea.”

Skywalker would surely tell his mentor what happened if Hondo got the kid sick and the last thing he needed was to miss out on the Valentine’s day sales. 

Skywalker winced and tossed it back into the heart shape box, “Can’t risk that twice this term.”

Hondo didn’t really want to know the bowel habits of the first year, but was curious what he was doing wandering the halls so close to curfew. He narrowed his eyes at him.

“You’re not trying to move in on my turf are you?” He asked.

“What? No!” Anakin insisted, “I’m just running late is all.”

As an experienced liar, Hondo knew that while that was true, it didn’t answer his question in full. Besides, the boy looked a bit too nervous for someone that was being questioned by one of the least authoritative figures in school. It was mighty suspicious.

“You better not be!” Hondo assured, “Because I don’t take well to splitting profits evenly… Well, unless I’m mooching off someone else.”

“Are people really buying this stuff?” He asked.

“What? You don’t like?” Hondo asked, distracted from his suspicions to be annoyed at the implications from the kid. “You’d be surprised what people do for love.”

Skywalker shifted in his stance, “I don’t know if love is worth the stomachache.” 

Hondo placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to look wise, “Love is a stomachache, Skywalker.”

***

Despite how frazzled he still was from their encounter with the mysterious cheater in the tunnels (as well as with Hondo), Anakin was never too nervous not to be swept in the calming yet alluring aura that was Padmé Amidala. It was hard not to, when it seemed even without the aid of the map, that destiny tended to cross their paths in the halls.

As per usual, she was trailed by some other Gryffindor girls whom she was quite close with- this time, Saché and Rabé. However, Anakin could hardly notice them when her laugh seemed to fill the whole hallway… Until Rabé (he thinks- her friends all looked very similar to him) said something of interest.

“I take it you won’t be receiving any valentines this year from Sebulba.” She said.

“No, I don’t think so.” Padmé chuckled, “And I think he’s afraid I’ll send him one carved of toenails and earwax or something dreadful.”

“I’d say it’s a shame he finally went “fully mad”, but I can’t say I find it in me to feel bad for the bloke.” Saché added.

“I still do.” Padmé offered with a shrug, “Not enough to do anything crazy like date him, but people don’t just become like that, you know?”

“Still,” Rabé sighed wistfully, “It’d be nice if some of the boys around here had a proper romantic bone in their body.”

Padmé smiled knowingly and nudged Saché, whose cheeks matched her tie, “Not just boys. Have you thought about making something for Yané?”

“Oh bugger off,” She scowled, “I’ve got no time for romance as of late, thank you very much.”

“That’s a no.” Rabé teased, “You know she’s going to knit you something beautiful.”

“She’s going to make something beautiful for all of us, thank you.” Saché said, “Because she’s talented like that.”

“So are you, in your own ways.” Padmé said encouragingly. “You’ve just gotta put yourself out there. Who cares if you’re a year younger?”

Anakin swore his heart was floating somewhere midair- as if a passerby cast a Wingardium Leviosa spell on it without warning. How was someone so unassumingly beautiful? It felt somehow, like he was meant to overhear the advice, but knew if he lingered much longer he’d be noticed from his position around the corridor. Instead, he walked with haste to the library. 

What was he going to do?

***

“Okay, mentor, I’ve got a problem and you need to help me fix it. ASAP.” Anakin burst into the library and dropped his stack of books on the table in front of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan cringed at the glares they received from surrounding tables and raised a finger to his lips.

“Have you no mind for those that use the library as more than a place to nap?” Satine hissed, acting much less subtle in her approach.

“Sorry.” Anakin said, but was too caught up in whatever was going on to be genuine in his apology. “I just have a major problem.”

‘Major problems’ could be anything on the scale of miniscule to horrific when it came to Anakin, so it was difficult to decipher which this would be. Regardless, Obi-Wan made his peace with the fact that whatever studying he’d been planning would have to wait until later. 

In truth, he’d already been derailed by the undercurrent of tension presently wrapped around him and Satine. She was still cross with him and he felt likewise, but they’d both been too stubborn to give up their usual seat at the library.  

“What’s going on?” Obi-Wan asked.

True to his dramatic entrance, he flopped backwards across a row of wooden chairs with a heavy sigh. “Valentine’s Day is coming up.”

It was obvious that Satine was doing everything in her power not to roll her eyes, which while Obi-Wan felt a similar sense of exasperation, did not want to give her the satisfaction of agreement.

“That’s all?” He asked, voice carefully neutral.

“That’s all?” Anakin shot up in horror. “It’s quite possibly the worst thing that could ever happen to me.”

“You are aware it happens every year, aren’t you?” Satine asked.

He shook his head adamantly, shaking his shaggy hair, “This year is different. This year, I’m in love. I’m in love with the prettiest girl in school and it’s completely awful.”

“You do remember Halloween, right?” Obi-Wan asked, “When you were almost killed by the rogue Zillo Beast? Or at the holiday party? That, to me, is much more qualified to be the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“Physical injuries have nothing on injuries of the heart.” He clutched his chest for emphasis and Satine couldn’t withhold the chuckle that seemed to bubble up inside her, though try as she might for Anakin’s sake.

“I’m sorry,” She smirked at his grimace. “I don’t know what’s funnier: the theatrics or the fact that of all the people in the world, you chose to come to him for romantic advice.”

Obi-Wan frowned, “And what’s wrong with asking me?”

“Yeah, what is wrong with asking him?” Anakin rounded on Satine, who remained cool under the pressure of both boys’ expectant stares.

“He knows positively zilch about love.” She said as if it were obvious, which prickled Obi-Wan in all the wrong ways.

“That’s not true!” He argued, even if someone else had asked him a mere ten minutes ago, he likely would have told them the truth. He just didn’t like Satine telling not only him, but his protégé what he did and didn’t know, particularly about this sensitive subject. “I know more than you do!”

Sometimes, he learned, it was best to call someone’s bluff. He just couldn’t tell if he was calling Satine’s or his own.

“Yeah, Obi-Wan’s the smartest guy I know!” Anakin slung an arm around him in support.

She crossed her arms, “Do share then, oh wise one.”

He opened his mouth and then closed it before opening it again. He racked his brain to say anything to wipe that smug look off Satine’s face. She seemed so certain that he was clueless and the fact that he was transparent in his lack of knowledge on the subject bristled him more.

The audacity of it all! Who was she to assume what he did and didn’t know? Then again, it shouldn’t surprise him, seeing as she refused to believe him of Anakin’s innocence in the cheat-sheet scandal. 

“I don’t need to prove myself to you.” He sniffed, “Anakin came to me, because he trusts and respects my opinion and believes I can fix this situation for him.”

“You can?” Anakin asked excitedly.

“He can’t.” Satine answered, “You don’t ‘fix’ a crush, particularly not someone else’s. If you knew anything about love, you’d have come to that conclusion on your own.”

“And what do you know about love? I don’t see you walking around with a boyfriend either.” He pointed out.

“By choice!” She snapped, finally, much to his satisfaction, seeming as heated as he was, “And anyway, at least I’ve been kissed before.”

Obi-Wan’s jaw dropped, despite how little he wanted to display his shock at this revelation. He wasn’t sure what he felt in response to that, but he didn’t like the sickly feeling that crawled around his stomach. He mentally shoved it away as far as it could go so as not to further influence this argument.

“When?” He asked, voice cracking only a little, “Who?”

“Bryce Saxon when I was 10.” She said.

“Nice!” Anakin said at the same time Obi-Wan said, “That doesn’t count! We didn’t even know each other.”

“Why does that matter?” She asked, “Did my life not truly begin until I met you?”

“I-I” He stammered, “I just meant it’s circumstantial proof if we don’t know the person.”

“You don’t have to. Why would I lie?”

“To make me jealous?” He spat and when her eyes widened at that, he quickly added, “-That you have kissed someone while I haven’t.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve got better things to do than lie about my accomplishments.” She said. ��And you should know all about circumstantial evidence.”

Ah, so there it was. She was still lashing out about his disbelief in her claim. That only enraged him more. 

“As if kissing some twerpy bloke is an accomplishment.” He sneered, hating every bit of himself that was getting so riled up by this hushed debate. He and Satine argued all of the time, but never like this. The subject matter was sensitive and typically something they stayed away from. Or at least, he thought they did.

“Why do you naturally assume he’s twerpy?” She asked. “It’s not like you’ve got much room to judge.”

Was she calling him twerpy? Did that bother him?

“Regardless of what he was like, his existence is irrelevant, because an elementary-aged kiss is hardly the muse of romantics, which means it’s useless to Anakin.”

“That’s a good point.” Anakin said.

“Yes, well, Anakin is 11. I was 10. If anything, I’m more advanced than Anakin and would better assimilate my experiences to his.” She countered. 

“Also a good point.” He said thoughtfully.

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw. Would she stop bringing up that stupid kiss? “It’s best for advice to come from a mature and collected perspective. Sometimes, being caught in the hysterics of the situation is not the best position to be giving out any information.”

“That’s-” Anakin began.

“-I thought it was just a twerpy kiss?” She rose to her feet with her hands planted firm on the table.

“I’m not the one citing a peck on the lips as gospel reasoning to be fully informed on the throes of romance.” He met her with equal passion, their faces only centimeters apart. “I would also like to point out that I know much better what my protégé is capable of.”

“Do you?” She retorted.  

“Is this a bad time?” Anakin asked awkwardly, “Because I’m starting to feel like this isn’t really about me anymore?”

It was totally about Anakin, while simultaneously not. Obi-Wan certainly didn’t have it in him to explain.

“No, it’s a perfectly good time. Come along, Anakin. Let’s get you a Valentine.”

Obi-Wan stood up straight, keeping his glare fixed on Satine, who was just as formidable in holding a staring contest as he was. Oh, he’d show her. He’d ensure that this issue was resolved so that they could resume their normal studies. Then, she wouldn’t assume he was some… Love-less dolt ever again. And he wouldn’t have to hear about her stupid kiss with Bryce Saxon.

“Come to me if you’d like actual help, Anakin.” She called after them.

“He won’t need it.” Obi-Wan returned hotly. “He’s in the best hands.”

“So, what do I do?” Anakin asked after they were far out of ear shot and walking through the halls.

“I don’t know.” Obi-Wan sighed with dropped shoulders.

***

The two of them eventually returned to the library that evening, opting to skip dinner in favor of getting some research time while Satine wouldn’t be expected there. Anakin had really hoped to have a break from reading. His homework load was getting marginally larger as was, particularly in Charms, which while his favorite subject, had his least favorite professor.

“I can’t believe you willingly come here for all your answers. How do you find the patience?” Anakin asked.

“I’ve always liked to read.” Obi-Wan said, “It’s an escape.”

Not quite understanding what the handsome, perfect, rich student would want to escape from, Anakin continued his pacing.

“Maybe if you spent less time escaping, we’d have the answer to my Valentine’s Day dilemma.”

“I don’t spend all my time reading.” He said, “Some of us have responsibilities.”

“Yeah, you’re too busy busting the couples that are snogging when you could probably use a little of that yourself.” He said.

“I’m not a complete drag.” Obi-Wan said, “I’m trying to help you, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, to prove a point to Satine. Which, by the way, you’re not doing so hot.” He said.

“Who does she think she is? Going off about how I don’t know anything about love?” He scowled, which proved Anakin’s theory that his annoyance wasn’t with him in the slightest. He was distracted in a way Anakin had never seen him all year and it was over something so silly.

“Well, to be fair… You don’t.” He said, “Or else I doubt we’d be literally looking it up in the encyclopedia.”

“Have you got any better ideas?” He quirked a brow.

“Of course not!” Anakin said. “I’m 11! You’re the prefect and my mentor! You’re supposed to know everything.”

“Where is that written?” Obi-Wan asked as he marked a page in the book he was skimming. Anakin always wondered how he read so fast. It was like he could just glance at a page and understand its contents.

“I don’t know,” He said, “But you are older and older people are definitely supposed to know more about this kind of stuff, especially teenagers.”

“It seems I missed that lesson, then.” He answered just as stiffly. “Just sit still and feel free to study for your Charms exam if you so wish.”

“How can I study when I feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest every time I think about this girl? You have no idea what it’s like to see her and not tell her she looks beautiful, but also those words never come, because you don’t want to sound like a freak. And then when she is anywhere within the vicinity it’s like a slow but pleasant torture, because seeing her just makes things… Better, I don’t know.”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way.” He said carefully. “Just like the rest of us.”

Anakin frowned, “What do you mean?”

Obi-Wan peered at him from over his book, “I’m not an alien. I have feelings! Everyone does. They’re completely natural, but you cannot allow them to dictate your every action.”

“So, what you’re saying is…” Anakin said slowly. “You like-like someone.”

He fiddled with his watch, which must have become a new nervous tick of his when under pressure. “I didn’t say that.”

“Yeah, but Qui-Gon says sometimes, it’s about what we don’t say that’s more telling about what we mean.” He pointed out, hoping he was using that phrase correctly. 

Obi-Wan pinched his brow and then slowly massaged his temples. “Okay, if it helps you, let’s just say I have had… Instances where I’ve occasionally felt… Emotionally conflicted... About someone.”

“Who?” Anakin asked.

“That’s hardly relevant to your dilemma!” He returned.

“So, what do you do?” Anakin asked.

Anakin noticed that Obi-Wan seemed strained, like he was trying to figure out the answer to that question and was coming up short every time a new thought seemed to cross his mind.

“Are you friends with this girl?” Obi-Wan finally asked, leaning on his forearms.

“She barely knows I exist.” He puffed at that.

“Then, I suggest you befriend her first.”

Anakin’s eyes bulged out, “Oh great! Never thought of that idea! Thank you so much, love guru.”

Obi-Wan sighed, “Find common ground and remember that she is also a person with feelings. In the trials of any relationship- whether it be platonic or romantic, you must always consider the other person’s position and feelings.”

“So, when do I get to kiss her?”

“Maybe never.” Obi-Wan said.

“What? I can’t believe I came to you at all! What kind of advice is that?”

“You can’t force something, Anakin.” He said. “And your intentions must be pure. Wouldn’t you rather have her in your life to some capacity than none at all?”

Though the prospect of just being friends didn’t have nearly the same amount of appeal as bestowing Padmé with the most glamorous Valentine’s Day gift of all time, it did feel a little more his current speed.

“Thanks, Obi-Wan.” He smiled.

***

“Satine, I’ve come to use your services.” Anakin said as he seemed to pop out of nowhere.

“How did you- Where did you-?” She stammered, looking around her, but then back at the expectant boy. “What are you talking about?”

“Love advice, of course.” He said, “But you can’t tell Obi-Wan I came to you. I think it’ll hurt his feelings.”

Satine couldn’t help but feel smug as she led them into an empty classroom, careful to shut the door behind her. Sure, she wouldn’t tell Obi-Wan that his advice had clearly not measured up as he’d been so positive it would. It wasn’t about being right, it was about how bemusing it was for either him or Anakin to assume he knew anything about romance. While she was certainly not trying to give off the impression that she knew everything, she was at least more aware of her own personal feelings.

Other people’s, of course, were questionable.

Sitting behind what would be the professor’s desk, she folded her hands. “How may I be of assistance?”

“Just to let you know, I’m not coming to you because I’m totally convinced that you’ll be able to help me either.” He said, “But… You are a girl and so is Padmé so, why not?”

She frowned. Who taught this boy how to ask for help before? He was nothing like Viz, who was polite and quiet, but also incredibly studious and perceptive. She was impressed at his quiet wit for such a young boy, but never had to worry he would say something to make someone else cross.

Anakin, on the other hand, was a troublemaker, and was insistent on making the entire school, but apparently Obi-Wan, know it. 

“And you are making me want to help you less and less.” She scowled.

“Not if you want to best Obi-Wan.” He wagged his finger, “Which judging by that heated argument yesterday, I’d say you do.”

She didn’t appreciate the word ‘heated’ being tossed here and there as though this were some passionate feud that was controlling every facet of their very being. Regardless of their present disagreement, which still boiled her blood when she thought about it, they were perfectly capable of continuing about their daily business. Their prefect duties never suffered, they still worked well together in class, and even studied together. Admittedly, the ladder was much more indicative of neither willing to give up their spot. 

However, she’d be lying to say that she wouldn’t benefit from proving a point, even if just to herself.

“Start by telling me what you like about Padmé.”

“She’s got this beautiful way about her.” He said, “Like she radiates sunshine. It’s almost like she’s an angel.”

She smiled encouragingly, “Yes, and?”

“She runs her fingers through her hair a lot, but it never messes it up. It’s like she doesn’t even try to be perfect, but she is.”

“Okay, what else?” She asked.

“Her smile just lights up the whole room. Of course, I usually only see it from afar.”

She narrowed her eyes, “Anything that isn’t based solely on her appearance?”

“Please don’t make this one of those rants.” He said, “Friendly reminder that Viz is your mentee, not me.”

“Sure, but Viz doesn’t corner me in the hallway looking for advice on how to talk to a girl.”

“I can talk to girls!” He said defensively. “Just not the love of my life.”

She wanted to admonish him for being dramatic, but Anakin had this insistently hopeful demeanor that she just couldn’t bring herself to break. Many young kids believe their first crush is to be their first love and later their only love. She couldn’t begrudge them for holding onto that hope. Her parents always said that the Kryze’s mate for life- referencing that they were each other’s first and only loves. That being said, she would never wish for her dear mother to remain alone simply because of those values. Sometimes, happiness meant getting beyond your first.

“It just seems to me, Anakin, that you’re less in love and more infatuated.”

“Huh?” He asked.

“It means you are more invested in the idea of Padmé than who she really is, because you haven’t actually gotten to know her yet.”

“Funny, none of these books that Obi-Wan and I found said anything about that.” He said as he placed them down in front of her.

She picked one of them up. “Enchanting Maneuvers for the Romantically Troubled”  

“Seriously?” She chuckled, “This was his big reference guide?”

“But he also told me to be friends with her.” He sighed, “Sounds like I’m going to be feeling this sharp pain for a while.”

Satine touched his hand. “This is just a part of growing up.”

“Is this how you felt with Bruce Sexpot?”

“Bryce Saxon.” She snorted, “At the time, a bit. He was my first kiss, but nothing more than that. If I’m honest with you, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be on the playground.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he had potato salad on his face.” She cringed.

“I don’t think that’ll be the case for Padmé.” He said, “She’s always pretty.”

“It’s not just about being pretty.” She said, “It’s about learning the things about her that aren’t so pretty and still accepting and appreciating them about her. It’s about getting to know her and finding out your commonalities and your differences and striking a balance. It’s about being a true friend to her, even without the promise of romantic entanglements.”

“Obi-Wan kinda said that too.” He groaned. “And you’re sure I’ll be okay?”

“Yes, Anakin.” She smiled, “I guess I can’t begrudge Ben too much. Though, did he tell you how to make proper valentines for someone?”

“No!” He brightened. “I can still do that?”

“Of course, you can.” She scoffed, “Valentines don’t have to be romantic, especially at your age. It’s all in the presentation.”

“Will you help me?” He asked shyly.

“Of course.” She smiled warmly, understanding a bit what Obi-Wan saw in the boy sometimes. His boyishness could be rather sweet. It didn’t change how rambunctious he was nor that he suspected he’s been up to something lately, but he wasn’t entirely just trouble. “And I must say, Padmé is a very lucky girl to be receiving all this fuss.”

“I should probably add that she’s a whole year older.” He said, “Making her unattainable, which Obi-Wan pointed out likely has its level of appeal for someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” She questioned.

“He used the word ‘brash’, but I don’t know.” He shrugged, “I just want this feeling to either go away completely right now or to do something about it. I can’t just sit on this like Obi-Wan does.”

Satine’s eyes flew from the covers of the ridiculous books to Anakin, heart skittering in her chest.

“Ben likes someone?” She blurted.

“Yeah, it shocked me too.” He said.

To say she was conflicted was a massive understatement. On one hand, the possibility of Obi-Wan having a crush was… Intriguing from the perspective of his friend, who wanted nothing but the best for him (even when he pissed her off). However, speaking as someone who sometimes found herself stealing a peek at him over her library book just to admire the way the light caught his hair, it was reasonably quite disarming.

Then, of course, there was the part of her that was furious he never gave any indication of showing interest in another girl.

“If it even is another-”

“-Oh shut it.” She mentally battled. She needed to remind herself that she was still annoyed with the person in question. 

“Did…” She kneaded her hands, trying desperately hard to keep her voice level and of casual curiosity. “Did he happen to say who?”

“Of course not.” He rolled his eyes. “You know him. It’s huge that he just revealed he has feelings at all. That’s about as far as he’ll go for a while.”

“Right.” She tightened her jaw.

If Anakin noticed any piqued interest, he didn’t say anything, and she believed she knew enough about Anakin to determine that he pretty much said everything he could think of. Case and point: the fact that Obi-Wan likely did not want this information to get to anyone.

“Anyway,” He continued, “What am I doing for Padmé?”

She’d been lost in thought for a moment, analyzing every detail of their argument from the previous day. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for her to be contemplating her interactions with Obi-Wan from all possible sides. It’s what she’d been reduced to since the end of their fourth year when she’d had the horrifying realization that she may think of him as more than just a friend. But Anakin shook a hand in front of her face to get her attention. “Satine?”

“Oh!” She flushed, “Sorry, I got a bit distracted about… Charms homework. We’re going to do roses, Anakin.”

***

Cody appreciated that when Satine and Kenobi got into it that they tried their best to leave him out of it. It didn’t usually work since both prefects were very snippy and snarky at all times, let alone when they were in a quarrel. It certainly kept things interesting, especially with how quick their topic of debate could change.

“Okay, remind me again what you’re huffy about today?” He asked Satine as they walked from her Defense Against the Dark Arts class together. 

“Ben is the most infuriating person on this forsaken earth.” She spat, gripping her textbook a little tighter to her chest.

“You realize that doesn’t narrow it down in the slightest, right?” He smirked, but Satine clearly didn’t find it funny, because she shot him a glare before yanking him by the arm to the side, secluding them from onlookers with a nearby coat of arms 

“You know he likes someone?” She hissed. 

He frowned, “He’s a kind lad, I assumed he liked a lot of people.”

“No,” She groaned, “Like-like’s. Anakin told me.”

Cody considered this, “Kenobi’s got a crush, huh?”

“Yes!” She waved her hands in exasperation, “One that he didn’t elect to mention to either of us, mind you.”

“Well-”

“-We’re supposed to be his best friends!” She argued, cheeks turning red, “And while I understand that he tends to lock up his feelings in a little box and store it somewhere hidden, crushes are the sorts of things you share with friends, right?”

“Sometimes-” He started again.

“-Unless it’s someone we would disapprove.” She said thoughtfully, but the anger thrumming through her veins didn’t seem to simmer, “Which is positively ridiculous, because we’d be supportive, right?”

“Of course-”

“-I mean, it’s not someone of the likes of Ventress or anything.” She said definitively and continued walking, to which Cody followed, “That would be the only scenario in which I could see truly being keen on hiding it.”

He gagged, “If Kenobi’s type is pure evil, sure, maybe… But maybe he hasn’t told us because-”

“-He doesn’t even spend any time with other girls.” She said defensively, “Or boys! I suppose I shouldn’t presume, but he’s never mentioned, looked at, or spent an ounce of time with anyone else! Just us, most of the time. It’s extremely misleading as to who he could possibly have romantic feelings for.”

Cody cleared his throat, “Er-”

Luckily, Satine seemed more motivated to have this conversation with herself rather than it be an open discussion, so he didn’t have to think his way out of that one.

“-And what does that say about us?” She stopped in her tracks, face scrunched in thought, “That we can’t notice that our friend has gone smitten over someone else? Like… That’s ridiculous. I- We surely would have seen some signs.”

Cody shrugged, “Should he fancy someone, that’s his business, right?”

“Right, sure, yeah, but who?” She clenched a fist, “And… Why?” There was an obvious vulnerability at the end of that statement.

“Are you sure this is what’s bothering you so much?” He finally asked as they approached their next classes. 

“Of course!” She turned on him, daring him with piercing eyes to insinuate otherwise, “What if they’re not good enough for him?”

“I’m sure she is.” Cody said carefully and patted her on the shoulder, “I know it’s in your natural coding to worry about him, but I’m sure it’s no big deal. Your source is Anakin after all, right?”

“That’s… Fair.” She paused, but still seemed unsure. She sighed, “This would be a whole lot easier if he didn’t communicate his feelings as well as a piece of toast.”

Cody chuckled. Yes, things might be very different if that were not the case.

***

Obi-Wan pushed in the door to Qui-Gon’s office. He was early and he knew Qui-Gon was still at dinner, so he didn’t bother knocking since he knew Qui-Gon wouldn’t mind. He settled himself in the large armchair by the fire and grabbed a book off the top of his previously abandoned stack. He didn’t open it yet, instead he stared up at the portraits haphazardly reaching towards the ceiling.

They were arguing about his and Qui-Gon’s investigation, which wasn’t unusual. Qui-Gon’s office wasn’t the most riveting place for a painting to hang in hogwarts, but considering the professor’s love of a good debate they were allowed to yell over one another and argue about the latest gossip, whether that be the latest scheme or the actual criminal investigation was always up in the air.

“I say, I say!” Yelled a portrait from across the room, “It couldn’t have been Windu, he hadn’t been near the table all night!”

“May I remind you we’re wizards?” Another called, “You wouldn’t have to be near something for anything to happen!”

“I bet Windu let out the beast too!” Another commented, “Halloween night. He was an Auror, he’d know a dark spell or two.”

“But I saw him on Halloween,” Obi-Wan thought out loud, “I was in his office,” The portraits quieted before another shouted.

“I saw Mace run out of his office during the attack! There’s no way he could have been all the way to the library and back without notice!” And the voices erupted all at once.

Obi-Wan tried to think around the noise, although it was true that the two different attacks didn’t lend themselves to having the same suspect, he hadn’t considered it a possibility that both could be related. In fact it was a rather curious possibility. Surely the mysterious figure described by Anakin would have been furious for the escape of such a beast. Would they have been mad enough to attempt to poison a student.

The door squeaked open and Obi-Wan practically jumped up, letting the book he’d forgotten he was holding roll off onto the floor.

“Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan greeted and the man looked surprised, but he wasted no time, “Do you think both attacks could share a suspect?” Qui-Gon’s brow quirked as he considered the statement.

“I suppose-“ Qui-Gon started.

“If you had been keeping a dangerous pet below the school and an eleven year old let it free, would you want revenge?” He pushed and Qui-Gon walked to his desk.

“Well I personally would not try and kill a child no,” He tried making light, but his face fell back into consideration, “I suppose it’s a possibility,” He decided.

“Professor Windu couldn’t have done it then,” Obi-Wan started to pace, steps sliding into familiar places on the stone floor.

“I’ve already determined that it wasn’t Mace,” Qui-Gon cut in and Obi-Wan screeched to a halt.

“What? When?” He pressed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He has several alibis and he even showcased to me the last 100 spells his wand had cast,” Qui-Gon explained, “It was good enough for me to believe his innocence and the book was only borrowed after we returned to school.”

“So who was absent on Halloween night, but at the party?” Obi-Wan asked, mostly to himself.

“That’s a good place to start, but don’t let such a narrow search cloud your mind.”

***

Cody was up before the rest of the guys in his year. Quidditch days always had that effect on him, it didn’t matter that this match was between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, it only mattered that he’d get a chance to watch his favorite game in the world be played. He wasted little time getting dressed. It was still cold outside with a little snow left on the ground, though he was sure it would soon fade away into spring. Professional Quidditch was usually played in the spring and summer months, but Cody always figured it was best that they got to learn to play in all sorts of conditions throughout the school year; that way he’d be ready for anything.

In the common room he found Anakin asleep on the couch, a transfiguration textbook on the floor just below a limp hand as it had clearly slipped when he’d fallen asleep. Cody debated with himself for a moment before reaching over and gently shaking the other boy awake. Anakin startled and looked around with wide eyes before they landed on Cody.

“What?” He mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and Cody grinned at him in response.

“You’d better clear up here before the prefects wake up. I doubt they’d be too happy to find a first year sleeping in the common room past curfew,” Anakin just blinked before moving his transfiguration book from the floor to the table.

“Yeah I guess you’re probably right,” Anakin yawned and Cody leaned on the back of the couch for a minute watching him shuffle parchment into a stack.

“Whatcha doing sleeping down here anyways? Is it Rex’s snoring?” Cody asked in jest and Anakin laughed, but shook his head.

“Rex doesn’t snore! He says you do though,” Anakin’s grin seemed to falter for a minute before he admitted, “I just haven’t been sleeping well lately,” Cody frowned, but tossed the expression from his face when Anakin turned to look at him.

“That’s alright,” Cody shrugged, “Things can get a little crazy at Hogwarts, but look on the brightside, it’s a Quidditch Saturday!” Anakin did perk up in interest at that.

“Obi-Wan’s playing right?” Anakin asked and Cody nodded.

“Ravenclaw vs Slytherin!” Cody announced enthusiastically, “It may not be as exciting as playing a match, but we’ll need to see who wins so we know where we stand,” He explained, Anakin looked a little more awake now at the prospect of getting to see another game.

He helped him shovel some parchment into his bag, “Why don’t you wake up sleeping beauty so you guys can go grab some breakfast before the game?” Anakin nodded and scampered up the steps towards the boys dormitories.

Cody smiled and shook his head before heading to the Great Hall to avoid Rex’s wrath, on the off chance that Anakin let slip whose idea it was. 

The halls were still relatively quiet- Ravenclaw house should be mostly awake by now, but they weren’t known for being as loud and rowdy on game day as Gryffindor. Slytherin would be up too, but it was even less likely to catch a Slytherin this high up in the castle on a weekend. The portraits were still just waking up. Some of the more energetic figures were chatting loud enough to annoy their neighbors. Cody wasn’t sure what the purpose in that was; if he was a portrait he wasn’t sure he’d want his neighbors to hate his guts. He must be missing something for he passed by a portrait of a princess glaring daggers at a knight who had taken to singing limericks.

The great hall was rather full and the Slytherin’s had taken to their assigned table, glaring at any who dared to sit with them as if that alone would expose their Quidditch secrets. Ravenclaw was a bit more spread out, sitting with their friends at the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables if they so desired. Obi-Wan and Satine were sitting at their usual spot at the very end of the Ravenclaw table and Cody didn’t bother considering anywhere else before sitting down across from them.

“Excited, Kenobi?” He asked as he started loading up his plate with pancakes. Obi-Wan, who had been staring off into space while sliding bacon around his plate, fixed him with his usual pre-Quidditch frown. Cody chuckled before pointing at him with a syrupy fork, “Come on, mate! It’s a great day for a game.”

“Yes quite. What I wouldn’t give to play in freezing temperatures year round,” He rolled his eyes, before cutting his bacon with a knife. Satine had been oddly quiet, not saying a word so far. She was facing as much away as she could from Obi-Wan without actually turning. It was surefire proof of them being in a fight. He supposed though they had been ready to pounce on one another for a few weeks now.

“Anakin slept in the common room last night,” It was the only non-Quidditch topic he could think up at the moment and it seemed to catch both his friends' attention.

“Is he ok?” Obi-Wan asked first, which was unsurprising. Concern was pinching his face and he turned towards the Gryffindor table to see if his mentee was around.

“He’s fine, I woke him up before he could get into any trouble,” Cody shrugged, “He said he’s been having trouble sleeping, did he tell you anything?” Obi-Wan shook his head with a frown.

“He mentioned having a bad dream once… But not that it was a consistent issue.” He said slowly, Satine’s eyes gleamed as she looked over to him.

“So you admit to not knowing everything about your little protégé?” She asked and he turned to glare at her in turn.

“I’d never said I knew everything,” He answered back with a heated glare.

“So you’re not all knowing then?” She dropped her fork and let it clatter onto her plate.

“Once again, I never said that,” He responded, stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork and shoving it in his mouth.

“I thought it was implied the way you’re desperate not to look at this from all sides,” She spat and he bristled.

“Did I miss something?” Cody asked, exasperated.

“It’s prefect business,” Satine answered with an apology in her eyes. He just shrugged and went back to eating his pancakes. He wasn’t sure he even needed to know with how often the topic changed. They went back and forth so much that it was like watching a Quidditch passing drill; his eyes flicking from one to the other waiting for someone to slip.

“Satine, I really don’t have time to go through all this right now,” Obi-Wan cut in eyeing the members of Ravenclaw’s Quidditch team gathering to leave.

“That’s fine,” She answered stiffly, “I’ll see you tonight so we can work on our Charms project,” Obi-Wan looked hurt, but he hid it well.

“I’ll be sure to let you know whether or not we win,” He stood from the table, tossing his napkin on his plate and was swept away by his teammates.

“You’re not going to the game?” Cody frowned. He hadn’t expected getting ditched, even though he supposed he could sit with his brothers. Satine deflated instantly, looking back towards where the Slytherin’s were heading out of the great hall.

“He’s absolutely infuriating sometimes, Cody,” She sighed, picking her fork back up

***

Obi-Wan pulled his broom out from the locker and although it was plenty shiny he grabbed his polishing cloth as well. Galen was going on about their strategy, but Obi-Wan’s mind was still back on Satine. He wished she’d see things from his perspective. Anakin had a notoriously bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that didn’t automatically make him guilty as Satine had thus far been implying. He was 11, a bit of a troublemaker on occasion, but he didn’t have it in him to do something so scandalous as running a cheating ring. It wasn’t bias, he told himself as he worked to get a hardly noticeable smudge off the broom handle. He knew Anakin had a pension for trouble, but Obi-Wan hadn’t seen or heard of him doing anything insidious, besides occasionally popping up out of nowhere and startling people.

In fact he was quite proud of Anakin- he stood by Rex when he was struggling, and he was getting better and better in his classes through practice and dedication. Though he did tend to get a little moony-eyed near that girl he was fond of, Padmé, it wasn’t like he’d have it in him to play schoolboy tricks to get her attention. Anakin was simply an easy target. Frame the first year who had had some unfortunate happenstance befall him not once, but twice.

“Earth to Kenobi!” Aayla sat down heavily next to him, grabbing his broom out of his hands and inspecting the handle, “I can see my reflection in this,” Her nose wrinkled and she twirled it around nearly wapping him in the head with it, “You do know we’re playing Quidditch not entering a broom beauty pageant,” Obi-Wan just folded up his polishing cloth into a neat square.

“Not all of us like coming off the field as a pincushion full of splinters,” He offered, delicately reclaiming his broom and standing to put away the cloth. He realized then that they were alone and he looked around.

“I thought being in the running for Head Boy would have you better at listening,” Aayla laughed, “We’re heading to the field,” She stood, kicking her broom up into her hand.

He hurried to shove on his helmet and he made sure his wand was securely pocketed in his Quidditch robes before he followed Aayla out towards the field.

He wished not for the first time that he could see such a sight from Cody’s eyes. The large field, currently covered in a layer of snow, was surrounded by stands that were filled to the brim with students willing to risk the cold to watch a good game. Cody could go on and on about how giddy he was walking to his position, but Obi-Wan had always only felt a sense of dread. Even now that he was a more seasoned player, he still felt his stomach flip as he passed under the tall (very, very tall), golden hoops. He took his position and waited.

There was a hushed silence- the kind that really only came in moments before a match. Students were still chattering in their seats, but they seemed far away. Galen was making a few gestures towards his other chasers, but no one on the team dared to say a word as if it would give Slytherin the ability to one up them at every turn. And then there was the whistle, piercing through the air and both teams kicked off the ground, rocketing into the air.

Obi-Wan was happy with his position as keeper, but on cold days like this, waiting for the bloodbath in the middle of the field to head towards him was a little more excruciating. Still, as most times they played against Slytherin, eventually they made a run for the goal post. This was fairly easy to deal with. One chaser headed straight for him and he saw the chaser’s eyes dart towards the right a second before she did. Obi-Wan pushed the handle of the broom and by all accounts it should have worked. He would catch the Quaffle in his free hand and lob it back towards centerfield. Only it didn’t work as intended, his broom had jerked quite aggressively the wrong direction before stilling once more.

He was no Cody when it came to knowledge of brooms, but he’d had this broom since his first year and it had never behaved in such a way. Something was surely amiss and he just hoped it was a one time fluke.

***

“Something’s up,” It was Cody who said what they were both thinking. Satine had her binoculars pressed firmly to her face as if it would let her see Ben even clearer, “I could have seen that shot from a mile away! Even the chaser looks confused,” Satine grabbed the back of Cody’s robes blindly and pulled him back from leaning over the edge.

“Ben has that look,” Satine told him, “He’s concerned,” Cody tried to steal her binoculars, but she batted his hand away with a sudden gasp.

Ben’s broom had jerked again and he was reaching for his wand, which made Satine grip the rail tightly.

“That’s a foul!” Cody yelled a half second before Satine saw a bludger fly over and knock right into Ben’s chest, causing him to drift back a little at the impact. “Where’s the whistle? Come on ref!” 

She pulled Cody away from the edge again. Ben looked shaken, but unharmed, however Satine saw with horror something small and thin falling towards the snow below.

“His wand, Cody,” Satine tightened her grip on Cody’s robe.

“What?” Cody asked, momentarily pausing his shouting. Satine took her eyes off the field just long enough to give Cody a semi-horrified look.

“Ventress knocked his wand out of his hand,” Satine pointed to where Ben seemed to be hovering uncertainly. The audience was drawn to the referee, calling for a penalty throw to Ravenclaw, but neither Cody or Satine really cared about an extra few points.

“If he was going for his wand, something’s definitely wrong,” Cody ripped the binoculars from her hands suddenly, “He knows the rules, you can’t use magic on your opponents. Your wand is only there for extreme emergencies,” Cody was looking around the field for something.

“I’ve never seen a broom behave like that,” She was squinting at the field, without something to magnify the spec of blue and silver, it was impossible to make out his expression.

“They don’t,” Cody said gravely and Satine’s heart jumped to her throat, “It’s foul play.”

***

It was shaping up to be a boring match, Slytherin had already scored and Anakin was feeling a little secondhand embarrassment for his mentor. Obi-Wan wasn’t much for Quidditch and unlike most of the people Anakin knew, he didn’t really talk about it unprompted, and even then he’d usually just remind Anakin to be careful. He didn’t remember Obi-Wan being quite so terrible at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff match earlier in the year.

“He should have got that one,” Anakin complained to Rex as Slytherin managed to score again. The Ravenclaw captain seemed to be glaring back at the keeper, but Obi-Wan seemed not to notice.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Rex commented, “Cody always teases him, but really, Obi-Wan is a fairly decent Keeper,” Anakin shrugged, but watched as thankfully Ravenclaw finally managed to score something other than a penalty.

“He’s jerking around up there like his broom’s possessed or something,” Anakin considered as Obi-Wan seemed to struggle in the air again. Rex leaned forward, frowning rather intensely.

“It does look like that doesn’t it?” He asked, but didn’t seem to be wanting an answer, “It kind of reminds me of that jinx Echo put on Fives after he stole the last of the holiday candy,” Rex considered.

“Who would want to jinx Obi-Wan though? He’s a prefect!” Anakin watched as a Slytherin approached Obi-Wan again, only for Obi-Wan’s broom to drop about a foot with no prompting that Anakin could see.

Those rooting for Slytherin cheered, but Anakin felt that cold sensation of fear. Surely the mysterious cloaked figure wouldn’t be going through Obi-Wan to get to him, right? That did seem like a stretch even in Anakin’s mind. Rex sat up straight and he looked around a little frantically.

“Where’s Krell?” And Anakin was on his feet in an instant. They spotted him, sitting alone in the front row of the Gryffindor section. He’d been given a wide berth- no one knew the whole story which Rex was grateful for, but a prefect doesn’t lose his title for only a small infraction. They saw his hand twitch and Obi-Wan jerked to the right.

“Oi!” Rex shouted and Anakin looked over to him in surprise, he flinched a little when Krell looked over at him with a disgustingly smug smile on his face. Rex swallowed, but continued, “Jinxing other people’s brooms is against the rules,” Krell just rolled his eyes.

“Oh how brave,” Krell scoffed, “Kenobi’s acting like a fool and you’re coming after me? It’s not my fault he’s a lousy player.”

“You’ve got your wand out,” Anakin stepped in front of Rex, “Obi-Wan’s a better player than you ever were, you were just jealous.”

“It’s not a crime to have my wand out. I don’t see any muggles,” Krell twitched his hand sending Obi-Wan to the right so Slytherin could score again, “What are you going to do about it?” Anakin took another step forward reaching for his wand, but a furious voice cut in.

“You’re going to put your hands up right now!” Satine had her wand out, as did Cody standing to her right, the fury burning in their eyes was enough to make even Anakin take a step back. Krell, however, didn’t move, just looked over at them with a sneer.

“And why would I do that Kryze,” He said her name like it was mud on the bottom of his shoes, “I’m pretty sure you’re all about innocent until proven guilty, or does that just apply to bloodthirsty beasts and not your fellow wizards?”

“You’re going to do it or I’m thinking we have a rematch from the Halloween party,” Anakin had never heard Cody sound this angry. This was much past his frustration at a missed goal or Anakin accidentally beaming a teammate in the head during Quidditch practice. Here, he sounded downright murderous. Anakin hadn’t attended the Halloween party or witnessed the fight, but by Rex’s expression, it may have started similarly.

“How do you expect Gryffindor’s Quidditch team to manage without their fearsome captain,” He goaded and Cody took a step forward only stopped by a hand to the chest by Satine.

“There’s no need for unnecessary violence. Put your hands up,” She jabbed her wand forward in warning.

“You wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Krell crooned cruely, getting to his feet, “Not even if I did this?” He twitched his wand down and Obi-Wan dropped about a foot. It was clear by his snarling grin that it was only a warning. Satine took it as such and stepped forward pressing her wand to his chest.

“No, but I could trap one, if you were to find yourself in the position of turning into one.”

Anakin wasn’t that great with transfiguration, but if Satine was even half as good as Obi-Wan, it was a credible threat. Krell even seemed to realize that perhaps he was more at her mercy than he wanted to be so he sighed, a grumbling ugly sound.

“Fine, you win,” Krell narrowed his eyes at her. Satine took a step back, not lowering her wand.

“I’m glad you see it my way, now-” She started, but he cut her off with a knowing smile.

“I know, I know. Hands up!” And he threw his hands up, but there was the unfortunate consequence of him raising his wand in a swift, purposeful motion.

“Expelliarmus,” Cody yelled, but it was too late. Krell purposely dropped his wand off the edge of the stand and Obi-Wan had rocketed up and disappeared into the clouds.

***

Obi-Wan could see the sun, which on a normal day would be quite nice, but as it was he had just broken through the clouds and his broom was jerking and twitching like an angry hippogriff. He tried desperately to control it and then everything seemed to freeze as he was suspended in the air like any normal broom ride, save for the fact that Obi-Wan was clinging to the broom as tight as possible. For a moment he thought he was safe, but his broom seemed to sputter and he dropped a foot in the air. His broom was trying, practically wheezing to stay in the air, but whatever had been done to it must have inadvertently tampered with the magic.

Just as such a realization set in, he dropped like a rock. No amount of pulling on the handle was doing any such good except making them spin in the air enough to make him feel quite ill as the field came back into view. He stuck out a hand, trying to mimic how Qui-Gon did wandless magic.

“Aresto Memento,” He put as much passion as he could into the word, but nothing happened, not even a flicker. His vision was suddenly filled with gold as he smashed into a Quidditch hoop, there was a crunch and a sharp sensation that had him dropping hold of the broom, he made a mad grab for the polished wood in a desperate attempt, but his hand slid right off the polished surface and he plummeted to the ground.

***

Satine was frozen, wand still at the ready, but eyes glued on the unmoving navy blue smudge interrupting white snow. She wasn’t sure she even had a heart to beat anymore, or lungs to take on air.

“That had to be at least a 200 foot fall,” Cody didn’t sound like he was breathing much either despite his ability to talk, “Maybe farther, but the clouds are pretty low. It might be a record.”

“Cody please,” She choked out. He was in shock, but so was she and listening to the odds of their best friend’s survival was not going to sit well with her.

“Now that is a shame,” Krell’s voice brought her back to the task at hand. Ice filled her veins and she turned, looking him in the eye. He was leaning on the railing, chin resting on his hand and he looked far, far too pleased with himself, “But mistakes happen, don’t they Kryze? Fett?”

“The only mistake here,” Satine spit through gritted teeth, “Is that a prefect, a Quidditch captain, and half of Gryffindor are witness to your crime,” She steadied her wand at him, “You’ll be exceedingly lucky if you aren’t expelled for this,” He just waved her off with a lazy hand.

“You think I care about this shoddy excuse for a school? Everyone here is weak,” Krell turned and took a step towards her, “I have my sights set on somewhere better-” He took another step, but that was more than enough for Cody.

“Locomotor Wibbly!” Cody jabbed his wand towards Krell whose legs shook suddenly and he collapsed with a curse. Satine didn’t even bother reprimanding him for such a schoolyard jinx.

“Incarcerous,” She swished her wand and silvery ropes burst from it and wrapped themselves around Krell’s wrists. It was an extremely advanced skill, past even her year, but she couldn’t even find pride in such work. She turned wordlessly to the field where Ben was being loaded onto a stretcher by Madame Nema and Qui-Gon. His teammates were huddled together on the ground looking absolutely shocked and even the Slytherins were looking subdued. Satine raised her wand once more.

Golden sparks shot out of the tip dancing in the air until they formed a large glittering prefect’s badge, it would catch the attention of a professor, or with any luck, the headmaster himself.

***

“If you’re not careful you’re going to break something and end up with a bed of your own!”

Her voice was the first thing he remembered hearing and his eyes struggled to open. It was bright and he tried to bring his arms up to block the light, but one of them was holding something and the other felt heavy and it seemed to throb with every beat of his heart. He felt himself groan slightly as his eyes fluttered, trying to get used to the light. A hand met his shoulder immediately, but he still tried to push past it to sit up.

He was in the hospital wing, he realized. The tall arched windows and the room lined with cots really could not be a single other place at Hogwarts. He became aware of how much his body ached at the same time he was pushed back down onto the bed.

“Stay down,” Satine was leaning over him, her hair falling around her face as she looked down at him with a deep level of concern.

“Satine?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yes, Ben I’m right here, Cody’s gone to get Madame Nema,” She explained and he tried to look past her, but couldn’t see much of anything except for her blonde hair.

“You came?” He was trying to remember what events had led him here, but he did remember they were in a fight. He was surprised to see her at all.

“Cody and I saw your fall, of course we came! It looked rather dreadful,” He could tell she may be putting things a little lightly, but at least the pieces were starting to click into place.

“I thought you weren’t going to the match,” He sat up once again and this time ignored her gentle push to lie back down.

“I-” But she didn’t have time to finish because Cody was running over, expression brightening when he saw Ben awake and gazing at him, with Madame Nema right behind him.

“Glad to see you coming around, mate!” Cody ruffled his hair which he automatically tried to fix, but he instead looked, surprised, at the wrap fastened around his wrist.

“Mr. Fett, could you please not harass my patient?” Madame Nema was not one to waste time. Obi-Wan found himself poked, prodded, and questioned before even realizing what was happening.

“Well you had quite a fall there, Mr. Kenobi,” She explained, “You’ll be feeling it for a few days I’d imagine,” She handed him a potion which he didn’t bother asking about before downing it and wincing at the taste, “You’re lucky. Besides a nasty break in your wrist there, you’ve come out of this with only scrapes and bruises,” Obi-Wan frowned and looked at his hand.

“Can’t you mend bones?” He’d thought so at least.

“I did, dear,” Madame Nema tsked, “I can assure you it would hurt a lot more if I hadn’t. Just because bones can be mended, Mr. Kenobi, doesn’t mean we won’t be taking precautions,” He must have looked fairly sullen at the thought because Madame Nema chuckled, “It’s only for a few days and you’ll be right as rain. In fact you should be thankful, I dread to think of what would have become of you had you not managed to slow your fall,” He stared at the wrappings in curiosity. Surely she was talking about his unfortunate run in with the hoop. If Satine’s muggle science books were to be believed, something like that would take some of the momentum. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if the attempted spell had done him any good. A wizard stuck between a rock and a hard place may have the ability to do some amazing things.

“You did land like a champ,” Cody broke his thoughts, he was grinning, but Obi-Wan could easily see the worry hidden in his eyes, “A real Quidditch fall. Probably how you avoided getting any brain damage. In fact in the 22nd Quidditch World Cup-”

“Thank you, Cody,” He rested a hand on his friends shoulder, “As much as I’d love to hear about the greatest Quidditch injuries of all time, perhaps another time.”

“Your loss,” He shrugged.

“Madame Nema,” He caught her attention just as she’d made to leave, “Are we done here?” Satine looked like she wanted to interject, but Madame Nema beat her to it.

“Are you implying you’re well enough to leave?”

“You said it yourself, ma’am,” He shrugged, a small smile building on his face, “It’s mostly just scrapes and bruises,” They had a bit of a stare off.  Madame Nema was quite stubborn, but unfortunately nearly no one could hold a candle to his own stubbornness, except maybe his blonde haired best friend who was currently glaring a hole through him.

“I’ll allow you to go back to your dormitory, on the terms of you going right to bed,” Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly in agreement, “And I’ll see you back here again tomorrow.”

“Yes ma’am,” He agreed and swung his legs over the side of his bed.

He made it out of the hospital wing before he stumbled and Cody was quick to catch him, swinging an arm around him like it was any other day. He tried not to use the extra support, but he found himself leaning into Cody as the ache in his limbs seemed to thrum with each step.

“I wish I knew what got into my broomstick,” Obi-Wan finally broke the silence with a sigh, “It’s never acted such a way before, I’m sure I looked like a great fool,” Cody and Satine both tensed up and they all came to a halt.

“You were a victim of foul play, Ben,” Satine told him softly and after hesitating, “Krell had your broom locked in a jinx,” He blinked and turned to Cody for confirmation. Cody’s lips were in a hard line.

“Really? Krell?” He didn’t think the other student had such a thing in him, though perhaps he was thinking of prefect Krell and not ex-prefect Krell. There wasn’t much left to hide if you were already disliked throughout the school.

“The headmaster’s dealing with him,” Satine nodded and continued stiffly, “We caught him in the act.”

“Well,” He wasn’t as mad as his friends looked, if Krell had been caught then justice had been served, “At least if it was just a jinx, I don’t have to buy a new broom,” Satine looked at Cody and Cody looked back at Satine before pulling the broken handle of Obi-Wan’s broom out of his pocket.

“About that...” And Obi-Wan groaned, Cody handed him the piece and he inspected it. Somehow it was still just as polished. Cody gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, “It’s alright mate I’ll help you pick out a new one, I’ve got this month's catalogue and there are some great new models!” He nodded absentmindedly. He would have truthfully just told Cody to pick whatever seemed best anyways. He then remembered that he had not lost track of one of his possessions, but two.

“Please don’t tell me I have to replace my wand as well,” He breathed out trying to stay calm, but it was difficult. An heirloom like that would be impossible to replace.

“No, no!” Satine reached a hand into her pocket and he had never been happier to see the sleek black wand, “I’ve got it!”

They continued walking while Obi-Wan inspected his wand for any damage, but not even a scratch had befallen it.

“So the game,” Obi-Wan over at Cody, “Who won?”

“I don’t know,” Cody told him, “We left as soon as we handed over Krell. I told Anakin and Rex to stay, but I’m nearly sure it’s over by now.”

“I hope I didn’t mess this up for Ravenclaw,” He hummed.

“You didn’t mess anything up,” Satine’s voice was like ice, but for once it wasn’t directed at him, “Whether Ravenclaw won or lost doesn’t matter.”

“Well it matters to Gryffindor,” Cody said before catching Satine’s narrowed eyes, “I mean, either way we’re planning to stomp you in the final match.”

“Well I’d much rather Ben be alive,” Satine rolled her eyes.

They reached the final hallway before the Ravenclaw door and Cody took off with a wave and a promise to let Anakin and Rex know he’d survived. He was grateful for it as hopefully Cody would be the one being pestered and not him. He and Satine approached the door to their common room, fighting to answer the Ravenclaw riddle first. Satine was the winner by a few seconds and gave him her best smug look as the door swung open. Stairs were becoming his enemy, but he made his way up them and into the chaos reigning in their normally quiet common room. Ravenclaw, it seems, had won after all.

***

“Can you believe Krell’s not getting expelled?” Satine looked up with a raised eyebrow as Anakin Skywalker dropped down dramatically across from her.

“That bastard has to have some kind of blackmail,” Cody growled, stabbing his pancakes with a little more force than was strictly necessary.

“It’s alright,” Ben was looking between them with nothing short of exasperation, “He’s still being punished.”

“He was already getting punished,” Cody complained, “But at least now there’s absolutely no way he’s weaseling his way back onto my Quidditch team. A stunt like that should get him banned from every team in the country.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted him expelled on my account anyways,” Ben shook his head, returning his attention to the french toast, dripping with syrup, on his plate.

“He nearly killed you,” Satine reminded him, “That should definitely be grounds for expulsion.”

“They say it takes a lot for you to get expelled around here,” Anakin told them as he loaded up his own plate. The clock tower rang before anyone could ask him where he’d heard such a thing and the owls were swooping in right on time. Ben checked his own watch with a frown.

“Madame Nema will be expecting me soon,” He didn’t sound too happy about it.

“I can walk you there!” Anakin perked up.

“You’ve hardly eaten breakfast Anakin,” He tried before sighing, “Well alright, finish your breakfast and we’ll go,” Anakin nodded before picking up his plate and darting off towards where Rex was sitting at the Gryffindor table.

“Satine?” Ben sounded hesitant and it was too easy to pull her attention off the Gryffindors and onto him, “Do you really think it’s Anakin?”

“Ben,” She sighed, trying to lower her voice though she knew if Cody was listening he wouldn’t say anything, “I’m sorry for yesterday, but I can’t throw out a suspect simply on the basis of trust.” Ben seemed to consider her, really consider her before he turned back to his syrup drenched toast and changed the subject.

“What do you think the odds of learning to cast spells with my left hand by tomorrow is?”

***

Anakin jumped up when the hospital doors opened and Obi-Wan slunk out, looking both ways like someone may see him.

“What did the doctors tell you?” He asked, following Obi-Wan down the hall towards the library.

“I’m fine Anakin,” He smiled, but Anakin wasn’t stupid; he saw the slight limp and the wrapped wrist and frowned.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked softer and Obi-Wan stopped to look at him, “It was a really big fall,” Obi-Wan seemed to look through him, like he was trying to read his very thoughts and Anakin squirmed.

“I told you when you started that Quidditch is a very dangerous sport,” Obi-Wan told him, “I did get very lucky, but I promise I’m okay,” He then continued walking, but Anakin’s thoughts weren’t quite settled.

“What if the cloak guy tries to off me like Krell did to you?” He’d always felt safe in the air, but uncertainty seemed to be coming for him at every turn these days.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan had paused again, turning towards him and putting his hands on his shoulders, “Pulling a stunt like Krell did is a one ticket way to be caught. He’d have to reveal himself to us and if he wanted to do that, we’d have seen him by now,” It didn’t sit quite well with Anakin even though he knew Obi-Wan was right, but he followed his mentor down the hall anyways and tried to push mysterious cloaked figures out of his mind. 

***

Obi-Wan was walking at a brisk pace through the emptying halls. He was in the dungeons making his way towards potions class when he nearly ran right into an opening door. He managed to skid to a halt grabbing the edge of the door before it tried to close and peering inside.

“Anakin,” Sure enough his mentee was standing frozen under the door frame.

“Oh hi, Obi-Wan!” He said his name cheerfully, but he did look a little wary for being caught.

“What are you doing in here?” He checked the door, “The potions storage room?” 

It was odd, he knew Anakin liked potions class even though he didn’t have much of a knack for it, but there was no reason for a first year to be snooping around the eye of newt when he should be out in the greenhouses for herbology.

“I was just checking to see...” He trailed off as he looked at the walls of ingredients, “There!” He pointed up at something and Obi-Wan followed his gaze to a jar labeled ‘bezoars’.

“And what is it that you find so intriguing about that?” Obi-Wan crossed his arms.

“Well that’s what they fixed me with right?” Anakin asked with a shrug, “I just thought I’d like to see one. Professor Palpatine wouldn’t mind,” and Anakin wasn’t wrong, Professor Palpatine encouraged the students to familiarize themselves with the various ingredients. Only the most dangerous things were kept under lock and key.

“Yes, bezoars are a cure for most poisons,” Obi-Wan nodded, never one to pass up a moment to teach, “However, this would be a more noble quest if you weren’t meant to be in Herbology right now. Come along, I can walk you there and then at least you won’t get points for being late,” Anakin seemed nervous, looking around before he pushed Obi-Wan gently towards potions.

“I can’t have you walk all the way over there! You’re practically an invalid,” He complained and Obi-Wan sputtered to a halt.

“Excuse me?” He tried to turn, but Anakin was pushing him forward.

“You’re brittle! You definitely should sit down,” He instructed, “I don’t want you to pass out on me or anything.”

“Anakin! I’m perfectly fine,” Obi-Wan whirled around and Anakin took a step back with a frown, “I can make it to my class with no trouble. You on the other hand need to be in class in...” He checked his watch, “about a minute.”

“And I’ll get there in time if you let me go!” Anakin whined.

“There’s no way-” Obi-Wan tried to interject, but Anakin just shook his head and started jogging back the way they’d come.

“I’ve gotta go! You should sit down before you fall over!” He called over his shoulder.

“Anakin!” He tried, but it was futile. Obi-Wan sighed before his attention was drawn to a piece of parchment fluttering to the ground. It had clearly fallen from Anakin’s person, but there was no use chasing the boy down. He had half a mind to worry if Satine’s suspicions were about to come to life, however after a close inspection it was blank, save for some water damage.

“Revelio,” He tried, tapping his wand to the parchment. Ink seeped up towards the surface spelling out his name and he nearly dropped it.

‘Obi-Wan Kenobi should keep his nose out of other people’s business.’

After a moment of stunned silence, he let out a short burst of relieved laughter. It was just a scrap of joke parchment. He tucked it into his bag, well he supposed he’d return it to Anakin next time he saw the boy.

***

“First you were nearly late to potions and now Qui-Gon’s class?” Obi-Wan took his seat next to Satine, who greeted him with rolled eyes and a smile, “And here I thought you wanted to be Head Boy. What kept you?”

“Found a couple of first years trying to sneak into the girls bathroom,” He sighed, dropping his bag on the floor between them, “I can’t say I find the appeal. They’d likely end up with nothing more than being the subject of a few stinging jinxes.”

“Given my assumption of the boys bathroom, maybe they were simply looking for a cleanlier option,” She suggested, jest sparkling in her eyes as she moved to pull out a rather long piece of parchment, “Qui-Gon’s already said we’ll just be working on our project today,” She pointed towards the instructions scrawled on the blackboard, “He says we could use a day to work in class, but secretly I think he’s gotten himself enamored with another prophecy book.”

Satine was likely right, as Qui-Gon was sitting in the front of the room with a book propped open on his knee and a teacup held opposite. If he was taking a break from reading every book in the library, Obi-Wan couldn’t say he blamed him much. Random facts about charms still danced behind his eyes when he was trying to fall asleep at night and no matter how interesting they were, he hadn’t the skills to make much use of them.

“Have you got any spare parchment?” Satine drew his attention by running the feather of her quill across his cheek. He rubbed away the feeling with the sleeve of his robe, giving her a half hearted glare for her trouble.

“I’m sure I do,” He yanked his bag up by the strap, “Be my guest,” He figured he should order her some new parchment. She’d been taking notes for the both of them since Madame Nema still hadn’t given him permission to remove the wrappings on his arm. Satine had been refusing his thanks, but he still wanted to think of a way to acknowledge his appreciation.

“What’s this?” He blinked and looked at the folded parchment in her hands, “I know it’s not yours. You never fold your parchment.”

“Anakin dropped it,” He shrugged and watched as she inspected it, “It’s just a bit of a joke parchment I think.”

“You think?” She asked before setting it on her desk and pulling out her wand.

“I already tried ‘Revelio’ and all I got was an insult,” He warned her and she paused, thinking through her repertoire of spells.

“Revelio Maxima,” She tapped her wand once and just like when he had tried it words bloomed forth from within.

‘Perhaps, Satine Kryze, you should try harder next time.’

“See I tried to warn you,” He shrugged, Satine looked more thoughtful than offended and tapped her wand to her lips.

“This isn’t necessarily an insult,” She considered, picking it up and watching the ink fade away, “It was an instruction, maybe we should try something a little more creative?”

“You get instructions and I get insulted,” He sighed, but couldn’t help the curious smile growing on his face. He liked a challenge, but really what sort of Ravenclaw didn’t like a good riddle? He pulled the parchment in between their desks and got out his own wand, “Alohomora,” He tried.

‘Really, Kenobi?’

“It doesn’t like you much does it?” Satine giggled and tapped her wand against the parchment again.

They tried a wide variety of spells, running through any sorts of useful charms they could think of, before Satine guessed a phrase.

“Open Sesame!”

“I’m sorry what?” Obi-Wan looked over at her feeling perplexed.

“It’s a muggle phrase,” Her cheeks turned a bit pink at the scrutiny, “It’s a little childish, but Anakin was raised as a muggle.”

Their attempts continued, at some point they’d gotten onto much more complex, silly phrases and Obi-Wan was just about to try one that seemed to be on the right track when Satine had him pause, her hand landing on his slightly more damaged one.

“Wait, we shouldn’t be doing this in class,” She pointed out with a whisper, “What sorts of prefects are we?” Obi-Wan glanced around and normally he would agree, but Qui-Gon had still not once looked up from his book and the rest of the class was chatting quietly in pairs. It was hard for him to feel out of place in Qui-Gon’s classroom.

“Come on, one more guess?” He asked, batting his eyelashes at her. She shoved him gently, but sighed.

“Well then, show me up, Mr. Prefect,” She slid the parchment closer to him and he flourished his wand a little dramatically.

“I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good,” He tapped the parchment. Immediately, the ink started seeping up, but this time it was not forming only a short sentence. It was forming a scroll with his name written in elegant font, and the one right beside it was Satine’s. In fact it looked quite a lot like Qui-Gon’s classroom.

Obi-Wan ripped the parchment off their desks and into his lap, hoping to keep it out of sight of his professor or their classmates before he could figure out what he was even holding.

“Let me see!” Satine pulled it towards her slightly and unfolded another part of it.

With every piece unfolded the picture became clearer that it was a map. A map showing every single magical person in Hogwarts and their exact location.

“Look there!” Satine pointed and he looked to see a broom closet. The drawn wall moved under her finger to reveal a path that led to the Gryffindor boys’ dormitory.

“That’s...” But he didn’t even know how to finish such a thought. This was the missing piece they’d been searching for and hadn’t even known it. A map that showed every corridor, person, and apparently, every secret tunnel in the entire school.

And it had been in the possession of Anakin Skywalker.

“Ben,” Satine said his name slowly, looking at him with a cautious expression, “We have to-”

“-I know,” He interrupted her. This was not a coincidental test key or a robe on the ground, this was practically an arrow pointing towards Anakin, exclaiming loudly that he was the culprit, “We need to go straight to the headmaster,” He swallowed. Satine stood up and raised a hand and he followed her folding up the parchment in his hands.

“Yes Satine?” Qui-Gon looked up from his book with a frown, “Is everything alright?”

“We need to go to the Headmaster’s immediately,” she announced, “prefect business.”

***

Anakin was in a foul mood. First he’d nearly been late Herbology, barely making it away from his mentor in time to use the tunnels. And then he’d discovered that for the second time this year, he’d misplaced the map. 

“Where have you been?” Rex asked, looking away from reading through Cody’s corrections on his history essay, “I thought we were going to go over tonight's plan?”

“Well here’s the plan. There isn’t one,” He grumbled, “I must have dropped the map somewhere, but I’ve looked everywhere!”

“You lost it?” Rex gasped, dropping his essay on the table, “What if someone bad finds it?”

“I don’t know!” Anakin hissed, trying to keep his voice down. There were other people in the Gryffindor common room, and although most liked to leave first years well enough alone, he didn’t want any eavesdroppers, “But I’ve gotta find it before Windu-”

The portrait hole opened and Anakin nearly jumped out of his skin as Professor Windu bent and twisted his way into the common room. All eyes went to him immediately, but he said nothing, just scanned the crowd before his eyes landed on Anakin.

“Skywalker, come with me.”

As he followed Professor Windu out of the portrait hole, all he could think about was every regret he’d ever had. Thankfully there weren’t many, but he did wish he’d written his mum more, or gotten to kiss Padmé. He contemplated what his last words would be before he ran into worn robes that had stopped in their tracks.

He looked up at Professor Windu, waiting for him to pull out that sword from his dream, but his professor did nothing except turn to a large winged statue.

“Root leaf stew,” Was all he said, but stairs suddenly started growing out of the ground, spinning around and around until they stopped forming an elegant spiral staircase.

“Um, what-?” He’d been through nearly every passageway in the school, but this was not one he knew. He hoped he wasn’t being led to another hidden beast, but Windu simply crossed his arms.

“The headmaster wants to see you.”

Anakin climbed up the stairs and was relieved when Windu didn’t follow. Still, if this really was the headmasters office, this couldn’t be good.

Yoda’s office looked much like Qui-Gon had described it to him, with portraits of all the past headmasters staring down at him. Under less intimidating circumstances, he wouldn’t mind a fair look around as there were shelves of books and strange objects- maybe even some contraband stored somewhere. Headmaster Yoda, however, caught his eye almost immediately and waved him over and into a chair across from his desk.

“Know why you are here, do you?” Yoda’s voice echoed just slightly in the otherwise quiet room and Anakin shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

“Win- I mean, Professor Windu said you wanted to see me,” He said nervously. Normally in these sorts of situations, he’d explain why he didn’t do it, but unfortunately he really didn’t know what ‘it’ was this time. Yoda nodded at his words, closing his eyes for a moment before continuing.

“Heard of the cheating scandal, have you?” Yoda asked, laying his little hands on the desk before them, “Rewritten, the O.W.L.s had to be,” Anakin’s brows furrowed as he tried to figure out where this was going.

“Yeah, I mean I know the prefects are looking for who it is,” And like being hit with a ton of bricks, or perhaps a bludger, it dawned on him what was being insinuated, “Hold on! You don’t think I’ve done it?” Yoda looked at him, expression rather grave.

“Found, evidence has been. That the culprit, you are,” Anakin stood up swiftly.

“What evidence? I didn’t do it!” Yoda just blinked at him, waiting until Anakin begrudgingly collapsed back into the plush chair.

“Show you, I will,” He finally said, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a long black cloak, “Found, this was, in a hidden passage by your bed.”

“But that-” He interrupted, but was given a thoroughly chastising look.

“Your name, it has,” He tapped the tag of the robe, but pulled out the O.W.L.s key he’d found before he could interrupt, “Gave this to Satine and Obi-Wan, you did. Dodged their questions, also.”

“Headmaster-”

“Hush,” Yoda held up a hand, “Alone, these things are not,” Lastly he pulled out a square of parchment. Anakin felt sick at the sight, his map, water damaged and all, was placed between them, “Fell from your robes, this did,” Anakin’s mind raced. He knew he was innocent, but this was not a good look, “Open it, why don’t you?” Yoda suggested, sliding it towards him, “Otherwise, check your wand, we will.”

“Headmaster, Professor,” Anakin felt small as he pleaded, “I didn’t do it, if I was going to steal cheat sheets then why wouldn’t I use them myself!”

“Scored 100 on Professor Windu’s holiday assignment, did you not?” Yoda questioned, “Impossible, that is, without the key.”

“What? No!” Anakin roared standing up again, “I did that fair and square! My mum could tell you too!”

“Even so, too much,” Yoda tapped the map with his own wand and the map swam to life, “This is.”

“So what? You’re going to expel me?” Anakin kicked the desk furiously, “For something I didn’t even do?”

“Expel you, I will not,” Yoda fixed him with a careful expression, “But given detention and suspended from the Quidditch team, you will be.”

#obitine #anidala #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Satine Kryze #Anakin Skywalker #Padme Amidala #Duchess Satine #Commander Cody #CC-2224 #Captain Rex #ct-7567 #Clone Wars #Star Wars #prequel trilogy #Harry Potter AU #Magical Forces AU

[spiritmaiden23]

NAME: Amber GENDER: I be Girl  EYE COLOR: Dark brown  HAIR COLOR: It’s naturally dark brown BUT RIGHT NOW IT’S DYED A DARK HONEY BLONDE, it looks more red due to the red undertones in my hair which Shook me but I like it! People can’t tell what color my hair is so I’m a bit of a schrodinger’s blonde right now ha!  RELATIONSHIP: I am happily........!! Single! HA! Not to sound stupid corny but I’m just happily living the “bachelor” life right now hoho!!  ZODIAC: Libra 

FAVORITE COLOR: PASTELS!!! And black ofc ofc  FAVORITE SEASON: Growing up it used to be Summer when I lived up north not so much now moving to hell state where it’s hotter than Satan’s Asscrack, but fall is my forever fav season! A shame the four seasons don’t exist here ;v;  FAVORITE PLACE: The beach! Really any places with water I can swim in because I am literal fish FAVORITE HOLIDAY:  Halloween ! FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THIS IS HARDER THAN IT SHOULD BE I REALLY AM LIBRA TO THE CORE this is like asking what my favorite food is... I can’t decide so to not fry my brain cell I’ll just go on ahead and say Chrono Trigger and call it a day ;v; I have a soft spot for classic SNES titles ;v;  LAST SHOW/MOVIE YOU WATCHED: DEMON SLAYER HELP THE BRAIN WORMS ARE TAKING OVER 

WHAT’S YOUR HONEST OPINION ABOUT YOUR MUSE? Oh this meme finna make my followers hate me because I don’t shut up about Elf. But my honest opinion is that sky as a concept was a very refreshing version of Princess Zelda. I love how... freeing she feels to write due to how casual she is when compared to ALTTP Zel. It helps that she’s genki and that I love genki along with cheesy anime protags who rely on power of love, friendship and hope. It’s the warm hearted messages behind those protags for me. 

WOULD YOU DATE YOUR MUSE? CRIES HELL TO THE NO!! OG LOZ WIFEY WILL ALWAYS BE MIDNA SO MISS MIDNA IF YOU’RE OUT THERE...... MY DMS! 

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE KINDS OF THREADS? I LOVE ALL SORTS OF THREADS HJKA but adventure ones with fun plots and developments will always be my go to!! And despite me dying all the time, I do love cute fluffy ones. Or just chill, fun threads! I’m fine with almost anything that seems fun to write and makes me motivate to write now that I think about it!

ARE YOU A SELECTIVE ROLEPLAYER? Bro yes. It’s easier this way.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MUSE? 

YEAH WILL SMITH POSES TO BOTH MY ZELDAS. Sadly, I am not shy with showing my bias. Sky and ALTTP Zel are my favorite muses I’ve played as during my five years into my rp career. 

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN THE FANDOM?.

UH! Well, back when the community was more alive I wanted to join because LOZ is my childhood and I love the series to bits man! I’m rarely in fandom spaces, RPC seems... tame compared to forums or god forbid the innocent scroll through youtube comment section where brain cells go to die. I won’t touch on the hell that is twitter rpc because yo.... I tried... 

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF STAYING WITH THE FANDOM FOR A LONG TIME?

Man I’ve been here since I was five, I’m not leaving this hell hole any time soon. As for the RPC itself? It may be small and very dead compared to 2015 however, I’ve met some of the nicest people here who are incredibly talented! It may not be big, but I like the LOZ RPC and I don’t see myself going until... I get bored that is! (It helps that crossover is what I like doing most to keep the muse alive despite semi-dead fandom ;v;) It’s a shame because twitter rpc is more alive than here but good lord I love myself too much to go back there. 

#about. #ooc postings. #dash games. #uvu

[ethanfreakingdolan]

The Halloween story👀

As soon as Arlandria was adopted at the end of September she decided she was going to dress up as Grayson. Complete with his real heavyweight championship belt (she was under strict instructions to leave it with Y/N). Her gloves were custom made to look exactly like his. 

She practically bounced into the school that morning, dragging her Mama behind her dressed as Morticia Addams, they were supposed to be going out later and Grayson was going to be Gomez. Beaming about how cute her baby girl looked. The rest of the class walked in dressed as an amalgamation of princesses and monsters. 

“What are you supposed to be then Arly?” Jackson, he was dressed in all black with a mask to make him look like the Scream killer. the kid had probably never even seen Scream. 

“I’m my Papa, he’s a boxer,” she held up the belt in her tiny hands, “see he’s the heavyweight champion.” She felt so smug showing off her Papa’s accomplishments.

“Seriously? You know girls are weak and make bad boxers right?” 

“No, they aren’t! Girls make great boxers!” She was getting a little wound up now, all the girl power her parents had taught her starting to come out. 

“Girls suck!” He was right up in her face now, but he was soon on the floor. The impact from the heavyweight belt hitting his cheek knocking him down.

“They aren’t!”

“Arlandria Jane Dolan!” She just got full named by her Mama, in front of her entire class and then walked to the Principals office. Where they sat together in uncomfortable silence until Grayson arrived. 

Y/N explained to Grayson that Arly had hit a kid with the belt and shoved the belt into his chest before walking back to her classroom. Immense concern all she could feel, her kid at the principal's office. In her school, with her boss. What if this came back on her? Makes her look like she can’t even control her own child let alone a whole class of them?

~~~~~~

“Papa I promise I didn’t even hit him that hard!” She tried to defend herself.

“Oh really? Because it looks like he has the words heavyweight imprinted on his face sweetheart.” This made her get embarrassed. He had a point, little Jackson did have the words on his face from how hard she had hit him.

They got called into the office with Jackson and his father. His father dressed in a business suit topped with a face like stone after being pulled out of his office. Grayson still in his shorts and vest from the gym, creating quite the contrast.

The principal asked for Jackson’s side of the story first,

“Well I asked what her costume was and she told me she was a boxer, like her daddy and I said that it was cool and then she hit me!” Arlandria was getting wound up again. For multiple reasons.

“My Papa, I’m dressed like my Papa. Not my daddy, he was mean Papa isn’t,” she whispered only for Grayson to hear, although he was unsure if she was telling the others in the room or herself. He knew immediately that the other child was lying they’d taught her better than that. Mr Lee then asked for Arlandria’s side,

“He asked what my costume was so I told him I was dressed as my Papa and then he told me girls were too weak to be boxers so I said they weren’t and then he tolded me that girls suck and then I hit him,” as she got to the end she started to get embarrassed again and was looking at the floor. 

“Well, those are quite differing stories, I would usually call the teacher in at this point but I have a feeling one party may have a problem with that,” he turned to Jackson’s father, not wanting to deal with accusations that Mrs Dolan was showing a bias. 

“No! No, bring the woman in I want to hear her side.” Not what they were expecting. 

~~~~~~

The fear Y/N felt when walking into the principal's office was as though she was the one being punished. She felt like she was the eight-year-old about to get told off. 

When they asked for her side she understood the smug look she was getting from Jackson’s father he thought he’d won either way. If she said she heard Arlandria being riled up then she was just defending her daughter, if she didn’t see anything then she was incompetent. 

“Well I was attending to another child at the time but I heard Jackson say ‘Girls suck’ and then Arlandria hit him, so I can only assume from what I know about both the children that he been winding her up prior.“ 

“What do you mean ‘what you know about both children’?” Jackson’s father enquired.

“I know that although she is being raised in a boxing household she has been taught that she should not hit anyone and she wouldn’t unless provoked, and I also know that this is not the first time that Jackson has been in here for an incident like this.” She tried to say he’s a little shit in the nicest way possible.

 Both children were told to write the other a letter of apology and dismissed early. 

~~~~~~

The car with Grayson and Arlandria was dead silent. Arlandria not wanting to say anything to get her in more trouble and Grayson wanting her to sit in her embarrassment for a little while. They pulled into the gym and Grayson turned to his baby girl and sighed.

“Now I know that you told the truth in the office earlier, and I’m proud of you for doing that even when it meant admitting you did something wrong. However, that doesn’t undo the fact you should not have hit him. At all. It’s a pretty conflicting situation because on one hand I’m really disappointed that you hit someone but on the other, I’m really proud of you for standing up against that little prick. So, I’m going to take you into the gym and let you get some anger out and then we’re gonna get some ice cream and you’re going to tell your Mama that I told you off more than I did.” The eight-year-old was confused and taken back by his proposal. She nodded and they walked into the gym.

Straight to one of the corners with a punching bag he got her all properly prepared and started showing her the proper technique. 

“Right baby, don’t tuck your thumbs into your fist you’ll get hurt.” She starts hitting properly and Grayson can feel his heart swelling with pride watching her. Until he hears her mumbling under her breath. 

“Stupid Jackson and his stupid costume calling me stupid names. Meany buttface.” He couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the childish names. However, he couldn’t say she was wrong, he also thought that Jackson was a ‘meany buttface’.

Ethan walked out of his office and she showed him how she could hit, getting in a bit more practice while Gray explained what happened. Ethan was impressed, to hit him and leave an imprint? He was proud in a way only an uncle is allowed to be.

“Papa, I’m not angry anymore. Can we get ice cream now?” He told her they could and they were off to the parlour. 

They were eating their ice cream when Arlandria asked if next time she gets angry she can go to the gym with Gray because it helped. He agreed quickly hoping it would work as a deterrent to her hitting kids again. Also letting her know that if she hit another kid she wouldn’t be getting ice cream, she’d be getting punished properly.

He couldn’t help but worry about his wife though, he had known her for a decade so he knew exactly what was going through her head. She would be panicking about how this reflected on her career. He checked the time and realised she’d be almost home wanting cuddles and food, so he would deliver.

Gray got Arly in the car and headed out to pick up take out, getting Y/N’s favourite. She’d need it.

~~~~~~

The devoted husband pulled into his driveway to see his wife still sitting in her car. Crying into her long black Morticia wig. He sent Arlandria over to knock on her car window, in an attempt to cheer her up. Once the woman spotted the small girl she wiped her eyes and opened the door. She picked Arly up for a big cuddle telling her how much she loved her. 

Moving into the lounge the two girls found Grayson laying out the food they bought, they sat and ate dinner as a family, in peace. 

“I know I was really naughty today and I’m super duper sorry, but do I still get to go trick-or-treating?” Arlandria asked her Mama as she went shy, her head hung low and cheeks bright red.

“Sure you can sweetheart, you were standing up for yourself and what you believe in but you also know you shouldn’t have reacted the way you did. I’m proud of you for telling the truth to Principal Bell. Even if you had to admit you did something wrong.” Grayson sprinted upstairs to put his costume on before heading out to join the rest of his family. Cameron would be so impressed when she heard about the mark Arly left.  

~~~~~~

Two full pillowcases later they returned home. After putting Arlandria to bed, Y/N and Grayson decided to go sit in their own room. They stuck a film on to try and act like everything was normal, but that didn’t last long before Y/N was crying again. Sobbing to her husband about her insecurities. Asking if he thought she was a bad mother, which he shot down the thought of immediately. 

“You are the best mother she has ever had and will ever have. Arly loves you so much and adores you, that little girl isn’t sure who she wants to be more, you, me or Milo from Atlantis.” It was true, she adored her Mama and Papa, but she did also adore Atlantis. 

“I just feel like I failed you know? I’m a teacher, it’s my job to teach these kids right from wrong and my kid, the one that lives with me hit another kid. She got taken to the principal’s office. That feels so shitty. I just feel maybe she’d have been better off going to another home.” One thing Grayson loved about his wife was how open she could be about this. It took a very long time to get there but now he almost can’t shut it off.

“You know how when we first got together you were crazy shy and now you’re still shy but a hell of a lot less, yeah?” Y/N nodded slightly confused about where he was going with this, “Well, I can see the same thing happening with Arly, because of you. She’s talking more and more, she was play fighting with Ethan the other day. A month ago she wouldn’t even look at him for more than five seconds! Her and Cam’s girls are almost inseparable, April told me the other day they wished we found her sooner because she’s so much fun. Her exact next words were ‘she’s so much funner than Bailey, Octavious and Marcus, boys suck’, and Arly loves all of them so so much as well. She’s started calling Octavious, Tay! He won’t even let Ethan call him anything other than Oc or Octavious and he’s the kid's dad! Bailey tried to call him Tay and got hit. Us adopting her is the best thing that ever happened to us and to her.” Grayson had made some solid points that she couldn’t argue with really.

“Speak of the devil, I see you Arly, peeking around the door missy.” She pushed the door open a little more so they could see her better and took a deep breath.

“I’m super duper duper sorry I hit Jackson, I shouldn’t have done it and I know that. Although he wound me up and may or may not have deserved it I still shouldn’t have hit him. You two are the best parents I’ve ever had and I’m really happy here. I’m sorry if I messed anything up for you.” The fragile girl was on the brink of tears as Grayson pulled her into their bed. 

“You haven’t messed anything up for anyone baby girl, the fact that you know that prick deserved to get hit but you still shouldn't have shows me that me and your Mama have done something right. A month ago you wouldn’t have even told him what your costume was, I’m so incredibly proud of you. We are never letting you go Arly, you’re a Dolan now through and through.” 

#dolan twins #grayson dolan #grayson dolan imagine #grayson dolan x reader #dolan twins x reader #dolan twins imagine