✨Sparkles✨

I am truly too stupid to function

[sia @peristilmercury]

the anime that started it all. thank you for changing my life monogatari series. you will always hold a special place in my heart.

[Cozy @cosyposter]

birb maxxing

[Zenox @Blackviking110]

This randomly plays in my head throughout the day

[Kyle Collins @KyleCinVail]

“She may be hot, but I won’t risk it for that biscuit”. I CACKLED.🤣
And also, I am liking the confident and serene authority that Serena (hey, apt name!) is carrying herself with. @KylePhillipsFun and @JaclynGThomas are giving a fine lift-off to #RebornAsASpaceMercenary!🚀

[“scary” berry 🫐🎃 @berry_gatherer]

Money talks but wealth whispers

[Browningtons @Browningtons_]

Its like i got a rolex on me

[Ren @r3naisen]

I think Dumbledore is very much me in term of energy.

[VictoryVT @VRC_Victory]

"ₚₑₑₑₑₑₑₑₑₑₑₑₑₑ--E͉͎͙E͇͖͙A͙͍A̺̻A̢͕͚A̢͓C̢̼͍C̫̘̠C̦̘E͖͕̦E͚͎̘E͇̼̝E͎̫̞E͙̻͜E͎̼̻"

Threw his WHOLE throat into it 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Lion @LionInCrisis]

animals staring at the trail cam

a thread:

[Furkan Turan @furkanturanj]

@lcelce2010

[iceice @lcelce2010]

หนูอยากโดนพ่อของเพื่อนเย็ดงะ หนูเลยไม่ใส่กางเกงในกับเสื้อในไปหาเพื่อนเพื่อไปอ่อยพ่อเพื่อน หนูใส่แค่เสื้อบางๆ กับกางเกงขาสั้นรัดๆ พอไปถึงเพื่อนหนูก็ยังไม่ตื่น หนูเลยไปนอนรอที่โซฟา หนูก็เล่นมือถือแล้วนอนแหกขากว้างๆจนน้ำหีหนูไหลเยิ้มเลย ละหนูก็ดึงเสื้อลงให้นม���นูโผล่ แล้วพ่อก็มาเห็น

[J. Y. Song @Critical_Scribe]

*The following is chapter 144 from my original series, Hedge Knight, located in Arc 6: The Apprentice's Lament

Context:

The main character, Helbram, and his adventuring party were ambushed while investigating the ruins of an ancient airship. They were scattered as a result, and he and the Weaver (a mage who casts magic like a bender from Avatar), Elly, end up locked in the generator room of the ship. Elly, upon failing to restart the generator to set them free, gets a severe case of imposter syndrome, leading to Helbram comforting her in the following conversation.

The attached art work is of Helbram, Elly, and them talking normally, respectively, so wonderfully done by @studio_kart , @crimsomxmuse , and @OngjolPark

I hope you enjoy!*

Helbram pressing against her back was all the answer Elly needed.

She rested her cheek against her leg. “Years ago, there was a girl born to a dancer and a bard. She was the second of two daughters, separated by only a year, and only another year later were they joined by a brother. Both parents were excited by such fortune, but the mother was perhaps the most excited, for she had two heirs to her craft. Both daughters grew to be just as excited with the course of time, for they had seen many dancers over the course of their short lives, but it was their mother that remained the finest of them all.”

“Often, the sisters would try to imitate her, dancing as best they could in some unseen corner of tavern hall, in the shadows where they would not interfere with what happened on stage, or even just next to a campfire as they watched their mother dance for their father. Both did so with equal enthusiasm, but it was clear that the oldest of the two was far more adept at picking up their mother’s techniques from sight alone. That was alright, the girl had thought, everyone learned differently. The moment that she was of age, she would be taught the moves properly, and that would be when she would catch up. The girl had even insisted on starting a year early, just so that her sister wouldn’t get too far ahead. That would just be fair, wouldn’t it?”

Elly’s fingers traced along her leg. “That proved to be a false hope, for the very day that instruction began, the difference between the daughters grew ever more stark. For every instruction that her sister received, the girl required three if not four times more to learn. For every flawless pirouette, every graceful skip of the eldest, there was the girl tripping behind her, rolling her ankles and scraping her knees while her sister remained flawless…”

She fell silent, and Helbram remained that way with her, still waiting, still listening.

“The girl’s mother never scolded her for not being able to keep up with her sister. She was always patient, always thorough, and outside of practice, never treated her any differently than the eldest. She was… is a kind, thoughtful woman, but… talent has a way of structuring things outside of all that. The eldest would naturally get more focus as the gap between her and the girl grew wider. The girl would drift to the side to practice that which her sister had already mastered, watching as she and her mother danced within a light that remained out of reach. The girl’s dream grew distant, cold, and she found herself unable to hold onto it any longer.”

Her hand clenched around her ankle and she closed her eyes. “Her sister noticed this and tried so desperately to help. More advice, extra practice, anything so that the girl wouldn’t let go of that passion they shared. It came from care, the girl knew this, but every moment they spent together in such a manner only made that light grow more distant. In the end, she could not hold on to that dream any longer, and stopped. There were arguments about it, of course… many of them, but in the end, the girl could not take it anymore, and her mother and sister respected her decision.”

Elly buried her face into her knees. “Her father had tried to give her a new goal, one that involved following in his footsteps, if she wanted. Her brother was already in the process of doing so, but, just like the girl’s sister, he was happy to spend the time with her.” She laughed. “Except that journey didn’t last very long, for where the girl’s talent for dance was middling, her talent for stories was even worse. Her father never discouraged her from trying such a path, but when she decided to stop, he did not put up as near a fight as her mother did, and her brother was much more frank about the whole ordeal.”

She sighed. “It should be known that the girl got along with her brother and sister. They quibbled like siblings do, yes, but not once was malice ever felt between them. When the girl needed help, they would be there for her, and she for them. Even with the sister spending more time with their mother, and the brother their father, the girl knew that was just the way the cards fell. There was no reason for her to be bitter about that.” Her voice cracked and she gathered herself. “And yet a part of her, deep within her heart, was, and she hated herself every time it laced her thoughts with its poison. So, the girl resolved to overcome this by helping around in the troupe that her mother and father led.”

“She tried her hand at many tasks, performed each of them well enough, but never quite excelled at any of them. She could draw, but her pencil could not fill her sketches with the life that her aunt’s possessed. She could sew, but her talent with a needle only amounted to adjustments and fixes where her uncle created gowns and suits that brimmed with such splendor. Over and over again did the girl try, only to find her abilities lacking. Still, she persisted, because there was no other course for her in that troupe. They never said she must be useful, but she had to be, for her own sanity. Yet, constant disappointment has a way of dousing the fires of one’s soul.”

She lifted her head. “Then, one day, the troupe made their way into a town not too far from Orelia. Their stay was meant to be short, merely a small stop to resupply, but in that small window, in the confines of a dingy tavern, the girl ran into an elderly woman with a sharp tongue.” She snorted. “One that wasn’t directed towards her, thankfully, but held an edge that made the ones she lectured flee with tears in their eyes. The girl had no idea who the woman was, at first, but all she knew was that she was drawn in by her passion. The way that she spoke of ancient ruins and the lives of legends past, all while drunk off half a bottle of wine, entranced the girl just as much as the way her father told stories. The girl felt flames kindle within her heart once again, and out of reflex to that heat, she asked the woman to take her as a student.”

Helbram turned his head towards Elly. “And she said yes?”

She scoffed. “Hardly. The girl received a resounding rejection and admonishment for asking for such things out of the blue. Once again, the girl had felt disappointment, but so tired was she of that feeling that she asked again out of pure stubbornness. Again, she was rejected, but the girl persisted over and over until finally, the woman told her to answer a simple question.”

“What is the history of my staff?”

“...that does not sound simple at all.”

Elly giggled. “To the girl, it was, at first. She so confidently told the woman that it came from a tree, and got a laugh out of her in response. Perhaps it was that which made her give the girl another chance, this time stressing for her to take her time to come up with a good, logical answer. The girl made the woman promise that if she answered the question correctly, then she would be taken as a student.”

“Did she make a contract?”

“A pinky swear.” Elly held up the finger. “Far more ironclad than any written word, don’t you think?”

“A truly serious agreement, indeed. So, how did the girl find the answer?”

“With much, much research. Days of it, in fact, so much so that the girl begged her parents for them to stay in town for just a while longer. She told them of the promise, and after they spoke with the woman themselves, they agreed to stay long enough for the girl to give a proper answer to the woman’s question. So, the girl spent those days within the town’s bookshop, researching everything she could about trees, since those were the only books that she could find related to staves. She pressed her father for information too, of course, but there was only so much that he could provide in that context. Right when the woman was about to set off, the girl gave her answer.”

Elly leaned back. “She went into detail about how the darker color of the wood meant that the staff was most likely carved from a tree in the Glasswood, and the twisting flow of its design also meant that she received the aid of Druids in its creation. The gem affixed to the top was one of great rarity as well, no doubt retrieved from the depths of some mine that dug deep into the Spine. All of this, the girl said with the utmost confidence and detail. And she couldn’t have been more wrong.”

She chuckled. “The woman laughed for a good while after hearing such ‘conclusions’, only to say that her staff was made from a piece of driftwood because she happened to like the pattern of its grain, she had made the staff herself, and that the crystal fixed to its top was one that used to belong to her first catalyst long ago. None of this, the girl could have known.”

“That seems rather harsh, to string a child along like that.”

“If the woman had up and left the girl behind then, I would agree, but that is not what she did. Instead, after having her fun, the woman praised the girl for her efforts, and the fact that she was able to draw such conclusions from her own research. She had no obligation to fulfill the promise any longer, but she accepted the girl as her student, regardless.”

Elly looked up towards the ceiling. “To say that the girl was elated is an understatement. In that moment, she had thought she finally found her calling, found the thing that she was good at. So, after many tearful goodbyes to her family, the girl and her new teacher set off into the world. She learned the ways of the scholar from one who held a patience hidden by their sharp wit, and her teacher was even thoughtful enough to encourage the girl to practice magic in a way that respected where she came from. Everything was falling into place.” Her head fell. “Until the girl became aware of the scope of her master’s reputation.”

“Her teacher never boasted, never pressed any expectations upon the girl that told her that she needed to live up to her legacy… but the girl already knew what it was like to chase after those already so far in the distance. Still, she pressed on, for she had already invested so much time into following this new dream. If her master didn’t care about such a thing, then she wouldn’t, either. A sweet, little lie that she repeated in her head like a mantra, for years until the girl was well into being a woman.”

“Then… she made the mistake of looking back. She saw the volumes of notes that she wrote because she would keep forgetting things, where all her master needed was a simple notebook. She saw that after training for so long she’d only manifested two Circles, where she’d heard tales of how her teacher could call down the storms themselves at her age. She saw just how little she’d managed to walk down the path she chose, and how far away the back of her master remained in the distance. Then, her mind began to draw conclusions that, deep down, she knew to be false, but she thought them anyways. Perhaps her mother relented because the woman truly was a lost cause, just like her father had seen, and perhaps her master, despite all the excuses and reasons she gave, didn’t teach the woman the way she did magic because she knew that she would never inherit her legacy. Still, she kept walking, for that is all she knew how to do then, until there finally came a time where she could walk on her own.”

She looked down towards the ground. “Except, even by herself, she finds herself still chasing the backs of those she was never able to catch. Every thing that she does, every problem that she faces, there is always the feeling that those she once chased after would have done far better than she did, would have not had such problems in the first place.” She gave a pathetic chuckle. “And she has the audacity to feel these things when the ones that she travels with have been through so much more, carrying pain from wounds far deeper than anything she had even fathomed. Yet, she keeps feeling them, keeps seeing those backs that she so desperately wishes to touch.”

Elly pulled herself into a tight bundle once again. “What would you say to such a selfish, pathetic woman?”

Helbram was silent for a while, letting the pings of the lightning fill the emptiness that settled over them. She was about to move away, but stopped when she felt him lean against her.

“I would tell her a story of my own.”

She waited for him to begin.

“In some ways, it is similar. A tale of a young boy with lofty dreams who chased after those he admired, made promises for a future that he believed to be destiny, only to be met with the harsh realities of this world. Except, he did not have the intelligence to find a new purpose. He chose stubbornness instead, and the boy grew to be a man who chased after a dream that continued to flee into the distance. In this pursuit, he fell and stumbled into a pit of darkness and despair. He found himself sinking, and only when the bog of his failures reached up to his neck was he pulled from its depths by a woman with eyes filled with a passion that reignited his own. He loved her, with all of his heart, for it was her that had given him a new light to chase after.”

“For a good, long while did he bask in that light, pulled along by dreams that were so much like his own, dreams that he thought would keep them together forever. Then, one day she disappeared, a simple message in her wake that told him that she was sorry. Perhaps she was, but he knew in his heart that there was only one thing that could have spurred such an action in the first place, and it was the same reality that smothered his dreams before. Slowly, did he watch as color he had no business in seeing fade shade by shade. Only when the world was cold and gray, did his mind decide to give him a final torment to remember.”

A tremble traveled up Elly’s spine, but it was not one that came from her.

“He dreamt that he had a daughter. Beautiful, with bright eyes and an even brighter smile. He didn’t speak a word to her, but he did watch her. He watched her read, watched her play, watched her laugh and sing and fill the room with a light that chased away the darkest depths of his heart. Her mother was not there, but in that moment he did not care, because he was finally, truly at peace…”

“Then, he woke up; to a dark room and a cold, empty bed. He stared at the lifeless wall in front of him, listening to the echoes of a laughter from a child who would never exist, and he felt her light fade away.”

“He cried then, shedding tears for a future that would never come to pass, for an imaginary life so bright that it blinds him to even think about to this day. He wept until his eyes were dry and his voice was hoarse, and continued to weep until sleep took him once again.”

“Upon waking, he did the only thing that he could do, and that was walk, to carry himself forward lest he sink into the darkening pit of dreams unfulfilled. Like the woman from your story, the path he treaded upon was all that he knew then, and he stumbled multiple times after that until he felt that he could walk no longer.” He snorted. “It was only then that luck decided to favor him, to place him in the company of stars who filled his world with color once again. Among these lights was a woman, one who has pulled him from the mire of his own thoughts time and time again. One who has yet to realize the brilliance of the radiance that shines from her. One who minimizes too much about herself.”

Helbram reached back and grabbed her shoulder. “To her, he would say that sometimes it is not the deepest wounds that leave the largest scars, that the pain she feels is no less important than the ones her companions may feel, and that they would feel the same. He would say that she is strong, far stronger than he could ever be, and that a weak man such as himself has only made it this far because of that strength.”

Elly reached for the hand, but stopped. “She would say that the man thinks far too little of himself, that perhaps he should be aware of just how far he has pushed those around him, how much strength he has filled her with, despite her faults.”

“And he would say that instead of running after others, she should try to tread a path of her own, one paved by all that she has learned before. Perhaps that was her master’s intent all along. Not to have the woman riding her coattails, but to walk by her side to a rhythm wholly unique to her student.”

“...could she do such a thing, even when she has failed to walk paths that had been laid out for her?”

“Perhaps she already has been, but has been too clouded by her own doubts to navigate it properly.”

“...is she strong enough to do it?”

“Yes, she is.”

“I don’t know, the man who would say these things has proven himself to be foolhardy before.”

“In matters concerning himself, you would be correct, but in this one… there is nothing that he believes more firmly.”

“He puts too much faith in her.”

“If there is one thing that he knows, it is that there is nothing easier to believe in than the truth.”

Elly laced his fingers with hers, silent as their warmth calmed a shiver she didn’t notice before. “Then… she will just have to try, won’t she?”

“She will do far more than just try.”

She pressed against him, a warmth rising in her cheeks. “You know, I was wrong about the size of your back.”

“Is it smaller than you thought?”

“No, it's bigger… much bigger.”

[rezelover @rezelover25]

"You know how many points we'll lose if we get caught doing this here, Potter?"

malfoyd's breathless reprimand carried a much more dizzying temptation than any warning.

"You're one to talk, after casting spells with your eyes at me the whole time during class. To be honest, I was going out of my mind trying to hold back."

The moment Harry replied, he dove deep and passionately into her lips. At the breathless kiss, malfoyd's pale neck flushed crimson in an instant. As Harry's hands wrapped around her slender, delicate waist, his heart gave a sudden, heavy thump. The touch of her body—so much smaller and more fragile than his own—was transmitted directly to his fingertips.

malfoyd let out a half-hearted huff as if she hated it, but her hazy vision was already filled solely with Harry's deep, burning gaze, as though he had completely lost his reason. Amidst her ragged breath, she barely managed to squeeze out a voice.

"Hnh... Take it slow. Don't rush into it..."

Chuckling softly at her words, Harry leaned close and whispered low against her ear, as if asking for permission.

"I'll take it slow, exactly like you said."

Harry carefully slid his hand underneath her soft knit sweater and shirt. The moment his touch, previously chilled by the autumn air, brushed against the hot, tender bare skin beneath her clothes, a tiny gasp she couldn't swallow slipped past malfoyd's lips.

"But I don't think I can wait because I'm too impatient."

Amidst the darkness enveloping them, only the faint murmurs of Hogwarts served as their sole background music. Harry held her shoulders tightly, embracing her soft warmth entirely, as if handling the most precious and fragile treasure in the world.

malfoyd closed her eyes tightly, her fingers clutching frantically at Harry's broad shoulders. Gone was any trace of their prickly, bitter rivalry from the past; the space was filled solely with an uncontrollable thirst and sweet heat drawing them toward one another.

"Potter... you really are impossible..."

Her voice, whispering out a reproach, was already trembling, and charmed by her reaction, Harry smiled sweetly and pressed his lips to hers once more in a burning kiss. Within the cold stone walls of Hogwarts, it was the moment their shared warmth flared up brighter and hotter than ever.

malfoyd tried faintly to push against Harry's chest with her cheeks burning red, but all the strength had already drained from her limp grip.

"If I had known you were this fragile from the very beginning, I wouldn't have wasted all those years fighting with you."

Every time Harry's touch traced smooth lines upward along her waist beneath her sweater, malfoyd's breath grew noticeably shallower. Every brush of his warm palm against the skin exposed to the cool draft sent a thrilling shiver coursing through her whole body.

Unable to hold back any longer, malfoyd wrapped both arms around Harry's neck and buried her face against his shoulder. Harry couldn't resist pressing another gentle kiss against the white, delicate nape of her neck exposed amidst her disheveled blonde hair.

"Potter... you really are a bad guy..."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

With a low, amused chuckle, Harry's hands began carefully unbuttoning her shirt, one by one. The secret, stone-walled alcove was filled entirely with the sound of their ragged breaths and skin pressing against skin.

Neither the gaze of the world nor the rules of the house mattered to either of them in this moment. As if their mutual warmth were the only true law and reality, Harry pulled her even deeper into his embrace, surrendering completely to a sweet, unstoppable temptation.

The very last button of her white shirt slipped free, leaving their bare skin to press flush against the cool draft of the stone walls.

Overwhelmed by a surging wave of emotion and shyness, malfoyd clamped her eyes shut and grabbed tightly onto Harry's broad shoulders, her fingernails pressing deep.

"Hah... Potter, wait..."

"You're far too pretty for me to stop now."

Harry's low, husky voice tickled her ear. Trapped between the inescapable, cold stonework and Harry's scorching heat caging her in, malfoyd felt entirely dizzy, losing all sense of reason.

Each time Harry's lips drifted softly down her collarbone, a sweet sigh mingled with a muffled moan escaped her lips. The sensation of her much smaller, fragile body melting and intertwining completely within his arms made Harry feel as though his last thread of reason had snapped.

"Nhn... Seriously... I'm going to make you pay for this later..."

"Alright, I'll take all of it, so feel free to blame me as much as you want."

Without a moment's hesitation, their breathing fused into one complete rhythm.

What filled the secret room was no longer the chilly night air of Hogwarts, but only the heavy breathing and sticky heat born from their mutual indulgence. In a spell far more powerful and sweet than any magic in the world, they lost track of time itself, sinking deeper and deeper into each other's warmth.