#Lupin Saturday y’all!

[pareidoliaparadise]

Yea funkifies them puts them in a deck gambles with them throws them on the floor 52 pickup

[an-anonimous-writer]

''TRUTH OR DARE?''

credits to the GIF creator and owner

Remus Lupin x Fem!Reader and Platonic! Marlene x Fem!Reader

Summary: Marlene Mckinnon, your best friend of years invites you to a drinking night with the Marauders and half of Gryffindor’s Seventh Years. Your crush Remus is there, would heartbreaks unfold when Sirius asks him about the person that he likes?

Warnings: angst, language, underage drinking, insecure reader, unrequited love, Marlene being a bad friend (although I think she would be the greatest one), James being an idiot, the Marauders being a bit of assholes + my terrible English (once more I apologize beforehand for any errors)

A/N: hello, how are y’all? long time no see. i’ve been stuck on a writers block and it had all summed up to finishing my last year of high school, the summer after that and starting uni (which i’m very happy with) and so i had this idea stuck in my head for a while, i haven’t proofread so i don’t know the result of it, but as you know i’m a sucker for angst so, here it is ANGST. hope you enjoyed it, i’d love some feedback and corrections (if you had any). enjoy!! :D

remus lupin masterlist

marlene mckinnon masterlist

What could possibly go wrong with a bit of veritaserum, a few shots of firewhiskey and a truth or dare game? Everything and nothing at the same time, it is like flipping coin you can bet and win it all, however, at the same time there is uncertainty.

The Marauders were in the Gryffindor common room, you weren’t a part of their group, but your friend Marlene asked you to come with her, Lily and Dorcas to this ‘‘getting drunk because we don’t know what else to do on a Saturday night, although we would prefer to be partying’’. Marlene told you it was going to be a chill Saturday night, but half of Gryffindor’s Seventh Years were there too.

Marlene had always been your closest friend, she was your neighbour and she was rather an extrovert kid so you were quick to be friends. Since you were eight, you have considered Marls to be your best friend, you told her your deepest secrets, no other than your diary and yourself knew. Nonetheless, you felt as if you were drifting apart, she met Lily and they befriended the Marauders as quick as she befriended you when you were little. You thought she could sense it, that’s why you were here.

You refused at first, it wasn’t your scene, you preferred promenading through Hogsmeade and drinking a few butterbears, taking a few laughs and get back in touch, but she knew how to persuade you. You caught yourself reproducing last night interaction, your rommates let in Marlene because they knew you two were friends, though they thought of you as an alienesque pair. You were in the bathroom, prepping for bed time, when Marlene’s reflection, once you wiped your face, startled you. 

‘‘What are you doing here?’’ you asked, a hand holding your chest. ‘‘You scared me, you could’ve at least knocked’’.

You turn your whole body to see your best friend with a cheshire smile, she entered the small bathroom closing the door behind her.

‘‘Do you wanna hang out tomorrow night?’’ she started, smile still present on her features. As she saw your reaction she continued: ‘‘We haven’t seen each other for so long, please!’’ she pleaded, reaching for your hand and holding in between hers.

You looked down to where your bodys joined and sighed, that wasn’t your idea of reconnecting.

‘‘I don’t know Marls, you know I rather…’’. She cut you off.

‘‘Rems is going to be there, plus James had stolen a bit of veritaserum from Slughorn’s potion room, and I’ve seen his looks when he glance over you in the hallways’’ she explained to you, ‘‘Maybe he will confess, please come and bring your roommates, they are fun, even more than…’’

‘‘Me?’’ It was your time of cutting her off. ‘‘I’ll think of it, but my friends won’t come, they have plans for tomorrow night.’’ You crossed your arms over your chest, Marlene never lied, even when she needed to it was a blessing and a curse.

She grimaced, sensing she might had screwed it up. 

‘‘We’ll have a great time, think about it, please.’’ 

The trance was broken due to James calling your name and giggling at you. This is why it you were distancing yourself from Marls, you felt as if her friends were analyzing your every moves and when you did something out of what they were expecting, they laughed at you as if you were a monkey in a circus about to do its next trick. 

Marls looked at you and next to the object set in between the circle of people, almost everybody were drunk, your first and only glass of firewhikey sat in your hands half empty. The bottle was pointed at you, of all people. Even though Marlene promised they were only going to be the Marauders and you, almost half of the Gryffindor 7th Years were there too.

‘‘Your turn, pretty friend of Marls’’ a giggling and drunk James said, ‘‘truth or dare?’’ 

Your gaze fixated on Marlene, you inhaled deeply. Taking a sip of the glass you confidently said dare. A set of ‘‘ohs’’ was heard in the room, you gulped at the sound. Silently and in your head, you cursed Marlene and her stupid ‘‘Rem will be there’’. 

‘‘I dare you to…’’ James stood pensive his next words, he look over a boy who played in the Gryffinfor quidditch team ‘‘I dare you to lick Dean’s neck.’’

Evrybody started laughing, you wanted to minimize yourself to the sixe of a bacteria, but you were in the bravest house for a reason, and you stood up and went directly to the boy. Dean move her head so you could have access to his neck and you obeyed. They started cheering you as you licked his neck. Once you finished, embarrassed you went back to the seat next to Marlene, who was heavily drunk and was cheering on you.

‘‘That’s my friend, woohoo!’’ She extended her hand so you could give her a high five. ‘‘You should have seen Remus’ reaction, he was totally pissed off I tell you’’ she whispered as you sat down. You looked in Remus direction who was gazing at both of you and you gave him a smile, he turned quickly.

You thought nothing of it, or so you wanted to think because you were overanalyzing everything of that small and chaste interaction, he must be jealous. It was your turn of spinning the bottle and as if you manifest it just by thinking of him, it fell on Remus. You open your mouth, but you were cut off by the King Potter.

‘‘Truth or dare, mate?’’

Remus was holding your gaze as his mouth let out the word ‘‘truth’’. The coin was flipped in that exact moment and you felt the side you chose, believing Marlene, his looks over at your friend group, every small interaction, was going to win.

James gave him the veritaserum in a shot glass, he drank it still holding your gaze. The coin was high in the sky.

‘‘Well’’ Sirius was the one who spoke this time, a smirk present in his face ‘‘who is the person you can’t stop talking about? What’s their name, mate? If your drunk self hasn’t understood me, who do you like, Moony?’’ 

Slowly the coin fell, still confident in the choosing side. You were going to win this one time, you knew it.

‘‘You know Y/N, Marls’ friend.’’ Your heart fluttered, the coin was showing your side as it fell and you caught it. ‘‘Well, you know the girl she is always with, what’s her name? Oh yeah, Constance! Constance Hayes.’’

Your palm open, it showed a broken heart, you bet and lost. Still holding his gaze, Remus asked you:

‘‘You could set us up, right? You are practically together all of the time.’’

That was what pushed you over the edge, you saw Marlene’s face. You felt the tears, was this Marls idea of fun? She didn’t look surprised at his revelation, not a even a little bit, did she knew? Was that why she asked you to bring your friends?

You stood up, quickly, startling the people in the room. Marlene copied your every move and followed you, repeating your name over and over again. Everybody followed Marlene, it was the beginning of a fight and people were hungry for action. Your eyes were wet of holding back the tears and hearing the commotion wasn’t helping.

Once you enter your room, you let it all out. Marlene came in right behind you, she went to hug you, but you dismissed her.

‘‘Did you know?’’ you asked, tears flowing. ‘‘I know you can’t lie, so there’s no need to try now.’’

She shook her head at your words, looking hurt just by the accusation.

‘‘If I knew I’d never have encouraged you’’ she answer, her voice half broken and half in a scream.

‘‘I said don’t try to lie now!’’ you recriminated. You wanted to believe in her, but something in your brain just didn’t. ‘‘That’s why yesterday you asked me to bring my friends, so Constance could hear how Remus liked her, because you know both, her and I, like him. Did you wanted me to stop talking about him? What was it?’’

‘‘No! Of course not!’’ She shouted. Both of you could felt how its jab was scaleting quickly into a fight, and to worsen things up, both could hear James and Remus’ shocked expressions.

‘‘Then why!?’’ There was no use in keeping it a secret anymore, the whole school would know by tomorrow.

‘‘I wanted to spend time with you…’’

You cut her, pointing an angry finger towards her.

‘‘Don’t lie!’’

Exasperated, Marlene ran her hands through her hair dyed blonde hair, pulling some.

‘‘You want to know the truth?’’ you nodded. ‘‘Okay, I knew he liked Constance, but I couldn’t hurt you, we’ve been friends for so long… What I didn’t know is that Sirius would ask him that, Sirius knew about who you like-’’

‘‘Oh, so I can’t trust you now! Okay, why did Sirius know?’’ you asked her, angrily.

‘‘Because we can’t be best friend for our whole lifes, Y/N. Our paths have separated, we have different friends, we don’t hang out us much and to be honest, sometimes I feel like our relationship is a burden’’ she said, signaling the space between you.

That was what hurt you the most, you weren’t even thinking about Remus anymore. You knew Marlene was drifting apart, you tried to hang out with her as much as you could, but you never thought you were a burden to her, but that was reality, harsh as a sea storm.

‘‘If you aimed for us to stop being friends, I congratulate you.’’ You started applaudding. ‘‘You fucking did it, Marls! Oh, I almost forgot, you can tell your stupid friends, who I hope wont bother you as I did for all these years, their circus freak is out of shows.’’

‘‘You know I didn’t mean it like that…’’ she tried to fix it.

‘‘You meant it like that, Marls, that’s the worse part. So if you are so considerate of getting out of my room, thank you.’’ You forced a smile, tears streaming down your features.

Marlene obeyed, leaving you back and as she opened the door and displayed a childish James and an awful Remus, you open your mouth to say one last thing.

‘‘Oh, Remus’’ you started, making eye contact with him, just as he did the whole time downstairs ‘‘Constance will look forward on a date with you, how about next week?’’ You smiled falsely.

‘‘I’m sorry, Y/N, I didn’t want to…’’ he apologized.

‘‘Don’t worry Remus, I bet you don’t even feel as bad as you paint it to be. Fuck you all, Marauders!’’ You shouted, giving them all a middle finger.

That night, you drained yourself. You had no more water inside of you to form any more tear, the next morning Marlene and Remus watched you go into the Great Hall, Marlene knew she screwed up and there wasn’t anything she could do to patch up your heart, Remus, on the other hand, replayed the last words you would ever tell him, and you were right, he didn’t even feel as bad as he showed.

Truth or dare was like flipping a coin, you could win it all, however, that night you lost a friendship, but gained a heartbreak.

[ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Happy Lupin Saturday y’all’s. Fresh beats for you!

[lupfics]

Asah dude, whats popping?

So I do sword stuff IRL, it's a style called Kumdo (basically a Korean version of Kendo, don't know how else to explain it) and basically I get it be Goemon every Saturday garbed in Hakama and Kedogi with a Katana.

Anywho, headcannons for an s/o who's basically another Goemon but acts the complete opposite if him? Like they're bubbly and cheery and more open and memes about all day? (Kind of like Okita from the Mankatsu series also made my Monkey Punch if you've ever seen it)

I'll take anything you pass my way, you're doing a great service by writing these in the first place! 💖💖💖

(Simotaniusly whips and nae-naes to show gratitude) ✋😔👊

Yo that hecka cool! Like bro I give massive respect...don’t kill me with sword

-Baffled is the first word that has come to his mind for the first time he had met someone on equal standings with him.

-Hell you even met him in a wager, it was simple. Just see who was the better swordsman. Goemon has seen this song and dance but decided to humor you since you were joking around a lot.

-It ended in a draw the both of you covered in sweat panting since… you both somehow were at an equal match. Impressed is another word he was.

-“Y/N where did you learn to wield your blade?”

-he would ask you each had different fighting styles but each were almost two for two, each of the moves he would give you could throw back.

-for a wile he would watch you practice trying to examine the moves you used, and for you the same.

-Though he dose think your a bit… overly energetic. You seem to always have a comeback or a funny joke in any situation. He hates it when you impersonate him by putting on a bath towel around your legs and would sit around.

-tries to joke back but will always get roasted after.

-He once was hit in the face and had his mouth open.

-“poggers”

-is all you said then you dipped since some guys were chasing you.

-he spent three days trying to figure out what poggers mean. He still has no clue why you even used the word. Well until you showed him a picture.

-You would always introduce yourself with a smile and happy hello, he found it a small bit embarrassed since your an amazing sword fighter yet you act like a child.

-When he noticed he had growing feelings is when you were fighting and giving it your all. He felt his stomach do flips and his face grow red once you finished and did your usual smile at him.

-“What? Do I have three heads or something?”

-you would ask since he was staring. But once you spoke he would shake his head and focus on the task at hand.

-“N-No, how could you even grow three heads”

-he would mutter as the both of you ran off he help out lupin.

-as the both of you worked more and more the closer you two became. Though Goemon really could never really say he was in love, so when he was pestered about his growing crush all he would say is.

-“I admire how skilled Y/N is with the sword nothing more nothing less”

-Once you had to use his Zantetsuken… his face grew to a deep shade of strawberry red as he watched you use his weapon.

-“sorry Goemon, I had nothing else to use-“

-you would start but he would just take the sword and nod.

-“you looked good using the Zantetsuken”

-that’s all he said as he left to go back to there base of operation.

-that night both of y’all screamed into pillows for sure-

[mx-ishikawa]

Like a fire in My Blood

(so uhhh obligatory Lupin self-insert fic!! this is a li’l backstory of how my S/I got involved with the squad that I’ve been working on for the past couple weeks, lmao. warnings for guns, canon-typical violence, and lots of swearing- y’all know me by now XD” enjoy!)

Tied up to a chair in an abandoned warehouse surrounded by gun-toting mobsters was not planned for my Saturday night. Then again, normalcy wasn’t very present in my life anymore.

“Now you’re gonna tell me one more time, sweetheart, where is that treasure?” the squatty man who I assumed was the leader growled, pointing the gun at my face. What the fuck.

“First of all, I am not as sweet as you think I am,” I spat- how the hell was I so snarky staring straight into the barrel of death itself??- “and second of all, I really have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about so quit insisting I do and let me go!” Surprisingly, he lowered the gun.

“You’re a terrible liar, my dear,” he snarled, going over to where my jacket that had been forcibly removed from my person for some reason was hung.

“Buddy, I was raised by an overprotective controlling helicopter mother, I may as well be a professional liar,” I retorted.

“Well then how the hell do you explain this?!”

I gasped as he pulled out the bright, shimmering green stone from my jacket pocket. FUCK.

“Oh THAT! Jesus Christ, I completely forgot I had that, goddamn!”

“Yeah, sure you did.”

“No, I’m dead serious, I actually forgot about that! Literally, if I had remembered that I would’a told you straight-up because that shit is not worth my life!”

“Well then, care to explain now?”

“Yeah okay so it’s like- I went down State Street, past the Cultural Center, then I kinda went through Millenium Park until I got to the Art Institute, then I took a left and once I got past Lakeshore Drive I hopped over to the left again and- that cluster of trees at the park entrance? It’s literally right there in the middle of them, hidden practically in plain sight! I was just trying to find some worms for composting and I find a shit-ton of emeralds instead, how crazy is that?” I laughed breathlessly.

It wasn’t a joke, no, every word I spoke was true. I was so shocked upon finding the stash of emeralds right there in the middle of Chicago that I immediately covered it back up and ran off-- but not before nicking one, if only as proof that the whole thing hadn’t been a weird fever dream. And possibly for future bragging rights, but other than that, material things like rare precious jewels meant nothing to me. The fact that these happened to be in my favorite color was just a cool bonus. 

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the fat man sneered, huffing away at his fat cigar. “I’ll be taking this and the rest of the emeralds now.”

“Go ahead, I don’t need it or any of the others.” I would have waved my hand dismissively had it not been tied behind my back.

“I don’t understand though… what kind of woman would give up such riches so easily?”

  I tried not to gag. I don’t mind being called a woman, but not with that kind of sexist implication. “Not the kind of woman you’re thinking of, that’s for goddamn sure.”

“Ah well. None of that matters in the end.” He paused to snap his fingers, and two of his biggest men approached with their guns. “Finish her off.”

“Whoa wait WHAT?! Why do you wanna kill me, I fuckin’ TOLD you where the emeralds are-?!”

“And I appreciate that, it’s just that I can’t have any witnesses, you know? It’s only business.” he gave a wicked sneer. The men cocked their guns.

“Fuck you and your business, I won’t tell anyone, I swear! You saw how honest I was, come on, please, I-!”

I screamed and screwed my eyes shut as a shot rang out. I braced myself for the worst. But it never came. 

I finally opened my eyes when I heard a “what the hell?!” from among the mobsters. I gasped as I saw another, new person standing protectively in front of me. Someone who appeared to be wearing traditional Japanese attire, with long black hair and an even longer sword. Who was this person and what the hell happened?!

“FIRE!!” the leader yelled. In an instant, the stranger leaped up into the air and lifted their sword, twirling it around effortlessly as shots were fired at them. What were they do-

My thoughts were brought to a screeching halt as a bullet landed next to me. No, it was only half of a bullet. My eyes widened, looking back up at the stranger with the sword. No fucking way.

From that second, my eyes were transfixed on them. I watched them in shock as they sliced literal bullets clean in half with ease. When some of the men ran off, the stranger leapt forward with a low grunt and slashed their sword through the men’s guns. They gasped in shock and fright as their weapons broke clean in half seconds later. There seemed to be thousands of mobsters in this warehouse, but the sword-wielding stranger took everyone down with ease. Even when their sword was suddenly shot out of their hands, they nimbly avoided impact and took the mobsters down with what appeared to be heavily-practiced martial arts moves. 

Now I’d seen my fair share of bloody fights since mingling with the underground scene in Chicago. Hell, even back in my tiny hometown I’d seen some shit. But never had I seen someone fight so gracefully. Every move they made was so smooth and poised that if I didn’t know any better I’d have thought they were dancing. They caught sight of their sword from across the room and leapt out of the fight to snatch it back. Every move they made with that thing was quick and clean-cut, deliberate and precise, effortlessly slashing anything that came their way. When seemingly every gun was destroyed or emptied of bullets, only a few brave unarmed mobsters remained, but with a few fluid flicks of the swordfighter’s wrist, all of their clothes were slashed off save for their boxers and tighty whities. Not exactly a sight for sore eyes, but it was enough to make even the leader of the mob run away screaming for their lives. 

“Haha, take that ya old geezer!” someone yelled. I gasped and finally diverted my attention from the swordsman to find two more people were in the warehouse, someone with a red jacket and another with a black one. When the hell did they get here??

In that brief moment when I looked away, the graceful warrior had come behind where I was sitting, and before I could plead for them not to kill me, I was freed from the ropes that bound me. I pulled my arms forward and breathed heavily, trying to process what the FUCK just happened when a voice behind me spoke.

“Are you alright?”

Their voice was deep and strong, yet held no tone of aggression or danger. I turned to look at my savior and gasped. It was a handsome- no, beautiful- man. He was tall and slender, standing strong and proud. His pale skin glistened with a thin coating of sweat from all that movement, and I couldn’t help but notice that he wore his shirt in a way that exposed most of his chest. His hands were large and strong, but with long, nimble fingers. He had a narrow face and elegant features. High cheekbones, a defined jawline, a light rosy dusting on his cheeks, and intense, dark eyes. He looked to be stoic and serious, and if he hadn’t just saved my life I might have been intimidated by him. 

“I… wow~... I mean! I’m… safe, thanks to you.”

“And us, too!” a voice from earlier retorted. I whipped my head around, it was the man in the red jacket. “It was a team effort, wasn’t just him ya know.”

“Jeez Lupin, give her a break,” the man in black said, “you weren’t the first one to make sure she wasn’t dead!”

“Well I think I deserve some credit too, Jigen!” the man in red- Lupin- whined.

“I uhh… well thank you everyone but… I didn’t actually see what you two did.

“What?!” Lupin gasped.

“Sorryyy! I just...” I turned back to the handsome swordsman, “you were the first one I saw show up so I guess I just kinda… focused on ya.”

The man called Jigen chuckled. “Hey Goemon, looks like you got an admirer!”

“Hey!” I felt my face heat up. “I just-!” I bashfully looked again to the swordsman- Goemon.

“Goemon… thank you, and your friends, for sa-” I cut myself off as realization clicked in my brain. “Wait a second…” Lupin. Jigen. Goemon. I’ve heard those names together before. “Wait just a minute, I know who you guys are!” Lupin let out a monkey-ish giggle.

“Took ya long enough to recognize me! No surprise though, I am pretty infamous~”

“So it’s safe to assume you’re after the same treasure those mobsters were, right?”

“Bingo,” Jigen said, tipping his hat ever so slightly.

“So, if you guys wanted to get there first… why did you save me?”

“Because unlike them, we do not want harm to come to innocent people,” Goemon nobly spoke. God, something about his voice… clear as a bell, soothing, and undeniably sexy. But his words put me at ease. 

“Oh thank god… so, since you saved my life and all that, how ‘bout I make your lives easier by leading you to the emeralds?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jigen said, and the others agreed. They casually strolled out of the warehouse as if they hadn’t just fought off mobsters in that very space, off to their car parked in front. Lupin took the driver’s seat while Jigen got in the passenger side, leaving Goemon and me to sit in the back together. 

“So,” Goemon spoke once we got moving. Was it just me or did his cheeks get pinker? “What is your name?”

I froze. Shit.

“Uhh… I… I kinda have a beef with my real name, but uh, you can just call me Light.”

“Light, huh?” Lupin piped up from the front. “Where’d ya get that alias from?”

“It’s a long story,” I chuckled.

Goemon shifted in his seat. “I like it.” Cue me blushing again.

“Y-you do?? I mean, thanks…” I scratched the back of my neck. His only response was a nod as he crossed his arms in front of his broad chest.

He was quiet for the rest of the ride, Lupin and Jigen making most of the conversation as I pointed out where to go. But I couldn’t stop looking over at Goemon. He looked so calm, so picturesque. I admired the way the wind wafted through his long locks and how his thick lashes rested against his rosy cheeks. And sometimes, when I glanced over at him, I found him looking right back at me. Like he wanted to say something to me, but didn’t. Something in his eyes made him look so soft. When I first looked at him, those eyes stared right through my soul and meant business, but now there was something much more tender behind them. Almost like… puppy eyes. I felt myself swallow thickly.

My thoughts were brought to a halt when Lupin parked the car on the side of the street. All we had to do was cross Lakeshore Drive and we were on our way to the treasure. Thankfully it was dark out and we’d be less noticed.

“Thank god there’s a bridge here,” Jigen said, puffing at his cigarette. “Because I am not crossing that son of a bitch.”

“Yeah my mom and I made that mistake the first time I was here, we were standing there waiting to get across for ages.”

“Wait, I thought you lived here?” Lupin inquired as we made our way across.

“I do now,” I clarified. “Didn’t always though. For most of my life I lived in this shitty small town about an hour and a half away from here. I’d visited here about six times, so naturally this was my first choice when I finally got the chance to get the fuck outta there. Haven’t been here for very long though, only like what, a couple months maybe?”

“So you were a small-town gal, eh?” Jigen exhaled another breath of smoke. I grimaced.

“Yeah, and I hated it.”

Once we got across the drive and to the site of the emeralds, Lupin started asking more questions.

“So Light, if you were the first person to find this treasure, how come you only took one and not the whole stash? Was it a strategic thing or-”

“Well actually, I found this shit completely by accident, so leaving all but one here was mostly out of shock. That, and I never really cared much for material shit.” Jigen sighed from next to me as he dug.

“Finally, a woman who doesn’t.”

My brows furrowed together. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Hey, if you’re talking about Fujiko again, you’d better can it!”

“Wait, who’s Fujiko??”

“A female affiliate of Lupin’s,” Goemon answered.

“A very unfaithful one at that,” Jigen scowled, “she’s not above stabbing us in the backs to get the loot we earned for herself.”

“Oh come on guys, she doesn’t always betray us!” Lupin whined.

“Makin’ excuses for your girlfriend again,” Jigen grumbled. I dared not make any further comment on this Fujiko thing; seemed like a personal problem. Once we finally uncovered the jewels, I helped load them into a large sack.

“Even if you do not care for material items such as these, it is only fair that you are given a share of them,” Goemon spoke.

“Yeah, we’ll split ‘em up evenly between the four of us!” Lupin smiled.

“Awww~. You know…” I began, “for a group of rag-tag thieves, you guys are pretty nice. Nicer than half the law-abiding citizens I’ve met in my lifetime.”

“Well, you know, it’s all in a day’s work!” Lupin chirped, before his voice suddenly dipped a bit lower. “And you know, you and I could work well together in other areas~”

Goemon bopped Lupin’s head with the hilt of his sword before I could think of a response. Did Lupin just flirt with me??

“Jesus Christ, Lupin, get ahold’a yourself,” Jigen scolded.

I wasn’t sure how to respond so I kept quiet until we were finished with our work, and almost immediately someone caught us.

“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE LUPIN, YER UNDER ARREST!!” a loud, booming voice yelled. I looked over and saw a tall, stocky man who appeared to be dressed like a detective from the 1940s with a slew of police behind him.

“Oh shit, the feds!” I gasped as we took off.

“Sorry Pops, I got places to go!” Lupin snickered. We sprinted through the park- god I always hated running- until we got to a dock. The man known as “Pops” was hot on our trail, but the guys hopped into a boat and managed to start it up. I was the last to hop into the boat- but I tripped and dropped my bag of emeralds, which thankfully landed inside the boat with a clattering. I braced myself for an awkward landing but a pair of strong arms caught me. And just like that, the boat sped off so quickly that I had to brace myself against whoever was holding me. I heard “Pops” yelling in the distance, but my brain turned it into white noise when I looked up and saw that once again Goemon was my rescuer- and my hand was directly on his chest. My face flamed up like gasoline.

“Gwaaah!! Uhh-” I gasped as I embarrassedly scurried out of his grasp. “Thank you, sorry-!” I brushed my bangs out of my face, a nervous habit.

“Why are you apologizing?” Goemon asked. “There is nothing to be sorry for.”

“Yeah, you helped us get to the treasure!” Lupin said from the steering wheel.

“If anything, we should be the sorry ones because now you’re stuck with us and your home is back there,” Jigen chuckled.

“Eh, home is where the heart is,” I said. “And my heart always wants to travel but never gets to.”

“Ah, a free spirit, I see how it is,” Lupin giggled.

“Lord I was born a ramblin’ man~” Jigen softly sang, lighting a cigarette.

“Yeah… I hate staying in one place for too long. Unfortunately for me, I’ve only ever lived in two places my entire life, and we’re rowin’ this boat away from one of them. But hey, this was my first time being personally caught doing something illegal so I’ve been perfectly prepared to just abandon ship and take off at any time.”

“Wait, does this imply you were planning on this? I thought you said you found these gems by accident!” Lupin gasped. I had to laugh.

“Nono, I did! But that doesn’t mean I’m innocent~.”

“So what the hell is it you do?” Jigen asked.

“I’ve been involved in undercover transport of goods, it’s what I do for a living. And before you ask because I know you will, yes, some of those goods are drugs, but not all of it. Sometimes we assist in the trading of riches like these emeralds, and sometimes we get food and water or money for bills to those in need when their so-called government aid won’t. Yeah sure it’s illegal, but it ain’t a bad gig.”

“My ancestors would greatly honor the work you do,” Goemon calmly spoke. The compliment caught me off guard, but when I looked at him I could tell he was sincere.

“Aww shucks, it’s nothing,” I chuffed, scratching the mack of my neck.

“Please tell me your organization is named “The Robin Hood Project” or something like that,” Lupin laughed.

“Actually, we have no name to our services,” I clarified. “Gotta stay discreet.”

“A wise decision,” Goemon said.

“Sorry if we just got you out of a job,” Lupin apologized.

“Naw, this ain’t like no 9-5 gig, it pretty much runs on a ‘come whenever you’re available’ basis, they’ll understand if I’m away… might be surprised once they find out I got wrapped up with Lupin the Third, haha.”

“That’s my name, please wear it out!” the aforementioned thief giggled.

There was a brief moment of quiet before Goemon spoke once again, turning to me. “If you wish to go wherever the wind takes you, then it seems the wind is blowing in your favor tonight,” he nobly said.

“Sorry about him, he likes to get all prophetical and speak in metaphors and shit,” Jigen said.

“No I understand what he’s saying,” I said to Jigen, but I was looking more at Goemon. Was it just me or did he have a small smile on his face? I returned him a smile just in case. “Thanks again for, y’know saving me and everything. Thanks to everyone but… especially you.”

“Yep, she’s your admirer alright,” Lupin laughed.

“Shush up!!” Goemon and I somehow said in unison, before we exchanged shocked glances with each other.

“Jinx! You owe me a Coke!” I yelled excitedly.

“Uhhh…” Goemon averted his gaze and his eyes darted all over, looking confused. It was strange, seeing the man that took down an entire armed mob with nothing but a katana and his own fleetness look so innocent, but that only added to his charms. Oh no, he was way too cute.

“You don’t actually owe her a Coke man, it’s just a thing people say,” Jigen chuckled. Goemon sat forward and crossed his arms, looking slightly embarrassed.

“American expressions of speech remain a mystery to me,” he grumbled, cheeks flushing a deeper rosy pink. Yup, he’s way too adorable. My heart fluttered just looking at him. I was doomed. I was so doo-

“LUPIN YOU LITTLE WEASEL!! STOP THAT BOAT RIGHT NOW, YER UNDER ARREST!!!”

“That same guy again?!” I gasped as a blinding spotlight was cast on us from what I assumed was a police boat.

“Pops, you’re relentless!” Lupin yelled from the front of the boat.

“Sorry, we got places to go and shit to steal!” Jigen chuckled before promptly shooting out the spotlight. This time Goemon deliberately held me flush against him as we sped away from “Pops” for the second time and into the night.

[littlejeanniebean]

Self-Rec Train: Hype Edition

Happy Self-Rec Saturday! (Sunday in certain timezones??) It’s time to hype up your brilliant fics that people have been missing out on! 

Tagging the talent 🤩 @magic-girl-in-a-muggle-world @blitheringmcgonagall @xomarauders @sirrriusblack @alrightginger @astoriaamalfoyy @women-inthe-sequel @elanev91 @e-of-west-glendia @raissassampaio @ronnieiswriting @thejilyship @tasha9317 @tumbledfreckles @inakindofdaydream @petals-to-fish @pareidolian @lizardcookie @lupin-for-president @holy-shit-its-wolfstar @hillnerd ok, imma leave some people for y’all to tag now lmao 😂

So... not the usual fandom from me, but it’s a Normal AU Mystery, so why not. 

Drug Wars (Star Wars 1970s Detective AU) - Leia Organa is kidnapped by the feared hitman for the Russian mafia known only as "Vader." P.I. Ben Kenobi is on the case when he is hired by Luke, whose aunt and uncle were killed by one of the Russians' sons. Han has an Aston Martin and a German Shepherd he named "Chewie" because of an unfortunate loafer incident - oh, and he's a smuggler for the mafia.

My Multi-fandom Masterlist

Be sure to check the reblogs for some fun fic recs: Archive Edition - oldies but goodies, maybe rediscover an old fave Explain it Badly Edition - these writers clearly have a great sense of humour

[fruitquake]

Ship name

I made this kinda random post earlier and pretty much the only reason I did so was because I wanted to write this... so yeah

-

The Marauders' group chat - Saturday

James (2:34 PM): Guys I’ve been thinking

Remus (2:37 PM): well that’s new

James (2:38 PM): Hey that’s mean 😢

Sirius (2:38 PM): What have u been thinking about?

James (2:39 PM): Well I was thinking now that you 2 are together you need a ship name

Remus (2:40 PM): a what

James (2:41 PM): Like, if we combine your names! All couples need a ship name

James (2:41 PM): For example James + Lily = Jily

Remus (2:42 PM): u and lily aren’t even a couple

James (2:43 PM): Perhaps not yet

James (2:43 PM): But one day we will be 😏

Sirius (2:45 PM): Ha. Keep dreaming mate

James (2:46 PM): Ouch. You guys are really teaming up on me today

Remus (2:49 PM): well? are u gonna tell sirius and i what our ship name is?

James (2:51 PM): Well here’s the thing...

James (2:52 PM): There isn’t really any combination of your names that sounds good

James (2:52 PM):  Rerius? Simus? No matter what it sounds dumb

Sirius (2:53 PM): Maybe try with our last names instead

James (2:55 PM): Black + Lupin = Blupin?😂

Remus (2:55 PM): ew no

Sirius (2: 57 PM): What about...

Sirius (2:58 PM): Luck (The first two letter of your last name + the last two letters of mine)

Remus (2:59 PM): why

Sirius (3:00 PM): Because I’m so lucky to have you baby (;

Remus (3:02 PM): ew i hate u

James (3:03 PM): Hahaha get a room you 2

Remus (3:03 PM): and i hate u too

Peter (3:05 PM): Heyyy what are we talking about??

James (3:06 PM): We’re trying to find a ship name for those 2 lovebirds

Peter (3:06 PM): A ship name? What’s that???

Remus (3:08 PM): oh just read the conversation for god’s sake

Peter (3:08 PM): Kay, two sec...

Peter (3:15 PM): Hmm... What about Wolfstar??

Sirius (3:17 PM): Why wolfstar?

Peter (3:18 PM): Because Remus’s name means wolf

Peter (3:18 PM): And Sirius is the name of a star, right?

James (3:20 PM): Holy shit😱

Remus (3:20 PM): wtf that’s genius

Remus (3:20 PM): can y’all believe Peter has more brain cells than any of us today

Sirius (3:21 PM): Well… to be fair that isn’t really saying much

Remus (3:22 PM): true

James (3:24 PM): So Wolfstar it is?

Remus (3:25 PM): yeah that definitely sounds less dumb than any other suggestions

Peter (3:26 PM): Glad i could help :)))

James (3:30 PM): Haha I’m gonna write wolfstar all over the school. On every bathroom stall. Everyone will know you’re together!

Sirius (3:31 PM): They already know, James

Remus (3:32 PM): yesterday when we told you, you got so excited you yelled it out for everyone to hear, remember?

James (3:33 PM): ...Oops, I might have done that😅

Remus (3:34 PM): prick

[elfenbensord]

when we met // remus lupin

8.4.19-2.5.19

request: hi, idk if you're taking requests but if you are could you write a kind of timeline of reader x remus's relationship throughout the years? thank you xx - anon

note: this is instant love and honestly i live for it. and ish inspired by the film ‘when harry met sally’ hope y’all enjoy!

masterlist / requests closed! / ask me (almost) anything!

---

1984

they always heard about each other, but never really met. countless times had they each heard,

“oh, remus would love that book”, or “(y/n) would think that was hilarious”?

“oh, you don’t know each other? don’t worry - i’ll introduce you at the next party!”

every party came and went, and their eyes still hadn’t met. it came to the very degree of half of hogwarts thinking they were already dating, when in reality they’d never even met. but they came to recognise each other’s names, each other’s mannerisms, and they came to predict what their friends would say about the other.

it was a crisp saturday, years later, when they finally met. leaves newly fallen broke into fragile tissue as boots stepped against the concrete below. the thrift market should’ve closed long ago, but something kept it open. the hearts of people are not easily discouraged once firmly lit, and that day was a result of just that.

remus wrapped his thin scarf tighter around his pale neck, hiding the scars of last moon. his breath formed a peaceful cloud, trailing upwards. his wondering eyes watched it die, disappearing into the cold autumn air. he chose to go to this second hand fair alone, he’s grown a little tired of everyone’s small talk. he loves his friends, but they tend to get into his heart in an uncomfortable, wonderful way.

his ears have turned red in the cold, but he can’t bring himself to reach into his backpack to retrieve his hat. there’s something strangely comforting about the way the cold bites into his fragile skin.

his eyes find a book on an over-crowded table. forgotten in a stack, it whispers for him. his frozen hand reaches out for its pages, but another hand beats him to it. as they touch, sparks fly. but only to their eyes.

both shy back. eyes meet.

they both immediately know each other, though they’ve never met.

“sorry!” she splutters out, wild berries spreading deep into her cheeks. “sorry, i didn’t see you!”

all i see is you.

“no, no, don’t worry about it. no harm done”, he smiles to hide himself. he hands her the longing book, “here.”

smiles are exchanged. eyes unable to tear away.

he takes his chance. “this is probably entirely indecent, but would you like to get a coffee or something?”

she smiles through the autumn. “with you, like, right now?”

“yeah. with me. like, right now.” he’s never been this bold before, but he just knows he’ll regret himself for forever if he doesn’t learn her name right now.

“alright.” one of her hands escape the deep pockets of her winter coat. “i’m (y/n).”

(y/n). as in (y/n) (y/l/n)?

“remus lupin.”

“remus lupin?” her eyebrows furrow, she recognises his name as well. “wait, are you a friend of-”

“sirius and james, yeah. and you’re-”

“marlene’s friend.”

smiles are exchanged, never faltered.

“so how about that coffee?”

---

1986

it doesn’t take long for them to fall for one another. and it doesn’t take long for them to realise it about the other. they keep it secret though, keep it safe. afraid of life crashing their wonderful conversations and coffee dates. so they don’t really tell their friends of one another. sure, they mention each other through lies - they’d wonder where they’re disappearing to otherwise.

“no, it’s just a study group.”

“i have a date with a guy from that film course.”

“she’s just a friend.”

“there’s nothing more.”

all lies. lies, lies, lies.

then suddenly, something happens, and they can’t hide it anymore. something about the feeling of one another, about how they talk or move, it all becomes too much - it’s expressed in a kiss.

and then the kiss came deeper, and became something even more. tousled sheets, hands gripped each other. hair lined with sweat was tugged, all of them was explored. moans and soft sounds until dawn.

they didn’t know anything else but each other.

---

1988

“i hear (y/n)’s got that job in london.”

“did she? how lovely for her.” his voice is no longer laced with love. or perhaps it is, but not as visibly now. there’s a slight hurt in his words. any mention of the other sparks something in their eyes, and some days it isn’t wonder, but bitter hurt.

their friends can’t understand what happened. one day, they weren’t an item anymore. they thought this separation was only to be temporary, like mayflies, but now a year or so has passed. their ways have parted, now they only hear of each other through friends.

---

1989

“no, it just didn’t work out.”

“why not.”

“i don’t know. it just didn’t.”

“that’s not what it looked like. you both seemed happier together.”

“maybe we were.”

---

1990

when they finally see each other again - after what is years of time - there isn’t that spark again. there’s only a low murmur, a rumbling at the bottom of a sea. it turns into a tsunami when they touch in a short hug. suddenly, nothing made sense. why did they ever leave each other?

the comfort they find in each other has matured, it isn’t a teenage-like romance anymore. it’s deeper, weighs heavier on their shoulders. but the euphoria of each other is also stronger now.

soon there will be a ring on their hands, to prove how they belong together. in this life, and the next, and the one after that.

and every life.

---

1994

“did you always love me?”

“of course!”

“no, you’re lying!”

“i’m not!”

“how could you? i’m-”

“incredibly wonderful.”

“... i just had to marry you, didn’t i?”

“yeah.”

“you’re ridiculous…”, silence. “i love you.”

“i love you too.”

---

permanent: @rocking-like-a-ravenclaw / @kapolisradomthoughts / @siriusement / @classy-sith-lady / @hermione-who / @pompeiianbollocker / @theseuscmander

remus lupin: @writingwitchly / @serenefreakgeek / @spideyfan456 / @un-nouveau-soleil / @evyiione / @reggieblck / @bookworm0123

[goofygomez]

It’s hard to let go - A Harry Potter OneShot

Description: Traipsing through the Forbidden Forest, Teddy Lupin finds a peculiar stone, which shows him his heart’s desire.

Wordcount: 6660

I got the idea for this after listening to a Harry Potter podcast. I hope y’all enjoy this, as it took me well over a week to perfect. Enjoy!

---

“Do you really think this is a good idea?”

Victoire’s voice trailed off as Teddy led her through yet another deserted corridor. Rays of silvery moonlight spilt from an open window on their left, bathing the floor in a pearly white hue. Their footsteps echoed off the high-ceilinged walls, bouncing back at them, threatening to give them away.

“Don’t be so paranoid, Vee,” said Teddy, amused. He smiled back at his girlfriend, his long, turquoise hair bobbing up and down as their traipsed through an oak door that led to an empty classroom. He led her in with a wink, leaving the door ajar so as to hear any approaching footsteps.

The room itself was rather small, Teddy noticed. It was not much larger than the Transfiguration classroom two floors down, yet it held an eerie atmosphere around it. The windows were tall and thin, their panes illuminated by the full moon behind closed curtains. A thick layer of dust covered some of the desks, yet the teacher’s desk was pristine-looking. It was mahogany, with ornate legs and a small stack of parchments strewn carelessly across it.

Teddy swiped the papers away and turned to look at his girlfriend, Victoire Weasley. She was much shorter than he was, with long, waist-length silvery hair that flowed effortlessly down her back. Her eyes were a deep, dazzling blue that seemed to pierce through the seventh-year boy. Her cheeks were flushed under his gaze and she averted her eyes, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her right ear. Merlin, she’s beautiful, Teddy thought with a smile.

Apparently, in his stupor, he had also said it out loud, for Victoire turned an even deeper shade of red to rival his father’s hair. “Thanks,” she said in a quiet whisper. She was used to such compliments from boys around school, Teddy knew, but he had a distinct feeling that she was only lost for words around him. “You look good too,” she added as an afterthought, looking up into Teddy’s soft, brown eyes.

Tonight, he was sporting his usual turquoise hair, his father’s eyes, his mother’s nose, and his godfather’s jawline. It was commonplace around Hogwarts nowadays to not question when a seemingly new student entered a room, only to be revealed later on to be Teddy Lupin. His metamorphmagus abilities had developed from a young age, his godfather had told him, and he’d used them to his advantage multiple times in the past.

Even after years of knowing him, most of the teachers couldn’t really tell who he was when Teddy was under some random student’s guise. The only people who seemed to tell him apart, he had learned, were Professors McGonagall and Longbottom, who had known him since birth.

He stepped closer to her, raising a hand and brushing away another stray hair off her beautiful face. With a small smile on his face, he bent down and pressed his lips softly to hers, as though afraid he might break her. An explosion erupted in his brain, and it was just like the first time all over again. She pulled him closer to her by the collar of his robes, deepening the kiss. He could feel the smile forming on her lips beneath his.

They’d started dating only a few months earlier, and they had been the best months of Teddy’s life. He had known her his entire life, played stupid children’s games with her, yet he could hardly believe he was now her boyfriend. How many times had he stayed up late thinking about her last year, and now he had finally won her over.

Their jubilation, however, was short-lived.

Hard footsteps were heard from just outside the room, and Teddy heard the distinct purring of a cat. Whirling his head around to stare at the door, he and Victoire saw the glow of a lamp bobbing its way closer to their location.

“Maybe he’ll walk past us,” Victoire suggested under her breath, but Teddy knew better than to trust his luck. At that exact moment, the oak door swung open and Teddy wished he could have had Harry’s invisibility cloak with him. Filch’s grey eyes scanned the moonlit room until they landed on the couple by the largest window, their cheeks flushed and pupils dilated. Filch’s smile was crooked and sinister.

“Well, well, well,” he said in a croaky voice. “Who do we have here? Little Weasley girl and the Lupin boy, that it?”

Teddy said nothing, choosing instead to stare defiantly at the old man. He’d had his fair share of detentions from the old caretaker, and he couldn’t remember a time when he’d been afraid of the man.

“I think that will be another night’s detention, Lupin,” Filch croaked. “You too, missy, you ain’t getting away that easily.”

The following day, Teddy and Victoire were sitting at the library, huddled over their respective homework assignments, when James Sirius Potter came bustling in. Mrs Pince raised an accusatory finger at him and hissed, “No running in the library, young man.”

James paid her no mind and stood beside Teddy and Victoire with two small pieces of parchment in his right hand. He wore a sly grin on his round face, his auburn hair sticking in every direction, much like his father’s did. He had started his first year this past September, yet his robes were already dishevelled and dirty in places. Teddy wondered what his grandma Molly thought of this.

“What’s up?” Teddy asked, barely looking up from his Charms essay.

“Aunt Min – I mean, Professor McGonagall gave me this and told me to hand it over to you guys,” he said, blushing at his own mistake. He handed them each a piece of parchment

Teddy took it warily and groaned. Victoire did the same.

“Saturday night with Slughorn?” she exclaimed, receiving another warning look from Mrs Pince. “Sounds like a treat,” she said bitterly.

Teddy rolled his eyes, putting down his quill. “It probably will be,” he said. “You know how much he loves you. He’ll probably do all the work while you tell him stories about your parents or Harry. He loves those.”

“You know, I just might use that,” Victoire said sheepishly, smiling up at him.

“What did you get?” James asked timidly, peering over the parchment in Teddy’s hand.

“Little excursion into the forest with Hagrid,” he said. “That’ll be fun.”

“Oh, how lucky,” James exclaimed, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t get thrown out. “My dad told me a little about all the cool stuff in there. He says there were rumoured to be vampires in there at some point.”

“With the amount of times he went in there, I don’t think he believed them himself,” Teddy informed the boy. “I’ll probably just have to help Hagrid with some wounded animal or other.”

Victoire’s face paled, making her blue eyes seem to pop out. “You really think so?”

“Dunno, I’ll have to go and find out,” Teddy said, shrugging. “It’s tonight.”

James screwed up his nose, apparently deep in thought. “Has my dad ever told you any stories about the forest?”

“Why do you ask?” Teddy replied, raising a curious eyebrow.

“He’s only ever told me about those rumours or the time that Anglia car went in there,” James said, looking down at the table. “But I think he doesn’t want to tell me about the really bad stuff. Probably thinks I won’t be able to handle it.”

Teddy thought about it for a moment, remembering the time Harry had told him about the giant spiders chasing him and Ron out of the forest. Indeed, this did seem like a father-son discussion, so he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he said in an apologetic tone. “We don’t talk much about that.”

“Uncle Charlie told me about the time they brought in dragons for the Triwizard Tournament. They kept them there until mum, Harry, and the other two fought them,” Victoire piped in.

“Cedric and Krum,” Teddy offered.

“Yeah, them.”

“Yeah, but those were there only for the tournament,” James complained as if the fact that he wasn’t going in the forest was a personal offence. He turned to Teddy. “Well, let me know if you find anything cool in there.”

“Will do,” Teddy promised with a small smile, watching the young boy he considered his brother bound his way out of the library.

He remembered his promise to James that night as he walked over the moonlit ground to Hagrid’s hut. Rapping twice on the door, he stepped back and saw Hagrid’s enormous form appear in front of him, his tangled beard showing hints of grey and his beady eyes fixed on the boy.

“Alrigh’ there, Teddy?” Hagrid boomed, a smile on his face. This wouldn’t be that bad, Teddy thought.

“Hagrid!” he said, a little too enthusiastically. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited in some time. NEWTs and all, you know?”

“Ah, good man. Best keep to yer studies. No need to worry about me,” Hagrid said, nodding. “Ready to go?”

Teddy cast a sideways glance at the forest and nodded slowly. As they began to walk toward the edge, he heard Hagrid chuckle and turned to the man. “What’s so funny?”

“You remind me of little ‘arry in his first year,” Hagrid said fondly. “First detention he ever got was with me. We went right in there.” He pointed at a spot a few yards away.

“You went into the forest when he was eleven?” Teddy asked, raising his eyebrows.

“He was with me, it was nuthin’.” Hagrid waved an enormous hand in the air dismissively, though Teddy could tell his massive shoulders had tensed slightly.

They walked silently the rest of the way. A few owls hooted overhead, and the fluttering of their wings was the only sound Teddy could hear. The thick trees loomed ever closer, almost pitch black against the starry night sky. Even though he didn’t really want to believe those rumours James had mentioned, Teddy’s hair changed to jet black as he approached, the better to be masked.

Hagrid gave him a small nod and heaved his trademark crossbow onto his massive shoulder, leading the way down the path. The November chill swept past them and he pulled his robes tighter around his body, cursing himself for not bringing an overcoat. It occurred to Teddy that he still didn’t know what they were doing, and he said as much.

“I need some help tracking down some stray unicorns that ran off the other day,” Hagrid said, stepping over a branch. “A couple o’ fifth-years got carried away with ‘em and they buckled.”

“Why at night, though?” asked Teddy, trying and failing to sound brave.

“Easier to spot in the darkness.”

“Right, right, silver body and all,” Teddy said absently, looking around at the markings on the trees and ground. Could there really be werewolves in here?

He wasn’t actually scared, he told himself. He’d been to the edge of the forest many times with his friends, but this time it was different. They were venturing deeper than he’d ever imagined. The trees were thickening rapidly, swallowing even the faintest ray of moonlight until they stood in pitch darkness. At one point, Hagrid raised a huge hand and stopped Teddy in his tracks.

“You mind if we split up from here? Cover more ground,” Hagrid asked gently, looking down at him through his wiry black hair.

“Yeah, sure,” Teddy said, with more confidence than he was experiencing.

“Run into any trouble, just shoot red sparks and I’ll come running,” the giant said, patting his crossbow.

Teddy nodded and drew his wand, muttering, “Lumos.” He turned to the left and strayed off the path, leaving the relative safety of Hagrid’s shadow, or lack thereof. His wand aloft, he examined the trees and ground around him, looking for any signs of disturbance. For all he knew, this could have been a previously unexplored part of the forest, though he doubted that was the case.

Several painfully silent minutes later, he tripped on a root, hitting his face on a low-hanging branch. He fell face-first onto the cold ground. His wand, which had flown from his hand, was casting an eerie glow onto a small clearing. It could not be bigger than a small car in size, yet the sudden absence of trees in this particular area was curious, he thought.

As he bent down to pick up his wand to examine the place further, a sudden gleam of light beside it caught his eye. Reflecting the wandlight was a small, black stone. He picked both his wand and the strange stone, examining it curiously.

It was pitch black, not unlike his current surroundings, with a strange symbol on it: a triangle with a circle and a straight line inside it. He noticed the stone was cracked just at where the vertical line stood and turned it around to inspect the rest of its surface. As a whole, it didn’t look like anything other than a runic symbol he might have seen in Ancient Runes, but before he could delve further into his theory, a voice behind him spoke.

“Hello, son.”

The sudden noise made him jump on the spot, his left hand clutching the stone with such ferocity that it hurt his palm. He whirled around on the spot and saw two figures standing side by side. The first one, the one who had spoken, was a tall man with brown hair and kind, brown eyes, so like his own. His clothes were shabby, and yet he looked as happy as Teddy had ever seen him.

The woman, a short witch with spiked, bubblegum pink hair, was smiling too. Her face was heart-shaped, and her eyes were filled to the brim with tears. Her nose, much like his own, was short and thin.

They both looked odd, he noticed. The sheen they gave off resembled that of the Hogwarts ghosts, yet they seemed more solid than the likes of Moaning Myrtle or Nearly-Headless Nick. They looked, in short, neither living nor alive. Neither flesh nor ghost.

Teddy felt he would soon join in on his mother’s sobs, but a couple of words managed to escape his already open mouth.

“Mum?” he said feebly, looking at the woman. “Dad?”

“Is it really you?” he said tentatively, still not wanting, or daring, to believe his eyes.

“It is us, son,” said Remus Lupin, and his hand found his wife’s, who intertwined their fingers. “I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten.”

“We’ve missed you,” his mother said, tears flowing freely from her eyes, “so much!”

He ran forward to them, extending his arms, but walked right through their outstretched arms. Disappointment welled in him, followed by inexplicable anger. How could he see his parents yet be unable to hold them? He turned and looked at their suddenly sullen faces, and knew they were thinking the same thing.

“I’ve missed you too,” Teddy said in a small voice, looking into his father’s face intently as if trying to memorize it even though they had countless pictures at his place. He had seen them before, even heard their voices, yet he’d never been able to talk to them. Never been able to hold them...

One time, when he’d asked Hermione about it, she’d looked solemnly at Harry and then at the small boy, shaking her head. “No spell can reawaken the dead, Teddy,” she had told him, a pained expression on her face.

And yet, here they were, in the flesh, or close enough that it didn’t matter.

“You’ve grown into such a handsome young man,” Tonks said. She looked into his face, noticing the way his turquoise hair bobbed with the soft breeze. Teddy looked up and smiled, closing his eyes and concentrating hard.

His hair suddenly changed to jet black and his eyes to a bright green. This had been his favourite look growing up, his grandmother always told him. Remus gave a choked gasp and Tonks whooped.

“You’re a metamorphmagus!” she exclaimed happily, fresh tears replacing the old. “I knew it! I knew you would be.”

“Yeah, it’s come in handy,” he said cheekily, looking up at his father, who was about half a head taller than he was. Remus raised an eyebrow, feigning strictness.

“You haven’t gotten yourself into a lot of trouble, have you?” his father asked, a hint of amusement in his tone, and Teddy shrugged.

“I’m in detention right now, so make of that what you will,” he said, directing a quivering smile at Remus, who chuckled.

“I’m proud of you,” Remus said, nodding in approval. “I know James and Sirius would have been ecstatic as well.”

For a moment, he was confused as to why he was talking about James, and then it clicked. James had, quite clearly, been named after two of the Marauders, of which his father had been a part. The creators of the Marauders’ Map, who had succeeded in becoming animagi at the age of fifteen to help their friend in need.

“Thanks, dad.”

He still couldn’t believe he was here, talking to them, hearing them laugh. And they were talking back, beaming and crying with him. And they were proud of him. How often he had heard Harry say those words to him in the last 17 years, he wondered. Yet this time, as the words come out of his father’s mouth, his skin was crawling with goose pimples.

They stayed silent for some time, basking in each other’s company. Teddy was wondering whether he ought to tell Hagrid about this unforeseen event but thought better of it. Harry will know what to do, he thought. Despite how much he wanted to talk to his parents, he knew whatever could bring back dead people that Hermione didn’t know of was bound to be extremely dark magic.

He knew, and yet he couldn’t seem to let go of the stone. His eyes travelled from his father to his mother, who beamed at her son. She raised a wavering hand and drew it as close as she could to his cheek, making him shiver. They looked into each other’s eyes for a long time, Remus looking lovingly from her side, and Teddy let out a choked sob.

Why was it so hard to let go now, he wondered. He had never met his parents, much less talked to them. He had had more experiences with Harry and his grandmother, yet he couldn’t remember ever crying this much with them. It felt like a gaping hole had been patched up haphazardly, and he was afraid of reopening that wound, lest it never heal again.

He drew away from his mother, whose face fell. It cost him everything he had to say the next words. “Mum, Dad, I have to go.”

“No, please don’t go, son,” she pleaded, her eyes glistening.

“We could stay here for however long you want,” Remus said with a smile, “Talk about anything.”

Every word was a stab in the heart as Teddy shook his head firmly. “I gotta go back to Hagrid, it’s probably time to go back. I’ll find some time to talk to you, though,” he promised, nodding at his mother.

“No! Wait!” he heard Tonks say before he let go of the stone and both figures vanished from sight. As though they’d never been there. They never had, Teddy thought bitterly. Feeling an enormous weight dropping onto his shoulders, his knees gave way and he collapsed onto the floor. He let the tears flow freely now, falling onto the twig-strewn ground. The rustle of leaves overhead was the only sound aside from his sobs.

Raising his wand, he shot red sparks into the night sky to alert Hagrid of his position. He figured it would take a few minutes for him to arrive, so he relished in the relative silence of the woods.

He had seen his parents, actually seen them. And he’d talked to them. His father was proud of him, of Teddy. He couldn’t get that voice out of his head. “I’m proud of you.” He picked up the stone from the ground and pocketed it. Harry would know what to do...

His brief reverie was broken by large stomping footsteps from behind him and someone panting heavily.

“Teddy! Teddy!” Hagrid was yelling. “Wha’ happened?”

“I’m okay,” Teddy called back, furiously wiping the remaining tears from his face and rising to his feet. Seconds later, the gamekeeper appeared before him, holding his pink umbrella in one hand and his massive crossbow in the other. Hagrid took one look at Teddy and his face paled.

“Wha’ happened?” he asked, a tinge of panic in his booming voice.

“Nothing, I just thought it would be time to get out of here,” Teddy said, rather convincingly. “I didn’t know how to find you.”

“You scared me, Teddy,” Hagrid said, lowering the weapon. “I’m glad yer okay. Well, it’s been an hour already, let’s get outta here.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

An hour later, Teddy clambered onto his bed and shut the drapes around his four-poster bed. He looked up at the canopy with drooping eyelids. He thought of the experience he’d just had; of his parents and their smiles and their tears. Had it all been a dream? Could he have just imagined them out of sheer longing? But if he had imagined it all, why now?

These and a million other questions flew through his mind as his conscience began to wane and his eyes finally closed, plunging him into a flurry of dreams filled with werewolves, black stones, and Hagrid’s crossbow, all of which were connected somehow.

For the following week, Teddy kept the stone stowed safely in his trunk, willing himself not to fall into the temptation of using it again. Every night, he dreamt of the small object and the idea of seeing his parents again, to talk to them, to be near them.

A few weeks later, a letter arrived from Harry during breakfast. It contained the usual stuff: Harry’s exciting promises to tell him of his adventures as Head Auror, Ginny’s love, and a request to remind James to write back to them as soon as he could. As he relayed the message to the first year, he bounded off to the fifth year Gryffindors and sat beside Victoire, who kissed his cheek. Teddy noticed that some of the boys around him shot him dirty looks, and he looked smugly back.

“What’s up?” Victoire said, cocking her head.

“Nothing much,” he said, shrugging.

“I know when something’s bothering you, Teddy,” she reminded him. Her tone was neutral, yet her face held an unmistakable resemblance to her grandmother. “We basically grew up together, remember?”

Teddy sighed. He didn’t think he was ready to confide in her about the stone, at least not until he’d spoken to Harry. Nodding, he said, “I’ve just been thinking of my parents lately.”

He looked away, not trusting his eyes to remain dry at the thought. A second later, a hand soft as silk grazed his right hand. Victoire took hold of his fingers and intertwined them with her own.

“What have you been thinking about them?” she asked softly, still playing with his hand as though amused by it. Looking around, Teddy saw that no one was paying attention to them anymore.

“Just stuff,” he said vaguely, shrugging. “I suddenly miss them a lot, you know? Even though I never met them. I’m probably just going crazy.”

“I know what you mean,” she said, nodding wisely. “Sometimes I miss Uncle Fred, even though he died before I was even born. It may be that you saw something that reminded you of them and it sparked the thoughts.”

Teddy smiled at his girlfriend, wondering if she would even believe her if he told her the truth. For now, he decided against it and agreed with her theory, which was technically not that far off. “That’s probably it,” he said confidently, kissing the top of Victoire’s head. He heard a gagging noise from one of Victoire’s friends and shot her a glare. All the same, he got up and started getting ready for Herbology with the Ravenclaws and his favourite teacher, Neville Longbottom.

That night, the nightmares came back in earnest. He was running through the Hogwarts hallways, alone. The walls were crumbling around him, rubble bombarding him from above, and screams echoed off the high-ceilinged walls. He didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. Bodies were strewn on the floor around him, yet he dared not look into their faces. How could he be here? He had barely been a baby when the Battle happened...

As he turned a corner, he froze in his tracks, the muscles in his face contracting. His parents duelled back to back, dancing around each other with ease, almost playfully. As Tonks Stunned a Death Eater, Remus shot a Full Body-Bind Curse at another. Teddy watched, transfixed, unable to move a muscle, for he knew what came next. He tried screaming at them, warning them, but his voice came out as a whisper, barely audible over the crumbling ceiling and shouting fighters.

It happened almost instantaneously. A flash of green from somewhere to their left streaked through the room, hitting Remus square in the chest. As his father fell to the ground with a sickening thud, Teddy watched as his mother rounded and roared in rage, pointing his wand at a stocky man who wore a malicious grin on his face. But the man had already raised his own and was uttering the fateful words.

“STOP!” bellowed Teddy, and this time, miraculously, it worked. The scene dissolved into white mist and he was plunged into darkness, not unlike the one that had enveloped him in the forest.

He shot up in his bed, clutching the sheets so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Cold beads of sweat clung to his forehead and hair, and his breathing was coming out in heavy pants. Pulling open the drapes and walking over to the bathroom, he wondered how he hadn’t woken anyone up.

The man staring back at him from the mirror was a stranger to him, or so it felt. His usually hazel eyes were a deep black, his pupils dilated and bloodshot. His hair, always so extravagant in its Turquoise colour, had turned a dull shade of brown. Frowning, closed his eyes shut and concentrated.

Nothing happened.

His hair remained brown and his eyes, though less tearstained, still held that dead look in them, like a candle had been put out from behind them. Sighing deeply, he turned on the spot and walked into the dormitory towards his trunk. He rummaged through it for a moment before extracting a small black stone with a large crack down the middle.

Berating himself internally yet unable to stop himself, he walked down the stairs and into the Hufflepuff common room. It was a beautifully decorated circular room with a large number of sofas for people to lounge in after a hard day’s work. A small fire still crackled in the hearth, giving off enough warmth for the early December chill to stay at bay. The embers had begun to wane, yet the light was enough for Teddy to traverse the room with ease.

He sat on one of the loveseats and looked down at his watch; a gift from his godfather for his seventeenth birthday. Three o’clock. Checking that the coast was clear, he retrieved the stone from his pocket and stared at it, the strange triangular symbol mocking him. Closing his eyes, he turned it in his hand. He didn’t know why he knew it would work that way, but he knew it had worked by the sound of muffled footsteps and the rustle of drapes to his left.

When he opened his eyes, he was once again facing the tall man in the shabby clothes and the short woman with bright pink hair. They sat down on the couch opposite him, and Teddy noticed how they seemed to hover inches above the soft material.

“Mum, Dad,” he whispered, his lower lip trembling.

“You came back,” his mother said proudly, reaching over and doing her best to place a spectral hand on his knee.

“I tried not to,” he admitted, more to himself than to them. To his surprise, they didn’t show any sign of shock. Remus and Tonks looked at each other knowingly and then at their son.

“So,” his father said, clapping his hands soundlessly, “where to begin?”

Teddy spent most of his nights talking to his parents after that. He told them stories of his years living with his grandmother. Tonks would usually tear up at the idea of her mother raising Teddy on her own, but the boy would assure her that she had more than enough help from the Potters.

Remus was thoroughly interested in the fact that Harry had married Ginny shortly after the war. Teddy had been the ring bearer, he reminisced with a smile. He realized that they rarely spoke about themselves, but he was so ecstatic to be able to speak to them, he didn’t give it much thought.

Days blurred into weeks, and soon enough, Teddy was boarding the Hogwarts Express to spend Christmas at the Potters’. Even though he was thrilled to see his godfather and his cousins again, as he got off the train and greeted them, his thoughts still lingered on the small black stone stowed safely back in his trunk.

The following night, just after everyone had gone to bed following a bountiful dinner, courtesy of Kreacher, Teddy sneaked out of his room and into the sitting room on the ground floor. The house had once been much smaller, but new additions to the family had called for larger accommodations as time went on. All the same, money was not a problem in the Potter household.

As was usual, he checked that the coast was clear and sighed in relief. He sat down on the sofa and looked down at the stone in his hand, the strange rune staring back at him, resembling a triangular eye. Taking a deep breath, he turned it in his hand. Before he could hear the usual shuffle of feet hitting the carpet, someone coughed behind him, and an icy chill went down his spine that had nothing to do with the winter weather.

Teddy whirled around in his seat and stared up at his godfather, who was looking at the boy with a mixture of curiosity and amusement in his face. His bright green eyes pierced through Teddy’s brown ones and Teddy felt himself shrinking under his godfather’s gaze.

Without a word, Harry walked to the opposite couch and sat down slowly, limping slightly from an injury he’d sustained in a raid that week. Both men looked at each other, each waiting for the other to speak. After a few minutes of silence, Teddy caved and said, “How’d you know I would be here?”

“What makes you think I did?” Harry asked with a level tone, scanning Teddy from head to toe, and Teddy had the strange sensation that he was x-raying him.

Nodding, Teddy pointed at the silvery cloak in Harry’s hand. “If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have hidden under that and spooked the crap out of me.”

Harry looked down at the cloak and chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You always were a bright one, Tedster.”

“So how did you know?” Teddy asked again, frowning.

“Victoire,” Harry said simply.

“Vee?”

“She sent me an owl about a week ago, mostly talking about you,” Harry said, nodding. “She said you’ve been acting strange this past couple of weeks, that you haven’t been eating much. She’s barely seen you smile lately, which worried me most of all. She was just looking after you.”

“So?” Teddy asked, rather defensively. “What does that have to do with me being here?”

“I decided to watch you carefully today, Teddy,” Harry said calmly. “You were rather aloof all through dinner, glancing back at your watch every few seconds, even though time was going no faster. I noticed the symptoms of someone who would soon be out of bed immediately.”

Taken aback, Teddy pursed his lips and decided to say nothing to that. The black stone was still clutched tightly in his right hand, and his left rested on his knee. The moon bathed the coffee table between them in a silver light that seemed to make the wood shimmer. Harry’s face was clearly visible on the opposite side of it, looking at Teddy, the boy noticed, with no clear signs of disappointment.

“What’s up, Teddy?” Harry said softly, leaning in and letting the moonlight shine on his face. The round glasses reflected most of it so his eyes seemed to glow against the darkness behind him. “Why are you sneaking around the house at two in the morning?”

Hesitant, Teddy’s eyes drifted downwards to his closed fist and then back at Harry, who took note of that. Heaving a deep breath, Teddy’s face contorted in a pained expression, his eyes welling suddenly.

“I – I wanted to see my parents,” he said, his voice breaking as he fought to keep it steady. “I just wanted to see them and speak to them, and I knew none of you would understand.”

Harry’s eyebrows shot up so far up his forehead they were almost hidden in the tangled mess that was his hair. When he spoke, Teddy was surprised to hear hurt in his voice. “You thought I wouldn’t understand?”

Teddy’s eyes widened as he realized what he’d said. “That’s not what I – I’m sorry, Harry.”

Composing himself, Harry took a deep breath and nodded at Teddy’s hand. “Mind telling me how you were planning on speaking to Tonks and Lupin?”

Reluctantly, Teddy released the grasp on the stone and opened his palm, showing the small object to Harry. Harry gazed down at it with wide eyes, shock replacing sadness so quickly that Teddy could scarcely believe those two emotions had been displayed three seconds apart.

“How did you...? Where did you...?” Harry stammered, looking from the stone to Teddy.

“I had detention with Hagrid in the forest,” Teddy explained. “At one point, I tripped and found this lying on the floor.”

“I thought it would be gone by now,” Harry mumbled, mostly to himself. “Seventeen years...”

“Uh, what?” Teddy asked, furrowing his brows.

Harry seemed to remember that Teddy was in the room with him and shook his head. “Sorry,” he said. “I just happen to know what that is.”

Somehow, Teddy was not surprised, yet his curiosity was stronger than his pride. “I can see my parents with it,” he said, a tinge of longing in his voice. “I can talk to them.”

“I know, Tedster,” Harry said solemnly. He extended his hand and Teddy got the hint, dropping the small stone in his godfather’s palm.

“So what exactly is it?” Teddy asked eagerly, leaning in. “How can it bring them back when nothing else can?”

“That’s because it doesn’t,” Harry said, almost bitterly. “You see, this is part of a set. Three objects depicted in a children’s story from centuries ago. Last time I saw it was just after... just after your parents’ deaths.”

Teddy’s eyes were wide as plates, and a thousand questions flew through his head, yet he remained silent, expectant. Harry had told him many stories of the war, which had grown a bit more gruesome as Teddy got older, but he had rarely spoken about the battle itself. Whatever Harry was about to tell him, Teddy knew, was costing him an enormous effort.

“It’s called the resurrection stone,” Harry continued. “Supposedly forged by death, it does exactly what its name implies. It brings people back from the dead.”

“But I thought Hermione said nothing can bring people back,” Teddy said eagerly, unable to contain himself.

“And she’s quite right,” Harry said, a little more harshly than he’d meant to. “This stone, whatever it does, only does half the job. The people that come back are merely a picture of their old self, an imprint. Close to a ghost, except they’re more solid, are they not?” Teddy nodded.

Teddy saw Harry remove his glasses and wipe away the faintest trace of tears that had formed in his bright green eyes. Awed, as Teddy had rarely seen Harry cry, he leaned in further and waited patiently for Harry to compose himself.

“I used it, once,” said Harry. “Just before I... Just before I defeated Voldemort. I saw my mum and dad, Sirius, and your dad.”

A soft breeze was blowing through the half-open window. The red curtains billowed softly, as though an invisible hand were reaching through them. The grandfather clock on the other side of the room marked three o’clock, its soft chiming thunderous against the stillness of the air.

“They told me how brave I’d been, how noble. But they didn’t sound like they had in life. I realised that soon after the war. You see, they urged me towards death. They were proud that I was giving up my life when all evidence showed that they should have been horrified.”

Teddy decided not to comment on what Harry had just revealed to him, but made a mental note of it. Harry had tried to give up his life? As much as he hated the thought, it did sound like something he would do...

“The stone is a powerful and dangerous thing, Teddy,” Harry said suddenly, after a few seconds of silence. “It can drive people mad, to see their loved ones yet to be unable to join them. I know just how much you must miss Remus and Tonks, I really do.”

Another pang of guilt coursed through Teddy as he thought of his earlier comment, and he grimaced.

“But they are gone, just as my parents and Sirius are gone. No spell, potion or stone can reawaken the dead, Teddy. One day, when we are gone, we’ll get to see them again. But today, you are alive. Alive and surrounded by a family that loves you, who wants nothing but the best for you from the moment you were born.”

Tears were running down both men’s faces, but neither made a move to wipe them away. Teddy thought of the conversations he’d had with his parents over the past few weeks, about how foolish he’d been.

Harry’s free hand found Teddy’s knee and squeezed it fondly, looking into Teddy’s eyes. They remained silent for a while, the stone’s presence lingering between them like a disease. After a few minutes, Teddy closed his eyes and nodded, smiling at his godfather, who returned the gesture.

“Dreams and fantasies make us who we are, Teddy,” Harry said, nodding. “But, as a wise man once told me, it does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.”

Silence. It was deafening after this conversation, yet Teddy was somehow afraid to break it. More questions flooded into his head, all of them fighting for precedence. Instead, he chose not to pester Harry further.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Teddy said, looking away. “I should have told you about it as soon as I found it.”

“I’m not mad,” Harry told him calmly. “It’s understandable to seek the counsel of our loved ones, however distant they may be. I’ll keep this safely hidden from now on if you don’t mind,” he added as an afterthought, waving the small stone in his hand, and Teddy agreed.

“But,” Harry said as he stood up, Teddy following his lead. “Next time you find an extremely dark and powerful object that may try and kill you, come to me first.”

Teddy chuckled and walked with Harry towards the entrance to the kitchen. “Will do, Harry.”

[cultureaddictconfessions]

Cubicles - A Marauders x Reader Office AU {Choose Your Own Ending!}

*Hi friends! This is an experimental fic~ I wanted to try a new method of storytelling that I haven’t ever used before. SO when you get to the bottom of the story, you’ll see 5 title options for how your story will end! Shoot me a message or comment on the story with the title you choose, and I’ll message you with the end of your little office adventure! Sound good? As always, Y/N=your name, and Y/L/N=your last name. I’m excited to see what y’all think. Please let me know if you like Choose Your Own Endings and if there’s any other AU’s you’d love to read! Thanks~ Bri :)*

Fridays were the most interesting day of the week at your job, mostly because you never knew what crazy things people would get up to having already reached the “weekend mood.” This particular Friday was unusual. James Potter had planned an after-work rooftop happy hour event. You had promised him that you would help set-up after lunch, after getting the boss’ approval. It was basically impossible for anyone to say no to James anyway, which is probably why he was labeled “most promising” in the marketing department.

You arrived at the entrance and held your bag out to the security guard Alastor. He cut an imposing figure but was mostly a kind person once you got to know him. He had a different greeting for everyone who came through.

“Wotcher, Y/N. Are ye staying for Potter’s party this evening?”

“I haven’t decided yet, Alastor, but I’m obligated to help him get it ready so I’m sure I’ll be roped into staying for it.” He nodded, raising an eyebrow knowingly. As you bid him adieu, you heard someone else calling to you from the elevators.

“Shall I wait for you, Y/N? Don’t want to leave you stranded down here!” Remus Lupin, a sweet young man from the accounting department, stood waiting in the lift. He was incredibly intelligent but rather reserved. He seemed to be rather fond of you, however,, and would always engage in conversation when he saw you. You slipped into the elevator and gave him a smile.

“Morning, Remus. Thanks for not abandoning me! Are you prepared for James’ fete tonight?” You chuckled and Remus rolled his eyes, sighing.

“I would much rather go home and relax with a book and cup of tea, but James would just come and drag me anyway, so I suppose I’m as ready as I will ever be.”

You laughed together, then began chatting about the weekend during the rest of the short ride. Remus looked at you as the bell chimed at the top floor and beamed, gesturing outward.

“Ladies first, of course. I suppose I’ll see you later, yes? Have a good rest of the day, if you can, Y/N…” You smiled back sweetly and waved goodbye.

You clocked in soon after and breezed through the kitchen, noticing the breakfast snacks that Peter Pettigrew always brought. He was one of the nicest, most excitable assistants in the office.

You filled up your water bottle before arriving at your desk, on top of which was a little box with a handwritten note.

‘Happy Friday Y/N! I remembered you said you like swiss rolls, so I made one special to cheer you up since I know you have to help James today. Hehe ^^ Hope to see you later at the party. Tell me if you like it! ~ Peter’  

You wrinkled your nose in delight as you untied the ribbon around the little parcel. For some reason, Peter was especially doting on you, perhaps because you didn’t act as patronizing as many of your other office mates. You took a forkful and swallowed, eyes glazing over in euphoria. It was as great as any of his other confections. You would be sure to tell him how much you enjoyed it later!

Half an hour later, a gust of wind whipped past your desk and you glimpsed a trail of red hair flash by. You looked up to a porcelain white hand holding coffee.

“You wouldn’t BELIEVE the traffic today… of course, when I have to give someone a review… couldn’t possibly… Here you go, Y/N! Sorry, I didn’t get whipped cream on it because they didn’t have dome lids.”

You looked up to see your very flustered best friend Lily Evans. Every day without fail, she would bring you coffee; she was very sweet and supportive, and honestly made each day at work more bearable. You had plans on Saturday to be lazy in bed at her house watching whatever Muggle show she was secretly obsessed with lately. This was a fairly common routine between the two of you. However…

“It’s okay, Lils, I don’t expect you to bring coffee every day, this is more than enough, thanks! Hey… you um, well here… first, have a bite of this little entremet Peter gave me. It’s so so good, I thought I was going to cry a little.”

Lily chuckled as she put her bag down, then looked at you suspiciously. “What do you need to tell me that you feel you have to butter me up with sweets, Y/N?” She put her stern face on as she took a bite and momentarily melted.

You were rather nervous to remind Lily of what was happening today.

“Uuuuuuhh… I just wanted to remind you that James’ after-work event is today. I’m helping set up after lunch near the end of the day… I know you aren’t interested in going but I thought I should tell you in case they feed me drinks and I show up to Lazy Saturday hungover.” You blushed, shuffling your feet as you looked away from your best friend.

Everyone in the office, and probably the whole world, knew that Lily Evans had a special kind of disdain for James Potter and his “arrogant bully toerag” demeanor. She made it a point to never show up to his events and in general avoided him as much as wizardly possible. Of course, considering they both worked in the same building, it was somewhat difficult not to see him during the day, but Lily did her darndest. She never asked you to behave differently toward him based on her distaste, but it was still a sore subject.

“… Well as long as you show up at some point, it doesn’t matter to me. I know you like getting out and socializing… and it helps that most of the guys in this office have a bit of a crush on you. I guess have fun… and behave. I don’t trust those nerds, even if they are mostly harmless. You can definitely do better.” Lily sighed but shrugged off the whole event, which didn’t completely assuage your guilt, but at least you figured you could go and not piss her off. It would’ve been better if she would come with you, but you knew she would never agree to it. You supposed you would have to entertain your so-called admirers until you were too tired to put up a facade.

You spent the rest of the morning working on copy for a panel that the company would be holding in a week or so. Your boss, Ms. Rita Skeeter, stalked past your desk a few times, eyeing you like a hawk to make sure you were on task. She was one of the scariest people you interacted with, even if she wasn’t that much older than you. She just happened to be the junior editor, so you reported to her on all of your assignments.

It was getting close to lunchtime, but you hadn’t gotten more than halfway through the write-up. You sighed, looking at the clock and hearing some of the other people around you getting up to go downstairs to the Friday Fare. Your office would cater lunch every Friday with a buffet-style collection of foods from different vendors. It was actually pretty nice, considering that the company wasn’t a huge corporation. Unfortunately, it seemed like you wouldn’t be able to get down there until everything disappeared. Just then, you felt a presence breathing softly in front of the wall behind your computer. When you didn’t look up, they spoke.

“Hey Y/N, happy Friday. That time again… come have lunch with us! The company is infinitely better if you grace us with your presence, you know. It certainly helps reign James’ talking in.” Sirius Black. You knew it was him without even glancing up because this was his routine with you. Every day he’d invite you to lunch with him and the rest of his friends, who mainly consisted of James, Remus and Peter, and, occasionally, other members of the office. Everyone knew he was the biggest flirt of anyone on your floor, which particularly peeved Lily whenever she saw him talking to you. But she wasn’t here now…

“I would love to, Sirius, but I have to finish this write-up. I can’t take lunch until I’m done or Rita will have my head. I really appreciate the invite, though.”

“Come on, love, she’ll understand. You have to take lunch sometime! How can you get work done on an empty stomach? They have pasta today and I know you like it. I’m going to start to think you’re ignoring me on purpose, y’know.” You blushed.

“I think you’re rather difficult to ignore considering you come to my desk every day, Sirius. Really, I’m not trying to avoid you, I promise. I just…” Just as you looked up into his unfathomably grey eyes, you both heard a sharp cough and turned. Rita appeared beside Sirius, her eyes narrowed at him. It was his turn to blush.

“Mr. Black, I would very much appreciate if you would let my writer do her work. Our team is very stringent about deadlines, in case you were unaware.” Her tone was acrid and gave you chills. However, Sirius looked unfazed, even determined.

“Rita, Rita, Rita… you can’t possibly expect Y/N to get her work done when she’s hungry! Everyone else is at lunch and she’s here toiling her health away!” Rita continued to glare at him, and no matter how charming he was, she’d shrug.

“Disappear, Mr. Black! If I see you draped over Miss Y/L/N’s desk again, I’ll have to speak to your direct superior. She can take her lunch when she is finished!” Rita took a step toward him and he held up his hands finally in submission, casting a sidelong glance at you.

You frowned as he walked off, leaving you alone with Rita. She gave you a final look before striding back to her office. At that moment, your stomach grumbled, and you spent the next ten minutes looking miserably at your screen, confused as to why you felt so bothered by that whole exchange.

Resigned to your choice, you went back to your document and toiled dutifully until you finally finished just as everyone was coming back from lunch. You sighed, knowing that by this point there was probably no point in going downstairs because the buffet would be mostly cleared out.

Lily had taken a half-day because she had a doctor’s appointment to go to around 3. Even though she didn’t need one or care about whether she had one, it was a great alibi for skipping out on James’ party, much to his chagrin.

You were about to get up to clock out and maybe run down the street to grab a cup of noodles from the grocery when that warm but looming presence reappeared in your vicinity. You barely registered a hand passing your shoulder and placing something on the desk in front of you. You gasped and turned back.

“Sirius… you brought me…” You felt a blush creeping up your cheeks as Sirius smiled down at you. A full plate of food with everything you could’ve wanted.

“After that conversation, I figured you’d never make it down in time and I didn’t want you to miss anything just because of Madame Sourpuss, so I just… hopefully, you like it. I asked everyone what they thought you might want.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncharacteristically shy and bashful. You beamed.

“I really appreciate it, thank you. And Sirius…?” He was about to leave, nodding his welcome, but you stopped him, a gentle tug at his sleeve. 

“Next time maybe I can just join you guys for lunch, yeah?” You gave him a warm smile.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he quirked up the corner of his mouth. “W… I’d like that.”

Just as you turned back to the desk, you could’ve sworn you saw him wink at you from the corner of your eye. You wolfed down every morsel gratefully and felt re-energized to take on the evening. You submitted your write-up to Rita after lunch and proceeded to take the stairs up to the rooftop to find James. Unfortunately, he was nowhere in sight, so you called out to him.

“James? It’s Y/N! I am here and at your disposal!” You chirped, walking diagonally across the pallet floor. The view was a lovely city panorama all around.

Just then, messy hair popped out from behind a curtain on the opposite side of the roof. There was a makeshift photo booth setup, and James had apparently been inside it when you arrived upstairs. He stepped out gingerly and gave you a big grin as he walked over, his glasses slightly lopsided from working.

“Hey Y/N! I was hoping you’d show up sometime soon, I’m having quite a time with getting all this together. I wouldn’t say decorating is my strong suit, so if you can help me with that, I would truly appreciate it. You look nice! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear trousers like that before. Very… chic? Totally fashion.” His sincerity and awkwardness were rather charming, and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Happy to help! Why thank you, yes chic is a good word. I’m probably going to change for later, though, wanna step up my game for your shindig.” You wrinkled your nose and you both laughed. James did a little dance move and led you to where some decorations were. You made quick work of it, yelling across the roof to keep up your conversation.

He may have seemed like this office golden boy, but honestly, James was such a nerd. He loved talking about pop culture and the music he’d been trying to learn on his guitar. You understood why Lily had a problem with him, especially because of his antagonistic relationship with her former best friend Severus, but now that she had cut ties with him, you wondered what kept her resentment for James burning. She was her own person, however, so you didn’t think it was a problem for you to be friendly with James. He always tried to be kind to you, and no matter his motives, you didn’t feel the need to make any enemies in the office. It was already hard enough having Rita as your boss. Finally, James finished what he was doing with the DJ booth and came over to admire your handiwork. String lights and beads and everything James had thought screamed “Carnevale” was perfectly arranged around the rooftop space.

“You really are a decorating wizard, Y/N! I, um, really appreciate the help… and the company.” James ran his hand through his already rumpled hair and blushed, causing you to smile sheepishly. As James took a step closer to you, you were both startled at the door opening. Mary MacDonald appeared, her dark, curly hair blowing in the wind. She stopped when she noticed the two of you.

“Oh, dears! Am I… interrupting something?” A wry grin crossed her lips. You vigorously shook your head, which caused a little frown to form on James’ face. He walked over to Mary briskly, putting his arm around her shoulder affectionately.

“No, you’re just early, Mary Mary Quite Contrary! Let me show you around though.” They gave you a passing nod as they walked toward the punch bowl. You felt a little hurt by that dismissal, so you decided to go downstairs and change before the party. You already knew James was a flirt; you don’t know why you expected that you were special or different than any of the other girls to him. Maybe that was the reality of what Lily saw—that James was a player and a showman, and was always just looking for attention and validation.

You grabbed your bag with clothes from your desk and headed toward the bathroom, almost bumping into Peter Pettigrew as you walked inattentively.

“Y/N! I haven’t seen you all day! We were hoping you’d come to lunch but Sirius told us that Ms. Skeeter was on your case again. Did you… did you like the cake?” The sting that had been bubbling in your stomach from James’ dismissive behavior settled as Peter mumbled sweetly to you. You remembered the roll from this morning; the taste pleasurably crossed your tongue at the thought.

“Yes Pete, you know how she gets… Next time, I swear! Absolutely did, it was… delightful! One of the best confections I’ve ever tasted. You’re really a talent with food, Peter.” You gave him a sparkling smile, which made him turn a bright shade of crimson.

“I’ve been practicing a lot, it’s nothing really. I have fun with it, learning new things… And it’s nice to have such a lovely taster…” He mumbled shyly, looking back and forth from the floor to your face. He really was a sweetheart.

“Well, I’m happy to oblige anytime! I have to go change, but I’ll see you up there at the party, yes?” You reached out and gave his arm an encouraging squeeze, and he nodded immediately, still furiously blushing. You giggled a bit and gave him a final wave before turning tail and heading into the restroom. You paused for a moment, thinking back through the day. You texted Lily to reassure her that no funny business was happening yet, and she sent you a photo of her and her cat curled up on her windowsill. For someone so sociable, Lily could really be a homebody when she wanted.

You tucked your phone away and slipped into something a little more fun than your “totally fashion” work attire. There were plenty of activities to get involved with set up throughout the party. Besides the photobooth and food, there were Carnevale-themed drinking games, as well as a designated dance floor in front of the DJ table. And, if you didn’t feel like any of that, the ivy canopy had a few comfy chairs to sit in and have a conversation.

After touching up the rest of your appearance, you made your way back through the office and up to the roof. The door was already open, so you stepped out onto the pallet floor, the sunset painted across the sky and alighting all around the party. There were already quite a few people there that you recognized. Marlene McKinnon, one of Lily’s other friends who worked in the PR department, was sipping on a plastic cup of what looked to be firewhisky as Caradoc Dearborn from accounts payable chatted animatedly at her. Dorcas Meadowes and Alice Fortescue, the editorial assistants, were whispering to each other near the dancefloor, throwing occasional glances at a group of guys who were laughing at something on one of their phones. Some of the people nearby who saw you enter greeted you and complimented your outfit, to your excitement.

As you made your way through the crowd, you were soon spotted by the group of guys who had been huddled together earlier, eliciting crows and wolf whistles and cheers as they all made their way over to you, greeting you warmly. You could tell that some of them had already started drinking (James and Peter,) but everyone was genuinely glad you’d finally arrived. Surrounded by all these friendly companions, you decided that tonight was going to be fun after all.

------'

So, that’s where our story takes a pause! The 5 possible ending titles are below. Comment or shoot me a message and I’ll give you yours! Please be patient if I don’t respond immediately. Credits to @ghost-of-bambi and @fetchalgernon for an appearance of everyone’s TRUE favorite ginger! ;P

Uncertain Love

Unpredictable Love

Unexpected Love

Uncommon Love

Unromantic Love

》 Find the sequel here 《

---

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[dangerouslyclosetothesurface]

Saturday

Yesterday I was looking at the map and I decided I wanted to bike to Pescadero. Two reasons for this: I wanted bread. Also, I wanted to test my gearing and setup.

Before COVID blew up, I was planning to bikecamp to LA this year for bike anniversary (mid-May; it’s flex.), and get ice cream (bike anniversary always calls for an ice cream ride) at McConnell’s in Santa Barbara on the way, and visit my OG bicycle mentor Muneeb. SF to LA is a mandatory ride that many people I know, some of whom are not even that into cycling, have done. Also I was inspired by Matt Reyes doing the ride in 6 days on 47x17 and 47x19. (I know my strength and I would do it on a lower gear.) But now that dream is dead.

Gear setup: - gangster with 47x19, wide bars - I put a patch kit and CO2 kit in a tiny seatpost bag. - I used my Tunitas bum bag to hold my water bottle, a battery pack with iPhone cable, wallet, an old tube for bungee in case I needed to tie something to my bike, a strap from Box Dog Bikes (similar purpose), a sharpie (to deface things), and my phone while I was riding. - I wore some Rapha bib shorts that Ariel gave me (thank you forever Ariel) plus a Montiel sports bra, and my Underarmour hoodie. I don’t bother with jersey anymore. Fuck it. I want the all-over tan. Also wore some Spoke Easy socks which I really like, Heavy Pedal gloves, and my Adidas running shoes which I got many years ago from the boys youth section.

Pre-ride: - Moisturizer, sunscreen, kale salad with meal-prepped beans and corn and bell pepper and three flour tortillas I fried lightly and melted horseradish cheese (yo I love this horseradish cheese) on. - Light stretching in my lobby, then roll out at 7:57 according to Strava

didn’t take many photos

Ride: Strava - By now I know the deal to get onto Highway 1. Slightly difficult Skyline bit that is between Fort Funston and Olympic Club, and then slightly more difficult two block stretch that goes from Valero gas station to the water tower thing. Then the terrifying (I hate descents, ok) descent on which I have to make a left on Crenshaw and get on Palmetto, which I always overshoot because I’m busy being terrified. This time I paid attention. I wasn’t terrified. Because I got my skids back and spinny ratio makes me feel invincible. - After this I went through Pacifica, then fixiecoasted down into Pacifica State Beach, then up that narrow winding bit to Devil’s Slide. - During the tunnel my music cut out so I just turned off my headphones and talked to myself the rest of the way. Flats are good for unwinding. - Then Half Moon Bay, then those three climbs that I did with not too much difficulty. Did some more fixiecoasting down the backs of those climbs. Passed by a fair number of cyclists going the other way and waved at them. - Got to Pescadero an hour ahead of schedule and thus bread was not open. Did not want to wait around so I just refilled my water bottle (ugh the water tasted like metal) and turned back around. - Climbs going back were not so bad. One in particular was a bit long, and the ground texture was bumpy. Descents were nice because I fixiecoasted them, plus I reveled.in the fact that I had climbed that same stretch just hours prior. Good job, self. Pat on the back for you. Got really comfortable with fixiecoasting (footbrake at the ready but rarely used). (Not a super useful skill but it is fun.) - I read that people don’t recommend LA to SF because it isn’t as enjoyable to ride on the inside of Highway 1. I would just like to say I disagree with this. I thought it was equally enjoyable. I liked looking at the plants. HAHAHAH. I didn’t take any photos (duh, I was busy riding) but there was a fabulous display of different lupines and Erigeron glaucus and I even saw a Sisrynchium bellum! I have never seen that in the wild. Also some Sambucus, some Eriophyllum, and some Castilleja. And a lot of poison oak. LOL. Thickets of it. Damn. Be careful y’all. - Seeing as I didn’t get any bread, I instead stopped at Dunkin Donuts in Half Moon Bay and picked up a few of my favorites. Then I ate 3.5 of the 4 donuts after realizing that I had no carrying capacity. I saved the remaining .5 for... - The last climb (and in my opinion, the only major climb), Skyline (the reverse of the descent that terrifies me). I misremembered it as four blocks. I think it is more. I lost count because I was focusing on 1) keeping my shoulders relaxed and 2) believing in myself. HAHAHAHA. Also I forgot to stop and eat the last half donut because I was so relieved the climb was over that I just kept going. - Made it the rest of the way home; super easy. Google Maps says it is like 47.5 miles each way, so I was trying to add some distance to make it an even 100 but my GPS messed up so I didn’t know how many miles I had gone. I think I only hit 98, but that’s fine. It was really annoying to try to add miles in the city because everyone was everywhere.

Post-ride: - Got home, showered, ate the same kale with beans and whatnot (that is all I eat these days), and the last .5 donut. Also drank a bunch of non-metallic water.

What I thought about on this ride: - This was a test ride, but it was also useful in being a means of catharsis for my life and the past week. I thought a lot about what I want out of my life, and who I want to be. I think that in life, my main objective is to feel capable. I know what I can do and what my limits are, and now I’m gonna try and push those limits a bit. Widen my comfort zone, little by little. It’s not about being comfortable with everything, so much as it is about knowing that I could reach a level of comfort with anything. So this ride is about me getting comfortable with the fact that I can do it. (...by doing it. HAHAHA) I’ve already done this ride, with Conrad last September, on Emily’s Bianchi. But I’ve not done it brakeless (btw first century on the gangster! yay little gangster), and I wanted to test my mental fortitude for if i were to ride to LA on this setup. Now i know the gearing is right (at least for this stretch), and I’ve also gained confidence, so that’s good. - During the three nontrivial climbs, I thought about 1) relaxing my shoulders, 2) all the people who love and support me and would be cheering me on at that moment, and 3) all the people (the same people) who inspire me to do this. Not just to ride, but to live life, and take advantage of that opportunity. I hope that I can return the favor and inspire them in the same way. I often source my motivation and power from anger, or self-flagellation, or other negative emotions. It’s not ineffective, but I am trying to make the shift towards more positive and self-empowering thinking. Also I made a mental list of powerful women that have influenced me and that I hold in high regard. Thank you for being my role models. (There are also powerful influential inspirational men in my life; thank you also, but I did not make a mental list of y’all during this ride.) - I biked past a lot of beauty (California, and Highway 1 especially, is known for that) and I thought about edges. In ecology, edges are the most productive in biodiversity and growth and resources. I think in life that is also true. When you have a collaboration between people, or a fusion between genres, that’s kinda like an edge. You get the best of both worlds, and something magical can thrive in that intersection. The result is greater than the sum of its parts. I look forward to one day being part of some sort of collab, once I have better defined myself and determined what I bring to the table. - What else did I think about: ummm. Mostly just loose/disorganized thoughts about life and people around me and work and how I can be more focused, and how things do get easier if you put in the work and the time, and how when I am biking I carry with me the people who support me, always. I hold you in my heart. lol.

[doubleddenden]

okay so overall a night i’m glad i have no parents currently physically able to walk into my room at night to see me watching

seriously did all of these animes just come together and just go “let’s just go horny on main guys. just everything. all the time.”

even SS Royal Blue Vegeta be rockin them man thiddies against Jiren

its weird to think i was close to crying because of Zabuza and Haku again during the same night as the scenes tm from fire forces, food wars, and lupin.

anyway good night friendos, see y’all next saturday

[inkstainedfanfics]

Update

Drabble Night: I have gotten through just a little over half of the drabbles y’all sent in last Sunday. I will continue working on the last ten this week and post two a night along with a full fic. That way, come the weekend, I will be caught up on those. If you’re wondering if I still have your request, I’ll post them under a read more!

Requests: So as of right now, I have 56 fic requests. The following characters each have one request: Dean W, Hook, Graves, Credence, Lupin, and Sirius. Cedric has two, and the rest are NewtxReader. 56 is a much higher number than I ever expected, so thank you all for your support and kind comments on everything I’ve posted so far. Please know that I will get to your request, and I apologize for any length of time you have to wait.

Sequels: Today I’m going to go through and outline a lot of future works (which might mean no posting tonight), so hopefully I will be able to return to Sequels Saturday and Sundays this coming weekend. I have seven sequels in the works. One of them is a series, the others are just simple sequels. I’ll do the series after the rest.

Thank you, everyone, for reading my works and commenting and sending me such sweet messages. They’re honestly the best and you guys are the greatest. I really mean that. Special thanks to @dont-give-a-bother for listening to me ramble about story ideas and being literally the best (she also posts great gifs of Newt with great captions). Special thanks also to @gemininomad and @babybarryy bc they’re both great writers and they take the time to talk to me?? I’m so honored. If y’all haven’t read their works, you should definitely check them out and follow them bc they’re awesome

That’s my update for the week, so I’ll add the drabble requests now. Have a fantastic day everyone!!

1. Hi, can I have a drabble with bisexual Annabeth Chase x female reader, inspired by the song ‘Runaway Baby’ by Bruno Mars? Annabeth is really proud of her gf when they go out for a formal party with friends, and Percy is low-key jealous? Idk if it makes ANY sense, but yeah 2. Alright Do you think you could do a Tony Stark Drabble where the press makes fun of the reader and he gets protective of her? 3. For Drabble night, may I request a NewtxReader song drabble based on “What Hurts the Most” by Rascal Flatts? Thx! 4. HI I would like to request a Drabble for my dearest, author. Angst angst. Angst. Bc I love your angst. Newt fucks up badly (yells at Reader for not taking care of his animals right? Leaves Reader?) Reader is heartbroken and cries a lot over it. Newt regrets it much but when newt comes to Reader again, she’s happily married? Idk it’s probably too long for a Drabble but U can choose 5. Oh! For Drabble Night, may I request a Newt Scamander x Reader with the dialogue: “Have I gone mad?” “I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers. But I will tell you a secret, All the best people are.” Or “O think I’ve gone around the bend.” Or something along those lines. I thought it would be a nice fluffy drabble:) Thank you!!! 6. Hi hi! Can I request a Fred Weasley fluff drabble?? (If you’re still doing these…) Like maybe smth with cocoa and blankets?? And vv fluffy?? 7. When you have time, can you do a Sam Winchester x Reader drabble? Where you left hunting with the Winchesters a long time ago and like they’re taking a break and Sam drags Dean to a Broadway production like Hamilton or something idk and the reader is the lead female in it? And afterwards Sam waits outside for hours, trying to see her again, and wher she sees him she runs up and kisses him without words? Tysm ❤ ❤ 8. Cullen Rutherford learning Elvish for his Inquisitor 9. I READ YOUR DEAN DRABBLE AND LOVED IT! So I was wondering if you get the time if you would do one where Dean you know comes back from hell and comes searching for you. To find out that you had his child while he was gone and he didnt know you were even pregnant before. Thank you!! 10. hey!! idk if you do Newt Scamander drabbles but can you do one where his gf is really good at drawing and he sees a pic of them together she's drawn & he gets really excited

[animeboston]

Anime Boston 2017 Opening Ceremonies Recap

Code Geass, Gurren Lagann, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and Naruto: What do these anime have in common? They’re all 10 years old this year. As Anime Boston celebrates this year’s theme, “Retro,” it kicked off by making its attendees feel very, very old.

As a major snowfall began to blanket the Hynes convention center, Anime Boston 2017 started off with a bang. True to this year’s theme, attendees to the Opening Ceremonies were serenaded with the opening themes from Visions of Escaflowne, Trigun, and Ranma ½.

Due to Anime Boston mascots A-chan and B-kun’s time travel mix-up, attendees were treated to greetings from all the con chairs and vice chairs who have served throughout the years, ever since the first Anime Boston in 2003—all of whom remain on staff. Finally, our 2017 convention chairs, Victor Lee and Lauren Gallo, took the stage, wearing 15-year-service pins that indicate that they’ve been on staff at Anime Boston since its very first year.

“The seeds of Anime Boston were planted in 2001,” Lee explained. “That’s how old it is.”

Lee recounted the very first Anime Boston, held at the Park Plaza Hotel in 2003. Even in its first year, Anime Boston broke attendance records, and the fire marshal ended up having to cap attendence at 4,000—a completely unexpected turnout.

Next, we met each of Anime Boston’s special guests, who each brought their own personality and flair to the Opening Ceremonies. Check them out after the jump:

OKAMOTO’s, which has played anime openings for Gintama, Durarara, and Naruto. They’ll be performing at 4 PM on Saturday, April 1.

Puffy Amiyumi, which is performing tonight at 7 PM (seating begins at 6 PM) took the stage in sweatshirts, tulle, and cowboy boots.

Lisa Ortiz, who voiced Deedlit in Records of the Lodoss War and Lina Inverse in The Slayers in English. “I’m thankful for the snow, let’s try and keep each other warm inside today,” she said.

Tohru Furuya, who voiced Amuro Ray from Gundam and Tuxedo Mask. “Not even my father hit me!” he said, hamming it up with his famous line for the crowd. He invited everyone to his autograph session, saying, “Hugs and kisses are all OK.”

Brina Palencia, who voiced Ciel Phantomhive in Black Butler and Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece, among others. “Anime Boston was actually my very first convention ever so it holds a very special place in my heart,” she said. This is her third time attending.

Hirokatsu Kihara, who served on production desk at Studio Ghibli for Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and others. “This year is the 30th anniversary of My Neighbor Totoro,” he reminded attendees. He noted that never-before-seen art from My Neighbor Totoro at his panel later today. “If you are a Totoro fan and you miss it, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

Johnny Yong Bosch, who played Jonathan Joestar in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Artemis in Sailor Moon, and Ichigo in Bleach, was carted out while surfing on a wheeled platform. “I’m totally down to earth you guys,” he assured the audience.

Masahiko Minami, the co-founder of Studio Bones, which is known for Ouran High School Host Club, Space Dandy, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Soul Eater, Mob Psycho 100, and My Hero Academia.

Sandy Fox, who voiced Sumomo from Chobits, and Chibiusa from Sailor Moon Crystal. This is her first time at Anime Boston, or in Boston at all!

Shingo Natsume, the animation director for Space Dandy, ACCA, and One Punch Man. “I’m really, really excited to be here, and looking forward to having a good time,” he said, with the help of a staff translator.

Greg Ayres, who voiced Kaoru in Ouran High School Host Club and Nagisa in Free! “So glad to be at Anime Boston, which is, not a secret, one of my favorite shows of the year and y’all keep getting bigger and wilder,” he said.

Naokatsu Tsuda, director of Inu x Boku, Planetarian, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. “I woke up early this morning and took a walk around town,” he said. “I was really impressed because I got to see some of you walking around, too.”

Bryson Baugus who voiced Kou in Diabolik Lovers II: More, Blood and Bell in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? “This is my first convention appearance ever, so I’m super excited to be here!”

Wakana Okamura, the producer for Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!! and My Hero Academia.

Kyle Colby Jones, the ADR director on Akame Ga Kill, Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun, and Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Tonight at 5 PM, he’ll host a panel to answer the age-old question, “Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?”

Robbie Daymond, who voiced Gaelio in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon Crystal, and Mumen Rider in One Punch Man, isn’t here yet but recorded a video filmed in a studio chock full of Funko Pops.

Cherami Leigh, who voiced Lucy in Fairy Tail, Asuna in Sword Art Online, and Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon. “Ten years ago, 2007, this was my very first convention ever, where we premiered my very first show, Peach Girl.”

Lex Lang, who voiced Kenshiro in First of the North Star and Goemon in Lupin the Third, left a video message while he is en route to Boston.

Chris Sabat, who voiced All Might in My Hero Academia and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z. “This stage is so big I feel like I should be introducing a new Apple product… the new iAnime,” he joked.

Michelle Ruff, who portrayed Rukia in Bleach, Luna in Sailor Moon Crystal, and Sinon in Sword Art Online.

Roland Kelts, the author of Japanamerica. He will be giving panels about Osamu Tezuka and other early anime directors. Talk about retro!\

Patrick Seitz, who voiced Keith Shadis in Attack on Titan, Dio Brando in Jojo’s, and other notable anime tough guys.

LeSean Thomas, who did storyboarding for The Legend of Korra, was creative producer for Black Dynamite, and writer, director and producer of Cannon Busters. “This is my first time in Boston, at Anime Boston, and that’s dope,” he shared.

“We have so many guests and activities this year, and it’s all thanks to you showing up and supporting us for 15 years,” said Vice-Chair Lauren Gallo.

“Welcome home to Anime Boston,” said Con-Chair Victor. We can’t do this without you.”

—Lauren, AB Staff Blogger