#also they should swap tea blends

[godwoken]

(from arisenreborn) Miss Wilhelmina? (and also if you want to Rann? 👉👈)

☆Wilhelmina!

1. What my Arisen thinks of them:

Polaris thinks she's strange. Very pretty and elegant, but nonetheless weird. My Arisen is not the greatest with social cues or suave individuals; she always acts extra suspicious around people like that. Ngl she'd straight up tell her "stop that." when she tries to be flirty. DSKJFKJFKSJF.

2. What my Pawn thinks of them:

Colette thinks she's very cool! She'd talk a lot of nice things about her because in her mind she thinks she'd be way more amazing if she could have Wilhelmina's aura. Then gets sad because she never will. (Silly Colette).

3. What they think of my Arisen:

I am absolutely sure she likes to mess around with Polaris because her reactions are so funny. And she never lets down in acting like free-website comedy. It's her laugh for the day.

4. What they think of my Pawn:

That Colette would look stunning in a dress and Polaris is stupid for not buying her one.

5. Bonus: An extra headcanon I have about them:

I think Wilhelmina is very good at reading people and she knows a way to avoid the prickly personality Polaris has is through her pawn, so she she'd definitely give Colette very nice things to wear.

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

☆Rann!

1. What my Arisen thinks of them:

"Hey. You. D'you use that meteor stuff." "...Yes? Is there aught wrong, Arisen?" "If you use that on a hoard of pathetic undead. It is over for you." Spoilers: She wouldn't do anything, she'd just give him the stinky eye and then high-five because she is way too soft to all pawns LMFAOOO. She's definitely be interested in asking him what's his Arisen like - given that he mentions her at some point. She has this fixation in knowing how other universes work.

2. What my Pawn thinks of them?

Colette would like Rann a lot, I think! They have similar interests and they act very ardently towards their masters. Even IF their masters are largely different. I'd like to think they'd be good friends if they interacted often! If Rann felt absolutely lost about Polaris, the bridge would be Colette, because she understands her the best. Swapping tea blends buddies!!

3 & 4 should be from your pov! If you wanna answer!

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Hi! I've seen you mention fireweed a few times, and I live in the Scandinavian Arctic where we also have a TON of it right now. I was wondering if you had any recipes you'd be willing to share for it, as I'd like to try to do something with it but I don't know what. It's so pretty this time of year! Sorry I know this isn't atla related lol but I love seeing your posts about food

I don't have any recipes on hand but i know there are some online. You should look into:

Ivan chai

Fireweed syrup (i bet it would be great on some leafy greens with balsamic vinager, mild cheese, seasonal berries, and a serving of fish)

Fireweed jam

Since the petals are edible, you could probably follow a candied rose petal recipe but swap the rose petals out for fireweed petals. I'm sure they would make for a lovely cake decoration with that color

Drying the petals and adding them to tea blends.

This late in the summer, you've missed your chance to roast the roots and fresh shoots at their best tasting. Maybe next spring before they bloom. In the meantime i believe the stems are also edible

You can also see if your local beekeeper has fireweed honey availably to buy. I like it better than wildflower honey

[brightgnosis]

So I've definitely decided on Assam and Gunpower as my Black and Green bases respectively- and I think I have a fairly good idea of what I actually want to put into the information packet. But I'm still stuck on the Mix-Ins and all the technical hangups and details around those, because it determines so much?

Like, when should I order those? How many types is too much? Etc, etc, etc. But I think have three primary idea for Mix-Ins for the Tea Blending Workshop:

⭲ 1. Buy all new stuff from retailers like Mountain Rose Herbs

Pro's, it guarantees all new supplies, minimal contamination issues and highest safety, and gives the greatest diversity of options for the workshop, etc, and would also allow me to host the workshop at any time in the year; Cons, cost.

⭲ 2. Have everyone bring their own dried herbs they think they'd like, from their own home gardens (or order their own online to bring).

Pro's, cost and waste reduction since I'm not ordering as much supplies and everyone's bringing what they think's fun for themselves, and could also promote ingredient sharing and swapping as well; Cons, too variable to give decent advice on, and everyone's kind of ... Bland, so likely to not actually be a lot of variety in options.

⭲ 3. Blend of the two with me providing the base Teas and more exotic or harder to DIY / GIY options (such as dried Peony and Jasmine, Ginger Root, etc), and others bringing whatever else they'd like themselves.

Pro's, more variety accounting for the likelihood that everyone's fairly basic, medium on cost; Con's, still fairly variable.

I haven't decided yet. I think I may shoot the Workshop Chair an email and ask her opinion on whether or not I should send out a broad email looking for a vote- or if I should hold a vote at the next meeting.

Though I'll admit, I'm kind of half tempted to use the first option just so I have an excuse to press it back until somewhere about August / September so I've plenty of time to panic plan, practice, and so on?

Especially because the best times to hold a Tea Blending Workshop are definitely during seasons when you'd actually want to drink Tea- and most people are very decidedly not like me and don't drink it year round. So that leaves Spring (which is very close) and Autumn / Winter (which is very far away. And I feel like if I do it in Spring, I'm going to be too rushed to put together something I've never done before and feel completely unprepared on. But at some point, am I just shooting myself into the foot if I wait?

Argh.

[izar-tarazed]

🥃🥃 have at thee

Izar glances down at the small glasses placed before her, filled with a shimmering liquid: transparent but ever so faintly sparkling with silver as if there was fine stardust whirling within. Well, whatever this is, it’s just the right thing to lure an astrologer into drinking it. She downs the first glass—because apparently that’s how it’s done—, coughs, waves her hand and then inhales deeply.

‟So. Something personal... I don’t recall ever drinking something like this before but I love tea or whatever you call the concoctions you can make with a handful of herbs and boiling water and just the right amount of patience. The nomadic merchants sell some that I’ve come to love. I’ve also tried my hand at throwing together something myself but while the results are drinkable, they taste nowhere near as good as what the merchants come up with. They do have a blend that’s both very spicy and sweet, I like that a lot. But I also like the ones that taste a little bitter or tart at first, with all the other tastes hidden in between, and you have to study them sip by sip, taking your time, figuring them out. They’re easy to dismiss as unpalatable but they actually are if you take your time.

It’s the same with coffee. I don’t think anyone but Kalé sells that? I found it a little tricky to prepare at first—I only make it when at the Roundtable Hold, not when travelling—, but if done right, the smell is divine and then it’s like drinking pure darkness, all bitter and burning but eventually revealing a richness in flavors that is unparalleled. Kalé says you can sweeten it, but I don’t do that.”

She gently puts the empty glass aside, then goes for the second one, eyes sparkling as she empties it. Thinking, she spins it between her fingers.

‟I said for a long time I wasn’t good with blades and it was true, but I also didn’t do anything to improve? I had the rapier Rogier had given me. In hindsight, it was a parting gift. I carried that with me for ages, but I never really used it. And when I did, it felt just… wrong—in part because I wasn’t good with it. But I didn’t want to put it away, either, because it had been a gift. I felt like swapping it for any other blade would have been like disrespecting the gesture. Even with Rogier gone… or maybe because he was gone, I couldn’t bring myself to do anything with his rapier other than carrying it with me.

Then Ensha insisted I should get better in melee and started teaching me how to actually use the rapier, and while I still wasn’t good with it… I got a little better. He insisted I try out different things, and I was like the most stubborn child claiming that he was wasting his time because I’m obviously just not good with blades of any kind.”

She chuckles—maybe about the memory, or maybe because she’s already a little light-headed after these two shots.

‟I ended up trying anyway, because clearly Ensha is even more stubborn than I am, and eventually I understood that I wasn’t irrevocably bad with melee weapons—and that it wasn’t merely about practice, either. I always struggled with the rapier, but I felt more comfortable when I tried different katanas. And I finally went through my collection of ashes of war that I had been carrying around for a while. I asked Master Hewg for help and explanations. And as he glanced at my collection, he looked like I had opened up a treasure chest. Then we all discussed which ones might be of actual use for me, he got to work, and well… Suddenly I had weapons that felt like mine. I wasn’t holding onto them out of nostalgia but I actually used them.

I’ll always be a magic user first and foremost, but by now I can decently defend myself in melee when the need arises. I no longer carry the rapier; I keep it in my chamber at the Hold… I don’t think Rogier would mind that I don’t use it. He’d probably be happy to see I found something that works for me.”

[juliabloodymeow]

Unleashing the Fragrance and Wellness Potential of Clove Tea

Clove Tea: Unraveling the Aromatic and Healthful Infusion

A. Introduction to Clove Tea: A Fragrant Delight

Delve into the world of clove tea, a centuries-old elixir revered not just for its cultural significance but also for its myriad health benefits. This article will navigate the historical roots of clove tea, shed light on its potential positive impacts on health, and guide you on seamlessly integrating it into your daily routine.

B. Exploring the Rich History and Cultural Ties of Clove Tea

Clove tea, derived from the dried flower buds of the Syzygium aromaticum tree, offers a fragrant and flavorful experience. While commonly used in culinary pursuits, the infusion of cloves into tea creates a unique blend of aromatic and medicinal properties.

II. Harnessing the Health Bounty of Clove Tea

A. Antioxidant Powerhouse

Discover the abundance of antioxidants in clove tea, essential for neutralizing free radicals and reducing oxidative stress, contributing to overall well-being.

B. Alleviating Inflammation

Uncover the anti-inflammatory effects of the eugenol compound in cloves, making clove tea a soothing elixir for inflammatory concerns.

C. Digestive Harmony

Traditionally used to ease digestive discomfort, clove tea's carminative properties aid in reducing gas and bloating, promoting a healthy digestive system.

D. Immune Fortification

Packed with vitamins and minerals, clove tea becomes a formidable ally in boosting the immune system, warding off common illnesses.

E. Natural Pain Relief

Explore the potential analgesic properties of clove tea, offering relief from various pains, including headaches and toothaches.

F. Respiratory Well-being

Inhale the steam from clove tea to ease respiratory issues, providing a comforting remedy for colds and congestion.

III. Crafting the Perfect Cup: How to Make Clove Tea

A. Essential Ingredients

Brewing a perfect cup requires high-quality cloves, water, and optional additions like cinnamon or ginger for enhanced flavor.

B. Step-by-step Preparation Guide

Boil water, add cloves, simmer for 10-15 minutes, strain the tea, and consider optional ingredients for a personalized touch.

C. Flavor Enhancement Tips

Experiment with honey, lemon, or your favorite herbal tea to tailor the flavor to your liking.

IV. Exploring Variations: Beyond the Basic Clove Tea

A. Clove and Cinnamon Fusion

Combine cloves with cinnamon for a warming and aromatic blend, perfect for chilly evenings.

B. Clove and Ginger Infusion

Add a zing to your clove tea by incorporating fresh ginger, creating a delightful fusion of flavors and health benefits.

C. Clove and Cardamom Elixir

Blend cloves with cardamom for an exotic and invigorating tea experience.

V. Seamlessly Integrating Clove Tea into Your Daily Rituals

A. Morning Refreshment

Kickstart your day with a cup of clove tea for a refreshing and energizing beginning.

B. Evening Relaxation

Wind down in the evening with a soothing cup of clove tea, promoting relaxation and facilitating better sleep.

C. Caffeine Alternative

Swap your regular caffeine fix for clove tea, enjoying a flavorful and healthful substitute.

VI. Ensuring Safety: Precautions and Potential Side Effects

A. Mindful Dosage

While moderate consumption is generally safe, be cautious of excessive intake to avoid potential side effects.

B. Allergy Alert

Individuals allergic to cloves should steer clear of clove tea to prevent adverse reactions.

C. Professional Consultation

Before incorporating clove tea into your routine, especially with underlying health conditions, consult a healthcare professional for personalized advice.

VII. Real Experiences: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials

A. Positive Feedback

Many individuals report improved digestion, increased energy, and a heightened sense of well-being after embracing clove tea.

B. Personal Endorsements

Explore firsthand experiences of individuals benefiting from the regular consumption of clove tea.

VIII. Where to Find Premium Cloves for Your Tea

A. Local Spice Emporiums

Visit local spice stores for fresh, high-quality cloves, ensuring optimal flavor and health benefits.

B. Online Spice Boutiques

Explore online platforms specializing in spices and herbs for a convenient way to acquire quality cloves.

IX. Craft Your Signature Blend: DIY Clove Tea Creations

A. Personalized Blends

Experiment with different ratios of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, or other herbs to create your signature clove tea blend.

B. Flavorful Exploration

Blend clove tea with complementary herbs and spices for unique flavor combinations tailored to your preferences.

https://www.nuriastales.com/2024/01/the-health-benefits-of-clove-tea-warm.html

[theravenkin]

hc that when robin and neil are roommates in neil's last year, things get extra chaotic. i think robin probably takes to social media well (i feel like she likes things that give her a shield while still being able to be herself), so i think she'd have a snapchat where she has like most of the foxes + the three classmates she has befriended over her four years. she likes this private lil thing where she can share things that make her laugh or that just make her happy with the people she actually gives a shit about. robin didn't get the hang of actually sharing her life with other people for a while, but she's gotten a lil more comfy by her fourth year. andrew never liked being on camera anyway, but now, neil doesn't give a shit--he probably goes back to being a lil more like his true chaotic form when andrew moves away--he doesn't have that sturdy strength grounding him and keeping him together, so he's a lil all over the place this last year, especially with it being such a stressful and emotional time. robin just loves filming the weird shit he does when they're left unsupervised and sharing it with little to no context.

things robin's friends have seen on her story:

neil walking around the kitchenette preparing something at 2 AM with a huge gray cat hanging over his arm like a tea towel. caption: "sorry to the soccer girls in room 247. neil needs your emotional support cat more than you guys do"

robin films from over neil's shoulder as he types in a class discussion board post. he's replying to someone's post. you cant see what the original post was, but neil's on his like seventh paragraph and still typing furiously (yet he's dead calm). as robin zooms in you can kinda catch the word "fucking" a few times and the phrase "completely unwrinkled brain" at least once

neil laying on his back on the sofa, holding a huge math textbook open above his face like he's reading it, then dropping it straight on his face. over and over again. with an absolutely awed expression on his face. robin giggling in the background. "so neil, what are you doing again?" *neil slowing turns his head toward the camera, blinks sleepily a few times, mouth hanging open* "'s feels good." *continues*

robin and neil frequently sit next to each other on the couch, their heads tilted so that they're resting on one another, and try out different stupid filters. what they enjoy even more is face swapping with pictures in robin's camera roll, so essentially with a bunch of weird memes. robin films all of them and spams her story with them. she also saves them all to her memories and looks at them at least once a week. one time she makes neil face swap with a picture of a roblox person that looks like obama and he just quietly goes, "why would anyone do this"

video of neil standing over a blender blending a smoothie, completely zoned out, mouth breathing and everything. caption: "he's been doing this for like five minutes should i turn off the blender for him"

neil bundled up on the couch in a mess of blankets, curled around a pillow, staring into space with a pouty expression. robin asks, "what's wrong, neil?" he pouts, "...miss kevin." *snuggles into his nest a lil more* "...'n the other one."

i could probably write a bunch more of these but i can't rn. y'all please add yours i wanna hear em <33

[arlertwifey]

snk cast x gn!reader + cute summertime romance

18+ ONLY, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, PLEASE!

☼ — ft. Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Levi, Hanji, & Erwin (all characters are 18+)

☼ — genre: pure fluff + gn!reader x character, warnings: mentions of vandalism/petty crime, alcohol mentions 

☼ — a/n: please enjoy my first snk x reader content :)

E R E N

Fills his time with a weird mix of volunteering around the city and committing blatant acts of vandalism

He spends his days helping out at the youth shelter and nights scribbling graffiti anywhere he can find a spot. Takes you to spray-paint every underpass you come across

Unnaturally good at arcade games and wins you lots of little random plushies from the claw machines. Your favorite is an angry-looking brown bear that you can’t help but think resembles him

Loves to stay up late and discover new parts of the city with you. Has a bad habit of falling asleep on your shoulder wherever you are though, when he finally runs out of energy

Even though he tries to play it off like he’s too cool for them, insists that you two take cute photobooth pictures together and keeps his favorite of them in his wallet

A R M I N 

Practically lives at the beach during the summer. The two of you plan out your days there in advance so your able to visit the different tide pools and see various sea creatures.

Has a strong sweet tooth. He’s a huge fan of any type of frozen treat, but is extremely partial to slushies. In at least half the pictures you get of your summertime adventures, his mouth is stained teal from the blue-raspberry flavor he always buys.   

Gets surprisingly tan during the summer, due to the fact that he’s outside whenever possible. Even when studying, he prefers to do so at parks around where he lives rather than indoors. His hair bleaches out a little further as well.

Willing to go to parties with you when the two of you are invited by mutual friends, but tends to slip outside to the porch after the first hour. More often than not, the two of you wind up ditching all together and heading off to find someplace to get late night food. 

He brings you to visit his grandfather during the summertime and the two of you help him out with repairs around the house. Being around the two people he loves the most brings out Armin’s talkative side and the three of you spend your vacation days swapping stories over glasses of iced tea.

M I K A S A 

Busy during the summer, so you can’t meet as much as would like

Part of her gym’s regional kickboxing team and helps teach part time. You go to all her matches and cheer till your voice gives out. She tells you that you don’t have to come, but secretly is so, so grateful that you do

On days when you’re both free, you try out all the best brunch places in the city. Mikasa prefers small family-owned businesses. The two of you quickly become regulars at your favorite spots

Sends you voice messages when you are apart ever since you said that you liked to hear her voice. She’s adorably awkward in them, usually just telling you about whatever she’s doing at the time and how much she misses you

Gets misty-eyed when you show up at the airport with flowers for her when she gets back home. Squeezes you till your out of breath and lifts off the ground a little bit when you hug again after your time apart.

J E A N

The actual best at planning a fun day full of activities

Busts his ass working at a couple part time jobs most days, but makes up for how busy is by making sure you two have the best possible time and do the most when you’re together

The type to have a bucket list for all the different activities he thinks you guys should do together. He puts a lot of effort into creating it with you. The two of you decorate two matching posters so that each of you has a copy. 

A little bit of a sucker for cliches: ice cream dates and visiting waterparks. He’s a romantic at heart and with you he feels like he can finally participate in all the classic lovey-dovey activities couples do.

One of those people who acts like an influencer despite the fact that he’s only followed by family and friends. Takes super high quality pics of you so he can brag about how great his s/o is. Took a few photography classes in college and it shows. Every photo he takes of you looks amazing because you can tell just how enamored he is with you.

King of matching couple fits. Loves when the two of you wear coordinating colors or even just similar accessories.

L E V I 

Not a fan of hot weather, so prefers to hang out in the evenings or early mornings when it’s cooler (which works well with the fact that he has to work most days). 

Has no clue what to do during the summer, besides what you two always do, but does his best

You two go for early morning runs at his suggestion and then get breakfast afterwards. There’s a smoothie place down the block from the park that you frequent, with different local fruit specials each week. 

He brings you to his favorite tea shop and you two slowly drink your way through their summer refresher menu throughout the season. You learn

Is willing to go to the beach, but be prepared to cover the man with sunscreen, because he burns. Since he knows that he won’t encounter anyone from work, he sometimes wears a large sunhat for extra UV protection.

When your vacation time finally lines up, the two of you get out of the city and head to the charming town where his mother lives. You get to help Kuchel in her garden and listen to her stories about adorable young Levi.

While he’s not extremely enthusiastic about summer as a season, he does find it far more enjoyable when he gets to spend it with you

H A N J I

Lives for traveling during the summer months, half for fun and half for their work as part of an anthropological research team. Whenever they can’t bring you along, expect lots of silly, cheesy postcards and many late night phone calls.

Thinks that camping is an absolute must. You two go on hikes together to find the best places to camp. Teaches you all sorts of cool facts about the different areas you are in. Likes when the two of you get “lost” and have to navigate back with a compass (and a park map as backup).

Makes their own homemade juice blends (some better than others) and freezes them into popsicles. Brings you them and other snacks when you’re working.

Stays up late with you and points out different constellations while you drink hot cocoa on the rooftop of their apartment building. While you don’t understand everything they are explaining to you, you love to watch their excited expression and enthusiasm as they tell you all about the world.

E R W I N

Glamorous cultural events are Erwin’s favorite part of the summertime 
Expect to to be brought to opening ceremonies, christenings of cruise ships, and wine tastings

Despite the fancy events, Erwin makes sure you don’t feel too out of place by spending the evenings shit talking the other guests with you, and trying to guess who is sleeping with who and who is going to get drunk and ruin the evening

Insists that you get out of the city as often as possible, so expect a lot of weekend getaways

As much as he likes to do things with you, he can also appreciate an afternoon spent drinking sangria and reading by the poolside (a private pool, of course. He can’t resist asking you to put sunblock on his back (half because he actually needs the help, half just to see you blush at the request).

Owns a sleek vintage convertible that he’s only able to drive in the warmer months. Likes to pick you up from work in it while still dressed in his impeccably sharp suit from the office, just to see the looks on your coworkers faces

[wrenhyperfixates]

Secret Santa

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: When you pick Loki’s name for Secret Santa, you are at a loss for what to get him. Some quality time with the God of Mischief sheds some light on the situation. Warnings: pure, unadulterated fluff; very long A/N: It’s almost Christmas now; less than a week to go! And a big thank you to my best friend @lokistan​ for writing the beautiful poetry for this story. I love you my bean! Happy reading all :)

Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant​​ @lunarmoon8​ @twhiddlestonsstuff​ @lokistan​ @thelokiimaginechroniclesficrecs​ @gaitwae

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

“Oh my gosh, thank you Nat!” you said, throwing your arms around her shoulders in a hug. She had been your Secret Santa and gotten you the expensive jacket you’d been wanting for months. “It’s perfect.”

Christmas Eve in the Avengers Tower was full of laughter and drinks as the team exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Tomorrow morning you’d be opening regular presents, so it was tradition to set this aside for the night before. It was more fun that way, maybe because you could focus solely on the excitement of learning who had picked your name.  

“You’re welcome. I know you were nervous about being able to pull it off, but it’ll look great on you,” she reassured, hugging you back. “Ok, now it’s your turn.”

You shot a nervous glance at Peter, who flashed a thumbs up. Thor, who was sitting next to you, pat your back. You stood and picked up the carefully wrapped package, all decorated in gold and green. You were nervous about what you had picked, but whether the recipient liked it or not, you were happy that this anxiety of if it was good enough or not would be over. You’d rather know. After all, you’d been feeling this way ever since you’d picked the name a week earlier...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright everyone,” Tony said, holding a stocking filled with little pieces of paper. “It’s time for Secret Santa. And remember, if you get me, cash is accepted.”

You gathered around with the rest of the team as they started to pick names. You said a little prayer that you would get Peter, your best friend, seeing as you already had about thirty different gift ideas for him. Wanda would be pretty easy, too, as you were also really close with her. In fact, looking around, you were able to come up with at least some scrap of an idea for almost everyone. Almost being the operative word.  By the time Tony got to you, there was only one slip left. As you stuck your hand in the stocking, you made a silent wish that it wouldn’t be the one person you had no clue what to get for.

Please, you thought. Please be someone I know. Please don’t be...

Loki.

“And that concludes the name picking process,” Tony announced as you cast a dismayed look at the four-letter name on the paper. “You have a week to figure it out, so good luck.

“Remember, no swapping!” Steve added as the group began to disperse.

You looked around for the trickster, wondering why he was even participating. It’s not that you didn’t want him to, just that it didn’t seem like his kind of thing. From the way he was clenching his fists and scowling, you still guessed it wasn’t. Not like you really knew him all that well, unfortunately. When he’d come to the Tower, Loki seemed like he preferred the solitude. You often wondered if you should have made more of an effort to be his friend, wished that you had. There was this one time you were both reading Macbeth in a common area and had gotten into a very animated discussion about it. Nothing more ever really came of that, though, as he left for a mission the next day and didn’t return until two weeks later. By then, you’d both moved onto different books.

Later, you made a trip to the library, hoping to solve the enigma that is the God of Mischief. You were the only two people who went in their regularly and more than half the conversations you’d had with him had been held in that room. Granted they were all short, but you figured it was a start. In fact, you found yourself rather wanting to have a conversation with him right now. Yes, because of the Secret Santa thing, but also because they’d been getting more frequent recently. With every one, you realized how much you enjoyed talking to him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in his usual spot by the crackling fire. You considered just leaving, but decided you should at least make some use of this trip. You’d seen him reading some works by James Joyce most recently, and you went to go look for the one he’d had last. Maybe seeing what he likes to read could give you some gift ideas. Your eyes scanned the shelves, but you couldn’t find it. It was possible you were just remembering the cover wrong. Just as you were about to give up, someone tapped your shoulder.

“Pardon me,” Loki said as you whipped around. “I think you may be looking for this.”

He held out the copy of the book you’d been looking for and raised an eyebrow when you just stared at him blankly for a second. Who could blame you, though? He was standing rather close, and he was... Well, quite frankly, he was hot. With his raven black hair framing his smooth, pale skin, and with striking blue-green eyes that stare into your soul, he was the most handsome man you’d ever met. Then again, he wasn’t really a man, was he?

“Oh, uh, yes. Yes I am,” you said, coming to your senses. “Thank you. Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much so. I have read it five times now. I apologize for that, if you were looking for it.”

“Don’t worry about it. You have nothing to apologize for.” He looked rather surprised that you would say such a thing, and you briefly wondered how many times people had made him apologize unnecessarily. “You could even just keep it if you want.”

“No, that is alright. At least, not until you have gotten to read it, too. Perhaps we could discuss it?” he said hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure if he was overstepping.

You looked at the title in your hands. Dubliners. You’d read a few of the short stories in high school and hadn’t enjoyed them much. But you were older now, so maybe your tastes had changed. Either way, you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have another conversation with Loki. That slight smile and those intelligent eyes were just too captivating.

“That’s a wonderful idea. May I ask what your favorite is?”

“A good question. I think I will have to say Eveline. The way she ends up trapped, the mere emotion in the implication... It’s exquisitely done.”

“Wow, Loki, you have such a way with words. You’re beautiful,” you told him without thinking. As his eyes widened, you realized what you’d said and tried to cover it up. “I, um, I meant that that’s beautiful. The, ah, way you weave words. Sorry, I obviously don’t have the same ability.”

“It is quite alright. They do not call me silver-tongue for nothing, you know,” he said, though he was blushing now. “Still, I look forward to hearing your thoughts. But for now, my dear mortal, I must bid you goodbye. I have a sparring session with my brother to get to.”

He swept into a small, princely bow that made your heart stutter. Hugging the book to your chest, you waved goodbye, feeling much more awkward than he had been. You were also about a hundred times more determined to get Loki a perfect gift. You looked at the book again. It was a special first edition, unfortunately, and you couldn’t really do better than that. Besides, you got the impression he appreciated books more when they were well-loved. So, you could scratch that idea off the list.

You sighed and headed to your room for the night. Maybe an inspiration board could help you figure things out. Unfortunately, that led to you having a poster board with pictures solely of Loki. You’d meant to add other things, but you’d gotten so caught up in how beautiful he looked with his soft pink lips and carefully styled hair and... Ok, maybe you had the slightest, tiniest crush on the trickster god, but it was silly. You’d hardly even been friends for half a year. And yet, he was very hard to resist. You ended up destroying your project, cringing at the idea of anyone finding it and taking it the wrong way.

The next morning you woke up just as idealess as you had been the night before. You had been hoping that you could figure something out if you slept on it, but to no avail. Frustrated, you kicked your blankets off and got ready to attack the day. You absolutely hated the fact that you couldn’t come up with a gift idea on your own, and the last thing you wanted to have to do was ask someone else.

Splashing some water on your face, you had another idea that you quickly shut down. You’d thought for a second that maybe you could buy him some cologne, but then you realized you had no idea what scent or brand he used. In fact, you weren’t sure he used and fragrance at all. The smell of leather, pine, and old books that he had just suited him so well you couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a natural thing. Either way, he always smelled so safe, so wonderful. You cursed yourself for letting your thoughts take that turn again. It was a lot easier to ignore this crush when you didn’t have to be thinking about him 24/7.

Traipsing into the kitchen, you found Peter and Thor having an animated conversation about what was better, pecan or pumpkin pie. You wondered if you could bake something for Loki as a gift, then you realized that still required knowing what he likes. You would get him tea, but you already knew for a fact that was what Thor had gotten him as a regular present. Plus it was a special Asgardian blend, so there was no way you could top that.

“Good morning, guys,” you greeted as you tried to decide what to eat for breakfast.

“Morning,” they chorused back.

You bit your lip, coming to a split second decision. “Can I ask you two a question. It’s about Secret Santa.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Peter said while you took a seat across from them.

“Ok, this is top secret, right? So don’t tell anybody.” They both eagerly nodded their heads. “I know you’re both friends with Loki, and well, I picked his name. I have no clue what to get him, though. Any ideas?”

“I have the perfect idea!” Thor declared as you motioned for him to keep his voice down. “Get him some causal Midgardian clothes. You have excellent taste, I am sure he will love whatever you pick out.”

You wrinkled your nose. “Are you sure that’s not just what you want for him? I mean, he seems plenty happy to wear his Asgardian clothes around the Tower. And there’s nothing wrong with dressing up when you go out.” You sighed when Thor just seemed confused by your words, not understanding that his brother had embraced the Midgardian style as much as he wanted to. “I’ll just consider that a back-up plan for now. What about you, Peter? Any thoughts?”

“What if we just went shopping together?” he excitedly suggested. “Then if we see something we think is good, we can just point it out.”

You hurriedly agreed, anxious to get the gift-buying out of the way. The plan was to head out right after your training session with Nat and Steve. Unfortunately, that meant you were distracted nearly the whole time, leaving you with a few more bruises than normal. You loved your teammates to death, but boy did they ever need to learn how to ease up a little in practice. You stayed a few minutes extra to do some cool down stretches, and in waltzed the trickster god who had been occupying so much of your brain space recently. The way he was flipping and catching his daggers as he walked was slightly mesmerizing.

“My apologies,” he said, noticing you. “I did not think there was anyone else in here. I can come back later if you still need the space.”

“No!” you shouted as he began to turn away. It was a bit louder than you had meant to say it, and you mentally kicked yourself. “I mean, I was just on my way out, so please, stay.”

He smiled and set his things down on the bench next to yours. You eyed the daggers that had just been wielded by his expertly trained hands moments ago.

“May I?” you asked, gesturing to them.

He picked one up and handed it to you. Turning it over in your hands, you noticed that handles were slightly worn, but it was still excellently crafted. The blade had obviously been sharpened a great number of times before and was looking like it might need to be again. You’d never personally used a dagger in battle, but the way Loki was so graceful with them made a part of you want to.

“To be very precise with such a weapon,” Loki began as if reading your thoughts, “requires great focus and skill. There is no room for error when used to block another’s attack, and to deliver a powerful blow, you must strike in just the right spot.” A shiver of excitement shot down your spine as he picked up his other blade and began adeptly demonstrating, moving like a flowing river as he sliced the air. “It is much smaller than most weapons, sure. However, it is just as deadly. And if the sword is an extension of your body, the same can be said for the dagger tenfold.”

You blinked a couple times, beyond impressed by his majestic, fluid movements. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking. Now you just had to find a way to say that without sounding obsessed.

“Wow, Loki,” you finally gasped, unable to hide your amazement. “I don’t know how you do it, but you even make weapons sound beautiful. And you’re very talented, too. I could never,” you nervously laughed.

“You are too kind to me, my dear mortal,” he said, and you felt a spark of pride in your chest that you were making him blush yet again. “You are not kind enough to yourself, though. I am certain you would be excellent. Perhaps you just need to find a teacher.”

“Would you teach me?” you asked, oddly worried to do so. You tried to calm your swelling nerves.

“Well, I did not mean to imply that I should be your instructor, for I fear that I would not be very good at it.” He watched your smile falter just the tiniest bit and found himself rushing to bring it back to full strength. “However, if you so desire, I can certainly try. I must warn you, it will not be easy.”

“Loki, you’d really do that for me?” Your heart beat a little faster in your chest as he shyly nodded his head yes. “I would love to. And don’t worry about going easy; I want to be as good as you.”

“Excellent! We shall have out first lesson, say, at the start of the New Year?”

After the plans were set, you excused yourself so you could meet your friends for shopping. You were late as it was, and you still had to go freshen up. The whole reason for the trip was you, and you’d feel bad to keep them waiting much longer. Still, you stole one last glance at Loki before exiting.

Hours later, you still had no gift for Loki. You barely even had an idea, much to your dismay. Peter and Thor kept pointing out little trinkets, a couple of which you did pick up as a regular gift for him, but your Secret Santa gift had to be a showstopper. Something about him drew you in, and you wanted to give him the most amazing present you could. If only it weren’t so difficult.

You were walking down a street when you happened to notice the trickster god himself in one of the store windows. You waved your companions on with the excuse you wanted to check something out for one of them and entered the shop Loki was at. For a second you considered just watching him to try to get some ideas, but that was quickly dashed when he let out a sigh of frustration. He just looked so perplexed and adorably aggravated.

“Hey, Loki,” you greeted after clearing your throat. “Funny running into you here. Are you alright?”

“Hello, my dear mortal. Thank you for asking,” he said. “I am alright. It is just this blasted Secret Santa.”

“I know what you mean,” you replied before you could help yourself. “But I’m, uh, not going to say who it is. I mean, you can tell me if you want to, but I’ve already told so many people it’ll hardly be a secret if anyone else knows,” you covered your tracks.

“Ah, I see. It is supposed to be a secret, and I do so ever hate to crack under the pressure, but I find myself in dire need of assistance. Do you suppose you could help?”

You beamed at him as you realized you’d talked with him more in the past few days than you had in the last three weeks. If there was one thing you knew, it was you had better be careful, or you’d get addicted to the sound of his voice. You were on thin ice with this crush as it was, you really shouldn’t let it blossom into more.

“Sure! I’d love to. Who do you have?” you finally said, looking around the store. “Wait, let me guess. Steve?”

“Stark.”

“Oh. Well, he did say cash was fine,” you giggled.

“Believe me, I was tempted,” Loki chuckled along with you. “But I promised Thor I would make more of an effort this time around. I do not know what he is talking about, though. Bruce loved his socks last year!”

You slapped a hand over your mouth as your loud laughter garnered a few stares from other shoppers. Loki’s eyes held only soft admiration, though, and your hands got a little sweaty from how nervous that made you. You subtly wiped them on your pants as you calmed down.

“Well, it you want to get something more personal, I might have an idea.”

“By all means, do tell,” he urged.

“You know that tool set he was talking about the other day?” you questioned, but were met with a blank stare. “I’ll take that as a no, but he was saying he didn’t want to get them because he doesn’t actually need them.”

“When has that ever stopped him before?” Loki scoffed.

“I guess he’s trying something new,” you shrugged. “But anyway, if you got them it would show you were thinking about what he actually liked and stuff. Or maybe that’s dumb, sorry.”

“No, no, it is a splendid idea!” he was quick to reassure you. For a second it seemed as if he was going to reach out and touch your shoulder, but then he thought better of it. “You do not happen to know where they are sold, do you?”

You nodded and led him out of the store you were in, towards the place where he could buy them. You were waiting at a corner for a light to change, amicably chatting. Nothing groundbreaking, just small talk. Regardless, it made your heart beat just a little faster. Still engrossed in the conversation, you took a step out into the crosswalk when the light said it was safe to go. You didn’t notice the car speeding towards you until Loki grabbed your wrist and pulled you back into his chest. You gasped as he glared after the driver, who gave no acknowledgement or apology to you. The god’s arms were wrapped around you in a protective manner, and you looked up at his face, appreciating his beauty at this close angle. Given what had just happened, probably not the thing you should be focusing on.

“My dear mortal,” he fretted, looking down at you, not yet letting go. “Are you alright? You are not injured at all, are you? Shall I take you to the hospital wing to make sure?”

“I’m ok,” you reassured him, though a part of you didn’t want to. He seemed about ready to scoop you up and use his godly strength to carry you home. Alas, your moral compass decided that wouldn’t be very fair to him. “Just a little shaken, but you saved me. Thank you, Loki. That doesn’t really cut it, but thank you so much.”

“Do not mention it. I am just glad you are alright,” he replied, though his voice did still have a tint of worry to it. Maybe you were imaging it, but he seemed almost reluctant to let you go from his tight embrace. “Now, you may carefully lead the way. Carefully,” he emphasized.

With a giggle, you brought him to the store where the tools were. After browsing the aisles for a few minutes, the two of you found the shelf they were on. With a frown, you examined the price tag.

“Sorry, Loki,” you said. “I didn’t realize how expensive it was.”

“It is fine,” he replied, looking at the cost himself. “This is actually plenty within my price range.”

You waited outside of the busy store while he made his purchase and checked your phone. You felt a pang of guilt as you noticed a number of missed texts from Peter and Thor.

Sorry guys, you texted the group chat. Ran into someone I know and got carried away. Carry on without me.

Don’t worry, came Peter’s reply. See you back home :)

You pocketed your phone as Loki walked back out, giving you a smile. You looked at the ground to keep yourself from saying something stupid.

“I hope I am not keeping you from anything,” he said as you started walking back towards the Tower. “Is there any shopping I can assist you with?”

You lamented the irony of the situation. Despite the entire point of this venture being to buy a gift for Loki, you were still empty handed. It was tempting to try to ask him what he wanted, but you were sure he was far more clever than you were subtle.

“No, I’m good, thanks. But if you don’t mind my asking, how do you have so much money?” you asked to satisfy your curiosity. “I mean, Tony’s always complaining about how you use his credit card.”

“That, my dear mortal, is simply because I can,” he replied as you both laughed. “I have been around for much longer than you might imagine. I have amassed a certain amount of wealth in my many years.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool, actually. You’re making me wish I was an immortal being,” you joked.

“And tell me, my dear mortal, if you were to treat yourself to something nice, what would it be?”

You thought about it for a moment. “Maybe I’d go to a nice restaurant,” you finally said. “It doesn’t have to be anything too far from home. Oh! Like, Nobu has really good sushi.”

“Well then, perhaps I will have to pay for us to have a meal there sometime.”

“Yeah! I bet the team would really like that.”

“Actually,” he sheepishly said, bringing you to a stop on the sidewalk, “I meant for just the two of us to go. That is, if you would like to. Maybe one day after we start our training. You are not obligated to say yes, though. The offer for me to pay is still open if you would like to take another friend instead of me.”

“Loki, no. That’s so generous, of course I’d love to go with you,” you reassured him, settling a hand on his arm. Though, admittedly, you were beyond flustered, especially when you realized how that last sentence sounded. “I mean as friends, of course. It sounds amazing, thank you.”

“Well then, I look forward to it.” He brought his hand to rest on yours, and goosebumps erupted on your skin, not only from his cold touch, but the wave of excitement you felt. “And speaking of our lessons, I was thinking you may want some daggers of your own. We do not have to get them now but-”

“That’s it!” you suddenly shouted, then apologized for cutting him off. “Can I borrow your daggers, Loki? To go get myself a pair?”

He offered to come with you, but you waved him off, saying you’d be fine on your own. It was a little suspicious, he thought, but decided to drop it. Handing you the weapons, he bid you goodbye. As soon as he was out of eyesight, you examined the daggers, trying to get a clear picture in your mind of what you wanted.

A few quick stops later, and after gaining permission from Tony, you were in the lab, carefully crafting Loki’s gift. It took a few days, and you were by no means used to doing this kind of thing, but you were finally satisfied with the finished product. You wrapped it and then hid it with the rest of your presents, just waiting to be given to their recipients. With only a few days left until Christmas Eve, you were filled with an anxious excitement to give Loki his gift. There was nothing left to do but hope that he likes it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...You looked everywhere but at Loki as you approached him, nerves bubbling in your stomach. By the time you reached him, his mouth had curled into a soft smile. It occurred to you that you’d never seen him look that way at anyone but you. Building on the confidence that thought brought, you held out the gift.

“Here, Loki,” you told him, averting your gaze again. “This is for you.”

You perched on the edge of the coffee table across from him as he accepted the package with a thank you. There was some light chatter coming from the rest of your teammates, but it felt like the only people in the world at this moment were you and Loki, his fingers skillfully unwrapping the present. You sat on your hands to keep from fidgeting with them. It took all your focus to keep your eyes on Loki and not wandering the room in anticipation. As he opened the lid of the box and revealed what was inside, his mouth formed into a surprised “o”.

He picked up the gift, a pair of new daggers, each with a gold hilt. His name was engraved on it, and there was a band of emeralds at the top and bottom. You’d made them the same dimensions as his old ones.

“My dear mortal,” he breathed in awe, his eyes full of sincerity, coming up to met yours. “This is so thoughtful, so beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Loki. I’m really glad you like it.”

“I do. I love it,” he replied, taking your hand in his for the briefest of moments. He pulled away before anyone could really think anything of it. Neither of you said anything else, instead just staring into each other’s eyes.

“Ok, Reindeer Games,” Tony said, interrupting the moment you were sharing with Loki. “Now it’s your turn. So, who’d you get?”

“Well, actually, I picked your name, Stark. Here,” he said, nonchalantly handing over the gift. Though he seemed completely uninterested, you could tell he was a little nervous. “For you.”

“Alright, let’s see what it is. I swear, this better not be socks or-” Tony cut off, seeing the very thing he wanted. “Wow, Rock of Ages. This is really thoughtful. Thanks. I had no idea you actually listened,” he finished with a laugh.

“You are quite welcome,” Loki said, but he was more looking at you than Tony.

Later that evening, after all the gifts were given out, you were sitting by the fireplace, waiting for the flames to completely die out. You were curled up in the corner of the couch, your feet pulled up next to you, a blanket draped over your shoulders, and a book open on your lap.

“My dear mortal,” Loki’s voice suddenly said as he appeared in the doorway, pulling you from the words on the page. “I thought you were supposed to be in bed, lest Santa skip this house and move onto the next.”

“Yes, but I have to make sure the fire goes out so he can get in,” you laughed, playing along. “As long as I’m up, I wouldn’t mind some company. Care to join me?”

Wordlessly, he sat down, and you closed your book. The both of you just stared at the dying flames in a peaceful silence for a while. Your mind seemed to be content to be filled with thoughts of Loki; the way he was sitting so close, the way his hands kept brushing his hair away from his face every few moments, the way he’d looked at you earlier when he’d received your gift. After you weren’t sure exactly how long, he gently said your name, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Yes?” you replied.

“I truly do your love your gift. It is beyond lovely, your generosity and thoughtfulness a true reflection of what is in your brilliant soul.”

“Loki, I can’t even express how happy I am to hear that. And thank you for your beautiful words.”

“Speaking of,” he nervously said, “the gift that I have for you, it is, well, my words. A poem. I am sorry to say, I would be a little self-conscious to give it to you in front of everyone else. Would I... Would I be able to recite it to you now?”

“Of course, Loki. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m just grateful that you’re willing to share it with me.”

“Alright then, my dear mortal. Here goes nothing.”

You shifted to a more position as he took a deep breath and opened up a journal. You waited with bated breath as he began to speak.

“From your eyes that shine as the brightest stars, to your smile that's a reflection of your radiant heart. From your gentle hands that fit as though they belong in mine, to your laugh that stops my perception of time. You've shown me kindness when I didn't feel I deserved it, you welcomed me into your world with a caring embrace and showed me I am not my mistakes. My heart beats stronger for you, the love that I feel couldn't be more true. If you will have me, I will show you the world, for you have shown me the universe, the place also known as your touch, as your mind, as your heart, as your soul. You, you are my universe.”

He looked at you expectantly, but with a hesitation understandable given what he’d just confessed. You wanted to tell him how you felt just as eloquently, but were dumbstruck that the feelings were even reciprocated.

“Loki,” you said, holding his cold hands in your warm ones. “That’s so beautiful and I-I love you, too.”

He seemed just as shocked as you that the feeling could be mutual. He squeezed your hands, at a loss for words for the first time since you’d known him. With no one to interrupt you this time, you remained lost in each other’s emotion-filled eyes. It was Loki who broke the silence.

“My dear mortal, I... May I kiss you?”

You answered by surging forward and pressing your lips to his. His hands came to cup your cheeks, and yours found his hair, tangling themselves in his dark locks. He tasted like heaven, and you sighed against his mouth. You could have stayed that way forever, and yet it could never be enough. Sadly, you had to pull away, but Loki was quick to pull you against him, holding you to his chest as if he didn’t believe you’d stay, didn’t believe he could have something so wonderful.

You stayed like that for a while, conveying things even words couldn’t say in the silence, just holding each other. Eventually, you began talking, enjoying the way a light conversation was flowing between you. Your eyes were drooping shut as you snuggled against his chest, the final embers of the fire going out. You glanced at the clock and saw that it read midnight.

“Merry Christmas, Loki,” you whispered. “There’s no one I’d rather be with than you.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, my dear mortal. I could write you a thousand poems, and still I would never properly express how much I feel the same.”

As sleep slowly claimed you, it occurred to you that you may have never even admitted how you feel without the whole Secret Santa ordeal. It seemed that it had revealed more secrets than you’d ever expected, and for that, you’d be forever grateful.

[troublesometrollhunters]

The trolls(or even changelings)with a s/o that was related to bounty hunters? (bonus points if they mainly hunted trolls(or changelings)for the money )

(I'm sorry the first time I read the ask I misunderstood it. I wrote this whole thing thinking you asked how bout the trolls being related to a bounty hunter? Sorry!!! Hope you still like this 💕

Trolls

Aarrrgh

~ You grew up with Aarrrgh in Gunmars army. You were stolen as children and indoctrinated young. However you never saw a problem with his violent ways. As a troll you had to be tough. If you weren't you didn't deserve to survive. Perhaps that's what started your want to take in traitor trolls.

~ However the older you got the more you realized how messed up Gunmars army was. You weren't family, you were soldiers. Ones he could deam unneeded at any time. You began to see how troops sometimes went missing and although you and Aarrrgh were one of Gunmars favorite generals you didn't feel like family. You felt like puppets if not puppets then pets. Aarrgh was your only true family so when Aarrrgh decided to leave you left with him no longer believing in Gunmars rein.

~ It's not long after that Killahead happens. After Killahead and the fall of Gunmar you realized there were still changelings and trolls that needed to be taken care of and you weren't going to let them get away. You and Aarrrgh lost your childhoods because of people like Gunmar you won't let that happen to anyone else.

~ You devote your life to being a bounty hunter. With your strong body and quick mind you become feared by many. You spend your days tracking down trolls that dare care themselves Gum Gums and changelings that wish to take whelps of humans or trolls.

~ When your brother became a pacifist you supoorted him a hundred percent. You continued your way of life but you completely understood why he chose to live that way. No matter what you will always love and support Aarrrgh.

~ Often your gone on long trips for your hunts but when you come back you and your brother always have a sparring match and drink glug together. Blinky becomes a close friend and your there when Aarrrgh and Blinky become mates.

~ Your an odd pair but a perfect family none the less. You love each other and you'll always support each other no matter what. He's proud of your bounty hunting and your proud that he's found a mate.

Blinky/Dictatious

~ Your parents, Dictatious, and Blinky are smart but you... you've always been the strong one. You love to read and write like the rest of your family but your more intrested in star maps and exploring than sitting and reading in a library all day. Your also a little too scatter brained to write all the time.

~ You begin wondering what you should do with your life. Blinky knows. Dictatious knows. Now you need to know. You find out what you want when some bounty hunters come to the place you and your brothers reside. Loaded with star maps and wanted posters they hunker down for the night. Seeing them at the troll pub they tell you of their adventures after you buy them some glug. You decide you want to be like them. You want to bring in bad trolls to justice!

~ You get the supplies needed and start your first hunt. Vendel and Kanjigar are proud of you but Blinkius and Dictatious don't understand. They try to be supportive but they just don't get what you enjoy about bounty hunting. It's so bloody and brutal (not the way you do it but generally hunting does involve someone being fatally injured it dying)

~ You tell them the honest truth. The honest truth is you love everything about it. The traveling and exploring. The stories and adventures. The thrill of the hunt and the reward when you come home. Maybe they don't understand but they don't need too. Your happy and their happy for you that's all that matters.

~ Every time you come home after a long hunt you bring your brothers something and they treasure it in the library. They have books, rare crystals, various magical items, and exotic writing quills from your adventures. When you come home they share all the discoveries they've made and you all lay together in the library and embrace each other for hours.

Draal

~ You want to impress your dad. You want to show how strong you can be. If he's the Trollhunter than you'll help him by bringing bad trolls to justice. Kanjigarr doenst approve.

~ You leave for months sometimes a year or more but you always return with your bounty. You collect your money and stop by home to check up on Draal and how everyone's doing. Vendel is proud of your success and Blinky has written many books about you and your adventures but Kanjigarr remains distant...

~ Draal helps you build traps and come up with battle plans and ambushes. He's always excited to help with your work and although he doenst want to be a bounty hunter he's very supportive that you are one. He spars with you whenever you get back and makes sure to keep you on your toes. He's so proud of you and he doesn't care what father thinks. Your talented and your using your talent to help people.

~ Kanjigarr is verbally against the idea and he tells you this but you don't care. Your happy. You know he wants to protect you but you can protect yourself. Besides Draals so proud of you and always buys you a round of drinks when you come home. Trollmarket always welcomes you with open arms and stories of what you missed.

~ Your so efficient at your job and it really does take a burden off Kanjigarrs shoulders. Kanjigarr and Draal love hearing your stories even of your father wont admit it. And Draal constantly brags about you and your success. He's a proud brother and he wants everyone to know it.

~ Kanjigarr still doenst aprrove but you don't care you do what makes you happy and your brothers proud and all of Trollmarket knows of your success. You learned a long time ago you don't need your fathers permission or blessing. You do what you love and maybe someday he'll understand that's all that matters.

Vendel

~ You don't to it anymore. But there was a time when you were younger that you were known as a famous bounty Hunter. You hunted and took in trolls no one else dared.

~ You helped raise Kanjigarr Draal Blinkous and Dictatious. They grew up on tales of your adventures and conquests. Whenever you left you always made sure to bring something cool back for the whelps.

~ Whenever you returned you and Vendel would drink and share stories. There was often celebrations thrown and you'd dance and sing for hours while drinking mead.

~ It'd been a long time since your adventures but around many circles you were known as thel best bounty hunter there ever was. Sometimes you'll get younger trolls just starting out ask for advice and it always warms your heart too see yoing adventures go out and make their way in this world.

Changelings

Nomura

~ Your lives had been hard. As changelings that was expected. However when Nomura became a museum curator she found her passion. She'd lived through these eras, seen history in the making. Now she was recording it and changing anything suspicious.

~ When you find your passion she was ecstatic. You've both always been good hunters and spies so the fact you found something your good at and it makes you happy makes her proud.

~ She understands the thrill of the hunt and prowling around. Every time you bring in a bounty to the Order she welcomes you home with tea and cakes. You two spend time together swapping stories and when you eventually have to return or leave on another mission she sends you off with good luck.

~ Nothing makes her happier than when you come to the Order and are greeted with high praise for your hunt. Your skills are renound and as your sister she's happy fornyour success.

Otto

~ He's completely dedicated to the Order. He'll do anything for their lord and master Gunmar. So when you decide to become a bounty hunter and take down all the traitor changelings that leave the Order he's proud.

~ Whenever you come back from a hunt he makes sure to praise you and given his high status there's always some sort of party or celebration for your hard work. He loves showing you off and knows knows when Gunmar comes you'll both be seen as invaluable pieces in his war.

~ He gets worried sometimes. Your missions can take months even a year or two and often your no contact. He's glad you love your job but there are times where he misses you. That's one of the reasons he always throws a huge party when you come back.

~ Often he'll send goblins out to check on you and you always give them little gifts and messages to take bacj to your brother. He loves receiving them and eagerly awaits for your return.

Strickler

~ Your job started when you hunted down a trader changeling that almost got you killed. Turns out you were a better hunter and tracker than a spy who blends in.

~ Your new job at the Order became hunting down traitors or failures and bringing them to justice.

~ Occasionally you'll also do a personal job. Strickler has a lot of stress. He's planning a reform and takeover of the Janus Order if someone happens to try and stop him or get in his way they don't tend to be in the eay for long.

~ Your sibling may not understand you but he loves you. You always have eachothers backs and even though changelings have no honor you two always stick close together and no matter what help each other out.

[halothenthehorns]

TLTNL- THE BEETLE AT BAY

"Oof!" Harry gasped in surprise, as Sirius had at once tackled him out of sight of the front window. At the same time, a spell blasted him from a side he couldn't even see so it must have been done silently, and then the baby was crying in surprise as Remus all but Apparated to the kitchen, wand clutched as tightly as the infant.

There was not a second more to react as the front door opened obnoxiously and an unfamiliar voice called out, "hey, Potter, you home? Mr. or Mrs. I don't really care right now-"

"Dammit man, you nearly gave me heart failure," James gasped, lowering his wand as a Weasley poked his head into the living room for the source of the voice.

At least Harry was quite sure of the last name, even not recognizing the man. He had the same vivid red hair of his best friend and a splash of freckles across his face. There was even something familiar about the stocky build and crooked grin that reminded him of, Fred?

"Gideon, what are you-"

"Black!" The man interrupted in exasperation.

Sirius straitened uneasily from crouching over Harry, but his grin flipped at once into place, even as Harry lay completely still he couldn't spot a trace of concern in his godfather. "Do you knock much? This is my best mate's house, not yours."

"Your own fault for leaving the door open," Gideon shrugged without remorse, a clear mocking expression he'd shocked the man so bad he'd rolled off his seat. Then he cocked his head to the side and looked to the kitchen where the infant's crying was just now subsiding. "Lupin here too? You couple a wankers, you four realize you missed an Order meeting last night? I got sent over here to find out why, and inform your best mate you missed your check in."

Sirius managed to scowl while looking properly chagrined. "Right, about that, err, Remus had a bit of a rough night so we came straight here, and he's only just woken up so I was staying behind to check on him."

"And all three of you had to do that eh?"

There wasn't real skepticism in his voice, but it was clear he found something off. Lily must have noticed, as she stepped forward and started ushering him to the kitchen. "Well he's in there making some tea now, you and Sirius join him to get this mess out of the way."

Sirius gave an exaggerated yawn, and an even more exaggerated shake as he walked over Harry, following them out. James cast one more uneasy look where he'd last seen Harry before following, considering he didn't have a suspicious reason not to.

  Harry stayed where he was, not moving an inch, yet his heart still thudding so loudly he was grateful it hadn't given him away. He finally shifted his eyes down and saw that he'd been disillusioned, likely missing the cold sensation from his rush of shock.

He could very faintly hear voices from the kitchen, certainly surmise the easy tone they were all using which was probably what had stopped Remus bolting out the back door in the first place if that's what he'd heard from here. He started to worry when he grew stiff from his position, wondering how long disillusionment charms lasted, and very much wishing he'd asked Moody to teach him the spell when he'd had the chance. Dare he make a move for the Invisibility Cloak while he had the chance? He wasn't even sure his wand would work on the false wall, but it was better than lying here waiting to be discovered, he didn't know what would happen to his family if he was, let alone him.

He'd just convinced himself to at least go hide in the bathroom rather than the middle of the floor when he heard scraping chairs and voices back in the hallway. He checked one last time to make sure he still blended with his surroundings as Gideon's voice said, "-let this happen again, you'll have Dumbledore start questioning you lot. I warned him about something like this happening, you lot ain't even thirty yet-"

"I resent that!" Sirius snapped.

"And resemble it," he heard Remus mutter even more quietly.

"I promise Gideon, it was a one time thing," Lily spoke over both of them.

"We've far too much invested in, affairs," James agreed, an edge to his voice that made Harry's skin crawl as he remembered who all his family wanted to have a word with involving the Order.

Something of this must have meant something to Gideon as well, his tone just a touch more understanding now, "alright then, happens to the best of us."

Harry heard the door open again, before Gideon said his last piece, "well you lot look after yourselves." Then in a much more affectionate tone, "and have the little guy come over some time," he made a little coo noise and the baby responded back with a giggle. "Molly'd love the company."

"It's on my to do list," Lily promised, before there was a snap, and quiet came.

"I should at least get to have the privilege of shoving his wand up his arse," Sirius muttered as he stomped back into the living room. "Scaring the bleeding piss out of us."

"Maybe if Remus would stop losing his keys, I'd actually lock the door once in awhile," James rebutted good naturedly.

"It's hard keeping track of the one key." He protested, "we don't use one to lock our flat, you know that, it was an Apparition only. Why do you think it was so cheap?"

"I keep offering to give him one to my bike, but for some reason, he makes that face," Sirius snickered.

They hesitated for one more moment, Lily hovering next to the window just to be sure, before she hissed, "Harry?"

"Yeah," he called back just as softly, "still down here."

She took a moment to aim carefully, and then Harry sighed in relief as he got to his feet, shaking his limbs to get some feeling back.

"So that's Gideon Prewett eh?"

"Far as we know," Sirius rolled his eyes, "or it could have been Fabian, they're as bad as Fred and George with that gag of theirs, but they're a tad less fun about it when you swap them, so I think Prongs guessed right."

Harry hesitated uneasily before whispering, "did I get you guys in trouble?"

James said no at once, but Lily sighed and admitted, "it did look suspicious, Remus' full moon was four nights ago after all, but as long as we've been with the Order now I think we worked it out alright."

Harry still fidgeted guilty, but James seemed determined to wave the whole thing off now as he collected the book that had fallen to the floor. "Honestly Harry, don't worry about it. Besides, the faster we're done with these things, the faster that you can meet the Order yourself and this whole mess can be sorted out."

Harry was still worried though. Gideon may go back and tell everything was okay, but what if someone else came to check on their absence, a particular rat who would be very confused why his three best friends had skipped without mentioning it to him? But he'd said the last time, hadn't he, he wouldn't be back around for quite some time, and hadn't disclosed why. Would this change things, make him come back around sooner? Harry wasn't even sure if he wanted that to happen or not...

James was already flipping back through chapters looking for his place, Lily sinking down in relief beside him. Remus and Sirius exchanged one last look before glaring at the door, as if daring it to do that to them again before they took their seats back as well. Clearly outvoted, Harry returned his attention back to this, for now.

Harry's question was answered the very next morning.

James grunted in agitation, he hadn't really wanted an answer to this, but he supposed it was some kind of good thing he was getting one so soon instead of having to wait forever like every other question he had.

It was found in Hermione's Daily Prophet, the moment she'd flipped it open she'd yelped in shock startling everyone in hearing range.

"That was not encouraging," Sirius muttered, his face already twisted with dislike before he got an explanation.

Hardly waiting to be asked, she laid it down flat for the boys to see, and it wasn't a pretty sight.

Gazing up at them were ten black and white pictures, each with a caption underneath of the crime for why they'd been sentenced to Azkaban.

James's voice hitched in his throat, gazing with unfiltered fear at that last word before glancing wordlessly at his best mate, whose features had turned icy at the reminder of the place. He had not a clue what this could be about, but he already felt who this was going to be hardest on. If Sirius' name came back up in conjunction with that prison again, he was probably going to have to resuscitate him what with all the terrible fears he'd been feeling of being cooped up back in Grimmauld place.

A man with a twisted face named Antonin Dolohov was convicted for the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.

Even having been one of the first people they'd found out we're going to die, somehow having just had some morning tea with the man still made this news feel sharper. It was made all the worse they could put a name to the man who would do it. For Harry it felt even worse, he could feel that thorn in his mind promising the violence wouldn't end. Names and fears crowded together inside him that he had no hope of understanding, and he was almost grateful for it.

Also Algernon Rookwood, a pockmarked man whose picture looked rather bored, his crime; being convicted for leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to You-Know-Who.

Harry shivered hard at the reminder of that name, red fumed memories tainted and waiting to throw him into a deep abyss if he dared peak.

The one who stuck out to Harry the most was the woman, with long dark hair and a disdainful smile. Like Sirius, Azkaban had not fully taken away her once beauty, but the features were now more of a veil.

Sirius continued to grow more sallow in here until he resembled a bleached copy of himself at the idea of retaining any features from the woman who would do that to someone he considered a friend. He wanted to be mad, to rage at Harry he was nothing like that excuse for a human being, but as of now he was afraid of feeling anything in fear of drawing dementors here.

Harry wanted to catch Sirius' eye, in that moment he was desperate for his godfather to look at him for a promise that everything would be okay again no matter how much he got angry when they tried to do it, but he needed one now. Sirius wouldn't look at him though, he wasn't looking at anyone, but instead he was watching the fire, eyes unfocused as if he weren't even here.

Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

Lily spluttered for a moment before starting to twist some hair around her fingers in agitation. She didn't like that was just posted on the front of a paper where you could also find the morning weather. It felt callous, all of those had! Neville had clearly not told many people, and now it wouldn't be hard for them to put the pieces together.

Finally Harry tore his eyes away from the front cover to notice the headline above the images: Mass Breakout from Azkaban, Black 'Rallying Point' for Old Death Eaters.

"Why would they use Bellatrix's maiden name," Remus forced out quietly, his face already simmering below shouting levels if he used anything else.

James had no response. No wisecrack came to mind, no utter of denial was enough to cover this.

Lily felt a mess of things well up in her, not least of which was she wanted to weep for him and what this could mean. What if they finally acknowledged Voldemort was back, but they tried to blame it all on Sirius! He'd escaped and a year later Voldemort had returned, she could easily envision the Ministry making that leap after this new slander, and she'd want to return the favor by tearing their throats out!

Sirius looked slowly around at them, Lily opening and closing her mouth but nothing getting through, James and Remus threatening murder again, Harry's visible outrage, and he smiled. He could feel what a lopsided, twisted thing it was considering this wasn't funny, but he could also imagine reading this news at Grimmauld place and sitting there all alone feeling everything they were, in his own shadowed corner. So he started giggling.

"Padfoot, I swear-"

"No, no," he ducked as Remus actually moved to start smothering him. "I'm not for the reason you think I am, I swear! Just, just keep going Prongs," he managed to insist past his hysterics of gratitude he wasn't alone now.

The best thing in the world was his best mate scowling at him, but then there was just the smallest spark of understanding in his eyes and he kept going.

Harry made to start shouting in outrage about this, but Hermione quickly shushed him and urged him to read the whole thing.

Harry grudgingly did, finding it to say the Ministry of Magic had announced last night the mass breakout from Azkaban.

"How?" Lily's voice broke over the word, in fear or anger they still weren't sure. "I honestly, I just can't believe this, what is happening!"

"The world's joining the toilet," Sirius offered, still with that insufferable look in place Lily wanted to curse off. Of all the times for Sirius to force his sense of humor on them! Never mind that she almost found it a comfort he could laugh in the face of this again, even if it was going to drive her crazy instead.

Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic,

"Oh trust me, we're all well aware," Remus said in disgust, still eying Sirius with concern at his forced bravado through all this. He couldn't play off forever this wasn't getting to him, and Remus was getting worried what he'd really do when that happened, most likely much worse than just leaving this place and being knocked out again. James was clearly going out of obligation for his son at this point to get through these, otherwise he probably would have quit at the start of three out of sheer anger for what was being done to his friends. It somehow managed to keep getting worse. Remus just wished he had something more to offer than to be angry for them. He was already a useless waste in this future, he should be able to do something for them in here!

had confirmed this fact and already informed the Muggle Prime Minister, being quoted as saying we they found themselves in much the same position as two and a half years ago when Sirius Black performed the same thing, and they did not believe the two instances were unrelated.

"I mean, under other circumstances, I can't even blame them for that one," Sirius had his head cocked to the side, ignoring his double vision from forcing himself to pay attention to this rather than the screaming rant he really did want to give.

An escape of this magnitude suggested outside help, and they must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban,

"You mean they never even reported Jr.!" Harry spluttered in outrage as he realized this. "How- they actually managed to cover that whole thing up!"

He didn't get an answer, and he wasn't expecting one. He knew with the Ministry trying to discredit Dumbledore at every turn now that anything he'd had to say would be tarnished, but it was maddening they wouldn't admit to one single thing they'd done wrong in the past two years of his life, what else were they covering up?

would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. They thought it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader.

"I never even captained the Quidditch team, what makes them think I can pull this off?" Sirius asked with an insufferable attempt at politeness, every one of them now fighting the impulse to hit him themselves already.

They were doing all they could to round up the criminals,

"Because that worked out so well the last time," Remus sneered.

and begged the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.

"Paper was finally done," James told them in clipped tones, realizing that was all the information they were going to get on this for now.

Lily had finally collected the energy to finish her outrage. "How did this happen? They can't get away with this one, they just can't! No one will buy the dementors just stood by and let this happen, inside job my arse! The dementors defected, there is no other explanation! In piling up their own lies, they're only forcing people to see the truth that much sooner!"

"I find it a bleeding miracle this was put in at all instead of what type of crumpet Fudge had for breakfast," Remus agreed.

"There's no way they wouldn't get caught if they didn't report something like this," James disagreed critically. "Even with the very low amount of check ups that go into that place, they clearly decided it was better to stay ahead of this in case one of them was spotted."

Harry didn't have the air to add in, he was still too focused on his own deep seated worry. How things kept getting worse rather than better as he sat in school and did nothing. The DA was the only way he could fight back, and it didn't feel as if it would help for much longer before something irreversible happened because of all this.

Ron said for Harry this must have been what Voldemort was so happy about last night.

Harry rubbed furiously at his temple for the reminder he hadn't needed from Ron.

Harry was still the most outraged Fudge was blaming this on Sirius!

"So much for being in Kolkata," James murmured, heart tightening painfully as he envisioned them grabbing back one of those convicts, the entirely wrong one! If Fudge got wind something was up in the Auror department and Sirius was much closer to home...but no! Sirius was fine, the Order would look after him and he'd keep his nose safe because he had to!

Hermione bitterly pointed out he had no other options, he could hardly go back now and apologize Dumbledore had warned this would happen.

"That didn't make any of this any better," Lily said through gritted teeth, even when this one wasn't Hermione's fault.

Hermione ripped the paper open to continue reading further on the subject through other pages, the faces still blinking at them from the front page. Harry glanced around him, but saw no other students seemed remotely concerned at this topic, but then he supposed, hardly any of them took the paper. Conversation around him still swelled about homework and Quidditch, not that Voldemort's ranks had swollen.

Sirius felt a bitter sigh escape him. What he would give for Harry to be the same way, to just be reading about his pup complaining about a normal detention and wondering who next to pull mischief on. The poor kid ran a terrible life that only seemed to be getting worse.

The staff table was a much different story. McGonagall and Dumbledore were leaning in closely and whispering urgently, and Sprout was so engrossed in the same cover as Hermione she didn't even realize her breakfast was dripping into her lap. Umbridge, instead of her pouchy eyes sweeping the hall for trouble as usual, was throwing the rest of the staff nasty looks.

"Well that can't be good," Remus muttered, wondering what new form of evil she could pass in the farce of a decree in her efforts to stop them talking next.

Hermione whispered another shock, and Harry demanded what just as loudly as last time, starting to feel jumpy.

"At this point I can't even blame you," James agreed, his eyes trying to skip ahead lines now to see this new misfortune as well.

Hermione stated it was horrible, lying it down flat for them again, the two boys leaning in to read the new headline: Tragic Demise of Ministry Worker.

"Who would have thought I'd ever be grateful it's not another headline about me," Sirius sighed.

The article read; St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49,

Sirius grumbled in agitation he still couldn't place where he'd heard that name before. Wait, had it something to do with those Ministry- "Chicken!" Sirius suddenly burst out for no discernable reason other than to interrupt.

"Sirius, we just had breakfast-" Lily said in exasperation, but he ignored her as well, babbling at top speed with a look of relief on his face. "I remember where I heard Bode's name, that bloke from St. Mungo's who couldn't talk, or was just starting to talk, whatever! Fire breathing chicken, he was in the elevator on the way to Harry's trial!"

There was an echoing silence for a moment before Remus told him, "you're mind works in the strangest way."

Sirius shrugged in relief, finally satisfied that odd tickle was gone from his brain.

Oddly though, this made Harry start to frown again with unease. Just what was it about the name Bode he was supposed to be remembering? Sirius was lucky he'd had his moment, because Harry struggled with every one of his.

was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a pot plant.

James couldn't help his brows creep with interest at this, understanding now why it had distracted Hermione from the larger matter he was still plenty outraged about. This was certainly...new.

Healer Strout, overseer of Bodes Ward, was suspended with full pay while the investigation took place, her statement being that the plant had been anonymously delivered over Christmas break. Bode, who had been hospitalized as incapable of caring for himself, had been steadily improving so had been encouraged to handle the plant himself, neither realizing the Flitterbloom it was supposed to be was in fact a cut of Devil's Snare. The moment Bode had attempted care, he had been throttled to death.

Remus scrutinized this for a moment before finally blurting out, "you must be kidding. Why did someone kill a mental person?"

"You got me," James agreed before shushing him for the rest.

St. Mungos is as yet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward.

"Now I'm done," James finished.

"Yes, thank you for that wonderful conclusion," Remus snipped before pressing his point. "I mean it, the bloke couldn't say his own name, what on earth was the real story there?"

"I really wish we knew," Sirius grumbled as he ran his hand through his hair in agitation, always feeling like he was missing part of the story, even the ones he was involved in.

Harry was horrified they hadn't recognized the plant while they'd been there, they'd experienced it first hand.

"Oh Harry no," Lily said at once. "You can't be blamed for this, it would have happened whether you'd been there or not-"

"But we were there," Harry stated. "What's the use of being around if not to help when we could have."

"For the same reason you can't stop every man jumping in front of a bus," Lily said, her tone itching towards real concern. "Things happen around you Harry, but it's not your fault if you couldn't stop them."

He only nodded to appease her, but not for the first time wondered just what good he'd ever done anyone.

Ron said back at once it was no one's fault but the person who sent it, then asked of no one who didn't check the plant they were buying.

"Oh Ron can't mean that one," James rolled his eyes. "He must know as well as anyone this was no accident."

"Maybe it could have been though," Lily strained to keep some peace in any life. "Deliveries get mispackaged, what if this was supposed to be sent somewhere else, and that Healer truly wouldn't know the difference if she'd never touched it herself."

James took a moment to appraise her, see her desperate plea for something not to be hate and murder, and nodded slowly. "You're right Lils, accidents do happen out there."

Lily leaned into him with one knot of unease finally releasing her, more grateful than ever to the man she'd married.

Hermione told him now he was being thick, this was no accident, but a clever murder. Being sent anonymous meant no one would even know who, but the real question was why?

"Congratulations! Someone helped beef up security at St. Mungo's, they probably won't be accepting anonymous gifts now!" Sirius jumped in and tried to praise this situation, Lily scowling at him for what she thought of as sarcasm. Sirius just huffed he wasn't appreciated enough.

Harry's mind went back, to when he'd first met Bode, at the Ministry of Magic when he'd been with Arthur.

"How do you still manage to remember things before me," Harry huffed.

"It's alright Harry," Sirius said bracingly, "as my wondrous friends so frequently point out, my mind is a steel trap that forgets nothing."

"I said you're an idiot who who can't remember anything except when the next meal is," Remus corrected.

"Actually you told him his mind works in strange ways, I think both count here," James grinned, actually grinned at his two friends, every second of his life now set on the idea he'd never have to go without seeing this.

"It was implied," Remus rolled his eyes while James swallowed a laugh and kept going.

Ron's mouth opened with surprise as he finally recalled where he'd heard that name, his dad had mentioned it! Bode worked as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries!

"Oh," they all muttered, rather forcefully dropped back into the story at the mention of that.

"Well, that just made a lot more sense," Lily shivered.

"He was working with the Death Eater's to try and get this mystery thing out of there as well, but something went wrong," James concluded.

"So someone silenced him," Remus agreed.

James gave an apologetic look to Lily who was frowning deeply at all of this, and he could honestly understand why. He could feel more every day what would happen to his friends and how it was getting to him, the same thing was happening to her on the wider scale of the world, all the injustice that never ended. He tried to hurry on, wanting to hear about a lesson already, anything but Hermione finding another article in the paper.

Hermione continued glaring down at the paper, before suddenly jumping to her feet.

Ron asked where she was running off to, but she hardly took notice as she grabbed her bag and walked away, muttering she was the only one who could.

"I love it when she does that," Sirius said, only half being sarcastic now. "It usually means something's fixing to happen that I like."

"I just wish she'd explain before she goes off," James agreed, still scrutinizing that one, but pleased one of his wishes had come true, at least in the short term.

As she vanished the two got up as well, though headed out into the Entrance Hall. Ron told he hated when she did that, it would only take her a few seconds longer to explain, but was cut off as they ran into Hagrid.

He was pausing in line as well, and still looked as heavily bruised as when he'd first returned, a new cut even across his nose.

All five of them felt their faces fold in concern at the same time. If they could have an answer to something going on, they wished it was whatever had really happened to Hagrid, as clearly it was still affecting him.

He greeted them casually enough, too casually as he tried to say he was busy with some salamanders, lessons to prepare, but finished on a mumble he was on probation.

"I wish I was more surprised," Remus snapped.

"Still plenty disgusted by it," Sirius sneered.

Ron shouted in protest of this, before several students looked around in surprise, and he repeated himself in a whisper.

"I sincerely doubt it's a secret," James scowled. "Surprised Umbridge hasn't posted that news as the headline herself."

Hagrid said he'd expected it, they may not have noticed, but his inspections hadn't been going that well.

"What I saw was a prejudice loogie who needs to have a run in with a spit already," Lily said flatly.

He dismissed himself quickly, clearly still not at all in the conversation. Harry watched him go, wondering how much more bad news he could stand.

"Oh please stop tempting fate Harry, it usually dumps twice as much back," James sighed.

The fact that Hagrid was now on probation became common knowledge within the school over the next few days, but to Harry's indignation, hardly anybody appeared to be upset about it,

Harry looked nearly as affronted as the news Sirius was being blamed for Voldemort's doing. What was wrong with people they couldn't see who was in the wrong with these things!

Draco Malfoy seemed positively gleeful.

"I hope he keeps that expression when I create The Amazing Bouncing Ferret, the Squeakquel," Sirius vowed.

As for the Death of Bode, only the trio seemed to know or care about that.

"Well that I actually believe," Lily sighed. Not many people read the paper for any of the important stories, which is probably why the Ministry still published them, to claim they were keeping people informed in as little detail as possible.

What did become the hot topic of the school, was the news finally being passed around of the ten escaped Death Eaters. Rumors and fear quickly went wild, many fearing and claiming to have already seen them in Hogsmeade, and hiding out in the Shrieking Shack as Sirius Black had once done.

James had to pause there to reread that one, mostly for the Shrieking Shack line.

"Did the whole school find out about me being in there?" Sirius demanded in confusion.

"Peeves spread it around," Harry confirmed. "Of course the whole thing got jumbled, I even heard one girl telling you were actually the ghost haunting that place, but now most people are aware it's somehow connected to the grounds and you can get in and out of there some way. Never heard anything more clear than that."

"Well thankfully we'll never get a repeat of any kind of Sirius' incident," Remus said with absolute confidence. "The Death Eaters aren't stupid enough to come after the school with Dumbledore here."

James tried to nod in agreement, but instead managed to let his glasses fall of his face he was jerking so much. He quickly put them back and kept going loudly before Sirius could suggest, again, he permanently stick them in place, no one noticing a similar reaction passing over Harry.

Those who came from wizarding parents had grown up hearing the names from the paper with as much fear as Voldemort's, and relatives of the victims were among the students, and were now receiving some gruesome form of celebrity status.

"Maybe this'll make them all realize how Harry feels," James said grimly, he still couldn't think about his son's fame without a whirl of emotions, none of them good.

Susan Bones, whose uncle, aunt, and cousins had also been in the paper with their captors crime posting, told Harry how horrible it was, she didn't know how Harry stood it.

"I guess the empathy's kind of nice," Lily said grudgingly.

"Still wouldn't have asked for it like this," Harry said softly, he'd never want anyone else to know what it felt like to be him.

Harry also had a new upsurge of mutterings around his name, but to his surprise, they held a new tone. Now he caught a hint of curiosity in the whispers. Like Hermione, the rest of the school had come to the conclusion the Prophet's line of the news had left some holes, and they were starting to fear the real answer was the only other one, what Harry had been saying.

"Would you look at that, they've grown brains," Remus politely applauded.

"Only took them half a year, guess they can't all be as rational as us," Sirius smirked.

"I think you meant orotund," Lily pleasantly corrected.

Sirius frowned, not recognizing the word, but sure by her tone he knew the meaning so scowled at her for good measure.

She continued by ignoring him, "I'm just happy it's happening at all, I've sympathy for them not wanting to believe it even when it was in their face."

"How was that nicer than what they said?" James politely asked.

"I didn't try to insult the students while praising myself, you lot do that enough yourself," she smirked.

Harry was laughing too hard for the argument to keep going with any amount, so James rolled his eyes before continuing.

It wasn't just the students with a new mood, the teachers were now commonly seen clustered close together in corridors talking in low whispers, though quickly breaking apart when they saw anyone approaching.

"Must be as hard for the teachers as it was for Harry to find a moment of not being watched by the toad," Remus said in sympathy.

Hermione explained they could hardly talk in the staff room with Umbridge around.

Ron asked if they knew anything extra, and Harry said if they did, they couldn't tell even if they wanted to. Not after, what Decree where they on now?

"Oh no," Lily mouthed in horror as James read out a new level of idiotic.

That very morning, new Order of the High Inquisitor Notices had been posted around Hogwarts; stating teachers were hereby banned from discussing anything with students that was not strictly relevant to their assigned subjects.

"I was joking!" Remus spluttered, hardly pausing for breath as he explained his earlier thought. "Merlin, I think I'm more insulted I'm still surprised she's doing this!"

"I'm more insulted she keeps getting away with it," Lily corrected with pure disgust.

This had at first caused a wave of amusement for some students, Lee Jordan happily pointing out to the woman herself when she'd caught him and the twins playing Exploding Snap Umbridge couldn't say anything about it because it wasn't to do with Defence.

"Thank you!" James burst out with pride. "Finally, someone really showing Umbridge just how ludicrous all of this was, I was beginning to fear everyone in this school was just playing along with them!"

When Harry next saw Lee, the back of his hand was bleeding rather badly.

Harry watched them all hiss at the reminder of that, he rubbing at the back of his hand again in sympathy.

Harry recommended essence of Murtlap.

Harry had thought the breakout from Azkaban might have humbled Umbridge a little,

Sirius gave a hollow laugh for such a dream, when he more envisioned chucking her into Azkaban instead. He didn't need dementors there, she could just rot in a cell and left to die and he'd be happy.

Instead her fury had intensified, and she seemed determined to bring every aspect of life in school under her control. Her goal of now was clearly a sacking, and the only question was who first, Hagrid or Trelawney.

James groaned loudly in pity for the two of them. Neither were, ahem, perfect teachers really, but neither had ever done anything so bad as to deserve this! Okay, so maybe Trelawney had irked them one too many times, especially last year when Harry'd had that dream in her class. Okay, Hagrid and those Skrewts had crossed the limit of what he should be bringing to class, but the real trauma was that Snape wasn't on that list! He'd done far worse than the two of them put together, where was his sacking slip!

Every single class of theirs was now overseen by Umbridge and her clipboard. This caused Trelawney to act near hysterics at all hours, being interrogated about ornithomancy and Umbridge insisting she predict the students answers before she gave them while also wanting first hand experience of crystal gazing and rune stone readings.

Lily groaned in sympathy though. Not even liking Trelawney she would have long since stepped in and told Umbridge to march herself back out and go do her own work, though in her opinion it only showed how much effort Umbridge had to put into her own classes to be seen in so many others.

Harry thought Professor Trelawney might soon crack under the strain. Several times he passed her in the corridors -

Remus frowned in confusion, easily remembering her rarity of doing this from all of Harry's previous years.

which in itself was a sight as before she rarely left her tower, but could now be seen walking through corridors, wringing her hands and muttering to herself, while smelling like sherry.

"The poor broads as crazy as I always said she was," Sirius said, but there was nothing but sorrow in his voice. Even after the prophecy she'd declared that had nearly ended his life, this wasn't exactly what he would have wanted to happen to her in return. He wouldn't wish that toad on anyone.

Harry would have felt sorrier for her, but if it was between her and Hagrid, he knew who he'd pick.

"Yet the probability of both being gone is far more likely, as he said, it was only a matter of who first," Remus muttered for himself.

Unfortunately, Hagrid wasn't doing much better. He'd finally taken Hermione's advice and had shown nothing more dangerous than a crup for their class, but was still very distracted during lessons, answered easy questions wrong, and often trailed off in the middle of sentences while glancing anxiously at Umbridge. This was all made worse by the fact he'd forbidden them from visiting.

"It felt like he'd never even come back," Harry whispered.

Lily bit hard at her lip, wanting more every moment to go to him and wrap him tight in her arms, promise this would somehow get better, but they were all running out of that assurance the more Umbridge did.

Insisting if she caught him, his job would be in even worse jeopardy, and they'd all be in even more trouble.

Harry felt as if Umbridge were steadily depriving him of everything he loved of Hogwarts; first letters from Sirius, then his Firebolt and Quidditch, now she was even trying to keep Hagrid away permanently.

James had tensed more with every line, unable to imagine his old school falling into such a grim form of itself for his son, the one reprieve he'd ever had in his life.

He took his revenge the only way he could - by redoubling his efforts for the DA.

The news of the ten Death Eaters had spurred his group into working harder than ever, but nobody more so than Neville.

While unsurprised by this, they all wanted to praise Neville in that moment for taking this the right direction, rather than curling up in a corner and crying as he was entitled to do at that woman escaping back into any section of his life. He had something to fight for now.

He had not spoken of seeing them that day at St. Mungo's, and taking the lead from them, neither had they. Yet the change was obvious to all in the DA, as with every new spell he hardly spoke a word to anyone, his face screwed up with concentration regardless of injuries or mishaps, it was almost unnerving. The only person mastering them faster now was Hermione.

Lily almost threatened to tear up at this news. She'd always known Neville had more potential in him than Harry had ever seen, but now she thought of how proud Alice would be of her son just like she was for her own. The idea Alice may never get to say it to her child just like she hadn't in this future felt unbearable.

Harry wished he were progressing as much with his Occlumency, on the contrary, he felt he was getting worse each week.

James shivered in unease, he hadn't found that possible!

Before he'd started, his scar had prickled occasionally. Now it was a constant feeling of being nettled, and he often felt great mood shifts that had nothing to do with his own surroundings.

Remus could feel his mouth opening in horror at the idea, and quickly scrambled to cover the expression, but Harry had seen. "Okay, so I won't lie," he confessed to his pale nephew. "The fact that I have no clue what that means is..." he faltered, but no word seemed right. "Doesn't make you any less to me," he finished meeting his eyes.

Harry relaxed back with a chagrined nod he'd thought otherwise for even a second, while Remus was still stunned what he thought clearly meant as much to him as James or Sirius.

His recurring dream had turned into a nightly occurrence of traveling down the dark corridor. Upon complaint of this to his friends, Hermione had suggested it was like a fever, it would be worse before it got better.

"I'm getting the feeling this Occlumency is another symptom rather than a cure then," Harry huffed, he still couldn't feel any good came of this.

Harry said flatly Snape's lessons were only making it worse! He was sick of walking down that corridor, he wished it would open already!

Hermione scolded that wasn't funny,

"He wasn't trying to be," James rolled his eyes, honestly sympathetic to Harry's problem and wishing this would come to ahead already, this building tension of what this thing could do was going to drive them all mad faster than Umbridge.

Dumbledore didn't want him dreaming about that at all or he wouldn't have asked Snape to do this, he just wasn't trying hard enough.

"Lets see her try it!" Sirius spluttered in protest for her jab. "It's no walk in the park having your brain cracked open, let alone by such a detested insect!"

Harry snapped back he was trying, lets see her do the same, having Snape in her head, it was not a laugh!

The two exchanged an amused grin, while Remus grumbled no one needed Harry furthering Sirius' never ending idiotics.

Ron voiced the suggestion that maybe Snape wasn't trying to help at all.

The worst part was, the Marauders had been wondering much the same thing. They hadn't said it aloud, never let the idea come to fruition, but it made too much sense to them. They didn't trust Snape, and they never would, certainly not with something as important as this. Now, with Ron saying it for them, James forced out the words slowly and clearly to help put together his own train of thought past curses.

Maybe he was doing the opposite, opening Harry's mind for You-Know-Who.

Hermione told him to shut up. How many times had they suspected Snape? Dumbledore trusted him, as did the Order, that should be enough!

James turned pasty in shock of remembering who was in the Order and Dumbledore trusted, and his own fate because of it. James wasn't even sure if he could trust anyone outside this room again, let alone anyone Dumbledore said should be good enough.

"Not for me it's not," Sirius barked, entirely wanting Hermione to shut up instead. "I've never seen evidence against him either! Dumbledore's word isn't good enough for this, not with what Harry needs right now."

Lily kept herself calm, and quiet. She only agreed with Sirius on half, she did want that proof of his loyalty, he had done to many questionable, terrible things that she now needed something she never thought she would. She almost wished Ron hadn't said this, because now she couldn't get the idea out of her head, this certainly hadn't occurred to her. She'd thought her old friend was finally doing some irrefutable good helping her son with this, but the boys were right, they had nothing to show for whose good.

Ron insisted he used to be a Death Eater, they never had proof he'd changed.

Hermione said they had to trust Dumbledore, if not him, then they couldn't trust anyone.

"I hope that's not true," James whispered for himself. That small ember for the life of one of his friends had died out never to be seen again, but he still trusted his real friends, his wife. He used to trust Dumbledore irrefutably, but that no longer felt as real either, and he knew he'd never fully get that back after all this. If that's really where Hermione stood, he pitied her.

With so much going on, the month of January flew by, and before Harry knew it, he was looking at February fourteenth, a whole warm spring day spent in the company of Hogsmeade, and Cho Chang.

Sirius made such an enthusiastic noise Harry startled away from him, his eyes already narrowed at all of them and fighting back the urge to wrestle the book away from his father.

"Dad, I will-"

"No." James said at once without looking up.

"But I-"

"No." Sirius cut in, a smile already lighting his features as he looked at the object like it was gold.

"What if I-" Harry tried desperately.

"No." Remus crossed his arms and watched him as if he'd gone insane trying to ruin their fun.

"Can't I-"

"No," all three Marauders said at once.

He looked desperately to his mother, but she could only shrug helplessly for her poor boy, only wishing for a moment she could be more sympathetic, but that vanished in moments as she was honestly just as eager to hear this.

"Well I don't need to-" he started getting to his feet and contemplating drowning himself in the bathtub until this was over, but was again intervened.

"Don't you even," Sirius cried in protest, wrenching his elbow back into his seat before he'd even managed to stand. "Your reactions are half the fun!"

"Only half," he muttered, pulling restlessly, but Sirius wasn't letting go, now waving James on eagerly so they could all hear about Harry's first date.

He hadn't much time to talk to Cho up till this point, and now he'd have to find some way to talk to her for a whole day.

He dressed very carefully the morning of.

Sirius was already opening his mouth with a now familiar look that promised Harry would soon wish to be deaf and invisible. "I am begging you-"

"Harry, we haven't managed to stop him in the amount of years in our life, you hold no chance," Remus pleasantly informed him.

Sirius hadn't acknowledged either one of them as he blurted, "hope you got one of those mirrors offering advice, you're going to need it!"

James already burst out laughing while Harry finally got his elbow free, and spotted the cat snoozing under the table. He scooped Hickory up and placed him on his lap, scratching at his ears and making him purr loud enough Harry hoped to drown them all out instead.

They arrived at breakfast to see Hermione impatiently watching the owls arrive, and she seemed to get what she was wanting, an unfamiliar bird perching in front of her. She eagerly ripped the envelope open saying it was about time, she'd needed it today.

"I'm guessing this has to do with what she walked off about earlier," Remus cocked his head to the side, more easily distracted than the others about what Hermione was doing.

"Brilliant deduction," Lily rolled her eyes at him while the other two shushed them, trying to get to far more important matters.

Whatever it was, she declared it as important, and asked if Harry'd meet her at the Three Broomsticks at midday.

Harry was uncertain, saying Cho might be expecting him to spend the whole day with her, they'd never discussed what they were doing.

Harry squirmed with discomfort, this wasn't working and the cat glared at him and kneaded his claws into his shin. He roughly pushed the animal back off of him, thinking now everyone in here was enjoying themselves more than him.

Lily frowned at her son being so rough with her cat, but as the boys were still lightly snickering over something so minor, she couldn't find it in her to scold him for that.

Hermione said she didn't care if Cho came, but she really needed him to come.

Harry agreed, then asked why, but she said she'd explain that later and ran off to send a reply.

Harry asked if Ron was coming, but he looked glum.

"Here I was wondering if he and Hermione were going to spend the day alone," Sirius muttered to Remus suggestively, who nodded in agreement as he'd thought the same thing.

He however couldn't come at all, Angelina was having them spend the whole day training, though he didn't see how it would help, they were the worst team.

James felt his mood take a downpour at once, somehow finding a new way to be depressed about this every time he realized why no more Quidditch practices had been mentioned!

He couldn't understand why Angelina wouldn't just let him resign.

"I wouldn't either," James said sharply. "He's clearly good when he sets his mind to it, he just needs to work on that far more, clearly Angelina isn't much help if he's still thinking the exact same way as the last time we heard about this."

Harry couldn't hold much sympathy for him, as at least he was flying at all. They departed with a touch of frost, and after attempting to flatten his hair and checking his reflection in a teaspoon,

James was so agitated by the conversation, he poured every last drop of his enthusiasm into reading that, and though Remus and Sirius didn't laugh as hard because they were just as annoyed at the reminder, Harry suddenly wasn't so put out at them taking the mickey out of him for this. It was certainly better than anything else they'd been hearing about lately, so he finally fixed a smile into place and prepared himself for all the ribbing they'd give.

and proceeded alone to the Entrance Hall to meet Cho, feeling very apprehensive and wondering what on earth they were going to talk about.

"Well we know you already have something in common," James said, still a bit briskly for the Quidditch reminder, but clearly forcing himself to remain in his good mood.

"Yeah, yeah you're right," Harry eagerly agreed at once, still trying to force himself to join in on their fun.

He greeted her uneasily, and she gave just as awkward a reply back as they joined the que to go outside past Filch without speaking more.

"This is going to be a very short outing if that continues," Sirius' grin managed to keep stretching, it looked almost painful.

"Young love," Remus giggled at the awkward look Harry was clearly trying hard to keep repressed now.

It was a relief to reach the soft grass, but there was a sharp pang as Harry still couldn't help glancing to the pitch where he could see Ginny skimming the edge of the stands on her broom, looking for the Snitch.

Harry felt the same sharp pang in here, temporarily distracted in confusion that he'd much rather be playing a game than on a date with a girl he'd had a crush on for so long.

Cho asked if he missed it, noticing where he was looking.

Harry agreed at once, and she asked him if he still remembered the game they'd played against each other in third year.

"Vividly," James beamed.

Harry agreed she'd kept blocking him, Cho giggling in remembrance how Wood had yelled at him for being a gentleman and Harry should knock her off her broom.

"And look at you pup, still a gentleman considering you never did it," Sirius grinned.

"Not everyone can say the same," James smirked.

Lily opened and closed her mouth, not sure if she wanted to know what that comment meant, but James didn't pause long enough for her to ask.

Cho asked if it was true he'd been taken on by Pride of Portree.

"No, it was Puddlemere United," James recalled.

Harry corrected no, it was Puddlemere United, he'd seen him at the World Cup last year.

"Why do you remember that?" Lily muttered.

Cho remembered she'd seen Harry there too, and they quickly began chatting about that game, which carried them all the way through the school gates.

Sirius offered Harry a triumphant grin for catching such a light hearted conversation that could last them for hours, and could easily branch into other things. Harry really had picked a good girl, he still wasn't sure what Lily and James ever found to talk about considering she had no fondness for the sport.

Harry could hardly believe how easy it was to talk to her - no more difficult, in fact, than talking to Ron and Hermione -

"That's really good," Lily encouraged. "After the first few awkward moments, talking really should be the most natural part."

yet it only lasted until they ran across Pansy Parkinson, who began shrieking with giggles at the sight of them, telling Chang at least Diggory had been good-looking.

Both parents looked honestly offended at that, Remus having to bite hard on his tongue to stop from laughing at their faces when Harry at once shifted guiltily at the reminder.

She walked away still laughing loudly, leaving the two in another awkward silence, both forgetting what they'd been talking about.

James groaned in sympathy for Harry before telling him, "then you either compliment her, can start another conversation easily enough, or you curse them as they walk away-"

He ducked just in time as Lily tried to smack him, shaking her head affectionately at her husband.

Harry chuckled, just a bit, at the friendly advice.

He tried to ask where she'd like to go, and when she offered up nothing, they began wandering around aimlessly.

In the window of every shop were posters of the escaped ten Death Eaters.

They all shivered in disgust of that reminder, still on some level picturing this happening to Sirius even if his heat had cooled down. This resurgence could still cause a mess of problems for the man who didn't deserve it.

On the bottom was a note, promising a thousand-galleon reward for anyone who had information leading to their capture. Cho gazed at the picture for a long moment, before saying it was funny.

"Not the word I'd use," Remus said bitterly, with a touch of confusion, what was Cho getting at?

She remembered when it had been Sirius Black on the loose, and this place had been swarming with Dementors. Now there were ten out, and no Azkaban guards in sight.

"Oooh, I like her," Sirius began snickering harder than ever, his eyes gleaming at her logic, plus a darker something at the reminder he was still refusing to acknowledge. "We really could use her around, mind like that."

Harry gave an absent smile, happy to see they clearly still had a liking for Cho, but even as he gave his ring a little twist he tried to understand if this feeling of loss really was for this first date, or for someone he still couldn't place yet.

Remus wasn't as convinced, as at the time the Ministry had believed they knew where Sirius was going and why. They were half wrong, but it still would have had merit to post some guards for something so extreme happening, preferably something more reliable than dementors. This, he supposed, was just another level of showing how much the head of the Ministry cared, which felt non existent at this point.

Harry agreed that was weird, but he wasn't sorry. He did feel the significance of their absence, first in letting the Death Eaters escape, now not around to look for them, it seemed they really were outside Ministry control.

"Because that's right comforting," James grumbled, still feeling disgust for the dementor attack of Harry's over the summer. While still odd, it seemed the explanation really was they'd been acting on their own in that Muggle place.

A chilling rain started coming down on them, and Cho changed the subject by asking if Harry wanted to go get some coffee, he agreed, but asked where to find that?

She gestured to a place called Madam Puddifoot's, just past Scrivenshaft's.

"What's this now?" Sirius ruffled his brow in confusion.

"Never heard of it," James almost snapped, insulted at once this girl would know something about their place.

"Relax you two," Remus wished he could protest more the put out look in place, but he was feeling as off as his friends. "Don't be naïve in thinking they wouldn't have added a few more shops over the years."

They exchanged one more annoyed look before James kept going with some interest now, placing the shop in his mind easily enough as just an empty bit of space and curious to add to it.

The entrance was not inviting, as Harry found every surface covered with frills and bows, the place unpleasantly reminding him of Umbridge's office.

Sirius wretched at the very idea, even Lily found this undignified, though perhaps more because of the comparison than anything.

Cho told him she found it cute.

"There is no correct answer to that," Remus groaned.

Harry agreed unenthusiastically.

"Suppose that's the best he could do though," James sighed.

Cho said it had even been decorated for Valentine's day, gesturing at the cherub's along the ceiling that were dropping heart shaped confetti everywhere.

"I honestly would have called that as original decorations," Harry said, his face squished up in remembrance.

They sat down at once of the few seats available near the window, Harry choosing to look around more than keep awkwardly smiling at Cho, and found the place to be made up of couples. He spotted Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, holding hands with a pretty blond girl.

"At least he's not still strung up over Fleur," James chuckled.

"Ooh, I think Cho knew exactly what she was doing," Sirius sighed.

Harry wasn't paying him too much mind, even if he would have agreed, as he tried to subtly watch his parents and how they'd effortlessly been holding hands most of the time they were in here. Even the idea of wishing Cho were here so he could as well was starting to make his palms sweat.

Perhaps Cho would expect him to hold her hand.

"That's a rather common first date practice," Remus agreed.

The wild look on Harry's face made it clear this was news to him.

"Err, Harry dear," Lily began cautiously, "has anyone ever, I mean to say, who-"

The growing look of horror was a pretty clear answer.

"No one ever talked to you about what happens after the date," James stated bluntly.

"Clearly even during the date," Remus muttered.

Harry kept watching them in exasperation like it would click together for them without his having to say so, but it was clear at least his mother wanted an explanation for this while the other three were just curious. "Okay fine," he groaned, "no, it's not as if I ever chatted about this! Heard some things from older students, some of the guys from the dorm say a few things that stick. Most everything I've really heard was from Ron," he couldn't help stammering even if he wasn't too embarrassed at least explaining the highlights. "Whatever his brothers told him, some things I heard Mr. Weasley say, I thought it pretty clear I was making it up along the way. You really want details?"*

"Nope," James said, more than satisfied, even if still a little resentful this was yet another thing he'd been deprived of, as he kept going loudly before Lily could argue the point.

The matron came over, Madam Puddifoot herself, and Cho ordered them two coffees, while behind her Roger had moved on to kissing his girlfriend over the sugar bowl.

Harry was cringing into his seat, never in his life wishing more that his dad would skip some parts already!

James didn't seem particularly phased by what other random people were doing, he was more curious if Harry was going to progress that far, if remembering kissing Cho would finally set off some spark in him that would declare who that ring connected to. It hadn't the first time though, so he wasn't holding his breath, and instead was just going with curiosity now what Harry would learn from all this.

Harry wished they wouldn't; he felt that Davies was setting a standard with which Cho would soon expect him to compete.

"Oh I doubt that," Sirius shook his head, "most girls are far more involved with their own affairs."

"Really?" Remus said in surprise. "I thought they were more observational, in fact I'd be thinking the same as Harry."

"Oh no, they're watching your every move to see if you're watching their every move," Sirius said wisely.

James was watching curiously. Considering the many dates Sirius had been on, and just as many failed attempts, he was never sure how much Sirius wasn't just making all this up on the spot.

He looked to the ceiling instead, and received a face full of confetti.

"That timing," Lily began giggling anew as Harry's face puckered with indignation.

He tried to start a conversation about abusing Umbridge, but this was passed around the DA so often that ended quickly, so his mind scrambling desperately for something more to say, he brought up that Hermione wanted them to meet up later at the Three Broomsticks for lunch.

Cho raised her brows as she asked he was meeting Hermione Granger today?

"That's what he just said," James rolled his eyes, while Sirius hummed in concern, easily recognizing the dangerous tone without even being there. It was never a good sign when the question was repeated back.

Harry said yes, but he hadn't been given a reason, but Cho had explicitly been invited.

Cho said that was nice, but her tone didn't at all convey this, she now looked forbidding.

"Oh dear," Lily said, quickly catching up to why Sirius was shaking his head at this display.

"What did I do?" Harry demanded of them.

"Cho's jealous of Hermione," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"A bit founded, honestly," Lily winced. "All those stories last year, well it's not as if she knew them not to be true," she said quickly at Harry's affronted look for Skeeter's articles being brought up again. "Plus you've been friends with her for ages, now bringing this up, I can see how she'd take that the wrong way."

"I wouldn't bring a date to a girl I fancied, I'm not that oblivious!" Harry protested. "I was trying to enjoy spending time with Cho, just, trying to find something to say."

Considering James had lived through several similar conversations of Sirius trying to partake advice, James saved Harry from having to hear any further and hoped his son wormed out of this fast enough on his own.

They passed into an awkward silence then, Harry still watching her hand that was resting on the table. It was amazing he'd never had difficulty reaching for the Snitch, but it felt immensely different to reach his hand across the table.

James gave a breathy laugh as he eyed that before nodding at his son. "I find it a fair comparison."

"Can't have been that hard for you," Harry rolled his eyes, "considering all I've heard about you trying to ask her out, this bit must have been a breeze for you."

"Hardly," Remus snorted as James turned chagrined. "Poor bloke was so stunned Lily finally gave him a chance, he somehow turned into more of a blithering idiot when she acknowledged his attention."

James didn't bother to deny this, shrugging without remorse. "It did help she'd already seen me making a fool of myself to get this far, so I couldn't screw up so badly at the firsts."

Lily was just happy Harry was finally relaxing and actually chatting with the boys about this, clearly forcing himself past his embarrassment had finally led them to stop snickering away like total idiots and now she could really gage how he felt about all this. She was surprised at how, lax he was. She was genuinely starting to wonder if this thing with Cho was going to go anywhere, he'd been more happy about having his memories of learning all the Weasley's names restored rather than a first date with a girl who could possibly be his wife.

The moment he'd finally seized his opportunity, Cho took her hand from the table, and was now watching Roger kiss his girl as well with mild interest.

"There you have it, all of Padfoot's advice is officially null and void," Remus said in triumph.

"You certainly weren't singing the same tune in school," Sirius huffed, hardly looking abashed Cho was doing the opposite of what he'd been thinking.

"You're an idiot," was the only response he seemed to have for that.

She told that Roger had asked her out a couple of weeks ago, but she'd turned him down.

"Now who's bringing up other people on our date," Harry threw his hands up in exasperation.

"She's trying to make you jealous," Lily assumed. "After you brought up Hermione, that's her idea of a comparison."

"I've never asked Hermione out," Harry spluttered.

"That's what she thought you meant," Lily explained.

"Well why couldn't she have just said that, I would have told her. I had no idea why she brought that up!"

Lily just shook her head at her poor son. If she could have, she would have been whispering all this in his ear, to help him understand, but she also recognized he would have to figure all this out in his own time regardless. He clearly already had, considering.

Harry, who had grabbed the sugar bowl to excuse his sudden lunging movement across the table,

Okay, maybe all of their humor wasn't gone, all three cracking up at the description, Harry even offering a smile for his poor attempt.

couldn't think of anything to say to this, did she wish she was that pretty blond girl with Roger now? Why had she said yes to him then?

"Pity?" Sirius clearly thought he was being helpful. "She knew you had a crush on her and she's trying to make someone else jealous."

Harry's eyes popped, he looked half affronted and half confused now, while Remus smacked him upside the head.

"What?" Sirius protested, "I was just being honest. Better than saying she only did cause he's so famous."

"You are not helping," James enunciated clearly for his idiotic friend while Harry huffed and rubbed at his temples, clearly trying to remember if he recalled any of those things. James glanced at Harry, but he was now so distracted he wasn't sure if Harry was even still listening, so he kept going to try and find the point of this while Harry was still distracted.

Harry had nothing to say to this, while Cho continued she'd come here with Cedric last year.

"Oh this is even better," Lily groaned, "now she's reminiscing about their elephant."

"Really starting to feel better about my dating life," Remus muttered.

Harry missed what he'd said as his mother's words caused another level of distraction, now looking dispirited about the whole thing for a whole new reason other than his family's mockery.

Harry felt his insides ice over as Cho kept talking with a higher pitch now, asking if he'd mentioned her before he died.

James had hardly gotten that out before shuddering at the idea of what Cedric's last thought must have been. What his own would have been...He shook himself to clear that away and turned solemn eyes on his son, never having wanted to say more to him but having no place to start.

Harry clearly didn't want to talk about this though, his jaw tightly set and all but glaring at the book for never ceasing to remind him of this when all he really wanted to do was forget it all again. That wasn't going to happen though, the moment he'd realized the thought had crossed his mind he'd even felt ashamed for it, Cedric's death was to be remembered for the same reason his trip to the Mirror of Erised was. Bitter, unattainable pain that pushed him to be better at his own life.

James took a careful breath before continuing quietly, looking forward to this as much as he was hearing more about those escaped prisoners. He had no desire to hear about Harry explaining Cedric's last moments to Cho...

This was the last thing in the world Harry wanted to talk to her about, and he tried to say so, there wasn't much time for him to say anything. Then he asked about what had happened at the latest Tornados game.

"Oh it is far too late for changing the subject," Sirius told him with sympathy while Harry's horror had switched to dread. A huge jumble of emotions leaving him more unclear than ever what he was supposed to be feeling about this moment and Cho in general.

To his horror, he saw that her eyes were swimming with tears again.

"I don't suppose this'll just pass into a relapse of the two of you kissing, and finally a skip scene," Remus pleaded just a bit desperately.

"Fingers crossed," James winced for his poor son.

He desperately leaned in and whispered to her he didn't want to talk about this right now, but this was apparently the exact wrong thing to say.

"Really, why?" Sirius yelped, starting to look jittery as he glanced from Harry to the book, no advice in the world would help him out of this mess.

"Couldn't tell you, thought you were supposed to be telling me that," Harry said miserably, he wanted this to be over already, even more than when it had started somehow.

She got out between stuttering's and the beginnings of tears trickling out she needed to talk about it, didn't he understand? Surely he needed to talk about it too.

Lily started to look affronted for her son. She knew what Cho meant of course, but there was an entirely huge difference in dating Cedric and watching him die. Of course they both needed to talk about it, but not while they were trying to move past it during this moment of the two romantically trying to start up!

Everything was going nightmarishly wrong; Roger Davies's girlfriend had even unglued herself to look round at Cho crying.

"Now's the time you try to take this outside," James winced. "She really is something, dragging this out in public."

"I'm sure by this point what Sirius said is actually some form of true, she's not paying attention to a thing but herself by this point," Remus groaned.

Harry tried to agree in a low whisper sure he did, to Ron and Hermione, but-

Cho turned into shrieks of outrage as she spluttered of course he talked to Hermione Granger!

Harry's mouth gaped open as he vividly remembered this nightmare returning. Now thanks to his mum, he supposed in some skewed way he knew why that would bother her, but it wasn't like that at all! He wouldn't have started screeching if she'd gone and said she'd talked to one of her friends about this, what was the difference? "Why was she bringing this up at all?" Harry hadn't realized he'd demanded that out loud until they all winced for his tone and the baby in Remus' lap fussed uneasily at the sharp voice.

"I'm sorry Harry," Lily sighed, wishing she had a better answer. "My best guess is she was trying to make you sympathize with her to keep your attention, but it's not as if we have insights into her mind, we really are guessing."

Harry nodded morosely, muttering an apology for half yelling at something that was entirely not their fault.

James waited patiently for his son to settle back down in Remus' lap before pressing on with a look clearly saying he'd like to change the subject last page.

Cho gasped he wouldn't talk to her about it? Well then they should just leave and he could go talk to Hermione Granger like he obviously wanted to!

"This is just getting better and better," Sirius sighed.

Harry just looked at her with bewilderment, and wished Roger would seize his girlfriend and starting kissing her again rather than ogling them.

"There's a sentence I've never been privy to," James paused to gaze at that line even if he did sympathize with his son for it.

She told Harry to just leave already, if he was going to make arrangements meeting up with other girls, then even asked how many there were after Hermione?

"That is the most ludicrous thing!" Remus spluttered. "Now I'm wondering if she took something before this outing!"

"She's upset," Lily scolded him, even if she was still more wishing Harry would do more to comfort the girl, it wasn't really his fault both were mutually making this worse.

"She's just shouting nonsense at him now," Remus insisted, "even Sirius was never so loony to pull something like that."

Sirius couldn't decide if he was supposed to be insulted for a moment, but James was going loudly over them, knowing no answer to this would help Harry.

Harry at once said it wasn't like that, and feeling so relieved at finally understanding where her anger had come from, he laughed. A split second to late, he realized this was the worst mistake yet.

"Credit for trying?" Sirius offered, for now ignoring Remus. "I always try to make others laugh in these kinds of situations."

"Merlin help you if you start acting like Sirius in any situation," James rolled his eyes.

Cho sprang to her feet. The whole room was quiet and everybody was watching them now.

"So happy to be of their entertainment for the day," Harry groaned.

"If it's any consolation, you've now set for them how their dates shouldn't go," Sirius clearly thought he was being helpful again, while Harry eyed him with concern since he wasn't sure if Sirius meant this. If he did, maybe his godfather had head trauma.

She dramatically told him she'd see Harry around,

"That about covered this whole instance since you stepped in there," James agreed.

and still crying, stormed outside into the rain.

Harry threw a Galleon on the table before trying to go after her,

"More than I would have done," Sirius rolled his eyes. "That little tabloid needs a chance to cool down."

"Did you just call her a tabloid?" Lily asked in confusion, already feeling insulted on Cho's behalf for whatever he could mean by that.

"Yeah, dramatic and showing off," Sirius grinned like he was being clever.

Remus was too busy watching him in disbelief, and missed Lily's expression saying she wished he'd take another swing.

but she had vanished. Harry didn't understand what had just happened, half an hour ago they'd been getting along just fine.

"Oh how things can change," James agreed, though he said this more with an air of cheer as he glanced adoringly at his wife.

He muttered about women all the way back up the street,

Lily went from grinning at her husband to scoffing at her son, who looked properly sheepish, though in his silent defence there hadn't been a chance his mother would be around to hear that when he'd said it.

muttering about what she'd brought all that up for, who wanted to talk about things that made them a human hosepipe?

"Oh Merlin, he really is acting like Sirius now," Remus groaned, that was too reminiscent of how Sirius came back from failed dates.

"I'm still on Harry's side for this," James frowned at that. "She did seem to bring this on herself."

"Stop, the lot of you," Lily frowned at all of them. "Cho was trying just like Harry was, things got away from them. I still hope they'll patch it up."

Harry grimaced at the idea of this. His liking for Cho, which had always been the smallest part of his memories returning, felt more insignificant than ever, and he really didn't have much feeling for his mother's words other than more dread.

He made it to the Three Broomsticks early, but decided to go in anyways and find someone to chat with until Hermione arrived. He first spotted Hagrid. He looked as miserable as Harry felt though, gazing into his tankard and not even realizing Harry's approach.

While the others had brightened just a bit, Hagrid was always fun to talk to and his departure and even return had only been depressing so far. They were hoping for just a small moment of fun, but this wasn't an encouraging start.

Only Sirius had an idea of why James was looking forward to this least of all. If Hagrid started imparting girl wisdom in his steed, he wasn't sure how long he could fake not being annoyed at it.

When Harry did get his attention, he asked how he was doing, and Hagrid was clearly lying when he said he was fine; next to his still battered appearance, Harry didn't feel he had much to complain about.

"True, his relationship with Maxime seems to be going well," Sirius said brightly. Harry rubbed his face into his hands in exasperation while Remus told him he had a one track mind, Sirius ignoring both of them.

They sat in silence for a few moments, though at least this didn't feel awkward to Harry, until Hagrid spoke up they were both in the same boat.

"Err," Lily muttered in confusion, wondering where Hagrid was going with that, and still somehow wishing for that pleasant chat.

Both outsiders, both orphans.

James's slight scowl turned into a grimace instead. He would have taken being annoyed at being replaced rather than the abrupt reminder of why he would be replaced!

If their parents had lived, things would have been different.

"Yeah," Harry whispered, ducking his head. It was too hard to look at them all for a moment, to realize yet again his living in this moment never should have happened, but by some miracle it had. Hagrid had never been granted such a gift to see his parents again.

Family was important, blood was. He wiped a trickle of it from his eye.

"Oh the poor dear," Lily crooned, feeling her own eyes start to sting. Hagrid did seem a bit off since he'd come back, and she suddenly wondered if this was why! Being surrounded by giants, hearing the fate of his mother, his only relation was dead! She knew Harry often felt like an outsider in the magical world, she often did as well being a muggle-born, Hagrid must have it even worse not truly being apart of any world!

The boys could only awkwardly agree. They felt bad for Hagrid, but anything to say about it felt heartless or lost on them. Only Remus could have possibly sympathized, and he hadn't spoken to anyone about this except his friends, so he wouldn't have dared tried now when Hagrid was clearly in such an off time.

Harry asked where he'd gotten all those injuries?

"I can't even blame you for that one," Sirius said with a hard catch to his voice.

Harry almost wished for his advice back, that was easier to handle than a Sirius who was yet again forced to relive what would happen to his best friend, to his own future, all because of Harry.

Hagrid looked confused at the abrupt change, asking what injuries?

"Those jabs to the heart you keep dishing out," Remus muttered sourly, glad Hagrid wasn't around to hear that, he didn't mean it.

Harry needlessly gestured to his face, and Hagrid brushed off those were just bumps from his job.

"Hagrid's as good as ever managing his secrets," James tried to force more sarcasm to his voice than the edge that was still present.

Then he abruptly left, Harry watching him feeling more miserable than ever. Hagrid was hiding something, and wouldn't accept help, what was going on?

Harry had to concentrate for a moment on remembering to swallow past everything that had happened. He wished he could be of some help to Hagrid, but he also had a really bad feeling for whatever was this notion in him he was sure to understand this eventually.

He couldn't think on it long, as he turned to hear his name called, by Hermione.

She was sitting a few tables away from where Hagrid had just been, with two of the most unlikely drinking buddies, Luna Lovegood and Rita Skeeter.

James spluttered like he'd been clocked in the head by a Bludger! Even Lockhart hadn't thrown him off as badly as this woman making a reappearance!

The other three made much the same noise, this day really couldn't get any stranger could it?

"I have never been happier for Hermione's existence!" Sirius declared. "I need an explanation for this Prongs, now!"

It still took him a few moments to find his tongue and continue. He hadn't expected to ever hear from this woman again, or if she had crossed his mind he'd have liked to think her in a cart load of trouble, not having a drink back at Hogwarts!

Hermione greeted him that he was early, and wasn't expecting him for another half hour.

"Drama explanations for later, answer for why there's a cockroach at the table now," Sirius insisted, fighting back the urge to snatch the book away from him already.

"I'm going, I'm going," James muttered, only going slower in responding, so Remus elbowed Sirius hard before he could retort.

Rita's attention was caught at once, staring avidly at Harry while confirming this was a girl?

"What if it is a bloke named Cho?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"That would be an even bigger news line, if possible," Harry said deadpan, James shushing them both without looking up.

Hermione snapped it was none of her business. Skeeter at once put back her Quick-Quotes Quill she'd been reaching for, looking like she'd been force fed Stinksap.

"Now there's an idea," Remus couldn't stop himself snickering at the idea, though quickly stopped at Sirius' glare.

Harry asked what his friend was up to.

"Finally," Sirius yelped, James taking a moment to look at him in exasperation for still managing to delay this further.

Skeeter told Little Miss Perfect had been fixing to explain that upon his arrival, before waspishly asking if she was allowed to even talk to him?

Hermione coolly responded she supposed.

Unemployment had not been suiting Rita. Her once elaborate curls hung lank, her nails were chipped, and there were some jewels missing from her glasses.

Lily didn't care how mean spirited her giggle was, the woman deserved it with all she'd done.

While Hermione was distracted, Skeeter leaned in close and whispered to Harry if she'd been pretty?

Hermione snapped one more word about his love life and the deal was off.

"What deal?" All four of them said in exasperation.

James looked up slowly from the book, saying clearly, "well if you'd stop interrupting me, maybe we'd know by now!"

Remus ignored him and instead started speculating with that little bit, "Hermione's not really going to let Rita out from under her thumb, I can't imagine what would be worth it!"

"There's not going to be a time that's possible," Lily scoffed. "Hermione will always have the first word of Rita's secret."

"I can't believe Skeeter hasn't fixed this herself by now," Sirius said with puzzlement. "It's been plenty of time, surely she's at least started the process of registering herself as an animagus."

"I thought she was still in a jar in her dorm and never got the chance," James pouted even if he knew it not to be true, Hermione had said she was going to release her, but he could enjoy the idea in the meantime. Then he cursed at himself for playing along when he'd wanted to keep going.

"Maybe Prongs has a point," Remus agreed, "Hermione could have dumped Skeeter in the middle of nowhere, made it a real hassle for her to be doing anything to do with the Ministry in the meantime."

"Eh," Sirius said, unsatisfied with this answer, but it was the only one they were going to get as James kept going.

Rita demanded what deal? Oh one of these days, she trailed off with a threatening huff.

"She says that like it's supposed to be so intimidating," Harry rolled his eyes. Even at her worst, Harry had only ever been outraged at her for further inconveniencing his life and making Hagrid's life more miserable, but never to the level Skeeter clearly found herself of menacing.

Hermione said with indifference yes, one of these days Skeeter would go back to writing horrible stories, but to find someone who cared about that.

All five of them got a laugh out of that, finally, this whole chapter had felt like a walking disaster, so this was a brilliant relief to them all.

Skeeter slickly responded the Prophet was running plenty of stories without her help, then turned to Harry and whispered how that made him feel? Betrayed, misunderstood?

Angry, Hermione answered for him.

"Usually Hermione answering for people drives me nuts," Lily grinned, "but somehow she's made this time funny."

"Circumstances," Harry shrugged, he'd had no problem Hermione deflecting this for him.

He'd told the truth and they'd called him a nut instead.

Skeeter said of course they had, he'd screamed You-Know-Who was back and was the sole witness with no other standing other than Dumbledore.

Harry snapped back he wasn't the sole witness, there had been a dozen Death Eaters their as well, then asked if she'd like their names?

Rita said she'd love them, again reaching eagerly for her bag and looking at Harry as if the most beautiful thing ever.

James rolled his eyes in disgust even if Skeeter finally was doing something they approved of. She certainly wasn't going to be able to spin it in the way it should be, leaving them still baffled as to why she was there.

She even began writing the paper as she took out ink and parchment, muttering the headline Potter Accuses, subheading of Harry Potter naming respectable and prominent members...

"Yep, there it is," Lily said in clipped tones. Even Skeeter managed to make the actual truth into a spectacle. It was a gift, if a waste of one.

Then she froze and turned acidic eyes back on Hermione, stating but of course Little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that.

Hermione responded sweetly that's exactly what Little Miss Perfect wanted.

"Don't indulge her Hermione!" Remus scolded.

"The name, which I can't even deny is a little funny, or the idea?" James arched a brow at the book.

"Both," Sirius had his head cocked to the side as he tried to wrap his head around where Hermione was going with this.

Rita and Harry gaped at her, while Luna was sitting back in her seat, humming Weasley is our King, and apparently paying no attention.

"Hey!" James yelped in outrage. "I thought Luna liked Ron!"

"Maybe she really does wish he were her King," Sirius inserted, though still confused.

Harry had a torn look in place, a bit miffed at Luna as well even having the knowledge she'd never mean it the way Malfoy did. What was it about this song he was so sure shouldn't really be a bad thing? He was sure if Luna was humming it, maybe she'd even added her own lines so they weren't insulting his friend-wait-

The idea was turned off as James kept going, to Harry's relief, as he was starting to feel that all too familiar pounding back in his temple.

Skeeter confirmed Hermione wanted her to write about Harry's report of You-Know- Who's return?

Hermione corrected she wanted Skeeter to tell the truth, all of the facts, exactly as Harry says them.

"But, where's the proof she will?" Lily demanded, clearly thinking she'd found a hole in Hermione's plan even if there was a warm feeling for the idea. "I give her merit, trying to post Harry's story out there, but-"

"Luna's dad!" Sirius yelped with a huge smile, ignoring Lily's scowl he'd cut her off, she should be thanking him. "Remember, he believes Harry, he'd never post anything like Skeeter was trying for, but he'd put up the truth! And this woman, being the horrid but reputable source she is, puts the credibility as opposed to his other stories," he trailed off with a brilliant smile.

Lily found the plan so ingenious she even stopped scowling at Sirius.

"That's brilliant," Remus breathed, watching the grin unfurl on Harry's face. "That's, wow! Wait, what even made her think of this so much later?"

"Who cares," James said in a sing song voice, grinning boyishly. Finally something was going right for Harry!

Remus was still blasted as he remembered it was Hermione seeing those ten Death Eaters that somehow prompted this, though he wasn't clear how she'd connected all those dots to this, but he wasn't going to knock the idea either so let it go. He was still just a teensy bit worried, vividly remembering the cock and bull about Sirius for one that had so gotten their hopes up for the briefest moment. He wasn't entirely sure how this was going to help Harry, how far could Skeeter's word really stretch?

Harry would tell her everything that happened the night Voldemort had returned, Rita jumping so badly at the name she spilled Firewhiskey down herself.

"My new favorite reaction," Remus nodded, his eyes still wide from shock.

Skeeter told Hermione the Prophet would never run it.

Sirius' grin took a hard edge, nearly predator like from this woman clearly not having learned her lesson, still trying to talk like this about his godson. They weren't even there and they'd realized where Hermione was going with this before that woman had, shows how smart she really was compared to that 'silly little girl.'

Now if she could write the story from her angle, considering how delusional the public found him-

Hermione snapped they didn't need another story about how Harry'd lost his marbles! He needed the truth.

Rita scolded there was no market in the truth.

Hermione said irritably the Prophet only printed what Fudge wanted them to?

"Finally someone says it out loud," Lily scoffed.

Rita gave Hermione a long, hard look. Then, leaning forward across the table towards her, she said in a businesslike tone,

"Well that's a new one," James scrunched up his nose at this woman trying to act like a professional instead of what she really was.

that yes, Fudge was a heavy hand in what was printed, but the fact remained the same, no one wanted to hear You-Know-Who was back.

"And pandering to that idea makes it all better," Remus said acidly.

Hermione said scathingly the Daily Prophet only existed to tell people what they wanted to hear?

"It used to not," James said in disgust, still having the urge to discontinue his own even when they hadn't started doing this yet. Just knowing they one day would because of whatever means Fudge was using was revolting enough to him.

Skeeter said back the Prophet existed to sell itself, calling Hermione a silly girl.

"Oh so we're back to calling her that now," Lily said through gritted teeth.

"I note the change happened after Hermione made her point," James sniffed.

Luna finally piped up then her dad found that an awful paper, he published what he thought people should know about important things, he didn't care about making money.

Rita was not impressed, asking if her father worked for some stupid towns letter then? Twenty-Five ways to Mingle with Muggles?

"I want to subscribe to that now," Sirius said flatly. Harry couldn't help a grin at him doing such a thing out of spite, even if he admired the idea of why.

Luna corrected The Quibbler.

Rita started laughing so loud, people looked around in alarm.

All five of them almost cracked a smile for such a reaction, though perhaps not a kind one, to be in on such a joke. They didn't like agreeing with Skeeter, it left a nasty taste to acknowledge for even a second she had a point, but it was still miles better than anything she'd ever conceived.

She calmed down enough to state she could manure a garden with the contents of that rag.

"That's assuming you have a heart long enough to keep anything alive," Lily sneered.

Hermione inserted this was her chance to give it a boost then.

Skeeter let out another whoop of laughter as she realized Hermione wanted Potter's story taken seriously in The Quibbler!

"They did take my name at The Quibbler," Sirius batted his eyes innocently, Harry starting to laugh as hard as Rita just had much to the others exasperation at wondering why Harry still did.

Hermione insisted people would give it a chance. The Prophet's account had left too many holes, people would still be looking for a real source of information, even from a, she paused and looked sideways at Luna, finishing even from an unusual magazine.

The others couldn't help joining in on Harry's suddenly giggly mood. Too long they'd been hearing nothing but disaster and pain on him, yet finally Hermione had wrangled together something of far more use than they'd yet seen anyone else trying to do!

Skeeter remained quiet for a long moment before grudgingly stating what if she did it? What would she be paid?

Luna answered nothing, people offered stories to her dad's paper for honor.

Rita again seemed to find that Stinksap smell in her mouth.

"Please continue giving them ideas," Lily giggled, noting how all the Marauders got a particular look on their face for this description.

Demanding that she was to do this for free?!

Hermione agreed easily she would do just that, or she'd find herself with an insider's knowledge of Azkaban with a nice big Prophet article of her own covering her unregistered Animagus status.

That jab was harder to laugh at for the reminder of James and Sirius' own current problem, making them all the more glad they'd never incurred Hermione's wrath at any time.

Rita looked as though she would have liked nothing more than to seize the umbrella sticking out of Hermione's drink and thrust it up her nose.

"I'm sure many people would stand in line to see," Lily rolled her eyes. "Isn't it nice to underestimate people."

Through gritted teeth, she finally stated she had no choice, and finally did take her writing things out.

Luna said her dad would be pleased cheerfully.

Hermione turned to Harry and asked if he was ready to tell the public the truth?

"I would like to take a moment to recognize Hermione just, volunteering you for this," James frowned at this. He'd just had a big problem with Cho because she'd just assumed Harry would want to talk to someone about this, now here was Hermione foisting the same thing on him.

Lily couldn't help but agree rather sourly, "you've hardly spoken a word of this to them at all after the first night, she really is putting you on the spot even with the best of intentions."

Harry considered for a moment, really thinking why he wasn't angry. "I suppose, Hermione wasn't, you know, pushing me to do this, you know. If I'd said I wasn't ready, well she wouldn't have been happy and would have badgered me to do this because it's the right thing," he acknowledged after seeing their skeptical faces, "and I trust her, so even though it was hard to talk about it again to someone I didn't even like, well finally being able to push back like this felt, right." He finished triumphantly, before his brow creased and he really thought out, "Cho just sprung it on me, and so did Hermione, but at least my friend knows where I'm coming from, and she won't start crying over it," he finished with a bit of a shudder, causing Sirius to suppress a snort that was what Harry was so on one particular side with.

James hummed in agreement before finishing, simply thinking Hermione will be Hermione.

Harry agreed without much enthusiasm as the Quick-Quotes Quill was set in front of Rita again.

"Well that was done," James announced, happily tossing the book along to Sirius.

HPHPHPHP

*I'm really not going into further details about this guy's, not even in the next book. The idea of who gave Harry 'the talk' had been on my mind since the third book when Cho showed up, but to be perfectly honest I was never given 'the talk' either, I didn't exactly grow up in a conventional household and was never sat down about this. I figured it out as I went along and grew up, though I had access to the internet which wasn't something Harry was privy to, I figured this is as good an explanation as anyone's going to get so let's leave this one be.

[roleplayfinder]

Mo dao Zushi / The Untamed 1x1 RP

(hopefully I'm posting this in the right place)

Specifically, Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao canon divergence AU!

hello! you can call me husky if you want lol.

I’m 20 years old, so I’m looking for 18+ partners strictly!

Important!: I Am Searching For Someone Interested In Playing Lan Xichen!

A little bit about me before we get into the meat of this post:

I’m the type of person that writes as much as I think I should. Usually paragraphs. Never one liners though! I hope you can provide the same!

I am a massive Guangyao apologist, seriously lol. I love him and I can go on for hours about it! And xiyao is one of my favorite ships, I love to talk about their dynamics. I would love to find someone just as enthusiastic! Please, yack my ear off about lan xichen and jin guangyao via ooc besides roleplaying ideas too!

I’m open to nsfw down the line if it makes sense for the specific scene or moment, but please please discuss things first with me and we can figure things out lol.

Please don’t be afraid to swap ideas to further the plot with me. Hell, even change or improve upon things. It’s what makes rp interesting. The RP plot below is a foundation sandwiched together in a general ~~vibe~~ I’m going for but yeah, totally open to further brain storming!

Now onto the RP fun stuff!:

This is mainly inspired by CQL a tiny bit but usually for me, I like mixing and blending book and show canon. But you’ll see what I mean further down.

I love canon divergence AUs when it comes to Xiyao so I was thinking... In the show (this is the “inspired by cql part”) Guangyao, then “Meng Yao” declines Lan Xichen’s offer to stay because he doesn’t feel like he should stay since he’s only a Nie servant at this point but what if he doesn’t decline and instead accompanies Huaisang to the Cloud Recesses lectures as a companion slash “servant.” I can see him justifying this as “oh, I’m keeping an eye on huaisang for Mingjue” and he does... but... :^))

Lan Xichen, eldest twin jade of gusu lan, this kind faced gentleman seems to be intruiged by him. I mean, if anything in that gift giving ceremony is to go by (and the fact that lxc !!personally!! !went to !!search for him!! to get him to stay!! a cultivator from a respected clan like gusu, doing that for someone like meng yao?? excuse me??)). So imagine lxc slowly trying to get to know meng yao.? Somehow they bump into each other while going about their day (sometimes while meng yao is with huaisang so cue huaisang teasing meng yao about it and meng yao denying it with a blush lol).

And of course, lxc probably has correspondence with nmj sometimes too. Probably mentions how “talented, polite and knowledable his new deputy is” because he’s so intruiged by this new face.

Meng Yao not being used to all this attention, and lxc being pretty much still being a stranger to him, underneath that mutual budding attraction, is wary as to lxc’s intentions. He’s accustomed to people attempting to take advantage of him but this is the first time he is lowkey hoping that what lxc is presenting to him is true. (even though rationally he starts to think that nothing good can come out of... whatever this thing between them because really, lxc is the sect leader!!)

but somehow they just keep.... Finding each other. Up until now their interactions probably would have been entirely polite. A comment on the weather, talk of literature, a suggestion to a problem that lxc comes back a few days later and praises him for since it was a good suggestion. That kind of thing. Maybe it morphs into having tea in the Hanshi; meng yao expressing interest in music and lxc offering to teach him. Talk of their clans and families (though at this point in time, nhs might be considered somewhat of a little brother to meng yao!).

Angst and drama could be included by having things with the wens happening of course, as it can’t be all sun shines and budding romance (which we can discuss too! As I mentioned before, I love love idea bouncing. So depending on how the rp goes, we can adjust as needed. Really, the most fun RPs I’ve had were the ones that changed and morphed into something complex and layered upon the original base idea lol)

But yes, this is the vibes I’m going for. I love xiyao but I’ve never thought to do canon divergence so early in their dynamic.

Ways to contact me:

I have a discord: bluebirdhusky#1514

Also a hangouts if you prefer that: sporethy@gmail.com

[afni-fics]

Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn - Chapter 8: The Bandit Tower

Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn - Chapter 8: The Bandit Tower by C_R_Scott Chapters: 8/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Red Robin (Comics), DCU (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Tim Drake, Lucien Flavius Additional Tags: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Skyrim/DCU crossover, Reluctant Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Not Beta Read Summary:

In the pre-dawn hours, Tim and Lucien begin their journey to Bleak Falls Barrows. Along the way, they come upon an old abandoned watchtower...

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About an hour before sunrise. Tim left Gerdur's home without waking its occupants and went to wait for Lucien on the bridge that lead out of town towards the mountains. He nibbled on some bread and cheese as he listened to the sound of the water rushing over the rocks underneath him. It was a calming sound that soothed his jangled nerves somewhat, and also helped distract him just a little from the fact that he had no access to coffee.

Now that several days had passed since first waking up on that road to Helgen, his body had acclimated enough to remind him, at that god-awful pre-dawn hour, oh by-the-way aren't we addicted to caffeine and why haven't you gotten your fix yet?! Unfortunately, far as he could find from both the inns in Riverwood and in Whiterun, coffee just didn't exist in Skyrim. Apparently Nords just woke up and powered through mornings like Kryptonians.

On top of the growing headache behind his eyes that always signaled the first miserable sign of caffiene withdrawl, Tim was also coping with the lingering pain from his burns. Though he'd used the balm and re-wrapped his torso, upper left arm, and shoulder in linen bandages, the ache of the burn had made it nearly impossible to sleep, especially since he couldn't reach the entire burn area on his back. There were areas he just couldn't get to on his own, and he hadn't wanted to ask for help from anyone else.

So he was sore, tired, and feeling irritable at hell. If it weren't for the weight of the three hundred gold coins resting in pouch at his waist, he would've seriously considered leaving Lucien behind to spare him the pain of dealing with his foul mood. The poor museum man just didn't deserve that.

"I'm going to step out on a limb and guess you are not typically a morning person."

Tim glanced toward the voice and scanned Lucien carefully. While the man had professed not to be much of a fighter, at least he had the sense to know how to dress for the climate they were about to travel into. He appeared to be wearing multiple, sensible layers of clothing meant to keep him warm underneath a long robe that was trimmed with intricate embroidery and had a hood that was already drawn over his head. Above that he wore long fur cloak that settled upon his shoulders and down his back. The man also had a backpack that was probably filled with his research gear, a small oil lantern that was clipped to one side of his belt, and a sheathed sword strapped to the other side.

Tim smiled wryly. "I've always been more of a night owl," he said, hoping belatedly that owls were actually a bird that existed in this place.

Apparently they were as Lucien gave him a sympathetic look. "I understand completely. Used to be the same way when I entered university a few years back. Here." The scholar reached into his bag and pulled out what looked like a leather waterskin. 

Tim took the waterskin and noticed it felt warm. He gave Lucien a quizzical look.

"It's a blend of tea I concocted to help with these kinds of mornings. Brewed some up and made enough for both of us. I figured it was the least I could do for surprising you last night with 'extra baggage' for your trip to the Barrows." Lucien urged Tim to try it.

Curiously, Tim did take sip. It definitely wasn't coffee, but as far as teas went it wasn't that bad. There was definitely a strong herbal quality to it, though Tim couldn't even begin to identify what it could be from. There was also a slight smokiness to the flavor as well, as if there was some sort of roasted grain mixed in. But most important of all, whatever was in it was taking the edge off his caffeine withdrawl symptoms. 

"Thanks Lucien. I really needed that," he said after a moment. 

"Wonderful! Shall we be off then?"

***

When the pair of them left Riverwood, though the sun hadn't risen yet the sky was clear. Unfortunately, the further up the mountain they went towards the Barrows, the worse the weather got. First there was fog. Then there was snow. Tim had shrugged his own fur cloak into a better position to cover more of his body. A glance backward confirmed Lucien had done the same. It was clear neither of them were acclimated to this kind of weather, not like the local Nords.

"How long do you think it will take to reach the Barrow?" Lucien asked as he paused to warm his hands over his small oil lantern. 

Tim made a mental note to purchase a lantern the next time he saw one at a general store. "Gerdur said that once we reach the abandoned tower, we should be about halfway there." 

They continued their trek up the barely there path for about an hour. The snow and the fog made it hard to see more than a few yards far in front of them. For awhile there, Tim wondered if perhaps they had missed seeing the abandoned tower at all.

As their path began to level off where the mountain began to naturally plateau Tim could finally see it. There was an old stone watchtower set right at the edge of a steep cliff overlooking the valley below.

"Finally," Lucien said as he caught sight of the tower as well. "Let's stop there for a bit of a rest before going up the rest of the way."

Tim almost agreed with him, but then he noticed movement around the base of the tower. "Wait!" he said as he reached out to snag Lucien by the cloak and dragged him behind a large pile of rocks.

"What's wron--" Lucien started to ask, but was startled by the expression on his companion's face. Tim's face was a mask of deadly serious focus as he stared at the tower from behind the cover of the rocks.

"There are people at the tower. At least two."

Lucien peeked over the top of the rocks, eyes squinting as he tried to see through the fog and snow. "They must be the bandits that have taken root in this area. But are you sure about the number? I can barely see the outline of the tower through all this mist, let alone any people." When he didn't get an answer, Lucien glanced to his side. "Timothy?"

Much to his surprise, he was all alone except for Tim's footprints winding around the rocks in the snow.

***

Tim stealthily moved closer to the tower by slinking from cover to cover. He hoped Lucien would take the unspoken hint and stay behind until he was done. 

This... felt good. Hiding in shadows. Keeping a civilian safe. Creeping up on goons/bandits while he plotted their inevitable takedown. Finally, for the first time since arriving in Skyrim, Tim felt like himself.

From where he sat, he could see that there was just a change in the guard. One who had been standing at a post a few yards from the tower entrance was swapped by another who'd walked out from it. Tim counted his lucky stars. It was this movement that had caught his attention earlier. Due to the weather, if it had just been the guard standing there, he might not have caught sight of him until it was too late.

Once the other guard disappeared into the tower, leaving his partner alone, Tim made his move.

The solid THUNK of the steel dagger embedding itself in the trunk of the tree he'd been leaning on immediately caught the attention of the bandit guard, startling him from his attempt to stay warm at his post.  

"What the--?!" he exclaimed as he whipped his head to the left and saw the dagger vibrating mere inches from his nose. Then the sound of rustling in a nearby set of bushes, and the sight of the snow-laden branches jostling around immediately caught his eye. It looked as if there was a shadow hunched behind it. With a growl, the guard immediately drew his sword and rushed the bushes, prepared to slice open whoever had thrown the dagger. However, he ended up choking on his warcry as he saw that there was nothing but a backpack sitting in the snow. "Huh?"

Tim smirked as he crept out from behind a large boulder, his quarterstaff a comfortable weight in his hands as he prepared to swing it at his unsuspecting target.

***

The sound of a body falling to the ground with a muffled groan after a series of suspicious thudding noises caught the attention of the original guard as she poked her head out of the tower's entrance. This one drew her bow and nocked an arrow immediately upon seeing that their compatriot was not where he was supposed to be. Cautiously, she walked across the bridge that led to the mountainside. Then she saw the body of the other guard. 

"Skialg!" she called out with alarm. Caution thrown to the wind, she rushed forward to check on him, though, she never saw the staff that jutted out in front of her feet, tripping her into the snow. 

The moment the bow was out of her hands, Tim stepped out and kicked it well out of reach. The female Nord bandit looked up to find a wooden staff pointed ominously at her face. Her eyes widened in horror. 

"You've got two choices," Tim said with a dark smirk and a low tone. "You can either jog down the mountain and never come back, or you can end up like your friend there, taking a nap in the snow. Which would you prefer?"

Tim was ready for a counterattack, and was mildly surprised when it never came. He was expecting anger and retaliation. Instead, there appeared to be genuine terror on the woman's face as she nervously scrambled to her feet and booked it down the mountain path, racing past Lucien without a second though even though she could clearly see him. 

As soon as she was out of sight, Tim relaxed and rested his staff on his shoulder. "Well that was disappointing," he said as Lucien walked up to him. Though the sky was still overcast, somewhere beyond the clouds the sun had risen and had lightened up their surroundings considerably. "Are bandits around here always so skittish?"

"Well how would you feel if you had a mage's staff aimed at your face?" Lucien said with a disapproving frown. "Honestly, Timothy! A Fire Blast or Sparks or Frostbite at point-blank range like that would have been completely excessive and resulted in backlash on you as well as your target. Who taught you how to use a staff with such bad form anyways?"

"Mage's staff?" Tim looked at Lucien with confusion.

Lucien noticed the odd look Tim gave him, then motioned for TIm to give him the staff. Without protest, Tim handed it over. After a moment, it was the scholar's turn to look confused. "Wait... Is this... Just a stick?"

"Actually, it's a quarterstaff."

"But... Wait, so you don't use magic at all?" 

"No."

"But you carry staff."

"Yes."

"That has no magic whatsoever."

"I guess not? Wasn't expecting it to when I bought it."

"But... What do you do with this, if not to cast spells?"

Tim blinked at him, then rubbed the back of his neck. "I just... well... hit people with it?"

Lucien gaped at him. "And, that works?"

Tim pointed at the other bandit that was still unconscious.

"Mara's mercy! Did you actually kill that bandit with a stick?!" Lucien went over and poked the bandit with Tim's quarterstaff experimentally

Tim sighed. "No, he's not dead. Just unconscious. He'll be out for hours, and we'll be long gone by then."

Lucien straightened up with a contemplative expression on his face. "So... your entire plan to get us past the bandits on our way to the Barrow was to sneak up on your own, with just a stick, to bludgeon a pair of bandits into Oblivion, but not really because you had no intention of actually killing them?"

"Yeah. Pretty much," Tim remarked as he went back to the original guard's tree. He tugged the dagger out of its bark and then went to retrieve his backpack from where he'd thrown it earlier. "Maybe it doesn't make sense to you, but even if they're bandits and on the wrong side of the law, they're still people with lives and possibly even families. To end their lives so casually, as if they were worth nothing at all..." He sighed as he closed up his pack. "It's just... not the way I was raised. Ending another human life should never be an option if there are other solutions available."

When Tim looked at Lucien again, he found the scholar studying him in a way that made him feel a little uncomfortable, like he was a puzzle needing to be solved. "That's a very noble sentiment. Truly in the spirit of Stendarr himself," Lucien finally said as he handed the quarterstaff back to Tim. "Hopefully it won't get you killed one day. Tamriel could use more people who thought like you do, though I doubt the bandits on the road will show us the same mercy."

Tim gave Lucien a weak smile. "Hopefully," he echoed. Then he motioned for Lucien to wait as he took a few minutes to drag the still unconscious bandit back into the tower. When Tim came back out to continue his journey with Lucien to the Barrows, he shrugged his shoulders at the odd look the scholar gave him. "What? It wouldn't be much better if I left him out in the open to die of exposure or to be eaten by a wolf."

Lucien laughed as he walked alongside Tim once more up the mountainside. "Somewhere up in the shrubbery there's a starving wolf that's sure to be cursing your name right now."

"Well lucky for me, I've got a big stick."

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

Author Note: This is being pantsed more than plotted, and this is not beta read. We'll see where this journey takes us. Mostly I'm just doing this for my own amusement.

Note: If you have any questions about the playthrough and Tim's feelings/experiences that aren't described in the chapters, please ask me in the comments. I'll do my best to answer your questions as best I can.

[wafflesrock16]

Ink and Blooms

So, the amazingly talented @autodiscothings updated her fantastic fic Acts Of Repetition recently, and the latest chapter featured an incredibly lovely turian tattoo artist. Smitten, I asked Auto if I could write a lil thing with her boy and she agreed.

So! Here’s my ode to @autodiscothings sweet turian bae, Nous. Naturally I have a human lady falling for him because I am predictable trash.

Zenellia D’kafi, the asari matriarch who ran Thessian Impressions floral boutique was a force of nature when it came to cultivating new clients. 

“Everyone is a potential client,” she informed Faustine from behind a large mug of tea. “A random hanar apostle might wish to leave flowers as an offering to the Enkindlers. The elcor business man, away from home too frequently, would like a bouquet to send to his wife as a reminder he’s thinking of her.”

Faustine glanced up from where she was meticulously measuring out gold silk ribbon. “And Adamius Studios?” She glanced out the shop window to the studio across the street. It used to be a mattress store, though little of the building’s past life remained on the exterior. 

Zenellia smiled, the light sparkling in her cornflower eyes. “Nous Adamius,” she said, drawing out the surname. “Now there’s an artist who’s in demand. The tattooist of the elite.” She followed Fautine’s gaze. “Hmm. In his case, he’s hosting an art exhibition for select clientele next week. The who’s-who of wealth and influence will be there--they always show up for art exhibits.”

“And our supplying the floral arrangements might garner other high-end customers in addition to Nous,” Faustine surmised. 

“Smart girl,” Zenellia said, taking a prim sip of tea. “You know, I have a mind to let you finalize the arrangements with Mr. Adamius.”

“Really?” Faustine clasped her hands to her mouth with excitement. “A solo consult?”

Zenellia chuckled, leaning against the glass counter. “I’ve already discussed the arrangements with him, so this will just be hemming in the finer details. Where he wants the vases placed and so on. You’ve been with me on enough consultations and set-ups, you can do this on your own.”

“Thank you Miss Zenellia!” Faustine reigned herself in. “I can handle this,” she said, straightening her posture. “When do I meet with him?”

“Tomorrow morning, before his studio opens.”

                                                    **********

Faustine enjoyed fashion. And art and flowers and color. Her wardrobe was a blend of bright color and textures. Her grandmother used to say that she would have loved Earth back in the 1980’s and based on pictures she’d seen, Faustine was inclined to agree. 

But today was professional. Her mentor was trusting her to make a good impression and Faustine needed to represent Thessian Impressions while also simultaneously reassuring Nous--Mr. Adamius--that he’d made a wise choice in ordering floral arrangements for his event and should consider doing so again. 

Faustine chose a slate pant-suit with a violet camisole from the back of her closet. It was from an elite fashion line, but had been on clearance since it was from the year before. Still, as she slipped on black high heels, Faustine felt a sense of empowerment. 

She hesitated over her hair. Did turians even notice human hair? Should she take the extra effort to curl it? Deciding it couldn’t hurt, Faustine brushed, curled, and styled her auburn locks until they gleamed under the artificial bathroom lights. Some mascara and bright red lipstick completed the look and before she could second guess herself, she was hailing a skycar and then stepping out in front of Adamius Studios.

She normally walked to work, but doing so in heels was out of the question. These were shoes for show, not practicality. Pulling up her omni-tool, she contacted Mr. Adamius to let him know she was from Thessian Impressions and here to speak to him. 

The windows to the studio were opaque, but in a slow parade of light starting from the back of the building, the room lit up. The door opened as Faustine leaned closer to peer inside. 

“Hello.” 

“Hi! Mr. Adamius?”

He nodded, opening the door wider for her to enter. She’d seen him before, of course--he worked across the street. She’d never seen him up close, though. He was a good deal taller than her but held himself tightly like a curled fern frond. The effect gave him a shorter, hunched appearance. 

He had pale plates, not quite white, but a light tan. His hide was a deep molten red with eyes that reminded her of orange, autumn leaves. 

His most notable feature wasn't his eyes or plates or posture. He had bold, purple colony markings which ran in thick lines toward his eye sockets like a roadmap.The plating on his arms bore similar lines of the same color. Faustine wondered if colony markings extended all over the body. She’d never considered it before, but as she admired the bold, black, geometric patterns that spiraled away from his neck plating in a decorative collar, she decided that this was art, unrelated to the colony markings turians were so famous for. 

Mr. Adamius cleared his throat loudly and Faustine realized with racing horror that she’d been staring at him with wide eyes and an open mouth like he were an exhibit on show. 

“Oh!” It was her turn to clear her throat. “Your tattoos are beautiful,” she murmured, looking at the floor. 

“Thank you.” His voice was soft. Not at all loud and bold like his art. “You work for Matriarch Zenellia?”

Faustine released a small sigh that they were moving on. “Yes, I’m her protege, as it were. She wanted me to finalize the details with you for next week.”

She smiled, tilting her head in a friendly manner. Mr. Adamius flicked out a mandible in what she associated as a turian smile, though he avoided looking her in the eyes. She wondered if that was a personality thing or something… maybe he doesn’t like me? 

“I was thinking of an arrangement on the reception desk and a few smaller vases along the wall,” Mr. Adamius said, pointing to where several bed posts were mounted and functioning as coat racks. A large, framed canvas sat beneath the racks. On it was what looked like an abstract shoal of fish with luminous, foreign script weaving through it. Faustine didn’t recognize the writing but felt it safe to assume it was turian.“I discussed using a mix of thessian, earth, and palaveni flowers,” Mr. Admius continued. “I want the color scheme to stay cobalt, gold, and white, but I’m open to flower types. Nothing too lavish, the art is the focal point.”

“Zenellia mentioned that,” Faustine said, wiping away any concerns about her likability for the moment. Pulling up her omni-tool, she moved closer to Mr. Adamius to show him the samples of different arrangements in the colors he’d requested. This close, she could smell a slightly acrid scent of what she assumed was ink. But overpowering that was a woody smell that reminded her of pine trees. Mr. Adamius smells like Christmas, she thought.

She glanced up at him from where he was admiring a proposed arrangement. He was wearing loose fitted clothes that placed his heavily inked hide on full display. Zenella had mentioned he was younger, but the asari considered everyone younger since she herself was 876 years old.

Nous seems like he’s my age. Maybe a little older. Early to mid thirties? 

“I like this one best,” he said, oblivious to her internal musings. Faustine looked at the arrangement he’d chosen. It was the one she’d put together. Not the four Zenella had proposed, but the one she had done. 

“I did that one,” she told him proudly. 

“It’s beautiful,” he said in a softer voice, looking not at her eyes, but seemingly her hair. “It’ll work perfectly for what I have planned.”

Instead of replying Faustine responded by grinning at him like an idiot. She was high on accomplishment, she’d convince herself later. But it was thanks to this that Mr. Adamius nervously glanced away, toward a small, unassuming painting partially concealed by the reception desk.

“Is that an anchor?” She pointed at the familiar shape which was the main subject of the painting. 

“Yes. I’m fond of the nautical themes found in all cultures. The convergence of design between them, be they human, asari, or turian. We’re all interconnected by the oceans of our worlds.” He let out a quiet hum, unfurling from his tightly held hunch. “It reminds me of my childhood, too, I suppose.”

“You grew up near the ocean?” Faustine asked curiously. “I thought turians weren’t the biggest fans of deep, open water. No offense!” she added, horrified she’d possibly insulted him. 

His easy chuckle immediately set her at ease. “Overall, you’re right. Most turians avoid the open ocean. But my homeworld is different.” His mandibles flicked outward as he looked down at his hands. The three fingers of his left hand each bore a small fish tattoo on the knuckle. “Rocam has a huge fishing industry. I grew up around the sea and fishing boats. My childhood involved lots of fishing and playing in the surf. Eating charred salmo around a beach fire with my grandparents. Listening to fisherman swap stories on the wharf.”

Faustine watched the fish tattoos flex with his fingers. Remembering the other canvas leaning against the wall, she looked closer at the framed picture. The fish looked like they were formed from ink splats, honed with a pen to give them more definition and shape.

“You did that?” she asked pointing. 

Turning, Mr. Adamius nodded. “I did all the nautical themed paintings in here,” he said. Faustine felt like the quiet, rolling subvocals under the spoken words were proud. 

“You’re so talented,” she sighed, feeling mildly envious. “Do you have other paintings like that one?”

“Yes, but they’re in the back. I’ll put them out next week for the exhibit.”

“Oh.”

“I…” a soft whine escaped through his tightly clamped mandibles. “Would you, um. Like to come to the exhibit?”

“Your art exhibit next week? Of course I’d love to go!” Faustine forced herself to school her features into a more poised look. “I mean, if you’re inviting me, I’d absolutely love to see the rest of your work.”

Nous let out a huff of air. “It’s not just my work, all the artists in the studio are going to display something. But if you’d like to come, I’d love to see you. At the event.” He cleared his throat, stepping away from her personal space which at some point he’d entered. 

“Thank you,” Faustine whispered, feeling a blush creep over her cheeks. “Um, I’ll let Zenella know which arrangement you selected and where and how many you wanted.” She made to head for the door, but forgetting her high heels, tripped and nearly collapsed face first into the deep blue and white rug.

A strong arm seized her around the waist and held her until she was steady on her feet again. “Damn shoes,” she muttered, more embarrassed then she’d been in years. “Nous, I--”

“Not a problem. Are you all right?”

“Fine, I’m fine. Only thing injured is my pride.” She gave him a sheepish smile, sure her face was beet red. 

For the first time since she’d entered his studio, Nous looked her in the eye. “Wounded pride isn’t the worst injury,” he said in that soft, smokey voice. 

She stared into the swirling amber of his irises. Turians had smaller eyes than humans, but their gaze was intense. She wondered what he thought about her own hazel eyes. 

He bowed his head after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, I’ll see you at the exhibit?”

“Before that, actually,” she replied, blinking away whatever trance she’d fallen under. “I’ll bring the flowers by an hour before your exhibit starts.”

“I look forward to seeing you then.”

So do I, Faustine thought, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she headed out the door. So do I.

[psychopersonified]

Kidnapped!Q

Don’t we 00Q shippers love a good kidnapped!Q story. Here’s my take on an attempted kidnapping story. 

Available on AO3 look for handle Psychopersonified. 

------

Friday 10:00am

The buildings’ security system pings his phone ::Lobby Alert:: 

Frowning, Q sets down the steaming mug of ginger tea. He was looking forward to the steam helping clear his congested sinuses. He’s developed a cold over the last couple of days, and medical sent him home yesterday for an early weekend.

He goes to the tablet mounted on the wall and pulls up the security feeds. There’s no one in the lobby which is a little strange. Movement in the next window catches his eye. It’s the hallway camera looking down the length of his floor, one of the lifts just opened and three men in paramedic uniform steps out. Curious. Who on his floor is requiring assistance? Wait, shouldn’t the doorman be escorting them? Belatedly he realises the men have stopped at his door...

They don’t even bother with a perfunctory knock. Q sees the police style door ram before he even hears the equipment colliding with his door. The door frame splinters inwards but holds. It is reinforced to buy him time but will not hold indefinitely. The loud crash sends a jolt of adrenaline into his sluggish system. 

He springs into action, punching the panic button on the wall next to the tablet. It should send a signal to police and MI6.  Q then grabs his MI6 laptop and turns it over. On the bottom is a red tab sticking out of a slot and he yanks at it - hard. It is the quick release mechanism for the hard drive - allowing the user to remove the hard drive quickly in an emergency. Pulling it also mechanically rips the chip from the board, damaging it hopefully beyond recovery. It also triggers a self destruct code in the laptop to wipe any remaining RAM. He designed the mechanism himself after the Istanbul fiasco and is now standard for all field issued laptops. 

He pockets the remains of the hard drive just in case along with his phone and runs into the bedroom. One of the windows here open to the fire escape. He looks around the room and grabs the nearest coat he sees.  

He makes it to the bottom of the fire escape just as the front door bursts open. Shit, shit, shit. He runs down the back alley and emerges onto the main street a block away - activating the tracking and distress signal on his watch as he does. 

His phone buzzes not even a minute later, he knows it is MI6. He swipes answer without hesitation. 

“Q? Are you alright? We received two distress beacons registered to you a few minutes ago.” He recognises R’s voice immediately. 

“Mayday, not a drill. Three assailants, they came in though the front door.” Q blurts out. The professional words belying the panic rising within. 

“Police are on their way as we speak. Where are you?”

“I’m no longer in my residence, hostiles in pursuit. Taking southbound route towards rendezvous point. Do you have me on camera?” He’s panting from the run. 

“Yes we see you.” That gives Q a little comfort. He needs to stay within view of the CCTVs. 

“The assailants?” Q inquires still running down the street. 

“Two on foot. Appears to be searching for you. Turning the corner.“

There is short crackle through the speakers and 007 joins the line. His comfortingly familiar voice comes over the phone,“Q? Stop running.”

“What??” Q’s chest is tight, his congested airways making it hard to breathe. The instruction is counterintuitive. 

“Stop running.” 007 repeats, Q recognises Bond’s tone of controlled annoyance. “Slow down. Walk at brisk pace. Put on the coat, it’ll disguise you.” 

Q complies. The coat is too big, it isn’t his. But that’s probably even better.

“Trust me, Q-..,” Bond assures, “..-that’s it. Good.” He must be watching the video feed. “At the next opportunity cross the street. Do not run. Do not look back. Keep your head down,” comes the next set of instructions from Bond.

“How much longer till the extraction team gets here? I don’t know if I can make it to the rendezvous point. I can hardly breathe,” his lungs are burning. The cold air not helping his already constricted airways.  

Q tries his best to follow Bond’s instructions. The temptation to look back and get a relative bearing on his assailants is overwhelming. But if he turns back, it will make it easier for them to spot him. 

“ETA 8 mins,” R supplies over the line.  

“We’re on our way, and police should be there before us,” Q can hear Bond’s voice sounding like he’s on the move; a few moments later, muffled sirens wail in the background. He wills himself to calm. Pulling in one stuttered breath at the time. 

Breathe, walk, repeat. Eight.minutes.more... 

A few minutes later, R pipes up, “Q, they’ve turned into the same street. 100 meters. Try and blend in with the crowd best you can.” Shit. Q turns up the collar on Bond’s coat to hide more of his face. 

“Q, do you have anything on you that can be used as a weapon?” 007 asks. 

Q checks his trouser pockets. There’s just the hard drive he pulled.. and a Waitrose receipt. The watch he’s wearing has no weapons capabilities. Then he pats down Bond’s coat- something slim and hard is in the inside pocket. He removes it. Its an unexpectedly heavy silver pen. 

“Umm… only things I have on me is the hard drive... my phone, my watch and your pen,” Q’s voice catches in desperation. 

“My pen?” Bond prompts for clarification. 

“Y…Yes. Silver pen in your navy wool coat. Off the back of the bedroom door.” Fuck. In the back of his mind, he’s mortified that he’s revealed something so personal over the comms. Their relationship isn’t a secret; its probably the worst kept secret in MI6 - but its not official either.  

R’s voice cuts in, “-50 meters… shit, looks like they are heading straight for you.” 

“Q...listen carefully. That pen is from Q-Branch. Recognise it?” Now that Bond has mentioned it, Q realises it does look familiar. The lack of air is not helping with his cognitive abilities. 

“Which one is it? Ss-sorry that was months ago. I can’t recall at the moment.” He really can’t, his head is starting to hurt. 

“Its alright... It’s the taser version.“ Bond’s voice is infuriatingly calm.

“30 meters,” R updates.

“Q…shift the pen to your dominant hand. Prime the pen, remember how you showed me? In a few moments, when you feel a hand on you, turn around and twist away perpendicular to where he’s coming from, jab the pen anywhere you can reach, the face or neck if you can-.”

“20 meters.” R’s tone is urgent now.

“...Then run as fast as you can in the direction you were going. We’re just coming up to the bottom of the street. Can you do that?“ 

No! - “Yes… turn, jab and run”. Q swaps the phone and pen in his hands. 

“10 meters.” 

“Get ready.” Bond’s voice is steel.

“NOW!” R’s warning shocks him into action.

Q ducks and twists around, the attacker barely has a grip on the collar of the coat. The action catches the attacker off-guard. Q then swings his arm around and jabs the pen under the man’s jaw, the tip lodging into the soft flesh there. A little more pressure and the pen discharges, sending the attacker spasming backwards and dropping him instantly. 

The motion throws Q off balance momentarily and he looses his grip; phone clattering to the ground. But he recovers an instant later. Q turns back and makes a run for it, pelting down the busy street as fast has he can. 

He can hear the screech of tyres and sirens up ahead. He sees a familiar dark green Range Rover and black Jaguar sedan skid to a stop, blocking the end of the street. 

So close. He looks back over his shoulder to see the second attacker just meters behind and gives his legs a last push. 

Ahead, he sees the doors of the vehicles fling open, agents swarming out. He doesn’t have time to slow down so he uses his momentum to launch himself over the bonnet of the Jag - sliding on his hip across it to land in a crouch on the other side, sandwiched between the Jag and Range Rover.

Behind him, he hears the sounds of punches and kicks being thrown. A choked groan of pain and a crunch of bones. Slightly further away, there’s the sound of agents calling out to a third assailant to stand down. 

He thinks to pear over the bonnet, but ducks again when he hears, “Get down!” followed by the rapid pop of gunshots. Then all hell breaks loose. People screaming and scattering causing absolute confusion. 

Over the gunfire, he hears, “Sir! Q! Get in!” An agent is standing over him and herding him towards the rear door of the Jag. 

He crouch-crawls his way to the back of the sedan keeping low. The agent shuts the heavy bulletproof door after him. A few seconds later another agent enters from the opposite door, throwing himself into the passenger seat next to Q and shutting the door. The Jag peels away immediately. 

Q exhales shakily after a minute. Finally taking stock of his surroundings. He can see Tanner’s familiar profile in the front driver seat, eyes on the road, weaving through traffic. 

“Alright?” the agent sitting next to him asks. Q turns his head, it’s Bond. Relief washes over him and it’s all he can do not to launch himself into Bond’s lap. He nods in acknowledgement.

Bond reaches across to squeeze his knee. The briefest of touches. He notices the fresh abrasions on the back of Bond’s knuckles. 

“Third assailant managed to escape. Police are in pursuit. The other two are in custody,” R’s voice comes over the speaker. 

“Received. Principle secured, we’re in transit.” Tanner replies. 

“R, do we know who they are yet? Links to anyone?” Bond asks.

“Nothing so far. Facial recognition is still running. CCTV shows an ambulance arriving outside Q’s building. The assailants posed as paramedics to gain entry. Once inside, they shot the plain-clothes police officer stationed there. They had a collapsible gurney with them too. We’re assuming that was how they intended to move Q once they’ve incapacitated him. It would not arouse suspicion.”  

Bond takes a deep breath, the only break in his cool and collected armour. Hearing the details was difficult. Too close. Too damned close.

The Jag pulls up at MI6, Tanner using the underground entrance. He parks the car in Mallory’s spot, close to the tunnel that houses the lifts, only then does Q realise the Jag is M’s government car. 

Tanner and Bond get out of the car. Bond crossing behind the car to open Q’s door. Q feels odd - his limbs sluggish, uncompliant and cold. Belatedly he thinks he’s in shock. It must have shown, because Bond reaches in to gently clamp his fingers around Q’s bicep and slowly help him out. 

They make it into the lift with Q increasingly leaning on Bond to keep himself standing. Why does his lungs still feel like they cant get enough air? 

The lift doors open and Q all but tumbles out into the lift lobby. His vision tunnels and the colours wash out. That’s the moment he crashes. 

“Q!” Bond lowers him onto the marble floor. Taking care to cushion his head.

Tanner is already on his phone, barking at medical to send a team, “Level 5 lobby stat!”

--------

Update: Part 2 here

Notes: Yes, prompted by that No Time to Die trailer. But this story doesn't take place in that universe so to speak. Was thinking to use this for the imaginary Q Netflix series I’m writing. 

If you’re interested: 

Series 1 Pilot here.

Series 2 Episode 1 & 2 here. And Episode 3.

[thelittledetails2021]

Simple Makeover Tips to Redesign Your Home Decor

People often do not have enough time and money to renovate their houses completely. Moreover, if you live in a rented place, your landlord will stop you from making any significant renovations and changes at your place. In these situations, you can only opt for some simple hacks and makeover tips to change the decor of your rooms. Here are some of them that you can follow to redesign your house.

Some Effective Home Decor Makeover Tips are:

Declutter and reorganize: After some time, your rooms may have extra unnecessary items lying around that do not blend into the decor of the room. You should select these and properly discard them. After removing the extra stuff, it is time to reorganize. You can easily change the arrangement of the room by moving your furniture and unique home decor accessories to different positions.

Change the hanging place and level: Bored of seeing the same wall art at the same place. Try to experiment by swapping the wall accessories for living room with a different one and vice-versa. Also, make sure to change the hanging levels of the wall pieces and place them at positions that suit them perfectly. After a couple of moves, you will find the change in layout a bit unique and attractive.

Use symmetry: There will be a beautiful result when you include symmetry in your home decor arrangements. You can try out different variations like organizing books on shelves according to their descending sizes, placing your sofa and chairs in a circular pattern in your living room, or hanging ceramic plates in perfect symmetry on an empty wall.

Small upgrades can make a big impact: You do not need a high budget to change your home decor. Research properly and select designer home accessories that are inexpensive but can add extra flavor while easily blending into the room. However, be careful while shopping for the accessories, it is absolutely ok to feel tempted but you should never buy something random.

These inexpensive but effective hacks can make your home makeover quite easy and fruitful. Remember these tips if you want to change your home decor and buy home accessories online from various stores and websites.

ALSO, READ OUR NEW UPDATES

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Traditional or, quirky? What should your home accessories be like?

[tttinytrash]

((Ok so in my head Blue is a reluctant pred. He likes it, but it takes a lot to make him not just feel overwhelmingly guilty about enjoying this even if it’s safe. So have some Swap Sans vore! I wanted to play more with the pred’s pov since my last couple were more prey focused. Also sorry for making it a not romantic thing but my ace butt prefers it that way. Friends should be able to cuddle friends, dammit! But I guess if you wanna you can squint and just assume Blue has a budding crush and/or is in denial of a crush. Regardless, enjoy!))

Sans was so pleased with his and his brother’s house on the Surface. It was about the size of their home back in Snowdin and even better, it came with a new friend! The little borrower in their walls, a female named Lark, had lived there before the two moved in and had been quickly sussed out between the skelebrothers. (Benefits of magic.) After some tension in the beginning, she was now almost part of family! She was certainly the best roommate Sans could have asked for. 

She loved hiding in Sans’ bandanna to go with him on his morning run, and was glad to help with cleaning the nooks and crannies Sans was unable to reach. But she also loved taking naps and staying up late with Papyrus, and finally gave the taller brother a run for his money in his video games (after Undyne made them a properly sized controller). Their interests were a harmonious blend between the brothers which meant she’d be equally likely to be found perched on the shoulder of either brother whenever she wasn’t taking time for herself in her holes in the walls. 

As for right now, she was laid on Papyrus’ sternum. Sans was slouched in the corner of the couch, and Papyrus pillowed his skull on a cushion laid in Sans’ lap. They were all watching a movie, and apparently all three had underestimated how gory the horror film would be. Papyrus was the least affected, but Sans was a wreck and the borrower was only mildly better. When Lark cracked and ducked to hide in Papyrus’ hoodie pocket Sans used it as an excuse to quit before the end. 

“THOSE HIGH RATINGS WERE SO MISLEADING, THAT WAS AWFUL!” Sans declared in disgust, relieved beyond words that the horrible movie was gone. (No. He was not suppressing the sounds of his bones rattling, thank you.)

“yeah, not my cup of tea either.” Papyrus then directed his attention to his pocket, patting it lightly and asking “you wanna stay in there, tiny tot?”

Sans didn’t hear it, but could tell the answer was an affirmative as Papyrus mounted the stairs. 

Sans finished putting the room back in order and trotted up after his brother, going into his own room to get ready for bed. It was pretty late after all, and he had to wake up bright and early to get a head start on his training!

Once he could no longer distract himself with bedtime prep and cleaning, however, Sans quickly found he couldn’t get the film out of his mind. It felt like the worst scenes were imprinted in the back of his eyelids. Ugh, he didn’t want to be alone.

To Paps’ room he went, relieved to see the light of his computer shining dimly from under the door. He wasn’t asleep then, yet. He reluctantly opened the door and froze at the sight before him. 

Papyrus was sat at his PC, still in his hoodie but he’d at least switched to PJ pants. This was normal, Papyrus did have a tendency to do most of his sleeping in the form of daytime naps rather than at night. No, what shocked Sans was seeing the borrower sized pair of legs hanging out of his brother’s mouth. He couldn’t help the horrified gasp when those legs disappeared with the quiet sound of a gulp.

The gasp obviously alerted Papyrus to Sans’ presence, and he greeted “hey bro. how long you been there?” He shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, and Sans didn’t miss that he appeared to be swiping his thumb over his belly under the cover of the fabric.

“LONG ENOUGH! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!” Sans fully entered, obviously confused and flustered.

Papyrus shrugged. “they asked.”

“WHAT?!”

“they asked me to take em in, bro. they wanted to hide. what’s with you? you know this is safe, i used to take you in too.”

“YES, YOU’RE RIGHT. BUT I WAS A BABYBONES!”

Papyrus just looked at Sans, shrugging again. He turned back to his computer.

Sans left, movie forgotten completely. He was eventually able to fall asleep, but spent far longer than he’d admit thinking about it and feeling guilty about blowing up like that. He KNEW it was safe, like Paps had said. So why did it bug him so much? Sleep came before an answer, unfortunately.

------

Breakfast the next morning was something Sans wasn’t particularly looking forward to. He made an extra effort to make a lavish assortment of waffles, cut fruit, and even made pancakes with M&Ms tossed in the batter like he knew Papyrus liked.

Papyrus eventually came downstairs, Lark carried in his cupped hand. The smell of cooking food usually woke him up, and if the borrower had followed his sleep schedule she was ordinarily dragged along. They both perked up at seeing the spread before them, before the lanky brother seemed to catch on to his sibling’s bribery.

“apology breakfast, bro?”

Sans sighed and faced his brother, gloved hand wringing the hem of his apron, “YES. I OVERREACTED LAST NIGHT AND I AM VERY SORRY. WHAT FRIENDS OR DATEMATES DO BEHIND CLOSED DOORS IS THEIR BUSINESS.”

Both Papyrus and Lark laughed at that. Before Sans had the chance to be insulted Papyrus explained.

“bro, nah. w-we’re just buds.”

“Nothing there, Sans. Promise. Don’t tell me you’re getting jealous, now.” she added.

“I AM NOT!” Sans squeaked, blush tinging his cheekbones.

She was still laughing, giggling a little extra in fact as she teased “You wanna give it a go, there Sans?” Snicker, “Need tummy cuddles too?”

Sans felt his eyelights go out and the blue glow of a blush burning his whole skull. Amid the uproar of laughter, he swiped the plate he’d set out for himself (waffles with strawberries on top) and skittered retreated up to his room.

He heard their laughter, and will admit he felt relief when he heard his brother called up “sorry, bro. but now we’re even, yeah?”

However, that relief that his breakfast gesture had worked was completely overshadowed by shame. Oh gosh please no, that feeling can’t be right can it? She hadn’t meant it, but she was right.

Sans did want to try it.

Delta help him.

------

The thought had been creeping into his mind no matter how much he tried to sweep it under the rug throughout his whole morning jog. He even ran an extra mile, but couldn’t outrun the problem. She hadn’t come with him this morning, so he found her instead on the coffee table when he came back. Papyrus was up taking a nap apparently, snd she was playing a game on her own. 

“Hey Sans, wanna play? There’s a co-op mode!~” She called, having paused the game.

Ugh, he couldn’t stand to look at her now. His tongue had even manifested unbidden. “N-NO. SORRY. I’M SPARRING ALPHYS TODAY, AND I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE LATE!” 

She bought the lie, and he got out of the house with no issue.

...But he had no plans with Alphys, no errands to run, but also couldn’t go home.

Well crap.

He’d ended up at the Librarby. He ended up there a lot the past couple of days. He knew Papyrus and Lark were getting concerned, but didn’t know what else he could do. 

For now, he was home. When his brother was around he could forget the intrusive thoughts. Just being alone with her was the trouble. So he was happy to watch another movie, and this one was absolutely making up for the awful horror movie that had afflicted their last movie night.

Eventually, the singing humans finished the closing number, and the credits began to roll. So Sans cleaned up the room, and Papyrus trundled up the steps with the borrower cupped in his hands. Once he was done cleaning, Sans bounded up the steps himself and dipped into the bathroom to swap into his pajamas.

Lark was sitting on his pillow when he entered his room. 

Sans would deny the startled squeak that slipped out when he caught sight of her til he dusted, but she didn’t even look amused. That didn’t bode well.

“Sans, is there anything wrong?” she asked.

“WHAT? N-NO! WHAT MAKES YOU ASK THAT? I HAVE BEEN ACTING EXTREMELY NORMAL!” Sans lied. Poorly, he knew.

“Sans. We both know thats not true. Did I do something wrong? Because you’ve been avoiding me. Paps noticed, too.”

“YOU’VE DONE NOTHING, EVERYTHING IS FINE!”

“...is it about Papyrus taking me in?”

Sans couldn’t actually muster words, just feeling his magic heat his cheekbones uselessly.

She sighed. “If it really bothers you that bad, we’ll stop. It’s not worth losing a friend, ok?”

“N-no... that’s not it...” Sans had even lost his usual volume, which made her take notice.

“Then what, Sans? I’ve been wracking my brain for days.”

Sans finally sat on the end of the bed. “...It was taking in stuff... But I’m not upset about you two doing it. It’s what you said that morning.” Sans felt so vulnerable, but as she’d put it, this wasn’t worth losing a friend.

“What? About you wanting to too? Oh, I went too far teasing you didn’t I? I’m sorry, I’ll lay off-”

“You were right.”

She faltered. “What?”

“I can’t stop wondering what it’s like. I’ve never taken anyone in before, and you two so clearly enjoy it. But I would never want to make you, So I’ve been trying to avoid the issue. But I think I just ended up avoiding you. I’m sorry.”

She looked confused for a solid few seconds, then slumped and gave a comically loud sigh of relief, even punctuated with a breathy giggle. “That’s all?”

Sans was now even more uncomfortable. “Yes?”

“Dude, then take me in! I’m fine! If that’s all the issue is, that’s such an easy fix.” She even took the extra initiative to bound over the span of the bed, straight for the skeleton before her. She only stopped a few inches short when she realized he was recoiling.

“Oh. It’s an easy fix for me, not so much for you. Huh, bud?” She asked quietly.

Sans made an unhappy noise, and that was answer enough.

“Ok. If the problem is me not wanting to, that’s clearly not an issue. Is it nerves because you don’t know what to do? I can walk you through it. Really, Sans, I actively want to do this, because maybe it’ll help close the gap we made between us. If you really don’t want to, then that’s fine too but just know the reluctance isn’t on my end, ok? I love and trust you just as much as Papyrus. Promise.”

Sans forced himself to relax, and cycled a breath. Thinking about it, he had no reason to refuse. And honestly, he would be happy to put his self-quarantine to an end. So he nodded. “Ok, but only if you’re sure.”

“Yep!” They beamed up at him, reaching upwards in a clear request to be picked up.

He gently cupped his hands around them and lifted them off the mattress, up to his face. “Ok, what do I do?”

“Why don’t you open up? I’ll get in myself, just bring your hand close ok?”

Sans had to take a moment to breathe, but did open up his mouth. His tongue had manifested itself by this point, so that wasn’t an issue. But that also meant he felt and tasted their hands when they were set down. He was going cross eyed to watch her progress as much as the angle allowed, but she seemed to have no issue and slid in easily. He was surprised by the lack of friction, honestly.

She scooted a bit father forward, making him lose sight of her feet, and called “Alright, go ahead and close your mouth. Makes the next part easier.”

He did so slowly, and felt butterflies knowing what the “next part” was.

“Good, you’re doing fine. Now tilt your head back, just til I start to slide back. Once I hit the back you can swallow.”

Sans tipped his skull back ever so slowly, until he felt her weight shift backwards. Once she hit the opening of his throat he instinctively gulped, which caused him to jolt a bit in surprise. 

He felt the magical tubing thread along the front of his cervical vertebrae, felt the weight of her body tugging downwards, every little twitch of her tiny body. His fingers flew up to his neck, fingers ghosting over her form contained within himself, until he lost her progress under his clavicles.

It almost felt like his soul was gently bumped aside to allow her to pass through his chest, which left a calm fuzzy feeling. He felt a slight pressure at the top of his belly, then she spilled in fully. 

His soul fluttered like a caged bird, could she hear that? Feel it? He pulled the hem of his shirt up, making his magic transparent so he could check on her. 

“A-are you alright?” he asked, watching her reorient in the new space.

“Peachy! You did it, Sans.” She smiled up at him, utterly at ease.

Seeing that she hadn’t been harmed, his soul settled into a more typical rhythm. “I did, thank you for helping. Please let me know if you want out, alright?”

“Will do. Glad to see you’re calming down.”

“You could tell?”

“Can’t hide much from this perspective. I could hear how uneven your breathing was. Here, maybe this will help to wind down.”

What was she doing? Ooh, he loves the shocks he got when she moved. Her hands were on the floor now, she started to move her hands in circular patterns...? Oh.

Sans melted. That was such a nice feeling, who knew his belly was so sensitive? He dropped his shirt, letting his magic go opaque.

“That’s really nice, wowie. Is it ok if I move though?” He asked.

“Go for it. Lie down if you want.”

He did just that, getting under the covers. He felt her slide around, and once she seemed to resettle, she resumed her rubbing.

Sans purred, which she giggled at. He was feeling far too good to care, dignity be hanged. He laid a hand over where she rested, doing his best to run at where he thought her back was. He felt her lean into the indirect touch, which made him smile.

“Y’know, I can stay overnight if you want.” Lark piped up after a few minutes of silence (barring the happy skeleton sounds).

“I think I’d like that.” Sans replied, feeling pretty sleepy. “Are you sure you’ll be comfortable?”

“Oh yeah, no issue there. You guys are pretty cushy inside, despite the boney exterior.”

Sans chuckled at that. “Ah, good.”

She stopped rubbing (which he was a little sad about) and moved until he felt her weight go still by his spine. 

She fell asleep quickly, her weight going limp and heartbeat (which he could feel if he concentrated) slowed.

A very content skeleton followed his tiny friend into the land of nod not long after.