#anne you really caught their expressions really well

[bethanydelleman]

Of all the marriages that were "meant" to happen or seemed to be going that way in Jane Austen but didn't (eg Darcy and Caroline, Darcy and Anne de Bourgh, Elizabeth and Mr. Collins, Elizabeth and Wickham, Edward and Lucy Steele, Marianne and Willoughby, Emma and Frank Churchill etc) how do you see them working out? Could any of them be happy?

Mr. Darcy & Anne de Bourgh - I can never see this one happening, but my money is on Anne dying either in childbirth or because pregnancy overtaxes her already poor health.

Mr. Darcy & Caroline Bingley - wrote that. Caroline would be a perfectly acceptable mistress of Pemberley, but her propensity to mirror Darcy and express his own opinions would make him worse.

Elizabeth Bennet & Mr. Collins - a disaster: the elder Bennet's marriage but gender-reversed. Lady Catherine would also hate her and that would make Mr. Collins anxious.

Elizabeth Bennet & George Wickham - I don't see how exactly this would come about because Elizabeth has no fortune and Wickham needs a fortune, but it would also be a disaster because Elizabeth would realize who Wickham really was and she would be horrified. Without support, they would be broke.

Edward Ferrars & Lucy Steele - This would be such a mess, Lucy would be sucking up to Mrs. Ferrars for money and trying to push Edward into multiple livings and promotions, which he would hate. Lucy is so much like Edward's mother that he would just be dying inside 24/7. He's not a pushover, but it would be really exhausting for him to fight Lucy on everything and he's trapped in this marriage, so he'd probably give in eventually.

Edward Ferrars & The Honourable Miss Morton - Not enough info.

Marianne Dashwood & Willoughby - wrote that. I don't think there is any way it would end well. Marianne will quickly discover what Willoughby did to Eliza and that he is far in debt. She's not responsible enough to get him out of debt and her view of him would be shattered. It's a tragedy.

Emma Woodhouse & Frank Churchill - the logistics just don't make sense, since Emma cannot leave her father and Frank has Mrs. Churchill, but I guess they could wait for the old lady to kick it and Frank could live at Hartfield... though he's not good with Mr. Woodhouse but I think he could learn. I think this marriage would be fairly successful, but Frank brings out the worst in Emma and that wouldn't be great.

Isabella Thorpe & James Morland - I don't think Isabella would cheat, I see that opinion a lot, but I think Isabella is sensible enough not to try that within a marriage. You can't "trade up" anymore once you're married. However, it would be bad. Isabella would waste money and James wouldn't know what to do with her. They'd probably have like 6 kids though because she's hot.

Isabella Thorpe & Captain Frederick Tilney - this would piss off General Tilney so much that I almost want it to happen. Almost. But honestly, I don't think Frederick would treat her very well if he was forced in some manner to marry Isabella and I don't want her stuck in a cruel marriage.

Mary Crawford & Edmund Bertram - I've written this a few times, I've gone both ways. In one story Mary is cheating on Edmund and he remains oblivious, in my novel Unfairly Caught, they are happy and both of them compromise a bit. Jane Austen herself has an opinion:

Experience might have hoped more for any young people so circumstanced, and impartiality would not have denied to Miss Crawford’s nature that participation of the general nature of women which would lead her to adopt the opinions of the man she loved and respected as her own.

Henry Crawford & Fanny Price - I personally ship this, but of course Henry has to change and without Fanny's help for it to be viable. Again, Austen wrote about it's possibility, so I trust they could have been happy if he wasn't such an idiot.

Colonel Brandon & Eliza #1 - with Eliza's fortune they would have likely been able to live comfortably. I imagine they would have been happy together despite the family rift. If everything happens as before, they would eventually inherit the family estate and live happily ever after.

Anne Elliot & Charles Musgrove - I think this could have gone really well, and honestly if I was Anne I would have gone for it. Charles is kind and smart enough, he'd have been much happier if Anne was his wife. Also, best in-laws ever!

Captain Wentworth & Louisa Musgrove - Louisa would try to be a great wife, but I think Wentworth would be too focused on losing Anne to be a good husband. He'd probably be very affectionate when on leave because he felt bad and then go off to sea to wallow in tragedy. Fortunately, Louisa's family would support her when she was alone.

Anne Elliot & Captain Benwick - I ship it. Captian Benwick would be devoted and he's a reader like Anne. They would spend time reading poetry together.

Sir Walter & Mrs. Clay - lol, I almost wish this one had happened. It would have been fun. Elizabeth Elliot would HATE IT and would probably marry to get away. It'd be fine, Sir Walter would be nice because his choices must be correct and Mrs. Clay would keep smiling and flattering forever.

Mr. Elliot & Elizabeth Elliot - he hates her, so it wouldn't happen, but if it did, it would be bad.

Mr. Elliot & Anne Elliot - This one is tricky. I do agree with Mrs. Smith that Mr. Elliot would respect Anne more and therefore wouldn't be cruel as he was with his first wife, but he's not a good person. I have trouble seeing this one happening because Anne does not want to marry him, but I don't think it would be happy if it somehow did occur.

Mr. Elton & Harriet Smith - he is a petty jerk, it's not a good match because Harriet cannot hold her own against him and he wouldn't admire her like he does Augusta. Bad times for Harriet.

Emma Woodhouse & Mr. Elton - Emma would rather enter a convent.

Mr. Knightley & Jane Fairfax - I don't know how or why this would happen, but given her intelligence and his kindness, this marriage would be successful.

That's all I can think of!

[daisyblog]

Mothers Love

Our Story Masterlist Summary: Anne and Jay can see the love Harry and YN have for each other.

Based on this request

Since the days their sons got put into a band on The X Factor, Jay and Anne clicked. They bonded over their love for their children, fashion and tea.

The two women helped and supported each other through the boys journey of leaving home so quickly and never really returning. They would often talk for hours on the phone in the evening or have a small conversation over Twitter.

But when Anne’s named flashed up on Jay’s phone one afternoon, she was pleasantly surprised.

“Hello love” Jay cheerfully answered.

“Hi my darling…how are you all?”.

“We’re all doing good…how’s everyone with you…Harry’s home isn’t he, Louis told me”.

“Uh yes he is….that’s what I wanted to talk to you about”.

Jay was slightly confused about why Anne would need to talk to her about Harry but she let her continue.

“Is YN home?”.

Without thinking Jay replied. “She’s over at her friends house…why?”.

Anne paused for a short moment, almost like she was piecing together a puzzle. “Harry’s on a date….and I think it’s with YN”.

Jay chuckled at the assumption that her daughter was on a date with her brothers best friend. “She told me she was going over to her friends house…so I don’t think it’s with YN”.

“Jay…they’re definitely on a date”.

“How can you be so sure?”.

“Harry asked for Robin and I’s advice…he kept asking about what he should do if he liked someone he shouldn’t” Anne explained her assumption.

“I don’t understand why that would mean it’s my YN”.

“I also may have seen her name pop up on his phone” Anne defended her reasoning.

“Oh…uh…um…do you think it could be serious then?”.

“Well we’ll soon find out my darling”.

---

A couple of weeks after the article of Harry and YN getting caught kissing was released, Anne had invited Jay and YN over whilst Harry was home for a couple of days to spend the afternoon with them. 

When Jay and YN had arrived at Anne’s house, they were warmly welcomed by Anne and Robin, with a nervous Harry hovering behind them. But his nerves calmed slightly when Jay greeted him with a hug and a “nice to see you my love”.

Anne could see that YN and Harry were unsure how to act in front of their Mums, so she invited Jay into the kitchen so she could make them all a cup of tea. 

Once their Mums were in the kitchen and far enough not to hear, Harry felt less nervous and pulled YN into his arms “I’ve missed you”.

“I’ve missed you too…so much” YN held onto Harry tighter.

As they both pulled away and looked each other, Harry dipped his head down and placed a peck onto YN’s lips. “I want to properly kiss you…but I’m scared of our Mums right now”, a nervous giggle left his mouth. 

“Oh yeah ‘cause me Mum and Anne are really scary aren’t they?” YN teased. 

“Harry!” Anne’s voice interrupted them. “Your teas are ready”.

Not wanting to keep their Mums waiting, Harry showed YN the way into the kitchen, his hand covering the small of her back. 

As they approached the open kitchen, both Anne and Jay were sat next to each other at the kitchen table, four cups of tea sitting on the table.

“Here’s your tea my loves” Anne gestures to the two mugs sat on the table with steam coming from them.

Harry and YN sat opposite their Mums and took a sip of their teas. 

“Okay…so we thought it would be a good idea to talk about the both of you” Anne broke the silence  that surrounded them.

“Mum…please” Harry began to protest, not wanting to have this conversation with his Mum or Jay.

Anne was quick to interrupt “Harry…we need to talk about this…look you’re my baby but YN is Jay’s…and I want to make sure you’re serious about this”.

“Of course I’m serious…I l-…I’m serious Mum” Harry’s words stumbled out, YN reaching her hand across under the table to lace her fingers with his.

“I’m sorry…I just don’t want anyone to get hurt” Anne expressed her concern.

“I think what your Mum is trying to say is…you’re both our babies and we want what’s best for you” Jay tried to explain her and Anne’s feelings.

For the first time since sitting at the table, YN speaks “Mum..Anne…I know we’re young and it might seem like we don’t know what we want…but please trust us”. 

Anne and Jay shared a look, knowing that Harry and YN were right. They needed to trust their children.

---

The boys were playing their first show of their Take Me Tour at the London O2 Arena, and of course all the boys families were attending. YN was joining the boys on the tour as Lou’s assistant.

Anne and Jay were sat chatting together ahead of the show, expressing how much they were going to miss their sons and Jay saying how she felt even more emotional this tour because YN would be joining them. 

But both women glanced to where Harry and YN were cuddled up on a chair in the corner of the room, watching something on one of their phones and giggling every so often. 

“Aww to be young and in love again” Anne joked and nudged Jay. “I’m just older and in love”.

Jay laughed at Anne’s joke but understanding completely. “I hope their love lasts”.

“A love like that could never end”.

---

The day of Jay and Dan’s wedding, Harry, Anne and Robin were sat in the audience waiting for the ceremony to start. 

“When’s your big day then?” Anne openly questioned Harry.

Harry coughed into his hand, a shy smile on his face. “Hmm…all you need to know is…one day I’ll marry YN”. Harry’s cheeky smile appearing as he glanced to the side to respond to his mother.

It was later on in the evening, guests had taken to the dance floor slow dancing to Thinking Out Loud. But Anne and Jay had found themselves sitting at one of the round tables in the outside marquee, watching as Harry and YN swayed to Ed’s voice. Harry had his hands resting at her hips, whilst YN’s were wrapped around his shoulders. 

The couple could be seen whispering and giggling to each other. “Harry hasn’t stopped staring at YN all day” Anne announced.

“If they keep that up, we’ll be grandma’s before we know it” Jay chuckled, whilst pointing out the couple kissing on the dance floor.

“Do we tell them to stop?” Anne nervously asked, unsure what they should do.

Jay laughed and nudged Anne’s shoulder with hers. “They’re young…let them enjoy…plus I wouldn’t mind being a Nana”.

“You’d be the best Nana” Anne complimented Jay, giving her big smile.

“Our grandbabies will have the best grandma’s”.

liked by mrsjoannahdeakin, gemmastyles, and 769,765 others

annetwist Young love ❤️ Our babies mrsjoannahdeakin xx View all 8,576 comments

gemmastyles Aw cuties 💕

mrsjoannahdeakin The perfect photo! Our babies ❤️❤️

harryfan I still don't believe this is real!

louteasdale my fav couple xx

louisfan Can they get any cuter💘

lottietomlinson yntomlinson...yours next??? ⌞gemmastyles I agree x ⌞harryynfan PLEASE GET MARRIED! ⌞niallhoran Go on, we could do with another wedding x

ynfan ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

ynupdate OUR FAVOURITE DUO! We've had so much YN and Harry content today!

1Dfan they're so in love!

Tag List: (let me know if you would like to be added) @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy@harrys-flower@platinumbarbie143@frickin-bats@harrysbbyh0ney@chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite@kaverichauhan@peterholland04@panicattheuc@indierockgirrl@or-was-it-just-a-dream@hittiesontour@bunnyharold@fanfictioncafe@lilfreakjez@jerseygirlinca@iamahallucinationnn@theekyliepage

[blue--ingenue]

"Evasive Maneuvers" - Part 4

Read the next part

Summary: You've been in love with Sebastian since the moment you knocked him on his arse on your first day. Entering your sixth year, you finally begin working up the courage to confess your feelings when he suddenly becomes the best Beater Hogwarts has seen in decades - and subsequently becomes the school's most eligible bachelor.

Author's Notes: sorry for the little cliffhanger/teaser a few days ago hehe. i've been really excited to post this chapter and wanted to give you a sneak peek. anyway, seb is a mess, but i promise he gets better at expressing his feelings :) (i forgot to mention in previous parts, but all characters in this fic are aged 18+)

Sebastian cursed as his shoe caught on a loose floor tile, nearly stumbling down the short flight of steps leading to the Potions classroom. He’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed and everything else had gone downhill from there. He’d arrived at morning quidditch practice to an onslaught of rain. Despite the wind and near-torrential downpour, Imelda had insisted they run drills until their allotted hour on the pitch was up. It was their final practice before their match against Gryffindor. Not only was it one of the most anticipated matches of the season, but Madam Kogawa had also chosen this particular match to evaluate the two houses’ players for a chance to represent the school at the Championships. Sebastian barely had time to cast a half-arsed drying charm over his robes before realizing Potions had started ten minutes ago. Now he was barreling through the halls, irritated and hoping that his tardiness wouldn’t affect his partner’s grade as well as his own.

Remembering that his best friend stood just beyond the door in front of him, he paused to run a hand through his unruly curls and adjust his tie. He hadn’t abandoned all decorum in his tardiness, thank you very much. For some reason she was the only one he cared to check his appearance for. The whole world could think him a rumpled, muddy mess, but as long as he maintained his dashing charm in front of her, he was content. This was, of course, all due to the fact that she was his best chum. That was the only reason he could think of. She was a fixture in his life, occupying more space in his heart and his head than he had the words to describe. So it naturally followed that her opinion would matter above the rest. It had been like this for as long as he could remember. Just last week he’d spent the galleons he’d been saving for some new quidditch gloves on a lovely necklace for her. He told her he’d come across it just as he was leaving Honeydukes. In truth, he’d spotted it at Gladrags a week before the start of term and knew it would look perfect on her. He’d only visited the sweetshop after he had acquired the necklace. He decided to downplay his enthusiasm for her gift, just in case she got the wrong idea. 

Sebastian was no fool to the nuances of courtship. Ominis had approached him over the summer to ask him for his blessing about courting Anne. Solomon, who had always had a soft spot for the Gaunt boy, and encouraged his endeavor with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. Both boys knew that Anne was her own woman and that asking for his blessing was a mere formality, but Ominis insisted on speaking to both of her remaining family members just in case. He knew what it was like to lose family and he didn’t want to risk causing a rift between any of the Sallows. 

Sebastian’s feelings toward his Gryffindor weren’t similar in the least. He’d seen witches and wizards fawning over one another as they walked arm-in-arm at Hogsmeade. He knew how ridiculous his classmates would act when the object of their affections glanced their way. Sebastian Sallow had never acted that way with her a day in his life. Sure, her presence left him invariably flustered, but that was simply because they were the closest of friends. He didn’t know how to put a name to the feelings she roused within him, but calling it something as trivial as “infatuation” seemed nothing less than insulting. No, she was far too extraordinary for that.

He was looking forward to putting this mess of a morning behind him. Spending time with her never failed to lift his spirits - which is why it hurt twice as hard when he stepped into the classroom and saw a familiar ginger nuisance standing in his spot. He was rooted to the spot, incredulous and fuming. He’d never taken issue with Weasley in any year previous, but since the start of term he seemed to be in the one place that was rightfully Sebastian’s - by his Gryffindor’s side. 

“Ah, Mr. Sallow. Good of you to finally join us,” Professor Sharp drawled from the front of the classroom. “If you’d like to avoid losing Slytherin any house points for today I’d recommend finding a seat. There seems to be an open stool next to Mr. Clopton.”

Begrudgingly Sebastian stalked over to Everett’s workbench and dropped his books onto the table with far more force than necessary. From across the room his Gryffindor shot him a sympathetic smile. It was like the first rays of sun had disintegrated the clouds from this morning’s offending storm. Looking around, she hastily scribbled a note onto a spare bit of parchment before waving her wand over it. With a soft pop the note appeared next to him. He smiled and snatched it from the table, unfurling it with speed. 

Sorry, Garreth volunteered to take your place when Sharp noticed you hadn’t yet arrived. Catch you after class?

He let the note fall to the table and plastered on a nonchalant smile. She seemed relieved, and for some reason that only seemed to irritate him further. Did being his partner mean so little to her that she was already content to continue on? To add insult to injury he was now forced to spend the next hour with Clopton. He was an alright bloke, but his obsession with quidditch meant that he was one of Sebastian’s biggest fans. He felt flattered, truly, but Everett’s presence began grating on his nerves once he started butting into the rare free time he spent with his Gryffindor. Seeking out a distraction from the hornet’s nest of feelings trapped within his head he turned to Everett to ask how far along they were in the potion recipe.

The Ravenclaw stood stock-still, as though he couldn’t believe Sebastian was actually talking to him after nearly a month of dismissed conversations. 

“Everett?” he prompted, exhaustion leeching the annoyance from his tone. He seemed to come to his senses at last and fumbled for the open potion book propped up against their cauldron. 

“Just here,” he replied, pointing to the second step. “I’ve already gathered the necessary ingredients, so we can just carry on with the chopping.” Sebastian thought he sounded far too enthusiastic for their first class of the day, but obliged. He’d just finished crushing the last bit of moonstone when Everett piped up. Unsurprisingly, and much to his dismay, he began prodding Sebastian about his broom skills. Sebastian gave a few obliging nods as he tuned out the boy’s rambling, intent on finishing their brew as quickly as he could. 

“The maneuvers you pull during practice are incredible! And on a school-issued broom, no less!” He carried on. Haughtily he added, “Of course, my broom is one of the fastest on the market. Begged my parents for one of those models for a year. A newer model was close to being released by the time they finally caved.”

Sebastian gave a noncommittal hum and focussed on listening in on the couple occupying his usual station. His hand stilled over the cutting board. Couple? He wondered. When had that word popped into his head? She and Weasley were hardly a couple. She was his best friend, and he was sure that he’d be the first one to know if she were even remotely interested in courting someone. To prove it, he looked up from his slicing to affirm their mutual distaste.

Only it didn’t look like distaste at all. She stood as she always did, elbows on the stained wood as she ran down the ingredient list with the tip of her wand. Weasley towered over her, reading over her shoulder with one arm supporting his weight atop the table. His attention caught on the boy’s face. He was smiling. It was soft and fond and trained entirely on her. Sebastian seethed. He didn’t know why this small act of affection lit a fire in his veins, but it just felt innately wrong, like stretching a muscle just a tad further than it was meant to bend. She was none the wiser as his larger hand brushed against hers in his attempt to turn the page. She turned her head then, realizing for the first time how close they were and blushed. This was ludicrous. Any closer and he’d practically have her pressed against the table. And what if he leaned down? What if he held her impossibly closer and pressed his lips against hers? Would she kiss him back? Sebastian wondered if she’d tug on his tie, pull him down and tangle a fist in his curls. 

This was ridiculous. Unbelievable. The whole bloody world was spinning off its axis and Sebastian was the only one who seemed to notice. If anyone should be kissing her, it should be him. He was supposed to be the only one to- 

Oh. 

Oh, dear. 

The world was no longer spinning off its axis. In fact, it wasn’t spinning at all. Everything and everyone was frozen and Sebastian was left to feel all these feelings in painful crystal clarity. He’d read about romance in the muggle novellas Anne had teased him for buying, but on paper everything was straightforward. The hero knew he loved the girl, and the girl loved him right back. In all the books he’d read the couples were inseparable. There was never a question of whether they loved each other, not one true doubt to be found. From Prologue to Epilogue he felt safe knowing that the couple would ultimately get their ‘happily ever after.’ Things were different once the books were back on their shelves. Happy endings were rare, if they even existed at all. His parents were kindred spirits, their love for one another so powerful that it flowed into every nook and cranny of their home. His mother used to tuck them in and say that she loved their father so much, the world decided they needed two children to carry it all. Those happy honeyed years were tucked safely away in his mind, where the memories of his parents’ demise and the rest of reality couldn’t touch them. 

Love was soft and sweet, and the world was a sharp and insatiable thing. The years following their move to Feldcroft were a special type of purgatory. The memories of his beloved childhood swirled cruelly in his mind’s eye each night, just vivid enough to remember yet just out of reach. A shard of fear pierced his chest. He couldn’t bear to lose her like that. He didn’t think he could stand getting so close to another person only to have them inevitably ripped away. Sebastian Sallow yearned for fairy tale endings, but he didn’t know if he believed in them anymore. 

A high-pitched hissing tore his focus away from his epiphany and the world spun on as if he hadn’t just realized something beautiful and horrible and terrifying. It intensified and he realized the noise was coming from Weasley’s cauldron. He could only watch on as it erupted, sending metal shards and acidic splatters every which way. Garreth tackled his Gryffindor to the floor, shielding her with his own body while the failed potion smoked and ate through his robes. She frantically tore the tattered robe from his body before it could make contact with the rest of him and the two froze. Although he couldn’t hear them over the chaos the rest of the room had erupted into, he knew she was asking if he was alright. He nodded and Sebastian saw red as he brushed her hair back to look at a nasty cut on her forehead. Garreth’s discarded robe smoked behind him, his shirt torn in a few places, and gently held her face in his hands as he checked for more cuts. He only barely registered Sharp dismissing the class for the day before he was grabbing his things and slipping out of the classroom.

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Taglist: @snickette, @findingtruenorth23, @plooloo, @paganicher, @smilesworldsposts, @snoozebun, @crazyllamasurfer, @pixie-dustss, @margottheviking, @lollife1617, @tired-meg, @somethingiswrongwithme

[eldritch-nightmare]

celebrating the holidays.

a/n: hi here's my short replacement for the eyeless jack fic. that one is still gonna get posted!! just may take a while bc it's getting longer than i intended it to be lol. anyways i tried to keep the holiday relatively vague but since i personally celebrate christmas, i may slip up a bit. couldn't decide who to write for so i just spun a wheel six times and went with the ones selected.

includes: the bloody painter, nurse ann, jane the killer (arkensaw), eyeless jack, kate the chaser, and homicidal liu.

warnings: not proofread, very brief mention of helen's childhood, literally just fluff, also inconsistent length but that's to be expected atp, reader consumes meat in jack's section so sorry if u don't, nsfw elements in jack's part my hand slipped guys, blood, lotta kissing.

THE BLOODY PAINTER

He never cared much for the holidays, even when he was a child. Honestly, it was the one time of year that he dreaded the most.

He's an artist, so you know what that means. Every year, without fail, he would always get some art-related gifts. Not that he was complaining about that or anything, it was really, and still is, the only thing he had much interest in.

He just... found it to be draining. Apparently, at least according to his parents, he was supposed to find the holidays to be a fun, exciting time of year. And he was supposed to be oh so thankful for getting yet another sketchbook or paints from his relatives or whatever.

That was just too much work, honestly. So he grew to dread the holidays, even long after he became the killer he is today.

He's... not quite sure how he feels about the wrapped gift you're holding out in front of him. A part of him wants to reject it, and he almost does, but the barely contained excitement in your expression made him hesitate.

Your excitement only seemed to grow when he took the wrapped gift from you. While he didn't necessarily want or need a gift, he couldn't help but indulge you, especially since you seemed genuinely excited over whatever gift you had gotten him.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what he was expecting when he unwrapped the gift. Something art-related, no doubt. And it was art-related, just not in the way he was expecting.

It was something similar to a scrapbook, but it was really... neat. And more so a collection of art rather than an actual scrapbook. The thing that caught his attention the most was that it was just any old collection of art.

It was his art. You... you took or had his art professionally photographed and you put it in this book. It wasn't every single piece of art he's ever made, but it included a lot from different points of his life. It even included pieces from before he had met you.

He does not cry, no. But you do catch the tiniest smile forming as he flipped through the pages. It's... the nicest gift he's ever gotten before.

Helen's not sure how he'll repay you for getting something like this, so for now you'll just have to accept the tighter-than-usual hug and soft kiss.

NURSE ANN

Ann isn't too sure if she's ever celebrated any holidays before. She has no memories of her life before her... death? Is she dead? Well, she certainly doesn't feel alive.

She's rather indifferent towards the holidays, and honestly she probably won't even realize it's that time of year unless you or someone else point it out to her.

If you want to celebrate with her then she certainly won't stop you, just don't expect her to be the life of the party or anything like that.

You will have to guide her through how to celebrate because she simply will not know. But once she gets a hang of how things work it'll be something she retains for the future.

Ann stares blankly at the... tastefully atrocious sweater you were sporting. There were so many colors and the design clashed in a borderline unbearable way but you somehow made it look good.

Her gaze then drops down to the matching sweater you were holding out for her, an expectant look in your gaze. She thinks she understands, though she still glances up at you in confusion.

You explain that while it's not necessary to do in order to celebrate the holidays, you thought it would be fun to wear matching outfits with her. It's something couples do sometimes, apparently.

After your quick explanation, she silently takes the sweater from your hands and puts it on over what she was already wearing.

It certainly looks odd on her, no doubt, but the fabric is actually pretty soft, and the bright smile that lights up on your face makes it hard for her to care about whether or not the sweater looks good on her.

JANE THE KILLER

Jane hasn't celebrated the holidays since all the shit that's happened to her. She's been so focused on hunting Jeff down that it never even crosses her mind. Hell, she hasn't even celebrated her own birthday in years.

But then you come along and you insist on doing something for the holidays. Not because you necessarily enjoyed the holidays, but mostly because you just wanted her to take a break for once.

It'll take a lot of convincing. You'll have to get her to promise you months in advance, if we're being honest.

And if she didn't have such a soft spot for you, she probably wouldn't even humor the idea you had to celebrate. But alas, she loves you, and she finds it hard to say no to you more than she would like to admit.

She huffs in mild annoyance, sticking close to you as you guide her down the streets. She wouldn't normally be in such a crowded place but everyone was so caught up in their own plans for the holidays that no one spared her a single glance.

You wanted to go ice skating. It's not typically a traditional way to celebrate the holidays, at least not for her, but it seemed as if it would be fun. And it would give her an excuse to be close to you, so.

When you guys finally reach the ice skating rink, you're bouncing in excitement and eagerly pulling Jane along to go and put some blades on. She lets you, because your hand is oh so warm in hers and the way the lights shine in your eyes makes her feel... peaceful.

Now, there's no denying that she has never gone ice skating before. Hell, she's never been roller skating. So the moment you two were out on the ice, she was clinging to you to keep herself from falling.

It was embarrassing, and she almost wanted to storm off out of frustration but you never laughed at her. You would help her catch her balance whenever she slipped. You only laughed when you slipped.

You were even fine with sticking to one side of the rink, always keeping Jane behind you whenever another person would skate too close.

And when the two of you decided you had enough, she couldn't help but pull you close right as you go to step out of the rink, planting a deep kiss on your lips and leaving you dazed as she goes to take her blades off.

EYELESS JACK

Similarly to Ann, Jack can't remember if he's ever celebrated the holidays before. However, unlike Ann, he does have a vague idea on how people celebrate the holidays. He's not isolated like her.

He's definitely indifferent towards the holidays. He doesn't care much for them, but he's probably willing to celebrate if you really want him to.

Gift giving is not his specialty, dear lord. You will have to sit him down and tell him bluntly what you want so he can find some odd most certainly illegal way of obtaining it.

Jack is, however, an amazing cook and there is nothing that could change my mind on this, so he will definitely be willing to help you make any holiday meal you may want to try out.

Jack is silent as he watches you cook some meat for the meal the two of you had been spending the past few hours or so making. You had family coming over, and you needed dinner to be done before they arrived, so you had enlisted the help of your demonic, cannibalistic boyfriend.

His nose scrunched up in slight disgust at both the sight and smell of the cooking meat, and he grumbled silently under his breath about what a waste it was to cook it.

His mild disgust only seemed to grow more evident when you cut a piece of the meat off and pop it in your mouth to taste test it. He just couldn't understand how you could eat such a thing. Then again, he can't really judge considering he only consumes raw meat. Typically coming from a human.

You hum in delight at the taste, and perhaps it's an instinctual thing humans do, or maybe it's something else, but you cut off another piece and hold it out for him to eat. He just stares, and it takes a moment for you to realize what you had done, letting out a small, embarrassed laugh.

Before you could eat the piece of meat yourself, he was grabbing your wrist and bringing it back to his mouth, eating the cooked meat and biting your finger in the process. You hissed at the feeling of his sharp teeth pricking your skin, but you don't pull your hand away from him.

The meat was disgusting, no offense. You're an amazing cook so it isn't your fault, he just literally cannot consume cooked meat (or really anything that isn't raw/human) and he's going to feel absolutely awful tomorrow but that's for future Jack to worry about.

Present Jack thinks he deserves a reward for putting up with both the smell and taste of cooked meat, and he licks at your bleeding finger like your blood is the best thing he's ever tasted. To him, it was. It certainly helped to erase the taste of cooked meat.

Once he was satisfied, he was pulling you closer to him and kissing you deeply. He bit at your bottom lip until it was bleeding as well, and he couldn't help but groan as your blood invaded his mouth once more, relishing in both the taste and the little gasp that came from you.

He wanted more. Needed, if we're being honest. He found himself craving for you as his hands fell to the hem of your sweatpants, gently tugging at them. A clear sign of his intentions.

You grabbed his wrists before he could continue, breaking the kiss off and smiling slightly when he chased after you. The two of you were breathing heavily, the air in the kitchen feeling a lot thicker now.

Later, you promised. You still had a meal to finish cooking, and your family would be coming by in just a few hours. You sealed the promise with a quick, chaste kiss before taking the meat off the stove and setting it aside to focus on the next part of the meal.

And he helped you. He was patient, and he knew you could keep your promise.

KATE THE CHASER

Considering her sensitivity to light, it's not exactly easy for her to celebrate the holidays since bright lights seem to be a staple in them.

She's not really much of a holiday person anyway, so it's not something that bums her out.

She's probably the only one on this list that's least likely to indulge in celebrating, and will more than likely turn you down if you bring up the offer.

But she does feel a certain fondness in her heart when she sees you getting excited over something in relation to the holidays. While she doesn't enjoy that time of year, she's glad that you do.

Kate keeps her eyes covered as you carefully guide her through the forest. You had a surprise for her, apparently. Something to celebrate the holidays without actually celebrating.

She wasn't immediately thrilled, but you had promised that there would be absolutely no bright lights involved and that she didn't even have to consider it something for the holidays. That was enough to make her willing to indulge you just this once.

Even with her eyes closed, she could practically feel the excitement radiating off of you as you brought her closer to wherever it was you wanted to take her.

You told her to open her eyes shortly after, and she found the two of you standing in front of one of the many abandoned cabins within the forest. She didn't even hesitate to enter the cabin when you motioned for her to. Kate trusted you.

The sight she saw when she stepped inside was... it was breathtaking, honestly.

The walls and the ceiling were covered in glow-in-the-dark snowflakes and stars, illuminating the cabin in a faint green hue. It wasn't a grand gesture or anything of the sort. It was... it was nice.

The glow of the stars and snowflakes was bright enough to illuminate the cabin but dull and dark enough that she didn't have to shy away from it.

That wasn't the only thing you had planned either. She's not sure how much time and effort you put into doing all of this, but you had set up a little space in the cabin. There was even a small projector set up, as well as some food that you knew she enjoyed.

It's definitely the most romantic thing she's ever experienced. And if this is how you want to celebrate the holidays with her, then she definitely won't mind doing this sort of thing again next year.

HOMICIDAL LIU

Similarly to Jane, Liu hasn't really celebrated the holidays since everything that happened. He knows when that time of year comes around, and it makes him feel nostalgic, but he always found it hard to celebrate alone.

He's the one on this list who'll be most excited to celebrate the holidays with you if you ask him to.

It doesn't matter what you wanna do. If you wanna decorate your home, if you wanna give gifts, if you wanna make a meal, if you wanna just stay in and watch some movies and order takeout then he's down.

Sully doesn't care for the holidays and he finds the whole time of year to be annoying, to be honest, so you'll only be celebrating with Liu.

And you decided that you wanted to decorate your home a bit for the holidays. It was a simple way to celebrate the holidays, and you didn't even have to leave your home to get any decorations since you had some stuffed away in a box in your closet.

When you had told Liu that that was your plan, he was eager to join you. It's been so long since he's been able to do anything for the holidays, and he was just... really excited to finally have someone to spend them with.

You made sure to put on some music to play in the background while the two of you got to decorating, and you'd tell him where to put certain things if he didn't know what to do with them.

You two chat with each other as well during all this, sharing random memories and stories from your childhoods. Some were happy, some were sad. Sometimes, Liu would trail off mid-story and you'd have to change the subject to something lighter.

At some point, when a particularly romantic song played, you set down the decoration you were holding and pulled Liu away from the one he was setting out so you could take a break and dance with him.

It got the brightest smile out of him. The brightest one you've ever seen.

The bitter sadness and nostalgia that comes with the holidays lingered. It would always linger, honestly, but it was easier to deal with when he's with you.

And he was excited to make new memories with you. Ones that'll make him smile when the holidays roll around again.

[oliver-quick-ens-my-pulse]

Dark!Ominis and dark!sebastian headcannons. How they are as a person and what is differebt with them compared to their HL game personalities.

Headcannons for dark!Ominis and dark!Sebastian

Ominis Gaunt and Sebastian Sallow

Warnings - mentions of violce

A/N - This isn't including any NSFW type stuff, but more just how their personalities would be in these instances.

Sebastian would still very much mirror a lot of things that he does do in Hogwarts Legacy, it would just continue to get worse. For Ominis, these are definitely more of a 180, but I also can't see him getting to a point where he's completely evil and doing things in a selfish way such as Sebastian does.

Ominis

his breaking point would come from the way his family abused him and berated him as well as how Sebastian just tossed him to the side

he believes the absolute worst of people and that their nature will always inherently be to be bad

he decides to stop fighting his own urges, but the motivations are still different from his family's

he would have every desire in the world to kill his family and be the end of it all himself, knowing they were essentially the last of their line

he would be on a solo mission to destroy the Gaunts and have fun while he did it

he wouldn't make other people his patsies, but he would lie and dodge the truth as he needed to

he would be blunt with you about what he's decided his life's purpose is

if you tried to stand in his way he would make use of imperio or memory charms to ensure you just stayed out of it

his darkness takes the shape in more of a spiraling within himself than really affecting a lot of others around him

he would force himself to stop fearing the unforgivable curses and destroy much of his inhibitions in the process

he would use his parseltongue to scour for every secret of Salazar Slythern's and find a way to turn any curses or monsters against their intended targets of muggles or muggle-borns

he would essentially be a vigilante that should be feared

Sebastian

he's essentially corrupted by the dark methods he resorted to

he's obsessed with curing Anne and doesn't care who gets hurt in the process or who he has to use to get it

that's essentially his sole purpose

his other motivations are self-gratification and pleasure

doesn't even listen to anything Anne says to him to express her wants and desires because he's already made up his mind about what they must be

he will say whatever you need to hear to help him get whatever it is that he wants

he lacks empathy and will always find a way to turn things around to make it seem like you made your choice

gaslighting king

at this point, he's using Ominis as well purely because he knows how Ominis care about him so he can really manipulate him to his heart's content

lacks remorse and if you're upset with him he'll just brush you off and ignore you until you come crawling back to him

out of school, he continues his pursuits of unsavory practices

often appears rather messy and typically in dark, earth-colored clothes that allow him to hide in the shadows best when he needs it

he enjoys seeking out fights and utilizing curses that inflict pain on those who wish to oppose him

if you were with him, he would make unforgivable's seem very seductive and continuously try and convince you to use them as well

partially because he loves to see it and it gets him off

and partially so that you'll be just culpable as him if the two of you are caught, he absolutely intends to spin a narrative blaming you

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

Hi! I was just wondering who's your favorite phantom actor?

Can be from any Poto play, or movie, or anything really.

I'm really curious!

This and similar questions have been popping up so much for me in the last week lol

I like to be extremely specific so I will give you a few of my favourites

I have been meaning to re-examine my favourites for a while now

So my favourite overall, my number one, my blorbo, the phantom closest to my heart is always going to be Gerard Butler. Say what you want about his singing, but ain't no other phantom ever done Pleading Eyes (tm) like that man.

For stage Phantoms the one who has a hold on my mind that just will not let go is Tim Martin Gleason. I love a tall phantom. I love that in the title song he does not order Christine to sing for him, he asks her. He conveys, with his intonation, that he asks for the honour of having her sing for him. I love how expressive he is. This man made so many choices.

Vocally I think the best singer that has ever played the phantom is John Owen Jones. But I think my favourite phantom Vocally is Tomas Ambt Kofod, because he--more than ANY other Phantom I have heard, sounds like Erik. His voice is remarkable in its smoothness and delicacy, but also very powerful.

He's also so sensual and gentle. He loves to administer loving touches and caresses to his Christine.

His final lair is also devastating

The Phantom actor I think I respect most is Ethan Freeman. This man has such a dedication to this character and to the book specifically. He refused to read Phantom by Susan Kay because he didn't want an apocryphal version of the character to influence his interpretation, which he specified modeled off of Leroux's Erik, adding touches pulled directly from the novel such as kissing (or almost kissing) the hem of Christine's robe during "Stranger Than You Dreamt It", as Erik kisses the hem of her dress in the book.

Seen here in the West End in 1995 with Jill Washington:

And here, in Essen, 11 years later with Anne Görner:

It seems that over time he evolved this moment to the point that he appears to abandon the thought before he brings it close to his lips--probably thinking he's not even worthy of touching her vestments.

He's got an almost faerie-goblin quality to his interpretation. Like he's just scuttled out of the Black Forest. He also leans into the idea of Erik-as-Magician

He's not afraid to be sensual either, though.

I think the most emotional phantom is Earl Carpenter. One of the first full boots I ever watched was Earl Carpenter with Rachel Barrel. His Music of the Night changed my brain chemistry forever. The gentleness! The vulnerability! The vacillation between confidence and fragility!!

The way he would jostle Christine a little when he caught her, his face a picture of panicked concern!

Though I think his interpretation of Erik as (for want of a better word) asexual is a little wacky (considering the text), it strangely works in favour of Erik's particular brand of sensuality, and it paired particularly well with Rachel's timid and apprehensive interpretation of Christine (which I generally dislike--here, though). And his singing has only improved with maturity. The raw emotion of his All I Ask of You (Rooftop Reprise) in his 2023 run is shattering. Absolutely shattering.

My favourite feral Phantom is without a doubt Scott Davies. If you ever want to see the most unhinged "Let these freaks be together" e/c show you've ever seen you have GOT to watch Scott Davies with Meredith Braun. Ethan Freeman's got the Goblin King energy and Anthony Crivello has the Sewer Gremlin vibe, but if you ever want a Phantom with a real primal streak, you can do no better than long-standing West End understudy Scott Davies:

This guy tackled the role with a ferocity and an audacity that you don't generally find outside of Russian productions.

His Phantom hands? Oh Lordy!

And the best part is that Meredith's Christine was picking up EVERYTHING he was laying down. Her Christine is just as mad, just as feral, just as unhinged. And especially paired with such a hearty goodfellow Raoul as Matthew Cammelle--Raoul would have done well to gtfo of there. He was NOT prepared to handle this lmao.

And then there's Ted Keegan. Who for me will always be the Phantom that got away. If I had just done a little more research before--just three months into my poto obsession--booking my tickets to see phantom before it closed on Broadway, I might have had the transcendent experience of seeing Ted Keegan live. As it was, I had no idea he was even still playing the phantom, and wound up with Ben Crawford instead.

And I would be remiss if I finished this list without naming Thomas James O'Leary. Like Ethan Freeman, O'Leary leans into Erik's ghostly persona, with a magician's touch. I think he took a lot of inspiration from Lon Chaney's Phantom (note the position of his hands here).

His "Sing for me~" is one of my all time favourite line readings and got a very embarrassing reaction out of me when I first heard it.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, there was the moan.

[sadtonight]

"...pizza time"

Summary: you craved pizza at ludicrous hour so you dialed nearest 24/7 pizza house. Alas when you took the first bite, the lights lit up in the kitchen. You were caught red-handed by someone...!

Characters: first year students;

Warnings: unhealthy food practices (guilty....), reader is gender neutral, reader is from the same dorm as the boys, could be viewed platonic or romantic;

Side notes: it's freaking 3 am, gosh...but I finished it quicker than I expected, ha! I love tasty food if you couldn't tell. Shout-out to my hometown pizza house chain, you are always staying in my heart 💙

Ace

— just as your eyes adjusted to sudden brightness, you immediately identified the person standing at the doorway near the light switch but it didn't really elevate your panic. No, in fact the feeling turned into chagrin upon casting a look at the witness's face: it was Ace;

— you would not feel so down if he came at any hour except for this one, precisely because you were in a predicament which red eyed male undoubtedly would use to his advantage;

— you froze at place whereas Ace approached the kitchen counter where flat cardboard box was laying, took a slice of a still hot pizza and bitten off half of the piece all the while making complains about you not informing him about ordering pizza but not ever once asking why doing so in the dead of night;

— he ate another two pieces murmuring word "yummy" and clasped his hands together to get rid of crumbs. Ideally, your dormmate going back to sleep was something you hoped to happen but despite your mental prayers to the Seven, Ace gave you a smile and expectant look;

— "Well, this was delicious but next time I'm choosing pizza, okay? Your treat of course, if you don't want to sleep hungry with a collar around your neck~" Ace cooed cheekily and left you alone with leftovers. Unsure if the defeat effected the food more than your mood, as it went cold by that time, you let out a sigh;

— now your head was stuffed with thoughts on how to get back at Ace instead of pizza in front of you, because extortion won't be only on his part. In the meantime you are deciding on which restaurant or café ginger was going to take you for the next few days when you cook up and execute revenge plan.

Deuce

— when the door opened, you accidentally crammed the whole pizza slice into your mouth while completely forgetting about about it being pipping hot, making you choke and tear up in seconds. Because of this, you couldn't let out any coherent sounds so instead it was half asleep Deuce who let a frightened yelp;

— poor boy have started loudly apologizing for interrupting without even realising what was he interrupting in the first place but you promptly gestured him to be quite by feverishly pressing your index finger to your lips and shaking your head to the sides;

— eventually, Deuce closed the kitchen doors so the two of you would not cause any more disturbance to the whole Heartslabyul dorm and, most importantly, its dorm leader;

— he apologized yet again but for another reason and quietly this time. He felt incredible guilt watching you look so miserable: sour expression and lowered shoulders, your tongue hurting from the burn and little to no desire to continue your night feast;

— blue haired boy promised to take you somewhere in order to make up for him startling you (there goes his allowance). It's just Deuce had unfortunately took up Ace's habit of eating at night so he wanted to grab a cookie and go back to sleep right away;

— that being said, he was still hungry, thus you let him eat a few slices because you wouldn't be able to taste the pizza or any food for a while anyways...

Jack

— today wasn't Jack's day at all: headache after headache. First he watered his potted cacti by mistake. Then some jerk yanked on his tail in the busy crowd and beastman tried chasing down the culprit only to be late for Crewel classes and getting extra work that held Jack back from his track club activities;

— and to add more annoyance first year forgot to take his water bottle since he was rushing to sport's field to do at least something. All of the incidents leading to Jack waking up in the middle of the night to get another glass of cool water from the kitchen;

— unlike other boys, wolf boy already knew by the scent alone that not only there was someone in the kitchen but they were also making or eating delicious smelling food which made it impossible to distinguish who was occupying the room;

— what Jack did not expect was to see you holding a slice of pizza tilted to the side and topping sliding off onto the floor while you locked eyes with his. You appeared to look like a deer caught in the headlights rather than his fellow dormmate;

— you gradually regained your composure and offered him some pizza to which weird out Jack refused. The scene that unfolded played before his eyes when he went back to bed, unanswered questions keeping him awake for some time;

— next morning beastman saw Ruggie poking around the kitchen in search of pizza leftovers for the reason that he stumbled upon pizza topping on the floor earlier, but Jack decided not to rat you out this time.

Epel

— ... this guy didn't even notice you initially. When you are lurking past beauty sleep hours you are bound to be quiet as a mouse and fully alert in case Pomefiore heads show up. If you are caught red-handed you have to either prepare an apology with explanation or make a run for it;

— in your case, you stopped on your tracks when you heard barely audible footsteps becoming increasingly louder. Panic shot straight into your limbs as you closed the box and run up to corner next to the door and held your breath. You weren't wolfing down a veggie salad after all!

— thankfully a mop of lavender hair came into view, it stopping before the fridge and getting some milk. Epel took a swing right from the bottle making you let out a snort that you tried to cover with your free hand;

— boy in question choked a little and instantly tore his face from the bottle with "what in tarnation?!", whirling his head in the dark towards your direction;

— you explained through your chuckles that you grew hungry and decided to get some fast food in spite of it being way past midnight;

— Epel grew curious as he has never tried real pizza before and only saw it in the commercials. You beaconed the boy to come closer and take a few slices when all of the sudden the lights switched on and all too familiar disapproving tsk tsk could be heard right beside both of you...

Sebek

— the loudest of them all! The whole dorm could hear half fae rushing in to investigate foreign sounds in the kitchen, sword and magic wand ready to strike the potential threat;

— Sebek felt relief and irritation wash over him simultaneously upon spotting you peacefully eating pizza. On the off chance he inquired if it was you going out through the main doors to get the delivery to which you replied positively;

— you see, it wasn't the first time something like that had happened, but it was instead with Lilia who often ordered food in the dead of night. This fact didn't convince knight in training to be more lax or loosen his guard but at least he stopped insisting on Malleus getting to safety each time Sebek suspecting danger;

— first year found your impromptu night snacking to be childish and got somewhat offended when you innocently suggested taking a slice;

— he can't be eating this unhealthy human food! He has to be in proper shape to serve his masters!! Although the smell and look of the dish was devilishly appealing, Sebek couldn't yield to mere fast food;

— ...the urge, however, was way stronger than half fae anticipated, making male retreat back to his room while munching the remains of tasty delicacy with the regret of not taking another piece lingering in the back of his mind.

[fanfictionlibrary]

In the Shadow of Comfort

A poly Sebastian Sallow x Reader x Ominis Gaunt fanfiction.

The reader's house and gender are not specified.

Warnings: depression, mention of trauma and death, swearing

Author's Note: This is a rather sad poly fic. I wrote this for a friend of mine who is going through a hard time. But I am planning to write a fic with Sebastian and Ominis that is lighthearted and funny. It might take a while, though. Please, be patient. Love you <3

A blank stare was plastered on your face as you sat on a sofa in the Room of Requirements. You had placed your elbows on your knees, leaning forward and holding the weight of your chin with your hands.

On the outside, you appeared calm. As calm and peaceful as a still lake. A lake that almost looked frozen. Not even the wind could create ripples to break its solid-looking surface. But underneath that surface presided anything but quietude. Underneath that surface raged a storm. A powerful storm that would never break through the veneer of calmness because the anger you felt was subdued by your sadness.

The wetness of that sadness slumbered in the corners of your eyes, threatening to fall. But the tears would never roll down your cheeks because they were, in turn, kept in check by your anger.

Your feelings were confused. They scrambled aimlessly inside their home. A beautiful house that you were the caretaker of and that you knew as your body. Usually, as the caretaker, it was your job to reach your hand out to all of these feelings - happiness, anger, sadness, frustration, love - but this time, you didn't possess enough strength to look Anger and Sadness, those pesky inhabitants, in the face.

This time, you just couldn’t say, “You are a part of me. You can’t be that bad. So, live freely inside of me. Teach me how to overcome my fears and show me the path to my goal. I accept you in your purest form.” Now all you could do was run away from them, locking yourself in a room. But Anger and Sadness followed you, banging relentlessly against the door and crying for your attention. But not seeing them meant you didn't need to see yourself. Your feelings just wanted to be with their caretaker, but you couldn’t bear them anymore. Anger and Sadness were your least favorite inhabitants in your house of feelings. They were awfully persistent. However, you wouldn’t answer the door. You couldn’t. 

But why were you in this depressive condition? Honestly, you didn’t really know. All you knew was that this gloomy state sometimes caught you in the most random moments. For instance in class when you were brewing a potion or learning new charms. Or when you were out with your friends, drinking a well-deserved butterbeer and taking advantage of the freedom after classes were over, making the best of “your oyster” as Sebastian liked to call it. 

This sadness and anger were most likely tied to the events that you experienced during your fifth year at Hogwarts: Professor Fig’s death, Lodgok being killed by his own brother, defending the last repository, fighting Ranrok, seeing Anne suffering from her curse, trying fruitlessly to save her, witnessing Sebastian spiraling into the Dark Arts and losing control, Ominis and Sebastian’s fight, the family trauma the Gaunt experienced, defeating Rookwood… And. And. And!

Bang.

Bang.

Bang!

Your feelings continued to pound against the door.

Being the Hero of Hogwarts was great and all, but those events had left a mark. A mark that expressed itself in a frustrated emptiness. You had never opened up about this emptiness to anyone. Even Sebastian and Ominis, your best friends, only knew you as a strong person who always spoke up about injustice and took shit from no one. With one exception. Sometimes your own shit got to you. That was fine because you were not no one to yourself. You were somebody special to yourself, meaning your shit mattered and you had to deal with it. 

The shuffling of small feet brought you out of your reveries. You looked to your side, seeing Deek approaching with a cup of tea. 

“Deek brought you something to cheer you up.” He bowed and placed the hot liquid on the table in front of you. “Deek doesn’t want to cross a line. But he thinks talking to your friends about your feelings might help.” 

“Thank you, Deek.” You took the cup in your hands, relishing the warmth emanating from it and breathing in the rising steam, deciphering the flavor. It was a classic Earl Grey tea. “But I don’t even know what I should tell Sebastian and Ominis. Where would I start?” 

Deek fiddled with his fingers, looking unsure at his feet. “Maybe a simple ‘I am not well’ would suffice? Don’t complicate matters when you can make them easy.” 

“Hm…” you hummed in agreement. “That is good advice. I’m grateful, Deek.”   

That was indeed good advice, and you would put it into action. Late in the evening, you had worked up enough courage to seek out Ominis and Sebastian. Either they were in the library or the Undercroft. However, if they were not at those locations, they had most likely gone to bed already. You had partly set yourself up for failure. You hoped that Ominis and Sebastian had decided to rest already, so you needn’t talk to them, which was why you searched for them so late. But when you got to the Main Hall of Hogwarts, they were standing at the fountain talking in low voices. Sebastian fell silent when he saw you, and Ominis sensed his shift in demeanor, going quiet, too. 

“We have been looking for you all day,” Sebastian said accusingly, crossing his arms. But he couldn’t hide that he was genuinely concerned. His chocolate eyes scanned you up and down, looking for physical injuries. Have you been outside of Hogwarts again, going toe to toe with dark powers? Little did he know that he wouldn’t find wounds or bruises. He had felt for some time now that you were hurting from the inside. 

“We have been worried,” Ominis chimed in. He knew it was you due to the tone of Sebastian’s voice, what he had said – they had indeed searched for you tirelessly – and the light, typical succession of your footsteps. “You missed all of your classes.” 

You halted in front of them with an apologetic expression on your face. Since Ominis couldn’t see it, you pressed his arm gently. A signal that you two established. It could mean different things based on the context it occurred in. Seamlessly, his hand slipped into yours, intertwining your fingers. His head was turned towards you, but his eyes were focusing on a point next to your head. 

Sebastian’s large, comforting hand reached out to you. You always felt so safe in them. Solicitously, he placed it on your head, ruffling your hair lightly. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

You nodded, biting your lip. A tear slipped, rolling down your cheeks. Finally. “I’d love to.” With these two, your sadness and anger finally appeared to be in equilibrium. Your feelings felt lighter, and suddenly they had enough room to express themselves. Inviting two friends to your house of feelings was so worth it. The rooms appeared wider, there was fresh air, and a burden was lifted off your shoulders as you entrusted the permanent inhabitants Anger and Sadness to your lovely guests. 

“Would you like to talk in the Undercroft?” Ominis's soft voice rang out. He was already pulling you toward the direction of your clandestine hideout, and you followed along. 

Sebastian linked your free arm with his, smiling understandingly. 

It would probably be redundant to elaborate in detail on what was said between the three of you that night. You, of all people, knew best which words and gestures were exchanged. Lingering touches, soft whispers, decorous kisses, maybe? Who am I to tell? You know better. You are in charge. 

However, none of you returned to your common room(s) that night, finding peace in your companionship.

[dragondemoness]

Okay so I love Mute boyfriend with first words being I love prompts so let's do that with the Female members of the phantom thieves and the first words to them are of their love towards them

This came out as more gender neutral, hope that’s alright

Spoilers for Yoshizawa’s part ig

Phantom Thieves (Girls) Hearing their Mute S/O Speak for the First Time

Ann Takamaki 

Your quietness was a little strange to her at first, given her more extroverted nature

At first, she thought you were just shy, and tried getting you to open up a little

Then she stopped and agreed to let you come to her on your own

She doesn’t mind doing the talking for the both of you, and she’ll yell at anyone who judges your relationship

Plus, she’ll introduce you to the Phantom Thieves to expand your social circle a bit

Regardless of your quietness, she still loves to give you hugs and affection

While on a date at her house, snacking on some cookies you bought, you cuddle together while watching a movie

You look up at her while you’re resting on her, admiring her beautiful face

You decide it’s time, and you smile and press a kiss to her jaw

“I love you, Ann.”

She looks down at you in mild shock, then her eyes tear up and she presses kisses to your face

“Awww! I love you too, (Name)!” 

She’s glad you trusted her enough to be so vulnerable with her

Makoto Niijima 

In general, she doesn’t mind

She did try pressing you into talking, because she thought you were just shy and wanted to help you out of your comfort zone

But when she realized it was genuinely uncomfortable, she apologized and backed off

She doesn’t mind doing the talking for you, and she’ll introduce you to her friends so that you can expand your circle of friends

She enjoys seeing you get along with them, even if you aren’t talking

And if anyone has something to say, she’ll give them a piece of her mind

She’s very patient with you

One time, you were on a date at her house

Sae was at work, and you were watching a movie together

You snuggled up to her, which caught her off guard a little, but she shyly smiled and pulled you close

At one point, you looked up at her

She watched the movie with a focused expression, and in that moment, she looked so gorgeous

You smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek

“I love you, Makoto.”

She stiffened in shock, and her face turned bright red

Not just because she finally heard you speak, but because of the sudden affection as well

“!!! U-Um... I l-love you too, (Name)...”

Despite her reaction, she’s really happy you trusted her so much

Futaba Sakura 

She found it a little awkward at first

When you hung out with her, it was complete silence most of the time, and it was a little uncomfortable for her

But at the same time, she gets it

She can be pretty shy and quiet herself

Plus, you ended up bonding over shared interests, so that helped a lot

She actually started to vibe with your quietness after a while

One day, you were in her room, playing games and watching anime together

You were playing a racing game, and she was getting awfully competitive

Then at some point, you leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek

“I love you.”

She dropped her controller and lost the race

Her face turned bright red and she started stuttering

“U-Uhhh...! D-Damn! Cuteness overload! Futaba has fainted...”

Then she’ll flop backwards onto the floor and play dead, though that proved difficult, thanks to her strawberry-red face

After she recovered, she stuttered out an “I love you too” before burying her face into your shoulder

She’s actually really glad you chose her to be the first to speak to

Haru Okumura 

She doesn’t mind at all

She finds your shyness quite cute, actually

She’s perfectly fine doing the talking for you, and she’ll introduce you to her friends to get you acquainted with them

She does find herself wondering what your voice sounds like, but she’s not gonna force you to talk

One day, you were on a nice date

You went out to a gift shop, got some food, and hung out at Leblanc

She made conversation and laughed with you

Then at some point, you paused and stared at each other for a moment

She gave you a soft smile, and you both leaned in for a kiss

Once you pulled away, you whispered the words “I love you”

Her eyes widened in shock, then she gave you a soft smile and took your hand in hers

“I love you too!”

She thanks you for trusting her

And damn, your voice is as adorable as she thought

Sumire Yoshizawa

It was a bit strange at first, but she got used to it

She understands that these things can be difficult for you, and she’s very patient about it

She’ll do all the talking for you and introduce you to her senpai, Joker

She hopes talking to him will help you feel comfortable and that you can find a strong, reliable friend in him

Plus, if someone has something to say, she will politely, but sternly tell them to fuck off

She’s curious about your voice, but she doesn’t ask about it

One time, she asked you to come and watch during one of her gymnastics performances

You admired how graceful she was, and you could see how much practice she put into it

After it was over, she came up to you, sweaty and proud

You hugged her and gave her a soft smile

Then you held her hands and whispered these words

“I love you, Sumi.”

She gasps in shock, before smiling and pulling you into another hug

“I love you too.”

She’s really happy to have earned your trust

And she’s glad she can trust you, too

[chibivesicle]

Steven A. Starphase - master of seduction.

With the most recent chapter of Beat 3 Peat and the chapter Saving Steven Starphase, we have the return of his playboy habits front and center. But this was not the first nor second case of a time when it was clear that Steven had slept with a woman either as a fling or specifically for Libra.

Based on how flexible he is, not only does Steven have the typical tall, dark, and handsome going for him but this man is super flexible. Def good in bed with his noodle like positions.

K.K. is the first character to call him black-hearted, annoyed to be teamed up with him. Though they always make great teammates. I've already covered this at length.

The first glimpse into his personal life is shown in Day In Day Out when he hosts the dinner party at his swanky loft condo. While he's drinking coffee while Veded cleans up the living room, the phone rings and he answers it.

Ellen - ex turned enemy

A woman named Ellen called about what to bring and he teases her about her Empress/Princess lifestyle (depending on the version/translation).

Ellen is one of the first guests to appear at his door as shown here. She's super friendly and he gives her what must be a generic smile as we only see his eyes.

The two of them greet each other with a hug, while Ellen's date holds a bag with wine. Ellen states the food smells good and then she greets Veded, who waves back and then there is the line that her "tentacles look great today". Okay, if Ellen has met Veded previously, she had to have been at Steven's place frequently enough to have bumped into her, likely meaning she's spent the night. I find it hilarious how Ellen introduces Christopher as an afterthought - like, whoops, here's my current squeeze.

This already seems to indicate that Steven dated or was involved with Ellen previously. The final moment is when she's caught by Steven along with the rest of the group when they threaten to kidnap or kill him. He flat out calls her error in wearing more perfume than usual.

If you know another person's habits around perfume and then notice that she didn't apologize if it was "too much" implying previously she was concerned it might have bothered Steven prior. Well, they've gotten up close and personal.

However, even though Ellen turned out to be an enemy of Steven and Libra, it does not look like he got involved with her for that reason. Instead, the story line is how Steven lambasts himself for making the mistakes of getting to know these interesting people and having a life outside of work. Since they all know that whatever his job was - before knowing he was in Libra - it was a demanding one that kept him busy. What she does establish is that Steven is very charming.

Which leads us to the next character whom Steven used his charm on.

Anne - HLPD officer (potentially nameless in original Japanese?)

In the chapter Outlaw of Green, the beginning of the chapter starts out with Steven getting hot an heavy with a woman. We see him holding her chin as he leans in for a kiss while the next panel shows a USB drive in his hands. He kisses her against the wall as his right hand really seems to want to grab that USB while he pushes his right knee between her legs.

The next panel shows her hot and bothered as he kisses her as she is flushed. Suddenly, he pulls away thanking her for things coat already in his arm as she's surprised. He's already putting his jacket back on as he's almost out the hotel door. The next page is the transition where she's left looking hot and bothered as Steven strolls along the sidewalk. Based on how she's holding her blouse, I'd say someone needs to button it up . . .

Steven walks through the crowd with a cold yet neutral expression until walking right by Klaus in a car pulling out the USB and telling him that he 'got it.'

Do we know how long it took for him to get this close to her? No, but they'd clearly messed around if he was able to convince her to hand over classified information.

For the rest of Kekkai Sensen and then Back 2 Back we don't see a lot of "Seduction" Steven. Instead, he gets a lot more moral conflict grey area with the return of his squad to take care of Garrett and trying to figure out how to deal with the human-non-human pot being. The entire Calamity Auction arc doesn't give him a whole lot of time to chat up the ladies, instead adorably loaning an extra shirt and pants to K.K.

Woman who drugged his coffee

With Beat 3 Peat, it appears he's back to his previous habits of going after women who might have information as the first chapter starts out with him being drugged by a woman in either her office or apartment. Hard to tell with the decor really.

The fact that there are only two coffees implies that they are alone and he's collapsed on the floor. She informs him she'll be taking either a USB or some sort of information/monitoring device. Maybe what he was trying to get in the first place. It seems that she's up to no good and tells him (I guess as long as he doesn't die on the floor) he'll find out what happens and it is implied to be some sort of terrorist attack.

Interestingly, she mocks him saying it is a shame she can't hear his whining and swearing implying that she knew him well enough to figure she'd know how he'd react. However, he uses the Needles of Absolute Zero on her and then proceeds to lay on the floor for waaaaay to long before meeting up with the rest of the team. I had wondered after so many chapters of Steven not using his good looks this suddenly happened in the first chapter of Beat 3 Peat. But now, it makes sense as I think Nightow wanted to remind us of Steven's habit of using his body to get what he wants. He has made it clear, he will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals and he doesn't care if he plays dirty. Even though he hesitated in that sunrise conversation with Taihong Huang in Midnight Blue, he's still at the point where he sees his own feelings and morals as less important.

Which then makes sense when we get to the most recent chapter aptly named Saving Steven Starphase (from himself, really).

Birgit the Beyondian eco terrorist

The chapter starts off with Klaus along with Zapp and Zed taking major damage preventing a terrorist attack on the city. Steven drives K.K., Leo and Chain back from the hospital the team down three main members.

K.K. gives him shit about how he got the information to save the city and how he refuses to let others know about his questionable and dangerous methods. Likely also the fact he's sleeping his way to that answer . . . which wouldn't quite agree with the married sniper.

After the car is attacked an totaled, his phone is kicked out of his hands by Birgit, the leader of the eco-terrorists.

She starts off by calling him Carlos (again, what's with the lame fake names Steven!) and she captures him at least leaving the rest behind when he surrenders without a fight. On her helicopter where his feet are sealed in some sort of block, she spends four pages talking about how he used her and that she still has feelings for him, even though she knew he was the one who betrayed her! She's at one point on the verge of tears and blushing as she controls her emotions and he admits he's the type of person to do whatever it takes.

Yet, his smooth talking ways annoy her as he keeps up his sweet talking even when he's in a shoe block and his hands are tied. She decides since her plan failed, they should die together tossed in the the Eternal Hollow in the center of the city, cursed to keep falling until they die and she does it dramatically by kissing him while Chain gets quite upset. This is interesting since it is the reverse of our previous scene with Steven and Anne all the way back in Outlaw of Green.

I love this. She's holding his face with her hand as she gets to call the shots. Honestly, it would appear that this is not how Steven expected things to go. Which means that this might be the first time that he was out smarted by one of the women he used.

I find his internal monologue to be interesting as you can see that his emotions are torn stating that he was starting to feel pity for her but at the same time comes back to the fact that he protected the city and thousands of innocent lives. Steven A. Starphase, man of internal conflict.

What I found most hilarious is that when he thinks he's done for all he can do is see Klaus and the rest of the team apologizing to Klaus. I think it is safe to say that for the entire manga the person that Steven really really really cares about is Klaus. Yes, he cares for the rest of the Libra team and he respects them, but his relationship with Klaus is far deeper. Nightow, you can give us their backstory anytime. I mean, Steven is willing to sleep with women for Klaus among many other things.

Chain comes to his rescue both to save him as a Libra member but also due to her crush on him. Without missing a beat, he's over the moon that she's there to save him and lays on the praise pretty thick. Does he care that much about Chain? Eeeeeh hard to say, Steven is very good at telling people what they want to hear to do things. She's not only able to save him but also Chain saves Birgit as well.

When it is all said and done, Birgit approaches Chain to thank her for saving her life but also to remind her that the dinner with Steven is likely a thank you for saving his life. She already knows his moves which [sighs] means Chain should be a little careful.

As cute as Chain going on a dinner date with Steven is, it is one of those plot points where I hope he continues to be oblivious to her unrequited feelings. Steven is likely not going to turn over a new leaf and stop messing around with other women to get valuable intel.

I love Chain and I love Steven but I'm not a fan of them dating. My biggest issue it around the idea of dating your boss. I mean she's in the Werewolf Bureau; and she's got more than one boss, but behind Klaus, Steven can and does give her direct orders. I don't like the concept of dating your boss and the power imbalance; though Japanese media seems much less concerned about an early 20s woman ending up with a 30-something boss. I just don't get it.

Anyhoo, aside from my rant on why I don't like characters dating their bosses it is clear that Steven is truly Mr. tall, dark, and handsome and will not hesitate to use his body to get what he wants. Does it come at great risk? Yes, it does and this is our first case of it backfiring dramatically. Does he appear to have a thing for blondes? Perhaps. Though I am dying to know what color Birgit is and her hair color as well. We welcome a chaotic bisexual character and as I've already stated, I think we will see more of her as the story moves into the next direction.

I think back to the extra chapters when the DVDs for season one were released and Steven and K.K. have to discuss love and relationships. K.K.'s responses are adorable, very well thought out and honest about her own relationship. Steven - he pretty much says he's terrible for whomever he dates because his purpose is to find the best way to serve Libra and Klaus. A personal life isn't something that fits into his vision. K.K. drags him off to a bar saying that is terrible but really? We'll see if he actually changes his ways. Right now, since KKSS is not a romance and Nightow states he doesn't write romance, I'm gonna say Steven will continue to do Steven things.

[marmie-noir]

Riding Practice

TW: Suggestive comments from Mitch, nothing crazy. I missed this man.

Prep as a server was one of the most important things to prepare for a busy Friday night. Nothing was more annoying than running around delivering beers and trays of food only for someone to tell you their ketchup was empty, or that half the tables didn’t have salt shakers. So here I sat early on Friday while Mitch cleaned out the keg system behind the bar, filling salt and pepper shakers while Dwight and Pops sat on either side of me ‘talking’ about something or another involving a sport I didn’t care to listen in on. They’d say talking, I’d say arguing, but men were stubborn so apparently I was wrong. I rested my elbow on the bar top and planted my chin on my palm, watching Mitch a moment with a bored expression on my face. I loved Pops, and had gotten a bit warmer to Dwight, but god were these two were putting me to sleep. Mitch, who was running water through the lines to flush out any of the gross stuff that apparently could grow in them, glanced up and caught my eye, flashing me a smile and a wink. I felt my cheeks warm slightly and rolled my eyes but couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. I glanced away from him, focusing on the pictures that were still on the mirrored backing of the bar. One of a young Mitch grinning at a rodeo caught my attention above the rest and I straightened, refocusing back on the man behind the bar. “Were you any good?” I asked. He quirked a brow at me, confused on what I meant before I gestured to the pictures. “Bull riding. Were you good at it?” That had him grinning. “Well I wasn’t bad, darlin’.” “He was great.” Pops interrupted, making both of us look over at him. “My boy was one of the best on the circuit. He stuck on them like glue, not even the meanest bull could throw him.” “Till one did.” Mitch said with a little smile, shaking his head at the fatherly pride practically glowing from Pops where he sat sipping his coffee. “I was pretty good, but once you get injured it’s kind of over. Couldn’t hold on as tight as I needed to while I healed, and well.” He trailed off because I knew what happened. Mitch had been put on painkillers, gotten addicted, and it eventually lead to him doing eight years inside. “I don’t understand the appeal.” Dwight said, lifting a broad shoulder as he looked at the pictures of young Mitch, sipping his own coffee. “Clinging to the back of one of those mean bastards while they try to throw you?” “I bet it’s a big hit of adrenaline.” I said, resting my folded arms on the bar and leaning on it as I looked at the other pictures and yellowed newspaper articles on the back wall. “I can see it though.” I could too. Mitch was tall with long legs, he probably slid on the back of the bulls like he belonged on one. Bet he looked really handsome in all that gear too. “Pretty sure there are some videos on youtube of it, if you are really curious darlin’.” He said, glancing back down at the job at hand. I still saw the little quirk of his lips though, clearly entertained by the subject at hand. 

I hadn’t even thought of that though. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket but per usual I had garbage service all the way out here. Pouting, I continued to fill the salt and pepper shakers, knowing I’d have to ask Ann if her phone could pull up the videos when she got in around lunch time.  

“Sunny, Julie’s gonna take your tables, we’ve got an errand to run.” Mitch’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts and I paused, glancing over my shoulder at him. I had been working on the schedule, trying to figure out when the new girl could get some training in because she was horrible. Yesterday she mixed up three tables of orders and set Ann and I back by at least twenty minutes in a rush. “What kind of errand?” I asked, wondering if this was bar business or something that Dwight might be more involved in. Mitch just gave me a look, pulling the knot on the back of my server’s apron to undo it before tossing it in the little cubby I had claimed as my own. 

“The kind that requires you be in the truck in five minutes.” He said, arm wrapping around my shoulders to pull me closer, pressing a kiss against my forehead before releasing me to head back out to the bar to wrap up. I watched him leave the office, a little confused about what was happening but it was a nice day out and the idea of getting out of the dimly lit bar for a few hours sounded like a good time so I went with it. 

What I hadn’t expected was us pulling up to a sale/rodeo yard. There were large buildings, multiple pens full of different animals or people training in one rodeo event or another. I was talking next to Mitch, looking around like a little kid in a candy store, taking in the pens of horses and the people milling around. He let out a chuckle, throwing an arm around my shoulders to steer me, his other hand tucking into his pocket as he lead me through the maze of pens and fenced off sections. It was warm and smelled of hay and animals, something I hadn’t experienced since I was a little kid and my neighbor had taken me to a livestock sale to get me out of the house. 

Past a large fenced off arena style room with bleachers on either side I leaned into Mitch a bit more, letting him basically lead as I looked around. I heard the horses before I saw them and grinned, pulling Mitch towards a pen of pretty paint horses. He let me lead him this time, reaching out with his hand not on me, offering pets that the horses seemed eager to get. Their fur was soft against my fingertips, rubbing at one’s forehead right on a white patch that stood out bright against the reds of the rest of it’s coat. “I always loved horses. Our neighbor had a bunch and I’d sneak out into the pasture and spend time with them, they were really sweet old trail girls.” I said, rubbing the horse’s noise and earning a nicker. “I did a bit of bronco riding when I was first starting out but fell into bull riding and never really looked back.” Mitch hummed, patting the horse’s neck before pulling back and taking me with him. He lead us around a few more turns and there I found Dwight and a man I’d never seen before. Mitch got right into it, stopping beside Dwight with me still firmly at his side, arm casually over my shoulders to make sure I was tucked close. Because he certainly knew that I was absolutely disappear into the mazes of fencing in search of more animals to pet. Ever since I found Scruff Mitch seemed less willing to let me go wandering, stating he didn’t want a zoo in his house. “Moss.” He said, nodding his head before glancing at Dwight. “Dwight, this is Moss Wheelwright. Moss, this is Dwight, the man I told you about. And this is Sunny.” 

I gave a little smile and wave, curious about the man who stood before me now. Moss looked like the average midwestern guy. Ball cap pulled low, a t- shirt and a pair of shorts with boots.It got pretty hot in here so I didn’t blame him, though Mitch had worn his usual attire of pants and a button up that was rolled to his elbows. “Moss is a bullfighter these days. Distracts the bull.” He continued on sounding almost affectionate, like he had some good memories of that very thing happening. “Wrangles him when the rider falls off.” It would make sense, if Mitch ever fell the bull could have very well turned and tried to get to him. Wranglers were in the pen to distract the animal long enough for the riders to get away, ensuring everyone left alive. It sounded like a terrifying job personally, but I had no experience with the bulls so just being near one sounded unpleasant to me. 

Another man walked up then with his hand extended. He shook Mitch’s hand, then Dwight, and then reached for mine. I shook his hand, pleased to not be ignored in these situations as some men would do. “Sorry I’m late brother, had to sneak out of work.” The new man said, looking at Mitch with a little nod of his head. “Howdy ya’ll. Ben Hutchins.” “Ben.” Dwight said, looking out of place in his suit but not looking the least bit bothered by that fact. “Dwight.” “Sunny.” I said, flashing him a smile. 

“Oh, don’t mind the blood.” Ben said, stepping back to stand next to Moss. He did have some blood on his jeans, his boots too. It was clear Moss, Ben, and Mitch all knew one another. These must be his buddies from the rodeo days he spoke about sometimes. “I work in a slaughterhouse.” 

Dwight let out a rumbling chuckle, looking amused. “You’re hired.” As Mitch, Dwight, and the two newcomers began to talk business I snuck away, feet silent in the dirt as I left Mitch’s side for the first time since we showed up. I wanted to explore a little bit while they talked business and had some experience in places like this so I had a general idea of what I was looking for. 

I spent some time wandering around the pens and stalls, petting the horses that allowed it and keeping my distance from the bulls and wilder looking animals that were caged up. I ended up at an odd looking contraption which I recognized was a mechanical bull, the material on the ground around it padded for when the riders would fall off. This must be the training that Mitch had mentioned…

“Spent hours on that thing.” Mitch interrupted my inspection and I looked over my shoulder, not really surprised to see him. Flashing him a smile he returned it, moving towards the metal contraption with a a contemplative hum, large hand smoothing over the back of the leather saddle it was equipped with. “We used to get a case of beer and spend our Friday nights on this thing, betting who could hold on longer.” “You win?” I teased, moving next to him. He let out a laugh. “Bet your ass I did.” Without another word Mitch reached down, grabbing me and placing me on the back of it. “C’mon, I’ll turn it on easy so you can get an idea of what it feels like. It’s not exactly like the real thing, but you’ll get the idea.” 

I blinked in surprise at finding myself in the saddle of the mechanical bull, one of my hands wrapping around the rope provided for just that purpose. “Okay, sure. But if I fall you aren’t allowed to laugh.” “Okay, honey.” He hummed, that low voice only making me narrow my eyes at him. “Now lift your other hand, gotta be authentic in it. Don’t halfass it now.” I did as he said as Mitch moved to the side where there was a box with numbers and switches, clearly a control panel. I trusted him to not crank it all the way up, I’d be tossed into space if that was the case, my legs didn’t go far around the thing and I couldn't really hold on well. 

The machine hummed to life at the flip of a switch and then began to slowly rock back and forth. I concentrated on moving with it as it began to gradually moved faster, letting my body remain more loose so I wasn’t a board on the back of it. “A natural. Move with it Sunny, don’t fight it. That’s my girl.” He called, cranking it up. The machine jerked and I let out a laugh, hair flying, nearly thrown but held on. I didn’t last much longer, tossed off the back into a mat where I landed on my back with a grin, a little dizzy with how fast it had spun, not even upset I’d already been tossed. 

The machine wound down and a hand appeared. I took it, Mitch easily pulling me up with a wide grin. “Not too bad for your first time. We’ll make you a rider after all.” “Hardly.” I said with a roll of my eyes. Mitch had this spark in his eyes as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer and starting to head back to the truck. “We’ll just have to practice at home, darlin’.” “Yeah, you got one of these hidden somewhere?” I sassed, looking up at him. “Nah, we’ll practice another way.” “Practice a- Mitch!” I laughed, slapping his chest lightly as he chuckled, his free hand adjusting his hat as he wove us through the maze of the large building. 

More Sunny and Mitch here

[fukanouna]

Vandalize My Heart (KuinAnn)

Summary: Kuina is drawn to Ann, and she doesn't understand why. Set some time before Season 1 of Alice in Borderland.

Pairing: Kuina Hikari x Rizuna Ann

Rating: T

Word Count: 4303

A/N: For @dirtyvulture :) Will be posted on AO3 but under my other name, wooperskai. Fic title taken from the song of the same name by One OK Rock.

*contains hints to Alice in Borderland spoilers (IYKYK)

---

A person's eyes spoke more than words.

That was something Kuina learned growing up.

Those scorching afternoons in her father's dojo were moments she would rather forget, but Kuina couldn't deny that what she learned under her father has helped her survive these unforgiving games so far. It helped her determine whether or not she would ally herself with other players, be wary of them even during said alliance, or avoid a player altogether.

Kuina eventually teamed up with Chishiya, a silver-blonde haired guy she came across during a Diamonds game. The moment she looked into his eyes that were paired with a crooked, knowing smile, Kuina could tell he was different from the other players she encountered so far. Chishiya somehow maintained a calm demeanor despite all the gruesome deaths happening around them, calmly and quietly observing his surroundings in order to gather the necessary information to survive whatever games they came across. Kuina admitted to herself that she wouldn't have survived some of these games without him.

Kuina was the brawn and Chishiya was the brains.

It worked out well, really.

Although she still didn't like the way he'd look at her. It wasn't in a perverted, creepy way like how some other guys would look at her, but rather in a way it was as if he was looking into her soul, able to see her traumatic past, during a time in her life she was perceived as weak. Kuina didn't know if that was any better, but she was thankful he never pressed her for more backstory than necessary. She never asked him for his past either, trying to be courteous back.

Typically, Kuina never questioned Chishiya's outlandish ideas, but she wasn't fond of the idea to follow a group of guys who all had firearms on them.

"Did you notice how all of them had rental locker keys around their wrists?" Chishiya pointed out nonchalantly. "All the more obvious they're working together."

"And that makes you want to follow them?" Kuina shot back in disbelief. "You saw how they were during the game. We were lucky we were on the same team as them."

Chishiya slowly shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, his eyes glinting in the darkness.

"I want to know what this Beach is."

---

Well.

Chishiya got his wish.

Here they were, tied to chairs after getting caught scouting the Beach with a bunch of people in bathing suits surrounding them, watching them with hardened expressions. The only woman in the room, who had a hime-cut hairstyle and had her midriff exposed, was also the only one gazing at her and Chishiya with an amused smile, and honestly, it made Kuina more uncomfortable. The man in glasses that stood beside the woman was the opposite, not smiling whatsoever, but he looked the most calm out of everyone in the room, unnerving in a different way.

Of course, Chishiya was calm and collected as usual, showing no emotions while his eyes survey their captors. Kuina forced herself to swallow the rising bile in her throat down and do the same. There were no obvious weapons in the extravagant room, a good sign, so at least they weren't in any obvious danger (yet). She noticed that they all had those locker keys around their wrists, much like the band of armed men they tracked after, and confirmed they were all allied in some way.

A shirtless man with sunglasses that sported a gaudy robe and beach shorts burst into the room from a door opposite from where she and Chishiya sat. Kuina noticed how the air immediately shifted with his presence and guessed he was the head honcho of this place. Another followed right behind him, a woman also sporting sunglasses, with dark blue shorts that exposed her longer slender legs and had her arms crossed over her semi-see-through white blouse. Kuina couldn't properly read either of them due to their eyes being hidden behind their sunglasses, but Kuina felt that the cross-armed woman was watching her. The thought made her skin hot.

Her train of thought was cut off when the robed man stepped forward towards her and Chishiya with arms wide open and an almost maniacal smile.

"Welcome to the Beach. I am Hatter."

---

There were three rules when living at the Beach.

You must always have on a bathing suit.

You are free to live your life exactly as you wish.

Death to all traitors who refused to hand over their cards or abandon The Beach.

Very straightforward rules.

Kuina thought the first rule was incredibly ridiculous until Hatter pointed out the real reason: you can't hide weapons if you're wearing a swimsuit. While Hatter's outward appearance and behavior was annoyingly haughty and pompous, Kuina could tell he was not to be underestimated.

With Ann and Mira at her sides, Kuina was escorted into a large round closet that displayed an incredible selection of women's swimsuits. She recognized some of the brands, some of the bikini pieces worth more than three months-worth of rent in Ginza combined.

"Feel free to choose as many as you like. The Beach is now your new home, and you should feel comfortable where you live, free to wear what you like without facing any judgment," Mira explained in her grandiose way of speaking, arms spread out to Kuina. She originally thought Mira was being condescending, intentionally talking in such a way that felt like she was talking down on Kuina because she was a highly-positioned Executive member, but Kuina realized Mira was just weird.

"Sure. Whatever you say," Kuina drawled and rolled her eyes, not moving from her spot in the center of the room, though she was scanning the selection with her eyes. She mentally noted Ann had said nothing since they separated from the guys, and though she wore deeply shaded sunglasses, Kuina felt the short-haired woman was silently watching and analyzing her.

A firm series of knocks sounded from the mahogany wooden doors at the end of the closet.

"Mira." The voice belonged to the man with shaggy hair and glasses. Kuzuryu or something. "Hatter has summoned us to his room."

An exaggerated sigh left Mira's lips, which pursed into a pout as she looked up at Kuina. "How unfortunate. I was looking forward to seeing your choice of swim pieces. I suppose you will have to show me later." Mira smiled almost eerily at Kuina and walked passed her, only to stop by Ann. "Don't break our new guest while I'm gone, Rizuna-san~"

Kuina didn't know what Mira meant by that but she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as the doors closed behind Mira, leaving her alone with Ann. Immediately, the atmosphere felt tense and suffocating. Ann's default pose must be having her arms crossed at all times because Kuina swore the woman never had her arms at her side. The sunglasses in the brightly lit closet wasn't helping either, but she couldn't take the awkward silence any longer.

"So…" Kuina began slowly with a forced grin as she stepped closer into Ann's personal space. "You guys have a crazy selection of bathing suits. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. This cult you're a part of must have taken them from the countless abandoned shops around Tokyo.”

Ann turned her head towards Kuina, although only slightly. "Shibuya alone was enough to accommodate the residents of The Beach on top of what was already here at the resort, but there are still lots of locations available." She adjusted her sunglasses, pushing it up against the bridge of her nose. "Hatter had ties to Kabukicho and knew all the bars that held abundant amounts of hard liquor."

"I didn't ask that last part, but okay…" Kuina mumbled to herself while sifting through the selection of bikinis. Now that she knew the sunglasses lady had a voice, she felt compelled to continue the conversation. "So where's your swimsuit? You look like your dressed more for wine tasting on a summer day than to lounge around at a resort," she commented while motioning to Ann's sleeveless off-white blouse where the ends were tied in a knot to tease her midriff and her dark navy high-waisted shorts.

For a moment, Ann did not move from her spot. Then, the woman strode over to Kuina until she stood right in front of her. They were similar in height, Ann being slightly taller than her due to the wedges she was wearing. Kuina's eyes landed on Ann's hands that moved to the buttons of her blouse, slowly undoing them one by one. It shouldn't have made Kuina feel embarrassed but with their close proximity and the ghost of a smirk on Ann's lips, she couldn't help but feel her cheeks grow hotter. After the third button, Ann opened her blouse apart just enough for Kuina to see her bikini top: striped with light blue and white as the colors. Kuina hated that she couldn't stop staring and couldn't stop her heart from hammering against her ribcage, her throat dry.

"Hatter never said that the swimsuits needed to always be visible," Ann noted casually. "I'm still playing by the rules."

Kuina nodded dumbly as Ann buttoned back up her blouse. "As flattered as I am that you're admiring my chest, you're taking too long to select your swimsuits."

If Kuina's cheeks weren't hot before, they were definitely hot now. "Shut up…" she mumbled and turned her back to Ann, her attention returning to the swimsuits. "Is there really a need to rush me?"

"Yes. The sooner you make your choice the sooner you will be able to rest for tonight," Ann said, her arms returning to their crossed position.

Kuina turned back around to shoot the other woman a puzzled look. "Tonight? What's happening tonight?"

Another smirk.

Ann slowly took off her sunglasses.

For the first time, Kuina gazed into Rizuna Ann's eyes; they were steadfast and yet there was a trace of mischievousness in those dark eyes.

"Hatter has requested that you and Chishiya are to be evaluated in tonight's games," Ann explained. "He believes that you two have the potential to be executive members of The Beach."

Kuina couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What? But we just got here. It hasn't even been a day."

"Exactly. Hatter does not offer the executive position so easily, so consider yourself fortunate. Kuzuryu will decide Chishiya's worthiness. And I…"

Ann put back on her sunglasses with crooked smile.

"… will be the one who will be evaluating you, Kuina."

---

During the day, The Beach was paradise.

When the sun set, that's when the cruelty of this world reared it's ugly head once again and Kuina had no choice but to face it.

Aguni, leader the militant faction and Hatter's righthand man, was in charge of organizing the groups who would be sent out for the night to participate in games in search of all the suit cards. Kuina was wary of Aguni and the rest of the militants, and she had a gut feeling that Aguni and Hatter had a very complicated relationship. It was obvious most residents of The Beach sided with Hatter and his ideology and had blind faith in his plan to escape this world, but the more violent residents were militants and were on Aguni's side. It wasn't reassuring either when only members of the militant faction were allowed to use firearms.

Chishiya came up to her, as calm as ever, with his hands in the pockets of his zipped hoodie, now sporting swim trunks and flip flops. "I'm sure you've heard we'll be evaluated in tonight's games. I'm being paired with Kuzuryu-san. Truly someone who is the life at every party."

Kuina couldn't stop a chuckle from leaving her lips at Chishiya's dry humor. "I'm stuck with Ann."

"Ann?" Chishiya repeated, giving Kuina a curious look. "Interesting."

"What? Don't make comments if you're not going to explain," Kuina snapped defensively.

"Nothing," he chuckled. "It's just that you're not calling her Rizuna-san or Ann-san."

Kuina scoffed to mask her embarrassment. "I don't need to be polite in this world."

Chishiya flashed a lopsided grin. "That you don't. Have fun playing with Ann, and make sure you don't die so I can see you later."

Even though he already had his back turned to her, Kuina flipped him off anyway, scowling at his teasing, and reluctantly made her way to the other side of the resort's parking lot where her group waited for her.

Where Rizuna Ann was waiting for her.

Kuina cursed her heart under her breath for racing faster at the mere sight of Ann.

---

The game was a 3 of Diamonds, a suit that was not Kuina's specialty. That didn't mean Kuina didn't try.

The game required the players to escape a total of 3 rooms, each room having a small handful of puzzles to solve before being able to move onto the next room. However, each room needed to be completed within a time limit. If a person failed to leave the room before the time limit expired, they would be trapped inside while poisonous gas filled the room.

Not everyone in her group survived the game. Kuina survived, and while she hated to admit it, it was thanks to Rizuna Ann that the riddles were solved. The woman was intelligent, there was no question about that, and while Ann looked like those wealthy single women who owned property in Okinawa, she was far from delicate.

Cold, calculating, and deadly.

That's how Kuina would have described Ann during the game.

After the both of them dashed out of the building where the Game was held along with a few others from The Beach, Kuina leaned against the nearest wall and slid down onto the floor, catching her breath. Ann was also breathing heavily, but it was obvious she was trying to conceal her fatigue. It was the first time Ann looked so human.

"Anta wa…" Kuina breathed out harshly. "You knew all the answers from the beginning. If you knew the answers, why didn't you say so sooner? We could have saved everyone in our group. People died… because you." Without her sunglasses on, Kuina could see the lack of empathy in the other women's eyes.

"You should know by now the cruel reality of this world," Ann countered, eyes drilling into Kuina's. For a split second, Kuina thought she saw sorrow in those eyes, a but Ann soon turned her back to her. "I can try all I want, but I can't save everyone, nor am I going to prioritize trying to save someone I don't even know that would jeopardize my own life."

Kuina bit down on her lip, unable to say anything back because truthfully, she felt the same way. For a moment, she wondered if she was selfish to think that way, putting herself first than to save another person's life. The thought made Kuina feel disgusting.

"They still didn't deserve to die…" Kuina eventually whispered, feeling defeated.

Ann eyed her quietly and let out a slowly, audible sigh. "You're too kind, Kuina. That is why I cannot pass you."

Kuina looked up at the bob-haired woman. "What?"

"You're too kind," Ann repeated softly. "That is why I have decided that you are unfit to become a Beach Executive member."

---

About two weeks passed since Kuina failed her test, although it felt a lot longer than that.

If it wasn't for the fact she needed to keep track of the days left on her visa, Kuina would have lost track of how much time had passed since she first entered this twisted world a long time ago. There were times that she still volunteered to participant in the nightly games despite having an ample amount of days left in her visa if she saw Ann participating, in hopes of redeeming herself and that Ann would change her mind. But Ann never did and continued to fail Kuina.

(There was another reason why Kuina always wanted to join the games if Ann was there, but she never admitted it out loud.)

Unsurprisingly, Chishiya survived and passed his test, becoming an Executive member of The Beach. Kuina was worried that meant she would be left behind and all alone but to her surprise, Chishiya stuck by her and shared whatever information he learned during committee meetings. When she asked if he was allowed to divulge such confidential information, Chishiya simply shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm not breaking any of the three rules of The Beach, right?" was all he said.

One thing Chishiya learned during the meetings that the obvious tension between Aguni and his militant faction and Hatter and the other Executive members was growing. It was only a matter of time before an uprising happened. Chishiya convinced her that they will need allies when the time came, before The Beach would crumble from the inevitable conflict.

But it was harder to find worthy allies than either initially thought. Many of the residents were too blinded by this false utopia Hatter created or they were fiercely and dangerously loyal to Aguni.

"Everyone here is stupid… Too drunk or too addicted to smoking, drugs, or sex," Kuina muttered under breath one day while Chishiya was in a meeting and surveying people by the pool. In the corner of her eye, a familiar, poised figure caught her attention and found her eyes landing Ann walking towards the Tiki Bar. It was the first time she ever spotted the pale woman by the crowded, suffocating pool area.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, Kuina stood up and headed towards Ann.

"You're not in the meeting," Kuina observed, sidling next to the other woman. She felt Ann raising a brow at her behind the sunglasses. "Also not indoors for once."

"You must be watching me closely if you know this," Ann remarked as the bartender slid her martini across the countertop to her.

Kuina felt those damn butterflies in her stomach fluttering but she swallowed them back down. "Chishiya told me he was attending an Executive meeting earlier," she answered back as evenly as she could.

"I didn't need to attend. I'm not needed in every meeting." Ann took a sip of her drink. "And the other part?"

Kuina stiffened. Her mind wracked for a sensible answer that would appease the woman's curiosity that was becoming dangerously close to the truth even Kuina was trying hard to run away from. She could still feel Ann's gaze firmly on her, as if she was searching for the answer to her own question herself by analyzing Kuina's body language.

It would have been easy to fabricate a lie and wing with it. Kuina had done it plenty of times. But then again, the people she lied to were not Rizuna Ann. None of those people could even compare to the intellect and analytical skills Ann possessed. There was no doubt that Ann would be able to easily see through her lies because of said skills and because, frankly, Kuina didn't have the best poker face either.

Kuina bit down on her bottom lip, turning her gaze away from Ann's with a resigned sigh.

"What if I was?" she finally answered. "Watching you closely."

Ann was silent.

Then, a smirk. Cat-like eyes no doubt glimmering with amusement behind Versace shades.

"If that were the case, then I would let you know that the feeling is mutual… Kuina."

Kuina couldn't stop the shiver that shot down her spine at hearing the husky manner Ann said her name. Her mouth went dry in an instant, unable to respond as Ann simply took her martini and started walking away towards the resort's foyer, effectively ending the conversation.

Kuina groaned while burying her face into her hands, well aware the bartender watched their exchange with great interest, but had enough tact not to comment or intervene. She ordered a lemon sour before leaving the bar, then heard Chishiya's voice coming from behind. "Ah. Chishiya," she said monotonously. "Meeting done already?"

"Yep. Nothing of interest. Hatter is suspicious of a group of players hiding their cards from him, but I'm hoping his growing paranoia will lead to him eventually slipping up where he's hiding the rest of the suit cards that have been collected," he said with an almost bored tone. Chishiya turned his head in the direction of the foyer. "By the way, I saw you talking to Ann-san."

Kuina internally groaned. "… How much did you see?"

"Enough," Chishiya chuckled. "It looked like you two were enjoying each other's company."

"We definitely were not," Kuina huffed, feeling her ears burn hot with embarrassment. "I wish you would stop watching me without me knowing."

"Can't help it. It's my specialty and you know firsthand it's a valuable skill that has saved our lives on multiple occasions." Chishiya paused then clicked his tongue. "Would you find it fascinating to know that Rizuna Ann is interested in you?"

Kuina was in the middle of sipping her drink when the sudden remark made her spit out her drink. "Huh?! What are you talking about? Interested how?"

"I'm not sure what you're thinking, but I meant interested in the sense that you have caught her attention," Chishiya grinned slyly, well aware he was teasing the tall woman. "I understand where Ann-san is coming from though. You're different, Kuina. You're not like other… women."

Kuina squeezed her glass, holding in her breath, wondering if he's implying what she thinks he's implying.

Chishiya didn't elaborate and continued.

"Perhaps Ann-san wants to know what makes you different. You also want to learn more about Ann-san; she intrigues you. That curiosity to discover is what draws you two to each other. I suppose my next question is what do you plan to do next?"

Kuina wasn't sure. She was still trying to wrap her own head around Ann, still trying to figure her out, and still trying to figure out why the hell she was so intent on learning more about Ann. The woman was mysterious, difficult to read, and difficult to understand. Even during the moments Kuina could actually gaze into Ann's eyes, Kuina couldn't even begin to guess what the other woman was thinking. One moment, Ann was cold and aloof, but other times, there was a hint of gentleness in the way she smiled at Kuina or in the tone of her voice. Kuina wasn't sure which one was the real Ann, and maybe that in itself was a red flag that was telling her to be wary of the bob-haired woman, but Kuina couldn't stay away from her.

Thinking back to Chishiya's question, there was only one thing she knew she wanted to know, because for once, the eyes were not enough for Kuina to understand Ann. The woman was a complex puzzle with an uncertain number of layers hiding her true self. Kuina wanted to believe Ann was a good person deep down, wanted to believe her cold demeanor was because of the world they're forced to exist in and that there was kindness somewhere beneath that.

But that was Kuina being hopeful and assuming Rizuna Ann trusted her enough to open up to her.

Chishiya was still looking at her, waiting for an answer.

Kuina inhaled sharply.

She made a decision.

---

It was past midnight when Kuina made her way to the third floor of The Beach.

It was the floor where Hatter and the Executive members had their own rooms, taking the suite rooms of the former high-end resort. It was also heavily guarded, members of the militant faction making their rounds and rotations on this floor, but fortunately Hatter gave her special permission to visit the floor at Chishiya's request and because of her large contribution of cards so soon after joining.

With a simple white tee and cotton shorts over her bikini, Kuina stood nervously in front of Ann's room. She tentatively knocked on the door. Her brain short-circuited when Ann opened the door to reveal herself in a silk sleeveless top and matching shorts. She still had makeup on and was wearing glasses.

A killer combo that was too much for Kuina's heart.

Ann's lips twitched but she remained expressionless. "Kuina. What brings you here so late?"

Kuina took a deep breath. "Can we talk?"

"… About?"

"Us."

Ann was quiet for a moment. "Us," she repeated slowly.

Kuina nodded, looking right into the other woman's eyes that still held an unreadable stillness to them. "You say you've been watching me closely, and I've admitted to doing the same. It's because I want to trust you. I want to believe you're not like Hatter, Aguni, or the others, but I can't trust you if one moment you're approachable and then you're distant the next. So why? Why have you been watching me? What is it that you want?"

Ann's gaze flickered to the carpeted floor, looking thoughtful, then returning back up to meet Kuina's eyes once more. Kuina held her breath when Ann stepped closer and reached out to run her hand through Kuina's dreads, fingertips gliding all the way down to the ends, then returning her hand to her sides. Kuina didn't know what that was all about but the gesture made her heart stutter. It felt oddly… intimate.

"Ann?" Kuina whispered as the other woman turned around to step back into her room. For a moment she thought that Ann was going to end the conversation there, just like she did at the bar.

Then Ann faced her again, motioning Kuina to follow her into her room.

"If you want the answer to your question, then come inside."

---

A/N: Part 2 but only if Vulture wants it :)

Thanks for reading!

[ashland-frost]

Straightforwardness

Sebastian x Frost

Beginning 6th year @ hogwarts

Sebastian's 5th year proved to be the most challenging one yet. Fueled by an unwavering determination to find a cure for his sister, he found himself caught between the warnings of his best friend about the dangers of dark arts. Amidst all this, a new student managed to find a special place in his heart. It was a year filled with countless events - he even found himself succumbing to anger and fear, leading to the unfortunate demise of his uncle. His best friend struggled to define their friendship, while his sister, after burying their uncle, couldn't look at him the same way anymore. And to add to the turmoil, his newfound friend contemplated sending him to Azkaban, but ultimately decided against it. As the summer before his 6th year approached, tragedy struck again, leaving Sebastian shattered, his sister Anne finally succumbed to the curse and died. However, he resolved to conceal his pain and put on a brave face.

As the new term commences, whispers about Sebastian's sister have already started circulating. People approach him with sympathetic apologies, but he has grown weary of hearing those words. "I'm sorry" seems meaningless now, as the damage has already been done and cannot be undone. Sebastian feels the need to apologize, but those who should hear it are not present. In such a situation, what can he possibly do?

Ominis and Sebastian are seated on the grass in the courtyard, discussing their preparations for the transfiguration class. Suddenly, a group of girls passes by, giggling and spreading rumors about Paris and Garreth going on a date in Hogsmeade. The girls express their surprise, as they believed Paris had feelings for Sebastian. One of them remarks, "I thought she had a crush on Sebastian," while another adds, "Yeah, poor Sebastian. I think he likes her. Just wait until he finds out... oh!" The girls abruptly stop and fall silent as they notice Sebastian's intense gaze fixed upon them.

Sebastian's voice lacked any hint of emotion as he addressed the group of ladies. "Please, don't let me interrupt your captivating conversation. I'm quite intrigued by the way my name seems to be on the tip of your tongues." His eyes, however, betrayed his true feelings. They were filled with a mixture of disappointment and displeasure. The girls, too frightened to respond, hastily made their exit, with Sebastian's gaze following their every move. He reclined back on the wall, shutting his book with a heavy sigh.

Ominis, concerned for his friend, couldn't help but address Sebastian. "Sebastian, I understand that now might not be the best time to ask if you're alright, but I can't help but worry. Are you alright?" Ominis knew that Sebastian had developed a fondness for Paris ever since she joined Hogwarts last year. He hoped that whatever had transpired wouldn't cause too much distress for his friend.

Gazing up at the sky, his expression inscrutable, he murmured, "I'm not sure... I really don't know." His fingers absentmindedly traced over the pages of his textbook, devoid of any motivation to continue studying. "I thought she felt the same way about me."

"I had the same impression, but she's quite impatient by nature. Maybe she's uncertain about your feelings towards her? I'm not exactly the best person to give relationship advice," Ominis admitted, feeling at a loss for words to comfort his friend.

"Well, if that's the case, then maybe she's not willing to wait for someone like me," his friend's voice was tinged with sadness, and Ominis could sense the hurt in his words.

Meanwhile in hogsmeade

"What the fuck am I seeing?" Frost asks, gazing at Garreth and Sebastian in various spots around Paris. "Ain't that bitch with Sebastian?"

"For Merlin's sake, Frost, watch your language!" Constance scolds.

Frost clicks her tongue. "So... are they a couple now?"

"Maybe? It certainly seems that way," Constance replies, glancing at the pair enjoying their date.

"Do you think I have a chance with Sallow now?" Frost inquires.

"You really don't waste any time, do you?" Constance chuckles.

“Nah not about it, Sallow is hot as fuck, did you see how much taller he is, those broad shoulders.. I wanna wrap my legs around them and pull on his hair” Frost bits her lips at the thought

“What is wrong with you…” she looks at her friend with concern

“Ahhh.. he's gonna be so crushed, look at them partially fucking” watching Garreth kiss Paris

“Frost!”

“What?”

“Please tell me your not about to talk to Sebastian that way”

Frost pouts slightly “ you crazy? I might scare him off, but it would be nice if he ends up liking my .. straightforwardness”

“Yeah.. straightforwardness is what we'll call it”

Evening

Sebastian stands solemnly by the weeping lovers statue, gazing at the rippling water.

“Interesting sight, huh?” Frost remarks, observing Sebastian's solitude.

“Do you plan on approaching him?”

“Right this instant?”

“what happened to no time wasted?”

“Alright, give me a moment,” she inhales deeply, then crouches down and stretches.

“What's with the dramatics? This isn't a duel.”

“Easy for you to say!”

Constance chuckles and playfully shoves her friend. “Good luck, and watch your tongue, don't scare the poor guy,” she teases before scampering off.

Frost let out a frustrated sigh and muttered, "Oh, fuck!" She then approached Sebastian, tilting her head up to look at him.

Sebastian's eyes shifted to see who was getting too close to him, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her. Her eyes were so bright and captivating, impossible to miss. "Can I help you?" he asked, curiously

Clearing her throat, Frost replied, "Actually, it is I who is here to help this little snake. He seems quite down, and this birdie wants to lend a hand."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly will this birdie help the snake? Besides, this snake is much bigger than this tiny little birdie."

"You know, birds eat snakes," Frost retorted.

Sebastian smirked. "And snakes eat small birds. So, what's your point?"

Frost's eyes narrowed, and she snapped back, "I'm not that small! You fucking anaconda!"

Sebastian was taken aback by her boldness, and he burst into laughter, clutching his sides. This made Frost pout. "I thought you wanted to help, not insult me, If I'm an anaconda, then I suppose that makes you a snow fairy, those cute little round balls," he teased, leaning down with a mischievous smirk on his face. It seemed their banter had lightened his mood considerably.

“You're lucky I like those birds but don't call me a round ball feels odd, and yes I was trying to make you feel better with all the things you been though and .. umm”

“And Paris going on a date with Garreth as everyone keeps talking about because they thought we were going to date? Is that it? Were you going to tell me sorry for my dead sister as well and the girl you like going out with someone else” he's face bearing a hint of annoyance it was always the same thing these days. Though he wasn't ready for her answer.

“Uhh well yeah sorry about Anne, she was a pretty awesome girl, but fuck Paris, I was gonna tell you, you're hot as fuck, you devilishly handsome fellow and you don't need that heifer” Frost relaized he had been cursing and Constance literally told her not to. Looking up at Sebastian's face she wasn't sure what expression he was making, but the corners of his mouth perked up into a smile.

“You sure curse like a sailor”

“Ah.. yeah sorry bout that”

“It's alright I rather like your … straightforwardness”

“Yeah that what we'll call it”

It was silent between them for a moment as they stared at each other.

“Well.. I was going to be all polite and stuff but that didn't work so, argh I'll just give you some advice.. not that I really want to but I'll say two things”

He raises a brow “ alright let's have it”

“One, don't fancy this option it's not in my best interest but, just confess you like the heifer and don't mind Garreth.. I'm sure she likes you and your far better than him”

“Mmmh you don't like gingers?”

“Oh no,.. your voice is just hundred times more pleasant to my ear”

“I see, and the second bit of advice?” he chuckled and stared at her curiously

“Second.. forget her and find someone that will wait for you”

That was somehow he didn't expect to hear from anyone “ that will wait for me?” He says low

She feels embarrassed her eyes dart around and then go back to him “ yeah wait for you, you just lost your sister over the summer and I could see even before, last year you were a bit of a mess, I feel if she really likes you she'd wait for you or at the very least confirm your feelings for each first before cuddling up to another guy..I don't mean to over step as we don't talk much but those are my thoughts”

Sebastian turns and leans with his back fully on the wall, he's silent with his arms folded lost in thought, Frost waits patiently fiddling with her fingers.

He looks back at her “ thank you”

“You're… welcome” she says softly

The bell rings for signaling time for dinner.

He moves from the wall “guess it's dinner time, and I suppose I'll take your advice, see you around little snow fairy” he walks away

“Wait! One or Two?” She yells

He laughs still walking off “ you'll find out soon enough”

“Soon enough my arse, I have no patience for shit.. fuckk” Frost makes her way to the Great Hall for dinner running into Constance “so how did it go?”

“Well?” she says Reluctantly

“you cursed, didn't you?”

“yup”

“how much are we talking ?”

“I called him a fucking anaconda and called Paris a heifer..”

“... what did he say?”

“he laughed.. he laughed and said he liked my straightforwardness”

“Well fuck”

“language Conny!”

“oh stuff it!” They both laughed.

Sitting at the Ravenclaw table the two girls talked and laughed. Constance felt like someone was looking at them, she saw Sebastian staring at Frost which made her giggle, her friend finally got the attention of her crush and hopes it's not just a one time thing.

“What are you giggling about, Conny?”

“Eat your food and vegetables too”

“Ugh.. seriously what are you? Just look at these green things .. it's too bitter”

“Thought you liked green things” she smirks

“.... no comment”

At the Slytherin table

“Do tell me what has caught your attention so much that you are not listening to my amazing voice, is it still about earlier or is it something else?” askes Ominis

“A bit of both I believe, I had an interesting conversation with a little bird that curses like crazy”

“Ah that would be Ash Frost I take it, she's good for a laugh, did she confess her undying love for you?”

“Her what?”

“Oh.. so no then, though she would, poor girl's been head over heels for you for awhile”

“How do you know that?”

“Sebastian, it's me, I know everything that happens here, Gossip Gaunt hello!”

“You're unbelievable, you sure she likes me?”

“Mm? Did she actually manage to get your attention?”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“Because Sebastian Sallow, I don't think you really know yourself well, your a friendly guy but you always keep a wall up .. even with me, I was surprised how well you got along with Paris so quickly but now you two barely talk”

“A Lot has happened..”

“I know that, I do. Just be careful getting along too quickly with someone again.. though I'm fine if it's her”

“You're fine with Frost, why?”

“Talk to her more and you'll see, you too are very much alike, she's just very well naughty is probably a nice way to put it”

“She gets in trouble?”

“No her mouth just says whatever she thinks and I'm sure you'd be surprised by what she says about you”

“Oh you mean like.. oh! Yeah I can see that”

“So what did you talk about with her?”

“Well.. she told me to either tell Paris how I feel or in her words fuck that heifer and find someone else”

Ominis spat out his tea “ Bloody hell.. you should marry her”

“Ominis!”

‘What, listen Sallow any person that truly cares for you will tell you want you need to hear and the fact that she likes you but still tells you to confess to another is amazing, I would never”

“Yeah.. she's something”

“Indeed, now eat your chicken you haven't taken one bite”

“you're blind how do you know and I'm not in the mood for it”

“You sure, aren't birds your thing now?”

“Fuck you”

“Oh she's rubbing off on you already”

[lake-archive]

An Unfair Game

AO3 Link - A Shared Love Between Our Posse (Masterlist)

Fandom: Hypnosis Mic

Characters: Ramuda Amemura , Ann Wolff (OC)

Synposis: Ramuda and Ann were playing a board game. However, someone just keeps on winning and Ramuda doesn't seem to like it.

Words: 612

“This isn’t fair! You’re cheating Ann–Chan!” Ramuda would complain with a huff, crossing his arms. And all Ann could do was look at the guy, letting out a sigh. They should have seen it coming… 

“No. I’m not.” They said and they really weren’t. And yet… 

“Liar liar pants on fire!” He was acting like a child about this, wasn’t he? And honestly, it wasn’t even that serious. And yet, it is exactly like Ramuda in the end… Or something like that. But why would he even act like this? 

To keep a long story short, it was about a board game. Honestly, it had caught Ann a little off guard, having had Ramuda suggest it out of nowhere. “ Let’s play to pass the time~ ” and with them not having anything better to do, they agreed. 

And since then, hours had passed, one after the other, and thus also each round of said board game. And with each round Ramuda was only puffing up his cheeks more and more, letting out his more childish side… Or something like that. Why? Because with each round he was the one losing and they just kept on winning. And it seems after a few more rounds he has had it and was now at the peak of his kid–like behavior. One may as well call him a sore loser… Who knew Ramuda had such a side as well.

“No, seriously. I didn’t–”

“Nah–ah! You can be very unfair!” 

Was this seriously going to turn into an argument? The thought of it only made them roll their eyes on the spot. ‘ This again… ’ It was the only thing which had gone through their head for this moment. And not to mention that they were expecting a tangent anytime now. A non stop tangent on how Ann could be a ‘mean cheater’. Maybe he really was just a sore loser. That or… Was he hoping for something? If anyone knew how to play dirty of the two, it would be Ramuda. Hmm… Hard to say… 

And so as their boyfriend was complaining and whining while sitting on the sofa they got up, right out of the armchair. Did he notice? Probably not, given how busy he was talking. 

So they just walked over, right to the sofa and got seated. His complaints were now right in one of their ears yet not for long. “Hey, Ramuda. Can you be quiet for a moment?” They suddenly interrupted him while turning their head to him, seeing his confused and baffled expression right close up. 

“But I’m not even done!” He tried to tell them.

“Just for a moment, it won’t take long.”

“Hah… Alright, what is it? But don’t think this–”

Yet before he could see it coming they grabbed both of his cheeks with their hands, tilting his head up as their own shot down. It was a short lived moment, a quick kiss. And it was over before anyone knew, Ann pulling back almost as quickly as they had kissed him at that moment. They then let go of his face, their hands dropping down and then they just stared at him.

He sat there, face all red and eyes wide. His body was swaying from one side to the other, as if just having been overwhelmed… Before suddenly dropping down on his back, right onto the sofa. 

D… Did that seriously knock him out? Ramuda should be used to this… Right? And yet, Ann let out a shrug shortly after. In the end it got him all quiet, didn’t it? And besides… It was a little amusing.

“I should do this more often~”

[hummingbird-of-light]

June of Doom Day 25

25. “Don’t move!”                                  

| Natural Disaster | Drowning | Stranded |

TW: treason, minor character deaths

A/N: Alternate Universe - Selkie

~

When Khan Noonien Singh opened his eyes, he didn't remember much. All he remembered was that he and his crew had been attacked by a ship of the fleet and taken under fire.

The pirate ship Botany Bay hadn't stood a chance against that damn Captain Marcus and his crew.

Their only option had been to escape, and in doing so they had been separated. No member of the crew had survived.

The swell had been hard and unrelenting and most of the little boats had been wrecked on the cliffs. Only Khan had miraculously survived.

But he had been knocked unconscious and so he did not know how he had ended up in the small cave on the beach.

When he had tried to sit up, a voice had yelled at him, sounding panicked.

"Na gluais!" it had said, and even though Khan didn't understand a single word, he could only asume that it was warning him to move. He felt miserable. Some of his bones had to be broken.

Eventually, however, the mysterious rescuer had helped him sit up, and Khan still watched in fascination as the rescuer built a small fire.

The man was... exceedingly handsome. His auburn hair shimmered in the light of the flames. He had pale skin and gray eyes. Probably the most uncommon thing, however, was the fact that he wore no clothes. Every part of his body was exposed.

When the man got up and sat down with him, Khan couldn't help but look him up and down. The man blinked with interest before carefully touching the pirate's face.

"Tha thu nad dhuine."

Khan narrowed his eyes in confusion. What... what kind of language was that? Was it the strange Gaelic he and the rest of his crew had been told about when they left for Scotland?

"I... I don't understand you. I... speak English."

The brown-haired man tilted his head before apparently understanding. His expression brightened.

"You... English. You... Human."

Involuntarily, Khan's eyebrows moved up. What kind of strange person was this?

"Um, yes... I am a human."

Khan caught sight of something like fascination in his counterpart's eyes. A smile was on his lips and the man pointed to himself.

"I... Montgomery."

Montgomery? Was that his name? Khan blinked for a moment before pointing to himself.

"My name is Khan. Did... you save me?"

Even though Montgomery didn't seem to speak English all that well, he could probably understand, because he nodded eagerly.

"Found at the chladach.... uh... coast. Brought here."

Khan looked around. Was this cave, by any chance, Montgomery's home?

"Do you live here?"

For a moment Montgomery hesitated, but then he shook his head.

"Tha mi a' fuireach anns a' mhuir.... um... sea. In the sea."

Khan just laughed at the man's choice of words. He really didn't know any English.

"You mean by the sea. You live by the sea."

But again his counterpart shook his head.

"'S e selkie a th' annam. Selkie... live in the sea."

A... Selkie? Khan had heard of them. Stories told that these creatures lived in the sea as seals, but could transform into humans when they shed their fur.

His gaze slid around the cave and.... there! In one corner, he spotted something brown.

So Montgomery... was actually a Selkie. It was simply incredible! But it also confused Khan.

"Why... did you save me? I thought Selkie hated humans."

Montgomery looked down at the ground, silent for a long moment before looking back up at Khan.

"Mother... forbid. But I... want to learn. More knowledge about human."

Again, fascination sparkled in Montgomery's eyes and Khan couldn't help but smile.

"Of course, Montgomery. Learning is important. And because you saved me, I want to reciprocate as thanks. Ask me whatever you want."

The pirate had learned that one should be grateful to a rescuer. So he would do his best to return the favor.

And the happy look in the beautiful eyes was worth it.

++++++++

Montgomery took loving care of him. He brought him food, made fire again and again, helped him to move again.

And in return Khan helped the Selkie to speak better English, to understand humans and their behavior. He answered all of Montgomery's questions, gave him his coat so he could dress with it.

And after some time, Khan was finally able to walk again. Montgomery had managed to nurse him back to health and Khan was incredibly grateful to him.

He was finally able to look around, to explore the coast where he had been stranded. He found other people who knew English and he learned what had happened to his ship.

It had been completely destroyed. Everything he had ever owned had been taken from him.

And besides the unspeakable grief, another feeling filled the pirate. Pure hatred.

Hatred for Captain Marcus.

Hatred for the fleet.

He would avenge his crew. He would destroy this man.

And when he learned that Marcus' ship regularly docked on the island, a plan formed in his mind.

He would get his revenge.

++++++++

"I want to introduce you to someone, Montgomery. A very friendly person I met during my explorations."

Khan walked along the beach, Montgomery close at his side. The Selkie was beaming to both cheeks.

"A... second teacher for me?"

A smile crossed Khan's face. Montgomery's English had really improved a lot. The pirate had done a good job.

"Yeah, sort of."

They walked slowly, although Khan would have very much liked to get to his destination as soon as possible. But he knew he owed it to Montgomery.

The Selkie had done so much for him... there was only one more thing missing.

They talked, laughed together, asked each other questions, but finally they reached the end of the cliff.

The man Khan had met earlier was already standing there. He smiled when he saw the two men moving toward him.

"Montgomery, this is Mr. Mudd."

The dirty grin on Mudd's face grew even wider as he took Montgomery's hand and shook it.

"Hello, my friend."

Immediately, the Selkie's eyes sparkled again.

"Friend? And... ye are... teacher?"

Mudd exchanged a glance with Khan, who nodded subtly.

"Well, yeah sure. I'm your teacher. Any questions? I'm your man."

Khan didn't like this man's manner at all, but he was a means to an end.

Montgomery looked with fascination at the vehicle Mudd had come here in. A carriage - Khan had taught him that word.

In the back was a large, silver box with a great many gaps to look through. Montgomery had never seen anything like it. Khan could see that in his face.

"Is that... yer house?"

Curious, the Selkie inspected the strange structure and Mudd stepped up to him, putting an arm around his shoulder.

"Sort of. Want to take a look inside?"

Khan felt his heart almost grow heavy as Montgomery nodded enthusiastically.

The Selkie had no idea he was climbing into a cage that would be his home for a long time.

"Khan told me you were a Selkie. Can you... show me how to do that?"

Montgomery blinked in confusion for a moment, but then grabbed the fur he was carrying.

"I... need some water from the sea."

Mudd just laughed out.

"That's no problem at all. Take a look in that bucket over there, my friend."

Khan just watched as Montgomery gleefully ran to the bucket, which must have been filled with water and fish.

He put on his fur, doused himself with water, and just a short time later, a seal was sitting in the spot where just a moment before there had been a human.

A loud bang made Khan wince and he saw that Mudd had closed the cage.

Cautiously, the pirate stepped closer to the cage and touched the soft fur of the Selkie.

"I'm sorry about that, Montgomery. But I just had to trade you."

A confused yelp escaped the seal and its head tilted to the side.

"The dynamite is already on Marcus' ship. All you have to do is shoot a flaming arrow at it once the crew is aboard."

With those words, Mudd handed the pirate said arrow and patted him on the back.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Any show with that thing is going to make me a lot of money. And if need be, I can always sell it to a cook."

Khan didn't take his eyes off Montgomery. The yelps grew more desperate as the Selkie realized he couldn't get out of the cage.

"The deal was that not a hair on his head would be harmed. And I expect you to stick to it."

Mudd just shrugged his shoulders.

"As far as I'm concerned. The main thing is to make the deal worth my while."

Khan barely noticed the man get into the carriage and leave.

He could only look at Montgomery and feel guilty.

But... he had to avenge his crew! Marcus had to pay!

When it was all done, he would somehow free Montgomery. He would save him, and in doing so, he would finally pay him back for saving his life.

(To be continued)

[humanoidalien27]

Content warning: Exhaustion and use of an unforgivable curse and mention of trauma.

.....

Chapter 12

Year Six to Graduation

    "You have to learn how to do this," Sharp said, his voice going a bit more tender than you remember.

He refused to cast the spell himself, but another who knew the dangers, begrudgingly agreed to do it.

You panted heavily. "It's not exactly easy."

"Of course it's not, this is one of the unforgivable curses," Sharp shot back and looked to the older auror who was seasoned and used to this.

You had to go into a room by yourself to stop Sebastian from jinxing the auror.

Ominis and Anne stayed as far away from the room as possible while it was in use for the curse training. Otherwise, professor Onai was teaching all of you how to do wandless casting. Or the other teachers were giving you two years worth of studying which had to be crammed into the month they had before school started.

No one liked the idea of using the curses, but Sharp was right, if they used it on you without you being able to fight it, you could turn on your friends.

It felt like your fifth year all over again, the only thing you were missing was professor Fig.

"Imperio!"

Your worries involuntarily slipped away like a breeze blew through, while your body felt lighter than air.

"Fight it!" Sharp snapped, though you could barely hear it and vaguely felt them watching you.

"Walk to the basin and splash some water in your face," the auror ordered.

Your body moved to take a step as you focused on regaining control.

The footsteps slowed to a stop, the basin within five feet.

"Go to the basin."

The calm pressed down, sparking a bit of panic, but you pushed that away for now as you felt a sliver of control seep back into your grasp. Your body took a step back. Memories of the night your dad died, filtered through your head, adding fuel to an already brewing fire.

"Go to the basin."

"No!"

Air flooded your lungs, the calmness faded, but the weight slamming down on you brought you to your knees.

"Good, you broke the curse's hold," Sharp said before looking over at the auror. "We'll do it again tomorrow until she can resist it completely."

You gave yourself a moment for your body to calm down before standing, seeing Sharp come closer.

"You did well today."

You sighed, giving yourself a mental pat on the back. "Finally was able to break it, but now my brain hurts."

He chuckled. "Why don't you go get some food. You look like you could use it."

Your growling stomach agreed with him, so you moved to leave the room.

Poppy, Garreth and Natty greeted you first, as the twins and Ominis seemed to be in a deep conversation.

"How'd it go?" Natty asked as you took the open spot beside Sebastian.

"I was able to break the curse."

Various expressions passed around, but all settled for happy.

"Congratulations!" Poppy said clapping.

"Maybe now you can stop getting it cast on you repeatedly," Sebastian replied.

He never hid how he was against this idea, but you reminded him that you would do what you needed to protect your friends.

"If I can deflect it tomorrow, then yes."

"Tomorrow?"

"Just to make sure I've got it down. It's not easy, but I'd rather know for sure, then be caught off guard."

Poppy sighed. "I know this is beneficial, but it's taking its toll, besides you've been having bad nightmares."

Sebastian's eyes snapped to you as Anne sighed softly.

Anne was a heavy sleeper, she really woke up from her sleep to see.

"I'm fine Poppy. It's probably a normal response to the heavy situation we're in."

A dark look crossed the twin's face as you went back to eating.

   When you walked out of the bathroom, you were surprised to see Sebastian sitting beside your bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Anne, Poppy, Natsai and Granny both said it was fine if I stay in here tonight. Someone has to keep you from dropping out of exhaustion."

Rolling your eyes at the over exaggeration, you moved to sit on the bed. "I'm fine Sebastian."

You felt his presence behind you before his hand pointed at a mirror in front of you.

"That doesn't look even remotely close to fine," he said, motioning at the circles under your eyes.

His face being that close made your pulse race and it didn't help when it turned towards you as he wiped at a few red spots beside your eye.

"You don't have freckles either. You've been crying."

You grumbled, reaching over for your book. "Sebastian-"

"I'm not leaving tonight," he said strongly as you glanced back at him. "You're stuck with me."

"Won't you be tired for your own extra classes tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "That's not really important to me right now."

You moved against the headboard, ready to begin reading tomorrow's chapters. "Your mind is already made up then?"

He nodded before sitting beside you, with his own book. "And you know how stubborn I can be."

He grinned when you chuckled. "That I do."

The both of you sat in silence as you began your work. The calming environment making both of you relax.

At least until you felt his body lean into you more and more until his head was pressed flush against your shoulder while he snored softly.

"So much for your night watch," you teased, pulling his book from his lap and set it down on your night table along with your own.

As carefully as you could, with mild grumbling from him, you managed to get him to lie down on the bed with the blankets over him, before going back to reading.

Your mind halted as you remembered that Sebastian used to sneak into the restricted section all the time and was back in school with very little sleep. So, why was he so tired now?

You never seen him fall asleep while reading before.

"He hasn't been sleeping well either."

Your eyes shot to Felix as he pulled himself off the door frame, seemingly having watched you two for a while.

"You gambling the delicate balance between those horrible memories from your childhood and allowing Richard to reek havoc on your head now, has been keeping him up. He's been trying to find a way to safe guard you, without using the imperious curse."

"It's better than doing nothing. I don't want to fight my friends or end up someone's puppet."

"Neither would I, but-" he sighed, aging ten years in the matter of seconds before he snapped himself out of his thoughts. "My mother, Anne and your two friends have decided to sleep elsewhere tonight. All of you will need enough sleep. Tomorrow is the last day we can teach you anything. The start of term is within two weeks and we'd like to have you all attend it without problems."

Deciding it was best to change the subject, you watched as he glanced at your book's cover.

"Are you mad at your sister for setting you up?"

"Why would I be mad at her for doing what I asked?" He lifted the book from your lap. "My sister is spoiled, not stupid. She was onto Spavin the moment he started trying to seduce her. She's been feeding Sharp information on me and Spavin for years."

He grinned, a little smugly, when your eyes shot up to meet his.

"I thought you said all your family turned their backs when you went into Azkaban."

"They did, that's not to say they didn't notice something off later and try to help me. Just like you did for him." He smirked as you looked over to Sebastian, still sound asleep. "You once asked me why I stayed in Azkaban when I'm an animagus."

You nodded as you met his gaze. "Yes, if you could have left, why didn't you?"

"For you."

That was a punch to the gut, but he just gave a gentle smile as he put the book on the night table.

"If I'd have left for a long length of time and was noticed, Spavin would have immediately have finished the job he had nearly completed that night. I also stayed for him," he said, while looking to Sebastian. "I saw what he would one day mean to you. If things had been different, this situation would have ended up getting worse. I carved those runes into the stone so the dementors couldn't steal my happy memories or his. When you went to speak with Sharp, I asked him what memory he used when he created a particularly powerful patronus. He couldn't answer, but he gave it up when he blushed."

The only memory that crossed your mind that wasn't tainted by everything bad going on was what happened after the bubble fight.

Felix chuckled softly, but was polite enough not to point out how dark your cheeks had gotten.

"How do you know about all of this? You knew where to find Anne and I. You knew I'd come to save Sebastian-"

"I didn't actually. There were plenty of futures where you didn't come for him for years. Too lost in guilt and pain. One you even followed in your father's footsteps and became an auror. I didn't know which one would come true."

You blinked. "Can you see the future?"

"All I need is a shiny object or reflection. The water pooling in the corner of my cell helped a lot."

"Are you a seer?"

He gave a shrug and a mischievous smirk. "It's a secret."

Sebastian grumbled from the noise and shifted onto his back.

"You should get some sleep too, it's getting rather late."

"Should he and I switch beds or something?"

"Anne took her brother's bed. I think she's developed a crush on Ominis. Playing match maker is hard."

"What?"

He snickered and stood. "Nothing, nothing, good night."

You almost chased after him, if it wasn't for Sebastian grabbing your hand.

Felix laughed softly as he closed the door behind him.

"Match maker huh?" You mumbled, looking down at Sebastian's hand.

Giving a sharp shake of your head, you laid down and Nox-ed the lights off.

.....

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(I looked it up and found out the aurors were allowed to use the unforgivables curses during the war with Voldemort, so I figured given the time, they'd use them secretly in every war that directly threatened them. This is my grounds for the auror and Sharp knowing how to use it and doing so to try to give her an immunity to the mind altering one. This is just in case I needed to explain it.)