#if u have any questions feel free to ask! <3

[yellowplumfruit]

🪼🫧coelacanth🐚🩵

my 5k DTIYS is finally here!! thank you so much for this milestone <3

rules:

- the deadline will be july 18th (a month from now)

- please tag your post with #crows5kdtiys and tag me so i can see it! <3

- you can diverge from the original piece as much as you want! i only ask that the general mood is kept similar

winners:

- i will be picking 2 winners! prizes will be their choice of a custom adopt or a half body commission :) good luck!

[twipsai]

made a relationship chart for my agents!!!!

[mushroomnoodles]

a little obsessed with vampire simon rn stand by

[pendraegon]

omg!! I’m looking into phd programs in/around chicago and planning a visit there soon! you’ll have to let me know the “must-see” spots!

ooohhh dude if there's one thing that i fucking love doing it's [1] talking (just in general) and [2] specifically talking about my city, my sweet mistress, the love of my life chicago<3

first of all i wish u luck in ur phd endeavors!! im also like..shopping around for future phd programs and im also hoping that i can snag a place somewhere back home in the city instead of being out of state like i currently am with my masters lol (literally DREADING apps though i tried making headway on my statement and like. i have to do this again??? after my MA sop?? kms)

anyways here are some attractions<3

the riverwalk! it's basically like this giant strip of area along the chicago river with restaurants and bars and stuff<3 there's always music playing and people milling about and so many things to catch your eye! honestly i really like it at night, i think it's prettiest during sunset lol

the architectural boat tour. you literally just sit on a boat and some guy points out different buildings and tells you about its history and then you briefly go on the lake. i LOVEEEE taking people out on this, it's really really fun and you get good pics out of it. make sure to bring a jacket bc lake michigan. she is gorgeous and she is WINDY even in the summertime<3

obligatory millennium park/the bean mention. it's really fucking swarmed on the weekends so if ur not good with crowds avoid this area during that time but a good place to mill around! also to make fun of the bean. she is so ugly but she is a part of the city you know. (also it's right next to michigan avenue if you need to get a gift for someone/want to go shopping!)

wait obvi the sears tower + observational deck. if anyone calls it the willis tower you can spit on them. legally.

okay let's get into the museums. they're all cloistered around the same area (a bit past millennium park) so like. i guess you COULD try to see a bunch of them in one day but like. there's so much that you really can't feasibly do that lol

the art institute of chicago. MY FAVORITE PLACEEEEEEEE. i personally really like the medieval art exhibits + on the bottom floor is a really cool miniature exhibit where they showcast different rooms from different eras and theyre all SO tiny and SO cute. the food here's pretty good? lol

there's also the museum of contemporary art but the art institute has a pretty damn good modern art section but if ur really into that kind of stuff go here instead.

the poetry foundation!

field museum. LOVEEE this place. you can see sue the dinosaur<3 i once got in trouble here as a kid on a field trip bc i asked the guide how much of the shit there was stolen and they did not let me ask another question ):

adler planetarium + shedd aquarium + museum of science and industry -> these are also all in the same area. for all the museums they have days with discount prices so check that out before u go!

there's two zoos, lincoln park zoo and brooklyn. lincoln park is superior and also it's free and there's OKAPIS. GO SAY HI TO THEM FOR ME.

if you dont mind driving out a bit, there's the chicago botanic gardens around wilmette/glencoe (tied w the art institute as my fave place) and if you drive a bit further out to lisle there's the arboretum as well. they also do discount days!

if u drive out to the suburbs -> woodfield mall in schaumburg

for the museums and stuff i would really rec getting one of those city passes bc you get admission into a bunch of stuff either at a discount rate or it's included and it's WAY cheaper than getting individual tickets imo

ALSO. lake michigan. just in general. THE best of the great lakes and the truest love of my life.

if there's anything you wanna see u might check out the aragon before u come! same with ravinia. i fucking love ravinia it's great to sit on the lawn and listen to music during summer nights<3

EDIT: fucking forgot navy pier. if you come during august there's the air + water show. but also there's a ferris wheel there and that's fun. there's always something happening there on the weekends so you can always dip in just to see what's up

EDIT 2: there's some stupid fucking nascar thing happening in chicago rn that's blocking the roads so as long as u avoid that, you will be fine 👍

OKAY FOOD TIME<3

deep dish pizza is a must here. i dont care what people say about it, it's pizza. anyways my favorite place is lou malnati's (the lou especially) but giordano's is also really good. uno's is...whatever to me don't go there.

chicago hot dogs: SOOO many good ones. portillo's is a classic, superdawg, charcoal delights, byron's hot dogs..my personal fave is gene and jude's but it's a bit out of the city (it IS around o'hare the airport so if u can stop by then that would be best lol)

for korean food, you cannot beat cho sun ok. go and get their chadolbaegi and their mulnaengmyeon. killer combo. don't wear your best clothes here bc you will have to wash it bc of the (good!) smells. additionally you can go to joongbooshijang/joongboo market and outside there's a mandu/dumpling stand. their kimchi mandu and their red bean mandu. chef's fucking KISS.

for kabobs, noon-o-kabab or kabobi is my favorite! if you go for kabobi make sure you get their bamiyeh as dessert (^:

okay. im putting eataly on this list only because i like their dessert section on the first floor lol their tiny cakes + gelato always hits the spot

i looooveee goddess and the baker. bestttttt place for matcha/coffee and a sandwich. hero coffee bar is also pretty good but that one is a grab and go. oromo cafe is sooo good if ur into turkish coffee and pistachio and rose flavors. lots of vegan options there if you're into that. there's another one i love but i CANNOT remember the name of it for the life of me.

wait one last thing. frontera grill is like......really good. i went with my parents and it was nice, really fucking good flan lol

night life is an entirely different situation and if u want i can tell u about it later but for now i um. think maybe i talked too much. anyways fellow chicagoans i know youre there if i missed anything let me know lol

[inkykeiji]

after reader fucks tomura and touya nii finds out and everything ensues after, does he stop fucking other women? is there a mutual understanding at this point even though he still will always have the one up on reader? always been curious about that xoxo feel better!!!

hi hi!! so the simple and quick answer is yes, he stops fucking them immediately after he tells reader that he is hers at the end of part three. i've discussed it in more detail here, here, here, and here, if you are interested!! <33

aw thank u so much sweetpea!! <333

[sleepis4theweak]

Hiya! I’m kind of a small creator on here and trying to get my rottmnt fic an audience but no matter what I do as promo material (art, skits, rambles) nothing ever works to get more than like 2 notes max. I’m confident in my story’s quality so I’m fairly sure that’s not the issue. I was wondering if you have any advice or anything like that? Your stuff is lovely and get a lot of community engagement so I’m curious if there was anything you actively did that helped you grow! I hope this doesn’t come off as rude or desperate, I just wanted to know if I was missing something since I’m pretty new to Tumblr. Enjoy your day ^^

Don't worry! You don't come off as rude or desperate at all!! <3

But tbh... you are asking the wrong person here...

I'm going into marketing, and I spent a full school year in high school doing an independent study on social media algorithms. So I know a LOT about how to grow social media followings- specifically instagram accounts.

But I never actually studied tumblr. I used to use instagram as a platform, but knowing how the algorithm worked was too stressful for me... I'd post stuff and be like "the algorithm won't like this because blah blah blah." Eventually I was drawing for the algorithm and not for me, and so I quit because it just wasn't fun anymore...

Which is why I have very specifically not studied Tumblr's algorithm, because I don't want it to turn into the same situation as with instagram. So I don't know a ton about how to grow a following... and also I've only been on tumblr for 5 months...

THAT BEING SAID: I can walk you through my tumblr and how it's grown!

My very first post was of a meme redraw with the 2012 turtles. I think it got around 1,600 likes?

I posted a couple more things, with varying amounts of likes and such. My first comic (which I never actually completed past the first part) got a total of 7 likes within the first months of posting it. Only when I got more followers did the like amount change.

When I posted my first chapter of the Flashbacks AU, I had 33 or so followers. I think I got to like... 300 followers from that first chapter alone. From there it was just... a steady growth of followers I guess. And with followers comes more reblogs, and with more reblogs comes more followers.

I have around 1,600 followers now. Not everyone is gonna like my posts, I think I get around 20 for responded asks and 100-300 for random pieces of art. Comics get closers to 600 or so. It depends on the content.

I think there are a couple of universal things that help grow an account:

1- Making sure your content is reaching the right people. Put the right tags in. Go crazy with them in fact. If I'm posting a piece with Rise Mikey in it, Im gonna tag: Mikey, Mikey tmnt, Mikey 2018, ROTTMNT, Rise Mikey, etc etc. On instagram they are currently trying to get people to limit their use of tags, but I don't think the same thing applies here. Even tho tags don't help as much here, they are still a good tool!

2- Consistency. Idk how it works on this platform, but consistency is generally a good thing! With instagram theres an actual method to it (1 post a day= good, but the more posts you do a day the less people it shows it to), it might be worth it to look up if tumblr has something similar.

3- Have fun with it! I know this is kinda lame to say... but don't change your content for views. Just... do what you like and eventually your target audience will find you :)

4- Engage with what audience you do have! It's fun to bond with people online, and it helps that "community engagement" piece you talked about!

5-... stalk people hehe. (By which I mean: Look at what other artists post! What tags do they use, do they reblog their own posts a lot, etc etc. Also look at artists with similar followings to your own. For example, studying Cass might not be very helpful, because Cass has a large amount of followers and I'm convinced they could post a picture of a blank canvas and still get 1,000 likes hehe... BUT- I mean you could scroll down to Cass' (or other artist's) first posts and see what they were doing then! Just... observe others I suppose!)

Id love to tell you likes don’t matter, that what matters is having fun and loving what you are drawing. But also I do know how it feels to post something you are really proud of and then have no one like it- it sucks.

But just keep on going :) You'll find your people eventually I'm sure.

OH ALSO: IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY TIPS FEEL FREE TO REBLOG AND ADD STUFF IN!!! <3

[httpiastri]

jackieee!!! I'm so sorry this is sooooo random. I think you can help me. sometimes i ran out of idea for idk scene? for c.ai. do you have any suggestions?? lowkey sometimes the characters suggestion is also very boring 😭 or maybe you can tell us a bit what you usually do I c.ai jdksnsks thank youu!!!

oh darling!! i have no idea how i do it…. i usually just get a random thought that pops into my head and i think "ah this could work"?? a lot of the time it's just a super small idea, like "i want chris's best friend x pepe" or "hm shaving pepe could be cute", and then i go in and just freestyle. or some other times, for some of my private characters, i have found just random couple pics on pinterest that im like "aw imagine this but pepe" and then i just. use that pic and write something short and pretend it's the driver.

though! one tip that i do actually have is writing something that has an open-ish ending, like having the character ask a question etc. because that's usually easier to work with then as a user? if you get what i mean?

so again i mostly dont really plan it out, stuff just happens 😭 a lot of the time its little fanfic ideas that i have and but that im just too lazy to actually write 🤷‍♀️

[skz-films]

➵ COLORING CORNER

side by side comparison (that no one asked for) of the original mv coloring vs. how i colored my hyunsung chill sets. 

you can find them here: HAN ★ HYUNJIN

[mwagneto]

Hi Samu! You said you like asks about Hungarian so I thought I'd send you another one.

So, I know some suffixes like -ba/be have different vowels depending on the vowels in the base word, and my first question is what the Hungarian word for this phenomenon is, cause I know in English we call it vowel harmony.

There are other suffixes like -szerű which are always the same, there is no *-szarú. This is like, a problem, because I have enough trouble getting the vowels right in suffixes like -ba/be, but other times my tongye kinda gets stuck and basically is it worse to say nagybe or nagyszarú cause I need to know which will get me laughed at so I can not do that.

hiii so the thing w getting laughed at/being insecure etc is that like. hungarian is so incredibly difficult that we aren't used to anyone trying to learn it so it literally does not matter if you make 100000 mistakes there'll still be a crowd clapping and cheering for even making an attempt so don't worry about that dkejfidmdjd

the hungarian word for it is "hangrend" = order of sounds/sound order, I'll try to do a tldr of it

so there's mély = deep/low, magas = high and vegyes = mixed sound order words, depending on what vowels are in them. every vowel is either low or high, there's 2 words that help you remember them, see below:

mély hangrendű szavak/deep sound ordered words: anything with a á o ó u ú, word: búvárhajó (diving boat)

magas hangrendű szavak/high sound ordered words: anything with e é i í ö ő ü ű, word: repülőgépeik (their airplanes)

obvi deep words always get deep suffixes, high words always get high suffixes. mixed words always get the deep suffix, there might be an exception or two but i cant think of any so

there's also cases where there's not two but three versions of the same suffix, so instead of just -ba and -be there'll be a deep version (usually a or o), a high version (usually e), and then a version with most likely ö, for example -hoz -hez and -höz. for deep and mixed ones you obvi use -hoz, and most high words will get -hez, you use -höz for high words that either only have ö/ő/ü/ű them, or have ö/ő/ü/ű as the final vowel, so:

ablakhoz (deep)

acélhoz (mixed)

kerékhez (high)

ökörhöz (high + only ö)

kötélhez, ütéshez (high and has ö/ü but the final vowel is e so it gets -hez)

képzőhöz (high and has e but the final vowel is ő so it gets -höz)

it's. really difficult I'm sorry, and also i found this page that i THOUGHT listed every suffix we have and it was so long i almost cried but then i realised it wasn't even all of them, only képző suffixes, which is like. one third of them. so. godspeed soldier

[motholith]

wip for a ref sheet for some of the guys in cryptid containment centre

I love these lil guys and Ive been thinking about making an in character askblog for them but idk

uh yea :D

[neonwizardheehee]

okay so i’ve been following you for at least a year and witnessed you posting through at least one eurovision (and had mutuals posting through three- idk if you were one of them then or not) and uh. this is embarrassing. but what *is* it? is it like the oscars?? except with some songs as well? i’m utterly confused

Ohhh beloved mutual I am SO glad you asked :DDDD I love to talk about Eurovision B)

Eurovision is a Song Contest were different european + adjacent countries + Australia are sending in an artist who competes for their nation for the "best" song each year. The winner nation gets to host next year's Eurovision (last year Ukraine won and for known reasons they unfortunately cannot host such a large event and so UK is hosting). The winner is chosen 50% by jury votes from each country and 50% by the European public.

That's like the hard facts I'd say :3 The thing is the entries are sometimes bangers, sometimes bonkers and and sometimes the most boring stuff you've ever seen/heard - but it's always a wild ride! You see cultures and songs and lyrics from different countries, genres which is very cool! ALSO THE FASHION! As sb said on here Eurovision is how Met Gala should be" XD There are a lot of iconic looks and this year we'll get some funky ones so I'm already hyped to see them!

And ofc the music and the show itself!

Everything is basically a huge party that goes on for a week! Tuesday and Thursday night (morning for you I think?) are the semi-finals and Saturday is the Grand Finale! I can highly recommend to tune in and just enjoy the show while checking the memes on Tumblr. We're usually having a fun time on here live blogging, judging (jokingly) and hyping. :D iT's all fun and games and brings us together :D

Here's an introduction video which sums up the different aspects (little trigger warning for masks at 11:10 till 11:40 I think?)

It's very queer and weird and a happy time!

[boygirl-club]

i was wondering how you guys make graphics? i kinda wanna get into it and i love everyones style but im not very sure where to begin..

This question is really broad and hard to answer, anon! We all do different things and have different processes. Much like any other form of art, you kinda gotta find your way into it yourself. @canarysage has some really good beginner photopea tutorials to help you get started!

[dykexenomorph]

I started playing BG3 the other day, and I'm still pretty early into the game. Do you have any tips for my first play through? :3

this is maybe the vaguest response I could possibly give but EXPLORE!!!!!!!! there was SO MUCH that I missed in act 1 and 2 bc I didnt explore enough (like. i find something new everyday that I didn't get to see bc of it, EVEN IN ACT 1 WHERE I THOUGHT I FINALLY GOT TO EVERYTHING).

aside from that, don't be afraid to look guides up, ESPECIALLY once you hit act 3. imo it becomes very easy late game to accidentally lock urself out of certain questlines by doing them "in the wrong order"

[imsorrythatimweird101-blog]

HOW SHIFT USING THE GATEWAY TAPES (UPDATED)

Hey, I want start off to apologize. I'm so sorry for bringing awareness to the tapes and then not clarifying on what to do or how to start. I did try to answer every question I can. I did post a guide a while back but Im still remastering it

IMPORTANT VOCAB

F10- body asleep and mind awake

F12- having your consciousness in the universe and expanded

HOW TO START:

So first off you need click on drive. Once you open the drive you will see tapes.

Before staring the tapes you NEED read a MANUAL. So if you look at your bottom left corner. You will see a PDF and it will have a picture of a old man. He's name is Bob. The creator of the tapes. I love Bob.

Once you click on the tape. You scroll down and you see titles. These titles are the titles of the tape in the folders that your going to use. At the bottom of the titles, there going be a discription. These discription tell you what the tapes do but also how they work and what you need to do during those tapes. Once your done your ready to go

STEPS

Step 1: open the drive and you will see the folders of tapes. ‼️DO NOT USE ANY OTHER AUDIO EXPECTED THE DRIVE. YOUTUBE COMPRESS THEM AND MAKE THEM NOT WORK‼️

[GATEWAY TAPES DRIVE ](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/mobile/folders/1vZJg5oJvfYVwWryJh05pfkZTV0cnd026)

Step 2: click the bottom far left corner. It's a Manuel and has a picture of a old guy smiling (bob)

Step 3: find the title of the tape your going to use. Read it carefully and know what's going happened and what to do

Step 4: go to discovery and play the first tape. Don't fall asleep! Be awake during the tapes!

Great! Keep doing these tapes for each tape. Each tape you must do it 3 times or more. So you can get familiar with it. BUT MOST IMPORTANT IF YOUR NOT READY TO MOVE ON OR YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED KEEP DOING. THAT'S OKAY, SHIFTING IS ALWAYS GOING BE HERE SO DONT RUSH

‼️PAY ATTENTION TO THIS PART‼️

Once you reach Tape 3- advanced F10. There's a trigger that YOU MUST MASTER. The whole point of discovery is to train your brain to be awake and body asleep.

Now continues the normal steps like the other but this time. You need keep doing it until your able do It without the tapes. This is very important because when your trying reach F12(the goal). You need to be in F10 first and master It already

After that, you NEED to do the other tapes like the normal steps. Because the 4 tape is to have fear go away and if you blockages. The 5 is for awareness while you sleep and 6- free flow- is to freestyle

‼️Make sure to let go any expectations of these tapes because this will hold you back! Put your expectations and your needs in the energy box!‼️

But you can go to F12 tape.

F12 tape is next to discovery. Know as Wave 2. A lot of people ask why only that tape and not the others. Well! If you do F12 tape and in beginning bobs explains that after F12 tape. Those tapes are TOOLS. Those tools involved with manefisting, remote viewing, answering questions etc (I recommend you to check it out)

So the thing you need to do is master F12 and then shift!

Tips and questions

Q: what are gateway tapes?

A: here's some recourses that explains it way more better then I ever could

[gateway tapes ](https://youtu.be/46E_FX-KxZ8?si=yV8dqgoBdcNJXclD)

[Gateway tapes CIA EXPLAINED ](https://youtu.be/HOFq3ruef7I?si=JbwpcgnZ9rrbGyyz)

Q: can I shift at F10?

A: yes you can. It's possible but it's not really meant for that. Its more of SATS approach if that's what you're looking for because F10 is mind awake and body asleep

Q: how many times do I listen to it

A: as many times you feel like. I personally listen to it 3-4 times a day but only because I'm in summer break. Whatever works in your schedule

Q: how do I know I'm in F10?

A: your body is heavy and your limbs are numb. Your body is supposed to be asleep. Many people reported that the hear themselves snore. Me personally, my breath is non-existent and my chest is numb in away. Or like barely there. Trust me you will know. Ofc this doesn't mean you can't move you body at all. You can move your body in F10 but need the WILL to move your body. It can be different from everyone

Q: I tried it couple of days, why is it working?

A: first off, you need patience. This is practice. It's like a baseball player wanting to be the best pitcher in the world but they throw the ball couple of times and then when it's not right. They run and cry in there room. You need take the tapes seriously not half ass it and be PATIENT. Don't rush things. That's the worse thing you can do because you will miss important cues and it's going be all bad.

Q: I keep falling asleep why is that

A: your brain and body is not used to it. Your brain isn't normal active. Its active but it's going through your sleep cycles. So having your brain be in vibration state of being awake and your body being sleep cycle. It's going get confused because it's not used to it. That's why the tapes train it.

Q: do I need earphones or headphones when listening to tape

A: yes, you need ones that aren't noise cancelling and make sure that you hear bob in your right ear. Only because there certain sounds that play in both your ears for your brain to sync.

Q: are these tapes actually going make me shift

A: yes, I believe it will. The only reason why I personally believe that anyone can 1000 percent shift because these gateway tapes were run by scientist and actually doctor in fields to perfect it. Not only that CIA agents use these and it's approved by the CIA. There actually evidence and research done. It isn't like some random teenagers made a method up in there room. These tapes are designed to open the human mind and Bob himself even talked to alter version of himself with these tapes.

‼️MOST IMPORTANT TAKE‼️

Now, you gotta have open mind and believe it too. You cant go in the tapes with a negative mindset and expect a beautiful outcome. This is in every method you used..not only the gateway tapes. If you believe it won't work because whatever the case then obviously it won't work because your mind is going block everything and not letting it's self In general. This is life In general.

[maybcnksgf]

I love love love your writting. can you do an enemies to lovers Sirius Black one shot? idk like make it hella dramatic, like fighting in the rain n then they kiss, or like a truth or dare n they have to kiss or sum. again love u sm have a good day stay healthy

— amortentia ; sirius black x fem!hufflepuff!reader 𐙚

☆

summary: one thing about you is that you could not stand sirius black. one thing about sirius black is that he could not stand you.

warnings: swearing, drinking, james is an arse in this sorry :,(

a/n: hi my lovely, thank you so so much for the compliment & the request! i'm so flattered that u love my writing. i love YOU and i hope this did ur idea justice! <3 i also decided to make the reader a hufflepuff in this cause i thought it'd be a cute lil asset, hope u don't mind!

check out my masterlist & send in any requests <3

One thing about you is that you could not stand Sirius Black.

Everybody seemed to love him. Not just the students, but teachers too; even Professor McGonagall couldn't hide her smirk behind her hand when she often gave him a good scolding.

Really, the only one of the four marauders you could stand was Remus Lupin. Peter Pettigrew was okay, though he was far too much of a tag-a-long for your liking, and James Potter was practically Sirius' right hand man. Remus was your Potions partner and he was, admittedly, as much of a sweetheart as a marauder could get, often helping you study and walking you back to your common room when he caught you asleep in the library during his prefect rounds (which only happened once... or maybe twice).

"They're not so bad," he promised you one Potions class, watching for your reaction with a sheepish grin as Sirius and James messed with Snape's potion at the back of the room. "They're actually really nice once you, y'know, get to know them."

"Nice?" you questioned him, scoffing out a laugh and grimacing at the sound of Sirius' laughter bellowing through the classroom. "Need I remind you what Sirius did to me in third year?"

"I know, I know! But he's changed, Y/N, honestly! He's more... mature?"

Even Remus couldn't quite believe the words that had just left his mouth as you both watched the boy in question actually spit into Severus' cauldron. "Oh yeah, Rem, so mature."

One thing about Sirius Black is that he could not stand you.

He'd always believed what he did to you in your third year was harmless, something that would be forgotten within a month or two and not to be dwelled on. He knew you harboured a secret little crush on him at the time, so he figured... why not?

He really did mean it when he asked you out, though. Sure, he didn't know you too well; you were really just another Hufflepuff that he shared some classes with. But Remus seemed to like you, so he figured it could at least be a good way to make a new friend if nothing else.

"Hey."

You looked up from your book on Herbology at the rude interruption, and of all the people you were expecting to be standing before you, you were surprised at the sight of Sirius Black. You cleared your throat awkwardly, willing the immediate blush to disappear from your cheeks. "Hi?"

It came out as more of a question than you intended it to, but he grinned at you nonetheless and your face felt warm, was it warm in there?

You did a quick scan of the library in search of any of his smug little friends, but you saw no one. Just him.

He didn't wait for an invitation before pulling out the chair beside you and sitting down, still grinning ear to ear. "You free Saturday?"

You couldn't help but raise your eyebrows in surprise, your yellow tie suddenly feeling far too restrictive around your neck as you somehow managed to splutter out a "yes". Sirius pulled a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back (pink and white roses) and offered them to you with the same lopsided grin. "Meet me at the Three Broomsticks? Two o'clock?"

The only problem was... James had gotten into his head.

That same afternoon, Sirius entered his dorm with an air of confidence, not dissimilar to usual, but he had a different sort of spring in his step.

Remus and James were sat on their respective beds. The former looked up at him over his book and raised a single eyebrow, clearly noticing something different about his entrance, though James didn't look up from the Quidditch magazine he was reading and paid no mind.

"Afternoon, boys," he announced, his voice dripping with glee as he crashed down onto his bed.

"Afternoon, Pads," Remus responded, a curious tone to his voice as he kept his eyebrow raised. "What's gotten into you today?"

"Scored a date," he said, far too matter-of-factly for the grin he was still sporting. "With Y/N."

Remus' book fell shut on the ground with a thud, jaw dropped open and lost for words as James finally cocked an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

"Y/N L/N. Y'know, the Hufflepuff girl in our Potions class?"

"And Herbology, and Charms," Remus finally composed himself, now staring at Sirius with a pointed look, well aware of his friend's... reputation. "Look, Pads. I know she likes you, but you have to be careful about this. Y/N is my friend, and I don't want to see you hurt her."

James suddenly barked out a laugh, finally dropping his magazine as he engaged in the conversation. "Be careful? There's nothing to be careful about, Moony. As if Sirius is actually going to go on a date with a Hufflepuff. Don't embarrass yourself like that, Padfoot."

"Don't be such a dick, Prongs," Remus spat, tossing a cushion at his mate and hitting him square in the head. "She's my friend."

Sirius said nothing.

So the next Saturday rolled around and you arrived at the Three Broomsticks at five minutes to two. Though, five minutes to two became two o'clock, which became two thirty, which became three, which soon became four.

And Sirius never showed.

The next day at breakfast, you'd found him, slapped him across the face, threw the bouquet of pink and white roses back at him and left without a word.

Sirius Black did not like to be publicly humiliated. He decided there and then that he wanted nothing else to do with you.

It wasn't until your sixth year rolled around that Remus realised things were changing.

Gryffindor had just won their first match of the season against Slytherin and, as usual, there was a huge party in their common room.

You weren't much of a partier, usually preferring to stay in the comfort of your dorm with a book that you and Remus were bound to discuss within the next few days. Of course, you'd attend the parties when Hufflepuff won, but you were never one to join in with the other houses.

Although he knew this, Remus Lupin had a plan.

He was beginning to grow sick of the constant complaining on both sides of his friends. It was always "Come on, Moony, she's so bloody weird" or "Look at him, Remus, how on earth can you stand to be friends with him?" and, quite frankly, he'd had enough.

He loved the marauders, of course; they were his best friends, his brothers. But he also loved you, and though he knew that Sirius' young and dumb actions in third year hurt you, he really wasn't lying when he said he'd changed.

Yes, Sirius would call you weird or strange or annoying to his friends, but Remus knew he was deflecting. He saw the way something in his eyes changed when he watched you enter Platform 9 3/4 on the first day of your fifth year. He saw the way he'd been secretly pining over you for the last year.

Likewise, he knew the same went for you too. No matter how badly he hurt you, your feelings for Sirius never really left. He saw the way your gaze lingered on his friend for just a little bit too long. He knew the way you shook your head and muttered "what a dick" under your breath every time you looked away was a cover up.

The party in the Gryffindor common room was in full swing by the time Remus convinced you to join him. It had taken a lot of begging and a fair few promises to buy you more books before you agreed, and you found yourself awkwardly at Remus' side as you entered through the portrait hole.

It wasn't long until James had found his friend and immediately tugged him away. Remus tried to fight it but found him impossible, shooting you an apologetic smile before you lost sight of him. You made a mental note to demand another promise of more books when you found him again.

You accepted defeat and made your way over to the drinks table, in need of at least something before you inevitably called it a night early and headed back to the comfort of your own common room.

Smoothing the fabric of your dress down, you suddenly felt very out of place in the yellow and white floral fabric, but an unfortunately familiar voice snapped you out of your thoughts before you got too caught up in them.

"L/N?"

You immediately snapped your head up and fought the urge to roll your eyes at the source of the voice. "Black."

Sirius seemed surprised at your presence, his eyebrows raised and an interesting sort of smirk gracing his features as he looked down at you. "And what exactly are you doing here?"

"Remus invited me," you kept your answers short, trying to slow your rapidly beating heart as you reached for the firewhiskey and flashed him a sarcastic smile. "Is that a crime?"

"No." His smirk only grew, seemingly amused at your snap back as he kept his eyes on you. "Not a crime at all, love."

He knew what he was doing. How dare he try and flirt with you now after what he did before.

"Don't call me that," your response came immediately and you felt yourself trying to fight the shiver that was so desperate to creep down your spine. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a party to enjoy and somebody to stay far away from."

That was an hour ago now, and since then you had already downed way too many cups of firewhiskey for your body to handle. You were so set on trying to avoid Sirius that you tried to make yourself forget he was even there at all.

An hour became two and Sirius ended up finding you back at the drinks table again, barely even holding yourself up as you tried to pour yourself a cup of whatever alcohol was nearest to you. Sirius, though definitely not sober, was painfully so compared to you, and he watched in slight amusement as you managed to get more of the liquid on your dress than in the cup.

"You alright over there?" His voice snapped you out of your pitiful concentration and in turn made you jump, even more of the liquid spilling down you when you did.

"Hello, Sirius," you responded, turning to look at him with a big smile and almost stumbling into his chest, causing him to wrap his arms around you as he caught you.

In your clouded state of mind, you couldn't for the life of you remember that you're supposed to hate this guy, and instead only found memories of the longing gazes when you racked your mind. You'd regret this tomorrow; you most certainly could not handle your drink.

"Hello, Y/N," Sirius raised his eyebrows at your state as he answered you, still amused as he copied your tone of voice. "You look like you've had enough."

You gasped as if he had just suggested you were You-Know-Who himself. "I have not!"

Despite your best efforts, your words came out slurred and Sirius knew Remus would not be happy that you're left out here alone in this state. He cast a quick glance around the common room but couldn't find a single glimpse of his mate in the crowd, and he let out a quiet curse under his breath.

I'm supposed to hate her, he thought to himself, letting his eyes fall back on your smiling face. She embarrassed you Sirius, shoved a bouquet of bloody roses at you in front of the entire Great Hall to see. But why did she have to grow up and be so bloody pretty?

"Let's get you back to your common room, yeah?" He suggested, gently taking the cup from you and placing it back down on the table.

He admittedly felt bad for you. Remus was nowhere to be found and he couldn't just let you get all the way back to the Hufflepuff common room by yourself in this state. You're just being a decent guy, Sirius, he told himself again. You'd do this for anyone.

You either didn't seem to hear him or his words didn't register in your brain, because when he placed a hand on the small of your back to carefully lead you through the crowd and back through the portrait hole, you only spoke with a grin.

"Are we going on a walk?"

"Yeah, love. We're going on a walk." Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at your reaction, but deep down he felt a little tense. With the state you were in, anyone could've taken advantage of you, and he was glad he found you before anyone else did. Maybe it was the little bit of firewhiskey still running through his veins, but Merlin, Black, the fuck is wrong with you tonight?

The walk back to the Hufflepuff common room was slow and quiet, and Sirius ended up wrapping an arm around your shoulders and taking most of your weight against him to stop your constant stumbling.

Once you'd reached the portrait, you muttered the password and allowed Sirius to half-carry you through, still not completely aware of what was going on, and the pair of you only stopped when you reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories.

He'd never been in this part of the castle before, and he couldn't stop the small smile that graced his lips when he noticed it smelt like a lovely mixture of flowers and freshly baked cookies.

You turned to face him once you reached the stairs and something suddenly clicked in your drunken mind.

"Sirius? Is that you?!"

He chuckled quietly again and nodded his head, raising his eyebrows with an amusement smile. "Yeah, it's me. You're back in your common room now, yeah?"

You took a moment to process his words through the thick fog clouding your brain and nodded your head, still smiling too before looking down at your dress. Your smile fell into a sad frown. "Oh no, it's ruined! It was so pretty!"

The boy in front of you took notice at the alcohol stains on your dress and shrugged his shoulders. "It's still pretty. I mean, you look pretty. I mean-"

If you did notice him stumbling over his words and the blush that rose to his warm cheeks, you didn't show it (though Sirius doubted very much that you did notice in your state). You simply smiled again, turning away from Sirius without another word as you all but skipped up the stairs.

It wasn't until he neared the portrait hall to leave again that he heard your quiet little drunken giggle. "Sirius Black thinks I'm pretty."

That was months ago now and you and Sirius hadn't even uttered a word to each other about that night.

Actually, if it was possible, you started avoiding each other more.

You were finally starting to admit to yourself that you had feelings for Sirius Black, but that scared you. How could you fall for him again after he stood you up in your third year? He left you there for two hours, your single butterbeer looking pathetic in front of you as Madame Rosmerta shot you sympathetic smiles from behind the counter every now and again.

You hadn't been in there since.

Little did you know, Sirius was avoiding you for exactly the same reason.

Okay, perhaps he was a little embarrassed to admit that he liked you. James was a dick that day three years ago and, although Sirius knew the both of them had matured since then, he couldn't help but worry his best friend just wouldn't approve. He knew deep down that James, especially now older, would just want him to be happy, but he was scared.

Remus had been so angry with him when he stood you up that he was also scared to face him again. Would he even believe him or force him to stay away from you for your own wellbeing?

The rain was pelting down heavily in early February as you trudged into Professor Slughorn's Potions class. The castle at this time of year was sickening, with pink and red paper hearts hovering over your heads in the hallways and fluttering around the tables in the Great Hall as Valentine's Day drew closer.

Even your professors had taken on the Valentine's theme, and you couldn't help but groan as you gathered around Slughorn's desk with the other Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

"Amortentia," the professor announced, and a group of Gryffindors standing behind you giggled to themselves. "The most powerful love potion in the world. If brewed correctly, the scent will be different to everyone according to what attracts them."

James Potter scoffed on the other side of the crowd and whispered something in Sirius' ear. The latter laughed loudly, pulling the attention of everyone in the room.

"Mr Black?" Slughorn spoke through the boy's laughter, keeping his calm demeanour. "Perhaps, since you find this so amusing, you'd like to demonstrate for us?"

"Don't mind if I do, sir," Sirius just laughed again and made his way through the group, going to stand by the professor with a cocky smirk. "I bet it's just a load of old bollocks anyway."

"Well, I suppose we'll find out, Mr Black. Tell us what you smell, won't you?"

You watched as Sirius leant over the cauldron and you took a moment to take in his appearance. His shirt was untucked and unbuttoned a quarter of the way, his red and gold tie hanging loosely around his neck, and though you willed it not to, your heart couldn't help but flutter slightly.

At that moment, you realised that, if Slughorn was right, Sirius was about to reveal the scent of the one he loved.

"Smells like..." his voice pulled you from your thoughts as he took in the scent of the potion, "vanilla, fresh cookies, and..."

He trailed off, and his eyes suddenly flicked up to meet yours, an unreadable expression on his face as he muttered quietly.

"And, uh, roses."

Whether it was the intensity of Sirius' gaze or the fact that everybody had turn round to look at you that made you storm out of the Potions classroom, you couldn't be sure.

Not even the heaviness of the rain could stop you as you tried to get as far away from the castle as possible. What the fuck just happened?

"Y/N?"

You shook your head, refusing to turn around as you continued walking. "Leave me alone, Sirius."

"Y/N, please-"

"I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Merlin's beard, L/N, would you stop and listen to me for one bloody second!"

He'd caught up to you now, throwing himself in front of you to stop you on your course. You'd almost crashed into his chest, and Sirius suddenly remembered how you'd done the same thing at that party four months ago.

"Sirius, please-" you begged quietly, trying to push past him.

You didn't get very far as he gently grabbed your elbow and brought you back in front of him. "No, Y/N, we're going to talk. For the first time, we're going to bloody talk."

"About what, Black? What could you possibly want to talk to me about? You haven't wanted to talk to me for the last three years, why start now?!"

He couldn't help it as his voice raised slightly, and you watched him grab at his dripping wet hair in frustration. "I just openly admitted my feelings for you in front of the entire fuckin' class and you won't even talk to me!"

"Because it's bullshit, Sirius!"

Sirius stopped at this, his eyebrows furrowing as he shook his head slightly. "What the bloody hell do you mean?"

"This is just another one of your plans to humiliate me, just like you did three years ago. I'm not falling for it this time."

Successfully this time, you pushed past him, shoulders brushing together as you did. He tried to grab your wrist to pull you back but you shook it out of his grip and continued walking away from him again.

"Y/N-"

"No."

"Y/N, come on-"

"I said no, Sirius."

"Y/N, I fucking love you!"

His words halted you in place. Neither of you spoke for a moment, and the only sounds you could hear was the violent pattering of the rain and his heavy breathing.

You shook your head slowly, not even turning around to face him. "You can't. You can't do this shit to me, Sirius."

"Why not? It's true!"

His words dripped with exasperation. He seemed desperate now, his body moving back in front of you again and Godric, were those just raindrops on your face or had you been crying too?

"Sirius, I can't- I can't let myself be hurt by you again," your voice cracked slightly as you refused to look at him, feeling your throat clog pathetically. "I liked you. I really bloody liked you and when you stood me up I was so humiliated."

Something in his face softened at your words, and his voice grew quieter. "Y/N, I didn't know-"

"I haven't been on a single date since, Sirius. I can't let anyone even attempt to get close to me like that because every time they do I think they're just gonna stand me up anyway, because that's what Sirius Black did. Do you have any idea how much it hurts to fall in love with you when-"

But suddenly all words were forgotten as his lips were on yours.

Sirius' hands were now on your waist, pulling you impossibly closer. He tasted faintly of cigarettes and some chocolate that was no doubt stolen from Remus, and it took a moment to process what was happening. But you kissed him back.

Godric, did you kiss him back.

It was a few moments later when you pulled away, his forehead finding place against yours. Neither of you spoke for a moment and your eyes took their time to flutter open, only to find him already looking at you.

"You love me, you said it yourself. Give me a chance," his voice came as a whisper, his breath fanning against your mouth as his eyes searched your features desperately.

You nodded your head breathlessly, your hands sliding up around his shoulders as you gave him a pathetically pointed look. "You pull that third year shit ever again and you're dead."

"I swear. Merlin, I swear."

You laughed quietly and Sirius broke out into a wide smile. The silence that took over you both was comfortable, the rain providing a settling background noise despite the cold that chilled your bones

"For the record, I would have smelled you too."

[luveline]

hi lovely jade!! I had an idea for a request: reader who’s pretty independent who hurt her back working out and now can’t walk/shower/etc on her own for a few days x any of the marauders (I really do love them all and especially the way you write them. you can also make this poly!marauders if you feel so inclined).

this is definitely self indulgent, so please feel free to ignore it if it doesn’t do the creative trick.

thank you for sharing your lovely writing with us and being lovely overall!

sending so many hugs to you!!

hi honey, thank u for requesting!! hope u get better soon <3

the boys take care of you when you hurt yourself. fem, 1.2k

You wake in Sirius’ bed with James curled over you protectively. This is not unusual. What is strange is that Sirius seems to have already gotten up for the day, his sleep shirt thrown in a crumpled mess at your feet and his phone off the charger. You scrub at your tired eyes and consider going to look for him, figuring he's probably in the den (or office, depending on which boy you ask), but your back gives a twinge, and then a throb, and you remember the night before. 

You rub James’ arm and push it off of your chest, preparing mentally for the pain. You've tweaked it a few times in the past, the next day always being worse than the actual time of injury, and yet the pain you're met with is instantaneously disarming. 

“Ow,” you can't help but whine, trying to bend forward away from the pain, and finding you can't manage that, either. You gasp as heat races up your spine and across your shoulders, everywhere and nowhere, like the press of a hot hand. 

James mumbles, “What's the matter?” with his head still buried in the pillows. 

“James, I think I've really hurt myself.” Tears squeeze so quickly out of the corners of your eyes that you don't have time to recognise the heat of them. Other sensations are more pressing. 

You don't know if he's looking at you, but you can feel his careful touch working its way up his arm, and hear the ruffle of the sheets as he gets up. “What?” he asks, his voice stretched with the early hour. 

“Last night, when we were lifting, I– I pulled my shoulder and I thought it would–” You make a strangled sound. “It's really bad, what do I do?” 

“Woah, woah, don't panic!” He leans in, your blurry view suddenly filled with his gentle face. 

James soothes it from there, so to speak. He shushes you softly when you start to sob and helps you lay back down, wiping your tears, not a lick of panic about him. “It's okay, it's okay,” he murmurs, “does that feel better?” 

It's better flat, but not gone. “I can't sit up.” 

“That's okay,” he says, bringing your hand to his lips, where he kisses your fingers. 

He waits for you to calm down before grabbing his phone from his room. It's much later in the day than you'd thought, and Sirius will be working his afternoon shift, while Remus could be anywhere. He likes to write in cafes or parks, somewhere away from the hubbub of the house, lest he be distracted, waylaid with kisses, or pestered into helping make dinner or do laundry or whatever needs doing that day. 

“Hey,” James says, hushed, “you okay? Mm… can you come home?” A startled question that betrays the first recipient, Remus’ rasp on the line. “Yeah, I'm fine, it's our little gym rat sweetheart, she's strained her back, she's a bit upset… No, not yet. You think she'll let me?” 

“I'm not going to the doctor’s,” you call to him. James smiles at you from the door. 

“We’ll see,” he shoots back. “Yep yep. Okay. Well, he's in work… Okay. Yeah, okay. Love you, see you in a bit.” 

“What can he do?” you ask. “You should've left him.” 

“Same thing as me.” He runs his hands through his hair. It's a little too long again, dark and thick, curled at the base of his neck with flicks behind his ears, though it's short compared to Sirius’ mess. When he drops his arms, the noon time sunshine kisses his brown skin with a gorgeous warmth, and emphasises the lines of veins where they run up his arms. “You look like you're in agony,” he says, covering his mouth with a hand. “Is it really that bad?” 

You nod miserably. 

He sits next to you carefully, but now you've awoken your pain it won't sleep, and each millilitre of the mattress's distension prompts a new layer of aching. “Sorry,” he says, sounding like he could cry for you, “why didn't you tell me last night?” 

James wraps his arms around you in a strange way, trying not to jostle you as he leans down to touch his nose to your forehead. 

“I didn't think it would be this bad.” 

He talks a little about the doctor's while you wait for Remus to come home. It isn't a waste of time, he insists, the GP is there for a reason. 

You're surprised when it's Sirius who shouts up the stairs. “You okay?” he calls. 

“Sirius?”

James shrugs. “Remus must've told him. We're fine!” 

A rush up the stairs. Sirius pauses by the door, frowning at you both in his bed. “What did you do?” 

“Well, I didn't mean to,” you say. 

“Not you, darling. James, I told you to look after her, all that equipment freaks me out, and Remus agrees.” 

James sighs. “He doesn't mean that.” 

Sirius goes to sit with you but stops upon noticing your wince, and instead flops down on the floor near the wardrobe with his phone to his ear. “I'll get an emergency appointment.” 

“This isn't an emergency,” you say. 

“It is for you. You'll need a sick note sorted anyways.” 

“But it's not that bad.” 

“Sweetheart,” Sirius says, smiling at you softly, an uncommon expression on him, though not unseen, “I know when you've had a big cry.” 

He gets put on hold, saving you the further ache of the line music while James strokes your temple. You attempt to hide how much your back hurts, but you're hurting bad and the knowledge that it's not about to go away soon is genuinely scary. 

Remus understands uncertain pain. He's last to come home but certainly not the least concerned, shoving his laptop case onto Sirius’ dresser, freeing his hands in favour of your face. “Is it bad?” he asks, looking between you and James for an answer. 

“Not really,” you say. James’ face must say differently. 

“What painkillers have you taken?” he asks quickly, “I have co-codamols, did you take paracetamol? You can't have them at the same time.” 

He frowns deeply at your daunted look. “You haven't taken them already, have you? They're very strong by themselves, with paracetamol as well, you'd–” 

“I haven't taken anything,” you admit. 

Sirius sighs and rubs his nose into his palm. “Jesus.” 

“Oh,” Remus says, hands especially tender, even as he laughs, “of course you haven't.” 

“I was a bit distracted.” 

He sobers, stroking the fat of your cheek and then leaning down for a careful kiss. “Of course. Haven't eaten anything either, I suppose?” 

“No, sorry.” 

He kisses you again and pulls away. “That's okay. What about you, Jamie, did you eat?” 

They take care of you in their different ways, in the same way they take care of one another. “No,” James says, “but I have it. Swap places with me, I'll make dinner while we wait for the GP to answer.” 

“You can make supper at the same time,” Sirius jokes.

You laugh and hurt your back. He is very, very sorry.