#AND I GET TO DO IT FOR A SECOND TIME COME JANUARY !!!!!! HOT DOG

[todayisafridaynight]

Just finished Gaiden like 40 minutes ago! I gotta head to my friend's stream Right Now so I can't say much even if I wanted to but yeah no verdict hasn't changed LMAO 1000% my favorite Kiryu game... There's tons and tons I CANNOOOT fucking wait to see you react to live and talk to you about after (this being the first game release I'll experience with you, after all) But I Will <3 If all goes to plan I'll actually have finished it thrice by the time you stream, so see you then <3

GAME ALREADY FINISHED god. POTENTIALLY finishing it three times before i even go to class on friday Christ Above....

i hope to meet your expectations when it comes to reacting to gaiden content 😩

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 6.4 K Warnings: none Prompt: How could you even distract Remus?. Proofread by sweet @girlwihkaleidoscopeeyes

Chapter 71: We've Only Just Begun

Saturday, January 15th, 1977 

Sirius had been tapping his feet against the stone and turning to look at the astrological clock in front of him as if it could tell him the time for the last 10 minutes. He had arranged a meeting with Minho here, and the Slytherin  was already 5 minutes late. 

Now, technically,, Sirius hadn’t arranged anything with Minho; rather, he had scribbled a quick note and sent it to him by paper plane, all in code, of course:  Mr. Green, please meet your Friendly Neighbourhood Dog in the measurer of the universe at 11:10 this morning. The Reds need some of your potions.

Minho hadn’t responded, and Sirius also knew Tom was going to Hogsmeade, so there was a high possibility he would be with his boyfriend instead of around the castle.. He had charmed the plane to come back to him if it couldn’t find Minho, and the aircraft hadn’t returned to him yet, but messenger planes often got lost or stuck in the weirdest places, so there was about a fifty-fifty chance that Minho’d gotten it, and was on his way. 

“Please,” Sirius said as he looked at the basket around his arm. He knew it wasn’t necessary to have wine – or any alcohol for that matter – in the picnic. He knew that Remus would love all the stuff he got,, especially the thick thermos with hot chocolate that Nimbletwist  claimed would be perfect for the chilly day. But Sirius also thought wine was the most romantic thing, and he wanted to treat both of his lovers to the most romantic picnic possible. Perhaps it was his French side, or just him being dramatic as he always was, but he wasn’t going to give in easily. At least not for the next few minutes. 

He looked at the clock again, trying to find something to distract his mind, when he noticed something not quite right with the hands. . Mars was not where it was supposed to be at that time of the year – Mars was on Capricorn, Sirius knew because Spellman had mentioned it an excessive amount of times back in December, claiming it was the perfect start for Slytherins and Ravenclaws who were disciplined and ambitious. 

Not only that but the more he looked, the more he realised how odd things were in the clock. The constellations were in the wrong order, the sun was hidden as if it were night instead of day; the moon appeared to be full  – but  the full moon wasn’t until the end of the month; and countless other oddities. 

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the clock and pulled his wand out. Waving it to try and fix the clock, when he did, the hands  started spinning around frantically, and a second later, there was a click. The face of the clock opened as if it were a door. He smiled, he was not expecting to find another secret passage in the school, let alone by coincidence, and yet there it was. Dark and smelling a little stale and musty, as if it hadn’t been opened for hundreds of years, but there either way.

Sirius leaned his head inside, there was a dark tunnel that seemed to go downwards. He looked at the door, and there was something carved on the side. “The Undercroft,” he read. It was carved almost clumsily with a knife, and underneath it there were 3 pairs of initials, SS, AS and OG. Sirius brushed his fingers over the carved wood and then looked curiously  at the dark passage ahead.

“Sirius!” he heard someone shout from behind along with some heavy shuffling. He shut the clock’s door, and stood in front of it as he turned to the voice. Minho was there, looking as if he’d been running. Tom was a few steps behind him. 

“You got the message then?” 

“Fell on Tom’s head as we were stepping out,” Minho said with a nod towards Tom. “What do you need me to get you? Firewhisky?? Icevodka?” 

“Uh… no…” Sirius said awkwardly. “I need wine.” 

“Wine?” Minho asked with a frown. The boys had never asked for wine before, only strong stuff that could be combined to make drinks. 

Tom tilted his head as he stared at the basket in Sirius’ hand. “Oh, yes, he definitely wants wine,” he retorted as he gently elbowed Minho and pointed at the basket. “I gather things turned out alright after our talk with her?”  He already knew it had (or had a strong suspicion anyway), but he was not going to miss the chance to tease Sirius about it. 

Unconsciously, Sirius moved the basket behind his body, cursing himself for not hiding it, or leaving it in a corner, not that he cared all that much that they knew what was going on. After all, without them, nothing would have been going on. “Yeah,” he responded. “Thank you.” 

“So, what kind of wine?” Tom asked with a smirk. . “White, Red, Rosé? Maybe you’d prefer something sparkling like champagne, or…”

“Tom,” Minho said as he turned to him, voice slow, drawing out the “O” a little bit, which got him to shut his mouth. Sirius wondered for a second  if that was what he and Remus looked like. He wasn’t nearly as… ‘bubbly’ as Tom, was he? Minho turned back to Sirius shortly after, “Do you have a preference?” 

“White,” Sirius responded. “If you can get your hands on it.” 

“Oh you’d be surprised what he can get his hands on,” Tom teased, Sirius laughed and Minho gave his boyfriend a rather reproachful look. 

“I think I could, but we’re going to be at Hogsmeade until the evening,” he said. “And judging by your basket, your date is sooner than that.” 

“Do you think you could owl it?”

“Well…” Minho hesitated.

“Sure, we’ll send it with my owl,” Tom intervened. “No one will link it to Min if it gets intercepted, , so no issue.” 

“But they might link it to you,” Minho interceeded, sounding slightly worried. 

“Mum sometimes sends me Cerisette,” he said with a shrug. “Say’s it’s good for a cough and whatnot. Minnie knows about it, I doubt she’d think it weird if she saw Ajax carrying a bottle of wine.”

“Cerisette? The same that you–” Sirius started.

“Yeah!” Tom interrupted rather expressively. “How do you think I get it when I bring it over to parties? I think we drank one of my bottles at James’ last year.” 

“Huh,” Sirius said with a smile. “Thanks for sharing.” 

“Well, sharing is caring. But you’d know a lot more about that, wouldn’t you?” Tom teased and got another shove from Minho who was a lot more considerate. Especially because he knew how hard  it was to accept new things about themselves for some people, how hard it had been for him, at least.

 “Where should we send it to?”

“Our dorm,” Sirius responded. “Sounds possible?” 

“Consider it done,” Tom said with a thumbs up.  “Now, we,” he pointed at himself and Minho “have to get going to our own date.” There was a hint of a smile on Minho’s face as he shook his head. “But we wish you the best of luck!” 

“Thanks,” Sirius said, and watched them move towards the other side, and then stepped forward. “No, Tom, wait!” 

He turned around and raised one of his eyebrows. “How may I help?” 

“It’s um… about the thing.” 

“The thing?” Tom asked. 

“You know. The thing.” 

Tom really had no idea whatever thing Sirius could be referring to. “Mate, I’m lost.” 

Sirius took a deep breath and averted Tom’s gaze before speaking again, “I mean… sex.” 

Tom rose one of his eyebrows. “I would have bet a hundred galleons that you weren’t a virgin.” 

“What? No!” Sirius retorted. “I know how that– I mean–” 

Tom started laughing, which got Sirius to look back at him, narrowing his eyes at the boy. “You’re fucking with me.” 

“You’d know if I was,” Tom retorted and laughed at Sirius’ expression once he understood what he meant. “Sorry, sorry,” Tom said as he waved his hand in the air. “It’s um… very similar as it is with a girl.” Sirius stared at Tom in disbelief. “Well, maybe not very similar, but it’s similar enough. Either way, there’s not much I can help you with, you need to figure it out with Remus.” 

“I mean, I get it but–” 

“I could tell you everything I know and it still wouldn’t help,” Tom said almost blatantly. “Whatever I do or like or, Minho does or likes – though perhaps Minho could help you more than I can – is different to what Remus does or likes. But use common sense, if it hurts, stop.” 

“If what hurts?” 

“How would I know what you’ll be doing?” Tom said with a shrug. “Talk to Remus, just like you talk it out with a girl. Think of the talks you had with Sly Sprite, It’ll be just like that.” 

“Well that was – it was a lot more instinctive than…”

“Woah,” Tom said as he closed his hand in front of Sirius' face. “I don’t need the details, thank you very much.” He breathed, “Just make sure you’re both comfortable. You know, ask for consent when doing something you’re not sure about and that’s it. Trust me,” Tom leaned in. “It’s just as instinctive.” 

Sirius, not feeling so sure, nodded. He was looking for more straight answers (ironically enough). Before he did it with a girl for the first time, he already had a pretty good idea of what he could or shouldn't do. And with you he had been confident from the start, he knew what he had to do, and he thought that was the reason the two of you had had such a great time. But when it came to him and Remus, he knew he wanted to touch and feel and see, but he had no idea where boundaries were, and he had never been so lost. 

“Let him guide,” Tom said with a smile as if he’d read Sirius’ thoughts. “He’ll know what to do, just have fun.”  And then, almost as an afterthought he added, “I’ll send you a book with some spells that might help with it.” 

“What? Spells? For what?” 

“Oh, you’ll know when you read them,” Tom said with a confident nod.

“Right, thanks,” Sirius said sheepishly. Tom sent him a short wink and caught up with Minho in a matter of seconds.

Sirius watched the two of them go before he turned to look at the clock again. The marauder part  of him wanted to see what was inside, while the  romantic and eager boyfriend part of him  was jumping out of his skin to go back to his room before you brought Remus to yours to check on Nieve. He looked at the clock one more time, bit his lip and pointed at it –as if to tell the clock not to move– before sighing and walking towards the stairs. As  he was walking past one of the corners, he heard your voices.

“It’s a terrible idea,” Remus was saying. Sirius could almost see the shake of his head as he leaned behind one of the columns; and he hastily threw a disillusionment charm over himself. 

“I mean, imagine having some of it on your birthday, or James’! I’d say Lily’s but she might not love the idea.” 

“On my birthday? You want us to use it on my birthday?” 

“Well, why not? We had an incredible time on Halloween and we were all pretty high on Tom’s potion.” 

“That was an accident! And I ended up kissing someone I didn’t even fancy all that much.” 

“Well, if you hadn’t left,” you thought as you remembered the way in which you had been dancing with him, how Sirius had straight up licked his face. “Perhaps things would have turned out differently. I could have noticed something and–” 

“I highly doubt it,” Remus said in that infuriating logical way of his which got you huffing in frustration. . “You think Sirius’s still with Slughorn?”  

“He probably is,” you retorted with a shrug. “You know how he is when he has something to talk about…” 

Sirius, who was still listening in to the conversation, perked his ears at the sound of his name, feeling somewhat excited for being in your thoughts even while he was away, if he knew how often he was in both yours and Remus’ thoughts when he was away, he would flip out. 

“But we’re meeting him later, right? I think we should figure out how to tell Peter.” 

“Yeah,” you said with a nod. “He said to wait in your room after we're done,” you shrugged. Your voices became distant as your steps echoed through the hall. Sirius leaned his head past the column and smiled as he saw you walking side by side. You had a couple of flowers in your hand and Remus carried a book, shoulders brushing together as you walked. Sirius bit his lip, tempted to sneak behind and both scare and surprise the two of you, but decided that preparing the date – the first one the three of you would have – was the endeavour of higher relevance.

Once he made sure you wouldn’t see him, Sirius  continued on his way to the common room, taking the scenic route instead of the fastest way to the dorm to make sure he wouldn’t bump into you both. 

When Remus and you arrived at the Common Room it was almost empty, save for  a few first years near the fire, one of which  smiled when she spotted you. “Hey!” she said. It was Addie Watts, the little girl you’d helped when you got to school for the first time. She looked at Remus’ still dirty face and frowned. 

“Nice to see you, Addie,” you said with a smile. “How’s that essay going?” She’d mentioned something about a very tedious essay when you saw her after the snow fight – she’d left it on the snow near the fire and everything got smudged by it. 

“Handed it in on Friday,” she beamed. “Got an  Outstanding, Slughorn said that bit about measuring twice was a great addition, thanks. Is… he okay?”

“Rushroom,” Remus said with a defeated sigh. . 

“Actually, it was him that taught me that,” you smiled as you pointed at Remus  with your thumb. “He’s really good at potions.” 

“Well, then. Thank you too, Remus!” He smiled shyly  in response. “You’re working on a potion?” Addie  asked as she pointed at the flowers in your hand. “Or did he give them to you?” 

“We’re working on a potion,” you said with a smile. “For a sick owl. Remus is helping me because of how good he is at this stuff.”

“Just not really good with Rushrooms I guess,” she laughed, Remus let out a small breathy chuckle. 

 “And you? Another essay?” you asked, changing the subject. While Rem’s face was still filled with gooey stuff, you wouldn’t say he looked  that bad. At all.

“Oh, this?” she asked as she pulled the paper. “Not at all, I’m writing a story.” 

“Yeah? About what?” 

“Cowboys,” she replied, “In space.” 

“That sounds interesting. Mind if we have a read once it’s ready?” 

“Sure.” She shrugged. “Good luck with your potions,” she added and turned to Remus,  “and your cleaning up…” 

“Good luck with your story!” He replied with an amused smile as he shook his head.

As Addie  turned back to her paper you turned to Remus and shrugged, nodding towards the stairs. The two of you walked up to the girls’ section and disappeared into your room. As he lingered by the door you kneeled down next to Nieve, she had been perched next to a pillow in the floor by the window; she cooed when she noticed you, assuming you’d bring her some food, and seemed a little displeased when you showed her what you had in your hands. Which got you to laugh. Remus watched the entire scene from his place by the door, almost in a trance from how beautiful you looked when you laughed. 

“I’m sure Lily will  have more treats for you later,” you told her, “But you’ll have to wait just a little bit for me to give you something.” The bird chirped in response, and you turned to look at Remus, still leaning by the door. “Well, come in,” you said as you gestured towards the rest of the room. “I don’t bite…” you added, and smiled when the next thing came to your head, “unless you want me to.” 

Remus tilted his head towards you and gave you an impassive and yet somewhat amused face. You just smiled a little wider, winked and leaned over your trunk to look for a towel for him to wash his face. You threw it his way and he caught it with ease, already on his way to the bathroom. You heard the water running and turned back to the trunk, focusing on finding some of the flasks and tubes you’d need for extracting. 

“Is it all gone?” Remus asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, still patting the towel on the sides of his face. 

“Mostly,” you responded, leaving the flasks on the floor, pushing yourself up and walking towards him. “You still have a bit on  your hair.” You took the towel from his hands and, using one of the wet sections, started to wipe off the small bits he hadn’t. 

“Is it better if I sit?” He asked with a quirked eyebrow when he realised you were standing on your toes.

“Probably,” you said as you bit your lip. Remus sat on the edge of your bed, and you leaned closer to him (almost necessarily so), standing with  before you continued to brush some of the gooey stuff from the side of his face. You were as gentle as possible, but you had to use some extra pressure  sometimes; ; Rushroom was always a pain to remove.. “If I'm being  too harsh just tell me, okay?” you said softly. 

Remus looked up at you and smiled, nodding and wincing because the small movement ended up in a sharp hair pull. 

“Sorry,” you said. 

“It was my fault,” he responded reassuringly, patting your leg on the side softly.

You smiled, looking down at his hand for a second before turning back to his face and dragging the towel just above his ear where there was a rather thick blob of the gooey stuff. It was stuck to his hair, so you were careful as you tried to pull it off the strands. All the while he was looking at your concentrated face, almost completely hypnotised. 

“Think I’m almost done,” you whispered  as you continued, now using your nails to try and spare some of his strands from getting pulled too harshly. He hummed softly in response. You pulled another bit and then used the towel to wipe the rest clean. “Done.” 

“Sure?” He asked as he looked up at you. 

“Yeah, why?” You asked as you looked at the side of his face carefully, completely missing the small, teasing smirk on his face. With no response, you were forced to look at his face as a whole to see if there would be an answer there, only to realise he had a pleased smirk on his face. You pulled your head back just a little, straightening your shoulders and biting your lip when you figured out what was going on. “Actually, I think you might have some… here,” you said as you pointed at the corner of his lips. 

“Do I?” 

“Mhm,” you retorted, taking one corner of the towel that was still slightly wet and brushing it over his lips slowly, looking at them shamelessly as they stretched under your fingers  and then bounced back to their right position, then let the towel “clean” the section that was still stained.Using the rough texture to tease Remus further. 

“Is it gone now?” 

“Kind of,” you said with a small smile, “Maybe it needs a little bit more persistence or more moisture…” you added and leaned closer to him, licking your lips and pressing a small kiss on the side of his. You were smirking as you pulled back. 

“Did it work?” Remus asked with a breathy calm tone, nothing in comparison to the rapid  beating of his heart. 

“Not sure,” you replied, “Maybe there’s still a little bit left.” 

Remus raised one of his eyebrows as you leaned in again, this time around, he turned his face just enough for your lips to meld  into his, as he placed both of his hands on your lower back to bring you even closer. He was soft and  tentative as he kissed you, much softer than he’d been in previous times, almost like he wanted to savour every second of it. 

When you finally pulled back you were both smiling in between heavy breaths, and he asked in a raspy voice, , “Is it gone now?” 

You licked your lips again as you shook your head and let out a small, airy chuckle, “I think so,” you said with a smile. “Perhaps we should–” 

Some strong chirping from the side got you to look towards the floor. Nieve had her beak around a small bag of jerky inside Remus’ backpack. She was chirping because  she couldn’t quite take it out, as it was squashed by other books. You started laughing, letting your head fall on his shoulder. 

Remus turned his head towards your soft hair, smiling as he felt the trembling of your laughter against his body. He was always delighted  to hear you laugh, but it was ever the more pleasurable to have you laughing while pressed against him like this. “She’s really working that bag,” he commented. . You could feel how he moved his head to look at the impatient owl, his hands still on your back, softly caressing you over your thick school jumper. 

“We should probably work on that brew,” you said, and Remus could hear the slightly reluctant way in which you said it, as if you also didn’t want to move away from him. 

“We could probably stay like this a little longer.” he said, a bit needy and quite irresistible.

You moved your head a little bit to the side , trying to sneak  a quick  look at the clock without him noticing, you didn’t want either of you to be late to the date Sirius was preparing. Even if at that particular moment staying there together seemed just as  tempting. “No, no,” you said as you pushed yourself off, now standing in front of him like earlier. “We need to finish that extraction.” 

“Do we really?” He asked with a pout. 

You were tempted to say no and go back to snogging him. “Yeah, we do…” you breathed reluctantly, leaning in to press one more  quick kiss to his lips. “Come on,” you added as you pulled on his hand so that you were both sitting on the floor. 

He took the flasks you’d already taken out and started setting up the distiller as you went back to your trunk to look for the missing stuff. 

You took out a few more flasks before turning to look at him again. “Am I missing anything?” 

“Potioneer Water,” he said as he set the proper equipment  over a small crystal stand, centering it with a wave of his wand. He was sitting crossed-legged on the wooden floor now, with the book Professor Folly had given you on his lap, as he compared everything that you’d written on  the ingredient list. “If you have some pixie dust you could speed the process up, apparently.” 

“Pixie dust?” you said as you rummaged through your vials, pulling out a nice “potioneer set” you’d gotten for Christmas a few winters ago. You’d forgotten how big it was once you opened it and about 5 different cabinets sprang out of it. 

“That’s pretty cool,” Remus said as he leaned closer to you, admiring the dark walnut of the box and cabinets. “Almost as nice as Slughorn’s.” 

“Mum gave it to me when I got top marks on potions in my first year,” you said, not quite allowing the pang in your heart as you thought of her to bring you down. “Sorted!” you said as you pulled out a small bottle. “I knew I’d have some in here.” 

Remus gave you an apprehensive look, noticing the small shift in your voice as you changed the subject before it affected  you. He sighed but took the bottle you offered him and started pouring some of the liquid into one of the vials. You took a tiny bottle with pixie dust out and leaned closer to him, closing the potioneer set and throwing it back into your trunk. “Mind helping me with the petals?” 

“Sure,” you said as you took the flowers and started pulling them off, one by one, the velvet-like surface brushing against your fingers as you gently placed them on top of a small cloth napkin. Once you were done with the first St. John’s Wort, you went for the next one. 

“We also need the anthers,” he told you as he saw you leaving the flower on the side. 

“Seed-like thing at the end of the stamen, right?” you said as you took the flower back in your hands. 

“Yeah,” he nodded as you started pulling them out with your nails and placing them on a different cloth napkin. Once you were done with that flower, you moved to the next one. Remus had used one of the enlarging pots for extra  space, and he was carefully cutting the petals with potioneer scissors before letting them fall through the small hole in the round vial. You stared at the way they gently floated on  the water as you continued to remove the anthers from the stems. 

“These also go in there?” You asked as you finished with the last one. 

He shook his head in response. “No. We should give them to Nieve  as snacks,” he explained. “The book said they were really good for swelling and that they could also work as antidepressants. But we have to rinse them in some water first.” 

“I’ll work on that,” you said as you took one of the unoccupied vials and allowed him to continue with the distillation. He had already connected everything and was now placing  the small firestone he’d turn on for the steaming process. “Will that be enough?” you asked as you looked at the stone, using your wand as a spoon as you rinsed the seeds in the water. 

“Not sure,” he said honestly, looking at the dark stone that was about the size of a thick gobstone. When you bought these firestones, , they were a little larger than the palm of your hand, the absolute perfect fit for a burner dish. In classes, you normally used alcohol burners, but firestones were much more practical to carry around (even if a little more expensive). Remus continued “I might have one in  my bag, care to look?” 

“Not gonna find anything weird this time around?” You teased as you pulled his backpack from the bed. 

Remus groaned and hid his face on his shoulder, “Will I ever live that down?” 

“Hell no!” you smiled, already digging through his bag to try and find the small tin box that usually contained the firestone. “I mean, you had a whole strip of those muggle rubbers, , it was hilarious.”

“Torturous is  more like it,” he retorted as he shook his head and closed the lid on the round vial. 

“I think I’ve got it,” you said, pulling your entire arm out of his bag. There was a metal tin in your hand with a  firestone logo on the lid. . You opened it and carefully levitated it towards the burning tray he’d already set up. It was a bad idea to touch firestones with bare hands if you didn’t know when was the last time they had been used, since they normally retained heat for weeks after being turned off. 

“I don’t think I’ve used it since I bought it,” he informed as he adjusted the tray and shot a small flame from his wand to turn the stone on. 

“There was nothing funny this time around by the way,” you said as you gave one last look at the bag and then placed it next to you. 

Remus raised an eyebrow as he turned to you, for a second he’d swear you sounded at least slightly disappointed, which somehow got him to feel bold enough for what he said next, “I store them away from prying hands now.” 

You turned to him with an amused smile, about to say something, when the cuckoo clock you use to wake up started making a fuss . You turned to it with a small frown, you had not programmed it to make a sound at – you checked the clock – Noon??? Already? 

You wondered if Sirius was done with the preparations for  the date as you stood up to look at the clock. “Is everything alright?” Remus asked.

“Mhm,” you said as you reached the clock. There was a tiny piece of rolled parchment  stuck to the beak of the little metal bird, who in turn, looked rather annoyed as it  tried to get rid of it. . “Hold on  a sec, little one,” you said as reassuringly as you could, as you held the small bird in your hands and unstuck the paper. 

Once it was out the bird chirped, gave another cuckoo and went back to its  little home with a rather indignant flip of the head. You took the piece of paper and unwrapped it. 

Awake now, sleepy head? I made sure your roommates would stay asleep with some silencing charms around their beds. It’s been a while since we’ve talked, and I’ve heard some rather unfortunate stuff about you and Christmas; the ghost and portrait gossip is all over the place. Anyway, thought of checking up on you. Meet soon? Secret spot? Use your charms, Peeves has been  patrolling with the Slytherin prefects.

Jackdaw 

“And?” Remus asked when he thought you’d finished reading the note. 

“It’s from Richie,” you said with a shrug. “I think he messed up his prank, though. This was clearly meant to go off at  midnight. . He probably thought it would be funny to surprise me late at  night.” 

“Would it have been?” 

You shrugged, “Not for me, but the intention is what counts and now I believe I should think of a little revenge anyway, ,” you smirked. “He wants to meet me at the secret hideout.” 

“The snogging  spot he showed you?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” you said and then turned to look at him. “Why? Want to come along?” 

“To your ghost chats?” 

“I was thinking of the secret spot more than the ghost chats but I guess that too,” you teased again. “We could leave this here, right? no risk of fire?” 

“What? Like, right now?” he asked, turning to you. “I mean, It’s going to take a while,” he said as he looked at the slow-falling drops that had just started to condense from the distilling process. And as you thought about it,  you could also just snog him  right here in your  room, if that’s what you wanted. Unless you wanted something else. “Why?” Remus asked. 

“I was thinking we could get some music from your room,” you said casually. You had no idea how you’d bring him back to his room until 5 seconds before you said that. 

“Not sure about leaving the fire by itself though. You know it’s never a good idea to–” 

“But firestone is self-extinguishing, isn't it?” you reasoned. “Once the water is out it will turn itself off. I mean, have you ever heard of a fire caused by firestone?” 

“No, but–” 

“Well then?” You said with a smile. 

“In the rarest case that something did happen, you wouldn’t really want to be the cause of a fire in the Gryffindor dorms, would you?”  You huffed in return, he was right, extremely right, and yet you had to find a way to get the two of you to his room. “You could go get the music, I’ll just stay here and watch,” Remus suggested.

Not a solution. “How about you get the music then? I’d like to see what you pick.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Ideally we’d pick something together, but yes,” you added with a confident nod.

Remus bit his lip, and looked at you as if to search for confirmation; although there was definitely something about you that he couldn’t quite pin down, you seemed quite certain about having him go instead. “No teasing if you don’t like my picks,” he warned, pointing a finger your way.

“There is no way I won't  like your picks,” you said with a confident smile and a wink, extending your hand to his to help him stand. 

“Hope you don’t regret those words,” he smiled, leaning in to give you a quick kiss on  the nose before fully standing up. You looked up at him with a dumb smile as he walked outside. 

The second the door closed behind him, you picked up your wand and pointed it at the firestone, “Extinguere,” you muttered. Normally you could just silently cast it, but with firestone (that already ran hot for weeks after being used) it was much better to articulate perfectly. Once that was done, you levitated towards its box and made sure it popped as you closed it. 

Nieve chirped from the side and you turned to her with a smile. “I’ll have this ready for you later tonight, alright?” She chirped again and you took out some of the treats you had stored for Reese and gave them to her. She seemed pretty happy as she took small bites and moved around them curiously. A movement that was particular to younger owls and oddly reminiscent of a pigeon. You levitated the contraption  for distilling on top of your desk to make sure nobody would trip on it, and walked over to the bathroom to give yourself a quick once-over.

This was your first date with the boys, should you change your uniform for something nicer? You bit your lower lip as you looked at your reflection, not knowing if you should do something special or not. You ended up walking over to your trunk and digging through it. A dress? you wondered as you looked at some of the stuff you had. Skirt and blouse? You glanced  at the clock. You ended up changing your uniform for a slightly shorter skirt and one of Remus’ jumpers, before casting a disillusionment charm and walking downstairs. 

You thought that perhaps Remus would already be in their room, so you pretty much ran towards the common room only to discover he’d been held up by Johnathan Ackley, who was trying to convince him to give him a hair for polyjuice. He claimed it was for a class, but Remus, and perhaps anyone who got asked, would have known Slughorn would never ask his students for such a thing. 

“Sorry,” Remus said. “Perhaps you could use one of yours?” 

“Slughorn said it had to be someone else’s, please?” 

“Not happening,” Remus said with a soft shake of the head. 

“How about I give you 5 galleons?” 

“Not even for an endless supply of chocolate, mate!” 

You tried not to laugh as you looked at the two of them and walked upstairs, this time to their room. Once you were there, you opened the door only to find Sirius frantically arranging  some things  on  the blankets  he’d laid out on the floor. 

He looked up only to see the faintest of shadows walking inside. “Starshine?” he asked as he narrowed his eyes in your direction. 

You closed the door, deactivating the spell as you did. “Need help?” you asked as you kneeled  down next to him. 

“Just making sure everything’s where it should be. Where did you leave Moony?” 

“He got held up by Johnny Ackley wanting to make a polyjuice brew out of him,” you said with a smile,  looking at the set up and raising an eyebrow at Sirius.

“Oof, our boyfriend is causing some heartbreak by saying no,” he smiled. 

“I mean, I would never give any of my hair to Johnny,” you said as you remembered when he’d asked. “Recipe for disaster.” 

“But Moons is too nice, he could be persuaded.” 

“By you, me or Prongs, there is no way he gives his hair to Johnny,” you said as you picked one of the grapes laying about, but Sirius waved his hand and the fruit went back to the bowl it had been on. “Hey!” you protested.

“You can eat them after he arrives, it took me a while to stack them up.”

You looked at the bowl and then turned to him again, “You didn’t stack them up!” you said with an accusing frown. “You just placed them there!” 

“You can’t prove that,” he replied haughtily. “For all you know, I placed them grape by grape.” 

“They’re still on the stems! !” you argued. 

“And?” 

You huffed in amused disbelief and picked out the entire bunch. “Hey!” he complained, taking your wrist in his hand and trying to pull  it away from the bowl. You just smiled further and tried to levitate the grapes  away from him with your wand. You had just gotten a hold of them  when he grabbed your hand, forced you to drop the grapes in their place and pulled you towards him, spinning you around until he had you on his lap, pinning both of your arms crossed over your chest so you wouldn’t be able to manoeuvre your way out.  

“Sirius!” you complained in between laughs, turning to look at his smug grin as you shook your head. He smiled brightly and was about to say something witty when the door burst open. He smiled. Finally. 

You also turned your head towards the door, the two of you beaming when you spotted your tall boyfriend. “Surprise!” Sirius  blurted out, echoed by you. You were both beaming  as you saw Moony staring  at you, still at the door, confused and astonished. .

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

TAGLIST: @rayrlupin @callmelovergirl @warcelia @ireneop @endversewinchester @moonyunebi @smuttysluttybitch @mazzymoons @drugs-for-memes @sofiacblair @vmpir3lvr @remuslupinisbae @rabluver @willgrahamisalesbi4n @thatobsessedreader @itskailey24 @hell0-kittie @belovedmoony @blacksgarden @loving-and-dreaming @cassie-love20 @starchaser-lily @zucchini-queenie @springflwer07 @sseleniaa @cometsghost @orkwardx0 @imdoingbetternow @sbrewer21 @remuslupinsbae @maxinehufflepuffprincess @wifiatthetrainstation @unstablereader @msblacklupin @oliversauru @jaylienpotter @remussbitch @hermionelove @izuoyarmin @themarauderswife7 @keira-kaz2y5 @lampthemacarenagod @bugg06 @a-n-1-m-3-f-r-3-4-k @darlingeels @kissmeunicornbaobei @xluansstuff @boo8008 @angelmixer @voteforintensedreams @allons-y-molly @aremuslupinsimp @imaginexred @writingshae @nyanwyn @poetrypirate @crazyhorseforgot @saturnhas82moons @ryeyeyer @mothraantics @maqqiekwon @desikudisworld @pastelorangeskies @barking4you @profoundpidgeon @nagareboshi-chiyo @x4ramyluv @bookishbabyyyy @panhoeofmanyfandoms @randombibitc

A/N: I am BAAAACK... Hope the universe has been treating you as delightfully as it should be while I was gone. Dad's surgery went well, and we're finally back home, things are looking bright for the next few weeks! Which means GC is going to get updated as it used to (hopefully xx) Love, Lils

Leave a comment telling me if you wanna be tagged on Gilded Constellations

Want to support me? Like and reblog this post (reblogs are extra nice since they help me get my work to more people), also guys, I absolutely love reading your comments, so do throw them my way if you have any!

[emmawithtwoms]

Icicle

@wolfstarmicrofic December 6th -486 words

“You know, I really like this new mustache phase you’re going through.” 

Remus said while appreciating his husband’s form coming out of the bathroom.

“Really, moons? Do mustaches do it for you?” 

Sirius grinned while caressing his freshly shaved chin. Reaching his 30’s, the dog animagus decided it was time to try to grow some mustaches, experimenting with style. 

Let's just say that Remus really appreciated the whole Motorbike, leather jacket, long hair, black moustache style. 

“Yeah, it really does. It gives you that kind of cool, suburban dad who mowns loans and shows up at his daughter’s princess tea parties.” 

Remus hid his smile in his cup of tea, boiling hot to defy the January scottish cold. 

“Huh, I would actually love to attend a princess tea party, but only if you’ll be the evil dragon.”

Sirius reached his husband and kissed him on the forehead. 

“I might compromise at being the noble steed.” 

Remus tilted his head up to accept the affection given by his lover, and Sirius stepped towards the porch to go smoke his morning cigarette. 

They settled in their calm routine, enjoying the silence in their cozy cottage surrounded by snow. Remus was lazily scurrying through the Prophet, deliberately leaving the crosswords undone for Sirius to complete, when Sirius came back inside, shutting the glass door. 

“It’s deadly cold out there, I think I might have just frozen my balls off.” 

“That could be your signal to quit, you should get back to trying before being approved for the adopt-” 

Remus stopped himself the second he looked at his husband’s face, and a bark of laughter overcame him. Sirius just looked at him dumbfounded.

“What’s so funny? Do I have something on my face?” 

“Some- Something on your face? Merlin, Sirius, did you dry your face after shaving?” 

Remus was still shaking with laughter, barely able to spew a few words out. 

“Did I? Yeah, of course I did. The hell’s gotten into you Moons?” 

“You- You have Icicles hanging from your mustaches!”

Remus got lost into another fit of laughter, while his husband ran to the closest mirror, to then release his characteristic bark of laughter. 

“Oh come on! Stop laughing, how old are you, twelve?” 

But Moony couldn’t take him all that seriously, since he said that in between giggles, so he just laughed more. 

At his husband's lack of respect for his suffering mustaches, Sirius took one of the icicles and threw it at his face, watching the little ice bullet fall in Remus’ morning tea. 

“Oi! That was my cuppa, you’ve ruined it!” Moony exclaimed in offence.

“Well, that’s what you get for laughing at the expense of your faithful partner, you traitorous wizard.” 

 But Sirius was already at the table with a new cup of boiling hot tea for his lover, who was simultaneously handing him the paper, open on the crosswords page, and a pen. 

A.N: I love a nice suburban dad Sirius sporting mustaches

[scoops-aboy86]

Fanfic Writer Interview

Thanks for taging me, @steviewashere and @queenie-ofthe-void!

What fandoms do you write in? Just Stranger Things.

~

How many words did you publish in 2024? 172,626, which is pretty good for an inaugural total.

~

What are your top three fics you wrote last year? I’m cribbing off steviewashere and answering this in a few different ways. Partly, not going to lie, because #1 was hilariously consistent.

Hits:

Secret Admirer | T

Not Dating | M (chubby Eddie)

All About the Bounce in My Step | M (chubby Steve)

Kudos:

Secret Admirer | T

Last Party of the Summer | E (chubby Steve)

Your Smile Is My Favorite | Thing (chubby Steve)

Bookmarks:

Secret Admirer | T

Wear it like a Collar, like a Ring, like a Lock (and Toss the Key) | M (chubby Steve)

All About the Bounce in My Step | M (chubby Steve)

Comment Threads:

Secret Admirer | T

Love Spell (No Go) | M (chubby Steve)

Not Dating | M (chubby Eddie)

~

What was your biggest pit of despair moment? Missing a steddiemicrofics prompt in January.

Because, like… the last six months have been pretty bleak what with breaking my wrist, moving while on painkillers, the ringworm and missing two holidays because of it, still the ringworm, being laid out by something that felt like the flu but wasn’t for a week, unexpectedly and unceremoniously getting fired so hard I don’t qualify for unemployment, financial crisis, and maybe having to rehome our second dog because she keeps getting too overstimulated by the cats for us to feel they’re 100% safe around her which is breaking my fucking heart.

BUT. It was the only microfic month I missed amidst all that crap, and I saw it coming at the time and felt it was the insult added onto injury. Like, okay ability to write, kicking me when I’m already down I see. Bastard.

~

What have you learned? That more people like weight gain kink fics than I realized. Like, I’m not doing big numbers, but I am still doing more numbers than I would writing far less kinky niche in a smaller fandom and ain’t that something.

~

Did you beta any fics last year? Any faves you want to shout out? I did not, but I’ve had the honor of bouncing ideas back and forth with some cool cucumbers, including but not limited to: @hotluncheddie, @wheneverfeasible, @victorclays, @cherrygyals-blog.

~

What three fics from last year did you love? Oh man, my memory is dogshit. Let’s see…

it must be something in the water by rosefire | E (omegaverse). Love me some athlete omega Steve and angst with mutual pining miscommunication. Which I swear is not a real spoiler, it’s in the tags.

I’d Meet You Where The Spirit Meets The Bones by aaliona | E (omegaverse). Also omega Steve. Look, I will never not be enamored with a/b/o fics where the character is exactly the same as in canon and like also there are secondary characteristics in there too, worked in seamlessly without changing anything. I think this was actually the first fic like that I ever read that did that (this list is not in chronological order) and it is secretly the golden ruler I hold all other a/b/o fics. Steve keeping his designation a secret and regardless of his actual designation everyone just assumes he’s an alpha? Yes please. Specifically pointing to him as an example of, this big strong omega has been protecting the shit out of y’all for years and bullshit stereotypes are bullshit? I’m eating it with a spoon. Alpha Eddie is a size queen? I’m using my hands.

At a medium pace by dartlekey | E. There’s something so cathartic to me about Eddie being very cranky while recovering from his bat injuries. And also, of course, there’s the silliness during hot, hot sex. And the bit where Eddie thinks he “needs to introduce Steve to a few bears, get the guy some inspiration for what he could look like, in a few years.”

~

What ideas are percolating for this year? Yes.

I know this is not a yes or no question, but… Yes.

~

Sending some no pressure tags to: Anyone who wants to, plus anyone I tagged in my answers above.

[steviewashere]

Okay! A couple of you said yes to the Eddie Munson headcanons, so here's some of them! Featuring some Steddie of course <3 (Also, this list is really fucking long. So I don't think all of them will fit in one post. If y'all want more, let me know)

CW: Recreational Smoking (Marijuana and Cigarettes)

His birthday is some time between January and July of 1966. Though, his birthday being in late 1965 is also a nice thought. He’s most likely twenty years old, as I believe Steve to be nineteen. And based on when Eddie was going to graduate, with being held back twice, he’d definitely be a year older than Steve (who graduated on time and during Eddie’s second senior year).

Really loves Garfield, but because it’s an extension of Uncle Wayne. He would read the strips with Wayne. Watch the cartoons with Wayne. Likes the holiday specials, too. A Garfield Christmas comes out in 1987, so let’s say he’s alive and enjoys that with Wayne. (From my research, I believe A Garfield Christmas is the first Garfield holiday special.)

Terrible at fishing, but Wayne takes him on fishing trips regardless.

He didn’t go to a tattoo parlor when he got the majority of his tattoos done. The bats, demon head, and the spider were all done by Freak (who is unnamed in the show). However, the wyvern and puppet-master were done by a professional. His ears are pierced, also done by Freak. Considers getting his nipples pierced, but doesn’t want any facial piercings (am I projecting? Maybe. Did I get my septum done at one point but now mourn it as it had snagged? Maybe, that’s beside the point).

Bruises easily, isn’t crazy clumsy, but if he’s tired...look out.

His favorite arcade cabinets are Super Cobra and Donkey Kong, but will beat Steve’s ass at Pac-Man, if given the opportunity.

Kicks ass at NES games. Specifically Castlevania, Donkey Kong, and Final Fantasy. (Loves the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons NES titles when they release in America. And The Bard’s Tale.) (Buys his own NES in 1989 and gets a copy of the Back to the Future game for Steve to play. It sucks ass, but they enjoy themselves anyway.)

This one is entirely self-indulgent, but motherfucker has flat feet. I don’t care what anybody says about it. He definitely does. And he definitely wears the worst shoes imaginable. His Reeboks don’t have any sole support, he’s just out there trying to look his coolest. (He’ll regret it the same day he does.)

One of his favorite meals is fried bologna with scrambled eggs. Maybe a chili cheese (government cheese) dog on plain white bread for lunch? (Brought to you by what I ate growing up as a poor kid who relied on welfare.)

Collects single serve coffee creamer cups (vanilla flavored) from diners and such. Stock piles them at home and then uses way too many of them in his coffee. It almost looks like milky hot chocolate, but it’s definitely coffee.

Favorite ice cream is vanilla with hot fudge (something simple and regular.) from Dairy Queen. But when Moose Tracks enter stores, he likes that the most. Or even Cherry Garcia, that’s a classic for him.

He just really likes sugar.

Will order the largest basket of cheese curds or fries or anything fried, really, and then complain his stomach hurts. His friends (even ones he makes after 1986) always have to bring earplugs to drown out his self-inflicted complaining. He never learns from this, continues to do it way into his old age.

Has a stomach of steel (most of the time). ENJOYS spicy foods from all kinds of crazy spicy shit he’s had growing up in both Tennessee and then with Wayne—(who I think lived in or was born in Louisiana)—in Hawkins. But also, it’s because he’s too curious for his own good. He’s had cat food, paper, mud, spoonfuls of hot sauce, probably chewed his way through a wash cloth, nibbled on the ends of pens, gum from the underside of school desks, eaten random combinations of food to either see if they were good or because he was dared to. (Like one time he was dared to eat a spoonful of macaroni and cheese with raisins and yogurt all together. Totally not something that I did in elementary school. No way.)

Homie is a nail biter. Also picks at the skin around his nail beds.

He’s a giggly guy when stoned. Or super existential. No in-between. But he is consistently loud either way.

Sometimes he falls asleep with his hair tied up. It tangles easily. It’s a bitch to de-tangle the next day. Wayne definitely makes some joke about Eddie eventually balding like him if he continues to treat his hair that way. Eddie cries so hard he throws up.

Smokes cigarettes (canon) but not always the best or smoothest ones. Will go for the cheapest, usually. Maybe Camels. Marlboros if he can afford them, they’re more of a “luxury buy”. He’s very picky about his cigarettes, too. But won’t say anything about it if they’re offered to him, especially when Steve gives him one. Sometimes he’ll just roll his own.

Will not smoke around the younger teens (Dustin, Mike, Lucas, y’know…) and Robin. Nancy never minds. Steve sometimes smokes with him. Gareth, Jeff, and Freak don’t care. Jonathan smokes weed with him, but not cigarettes.

Enjoys the flavor of cheap beer. Hates straight up hard liquor, unless they’re mixed with something. (Like a rum and coke)

Okay, this is really fucking long. Like, way too long. I have...thirty-five more (plus I'll probably add a few later), if you'd like to see more of them. Uh...yeah. I love Eddie.

[blackberryshortcake]

"A Quest?"

Chapter 3: 'Demi-god vs. Demon?'

Sebastian Michaelis x Femreader <3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Synopsis: The gods are silent, the air is thick, and the tensions have boiled over. Whatever shall this lost God-kin do.

Warnings: This fic will contain mature content such as foul language, alcohol consumption, smoking, general inappropriate behavior (MDNI 18+), mentions of blood, weapons, and death

If you are sensitive to any of the above warnings pass this one up.

A routine had formed over the course of the six days she’d been stuck here: wake up, let the dog out of the room, and wallow—daring to offer small offerings to the gods in hopes of some sort of sign. Then, wallow a bit more. And back to bed.

The only interaction she’d had all week was when Sebastian knocked on the door to deliver breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Though the food wasn’t what she was used to, it wasn’t horrible. Actually made good offerings. There had been a moment that first morning when he brought her tea—Sebastian had looked like he’d grown a second head from the way she stared at him as he introduced the blend and where it was imported from. From then on, he brought her coffee. Not without a snide comment about Americans and their obsession with it.

She had prayed to just about anyone she could think of at this point. Small scraps of burnt food lay in the hearth.

A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. It was only 10 a.m.—breakfast had already been delivered. Why was someone knocking now?

A second knock, followed by a voice:

“Miss (Y/N)?”

It was unfamiliar—high-pitched, clearly belonging to a woman.

“Mr. Sebastian said not to bother you, but the other servants and I can’t help but feel that cooping yourself up all day isn’t good for you… may I come in?”

By this point, she had pinpointed the voice—it had to belong to the only other woman in the manor: Mey-Rin. She’d seen her outside playing with Ody and the other servant, Finny.

“You can come in,” she called.

The door handle clicked softly, slowly revealing the woman on the other side. Her eyes were glued to the ground, or at least that’s how it looked behind the large lenses she wore. Although the young demigod had bathed regularly since arriving—one of the few guests with an en-suite bathroom—she looked like hell. Disheveled, unkempt hair, wrinkled clothes, now rotated to the ones shoved at the bottom of her backpack, as Sebastian had taken the outfit she arrived in to be cleaned.

“Finny and I thought you might like to come out and enjoy the garden. I think Ody’s worried about ya,” Mey-Rin said, her accent thick, almost hard to understand. She spoke like someone who knew Sebastian would reprimand her just for speaking to their guest.

Pondering the invite, the demigod agreed.

I wonder if the demon told them to stay away from me. Joke’s on him, I guess.

“Huh. Yeah, you know what? I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

It’d be good to get some fresh air.

She missed home. Not the cabin inherited from her great-aunt, but home. Camp Half-Blood. Where she grew up. The soft grass on the hill, the breeze that smelled of wildflowers, the cool lake waters. The battle cries of children locked in an almost-too-intense game of Capture the Flag.

“Oh really? I’m so relieved!” the maid beamed with excitement before dashing out of the room—probably to wait in the garden with Finny.

The girl sighed for probably the millionth time that week. Along with the strange time jump, it wasn’t the dead of January winter here—it was early summer in England. And though it wasn’t hot, it was comfortably warm. In the bottom of her bag, along with the extra clothes, was a pair of biking shorts and a halter top tank she reserved for especially hot days. She’d neglected to wear them so far, worried about some Victorian-era slut-shaming. But with only her, Ciel, Sebastian, and the servants present today…

Screw it.

The outfit showed a lot—not by modern standards, but certainly by Victorian ones. She wasn’t dainty by any means. Toned muscle, a soft yet firm midriff. She looked like she was well-fed and could kick your ass. By Spartan standards, maybe even ideal.

Ascending the stairs to the estate’s back garden, she spotted Finny digging in the dirt, Mey-Rin hovering over his shoulder, and Odysseus nearby chewing a large stick.

“Ody?” she called.

The dog perked up and bounded toward her, stick still in his jaws.

“So this is where you disappear all day, huh?” she said, showering him in affection. The warm summer air wasn’t as nice as Pennsylvania or New York—where the heat was humid and cicadas cried into the air—but it was still pleasant.

Ody dropped the stick at her feet, clearly eager. She picked it up and launched it as hard as she could. Any harder and it might’ve disappeared into the tree line. As the dog bounded after it, she approached the two servants.

“We haven’t officially met yet. I’m (Y/N).”

She held out a hand to Mey-Rin, who shook it with so much excitement she looked about ready to burst. If she hadn’t been looking directly at her, she might’ve missed the blush creeping up her cheeks.

The maid motioned to the boy. “Yes, I’m Mey-Rin, the maid, and this is Finnian—the gardener.”

Finnian stood, wiping the dirt off his gloves. He gave a small wave, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing.

Mey-Rin spoke again. “If you don’t mind me askin’, Miss… where exactly are you from? I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone dress like that before.”

(Y/N) shifted uncomfortably. “Well, that doesn’t really matter since I’m here now. What I would like to know is where you guys are from. I mean, it’s not like you just responded to an ad, right?”

Nice save.

Finnian was the first to answer. “Well, you see, the young master and Mr. Sebastian found us. They saved us—gave us a job and a home.”

His voice was matter of fact, like he was trying to convince himself more than her.

They must be more useful to him than I am.

She’d met people like Ciel before—keeping folks around only if they were useful.

“Oh, I see. Never pegged them as the type to be kind.”

“Well, Sebastian can be stern sometimes, but only because he cares… I suppose.” She turned to Mey-Rin. The maid was easy to read. The blush on her face and the way she stared at her feet made it obvious—she had a thing for the demon.

I wonder if they know.

Ody trotted back, stick in tow.

“Good job, boy. Again?” She threw it once more.

“You’ve got a wicked arm, eh?” Finnian said.

“You think that’s good? I’ll have to show you how far I throw a discus.”

Suddenly, the two servants tensed, staring past her shoulder.

Less than a hundred yards away was Sebastian. She could feel the malice leaking from the nonexistent pores on his porcelain face.

He strode over, carrying himself with that irksome air of confidence. The kind that screamed I’m smarter than everyone else here.

She wanted to knock him off that damn high horse.

“Mey-Rin, can you tell me why you’re out here playing in the dirt instead of finishing the laundry?”

“Yes, right away, Mr. Sebastian.”

The once-bubbly woman she had been speaking to now a lowly servant again, scurrying back inside.

“And you—what are you doing out here distracting the staff?”

“Playing with Ody,” she said, bending to pet the dog, who was panting hard from the heat. she had barely noticed him return to her side.

Sneaky bastard, she thought.

“Ah, yes. The mutt. Finnian tells me he’s been doing well keeping pests out of the garden.”

“Yes, he has, Mr. Sebastian!” Finnian added. “Just yesterday he caught four mice eating all the flowers.”

She turned to Ody. “Did you now?” The dog was soaking up the attention he had garnered the past week.

“Finnian, back to work. (Y/N), follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the kitchen. To get water for the mutt.”

She followed, Ody at her heels.

“He’s not a mutt, you know. He’s smart—he understands what you’re saying.”

“Does he?”

“Yup. Odysseus, bark if you think Sebastian is a tightwad.”

The dog barked almost instantly.

Sebastian was not amused.

“See? He knows.”

“I see,” he replied coldly.

The kitchen was rustic, clearly commercial meant for big events. Sebastian grabbed a metal dog bowl and filled it with water before placing it down for Ody, who lapped it up like no tomorrow.

Sebastian removed his tailcoat, folding it meticulously and placed it on the back of a chair. She watched as he began chopping vegetables.

She could almost see why Mey-Rin acted the way she did around him. He was attractive—if you ignored that weird backward mullet: long in front, short in back.

“You’re staring.”

“Yeah, I guess I am. I mean, how can a demon be so scrawny under that coat?”

“Pardon me? You hardly leave your quarters, and now you come into my kitchen and insult me?”

Oh, it’s on.

“Well, I assumed you were strong. But you’ve got no meat on your bones. I bet I could see your ribs.” She slid past him to lean on the counter, poking him as she passed.

“I mean, look at this.” She flexed her bicep, muscles tight. “But I guess it’s all part of your weird femboy, ‘I can’t hurt a fly but I’m damn good at my job’ persona.”

“Shall I prove my strength to you?”

A challenge?

“You wanna arm wrestle? Winner gets bragging rights.”

He set the knife down, sliding off his glove with care. A centuries-old demon, about to arm wrestle a 21-year-old demigod, it was almost laughable.

She took a seat at the table. Ody observed quietly nearby.

She planted her elbow on the wooden table, flexing again. he took a seat across from her. his hand slide into hers. his skin was cold and soft as opposed to her warm slightly rough hands from years of wear and tear.

“A little emo, if you ask me,” she taunted, eyeing his black nails and the tattoo on his hand.

Their eyes locked.

“One.” He flexed a bit.

“Two.” His eyes turned a shade of crimson, pupils to slits barely visible.

This was it: Demigod vs. Demon—get your tickets now!

“Three.”

The struggle began.

He was stronger than he looked. But so was she. he only broke the deadlock for a second. her hand slowly lowering to the table.

Fuck it.

Her eyes glowed lavender, two could play at this game. For a spilt second Sebastain swore she had two curling sheep's horns on her head. A wave of nausea struck him—images of gods and monsters flooding his mind.

Suddenly, her hand slammed his to the table with such force it cracked the wood.

She sat back, smirking.

Sebastian’s mind reeled, still slightly nauseous with intoxication. He lashed out, grabbing her throat, her skin was on fire from the contact.

“What was that?” he growled, voice almost inhuman. See Sebatian had never been drunk before but he sure as hell knew that not what it was supposed to feel like.

“Magic,” she choked out. grabbing at his wrist.

He released her, turning away, running a hand through his hair.

She rubbed her neck, skin burning.

“No need to be a sore loser.”

“You're no mere demigod, are you?”

She scoffed. “Not that you’d know. I’m not really a true demigod, I guess. My mom was a nymph, my dad’s a god. I wasn’t supposed to exist. I killed my mom when I was born.”

“Am I supposed to pity you?”

“No. I don’t think someone like you could even feel pity.”

“Someone like me?” he snapped. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about understanding my kind.”

That pissed her off. She stood, furious.

“You’re just like any other monster—waiting for your next fix. You trample over anyone to get it. I've met plenty like you, don’t think you’re special.”

He was seething, she was practically in face now mere inches away, his false breath fanning over her face. He was pissed but somehow his senses were once again flooded by that ethereal smell she carried about her. She is truly immortal which means she carries no true soul within her. She’s a meal he could never eat. A fix he could never get, and it infuriated him. How cruel it is, a world in which a perfect meal falls into his lap but one he could never get, it’s almost laughable.

The tension shattered when the kitchen door opened. A disheveled chef stood there, cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No!” she shouted. “Ody, let’s go.”

The dog followed her, loyal as ever.

“I mean, what is his damage? ‘Ooh, I’m a demon, I’m all high and mighty.’ Yeah, yeah, we get it, Sebastian. Whatever,” she muttered, storming off down the hall with Ody at her heels.

The dog tilted his head, confused. As far as he was concerned, Sebastian smelled like home and had fed and watered him their entire stay. He had no problems with the demon.

She sighed, looking down at the dog as they reached her room.

“You never take my side.”

........

The sun had long since set. It was 4 a.m., and the manor was still and silent, its residents tucked away in their beds—except her.

The cool summer air hit her face as she sprinted lap after lap around the estate. Her legs ached, her throat raw from gasping for air. Ody ran beside her, unfazed. He wasn’t a normal dog, after all.

She couldn’t sleep. Not after that showdown in the kitchen.

Sebastian wasn’t a monster—at least not in the traditional sense. Monsters acted on instinct. Furies, cyclopes, hydras—they didn’t pretend to be human. But Sebastian? He was different. He didn’t just play house. He was good at it. Too good.

And when he lost?

That mask cracked.

He’d looked… afraid. Or confused. Maybe both.

Was he scared that she was stronger than him? She’d had no reason to hurt him. She welcomed them into her world of monsters and quests. And it felt, for a moment, like they were welcoming her into theirs.

So why had he lashed out?

Was he trying to remind her what he really was?

The thoughts spun in her head until her legs finally gave out, just as she reached the back steps. That’s when she realized she wasn’t alone.

Ciel stood on the stairs, arms crossed, an unimpressed look on his face. With his robe, slippers, and the way he leaned slightly to one side, he looked more like a disapproving father than the heir to a powerful estate.

“What exactly are you doing? Running circles around the manor at this hour?”

She panted between words, “Jogging.”

“Jogging? You call that jogging?”

“I had to do something to get my mind off today. This was my solution.”

Ciel tilted his head, confused. “What exactly transpired that required you to run around like a madwoman?”

“He didn’t tell you?” she asked, stepping up and sitting on the steps.

“Sebastian didn’t tell me what, exactly?”

Surprisingly, Ciel sat down next to her. Not too close—still a healthy five feet away.

“I challenged him to an arm-wrestling match. He lost. And acted like a sore loser.”

Ciel blinked. “Sebastian lost?”

“Yes! Then he choked me out and got all pissy—just because he couldn’t handle the heat.”

“I see… And what inspired this childish match?”

She paused, eyes drifting down to Ody, her hand absently stroking his fur.

“I may or may not have called him a scrawny little twink.”

“I’m sorry,” Ciel choked, trying to stifle a laugh.

“I was bored! I taunted him. I didn’t expect him to actually lose—or to act like that. It’s just in my nature, I guess, to start a challenge.”

She looked at him then. Really looked. He was trying to keep up a front, but she’d met enough kids like him to know better. Underneath that cold gaze was someone young, confused, and probably more alone than she was.

The silence between them stretched. Crickets chirped in the distance. An owl hooted somewhere deep in the woods.

“What?” he asked, puzzled by her sudden quietness.

“Oh, nothing. I should go inside.” She stood, stretching. “If you ever need my help, just call for me. I’m more useful than I look.”

Ciel didn’t move, his eyes still fixed on the horizon.

“I will keep that in mind.”

.........

Will the gods finally make stir and connect or is she truly alone in this unfamiliar world. Perhaps the young earl will find a use for her. Will the demon and the demi-god finally come to understand each other?

Stay tuned.

..........

Chapter 3 finally done I apologize for the wait. Chapter 4 is in the works. Also interacting and reblogging is the best way for me to know if y'all like this series and if I should continue. Pls reblog if y'all want to be tagged. Love, Shortcake <3 PS. let me know if I should post of A03

@asmalls0723   @lizziela

[adultswim2021]

Delocated #8: “Decoys” | August 22, 2010 - 10:00PM | S02E01

Hot dog, it’s the good season of Delocated! 

Look, I don’t mean to suggest that the other seasons are bad. They’re fine! But season two is when the show truly was firing on all cylinders. It was also expanded into a half hour format, a change that would cripple lesser Adult Swim shows.

In this episode, Jon is optimistic that the new season of his reality program is going to catapult him to fame, while the Mirminski crime family steps things up by putting Yvgeny’s brother Sergei in charge, played by the incredible and menacing Steve Cirbus. The network colludes with the Mirminskis by asking them to kill people close to Jon in order to up the drama and the stakes. Jon is also dealing with the fallout from the previous episode wherein he showed his face for the first time, repulsing his girlfriend Kim who only ever saw him with the ski mask on. We also meet  Mighty Joe Jon, the black blonde, portrayed here to perfection by Jerry “January 6th” Minor. 

Jon, now on high alert after a few people get picked off around him, decides to hire a team of decoys. A bit of a love triangle forms between Kim and one of the Decoys after she makes out with him thinking he was Jon. This decoy I THINK is Daryl Wein, her one-time partner, which is why they can kiss with tongues on the show and not get arrested. 

This one has a lot of laughs, including Todd Berries playing himself to the fullest extent (immediately hitting on a beautiful woman the second he has an opportunity), a poem going viral (I gasped at this development) and the inexplicable business with the boxed candy involving Jon’s bodyguard. I feel like season one was admirably creative, and was always decently written, but sometimes the conceptual plots sorta clashed with character stuff. I feel like this season mostly nails the balance of character-driven story while also folding in weird ideas and clever jokes.

EPHEMERA CORNER:

MAIL BAG:

Ever notice how many of my write-ups just sorta end without a pithy concluding statement? This is done because I suspect that if I were to try very hard to do this, that I'd only come up with about 5 or 6 unique ones that I would plug and play in an alternating pattern and that it would expose me for being the shitty writer I truly am. Tonight, I was trying to come up with something while my attention was divided (I had a video of a Sega Saturn being lovingly restored on in the background). I typed something without even thinking, and then when I looked back at the screen I had somehow managed to type, without even being cognizant of it: "Good shit." by itself in a line at the end. "Good shit." Without thinking at all about it. It truly made me shiver.

"Aaron McGruder “left the nest” like so much Randy on Home Improvement at the end of this season" what the hell did this mean? I waited for you to come back to ask you about it.

I will humorlessly explain everything. 1) Randy, portrayed by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, famously left Home Improvement before the series itself ended. 2) a Nickelodeon Magazine article was focused on reporting this, using sub-headline to the effect of "Randy Leaves the Nest!" 3) This left an impression on my friend, who repeatedly refers to it in conversation 4) He also remembered that a little graphic of JTT as a bird literally flying away from a nest was included, but this has not been corroborated by an archive search of said article. 5) I am telling you this, because I assume you are a stranger, and not him, even though he reads this blog and often sends me spoof questions. I asked him point blank if this message was from him just hours ago, and he said it was not. Being a devout Christian, he would never lie to me like this. He is godly

carrie brownstein gif "I-O, PERRY!"

Hey come on man don't do another inside joke on here I will have to explain this one too, damn

[predoom]

ohoneohone

Saturday, January 14th, 2006 4:14 pm "noones ever been this good for this long" this is everything i am thinking right now with out transition. i apologize for my brains lack of linear thought processing: i hate the way it gets dark so early here this time of year. i guess "seasonal depression" kind of falls under "ADD" and "post tramatic whatever disorder" for me. i feel like its science from the madhatter down the rabbit hole. not too real. but lately i just wake up blue - my only thought is- how soon will the day be over so i can get back into bed. i open my eyes just a tiny bit and blur the numbers on the clock with my eyelashes. every word you say rolls off of my back - the praises and the barbs. i don't hear either, ever. sometimes the tips of my fingers itch from the back of my head- just to get the chance to tear someone to pieces and just barely let them off the hook. i swear to god, i was asleep alone. quick text me an alibi and oh god please don't dust the keyboard for prints. sometimes i stare out of the frosted window and make up stories as people walk by. the bottled blonde, park ave. princess walking whichever dog matches her coat. you know how i could turn your world upsidedown. its not love if a day goes by when you don't think about dropping it. its not the world keeping you on the outside, its you not wanting to be on the inside. everyone wants to be the first. buts its okay to be the second if you understand it better, if you make it look prettier. worn down doesn't even touch this. and theres nothing worse than when someone acts like they have you figured out, when you haven't even figured yourself out. nice boys don't write good stories or sing good songs. and his songs are boring. and his stories are just personal ads set to background music. i found the skeleton key for wedlock but i am holding off on telling her. on telling anyone for that matter. consistent inconsistency. thats all you ever have to remember and you'll do okay with me. dancers are always strippers. and paying their way through college is the BE VE. oh and hey pete do you remember the way the world used to trick you with fifty degrees in january and orange leaves in june? button your jacket tight, don't believe everything you read... don't even believe everything you wrote. i'm tired of always leaving. i'm tired of the way things always/never change. swim upstream until your gills bleed just because thats what genetic encoding commands. there aren't any trophies that are really worth it in the end. they can put you in a box when you are very young, so you'll be a pretty corpse but there are too many pages filled with too many words to lie beside you forever. intelligent design is the last great joke i heard. but honestly, no one will ever stay where i tell them, least of all the years. they keep moving. worlds greatest liar and how do you know i'm not lying when i tell you this right now? and thats coming from the king of one-liners. copy and pasted - long live the away message. kiss the monitor. fast asleep baby. Friday, January 6th, 2006 8:11 pm i am just a hot mess. i woke up to the feeling of myself throwing up today. pretty much put a damper on the entire day. i ate about 50 stomach pills and then threw them all up- it was a pretty color in the toilet. my toungue is black on the top right now. i am pretty sure thats a bad thing. i watched way too much gastinaeu (however you spell it) girls today. i think it made me sicker. it took me awhile to realize that they were mother and daughter and not sisters- but the mom is kinda hot in pissy kind of way. my mom is out of town so there was noone here to take care of me- my brother was around but hes pretty much always bongzilla'd. so i waited for back-up caretakers to arrive- one of them was busy cutting hair and the other has like a "real" job besides being dad.

the best part about vomitting alone in the morning is the way the bathroom tiles feel kinda cool in a pleasant way so i took a nap there for a bit. i want to see hostel tonight but the problem is all the vomitting- see its not that i mind so much its just what if i run into someone in my sicky gear and puke on them?

wow. i am glad i did this update. arent you?

im gonna leave the comments open cause i never do- just write down the first thing that comes into your mind when you see that reply button- heres mine:

i am just a hot mess. (989 Comments |Comment on this) Saturday, December 24th, 2005 9:57 pm blue christmas so i was sitting around this christmas. just kinda getting bummed out looking at the lights outside of shiny houses in my neighborhood and decided that it was time fall out boy gave somethng back. we decided to pick a cause that we feel is often overlooked- education of poor people in africa (specifically ethiopia). we feel like education is one of the most important building blocks in change- so after doing some research we found and organization that we felt really was doing it right: www.a-cet.org - this isn't some glossy amazing press piece it is doing something quietly to make a change- and we loved that. so we decided to put a couple of old and rare FOB and clandestine items up on ebay. here's the deal- if you dont see the link off of a fall out boy site than don't trust that it is us doing it- part two- keep bidding the more we can help the better. and three we will keep adding more items up here for a bit so keep checking back. they are all legitimate and endorsed by FOB and all items will come signed. happy bidding:

a clandestine shirt sample that was never made: http://cgi.ebay.com/never-produced-clandestine-shirt-sample-fall-out-boy_W0QQitemZ4812617551QQcategoryZ52473QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

breakdance not hearts shirt worn on big in 05 awards: http://cgi.ebay.com/clandestine-breakdance-not-hearts-shirt-fall-out-boy_W0QQitemZ4812615104QQcategoryZ52473QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

giant moonman pez dispenser given to nominees at the VMAs http://cgi.ebay.com/giant-VMA-moonman-pez-dispenser_W0QQitemZ4812612435QQcategoryZ52473QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

complete set of take this to your grave trading cards. including rare card: http://cgi.ebay.com/fall-out-boy-trading-card-lot-takethistoyourgrave_W0QQitemZ4812607828QQcategoryZ52473QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

new:

original bleach "i am the dream" shirt clandestine: http://cgi.ebay.com/original-bleach-clandestine-shirt-i-am-the-dream_W0QQitemZ4812798220QQcategoryZ52473QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

original secret order shirt http://cgi.ebay.com/secret-order-of-FOB-shirt-hyper-limited_W0QQitemZ4812800208QQcategoryZ52473QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

alternative press poster signed by entire band http://cgi.ebay.com/alternative-press-poster-fall-out-boy-limited_W0QQitemZ4812796786QQcategoryZ52473QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

spend your xmas cash... Thursday, December 8th, 2005 3:34 am last week i got to hold a baby orangatan (spelled completely wrong).

that was the best moment of my life.

ill try to find a picture.

try to imagine a regular baby, mixed with a puppy, mixed with the song "dont stop believin" by journey. Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005 12:59 am sometimes my own words dont suffice. "i hope that our few remaining friends give up on trying to save us i hope we come up witha fail-safe plot to piss off the dumb few that forgave us i hope the fences we mended fall down beneath their own weight and i hope we hang on past the last exit, i hope its already too late and i hope that the junkyard a few blocks from here someday burns down and i hope the rising black smoke carries me far away and i never come back to this town again. in my life i hope i lie and tell everyone you were a good wife and i hope you die. i hope we both die" Sunday, November 20th, 2005 1:36 pm sometimes its like never started sometimes it like its never gonna end

[project-twenty-twenty-five]

January 1st.

Movie 1: Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Honestly never seen it before or at least I don’t remember it. Here’s my live reaction:

It starts at Christmas and they have a dog as a present, don’t they know you shouldn’t gift pets?

But she’s so cute

They don’t deserve her. Don’t yell at the baby dog.

Alright they just had to get accustomed to having a dog

Where is she getting her energy to run around that fast

Really sincerely: I didn’t know the dogs talked in this movie. I know it’s a Disney movie and animals do that there, but still. Also i’ll see if maybe you could have made this a no talking animals movie and if it would have been better or worse.

Ok the brown dog is just the dog from fox and the hound. Maybe a cousin?

They’re saying “nothing could ever take her place in our hearts” which makes me think that something WILL take her place in their hearts.

TRAMP SIGHTED

You’re telling me this dog can read?

Oh they’re having a baby aren’t they

They are

I hate this

Well I was right that something was gonna take her place. And I was right with that you shouldn’t give pets for Christmas. Don’t have a dog if you’re gonna ignore it.

I really thought for a sec they would leave the baby and the dog alone for days. But ok theres a babysitter.

I know it’s racist stuff but if I had seen the siamese cats thing as a kid I would have propably thought they were aliens.

Did the lady know there’s also a dog and a bird and a fish in the house? Doesn’t seem like it if she still brings her troublemaker cats.

Dog said bye bye

Tramp has a second degree black belt in karate

I believe that lady can read because she brought in the newspaper earlier and she could pick some letters up but the dog who I don’t believe would be able to read gaslights her. Wow

I like that there’s animals in here that remind me of other Disney animals. Like the hound and the hyena in the zoo and the beaver.

Also most of this movie seems pretty realistic and then the beaver gets flung down a hill and into a river. And isn’t hurt.

I always wondered how the spaghetti scene happens. The restaurant owner just straight up plays wingman for a dog and cooks for them.

And plays a love song.

is the Italian restaurant part of the racist stereotypes in this movie? This just feels so out of place?

The subtitles say pidge but I keep hearing bitch and being like why are you calling her that dude

The dogs in the dog pound remind me of the dogs in one of my favourite movies, Oliver and co.

Oh this is sad. I thought the dog pound would be scary and violent but it’s just a sad place.

I will not be happy unless at the end of this movie all those dogs have a beautiful home. And are ALIVE

Another stereotype, Mexican chihuahua this time.

Her two friends have the hots for her ew

Surprising girlboss energy from lady

Ok like I get that it’s not great but what is the rat really going to do in the baby’s room. Give him rabies?

And now tramp is gonna fucking die

In a surprising turn of events her owners came back at the right time and for once listened to lady

Her friends are coming to the rescue!

But what I don’t buy is that after realising there was a rat and that was why lady was panicking, they somehow figured out that the random stray that was there was also just trying to help and got into a car to race to get him. Like what did lady do to communicate that? She can only bark and run

Hound dog dead????!??!???!???

Hound dog Not dead :DDDDD

Also Collar! Baby! PUPPIES!

Awww and it ends at Christmas too that’s cute

All in all

Not what I expected from the like 3 things I knew about this movie. I thought it was just a sort of boring no-plot romance film but there’s actually quite a bit of action. The owners got back on my good graces at the end. The dogs from the pound have to be FREED still and without watching it I will just tell myself that that happens in the sequel and they’re all happy. After watching the whole thing I don’t think it could have been made without the talking animals; when I thought the plot was more straight forward it seemed like it could have been a good move, but it wouldn’t have been This movie. Also I think she’s supposed to be the villain but the babysitter lady really didn’t do that much wrong except for bringing her cats with her, who does that.

7/10 needed more dogs getting a home at the end.

[mylifeasjazmine]

bella, where the hell you been loca?

Last year I rediscovered Tumblr and then I was on a roll, then I fell off! I’m not entirely sure how that happened but I’m back and I have a lot to say!

I’m not even sure where to start so here’s a 2023 recap;

January was calm from what I can recollect, I was still getting my autonomy back and the 31st of that month marked the one year anniversary since my accident and I’m not sure if I mentioned this but I also got a car a few days before my year anniversary which was very special to me to have been able to come full circle like that. Romantically, I didn’t have anything going on. I was going dates to fill the time but nothing serious ever evolved from any of it.

February brings me to my first trip of the year and the first time I had been able to use my flight benefits. Ashley and I took a day trip to New York and came home and drove to Miami for a day, it was quick but fun! Since I was mobile in more way than one now, I was getting back to my “old” self again. Getting dressed, hanging out with my friends.

March was nothing to write home about either. I had training for a new position at work and spent a lot of time with my niece. I can’t recall anything major happening this month either if I’m being honest. I can remember emotionally feeling a little sad because I was feeling disconnected from the world. I had gotten a little busy with work and I was becoming a little bit of a hermit crab again.

April is when the year started to pick up a little speed for me. Adel and I took a trip to Puerto Rico, it was the first time for the both of us. We had so much fun we ended up extending for another day. During this time I started to get a little into fitness and I was shedding my little hermit crab shell again. Maybe it was the braids, the tan and the warm weather, but life was feeling like life again.

May started with a bang! I went on a cruise with like 12 other family members and we had a blast. It was short but we still enjoyed ourselves. The whole month was actually pretty eventful. Allie’s surprise 30th party was that month and I also got to see Bryson Tiller live with Zamira. We sang and cried our little hearts out. Eli’s birthday is also in May so we celebrated her too. As you can see, we are well into the year and we are still batting zero in romance department, but we keep living.

June may still go down as my favorite month of the year. As soon as the month started I went to Miami with Cindy and Eli to go see Kathy before she popped out her new baby but you know we still turned it into a trip while we were out there. The week after I got back I went to Chicago with Gabby and some of the girls for her Bachelorette Trip. It wasn’t my first time in Chicago but it was the first time I spent real time there and I really enjoyed myself. When I got back from Chicago, I went to the Sorry Papi Tour with Eli and Cindy! I also had training for what would be my second promotion of the year. We also found out the gender of my brother’s newest baby, it was a boy!

July I tried to sit my ass down but I think I still had June ants in my pants. I spent 4th of July with Liz and Amanda and the kids which I love to do. I flew to Texas a few days later to spend Adel’s birthday with her. Such a cute little trip. I was trying to get back into rest mode this moth so I didn’t pop out too much after that. I remember going downtown one hot ass night with Amanda and Liz and then just spending the rest of the month in my pool trying not to die of heatstroke. I also made one year with my job, which came pretty quickly.

August is when life started to get a little interesting I think lol. This month I was feeling overwhelmed with my living situation and in that same swoop someone I know needed a dog-sitter for a few days so I packed my shit and was a dog mom for like 4 days. I won’t get into too many details but long story short, that was the last time I ever saw that person because they lied about their flight being canceled so they could stay an extra day knowing their dog was sick and I was ready to go home. That weekend was also the weekend we celebrated my Grammy’s 65th birthday. This weekend, I also started going back and forth with a handsome man that I had always been interested in back it just never seemed to happen. Before the month was over, we had hung out a few times and if I am being honest, I was feeling pretty optimistic. I blame my Sagittarius Venus for that.

September rolls around and we celebrate my godson Zavier, my niece Amaia also turned 2 this month. Not to mention, my little sister turned 18 on us! All the while, things with this handsome man seem to be working in my favor. We are spending a good amount of time together, I’m getting to know him more and I am liking what I’m seeing. At this point, the only things I’ve been up to is working, working out, spending time with my family and seeing him when I could. I think it’s important to note that neither one of us had really said anything about how we felt about the other. Everything was more of a “use your context clues” kinda vibe for a little. I also didn’t want to get ahead of myself so I was just going with the flow.

October is finally here! This is my birthday month so I knew the vibes were gonna be 1000. We kicked off the month celebrating my cousin Jazmin. We had a cousin’s night out and we had a blast. The next week was Gabby’s wedding so I traveled to the Dominican Republic for the first time. The wedding was beautiful and I cried my eyes out pretty much the whole weekend. Plus, I was the ONLY single person there. Don’t tell me I’m not one of God’s strongest soldiers because my lord lol. In between this, I am still seeing the handsome man but at this rate I have developed feelings for him and I don’t know what to do with them. So naturally, I decided to do nothing and bury them. But we were still hanging out so that was getting hard. My birthday rolls around but this year I wanted to spend it solo. So a few days before I went to dinner with some of my best friends and on the day of I just hung out with my brothers.

November hits and I’m literally catching a flight on the 1st. For my solo trip, I went to Sacramento to see my favorite artist Victoria Monet. It was an AMAZING show, I am so happy I went. While I was out there I think there was one day that I literally didn’t even speak. It was so peaceful. But it gave me time to think about some things and I felt like I was getting in over my head with the handsome man so I started to subconsciously pull back a little. When I came back from my trip, I saw him for what I didn’t know then would be the last time for 4 months. But looking back, that last time felt different. Something felt off. On the bright side, I did have training for another promotion, that makes 3 for the year. I also got to take my brother to see the Magic play at an in-season play-off game which was dope. The best thing that happened this month was rekindling my friendship with Eyad. We ran into one night out and decided to make a pact to hang out once a week and we’ve been sticking to it! He’s legitimately become one of my best friends.

December marks the end of this relatively smooth year. Christmas is my favorite holiday so the vibes were up. I hadn’t really spoken to the handsome man because I was trying to swallow those feelings I had for him. Then one day, he asks me if I listen to Christmas music and sends me a playlist. That playlist sends me into a frenzy and I can’t think straight for like 2 days. If you know me, you know how much I love music and thoughtful gifts so the me a playlist is the perfect depiction of that. It might not hold that kinda weight for everyone, and it’s probably silly, but no one has ever made me a playlist before so I was geekin’. That drove me to finally tell him how I feel about him, sort of. I told him that I like him but there’s so much more I wanted to say. He told me he liked me too but, at this point what his but was doesn’t matter because having a “but” in the first place just puts a stop to everything. What I will say is that his “but” was enough for him to just decide I need to fall back. With the tale as old as time, as I pulled away, I could feel his energy more. I tried doing on dates to distract myself but it didn’t work. The only thing that worked was time.

Fast forward to April 2024, so far I have gone on two trips and both have been with Adel. We went to New York and we just back came back from Atlanta. So far, I am on promotion number one of the year and in July I will make 2 years with my job. I have seen the handsome man again and he has sent me yet another playlist. Do I still have feelings for him? I think so, but I can’t keep driving myself crazy wondering, I have to keep on living and remember that what’s for me, will always be for me. If you made it this far, thank you for your time. This felt really good for me to release.

[purplesurveys]

1791

When was the last time you felt exhausted? Last night.

....and why did/do you feel that way? Well, it was New Year's. It didn't help that I had New Year's Eve work since my client is one of the handful of bodies organizing a major public countdown event so I had to be there for a bit; then I had to Fast and the Furious my way back home in the evening to make it to the NYE mass + my family's media noche. Then I had like 10 glasses of wine and did a ton of karaoke...I don't even remember at what point I fell asleep haha. Next thing I knew I was waking up at 10 AM.

How often do you feel exhausted? Pretty much everyday. My job is taxing when it comes to creativity and idea-generating.

What are three things you like about Instagram? I like the interface they have for the reels. It's also nice that small businesses have found a home in Instagram, so it makes access to food beyond the big franchises very accessible. I'd say those two are my favorite parts; I'm not the type to identify things I like about social media platforms as at the end of the day they're all the same.

What have you found to be the cruelest thing about growing up? You can do absolutely everything but if you get dealt a bad hand things can always fall apart at any second and out of your control.

When was the last time you went trick-or-treating? 🎃 I can't remember if I was 16 or 17 but it was definitely when I was in high school. My friends and I gathered at Chelsea's place then we went around the neighborhood for candies; I went as Sofie.

Which do you think is scarier: change or staying the same? Depends on what kind of situation we're talking about. Things aren't black or white in this context.

Would you rather go on vacation to Florida or California? And why did you choose that state? California. I'm not interested in either state but I feel like I'd be more at a loss on what I could do or where I could visit in Florida. Also isn't Florida kind of conservative? I might go crazy in there.

Can you believe that in three months it will be October already? I'm answering this from January, but I mean yes in general it is crazy how fast years go by.

In life, do you feel like you are winning or failing? Why so? I'm definitely winning. In the grand scheme of things I have a good job that I just happen to be increasingly miserable in, and in my personal life I'm relatively privileged. I just feel directionless at the moment, but I refuse to think that that means I'm failing.

Have you ever taken a selfie inside of a doctor's office? That is very specific haha. Yes I have actually! I took a few selfies when I was waiting to get treated for my dog bite because I partly also found it hilarious that I found myself in such a situation. My nose and lips were completely fucked.

What is your favorite season, and what are three reasons why it is your favorite season? Idk, I can never relate when it comes to these season questions. 

Are you good at painting your nails? 💅 Not at all. My hands aren't stable and I'm always either missing spots or painting beyond my nails.

Do you have a lot of regrets from your past? Yup, small regrets here and there. I don't have any major regrets, like the type I would lose sleep over.

What is one biblical command that you often have trouble obeying? Not believing in the Bible.

What do you do when you're feeling overwhelmed? I allow myself the time to first ignore the Thing that's overwhelming me, so I can get back to it once my mind is a little bit more clearer.

Do you prefer sun or rain? Rain.

Would you say you are more creative or logical? Logical.

How often do you pray? 🙏 Never.

What is the closest thing to you right now that is blue? My Koya bedroom slippers.

What was the last hot beverage you drank? My favorite hot chocolate from La Creperie.

What is your favorite thing that you've done so far this summer? Flew to Thailand to see Yoongi.

[rwt-mystic-corner]

Mine are more of a Spectrum of the Year that's loosely based on how I feel between the "spokes" on the Wheel of the Year! It's less of a "correspondences" thing and more of a "what they indicate" thing for me.

- December is actually when I celebrate the "new year"! Yule and all. Unfortunately I also associate it with being tired from holiday parties, but it's when the Natural World Gets Serious about quieting/dying down. The winter relaxation, the warmth of hot cocoa, the first Serious Snows that Stick.

- January is the Very Cold month. Like sometimes below zero cold. It's bracing and refreshing and Winter Wonderland for me. (I enjoy the sensation of Being Cold in small bursts!) This tends to be Surprise Snow Day month! And when we get most of our blizzards.

- February is, in recent years, Mix of Sun and Snow month. Slush, fluctuating levels of Cold, good time for spells to Bring Things Into Being rather than banish or negate, and Being Aggressively AroAce.

- March is Early Spring and Second Winter month. I associate it with the first steps towards coming back to life. Rain admist birdsong, calm amidst the chaos of everything coming back to life at once.

- April tends to mark when my own personal power starts feeling more subtle/hard to draw up again. Flowers and birds and reawakening. Things Start to Get Loud. I start to Rest more.

- May is about when the natural world starts getting overwhelmingly "loud" for me. It's when my personal energies take a sharp nosedive. May is about stepping up my shields and putting my "game face" on for the weather, sunlight, and people both getting obnoxious soon.

- June in recent years I start associating with Overly Warm Weather. This used to be relegated to the "dog days" of August but our Dog Days are no longer only in August. /u_u\ My inverted seasonal depression starts kicking in.

- July is associated with those stereotypical Warm and Humid Summer Nights. Camping trips, fireflies, playing outside at night, and fireworks. So Many Fireworks.

- August is the month my personal energy is just permanently in exhaustion and overwhelm. I don't do well in the heat and August temps soar above 90 here. (I have passed out from the heat at 75. Vasovagal syncope, not dehydration. My physical body Can Not Handle It and I think my nonphysical energy responds to that.) August is for lazing about and entertaining myself and distracting myself from the oppressive heat. Probably don't have the energy for much aside from personal shields and maintaining the physical body.

- September is when temps can start randomly getting Very Cold and Very Hot. The natural world is in flux; birds start leaving, trees start changing (especially the maples and those trees with the tiny leaves downtown). My personal energy starts rising again. Pre-Halloween Season! Apples and fall festivals! Relief from the heat!

- October: Best Month! Best Sabbat! Best mundane holiday! My personal power at its PEAK! Exploration and delight and good time for working more powerful/draining spells.

- November: Coming down off the Samhain high and settling into quiet again. The world is the darkest, the quietest. My power still going pretty strong. Good time for reflections and settling affairs.

(I wonder if living somewhere so temperate and inconsistent affects how my energy waxes and wanes throughout the year?)

Months and Magical Associations

In an attempt to kick off a discussion, here's something that's been rattling around in my head this week:

Does anyone else have particular associations for the calendar months? Not just for the full moons that fall within them for for the month itself.

For me, it's a sliding scale between This Month Is Optimal For This Thing and I'm Feeling A Vibe. I don't think it's based on anything other than my own preferences, the change of seasons, and certain holidays, although I do know there are some astrological connotations to the idea.

For example, in my mind, February is associated with light and candle magic. I figure this is mostly because of my personal connection to Brighid and the holiday of Candlemas, and also because of Groundhog's Day. (I grew up in Pennsylvania, so Punxsutawney Phil predicting the weather every year was a big deal for us.)

Some months are nebulous, while others are more definite. April is sort of vaguely about flower magic, while November is very definitely about creativity and inspiration.

So...anyone else have associations they'd like to share? There's no right or wrong answers, just curiosity.

[a-second-hand-sorrow]

Lover (Roy Kent X Reader)

WC: 5338

Warnings: Swearing, more Taylor Swift lyrics, the most tooth-rotting sweetness I have ever written

Summary: Y/N and Roy’s relationship, set to Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’

A/N: Jesus this is a Doozy. There’s something about Taylor Swift songfics that make me go absolutely feral. Anyway, I really hope you guys like this because I’m quite proud of my little magnum opus.

We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January. And this is our place, we make the rules 

December 29th, 2020

“Hey babe, I thought you said we were taking down the lights today?” Roy said, looking at Y/N who was most certainly not in clothes that were suitable for climbing the house and taking down Christmas lights.

“Can’t be arsed. It’s freezing cold out there and I think the house looks way prettier with them up.” Y/N said defiantly, looking up at Roy from her mug of hot chocolate. Roy laughed, shaking his head as he put down the ladder he had pulled out of the cupboard for the job.

“You do raise some fucking excellent points, babe. It’s cold as fuck out there.” Roy said, reaching over the couch to press a kiss to the top of Y/N’s head.  She smiled, content with her little victory as Roy took off his shoes, making his way to the spot next to her on the couch.

“Why thank you, love. You know what?” Y/N said, taking a sip from her mug as Roy raised his eyebrows in suspense.

“I think we should leave the lights up ‘til January.” Y/N said firmly, putting her mug down on the coffee table next to her before turning to face Roy, anxious to hear his response.

“You want to keep our house covered in these bloody lights for longer than it’s socially acceptable to?” Roy said, his eyebrows still raised but in disbelief this time.

“Fuck yeah I do. Come on, babe, just think about it. This is our house, right? So, we can make our own rules about what’s socially acceptable. The Kent-Y/L/N treatise, if you will.” Y/N said, her sheer excitement and passion causing Roy’s stern face to melt into a smile.

“You’re really fucking serious about this whole thing, aren’t you?” He said, unsurprised by the eager nod he received from her. He sighed, leaning forward to capture her lips in a brief but loving kiss.

“Go get the good stationery, I think we need to draft up some laws.” Roy said, causing an excited laugh to come from Y/N.

“Rules, not laws, but I like the way you’re thinking. Give me a second, I’ll be right back.” Y/N kissed Roy once more before heading towards their study, a skip in her step Roy only rarely saw.

“Start brainstorming some rules, Kent!” Y/N shouted from the study, and Roy shook his head, laughing as he sunk back into the couch. He realised then that he’d never loved anyone more than Y/N, the velvet box sitting in his jacket pocket a physical reminder of that.

And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear. Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years? 

15th April 2019

“Keeley for the love of God, where are you dragging me to tonight?” Y/N said, staring her friend down in the hopes that would dissuade her from whatever scheme she had planned.

“Jamie and the team are going out tonight and I want you to meet them! You’ve been my best friend for eternity and I think it’s time you met the Richmond boys.” Keeley said, turning on her puppy dog eyes as she looked at Y/N.

There was a pause before Y/N let out a reluctant sigh. “Where are we going?” Y/N said, cringing slightly at the squeal Keeley let out.

“Some club in the city, I don’t know exactly where but Jamie said he’s gonna send me the name. You’re gonna have such a good time tonight, I promise. Is that what you’re wearing?” Keeley said, taking a step back to look at Y/N’s outfit.

Y/N nodded, and Keeley tilted her head to the side, squinting at Y/N before abruptly moving to her wardrobe, flicking through the clothes she had on her hangers. “Try this. It should fit, and it will make you the fittest bitch there, I promise you.” Keeley said, shooing Y/N into her bathroom to change into the dress she’d chosen.

It was a slinky gold number that Keeley hadn’t worn in a long time, and as soon as Y/N emerged wearing it, Keeley’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“Holy fucking shit, you look incredible! If I wasn’t with Jamie, I’d run away with you in a heartbeat, babes.” Keeley said, her excessive flattery causing Y/N’s face to flush.

Y/N went to reply, but the sound of Keeley’s phone buzzing cut her off. “Jamie’s just sent me the name, did you wanna call a cab now?” Keeley said and Y/N nodded, taking a glance at herself in the mirror. She did look fucking fit, Keeley wasn’t wrong there.

After having another drink and fixing up her makeup, Y/N was being ushered into a cab as Keeley gave the driver the address. The drive went by very quickly, one of the perks of Keeley’s close proximity to the city.

By the time they were in line to get into the club, Y/N could feel the pre-drinks beginning to hit her, and she was feeling pleasantly tipsy. The best state of being in her opinion. Tipsy beat drunk, sober and hungover any day of the week.

“Oi Keeley, there you are!” Y/N turned around at the sound of a man’s voice, and she realised it was Jamie. She’d never formally met Jamie, except that one time she caught him almost naked in Keeley’s kitchen. She tried to forget that ever happened.

“Hey babe!” Keeley said, kissing Jamie passionately, leaving Y/N feeling a little uncomfortable as she tried to look anywhere but at them.

“Who’s this?” Jamie asked bluntly, causing Keeley to whack his chest.

“Don’t be rude, Jamie. This is my friend, Y/N. Best friend, actually.” Keeley said, winking at Y/N as Jamie nodded.

“Hey.” Y/N said, waving slightly at Jamie, who returned the wave. He gave her a once over, his eyebrows furrowing suddenly.

“Is that Keeley’s dress?” He asked, and Y/N laughed softly, nodding her head. Jamie nodded curtly, turning his attention back to Keeley.

“Where’s the rest of the team?” Keeley asked, looking up at Jamie as he snaked an arm around her waist. Before Jamie could respond, there was a car that pulled up and out of it spilled a very large, very loud group of men that Y/N guessed was the rest of the Richmond team.

“Speak of the devils.” Jamie said, letting go of Keeley to go and great his teammates. Keeley smiled, turning to face Y/N with an eager look on her face.

“Well? What do you think?” Keeley asked, and Y/N shrugged her shoulders, crossing her arms over her chest.

“He seems nice enough. Are the rest of them like him?” Y/N asked, and Keeley chuckled, pulling Y/N in for a quick side hug as the men approached them.

“Oi lads, this is Keeley’s mate Y/N. Please be nice.” Jamie yelled, Y/N giving them all a shy wave as she felt all their eyes on her.

Suddenly she was shaking hands with a bunch of footballers, trying desperately to remember their names and match them to the correct faces. By the time the last one came up to her she was nearly exhausted from all the introductions.

She looked up from the ground and suddenly she felt like all the air had been knocked from her lungs. The man standing in front of her was nothing like the other guys she’d introduced herself to this evening. He was your traditional tall, dark, and handsome, but he had an air of mystery that Y/N couldn’t get past.

“I’m Roy.” He said, sticking his hand out for a handshake. Y/N froze briefly before taking his hand in her own, inhaling at the feeling of it. 

She looked up at him, noticing how his pupils were blown ever so slightly. “I’m Y/N, it’s really good to meet you.” She said, her words speeding up slightly due to nerves. Roy’s lips quirked up slightly in the beginning of a smile, gently squeezing her hand before dropping it.

“Likewise.” He said, looking her up and down before moving over to stand with the group of footballers in the line. Y/N stood there dazed, not realising Keeley had crept up to her until she felt an arm around her shoulders.

“You ok there, babes? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Keeley said, making Y/N jump slightly.

“Tell me about Roy.” Y/N said, her comment earning a cheeky grin from Keeley, who squeezed her close excitedly.

“I knew you’d hit it off with someone tonight! Am I surprised it was Roy? A little, but I’m ecstatic nonetheless. Let’s get you laid, bitch.” Keeley said, and as much as Y/N loved her friend to death, all she could think about was Roy.

She glanced off towards him, briefly making eye contact with him. She knew she should’ve looked away, but the glint in his eye when she looked at him kept her entranced. She could barely believe she’d just met him, but some people just make a hell of an impact.

Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close forever and ever? 

May 22nd, 2020

“Is there anything else we need to discuss before we get on the bus? Oh my god, did y’all catch that incredible rhyme there? I promise it wasn’t on purpose.” Ted said, his own comments cracking him up as he looked out at the team, Beard and Nate at his side.

Roy cleared his throat, drawing all the team’s attention to him. “Y/N is coming with us to Liverpool.” He said, and the chaos this comment caused was unparalleled. 

“Settle down now! As exciting as the prospect of getting to spend some time with the one and only Y/N Y/L/N is, we are grown men.” Ted exclaimed, calming the crowd down slightly. He nodded, glancing over at Beard once they’d settled down.

Suddenly, the sound of a car door opening drew their attention, and the sound of a woman calling Roy’s name caused a few whistles from the team.

“Over here, babe.” Roy called out, scowling at his teammates that gave him childish looks.

Y/N made her way over, the crowd parting like the Red Sea as she walked up to Roy. “Hey guys!” Y/N said, waving at the team before tipping an invisible hat towards the trio of coaches standing near her.

“Mr Lasso, a pleasure as always.” Y/N said, Ted returning her hat tip before breaking out into a smile, pulling her into a brief hug.

“Miss Y/L/N, glad to hear you’re joining us in Liverpool.” Ted said, Y/N smiling at him once they broke apart.

“It’s about time I came away with you guys. The house is always far too quiet when Roy’s away, so I figured I’d switch things up a bit. Besides, I’d go anywhere with that grump of mine.” Y/N said, staring wistfully at Roy who was shoving Isaac gently, rolling his eyes at his teammate’s childish behaviour.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you two as a couple? I really mean it. You guys just work so well together, it’s crazy. I would definitely watch a rom-com about you two.” Ted said, his enthusiasm never failing to amuse Y/N.

“That’s high praise from the king of rom-communism. Thanks, Ted.” Y/N said, and the American simply nodded, a smile wide on his face.

“It’s my pleasure. Now, go get your man. I think he’s going mad dealing with the guys.” Ted said, shooing her away towards Roy. She shook her head as she walked away, saying a few hellos to some of the guys on her way to Roy.

“Hey babe.” Y/N said, waving at Roy as she walked up to him. He gave her a small smile, causing some shock from his teammates, before pulling her close to him and kissing her deeply.

The team roared and cheered, with some wolf whistling at the display, but all Y/N cared about was the feeling of Roy. His lips, his body, the feeling of his training jersey under her fingers. 

They broke apart, and Y/N buried her head in the crook of Roy’s neck as the sounds of the team’s cheers grew louder. “Everyone get on the fucking bus.” Roy yelled, wrapping an arm around Y/N and holding her tightly as the team slowly trailed on to the bus. 

Y/N laughed at Roy’s outburst, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before moving away from him to get her bags. When Y/N was out of earshot, Ted turned around to face Roy. 

“Not to give my two cents on an issue that has nothing to do with me, but you’ve landed one hell of a girl, Roy. Don’t let her get away, ok?” Ted said, surprised to see an expression other than anger on the captain’s face.

“You’re fucking right. I want her around forever, because I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without her.” Roy said, his vulnerability taking Ted by surprise.

“Well alright, glad we had this talk. I’ll see you on the bus.” Ted said, nodding at Roy before moving over to board the bus. Ted passed Y/N on his way over, smiling at her as she walked by him.

“You ready to go, babe?” Y/N said, gesturing towards the bus with her head. Roy nodded, slipping his hand into Y/N’s free one.

“Let’s go kick some Liverpool ass.”

And ah, take me out, and take me home. You're my, my, my, my, lover. 

July 28th, 2019

Roy liked his sleep. He treasured being able to sleep uninterrupted, and he assumed tonight would give him the deep sleep he loved so much. Unfortunately, his girlfriend had other ideas.

It was about one in the morning when Roy heard his phone start buzzing, the sound of his ringtone causing him to slowly wake up. He cursed under his breath as he picked up his phone, furrowing his brows when he saw Y/N’s name on the screen.

He picked up the call, taken aback by the loud noise coming from her end of the phone. “Babe? You alright?” Roy asked, his voice gravelly from sleep. He heard laughter from her end, recognising her laugh almost instantly.

“I’m great! Keeley and I went out, and we’re having so much fun!” Y/N said, Roy wincing slightly at the volume of her voice.

“That’s good. Not that I don’t enjoy talking to you, but why are you calling me? It’s one in the morning.” Roy said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. He could hear whispering, unsure if it was Y/N or Keeley.

“I may need you to come get me. Keeley needs to leave, and she lives so far away.” Y/N said, whining slightly towards the end of her sentence. Roy groaned, putting his phone on his nightstand, and turning it on speaker so he could get out of his pyjamas.

“Fine. Where are you?” He said, and Y/N cheered loudly. As much as he disliked the thought of driving into the city centre at one in the morning, hearing Y/N so happy almost made it worthwhile.

“Gay. We’re at Gay.” Y/N said, her directness causing Roy to laugh as he slipped on a shirt.

“I’ll see you soon, babe. Please stay safe.” He said, picking the phone up once he was fully dressed.

“I will. Thank you.” Y/N said, surprisingly genuine for a drunk person. Roy smiled to himself, hanging up the call. He grabbed his keys and made his way to the car. The drive was surprisingly quick due to the lack of general traffic, and when he pulled up at the front of G-A-Y he could see Y/N instantly.

She was wearing the same gold dress of Keeley’s she had on the night they first met, and he swore his heart sped up just looking at her. He rolled down the window, honking the horn to get her attention.

“Roy! Keeley, Roy’s here!” Y/N shouted, her whole face lighting up when she saw his car. He could see Keeley holding her up as they walked over to the car, Y/N holding her shoes in her hands.

“Thanks for coming, Roy. I didn’t want her cabbing it home alone.” Keeley said, clearly more sober than Y/N. Roy nodded, unlocking the doors so Y/N could get in the car.

“It’s not a problem. Thanks for keeping her safe, it means a lot.” Roy said, looking over at Y/N as she fumbled with her seatbelt, cursing under her breath when it didn’t click into place.

“Have a nice night, ok?” Keeley said, closing the passenger-side door once Y/N had her seatbelt on.

“Bye Keeley!” Y/N said, sounding almost like a toddler due to her drunkenness. Keeley chuckled, waving as Roy rolled up the window.

He drove away, sneaking glances over at Y/N as he drove. Although they hadn’t been together for very long, there was something in Roy telling him that she was the one for him.

“You’re so pretty.” Y/N mumbled, her frankness making Roy pause for a second. He’d never felt himself flush so quickly at such an innocent statement before, but Y/N had always been special.

“Thank you.” Roy said, trying very hard to keep his eyes on the road. Y/N hummed, nodding her head.

“You’re welcome. I really like reminding you how much I love you, you know?” Y/N said, and Roy froze. She loved him. Neither one of them had said they loved each other yet, and although this isn’t how he’d pictured it happening, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You love me?” Roy said, his voice soft as he gripped the wheel tightly. Y/N nodded, a giggle passing her lips.

“Yeah, of course I do. You’re my guy, my man, my lover if you will.” Y/N said, gesturing wildly as she spoke. As they pulled up into their driveway, Roy felt his heart warm at her words.

“I love you too, you muppet. Now, let’s get you to bed.”

We could let our friends crash in the living room. This is our place, we make the call. 

December 23rd, 2021

“Merry Christmas, please come in!” Y/N said, welcoming Sam and Dani into the living room.

“Thank you so much for having us, you have a beautiful home.” Sam said, smiling brightly at Y/N. Y/N waved it off, a smile of her own on her face.

“That’s very lovely of you, Sam. Thank you.” She said, before bringing both men into quick hugs. She chatted briefly with Dani, her limited knowledge of Spanish coming out, much to Dani’s joy.

“Where’s Roy?” Dani asked, Sam nodding in agreement. Y/N sighed, a small smile on her face.

“He was worried we didn’t have enough alcohol, so he ducked out to pick up some more drinks. He should be home soon. Make yourselves comfortable, please.” Y/N said, gesturing to the table as the men took a seat.

Slowly but surely the rest of the team showed up, some of their entrances more memorable than others.

“Hey Mrs Kent!” Keeley yelled, pulling Y/N into a tight hug on her arrival. Y/N rolled her eyes, laughing at her friend’s enthusiasm.

“We’ve been married for about six months now, why do you keep calling me that?” Y/N asked, breaking away from Keeley’s hug.

“It’s just got such a ring to it, I can’t help it. Sorry babes.” Keeley said, earning a laugh from Y/N.

“It’s all good Keels, don’t worry. You want a drink?” Y/N asked, smiling at the eager nod she got from her friend.

“Where’s Roy? You can’t have Christmas at the Kent’s without one of the Kent’s in question.” Keeley asked, taking a seat at the table next to Rebecca, who she greeted with a dramatic hug as always.

Y/N went to respond, but she suddenly heard the sound of Roy’s voice coming from the doorway. “Speak of the devil. I’ll be back in a sec.” Y/N said, quickly making her way to the front door.

“There she is. God, you look fucking stunning babe.” Roy said, dropping the bags he held so he could pull Y/N in for a passionate kiss.

She cupped her hands around Roy’s face, her heart skipping a beat when he dipped her. 

“You ready for one hell of a Christmas party, Mr Kent?” Y/N said once they’d pulled apart, her arm snaking around his waist.

“You fucking bet I am, Mrs Kent.” Roy said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. 

As expected, the party was a great success, and the amount of football players passed out in their living room was a testament to that. Y/N and Roy were in the kitchen, both of them holding a mug of tea.

“Well, I’d say our first Christmas party as a married couple was rather successful, don’t you say?” Y/N said, looking up at Roy, who nodded in agreement.

“They’re gonna be fucked tomorrow morning. I told you we needed more drinks, they went through it all so quickly.” Roy said, earning a laugh from Y/N.

“Speaking of drinks, do you reckon anyone noticed I wasn’t drinking tonight?” Y/N said, sipping from her tea as Roy came up beside her.

“I think everyone was far too fucked to notice. When are we planning on telling them, because keeping this secret is killing me.” Roy said, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his hands on her stomach.

“Soon, I promise. For now, let’s just deal with telling my family before we worry about the team, ok?” Y/N said, leaning into Roy’s embrace.

“Sounds good, babe. Merry Christmas, by the way.” Roy said, kissing the top of her head, his lips lingering longer than usual.

“Merry Christmas to you too.”

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you. I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all.

June 9th, 2021

“You ready Phoebe?” Roy asked, looking down at his niece. As per usual, Phoebe’s mum was working, so Roy and Y/N had to take Phoebe to her school play. Y/N loved Phoebe so much, and the feeling was mutual. Sometimes Roy wondered if Phoebe loved Y/N more than him.

Phoebe nodded, looking up at Roy before glancing over at Y/N. “Is it bad that I’m feeling nervous?” Phoebe said, fiddling with the skirt of her costume.

Y/N looked over at Roy before crouching down so she was eye-level with Phoebe. “It’s not bad at all, Pheebs. If anything, the fact that you’re nervous shows that you care about your play, and that you want to do well. Uncle Roy used to get nervous all the time before games, so there’s nothing to feel bad about, ok?” Y/N said, looking at Phoebe with a loving glance. Phoebe nodded, rushing up to Y/N and hugging her tightly.

Y/N chuckled, returning the hug with as much intensity as Phoebe did. Roy would never tell anyone, but he nearly broke down crying watching them. His two favourite girls getting along never failed to move him. He couldn’t help but think about what an amazing mother Y/N would make some day.

“Ah, there you are Phoebe. Are you ready for the play?” Ms Bowen’s voice pulled Phoebe’s attention away from Y/N as she nodded.

“Excellent. I think it’s time to head backstage, ok?” Ms Bowen said, watching as Phoebe said her goodbyes and walked into the backstage area.

“How’s she been doing in rehearsals?” Roy asked, slipping his hand into Y/N’s.

“Fantastic as always. She’s a real stand-out.” Ms Bowen said, directing her attention solely to Roy. Y/N knew it was just because he asked the question, but she felt her stomach start to churn at the way Ms Bowen was looking at Roy.

“Course she fucking is.” Roy said proudly, getting a laugh out of Phoebe’s teacher. Y/N swallowed heavily, trying to be logical and not act like a crazy jealous person for no reason.

“Do you have any plans for after the play?” Ms Bowen asked, and before Roy could say anything Y/N butted in.

“We’re taking Phoebe out to a little celebration dinner, figured we’d treat her to something special.” Y/N said, Roy’s brow furrowing slightly at her bluntness.

“Right, well I hope you enjoy that.” Ms Bowen said, looking between Roy and Y/N before slowly moving away.

Y/N huffed, causing Roy to drop her hand and cross his hands over his chest. “What the fuck was that?” He asked, and Y/N looked up at him innocently.

“What was what?” She said, Roy staring at her with a look that made very clear he did not buy what she was attempting to sell.

“I mean, what was with the way you spoke to Phoebe’s teacher? It was a bit out of character for you, babe.” He said, and Y/N sighed, lowering her head in shame.

“I may have been a little jealous.” Y/N said, and Roy couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. Y/N was never a jealous person. In fact, he couldn’t remember a single time in the two years they’d been together that Y/N had ever been jealous.

“I’m sorry, did you just say you were jealous?” Roy said, his voice taking on a slight teasing tone. Y/N groaned, quickly becoming embarrassed.

“Yes, ok? I was fucking jealous of Phoebe’s teacher, but she was looking at you like I look at you after you come home from a game, and I just got possessive. I’m sorry.” Y/N said, crossing her arms over her chest like an upset child. Roy sighed, shaking his head as he wrapped his arms around Y/N.

“I love you so fucking much, babe. You don’t ever have to be jealous of anyone, ok? I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me, Y/L/N.” Roy said, rubbing Y/N’s back gently to try and calm her down.

“You’re the best Roy. I really lucked out with you, huh?”

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? With every guitar string scar on my hand, I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover. My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue. All's well that ends well to end up with you. Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover.

June 30th, 2021

Y/N still couldn’t quite believe that she was getting married today. Even while she was getting her hair and makeup done, her bridesmaids hyping her up, it all seemed unreal to her.

“Is this really happening?” She asked, mostly wondering to herself but also hoping one of the other people in the room heard her.

Rebecca chuckled, sitting down in the empty chair next to Y/N’s. “I remember when I was sitting where you are. I couldn’t believe I was getting married either. I mean after all the planning and tastings and arguing with vendors over the phone it felt weird for the day to finally come. But you have one thing that I didn’t have.” Rebecca said, reaching out to grab Y/N’s hand.

“What’s that?” Y/N asked, though she was fairly certain she knew what the answer would be.

“Someone waiting at the other end of that aisle that absolutely fucking adores you. Roy looks at you like you hung the stars, Y/N. He’d do anything for you and the fact that I know you love him like that too means you have nothing to be worried about. So chin up, and remember that you’re going to look so good you’ll make a grown man cry.” Rebecca said, squeezing Y/N’s hand gently. Y/N took in a deep breath, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill after Rebecca’s kind words.

The rest of the getting ready process flew by, and before Y/N knew it she was standing outside the doors of the church arm in arm with Ted. Her father had passed before she met Roy and seeing as Ted was the world’s greatest father figure, she knew he was the one to walk her down the aisle. Ted cried when she asked him, and he was fighting back tears now.

“You look absolutely beautiful, Y/N.” Ted said when he saw her, holding out his arm for her to take. She took it, smiling at Ted as they waited for their cue to enter. Y/N took in a deep breath as the doors swung open, watching as everyone stood up when she took her first steps into the hall.

Y/N smiled at all her friends and family before turning her gaze to Roy, and the tears she’d been holding back all day finally started to spill. There he was, looking absolutely incredible in his black suit, and as they locked eyes his jaw dropped. His hands flew to cover his mouth, and Y/N could see the tears come down his cheeks.

She laughed softly, smiling as wide as she could at her fiancé. Ted was openly crying watching the interaction, and as he locked eyes with Beard, he could see the tears welling in his eyes as well.

Just before they reached the end of the aisle, Ted pulled Y/N into a crushing hug, trying not to ruin her hair or makeup. “I’m so proud of you both.” He muttered, giving Y/N a gentle squeeze before pulling away. He paused, before moving to give Roy an equally crushing hug.

This made everyone erupt with laughter, but they quickly settled down once the priest started talking. “You look so beautiful.” Roy whispered, his voice wavering a little. Y/N smiled brightly, wiping away a tear.

“Now, I believe you’ve written your own vows?” The priest said, and they both nodded. Roy reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper, while Y/N reached into her bra and pulled out a set of palm cards.

“Guess I’ll go first then. Roy, when I first met you, I was nervous and scared and I’m gonna be honest, a bit tipsy, but as soon as I saw you, I knew I was a goner. I’ve been through some awful relationships, and I felt like I was never going to get that fairy-tale romance everyone harps on about, but then you came along. You’ve seen me at my best, my worst, my over-dramatic, and everything in between, and yet you continue to love me despite all that. You’re the love of my life, Roy Kent, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life growing old and grumpy with you.” Y/N said, looking at Roy who was beaming at her, nothing but pure love in his eyes.

“Right. I’ve never been a man of many words, but you mean so fucking much to me that I wrote out a script and everything. I love you, Y/N, and although neither of us are perfect, I know that we make each other better. You’re the person I trust most, and I can’t wait to be able to call you my wife. My life has been a bit rough, but ending up with you has been the greatest gift I’ve ever received.” Roy said, not looking at his script once. Y/N’s face held nothing but joy, and they were barely listening when the priest got them to say their ‘I do’s.

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The priest said, and the couple smiled brightly at each other.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Roy said, smirking at Y/N before pulling her into what was arguably the best kiss of their lives. The crowd erupted into cheers, the entire Richmond team standing up and yelling as loud as they could.

As the newlywed couple walked back down the aisle, the team burst out into a chant that made everyone speechless. “They’re here, they’re there, they’re every-fucking-where, the Kents, the Kents!”

Y/N and Roy burst out into laughter, having to stop in the middle of the aisle to recover.  Wiping tears of laughter away, they left the church, more than eager to start their new life together.

[awheckery]

so. uh.

cut for frank discussion of chronic illness and the serious failures of the american healthcare system. tw for fatphobia and gaslighting.

Last July, I got sick. It wasn’t too bad at first: some fatigue, body aches and a slightly elevated temp, until suddenly it was bad and I wound up in the ER. It took three rounds of steroids, a round of antibiotics and a more powerful inhaler to get my feet back under me, but I never fully recovered.

I didn’t talk about it here, except for answering an ask in October and blaming my lack of creative output on depression. It really, really wasn’t depression; it was my health progressively collapsing, one system after another until the avalanche of symptoms that flattened me just after New Year’s.

For the last four months, I’ve spiked a fever over 100°F nearly every single day. My joints hurt. My knuckles are knobbly and swollen, and occasionally my fingers are so painful and weak I’ve had to literally tape my pen to my hand at work. I get rashes at random that itch so badly I claw myself bloody. I overheat and have hot flashes in temperate rooms. The skin on my face and neck and shoulders turns red and hot to the touch, like I’m burning for hours with no immediately discernible provocation.

Some days, I wake up and I don’t have the strength to get out of bed. Some days I can’t wake up at all. I’ve slept through deafening alarms for hours, long enough for my phone battery to run out and die. I can only stand up for ten minutes a day without being hobbled by the effort, and every extra minute beyond that I pay for in hours spent bedbound by exhaustion and pain.

I keep losing words. I’ll arrive at the middle of a sentence and stumble to a halt, because the word I need isn’t there. It’s not true aphasia, and it’s not all the time. I comprehend written and verbal communication perfectly well, but I can’t get my own thoughts out without tripping over them.

I am, to quote a friend attending school to be a nurse practitioner, “a textbook case for SLE,” and I agree, but somehow I can’t pay a doctor to treat me seriously.

In January, I was referred to a rheumatologist after the bloodwork my PCP ordered indicated I had autoimmune activity of some kind.

To date, that’s my only test for anything that’s come out definitively positive for any kind of disease state at all. Ever. I tested negative for celiac disease on a technicality nine years ago, despite how specifically and intensely sick gluten makes me, so I was dismayed but not too surprised when follow-up bloodwork for lupus came back just barely inside the range of “normal.” Despite that, I wasn’t prepared to be jerked around as much as I have been.

The first rheumatologist I saw, back at the end of January, had barely been in the exam room for thirty seconds when I could see he’d already made up his mind about me. He was dismissive and perfunctory and condescending when he told me that “plenty of perfectly healthy people have positive ANA results,” and he referred me back to my PCP for an exercise program and antidepressants to treat my “fibromyalgia.”

Putting aside that I’m not a “perfectly healthy person,” I’m a Fat Lady living in America, and I’ve experienced medical fatphobia for decades at this point. You learn the key words and phrases pretty quickly, and “exercise program” has never not been a euphemism for “weight loss.” (Which is heavily ironic in this particular situation, because before I was Fat, I walked 2-3 miles a day for funsies and spent 15-20 hours in the gym every week. I only stopped because I somehow shredded both my ACLs in one summer. I’d love to get back to that if a rheumatologist could help me figure out how to be active and uninjured at the same time.)

I was frustrated after that first appointment, enough to request a referral to one of the best teaching hospitals in the country. Why not go to the best, right? There was a five month wait for an appointment, but I am stubborn, and I made use of the time by documenting every bullshit symptom my body threw at me. I have a daily symptom journal, full of subjective entries like my pain and fatigue levels, as well as objective entries like daily temperature changes and photos of my rashes and my burning face and my goddamn mouth ulcers.

I thought I had enough logged to be impossible to ignore, and then I saw the second rheumatologist three weeks ago, and the first sentence out of her mouth was the beginning of an interrogation on my blood pressure, and whether I was taking medication or if I was on a fucking exercise program for it. I tried to get the appointment back on track by sharing my symptom diary, and she turned back to my just-under-the-wire test results, and told me, “many healthy people have positive ANA results, it doesn’t mean anything without other positive test results for specific conditions.”

I said, “Healthy people don’t run a fever for months.”

And then she told me that a "fever is not associated with any of the conditions a rheumatologist treats." I was so startled by the confidence and authority with which she stated the lie that I was unable to speak to rouse a defense or contribute anything else for the rest of the appointment. After an insultingly brief examination, in which I never took my face mask off and she declined to look at any of my photos, she said that she “didn’t see anything that could be rheumatologically wrong with me.”

I asked her what she thought could be wrong with me, and she grudgingly admitted it’s possible, though rare to have an autoimmune disease and test negative for everything, so she would order more tests and refer me to appropriate specialists for my various symptoms. She ordered a referral to an infectious disease specialist for my fevers, and a referral to a dermatologist for my “rosacea” (that she’s assuming I have, because I would like to again note she did not see it, at no point did she actually look at my face or a photo of it), and a referral to an ENT for a salivary gland biopsy for my dry mouth, and a referral to a neurologist for my “stroke-like” memory and speech problems.

It was, all told, an unbearably shitty appointment. I cried in my car for an hour in the hospital parking garage so I wouldn’t do anything impulsive like lying down in traffic, and then I went home, cried some more, and went to bed for three days.

On the fourth day, I woke up enraged. It’s one thing to be blown off by a doctor when you’re just reporting symptoms without proof, it’s a wholly different thing for a doctor to ignore your proof and lie about diagnostic criteria to your face.

It’s hard enough not to think you’re crazy when your test results come back negative over and over; it’s that much harder after being told that your major concrete measurable symptom is diagnostically irrelevant, when it really, really isn’t.

(for the record, just going off the symptoms I can concretely prove I’ve experienced in the last week alone, I land a 16 on this chart, which is the most up-to-date, widely agreed-upon diagnostic criteria)

I have decided, for the moment, to play ball. I don’t have the energy to jump through all the hoops this rheumatologist wants, but I'm angry enough to drag myself through them. Tomorrow I’m supposed to see the infectious diseases specialist. On Wednesday I see the dermatologist. In two weeks I see the ENT, and I’ve got a neurology appointment tentatively scheduled for December.

I’m going to be blisteringly forthright with all of these doctors about why I’m there, and that I’m looking to exclude diagnoses other than the lupus I pretty obviously have. (Except with the ENT. Apparently they treat allergies, and I’d like to be able to go outside long enough to walk a dog, someday.)

I’m supposed to see this rheumatologist again at the end of November. Depending on how this week’s appointments go, I’m aiming to either move up my appointment with her when one becomes available, or just send a firm yet diplomatic email asking why the diagnostic criteria apply to everyone but me.

If anybody else has gotten through this fucking nightmare successfully, I’m open to suggestions, it’s not like it can get worse at this point.

[fayerieetale]

Apparently some tag question has been going around, and I thought these have been illegal already. AND nobody tagged me for it, so Imma tag myself cause I'm too lazy to study right now and I'm being a Leo.

1. What would the happiest and best version of yourself look like?

If I'm lying on my side with someone feeding me grapes, and at the flick of my fingers, people do what I please or what's on my mind.

2. What message/advice would you give to your past self?

NEVER WASTE YOUR TIME ON SOMEONE OR SOMETHING NOT WORTH IT-YOU WILL GET OVER THEM.

3. What is your happy place and why?

Church. HAHA, can't even lie to myself.

Last day of exams. I come home. Take a shower. Open the AC. Close the curtains and lights. And take a sleep for hours. Feeling all the exhaustion run out through my body.

4. Have you ever been in a toxic relationship? How did you get out of it? Any advice?

Yup. In all kinds of relationships. The thing is I don't get out, because I like it manipulative and toxic, well, at least, they do.

5. If money didn't matter (if you earned enough money from it) what job would you want to have and why?

Trauma surgeon. Period.

6. Do you have your happiest memory? If you don't mind sharing please tell us about it.

This is rather sad, but my happiest memory was just an expectation. It was supposed to happen last January. But it didn't. And that makes me extremely lonely.

7. Do you have your saddest memory? If you don't mind sharing please tell us about it.

Wow! that escalated rapidly. I think I have more sad memories than happy ones. And the thing is they're of the same level. But I'll choose two since I tagged myself and this is my page.

First: is that when my mother thought I cannot do med school since my sister is having difficulty in law school, which means if she's already having difficult time in doctorate school, what more if I do it.

Second: when someone who mattered to me said, not just on one but multiple occasions: "whenever i see a pretty pretty pretty girl on my social media, i wonder if you were even pretty"; don't get me wrong, these things didn't bother or bother me now, but during those times, I let myself to be vulnerable.

8. What is the movie/book/tv show that made you think a lot or made you change something about yourself?

Nietzsche book just to sound pretentious. Even the spelling is intimidating.

9. If you ever were to write a book what would it be about?

My autobiography. We need to epitomize me.

10. Do you have a strange habit?

Nope. Too perfect.

11. Have you ever met a person that drastically changed your life?

Yeah. We no longer talk.

12. How would you describe yourself in 5 words ?

I will never be enough.

13. What is your idea of a perfect day?

Waking up late in bed with the AC on, and the blanket just keeping me warm. Looking at the back of someone while he quietly makes breakfast for lunch, with sunlight hitting right through the gap of the curtains. Watching movies or reading a book after lunch, sleeping and snuggling, then going out for dinner and walking around Calle Crisologo. I'm easy to please provided that all of his attention, and eyes are on me. And well, if he carries me as I flick my fingers as if on cue.

14. Do you have any embarrassing stories from your life?

I am not romanticizing embarrassment. Just get the book. Refer to #9.

15. What is the strangest thing you've done or seen ?

I plead the 5th.

16. What is your gender identity? Do you think you do a lot of stereotypical things that are assigned to your gender?

I do exaggerated stereotypical things to mock the society. But in general, I couldn't care less.

17. If you could bring one character from a book to life, who would it be and why?

The wolf guy from Twilight. He seems hot. Hopefully he doesn't smell like a dog. (Refer to number 16)

18. Do you have a person in your life that makes you feel special or a person that you feel like you're soulmates with?

You mean personS?

19. What has been the hardest thing you had to deal with? Do you have any advice on how to deal with a similar situation?

Family stuff. Never limit yourself just because they don't believe in you. You do you.

20. What are you currently waiting for?

a. Getting married (refer to number 16)

b. Scholarship allowance

[missymurphy1985]

The Lesson

After breaking up with your long-term boyfriend, you finally found the courage to enrol at university, studying Modern Theatre. Your life now taking an unexpected detour to its original plan of marriage, babies, settling down. This is going to be an interesting year.

Tag List (message me to be added): @queenshelby @peakyscillian @ntmynouis @margoo0 @cloudofdisney

Warnings - smut / teacher.student relationship

Main Characters - Cillian Murphy (he's 35 and single for the purpose of this fic, no children)

"Hey!!! Over here!!" You heard Sarah, your best friend, shouting from the other side of the hall and made your way over.

"Thank god, I was starting to think I'd gone to the wrong place! This place is huge!!" You laughed as you hugged each other. Your bag slung over your shoulder, you linked arms with Sarah with your other arm as you made your way down to the Lecture Theatre.

"So how are you feeling?" Sarah asked.

"Nervous! I never, in a million years, thought I'd be doing this! I feel so old!" You laughed. At 26, you were easily the oldest student here, but Sarah laughed your worries away.

"Trust me, you're not. Once they revealed who the teacher was going to be this semester, a fair few extra people signed up to do that course y/n!" You looked at her confused.

"What, Mr Allen?? He's about 75 isn't he?" Sarah laughed again and left you at the door to your classroom, making her way to her own Design Studio at the bottom of the corridor to teach her own class.

"You'll see when you get inside!" She called behind her, smiling.

You took your seats near the front of the room, looking behind you you could see a gaggle of ladies in the back corner, all of them easily over the age of 40 with no clear interest at all in the subject at hand. They were all giggling like children.. this was going to be fun, you thought, rolling your eyes. Turning back round, you caught a glimpse of a dark haired man making his way through the door at the back of the room. As he made his way to the desk in the centre of the stage area in front of the students, you couldn't help but gasp a little. Jesus he was cute....

The ladies at the back squealed in delight and the man rolled his eyes.

"Right then, let's make a few things clear from the off shall we folks?" He spoke, his Irish accent booming through the auditorium. Everyone fell silent.

"I have a passion for the arts - I've been involved with them since I was 19. I'm here to teach you all I've learned over the last 16years and I plan on teaching it to like minded, dedicated people. People who want to make a career out of the beauty that is theatre. Those of you here simply to catch a glimpse of anything OTHER than a teacher doing his job, the doors at the back of the room." He stood still, leaning against the desk. The gasp at the back of the room was so loud, you couldn't help but giggle a little. Busted ladies. They all whispered to each other, a few of them glaring in the man's direction as they made their way to the back of the room. Slowly but surely, a few others also left sheepishly, men included, and you couldn't help but notice the man smiling a little underneath his floppy brown hair and round glasses. Who was this man??

"Now that's taken care of, I'm hoping I'm left with students that are here to learn the theatre and nothing else..." He paused, looking round the room. His eyes met yours and he paused for a second, raising his eyebrow slightly. You were now the oldest in the room, and you felt even more out of place. You kept a straight face, and maintained the eye contact with him. He wasn't bullying YOU out of here, you didn't care who he THOUGHT he was.

"Right... Well we'd better get going then!" His demeanour changed, he smiled broadly clapping his hands together. "My name's Cillian Murphy - please for the love of God call me Cillian... Mr Murphy is my Dad and I'm not quite ready for that level of old yet." A few chuckles in the room - that tension was gone. "This isn't the first time I've done a class like this, and I've had to evict people part way through for.. ah.. shall we say inappropriate behaviour. Wanted to nip that in the bud from the offset, so I apologise to you all now for the way the class started. Now, do you all have the textbooks the school sent out last month? Let's start on page 35 shall we?" The class, including you, opened the books in unison to find the chapter on Lighting and Sound. Cillian glanced back over at you, a look of uncertainty on his face. You could feel him staring, but refused to look up at him.

"So how are your classes going y/n?" Your mum walked into your apartment to find you studying, book one side, laptop the other and you making notes in the middle of your desk in the corner of the room. You'd given her a key a month prior so she could let your dog, Juno, out during the day while you were at uni.

"It's hard work! I had no idea there was so much to learn about the theatre, they make it look so easy!!"

Your mum laughed and went to the kitchen to put the kettle on for you both. Kicking back, you allowed yourself a break after 3 hours studying and met your mum at the small breakfast bar.

"I hear you have a new teacher too? Cillian Murphy?"

"Yeah, he's amazing! He's been there and done it all mum, the stories he tells are fascinating!"

"You know who he is, right?" You did know. You'd googled him when you got home after that first lesson. Pretty big hot shot actor, but you weren't bothered. He seemed pretty down to earth and normal to you.

"Yep I know - you'd never think it though, he's so... Normal I guess?"

"Cute too."

"Mother! Behave!" You both giggled. You couldn't deny he was very attractive though - but you could tell he was a professional. No way had he even looked at you that way - in fact you were convinced he thought you were there purely for him, rather than the course, so you were even more determined to pass this semester with flying colours to prove a point.

The following weeks were filled with more information than you could get your head around. You hated to admit it, but you were struggling to keep up. You hated admitting defeat, but you were really starting to wonder if you could carry on at this pace. Your work was starting to slip, and Cillian had noticed it too, much to your dismay. He'd called a 1-2-1 with you this afternoon, and you were convinced he was going to pull you from the course. You knocked on the door of his office, the defeat written all over your face.

"Come in y/n.."

"Hi.." you tried to smile as you sat across from him. He had your latest piece of coursework in front of him on the desk and he was leaning back in the chair, eyeing you through the rims of his round glasses. Standing up, he made his was over to the drinks cabinet in the corner of the room and pulled out a bottle of Irish Whiskey. You watched him, silently, as he put two glasses on the desk.

"Shouldn't be drinking this during the day, but felt the need. Want one?" You smiled, nodding your head.

"Conversation is clearly not going to be a fun one, no?"

"What makes you say that? I'm just lightening the mood y/n, you walked in here looking like you were going to either cry or knock me out!" He laughed, and offered you the glass. You took it, and sat it in your hands. Your fingers connected and you forced down a gasp at the contact. You'd refused to show him any kind of attraction but it was difficult while he was sat so close to you.

"Listen, I know I'm falling behind Cillian, I'll make it up I promise -"

"Stop. It's okay. Yes, your marks are dropping slightly, but not by much, okay? I'm seeing real potential in you. I invited you here to talk to you about some extra classes to help bump you back to where you need to be. What do you say?" He took a sip of the whiskey and so did you. Relief washing through you as the warm liquid fell down your throat. Hopefully it hid the blush in your cheeks.

"Um.. wow... Okay.. yeah! That'd be great, thank you!" He smiled again. God that smile... Stop it y/n.. he's your teacher, stop.. he sat back down at his desk and handed you a book.

"Great! I've put my phone number on the inside cover. Have a read of this, and call me when you're done. I think you'll like it." You took the book and smiled. A history of Modern Theatre. You agreed, definitely an interesting read.

"Is it classed as 'appropriate' for a teacher to give a student his phone number, Cillian?" You smirked, referring to his opening outburst on that first day. He chuckled.

"Maybe not, but I'm not a teacher, I'm an actor helping out the local university for a semester while the actual teacher takes a leave of absence." You'd heard Mr Allen had fallen ill, Cillian was just a temporary stand in for three months. Nothing permanent. "I have a new job starting in January, I'll be done here by Christmas." You couldn't help but feel a bit sad at the thought of him not being around anymore. Without admitting it, you'd looked forward to seeing him every day in class. He stood again, and raised his glass in a toast. You raised yours.

"What are we drinking to?"

"You. We're drinking to you y/n. I'm telling you, I'm seeing some real potential with you - you're going far, just need to focus more on the content, that's all." You blushed again.. was that the reason you were distracted? Him? Maybe. "Meet me back here tonight, around 4:30? Should be done with marking by then, we can make a start?" You agreed, a nervous knot forming in your stomach.

**************************************

You'd been having your 1-2-1 meetings with Cillian for more than a month now, and your marks were certainly improving. You had finished the book he gave you, but you hadn't plucked up the courage to text him yet. Watching TV alone in your apartment one evening, you downed your third glass of wine and picked up your phone. He wouldn't have given you the number if he didn't expect you to use it, come on y/n...

"Hey Cillian? Just letting you know I finished the book. Really good read, thank you! I'll have it back with you in the morning. And thank you for spending time with me helping to improve my marks too, it's really helped. Y/n x" pressing send, you cursed yourself, why the hell did you put a X at the end!!! You cursed again when it was delivered... Then again when its status changed to 'read'... Oh crap... A reply.

"Glad you liked it! It's been a pleasure, you're doing a great job! Cx." He put one on his text too... Come on y/n, you're not a teenager anymore, get a grip of yourself!!! Your phone pinged again.

"Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow xx" 2 kisses? Ping.. "Maybe we can finish more than your coursework.x" What did that mean? Was he flirting with you?

"What did you have in mind? X"

"There's still half a bottle of whiskey in the cupboard, shame to let it go to waste X"

"I don't think you'd be able to keep up with me Cillian 😉" you typed, feeling a bit braver.

"Challenge accepted y/n. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon X" you knew his stint at the university was coming to a close, was he flirting with you?

****************************************

You knocked Cillian's office door at 4:30 sharp, knowing how much of a stickler he was for punctuality. You felt nervous, after your texts last night you didn't know what to expect - was he flirting or were you just overthinking it? The door opened, and he stood aside to welcome you in, a smile on his face as he greeted you.

"Good to see you y/n, come on in!" He walked to the cabinet in the corner. "I never turn down a challenge, you in?" You smiled, nodding, as he poured two glasses.

"Good job I left the car at home this morning," you chuckled as he brought his glass to meet yours. Both of you sinking it down in one, you grimaced as the liquid slipped down your throat and he took the glass from you to pour another.

"We'll take this one a bit slower y/n, what do you say?" His eyes darkened slightly, the alcohol clearly having an effect. You couldn't help the warm feeling running through your groin as he licked his lips to clear them of the whiskey remnants that sat on them.

"Whatever you say sir.." he glanced up at you as you said 'sir', and leaned against the desk.

"Sir? Since when did you call me sir?" He tilted his head back slightly, glass swirling in his hand. You sipped your drink and stood to face him, confidence growing. You could see his attraction towards you, and you decided to go with it.

"Since you decided to try and seduce your student... Sir." He swallowed hard, the game clearly up, watching you take a step towards him. Your bodies inches apart, he brought his hand up to rest on your hip, pulling you that little bit closer.

"Probably shouldn't have put kisses on a text to your teacher, then, should you.."

"Probably shouldn't have given me your phone number then, should you.." the air was hot now, your bodies touching gently, your breathing becoming deeper. You brought your hands to his chest, over his shoulders, and he quickly spun you round so you were now sat on his desk. His lips found yours and he ground his hips against your core, your legs parted allowing him access, skirt hitched up to your waist.

"I've wanted you since that first day... Fuck y/n you're beautiful... Sexy... Smart..." He kissed your neck between each word, breathing becoming hot and heavy. Suddenly stopping, he kissed your lips before making his way to the door, turning the key in the lock, before coming back to finish what you started. Unbuttoning your blouse and opening it, his hand snaked around your breasts, underneath the black lace bra. Groaning slightly, he moved his hands lower, down your abdomen.

"Leave as much on as possible... I'm taking you on this desk, right now.. you okay with that?"

"Like I said sir, I don't know if you'll be able to keep up with me.." your leg pushed him away slightly as you stood up, pushing him against the wall. You sank to your knees, taking his trousers and boxer shorts down with them, his cock springing up, twitching, begging for attention. Gasping, he watched you lick a circle around the swollen head, down the shaft, before taking one of his balls into your mouth and sucking lightly. His hand in your hair now, pulling it gently as he groaned. You continued teasing him with your tongue, before taking the tip of his cock into your mouth, giving it a hard suck, releasing it with a pop, sending his head back against the wall.

"Fuck... Take it y/n.. take it down..." You smiled, before sinking your mouth over his cock, all the way down the back of your throat, groaning into it sending shockwaves through him.

"Lets see how much you can take..." You sucked harder, not giving him time to react. Moving your head quickly up and down his shaft, you felt your core begin to leak, you'd never felt as turned on in your life as you did right now. You felt his legs start to shake...

"Yes.. fuck yes... Feels so good baby... Suck it... Harder.. god fuck yes..." His balls tightened, you could feel him trying to pull back but you held him firm with your hands on his hips, willing him to empty into you. "I'm gonna... You might... Jesus.... Fuck...." He came hard, gripping your hair for support as he came hard, you felt his cum shoot in the back of your throat and swallowed as much as you could, some of it spilling down your chin. You pulled your mouth away, holding your mouth slightly open so he could see his cum on your tongue before swallowing it back down.

"That was... My god... Fuck y/n..."

"Oh you will sir, you definitely will. I'm not done with you yet.." you stood up and sat back on the desk, legs parted again to reveal your core to him, completely bare. He didn't see you remove your underwear while you were sucking him, but he wasn't complaining. Gathering himself, he moved to stand between your legs and pulled your lips to his, kissing you passionately, tasting a little of himself in the process and feeling surprisingly aroused from it. He moved his mouth down to your core, running his tongue along your open slot painfully slowly.

"Cillian... Please... Need to cum...."

"You will, baby, oh you will..." You moved your hands to his soft, floppy hair and pulled his face where you needed it. He loved you taking control and took your clit with his tongue, pressing it, rolling it around his tongue as he felt you begin to shake. You lifted a leg onto the desk to give him better access, and he inserted two fingers inside you, tipping them up to meet your g spot deep inside, emitting a sharp cry from you as you three your head back.

"Yes!!! Oh god yes... Right there... Fuck!!" Your hips were involuntarily rolling against his face now, riding his tongue as he brought you more pleasure than you thought was possible. Within minutes, your orgasm was building, and sensing it, he pumped his fingers harder against that one spot that was making you see stars. Three pumps and you came hard against his face, liquid flowing from you like a waterfall, hitting the floor underneath you as you screamed Cillians name. He leaned back on his ankles, watching you coming undone, smiling. Once you'd caught your breath, your eyes fell onto his his.

"Feeling proud of yourself there Mr Murphy?" You smiled. He stood between your thighs again.

"Extremely. But I'm not done with you yet. Turn around y/n." His blue eyes darker now. Your core throbbed, knowing what was coming. Standing up, turning round, you bent over his desk, his hands parting your legs. Taking a condom from his bag behind him, you heard the packet rip open and you rotated your hips, teasing him. He groaned deeply as he started to push his length into you, inch by inch.

"Ohh... Oh god..." You weren't ready for his size, you legs parting as much as possible. Inch by inch he pushed, allowing you to adjust, before bottoming out, his balls resting near your still throbbing clit.

"I'm gonna fuck you hard against this desk, y/n... You're gonna take every thrust like the good girl you are..." You bucked your hips up and he responded by pulling his cock nearly out, and thrusting back in powerfully enough to make you scream his name. Picking up the pace, he leaned over to grab your hair in his hand, giving it a sharp tug as he thrust into you from behind over and over, relentlessly.

"Harder... Cillian harder!!! Fucking... Oh god yes!!!" Loving the sound of your cries and the feel of your pussy contracting around his cock, he knew you were close to another orgasm.

"Rub yourself... Rub your clit baby, make yourself cum for me..." You reached a hand round to your core and found that bundle of nerves. Circling it hard, your orgasm built up again and you swore you saw stars.

"Good girl.... That's it baby... Let it go, I've got you... Let it go...." That was all you needed to hear. You came hard, and he couldn't hold back once he felt your walls contracting round him. "I'm... Oh y/n yes... Yes!" He stilled, you felt his cock pulsate, filling the condom. Both of you breathless, he fell forwards resting against your back.

He pulled out gently, pulling the condom off and disposing of it in the bin, he chuckled slightly.

"Remind me to empty the bin before we leave... I don't think the cleaner will expect to see that in there in the morning!" You laughed too, standing up to face him.

"That was incredible... Just amazing..." You rested your head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around your waist, kissing your hair gently.

"I enjoyed that too y/n.. and I'd really like to see you again, if you'll let me?"

"I'd like that..." You smiled. You'd convinced yourself if anything happened it would probably be a one time thing, I mean he was a famous actor, what would he want with you? You had no illusions going into this.

"My teaching finishes here in 2 weeks - what do you say I take you out for dinner when it's done?"

"Sounds like a plan Cillian. But am I supposed to stay away until then?"

"Definitely not, y/n, we've still got a few 1-2-1 sessions to squeeze in before I leave..." He leaned down to kiss you, pushing you back against the desk again. His erection pressing against your core again. "It would appear I'm able to keep up after all y/n..."