#Handsome Howler

[roboraindrop]

I made me n my non-BD f/os too :b All except Warp, because they didn't have a blue skin tone fkdjsb

[forestdeath1]

1000% canon-compliant fanfic "Dead Gay Wizards". Wolfstar, Jegulus

***

Sirius is looking at himself in the mirror in the train's toilet. He adjusts his beautiful wavy hair and clips a star-shaped pin into it. After all, Sirius is the name of the brightest star, so Sirius always has to highlight his connection to it.

Sirius fusses a bit more in front of the mirror, and satisfied with his appearance, leaves and heads to the compartment. Opening the door, his heart skips a beat. Sirius sees him and freezes at the entrance.

Over the summer, Remus has grown taller and more muscular. His dark hair falls in light waves across his forehead, and a long scar on his face only makes him look more striking and intense. He has a gaze that suggests he has figured everything out in life. It's a look of confidence and nonchalance. A street-smart guy, this Remus. He smells of the danger, fights, and strength.

Sirius can't breathe.

“Siri, why are you standing in the doorway?” James's voice snaps him out of it.

“Um, I... uh...” Sirius mumbles and awkwardly sits down.

“Hi, Sirius,” Remus turns his deep eyes towards him, as if seeing right through him.

“Bonjour,” Sirius mutters.

***

James looks at Sirius and then winks – of course, James has figured it out. It's Remus – the guy who by fourth year had been the first kiss of nearly everyone. Everyone had a bit of a crush on him, especially in Gryffindor – the house known for having 90% gay students. This is why the Black family was so furious about Sirius being sorted there, even sending him a Howler saying he shouldn't have ended up in the "f- house."

Well, almost everyone had a crush on Remus – except Lily. Because Lily was crazy about Mary, and that broke James’s heart.

They arrive at Hogwarts and go to the Great Hall. As they sit down, James sees Lily looking at Mary with timid hope. His mood drops, and his gaze accidentally falls on the Slytherin table...

Damn.

Could that be Sirius’s brother? Last year, James barely noticed him, but this year... he's so tall, a bit arrogant, so... handsome? James accidentally chokes on his drink, and Remus immediately pats him on the back, saying in a serious deep voice:

“Be careful, James.”

But James can’t be careful anymore. He feels he's fallen into a terrible trap.

***

Regulus is walking back from his first Quidditch practice, where he was chosen as Seeker. He's also now a prefect. He’s happy because Regulus will do anything to please his parents, so they won’t torture him. His parents have no joys left since they almost ran out of money after that scoundrel Uncle Alphard took it all. Regulus is even ready to go to the extreme measure of becoming a Death Eater, just as his father and mother want, to save his family from ruin. Voldemort demands financial support from every pureblood family, and since the Blacks can’t give money, they’ll give their son to his service. Maybe they can get Sirius too, but it’s unlikely Voldemort would want to deal with the disgrace his older brother is.

Does Regulus want to become a Death Eater? No. But everyone thinks Voldemort is his idol. Because Regulus Arcturus Black knows how to make his parents happy.

Regulus washes off the sweat, turns off the shower, and wraps a towel around himself. He steps out and bumps into...

“Potter, what are you doing here? It’s our team’s time.”

James Potter – the golden boy adored by everyone in school – except Slytherins, of course. A brilliant captain and Quidditch player, and... Sirius’s best friend.

Regulus feels disgusted because Sirius is his family’s biggest shame and a dark stain. Sirius is not only a gay but also James’s sidekick, always whining about how unfairly his parents treat him. As if he can’t handle a few Cruciatus Curses from his mother. That irritates Regulus, and he wishes he could forget he has such a disgraceful brother.

“I came to prepare for practice,” Potter says with a cocky smile.

Regulus suddenly notices that Potter is undressed and looks at his tanned, muscular body from Quidditch. Something clicks in Regulus’s mind.

Suddenly, Regulus realizes he’s a gay too...

“Move out of the way,” Regulus says in French, quickly grabs his robe, and leaves the changing room.

***

“Get lost,” Remus says roughly to Snape, who has his wand pointed at Sirius.

Sirius feels relieved. Snape sneers, holding a grudge but unwilling to fight Remus. Everyone knows Remus has anger issues, and if he gets mad, it’s trouble for everyone. So, Snape slinks back and runs off into the castle.

“Merci,” Sirius says mildly.

Remus doesn’t reply, just looks at Sirius for a long time, then leans against a tree and lights a fag, watching the smoke rise into the sky. He’s so tall…

Sirius feels his heart flip again because he desperately wants to shag Remus. Everyone wants to shag Remus. And Sirius must be one of the first.

***

Everyone thinks that Sirius and James are smart on their own, but Peter knows the truth – Remus does all their homework, and Peter helps Remus. Because Peter knows that he is incredibly smart, it’s just that no one else sees it. Peter is so smart that he knows how to hide his intelligence – just in case it might come in handy.

But within the Marauders, everyone has long known that the brains of the group are Remus. He came up with the Marauder’s Map, made the mirror for Sirius and James to communicate when they got detention (they always get caught...). And it was Remus who figured out how to become Animagi because James and Sirius had the idea to support Remus that way, but they didn't know what to do and didn't want to give up on the idea. So, to prevent them from hurting themselves, Remus tiredly agreed to help them find the process, otherwise, those idiots might injure themselves.

Peter agreed, and he also helped Remus because Peter was actually very, very smart and capable. His smartest decision was to hide his intelligence and skills, especially from McGonagall. Every time McGonagall scolded him for mistakes, Peter secretly chuckled to himself, knowing he was fooling everyone.

***

“Mon ami,” Sirius purrs, sitting next to Remus. Remus slowly turns his head to look at this beautiful boy who is soft, feminine, and so… dramatic. Something about him attracts Remus, but he doesn’t want to dive too deep because he’s afraid of drowning in Sirius’s drama.

“What?”

“Can you help me with my homework?” Sirius purrs, snuggling closer to Remus.

Remus sighs wearily.

“Sirius, have you ever thought about picking up a textbook?”

Sirius’s face twists in a pout, and tears gather in the corners of his eyes.

“Fine, just don’t cry, please.”

“Hooray!” Sirius jumps up and gives Remus a friendly kiss. Remus feels himself getting aroused.

***

At his birthday, Sirius drinks so much that Remus has to carry him to bed.

“Mon ami,” Sirius says as Remus puts him to bed, “don’t leave.”

Remus lies down in the bed, and they fall asleep.

***

A week has passed since they fell asleep together, and Sirius can’t stand just fantasizing about Remus anymore – he needs him. He really wants to shag him. Remus is too stern to make the first move, but Sirius knows Remus feels something too…

So, one day after Hogsmeade, when they’re both partially drunk, they end up alone together. In the room, they stand for a long time, just looking at each other, then suddenly reach for each other.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Remus says.

“Why?” Sirius whispers.

“Because…”

***

Remus doesn’t know how to answer. He’s not sure if he wants to be in a relationship with Sirius. Something inside him suggests that Sirius doesn’t take things seriously enough. That Sirius is too superficial.

“Because it’s too soon, isn’t it?” Remus says.

“Alright,” Sirius sighs and drops to his knees in front of him.

***

Snape knows he must get revenge on Remus, who constantly torments him and protects Sirius and Potter. He starts digging into Remus’s secrets. He knows Remus is a werewolf, and for some reason, Lily doesn’t see it, and Snape needs proof. For months, Snape has been snooping around. This isn’t his only problem – there’s also the nasty gang of Slytherin Skittles, who always make life hard for the Marauders. But lately, the Slytherin Skittles have eased up on the Marauders, which is suspicious... So Snape feels he must destroy Remus and the other Marauders himself.

***

“I know who he is,” Snivellus says.

Sirius feels rage building inside him. This vile Snape has caused them so much trouble. And then a brilliant idea comes to him…

“Want proof?”

“Yeah?”

“Go to the Whomping Willow tonight and…”

***

Sirius enters the room, looking pleased with himself.

“I solved the Snape problem.”

“How?” Peter asks.

“We have a damn weapon – the werewolf! Hahaha,” Sirius laughs, and Peter and James look at each other in horror.

“What did you do, Siri?” James jumps up.

Sirius explains. “I thought it was brilliant, wasn’t it?”

***

In the morning James tells Remus everything that happened that night...

“He thought it was brilliant.”

“It’s harmful for him to think,” Remus replies dryly.

Inside, Remus feels broken. He will never forgive Sirius.

Sirius will no longer be part of their group.

***

Everyone says Sirius is James’s best friend, but James has always considered that he has three best friends – Remus and Peter too. He loves each of them equally and would die for each of them. Friendship is sacred to James, and each of them is part of his flesh and bone. He would never let anyone harm them.

Alright , he loved each of them.

What Sirius did is a biblical betrayal that James isn’t sure he can forgive. How could Sirius do this to Remus? Especially after everything between them?

“I told you,” Regulus says, lighting a cigarette in the Room of Requirement. “This is Sirius. He thinks of no one but himself.”

James feels pain and wants to cry. But he holds back. Because Regulus… Regulus is in pain too.

James approaches cautiously from behind.

“Can I hug you?”

Regulus nods.

***

Sirius approached Remus, his eyes filled with tears.

“Rem…”

“What do you want?”

“Rem, I didn’t mean…”

“What did you mean?”

“Just… to teach Snape a lesson. To make him leave you alone.”

“No, Sirius. You don’t see the wolf inside me as part of me. You see me as a weapon and a monster. That’s all.”

Sirius feels tears streaming down his cheeks.

“N-n-no…”

“Yes, Siri,” Remus says, wearily taking a drag on his fag. “I can’t forgive you. The wolf inside me can’t forgive you. At least not now.”

And Remus drops the cigarette and walks away without looking back. All Sirius can see is his disappointed, tired eyes. Sirius falls to his knees and starts to sob uncontrollably.

***

It's nearly Christmas, and Sirius hasn’t talked to anyone for a month. He’s returned to Grimmauld Place. Yesterday, Walburga gave him a preventative Cruciatus Curse, so that today Sirius would agree to become a Death Eater. They want to send Sirius into service instead of Regulus because Sirius is their disgrace and they’re happy to be rid of him, while they want to protect Regulus a little longer.

But Sirius refuses.

His mother screams at him:

“You bloody f-! They taught you this, didn’t they? Crucio!”

Sirius’s screams echo through the house.

***

Regulus is terrified when he hears his mother yelling at Sirius.

He wants to be with James. To the warmth of that sunny boy, who promised to save him.

James always saves. Those who can be saved.

But some people can’t be saved, and Regulus thinks that maybe one of those people is his selfish, hysterical older brother Sirius.

***

After the tenth Cruciatus Curse, Sirius decides to run away. He turns into a dog and runs, not caring where he goes.

***

Sirius left Regulus alone with their parents.

Sirius abandoned him.

Sirius left.

Selfish bastard.

***

“He abandoned me,” Regulus says to James when they’re at Hogwarts. “And you took him in.”

James feels ashamed.

“I haven’t forgiven him. But he has nowhere else to live. So he’s staying with us. Listen, Reg. I’ll get you out of there, you hear me?”

Regulus nods but doesn’t believe him.

***

During the Easter holidays, Regulus is supposed to take the Dark Mark. He stands in front of the mirror in his ceremonial robes. James promised to save him, but… apparently he won’t. No one cares about Regulus.

Suddenly, he hears a noise at the window and looks over – there’s James on a broomstick.

“What are you waiting for? Get on!”

Regulus climbs out, and they fly away.

“Where are we going?”

“To my home!”

***

“Regulus Black?” Monty says. “Merlin, you look exhausted…”

They took him in as their own son. Over time, they even started to love him more than James. Euphemia always said:

“At least one of my sons is smart…” meaning Regulus.

With much sorrow, James forgave Sirius, and now the three of them lived together.

***

Remus also forgave Sirius.

For months, Sirius walked around with tear-streaked eyes, feeling unwanted, with no money, and his grades had gotten even worse. Remus felt sorry for him. So he decided Sirius had suffered enough and forgave him.

But their first time having sex was brutal because Remus poured all his anger into it and nearly tore Sirius apart.

He also marked Sirius as part of his pack.

Now Sirius is his bitch.

When Remus calls him that, Sirius whines in satisfaction. Sirius loves it when Remus dominates him.

***

Remus, Peter, James, Sirius, and Regulus sit together by the fireplace. Remus holds Sirius close, as Sirius melts in his arms. James holds Regulus. Only Peter sits alone, because he is the straightest of them all, straighter than an arrow, and secretly a homophobe. But Peter is also very smart, so he knows how to hide it.

They’re at James’s house, eating naan with curry, and discussing everything that has happened.

“And Dumbledore said we need to become Dumbledore’s Army to fight Voldemort,” James says quietly.

“But we’re not 17 yet?”

“Dumbledore said it doesn’t matter, because the main thing is to defeat Voldemort, and then the Ministry. And he said it would be better if I became a Death Eater to spy for him,” Regulus adds.

“I won’t fight for Dumbledore. I hate him. He did nothing to protect me and Reggie from our parents,” Sirius spits.

Remus looks at them, troubled.

“I think he took me into the school just to use me as a weapon and to communicate with other werewolves through me… a power-hungry old bastard, that’s what he is.”

Sirius, with tears in his eyes, snuggles closer to Remus.

“I’ll never let you go.”

“I won’t leave you,” Remus says firmly.

“Well...” James says thoughtfully. “So, we have two enemies? Voldemort and Dumbledore?”

And then Peter realizes that these four are real idiots and thinks, to hell with them, he definitely won’t survive with them, and starts devising a plan of betrayal.

***

The end of fifth year, 1000% canon-compliant fanfic "Dead Gay Wizards"

[freelanceexorcist]

Just thought of something.

Spoilers under the cut.

The way the Nibelheim public treated Sephiroth says a lot about how people treat celebrities. I don’t know if it was deliberate, but if it was, well-played writers.

The photographer snapping a picture without Sephiroth’s consent or knowledge and when his back was turned. And when he declined the photo op, you stomped on that boundary and begged Cloud and Tifa to talk him into it. I see you, paparazzi.

The crowd outside every building he was in chanting his name and demanding his time and attention. I see you, crowd of feral howler monkeys that nearly trampled me and my friends because we had the misfortune of walking past a restaurant in the MGM Grand in Vegas at the same time Britney Spears was walking out of it.

Mad respect for the random villager guy who tried to wrangle the stans and get them to back off. I hope you were spared when Nibelheim fell.

Sephiroth post-library: “BURN THEM ALL!!! Except for you, Keith. You had my back.”

The mayor acting offended while recounting that Sephiroth walked right past him like he wasn’t even there? Never mind that he was in distress and probably in his own head working through his 35th panic attack. I see you, people who expect famous strangers to treat you like family and slander them online because they didn’t perform to your expectations.

All that was missing was someone saying “Oh, boo hoo. His life is so hard. He’s tall, handsome and famous. I’d kill for all that.”

[nolita-fairytale]

dating young!sirius black (remote island au)

au headcanon where you and young!sirius black flee the country to live on a remote island and raise baby harry instead of going to azkaban

part i: dating sirius black at hogwarts would include:

for most of your time at hogwarts, you had always found sirius and the rest of the marauders quite insufferable. though he’s had his eye on you since third year, he never thought he’d have a shot with the stunning ravenclaw girl at the top of their class. 

sirius is too arrogant for your liking and he’s a shameless flirt. he’s the kind of hot guy that knows he’s hot. you’ve heard the rumors: that he’s a ladies man, that he knows how to do things most of your class has only read about in books. during your fifth year, you lost count of just how many girls he snogged first term alone. not that you were counting.

he’s the life of the party and manages to pull the attention of every room he enters. this fact simultaneously intrigues you and gets under your skin.

it’s not until after the holidays during sixth year that he begins to pursue you, and you’re sure that you can resist his childish, immature, over the top attempts to charm you. boy were you wrong.

“you’re just interested in me because you’ve run out of girls in our year to snog, black.” “no, i haven’t! there are plenty others but none i want to snog as much as you, darling. come to hogsmeade with me this weekend.” “oh, i don’t think so, black. better luck next time.” “so you’re saying there’ll be a next time?” 

you only roll your eyes in response to his cheeky grin, even though you have to admit that you’re flattered.

each attempt continues to chisel away at your tough exterior. the shield you’ve tried best to build around yourself – the sirius black-resistant one – is beginning to fall. it’s not until sirius has a big fight with regulus that you find him sulking in the astronomy tower long after class is over. it doesn't take long for his handsome playboy facade to fall and when he confides in you about his family, you begin to understand why he lives with the potters. 

you spend all night together star-gazing, giggling, and keeping each other company in the astronomy tower before drifting off to sleep. when you’re caught by both of your heads of house sneaking back into the common room the next morning, it earns you both two weeks of detention and a howler from your parents that, you decide, was entirely worth it. 

you and sirius have your first kiss only a week later while polishing and dusting the various potion bottles in slughorn’s office. while trying his damndest to make you laugh, sirius ends up knocking over a vile of moonseed and as you both scramble to clean it up, you lean over and kiss him.

sirius on the other hand is absolutely smitten. gone are the days of being hogwarts’ most eligible bachelor. he’s as loyal as a dog (sorry, but i couldn’t help myself).

speaking of, you give him quite the lecture after learning about his status as an illegal and unregistered animagus starting with, ‘you could’ve gotten killed’ to ‘do you know how much trouble you’ll be in if anyone finds out’ and ending with ‘you’re such a good friend, siri.’ you can tell he gets off on breaking the rules and you can’t believe you’re falling in love with him. 

most days sirius loves to lay his head in your lap while you study, stretching his legs out on the couch of the gryffindor common room while you run your fingers through his hair. james and remus never let him live down the fact that he once took you on a picnic to the black lake, while peter admired his friend’s attempt at romance.

sirius rarely studies, yet still manages to get top marks which drives you absolutely insane. 

the rest of the marauders adore you and love having an excuse to tease sirius shamelessly over how lovesick he’s become. 

you lose your virginity to sirius the day before you leave for summer break between your sixth and seventh year. it’s filled with whispered ‘i love you’s, shy smiles, and finding out that all the rumors about him were true. 

you agree to visit a few weeks before you have to return to school and decide to leave out the fact that you’ll both be unsupervised when pitching the idea to your parents. 

you write to each other all summer long – some of which are very nsfw. he’s recently come into an inheritance from a sympathetic uncle and has managed to get his own place. sirius now has his own place and a head full of all kinds of things he wants to do with you. 

you have a hard time adjusting to being hogwarts IT couple as you enter your seventh year. you've never been one for the spotlight but sirius is worth it.

seventh year is filled with double dates with #jilly to hogsmeade, snogging in broom closets, and movie nights in the marauders dormitory using lily's projector and an old bedsheet.

sirius makes you brave and you make him happier than he ever believed he deserved. 

you’re at every quidditch game cheering him on, even when your own house is playing against gryffindor.

in the last few months of your seventh year, while lily and james can’t stop talking about marriage, sirius is shocked to discover that you don’t want to get married at all. because of this, you decide to go your separate ways after graduation, which only lasts a few months after you hook up during lily and james’ engagement party and decide that you absolutely can’t live without each other.

[nescaveckwriter]

Stethoscopes & Triangles - Chapter Two ❤️🐞

Sam Winchester x Reader

A/N: Awww !my bugsies, this is just soooo freaking cute, don't get me wrong!!!! I'm still a 'Dean girlie' but 'Sam' is growing on me🥹😱

Side Note: Thank you all for the love and support, I love each and everyone of y'all 🐞❤️🩷🥳

Warnings: Fluff, Hospital scene's, mentions of blood, if anything else, let me know!!!🐞🩷

'You put the boom-boom into my heart (ooh-ooh), you send my soul sky-high, when your lovin' starts, Jitterbug into my brain (yeah-yeah)'  her eyes flung open as the alarm went off, a smile crept onto her lips, tapping on Sam's chest with her fingertips to the beat, her voice fruity, when she starts singing with 'wham' ... 'wake me up before you go-go' ... She starts showering him with little kisses, "wake up, sleepyhead" a sleepy smile tugs at his mouth, his eyes soft as he looks at her beautiful face, "morning sweetie" without any warning he puts his hands on her hips, rolling her over so that he's hovering on top of her, she let's out a giggle, "morning babe".

His lips brushes over hers, the kisses getting more passionate with every second passing, pulling a little back, to come up for air, breathy and with a teasing smile she asks "aren't we going for our morning jog babe?" A devilish grin, forms on his handsome face, "oh I can think of another way we can burn some calories" and with no further hesitation, he kisses her lips, tracing down to her neck, then towards her collar bone, her body reacts too his lips gracing her skin.

Spending the better half off the morning in each other's arms, "I love you so much babe" her voice sweet.

"I love you too sweetie" he says placing a kiss at the crown of her head.

"I wish I could stay like this forever, your arms around me, hearing your heartbeat, but my shift is starting soon" saying with a half smile.

Glancing at the alarm clock his eyes widens, "oh shit, Hun, I'm late again!" He exclaims

"What?" Concern evident on her face

Teasing her, "it's your fault, don't act so innocent"

Pouting now! "How is it my fault"?

"Well it's your alluring beauty, that forces me to stay of course!" He mocks

Both of them burst into laughter as they get out of bed, while there busy getting ready for the day, they laugh and chat, like they do every morning. In the kitchen she makes the coffee, throwing some muesli and yogurt into 'to-go' bowls, as they will not have time to eat at home.

 Getting into Sam's car, driving her towards the subway train station, kissing each other goodbye, he drives off to his office, as she gets on the train, the hospital being on the opposite side of where they live, its just easier for her to commute this way.

---

Looking at the watch, what Amy gave him, for his birthday last year, engraved with, Love, Amy , cussing himself for walking into his office so late. 

''Morning Sir,'' the woman's voice sounded sugary

Confused expression on his face ''And you are?''

A smile on her, face, her almond eyes friendly ''I'm Ruby the temp standing in for Margie, while she's on maternity leave''

Scratching the back off his head ''Oh is it today already, I'm sorry, Hi, I'm Sam Winchester''

A giggle escapes her lips ''Its okay it looks like you had a busy morning''

''You have no idea, Miss? sorry your name? he questioned

''Oh, It's Ruby Jones'' her voice sweet

''Nice to meet you, Any messages?'' he asked

''Yes, two men called, a detective Novak, in connection with a case your working on, and another guy, he wanted to know how your doing, but didn't leave a name or contact details, sorry, would you like some coffee?'' she cheered

With a lifted brow, but with a smile, ''Thanks Ruby, I appreciate, I'm fine with the coffee for now, I'll howler if I need anything else''

''Alrighty Sir'' her voice rang

''Call me Sam'' he shouts as he walks into his office, closes the door behind him, glancing at the notes, his thoughts drifting off to the day he said he was going to college, off course his dad wasn't happy about, but nor was his older brother, Dean, at the time he thought it was because, he wanted to become a lawyer, as he gotten older, he realized, it wasn't the fact that he went to college, it was that he was leaving him behind, Dean has always taken care of him, when they were still little, his older brother carried him out of the house fire that took their mother's life, leaving their father bitter, and ever since that day, Dean swore he'll take care of him, but the day he moved to the city, to study, was like it broke something in their bond.

Every now and then he'll get a call from a man not leaving a name, but he knows its Dean, checking in on him, now and then, he'll wonder what Dean did with his life, of course he misses his big brother, but he has no way of getting in contact with him, and as for his father, he tried giving him a call on the first Christmas, but John was more bitter than ever, cussing Sam out from a side, the only thing he could make out of his dad's drunken slur, was that Dean has left him as well, but he had no information on were he is or what he's doing!

 The beeping sound on his phone, breaks his thoughts, 'Hey babe, have a great day, you've got this, I'm so proud of you, I love you' he loved getting texts from Amy, always telling him that, she's proud of him, and that she loves him, it gives him always that little extra nudge, to do better. Just quickly texting her back, 'Love you too babe, xoxo' before he dials, Detective Novak back.

---

As she walks in the big hospital doors, she reads Sam's text, she smiled, saying underneath her breath ''oh the love I have for that giant man'' walking towards the doctor's lounge, the charge nurse approaches her, her short platinum blonde hair, nicely styled with her longer side bangs, pinned behind her ears, making her high cheekbones more prominent, her olive-green eyes, sparkling and her full lips are turned upwards revealing a big smile, her voice sing-songs ''Hello Doctor Summers''

Her smile still evident on her face showing the dimples, ''Morning Nurse Brown, don't you look full of energy''

''You would be too Amy, George asked me last night to marry him'' she cheered, showing her the princess cut diamond ring on her slender finger.

Excitement in her voice, ''Ada that's amazing, congrats, I'm so happy for you'' pulling her into a celebratory hug. 

''Thank you, it was so romantic, tell you all about it over coffee'' she claimed

''Looking forward to it, Nurse almost Tucker'' she mocks

Only hearing the sing-song laughter as she walks towards the ER, thinking to herself, Ada Brown, is the only real friend she has in the whole hospital, for some reason, she's the only one who could see through her cold exterior, and even though she was reluctant letting a co-worker become a friend, Ada stuck by her side in the four years, she's been working here, and some where along the line, they became like sisters, of course the other staff, has no clue how the friendly outgoing nurse, can be friends with the cold doctor, but if anyone, tries to tell her about how cold and rude Amy is, she'll just shake her head, letting them know, ''you don't know her like I do''

Tying her hair up into a high ponytail, pinning her bangs back, so it doesn't fall in front of her eyes, as she works, reveals her delicate face. Walking out of doctor's lounge with her dark blue scrubs, hugging her hourglass figure, ready for whatever the day holds. As she walks towards the cafeteria for her fifth, espresso, her pager goes off, running towards the ER, ''Where do you need me Nurse Brown'' 

''Trauma Bay 3, Dr. Summers'' she expressed

''Got It'' she exclaimed, as she approached, grabbing a pair of medical gloves, observing a older man, eyes open, confused look on his face, her voice low and gently ''hello, I'm Dr. Summers, mind telling what happened''

The man's voice croaky ''I..I can't remember, I were driving and everything went dark''

A smile on her heart shaped lips, ''Okay well let's see what we can do for you'' her fingers gently runs over, the man's bushy brows, ''this is going to need stitches for sure'' holding her finger, ''follow my finger, from the right to the left please'' the man just whines in response, still confused. ''What's your name'' she questioned

''M..Mike, Mike Sanders'' he answered

''Well MR. Sanders, wish we met under other circumstances, but I'll tell you what, once we've done an x-ray to see in you have any fractures, we'll send you for a head CT, I'm also going to run some labs, to see, if we can spot the reason, why you blacked out behind the wheel okay, and then when you come back, we'll have a nice little chat, about how to make you better,'' saying with a assuring smile. 

''Sounds good Doc'' he expresses

Once she's done with the stitches, she asks the porters to take him for the other tests. Removing her gloves walking over to the nurses station, ''at least he didn't get to hurt in the car crash''

''Yeah, the medics just said, he slightly crashed into a tree, the bystanders said he went very slow,'' nurse Brown said.

 Before Amy could reply a man drenched in blood ran in, holding another man in his arms, unconscious, and bleeding from his neck, ''I need help now'' his rough voice demanded

Amy ran towards them, two others nurses went into the closest trauma bay, to be ready, for what Dr. Summers needs. The man placed the wounded man on the hospital bed, ''He's not breathing, no pulse'' she starts to resituate him, while the other nurse holds pressure on the bullet wound in his neck. The male Nurse let everyone know to stand back, as he places the defibrillator on his chest. 

After a few minutes, and no pulse or heart beat rhythm, Doctor Summer calls it. Walking out towards the man, distorted look on her face, her voice apologetic ''Sorry sir, unfortunately he didn't make it, his blood loss was just to severe.''

The man's face hardens his rough voice, almost screaming, ''No! You better save my brother, now!''

''Sir, I'm so sorry for your loss, but, there's nothing else, I can do'' her voice stern

The man glares at her, his eyes frighteningly dark, walking closer towards his brother, but then suddenly he turns around, pulling out a knife, grabbing the doctor from behind, ''save him now dammit'' he orders

Amy just stands there, her heart beating rapidly as she feels the blade's, sharp edges to her neck, piercing the skin, letting the red liquid seep through, barely breathing, scanning the room as everybody's eyes are glued on her, some shocked, some frightened and some even crying a little. He's warm breath sending shivers up her back, as he demands, they save his brother. In a small voice she tries to talk him down, but the security guard getting closer, upsets the man, making him... 

Chapter Three Here ;)

[findingtarshish]

Today's werewolf woes are patron spirits!

The Patrons in my rewrite (still need to finesse the name a bit- Roar of Rebirth is the working title) are a bit more powerful than those in W5. Each one provides a benefit worth about 8-9 exp worth, similar to the benefits of a predator type, in addition to the dice pool bonus and ban. These can be merits, Gifts, rites, or other abilities which are available for as long as the Garou maintains a relationship with their patron.

Whipped this one together today, I like her! She's the last of the six patrons of the Black Furies, with 2 per Renown Type: Pegasus, Gorgon, Dead Angel, Lady Justice, The Huntress, and Panther.

Dead Angel Among the youngest of Pegasus’s brood, Dead Angel is the soul of a wolf too angry to die. Some urban legends say she’s the wraith of a philodox murdered by a police officer, while others claim she’s a spirit of fury sent up from hell itself. Either way, Dead Angel calls those angry, disaffected Furies, mostly ragabash, to take no shit and answer to no god or master. Together, the Dead Angel MC, as outsiders know it, is a potent and vicious gang, often targeted by police who rarely make it out of the encounter alive. She appears to her followers as a handsome, well-built woman dressed in patched biker gear with her black Havana twists held behind her by a loop of barbed wire. Half her face is seared down to the bone, revealing an eye of pure, raging flame as that same hellfire licks up with every blazing breath. She’s never seen far from her ride, a motorcycle of unidentifiable make that looks more beast than machine. She is associated with Honor.

Favor: Dead Angel directs her warriors to run their foes down without mercy, acting as the unrestricted fury of the Wyld. Members of the Dead Angel MC gain the Rider’s Guile Gift, which doesn’t count toward their total Gifts for the purposes of purchasing new Gifts. In addition, they may add a die to any craft, drive, or technology roll related to operating, building, or repairing motor vehicles. Ban: Dead Angel despises those who claim their word is law. True justice is hard fought and soaked in the blood of the Weaver’s uniformed pigs. If the Garou ever capitulates to a human’s authority, such as a cop, politician, soldier, or businessman, they may recover only a single Willpower at the start of the next session, instead of their Composure or Resolve rating.

The associated Gift, of course, is Rider's Guile, a White Howler tribal Gift available to Furies only through Dead Angel.

RIDER’S GUILE They say the ancient Epidii tribe of the old White Howler Kinfolk learned to ride before they could even walk, and could speak with their horses as Garou can speak with their lupine Kin. The new Howlers carry on this tradition, lending grace and wisdom to every motion, whether it be on the back of a horse, or in the saddle of a motorcycle. A horse-spirit teaches this Gift.

Renown: Honor

Cost: 1 Willpower

Action: Minor

System: The Garou automatically passes any test to navigate difficult terrain or conditions while riding a steed or driving a vehicle, or while running in lupus or hispo form; in the case of more severe terrain, or conditions caused by unnatural effects like Gifts, caltrops, or speed traps, the Garou instead adds their Honor as bonus dice to the roll. In addition, they can travel at twice the speed without suffering additional exhaustion or fuel use. This gift can be used in any form.

Duration: One Scene

[royaleofury]

𝒜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎~

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

I am Clara(she/her) , 20 years old. I have been practicing astrology for 2 years and tarot for 1 year as of now.

For my strongest psychic powers, it includes clairvoyance and premonition dreams. I also like to read webtoons and mangas with handsome male characters ( I am big simp)

╰┈➤ ❝ Astro Asks [Click Here]❞

╰┈➤ ❝ Paid Readings ❞

❀° ------──────╮

𝒜𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜 𝒲𝑜𝓇𝓀𝓈

╰──────------- °❀

➺ᴀꜱᴛʀᴏ ᴏʙꜱᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: ᴘ1 ᴘ2 ᴘ3 ᴘ4

ᴘ5 ᴘ6 ᴘ7 ᴘ8

➺ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛꜱ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ʜᴏᴜꜱᴇꜱ

ꜱᴜɴ ᴍᴏᴏɴ ᴜʀᴀɴᴜꜱ

➺ᴀꜱᴛᴇʀᴏɪᴅꜱ: ᴋɴɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴀʀᴄɪꜱꜱᴜꜱ ʜᴇʙᴇ

➺ꜱʏɴᴀꜱᴛʀʏ ᴀꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛꜱ

➺ᴠᴇɴᴜꜱ ᴏʙꜱᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ

➺ꜱᴀᴛᴜʀɴ ᴏʙꜱᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ

➺ꜰᴀᴍᴇ ɪɴᴅɪᴄᴀᴛᴏʀꜱ: ᴘ1 ᴘ2

➺ʙʜʀɪɢᴜ ʙɪɴᴅᴜ

➺ꜱɪᴅᴇʀᴇᴀʟ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛᴀʀʏ ᴀꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛꜱ

➺ᴍᴏᴏɴ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ɴᴀᴋꜱʜᴀᴛʀᴀꜱ: ᴘ1 ᴘ2 ᴘ3

➺Yᴏɢᴀꜱ ɪɴ ᴄʜᴀʀᴛ:ᴀᴜꜱᴘɪᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ Iɴᴀᴜꜱᴘɪᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ

➺ʙᴀꜱɪᴄꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴠᴇᴅɪᴄ ᴀꜱᴛʀᴏʟᴏɢʏ

➺ᴄᴀʟᴄᴜʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴠᴇᴅɪᴄ ᴀꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛꜱ

❀° ------──────╮

𝒫𝒾𝒸𝓀-𝒶-𝒸𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈

╰──────------- °❀

➺ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ ᴅʏɴᴀᴍɪᴄ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴘᴏᴜꜱᴇ

➺ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜰᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ( ᴡɪᴛʜ @alaezasmystery )

➺ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴘᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴘᴛ.1 ( ᴡɪᴛʜ @cancerfairy ᴀɴᴅ @planetsxmore )

➺ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴘᴏᴜꜱᴇ ᴘᴛ.2( ᴡɪᴛʜ @misty-howler ᴀɴᴅ @sunisglowing )

➺ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ'ꜱ ᴅᴀʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ

➺ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ꜱᴘɪʀɪᴛ ɢᴜɪᴅᴇꜱ

➺ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀᴋ-ʟɪꜰᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʙᴇ?

➺ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀʟ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ 2022

➺ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ?

➺ʏᴏᴜ ɪɴ ᴀ ʀᴏᴍ-ᴄᴏᴍ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ

➺ ɪꜱ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴍᴇ ?

➺ʜᴏᴡ ᴡᴀꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘᴀꜱᴛ ʟɪꜰᴇ?( ᴡɪᴛʜ @luvleona )

➺ɢʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀᴛ 2023

╰┈➤ ❝ [End] ❞

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Red Team Blues Chapter One, part two

My next novel, Red Team Blues, comes out on April 25. It’s an “anti-finance finance thriller,” a read-it-in-one-sitting thriller about a 67-year-old forensic accountant who gets embroiled in a deadly and violent cryptocurrency heist:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/18/cursed-are-the-sausagemakers/#henched

To whet your appetite for it, I’m serializing chapter one, where we meet Marty Hench, and get introduced to the one last job that he needs to do to finish his 40 year career as Silicon Valley’s best high-tech forensic accountant.

Today, I’m publishing part two. Here’s the previous installment:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/17/have-you-tried-not-spying/#unsalted-hash

Here’s where US readers can pre-order the book:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

Here’s pre-orders for Canadians:

https://services.raincoast.com/scripts/b2b.wsc/featured?hh_isbn=9781250865847&ht_orig_from=raincoast

And for readers in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/red-team-blues-cory-doctorow/7225998?ean=9781804547755

And now, here’s today’s serial installment:

The Camino Real had excellent security, as well as all the amenities: a pool, a gym, and a set of spring-­loaded seismic dampers set deep into the bedrock that turned the whole place into a bouncy castle whenever the San Andreas Fault got a touch of indigestion.

It was steps to California Avenue and five Michelin-star restaurants — ­one with three stars, two with two — ­and it cost him eight million, plus furnishings, which Sethu oversaw, going all in on Danish woods for a midcentury modern feel that went great with the rooftop garden that came with the penthouse unit. Sethu got him interested in trying all that Michelin star food, a far cry from ramen and slightly irregular breakfast cereals, and from there, it was the chefs’ tables, and then the private cooking classes, and then a major reno to the penthouse to fit it out with a kitchen that would have made Heston Blumenthal gasp and twirl.

They spent the month that the renos took in an exclusive lodge near a slightly active Costa Rican volcano, checking out the bromeliads and howler monkeys. He came back bronzed and fit from all that volcano hiking and became one of the great chefs of the new aristocracy, even pulling out the old alt.gourmand posts from the prehistory of Usenet. I don’t know when they became a couple, but I imagine it was a natural thing. Danny had a big heart, and he’d loved Galit with all of it, and with Galit gone and Danny still around, his heart wasn’t going to sit idly. Sethu is beautiful and brilliant and good at what she does, and those were all the traits that attracted Danny to Galit in the first place. The Camino Real’s security gave me the twice-­over and then emitted me. The elevator doors gave a sophisticated sigh and welcomed me in, and the buttonless panel lit up PH, and my blood pooled a little in my feet as I attained liftoff.

Danny looked at least ten years younger than the last time I’d seen him, craggy but handsome, and the pounds he’d put on had only filled him out so he wasn’t such an ectomorphic scarecrow. He’d definitely been hitting the kettlebells, too, and his tight Japanese tee clung just enough that I could see he’d gotten some definition in his pecs and biceps. That’s hard muscle to acquire once you hit your fifties. Someone had been making Danny put in his reps.

Danny’s an intense guy who believed so fiercely in the significance and beauty and urgency of cryptography that he could easily captivate a roomful of people with an impromptu lecture on the subject, and he would not relinquish that hold until they all had to leave. He wasn’t a bore, but he wasn’t exactly normal, and yet as far as I knew, everyone who’d ever become personally acquainted with him liked him. A lot.

“Well, you don’t look like a man who got through a prix fixe at the Palmier. Even with the flights, you shouldn’t be that bilious, Mart. What’d you do, stop for Oreos on the way back to your double-­wide?”

I let this pour over me as he showed me into the foyer and I shucked my scuffed old loafers, the ones I saved for personal days when I didn’t have to impress a client. “First of all, Lazer, the Unsalted Hash is a forty-­foot, state-­of-­the-­art touring bus with seven feet of internal clearance, an induction range, a deep freeze, and a sound system that can set off car alarms for a block. It is not a double-­wide.

“Secondly, the Palmier was great, and I didn’t get the prix fixe — ­I got a taster at the chef’s table with a friend, and we stayed up later than we should have, and I still managed to drag myself here for a business conference at this unholy hour. I’m running on three hours’ sleep and digesting a good three-­ thousand-­calorie dinner, is all.

“Finally, I don’t stop for Oreos, ever. I have a supply of 1995-­vintage Hydroxes in one of the deep freezes. The original recipe contains all those great trans fats that make for excellent long-­term frozen flavor and texture retention. I would offer you a package, but I won’t, because they are mine, and I treasure them beyond all reason and plan to make my stash last until I can no longer consume solid food, whereupon I plan to consume the balance in smoothie form.”

He took my shoes and tossed them into a closet and slammed the door, making a face, then burst out laughing and grabbed me in a bear hug that reminded me of those new biceps of his. “Man, it’s good to see you, Marty. Come in, come in. We’ll go out onto the roof.”

I got a quick tour of a lot of teak and curves and angles, like a set dresser had been given an unlimited budget to decorate the boss’s office on a midcentury period drama. Then he opened a sliding door out onto the roof-­deck, which had some very nice landscaping and potted shrubs, a meandering stream patrolled by fat koi and fed by a two-­foot waterfall, some comfortable-­ looking and elegant teak loungers, and Sethu.

She had an easel set up and was painting in oils, an impressionistic landscape of Palo Alto’s nimbified one-­family houses and dinky main street. It was a couple of billion dollars’ worth of real estate dressed up as middle-­class houses from the same midcentury dreamland as the furnishings in the living room. She turned and saw us and narrowed her eyes, just a tiny amount, before cleaning her brushes and hanging up her smock on the easel’s corner.

“Hi, hon,” she said. “This must be your friend Mr. Hench.” Danny beamed at her, an expression I remembered from his most successful demos, that prideful look he got when his code performed some miracle. “Marty, I don’t know if you ever met Sethu, back in the old days.”

“I don’t know that we were ever introduced properly,” I said. She’d let me in, once or twice, when I’d come by to see if I could pull Danny out of his tailspin. But she’d been his PA then.

“Well, in that case, Sethuramani Lazer, meet Martin Hench. Marty, meet Sethu.”

I’m pretty sure my facial expression didn’t change when he dropped that last name on me. I’d already noticed the rock on her finger, of course — ­a bachelor of my age and experience takes note of these things automatically, without conscious intervention. I’m pretty sure what Danny said next was that same pride speaking, not a failure of my poker face.

“Married her last year. Or rather, she married me, despite being significantly out of my league.”

“Lucky fella,” I said. “Congrats to both of you.”

He got us settled into loungers, and Sethu mentioned that she was going in for lemonade and offered us some. She brought it out in sweating tall glasses with silicone straws and then went back to her easel, far enough away that it wouldn’t seem odd not to include her in our conversation.

I sipped as Danny scrolled his phone for a moment, double-­checked his notes, and took Sethu in. She was beautiful, of course, but I’d known that since I’d first met her at the door of that teardown that Danny had settled into as his final resting place. Now, though, she had the kind of haircut that some very bright topiarist had charged her at least a thousand bucks for, and with it, the kind of poise I associate with very beautiful, very accomplished women who are also very, very rich. Something in the posture, a kind of deep relaxation that you rarely see. Having a very deep cash buffer can give a woman the same tranquility as any middling specimen of manhood gets for free, the liberation from casual predation that men don’t even notice.

Danny put his phone down at last. “So I hear you did some work recently? Bonwick. Rearden Factoring?”

I nodded. “Yeah, Brian and I did some business, but it’s not the kind of thing I can discuss. You know that. He lost something, I found it, and I made him whole.” He snorted. “Marty, you don’t make people whole. Your commission still twenty-­five percent?”

“It is,” I said. “And I still don’t charge anything to take a job, not even expenses or a retainer. I take the risk, I get the reward. That’s a proposition I think you probably relate to.”

“I’m familiar with the general idea.” He looked around at his penthouse garden, his beautiful young wife, his view of the strivers of Palo Alto and their Leave It to Beaver houses, all a testament to his willingness to take all the risk and his unwillingness to share his rewards. “You ever take payment in crypto?”

“I prefer fiat” — ­this being the cutesy word that crypto weirdos use for real money — ­“I have smart accountants who keep my tax bite down to a manageable slice, and I’ve got no other reason to accept distributed sudoku puzzles in lieu of greenbacks.”

“Very funny,” he said. Cryptocurrency hustlers hate it when you point out that the whole blockchain emits billions of tons of CO2 to help repeatedly compute pointless mathematical puzzles. “You’re familiar with how crypto works, though, right?”

“Danny, I love you like a brother, but I hope I’m not about to get a sales pitch for Trustlesscoin.” The only sour note in the previous night’s dinner had been a couple of bros at the chef’s table who spent the first hour talking about smart contracts. It was a hazard of any public space in SV, and I accepted it with good grace, but I wouldn’t tolerate it in private places. Life is too short.

“No pitch, but I just want to make sure you’re up to speed for what I’m going to tell you next. Forensic accounting is one thing, but when you throw in crypto, it’s a whole different world.”

Later this week (Apr 20/21), I’m speaking in Chicago at the Stigler Center’s Antitrust and Competition Conference.

This weekend (Apr 22/23), I’m at the LA Times Festival of Books.

[Image ID: A squared-off version of Will Staehle's cover for the Macmillan edition of 'Red Team Blues.']

[roboraindrop]

“Well? How does it look?”

“How does it look?! My flesh goddess, my delicate, succulent sweetheart, you are stunning! I lack the words to describe you! All I can say is- Awooooooo!!”

[tedwardremus]

Tree Cutting

In the quiet hush of morning on the Hogwarts grounds, while the rest of the castle was inside eating breakfast, a solitary figure sat crossed-legged facing the base of an old tree with a pocket knife in hand. Sixteen-year-old Sirius Black etched scars into the tree's bark, letting the scratching of his blade against the wood drown out his thoughts as he watched pieces of the tree fall to the ground. Scratch, scratch, scratch, Sirius continued. Each strike into the tree created a deeper wound than the one before.

“Goodness, and what has poor Mr. Tree done to deserve such an attack?” A familiar voice interrupted Sirius’ trance.

“You know, Evans, when a person is sitting outside by themselves instead of enjoying a warm meal inside one could interpret that as the person wanting to be left alone.” 

Lily didn’t stomp away or say anything snarky like he thought she would. She simply sat down next to him, her hands in her lap, and her bottle-green eyes bore into the side of his head. “My sister and I don’t get along.”

“What a shame,” Sirius replied sarcastically

“It is. We used to be close but now all we do is fight. She thinks I’m a freak and that I go to a freak school. She doesn’t understand why I can’t be, quote, “normal” unquote like her. Over the holiday she got into such a fit that she ripped up pages from my potions book because I was working on an essay at the kitchen table while she was baking shortbread. According to Petunia, my filthy freak books were contaminating her proper Christmas baking.”

“Oh,” Sirius halted his tree carving to face Lily. 

“Yeah,” Lily blew a strand of red hair out of her face. “Well every family is unhappy in their own special way or whatever that quote is.”

“Not every family, you haven’t met the Potters. You know they actually enjoy spending time together? I’ve even seen James willingly let his mother hug and kiss him in public.”

“Potter is a spoiled child with indulgent parents? That explains a lot.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“Is that where you ran away to? To Potter’s house? Sorry, it's just what your mum screamed in that howler last night. That you had run away from home.”

“Yeah,” Sirius flipped his knife between his fingers, watching the metal blade glint in the sunlight. “I’m sick of their shit so I left. I’m never going back.”

When Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin he stayed up all night dreading the response from his parents. But it was actually fine. They were disappointed and made sure that he understood that but the big fallout that he so positive was to come never did. But then he befriended blood traitors, half-bloods, and the most unforgivable of all Muggle-borns. He asked questions about his family’s beliefs and practices, innocent at first because he was confused about why his experiences and the people he met at school didn’t correlate with what his parents told him, and then he started challenging them, pushing them to think outside their limited scope. That’s when everything changed.

He knew Regulus was following him when he went out to Muggle London the day after they arrived home from Hogwarts. He thought, foolishly, that his brother innocently missed him and wanted to hang out with him. But Sirius stubbornly wasn’t going to make the first move. If Reggie wanted to be brothers again then he’d have to reach out first. Sirius was silently challenging him to show some courage for once.

But Sirius was wrong. Once Regulus understood what Sirius was doing he ran back to Grimmuald Place and reported to Mother that Sirius was cavorting around with a Muggle girl who worked at a record shop. The next day Sirius found out that Father had gone to the shop and whipped the girl’s memory. That was the final straw. Sirius left.

The girl was fine. He asked James to go and check on her. She didn’t remember Sirius, she was convinced that she had spent last summer in Spain with family and not in Camden with a mysterious handsome boy who went to an exclusive boarding school up north.

Lily’s voice cut through his thoughts, “I think it’s very brave of you, Sirius. To leave. I know you like to play it off like it's nothing in front of everyone but I was always worried about you every time your mother sent a howler, they could get rather intense.”

His mother’s latest howler had been a triumph. It had put all her past screeching correspondences to shame. The Gryffindor students who returned from the winter holiday had just staggered back into the common room when his mother’s owl arrived. James had tried to pull him by the collar back through the portrait hole to run before the howler exploded but Sirius just stood there frozen in shock. He had run away from Grimmuald Place two days after the break started and his family hadn’t communicated at all since then (and the surprise hurt Sirius had felt when it occurred to him that no one was going to follow up with him, ask him where he went, to beg him to return…). The common room shook with his mother’s words, “traitor” “hang out with scum” “no longer family” “cut out” “don’t ever return” “I hope you die with the rest of the traitors and filth you call friends.” She didn’t mention it in the howler but Sirius knew there was now a blasted hole in the family tree where his name used to be. Cut out. Cut off. 

Lily reached out a small hand and stilled his knife play, “I guess I just wanted to let you know you’re not the only one who has family members that scream nasty things at them. I…” Lily trailed off and removed her hand. 

“We could bond over shitty families who hate us? Sounds like a cracking good time.” The area of the tree that Sirius had cut with his knife was now a flat clean surface. No bumps or knots. Just smooth and new.

“Yes, well…” Lily sighed “I understand if you just want to talk to Potter. I really do and I don’t want to pry or make you uncomfortable. You’re very lucky to have Potter.”  

“You know, for someone who is supposed to annoy the shit out of you you sure do bring up James a lot.”

“You brought him up!” Lily huffed and then looked at her watch “We have Charms in ten minutes. Walk with me?”

“I was thinking of skiving it off and going to the kitchens,” Sirius said as he pocketed his knife and stood up, extending his hand for Lily to take. Instead of placing her hand in his, Lily placed a pastry in Sirius' open palm. 

“How about you eat the sustenance I brought and we go to class together?”

Sirius let out a barking laugh and took a bite of the pastry. “Deal.”

[lured-into-wonderland]

♠ Name: Louis Gilles Ambly des Ayvelles (aka Alastor; the executioner)

♠ Age: ??? (24 in front of humans)

♠ Height/weight: 186 cm / 78 kg

♠ Gender: male, he/him

♠ Birthday: December 31st 

♠ Race: Demon (?)

♠ History: Louis’s father was the third son of the count of Ambly des Ayvelles, and the owner of the international syndicate dealing with both legal and illegal businesses around the world. His father married - against his father’s will - to an orphaned girl. As a result, he was practically disinherited and died shortly after Louis and his two-year younger sister Mathilde were born.  Louis, his sister and their mother lived in relative poverty with no to little support from their grandfather until Louis was 8. Despite their low financial status, they were happy together. All had changed when two older brothers of Louis’s father died childless leaving Louis and Mathilde the only heirs to the old and wealthy family. The three of them were taken in by the Count Ambly des Ayvelles, whose plan was to disconnect his grandchildren from their mother, spoiling them with money, power and gifts. While it was not fully working, the Count blamed his daughter-in-law of having the bad influence on his heirs. Louis’s mother disappeared when the boy was 10 in unknown circumstances (she was killed by her father-in-law, but it was not known to the children). From now on, the Count was free to do with his grandchildren as he wished. Louis was rather resistant to his grandfather’s methods but he still appreciated the proper education he received as heir to the family. Shortly after his mother’s death, he started to demonstrate unique abilities, suggesting he was not fully human, and these abilities were only growing over time. When Louis was 17, his grandfather was visited by the demon lord who offered to grant the Count with some powers in exchange for the boy who was claimed to be of demonic origin. The Count agreed and gave the boy away. It is unknown what was happening to Louis during his time with the demon lord, but he returned to earth when he was 23, shortly after his grandfather’s death, claiming his position as a head of the family and the syndicate.

♠ Appearance:  Louis is rather tall, slim and has a handsome unaged face. He has blue eyes and straight silver hair. He usually wears classic clothes to emphasise his position as the count and the head of the Ambly des Ayvelles clan. In his demon form, his hair is longer and he has golden eyes that often glow red, when he is angry.  

♠ Personality: Louis has a seemingly cold and composed personality, he is strict and harsh around most people. However, he has a relatively soft spot for his younger sister, Mathilde. Louis is disciplined and well organized, demanding for himself and others, including Mathilde. He is greatly dissatisfied with the kind of person she has become and with the life she was leading. One of his goals is to bring back the girl she used to be before their grandfather’s upbringing. He does not trust anyone, apart from Merihem, who acts as his secretary and is the only one that knows about Louis’s hidden identity.

♠ FC (temporary)

Human form:

Akechi Mitsuhide from Ikemen Sengoku

Demon form

Nine from Dusk Howler

[cotlfanficspromptsblog]

COTL(SOTF/ATOTL)

Chapter 6 : "Anyone Else"

Day 552 of Midsummonar Cult!

"Was Another Day at Everlasting, Evergrowning Cult of Midsummonar, Lambert along with his many followers were preparing for the upcoming milestone of Day 666! aka The Day of Sin & Goat's Possible Arrival?

As for Lambert's Wife Samantha Bloodsucker & Her Girlfriend Midge Butterfree they have been very grand & great mothers to their now 3 beloved children of Eldest Twins Dayton & Kaitlynn Bloodsucker Sheepard & their Youngest Daughter Maxine Butterfree Sheepard whom all 3 bat demon sibs were forever close & immortals thanks to their leader giving them golden skull necklace which grants such a blessing to live forever!

Maxine was busy trying to meet herself a new love since her and Apollo Soulshroom never worked out and only share 1 offspring together being their daughter Megara(Megan) Soulshroom.

Over the last 500+ days she met a handsome orange & yellow striped tiger named Armen Clawhauser who was pretty shy & her opposite type of the more supportive & respectful husband type to mate with possibly.

one day Maxine & Armen were given the chance to mate & thus came out as successful with them having 4 Wonderful Beautiful Offsprings : Carmen(Youngest Daughter, Species : Batdemon), 3 Purple Tiger Triplet Sons : Maximus(Eldest Son, Species : Tiger(color fur Purple), Raymond(Second Eldest Son, Species : Tiger(color fur Purple) & Anamoss(Youngest Son, Species : Tiger(color fur Purple).

But as days & time passed Maxine had secret one night matings in the mating tent with other followers that grew her interest falling in love with them(either geniune love & getting to know such cultist member) or (more for show & tell in mating & lust growing within, losing her virginity)

Thus having a thing for Tigers and Cats in general (of favorite colors Green, Orange & Purple and sometimes Blue and Pink) and beginning to have other children of those other lovers

Maxine and Clover(a recent newest member & spouse of lambert as a good luck charm during missionaries) having a few children & Clover himself is a rent a lover(or a lust lover in the cult having the lustful trait!) and having at least 1 offspring with a Son named Cloverlane!

And as truce between her bestie Mary Howler(Eldest Daughter Twin of Lady Dimistru & M3gan Howler & Older Sister to younger brother Barry Dimistru & lil sis Carrie Howler) had a daughter together named Maryanne Bloodsucker!

Maxine now is an adult in the cult with her having a big happy family of her own with a few flings & her true love of Armen her husband with the others staying on their own as Exes and or Good Friends(Apollo her Ex)(Mary Howler & Clover Catswell Good/Best Friends since Childhood)

along with discovering her twin sister who's named Maxine Deathclaw(Daughter of Samantha & Narinder) whom the 2 are easily getting along for hating Narinder as a deadbeat dad to any offspring & practically almost killing their beloved Leader(with Maxiie(Nari & Sammi's Daughter Nickname) wanting to mate with the Apollo Soulshroomo she's eyeing or any newbie coming on the 666th day!

[ohpollenpowder]

Finally I have finished Nilo's little set of information. So here he is! I'll work on Nicoletta once I return from a cousin's wedding. But I wouldn't expect it before the pride walk...

For the twins…their early story follows much of the given storylines. They got Logan's attention by attempting to disrupt Two-Blade Pete and his gang. And also save their friend, Quinn. Or in Nilo's case, his at-the-time boyfriend. So when you have to make the decision to rescue Quinn or stopping Doc Howler, the twins split up—he saved Quinn and Nicoletta stopped the poisoning. It made sense to them both to do so, and they both knew the other could handle it.

Born first by half an hour supposedly, he and his sister were left on the steps of a hospital when they were only two weeks old. The note left with them was almost like a serial killer's—cuttings of books, posters, and newspapers to mask the handwriting and leave a message. It was pinned to Nilo's blanket and simply stated that their parents' current situation wasn't safe for a newborn baby—let alone two of them. They were both loved and wanted, just not secure by their circumstances. Their parents would come back for them one day, hopefully soon, and verify the children by the unique birthmarks that they had. Nilo's birthmark was what looked like an axe under his left armpit; hilariously, he's left-handed.

Their foster mom was a patient lady, especially when their Mesmer abilities started to manifest; she'd go to grab an item or one of them only to have it/them burst into "butterflies." This was first evident when they had been separated—for just a few minutes, honestly, not that they let it happen—Nicoletta was in the doctor's office one moment and the next she was back in her crib with Nilo. They both had a similar burst effect for their abilities, for him, it was a bright pink flame with tinier, more dark pink flames. (Almost like the Fox Fire weapons.)

When they found out their parents were originally Shining Blade, the letter they'd been left with made a lot of sense. For a hot moment, they both entertained the idea of doing as their parents did—joining the Shining Blade. But Logan had…other ideas for them, introducing them to the Orders and pushing them to do more than just help the kingdom. Ideally, they would have been in opposite Orders than what they chose. But Nicoletta had gotten really skeezy vibes from Josir and refused to work with the man. And Nilo could always sneak her in or bring books to her—their ability to portal to one another as the anchor is unparalleled.

They were inseparable when they were younger, with Nicoletta clinging longer than he but not unreasonably so. The knowledge of what happened to their parents, knowing who they were, helped give them strength as well as comfort. At the meet-up Nilo was immediately taken with Emrys' style—it helped get the ball rolling. Not to mention they both found skill information to share. Oiba seemed painfully shy, reminding him of Nicoletta when they were younger. Izar had the brooding atmosphere down pat, very intimidating. (Only lol not terribly so.) And Tarsicia seemed, at first, a little high and mighty, but the longer he watched her during this meeting, the more he thought her just bored.

Nilo kind of had to worm his way in with Oiba, Sieran became the catalyst (lol) for that, one of her usual silly antics… Once the door was opened, Nilo was determined it stayed open, he knew how easily and quickly it could close again. Hunting for the odd invention or spell to improve 1-AID most times. Or finding recipes for food/snacks for her constant pet companions. Tarsicia and he often egged each other on, silly dares and what-not. Never anything that would get either one or others hurt.

Izar…was complicated—at least, that's what he'd tell Nicoletta when she asked. At first, it was just to try and get the broodingly handsome Norn out of his self-imposed shell. But soon the teasing became earnest, Nilo having his own little crush on him. But…it also didn't stop him (at first) at having a little fling with Emrys. They got along like cats in cream and neither one was serious about it. It did cement, in Nilo's mind, that he definitely had something for the big, burly types.

It was Nicoletta who carried Oiba and dragged him out by the arm when it came to Claw Island. Once shock had worn off…he saw how bad his partner was, and he fell into mother-henning Oiba. At least into taking care of herself as he struggled to do the same. Part of him pretends that Claw Island never happened that way. That Sieran and the other mentors were off on some hair-brained journey she was dying to tell them about when she returned.

Trahearne…he disliked. Respected, but wasn't a fan of being around the guy. Maybe it was the way he kinda just scooped them all up in the middle of their mourning and thrust this insane responsibility on them, even though he knew they had no time to mourn. Zhaitan had shown that it wasn't going to give them that space.

Even still, once they defeated the Elder Dragon, it didn't feel like he could mourn yet. And the other dragons were the perfect excuse to delay that further. Dealt with the same sort of sickness that the others experienced, Nilo found himself with a touch more of a connection with technology. Like Oiba had crammed some of her knowledge in his head, but it came to him naturally. But only with small things at first, more would come later with more magic—for the moment, it was think the thought at the machine, and it did it, or he knew how to fix it.

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

BRAND NEW PARACOZY RELEASE! Familiar Magic and a Dead Wolf by Lia Davis is now live!!

Universal: https://geni.us/HowlingCreek1Read it #free with #KindleUnlimited!! BLURB:Howling Creek's favorite local forest ranger is no ordinary human, but she still masquerades as one. Just because she was born a witch doesn't exactly make Lexie all that powerful. After all, most witches have magic they can actually control, but Lexie's powers have been broken for as long as she can remember. Her gifts only show up on their own terms—usually unannounced—at the most inconvenient of times. Things have gotten so bad that Lexie's new familiar was compelled to take all her magic away.

Temporarily, of course.

Fortunately for Lexie, her day job doesn't require much supernatural skill. Working at The Ancients Agency doing forest patrol means she just has to watch for signs that the resident shifters are misbehaving. Keeping the wolf packs and leopard pride under control is well above her pay grade.

Which is honestly for the best considering that one of the wolf shifters just turned up dead.

When Lexie's supervisor tasks her with leading in the murder investigation, this would-be-witch finds herself face-to-face with Kellen Rich. As the Alpha of the Howlers Wolf Pack, he wants vengeance for his fallen pack member, and the crime is jeopardizing his attempts to forge a peace treaty with the rival wolf pack, the Dark Fangs.

Irresistibly handsome but extremely aloof, Kellen gives Lexie a few leads and a lot of interesting feelings. But she can't afford to worry about a crush when she's working to get her magic back all while hunting a killer. As the most cursed member of the coven, does she have what it takes to administer justice and keep the wolves from going to war?

#releaseblitz #releaseblast #releaseday #bookbirthday #booklaunch #newbooks #familiarmagicandadeadwolf #howlingcreek #paranormalcozy #paracozy #paranormalmystery #mysteryfiction #paranormalfiction #magicalfiction #supernaturalfiction #cozymystery #books #reading #readers #booklovers #bookbuzz #booknews

About Lia:

Lia Davis is the USA Today bestselling author of more than forty books, including her fan favorite Ashwood Falls Series. A lifelong fan of magic, mystery, romance and adventure, Lia's novels feature compassionate alpha heroes and strong leading ladies, plenty of heat, and happily-ever-afters.

Lia makes her home in Northeast Florida where she battles hurricanes and humidity like one of her heroines. When she's not writing, she loves to spend time with her family, travel, read, enjoy nature, and spoil her kitties.  She also loves to hear from her readers. Send her a note at lia@authorliadavis.com!

Follow Lia Online:

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[oxydiane]

'Smile!'

For the Day 1 prompt! @jilytoberfest

You can read on AO3 too!

‘I still don’t get why you bother with that chunky muggle thing, we can’t even move in those photographs!’

‘You know,’ Lily’s sweet tone was betrayed by the roll of her eyes. ‘It’s nostalgic, and I can’t really expect Mum and Dad to frame wizard photos.’

‘Why not? We keep that horrible vase your sister’s given us, they can keep something of ours.’

‘You know,’ she starts again, ‘Muggles don’t usually keep moving pictures around, now I wouldn’t be opposed to that, but that would mean she’d have to hide it… and I don’t think Mum would want to hide any of us.’

James straightens his back. ‘Yeah, you’re right, we make too good of a family to keep it to ourselves. The Muggles deserve to see the handsomest of them all.’

That makes Lily giggle and peck her husband on the cheek. She reaches for the polaroid camera that lay discarded on the coffee table, James never figured out how to work it.

‘Smile!’ She exclaims, and right before the camera clicks, James starts tickling the small baby sitting on his lap. Lily rejoices, sure she must have caught the moment.

‘Mum and Dad are going to love this.’

James stands up, Harry’s head resting on his chest as he recovers from the attack. ‘I bet, they’re going to make a right fuss as soon as they see how much this little guy’s teeth have grown. Is that right, Haz? Is grandma going to send another letter complaining about how we never bring you over so she can smother you in peace?’ He speaks in an exaggerated silly voice that makes Harry laugh and reach for James’ face.

‘Oh, please, at least they don’t yell! If I get another howler over breakfast from Euphemia telling me we need to visit soon and bring Harry because they have more gifts for him…’

‘Hey, leave her be! You know she gets lonely, alone with Dad in that big house, her two kids away –‘

‘Talking about her kids,’ interrupts Lily, waving the polaroid near her face. ‘Is Padfoot dropping by soon?’

Harry seems to perk at the mention of his Godfather. ‘Pa’foo?’ He asks, big green eyes travelling from his mother back to his father.

‘Yeah, yeah, your beloved will be here soon,’ says James, talking to Harry rather than Lily. ‘I still can’t believe that was his first word.’ He mutters that to himself.

Mere moments later, the telltale roar of Sirius’ motorbike can be heard from outside their home, and the familiar sound makes Harry clap and laugh in anticipation.

‘Talk of the devil…’ utters James, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

Lily’s eyes roll back as she watches her husband excitedly go for the door. She follows them and crosses her arms, leaning against the wall with what she’s sure is a sickeningly sweet look; watching her son smile big and squish Sirius’ cheeks in his tiny hands whenever his Godfather picks him up does that to her.

‘Heard from a little birdie that little Bambi was missing his Pa’foo?’ Sirius coos while kissing one of Harry’s hands, and Lily was sure that if she tried telling any of their old classmates the Tall, Dark and Handsome Sirius Black actually spends at least three days of the week making a baby voice for her son, they’d say she was mental. Oh, yeah, they’d require proof to believe that.

Struck by an idea, she makes her way back to the coffee table and picks up the discarded muggle camera before quickly walking back and snapping a picture of the scene. Sirius, noticing the click, finally stops fussing over Harry and turns to Lily.

‘I hope that’s not your muggle rubbish, Evans,’ he jokes and Lily laughs freely because she knows he doesn’t mean any of it. ‘I want proper pictures of this baby here, need this charming smile in my wallet to balance the dad’s ugly face.’

‘I’m afraid you’ll have to make do,’ she retorts and shakes the fresh picture as James makes an indignant noise. ‘And it’s ‘Potter’ now, you of all people should know, best man.’

‘Yeah, yeah, sure, let me see that.’ Sirius dismisses the conversation when he notices the picture developing.

Soon, all three of them are looking fondly at the blurry photograph in Lily’s hand and Sirius takes it before turning his attention back to Harry, who had started crying out for him.

‘You know…’ whispers James, ‘We are going to use wizard film for my parents. No this isn’t up for debate! Mum will skin me alive if I send her still, blurry pictures of her grandson – hey, stop laughing!'

[roboraindrop]

I'm wishing on a star

To follow where you are