#and i do need the money OTL

[australet789]

btw i did a poll on my DA and i checked its results about getting rid off tiers, and honestly, same xD I prefer having just monthly memberships for everyone.

So once after i post the next Perfectly Valued page, i will change that for my Ko-fi, meaning, early access for all the supporters of my kofi. And i will keep it at $3

I hope i can get more traction this way, since this is my only money income rn

[kafus]

i feel weird posting my sales on tumblr but WHATEVER i have an adopt auction going on until august 1st at 5 pm EST, feel free to bid on twitter or furaffinity my bank account is Dangerously Low lmao

[funnierasafictive]

Wld u guys b interested in art commissions ^_^?

[aahsoka]

i keep. finding holes in the crotch area of my pants and i hope to fucking god no one at work saw that………

[jackals-ships]

jackal win Did Not lose my entire marbles on my siblings again

jackal loss i have now learned the smalls has NO survival instincts,

[merakiui]

going back to read your contractual fwb azul cause it’s my favourite fic ever and i have to wonder; what would azul do if you never used his wishes to your own advantage? like it was always small stuff, so you ended up having to get a new job (sex is banned and let’s pretend like theres some random cafe on sage island or something like that you’re picking up shifts. just not the monstro lounge) and the hours you work there give him less time. would he beg you to use his money? to take advantage of him? it feels like the terms he picked also come from a domestic standpoint of wanting to provide for you. and your new job is really getting in the way of that. rely on him and no one else >:(

(also i’d like to imagine you falling asleep sitting in his lap in his office chair sometime before the confession so he carries you back to his room and you spend the night. the next morning you wake up to him pulling away and in your extremely sleep deprived mind you get upset that he’s leaving. cue him promising he’ll be back—maybe a quick round just so he can get you to wish it and no it’s definitely not because he wants sleepy morning sex—and eventually he comes to wake you back up with flowers, tea (you know the one), and telling you you have a day off somehow.) thank you for listening to my tiny brain rambles

hiiiiiii this is just a question i forgot to add to my last ask that i submitted like 2 seconds ago.

how does your relationship with azul go now that you’re actually in one and not just fwb? like does he still spoil you with whatever you ask for in exchange for sex or just give it to you and sex happens whenever? (more than the average couple cause, cmon) he gave you the fish shoes even though you lost so it stands that he’d spoil the hell out of you whenever he can

- - -

Hi hiiii!! :D omg contractual fwb tako..... I miss thinking about that fic. Peak Azul is him developing a relationship with darling via contractual means and slowly but surely the feelings shift (through dubious efforts hehehe). >:D that dynamic is just so *chef's kiss*!!!!!

Oooo if reader got a job!!! If not at the lounge, which is secretly what Azul hopes, then the place better pay good wages and the hours and work better be reasonable!! >:( he won't have his angelfish struggle. Maybe he'd even visit you during your shifts on occasion and make up some excuse like "I need to know what sort of competition the lounge has" blah blah blah etc etc even though it's quite clear he's checking up on you. T_T I like to think Azul wants you to take advantage of him because it's a deal in which you're both using the other for certain things, so wouldn't that make the most sense?? That's how the logic works in his give-and-take, equivalent-exchange brain.

Azul gets really particularly when it comes to giving gifts and he always seems to want a valid reason for the exchange (like in Glomas where he buys souvenirs for his dorm so that they can remember this good deed and know that they are technically indebted to him even though to Deuce and Epel it appears as though he's just being a kind Housewarden). But also,,, he's so iffy when it comes to accepting gifts himself and always seems to think there's some underlying reason behind it. ^^;; perhaps he'd just feel more comfortable if you were openly using him and this deal to your benefit just as he's doing the same with you. It's probably why he even makes the terms so domestic because, beneath all of the pompous showmanship and businessman flair, he genuinely wants to provide for you and make your life better and be your beloved. <3 but because he's Azul he can't just tell you that. >_<

AAAAA FALLING ASLEEP IN HIS OFFICE!!!!! OTL waking up in his bed all bleary-eyed and sleepy....... grabbing at his arm and begging him to stay,,, the sleepy morning sex... maybe it's the one moment he allows just some of his defenses to fall because most of yours are nonexistent in this moment. Having sex just to have sex without any thoughts about your contract..... of course he's still going to remind you later and insist you use one of your wishes/favors since you technically indulged him with sex, but then you wanted it, too. He's so fussy!!!! Please just ask him for something—anything! He isn't going to beg, but sometimes you really do make him contemplate it when you're so determined to not make use of him and his connections.

You're one of Azul's greatest weaknesses and if you know this then you can easily exploit this because this tako adores you. He is so utterly whipped. Whatever you want, you can have it. Spoiling you is one of his many love languages. He loves giving you gifts, especially when he knows they'll make you happy. Like those silly fish slippers. They are so dumb, but they make his angelfish smile and that's enough reason to purchase them for you. I think once you're in a real relationship the fwb contract is dissolved, but a lot of what you did during those two months still occurs into your relationship. Like the smoldering tension and the chemistry. The silly banter and smart quips. The attraction. And of course lots of love (real and potion-induced mwahaha) and sex. He railed you once in mer form and you better believe he'll do it again now that he's slowly finding the confidence to do so with you.

[musashi]

Hiiii, so this is a call for some help with a video I have in the works right now.

I am looking for a Latinx volunteer to... I guess sensitivity read and/or help me fine-tune a very specific part of a youtube video script. Preferably someone in the Ace Attorney fandom, but you do not need to be by any means--if there are any plot details you need me to explain to you to make my points clearer, my autistic ass will jump at the opportunity.

It's a misconception debunking video with a little 'character assassination' bit at the end where I plan on talking about unfortunate boxes, flanderizations, and stereotypes that some of the characters in my favourite visual novel often get lumped into. One of these characters is Diego Armando, a Latino (dark skinned Japanese in the original) man who is constantly held to higher scrutiny by the fandom than his lightskinned peers. He is frequently demonized, painted as a misogynistic scumbag, held in much worse faith than other culprits for his very understandable and sympathetic wrongdoing, and overall just treated incredibly harsh for things that other comparable characters get away with on account of them 'looking' white and having more anglicized names.

Since I am white myself I do not plan on speaking excessively about the experience when it is not my own but I think it is a huge fucking disservice to not focus on the fact that this fandom treatment all just stems from racism. It's the one part of my video where I don't plan on even entertaining "the other side" or explaining where the misinterpretation "comes from" I want to just. Make the point. That it's racism, with no rhyme or reason.

But I obviously don't feel qualified to just do that on my own so this is just me putting out feelers to ask if anyone would like to read over this part of my script for me, offer concrit (scalding concrit if you must, please, I want it to be as tight as possible) and basically just make sure my own white privilege doesn't gloss over, misrepresent, or miss anything. Basically just asking for help not fucking it up.

Again you do not have to be into AA to help me with this, I can tell you all about the character and what he does and doesn't do, his place in the story, and the things I hear about him in fandom and how they don't hold up on other comparable characters. Just know I will have to spoil the whole final game for you if you ever plan on getting into it haha. And, once again, please only volunteer if you are Latinx yourself.

I will, of course, give you full credit and thanks in my video and in the description, and link my viewers to any and all platforms if you'd like. Since I make no money off youtube and am horrendously broke myself, if you have any donation links posted anywhere I will boost the hell out of those too. That's about all I can offer for compensation OTL

Please contact me via ask if this is something you're interested in. You can also reply on this post and I can open DMs for you or get in touch with you via email or discord. I really, really, really want to include this in the video but I want to do it right.

Even if you're not someone who qualifies, if you are an AA blog or have lots of AA blogs following you, I'd appreciate a reblog to boost this! Thank you :3

[starry-beetle]

I hate to do it but, Barry has missed 3 days of work already and may miss a 4th + I am too sick to hustle this much money via art alone before we need it:

We've both had fevers and coughs since Friday the 8th, which I been complaining about on twitter but not here OTL

[saddlepunk]

hate doing this again buuut...

help a black trans man w gas money :'D?

about to head into a job interview, but it might get a little dicey having enough gas to get back OTL. if i could get like... $40 for gas thatd cover me for the rest of the week though! ive got some other bills i need to figure out as well, but im taking this one step at a time

even just $10 would get me home if anyone can spare it :'D

pp: mapletownmopdog(at)gmail(dot)com

thanks!!

[grubus]

ughhhhhhhhhhh!!! I had promised myself to buy the "Little Mushroom" books for christmas, as a present to myself, and now they're unavailable??? EVERYWHERE? Some places still sell them as e-books, but how does e-books even work. I've never had e-books. What do you need? A kindle???? I don't have that. Or do I get a pdf file and can read it on my phone? my computer??? Can I print it????

*mopes* one store sells the second volume here, but only in store, not online, and they're like 3 hours away from me. I'm not that desperate. Or even have the money or time if I was. And again, only the second volume.

There's more books from that publisher that looks interesting, and I'm sure I'll mope about that too at one point whenever I decide I wish I had read them before they disappeared. But :(((

all this whining is me hoping maybe someone out there has the physical copies, didn't like the books, or at least not enough to keep them, and would be up for selling them. Or. Something. Though i'm sure any of the books that will be put up for sale will be for some insane prices, so perhaps I should simply give up.

OTL

Anyway, if you guys had planned to buy any danmei books from the "Peach Flower House" publishers, I would suggest you do it now before they're all gone.

[mugentakeda]

WELL. I had an anon that was kindly asking me background info on my oc jiro and whatever he had going on with lu ten. I had the Fawking response all done and had it saved as a draft right. and i just needed to switch it to post but tumblr Wouldnt Let Me (it was saying something "went wrong" idfk) so I deleted the draft and was gonna try posting it again thinking the ask would reappear in my inbox but it DIDNT it just deleted the whole ask along with the draft :((( so i'm just gonna post it all here anyway and hope that the anon sees it fhkdndncmxbc,dndkzhnx

-basic stuff: 27 (<-when he meets lu ten), nonbender (<-doesnt need bending lol)

-finest jewelry maker in the fire nation. he also does metal art like embossing and figures and shit. he collaborates closely with famous potters and tailors in the FN to make stuff for the royal family and their special occasions (like holiday and celebration banquet jewelry and bedazzled outfits and shit). he also works with fire nation theaters, to help with their costumes for their more pricey productions. he's made MANY crowns for the royal family as well.

-oldest of 3 brothers. the business he owns was passed down in the family thru generations. jiro inherited (usurped?) it when he was 23, after he beat his father to death for smacking their mother around. their mother lives with the middle brother and his family on one of the outer FN islands. the youngest is estranged and started his own (less successful) business out of jealousy towards jiro.

-neutral on the war in the same way june the bounty hunter is- money is money to him. and when I say neutral I mean neutral. he obviously doesn't get clients or customers from other nations due to the war but if he did then he'd be more than happy to serve them. but his business still wouldn't be affected no matter the outcome of the war because even without international clients his wallet is thick, so he doesn't really care what the outcome ends up being. he believes a true businessman goes wherever the wind takes him and is good at adapting. not a "stuck in his ways" type of guy. the royal family is his top priority client obviously, but it's simply because they pay the most for the finest pieces. it's not out of any kind of loyalty or patriotism.

-jiro likes material things and having money, but he's genuinely super passionate about his craft and the arts in general. he does a lot of other crimes (<- lol) but counterfeiting isn't one of them. all his products and art are genuine, handcrafted, made to detail. he's probably kinda disgusted by the idea of counterfeit and scamming because he genuinely looks forward to the reaction of his clients when they receive what they paid for. he does the act of service, he gets the praise and the money, he's a happy camper.

-despite all of the above, his demeanor is the definition of greasy and sleazy- but he also can be genuinely suave when he wants. he'll charm the pants off your granny. but not sleazy in the same way zhao is, though (cus zhao is no real charmer lol). cus zhao is high in the navy so he's Very stuck up, and he's also an otl (<-???) ass-kisser. he's a slimy douchebag, but still one that adamantly adheres to and enforces fire nation law. he's a guy that has goals and will do anything to get there. meanwhile jiro, you look at him and you know he does criminal shit. he just gives the danger vibe, and he flaunts it with confidence. and you must reach at least level 4 friend to unlock the gentlemanly, white-knight-syndrome side of jiro.

-what jiro DOES do for criminal activity is that as he has most of all the fire nation nobility and high court (along with the Literal royal family) in his pocket. he has eyes and ears in a LOTTTT of people's business. sensitive business. criminal business. blackmail on top of blackmail. he's only loyal to people he personally gives a shit about, and whatever the people he cares about gives a shit about. he's got the love in his heart to make those extensions because he really is thoughtful in nature. but anything outside of that is not his problem so yes he WILL sell your ass out. the most dependable man in the world if he loves you, but the most venomous, backstabbing scorpion-viper if he doesn't care about you.

-and he doesn't hire goons- the business and its dealings are done all by him, and him alone. so if you air out his business or try to fuck with him, he will show up in your house alone and kill you in the next 24 hours i PROMISE you. preferred form of doing so is beating to death. and them is workers arms baby so you aren't getting out of it alive!!! jiro isn't very tall but he is strong as FUCK. and because of the fact that he knows everybody's dirty laundry he gets away with all of it lol. jiro is not afraid of jackkkkk SHIT (<- which is why he's very dependable if he loves you. he's unflinching and dedicated)

-as for him and lu ten: he and lu ten met by chance (they quite literally ran into each other in the palace and toppled over each other), and ended up being twin flames. lu ten's like the orange cat to jiro's black cat. they balanced each other out and jiro was exactly what lu ten needed at the perfect time. their first date or whatever (Doing An Activity Together) was having lunch and tea together in the palace gardens, and it kinda spurred from there. they spent time together like an old retired couple basically lol??? lunches, dinners, long walks from evening to night, doing their tasks in silence but they're next to each other so it's fun (<-parallel play for adults), sitting on benches for hours and just talking and bird watching. two people with tough jobs, so they sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses, but they reserve time for each other so they can stop and smell the roses together.

-it isn't ALWAYS them acting like a retired old couple though cus like I said jiro is a sleaze bag and a flirt. azula was the only one that really noticed and she was very disgusted by them and would constantly swear lu ten has a thing for losers. but then again she'd claim any person lu ten messes with to be a gross loser so there's that

-as soon as they got close to tension hitting a boiling point the siege situation rolled around (<-AVERAGE COCKBLOCKER IROH MOMENT) and lu ten obviously didn't come back. and jiro never let go of it because of all the "what ifs" and how there was something there that was mutual but it never became official or was put into words. so there's more regret rather than bitterness about lu ten's absence in jiro's life. like "right person, wrong time" trope??? but this is the dai li au so they'll be fine eventually lol

-after lu ten died and ozai took over, jiro was silently cut off from the royal family. ozai didn't directly order that or anything but he didn't commission or hire jiro for anything the way azulon always did. jiro also quietly removed himself from the whole political ring and just focused on his work. didn't have a reason to stop and smell the roses anymore, but the work never quits and the world didn't stop turning

-once azula got old enough to be let loose into the playing field, she hired jiro under the table due to her knowing how close he'd been with lu ten (which makes him someone she felt that she could trust), and he got put back into the political game (<- to everyone elses dismay). since her first rodeo was outside of the fire nation, he became her eyes and ears back home.

-and he wasn't forced by her or intimidated by her- he was brought back to life by finally having a real reason to get back in action again. at first, azula being the kid lu ten personally took care of for the first little portion of her life (<-which is a secret jiro knows from lu ten. azula doesn't know about that, and it's gonna stay that way. it's more to be a driving force for jiro. cus jiro has a "whats yours is mine" mindset when he loves someone. so what lu ten loved, jiro also loves. so whatever azula wants from jiro, jiro will provide it to her.) was what made being her guy so easy, but he ends up taking a genuinely liking to the crazy kid. he feels like they get along pretty well cus they're like-minded when it comes to their methods

[cannedpickledpeaches]

GRRRRR DO ALL OF THOSE!!!!!!!!! im especially excited to hear what jade thought about their first meeting <3 i just KNOW floyd bullied him for getting extorted by a tiny human. he couldve just ripped their hand off or something but instead, like a loser, he let his scales get stolen!!! ALSO THEIR PARENTS TOO, like okay, 100 thaumarks really isnt that much to mafia fish, but why they would give it to him, and if they knew he was extorted, i get the feeling they'd handle it very differently than coughing up the money. Gotta wonder what Jade told them!!!!!!!!! AND the reasoning for why he was beached in the first place would be interesting!!!!!

fyi im the person that asked about angst in the series, and i was asking because i have to mentally prepare myself in advance to read it!!!!!! OTL it'd be juicy if Jade really did find himself in love with Y/N, but im mostly hoping that doesnt happen. Looking forward to any updates <3

Yes! There are so many things to consider when you see the scene from his perspective. The tweels have mentioned their parents teaching them self defence and their mother calling them often, so they obviously care about their sons a lot; but stories about the tweels’ childhood mostly involve doing something without supervision, so they aren’t overprotective. As for how much money they give their sons, Floyd buys expensive clothes but he has to earn money himself to buy really expensive stuff (his reason for doing the Culinary Crucible). Lots to infer about their parenting style 👀

Also, Floyd making fun of him would be so on brand sibling behaviour. Like oooh, some human girl stole your stuff? You gonna go cry to Mama and Pops now? You gonna throw a tantrum like an itty bitty elver?? Jade would try to strangle him.

I totally get needing mental preparation for angst! Here’s a spoiler alert (about Jade and (Y/N)):

Jade doesn’t fall in love with her. But it would be so juicy in an alternate reality where he does! Reader’s relieved that things are going according to the plot. But really, he shouldn’t have to spend time with (Y/N) outside of the events of the story. What if something he says or does messes up the story later? No, you aren’t jealous. You’re being pragmatic. It’s important to be thorough when lives are at stake, you know. So you need Jade to come back as soon as the story’s plot indicates the end of a scene. He’ll have all the time in the world to spend with her after the story ends.

Reader would be so deep in denial in this situation lol we’re rooting for them!!

I was going to sign off with thanks to “angst anon” but I feel like that’s a bit of a depressing pseudonym . . . . Either way thank you for your interest in the series! It makes me really happy to see someone enjoys it ☺️☺️

[ibunyang]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA TONTON HCS ANON AGAIN YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WRITE ??!?!?!???!!?!?! giggling and kicking my feet reading your answer and I Demand More Please!!!!!!!!!! either more about general hcs or more about your fav skinships...... modern au...... ANYTHING.........

HELLO AGAIN ANOONNN!!!!!!!!!!!! AHDJASHDAKJ THANK YOU for letting me yap!!! i used to write, but i orphaned all the fics i made on ao3 when i was 18 or smth when i wrote them now its hard to look at it without feeling shy.. HAHAHJDHAD embarrassed i might take another shot at writing for this ship again tho HEHE

BUT ANYWAY my favorite skin ships… oh.. my favorite skinship is moleswift (soo normal about them definitely.. )

I wanna blab about them here..

< norton just got out of the mines accident and mike also just survived the fire of his circus is what i like to think for moleswift to happen, except they didnt get invited to the manor and instead found each other to somehow lift each other up.

mike who basically had nothing but the clothes on his back and the shit ton of money that Bernards untimely death gave him, hes still actively looking for the other survivors, but he found Murro and he's the one that somewhat convinced mike to give up on his quest for revenge and live life to the fullest, essentially telling him to rise from the ashes. (nod) and with this resolve he gets to doing it.

it was hard for him to give up on searching for the person he thinks is responsible for the fire, so he still has that one guy (i forgot his name rn) to search every possible corner, but at some point they did lose natalies tail. he doesnt want to say hes given up but he has no choice but to look towards the future of his own circus.

i see him as someone who always wanted to be the ringleader, and while he was already the main star of his previous one i dont think it was the same as having his own circus to run, having this chance given to him even though it was through dire circumstances was a god sent gift. so i know he gets to work finding all the acts hiring all the people, and finally his mole.

HIS MOLEE AUGDHAHGDHAD

norton has been looking for a job, sees the advert looking to hire an assistant for the circus (he probably thought of it like man power, or smth) but he takes the job he needs money, he knows how to follow the scent of money. his resume doesnt look as good as the other people being interviewed but the moment he stepped in the tent mike knew found the other half of his act.

Everyone he was interviewing didn't seem to mesh well with him, and he would like someone he could have fun with. Personal preference.

norton obviously wasnt as sure anymore at this point, since the job description was far form the work he was used to doing (and he did think it was mostly manpower for a job) but YOU KNOW he convinces him with the riches that mike already has, "i can give you more than this you know, I see you eyeing it… and Its clear to me that your greed has no filter Mr.Campbell" WITH A SMILE.

Initially Norton doesnt like how Mike is, hes bold, brazen, and thinks that everything that he wants should be fulfilled at the drop of a hat, like??? does he think he has super powers to magic up the fund for something that he wants so out of the blue? But of course Norton is as stubborn as a mole, he can and will do whatever it is thats asked of him. Hes willing to do whatever it takes to be able to prove him wrong and even sometimes surprise Swift with what he can accomplish.

"What we accomplished together." Swift would say.

Norton ignores the throb in his heart as he looks at Mike who was looking around in awe at the decorations in the main tent, thankfully with his connections from doing VARIOUS odd jobs all his life apart from mining, he has a pretty good network.

Its safe to say that I think these guys are literally two halves of a whole OTL there can never be a Swift without his Mole and vice versa !!!!!!!

Mole whos admiration turns to worship, even if he doesnt know it and Swift who cherishes him, and never wishes to part. They both helped each other reach the best outcome of their lives !!!!!!!!!! Norton having a stable job and never having to fear when he gets to eat again and Mike back in the circus where he belongs under the spotlight.

TLDR THIS IS MY FAVORITE SKINSHIP EVER.

< i joke about them being divorced husbands but honestly its more like the old married couple vibes in the long run, they banter and they yell sometimes they pull at each others hair but its all in good fun. they have a drink together with swift on moles lap as they run through the circus expenses together. (a love language) < i dont know WHEN exactly they would have gotten together. bc to me they were married from the start??? i dont know how to explain it it just happened. <mike probably just casually mentions he loves him at one point.. or something along the lines of "i want to keep you forever. I wouldnt know what to do without you by my side." and mole just assumed this was when they start dating seriously because HE is NOT leaving. EVER. < "then keep me forever" < cue MAKE OUT MUSIC. < they have a little two man act sometimes on stage, mole usually prefers to be off the stage because he doesnt want to steal swifts spotlight (where he thinks he shines brightest) < "but i shine the brightest when im with you" referring to his head light. but mole just dies on the inside i think TEEHEE

[koinotame]

https://www.tumblr.com/koinotame/738699977234251776/is-the-childe-reverse-sagau-ever-gonna-be

so i saw this and hope you dont mind me providing some ideas that you might like to expand upon:

- meeting childe’s friends

- how others perceive their relationship

- at any point does the fact that he’s from a video game warp relaity or what

- reader getting curious where his money comes from and asking (idk)

im sorry if this comes off as rude or demanding. this is genuinely just me wanting to help spark creativity for you and sharing what i would think to do as a fellow author TT

no not at all!!! i actually really appreciate your thoughts :D

i think with these specifically i'm running into a couple issues: - i've mentioned childe's friends a couple time but they're not proper characters i've thought out lol i imagine they're some people he met in his own classes or clubs or etc etc and while they hang out and get along childe in particular isn't very close with them. like he never talks about them so if they didn't occasionally drop him off or he didn't ask you permission to hang out with them or etc you wouldn't even know they exist - i'll place this one into my notes to think about some more actually... even if not with his friends. it's a good idea, i just would need to think a bit more about the execution! - it already has! the premise of the world forgetting about genshin aside i think i've actually hinted at this once or twice in the fics themselves. i think it's more fun to gradually and subtly weave this one in though - this is a great idea! unfortunately it would also require me to actually figure that out OTL

i think my original idea was that at least some of the rest of the fatui got transported to the real world and started some very legal business but like. if they're also self aware and yan and ok with childe spending as much of their money as he does on you wouldn't they also want to meet you... which would admittedly make for a good premise but i want to keep this childe centric

[merakiui]

OOOOOOO ur cooking mera 👀

All that disgust riddle feels is just thinly veiled sexual tension!! God help if criminal reader committed a crime of passion because riddle is going to learn how to love in all the wrong ways.

I like the thought of reader catching on to sweet riddles train of thought and slowly injecting more innuendos into her letters. How the food is so hard in her mouth and hot to eat that she's panting afterwards. The clothes are so constricting it feels like being tied up (she has intuition he has a bondage kink) and most of all how so very lonely she is. She's not stopping even after all the letters she receives are stained with musty droplets, the salt on the paper isnt tears.

Reader doesn't care that she's stringing him along. After all he writes on the finest stationary, is enrolled in a top university and refers to his parents as 'mother and father'. He reeks of money and she needs to make bail. A girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do 🤷‍♀️

AAAAAAA ANON!!!!! THIS IS SO YUM!!!! OTL

Darling using every trick in the book to charm Riddle into getting her out of jail,,,,, that's so good!! And of course he falls for it because he doesn't know what real romance is. His parents are an abysmal example of that, and he's never truly been in love himself. When you send back letters with the sweetest, most flowery of words, he thinks it's genuine. At first, going into the project, he was wary because you're a criminal and so he expects you to lie and twist the narrative whenever he sends interview questions. But now his suspicions are clouded over by these complex feelings he's never known before.

If anyone were to peek into his dorm room and see all of the letters he's posted to his cork board, they'd think he was taking this assignment a little too seriously. It's obsessive, the way Riddle clings to your words. He's done so much research, filled an entire notebook with details and information, scoured every reputable source that's covered your story. He knows your entire life's story like the back of his hand; he can list all kinds of facts about you. If anyone asks why he knows so much or why he even cares, he just tells them he must do so if he's to hand in a perfect journalistic report worthy of full marks to the professor. Although it may be difficult to stay completely objective when he's in this deep...

It's immensely ironic that he, a law student, has become so obsessed with an actual criminal, so much so that he's looking at the amount set for your bail and truly considering.

[jazlynriddle]

Welcome to your life - Pt 2:

Acting On Your Best Behaviour Ch 20:

Summary:

They'd seen it in their fellow orphans often enough to recognise the pattern and were now forced to admit, despite their hopes to the contrary, that Isidora had likely suffered similar side effects.

No… they'd always known she had. The Keeper had just wanted the power that Ranrok had, enough to convince themselves that they would be able to handle it better than that naive woman.

With the start of the Keeper’s sixth-year in Hogwarts, comes a whole slew of headache-inducing challenges from the most unexpected of places. Between insignificant pests throwing wrenches into their plans and tedious teenage drama, that the Keeper is entirely unprepared for, they wonder if they'll make it to their NEWTs without losing their sanity.

Or worse, Ominis or Sebastian.

Warnings: Sebastian x MC x Ominis! Drug Addiction! Spoilers! Slow-burn corruption! Dark content! Fucked up 1800s orphanages! MC has no love for Anne or Solomon! Dubious happy ending (it's happy for MC, Seb and Ominis at least).

You can also read on AO3! (chapter specific warnings below)

Notes:

"So, they're at it again." Garreth grinned. "Fantastic, I've almost started getting bored."

Warnings: Misunderstandings, drama and a bit of a cliffhanger x'D

Oh boy, we're back to the drama, it's been really nice writing the Dìon stuff, but now it's back to teenage drama. OTL

Despite being the one writing it, I actually hate this kind of frustrating romantic-comedy teen drama, but it can't be helped, our kids are teens from broken backgrounds and they're gonna need to go through this stuff to learn the importance of communication, maturity, and for that sweet sweet character growth.

So let's just, hang in there, and we'll get through it together x')

There's a really hot smut at the end of all this drama if that's any consolation, I wrote it during part 1 and I've been sitting on that scene for months at this point lol

"Are you sure you want to say that it's a good thing that those two fools are still trying to kill our friend?" Natty sighed, shaking her head exasperatedly.

"Of course, that's not a good thing, what is a good thing, is how fun getting back at the bullies is." Garreth reasoned with a wink and Natty rubbed a hand over her forehead tiredly.

"Well, I'd say we're pretty close to defeating them, based on the howler I heard." Poppy smiled, defusing Natty's irritation with ease.

"So, if we give Professor Sharp a reason to report something negative to their parents, we might get them into big trouble." Amit hummed thoughtfully.

"And if they get disowned, it'll prevent them from bullying people as adults since they won't have as much money or power." Natty nodded with a resolute gleam in her eyes.

"I don't know what we could do though…" Poppy muttered, frowning, and nibbling on her lower lip as her face scrunched up with thought, an expression quickly reflected by most of the table.

A few moments passed before Amit spoke. "I'm not sure about the other houses, but Ravenclaw's head of house, Professor Hecat, gives detentions for not handing up our weekly essays too many times in a row."

"That sounds awful." Garreth wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Weasley doesn't enforce that in Gryffindor." Natty confirmed.

"Professor Garlick doesn't do that either." Poppy added and the group turned to the Keeper.

The Keeper flashed a grin full of teeth. "Professor Sharp does, usually if we don't hand up essays for three subjects for two or three weeks in a row."

"Nice." Garreth grinned broadly in answer.

"That's pretty generous, Professor Hecat only gives us two essays worth of chances." Amit beamed. "Alright, so all we need to do, is make sure at least three of those bullies' weekly essays never actually get marked."

Garreth turned to Amit with wide eyes. "My friend, are you suggesting that we break into Professor offices to steal essays?"

Amit blinked at him hesitantly. "I- I suppose…"

Garreth promptly grabbed Amit by the shoulders with an enormous grin. "I've found my brother in crime!"

Amit's expression quickly flipped to terrified. “I- pardon?"

"I never thought I'd finally find someone as suicidal as myself!" Garreth sobbed with joy.

"Not sure that's a good thing." The Keeper commented with a wry smile.

"No no no, I am not joining the break-in team!" Amit exclaimed in alarm as he finally understood Garreth's deranged ramblings.

"You needn't fear my brother. I have fail-safe means of breaking into offices, and I will teach them all to you!" Garreth slung his arm over Amit's shoulder, seemingly immune to the other boy's attempts to wiggle free.

"I'm not sure I want to know why you have such means…" Natty muttered, watching Garreth warily.

Poppy giggled, looking entirely happy with the situation and the Keeper absently wondered what exactly about it was so ticklish.

A moment later, Poppy tipped her head to the side thoughtfully. "We should probably make sure the bullies are distracted when we do that."

The Keeper hummed. "I could hang about Hogsmeade while the operation is in play, that'll get the attention of at least one of them."

"Have you got any more polyjuice, Garreth?" Poppy asked, her cheeks going pink at the thought of drinking the Keeper's essence again.

"Ah… sorry." Garreth smiled sheepishly. "I got caught by Sharp when trying to steal ingredients, so I wasn't able to brew another batch."

"Hmm, we'll have to think of something else then…" Poppy frowned and the table went silent again in contemplation.

A few moments later, Natty sighed, opening her eyes and raising them towards the Keeper. "Perhaps you can ask Gaunt to distract the other one."

"Ominis?" Poppy murmured dubiously, she didn't really know what to make of the pair recently.

Sebastian used to be one of the few people that Poppy found easy to talk with and Ominis had been nothing but polite to her in classes. Yet recently, they'd both begun behaving increasingly hostile towards her. She'd been doing her best to remain cordial with them for the Keeper's sake, but it was definitely unsettling not knowing what had caused the change.

The Keeper nodded. "Sure, I'll speak with him."

"Why would he be able to help?" Amit asked in confusion.

"He's one of the people being targeted by those bullies." The Keeper answered nonchalantly.

"Oh, that explains why I saw Macnair in detention earlier." Garreth nodded sagely. "I also know from my aunt that the professors do their marking on Sundays."

The Keeper hummed. "In that case, I'll ask Ominis to spend his Saturdays in Hogsmeade as well, that'll keep the bullies out of school while you guys are stealing the assignments, then we can meet here on Sunday after."

"I'm not sure you should be alone, after what happened last time." Natty frowned. "Poppy was attacked on Thursday too, so it'd probably be better to spend Saturday together, you can look out for each other."

Natty gestured towards Garreth and Amit. "The three of us should be enough."

"W- wait, couldn’t I stay with them instead?" Amit tried. "I- if the bullies try something in Hogsmeade, three is safer right?"

"Oh no, you don't." Garreth grinned, tightening his arm around Amit. "We need one person as a lookout, so three of us in the essay team is a good number."

"Good luck, Amit." The Keeper chuckled as Amit's face crumpled in despair.

Poppy's cheeks flushed when Natty surreptitiously winked at her, while the Keeper watched Amit struggling to breathe, as Garreth showed no sign of loosening his grip. She turned towards the Keeper with a shy smile. "I- I guess we'll start next weekend then."

"Yeah." The Keeper nodded, if they spent their Saturdays publicly with Poppy, perhaps the bullies would target her more than their partners…

"I still don't see why you have to spend half the day with her." Sebastian grumbled, and the Keeper sighed as the two strode down the path to Hogsmeade together. Their partner had been sulking all morning and they really couldn't understand what was so bad about the plan.

"Because if I'm with you and Ominis, the bullies won't both be in Hogsmeade." The Keeper rubbed their thumb over their temple. "What about this is not making sense?"

"I- well, it does. I just don't like it." Sebastian kicked a rock irritably and the Keeper felt a wave of frustration, reminded of how obstinate he'd been when they were scaling that mountain near Marunweem in search of Isidora's portrait canvas.

"Well, if you think there's a problem with the plan, just spit it out." The Keeper bit out in annoyance, they'd thought they'd gotten past this whole non-communicative nonsense with Sebastian.

Their partner remained silent, and the Keeper heaved another sigh.

Several minutes of tense silence later, Sebastian inched closer to the Keeper as they walked, bumping his shoulder gently against theirs, with a tentative glance at them out of the corner of his eye. They regarded him warily, but his expression was plainly apologetic.

They considered ignoring him, but the idea of making this unpleasant atmosphere continue any longer was decidedly unappealing and the thought of legitimately hurting Sebastian's feelings, even more so. As such, the Keeper sighed and brushed the back of their hand against his, catching his fingers against theirs for a brief moment, mindful not to make it too obvious, lest their tail notice.

His face immediately brightened and the stuffy air that had been hanging over them dissipated, to the Keeper's relief, they really hated seeing Sebastian upset.

The two continued walking for a few more minutes, before the Keeper spotted a familiar pile of galleons sitting inconspicuously in the middle of the road. Again? Those idiots sure were persistent. The Keeper almost felt offended that the bullies hadn't gotten the hint that they weren't going to fall for this trick.

Pointedly ignoring the pile of gold, the Keeper made to walk past, when Sebastian stopped beside the pile. He reached downwards and the Keeper quickly caught him by the wrist.

"Fallen coins don't roll uphill." They replied in response to the questioning expression on Sebastian's face. His eyes widened in understanding and the Keeper chuckled as they let go of him. "They were so busy trying to make it noticeable, that they forgot about gravity."

Sebastian straightened, nodding as he realised that the coins were sitting on top of a mound. Now that the Keeper had said it, it was plainly impossible for the coins to have stayed on that spot if they'd been dropped.

Leaving the gold coins, the two of them continued down the path and Sebastian smiled wryly. "It's kind of scary how good you are at catching these, the poisoned letter on Wednesday would have gotten me for sure."

The Keeper shrugged. "Not going to lie, that one was pretty close, we were just lucky I was outdoors, and the sunlight reflected off the oily paper before I pulled it from the envelope."

"Pity Ominis didn't let us test it on something, I'm still wondering what they'd dipped the letter in." Sebastian sighed wistfully.

"Hopefully it was something expensive." The Keeper smirked and Sebastian let out a bark of laughter as they crossed the bridge leading into Hogsmeade, joining the bustle of people meandering about this pleasant Saturday afternoon.

Weaving through the crowd, the two stopped by the tea shop, Steepley and Sons, where Ominis should already be waiting inside, with a bully on his tail.

"I'll see you later in the evening." The Keeper gave Sebastian a small smile. "Just be careful and stay on guard while you enjoy your date with Ominis."

Sebastian nodded, a strange look on his face as they parted ways with him, leaving him standing by the flowers and elegantly designed white tables and chairs, to seek out Poppy over by Gladrag's as planned.

The Keeper glanced around and quickly spotted Poppy standing beside a cart of trinkets, they distinctly remembered this cart carrying an assortment of fireworks last time they'd been by. Perhaps the vendor had a rotating stock.

"Hello, Poppy." The Keeper greeted, as they joined her by the cart.

The girl jumped slightly, before turning to them with a brilliant smile and rosy cheeks. "Oh, hello."

The Keeper blinked a few times, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden, unsure of exactly what the expectant look on Poppy's face meant.

After a few moments of silence, Poppy brushed her hair behind her ear and gestured at the cart. "Um, I was just looking at some of the necklaces here, do you think any of them would match my dress?"

The Keeper found the request both odd and unexpected but acquiesced, giving Poppy a once-over, noting the cream yellow dress with black ribbons that she was wearing, before examining the tray of necklaces. Most were simple in design and none of them had any magical properties that bolstered one's magical strength or resistance.

After a few minutes of scouring the uninteresting baubles, the Keeper spotted a golden snitch pendant and remembered the young snidgets they'd found with Poppy. She was the sentimental type, so she'd probably appreciate a reminder of her little ones. It was yellow too, so with no other factors to consider, it was probably a safe bet to just go with the same colours already present in her attire.

Picking up the pendant and selecting a simple black chain, the Keeper offered them to Poppy. "Here, I think these should work."

Her eyes widened and the Keeper tensed as those brown orbs became alarmingly shiny. Poppy turned away briefly, her eyelids fluttering to dispel the wetness, before accepting the necklace from them with a soft smile.

"Thank you… I think it's a wonderful choice." She turned to the vendor and quickly made payment for the selected items, before turning back to the Keeper with pink cheeks. "Um, do you think you could… help me put it on?"

Somehow, the Keeper was starting to feel like they were missing something, but they saw no reason to refuse the request. So, with a shrug, they took the necklace and moved behind Poppy to help her fasten the chain.

"There, that should do it." They muttered as they finished their task, moving to stand before her again.

With an embarrassed smile, Poppy spun in a circle once, her dress’ knee-high and frilly skirt fanning out around her legs as she asked nervously. "What do you think?"

The Keeper tilted their head in confusion and she quickly elaborated. "About how I- um, my outfit looks, I suppose."

"Ah, I guess it looks more comfortable than our uniforms, considering that it's starting to get warm." The Keeper replied nonchalantly.

Poppy deflated slightly but smiled anyway. "...I see, um, shall we go inside then?"

"Sure, what did you need to get?" The Keeper nodded, turning towards Gladrag's, surprised when Poppy slipped her arm around theirs, holding their arm against her chest.

"Oh, just a few things." Poppy replied vaguely with a nervous smile, seeming to be avoiding their questioning glance.

The Keeper found themselves once again uncertain on how to react, feeling increasingly uncomfortable as they allowed her to guide them towards the shop.

That discomfort peaked when the shopkeeper gave the pair a strange smile as they entered through the door and the Keeper gently but firmly removed their arm from Poppy’s grasp. To their relief, she allowed them to do so without protest and they took a breath to recenter themselves.

"Hello there. Ready for a little change in fashion, are we? Let me know if you need help finding anything!" Mr. Hill greeted with a genial smile, taking a sip from his ever-steaming teacup.

Poppy shifted awkwardly, clearly also struggling with the strange atmosphere that had formed after the Keeper's withdrawal and they stifled a sigh, forcing on a smile instead. "So, what were you looking for specifically?"

"Oh, um-" She seemed oddly at a loss as well, glancing around the shop, her eyes darting about anxiously before settling on a rich amber orange dress on display. Without another word, Poppy grabbed the dress and ran for the dressing screen.

The Keeper watched her disappear behind the partition with a raised eyebrow. Poppy had always been a bit unique but she was behaving so weird today.

Well, at least she knew what she wanted, the Keeper shook off their confusion and turned to Mr. Hill. "Could I see what scarves you have in stock?"

Ominis had been a scarf short since their fever and he hadn't had a chance to replace it when they were in Hogsmeade because of Selwyn's damn Descendo. So, the Keeper had been planning to get him a replacement. 

"Of course, there are plenty to choose from here!" Mr. Hill beamed and with a quick swish of his wand, a wall of scarves rolled out from behind the counter. The Keeper blinked at it for a moment, where did that even come from-

They carefully considered their options, Ominis never gave much consideration to colours, for obvious reasons. He cared more about comfort and functionality, as such it was usually Sebastian who chose colours for him, because according to Ominis, it was Sebastian who had to look at him, so it made more sense to give him that privilege.

They were honestly impressed at Ominis bravery and disregard for society's view of him, for the Keeper wasn't sure anyone else would blindly trust Sebastian to actually match clothing colours for them. Even though Sebastian was surprisingly picky about his own outfits and seemed to have a decent fashion sense when he was bored enough.

The Keeper did wonder if Sebastian had only developed a fashion sense to help Ominis dress, it felt like something their selfless lover would do, devoting himself to helping Ominis with something that their blind lover would never truly be able to appreciate his efforts in.

Regardless, this was the first time the Keeper was choosing clothing articles for their partner, and they were feeling unexpectedly nervous.

They knew Ominis wasn't fond of his house or his House, but they felt that he looked good in Slytherin green. An opinion that Sebastian clearly held as well, since most of Ominis' closet consisted of varying shades of green and silver, it'd probably be best to get something that matched his established wardrobe.

Just as the thought drifted through their mind, they spotted a deep castleton green scarf with reflective metallic threads weaved through it in streams of glimmering silver. Reminding them of the glossy sheen that shimmered over the twin snakes body when they moved.

The Keeper's eyes lit up, knowing Ominis, he'd want Mira and Kira to draw as little attention as possible if they were with him. When the girls were older they'd probably enjoy draping over his shoulders for warmth and this scarf's design would provide a good camouflage for them to blend into and hide under.

It looked like it had some defensive magic weaved into the fabric too, which was definitely a nice bonus. Touching the long strip of cloth, they found it to be soft, thick and comfortable against their skin, perfect.

"I'll take this one." The Keeper gestured at the scarf.

"Your special someone won't be disappointed. That's a Gladrag’s promise." Mr. Hill winked as he rang them up. They huffed lightly in response, it better, considering the rather steep price, but they didn't mind, Ominis was worth it.

The Keeper smiled fondly as they tucked away the package, looking forward to gifting it to Ominis later.

Meanwhile, behind the screen, Poppy was busy calming herself down from the mortification of her advances being so plainly rejected. Merlin save her, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to look the Keeper in the eye again. She never should have listened to Natty, this whole thing was a mistake.

But the necklace moment earlier had been wonderful… maybe they're just shy? The thought made Poppy pause. The Keeper was so stoic and collected all the time, so it was hard to imagine them being embarrassed, but surely everyone could get embarrassed, maybe it just displayed differently on them?

Perhaps Natty's suggestion of linking arms was just a little too fast for the reserved Keeper, they clearly cared about her deeply, to have gotten so angry when she was hurt and to put such thought into the pendant they'd chosen for her.

Poppy nodded to herself, it made sense, she was just rushing them too much, what did Natty know about romance anyway. What she and the Keeper had was special, and probably had its own pace.

Feeling more comfortable and assured, Poppy lifted the dress she'd impulsively grabbed. Well, they'd expect her to try it on, so she began changing into it quickly, hopefully it happened to look good on her.

A few moments later, she took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the partition. The Keeper looked up at the sound with the most gentle smile she'd ever seen on their face and Poppy practically felt her heart stop at the sight of it.

Her confidence bolstered, Poppy spun once on the spot, plucked up her courage and asked. "H- how is this?"

The Keeper's eyebrows rose as they analysed the dress, that was probably pretty expensive, from the amount of magic weaved into it, they would wager it had the highest defence of any article of clothing in this store. Poppy was indeed one of their most sensible friends, considering that she was also being targeted, it was a wise decision to shore up her defences as much as possible.

"That's a good choice." They nodded approvingly and Poppy's face lit up.

The Keeper smiled wryly as Poppy went to purchase the dress, they did admire how the girl always seemed to be bubbly and happy. The amount of effort she put into their friendship was endearing, understandable, considering that they were her first friend.

They knew that feeling, Sebastian was their beloved, but he was also their first friend and that was something that would always make him special. So, the Keeper took the responsibility of being a good friend to Poppy, someone who also hadn't had any friends before, fairly seriously. While they were technically using Poppy as bait, in return they would at least protect her from harm as much as they could.

"I never thought you had much interest in fashion." The Keeper commented as Poppy hugged the shopping bag to her chest happily.

"Oh, not normally, but it's nice sometimes." Poppy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a blush.

Avoiding their gaze, Poppy's eyes wandered over to the other shop sharing the same building. Spotting a bright blue globe, she eyed it curiously, trying to guess what it might be and whether it was worth going over to take a look at or if it'd make her seem too childish to the Keeper.

Noticing her indecisive gaze, the Keeper huffed lightly and began making their way over, deciding for her. Poppy blinked in surprise before beaming and following at a trot. The two came to a stop beside the globe and Poppy's eyes widened in delight at what turned out to be a constellation globe.

She leaned closer to examine the patterns, when a loud snap came from somewhere above her. Suddenly, she felt a tight grip around her arms pulling on her, the world spun, and then her face was pressed against a warm chest.

She distantly noted a loud crash behind her and Mr. Hill's exclamation of alarm, but she was too overwhelmed by the strong arms around her to pay it much mind.

The Keeper glared at the large bird-shaped wooden flying contraption previously attached to the ceiling that had been inches from crushing Poppy. Fortunately, they'd reacted fast enough and pulled her out of the way in time, before the wooden thing crashed to the floor.

Those fuckers, the Keeper looked around quickly, spotting the backdoor behind Mr. Hill slipping closed.

They grimaced, nothing to be done there. The Keeper looked down at Poppy, who was still frozen in their arms, her body was trembling slightly, and they felt a pinch of guilt for putting her in this situation.

"Are you okay, Poppy?" The Keeper asked gently, not wanting to alarm her.

"Y- yes…" Poppy muttered and they carefully released her, giving her some space to calm her breathing.

"Oh, my goodness, are the two of you alright?" Mr. Hill hastened over to their side and began fussing over them.

"Yes, we're alright." The Keeper assured.

"That's a relief to hear!" He placed a hand over his heart dramatically, before turning to Dervish and Banges' owner with an angry expression. "See, this is why I'm always saying that you shouldn't hang things up on the ceiling! Especially not something so big and heavy, you don't see me hanging up my mannequins, do you!?"

The man in the heavy coat rolled his eyes. “Maybe you'd get more business if you did.”

“Why, I never!” Mr. Hill exclaimed.

The Keeper tuned the argument out and returned their attention to Poppy, who still seemed rather shaken. "Come on, let's go sit down at the Three Broomsticks, we can have dinner there in a bit."

"R- right, good idea." Poppy nodded, trying to will her heart to beat at a more reasonable pace as she followed them out the door.

Sebastian ground his teeth in agitation, his spyglass rattling against the glass window as he watched the Keeper walk towards Gladrag's, arm in arm with that airhead. "What the bloody hell, first they help her put on a necklace all intimate-like and now they're letting her hang on their arm like she's their girlfriend!?"

"M- maybe they're just being nice, you did say it was Sweeting who grabbed their arm." Ominis shook his head, the skin around his eyes tight with stress.

"Well, they sure aren't doing anything about it." Sebastian grumbled, adjusting his monocular scope, trying to see through Gladrag's' windows. "Blast these small damn windows."

Ominis took a sip of his tea anxiously, it was awful having nothing but Sebastian's descriptions of what was going on. He'd almost rather Sebastian stop describing what he was seeing because it was terrible envisioning their lover with someone else.

There was a strange tinkling sound from above their table and Ominis was hit with a wave of unease. "Sebasti-"

"Fuck-" Sebastian cursed and Ominis felt the other boy pull him from his seat.

A second later, there was a loud crash and the two girls seated at the table beside theirs screamed. Ominis clutched Sebastian's robes in alarm as he felt several small unknown objects bounce off his side, feeling the other boy breathing heavily against his hair.

"You're okay, we're okay." Sebastian murmured soothingly, brushing a hand over his side and Ominis could hear the crinkling sound of glass falling from his robes.

"W- what happened!?" Ominis asked shakily in confusion.

"Our tail cut the chandelier hanging above our table." Sebastian explained quietly and Ominis heard the shopkeeper apologising to them profusely, before casting Reparo on the shattered chandelier.

There was the sound of glass swirling before the shopkeeper cleaned the table and brought them another two fresh cups of tea as an apology.

Ominis sighed in relief as they returned to their seats. "Maybe we should sit outside next time."

"Well, at least I doubt they'll try this one again today." Sebastian chuckled, taking a sip of his tea, and swirling the aromatic liquid in his mouth as he peered through the spyglass again.

Almost immediately Sebastian spat his tea right back out and Ominis flinched, when the liquid hit the window and rebounded, a few drops landing on his arm.

"Ugh, you're supposed to swallow that Sebastian." Ominis complained, wiping his arm with a serviette.

When he received no reply, Ominis frowned in concern. "Sebastian?"

There was a clink as Sebastian set down the spyglass.

Ominis was starting to feel really worried now, he tried again. "Sebastian? What happened?"

".......ing."

Ominis frowned, unable to hear what he'd said. "Say that again?"

"....they're hugging…" Sebastian's voice was uncharacteristically emotionless and Ominis found himself at a loss as to what he was saying. Or perhaps he just didn't want to understand.

"They're hugging? Who's hugging?" Ominis echoed distantly.

"They're hugging her." Sebastian repeated, rage bleeding into his voice.

"No, that's- you must have seen wrongly." Ominis laughed shakily, forcing his hands to steady as he took a gulp of his scalding tea.

"I know what I-"

"No, you don't." Ominis interjected, slamming his teacup back down on the saucer. "You don't know what you saw, it could have been anything and I won't hear another word till we've spoken with them to clarify."

"..."

Ominis took a calming breath, forcing his shaking hands to still and carefully taking his fear, wrapping it up tightly, and burying it as deeply as he could. That's right. Don't think about it.

Nothing happened.

Notes:

Wow, that was such unfortunate timing, that the chandelier dropping onto Sebastian and Ominis, made Sebastian miss the bird-thing dropping on Poppy and thus he only saw what looked like the Keeper hugging Poppy.

Such bad luck, it's really just too bad.

…

…I feel so terrible for doing this to them. I am so sorry-

In a way, you could say that the Keeper's utter oblivious-ness is because they don't know what a normal date looks like, and their relationship with Ominis and Sebastian is such an exception in their brain, that they can't apply the same logic to anything else besides their partners x')

The very idea that anyone would think that they have romantic feelings for Poppy is so absurd to the Keeper, that it just doesn't occur to them at all xD

Also, the Keeper is so fucking whipped, all Sebastian needs to do is give them puppy eyes and they cave instantly. If he can actually put what he wants into words xP