#and then Manticore is right after

[cy-lindric]

On the hundredth day after the new year the heralds come to the doors of the city, announcing the arrival of the Golden Caravan at the farthest stop of its route ; like every year, citizens and travellers will surely gather at the western door to see it come to pass.

Right behind the banners as customary are the sculptor priests, foremost of the stonemason orders, bringing in this year's votive masterwork for the festivities. The black and white steppe oxen precede the arrival of the head guild architect, charged with the safekeeping of the citizens' sacred geometry. The graduating apprentices and newly welcomed novices walk besides the draftsroom carriage, bearing the icons of the Citizen Architects Guild : ardor and patience. Out of the kilns of the imperial workshops come delicate masterwork sought after the world over ; the sister-ceramists are selected from various key regions of the trade system and bring their local styles to the imperial production. Those workshops are the northernmost stop on the caravan's route.

Behind the masons, the torchbearers announce the arrival of the metalworkers' guilds, chief of which the head goldsmith on a palanquin of her own design. The braseros and forges are continuously tended by guild kindlers as to remain lit throughout the entire voyage of the caravan. Second to last comes the host of the manticore, behind the braseros of the master kindlers. It is believed that the creature requires her caretakers to be pure of heart and most diligent ; the honour is bestowed only on the highest performing apprentices of the smithing guilds. On the last day finally, behind the last of the apprentices, the crones of the chain count the days left to craft, keeping misfortune at work away, and, some even say, Death itself.

[demonic0angel]

Can we get Young Justice's perspective in the ghost maze?

Part 1, part 3

"Why did we fall in love with ghost royalty again?" Kon asked.

"Because she's small, cute, and cuddly?" Tim replied dryly.

"Less whining, more butt kicking!" Anita snapped. "Slobo, can you—"

"Don't even mention it! Let's get these monsters and then we kill her bastich of a brother!" He said, before he lifted up by a harpy with a yelp.

"I'm not sure we can kill him," Suzie said with a sigh. She screamed at the kidnapping harpy, making her drop Slobo. Bart raced around and picked him up before he fell, just as he ducked, as Cassie flew overhead and punched another harpy trying to come near.

"Any moment now!" Cassie screamed at Tim, as the hydra started approaching them again, finally finding its way back to them through the maze with its heads poking over the walls.

"I deserve cuddles after this," Kon continued to complain. "Lots and lots of ghost cuddles. And hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies."

"Great, now I'm hungry, along with bruised, tired, and annoyed," Anita said, before she commanded a stray dinosaur bird thing to go away.

"Got it!" Tim shouted when he finally solved the puzzle and they all ran through the open door. This time, it was a pit full of snakes and the fliers of the group immediately grabbed their non-flying members and rose off of the ground. Kon in particular, sighed as he had to carry Slobo and Bart, who were already squirming.

They carefully flew down to let Tim solve the puzzle and then they quickly escaped, just as the manticore broke down a wall and rushed at them. They slid inside of the other puzzle room, locking the doors behind them. Harpies and other flying monsters still flew around in the sky.

"I hate this," Suzie said. "The Ghost Zone is terrible. Dani's brother is even more terrible."

"Speaking of Dani," Cassie said, looking up, "Look! She's in the stands!"

They all looked up, where they could now see Dani waving at them frantically. She was dressed in royal clothes and looked worried for them.

"Oh thank goodness! She's okay!" Anita said with a sigh of relief. "I thought her brother kidnapped her."

Tim hummed. "I'm pretty sure if that was true, we would've already seen her tearing her way through this maze for us."

Kon cracked his knuckles. "We have to get to her. This entire thing is a test for us, isn't it?"

Cassie nodded. "That's right. Alright, you guys, game faces on. Dani's counting on us and if we want to prove ourselves to her brother, we have to win this with flying colors! Even the Justice League is here, watching us! We have to prove to them all that we're heroes who can fight for the ones we love!"

Bart put his hand out. "For Dani?"

"For Dani!" They all agreed before immediately rushing out to solve the puzzle and take down the monsters and obstacles around them, determined to prove the adults wrong and show Dani that they could definitely be worthy of her!

In the stands, Danny looked at Wonder Woman and sighed. "Couldn't you have taught her to be less inspiring? I want them to lose."

[bruisedfig]

alec headcannons?🙏🏼

my lover boy !!!! here are some random sfw and (mostly) nsfw ones that just popped into my brain! so 18+ <3

✶ alec purrs. maybe it’s from his feline genes. maybe it’s not. but soft noises vibrate low in his throat, just like a cat, when he’s dozing off with his head in your lap.

✶ alec’s a marker. he loves leaving you covered in hickeys and bite marks. yeah, some say it’s childish and tacky to be covered in lovebites like you’re 14 again, but does alec care? no, you’re his girl and he’s reminding everyone of that fact !!

✶ alec likes being manhandled. i said what i said. not in the “i’m gonna throw you around the bed and break your back” way, but in the “i’m gonna pull you down for a kiss and push you against the wall” type of way. seeing his girl be assertive and use him however she wants makes him feral.

✶ alec whimpers. it’s loud and it’s pathetic, and normally he keeps relatively quiet during sex, but when he’s in love? lord, he’s letting all his whiny little noises out.

✶ alec would never confess to it, but he loves the silly pet names you give him. he’s always on the receiving end of compliments from random women who hit on him, but when they come from you? he melts. his favourites are “pretty boy” and “handsome.” they get him all giddy.

✶ alec always ends up on caregiving duty after nights out, taking care of your drunk ass and all your friends. he adores it though, cause he gets to receive slurred lovey dovey compliments and be covered in your drunken kisses.

✶ alec has stamina that could last for days… like genuinely. his vicious thrusts and brutal pace seem like they’d tire him out within minutes, but no. his perfect genes allow him to last hours, fucking you into the mattress and leaving you wrecked every single time. you allow him bragging rights, but only because the sex is mind-blowingly good.

✶ alec’s into bondage. his teachings from manticore gave him a wide knowledge of knots and all that, so tying you up and leaving you all pretty and bound for him is a common occurrence for you both.

typing this out made me wanna write more alec fics bc he’s literally the love of my life !!! alec mcdowell supremacy !!!!!!

[mehwmidklpe]

Hiii, can you write reader is injured during a quest, and Percy helps her?

of course!

You knew the quest was going too well.

It wasn't supposed to be this easy, and you tried to tell Percy, but he was just so happy that everything had been going so well.

Well you'd love to say I told you so, but you were a bit too busy, stabbing a manticore.

"I told you so!"

Oh look! You did have time to say it!

"Not the time, Wise Girl." Percy spat back at you as he dodged the tail of the manticore taht swung towards his face.

You scoff. "Oh come on, aren't you the one who always says inappropriate things during fights?"

"That's Connor." He responds, rolling under the monster before he got the chance to hurt him

"And Leo." You agree as you jump over the manticore.

"But you're right, me too." He finishes as you end up next to each other.

You sighed before speaking to him. "Okay, I read about this ugly ass. So, you go for the troath and eyes, I'll go for the tail."

Percy smiled as he looked at you. "What would I be without you."

You rolled your eyes, pushing him away from you, trying to fight a smile. "Just go Seaweedbrain."

He smiled, before rushing over to face the manticore.

"Yo ugly face! Leave my girl alone, I'm right here!" He said, waving at him to catch her attention.

Once he did, saw you were ready, too, and the monster was distracted, so Percy stabbed him in the troath, just like you had told him to.

Then the eye, at which he looked away because he found it disgusting.

"Sorry man, but don't worry, I have a friend–well, not really my friend, he's Y/n's friend though, he also lost an eye, he's super cool and badass though!"

"Can we not talk about Ethan right now, please?" You called from behind.

"Sorry!" He called back.

So yeah, with a few stabs, your final attack and a last growl, the manticore finally turned into dust.

The boy smiled at the sight, and he was ready praise you for your smart thinking and your book obsession when he froze.

Percy saw you, stumbling back, hand holding the place between your hip and stomach and blood leeking from it.

His sea colored eyes widened.

"NOOOO!"

His voice was loud, hard, rough as he rushed over to you.

His arms were around you in an instant. "Y/n. Hey, hey, wh–what happened? I–how? when?–I–"

Your breath catched in your troath. "His stabbed me with his tail just before I cut it off."

Percy's eyes widened. "Stabbed..?" Panick got the best of him. "Let me see. Can I see? Let me see."

After a bit of hesitation you finally gave him permission to lift up your shirt.

Percy's breath caught in his troath, eyes wide. "Holy Hephaestus." He gasped out.

"Thank you, Percy, that's exactly what I needed to hear."

The boy gulped. "I'm sorry my love." He apologized before helping you sito down, letting your back rest against a tree.

When he was sure you were comfortable, he reached for your backpack. "Where's that first aid kit you always carry?"

You made an attempt to grab it yourself l, failing at that. So Percy ended up taking it.

"How do I do this? O-okay, just–stay still, I'm gonna try to clean it and–and you'll be fine. With me. You'll be okay."

It was as if he was trying to reassure himself more than he wanted to reassure you.

He started dabbing the wound, trying to stoothe bleeding, all the stuff he saw on tv.

It wasn't helping. You let out a shaky breath. "Percy." He ignored you. "Percy. Percy, stop." You demanded, making the boy in question look up.

"It's not gonna work. You just... get to camp without me. If you go now you'll still be on time."

The son of Poseidon frowned. "What? No! No I'm going without you, you're my girlfriend, I'm not leaving you!"

"Percy–" "Don't 'Percy' me, you're doing that on purpose. You're using that tone, the soft one you know I can't say no to. Well it's not gonna work. I don't care if I don't comolete this quest on time, I just want you to stay with me."

Hearing your boyfriend say those things made you tear up a bit. Or maybe it was just the pain of the stabwound.

Either way, you knew you could leave him just like that. Not after all the other losses he had gone trough.

You sighed deeply, trying to catch some air. "Okay." You nodded. "Here."

You handed him something to put against the wound, resting your hand atop of his, helping him put pressure on it.

Percy nodded as he did exactly what you instructed, putting presure on the wound, cleaning the blood, everything you said, he did.

When he got to the cleaning the wound with a cotton pad where he had put rubbing alcohol on.

"This can hurt." He warns you. You shake your head. "Don't worry, just continue."

With trembling hands started cleaining the wound. That was until he hear you whimper.

Percy Jackson immediately stopped. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay baby." You gasped for air, back arching slightly. "It's okay."

Hesitating a bit, he continued what he was doing.

Percy put more pressure as he helped you with your wound, placing kisses all over your face to soften the pain.

He also wishpered sweet nothing in your ear like: "You're doing so good ", "You're so brave, Wise Girl." or "Almost done, just a little longer, you can do that for me, right?"

He tried to be as gentle as possible, which led into it taking longer than it should.

But when he was finally done, he tried to out a bandaid over to wound, your hands rested on his shoulder as you held onto him while he did.

Once everything was finally done, you rested your back against the tree again.

"Still hurts?" Percy asks you. You managed a shrug. "A little."

Your boyfriend then reached into your bag again and took out a jar with ambrosia. "You're litteraly prepared for the third Titan War." He acknowledged.

Percy then scooted closer to you and carefully fed it to you.

He didn't know what it tasted like for you, but it probably made you think of something good cause you reached forward.

"More.."

The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry, baby, but more could kill you. You of all people should know that."

A sigh left your lips, which made him pout.

Instead of feeding you more, Percy placed a soft, loving kiss on your lips.

It lingered a bit, probably because he just almost lost you.

"That make up for it?" He asked with a smile. You smiled back. "I suppose."

With that and a few more teasing comments, you ended up with Percy next to you and your head resting on his shoulder.

"This is nice." You speak.

"And you wanted me to leave you while you litteraly would've lived if I didn't, as we both can see." He commented again.

You rolled your eyes and nudged him, but the smiles never left your lips.

Oh yeah, you were gonna return to camp way later than planned.

UGH I FINALLY managed to finsih this

it feels like I haven't updated in ages

[anotherfcknschlattsimp]

Kinktober Day 2

one bed trope

let's go

schlatt

jokes about taking the bed and you taking the couch, but overall wants to share the bed “for comfort’s sake toots”

very upset about it (or so you think)

tries to stay a respectful distance from you

dreams about you nonstop in more and more lewd ways. wakes up in the middle of the night with a b o n e r i tell you what

he had to fix that shit NEOW 

hopes you wont wake up while he’s desecrating the close friendship you two have built on trust

aka, jerking off next to his crush and best friend while in bed with them after dreaming about fucking them

gets VERY scared and insecure when you wake up and catch him, ready to flee

ted (im realizing i am not a ted writer)

offers to take the couch

you say you’d rather have him lay with you than sit in the cuck chair all night, his spine would be ruined and mess up his attitude for the next day of shooting

doesn’t take all that much convincing 

offers his arm for you to cuddle him if you wanted

also one to dream of you while trying not to think about how close and warm and pretty much perfect you are, pressed right up to his side

you wake up in the morning with ted spooning you and with something uncomfortably poking your ass

ted doesnt seem to be awake yet so you test a theory by rubbing yourself against him

he moans out your name among choruses of swears as he finally cums his pants

you can feel the wet patch but dont want to clean up before he wakes and has to deal with the fact that he did that

read: fuck you how he did in his dream

charlie

insists on taking the couch

i mean INSISTS

you have to drag him to the bed

you dont give him a chance at distancing from you, pulling him into a cuddling position

“cuddle me char-char” you say in an overly innocent tone

he finally sinks into the embrace and rests his eyes for the night, still nervous about what might happen

he’s had naughty dreams about you before and just prayed that it wouldnt happen tonight

you wake up and notice your hand drifted south to charlie’s hard cock

when you realize, you give a couple experimental strokes which were greeted by him humping your hand and his pretty little whimpers 

you make a hard decision (to wake him up to you sucking him off or you riding him)

taglist @xoxoave @jschladderall @manticore-fangs @ezraholmes @honeymochii @ratqueen06 @haceroo @ev3-sb @0miamor0 @miniminkis @lover-girl-for-life @jaytalksnonsense @baadkiitty @adriixboo @caiterculy @ratsatemyson @xplrmyguts @littleskeletonprincess @morgan-getty @britishscum @babies-blues @jay-cosplay-bin @vigari @bigbuvkybarness (still broken)

[vintagerpg]

Some oldie old school stuff this week. First up, The Book of Monsters (1976), from Little Soldier Games.

A little bit about Little Soldier Games first. It was a publishing imprint that spun out of a Maryland game shop called The Little Soldier. They produced four or five volumes of the digest-sized “Book of” series before the founding of Phoenix Games (which would put out the original editions of Bushido, Aftermath and some neat generic science fiction supplements in its brief lifespan). After that point, Little Soldier Games continued as an imprint of Phoenix, producing one or two more “Book ofs” before the whole venture folded.

So, The Book of Monsters is the first book published by Little Soldier. It also looks like it might be the first RPG supplement entirely dedicated to monsters, beating out 1977’s All the Worlds’ Monsters from Chaosium (which already beat out the D&D Monster Manual). That right there is pretty neat. The descriptions consist of brief, system agnostic paragraphs for each of the 124 beasties, drawn from folklore. Their manticore, I am pleased to note, does not have wings. There is a three page table that delineates the monsters’ attributes in a way the book claims is easy to adapt to you game of choice, but I can’t really make sense of the notes, I think because I already have too many D&D monsters blocks rattling around my head.

Interior art is all historical, which is fine. Nice cover by Bob Charrette.

[the-moonprophet]

i love how Nico's initial reaction to learning about the gods is basically "yeah seems legit" and then proceeds to Not Give A Fuck and starts geeking out instead.

like oh, my dad is not dead after all and is a real-life olympian god? Cool!

a monster just got shot with arrows right in front of my eyes? That was awesome! Is he dead?

learning that a traumatic monster attack on my sister and i actually happened? I told you his horns were real!

a bunch of strangers are asking if i want to abandon everything to stay at some unheard-of camp in order to train to fight monsters? Sweet, let's go!

like everyone else was so tense because of the manticore and such, and Annabeth literally fell off a cliff, and then there was Nico in the corner like “COOL!!!!”

i strive to reach his level of Unbothered™

(no i’m not being dramatic these are quite literally exact quotes from the beginning of The Titan’s Curse i’m not even shitting you)

[mischeva]

Fuck this stupid baka show man I’m gonna do whatever I want

ramblings under cut

Okay so here’s a little summary of the reimaginings of each character

Alastor - A hellborn demon that was tasked by Satan to watch over Dani and basically be like a nanny to her and help her with her endeavors. He doesn't particularly like Dani, but he'll put on a bright smile and be a good sport about things. He owes Satan big time and this is his debt being paid. Whatever that means....

Husk - A greedy, grumpy old manticore that becomes the bartender/chef of the hotel. Has a soul contract with Alastor so works under him for Dani. Actually becomes really good at his job and even begins to enjoy it and spending time with the others. Out of everyone though he seems to spend the most time with Angel Dust. They talk to each other like they know each other. Who knows… maybe they do.

Sir Pentious - Becomes the second tenant of the hotel. He originally tried destroying it because he wanted the land where it was, but he didn’t know that the Princess of Hell was behind the idea (he doesn’t watch tv lol). Once he finds out the hard way he gives up on his devious plans and wishes to join the hotel and try to be redeemed. Dani was more than thrilled to already have a second tenant! His design is loosely based off a yellow cape cobra mixed with a steampunk fashion sense and weaponry theme. He always tried to one up Angel Dust in weapon design and even considered him a rival, but they eventually get along.

Selene - Dani’s beloved bodyguard and girlfriend. She is appointed head of security for the hotel and takes her job very seriously. She’s based off of a lunar moth and is the moon to Dani’s sun. She is extremely devoted to Dani and adores her optimistic ideas… even if sometimes they sound a little too out of reach. Also there’s no real twist that she’s a fallen angel. I mean only Dani knows because she understands how traumatizing it was for her and also it’s nobody’s business. They’re a true power couple and always have each other’s backs.

Dani - Hell’s darling Princess and the apple of her father’s eye, her dream is to help sinner’s be redeemed to Heaven. She does this not only to fix the overpopulation of Hell, but also because she truly believes that people can change for the better if only given the right opportunity and help. She’s extremely optimistic, but she isn’t stupid. She would never force anyone to come to the hotel because she knows people have to want to change to be better. Luckily she has found those who believe in her and want to help her with her goal. The only issue is everyone else in Hell not taking her seriously and thinking her goal is useless and stupid. Boy are they in for a rude awakening.

Ms. Kino - A small one eyed, one horned purple oni that becomes the hotel cleaner and other chef. Much like Husk she too has a soul contract with Alastor. She doesn’t seem to care as much about it as he does though. She’s more than happy to spiffy up a dusty old hotel and make things nice and presentable. It’s her true passion to make things beautiful after all.

Angel Dust - Currently the overlord of the Lust ring and one of the main and best weapons dealer in all of Hell. Why he would ever want to help out and manage a dusty old hotel and help the Princess with her deranged goal is unknown. He does have a reason though. He becomes head of management and basically the host of the hotel. He has the natural charisma and people skills needed to run the place and actually volunteers to become the first tenant as well.

[writing-intheundercroft]

The Night Shift

AO3 Link

Pairing: Auror!Sebastian x F!MC

Word Count: 10,206

Rating: T (just some smooches but plenty of angst)

Summary: You're the lead healer in the St. Mungo's intensive care unit, and a painfully familiar face ends up in your ward.

A/N: Took a break from my long fics this week to deliver a long angsty Seb one shot. I heard Phoebe Bridgers cover Night Shift and became feral over it. Perhaps it needs a smutty part two???

Night One

“I’m so glad you were able to slip away from work for a bit.” Poppy says, pouring tea into your cup.

You smile up at the brunette girl, who still wears her hair in a cropped bob, albeit a bit more fashionable now that you’re in your twenties.  You miss Poppy’s presence in your life, but her career as a mazoologist and yours as a lead healer in the intensive care unit of St. Mungo’s has your schedules rarely crossing.  

“It’s nice to be out in the sunlight,” you say coyly, lifting the cup to your mouth. It's the truth–you haven’t been out to tea with a friend, dressed in a pretty lace gown in what feels like ages.  Your career usually has you in a tightly pulled bun, hair out of your face to focus on your patients, with bloodied aprons.  Magic can heal most ailments, but your ancient abilities make you the best bet for the most gravely wounded.  So much so that you’ve worked six nights a week every week for the past five years, sleeping during the day to make it to your overnight shifts at the hospital.

With few exceptions.

But there’s coverage today, giving you a rare Saturday afternoon off to enjoy the warm spring day.  You and Poppy are sitting outside a tea shop in Diagon Alley, catching up on all things personal, while people watching.  It’s strange, you think, to be surrounded by so many people.  You leave for your shift at seven thirty in the evening, when most people are getting home for dinner, and return to your flat far after everyone has left for work.  

Poppy had just started telling you a story about a wild herd of manticores she’d encountered on her travels abroad, when a familiar face walked up to your table.

“Merlin’s beard, I never thought I’d see the likes of you two ever again,” Andrew Larson grins.

“Andrew,” Poppy smiles. “It’s good to see you.”

There are obligatory kisses on the cheek as the handsome Ravenclaw pulls up a chair. “What are you doing in town, Poppy?”  

“Visiting my gran, of course.” She tilts her head towards you. “And catching up with friends.”

“And you, it’s like you’re back from beyond the grave.” Andrew shifts his attention, teasing you. “Haven’t seen you in a long time.”

You roll your eyes, crossing your arms. “Just busy keeping people from their graves, that’s all.”

“I’ve heard.” Andrew elbows you. “Youngest lead healer in all of St. Mungo’s.”

“Yet being the youngest earned me the night shift.” You wrinkle your nose.  “And very few days off.”

“How’s the auror office doing?” Poppy quips, leaning her chin into her palm.

Andrew shrugs. “Busy; we’re working on a big case right now, but we finally got a few hours off to enjoy lunch.  I was just heading over to the Cauldron, meeting Sallow and Clopton for a bite.”

You swallow thickly.  It’s been five years since you last spoke to Sebastian Sallow.  At this point, you can’t exactly remember how it ended, except that the two of you had screamed at one another.  You were fairly certain you’d thrown a book at his head, and he’d knocked over your favorite mug in the process. You still had it, the handle broken off, now used as a quill holder at your desk.

“Oi, Larson!  Quit flirting, we’ve just gotten a message. All hands on deck at the office.” 

Both you and Poppy turn to the voice; Everett Clopton is standing a few paces away, wearing a smart suit.  He still has his gold wire glasses, but he’s grown into them. He’s wearing a hat, tipping the brim to you both in acknowledgement.

You hate the way your breath hitches when you see their companion.  Sebastian is also dressed well, sporting a tweed three piece suit, shiny black dress shoes, and a gold auror badge attached to his lapel.  He meets your gaze briefly before looking back up to Andrew, who’s moving the chair back to its proper table.

“Emergency meeting,” Sebastian utters gloomily. “Ruined a good lunch.”

Your stomach twists at the sound of his voice.  It’s no more than six words, but your insides feel like a wet towel being wrung out.  And Sebastian doesn’t even have the decency to look at you, avoiding eye contact with the person he considered his best friend for three years.  The audacity of him, to completely ignore the person who once held his fate in their hands–you feel the bile rising in your throat, swallowing down the anger that once consumed you.

No, you won’t let a tiny interaction with Sebastian ruin five years of hard work.  You stare at the cutlery on the table, willing him to leave.

Andrew Larson sighs, rapping his knuckles against the table. “It was good seeing you girls,” he smiles. “Hopefully I run into you again.”

The three boys–men, rather, you are all twenty three at this point–shuffle away.  

There is a heavy silence between you and Poppy, until she clears her throat.

“Are you okay?” she asks softly.

You nod, collecting yourself as you smile at her. “Perfectly fine.  It’s been ages, Poppy. We’re all over it.”

She grabs your gloved hand, pulling it towards her.  “You certainly are,” she says playfully, twisting the sparkling bauble on your left ring finger. “It’s gorgeous, by the way.”

“I never get to wear it,” you admit sheepishly. It’s been a month since your engagement, and you’ve hardly worn your ring; your fiance’s parents are perturbed that the announcement hasn’t been posted to the Daily Prophet yet. Despite having courted for the last year and a half, it still feels like everything has moved too fast, like you’ve fallen off your broom mid flight. For the most part, your engagement ring is safely tucked in its box atop your dresser, at the risk of getting bodily fluids on it during your shifts.

“He’s a lucky man.” Poppy echoes, sitting back in her chair. “You are happy, aren’t you?”

You’re doing fine, you think.  You’re at the top of your field.  You have a fine flat in a nice part of London, and a promise from a man that’s kind to you.  The kind of man who waited for you to get off your shift to bring you breakfast, and took you to a nice restaurant on your Friday nights off. You hadn’t expected a pretty ring from him, especially since you only graced him with your presence once a week, but then again, your last relationship had taught you not to expect anything at all.

A flash of brunette hair crosses your mind; you blink away the thought.

“I’m happy.  Very happy,” you say simply, holding your teacup up to your lips again. “So about the manticores…”

You jolt out of bed, a blue wisp of a rabbit bouncing around your bedroom.  It’s rare to get a patronus message at this hour; it can only mean an emergency at the hospital.  It also must be bad, considering they’re calling you in on your day off.

Without another thought, you tumble out of bed, rushing to your wardrobe to pull out your clothes.  Your unit specifically wears a deep purple–dark enough to hide stains.  Your shrug on undergarments and petticoats, and a burgundy gown with a high neckline.  Your hands know exactly how to tighten your hair into a knot within a minute, having perfected the craft over the five years of your career. Your wand is stowed in your dress pocket; you’ll grab an apron at the ward.  Grabbing a fistful of floo powder next to your fireplace, you step in, yelling out for St. Mungo’s.

The ward is in a flurry as you step out of the flames.  A nurse hands you a white cotton apron, which you wrap around your waist as you hold your wand between your teeth.  There are men all over, gashed and bleeding, as other healers take their information. 

“What’s happened?” You bark at an orderly, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

“Auror ambush by some ashwinders,” he says dryly. “It’s awful.  Lost a few–even more are bleeding.  It’s dark magic, some sort of spell to keep the wounds bleeding.”

“Of course it is, those bastards.” You mutter. “I’ll take the worst of them.  Can someone bring me a coffee?”

He nods, pointing over to a bay of beds a few feet away. “Those three–they specifically requested you.” He hands off the charts, promising a caffeinated beverage.

You’re about to start flipping through the charts when you hear your name.  Your head flies up at the familiar voice, and you feel the blood drain from your face. You can see Everett Clopton waving his hands at you; Andrew Larson’s voice is yelling behind the curtain.  And just your luck, a pair of black shiny dress shoes are dangling off the examination table, twisted in an unnatural way.

Before you even realize it, you’re running to them.  The charts are promptly cast onto the side table when you duck behind the curtain, a gasp catching in your throat.

Sebastian looks awful.  

Correction–Sebastian looks dead.

“He jumped in front of me,” Everett panics, his hands on his head. “He shouldn’t have–we were talking, we thought we were out of the thick of it–”

“He’s been hit badly,” Andrew interjects.  His sleeves are bloodied from trying to apply pressure to a gash across Sebastian’s chest, the blood seeping through his shirt and vest. “You have to do something,” he pleads. “He’s the best of us–we can’t lose him.”

“Move,” you urge the two of them.  They scoot out of your way, and you make quick work of Sebastian’s clothing.

Years ago, tearing off Sebastian’s shirt would’ve been done out of passion, out of love.  You push those thoughts out of your mind as you rip through his white dress shirt, which is sopping wet with blood. Sebastian’s skin is cold and clammy; even his freckles are pale, disappearing from his face.

“Get me some dittany and shrivelfigs,” you screech at the other healers. “And the blood renewing potions, please.” You run your hand and your wand over Sebastian’s wounds, uttering a healing charm. “Vulnera sanentur, vulnera sanentur, vulnera sanentur,” you mutter under your breath.  The spell isn’t healing fast enough, Sebastian is still losing too much blood.

You let out the  blue wisps of magic from your fingertips as you channel some of your ancient magic into the healing spell. You’re still mad at Sebastian, of course, but you’ll be damned if he dies on your watch.  

To your relief, the wounds start knitting themselves shut faster, but the scars look awful, all purpled and raised.  Another healer is next to you, urgently crushing the dittany and shrivelfigs into a paste–an idea you got from the patient lying in front of you during your sixth year.  You’d been battered so often during Crossed Wands, the two of you had experimented with salves and balms to lessen the appearance of your scars. 

“He appears to be stabilizing,” the junior healer claims. “Good job, as always.”

You suppress the choked out cry that’s stuck in your throat as you think of Ominis, and how he used to scold the two of you for experimenting.  He’d be thankful now that you did.

“There’s others,” another healer urges you. “We must move on to the next.”

You don’t want to.  Sebastian seems to be stirring, groaning as the healer rubs the salve onto the gaping wound that streaks across his chest.  You can hear Everett and Andrew crying and laughing on the other side of the curtain, exclaiming your name for having saved their partner.

There’s so much commotion, you could swear Sebastian uttered your name, but when you look back, his head is flat on the table, eyes shut.  The color is slowly returning to him, now no longer pale and gray.

“We have to keep him for observation,” you instruct another healer, handing her Sebastian’s chart. “I’ll check on him later.  In the meantime, there are others.”

Without another glance, you move on to the next bay.

“Excellent work as always,” your boss pats you on the shoulder. “You saved six good men tonight with your quick work.”

“I should just move into the ward,” you mutter under your breath before taking a large swig of coffee.  

Your dress is stained with blood, fingers aching from all the healing you’d done.  From the twelve aurors in the ambush, three had superficial wounds (Larson and Clopton included).  Two had passed in the field, another before you’d gotten to the hospital.  But all six of the aurors you’d treated, Sebastian included, were now tucked into private rooms, safe and breathing. You were keeping them for observation, unsure of what kind of curse the ashwinders had used on them.  Your ancient magic managed to seal the wounds, but all were badly scarring.  They’d all have to stay until you could rule out the cause.

After a much needed shower and an owl sent to your fiance, regretfully informing him you’d not make it to brunch with his parents, you start making your rounds. Most of your patients are sleeping deeply, others dizzily asking what happened.  You save Sebastian’s room for last; Clopton and Larson, faithful companions, are sleeping in chairs outside of his room.

You quietly shut the door behind you, gulping as you stare at the man laying in the hospital bed. His chubby cheeks are long gone, hollowed and chiseled by age. You’d laughed at him when you were seventeen and he claimed he had a beard coming in; now you can see traces of stubble lining his jaw. His unruly chestnut hair has been brushed out of his face in a way you know he’ll hate.

But you don’t know that, not truly. Because you don’t know Sebastian anymore.

“Oh Sebastian,” you tut, sitting at a stool next to his bed. You hover your hands over his body, a misty blue glow emitting from them. No internal bleeding at least. He’s had at least three blood renewing potions, and his breathing is steady. You would examine the scars across his chest and torso, but the thought of undressing him in his current state is inappropriate to you. 

You’re about to get up, leave him to his slumber when you hear it. He whispers your name in his sleep, head falling to the side. And instead of him being the one with a gaping wound, you feel like a hole has been drilled into your chest. 

Maybe you’ll ask for tomorrow off.

Night Two

You’d asked for the day off again, but the request was denied.  Begrudgingly, you dress for your shift, tucking your hair behind your ears as you walk with your daytime counterpart down the hallway.

“You’ve missed all the commotion,” your fellow healer gasps.  She’s filling you in on the day shift, and all that’s transpired since you left in the morning. “There was a memory charm laced in with that blood curse from the ashwinders—some of them have lost weeks, years of memories. Not recognizing their wives or their children; we’ve had to close the doors to all visitors.”

“That’s a nasty curse.” You mutter, flipping through charts. Only someone sick in the head would mess with memory tampering curses—you wonder why no one has petitioned for them to be banned. The long term care wing at St. Mungos is filled with too many people who’d tinkered with memory spells, and you sincerely hope none of the aurors under your care end up there.

“Terrible, of course. But it made for an interesting day.” She hums. “You should’ve seen Rowle’s wife, security had to cart her out after he called her the wrong name. Think he courted her twin sister too.” 

You laugh with her as you walk through the hallway, until your heart fills with dread.  

“How is Sallow?  The patient in 213.”

She tilts her head. “Fine I think–oh, he was asking for you.  Do you know him?”

You fight back the red flush that’s creeping up your neck. “We were schoolmates.” You say. Nothing more. Sebastian can’t be more, especially after you’d done such hard work to forget him in the first place.

After your colleague has clocked out and you’ve checked all your other patients, you quietly rap your knuckles against Sebastian’s door.  It’s late enough at night that he might be asleep already, and you can avoid the entire awkward conversation.

“Come in!” 

Shit.

You open the door, and Sebastian is staring right back at you.  He isn’t scowling like you thought he would be–his eyes are bright, a beaming smile on his lips.

“They told me you were working the night shift.” he says happily, scratching at the collar of his hospital gown. “I stayed awake.”

“Right, Mr. Sallow,” You say curtly, eyes down at the chart in front of you. “It is late, you should be getting rest–”

“But I’ve been waiting for you,” he frowns. 

You look up at him, and instead of a grown man, you see the puppy dog eyes that got you in trouble the few years you had at Hogwarts. “Mr. Sallow, rest is essential to your healing. You’ve been through quite the ordeal, and you need to go to sleep.”

“Why are you talking to me like you don’t know me?” Sebastian asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Pet, it’s me.”

You inhale sharply, white knuckling the edge of the bed. “Sebastian,” you mutter (you hate how easily his name rolls off your lips still), “what year do you think it is?”

He rolls his eyes and chuffs. “It’s 1893, duh.”

“It’s not,” you sigh. “It’s 1898. You were in an ambush yesterday, and it seems the Ashwinders are using a memory curse as retaliation nowadays.”

He blinks at you for a moment, before he bursts into laughter. “Really?  I’ve lost five damn years in my head?  What have I missed? Don’t tell me we’re not married yet.”  Only Sebastian could be jovial about such a matter; all the others were utterly distraught at losing their memories.

“Sebastian, darling, we haven’t seen each other in five years.” you confess, moving to the edge of the bed.  Your voice is quiet, and although it’s been ages since you last called him darling, you think it might be too much on his poor heart if you don’t. The poor man just asked if you were married, for Merlin’s sake.

His smile fades. “What?”

“We…we went our separate ways five years ago.” You clear your throat. “It…it was a mutual decision.” you lie.  Was it a lie?  You honestly can’t remember.

“I would never,” Sebastian bites back.  “I would never break up with you.”

“Darling, it’s been a very long time,” you say softly, wringing your hands together. “And I’m okay–you’re okay.  We’re both doing well…just on our own now.”

“I can’t–this doesn’t make sense,” he jolts away from your touch, and you flinch. “Why would I ever agree to such a thing?” 

You can recognize the tell tale signs of panic on a patient’s face, so you hurry over to the cupboard, pouring a glass of water.  Sebastian is too far away to see you slip the vial of dreamless sleep into the glass, swirling it into oblivion.

“Here, drink this.  You’ll feel much better,” you assure him. 

Sebastian absentmindedly takes the glass, gulping down the water as he tries to make sense of the current situation. “It doesn’t make sense,” he mutters under his breath as he starts rubbing his eyes.  He’s fighting the effects, and he looks up at you, a deep set frown on his face. “You dosed me, dammit.” The glass rolls out of his hand and onto the bed, where you scoop it up. 

“I’m sorry,” you apologize, and it's sincere.  But you’re not equipped to handle Sebastian in such a state–you aren’t equipped to handle him, period.  It’s been five years since you’ve had to mind his temper, and your heart can’t handle the pain.  

Before you know it, Sebastian is knocked out, the dreamless sleeping draught taking over his body.  With his eyes tightly shut, you can finally examine him.  The scars across his chest are still purple, bruises lining his torso.  Your fingers dance across his skin trying to heal him, but alas, they stay.

You make notes on his chart, letting the other healers know he may be groggy and upset when he wakes in the morning. Even though they’ve put a no visitors policy on the aurors, you remind them to call upon Ominis and Anne to see if they can talk some sense into him.  

The last you’d asked Natty about Sebastian, he was happy.  He was climbing up the ranks in the auror office, and he’d finally moved out of Ominis’s spare room.  You’d cut her off once she started telling you how he was dating–that you didn’t need to know.

That had been two years ago.  You wonder what’s changed since then.

Night Three

Your pleas for a night off have gone unanswered.  Your boss tells you that you’re too integral to the auror case to be gone for more than twelve hours.  

There’s a note left by your fiance’s owl; he’s sad you missed brunch, but he’s excited to take you out on Friday, your next scheduled day off.  His mother is insistent the two of you sit for an engagement portrait that will be posted in the Daily Prophet to announce your impending union.  You fold the note and toss it onto your desk; when you have a free moment, you’ll write a letter explaining that you would like a lengthy engagement.

Planning a wedding and working the night shift is just too much work for you.  You twist your large engagement ring off your finger and put it in its box before taking the floo network to St. Mungo’s.

You’re barely five steps out of the fireplace before a body hits you.  

“Thank goodness you’re here,” Anne Sallow breathes, her arms enveloping you. “You saved him. He’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“Anne,” you sigh into her touch.  Similar to her brother, it’s been ages since you’ve seen her.  She’s still thin and delicate, but her bangs are long grown out. “What are you still doing here?  It’s so late.”

“Ominis and I wanted to catch you,” she claims. “The healers called us in to talk to Sebastian.”

“Right, I asked them to.” you say, smoothing your apron. “How was he today?”

Anne winces. “He’s…he’s still pretty confused.”

You give her a sympathetic smile, biting back the sarcastic words you had in mind. “It must be awful.”

Anne pulls away, digging her toe into the ground. “He keeps asking what happened between the two of you.  I’m not sure what to say.” she admits.

You bite your lower lip. “You can tell him the truth.  That we ended amicably.  That we were fine.”

“If you were fine, you wouldn’t have disappeared for five years.” a voice says behind you.

It only takes you a second to recognize the rich voice of Ominis Gaunt.  Whirling around, you throw your arms around the tall blonde.  It’s been ages since you’ve given him a hug let alone seen him, so he chuckles into your shoulder when you grasp him.

“I missed you,” you pat his cheek.

“We missed you,” Ominis hums. “I’m surprised St. Mungo’s would call me; I haven’t been Sebastian’s emergency contact for a while.”

You furrow your eyebrows as Anne takes Ominis’s arm. Why wouldn’t he be his emergency contact?  Ominis is his best friend, and having been together with Anne for so long, practically his brother.

That’s a question for another time, you decide.

“It’s late, you two should be getting home.  Visitor hours are over.”  you remind them.

“I’m not leaving before you promise to see me again,” Ominis says sternly. “Five years is far too long.”

You place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Of course. Ominis, I’m sorry.  I just thought that when things ended, the two of you were best friends…”

“That was my decision to make,” he says softly. “Not yours.  I decide whose side I’m on.”

Ominis’s words warm your heart, but they also leave cracks.  Ominis and Sebastian were a package deal when you met them, and you’ve spent far too much of your time with the boys driving them apart. 

After much coaxing, Ominis and Anne take their leave.  You’re finally able to start your rounds.  Rowle is starting to regain his memories and they’ve allowed his wife back into the ward.  Travers still has a nasty gash on his leg that’s festering, but he’s otherwise remembering things from last week.  Cattermole is fast asleep, so you avoid his room to let him get some more rest.

Your hand falters on the handle of room 213, taking a deep breath before you push in.  Just as you thought, Sebastian isn’t asleep.  He’s sitting upright in bed, arms crossed over his chest, frowning at you.

“You’re looking much better,” you offer, shutting the door behind you.

“You gave me a sleeping draught last night,” he accuses you. “That’s not fair.”

“You were getting hysterical, Sebastian.” you remind him, flipping through his chart.  Nothing particularly new, and no memories back.  He’s spent the entire day asking for you, the chart says, and fighting with orderlies.  It mentions Ominis and Anne arriving, and that the two gentlemen had sharp words for one another. Ominis was right—he isn’t Sebastian’s emergency contact anymore. There’s an unfamiliar name, a woman.

“Open your shirt, please.”

Sebastian waggles his eyebrows at you. “Are you sure we’re not together?”

You roll your eyes. “Your cheekiness, I didn’t miss it.” you mutter, hands on your hips. “I need you to take your shirt off so I can check your wounds, you idiot.”

Sebastian gives you a familiar grin as he unbuttons his pajama shirt; he’s flexing his muscles, you can tell.  A pinch to his pectoral has him yowling, and he stops.  You grin at him, and he rolls his eyes.

“Perhaps we did break up,” he grumbles.

Sebastian’s breath stutters as your fingers prod at his scars. They’re still ugly and raised, but the color is improving. 

“I’m not sure there’s much more I can do,” you frown. “I think they’ll stay.”

“That’s fine,” Sebastian breathes. “You did always say you preferred when I was roughed up.” 

You give him a strained look. “Sebastian–”

“Please, listen to me.” Sebastian urges. “Ominis…he told me what happened between us. And I really, truly can’t believe we would let it get to that.” Your name is a gentle whisper from his mouth, and he pushes his brunette hair out of his eyes. “I didn’t mean to neglect you.”

You swallow thickly, backing up. “We were so young, Sebastian.  Let’s leave the past in the past, please.”

“Ominis and I haven’t spoken in two years.” Sebastian interjects. “He just told me.  Annie says we had a fight, and you were part of it.”

You turn around, shutting your eyes. “I don’t want to hear this,” you admit weakly.

Sebastian is rustling in his sheets; he lets out a low hiss as he adjusts his still healing torso. “If the version of me, the one that got cursed, isn’t talking to you, Anne, or Ominis…I don’t want to go back to that.  I don’t want to be that version of me.” Sebastian pleads. “If that’s the case, I don’t want to remember.”

“You have friends, Sebastian.” You remind him, turning to face him again. “You have friends, your job…” you trail off, picking up his chart again.  You pinpoint the section with his emergency contact; a woman who is likely sitting at home, worried sick over him. “You have a girlfriend, probably.  One who is desperate to see you.” There’s a lump in your throat as you try to imagine her, but your mind comes up blank.

“I don’t care,” Sebastian breathes. “She’s a stranger.”

“I’m the stranger,” you remind him. “Sebastian…I’m engaged. I’m getting married next spring.” 

That’s a lie–you and your fiance haven’t even discussed a timeline, but it seems more official to say it with a season.

The hope on Sebastian’s face crumbles, eyes wide as he stares at you.

“You’re engaged,” he croaks.

“Engaged.” The more you say it, the more it’s real. “He’s lovely.  You would like him.” Now that's an even bigger lie–Sebastian would’ve called him a prat if he met him. You appreciate your fiance’s softness and meekness, especially after having been with a firecracker hothead for most of your teens.

Sebastian is crumpled in bed, twisting onto his side. “I’d like to go to bed now,” he mumbles.  It was textbook Sebastian–whenever something didn’t go his way, he’d turn away from you in bed like a petulant child.  It’s almost a relief to see that he does the same thing at twenty three years old.

“If you ring the bell, someone will come to aid you.” You wave your wand, dimming the lights. “You can ask for someone else, if you’d like.”  

Sebastian doesn’t say anything as you shut the door, and when he does ring the bell for assistance, he requests anyone but you. It’s stupid to be upset over, it’s what you wanted–for him to stop pestering you.  

But you have a nice long cry in the potions ingredient cupboard anyways.  

The rest of your shift goes by uneventfully.  Rowle has regained his memories and will be discharged in the morning.  Cattermole finally woke up from his deep sleep and he’s on the mend, moved out of the intensive care ward. Travers has also been discharged, prescribed a salve to make sure the cut on his leg stays clean.  It leaves Roberts, Jorkins, and Sallow as your only three patients left from the case, and perhaps now your boss will let you take a night off.

Night Four

“I wanted to apologize for last night,” Sebastian says sheepishly.

“Whatever for?” You mumble, pressing a strip of gauze to his chest wound.  You’re trying a new salve recipe you’ve been working on, just to see if it’ll help break down the scar tissue.  His bruises are starting to go yellow, and if he works back up on his memory, Sebastian can be discharged from your ward.

“For being rude.” Sebastian sighs. “I’m…it’s starting to come back to me a bit now.”

You look up at him, eyebrows raised. “Is it?”

“We fought that night.” Sebastian swallows thickly. “You and me.  I can’t exactly remember what we fought about, but you threw a book at me.”

“And I hit your eyebrow.” You remind him.

“Lucky shot,” Sebastian rolls his eyes, and you have to suppress a laugh. He winces as you press the salve in; his body is still sensitive.

“I’m sorry for that.  I never got to apologize to you,” you admit, rubbing the mixture in. “But I was embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed about what?” Sebastian asks softly.

“For putting up with all of it,” you pat another piece of gauze over the salve.  Sebastian looks like a mess and he’ll have to sleep sitting up, but you’re hoping to salvage his handsome chest. There are a bevy of flower vases strewn across the room, and plenty of Sebastian’s favorite sweets piled on his bedside table.

“I see you had quite a few visitors today.” 

Sebastian nods, trying not to move too much. “Anne and Ominis again; he’s warming back up to me, I know it.” he brags. “Clopton and Larson too. I can’t believe I was paired up with two Ravenclaws as partners. That’s probably how I got all bungled up in the first place.”

“Everett said you were quite the hero,” you back away, admiring your work (and his muscles, he’s grown quite a bit since you last saw him).  “And they stayed the entire night when you first came into the ward, so I know they’re loyal to you.”

There is a silence between you two for a moment, until Sebastian breaks the tension.

“She visited earlier.” Sebastian echoed. “Rebecca.”

You turn away at the name; at least it’s not the girl you remember from your last argument.  “Rebecca is a lovely name,” you offer.  It’s all you can give him without treading into dangerous waters.  You’re engaged after all, and stuck patting balm into the chest of your former lover.

“She was distraught.” Sebastian hummed. “Hates the scars.”

You turn around, rolling your eyes. “She’s dating an auror, she should get used to it.” you scowl. 

“That’s what I said,” Sebastian laughs, trying not to move the salve covered strips. “But she wasn’t having it.  She was worried I would never look the same, so I broke up with her.”

You blink at him.  He seems completely unbothered.

“Sebastian!” You exclaim. “You shouldn’t break up with her over that alone.”

Sebastian shrugs. “Y’know, the boys filled in a few of the blanks for me.  Apparently, not very many people actually liked Rebecca and I together, so I guess it was impending anyways.”

You put your hands on your hips. “I cannot believe you broke up with your girlfriend because Everett Clopton and Andrew Larson told you to.” you shake your head. “She was your emergency contact, Sebastian.  You’ve probably been dating a while.”

“According to Clopton, I was planning on breaking up with her soon anyways.”

“Idiots, the lot of you.” You tut, washing your hands in the basin.

“We’d only been dating three months.” Sebastian interjects. “I put her as my emergency contact because I had no one else.  Ominis and Anne…well, they weren’t talking to me apparently.”

You don’t say anything, letting the water run over your hands.

“I guess I’ve been a real arse the last few years,” Sebastian echoes. “Everett said I hadn’t been quite myself since we…well, you get the gist.”

“Everyone is an arse when they’re eighteen,” you remind him. 

Sebastian snorts. “I’m sure you weren’t.”

“I think I might’ve been.” You chuckle under your breath. “Poppy always said I had a one track mind.  Only ever thought about myself, my career.”

“Well, it’s done a lot for you.” Sebastian offers. “Youngest lead healer in St. Mungo’s history.”

You roll your eyes. “The others think I’m a show off.”

“You’re gifted,” he shrugs, and a slice of gauze slips from his chest. “That’s all.”

“Lay back darling,” you advise him, stuffing a pillow behind his back to keep him comfortable. 

Sebastian does as you say, his hands balled up in fists at his side. “So, your fiance,” He trails off. “What’s he like?”

You purse your lips, pulling his sheets over his waist. “He’s nice.”

“Nice.  That’s it?” Sebastian snorts. “Surely he has some better attributes, you said yes to marrying him.”

“He’s calm, quiet.” you say, turning your back to put away the excess gauze. “He’s a junior secretary for the Minister of Magic.” turning back to Sebastian, you already know he has a smug smile on his face. “Don’t you dare say what I think you’re going to say,” you warn, wagging a finger.

“What?” Sebastian scoffs. “I would never say anything about an esteemed junior secretary,” he says dramatically. “Besides, you’re the one who thought it…”

“I didn’t think anything!” You laugh. “I just knew exactly what you were thinking.”

“And what is that?” Sebastian asks coyly.

“You were going to call him a pencil pusher,” you accuse.

Sebastian fakes a gasp, holding a hand to his chest. “My stars, I would never say such a thing.” 

“Stop it,” you laugh again, slapping his hand. “You’re ruining my hard work. I’ll have to do it again.”

“No,” Sebastian groans. “It’s cold.  I just want to put a jumper on, I don’t care about the scars.” he pouts.

“I need you to get better,” you hold your hands on your hips. “The auror office will have my head if I keep you here any longer when your colleagues are back home.”

Sebastian fumbles with the edge of the blanket. “And what would consider me healed?” 

“Well, I’d say besides the appearance, your physical wounds are fully healed.” You shrug. “But we can’t discharge you until your memories are back–or at least substantially returned.”

Sebastian is quiet, and he stays quiet until you finish putting away all your supplies.  You’re about to leave him, implore him to get some rest, when he clears his throat.

“Pet,” he says cautiously (he hasn’t used your old nickname since the second night of his stay).  

“Yes, Sebastian?” You ask, slipping your hands into the pocket of your apron.  When you look at Sebastian from the doorway, he doesn’t look like a twenty three year old man.  He looks like the Sebastian you used to know–the hotheaded eighteen year old who only ever got shy around you.

“Would you…could we be friends after this?” He asked lowly. “I know you said we haven’t seen each other in five years, and I know there’s some blame there on my end. But we’ve been through so much together, and you’ve saved my life.” he rambles. 

You once told yourself that if Sebastian Sallow ever came crawling back, you’d slam the door shut in his face.  The first year of your separation had been excruciating; the second had been dreadful.  Once you’d gotten on to your third year without him in your life, the pain had become bearable.  And once you’d gotten on to four years without him, you realized you didn’t think of him anymore.  In fact, you hadn’t thought of him at all until you saw him standing a few paces away from your tea table.

“Of course, darling.” You assure him. “Only if you promise me that you’ll actually sleep.”

Sebastian’s face lights up in a way you distinctly remember–the first time you’d seen it was when you arrived in Feldcroft to meet Anne when you were both fifteen.  He adjusts himself to the pillows as you wave your wand to dim the lights. 

You shut the door behind you, letting out a sigh when you’re out of sight.  You feel guilty calling Sebastian darling again–you’ve never even blessed your own fiance with his own nickname.  And despite your refusal of the situation, you can’t help the shiver you feel at the base of your spine when you hear Sebastian calling you pet again.

Perhaps being friends is not a good idea.

Night Five

Sebastian is asleep when your shift starts, and you nearly skip over his room.  But against your better judgment, you push into the door, knocking lightly.

The brunette man is slumped over, snoring lightly as if he were waiting for you.  At the sound of the door, he jolts, rubbing his eyes. 

“Why can’t you be on the day shift?” he complains sleepily. 

You chuckle. “I can leave you, let you get some rest.”

“No,” Sebastian clears his throat. “I’d like you to stay.” He shrugs off his shirt, proudly displaying his scars. “They still look like hell, but at least they aren’t purple anymore.”

You stride over, running your hands over them.  Your ancient magic was able to overpower the bleeding curse, but Sebastian will forever have a dip in his chest and bubbled over scars.  They’re at least turning pink, a much better place than they were a few days ago.

“They look great,” you pat his shoulder. “And once we get your memories back in order, we can get you home.”

Sebastian gives you a strange look. “Ominis came again during the day…filling in the blanks again.”

“And?” You ask softly, sitting in the chair next to him.

“Why did we break up?” Sebastian asks firmly. “Can you tell me? And don’t give me the whole spiel about us growing apart.  I want the details.”

You swallow thickly, looking down at your hands. “We were eighteen, Sebastian. I was careless, you were lonely, we were both focused on our careers and not on each other.” Truthfully, you had spent years thinking of the many ways you’d address this conversation, how you’d confront him if you ever saw him again. Now five years later and after having almost witnessed Sebastian’s death, the downfall of your first love is easily compounded into one simple sentence.

“You started working the night shift,” Sebastian says.

“I started working the night shift,” you echo. “I wanted to rise up quickly in the ranks, so I volunteered. I was working so many hours, and you were gone during the day at your job, so we barely saw each other.”

“I asked you to take time off.” Sebastian adds.

“And I said no.” you admit. “I told you that you were being insecure.  That my job was more important, because I was saving lives.” It’s one of the few shames you’ve compartmentalized over the past few years–that you’d ever downplayed the importance of his career compared to yours.

“I went out that night.” Sebastian whispers, looking at his hands. “And I didn’t come home until the morning.”

“It was my only night off of the week, and you came home at four in the morning, stinking of firewhiskey and perfume.” Your eyes shut, replaying the awful scene in your head.

“Did I?” he croaked. “Did I cheat on you, really?”

“No,” You shake your head, and he lets out a relieved sigh. “You said you could have.  You said you wanted to.” You add, rubbing the temples of your forehead. “That you were tired of living in half of a relationship, and that you’d wanted to kiss that girl.”

“You threw the book at me,” Sebastian says weakly. “And I smashed your mug.”

“I told you to go to her if you really wanted.” You admit. “And you left.”

“I stayed at Ominis’s that night.” he whispered. “I didn’t go to her.”

“I didn’t know that.  So I packed my things and left.” 

The silence hangs between the two of you, and all of the feelings you had at eighteen come flooding back.  After the fight, you apparated to Natty’s place, while Anne and Poppy had cleaned out your bits in the apartment. What was meant to be a one night stay turned into a week, and then more. After a month without word from Sebastian, you committed to the night shift, forsaking your friendships and social life for work.  Days turned into weeks, weeks to months, and before you knew it, you were promoted.  Sebastian Sallow was a blip in your timeline, a faded memory of teenage love.  He’d been just a memory until you saw him in Diagon Alley.  Your heart hadn’t felt anything but anger towards him until you saw his shiny black dress shoes.

“Did we throw it all away?” Sebastian asks sorrowfully.

“We became the people we needed to be.” You remind him. “Look at you, an auror.  A damn good one.  The kind that jumps in front of their partner to save them from a curse.” you assure him.

“And you’re a healer,” Sebastian inhales. “A bloody amazing one, that saved my life and five others.  I’m so proud of you.” Sebastian’s lower lip wobbles, and you know your heart is in danger.

“You seem to remember quite a bit,” You point out. “More than you let on.”

“I was talking to Clopton about you.  We thought the ambush was over, we were trying to get to a floo point so we could get Larson’s leg checked out.” Sebastian says. “I told him how beautiful you looked, and that you looked happy.” his voice cracks. 

“Sebastian.” It’s not a warning, just a statement.  A week ago you would’ve never said his name aloud, let alone thought of it.  But it feels right rolling off your tongue.

“Everett said something about you being engaged.  It’s…it’s fuzzy from there on, but I remember the fight.  And I jumped in front of him, but not just to save him.” Sebastian says, his fingers drumming on his stomach.

“Why?” You almost don’t want to hear the rest. It might upend your life entirely.

“I jumped in front of him because I knew I’d be okay.  That you would probably be at St. Mungo’s when I got there.” Sebastian said weakly.  “And I’d get a chance to see you again.”

“Sebastian, we’re different people now.” You remind him. 

“We’re better now.” Sebastian says, giving you pleading eyes. “I was an idiot when I was eighteen; I thought I was being a man, but I wasn’t.  And I’m not going to pretend that I’ve been happy the past five years–there hasn’t been another woman who’s made me feel the way you do.” he confesses.

“It’s been too long,” you try to say, but you know it's no use trying to argue with him.  From your first fight in the Undercroft at fifteen to the fight that broke you two up, Sebastian has never backed down.

Before you even realize it, Sebastian has reached his hand out, taking yours. He’s rubbing your left ring finger–the one missing your large, ostentatious engagement ring.

“Don’t marry him,” Sebastian croaks. “Please, don’t marry him.”

“Why?” you ask.

“Because I understand you now.” Sebastian says. “I understand you in a way I didn’t when I was younger.  And that’s good–it’s good for us now.  It wasn’t the right time then, but we could try again now.” he pleads.

“Four days ago when you saw me in Diagon Alley, you could barely look at me.” You remind him. “I should have you committed to the memory ward at this point.”

“Four days ago when I saw you, I was sick to my stomach with how happy you looked.” Sebastian admits. “I saw you from a distance, smiling at Larson and Poppy.  I couldn’t look you in the eye after seeing you smile.”

You want to tell Sebastian that your fiance is a good man.  That he loves you, cherishes you, and doesn’t fight with you.  But you can’t help being nostalgic as you hold the hand of your first love, who is currently begging you to end your relationship to risk it all again with him. Whatever strength you’ve mustered together in the last five years is about to break as his big brown eyes implore you to stay.

“Your memory seems back to normal,” you change the subject, standing up quickly.  You tug your hand out from his, smoothing your clammy palms against your apron. “I’ll put you down for discharge in the morning.”

“Don’t,” Sebastian warns. “Don’t run away.”

“You ran away.” You remind him.

“And I regret it, every day.” Sebastian says mournfully. “You were my first love.  You were going to be my only love, and I fucked it up.”

“We both made mistakes, Sebastian.” You say, staring down at your feet. “You need to get some rest.  I’ll leave you be.”

He’s arguing as you step through the door, wringing your hands together.  The thoughts running through your head aren’t right–no, they’re crazy.  Except your feet keep walking towards the ward matron’s desk, gripping the stone top.

“Are you alright, dear?” she asks, frowning.

“I need to go home,” you confess, scribbling what little notes you have onto Sebastian’s chart. “There’s something I have to do.”

Thirty minutes later (your on call replacement is displeased to have been woken up late at night) you’re back in your flat.  Your mind is buzzing as you pace in the bedroom, thinking about the idea gnawing at your brain.

It would be insane.

You haven’t talked in five years.

He’s emotional after having been saved from the brink of death.

He broke up with his girlfriend on the spot, because she wasn’t you.

Sebastian is most well known for his unwavering support and adoration.  At least he was when you were younger.  Sebastian had always been encouraging, cheering you on through crossed wands, battles in the highlands, and even when you got your first job offer from St. Mungo’s. He’d been crazy about you–obsessed with you, even.  The two of you had been the couple of your year when you graduated.  

Sebastian had only ever faltered once, and it ended your relationship.

Don’t marry him.  

The words replay in your mind.  It makes you realize your stomach has flipped more in the last four nights than it has in years.  That your even tempered fiance, a kind but boring man, has not once made you feel what you’ve felt in the past week being back in Sebastian’s presence.

It is insane, you think. But you’d rather take feeling than nothing at all.

Digging through your dresser, you pull out the box holding your engagement ring.  

Night Six

It has been a long, long day.

What time you would have spent sleeping is spent assuring your now ex-fiance that nothing untoward has happened.  That you appreciate his kindness and companionship over the past year, but that you cannot lie to yourself. 

You cannot marry him because you don’t love him as you should.

You prepare for the night shift with a spring in your step, because when you get there, you’re heading straight to Sebastian’s room.  You’re going to tell him what you’ve done, and hope that he’s still feeling just as crazy as you. You pull your hair into its usual bun, wishing you could wear something a little nicer to what will be your reunion.  Sebastian used to love when you wore green; perhaps you’ll buy a green dress the next day you’re off.

When you get to the ward, it’s quieter than usual.  Holding your wand between your teeth again, affixing the white apron, your heart beats out of your chest as you approach room 213.  

This is it.  This is the start of the rest of your life.

You push through the doors of 213, but your breath stutters when you see the empty bed.  It’s stripped of any linens, and all of the flowers and candy boxes Sebastian’s colleagues sent are gone.

“Where is the patient in 213?” you whip around, grabbing the closest orderly.

They give you a curious look. “Discharged this morning–you put it in their paperwork.”

You swallow, and it feels like shards of broken glass are tumbling down your throat. “I…I did.”

“Isn’t today your day off, too?” They tilt their head at you. “Honestly, it feels like your head hasn’t been screwed on at all this week. Might want to take some focus potions, ma’am.”

“Uh, right.” You admit, turning red.  You were so excited at the prospect of seeing Sebastian again, you completely forgot that Fridays were your nights off from the ward. You were rather busy after all, imploding your life. “”Does it say who picked him up?”

They shrug, flipping through the charts again. “He was taken to his home in Diagon Alley by his sister and brother-in-law.”

You curse under your breath as you try to plot a plan.  There’s no way Ominis still lives in the small flat he had when you last saw him, and you have no idea where Sebastian lives.  The ward doesn’t have an address either, so you’re shit out of luck.

Unless…unless you were to find one of his loyal partners.

Apparition is frowned upon inside of St. Mungo’s, but you’ll take a scolding from the matron ward on Saturday. You immediately apparate to the Leaky Cauldron, where most of the ministry’s aurors spend their evenings.  You know this because you’ve been avoiding the biggest pub in Diagon Alley for five years, hoping not to run into your ex.

The crowd stares at you in your St. Mungo’s uniform; you push through throngs of ministry employees, all wearing fine suits and dresses from their day jobs.  Your eyes scan the room, heart losing hope by the second, until you spot Everett and Andrew sitting with a gaggle of your classmates from Hogwarts, Natsai Onai included.  Andrew elbows Everett at the sight of you, and Clopton beams as if he’s won a bet.

“Hi,” you say breathlessly, approaching the group. 

“Figured you might turn up.” Larson teased. “Gaunt, Clopton, and I had a bet on how long it would take.”

“What’s going on?” Natty asks, clearly confused. She says your name, tilting her head. 

“I need his address,” You gasp. “He wasn’t at the ward when I got there–”

“Anne and Ominis picked him up this morning.” Everett says, pulling out his wand and a paper napkin.  He aimed his wand at the scrap, delicately burning an address into the paper. “He doesn’t live far from here. Perhaps you’ll keep him from spending too much time at the pub now.”

“Who doesn’t live far?” Natty asks again, elbowing Andrew.

“Sallow, of course.” Larson winks. “You two had enough time to talk it through, yeah?”

“What the bloody hell–they haven’t spoken in five years,” Natty claims with wide eyes. She gives you a look, and you can’t do anything but shrug.

“Near death experiences will change you,” Everett says smugly, taking a sip of his tankard. “Well go on then, what are you still doing here?”

You mouth an apology to Natty; you’ll have to explain it to her someday soon.  For now, you’re pushing through the crowd, trying to get out the door.  Looking down at the napkin, Everett Clopton is right; Sebastian lives maybe a stone's throw away from the pub.  Your feet are pounding on the cobblestone of Diagon Alley, looking like a blue wisp to any passersby.  

Before you know it, you’re turning onto his street, with only the lamps in front of each door illuminating the numbers.  You stop, gasping for air, trying to find the right one.  Of course he’s at the end of the row, a dark green door with a gold knocker.  It’s late now, the sky pitch black, as you start pounding.

It takes only thirty seconds for the door to swing open; Anne is standing behind it, looking shocked.

“You’re here,” she breathes.

“I told you she would,” you hear Ominis yell from the inside. “Clopton owes me ten galleons.”

“Can I come in?” you ask.

Anne bites back a smile. “Of course you can.”

You walk into Sebastian’s home; despite having never seen it, it positively reeks of him. There are touches of him all over the house–from the books stacked in the hallways, to the shoes messily kicked in the parlor room.  He has trinkets from his travels on the mantle, and you can see he still leaves his teacups all over the house (something you once fought over–it seems endearing now).  

Ominis is in the sitting room, lounging on a chaise. “Took you long enough.” he says teasingly. “I was rather surprised you abandoned him last night.  He was absolutely bereft when we picked him up in the morning.”

“I didn’t mean to,” you admit sheepishly, digging your toe into the carpet. “I…I just had something I had to do first.”

“A break up and a make up in one day, you’re a busy woman as always.”

“Shut up.”

Ominis gives you a toothy grin; something he saves only for those he loves. “I missed you.” he stood, pulling you into a tight hug. “I can only hope Sebastian doesn’t bungle it all up and we lose you all over again.”

You press your nose into Ominis’s shoulder; it seems silly you ever thought you could live without this group of people in your life. 

“I thought you were mad at him,” you say, pulling back to look up at the blond.

“I was mad that he was being stubborn,” Ominis says softly. “That he wasn’t being himself, drinking every day and dating girls who weren’t right for him.  I told him he had to pluck up the courage to speak to you again, or get over it and make peace with his life.  He’s been rather stuck, as you can imagine.”

You have been too, you think.

“Is he upstairs?” You ask, turning to the slim staircase. Anne is standing next to the railing, giving a signature Sallow smirk.

“He might be asleep,” Ominis warned. “But he is. First room to the left.”

You squeeze his hand in thanks before walking up the stairs.  The floor creaks underneath you as you push in the door; Sebastian is laying in his bed, sleeping fitfully. You nearly knock a stack of books over as you kneel next to his bed; you also recognize the book on his side table, the spine dented from when you threw it at his face five years ago. It reminds you of the shattered mug you keep on your desk.  Perhaps you two have been subconsciously keeping pieces of each other around.

Sebastian stirs as you brush his brunette hair out of his face.  He opens one eye, then the other, blinking furiously as he tries to sit up.

“You’re here,” he groans, a hand flying to his torso. “Is this a good visit, or just a hospital house call? Because my scars are killing me now that I’m home.”

You give a watery chuckle. “It can be both, if you like.”  You pull the blanket aside, examining his puckered skin.  The scars will stay for good, but that’s fine.  You did always like it when Sebastian was roughed up anyways.

“You’re here.” Sebastian repeats, only this time it's softer.

“I had to go to the Leaky Cauldron to get your address from Clopton.” you admit, blue waves emitting from your fingertips as you try to take away some of the physical pain. “But yes, I’m here.”

“By the sound of our last conversation, I thought you were done.  That we were just going to have to live with our mistakes.” Sebastian breathes.

“I wanted to say more, but there was something I had to do first.” you sit on the bed; Sebastian adjusts to give you more room, taking your hands in his. “I had to give back the engagement ring.”

“You did?” Sebastian asks hopefully.

“Seeing you…being around you for the first time in five years…” You’re trying to compound all of your feelings in a simple sentence, but it doesn’t feel like enough. “It made me realize I just didn’t love him.” You confess. “I shouldn’t feel the way I’ve felt seeing you.”

“Pet,” he murmurs, putting a hand to your cheek. “You’ve saved my life. I can’t ask anything more from you.”

“Then can I?” You ask, feeling the tears welling up in your eyes as you place your hand over his. Sebastian’s hand is warm and familiar, fitting perfectly against you.

“Ask me anything,” Sebastian echoes.

“Let’s try again.” you whisper.  

Sebastian scoots over, making space on the bed for you.  You don’t care if anyone else has slept in it over the five years you’ve been apart; something about the way Sebastian melts against your touch tells you he’s only ever belonged to you in the first place. 

“Let’s try again.” Sebastian whispers in your ear, pressing a kiss to your lips.  It feels positively electric, like it’s awoken something that’s been dormant inside you for five long, sleepy years.  You take good care not to press too much of your weight onto a still recovering patient, but Sebastian does everything in his power to draw you closer.  His hands start pulling pins out of your hair, the tight bun coming unraveled as he weaves his fingers through your tresses.

“You’re still healing,” you remind him as he starts working on the buttons of your dress. “And your sister is downstairs.”

“I don’t care,” Sebastian murmurs into your skin, tugging your collar down to press a kiss at the base of your neck. “We’ve waited long enough, haven’t we?”

You have, you think.  So you let Sebastian ravish you with kisses, blushing when you hear Ominis loudly call up the stairs that he and Anne are leaving.  You only leave the bed to unlace your dress, Sebastian eagerly watching as you strip the fabric from your body.  He groans in a good way when you press kisses to his chest, fingers dancing across the scars on his chest.  Not all scars would disappear, and there would always be reminders of the past.  But it was good to acknowledge them, to know that they were there, and that they were healed.  

The two of you stay awake the entire night reacquainting yourselves with each other’s body; the sun is streaming through Sebastian’s curtains when you realize you’ve been awake since Thursday night, running off adrenaline. Your eyes begin to droop as Sebastian presses a kiss to the top of your head.

“Go to sleep, pet.” he whispers. “I’m right here.”

You’ll have to call in again, you think. You need an entire day of sleep after this week.  And the next time you get to the ward, you’ll turn in your official notice, asking to move to the day shift.

[hellaverse-reimagined]

Husker: Reimagined

Character critique + explanation under the cut:

Husker is my 2nd least favorite Hazbin Hotel design, right after the radio demon himself. Husker’s design, however, ranks #1 as the most frustrating, based on this origin and the executive decisions made.

Throughout the wiki, Vivziepop is quoted referring to Husk as a “magician”, but watching the show, we don’t get that at all, not even from his design, which while it showcases a lot of card suits, still invokes more of a casino/gambler vibe than a magician. Even when he used playing cards as weapons in episode 4, it still came across as more of a gambling thing than a magician thing to me, so I am approaching Husk from more of the casino angle, with magic tricks being a footnote in his abilities.

I like how Husk is characterized as a “husk of his former self” - a dry-humored, secretly empathetic straight-man who’s good at reading people, all which are well-presented in the show. I think that he’s used too much as a tool for lazy expositing by the writers, so my version of Husk will be more of the strong silent type who is only speaks intentionally, besides grumpy grumbles.

As for his design, the magician/casino thing feels tacked on considering that he was originally an oc gifted to Vivziepop by her younger sister, favoring nostalgia over effective character design.

His design doesn’t feel like a professional character design, it feels like a professional deviantart OC. Not to imply that I am a professional, but I do believe that Vivziepop has poor and tacky character design sensibilities.

Besides his real-world origin, being a winged cat doesn’t seem to have anything substantial to do with the way Husk lived or died besides “hating cats” and a possible “death by falling” which feels so tacked on and lacking creativity, which is why I have opted to make Husk a manticore from myth and legend, to make sense of these design elements from his official design.

I chose to make Husk a manticore bc in my iteration, I see him being a ruthless casino owner with possible mob affiliations in life, reduced to simply being a gambler in Hell, where he regained power by dealing in souls which ultimately became his undoing.

The Manticore of myth is described as a man eater that swallows people whole, even the bones, which I think in this case could be a tongue in cheek way for how he treated people in life as a ruthless casino owner.

I think that gambling away his soul to Alastor would be humbling and would have helped him gain some perspective with how his victims felt in life and death, making him more quiet and withdrawn as a result, speaking only when he feels necessary. This makes what he does say have more weight, making interactions feel more meaningful when he opts to speak.

My biggest gripe with Husk, of course, is that he is voiced by Kieth David. Husk’s official design is not something befitting the voice of Kieth David. I suspect they cast him mainly for his singing voice, as the majority of VAs trying out for the role were only doing Rick from Rick and Morty impressions, as according to the wiki, Vivziepop cited Rick Sanchez as inspiration for how she’d like his voice to sound like. I don’t think Rick would fit either for the modern Husk, but his voice would definitely befit the original DeviantArt design.

Thus I decided to make a design for Husk that would be befitting for the voice talents of Kieth David, opting for a heavier, more boxy design, with 70’s inspired clothing (the era he supposedly died). I used more oranges and yellows for his color palette to cite his sins of Gluttony (orange) and Greed (Yellow/Gold), while also throwing in some green sheen in his black dragon wings and scorpion tail, to balance the everything out. I kept the tophat as I think Alastor would force him to wear it to hide the only part of Husker’s demon form that he actually likes about himself- his coif of hair (as seen in the flashback in Episode 4). Alastor would do this as a silly way to torment him.

I also kept his suspenders, and kept the card suits motif but much more subtly. The clasps on his suspenders are diamonds, his nose is an upside-down spade, the tufts on his ears and the white patch on his chin are vaguely heart-shaped, and I plan to make his paw pads resemble clubs. Not pictured is an Ace of Hearts tucked away in the brim of his hat.

I dont know how big or tall to make him, but I do want him to hold an imposing figure when compared to anyone sitting down at his bar. His wingspan is definitely going to be bigger than in his official design.

I personally am not a big HuskerDust fan, simply because I see them having as having a mentor/student relationship, with Husk being a glimpse into Angel’s future if he continues down his self-destructive path, and with Angel being a symbol of hope for the future for this old grizzled man.

Also, you can’t tell from the show, but Husk is canonically supposed to be in his 60’s??? I look to rectify that with visible crow’s feet and wrinkles when he emotes.

That is all I have for now, here is a bonus Husk drawing as a thank you for reading this far 🙌

Likes + reblogs appreciated 🧡💛❤️

[ginnyw-potter]

Manticore Street

@ginnystrophyhusband prompt: criminal

Harry walked up to the holding cell. He waited until his 18-year-old son looked up at him before he spoke.

“What happened that you ended up in a holding cell like a criminal?”

James immediately shot up off the bench. “It wasn’t my fault, dad.” His voice cracked in the middle of his sentence.

“Who brought you in?” Harry asked.

James frowned for a moment. “Uh… Mello…?”

“Melilor?” Harry asked.

His son nodded quickly.

Melilor had the annoying habit of sticking too close to the letter of the law. Took things too strictly with the rules. Terribly annoying yet Harry couldn’t fault him.

He opened the cell with a tap of his wand. “Follow me.”

He walked quickly, trusting his son to follow. He stopped by Melilor’s desk. “I assume you have done James’ report? Please hand it over.”

“I still need to interrogate him, Sir.” Melilor looked up at him.

Harry took a deep breath in. “That’s not a request, it’s an order.” He held his hand out until Melilor put the file into it. “Thank you.”

He walked into his Head Auror’s office. “Sit down.” He walked behind his desk and closed the door with a wave of his wand when his son was seated. He looked over the report. “Death Eaters in Manticore Street…?”

James nodded quickly. “See, it wasn’t my fault—I was just protecting myself. You know how eager they are to go after a Potter.” He pointed towards his hair as though it was very much his father’s fault for passing on an unmistakable mop of hair.

“What were you doing on Manticore Street?”

To Harry’s surprise, James—who always had an explanation ready—looked down at his knees and remained quiet.

“I know you are an adult, but if you don’t answer I will summon your mother.”

James sighed. “I was following Lily.”

“Lily?! Is she okay?”

“Oh, she’s fine,” James said dismissively. “I made sure she could sneak away.”

Harry breathed out. “What was Lily doing on Manticore Street?”

“That’s what I was wondering!” James said. “She didn’t get time to explain, because then the Death Eathers showed up and we had to duel them.”

“Were the Aurors alerted because she did underage magic?” Harry asked, though he didn’t see it in the report.

James shrugged. “Possibly.”

Before Harry could ask more questions, the door whipped open and Ginny appeared.

“Mum!” James said.

“Jamesy,” Ginny said, coming up to hug him. “Are you alright?” She cupped his cheeks.

Their son nodded innocently. “I’m okay.”

His wife now turned to him. “Why in Merlin’s pants is your department treating our darling son like a criminal?”

James had the nerve to grin at him. Harry ignored it because he’d be tempted to smile.

“The three Death Eaters he was arrested with have already gone to Azkaban. We should be glad they just kept him nice, cosy and warm for his father to find in a holding cell.” He looked at his wife. “Ginny?”

She righted herself, sitting on the arm of the chair James was on. “Yes, darling?”

“How did you know he was here?” Harry asked.

She could try to lie, but her expression and quickly reddening cheeks would tell on her regardless. She sighed after a moment. “Lily. She told me everything when she got home.”

“And you didn’t wonder why she was going around—alone, defenceless might I add—in a shady street like that?”

Ginny shot him a look. “She’s not defenceless, Harry. She’s as good a duellist as her mother.”

Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “She is an underage witch. What if James hadn’t been there?”

“Oh, it would have been fine,” Ginny insisted. “I wasn’t surprised she was there. I knew about it.” When Harry didn’t reply, she continued. “She was looking for potion ingredients you can’t find in Diagon Alley.”

“Whatever for?”

“An improvement on Wolfsbane Potion which would allow them to only take it once prior to a full moon,” Ginny explained. “It’s quite the project. She’s worried about expectations so she hasn’t told anyone.”

Harry was quite impressed, because improvements to the Wolfsbane potion would be significant for those with lycantrophy. “The Death Eaters attacked you?” he asked his son.

James nodded quickly. “I was just about to reach out to Lily and ask where she was going… it all went so quickly. I took out one and Lily was doing quite well herself and then the Auror showed up and then suddenly he turned on us too! Luckily I managed to make just enough trouble so Lily could sneak away.”

“Thank you for looking out for your sister,” Ginny said dotingly.

James nodded. “Of course.”

Harry looked at the two of them. There was nothing more to be done here. “I’ll log it as underage magic from Lily—we have the Death Eaters on the report so no one can dispute that.”

“Yes,” James said.

“But James?” Harry asked. “Please go straight home with your mother. I don’t want anyone to raise any questions.”

James stood up. “Sure, dad. I can see if Lily needs help with her potion—if she will accept it.”

Ginny smiled to Harry while James walked out of the office. “They’re good kids.”

“Yeah.” Harry shook his head with a smile. “They’re alright.”

[alwaysthebiggerbear]

thebiggerbear Masterlist

Alec McDowell

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - You’re looking for a way to set yourself up and blend in after breaking out of Manticore. Having heard the rumors, you seek out Max for help. In doing so, you come across someone you had never thought you’d see again.

Anael

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - Anael calls you to pick her up after she leaves Cas back at the Emporium. Having just come off of a rough hunt, you’re really not that inclined to be at the angel’s beck and call. "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - Anael is not happy that you’ve agreed to help the Winchesters with their far-fetched plan to destroy Chuck via Jack. She reluctantly accompanies you to the Bunker and this sets events in motion that prompt a conversation between you and Dean on just why the angel is so important to you.

Beau Arlen

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - He put you with Hoyt and Tonya. For the day. What the hell had he been thinking? "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - Your house is broken into one night when Beau wasn’t home and now you find yourself expecting it to happen again at any moment. Will you ever feel safe in your home again? i need your hand but i don't want to burn it - You receive a phone call letting you know a family member has passed. The news rocks your world, especially when you find yourself flying back home for the services, returning to a place you’d rather forget. As your best friend, Beau is trying to be there for you but you’re determined to go it alone. But since you’ve known him, when has Beau Arlen ever not had your back? Only Ever Holding Onto You - When Beau Arlen called and asked you to join him at the Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Department, you knew you should have turned him down. Sure, he made a great case for your relocation, but it was the sound of his voice that had you putting in for an immediate transfer. After all, he was worried and needed you; how could you say no? Yet, the more time you spend in Big Sky Country, the more you wonder if you should have stayed in Houston. Somewhere Close To Me - Cassie knows Jenny has feelings for Beau, but she’s almost certain his attentions are engaged elsewhere. ~ The story of you and Beau told through the eyes of Helena’s favorite leading ladies. The Ghosts Are Coming For You - When you moved to Montana, you figured you’d be in for a much quieter, more slow-paced lifestyle compared to the big city one you had left behind. Meeting Lewis and Clark County’s youngest sheriff while working a string of murders in your new position in Homicide turns out to be anything but — especially when things start to hit a little too close to home and remind you of things you thought you’d left buried long ago.

Bobby Reyes

Moving Forward Little By Little - You knew you shouldn’t have let him in that first night he showed up with alcohol in hand to talk about Jamie. But you had and now your partner never fails to show up at your door. The bad thing is, you don’t really want him to stop though you know you should.

CJ Braxton

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - You had only meant to call once, remaining anonymous while feeling out the whole helpline thing for yourself. Now, you talk to CJ every Friday night around the same time. When you don’t call one Friday, CJ is worried and comes looking for you which presents its own host of problems. i won't let you go - When Jen breaks CJ's heart, though you hadn't planned on it, her loss quickly becomes your gain and so much more. Something Like This - A Nor'easter hits Boston and luckily for you, you don't have anywhere you need to be except right here snuggled up with CJ.

Dean Winchester

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - You and Dean refuse to speak to one another after an argument and Sam has finally had enough. "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - When Sam calls to tell you that Dean is gone, you can’t accept it. Not until you visit the offline Bunker and see for yourself. …But is he really gone? Follow Me Into the Dark - Tragedy has struck in your life, quickly and without warning, leaving you completely devastated. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Dean Winchester rolls into town and he and his brother are starting to ask questions. Questions that you are not prepared to answer though you have a question of your own: just what the hell is Dean doing darkening your doorstep again? when were you going to tell me - After finding out you concealed something from him on a hunt, Dean is not happy with you and he definitely does not appreciate your attempts at humor on the subject.

Jake Gray

"What do you see in him?" "Everything you don't." - When you go with Jake to visit his mom, you encounter a young woman who inexplicably sets you on edge and has you sticking that much closer to the boy who has your heart.

Jason Teague

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - When another student makes an unwanted move on you, Jason’s not above flexing his assistant coach authority muscle a little to get the guy to leave you alone and send a message. "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - Jason has just helped you escape the clutches of his nefarious mother. Where will you go from here now that you know the truth?

Jenny Hoyt

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - You decide to ground Jenny for the day and as expected, she’s pissed…or is she? "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - When Jenny is attacked, you couldn’t get to the hospital fast enough. You do what you can to reassure her that her mother will be found while you sit with her, waiting for the doctor.

Jensen Ackles RPF

"What do you see in him?" "Everything you don't." - Jensen says something at a con that initially bothers you that prompts a conversation where you admit that there are certain parts of his job that you could easily do without, not sure how that's going to affect your friendship moving forward. Come Pick Up Your Ghosts - Jensen left a little...something behind on his last visit when he was in town. Something you are urgently asking him to come back and retrieve so you can know peace once more. i think i've seen this film before - When three certain little words escape him, you know them for what they are: a plea not to leave him alone with only his thoughts and whiskey for company. You’ve seen this song and dance before. i want better for you...what's better for you than me? - Your heart is broken and you’re currently going through a divorce that didn’t have to happen. Will you give Jensen the chance to explain everything that came about from that one night in Rome when you weren’t there?

Michael!Dean

Let Me Set Your World On Fire - While on a hunt, you all get stuck in an abandoned cabin in the woods due to a snowstorm that comes out of nowhere. It's cold as hell (Cas' fact checking not withstanding) and both you and Dean are trying to fight off the icy temperatures. When Cas offers his coat to Dean, in usual Michael fashion, the archangel offers you something bigger and more to his liking than a simple article of clothing to keep you warm.

Rachel Gatina

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - Rachel, who has never spoken to you before, approaches you to ask for a favor. Despite what Bevin said, Rachel decides that she has to gauge this whole “being into girls” thing properly. And she’s picked you to help her with that. …Lucky you.

Rebecca Jessel

Let Me In Or Let Me Drown - A missing moment between Rebecca and Peter once Viola's spell was broken and all of the souls at Bly Manor are free

Russell Shaw

"You're safe now, I'm here." Part 1 - You’ve been taken hostage and Russell is part of the unit sent in to retrieve you. Close Enough - Sequel to So Close - When you’d met the Shaws at the morgue the day before, you thought that had been the end of it and you wouldn’t need to see one Shaw brother in particular again. Little did you know that Colter was about to once again ask for your help and not only would you be forced to see Russell again but things were about to change drastically for the both of you. Off Limits - When Reenie sends you to assist Colter with whatever he needs after getting arrested for breaking into a morgue in Virginia, you meet his older brother Russell for the first time. There’s some flirting and definitely a mutual attraction there before you Colter sends you off. Little do you know at the time that Colter has warned Russell that you’re off limits and that Russell has no intention of listening to said warning. So Close - You meet Colter and Russell at the morgue to help them gain access. Had you known how this was really going to go, you might have pushed Colter's call to voicemail.

SDV Alex

"Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - Alex sees something through your window one night and it scares him silly. You have to explain to him that it’s pretty normal out here on the farm and there is nothing to fear. …Well, you were pretty sure there wasn’t, anyway.

SDV Leah

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - Leah tells you she wants a baby…a month after you’ve been married. "You're safe now, I'm here." - When Leah rushes into the house one night and starts fortifying the door, you try to find out what has her so scared. A Prize Unlike Any Other - You want to find the Golden Pumpkin and ask your new girlfriend, Leah, to help you. You end up getting something better than the prized pumpkin. Where Were You On Our Wedding Day - You thought you'd get in some quick mining and make a little money before the big day. But choosing to do it on the day itself perhaps wasn't your smartest choice.

Soldier Boy

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - You’re pissed that he put himself at risk yet again. "I took care of that asshole for you." "I don't like the sound of that." - When Ben mentions something to you in the middle of battle, your attempt at a little levity turns the conversation in a direction that probably would have been better kept off of Comms during a mission. "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - You’re tired of running and you go to Soldier Boy for protection. He agrees to do it but not without a price. "You're safe now, I'm here." - Soldier Boy has been on a ton of dangerous missions in his time, fought a lot of battles, but never did he imagine he would be undertaking the one you had just tasked him with. Shit. "What do you see in him?" "Everything you don't." - Hughie and everyone don't understand what you see in Soldier Boy but they also haven't seen what you've seen: Ben. Call My Name - Grace Mallory, the Boys, and the government have all warily agreed to your plan to take down Homelander. There’s just one more person to add to the operation, the very person who is necessary for any measure of the plan’s success. Can you convince him to join the team and help you defeat Homelander once and for all? every king needs a queen - Homelander makes you an offer that you are all too happy to refuse no one's the new me - Soldier Boy is the OG Supe. You goad him into proving it and get more than you bargained for...or did you? Something Real - You had offered him the chance for something the two of you could build, something real, if he gave up the suit for good. Thankful - It's Father's Day again and you have an extra special present for Ben this time around. where is she? - Soldier Boy only has one thought in mind when Homelander wakes him up: you.

Tom Hanniger

"I hate you." "You have a weird way of showing that." - You went to visit Tom in the mines for a little Valentine’s Day fun. Who knew that one decision would lead to everything that’s happened? Will you be able to help Tom or will he be lost to you forever? "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." - Tom has taken you hostage. This is not the Tom you knew and fell in love with. Unable to escape, can you get him to trust you and maybe even reach him?

more to come...

Beau x Cassie

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Heartbreak - It's Beau's first Christmas in Montana and Cassie invites him and Jenny to spend the day with her and Kai. Now Jenny gets to witness Beau and Cassie circling around each other...just perfect. Kiss Me Again - When Denise grabs Emily for a lunch run, Cassie and Beau are left to their own devices, which could lead to a series of revelations that neither of them may not be entirely ready for. Nerves - Beau has a little moment of nerves while they're waiting in the truck and Cassie decides to distract him. their silent thunder matches mine - After a night of drinking and her walls coming down, Cassie makes a decision that could have repercussions on both of her friendships with Beau and Jenny. where all the dreamers go - When Beau asked Cassie to speak with him outside along for a minute, she had no idea just where that conversation would lead and what she would be agreeing to.

Destiel

Masks - where the Winchesters are attempting to get lunch during the pandemic & Jack finally works up the courage to ask for a dog you taught me the courage of stars - Chuck is tired of his toys getting ideas of their own and talking back to him. He snaps his fingers and Dean knows that's it, they're all screwed...or are they?

Jacob x Bella

why are you wearing my sweater (because it smells like you) - where Jacob gets ready to meet Bella at a bonfire the Pack is hosting and can't find his hoodie

more to come...

all requests closed until further notice

Current Requests List:

Billy Butcher (AO3)

Castiel (Tumblr)

Dean Winchester (Tumblr)

Maggie Greene Rhee (Tumblr)

Margaery Tyrell (Tumblr)

Sam x Elsa (Tumblr)

SDV Leah (AO3)

Soldier Boy (Tumblr)

Tom Hanniger (Tumblr)

if you would like to be tagged for a certain short story or series, please comment on the masterlist of that story/series - I will add you to the list:

Call My Name - Soldier Boy x Female!Reader

Follow Me Into the Dark - Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

i need your hand but i don't want to burn it - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

i want better for you...what's better for you than me? - Jensen Ackles x Female!Reader

Only Ever Holding Onto You - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

Somewhere Close To Me - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

The Ghosts Are Coming For You - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

their silent thunder matches mine - Beau Arlen x Cassie Dewell

at this time, I am not maintaining any character, ship, fandom, or RPF taglists

ON DECK

Upcoming short stories:

A Twist of Fate - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

Closer - Russell Shaw x Female!Reader

Deja Vu Again - SDV Leah x Female!Farmer

dreams soaked in gasoline - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

Guide Me To You - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

I've Been Waiting For You - Soldier Boy x Female!Reader

if you love me (don't let go) - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

Just Us - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

Keep Me Inside - Soldier Boy x Female!Reader

Keep You Safe - Jensen Ackles RPF x Female!Reader

Kill Me Twice - Jacob x Bella

Nothing But Killing Time - Alec McDowell x Female!Reader

The Wolves Must Come Again - Jon x Sansa

You Are My Home - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader

You Know What You're Here For - Beau Arlen x Female!Reader; Jenny Hoyt x Female!Reader; Cassie Dewell x Female!Reader; Cassie x Jenny; Beau x Cassie; Beau x Jenny

(these masterlists will be released when I get closer to posting)

if you would like to exclusively follow my writing, please follow @tbb-writes and turn on notifications

dividers by @firefly-graphics

[burstfoot]

Figured I'd make a post outlining Arknights' auxiliary material for those who want to see more of the universe and aren't aware of all that's out there! ANIMATION Arknights Prelude To Dawn (S1) and Perish in Frost (S2, currently airing): [Crunchyroll]

A straight up adapation of the main story, up through Chapter 0 to Chapter 6! It's much more fast-paced than the story, so I wouldn't use it to replace actually reading it, but it's very cool to see some of these scenes in full animation. Lee's Detective Agency: (Youtube)

A mini-series animated in a chibi-style with a comedic tone focused on the adventures of the Kuroblood-illustrated Lee's Detective Agency! Distributed by Crunchyroll globally, but entirely free to watch.

Closure's Secret Files: (Youtube)

A cut-out styled series of shorts hosted by Closure which outlines a lot of the game's basic mechanics!

Holy Knight Light: [Youtube]

A short Youtube OVA focusing around Penguin Logistics delivering a package, celebrating Arknights' first anniversary!

[Upcoming]: Kay's Daily Doodles: (Twitter Annoucement)

Another free youtube mini-series that starts airing December 1st, focused around Ceobe! Here's some additional animations! Each event usually also has a 15 second 2D animated preview of the event, but there's so many of those that I can't list them all. Official Anniversary Event 3D Animations: Lone Trail Where Vernal Winds Will Never Blow Il Siracusano Ideal City Stultifera Navis Invitation To Wine Near Light Dossoles Holiday Under Tides Bonus 3D Animated Shorts: Legend of Chongyue Arknights Special - IL Siracusano Lo Scontro Youtube Shorts: Ch'en and Lin's Watermelon Splitting Game Part 1 Ch'en and Lin's Watermelon Splitting Game Part 2 Amiya's Siracusan Food Guide Part 1 Amiya's Siracusano Food Guide Part 2

Comics, Manga, Manhua

Officially Translated Rhodes Island's Records of Originium: Rhine Lab: (Offical Website)

A canon manhua centered around the circumstances that lead to Silence falling out with Saria and joining Rhodes Island with Ifrit, as well as Ifrit's attempt to save a dying infected stowaway on the landship. Essential reading for understanding the Rhine Lab storyline and characters - read it right after Mansfield! One of the characters, Darya, is mentioned in both Ifrit's module and briefly in Lone Trail.

Rhodes Island's Records of Originium: Blacksteel: (Official Source)

A short story focusing on the lives of the Blacksteel operators aboard the landship. While it often gets overshadowed by the Rhine Lab manga which is bigger in scope, this is a great read especially if you're interested in Franka or Liskarm.

Rhodes Kitchen -TIDBITS-: (Official Source)

An anthology story related to the cuisine that's important to a variety of operators. While it might seem unassuming, the art is gorgeous and it's really well-written. I particularly recommend the Goldenglow (Chapter 4) and Rosa (Chapter 5) chapters.

Unofficially Translated

Arknights Comic Anthology: (Mangadex)

As the title says, a series of non-canon anthology stories regarding the cast of Rhodes' Island! Note that the link provided only has complete translations up to Volume 4 (and Vol. 4 is missing Ch. 7), and most of the chapters avaliable after that point were MTL'd, so I can't vouch for their accuracy. Chapters I'd recommend are: Volume 1: Chapter 12 (focused on Myrrh trying to improve her medicine), Chapter 14 (focused on Saria and Silence trying to put apart their differences to take Ifrit on vacation, afaik the only place where they are directly referred to as her "moms") Volume 2: Chapter 1 (Manticore tries to make friends), Chapter 3 (The LGD gets drunk), Chapter 11 (Texlapp and Mosexu yuribait), Ch. 13 (Magallan tries to find a pet), Chapter 16 (Ethan spies on the interior lives of Rhodes operators) Volume 3: Chapter 6 (Snowsant, Ifrit, Nian and Shaw are forced to make friends), Chapter 7 (Gummy flashes back to Chernobog), Chapter 10 (FEater and Shaw yuribait), Chapter 13 (Blackout on the landship, as well as Ayerscarpe and Leonhardt yaoibait)

Volume 4: Chapter 4 (Thorns tries to make friends with Weedy [this one is my favourite]), Chapter 6 (Tomimi tail spankings), Chapter 9 (Elysium helps Frostleaf get along with Dur-Nar) Volume 6: Ch. 1 (Whisperain opens up to others) [this one isn't MTL'd afaik]

123 Rhodes Island: (Mangadex)

A series of non-canon gag 4komas! Many of the games' offical stickers are done in this series' art style.

Arknights: Operators!: (Mangadex)

A compilation of 4komas posted on the official ArknightsJP twitter account! Thank you to @sleepywoodscans for their work on translating these, please show them some love!!

[Edit: For clarities sake, the only stuff here that has used MTL is later chapters of the Comic Anthology! Sleepywoodscans’ work on Operators! is all done by hand (they’re a native Japanese speaker). Again, I really appreciate their work!]

Arknights: A1 Operations Preparation Detachment: (Mangadex)

Part of the Terra Historicus website and not yet officially translated, focusing on Fang, Kroos and Beagle, and a catastrophe striking the Columbian city of Tkaronto. Unfortunately, only translated up to Chapter 6, but one of the characters (Elba) has a brief cameo in Light Sparks in Darkness! Edit: Chapter 7 has been translated by @pooce-art, and they're working on Chapter 8!

Angelina: Sketches of THIS Messenger's Journey: (Mangadex)

Also published as part of the Terra Historicus website and not yet officially translated, focuses on the adventures of Angelina travelling across Terra as a Messenger! Recent chapters relate to the upcoming Sami event & IS4, as well as the upcoming So Long, Adele.

Prelude Suite: Unrestrained Play: (Wiki)

Unfortunately, I can't find a full translation for this one - an epilogue to Hortus De Esscapismo focusing on Arturia's background. Of course, major spoilers for Hortus apply - if you can find a full translation yourself.

As well, an upcoming manhua focused on the Break the Ice cast was annouced during the 4.5 Anniversary stream. As far as I'm aware, chapters have not begun releasing yet!

Other:

Arknights Ambience Synesthesia: (Youtube)

A series of concerts (3 so far), focusing around Arknights' music! A live performance has been done every year, with skins released in-game for the concert's theme & 3D animations produced featuring the skin's cast in 2022 and 2023.

Monster Siren Records: (Spotify) (Official Website)

Arknights' official (and-in-universe) record label publishing game OSTs, themes for almost every 6 star operator that releases, and occasional bonus songs.

Arknights: Endfield: (Twitter)

An upcoming 3D action gacha game from Hypergryph, set in the far future of Arknights' universe on another planet. Currently in closed beta testing for their CN servers!

Arknights: Nomad City: The Founders: (Youtube)

A to-be-released CN Arknights board game! Unclear of if it will ever be translated or released globally, unfortunately...

Terra: A Journey: (Wiki)

An upcoming CN lore book focused on the intricate details of Terra's worldbuilding. As well, unclear if it will be translated or released globally.

UNOFFICIAL:

Some fandom-developed tools that might be of use to you are the Arknights Terra Wiki - which just transferred from FANDOM to wiki.gg, and has very detailed information on both game mechanics and world-lore.

As well, the Arknights Story Reader can help you catch up on stuff you don't want to or can't read in game!

Finally, Aceship's Toolbox provides access to a variety of tools, including a levelling calculator, a calculator to ensure the best recruitments, and all the CGs, backgrounds and character sprites that are avaliable in-game.

Conclusion:

Thank you for reading! I hope this provided some new information to you or at least provides an easy reference resource in the future. There's a lot to check out even outside of the game, and I hope you find some stuff you enjoy!

[raphael-angele]

If Bianca Met This Character Part 5: Clarisse La Rue

Feat. Baby Nico and Baby Frank

Bianca, meeting up with Clarisse cuz they need a battle plan for the next CoF: La Rue!

Clarisse: About time, di Ange-*notices that she's holding Nico*...you brought your brother?

Bianca: I can't just leave him.

Nico: Hi, Clari!

Clarisse: Hi, pumpkin. *to Bianca* di Angelo, you're here on business.

Bianca: I know but no one's-

Frank: Clarisse

Clarisse: Yes, Frank?

Frank: Can you play with me?

Clarisse: Aw, buddy, I'm sorry. I have to work right now.

Frank: Aww :(

Clarisse: Hey, how about you play with him? *points to Nico*

Frank: Who are they?

Bianca, putting Nico down: Hello. I'm Bianca, this is my brother, Nico.

Frank: Hi

Nico: Hello

Bianca: Frank, how old are you?

Frank: 12

Clarisse: Can you do something for me, Frank?

Frank: Hm?

Clarisse: Bianca and I have to work together to win the game tomorrow. Can you look after Nico for her? You two can play together while we work.

Frank: Okay.

Bianca: Nico, why don't you go play with him.

Nico: *shakes his head* No, don't wanna. Wanna stay with Bia.

Bianca: Nico, don't be rude. C'mon he wants to play with you.

Nico: No, Bia, please don't make me.

Frank, seeing the Mythomagic cards in Nico's pocket: *gaaaassssp* YOU PLAY MYTHOMAGIC TOO?!

Nico:

Nico: *pulling out his cards* Yeah. It's my favorite game

Frank, running over to his things to get his cards and shows them to Nico: ME TOO!!!

Nico: *gaaaasssp* YOU HAVE THE MANTICORE?!?!

Frank: UH HUH! I GOT LUCKY AND GOT IT ON MY BIRTHDAY!

Nico: COOL! *shows Frank his cards* LOOK!

Frank: NO WAY! YOU HAVE THE LIMITED EDITION LERNAEAN HYDRA?!?!

Nico: MHM!

Clarisse:

Bianca: ...I'm starting to think I should've just dropped him off with Conner and Travis.

Clarisse: So...battle plan?

Bianca: Let's go.

Clarisse, walking off: I'm seeing a lot of play dates in our future.

[anotherfcknschlattsimp]

Kinktober Day 1

the boys and mommy kinks

let's go

Schlatt

he sucked at card games, but he kept challenging you to game after game with higher and higher stakes. today? who gets to be in charge tonight.

you watch his cocky grin fly off his face as you laid down your last card and said that fateful word,

“Uno.” you smirk

“what the fuuuckkkk broooo” he whined

“stop being a big baby before mommy has to punish you~” you purr, testing the waters as you take his chin between your thumb and index knuckle. You hear him let out a frankly pathetic whimper before catching himself and clearing his throat.

“Yes ma’am.” he says firmly, clearly trying to bring back his tough guy persona and take control of the situation. You run your thumb over his lips, warm and slightly chapped, before leaning your face close to his

“That’s not my name and you know it…” you whisper seductively in his ear. He lets out a whimper of understanding

“I’m sorry,, mommy,,” he finally whines, letting himself go and letting you fully take over as you straddle his lap

Ted

“We can go on one condition,” you sigh, willing to go to another halloween party anyway but you love watching your man go puppymode. His eyes lit up

“Whatwhatwhat, anything, i’ll do the dishes, take out the trash, mop the kitchen, whatever you want my queen” he dramatically kisses up your arm like gomez to morticia, obvious in his attempts to butter you up

“Call me mommy” you smirk, still loving all the attention he’s giving every inch of your person until he pauses, still trying to process what you said

“wh-what?” he looks into your eyes, looking for any hint of a joke or bluff. not finding any, he straightens up a bit “that’s not much of a compromise if i win anyway” he mumbles, confused

“well do you wanna do the chores anyway?” you flutter your lashes at him

He leans down again, almost in a kiss. “Gladly, mommy” he kisses you deeply and moves to pick you up to take you to the bedroom

Charlie

“Hey babyyyy” you begin, waltzing into the kitchen where he was cutting some fruit

“Yessss lovey?” he questions, not looking up so he could safely cut his snack

“wanna try something new tonight?~” you purr, wrapping your arms around his middle and resting your head on his shoulder

“mmm, like what?” he mumbles, affection heavy in his voice

Charlie puts down the knife and turns in your arms, wrapping his around you and plopping his head on yours, planting oh so many kisses a second later

“What if you called me mommy, charchar? Be mommy’s good boy” you looked up at him when he paused; his face was bright red around his newfound thousand yard stare. You move to step back but he holds you still by your hips, looking down whare you two were touching

“Say it again.. mommy” he whispers, embarrassed that he was getting so turned on already

“Good boy? You wanna be mommy’s good boy tonight, baby?” he whines hearing it again, resting his forehead against yours

“Yeah.. thank you mommy” you feel him rutting slightly against where your leg is pressed to his crotch, needing some relief before he combusted right then and there in your kitchen “can we go to the bed in a moment” his voice wavered

tag list: @xoxoave @jschladderall @manticore-fangs @ezraholms @honeymochii @ratqueen06 @haceroo @ev3-sb @0miamor0 @miniminkis @lover-girl-for-life @jaytalksnonsense @baadkiitty @adriixboo @caiterculy @ratsatemyson @xplrmyguts @littleskeletonprincess @morgan-getty @britishscum @babies-blues @jay-cosplay-bin @vigari @bigbuvkybarness

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Fall into the sky

Written for @astrangersummer, week 5 (shhhh, we're not talking about how this is super fucking late, it's fine!)

Prompt: Constellations

Words: 1,527 (also on AO3)

Rated: T

Relationship: Steve/Eddie

Tags: Magic AU; Thief Eddie; Guard Steve; Forbidden love; Jailbreak

Notes: Part of my Phantom Thief mini series (Previous part | Part 1)

The world is sound. The crackle of fire and the rush of wind and the thunder of crumbling stone. 

The world is color. The brilliant kaleidoscope of the sunset, stars emerging from the purple and pink backdrop of the sky. 

The world is touch. Hands in his hair and fingers on his face and warm breath tickling his skin as he is scooped into a pair of trembling arms. 

It crashes into Steve’s senses all at once, overwhelming and terrifying after the eternal white and the never-ending silence of his prison. It's too much. It's too beautiful. It can’t be real.

He's going insane.

He's been waiting to go insane for so long. 

Because if insanity is sound and color and touch and a name on his lips that he thought he'd never hear again, if this is all in his head, he never wants to leave. 

“Yes, sweetheart, it's me,” The vision murmurs, cradling his face in both hands. The gesture is comforting and soothing, and Steve realizes he's been babbling the name on repeat, an endless loop of Eddie Eddie Eddie. “I'm sorry it took so long, but I'm getting you outta here.” 

Steve laughs, high-pitched and hysterical. 

“You're-” he starts to say. His voice cracks. When he licks his lips, they taste like saltwater. “You're not really here. I've lost my mind, I'm imagining things.” 

“Don't think you are,” Eddie hums. He's covered in soot and bleeding from a hundred tiny cuts, but his smile is bright and brilliant as always. “Wouldn’t be able to do this if I wasn't real, would I?” 

His lips taste like ashes and magic. The ground shakes underneath them, and something crashes. Steve thinks that if the world broke apart around them right now, he'd happily stay in this kiss forever. 

“Don’t,” he pleads when Eddie pulls away. “Don't stop.” 

Eddie smiles, full of that grim determination that makes Steve’s stomach flutter. 

“I won't,” he says, and the constellations in the sky glint in those impossibly dark eyes of his. Another crash pierces the air, so loud that Steve can feel it in his bones. “I swear it, honey. I'll get you back down and to safety, where they can't ever find us. And then I'll never stop kissing you, for as long as we both live.” 

*

The world below the floating island is basked in dusk. Steve can see the shadows of clouds moving over the land, the sparkling bands of rivers weaving between forests and hills and cities. The ocean and the curve of the earth, far in the distance. He didn't see it when they brought him here. The view was obstructed by the giant tornado that surrounded this place, ready to tear everyone who dared approach it to shreds. 

There's no tornado now. 

Just like there are no griffins guarding the arched entryway of the fortress, no manticores prowling at the jagged edge of the island. 

“What did you do?” Steve breathes as they skid to a halt, inches from the abyss. Behind them, the pillars of the entryway crumble and collapse. “How did you-” 

“You know how they stay in power?” Eddie asks. He's ducked behind another pillar to retrieve a bundle of fabric and string, hidden out of sight. “Your family and their friends?” 

Steve blinks, floundering and disoriented by the question and the barrage of noise and colors. Eddie straightens up, strapping what looks like a giant backpack decked in wires and ropes to his back. 

“Magic,” he declares, throwing his arms out in an all-encompassing gesture. “This place, their splendid city, their fucking underwater prison, they all run on magic. Beautiful, isn't it? If it weren't for one tiny problem.” 

He pauses dramatically, like he's waiting for Steve to catch on. When he fails to do so, he throws back his head and cackles, dark curls whipping around him in a chaotic tangle.

“There’s not enough natural magic in the world to keep it all going. So what did they do, like the greedy little morons they are? They amplified it!” 

He laughs again, like it’s the best fucking joke in the entire world, grabbing Steve by the shoulders and pulling him in for a big, noisy smack on the mouth.

“Amulets and talismans and trinkets, Stevie! Dozens of them, all in the hands of the high and mighty, used to magnify their power. But take them away, and it all goes poof!” 

He throws his hands up in the air, miming an explosion, just in time for another thunderous boom to shake the island. The ground tilts, just a bit. 

“Do you know where they kept the most powerful one?” Eddie asks. This time, he doesn't wait for a reply. “Right here, Stevie. What better place than the big-ass, impenetrable, fucking sky vault to keep their biggest treasure, huh? They didn't think anyone would ever be insane enough to try and breach it. And you know what? I wouldn't have. They could've kept it, for all I fucking care, but they do not-” 

The ground trembles again, little fissures erupting from the rock under their feet like spiderwebs. Eddie pauses and swallows, and his eyes are like fire in the dusk.  

“They do not get to keep you.” 

His voice is pure, unbridled rage. Steve knows the feeling all too well. The powerless rage of knowing exactly where they have taken the man you love, and having to be patient. Having to wait for days and weeks and months until your plan finally falls into place, knowing all the while that every hour, every second in that wretched place is too much. The all-consuming want to tear through all the walls, all the chains, all the barriers they’ve put in place to keep you apart, to destroy all that might ever stand in your way again. 

Understanding comes slowly, but when it does, it punches the breath from his lungs with a hoarse wheeze. He is dizzy and his stomach swoops, but he isn't sure if it is from what he just realized or from the island breaking apart under their feet. 

“You destroyed it,” he whispers. “Eddie, you- … what did you do?” 

Eddie doesn’t answer. Instead, he pulls Steve closer, slipping a leather-and-rope harness over his shoulders to tether them both together. 

“This little baby is all mechanics,” he says, not looking up from his task. His face is nothing but grim concentration as he makes sure every buckle and every rope sits correctly. “I'd have been here sooner, but it took a while to put this together and make sure it would actually work, so-” 

“What about your magic?” Steve blurts. 

“Don't worry, it'll come back once the natural equilibrium is restored.” Eddie shrugs, walking them both to the ledge. “Some of it at least. I think.”

Steve gapes at him. Eddie looks up from where he's been securing the last of the straps, sees his dumbstruck face and smiles. 

“Stevie,” he says. He's too beautiful to be real. Beautiful and wild and untamed like the wind ripping at their clothes, like the sky stretching all around them. If they jumped now, they'd fall straight into its stars and constellations and never ever touch ground again. “It doesn't matter. There's no treasure in the world I wouldn't give up for you.” 

Steve opens his mouth to argue, but another tremor interrupts him. Large chunks of rock come loose from below their feet, tumbling into the depths. 

“Do you trust me?” Eddie asks. Steve doesn’t even think about it. It's like asking if water is wet. Eddie sees him nod and beams, delighted and a little smug. “Then let's get outta here.” 

He wraps an arm around Steve’s waist, claiming his lips again. And then, without breaking the kiss, he steps over the ledge and they plummet. 

The wind rips Steve’s scream straight from his mouth. His guts twist and his limbs go light with terror, but Eddie laughs. He yanks on one of the ropes, and something unfurls from his backpack in a ripple of cloth and wire. It snaps open somewhere over their heads, and Steve’s stomach lurches, and then, suddenly, they're no longer falling. 

They're gliding. 

Above them stretches what looks like a giant sail, stitched together from dozens and dozens colorful scraps of fabric. It carries them like a bird's wings, taking them away from the crumpling island, away from walls and chains and barriers, away from all that kept them apart. 

Eddie whoops into the night sky, loud and unrestrained. It takes Steve a second or two to recognize the voice that joins in as his own. His stomach is still light, like it's filled with a million beating wings, but he realizes that it's not from vertigo.

It's happiness. 

The sheer, overwhelming exhilaration of knowing Eddie made it, that they're both free and together and never parting again. Of knowing this is real. 

They soar through the clouds, with the constellations close enough to touch, the earth spanning far below them like something from a dream. And if they never touch ground again? Steve thinks he wouldn’t mind one tiny bit. 

Next part

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