#bc i love gabriel angst

[bahoreal]

just everything about the love stories of maggie and nina and crowley and aziraphale being different but the same, crowley being in love for forever and wanting to be with aziraphale more than anything bc his heaven related cynicism lets him want things for himself but aziraphale still believing heaven can change things and feeling like he needs to have a purpose (he never stopped being an angel he still needs that purpose!) and believing heaven is the way... im just biting the walls i cant stop thinking about the kiss and aziraphale touching his lips after, like crowley introduced him to the delights of food and liquor and crowley introduced him to this too and it felt awful and it felt amazing and he liked it and he wanted to like it but he just wants crowley to want what he wants and try and work with heaven and without that he cant indulge, he cant want crowley back, its just the wrong time and the right being, like we're meant to expect that crowley will still be there waiting for him ("i hope she'll be there when im ready but there isnt any guarantee" "there is") but crowley spent all his time following aziraphale around, crowley is living like all he wants is aziraphale, and aziraphale isnt on the same page, and aziraphale is going to get whisked away and distracted and the crowley he finds again when he comes back wont be the crowley that he left

[henriiiii-1001old]

A voice called from the Heavens, Reaching my ears to bend me to God's will. It told me to Follow the screams that led Me to my current purpose: To be a caretaker to the world's Newest Savior. A Savior for the Demons that plague Mandela still.

I still hear music sometimes As I sleep, the sickly Sweet tune of Amazing Grace Continuing to haunt me years later. Just as everything else has...

If there truly is a God, why now? Why now do you come to Me with tasks of great Virtue and Meaning to a side You detest so strongly?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

hehehehehehehe remember that sketch everyone liked :)c here ya go in it's full colored and filtered glory <333333 (with some other stuff under the cut <3)

hope y'all enjoy >:)c

i would have unfiltered versions of the colored ones but i forgor to download those versions and cant go back and make the layers normal >:((((( i rly like these more with the filters tho <333333

[shiryawashere]

sometimes you listen to a soundtrack and accidentally cook up the outline for an entire sequel to a slowburn that's already over 50k words long

[geekyanglophile]

God dammit… I’m gonna have to start reading Good Omens fanfiction again

[oddinary4bts]

Chasing Cars | ch 11.5 (jjk)

☆summary: when your brother goes to study on a semester abroad, your life collides with his best friend Jeon Jungkook, who's coincidentally your roommate. Will you survive the collision, or will you crumble into dust?

☆pairings: brother's best friend!Jungkook x younger sister!female reader

☆rating: 18+ (minors DNI, some chapters contain mature content)

☆genre: forbidden love?au, college!au, slice of life!au, smut, angst (as usual a lot of it), fluff

☆warnings: the events of ch 11 in jk's pov

☆word count: 1.2k

☆a/n: this one made me sad :( hope you guys like it! I've purposefully not put the full explanation bc it hits better later in the story sooo sorry about that. also just a note that depression sucks and I hope none of you guys have to deal with it and, if you do, please know that you aren't alone <3

☆series masterpost

☆☆☆☆☆

If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol

☆☆☆☆☆

Jungkook is annoyed. He’s been annoyed all day, and he really just wants to go home.

To go home to you.

“What’s got you sulking?” Jimin asks, and four pairs of eyes shoot towards Jungkook.

Indeed, they are at the restaurant for lunch, Gabrielle having joined them to eat on her lunch break from her internship. 

“Nothing,” Jungkook says, grabbing his glass of water and taking a long sip.

Taehyung frowns, yet remains silent. It’s been happening a lot frequently, and Jungkook has truly, really been annoyed by it.

“Missing OC?” Jimin teases, wiggling his eyebrows and earning a punch in the shoulder by Sera.

“Shut up,” she says as Jungkook clenches his jaw.

“Will you please fucking stop with that?” Jungkook lets out, unable to keep his ire from his voice.

Jimin’s gaze widens, and then he laughs. “Why are you getting so worked up?”

“Maybe because you’ve been a little shit about this the whole week?”

“You’re aware it’s making it seem like it’s true…”

“Stop, Jimin,” Sera intervenes, her tone stern and authoritative.

The only tone Jimin ever listens to. Indeed, Jimin stops, pouting, and he mumbles an apology. Jungkook ignores it, his gaze shifting to Taehyung, and he doesn’t miss the muscle feathering under Taehyung’s skin as he clenches his jaw.

“What?” Jungkook spits, unable to help himself.

“You fucking my sister?”

Jungkook lets out a bitter laugh, his heart clenching in his chest. “Nope. You guys need to fucking leave me alone is all.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes, but doesn’t say anything. This time, it’s Ariane’s turn to talk, and she does so with a pointed glare at Taehyung.

“I thought we said yesterday that we weren’t going to talk about her anymore.”

They did. Because scenes like this one have been happening the whole trip, and Jungkook really just wants to go home. The thought sticks around all day, up until they’ve had their shares of drink back at the Air Bnb, not feeling like going out.

Maybe Jungkook’s foul mood has been contributing to everyone’s lack of enthusiasm about going out, but he wouldn’t complain. He’d much rather stay at the Air Bnb, where he doesn’t have to avoid girls coming up to him trying to flirt.

Except Gabrielle. Though it’s not like that with Gabrielle, and he knows she’s a safe space. As much as someone can be without knowing about you - he reckons his only true safe space is you.

Perhaps that’s why he ends up sitting in his room with Gabrielle while the others chill in the living room. Partly to catch up, but also mostly to laugh at the absurdity of their parents wanting them to marry, as if they ever would.

“They’re crazy,” Gabrielle repeats for the hundredth time. “Complètement fou.”

Jungkook nods. “It’s nothing new. They’ve been like that since high school.”

Gabrielle chuckles, turning her head towards Jungkook. “Is your dad still an asshole?”

Jungkook winces, because he feels like his father has only been getting worse and worse with time, finding new ways to put Jungkook through hell all the time. Though the ignoring has been better than the fights and the constant insults he’d used to receive when he was younger, if he’s being honest.

“Yup. You really think someone like him could change for the better?”

Gabrielle slightly shakes her head. “Nah. People like our parents will die as shitty as they were the day they were born.”

Jungkook likes to think that his parents weren’t always like this. That, perhaps they were just corrupted by money growing up. But then again he can’t reconcile the image of his parents being kind to the one that he knows, that he’s known all his life.

So instead, he raises his beer. “Cheers to that.”

There’s a silence as Gabrielle drinks from the wine bottle she carried to the bedroom when they left the rest of the group back in the living room. Jungkook’s thoughts trail to you, and he wonders what you’re up to right now. You mentioned you were going out with your friends - are you already with them, or are you at home thinking about him like he’s thinking about you, too?

“What’s going on with Taehyung’s sister?” Gabrielle asks out of the blue.

Jungkook freezes like a deer in headlights. And though he wishes to say everything, to tell Gabrielle about what he feels for you, he knows he can’t. Not as long as you haven’t said it’s okay to talk about it.

And not when Gabrielle would likely tell Ariane, and Ariane would then tell Taehyung.

“Not you too,” Jungkook grumbles, and he hopes Gabrielle can��t spy the blush slowly dusting his cheeks, up to the tip of his ears.

“I’m just wondering!” Gabrielle says, and she lets out a small laugh before pushing a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve seen pictures, I feel like she would be your type.”

Jungkook makes a noncommittal sound as he shrugs his shoulders.

“So?” Gabrielle presses.

“So what?”

She rolls her eyes, laughing again. “Is something going on between you and her?”

Jungkook takes a deep breath, preparing himself to lie to the one person that he’s never had to lie to before. “No.”

Gabrielle remains silent, the weight of her gaze on his profile heavy, and then she sighs. “Then, can I ask for your help?”

He stiffens. “What for?”

He knows what to expect - it’s the same as back when they were in high school, and she’d needed his help more than once then. Though he’d used not to mind, this time he hates it. So much so that he gets up, heading towards the door.

“Please,” Gabrielle says, stopping him with a hand on his wrist. “S’il-te-plait, Jungkook.”

“No,” he reaffirms, turning to face her. He thinks of you, thinks of the last time he kissed you, and wishes he was with you right now. “I can’t do this again.”

“Just this once,” she insists. “And then I will never ever ask that of you again.”

He thinks of the years. He thinks of Gabrielle defending him when his father insulted him during a dinner, or that time at the charity. He thinks about every night they’d fallen asleep in the same bed dreaming about a day where they wouldn’t have to worry about their family’s influence anymore. He’d thought she’d be okay now, independent as she was, but it seems she hasn’t escaped the pressure of her family yet, much like him.

“Gaby, I really can’t…” he trails off, scanning her features, hoping that she’ll understand, that she’ll know you are in his life and would never do something like that to you.

“Please,” Gaby says, her gaze begging.

He hates himself. He always has, more than he’d ever care to admit, but Jungkook hates himself too much for what he says next.

“Just this once.”

It’s like the universe was planning for this to happen anyway. Indeed, there’s laughter behind the door, and Gabrielle immediately grabs his face, pulling him down into a kiss. Jungkook closes his eyes, tells himself that you’ll understand, that he won’t lose you. 

When Gabrielle pulls away, looking just as uncomfortable as him, Jungkook whispers, “Don’t ever fucking do that again.”

It’s easy, after, to pretend that the tears in his eyes are caused by Gabrielle. Even as Taehyung claps him on the shoulder as if to congratulate him, Jungkook doesn’t have to hide how much he aches from the inside out.

Gabrielle leaves, and Jungkook goes to bed right away, wishing to be able to skip time until he can see you again.

Until he can prove to himself that he hasn’t lost you.

Read chapter eleven here!

☆☆☆☆☆

:((((( i hate myself for hurting the babies so much.. please come scream at me

All rights reserved to @/oddinary4bts, 2024. Do not copy, repost or translate.

[ladymarlin]

Desperate housewives au stuff (mostly Duncney) bc it's been on my mind latelyyy

So, Duncan and Courtney were on and off for awhile before splitting. Then a little after they split she meets a decent guy (possibly someone her parents set her up with) and their relationship moves pretty quickly "For the baby" they're having which is actually Duncan's but no one needs to know that.

The whole housewife thing really isn't for her though and it would be a reoccurring argument between her and her husband but she would stand her ground every time. She's too good a lawyer to quit and "become like the rest of the girls in the neighborhood" sooo...

Her and Duncan would reunite years later when he moves onto the street. Courtney would go over to welcome her new neighbor and nearly chokes when she sees it's Duncan.

Duncan has a hard time fitting in on the street. The neighborhood is pretty judgy and he's a total punk, so they're wary of him. And does he have some deep dark secret? Probably. But the neighbors definitely take things too far and assume the worst

Him and Courtney would reconnect and eventually it'd lead to an affair. Courtney would feel Super guilty about it since she was once cheated on, but rlly her and Duncan are falling in love. They'd sneak around a lot, there'd probly be some comical scenes abt it. Courtney would do everything to uphold her reputation. Really, it's the only reason she's married.

Idk how they'd get there but the main angst points would be Duncan finding out the kid is his and Courtney's husband eventually leaving. She'd probly have a s8 Bree Van De Kamp type arc. But some probably traumatic event would bring them back together and they live happy or smth

Aleheather would be the Carlos and Gaby equivalent. Without the cheating ofc. Alejandro wouldn't WANT anyone else and Heather tbh also wouldn't. No one likes her like Alejandro. Plus in desperate housewives Gabrielle's Gardner she has an affair with is UNDER AGE so yeah no.

But they'd definitely have similar fights and similar issues. Maybe they'd divorce for some petty reason, have a few days of trying to mess w each other before just getting back together. Instead of Alejandro going blind like Carlos does he would suffer similar injuries to the ones in the show (volcano robot suit incident) and sustain leg damage that would hinder him.

I don't have as much for them they just rlly remind me of Carlos and Gaby. Like yeah she'd push him out the window on impulse and then call 911

Also if u haven't seen desperate housewives (I highly recommend it's so good) a lot of this probly seems rlly dramatic n stuff but it is very much a drama mystery so it fits. Trust there have been some absolutely insane plots in that show.

Also if u wanna send asks pls do bc I kinda wanna explore this more. Or send ideas too could be cool :3

[awzominator]

may I offer u some low quality Rasey in these trying times

Senseless rambling under the cut don’t mind me

I’m stuck in how I want these two’s relationship to go Bc I love rasey but also I love Ramona and both are def gonna happen Bc it’s my AU and what I say goes HOWEVER…..I’m bad at writing and plotting and I’m second guessing everything I come up with snsnsnjs

as of right now Raph/Casey are dating in their teens Raph (and his bros and karai) go missing for like 2ish years and are presumed dead (rip) Casey obvi super distraught and spirals; he struggles and gets super reckless with his life and all that jazz (Bc he’s so well adjusted) anyway I took a lot of inspo from mirage plot line and brought Gabrielle into the mix. In this instead of her lover not being in the picture they just died and I wanted Casey to bond w her thru that and learn how to cope w the death of loved ones and move on even if the pain is still there My dumb of ass however, keeps getting hung up on how it’ll all work out cuz is two years too short for all this to happen???? But also it’s not real and it doesn’t really matter… Casey/Gabe relationship would still be new when Raph gets back (surprise not dead) and idk if I’d want to break them up Bc yay angst but also would Casey really just leave Raph hanging????? ((This is also if I still keep Casey in New York City and not make him have a crisis and road trip like in mirage djsjjsjs))

Raph would prob see how happy Casey is and prob like step back and let him have that relationship all while yearning for what they once had Bc the scariest part is him realizing how Casey has changed ((but so has he hasn’t he?? After everything he just went they and saw it was blink of an eye for him but it felt like a life time)) at the core they’re both the same ppl but they’re not 16/17 anymore…

So the Raph/Mona happens in their young adulthood once the gang goes to space a second time due to Kraang ((shocker))

like it could work but like….does it all sound stupid???? Probably but I It’s what I’ve got as of right now! I don’t do romantic relationships and frankly my experience of lost friendships is just Bc we grew apart and they stopped responding ((or Bc I found out they were racist and I cut them out djsjsjjs)))

[blackbird-brewster]

Emily-Centric Fic Recs

@isagrimorie: I’m interested to know recs! I am looking for Emily-centric stories!

You caught me on the perfect day bc I've been updating all my rec lists! Hope these links help ya' out. I already have a list of recs ft. Emily + Kids: [MomEm Fic Recs]

i can't be wrong (to be craving you)

JJ/Emily | Rated: E | WC: 101,294 Author: w00t4ewan (me) Heavy Angst, Character Study, Slow Burn

Emily just wants to feel something, anything. She needs to be alone, but she's also desperate for human contact, desperate to have someone make her feel loved. JJ is not the person she should be longing to fill that need, she knows better than to get involved with her. An Emily focused story chronicling her relationship with JJ and her mental health in the aftermath of everything she's survived. [Starting in S4 and following through the years of Emily and JJ's relationship]

Late Bloomer

JJ/Emily | Rated: E | WC: 153,306 Author: angestreet Angst, Romance, Slow Burn

When Tara Lewis invites Emily Prentiss out to a gay bar on a hunch, she just wants the FBI section chief to have a little fun, and, yes, maybe pick up a phone number or two. But the ordinary evening sends Emily spiralling, forcing her to confront a truth she has pushed down for decades — and face how she really feels about Jennifer Jareau. An Evolution-era fic about coming out and finding love in middle age.

What If It Doesn't End Well?

JJ/Emily | Rated: T | WC: 8702 Author: w00t4ewan Angst, Happy Ending

Four months after Emily joined the BAU, she and JJ have settled into a friends-with-benefits relationship. But when the team is called to New Orleans to work a case, they meet Detective LaMontagne and Emily's insecurities force her to make a difficult decision. [Reimagining of 02x18 'Jones']

If You Need Me

JJ/Emily | Rated: M | WC: 3958 Author: w00t4ewan Hurt/Comfort, Angst

Emily wakes up from a night terror and seeks JJ's comfort in the middle of the night, just like she has done so many times over the years…but this night is unlike any of the others.

Becoming Real

JJ/(trans man Em) | Unrated | WC: 17,670 Author: sissy_bloke Coming Out Story, Angst, Happy Ending

A case involving transgender youth brings some things to the surface for Prentiss. This transition then brings some things to the surface for JJ. Warnings: Contains transphobia and transphobic violence, but NOT expressed by the good guys. Also contains other violence, but less than what you'd see on the show

A Journey Through the Silent Chasm (Series)

JJ/Emily, Emily & BAU | Rated: M | WC:12,488 Authors: w00t4ewan, Phoenix_Falls Heavy Angst, Grieving

This three-part series details the journey through JJ's depression and PTSD, her death, and eventually, through Emily's healing with the help of everyone else JJ left behind.

Ashes and Wine

JJ/Emily | Rated: T | WC: 8376 Authors: w00t4ewan, Phoenix_Falls Heavy Angst, Happy Ending

Emily's insecurities about herself and her past threaten to tear her relationship with JJ apart and emotionally destroy them both

Why Am I Like This?

Tara/Emily | Rated: T | WC: 9611 Author: w00t4ewan Character Study, Coming Out Story, Fluff

A look at all of Emily's past relationships that led her to believe one undeniable truth, Emily Prentiss was broken. (Or maybe, she's just not as straight as she always thought she was) Six relationships that made Emily feel broken and one relationship that didn't.

I Want to Love You

Tara/Emily | Rated: M | WC: 13,289 Author: w00t4ewan Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn

It had been two weeks since Gabriel Lewis had been murdered after he had been abducted by Mr. Scratch. Tara hadn't seen her brother in years before his death. Now, his face was the only thing she saw when she closed her eyes. [Takes place over the course of S12 with obvious divergence]

from afar

Tara/Emily | Rated: G | WC: 447 Author: just_a_torn_up_masterpiece Angst, Feels, Fluff

emily will always love tara, even if it has to be from afar

Drowning, No Sign of Land

Emily & Derek, Tara/Emily | Rated : T | WC: 1379 Author: @illegalcerebral Unrequited Love, Angst, Pining

For the longest time Emily had felt alone. Even with other people. She had adopted her team as her family, the ferocity with which she loved and protected them only increasing when she became unit chief. It burned inside her but it was so fierce, so wild, so dangerous that the more she loved them the more she kept them at arms length. Tara had pushed through all that, walked through fire and reached inside her without being aware of it. It touched something deep and aching inside Emily for the briefest moment. Now she had someone else.

The Valhalla Arc (Meta)

Emily Prentiss | Rated: G | WC: 2269 Author: w00t4ewan Character Study, Meta

This is a personal character study of why the Valhalla Arc was so important to the character development of Emily Prentiss.

ADDITIONAL CM FEMSLASH FIC RECS:

Past Friday Fic Recs:  [Friday Fic Recs - Tumblr] || [CM Fic Recs - AO3 Collection]

My Fanfic Master Lists: [JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily] || [JJ/Tara] || [Tara/Rebecca]

2023 Rec Lists: [JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily + Other Femslash]

2022 Rec Lists: [JJ/Emily] || [Tara/Emily] || [Other Femslash]

[miraculous-pyxie]

Idea where Adrien and Marinette knew each other from years of the Dupain-Cheng’s catering for the Agreste’s so they become The Best Of Friends Ever ™️ and have Ladynoir dynamics since they were kids.

What is included in this idea package:

Years of play dates that are always super fun for the both of them and when their parents at at events they get to go off and play together

their influence on each other starts in their early development so Marinette brings an independent nature out of Adrien and Adrien brings out more collaboration in Marinette

They get to have Big Talks™️ when facing harder questions in life

Marinette was there when Adrien’s mom left so they grew even closer

When they get their miraculous they tell each other immediately and become impossibly closer

they felt bad about breaking the rules at first but they realized that it works so much better this way because they were already so close that they didn’t need to build teamwork with someone new

It’s Marinette that actually convinced Gabriel to let Adrien into public school

Adrien met Chloe before but didn’t like her as much bc of Marinette’s influence (he also got to hear first hand how she was bullying her)

They play a massive prank on their whole class when Adrien comes in the first day because of all people that know each other it’s them. people are shocked, Chloe is mad, Nino is like “bro i thought i was your childhood bestie” so Marinette is like “you are but trust me there is no need to be jealous, just spend like 5 minutes with him you’ll fall in love with him” and she was right

we get lots of post-reveal pre-relationship silly dynamics 

Alya and Nino eventually clock on the two of them like each other, but it looks like they’re both oblivious to it / don’t want to admit it

eventually, Alya and Nino confront Marinette and Adrien separately about confessing their feelings, but they both give back an eerily similar answer of “it’s too complicated to be together” that makes them think there is more to their relationship then they originally thought (Alya thinks they are LB and CN and Nino thinks they are already dating) (they are both kinda right).

Alya and Nino slowly put the pieces together, they’re making jokes assuming they are both dating and superheroes that they kind of just forgot that these are head cannons of their friends so when they eventually find out they’re like “yeah lmao”

all very fluffy and silly and only a ting of angst

Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, and Carapace shenanigans eventually 

[mrghostrat]

Okay so the streamer au right. I’ve thunketh a thoughteth.

Neither Beelzebub or Gabriel have come up in this yet. I have ideas.

So in my head Beelzebub is Crowleys adopted sibling and stream mod. But because I saw this in a fanfic once and it works well with their character - sin of gluttony and all - their ‘normal person’ job is as a professional chef. Now, they go by their screen name online, they’re adopted so look nothing like him (and also bc I like the possible sprinkle of angst. Which one was adopted by which’s family? Why?) and no one’s seen them in any of their brothers streams, so when Aziraphale takes on a trickier recipe in a cooking stream and brings in his roomates pro chef sibling as a guest to help him no one connects the dots. They just like the edgy chef friend that keeps yelling off screen at the roommate and then immediately going back to kneading dough like nothing happened. People love them! They dub them ‘Emo Gordon Ramsey’ and make ‘Gordon Ramsey with adults vs kids’ and ‘Beelzebub has a favourite sibling and it’s not even their actual sibling’ jokes when they stop doing the middle finger at their brother to warn aziraphale the sugar is going to burn if he’s not careful. Beelzebub, like Anathema is a little shit that likes to worsen the Crowley-Aziraphale rumours and takes any chance they can get to drop a joke under their breath to which the chat yells ‘BEEZ SHIPS IT TOO’.

Gabriel is Aziraphales hotshot successful businessman brother who lives in America most of the time (maybe their parents split up or something?) and he visits home for Christmas or something. He’s kind of an asshole. (yes I’m imagining a more season 1 Gabriel. More room for character development.). Unfortunately for Aziracrow, Anathema, and their own mental health, ‘Asshole’ is exactly Beelzebubs type. It takes the combined force of the three of them, the chat yelling at them (aziraphale is nothing if not petty. You make jokes about him and his boyfriend? He’s going to put you on blast for your terrible taste. Now I’m saying all this it would make sense for Beez to be the adopted one maybe they had a not-great home lifethat’s why their taste in men is kind of messed up) , and several stories of exactly how asshole-y Gabe is to convince them to not ask Gabriel out. Potential for Gabe to get character development down the line and become an actual viable option for Beez.

thank you for coming to my TED talk *mic drop* *runs away*

*tinkles cat food bell* bureaucracy shippers come get ur man

[ravenelyx]

I love you in every timeline - Chapter 2: One Hundred Years of Solitude

← Prologue

← Chapter 1

→ Chapter 3

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Fem!Reader

Words: 10.5k

Chapter Warnings: angst, Harry Potter characters appearance, no name usage for reader (not even y/n dw), use of 2nd person though bc it makes sense for the story - trust me, Sebastian is veery confused and veeery jealous but he found a friend in this madness, veeeeery slow burn

Summary: "He smiled as he sat down next to the blonde girl, ignoring the giddy feeling in his stomach as you watched his every move. He also might have accidentally sat right opposite of you.". In which Sebastian, in his search for a cure in the Dark Arts, finds himself 100 years into the future and meets his most trusted companion's descendant (who looks far too similar to the girl he was once secretly in love with).

A/N: I deeply apologise for the late update. I wanted to use this Chapter to expand a bit over his life at Hogwarts and other relationships, other than, yk, the rrrrromance. Anyway, Daphne is my crush.

You can find the whole fanfiction here on ao3

"Intrigued by that enigma, he dug so deeply into her sentiments that in search of interest he found love, because by trying to make her love him he ended up falling in love with her." - Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

The Great Hall was almost empty when he entered it, as most of the students had already gone to class. Since he had a free period before Charms, Sebastian decided to allow himself more sleep than usual.

Not that it had been any useful.

He felt exhausted, dragging himself to the nearest seat at his House table and resting his head on the cold wood. There was hardly anything left, and he was more than happy to just munch on a cold pancake and drink a glass of pumpkin juice, enough to sustain him for at least a few hours, although barely.

Perhaps it was the sight of the Hall, empty and familiar, perhaps it was the enchanted ceiling shining sunny rays on the Slytherin table, perhaps it was the unsatisfactory breakfast after an unsatisfactory dinner, but for a split second, Sebastian was at home.

It was a sour feeling, like his pumpkin juice had spoiled and his pancake had grown mould in his hands, yet he couldn't stop feasting on it, searching for a piece he could savour, if only once. That, he realised, was the beginning of his destruction.

Memories of the previous day's conversation came flooding back and he groaned, the weight in his chest growing heavier, and the pancake suddenly seemed even less appetising as he dropped it onto the plate.

'Everything is clearer in the morning', Dumbledore had said.

Perhaps he should lend me his glasses, Sebastian thought.

Fortunately, the headache had subsided since the conversation, and although his sleep hadn't been as satisfying as he'd hoped, he felt a little better than he had a few hours ago. Maybe it was the pumpkin juice.

He shoved the pancake back in his mouth, almost choking on it, and rubbed his eyes before standing up. From his table, a few Slytherins turned their heads towards him, and he recognised a few of his peers among them: a brown-haired boy was waving a wand around with a devil-may-care attitude while a blonde girl tried to snatch it out of his hands. None of them seemed in a rush to leave, which almost made Sebastian think he had read his timetable wrong.

He checked again for good measure and he was glad to know he was absolutely right. He then thought he might have been mistaken about the students: they either weren't in the same year as him as he had previously thought or they were waiting for the perfect moment to be fashionably late.

Sebastian, for all his self-respect and gallantry, had little time to be fashionable.

Leaving the students be — and ignoring their eyes on him as soon as he turned towards the door — he headed off to class, ready to begin lessons in a new, unfamiliar environment.

It felt bloody ironic to think that after five years.

If anything, the hallways were deserted and the cracking fire of the torches put him at ease, and that was a pretty huge step up. The walk to Classroom 2E was almost refreshing, and for once, he didn’t lament the stairs. The same couldn’t be said for the screeching laugh of a certain Slytherin girl as soon as she saw him wander around.

“Lost, new fifth-year?” laughed Pansy Parkinson, then she turned to her right as if expecting someone to pat her back.

If her goal was to discomfit him, she might need to review her bullying strategies.

“You’re not still crying because of what happened yesterday, are you?” retorted Sebastian, only stopping briefly to look at her before resuming his walk.

“I could give you detention,” she shrieked.

“That would delight me.”

Pansy Parkinson didn’t follow him, for which he was delightfully glad. Not that it would matter that much: he’d see her in class anyway — probably fleering at him with newfound energy once she had his beau  beside her.

A perfect pureblood pair, he almost wanted to throw up.

The classroom hadn’t changed an inch, so much that Sebastian almost expected Professor Ronen to parade down the stairs with his purple robes and terrible jokes. Instead, what waited for him was a short man standing on a pile of books, swinging from left to right on his tiny legs. He was waving his wand around, blank scrolls of parchments depositing themselves on each desk while a whole new bunch of them floated around his head.

“Oh! Come! Come!” he shrieked as soon as he saw Sebastian, gesturing for him to approach his desk. “Have your classmates met you yet? Oh, I’m sure they have! You seem like a nice, friendly bloke!”

Sebastian wasn’t sure if the words “nice” and “friendly” suited him, actually, but he gave the professor a smile nonetheless.

“I’d told Dumbledore he ought-a make a proper introduction! I can’t imagine how odd it must have been for you — and especially in such circumstances,” he whispered the last part, and Sebastian felt his smile falter and his heart drop pathetically to his stomach. That is something that adults do, where in all their experience and emotional maturity they always fail to consider their younger interlocutors' perspective, and Sebastian really wanted to snap at the small man and make him understand that he didn’t exactly feel the need to be reminded of his situation all the time.

The man seemed to notice, too (and what miracle, Sebastian thought), and he brought his hands to his mouth, capping it shut like he had just revealed a big secret. “Sorry,” he muffled, “I ought-a be more sensible.”

Unwinding his hands, he finally addressed the rest of the students, motioning Sebastian to turn towards them.

To say his introduction was embarrassing would have been too kind a compliment.

He stayed still like a statue, almost hoping that the less he moved, the less visible he was. The professor did the honours, and Sebastian had to fight the urge to take out his wand and blast Draco Malfoy and his gang to Merlin’s grave as they snickered.

“You may go and sit next to Miss Davis.” The small man lightly patted his back to direct him towards the desk. “I’m Professor Filius Flitwick — you can come and find me for any doubts, my office is open at every hour!”

“Every hour indeed,” whispered Miss Davis as soon as Sebastian sat down. “He might even give you cupcakes if you look distressed enough!”

Sebastian thought that Professor Flitwick might have to step up his baking game, as far as distress goes.

Charms class had paid off, and Sebastian felt better, more like himself, than he had in the past twenty-four hours. Flitwick was a little eccentric, but a very knowledgeable and capable Charms master, other than a lenient Professor by Hogwarts standards — he didn't even give extra assignments to those who were late.

Miss Davis — or Tracey, as Sebastian learnt — had been very helpful. She shared her book with him and lent him her notes. Sebastian realised there were quite a few things that he had never heard of, fruit of many decades of research and discovery.

On the whole, he believed he was content enough and ready for his next class. Sebastian felt at ease in an almost confounding way: and he was sure he'd become jittery soon enough, yet a new found purpose — if only for a short time — invigorated his spirit. If he focused on school, he'd fill his brain enough not to think about anything else. That was ideal.

"What do you think, mate?"

A Slytherin boy approached him, slinging his bag on his shoulder, and Sebastian jumped a little, surprised by the sudden voice. He recognised him as the boy in the Great Hall, with the messy brown hair and the long face, but his blonde friend was nowhere to be found.

"What?" asked Sebastian, slowing down to allow him to approach.

The boy smiled reassuringly. "Flitwick. That was your first Charms class in Hogwarts, was it not?"

Sebastian had to bite his tongue at that, willing Professor Ronen’s jovial face to disappear from his mind. “Indeed it was…”

“So?”

So…

Sebastian tried not to make a comparison, but a wall of pros and cons was already manifesting in the window on his mind, served with just a tad of cognitive bias.

"Oh, it was good. He's a bit eccentric isn't he?" said Sebastian tentatively.

"Yeah, but he's all right. We thought he was part elf for the longest time but we never dared to ask."

Sebastian smirked, remembering the professor’s squeaky voice and the books he had to stand on. He was almost bizzarre, when he moved his wand around: like a toy hit by a Transfiguration spell that jumped around as if alive. "I thought he was a bit… short."

"Yeah. Apparently he's part Goblin instead, but heh, same thing," said the boy nonchalantly and walked past him.

Sebastian faltered, stilling in place as if someone had poured concrete on his shoes. Just as a cracked mirror, the toy decayed on the wooden floor, moulded by years of humidity and abandon.

He thought he had grown even slightly accustomed to the changes — to the people wandering around him, the classmates treating him like a foreigner, the professors having to hide him under carefully practised smiles and braided hands on their mouths — and yet, the mere idea that his own professor had goblin ancestry was tearing him apart like nothing before. 

He knew that Goblins weren't the ones that cursed Anne (his friend had told him that, after all), and he knew, logically and maturely, that just because a few of them were bad didn't mean all of them were, but he still felt a little flame of anger — and prejudice — light up inside him, along with scattered guilt for his own thoughts and the memory of Feldcroft's events.

Sebastian wanted to forget the past, and yet it kept following him, even through space and time, and he couldn’t help but think about that goblin slitting his own throat at his wishes, and intrusively imagine Flitwick being in his place.

He really tried to ignore it, for his own good. Flitwick was a good teacher, a skilled wizard even: his ancestry had nothing to do with it — or him. He hoped that he wouldn’t need more time to warm up to the Charms professor after hearing the new information.

But he knew he did.

“What’s that face, new student?” came Draco Malfoy’s provoking snicker, followed by his group’s. “Was this little class so hard it made you realise how dense you are?”

“I'd worry more about your failed Colour Change Charm today. Need help with that?”

Draco Malfoy shut up immediately.

Upon leaving the classroom, Sebastian read his timetable again and saw that he had three free periods before Care of Magical Creatures. He groaned in displeasure and then cringed at himself: he was probably the only student in the whole world who wanted to actively study at the moment. He sighed and simply decided to spend his free time in the Library to try to catch up on what he had missed.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

"Could you direct me to the books involving the events of the last century?" Sebastian asked the librarian as soon as he entered the room, and she eyed him suspiciously before handing him his library card and pointing him in the right direction.

Not much had changed in the Library, so much that Sebastian was still able to pronounce every book by memory as his eyes skimmed over the covers. He walked through the Library like it was home, his chest caving with a soft buzz of comfort and excitement. Sebastian thought he might cry on the spot if he didn't have so many curious eyes on him.

There was, of course, a new section with books he had never read before: books of the new century, and, wistfully, the books he was searching for. Whilst the new shelves broke that bell jar of naiveté gradually forming around him as part of him still clung to the past, an excited grin broke onto his face nonetheless; he had always prided himself on having read every book in the room — except for the Restricted Section — and the idea of absorbing even more knowledge was almost invigorating enough to brighten up his day. He was his parents' son after all.

Madam Pince stared at him from across the room, her neck moving to watch his actions in a way that eerily resembled a rattlesnake as he grabbed as many books as he could carry in his arms before placing them on the nearest desk where another Slytherin girl sat. She looked at him suspiciously, with a playful hint in her eyes.

"Busy, aren't we? I almost took you for a Ravenclaw,” she said jauntily, then glanced back down at her book, a copy of Intermediate Transfiguration, and unwrapped a parchment scroll beside it, pushing a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear so it wouldn't fall in her face.

Whether the girl intended it as a compliment or not, he allowed it to go over his head: her teasing had already stepped foot into his boundaries, but Sebastian felt like the bell jar was too broken to stop it, and he let it be.

"I've a lot of catching up to do," he sighed as he took a seat in front of her, opened the first book on the list — A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot — and read the table of contents, frowning when he noticed the book didn't get past the 19th century. What surprised him the most was that this was, technically, the assigned book for the year. Was the history of the past century so useless and uneventful it didn't deserve to be shed light on?

The girl raised her head and looked at him as he focused on the words in front of him. "Oh, right. You're the new student everyone's talking about, aren't you?"

That was not exactly on his list of yearly accomplishments.

Sure, he was the best duelist in Crossed Wands (second best, he suddenly reminded himself) and his duels were the talk of the school for days after they happened, and especially if they involved her.

But that was good talk. The kind of talk that makes people know you as talented and dashing and charming (and a loser sometimes, but only because she was better: and if she was better, he didn't care), not the kind that depicted you as the boorish and lonely new student who didn't even deserve a formal introduction and had a fight with two Prefects on his first day. That was the bad talk: the talk he wouldn't wish upon his worst enemy (or perhaps only to those like Duncan Hobhouse, because he was a boorish and a loner and his formal introduction should spare everyone present. But that was Duncan.)

"Everyone?" he asked then, rhetorically and with a strange need to eat those words back up and become that boorish loner, too.

"Well, it's quite an unusual occurrence. People are curious."

Curious wasn’t exactly what Sebastian needed at the moment, yet Hogwarts was, after all, a bracket of adolescents waiting to feast and find something else to worry about than their potions essay.

"Fair enough," he said, folding the book shut and putting it aside, deeming it useless for his research. "I'm Sebastian Sallow."

"Daphne Greengrass. Pleased to meet you." She extended her arm towards him over the table, her palm open and waiting, and he faltered for a moment at her boldness before repeating her movements. Her grip on his hand was firm and confident as she shook it. Sebastian studied her face more closely, a feeling of familiarity lingering on the back of his mind.

"Are we in the same year?" he asked, almost feeling the gears turning in his brain as he tried to recall her face.

"You're observant," she replied sarcastically. "Yeah, I was actually sitting behind you in Charms just now. Next to Pansy?"

Like an epiphany. He remembered the blonde girl at breakfast. She was one of the few students who arrived late to Charms class.

Then his brain focused on the name she said, and his eye twitched. "Don't tell me you're friends with her."

"I wouldn't say 'friends'; she can be rude sometimes."

Sebastian had a word in mind that perfectly described his combination of “rude” and “Pansy Parkinson”, but decided not to say it. He just rolled his eyes and Daphne smiled. "Really, most of the time she's all right. Quite nice even — but only if you're a pureblood. I'm actually surprised she's never thought of me as a blood traitor, considering the stances of my family, but I suppose there's a clear line between support and neutrality, and we haven't crossed it yet."

As if neutering any possible debate, she began scribbling on her parchment what seemed to be the beginning of an essay.

Sebastian felt like the line between neutrality and supremacy was much more blurred instead.

"Delightful," said Sebastian simply, picking up the nearest book and beginning to read it as they fell into a comfortable silence.

The books felt like a balm and a curse, redolent of pretty much every emotional experience Sebastian had lived through in the past day.

After about an hour, he put the books back, having flicked through them all, and had just begun to let his eyes wander over the shelf in search of a new one when he heard shuffling behind him.

Daphne had put her books away and was frowning at him. "It's nearly lunchtime, I'm heading to the Great Hall. D'you want to come?"

Sebastian paused for a moment, looking around and noticing how the Library was emptying by the minute. "Uh, sure. I didn't realise it was that late." And he found himself following Daphne outside, striking a conversation on the way and feeling a little lighter.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

The sun was still as hot as ever as he followed his fellow Slytherins to his Care of Magical Creatures class a few hours later. Draco Malfoy led the group, snickering along with Pansy Parkinson and the two big students about some second-year Hufflepuff they took points from. Sebastian rolled his eyes so hard he could have sworn he saw the back of his own head.

When Malfoy's blonde hair disappeared from his field of vision, he almost rolled them again when he recognised the familiar robes of his Gryffindor classmates.

Gryffindor could only mean one thing: You.

He frantically looked around for your familiar silhouette and breathed a sigh of relief when he found nothing. You hadn't mentioned any elective other than Divination to him — apart from your obvious dislike of Arithmancy — so perhaps, by some benevolent Supreme Being, you hadn't chosen that course, and he would have to see you even less.

His solace was short-lived, because after only a few seconds he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Sebastian turned and saw you walking towards him, followed by the two Prefects and the boy with glasses. Just like that, dread washed over him like magma, and he was sure his vision had lost focus for a moment — his body shrivelled at your presence, like you had touched him and burned his skin to the bone and no amount of Wiggenweld could fix it.

He grimaced (and he thought that the fact that he managed to contain his face to a simple grimace was noteworthy) as you approached and mentally prepared himself to start a conversation with you — because of course you would talk to him: you had done it every time you had met the day before.

It was logical, like Ominis being angry at him for no reason, or Anne taking his hands in hers when they met.

(But that logic can break, and he knew it all too well.)

It's not that he didn't like talking to you — he did: far too much, in fact — but he had made a promise to himself and was willing to keep it. He had already regretted telling you about the Undercroft, and he had felt incredibly embarrassed that morning when he had remembered your conversation.

‘I suppose I had no other choice,' his mind played it over and over mockingly, taunting him like a broken cuckoo clock in an old lady's house — and he has seen an awful lot of them in his time living in the countryside — or like one of those school kids he wanted to strangle when he was young, singing off-key doggerels at the bare mention of a girl's name.

You flashed him a smile and gave him a quick wave, and the corners of his mouth lifted against his will. He sounded himself leaning towards you, ready to strike up a conversation when you would inevitably stop beside him. After all, you had followed him the night before when he left the Great Hall, hadn't you?

And so he spoke, "Hi—"

"Neville? How did you get here so fast?" you said at the same time, shifting your wide eyes towards the Gryffindor group. You practically dashed past him, rushing towards another Gryffindor boy standing just a few feet away from him, and Sebastian was left there, his greeting hanging in the air unanswered. "We literally just left the greenhouse, did you sprint here or what?" He heard you laugh.

"Hello, Sebastian," said Hermione, as Ron and Harry gave him a nod of acknowledgement, with polite smiles on their faces. The three of them joined you and Neville, along with the rest of the Gryffindors, and Sebastian sighed, a heavy feeling in his chest and pure shame seeping through his veins. He thought he had physically heard his stomach bounce like a poorly knitted pillow, and the more his mind replayed the scene, the more it unbounded until all that was left was a poorly looped slip knot.

"Well, that was awkward." Daphne was right next to him again and had witnessed the whole interaction. Sebastian's eye twitched.

"What was?" He decided to play dumb, already knowing he'd be unsuccessful as his gloomy expression was more than enough for a tell.

"'Hi." She taunted him with an exaggerated dreamy sigh, and he bit the inside of his cheek in annoyance as another step forward in that boundary almost felt like a kick in the shins.

"I did not sound like that."

"You sounded exactly like that," she smirked. "You almost threw yourself in front of her, too."

"I did not," he protested weakly, looking at the ground to measure his position and see if Daphne was actually right.

She was.

"I beg to differ. What's with the few steps you took forward then?"

Sebastian was properly blushing now, and as the girl giggled, he felt like a wet Puffskein in a camp of Poachers. He frantically looked around to ensure no one was looking his way, and no one was, yet he still felt as if their eyes were just barely waiting to peel the skin off his bones as languidly as a blink. He took a step back as if it could undo his actions.

"Don't tell me you've already got a crush,” Daphne continued, either unaware or uncaring of Sebastian's feelings. “You've been here — what, a day? I mean, I get it. She is gorgeous; I'm sure many guys and girls would agree, but that's a record."

"I don't have a crush," he said through gritted teeth, arms tightening around his midriff as he crossed them to his chest protectively, yet at the sceptical look on his newfound friend's face, which seemed to reach parts of him that felt a bit too personal — specifically the alcove between his ribcage and heart — he snapped. "I don't! She just reminds me of someone else I knew. It's not her I... It's just not like that, all right?"

A few heads turned to him, startled by his outburst, and he chewed on his cheek to calm down. He did not need further attention.

He opened his hands and caressed the palm over his arms, as if smoothing the skin down.

The girl stared as well, and Sebastian was pleased to see her bite her lip as if regretting her words. "Wow, all right, I get it." She took a few steps to stand right beside him, trying to appear unfazed by his tone, and faced the Professor, whispering: "So, it's like a 'fill-in crush'?"

Not again.

Sebastian sighed heavily, like it could remove the huge weight of her words crushing his lungs. "A what?"

"You're attracted to her because she’s, in a way, similar to your other crush," said Daphne matter-of-factly, nodding in satisfaction at her own statement.

His blush spread, and he had to close his eyes to bask in that bell jar again, if only for a little.

"I wouldn't say 'attracted'," he muttered, but Daphne only raised her eyebrows knowingly, and he found himself yielding like a fool. "Well, yes... probably."

For some reason, the admission didn't actually crush his lungs as he had expected.

(He then thought the sigh had actually been responsible for that: let's give credit where credit is due.)

"Mm..." Daphne seemed lost in thought for a while. "Well, the only advice I can give you is to sort out your feelings."

Feelings. Those weren't feelings. They were a trick: a traitorous, disgusting trick of his brain that made him want to throw up.

"There are no feelings to sort out. I don't feel anything for her." Sebastian averted his eyes. "Nothing real, at least," he mumbled the last bit, turning his head away from the blonde girl. It was a terrible large word for such a small muscle.

"Well, that's great, for now. But if you do at some point — or if you two become friends in the future — really put some thought into it. After all, you can't rule the heart." She winked at him as Professor Grubbly Plank began her lesson.

You can't rule the heart. Sebastian knew this all too well and yet seriously wished he could. Especially at that moment.

"Was your crush unrequited?" Daphne added musingly as she got her book out of her bag, and his breath caught in his throat. He had, for a moment, settled down in that peaceful certainty that was a closed conversation.

Logic was broken again.

"Why... Why is that so important?" he asked, reproaching himself for his ridiculous stutter.

"It must have been if your brain is looking for a replacement."

“I do nothing of the sort,” he spat defensively, as if Daphne’s words had moved past that alcove and directly touched his nerves. He turned to glare at her, but she just shrugged and acquiesced to his words without arguing. That unbalanced him, like missing a step and feeling the void under your stomach.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been deeply offended by the girl’s assumptions, yet for some reason, he was relieved by her utter lack of judgement about his insane situation.

“All right, I’m just saying. Be careful," she resigned and proudly showed him her assignment sketch of a Bowtruckle, as if the conversation had never happened. Despite everything, he snorted at the sight.

“I’m impressed. It looks almost different from a twig,” he said, pointing at its head, and she slapped his arm with her book.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

The day had gone better than he had imagined, and the next day started just as well, only with a bigger breakfast. This time, both Daphne and Tracey sat next to him, and that mere action made him feel normal again. (And there were no dry pancakes this time, Sebastian noted happily)

Ron and Hermione had stopped him right after he left the Great Hall to give him his textbooks for the day.

“McGonagall asked us to get these for you. They’re a bit worn down, but they will do. I hope.” Hermione had said.

Transfiguration class went by quite smoothly, and McGonagall was more of a capable teacher than he was willing to admit. He grinned in victory when he was the only one to have Vanished his mice completely by the end of the lesson.

“Oh, come on. You can’t be serious.” Daphne complained, holding up a slithery mouse tail. “There’s no way you managed to do that before me. Beginner’s luck,” she sulked.

“Next time, you should start from the tail,” he snickered proudly.

“Next time, I’ll Vanish your mouth, Sallow.”

After that came two whole hours of Potions, and Sebastian was curious if the rumours about Snape being strict and — quote — a bully were true (the rumours being Ron Weasley).

He entered the class, careful to keep an eye on you, just in case you had the bright idea to sit next to him, and basically sprinted to one of the square tables that already seemed too crowded for you to attempt to follow him.

Unfortunately, his planning was as bad as ever because he ended up banging his hands on the table to avoid crashing into it, inhaling some of the dust and erupting into a coughing fit that momentarily broke his focus. When he noticed the bright red hem of your uniform right next to him, it was already too late.

"’Morning," you smiled politely at him, and he forced himself to smile back, certain that he could not have mustered a better expression than one that said, 'I'm going to puke.'

To be fair: the dungeons were quite humid, and that, mixed with the various strong smells of potions and ingredients — and the dust still lingering at the back of his mouth — was not helping.

“‘Morning,” he said, making his voice as clear as the ceiling of the Great Hall. The thought of being mocked by Daphne Greengrass again surpassed any social etiquette in the proper tone to use. You, however, seemed totally unfazed.

He assumed that being around blaring Gryffindors every day must have attuned your ears to withstand ultrasounds by now.

“How was your first day? I forgot to ask yesterday.”

Yeah, you walked right past me. Did you remember that, at least? he almost said.

“Not bad at all. I had only three classes, though,” he shrugged nonchalantly. The fact that you didn't even stop to talk to him and ask how he was doing was not bothering him.

Maybe it was mildly upsetting, like waiting all day to explore the Highlands and then being stopped by a sudden rain.

Perhaps just a little annoying, like receiving an A instead of an E on an essay one had worked on for days.

But not bothersome. That would mean he cared, and he didn't.

You nodded and began setting your ingredients on the table. “What about today?”

He had to force himself not to care then. Force himself to suppress the sudden, prideful fluttering in his chest. He decided he was going to check the dorms that night: there were definitely a few moths or flies nestling around that he had accidentally swallowed while sleeping.

"McGonagall, first two periods."

You gave him a sweet smile that made his stomach tighten, and before he could stop himself, the moths fluttered and he blurted out, "I was actually the only one to master the Vanishing Spell today."

You seemed to be caught off guard, and he saw Daphne stifle a laugh out of the corner of his eye. For a moment, he didn't quite grasp what he did wrong. Then, like a cannonball he felt his cheeks warm up, as if his body had caught up before his brain.

Because he had just shamelessly bragged about himself like a first-year learning the Levitation Charm for the first time.

"Cool." Your voice was about an octave higher as you nodded at him, unsure how to respond to his statement. He bit the inside of his cheek, and wished the Giant Squid would burst through the window and snatch him away to make him its lunch. He definitely needed to check the dorms.

"W-what about you?" he asked instead, knowing that not even the Squid would show him mercy at this point.

(He suspected it would laugh at him, too.)

“Two free periods. I caught up on homework a bit.” You shrugged off your robe and neatly placed it with the others in a corner of the classroom closest to your worktable. “Hogwarts Professors do love an essay, don’t they? Feels like I haven’t stopped writing since the year started. It wouldn’t have surprised me if they asked us to write one right on the train.”

He grinned. “Seems like I have a lot to catch up on.”

“If you’re lucky, they’re going to spare you. I can’t believe I still need to work on my essay on Gillyweed; I thought I might spend the evening—”

Just like that, a tall Gryffindor boy came sitting on your right, and Sebastian watched as you faltered, pausing your hand mid-air. You were holding a handkerchief in which you had wrapped your Erumpent tongue: It never made it to the table's surface.

“Hi,” said the boy politely, flashing you a smile that you returned immediately.

“Hi,” you breathlessly replied, finally setting the wrap down and wiping your hands on your cardigan, taking a deep breath. Sebastian waited for you to continue your sentence, but it seemed like your conversation with the Slytherin was the last thing on your mind at that moment.

“Is this seat taken?”

What happened later felt more like a warm rush to his forehead, which quietly manifested into a frown. Why was he bothering asking if he had already put his stuff down?

But you didn’t seem to notice.

“Not at all — you can have it.” You stuttered a bit.

He watched this whole interaction with his mouth open, noticing the small smile dancing on your lips as you stole glances at the boy, and he did the same. They said looks could kill, and those gazes felt indeed like tiny stabbings all over his skin.

He met Daphne’s gaze, and she gave him a knowing look, hiding a smirk. His jaw set, and he mouthed, “Don’t start.”

“Today, you will be brewing the Babbling Beverage,” Snape said, forcing Sebastian to look away from the pathetic and horrifying scene next to him. “It’s fairly easy to grasp and should be a piece of cake for students who are supposed to be at Ordinary Wizarding Level, but I’m sure even then, some of you will encounter difficulties if so to speak.” He shot Neville a smug glance, and the boy seemed to shrink into himself. Malfoy snickered.

“Instructions are on the blackboard. You may begin.”

He saw you take out your textbook and search in your bag for — something you probably didn’t find. Groaning, you took out your quill and ink and began scribbling the instructions on the book, crossing ingredients and numbers, adding arrows and switching passages. That took you a whole five minutes before you closed your book and got to work.

He added Alihotsy leaves as his water simmered, and you did the same after a few minutes, glancing at what seemed to be a watch. The leaves had to stew in water for twenty minutes, so he got closer to you out of curiosity.

“Is that a watch on your wrist?” he asked, leaning over your shoulder as you were reading the time. It was worn and a little chipped on the sides, the hands wavering between seconds passing.

“It’s a wristwatch. Do wizards not use them?”

Wizards definitely used watches (he himself carried a pocket watch at all times), but he had never seen them worn as a bracelet.

“It looks fancy.”

You snickered. “Nothing fancy about it. I actually bought it for a cheap price."

That would explain the painfully slow pace of the hands.

"I can see it's barely moving at all," he smirked.

"I know," you stifled a small chuckle. "You could say it’s dying on my watch.”

Sebastian paused then, with a quiet buzz in his brain. There was a moment of realisation on his part before he found himself snorting, insides twisting and cringing at your terrible joke.

And the best part (the absolutely amazing part of it all) was that he would have had the same idea had he been in your place. A lousy, dreadful pun that would make anyone's chest shrivel in embarrassment. And yet he loved it.

"Merlin, that was awful!" He tried to hide the absolute joy on his face. Anyone else — Ominis, Anne, her — would either dismiss or ignore him when he made jokes like that, and rarely laugh. And there you were. It was you saying it, and it was you laughing at it. And it was him feeling warm all over again.

So different. How could you be so different?

"And yet you laughed. That says more about you than it does about me."

It did indeed say a lot about him, Sebastian acquiesced to that, and yet when you turned to smile at him, he froze. And if he hadn't caught a glimpse of your clock, still feebly moving, he would have thought time had too.

Sebastian hadn't realised how close the two of you actually were. He hadn't realised if it happened when he leaned to look at the watch. Or if he got even closer as he laughed.

His vision blurred for a second and his delusional, twisted mind screamed at him to lean in, and lean in, and lean in, because it was her, after all. He could just do it, just to put an end to those fluttering feelings that have been eating at him for months.

And he did. Just a little, enough to feel your breath touch the side of his face. Enough to notice the stray thread coming loose from the shoulder of your cardigan. Enough to notice every fleck of colour in your eyes.

Your eyes.

So different.

It wasn't her.

The rational part of his brain tightened the reins of his body, stopping him immediately like an abrupt braking, and he took a step back, almost stumbling backwards, heart hammering in his chest.

If you were her, you wouldn't have made a joke like that. It just wasn't her personality, he reasoned.

And yet, he wished it was. He wished he could mould the two of you together and keep you both with him. Then he forced himself out of his fantasy: the last thing he needed was to lose his grip on reality more than he had on his own life.

He decided to just sort out his ingredients while he waited, trying to stop the blush from spreading across his face.

He didn't look back at you to see your expression.

"Well, it could have been better." He eyed his potion gloomily. It was dark pink and definitely didn't smell like bubblegum, as it should have, not like yours. He glanced at your cauldron, which was filled with bright red liquid: a perfect job. His shoulders slumped.

“Mm, not bad,” said Daphne as soon as she was beside him. “You were supposed to stir five times before adding Leech Juice, not six.”

“I got distracted," he muttered, sending you a glance. You had asked the other boy — whose name was ‘Dean’ as he heard you say more times than he can count (you had only said his name twice, but it was twice too much for Sebastian’s taste) — to grab you a pair of Billywig stings that were drying in a basket beside him and that you couldn’t reach yourself. You could’ve asked him. He had some spare stings as well — maybe not as many as Dean, he admitted, but enough for both of you.

“Right, right, by your ‘not-crush’ and her… ‘yes-crush’?”

“She doesn’t have a crush.”

“Right, she doesn’t. And it’s definitely not requited either,” Daphne remarked sarcastically, looking at you and the boy chatting merrily. Sebastian thought he might throw up in his cauldron and create a whole different brew altogether.

“Just because they’re chatting doesn’t mean there are romantic feelings involved.” He stirred the potion again in frustration, and the mixture turned purple. He cringed. Thank Merlin, he had already filled a phial to hand Professor Snape.

“Come on, I’ve been in this school longer than you, and everyone knows something is going on between her and Thomas. They’ve been at it since last year.”

“She called him ‘Dean’ before.” He frowned, his stomach churning painfully. Maybe you hadn’t asked him for his Billywig stings because he had eaten them without realising.

“Yes, Dean Thomas,” the blonde rolled her eyes. “You should’ve seen the look on his face when you got close to her to ‘look at her watch’.”

“I was really looking at the watch.”

“Yeah, well. It was priceless either way.”

He felt a wave of pride strike from inside him, but he forced it back down almost immediately. Sebastian wasn’t here to date, and if you and Dean Thomas had something going on, then so be it. He didn’t care, anyway. He didn’t care that you had just lightly punched the boy’s arm, laughing at something he had said (Was he that funny?), or that he had asked you if you could study together this evening (So graceful), or that you had said ‘Yes’ and he had told you to meet him in the Library (That was his brand).

Sebastian had promised himself to stay away from you, and that’s exactly what he was planning to do.

But he had also promised himself to catch up on his studies, so how bad could it be if he ‘followed’ you there?

And the Library was a public place, open to any student, so how bad could it be if he accidentally sat near your table? Or at it?

“Please, don’t.” Daphne’s voice brought him back.

“Don’t what?”

“Follow her to the Library tonight. That would be pathetic. And stop staring , it’s creepy.”

Sebastian just wanted Daphne to stop walking around him and hitting all the right spots. Was she a Legilimens or what?

“I—I wasn’t planning to.” His face flushed with his lie, and he sighed deeply again. “I just... I mean, I need to study too. And I wasn’t staring.”

Daphne sighed, dropping the subject. He suspected she thought it was no use arguing with him. He was actually glad for that reasoning.

"Come on. We still have another hour to go through. Try to pay attention.” She said tiredly.

You had left the class with the Gryffindor that day, leaving Sebastian absolutely fuming like his messed up potion he had half a mind to dump into Dean's morning pumpkin juice.

[Read more]

Taglist:

@lovely-maryj @yuzuhasbae @mosf13 @rbfacee @prichuchan-blog @h0neeyy @lina-prongs @moonlightsolo @ninicol @gayandfairycore @nanako-sakura @epicy0n @shiro-from-cafeberry  @pugsnotdrugs92  @cappsikle  @peacedreamer14

(I'm still having trouble tagging some of you, sorry :( )

[valyrou]

Kinda weird idea but fuck it:

How would Reaper react if he found out Moira experimented on his kid? Kid is like, late teens probably said experiments altered their appearance too(just to drive the pain of it home bc angst).

Sorry if this is confusing, hope you have a wonderful day/night!

A/N: Helloo! This is such a great request :000 I loooove it!!! I hope it’s what you asked for. Also I need to get up in 5 hours and I have not slept yet soooo…

Warnings: mention of needles (if there is anything else let me know

Other info: reader is around 16/17

Overwatch

Father!Reaper x Teen!Reader (Platonic)

He would find out about moiras experiments because he happens to walk past her lab and hear your pained screams

When entering the room he would see you unconscious with various of IVs and needles inside your skin

He would be too freaked out to be very angry, but he would be angry with Moira

Lots of blaming on himself… poor you, you didn’t deserve this… not you

Gabriel ears perked up. What was that? The halls would be quiet at this hour of night. There! There it was again! Reyes followed his ears and almost walked past the excruciating screams that came from one door. One very familiar door. Right as he stops Infront of the door of his colleague the screams pick up again, yet the voice cracks right after and then silence. Reyes was so tired he nearly didn’t realize who had been screaming.

As soon as it dawned on him he swung the doors open „What are you doing Moira!“ the Reaper himself spoke up, voice loud and demanding an answer from the scientist „Experimenting“ was all he got back. Reaper hurried close, looking at his poor child. That mad women had somehow turned your whole right arm a Transparent white, almost ghost like „You Dare to put your hands on them!?“ his voice was venomous and dripping with anger

His angered Look would have killed at least 10 of his men, yet Moira looked emotionless „you offered me your body, theirs should be no exception. Don’t you see what I created, a little more testing and they might bring us just what we need!“ Moira sounded excited and Reyes stomach turned in disgust. He looked away, turning his back to the female ginger while getting his only child, the only human he was capable of loving of the needles.

As gentle as he could, did he remove what caused the altering of your right arm, only then did he realize that your left arm, that has previously been covered by a cloth, looked alike to your right, Transparent and lucid. When every last needle was removed, he carefully picked you up and cradled you in his arms. It didn’t matter to him, how big or how old you were, you would always be his baby and he couldn’t hate himself more, for letting that happen to you.

„This is not over.“ his harsh voice echoed through the lab and hung in the air like a threat. Moira simply sat back in her chair and looked at her files. If Reyes wouldn’t care for you first, he would snap that women’s neck like a twig.. yet he decided otherwise and carried you to his room where he placed you on his bed, tucking you in while pulling a chair to your side and sitting on it. He didn’t sleep that whole night. No he blamed himself for not being there for you enough.. and just how much of a failure of a father he is to you…

He now has to hope that you will forgive him for his mistakes…

[lineffability]

"Angel!" Crowley tries to keep his voice low but barely manages amidst his distress. It is only the image - burned into his mind like the image of Jesus onto toast, according to some people - of Gabriel, wrapped in a blanket, sitting in the next room and smiling-- smiling! Smiling his clueless, stupid, stupid smile that Crowley wants to wipe off his face so badly. Only the alternative, Gabriel not smiling, Gabriel remembering, would be so much worse.

Crowley does not know what to do. He is clueless but angry, and his anger drives him on. Gabriel is dangerous. He is a danger to Aziraphale, and he cannot stay. If only he could get through the angel's thick skull - had experience not been a better teacher, he might have had hope. Nonetheless, he needs to try.

"This is the supreme archangel of all heaven, your former boss, who tried very hard to cast you into hellfire and destroy you - he is not our friend!" he pleads.

Aziraphale has listened intently to his words, but his reply comes immediately and without apprehension. "I don't really think he has any friends."

"Exactly." Yes! Exactly! He does not have any friends because he is not friendly. That's exactly it. They can agree on that, surely.

Aziraphale lifts a finger in agreement, nodding in comprehension. "Yes, exactly."

...or so he thought. Wait-- His brows close in on each other like two long-separated lovers who also happen to be beavers. "...what does your exactly mean? Exa- I feel like your exactly and my exactly are different exactlies."

"Well, he doesn't have any friends, so he needs us!" Aziraphale's hand sweeps between them as if to make his point all the clearer: us, you and me, us together -- but Crowley's disbelief over what the angel just said makes him miss the little word that drowns between them, uncomprehended. He snaps.

"What I need is for him to be nowhere near me, and the precious-" He draws a breath, the word hurts, "peaceful, fragile existence I have carved out for myself here."

But that's not really what he means. Well, it's true, he does not want Gabriel to be near him. But he especially does not want Gabriel to be near him. Near Aziraphale.

He remembers. It was him, his eyes, who watched Gabriel's inconvenienced, annoyed, careless expression as he sent off whom he believed to be Aziraphale, into hellfire, into destruction, into total annihilation. Into nothing. Shut your stupid mouth and die already. Crowley could never forgive him for that.

He knows that, and he also knows that Azirapahle would. Wouldn't he? This was precisely why they were in this conondrum in the first place, because Aziraphale... was good. And forgiving. He saw Gabriel in need and he was prepared to help him, just like that. He forgave everyone like one of those stupid anime heroes he'd been watching, like, like, a goddamned angel. Which is why he, Crowley, couldn't!

It's dirty work, being a demon loving an angel.

Which is why the next words sting, right in the space where non-demons have a heart. Which he doesn't, he doesn't. Does not. Why does it sting?

"I thought we carved it out for ourselves."

Shit.

"So did I!"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

the new trailer has been living in my mind rentfree like Crowley in Azi's bookshop and the possibility of some good angst is making me LIVE and RISE and i decided to WRITE the trailer (bc currently my mind is too broken to function and come up with actual theories, no thoughts head full of ineffability)

[tonydaddingham]

im losing my MIND bUT here you go have some thoughts on the second coming

so we start with the below screenshots from the trailer where we have a statue of gabriel close up holding the crucifix, and then the next shot with beelzebub where there is no cross and instead what looks to be a bundle in its arms (i don't think it's a shadow bc it looks too opaque, too human shaped (think voldemort in goblet of fire lmao) AND the lighting from above on the stone would be more illuminated???)

the clue to where this is in the storyline however is that gabriel looks to be dressed in his lighter coloured heaven clothes, so before he loses his memory/flashback?

so this is presumably where gabriel has arrived on earth to retrieve jesus, possibly tucks him into a pristine moving-day cardboard box (i feel like the 'this way up' is both literal in that one shouldnt hold christ upside down as well as being a direction to deliver it to heaven?)

and given that gabriel heralded the birth of jesus in the first place, its perhaps all hinged on gabriel himself that the second coming happens, ergo if they eradicate gabriel, then there's no second coming, and therefore there's no tilting of the scales to favour heaven in the eventual war that will follow

anyway i reckon there must be a tussle with beelzebub or demons in general in the graveyard because then it seems like beelzebub gets discorporated possibly in the graveyard (hence the marker in the opening sequence) and gets temporarily demoted back in hell for losing gabriel/jesus (leaving a power vacuum for shax???)

update: AYOO @goth-maudra had them eagle EYES and spotted this!!!!

WE SEE YOU SHAX 💅

update 18/07: ayo fucking called it???

but gabriel either gets possessed by jesus (see: funny as fuck) or something just generally happens to him in this fight that makes him lose his memory and possibly lose track of the box, so the whole thing gets all messed up and noone knows where jesus has gotten to... but god sends aziraphale a clue (✨✨A cLuE✨✨) to tracking it down, in the shape of the everyday record and the resurrectionist pub address (lmao is jesus in the JUKEBOX???) on a fucking post-it note

or maybe hell had something to do with gabriel losing his memory (shax? idk but that could be the motive for her getting chummy with crowley in the first place) (i promise I'm not hating on shax my beloved but she SCARES me) in an effort to stall the second coming and now they're trying to retrieve and kill goob to forestall it altogether

but what they didnt count on is a smart, fastidious, nosy lil angel boy sticking his oar in and getting there first, and being a good enough person to hide goob in the first place but i disgress

and beelzebub, knowing that there's a retired angel on earth and gabriel might naturally gravitate towards there, infiltrates the bookshop as a wee fly (funny af in the goob clip of him swatting them with books BUT also the fly is like centre placement in beelzebub's character poster... COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT) and feeds this back to shax, so shax gets chummy with the demon that she replaced 👀👀 and tries to get him to turn on aziraphale and pressure him to luring goob out of the shop so hell can get to him, pressing crowley's Jealousy and Possessiveness buttons to her advantage

now idk how i feel about goob getting lost/leaving the shop and aziraphale has to track him down by going to Edinburgh, ill need to ruminate on this more, but crowley saying 'ooooh hell won't like that' and infiltrating (see: strolling blithely into heaven cosplaying bill nighy in love actually) makes me HOPE that he is still fighting the good fight but something is niggling at me as to why he ends up on the throne in hell and NOT in the bookshop when the demon attack is taking place, that makes me think major angst will happen and crowley ends up inadvertently supporting hell in getting goob and preventing the second coming

sigh now i need to go update my episode timeline how the fUCK do i summarise this

[tippedarrows]

I'm starting GabrielXSoren propaganda, be ready! Tbh I think they are so cute together in a cute cute way. Wandering Warrior? Nah, bro, more like "I'm trying to find my anxious husband who thinks I hate him bc of our mutual friend creating a monster. This dummy has no idea idgaf about that and simply want to be near him every possible second" Imagine Gabriel with his Golden Retriever wet puppy dog auru and kind of awkward Soren. Gabriel being a malewife cooks breakfest and rambls about how he met this fuuny Lucy nieghbore in the grocery store to still a bit sleepy Soren, but then it's evening and Soren's rambles about how he discovered this new thing about endermen to kind of sleepy Gabriel.

Soren being always so loud about how good, caring, gentle, special, perfect Gabriel are, he write song and poems to him, meanwhile Gabriel show affection through action like bringing Soren snacks and water while he works, picking him up to bed, keaping their place perfectly clean.

And imagine how angst maretial this pair is! They both blame themself for the whole WitherStorm thing and try to convince the other it's not his fault. Soren is to scared to try and reconnect with others meanwhile Gabriel struggles being calm outside because he feels like everyone talks about him and how much of a failure he is.

Both are hurt by the same thing and both tries to cheer each other up and give all the love they can.

My most funny thought is that those lovebirds accidentally propose to each other at the same time.

Ifdjaiodfj I love them both<3

Fufkk oh my God old Man Yaoiiiiii

christ on a stick this was amazing to read directly after waking up for a 4th time. I keep reading it

thank you.

hank youdhsooomuch

[kalolasfantasyworld]

Welcome!

Just ART BLOG

Multi fandom blog (Vox Machina, Klance ❤️💙 IwaOi 🩵🩵, Miraculous ❤️💚 and others)

My Ao3

My twitter, although I'm more active here

My Instagram with only chosen arts

My Tik Tok with animatics

Hi! My name is Lola.

This blog was set up to be my creative outlet, where I post my art, links to my writing and since I got to know some amazing people around here I interact with them ^^.

I'm a writer and an artist, both are very important to me.

This is mostly a Black Clover blog. I tend to circle around the Silva family (if my background art wasn't enough), but I love all of BC. 💕

I may organise events and then I could take requests. However I save myself the right to decline if I don't feel comfortable with a request.

One main rule: I don't tolerate hate here! No ship wars! No offending anyone! No toxic behavior! Let's be nice to each other and happy in our fandom.

I'm a multi shipper, AUs and OC enjoyer. Simply a dreamer 🫶

My ask box is open ^^ If you wish to know anything just ask

My main BC OC is Helena, who you see on the right of my header (her profile below) and she is shipped with Nozel. Below link to the canon compliant fan fiction about them.

👩‍💻 Writing

❤️ 💙 Paper Hearts BC universe - collection of works on Ao3 happening in the PH BC universe (collabs included)

Paper hearts -> Nozel x OC Helena fanfiction on Ao3, Wattpad

Paper Hearts explanation

Birdies (Silva next gens) one shots Ao3 1 2 3 4 5 6

Nozel is a closeted perv NSFW Ao3 1

⛸️ 🏒 Let's Puck Our Limits -> Asta x Noelle Black Bulls fanfic Cover Ao3 Wattpad

🏥 Against our own -> Nozel & Noelle & Nebra & Solid hospital heavy angst

KaLola BC Ships - Masterlist, Ao3

Excerpt ask game masterlist

⭐️ My Black Clover OCs

Character profiles:

Drazels: Helena, Luciana, awaiting an art and a profile: Gabriel, Maxim, Cecilia, Camilla, Patricia, Mateo and Antonio -> they will get a joint profile

The birdies (next gens): Natalia, Heinry and Noureen

Music witch (next gen): Hermione

Capital healers: Eric, Dina

Reference sheets:

Helena, Gabriel, Heinry, Noureen, Natalia

🎨 Some more memorable art:

Illustrations for some (let's say probably all after 14😂) chapters of #Paper Hearts (my fanfic) -> masterlist

cover 1 2 5 6 7 7.1 7.2 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 18.2 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 29.2 30 30.2 31 31.2 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

#KaLola BC Ships art series masterlist

OC portraits season 1

❤️Cute Nozelena💙 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 tango!

💕