#dora by phoenix

[dorabyphoenix]

[duusheen]

News travels fast

[hpseeker99]

Kingsley: Well, thank you, Tonks. Kingsley: You’re right. No matter what happens, we’ll feel better knowing we didn’t resort to blackmail. Tonks: I agree. Tonks: From now on, the only black male I want anything to do with is you. Kingsley: Kingsley: That was incredibly inappropriate.

[dracolizardlars]

...I just pulled a t shirt out of my drawer and a brown object tumbled out onto the carpet. I picked it up. It was a snail.

A juvenile Giant African Land Snail, not an albino, just a standard one with a brown shell and a grey body.

...Her name is Dora. I raised her from a day old hatchling. I cried when I got back from a week long holiday, three weeks ago, and she was gone.

I think she's still alive.

Holy fucking shit.

[radiance1]

I love the idea of ghost being dragons or supernatural creatures

Story idea I have is every dose it's like a different type of supernatural creature along with being a ghost they all have piece of jewelry like Dora's Amulet more easier for the switch between their supernatural form and ghost form

Of course Danny is a Kitsune what his piece of jewelry being like a bracelet or a pair of earrings that help him easily transform into his fox form or when he's not wearing them be stuck in his Kitsune form

Danny joints Justice League either Justice League dark or Young Justice and they have no idea about ghost being supernatural beings like dragons or Kitsune or even phoenixes

So they end up getting their hands and a piece of jewelry the idea is when a human puts on a piece of ghost jewelry whatever supernatural entity that ghost days the human turns into and gets side effects from it

Red Robin is now suffering side effects from wearing the gifts jewelry and phantom strain to help control it

After the idea of Danny chewing out Batman or red Robin for being nosy in messing with things shouldn't touch now red Robin is stuck with a pair of dragon wings and claws or a tail and a pair of fox ear

But the idea of Augustus being like different types of supernatural animals will also be ghosts like self-funding me

Like Ember being of Phoenix

Johnny and Kitty being spinks

A ghost like Young blood being a centaur

Cujo actually being at the type of Cerberus

Skulker being a type of Jackalope wearing wolf clothing

Shout out to everyone who's given the idea of ghosts being supernatural animal creatures

Not gonna lie this is kinda funny considering the fact there's a running theme of Vlad being a Pheonix in my ideas LAWL

Also, I love the image of Danny chewing the absolute fuck out of Batman or Red Robin for doing something so stupid. Even funnier if Red Robin totally never told Batman of this fact.

So then Red Robin would get chewed out and have to deal with Batman's disapproving gaze from behind him.

Kitsune Danny my new beloved. Help wait, would Danny be gesturing at shit and Red Robin while chewing him out with his tails? Just for an added layer of "You fucked up" or something?

[sheepinthebigcity]

you know what. let's make a poll with some of the nominated women that weren't valid nominations bc i like a lot of them and all them were beaten to the punch by sexymen...

All of these women were not eligible to be nominated because someone from their show was already on sexypedia, meaning the role of sexyperson was taken.

If you'd like to nominate someone GO HERE! Make sure to read the rules! I'm looking for some really obscure characters for this one!!!

Propaganda under the cut, of course!!!

Aviva Corvicado (Beaten out by Zach Varmitech): "Her inventions were so cool... literally everyone on the tortuga would be absolutely fucked without her. She's so badass. She could beat any of the other characters in a fight."

Ms. Bellum (Beaten out by HIM, Ace, Professor Utonium, and Dick Hardly): "She is sexy herself. She's the brains behind the man. She's got legs for days. Somehow, never seeing her face makes her even SEXIER."

Spider (Beaten out by Centipede): "If this thing is getting scorned by the furry/vampire enthusiast/milf enthusiast website I'll eat my hat. Her boyfriend is even on sexypedia while she somehow isn't. She's even Fr*nch."

Splatter Phoenix (Beaten out by Quackerjack, Darkwing Duck, Negaduck, and Steelbeak): "She's a punk artist with dyed hair, a leather jacket and big boots. Tumblr loves that! She's also made of paint which is cool. She can turn anything she paints alive or change the real world by painting it. She was one of few returning villains in the show (she got two episodes instead of one like most characters). She is a villain as well and one of the more successful ones. I just think she's really cool okay"

Maddie Fenton (Beaten out by Vlad Masters): "first milf i ever loved 😭😢"

Carmen Sandiego (Beaten out by Mime Bomb): "she is cool, hot, succeeds in taking down a criminal organization and can be a little cringe at times i love her"

Catherine (Beaten out by Judgment Boy, Hell's Chef, and Dr. Fritz) and Dora Smarmy (Beaten out by Sketch and Jumpin' Johnny Jumble) have no propaganda.

[mrsnerdygirl]

I have heard about a million times , people saying that , Bellatrix only liked Voldemort because of his power, and Voldemort only slept with Bella because of her looks.

I don’t agree with this, because I think it brings down their relationship , and why it is so beautiful to me . For starters when you speak about looks , and lord Voldemort together, it immediately makes ZERO sense. Of course he was VERY attractive when he was young but that doesn’t mean that he made a person, a death eater because they were hot . Voldemort saw as important, skills and power , and blood pureness , not the way people looked.

I have this headcannon , that while sure he did find Bella attractive all the time , she was the MOST beautiful to him, when she tortured or killed people for him .

Growing up , Voldemort never had anyone do something for him , simply because they loved him . I mean his friends followed his commands in school because they wanted to be feared and successful , not because they loved him or appreciated him as a friend. His death eaters committed crimes because they wanted to , and because they feared saying no . Bellatrix did everything because she had the same interest as him , and she killed her cousin and niece and stopped talking to her sister , to show how little everyone else mattered to her , when it came to him .

Also , when Bellatrix came back from Azkaban and when Voldemort came back more beast than human , everyone was scared to look at him , but Bellatrix kept loving him and didn’t shy away . Which means that looks were never an issue .

On the other hand , when it comes to power , while I’m sure that the first think Bella appreciated about Voldemort was his power , I don’t think she was with him because of it . She wanted power , and she became a death eater for it ,but I doubt she only was with him because of it . I mean she did so much for him , she went crazy when he left , proudly announced she was a death eater , she left her sister behind ,who she clearly loves so dearly , all for power?

I mean I’m sure that every other death eater was there for power , like luscius , the carrows etc., but they all denied, denied, denied , while Bella didn’t hesitate once.

She fought in the battle , while she was still weak from giving birth , which no other person would have done(accept of her niece, which shows exactly how the blacks are).

Also there are situations throughout the book that show the connection they had . In “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” , when Harry broke the prophecy, and he was fighting against Bella , Voldemort came and took Bella away the moment the situation heated up . He knew that his fight with Dumbledore wouldn’t be a children’s play, as well as knew that the ministry would soon arrive and while they wouldn’t be able to catch him, they could catch Bella. And he was right , the ministry came , they saw him , but didn’t manage to trap Voldemort . They did catch up to the Death Eaters though, which resulted into them being thrown in Azkaban .

In the deathly hallows, we see that Voldemort had learnt about Dora's marriage and that was clearly not good about Bellatrix or the Malfoys, but while he makes fun in general of the family, the moment he sees that Bellatrix was getting embarrassed and that they were making fun of her, he stopped the other Death Eaters.

When Voldemort faints after he hits harry with the killing curse, only Bellatrix dares to go near him, while everyone tried to get away as far as possible.

When Bella gets hit by the killing curse,he screams. He didnt have such a dramatic reaction for any of his death eaters. We actually see that he gets THAT mad only when something important gets destroyed. He clearly stops acting as if the battle is a fun game, and tries to wipe away molly. He could kill 3 important people to the order of the phoenix, but choses instead to kill molly, who wasnt important at all.

Now, i know that most people see villains as people who arent capable of having any feelings towards human beings. But villains are actually as human as any other person, and compared to the heros who are always sacrificing themselves and moving on fast, villains go through events more dramatically, for longer periods of time, much like any other human being. After all, any normal person sees a hero, and admires their courage to be strong, knowing that they could never do it.

Voldemort does have feelings though, as much as any other person. While he killed people brutally, and never felt live as a child, it doesnt mean he didnt feel love or any other emotion.

So to understand better here is an example, in deathly hallows, when harry goes inside of Hogwarts while under the invisibility clock, he sees that Ginny , his lover, nearly dies, and that maked him change his plans fully. Instead of charging towards Voldemort, he turns to Bellatrix Lestrange to make sure that she wont harm Ginny, because the thought of her getting injured or worse dieing makes him want to burst .

When Molly kills Bellatrix, Voldemort changes his plans, and turns in Molly's direction to take revenge for her.

I think that this must have helped most people to understand that, what Voldemort amd Bellatrix had wasnt just a fling, and that it actually was the closest to true love those two had come across.

[anthurak]

So I was listening to the Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress OST earlier and a random thought came to me:

You know what my Yugioh 'Crystal Wind Rin' AU needs, and really Yugioh ARC-V in general needed for it's Heartland/Xyz Dimension arc?

Alternate universe Anna Kozuki/Kaboom as a grizzled, badass resistance leader, obviously with a cool trenchcoat and possibly an eyepatch.

Who is always keeping many of the survivors and refugees of Heartland City safe from the Academia occupation forces by ferrying them around or out of the city with her fleet of train monsters.

All while being a constant thorn in Academia's side, both with hit-and-run attacks using her speedy combat trains...

...and also routinely bombarding Academia forces from afar with her Superdreadnought Rail Cannons, both her Gustav Max and her new Number 81; Super Dora.

Of course, Anna is a major help to the Lancers and other heroes when they arrive in Heartland, in contrast to gloomy/irritable/trigger-happy edgelord Kite, and is their main contact, along with Yuto and Shay, with the resistance.

She also makes a BIG presence in the big fight with Academia forces at the climax of the arc, joining into a Battle Royal/Group Duel against several elite Obelisk Force members and possibly even Aster Phoenix himself, despite not actually being present at the battle.

How does you do this you ask? Why, by unveiling her NEW ace-monster...

Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Juggernaut Liebe

Which Anna uses to utterly obliterate like five or six Chaos Ancient Gear Giants in quick succession from a couple dozen kilometers away.

Also Anna makes a later appearance at the final battle as one of the heavy hitters who all come together to blast Supreme King Z-ARC away for good.

Also also I'm trying to come up with an excuse for her to be involved in a turbo duel where she says 'fuck your motorcycles' and duels from one of her trains XD

[locatislunaticolupin]

RIP my dumb ass because I do like talking about that scene in Deathly Hallows, so here's a different post about it.

What's interesting about Remus leaving Dora (or "his pregnant wife", since people like to rob Dora of her humanity and name) isn't the shallow moralizing the fandom likes to do. Doing that makes that scene easier to understand for people who don't like engaging with their own weaknesses or failures, and I understand flattening complex scenes and characters is what fandom does, but it still grinds my gears that that's how fandoms dedicated to books pretend to win arguments.

I was a kid once too, I felt betrayed by him in that scene too. What that storyline forced me to do was try to understand what could lead a person like him to make a bad decision like that. Older now, I don't pretend to excuse him of his wrongdoings, but that scene did force me once, and forces me again now, to genuinely engage with the complexities of not only Remus, but Dora and Harry. It's not a scene that exists in a vacuum: it's the culmination of a lot of different storylines, from Remus' marginalization to Dora's desperation to Harry's relationship with family and the past (and I'm absolutely not engaging with all of that here. These are the cliff notes at best of some of that stuff).

Remus leaves Dora and his unborn child because he hates himself so much that he genuinely thinks that's the kind thing to do. He's not running away from conflict (he's running straight at it, actually), he's not scared of raising a kid: he genuinely thinks staying means he'll destroy their lives, just like his own life was destroyed.

Ever since then, taking himself out of the equation has been how he fixes things: his family used to move around a lot so people wouldn't suspect them and he resigns from the DADA position because staying would land Dumbledore and the school into trouble. He's not running from confrontation, he's thinking his mere existance is bringing trouble to those he loves and attempt to help him. When he's avoiding confrontation (with Dumbledore or his friends), he does it because he doesn't want to lose their love. However, he's under no illusions that Dora won't be angry at him for doing this. He's not expecting to keep Dora's love. He's expecting to make her life better. Engaging with those contradictory ideas is way more interesting than being comfortable with surface-level, easy to digest analysis.

We can compare Remus' decision to Harry himself, who attempts to run away from his loved ones whenever he thinks he'll bring harm to them. He tries to leave everyone behind in Order of the Phoenix, later on he tries to leave Ginny, he doesn't even want to take Ron and Hermione with him in Deathly Hallows. That doesn't make him any less brave or good: we understand that he genuinely thinks that's the best way of protecting the people he loves.

Harry's reaction when he finds out about Remus' decision is very much the same one as the reader's: anger and disappointment. That's one of the themes of the book: in the process of becoming an adult, a child will (even must) be disappointed by the adults he knows. He'll find out they're not perfect, that they can't protect him, that they'll make bad decisions. Dumbledore is the biggest example of this, but we also have Harry realizing Sirius was deeply flawed, just like he'd found out before that James was as well. I could write a whole aside about Severus and Peter and how Harry walks the opposite path with them. Realizing that people aren't completely good or completely evil is a big part of the saga.

So Harry calls Remus out, just like any friend of Remus would have. What he says has more to do with Harry himself than Remus (what Harry values, what has hurt him up to that point. He even talks shit about Sirius), but it gets Remus to react and pushes him back on the right track because Harry's forcing him to see how his actions are really affecting others. It's not better just because he's not there. Harry gets Remus out of his self-hating, spiraling thoughts.

Remus is so thankful and appreciative of it that he names him godfather. He's thankful he was called out on his flaws and mistakes, and he goes out of his way to fix them. We see him being a dad, we see it makes him deliriously happy. He dies with his son's baby pictures in his pocket. It's the first thing Harry says to him when he brings him back with the Resurrection Stone. For them, that scene is a breaking point: not only does Harry go through a milestone towards becoming an adult, but he's also seen as one by one of his mentors. Remus is the only one of that friendship group that gets to see Harry as an equal, as an adult.

I don't think I've said anything controversial up to this point, so here it goes, because I absolutely adore Dora, but I rarely see people honestly and genuinely engaging with her character.

Remus and Dora got together under pressure from the war, their friends, Dora herself and the desperation born from Dumbledore's death. Remus' concerns (he's too poor, too old, too dangerous) are all legitimate, both in the sense that they're real and that they could prove to be significant obstacles in a relationship, but they're brushed aside when they get together by both Dora and the Weasleys. They're all well-meaning and supportive, of course. Molly had brought up before that her own marriage was born from the desperation of war, so it makes sense that she'd be so supportive and encouraging of them. What they can't quite see, however, is that Remus' life is getting harder by the minute: discrimination against werewolves is at an all-time high due to the war, both because of Greyback and because of the Ministry (Umbridge's law that makes Remus' life harder was put in place after Severus outed Remus in Prisoner of Azkaban. Chances are there's a correlation there). Dora's life becoming harder because of her relationship with a widely-known werewolf isn't a far-off posibility born from Remus' trauma and low self-esteem, it's a real thing.

So when Dora begs him to understand that she loves him, she's not quite grasping that that's not the problem (or at least not the whole problem): the problem is that love's not enough to make a relationship work, especially in such a hard context. Ultimately, what we get as to why he changes his mind are Arthur's words:

“But she wants you,” said Mr. Weasley, with a small smile. “And after all, Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily remain so.”

(with a little push from McGonagall's after).

"But she wants you" is Arthur pointing out that Dora's her own person and she's making her own decision. She's an adult and she's choosing this. Remus' objections aren't acknowledged, and are therefore still there, still a problem, but he can't choose for her. People making their own decisions and dealing with the consequences is also a big part of the saga, so alright, the relationship's a go. They're both choosing this. Remus can understand that (and part of what he likes about Dora is that she's a daredevil).

A big criticism of their relationship is that Remus was "pushed into it". I don't think he was: he's clearly interested in Dora and he wants to date her. What was pushed aside were his concerns: in the middle of a war, neither Dora nor the Weasleys want them to lose time or even the opportunity to be together when they don't know if they'll still be alive in a week. So Remus' fears were never laid to rest and, on top of it, the relationship developed fast. According to Pottermore, they were never together before that hospital scene, so in less than a year we go from a reluctant/concerned Remus to a kid.

Once Dora gets pregnant, the situation changes: that child isn't choosing his parents or the life he's being born into. All of Remus' concerns, which were never acknowledged or put to rest, arise with even more force than before. The lack of acknowledgment of his well-founded fears was part of why his reaction's so big and so cruel. He's alone in his understanding of what being a werewolf and living with a werewolf really entails. He couldn't prepare with Dora or the Weasleys about it. If past experiences are anything to go by, they won't acknowledge that being with a werewolf does bring drawbacks to someone's life, and he can't do that to a child.

Of course it's Harry's perspective that makes him "see the light". Harry's talking from the point of view of an orphan of war, he's paralleled to Teddy at the end of the book. Harry, in that moment, can be seen as Remus' son talking to him if he goes down that path. Of course Remus goes back to him. Of course he faces his biggest fears and goes back.

[periwinkla]

AJ 4-2 dialogue - examining the dragon

This is dialogue you get by examining the dragon painted in front of the Kitakis' house. I found it interesting as it gives us a glimpse of Apollo's character and his state of mind at that point in time. I wondered if there was some additional meaning in the original JP since Phoenix's JP name (Ryuuichi) has the character for dragon (ryuu). But it's actually not the case (will elaborate later). ENG version:

A colorful dragon turns its baleful gaze in my direction. As if to say, "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." Don't worry, Mr. Dragon. Me and hope haven't been on speaking terms for a while.

I thought this referenced the fact Apollo 'entered' the Agency. That it was a metaphor: the 'dragon' (Phoenix) saying Apollo 'should abandon all hope' if he wanted to 'enter', and Apollo thinking that it didn't matter anyway as Apollo and hope 'haven't been on speaking terms for a while'. But... in the JP version, Apollo uses the term 'doragon' instead of 'ryuu'. The JP version is quite different in meaning, here it is with direct translation:

カラフルなドラゴンが こちらをニラんでいる。 Karafuru na doragon ga kochira o nirande iru. A colorful dragon is glaring in this direction. 一目で、フツウのウチ じゃないコトがわかる。 Hitome de, futsuu no uchi ja nai koto ga wakaru. At a glance, you can tell this is not an ordinary house. ‥‥よく見ると、目が キツネみたいにつりあがってるぞ。 ...Yoku miru to, me ga kitsune mitai ni tsuriagatteru zo. Looking at it better, the eyes slant upward like a fox's.

That said, this could still be a reference to his current situation. Apollo can see, at a glance, that the Agency is 'not an ordinary house' as well, and, now that he can 'look at it better', he can see Ryuuichi's eyes 'slant upward like a fox's', that is to say, he's not quite as righteous as he thought before actually meeting him. Note that foxes play both good and bad roles in Japanese culture. They're often portrayed as mischievous, deceitful, known for their trickery, sometimes even dangerous creatures, but they can be messengers or protectors as well (Inari's foxes). Maybe the ENG version changed it for this very reason. The message wouldn't have been understood to a western audience, especially at the time of AA4's release. Otherwise, I wouldn't really see a reason to change this dialogue at all, since the fox thing is already a Kitaki thing: it makes sense that the dragon may resemble a fox. Why change it, if the message would have been understood anyway? Why add the 'Don't worry, Mr. Dragon. Me and hope haven't been on speaking terms for a while.' ? It's a completely different message. A message that tells us Apollo was impacted greatly by recent happenings, happenings caused by Phoenix.*

About the 'doragon'... I found it odd that he used the term ドラゴン doragon, instead of 竜 ryuu, which is the proper Japanese term. It's especially curious since the mural depicts an Eastern dragon, so I'm quite puzzled as to why they choose ドラゴン instead. But I researched. Something I learned is that どら ('dora', written in hiragana - while 'doragon' is written in katakana) can mean 'loafing, lazy, indolent, profligate, debauched'. So, hm... debauched? 'morally corrupt', then? Which is the way Apollo may see Phoenix at this point in time (it also fits with the KItakis, of course) So I wonder if that is connected. I don't know Japanese well enough to know if a Japanese person might have intended it as such, though. Maybe someone who knows better can examine this more properly. If so, please feel free to add to the discussion.

*SOJ SPOILER note: I don't think it's referencing to Apollo's past as SOJ was released much later, although of course I can't be sure it wasn't already in the mind of the developers... it could very well have been, so maybe it's both.

[duusheen]

So Sterling took Hope home to "meet" his kids. At first, she was nervous, but as soon as she saw them, she knew exactly who they were 😭 Things went pretty well with Phoenix, they were both happy to see each other, but Pandora kept her distance and wanted nothing to do with Hope after that first surprise hug 😔

[hpseeker99]

Mad-Eye: Can you perform under pressure? Tonks: No but I could take a stab at ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

[dracolizardlars]

Ok I don't have the time or inclination to dig through the soil to find the other two right now but here's a quick picture of the two I could easily grab right now

You can actually tell they're giant african land snails now! Orange-brown with swirls!

I love my snails so much and they're so cute, I wish they were easier to photograph but the combination of them living in a plastic box and the fact they're mostly nocturnal means I don't even bother trying to get pictures any more. But last night two of them dipped their heads into a plastic dish that had a bit of water on it and were drinking like gazelles at watering hole and it was adorable, I'm going to keep a bottle cap in their tank full time for them to sippy sip out of now

Also they're just beginning to develop their adult colours now and I will definitely get them out of their tank to get photos of that soon!

[samynnad102687]

Don't Lie To Me

@struttingstag April 2nd Prompt: Don't lie to me. | 2161 words

It was the fourth day this week that James received a text from Regulus, letting him know that he would be out when James got home from work. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but he had been secretive lately. Regulus had been hiding his phone when he got a text or quickly got off of it when James walked into the room.

James didn't know what to think anymore. It felt like Regulus was pulling away from him and James couldn't help but think that he was doing something wrong or Regulus didn't love him anymore and didn't know how to tell him. James figured if anybody knew what Regulus was up to, it would be Pandora.

"Hello, James," Pandora said sweetly when she answered on the second ring.

"Hey."

"What's up? You sound stressed."

Great! One word and she already knew he wasn't in his usually happy mood.

"Nothing. I was just wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee or something," James lied.

"Sure. Do you want to meet now?" Pandora asked with a hint that she didn't believe him in her tone.

"Yeah. Meet at The Phoenix?"

"Sounds good. I'll meet you there in ten."

"Okay."

James hung up the phone and put it in his pocket before he grabbed his coat and put on his trainers. The Phoenix was only a couple of streets over, so he figured that he would walk. Maybe that would clear his head some before he got there. Right as he went to open the door, it opened from the other side and Regulus was walking in as if he wasn't causing James to doubt everything Regulus ever felt for him.

"Oh, hey, baby," Regulus said with a smile before he leaned up to kiss James on the lips. "Are you heading out?"

"Yeah. I'm going to grab coffee with Pandora," James replied without thinking about it.

"Okay. Have fun," Regulus replied nonchalantly before he took off his coat and boots and put them on their respective racks. "Did you want to cook tonight or should we order takeaway?"

"It doesn't matter to me," James shrugged as he tried not to snap at him. His nonchalance was not helping James' anxiety. "Did you have fun with..." James just now realised that he didn't know who Regulus had been with.

"Barty, and not really. He's being annoying but it's Barty so that's to be expected," Regulus replied with a shrug of his own as he grabbed his book off of the table and plopped down on the couch, pulling one leg up under the other.

"Oh. Okay." James tried to sound unbothered but the raised eyebrow he received from Regulus told him that he missed the mark tremendously.

"Are you okay, Jamie?" Regulus asked, putting his book back on the table.

James nodded quickly before Regulus could fully get off the couch. "Yeah, I'm fine, just have to go meet Dora. It's been a while since I hung out with her."

James had a hand on the handle practically ready to bolt from the house instead of confronting Regulus about what had been going on. He wasn't ready to deal with it. Not until he had all of the facts or at least was able to talk out what was bothering him with someone that wasn't Regulus. Yes, James knew that was counterproductive but he didn't want to hear Regulus confirm that he didn't love him anymore.

"Okay," Regulus said sceptically but settled back down on the couch with his book anyway. "I'll see you later. Tell Dora hi for me."

"Will do."

James opened the door before the words were even out of his mouth and he ran down the street to The Phoenix. He had to take a few deep breaths to slow down his breathing before he walked in otherwise Pandora would really know that something was wrong and with how James was feeling, he would probably burst into tears as soon as he opened his mouth.

Once he had calmed down, he opened the door and spotted Pandora at a table with two drinks in front of her already. She waved him over when she noticed him enter the building, considering the bell announced his arrival. James took another deep breath and walked over to her. She slid one of the drinks to him and he nodded his thanks before sitting across from her.

"What's going on, James?" Pandora asked as soon as he was settled.

"I don't know," James replied honestly.

He hated that he didn't know what was going on and his feelings and mind were running rampant inside his body. He couldn't make heads or tails of it. James sighed and took a sip of his coffee. It was his usual order. He tried to figure out what to say but before he could, Pandora spoke again.

"Are you worried about Reggie?"

James didn't know what to say to that. Yes, no, maybe? He was worried but not about Regulus specifically. He was worried that he wasn't good enough for him anymore but how does he tell her that? James knew that he wanted to talk things out but he didn't know how to start.

"No, I- yes, I-" James started but he kept cutting himself off and that was stressing him out even more. "Maybe. I don't know."

"I wouldn't worry about him," Pandora replied sweetly before she took a sip of her drink.

"It's not... I'm not... I'm not necessarily worried about him... just. I don't know." James took a breath. "I just feel like he's pulling away from me and I don't know why. Am I not good enough for him anymore?"

"Reg loves you very much, James and you two are perfect for each other," Pandora said firmly as she stared him in the eye. It was as if she was trying to look into his soul.

"Then why has he been so secretive lately?" James whined.

Pandora told him that she didn't know why but it wasn't anything he needed to worry about. Regulus would go through phases when he was younger when he was too far in his own head to realise that there was a world around him. James knew that. He had seen it multiple times in the past but he thought Regulus knew he could talk to him about anything. So why was he being so secretive now?

James left the coffee shop a little while later but didn't feel any better than he did when he arrived. He took the long way home and didn't even notice if Regulus was still on the couch when he walked into the house. James took off his trainers and coat before he walked to the bedroom and shut the door. He needed to be alone and hopefully, he could figure out what the hell had been going on.

There was a knock at the door before Regulus' soft voice came from the other side. "Jamie? Are you in there?"

James didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say so he just sat on the bed and stared at the wall for who knows how long. Eventually, the door opened and James was sure that Regulus had come in but he couldn't see anything through the tears that had started to blur his vision even though none of them had fallen.

"James?" Regulus put his hand on James' shoulder and James flinched back without realising that he was there. "I'm sorry, baby."

"It's fine. I'm fine." James choked out past the lump in his throat.

"No, you're not," Regulus said gently and James snapped his head up to look at him. He was about to tell him that he was fine again but Regulus kept speaking. "You've been in here for an hour. You didn't even notice me when you came home."

James didn't want to have this talk right now. He could feel himself unravelling and he didn't want to do something to make Regulus leave any sooner than he was already planning to, if that was what he was planning. Regulus kept looking at him like he didn't know how to approach him anymore. James was not a wild animal that you needed to be cautious around. James could see the wheels turning in Regulus' mind. He knew something was wrong but James was not ready. His anger started to boil over, so when Regulus opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, James snapped.

"I said, I'm fine."

James scooted off the bed and started to pace beside it. Regulus was watching him. James could feel it. He could feel his confusion and he wondered if Regulus could feel James' confusion about everything as well. James didn't know how long he paced back and forth in front of their shared bed but it was apparently long enough for his anger to get the better of him.

"You're stressing and spiralling. What is going on?" Regulus asked calmly but it didn't matter how he said it, James was too wound up to respond accordingly.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" James shouted and he could see the slight flinch from Regulus from where he still sat on the bed.

"I don't know, James. You're not talking to me." Regulus raised his voice slightly as he stood up but he didn't come any closer to James.

"When am I supposed to talk to you? You're never home. You're always out fucking around with Barty. If you wanted to dump me, just do it already."

Regulus' face fell in shock and confusion. "I- what? Why would I want to dump you? James, I love you."

"Don't lie to me! You've been pulling away from me for weeks, too busy hanging out with Barty," James spat his name out as if it burned him to even have the name on his tongue. "You've been keeping secrets and hiding your phone anytime I walk into the room. I get it, okay. I'm too much and you finally realised it but could you just do us both the courtesy of not dragging this out? It's draining and I can't take it anymore."

Regulus stepped into James' space with determination. He grabbed onto James' arms to turn him towards him before he spoke again. James could see the hurt swimming in his stormy grey eyes. James wanted to step back but there was something else in his eyes that held James in place.

"James, I need you to listen to me. You are not too much. You have never been too much for me. I love you with everything that I am and I'm sorry that I made you think I was keeping something from you. I thought I was doing a better job of it but it's not what you think. I swear. There is nothing going on with Barty. He is being more annoying lately because he misses Evan and we have been helping each other out." James scoffed but didn't say anything. "I swear I- look at me, Jamie." James did instantly. It was a habit by now. "I have been hiding something and I had hoped that I could keep it a surprise until it was time but clearly I couldn't."

Regulus let go of James and walked into their closet. James stood frozen where Regulus left him. He was confused and didn't know what to think anymore. He was just about to get his legs to start working again when Regulus walked back into their bedroom. He was holding something but James couldn't make out what it was. Regulus took James' hand and led him back to the bed, sitting him down before Regulus placed himself in between James' legs.

"Jamie, I love you. You can be a handful sometimes but it is one of the many things that I love about you. You keep me on my toes and I would never change a single thing about you. Yes, I have been hanging out with Barty recently but that's because he was helping me plan."

James gave him a confused look but Regulus started to leave soft kisses all over his face. "Jamie, there is nothing in this world or the next that I would rather do than be with you."

James looked into his eyes to see if there was any form of deceit, but nothing except honesty was swimming in the stormy irises. James got lost in them and would have missed the question entirely if Regulus' gentle laugh hadn't drawn him back into himself.

"Will you marry me?" Regulus asked and James realised that he was down on one knee in front of him with a black velvet ring box opened in his hands with a hopeful look on his face.

James nodded dumbly and whispered, "Yes."

James learned not to doubt his fiance's love for him ever again after that. 

*Also on Ao3: What's In A Secret?