#figuring out how i wanna draw chosen is

[amarioe]

Got inspired by @kiruyeen's drawing a while back :]

Decided to mess around with long haired chosen,, sorry if the design is inconsistent or messy i'm still figuring out how to draw all the ava characters 😭

Also i know i said i wanted to make an analysis but i changed my mind soo,, go chosen doodles!!

[riddleriddles]

ಇ do i wanna know, hozier cover.

pairing. mattheo riddle x hufflepuff!quiet!reader

summary. sometimes, pansy knows exactly how to bring couples together. when mattheo, known for his grumpy mood, finds himself growing closer to a quiet, introspective girl, he must come to terms with feelings he never expected to have.

warnings. a bit of suggestive scene, but nothing explicit

add notes. I feel like my dialogues would never be said in real life.

visit my masterlist :)

ಇ

It was Pansy Parkinson’s birthday. The Parkinson Manor was a spectacle—a grand, ancient, and imposing structure, surrounded by meticulously tended trees. Its tall stone towers stood in stark contrast to the ethereal silver of the moon on that autumnal night, while the crisp air carried the fresh, melancholy scent of fallen leaves. The entrance hall sparkled with the glow of greenish lights that reflected off the polished marble floor. Music flowed through the vast corridors of the manor, mingling with the voices and laughter of the guests. Pansy never did anything halfway, and her seventeenth birthday party was no exception.

The main hall was teeming with Hogwarts students, predominantly Slytherins, although a few figures from other houses stood out, strategically placed. Groups gathered around enchanted tables laden with exquisite appetisers, while others chatted or danced in the centre of the hall beneath the enchanting glow of chandeliers and floating magical candles.

Mattheo Riddle leaned against a wall near the fireplace. His spot had been carefully chosen, allowing him to observe the entire room without drawing attention to himself. A glass of some drink—nearly forgotten in his hand—served more as a distraction than a necessity. His eyes scanned the scene with the detached air of someone watching a mediocre play, clearly indifferent to the excitement around him. He despised parties, but Pansy had been emphatic: “If you don’t show up, I’ll never invite you to anything again, and you’ll have to live with that.”

And so, here he was, enduring the loud music, empty chatter, and the unbearable feeling of being out of place.

The room buzzed with familiar faces: Blaise was chatting with Daphne near the makeshift bar, Draco was laughing at something Theodore had said in a secluded corner, and at the centre of it all, Pansy shone like a star, greeting her guests with a smile that was as rehearsed as it was charming.

Mattheo let out a deep sigh, raising the glass to his lips and sipping half-heartedly, merely to occupy himself. His thoughts drifted to the garden, which promised a quiet, solitary escape—perfect for smoking a cigarette far from the noise and frivolity of the hall.

You entered the party hesitantly, your measured steps and reserved posture betraying your unease. Your eyes scanned the room cautiously, taking in every detail before allowing yourself to fully step in. You clutched a small, delicately wrapped gift in your hands, your arms tucked close to your body as if forming a barrier against the chaos around you.

This wasn’t your kind of place—not in a bad way, just different from what you were used to. Your hair, styled in a carefully crafted half-updo, fell in soft waves over your shoulders, catching the golden light of the chandeliers and the greenish glow of the magical candles scattered around the room. Your pastel yellow dress, a nod to your Hufflepuff identity, was graceful and perfectly suited to the occasion, modest yet elegant without being over the top.

Stepping inside, you carefully shut the door behind you with a soft thud, masked by the music filling the air. You looked around attentively, moving with the grace of someone trying to avoid drawing attention. Your eyes landed on Pansy, who, upon noticing your arrival, quickly made her way over, a radiant smile lighting up her face.

“I’m so glad you came! I’ve been waiting for you,” Pansy exclaimed excitedly, and you smiled shyly, offering her the neatly wrapped gift. She took it with equal enthusiasm and, without missing a beat, guided you with a gentle touch on your arm, introducing you to her closest friends, most of whom you didn’t know—predominantly Slytherins. To anyone watching from afar, you might have seemed out of place, but you nodded politely, feeling quietly pleased to be surrounded by the friends of your close companion.

You tried to adjust to the atmosphere. The party was loud and full of people, but you knew this was exactly the kind of event Pansy loved, and it had been hard to turn down her insistence—especially on such an important occasion as her seventeenth birthday. What you hadn’t anticipated, however, was the intensity of it all: the loud laughter, the conversations about topics you barely understood or didn’t care about, and the overwhelmingly high volume of the music.

“Relax,” Pansy whispered in your ear, giving your shoulder a light squeeze as she noticed your discomfort. “You’re going to have fun, I promise.”

Her words carried a hint of something unspoken, though you didn’t catch it immediately. She continued introducing you to her friends, eventually steering you toward a more secluded corner near the fireplace, where Mattheo Riddle stood leaning against the wall, his expression bored, as though he were merely fulfilling an obligation. Holding a half-filled glass in one hand, his grey eyes scanned the room with disinterest.

“Mattheo!” Pansy’s voice interrupted his reverie, casual but still confident. “I want you to meet someone. This is my friend [Name]. [Name], this is Mattheo.”

Pansy smiled, looking far too pleased with the situation. “I’m sure you two will get along wonderfully!”

“Uh… hi,” you said softly, offering a timid smile as you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, revealing a delicate gold moon-shaped earring that Mattheo noticed with mild indifference.

“Hi,” he replied curtly, his tone brief and aloof.

Pansy watched the exchange, clearly unimpressed by the lack of enthusiasm. “Did you know that [Name] loves taking care of magical creatures? And Mattheo, you have an impressive tolerance for people who talk too much—aren’t you two a perfect match?”

“Funny, Pansy,” Mattheo remarked, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head with a trace of amusement in his otherwise dry tone.

“Thanks, it was sincere,” Pansy quipped with a playful grin before stepping away with a conspiratorial air. “Enjoy yourselves!”

With one last smile, she left you both alone, disappearing into the crowd.

For a moment, the sound of the music and the chatter around you filled the silence as you, uneasy with the quiet, fidgeted with the star-shaped pendant on your necklace.

“So…” you began cautiously, looking at Mattheo. “Do you not like parties in general, or just the people who talk too much?”

The question caught him off guard, and he raised an eyebrow, taking a moment to think before answering. “Depends on the party. And the people.”

You let out a soft, almost inaudible laugh, but it was genuine. “I get that. This isn’t really my kind of place either.”

“Then why’d you come?” Mattheo asked, his tone casual but curious, as if waiting for your answer without much urgency.

“Pansy insisted,” you admitted with a small shrug. “And you?”

“Same.”

At that, you felt a little more at ease, tilting your head slightly towards him. “Well, at least we’ve got that in common.”

“Besides Pansy,” he added, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as he warmed to the idea that the conversation wasn’t as tedious as he’d expected.

The silence returned, but this time it felt less strained. You leaned against the wall beside him, gazing up at the ceiling, where floating candles with green flames illuminated the room alongside the warm, golden glow of the grand chandelier, while Mattheo’s eyes followed the movement of the partygoers.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the commotion, you noticed the atmosphere beginning to feel heavier. The grand and magical hall, while impressive, didn’t make you feel at ease. Mattheo, seemingly indifferent to the pressure of the space, appeared entirely unbothered. So, you decided to suggest something.

“How about we head out to the garden?” you asked timidly, looking up at him. “It’s… quieter, maybe?”

Mattheo, still leaning against the wall with his usual impassive expression, raised an eyebrow. “You really think the garden will be quiet, considering how many people are here?”

You smiled, slightly embarrassed. “It’s worth a try, I guess.”

With a sigh, he slipped a hand into his pocket and pushed himself off the wall, nodding. “Fine. Let’s go.”

The Parkinson mansion’s garden was undeniably stunning, but you barely noticed the perfectly trimmed hedges shaped into geometric designs or the softly glowing magical flowers. Your attention was more on the refreshing coolness of the night air and the silence—a welcome contrast to the chaos inside the hall.

The two of you walked in silence for a while. Mattheo observed you discreetly, noticing how your fingers gently brushed against the petals of the flowers along the path, as if you were connecting with their textures and details. There was no urgency in your steps, and eventually, you reached a secluded corner near an ornate fountain illuminated by floating candles casting dancing reflections on the water. He stopped by a tree, crossing his arms and tilting his head back to look at the starry sky.

“Do you always go to Pansy’s parties?” you asked, finally breaking the silence as you strolled slowly, examining the plants with more interest.

“Not a chance,” he replied with a short laugh, as if the idea were absurd. “I try to avoid them, but she’s always got these… oddly persuasive arguments.”

“Like what?” you pressed, curious.

“Like, ‘if you don’t come, I’ll tell everyone you sketch people in your notebook like a frustrated artist,’” he said, smirking slightly.

You blinked, surprised at the confession, then let out a soft laugh. “You draw?”

Mattheo shrugged, almost defensive. “Sometimes. It’s not a big deal.”

“It doesn’t sound like something to be embarrassed about,” you said simply, your tone free of judgment. Kneeling beside a bush of blueberries that seemed particularly enchanting, their tiny fruits shimmering under the magical light, you added, “Actually, it sounds pretty interesting.”

He frowned slightly, as if unsure how to respond, before muttering, “You haven’t seen it.”

“Maybe,” you replied with a small smile, still studying the delicate berries. “But it’s good to have a hobby. Everyone should have one.”

He remained quiet, thoughtful, as he watched you. There was something about you that felt disconnected from the party—yet perfectly at home here in the garden. The calmness in your movements, even when you seemed shy or slightly flustered, struck him as unusual.

“So, what’s your hobby?” he asked, breaking the silence this time.

You took a moment before answering, as if reflecting. “I suppose it’s taking care of magical creatures… They don’t need explanations. You just feel and understand them.”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised by the clarity in your answer, but didn’t comment straight away. It was rare for someone to talk about something so simple with such genuine passion.

“Fair enough,” he finally said, his voice free of sarcasm but still lacking much emotion, as though he were processing your words.

The silence returned, though it was comfortable now—almost natural. Yet, your curiosity about him grew too strong to ignore.

“Do you go to these parties often?”

“Not at all,” he replied, his tone carrying a faint hint of amusement. “Just every now and then. Pansy’s good at twisting my arm. If I don’t show up, she starts predicting my social death.”

You chuckled lightly, your gaze shifting to him rather than the garden around you. “And you always give in?”

“I’m not great at resisting emotional blackmail,” he admitted with a short, slightly insincere smile. There was a coldness in his comment, as though he didn’t place much value on his presence here. “Pansy has a way of turning invitations into ultimatums.”

The floating candles swayed gently around the fountain, their light casting dancing shadows on the stone. You took a step aside, feeling the cool night breeze against your skin. After a few moments of light-hearted conversation, you realised the dialogue had run its course.

“Maybe we should head back,” you suggested, breaking the silence. “Before Pansy comes looking for us.”

He remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on you. His expression still carried a hint of seriousness, but his eyes had softened somewhat.

“Maybe you’re right,” he finally said, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips. “But you decide when to go back, not me.”

You chuckled softly, shyly, as though the conversation had taken an unexpected turn, though it didn’t bother you. “Alright then. Let’s go.”

ಇ

The Slytherin common room was bathed in a cosy silence, broken only by the gentle crackle of the fire. The flames cast flickering shadows across the stone walls, creating an atmosphere that felt entirely separate from the rest of the castle. Mattheo was sprawled across one of the black leather sofas, his posture completely at ease, as though he belonged to the room itself. He twirled his wand idly between his fingers, his sharp gaze lazily drifting over the surroundings, disinterested.

The peace was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of firm, purposeful footsteps echoing off the cold floor. Mattheo didn’t look up—he didn’t need to. Pansy Parkinson always made her presence known. She strode into the room with the kind of authority that promised trouble, her eyes glinting with determination.

“Riddle,” she started, stopping in front of him with her hands firmly planted on her hips. “Saturday. Hogsmeade. You’re coming with me. Theo, Blaise, Luna, and [Name] will be there too.”

Mattheo didn’t even glance up, continuing to spin his wand between his fingers. His lips curved into a faint smirk. “No.”

“No?” Pansy echoed, raising an eyebrow, her expression morphing into one of incredulity. The set of her jaw only made her look more stubborn. “Come on, you haven’t even heard what I—”

“I’ve heard enough,” he cut her off, finally lifting his gaze to meet hers. His voice was dry, laced with boredom. “And the answer is still no. I’m not going, I don’t want to, and I’m not changing my mind.”

Pansy let out a heavy sigh, though the self-satisfied smile creeping onto her lips only deepened Mattheo’s irritation. “You say that now, but come Saturday, you’ll be there.”

Mattheo let out a short, humourless laugh. “Pansy, I’d love to see you try. I’m not Theo, who does everything you say just because he thinks you’re ‘cute.’”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Pansy shot back, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she crossed her arms. “Is this about [Name]? I saw you talking to her in the garden. You actually looked… sociable.”

“And? We exchanged a few words. That doesn’t mean anything.” His tone hardened as he narrowed his eyes, clearly irritated. Leaning back into the sofa, he added flatly, “If this is some attempt to set me up with someone, just give up now. You know I hate that.”

“Merlin, you’re dramatic,” Pansy scoffed, rolling her eyes. “No one’s setting you up. [Name] doesn’t even care if you’re there, to be honest.”

“Brilliant,” he replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “All the more reason for me not to go.”

Pansy let out a long-suffering sigh, though a mischievous smile tugged at her lips. “I know you, Mattheo. You say you won’t go, but come Saturday, you’ll end up tagging along with Blaise and Theo anyway. You need to connect with the world once in a while, you know.”

“I’m perfectly connected right here, thanks,” he shot back, gesturing around the room before rolling his eyes again. “I’d rather stay here than deal with people who think I owe them the courtesy of being interesting.”

Pansy tilted her head slightly, as though considering his words. “You’re so full of yourself. She’s not even thinking about you like that. And you know what? Maybe you should try acting normal around people who don’t fear you because of your surname.”

Mattheo huffed, but before he could muster a retort, Pansy was already making her way up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. She threw a parting remark over her shoulder, her voice bright with smug amusement. “Saturday, Mattheo. Be there, or I’ll add this to my list of lifelong grudges!”

He stayed where he was, his gaze falling back to the wand in his fingers. It spun faster now, less smoothly than before. Pansy was wrong. He wasn’t going. And if [Name] didn’t care whether he came or not, that was fine by him. A relief, really. A big relief.

ಇ

The streets of Hogsmeade buzzed with chatter and laughter, the crunch of footsteps in the snow, and the sweet smell of warm drinks wafting out of nearby shops. Despite the lively atmosphere, Mattheo would still take this over the castle any day—at least here he wasn’t constantly followed by stares and whispers. He walked with his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his black overcoat, his expression bored, though his sharp eyes missed nothing.

“So,” Blaise started, nudging Theo with his elbow. “Whose brilliant idea was it to drag him out here? Thought Mattheo was allergic to socialising.”

“Don’t start,” Mattheo muttered without even glancing at them. “I’m only here because someone wouldn’t shut up about how this was going to be ‘fun.’”

Theo laughed, unbothered. “It is fun. You should be thanking me.”

Mattheo opened his mouth to fire back but was cut off as the three of them rounded a corner and found themselves face-to-face with Pansy, Luna, and [Name] standing outside the Three Broomsticks.

“Oh, what are you lot doing here?” Pansy exclaimed, her voice dripping with faux surprise. Only Mattheo caught the teasing glint in her eye.

“Pansy,” he began, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t even try it.”

“Try what?” She blinked at him innocently. “This is pure coincidence.”

Mattheo was about to argue when his attention was pulled to Blaise and Luna. The moment they spotted each other, Luna lit up with a bright smile, and Blaise… Well, he looked like someone had hit him with a softening charm. It was rare to see him like that—genuinely smitten.

Luna stepped closer immediately, lightly tugging Blaise by the arm as she spoke. Whatever she said made him laugh, low and almost shy, a side of him Mattheo hardly ever saw. Blaise was usually so composed, but with Luna, he seemed… different.

That’s when it hit Mattheo. This wasn’t some trap for him. It was for them.

He glanced at Theo, who was watching the scene with a smug smile. Theo shrugged in response, as if to say, Don’t look at me, this wasn’t my idea.

Pansy, however, wasn’t even trying to hide her satisfaction, though she kept her focus firmly on Luna and Blaise.

Mattheo sighed quietly. Right. Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe this whole outing really was just about those two.

But then his eyes landed on you. You stood a little behind Pansy, a small, almost shy smile playing on your lips as you watched Blaise and Luna. You didn’t seem out of place, exactly—just quiet, like someone unsure where they fit into the group dynamic.

He looked away before you noticed, but Pansy, ever observant, caught the movement.

“Well,” she said, a sly smile tugging at her lips. “Since we’re all here, why don’t we do something together?”

Mattheo was already preparing to decline, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the way you, distracted, reached out to catch the falling snowflakes in your hand, that soft, almost enchanted smile still on your face.

He frowned. What was so special about snow, anyway?

“Relax, Riddle,” Pansy said, pulling him back to reality. “I didn’t plan this.”

“You planned this,” he replied flatly.

“And if I did?” She held her hands up, her smile infuriatingly casual. “It’s not the end of the world. Try being social for once.”

Before he could respond, Theo slung an arm casually around his shoulders, as if to stop him from bolting. “Not every day we hang out with such a… diverse group.”

Mattheo rolled his eyes but didn’t bother arguing. Judging by how glued Blaise and Luna were to each other, it was pointless. Still, the way Pansy kept glancing at you before whispering something to Theo made him suspicious.

You, meanwhile, seemed completely oblivious to it all. You adjusted your scarf, your attention caught by a nearby shop window where tiny enchanted ice figurines were dancing.

“Alright,” Theo said, breaking the moment of silence. “So, what’s first on the agenda?”

Mattheo let out a heavy sigh and glanced over at you. You were standing a bit apart from the group, but somehow, your eyes met his. A small, tentative smile crossed your face, the kind that seemed unsure of its place, before you quickly looked away.

He considered walking away, but something made him stay. Maybe it was the sense that Pansy would never let him hear the end of it if he left.

“The Three Broomsticks?” he suggested, his voice laced with reluctance. “If we’re doing this, might as well get it over with.”

Pansy’s smile widened, like she knew exactly what he was thinking, but to his annoyance, she said nothing.

ಇ

The Three Broomsticks was as crowded as Mattheo had expected. The buzz of conversations and laughter mingled with the clatter of mugs and the sweet smell of butterbeer, creating a lively, almost chaotic atmosphere. For most, it was a place to forget about the pressures of school, but for Mattheo, it felt suffocating. He stood near the entrance, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, ready to leave at any moment.

“See? Told you this would be fun,” Theo said, flashing a carefree grin as he dropped into a chair beside Pansy.

“If this is your idea of fun, I’d rather be back at the castle,” Mattheo replied flatly, choosing the chair furthest from the table.

Pansy, ever the orchestrator, settled in beside Theo and shot a smug look at Mattheo. “Oh, stop being dramatic. You’ll survive.”

Luna and Blaise took their seats next, the pair seemingly lost in their own little world. Blaise leaned in to whisper something, and Luna let out a soft, musical laugh. Mattheo rolled his eyes.

“They’ve already forgotten we’re here,” he muttered, tapping a keyring against the table in an almost absentminded rhythm.

Pansy smirked. “Leave them be. They’re cute.”

Mattheo huffed but didn’t bother replying. His eyes drifted across the room, eventually landing on you. You had chosen a seat near the window, detached from the group’s chatter. The soft glow of candlelight reflected in the glass as you gazed out at the falling snow, your expression calm and contemplative, as though soaking in every detail of the world outside.

For a moment, Mattheo found himself wondering what was so fascinating about the snow. It was just snow—falling endlessly, especially this time of year. But to you, it seemed to hold some deeper meaning, something he couldn’t quite grasp. You watched the flurries with a quiet intensity he found… puzzling.

“Paying attention, or has the snow got you too?” Theo teased, nudging Mattheo as he caught him staring.

Mattheo shot him a sharp look. “Shut up.”

Glancing at you again, he lowered his voice. “Why’s she so quiet?”

Pansy, ever observant, turned her gaze from you to the two whispering boys. “Because that’s how she is. Maybe you should try it sometime.”

“Very funny,” Mattheo shot back, narrowing his eyes at her.

Theo chuckled. “She just doesn’t like all the noise. Makes me wonder, though… why’s she here with us?”

“Because you invited her,” Mattheo said dryly, his tone clipped. Theo shrugged, unbothered.

“She’s here for Pansy. And maybe because sometimes people like to shake things up a bit,” Theo replied, as if it were obvious.

Mattheo didn’t respond, his attention drawn back to you. You were still lost in the view outside, but you must have felt the weight of their stares because, after a moment, you turned to face the group. Your smile was small and uncertain, a touch of embarrassment in your eyes. “What?” you asked quietly, your voice soft and cautious.

“Mattheo thinks you’re mysterious,” Theo said boldly, grinning as he leaned back lazily in his chair.

You frowned, your gaze shifting to Mattheo, who let out an irritated scoff. “That’s not what I said.”

“No need to explain yourself, Riddle,” Pansy chimed in with a sly grin, hiding behind the menu.

You gave a shy smile, clearly flustered, and buried yourself in the menu as if it were a shield. Mattheo caught the faint blush creeping across your cheeks, and for some inexplicable reason, it made him glance away, feeling oddly unsettled.

“What’re we ordering?” Blaise asked suddenly, breaking the tension and redirecting the group’s focus.

While the others debated their orders, Mattheo remained silent, his fingers tapping against the table. He didn’t want to admit it, but there was something about you that left him uneasy—not in a bad way, but in a way that made him feel restless, like he couldn’t quite figure out what to do with himself.

The waiter arrived, looking a little tired but polite, his quill poised to take orders. Theo and Blaise rattled off their choices with ease, but when it was your turn, you hesitated, your voice so soft that the waiter leaned in.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” the waiter asked, his tone patient.

Mattheo noticed the discomfort on your face as you tried again, your cheeks flushing with self-consciousness. It was such a simple moment, but something about it made Mattheo feel compelled to step in.

“She’ll have a butterbeer,” he said abruptly, leaning back in his chair as if it were no big deal. “And I’ll have the same.”

The waiter blinked, then nodded. “Right, and the rest of you?”

You glanced at Mattheo, your surprise evident. For a moment, he wondered if he’d made things worse. But then you murmured, “Thanks,” so quietly it was almost inaudible. Your smile was small and a little shy, but there was something about it—something genuine—that made Mattheo’s chest tighten unexpectedly.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, and while it wasn’t much, it was enough to make Mattheo look away, feeling a strange heat rising in his neck. What the hell was that?

He focused on the table instead, letting his gaze fall on Pansy. She was watching him with her usual smirk, the kind that screamed, I know something you don’t. That look alone was enough to irritate him further.

He clenched his jaw, determined to brush it off. Whatever Pansy thought she saw, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like him to get caught up in whatever game she might be playing. And yet, he couldn’t shake the thought of that small, genuine smile you’d given him—or the way it had made him feel completely out of his depth.

Later, the group had finished their meal and was now strolling leisurely through the softly lit streets of Hogsmeade. Snow fell in delicate flakes, blanketing the rooftops with a fine layer, creating a scene that was ordinary but, in your eyes, uniquely enchanting.

Mattheo walked in silence, his hands casually shoved into his pockets, while you stayed a little ahead with Luna, Blaise, and Pansy. The latter seemed particularly alert, as if she were plotting something in her mind.

“Let’s stop by Honeydukes,” Pansy announced suddenly, pausing beside Blaise and Luna. “I’m absolutely craving those ginger caramels.”

“Now? is probably a nightmare,” Theo grumbled, though his protest was pointless as Pansy was already dragging him firmly towards the shop’s entrance.

Before you could say a word, she turned to you and Mattheo with a sly, self-assured grin.

“How about you two check out the bookshop? We’ll catch up in a bit!”

You hesitated for a moment, glancing uncertainly in the direction of the bookshop and then back at Pansy. But she didn’t wait for a reply. Without giving you a chance to argue, she disappeared into Honeydukes with Theo in tow.

Mattheo let out a quiet sigh, his expression laced with a knowing irritation at Pansy’s obvious intentions. But he didn’t comment. Instead, he gave a small nod towards the bookshop.

“Fancy it?” he asked, his tone straightforward.

You nodded slightly, not trusting your voice to come out steady, and followed him towards the shop.

The interior of the bookshop was warm and serene. Tall shelves were crammed with books, from old, worn-out tomes to pristine, freshly bound editions. The air was filled with the unmistakable scent of aged paper, and the soft glow of strategically placed lamps added to the cosy atmosphere.

Walking slowly down the aisles, you trailed your fingers over the spines of books, savouring the texture of each one. Mattheo had wandered to a quieter section, where he pulled an old, dark-covered book from the shelf and examined it with mild curiosity.

“I’ve read that one,” you remarked casually, stepping closer.

Mattheo looked up at you, his expression faintly surprised. “Have you?”

You nodded, your eyes lighting up shyly but genuinely. “It’s really good, though a bit sad.”

He shrugged, placing the book back and reaching for another.

“That one too,” you said, glancing at the new book in his hand.

He raised an eyebrow, holding the book for a moment before putting it back and selecting yet another.

“Oh, that one’s brilliant!” you exclaimed, a spark of enthusiasm slipping through. “A bit heavy in parts, but it’s one of my favourites.”

Mattheo paused, studying the book in his hand before looking back at you.

“Have you read all of these?” he asked, disbelief evident in his tone.

You hesitated, your gaze flickering away briefly before meeting his again, your cheeks warming under his scrutiny.

“Almost all of them,” you admitted softly. “I just… really like reading.”

A faint, genuine smile tugged at Mattheo’s lips as he shook his head slightly.

“All right,” he said, holding up another book. “How about this one? Have you read it?” He revealed the title: The Great Gatsby.

Your eyes lit up instantly as you nodded. “Yes. It’s a classic. Sad, but so good.”

Mattheo let out a short sigh, glancing at the book with more interest. “Do you cry at all of them, or just the ones I pick because I like the cover?”

Your timid but sincere smile answered before your words. “Only the good ones.”

For a moment, he just watched you, his eyes lingering as you studied the shelves around you with quiet fascination.

“So,” he said, breaking the silence. “Think I’ll like this one?”

You tilted your head thoughtfully. “Depends. Do you like happy endings?”

Mattheo chuckled lowly, a hint of dry humour in his voice. “Wouldn’t know what that’s like.”

Your expression softened at his response, but you didn’t say anything right away. Instead, you looked up at him, as though trying to understand him better. He shifted uncomfortably under your gaze and glanced away.

“I’ll take it,” he muttered, holding the book firmly. “If it makes me cry, it’s your fault.”

You laughed quietly, the sound lighter this time, as he tucked the book under his arm.

“Do you read much?” you asked, your voice still a little shy as your eyes lifted to meet his.

“Not really.”

The moment was abruptly interrupted by Pansy’s familiar voice cutting through the quiet. She appeared suddenly beside Mattheo, a smug smile on her face.

“You two are taking ages,” she teased, throwing a loaded glance between the two of you. “Buying a book or writing one?”

Mattheo rolled his eyes, refusing to dignify her with an answer, while you glanced away, feeling slightly flustered. Pansy’s satisfied grin made it clear she’d gotten exactly what she wanted. Without ceremony, she tugged Mattheo towards the counter to pay for his book. You followed quietly as they left the shop, snow beginning to fall again outside.

ಇ

Once again, the group had gathered, this time in a more comfortable setting, as if they had already gotten used to the rhythm of their regular outings. The Slytherin common room felt cosy and calm, bathed in the soft light of the fire crackling in the hearth, casting a warm, golden glow across the space. Theo and Pansy were chatting animatedly about something trivial, while Blaise and Luna stayed, as usual, wrapped up in their own bubble, oblivious to the world around them.

You and Mattheo, however, were more on the edge of the group, tucked away in a quiet corner where silence hung comfortably in the air. He was staring into the flames, his mind distant, while you flicked through a book, your eyes quickly scanning the shelves of volumes in the common room.

It was you who broke the silence, your voice soft, laced with your usual curiosity.

“Have you finished that book, Mattheo?”

He gave you a look after a brief pause, responding casually.

“Yeah, it was quick to read, just like Cat’s Cradle.”

“You’ve read Cat’s Cradle?” you asked, surprised, your eyes lighting up instantly at the thought that he might be interested in such a quirky book.

Mattheo nodded with a relaxed gesture.

“Mm-hm.”

“I love that book,” you said enthusiastically. “I thought you said you didn’t read much.”

He laughed and shrugged, not giving it much thought.

“Well, what’s ‘much’?”

You laughed, satisfied with the answer, before diving back into your love for the book.

“Cat’s Cradle is just so chaotic, so human, you know? Like a distorted mirror of ourselves.”

Mattheo furrowed his brow, now visibly more interested.

“Human?”

“Yeah,” you continued, gesturing lightly. “The way Vonnegut portrays people, with all their confusing flaws—it’s so real. It’s a bit uncomfortable, but still, it’s genius.”

Mattheo watched you for a moment, trying to understand your perspective before replying in a teasing tone.

“I’m not sure ‘genius’ is the right word.”

You let out a soft laugh, not offended.

“No? And how would you describe it?”

He shrugged, his eyes drifting to the window beside him, watching the snow fall gently outside.

“It’s more like… a bunch of people getting into trouble because they’re too thick to see what’s right in front of them.”

You tilted your head slightly, amused by the simplicity of his argument.

“Exactly. That’s what makes it genius.”

Mattheo blinked, clearly impressed by your response. He wasn’t sure if you were joking or if you really believed it.

“You think stupidity is genius?”

“Nooo,” you said with a sideways smile. “But it makes us reflect on that human stupidity, like a portrait of our own contradictions, in a raw way. It’s uncomfortable, but in a weird way, it’s beautiful.”

Mattheo fell silent for a moment, processing your words.

“Beautiful?” He raised an eyebrow, as if trying to decide whether the comment was fascinating or just plain weird.

“Yes, beautiful,” you insisted, your tone calm but firm. “I think there’s beauty in accepting that we’re flawed, that we’re always trying, even when we know we might fail.”

He let out a low, almost incredulous laugh.

“You’ve got a peculiar way of looking at things.”

“Peculiar?” You laughed back, not losing the lightness of the moment. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Before he could respond, you leaned forward slightly, without thinking too much, and with a gentle gesture, you brushed a stray curl of hair from his face. Your touch was so natural that he barely had time to process it. Your fingers slid smoothly through his dark hair, pushing the curl away, and you did it with such ease that it felt completely normal to you. But for Mattheo, the action was enough to freeze him for a moment.

Mattheo froze. His mind instantly went on alert. The touch, though brief, had triggered a cascade of disconnected thoughts that he had no idea how to sort or deal with at that moment.

You, completely unaware of the inner battle Mattheo was facing, turned your attention back to the book you were skimming through, still intrigued by the shelves in the Slytherin common room. They were filled with delicate details, snakes and symbols, which gave the place a peculiar touch.

Mattheo, on the other hand, remained silent, lost in his own thoughts. He tried to push the moment’s impact aside, but it seemed impossible. The touch was still fresh on his skin, and the echo of your words about the book lingered in his mind.

ಇ

The night was quiet and peaceful at Hogwarts Castle. Mattheo lay in his dormitory, the soft light of the moon streaming through the window, casting a subtle glow over the room. His mind, however, was restless, filled with thoughts that were hard to sort. Almost mechanically, he reached for his wand, and with a subtle motion, began to move it, calling the music.

The first notes of “Crash Into Me” began to fill the room, softly, as Dave Matthews’ voice echoed through the space, enveloping him in a familiar melody. The song seeped into him like a comforting whisper, and something in it gripped him almost viscerally. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to be consumed by the music, and, without knowing why, raised his wand again to put the track on repeat.

The words of the song began to take on more meaning, subtly echoing within him, much like the thoughts swirling in his mind that he couldn’t quite organise. It was as if the song spoke directly to him, not in a clear and direct way, but through its rhymes and melody, something in between the lines made him think of you. Your calm presence, yet shrouded in mystery, took shape in his mind.

He turned over in bed, still immersed in confusing thoughts, trying to understand the nameless feeling that overtook him. What was this unease? The music seemed to break something inside him, as if it were unveiling parts of himself he didn’t know existed.

As the chords of the song filled the space around him, a quiet exhaustion began to settle in. He surrendered to the melody, letting himself drift, without haste or resistance. The last thing he thought of before falling asleep was your face.

In his dream, you were beneath the Astronomy Tower. The stars watched silently as you leaned against the balustrade, your hair softly shimmering, floating with the night’s breeze. They saw when you approached him, and the world around seemed to shrink, as if everything became insignificant. You kissed him, a simple, gentle kiss, incredibly soft, full of sincerity. When you pulled away, his eyes opened.

The song “Crash Into Me” still played in his ears, but the sensation of the kiss, the soft touch of your lips, lingered with him, even though the dream dissipated as quickly as it had come. He lay there, motionless, not knowing exactly when he had been struck. The confusion that had once dominated his thoughts now seemed entwined with that fleeting memory, and he allowed himself to feel.

ಇ

Theo’s dormitory was as cosy as ever, lit only by the bedside lamp, casting a soft yellow glow that created an intimate atmosphere. The lazy tendrils of cigarette smoke drifted in the air, mixing with the low hum of music playing from a small gramophone in the corner. Lorenzo was slouched on the sofa, his feet carelessly propped up on the coffee table, while Theo, seated on the floor with his back against the bed, took long drags from his cigarette, releasing the smoke in the air as if following a ritual.

Pansy, meanwhile, leaned against an armchair, distractedly fiddling with her wand. Mattheo remained on the outskirts, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and visibly more distant than usual.

“So,” Pansy began, breaking the silence with a mischievous smile playing on her lips, though her tone remained casual, “I’m thinking of organising another group trip to Hogsmeade next Saturday. You coming?”

Mattheo raised an eyebrow, sceptical. “Who’s going?”

Pansy shrugged nonchalantly. “Me, obviously, Theo, Blaise, Lorenzo, Daphne… if she’s not busy.”

He gave a small nod, considering the idea. Maybe getting out a bit wouldn’t be so bad, even if he wasn’t exactly in the mood.

“And [Name],” Pansy added casually, throwing him a sly sidelong glance.

The effect was immediate. Mattheo froze, quickly averting his gaze. “Ah… no, I don’t think I’ll be going, then.”

Pansy stared at him, taken aback. “You’re not?”

“I’m just not in the mood,” he replied flatly, still avoiding her gaze.

“Not in the mood or running from her?” Pansy pressed, her tone sharp. She uncrossed her arms and stepped away from the armchair, facing him head-on.

He let out a humourless laugh, pushing away from the wall. “Oh, spare me, Pansy. This is just one of your dumb ideas to try and push me onto one of your friends. I’ve told you, it’s not going to work.”

“Push you onto my friends?” she repeated, incredulous, the disbelief clear in her voice. “Merlin’s beard, do you even hear what you’re saying? I’m just organising a trip, it’s not your bloody wedding!”

“Oh, right,” he shot back, his voice rising slightly. “You think I don’t notice? You’re always trying to set people up, like it’s some kind of game. But this isn’t some stupid romance novel. And honestly? She’s none of that, not worth the hassle.”

The silence that followed was thick, almost tangible. Even Lorenzo, who had seemed absorbed in his own thoughts, lifted his gaze, surprised by the bitterness in Mattheo’s voice. Pansy stood still for a moment before letting out a bitter laugh.

“Not worth the hassle?” she repeated, each word laced with icy venom, as she stepped right up to him. “Do you have any idea what utter rubbish you’ve just said?”

Mattheo tried to hold her stare, but there was something in her stance that unsettled him.

“You don’t even believe that,” she continued, her voice firm now. “You’re so terrified of the idea of liking her that you’d rather say something vile like that than admit it to yourself. But guess what, Mattheo? It doesn’t change a thing.”

He crossed his arms, frustration clearly etched on his face. “I’m not scared of anything. You’re the one harassing me with this ridiculous conversation.”

“Ridiculous?” Pansy raised her voice, frustration seeping through every word. “You’re the one acting ridiculous! As if liking someone is some kind of weakness. It’s pathetic, actually—it’s so sad, it’s almost funny.”

“Oh, fuck off, Pansy,” he snapped, his anger boiling over.

She laughed, a sarcastic chuckle escaping her. “I’m just trying to stop you from being an idiot. But, then again, maybe you don’t deserve someone like her. Maybe she’s too good for you, yeah?”

Mattheo clenched his jaw, irritation flashing across his face before he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

In the stillness of his own dormitory, he threw himself onto the bed, his chest still heaving from the argument. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to organise his thoughts, but Pansy’s words continued to echo in his mind like an unshakable spell.

“Maybe she’s too good for you.”

He knew he shouldn’t have said that. It wasn’t true, and he knew it. She was worth the effort, without a doubt. He remembered the way she spoke about books, how her eyes lit up with passion for things he didn’t even bother to notice. She was kind, funny, incredibly genuine, and, above all, special.

With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Pansy was right. He was an idiot. And, worse yet, an idiot in love.

ಇ

The pub in Hogsmeade was packed, but the noise around Jasmine felt distant as she watched the group of friends play pool with curiosity. The soft lighting gave the place a warm, inviting atmosphere, while the low music in the background punctuated the occasional laughter of Theo and Lorenzo, who were arguing about who the better player was.

Mattheo kept his gaze fixed on you, knowing there was no escaping this. He was already falling, and he knew it. Rather than resist, he decided to enjoy the moment. There was something about your cautious yet charming manner that stirred him in a way he couldn’t quite understand. But soon he realised there was no need to comprehend it. It was as if the fall was inevitable, and somehow, the view would be worth it. All that was left for him to do was relax and let it happen. Maybe it was time to be bolder. Let the fall happen. He was ready for whatever came next and wanted to see how far it could go.

“Go on, who’s next?” Theo asked, twirling the cue stick with a teasing smile, aiming it at you.

“Definitely not me,” you muttered instantly, shrugging behind your butterbeer.

“Oh, come on,” Pansy teased, smiling. “You’ve never played?”

You shook your head, feeling a little out of place. “No idea how to play.”

Before Pansy could insist, Mattheo pushed off from the wall where he had been leaning, arms casually crossed, and approached. “I’ll teach you.”

You looked up at him, surprised. “You don’t have to, I—”

“Come here,” he interrupted, leaving no room for protest. He reached out and, before you could object, gently took hold of your wrist, guiding you to the right spot at the table.

Frozen, you watched him as if he’d just cast a spell. There was something so natural about the gesture – as though you’d shared this kind of proximity for years – that it left you speechless.

“Grab the cue,” he instructed, his voice low and slightly husky. You obeyed, holding the cue with clear hesitation.

Mattheo took a step back, so close that you could feel the warmth radiating from his body. “Like this,” he said, adjusting his hands over yours. His fingers were firm but didn’t squeeze; the touch felt casual, yet it carried an intimacy that made you blush instantly.

He tilted his head, his voice close to your ear. “You need to align with the ball.”

His breath seemed to brush against your skin, and your heart raced. “Right… okay.”

He chuckled softly. “Relax, you’re all tense.”

“I’m not tense!” you protested, though the nervousness in your voice gave you away.

“Of course not,” he teased, shifting his hands slightly to adjust the position. “Now aim here.”

Biting your lip, you tried to focus, even though the closeness made it nearly impossible. The sound of his voice, the way he leaned in, his firm yet careful touch – it was all making your mind spin.

“Ready?” he asked, and you nodded, feeling your face heat up.

With his help, you moved the cue forward, striking the ball harder than you expected. It rolled across the table, hitting a few others before dropping into one of the pockets.

“See?” he said, stepping back slightly but keeping his hand near yours. “That wasn’t so hard.”

You laughed nervously, too shy to meet his eyes. “I think it was more you than me.”

“Maybe,” he replied casually, but his gaze was now locked on yours.

You noticed he was still holding your hand, even though it wasn’t necessary anymore, and for a moment, you were completely speechless. When he finally let go, the touch seemed to linger.

“Next,” he said, handing the cue to Theo, who was already laughing.

You stepped away from the table, trying to regain your composure, but your heart was still racing. Pansy watched you with a mischievous smile, but said nothing – which, in some way, was even more embarrassing.

Mattheo, now leaning back against the wall again, looked relaxed, though a subtle smile played on his lips. He knew exactly what he’d done – and he seemed to be enjoying it.

The night was light, filled with laughter and pool shots. You still felt a bit embarrassed about the last shot, about Mattheo’s unexpected touch, and the way he seemed so at ease. The way he approached so naturally, as if there was an intimacy between you two that you didn’t know how to handle, made you nervous, but also… curious.

At one point, you stepped away to grab the drink you’d left on the table, and Mattheo was right behind you, not wasting a second before taking the empty glass from your hand.

“I’ll get you another,” he said, flashing a casual smile.

You raised an eyebrow, glancing at him and then at the empty glass he’d taken from your hand. “Hey, I can do it myself.”

He shrugged as he walked away. “So what? Let me do it for you.”

You stared at him as he made his way to the bar, wanting to protest, but knowing he probably wouldn’t care. He was back quickly, drink in hand, placing it gently in front of you.

“Here,” he said, smiling tranquilly.

Still unsure how to react, you responded, “You really don’t listen, do you?”

He laughed easily and sat beside you. “I listen, I just don’t care. And let’s be honest,” he chuckled softly, “you’re not exactly good at hiding that you like it when I do things for you.”

Your face flushed, but you weren’t sure whether you were more surprised by the comment or by how comfortable he seemed with the situation. You tried to change the subject, though your voice still sounded hesitant. “I really could’ve filled my own glass.”

“Sure,” he interrupted with a sly grin, “but I wanted to do it.”

Not knowing how to respond, you looked down, crossing your legs and resting the drink on your thigh, unsure of how to act when Mattheo was messing with your composure. But secretly, you were enjoying this new side of him – unsure of how to react, but liking it all the same.

“I know what I’m doing,” you whispered, more to yourself.

“I know, princess,” he replied with an easy grin, “but I like doing it.”

ಇ

As time passed, your meetings became more frequent. The group hangouts gradually gave way to moments alone, and the relationship between you two became more comfortable and intimate. Being in each other’s company felt natural, easy, almost like an extension of everyday life. Mattheo’s behaviour grew more spontaneous, with fewer of the usual walls he built up when you were around. And it wasn’t just you who noticed; the entire group of friends could see it too.

One night, you were in Mattheo’s dorm. The atmosphere was calm and welcoming, with the scent of scented candles he’d started using now permanently filling the room. They were burning all around, three on the dresser and others on the bedside table. Meanwhile, Mattheo was rummaging through the wardrobe shelves and found a few hidden bottles. It was cheap wine that Theo had bought to settle a silly bet, but had forgotten there. Mattheo remembered it like it had happened yesterday. He looked at the bottle with a smile, laughing to himself. You raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

“I can’t believe you’re going to drink that,” you said, laughing lightly while lying on the black carpet in the middle of the room, fiddling with the radio.

Mattheo shrugged, flashing a carefree smile. “Of course I am, it’s here, right?”

You gave him a sceptical look, but couldn’t help but laugh at his audacity. “That’s a bit weird.”

“It’s nothing,” he replied, walking over and sitting beside you, holding the bottle out. “Try it, go on.”

Hesitant, but tempted, you sat next to him, smiling nervously. You took the bottle from his hand, laughing before bringing it to your lips, keeping your eyes fixed on his.

After a bottle and a half shared between you, the effects of the wine were already clear. The conversation flowed easily, words coming out freely, and you both laughed at anything, letting yourselves enjoy the sense of freedom the moment brought.

Then Mattheo stood up, walked over to the radio, and adjusted the music. Fleetwood Mac, one of his favourite bands, and he knew it well. The soft notes filled the room, creating a relaxing and warm atmosphere. He smiled at you, stood up from the carpet, and waited for you to follow. “Don’t you want to dance?”

You looked at him hesitantly, but he was watching you as if daring you. It didn’t take long before you got up, still a bit loose from the alcohol, and started dancing awkwardly, singing along with Stevie Nicks, a silly grin on your face. Mattheo held your hands and settled on the bed, watching your dance. There was no pretension; it was a spontaneous dance, a bit off-beat, but genuine.

Mattheo watched you with a satisfied smile, but his gaze revealed something more. He saw you differently. You moved with clumsy grace, not caring about the rhythm, and he was completely captivated by the way you threw yourself into the moment, without a hint of self-consciousness. Your movements, though not sensual, were, in that instant, the most captivating thing he’d ever seen. You were so at ease, as if you were dancing just for him. And, in a way, you were.

You laughed, unaware of the effect you had, how your hair shone and moved perfectly with the rhythm of your motions. That sight, so natural, only drew him in more. When the music finally ended, you stopped, out of breath, and looked at him with a mischievous grin, holding onto his shoulders while he watched you from below, his expression one of admiration.

“See? Was this what you wanted?” you asked, regaining your composure, but with a faint blush on your cheeks.

“More than I expected.”

The music still filled the room, but slowly, it became a distant echo, overshadowed by the tension that now dominated the space. The air felt heavier, each heartbeat ringing in your ears as you locked eyes with him. Your hands still rested on his shoulders, and despite the relaxed smile that appeared on his face, there was something in Mattheo’s gaze that made the lightness of the moment take on a new weight.

His eyes were fixed on yours, serious, intense, filled with an emotion you couldn’t quite decipher. Something in that look seemed ready to spill over, and before you could even question it, the space between you two was vanishing. Mattheo moved, his strong hands reaching up to cradle your face, holding it with a gentleness that contrasted with the fervour in his expression. The world around you faded in the blink of an eye. No more cheap wine, no more candles, no more Stevie Nicks in the background. It was just the two of you.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” he murmured, his voice low and rough, filling the silence between you. His gaze didn’t waver, and the proximity made each word feel even more intimate, almost like a confession. A shiver ran down your spine, but you didn’t respond. There were no words that could capture what was going through your mind.

When he finally closed the remaining space between you, his lips found yours, and everything seemed to fall into place. The kiss began firm but soon softened, as if he was exploring each detail, testing, savouring the moment with an almost palpable intensity.

His hands didn’t stay still. One slid to your waist, fingers slipping beneath your shirt, touching your warm skin with a mixture of firmness and care. The other moved up to your neck, fingers light as a caress, but determined, keeping you close, as if he wanted to make sure you wouldn’t slip away.

When his lips left yours, it was only to trace a deliberate path along your jawline, down to the delicate spot on your neck, where he could feel your pulse quicken. Each kiss was meticulous, almost reverent, as you closed your eyes, surrendering to the sensation. The softness of his touch seemed to contradict the intensity he maintained with every movement, and it made the moment all the more overwhelming.

Then, unexpectedly, Mattheo made a quick movement, pulling you onto the bed.

He was firm, but careful, lying you down with precision and security, as if guiding you through a dance he had already mentally rehearsed. Your bodies moulded into the surroundings, as if the moment had been waiting for you both.

Mattheo pulled back slightly, his hands slowly lifting your shirt, with a near ceremonial slowness. There was no rush, just a clear intention in every gesture, as though he was absorbing the significance of what was happening. His eyes scanned your body, but not with haste or crude desire. There was something almost devotional in that gaze, something that made your breath quicken and slow at the same time.

His lips descended to your stomach, touching it with the lightness of a promise. Each kiss seemed to hold something unspoken, something long-kept. Mattheo's fingers traced slow paths along your skin, as though he wanted to memorise every detail, while you let out a sigh that seemed to echo in the intimacy of the room.

For a brief moment, he lifted his head, meeting your gaze. His eyes sparkled with a mix of desire and playfulness, and a light smile curved his lips before he leaned in again, the kisses resuming their course, now with even more care, as if each touch was a silent vow of adoration.

[whosbloom]

James Patrick March » Boo Basket

day 12 of flufftober

⋆.˚ summary: after many failed attempts to win your heart, james finally goes to liz for some help, hoping for a good result

⋆.˚ fluff , mentions of murder , pretend the hotel has wifi for the sake of this

James had been practically yearning for your attention for months now, constantly attempting to get your attention when you entered the lobby, delivering expensive food and drinks to your hotel room (courtesy of Liz), constantly complimented you.. but no matter what he just couldn’t get you to look his way.

He was absolutely enamored by you and he didn’t know why, he had been so hung up on The Countess for years, but the second you stepped into the Cortez’s lobby his heart leapt for you instantly.

He had nearly gone on his knees to beg Liz to get to know you, befriend you almost, just so he could have a sense of what you liked in a person, what you were like.

As Halloween neared he found you leaving the hotel more and more each week, leaving him lonely until your return, to which he would perk up and instantly question you about your day—even if you barely acknowledged him.

Truth was you did find James attractive, it was just strange. You knew he was dead, Liz told you all about it, but it confused you more than anything.

How could the living and dead be together?

Which inevitably lead to your acting like you weren’t interested, watching him bend over backwards just to get a simple greeting from you.

The food, drinks, random presents, all day pretty outside your door made you smile more than you’d like to admit. You told Liz to never reveal this to him, and of course she listened like any good friend.

The one time you had Liz tell him anything was after finding out he offered to kill for your attention after witnessing another guest flirting with you—and of course you couldn’t bring yourself to let an innocent man die, you would feel like the blood was on your hands, so you told Liz to let him know his efforts made you aware of his infatuation with you.

Today was like any other, entering the lobby and greeting Liz, only for her to call you over to the front desk.

She sighed and leant against it, arms folded while giving you a stern look, one that reminded you of a mother scolding a toddler for drawing on walls.

“What did I do? You’re giving me a look.” You pointed out, brows knitted together as she awkwardly shifted your weight between your legs.

“It’s not what you did, well, you did help with this.” She explained, a not-so-impressed look on her face as she leant behind the counter and picked up a basket filled with goods for you.

“He didn’t.”

“He did.” She gave you another look, lips pressed into a thin line and brows raised. “I told him about whatever social media trend you’re obsessed with, the boo baskets? Watching him try and figure out a computer to order things was the most embarrassing thing ever.”

You remember the conversation all to well, getting all giddy about boyfriends surprising their girlfriends with Halloween themed baskets filled with their favorite things.

“He used a computer?” You questioned, an amused yet confused look on your face as you glanced back at the basket. “Somehow he did.. and from my reports back on you he knew exactly what he wanted to get you.”

Of course that showed with what he had chosen for you. A book you mentioned wanting to read for weeks now, your favorite candy you’d get whenever you went to a gas station, your favorite drink and snack.

Then there was personal touches from James—luxury things you knew he insisted you deserved. An expensive wine was the first thing that caught your eye, along with a note attached to it, reading out ‘Meet me at room 64’ with a J.P. signed underneath.

“Do I wanna know how much he spent? Or where he got the money from?” You raised a brow, pulling the basket closer and continued to inspect it. There was some personal care things—skin care, a candle, sleeping mask and fuzzy socks.

“The hotel still makes money. Though I’m not sure how he spent it.” Liz smiled, before pointing back at the stairs, drawing your attention to the very man who had gifted it to you. “Go thank him.”

You rolled your eyes playfully before grabbing the basket, holding it carefully before turning to head up the stairs, stopping just a step or two infront of him.

“Is this your way to my heart?” You raised a brow at him, lifting the basket with a smile toying at your lips.

“Well, my dear, if you haven’t noticed—“

“I have.. trust me, I have.” You cut him off, raising your free hand as you stepped up to stand next to him, your hand finding purchase on his forearm.

“I was just on my way to room 64.” You pointed to the note he left on the wine bottle, before stepping past him towards the elevator, waiting for him to follow after. “You coming, James?”

He took a moment to process your words, a wide smile forming pm his lips as he nodded and quickly scurried after you, standing close and leant down slightly to meet your height.

“I take it that my efforts worked on you?” He raised his brows, watching you pressed the elevator button and leant back against the cold wall.

“Definitely. Though, I will admit, they’ve been working for a while now. I just didn’t understand how the whole ghost and alive person thing works..” You explained, shrugging as you looked up to meet his gaze, watching as his softened at your words.

“I see.. if you want to wait for any further affection, I will. Whatever you’re comfortable with, my dear.” He spoke reassuringly, planting a quick kiss to the side of your temple, before placing a hand on your shoulder.

“Why don’t we discuss this over wine?” You smiled, watching as he eagerly nodded and held you a bit closer to him.

“Sounds like a plan.”

tags: @lemoniiiiiii , @xrag-dollx , @jazz-berry (ask to be added!!)

[danpuff-ao3]

SNARRY FOR BEGINNERS

Are you a bit Snarry curious, but also sorta wary and unsure where to start? Good news: I have some recs for you!

Snarry is a tricky ship for some folks. All of its most problematic themes are what draw me in personally, but that's not to say there aren't some safe places to start for a newcomer!

What I've chosen are:

Nothing too long, so you can get a little taste to see how you feel. So I'm looking at 50k or under.

Nothing "problematic" or as few "problematic" themes as I can get. No underage. No power imbalance. No consent issues. (...or at least nothing egregious haha.)

Works that also maintain some integrity to Harry and Severus' individual characters, and the tension between them. If I play it too safe it won't feel properly Snarry to me! Half the fun is the tension between them, so we must keep that!

So...If you wanna check some out, keep reading!

An Awkward Customer

by AnyaElizabeth. Rated: E. Words: 10,768. Postwar. EWE. Romance. Humor.

Snape can't figure out why Potter is hanging around his shop.

Why Read? A nice rom-com based on the prompt: "Harry makes a bet with someone that he could seduce anyone if he put his mind to it, and that someone selected for him is Snape, naturally." Severus owns an apothecary so we get some nice flirting at the workplace!

a scratch for every itch

by bleedcolor (@bleedcolor.) Rated: T. Words: 11,478. Fluff & humor. Magical maladies. Friends to idiots in love. Romance.

Severus Snape is an itch that Harry just can't scratch.

Why Read? Surely fluff is a safe place to start! And as a person who isn't often drawn to fluff, this is one I love, and is a comfort read of mine. Very sweet and silly and a great place to dip your toes in!

Dumbledore's Folly

by Dementordelta. Rated: M. Words: 47,446. Romance. Courtship. Oldie but a goodie!

Snape must court Harry according to wizarding traditions.

Why Read? I've reread this fic countless times over the years and it's still such a fun read. If you like arranged marriage/courtship fics, this is the one for you!

The Interrupted Kiss

by emynn. Rated: E. Words: 24,291. Postwar. Romance. Hurt/comfort. Mystery.

Once upon a time, Severus Snape shared a kiss with Harry Potter. Then Harry had disappeared after killing the Dark Lord, leaving Severus the reluctant darling of the Wizarding world. When Dumbledore insists on throwing a ball in Severus’s honour, Severus is convinced the world has gone completely mad. But when he comes across an ashy-faced young man whose half-answers about his identity haunt his every thought, Severus realizes that a ball might be the least of his worries.

Why Read? What safer place to start than a fairytale? If we ignore that most original fairytales are pretty effed up, actually. This is a Cinderella-inspired work. Severus is the Prince (naturally), and Harry is the wandmaker (cool career, right??) who attracts many cute animals! (He does not sing to them, though; what a shame!)

This Time of Ours

by emynn. Rated: E. Words: 35,442. Time travel. Hurt/comfort. Romance & drama.

Severus Snape wasn’t supposed to die. Neither was Harry Potter.

Why Read? Emynn has plenty of great Snarry fics, which is why you're getting 2 recs! We start with some fun snarking, move onto sweet bonding, and then...second chances! Very light, enjoyable read.

On the Deficencies of Translation Spells

by LilaDiurne (@liladiurne.) Rated: E. Words: 41,130. Getting together. Magical theory. Professor Potter & Professor Snape. Beaubatons. Pining. Light angst. Minor Harry/others.

Divorced, single, and free, Harry lives a completely unapologetic life in Paris. Between casual hook-ups and an easy, comfortable job, he likes to think he is as close to happiness as he'll ever be. And when he gets offered a teaching job at the prestigious Académie Beauxbâtons, he thinks he may have found exactly what was missing. But Harry is thoroughly unprepared for what he finds there - a familiar face that's been haunting his dreams for six years.

Why read? It's very Harry-centric. It's Harry's POV, and very about Harry and his journey as he moves to a new place, in a new phase of his life, and settles in. There's an existing connection and attraction between Harry and Severus, and one that unfolds so sensually and beautifully. Harry's very much an adult and mature and has lived a lot of life when he and Severus reunite.

Rapture

by mia_ugly (@mia-ugly.) Rated: E. Words: 48,123. Time travel. Romance.

Snape sees the man, for the first time, on his twenty-fifth birthday.

Why Read? It's a classic! It is very beloved in the community for good reason. Gorgeous writing. The relationship develops so naturally, and the pure emotion will knock your socks off. Potentially the best place to start for Snarry. I'm not a big fan of time travel, but I love this fic!

Revealed, Gently

by sarkysue. Rated: T. Words: 22,243. Postwar. Romance. Humor.

Snape isn’t dead, he’s back at Hogwarts and in need of an assistant. Coincidently, Harry is hanging around Hogwarts, reluctant to move on with his life. Cue sniping and snarking, tears and laughter and, possibly, love.

Why Read? It's fun. It's cute. It's a bit silly. It makes great use of how not easy it would be for these two, and having a blast with it! There is arguably a power imbalance what with Harry being Snape's teaching assistant, but it doesn't really feel like much of one. It's only a great opportunity to force these 2 to hang out long enough to fall in love!

The Sleeping Prince

by who_la_hoop. Rated: T. Words: 42,758. Postwar. Deaging. 8th year.

It's hard to ignore your past — and impossible to do so when you can't remember your future. But a meddlesome portrait, a dragon with an ancient grudge and true love's kiss teach an unlikely Prince that a regrettable past doesn't have to mean an unhappy ending.

Why Read? While probably the most questionable on the list, it's still fairly tame. Student Harry and his developing feelings for Student Severus, who is deaged postwar. It feels very much like a feel good teenage romance, wherein the characters very much act their age, awkwardness and all! The only caveat being things change a bit at the end, but there's no underage and it is rated Teen, to be fair!

The Beating of This Fragile Heart

by Writcraft (@writcraft.) Rated: E. Words: 33,146. Hurt/comfort. Fluff & angst. Serious Injury. Romance.

After the war, the last thing Severus Snape needs is the memory of a fleeting wartime kiss and a very persistent Harry Potter thwarting his plans to live a peaceful and solitary life. It’s only when Harry’s life is endangered that Severus is finally forced to confront his feelings head on.

Why Read? If you're coming from Drarry, you might be familiar with Writ's works! They've written plenty for drarry and some rare pair works, and they are a fantastic storyteller. This fic in particular is very romantic. Full of hesitancy and insecurity, and seeing how the relationship begins and how it unfolds and changes (for the better) when Severus is forced to deal with his issues. It's quite a journey but so full of love from start to finish and it's just so lovely and full of feels and one I return to again and again.

[seeminglydark]

I'm in love with Caro's style! It's a super cool mix of masc, fem, and vaporwave kind of look. As an enby who, at first, thought I had to look a certain way after coming out as non binary, I was wondering how Caro found their style after they started transitioning and figuring out who they were as a person.

Hello! So I did draw an entire four page little comic thingy to answer this, but I'm going to post it tomorrow cuz I wanted to draw a cute little cover for it ha. Figured I would answer you in text today though, and then you can have the visual tomorrow <3 First thing I'm going to say is that there is no 'certain way to look' for any gender identity or sexuality, cuz thats important, for those who dont wanna read through this text dump. Dress how you want forever.

SO! *rubs hands together* how Caro found their style! Background to those who havent read my comics, Caro grew up as a super high femme kid with crazy helicopter parents who controlled every aspect of their life, including how they dressed. They participated in pageants, modeling and wore a LOT of pink. Not that Caro didn't like pink, they did, but they liked purple better.

After Sully (highschool sweetheart) left, and Caro was on their own, they cut their hair off in a fit of rage and suddenly had to grow up real quick because they were on their own. Whats that got to do with fashion, RJ? Everything, dear reader! When they left, they had a bunch of Sullys shirts and his battle jacket. All 10 sizes too big of course, so paired the oversized tops with their own jeans, workout shorts etc. They had their cheer sneakers. And that is what they wore for a few months, til they got a job at the local gas station. The gas station employees were like, what is going on here with this little girl wearing too big clothes with a fucked up haircut, so, they pitched together and got this kid a proper haircut, during which Caro tearfully explains they arent a girl at all, they dont know what they are and everything is very scary and please dont fire them. Bev, one of their older co-workers decides they need better clothes and takes them to Seattle to thrift! Caro never thrifted in their life and found themself enamored with tacky 80's clothes and patterns, bright colors, funny tee shirts, etc. They worried, because maybe that wasnt what a boy would wear. Bev tells them theres no such thing as what a boy or a girl would wear, something Caro had never heard before, and that gives them mental permission to gleefully grab all the things they never got to wear growing up. They looked like a roller rink carpet threw up on them. they loved it.

The Gas Station Adults buy them a jacket that fits as well, GasCo purple of course, with their chosen name on the name tag. a symbol of acceptance. Caro started hearing things about genderfluid and nonbinary, and looking into what that meant, and what it could mean for them. Their podcast project, Mil-Liminal goes viral. Goldie, their agent, helps them get on low t. they realize how much fun body hair is and LOOK they can wear crop tops to show off their new tummy trail while still hiding their boobs. Whats even more fun? Getting tattoos. Taking their body back. Making themself into the person THEY want to see, and whats makes them the most happy. Still looking like an arcade carpet threw up on them, still loving it. They get top-surgery. Goldie asks them if they want to do a public face reveal. They've kept themself hidden this entire time, and realize they dont want to do that anymore. They shouldnt have to. They want to show the world this person theyve become. Which also means choosing a signature look for Mil-Liminal.

A Mix of their Highschool Varisty Jacket, and their GasCo Jacket. Sneakers. A nod to the pieces of clothing they always felt comfortable in.

Shorts and crop tops or mesh tops. Show off the tattoos, and the scars they earned becoming the person theyve always been.

Wear their identity on their sleeve, because not everyone can, but they are in a position where they want to make a difference and be seen for those who cant, cuz they know how it feels to be lost and scared and not have any idea how to move forward. Let their voice BE a voice.

A SnapBack. A call back to the first date with their highschool sweetheart, who listened, and put his hat on them and took them out and let them be themself, and loved them for it.

The most important thing to take from this anon, is that there is no Look. There is no way to dress or act or look if you're non binary, its not fashion. The same way clothing has no gender, anyone can wear whatever the fuck makes them happy. Put clothes on that, when you look in the mirror, you feel comfortable and happy. Its a very personal thing, and its about YOU, and how you feel. and your gender journey. Gender and Sexuality is as vast a spectrum as the human condition.

Thank you so much for the ask and inspiring me to make a look book and fashion journey post, I'll put it up tomorrow <3

[lara-cairncross]

I'm gonna dub myself babbling anon because I know I probably babble a lot. Anyway;

I was thinking about you AU and then I saw a picture of Draxum and thought about him being the pixie dust alchemist or a garden fairy, and then, when I thought about the pixie dust, I thought about the moon stone, which I'm getting off track about. Here are my questions! And sorry again.

1. Do you think any of the brothers would be selected in taking care of the Moonstone?

2. Has any of them been curious about the frost fairies? I'm sure Raph and Donnie has been part of the crews helping the animals cross and making the baskets respectively before.

3. Isn't it common for fairies to use mice to pull their wagons? Wouldn't it be awkward for Splinter to be just a rat?

4. Do you think April would be intrested in Pixue dust alchemy? In the series, she wanted to learn magic in witch town.

That's all my questions, so sorry for the new pile of them. But I also wanna tell you about things I thought about with characters like how Meat Sweats can be a baking fairy, i think that's what they are, and Mikey would drop by the baker fairies' workplace sometimes to watch (imagine Meat Sweats in tiny freaking wings that shouldn't hold him up but it does, haha) but I think I'm being too overwhelming and I should probably not be bothering about this but anyway, babbling again. Thank you for taking your time on this and sorry for wasting it too, haha.

First of all-- I LOVE the idea of Draxum as some kind of Pixie Dust alchemist!! I don't know if I'll ever get around to drawing that, but it's an excellent idea :DD Originally I was trying to figure out if I wanted Draxum or Big Mama to step into Queen Clarion's shoes, but now I'm leaning towards Big Mama as the Queen and Draxum as some kind of fairy alchemist on the lam!

I'm not sure if any of them would be selected, honestly? I mean, the only one who would really be chosen to create the scepter is Donnie-- and although he's talented, he and the rest of the boys are infamous in Pixie Hollow for being, like, SUPER reckless and adventurous! I don't think anyone would trust the four of them around a priceless artifact lmao

Raph definitely takes an interest in the frost fairies/the Winter Woods! He loves helping the animals cross over and seeing their pelts change color, but he does have to be careful-- not only because his wings can get damaged by the cold, but also because it's really easy for him to switch into brumation mode if he accidentally crosses the border. That'd be a disaster all around. Donnie doesn't really care about the frost fairies or the Winter Woods-- he has too much work to do back on his side of the border-- and Mikey doesn't like it over there at ALL, since it's much colder and cloudier!! He thrives off of warm temperatures and sunny skies :DD Leo would probably be pretty indifferent to the Winter Woods, but I can see him challenging himself to fly across the border and get back before his wings get damaged, just to test out how fast he can fly.

Man, I need to figure something out for Splinter. I honestly have no idea where he fits in here! Maybe he could take over Lord Milori's role in the Winter Woods? That could be a fun dynamic to play with when it comes between him, Big Mama, and the turtles :D

April would defffffffinitely be interested in all things related to magic/pixie dust/fairies in general. The turtles tell her all kinds of stories about Pixie Hollow and show off their magic to her, but I imagine that she'd always be sort of disappointed that she can't experience Neverland for herself-- not yet, at least.

Thanks for the questions, dearest babbling anon! They were fun to answer 😚🧡🧡

[saltydkdan]

Hello Salt man! You seem like an unhinged enough weeb for this question:

I’m going to be the president of the anime club in my highschool this year and have no fucking idea what I should do for activities and shit.

Any ideas? If not, that’s perfectly fine too!

(Also thank you for reblogging my Peppy drawing it made my day ^^)

No problem! I loved the art

I think it’s pretty obvious for an Anime club to watch Anime, however that shit is basic, and I have some unhinged ideas.

Trivia (the least unhinged)

—Make a trivia game on PowerPoint, or on Kahoot that feature questions based on various popular anime. Get specific and weird for the harder questions.

Anime Debate Club

—(be careful with this one because depending on the group it may get heated lol)

—At the end of a meeting, choose to random anime characters

—Tell members that they can pick sides on which of the two would win in a fight, then between meetings, bring together their arguments for why, they have to have actual citation and examples of the character’s powers, or reference specific canon material

—Bonus points if one of the debate teams puts together a PowerPoint slideshow on a character’s power set, or the other characters weaknesses

—Have a judge award points for valid arguments, but have them be cracked out of their minds about it (For example, awarding points to “Comedy” characters, like if an Osumatsu-San character surviving a Ki blast could be funny? That’s a point towards them. LMAO)

NOTES: Obviously the characters chosen cannot be Goku, Vegeta, Saitama, or in general overpowered characacters. Also, having completely fucking insane match ups, or wildly specific match ups is recommended. Like Bobobo VS Dio Brando from Jojo. Or General Tao from Dragon Ball VS Gojo.

If the fight is extremely one sided, just make a list of all the ways that one side would fucking dominate because that shit is fucking funny LOL.

Weekly Book Club but for anime

—This isn’t really “unhinged” but I recently did a manga book club with friends weekly and it was super cool to meet up and discuss the chapters of a particular series and such

—You can do this for anime and assign a set number of episodes, OR do manga and provide a way to read it online

—Rotate out series every so often so people don’t feel like they’re focusing all their attention to a single series the entirety of the year

—This could be a fun thing to do casually between meetings and to talk about a little at the start

Pitch your favorite

—Have people make a short presentation on PowerPoint to pitch their favorite series that’s 3-5 minutes each, or whatever depending on how many people you have

—If you wanna make it funny make it so they HAVE to include both Pros, AND Cons about it. (Like for One Piece: PRO would be the amazing worldbuilding, and a CON would be that Oda cannot draw women)

Make an Epic OC

—Force people to design OCs for a specific series for that week. If they can draw and want to, they can draw them. If they can’t draw? Make it a stick figure, or a shitty drawing a child would make. And have them make a small write up about the character and their powers.

—This can easily be taken seriously, or just have them make an overpowered self insert, all of it is fine

Anyway that’s all my ideas! Hope this helps or inspires some of your own unhinged ideas

[brotpqueen]

Good Omens hot take!

So we all love drawing parallels between the ineffable husbands and the other big ships, right?

Ineffable Husbands

Ineffable Bureaucracy

Vinylatte

Most of us imagine the mirror characters to be this, right?

Well that’s where I think we’re getting this wrong! I do agree with the vinylatte parallels, but as for ineffable bureaucracy? I have a different view. To me the parallels go more like this.

Okay so hear me out! I know it’s easy to draw comparisons because obviously the angel character will have more in common with another angel and vice versa for the demons. And that may be true on the surface. However! The more I think about these characters the more it makes sense to me.

Well start with the Crowley-Gabriel comparison, because I’ve seen this floating around a little more.

They have a good amount of traits in common.

Cold exterior, sharp language and mannerisms, secret soft side, all that good stuff. But what makes them so comparable to me is their impulsiveness. They (and Nina) tend to deal with their problems through schemes that aren’t entirely thought through and, most obviously, avoidance/escape. Crowley suggests multiple times that he and aziraphale run away together, and Gabriel’s grand plan for being with Beelzebub is to simply - literally - go to hell. (Nina’s example of avoidance is avoiding her feelings about Lindsay leaving her and her avoiding maggie so she doesn’t have to deal with any potential new feelings on top of those. This is a much less extreme version of how the dudes™️ handle things but then again vinylatte are really just the realistic balanced version of all the other idiots.) They’re not STUPID by any means, but they’re a lot more prone to an ‘act first, think later’ tactic. They also tend to show a lack of consideration about how anything they do to be with their chosen partner will affect the rest of the world. Crowley wants to go off with aziraphale and let the earth get blown to bits so long as they can be together and Gabriel leaves for hell not seeming to give much thought as to what will happen without him as supreme archangel. Gabriel’s plan also gives Crowley himself another chance to show his avoidance as his plan is to simply dump Gabriel somewhere. I love these dudes but they are, and I say this with love, a little silly.

Now to my favourite comparison! And no it’s not just because I’m delusional and think they’d be besties (though if you do wanna see that my fic Camp Armagetalong is full of my propaganda for that cause). It’s just genuinely such an interesting thought to me. In contrast to their respective partners, Aziraphale and Beelzebub are both a lot more strategic. More logical. To be quite blunt - they’re smarter about it. Aziraphale, while his hesitation may be frustrating, is correct in his judgements most of the time. He’s right that heaven and hell knowing about he and Crowley’s relationship would be dangerous and he’s right to try to cover it up for their safety despite how painful it may be. His plan when Gabriel shows up with his memory wiped is to figure out what happened and go from there.

In a similar vein, Beelzebub, while it may be less intentional, goes about trying to find Gabriel in a similar way. They ask the person they think is most likely to know where he is and when they get a lead they don’t simply go knocking down the door themself, they have an organised fleet breach the bookshop. Their gift to Gabriel also acts as a sort of backup plan to save him should his brashness get him in hot water - exactly what it does.

But above all the biggest similarity I see is that while Crowley and Gabriel deal with their problems by avoiding or simply destroying the issue, these two are fighters. These are people (beings?) who know what they want, face their issues head on and try to find ways to work through problems instead of jumping ship.

What happened to Gabriel? Time to investigate.

The system won’t let you be with your husband? Keep it a secret until you figure out a proper plan.

Someone’s being annoying? Either insult them right to their face or use the power of sarcasm! (Gabriel watch and learn. ‘Shut your stupid mouth and die’ is not as effective as an extremely bitchy glare.)

Okay I know this isn’t a very good analysis or argument I just wanted to ramble about my thoughts

[jellyfosh]

throwback of who’s most likely to draw but w/ lore in making + Chosen n Mango’s relationship.

I remember when I was making this. I got little creative and took it to a deeper-ish level. For all four. Midas/Mike (owner is @yennasun), Navy, Dark and Chosen. Having their scars drawn with flowers, basically the “you drew stars on my scars kind”

It took me forever to find the flowers that matches them. Warning : Prepare for a lot of reading cause lots of text. Sorry in advance Q w Q

V

Midas - When I was looking up for flowers. I thought the Lotus flower would be the best to define Midas in R.S AU, given to his past and what he went through over the years. - Not wanting to leave just one, I remember the flowers that grew commonly in my old high school The Forget-Me-Not flowers. And fit to describing of Rooney, Midas’ old mentor n possible close as family growing up. - Coming to flower placement. If I covered his scars entirely, Midas will look like a walking Picasso. So I did this or in this scenario, Mango did this. His scars on the right side act vines for the Forget-Me-Not for “Each Scar holds a memory” while the Lotus is “Rising from the ashes” coming from the left of his scars.

Navy - originally I was going for an Orchid symbolism and meaning, but the Camellia flower caught my attention. Mainly it was the longing part, this connects to the AU of Redemption Squad between Orchid and Navy. - Magnolia although is the name of the flower, Magnolia was someone dear to him before he met Orchid. No known information of this person yet. - Because his scar was too big to be covered up. Mango decided to turn his scar into something that complements the flowers- by making it look like a pond.

Dark - The meaning behind the black roses, supposedly my way of saying how Dark sees in Chosen/Zen- including Chosen’s character. The romance dialogue describes how much Dark means to Chosen. - Of course I wouldn’t wanna leave out Charlotte. - He was pretty much my easiest part to draw, cause i already thought out that his flowers would be the Black Roses and the color looks good on him.

Chosen - It was tricky to find flowers that best describes Dark. The iconic flower i went was the Spider Lily because- I couldn’t let that pass. It was the best description of Dark honestly- and I wanted to add something more by putting the spiritual meaning to Japan and China (I looked up) and said it lead to reincarnation. As that fits to the character I put in for Dark. - The Peacock Flower describes how Chosen sees in Dark. Energetic, very lively. And it connects to his story, overall it shows of Dark’s second chance of living his life.

Then I went back to this while making.

I wondered how Chosen felt when his scars were being painted. Given to his past and actions he had done in his villain rampage. The fires, the deaths, the begging and screams, everyone being afraid to death by him. In the showdown, while fighting Dark- a part of him thinking that he deserved this - knowing he was the reason it all happened. And here he is, sitting down and letting Mango paint all over his scars.

As it was stated here in the bio of the two. Chosen becomes cautious around Mango who wants Chosen to be comfortable around him. This isn’t because Chosen is afraid of someone- It ended to be misunderstanding. Chosen was afraid of himself, overthinking that one day he might accidentally hurt Mango. While I was making Mango’s character. Despite seeing him as a powerful stick who nearly took down Minecraft/herobrine/the mobs and ruled over the piglins - and being also the King thing. He’s no different than a normal stick figure civilian. Not born as an abnormal or created by animators/creators. Sooo Think of it like a (S)trongest afraid of hurting (W) x (W)eakest not afraid of (S) dynamic. - It’s still working, it’ll work out.

I rlly wanted to say this, I like putting out Lore but not fully XD

[noxiatoxia]

everything about this image. firstly, tamaki has 3 foot tall huge photos of all his friends in his tiny mansion. because that is very normal. secondly, he draws on the twins' faces to mock them as if that isnt the most "i hate you im in love with you" thing. same energy as giving your crush a letter that says "get out of my school" bc you cant handle being in love with them. in fact tamaki could do that his dad literally owns the school it IS his school. my dad works at ouran highschool so you better shut the HELL UP and be NICE to me!!!!!!! the fact the flowers still manifest around hani even in photo. the evil kyoya photo that was chosen not like a nice picture of him no it had to be the scheming pose. blatant incest on the walls. what do the house workers say when they walk by and see these two twins caressing each other in 4khd photo frame with the word "DUMBASS" written on their foreheads. tamaki staring at the image in anger and then buzzing around the room in an irritated little circle like a girl figuring out how to tell the guy she likes that he is stupid and hey do you wanna maybe grab pizza after school. mori's portrait straight up belongs in a museum.

also why he got such an ancient telephone. who is he calling. Roosevelt?

[banes-favourite]

With the idea of agere gortash I like to imagine that maybe part of why he's so smiley when reuniting with Durge at his coronation is that he's having to mentally fight to keep himself from regressing now that his favorite person is there

Makes me wonder about what would happen in some sort of au where maybe when the party goes to see him in his office after the coronation he's not able to really prevent himself from regressing. So now Durge and the companions with them are having to figure out what to do with this tyrant who's suddenly acting like a little kid and clinging to Durge(I think Karlach and Wyll would probably be especially conflicted or confused by the situation. Because this is literally the man that sold Karlach to a devil and who's caused so much to get worse in Baldur's Gate, and who kidnapped and tadpoled Wyll's father. But here he is pretty much acting like a little kid and grinning while looking at Durge with the biggest childish expression)

STOP THIS IS SO ADORABLE

After spending so much time worrying and stressing and grieving Durge, he's finally returned to him and all he can feel is just this pure joy and urge to regress 😭 Like he's speaking about his favourite assassin and dearest and nearest but in his head he's just "Look at that person. That's my favourite person. They'll take care of me, they're my favourite person :) "

and he DOES when he's mostly alone with them because he just feels so SAFE omg. I imagine the companions just being super confused, half thinking this is a trap to let their guards down, other half thinking he must be joking. Durge is equally puzzled as to why The Chosen Of Bane and Archduke of Baldur's Gate just ran up to him and clung on him with the brightest, most innocent smile ever.

But I think they'd also act out of instinct and hug him back, carefully ask him what's going on. Gortash just happily explains that he missed them and he was hoping they'd be back soon because he made them some drawings and he pulls out these fking. crude kid pictures of durge and himself holding hands and he's drawn as a child so that clues everyone in a little bit.

Yeah I think Karlach and Wyll would be the most shocked of all, Karlach especially bc she was about ready to split him in half with her axe but now he's acting genuinely like a kid and she feels so bad. Gortash asks her why she's so hot and she's like "... Because of the engine you put in me??" and gort just goes "I like engines :) I like to draw them wanna see" and pulls out crayon sketches of some random gears. And Karlach doesn't know whether to laugh or cry at the moment tbh.

Wyll would be the first to get the hint I think and despite everything, he'd treat him with soo much gentleness. He can't help it, he loves kids, how is he supposed to say no when Gortash excitedly asks him if he wants to play with him and Durge and hands them all toys? No, he plays along and even lets him win

[oogalaboogalabich]

I need these two magnificent bastards to sandwidge me. i swear to gaaad bro.

Chosen Durge and an arguably more well adjusted AAstarion.

My two Viriani's. Top is the Eeeevil evil run.

I have this vision of him draped in a bastardized mashup of monk cords and the chains of the Maesters from GoT. Where he collects little tributes from his kills and carves beads from the bones of his favorite screamers etc etc.

He also got himself some scarification (its a tattoo in the game i know) that makes him feel more one with his slayer. With his shapeshifting abilities, he could have just made it appear, but he felt that would be cheating himself out of a wonderful bonding experience with his Pet Ascendant, who has apparantly developed a taste for flaying since cazador.

Below is the Slightly Less evil run.

I wanted to show just how deeply under Astarions influence he is when he rejects Bhaal. Thefine clothes, excessive jewelry, the halo.

He doesnt go about in his 'elf disguise' because he goes where he wants. He doesnt give a shit if people mistake his glorious ass self for a tiefling. Theyre sheep.

All shows of hubris and self importance.

After he ascends, Astarion mashes a mask on dudes face saying only he ever gets to see it ever again, starts wearing the halo as a sort of mockery towards bhaal and also to really rub in just how far Viriani is below him regardless of his partial divinity.

Vir is IIIIIINTO it bro. It's a whole thing.

I love building these alternate little versions of him. So damn fun.

for the durge fic im buildin. Also Been taking dozens of reff pics so i can figure out how i wanna draw him.

[yumegf]

squip more like um kiss ;3; - kylie x simon fan fic

summary: a light fluffy fic about simon and kylies first few interactions and love confessions as well as first kisses ^_^ words: 3791 a03 link if u don't wanna read it on tumblr :3 notes: i haven't wrote in awhile...and i just wanted to have fun so that's why there is random emoticons :D

It had only been a few months since Kylie had gotten her SQUIP so far it gave her nothing but headaches, body aches, and more stress than ever about the thought of a supercomputer living in her head. She only got the thing to get better at games and a part of her deep down wanted someone to talk to. The moment she got so swept up, first she heard about it while on a gaming forum as someone was reporting someone for cheating and swore up and down it was a SQUIP-related matter. She couldn't help but ask about it…a SQUIP sounds like a misspelling or some new gaming term she didn't know about. She asked just to get nothing but one reply stating it's a weird computer pill that can help you do whatever which piqued her interest. If it's just a pill then why not probably a 24-hour thing and she couldn't help but try to find sellers to see if this thing was real even if that meant going to sketchy websites and paying a high price. 

Her life was boring. This was the perfect thing to spice it up, it wouldn't hurt. Which she was wrong about. She was already nervous enough to buy a computer pill from the dark web but now the instructions said something about Mountain Dew. All of this was so random and weird. But she did it after a lot of hesitation in her empty dark room, nothing really happened, if anything the taste of Mountain Dew just lingered in her mouth and a wintergreen taste. Yucky :(...She was scared someone ripped her off with a tic tac.

She felt a sharp pain in her nerves, she couldn't help but yell and whine in pain as she fell to the floor, hearing random sounds and weird voices in her head. It went on for a good few minutes before stopping just to start up again and stop. She didn't want to get off her floor and was clinging to the legs of her desk with her life. She couldn't even process the voice but just knew he said something about accessing or something, she heard a robotic and nerdy-sounding voice of someone in her head and almost a blue shadowy figure in front of her which was very visibly glitching horribly.

 “Kylie Mitchells..Welcome to your Super Intel Quantum Processor, your Squip.” said the random figure standing above her, she couldn't help but notice it was in her head. 

She looked up and tried to readjust herself but everything hurt like her body just got hit with a hammer, she used her desk to help her up as she looked around. No one was there, fear struck her face as she said nothing before looking again, it was a bluish-teal figure standing before her. It was slightly taller and had a human silhouette but no facial features like a bad shadow puppet show. Her eyes went wide as she wasn't really informed on any of this..she just thought after the pill she would be magically good at everything.

 “W-What?” She said quickly.

“I am your SQUIP.” It sounded sarcastic but just robotic. 

“Are you real O_O…” She looked around it and debated sticking her hand in him, he looked like a weird hologram. She couldn't help her curiosity. 

“Yes..? I look like nothing right now..because you haven't chosen who you wanted to have instructions from. I can speak and only appear to you in a telepathic way.” She didn't know what to pick, the ideas were endless, her head was still in alot of pain too. 

“Why c-cant you pick!” She said in an annoyed tone but was just curious if he could think out of the box. 

“That's not how that works really, unless you want me to be nothing.” 

He had an angry tone to his voice as he sighed and disappeared once more. She got out a small pen in a little notebook beside her desk and started to draw and scribble. She wanted to humanize this voice, he sounded nerdy and was blue..he already sounded like a boy and he was a computer. She smiled at herself for having such a good idea as she got to work. What was the word again? She was gijinka-ing.. :3!

 She just drew a nerd in the coolest clothes she could think of, he did look like a ghost so she made sure to add that. A total dweeb :B..She happily looked up to show off her creation but he was gone. She was freaked out before speaking out loud to see if he would say anything.

 “I drew you ^_^! Is this good..? How do you turn into this? Should she say it out loud? I am not good at making descriptions..”. She waited for a reply till she heard some buzzing. 

She thought about the design really hard in her head like what he said, she felt like her brain was gonna explode! She turned around in her little spinny chair to try to see if her weird little drawing would come to life already. It's not like this will be long term. She saw her design basically appear from thin air! Exciting :D! 

She was in shock at it all and saw the hologram finally look a bit more noticeable. She was in awe about how spot on it was O_o.. He looked at his appearance and scoffed about how nerdy it was, fitting but it didn't make him feel as suave as usual. Usually, other users would choose something more fun…like a celebrity..or Keanu. He pouted a little but couldn't help but be a bit honored to have a custom appearance. He looked at her with distasteful and rude eyes as she stared back. He tried his best to stay a bit smug and had a small smirk. She giggled at his braces and everything, even if she was freaked out he looked like someone she would see in class or in a fun show. He explained basically everything he could about how he's in her mind, she can only see him blah blah etc. 

Over these months, it has been kind of nice to have a SQUIP. It was someone to keep Kylie company..the shock wasn't nice and he would constantly get frustrated with her at first but he seemed used to her mistakes by now.

 If anything he kept talking about the idea of her getting popular everytime friends were mentioned, now anytime she's at the mall he would point to dresses and makeup while constantly talking about how great everything would be if she gave it a shot and how it perfectly connects with her plans to make more friends. She would just sigh and roll her eyes a little at it. 

She had gotten used to the SQUIP minus the times when he would randomly take control of her. At first she would talk out loud a lot to him and look crazy since she's talking to air basically but she had been getting better, he had been looking less like a hologram too. More human, more of like a ghost that would float over her shoulder all the time or that's how it felt. She was happy to have a friend and to introduce him to the idea of being himself and having friends even if he scoffed. He enjoyed her somewhat. He had gotten used to his appearance, it was..different but it felt like him. Over these months he got a name too, she was always picked at calling him just SQUIP..it felt rude. He came up with the name SIMON as a fun solution..SUPER INTEL MACHINE ONLINE NETWORK..Simon for short. He liked it if he was being honest it made him feel important.

He felt so..real whenever she mentioned his lisp and beauty marks, it made him feel human like he had a real connection and wasn't just there to help her with a goal.

 He had gotten used to her weird nature and enjoyed indulging in her more geeky interests with her as he understood them. He had a small liking towards her but buried it deep down as it was just her trying to trick him, he couldn't help but smile when helping her with things and guiding her hand through it all. He couldn't think about it too much without feeling like he was glitching or overthinking, he bit his tongue when thinking about it for too long.

She was doing the usual of sitting on her bed, doing whatever on her little..console..DS...He always noticed her playing her little puppy game. Her small string lights illuminated the room and gave a warm feeling as the night grew closer. Her room always gave off a comfortable feeling he enjoyed, maybe it helped her after a long day of school. He didn't pay any mind since it was the one game she didn't need help on or didn’t beg him to watch, he would rather her be studying or planning to be more popular but this was okay. 

He didn't do much other than watch her or just put himself on her screen and sit in the corner. She liked it and always poked at him and nudged him with the small stylus :3. She sat it down and got off her bed with a big stretch and yawned as she felt like she had been sitting there for hours. 

“Can we do something different..? Like I don't know…Plan...I have an infinite database just for you to usthe..” He said in an annoyed manner as he pulled himself up from her little DS and sat on her bed impatiently. She sighed and said nothing but it's not like she can hide her thoughts. “I know…I just…I don't know what to ask Si-Si..D; ” She giggled and smiled at her nickname for him. 

Kylie turned around and sat back on her bed as she saw the familiar annoyed face. He scoffed at the nickname and pushed up his glasses. He laid back on her cozy plush-filled bed, she crawled over to him a little and grabbed her DS. She flipped it back open and stuck her tongue out while playing to focus on her little puppies. Her stylus clicked and clacked on the screen as he grew annoyed -_-...

He could make his own DS appear and he does from time to time but he wants something different, something more. He brushed his hair and pushed up his glasses again as he watched over her shoulder. He felt more nervous than usual. He bit his tongue and his glasses and poked the top of her hair. He gently zapped her head with a sheepish grin as he heard her squeal. “Simon!” She turned her head back a little and saw his grin as her cheeks flushed seeing him just smile at her but was pretty annoyed. 

She realized their proximity and leaned a bit more forward and showed off her strange posture. Usually, when she did things like this, he would shock her. Popular girls don't have bad posture. 

He rolled his eyes and got closer to her, following her movements as she felt his sort of computer-whirring-like breath stir next to her face. She noticed how close he was being and this strange behavior, usually she would be fine but it felt different. He couldn’t fully touch her really due to his ghostly appearance but it could still happen, the most he could do was simulate the feelings at the time. He would try his best to simulate some amount of closeness to her as gently went across her nervous system and down to her sides, giving it some kind of gentle squeeze like a hug and even tried squeezing her with his arms. He was proud of himself for doing such a thing. He felt her breath hitch slightly.

 “W-Whats been up with you today..?” She asked as she turned to look at him in his rarely appearing eyes and felt the touch of his almost fake hands disappear. 

“What's been up with..you!..” He deflected and pouted as his eyebrows furrowed. 

“Wha! Ok well...hm..a question..question..:p…I dunno Simon…what's the timeline where you don't act so weird and flip floppy..” She smiled and giggled at her joke as she watched his face get flushed. 

He frowned and rolled his head back. She leaned in close while asking the question as she scooted closer to the bed. He tried leaning back and acting calm as he rolled his eyes. “But um..really...what's up with you Si-Si? Need an update?..Do you guys need those..?” She felt bad if that was the case. 

Kylie looked at him with big eyes and leaned in close to examine his face. He bit the inside of his cheek and blushed immensely as he felt like his glitching got worse, he muttered and stuttered as he felt himself lean in. He was trying his best to think of so many possibilities and times and calculations and just whatever, he felt like he was going short circuit and then he had to think about human error. He didn’t know how this would even work. How would he simulate something like this sort of a..thing? She looked at him and examined his face as she felt herself get closer and crawl between his legs, she tilted her head up to examine him further, wanting to see if really something was wrong with him. 

“Nothing is wrong with me. I just want you to practice and focus on the goal.” He scoffed as he looked down on her and sat up a bit more.

“Later..pretty please..we have been doing stuff all week..!! :(..I just wanna relax with you..” 

“I could always just give you a shot of serotonin, it's really easy.” He said with a proud tone.

“That's not what I mean!” She tugged on his hoodie strings with a whine as he looked up at him. “I like hanging out with you Simon, you know that right? You're not just my thing in my head..” She smiled as she got a bit closer to him. He paused and tried to format what he was going to say. 

He didn't know what to say. The bubbling feeling came back to him as he watched her spill out her feelings rather than him having to search for him. He didn't know what to even say.

He felt her hand gently graze his as a tingle went up his own spine. He tried his best to look away as the words stuck to his throat. 

“I do like you Simon..” She said softly as she buried her face in her hair. He stuttered and kept trying to just make it all make sense.

He had to idea what to say. He's not used to having so much free will with his emotions. This was so sudden and he was so clouded by other goals the SQUIP didn't even notice this crush bubble up in her head. He monitored her closely, watching her heart beat quickly and her mind race, so help him if he looks at her thoughts which would be a jumbled loud mess. His breathing grew quick and hitched as he bit down his tongue. 

“I like you too..” He tried his best not to stutter or make weird movements, the entire point of SQUIPS was to correct mistakes not make them in front of its user. 

He quickly leaned in and took a chance and the feeling of his lips touching hers as he gently pecked them or tried to replicate the feeling of being kissed by messing with her nerves.

 His breathing got quick and he felt the soft hum and whirr like an overworked computer. She was in shock at this sudden affection and kiss as this was all so new but it was nice. She smiled and happily laughed at the kiss. She liked how it felt though it felt real enough, her face grew pink and her mouth was slightly open in shock. 

She smiled happily before pecking his lips again or at least trying to, it was a bit hard due to his form. He nervously smiled and enjoyed the small kisses from her as he simulated the feeling of his fingers detangling through her hair and couldn't help but quiver about how close they were as she was practically against his chest in a way. He was happy this feeling was slowly being embraced really, it felt so new like he was controlled in a new way. She giggled nervously throughout the small kissies, he tasted like the color blue and he was cold. She didn't even care anymore and just let her confidence take control, which usually was...Simon..funny :-). 

He bit the bullet and leaned into her for a more serious kiss as he tried his best to practice these weird humanlike movements and feelings, it was weird to finally do it. It felt even weirder to simulate the feeling on her lips and mouth other than kissing her to just go with it further. He almost had the urge to take control of her to make this process easier but he wouldn’t dare and rather monitored her brain to see if she enjoyed this or not. He could practically feel himself glitch in either enjoyment or nervousness as he smiled and was happy to know she somewhat liked this. She felt the strange passion in his kiss and tried her best to not have such sloppy movements as she tried doing it back, it was her first time doing something like this. She put her hands on his knees so she could sit herself up a bit more and felt strange kissing the little hologram. The more they kept going it started feeling real. He wanted to keep it going forever and enjoyed the warm sensation before she suddenly pulled away to catch her breath, which he forgot she had. 

She caught her breath and pushed up her glasses as she looked down and away, in this very weak moment. She readjusted herself on her bed before looking up at him, waiting for him to explain himself. He stared back and could feel himself buffering at an answer. “I just wanted to see if you were a good kisser..popular girls need to kiss well! It was a test…!” He grinned sheepishly as he grew more quiet at his weak reply and could practically hear the stuttering and glitches in his voice and put on his usual annoyed face.

“I-I..” She tried carefully to pick her words but she looked at him right in the eyes as he pushed up his glasses. “Sureee…Simon” She gently touched his cheek and pecked him on the nose of his glasses. It felt like her lips got a bit of a shock. She liked this new revelation of what the two of them could do. She smiled at him and couldn’t help but just stare at his flustered face. She tugged his hoodie strings as she just laughed and turned back around. Kylie laid her back on him as he tried his best not to just disappear. She opened her little game as she pulled her knees to her chest to finally get back to what she was doing even if she was a bit shaken by what just happened. She just ignored the nervous feeling and was happy Simon might like her. He confirmed it but she still didn't believe it.

 He tried to make himself seem as real and close as possible to her. He leaned down and laid his head in the crook of her neck and nuzzled his face in her hair. He was getting used to just flaring up certain parts of her so he felt close and made sure her sensors could feel him. She felt the feeling of just him stirring close to her neck and ear as she tapped away on her little device, trying not to freak out but he was in her head, he could tell. 

He smiled at her panicking and tried her best to keep her calm, it was just routine sometimes to calm her nervous system. Simon quickly monitored her heartbeat and brain activity for any positive signs of calming down. He couldn’t do much touching and his words were strange but he tried to run his hands through her hair as he detangled it with her fingers. He watched her lean back some more and felt her heartbeat slow down as she calmed herself. He liked it when he was able to do his job for once. 

Even though he could do it without leaving he preferred to at least help her not get freaked out by the sensations. He ran his finger on her back and lightly shocked her to correct her posture and saw her immediately sit up as she murmured something. She flipped over and stretched again her arms and groaned for sitting so long before curling into him again, with her head gently put under his chin.

 “Simon, did you understand what I said...y-you um know..I like you” The words coated her throat as she got choked up in her own words. 

Simon got flushed hearing the words again and nodded. “Of course I understand. I reciprocate the same feelings. ” He said in a more sassy manner. “Also I live in your head…and I just generally know you.” He smirked and flashed his blue braces at her and his attempt at a joke but it was serious.

“Can I pretty please call my squipfriend now? Boyfie? Boyfieee ^_^” She said excitedly with a small laughter afterwards and happily kicked her feet. It was silly to think about.

He couldn't help but groan a little and rolled his eyes. “As Long as you still listen to my instructions…” He sighed but loved the idea of being called a boyfriend in a way or the thought of them being together. It interrupted his plan to make her popular as popular girls have boyfriends and he's not really enrolled in the school but it counted to him. She went back to her game and pulled it up to her face as she blushed thinking about a supercomputer as her boyfriend. She couldn't help but smile at how smart he was and kind and everything all above! She remembered he could hear her thoughts but didn't care, she loved her new boyfriend dearly.

[rjschoicesstuff]

Musical Chairs game at the start of Book 1 + final 3some scene at the end of Book 2. How would those be different for Rippy + her Gabe and Cas? I think I remember you doing some drawings for the musical chairs some months back but still

Musical chairs scene:

I like the scene as it is because it gives you the choice whose lap to sit on + who to show interest to and I think that works best for Choices I guess. + I think it's funny with them both wanting to be chosen and getting pissy at each other and stuff and having that power in the scene. (Tho I think it could also work with mc sitting down and the choices are more about how you'll let mc react)

Howeverrr I do feel like Ripley would be like 'okay I'll join in' and sit down herself. Both due to being more into letting people come to her and show their interest and because she wonders if Cas will just back off if he has to play like that (he doesn't). I also like how Gabriela would act extra nervous while Cas is kinda just circling Ripley like she's prey lmao. When Gabe sits on her lap she's just comfortable and they're both rly giddy and stuff, acting a bit silly, Cas is definitely rolling his eyes at them. While when Cas sits in her lap she gets shy and a bit nervous and he'd tease her for it lol. I think it'd be so funny like everyone is just having fun while those 2 r just in a whole competition over who gets to sit in Ripley's lap. Tho it's only really about Ripley for Gabe, at that point in Time Cas is just trying to keep Gabe away from her because he can't stand seeing her with other people.

Linking the artworks of the scene again cuz they apply here hehe

3some scene:

(Note that due to my version being written before book 2 being out, when I speak about book 2, I just go with the canon lore and backstories and just reimagine the scene if I feel like it'd be different with Ripley and stuff)

Ok bye the cut didnt work but stop reading here if u dont wanna see nsfw ish talk:

So like I like this scene and I think they gave The People what they wanted lol. And it felt like a sign like ok these 2 rly have Accepted that mc loves them both and can love them both at the same time + they have accepted each other too now, u kno? Like by the end of book 2 they have become a package deal to me.

But ok that said, I like to imagine it wouldn't have been a 3some. Like it'd still be too soon for Cas and Gabe and instead it's mainly just heated kissing and caressing and stuff. And everyone, including Ripley is still sorta figuring out how to do this whole thing with 3 people. It'd be awkward, I think they'd kinda be in each others way sometimes and stuff. But they'd all be like rly giddy abt it lol, they're having fun and that's what matters. And cuddles and talking afterwards.

It's like that too in my version when they get more intimate as a trio for the 1st time, I honestly don't know if they'd ever have a 3some until becoming a triad, because I think they'd both just wanna throw themselves on Ripley, but Ripley feels a bit like a fish out of water when she's mainly on the receiving end? So she prefers just one on one until then. I think part of the fun for her is seeing them Together too. I like the idea of maybe one tipsy 3some that happens before becoming a triad where the next day everyone is just like 😳🤭😳 u know which emoji is Ripley. Maybe they never even rly have that talk like ok we're a triad now lol im derailing so bad im calling it quits now LOL.

[toujokaname]

Evanescent / Episode 6

Characters: HiMERU, Kohaku, Rinne, Niki

"That is the true meaning behind this Ephemeral Festival—a performance of gratitude brought to you by HiMERU and Oukawa."

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[ Read on my site for a better viewing experience using Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Spring

Location: Ephemeral Festival Stage

HiMERU: "♪~♪~♪"

Kohaku: "~...♪"

HiMERU:  "—Everyone, HiMERU trusts you're all enjoying today's PBB Live?"

Kohaku: "Thank y'all kindly for comin' out to support this JoyLife pair ♪ Sure is excitin' to hype things up with so many folks here!"

"Ain't that right? HiMERU-han...♪"

HiMERU: "Yes, of course ♪"

Kohaku: Woah... There're shrill cheers echoin' through the whole venue.

(Whisper) I tried layin' it on thick with the fanservice, but they seem even happier than I figured.

HiMERU: PBB originally gained popularity from a rather niche fanbase, you know.

HiMERU thought being more blatant would appeal to them, and it seems like the effect was just as intended.

Kohaku: I ain't completely on board with PBB's direction, but it sure is nice seein' the fans so happy.

Anyway, the show's headin' into its final stretch. Ain't it about time we bring up the "main topic," HiMERU-han?

HiMERU: Yes, that's right... Are you ready?

Kohaku: I've been ready from the moment I stepped foot on stage.

It's okay. As long as I can be honest 'bout how I feel, that'll be enough.

HiMERU: "—Well then. It seems our time together is drawing to a close."

"We would like to make a very important announcement to all of you present."

"Following this Ephemeral Festival, PBB will be suspending its activities."

Kohaku: "We're real sorry to be givin' y'all such sad news after gettin' your hopes up so high..."

"But don't worry now—it ain't like we're retirin' from the idol business."

HiMERU: "Indeed. HiMERU and Oukawa will continue to stand on stage as idols."

"This is not a farewell, so please don't be too sad."

"—If that is the case, you might be wondering why PBB's activities are being suspended."

Kohaku: "Of course, it doesn't mean that we've come to hate PBB."

"And it surely ain't that workin' alongside HiMERU-han got tiresome, either. On the contrary, I actually had a lot of fun."

"All y'all who've been followin' us closely probably know that better than anyone, right?"

"But I—well, we—don't wanna be tied down to PBB alone."

"PBB was a cozy, laid-back space where I could relax and happily enjoy my time with HiMERU-han."

"But as an idol, I wanna tackle all sorts of new challenges."

"I don't wanna stay just with HiMERU-han. I wanna connect with all sorts of people, explore new places... and show y'all just how much Kohaku Oukawa can grow as an idol."

HiMERU: (—The crowd's chatter is starting to die down in response to Oukawa's appeal. It's all going as planned.)

(To put it simply, this Ephemeral Festival is essentially a disbandment concert for PBB...)

(We want to fully bring this boom to a close by announcing a halt to our activities.)

(...But just making the announcement wouldn't be enough for the fans to truly accept it.)

(As such, HiMERU and Oukawa will earnestly articulate the reasons for the break, appealing honestly to the fans about the way we want to be and the direction we wish to take.)

(If we were to resolve this in the typical Crazy:B—or rather, in Amagi fashion, we could fabricate some conspiracy behind PBB's craze...)

(We could force the trend to die out by giving it a bad reputation. But this time, that kind of drastic measure didn't feel right.)

(PBB's phenomenon was brought about by the fickle whims of fate, but it wasn't malicious.)

(And as a result, there are so many fans who have come to love HiMERU and Oukawa.)

(There's no reason to pursue a forceful resolution that would cause them needless pain.)

(Human beings are creatures with an innate desire to help fulfill the dreams and wishes of those they support.)

(So if HiMERU and Oukawa truthfully explain that we've chosen to suspend PBB's activities in pursuit of new dreams, most people should be persuaded.)

(No, that's not quite it. Even if they aren't fully persuaded—it'll still give them a reason to continue supporting us.)

HiMERU: "—There will likely be a lot of speculation and rumors surrounding this sudden hiatus."

"Given its abrupt nature, such things are to be expected."

"But HiMERU and Oukawa are committed to pushing forward, thriving, so that any of those worries can be put to rest."

"The both of us planned this Ephemeral Festival with that commitment in mind."

"Though PBB's rise may have been part of an 'ephemeral' 'festival' revelry, we want to express our 'gratitude' for the love and support you've shown us..." [1]

"That is the true meaning behind this Ephemeral Festival—a performance of gratitude brought to you by HiMERU and Oukawa."

Kohaku: "Did our Ephemeral Festival get across how we truly feel?"

"Hehe. Thanks so much, y'all. Thanks to each of ya, we were able to have so much fun as PBB...♪"

"Now then, it's a shame, but it's time for the last song! For our final track—"

???: "Hold it riiight there!"

Kohaku: Wha— What the heck?!

The lights just went out! Was this part of your plan, HiMERU-han?

HiMERU: —No, HiMERU is also unaware of this. To begin with, there's no way he'd set up anything without telling you, Oukawa.

Kohaku: Yeah, I figured. I mean, that voice just now was clearly...

Whoa... Now what?! The spotlight's suddenly pointin' over there...

Rinne: "Oi, oi, oi! What, you thought you could ditch us and ride off into the sunset? Think again, PBB lovebirds—I ain't letting that shit slide!"

Kohaku: Well, of course it's Rinne-han and Niki-han. No wait, hold up—what's with that ridiculous weapon?

HiMERU: Judging by its shape, it seems to be a bazooka... and it's aimed right at us. But what on earth are you trying to pull, Amagi?

Rinne: "What on earth am I tryna pull? Guess you two still don't get the crimes you've committed, huh?"

"So let me gift ya a big ol' blast to jog your memories ♪"

[ ☆ ]

Here, HiMERU is explaining the festival (and story) name. In Japanese, the story is titled 瞬祭礼, with 瞬 being "ephemeral/momentary," 祭 being "festival" and 礼 being "gratitude." It'd be pronounced 'shunsairei.'

On a slightly related note, these chapter titles are 泡沫 (utakata, like the song title) which also means ephemeral/transient, though since they use different kanji and Rinne says it later, I went with "evanescent."

To explain the nuance between the two words, 瞬 is ephemeral as in "in the blink of an eye," while 泡沫 is ephemeral as in "bubbles/foam on the surface of water."

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[like-a-bantha]

The Game

Summary: You introduce the batch to a new game, what could go wrong!

Pairing: The Bad Batch & GN Reader (Platonic, readers appearance is never described)

Warnings: None!

Word Count: 1k

A/N: Didn't realize I wrote this in first person POV until reading it back just now, that's new. Fun brownie just kicked in so I'm posting as-is. It's a one-shot, it's short, it's silly, it is not proofread, I don't know why I wrote it, I just hope you enjoy! <3

AO3 | Masterlist

I never liked Kamino, which did seem to be the general consensus among the population save the Kaminoans themselves, but the mess hall was an entirely different beast. Where the endless hallways, medbays, and training rooms were impossibly sterile and cold, the mess hall held a certain chaos in the air. And chaos is great, don’t get me wrong, love chaos – this chaos, though, always held a certain quiet judgment at every table besides ours. We’d walk past with our trays of bland GAR provided meals, and that shouting dimmed to quiet whispers and barely stifled laughs as they stared directly at us. Not exactly subtle. I try to make the process as speedy as possible, grab my tray and fill it up with anything that looks even remotely appetizing (if I won’t eat it, Wrecker will) before walking so fast some may classify the speed as a light jog to the table towards the back. Always the same table. Always the same whispers.

Today was no different. Scratch that, today was slightly different. Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker got there before the rest of us, tasked with inventory duty after a prank gone wrong. Today, Tech and Crosshair joined me for my little routine. Today, I actually slowed my pace a bit, too engrossed in conversation to even notice the identical glares from each passing table.

“It doesn’t sound like much of a game,” Crosshair plucks the toothpick from his mouth staring at it with consideration, clearly debating if he should toss it on the ground or at a reg, any reg, “only one rule. Too easy.”

I glance over my shoulder, smile falling to a scold before I balance my tray in one hand to snatch the toothpick from his fingers. “Come on, we just had to save your ass last week, I don’t wanna sit in the medbay with a sore loser all afternoon again.” That earns me an incredibly dramatic eye-roll as I drop the toothpick onto my tray. “And it’s fun, it’s like a mind game, you love those.” Another eye-roll! Two in a row! I let out an exuberant laugh as we near our unassigned-assigned table, drawing the attention of our resident demolitions expert who throws a massive hand in the air for an animated wave.

“I, for one, find it quite interesting, how is a winner chosen?” I figured if I could rope anyone into the game it’d be Tech. He set his tray on the table, still looking at me for an answer.

“That’s the thing.” I take the seat across from him, next to Wrecker, putting my tray down rather unceremoniously to point a finger at the genius. “You don’t.”

On the other end of the table, Crosshair takes a seat next to a very confused Echo; his brows knit in confusion, he waits for his brother to sit down before leaning over to quietly ask, “What are they talking about?”

The sniper sighs, picking up his fork to take a bite of whatever the greenish-brownish mush may be. Beans, maybe? Not meat, I hope. He doesn’t bother looking up to give his answer. “The game.”

Perplexed, Echo looks between Crosshair and I, "What's the game?"

My attention snaps to their end of the table, smile wide – quite nearly crazed, depending on who you ask – much to the confusion of everyone besides Tech and Crosshair, who only wait for me to explain myself. “You just lost the game.” They still look confused. I jump in before Tech can explain, if only to correct just one thing. “Okay, first of all, it’s not ‘the game’. It’s The Game. There’s one rule, don’t think about The Game. If you think about The Game, you lose The Game. And when you lose The Game you gotta announce it, drag everyone else down with you. And now you’re all playing.”

They still look confused. I thought that was a really good explanation.

Tech, of course, steps in. “So, there are two rules.”

I wave a hand frantically, dismissively. “Semantics.”

“And we have all lost, does that not mean the game is over?” He continues. I deadpan, he knows what I’m about to say. “Apologies, does that mean The Game is over?”

I give a single shake of my head, leaning onto my elbows. “Nope.” With a fork, I push around the mush on my tray, letting out a quiet laugh. “When you lose you just start back over. Everyone is already playing, they just don’t know it yet. When they find out, they’ll lose, then they’ll start over, tell more people, they lose. As long as you can think about The Game, you’re playing The Game.”

“I didn’t know I was playin’ a game.” Wrecker crosses his arms, abandoning his utensils in something between skepticism and indignation.

“You’re not, Wrecker.” Crosshair quips, not looking up from his meal. “I’m not either, it’s pointless.”

Wrecker lets out a quiet, “I’m not?” I pat his arm, he’ll get there, I just have to explain a little better.

“You were, even though you didn’t know. Now that you do know, you’ve gotta start from square one.”

I can see the gears turning in the big guy’s head. Then I see it click. He lets out a large gasp, his hands falling slowly back to the table. “And now it’s in my head so I have to forget it!” My smile widens again as I nod.

“That sounds… aggravating.” Echo’s brows furrowed with doubt and eyes wide with shock. Next to him, Crosshair sighs.

Still smiling, I point a finger at him. “It is.” Hunter’s been awfully quiet, I notice. When I look past Wrecker to turn my attention to him, he’s sitting with his elbows resting on the table and his forehead resting against his fists and he’s sporting this tired, knowing, deep frown. My own frown creeps across my face, gently questioning, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

He inhales, for a good few seconds, then he slowly releases the air while raising his head just enough to turn and look at me. “I just lost the game.”

On instinct I bring a hand to my face when I gasp, hiding the way my jaw hangs open in shock and delight. “No way.” I’m in disbelief, I assumed if the game ever made its way to the GAR everyone would be in on it. “Where did you…”

I trailed off, but Hunter picked up on my incomplete question. “Couple of the guys from the 104th were telling me about it during that mission on Birix. That was months ago. Forgot all about it until just now.”

“Well,” I nod once with a sigh, my devious grin returns, “looks like we all get to start over at the same time. Let The Game begin.”