#fun fact: Back then in the tournament i only had three red colours. One of them was actually magenta

[nokk0]

Aaaaaaaand finally managed to publish thiiiissssssssss!!!!! :D

Really silly, I know

@gethoce

[parchmentedpetrichor]

➳a mastermind ♡

in which fred weasley turns to the resident mastermind, y/n l/n, in hogwarts for advice. the problem? he has a crush on the same girl george does: angelina johnson. the story spans over a couple of months in their second last year at hogwarts.

fred weasley x ravenclaw!fem!reader

word count: ±1.4 k

tw: nothing really??

drop a follow if you wanna see more of this content!!

my masterlist:D

ft. cassius warrington

wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure

a mastermind

after fred and george weasley had given up trying to enter the triwizard tournament, their sights set on a different matter. for george, it had always roamed his head. for fred, it simply popped up at the randomest of a time.

they were in the age of chasing after pretty girls with pretty smiles.

one pretty girl in particular. angelina johnson.

george's crush really wasn't a crush. it was more like a deep love for angie. he knew her really well, they were almost best friends. and angie loved him back.

fred knew both these facts, yet he couldn't possibly grasp why he still had a good old schoolboy crush on her. and he couldn't tell george either. no, george was too considerate and needed a girlfriend. and he had been patiently waiting long enough to deserve something.

sometimes he wished he was george. still funny and prank-loving, but calm and collected at times. but sometimes he liked himself just as he was. spontaneous, dramatic and terribly idiotic.

and hey, george was handsome, so he must be too, right?

one morning after tossing and turning all night, he decided he needed help.

he spotted the girl in the blue uniform and the glasses, she had the brightest yet the wisest eyes. even before he approached her, she swiftly lifted her head from the parchment she had been writing on and saw him. she met eyes with him. she didn't show any emotion she hadn't already been showing, but the simplicity of understanding was written, like all the ravenclaws, in her brain.

"um, hello," fred started.

"good afternoon, what's up?" y/n replied friendlily, parchment now away and now doodling randomly on a scrap piece of it.

"i need some help."

"okay then, go on, i'm listening," her tone was gentle and reassuring.

"i like the same girl as my brother. i don't know what to do, really."

there was silence for a little while. her eyes were focused, her hand absentmindedly drawing across the parchment.

she pushed her glasses up.

"would you consider this 'liking' you say, to be potentially love?"

"no, not at all, it's just a crush, y'know."

"a silly one? i know we all have silly crushes which are full of quite foolish feelings. but they're nice for a while."

"yeah, that's the feeling."

"why do you think you like this girl?"

"um, because-because she's pretty, and she's nice."

"two very valid reasons," y/n chirped, "and why does your brother like this girl?"

"he loves her, because she understands him and she puts up with him and they've been best friends for years. they like the same things and have the same beliefs."

"mhm."

she was still deep in thought.

"does this girl like one of you?"

"that's the problem. she's in love with him and we all know that. i just can't get over her."

"oh, moving on is easier than you think it is. simply put, your brother or the girl?"

your brother or the girl?

everything seemed so much more clearer.

"think about it this way, fred weasley, if your brother is happy, are you? good day, sir!" she saluted jokingly and set off merrily, her steps quick and paced.

she knew it was good to be cheerful around him, because if she was cynical and way too practical, it would break him. he needed to get over angelina, she thought, or it would severely affect his and george's brotherhood.

she didn't tell him that though, that would be mean and sad.

fred was quite astounded. he didn't know how this girl, who was, to him, small in size and in ego, and probably younger by a few months, knew this much.

that's the eagleclaws for you, he thought.

she didn't look intimidating, if anything, she was nice and fun, but she somehow seemed like she could be the end of you.

she knew, she knew, she knew.

she knew who the girl was, who the brother was, she knew more about him than he did himself, and she barely knew him. she about solved his issue.

he found himself being drawn to her. instead of his eyes floating to angie, they were on the chatting, studying, daydreaming girl who wore the ravenclaw blue with much nonchalence.

☆

y/n was freezing. it was the end of the school day and it was snowing. so she made her way to the ravenclaw common room, muttering a haphazard answer to the riddle, told her best friend julia that she was going to take a nap and then bundled up in the heavy sheets.

julia just smirked. she quickly went to grab fred.

"oi, fred!"

he was laughing with george and lee.

they would make cute babies, julia pondered.

"oh, hello," he said.

"come with me."

her tone was ominous and commanding.

"okayyyy."

he followed her to the ravenclaw common room, where she sat down next to a telephone.

"in a few minutes, y/n will call for a blanket because it's cold. just wait."

"and how does this concern me?"

he got a scorching glance in return.

"i have to talk to cassius in a few minutes."

sure enough, the phone rang.

"juliaaa, you're a darling, you know that right??" y/n flattered her.

"yeap." julia's face broke into a smile.

"yeah, so be a darling and could you please possibly send a nice blanket up here?? or two or even three??"

"of course, and a handsome prince with the hair colour of fire too to cuddle," she winked at fred who turned red.

"yEs oF cOurSe, juLiE, aNd prEfEraBlY thAt hE hAs sTaRs iN hIs eyEs aNd gAlAxIeS iN hIs MinD tOo," she joked back.

"okay. right up."

"wha- julia what??!!! thanks."

they both chuckled.

he handed fred a stack of neatly folded blue blankets.

"go. fifth door on the left."

and so he did. it seemed the ravenclaws were too mature to need barriers on their dormitory quarters. the door was open and the room was insanely neat. y/n was lying in a bed, eyes wide open, a small pout on her lips.

she was clearly surprised to see him. when he placed all the blankets nicely on her she smiled.

"thank you, freddie."

"aren't you gonna let me in too?" he asked, smirking.

"oh," her cheeks heated up, "i thought julia was just joking!!!"

"apparently i am indeed a handsome prince with hair of fire, stars in his eyes and galaxies in his mind," fred smirked and y/n huffed.

"it's an expression. and i didn't know she was talking about you!"

"well, scoot over."

y/n just stared at him, before shuffling over.

"i hate you."

fred just scooped her up in his arms.

"you smell good," she blurted out, before immediately turning red.

"mhm, 'pparently my cologne does have that effect on girls."

"pretty sad that only your cologne attracts girls," y/n retorted, "and i was just telling you. it does not have an effect on me."

"'kay, whatever you say."

there was a silence.

"this is boring," y/n frowned.

"wanna make out then?"

y/n glanced at him. was he for real?

she thought not. so she pretended she was asleep, and soon she really was.

fred didn't feel defeated at all.

for he had noticed the faint blush rise on her cheeks.

☆

y/n decided it was probably time she asked fred out or something. if she got rejected, she was great at moving on.

so she asked him to meet her at the corner of the library on a thursday afternoon. he didn't show.

dismayed, she went out of the library, and met george weasley.

"hey george!"

"yello!"

"have you seen fred?"

"check the astronomy tower."

"okay."

there was something mischievous about the way he winked at her as she departed. then again, it was george.

the astronomy tower was well lit and there in all his glory, stood fred. she felt a frown on her face as she approached him. he turned around and smirked at her.

"stop it. i invited you to the library to tell you that-"

her voice was muffled as fred put a hand to her lips.

"you are not going to beat me to this."

"this isn't a game!"

"eh, everything is. i really really really like you, y/n."

he anxiously awaited her answer.

a cheshire cat smile formed on her lips.

"well i was just going to tell you that transfiguration homework is due tomorrow but okay."

"..." he was staring grumpily at her, lips in a pout.

"i like you too."

he smiled, "good."

"isn't this the part you ask me on a date or something?" y/n teased, "or should i? wanna go to hogsmeade with me?"

"you beat me to it."

[beatlebachelor]

May I? : Cedric diggory x reader

summary: your Cedrics best friend and you begin to realise your genuine feelings for him after he enters the Tri-wizard tournament only to find out he feels the same. hufflepuff reader!

Warnings: possibly fluffy?

Word count: 2,257

Y/N - your name

Y/E/C - your eye colour

This is my first time writing one of these so if there is any way you think i could improve please feel free to give suggestions!

Its Monday morning, 9:10 to be precise, me and my friends Cedric, Hermione, Harry and Ron were all sat down having breakfast in the great hall. Despite the fact me and Cedric were in Hufflepuff and the other three were Gryffindor we always sat together. Cedric was two years older than us and did get teased about hanging out with third years but it didn’t bother him, he enjoyed our company. I often hoped he favoured mine especially.

After everyone had finished their food Dumbledore stood up to do his weekly Monday morning speech, but it felt different this morning. “Is that Bartemius Crouch?” Hermione inquired. “Who?” Harry said cautiously. As Hermione went to answer she was quickly interrupted by Dumbledore as his voice bellowed through to the other side of the hall.  

“Today, I get to announce something very special and to help me we have Sir Bartemius Crouch from The Ministry of Magic. Hogwarts has been selected to host a famous wizarding event. The Tri-Wizard Tournament!” suddenly there were many whistles, cheers and whispers coming from all four tables, me and Cedric looked at each other in immense delight but everything suddenly stopped when Dumbledore spoke again. “There have been some new rules put in place this year to ensure more safety for our students, after all this is a very dangerous competition. Sir Bartemius Crouch, if you will” a few small whispers formed from different areas of the hall. Ron whispered to us all “if any of you enter this competition ill be praying for you, this tournament is the real thing, so many people that have entered this died just from the first round” What Ron said shook me up a little, part of me knew that Cedric would give into whatever temptation he had to enter.

After all the whispers had finished Bartemius walked up to stand beside Dumbledore. He pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket where he had obviously written a speech. The room began to feel slightly tense. “From this year onward those who enter and compete in the Tri-wizard tournament must be at least 17 years old-” He was suddenly cut off by the majority of the hall shouting and screaming at him. Me, Harry, Hermione and Ron weren't phased by the new rule. None of us were of age anyway and if we were we wouldn’t have entered. Cedric however appeared to be very pleased with himself, he was 17, he could compete, he wasn’t my boyfriend or anything but id known him for ages. What if he entered and got hurt, I don’t want to stop him from doing something he is interested in though because that wouldn’t be fair.

When we all left the hall I went straight to dark arts, I didn’t speak a word to Cedric in fear that if I did I would just break down and cry. I didn’t want to ruin anything for him because I could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted to win that cup, and if he wanted it then I would want it for him. After all I was his closest friend, friend... that never felt nice to say.

In dark arts I could barely focus, all I could think about was if I liked Cedric, I had known him for so long and never thought about whether how I felt about him was more than just friendship. I mean would it be so bad if I liked him? I couldn’t get him out of my head. UGGGGHHH this is so frustrating. The thought always did cross my mind about how perfect his face was, everything about him in fact, I couldn’t think of a single flaw no matter how hard I tried.

By the time lunch came I still hadn't made up my mind on if I actually fancied Cedric, I mean come on, am I really going to be like every other girl in this school and fall for his charm. And as if he’d ever like me back, by the looks of it he’s probably into one of the Beaxbatons Academy girls just like the rest of the boys in this place. In all fairness it is rather enjoyable to watch them walk, how do they always look like they are floating? Besides the point! Hopefully I'm just unwell, surely that’s the only explanation.

I went straight back to the common room, anything to avoid Cedric, even if it was missing lunch. However, it appeared my plan to avoid Cedric had failed when I walked in to see him sat on the sofa next to the fire. Just him, no one else. “Are you ok?” I asked with a shake in my voice. “Y/N I wanted to talk to you. We have been friends for ages which is why I want your opinion, I trust you” I felt a small flutter of butterflies in my stomach and proceeded to say “you trust me? I mean emm what is it?” that made me feel rather embarrassed. “Well, I was thinking of entering the Tri-wizard tournament but i know how dangerous it is and idk if I'm capable of the magic I will need to protect myself. I also don’t want to hurt anyone if something bad were to happen to me” A horrible feeling formed in my stomach and slowly moved to my throat. The thought of Cedric getting hurt made me feel sick. “Cedric don’t be silly. Your one of the most talented wizards in this whole school and you seriously think you wouldn’t be able to protect yourself. If its what you want then we all want it for you and I will help in whatever way I can to ensure you win” I said that full of confidence, I really did mean it, every word. “Youve always been there for me Y/N, I genuinely don't know what I would do without you” He pulled me in for a hug, I always loved our hugs, my head would always fall in the right place on his chest. He smells so good, almost a musky bark smell with a hint of vanilla. I wondered if he thought the same.

A week passed and it was time for the champions on the Tri-wizard tournament to be announced. First the champion of Beaxbatons, Fleur Delacour. Next the Durmstrang champion, Victor Krum. As the paper for the Hogwarts champion floated down into Dumbledores hand my stomach sunk but then I felt a slight warmth on my hand, I looked down and it was Cedric. He had interlocked his fingers into mine and was gently squeezing them with excitement, I turned to him and smiled he looked directly into my eyes with a slight smirk as his cheeks flushed pink.

Dumbledore read out the name on the paper “And finally the Hogwarts champion is, Cedric Diggory” Cedrics face lit up with pure joy, so did mine, his iridescent blue eyes glistening. He hugged me so tightly for only about 2 seconds, but there it was again, that smell, his scent makes me feel so warm inside. He let go and stood up to go shake Dumbledores hand. Everyone was cheering, mainly the girls, of course it was the girls.

Another week went by and we had been preparing for his first task, dragons, I don’t know what would've happened to Cedric if Harry didn't tip him off. We practised basic spells on how to defend himself against them for hours and hours. Now we would have to see if he remembered them. Whilst in the tent I stayed with Cedric, he asked me to, his words were “your the only one who can keep me calm” After he had picked out his dragon the canon went off, Cedrics eyes glazed over slightly as he turned and gently kissed me on the forehead. He had never done that before, maybe it was just out of nerves. So many thoughts rushed through my head, surely Cedric didn’t like me? By the time I had gathered my thoughts he had already gone. I ran to my place in the audience, right next to Hermione. She asked what took me so long. I didn’t want to tell her but at the same time I did, I gave her a brisk hug and began to watch Cedric in hope that he would succeed and taking the egg.

Cedric managed to complete the first task unharmed within what seemed about 15 minutes. I was so proud of him. When we were all back at the common room I realised I needed to talk to Cedric, about all the hugs and the forehead kiss and most importantly, how I felt, I waited for everyone to head to their rooms and asked Cedric to stay behind. We sat on the sofa with the fire crackling beside us. “I'm so happy you passed the first challenge, I'm really impressed” I paused for a second thinking of how I was meant to say what I needed to say, but then he cut me off. “Y/N, about earlier, when I kissed you on your forehead, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Recently Ive realised how much you mean to me and I don’t want to do anything that your not ok with. I'm sorry if this is forward but I really do like you, its everything about you. Your hair, your smell, your Y/E/C eyes. I'm sorry I sound so stupid right now” A rush of emotions came over me, was I hearing this correctly, did I fall asleep and I'm actually just dreaming. “Cedric, I feel exactly the same, I didn’t want to tell you in case you didn’t feel the same way and then it was too awkward to continue being friends. That’s why I asked you to stay down here with me for a bit” Cedrics cheeks were bright red and he had a happy/embarrassed expression on his face, I could tell mine was doing the exact same. He held onto my hand again, it felt so natural, I usually wasn’t all for the idea of being touched often but when Cedric did it everything felt ok.  

A couple hours passed whilst we were just chatting and even played a game of wizards chess. After I began to get tired he walked me to my room holding my hand all the way. When I got to the door he stopped. ”Y/N would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me” I didn’t even have to think “Yes Cedric, I would” He hugged me and let me go into my room.

We practised for the dance for the next two weeks, it was so fun, we rarely took it seriously but that was what made it even better.

Finally, I hope our practise for the dance was worth while considering I have two left feet. I had just finished getting ready, I wore a flowy light blue dress with a few pale pink and beige tones. As I walked down the stairs I bumped into Hermione. She looked so beautiful, her hair was so perfectly done and she was wearing the prettiest pink dress. Had I not made a big enough effort? We continued to walk down the stairs and I noticed Krum was waiting for Hermione, I couldn’t see Cedric so I stood and waited with them both for a bit. And then, there he was, he looked as handsome as ever in his dress robes, a wide smile formed on his face when he looked at me. He slowly walked over “you look absolutely stunning Y/N” he said whilst gently holding onto both of my hands. “Don't look too shabby yourself” I said with a little giggle, he laughed too, he always did tell me that my laugh was contagious.  

Once everyone was gathered in the great hall the champions and their partners were ordered to enter as we were the first to dance. We took position. Staring into Cedrics eyes as he held onto my waist made me feel as if we were the only two people in the room, I wasn’t worried, in fact I didn’t feel anything but joy. The music began and we set off. The more I continued to look into his eyes the more natural the dancing felt. Every time he lifted me into the air butterflies formed in my stomach, my dream was always to be able to dance in a ball with a gorgeous boy and now, my dream was coming true.

As the night grew longer me and Cedric remained in the hall dancing for hours upon hours. Eventually we sat down “Tonight has been really fun Y/N” he started “i actually have something to ask you, well Ive been meaning to ask it for a while now actually.” There was only one thing on my mind “sure go ahead” Cedric slowly stood up holding my hand causing me to stand up too. He gently moved the hair from out of my face and put it behind my ear and the proceeded to place his hand on my cheek. His hands were so soft, I could feel the warmth on my skin. My heart was beating so fast. I saw him open his mouth as if he was too scared to say what he wanted to. “May I kiss you” he said silently in a slightly shaky voice. I leaned in closer to him, my lips very nearly touching his. “...yes”

[mikkock]

Hey hi your murder mystery art is super totally cool and amazing and I'd like to Extra! Extra! hear all about it *rattles bells*

haha wow i cant believe ud ask me THIS! unbelievable! now im gonna have to make a long post!

all info under the cut cause im kind like that ♥

For reasons I felt like making a Fancy Ass murder mystery story, with you know, hella complex secret storylines and everyone having drama and shit, and one person died but the more the story goes the less people care about who did the murder and the more they want tHE JUICY DETAILs. X and Y had an afFAIR you say!!! well that’s thousands time more interesting than that murder that happened, who cares about the culprit its not like any of us are going anywhere anyway! tell me more about the marital issues!

The ultimate Vibes are Clue (the game, ya kno, it had a movie too, and that movie was shot with three different endings -fun fact- so that movie theatres could play one alternatively that way people wouldnt get spoiled or even if they did they would not get the ending they were spoiled or even if all three were spoiled you couldnt know which ending you were getting anyway, big dick move, cause its an old movie and film is expensive, also that movie stupid and campy, ALSO I ONLY LEARNED MAKING THIS AU THAT IN ENGLISH THE GAME’S CALLED “CLUE” wE CALL IT CLUEDO therefore my wip playlist is called cluedo. because. fuck it.)(i just have an emotional attachment to that game i even had a cd rom video game version and it was the spookiest shit for a 6 years old, trust me, i played it so much tho i didnt even understand the rULES i was just making scenarios like gathering the characters in rooms n making conversations outloud cause honestly the banter is the best part of a murder mystery) ANYWAY that sure is a whole paragraph of tangent. 

BUT YE the inspo from the Clue game. you can tell it from the Colours obviously, everyone’s colour codded.(even everyone’s name is colours as well you’ll see it’s real dang fancy! im just remaking that game but with 2932020 characters and more behind the scenes drama and also for gay people.)

So BASIC PLOT!

Sir Belyy, the dude in white, is The Rich Powerful Respected Fancy Boss, and he throws a Fancy Reception Party with his closest friends and associates to celebrate the opening of a new branch of his business. All the lads gather in his wonderful little very isolated mansion in the middle of nowhere, like ok he got a death wish or something or he’s very trusting of his business partners, but not a good move, cause in the middle of the reception, as A Phat Storm Starts (for plot convenience, we going with a campy vibe if you couldnt tell), his body is found, it’s awful, there’s a killer on the loose! All the guests gather, and attempt to maybe contact the authorities, to not avail, since The Storm ya know, phone lines are Broken my dude. Its clear that the culprit is among them, since no one could have entered the house, or left it (cuz once again, ThE sTORm). And then it’s all about interrogating each other, distrust, alliances and betrayal, revealing one’s deepest secrets when they form an alibi and revealing someone else’s deepest secret for they could be a motive! Meanwhile there’s a dead body in the mansion just chillin there. 

.

So as I mentioned, I changed everyone’s name to be colour related (or ya know, food or flowers of that colour cause sometimes a colour in a language would not work as a name given the way names work in that culture all that jazz) which is the trippiest thing cause tHATS NOT YALLS USUAL NAMES but its fun (also changed so many ages hgfhs it was a trip)(still no one’s really old i guess i got boomerphobia). The “Cast” is clearly the most important part, and if ur a True “My OCs” Connaisseur (hdfghd the most useful skill to have, knowing *MY* Charactersdshgd) you may have recognised some faces and can already read some vibes and predict who will be progressing the plot and who will be yelling at people throwing accusations ghdfgd.

(god i wish i hadnt slacked off making the portraits of everyone in that AU i only have 3 tho that’s so sad so ill just make little sketches just cause <3 only text??? i got too many hoes with no attention span for that)

.

Sir BELYY (the one who dIEs lmao)

(bust shot missing the fact that this man is the tallest beefiest lad around)

Intimidating, powerful, composed, wealthy, carries the name of a family who has generations of control to it’s reputation, he’s The Man that hoes who believe in the economy wishes they were. As in, the “self made” man who only just happened to benefit from having a wealthy background to uplift his plans. In his youth, he wanted to prove his worth, seperated himself from his father, started a business, that business became big, then got attached to the family’s business, bam back to square one but with Reputation now. There seemed to be VERY big tension between him and The Father, some speculate it had to do with his unknown mother, and some family drama there, and it never got resolved as old man Belyy died quite young (the jUICY speculations are that current sir Belyy mURDEREd old man sir Belyy, fucked up if true!). People love him though in general, as he has that reputation of “Cold Lad With a Gold Heart” aka he takes people under his wings, donates, doesnt treat his employees like the absolute worst garbage etc... you know, he’s rich and a half decent person, so obviously he’s an angel on earth. But does it matter though, he’s dead! that’s the concept of the story!  

Mr.GRAY (the grey guest)(who could have guessed from the name)

He’s one of Sir Belyy’s oldest employees, and benefits from a high rank in the company. But, sadly for him, he’s been stagnating lately, as newer, youngest employees seem to have Belyy’s favours, and are his prefered associates for important tasks and positions. Therefore he has Some Bitterness, Some Salt, Some Distaste, some unbriddled but professionally muted hatred for Specific people in the company. He can be an antagonistic figure, but the amount of time he spent in Belyy’s circle grants him an immense quantity of information about the man, but mostly, about his business. Anything about the company’s history, dealings, operations, he’s aware of, either having been told of them, or having snooped around to obtain, immune to being questioned due to his legitimacy in the company.

Mr.LIM (the green guest)

Remember when it was said that Gray had beef with some employees cause they were younger and rose to high ranks faster than him and became Belyy’s favourite over him? Yeah well here comes the one he hates the most for that (ofc he’s belyys fave cuz he’s Mine <3) Our lad caught Belyy’s attention for his Exploits in like, em fancy high school tournaments of smart people, it’s a thing its ridiculous, making kids compete on Smart stuff for the pride of their schools n shit, well homie Lim got clout when doing that, and Belyy was extremely interested cause that kid’s main thing was how “this young lad got mad strategic skills tf are u a war general or smth how fancy”, and that’s a coveted skill for ruthless business. So as soon as the kid is an adult, bam, join the company my dude. And because he’s just that Cool n Sexy ofc he met the expectations Belyy had, and old man Belyy got attached cuz it do be such a young lad, a kid, mentally i am adopting. That’s how you get a youngas employee becoming the right hand man of one the phatest CEO in a few years, and even make your way into being a Good Lad on top of a business partner. And that’s how you get Gray to hate your ass too. Now though, fine lad with mad strategic skills, rising to power that fast, and even infiltrating Belyy’s private life? If I were Gray I’d call suspicion there’s surely some shady stuff going no way we’re just dealing with a nice fella who just happens to work good and be friendly to the boss right?

Herra MUSTA (the black “guest”)

Belyy’s newest butler, assistant, house keeper, he multitasks. His family has been tied to Belyy’s for generations, fullfilling roles of help, but also of confidents. He’s been the head butler since only a short time, after his mother passed, and as such is still “in training” you could say, despite having served the family his whole life. There are rumours going around that the contract tying his family to the Belyys may end on his generation and need to be resigned. He known the manor by heart, and carries all keys to any locked room (and mostly, The Master Key, cause in an old house, some doors may be locked beyond all still existing keys). He also knows secrets of the family that no one else knows, but good luck getting em out of him, he’s under contract not to divulge em bro.

Mr. HASSEL (the brown guest)

Belyy’s childhood friend. They grew up together, pictured their dreams together, sworn to flourish together, worked together when starting the company, and then Hassel felt he should create his own thing instead of depending on his friend’s existing wealth, and while Belyy’s business went wild, his never took off. They still stayed very close, despite the massive difference in wealth. Belyy considers him his closest friend, the one person he can trust (fucked if hassel did the murder lemme tell u). So of course, he’s still always invited to the Prestigious meet ups where’s he’s free to feel uncomfortably out of place amongst all the rich and powerful people that he could have been a part of had he had a tiny bit of luck and a small loan from a wealthy relative...People LOVE saying he’s still hanging out with Belyy so much to leech off his wealth, cause of course they do! His bestie status means he has a whole different brand of information of Belyy than his butler does, the Most Intimate Stuff, the Childhood Stuff. The Juicy stuff ya kno...But Bro Code, its all secrets...

Sir RUZH (the red “guest”)

Deep dive into Belyy’s personnal history, the man has many employees working at his house keeping it working, clean, ya know the vibe. They live on the premice, one has a kid who’s just a Joy to be around, all the employees just vibe with that lad, he’s just a born socialite you know? Belyy gets to meet the kid, and also hella vibes with him. And because human are influenced by their feelings, he gives the kid’s mum a bit of a preferencial treatment, in the tasks she fullfils and all, til he gives her an important-as mission, and then there’s an accident n mama dies, and now Belyy got guilt and there’s this kid who just Vibes. So naturally the move is to take the kid in, and play on how his vibes are just so clean, and raise him to be the Perfect Entertainer for guests, bam, its soft power propaganda, if everyone loves your now son’s vibes, they associate them with you too. And also that’s kind of a clean rep, the selfless man who adopted his employee’s son to not have him fall to the streets, how heartwarming. Not at all traumatising for the kid too I bet! But anyway now the lad is just the most charming young adult, mission accomplished. He’s always present at any reception, ready to work his people-pleasing magic, and then going back to a gigantic empty manor to wait for the next and curate the perfect vibes to meet the expectations of dad. On the plus side, he knows everyone, and those who don’t know him cannot wAIT to, he’s just got that aura ya know. People skills for miles, and the insider knowledge that comes with being the son of the CEO, all this hidden behind the personna of the fresh innocent bashful party lad. 

Dr.FEN (the pink guest)

Do not get mistaken by the title, he’s no doc, he will not diagnose you with anything, he just studied long enough to get the sexy title. Study in what? Haha. Nothing shady. Just toxicology. He’s a world reknown poison expert basically, that’s his main thing. Oh but don’t worry, of course studying substances that may kill people is only for finding out how to cure them from it of course. What brings him in this circle? Simple, Belyy may or may not have started to suffer some weird illness that no doctor has been able to find the source, let alone cure, of. Him and Dr.Fen had met previously on some event, cause some rich man also love flexing how smart they are and attending sciencey shit, and he was contacted as sort of a shot in the dark. The lad does know how to treat some things, maybe he can treat The Mysterious Unwellness, since no traditional doctor was able to. He knows science, he’s trustworthy, bam, you’re hired to work on My Case Exclusively. Thanks to this, Dr.Fen has access to the whole health history of Belyy and his family, to many mANY dangerous substances, and also has The Respect of the hoes at the party. He HAS a doctorate after all. Epitome of knowledge. And he’s a kind to people and he wears pink like dang how can you nOT pour your wHOLE trust in him. 

Sir MOREVITCH (the blue guest)

Youngest son of an affluent family, who used to be close the the Belyys. The two families fell slightly appart after the death of the previous head of the family on the Belyy side, as they do nOT vibe with the current one (well current, til the first night of the story ig). But, unbeknownst to all, one strong link had been kept, between the youngest of the Morevitch, who dislikes his family and wishes to emancipate himself from them while also assuring his depart will not throw him basically in the streets, and our beloved Sir Belyy, who also dislikes the Morevitches but loves to see the rebellious energy of the young one (and ya know, my enemy’s enemy’s my friend or however you say that). So Belyy’s basically offering tips and helping Morevitch plant himself safely out of his family’s grasp, but it’s all taking quite some time isn’t it, slow and steady is fine until your parents try to arrange a wedding to secure more political power, and suddenly it is all quite urgent that you escape that situation because No Thank You Parents I Do Not Want A Wife I’m Too Young And Also Huh <3 Stuff You Won’t Like Hearing For Sure <3. The people who know they’re working together also know that it’s a big point of argument between them, the difference in vision between “you have to go slow and steady to be safe” and “I have very limited time to get to that safety anyway so I gotta risk it” “hell no you cant i can’t follow through if we’re going that quick that’ll put me at risk and you’re family’s gonna send gunmen to take me down”. A mess, it’d be much quicker to just obtain a few million bucks out of nowhere and bolt for sure...

Mr.GANG (the orange guest)

Morevitch’s trusted assistant. He hears the concerns, he helps the secret businesses, he lies to the parents about the whereabouts, and mostly, he’s basically a budget spy. The lad got that talent where people just don’t notice him popping behind them and catching all their dirty laundry as they confess it to someone they trust, and he always manages to break into places, get the intel he was looking for, and escape, putting everything back into place as if no one was ever there (wonder where he got all those skills from damn!). But what he’s even better at is being sneaky not only to benefit his boss, but himself as well <3. If he can catch all the info in the world, go any places, nothing’s stopping him from playing double agent and also going behind Morevitch’s back. After all the assistant life isn’t the most glamourous and rewarding, who can blame him from going and using his talents to build his own little exit route, right? Everybody sort of knows he cannot be trusted, but also no one managed to really incriminate or stop him, and as much as he has tea on many people, no has it on him, but bet once found that would be heeeella juicy.

M.MOUTARDE (the yellow guest)(this one is straight up the name of the yellow player in the french edition of clue too when i say its my main vibe)

Moutarde was an influential celebrity. He had a big break acting in a movie that the whole country stanned so hard they basically turned the script into their national anthem (they would have if it was a true democracy where the people really decide), he was so handsome and elegant, everyone’s dream husband. And then the fame fiddled out because it’s how fame is, one moment you’re the sexiest dish on the table and the next someone brings in dessert and baam, its all about that fresh cake, and no one pays any mind to your delightful aroma anymore, you’ve gone cold, they had a bite, their interest is somewhere else. Belyy really admires his work though, and mostly finds his image fits with the brand of his company, therefore the two are working on a collaboration to make Moutarde a representative. This WOULD boost Moutarde’s reputation, for his ads would be displayed on every imaginable surface of the country, and it would also benefit the company cause being represented by thAT sexy motherfucker? clearly that’s a deal. The freshness of the partnership means Moutarde is a newcomer in the guests, a fresh face, with no reputation, no relationships, no unfair biases against him. He’s just the new handsome charismatic lad with a squeaky clean image. Emphasis on “image”. After all, no one really knows anything of his background, right?

Kun.LAWENDER (the purple guest)

Private investigator, very useful to be around at a party it’s almost like it was expected there’d be a body to investigate, he’s a very close associate of Belyy, as there’s nothing more important to business than investigating the rivals and finding dirt on them to make them fall through infamy. He’s not exactly the PI who goes look for justice to be served, he’s just here for cash bro. He’s got intel on everyone, and will only let it out if offered the right thing in return (money, or sometimes other pieces of very secret intel, trade is good). Wouldn’t advise letting him and Gang team up tbh but they probably wouldnt, as Lawender is really more of a lone wolf player, going on his own for himself. The one thing that negates his usefulness as a PI on an accidental crime of scene is that even if he knew the whole truth of the event he would not spit it out unless he benefitted from saying it. He sure is a polarising lad, but at the same time, an untouchable one, he’s too knowledgeable to be taken down. Rather than sneaky, he’s extremely observant, noticing the tiniest details and engraving them in his memory, ready to be linked up to other details to deduct the big picture. He’s the upfront tea gathered basically (as opposed to Gang’s shadow tea gathering if you will, they are similar forces but using opposite methods)(also one of em got a licence n the other does not hAH).

~~~~

Now the secrets, all of em have them. One of em at least got the secret of having KILLED Belyy that’s that. But that’s to be kept for later (for if i ever use this story for more than daydream material gfhjgh) bet you can imagine what some of em may be just out of Knowing what i do, from having seen the characters in other contexts, or just because you’re a genius and reading the character profiles immediatly lit up the bulbs in your head forming the perfect theory, props to you, mad genius.

Honestly my thoughts are just how lit of a game that would be, you get to pick one hoe (maybe sum are locked til u find their secrets for juicy purposes) and you do your invetigation using your character’s perks and disadvantages, and maybe there could even be Multiple scenarios and outcomes, to spice it up, give replay value, i just think it’d be a game id spend hours on. tryin to get the spicy details of everyone’s life. walking around n digging through a rich man’s stuff, witnessing the drAMA of people fighting cause they’re locked in with a murderer and that’s stressful ngl. That or a long ass show @ netflix wanna give me a show maybe? give me hella budget we’re making it animated cause im too cultured for live action. 

whatever i make of it though, i hope i can make this story Flourish, just so that i can lay down all those secret backstories i’ve written. i want the satisfaction of throwing out the craziest secret drama between character n seeing peeps loose their minds, it just is a tasty experience.

also i gotta say, i plug the hell out of Clue for an inspo but when i was building the basics of the story my mind immediatly went “oH MY GOD THE VIBES,, THE BACKSTABBING AND tEAMING UP and all,,, its The Genius, that one tv show where peeps have to do the wildest games that require strategy n they’re in that fancy set that looks like a rich ppl mansion oh god the vibes” so yeah, i rewatched the whole first two seasons cause they’re my faves and that had an impact if only minimal in the aesthetic.

Anyway hope that quick presentation gave you a lil taste of the story, and maybe,,,, got you curious,,, craving to learn more like you never did before (im exaggerating the only real question we all got is just “so who’s fuckin with whom then how many of yall secretly dating” this the real deal)

[rcinberry]

read about ori and the dark forest under the cut

STATS:

full name: orion neveah kanha. nickname(s): ori, ri, rion. age: 23. date of birth: January 1st 1997. hometown: newport, rhode island. gender: cis female. religion: athiest. sexuality: bisexual. hair colour: black (xx) eye colour: brown. height: 5'6. tattoos: a snake swirling from midforearm down to her wrist like so, (xx) piercings: ears, double piercing.  

blackmail

has 0 care for the elites or its establishment, thinks it’s a farce. they only joined to gain some clout for their gaming channel since that’s all they work for, but they’ll lie and say they love it while bashing the club to online players in secret.  

cheated in a giant game tournament that was worth up to $5,000. she needed that money to survive and pay rent - did anything to cheat, even if that meant hacking the other despite bragging about how humble and hard-working she is, she stooped so low, going back on her word.

in order to stay in her game design program, she had to sleep with her professor - her grades were dropping and was more focused on gaming than classes, would have done anything to stay in the program

family life

DRUGS TW. PRISON TW.

the kanha family, two parents - josiah & sage kanha and their only daughter, orion. orion was spoiled with not doubt, everything she wanted - she got. she never complained, never really asked for much but since she was the only daughter - her parents wanted nothing but the best for her. although, growing up with that wealth she never took it's luxuries. she went to a public school her entire life, she never really talked about her family's wealth, she didn't care much for it, her parents came from generations of hard workers and that's all she'll brag about - is their family business and name, she's proud of it - or was once.

orion and her parents were always happy little family, love and support from both sides.. well.. until......

the kanha family has been a generational wealthy family, old money, if you please, and were originally known for its pizza chain all across america and even pretty famous back in thailand. three generations worth of publicity for their amazing, tasting pizza - even new york would argue that their pizza is better than new york's pizza!

the business has been running since 1992 and failed in 2016, why's that? well miss orion has a big mouth and heart in the wrong place. which gets her in trouble later, but that's a later issue.

the kanha family has a shady side to their business as well, they also sell wads of cocaine under the belt to different members of the mafia / mob and have been since the 90's when the mafia would bury their evidence in old buildings but as times begin to change, so did the way of dealing.

the pizza store was always a cash only store which made it easier for banks to never track transactions and launder wads of cash from their coke deals.

until orion came across her dad and some mafia head leader making an exchange and she overheard them and immediately made the call to the police when she was 19, a year into her college degree, and told them of the exchange and then there was a whole year investigation into her fathers business and a lot of places were shut down and her family lost A  LOT of money and her lawyers and accountants have told them it'll take a while to generate that much wealth again - then again most of the wealth came from drug money.

her parents think the mafia tipped them off, thus causing cut in ties and her dad to go to prison for a while (20 years). she had to carry that guilt for years although, she doesn't feel all too bad because her dad was making money deals in the wrong way. her mom still cries about it, won't be able to see her husband for twenty years but it's okay, orion will make it big as a game designer one day .. aha..

fun facts / personality

orion is a.. hot head, she gets angry easily and that just came from a place of competition. she was a very active kid, she was involved in many different sports - soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, you name it - she was good at everything and she sure hecking loved to win. she also channeled a lot of her anger into boxing because that's what her mom told her to do. long story short, she loves winning

which then became a hobby, she fricken loves video games like .. a lot, she built a career her senior year of college by streaming and since then she garnered a lot of online popularity. already being known from the kanha drug money scandal helped a lot too and she makes a decent living off of it, getting paid between 5-6k a month on a video she makes. her favorite games are always first person shooters, like COD / PUBG, she will play those games in tournaments and even to the big leagues which offer a lot of money. she does like RPG games such as ori and the blind forest and gears of war but first person shooters are where it's at, and shes damn well good at aiming, and tactics.

she's a computer science major at first in her undergrad that helped her understand coding, hacking and all that - that comes with comp sci - how to build an app, what logistics go into it and such and minored in video game design. she then did her graduate in game design and science and is working on her own games as she speaks. she's really talented in what she does, and is always boastful about it.

orion, despite being a hot head, also literlaly -- hates drugs. she hates the idea of smoking and drinking and would rather remove herself whenever someone near her is smoking or drinking, she won't shun the person but her family's scandal was enough to put a distaste in her mouth. she thinks people who act silly from it are weak and should speak their minds when their sober.

that's another thing, she will speak her mind. she stands up for what she believes in, she's always humble and thankful for what she has but also will stand up in the face of injustice which is funny because she thinks she's so hardworking and then she's a hypocrite for sleeping with her professor and cheating in a game, guess the kanha family gene of being a liar runs through her veins huh?

she's a very loyal friend, like.. insanely loyal, she doesn't like being made to be a dumbass and will cut someone. like i said, these hands are rated e for everyone.

a lot of her high school life she kept to herself but she really blossomed in college the most.

she loves to draw!! sketching is what she mostly does, a lot of gaming character designs are up in her apartment, sometimes she likes to do pottery and make vases and paint. she's not good at it but she likes to

she's friendly to those that are friendly and a bitch when she can be, she matches energy.. uh that's it i think

favorite color is red <3 has a cat <3 likes sushi <3 that's about it muah

[mcfanely]

Nightowls

With Nightowls quickly falling into Cole’s routine, the process of sneaking in and out of the monastery becoming easier and easier with each night. Yet, he would have at least assumed that if there was anyone he knew at the studio he would have already realised. Being a ninja, sometimes the obvious slipped past.

Chapter 02 - Neon Purple, 1242 words

Nightowls quickly became routine. 

Initially, it was an easy thing to hide from the team. If the nights were hard, instead of laying awake in the monastery until the early hours of the morning, he could actually go and do something. 

Sure, maybe once or twice it included him walking in after a long night and having to avoid Zane, who was always a freakishly early riser; or even sneak out quietly through his bedroom window since he had been able to hear someone walking about in the kitchen and would otherwise have to pass them on his walk out. He was a ninja, but there were only so many exits to the monastery. 

The nightmares still came, to no one’s surprise. but now he had an escape. He had a place to go and enjoy himself in the company of like-minded people. He didn't have to bother anyone with his issues. 

He jarred awake at night, eyes wide and searching around his room, breathing coming in fast and mind racing to make sense of the nightmare. Of what he’d seen. It wasn’t like it ever differed from the night before.  

All Cole had to do was get up, and head to Nightowls. 

That was the advantage of clubs of any kind, they opened for the night crowd, people who wanted to go out and have fun. No matter if he was awake at twelve or at three, if he wanted to he could up and go knowing the studio would be open. 

A dance studio. He honestly didn't think he'd be stepping foot in one again. 

Sure, he'd run away from Marty Oppenheimers’, he hated the structure, the mandatory lessons that focused on things he had no interest in; and then there were the other students. Stuck up, entitled and thought they were better than everyone else. Even still, that in no way meant he disliked dance.

He loved dance.

He loved watching it, and he loved being surrounded by people who enjoyed it in the same way he did. No rules, no set instructions to follow, just whatever they wanted. 

The camaraderie, the support for everyone's ability and level was amazing, and Cole was fast to fall into it all. 

Even when he noticed a familiar face in the crowd. He'd arrived at the studio early that night, and for once he hadn't been driven there because of a nightmare. He was just there. 

And the familiar face was someone who he'd seen perform multiple times over. 

"Chamille?" 

"I was wondering how long it would be until you recognised me. Did the hair not give it away?" 

"I- uh--."

"The paint threw you off, didn't it?" She raised an eyebrow and hopped down from where she'd situated herself on the raised stage. It was so obvious now, so obviously her that Cole didn't even realise how oblivious he'd been over the past couple weeks. 

It had been a few years, almost, since they'd seen each other. Last time they'd both been pitted against each other at the Tournament of Elements, then they'd stood side-by-side in the Corridor of Elders. 

Then they hadn't seen each other for ages. Cole realised he hadn't seen the other Elemental Masters for a while, at least not at a time when the fate of Ninjago was at risk. No, right now, they were just two normal people. Two old friends, if even that? There was no guillotine over their heads. It was just a normal day, they weren't elemental masters in that moment. They were regular civilians. 

Chamille grinned and pushed his shoulder, "Didn't think I'd see you here. Or anyone for that matter, but you? My first guess would be the blue one? Jay?" she questioned. 

It had definitely been a long time. 

Cole just ran a hand through his hair and watched as she approached. How should he be feeling at that moment, the fact that he'd spent the past few weeks sneaking out of the monastery as to not be caught by anyone to keep this place a secret, but the entire time there was someone he knew right under his nose? 

He was stumped, and more so internally cataloguing how he could have not noticed that the one person with bright purple hair was the same person with bright purple hair he hadn't seen in ages. 

Granted, Chamille wasn't exactly the same. She was the same height, sure, but her hair was styled differently, swept over on one side and just a bit shorter than her shoulders; her purple theme had been switched out for a general black outfit, a shirt with a canvas jacket layered over the top. This time, the jacket had sleeves and wasn't cut up and frayed along sliced edges like someone had taken a craft knife to it. 

Though he couldn't expect people to be colour coordinated. Sure, Cole favoured his colours of black and orange the same way Kai liked wearing red, didn't mean they always had to be a walking advertisement for colour coded ninja. 

"You're the leader of that neon group?" He questioned after a moment, and the words sounded dumb coming from his mouth. Of course she was. 

"'That neon group' is called Shifters." she raised an eyebrow. 

Cole paused, "Really..?" 

Chamille stared at him for a second, her eyes analytical and assessing, before she smirked and shook her head. "No, that's a weird name. We don't really go by anything. We just sorta, I don't know, do."

Cole couldn't help the light laugh that escaped his throat, and the fact that conversation seemed easier now, less awkward. There wasn't the overbearing knowledge that neither of them had gone out their way to meet up again, which extended to his team back at the monastery. Cole realised, suddenly, that he needed to check up on a fair few past comrades. Check in, see how they were, actually talk to them when the world wasn't ending. 

"So, what brings you here at this time in the morning?" She hopped back up onto the drags, dangling her legs over the side. 

Cole followed suit, though crossed his legs beneath himself. "The usual."

"That being?" Chamille prompted. 

"Can't sleep."

She made a quiet noise, like ah in understanding. 

Cole let out a breath, but decided to brush it off. "How've you been, I haven't seen you since the Tournament."

"Good, pretty awesome. Training and stuff, Neuro and I--" 

"Wait, you see Neuro?" The one guy with greying hair even at his age, would that be powers, or the stress of them? He didn't know. 

"Yeah." She smiled, "And Tox. We meet up, hang out, you know, what friends do. Sometimes they come here but unlike," she gestured between the two of them, "Present company, they like to sleep."

Cole huffed, then crossed his arms, going on the defensive, "I like sleep too."

"Definitely. It's past midnight, the party is only just starting," She looked over to the studio door as a large group began to file in, then switched her gaze promptly to Cole. "And you 'like sleep too'." the last couple words came out gruffer, and far too masculine for her. 

It was only once she'd stood up and was making her way over to the growing crowd did Cole realise what she'd done.

"Don't use my own words against me!" He called, Chamille just laughed, "And don't use my voice too, it's creepy!"

-

Ch 01 > Ch 02 > Ch 03

Cross-posted to AO3

[myckicade]

Ok wow you're the best! Ficlets are love! So our first request is: Crowley and Aziraphale have snake bebbies and Crowley is still getting the hang of parenting

A/N: Oh, damn. How cute! This came out as pure fluff, by the way. Grade A, 100%.

***

Crowley stared into the basket, features creased into… Well, into what would have been a frown, if he was entirely sure that there was a need for a frown.

“One… Two… Three…” he muttered, fingertips moving along with his count, as he looked over his children. “That doesn’t seem right. Wait, a minute. One… Two… Thr-Oh, that’s-.” He paused, and looked over his shoulder. “Yeah, no, that’s not good.” Peeking back into the basket, where three-quarters of his offspring were currently curled together, Crowley bit his lip. “Well, shit. I-I-NO. No, don’t repeat that. Your father will kill me.”

Three sets of eyes stared up at Crowley. No one hissed a syllable.

But, yeah. Yeah, there was definitely cause for a frown.

Oh, this was dandy. Just fucking peachy. Aziraphale had left the house for two hours. Two hours. Count them: One. Two. (Still was far better accuracy than he was having, at the moment). He’d gone to the bookshop, leaving Crowley in charge of their four children. Now, count them: One. Two. Three. (See that? There was no way in the world to get four, from three. Well, except for New Math. Who the hell knew what was going on, there).

With a heavy sigh, Crowley scrubbed his hands over his face. Ohhh, the ways that Aziraphale was going to punish him. None of them fun. The children were only days old. Days. And, he’d already gone and misplaced one of them.

Worse off, he wasn’t sure which one it was that he’d lost. The thought set something to sinking, in his gut. He was a terrible mother.

“All right,” he continued, taking in a deep breath. “All right, let’s see.” Crouching down, Crowley put himself at eye-level with his babies. Their basket had been placed on the sofa, under the warmth of a floor-standing heat lamp. A little oasis, just for them.

How fitting, that one of them didn’t get the memo.

Crowley leaned forward, until his nose was pressed to the basket’s edge. He hadn’t made a habit of saying it out loud, but, damn, they’d made some adorable little brats. Hellions, the lot of them.

“So, I see that Pinky’s still here.” The child in-question flicked her tongue out. Crowley smiled a little, picking his head up to return the gesture. The little girl was an easy spot. She’d been born with a small cluster of blush-coloured scales on her left side, which neither of her parents could really account for. The rest of her body was pitch black, as were her brother and sister, beside her.

“Heckle. Jeckle. I see you’re both minding yourselves, as well.” Both children raised their heads, at the same time. Aziraphale hated that he called them that. Bitched, endlessly, that he was going to give them some sort of a complex. Or, worse, that they’d come to like the unfortunate little nicknames. But, really, what else was he to have called them? Two identical little jokesters, hiding out in the same egg. Those two were born up to something, he could see it in their mischievous little eyes. To be perfectly honest, he was surprised that they weren’t the ones he was looking for.

That left the one child that, quite frankly, had been pegged for the ‘good one’.

Well, so much for that.

“Don’t suppose you’d be able to nudge me in your brother’s direction, mm?” No sooner did the words leave his mouth, than he heard a quiet clattering sound come from the kitchen. “Ah. Speak of you-know-who.” Standing back to his feet, Crowley glanced to the Trio of Terror. “Have a nap, while I see if your brother’s dethroned any of you, in the Tournament of Troublemakers.”

Crowley stepped into the kitchen, and glanced around. There wasn’t much for the boy to get into, in that room, which loosened the knot that had tied itself around his heart. Terrible mother, or no, the thought of anything, at all, befalling his children was enough to make him want to burst into tears. (And, he’d had enough of that, while pregnant, thank you, very much). Knowing that this was just a case of 'over the wall’, well, he could live with that. Now, it was just about ending the jailbreak.

“All right, you little rascal. I know you’re in here.” He paused, and listened. Nothing, for one beat, then two. Finally, he heard that same clattering noise again. It took a second to register, before Crowley frowned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He knew that sound. Oh, he knew it well. In three short, quick strides, he crossed to the counter. There was a ceramic jar on the counter, pure white, with a tartan band, and matching cover. One of Aziraphale’s 'homey little touches’ to Crowley’s flat. (And, oh, he’d accused his angel of being touched, all right). Upon closer inspection, the jar’s lid was askew.

Crowley smirked. He might have known.

Lifting the lid, Crowley peered into the jar, and huffed out a relieved laugh. Settled in the center of the jar, atop a mound of biscuits, was his missing child. Said child stared at his mother, caught, with a biscuit wedged in his mouth. He held still, showing off the tiny little stripe of red at his underbelly. Crowley wasn’t sure if he was scared of being in trouble, or still hoping to get away with it, unseen.

Either way, it was adorable as hell, and, had it been anyone else’s child, he probably would have gagged. As it was his own, well.

Reaching a hand into the jar, Crowley scooped the boy out. “Get out of there, you.” He eyed the biscuit, and raised an eyebrow. Tried not to smile. “Now, you’re not supposed to be eating those.” It might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that the tiny thing clamped down on the biscuit even harder. Crowley's smirk widened. “I know, I know, Freddie. You want it. That’s what matters.” Blue eyes held his gaze bravely, almost defiant. Defiant, and all too familiar.

Replacing the lid on the jar, Crowley leaned a hip against the counter. He set Freddie down beside the jar, before crossing his arms over his chest. “Just like your father, aren’t you?” he murmured fondly. Freddie wiggled to the side, just a little, but didn’t let go of his prized treat. He seemed awfully pleased with himself now. “You know, this reminds me of a time, some years ago, now… You see, it all started when your father wanted some crepes.”

The story didn’t quite make it off the runway, before the front door opened. “Crowley?” Aziraphale’s voice called, concerned, surely for the fact that three of their children were presently unsupervised.

“In here, angel,” Crowley returned, gaze still fixed on their wayward child. “Come and have a look at what your son is up to.” He grinned, proud beyond measure. “Bit of the devil in this one, I think.”

[kayleen756894]

Danganronpa Celesgiri Commission

Here is a commission I wrote for someone who wishes to remain anonymous. Thank you so much for supporting my work!

Title: (Currently Untitled) Fandom: Danganronpa Characters: Kyoko, Celestia Ships: Kyoko x Celestia Rated: T Tags: Gambling, Smoking, Romantic Tension Word Count: 2,918 Summary: Celestia invites Kyoko over for a game of poker and it quickly becomes the most intriguing game Kyoko has ever played. Trying to read Celestia was difficult enough normally, but trying to read her with the only light in the room coming from her lit cigar was near impossible. But she was the Ultimate Detective for a reason.

If you are interested in a commission here is my Commission Info!

---

Kyoko wasn’t sure what to expect when Celeste invited her to her room that evening and felt her reasons for being suspicious were justified. Celeste usually didn’t take visitors—well, until recently. She’d been inviting a few people over lately, presumably for card games or other forms of gambling.

That’s what Makoto told her anyway, but it wouldn’t have been hard to guess. Kyoko was more intrigued by the other thing he mentioned yesterday when they met up for lunch.

That Celeste had been asking him questions about her.

It wasn’t that she was bothered by Celeste’s interest but she was certainly confused. Celeste must have known Makoto would tell her, so why the attempted secrecy in the first place?

Or was that her roundabout way of capturing Kyoko’s attention? Celeste never approached things simply; she always had to stay one step ahead and predominantly in an exaggerated manner.

It worked though, because Kyoko spent longer than normal searching for her cleanest suit jacket before heading over. She knew most people wouldn’t care about her appearance, she hardly cared herself, but she had a feeling Celeste would appreciate the extra effort.

The door swung open and there stood Celestia Ludenberg in all her glory. Fake hair, fake eyes, black lipstick, expensive dangling jewelry, and stunning as always. She wasn’t in her usual gothic getup today, instead clad in an extravagant red and black dress, as if this meeting was a special occasion. Crimson eyes roamed her form and suddenly Kyoko felt underdressed.

Celeste looked beautiful and Kyoko was looking forward to spending time with her, but Kyoko wanted to spend time with Taeko, too—wanted to see the hair lacking the drills, the true eye colour, hear her say more than one sentence at a time—and had to hope that Celeste would trust her enough to let her walls down one day.

Maybe today if Makoto’s luck rubbed off on her.

“You look as dashing as ever, Kyoko,” Celeste said, charm oozing off her thick accent. She stepped aside and made a sweeping motion with her arm. “Please, come in.”

The doorway may as well had been a portal to a different world, or a different time period, from how much the atmosphere shifted from the hallway; the dark colour scheme, the Victorian style furniture, the way Celestia’s spicy perfume clung to the walls. If not for the size of the room matching all the other dorms, it would be easy to forget they were still on campus property.

But Kyoko didn’t realize just how dark it was until Celeste closed the door behind them. Several tall candles adorned a table in the middle of the room—the table looked ridiculously large in the cramped dorm space—and the flames dancing at their tips provided the only source of light.

“Why have you invited me here?” Kyoko asked.

“Suspicious of me already, Kyoko?” Celeste giggled, holding her hand to her mouth, her silver fingerbone ring gleaming from the flames. “I just wanted to spend my evening with my cherished friend. It’s been far too long since you and I have chatted. Relax those shoulders for awhile and let’s play some poker. What do you say?”

Kyoko’s eyebrow rose. “In the dark?”

“It adds a layer of intrigue, wouldn’t you say? Playing the usual way has become dreadfully dull.” Celestia gestured towards the table. “Please take a seat.”

The chairs were cushioned and, now that she was closer, Kyoko noticed the heavy white tablecloth covering the table. It was too dark to see any intricate designs but the material alone was enough to prove its worth. Several unopened packs of playing cards lay on Celeste’s side of the table.

No poker chips, though.

“Are we gambling or not?” Kyoko asked, adjusting to get comfy in her seat. “I do have some money on me.”

Celestia’s eyes sparkled like rubies in a dark cave. “I thought we could just play for fun, but I adore that you came prepared. Maybe towards the end I’ll swipe that yen from you.”

Confidence dripped from her tone but Kyoko knew she had the skill to back it up so she didn’t bother defending herself. She accepted her defeat in this game against Celestia long before she accepted the invitation to actually play.

“Tea?” Celeste offered, not waiting for Kyoko’s reply before pouring them both a cup and placing them on the table. That was probably the first time Kyoko had seen her pour her own tea and that was enough of a clue for Kyoko to know something was up with Celeste.

The question was how to go about asking. Celeste hid herself and her feelings behind a mask and it was rare for anyone to catch a glimpse underneath.

Kyoko wanted to see her.

Kyoko took a sip from her cup. It was warm and delicious and... actually her favourite flavour of tea. Did Celeste prepare this blend on purpose?

“Thank you,” she decided to say instead of asking what was on her mind. Celestia smiled at her and suddenly Kyoko’s belly felt warm from more than just the tea.

Celeste took her seat on the opposite end of the table and used her finger ring to cut open a new pack of cards. “Just so you know I’m not cheating,” she clarified, shuffling them.

Kyoko shrugged as she watched her deal them each five cards. “Wouldn’t matter to me if you did. In fact, it may have been entertaining trying to figure out how you were.”

Celestia smirked behind her teacup, taking a delicate sip. “The detective hat never comes off, huh?”

“It’s a permanent addition to my wardrobe.” Kyoko matched Celestia’s look. “Couldn’t you tell?”

Celeste’s smirk softened. “You’d look cute in a detective hat.”

Kyoko’s expression fumbled and suddenly she was much more thankful for the dim lighting in the room. Of all the things she prepared herself for tonight, being flirted with was not one of them.

Celestia laughed at her but it contained no malice. “Now,” she picked up her cards, “let’s begin.”

Forcing herself to calm down, Kyoko’s expression renewed neutrality as she glanced at her hand. Even with the decent amount of candles on the table the numbers were difficult to recognize.

“I can barely see my cards,” Kyoko said, squinting until she recognized that she had a pair. She threw the other three cards onto the centre of the table.

“Tell you what,” Celeste said, exchanging two cards of her own. “Every time you win I’ll light another candle, but every time you lose I’ll snuff another out.”

The cards Kyoko received were no better than her old ones and Celestia’s face betrayed nothing concerning the state of her hand, but Kyoko assumed it was stronger than her own. “We both know I’m not going to win any rounds.”

“Have some faith in yourself, Kyoko,” Celestia purred, revealing her cards one at a time. It was cocky and excessive and it suited her. Two pair.

Kyoko sighed, laying down her pair of 5’s. “You’ve won tournaments for games you’ve never even played before. How am I supposed to beat you?”

“Precisely my point. Just because you haven’t won before today doesn’t mean today won’t be the first day you win.” Celestia licked her fingers—Kyoko stared for too long—and snuffed out a candle. “That’s what gambling is all about, my dear.”

That’s how Kyoko would lose all her savings if this were a serious match. Playing with Celeste was entertaining, but Kyoko would stay far away from actual gambling halls.

Well. Perhaps she would go if she could witness Celeste playing in a professional match. Trying to catch Celeste’s opponents in their lies would be an interesting way to test her detective skills, too.

Celestia pulled out something from her pocket but Kyoko couldn’t make out what it was until the tip ignited thanks to a candle. When Celeste leaned forward to gather their old cards the candlelight prominently illuminated her face, which now included the ludicrously large and fancy cigar that hung between her black lips. It glowed brighter than any of the candles.

Kyoko’s mind was reeling but she kept her face passive; Celestia was apparently full of surprises tonight. “I didn’t know you smoked.”

The smoke emerged from Celeste’s lungs in spirals, swirling above their heads. “A girl’s allowed some secrets, isn’t she?”

“You shouldn’t be smoking in the dorms.”

Celestia didn’t look threatened or impressed as she shuffled a new deck and dealt out their hands. “Please repeat that to Hiro if you plan on lecturing me.”

She had a point. That man’s room was a constant hotbox. But he shared with anyone who needed a hit so no one could really complain.

“What about the smoke alarms?”

“Not to worry. I unplugged them.”

Kyoko’s hands twitched, feeling a brief phantom burn, and she resisted the urge to rub them together. “Not that I don’t trust you, but you’re risking burning down the dorms.”

“Putting your trust in a liar like me?” Another string of giggles. Kyoko had made her laugh a lot tonight without even trying. She wasn’t sure if she should feel proud of that or not. “I’m flattered by the gamble.”

After an exchange of garbage cards Kyoko laid down her pair of 8’s. Better than last time but, unsurprisingly, no contest for Celestia’s pair of 10’s. The room became darker once again.

Celeste smirked and gently blew smoke in her direction that was expertly shaped like a spade. She was showing off even though she had no reason to, but it was still impressive.

“What’s with that giant cigar, anyway?” Kyoko decided to ask. She was going to stay quiet about it but there was something so ridiculous about seeing that massive cigar in Celestia’s mouth that she just had to know. She looked like a mafia boss or something. “You could have gotten a cigarette off Mondo or Leon if you needed one.”

“And talk to them willingly?” Celeste’s face scrunched up, the first chip in her mask that night. “No, thank you. I have better ways to spend my time.”

Kyoko met her gaze. “Like with me?”

Celeste giggled. “Like with you.”

It was several rounds and just as many snuffed out candles later that Kyoko realized Celestia avoided answering about the cigar, but sometimes avoidance was just as revealing as an answer itself. Maybe she wanted to feel fancy. Maybe she wanted to feel more like a gambler.

Maybe she was using it to hide something?

And on that note. “Makoto mentioned you asking about me.”

“Did he now?” Celeste didn’t seem surprised or offended. “What questions did he say I asked?”

“About my preferred tea, for one,” Kyoko said, finishing her cup and setting it aside. “It wasn’t the type of questions that bothered me, rather that you were asking them to him in the first place.”

“Oh?”

Kyoko already knew she wasn’t winning this hand but squinted at her cards anyway to buy time and consider what she wanted to say; to consider her feelings.

It wasn’t quite betrayal she felt, nor mistrust, but there was some measure of hurt pulsing in her chest.

“Why didn’t you just ask me?” Her voice was quieter than she intended.

“And lose my shroud of mystery?” Celeste gave a sly smile, using a card to slice off the elongated glowing ashes of her cigar; they disintegrated in the darkness. “I have a reputation to uphold, you know.”

“Celeste, I’m being serious.” Kyoko threw down her abysmal hand. She didn’t care about the game, not when there was something that mattered so much more. “You know you can talk to me, right? You don’t need to pretend in front of me.”

Celeste paused. It was hard to see her expression in this lighting but her smile fell away a little too swiftly. “Pretending is all I know how to do.”

It was painful hearing that for some reason and Kyoko frowned. “Is your interest in me pretend, too?”

The crack in Celestia’s mask deepened. It didn’t take a detective to notice that.

And before Kyoko could truly analyze her, Celestia pressed the tip of her cigar to the cards in her hand, setting the edges ablaze. She let them burn a second more, just long enough for Kyoko to worry, before blowing them out and dropping them on the table.

Royal flush.

With the final candle extinguished, Celestia’s cigar was now the only source of light in the room. It lit up her lips, her eyes, her jewelry, and not much else. Kyoko knew she’d have no chance of seeing her own cards. Kyoko also knew she had little chance of winning, especially considering how well these games had gone for her so far.

And yet...

“One last round,” Kyoko proposed. “If I win, you tell me honestly why you’re smoking that cigar.” She knew there was no way Celeste would be honest with her unless she used Celeste’s own game against her. Gambling was the only effective language here.

Smoke further tainted the air. “And if I win?”

“I’ll answer any question you want and it won’t leave this room.” Kyoko paused. “Or I’ll leave the room, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

Smoke blew from Celeste’s mouth in the shape of a diamond this time. “After tossing me that yen in your pocket, I presume.”

“Of course.”

Celestia, with no hesitation, broke open the umpteenth pack of cards and dealt them out.

Kyoko didn’t even look at her hand.

“A bold move,” Celestia stated, glancing at her own cards.

“I thought you’d appreciate the gamble.”

Celestia smiled. “I do.”

Celeste exchanged three of her cards and Kyoko’s eyes never left hers. Once it was clear Kyoko wasn’t planning to trade in any of her cards, leaving everything to the chance of the initial deal, Celeste laid her cards on the table.

Kyoko held her breath and flipped over her hand.

Both were high card, but her ace beat Celestia’s queen.

Kyoko’s deep exhale temporarily propelled the fog of smoke out of her face. It was possible Celeste simply let her win, but in this case there was nothing Kyoko could complain about.

If Celeste was willing to open up about her feelings then that was a win in every book.

Celeste sighed, standing from the table and walking to the other side of the room. Kyoko used the lit cigar as a guide and slowly followed. Celeste was silent for a long time, the only sounds being her inhaling and exhaling of smoke, but Kyoko was patient.

The words that eventually came were soft and vulnerable.

“I... have feelings for someone.”

Kyoko’s heart pounded in her chest. Was this related to their gambling condition? “I don’t see how that’s an issue.”

Celeste winced. “Falling in love is something that Taeko would do, not Celestia.”

So that’s why she’d been gambling so much lately. That explains this atmosphere, the secrecy, the cigar.

She was afraid of her feelings because she was afraid of being Taeko. She didn’t know how to be Taeko anymore. She didn’t think she could be both so she was forcing herself to be Celestia. She probably thought that the harder she pushed herself to be Celestia, the more extravagant she made Celestia out to be, the smaller Taeko would become until she was nothing but ash in the wind.

Kyoko wouldn’t let that happen.

“Taeko and Celestia are one in the same,” Kyoko said softly. “One would not exist without the other, and one could not fall in love without the other also doing so. It seems to me like Taeko has accepted her feelings.” Kyoko reached for her hand. “It’s Celestia’s turn.”

Celeste stared up at her for a moment as if lost for words. Did Kyoko overstep? Normally she would not be concerned with something like that, but she knew Celeste was struggling with this and she would never want to upset her.

And then, just as Kyoko began to worry, fingers laced with hers.

Celeste removed the cigar from her lips and replaced the empty space with Kyoko’s own. Kyoko sighed into her mouth, her free hand immediately going to Celeste’s waist, finally feeling the tension in her shoulders release. Her mind was blissfully silent for once as Celeste’s smoky breath mixed with her own. The sweet heat of the tea still lingered on her tongue and Kyoko was determined to absorb the remains of every drop.

They both were breathing heavily when they pulled away. Kyoko knew her cheeks were warm and wondered if Celeste’s were the same. Even when standing this close it was impossible to see anything in this darkness, and maybe that was for the best.

It made things more... intriguing, as Celeste stated earlier.

“Was I kissing Celestia or Taeko?” Kyoko asked.

Celeste pressed her cigar against Kyoko’s mouth until she succumbed and wrapped her lips around it. Then Celeste retrieved a long, fancy cigarette holder from her pocket, elegant and gothic in design, sticking a cigarette in the end and capturing it between her lips. She leaned up and used the tip of Kyoko’s burning cigar to light her own. Kyoko’s heart throbbed, her lips tightening against the black lipstick stain on her cigar.

“You’re the detective, Kyoko.” Celeste breathed out smoke shaped like a heart, grinning as it pressed against Kyoko’s lips. “Maybe you need to re-examine the evidence.”

[allthingsnine]

And no.10 for my bae, Hisagi! :) thank you so much *hugs*

Kiss prompt: “Tomake the other shut up from the idiotic nonsense the other is talking about buthey you both enjoy it so the other person is going to say idiotic nonsense moreoften”

Pairing(s): Shuheix reader

And finally I get todo the HP AU! Yay! 

Due to time constraints, I had to mash up two requests into one, so I hope you don’t mind! For those of you who don’t know, this takes place in the goblet of fire, there’s a ball the magic school is hosting, Hufflepuff and Slytherin are the houses in the school, quidditch is a wizarding sport, a niffler is a kleptomaniac creature, Cedric Diggory is a competitor in the tournament the school Hogwarts is hosting and the three brooksticks is a pub in the wizard only village called Hogsmeade. Enjoy!

And advance happy birthday Shuhei-kun!

“So.” You look up from your copy of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them at your best friendRangiku, who has a serious expression on her face. Her hair is distinctlymussed and somewhat sticks out in all directions. She must have sprinted fromthe quidditch pitch to the great hall.

“So?” You go back to reading your book, though not beforesneaking a glance at the Hufflepuff table. Helooks nice today.

“___-chan,” Rangiku sits beside you, speaking gravely as shereaches for a piece of toast to butter, “Are you aware that one week from-”

“One week from now Hogwarts is going to host the Yule Ball?”You complete her question for her, marking a passage on nifflers for your essayby tapping your wand on it. “Ran, in the last two weeks, I had to break up twofifth years from hexing each other across the fourth floor corridor, witness notless than three fourth years, five third years, two sixth years and one verypersistent seventh year get rejected by Cedric Diggory and was privy to some ofthe most melodramatic methods of asking someone to said ball, a la Keigo Asano,so yes, Rangiku, I am aware.” Youroll your eyes and reach for your cup of pumpkin juice.

Rangiku takes a few seconds to register your mini speech,before responding, “Very well, miss prefect. And are you aware that Mashiro isplanning to ask Shuhei to said ball?”

You spit the juice you’d sipped back into the cup. “She’sgoing to do what?!” The last partcomes out as a very high-pitched squeak and you instinctively look at theHufflepuff table, where the target of your affections is currently talking andlaughing with the aforementioned girl. “I thought she was going to ask Kensei!”

“So you’d better ask him before she does!” Rangiku saysinsistently.

Your face turns red at the prospect of asking Shuhei. IsRangiku forgetting how tongue tied you become in front of him every time youtalk? The fact that you’re able to talk to him at all is a noteworthy miraclein itself. Plus there’s the fact that you have no desire to make yourself looklike a complete idiot in front of a huge crowd of people.

“Hello? ___?”

And what if he rejects you? What if he actually likessomeone else and has already made plans for-

“Earth to ___!” Rangiku snaps her fingers in front of yourface, startling you. At that precise moment, Shuhei makes eye contact with you.You quickly look down at your book, praying inwardly that your blush goes away.

Rangiku sighs. It’s pretty obvious to her that you’re notgoing to do the deed on your own. What you need is some careful planning andsome moral support.

***

“When I agreed to having ‘moral support’, I did not mean ‘drinkfirewhiskey until you run out of fucks to give’!” You hiss in mortification asRangiku chugs it down. The guys in the table next to yours are staring at yourbest friend as some of the drink flows down her mouth.

It’s times like these you wish she hadn’t turned seventeenjust a few months back. When the both of you had been underage, you’d beenforced to listen to her complain about Madam Rosmerta serving her onlybutterbeers, no matter how hard she’d begged, to the point where you nearlyhexed her. If that had been the frying pan, then right now you are in the fire.

You glare at her as you take a sip from your more sensiblychosen butterbeer. “Oh calm down ___, I can hold my liquor!” Rangiku boasts asshe wipes her mouth.

“In which universe?!”

“I agree with ___, Rangiku,” You hear the voice of Gin Ichimarufrom behind you, and turn around to face your friend’s boyfriend. Gin flashesyou his usual grin as he sits beside Rangiku and hands her a few sweets. “Ithink you’ve had enough fire whiskey to last a day. Why don’t you try somesweets now? ___, here you go.” He gives you a brightly coloured toffee.

“Thanks Gin!” You thank the Slytherin and eat it. As youswallow, you feel a peculiar sensation course through you, as though you’reloosening up.

“Oh look ___!” Rangiku exclaims as she looks at the entranceof The three broomsticks, “Shuhei’shere! Why don’t you ask him now!”

You blush as you see Shuhei walk in with his friends. “I can’task him now! There’s so many people here and I haven’t even thought outanything and I really don’t want to embarrass him in front of everyone here andwhat if he says no? I don’t even look that great probably and my hair looksterrible and there’s no makeup on me either, I probably look terrible and he’llbe put off by my looks and-” You say, and stop yourself.

You’re babbling. You don’t remember ever speaking so quicklyabout anything like this. What’s going on?

You look at Gin, who seems to be smirking now. “Gin,” Youbegin carefully, “What was in that toffee you just gave me?”

“Just a simple babbling beverage I brewed up,” Gin nonchalantlyshrugs, making no effort to hide his smirk, “Rangiku told me you had a problemand that you needed my help. Really, who am I to refuse such a thing?”

“Ran!!” You wail as she giggles.

“Oh Shuhei!” She calls out to your crush. When he turns tolook at the three of you, she continues, “___ here wants to tell you something!Privately!”

“Rangiku!” You whimper as he nods and beckons you to followhim outside. Great, now you’ll make him think you’re weird for life! “Help me,Gin!”

“You know ___, I would help,” Gin sniggers as you getup red-faced, “But making fun of you isso much more satisfying.” He ends as you go outside. Screw being yourfriend’s significant other, you are going to kill him. Painfully.

You follow Shuhei to a secluded spot near the shriekingshack. Once you both reach there, Shuhei asks you, “Did you want to saysomething to me, ___?”

The words just pour outof you before you can process what you’re saying, “I did and I meant to ask youit for a while but we never had much time and I was afraid I was going to muckit up because I heard Mashiro was going to ask you and I really like you and Ididn’t want to embarrass you or anything and-”

“You like me?” Shuhei cuts you off, looking rather shocked, “Like…‘like-like’ kind of like?”

“Yes and IwashopingyouwouldgototheYuleballwithme!” You finishand clap your hands over your mouth to shut yourself up. Your face is so hot,people could use it as a heater.

Shuhei just stares at you, his cheeks a light pink. A grinis slowly forming on his lips.

“You like me…you really like me…” He murmurs as thoughhe still can’t quite believe it.

“Yeah and I really hope that you would go with me to the balland I know I look terrible with the dark circles under my eyes and my hair’sbasically a rat’s nest and I know for a fact that people like Lisa and Momo area lot prettier than me but you don’t have to accept or anything and embarrassyourself and all, so-”

Your babbling gets cut off when Shuhei presses his lips toyours.

He kisses you gently and slowly, pulling you closer to him.Your thoughts slow down as you breathe in the scent of parchment and coffeethat surrounds him. When you break for air, he looks at your dazed expressiondelightedly.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” He murmurs, “Why would I turn downthe girl who I like?”

[zeroviraluniverse-blog]

Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting eyes Australia T20 job

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/hall-of-famer-ricky-ponting-eyes-australia-t20-job/

Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting eyes Australia T20 job

As he prepares to be feted for an outstanding playing career, Ricky Ponting has his eyes firmly on a future role as Australia’s Twenty20 coach, a part of the move towards separate coaches for the game’s three formats that grows inevitable with each passing series.

While he has assisted the current all-format coach Darren Lehmann in the current triangular series, Ponting is eager to be head coach in the shortest form, having used much of his past five years since retirement immersing himself in T20, whether as coach of Mumbai Indians or commentating on the Big Bash League. He is set to mentor Delhi Daredevils in this year’s IPL, and it is Australia’s turn to host the World T20 in 2020 – the only ICC tournament the country has never won.

Discussions between Ponting and Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard are ongoing as to how to make the role work after Lehmann’s contract expires following the 2019 World Cup and Ashes double in England, with the schedule and the national teams competing for priorities among the issues still being thrashed out. Ponting pointed to the way that Australia won a home Ashes series they had prepared rigorously for then fell away badly in the ODI series that followed – against a largely recast England ODI team – as a sign of things to come.

“I know Cricket Australia are looking down that path … I’ve been talking to CA for a little while about succession planning with coaching in the shorter forms of the game,” Ponting said after being named one of three inductions to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, to be formalised at the Allan Border Medal presentation on Monday night in Melbourne. “I’m on record saying I’m interested in doing the Twenty20 job for Australia if it came up and I can make it fit in and work. There’s a few things I just want to get ticked off from CA first as far as how my thoughts are on how we can become a better, more explosive, consistent team.

“It’ll be interesting to see how coaching does go, it’s hard work on the players as we know, and CA have done a great job making sure Darren’s had a series off here and there just to keep him fresh. The hard thing, you look at what’s just happened in the last one day series, put all the eggs in one basket and get prepared for an Ashes series for so long and nail that, and then before you know it the one-dayers are upon you and we’re taking a similar group of players into that, that are probably a little bit tired and jaded and just having achieved something pretty special. England go the other way with a fresh group and a whole new lot of bowlers and a different team and they achieve the result they achieved.

“The planning side of it as well is one thing that has to be given the right amount of time to make sure you’ve got the players and the planning done for each series as well as you can, and even having been around this group the last couple of weeks, how busy Darren and the coaches are is quite amazing, and that’s only around the one form, not thinking about anything else. There are challenges there for players and there’ll always be challenges there for coaches but it’s probably inevitable that there will be different white ball coaches to red ball coaches as this game keeps developing.”

“I’m sure they [CA] are doing everything in their power now to remain consistently the best team in the world in all three forms. We’ve never reached that in the T20 side of things.”

Of all Ponting’s achievements as a batsman and a captain, none are more precious to him than the fact he won 219 of the 323 matches in which he captained Australia. He remains the only player to have participated in more than 100 Test match wins over his career, and said that consistent excellence was the hardest thing to achieve in the international game, due to cricket’s relentless schedule as much as anything else.

“I’m sure they [CA] are doing everything in their power now to remain consistently the best team in the world in all three forms. We’ve never reached that in the T20 side of things, we’re the reigning World Cup 50-over champions and have just won the Ashes,” he said, with Australia currently ranked No. 3 in Tests, No. 5 in ODIs and No. 4 in T20s. “There’s always challenges there about maintaining high levels of performance, and having just been around this group for the last couple of weeks I know how hard they work and I know all the right things are said and done, it’s just up to the players to accept the challenge day in, day out.

“That’s the thing, in international cricket it’s not an easy sport. To get yourself up for every single minute of every single day’s play through the year is not an easy thing to do. But that’s what you have to do if you want to be a part of the best teams in the world, you have to find a way to improve day in, day out and be the best you can be and drag some other blokes along who might not be reaching the heights you think they can. That’s all I’ve tried to do this week, let everyone know how good I think they are and work with them closely on their games, speak openly and honestly with them and have some fun along the way.

“What I’ve tried to do and the way things have worked out the last five years is just be around the T20 game. One thing I know where the tournaments are six or eight weeks maximum, I want to have as much family time as I can as well, that’s really important for me not to be on the road as much as when I was playing, I’ve got three children now under the age of 10. I’ll have some challenges there making it all work, as I have the last couple of weeks, my wife’s starting to feel the pinch again, having me on the road a bit. But that’s what I want to do and I really enjoy every moment of it.”

Still as in love with the game as at any stage of his career, Ponting said he tried to remind younger players how quickly their playing days would go. “I had a good understanding of the way my career was going right through my career,” he said. “Not so much how many runs I’d made or hundreds I’d made but just how many winning games I was a part of and my longevity in the game and the amount of wins I was associated with is the thing I’m most proud of, 200-odd wins out of 320-odd games, that’s two out of every three you play.

“That’s what the game was all about for me, trying to win games for my team and trying to empower others along the way to make sure they were doing their best to win games as well. Looking back now it’s five years since I retired and it’s gone pretty quickly, and here I am back in Australian colours again.

“One thing us older guys now always ram home to the young guys coming in, just how privileged you are to be playing and make the most of every moment. I was only saying to Alex Carey in the game down in Hobart the other night that I played for 20-odd years and it felt like 20-odd minutes, so that’s how quickly it goes. I was lucky to play in a great era of a lot of successful teams and a lot of great players, so some special memories for sure.”

Ponting’s induction will take place alongside those of Karen Rolton, the former Australia captain who retired as her nation’s leading women’s Test run-scorer and second in ODI matches, and Norm O’Neill, the attractive batsman who formed a key part of the Test team in the 1960s, making his highest score in the first innings of the memorable tied Test against the West Indies in Brisbane in 1960.

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Ricky Ponting eyes Australia T20 job

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Ricky Ponting eyes Australia T20 job

As he prepares to be feted for an outstanding playing career, Ricky Ponting has his eyes firmly on a future role as Australia’s Twenty20 coach, a part of the move towards separate coaches for the game’s three formats that grows inevitable with each passing series.

While he has assisted the current all-format coach Darren Lehmann in the current triangular series, Ponting is eager to be head coach in the shortest form, having used much of his past five years since retirement immersing himself in T20, whether as coach of Mumbai Indians or commentating on the Big Bash League. He is set to mentor Delhi Daredevils in this year’s IPL, and it is Australia’s turn to host the World T20 in 2020 – the only ICC tournament the country has never won.

Discussions between Ponting and Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard are ongoing as to how to make the role work after Lehmann’s contract expires following the 2019 World Cup and Ashes double in England, with the schedule and the national teams competing for priorities among the issues still being thrashed out. Ponting pointed to the way that Australia won a home Ashes series they had prepared rigorously for then fell away badly in the ODI series that followed – against a largely recast England ODI team – as a sign of things to come.

“I know Cricket Australia are looking down that path … I’ve been talking to CA for a little while about succession planning with coaching in the shorter forms of the game,” Ponting said after being named one of three inductions to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, to be formalised at the Allan Border Medal presentation on Monday night in Melbourne. “I’m on record saying I’m interested in doing the Twenty20 job for Australia if it came up and I can make it fit in and work. There’s a few things I just want to get ticked off from CA first as far as how my thoughts are on how we can become a better, more explosive, consistent team.

“It’ll be interesting to see how coaching does go, it’s hard work on the players as we know, and CA have done a great job making sure Darren’s had a series off here and there just to keep him fresh. The hard thing, you look at what’s just happened in the last one day series, put all the eggs in one basket and get prepared for an Ashes series for so long and nail that, and then before you know it the one-dayers are upon you and we’re taking a similar group of players into that, that are probably a little bit tired and jaded and just having achieved something pretty special. England go the other way with a fresh group and a whole new lot of bowlers and a different team and they achieve the result they achieved.

“The planning side of it as well is one thing that has to be given the right amount of time to make sure you’ve got the players and the planning done for each series as well as you can, and even having been around this group the last couple of weeks, how busy Darren and the coaches are is quite amazing, and that’s only around the one form, not thinking about anything else. There are challenges there for players and there’ll always be challenges there for coaches but it’s probably inevitable that there will be different white ball coaches to red ball coaches as this game keeps developing.”

“I’m sure they [CA] are doing everything in their power now to remain consistently the best team in the world in all three forms. We’ve never reached that in the T20 side of things.”

Of all Ponting’s achievements as a batsman and a captain, none are more precious to him than the fact he won 219 of the 323 matches in which he captained Australia. He remains the only player to have participated in more than 100 Test match wins over his career, and said that consistent excellence was the hardest thing to achieve in the international game, due to cricket’s relentless schedule as much as anything else.

“I’m sure they [CA] are doing everything in their power now to remain consistently the best team in the world in all three forms. We’ve never reached that in the T20 side of things, we’re the reigning World Cup 50-over champions and have just won the Ashes,” he said, with Australia currently ranked No. 3 in Tests, No. 5 in ODIs and No. 4 in T20s. “There’s always challenges there about maintaining high levels of performance, and having just been around this group for the last couple of weeks I know how hard they work and I know all the right things are said and done, it’s just up to the players to accept the challenge day in, day out.

“That’s the thing, in international cricket it’s not an easy sport. To get yourself up for every single minute of every single day’s play through the year is not an easy thing to do. But that’s what you have to do if you want to be a part of the best teams in the world, you have to find a way to improve day in, day out and be the best you can be and drag some other blokes along who might not be reaching the heights you think they can. That’s all I’ve tried to do this week, let everyone know how good I think they are and work with them closely on their games, speak openly and honestly with them and have some fun along the way.

“What I’ve tried to do and the way things have worked out the last five years is just be around the T20 game. One thing I know where the tournaments are six or eight weeks maximum, I want to have as much family time as I can as well, that’s really important for me not to be on the road as much as when I was playing, I’ve got three children now under the age of 10. I’ll have some challenges there making it all work, as I have the last couple of weeks, my wife’s starting to feel the pinch again, having me on the road a bit. But that’s what I want to do and I really enjoy every moment of it.”

Still as in love with the game as at any stage of his career, Ponting said he tried to remind younger players how quickly their playing days would go. “I had a good understanding of the way my career was going right through my career,” he said. “Not so much how many runs I’d made or hundreds I’d made but just how many winning games I was a part of and my longevity in the game and the amount of wins I was associated with is the thing I’m most proud of, 200-odd wins out of 320-odd games, that’s two out of every three you play.

“That’s what the game was all about for me, trying to win games for my team and trying to empower others along the way to make sure they were doing their best to win games as well. Looking back now it’s five years since I retired and it’s gone pretty quickly, and here I am back in Australian colours again.

“One thing us older guys now always ram home to the young guys coming in, just how privileged you are to be playing and make the most of every moment. I was only saying to Alex Carey in the game down in Hobart the other night that I played for 20-odd years and it felt like 20-odd minutes, so that’s how quickly it goes. I was lucky to play in a great era of a lot of successful teams and a lot of great players, so some special memories for sure.”

Ponting’s induction will take place alongside those of Karen Rolton, the former Australia captain who retired as her nation’s leading women’s Test run-scorer and second in ODI matches, and Norm O’Neill, the attractive batsman who formed a key part of the Test team in the 1960s, making his highest score in the first innings of the memorable tied Test against the West Indies in Brisbane in 1960.