#help marlene is so precious to her

[pandalilydorlene]

Guys Dorlene movie nights In Marlene's childhood bedroom In Scotland.

Marlene can't take her eyes off of the screen, she's put on her favourite movie (Rocky horror because her and Sirius are alt queer 70s cliches together) and she's just staring with her mouth hanging slightly open and her eyes wide even though she's seen it a million times before.

Dorlene on the other hand hasn't looked at the screen in 30 minutes, her eyes are fixed on Marlene. Quietly watching the light from the little box television flicker across her face and brighten her eyes. Dorcas would stay in this moment forever, if only she could.

[rainydayathogwarts]

Precious, drunk boyfriend - Remus Lupin

Summary: In which Remus gets more drunk than he ever has and clings onto his girlfriend for dear life. Warnings: Public sex (but the room is empty), fingering, drunk sex (but consensual), established relationship wc: 1.4k

It was odd, to say the least. Remus Lupin was usually the more put together of the four boys; he smoked a cigarette by the open window with a beer in his hand, watching as the party roared around him. He would laugh at the sight of his best friends embarrassing themselves and always had open arms to welcome his girlfriend in, hugging you tightly as you drunkenly slurred words of affection at him. James now wondered if this was just payback for all the nights Remus had to look after them.

Remus hiccuped loudly, his head leaning back on the pillows. He tried straightening up with a wobble while James and Sirius exchanged a look of worry. "Where is she?" Remus slurred, looking around as he finally stood up. "She's gonna fucking kill us if she sees what we did to her precious boyfriend" Whisper-yelled Sirius as he and James rushed over behind Remus, who was confidently strutting over to where you and Marlene danced together. "Rem! Since when do you dance?" You giggled upon seeing your boyfriend, only to squeal when his hands snaked around your waist, harshly tugging you towards him.

You gasped, putting both your hands on his chest and looking up at him curiously. You were drunk enough to enjoy the special attention from your boyfriend, but not too much to miss the fact that this wasn't the ordinary Remus. "Remus?" He hummed distractedly, beginning to pull you towards the other side of the common room, where you instantly made eye contact with three very guilty looking teenage boys. "Peter, talk." You said, pointedly looking at the boy, knowing he could never lie to you. "Shh, don't look at Pete. You don't need him, just me." You couldn't help but laughing as your boyfriend pushed you down onto a couch. He sat down next to you, digging his head into the crook of your neck where he immediately started leaving kisses, whilst his hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to him.

Your eyes widened when Remus started to suck on the soft skin on your neck and you looked back at James, Sirius and Peter. "What did you guys do to him?" Peter looked down at his shoes, beginning to mumble under his breath, but it was Sirius who finally spoke. "Well, we all took a couple of shots together but that was it! The rest was all him!" You looked at them suspiciously, trying to push away Remus's head from the crook of your neck.

"Rem? Remus, sweetheart?" He pulled away from your neck, only to trail his kisses upwards, pressing some on your jawline and the side of your face. "You're so beautiful." A kiss on your jawline. "How can you be so beautiful and smart and kind at the same time?" Another kiss. "Fuck, when you come to me and sit on my laps after classes..." He took a long pause, and for a second you thought he was asleep "You make me feel so important. I love you. Only love you." You smiled down at him, brushing a strand of hair away from his eyes.

He wasn't going to remember anything in the morning.

"Rem?" "Mhmm?" "Want to come for a smoke with me?" And he was immediately up on his feet, tripping over air so that James had to clutch him by the shoulders so he wouldn't fall. Nothing would separate that boy from his cigarettes. You nodded your head towards the back of the main common room, making your way to a more secluded room within the common room, heading straight to the window. Remus blindly followed your footsteps, sitting in front of you on the window nook. He watched intently as you opened the window from your side, and leaned forward towards your boyfriend. You opened his jacket, reaching for the inner pocket where he kept his cigarettes hidden.

"You're not warm? Don't want to take it off?" He nodded, shuffling so he could take off his jacket, leaving him in a plain black tank top. Your eyes raked over his exposed muscular arms and you chuckled lightly, looking down at the box in your hands. "What? Too handsome for you?" Remus muttered, leaning back on the wall behind him with a smug grin on his face. You shook your head, getting on your knees to move closer to him. You didn't get the chance to sit back down before Remus' hands were on your hips, lifting you up slightly so he could plant you on his laps.

You moved to straddle him, directly facing him, and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. One of his hands immediately migrated from your hip to the back of your neck, deepening the kiss so you were forced to open your mouth, allowing his tongue in. The hand on your hip moved to your front, beginning to unbutton the trousers you wore. You broke the kiss, panting "Remus, we can't!" "There's no one here though." "You're too drunk." He shook his head, both hands now working on your trousers, tugging them down your thighs as best he could with you straddling him.

"You're not taking advantage of me. Jus' wanna make you feel nice." His hand slipped down the front of your lacy underwear, immediately finding your clit, which he started rubbing circles on. You gasped, hips immediately bucking away from his cold touch. "Light?" Murmured Remus, looking up at you, then down at the pack of cigarettes in your hand. You nodded, reaching for a cigarette and lighting it up before putting it to your lips and inhaling deeply. You guided it between Remus' awaiting lips, and he mimicked your movements, blowing the cigarette away from your face. His hand continued its movements, and he inserted two fingers in your wet entrance.

He pumped his fingers in and out of you at a slow pace, watching where they connected with your entrance, his second hand holding your underwear to the side so he could see. You cried out, his pace quickening, his palm applying pressure on your clit every time he pumped his fingers inside your pussy. You tried squeezing your thighs together for more friction, throwing your head back in disappointment. "So needy. I'm already giving you my fingers and you want more?" You nodded your head at him, but whined when he laughed, grinding your hips down on his stilling hands. "Please, please Rem." You begged, your head digging into the crook of his neck.

You mimicked his earlier actions, starting to suck hickeys on his neck as his pace began to slowly increase again. His free hand followed your arm that was hanging over his shoulder, and he snatched the cigarette from between your fingers. He inhaled again, his breath hitching when you sucked on his sweet spot and he coughed out a moan, the white smoke dispersing in the room. You smiled against his neck, which he must have felt, because his pace on your cunt became unforgivably fast, the pressure on your clit becoming too much for you.

Your thighs started shaking and you rolled your hips, riding Remus' hand in search for your release. He twisted his hand, hitting a new angle inside of you which had you unraveling on top of him, almost as though he had just been teasing you the whole time. You moaned loudly, trying to bury your moans in Remus' neck, but they still echoed in the small room. You whimpered as Remus removed his hand from your cunt, the burning sensation in your thighs beginning to soothe. Your jaw went slack, gaping at Remus, who put his fingers in his mouth, humming contently as he tasted your juices. He wiped the excess saliva on his trousers so he could help you back into yours. He zipped and buttoned you up as you observed him, still in a daze.

Remus smiled up at you, offering you what was left of the cigarette. You took a long drag, settling down on Remus' laps, who tapped you on the ass as a sign to get up. "Come on sweetheart, let's go get you cleaned up." You staggered up, and Remus, now seemingly sober, took your hand in his as he re-pocketed the cigarette pack, leading you out of the room. When you got to the main common room, heading towards the stairs, you made eye contact with Sirius, who grinned widely at your shaky figure, eyes going back and forth between you and a satisfied Remus.

[thetourturedwritersclub]

I've seen ppl do the marauders being teachers and the subjects they would teach. And hers are my 2 cents.

James he would teach PE. Argue with the wall. Also he'd be that one teacher everyone loves bc he cares for the students. All the students who have PE with him would be fit bc James cares so much abt the students health. He would organise basketball, football /soccer and volleyball games between the other classes.

Sirius On the popular belief of Sirius teaching French, I actually think he would teach art. That doesn't mean that I think that he isn't intelligent, I think he's creative and he would rather teaching a subject which requires u to be creative. He would take the kids to art galleries.

Remus to no one's surprise, I think he would teach English /Literature. And he would make it INTERESTING. They'd be studying Romeo and Juliet , the kids would feel like they are in Verona, Italy watching it happen. Also smth that's so precious for me is Remus having movie hrs, watching films that we are adapted into movie form and they would analyse the differences between the two.

Peter I think Peter would teach home Economics. Also he would be that teacher that u either love and appreciate or hate with a burning passion. He would be a shy introverted nature but also funny and tolerant.

Lily she would teach citizenship. Yes she would be that teacher that would make sure u were mindful, empathetic and grateful. She would make sure kids understood everything u need to know abt being a good citizen. She would also organise field trips which would be in parks, town halls etc etc.

Marlene Listen, I think she would be a history teacher. Her compassion loving nature and ability to tell a story give rlly much history teacher vibez. The kids would be hypnotised listening to every word Marlene was speaking abt a revolution or a glorious monarchy.

Mary Now Mary would teach theatre. Say what u want but I'm a Theatre teacher Mary believer. She would take it super seriously and she would teach all of the kids how to act. Also she would analyse the kids chemistry (basically how much chemistry they have with each other) and she would play match maker with that information. She'd be hitting the bullseye everytime.

Dorcas She would be teaching mathematics. Again argue with the wall. She would be that strict teacher with a heart of gold. Also she would check in with every kid to see if they need help and would be that teacher who wouldn't make u feel bad for not understanding something.

Pandora She would teach Chemistry. Why? Idk she just gives off chemist vibez. And she would always take her class to the lab. And instead of assigning projects, she and her class would conduct research on certain topics and try out formulas.

Barty :Barty would teach physics. He is super smart and in my eyes physics is smth that he would find interesting. He would be teaching the kids with practical examples, like dropping stuff when they have to learn abt gravity and ect.

Evan He would teach biology. Argue with the wall. He would love dissecting bodies and the students in his class would be horrified at his excitement. Also he would be such an inspirational and dedicated teacher. He wouldn't be that strict of a teacher but he would keep his class focused.

Regulus He would teach a foreign language like French. He would be so strict and his class would low-key fear him. He wouldn't have that high of expectations and his test wouldn't be that hard. Also he would explain the kids important facts abt French and he would be an incredible teacher. When he would assign classwork he'd go around the class asking if they needed help. Also he'd be that teacher who wouldn't mind answering questions after class.

So yeah that was soo fun! Lmk if u like it or want me to do stuff like this more often! Would you attend this school if you could?

[maretinelli]

OUT OF EVERYTHING

Sirius Black X fem!reader

Summary: Y/n has a busy week due to her work as head girl and her boyfriend gives her a little surprise to make her relax.

Words: 800+

Warnings: Mention of music, cuteness, couple in love and very much in love.

Author: English is not my first language, I apologize if I get any spelling or typing errors. Second, I know that the song mentioned probably didn't exist in 1970 and some broken, But I like her so much that I need to put her here. And finally, have fun reading!!

MASTERLIST

Head girl's job was really difficult.

In addition to monitoring at night, helping the first year students with their subjects, making weekly reports and organizing the common room every night, there were also boring meetings that took place every Tuesday and Thursday and took up at least two hours of the precious night.

Y/n loved the position, but lately the work has been too big and is taking a lot out of her.

Not that Remus didn't help her with matters, but she wanted everything to go impeccably. What was causing the girl's energy to run out quickly.

At the moment, Y/n was walking up the stairs to her dorm so tired that if she closed her eyes for 1 second she would fall asleep right there.

As she slowly opened the door to the dormitory she shared with Lily and Marlene, she could see that it was empty. She deduced that Lily was with James and the other boys in their dorm and Marlene had sneaked into Dorcas' room. Which she did a lot of in the last few days.

Y/n laughed lightly, imagining Marlene and walked to her bed, which had an object on top of her pillow that was delicately exposed on top of the sheets.

"Oh, let's see what's here" She whispers to herself and walks over to take a closer look.

She smiles when she finds a small bouquet of red roses and a note from her boyfriend.

The smile widens when she finishes reading the message he had.

She and Sirius had been in a relationship for 2 and a half years and he never stopped being romantic. The dark-haired boy's favorite act of love was certainly gifts and quality time.

Even though she's tired, she takes a quick shower and puts on some warmer clothes to go meet Sirius.

The weather in Scotland was starting to cool down and the night wind was colder than at other times of the year.

As soon as she grabs the denim jacket she had stolen from Sirius, she leaves the dorm and walks towards the astronomy tower in silent steps. The curfew had already rung and so all students were supposed to be in their dorms and at most in the common room. Which was not the case for the couple.

Upon arriving at the staircase that led to the top of the tower, Y/n hugs her coat tighter and asks for Sirius.

"Siri love, are you there?!" She says as soon as she reaches the last step of the staircase and sees a tall silhouette with long hair facing away from her.

"Hey! I'm here, my love" he turns around and then meets his girlfriend.

He approaches his girl with a charming and passionate smile on his lips.

"Babe, what's all this?!" Y/n exclaims as she looks around and feels Sirius wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I made a little surprise for my love. I know how tired she is and how hard it is to be our head girl." He smiles and then places a passionate kiss on the girl's cheek, leaving only one arm around her and guiding her to the small picnic he had made on the tower's balcony. "Did you like it?"

On the floor was a burgundy tablecloth laid out with several small portions of food. Cake, cookies, pie, sandwiches and double pieces of some fruits. Not to mention a liter of wine with two glasses, which he probably stole from a teacher or entered Filch's room.

"Do I like it? I loved it" Y/n looks at everything with a charm in her eyes, while Sirius looked at her.

With that, Making Love Out Of Nothing At All started playing on the record player that Black had taken upstairs too.

"Oh my God!!" Y/n turns to see where the music was coming from, a smile on her face. "It's my favorite!!"

"I know" Sirius looks lovingly at his girlfriend and a passionate smile on his face. "Grant me a dance, prefect?!" He puts one arm behind him and extends his other hand in front of his girlfriend.

Y/n smiles, looking into her lover's eyes and nodding.

"Absolutely, my love" She takes Sirius' hand and he leads her to the middle of the tower, placing both his hands on her waist, while Y/n puts both her arms around the boy's neck.

"And I know just where to touch you..." Sirius sings in a low tone, while resting his forehead against hers.

"And I know just what to prove..." Y/n sings a part and smiles, closing her eyes.

As the music played, the two moved to the rhythm of the melody and whispered excerpts of the song to each other.

Every time I see you, all the rays of the sun are

Streaming through the waves in your hair

And every star in the sky is taking aim at your eyes

Like a spotlight

"I love you to no end, my sweet girl," Sirius whispers in her ear.

She smiles shyly and leans into him.

"I love you, my sweet boy" she smiles and seals their lips with a kiss with a lot of feeling and shared love.

Author: I was a writing tutor for a few months when I was in high school, and seriously, it's stressful. Lucky you get some extracurricular hours.🙏🏽🫂

[lulublack90]

Prompt 21 - Dystopian AU

@wolfstarmicrofic April 21, word count 979

CW- Death by gunshot

The Earth was dead. Nothing grew apart from genetically modified mushrooms. The planet’s water was so toxic it had to be run through filters repeatedly to make it even halfway drinkable. The once beautiful green country Sirius lived in was now brown.

The HOB owned everything. They owned the food, water, phones, housing, and vehicles. Whatever you could buy. Somehow, it all led back to The HOB. 

Sirius lived in an old block of flats that had been converted to house hundreds of occupants. His room was a small pod. It was barely tall enough for him to sit up in. He did, however, have a shelf, which most people would kill for. It’s the little things in life. 

Most of the Earth's inhabitants, at least those with money, had bought passage on the gigantic space cruisers. They were cities in the skies, set to blast off into outer space to protect the elite from the Earth’s final days. 

Sirius had helped to build these beasts, but apparently, he wasn’t good enough to be part of the crew. So he spent most of his time in a local garage helping to fix the vehicles of the same posh prats that would be leaving.

One such vehicle had an issue that took him the entire day to sort out. He pulled out a stack of paper real-life paper from the air filter box. The customer brushed him off when he came for the vehicle, and Sirius was left with the papers. 

That night, he pored through the papers. He didn’t understand half of it, but he understood enough to know this was important. Sirius decided he needed to show a friend of his what he’d found.

“It’s, it’s, it’s amazing. Sirius, The HOB, has been hiding this from everyone. It’s not too late to save the Earth!” Marlene exclaimed as she typed some complicated equations into her computer. 

The door burst open, and armed guards flooded into the small space. They raised their guns and shot Marlene before she could even open her mouth. Sirius ran. 

He didn’t know how he got out of that room, but if he had to guess, they probably hadn’t expected him to move. 

Sirius had always been fast, and he used the adrenaline coursing through his veins to run as fast as he could. The men were right behind him, though. He dashed around a corner and found himself on the airfield with the space cruisers. 

He raced towards the nearest one and, with the knowledge only someone who’d helped build one, opened a secret hatch in its belly and wiggled into the cramped space. 

He gulped in air as he tried to catch his breath. The hull was so dense. He had no idea if the men were still there. He’d have to leave it for a few hours at least before he tried to escape. 

With the adrenaline wearing off and nothing but his thoughts to keep him company, he let the misery of Marlene’s death wash over him and focused on how it was his fault she was gone. The tears that fell from his eyes were thick and hot. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried. 

Suddenly, a horrendous booming rumble blasted his eardrums. It took him precious moments to realise the ship was about to launch. He tried in vain to open the hatch, but once the engines were engaged, all external doorways were locked down. 

The noise got louder, and he screamed as his eardrums tried hopelessly to block out the noise. He crushed his fists to them and felt the ship begin to rise. 

The booming got worse, and he was crushed into the floor as the behemoth gained speed. He felt his bones rattling and shaking as the ship fought against the Earth’s gravitational pull. 

After what felt like an eternity, everything stopped. He knew there would be the gentle thrum of the engines if his ears could actually pick up sounds anymore and that the ship wouldn’t feel like it was moving at all if his body wasn’t still trembling. 

He reached his hand above him and unlocked the internal hatch above him. He dragged himself up into the corridor. It was made for crew and never meant to be seen by the paying passengers. He wandered along it, having no idea what he was going to do. He didn’t have permission to be here, and he didn’t put it past some of the employees on here not to just expel him into the void. 

His ears popped as he walked down another corridor, and he regained some of his hearing just in time to catch the sound of boots walking towards the next bend ahead of him. He flew through the door beside him and waited for the footsteps to disappear. 

Sirius glanced around the room he was in. It appeared to be sleeping quarters, and compared to his tiny pod, it was huge. Two full-sized beds, built into the wall in bunks, a door that probably led to a washroom and two sets of drawers. 

Before he could plan his next move, the washroom door opened, and a tall shirtless man wrapped only in a towel, with beads of water running down his chest, walked out into the room. 

“Oh, hello. I didn’t think I had a bunkmate.” He reached out a hand. “I’m Remus.” Sirius tentatively took it and shook it. 

“Sirius,” He introduced himself. 

“Well, hello, Sirius. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Sirius forgot all about the previous hours of his life. He’d have to find a way back to Earth and figure out a way to get the information out that would save it so that Marlene’s death wouldn’t be meaningless. But right now, all he cared about was the man with the honey eyes beaming at him.     

[rocketbirdie]

FUCK I just saw the ask abt Marlene and now I just KNOW that 70% of what Avalanche knows abt Zakkura they learn from Zack patiently explaining to Marlene 😭💜

Like Marlene goes to grab Zack by the arm to show him something (FUCK) and Cloud stops her SUPER gently (holy shit…? Wait, he can be gentle?) and Zack explains to her how some nasty people have hurt him and Cloud very badly by touching them, so now neither of them like to be touched by people, even when it’s supposed to be a friendly touch (okay that explains a LOT of behaviour, taking notes) and Marlene gets super solemn about it and promises not to touch them anymore and Zack’s smile is softer than Avalanche has ever seen from him except irt Cloud

Or when she throws those little popper things around because they’re fun (and Barrett doesn’t let her play with them very often on account of his own trauma), and Zack goes into a panic attack (fuckfuckfuck) and Cloud wraps his hands around Marlene’s to make her stop throwing them (he’s… not hurting her though?) and pointedly looks at Zack hyperventilating at the bar with a really scary (but mostly just scared) look on his face and Marlene gets it like, immediately, and later brings Zack a handmade apology card and Zack just. Melts and forgives her (w. wow. didn’t know he knew HOW to forgive, apparently gifts are the way to go there)

Or when Marlene is doing homework at the bar before opening and struggles with a math problem and Cloud wanders over (what is he doing?) and starts drawing out hypotheticals to help her understand (because he may be quiet but he is GOOD at math apparently), and Marlene soon goes to him for help with homework when he’s there because he explains things so well even if he doesn’t talk! and Cloud is internally like. Well I was bored at the time but shit, I might as well help, Zack seems to like her and she’s very conscious of his issues even if she’s really young and still learning. Maybe she’ll be useful later, who knows. (Dude, is Cloud’s blank expression softer than usual…? Nah… can’t be… right…?)

Anyway the point is that only some of Avalanche’s little ledger of “How To Avoid Mauling” comes from actual experience - most of it comes from listening to Zack and Cloud be creepily normal around Marlene and explain their shit to her in a way even an eight year old can understand and learn to accommodate

…and Barrett really wants to cut off the contact between his little girl and the ex SOLDIER freaks invading his bar, because it was an accident and a damn mistake to let them meet in the first place, but everytime he tries to tell her she can’t talk to them anymore, she gets all sad and weepy because she actually Likes her spiky Quiet Uncle and smiley Puppy Uncle, and Barrett just. Deflates and accepts that he can’t prevent this anymore. (Won’t stop him from making sure there is supervision EVERY time his precious baby is around these creeps.)

^^^^^^🥺🥺🥺🥺

[sixhours]

bright spots - chapter 6

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | In progress

Rating: Teen Words: 2.1k Series tags: The Last of Us, The Last of Us (HBO), Joel & Ellie, Joel Miller, Ellie Williams, Marlene, canon divergence, hospital AU, medical stuff, blood, hurt/comfort, angst, canon-typical violence, vomiting, implied rape/sexual assault, I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

Joel

Nine appears to be the magic number. Nine days since they stumbled into the Fireflies’ domain and got flash-bombed for their trouble. Ellie must be considered well-rested, because that morning, the doctor himself makes an appearance alongside Marlene, the older nurse, and two soldiers. Marlene introduces him as Dr. Anderson.

Joel doesn’t know what he expected when the man walks into the room. He just knows he doesn’t like him.

He’s slight and pale, tired eyes sunken into his head. His clothes are clean but threadbare and ill-fitting, and something about that sets Joel’s teeth on edge. They haven’t even started yet and the man looks weary, plainly put. Haggard and exhausted, instilling no confidence.

Worse, he doesn’t bother acknowledging Ellie. He’s frowning at something on a clipboard as he talks in clipped tones with Marlene and the nurse, something about samples and a schedule and lab assistance.

“Think you should at least explain what’s gonna happen to her,” Joel cuts in when he can’t hold his tongue any more.

The doctor looks up as if surprised to see him, frowns at the interruption.

“We need to establish a baseline now that she’s had some time to settle in. We’ll want to measure other things, of course, but for now, it’s the routine stuff. Cell counts, blood sugar, iron levels. We might test her plasma, and eventually we’ll want a bone marrow sample. Nothing nefarious.”

Strange choice of words.

The man doesn’t offer further explanation, doesn’t wait to see if either of them has questions. Finished with his business, secure in the knowledge that his staff has their orders, he turns away and leaves the room as if he has somewhere more important to be.

Yeah, Joel really doesn’t like this guy.

And then the nurse is putting a tourniquet around Ellie’s upper arm. Joel can’t help but think it’s all for show. Flanked by her guards, Marlene is hardly there in a medical capacity. So the first blood draw happens under the watchful eye of one nurse and a small militia. As though Ellie’s blood needs a fuckin’ police escort.

And who’s protecting Ellie?

He is, he realizes with a twist in his gut. Like Marlene said, he’s on the payroll, complicit in what happens over the next however many weeks and he’s supposed to just…let it happen. 

Ellie peers over her shoulder at him then, something questioning, almost pleading in her eyes. The look is so unfamiliar, it takes him a long moment to place it.

Is this okay?

He remembers that look on Sarah’s face, always a cautious kid, always looking over her shoulder at him and waiting a beat before throwing herself headlong into the thing. That pause said “This is good, right Dad?” and Joel always marveled at how she trusted him so completely, the twenty-something dumbfuck from Nowhere, Texas who got his girlfriend knocked up when she was nineteen.

Ellie was nothing like Sarah that way. She’d had no one to look back to and therefore no reason to ask for reassurance. She’d forged ahead on her own power, knowing the only one who’d be looking out for her was her. He saw it time and time again on the road, every time he pulled her back from a ledge or stopped her from running into a building they hadn’t cleared. She had a fierce and foolish bravery and never once had she let Joel’s worrying and fretting for her safety slow her down.

But today, she pauses. She asks him with her eyes, asks the same dumbfuck from Nowhere, Texas who managed to lose the most precious thing he’d ever known, a broken man given a second chance in the form of a silent question.

This is good, right?

Joel makes the decision. He can’t tell her no, he can’t deny her anything as much as his instincts are screaming for this to stop.

I’ll follow you wherever you go.

She was wrong. He was always the one following her.

He gives her a subtle nod, meets her eyes. I’m with you.

She turns back, squares her shoulders, and sticks out her arm.

“I’m ready.”

Ellie watches in fascination as the needle pierces her skin, seems almost thrilled when the nurse has to try again because her veins are so small. There’s a tiny, delighted gasp when the vein is found and blood spurts into the vial, a soft so cool whispered under her breath. Joel isn’t normally queasy around needles, but Ellie’s lack of self preservation borders on obscene.

It’s over in less than two minutes; there’s a bandage at the crook of her arm and the nurse turns the vial a few times before sticking it in a little tray.

“That’s done,” she chirps, and then the team is gone, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.

Joel knows this won’t be the vial that makes the cure, but there’s still a weight to the moment. Ellie stares at her bandaged arm, draws her fingers over the gauze lightly, thoughtfully, as though the fate of the world hinges on this moment. Maybe it does.

He watches as she seems to come back to herself, turning to him with an expression that’s all teenage bravado.

“Dude, look,” she says, grinning, holding out her arm. “Dinosaur band-aid.”

Ellie

So far, being the world’s only immune person is about what Ellie expected. They take a lot of blood, and she likes watching the red liquid spurt into the little tubes–it’s kinda like Joel’s gas siphon, but cooler. The nice nurse, Nurse Joanna, is gentler about it, and always prefaces the draw with just a little pinch in warning. Nurse Cooke goes rough with the tourniquet and doesn’t say anything, just jabs her until she finds a vein.

Plus, they have fancy dinosaur band-aids. Fuck yeah.

She imagines them putting all her blood into a magic machine that spins it around and takes out the immune parts and stuffs them into vaccine shots. It’s a silly thought, she knows, but she doesn’t have much basis for comparison…and she has way too much time on her hands to dream up stupid shit.

They do more tests–Marlene calls them neurological evaluations and cognitive screenings . They’re boring as fuck, but less boring than sitting around in her room and reading dumb magazines, so she cooperates and counts to ten and answers the same questions over and over again.

At least Marlene humors her when she has time. Occasionally Ellie walks down the hall to her office, usually when Joel is otherwise occupied–so, sleeping. He said he trusts her, but that frustrating need for his approval has her sneaking out of their room regardless.

Today she leaves him snoring in the chair by her bed with his chin tucked to his chest and wanders Marlene’s way, bypassing the guards to knock at the threshold of her office.

“Come in.”

She pokes her head in the door as Marlene looks up from her paperwork, arching a brow. “Does your guard dog know you’re here?”

Ellie shrugs.

Marlene snorts, but she nods to the chair across from her desk. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping we could…talk. About my mom.”

“What did you want to know?”

Everything , Ellie thinks, but she looks at her fingers, picking at her cuticles.

“I dunno. You were her best friend, right? So I figure if anyone can tell me stuff…”

She trails off.

Marlene sighs and sits back in her chair, abandoning her papers for the time being. “Anna and I were…very good friends even before the outbreak. We grew up together.”

“And she was a Firefly, too?”

Marlene nods. “We were both from Boston, so when everything went to shit and FEDRA took over, it was…personal. It was our home. We wanted to protect it.”

“Was I born in Boston?”

“No, you were born outside the QZ, in a safe house.”

“Can’t have been very safe if my mom got bit.”

Marlene smirks. “There aren’t many safe places left in this world…you know that. This hospital is probably one of the most well-protected compounds in the country, and we’re still at risk every day.”

Ellie thinks of Jackson and bites her tongue. “Why was she out there in the first place?”

“Well…you know how things are in the QZ. When you were born, the situation was particularly unstable. And as a Firefly, Anna was considered a criminal. She couldn’t give birth at a FEDRA hospital or she would have gone to prison, and we needed time to obtain forged identity papers for you. The plan was for her to stay at one of the safe houses for a few months after you were born, then we’d find a way to smuggle you back in.”

“What, like…supplies? Like chicken and pills and–”

The stuff Joel used to do , she stops herself from saying.

“Everyone has a price. FEDRA will look the other way if you can get what they want, and we had connections throughout the QZ on both sides. It’s never black-and-white, Ellie.”

She looks down at her hands in her lap, thinks of Riley. It’s okay that you don’t know everything.

“The night you were born, our group was delayed getting out, so Anna had to make the trip alone. Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem…but she was already in labor when she left, which slowed her down. We think she came across a runner,” Marlene’s voice drops, sadness creeping in. “Wrong place, wrong time. By the time we found her, she’d already been bit.”

Ellie’s eyes widen, some distant understanding beginning to click into place. “Wait…was she bit before or…or…”

“We don’t know for sure, but…we think before. Dr. Anderson thinks the cordyceps has been with you since birth.”

“So she turned?”

“No,” Marlene says softly. “We found her before it happened.”

Ellie swallows hard, unsure if she wants the answer to the question she’s about to ask. “Were you the one who…y’know…”

“Yes. We have that in common, Ellie,” Marlene murmurs. “I’m sorry it happened that way. Riley was a good kid. I’m sure she was…grateful to have you with her at the end. You did her a kindness.”

Ellie thinks of her best friend, of the cold metal weight of the gun in her trembling hand and the sound of–

She shakes herself out of the memory before it can consume her, clears her throat and schools her face into an expressionless mask. She’s not having this fucking conversation. They wouldn’t have been in that stupid mall in the first place if Riley hadn’t…if Marlene hadn’t… fuck .

“But you can do what I couldn’t,” Marlene says, eyes shining. “You can make their deaths…mean something. Anna’s…and Riley’s.”

Ellie looks down, feels the pressure like an ache in her chest.

“What was she like? My mom, I mean.” 

Marlene softens, genuine sorrow in her voice. “She had a great sense of humor. We laughed a lot…especially in the early days. Before the outbreak, she was…light. Pure light. She’d do just about anything to make someone smile.

“And after the outbreak…she was badass,” she says, smiling a little. “She was quick with a knife. Always preferred them to guns if she had a choice…I used to give her shit for her aim, but she wasn’t that bad. I think it was a matter of principle. She treated enough gunshot wounds, lost enough friends to bullets…she didn’t like the damage they could do.”

“So she…killed people?”

Marlene arches an eyebrow.

“You said she was a criminal, so–”

“I said she was considered a criminal, by FEDRA. Your mom was a nurse, Ellie. She was a healer.”

“Oh…”

“In FEDRA’s eyes, she helped the wrong people and that made her a terrorist. She killed to defend herself. She killed to protect her friends, her family. Same as you.”

Ellie sucks in a breath, blows it out again.

“Like I said…nothing in this world is black-and-white,” Marlene murmurs. “We’re all just trying to survive. But I hope…with the work we’re doing here…we can make that a little easier for everyone.”

Ellie creeps back to their room after their conversation, finds Joel still snoring. She crawls into her bed and curls into a ball and pulls the covers over her head, even though it’s barely dinnertime. She doesn’t think she can eat, anyway; thinking about Riley has curdled her stomach. When Joel stirs, whispering her name with a tentative hand to her shoulder, she pretends to be asleep.

It’s so little, but it feels like so much. She thinks of all the things that happened to bring her to this point; her mom and Riley and Marlene and Joel and her immunity, everything irrevocably entwined, knotted together.

It can’t be for nothing.

Ellie lays awake that night thinking of her mother, picking apart each new fact, turning them over and over in her mind, trying to imagine this stranger who brought her into the world. She falls asleep looking for herself in the pieces.

[otrtbs]

Okay, we all know ahb! James and Regulus did not get a Brazil house Christmas together, but the holidays are coming up and I've been thinking a lot about what a Brazil house Christmas would look like and I thought I would share some thoughts because I love Christmas dearly.

James would insist that everyone come to Brazil to see them during the first Christmas and even though it's summertime there, he's committed to the traditional winter aesthetic!

James cuts up a bunch of oranges and dehydrates them in the oven and Regulus sews all the dehydrated oranges together with twine to make garland to decorate the house (they both sit in the kitchen together and work silently side-by-side just happy to be together in their house) (photo for reference ⤵️)

Barty and Evan get there a week before everyone else and are absolute menaces (what's new?) They somehow manage to break the star at the top of the Christmas tree and they are petrified to tell James because James Potter takes Christmas the most seriously™️ like they would rather tell Regulus, seriously, before they had to tell James they broke his precious tree

Unbeknownst to them, Regulus and James bought a spare star just for that reason, but Barty and Evan scour the town anyway to find 'the best star in the world' to make it up to them. They come back with a glass star that has a picture of Regulus' face taped to it and James loves it so much he nearly cries. Regulus hates it. So much. But he'll let James have this one.

Marlene and Dorcas arrive a day early to surprise everyone and after Barty is done admonishing Marlene for missing their weekly phone call the week before, Marlene takes James into the kitchen to catch up.

James pours the wine while he (futilely) attempts to explain why it's fancy and what notes of fruitiness and hints of vanilla it has (he's trying to learn about wine from Regulus, but it's still not going too well) and Marlene complains about the sweltering heat because James has had the oven on all day dehydrating oranges and claims next Christmas should be spent at Sirius' and Remus' flat where it's actually winter and James protests because his house is 'literally the Christmas house.'

Dorcas helps Regulus string up the last minute orange garlands while they talk about Italy and all the Basilica's Marlene and Dorcas have been too

Lily and Mary arrive next with a million presents for everyone all meticulously wrapped and decorated and Barty and Evan lose their minds because neither of them have seen so many presents before (they immediately start shaking all the boxes as they try to guess what's inside)

When Sirius and Remus arrive, Sirius takes great offence to the Regulus star at the top of the tree and employs Mary and Lily on a secret mission to print a photo of himself and tape his face to the star as well in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep (it's a big success and in the morning everyone has a good laugh looking at Regulus' and Sirius' faces on the star side by side) Regulus hates the star a little less now

Sirius and Remus bring their dog with them and Barty and Evan delight in chasing the dog around the house everywhere until Regulus banishes all three of them (Barty, Evan, and the dog) to the beach to play around.

Lily makes the best chelsea buns in the world for breakfast with her secret recipe and the house smells delightful all day

On Christmas Eve Regulus can't sleep and he comes down the stairs to find Sirius sitting on the bottom step, his face lit by the fairy lights (James insists they keep on throughout the night)

They have a long conversation about their lives and how they have the family they've always wanted. They talk about how grateful they are to be together and this Christmas Eve they both feel a little bit like children again, but it's not sad this time. It's nice.

When Sirius eventually goes to bed, Regulus goes to sit by the Christmas tree that's all lit up and he stares out the open window at the dark night. The house is silent because everyone else is asleep except James, who comes down to check on him once he realises Regulus isn't in bed.

Regulus points out the angel ornament that has a picture of James as a baby for the face and quietly whispers that that ornament is his favourite. James smiles because his mum sent him that ornament so he could have a piece of home with him.

There is mistletoe everywhere thanks to James who is obsessed with it. He's always trying to 'trick' Regulus into standing in places so he can kiss him under the mistletoe (Regulus knows exactly where every single piece of mistletoe is hung and will occasionally,,,, as casually as possible,,, stand underneath some and wait for James to notice)

The entire house is filled with love and light and laughter and sheer chaos and Christmas turns into a weeks long celebration that bleeds into New Years because everyone just loves being all together

They do all agree to spend next Christmas at Remus' and Sirius' though and James is only convinced by the idea of snow.

Dorcas would play the piano while Marlene and Barty sing the most off-key (very drunk) version of 'Baby It's Cold Outside'

Mary sings 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' and nearly brings everyone to tears

Sirius sings 'All I want for Christmas is You' and tries his very hardest to hit the high notes (it's actually impressive)

Remus is the bartender during this Christmas karaoke sing-along night and it's thanks to his heavy-handed pours that anyone is brave enough to sing anything at all

Everyone joins in to sing 'Wonderful Christmastime' except no one can get the lyrics right/at the same time so it's more a mess of chaotic laughter and jumbled lyrics with 'ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong' thrown in very loudly (Regulus actually mumbles under his breath much to James' delight and regards the scene very very fondly)

Outside, the sunflowers in the garden are growing so tall they could practically touch the sky.

[lauronk]

I wish you would write a fic where...

Joel and Anna get together after Sarah goes to college. Ellie is their kid and Sarah is the cool aunt figure.

hi! thank you so much for the prompt! ngl, i struggled with it a little because i do not know how to write Romantic Joel, he exists only as Dad in my head lol but i gave it a good shot, i hope you enjoy!

the best day with you today

length: ~1.2k words tags: canon divergence; modern au; everyone's alive; joel/anna; joel & ellie & anna & sarah; family feels; pregnancy; family bonding; dunking each other in the river; no beta we die like david

Joel had never really planned on having another kid. Hell, he’d barely even planned on having the first - definitely not as young as he’d been - but Rae had gotten pregnant and they’d gotten married and then barely a year after Sarah’s birth, she’d decided she wasn’t cut out for motherhood, and she bailed. Sarah had no memories of her, but other than a few growing pains here and there, she’d never seemed to be worse off without her.

Joel had raised her and watched her graduate and sent her off to college (all the way to San Marcos, which really isn’t that far, Dad, I’ll come visit plenty) and then realized he had no damn idea what to do with his life now. No soccer practice to cart her to, no sleepovers to host, no extracurriculars to plan around.

Now it was just him and his empty house and enough woodcarvings to fill the time that Tommy finally confiscated his knives and said he could have them back if he left the house once a week for two months.

So, after digging around on the internet a little, he’d gone to the library down the street, picked up their calendar, and signed up for the monthly book club and the Spanish conversation group. Both of which, it turned out, were attended by a woman named Anna who had a habit of shooting him amused looks when one of the other book club members made an asinine remark.

True to his word, Tommy returned the knives to him after two months, but they started collecting dust almost immediately because Joel spent all his free time with Anna. A coffee date turned into a dinner date and within two weeks they were seeing each other near daily.

Sarah had been astonished - and more than a little skeptical - when Joel sat her down and told her that he and Anna were planning to get married, with her blessing of course, barely ten months after meeting. Joel could see it all over her face that she didn’t think it would last, that he was having some kind of midlife crisis - not helped by the fact that Anna was nearly ten years younger than him - and that they wouldn’t last the year.

But she could see how important this was to him, so she gave her blessing anyway. No matter her own reservations, she wanted her dad to be happy. And she liked Anna a lot, thought her a good match for Joel, even if everything was moving unsettlingly fast.

They’d done a small ceremony in the backyard, just Sarah, Tommy, and Anna’s best friend Marlene in attendance. And for another two years that had been their family; neither of them had planned on having kids.

But then Anna started throwing up, missed her period, and those two lines on the test turned pink. And suddenly, they were having a baby.

Ellie made her arrival a week before Sarah’s twenty-first birthday, and Joel’s eldest spent what should have been a night out partying pacing laps around their living room cradling her sister, while Joel and Anna snagged a few precious hours of sleep. He’d been worried that getting a baby sister when she herself was full grown would be a problem for Sarah, but it had been the opposite. Ellie was Sarah’s favorite person ever, a feeling that went both ways as Ellie got older.

Wild, Joel thought, watching Ellie and Sarah float in their tubes ahead of him and Anna, how his girls could be so far apart in years and yet be so close and so similar. Maybe not wild, just…lucky.

The two of them are shooting mischievous grins over their shoulders now, and Joel shares a wry look with Anna. Her nose and cheeks are tinted red with the sun, tips of her fingers tracing lightly through the water as they float down the San Marcos River.

“Here,” Joel says, carefully tossing her the small tube of sunscreen. He points to his own nose and cheeks. “Think you need a bit of a touch up, you’re gettin’ a little crispy.”

Anna gives him a wry smile, rubbing a fresh coat over her face. “Not all of us were made to roast in the Texas sun, sweetheart.”

Joel shrugs. “Can’t help it that I tan and you don’t, darlin’. Y’know –”

Something pushes hard on the bottom of his tube, and Joel goes ass over head into the river, the cold temperature jolting him into opening his mouth and damn near inhaling enough water to fill his lungs. When his head breaks the surface a chorus of laughter greets him - six feet away Ellie is clambering back into her tube while Sarah tries to hold it steady. Next to him Anna is howling, her own hand barely maintaining a grip on his tube while the other clutches her stomach. He doesn’t bother climbing back into it; instead he propels himself forward through the water until he’s caught up to the girls.

Ellie shrieks and tries to paddle away, but she’s too slow, and Joel has her flipped into the water in a matter of seconds. He waits until she surfaces, gulps in a bit of air, and then promptly dunks her again.

She comes back up sputtering, a hand frantically trying to wipe her face clean. “Rude!” is all she manages, scooping a hand through the water to splash him. It hits him in the chest - he can still hear Sarah and Anna laughing - and he propels himself forward to hook an arm around her waist and hoist her up over his shoulder. It takes more effort to keep them afloat - his back is gonna hate him for this later, fifty-seven is really a bit too old to be lifting teenagers, even ones as scrawny as Ellie - but he paddles them unevenly back over towards Anna.

“Caught you something, huh?” His wife calls, shielding her face when Ellie aims a splash of water her way too.

“Sarah neglected to mention the river was full of gremlins,” he says back, giving her a grin before sucking in a breath and plunging himself - and his squirming daughter - under the water once more. Only once they’ve surfaced again does he release her, the two of them treading water.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re an ass?” Ellie says playfully, splashing him again.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a little shit?” He retorts, splashing her right back.

“Anyone ever tell either of you that you're exactly the same?” Anna cuts in from behind them, one hand still holding Joel’s tube.

“No,” they reply simultaneously, and she lets out another bark of laughter, echoed by Sarah on the other side of them.

“I’m never bringing y’all floating again,” she says teasingly, her head tipping back dramatically.

“Oh please,” Ellie doggy paddles forward, hoisting herself back into her tube next to her sister. “You’d be so bored doing this without us. You love us.”

Sarah scrunches up her nose, pretending to think for a moment before she leans over - nearly upsetting her own tube - and smacking a kiss onto her younger sister’s cheek. “Yeah, guess I do.”

thanks for reading!

[eccentrcks]

WIP Wednesday

I’m pretty sure someone tagged me before @sergeiravenov, but I count find them in my notifications. 😭 anyways, thank you so much for the tag and I’ll do three pieces of my girls.

Gone Through Time

Marlene can still smell the stench of death through her nightmares and hallucinations. A rather familiarized smell, but that was something she hated. Especially if it involved him. I’m sorry, Anthony… she wanted to hold him close to her and apologize profusely for being the cause of his death.

“It wasn’t your fault.” His hallucination form would try to console her. It didn’t do much, in fact, seeing him this way just made it worse. Covered and blood with a metal shard shoved into his sternum. His bashed head caused from the impact of falling just made her go through a bad spiral as her PTSD was triggered badly.

She gagged so much after sobbing hard while yanking on her own hair. Even thrown back about five decades in the last, his ghost still follows her.

Her moments of pure vulnerability mostly happened in private. Completely overwhelmed after holding all of this pain in after repressing all of that grief and all.

Dane was right. Her eyes showed more grief and pain more than her face, she needed to keep this under control so no one can detect her true identity at the CIA. She didn’t had her antidepressants on her, not that they’ll do any help, yet the man insists she gets it together.

“Don’t let Adler catch onto you. He’s already suspicious enough. Just say the word and I’ll get one of our own to deter him off your tail.” He insists.

Marlene shook her head in refusal. “I can handle that asshole by myself, just… just let me do this. I’m sorry, it’s just a panic attack. I’ll make sure it won’t happen again.” She’s Mylene to them, not Marlene, they only see a typical linguist among them. Not the real her.

Dane bit his inside cheek and gave her a look when she said that. Something tells him that she’s telling that to herself instead of him.

The Collapses of Three Facades

Teresa felt numb when finding out that she was pregnant. She was already responsible for three lives who are so precious that were given to her by someone who genuinely trusted her. A part of her wasn’t sure who exactly the father is, but some part of her says she already knows.

Does it really matter at this point? They were nothing more than friends with benefits and both made sure that it was nothing more. Although Teresa was painfully aware that he wanted a big family of his own someday with someone whom he trusts and actually loves.

And she’s positive that it wasn’t her.

There was no room to get pregnant on this job. She was far from done and this revelation is nothing more than an obstacle. No one would approve of this, neither her mother, or them, and if they were to find out about her little escapees. He would be dead.

So no, Teresa knows this is way too risky for the two of them. Her soft brown eyes glanced at the box of morning after pills and gulped. Surely it won’t hurt that bad, won’t it? She can handle some bad cramps, but not the emotional impact of killing her own unborn baby.

Distortion and Clarity

Jane lost feeling to her fingers and continued scurrying away while cradling her left injured hand. Breathing heavily as she continuously looked over her shoulder.

Not sure if she can wear anymore rings after this.

Everything doesn’t feel right and it was suffocating her. She can feel herself twitching and almost hyperventilating. Everything was loud again. Michael wasn’t here to comfort her this time, no, she needs him, he always knew what to do compared to everyone else.

It wasn’t long before she slipped and fallen into a puddle of blood in the dark hallway…the texture was thick, that she almost gagged, and the clumps certainly didn’t helped her sensitive sensory, then she realizes there was more than just blood.

Jane was completely shaking when she lifted her bloodied hand to see hair tangled with her fingers and the sight was enough for her to actually vomit this time.

Tagging: @efingart, @revnah1406, @alypink, @adlerboi, @welldonekhushi, @walder-138, @alexxmason, @ravsbloodbunny, @starcrossedspirit, @rosebarry16, @kaitaiga, @sleepyconfusedpotato, and you 🫵 (the tag list is small because it won’t let be tag others for some reason-)

[annabellelupin]

thoughts I've had while re reading poa as a marauders fan, part one (chapters 1 - 4)

(id just like to point out this is my first time reading the books since middle school and first time I've read the books since I became a marauders fan in 2020)

chapter 1

- ok so ye the Weasleys are really poor, but if they're "extremely poor" you'd figure they'd use their money for something other than a vacation

-I forgot sweet little hedwig existed djdjdjdkdjd

-someone please eat the rat

-let the future cat have him pleaseeeee

-why did I start to dislike hermione so much again??? maybe it's just movie hermione I hate and I can't remember the differences between the two

chapter 2

-why are most of the antagonistic characters portrayed as fat and why is the fact that dudley is obese brought up so many fucking times like that seems pretty fat phobic of you Rowling

- when actually reading and thinking about the Harry potter books and movies I imagine the actor that played sirius and not the fanart marauders sirius I'm more used to, and apparently his hair is depicted as elbow length in the books not shoulder length WE WERE ROBBED. could have had long haired sirius with a bun in ootp

- also I swear marauders Era Sirius and golden trio era Sirius (so canon and fanon sirius) are two completely different people in my mind

- also forgot "muggle" news talked about sirius

-just finished the chapter and seriously he is so sassy (guess that's what you get when you're Sirius and marlenes godson, and James and Lily's actual son)

- also I really fucking hate how much mental abuse is glazed over here like????

- it happens every summer and he's forced to return to his abusers like wtf

- this is why I don't like Dumbledore very much

chapter 3

-forgot padfoot wasn't like an actual dog sized dog

-lowkey forgot about padfoot in general ngl

-bro harry are your really throwing precious and innocent Neville under the bus rn come on dude seriously

-ok like when they mention Sirius I can't help to think of the dramatic, gay, Remus obsessed Sirius from all of the wolfstar text posts I've read

-also the fact they have to clarify what a gun is in the wizard news is wow

-same with Ron not knowing how to use a phone

-no wonder these people keep having Wizarding wars and unstable teachers at their schools

- love how this 13 year old kid is panicking over the possibility of going to wizard prison for breaking one rule

-also side note the more I read the more I feel like Daniel Radcliffe portrayed him super well

- hedwig supremacy

- "ur the literal wizard president" "yea but I'm not ur guardian dumbass I can't sign ur permission slip what in hell is this"

- why is reading stans parts so fucking hard

chapter 4

- ah Florean Fortescue the one genuinely nice adult in these books (isn't he like Alice's dad or something?) I just remembered her last name is actually more or less a headcanon uhhh that's fun

- the Irish quidditch team are actually mentioned along with the quidditch world cup even Harry's checkin out the firebolt

- coincidence that Dean and Seamus are mentioned at the same time? I think not

- seriously jkr why do you keep giving kids abusive gaurdians and acting like it's nothing (talking about Neville and his grandmother)

- "...Ron looking incredibly freckly, Hermione very brown..." (pg 55 in my book). when first reading this part years ago I registered it as Hermione was black/poc and not that she was just tan from the sun lmao

- I swear crookshanks was James' old cat and that's why he hated peter

- also Percy wow this why you don't befriend stray rats man

- the things this rat has seen go on in Percy's and Oliver's dorm room....

- still probably not as bad sharing a dorm with Remus and Sirius tho

- I love the twins sense of humor

- but guys stop messing with my precious baby Percy he's just- an autistic overachiever doing his best guys

- ..."he lost everything..." Yes Sirius did in fact lose almost everything Arthur but not bc what you think happened dude

- "he's safe with Dumbledore-" yea fucking right /sar

- "stationniong soul sucking demons around a school is such a good idea hehehehe" /sar

- literally there's no fucking way McGonagall thought Sirius did it- literally fucking refuse to believe that she did

going to start another post for chapter 5 bc oh boy it's going to be long

[jacksonscouts]

Hey Scouts! We're wrapping up our self-rec celebration with a final fic review for @roselees's story, Blood runs thicker than water!

It was such a pleasure to read everyone's fics. If you feel moved to, I hope some Scouts join me in commenting on one or two fics from the bake sale.

Now without further ado....

This premise alone already melts my heart. Tess Lives? I love it already. Joel, Tess, and Tommy raise Ellie from the start? Holy shit, I’m hooked. I think my favorite aspect about this fic is how in-character everyone feels. I also love that Tess is southern like she was in the game. I think they made her a dirty yankee in the HBO adaption lol.

The dynamics you portrayed are beautiful. Joel and Tess can pretty much read each other’s minds and their love and trust for each other is apparent in every scene they’re together in. Joel and Tommy’s dynamic is a wonderful blend of seriousness and playfulness. Their banter made me smile so much which makes what happens later even more devastating.

All three of them and their dynamic with Ellie over the years was just precious. Watching Ellie grow up from a curious little one to a potty-mouthed kid is something I didn’t know I needed until this story. They all fiercely love that girl just like we readers do. Baby Ellie is so adorable and I’m so glad you made Tommy the main cause for her usage of curse words.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the theme of grief for both Joel and Tess. Whenever you include introspection about their dead children it creates this haunting undertone for the scenes, even when the scenes are otherwise lighthearted. Joel and Tess’s shared grief also adds to their complex dynamic and you portray it so well. There was an interaction that’s gonna live rent free in my head where Tess mentions Sarah and apologizes with a touch and Joel nods and they didn’t have to say a word and aghhh my heart. I just adore subtle moments like that. Also, you must have a psychology degree or something because your introspective prose is so thorough. Reading this felt like being really deep in the characters' heads.

And the twist!! I LOVED how you set it up—the little hints with Ellie’s “imaginary” friend and the POV switch to Marlene where you didn’t reveal who was speaking to her over the radio—It was expertly done and so fun to see it all build up to that payoff. I’m also very angry at a certain character, though I’m sure you intended that. The moral grayness is chef’s kiss. Now there’s a nail-biting tension in the story because I have no idea if I can trust this character to make the right decision in the end.

Thank you for writing this and for making me feel like I got to hang out with some of my favorite characters again. This story is such a treat, no, a 5-course meal, because you wrote over 200k words! Like what kind of wizard are you?? Tell us your secret please and thanks. Also, congrats on working on a story for almost a year!! I can tell how much love and effort you put into this and I’m excited to see how you wrap up this little survival family’s ending.

Phrases I loved:

“Don’t you use her against me. Don’t you talk about her.” he hissed through gritted teeth.

like the sound of a crying child would be enough to send him spiralling right back to cradling her in his arms, begging her to stay with him, to just hold on until they could get her hel– (Aghhhhhchh th painnn)

Joel glared, and truth be told he was lucky he didn't have the energy to be more offended by that. (The brother banter is top tier)

it was like a part of him was dead and buried along with her, and try as he might he couldn’t scramble his way out of the grave.

he looked at Ellie and couldn't help the crushing sort of guilt strong enough to wind him, twisting his insides into knots at the sick idea that he was trying to replace her. (😭)

she bristled as though she’d been burnt, finger still curled, hovering above the trigger.

“And in English, for those of us that don’t speak doctor?” (Tommy, my beloved 😂)

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: The Insanity Plea.

Moon Knight, Issue #7: The Moon Kings. 

OKAY. I was not going to include this issue in the list of important ones. It's a weird one. (there are a lot of weird ones. This hardly ranks in the WEIRD list, but it's still weird). 

And then I saw the first page. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: JAKE LOCKELY. 

This is epic. Last issue we have Steven becoming aware and I will argue that this is the exact moment that Jake became aware of himself being not Marc. 

LOOK AT HIM. The care he takes to put it on. The way he looks unsure in the mirror, not sure if he's going to like what he sees. If the image there will match what he feels inside. 

Still calls it a "disguise". Jake honey, there's no disguise. No one cares enough about Moon Knight to do anything with a 'secret' identity. And anyone that does care already knows who Moon Knight is anyways! (they all think it's Marc. Marc just has that rep). 

Denial. 

So this issue opens with Crawley running to Jake with news on the street about some new drug that's capable of destroying a city. 

Where is this drug hailing from? Chicago. Seems on the next full moon, they plan to unleash this drug on Chicago. 

Jake calls Marlene from his cab radio. 

"Who - Oh, Steven -- I was just going over your stock portfolio and --" 

"Stow the Steven Grant Jive, Lady -- I'm still Jake Lockley at the moment. But speaking of your precious pretty boy millionaire... Book a room for him and a companion at the Drake Hotel in Chicago -- And two singles for Frenchie and Mr. Bertrand Crawley, Esquire." 

Jake's getting a little 'tude when it comes to Steven. 

Is it resentment? Possibly. Jake's lifestyle is completely at odds with Steven's. Perhaps Jake feels that Steven could be doing more to help people. He spends all his time with the poor and downtrodden while Steven relaxes in the mansion. 

His feelings about Steven do start to widen the gap between the three men and it will become a problem in later issues. 

It also makes me angry that later authors took the Marlene relationship with the three boys and made it between Jake and Marc. 

Marlene did NOT like Marc and Jake was often at odds with her. If Marlene was going to go running to any of them and have a child, it would have been with Steven and I'm so angry that the writers completely forgot about Steven and made it with Jake. 

All that being said, the very next panel has Marlene completely ignoring Jake: 

"We're going to Chicago together, Steven? That's wonderful! But--" 

"Grant'll be home after I scarf some of Gena's chow. Ciao." 

Jake hangs up. 

"The Lady's a gem. Grant don't deserve her." 

It's really hard to tell whose side he's taking there. Is he being serious and ragging on Steven again? Saying he doesn't deserve someone as devoted as Marlene? Or is he saying that Grant actually doesn't deserve someone that refuses to listen to them? 

The debate is real. 

Back in Chicago, we see some suspicious men pouring barrels of a drug into the city water supply and the next morning, we see unsuspecting citizens drinking the water. 

We then start to see people freaking out, becoming feral and attacking other people. 

Flying into Chicago, they get reports of people freaking out and causing riots. Moon Knight heads down to try to stop the fights while Marlene heads to the hotel, Frenchie keeps in his chopper, and Crawley heads off to find out what's going on. 

Frenchie stops at a water fountain for a sip after a little investigating then heads back to the chopper. 

Whoopse. 

Frenchie freaks out mid flight and crashes the moon chopper into the water. (Someone start the crashed chopper count.) 

Marc watches in horror as his only friend crashes and he dives in after him. 

***That's not how you do CPR MARC***

So Frenchie wakes up and instantly tries to kill Marc. Marc knocks him out and ties him up. Marc has now figured out that the drug is in the water. 

He puts Frenchie in a safe location. "I'll be back for you, Frenchie. If I have to fight my way through every madman in Chicago--I'll be back!" 

I stress again that Frenchie is Marc's only friend that has stuck by his side through hell and back. Even through his mental health breaks and strange life style. 

You have to wager that Marc has a soft spot for Frenchie. He knows how important he is. 

He rushes to the hotel on foot so he can warn Marlene not to drink the water. 

Marc tries to call Marlene from a payphone but mid warning the operator freaks out and cuts the call. 

Annnnnd Marlene drinks the water. 

But Marc has bigger issues as mobs of affected people show up and try to beat him up. 

Meanwhile the drug makers put on werewolf masks and declare themselves leaders of the city and command the affected to burn it to the ground. 

He then makes demands for money or he'll destroy the city, effectively holding the city hostage. 

Marc tries to take out the leader and chases him down to the subway where he gets gassed by the concentrated dose of the toxin. 

Marc does not have a good time. 

He hallucinates a sign to read "Moon Kings" and thinks he's on the moon being attacked by moon monsters. 

Meanwhile, Marlene is in the hotel freaking out. She starts calling for Steven and saying she doesn't know who she is anymore and blames him for making her crazy like him. 

It's.... It's not a good look. 

Yeah, I get it. She's on drugs. But considering earlier she made a joke about how Steven doesn't know who he is and it's going to drive her crazy too.... 

Issue #8: Night of the Wolves. 

This cover is pretty famous as Moon Knight goes and it's been redone a few times for varient purposes. 

Yeah, Marc is still having a bad time. He starts to hallucinate that the subway train is a monster and he has to kill it. 

He manages to sort of snap out of it and saves some people on the train from being killed by others affected and then stops the train before it crashes. 

The fact that Moon Knight isn't as affected by the drug or is fighting it off is one of the first instances where you see how Marc isn't as affected by mind altering drugs. Something Marc loves to brag about when facing telepaths or villains that try to mess with his state of consciousness. 

Marc manages to find Crawley and he's still not having a good time telling real from hallucination. 

Crawley is not affected! Because he's only been drinking booze. 

Look, I'm not a huge fan of this particular issue, for reasons I'll get into in a moment... But it did give us this: 

******There was a sewer man****

(Someone start the sewer count)

So they make it out and Marc makes it back to the hotel to find it ransacked and an affected Marlene waiting to kill him. 

She stabs him and runs back into the dark, ready to stab him again. 

"No Marlene! Don't do it! I'm Steeven! I love you, Marlene! I... I love...you..." 

What strikes me about this is that he remembers times of him kissing her as Steven. He knocks her out and pauses. 

Steven Grant just declared that He, STEVEN GRANT, loves Marlene. 

He ties up the unconscious Marlene and is clearly conflicted about leaving her. Crawley shows up and informs him that he found where the bad guys are. 

Moon Knight arrives in time to see a shit show. 

The cops are at war with them and the mob is attacking and the bad guys are trying to get away. 

Moon Knight is injured from being stabbed by Marlene, and the military has shown up ready to put down the riots. 

The bad guys are about to dump the last of their drug in the reservoir and Moon Knight tackles them! 

An epilogue ties it all up at the end: "After three days, the shoulder stab wounds are healing quite nicely and Chicago's lakefront skyline looks almost serene." 

The drug is wearing off and the water is being purified. 

We see the group gathered at the water watching as the mangled Moon Chopper is pulled from the lake. 

What a way to get a new chopper design. 

The writers admitted that they fell out of love with the original moon copter design and really wanted to redo it so they…crashed it and started over. 

This becomes almost a rolling gag because that chopper is constantly crashing, blowing up, and landing in buildings on people. 

So why am I not a big fan of this issue? Marlene. She takes a lot of pot-shots at the boys in this one. 

While the boys have been slowly advancing and figuring themselves out, becoming more separate, and finding their own individualism, she has been pushing back. 

One could argue that she’s afraid. She doesn’t understand what’s going on and she sees Jake getting more time away from her and enjoying himself, Moon Knight taking more time to be out all night, and Steven even starting to find his own interests. What’s left for Marlene? 

On the other hand, Steven’s sudden realization that he loves Marlene is also a big step. He himself loves her. Not Marc or Jake or Moon Knight. He has his own feelings. 

I also dislike how the “Look I’m crazy and you made me crazy” aspect is used, even if it is used in a ‘she was drugged up’ sort of way, because it seems to reflect something she was afraid of. As if she’s seeing what’s happening to the system and worried it could happen to her as well. 

This is a BIG problem in the mental health community. People have long feared that things are contagious and that they will be hurt by those that are not of ‘sound mind’. 

And having everyone ‘go crazy’ in this issue and having it lead to them being hyper violent really puts me off. 

Though, one point in favor: The one person that doesn’t ‘go crazy’ and hurt people is Moon Knight. He shows restraint when fighting the people that are attacking him. He’s worried about hurting them. He sees through the hallucinations and knows that what he is feeling is not his own. 

At this point, does he consider his brain to have been touched by a god and molded to resist these things? Or does that come later with one of his many many dealings with Khonshu and death? 

Or has his brain been affected by Khonshu at all? Perhaps there is more to it than Marc understands (not a far stretch since Marc is not the brains of the operation). Could it be that having DID protects his mind? 

After all, DID is formed as a trauma response to protect itself. “You were the only real super power I ever had.” 

[what-a-weird-rose]

PandaLily: The Things You Are (Literal Art)

Pairing: Lily Evans / Pandora Lovegood

Rating: E

Prompt: Oral

Word Count: 2.8k

Lily pulls her hair back, tying it in a knot at the base of her skull.

Four hours is nowhere near enough time to finish a piece this massive- least of all when her subject has up and vanished off the face of the earth. She shouldn’t be surprised; she knows she needs to curb her disappointment with him. But after almost a decade of friendship, Lily would’ve assumed she would have the slightest bit of priority over Severus’ time- especially after he’d promised to help her. Call her naïve; God knows all her other friends have. Lily tries to see the good in everyone, even if it’s left her blindsided on more than one occasion, but even she knows there’s only so far she can be pushed.

She scrambles for a bit, genuinely considering whether or not she can pass with a failed final project. Then, Lily mopes and cries and spends ten precious two-hundred-forty minutes feeling sorry for herself. Finally, and with great resolution, Lily sends a quick text to Mary and Marlene to ask if they know of anyone free and willing to sit in her studio for the next three hours; they respond almost instantly.

Apparently, there was a new girl on campus that Mary and Marlene had met in the library so odd weeks ago. Supposedly, they’d been trying to plan a meeting between Lily and Pandora -as they’d called her- but the two’s schedules were always packed. However, Lily thought it was a subtle jab at herself more than anything. Mary had set the group chat up with Pandora, Marlene, Lily, and herself, then made quick introductions before kicking Marlene and leaving herself.

Pandora was. . . 

nice, for lack of a better word. Very willing to help, asking appropriate questions, then finishing the short interaction with, ‘Where would you like to meet? :)”

Lily had hesitated, though she would never in a million years admit to it. She had never seen this girl before, and, as much as she trusted Mary and Marlene, there was no guarantee that Pandora would fit the piece- and how was she supposed to tell a stranger that? But, she decided, at last, she might as well try.

Lily had rearranged her studio four times in the seven minutes it took for Pandora to read her text and show up. Instead of sitting imposingly in front of a drab-wallpapered background -as Severus had insisted- Lily had decided to put Pandora in front of the large bay window -only after stalking the girl’s Instagram. Pandora posted little of herself, if at all. There were snippets of her hands, hair, shoes, and skirts, but most of her feed was the world around her: friends, plants, food, and the raccoon that had made friends with her cat. So, as much as it distressed her, Lily forced herself to set the portrait based on the aesthetic choices of someone she’d never seen in person.

Then, the knock came.

Severus had told her on many occasions -re: every time he visited- how ridiculous the security in her building was, as though she had any say in the matter. He had also made many a ‘joke’ about how easy it would be for a ‘low-life’ -she assumed he meant Remus- to break in and hurt her -his joke rarely ended well. But in this scenario, Lily thought she might agree with him- she felt incredibly unsafe, with clammy hands, a swirling stomach, and a rock in her throat.

But feelings be damned, Lily Evans had a task- and she never left a task unfinished.

The door swung ungracefully, getting caught on its hinges halfway open. At the same time, an ear-splitting screech filled the open air as the old hinges decided halfway would just have to be well enough. Lily thought about poofing into thin air.

“The architecture of this building is quiet fascinating,” the short, blond girl before she stated severely. Lily momentarily thought this was a mistake- that this girl couldn’t be ‘sweet, lovely’ Pandora, not with the serious stare and cutting commentary. “My friend, Regulus, is studying to become an arcitect and he said-” she coughs once as Lily steps aside to let her in, “’ you can always tell when the builder was lazy based solely on the longevity of the building.’ Or something to that effect, he always gets so prissy when he talks about design.” Pandora giggles, and suddenly, it’s like a unicorn-sunshine hybrid has walked into Lily’s home, talking about the intensity of too-smart boys who try too hard for too little.

Lily is caught almost completely off-guard, especially as Pandora sits on the plushy bench before the window and stares wide-eyed in Lily’s direction. It’s almost as if the air in the room huddles around Pandora, forcing Lily her way lest to suffocate.

“You’re very pretty, though I’m not sure if I’m surprised or concerned. . .” Pandora trails, suddenly shifting to look out the glass.

“Why might you be concerned?” Lily says with as much grace as she can muster; she turns on the kettle for safety.

“I have a thing.” Pandora states with the utmost gravity. Lily raises her brow in question, and Pandora nods seriously. “Everytime I meet a pretty girl, they fall dreadfully in love with me.”

Lily wants to laugh, but there is something about the way Pandora says it that makes her think the sentiment is hardly a joke. “And that’s a bad thing?” Lily shuffles her rack of teabags toward Pandora- lavender and lemon.

“It is, yes. They fall head-over-heels for me, except I never realize until they’ve long moved on, and the worst part,” Pandora begins as Lily motions to situate herself on the ottoman. “Is that by the time they’ve gotten over me, I’ve developed a crush on them!” She wails, though it seems to be only for comedic effect. Lily tries to laugh politely and ends up snorting.

“I see, quite the issue you’ve got there.”

“It’s horrible. And I would ask my friends to tell me whenever they know because they always know, but they would just laugh!” Pandora leans back against the exposed brick wall beside the window, allowing the steady orange glow of the slow sunset to highlight her.

Lily feels every fiber of her being hone in, feels the moment the charcoal touches her fingertip, and her consciousness evaporates. But it’s nice, in a way, that her painting models have rarely been before. Pandora is thoughtful, asking questions about the project -a portrait of a ‘beautiful person’- and the medium -anything and everything- and what she needs to do -sit as still as possible. And she’s generous, playing soft classical music from her phone that doesn’t affect Lily’s flow. Suddenly, an hour has passed since Pandora arrived, and the sketch is done. Pandora thinks it is lovely, and she can leave now if she’d like since it’s getting so late. But Pandora asks if she can stay to see how it turns out, if only to make quiet conversation with a shell-of-a-person. And who would Lily be to say no?

Pandora plays with her bracelets, the beaded one, the chains, and the metal bands. She tries her hardest to stay still despite knowing that Lily doesn’t need her to stay exactly where she is anymore. Pandora keeps herself still because, from the angle she sits at, she has a perfect view of the face Lily makes as she rubs oil pastels into the canvas, the perfect view to watch the face of concentration that overtakes her as she mixes paints, searching for the right shade. Pandora wishes the easel was tilted slightly more, if only so she could see how Lily interprets her- how this woman sees another.

Pandora shivers and hopes Lily doesn’t notice. She leans forward and grasps at the handle of the magenta mug before her. The tea is long cold, but Pandora has never been particularly picky about such things. So, she takes a long sip and watches over the mug’s rim as Lily readjusts herself. Pandora licks her lips.

A decently sized wooden antique clock hangs on the far wall behind Lily. From what she can read on it -Evan swears up and down she needs glasses- it’s about 9:30 at night, and Pandora can feel the exhaustion finally begin to set in. Her heart aches as Lily makes another disgruntled sound, tears a paper towel from its roll, and drabs gingerly at the canvas.

“Is there anything I can do?” Pandora whispers into the empty. Lily pauses momentarily, almost startled, then turns and nods vaguely.

“Coffee, if you would? I’ll take it however at this point.”

Pandora rushes up and into the kitchenette, two coffees.

By 11:59 p.m., Lily feels on the verge of a mental breakdown and a hallelujah moment. She sends the photo of the decorated canvas to the professor, McGonagall, who requires digital and physical versions of students’ work. As the clock strikes midnight, Lily can feel her adrenaline, anxiety, and emotions drain out like the water in an emptying bath.

Lily turns to Pandora, who had passed out on the ottoman near the three-hour mark, and gently grabs all the mugs that littered the end table. She makes her way into the kitchenette as quietly as possible, setting mug after mug onto the counter to be washed later.

“Is it over?” Lily hears Pandora whisper.

“As of two minutes ago, I have officially finished my final project.”

Pandora shoots up, not unlike a rocket, and beelines to where Lily stands near the stainless-steel sink. Pandora’s arms are loose and gentle, yet tight and intense. She holds onto Lily like a lifeline, plunging her face into the crook of Lily’s neck.

“I knew you could do it,” Pandora whispers into Lily’s skin.

“You helped more than you could ever know.” Lily replies, whispering into the wild curls of Pandora’s hair.

“I’m glad,” Pandora says, pulling back to look at Lily in the eyes.

Lily hears the words before she registers, saying, “I’m going to do something stupid.”

“What brand of stupid?”

“The kind that someone sleep-deprived and high on adreneline uses.”

Pandora stares at her, and Lily wonders if she dare to kiss this beautiful, mysterious stranger.

Their lips connect before Lily has the chance to second-guess herself.

Pandora tasted Lily’s cheap coffee, the lavender-lemon tea Lily had bought in bulk, and the copious other snacks they had been devouring throughout the night. Pandora tastes of long nights and gentle mornings, summer rain and winter sun, and dark flats in early summer as the school year approaches. Pandora tastes of the future, near and far alike.

Pandora runs her hands down Lily’s sides, pushing the pair out of the kitchenette and into the living space. The sofa is wide enough to support the both of them as they collapse into one another in a tangled, twisted mess of limbs and love.

Lily situations herself so she can lay with her head propped by two throw pillows and the armrest; Pandora leans over her, leaving bites and kisses as a breadcrumb trail of their adventure.

The flat is all but pitch black, the only light coming from the lamp Lily had been using to paint. The room was left to the faint glow of the white light bouncing off wall after wall to reach them- it never would.

Nothing could reach the two of them now as they tangled into one another, pulling and tugging and pushing and biting, anything and everything to allow the slightest consumption of empty space. Pandora seemed hell-bent on climbing her, and Lily could hardly stop her. Instead, Lily found herself grasping at the thick woven belt tied around Pandora’s and using it to haul the other girl up and into her lap.

“More.” One of them whispers, and neither knows which.

“Yes.” They say in unison as their hands meet and their lips join again.

Eventually, Lily unties Pandora’s belt, shimmying her shorts off and onto the ground elsewhere.

“More.” Lily says, and this time, she is certain it’s her.

“Yes.” Pandora replies, yanking her top off with relish.

Lily presses a soft, beautiful kiss to the top of Pandora’s breast, cupping them in her hands, “Tell me what you want, darling.”

“You.” Pandora says, even though she knows it will be cheesy. She tucks a strand of red hair behind Lily’s ear. “Give me whatever you’re willing to give.”

“Okay,” Lily whispers into Pandora’s skin. Her tongue glides over Pandora’s breast with experience, lapping at perky nipples and moles and small acne scars. Her lips follow the same route, kissing over Pandora’s breast, sucking nipples into her mouth to pull and kiss and feel, over and over again. She licks and kisses and breathes in Pandora.

Then, as she feels Pandora shift in her lap, Lily grips her hips, pulling them down to grind against her own.

“How far do you want to go?” Lily questions, sucking at the soft spot behind Pandora’s ear.

“I want to watch you cum.”

“Fuck.”

Pandora shifted them once more so she was kneeling before the sofa. The hardwood was certainly uncomfortable, but Pandora seemed to not notice it as she lowered her head down to nip at the clothed crotch of her partner.

For perhaps the first time in her life, Lily regretted her choice of jeans as her painter’s outfit. Mostly, Pandora made disgruntled noises as she continued to nip listlessly at the offending pants. Eventually, Lily pulled them off alongside her crusty painting top and panties, if only for her own sake.

Pandora made quick work of returning to her station between Lily’s legs, licking and sucking and kissing at Lily’s thighs and cunt. She also seemed prepared for Lily to beg for more as she quickly offered her fingers to be sucked.

And perhaps it was the combination of the two -having her clit viciously stimulated and having a pretty finger in her mouth- that led to her quick orgasm, but either way, Lily was distraught.

“Sorry, sorry, I-” she started, even as Pandora continued licking and sucking, “fuck, I didn’t mean to cum.”

Despite her attempts, Pandora seemed unbothered, remaining steadfastly between Lily’s legs, lapping up cum and spit and wetness.

At some point, not long after, Lily had wrapped her hand in Pandora’s hair, using it to guide how Pandora moved.

“More,” Lily says again, and Pandora moves quickly as she uses her middle finger to push into Lily’s cunt. There was a moment of complete silence as Lily let her head fall back and felt every millimeter of Pandora’s finger push further inside.

Then, Pandora began pumping- in and out and in and out and in and out and-

With her tongue pushing right into Lily’s clit- her left-hand working overtime to not only spread Lily’s legs but also rub tight circles into her clit-

Lily felt the waves rolling into shore again- her orgasm left her legs shaking and her brain fuzzy.

“You now.” She mumbles, and Pandora smiles, gently shuffling them so she can lay spread on the couch, and- “No, no. On my face.” Lily says tightly, already laying back.

Pandora pauses before nodding and scooting up and near Lily’s head. “Are you sure?” she whispers, moving again only after Lily confirms. She swings her leg over Lily’s head and uses the armrest as leverage to hold herself up. Lily begins slowly, softly giving tentative licks to Pandora’s dripping cunt.

Pandora moans, loud and guttural, as Lily grasps her sides and pulls her down to rest more of her weight on Lily’s face. Lily groans in reply, the vibrations following up and into her tongue. Her tongue seemed to have a mind of its own as it viciously licked at Pandora’s clit.

Lily’s hands hold tightly onto Pandora’s waits even as she writhes through her orgasm, nearly spasming over the two. Lily considers continuing, much like how Pandora did, but holds herself back as Pandora shuffles and taps gently on the hands that hold her.

“Are you alright?” Lily asks immediately, suddenly very self-conscious.

“Oh, yes, I’m just not sure that I could stop myself if we kept going.” Pandora says sagely, opting to scoot closer to Lily on the defiled sofa, “I have classes. . . later this morning that I have to be at, unfortunately.”

“Which mean you have to go?” Lily unhappily murmurs, and Pandora nods, pushing herself off the seat in one huff and reaching around to tug on her clothes. Lily watches, entranced, as Pandora ties the woven belt back around her waist.

“You have my number, yeah?” Lily nods dumbly, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, “good, be sure to use it, pretty girl.”

[silphine]

ESCAFLOWNE Voice meme (4/5)

[ Escaflowne voice meme made by @drkstars-art ]

PART 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

------------------   

4. Least favorite plot point? Was there something you think should have changed? What do you think would have made it better.

I think Atlantis arc and Great War arc. I wouldn't tell what staff "should" have changed because I don't feel legitimate to do so, plus I don't have access to the original script. But I can share my thoughts on what bothers me. (It's more or less already said in my answers to previous questions...) [ Atlantis Arc ] My main problem with this arc is it leaves me with too many questions about : - Draconians - Hitomi's grandma and Leon Schezar's meetings - Zaibach I would had loved to learn more about these topics. [ Great War ] In my opinion, this part is too short and events happen too fast. We don't have context about Basram, Cezario, Egzardia... Too bad because I think it would have brought more depth to the climax.        

5. OTP? What kind of art and fiction would you like to see? What are some head canons you have for them? What is your NoTP?

  I love 3 couples : ( VAN x HITOMI ) It's quite obvious for me that Hitomi unconsciously starts to fall for Van early in the story, despite her superficial focus on Allen. > Allen is a fantasy, a reassuring and pleasant figure for a romantic teenage girl. It's easy to have a crush for this kind of man. Van, on the other hand, is less understandable, less "legible". (Fun fact > Allen is always awesome, elegant and a pleasant company. Van is poorly dressed, has no manners, doesn't know how to deal with girls, neither talk to them, even less how to seduce them...) But he represents the reality of truly loving someone :

Despite all imperfections, misunderstandings and vexations, Hitomi learns to understand and love him for who he really is. Each time he is in danger, she just jumps and even risks her life to help/save him. She doesn't act the same with Allen. Van is the only one who can really make her mad or sad. They never try to seduce one another, never hide themselves... Sometimes they are tough to one another, but they truly care about each other. To me, that's what a real couple is.   ( MILLERNA x DRYDEN ) I just love how they complete one another, even if they don't end up together at the end of the series. Millerna is independant, curious, wants to learn more about medecine... She needs an educated partner, with repartee, who can understand and support her but who would not overprotect her. Dryden ticks all the boxes. He is modern, doesn't see her as a precious little thing and her royal status doesn't influence his behaviour towards her. But again, as I said in part 3/5, they need time to reveal. ( MAHAD x MARLENE )

For the little I understood and saw : I just love the idea in their couple ! The fact he recreated her apartments in Fleid....

  The way his last thought is dedicated to her, as she told him she learned to love him, just before dying... This man is so strong, reliable and kind ! I always loved him ! And I love the idea she learned to love him despite their arranged marriage. ( Couples I don't appreciate ) I don't like Allen x Millerna, neither Allen x Hitomi : Because, despite I've learned to really appreciate Allen over the years, I think he can not be a sane partner for Millerna, neither Hitomi. He is too traumatized by his childhood, his first love Marlene and obsessed by control and protection. He is a very kind guy but really needs to work on himself before becoming a good life partner. [ ABOUT ART & FICTION ]

I don't want to ask for something in particular because I love the idea to be surprised by someone else's work. Of course, I have my own preferences. Some works touch me, others not at all. But I think Art and Fiction are more meaningful and stronger when they come from the mind and heart of their creator, not when they follow people's desires. So, honestly, feel free to do whatever you want ! [ > PART 5 ]

[seriouslysam8]

I kind of wish you went with your original plan of Sirius hooking up with Rosamond instead of Tegan. It’s not that I don’t like Sirius and Tegan but it would have been almost taboo relationships because of who she is and how she’s connected to the Death Eaters. Sirius and Tegan almost work too well with each other and I needed his relationship to have more of an edge because that’s Sirius and the stage he’s in right now. I hope you stick with your original plans for everything else and don’t let anyone influence you because your ideas are amazing and so unique and it just works for your stories.

I can say this with 100% certainty: I have not been influenced to do anything I haven’t wanted to do in this story.

My original plan was flawed. Sirius would have been not only having a very casual fuck buddy relationship with a DE, but it would have been an affair. Sirius would have been openly cheating with her. She was my original plan for how easy it would be for them to have a very quick and purely physical relationship. I knew I wanted Sirius with someone before Marlene.

Then I brought in Tegan. She was introduced to give Demelza more of a background and to explain her motivation for becoming an Auror. Plus I loved the thought of some kickass female Aurors and I wanted one to play off Tonks. I had her help prove Sirius’ innocence because of her connection to Demelza.

But as I wrote them, their chemistry just hit me. I liked it a lot. They both had tremendous losses in the first war, they were both extreme commitment-phobes, and they both had someone completely precious to them that they would burn down the entire village for. She quickly became a means to help Sirius be a better parental figure, to plant the seeds that he needed help with his depression and addictions. It just blossomed in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

In the end, Sirius needed someone nice and not just a fast fuck. Already you can see the cracks between them. This very fun thing between them is getting more complicated and less fun as the darker sides start to shed some light.