#lily is a good sport haha

[yrsonpurpose]

ALEX ALBON & LILY HE Post Race // Canadian GP 2023

[seriousbrat]

im asking this because you made a james one but can you make a jily meta if you have time🙈🙈

Anon I'm sorry for the delay in replying, I was thinking it through!! But it's nice to have something positive to talk about haha.

The loves of my life tbh. I really really like jily even though I think my snapeishness means I'm not as involved in mainstream jily fandom. I mean enemies to lovers always has its appeal and to me james and lily are a realistic, imperfect- but all the more compelling for it- appealing dynamic.

Obviously we don't get to see a lot of their actual relationship in canon, but I think that's why it's so fun to fill in the blanks. Personally I think it's pretty normal that they were drawn to each other and ended up in a relationship from what we know- they're both pretty big personalities, intelligent and charming and brave, they have similar goals and beliefs about the world, there was attraction early on (obviously in james's case, more or less confirmed by jkr in lily's- and b4 anyone starts in on lily for being attracted to him that's not something one can control, and she probs wasn't aware anyway).

Lily basically hated his guts, with good reason, so to go from that to dating there had to be a pretty big shift in both james and in their relationship (and likely lily too, or that's my belief). Honestly what I think is that in their final years at Hogwarts, the encroaching war brought on this new seriousness, and as lines were more clearly drawn in the sand it became obvious that lily and the marauders were on the same side of it. Things like sports, popularity, rivalries cease to matter in the face of a life-or-death conflict, you're forced to grow up and deal with it, and while for Severus this brought out the worst in him, for James it brought out the best.

People talk about James changing but I think a post SWM-lily was also changing. She set a very clear boundary with Sev and I think that was an important character development moment for her. Again, the war was on the horizon, their priorities were becoming clear, and I see Lily as becoming more sure of herself and her beliefs, less tolerant of bullshit from those around her. James was becoming more circumspect, more open-minded, more responsible, so when lily and the marauders were thrown together in natural alliance the two of them were just at a point where they were compatible.

I don't think their relationship was perfect and idyllic and all that, that would be less interesting anyway. It was probably hard sometimes. One thing I love when fics explore is the class differences between James and Lily; not only is he pureblood while she's muggleborn, but he comes from wealth where she comes from a humble little working-class family in the mids. There was probably a lot of stuff James didn't understand about her life; I feel like he probably tried his best anyway. Lily probably felt intimidated or defensive about her own background at times.

I don't doubt that they argued; in fact they got off on it probably enjoyed arguing with each other, given their personalities. Both of them were intelligent, opinionated, had an arguing kink, fiery people. Like I don't think it was this exaggerated screaming match sort of thing but I'm sure they loved a healthy spirited debate which maybe got a little out of hand sometimes.

I have touched on this previously but I see James as deep down pretty insecure (who isnt in this world apart from sirius black) and I think initially he was probably pretty insecure about Lily too. I do see him regretting his previous behaviour and thinking he isn't good enough for her and that he's incredibly lucky to be with her. which is true and he should suffer. but I have an upcoming scene (lily's first time at the potters') where james is like "i feel like i'm not good enough for you" and lily's like "shut up i'm the one who's not good enough for you" and they're like "great. i guess we're not good enough for each other. sorted i guess." My point being James actively tried to be a better man, Lily saw that and admired it. because she's good and wonderful like that.

Idk I guess I see it kind of as a realistic, flawed, but ultimately loving relationship. I'm sure there was a lot of stuff they had to work on over the few years they got :( but I'm also sure they had a lot of fun together because to me they just seem really compatible in so many ways as humans.

My belief is that they got married quickly because of the war (I also believe this about frank and alice, even though i see them as older) but it's likely they would have ended up married anyway, or at least in a long term, healthy, happy relationship.

Also the pottermore entry about Vernon and Petunia is my absolute fave for many reasons (love the vertunia of it all ofc) but also the little snippet about jily is golden. The double date between vertunia and jily is perhaps one of my favourite scenes I've ever written haha it's just such a good moment, basically the only canon info we do get about while they were dating.

[dessertpanda]

A Shooting Star?

Tanjiro x FemReader (MasterList)

(AHH a request!! I hope this is to your liking haleychambers21845!!

Also, find all credit to Celestial Breathing kimetsu-no-yaiba-fanon.fandom.com/wiki/Breath_of_the_Celestial,

Warning: Violence, blood, fighting, and cursing)

The night was dark and cold, huddled together in the deep depths of a cave, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu struggled to maintain a somewhat stable body temperature. "KAMABOCH I TOLD YOU RAIN WAS COMING" Inosuke roared, flaring his arms around in rage. "I'm sorry, I could smell it but that little bunny was hurt! I couldn't leave it in the cold" He looked down in shame, knowing the rain was close and still putting his friends at risk, "Ahh it's okay Tanjiro! without that bunny, I wouldn't have the privilege to cuddle with my beloved Nezuko!!!" Zenitsu sat, cuddling into the box where Nezuko was safely sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the situation her beloved brother and friends were in. "STOP DOING THAT" Tanjiro yelled, tugging harshly on Zenitsu haori in an attempt to drag him away. There small bickering and fighting continued late into the night as the rain poured.

{Minnie time skip}

"ngh Inosuke go to sleep" Tanjiro groaned, he was still cold, wet, and tired, and Inosuke's pacing was not helping. "HOW!? I'M TRAPPED IN THIS TINNY FUCKEN CAVE AND..." As he huffed and raged. He was trapped and being the wild man he was hatted such a feeling. He ripped his boar mask off allowing the chill to reach his face. With his face free and ears out the soft tone of a hum was heard from somewhere beyond the entrance. "Do you hear that Kamabochi?". He was hesitant... the voice was so familiar yet so strange all at the same time. It only continued to increase in volume, and he could feel his rage slowly fading, as if like a siren the voice was calling him. "Inosuke? You okay?" Tanjiro panicked slightly as his once frustrated friend suddenly started drifting towards the cave entrance. "Nen, nen korori yo, Okorori yo. Bōya wa yoi koda, Nenneshina~ Bōya no omori wa, Doko e itta? Ano yama koete, sato e itta. Sato no miyage ni, nani morōta? Denden taiko ni, shō no fue." (translation ush-a-bye, Hush-a-bye! My good baby, Sleep! Where did my boy's babysitter go? Beyond that mountain, back to her home. As a souvenir from her home, what did you get? A toy drum and a sho flute. Edo Lullaby) The voice was soft and soothing as if it had been laced with honey. Sickenly sweet honey at that. "Inosuke... I can smell someone" Tanjiro warned, quickly getting up to follow the boy. "They smell of... Spider lilies..." It was a haunting sent, one often meaning death.. the sent of a demon. "INOSUKE!" Within a blink a sharp spark of blades clashing was seen in the confines of the dark cave. With his boar head back in place he stood swords pushing against what appeared to be a woman sporting the skull of a deer over her face with two large antlers and wielding two swords as well. While Inosuke where ragged and rough, her appeared to be smooth and perfect.

With swift and elegant movements, she swiped at the boy, quickly forcing him back a few feet before restocking her ground. "YOUR BITCH" Inosuke roared, he was tired of this already, her scent, her voice, her body... it was all too familiar.... it brought comfort and calm when he should be enraged by her attack. "INOSUKE" Tanjiro screamed... quickly drawing his blade to assist. "Inosuke?" her voice was soft and calm, words spoken above nothing but a whisper... but yet to him... it was as if she had screamed them. "Y/N?" faltering the slightest, Inosuke allowed his guard to slip... and finally, after so many months away from each other the two had been reunited. "HAHA Y/N!" He screamed pleased to hear hear her voice again. With quick haste and with no ill intent, Y/N allowed him to pick her up and spin her. "Ino," She breathed a sigh... being separated from her brother was hard, especially because she acted as an undercover Hashira to avoid any issues with the current ones. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" With ease, he began to carry her deeper into the cave... "Kamocho this is my little sister STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER" Inosuke yelled walking by the very confused boy.

-Minnie Time Skip-

"SISTER!?" Zenitsu screamed.. "another lunatic.... another Insouke... WHO HAS BOOBS!" He could feel blood trickle down his lips... "A female...." She was just as beautiful as her brother from her nose, to her soft hair, and her captivating eyes. Having removed her deer head she allowed her face to be completely exposed along with the small battle scars she had obtained over her time with the Org.  Now Inosuke wasn't very good at understanding people's emotions sometimes... however, when it came to his baby twin, he was suddenly an expert. He was aware she was pretty, having been told a face doesn't belong running through the forest, but she wanted to be with him, they were all the other had left. And he would die protecting that, "get your fucken eyes off!" he growled.... however, the boy didn't find him nearly as intimidating with his head resting in the girl's lap. And Y/N couldn't help but giggle at him... she was glad he had found friends, and if Inosuke trusted them then she would as well. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I am Y/N Hashibira" She spoke gently and smiled softly at the two boys. "Thank you for caring for my older brother.... he can be quite a handful!" She radiated calmness and purity, the complete opposite of Inosuke. Where he was dangerous and showed it, she was dangerous and hid it. "I'm Tanjiro Kamada" Sticking his hand to shake hers, only for it to be snapped at by Inosuke. "Grimy hands off!" With a sweat drop, Y/N stared down at him, "Ino, behave" Her voice was stern as if talking to a toddler. "You all seem exhausted," She noted his damp clothes and the sorrowful looks of the other two boys. "Sing us a song!" Inosuke was always demanding her to sing. She sounded just like their mother.... she remembered her voice but to Inosuke, the song was never sung by anyone else but Y/N. "Very well, since I love you so" She watched as he settled in, the other two following his lead. Watching with waiting eyes the three boys were completely consumed by her presents.

"Nen, nen korori yo, Okorori yo" she began, closing her eyes, allowing the melody to take over her mind. "Bōya wa yoi koda, Nenneshina~ Bōya no omori wa, Doko e itta?" She slowly swayed side to side, only peeking through her eyelashes to see her brother beginning to drift "Ano yama koete, sato e itta" Now carrying her gaze over to the other boy with bright yellow hair and what seemed to be a bamboo box he was holding close. She smiled at the sight, assuming that's where the so-called Demon sister sits. She had been warned by the Corp, specifically the Wind Hashira that if she made contact to kill her. However, within her short time here, seeing them all covered in blood and wounded but not a single reaction from the demon arouse she felt safe sticking to her morals and refusing to kill a harmless demon. "Ano yama koete, sato e itta. Sato no miyage ni, nani morōta? Denden taiko ni, shō no fue." As she came to a close, her eyes met bright red ones, still wide awake and filled with boyish wonder. "Tanjiro Kamada" She whispered under her breath, now maintaining eye contact with the boy. 

He had this cultivated smile on his face, for the first time in what seemed like forever he felt at peace. Safe? He wasn't sure but this woman right here... singing to him, them, he felt happy. He knew she knew about his sister, being such a high rank in the corp surely she must have, but yet she sat there, never questioning, never fearful of it. And never violent towards it. Nezuko was safe, and this women... he felt would ensure of it. "Motherly instinct" As if she was in his very mind. "That's what I like to call it..." She drifted her eyes from his and over to the box. "I don't kill child demons... unless necessary." She then cast her gaze back to her brother. "I also refuse to kill harmless demons... unless they beg me to" With a gentle swipe of her hand, it was as if the cave had been transformed into the star night "celestial breathing... special form Cosmic dream" Was this truly a breathing form... no but she loved this ability... allowing her to create a peaceful night during any condition.

"Beautiful" Tanjiro sighed, glancing up at the ceiling then back down to her. Her eyes reflected the stars, as if they belonged there... as if thats where they were taken from. "You're powerful... I can smell it" He didn't even think about how weird that sounded but she only smiled,

"Your heart beats pure" She smiled, still captivated by the night, but with slow movement, she brought her eyes back to him. "It's refreshing to find another that cares about what happens to these demons..." with the cutest head tilt, Tanjiro felt his heart squeeze at her adorableness. "I've always lived within nature's bounds... here on earth" taking a soft hand and running it across the dirt-ridden ground. "But then I started to wonder... what were the stars like? the space that is not bound by Earth's gravity?" She spoke of things, he could never understand, never even dream of it, and yet he believed every word she spoke.

"You are truly extraordinary!" He sighed leaning towards her, soaking up the calm and caring energy she radiated. It was as if he was floating in the air, with nothing holding him down. It wasn't sure how or why but he felt a connection to this girl, as if she was an angel or some or of deity to save him. A Celestial one could argue, but nonetheless, she smelt of nothing but power and compassion. Watching him, as he stared with his big red eyes, Y/N couldn't help the smallest hint of shyness. 

"You know... I think I might join you on your adventure" She whispered holding his gaze and smiling. "You fascinate me Tanjiro, and I'd like to see how far you can go" With a final stare down, neither could help the smallest tint of blush that coated their cheeks. "Yeah, I'd like to follow your journey"

(HELLO EVERYONE!!!! I'M SO SORRY FOR MY DISAPPEARANCE!!   It was a midterm week and ughh that was fun but HEYY I'm back) And To Be a Hero should get updated sometime this upcoming week!! I appreciate all your support and love and I love you guys SO PLEASE  HAVE A GREAT DAY AND REMEMBER TO EAT, DRINK, AND LOVE YOURSELF BYEEEEEE LOVE YOU ALL

[shiftingtomydrs]

Marauders DR

sooo yeah this is gonna be confusing probably and definitely not organized but if youve read some of my rants youll be used to it by now haha

alright, so similar as in my golden trio dr, im the same person i am in my cr (like name, family, looks) plus the whole witch thing. i am also part of ravenclaw and a muggleborn. my s/o is james potter and i did kinda script out voldemort bcs we dont want that. james and i have the friends to lovers slowburn angsty arc and im not quite sure if i should script im related to lily / my last name is also evans bcs hear me out, someone asks james who he has a crush on and he just says evans and people start assuming its lily but its me and so he goes with it bcs he doesnt wanna ruin our friendship. so yeah. thats gonna happen now bcs now that i wrote it out loud i love it. i again dont play quidditch bcs scared of heights and stuff haha soo idk yet if ill do any sport (is there another sport?). i also wanna be an animagus but idk yet what form bcs i like the 'soulmates have the same form' headcanon but i also wanna be a cat. soo yeah. idk. ideas would be great. i scripted that i can be in the gryffindor common room / i never get caught doing it (idk if its actually forbidden or not tbh but id say yes) and im kinda the typical nerdy good smart girl soo i can pull of shit and teachers dont suspect me so i get away with it haha. james thinks its unfair. i also scripted in this one fanfic i once read and keep rereading bcs its so good (its a german translation and i cant find the original one sadly) and its basically the marauders finding a magical book with fanfiction about them inside it. its hilarious soo yeah i put that in it was like the first thing i put. i have two sisters but both of them are muggles. after hogwarts idk yet what i wanna do, maybe become a healer (no but fr what can you do except work in the ministerium, teacher, healer, journalist, or open a store or smth? jobs are limited in the wizarding world imo) or an auror (thats what you can do lmao but it kinda falls into ministerium i guess?). i dont have a pinterest thing for this dr yet but i imagine my aesthetic is kinda light academia / dark academia (idk the difference but i like both) and yeah. from the 3rd year on i do arithmancy, runes and care of magical creatures. i also do apparition classes in year 7.

idk what else i can say atm haha but if you wanna know more pls dont be shy to ask questions <3

[aeligsido]

Hiyaaaa! 🧚‍♂️

You said in this ask that you would love to talk about your OCs, sooooo... Top 5 OC? 👀🍬

Hiiii 🕺

I also do indeed!

1) how dare you make me try to rank my babies (affectionate) 2) top 5 oc of what!! So many things I could go off on!!!

Jk jk, but I did choose to list five of my first OC created in a fandom. Bc why not. Important note that some of them were created more than ten years ago (a bit reworked more recently)!

-

1- [Fairy Tail] Lyna Dreyar (technically now Dreyar-McGarden) . I genuinely don't remember much from when I created her years ago — I think I do have notes somewhere. She was always Laxus' little sister though. She was also a Dragon Slayer but now she isn't anymore jdjdjdb. I think I reworked her personality a bit too? She was more of an extrovert in my first drafts I think, but she's not as much anymore 🤔

-

2- [One Piece] Monkey D. Ceeli (previously Shelly). Once again, I created her a long time ago! And she changed a bit, too. (I mean, we also learned some more about this world since I created her lmao). She's Luffy's little sister (by three years). In my first drafts (I do have a fanfic with a few chapters posted with her as a character, over on my ff.net... not on ao3 bc i don't think I will ever complete it) she was supposed to have been raised with the ASL brothers, with a pretty serious personality and very interested by the Revolutionary in general. Also I don't remember what it was exactly but she had powers™. Now, she has a super powered haki (bc i can), she was raised by their mother (for... reasons), and Luffy doesn't know her (or that she exists). She's also way less serious and a bit more into the overexcited side.

-

3- [HP] Daisy Potter (it... wasn't her first name when I first thought about her but I can't remember what it was now). Again, a very old OC! She wasn't that developed all that time ago, but she's way more present in my mind now haha. You will never guess, but she's Harry's little sister, bc i once found the HC that Lily was pregnant when she died and I ran away with it. Interestingly enough, I think that the explanation I have for her birth now and then is the same? And same for her fate in canon,,, (I mean, a canon where she's born). Rip (i love u baby). I put her in a lot of different aus now, where she grows up differently each time and things impact her differently, but I think at her core she's a very brave and smart girl who wants to do good. She's her parents' daughter all the way!

-

4- [Star Wars] Letti Kryze. One of my most recent ones! So maybe five years old or so idk what time is. She's Korkie Kryze's daughter, a Jedi, eight years younger than Luke & Leia, and has the habit of causing accidental chaos everywhere she goes. I love her she's a baby. I remember after watching the first season of the Mandalorian thinking it would be funny if her and Din kept throwing the Darksaber back at each other bc neither of them want to be the big boss™. She's a tired teenage girl in the middle of an intergalactic war who just wants her father back and it shows.

-

5- [DC] Emma Pennyworth. Alfred's granddaughter via his daughter Julia. She is, in general, done with the Batfam's collective bullshit, and wants to hold the braincell. She's also like, twelve, so there's that. I've written her a few times actually!! She tries so hard to be serious and mature and she forgets a bit to be a kid, but also her favorite sport is annoying Damian lmao.

-

Bonus — this one time I was very into Hetalia and created an OC Bretagne, bc of course I did.

-

Yes there's a common theme in all of those lmao. Interestingly enough, even when the OC is like... Cringey and a bit Mary-Sue and all, the goal was always to have them as part of the family and... That's it. Legit 0 of them have a love interest (I'm thinking of Cana for Lyna but that's a very recent development, and I do have a few ideas for Letti but it would be another OC)!! It's so funny in insight idkdkd

I also have a fair share of OCs that are like. The next gen (you know the type). So there's that. I'm giving so many characters kids and I'm not even sorry.

... Well kids or random family members lmao.

[accio-sriracha]

a marylily fic please? <3

YAY ONE I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN BEFORE!

Thank you so much for the request! I hope this is alright for my first attempt haha

I bring you all the good fluff and stuff and a LOT of pining.

~~~♤~~~

When Words Fail, My Heart Finds Yours...

~~~♤~~~

Lily Evans climbed the stairs to the astronomy tower, grateful to finally have some time alone. She loved all of her friends, but sometimes being a part of the popular group was... well it was a lot.

"Room for one more?" She asked, knocking gently as she opened the door.

Regulus Black turned from his seat on the half wall, one leg dangling over the edge and a cigarette raised to his lips, "Yeah, c'mon up, Evans." He nodded.

She closed the door behind her, settling against the wall opposite him and dusting off her fishnets. She joined him in watching over the grounds, the people seemed so small from up in the tower.

"You smoke?" He asked, offering her one. She shook her head,

"Not really my thing, no."

He just nodded and turned back to the lawn.

They had shared each other's company here before, both of them outcasts at heart that somehow found purchase in a well known group of friends. She enjoyed his company, his quiet presence was comforting.

"You watch the game today?" She asked, striking up conversation, "Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuffs."

He shook his head, "I don't normally watch the ones I don't play in." He took another long drag, "What was the score?"

"Gryffindor won, I don't know the numbers."

He gave her an amused look, "If I wasn't a Seeker I'd be pissed at you right now."

She only shrugged, "I've never been one for sports."

"Why do you go?"

"All my friends are either playing or watching, its just easier to be where they are."

He raised an eyebrow, "Is it" He asked. She lifted a shoulder again,

"I suppose."

"Are those friends my brother's group?" He asked. There wasn't any real curiosity in his eyes, she knew he was just trying to keep up the conversation. She nodded,

"Yeah. I'm friends with his boyfriend Remus, Peter and I get along really well, I don't know James too well at all though."

"Do you want to?" He asked.

She could tell he was aiming for casual, tossing the cigarette bud to the ground and stomping it out with his combat boot.

But she could see the sudden interest in his eyes when he looked up at her, carefully blowing the smoke in the other direction.

"I don't know. I suppose I should."

"What do you mean you suppose?"

"Well, you know, everyone said he had a crush on me forever ago. I don't know, he's popular and funny and he's got good manners. I probably should get to know him a little better."

"I am going to be honest with you Evans. I don't give a shit about what other people think. It isn't what you're supposed to do. It's what you want to do. What do you want?"

She hesitated, "I don't know. It would be nice to get to know him..."

"But?" He prompted.

"I was just never really interested before."

"Are you now?"

That look sparked again in his eyes, She wondered what it was about Potter that made his eyes alive, that drew out a stronger reaction than the permanant indifferent expression on his face.

"I'm not sure." She paused, looking to the lake again, "No." She whispered, "I don't like him."

"There's someone else." He guessed, studying her own face.

She hesitated once more before she nodded, "Yeah, there is."

"Alright, come here." He muttered, holding out a hand towars her. His chipped black nail polish identical to her own.

"What?"

"Don't give me that look. Come, sit in front of me." He patted the stone again, still holding out his hand.

She stared at him, waiting to see if this was a joke or not. They'd never shared more than a half hearted, smoke hazed conversation. Each one usually about the bigoted arseholes at their school and how they couldn't wait to get out and make a difference in the world.

Despite her confusion, she does as he says and swings her own converse over the half wall, letting him keep a hand on her waist to make sure she was secure.

Her oversized smashing pumpkins shirt she wore like a dress pooled around her hips, she adjusted it carefully to cover the top of her thighs.

He leans forward a little, dropping his voice,

"May I touch your hair?" He asked quietly, "You're allowed to say no."

She narrowed her eyes and nodded, "Fine. But don't you dare push me."

"Well, seeing as that would be attempted murder, I think you're safe, Evans." He laughed softly.

He gathered up a a small section of her hair into his hands, combing his fingers through it gently and making her already poofy curls even poofier.

"Pandora has me do this for her whenvever we have a serious conversation, it helps her relax." He explained.

Lily couldnt help but smile at the way his voice caught on the word serious, it was amusing to think even all those years ago his brother was still tormenting him with the name.

"Tell me about the person you like."

Lily waited for a long time before she spoke, trying to find the right words to say, "Her name is Mary." She started, testing the waters.

If Regulus was surprised it was a she, he didn't show it, he simply nodded and moved on to combing his fingers through a new section.

Lily took a deep breath, steeling her resolve, "She's popular and she's really close with my other friends Marlene, Dorcas, and Alice. She's the one who introduced me to them first year."

Regulus hummed, keeping his touch light and his movements steady as he moved on to braiding.

Lily could understand now why Regulus' friend has him do this, it was a lot easier to speak now that her body was more relaxed,

"Sometimes I wonder about the way she looks at me y'know. It feels like the way I used to see Remus looking at-" She trailed off, not wanting to force him to hear about his brother's love story, "Well, it's just sometimes I think that maybe she likes me, and she just hasn't told me yet."

She could hear Regulus' breathing, slow and calming, she wondered if he was doing it on purpose for her to slow down her own breaths.

"Do you think you could ask her how she feels?" He asked. Lily shook her head slightly, careful not to mess up the next braid he was starting on,

"I don't know if that's a good idea. What if I'm wrong? Wouldn't that just ruin our friendship forever?"

Regulus hummed again, "It's true, things aren't the same once you cross that line between platonic and romantic, but that doesnt mean you can't still be friends."

She sighed, "What if she hates me for this? We're supposed to be best friends, what if she thinks I'm some sort of creep for having feelings for her?"

Regulus gently touched her shoulder, drawing her eyes up to his, "Evans, you're not abusing your friendship with her in any way. Just you worrying about her feelings through all of this proves that. You have nothing to worry about. I'm sure she will still care for you and respect you the same as she always has."

"What if she doesnt?" She asked. Regulus dropped his eyes. She could see he was struggling with emotions of his own,

"We'll then I'm here if you ever need to do this again." He whispered, turning back to focusing on her hair. He pulled the front pieces forwards and started working on a braid to her left side.

"Thanks." She whispered back. He nodded,

"Anytime."

~~~♤~~~

Lily sat down at lunch, her usual seat between Dorcas and Mary- Marlene and Alice on their other sides- and across from Remus and his friends.

"Where'd you dissappear earlier? I went to ask Mary where you went so I could talk to you about the essay but nobody knew." Remus asked, looking concerned.

Lily shrugged, "I was getting some fresh air. It was a nice morning."

Peter looked up from his plate, "Why do you sound suspicious?" He asked.

Lily's eyes widened, "What?"

Remus placed a hand on his friend's arm, "Wormtail, we've talked about this." He muttered. Peter nodded and went back to his food.

"Talked about what?" Mary asked, joining in on the conversation.

Remus gave a small laugh, "Pete has this weird thing where he can usually tell when people are lying. I had to tell him not to get involved in other people's conversations since it's not always a well received party trick."

"So he thinks she's lying?" Mary asked turning to Lily, "What would you be lying about?"

Peter looked up again, shooting an apologetic look at Remus before clarifying, "I don't think she's lying, just hiding something."

"I'm not hiding anything." She told him, then winced when his eyebrows furrowed, entirely unconvinced.

Sirius looked over then too, noticing Remus' distraction, "What's happening?" He asked, tugging on his boyfriend's sleeve.

Dorcus answered before he could, Lily wasn't even are she'd been paying attention, "Mary's trying to figure out what Lily's hiding."

The way she worded it made Lily's cheeks heat up. She looked away, accidentally finding herself staring at the Slytherin table.

Silver eyes stared back at her, concerned.

This made her blush worse, Regulus cocked an eyebrow.

"I just-" She shook her head, "I just went for some fresh air before lunch, is that really such a crime? Why is everyone getting involved?" She huffed.

"Woah, someone's getting defensive." Marry laughed, poking her side, "C'mon, chica, what's going on?"

Lily could never lie to Mary, it was the one person she never managed to sneak anything past. The name only made her more nervous,

"I was hanging out with Regulus." She blurted.

She hadn't meant to say it, but it was definitley an easier secret to let out than the other one.

Mary's hand stilled on her waist, her eyes wide.

Everyone glanced at Sirius, who sat shocked into stillness, his smile dropping,

"What?" He whispered.

Lily looked past him, Regulus must have read his name on her lips, his own eyes wide with panic.

Sirius turned to look where she was staring, noticing he was already looking too.

"Lily, what the fuck?" He asked quietly.

Sirius and Regulus weren't close, in fact- to everyone who didn't know them- you'd think they hated each other.

But Lily knew the pain on both sides when their names were brought up, she was familiar with Regulus' regretful and pained expression, the one Sirius had on right now.

"You were hanging out with my brother? Why didn't you tell me?" He pressed, waiting for an answer.

She shook her head, "I didn't plan it or anything, it just sort of happened. We both went to the same spot to calm down and ever since it kind of-"

"It's happened more than once?" He hissed.

Remus put a quiet hand on Sirius' arm, his other pulling Sirius' face to look at him.

Sirius let out a breath, closing his eyes for a moment before turning back to Lily, "How um... How is he?" He asked, his voice suddenly small.

"He's okay." She nodded, "Really, he's okay. He misses you."

Sirius looked away, his eyes glued to his and Remus' now interlaced fingers.

"And Potter too, I think." She added, trying to lighten the subject a little.

Potter sat up suddenly, he'd been paying attention ever since he heard her confession about Regulus.

"What? How- when- what?" He stammered.

She shrugged, "I don't really know anything he just acted a little different when we were talking about you." She replied. Maybe bringing up Potter was a bad decision too...

"You- You two... you and him... you talked about me?" He asked incredulously, looking a bit pale now.

She only shrugged, knowing she probably shouldn't say anything else, everything she did seemed to make people panic.

"Prongs? You alright, mate?" Remus asked, looking between both of their pale faces and wide eyes.

James stood from his seat, "I'm gonna head to the bathroom, be right back." He squeaked out before he tumbled over the bench.

Lily turned back to Mary when she felt a sudden hand in her hair, "I like these on you." She whispered, "Did um... did he do them?"

She looked into Mary's eyes, filled with hesitation.

"Yeah, he was trying to help me relax, I guess his friend Pandora and him do it a lot." She spoke without thought.

She really couldn't keep anything from Mary for long. Nothing except the one thing that mattered, the one thing that could tear their friendship apart.

Mary dropped her hand, looking away, "I like that you're making other friends chica. I know it's hard for you sometimes to feel like you fit in here. But just... just be careful okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

Lily frowned, "Reg won't hurt me." She whispered, "We don't really talk much anyways, today was the first time we had a real conversation."

"Do you like him?" She asked.

Lily saw it, that same spark she'd seen in Regulus' eyes when he talked about Potter.

Lily shook her head immediatley, the small braids moving with her, "No, absolutley not. He's a friend... sort of. Nothing more."

Mary nodded, letting out a quiet sigh that sounded like relief, "Okay. You're still my best friend right?" She asked.

"Of course, you'll always be my number one."

Mary pulled her into a hug, her chin resting on Lily's shoulder.

"Love you, chica." She whispered.

"Love you too, Mary." Lily smiled back, tucking her face to hide her blush.

~~~♤~~~

"Hey, do you have any mascara I could borrow?" Mary asked, digging through her makeup bag, "I can't find mine, I think I might've lost it."

It was later that same day, the group was getting ready to go out to hogsmeade. Lily got up from where she sat on Mary's bed, watching her go through her routine,

"Uh... mascara? I think I have that." She nodded.

Lily wasn't that much into makeup, she just loved the way eyeliner looked and sometimes did dark lipstick. Mary was always the one who knew how to use all the shimmery stuff to make herself look different.

"It's a long tube, should say mascara on it." Mary explained, moving on to combing her hair. She used a small brush to gel the little hairs into curvy shapes, it was always Lily's favorite part.

"Here." Lily handed it to her, their fingers brushing together briefly and sending little shocks through her.

"Do you want me to put some on you? I think you look really pretty without any makeup on, but your eyelashes are so long already, they would look good with mascara too."

"On me?" Lily repeated, swallowing hard.

Mary nodded, setting her hair products down and turning to face her, "I don't think you should use and foundation or anything, I really love your freckles." She whispered, her fingers reaching out to brush Lily's cheek.

Lily could feel her face heating up under Mary's stare.

"Thank you." She mumbled.

"Do you mind if I put this on?" Mary asked quietly. Lily shook her head,

"No, I don't mind."

She followed Mary's instructions, sitting on the bathroom counter in front of her. Mary stood between her knees, her fingers holding Lily's face with the lightest touch possible.

"Close your eyes." Mary whispered, a light tickle on her eyelashes startled her and she opened them again.

Mary laughed softly, "It's okay, love, it's just the brush, it won't hurt."

Love. Lily felt her heart flutter.

She nodded and closed her eyes again, letting Mary do whatever it was she was doing.

"Okay, look at me." Mary mumbled. Lily opened her eyes again, finding Mary's quickly. She was biting her lip in concentration, looking at Lily intensely.

It didn't help that their faces were so close together, Lily's heart fluttered faster.

"Blink when I tell you to okay?" She whispered. Lily nodded.

She tried to follow the instructions the best that she could, watching Mary's face as she blinked every other second, the mascara brushing underneath her eyelashes.

"Okay." Mary leaned back a little, "I think it looks good.

She closed the bottle and set it beside them, her hand falling to rest on Lily's thigh.

"You look beautiful, chica." She whispered a soft smile on her lips.

Lily couldn't speak, she could still feel the ghost of Mary's breath across her face, a tingling sensation where her fingers had tipped her chin to get a better angle.

"C'mon, we should find you something to wear." She held out a hand to help Lily down, keeping them together as she walked her to their shared closet.

"I was thinking about the outfit I wore last month, the one with the Fleetwood Mac shirt."

Mary nodded, clapping her hands excitedly, "Ooh, I loved that one! I'm gonna go change, I'll be right out and the bathroom's all yours."

She picked up a pile of clothes from her bed and closed the door behind her. Lily let herself fall back onto the mattress, this had been one very long day.

"Knock, knock." Dorcas walked into the room, followed by Marlene.

"Hey guys." Lily mumbled, not bothering to sit up.

"You alright? Everyone's been worried about you today."

"Yeah I'm okay. Everything's just a little weird right now."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Marlene nodded, "Sirius and Remus haven't left their room all day apparently and James isn't anywhere to be found either. Pete's running around like a chicken with his head cut off, he's got no clue what to do."

Lily laughed softly and shook her head, "I don't know what's up with Potter, but I do feel really bad about hurting Sirius. I didn't mean for anything like that to happen."

"We know, hun." Dorcas walked over and sat down by her side, running a hand through the parts of her hair that weren't pulled into braids, "You and his brother get along, then?"

Lily shrugged, "I guess. It's one of those friends by circumstance situations."

"What do you guys even talk about?" Marlene asked curiously.

Lily's eyes shot to the bathroom before she could stop them, Dorcas raised an eyebrow,

"Does he know?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, he was talking to me about Potter and then he asked if I liked him and then he could tell there was someone else and it kind of just came out." She let the words whoosh out of her in one breath.

"Hey babes, bathroom is free." Mary called, closing the door with her hip, "Oh, hi guys."

Marlene snorted, "Damn girl, what a weird web you've spun for yourself this time."

Dorcas sighed, "You should just tell her, Lily. It'll make everything a lot easier for both of you."

Dorcas and Marlene shared a look and stood, "We were actually just heading out, see you two in a bit!" Dorcas pulled Marlene out of the room, shooting a look back at Lily.

"Weirdos." Mary smiled as she watched then leave.

"Hey Mary?" Lily whispered. Mary turned,

"What's up?"

"Do you think that-" She cleared her throat, "It's not really important or anything, but I was just wondering if, um..."

Lily looked away again, her face scorching.

Mary frowned and sat down in front of her, "Lils? Talk to me, what's going on?"

Lily shook her head, unable to find her voice.

"Come here." Lily pulled her up and held her against her chest, holding her securely in her arms.

Lily relaxed instantly, letting herself be enveloped by everything Mary.

Her smell, like hairspray and vanilla, her warm voice and caring eyes, her gentle but steady touch.

"I love you, chica." Mary whispered, pulling away to meet eyes.

Lily felt her own get a little wider, the words not forming properly.

Something seemed to click then, Mary's expression changed from worried to searching, hesitation filling her eyes again just like they had at lunch,

"Lily?" She whispered.

Lily looked away.

"I love you." There was something different about the way she said it now, her voice was breathless, her expression serious.

"I love you too, Mary." Lily whispered.

Her eyes dropped to Lily's lips and Lily could feel her entire being freeze in place. Sparks of anticipation shot through her.

Oh, Merlin, how did they end up here?

The next thing she knew she was being pulled into a kiss, her heart slamming against her chest, their hands coming up to hold each other closer.

"I love you." Mary breathed when they broke apart, "Fuck, I love you so much."

"I love you too." Lily smiled, kissing her again, and again, and again, "I always have."

It wasn't exactly the huge, production level confession she was expecting. It was small and wordless, something private and so entirely theirs.

They didn't need to say anything for them both to know exactly how strong they felt for each other, and they walked down the stairs to the common room a half hour later, smiling and holding hands, feeling their friend's eyes on them the whole way.

"We're dating." Mary spoke, breaking the confused silence, she had a proud smile on her face as she looked over at Lily, "This is my girlfriend."

Girlfriend. Lily found she loved that word.

Lily's confession to hanging out with Sirius' brother led them to talking again too. Regulus was brought to their weekend hogsmeade trips, and even sometimes found perched on the arm of the couch in the Gryffindor common room, talking with his brother in low voices and hesitant smiles.

That was probably a good thing, seeing as they would stay girlfriends for a long, long time.

~~~♤~~~

A month had gone by and Lily and Mary were happier than ever, they fit perfectly together, like they were made just for this.

They were all giggles and urgent touches as they flung open a broom closet in a deserted corridor, tumbling inside without breaking their kiss.

A muffled groan of pain and a surprised hiss sounded before the lights flicked on.

Inside, in a very similar position to them, were James Potter and Regulus Black, making out.

Lily gasped, her eyes wide.

"So..." Regulus flushed, looking up at Lily, "I see you and Mary got together." He started awkwardly.

She rose an amused eyebrow and glanced at Potter, "And I see you finally managed to snog Potter."

Potter's face went bright red and he hid himself in the crook of Regulus' neck.

"I think we should probably give them some space." Mary finally decided, pulling Lily's hand and closing the door behind them.

The four never spoke of the incident, but the boys came out to the group a week later, both of them flicking glances at the girls the whole time.

It was perfect, everything was exactly as it was meant to be. Lily and Reg continued their chats on the astronomy tower, gushing about their partners and complaining as always about anything and everything else in the world.

Lily couldn't help but smile as she held her girlfriend while she slept, the girl who- just a month ago- was so completely unattainable in her eyes.

She was never happier, and she supposed she had Regulus to thank for a lot of it.

~~~♤~~~

[goodsirbeasts]

tagged by the ever lovely @zaegreus, here we go!!

do you make your bed? I used to as a kid, mostly because my mom made me lol. But when I reached my teens I gave up - no one but me is seeing it anyway!

what’s your favourite number? I've always had an affinity for 4, though couldn't say why. I've always associated it with the color purple as well.

what is your job? assistant manager at a shoe store 🤷‍♀️ it's not bad but man do the customers get on my nerves

if you could go back to school would you? absolutely not. I'm 37 and still have nightmares about being late for class or forgetting to show up. I liked college but I'm not capable of that level of homework anymore.

can you parallel park? never learned how to drive LOL

a job you had that would surprise people? janitor I guess?? I actually liked it a lot though. We'd clean the local museum, so I got to see some art, and then we'd drive all the way up into the hills to clean the wind turbine research center.

do you think aliens are real? I hope they are, and I also hope they stay the fuck away from humans cause we are NOT going to treat them well.

can you drive a manual car? don't drive don't like cars~

what’s your guilty pleasure? I don't rly believe in guilty pleasures ...

tattoos? two at the moment; one of Sailor Saturn on my left forearm, and one of a lily of the valley with lil skulls in place of the buds on my right ankle.

favourite colour? any shade of purple, teal, baby pink, chartreuse.

favourite type of music? literally anything and everything! that being said I tend to gravitate more towards electro.

do you like puzzles? like, jigsaw puzzles? haven't done one in years but they're okay. puzzles in general? yes! I love figuring things out lol.

any phobias? not fond of large spiders but I always try to capture and release them outside. I'm also a lil nervous around any animal bigger than I am. deep water wigs me the fuck out. if I ever got any sort of parasite my soul would leave my body.

favourite childhood sport? volleyball and tennis! I loved playing those, and was fairly good at them :3

do you talk to yourself? oh definitely. not a lot but usually when I'm doing an annoying task or playing video games.

what movie(s) do you adore? favourite movies are:

1. Only God Forgives. Most films by Refn leave me very cold but something about this one is just my jam. The music, the acting, the story, Vithaya Pansringarm beating the shit out of Ryan Gosling - immaculate.

2. Ravenous. Caught this one randomly one night on IFC when I was younger. Couldn't believe I've never heard of it as it has both Guy Pearce AND Robert Carlyle, two of my fave actors. Anyway it was life changing and I'll never recover.

3. Suspiria (2018). I like the original as well but man. MAN. Everything about Guadagnino's version was made specifically for me.

4. Taboo (Gohatto). Accidentally came across this one when I was def too young to watch it lmao. I was going through a samurai phase and so naturally I was like oh cool, and they're gay? Sign me up! Let me tell ya, this one is a doozy. Basically it's about a bunch of samurai vying for the affections of a beautiful youth who also happens to be a full on sociopath (affectionate), and it does Not End Well. Also has Tadanobu Asano and Takeshi Kitano, who are awesome as usual.

coffee or tea? I like both but coffee is just SO GOOD.

first thing you wanted to be growing up? earliest thing I can remember wanting to be was an FBI agent? I was very into the X-Files as a kid and thought it would be a great job haha.

Not sure who to tag for these fjkskdkskkskd gonna go with my besties @porternash and @iwantoseeafrigatebird cause I'd personally love to read your answers :3

[moonchild-in-blue]

Hiii!

I hope you have a lovely day. 💙🐬🪁

6-7. and 17-18. for the ask game (if it’s not too late)

*😊✨🐍*

Hello there my sweet serpent friend! 🌷🐛🌹🦋🌻🐞🐌🪻

Thank you for the questions - you're not late at all hehe (you're the first one in fact!). I'll put these under the cut because it looks a little too long oops-

6 - 5 Male celebrity crushes

Let me go with the famous Hollywood babes for these, because if I go into my band crushes and kpop/kdrama people, I will never shut up.

Ben Barnes forever and always

Andrew Garfield (yes I was in the early Marauders fandom, in case it wasn't obvious lol)

Dev Patel

Christian Slater

Tom Hiddleston

7 - 5 Female celebrity crushes

Lily Collins

Simone Ashley

Keira Knightley

Anne Hathaway

Kat Dennings (my mom keeps telling me she and I have the same type of personality. which is not completely wrong tbh)

17 - What is something you're really good at?

✨ PROCRASTINATING and OVERTHINKING ✨

Haha, just kidding (not really, but yeah.) I'm pretty good at crafts and all. Not just painting and traditional art in general - I can get the hand of random stuff pretty easily, like fiber arts, building stuff, origami, you name it. If I dedicated myself to actually nurture my random skills, I could be fairly decent in some niche things, but I am too tired and unmotivated to do so. Same with languages (although I am finally picking that up again).

18 - What is something you're really bad at?

SPORTS. Like, it's pathetic and sad at best to see me play anything at all. I did one year of gymnastics as a kid, and it wasn't so bad, but anything that requires balls, hand-feet coordination, or rapid movement in general, I am dreadful. Still traumatised by P.E classes lmao.

[fattybattysblog]

🤡 Makeup

I don't wear make up, but I have some chaptstick on? It's rose flavored.

🐾 Fav wild animal

Bats! Specifically the Bismark Masked Flying Fox

🌹 Fav flower

Peonies, Calla Lilies, and Orchids

🍕 Fav pizza

I'm partial to simple cheese, but I enjoy bacon or spinach toppings too. Usually by themselves.

🧃Fav cold non-alcoholic beverage

Soda, haha. I am a Dr. Pepper fiend

🎸 Musical instrument

I can't play too well, I'm still learning, but I have an Ocarina and a Kalimba

🏅 Sports

I was in swimming in high school

🏫 Fav school subject

Swim was a lot of fun. I also liked Drama and Art. I was good at English but it was so boring.

Tagging some friends. @tsunderesalty @sliebman10 @oceangirl24 @madameredart @mikaharuka

Tell me

🤡 Makeup?

Nail polish, lip gloss, eye shadow. I like pearly effect. Also highlighter is my favorite thing lately. 👽

🐾Fav wild animal

Edible dormouse. Wouldn't eat it tho.

🌸Fav flower

Chrysanthemum

🍕Fav pizza

Hawaii 😈

🧃Fav cold non-alcoholic beverage

mineral water

🎸Musical instrument?

Piano, but it's pain. For ears and hands.

🏅Sports?

Walking. I hate sports with passion.

🏫Fav school subject?

Literature

Well, thank you if you participated and you can tag as many people as you want!

@srtruth, @r473n, @seeveekat, @criminal-sen, @n3rd--gurl, @ioshk-chan, @moonlit-mystery-writer

[myboxofcookies]

Made some oc family members for some canon cookies. Draft info about them under cut:

Left - Cherry Tea and Cherry Sauce Cherry Tea Cookie is the oldest member of the Cherry family alive in present day and is the grandmother of several grandchildren and some great-grandchildren she loves dearly. - The epitome of the sweet old granny that offers gifts and help to her family, neighbors, and any strangers she meets despite how dangerous they may seem - Once she offered shelter and a home-cooked meal to a raggedy-looking stranger that she caught stealing some produce from her garden (aka Werewolf Cookie) and insisted despite him trying to run away, now he sometimes visits her home and gets treated like one of Cherry Tea’s grandchildren. - Sole guardian of her granddaughters Cherry Blossom Cookie and Cherry Cookie after the sudden passing of both their parents during the Dark Flour War - In her youth, she was a tactical bomber in Hollyberry Kingdom’s army, known in her full title as Cherry Tea Bomb Cookie. And back then, her personality was rambunctious, playful, and overall chaotic, especially when it comes to blowing things up with her famous magic Tea Bombs, which may or may not have passed down to Cherry Cookie- - Now since retired to look after her granddaughters, she lives peacefully on a small hill near Cranberry Forest where she sometimes visit to forage berries and herbs to sell or cook with. - Other than Cherry Cookie getting her literal explosive personality, Cherry Blossom inherited her grandmother’s positive outlook and current mannerisms while Cherry Ball got her team spirit and good sport energy. Bonds Cherry Cookie - “My my, it’s like looking into a mirror!” [Family] Cherry Blossom - “You’re growing up into such a proper lady like your mother, my dear...” [Family] Cherry Ball - “I packed you a healthy lunch! It’s important to eat well for a lot of energy before a big game!” [Family] Werewolf Cookie - “Haha, if you were the Big Bad Wolf from my grandkids’ fairytales I wouldn’t have made you a hearty dinner now would I?” [Friendly] Hollyberry Cookie - “You haven’t changed a bit! How has that juice record still holding up?” [Friendly] Jungleberry Cookie - “Losing your child is a painful experience... I’m sorry I couldn’t find her with the search party that day...” [Trust] Tiger Lily Cookie - “You look... familiar young Cookie...” [Trust] Cherry Sauce Cookie - “It’s nice to have family within walking distance, my back is killing me these days.” [Family]

Cherry Sauce Cookie is the oldest among her cousins in the latest Cherry family generation and the oldest daughter of Cherry Jam Cookie and Lemon Drop Cookie. - Has a Fluttershy-like personality where she inherited her grandmother’s sweetness and altruism but is also timid of most people that aren’t her family. So she gets along with most animals than peers. - The only cookies in her family that she doesn’t get along with are the ones from her mother’s side, who were known to be bitter people in the few times they met. Thankfully they have already been long disowned by her mother (the only nice one out of the bunch) and lived far away from them. - Was an aspiring fashion designer before some real life hardships, now she’s working as a seamstress in a small shop in Hollyberry and lives in her personal cottage with all the animals she gets to take care of. - Closest travel distance to her grandmother so she often visits to make sure her and Cherry Cookie are alright. Bonds Cherry Cookie - “N-not here at my home!” [Family] Cherry Blossom Cookie - “Picnics with you are always the best!” [Family] Cherry Ball Cookie - “Go team!” [Family] Moon Rabbit Cookie - “Good thing I make rice cakes in advance.” [Friendly] Parfait Cookie - “I wish I can get an autograph one day...” [Admiration] Werewolf Cookie - “I guess my parents weren’t exaggerating when they said I bring unexpected people into my home like Granny...” [Trust] Cherry Tea Cookie - “Granny!” [Family]

Right - Caramel Syrup Cookie Despite having passed away after Custard Cookie III was born, Caramel Syrup Cookie has been watching over her son from the afterlife to see him grow. - Caramel Syrup is a descendant from House Caramel, a family of aristocrats that are well-known for creating and manipulating caramel at their magical will. For generations they are known for becoming famous mages, soldiers, or artists. - Her magic consisted of transforming her caramel magic into weapons or still figures that can act at her will to defend. - She met Custard II (or Custard Cookie or whoever the canon father of Custard the 3rd is) at one of many important meeting held between some Houses or in some other setting, becoming friendly, falling in love, and got married. - She then gave birth to Custard Cookie the III before unfortunately passing away due to being born with a frail body. Custard Cookie III only knows of his late mother through his father’s stories and a picture of him and his mother moments before she passed away. - And despite the divide, her spirit always seem to visit her son in dreams in the night of his birthday to listen and converse with him every year. The only thing she keeps in mind to Custard III is to never mention her to anyone unless it feels important. Or mention her vaguely. - Possibly a side quest in-game where the Cookies try to figure out who is the mystery “important lady of his court” Custard Cookie III mentions will come again on his birthday while planning a surprise party. Bond Custard Cookie III - “Remember, a good king must grow up to be kind and well-mannered too.” [Family] Custard Cookie II (or whoever the dad is) - “Please take care of our son in my absence dear...” [Love] Premier Custard Cream Cookie - “I’m grateful that I was able to meet my husband through your sacrifices.” [Family]

[onceupon]

London Boy - Part 4: Just friends

summary: You wake up to find Rafe Cameron in your bed. Even though nothing happened, you’re still left trying to make sense of it all.

pairing: Rafe x reader (slowburn)

warnings: swearing, drinking

word count: 5k

a/n: thank you so much to all of you who have been reading along <333 sorry in advance if you want this to progress faster haha, it simply must be this slow, sorry I don't make the rules (even tho I do lol). Not canon Rafe!! 

masterlist

Your eyes slowly flutter open as the early morning rays wake you up. You didn’t even remember falling asleep. As you slowly gain consciousness you’re startled by the weight of Rafe’s arm draped across your body. What the hell? When did that happen? He spent the night in your bed?

Your mind races at a million miles an hour as you slowly slip out from under his hold. You were careful not to wake him up, not wanting to face any awkwardness. You throw on fresh clothes and grab your backpack, desperate to make your escape. You had wanted to get to school early today to work on some homework anyways, never before so eager to trade in the comfort of your bed for the library. 

After a quick pit stop to pick up a coffee and a croissant, you swing the heavy wooden doors open. You liked campus at this hour, the morning light still soft, the air crisp, and the atmosphere silent. As you scan your eyes for a spot to sit, you notice the unmistakable sight of fluffy brown hair hunched over a table. 

“Liam?” your whisper. “What the hell are doing here?”

That classic cheeky grin spreads across his face as he looks up to find you standing in front of him. “I go here, Y/n. Forget already?”

You roll your eyes, “I just didn’t know you were the studious type.”

“Not gonna lie to you babe, I’m not. But Rogers is already all the way up my ass over this class, and I’m not letting that prick hold me back a year.” 

You pull out the chair across from him and go to sit down, spreading your books out on the table. 

“Who said you could sit with?” he asks, and you shoot him a look. You’re not in the mood. “Geez alright, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed… you good Y/n?” he slows, taking in your disheveled appearance. You hadn’t so much as brushed your hair. 

“Can you promise not to tell anyone,” you stare dead into his eyes. 

“On my life,” he extends his pinky, and you accept. 

“Rafe… slept over last night…”

“Oh shit!” he exclaims, and your eyes widen at his echoing voice. 

“Not like that,” you hiss, not wanting to draw anymore attention to the two of you. “Nothing happened… like he just came over to watch a show and then we talked for a while and just accidentally… fell asleep. I panicked when I woke up and realized he was still in my bed so I ran out of there as fast as I could and now…. well now I’m here.” You nervously chug your coffee, heart racing. 

“So he hung out with you all night and didn’t make a move?”

You nod, nervously awaiting his analysis as you take a bite of your croissant. 

“Damn, boy must really like you,” he muses. 

“What? Definitely not,” you scoff. 

“Y/n, let me tell you a little something about guys. If we really like you, we’re gonna make the time to hang out with you, no matter what. The fact that he’s coming over your room to watch a show and hanging out with you until he physically can’t stay awake - I mean I can’t make it any more obvious to you.”

“I don’t know I just don’t think so… You don’t know Rafe like that, he’s a total player back home. He can pull any girl he wants, so if he liked me like that he would’ve done something by now. This is probably how he is with all his friends and I’m just reading too much into it. I’m sure Lily Colts will be in his bed soon enough,” you mumble. That last part stings in particular, you had already thought it, but saying it out loud made you feel… icky. 

“I may not know Rafe like that, but I know guys like him. I am guys like him. He likes you Y/n. So what if he pulls a lot of chicks, he doesn’t actually care about them. But he cares about you, probably can’t even understand why, and now it’s like bam Uno reverse. He can’t pull the cards he normally does, and now you’ve got him confused and he doesn’t know what to do. Man’s down bad. Give him time though, he’ll come around,” he explains to you calmly, stealing your coffee cup from you and taking a sip. 

“Honestly can I just start paying you to figure my life out for me. You make everything seem so simple.”

“Because it is simple. You insist on complicating it. But I know how you could pay me,” he adds with a wink and you shoot him a glare. You know he’s just joking (partially), he loves pushing your buttons. 

“Well whatever. I’ll believe it when I see it,” you resign on the Rafe matter. You wanted to believe what Liam was saying but it didn’t quite make sense to you. You were only going to drive yourself crazy trying to read between lines that you weren’t sure existed. Rafe was just used to situations like this with girls. To him last night was probably no big deal. It was to you though. You would never let ‘just a friend’ stay over like that, with his arm around you no less. But Rafe didn’t need to know that, you decide. 

—-

You manage to avoid Rafe all day, not having any classes with him on Friday’s. As soon as your last class is over, you sprint home, relieved when you’re the first back at the flat and can quickly slip into your room undetected. You set down your bag and sit on the edge of your bed. Your hand slowly runs over your comforter, still ruffled from where Rafe had been laying the night before. The indent of his head is still on your pillow; you can almost smell the scent of him lingering in your room and hear the sound of his soft whispers. You wonder what his first thoughts were when he woke up in your bed alone - was he confused? Embarrassed? He probably thought nothing of it at all. You can just picture him casually getting up with a stretch, like it’s the start of any typical day.

You slip into the shower and let the water wash over your body. It’s warm and soothing, and it’s reminding you of Rafe laying next to you, of his arm wrapped around you. God if there was only a way to shut your brain off once in a while. As much as you tried to suppress it, there had been a tiny part of you that was happy to have woken up in his embrace, giddy like a school girl with a crush. You’d always wondered how a moment like that would feel, or how a moment like that with him would feel. You had conveniently failed to mention the “arm” detail to Liam, maybe because in the back of your mind you knew it would only help prove his theory right.  

When you make your way back to your room, your phone buzzes and the Royal Fam 🇬🇧🇺🇸 group chat appears. 

Olivia: who wants to go out tonight 😈

Topper: me and Rafe have to be up early tmrw for soccer - rain check on this one ladies 

Olivia: :( 

Olivia: girls night out??

Millie: you know I’m there!

You’re a little bummed that Rafe won’t be there tonight. But a girls night sounds like just what you need to get him off your mind. 

Y/n: I’m in :)

Not even a few minutes later Olivia and Millie are barging into your room, causing you to let out a startled yelp. 

“My god, heard of knocking,” you exhale with your hand coming to your chest. Your statement falls on death ears. 

“Which jeans with this top,” Olivia asks, holding the clothing items against her body. 

“Should I curl or straighten my hair with this,” Millie follows, holding her outfit up. 

“Uhh,” your mind scrambles, “those jeans Liv. And straight, Mills,” you reply, shocked by your own decidedness. “But now you guys have to help me, I have no clue what to wear.”

“Say less,” Olivia flashes a smile. 

Within minutes they tear through your closet, picking out your outfit. Things were always much more clear with a fresh set of eyes. The three of you discuss the night’s logistics before making your way to the kitchen - couldn’t go drinking on an empty stomach. Rafe and Topper are already there, and you try your best to act natural even though your stomach ties itself in a knot the moment you catch a glimpse of his face. You haven’t seen him since you ran out this morning. 

“Uh hey I’m gonna run to Sainsbury’s real quick, I wanna get a chaser, anyone need anything,” you ask, avoiding eye contact with Rafe. Your nerves get the best of you and in terms of fight or flight, you were ready to flee. 

“Hey wait I’ll come with you. Gotta pick something up for dinner,” Rafe stands grabbing his jacket, and before you can interject, he’s leading the way down the hall and out your shared flat. 

“So what are you chasing tonight?” 

“What?” you ask startled, his question pulling you back to reality. Your mind had been running in a loop, trying to read him and the thoughts in his head. You wished now more than ever that you knew what Rafe was like behind closed doors back home, so you could somehow make sense of it all.

He chuckles at you, lost in your own world. “You said you needed a chaser?” Those intimidating blue eyes have found their way to yours again and you hastily look away, focusing in front of you instead. 

“Oh yeah- uh just for the vodka,” you laugh nervously. 

“Basic,” he mocks. You scoff in surprise and lightly hit him on the chest as the laughter leaves your lips. He’s sporting a shit-eating grin, having successfully egged you on. 

“You’re funny if you think I’m gonna do shots of whiskey before going to a club.”

“Well you do owe me one…” he says.

“Oh so he remembers?” you reply, amused.

“Of course,” he states so calm and so sure. Your head swirls at that, his cool confidence making you melt. The automatic doors slide open in front of you, fluorescent lights stealing your attention from the boy you were finding dangerously more attractive by the second.

“I thought we’re supposed to take it together? But someone’s being lame and not coming out tonight,” you say sarcastically, playing it as cool as you can manage. Rafe’s confidence seemed to come naturally, but you were more of a fake-it-till-you-make-it kind of gal.

“Hey you know I have soccer,” he defends. The Kook Prince was not one to turn down a party without cause.

“Excuses excuses,” you shake your head.

“Actually, speaking of soccer, you uh- you and the girls should come tomorrow. If you’re not doing anything. Or not too hungover I should say. Game’s at 12.”

“Can’t make any promises Cameron, but we’ll see,” you smile, earning a satisfied smile from him in return. 

You make your way to the frozen food aisle, Rafe explaining to you how they call a soccer field a football pitch here, as you laugh at him grabbing 5 frozen pizzas (dinner solved for the next week, of course). You ask him which chaser you should pick. He points out a cola, so naturally you decide to get blackberry seltzer water, Rafe twisting his face in disgust (who would voluntarily drink that tv static). You always felt so nervous at first, to be in Rafe’s presence, but all it ever took was a few minutes for you to completely relax around him. He was intimidating, yet inviting. Mysterious, yet open. He was somehow the cause of your anxious nerves and yet the source of your comfort. The fear of facing Rafe after running out this morning had paralyzed your thoughts all day, and now you could hardly remember why. He hadn’t mentioned it at all, as if nothing happened. His normalcy confirmed for you that him sleeping over was in fact no big deal, and you almost want to laugh at yourself for how much you had worked it up in your head. You two were just friends, and perhaps Rafe was used to being… a friendlier friend than what you were used to. But that was okay, you could learn to be friendlier too.

—-

Rafe and Topper had decided to accompany you guys in the kitchen as you pregamed. They slowly sipped beers as you, Millie, and Olivia pounded back shots, laughing at the way you guys got progressively drunker and progressively louder before finally heading out. And much to your surprise, the boys were still seated in the same spot hours later, when the three of you stumble back into the flat, McDonalds in hand.

“Oh look who’s still up,” Olivia slurs, taking a bite of her cheeseburger. 

“We can’t go out, we have soccer,” Millie mocks, almost falling to the floor as she trips over her heel, Topper and Rafe not making any effort to hide their clear amusement. 

“Fun night huh?” Topper quirks his brow. 

“The funnest,” Millie holds her head high, sinking down against the wall until she’s sat on the floor. You had made a beeline for the dining room table, silently admiring your chicken nuggets. In that moment, they were the best thing you had ever tasted. 

“I want Jake,” Olivia pouts, and before anyone can say a word she’s turned on her heel, burger in hand, off to crawl into her boyfriend’s bed. 

“Alright you drunk, let’s get you to bed,” Topper laughs, scooping an incoherent Millie up to her feet by her elbows. 

“M’not drunk,” Millie protests, even though she’s leaning her full body weight against Topper who sarcastically nods at her, escorting her down the hallway. Rafe sits on the couch, silently playing with the cards in his hand again, not the least bit uncomfortable with sharing your company in silence. 

“I’m mad at you,” you say matter of factly, taking a bite of a french fry. At this point, the alcohol is doing the talking. 

“Mad at me?” Rafe stops shuffling the cards and raises his head to look at you, intrigued. 

“Yeah because you didn’t come to the club,” you furrow your brows, chucking a fry at him. He catches it instantly, laughing to himself with a shake of his head. 

“Don’t worry I saw all your guys’ snaps, I feel like I was practically there.”

“That’s not the same,” you frown, throwing another fry which he catches yet again.

“I’ll try to be there next time,” he laughs.

“That’s better I guess,” you grumble, eating another chicken nugget. The room grows quiet, Rafe training his attention back to the cards.

“When are we watching the next episode Cameron,” you break the silence, chucking another fry. He barely has to look up to catch your latest throw, shaking his head with a chuckle. He puts the cards down and makes his way over to the dining table, standing right above you now. 

“Come on, time for you to go to bed,” he beckons you toward him with his arm, to which you only furrow your brows in indignation.

“I’m not done with my food,” you protest.

“Now you are,” he says, grabbing your last fry and finishing it with one bite. “Now c’mon.” You reluctantly grab onto his extended arm to help you get up. You walk down the hall together and he opens your door for you, letting you in as he leans against the frame. You immediately fall back and collapse on to your bed with a gasp, you didn’t remember it feeling so soft when you were sober. 

“Goodnight L/n,” Rafe laughs, staring down at you. 

“Goodnight Rafe,” you mumble, seconds away from passing out. He smiles to himself at the sight of you still in the outfit and shoes you had been out in, bent in surely the most uncomfortable position possible, legs half way off the bed, yet somehow already asleep. He’s about to head back to his room, but he hesitates, turning back to you with a sigh. As slowly and quietly as he can, he pulls your shoes off for you, lifts your legs onto the bed, and covers you in your blanket. And just as quick, he slips out of your room and back into his.

—-

You wake up the next morning, letting out a groan when you realize you’re still in the outfit you had worn clubbing. Your head dully aches and your throat is desert dry so you force yourself up and to the kitchen. When you see the aftermath of McDonald’s containers on the table, vague memories start flooding your brain in horror. You couldn’t have… could you? Did you actually throw french fries at him? You close your eyes and slowly run your hand over your face in realization. Great, you think to yourself, Rafe probably thinks you’re an annoying idiot. Good grief.

You hear the door of the flat opening and Olivia appears in the kitchen, holding a plate of breakfast sandwiches, your mouth watering at the sight.

“Thank the lovely lads in apartment 4E,” she laughs, placing them on the table. “Oh god, we went hard last night didn’t we,” she says, taking in the sight of the flat.

“A little too hard…” you remark.

“No such thing, darling! Now eat up and get dressed, we’ve got a match to catch,” she declares before disappearing down the hall where you can hear muffled groans of Millie being reluctantly dragged out of her bed. You sigh and sink down into a chair, grabbing a sandwich and taking a bite. Heaven. You make a mental note to thank Jake for his chef skills. You had completely forgotten that you and the girls were supposed to go watch Rafe and Topper’s match today. Your worries about having to face Rafe yesterday had been quick to melt away, but today they were back with a new vengeance.

—-

“Okay no one wander off when we get there. Y/n, fair warning, these games get… rowdy,” Millie says, as the three of you walk toward the field, arms linked.

“Things get pretty crazy at Kildare too,” you laugh, “so yeah, don’t fucking let me out of your sight.”

The three of you shake off your fits of laughter as you stumble toward the stands, finding a spot amongst the already packed crowd. You’re finally able to take in your surroundings, glancing at the field ahead. The opposing team is warming up on the pitch, clad in red. Westheath’s team is off to the side, the boys stretching and getting ready in their white uniforms. The dirty blonde immediately catches your eye. He’s jumping and jogging in place, headphones in as though he’s tuning out the physical noise around him, and probably the mental noise too. You wonder if he’s listening to one of the songs he showed you the other night. 

He pauses his jogging to stretch out his arms, his eyes glazing over the stands, when suddenly they lock with yours. Your cheeks flush pink, embarrassed at having been caught staring, but his face just pulls into a wide grin and he gives you a wave. You wave back, and he does a quick hand motion that everyone does at Kildare games back home. You laugh and do the responding gesture, as he smiles cheekily at you before a teammate comes up to him, pulling his focus away. The exchange was brief, but oddly intimate. There was a whole field and a couple dozen people between you, and yet you two were the only witnesses to the interaction. You smile to yourself, relief in the fact that maybe getting a french fry chucked at him wasn’t enough to make him hate you after all. You wonder briefly if Rafe spends half as much time overanalyzing things the way you do. Liam was right, you do insist on overcomplicating things. 

“Hey, earth to Y/n!” Olivia laughs, waving her hand in front of your face. “The game is starting!”

—

The final score flashes on the screen: 4-2, a win for Westheath. The students are going nuts, rushing the field. Olivia and Millie lead the way, pushing through the crowd until you guys reach Rafe and Topper.

“Let’s go boys!!” Olivia yells, jumping up and down with the sea of bodies and beer around you. Rafe and Topper react with equal enthusiasm, pulling each of you in for a hug. You and Rafe are the last to hug, him pulling you in brief but close against his large sweaty body, arms wrapped around you. You don’t even mind the stickiness of the hug, feeling deja vu at the warm feeling of being in his embrace again; a feeling that is foreign yet familiar, one you hadn’t felt before. 

“Did you guys see Rafe’s goal in the second half!?” Topper asks, clapping his friend on the back.

“Of course we did, super star!” Millie cheers, giving Rafe a high five as he humbly shakes his head and laughs at his friends. The mental image of his goal was burned in your head, one that your mind would certainly play for you involuntarily over the next coming days. 

“Alright we gotta go do some stuff with the team, but everyone’s going to Central Bar later. See you guys there?” Rafe asks.

“You got it,” Olivia replies, and they jog off with quick waves, you meeting those blue eyes in silent acknowledgement once again. It was that gaze that always made the rest of the world seem to disappear while his eyes met yours, making your heart skip a beat. He’s just a friend, you remind yourself. Just a tall, attractive, soccer-playing friend…

—

“Y/n! Liv! We’re doing a round!” Jake calls you and Olivia over to where him and Liam are already at the bar, four shot glasses ordered and lined up.

“On three! One, two-“ Liam chants, as the four of you down the alcohol. Central Bar had been buzzing with what felt like half of Westheath’s student body all day. After the game, you and the girls had gone back to your flat to nap and eat, before meeting up with Jake, Liam, and the rest of their boys to head to the bar. Rafe and Topper were already pretty buzzed when you guys got there, playing a round of table tennis with you before the rest of the soccer team and their other friends pulled their attention away. You couldn’t help the way your whole body tensed when Rafe greeted Lily with a tight hug, humbling you with the confirmation that Rafe’s actions toward you weren’t anything special. You resolved yourself to a night of drinking and dancing your worries away with Liv and Liam instead.

“Alright, round of table tennis? You two against me and Y/n?” Liam challenges.

“Please, I saw Y/n playing before, you guys have nothing on us,” Olivia flashes an evil smile, her competitive side coming out.

“Oh it’s on Liv,” you laugh, as your foursome stakes your claim at the pong table. While Olivia and Jake gather the balls and paddles, you notice Liam grimacing off into the distance. You follow his line of sight, landing on Topper and Millie drunkenly dancing together across the bar, a bit too close for comfort.

“What is she doing with that geezer,” he mumbles.

“Liam! Jealousy is unbecoming of you,” you gasp in mock disbelief.

“I’m not jealous,” he scoffs, and you quickly realize that he actually is, even though you had just been joking. Your jaw falls slack as you put two and two together. Liam and Millie were always by each other’s side, at school, at the pub, when you were all watching a movie at his apartment a few nights ago. He would tease her relentlessly and his own words rang in your ears If we really like you, we’re gonna make the time to hang out with you, no matter what. 

“Shut up! Shut up!,” you whisper yell, hand coming to your mouth. “I should have realized this whole time… of course you like Millie! Everything you’ve been telling me you think exists between me and Rafe has actually been about her! She’s your Uno reverse card!” You’re shocking even yourself at these revelations.

“No no no, you can’t use my own words of wisdom against me, that’s not how this works Y/n. So what, maybe I slightly give a shit about Millie? Who cares. Her and I both know that’s never gonna happen. I still stand by everything I said about you and Rafe so don’t think your getting off so easy on that.”

“Then tell me why you’re staring at Millie while Rafe hasn’t so much as glanced my way since the minute Lily Colts got here, hmm?”

“Oh Y/n, Y/n Y/n Y/n,” Liam tuts, shaking his head laughing as he turns to the game your group of four is about to begin. You don’t have the energy to argue with Liam over the matter right now, oblivious to the fact that Rafe had indeed been glancing your way, several times. In fact, he was glancing at you right now, as Liam reached his arm over yours to help you actually hold the paddle the right way. You just hadn’t been glancing back to notice, scared of what you may or may not see between him and Lily if you did. 

—

The night dies down and it’s time for the pilgrimage back to your building. You’re walking with Millie when Liam quickly falls in step with you two. You give him a knowing smirk, to which he responds with a glare behind Millie’s back, but you let the two banter as you fall behind, now walking alone. You stare ahead, eyes mindlessly settling on Lily walking in between Callum and Henry at the front of the pack. You don’t notice the pair of legs that begin moving in pace next to your own. 

“Tonight, by the way,” Rafe’s voice startles you as you jump next to him. He chuckles at the confusion written all over your face. “You asked last night when we’re watching the next episode. And my answer is tonight, L/n,” he states.

“Haven’t you been up since like the crack of dawn? Aren’t you tired?” you ask incredulously.

“Too tired for Game of Thrones? Never,” he scoffs, Liam’s words ringing in your ear. If we really like you, we’re gonna make the time to hang out with you, no matter what.

“Well then tonight it is,” you smile. “Sorry about the french fries last night by the way,” you say meekly, looking down at the sidewalk in front of you, cheeks burning.

“Seriously L/n, talk about a horrible throw. Room for improvement,” he jokes with a comforting smile, saving you from yourself.

“Good game by the way,” you add, grateful for the way he was letting you off. 

“Thanks,” he looks at you, shoving his hands in his pocket. You turn to look at him too, and after a few moments laughter is taking you both apart. Nothing funny was said. Neither of you knew why you were laughing. And yet it felt natural, not an ounce of awkwardness in the air.

As your whole group walks into the building, people begin to peel off, splitting towards staircases and off elevator stops. 

“I’m fucking beat,” yawns Topper, as you and all your flatmates file into your hall. 

“I’m gonna sleep like a baby tonight,” Millie yawns in agreement. One by one everyone files off into their rooms. You open your door, backing into yours, Rafe across the hall from you backing into his. Laughter tugs at both your faces once again, as you let your doors close. You manage to change into your sweats and brush your teeth before you hear the light rap on your door. Rafe enters, in a t-shirt and gray sweatpants, your weakness. But you feel comfortable being alone with him now. The Rafe jitters had finally began to subside. 

“Alright L/n, episode 4, you ready for this?” he asks, plopping down in his spot next to you. 

“Oh I’m very ready,” you reply, sitting up to reach for your laptop which was resting by your feet. As you lean back, you find yourself in Rafe’s arm. He had extended it out before you sat back, effortlessly catching you against him. His hand rests casually on your arm, and you gulp, pressing play. You pray he can’t feel the way your heartbeat quickens and your body flushes. So much for those jitters being gone. 

The episode plays, you and Rafe making comments here and there before your chatter eventually dies down, leaving just the sound of the show to fill the room. You can feel Rafe’s body lean further and further down, becoming heavier and breathing slower. You very slowly turn to check, and sure enough he’s fast asleep. You sigh, and shut your laptop, careful not to stir him. You could easily shake him awake, tell him to go to his bed, but for some reason you don’t. You don’t mind him here. In fact, you almost prefer it, his body heat keeping you warm. He had already slept over once before and it clearly hadn’t been a big deal, so what was the harm in letting it happen again? You’re just friends after all, you remind yourself, not sure who you’re trying to convince. And so, the two friends fall asleep in the same bed again. 

---

🏷: @hopebaker​ @pogueslandia​ @mardema​

[neonun-au]

hi mads!! just for fun, if you could give one of your moots any fic genre or trope to write for, whether it's because they've never written it before or to see them challenge themselves or because you think they'd do really well with it etc, what genre/trope would you choose and who would you give it to? :3

iiiiiinteresting question milli !! I'm going to narrow it down to the mutuals whose writing I am a lot more familiar with or I will literally never be able to answer this lmaooooo

@doiefy already writes so much to challenge herself, the entire fight or flight series is because of that, and she already does so many big plots and exciting genres that I love but it would be fun to see her try her hand at a straight up rom com/roommate au or something ! just pure romance and slice of life type stuff haha

@jungwooisms writes my favourite thing already--historical aus--and does them extremely well so I want to keep it in that vein but maybe add in stronger fantasy elements and see a wuxia or xianxia type au ! hwarang already incorporates so many of those elements so it would be fun to see it dialed up to eleven and I would lose my ever loving mind tbh

@husbandcheol crime ! thriller ! sort of the opposite of fei, jackie writes rom com so well and I know that that energy can be translated to a really fantastic interesting crime thriller if she ever had the desire to do it. it's my favourite genre tbh haha

@husbandhoshi apocalypse au ! lily has talked to me before about her ideas and concepts for aus like this and I would love love love to seem them materialized. it would be challenging in the sense that they're so big and so much work but it would be so good ;-;

@nochv nik shines best when she is writing something she loves the subject matter of (sports au) and she tends to stick pretty light and romantic, but I think like a sort of band au with heavier angst elements would be such a good read from her ;-;

@itsapapisongo javi already writes sort of....everything hahaha he bounces around so much from au to au and universe to universe. I'll stick with something he loves and is so so good at--action. but I want to see a more sort of somber action approach maybe more leaning towards horror and suspense. I think he could pull it off suuuuper well if he sort of stripped back the layers of irony and sarcasm in his characters and gave them such a stark image haha it would be interesting !

@sunflowerforhaechan berry could do big plot if she put her mind to it and shed of some layers of fear of even approaching it haha it might take years, but I think it would be so good. maybe like a high fantasy au

[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 30

Pairings: Sirius B, F!Reader, Remus L  Warnings: Language, angst, meeting new characters Important Question: do you guys prefer shorter or longer chapters? also, I listened to first love / late spring by Mitski for this ch if anyone else wants to listen along!

【 Masterlist | Previous Chapter | ao3 】

Chapter 30: Like a Tall Child

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

Remus was alone for the trip back to King’s Cross; not wanting to be stuck with James or Peter who would only pester him. He mulled over his thoughts as his head rested against the window, watching the scenery whip by. But the more he had time to think, it caused more guilt to build; they were only trying to be supportive. They cared so much, still willing to associated with someone like… him. And all he did was push them away. He didn’t deserve real mates like them.

Remus tried to distract himself: knitting, drawing — reading next year’s material, but settled on pulling out his cartridge of cigarettes. About to light one, his attention was drawn to the soft knocking on the carriage door. Lily was there, waving before coming in.

“Hey,” she said, closing the door and sitting down. “I wanted to say bye for the summer.”

He exhaled, now itching for the rush of nicotine while Lily fidgeted in her seat. He already knew why she was there.

“Sev — Snape — came to me a couple days ago…”

It was impossible to escape, wasn’t it?

“They’re mad, his theories… He’s been telling me the entire year and kept going on about this one story… wild story of you and Y/N and the other Marauders…” Lily looked up nervously.

Instead of getting angry, Remus closed his eyes, feeling himself sink further into the cushions, centring his breathing. “What did he say?”

“He’s been telling me you’re a… a...”

“Werewolf?”

She froze at the word, having to take a deep inhale and suddenly looked paler than usual. Remus wanted to jump out of the moving train. “Yes,” she stated, “But I told him to bugger off.”

Lily stopped again, meeting his eyes. “So… It’s true?”

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Lily sat straight, leaning over and even putting a hand on her chest, close to her heart. “I’ll take it to the grave.”

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

(Letters between Y/N and friends)

To my lovely Whiskers, I hope your summer has been grand so far. Are you sure you can’t spend time with me? It’s been so lonely. Prongs

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Dear Bambi, Unfortunately, I can’t. Mom’s dragging me to New York for the month. Something about being invited to do a special surgery. Said leaving me alone will do no good. I promise to bring you back a souvenir? How are things with Black? Whiskers

━━━༻✩༺━━━

My adoring, wonderful Whiskers, And it hasn’t. My parents are concerned. They’ve been trying to get me to talk about what happened but I can’t. Dumbledore and McGonagall have already started their punishments. He lost over 200 points for next year, got detention for half the year and he can’t try out for the Quidditch team if he wanted to. I wonder what they’ll do next. I love souvenirs! All things Muggle! Yours truly, Prongs/Bambi/James

━━━༻✩༺━━━

July 20th, 1976 Meet me in Times Square at 1 pm on the 8th. There’s a bench outside a bagel store, there’s no way you’ll miss it. Until next time, Matthew G.

━━━༻✩༺━━━

¡Hola! Greetings from Barcelona! My brothers took a few weeks off to spend time with me to come to Spain with my parents! They’re dragging me to a football game later. I heard they call it ‘soccer’ in North America. M. McKinnon

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Y/N L/N, Hello, I hope you’re having a wonderful break. Your letters are the highlight of my day and they keep me busy. So I hate to inform you that you need to stop sending me letters for now. I’m not supposed to be getting any and my parents are going to start confiscating them if I receive any more. I’m sorry. I can’t wait to see you in the fall. R.A.B

━━━༻✩༺━━━

I’m visiting Tuney with my parents in a few days. She moved to London for a clerical job in March and we’re meeting her boyfriend, Vernon! He sounds nice but she’s told me she’s nervous about me and magic around him. Lily

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Petals! I’m sure you’ll be fine! Who couldn't love you? Write back and tell me what happens!

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Whiskers, I’m with my parents up in Wales in their cottage. I was born there before having to move for my Dad’s work. Also, I think I have to get a rabbit. James always told people that I got my scars from a poorly behaved rabbit and if I’m not seen with one soon, people will start to question. Remus

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Does this mean I get to call you Moony now? Professor Moony? Wales? And that’s where that small accent comes from. It bleeds through when you’re concentrating or relaxing. And a rabbit? At least they’re cute! I’m sure you can just Transfigure a book though. Y/N

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Professor Moony? Haha, okay! And really? I never knew. I’m kind of embarrassed now. I’ve thought about that but at this point, I think it would be easier just to have one.

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Oh no! It’s nice! Gives you personality. I think it suits you well How about… Moody Moony near full moons? And Moody Moony Mondays on Mondays.

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Now you’ve gone too far. Bloody fucking Moody Moony? Have you ever heard of Mad-Eye Moody?

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Would you prefer 'my Moony' then?

━━━༻✩༺━━━

Yes, actually.

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

August 6th, 1976

“Hurry up!”

She thudded down from the top of the staircase, dragging her trunk behind while her mother sped out of the terminal door, flagging down one of the zipping yellow taxis with her luggage in hand.

It was strange, being with her mother again after almost a year apart. She hadn’t come to King’s Cross again, instead sending her a bus fare in anticipation of school ending. She hoped for some sort of recognition, any kind of sign that she was missed but was only given a side-armed hug and delved back into work.

Y/N wondered if maybe she just didn’t want her there, hoping she would get lost and never come back. She only had been on a bus in London twice, therefore almost ensuring that she would get lost and would have stayed lost if she didn’t have extra spare change to use a payphone.

Ignoring the crackle of whispers as she strode to the cab, people blatantly stared at her unnatural coloured hair, as she entered the car, slamming the door shut.

“Where ya ladies off too?” Said the driver, pulling out a map from their car door.

“Cranberry Street, Brooklyn Heights.”

It was a quiet drive, aside from the driver drumming their fingers on the steering wheel at the sound of the Bee Gees blasting in the background. She watched other cabs whipping back and forth, people going on with their days, the dirty streets and building under construction.

“Hey, mom?” She asked, reasoning now was a good time to talk about her OWL results. She’d gotten them mere seconds before leaving their house back in London and she’d been putting off looking at the results until now.

She only grunted, flicking through one of her medical journals, jotting down notes. “I don’t have time right now.”

Y/N sighed, that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach expanded again. “It’s kind of important.”

“Not now.” She waved her hand and ended the conversation.

Thirty minutes later, the cab came to a stop as they grabbed their luggage and strolled up to the brownstone building they were renting for the month.

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

Jet lag got to her as she unwinded lounged until finally getting up from bed that morning as her mom rushed around the house. She frantically was putting on shoes, dressed impeccably sharp, no doubt in hopes to make an impression as her eyes flew across her journal. Her feet were scrambling to the door as she flung her bag over her shoulder.

“Have a good d —” And then the door slammed shut.

She stared blankly at the door for a while and then turned around, getting ready for her day. A daint drum of excitement yet nervousness built up, pushing aside that sinking feeling. Today she was going to see Matthew again.

Having a few hours to spare, Y/N walked around, marvelling at the tall buildings and lights before heading into the heart of Time Square, immediately spotting the bench outside the bagel shop. She sat, waiting for him anxiously. She made sure to wear a hat, covering any sight of hair to avoid weird stares and chatter.

But then a few minutes turned into ten and then twenty minutes later.

Slipping out the letter again to make sure, she re-read it. Time Square, at one, today… near the bagel shop…

“Where y’at?”

Her head lifted as she jumped to her feet and pulled each other into a tight hug.

“Matthew!”

His face nuzzled into the side of her neck, arms wrapped around tight as her face pressed gently into his chest. Eventually, she pulled away - arms outstretched to get a good look.

Matthew Gaplin looked different. His hair, coarse and thick, had grown. He was taller, filled out more, tan skin became even tanner from the beating sun and he filled out.

His smile was large. “S’been so long.”

She gave him a small whack!

“Ow!” He jumped back, “What’s wrong wiv ya?”

“I thought you stood me up.”

“Sorry, doing something for Mom. Had to wait on line forever.”

He looked down bashfully, now staring at the hat. His face made a disgusted look. “It’s disgusting out. Why are you wearing —” Curiously lifting the hat, his lids widened astronomically as Y/N grabbed it, covering her wild hair.

“I told you,” she hissed.

“Right the Potter sport!” He gave a full-body laugh. “Oh come on, I wanna see it again!”

But her hand clamped down on that hat to prevent him from pulling it off. “No! The Muggles keep judging —“

“Muggles?” Matthew’s brows furrowed. “The fuck is a Muggle? Sounds… demeaning.”

“Sorry, it’s what they call No-Majs.”

“Ahh,” and then he moved to loop an arm around her shoulders and continued to walk. “Too good to use ol’American terms?”

“Turned British snob.”

They laughed loudly as he took charge, showing her around the city. There was something so calming amid the chaos of New York. The bustle, low chatter and his enthusiasm made it all the better.

Soon enough, after hours of walking around, they both came to a stop in a large park as they grew hungry. Matthew disappeared for a while, leaving her alone to lay down on the soft grass before returning, holding up a brown bag with two drinks.

“Got us bagels wiv schmear.”

She mumbled out a thanks and took it from him as he sat down on the grass beside her.

“Missed ya, really.”

She shoved him playfully, his head dropping bashfully. “Shut up.”

It stayed quiet for a bit, as they listened to the birds chirping until he broke the silence again. “Ya thinkin’ ‘bout moving back eventually, right?”

“Why?”

Matthew gave her a haughty look, contemplating his words carefully. “Do ya… not know? They’re losing the war.”

Momentary terror gripped her heart but she swallowed it down fast. “Matthew,” her voice dropped, “Please, I want a fun summer… can we not talk about the war? I have more than enough time to worry later."

He wanted to keep talking, worried for his good friend but he refrained, biting down on his lip and nodded stiffly.

“So…” he thought to himself, contemplating how to change the direction of their conversation and fast. “Fess up, what’s been goin’ on over there.”

“Huh?”

“You’re telling me you haven't — what is it called? Kissing?”

“Snogging?”

He smiled. “You’re telling me you haven’t snogged anyone of those rich Old-Majs yet?”

“Nope!” She spoke too quickly and voice was a little too high.

“Liar. Ya going tell me who then?” Y/N looked down, hand going to fiddle with the fem of her clothes while Matthew shook her. “Come on! Tell me!”

“Fine! His name is Sirius Black.”

Matthew's eyes widened in recognition as he sat upright. “You don’t mean the Black family? Gawd! No way!”

“What?”

“And ya don’t even know!” Matthew was full of amusement. “They’re one of the oldest wizarding families out there! Are you still wiv him?”

Y/N stopped, trying to conceal a chuckle. She didn’t have it in her to lie anymore. “No! He almost got me killed.”

“Ha. Ha, very clever. Fine, don’t tell me.”

“You? Anything exciting?”

Matthew snorted. “Fought over a fin if that counts as exciting.”

“You know that’s not what I'm talking about,” she teased.

He abruptly became very serious and it had Y/N sitting up straighter. Matthew breathed in, this time not looking at her but instead at his metal pop can. “I’ve… had a tumble wiv a few... didn’t matter their… genders.”

It took a second for his words to click in but when it did, her mouth fell open and saw his face fall as she pulled him into a tight hug. “I don’t care who you cop, just be safe and have fun.”

He mumbled into her shoulder. “Been rehearsing that since I knew you were visitin’.”

“Love ya, could never judge you.” He tried to look insulted from the babying but prickled with tears before wiping them away quickly.

“Bless ya!”

“You alright though?”

“Now that I know your reaction, never betta. Now, you talk, enough ‘bout me.”

After making sure he was okay, Y/N prattled about Hogwarts. Matthew would pop in a few times, asking her to clarify or ask what words the British used — he often called her his ‘British insight.’ She rambled much about her day, her new friends but made sure to leave out a few details. Matthew became peculiarly silent through most of her speech. It wasn’t like him to not try to speak up, but he looked at her with something she’d only seen a few times prior.

Matthew stared at her for a long time, analyzing with underlying adoration. “What did them Brits do to ya?”

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Ya sound different.” He says calmly, going to sip on his pop. “Talk funny.”

“Tawk funny,” she mocked and earned a shove. “Different? How so?”

“Everything ‘bout you seems different. Y’look happier,” he smiles, although there was a twinge of hurt. “Talk softer, look different — move differently and ya voice sounds different… but the same.”

She takes a bit of her food. “I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”

Matthew smiles gently, sheepish but there. “Not at all.”

She smiled back. Matthew always knew how to make her smile and it felt good, normal.

“Happy looks good on ya.”

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

She finally sat down, tired from the long day she spent wandering the city. But it wasn’t long until a tapping sound came from the window. Celeste was there, waiting with a letter in her beak. She walked up to her, letting her fly inside and opened the letter.

Got my OWL results. Outstanding in Astronomy, DADA, Charms, Transfigs. Exceeds Expectations in everything else but an Acceptable in Potions. Moony

She re-read that last part. Remus getting Acceptable in Potions? Her attention travelled to the stark white envelope peeking out from the side pocket of her carry-on. She marched up to it, ripping it open and scanned the paper.

Outstanding in Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology, Arithmancy. Exceeds Expectations in everything else except Poor in History of Magic. She cringed at that.

She immediately got up from her seat. Rushing over to the master bedroom, peeking her head in. “Mom?” She said quietly, “Can I talk to you.”

“Didn’t I tell you I was busy?” Her voice cut through. “It’s not the time to be a nuisance.”

A scorching feeling of anger thrummed through her but kept her voice low and steady. “That was a few days ago.”

"My answer didn't change."

Any semblance of calm vanished. “It’s about my OWLs. My future. I need some sort of guidance.”

“I wouldn’t understand them,” she sighed and peered up. There was an odd expression, borderlining on confusion and something else. “It’s not the same. I’m not a… witch like you are. I don’t know how to help you.”

“I’ll make it into No-Maj terms?” Y/N’s voice was tight and came rushing over to where she sat on the couch. And laid out her examination results. “Look, an O is the same as getting an A! It’s the highest grade you can get. And here,” she pointed, “My teacher, Professor Slughorn, invites me to parties because of my work in Potions class. I’m one of his top students.”

She glanced at her mom excitedly but was met with a look of annoyance and slight judgement. But she continued, “A-and in Herbology I'm doing excellent too! I was becoming interested in becoming a Healer. I told you in my letters. It’s similar to being —”

“I’m sorry,” her mother said but it didn’t have any trace of guilt or sorrow, “I’m busy and you’re getting in the way of work — my achievements — that you know are important.”

“Are mine not important?”

A thick, profound silence filled the space between them. Everything about the connotation had her averting her body, feeling the sinking in her chest explode. From the war, traumatic near death experience and her mother's constant aloof nature, it was her cracking point.

Snatching the OWLs results, she walked out the door, shutting it gently before diving into her room; throwing the covers over her head.

All the New-Maj and No-Maj children were told stories of the Boogeyman. To Y/N, it felt comparable to reverting to a small child as she tucked herself into a tight ball. She recalled watching all the other children running up their parents, being roped with large hugs and smiles, surrounded with infinite quantities of love as they left the school playground. She remembered being envious, wanting to have two parents as the images of the Boogeyman drew near.

There was an overwhelming sense to scream — to cry out for guidance as the knot in her stomach grew. Instead of her mother coming to her rescue — to reassure, to give any sense of security or safety while other parents would scare off the Boogeyman or monsters ready to nip at their children’s toes under the bed, Y/N was left in the dark as all sense of relief or love vanished. It left her vulnerable, exposed to the monsters lurking in the dark.

Her mother may have not been physically absent but it sure felt like it.

━━━━━━━━━༻✩༺━━━━━━━━━

【 Next Chapter 】

Slang dictionary:

Fin = $5 / five dollar bill Bagels with schmear = bagels with cream cheese Wait on line = the same as 'Wait in line' Pop = Canadian slang for soda / soft drinks Sport / old sport = (depending on the context) a term of endearment similar to buddy, pal, friend

© gotkindabored 2021. Do not repost or modify

[shina-moon-art]

Hi those questions were me thanks for answering them sorry for thinking you had background info! I was wondering what do you think young Ann looked like if you do follow justscrolling765 do you follow her Hancock right hand story too!? What do you think a young Hayami looked like after leaving Judge and escaping the dragons? What do you think of Hayamis dynamic with Hancock even!? Sorry if this is a lot those books are so fun to read!!!

Haha no problem! I’ve been told I can ask for some insider info now but no promises on how much I can actually share (it’ll ruin the surprise!) but anyway yeah I do follow the other story as well, im actually in the process of designing Hayami right now!

As for Ann when she’s a child? I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday and I can’t help but think she’d dress like shanks or roger, maybe a little nicer like some of whitebeard’s children, at least when she was on the Oro. Living with Rouge the clothing itself was high quality but she dressed mostly in shorts and tank tops with the exception of when rouge had her wear skirts or dresses. She was constantly covered in bandaids and scrapes, I don’t see Ann going out of her way to pick fights as a kid but anyone caught badmouthing her dad was swiftly put in their place, even the adults. All of her old outfits are either torn or visibly mended, she also used to sport a full set of knee and elbow pads (rouge declared her too accident prone and forced her to wear them, didn’t stop her from getting hurt but at least it didn’t hurt as bad to walk or throw a punch after hitting the ground). I think it’d be really cute if she had it short for a long time until roger said smth about her hair reminding him of rouge and after that she grew it out.

After leaving Judge I imagine Hayami wearing some pretty plain things up until she’s turned into a slave for the celestial dragons after which they started dressing her nicely to match with the gorgon sisters (if I remember correctly they were more like trophy’s and had to look good rather than being working slaves) she was clearly malnourished but in the same way people starve themselves for beauty standards except the celestial dragons did it to “keep them looking pristine” after being released she went back to plain clothing until boa forced something nice onto her (it had been a year since they got back to Amazon lily) after which she developed her own style.

Thank you for the questions! This one was a little hard since I’m better at drawing someone’s appearance rather than describing it , I left Hayami’s pretty up in the air tbh bec honestly I don’t really know yet, I didn’t mention Ann’s height because that’s pretty dependent on where she is in her life. I’m not too sure what I think of Hancock and Hayami yet just because I haven’t gotten up to date with that one yet. @justscrolling765

[ask-haphazard]

This is just a general question. Anyone a fan of sports? If so, what kind(s)?

Pandora: I like watching people fight. I mean, battle. It's the same thing. Ignace from Team ACT likes to challenge people after drinking the Special Attack Special from the cafe, and I like watching. I just like seeing all the different magic people use.

Malachi: I was a bit fond of Contest Spectaculars. Instead of being strictly about knocking out the opponent, the goal is to impress first and foremost by being clever or extravagant. Stymieing your opponent by using moves in ways they wouldn't ordinarily be used will give you a much better edge. It's a wonderful show of skill. I've participated in a few myself, and for as clever as I am, those people have been training their entire lives for these competitions, so I've never won first place, haha!

Lily: 'Kay, so of course I love watching League Battles, ha-ha-ha, I bet you saw that coming a million miles away. That's fine! I'm predictable! I get it. But how 'bout a Battle Royale? Last one standing wins, and it's epic.

Thomas: Chess.

Lily: Seriously?

Malachi: Oh, really? I'd never taken you for the type, Thomas!

Thomas: No, not really. It's a pastime at best.

Malachi: Ha, well, we ought to play sometime! I'm a bit rusty myself, but I do like a good game!

Thomas: Er -- Buh -- Oh, uh... Yeah. S-sure. Sometime.

[pdaliceliveblogs]

Ahhh yes someone linked me that tweet on discord, it made me SO happy! There’s no heterosexual explanation for any of that episode tbh. It was an absolute delight.

Yeah, I wouldn’t expect Disney to accept it, but I’m so glad it’s there.

This ask surprised me, because it felt pretty obvious that was Lily, and I hadn’t really questioned why. I guess... next to Eda, almost the same hair colour as Eda, her eye colour (only just visible in the photo, but visible nonetheless), forelocks like Eda’s, and looking kind of sour and annoyed.  Also I had been very slightly spoiled by seeing someone’s username “lilyshairwaspoofierthanedas” so I knew she hadn’t always been sleek, lol.

Man, I only saw Bend It Like Beckham once, and it was a long time ago, but I remember it being about as explicitly gay as anything I ever saw at that age. Wow, sports!

...oof. Yeah. I’m amazed she was still walking.

She is! She definitely has that ‘lawful stupid’ paladin edge to her, even though the laws in question are often evil as hell. She follows the rules and expects everyone else to do the same, and it comes back to bite her over and over. (Of course, then you look at that versus her defining moment being an actively harmful method of cheating, and wonder if it’s compensating for her greatest regret....)

It was her childhood dream, and it’s a dream that was actively harmful-- to her sister, in obvious ways, to her, as it’s run her ragged under a lying supervisor, and to their community at large as it’s the support system for a tyrant. Her leaving it will probably be very good for her in the longer run, but it’s still painful as hell for her right now.  I’m not gonna say she didn’t deserve it, because she absolutely did, but it’s definitely rough.

Hey thanks, I’m really glad to hear you’re enjoying! I’m not gonna all the way finish Tutu before I carry on with Owl House, but I’m definitely going to do an episode or two before I start the next season, and I’ll try to wind them in more frequently. I’m also going to do a big post of my s2 predictions before I keep going, but I’m still typing that up haha.

...that’s surreal as hell. Wow. It’s been a while since I was into a show that was actively airing-- IT gets dropped several at a time, and b4 was all at once, so I think it’s been... since SUF was on. Woah.