#mum's the same she used to get bad one half the month

[deeisace]

Well, I made it through today without throwing up or my knees fucking up, so even tho I was half hour late to work I count that as a successful day tbh

[axelsagewrites]

Aegon Targaryen*Daughter

Pairing: aegon x mum!reader

Word count: 1904

Warnings: unexpected pregnancy, aegon having a bad reaction, absent father, mentions of alcholism and drug abuse, mentions of birth/morning sickness, aegon coming back

Part one here or read alone

Masterlist Here

“Pregnant? You can’t be- you’re not- how?” you sat back as Aegon shot up from your bed, instantly pacing the bedroom as he tried to come to terms with it. you couldn’t blame him you suppose. After all you’d spent a whole week trying to convince yourself it was a lie and your roommate had to literally slap some sense into you. “But we were so safe?”

“Condoms aren’t perfect I guess,”

“But you were on the pill,”

“Its only like 90 something percent effective, look I don’t know,” you let out an exasperated sigh as Aegon looked at you with eyes bulging out his skull.

He walked over and picked up the test, “Maybe you did it wrong,”

“I didn’t do it wrong Aegon I did 20 of them!” you snapped, instantly regretting it as he sunk down on the bed next to you.

You went to speak but he finally broke the silence but broke your heart at the same time, “You’re getting rid of it right?” ‘it’. the words hit like a brick colliding with glass.

“I hadn’t decided yet,” you admitted in a quite voice but loud enough for Aegon to rub his hands over his eyes before dropping his head between his knees, “But we’ll figure it out Aegon. We’ll make it work,” you told him, trying to rub his back but he snapped back up.

“Maybe you can,” he said, his voice cracking, “Not me. I can’t be a dad. Look at me!” he said, standing up and pointing to himself like he was an exhibition, “I am a fucking mess I can’t raise a kid! Ill break it!” he said as he started to pace again.

“They’re not it!” you yelled back standing up too.

“Don’t yell at me!” he screamed as he turned around, his eyes instantly softening when he saw you stepping back, “I’m so- “

“Get out,” you managed to grit out through clenched teeth, “You don’t get to talk to me like that. Leave. Now,”

Aegon paused, his hand half reached out to try comfort you before he sighed and turned around. He headed to the door with his head hung low, “If you need me to go to the doctors- “he started to mumble as he reached for the door handle.

“I won’t need you. ever. You’ve made that clear enough,” you forced the words out your mouth even though they burned you to even saw them. You saw his heart shatter, but you didn’t care as you laid a hand on your stomach.

-

Telling your parents was defiantly not something you looked forward to. You told your best friend Heleana first who offered to fly out the next weekend to see you, but you insisted you were fine. She however insisted on being there to tell your parents to make sure you were okay. the whole time you refused to tell her who the father was.

“Who’s the dad?” your mother asked after a very long and teary-eyed conversation.

Your eyes wandered to Heleana. She reached for your hand and tried to say something, but you cut her off, “I’m so sorry Hel,” you whispered making her tilt her head. You cleared your throat and spoke up so they could all hear, “Its Aegon,”

Heleana’s grip on your hand loosened as her eyes fell to the floor. For a moment you thought you’d lost her too btu then you felt her hand squeeze yours again, “What did he say?” she asked but she could tell from the look on your face, “I will fucking kill him,”

-

It was the first time you’d heard her swear but not the last time it was brought up when discussing Aegon. You ended up telling her the full story later that night and she was ready to fly out and kill him. the only issue was no one knew where he was. Alicent was used to that by now though you could see it begin to weigh on her know he’d been gone for 3 months.

You however were now 4 months pregnant, postponing school, and unable to hide it any longer. “Alicent?” you asked as you awkwardly shuffled into the room with Aemond and Heleana behind you as backup. Aemond had sussed it out pretty quickly though was equally shocked by the father when you told him.

Alicent smiled at you from where she sat on the sofa reading her novel, “Is everything alright dear?”

“I need to tell you something,”

-

Alicent was silent as she processed it all before suddenly taking your hands with a teary smile but a happy one still, “Thank you for telling me sweetheart. Its going to be okay,” And for a while it was. Well, if you didn’t mind the morning sickness and ballooning to the size of a small house. That and still no one had heard from Aegon.

Heleana had helped pick out the decorations for the nursery in your new flat. Yes, a new flat paid for by Alicent. Well technically it was one of her rentals she had inherited when her father died but she decided to let you live there free of charge as well as telling you she’d help out when you decided to go back to school.

Aemond helped you get a job in the restaurant he’d been at for years and even though working as a waitress could be draining at the best of times you knew it would be worth it. especially now you were holding your daughter in your arms.

She was adorable with tuffs of blonde, white hair covering her perfect head. She was such a giggly baby, always gurgling away with a smile. Heleana had to go back to university, but Alicent made sure to adjust her schedule to have the baby when you were at work. Everything was finally feeling good again.

“Hush little baby doesn’t say a word,” you whisper sang to your baby as your nighttime routine with her, but she was already out from a long day at the park with her gran. As you laid her in her crib you heard the doorbell ring.

You froze, watching your daughter who initially stirred but luckily didn’t wake. You quickly padded to the front door, shutting the room to the nursery as you did. when you looked through the peep hole you felt your stomach tighten but still you reached for the door handle.

“Aegon?” you asked as he began to turn and walk away, probably assuming you weren’t in.

He spans back around, “Hey. I- “he began to stutter, “My brother said I could find you here,” you mentally cursed Aemond but stayed standing in the doorway, “I needed to talk to you,”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you,”

You saw the hurt in his eyes, but you didn’t care. well at least you tried not to. “I should go,” he muttered, turning to leave once more.

You sighed. Even if you hated him for what he said he was still your daughter’s father, “Wait!” you called out, wincing at the noise you made. Aegon turned back, “Come in,” you sighed.

He walked in in silence, sitting down on the couch you pointed him to as you sat in your armchair. You turned to the table beside you and flicked the baby monitor on. “How is she?” Aegon broke the silence with his head hanging low.

“She’s okay,” you paused but decided to go on, “She’s got your hair but my eyes and all she ever does is laugh,”

“Just like you then?” Aegon smiled softly, looking up as for the first time in a year you shared a smile with him, “I’m sorry. For what I said, for even thinking it,” he began, the smile fading, “I fucked up. Nothing I can say will fix it and I don’t think ill ever make it up to you,” he took a deep breath before continuing, “But I won’t be my father. I don’t want to only see her at Christmas and sign some cheque to pretend I care. I want to be there for her, and you. if you’ll let me,”

He said it so sincerely, but you couldn’t help the pit in your stomach, “What if you leave again?” you whispered. “I didn’t even know where you went,”

“I won’t,” he said firmly, “I know I fucked up. That night I left, and I ended up back at square one. Maybe less than one. All I remember is me leaving then waking up in a field surrounded by broken bottles. I couldn’t face you after. Not after how hard you worked to help me,”

“I kept it up for a bit, the drinking. Bounced around some houses sleeping on couches. Drank myself to sleep every night,” he continued his ramble, all while his eyes stared at the empty ground, “Then one night I was drunk again at a party and some guy offered me something. I almost took it. but something just snapped,”

“I checked myself into rehab the next day. Aemond’s been helping me, but he refused to tell me anything about you or well her. I couldn’t blame him. I was there for about four months. Got sober. Got better. Got another therapist. Ended up getting some jobs here and there. I work down at the Carstark Warehouses. Pays not much but enough to get by,”

Aegon paused again and finally looked up, “I really am sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me or feel bad, but I am sorry,” he said as he pulled an envelope out his pocket, “Take it,”

“I don’t need your money,”

Aegon sighed as he leaned forward and held it out to you. hesitantly you took it. inside was letters though. You pulled them out. At least thirteen of them, you weren’t too sure as your eyes began to well up. Some were to you, but most was to your daughter. “I brought this too,” he said making you look up.

He was holding a white plush bunny, your favourite animal, with a bow on its neck. “I got it when I saw my mums post on Facebook with the baby. I thought she should have it,” he said as he reached out to give it to you.

You shook your head this time, “No. you should give it to her. not me,” you said as you stood up, “You want to see her?”

Aegon shot out his seat, rubbing the sweat of his palms on his jeans, “Yeah course,”

You nodded as you led him to her nursery, “She’s asleep so you need to be quiet. I don’t want to wake her,” Aegon nodded as you creeped the door open.

Together you both walked in and for a moment before you turned around you thought he might run away again. However, when you turned and saw his awestricken face staring at your daughter you somehow knew he wouldn’t. he tenderly walked over to the crib, a tear trickling down his cheek as he held the crib by its rails. “I can’t believe I missed her being here,” he whispered so softly you barely heard him.

“You’re here now,” you whispered back, rubbing a hand on one of his shoulders while leaning on the others. “Just please don’t leave again,”

“I won’t. I’m never going anywhere again,”

General taglist: @strvngestark @headinfantasy @meg-ro @427120lxld @obx-josie18 @ravenmoore14 @tessakate @justtilly @jjkjbhj @clairacassidy @valeskafics @meg-ro

HOTD taglist @jmii722 @hypocritic-trash-baby @starkleila @jacesvelaryons @sashadevil766

Part One Tags: @heavenly1927 @aemonds-holy-milk

[sleepymccoy]

Please choose your favourite of my (imo) niche star trek headcanons

Now that I'm writing these, I wonder if any of them are straight up canon that I've forgotten lol

I'm gonna further defend my headcanons under a readmore, but it's up to you if you want to read that or just vote on the summary 😘

Scotty's actor is Canadian. Also he's so Scottish? Like, he's called Scotty, he drinks scotch, he is Scottish, so on. Too much. I think he has Scottish heritage, maybe his mum is Scottish, so he knows the phrases and his accent work is comedic but solid. But he himself was born in like Quebec

I have a whole post on McCoy's ex wife being Vulcan, it rules, give it a read here

The way America crumbles in trek history I think opens them up to invasion. I don't think Russia is still in charge, I think they've moved on from that and country borders are less political more cultural in TOS times. But I think briefly Russia had everything and Chekhov is joking about that when he says shit like that saying is Russian. We know, Chekhov, everything was Russian once, get over it. His joke is less about things being Russian and more like someone making the same joke about how everything was Roman once

TOS writers had a little cheat sheet of characterisation rules I saw here once and one said that Sulu has many varying interests, so if you need an info dump that's not one of the other main guys things, use him. So I've taken that and gone with he isn't actually into plants, it was just a six month project to better learn how to take care of them. He spent a lot of time complaining about them to Chekhov. Basically a hyper fixation and once he figured it out he lost interest, but retained all the knowledge

Cos Rand has that trick of heating up the coffee with a phaser on low. That's resourceful with ship technology that uses batteries, not mainframe power. I think she knows what matters when a ship breaks, and food and comfort need prioritising cos she grew up on a ship that was always broken. Broken ships are easier to tolerate if the coffee is served hot

I think Chapel's fiance kinda sucks in that ep, even if it was just a robot copy, and I think she loves being in space. I think she feels both relieved and guilty about it all, it's bad

[noecanwriteipromise]

Personal Sal and Larry headcanon’s ✨🎸

Sal

Stays up very late or goes to bed extremely early and never an in between

He practically moved in with Larry after they met, half of his stuff stays at Larry’s and the other half is at his apartment

Probably walks around making guitar sounds, especially if he’s learning a new song

Showers only when he can (depression is really getting to him) The gang do try to help him take care of himself tho. They do their best and so does Sal 💙

Has movie nights with Gizmo, he does nothing else for these nights and makes no other plans

Uses he/they pronouns just cause. Gender is meaningless and he learned about they/them pronouns and went “chill I like that“

Has a floordrobe going. Forgets that some things might actually need to be washed.

His jumper and jeans are extremely ripped. He thinks it looks well cool and continues to wear them, styling them new ways the more they are ripped

Larry

Larry shampoos his hair like 5 times in a shower because he believes it counts as 5 showers. Then he complains about how dry and crusty his hair his. Mans has never laid eyes on conditioner in his life.

When Ash finally tells him that conditioner exists he uses it 5 times (same as his shampoo rule) and now he complains about how greasy his hair is. However he takes no one’s advice because he thinks his logic is right.

Very much a guy that orders takeaways at ungodly hours of night for him and Sal, they eat half and leave the rest for later.

Constantly has to try explain to his mum what the “weird smell” is. Sal almost told Lisa and Larry didn’t speak to him for a day.

Avid hater of doing the washing (laundry) only allows it to happen once a month. Probably quite blind to how bad he smells.

Misc

Ash comes round to check in on them a lot. Helps them do life admin when she can. Usually just comes round for chit-chats, ghost business or just causal friends time.

Todd convinces the two of them to study when it’s exam time. They often add to his exam stress.

*DO NOT TAG AS SHIP*

[dinoplantsghost]

pairing: Tom Riddle x fem! original character

warning(s): tom is a warning in itself, 1940s: time-accurate prejudice, violence: t0rture (Cruciatus Curse), teenage behavior: drama and language, mentions of weed

word count: ~6383

Disclaimer: I have a huge google doc that holds all of my drafts and I'm quite literally just copypasting everything, so if there are any typos/errors, no there isn't!! :)

-- this chapter is so goofy, i've been holding off posting this one because of a summer assignment that i just finished

Chapter List

Plans, Delusions, and Yappers [5]

“Look, she’s back at it again.”

“She’s embarrassing me, she needs to stop…”

Miles, with a teasing smile, patted Orion’s back as the boy pressed his forehead against the wooden table, his cousin’s scratchy voice digging into everyone’s ears as she attempted to intimidate the new girl after class. 

It was 16:45. DADA had finished 15 minutes ago, and students were left with about an hour and a half before their last class of the evening. While it was implemented for students to catch up on work, many used it to talk amongst themselves in the classroom. 

Orion’s cousin, Walburga Black, had a reputation for screaming. She had many suitors, as well as many enemies—ones that she made herself with her bad attitude. Orion explained it as her parents’ coddling her since birth. One thing she was known for was her obsession with the boys she fancied—with Tom Riddle being her ultimate infatuation. 

It wasn’t surprising, though. Many girls had attempted to win the boy over. Letters, boxes of chocolates, even love potions were sent to him on the daily, annoying his followers whenever they would find a new object at the foot of their dorm entrance. A common theory is that Tom wasn’t attracted to girls at all, but of course anyone who voiced that opinion would be left with scratches on their face by infuriated, hormone-driven girls. 

“I heard how you hurt Tom,” Whined Walburga, arms crossed as she stood in front of a startled Saoirse. “I heard he could have died! What do you have to say for yourself?” 

“Well, he didn’t die,” Saoirse shrugged. “He’s right there. I’m sure he can take care of himself, whatever your name is.” 

Pointing to the boy in one of the higher rows, Saoirse went back to writing notes, until Walburga snatched the parchment from underneath, her quill digging into the pulp and ripping a tear in the middle. 

“He could have,” she cried. “And my name is Walburga! Walburga Black!” 

As the girl spit in Saoirse’s face, garnering the attention of the entire class—Professor Merrythought was long gone in her office—the boys in the upper rows watched with intrigue. 

“Why is she yelling,” Orion groaned, on the verge of ripping his black locks off his scalp. “I don’t want to write to my Mum again, Yule Break is going to be filled with gossip and I hate it.” 

“Speaking of writing,” Miles said, turning to lean in close to Tom. “I wrote to my mother, like you asked. I got the same results; she knows nothing. She’s getting irritated by it, so I don’t think I should be asking her anything anytime soon.” 

Tom huffed, his nostrils flaring as he glanced up from his book. “Then help Abraxas and Orion with their task.” He uttered, drooping his head back down away from the rest of the world. 

Miles caught his words on his tongue, hands waving as he looked at the other two in question. Abraxas pressed his lips together in a line, gathering all his energy before standing up. “I have an idea about what he wants.” He sighed, pulling Orion and Miles with him as they walked down the steps between the rows of seats. 

“Tom said to keep her close,” Abraxas said. “And I assume he means to befriend her. He doesn’t make sense sometimes.” 

“Tell me about it.” Miles nodded; his eyes wide. “He’s literally been asking me to do the same thing for months, and he thinks Merlin is going to bless us with a different answer; he’s just lucky my Mum likes him.” 

“He never gives me anything to do,” Orion said quietly. “It makes me wonder if he likes me at all; I don’t know what I’m doing in the Inner Circle. Last night was the first thing I’ve been tasked with in a while–and we didn’t find a bloody thing.” 

The three boys stood behind Walburga’s own posse. “Well, you’re our orator; we’re putting your smooth talking to work, mate.” Abraxas said. 

“We’re all orators; we’re blue-blooded, ‘Brax.” Sassed Orion.

Waving a hand, Abraxas coughed in his fist before shoving the girls to the side, Miles doing the same with a happy smile on his two-tones lips. “Excuse me, ladies, hot men coming through.” 

“What do you three want?” Walburga asked, hands on her hips as she glared at her cousin and his friends. 

“Cousin, you need to stop with these dramatic debacles,” Orion frowned. “I don’t want to write to my mother again; you’re embarrassing.” 

Walburga scoffed. “You wouldn’t understand; you’ve never been in love.” She made a face, her eyes scanning the three boys in front of her. “Unless you’re here to save the girl. Surely not, right?” 

“No,” he stiffened. “Why would that cross your mind, that’s not—look, just stop yelling. Tom doesn’t need someone to ‘stand up for him’ if that’s what you think you’re doing.” 

Miles and Abraxas nodded. “Yeah, and to be honest, Tom doesn’t like you at all—he thinks you’re annoying.” The boy with dark skin said, happy to see the hurt look on the girl’s face. 

“You’re wrong, I’ve been getting to him! Just the other day, I made him flustered by the way I caressed his arm.” 

The boys coughed. That was the night of their first meeting of the week. He hated the way she touched him. He came into the Room of Requirement with a green, sickly face.

“That’s not what happened.” Laughed Miles. “But anyways, we’re done talking to you.” He pushed Walburga to the side, unaware of his strength as she fell to the ground. 

“Saoirse,” Abraxas said, getting the attention of the girl with blue hair. “Do you happen to have the notes from today’s lesson? Miles and Eloise were bothering the rest of us during class.” 

The bespectacled girl looked up, “Why don’t you ask for notes from Riddle? Aren’t you friends with him?” 

Before Abraxas got a word out, Orion blurted out: “Yes, but he’s been in a bad mood lately. We just thought we’d ask you since word’s been going around that you have really good marks.” 

“Also,” sang Miles. “A friend of ours has what we like to call a ‘crush’ on you. The boy with the pepper hair and glasses—the nerdy one.” 

Following the finger Lestrange held out, Saoirse turned around to see the boy in question with his head down, a quill of black tufts wiggling around with each letter and word he wrote. Sensing the pairs of eyes staring in his direction, he looked up, his blue orbs locking with her jade ones before his cheeks turned pink. 

“Why does he want to crush me?” Saoirse asked, concern on her face as the three Slytherins in front of her laughed. 

“No, what Miles meant is that Patrick likes you,” explained Abraxas. “He wants to get to know you, with the intention of starting a romantic relationship rather than a platonic friendship.” 

Scratching her head, Saoirse cursed mentally at how confusing English euphemisms and idioms were. “I could talk to him,” she said boldly. “A boy’s never been interested in me; I want to know what that’s like.” 

As the girl stood up to pack up her belongings, the boys stood with open mouths. They didn’t expect her to go along with it. Miles was only joking, after all. “You, you want to talk to him, right now?” Miles asked, leaning against the backs of the two boys in front of him. “That’s nice of you and all, but I don’t think that’s necessary—”

“No, I want to,” she said, putting on her crossover satchel. “You can lead the way up the stairs.” 

The boys led in silence, throwing each other glances as the girl followed them from behind. 

As they made their way to the top, the others in the group did a double take, with Eloise yelling out in surprise for a moment. “What is this,” he cried. “How did you get the pretty girl here? Did she finally realize how amazing I am—wait where is she going?” He frowned, gasping when he watched the girl tap Patrick on the shoulder. 

“Excuse me,” she said quietly. “Your friends told me that—I apologize if I say this incorrectly—you have a crush on me. I would like to entertain your feelings.” 

Patrick, his scribbles coming to a halt as he looked up to see sparkling jade in his vision. Her looks were a fresh breeze among the muddle beauties in west Europe. Like the moon, only a lucky few truly understood the beauty she held. However, unlike the moon, her beauty was her own, not something that is borrowed from another source. Patrick would spend all his time staring at the moon if he could. Seeing Saoirse made him appreciate Astronomy class a bit more. 

“Who told you I fancied you?” He mumbled, his fast heart stopping the moment he heard the laughter of Miles, Abraxas, and Eloise, with Louis and Orion smiling as well. 

“That Lestrange boy told me,” Saoirse said, her lip wavering in a smile. “But I came here on my own accord; I don’t usually see eyes like yours. They’re pretty—like the ocean.” 

Meanwhile, Eloise was punching Miles on the arm as Patrick moved his belongings to the floor to make room for the girl to sit next to him. “How could you do this to me?” He cried. “I can’t be losing her to that nerd—all he ever talks about are those books he has, he’s going to bore her to death!” 

“I don’t think so,” Louis laughed. “Look; they’re both smiling at his book. It sucks to be you, Avery.” 

“You can’t be saying anything,” huffed Eloise. “Especially since you don’t get any girls. At this rate, I’m starting to think you’re one of those homosexuals or something.” 

Before Louis could get a word out, Eloise left the group to join his other Slytherin friends on the other side of the room. “I’m sure he’s just joking, man,” Orion said. “You know how he is; don’t let it get to you. His pride is a wee, fragile thing.” 

Nodding, Rosier smiled at his friends tight-lipped, silently appreciating the way Miles patted his back. 

“They wouldn’t get it at all,” muttered the curly haired boy. “You’re a good guy; Cassius is just too dumb to realize it. It’ll get through his thick, empty head eventually.” 

Louis sighed, tugging at the elastic in his hair. “Yeah, sure.” He ran a hand through his yellow strands. “Cassius doesn’t even like guys, anyways, Miles, who are we joking?”

“Come on, man, don’t say that,” stressed his friend. “That’s some weird brain you have, Louis. My gut tells me that Cassius feels some type of way for you—something definitely not friendly in any way; he calls you Rose for Merlin’s sake, that means something, yeah?” 

At the mention of the nickname, Louis’ cheeks turned pink. “I guess so, but he only says that because we’re best friends. We knew each other before we could walk.” 

Miles scoffed. “No one else gets to call him Cass’, and he gets mad whenever we try to call you Rose. Don’t be dumb, Louis.”

Orion leaned back, throwing himself into the conversation again. “Hey, did we ever figure out what her blood status is? I would hate Patrick to fancy her if she weren’t a Pureblood.” 

The other two looked at each other, the previous conversation vanishing the moment someone else joined their exchange. “Does that really matter,” Miles asked. “I thought we were going to—you know—after we got what we needed from her.” 

“I thought that was a last resort type of thing, was it not?” Louis said, his confusion synonymous with his friends’. 

Plans never went well with the Knights of Walpurgis. Even before Tom joined their group—when they were younger and much more naïve. Whenever they would hang out, they could never consolidate their plans for the day, and it eventually left them stuck in a garden or in a forest behind the manor they were at for the time being. 

Orion sighed, looking back to Patrick and Saoirse, who were happily chatting away about whatever the boy had in his book. “Merlin’s balls, we’re fucked.”

 ┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

23:47 - Astronomy

The night was sparkling as usual, the wind chipping away at Patrick’s lungs every time his chest would take in a breath. Somehow, for whatever reason, Professor Jensen paired him up with Saoirse. He had to stand next to the girl for three hours until class ended at 1:00. Patrick was sure he was going to die by the end of it.

“I’ve never seen these constellations before,” Saoirse muttered, her eye pressed against the telescope. “This star is usually connected to this star—the Rigel. We call it Heike-boshi; it represents the war between two clashing families.” 

Patrick could only nod, his mind too drunk on the scent of jasmine and sandalwood drowning his nose. “Well, we call that star Betelguese,” he cleared his throat, his stomach flipping as he moved closer to write down on the chart they were given. “The red one; it connects to Alnilam and Bellatrix. We call that constellation Orion’s Belt.” 

Saoirse made a sound of wonder, removing her face from the telescope to rub the red circle around her eye. “When I was younger, my mother used to tell me stories about the stars.”

Patrick smiled, taking the telescope from her to look at the stars on his own. “What’s your family like? I’m sure they’re wonderful, considering how great you turned out.” 

“That’s an overstatement,” blushed Saoirse. “I don’t really talk to my parents all that much anymore. I haven’t gotten a letter from them since I started school; Mahoutokoro usually takes children in at the age of eleven, but some join as early as seven. The only letter I’ve gotten from them was when I got expelled, and that was only a couple of days ago.” 

The boy frowned, setting the telescope to the side as he looked over to the girl. “That’s really brutal,” he adjusted his glasses, “Why don’t they talk to you? Is it a magic thing? I know that some Muggleborns and Half-bloods don’t talk to their parents for religious reasons.” 

“No, that’s not it; I’m a Pureblood. I never knew why they stopped talking to me. It never crossed my mind to ask, actually.” 

“Well, whatever the reason, I think it’s good you don’t have them in your life; it wouldn’t be fun having people who don’t like you micromanaging your every move and whatnot.” 

Saoirse laughed, “Are you speaking from experience?” 

Her laugh made Patrick’s stomach explode. “A little bit,” He shrugged. “Being a Pureblood in Europe is kind of brutal, especially since my family is part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight; it’s some elitist group and it’s not worth knowing in my opinion. You have to present yourself in a certain fashion; know this, be discouraged from that. It’s all a bunch of rubbish, really…” 

Saoirse nodded. She opened her mouth to respond, but the professor announced that class was about to end. “It doesn’t feel like we’ve been here for three hours.” She muttered. 

“Time goes by faster when you’re enjoying yourself.” Patrick said, his frames covering the dust of pink and red on his skin. 

As they packed up, picking up pens and other instruments, their hands brushed against each other every now and then, almost purposefully. For once Patrick didn’t mind that his friends dragged him into their shenanigans. 

“Hey, Quidditch season started not too long ago,” he started, adjusting his satchel on his shoulder. “I was wondering if you wanted to watch the first match with me? It’s on the first Saturday of November; it’s Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, and even though I’m not on the team, I know enough to teach you the rules.” 

Saoirse smiled, nodding at the boy. “Sure, I’d like that.” 

As the two departed, Patrick left the girl with weak legs, his heart beating out of his chest. Fumbling to clean his fogged up glasses, a pair of Oxford shoes filled his blurry vision. Looking up, he recognized the fuzzy figure as Tom. 

“Nott,” he said, a frown apparent on his face the moment Patirck put his glasses back on. “Walk with me.” 

The commute back to the Slytherin common room was quiet, Patrick’s heart still beating out of his chest out of fear rather than anxiety. 

“What did the girl say to you?” Tom asked. 

A breath fell from his nose as he replied, “She’s a Pureblood, and she doesn’t have a good relationship with her parents; that’s all she told me. I was going to ask about spells, but class ended not long before.” 

Tom nodded. “Despite that information being useless, you obtained more than the other three, and Avery who is supposedly infatuated with her; good job.” 

Patrick fumbled a ‘thank you’ from his thin lips, unfamiliar with the boy’s praise. Tom left him by the Slytherin entrance in the dungeons, turning the corner to begin his Prefect rounds for the night. 

Heaving out a large sigh, the Austrian entered the common room, his feet dragging him up the left staircase that wrapped around the humongous statue of Salazar Slytherin in the middle of the room. Opening the door to his shared dorm, he rubbed his tired eyes and kicked his shoes off, his satchel falling to the floor before he fell to his duvet. He groaned, gaining the attention of the three boys he’s shared a dorm with for the last four years: Orion, Miles, and Eloise. 

“You okay, mate?” Miles asked, his body lounged on the carpet near his bed. 

“I think I asked Saoirse on a date,” he mumbled, his neck and ears steaming and his cheeks burning red. “And she said yes…” 

Eloise, who was playing Wizards Chess with Orion, gripped the board before slamming his castle into the offensive position. “You’re joking,” he yelled. “You have to be bloody joking, Patrick—how?”

“I don’t know, it just slipped out of my mouth; I asked her to watch the opening Quidditch game with me that’s in two weeks—I’m fucking screwed!” 

Orion laughed, unable to focus on the chess game in front of him. “And what did Tom think about that? Is he mad that you’re having fun with her?” 

Patrick sat up, his peppered hair a mess and his glasses toppled on his nose. “I forgot to mention that part to him; I only told him that she said she was Pureblood and that she doesn’t like her mum and dad.” 

“She’s a Pureblood?” Miles gasped, his chin propped in his palm and his feet swaying in the air behind him. “Oh, you got lucky, Patrick; I’m so proud of you!” 

“I’m not,” scowled Eloise. “This bastard doesn’t even know how to dress for a date—a date that’s a school Quidditch match, mind you!” 

His face was as red as his hair, his hand haphazardly throwing his pawn away. Orion shrugged, using this to take the game and gain an easy check. “I don’t know why you’re so offended, El’,” he said. “You don’t actually like Saoirse, do you?” 

“Well—no,” he scoffed. “But I haven’t had a girl in a while and Patrick single handedly gained the prettiest one I’ve seen since Gemma Nettles from Gryffindor.” 

“Gemma Nettles graduated two years ago.” Miles commented, to which Eloise cried out dramatically in response. 

“Exactly!”

 ┌────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────┐

The following two weeks passed by, each day causing more and more butterflies to develop in Patrick’s stomach. He lost sleep, tossing and turning at the endless possibilities for disasters to take place at the game. His glasses could be crooked, the Quaffle could fly and hit his face, hit her face; Hell, a bloody Bludger could come and hit both of them!

Every time he saw her during class, he hated it. He never met a girl as academic as she was, not in the way others were at Hogwarts; she was different. He was lucky he only saw her a few times throughout the week. Astronomy class had to be his favorite, though. Professor Jensen, bless that man, decided to keep the pairs permanent for the rest of the school year, meaning he had three hours of Saoirse to himself, for four days out of the entire week. 

Of course, Tom would ruin it the moment class was over, demanding for a ‘status report’ as he always called it. Truth be told, Patrick had been avoiding the questions he needed to ask her; he lied to Tom, saying that Saoirse was very tight-lipped and would always change the subject. She always had something interesting to say, whether it be something Patrick already knew or something new entirely; he just loved hearing her talk. 

Her voice; it was probably Patrick’s favorite thing about her. Whenever she would speak in her mother tongue, trying to teach Patrick some things in their spare time, she was like a siren. She would lure him in with her voice, her melodic tones as she kept her voice down to a mere whisper, tingles teasing his back and his ears. 

Her lips were pretty too, in his mind. They were very plush and pink; it always reminded him of a bunny’s nose. For once, he wondered what it would feel like to have them pressed against his. 

He found himself thinking about her almost obsessively with how he started to pick up romance books for the sake of imagining her in those scenarios. He had to hide those books under his pillow, of course, as he wouldn’t see the light of day if his friends ever found him reading about a domestic life and two cats. 

When Sunday finally came, the first of November, he balanced on the balls of his feet as he waited near the Ravenclaw Tower, the bronze eagle head keeping him company on the door. Even with all the winter clothing he had on, he felt a cold sweat coming. He was a nervous wreck, to say the very least. 

‘What if she sees stains on my clothes?’ He whined, a frown on his face as he watched people in blue leave the tower one by one. 

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Saoirse’s voice hit his ears, like a feather bouncing on a fluffed up pillow. “Sorry, I didn’t expect it to be this cold; I had to change into something warmer.”

Looking down at the shorter girl, he was glad the cold had something to do with his flushed cheeks. Her face was covered up with her blue and bronze scarf, a puffball situated on the top of her head from her winter beret. Her hair, brighter than any blue she was wearing, was in disarray underneath all the yarn. 

“Are you okay? You look like you’re suffocating under all that clothing, Schatzi.” He smiled, his fingers finding their way to her beret to readjust it on her head. 

His mother always told him that women liked having special names specifically for them; he recalled how often her face got red whenever his father called her sein hase. He always liked how German terms sounded over English ones. 

“Schatzi,” Saoirse echoed, her accent jumbling her voice as she tilted her head to the side. “What does that mean?” 

Patrick shook his head, too embarrassed to explain now that he had the confidence to say it to her face. “It’s nothing, Saoirse; don’t worry about it.” 

Being the courteous boy he was raised to be, he offered an arm, his smile growing when Saoirse took it. “In Quidditch, there are two teams with seven players each.” He explained, leading Saoirse out the castle and down to the Quidditch pitch in the grass. “There are three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. Chasers focus on a ball that’s called a Quaffle, and the Keeper has to make sure it doesn’t go into their team’s goals. The Beaters focus on the Bludger; it’s a mean ball that attacks the Chasers. And finally, the Seeker has to look for the Snitch. If the Seeker catches the Snitch, the game ends and their team gets one-hundred-and-fifty points.” 

Saoirse nodded, her eyes squinting as the heavy winds chilled her skin. “I think I know that game, Japan has a National Quidditch team, I believe.” 

“Really? That’d be good to mention to my friends—most of them are on Slytherin’s team. Orion is the captain and Keeper, Cassius and Louis are the Beaters, Abraxas and Miles are Chasers, and Eloise is the Seeker.”

“Who’s the other Chaser?” Saoirse asked.

“Some seventh year. Orion will have to hold tryouts for that position next time—that is, if the guys keep their positions into our sixth year.” 

When the pair made it to the stands, Patrick made it his mission to have an iron grip on the girl’s hand, afraid of losing her in the tough crowds of Slytherin as they yelled across to the students in yellow who were equally as passionate and loyal to their respective team. Patrick led Saoirse through the green, eventually moving to wrap his arm around her as they navigated towards a certain spot the boy was trying to find. 

“There you are,” Patrick said, sighing as he sat down next to his fellow bookworm. “I was worried you got so bored of the game that you decided to sit this one out, Riddle.” 

Saoirse looked on with surprised eyes to see Tom sitting in the stands, his usual pout evident amongst the loud cheers and swears of his peers. When he looked up from his book, he looked equally surprised to see her holding Patrick’s hand. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked. 

“Patrick asked me to join him for the evening. What are you doing here?” She asked, returning his question as she sat close to the Austrian boy. 

“Riddle has to be at every game, to make sure people don’t go crazy in the stands.” Patrick explained. 

“Good evening, ladies and gents’,” yelled a voice, the crowds screaming at the top of their lungs. “Welcome to the first Quiddtich match of 1942! My name is Tracy Mayfield—fifth year Ravenclaw—and today I am accompanied by my good buddy, a seventh year Hufflepuff—one of the very few Americans on campus—give it up for: Eugene Griffin!”

“Good evening, everyone! I hope you’re all doing mighty fine on this very windy day. With us, we of course have mister Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore! A long name for an awfully old man—hm? ‘Just get on with the match’? Okay!”

Saoirse, recognizing those names, tugged on Patrick’s sleeve. “I know those two boys; they checked up on me when I was in the Hospital Wing a couple weeks ago.” 

“Really? Even that Eugene guy?” Patrick frowned. “I heard bad things about him—my friend, Eren, said that he’s kind of on ‘active duty’—promiscuous, if you will. He’s not someone you should be around, and that includes whoever he’s friends with.” 

“Tracy was really nice, though, and so was Ava-Lynn from Gryffindor.” Argued Saoirse. 

“People aren’t always what they seem, mein schatzi.” 

The girl pouted, her shoulders sagging as she huffed. Turning back to the field, she held onto her beret as stripes of green and gray filled her vision. 

“There they are folks,” yelled Tracy. “The Slytherin Quidditch team, and their leader Orion Black! Always so poised and quiet, that boy.” 

Eugene screamed, his lanky figure almost halfway off the spectator’s tower. “And there’s my house’s team, led by the absolute beauty of a girl, Annabeth Clearwater! You know folks, Tracy and I made a nasty bet for this match—20 Galleons is a lot for me, guys, please win!” 

In his microphone, Eugene coughed. “Fuck—Professor don’t elbow me like that…yeah, yeah, it’s not gambling, sir, I promise. I don’t even know what gambling is! No, I don’t use it for weed—why, do you have some?” 

The game blitzed past Saoirse, the impact of the teams’ brooms whipping by the stands causing her to hide her face in Patrick’s arm the entire time—not that he minded. Luckily she was able to keep a mental image of the game with Tracy and Eugene’s commentary, along with Patrick’s since the other boys would get off topic, especially Eugene.

Within the next hour, the two teams were neck-and-neck, with Hufflepuff having 20 more points than the snake team, who was at 190 points. With the high energy swirling around the pitch, both Patrick and Saoirse were on their feet, hands clasped against one another as they yelled and complained every time someone on Slytherin’s team gained a foul of some sort. 

Tom, on the other hand, held his book in rigid fingers, his knuckles white with fury every time he was bumped in the back or shoulder. It especially didn’t help since Patrick, someone he knew—or at the very least thought he knew—was quiet, now wasting his voice on a stupid bloody game, with a stupid bloody girl. 

He knew he lied; he knew Patrick wasn’t telling him everything Saoirse told him. The boy wasn’t the best liar in all honesty. Despite the valuable information the girl held, she wasn’t worth losing a follower over. All of this goopy, lovey-dovey feelings his researcher had developed was turning his sharp mind into mush. Tom would be having a conversation with Patrick soon enough. 

“Oh, and there you have it, folks! Slytherin wins with three-hundred-and-thirty points!” Yelled Tracy, his voice wavering as he was shaken by his tall friend beside him. “Suck it, Eugene, I won the bet—no, we don’t get to split, you stupid piece of—”

“We won!” Laughed Saoirse, her glasses lopsided as she jumped to wrap her arms around Patrick’s neck in a fit of emotions. 

His nose was engulfed in her jasmine and sandalwood scent, slowly but surely buried itself in cerulean strands of hair. “Yeah, we won,” he chuckled, his hand going to her upper back. “You have a lot of Slytherin pride to be a Ravenclaw, you know.” 

“I don’t think I would mind being a snake.” Muttered Saoirse, pulling away from their embrace, much to Patrick’s disappointment. 

As the two made their way down the stands, with Tom dragging his feet in tow, they congratulated the Slytherin team on winning the first game, a sign of good luck for the rest of the season. 

For once, Saoirse enjoyed being around loud people, despite how sweaty they were when they pulled her into the group hug they shared. In all of her life, she never laughed this much before; Mahoutokoro was never a place for laughter, after all. 

The group made their way to the locker rooms, with Eloise, Miles, Abraxas—and to Saoirse’s surprise, Orion, all sang boisterously with their arms hooked together as they skipped their way across the field. 

“Saoirse,” a voice said, the figure tapping on the girl’s shoulder. “I need to talk to you for a second.” 

Turning around, Saoirse looked up to see Eugene staring down at her. 

“You can talk to her later, she’s busy.” Said Patrick, his eyebrows set in a scrunch as he pulled Saoirse gently by the wrist. 

“Please, I just need to ask a question—it’s about Ava-Lynn.” 

“Patrick,” Saoirse said softly. “I think I’ll be fine, don’t worry; I’ll find you later, okay?” 

With a smile, the girl slipped out of the boy’s grasp, walking back out into the middle of the field to speak to the Hufflepuff. 

“Have you spoken to Lee lately,” Eugene asked. “I kind of got into an argument with her a week ago, and I haven’t seen her since.” He sighed, his hand disappearing behind his neck. 

The two sat down in the grass, the cold sending chills up Saoirse’s body as the dew drops made contact with her shins. 

“Usually I would talk to Tracy about this, but he talks to her frequently so…but basically she led me on, I have no other ways to describe it other than that. For weeks, I put everything into her—into us, what we could have been; I was just waiting on her, and I’m just starting to unpack it now. It hurts—she hurt me; she put me through so much, just for it to end in a few words. I did everything for her; she said she loved me multiple times, too, but then she had the gall to tell me that she ‘didn’t want this outcome’ like I was the one who said we couldn’t be together.

“And I would sit there, plead with her; tell her everyday why I loved her, why I thought she was so unbelievably amazing in every aspect. I just…I put so much time and energy into her for weeks, for someone who I thought loved me, to someone who actively said they loved me. And I would have been fine if we were still friends, but she had the nerve to make me go through all of that just to tell me, ‘I’m not going to talk to you anymore.’ Like, who the fuck are you? I did nothing but make you comfortable and safe and you want to leave me in the dust? I never want to be spoken like that ever again, just for someone to say ‘I don’t want you in my life anymore.’” 

Saoirse sat stunned in the grass. She was never close to Eugene, she had only known him for about two weeks, after all. He seemed so sad, his lanky body almost collapsing in on itself as he held his head in his hands. She couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but she wouldn’t be surprised if he was weeping into his palms at the moment. 

She didn’t know how to comfort him, let alone comfort someone in general. After all, Patrick was the only boy who’s shown any genuine interest in her; Saoirse had never experienced heartbreak of any sort before. 

“Well,” she coughed. “It’ll all pass, won’t it? I don’t know you all that well yet, but, maybe it’s for the best. People come and go, and only the people that truly matter in your life will stay. It’ll be a slow process, I’m sure, but eventually you’ll be a brand new person with a brand new perspective. Always focus on yourself, Eugene; never pour your energy into people who don’t want it, especially now that you know she doesn’t want it.” 

The boy, silent, muddled over her words, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. “I guess so,” he sighed, “and I’m sorry for pouring all of this onto you—you barely know me, like you said.” He laughed, though without any humor left in his tone. 

“That’s okay, stuff happens.” Saoirse shrugged. 

“Why are you so nice? I would be so annoyed if I were in your position.” 

“I guess I’m just nosy, but I’m not annoyed at all. You seem like a good guy to talk to, and I’m sorry you’re going through a hard time right now. It must be difficult to keep to yourself. I’m really flattered that you feel comfortable enough to tell me this.” 

Eugene gave her an upside-down smile, his downturned eyes blinking wet tears away as he sniffled. “Thank you, Saoirse.”

───────────

The boys each plopped onto a nearby cushion in their dorm, bodies complaining as they ached and begged for a soothing touch. 

“I’m so exhausted,” Eloise coughed. “That ice bath didn't do a thing, I could barely walk here.”

A knock was heard from the door, “Hello, room service!”

In the entrance stood Cassius, with Abraxas and Louis all in comfortable clothes, their hair cascading down to their shoulders. Tom, as the others expected, strutted in with his robes rippling behind him, a hardened look on his features as he walked up to Patrick. 

The boy, currently on his back and staring at the ceiling in thought, was thrown into a world of knives and needles as the Slytherin Heir used the Cruciatus curse. 

“You really think you had me fooled,” drawled Tom, the other boys stumbling in a line as they witnessed their friend seizing up in the comfort of his own duvet, sweat dripping down his temple as his glasses fell to the side of his head. “That girl is turning your brain into pulp; you need to focus on your objectives—your loyalty to me and me only.” 

“I am focusing on my tasks,” Yelled Patrick, blue eyes wild with fear and anger. “I’m getting information from her, and I’m keeping her close—which wasn’t something I was supposed to be doing, by the way! Abraxas and Orion were supposed to be doing that, not me!” 

“Don’t talk back to me!” Tom chastised. He jabbed his wand to the boy, the curse stabbing into every inch of his skin and twisting into his guts. 

“My Lord,” Abraxas stuttered, taking a brave step forward. “Patrick is doing all he can—”

Tom craned his head in the blond’s direction, his lips set in a thin line as he flicked his wand. The Knights fell to the ground, their already exhausted bodies pleading for a blissful death as they met the same fate at Patrick.

“I think all of you are forgetting our mission.” He seethed, lifting the curse, but only just. 

The boys were silent, now nothing but limp figures—puppets for Tom to manipulate at his every whim. 

“That girl,” he muttered. “Is a threat to us getting to the Chamber—I cannot have her alive while I do all that I can for us— for our livelihoods!” 

He paced around on the carpet, his heavy step echoing with the pulsating aches of their heads. “I have done so much for you, and this is how you repay me? Running off to snog a girl, wasting time with a pointless and outrageous sport; it’s pathetic…” 

With a quick flip of his pale wrist, Tom had fifteen minutes before Astronomy class. He straightened his robes, a hand running through his sculpted hair before turning his focus back to the shivering young aristocrats on the ground. 

“I do believe I have enough time to stress the importance of my words.”

Credit(s): Dividing banner (^^^) by Chen Lu (1436 - 1449) - "Plum Blossoms in Moonlight" scroll painting; sourced through Pinterest

[thesillyphilly]

Announcement for the swap au. I might delete any art that had shown the old designs and lore that has changed unless that lore stayed the same. When i made the au, i had nothing in mind and it was rushed kinda.

The new lore for this swap:

When we think of a swap au, we just think the roles were reversed. The seeds deputies and the deputies taking the role as the seeds, but i wanted to change that and have more of a horror sacrifice type- which the game is kinda scary if you think of it from the residents pov. All the shit they have to go through.

In this au, i call "we meet once again" follows Joseph seed and his daughter, hope and the story of what his wife left behind. Hang with me. We don't know much about Joseph's wife, faith but she plays an important part even if dead. Back to the story, the seed family past is also different from canon as they still suffered abuse but instead of being split up, CPS send them all to a family that would or lived in hope country. Jacob still went to the military, but instead of being lost he was captured and held hostage along with his group and miller. They were found months later but only half, the others were dead. Miller was dead. He goes back home after two years of rebuilding hisself to only meet john and no Joseph.

Back with John and Joseph, the trauma from their dad was still affecting john and lead him into a lot of unhealthy habits to "help" deal with it. Joseph loved his brother but a part of him felt that he needed to be... free. So, he left. After putting john in a a psych ward (we are going to pretend that hope country has one. Okay? Okay.) John had spent a couple of months there before he was some what stable but now, he didn't have anyone waiting for him as Joseph left. He needed a job which landed him in spread eagle when mary may was just ten and when the cult showed up. John and mary, unlike canon, grew a niece and uncle relationship as while mary parents were defending falls end, john tried to cover that up for mary as no kid should worry about something bad happening to them or love ones. Of course, you can't stop everything.

The cult seem normal enough with the want to help those in need, confessing your sins, and praying to god. God's faith was the name and the leader, moses witb the lords, pratt, Hudson, bruke, larry, and Maria. But not all sins can be forgiven. Those sins had people killed. Bad people. Well deserved but people weren't all so happy with the fact they killed people or they were cause they were free from those monsters. A snow came but never left, this helped the cult as house were either deep in snow or they didn't have enough food. Now, it was join and be reborn in the eyes of god or die by the snow or the lord hands. Each lord had a way of making you new. I'll explain in a different post

When Joseph left, he started new. I don't have much till he meets his wife and the accident happens. He doesn't hear a voice from "god" when he sees his daughter unlike canon where he does. He names her hope and raises her to be strong, caring, and to never let anything or anyone stop her from doing what is right. He is aslo a camping dad- look at his designs and tell me otherwise. When hope is around her teen years, Joseph goes back to his home place unaware of the cult and snow. The exits and entrance aren't blocked and snow has been cleared of those ways so it wasn't hard to get in... the problem will be getting out. Joseph stays in his adopted dad's house with his daughter, by now only hope's grandma was around and she was so happy to see her granddaughter. The next day, Joseph takes hooe to see uncle john as his mum told him where he is but john wasn't there and wouldn't be there for another hour. Hope was playing outside when a group of cult members saw her and believed the day finally came. They tried to take her before Joseph intervened saying that's his daughter and one say, "it's the father, bring him too" before one uses the back of a gun to knock him out. When he awakes, he is chained to the floor of the church Joseph in, in the game, with the lords around him and moses at the stand.

Their hope has came and Faith's loved one was here, their family was completely.

[mydarllinglover]

SafeHouse || Thirteen

Previous

"Of course Potter is a champion" Draco spat from his bed.

It was after the choosing of the champions and as per usual the four of us were in the guys dorm, I was lying at the end of Theo's bed and we were trying to make sense of what had happened.

"I wonder how he did it" Blaise thought

"With his stupid bloody Potter Privilege, thats how" Draco said

"Yes, but how would he have actually been able to put his name in the Goblet, with the age circle, you saw what happened to my brothers" I said

"Probably got someone else to do it, you know how everyone worships him, I bet Dumbledore did it" Theo said

"Think logical, please, he can't do that, He's headmaster and would probably get into lots of trouble with the Ministry, I'm pretty sure he would not risk it just for Harry, put your jealousy aside for just a moment maybe?

"Jealousy?!" All three of them said in Sync shooting up to stare at me

"What?"

"I am anything but Jealous or Potter" Draco said

"Yep, sure seems like it" I muttered.

"Take that back!" Theo demanded

"No." I crossed my arms

"Yes, Now Weasley, take it back right now!" Draco said

"Prove me wrong and I might"

Next thing I knew, Theo had jumped on me, knocking the air out

"Take it back!" He told me

"Your jealous of Harry" I said in a sing song tone

"No, I'm not" He said

"Yes you are" I laughed "You wanna be the Hogwarts Champion, but he is"

"There's so many reasons why I am not jealous of Potter"

"Oh really? like what"

"Well for starters, I'm the one on top of the Keira Weasley, He's not, I'm rich, I'm Handsome, me as well as all my friends are pure bloods, even you are, I have at least one parent thats alive"

"What?" I shoved him so I could sit up

"What" He repeated

"What do you mean at least one?" I asked

"Thats kind of personal, dont you think" Draco said

"Shit, Theo, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ask, I'm so sor-"

"It's fine, K, I don't need your sympathy, now take back your statement" He huffed

"Fine! I guess you're not jealous of Harry Potter, But I can't say the same for Draco"

"I am not!"

"Are too"

"Get out my-

"Our"

"Dorm, Weasley, right now!"

"With pleasure, I'll let you think of all the ways to best Harry this time, Toodles!" I waved before walking out and going to bed.

•

"Ron, you're being ridiculous, you don't actually think he did it to spite you, do you?" It was Breakfast the next day, I decided to sit with my brother who was clearly in a bad mood, and surprisingly not sat with Harry, who were practically attached at the hip, they were more linked then him and I, and we shared a womb for nine months.

"It's kind of typical, don't you think? Harry always find's some way to include himself"

"I think your being a little dramat-"

"Do you know what its like to have to compete with everyone, I have so many brothers that have all their things and I'm... just...just Ron, nothing special, and then my best friends bloody famous who saved the whole Wizarding world and now is competing in the Triwizard Tournament underage!" he huffed

"Okay, well first of all, We have the same brothers, we are in fact twins, just in case you forgot, and I'm also up against you, who is in fact best friends with the boy who lived, who risked his life in first year, and got an honery mention from Dumbledore for playing the best game of wizards chess. then did it again in second year and even went in the Chamber of Secrets and helped Harry. I've also got Ginny who in her first year had the worst, and she's the youngest child, and girl, so evidently Mum and Dad would be more interested in her. What did I do? become the first Weasley sorted into Slytherin and become friends with A Malfoy, a Nott and a Zabini. You're not just Ron you know and Mum and Dad are so proud of you, you realise that, right?"

"I still don't like them" He said

"Okay, I don't expect you to, I barely like them half the time, but they're also my friends, not yours."

"Please don't let them change you"

"They can't possibly do that if I barely even know who I am myself, and I've been friends with them for a year now, so get over it already. Now c'mon it's Sunday, stop mopping around and lets go do something, just me and you alright" I told him, standing up from the bench.

"Fine" He rolled his eyes "Let me just grab th-" He picked up a napkin and started cramming food in it

"Ronald, come on!"

"I am!"

It was a good day, refreshing, It's been a while since Ron and I had hung out, just the two of us and catching up on forgotten memories, I missed him, Sometimes I envied how close Fred and George were, I wished that we were like that, but we were both completely different with our own lives and friends.

•

"Why must you be so childish" I hissed at Draco whilst we waited outside for double potions.

"What, if you can wear a stupid spew badge, We can wear these" Draco said, nodding at his "POTTER STINKS" badge

"I'ts S.P.E.W and its a good cause, you're just being cruel" I crossed my arms "And the fact you two are on it as well, I expected better" I shook my head at Theo and Blaise.

"Hey! Don't bring us into it, Draco made us wear them"

"I did no such thing, Nott!" Draco glared at Theo.

"Are you saying you both can not stand up to a mean bully, who was once a ferret?"

"Weasley! I told you to never mention that" His eyes were wide as he narrowed his eyebrows

"You think I'll listen just becau-"

"Shut up! Potters coming" He cut me off, clamping his hand on my mouth

Harry and Hermione passed the corner, Harry looked at the Badges the other Slytherins were wearing, I saw the look in his eyes as soon as he saw the message

"support CEDRIC DIGGORY - the REAL Hogwarts Champion"

"Like them, Potter?" Draco asked him as they came closer

"Hey, Harry, Hermione" I greeted them

Before they had a chance to reply, Draco had already stepped in front of me

"This isn't all they do!- look!" He pressed the badge so the message turned. Grinning widely at Harry as he read the message.

"Stop being such a tosspot, Draco!" I told him as I hit his badge, turning it back into the Cedric one.

Harry was bright red as all the other Slytherins were howling with laughter, their own badges changing.

I hate this house.

I looked over to Ron, who was leaning on the wall with Dean and Seamus, third wheel.

He didn't do anything, he wasn't laughing, but he wasn't helping, like he normally would, how much longer is he going to stay mad at him.

"Oh, very funny" Hermione said sarcastically "Really witty"

"Malfoy, tell them to stop, its not funny" I hissed at him, so only he could hear

"Want one, Granger?" Draco ignored me, offering a badge out to her "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."

"Malfoy! Stop it!" I demanded.

Harry had yanked out his wand, students fled the corridor

"Harry!" Hermione said warningly.

"Go on, then, Potter" Draco said in a low tone, pulling out his own wand.

"No!" I grabbed his wrist "Please" But he just shrugged me off.

"Moody's not here to look after you now - do it, if you've got the guts -"

"Both of you, just put your wands away, Harry just ignore them" I said

"Harry, Stop!" Hermione said.

"Furnunculus!" Harry yelled.

"Densaugeo!" Draco screamed

The spells bounced, I ducked quickly to miss it as it hit Goyle in the Face, Hermione wasn't so lucky and got hit with Draco's.

Goyle had started growing great ugly boils. Hermione was clutching her mouth and whimpering with panic

"Hermione!" Ron rushed to her, I crossed the imaginary line of Harry and Draco's feud to reach her, Ron and I shared a nervous glance before looking back at Hermione, Ron pulled her hand away and we watched in horror as Her already long teeth were growing to her chin.

"Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry" I Didn't know what to do

She let out another cry

"And what is all this about?" Snape had, finally, arrived.

The other Slytherins were shouting over each other to give their explanations, But Snape cut them off by pointing a finger at Harry and Draco "Explain."

"Potter attacked me, sir-"

"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted over Draco.

"-and  he hit Goyle - look -"

"Hospital wing, Goyle" Snape said

"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said still holding her wrists"Look!" Ron forced Hermione to show Snape, her teeth were already at her collar.

Pansy and the other Slytherin girls, that I refused to associate myself with (even though we share a dorm) were giggling away.

"Parkinson, shut your pugface up" I barked at her

"I see no difference" Snape said, giving her a cold look

Hermione cried more, I pulled her towards me so she was crying on my shoulder, which hurt because her teeth were stabbing into me but that doesn't matter.

Ron and Harry were hurling insults at Snape, luckily because of the echo, you couldn't quite make out what they were saying but I guess he caught on.

"Lets see" Snape drawled out "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Mr Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a week's worth of detentions."

"But Sir! Ron didn't-"

"Keira, leave it, take Hermione to the Hospital wing, yeah?" Ron told me.

I huffed before gently pushing Hermiones face out of my shoulder and held her hand before leading her off to Madam Pomfrey, Shoving Draco with my shoulder and shaking my head at the other two that just watched.

"It'll be okay, 'Mione, Pomfrey can fix it" I tried to reassure her.

"Miss Weasley" Snape called me, stopping us in our tracks "If you decide to leave my class without permission from me or another Professor, I will be forced to give you a detention, to make up for your absence"

"Sir!" I started but Hermione stopped me

"Just go, I'll be fine" She fought to say, through her teeth. I squeezed her hand one more time before reluctantly walking towards the potions door.

All three of the guys looked at me hopefully as I crossed their table but I took my seat with Harry, who was sat alone as Ron decided to sit with Dean and Seamus, God that boy holds grudges.

"Hi, Harry, I'm so sorry about all that, I swear I had nothing to do with it" I told him

"It's fine, Keira, don't worry about it" He said, giving me a smile but I could easily tell it was fake.

I took his hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze "I bet you'll do amazing, Harry, and prove everyone wrong"

"Your boyfriends don't look too pleased" He told me, I turned to see all three of them staring at our hands in hate and Disgust

"Well good thing, that none of them are my boyfriends then, they're a bunch of pricks" That grabbed their attention like they were all in sync, all their eyes shot up to meet mine, Blaise turned around like nothing happened, Theo blushed before quickly turning away, But Draco's eyes lingered for a moment longer before turning.

I still hadn't let go of Harry's hand when Colin Creevey ran in, Ginny had told me all about the annoying curly blond boy that took pictures of everything he laid eyes on.

Turns out His brother was the one that fell in the lake.

"Yes?" Snape asked as the boy continued to stand there.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs."

Colin's smile dropped instantly as Snape stared at him.

"Potter has another hour of Potions to complete, He will come upstairs when this class is finished."

"Sir- sir, Mr Bagman wants him" He stuttered "all the champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs..." Colin then looked over to us, still holding hands, as soon as I saw part of his smile return I snatched my hand out of Harry's

"Very, very well" Snape snapped at the younger boy "Potter, leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir - he's got to take his things with him." Colin squeaked "All the champions -"

"Very well! Potter - take your bag and get out of my sight"

Harry grabbed his bag, throwing it over his shoulder "See you, Keira" He muttered before walking down to the door

"Good luck, Harry" I called after him. Great Now I was alone.

•

I very much regretted sitting with Harry that day after the poisonous Rita Skeeter had published her article on Harry in the Daily Prophet.

Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, say's that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl, but our sources have told us that he has also been seen cosying up with, Best friend, Ronald Weasley's Twin Sister, Keira Weasley, who transferred here, last year and was the first in her family to be sorted into Slytherin. Am I sensing a high school love triangle?

It's been out for nearly two weeks and the guys still won't drop it after I decided to talk to them again which was dinner the same day, and that was also another of my regrets.

But It was Fred and George who lapped it up the most, as if it was the funniest thing they had ever seen.

"Our Baby sister, dating the Harry Potter"

"Our little sister in the paper"

"First Pucey now Harry, talk about downgrades" They teased, which hadn't helped because turns out The bitch Skeeter was eavesdropping, Which I had no idea how because I hadn't seen her anywhere.

Potter's girl! The boy or the Fame?! The heading read, mentioning how quickly I had moved on from relationships and delving into my Family's fortunes as if I were with Harry for his riches. Which I was not! Because I don't even like him.

•

The day of the first task had finally approached.

I was stood in the stands with Draco, Theo and Blaise, shivering.

All three of them were very excited about the Dragons, I had to admit, I was impressed and nervous, that they might break loose and attack us all.

I was more worried about Harry's. God, Please don't let him die in front of everyone, I might go after from second hand embarrassment.

He was last. Krum had just finished by retrieving his egg by besting the Chinese Fireball.

Harry had walked out from the tents. He would have to face a Hungarian Horntail. Of bloody course he would get that one

"My brother, Charlie told me about Hungarian Horntail's once" I said out loud "They're really vicious, and possessive of their eggs. Look at the spikes on its tail" I pointed

"I have got to admit, If Potter can pull this off, thats impressive" Blaise nodded

"And what happens if he doesn't?" Draco asked

"Then I guess I won't be the only one seeing Thestrals" Theo shrugged

"Theo- Thats really sad, but also don't say things like that! I'm sure he wont die, My brothers probably here keeping watch just in case. And also sorry about that" I gave a sympathetic look to Theo.

"Accio Firebolt" Harry had shouted from the enclosure.

The crowd continued to make noise but I drowned it out focusing on Harry and praying that he would be able to do this.

His broom came speeding towards him from the tree's.

Bagman was yelling from excitement whilst commentating.

Harry hopped on his broom and rose in the air quickly, my heart raced as he dove towards the Dragon, I thought it was going to jump out of my chest.

The Horntail then let out a stream of fire, harry dodging just in time.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" Bagman yelled "Are you watching this, Mr Krum?"

I gasped, slapping a hand to my mouth as Harry got hit in the shoulder by its tail.

"I can't watch this!" I squeaked before turning around so I was facing the opposite way, which was the front of Draco as he was stood behind me.

"So you're just going to stand like that the whole time?" Blaise asked

"Until its over, Yes"

"Stop being dramatic" Draco said

"I'm not, I just don't want to watch"

"Really? Because he's got the egg" Theo said

"Wait- really?!" I spun around, Harry had in fact managed to snatch the golden egg and was now lying up and around the stands. I instantly joined the crowd in screaming and applauding him, the guys...not so much.

"Look at that!" Bagman yelled "Will you look at that! Our youngest Champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Potter!"

"C'mon, I wanna go find Charlie!" I grinned up at them before running out the stands.

"Keira!" Charlie called when he caught sight of me running towards him

"Charlie!" I squealed "Why didn't you tell me anything about this, you knew!" I glared at him after letting go of the hug

"I couldn't, it would ruin the surpri- who's your friends?" He asked, Pointing at the three boys, furrowing his eyebrows

"Oh, right yeah, well Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, Meet my brother Charlie" I introduced them

"Wait, you mean Malfoy and Nott, as in Malfoy and Notts boys?" He looked back at me, completely ignoring them "You know about their dads right, How they were close with-" He whispered to me

"Charlie, shut up! Leave it alone, yeah?" I hissed at him

"Where's your boyfriend then?" He looked around

"Guess you missed it, he broke up with me in October" I shrugged

"No, I meant Harry, I saw the paper" he wiggled his eyebrows at me

"He's not my boyfriend, That was just Bloody Rita Skeeter!" I said "Oh, there's Harry, Congrats, you were amazing!" I told him as the three of them walked up. I froze for the tiniest second remembering Draco, Blaise and Theo were still stood there, forgetting about them whilst talking to Charlie.

"Oh, thanks Keira!" He grinned

"Come on, let's go" I turned to say to the guys who looked more than happy to leave.

•

"This is Bloody ridiculous!" I cried at breakfast

"is she still complaining about the ball?" Draco huffed

"yep!" Theo said, running his hands through his hair

"I'd say we are on Seven since finding out" Blaise said

"I haven't got a dress, I don't have a date! I don't even know how to dance!" I whined

"Hey, Keira! I was wondering if you wanted to go to the ball with me?" A Ravenclaw boy in my year asked

"No! piss off will you, go bother someone else!" I barked at them

"Thats the third guy you've turned down just this morning" Theo said

"I thought girls were supposed to be into all this stuff" Blaise said to the other two.

"I dont know, she isn't much of a girl, is she" Draco replied

"Excuse me!?" I gasped harshly at him "Maybe it's because im panicking and worried, not because "im not much of a girl" you absolute arse!" I glared at him.

As soon as I had finished my sentence owls swarmed into the hall carrying parcels and letters, what surprised me was when a beautiful brown feathered barn owl dropped a brown paper parcel in front of me.

"whats that?" Theo asked

"I have no idea" I looked at it in confusion, before tearing the paper "Merlin!" I inhaled sharply

"I guess thats one of your problems sorted" Blaise shrugged.

"what is it?" Theo asked, leaning on the table to see better

"its a dress, but from who?" Draco asked staring at it in confusion, the same as the rest of us

"I have no idea" I said, covering the dress back up and slipping my bag on to go back to my dorm

"wait where are you going?" Blaise asked

"to go try it on" I said without looking up from the parcel and continuing out of the hall.

"But we have classes!" Theo called after me.

•

"Miss Weasley, how nice of you to finally join us" Snape sneered when I  walked into the hall, Apparently it was mandatory to have dance and prep lessons for the ball.

"Thought I would make an appearance." I shrugged, before walking over to the guys that were in the corner, looking bored and annoyed.

"Not so fast, Weasley" Snape stopped.

I froze but not turning around just yet.

"You can help demonstrate how to dance" He said

"What?"  I turned to face him "Sir, that won't be necessary, surely there is just a spell or something"

"Believe me, if this wasn't mandatory I wouldn't be here, over here, now, unless you want a detention"

I took in a deep breathe as I walked to the centre of the hall, I could already Hear Pansy and the other girls laughing and talking rubbish.

Dancing with Snape had to be the worst thing that I have ever had to go through in my entire life, It was embarrassing, humiliating, cringing, every time He spun us and described the move or whatever The guys would laugh and mock it, I hate them.

When he finally thought I had gone through enough he let me go to the guys, I ran Into Blaise's arms and whining into his shoulder about how horrendous it was as they tried to stifle their laughter.

"Pair up and practise with your partner" Snape ordered, Draco Blaise and Theo all looked at me as if I was supposed to pick one of them.

"Parkinson and Malfoy, Greengrass and Nott,  Weasley and Bletchley, Goyle and Bullstrode, Davis and Zabini" Snape directed partners

"Sir, what about me?" Crabbe asked, it was weird hearing his voice.

"Sit this one out Mr Crabbe" He dismissed.

"Hi" I greeted Miles when we met, he placed his hand on my waist and I holding his hand and shoulder

"Hey, Keira, I was wondering, do you have a date to the ball?" He asked me

"Um, No I don't" I said honestly.

"Oh, I would've thought that one of your guys would take you"

"Wh- No! they're not my guys"I said, trying to laugh it off

"Hm, sorry for assuming, its just you're always with them so some people just assumed that you were with one of them" He shrugged.

"No, we are all just friends, if you could even say that". I said "what about you?"

"Oh, I'm going with Tracey, She's my girlfriend" he grinned. and glancing over to where Blaise and Tracey Davis were dancing.

Next

[daydreamgoddess14]

Life After Richmond pt. 1

MASTERLIST

A Jason Sudeikis multi-chapter RPF w/ a reader insert/OFC. No use of y/n l/n.

A meeting with an author leads to the next project after Ted Lasso.

~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1

"You should read this, it's fucking life changing." Brett dropped the book into Jason's lap on his way to the writers room. Pre-production for season 3 was well underway and they were making the most of some time writing together. Jason picked up the book and thumbed through it, the front inside cover had been signed by the author: 

'You're a twat. Love Callie' 

"I hope you’re good friends. She's not wrong though, why's it so good?" he questioned.

"It's just... bloody brilliant. Honestly, give it a go. She's going to be writing the new wave of romcoms before we know it. I might try and get her to give some TV writing a go once we’ve finished here."

"Sure, sure, I have all the time in the world to sit and read, Goldstein." Jason rolled his eyes and stuffed the book into his backpack before following Brett into the room. Reading was definitely the kind of recreational activity he didn't have time for at the moment. With shooting planned for right around the corner, downtime was hard to come by. It didn’t take long for the writing to draw him in though and a month or two later, Brett saw the book being launched at his head in the makeup trailer.

"Great book, thanks man. I think I've sent a copy to everyone I know." Jason chuckled. 

"I can get you a copy of your own if you're interested. Signed. Callie texted me, she'll be in London in a few weeks. She’s coming over to visit her mum and sister - want me to set up a meeting?"

"Absolutely yes, if she's OK with that? Get it in my diary, I’ll tell Lisa. We can move stuff around to fit it in so work around whenever works for her." Brett nodded, pulling out his phone. 

"She's having a bit of a shitty time, she's just split with her dickhead boyfriend. They were together for about 5 years I think. He's an absolute weapon, she's well shot of him."

"That sucks. She's from the UK? Maybe being at home will help."

“Doubt it, she left when she was like, 17 to get away from her mum.” Brett said with a laugh. “She’s probably coming to see Beth really but if her mum finds out she’s in the country and doesn’t visit, she’ll go mad.”

“How’d you meet?”

“I’ll let her tell you - she loves to tell that one. Mostly cos it makes me look like a loser.”

“Poor baby Brett.”

“Oh fuck off. I tell you what I’m dreading having you two in the same room. I’m gonna be the punching bag.”

“We love you really, bud. I bet she only calls her true best friends a twat.”

“That’s true actually, she does.”

Callie brought her knees up and rested her mug in the V between her torso and legs, reaching around to type. Her sister had offered her spare room and empty-during-the-day restaurant as a quiet workspace. She’d had more than enough of her mum and so far was loving being back in London and with her sister. She felt like hell after the break up and hadn’t been looking after herself at all. It had caused tension with her mum who’d accused Callie of moping around and had told her to sort herself out. With Beth’s help, she was finally starting to do just that. She had half an eye on the front windows of the large dining space looking out for Brett, when a little tap on the front door shifted her gaze. With a big smile, she rose to unlock the door. 

"Alright, gorgeous? God it’s been a long time." She reached up to hug him. 

"Not bad, how have you been? Stupid question - you look like shit - you've lost weight." He chided, pulling at the baggy hoodie.

"Mate, I'll have you know that this is a vast improvement. My hair is clean, I've bathed, I'm actually wearing clothes - and they're clean ones. I haven't had a glass of wine in... three days, and I considered eating breakfast this morning. That’s enough dragging me in front of your boss though, where's the introduction?" Brett sighed heavily. 

"Fine, Cal, this is Jason. Jason, this is Callie Draper. She didn't always look a mess.” He said pointedly.

"This mess is lightyears from a few weeks ago." Callie gestured to her yoga leggings and oversized hoodie. “I’m practically glowing.” The dark circles under her eyes and drawn complexion clearly said otherwise.

"She's right. You should have seen what I picked up from Birmingham airport. It doesn’t look like it should be, but it’s an upgrade." A voice drifted through the swinging kitchen doors. 

"Well, isn't this lovely and supportive. Thanks, sis." Callie called through the door. She turned to Jason and explained, "I got home from the North American leg of my book tour to find my boyfriend fucking our upstairs neighbour on my kitchen counter. I spent a few weeks surviving on wine and chocolate biscuits so I'm now in recovery mode, my skin hasn't forgiven me yet - being dumped in your 30s is a lot harder than it is in your 20s." She said briefly. 

"I'm so sorry, that's fucking awful. If it’s any consolation, it’s fucking horrible in your 40s." Jason offered kindly. Callie smiled and shrugged, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. 

"Jeez, I think I’ll stay single then. Thanks. Shall we sit?" she gestured to her table. "I'll make some coffee - as long as Americano is OK? I can't do a Latte on that thing." She pointed at the barista coffee machine and set about making the three drinks. 

"Sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried." Brett dropped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. 

"I'm OK. Getting there." She leaned into him before she started to fiddle with the coffee press, twisting it into place. 

"When are you going back to Chicago?"

"End of next week. I'm staying at Sara's at the moment, but I'm thinking of moving anyway."

“Where’s next on the list?” Brett asked curiously.

“Probably New York. I think Brookyn, my agent Laura lives just across the river and her office is in lower Manhattan so it seems like a pretty good spot.”

“Brooklyn is great, I’ve got a place there.”

“Excellent, you can give me take out recs.”

"Happy to. So how'd you two meet?" Jason asked, gesturing between Brett and Callie.

"I was at one of his gigs in San Francisco when he performed to 4 people and a dog. I was the only person who couldn't actually leave cos I was the barmaid. He was terrible!" Jason laughed and nudged Brett's shoulder, thanking Callie for the coffee she placed in front of him. 

"I couldn't understand why I was being heckled by a Brummie!" Brett shook his head. 

"Former Brummie. I'd been in the States for about 15 years by then." Callie countered, sitting back in her original seat. 

"When did you move?" Jason looked across at Callie, trying to connect the timeline.

"I was 17. I didn't want to go to uni, my mum was doing my head in, so I decided to do Camp America for a summer. I fell in love, wanted to stay so we got married when I was 18," Callie paused for effect, Jason's eyebrows somewhere near his hairline and Brett nearly doubled over laughing. "Then I was divorced at 22, and I've spent the last 15 years moving wherever I've wanted and doing any old jobs I can while I write. I just up and move when I’ve had enough. I’ve been in Chicago for the last 6 years though so it’s time for a change"

"Holy shit, maybe you should write that."

"Maybe I should." She laughed. It had been a while since she'd had to give her potted history, and it still made her laugh. 

"What happened with your ex husband? Tell him, Cal." Brett had tears in his eyes waiting for the final kicker in the story.. 

"He's happily remarried, we're still friends and I'm godmother to his and Andrew’s two little girls." She finished with a smirk.

"Are you serious? " Jason looked incredulous. 

"Yep, it was a bit of a wild time. My mum still hasn’t forgiven me, she adored him and she was devastated when she found out he was gay."

"You think? She was dreaming of babies on a ranch or some rubbish like that." Brett added with a laugh. "Anyway, enough of your crazy life. Have you got a book on you for Jason? And can you re-sign mine please: you called me a twat." Callie pulled a new book from her bag.

"I did that? Consider yourself honoured. I’m sure I only refer to my best friends as a twat. Got a pen?" she held out her hand, Jason supplied a red pen. "Ooh red, I like to edit in green. It feels less 'grrrr'." She tapped the pen to her lip, thinking, before lifting the cover so he couldn't see, and scribbled her message. Jason took it gratefully and put it straight in his bag without looking. Then she took Brett's dog-eared book and turned to where she'd last signed it. She sniggered at her previous message, and then signed just underneath it before passing the book back. Brett opened it. 

"Callie!" He held it out for Jason to see the new inscription:

'You're still a twat. Still love you though, Callie xo'

"I hope mine is nicer. Either that or I’m already in best friend territory." Jason teased.

"You won't know if you don't read it."

"The book? Oh I read it, I loved it. I sent it to everyone I know." Callie narrowed her eyes at him. 

"When you say everyone you know... do you happen to know Reese Witherspoon?"

"Not personally, but my friend Alexi does. And I sent her a copy, why?"

"My Insta went mental a few weeks ago, Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore... fucking Jennifer Aniston! All tagging me with pictures of the book. It was insane. I’ve had to add more dates to the book tour when I get back, and I’m going on a couple of daytime TV shows as well."

"Jen? Oh that was me, I'm definitely taking credit for that one. And the others by association." Callie's eyes were like saucers. 

"Holy shit." She whispered. "Holy shit. I told Laura something weird had happened, she didn’t believe me. She said it was just word of mouth."

"You're like... Nora Ephron reincarnated. If your books are anything to go by, then I can't wait to read your screenplays. Post-its, shopping lists. You name it, I'll read it." Callie blushed into her coffee.

11am turned quickly to lunchtime, with Callie's sister bringing out food for them all. Callie told them that she'd spent the previous week at her mums binge watching Ted Lasso. Her time living in America had meant that she'd already been familiar with Jason from his SNL days. Conversation came easily between the three of them and lunch soon fell away to mid afternoon, and by 4pm they were being pushed by Callie’s sister into clearing away water glasses, coffee cups and cake plates to make way for the restaurant opening. Brett excused himself to go to the bathroom and Jason turned to Callie,

"You've probably heard this from everyone already, but it does get easier. You'll... find yourself again." She nodded. 

"Thanks. I'll keep trying, it feels good to be out of the pity party so I just need to keep going. I'm struggling to write though," she shrugged, "I can't get in the right headspace, I just keep getting into my own head and seeing, well, what I walked in on. And then it’s all I see. I've tried poetry, lyrics, plays, prose... I just can't get my words out." Her chin dropped to her chest and she brushed across her eyes quickly to get rid of any potential tears. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offload. It all just feels a bit bleak and dark foresty right now."

"I'm glad you did, your words will come back. Give yourself time." Jason offered a hug, and she rose slightly onto her toes to accept. 

"Thank you. Really, thank you." She muttered against the neckline of his hoodie. 

"My turn." Brett interrupted and Callie reluctantly stepped away from Jason. She ruffled Brett's hair and he planted a kiss on her forehead. "When's your flight?"

"Next week, I'm back at mum's at the weekend for my last few days though. Got to go back for one more round of fucks disguised as a pep talk." Brett nodded, 

"She’s only doing it because she loves you. Don't be a stranger, and please look after yourself." She nodded. 

"Will do, it was really good to see you. A patented Goldstein hug makes everything ok. And so good to meet you Jason. Jesus, what a fucking understatement! Good luck with the show."

"Thank you, it was great to meet you too."

"Thanks babe, it wouldn't be half as good without this genius." Brett nudged Jason gently and the two left Callie to lock the door behind them. 

"Jennifer fucking Aniston." She whispered, shaking her head. "As if!"

A few days later, Callie's phone pinged with a Twitter DM. A screenshot. Of a tweet she'd sent from her sister's sofa,

"Meeting actual pop culture geniuses is all well and good until they turn out to be extremely hot and very, very distracting 🥵"

She frowned at the screenshot at first, before seeing the message it came with. 

'Just checking whether you've met any other pop culture geniuses over the last few days?' Callie's jaw dropped. He did not have Twitter. She was almost certain. Almost. "Shit," she whispered furiously, "shit, shit, shit. Bethhhhhh?" she wailed, calling her sister. 

"What's up?" Beth replied, coming in from her room, DVD in hand. 

"I might have tweeted about meeting Jason the other day. Might have called him hot. He's found the tweet." Beth looked blankly, 

"Did you seriously think he didn't have Twitter?"

"There's an account, but it's not active!" 

"Ohh.. Oh Callie, you plum!"

"Shit! I'm so mortified!"

"Ahh so own it, he's seen it now. You might as well just laugh it off. Speaking off, I knew I had one of his films somewhere - fancy watching it?" She held up 'Sleeping with Other People' Callie was too nose deep in her phone to say no. 

"How's this sound - 'Only Brett and I’m not sure he qualifies as a genius.'?"

"Cute, funny. Breezy, go for it. I'm getting popcorn, shall I open some wine?"

"Fuck yes, please do. I might as well continue to drink myself to death at this rate. I'm a walking mess, Beth."

"You're fine. You're getting over dickhead at your own pace, we got you through the heartbreak and booze diet, I know you’re in the forest but we're getting you out." Callie hummed, hitting send on the message and shoving her phone out of sight to watch the film. By the time it ended, the empty wine bottle sat on the coffee table while Callie and Beth lay head to toe on the sofa. 

"So… The film didn't help." Callie pointed out, gently kicking her sister’s head. 

"You're not wrong," Beth sniggered, "He really is hot!"

"Aghh, shut up. I'm in my heartbreak era. I'm allowed to lust over unattainable men. Thank god I’ll never have to meet him again. He is ridiculously gorgeous in person, I couldn’t cope with that again."

"Did he reply to you?"

"Dunno, I'm sitting on my phone. Probably not." Callie dug under the cushions to retrieve it, "Oh shit, he has replied - it just says 'good to know.' Oh, he's sent a link to a song, he said it reminds him of the book." Callie clicked the link and turned up the volume. She looked across at Beth. 

"Didn’t you play this on repeat for about 8 months while you wrote?" Callie nodded slowly. "Bit mad that he's gone for the same song." Callie nodded again, incredulous.

"I'm sending him the full playlist." She decided, getting the link and adding it to the message stream with the caption 'here's my full playlist for the book, crazy coincidence that you went for that track.' He replied with a purple heart, and Callie resisted the urge to keep the conversation going.

Callie landed in Chicago a week later, stopping briefly at her old apartment to get more of her stuff before continuing to her best friend's home. After some calls to her agent, Laura, she had managed to sign a lease on an apartment in New York within the month, and packed up the rest of her belongings. Messages from Jason dropped into her Twitter DMs once or twice a week, recommending the best place in Brooklyn for tacos,  they’d exchanged book recommendations. It felt strange after so long to be living alone. Laura had found her a tiny apartment close enough that they could regularly meet. Since traveling the country together on her book tour, and the break up, she and Laura had become close friends. Callie was grateful to not be starting over totally alone in a new city. She settled down to write, but found again that the words wouldn't come to her, it felt like an age since she’d managed to successfully put pen to paper. Without really thinking, she picked up her phone and sent a message via Twitter: 'What do you listen to when you write?' The response came through almost immediately with a link to Run The Jewels - a duo she'd never heard of. She hit play without replying to the message and emerged 4 hours and 10,000 words later to a new message. Not on Twitter, on WhatsApp, from a number she didn't have saved already. 

'I talked Brett into giving me your number, I hope you don't mind. Hope the music suggestion worked.'

'It did! I finally got something going. Nothing like a looming deadline to hurry me along. I was on a couple of talk shows last week - it was completely bizarre. I don’t know how you do it. Weird as fuck.’

‘You get used to it. Send me the link, I wanna watch.’

Callie dropped the youtube link into their message chain and got back to work. The messages became more and more regular back and forth - discussing new episodes of TV shows they’d recommended to each other, swapping playlists and books. Callie even sent over recipes she’d made, with photographic evidence of how they’d turned out.

Over brunch, Laura put a coffee cup down for Callie and caught sight of a selfie of Jason and Brett on her phone.

“Well this is unexpectedly wonderful Callie Draper. Does Brett know he’s got a new role as matchmaker?”

“Don’t be silly, we’re just friends. We really got along when we met and he’s just really easy to talk to.” Laura hummed, looking at her own phone. She froze reading an email and Callie looked up at the notable silence. She’d expected the Spanish inquisition but it was nowhere to be found. “What’s up babe?”

“Fuuuck. Callie, fucking hell.”

“Laura! What is it? What’s going on?” Laura slid her phone across the table and Callie read the open email;

‘We’d like to invite Ms Draper to the offices to discuss a potential collaboration in getting her book adapted as a series. I’ll send the details across shortly. I'm away in LA for two weeks so we’ll get something booked in early next month. Netflix would love to have something like this in our wheelhouse so I’m really excited to meet you both.’

“Netflix?” Callie whispered in awe, more to the phone than to Laura.

“NETFLIX baby! Netflix!”

“Fucking hell. Fuck me, what do I do?”

“We meet with them, obviously!” Laura took the phone back and frantically drafted a response. Across the table, Callie picked her phone up and wrote a message of her own.

‘Holy fuck, Netflix want to meet me next month to discuss adapting the book. Fuck me, what do I do?!’

‘That’s amazing news - congrats! Meet with them of course, there’s no harm in hearing what they’re thinking of. Meeting with them doesn’t mean you’re committing to them. You’ll crush it.”

‘I know fuck all about TV. Hope you’re ready for a Padewan?’

In London, Jason laughed at his phone before sending a Yoda gif in response. Callie beamed at the reply before concentrating on Laura who was practically combusting. A few days later, a huge bouquet of beautiful sunflowers arrived on her doorstep with a note from Jason and Brett.

Do it you must, young Padawan 💜

She’d cried and sent them both a picture, thanking them.

‘Anytime, anything you need. You’ll do great, I can’t wait to hear all about it.’ Jason had replied.

The Netflix meeting soon rolled around and Callie listened intently. It had sounded great, she knew very little about TV but she’d heard enough to be a little wary of their business model of cancelling both popular and underperforming shows. She wondered if she was ruthless enough for them but found herself hiding those fears from Jason and Brett. She asked Laura to keep Netflix at arms length for a while, playing on her other deadline commitments, while she tried to work the scenarios in her own mind. They were walking through the park when the call from Apple TV reached Laura. She excused herself away from Callie slightly to take the call, before returning with a huge smile.

“Apple wants to meet you now. It happens sometimes, they’ll have heard through the grapevine about the things Netflix are looking into. Sometimes they’re bothered and want to see for themselves, sometimes they leave each other to it. Could be good for you though to hear out another option? They’ve booked us in to meet next month.” Callie was speechless. They parted ways and Laura went back to the office while Callie went home to write. On the way, she sent Jason a message.

‘Now Apple wants to meet me. This is insane. Insane! I’m really wary of Netflix. I’m not sure they’re the right fit. How did you know when you went with Apple?’

‘Amazing news! We were lucky with Apple, we knew right away and they’ve been really supportive. Couldn’t wish for a greater bunch of folks to work with. At least you’ll have something to compare Netflix to.’

Callie smiled, she knew he was right. They’d batted enough ideas back and forth over the last 5 months to know when each other was on the right track. She settled back at her desk and picked a playlist to write to. Time to focus on the day job - not the possibilities of what might happen.

[fallout4-reacts]

Forgive me Father for I have sinned but the Kellogg one inspired some bad thoughts in me.

Would you feel comfortable doing companions react to Sole romancing Kellogg -because of reasons idk- ?

I'm sorry for the delay… let's just say that sometimes life throws us hardships that are beyond our ability to convey

But, in any case, here it is! I hope you enjoy my interpretation of the companions reactions!

Kellogg: Because the world is a nasty place, I do horrible things. My mother's first true present to me was a gun, and the first lesson I learned in life was that the world would not take care of me if I couldn't take care of myself. There was truth in what she said. But I believe she secretly hoped I would kill my father. No, I didn't. It was the first time I had to confront guilt, and it took a long time for me to sort it out. I felt guilty that I couldn't shield her from my father. Then I was unable to protect my wife and child. I guess I reached a point where I couldn't go back, so I just moved on. I have no justification other than having made my way with what I knew.

Sole: But now... What if we could provide you a new home, a place in the sun, an ideal environment where you could make a difference, where you could protect people who deserve it rather than killing them? Which one would you choose?

Kellogg: Do you know that you're really something special?

Sole: One thing is certain: I believe that everyone deserves a second chances. I believe that if you agree to follow me, we might be able to change the world. You can do it. If you really want to, you can undo all the horrors you've caused.

[… ]

Kellogg: Another great day in the glorious land of sun and sugar of Sole Survivor.

Sole: It was an exciting adventure. When I think of how stupid these folks felt they could get away with murdering so many people.

Kellogg: No mention of a chance to shine in the world for them, huh?

Sole: No. They weren't paying attention. But you paid attention to me. You did it.

Kellogg: How can I say no when such an awesome person is bringing the message?

Sole: Enough to desire to spend your life with?

Kellogg: Beg your pardon?

Sole: You took away my better half; I believe it is past time for you to make things right.

Kellogg: Is that your proposal?

Cait : "NO! It's bad enough that you're dragging your husband's killer along with us; you're not actually asking him to be your love?"

"He proved his worth; he proved his determination to make amends. He saw no other solution than the one he learned about, but when one was provided to him, he accepted it and became a better man. Much good."

"You are completely sick!"

"Perhaps, but I love this man, and you're not going to change whatsoever."

"Maybe I can't change it, but I don't have to stay to see it!"

Codsworth : "Mum/Sir, I understand your desire to see the world in its brightest light, but wouldn't it be healthier to think a little bit before uniting your life with his?"

"Cods, I know it may appear twisted when viewed coldly, but let me explain how I see things; whether good or evil, people are easily blinded. They create tales to excuse their behaviour. Kellogg never lied, never concealed the monster he was, and never hid his face. Despite having done bad things in the past, he is the most honest person I've ever encountered. I'll never be fearful of him deceiving me, hiding facts from me, or acting behind my back. When he does evil, he just confesses it, but since he's been travelling with me, he's been doing good, which is nice... and I love him."

"God. If that's what you desire, who am I to tell you how to live your life? Is he drinking his coffee at the same temperature as you?"

Curie : "It's fascinating to see people interact. This man murdered your spouse, and you want to replace your loss with the same man within a few months."

"He is a man of integrity and honesty, Curie. Yes, he committed evil, but he did not disguise it. That, I believe, is what melted my heart."

"The harm he cause?"

"His sincerity, but more importantly, his integrity. They are not common in the world."

"I understand now. And I understand how you feel. Indeed, being an honest ex-murderer is preferable to being an adorable guy who hides his worst face."

"Exactly."

Danse (Post-BB) : "I am aware that you have a twisted tolerance for the actions and natures of others, but this is even beyond my comprehension, even from you."

"You don't get it, Danse. Kellogg is a complete, honest individual who does not hide anything. He has never lied about his true nature. Concerning his activities, it's not like the Maxsons and Fathers of the world, who pretend to be doing good by committing atrocities."

"Unfortunately, I suppose I grasp your point. But to the extent that you've fallen in love with it?"

"The heart is unpredictable. I have a strong preference towards honesty. That's one of the reasons I admire you as a companion."

"All right, let's be straightforward: please do not send me a wedding invitation. Now I'll tend to my armor, and you should take care not to get yourself killed."

"With Kellogg watching my back, I'm confident it won't happen."

"I guess."

Deacon : "I've seen some bizarre things, but this one..."

"I understand that the presence of the Institute's finest assassin circling us may make you anxious, but— 

"No, I saw and understood. I'm not a moron. Neither do I have any reason to disbelieve you, or him. No, what bothers me is that you fell in love with the man who murdered your spouse."

"It's just that I'm trying to put everything behind me. Things aren't as they used to be, and the odds were stacked against us. Kellogg made the correct decision. He seized the opportunity to rebuild the world with me. And I want to reshape the world alongside him."

"You're the boss. Was I supposed to bring cyanide or rat poison as a wedding gift?"

"I'd like some cyanide. More radical."

Dogmeat : Kellogg has a special knack to find the best dog food cans. He also makes Sole happy. Dogmeat adores Kellogg.

Elder Maxson : "From a strategic standpoint, it was a brilliant benefactor tactic to recruit the assassin working for your worst enemy to your cause, but falling in love with him?"

"He is the most truthful and honest man who walks this earth."

"He's no longer a real man. He belongs to the abomination kin rather than the human species."

"It's a good thing it's not your call."

"As far as I'm concerned, if you're able to integrate the Institute and defeat that foe, you're free to sleep with whomever you want... except a ghoul. Never sleep with a ghoul."

Hancock is gradually retreating.

Hancock : Well, ditching the past is like second nature to me. I ain't saying I can dig it, but I can dig it. Nah, I can't dig it. I would never have snitched to my bae's killer. Is he a good lay?"

"Hancock…"

Nah, but what I'm sayin' is, if this is really the fuckin' century's fuck... I mean, ya know, as partners, we gotta share everything. Even chillin'. Together. He bangs good?"

"Hancock!"

"Sister/Brother, does he make you scream his name so loud that everyone in Sanctuary knows he's hitting hard?"

"Does that mean you accept my alliance with Kellogg?"

"Honey, I'm gonna be your bro of honour. Does he bang good?"

Gage : "A man like that as the tender half of the Overboss? Gangs will never dare strike against you. Everything else is out of my hands. If the job is done well, you can fuck molerats; that's none of my business."

MacCready : "…"

"Say something!"

"…"

"Mac!"

The mercenary examines Sole meticulously.

"I felt like I had my boss in front of me, but this person who dresses the same as them has just told me that they are going to marry the murderer of their spouse."

Sole sighs deeply, rubbing their temples to ward off the impending headache.

"Kellogg is so much more than my husband's killer, and you know it."

"But, above all, he is the murderer of your husband."

"If I decide to go over it, who are you to oppose?"

"I make no objection! I doubt your sanity, but I'm not going to argue. So long as he doesn't mess with my pay..."

"No one will be touching your caps."

"Then you can marry whoever you want!"

Nick : "I'm done"

Sole can argue, debate, and explain, but Nick continues to walk towards Diamond City unconcerned

"Niiiiiiiiiick!"

"You have your assassin to lead you to the Institute and find your son; you no longer need me."

"Nick! You're not simply helpful; you're also my friend!"

The synth abruptly spins on his heels and stares at Sole.

"And your friend has one last warning for you: smother your husband's murderer in your sheets, or you'll wake up with that man's dagger in your throat one day. You can come and find me if you live to this day and slice his throat back."

Sole sighs despondently.

"You're going to tell me that everyone you help, all the clients you've reached out to, all the things you've done, you've only done for the holiest of human beings?"

Nick pauses for a bit before sighing.

"Listen, I'm not claiming to be a moral angel, but he murdered your spouse. This is the man who stole your life!"

"And he's helping me in bringing her back! He never pretended to be anything other than himself; he never lied; and he never attempted to abuse anyone. Okay, he didn't have a decent policy! Okay, he had a nasty boss who asked him to do horrible things in a horrible world! But he leaped at the chance to try anew. Is he less valuable than Strong, Cait, or Danse?"

"Don't bring the Brotherhoods back to the mat, or else I'll leave even faster."

"He's been doing really good for months!"

"He has been doing evil for years! Where has the justice gone?"

Sole pauses, then crosses their arms and stares at Nick.

"Is it a question of justice? Is it justice of the old or new world?"

Nick pauses, rubbing his neck in discomfort. Then, after a long pause in which Sole tries to let him consider everything, he appears to submit to the arguments.

"I… I guess I'm starting to get it. I mean, I'll never understand why you fell in love with him, but I see where you're going. Okay. After all, it's not my job to tell you who you can or cannot sleep with."

Piper : (sorry for the cliché) "WOW! I mean... WOW! Wow, wow, wow. You're the only one who can tell me such twisted, twisting stories! I saw the following headlines: The husband of the Sole Survivor is the man who murdered their spouse."

"Do you realise that not everything in life is an article?"

"Let me get the shock as best I can!"

"All right, so what time is the interview?"

Preston : Preston stands there staring at Sole for a long while without saying anything. Sole can't help but feel a little uneasy. They begin to waddle from one foot to the other, hanging their heads in shame they did not expect to feel. They showed up to inform Preston as a fact: "We eat mirelurk for dinner; there is no more ammunition in the Zimonja outpost; this hat fits you very well, I'll marry Kellogg." But Preston is now stuck in a long-lasting silence. He merely stares at Sole, not showing any emotion.

"Look, I… I need to get back in a moment, so if you could—

"Kellogg. Is that the man who murdered your spouse?"

It's a reaction. Sole didn't believe they'd get any more. They're overjoyed.

"I know it sounds strange—

"What's even more strange is that I am compelled to accept your judgement. You've done well thus far, and I can't deny that Kellogg has been a huge help to us. How can you possibly fall in love with him? I'm not sure. But I was already missing it when you brought him along. At this point, what is one more or less step on the verge of insanity."

The Minutemen's Colonel shrugs his shoulders.

"I will kill him if he betrays us or poses a threat to us. And I shall kill you."

He moved away without adding anything, taking a quiet step towards his guard station while whistling. Sole let out a sigh. Surely, that's the best reaction they could expect from Preston.

Strong : “Human strong, human good warrior. Human take you spouse. Human became spouse. I get it.”

X6-88 : "I am unable to adequately describe how much I agree with your pragmatic decision and how impressed I am with your order of precedence. This individual is a tremendous asset to the organisation, and I have no doubt that he will never compromise you. Sincerely, I admire your commitment to the Institute and confidence in one of its greatest components. Your denial of his past actions demonstrates your elegance, and it will be a privilege to be associated with you indefinitely."

[liu-lang]

gonna discuss this with my therapist today... i missed the first half of the sunday facetime call and thought it was odd everyone was in agreement and cheery about my niece's birthday being in vegas @ my mum's but felt like overall the call wasn't too bad. but then my mum texted this which made me confused. for one thing, I do have a credit card that has travel rewards ... and i do use it to accumulate miles ... which i do use to partially pay for any flights if possible. secondly, the reason why i don't fly home as often as she would prefer at least is not bc i'm "underestimating" her but bc of ... the economic and geographic reality that i live in nyc ?? and transcontinental flights are expensive. and lastly, just like i'm not doing anything to hurt her, i am also not doing anything nor have any thought or intention to discount my siblings.

it seems to be she has all these perceived slights that we do against not only her but also if she feels this way then my sisters would also feel the same. anyway i've noticed a pattern that after our mum will basically speak for us / on our behalf, in our own group chat with just the 3 of us, we will check in with each other, like "hey, mum said that X thing about the way you feel, is this true ? have i done something / am i doing something to hurt you ?" and the answer very frequently is "what is mum even talking about ; i totally don't feel that way" anyway, apparently i missed the part where my mum got upset that it's been so long since anyone visited her (long story short... dunno if i will get into it... but she ended up going to singapore for over a month this summer and didn't even tell any of us and i had to find out from like DM at 03h from my cousin in sg that my mum is staying at his and then my mum found out i was talking to my cousin so we had to stop talking to each other .........) and she was even more upset when my twin reminded her that they're going to do xmas in france.... which my mum acted like it was the first time she was hearing about it even though they started to tell her since last xmas when we did all end up going to vegas.

all this to say at least i know what is happening now bc my biggest (financial) worry is that no one would be able to decide until last minute and then i'd have to pay like $1k to fly back - idk why my mum just discounts the fact that i live on the east coast ; her solution is i'm doing this to myself and none of this would be a problem if i just went back to california instead of making it so difficult for the family all the time.

[ukrfeminism]

5 minute read

From the kitchen table of the house she shares with her partner and (at times) their eight children, Lauren, 38, has been working with Claire to put pressure on the government to prevent sex offenders from changing their names after release. They have also had to fight to have their sister’s murderer placed on the sex offender register.

In April, they travelled to London to meet Damian Hinds, minister for prisons, parole and probation, to explain their concerns that weaknesses in the law make women and children more vulnerable when sex offenders are released from prison.

Lauren Holmes was 11 when she discovered how her sister, Collette, had died. There were woods near the family home in Corby in Northamptonshire, and Lauren had ignored her mother’s warning that they were unsafe.

“We knew we weren’t allowed to go there,” Lauren remembers, “but we did, and we got chased by a local lad. Two of my friends ended up in hospital getting thorns removed because they’d tried to escape through the brambles. That evening, everyone’s parents gave us a real rollicking, but my mum was just silent. I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t shouting. I was sent to my room and she came in and threw a load of newspapers on my bed, and she said: ‘This is why you’re not allowed to go into the woods!’ I felt shocked and guilty. It was a hard way to find out.”

The newspapers explained that a local man named Adam Stein had abducted six-year-old Collette Gallacher in February 1986 as she waited for a bus to take her to school, the same school where her mother worked as a playground assistant and dinner lady. Corby in the 1980s was a much smaller place than it is today. Struggling with the fallout of the closure of the British Steel plant, which had been Europe’s largest steelworks, there was high unemployment – but there was also a sense of community in the streets around the Gallachers’ home. “Everyone knew each other,” Lauren says. It was not unusual for a six-year-old to be sent off to school alone.

On the day of the abduction, “someone asked my mum where Collette was, and that’s when they realised something wasn’t right,” Lauren says. The search for Collette lasted five days, and Stein was one of the many locals who volunteered to look for her, before her body was found in the attic of the house that he shared with his wife and young son. Stein admitted rape as well as murder, but the sexual assault charge lay on file – a decision sometimes taken if a defendant has also pleaded guilty to more serious charges. Lauren and her younger half-sister Claire believe this was in order to spare the family from sitting through details of the attack in court. Stein was jailed for life and told he would serve a minimum of 20 years. Thirty-seven years later, Collette’s sisters are still fighting to make sure he does not escape justice.

Claire Holmes was not yet born and Lauren was only 15 months old when Collette was killed, but her murder still dominates their lives. Their mother, Karen, did her best to shield them from what had happened but when Claire, now 32, was nine or 10, she stumbled across a box of newspaper cuttings. “I was in my mum’s room having a nosy around, as I shouldn’t have done. We always knew we had a big sister, that a bad man had taken her, but it was a taboo subject. My mum still struggles to say Collette’s name. My grandad had to explain it all.”

From the kitchen table of the house she shares with her partner and (at times) their eight children, Lauren, 38, has been working with Claire to put pressure on the government to prevent sex offenders from changing their names after release. They have also had to fight to have their sister’s murderer placed on the sex offender register.

In April, they travelled to London to meet Damian Hinds, minister for prisons, parole and probation, to explain their concerns that weaknesses in the law make women and children more vulnerable when sex offenders are released from prison.

Lauren, who works as a carer at a home for adults with a rare genetic condition, feels she has become a part-time detective, working with the local Corby journalist Kate Cronin to investigate why her sister’s murderer was sent back to prison after his release in 2016. It appears this was connected to driving offences, and she discovered he had changed his name and begun a relationship with a vulnerable teenager during the short period he was free. Claire has begun a degree in criminology, spurred on by her concerns about flaws in the justice system.

The sisters want to make it clear that their activism does not stem from vindictiveness. “This is not a witch-hunt. We hoped he would be rehabilitated in prison, but everything we now know suggests that hasn’t happened,” Claire says. “The latest parole statement that we have says that he is still having bad thoughts about children, and not understanding the consequences of his actions. From all the information we have, he does not seem to be a man who has changed.”

They are cautiously optimistic that their campaign may be getting somewhere. In March, the Labour MP for Rotherham, Sarah Champion, organised a debate on sex offenders’ name changes, while Bolsover’s Conservative MP, Mark Fletcher, had a 10-minute-rule bill on the same subject; both argue that it is too easy for sex offenders to conceal their identities.

“A sex offender can change their name and with little difficulty receive a passport or a driving licence with their new name,” Fletcher told MPs. “At no point are you asked if you have a criminal background. In some cases this can lead to a DBS check under their new identity.” A DBS, or Disclosure and Barring Service, check is required for some jobs or voluntary roles, particularly in healthcare or in positions that involve working with children.

Collette’s sisters did not intend to devote so much of their lives to campaigning, but the target of their concern has evolved over the years. Stein was refused parole several times before being released in 2016 and returned to prison in 2017. He was released again in 2021 and sent back in July 2022. After his first release, they were dismayed to discover that he had not been placed automatically on the sex offender register. Their campaigning resulted in his name being added, but they are still uncertain about whether the initial failure was because he did not have a conviction for rape or because the offence predated the launch of the register.

A newspaper article by Cronin prompted a woman to get in touch to say that while he had been out of prison in 2016, Stein, then 58, had changed his name and struck up a relationship with her, when she was 18. He admitted that he had been in prison after killing a child, but told her it had been an accident.

The sisters were concerned that Stein’s ability to change his name made it easier to conceal his past. “You shouldn’t be able to hide when you’ve committed crimes of this nature. That should be something that you carry for the rest of your life,” Claire says.

The Safeguarding Alliance warns that the child sexual offenders’ disclosure scheme (also known as Sarah’s law, named after eight-year-old Sarah Payne, who was murdered by a paedophile in 2000), which allows parents to check if a person has a record for child sexual offences, becomes useless if the offender has changed their name.

Asked why this weakness has not already been fixed, Fletcher said this was “a bit of a head-scratcher”. There is the possibility that post-prison rehabilitation would be undermined for those who have reformed and want a new start, but the government is not making this case, just arguing that sex offenders are already required to notify the authorities if they change their names and face an extra five years’ imprisonment if they fail to do this within three days of the change.

Campaigners point out that many fail to do so. Freedom of information requests from the Safeguarding Alliance show that about 900 sex offenders went missing between 2017 and 2020, while 16,000 had in some way breached their notification requirements in the past five years. As Fletcher told MPs: “It doesn’t take a genius to realise that sex offenders are not the most trustworthy group.”

Champion, meanwhile, has pointed out that some perpetrators change their name before being formally charged with an offence, “meaning their birth name remains unmaligned”. 

Collette’s sisters are hopeful that reform may be included in the victims and prisoners bill currently going through parliament. In the meantime, they have been working with Cronin to try to get more information about whether Stein still poses a threat to the public ahead of his next possible release in 2024. Cronin’s attempts to obtain more information about him have been complicated by the name changes. “It’s not about pitchforks. It’s about keeping women and girls safe,” she says.

The family are dismayed that they are still fighting to ensure Stein is properly monitored after his release. “His name is constantly in our mouths,” says Claire. “It would have been lovely to know that he had been released and quietly got on with his life. It does happen. People do change their lives – but that’s not been the case. We feel like we can never have peace.”

[ravenclaw-writes]

Like I Do

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Sirius Black

Description:

Worried about the future, Sirius breaks up with Remus the summer before their final year at Hogwarts. When September rolls around and Remus shows up to the platform, his arm slung around a girl, Sirius realizes he fucked up. No one gets to touch his Moony like that. After a month of ignoring each other, the tension is too much.

(Title from the song Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat by Del Water Gap)

Word Count: 6,299

Original Publish Date: 2023-01-05

A/N: Hi again! Fic 4 from my AO3-to-tumblr transfer. This one is actually from this year haha. Hope you like! Feel free to check out my other stuff either on here as I start to upload or on my AO3 where they already live :)

| MASTERLIST IN BIO |

| Read on AO3 |

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~ i. ~

It was a hard summer. Stuck at home helping out his mum around the house. He was either doing the manual labour too intense for her or his summer assignments. An extremely slow owl resulted in limited communication with his friends. He lost his school books for a good portion of time until he remembered he’s of age and there is in fact a spell that can help him. He blamed the forgetfulness on the breakup. Oh yeah, add that to the list. Sirius Black broke up with him. By owl.

He’s not exactly complaining (lie), because he would rather have it end than stretch it out and start the school year off with that conversation. This way he can process it on his own time. At least he still had half the summer. Honestly, the whole thing surprised him. It came out of nowhere. He’s not sure what happened, Sirius kept the letter quite short.

Remus,

He knew it was bad right from the start, Sirius always called him some form of Moony or an over-the-top pet name that Remus refused to admit he loved.

I don’t really know how to say this, so I guess I'll just get into it. I think we should call it. We both knew that it wasn’t going to last, so there’s no sense in dragging out the inevitable.

See you on the train,

Padfoot

He didn’t think that it was inevitable. Remus was starting to think that he could actually love Sirius. That Sirius could love him back. He hadn’t voiced it though. It was not something he was ready to do. But if Sirius thought the breakup was inevitable then surely Remus had missed some cues. He was always bad at that. James used to tease him about not being able to tell when someone was flirting with him.

He just stared at the letter for a while after it arrived. He half expected another one from James checking in on him to immediately follow, but nothing. From anyone, in fact. Broken up, cut off, and he couldn’t even find his school books to distract him. He also couldn’t talk to his mum, he didn’t tell her about him and Sirius.

He wrote a letter to Lily but didn’t send it. He wrote another, same thing. He wasn’t really sure what to tell her. Eventually, he settled with short and sweet, like Sirius’.

Lily,

Sirius and I broke up.

Remus

Remus’ owl took 2 days to reach Lily.

“Remus, it’s for you!” Hope answered the landline on a Wednesday evening. Remus pushed his chair out from the kitchen table where he was doing work (he had since remembered he was a wizard) and walked to where the phone was, around the corner. He wasn't sure who could possibly be calling for him, maybe the neighbour saw him fixing the fence and wanted him to fix his side too? Hope passed him the handset. “It’s a girl,” she teased. Remus rolled his eyes.

“Hello?”

“Remus!” Lily’s sweet voice greeted him. Oh yeah. He forgot about that. Not all his friends are purebloods who don’t know how to use a phone.

“Hey,” Remus replied, using the benefit of the long cord to reach into the kitchen and pull a chair to the phone. He sat down and switched the handset to the other ear.

“I just got your letter, why didn’t you call me! I’m so sorry, James didn’t mention anything to me when we went to Hogsmeade yesterday. I’m sending you some Honeydukes right now. I’ll charm it so it won’t melt, your owl is quite slow you know.” Lily rambled. Remus forgot how much he missed her voice. He sighed.

“I missed you,” he said.

“Oh, Remus,” Lily cooed. Remus sighed again. So much for thinking he processed it. “What happened, love?”

Remus paused. He wasn’t even sure himself what happened. “I don’t even know. I just got a letter from him out of the blue last week and-”

“LAST WEEK?” Lily exclaimed. “Remus, please tell me you at least talked it through with Hope.”

Remus didn’t answer.

“Remus Lupin, you didn’t just wallow did you?”

He still didn’t answer. Lily sighed. “I didn’t even tell her we were together, what am I supposed to say, ‘hey mum, remember my friend Sirius? We dated all through second term but you can’t meet him again because he just broke up with me’,” Remus checked to make sure his mum wasn’t still hanging around. She knew he was bi, they had that conversation a long time ago. But he wanted to keep Sirius to himself for a little. It seems a little was all he got anyway.

Lily sighed again. Remus knew she was shaking her head. “It wouldn’t have been a big deal, your mum’s cool,” Remus chuckled a little at that. “But, really, how are you doing?”

“I’m … ok,” Remus answered truthfully. “He said in the letter that it was inevitable anyway so I guess this is something that was always going to happen,” he shrugged, even though Lily couldn’t see him.

“Wait, backup, letter?” Lily asked.

“Oh, yeah. He broke up with me by owl.”

“He didn’t even have the decency to apparate?” Lily exclaimed, utterly shocked.

“To be fair, no one’s ever been here so it’s not like he could if he wanted to.”

“He could have at least Floo’d then!”

“Floo’s broken. I have no idea how to fix it.” Remus lied. He wasn't sure why he’s covering for Sirius. They were still friends, he guessed. Aren’t they?

Lily groaned. “Remus don't make up excuses for him. I’ll get James to give him a talking to.”

Remus sat up straight. “No, Lils, if Sirius didn’t even tell James that it happened I’m sure there’s a reason. The last thing I want is to tear everyone apart for our last year.”

“Ok. But if you change your mind, let me know.” Lily paused. “Did he say anything?”

“He ended it with ‘see you on the train’.”

~ ii. ~

Who is she?

September first. Platform 9 3/4. Months since Sirius had last seen his Moony. Or, well, just Moony now.

He didn’t think it was possible but Remus was taller. A lot taller. And broader. Big shoulders. He didn’t look lanky anymore, he filled out, it suited him. Was his jawline always that sharp? Fuck, when was the last time he shaved? Stubble has never looked so good. So much should not have changed over one summer.

But, who. Is. She?

Remus was the last of the Marauders to arrive on the platform. Sirius and James were first despite Effie forcing them to pose for photos, tearing up now that "her boys are all grown up.” Next was Peter, and now. Moony.

His right arm draped over the shoulder of some girl, their fingers laced together. Maybe he just looks so tall because she’s not even at his shoulders. Sirius can’t hear what they’re saying, but he doesn’t need to, their body language is doing all the talking. She is pressed close to him, holding his arm close.

Sirius can tell that Peter and James are talking but he can’t make out the words.

The girl waved to someone, trying to look over the crowd by standing on her tiptoes. She looked back at Remus, said what he assumed was a goodbye, and started to walk away. But Remus held on, and pulled her back, spinning her around to face him. And kissed her, right on the mouth. Right on the platform. In front of everyone.

Sirius seemed to be the only one who noticed.

The kiss went on for too long, in Sirius’ opinion. It didn’t look enjoyable either. He and Remus never kissed like that.

What could only be hours later, the two parted and Remus headed over to the Marauder’s arranged meeting point.

Sirius was stunned. A girlfriend? It has to be, his Moony was never one for casual stuff. Sirius would know. Sirius does know.

But PDA? That was new, he never did that with -

But it was because they couldn’t. Sirius wasn’t out publicly. While he no longer lived with the Blacks (he refused to call them his family), the news would still reach them. They still had ties to the school while Regulus was there.

Sirius felt a pang in his heart. He could never give Moony that. Not unless they uprooted their lives completely. It was inevitable, anyway. Just like he said in the letter. Fuck, he felt like shit attaching it to his owl. But he knew if he went in person he wouldn’t be able to do it. And he had to do it. Moony deserves better. Someone he can kiss in public, on the train platform, in front of the entire student body.

He didn’t want to tell James at first, but yesterday he figured he should probably say something before everyone was reunited. If anyone asked, Sirius didn’t know why he waited to tell James, it wasn’t a big deal, people break up, so what?

But really, it was because it was James who put the idea in his head, and he knew James would kill himself if he knew.

All summer he was seeing Lily, talking about Lily, letting his eyes linger on rings on display when they went out. The whole time Sirius missed Remus, really, he did. He wished he could see him, talk about him the way that James talked about Lily. The feelings were mirror images. He just couldn’t say it. Remus had been out for a couple of years now, he’s so unapologetically himself. As much as Sirius wants to say the same of himself, it’s not true. The closest he got to that is with James. But even then, he holds back a little. He forced himself into the guy’s house for Merlin’s sake. He wouldn’t be surprised if James never spoke to him again after finals.

But Moony. Fuck, Moony. Soft, safe, caring. Never complains when Sirius asks him to read out loud, from fiction to textbooks, Sirius loves the sound of his voice. He smells like a specific brand of Muggle soap, cinnamon, and cedar. Home. Remus smelt like home.

And just like his home growing up, eventually, it would gather all his vulnerabilities and spit them in his face. So the breakup was inevitable. Sirius was getting too comfortable, he had to do it before he really let his guard down.

See you on the train.

He thought it would be easy to say goodbye. They weren’t dating for long, sure they had kissed, had sex even. Good sex. But it couldn’t become more. As James had made painfully obvious to him, he could never browse for rings.

~ iii. ~

Remus tried to move on, really, he did. He bumped into a nice girl at the market near his house who ended up being a 6th year Ravenclaw. She recognized Remus, he had no idea who she was. But she was pretty, someone he could see at school, and nothing like Sirius.

When the term started they stayed together. With her being in the year below, they didn’t have any classes together, but whenever they had free time they spent it together. She snuck Remus into the Ravenclaw Common Room a couple of times, sometimes letting Remus guess at the riddle first. He never got it right. He did love the Common Room though. It was big, open, lots of windows. He liked the windows because they gave him something to focus his eyes on so he could avoid looking at the ceiling.

Charmed to look like the night's sky, the stars twinkled after dusk. Remus refused to enter the Common Room at night after the first time. Of course, Sirius has to be the brightest star. Remus wished he too was 8.6 light-years away from Earth.

He wasn’t necessarily avoiding the Marauders, but they didn’t mind, they were just happy to see him in a relationship. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure if Peter even realized that he and Sirius were together last term.

He was avoiding Sirius though. And Lily at times. He did not want to hear her opinion on the situation.

But he was getting nervous about the full moon. It was coming at the end of the month so at least he had some time to figure out how the fuck that was going to work. The wolf found it hard by himself over the summer, and Remus knows he will be happy to see his friends again. But the wolf won’t know to avoid Padfoot.

So for now he’ll just enjoy his time with his girlfriend.

He’ll try to, at least.

Her fingers caressed the same places that Sirius did. Her fingers were softer, smaller. They didn't match the invisible imprints that Sirius left on his skin. Her nails were longer and Remus missed the light touch of the tips of Sirius’ fingers when he would lazily trace shapes on Remus' hips.

Her teeth were different, too. Remus didn’t think that he’d be able to tell the difference between people’s teeth but he could. Maybe her mouth was smaller? She sometimes bit his lip when they kissed, and it just didn’t feel the same. He knew the answer, he just didn’t want to admit it. He was the only person to know about Sirius’ crooked tooth.

You couldn’t see it when he smiled, but sometimes Remus noticed, he knew what to look for. He knew that Walburga Black fixed Sirius’ teeth as soon as all his adult ones came in. He knew that in first year Sirius found a spell to counteract it, and as his first act of defiance, 11-year-old Sirius Black moved a single tooth back to its original place. He knew because last year Sirius showed him.

How pathetic. Remus missed a fucking tooth.

~ iv. ~

Sirius didn’t know why it bothered him so much. He and Remus were over, they had been over for a long time now. It was almost the end of September. Months had passed since the breakup. Months had passed since the last time he touched Remus’ skin.

Of course she’s a Ravenclaw. He always knew he wasn’t smart enough for Remus, that he didn’t try as hard as he should. She must be smart if she’s in Ravenclaw. He bet that Remus could even answer the riddles to get into the Common Room. They’re not very slick, Sirius always saw them sneak off. Maybe he’s just paying more attention than everyone else. He’s always been attuned to Remus’ movements.

It made his blood boil. He used to touch Remus like that. He’s the only one who knows where to touch, where to kiss. He’s the only one allowed to touch Remus like that.

Sirius never considered himself possessive, and he certainly didn’t feel this way while they were together. Something about seeing Remus with someone else just made him snap. And fuck if it didn't turn him on.

Sirius’ newest fantasy involved pulling Remus into a broom cupboard, a classroom, the shower, his bed, and kissing him hard. Make Remus realize that no one can make him feel as good as Sirius can.

He had to shut those feelings down. They broke up. He ended it. This was his own doing. He basically told Remus that he never thought they would last. Remus didn't want him anymore, he’d clearly moved on. Someone smart, someone pretty. A Muggleborn too, a commonality that they could never share. She’s nothing like him. Clearly, Remus thought it was inevitable too.

But all that did was add fuel to Sirius' fire.

~ v. ~

Sirius was getting easier to avoid. But the full moon was tomorrow. They needed to talk. Maybe Sirius would stay in the dorm tomorrow night? Would that make things better or worse? He knew both Lily and James would skin him alive if he didn’t talk to Sirius soon.

Remus sighed and closed his Charms textbook. He couldn’t focus anyway, even without the Sirius Issue. He's always agitated right before the full moon. Remus decided that he needed to find Sirius. He should be on his way back from class now, Remus could cross paths on his way back from the Library if he left right now.

So he packed up his things, eager to get this over with, and left the Library. Sure enough, there was Sirius, walking the halls with his hands in the pockets of his robes. Remus forgot about how well Sirius pulled off the uniform. It’s not fair that a family as shit as his can produce the most gorgeous offspring.

Cutting across the hall, side-stepping out of the way of some first years, Remus grabbed Sirius by the arm of his robe and pulled him into the first door he saw.

Regrettably, it was a broom cupboard.

~ vi. ~

Sirius was avoiding Remus. He hardly ever saw him anyway, he was always with his girlfriend. But now he was making sure there was purposeful space between them. So he went to class, walked back to the dorm slowly, went to the Library less than usual (not that he went much before, but he knew that Remus would be there). It was easy. He made the executive decision to just sit this full moon out. Padfoot and the wolf liked to tussle. He’s horny for Remus as a human, he did not need Padfoot to put that on display for everyone.

He made his way back from Muggle Studies, taking his sweet time, hands in his pockets, kicking the ground with his slow steps, just wasting time. The hall was filled with little first years and Sirius found himself missing the early Marauder days.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on the sleeve of his robe and he was yanked into a small, dark, cupboard. He whipped out his wand, cursing himself for not being more alert.

The mystery person beat him to the first spell, but it was just a smooth lumos. Sirius’ breath hitched.

Remus.

Sirius straightened his back and tried to step back, instead, he bumped into the wall. It was a tight squeeze, but at least there was some space between them. Sirius had enough room to move and open the door if he wanted to.

But did he?

Why was Remus pulling him into a broom cupboard?

Was he dreaming? Merlin’s fucking balls did he dream up an entire Muggle Studies class and now he'll have to go to another one when he woke up?

Sirius lowered his wand, tucking it into his robe pocket, waiting for Remus to speak. He decided this was not a dream. If it was, Remus’ tongue would already be down his throat.

He hadn’t been this close to Remus in so long. That smell. Remus must’ve showered this morning. Soap, cinnamon, cedar. It was intoxicating. If he didn’t get out of here soon he was going to do something stupid. Really stupid.

“Yes?” He prompted when Remus remained silent.

Remus ran his tongue over his lips before speaking, but it was all too much.

~ vii. ~

Remus cast a quick lumos, illuminating the small room. Could it even be considered a room?

Sirius took a step back. Fuck, he hates me, doesn’t he, Remus thought.

“Yes?” He asked, sounding annoyed.

Remus couldn’t think this close to Sirius. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch. No, he thought. You have a girlfriend, stop.

Nervous, Remus ran his tongue over his lips, trying to think of something to say. He opened his mouth, but before he could spit out the first word, Sirius launched his hands up, gripping his around the back of his neck, thumbs on the sides of his face.

And kissed him.

It caught Remus off guard, and he dropped his still-illuminated wand. It was oh so familiar. The press, the soft lips, the feel of big hands gripping his neck. Remus instinctively reached out and gripped Sirius' waist, pulling him impossibly close, the two of them pressed together.

Their lips moved together in synch. They were always perfect at this.

Sirius lightly bit down on Remus’ lip and when he felt that fucking tooth it snapped him back to reality. Remus broke the kiss and pushed Sirius off of him.

“What the fuck?” He exclaimed. He noticed how Sirius didn’t wipe his mouth. His lips glistened with their mixed saliva. “What was that all about!”

Sirius looked him in the eyes, they were out of focus, hooded. Remus knew that look. He tried not to let it get to him.

“I missed you.”

Remus was dumbfounded. “Missed me? You’re the one who broke up with me! I moved on, in case you didn’t notice. I have a girlfriend now.” The lie was easy now. He wasn’t sure he’d move on until he stopped seeing Sirius on a daily basis. Even then -

Sirius furrowed his brows, his mood changing. “Oh, I noticed.” He slowly reached out, seeing if Remus would stop his wandering hand. Remus hated himself for staying still. Sirius looped his fingers through one of Remus’ belt loops. “How could I not notice?”

Remus’ heart started pounding, his breathing was heavy, his blood was rushing south very quickly. Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

Sirius slowly pulled Remus towards him. Remus didn’t put up a fight. Sirius used his other hand to start untucking Remus’ shirt. He went from the side, towards the front, and let his hand move down.

“Does she make you this hard?”

Remus choked on air. Sirius chuckled. “She doesn’t, does she?” He teased.

Remus wasn’t sure what was happening, Sirius was never like this. Was he... was he jealous?

Sirius unhooked his finger from Remus’ belt loop and untucked the other side of his shirt before moving it to join his other hand at Remus’ belt buckle.

Remus was in too deep. He had to stop this. He couldn’t do this.

Sirius undid the buckle, then his trousers, and slowly started pulling them down. Sirius followed, lowering himself until he was on his knees, looking up at Remus. Jesus fucking Christ.

Remus wanted to shove him away, stop him from undoing all the work that he has put in to move on.

But what would he say? How could he lie and say that he doesn’t want this when the evidence of what Sirius was doing to him was so painfully obvious?

Sirius let go of the waistband of Remus’ trousers once they pooled at his ankles and slowly trailed his fingers up Remus’ legs.

Oh, those fingers. The callouses on his fingertips from playing James’ guitar, the slight graze of filed nails, the space that they occupy. Remus’ skin was on fire by the time they reach the waistband of his underwear.

Sirius placed his hands on Remus' hips, hooking his thumbs under the fabric. His fingers lining up perfectly with the imprints Remus couldn’t erase. Sirius smirked up at him as if he knew exactly what Remus was thinking: they fit perfectly together.

That was about the last innocent thought Remus had.

Sirius slowly pulled down Remus’ underwear. So slow, too slow. Remus was getting impatient, but he didn’t want to let Sirius know that he won. So he stayed fixed to the ground, making fists with the hands he wanted to grab Sirius’ hair with.

Remus was a bit embarrassed at how quickly he got this hard. In his defence, he hasn't done anything below the belt since before the summer. The last person to touch him like this was Sirius. And here he was again. He belonged to Sirius whether he knew it or not.

But right now? He knew. Fuck, he knew.

~ viii. ~

Sirius looked up at Remus. His head was thrown back, leaning against the chipped brick wall. His eyes were closed, brows furrowed in a mixture of resistance and pleasure. Sirius let his eyes trail down Remus' torso as he ran his hands up Remus thighs, lightly brushing his fingertips across the skin. He was feeling smug. He was the only one who could see Remus like this. He was the only one who could make Remus feel like this. He could tell Remus was trying to hold back, even with the limited light Sirius could see Remus' knuckles turning white with how tight he was clenching his fists. It gave him such a surge of power. Usually Remus was the one to take control in the bedroom. Sirius understood the appeal. But he was itching for Remus to not only take control but to fully lose control. Maybe if he worked him up just a little bit more ...

Remus was now fully bare from waist down. Sirius trailed his fingers up and down the inside of Remus' thighs, avoiding the proudly erect cock dripping in front of him.

"Look at you, hmm?" Sirius found himself saying. He was usually on the receiving end of dirty talk when he was with Remus but if he was trying to get a rise out of him, Sirius could dust off his dominant side. At least for a little bit. He used to be able to make girls melt. But he knew what his Moony liked. This would be easy.

Sirius gave the head of Remus' cock a kitten lick, tasting the salty precum. Remus made a sound in the back of his throat.

"You're really pent up, aren't you?" He asked, slowly licking up the underside of Remus' cock. He's always been good at giving head. "I'll bet she doesn't touch you like this," Sirius said, using a hand to cup Remus' balls. Remus always topped, but Sirius knew he still liked his ass played with a little. Sirius let his fingers wander further back. Remus gasped, his fists flexing. Sirius took this opportunity to slowly lower his mouth on the tip of Remus' cock, sucking lightly on the head.

The groan that Remus let out went straight to Sirius' cock. Oh how he had missed that sound.

~ ix. ~

Remus' head was spinning. He was vaguely aware that they were in a semi-public place but when Sirius finally put his lips around his cock, any logic or reason that had been present in his brain promptly left. He could feel his nails digging into his palm, itching to be digging into Sirius' scalp instead.

Sirius started bobbing his, but the pace was still too slow. Sirius always had a teasing energy in the bedroom but this was just another level.

"Sirius," Remus moaned. He finally opened his eyes and the sight of Sirius looking up at him through full eyelashes was too much.

Sirius pulled off Remus' cock with a wet pop, a trail of spit connecting the tip with his shining lips. Remus almost keeled over, already missing the heat of Sirius' mouth.

"Yes, love?" he responded, cheekily. He started slowly licking up the side of Remus' cock again and Remus had enough of this teasing.

He finally unclenched his fists and roughly gripped at the back of Sirius' head. But Sirius pushed back against the force of Remus pushing him towards his aching cock. "Needy, are we?" Sirius asked.

"Shut up and put your mouth on me," Remus demanded. It wasn't begging, he wouldn't go that far, but it was just shy. It was hard to hide the desperation in his voice. He hadn't been blown in so long. He hadn't been blown by Sirius in so long.

"Yes, Sir," Sirius said breathlessly, letting his mouth hang open. And Remus snapped.

Using his fistfuls of Sirius' hair, Remus forcefully pulled Sirius closer, shoving his cock all the way down Sirius' throat in one swift movement. Sirius moaned around the intrusion and let his muscles relax, giving full control to Remus.

God, he missed this. The submission he could get from Sirius. Knowing the pleasure that Sirius got from being manhandled like this. Remus started fucking into Sirius' mouth, pulling him closer by his hair to match every thrust. "Fuck you feel so good," Remus moaned. He felt movement below him and looked down to see Sirius had shed his robe and was palming himself through his trousers. Remus pulled Sirius off his cock and tugged at his hair, signalling him to stand up. Gasping for air, Sirius obeyed, and Remus pressed Sirius' back against the cool wall of the broom cupboard and roughly kissed him. Sirius arms immediately wrapped around Remus, started pulling his robe off before he began clawing at his back, pulling Remus closer.

Remus stopped his attack on Sirius' lips and began trailing kisses down his jaw to the juncture of his neck, lightly biting, revelling in the whine Sirius let out. "Tell me what you want," he whispered into Sirius' ear.

Sirius groaned, gripping harder at the back of Remus' shirt. "You, fuck, Moony, you."

~ x. ~

Sirius was straining against his trousers. He had barely even been touched, it had only been his own hand, not even under his trousers. He was desperate for some sort of friction. His grip on Remus' shirt was getting tighter, he was worried he might tear it. He wanted to tear it, he wanted to scrape his nails down his Moony's back, draw blood, mark him as his.

"All you had to do was ask," Remus said, smugly, and gripped Sirius' waist, roughly spinning him around so that his front was pressed against the rough bricks, reminding him that they could be walked in at any moment. The scrape against his cheek told him this wasn't a dream, and the smack Remus planted on his ass confirmed it.

Sirius watched as Remus reached around him and undid his belt, then his trousers before roughly pulling them down. "Wand, where?" Remus gruffed into Sirius' ear.

"Robe pocket, hurry up," Sirius responded.

Remus' wand was still lit on the ground. Hidden under their robes, the light wasn't blinding, making the space feel more intimate than it already was. Sirius waited (im)patiently for Remus to find his wand. His breath hitched when he heard the sound of the broom cupboard door being spelled to lock, and let out a groan when he was shocked with the spell Remus must've uttered to prep his insides. Sirius much preferred the muggle way of the prep, but nothing beat being surprised with the spell. He also loved when Remus used Sirius' wand for it. It was always a little bit more rough, less perfect than when Remus used his own wand. The one time using someone else's wand enhanced a spell.

Remus tossed Sirius' wand back into the pile of robes and a thrill raced through Sirius' veins as he realized Remus hadn't used a silencing spell. Fuck, Remus was going to make him stay quiet.

Sirius felt Remus hands grip his hips and he forcefully pulled him closer. Sirius could feel Remus' hot, hard cock pressed between his ass cheeks and let his body melt into the wall in front of him. With his cheek pressed against the wall, he could look back and see the look of determination in Remus' eyes.

Remus held out his hand and spat in it before tugging at his cock, getting it ready. Sirius' had yet to be touched.

Remus slapped his cock against Sirius' hole a couple of times, teasing him. Sirius pressed his hands against the wall to push himself against Remus, hoping he would get the hint and fuck him already.

"Now who's needy, hmm?" Remus chuckled.

"It's been too long, please," Sirius begged.

"Counting the days have you?" Remus teased, thrusting against Sirius but not entering.

He hadn't, but he might as well have been with how much he ached for Remus right now. "Moony, I need you, please, please," he was getting desperate. His cock was leaking, untouched, for fucks sake.

Then, finally, finally, Remus pressed in, and Sirius made a sound he had never heard himself make before. Remus' grip on Sirius' hips tightened in response.

Remus bottomed out quickly, and Sirius revelled in the fact that Remus was feeling as desperate at he was.

Sirius bucked his hips back, needing Remus to move. He was done waiting, he needed to be fucked, proper. Now.

Remus seemed to get the hint and pulled out slightly before slamming back inside. Sirius bit down on his lip to stop him from making the sounds that Remus always forced out of him.

Soon the cupboard was full of the sound of skin slapping skin, Remus not holding anything back as he fucked into Sirius.

"Fucking Christ," Remus moaned. A part of Sirius' heart sang, the muggle deity reminding him that this was Moony. His Moony. "You're still so tight."

Sirius hummed at the light praise. "Held out for you," he replied. Sirius felt Remus dig his nails into his hips.

"All mine, huh?" Remus asked, pulling Sirius against him in time with his thrusts.

Sirius moaned at the new intensity. "Yoursyours-" he chanted, conscious that he was getting a little too loud but not caring enough to quiet himself.

"No one else can touch you like this, right?" Remus asked. Sirius felt himself getting lightheaded with the possessiveness coming from Remus. He didn't know where it had come from, but fuck he needed more.

"No one else, just you, just you," Sirius moaned, Remus' thrusts hitting that spot deep within him. He was getting close but it wasn't enough. "Please touch me, please," he begged.

Not needing anymore prompting, Remus reached around and wrapped a hand around Sirius. He jerked forward at the touch, not realizing how sensitive he already was.

Remus groaned possessively and picked up the pace of both his thrusts and his hand. He was getting close, Sirius could tell. "Inside, please," he wanted to be marked, inside and out, claimed by Remus.

Remus made a sound akin to a growl and Sirius almost lost it. "I'm gonna- Moony I'm gonna-"

Remus tightened his pressure on Sirius' cock and slightly changed the angle of his thrusts. Sirius could feel the pressure building inside of him, it was getting to be too much. He was wrapped up in Remus, could feel him everywhere. He could barely hold back anymore but knew to hold out until he was allowed.

"Beg."

Sirius choked on air. Was he not already begging? Instead he whined, and in a flash Remus' hand was gone and his thrusts slowed. Sirius could scream. His balls tightened, it took everything in him to not let this orgasm be ruined. He must have made some sort of noise because Remus slapped a hand over his mouth.

Remus shushed him, "Can't have the whole school knowing Sirius Black is getting fucked in a broom cupboard, hmm?" Sirius whined again. Then just let me cum, he wanted to yell.

While Remus might have slowed his thrusts, they weren't lacking in force, pulling out almost all the way before slamming back in. Sirius' legs were getting weak.

Remus loosened his grip on Sirius' mouth and Sirius did not waste any time. "Please let me cum, Moony please," the words spilled out of his mouth and Remus returned his hand to Sirius' cock. Still not getting the permission he needed, Sirius changed tactics. "Make me cum," he begged instead.

This got a reaction. The hand on Sirius' hip tightened and Sirius knew he was getting somewhere. "Make me, please, no one else can," Remus' growl from before returned and Sirius' legs almost went out as Remus' stamina returned with fervour. Sirius continued, "Please, I need you to make me cum, I'm so close," Sirius knew there would be bruises on his hips in the shape of Remus' fingers later.

"No one else can make you cum," Remus repeated Sirius words and even though he was the one to say them first they still made him dizzy. "Tell me that no body touches you like me."

Sirius moaned inwardly, knowing he needed to stay quiet. "No one does, just you, you're the only one," he rambled, the build up returning, he was so close. "Please, Moony, I need to cum," he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold off.

"Yeah? I'll bet you do," Remus teased and Sirius could cry.

"Pleaaaase," Sirius drew out. "You're gonna - fuck - I can't - Moony I'm -" Limited to two word sentences Sirius was going to pass out if he couldn't cum right now.

"Let me make you cum, yeah? Come on baby, cum for me,"

Sirius, with his last remaining braincell, managed to clamp a hand over his mouth before he was hit with the strongest orgasm he'd ever experience. He wasn't sure if he was completely silent or moaning louder than ever. His whole body was shaking, all of his muscles tensed. He could faintly make out a stream of swears and praise from Remus, coming down only to feel Remus finish inside of him, spurring on another round of shakes from the oversensitivity.

Finally, Remus let go of Sirius' spent cock and slowly pulled out. Sirius stayed pressed against the wall, worried he might fall over if he tried to move.

"Fucking hell," Remus laughed to himself, out of breath.

Sirius hummed in response, not able to form any other thought. He could hear shuffling and opened his eyes to see Remus getting dressed. Fear prickled up his neck, please don't let this be a one off, "Where are you -"

Remus shut him up with a kiss. "I'll meet you in the Common Room. I have to go break up with my girlfriend."

Sirius tried not to feel smug. Maybe he would get to browse for rings after all.

[cinnamontoastcrunch-15]

Mothers of the Moon

Chapter 9 - Cherish

Masterpost

This is a very short chapter that I spent a while trying to add to, but I’ve decided it’s better to deliver a short chapter than no chapters at all

(Also this very much gives off themed oneshot collection lol)

There was a war brewing.

Minerva knew it, as little as she wanted to admit it to herself. She had been forced to follow it for years, for the sake of her students, her wife, her son.

It had started small.

A short article about a wizard getting arrested and some muggles being obliviated hidden at the back of the paper, or a wizard confined to St Mungos for life after an attack. It wasn’t enough for major concern, serious coverage.

Not enough for anybody but her to care.

Still, it was becoming much more noticeable.

She saw the way her son’s fists tightened around the prophet, the way he and Sirius exchanged concerned glances, the way a select few of the Slytherins were becoming much more… comfortable presenting their bias’. It was breaking her heart, to be honest. Remus had just gotten into a relationship that was honestly a long time coming, Poppy and Minerva had found a perfect balance of peace, and the three of them were a unit.

A unit about to be ravaged by a war.

The foundation of trust was always cracked by prejudice, and she was not about to let her family be destroyed by it.

So, not only did she have to cherish the time she and her family had left untainted, but to be prepared to fight and protect them from the war that could no longer be avoided.

“Are you alright?” Sirius’ voice cut through Remus’ mind as he scanned The Prophet. He dropped the paper and offered Sirius a tired smile from beside him.

“More attacks from a werewolf pack.” He explained. “The Ministry are talking about ‘restricting rights and enforcing stricter legislation’.” He read from the paper, watching as Sirius’ hand turned into a fist around his fork, which Remus gently wrenched from his hand, not wanting it to bend.

“That’s not fucking fair-“ Sirius started, Hestia’s head popping up.

“What do you mean? Of course it’s fair! Have you seen the number of werewolf attacks at the moment? The Ministry need to do something!” Remus glanced down, uncomfortable. It wasn’t the first time this conversation had happened right in front of Remus by oblivious housemates, but Sirius usually wasn’t there, so Merlin only knows what was going to happen. “My mum sent me more silver for it, see? Half of the school have it on.” She gestured around, Remus quickly realising why he had been getting such a bad migraine. Sirius was quite clearly seething, at this point.

“Lycanthropes are literally only wolves on the full moon, why is everyone wearing silver now?” He asked icily, and Remus could hear the warning in his tone. Hestia, however, seemed to miss it.

“Because fuck knows what could happen at Hogsmeade! They’re dangerous, everyone knows that.”

“Anyone walking down the street could be a bloody Deatheater!” Sirius exclaimed, voice raising.

“Padfoot.” Remus tried softly, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing it under the table. Sirius schooled his volume, tone exactly the same.

“Because that’s exactly what the werewolf pack are! They’re just Deatheaters who happen to have an affliction.” He said, Remus feeling a wave of fondness towards him. “It’s not the fact that they go through a fucking bone breaking transformation every month that makes them bad people! They would still be Deatheaters even if they weren’t werewolves! The Ministry are using it as an excuse to take more rights away from lycanthropes.”

“Christ, didn’t realise you were an advocate for werewolf rights or something.” Hestia mumbled, turning back to her food quietly.

“Fucking Hestia thinking that she can-“

“Padfoot.” Remus took a glance at Hestia, who was way too close for Sirius to complain about her. “D’you need to go somewhere to cool off?” He asked under his breath.

“No, I- I’m fine. Sorry.” Remus smiled at him.

“Don’t be. It was… thank you.” He settled on, pretty much at a loss for words.

Sirius was just… perfect.

With how dicey his situation was getting, he really needed someone like Sirius on his side, so he was going to fucking cherish every minute of it.

[lenalovesjoyblogs]

My experience meeting lovejoy (April 5th 2023)

IT. WAS. FANTASTIC!

NOW, before you think this whole experience was all sunshine and rainbows, well it wasnt.. sorta just let me get explaining

I arrived to warsaw around 2pm, with me and my mum struggling to get to our hotel, we finally got in and got ready for us to eat at this one restruant which had some of the best kompot (which is like a polish drink with fruit and stuff) that i have ever tasted. then i got dressed and we went to the venue

and now, i dont know much about the whole waiting line situation with people having panic attacks and struggles to breathe (even a person broke their ribcage through there), but nontheless, i found my 2 friends i was planning to spend the night screaming our heads off to, and already i was screaming my head off

i saw joe, zoe, leandra, dave and david walk past, i was screaming so loudly to the point leandra waved at me which was a joy for me already, and then ash kabosu, i repeat THE ASH KABOSU, walked past and i did the same, and it worked he waved at me back, it was so fucking amazing but now heres the big part

i saw mark boardman, no joke. So i saw him walk past and my friends kept repeating that its just a random guy just to try and stop me from going crazy fangirl mode and sprinting here (spoiler alert, i did) and i got to give him a present i made for each of the 4 main band members and his reaction just made my day so much better, he was so happy to get it and i was happy to see him happy

heres the photo i took of me and mark together, i blurred my face because i dont wanna reveal my face here just yet, but after this photo was taken, i told him “your the sunshine, king!” i was trying to compliment/hype him up somesort, and his reaction was so cute, he like pouted and putted his hands to his heart, it just made me so happy

we kept waiting in line, until i saw leandra again with some random guy (possibly their manager), which i started screaming leandras name and she saw me and touched my hand, let me tell you.. i was speechless. from leandra noticing me on tiktok a couple of times to her seeing me in person, i was just jawdropped frozen

through the line me and my 2 friends joked around, got lovejoy stickers and signed our names to this one book with all the fan’s names on it

and then we got in, i was lost so i couldnt find my 2 friends but i did at the end, which is great and then.. it was time for the show.

ZWIDY : Okay, i dont listen to them much but they putted on a show, i was screaming so loud and i just had to much fun, everyone was waving their arms at some songs and it was just hella fun to be at

HONEYMOAN : Honeymoan on the other hand? OHHH BOY! They were killing it, i loved allisons energy, i also dont listen to honeymoan much but they were making me dance like i was the main character, and thanks to “too much”, its honestly my favourite song right now.

And now.. the moment i been waiting for

LOVEJOY : I was screaming my ass off, i was finally waiting after 2 years to see them live and it was like a reward for all the shit i went through and now im here, in poland, screaming to lovejoy’s music but then

Disaster struck : during perfume, i began to feel more and more dizzy, almost like i was going to puke, so i told my mum and we went straight to the merch store area, my mom was fanning me and i was drinking water that she brought me, i was also close to tears because i felt like i dissapointed the band by not being there because of me feeling ill and weak, so my mum got the organizer of the concert to give the rest of the gifts to the members after the show (sadly not taking the ones i made for the trumpeters)

After i got out of the venue, i was breaking down in tears, at that point i feel like i fully dissapointed the band that i couldnt be there for the entire gig, but atleast im seeing them in 2 and a half months from now at the open’er festival, so it wont be that bad right? 

but still, i still kinda feel guilty i had to leave the venue because it was a concert i been waiting for 2 years and it all went wrong when lovejoy came on, but i met some cool people and i had a lot of fun, so that matters mostly.

[aro-with-bad-aim]

Anna Karenina part 6:

firstly, I’m honestly finding it hard to believe it nearly finished, it’s the longest book I’ve ever read and it’s only been a month and a half. anyways-

I forgot to mention in part 5, but I find countess Lydia’s character very interesting. Firstly, she’s a polyamorous bisexual, which is amazing for the time the books written (“she was always in love with someone, both men and women, even multiple people at once”). She’s an interesting addition to Anna’s husbands life and I haven’t decided whether she’s a good or bad influence, but she’s currently making him happy which is good.

Part 6 was a lot slower paced, with more focus put on smaller and more mundane parts of life. This is a really interesting writing choice that Tolstoy does throughout the novel, and I like how it’s used to develop characters, even though it can get a little dull. I think that Dolly got a lot of well deserved character development. She’s portrayed as the loving wife, the one who forgave her husbands affair and stayed with him despite his flaws, making her an amazing foil for Anna, and their interactions in this part are really insightful into both of their characters. Dolly is unsatisfied with her life and her disloyal husband (understandably, he sucks). She envy’s Anna’s freedom and wishes to do the same. This originally made me question whether Dolly really is a foil for Anna, however it solidifies it. Anna has an affair because she’s unhappy with her stable life and seeks adrenaline and excitement. She wants more than she has. Dolly wants an affair because she’s unhappy with the unfair way she’s being treated in her relationship and wants an escape. I can honestly understand why Dolly would want to have an affair, she deserves so much better. Anna also got a lot of development. I love how well written and developed her character is. Yes, she loves vronsky and a large part of her identity is him, but it’s explored so well, and she has interests and relationships outside of him. I loved how it showed her passion for architecture, especially as it presented her and well educated, capable and intelligent, which would have been very uncommon for the time the book was written. Through this part, I could see Anna’s relationship with vronsky slowly turning into an unhealthy codependency. She’s terrified he will get bored and leave her, like Stepan did to Dolly, and like she did to her husband. I think she’s this anxious because she left her husband, and almost feels guilt and expects everyone else to think and behave like her. I think vronsky is slowly growing bored of her and is longing for the next adrenaline rush. He doesn’t want to settle down, he feels trapped in the relationship. He enjoyed the chase and the excitement, and now that’s gone he’s bored. Levin and kitty’s relationship was also explored in this part. They both feel overwhelmed by the amount of people in their house and want to be together alone, contrasting Anna and vronsky. The hunting trip was honestly a little boring, however it did go deeper into levins jealous and competitive characteristics. Kittys character is also explored, and I think she’s under a lot of pressure from her mum to behave and do things a certain way. I think it’s interesting that she still spites Anna, even though she’s happily married and didn’t really like vronsky anyway. I’m excited to finish and see how the story ends :D

[thedissociatives]

10 songs 10 people ! tagged by @whitenikes thnx :) hope i got this right (also i definitely do not have 10 ppl to tag lol but i'll try to get as close to that as i can)

without me by eminem - used to listen to this whole album in the car with my mum all the time when i was like 3 lol one of my fav songs that she showed me

stuck in the middle with you by stealers wheel - have had this stuck in my head for like a month it's so bad. do not even need to say where i first heard it we all know

love from the other side by fall out boy - was so hyped for this to come out cuz i knew it meant a new album and it did not disappoint ! fav fob song they've released since ab/ap cannot wait for the album

don't dream it's over by crowded house - yeah yeah yeah i get half my music taste from films and tv what about it. heard it on the americans in october when i watched like the whole show in a month and now it's on most of my playlists

break by fugazi - one of my fav songs when i was 14 that i rediscovered recently. don't have the best memories tied to it but now i can create new ones w it instead :) cuz i haven't rlly listened to much of em the past few years and i can't let a bad time stop me from enjoying music i like

i can tell there was an accident here earlier by saosin - my all time fav band and their fav song of mine ! remember having to go on youtube for ages to listen to it before they put it on spotify. ngl the demo sounds way better the vibes just aren't quite the same on the spotify version

bathroom light by mt joy - i guess i couldn't escape the nolan patrickification of hockeytwt haha i do rlly like them now tho (want to see them when they play london next summer but 1. it's the day after my exams finish and i'll be too tired and 2. i don't have anyone to go with)

one way or another by blondie - mean girls my beloved <3 sorry to literally everyone but that's where i first heard this song. the soundtrack of that film is so good tho i'm glad this is on it otherwise idk how i would've found it

я сошла с ума by tatu - poppy's cover of the english version of this song is one of the best covers out there imo but nothing beats the original. it hits so different in russian too even though i don't understand most of it (but the bits that i do ? omg)

i hear you calling by gob - think this song is on an old chel soundtrack which is cool. one of the many bands i got into through looking at old tour posters (eternally grateful i figured out i could do that when i was 12 i've found so many good bands this way). this whole album is fuckin amazing but the guitar riff in this song is soo nice. always gets stuck in my head

(@smolpieceoftoast @memphisbelle @fagdeniro @fiftysecondstreet @emuchipmunk @rocket-eighty-eight plus like. anyone else who wants to do this)