#nup to the cup

[veganymph]

an annual reminder to say nup to the shitshow that is the melbourne cup. these horses are abused and exploited for our entertainment and so rich sport celebs can just get richer. not to mention how it just enables gambling addiction (which is already a massive problem in australia) and the fact that they raced a horse today with a bruised leg. animals are not for our entertainment.

[vogelmeister]

also my mum being vocally nup to the cup was not on my 2023 bingo

[insincere-engineer]

happy Fuck Horse Racing day

[afterglowkatie]

ugh i hate cup day…does anyone not care about how much animal cruelty horse racing supports?? no it’s all about dressing pretty, getting drunk and spending the day wining or losing money right. i’m sick of it. need to ban the melbourne cup. idc.

[onenakedfarmer]

How's that divorce settlement looking?

Fun fact: Marla Maples got exactly one million from the triple-super-mega-MAGAt billionaire.

Looks like your Epstein Visa has run dry, Mel.

[deadgirlwalking91]

new guitarspear fic

'thank you for the venom', chapter one: 'if this is what you want, then fire at will'

Summary

“Is that all it takes to make you moan? You’d be such a freak in the sheets, Lieutenant.”

“Hilarious. Respectfully, Sir, go deep throat a cactus.”

***

Despite working together for years, Adam and Lute can't stand each other.

He thinks she's got a stick up her ass.

She thinks he's an idiot.

When Lute goes behind Adam's back to Sera and proposes they change their training regime for Extermination Day, Adam is hellbent on making her life miserable - until he learns it's in his best interest to work with her, not against her.

The problem is, neither of them counted on unexpected feelings getting in the way of their jobs, which makes things... tense for them.

What happens when one day, they accidentally take things a little too far?

***

Chapter One

Adam & Lute’s Office, Exorcist Training Centre, Heaven

Lute knew she’d messed up this time.

If she had an ordinary boss, she might only cop a slight reprimand for going over his head – an uncomfortable conversation, promises of ‘I’ll never do it again’, waiting for time to pass until the awkwardness of the situation wore off and they could go back to business as usual.

Unfortunately, her boss was far from what most would consider an ordinary angel – both in title and temperament. Which consequently meant his reaction to her undermining him would be… hostile, to say the least.

“I can’t fucking believe you went to Sera without talking to me first!” Adam bellowed, pounding his fist on his desk. Old coffee cups, abandoned paperwork and scattered stationary threatened to spill over the edge, littering the already cluttered floor around his workstation. “Fucking low blow babe, even for a kiss-ass like you.”

Don’t rise to his anger. Keep a cool head. Explain your case.

“Sir,” Lute laced her fingers together and placed them on the surface of her own desk, ready to state her case for taking her proposal directly to the High Seraphim and bypassing her superior. In contrast to her Commander, her own workspace was neatly arranged, not a hint of messiness to be found. She cleared her throat. “I tried to talk to you about this a week ago, and you dismissed me.”

“You haven’t said shit to me.”

‘Yes I have,’ she thought to herself, resisting the urge to retort back and begin a verbal tennis match. She knew she’d win – after all, she was much smarter than Adam, and could hold a sentence without swearing, cursing or a sexual innuendo. Stooping to his level would just escalate the situation further than where it needed to be, and if it got to that level she was certain things would get ugly. Fast.

“I’m positive we have had this conversation, Sir.”

“Nup. We haven’t.”

Lute inhaled slowly and deliberately through her nose, trying to supress her already-rising frustration. He was being particularly petulant today, and she found her patience with him was quickly wearing thin. Squaring her shoulders, she continued. “Sir, we were on our way to the eight o’clock agility training session. I remember it clearly as you were complaining that you had a meeting with Sera later that morning. I thought it would be an opportune moment to mention it to you as it would be fresh in your mind when you met with her.”

Adam snorted and leaned forward onto his elbows; the golden facial expression on the screen of his mask fixed into a jeer. “And you think that was a good time to approach me about one of your lame ideas? I thought you were smarter than that. What’s my first rule of working together, sweetie?”

Don’t throw a knife at him. Don’t threaten to disembowel him – as much as you want to. Stay calm, Lieutenant.

“With all due respect, Sir –” Lute growled, her professional tone wavering. “I hardly think that putting limits on when I can and cannot converse with you is conducive to creating a professional working relationship with you.”

“Firstly, we don’t have a professional working relationship, babe. It’s pretty fucking black and white, actually – I’m your boss, you listen to me. It’s not that difficult a concept to grasp.” Lute opened her mouth in anger to protest, but Adam held up a single finger, signalling for her to wait. Dumb move. That single gesture just fuelled the intense rage that was quickly building inside her.

“Secondly, the rule is don’t talk to me about important shit before nine o’clock. Chances are I won’t remember it because I’ll be half asleep, and I’ll give even less of a fuck about what you’ve got so say because you’ve pissed me off before I've had my morning coffee.”

“I’d rather not talk to you at all,” Lute said through gritted teeth. “But, I unlike you, actually care about Extermination Day, and if we continue how we’re currently track-”

“And I, unlike you,” Adam said mockingly in a high-pitched voice that was supposed to sound like Lute’s, “couldn’t give a shit about how many Sinners we slay next Extermination Day, or whatever the fuck it was that you ran to Sera about. The only thing that matters is that we show our faces in Hell on Extermination Day and slaughter some demon ass. That’s it. Those fuckers are scared shitless of us anyway, so it doesn’t matter how many we kill, we'll always have the upper hand. It’s called working smarter, not harder, babe.”

He cannot be serious right now. Does he not realise that our kill rate is slipping, year on year? How this might affect us long-term? That Sinners might start to fight back once they figure out that we’re starting to let our guard down?

“So what you’re telling me,” Lute started, now barely able to contain her vitriol, “Is that you don’t give a flying f-”

“Exactly.” Adam stood up and smirked down at Lute, the smug look of satisfaction on his mark now too much for Lute to bear.

Fuck you, you arrogant prick.

“Conversation’s over. Get back to actually doing your job, Lieutenant, instead of wasting my time with your insignificant, petty bullshit. Don’t fucking pull a stunt like this again.”

Adam strode towards the door of their shared office, pausing briefly as his hand rested on the door handle, his smirk intensifying. “Oh, one more thing.”

“What?” she snapped, head now in her hands. She couldn’t even physically look at him.

“I’m pretty sure we just established that I’m your superior, so a bit of respect would be nice to hear, Lieutenant.”

“What, sir?” Her hands pulled in frustration at her silvery-white bangs that had fallen into her eyes.

“Be a good girl and finish that overdue paperwork for me, would you? I’ve got more important shit to do. It’d be a good reminder for you of what your job actually entails.”

That’s it.

Lute had tried to play nice. Tried to do the right thing and raise her suggestion in a polite, professional manner. Took an alternative avenue once she realised her attempts at improvement were going nowhere. She’d even attempted to sit calmly through his dressing-down without reacting to his bullshit. But now?

She’d finally snapped.

Agilely leaping over her desk so she was in front of his, she picked up one of the multiple long-forgotten mugs that cluttered the surface and hurled it in his general direction.

Lute hadn’t really expected for it to hit him – the act of picking up the mug and throwing it had been born out of built-up frustration and anger at her imbecile boss, a need to expel some of the hatred that had built up over the course of their most recent conversation. The fact that it had connected with the side of his head and shattered into at least a hundred tiny ceramic pieces?

Just a bonus, really. It was just a damn shame it didn’t leave a mug-sized hole in his head.

‘Good. Hope it fucking hurt.’ She allowed herself a moment of satisfaction, taking in his surprise as he lifted a hand to his head and checked for blood. Time to let him have it.

“If anything,” she hissed in a low, dangerous voice. She was now moving towards Adam, one hand clenched by her side, the other pointed threateningly at his face. “Let me get this one thing through your thick head – though more than anything right now, I’d love to drive my sword between your eyes, carve up your tiny, pathetic excuse for a brain and force feed it back to you raw.”

Adam opened his mouth to respond, his surprise at her tone quickly turning to fury, but she didn’t give him the courtesy. He needed to hear this – graphic acts of violence and all.

“Shut it,” she snarled. “Shut the fuck up and just fucking listen for once, as difficult as that is for you. Because I’m not your fucking secretary. I’m not your assistant. I’m here to do my job – which is to provide training and mentorship to the other Exorcists, because you’re too damn incompetent to do it yourself.” Her normally restrained voice grew louder. “Perhaps if you focused more on doing your job, instead of screw-”

“Geez,” Adam drawled, “You’re a fucking little mouthy cunt, aren’t you?” He gripped the wrist of Lute’s outstretched arm, rage etched all over his mask, which had started glitching ever so slightly. Not a good sign.

Ouch. Lute may be the better aim of the two, and more agile, but Adam was had the upper hand when it came to brute strength. She was positive that his hold on her wrist was going to bruise – that was going to be fun to explain once it was noticed. She continued to stare him down, never daring to break eye contact or even blink. She couldn’t let him think he’d won. Even if he did have her arm in a death grip.

She’d rather fall to the depths of Hell than admit defeat to him.

Rap-rap-rap.

“Adam? Lute?” a soft voice called from behind the door. “Is everything alright? I heard something break just now.”

Sera.

Seizing her moment, Lute yanked her wrist from Adam’s grasp and made towards her desk once again.

“Come in, Your Highness,” she called in an uncharacteristically chirpy voice. “Adam accidentally dropped his coffee mug, and it broke, which is what you must have heard. I was just showing him the best way to clean up the mess.”

Adam shot her a filthy look and stomped back to his desk, muttering incoherently under his breath – though Lute was sure she heard the word bitch at least twice.

The handle clicked, and Sera poked her head through the gap between the door and the frame. She frowned at the scattered ceramic pieces that lay forgotten on the floor.

“Are you two… having a disagreement?” she asked concernedly, her large, almond-shaped eyes noticing the glowering looks the two angels were shooting each other. “I thought I could hear shouting.”

“Yeah, we’re fine Sera,” Adam waved his hand dismissively at Lute. “Lieutenant here was just running some ideas past me for next month’s training plan and got a bit carried away.”

‘As if he hadn’t completely flown off the handle just minutes ago’ Lute thought angrily to herself but feigned a smile and nodded politely. Going toe-to-toe with Adam in private was one thing, but she prided herself on keeping her composure around the Seraphim and other senior angels in Heaven. They didn’t need to know about their little disagreement.

Or the hundreds of disagreements that had occurred before this one. None had been quite this heated, though.

This was the only one that had almostended in violence, though. That was a first.

“Oh, excellent.” Sera moved into the room and shut the door behind herself. “What do you think, Adam? Your Lieutenant has some brilliant ideas, which I personally can’t wait to see executed over the coming months. Her presentation to me was very promising.”

The look on Adam’s face was positively feral now. Lute relished this moment and made a mental note to file this look away in her memory bank – seeing him quietly seethe in the presence of his direct superior, knowing it was in his best interest to keep his cool was something she was going to enjoy. To rile him up further, she propped an elbow on her desk, rested her chin in her hand and shot him a quick, satisfied smirk.

Cop that, asshole.

“Yeah,” Adam grumbled, suddenly busying himself with the paperwork on his desk. “They’re good.”

“Well,” Sera clapped her hands together and smiled at Lute, who bowed her head in respect in return. To hear that her proposal was highly regarded by one of the most senior angels in Heaven was praise beyond what she ever expected to receive for her work.

It was certainly more than what her direct boss had ever given her.

“That settles that, then. Lieutenant, if you could please come with me, I’d like to add a couple of things to your training program that I’ve thought of.” Lute nodded and rose from her desk once more, gathering her bag and notes. Noticing that Sera had turned to open the door once more, Adam quickly shot Lute a one-fingered salute to bid her farewell. Lute simply mouthed, “get fucked” in return.

“Oh, Adam, I see you’re working on the monthly training incident report that I asked you to turn in a week ago,” Sera said as he hastily went back to pretending to review his work. “Make sure it’s on my desk by five o’clock, please. I need it for a meeting tomorrow with the other Seraphim.” She turned and glided out the door, Lute only a few footsteps behind – though she took care to accidentally bump Adam’s shoulder with her own as she trailed behind Sera.

“Kiss-ass.”

“Dick.”

Lute closed the door with a little more force than necessary – just for good measure, knowing it would infuriate Adam to no end. Just to rub her victory in a little more. Because, after this round?

The score was Lute – one, Adam – zero.

Laughing to herself, she was sure she could hear Adam cursing her with language colourful enough to paint an entire rainbow as she strolled down the hall to Sera’s office.

Bring it on.

***

The Common Room, Exorcist Training Centre, Heaven

The Training Centre common room was abuzz with idle chatter and echoes of laughter as Lute entered later that morning, determined to continue her work far, far away from Adam. No formal training sessions had been scheduled for that day – the result of his poor timetabling skills, Lute was sure of it.

She would have expected the Exorcists to be using their ‘free’ time to hit the gym, or initiate sparring sessions with one another. Perhaps use the opportunity to enhance their weapon skills or, if they were particularly ambitious, simulation training. Slaying holographic demons was almost as satisfying as the real thing. Just a lot less bloody.

The reality was, on personal development days, the Training Centre turned into a goddamn sorority house. Hundreds of incredibly beautiful women congregated together in the common room, not a helmet or uniform in sight as they lazed about in their casual clothes. Some were huddled together in small groups, hands wrapped around mugs of steaming coffee or tea, giggling at whatever the latest gossip happened to be - usually centred around Adam’s latest squeeze. Others congregated around tables, playing card games (the most popular one lately, Lute had noticed, was an extremely competitive game involving red, green, blue, yellow and black cards that seemed to invoke a lot of shouting and name-calling).

The sight of it all never failed to give Lute a thumping headache. This wasn’t a fucking kindergarten, this was supposed to be work, dammit.

It wasn’t that she was against fun. She knew how to enjoy herself. There was nothing better than cosying up on the couch after a long day at the Training Centre with a hot chocolate, blanket and comforting book. Or an intense, two-hour gym session, sweating her frustrations away – a ritual she religiously undertook every single day, no excuses.

Sometimes, when Lute really wanted to spoil herself, she’d have a bubble bath. Now, that was wild.

Sighing, she located one of the more comfortable, vacant armchairs and slumped into it, allowing her eyes to close for just a moment. Normally she’d redirect the Exorcists to go and use their time more productively but after her earlier verbal sparring match with Adam, she needed a moment to relax before she got stuck into the fresh paperwork Sera had assigned her.

Sera loved paperwork.

Only three more days until I can start to turn this shitshow around.

“You look like hell.”

Lute chuckled softly. Without looking, she knew exactly who had greeted her in such a matter-of-fact way – it was the only person she’d allow to do so without punishment. Opening her eyes, she was graced by the presence of a petite angel perched on the arm of her chair, her soft red, almond-shaped eyes crinkled into a look of concern. She handed Lute a mug of steaming, black coffee which she graciously accepted with a wry smile. This morning’s events called for extra caffeine to get her through the rest of the day.

What an angel.

“Thanks, Vaggie. Rough morning in the office again.”

“Ugh. What did he do this time?”

One of Lute’s favourite things about Vaggie was how she was certain she was the only other Exorcist in the lounge who openly hated Adam as much as she did. Probably because she was one of the only other soldiers who he hadn’t taken to his bed over the years. They both often joked that he was the sole reason Vaggie was a lesbian, that the First Man was so repulsive that he alone caused her to swear off all men.

Lute didn’t have her sexuality as an excuse as to why she’d never slept with him. She just straight up hated him. Plus, it would be highly unprofessional. And he was a cretin.

Did I mention that I hate him?

“He found out I took my proposal to Sera.” Lute took a long sip from the cup, the scalding liquid almost burning her tongue. Perfection. “Then proceeded to lose his shit because he forgot that I’d tried to talk to him about it before I approached her. He thought that I’d undermined him.”

Vaggie rolled her eyes. “Typical. How did it end? Did he threaten to leave you in Cannibal Town next Extermination Day again?”

Speaking of cannibalism, I threatened to feed his own brains to him. That’s normal, right?

“Um, not quite.” Lute began, taking another sip of coffee. “I might have accidentally-on-purpose thrown a mug at his head.”

Also totally normal.

“I’m so proud of you. Did you make him bleed?”

“Sadly not, but there’s always next time.”

Vaggie grinned, clinking her own mug against Lute’s. “I’ll drink to that.”

“Amen. He then called me a mouthy cunt and I’m about ninety percent sure one of us would have caused grievous bodily harm to the other if Sera didn’t walk in at that exact moment. The cherry on top is that she came to tell him we’re going ahead with my plans.” She set her empty mug down on a nearby table and grinned up at Vaggie, who had now crossed her legs and somehow still managed to stay perfectly balanced on the arm of her chair. Tiny little thing, she was. “You should have seen his face, Vaggie. It was glorious. I’m surprised he didn’t self-combust in anger.”

“If only.” Vaggie downed the rest of her drink. “So, if Sera’s approved the plan – congrats, by the way, we need to celebrate - when do you start whipping us into shape?”

“Monday morning. We’re going to announce it in here during the morning address, before we move into the training rooms.” Lute surveyed the Exorcists lounging about. “Don’t know how the girls will take it, though. Can’t say I’ve scheduled too many days like this.”

“It won’t be easy at first,” Vaggie warned. “They’re too used to this kind of freedom.”

“I know, and if Adam undermine-”

“UNO!”

Lute and Vaggie whipped their heads around simultaneously at the sudden high-pitched squeal, Vaggie almost losing her balance and toppling off the armchair in the process. A group of five Exorcists were at a nearby table, playing the colourful card game that seemed to be all the rage.. One was grinning madly as she clutched a single card to her chest.

“What even is that?”

Vaggie’s eyes widened.

“Seriously? You’ve never played Uno? I know you’re a hermit Lute, but come on.”

“No,” Lute admitted, “Who would I play with anyway, besides you?”

“Fair point. But – and I say this with love – I’m worried that you’ve thrown yourself into your work a little too much lately, especially with this new program you’ve created. You need to relax a little.”

“What does it look like I’m doing now?” Lute grumbled. “If I’m not training, working, or exercising, I’m relaxing.”

“Lute,” Vaggie laughed. “I could see how tense you are as soon as you walked in here – and to be honest, you’d be uptight even if you didn’t have a crappy morning. This isn’t chilling out. Relaxing is letting your hair down, getting a drink after training with the girls. Playing cards,” She nodded towards the group of angels, the girl who was holding one card now picking multiple others up from a pile, cursing her friends as they all giggled amongst each other. “Try it, you might enjoy it. It’s actually pretty fun, once you get the hang of it. I absolutely annihilated Scout the other week, she wouldn’t talk to me for three days.”

“Maybe. It’s probably blurring the lines between me being their superior and being their friend, though.”

“Oh yeah,” Vaggie said dryly. “And you don’t think them taking turns being Adam’s flavour of the week blurs any lines, do you?”

Dammit. She’s got a point.

Lute screwed up her nose in disgust.

“That’s different. I’m professional, he’s… not.”

“I’m not saying sleep with them, geez.” Vaggie rolled her eyes and slid into a standing position. “I’m just suggesting maybe try being friendly with the other girls, that’s all.”

“Fine. Once the program’s under way. If they don’t hate me for kicking their asses and making them actually work.”

“You may be a hardass, but nobody’s gonna hate you.” Vaggie held out her hand, motioning for Lute to take it. “Come on. Let’s grab lunch, I’m starving.”

Would it be so bad if I let my guard down… just a little?

Lute took her friend’s hand, allowing herself to be pulled up off the seat. She grimaced slightly at the tenderness in her wrist where Adam had grabbed her – no doubt there’d be a bruise there tomorrow.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Vaggie slung her arm around her friend’s shoulders as they walked towards the cafeteria together. “Buckle up, buttercup. Shit’s about to get interesting.”

***

Chapter Two

[resident-gay-bitch]

inspired by this tik tok :)

***

sirius waddled across the commonroom, drink spilling from his cup and all over his hands. he grimaces at the sticky feeling and attempts to wipe it away with his other hand, only transferring the golden liquid onto his fingers. he shook his hand out in disgust and stumbled backwards, falling on his ass at the bottom of the staircase.

sirius let out a whine, rubbing at his lower back and almost spilling more of his drink again. he’s so fucking drunk it’s crazy; the rooms spinning, everything’s blurry, he feels sick and dizzy and so, so fucking sad.

sirius doesn’t want to feel sad. he wants to feel very happy. gryffindor just won the quidditch cup, mary and marlene were celebrating three months tonight, and james was over there full frontal snogging regulus - which sirius has his reservations about, but so long as they make eachother happy he’s okay with it.

sirius doesn’t know why he’s so sad.

well, he does. he just thinks it’s stupid.

it all started when everyone around him started making out with eachother. sirius wants to make out with remus really badly. he’s wanted to make out with remus for a really long time, but it’s all so confusing and conflicting and it seems like remus is interested in lily and sirius doesn’t want to get in the way of that.

he can’t even find remus in this massive crowd. he’d probably gone to bed early, with a headache or something. poor remus, sirius wishes he could kiss him better, if that’s the case. but that will never happen.

he progressively got more and more shitfaced in attempt to cover the hole he had in his heart, watching everyone be young and in love and snogging. to try and make himself feel okay without remus right by his side.

but it didn’t work!

all it did was make him sad and nauseous and really fucking clumsy. he just wants remus.

he wants remus so bad.

“you alright?” a voice came from beside him, a few steps up.

sirius turned his head and squinted his eyes at the boy, he was reading a book… at a party… that’s something remus would do. who does this fake-remus think he is, reading a book at a party? that’s something only his moony can do, thank you very much.

“yep.” sirius muttered and swayed as he tried to stand, “just… okay.”

“just okay?” they asked, and sirius nodded.

“do you need something, sirius?”

“how… how do you know my name?” sirius slurred, taking another sip of his drink, slumping against the wall as he looked at the mystery person.

“because we’re friends, sirius.”

“oh…” sirius scratched his head, “are we good friends?”

the person with a blurry face smiled and set their book down on their lap, “i’d say we’re pretty close.”

“okay…” Sirius nodded and swung forward to get closer to them, and in a harsh whisper he asked, “can i tell you a secret?”

“why don’t you tell james?” they asked back in a regular voice.

“he’s… busy.” sirius waggled his hand about in the general direction of the party, “got ‘is tongue halfway down my brothers throat.”

“lovely,” they sighed, “good for, james.”

“mhm.” sirius grunted, “bloody good for him… s’not good for me though.”

“no?” fake-remus asked.

“nup!” sirius shook his head, “can i pleaseeee tell you my secret? not even james knows yet.”

“sirius… do you really want to tell me?”

sirius nodded and poked them on the nose, “if you keep it a secret… i’ll… make sure you’re safe from pranks.”

the other boy sighed, running a hand through his soft looking hair and smiled, “yeah, alright…" he stage whispered to sirius this time, "go on then, what’s your secret?”

“pinky promise?” sirius said, holding his finger out to shake with.

they shook it, locking their finger over sirius’ own and grimacing with the stickiness on his skin.

“so…” sirius said, swinging around to sit next to them, “you know my friend remus?”

the boy stoped for a moment, looking at sirius with suspicious eyes. he swallowed and hesitantly nodded.

“well…” sirius sighed, “im bloody well in love with him, i think.”

“you’re…” they said, going silent again and looking away from sirius for a moment.

sirius only noticed how hot it was in here, due to the pink flush in the other boys cheeks. sirius decided to strip off his jacket, and started undoing the buttons to his shirt to cool down.

“he’s just so… perfect, you know?” sirius went on, slurring each and every honest word, “think he’s wonderful, don’t you? i just wanna kiss him so bad, sometimes. and you don’t know half of what i’d let him do to me-“

“okay, sirius.” they said, plucking sirius’ cup from his hands (not without a protesting whine) and pulled sirius' hands away from himself as he started to unbuckle his jeans, “up we hop. you’ve had a bit too much to drink, i think. off to bed now.”

“off to bed…” sirius sighed, letting this lovely (copy cat) stranger lead him up the stairs as he tripped and swayed, his shirt gone now and in the mystery persons hands, “time for sleepy-bies, sirius… go to sleep, or the boogie man will get you!”

“alright, pads.” they said with a heavy sigh, petting sirius on the back a few times as they helped him to walk.

once in the dorm room, sirius realised it was empty, “where’s my moony?”

“...he’s busy.”

“oh…” sirius sighed, moving over to his bed and allowing this person to help him remove his shoes, “he’s probably off with lily again… lily, lily, lily.” he poked his tongue out and blew a raspberry, making dumb sounds as he spoke, “perfect fucking lily, who’s a girl. she’s a bloody girl. she’s so fucking wonderful, ands everything m’not.”

“what are you yapping about?” they asked, laying sirius down in bed, pulling the covers up to his shoulders, just how he likes.

“s’lily.” he pouted, rolling onto his side and curling in on himself, “he loves her, i think. never stood a chance against lily bloody evans.”

there was a long silence, and sirius closed his eyes, basking in the comfort of his pillow. it smelled lovely, different to usual. it smelled like remus, and that was enough to lull sirius to sleep almost immediately.

“he’s not in love with lily, sirius.” the voice whispered as they stroked a hand over sirius’ hair. only remus and james were allowed to do that, and it feels like remus’ hand, so he supposed it’s okay for now. “i’m in love with you too.”

sirius barely registered that though, and he hummed before passing out completely.

**

sirius woke to a sharp light poking into his eyelids. he opened his eyes eventually, rubbing them to find the curtain of his bed frame pulled back. only, he wasn’t in his bed, he realised. he was in remus’.

merlin, how’d he end up there?

his head is pounding and his mouth's dry.

“morning.” remus said with a smile, walking out of the bathroom and over to the bed, “sorry, forgot to close the curtains after james went for his run this morning.”

“how’s’e not hungover?” sirius mumbled, stretching out his body and flopping back down. he feels kinda ill.

“the sun shines out of his ass or something.” remus smiled and climbed into the bed beside sirius, drawing the curtain closed behind him.

sirius groaned and shuffled over before realising that remus was actually lying under the covers with him. remus was reaching out and pulling sirius in closer.

“what’re you doing?” he mumbled, his face much too close to remus’.

“admiring you.” remus said softly, “you’re fucking gorgeous in the mornings, you realise?”

sirius felt himself flush from head to toe, “what?”

“mhm…” remus said, smiling all dopey. his eyes were heavy lidded and he nudged his nose against sirius’, “are you feeling okay, love?”

oh for fucking merlin’s sake! what was happening?

“are you?”

remus chuckled and nodded his head, “i feel amazing, sirius… can i kiss you?”

what?

“are you joking?” sirius muttered, “is this some joke?”

“nope.” remus grinned, “i just had a realisation last night, and decided to do something about it.”

“what realisation?”

“that we’re in love.” remus smiled, “and that you want to kiss me. can i kiss you?”

“you’re…”

“are you feeling okay, sirius?”

“i’d feel bloody perfect if you kissed me, moony.”

remus smiled and laughed, pulling sirius in closer until their lips brushed. and sirius lost it. he sunk into remus’ hold and kissed him. he kissed him so much he thinks he might have lost some brain-cells.

“you love me?” sirius muttered against his lips.

“yes, sirius.” he smiled, “lily is my friend, i like men.”

“oh…” sirius furrowed his brow, he had no idea what bought this about, or how remus knew of sirius’ feelings but he was kinda feeling too high on remus to care right now.

he kissed remus again. and some more. and even more, and then- then he was rolling over the top of remus and running to the bathroom, thankfully reaching the toilet before spilling his guts out into it.

"how are you feeling?" remus asked, once sirius pulled back from the full toilet bowel, chest heaving to get the air back in his lungs.

he felt like fucking shit, he’d had far too much to drink last night. but that hardly mattered because remus kissed him. and now remus was here, holding his hair and stroking his back and kissing the top of sirius’ head, and everything was going to be just fine.

sirius smiled and rested his head against the toilet bowel, looking up at his moony, "perfect."

[gizkasparadise]

random things i love about olgami/trapped:

go to church, they say. you'll meet a good boy there, they say. cut to 5 panels later and the female lead's being blackmailed into burying bodies

when an emotionally fucked up but scrappy as hell female lead is running reverse uno powerplays on an unhinged murder bastard male lead across multiple arcs i love to see it always in any universe any format sign me up

a 60 year old murderbaby child who only likes cup ramen and wants to live with mom after the divorce

park yunsu, ep 1: im gonna kill her after i fuck with her head a little bit b/c im bored

park yunsu, ep whatever we're on now: please fuck me you can kill me after if you want

he's on the praying mantis pre-nup plan, love to see it

another vampire who can shapeshift tries to impersonate one of the couple, and acts like a loving partner to fool them, but because of whatever the fuck they got going on they're both like "no this isn't you you're not trying hard enough to kill me" OK

the ear thing. iykyk

[onethattwaddles]

Drama Twaddling: 'Queen of Tears'

WELL, well, well… That was quite a drama, huh?

Almost a week later and I’m still here nursing a clingy heart. I’m not ready to let go of BaekHong yeeeeeet. And I know I’m not alone on this one so here’s a little (not) drama talk from me. So sit back and grab a cup of coffee ‘coz this is going to be a looooong discussion.

Finally, after a long squiggly wiggly rollercoaster ride, we’ve reached the end. (Two special episodes coming, though. Weehee!) I can’t believe two months just flew by and starting this week, no more waiting for BaekHong weekend. Anyway, pat and applaud yourselves for making it through the rough journey. And as hard as it is, now we say bye-bye to our lovely (and we-emptied-your-tear-bags) royal couple, Baek Hyun-woo and Hong Hae-in.

First of all, this is definitely one of those I came in for the package, I stayed for the cast.

If there was one thing to be applauded about this drama, it’s the casting. They anchored the show. I’m serious–I'd give a hundred if the rating were out of ten. That much. Because I could NEVER imagine anyone else playing BaekHong’s roles as perfectly as Soohyun and Jiwon did. They were practically Hyun-woo and Hae-in acting themselves. They said they were a bit awkward in the beginning but where in the world do you find people just standing side by side screaming chemistry like, hello? The wedding photos? Hyun-woo said they probably only met twice when they shot those but it gives off legit pre-nups. In the drama, with every little touch, you get this small tingling feeling. It’s so natural that you don’t even notice they’re acting even if the camera angle screams “Look! He’s touching her!” The spark’s just… there. *chef’s kiss*

And speaking of the cast, of course we can’t leave out the rest of them. If the main leads were good the supporting cast did not fall short. From the Hong Family to the Baek Family, Queens Group to Yondu-ri folks, friendships to usurpers–everyone nailed their roles! Bruh, the Mother-Son duo never failed to make an eye roll every time they appeared on the screen. They had, not only BaekHong in chokehold but even the whole watch-nation. Park Sung-hoon portrayed Yoon Eun-sung so convincingly that I’m starting to think he’s getting hate messages from all his “You can hate the character but please not the person” talks. (Because if it is so, what is wrong with you people?! Edit: I just read about it and that seems to be the case. Seriously, people?! Can’t separate reality from fiction now?)

And if I have the most generous love for the cast, I’m sorry I can’t say so for the writing.

Storywise, uhh... there were a few that I think were a bit of a shame.

For example, the overly abused the stars-aligned-the-universe-is-on-our-side motif? I wish they just made it so that kid Eun-sung saved kid Hae-in, which would explain this abnormal obsession because, to quote him, he liked her first and he saved her from drowning. Like, at least give him a proper reason to obsess, Writer-nim.

Or I wish Hyun-woo knew it was Hae-in he met in high school and who owned that MP3 player, so there would be more meaning as to why he kept it all this time. Prior? No, that would defeat the whole thing. While dating or in their marriage maybe. I just hope they didn't make it seem like the stars aligned for them to meet, but that they're both fighting for the universe to be on their side like a real married couple would do (just like what our Queen did in that propose scene. Pfft!). Especially in their case where everything's not working out. I think we already got a lot of that universe-is-on-our-side with the Truck of Doom and notebook incident. (I think there were others but I can’t remember.)

One thing I loved about Park Ji-eun’s previous work (Crash Landing On You) is because of the memories in North Korea. Here, I would have loved to see more Yongdu-ri and less Seoul during their MIA era. And I mean more interaction between the villagers and the BaekHong family. Like Hae-in and Dahye hanging out with Mi-seon and her gang, or Mommy Hong and Mommy Baek hanging out with villagers, washing veggies, cooking, drinking, etc. like Daddy Hong and Daddy Baek did. (And where on earth did Hoyeol run off to, with four-something episodes left?)

Also (okay, at this point, it’s probably not a “few things”), I wish there was more something to our usurpers. You know, like what caused them to go a-la-Parasite on the Queens? Hello! Backstory? I know we got Eun-sung being a child out of wedlock but any more reasons how, what, why Moh Seul-hee exists and why she was so desperate to steal Queens? Why the Hongs in the first place? And who on earth is Grace? How did she connect with them? I feel like the time spent on the dragging scenes should have been spent on their backgrounds (Moh, Dahye, Grace), even for just a few seconds of flashback. But I guess the not-knowing-everything part adds to their mystery.

Finally, I did not sign up for the long-term residency in makjang alley, Writer-nim. I figured we'd have to step foot in but not that long. There were needless makjang moments just going round and round it got exhausting. RomCom suddenly logged out and was out of reach. (Can't deny the top-tier execution of our main leads, though. It was beautifully heart-breaking.) And those Germany honeymoon scenes in the BTS, where were they?! Hing~! TT

I love second-chance tropes, especially when it’s between married couples. That’s what intrigued me about this drama in the first place (of course, after seeing the cast). And I’m sad that this could have landed a spot on my number one list. The first half was good－pacing and all. I like how the usually slow and dragging scenes were cut short and compressed in a few minutes. However, as it advanced, some areas that didn’t need dragging got dragged whereas scenes that needed to be included did not make it which made it a little... and I’m just gonna shut my mouth. *zips*

By the way, I read someone on X saying Writer Park Ji-eun got this drama copyrighted in 2010－which explains why I got an early 2000s vibe from the premise (and the always-wrong turn of the second-half plot)－so I get it, this is from the treasure chest. But you had a 14-year chance to tweak it, Writer-nim! *wriggles her neck*

Hang it all! At least we got a “and they lived happily ever after” and that’s all that matters. (Also, Hong Soobin! We finally got to see you, girl! Welcome to the world! Huhuhu! Now give your papa and mama the best and long life.)

With all that said, it’s time to re-watch the whole thing… because why not? *winks*

(Update: I just finished rewatching and there’s only one thing I can say: you HAVE to rewatch it. It helps you see it in a bigger picture.

While rewatching and having long discussions with my sister who also just finished it, she was able to identify why I felt like the second half was dragging. The problem was really the last two episodes.

It suddenly felt like we were watching a different drama. The reason why we’re all ‘Queens (and Kings) of Tears’ is because we were watching Hae-in fighting to live, with her husband beside her through it all, going against the odds together. But in those last two episodes, I felt like a post-surgery Hae-in, suddenly lost and unaware of what was happening. I feel like if Hae-in survived the surgery and lost her memory, we didn’t need to see it anymore. The whole point of the show was to know if there was a cure for such an illness and if she survived it. But there was too much focus on the usurpers while so little information about their purpose.

Sis suggested something and I couldn’t agree more: end the show in episode 14 with the last scene of episode 16 just to show they lived happily ever lifetime. Honestly, the last two episodes were more of a fan service. While I have a few other minor comments (some mentioned above), let's just let go and move on. HAHAHA!)

[skopostheorie]

Can't even go into a cafe tomorrow because it's Melbourne cup wow I'm so #nup to the cup pilled now

[baubeautyandthegeek]

E'en then who knew this iron heart//In woman's weakness had a part. – Tamerlane Usher/Verna

A/N: Part 2/4 for @fluffbruary day 12.

Volcanoes were one of Verna’s favorite things, but then, she thinks, not like this. This, her precious Dove, her Tamerlane, a volcano of pain and sadness. A woman on the brink of madness, driven so by nothing yet done by her Raven. Bill had been all the pushing, insisting she was nothing to him, blaming Tamerlane for her madness, for her lack of sleep, for her pains and mistrust of men. He did not, she thinks, know Tamerlane’s secrets, and how could he when Tamerlane had to overflow to speak at all? The volcano erupts, Tamerlane screams and yells and throws both books and hands at the man who came so close to being her husband. Being her trap. He walks away and Verna swears to ruin his life even as Tamerlane paces, severs ties with Billt, severs all ties with Bill, using the pre-nup to bankrupt the man. Goldbug takes off the next day, Tamerlane’s eyes are damp as she talks, seeking something in the crowd. In another world this would end with smashed screens, a broken woman falling apart enough to end her life with glass and mirrors. In this, Verna’s new chance, a new turn of life’s wheel, the new Usher chances taken, she rises to walk to Tamerlane’s side, cups soft cheeks in tender hands, wipes away dampness from her cheeks and kisses her lightly in front of the press gathered. Raven Enterprises and Goldbug, a new chance, a new love, a new life. Verna’s lips brush Tamerlane’s again and the volcano runs dry, her eyes drying and body stilling as she steps back to the microphone, finishing the presentation and announcing in full voice, the newest revelation. She was, she says, turning away from a life as an Usher, choosing to marry Verna ‘Candy’ Crain, her life partner and business partner. Nobody but her family knew the truth, but her love would save many lives, leaving only Roderick to hold the cost.

[littlemissidontcare]

Questioning someone’s intentions and mental health is dangerous and careless./// Diff anon. The way that anon expressed their opinion was very wrong. But trying to figure out what restaurant it was based off of cups and plates is taking it too far. It does not matter that much. Let’s just all take a breather. But I do agree. That anon could have worded it way better-💕

Nup, disagree. That anon was straight up nasty. I can not see how discussing if a table/plate being from a spotting on DM is taking it too far. Stalking is a ridiculous statement for it as well. It was harmless yet y’all are jumping on this anon with harsh words. Here’s an idea, keep quiet and don’t throw mean words around for something that doesn’t even affect you.

[ijustthinkevilunoisneat]

Forgot it was Melbourne Cup today but yeah nup to the cup, fuck horse racing and the cruelty that goes along with it

[evita-shelby]

PLEASE INCEPTION ROBERT IS ACTUALLY SO HOT AND THERES SO MUCH TO WORK WITH

…honestly i thought you already had watched it and robert wasn’t just your cup of cillian tea.

could you imagine i think in that universe Eva is apart of Cobb’s team, a very capable con-woman but you know everyone needs a retirement plan… and while all’s said and done Eva is just implanting little seeds of attraction so that when Robert meets her in “real life” she’s literally the woman of his dreams.

Eva is just trampling over all the other social climbers and wealthy elite to get the ultimate bag, becoming Mrs Fischer (no pre-nup much to the dismay of the other Fischers) (it’s okay tho bc Eva has no qualms of ever getting divorced).

Up until we got streaming, we only had what was on in telemundo or televisa (i live right on the border so nothing works and cable didn't get into our neighborhood until i was like 14)

I'm super behind lol, so this is based on what i found on google.

I think Eva would've married him for a green card, being rich af herself she wouldn't give a shit about his money but she wouldn't mind taking the company and adding it to Riley and Arambula lol.

His family sees through it and he does tonsome extent,but Eva has his wrapped around her finger and she has a thing for secretly pathetic men.

She could have been part of Cobbs team,but she uses it for wiping out competitors and do damage control.

May be the reason Robert has some defense in his mind and sure he gives into the inception, but only cuz Eva ordered a hit on Saito in revenge and the company wasn't truly dissolved, Robbie just gave it to Eva before they got onto the plane.

[loiswolf]

Day 7 June 2 Tok Alaska - Beaver Creek Yukon Canada 97kms + 80kms hitchhiked

It was so tempting to stay in that hostel forever. The only way I could get myself moving this morning was to book somewhere to stay tonight.

I think I mentioned that Tuesday it poured rain all day, Wednesday it snowed!

And yesterday I was just too comfortable and happy where I was to get up and go anywhere. Slack, I know! Part of the problem was the distance I had to cover today because there was no accommodation anywhere in between.

So this morning I left the hostel at about 8:30 while the other guests slept on. Here is a photo of the hostel with Tim ( the guy who climbed in the window to unlock my door) and Pierre a cello player headed for Anchorage to play in an orchestra.

They were both lovely and I missed them when they left on Tuesday morning. The hostel was very quiet but I occupied myself by changing beds, cleaning and doing laundry for my lovely host Chris, who told me I could stay as long as I want, for no charge. I also watched a lot of dvds over the next 3 days in between making myself useful.

So the plan today was to definitely get a lift for part of the distance. The first 20kms to the Tetlin Junction were easy enough. I was wearing more layers than I ever have before to keep warm, and it worked. The road was flat and very quiet at that time of morning.

I was expecting headwinds and big hills as soon as I passed the junction. Nup, it was very pleasant riding with just long slow gentle hills and downhills. I think the wind was behind me if there was any at all.

Slowly the hills became bigger and I decided it might be time to start trying to get that ride. Suitable vehicles didn’t come along very often but finally, when I had done nearly 60kms, Caroline and Martin ( a Swiss couple) pulled over in their campervan to help me out.

They were both cycle tourists so had a lot of sympathy for me. I think the hills increased again and we drove past the halfway point at Northern Junction, continuing on to a little tourist information place for the Tetlin Nation Park.

We unloaded Shirley and stopped for a break. It was a beautiful scenic place, the sun was out and it was time to start removing my layers. I managed to scrounge a cup of coffee from the ranger (boy) in the info centre who was very sweet. Then I had my donut and some tea and grapes Caroline and Martin were kind enough to share with me.

I was happy to cycle from there as I didn’t want the complication of going through customs in the van with a Swiss couple. I didn’t realise that our passports would not be checked until we reached the Canadian border over 30kms on. In between customs offices is some kind of weird no man’s land.

I had only cycled a couple of kms from my break spot when I was stopped by roadworks. The lady declared it was unsafe for me to cycle the next section so I had to unload Shirley again, put everything in the back of the ute, and be driven the next few kms over the “unsafe” roadworks. I’m sure Shirley and I could have negotiated it without any problem but it was no hardship to be driven again.

Back on the bike it was only a couple of kms to the US customs check. About 50m before there was another lady with a stop sign holding up traffic because there was a bear on the road I had just cycled over. 😟 Nup, I didn’t see it.

The scenery nearly all day was breathtakingly beautiful but it doesn’t look anywhere near as good in my photos.

The next 30kms in no man’s land were a bit hilly to start with but flattened out for the last 10kms. The road surface was pretty bad. I guess it’s nobody’s responsibility to fix it so it doesn’t get done.

I was thinking that I would still have another 20-30kms after I reached the Canadian customs office but was very happy to learn that Beaver Creek was only another 2kms. Yeah, but watch for the bear that sometimes is just up the road!!( said the customs boy/man)

He also asked me many, many questions about my trip, finances and everything. I’m not sure if he was just nosy or if they were essential questions. Must be slow going if a lot of traffic was going through and everyone was interrogated for so long.

So it was only 2 bear free kms down the road until I reached my destination. I lost an hour today so I didn’t arrive until 5:30pm. I hate to think how long it would have taken without help.

I’m staying in a little cabin at a place called Buckshot Betty’s. It’s overpriced but ok. I’m very happy to be in Canada where the exchange rate is much better and distances are in kilometres.

Tomorrow is a short day….trying to keep it a bit easier.

[tarnishedhalo]

"what is the one thing you would tell someone younger about the world ? Because I have no clue what I'm doing with my life "

TMI Tuesday || Always Accepting

Fucking yay. Another one of his sister's Goddamn strays. It takes a moment as he relaxes, thumbs the safety, and puts the Sig back in the drawer where it belongs. He hadn't realised she'd let the kid stay. The kid he hasn't seen since he'd almost arrested him for at least fifteen separate assault charges. He still doesn't really know how she talked him out of it, except he does. But where exactly had she hidden him? Kid's got a couple inches on Riley barefoot. Maybe that's why she insisted on sleeping in his room instead of her own. He'd been able to get her down to five days out of seven in her own bed. He sits back down and picks up his coffee ~most of it whiskey~ and takes a sip. "I dunno. Wear a cup?" It's too quick, too slick an answer. "Never get married without a pre-nup, and if it sounds too good, it probably is. That's what I'd tell all these little snow-flake kids running around these days. "But if we're talking you, specifically?"

He narrows his eyes, tilts his jaw as he looks the kid up and down.

"Therapy. You can't go round beating the shit out of stupid people just cause they piss you off, trust me, I know. You gotta learn to tone that shit down or else you're gonna wind up in Ryker's, or on a slab somewhere and then I'm gonna have to listen to her bitch for the foreseeable ever."

He nods to one of the seven spots on the couch the kid could use. "Get yourself some coffee an' siddown. We're gonna have a chat, and when she wakes up, I'll make breakfast."