#sparkly coin au

[ckret2]

So a while ago some friends were talking about fans who claim the Same Coin theory is canon. And I made the mistake of saying:

Do you know who also has tons in common with Bill? Mabel. Yet nobody claims Bill reincarnated as Mabel. …wait now I want a "same coin but it's Mabel" AU. Funniest Bill reincarnation option. The all-seeing arsonist is making macaroni glitter art. The omnipotent tyrant is crying because a unicorn called her a bad person.

And then I overthought it for two months.

So—AU where after death, Bill's soul shoots 13 years into the past and reincarnates as Mabel. I'll call it ✨ Sparkly Coin AU ✨

Don't leave yet. Lemme show you why it works. Behold the eerie amount of parallels in their personalities, dialogue, behavior, mannerisms, tastes...

I could have kept going but my attention span ran out. All right, we all on board now? Convinced we could segue from one personality into the other? Great. Now here's why you should be interested: the juicy post-Weirdmageddon angst potential.

As long as a small fringe of the fandom still thinks Weirdmageddon is Mabel's fault, why not amp that up x100 and have some fun with it?

Is everyone sold now? Great. Let's get into the details. I've got 8 more pieces of art under the read more.

So the AU starts the instant Bill dies. Thanks to invoking his deal with the Axolotl—one way to absolve his crime, a different form, a different time—the Axolotl gives him a new shape and shoots him thirteen years into the past. Apparently, the Axolotl thought it would be very funny to stick Bill in the family that defeated him.

Which probably made for a jarring transition.

(It's fine, she's like 10 minutes old, she probably can't even tell who she's looking at. Not being able to tell who she was looking at is what got her into this situation ayyyy)

When Dipper & Mabel come back from Gravity Falls complaining about this triangular jerk Bill, their parents mention that Dipper's name was nearly Bill. See, after they knew they were going to have a boy, one night their mom dreamed about a visitor—some kind of magic pink salamander??—calling her child "BILL." Then at the next sonogram they found out they were having twins, the girl must've been hidden at a weird angle the first time, and they wanted matching names, so they thought, Bill and Bell. But they didn't really like Bell; but eventually they stumbled on Mabel, so to keep the names matching they switched from Bill to Mason. Isn't that the darnedest thing?

(Of course, Mabel and Dipper assume Bill harassed their parents to try to trick them into naming a kid after him. To be a jerk.)

When Bill meets Mabel, he's unaware that she's his future self—Bill's notably bad at doing things like, say, double-checking to see whether he's going to die anytime soon—but like... he can tell something's up.

Naturally, before visiting Gravity Falls, there were echoes of who Mabel used to be—but nothing anyone would be able to identify without context. All her Bill-ish quirks either smoothed out with time (see: how between second grade and fourth grade Mabel went from being the "freak" to the popular girl in class), or else they were accepted by her family as Mabel-ish quirks.

After they meet (and kill) Bill, they have the context to understand some of Mabel's behaviors... and unfortunately, some of Mabel's latent Bill-ness starts surfacing after she's been directly exposed to her prior incarnation.

The part of the Pines family familiar with Bill thinks the worst case scenario is that maybe Bill's survived and is slowly possessing Mabel; but far more likely, they think this is just some weird way of trying to subconsciously process last summer. Mabel doesn't think she's being weird, you guys are being weird, stop giving her weird looks. They get attacked by one triangle and now she can't wear yellow or pick up macrame as a hobby??

(It's not all red flags and uncomfortable triangle imagery, though. When Stan asks her what she'd like as a gift for some important event, she shyly admits that she thinks she's starting to outgrow her plastic gem jewelry and maybe she's old enough to get her first piece of real gold jewelry, if that's not too expensive? And Stan's never been so proud of her. Thirteen years old and already thinking about buying gold!)

But of course, the real fun starts when Mabel finds out.

That's the face of a girl who's just discovered that she tortured her great uncle. Now imagine running into the brother she possessed.

But I've already spent a million words and thirteen images on this post. If enough folks are interested in the AU maybe I'll expand on it later. Let me know what y'all think.

[kekaki-cupcakes]

hello!! Hope you’re doing well!!

could you please do a Leo x mortal reader cafe au like the Connor stoll one? And could the reader be a Greek mythology nerd also please have a little brother who she’ll randomly quiz about the Olympian gods?

have a nice day 😚😚

heyyy i didn't get your whole request in but i got the vibe dw and also kind of made a moodpboard for it cause I loved the whole aesthetic and no one requests mood boards <3 LISTEN TO EXPRESSO BY SABRINA!

Leo Valdez x Reader--- cafe au

»»————-　★　————-««

“Hello,” you said, looking up from your screen for a millisecond, “what can I get you today?”

When whoever it was ordering didn’t respond, you raised an eyebrow, hand hovering over the digital menu. The boy frowned at the screen above your head where it listed all the different drinks. He had the nicest brown curls, you noticed, and looked back down before he caught you staring. 

He tapped his fingers quickly on the counter. Sabrina Carpenter's new song was playing over the cafe speakers. It sounded like summer.

“How many espresso shots are you legally allowed to put in one drink?” The boy asked with a crackly voice. He had dark smudges under his eyes. And on his hands. Huh. You really needed a camera to look into at times like this, for comedic effect. Like the office.

“About six,” you said, dropping your customer service voice with a shrug, and opened up a new order on the tablet, your bracelets jingling. “What can I get you today?” 

You loved your bracelets. Some were from that second hand store down the street full of goths and grandmas where you’d bought yet another version of the Odyssey yesterday, and the rest were from your little brother. 

You never admitted it to anyone, but he’d made them based on all your favorite Greek gods. The ones you were wearing today had pomegranate seed charms and antler horn patterns.  

His eyes widened considerably. They were brown. And sparkly. “What happened to your voice?”

You squinted at him. Someone else came into the cafe with three little dogs stuffed into their giant handbag. 

“That was my customer service voice.” Your brain was finally receiving enrichment in messing with this cute greasy boy. You put it on again, paired with a fake smile. “What can I get for you today?” 

He chuckled, and hitched a giant canvas tote bag over his shoulder. There was a giant inked cat with butterfly wings on it, and a long metal pipe sticking out the back. You had a feeling this boy would steal your name if he got ahold of it, or trap you in a ring of flowers deep in a forest.

“Uh,” he trailed off, and then winked, scrunching up his entire face. “Surprise me.”

You blinked at him. How entirely helpful. You watched him pull an entire fucking old fashioned pocketwatch out of his pocket to check the time. 

Medium was the most commonly ordered size of drink, so you selected that, and then a caramel latte with whipped cream. You had that knack that every person in your generation seemed to have been born with. 

Selecting random objects and flavors to match someone’s vibe precisely. You just happened to be a barista. 

For instance, this talkative sleep deprived boy was rocky road slices with peanuts in them, and torn open sugar packets, and caramel. Your coworker, Lou Ellen, who was wiping down tables behind the handbag dog man, was those butterfly shaped ice-cubes and home brewed black coffee from a saucepan and dragon fruit juices.                            And that thick book on Greek mythology she’d bought you for your birthday last year [she’d nicked it from the library and peeled the sticker off]. 

“Four dollars and sixty cents,” you said patronizingly, in your customer service voice. He grinned like you had just invented the funniest inside joke ever, and handed over five dollars in fifty cents coins.

“Keep the change.”

You printed out the receipt and reached for a medium sized cup and the ballpoint pen from a uni campus open day, after pocketing the generous tip of forty cents and a paperclip. 

What a gentleman. “Name?” 

“Leo Valdez, super sized Mcshizzle, bad boy supreme,” Leo Valdez super sized Mcshizzle bad boy supreme said happily, as one of the handbag dogs escaped the bag and started chewing on his laces. 

You desperately needed that camera to look into now. You should be the star of a sitcom at this point, with you as the tired main character dealing with silly customers while desperately longing to go home and read your books, Lou Ellen as the hilarious trashy best friend, Will [your coworker who was currently taking out the trash] as the angry bisexual lumped with the night shift crew, and your little brother, who would pop in at random times in each episode to deliver the punchline.  

Instead of letting the credits roll, unfortunately, you scribbled out an unintelligible scrawl to represent the complete nonsense you were supposed to instead. Your smile was strained this time. “I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Leo [you assumed that was his name] beamed. “Thanks!”

It was only as you frothed the milk and tried not to burn your fingertips on the spout did you realize that the song was still going. Lou must’ve looped it, as she did with every song ever until she got sick of it and hated it. 

You nodded your head and tipped the bubbling milk into the cup, reaching for the tube of caramel sauce. “Soft skin and I perfumed it for ya, I know I Mountain Dew it for ya.” 

“That morning coffee, brewed it for ya.” You rolled your eyes to no one and tipped the extra caramel sauce into it. It was ten o'clock at night, and your shift had just started. Morning coffees meant college students rushing in at two a.m. so they could finish their projects. 

You shook up the whipped cream. “One touch and I brand-newed it for ya.” 

One of the most satisfying parts of your job, apart from spinning around and introducing yourself as the manager [you are not the manager] when someone demands to see the manager [who comes in once a month, looks around, and leaves again], is the whipped cream. The sound of it and the little pattern it makes just itches a scratch. 

You smile as you finish the swirl, which sinks into the cup of espresso shots and caramel milk. You spin around, “now he’s thinkin’ ‘bout me every night, oh…”   

“Is it that sweet? I guess so,” you hum under your breath, and ducking the spray bottle Lou Ellen launches over your head, you stick a straw in the cup and walk to the bench, where Will’s serving the man with three purse dogs a jelly donut. 

Leo’s digging through his bag while you wait, not bothering to rush him and leave the 24/7 rip off starbucks diner empty. 

You pick up the pen and take the lid off with your teeth, doodling a little cat on the blank bit of the cup. The tail comes out all wrong, and one of the whiskers slides halfway around on the plastic with a scratchy sound. 

You add rushed fairy wings to its soft looking back, and hand the cup over as Sabrina Carpenter sings about being a singer. Her voice is so pretty. Like caramel. “There you go.”

Leo grinned at you, and while you watched in absolute horror, proceeded to pour an entire monster energy drink he’d pulled from his tote bag into the perfectly made coffee. 

“Excuse me?” you whisper shrieked. 

He blinked at you owlishly, and you tried not to notice how warm his eyes looked in the vintage yellow lights of the shop that made everything seem seventies. “What?”

“That’s enough caffeine and chemicals to give a water buffalo a heart attack,” you said, pointing at his awful concoction. It started to fizz. You wondered if the building had chemical reaction insurance.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Leo shrugged, and picked up his cup happily. He looked down at it, and a grin split across his face. “I got a drawing!”

»»————-　★　————-««

It was only a few days later when the bell rattled quietly by the door and you looked up to see Leo and smiled despite yourself, fingers tapping on the cup in your hand, wear the ring you’d made from that paperclip sat, did you realize what role he would play in your heart shaped ice-cubes Sabrina Carpenter soundtracked paperback books late night set ballpoint pen sitcom.

The love interest. 

»»————-　★　————-««

[summercosmos]

Fablehaven Pokemon AU; Pt 2 (Seth)

Seth as a pokemon ranger!

Seth would be bored out of his MIND tending to the daycare all day; running showers for and grooming cutesy pokemon is fun for about the first four times you do it only.

it doesn't help that there are more interesting (read: unsafe) pokemon available right at the fablehaven daycare! it's just that grandpa sorenson will not budge in letting his grandkids interact with those. something about lacking "experience" and "expertise".

Seth: alright then. bet ←(gets himself into a ranger school Like A Boss)

there's really nothing anyone can do about the school sign up— I'm thinking kids in the pokemon universe are considered their own legal representation around the time they graduate trainer school (13-14 yrs old)

and after the initial scare, everyone concedes it's kind of a good idea, really. Seth gets to explore and interact with wild pokemon while still in a somewhat controlled environment, minimizing the amount of trouble to be stirred.

Kendra is happy to be the one to inform Seth that Ranger School does, too, involve actual textbook studying. he forgor💀

Seth would do the bare minimum for the theory aspects — what he really excels at is practical demonstrations!!!

don't let anyone tell you otherwise; pokemon absolutely interact with people based on Vibes. if you show that misdreavus even the smallest of hesitation you're getting Astonished into your next life dawg.

obviously this is not a problem for Seth. in fact i think he'd be at his very best when approaching wild Dark & Ghost types; those are the most likely to feed from fear and distress!

if you have no fear to feed the little creepers with then theyll be like Well. Hmm. What Now. (top tier strategy)

while on that the rangers here are a bit of mix from the spin offs and from the trainer class from the og games. they have one partner pokemon that will accompany them in their main rescue missions, but their job also involves protecting certain areas from poachers &/or criminals— that means there's also a lot of pokemon battling!

I'll be honest i think Seth's main criteria for his pokemon team is Does It Look Cool? Catch

when his eevee evolved into a sylveon he had to pause to cry throw up bang fists on the wall roll around for a bit. imagine having your team astethics ruined by the sparkly fairy type. Kendra makes fun of it at least once

still comes back to the daycare even while on the training stage; when he graduates as an actual ranger the first place Seth will suggest to send rescued pokemon to is fablehaven

Partner Pokemon

Absol: look at me in the eyes a dark type pokemon which is frequently labeled as a chaos bringer & malicious when it in fact only has intentions to help warn people beforehand so they can escape disaster. who else could i even give this to. it literally gets wings in its mega form LOOOOK AT ME

okay so anyways Absol are pokemon which are frequently abused bc of superstition so it isn't a stretch to say one would have eventually found its way to fablehaven daycare as a rescue. this is still in the early days of Kendra and Seth being there to help out so obvs they wouldn't be allowed to handle this one bc of the dark typing and its general bad rep. do you think seth gaf though he does NOT his ass would absolutely sneak out at night to the enclosure they kept absol at and try to make friends with it. the secret lasts about a week (Kendra snitches) but grandparents end up letting him actually catch absol bc they bonded. aw

(rest of the) Team!

Meowth: first pokemon, a gift from his parents! Seth isn't much interested in it bc it's so very normal and boring and not very Cool until he finds out this cat can basically sniff out shiny things (coins & jewels included) and it quickly becomes a Get Rich scheme. which only works on paper for about 2 minutes until he realizes the meowth will absolutely NOT allow anyone (owner or otherwise) to get their hands on its loot. it kind of becomes a srungly family pet though like in a drowned ugly rat kind of way so its still loved regardless. isn't much used in battles so it hasn't quite had the chance to evolve.

Spiritomb: sorry but how can you tempt a child mentioning there's a antique keystone that contains a cool ghost pokemon inside of it and expect him to not do anything about it like thats on YOU. anyhow Seth frees the spiritomb out of the odd keystone and finds out its just a little guy that got locked away for playing too many pranks. come on there's not even a good reasoning to take it away from him

Braviary: caught as a rufflet! pokedex entry from black & white 2→ "It stands up to massive opponents, not out of courage, but out of recklessness. But that is how it gets stronger." it probably tried to pick a fight with Hugo the Golurk and Seth thought it was the funniest thing ever and immediately caught it.

Golurk (Hugo): actually more attached to the fablehaven daycare than anything; it has its orders to protect the people and pokemon inside of the property. still Seth bonds with it more than anyone else and maybe actually brings the guy outside so it can see the world. cuties

Sylveon: okay now bear with me. LISTEN! Seth wouldn't have used any evolution stones on his (graduation gift) eevee bc he was hoping for a high friendship evolution, either espeon or umbreon. well. can you even imagine the look on his face when the evolution process finished and the first thing he saw was a pink ribbon. oh hed lose it. anyways sylveon are actually very combative pokemon — it lures foes in with the cute face and then pounces. they go out of their way to actively fight dragon pokemon likeee can you see the vision. Seth feels immediately better abt the whole thing when sylveon whoops a whole ass hydreigon with one singular Moonblast.

oh i had a Time making this. i love you pokemon au i really do. ill probably do either ronodin or bracken next

[catindabag]

Every District “facts” and “local info” according to Festus Creed and old Professor Dementia Demigloss in my TBOSAS on Crack!AU.

[Read this for context]

District 1

Provides the Capitol chocolate coins!

Luxury items Fake gold.

Fashionista Land.

Their mayor is a ✨diva✨ who lives in a gold encrusted treehouse.

District 2

Provides the Capitol hugs and cuddles!

Masonry Mason jars??

Throws bread to their dead.

Their mayor (Mr. Rocky Rock O’Rolly) is a piece of rock. #immortalmayor2me&u

District 3

Provides the Capitol “free” flat screen televisions and spy cam teddy bears.

Technology Techno Pop Robo Cop??

They can hack your ass.

Their mayor has a flying wheelchair.

District 4

Provides the Capitol sea witches and lobster guards.

Fishing Catfishing. Duh.

They don’t serve bacon pizzas in D4. They might not even know what a pizza is (according to their local gremlin).

Their mayor is a self proclaimed mermaid.

District 5

Provides the Capitol the strongest Hello Kitty duct tape in the world.

Electricity Power Rangers!

Clemmie’s daddy is the shadow king of D5.

Their mayor is a homeless electrician.

District 6

Provides the Capitol Thomas & Friends.

Transportation Transformers??

Nero Price used to be the shadow king of D6, but now he’s a werewolf.😔

Their mayor only cares about her exclusive toy train collection.

District 7

Provides the Capitol wooden chairs and “free” firewood.

Lumber Cucumber??

They can throw and swing their axes taxes!

Their hobo mayor is a self proclaimed “flower child” who can talk to trees and bees.

District 8

Provides the Capitol sparkly mini skirts and sexy lingeries??

Textiles Project Runway.

Apple berry pies and cookies are their only “accepted” currency.

Their weird mayor claims to have a walking and talking bathroom rug. She might be crazy (but not “Palmyra Monty” crazy).

District 9

Provides the Capitol grain rain??

Grain Raisins.

They might have a secret “rice worshiping cult” over there. Who knows. Don’t care.

Their mayor sells a suspicious smelling “sugar powder” for a living. Is that even legal? Somebody should investigate him.

District 10

Provides the Capitol blue cheese and ✨Moo Moo Milk✨.

Livestock Chicken wings and drumsticks.

Domitia’s himbo daddy rules D10 with his emotional support cow (Lord Claudius).

Their mayor is Lord Claudius.🐮

District 11

Provides the Capitol cabbages and lima beans.

Agriculture Cabbage land and vultures!

They can legally marry their scarecrows. However, they are not allowed to divorce their scarecrow spouses for some reason.

Their mayor’s wife is a sexy scarecrow.

District 12

Provides the Capitol singing birds and pole dancers??

Coal mining ✨Pole dancing✨.

They’re poor but they don’t live in dumpsters with their freaky pet rats.

Their mayor’s daughter is a mean boyfriend stealing b*tch (according to their local singing rainbow bird).

District 13

The Capitol Nobles are currently pretending that D13 doesn’t exist anymore. But we all know it does. Lol.

D13 is now called the underground “Mole Kingdom” ruled by the mole people.

President Ravinstill is highly allergic to mole people and their rebellious mole habits.

Their self proclaimed “mole president” is deathly allergic to Bichon Frisé puppies. But who cares! D13 doesn’t exist.😉

[thatartiststudios]

WIP Wednesday

All The Way Home | Rayllum x Hadestown AU

Chapter 1: All I've Ever Known

(Thx to @a-very-sparkly-nerd for the insp!)

Rayla stood at the edge of the dock, watching as Callum inspected the boat he’d chartered for their journey home. It wasn’t luxurious by any means; Scumport’s gritty reality loomed over them, casting shadows that clung to the edges of the rickety vessel. Still, it was leagues better than the hellish ride she had endured before, and for that, she felt a flicker of gratitude.

Callum was meticulous as he counted out the gold, his fingers brushing against the coins with a purpose. “Half now,” he instructed the captain, his tone firm but steady, “and the other half when we reach Katolis. If anything happens to her during the trip…” His voice trailed off, the implication hanging in the salty air.

Rayla’s breath caught in her throat as she watched him spill gold into the captain’s hands. She hadn’t seen that much wealth in weeks—months, really. The stark contrast made her head spin, the weight of his generosity both comforting and suffocating. A part of her still felt like she didn’t deserve any of it, like she was still tethered to the darkness that had threatened to consume her.

He returned to her side, his arm wrapping around her shoulders like a shield against the world. “Ready?” he asked, his voice steady and sure, firm against her. At her side, as always.

[somanyfuckedupiftruebooks]

Mag 28

Yes!! Hurray!! Queen bitch has arrived!! Get his ass Melanie!!

Honestly these two are hilarious.

Jon is taking his first live statement from a member of the public since he promised Elias he was going to 'be more lovely', and he basically says outright that he's not going to believe her which is the thing that got him in trouble with Naomi. C'mon Jon. He gets so defensive about the tape recorders that he immediately abandons all pretense of professionalism and comes for her entire career by accusing her of pretending to see ghosts (which is also the thing that he spends all day bitching about people doing). I love this man.

And Melanie my beloved is having none of it. At least people like and respect her! She may be sparkly, but she's a good researcher (unlike some people). Get! His! Ass!

I'm not the first to say this, but it kills me that the crux of early Jon and Melanie's dislike of each other is that they both consider themselves to be credible supernatural researchers, and the other to be wasting their time with superficial investigations into fake occurrences. Hilarious. 'You're giving ghost hunting (which is a good and valid career) a bad name' is such a great reason to dislike someone. Add to that that they are basically the same person in two different bodies, and you get one of the best dynamics in the entire series.

Yeah yeah, you're entire profession is a joke, but I'm still acutely aware of everything you do, the standards to which you hold yourself and the places you are likely to go. I know this because of normal reasons.

Great that Jon is so sceptical about her seeing ghosts when he just read a statement about a ghost with no eyes that eviscerates coin theives. Equally great that Melanie is so insistent that she has evidence of real ghosts, when a genuine encounter with the supernatural has shaken her so badly that she's ended up at the Magnus Institute.

Has anyone ever done a reverse au with Archivist!Melanie and Youtuber!Jon? That would be priceless.

Oh, a small group of people who routine commit crimes like tresspassing or breaking and entering in the name of researching the supernatural? Who does that remind me of?

Also Jon! Let the lady speak! He won't stop fucking interrupting her!

Well that shut him up. Jon probably didn't even listen to the rest of the statement because he was too distracted by mentally burying himself alive over the fact that he'll have to contact his ex to verify a story told to him by a ghost youtuber. How is this his life?

Also great that the reason Georgie had no issues working with Sarah would have been because her fearlessness made her immune to the Stranger's terrible offputting vibes.

I spent a while googling taxidermy to see if I could find an explanation for that floral scent, but came up empty. Still, Sarah obviously thinks it's suspicious enough that she's smoking like a chimney in an attempt to cover it up.

And speaking of suspicion, why does Sarah even give a shit? It's so great that she's some kind of skin-stealing monster (good luck to Tim reading this statement) but this is apparently just her day job. She's very clearly not trying to terrify any of the Ghost Hunt UK crew, so this is just a side gig that she is apparently doing to pay the bills? Were the Trophy Room and the Wax Museum not hiring?

A great example of avatars being Just People with normal people stuff going on in addition to all their spooky evil stuff.

Miss King, please tell us all of the official ghost classifications, I am begging you.

There's no really enough information to guess at what flavour of manifestation has claimed this hospital as their territory, but this could be a clue that it's some kind of Flesh avatar that absolutely loathes the Stranger. The reference to silk stitches over the top of Winnie the Pooh, who is known for being a stitched-together toy that pretends to be a real bear living in the woods, could be an equivalent of a 'trespassers will be shot on sight' sign.

Or it could just be weird graffiti.

[circuitsofgold]

Title: Untitled

Pairing: Clyson

Rating: M

Summary: A fuck or die/sex pollen fiction in the spirit of Valentine’s day. :D Prince Clu goes mucking about where he shouldn’t and has to suffer the consequences.

Notes: Fantasy AU

Here it was the feast of St. Valentine and Prince Clu didn’t have anything to get the one he loved. The problem was that his lover was a Siren. Sugar didn’t agree with them so chocolates were out. Roses would likely be eaten. And Clu couldn’t exactly write poetry.

Just about the only things Sirens enjoyed were shiny things. Trinkets and the like. Clu could just as easily give Dyson a bag of gold coins and he’d be happy. 

But that seemed too easy.

So Clu rode into the Great Forest looking for something that might appeal to a Siren. At a certain point, his horse refused to go any farther. Something about the horses not tolerating Faes. Clu tied it to a tree with enough slack that it could still eat before continuing on his own.

He had thought he brushed against a spiderweb but then he felt like something physically hit him. And then he got the oddest feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like when Dyson’s delicate fingers touched it. Clu looked down at his fingers and saw something that was green and sparkly. He raised his fingers to his face and sniffed at it. It smelled like the forest but there was some sort of sickly sweet undertone. 

The powder or whatever it was all over him. Maybe Alan would know. And if it was what he thought it was... he was hoping Alan would not be in his study when he returned.

When he returned to the castle, the Prince was in luck. The wizard was not in. Which was a good thing because Clu had a rather impressive hard on. As luck would have it, his armor did not cover his groin. Something he had to often wonder if that was intentional or a design flaw.

Clu returned to looking through the books, though having a rather difficult time focusing. But then he found it. Clu skimmed the pages growing ever more incredulous and uncomfortable by the second.

“You have got to be kidding me.” He said out loud to no one as he made to ride to the lagoon. Dyson was going to have a field day with this one.

----

Dyson had been stringing gold buttons to make a belt when he caught a different scent. Leather, sweat, horses. Human male. Which would mean Clu was coming to visit. But there was something decidedly off about his scent. There was a rather strong sickly sweet scent about it that spoke of pheremones.

The Elder Siren sent the others in the Brood away. If Clu was coming in a mood, they would need their privacy. He slipped into the water to wait for Clu’s approach. And when he surfaced, the human was removing his armor. On which there was a green powder which made Dyson lift a brow. That accompanied by the erection straining at the crotch of his pants tied it all together.

“You went mucking about with in the Great Forest and got hit by a damiana interitio trap. Didn’t you?” Dyson asked as if he could not believe Clu’s stupidity. “Come on. I have to save your foolhardy life.” He instructed before heading to the sunning rock hearing Clu following him in the water.

When Clu got to the sunning rock, Dyson had already shifted to his legs and had gathered a jar of some sort of fluid. “Take off your clothes. You would have anyway.” The wet clothing was peeled away from tanned flesh. Up close like this, Dyson could see that the pupils of Clu’s eyes were blown wide.

Dyson takes note, as he always does, of the various scars and bits of ink decorating his Prince’s body. A rather impressive scar resting in the divot of one hip, likely from a blade of some sort. Other various scars from swords and jousting. His tattoos do not detract from his value but add to it.

“I’ve tried to take care of this myself. It would seem that the terms require another.” Clu spoke, sounding very apologetic. Well, the human was aware he messed up. Dyson quieted him. “I’ll take care of you.” He soothed as he pressed the jar into the human’s hands. “The terms are that you have to fuck or you will die.” He explained as he unwrapped his silks, his own loins twitching at the prospect.

Dyson had only done the act once before with his Prince. It had hurt afterwards but for the most part it had been pleasant. Clu had been patient and gotten him loose and needy. Depending on how long the human had been stubborn, there might not be time for that.

Clu was coating his fingers with the oily fluid so Dyson scooted close between Clu’s parted legs. The Prince parted the Siren’s ass to tease at the hole between them. Dyson shuddered before winding his arms about the golden Prince’s neck, lifting himself up onto his knees to give those questing fingers more access.

Dyson turned his head to catch his Prince’s mouth in a needy kiss. Pressing in with his tongue to taste his Prince’s mouth. Clu had a metallic taste to him, like biting down on a gold coin. His lips part to allow the human to breathe just in time to feel the fingers withdrawing from him. On cue, Dyson got the jar. “I want to do this.” He explained as he got some of the oil to coat his own hands with as his silver eyes settle on his human’s rigid length.

Clu hissed as the cold hands touched his heated cock. But cool skin was a constant with the Siren he had become attracted to. Fingers closed around his flesh to properly anoint it in the slippery liquid. “Dyson. Please... I need to...” The Prince begged and Dyson understood. Not wishing to prolong his human’s suffering anymore than he had to.

He put his hands on Clu’s broad shoulders. “Hold it steady, my love.” The Siren murmured as he positioned himself. He had been craving this feeling again though he had imagined it under different circumstances. It hurt initially with each new movement downward but when he bottomed out into Clu’s lap, he felt one of the human’s arms wrapped around him to reposition him.

The human’s clothes were bunched up and placed under Dyson’s head for a makeshift pillow. “Don’t hold back, my love.” Dyson murmured running his fingers over the soft stubble along Clu’s jaw. The human needed a release and a release he would have. Clu nodded and he started moving his hips with a groan that he was giving into his body’s desires.

The Siren wrapped his legs around the Prince’s waist as his hands grasp the human’s shoulders. Determined the ride out Clu’s demanding movements. He felt one of Clu’s warm hands reaching between them to stroke his own aching flesh in time with his thrusts.

It seemed to be soon that Dyson felt just as hot as the human on top of him was. Though he knew there was no change in his body temperature. Dyson cried out as he came onto Clu’s muscled stomach. He heard Clu give an almost pained sound as he too had a much needed orgasm. Then Clu’s arms gave out.

Dyson switched positions with Clu. He cleaned up his human and then covered up Clu’s nakedness with his abandoned silks. The Siren abandoned his own human legs and settled beside the Prince to conserve his energy when he had his tail back. “You need to rest now, my love. I’ll be right here.”

Clu was too worn out to argue against it. So he closed his eyes. Dyson smiled and rested his own head on Clu’s chest. Listening to his heart beating. That precious sound was the last thing he heard before he drifted off to sleep himself. Nestled in the warm arms of his human lover.

[reallyromealone]

Hi! Hi! So, I got an idea. But I’ve got to make it short.

For some reason Bonten needs a lot of money, and fast. So they try to rob dragon hybrid reader. Reader is very lonely and lets them take as much gold as they want in exchange for friendship. (Tbh I don’t think dragon reader would care about how much gold Bonten takes bc he’s a dragon and has an almost infinite amount of gold)

Bonten x baby! dragon!reader

We spoke in chat and decided for baby reader because cute

Hybrid au

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

Bonten needed money.

When they heard of a dragon hybrid in the mountains that had gold, they immediately made plans to rob them of their treasures.

They weren't expecting this.

"I... I think they left something" Koko said as they walked into the cave that was indeed filled with precious gems and gold but also a tiny dragon hybrid pup wrapped in a fine silk linen "they just... abandoned their kid?"

"They must have been killed"

"Well dragon hybrids are extremely expensive and we'll just from this cave alone are big money makers" takeomi said and the others looked at him "are you implying we... Keep them?"

"Yuuup"

The men sighed but agreed, Koko lifting the dragon pup who had tiny little horns and glowing (color) eyes as be cooed at the man, clinging to him for warmth "aaaaand he imprinted" Koko sighed as Bonten bad their men bag and put the treasure in a truck, it had to be at least 100m dollars in treasures.

After all was settled they got (name) a hybrid crib and chew toys, the babe loving to bite their fingers and though his wings were too small to do anything he still flapped them like he was going somewhere.

"Has anyone seen my watch?" Ran asked as he looked around the headquarters and the others shook their heads, the elder Haitani sighing as he walked back to his room but something told him to check on (name).

There the babe was with a small pile of coins and their shiny things, lighters, jewelry and just any shiny thing he could get his paws on "I see you started making your hoard"

After a quick Google search ran learned that he could get his watch back for an exchange and after ordering a bunch of fake sparkly diamond rings, the babe marvelling before adding it to his tiny hoard.

"Invest in shiny shit, he's made his hoard"

"Ah shit"

[staticl0ve]

The Boy Next Door: Watermelon Sugar Pt.1

A human AU series featuring the RK boys. Starting with Connor.

Parings: Human!Connor / Female Reader Rating: Explicit/ NSWF 18+ Chapters (AO3): [ Part 1 ] [ Part 2 ] Word Count: 3.4k Warnings: None (part 1 is backstory fluff and SFW) Summary: He’s known you all your life. He’s the boy next door: sweet, considerate, and he’s absolutely head over heels and you are the densest best friend he’s ever had.

-

Negotiation is a fine art, one which requires finesse and charm. Neither of which you and Connor had when you first exchanged toys as young children. There was much debate on the worth of his massive stuffed brown bear complete with a little blue bow versus your remote controlled monster truck. Thinking back on it, you’d congratulate your parents for being adventurous with the toys they bought for a little girl.

“You’ll take good care of him right?” Connor insisted upon the completion of your transaction.

He had always wanted a dog but his father was ramping up his workload at the DPD and had no time as a single parent to juggle a kid and a puppy. So the compromise was a large stuffed animal which Connor named Sumo. The bear’s massive head rolled around your tiny arms, his brown sparkly eyes gazing up at the clouds. You looked up at Connor’s worried eyes. They were almost as brown and shimmery as the bear in your embrace. You gave him a big smile, your tongue peeking out from a gap where an adult tooth was growing in.

“I promise to take care of him. You can come over and visit too!”

“Really?” He asked, eyes wide and bright.

You both made a pinky promise, the simple gesture sparking the beginning of a journey as best friends. Your families were ecstatic about your friendship and arranging play dates was a breeze since he lived next door. There were countless of shared parties, camping trips, and games of hide and seek where your backs were pressed together in a closet. You were inseparable but it was only a matter of time before childish laughter in small confined spaces became longing gazes and drawn out silence.

It was dark all around you, which was no surprise because Becca’s closet was small and uncomfortably packed with her clothes. From beyond the thin crappy door, you could make out the sound of the other high schoolers giggling, the graduation party going splendidly without you two. Connor had been nervously fidgeting with a coin in his pocket and avoiding your gaze since the door shut.

“Seven minutes in heaven is such a dumb game,” you said to lighten the mood. “I swear the hormones are getting to our friends.”

He swallowed a gulp, unable to tear his eyes from your face. Truth be told, ‘the hormones’ had been the bane of your best friend’s existence since puberty came for Connor. His chubby cheeks grew out into a rather conventionally handsome face with a set of charmingly sweet chocolate eyes. His lanky, clumsy body that barely kept up with you in the playground skyrocketed into a six foot lean machine that was the star of the soccer team. There was a long line of admirers who’d beg you to hand him their love notes, ask about his favorite things, anything to try and woo the most sought after Connor Anderson.

Puberty was a problem for Connor and it wasn’t because of the sudden attention that he received. No. It was a problem because he liked you and the changes that occurred in you only made him fall so much harder. It started out as a small and innocent crush. You both liked the same things, shared a sense of humor and in late night sleepovers, you’d swap secrets — stories that made you both cry and laugh. You vented to each other and it was cathartic to have those evenings together.

Connor was sure his infatuation with you would be short lived, that he’d mature out of it. If anything, he felt more lost the moment he saw you during freshman homecoming, all glammed up in a dress he vaguely recalled being dragged across downtown to help you find. He remembered it being glittery, the light of a cheap disco ball dancing across your skin while he held you for a slow dance. It was awkward at first, you made some silly jokes before you both fell into a comfortable silence with only the gentle tunes of a love song swirling around you, pushing you two closer on the dance floor.

His hand was on your back, his palm nervously sweaty on your bare skin. He was absolutely drowning in the worst assault of teenage hormones, unable to keep his eyes from wandering over your mostly modest neckline (you were a teenager after all) and imagining how the rest of you might look without the dress. It was like he had never touched you before, realizing then and there how soft and warm you felt in his arms. You gazed up at him, eyes twinkling and your lips parted in a grin like you still couldn’t get over the silliness of the dance. He had a strong urge to plant his lips on yours, to taste your joy.

Puberty changed you and it made you damn near angelic twirling around the dance floor. The only reason you weren’t swarmed with admirers throughout high school was because most of the guys didn’t want to compete with the captain of the soccer team. They saw the heart eyes on Connor’s face even when most of the girls fawning over him insisted that you two were just friends. He’d always laugh at those assumptions, scratch the back of his head while his lips curled in a lopsided smile.

“Yeah, we’re just friends.”

You didn’t seem to mind or even notice since you were too busy trying to spend your time studying to get into your dream college. There was no time to give a damn about fleeting teenage love when there was so much you wanted accomplish. Connor admired your passion and in the interest of preserving the best friendship he ever had, he endured the trials of crushing on someone too dense to realize how much he liked them.

His admirers labeled him as an angel or a school hero due to his kind, boyish features and can do attitude. He volunteered at the local soup kitchen and blushed deeply whenever he opened his locker door to another love letter fluttering out of it. People didn’t know him the way you knew him. He was a bit of a wild card when the sun had set and he was done with soccer practice and homework. One such example was the night before your last exam of your senior year.

“Pst!”

You heard the harsh whisper outside your open window and knew who the voice belonged to before you could put your pencil down. You both had phones but Connor knew you couldn’t ignore him when he was outside your room. He waved at you, half of his body was obscured by a massive rose bush. His soccer uniform was bright between the mess of leaves and petals, making it not the most ingenious hiding spot. He called out your name in a louder whisper, finally summoning you to your window.

“It’s almost ten! We have a test tomorrow Connor!” You hissed back.

“I insist.” He continued when your eyebrow rose in suspicion. “I promise we won’t be out long.”

You should have realized by now that this would be the millionth time you’ve fallen for that line and you’d likely have to sneak back into your room in the dead of night. There was an abandoned amusement park that you both discovered as children with nothing else to do, all the time in the world, and freshly pumped bike tires. The park wasn’t in the worst condition, mostly dusty and boarded up with faded paint on the signs. Although, you were eleven at the time and not qualified to make assessments on the structural integrity of anything.

Being the more sensible one of your dynamic duo, you were the one who didn’t want to check it out. Absolutely nothing could go well when mixing children with abandoned parks. All Connor did was hold out his hand from the broken fencing and give you an eleven year old’s approximation of a daredevil grin.

“Don’t be a chicken, don’t you want to check out the merry go round?”

You sighed and squeezed your bike through the gap in a fence before shooting him a rather pointed look.

“There better be one!”

It became a regular meet up spot to hide from adults and a part of him liked the risk of being somewhere that kids weren’t allowed to be in. He also had the perk of his dad being a police lieutenant, the power going slightly to his prepubescent head (of course Hank would not be on his side if he discovered Connor’s secret hideout).

You caved and went back with him that night of your senior year with the promise of a surprise awaiting you.

“What’s this big reveal that you’ve been going on about?” You asked while stroking the head of a unicorn on the merry go round. “It better be worth failing my exam for.”

He was making a lot of clanking sounds from behind you before a generator grumbled and then roared. Bulb by bulb, the fairy lights around you lit up and the merry go round fizzled back to life. Plastic figurines bobbed and spun around to the tune of a Beethoven song. Your feet rocked as you steadied yourself over the rotating platform, hearing him boldly hop onto it.

“How did you get it to work?” You asked.

Over the years of countless nights spent reclining on the seats of the motionless spinning cups, he had an earful of you wishing that a miracle would bring the park back to life. As soon as he discovered that he could…well, he absolutely had to see your face when the lights turned on. He perched himself on a nearby lion figurine with the widest grin you’ve seen on his face.

“I did some investigating and found this generator. All it needed was a fresh propane tank and…I thought…”

Your face was caught between wonder and awe, eyes sparkling with curiosity. His cheeks dimpled, his proud grin melting into something you couldn’t distinguish. The sight of you stole his train of thought and he had to clear his throat before he continued.

“I thought you’d like a chance to finally ride it.”

It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for you and still you thought nothing more of it. The conclusion you made explained his surprise as being an olive branch, a way to clear the air since he found out you were going to a college very far from his. An elephant lingered in the space between you two since you sprung the news on him at the last possible moment. Connor was quiet, dead quiet that day and he wasn’t there to bike home with you like he normally did. The elephant grew larger and larger until it’s theoretical butt barely squeezed itself into Becca’s tiny closet, the sounds of a graduation party still just outside the door.

“Connor? You okay?” You teased. “I’ve known you for years, so if you’ve suddenly become claustrophobic — you should tell me now.”

He blinked, realizing he had probably been staring at you for a while now. He huffed out a laugh in an attempt to keep the air light in the now stuffy closet. As it would turn out, Hank would eventually cave to his son and get Connor the dog he had been begging for. He was a Saint Bernard, also named Sumo, who was man’s best friend and also man’s savior for awkward silences.

“Oh! I’m fine. It’s…I was worried about Sumo,” he blurted.

Your face went from glaring at the door to back at him, your brows pinching in concern.

“You took him out for a pee before coming to the party right?”

He nodded, grateful for the change in subject. “He’s only a few years old but I still get flashbacks to his puppy days. I don’t think my dad has forgiven me for the vacuum incident.”

The incident involved his smart vacuum running back and forth over a pile of dog excrement and proceeding to color their humble white carpeting all shades of brown. Hank had laughed it off, practically cackling like a hyena and telling his son to clean up the mess while he figured out dinner. The home smelled like cleaning chemicals for days and you complained when you were hanging out on his carpet only to spring off of it, mortified upon learning the story. The movement startled the young pup, and only made him bark with a need to play.

“Connor! You could have warned me before I rolled around your carpet!”

He stifled a laugh while running soothing pets down Sumo’s back. “I assure you, it has been cleaned more times than I can count.” There was an evil chuckle before he added one more comment.

“Although, statistically speaking, there is a chance that some remnants-“

“No! Ew! Connor!” You shouted while diving for the nearest pillow to chuck in his face.

He caught it with insanely fast reflexes, a wicked smile crinkling his freckled cheeks. There was once upon a time when you were taller than him and could crush him at any pillow fight. It only took one summer for him to tower over you and he never let you live down his new title as pillow champion. All you could do was curse the new athletic prowess of the soccer team captain.

The memory allowed you two to share a short laugh in the closet, the sound petering off rather quickly. A silence hung between you both, his eyes panning down your face. He had been in the dark long enough for his vision to adjust and see your face from the light seeping through the door hinges. You stared back at him, frozen in place as he shifted on the balls of his feet, leaning in slightly. His head titled down towards you, lips parting as if he was caught between saying something or maybe… 

“O~okay! Time’s up cuties!” Becca shouted as the door swung open.

Connor was plagued with restless thoughts after that party. He had spent too many summer nights mulling over what ifs, like what if he had just kissed you, friendship be damned. He didn’t realize how little time you both had left together before summer breezed by and college orientations would begin. There was one lazy evening left between you two in what felt to Connor like the sun setting on a lifetime friendship. He was in your bedroom, with you lying in your bed and him lying on the floor next to you, and the god damn metaphorical elephant prancing between you.

“Are you still mad at me for waiting to tell you about my college choice?” You inquired.

“I’m not mad-“

“I swear Connor. If you say ‘disappointed,’ I’m going to-“

“I’m just disappointed,” he finished with his cheek lifting into a smirk.

You haven’t learned your lesson about the newly crowned pillow campion and still feebly tossed a pillow in his direction. His hand caught it and smoothly laid his head back on the fluffy surface.

“Thank you. I did ask you for a pillow an hour ago.”

That little devil-

You propped yourself up on your elbows to see him past the edges of your bed.

“Connor,” you said sternly.

He repeated your name, the smirk not leaving his face.

“I’m going to miss you so, so much,” you confessed.

His head turned to gaze up at your face looking down at him, his smirk falling slowly into a frown.

“I’m really going to miss you, too,” he replied with a dramatic sigh.

He saw the waterworks brimming at the corners of your eyes and panicked for a second. It wasn’t right for him to be pouty, no amount of distance could come between your friendship. His feelings however, he’d have to put that aside for today.

“You can take Sumo the bear to keep you company,” he joked.

Through the mess of sniffles and tear stained cheeks, you replied, “Oh yeah, that’s definitely going to make me the most popular chick in the dorms.”

He had regrets in life, as do many people and what he regretted was not confessing his feelings before the night was over.

-

A fluffy brown bear sat perched on the edge of a desk, his head craning to one side with the weight of his cuteness or his stuffing you supposed. He was the first of the things you unpacked from your car upon returning to your childhood home, the fuzzy beast earning a spot in the passenger seat for the long drive.

Much to Connor’s disappointment, you stayed in your college town for a few more years after getting your degree. But as time went on with all of its trials and tribulations, one day you felt homesick enough to return. Unfortunately, there was a mix up in dates and your parents were in Hawaii when you drove back into town with a fully packed car. A pamphlet featuring volcanoes on your desk caught your eye and you hoped your parents were enjoying their anniversary.

Honestly, you were looking forward to a little bit of downtime. You had college roommates throughout all four years, then regular roommates after and it was nice to just be in a clean, quiet, again — clean, home. You did have the best move in volunteer to greet you upon your arrival and he was eager to see you again.

Connor had grown since your time apart, the both of you trying out all the experiences your young adult lives had to offer. The friendship strained a little when you both started casually dating other people, neither of you really wanting to talk about your romantic lives with each other. He never had much of an opinion about the guys you saw, offering uncharacteristically short replies whenever you brought up your love life. You were certain he was going to stick with a gal he met at some party, her name and face popping up more and more on his social media feed.

Before you decided to move back, he invited you to his new apartment when you did your annual visit to see your family for the holidays. It was just the two of you over a bubbling pot of sugary, buttery goodness, your cheeks warm and flushed from the spiced rum. There was a streak of it left on the corner of your lips, his thumb rubbing over your skin. Your heart stopped when he licked his thumb and shot you a look you’ve never seen on him. He invited you over because he wanted to tell you he had been single for a while and to finally confess that he’d been in love with you for decades. The moment was short lived as his roommate, Daniel, bursted through the kitchen doors saying something about a new cat video he found.

Connor tried to make his feelings known. At least, he really thought he did, but every time it felt like the moment to finally do it, he froze. If you liked him, wouldn’t you two have been an item eons ago? He couldn’t risk what was now verging upon two decades of friendship just to finally squash what he’d always wanted to know: if you liked him back.

A box dropped at your doorway with a light thump, a set of hands clapping off the dust.

“I think that is the last of the stuff from your car,” Connor said.

He strolled over to where you were currently futzing with balancing your bear so that he wasn’t slumping over. His chest shook from a chuckle and it occurred to you then how close he was when his arm brushed against yours to pet the stuffed bear.

“I thought I saw him in your car. You really did bring him with you.”

You stammered like an idiot, a blush heating your cheeks. Across the years of photo swapping and video calls, you’ve managed to keep that bear out of frame. Connor even visited you a few times and out of embarrassment, you stuffed that bear behind your clothes in a closet.

“I…uhm…having him around was like having you around,” you explained.

Oh god, that sounded much better in your head.

“Really?” He said, rather amused.

The bear and the fact that you brought it to keep you company and hid it’s presence from him like you couldn’t risk him knowing how much you missed him, were all good signs. If anything, it reminded him that he should be more like the daredevil that he was. He stepped away from you with a playful grin.

“Do you want to check out our old spot tomorrow? They’ve renovated a lot of the attractions and reopened,” he suggested.

You nodded, it would be nice to go take a trip down memory lane.

[svhnflwr]

%! free soul(s)

× lee donghyuck (haechan)

SYNOPSIS! two trouble making kids find thrill from their boring lives through stealing, some may say they were truly free souls, or maybe just one of them.

INCLUDES! fluff, angst, high school au, bad boy!haechan, rich boy!haechan but he hates it, gn!reader, i literally took "lost & found" episode from "a girl from nowhere" and ran with it

NOTES! everything presented is purely fictional and does not reflect on real life. i also do not condone the actions presented. this is like really bad too, i might rewrite it better (and longer + more detail) when im less busy if i feel like it too bc i havent writte in so long omg. NOT EDITED I GOT LAZY OOPS

WORD COUNT! 2.6k

“Yes, thank you so much for bringing Mr. Donghyuck in. We will be very honoured to have such an amazing student study at our school,” smiled the principal, eyes focused on the hefty stack of cash inside the silver suitcase placed on top of his desk.

“With this little gift, on behalf of my boss we trust our sir under your care,” Mr. Lee’s assistant gestured for a handshake at the principal.

Haechan’s eyes rolled at the fake kindness that dripped from the voices of the principal and his father’s assistant.

His eyes scanned the interior of the principal’s office, analyzing the vast amount of valuables that were simply placed out in the open. Particularly, a decorative coin with a pure gold rim and a large sparkly diamond in the center caught his eyes. The corner of his lips curved a little with determination as he fidgeted with a random coin in his pocket.

He eyed the adult pair beside him. The principal was too focused on the stupidly large amount of cash inside the silver suitcase that the assistant was presenting to him. He stalled for a moment to wait for the perfect timing.

The two men stood up from their chairs and proceeded to a firm handshake, insinuating that the business they discussed was over, Haechan too, then, stood up. He attempted to cover up any suspicious movements from his end with the motion of slinging his bag over his shoulder. He angled his body away from the two adults and angled the bag so it would be covered from the security camera’s range perfectly.

The switch was swift as both he and the assistant exited the office without being stopped. He took the coin out of his pocket and analyzed it closely once more. The diamond glittered majestically, reflecting light from all kinds of directions as the pure gold rim weighed down at the palm of his hands. His features remained neutral, unamused at how simple it was to steal it. He craved much more excitement.

“Everyone, I want to introduce you to our new student, Lee Donghyuck. Please introduce yourself.”

Haechan cringed at his given name.

“Hi.” He didn’t want to elaborate. An awkward aura filled the classroom for a few seconds before the teacher guided him to an empty seat at the back of the class.

The door was suddenly slung open the second he took a seat.

“Oh, you’re here. Class, we have a second new student. With a great first impression of being late.”

You entered the class with hands inside the pockets of your sweater, face neutral as if the fact that the teacher already semi-ridiculed you did not affect you in the slightest.

You stood in front of the class and took your hands out of your pockets for a bit and gave a monotonous introduction, not saying more than a simple greeting and your name. The teacher handed you a textbook and directed you to the seat beside Haechan.

The teacher continued the class by firstly handing out a pop quiz.

“You two are new but you were expected to have learned the same content at your previous schools,” she stated sternly, placing the papers in front of both of you.

When she walked away, you eyed her a few times before taking out a piece of paper from underneath your textbook that you just received. Haechan’s eyes wander over only to realize that the sheet of paper was the answer key to that precise quiz.

Haechan was slightly amused.

The door to the rooftop creaked at the rust from the hinges. He approached you, leaning over on the railing as he extended a sandwich over to you.

“Now did you buy that or did you steal it for me?” you inquired him without sparing a glance.

Haechan smiled.

“Take a guess. I’m sure you are smart enough to figure that out,” he replied, extending the sandwich once more. Your lips curved upwards at his reply, taking the item from his hands.

“So, why do you steal?” he asked you.

“I’m not obligated to answer that.”

“You aren’t.”

There was a short silence between the both of you, but it wasn’t awkward. In fact, the chilly wind that blew by wasn’t as cold as it was supposed to be. It turned out to be a little more comforting than you would’ve thought.

“Just ‘cause. It’s fun. Sometimes I’ll steal useful things like the quiz answers but I tend to turn to things people say are hard to steal.”

“Oh really? So you must be confident with your skills,” he challenged. He hadn’t even realized the slow and more genuine smile that was growing into his features. “You want to have a small competition? On who can steal the more valuable objects.”

You allowed his proposition to stall for a little while. You hummed sarcastically as if to create suspense, which Haechan most definitely noticed.

“Sure. I think it’s you who should prove yourself more.” You gestured towards the sandwich. “This isn’t exactly impressive.”

Both of your eyes burned with a flint of determination.

To say the least, Haechan was impressed. And vice versa for you.

The next few days were spent with the two of you stealing objects from left to right, the value of each only increasing exponentially. Both of you equally showed skillful sleight of hand tricks to sneak them right under the nose of your victims.

Each and every time it felt that Haechan was one-upping you. The objects he managed to take got bolder and bolder each time. From wallets to valuable tech items from other students and teachers to rare paintings in the art exhibition that was personally funded by the principal, Haechan always tried to find a way to surpass you. And each time, he did it with the widest smile on his face.

“Have you ever been caught?” you asked as you were wiping the board with him. You two stayed behind for clean-up duty. His hands stopped at the question.

“Nope, never have.”

“You are a liar.”

“And you are a thief?”

You two giggled at the obvious being stated.

“I’m fast at running. They may have seen me steal but never managed to catch me,” he said as he put away the last few things in the classroom.

Your eyebrows rose in question at his statement.

“HEY, STOP IT THERE YOU THIEVES!!”

The two of you pulled up your hoods tightly over your heads as you ran through the late-night streets. You could feel the blood pump through your ears, the adrenaline running fresh through your veins. You held the stolen can of cola you had on one hand and looked to your side and caught a glimpse of Haechan’s genuine smile as he looked back to see if they were still being chased. He almost looked like he was a shining star in the middle of the dark knight.

Turning sharply into a corner of an alleyway, you two barely managed to escape the angry storekeeper. The angry yells only got quieter and quieter and got farther and farther away from the direction they were hiding at.

The world paused for a moment as you two were catching your breaths. Your vision felt like it cleared for a second and your senses sharpened as well. You turned your head over and looked into Haechan’s eyes, feeling a fiery sensation inside your chest.

Haechan’s smile bloomed onto his features like a reflex and laughed at the situation you two were in. He took out the can of lemon soda from his pocket and cracked it open, only for the pressure accumulated in the can to explode all over him. His eyes looked for yours, almost like a lost puppy for a second, and later laughed at each other due to the nature of the situation.

You opened your can of cola, the same thing happened to you. A fit of laughter broke out once more. You two got into a squatting position, still messing around a little more and really enjoying the moment. Your mind could only be filled with the overflow of emotions you were going through at the moment.

It would be an understatement to say that Haechan was feeling precisely the same as you did. His pupils were dilated as he carefully looked at your smile beaming as well as the way the corner of your eyes crinkle at how much you are laughing and enjoying yourself. His heart was beating fast and at that point, he couldn’t tell if it was because of the amount of running or if it was because of something else.

You started to calm down and felt the surge of fatigue hit you. The blood that was rushing from end to end of your body was slowing down and you felt a little faint. Naturally, you leaned your head on Haechan’s shoulder, exhaling at the foreign yet comfortable relief.

It was a feeling that confused you.

“Let’s steal something even grander this time,” you popped your head on the table beside Haechan, your faces ending up only inches apart. It was a feeling that Haechan was starting to grow fonder of every counting day.

“Like what?” he asked. The grandest thing the two of you stole together in the past was the painting from the school back when you both first met. Anything greater than that would probably serve too much of a higher risk. The specifics had you thinking for a bit.

“Hmm, something that no one would even come up with.”

Haechan thought that that was still a very vague answer. Your face then suddenly lit up, as if you finally thought of the best idea you’ve ever had.

“What about the principal’s office?”

“I’ve already analyzed his office and other than extremely obvious valuables that would directly point arrows at us, there is nothing in his office,” Haechan replied. Part of his answer held truth but also partly held some doubt about such a bold idea. He wanted to be a little more careful now that he had something else to worry about when stealing.

You then smiled at his tone, taking it as a challenge.

“You may not know this, but you know the giant portrait of himself that is right behind his desk?” He nodded, recalling the memory of the daunting-looking portrait he saw on his first day.

“Well, behind that lies a safe. With lots of money,” you emphasized the “lots”.

Haechan never thought that a proposition from you could bore him. The idea of money never appealed to him since he didn’t need it. He stole things for the thrill of it.

“I know that face and no it’s not about the money, though it is a plus. It’s because it would be hard to steal it. You know I steal only because it’s fun. The harder it is to steal, the more amusing it is to do it. So we got a deal?”

Haechan couldn’t have agreed to anything more quickly.

“Alright, the principal just left the main building. You can enter his office. Don’t forget the blind spots of the camera as I mentioned,” you talked into his earpiece. You typed away onto your computer, breaching the firewall of the security system.

“I’m still mad you never told me that you could hack and breach firewalls,” Haechan talked back.

“A true magician never reveals its secrets.”

He couldn’t disagree with that so he just proceeded with the plan.

He carefully wiggled through the area of the office, referring back to the mental map he drew with the blind spots. Sliding the portrait, he immediately found the safe and got to work. He turned the dial slowly and listened carefully for the clicks of the lock.

Once he got it open, he found the stack of documents that were supposed to lead him to all the extra money that the principal kept for himself, which included large sums that were supposed to go to funding the school but instead were kept for alleged personal use.

“I got the documents!” he whispered-yelled, “is the coast still clear?”

No response.

“Hey, you there?!”

No response.

The door then opened with a bang and the lights flickered on. There stood the principal with guards which he assumed were the police behind him. There was only disappointment in the eyes of the principal, which was a look he was far too familiar with.

Another pair of guards come in through the door, with you passing through them.

“They have nothing to do with this! Th-”

“Oh, they have everything to do with this,” the principal interrupted. You took out two USB flashes and handed one to the principal and the other to the guard behind you.

“That’s all the evidence I collected,” you simply stated in the same monotonous tone Haechan first heard on your first day at the school. A sudden weight that was never there plummeted onto his chest and shoulders. For all the foreign new feelings he felt during his time with you, this was the first one he didn’t want to welcome in.

“Mr. Donghyuck, you will be severely punished for committing such a crime.”

Though that was the least of his concerns. He continued to eye you as his arms became restrained and were being escorted out. His eyes were burning fire at the betrayal but also were watering like dark clouds that were about to pour. He couldn’t definitely distinguish what he was feeling anymore.

But he knew that he would never what the heck it was.

“Mr. Lee Donghyuck, you have a visitor.”

Haechan regretted going out to see his mysterious visitor. You sat there similar to when you did in the past when you were face to face, with a smile that he once saw as something that he constantly sought. Now, he just wanted to rip it off your face.

“What brings you here,” he tried to keep a neutral tone, though holding so many strong emotions for the person sitting right in front of you proved quite difficult.

“I just thought you’d want to hear an explanation,” you simply said as you crossed your arms and got comfortable in your seat.

“Listen Donghyuck-”

“Haechan. You know more than anyone how much I hate my given name.”

“Hm right, as if that matters now. Anyways, Haechan, you probably want to know why right?”

He didn’t even try to fight it anymore. He simply nodded so you could stop blabbering endlessly.

“Well, I just thought it would be fun to, let’s say, try something new.”

That was his last straw.

In the end, everything for you was just something to be played with and once the fun aspect of it would run low, you’d just discard it. A true puppet master, the only one with free will, a free soul. Anger pumped through his blood, sense not processing through his brain as he launched forward towards you. The guards managed to somewhat hold him back and back into his detention cell.

The last image of you he saw was your wide smile that looked exactly the same as the one he saw at the alley back then after stealing a couple of sodas.

But this time, the smile was looking down at him and his now trapped soul that would never be free.

[ganyuslily]

CRASH MY CAR.

he’d let you do anything. anything, as long as you’ll stay by his side.

pairing: albedo/gn!reader

category/extra notes: angst, modern!au, mentioned drinking and the reader is drunk

note: song is “crash my car” by coin + pink camellia (longing for someone) also pls reblog</3 reblogs help a lot

“you’re drunk again,” albedo says, lips pursed. he looks worried, the same way he always does and something tugs in your chest at that.

the statement rings in your ears but you in the end can’t really find yourself to care. he’s not wrong, of course he isn’t. he never is. but it was easier that way, truly.

he guides you to his car without saying anything more, one of his hands under your arm and the other on the small of your back. his face twists when he smells the alcohol, but he doesn’t say anything. he never does. you think that maybe he understands how it is. you’re not sure he does though. you suddenly realize you don’t know a lot about him. you don’t know why. why do you not know anything about the person that has been with you for the longest time?

you’re the shiny lights and sparkly lamps, you’re the music inside the bars and the laughter ringing in the air. you’re the sun and a moon at the same time and you’re loud but also quiet and he doesn’t understand how you can be full of contradictions.

he thinks he doesn’t have any right to do so, but he still longs for you. for the way you were before, for the way you are now and for the way you’ll be. it hurts, hurts so badly, because you always seem to be out of his reach.

he parks under your shared apartment and glances at you. you’re sleeping. you always fall asleep while in the car. it’s one of the things that never changed.

“i’m so stupid,” he murmures to himself, eyes focused on your sleeping face and hands clutching the steering wheel. you look so peaceful, mouth slightly open and your hair spilled around your face. “i am such an idiot,” his heart clenches.

he was an idiot. he’d let you do anything. you could rip out his heart, walk all over it and throw it into the sea and he’d still find yet another reason to love you. he’d let you do anything, as long as it meant you’ll stay by his side.

[ckret2]

Goldie and Sparkly Coin!Mabel meeting would be very funny. Because this Mabel technically would be his big sister

posts that are inscrutable without knowledge of two separate fics/AUs

Mabel finally got that little brother she always wanted

[mrkcore]

𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 - 𝐥.𝐣𝐧

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: lee jeno x reader (ft. jaemin)

𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: soulmates!au, barista!jeno, coffee shop setting ;)

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.2k

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluffy fluff ehehe

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬): none (mentions of food)

𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨: boyfriend by coin, golden by harry styles, falling for u by mxmtoon & peachy!, in love by khai dreams, olivia by one direction, kiss me kiss me by 5sos, lover by taylor swift

𝐚/𝐧: i’ve had this idea for jeno for the past month, and then boom appears cafe dream lmaoo, happy birthday jeno <3 (feedback is appreciated too! :D)

“lisa, i swear!” you try telling your friend again. “every time i’m here, it always says 4 meters away. it can’t be just a coincidence!”

“are you sure it’s him though?” she questions. “just be sure, that’d be embarrassing if it wasn’t and you went up to him to declare your love only to be shot down.”

“literally every single time i go up to order something, it displays less than a meter, who else would it be?” you’re bouncing in your seat now. you’ve been waiting for a long time to muster up the courage to go and introduce yourself, and maybe hint at your special bond. today, you’ve brought your best friend to give you moral support.

“okay, go do it. i believe in you, don’t back out in the last moment, if this succeeds, you know what that means.” lisa winks at you while you roll your eyes at her tone and what she is hinting at.

“okay,” you sucked in your breath, and exhaled. “whew, i got this.” you tried calming your nervous, excited, very confused nerves.

“go!” lisa pats you as you stand up, walking towards him. you give lisa a last forced smile, and she sends you an encouraging thumbs up back. and you turn around, facing your goal straight on.

it seems like the regular handsome barista is also walking towards the boy too, but it doesn’t matter, nothing is going to stop you.

before the barista can even open his mouth, you start speaking.

“hi! i’m y/n, this might seem weird to say, but i think you’re my soulmate.” you try to smile after blurting it out, wanting to crawl into your hole of a room in embarrassment. especially when the boy tries to hide a laugh, and the barista beside you lets out an annoyed huff and walks back to the counter. 

you are so confused, and embarrassed. very embarrassed. did you mention embarrassed?

“uhm, is there a problem-” you look down at your arm, and instead of a 0, what you were expecting, there’s a 2. “oh, oh no. i am so sorry.” you say to the boy in front of you.  

“don’t worry about it,” he chuckles. you wanted to die. “i’m jaemin, i think i’ve seen you around the cafe before.”

“yeah, you’re always here when i am and stuff just matched up for some reason, i’m so sorry about the misunderstanding.” you apologize one more time before turning around to walk back to your table, dejected.

“wait one second,” jaemin says, you turn back to face him, confused once more. “you have the wrong person, but you’re right, someone here is your soulmate.”

“jaemin, your coffee.” you turn to see the barista again, this time holding a cup of coffee, no it doesn’t even look like coffee, more like straight up poison. you watch in awe as he happily accepts it and takes a delighted sip.

“ah yes, i’m finally awake.” jaemin smiles brightly. “what were we talking about again? oh right, your soulmate.” you look down at your wrist again, and this time, it displays 0. 

“it’s you!” you exclaimed, as if you had an eureka moment, spinning around to face your true soulmate, the barista. 

he scoffs before walking back to the counter, you following closely behind him.

“took you long enough.” he said, you leaned on the counter, watching him make another cup of coffee.

“why didn’t you say anything if you knew?” you questioned, your ego slightly bruised. 

“it was cute listening to you rant about not being able to find your soulmate, and then realize that they would be in this cafe. the one you come to about every single day.” he turns around and hands you an iced coffee, just the way you like it.

“how long have you known?” you sipped curiously.

“about 2 months? give or take.” he then hands you a cutely made cat cupcake, he sees the way you perked up after given food.

“wow, you really have some good self-control, if that was me, i’d not be able to hold myself back.” you happily munch on the yummy treat, getting some frosting on your top lip.

“yeah, i can tell.” he leans in, wiping the frosting off your lip, handing you a napkin, you feel your face heating up. “oh hey, jaemin owes me $5.” the boy suddenly remembers out of the blue.

“for what?” you finish the cupcake and throw the wrapper in the garbage beside him.

“i bet that you wouldn’t guess it was me.” he smiles to himself, seeming pretty proud of himself. you huffed. “i’m still pretty surprised you had the guts to go up to someone to ask though, congrats.”

“aghh, i just don’t know why you wouldn’t tell me, and just watch me go up to someone and be wrong! what kind of soulmate are you?” you really feel embarrassed, but at least now you know who your soulmate is.

“well, why didn’t you think it was me?” the boy asks you this time. you feel your face hot again, and you turn around, not wanting to face him. 

“i thought you were too handsome and i was too nervous to be around you.” you mumble. you had secretly been crushing on him for a while, before you figured out that your soulmate would be in the cafe every single time you were there. but after finding out, you thought he was way out of your league and completely disregarded him.

“what did you say?” he leaned in closer to try and hear you better, but very obviously teasing you. “i didn’t quite catch that.”

“you heard me, dummy.” you pouted, grumbling as you crossed your arms. 

“i thought you said i made you nervous, what happened to that huh?” he laughs, teasing you further.

“well, now i’m not because i know you’re my soulmate.” you catch lisa looking at you, puzzled at what is unfolding in front of her eyes. you sent a pair of thumbs up to reassure her. “anyways soulmate, you got a name don’t you?”

“it’s jeno, it’s also on my name tag, do you not pay attention to me at all?” jeno pouts, making you swoon a bit.

“i know your name! i just wanted to hear you say it.” you try and defend yourself. jeno laughs at how easily you are worked up. “so, soulmate, does that mean i get free food here now?” you wink at him as he looks at you in disbelief.

“that was my hard work for these 2 months, i could’ve given that cupcake to me to treat myself.” jeno complains. “and i’m really hungry right now.”

“hmm, are you sure?” you try again.

“no.”

“please?” you look at him with wide and sparkly eyes you know he can’t resist.

“negotiable.” he crosses his arms, facing away from you as he blushes.

“see! i knew you were a softie.” you poke him in the side.

smiles grow on both of your faces and you know you’ve found your soulmate.

© mrkcore. 2021

[littlenymphie]

thots on dragon!thor who lives in a castle in the sky and when he moves through the clouds, we get thunder? 👀👀

🍰 its my bday!!! join my virtual picnic!!! 🧺

im!!!!!! aqua!!!! your mind!!!! 😩😵‍💫

dragon!thor who moves through the clouds, splitting the sky with traces of light, visiting the nearby village. as he lands, he assumes a human form, still a Large one may i clarify, and he buys/steals all the jewelry he can get his eyes on. anything sparkly counts as jewelry. the deepest sapphire to the brightest coin, he’s snatching it, putting into a pouch.

he leaves the store with a grin. when he reaches a clearing somewhat far from the village, he leaps into the air. thunder resumes and the little princess, hidden away in a glamoured castle, knows her love is arriving soon.

the giddiness and happiness this man would be just from GIVING you anything im he’s such a giver. like he itches to put on the necklace around your neck like im— i can definitely see him as dragon!au. i—

[whatmack]

so uhm, incubus neil 👉🏻👈🏻

bitch don’t TEMPT me into re-opening that monsters-as-monsters au I have I’ve been staring at it for the past Week  ----

“So like, how does it work? With your whole...thing.” Neil considered the shot glass on the table in front of him. He’d been ignoring Nicky for fifteen minutes, and it was starting to lose its charm. Sooner or later Nicky would get bored, and that meant either that he’d leave Neil alone to find a more reactionary target (good) or he’d start singing off-key pop music until Neil got annoyed enough to talk to him (bad). He chanced a glance over. Nicky’s grin was all-cylinders-firing, dimple flashing in the club lights. It was a smile that said Taylor Swift is never more but a second away.

“I don’t need to feel the attraction to be able to pick up on it,” Neil said, giving in. Nicky drummed his hands on the table in triumph and then leaned closer, gesturing to his oh-so-listening ear. “People aren’t subtle. Especially in places like this.” He nodded towards the dancefloor. The mass of crotch-grinding bodies didn’t react to the insult.  “Doesn’t that get weird, though? It’s gotta suck if you’re not into it. Do people get mad at you?” Neil stared blankly into Nicky’s face. “I eat them. They don’t have a chance to be mad at me.” “Kinky,” Nicky said, waggling his eyebrows. Neil picked up the empty shot glass and shoved the tacky rim against Nicky’s ear. Nicky yelped and jerked back, pawing at the side of his head. “Hey! Ew!” “When are your-- people getting here, anyway?” Neil asked, as Nicky used the excuse of shaking off vodka droplets to flip his hair in the direction of a man in a sparkly crop-top. The man paused, eyeing Nicky with interest, and Neil kicked Nicky under the table to keep him from getting distracted. “Ow! You’re so mean to me!” “You’ll get over it.” “Never,” Nicky promised, clutching his hand to his chest. Neil dodged the return kick. “And they’re not people, they’re cousins. I told you.”

“Must’ve tuned that out,” said Neil. He hopped down from the bar stool, rolling his shoulders. The thin plastic straw from Nicky’s drink bounced off his chest; Nicky had thrown it at him. Neil made a rude gesture over his shoulder as he headed towards the bar, slipping through the spaces between bodies. His skin tingled with the press of all this human, sweat and hair and glossed-up lips; the things they were offering. Touch me. Kiss me. Fuck me. Neil wouldn’t even have to try, to take one in the back alley and eat his fill. Just a smile and the tilt of his head. Maybe not even the smile. He swallowed down the urge to feed and set his palm flat on the bar, gesturing for the bartender with the dollar bill tucked between the fingers of his other hand. Roland shot a grin his way, already reaching for the glasses; he knew Neil’s order. It never changed. Someone jostled Neil from behind. Neil sighed and leaned forward, to get out of the way.  Then he felt the prick of steel. Neil held very still. “Can I help you?” “You must be Neil,” said a voice, right against the nape of Neil’s neck. Neil gritted his teeth against a flinch. He should have heard the person coming; he should have sensed them. Something was wrong. “No,” Neil said, slowly. Deliberately calm, though his heart was racing. “It’s Theopold, actually. Theopold Hornswallow.” “Oh, he thinks he’s funny.” The knife withdrew. Neil twisted around, leaving his cash on the bar, and blinked as he stared into a pair of eyes just barely below his own. Short motherfucker: huh. “If you wanted somethin’, all you had to do was ask,” Neil said, letting his voice drop low. He didn’t care enough to take this man out back-- he just wanted to keep him from stabbing him again.  The man’s forehead pinched. He opened his mouth, but before he could respond Nicky’s voice cut through the crowd, accompioned by flailing arms. “Andrew! Andrew, fucking there you are, you have to meet-- oh you have! Neil, baby,” Nicky said, wrestling past a couple attempting to exchange tonsils, “This is Cousin Number One. Now you know what they both look like: they’re twins. Let me find the other one for you.” He blew a kiss at either Neil or the cousin, or maybe both of them, and disappeared back into the swirling display of hedonism.  “That’s how you knew my name,” Neil said, not taking his eyes off of Andrew. “Why didn’t you lead with that?” Andrew shrugged. He flipped the knife over the back of his hand, stance loosening now that Neil was no longer trying to seduce him. “If you hadn’t been able to deal with it this way, you wouldn’t have been worth it. Hey,” he said over Neil’s shoulder; Roland had appeared with Neil’s drinks. Andrew held up three fingers. Roland pinched his hand like he was picking up a coin, grin unrepentant. Andrew scowled. “You could reach your wallet easier if you put the knife away,” Neil said. “Interesting,” said Andrew, and failed to explain.  (No matter how many times, that night, Neil tried to get it out of him by fluttering his eyelashes.)

[bush-viper-cutie]

“The Three Broomsticks” || YEAR 3 – Ch.20 (HP au)

                              Chapter List

<-- Last Chapter                          Next Chapter -->

Day posted: 9/15/2020

Word count: 2, 706

Relationship: EVENTUAL severus X oc (slow burn)

Rating: E for everyone

Warnings: none

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A/N: This is my first fan fic I’m writing mainly as a way to practice. This is a retelling of the hp books with an inserted character. Although most every character will be written about, this is mostly for the pro snape fandom. Please do not fear, although this is a severus x oc story, it is an incredibly slow burn as I do not intend for them to get together at all until after the final book events. Chapters will be posted twice a week.

This derivative work follows the events of the Harry Potter books by Jk Rowling and is intended as a fun way to practice my writing. Thank you for reading :D

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~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

Heather stepped out into the road outside of Honeydukes and jumped behind Harry and Hermione, shielding her face from the whipping wind and stinging snowflakes being thrown around them. They quickly ran down the street and entered the tiny inn before they froze in the blizzard.

The bartender woman smiled at them as they entered and went back to serving a loud group of wizards in the back, calming them down with another round of drinks and chips.

“Butterbeer’s two sickles.” Ron opened his hand.

They stuffed their hands in their pockets and pulled out the coins before making their way to a corner table while Ron got the drinks. They slipped in beside a Christmas tree and sat at the table. Heather looked out the window at the blizzard and shivered in her chair.

The inn was nice, far nicer than the Leaky Cauldron, and cozier too. There was a warm fire next to the bar and the heat radiated all the way to their back table in waves that followed the flames.

Ron came back holding two tankards of butterbeer in each hand and sat down next to Heather. “These’ll thaw us down.”

Heather slid her tankard in front of herself and hummed happily, keeping her hands on the warm wood and feeling the blood return to her hands. She tipped it into her mouth and drank the toasty liquid and set the tankard down with a clank.

“That’s amazing!” It was the most delicious drink she’d ever tasted. Better than eggnog even, and she loved sneaking sips from the Dursley’s eggnog cartons.

Now that their lips weren’t so frozen, Hermione reminded them of why they were there.

“Right… So,” Harry started, looking around. He leaned in and waited for them to do the same. “Fred and George gave us a map that shows all the secret passages out of Hogwarts.”

Ron’s jaw dropped. “They what?”

“They said they didn’t need it anymore, having memorized it all and everything,” Heather said quickly, seeing the face of betrayal Ron was making.

“It’s a secret map too, enchanted to look like normal parchment and everything. It’s really amazing.” Harry avoided Hermione’s eyes when speaking, seeing the look of shock wash away and concern replace it.

Hermione turned to Heather. “You’re going to turn that in immediately, aren’t you?”

Heather pressed her lips together, knowing that would be the right thing to do, if only she didn’t find that map incredibly useful, especially since it had come in handy once before and would come in handy way more, now that she was used to the idea of sneaking around the castle. “Well…”

“Well what?” Hermione demanded. “Do you three have any idea how dangerous that map is right now?” She lowered her voice, “With Sirius Black walking around TRYING to get in?”

“Succeeding, remember. He doesn’t need that map,” Ron reminded them.

“Exactly. Besides, if I handed it in, I’d have to tell on Fred and George. I’m sure Filch realized it was gone and would ask me where I got it. They’d get in trouble.”

Heather nodded in agreement, but knowing that was a horrible excuse. “And, Hermione, do you really think Professor Dumbledore doesn’t know about any of these passages? He knows everything about the castle – ”

“Except the Chamber of Secrets,” Hermione crossed her arms.

“R-right… but that’s different…” she bit her lip and looked to Ron for help.

“Uh,” Ron started. “A-and they came in through Honeydukes! We’d’ve heard about a break-in there if he knew about the secret passage they took.”

They all looked at Hermione who did not seem very happy but couldn’t argue against all of them.

Ron finished the discussion by pointing to a notice posted to the window, reminding them all of the dementors roaming around the village after sundown. “He’d have to break into Honeydukes during the day or risk getting caught by those things at night.”

Heather gasped suddenly, as she spotted emerald green robes walk past the window. There was a rush of air that pulled on their hair as the door opened with a ding of the bell and closed behind Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Hagrid, and Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

Ron and Hermione pushed Harry and Heather under the table, hiding them from view. Heather watched their feet walk over to the bar, turn, and walk towards them. She heard Hermione whisper ‘Leviosa’ at the Christmas tree, levitating it several inches off the ground. Heather quickly took out her wand and whispered ‘Mobiliarbus’, helping Hermione move it over to cover their table.

Through the thick lower branches of the decorated tree, she saw four sets of chair legs move back at the table right besides theirs and heard creaks as they all sat down in their seats. A pair of sparkly high heels came clacking down to them.

“Gillywater, Minerva?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Four pints of mulled mead?”

“Ta, Rosemerta,” said Hagrid.

“Dry cherry soda?”

“Thank you, thank you!” Professor Flitwick squeaked.

“Your rum then, Minster.”

“Rosemerta, thank you m’dear. Won’t you take a break and join us? It’s lovely to see you again.”

“I’d love to, Minster.” There was a final thump and another chair got pulled back. The sparkly heels moved in front of the chair legs one at a time and with a creak of the chair, Rosemerta sat down.

It was the last weekend of term for the teachers too, and it looked like they were going to enjoy their time in Hogsmeade with the rest of the students. Heather looked to Harry, both knowing this meant they’d have little to no time to make it back to Honeydukes before it closed at sundown.

“What brings you down here, Minister?” said Rosemerta.

There was a pause and in a hushed tone, Cornelius Fudge responded. “I’m on the business of Sirius Black, m’dear. You heard what happened up at the school on Halloween, did you?”

“There’s been rumors.”

“If by rumor you mean Hagrid…” Professor McGonagall sighed.

“Is Black really still in the area? Is that why you’re down?”

“I’m absolutely certain of it.”

Hermione lightly kicked them after hearing the Minister’s words.

“Which means the dementors will be staying,” Rosemerta sounded annoyed. “They searched my pub twice last week – scared nearly everyone away.”

“I am sorry about that, m’dear. I don’t like them any more than anyone else does – those awful creatures – but they are necessary to keep everyone safe. I’ve just met a few and, well they’re in quite a mood. Dumbledore won’t let them in the castle and – ”

“And why would he?” Professor McGonagall cut in. “How can we teach with those horrifying things floating around above our heads? You know how many wizards experience severe reactions to them. Let alone young students.”

“Oh absolutely could not teach with them in my classroom,” Flitwick agreed.

“Yes. But however true that is, the dementors serve a purpose. They protect from something much, much worse. Remember what Black’s capable of.”

“We remember,” came Hagrid’s somber voice.

“I still can’t believe it. All these years and I just can’t,” Rosemerta sighed. “Sirius Black… of all people? I remember him and his friends back when they went to school… If you’d’ve told me any one of them could turn to the Dark Side I’d’ve said you had too much to drink.”

“You know he’s far worse than people realize.”

“What’s worse than murdering all those people, Minister?”

“You remember his best friend, don’t you, Rosemerta?” Professor McGonagall asked.

Rosemerta laughed. “How could I not? They were joined at the hip! Thick as thieves those, two. There was never one in here without the other. Oh, and they were the funniest pair of kids I’ve ever had in here. Quite the double act, those two… Sirius Black and James Potter… What boys they were.”

Heather choked on her breath. She squeezed her mouth between her elbow and coughed. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. She stared at the sparkly heels and shook her head.

“A couple of troublemakers those two, but exceptionally bright – very bright minds. They were the ringleaders of their little gang. Those four…” Professor McGonagall trailed off.

“They were all good as brothers,” Professor Flitwick added.

Professor McGonagall continued. “Inseparable. He was best man at James’ wedding… In fact, James made Sirius godfather to his children.”

Rosemerta’s gasp echoed that of Heather and Harry’s. Why hadn’t they been told any of this? That’s why everyone was so weirdly intense about it all around them. That’s why Mr. Weasley thought they’d go looking… Because Sirius Black was they’re father’s best friend.

“Can’t imagine how that’d torment them to know,” Hagrid murmured.

“Because Black was on the opposite side as James? Black was in league with You-Know-Who?”

“Worse, m’dear. Far worse,” Fudge spoke up. “The Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore had many useful spies, and one of them tipped him off about it and he immediately alerted the Potters. He told them their best chance at hiding from You-Know-Who was the Fidelius Charm.”

“What’s that?”

“The Fidelius Charm,” Professor Flitwick put on his teaching voice. “Is a complex spell that conceals a secret inside of a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside that person and is impossible to find… unless that secret keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the secret-keeper never opens their mouth, the information could be right under your nose and you’d never find it in your lifetime or after.”

“The Potters made Black their Secret-keeper then?” Rosemerta whispered.

“Of course,” Professor McGonagall tapped her foot. “Naturally. Dumbledore offered to be the Secret-Keeper for them… but James told him that Black would rather die than reveal their location, that Black said he’d go into hiding for them… Dumbledore was still worried, however.”

“Did he suspect Black?” Rosemerta asked Heather’s question.

“He suspected someone among them – someone close to them – was keeping You-Know-Who informed. Everywhere the Potters hid, Death Eaters were not far behind.”

“And yet he insisted on having Black as his Secret-Keeper?”

“He trusted him,” whispered Harry.

Heather turned to him and stared into his eyes. He was too focused to notice.

“He did,” Fudge said slowly. “That only lasted a week of course… Just a week after the Fidelius Charm was performed… Black turned them into You-Know-Who sometime that week. Of course, little did You-Know-Who know that’d he’d meet his downfall facing little Harry Potter. All weak and powerless, he fled and died who knows where. With no master, Black was put in a very serious position. He was a traitor with nowhere else to go.”

Hagrid growled. “I met him that day. I musta bin the last to see him! I went down to rescue Harry an’ Heather from their house. It was me what took them to safety. I’d gotten there, seen all that ruin an’-an’ their parents lyin’ on the floor in front o’them… Harry with a big gash on his forehead. Then here comes Sirius Black, in that flyin’ muggle motorbike. He was all white an’ shakin’ in his boots, he was. AN’ I COMFORTED THAT MURDERIN’ TRAITOR!” Hagrid roared.

“Shhhhhh.” Professor McGonagall kicked him under the table.

“He wanted them, y’know. He asked me for them. But I said no. I’d had me orders to get them to their aunt and uncle’s house. He gave me his bike ter use. Said he wasn’t needin’ it no more.”

“It would have been too easy for the Ministry to trace,” Fudge said.

“At least the Ministry caught him next day,” Rosemerta said after a long pause.

“If only we had. One of their friends, Peter Pettigrew got to him before we did. Furious at him for betraying them. Fought Black as soon as he found him…”

“He had always been a poor duelist,” said Professor McGonagall heavily.

“Took a team of highly trained Hit Aurors from Magical Law Enforcement to take him down. I was a junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes… It was a sight to see. The giant crater and Black standing there… right in the center standing over bloody robes and… the remains.”

There was a long pause.

“Well, there it is, m’dear. Took twenty squad members to bring him into Azkaban, where he stayed for twelve years.”

“But he must be mad now, spending all that time in Azkaban.”

“You’d think that. No, I met him my last visit to Azkaban… Everyone else normally sits in their cell, muttering wildly to themselves, rocking back and forth, staring at the walls… Not Black. He spoke to me quite clearly. So normal, it was unnerving. He asked for my newspaper, ha! Must’ve been bored… How he managed to stay sane is beyond me. He was the most heavily guarded… dementors posted outside his door and barred window day and night.”

There was another pause and a clink of glass on wood.

“Minister, if you’re dining with the Headmaster today, we should get going,” said Professor McGonagall.

One by one they all got up and pushed in their chairs. Professor McGonagall’s emerald green robes swung back into place just at her ankles and slowly everyone but Rosemerta left the inn.

There was a flurry of snow that had blown in as the door swung closed, and Harry and Heather stayed sitting there in shocked silence. Heather was shaking her head, unbelieving everything they’d just said. She pushed everything away, hating it all. She hated knowing about her parents and their past, hating thinking they existed without them.

They were names and words, sounds without meaning. And now she knew her father had a best friend, and a group of loyal friends… and he was a troublemaker and a brilliant wizard and… he’d trusted his bestest friend with his life… and the life of his family… ‘Quite the double act, those two’… She shook her head again.

“Heather?”

“Harry?”

Heather and Harry looked up at Hermione and Ron, poking their heads down to check on them. The tree had been moved back and it was clear to come out. They sat back in their seats and sipped the butterbeer in silence. Ron and Hermione never spoke a word the rest of the time.

“We should head back,” Harry pushed his empty tankard away.

Everyone nodded and they slowly got up. They exited the Three Broomsticks and ran back to Honeydukes. They were told they were closing soon and the first chance they could, Heather and Harry snuck back down to the cellar, leaving Ron and Hermione standing worried and awkward alone at the door.

The tunnel walk back to the castle was quiet between them. She knew Harry had a million questions and wanted to talk to her. He kept glancing at her as they walked in the light of their wands, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the rocky ground.

When they were younger, she had always rejected the idea that their parents had died in a car crash. She’d told Harry stories about how they were simply dust clumps come to life for the sole purpose of annoying the Dursleys. And now she couldn’t stop thinking of two young boys running around Hogwarts, throwing dung bombs in the halls and getting yelled at by Filch. About a boy that looked very much like Harry, wearing ruby red robes and flying around in the Quidditch Pitch. About people laughing at his jokes.

She was brought back from her thoughts by Harry asking for the spell to open the witch up again. She mumbled the spell and let him lead her out.

In no time at all she was lying on her bed, face buried in her pillow, trying not to think about what James Potter would have been like as a father. He was a bright wizard… would he have been proud of her? She crawled under the covers and stayed there through dinner.

In the end, she decided it made no difference. She closed her eyes for bed as the other girls blew out their candles. If she didn’t care what her grandparents or great, great, great grandparents were like, why should she care what they were like?

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

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